'Play' Date

Hanging around in Eterna Forest was fun. Roark and Gardenia were having the time of their lives, studying rocks and chasing beautifly respectively. Life was such a breeze and walking together was even more fun where they just played about and had fun with their Pokémon.

Of course, Oreburgh City too was great fun. Roark had an amazing time showing his new 'best friend' around the mines- gosh he'd never stop talking like ever! It was actually rather interesting, compared to what Gardenia was thinking, this was actually fun! When he showed her the deeper parts of thee mine, she was petrified, but he let her go in anyway.

"Okay, the trick is to go down really carefully down these hard rocks and not to once lose sight of your steeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Roark was so close to falling down- he could die down that ravine! Gardenia gasped and quickly grasped his hand, saving him. They were both breathing heavily for a few seconds, out of shock and relief. He looked at her pathetically which made her smile slowly. "Oh, Roarky! Do you have no sense of carefulness?" she joked. Roark was still sweating in panic, but warmed up when Gardenia pulled him up. "Thank you!" he said gratefully to the young lady who was rather stunned. "Maybe not the mine... how about somewhere else? He suggested. Gardenia still as persistent as ever, declined. He agreed and showed her the whole place and even how to dig out a few spheres.

"Now you try it!" said he after showing the live demonstration. "Okay...I will try!" Gardenia then took a deep breath and lifted the huge thing with all her might. It made her shake and wobble a bit, almost toppling her over. "Look, if you can't, it's okay!" he assured. Gardenia, not the weak spirit, started to hit at it and in 20 minutes, hit onto something hard and to her delight- it was a green sphere! She was amazed- was this the stuff Roark looked for everyday? "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Roark smiled- "Keep it. It would look really pretty on you as a necklace." Gardenia blushed at the compliment- but why? Then they went out and got walking again. "Hungry yet?" Roark asked her. "Nah. Let's go to Eterna Forest!" she suggested. They agreed and got there where they were just fooling around and playing with each other's Pokémon until they were bushed.

While they were relaxing, Cranidos and Roselia were trying to get to know each other better. Man, were they carbon copies of their trainers! Cranidos was playing with her, but when Roselia started to get flirty, he quickly dismissed it with a resounding roar which could've clearly woken up the whole forest! "Cranidos! Stop yelling!" Roark scolded which made the rock dinosaur hang its head in shame. Then he turned to Gardenia. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked tenderly. "Err, yeah! Yes I am!" she answered gingerly. Roark sighed in relief. "Say, how about a battle? Our Pokémon are clearly interested in each other1" Gardenia suggested. Roark smiled "Maybe, okay. Now?" he asked her. She got up and posed. "Oh yeah, you're on! Come on Roselia!"

But just as she got up, she shuddered. Roark looked at her in intrigue. "Hey, what happened?" he asked her. Gardenia didn't speak. "Hey, I thought you hate bugs! But wait... I do! There aren't any bugs in here? They carry diseases!" he exclaimed frightened while Cranidos clung to him. Gardenia emotionlessly spoke "Nah, none. Besides; what's the big deal about them? You have Cranidos and he's a rock type!" while rolling her eyes. Embarrassed, Roark just slipped away and then said "Okay, let's battle!" Gardenia was then about to call out on Roselia when she heard that eerie sound again; it certainly wasn't pretty. "Hey, what happened? You're so... lost!" Roark stated. Gardenia was shivering now; this was too much for her to bear. "Are you going to say something or not!?" Roark interjected irritably. Gardenia heard that creepy effect yet again; this was it- the one thing she always dreaded for life.

Finally, not able to keep herself in check anymore, she ran to Roark and hugged him passionately. Roark was taken aback- what was with her? "Gardenia... what happened?" he asked. "I...I just can't take it anymore! There are tons of ghost Pokémon around here and they freak me out! They are the one thing I'm petrified of for life! I can't even explore the Old Chateau because of that- I hate them, I'm just so frightened- Roark, please help me!" she wailed clinging to him like a limpet.

"What the heck? Gardenia!" he was going to complain when she hugged him tighter and screamed "Roark, save me!" Now almost jumping into his arms, which freaked him out. He gulped- he never even got to see a ghost Pokémon before. Roselia herself was scared, clinging to Cranidos from behind and clasping his chest making him blush in embarrassment. Figuring there was no choice, Roark reluctantly agreed. Bending to Roselia, he told her tenderly "Come on! I'll save your mistress! But you'll have to help me." He then beckoned Cranidos to his side and saw the dreaded Pokémon- it wasn't a usual at all, like he even knew?

This was no Gastly, this was a Misdreavus and a rather scary one. Roark shuddered- he believed ghosts to be that of myths! Gardenia was still petrified and clinging to him. He then mustered his courage and called Cranidos forward, more so because he couldn't escape!

Misdreavus was eyeing Cranidos rather strangely, as if it were... food! Roark had it; Cranidos was no Pokémon mush! He then ordered Cranidos to leer at it, but Misdreavus was smarter. He quickly used astonish and confuse ray in spilt seconds, which sadly hit on him. Roark face palmed- this was getting nowhere!

Misdreavus then went high in the air and tried using Psywave, but Cranidos dodged it and raced to protect Roselia who was shocked to the core. Roark smiled- his boy was in love! Then he quickly ordered "Okay, Cranidos- use leer twice in a row!" which Cranidos executed perfectly, almost intimidating the ghost. Then Roark yelled "Okay, Pursuit!" which sadly enough missed. Misdreavus then went ahead and used Confuse Ray again which really made him dizzy. Roark face palmed- what was he to do now? Cranidos started walking around like a drunkard and he could do nothing about it. Worse, Misdreavus also used Spite onto Pursuit, which was the worst predicament ever!

Now Cranidos was totally vulnerable to attack, self and enemy. With that successful, Misdreavus then used astonish, which would've made him flinch anyway and them Mean Look. Roark almost died- he was so screwed!

Suddenly, an idea got to his head. Looking at his Cranidos, he quickly went and snapped his fingers, making him sane again. Mentally victory dancing, Roark then had a surge of confidence. "Right, Cranidos, use leer and then finish off with pursuit!" he yelled. This was pretty much it, for now the ghost's defence was so low, he would've died anyway.

Gardenia, still shocked suddenly felt something on her back. She turned round in horror and saw the Misdreavus attempting to attack her. In shock, she fainted. Roark was mortified seeing this- that Pokémon pu8shed the line too far!

"Alright, Cranidos! Do it. And a repeated attack of Pursuit will help!" he exclaimed following which Cranidos used the dark attack on the Misdreavus, making it flinch and really frightened. Roark smiled- this would work. Seeing the Pokémon still intact, though; he had a better plan. "Okay, Cranidos, more Pursuit! And Roselia, dear- use Magical Leaf along with it!" he yelled. Roselia just had to agree and then the two combined attacks finished off the Misdreavus, making it flee in horror. Roark high fived Cranidos and hugged him- he really deserved it.

"There you go! That's my boy! Keep doing this and one day we'll be the strongest gym leaders in the whole world!" he exclaimed hugging Cranidos who loved this. Then he saw Roselia and patted her head "Thanks for the help, dear. You saved your mistress!" he said while Roselia blushed and then inched towards Cranidos while Roark was okay with that and then tried to revive Gardenia. Now, everything failed and there was no water. What was he to do now? He remembered an old tactic and as much as he hated it; someone had to do it.

He leaned himself and pursed his lips together. He then, embarrassed, brought Gardenia's closer to his- it worked once. Then the minute they were close, she woke up and Roark quickly got her back. "Uhh... what happened? Did the ghost go?" she mumbled. Roark smiled and nodded. "Sure it did, dear." Said he. Gardenia then saw his eyes and almost melted into them. Then tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Roark... THANK YOU!" she exclaimed and hugged him which made him feel weird. He'd never been hugged by her ever, least of all at this time. All the same, he let her- she was pretty warm, after all.

Suddenly, she froze and moved away. Roark was amazed- what was going on? Then he heard an ear-splitting scream which made him shudder and shout out- "What was that?! Gardenia! Are you okay?!" only to see her smiling innocently and then wickedly saying "Ha ha! So got you, didn't I?" Roark smiled. "You are SO gonna pay for that!" he said and then chased her round the forest for fun while Cranidos and Roselia did the same. He chased her round and round and Gardenia was beating him thoroughly until he had an idea. He then lifted her by the waist and carried her on his back. "Roark! Stop it! Help!" she wailed. Roark smiled pleasantly to himself- being evil ruled! "Oh, come on, now?" he teased. Then when he felt tired of carrying her, he dropped her down and then paused for a breather. Then he felt something tug at his hair and he groaned. "Ow! Stop yanking it" as Gardenia kept pulling his hair and playing with him, so much so she almost toppled into his arms. She did and then stroked his hair, making him feel odd. The she said seductively "Take you hat off." Roark was stunned. "What?" Gardenia laughed. "I've never got to see your full head! Have you got a bald spot or something?" Mockingly furious, he noogied Gardenia. "Ouch, Roark! Have you no compassion for a woman?" she groaned. He laughed. "If it's not you, I do." Gardenia then tackled back and noogied him again, which really hurt- she had strong hands and even stronger fists. Roark was pretty tired, but then it turned playful and she fell into his arms yet again, this time Roark almost leaned back.

Then, Gardenia felt something onto her hand. Something supple, sweaty and yet so tantalising. She turned scarlet when she saw what it was- Roark's chest. His shirt had ripped a bit and she was just touching it! "Gaaah!" he quickly pulled her hands away, albeit she loved the feel- it was so beautiful!

"Err, Gardy? Can you get off me? It's choking!" he said weakly. Gardenia then got out of his arms and helped him up and then stared at the stars, something she loved doing with Roark. "Hey, Roark? When we'll become gym leaders, will we still be this close?" she asked while lying down. He turned to her and said "Sure, why not? It'll be great!"Gardenia then turned wistful "You know, we'll become so preoccupied with everything... will we still have time for each other?" This shocked Roark greatly. It never occurred to him. Then he playfully caressed her face and said "Sure we will. If you don't, I will!" this touched and flattered Gardenia greatly- was he really the right guy for him? After all, he was really hot and so was his touch. "Besides, you're fun to be with!" he confessed smiling. This made Gardenia flush with embarrassment; what was happening to her?

Then it occurred to her while talking to him. She just might, possibly might be having not just a crush, but a greater, deeper affection for him...