(A/N: So, I had other plans with this song, but didn't end up going the way I planned, so I'm just putting it in there. The song is "Route 209." Yes, you heard it last story but I think it fits better in this.)
Chapter 7: Abduction
*The next day, the two then headed towards Veilstone City, both feeling as if a giant weight was lifted off of them. "So, how far are we from Veilstone City from here?" Kari asked, holding Matt's hand.
"Well, we just have to pass through Celestic Town, and then we'll hit Veilstone City, so it'll end up taking a day at least," Matt said, his thumb gently grazing the top of her hand.
"Great," Kari said. "So, if you're planning on becoming a Pokemon Master, then how come you haven't done any Gym battles yet?"
"Oh, you're a funny one," Matt said, kissing her on the forehead. "But to answer your question, I have plenty of time to do that. For right now, I just have to train all my Pokemon hard so that no Gym battle is a challenge for us, right Raiden?"
"Raichu," Raiden responded, who was on Matt's shoulder as usual. The fact that Matt and Kari were now officially dating didn't bother him at all. In fact, he was waiting until either of them were finally going to admit it. "Took them long enough," Raiden thought with a smile.
"You know, I heard Celestic Town is supposed to be a major landmark of Sinnoh because of Palkia and Dialga," Kari said. "I also hear that Cynthia's grandmother lives there."
"Cynthia? The Sinnoh Champion?" Matt asked. "I've watched her before. She's a real tough Pokemon trainer, haven't been beaten in months, maybe years. But I also hear she's big into ancient mythology and stuff. Particularly Palkia and Dialga."
"Yeah, I've heard that," Kari said. She then smiled. "I'm sure you're real tempted to battle her, aren't you?"
"Oh no," Matt said, smiling while wagging a finger. "Even someone like me isn't quite ready to take on the Sinnoh Champion."
"Oh really?" Kari asked, now interested. "And what exactly are you?"
"Obviously one who can't be beaten easily," Matt said, deciding to push her buttons slightly.
"I highly doubt that," Kari said.
"Is that a challenge?" Matt asked.
"You bet it is," Kari said. "How about it, a one-on-one battle?"
"Works for me, I could always use the training," Matt said. He then looked to his companion. "How about it, Raiden? You up for it?"
"Rai," Raiden said as he hopped onto the ground, a determined look on his face.
(A/N: YES! It's that time again, my favorite. Anyway... the song I have here is called "Trainer Battle" and obviously I'm referring to D/P/Pt.)
"Alright then, my turn to choose," Kari said. She then threw a Pokeball out, which let out a flash of light, revealing RiRi.
Realizing that he was going to have to fight her, Raiden suddenly had a look of hesitancy and turned to his side. Matt could understand completely the situation he was in. "You are so cruel," Matt said to Kari.
RiRi then looked to Kari who gave her a wink. RiRi, smiling, went up to Raiden and whispered into his ear. All of a sudden, Raiden's ears lifted up and he then turned to her with a wry smile on his face.
"Oh no, what did she tell him?" Matt asked. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
"That's our little secret," Kari said with a wink.
*Fine then," Matt said. "Alright Raiden, let's start off things with Iron Tail."
"RiRi, use Thunder Wave!" Kari said.
RiRi then shot out blue volts of electricity, which hit Raiden directly in the air, catching him by surprise. He then fell back down to the ground and gritted his teeth in pain.
"Did you really think I was going to fall for that?" Kari said, a smirk on her face. "I've seen you battle so many times that I can practically read you like on open book."
Matt smiled and chuckled a little bit. "Maybe so, but you would never expect this. Raiden, let's show them how far we've come with Giga Impact."
"What!?" Kari said, completely surprised. Raiden soon became engulfed in a dark purple sphere with glowing red-orange energy surrounding it. Raiden then charged straight at RiRi, hitting her and knocking her straight back. It was that powerful an attack. But even so, RiRi was still able to get up.
"Clearly I underestimated you Matt," Kari said, impressed. "But you've still forgotten one thing."
"And what's that?" Matt asked.
"Raiden doesn't have what it takes to beat RiRi," Kari said. "RiRi, Sweet Kiss."
Hearts then poured out of RiRi's body and hit Raiden directly. All of a sudden, Raiden had hearts in his eyes and his mouth hanging open. Matt knew he was done for.
"Now use Super Fang!" Kari said. RiRi's fangs then started glowing and she jumped straight into the air and came down, biting Raiden directly, and he hit the ground, knocked out. "Now what was that about being one who can't be beaten easily?" she asked.
RiRi, however, went over to Raiden's side to make sure he was alright. Raiden then woke up, looked at her, and turned away, blushing in embarrassment. It was one thing to lose a battle, but to lose to a girl, well, it's not something to be proud of. RiRi just giggled and helped him to his feet, while he smiled slightly.
"You can recover so quickly, can't you?" Matt said, sighing while picking him up. He then looked to Kari. "So, what was your plan exactly?"
"Well, RiRi went against her offer, but she was going to kiss him if he beat her, but personally," she then whispered into his ear, "I think she likes him as well."
"Really, what gave that away?" Matt said sarcastically.
"Well, she still seems a bit shy though," Kari explained. "So, maybe we should let them have some alone time?"
"I'd love to do that, but it's probably best we get moving," Matt said. "However, we'll just make sure to stay of earshot right?"
"Right," Kari said with a wink. They then continued on their way. However, the two Pokemon lagged slightly behind them.
Raiden, for the most part, was rather uncomfortable. Growing up with other Pokemon who all happened to be male didn't quite help him in this situation. In other words, he wasn't used to talking to girls. "So..." he said.
"So..." RiRi answered back. "Tell me, was I really able to knock you out that easily or did you lose on purpose?"
"I uh, of course I didn't," Raiden said.
"You did, I know it!" RiRi said. She then smiled. "That's rather sweet of you, even though I feel like I should be offended."
"No, no need to be offended," Raiden mumbled, causing RiRi to laugh.
"Listen though, in all honesty," she said, a frown now on her face. "I like you, you're sweet and all, but I'm just not sure if I'm ready for a relationship and all that. Maybe, once we get to know each other a little bit better, then maybe we could see what happens. I'm sorry Raiden."
"Oh no, it's fine," Raiden said quickly. But his heart thought differently. "I can understand completely, and I hope I wasn't coming on too strong."
"No, of course not," RiRi said quickly as well. "Let's just stay friends for right now." They then continued on in silence.
As the day progressed on, Matt and Kari both found out that Celestic Town proved to be farther than either of them had thought. It was starting to get dark, and they then decided to set up camp for the night. "First time in awhile since I've camped outdoors," Kari said in her sleeping bag.
"This is nothing new for us," Matt said. "Especially when I was younger, I always liked to sleep outdoors in the summer. Just me and my Pokemon."
"I guess that's why you bond so well with them," Kari said.
"They're practically family to me," Matt said. "They'd protect me no matter what happens and I would do the same. But then again, thats how it is with all trainers and their Pokemon."
"Never thought of it like that..." Kari said, mostly to herself.
"Well, it's probably best we head off to bed," Matt said. "Hopefully we can get to Celestic Town by morning."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Kari said as she shifted over to her side and closed her eyes.
"Love you Kari," Matt then said.
Kari smiled. "Love you too." She soon fell asleep. However, it wouldn't be long before she found herself awake once again. "I swear, if I happen to have insomnia, this is not going to be good. At all," she thought as she got up from her sleeping bag. She then decided that perhaps walking around a little bit would tire her once again.
She wasn't the biggest fan of walking alone in the dark, but all was quiet. There was one major thing on her mind. She hadn't been traveling with Matt for real long, but all of a sudden, she felt the passion to continue what she had previously discarded in her life. She knew the Academy wouldn't be too happy with her sudden change of plans, but it was her life and she had the choice to do whatever.
She then heard something nearby and stopped. Before she could do anything else, she felt something grab her and felt a cloth against her mouth. All of a sudden, before realizing it was chloroform or even able to shout out a word, she quickly blacked out into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Kari had left all her Pokeballs next to her sleeping bag. Suddenly, one of them started shaking and it then opened up, revealing a familiar electric-type. RiRi looked around and saw that her master was not in her sleeping bag and suddenly felt concerned. She then picked up her scent and followed it.
One of Raiden's ears perked up and he opened his eyes. He got a glance of RiRi disappearing into the nearby woods. Confused, he got up and quickly but quietly followed her.
Once RiRi got into the forest, she stopped. She suddenly heard voices. "I don't see why we had to park so deep inside the woods," a man grumbled.
"We didn't have a choice," another man said. "We had our orders. Now, let's get her back to base. She's got a lot to answer."
Her eyes adjusting, RiRi could then see that the two men were similar to the men they had encountered before. She then saw her master, who was being dragged by her shoulders by these same men, and quickly became infuriated. She then leaped out and sent a electric attack towards the men, making sure not to hit Kari.
"What the?" the one grunt said, turning around. He then saw RiRi. "Oh great, one of her Pokemon has been following us." RiRi then sent out a warning shot, this one nearly hitting the first grunt. "You annoying little rodent!" He then took out a Pokeball. "Golbat, get rid of this nuisance with Air Slash!"
Golbat then formed a ball of wind and sent it straight towards RiRi. All of a sudden, however, a figure jumped out in front of her and took the hit directly, knocking them both back.
"Alright, they're taken care of," the grunt said. "Now let's get her out of here." The two grunts then headed towards the vehicle they had inside the forest and once they got to it, drove off back to headquarters.
RiRi had hit her head against one of the trees and was quickly losing consciousness. She then looked to the figure in front of her and was rather surprised. "Raiden!?" she exclaimed.
Raiden, who had taken the blow directly was hurt pretty badly. However, he smiled and chuckled. "Sorry I couldn't get here a couple of seconds earlier."
"Raiden..." RiRi said compassionately. Normally, she would have tears in her eyes but she felt herself lose consciousness and then passed out next to Raiden, who had passed out as well.
(A/N: Oh no, Kari's been kidnapped! And Raiden's badly injured. Of course, I had to have Raiden play the hero here. It was one of those scenes where the love interest suddenly has interest in him, etc. Anyway, hope this chapter is good. I admit I kind of put it all together at once and was a little rushed, but I think it turned out alright. Till then, au revoir.)
FoxMcCloud7921