Hopefully this chapter will be out soon. Normally, chapters aren't out this soon but I wanted to put this one out as soon as possible as compensation for the lack of updates last week. This'll take a little longer to write because it's a non-battle chapter, but I'll try to make it as quickly as I can.
Also, thanks for the 6,000+ views and remember to please leave a review, as it is the only thing that motivates me to update frequently.
Speaking of reviews, I was going to respond to STrainer's review just like I did with VoreMistress and HiddenLore, but I couldn't because he reviewed without an account. So, if you're reading this, here's my response:
The reason why the battles are so mechanical are because of two things: 1. It's more realistic and similar to the games. I really didn't want to have an anime-style battle with rules that defy pokemon logic (Quick Attack not going first, dodging, etc.) so I stuck with how the games portray the battles. 2. It would take ages to write the battle and add some life into it. Because I'm doing it as realistic as possible, I have to make both teams, all the moves, all the abilities, all the items, and other stuff, I have to see the damage each move does to each pokemon, and then I have to build a battle around those two teams. I have to think from both sides of the battle (What would Serena do, what would x do) and I have to make it so that one of them wins. I can't just thrust pokemon against each other and it'll make a battle. So if I do the battle and then add life into it, it will take ages to finish the chapter. Actually, if someone wrote a battle between one of the Legends (beside Calem and Serena) and PMed me that battle, I would probably give that person permission to write the next battle chapter, as it would help me out a lot.
You say that the trainers are stuck in a boring island where nothing happens? Have you read all of the non-battle chapters? Are you telling me that the Red vs Gold fight was boring and Nate is not funny? Either way, I acknowledge the fact that the chapters are kinda boring, but that's because I'm caught up with the battles. I said before that I didn't really want to do the female tournament because it would take away from what I wanted to do in the first place: make a fanfic about all the protagonists in one place. I assure you that after the female tournament and the Krystal Arc is over, things will get a lot more interesting. I have guests, trips to certain regions, events, and other stuff planned for the future. But now, I have to go through the tournament and finish the Krystal fiasco. (Also, I saw it as a floating island with a portal entrance. I guess I forgot to mention that.)
Thanks for the Diamond/Dawn info. Maybe I'll update the chapter when I have the time.
Thanks for reviewing as always, every single review helps me out tremendously, even if it is an opinion or thought that could be negative. Remember, any type of review counts. Flame my story if you want. As long as it's for a good reason, I don't mind.
Anyways, here's chapter 21.
(And if you don't understand the title, google it.)
One last thing: This is the first time I write romance, so it would be wonderful if you could give me some feedback on that.
Chapter 21: Steamy Proustite
Red woke up earlier than everyone else, as usual, and lazily looked over at Leaf, who was snoring happily in her sleep. He managed a weak smile and got off bed. While he was picking up his shirt and jacket, he was surprised to hear whispers outside of the door. When he listened closely, he noticed that the whispers belonged to two different voices. One was high-pitched and joyful, and the other was low and nonchalant. Slightly confused, he frowned and quickly put on his clothes to get to the door.
"What do you think his reaction will be?" Red assumed that the joyful voice was a woman, based on how she spoke.
"He'll probably be confused. I just hope he remembers that I spent years training and I left Rocket." The other voice was presumably a man.
At the word Rocket, Red's eyes widened and quickly opened the door. In front of him, Lyra let out a short yelp and a red-haired trainer put a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh. I thought it smelled of burned metal. What are you doing here, Silver?" The former Pokémon thief let out a small smile.
"I was talking to Lyra yesterday and I just thought I would drop by. What's new, Crimson?" Red wasn't happy.
"I'm guessing you know about Kris." At her name, Sliver showed a flash of anger.
"Since when were you close enough to call her that? And yes, she told me."
Red shook his head. "I know I'm close enough because when we know she's alive, we actually care for her, unlike you. You never even spoke to us yesterday. Krystal was right there, and she didn't know anything about what happened to you. However, you ignored that fact and continued to have a light-hearted chat with Lyra. You were her Rival, but we were her family. Now let me ask you again: What are you doing here?"
Silver didn't say a word.
"What's going o-" Leaf (who had just woken up) froze at the sight of Silver.
"Silver." She nodded. "I'm guessing you're here to visit Kris?"
"I'm just dropping by." Red saw through his words but didn't say anything.
"Well you came early." Leaf frowned and darted her eyes at Lyra.
Silver shrugged. "I didn't want to miss a second."
"How long are you staying here?"
Again, Silver shrugged and looked over at Lyra. "As long as you want. I just wanted at least a day to visit you all."
"Of course." Red sighed. "The others should wake up in about ten minutes, so we should get going with breakfast."
Red and Leaf hurried to the kitchen while Lyra and Silver sat down on the table.
"YES! NEW RECORD!" Nate arrived at the kitchen with Diamond's hat in his hand. "Who's the Zora guy?" He noticed Silver when he sat down.
"Silver, our old rival." Lyra presented him.
"Lyra? Why did y-" It was at that moment that Gold appeared in the kitchen, eyes wide at the sight of Silver.
"Silver? What are you doing here? Wait. Were you the person Lyra was talking to yesterday?" He narrowed his eyes at him.
"Yep."
"Well that explains it." He muttered as he sat down. "How long are you staying?"
"At least a day." Silver looked around the kitchen and the living room.
"The place hasn't changed much."
"And apparently you haven't either." Gold responded. "Do you still believe in all that 'If I lose it's because my Pokémon are weak' bullshit?"
"You know I don't. However, I still believe you're stupid if you think that heart is all you need to win."
"I see you haven't learned."
"Both of you are wrong." Red suddenly spoke.
"Sure, you may know everything about a Pokémon and it's moves, but if you don't care for it, it won't do anything for you." Gold smirked at Silver, who rolled his eyes. "At the same time though, you can't just thrust your Pokémon into battle thinking it'll win just because you love it. You need both the skill and the will." Gold and Silver nodded.
"You know, I should go wake Kris up." Gold pointed upwards before going up the stairs.
(Gold's P.O.V)
I leapt over every other step as I ascended to the second floor of the House. Only when I made it up did I realize that I didn't know which room was Krystal's. I remembered something about Kris being on the same wing as the Kalos Legends, so I listened closely to see if I could figure out which room belonged to the Kalos pair. I put my ear to the wall on my left. Nothing. When I laid my ears on the left wall, however, I could hear faint voices. Their words were mostly inaudible, but I managed to catch some words.
"Calem...mmmmmmngh...I lo...forev...good...last night..."
"You...like...get...now...Serena...always..."
"Wait a minute." I whispered to myself. "I probably shouldn't be spying on them." I sneaked past their room and I could feel my cheeks get warm.
I assumed Krystal's room was right next to the Kalos pair, so I knocked gently on the door.
"Coming..." The door opened to reveal a girl with messy, dark blue hair that barely had orange pajama pants and a red bra that was a tiny bit too loose. Krystal just woke up.
"Oh. It's you. Come on in." Before I could say anything, she pulled me into her room.
"Did you just wake up? You don't even have a shirt on." At that comment, Krystal sleepily looked down at herself and shrugged.
"I guess you're right. But I'm always like this if you come to wake me up too early. Get over here." Krystal beckoned me to sit down next to her on the bed, and I complied.
"Maybe waking you up this early was a bad idea." She was struggling to stay awake and her normally trended hair was messy, all over the place.
"Yep." She laid down and put her blanket up to her shoulder. "Yes it was. Now you have to pay the price." Without a warning, she pulled me towards her so I would be laying down next to her, also cuddled under the blanket. I neither accepted nor refused.
"Isn't it nice? Just laying here as long as you can, enjoying your sleep and the warm, warm, bed." She sighed and pulled me closer. "It feels like heaven."
At this point, we could feel each other's breath and I was starting to get a little nervous. I couldn't move, so the only thing I could see was her face.
"Um..." I muttered nervously. "I came here because there's a surprise downstairs and I wanted you to see it. I'm not sure that's what I'm accomplishing here." I chuckled, still trembling.
"Of course it's not. But it's your punishment for interrupting my moments in heaven." She showed her warm smile. "Now I see why you chose the Fire-type. I love the heat." She snuggled her blanket and got dangerously close.
"You know," Now I was sure she was just babbling on without thinking. "I missed you so much. It feels great to finally be able to talk to and touch another human being after that much time." To my surprise, she actually opened her dark blue eyes, took my hat away, and put her hand on my face.
"Can I..." I couldn't speak. My blood was pumping, my face was on fire, my breathing was ragged, my thoughts were going wild, and the only thing I could focus on were her soft lips.
(back to third person downstairs)
"So you're doing the female tournament right now?" Silver took a sip of his coffee while balancing on his chair. All the other Legends had already woken up and were now enjoying Leaf's pancakes at the table.
"Yeah," Lyra sighed in response. "Next match is Serena vs Dawn, not that I would care."
Silver fixated on Lyra. "Being the only Legend that doesn't like to battle must be rough. How do you deal with it?"
Lyra shyly shrugged. "Honestly, I really don't. I always feel like the odd one out, and sometimes I ask myself why I'm even her in the first place."
"We understand." Red told her in behalf of the House. "The problem is we just can't help it. We're the best in the world for a reason. Because we have both the skill to know the battle, and the heart carry it out. However, if you're not obsessed with battles, it's understandable that you feel left out. What you're going to do about it is entirely up to you."
This made Lyra look between Red and Silver, thinking on what she should do.
"I just realized something." Calem frowned, catching everyone's attention. "How come both Serena and me woke up, got ready, got down, and finished our breakfast, but Gold is nowhere to be seen?"
"You're right." Nate frowned. "He said he went up to get Krystal, but he never came back. Sounds like a case for Detective Nate!" He posed, trying to cover his face with his tennis cap.
"Oh please. Since when are you a detective?" Rosa scoffed and Nate shrugged, smiling.
"Wait." Serena froze, wide-eyed. "If he was awake first, and he went upstairs..." She shared a worried look with Calem.
"What?" The others were confused and curious at their looks.
They shook their heads violently, denying they had said anything.
"Should we go get them?" Black proposed.
"Later." Red muttered. "Krystal's probably enjoying her sleep as always."
"And Gold?"
For the first time, Calem and Serena watched Red shrug.
"Waiting for her? Maybe-" He stopped himself, realizing what may have happened.
"He probably got lost or stuck in a room somehow." Silver chuckled. "He always had a knack for getting himself in ridiculous situations."
(Back with Gold)
That was intense. My hat is on the ground, but I don't care. I just had the best make out ever, making my first kiss with Lyra feel like a mild hug. All we did was kiss passionately for a while and then she decided to lay on me, smiling. My left arm is asleep under Kris, but I don't dare move it. She looks so peaceful...
Stop! What about Lyra? Did I just cheat on her? Oh god, I just cheated on someone. Well, Krystal didn't know we were a couple, so it's not her fault. What would their reactions be? Kris would give me the scolding of a lifetime. Lyra would be as colder than a Glaceon with never-melt-ice, like the day I snuck out of the room to stay with Kris while she was sick. What should I do? Should I tell Kris? Should I tell Lyra? What do I say? Gah!
How did I get in this situation? This is ridiculous!
Wow! What a chapter. I hope that gives you an idea of what the House should be without the pokemon battles. The only thing present here that is probably not going to be later on is the drama. I just have to find a way deal with the Kris-Gold-Lyra triangle.
Anyways, I told you I would post the next chapter much faster! Take it as an apology for the lack of updates the week before instead of a standard chapter, because I will not update this fast and not all chapters will be over 2,000 words long.
Remember that any review is immensely appreciated! Reviews are the only thing that keep me writing, even if they are negative ones. I need your feedback for inspiration and for making the story better.
(Also, if you got the Detective Nate reference, I give you a digital thumbs up!)