Author's note: Thanks for the reviews people. I know I'm kinda bad at grammer, and spelling. Anyway, I'll try to update every Monday and Thursday, but that's also subject to conditions outside of my control (AKA: school, and previous engagements).
I should be good for a few more chapters, but I know I'm gonna get writer's block.
And I corrected the spelling for 'starmie'. I spelled it 'starme' before. Thanks for pointing that out, B Boy. :)

Crystal: She's temporarily in charge of the Cerulean gym, until Misty comes back. She's about 5'4", and seventeen. She's always dressed in a light blue color, and her hair is a pale blond.

Chapter Seventeen: Water Trainer.


The sun on Chris's face woke him up. He looked out the window, then slightly smiled. He'd been asleep for about twelve hours. He sifted, but felt a weight on him.

The three pokemon were on the bed. Kani was showing signs of stirring, but the other two were still asleep.

Chris just stretched, and waited for Kani to fully wake.


She yawned, and looked up at him a bit blearily. (Chris? )

"When everyone wakes up, we go to the center, then we take a look at the gym."

(I don't know, Chris. The gym leader is supposed to be tough…)

"Kani, it was your idea to try it."

(Water pokemon. Meaning that Mathrara's useless.)

Chris nodded. "Makes sense. But couldn't he go for hypnosis?"

(Maybe. But we'll have a hard time. It's three on three for gym leaders. But Anekiro's resistant to water attacks, and I THINK he's close to evolving. He must have fought a lot at home.)

"So what happens, if he does?"

(He turns into a Dragonair. Like those Elders. I believe he gets some control over the weather itself, if he evolves. Plus, he could float, so he won't get as tired. Dragonairs can swim the water and sky.)

Chris nodded. "I know that might help." He slipped out of the bed, and continued stretching until he was mostly flexible. Kani curled up for a few minutes more of sleep.


Al entered his kitchen, and was surprised to see Chris making a meal. A very large meal. Chris looked back at Al, and grinned apologetically. "Sorry Al. But I ran out of food yesterday, so everyone's hungry. We were exhausted first, but now…"

Al just smiled, and waved him on. He really had enough to go around, and wasn't too worried about it.

Besides, Chris was actually not bad at cooking. Better than he was, by a lot.


Chris laughed, as he heard a collection of thumps. "Well, looks like they woke up."

"Chris, sometimes it seems like you act like a parent to them."

Chris laughed. "So speaks the pokemon master of three years ago."

Al shrugged. "Yea, yea. I took the cash, and left. I just wanted the challenge, not the title."

Chris grinned. "Yea, sure. Not to mention all the sponsorship money…"

"It's more trouble than it's worth."

Chris smirked faintly. "What? You've got a nice place, and I KNOW your pokemon guard this place. Your Vileplume, for example…"

"It's just… hard to explain."

Chris nodded. "I understand. I've been in similar situations."

Al cocked an eyebrow, and Chris grinned guiltily. His three pokemon raced in, and he pulled three plates he'd set up for them, and set them on the ground. Kani and Mathrara attacked their meals, while Anekiro ate at a slower rate.

Al smiled faintly at their reaction. "Chris, you know that you should give them poke-food."

Chris grinned at Al. "Who said I didn't? That's a mix of berries, and poke-food. Each set up to their own taste."

"Foodie."

Chris laughed, and finished the meal he'd been making. He grabbed the one of the remaining two plates, and served himself. "It's ready now."

Al grabbed a plate himself, and took some of the food.


"Geez Chris. What did you PUT in that?"

Chris shrugged. "A few berries that I picked up on the road. Dunno what they were, I never bothered to ask Kani." Kani didn't react, since he was hardly stretching the truth.

Al shook his head. "So now you're a trainer, with a psychic."

Chris shook his head. "Don't call me a trainer. I'm not like those power-hungry jerks. You never called yourself a trainer, either. You called yourself champion-to-be."

Al laughed. "I forgot about that. Yea, I'll stop it. One of these days, you'll have to tell me what happened to you. And where you got that weird tattoo on your arm."

Chris froze, with a fork halfway to his mouth. "Uhm… it's too hard to explain. I'll try…"


Al nodded, after Chris's explanation of what had happened. Chris had more or less told the story of his journey, but excluded anything that involved Kani's gift, or the dragons. It made the dragon's lake story hard for him to talk about, but Chris knew Al would think he was nuts if he told him about the two. "Huh. So Kani said they did that for some weird reason she didn't get?"

Chris nodded. "Dragons. What ya expect?"

Al just laughed. "Well, I'd take a tattoo for a Dratini. So where is this place?"

"Dunno. Kani teleported us there, then we kinda got lost on the way out. I have no clue how to get back there." Al looked slightly disappointed, but then shook it off.

Kani, who had been shuddering whenever Chris had to amend part of the story, went tiredly up to Chris. (Yeouch. Never tell that story again. Just say it's too complex.)

"Sorry Kani. Al, I'm gonna go get a check up on them, so I'll see ya later."

"How… oh. Kani?"

Chris nodded. Mathrara and Anekiro walked and slithered over (respectively), and they disappeared.


Al looked at the kitchen. It was actually in good shape. Apparently, Chris had leaned enough manners to clean up after himself. He shrugged, and went to go watch TV. Just because you were a pokemon master didn't mean your life was always exciting. He only had to show up occasionally for the ceremonies, that kind of stuff.


They appeared more or less next to the gym. Chris gave Kani a dirty look, and walked towards where he remembered the center was. Thankfully, the league lady wasn't there.


Chris looked at the building. It showed some damage from the attack, but it mostly had been left alone. He sighed, and looked at Anekiro. "You ok?"

(Yes. But… this is disturbing. I never knew that one pokemon could wreak such havoc.)

"Well, think about yourself. You coulda killed me, if you wanted to."

(I never thought about that. I just wanted you to leave.)

Mathrara shook his head. (Anekiro, most pokemon could kill a human. It's not difficult.)

"The only complication would be a ball. Get caught, you're bound to it until it's destroyed, or you die."

Kani nodded. (That's why I'm not fond of pokeballs. I understand the general idea, but some people abuse the privilege.)

Chris nodded agreement, then walked in.


The nurse looked the same as the one in the town of three winds. Chris shrugged, and waited for her to finish up with whatever she was doing.

(They're like clones. They all look alike, think alike…)

"Never thought about that before, Kani. But you have a point…"

"Can I help you?" The nurse had apparently finished whatever she had been working on.

Chris shrugged. "Can my pokemon get a check-up?"

The nurse smiled, and nodded. Chris returned the three, and handed them over. He then sat down, and closed his eyes, mostly resting.


The nurse poked the sleeping trainer. He looked fairly weather-beaten. His ankle was wrapped up, and facial hair was growing, but in patches (teenager's growth). She felt sorry for him, slightly – he must have had a run of bad luck.


Chris opened his eyes, and gently took the pokeballs, then opened them. "They ok?"

"They're fine."

Chris smiled, and got up slowly. He thanked the nurse, then walked out. "Well, you guys up to trying the gym?"

Mathrara shuddered. (Please… not me… save me for last. I hate water.)

Anekiro looked at Mathrara curiously, as Chris nodded. "Of course. Anekiro, are you ok with starting off?"

Anekiro tilted his head to the side, curious. (I get to fight? )

"Sure. A gym leader, supposedly quite the skilled one. Unless you don't want to…"

(Oh, no. I wanted a good battle. I just wondered.)

Chris glanced at Kani, who looked much better. "Will it strain you to just teleport us there?"

(No. It's not as tiring, anymore. I'll be recharged after a minute, anyway.)

They disappeared again.


Chris gently shouldered open the door, looking inside the gym. "A pool? With bleachers?"

(It's a water gym. Water types do best in water…)

A girl that was about the same age as Chris came down from the bleachers. She had pale blond hair, and was a bit shorter than Chris. "Oh! A Dratini! They're so rare! Where'd you get it?"

Anekiro seemed a bit embarrassed, but cried "Dra!", trying to be cute. She held him, stroking his skin.

Chris shook his head, relaxing a bit. "He chose to come with me. And out of respect for his family, I'm not saying where."

"Aww… you're no fun."

Chris just laughed. Mathrara gave Chris a significant look, which he ignored.

The girl noticed the other two, and gave a small cry. "They're all cute!"

Kani shook her head, and stood besides Chris, while the other two got some female attention.

(You know, we're going to have trouble with any females that come by. Mathrara's going to turn into a lecher, and he could corrupt Anekiro.)

"He's more interested in you, Kani."

(Never going to lay a paw on me. Over my dead body will I let him touch me.)

Chris laughed. His laugh seemed to snap the girl out of her daze. "Oh, I'm Crystal. Misty said I'm in charge, until she gets back."

"How long is that?"

"She's out with her boyfriend, a continent away. Months, I guess… so she said I'm gym leader."

Chris smiled. "Well, can I have a gym battle?"

Crystal thought it over, then shrugged. "Sure. But you know your Vulpix is at a disadvantage here."

Chris shrugged, suppressing half a smirk.

Crystal went to the far side, then nodded. "Well, let's get started! It's three on three, no time limit."

Anekiro jumped into the pool with a glad cry. Chris looked at him, then just smiled. "I'll lead with Anekiro, since he wanted dibs."

Crystal blinked, then threw a pokeball, saying "Starmie! You're on!"

A Starmie burst from the ball, and dove into the pool.

Anekiro fired a burst of energy, hitting the Starmie with a thunderwave.

"Oh, you meanie! Starmie, use camouflage!"

The Starmie disappeared from sight. Chris closed his eyes, searching. "Anekiro…"

(I'm ready. I just can't see it! )

"Starmie, bubblebeam!"

Bubbles started to fly towards Anekiro at high speed. "Anekiro, use twister to repel them!"

Anekiro glowed, then whirlwinds blocked the attack. A few stray bubbles hit him, but he shrugged them off.

Chris concentrated, and grinned, eyes still shut. "Anekiro, it's on your right! No, not there, a bit more… that's it! Use dragon rage to hit it!"

A glowing fire burst from Anekiro, and hit apparently water.

The Starmie lost camouflage, stung by the attack. Crystal seemed shocked for a moment, then called out "Starmie! Hit it with confuse ray!"

"Counter that with dragon rage!"

The ray bounced off the fire, and the Starmie had to dodge it's own attack.

"Great Anekiro. Don't get cocky. Use slam!"

"Starmie! Use swift!"

Starmie spun in circles, and fired out star-shaped rays. Anekiro was hit by them, but he swam through the barrage and slammed the spinning Starmie with a full contact slam.

The Starmie was blasted into the air, it's core light flickering.

"Starmie! Recover!"

It began to glow, but then it froze. Right after that, a twister struck it, knocking it out.

"Oh no! Starmie, return!"

Chris opened his eyes, and grinned at the panting Anekiro. "Nice job. You up for trying to go on?"

(I'll… need… a… break.)

Chris returned him, then released him on the sidelines. "Ok. Kani? You're up."

Kani jumped onto one of the floating 'land' buoys that were in the pool, and set herself.

"Well, you might have won that one, but you won't win this one! Go, Gyarados!"

A Gyarados burst from the ball, and howled. Kani flinched for a moment, as did Chris.

"Kani, let's stay focused! If you need to dodge, STAY in there, and use a few seconds to power up!"

Kani began to glow softly, apparently doing nothing.


Crystal squinted at the Espeon. It didn't look like an attack… "Gyarados! Use bite!"


The Gyarados charged forward in an attempt to bite Kani, but she disappeared. She didn't reappear instantly.

"If your pokemon left the field, she loses!"

Chris shook his head. "She's still here. She's in the void. That's not out of the field. It's just a prolonged teleport."

Kani reappeared on a different buoy, then fired a psybeam at the Gyarados. It shuddered at the blow. As soon as it recovered, it's mouth began to glow…

(Oh, shit.)

Kani fired a confusion attack, attempting to knock off the Gyarados's aim. She knocked out the Gyarados, but it's attack landed true. (No… Chris! ) She passed out from the damage of the hyper beam.


Chris clamped his mouth shut, trying not to scream. The pain was unbearable. He'd forgotten that Kani was shielding him from receiving too much. Now… more and more voices began to pour into his mind. He flinched…