PLBBTHFAH! Geez! I absolutely abhor Writer's Block! Yeah, sorry about disappearing again. Blame the Writer's Block Gremlin for deciding to come and stay with me for a while. So, I finally have a new chapter for you guys! Hopefully it's okay (I was trying to write through my Writer's Block since it was taking forever to go away).
Also, don't expect another update soon. I'm afraid that it hasn't left my system completely...I was barely able to overcome it enough to write this, and I'm also working on this Robin Hood-related drawing for a play that my friend's younger brother is going to be in. It's kinda like a coloring book page that will help entertain the small children that come to see the play. If my drawing wins, I'll get two tickets to the play, a cast photo, and my drawing will be used to entertain the kids (obviously XP). Oh, I think I'd better ask: would you guys like me to post it on Deviantart when I'm done so you can see it?
And speaking of drawings, if you haven't already go check out the Hayley and Evoleon drawings on my Deviantart. The link is still on my profile.
One last thing, I have to thank Glace for being such a good friend to me here on Fanfiction. It was her comments that helped me write this chapter and get a general idea of what I should do later in the story. ^_^
So...read, enjoy, the whole shebang! And I'll see you next time! ;)
Chapter 6
Lucario
Evoleon woke up the next morning, slowly returning to her senses from a very deep sleep. She had never slept like that before, completely undisturbed by the outside world. She guessed it made sense, seeing as this bed was extremely comfortable. It took her a while to realize that her dream had been just that – no more than a fantasy. Suddenly remembering where she was, Evoleon opened her eyes.
She was curled up into a ball on the pillow, right next to the indentation that indicated the place where Hayley's head had rested…Wait, where was Hayley?
Evoleon got up and looked around the room. She couldn't see the brunette anywhere, not at the window, not in the top bunk, not even in the bathroom, which was wide open. Evoleon was starting to worry. Had something happened? Did Hayley run into some sort of trouble?
Just as Evoleon's mind wandered to the worst-case scenario, the teen turned the doorknob and walked in, toting a shopping bag in her hand.
"Oh, I see you're finally awake," Hayley said as her eyes found the furry little Pokemon sitting on her pillow.
"Yeah…" Evoleon stretched, finally able to relax now that her paranoia had been proved unnecessary. "How long was I asleep?"
"Quite a while. It's already late morning," Hayley replied, pointing out the window at the sun.
"Oh."
"You must be pretty hungry," Hayley said as she grabbed her travel bag. "Come on. We'll eat breakfast outside since it's such a nice day. I know the perfect spot."
Evoleon leapt off the bed and followed at Hayley's heels as she left the room and locked the door behind them. They went up to the front desk and returned the room key to Nurse Joy since they weren't coming back. Hayley led them out of the town and onto Route 2, where many Pidgey sat pecking at the ground, rummaging for morsels. Instead of flying away like small birds did whenever a human approached, they hopped toward her.
"Hey guys," Hayley laughed, pulling a paper bag full of bird seed out of her shopping bag. She grabbed a handful of the seed and scattered it across the ground, making the birds go into a flurry, eating the graciously given food with enthusiasm, wings flapping wildly. Evoleon gave Hayley a curious look.
"I once protected these Pidgey from an enraged Pikachu," she explained. "Most people would say that Pokemon don't have the brain capacity to remember such a thing. Well, they'd be mistaken."
They continued walking until they reached Viridian Forest. Evoleon, thinking that they would be going in, started walking toward the gate.
"Where are you going?" Hayley asked, smiling. "We're not going there just yet. We're going over here." Hayley led Evoleon down a path that was lined with trees just to the left of the gate. The trees hung low over their heads, sunlight cascading through the leaves. Hayley took an unexpected turn, heading off the path and going straight into the dense trees. Evoleon followed, wondering why the place they were going to was off the trail. After a few more minutes of walking, they passed the final tree and found themselves in a wide-open area on top of a cliff that overlooked the neighboring mountains. It was secluded, quiet, and peaceful.
"How do you know about this place?" Evoleon asked as Hayley set her bag down on a boulder.
"I've been traveling for quite a while now. As I was heading toward Viridian Forest for the first time, I noticed the path and decided to follow it. It took me a few hours of wandering around randomly to find this place. If we went all the way to the very end of the path, it would just lead us to a wall of rocks." Hayley looked back toward the trees from which they had just emerged. "Not many people know about this because they either choose to ignore the path completely or just follow it to the end. That's one of the things that I like about this place: it's somewhere I can always go when I want to be by myself." Hayley went quiet for a while, staring out over the landscape. "Today, though, it's a place where we can all spend some quality time together."
"All?"
Hayley smiled and reached toward her belt, throwing her other five Poke Balls into the air. They popped open simultaneously and released the Pokemon inside. There were the Gardevoir and Pidgeot that Evoleon had seen before, a Ninetales, a Lucario, and a Swampert.
"Hey guys," Hayley greeted. "I want you to meet the newest member of our team, Evoleon." She gestured to the furry Pokemon at her feet. "Evoleon, these are my other Pokemon. They've been my trusted companions for years."
"Oh, umm…Hi," Evoleon said, unsure of how she was supposed to introduce herself. Hayley's Pokemon responded with their respective, energetic cries, greeting Evoleon to the group.
"Alright guys," Hayley called, pulling some bowls out of her travel bag. "Who's hungry?"
They all gave excited cries and hurried forward.
"Okay, okay!" Hayley laughed. "I'm getting it."
She went around to each Pokemon, giving them their food. Pidgeot got a special blend of various seeds that were supposed to boost feather condition, Evoleon, Ninetales, and Swampert each got a bowl full of Hayley's homemade dry Pokemon food, and Gardevoir and Lucario each got berries. Most of the Pokemon stayed where Hayley had given them their food, but Lucario turned and walked away as soon as she had placed the berry in his hand. He headed to the cliff and sat down, letting his feet dangle over the edge. He didn't eat, he just stared blankly down at the berry he had received. Hayley's other Pokemon paid no mind to Lucario's strange reaction, apparently it was normal behavior from him, but Gardevoir hadn't touched her berry either. She was too busy looking at Lucario forlornly over her shoulder. After a few minutes, Gardevoir joined Lucario at the cliff's edge, dangling her feet as well.
"Hayley, what's wrong with Lucario?" Evoleon asked.
"Oh, um," Hayley started, suddenly emitting an aura of sadness. She let out a sigh before continuing. "Nothing, really. It's just…he hasn't had the most pleasant past ever."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's kind of a long story." When she saw the genuine look on Evoleon's furry face, she began relaying Lucario's tale. "He used to be someone else's Pokemon back when he was just a Riolu. That kid was Kyle. He wasn't Riolu's Trainer or anything, but the two were best friends. They did everything together.
"And then Kyle had to move to the Almia region. He had to leave Riolu behind. The problem was, Kyle was a very sensitive kid. He would cry over everything, and Riolu worried about him. He wanted to be there for Kyle until he grew up, so he set out for Almia. When he finally arrived at his destination, Riolu jumped on top of the Ranger School that was nearby and started shooting out Aura Spheres to alert Kyle of his presence.
"Now what you have to understand is that it's very rare for a Riolu to know Aura Sphere. Usually they can't learn it until they evolve into a Lucario, so he was attracting a lot of attention, including that of a criminal organization known as Team Dim Sun. They were a group that controlled Pokemon through these weird machines. When they heard of the Riolu that could use Aura Sphere, they headed out immediately, intending to use it to resurrect Team Dim Sun, since the Rangers had previously defeated their boss.
"Kyle went with a Top Ranger to go meet his friend, but they didn't know that Team Dim Sun had their eyes on Riolu. They snatched Riolu away before Kyle could say much more than the Pokemon's name. Through mind control, they made Riolu shoot an Aura Sphere at Kyle and the Ranger while they made their getaway. Kyle was knocked unconscious, and Riolu contacted him through something called the 'Heart's Voice.' He told Kyle where Team Dim Sun had taken him, so Kyle and the Top Ranger went and rescued him. Riolu was resisting the mind control as much as he could, but he was only able to break it with the help of the Top Ranger's expertise and Kyle's Heart's Voice. Team Dim Sun was disbanded once again, and the Top Ranger escorted Kyle and Riolu to the Ranger Union. In the end, everyone decided that it would be best if Riolu went with a Pokemon Trainer, since Kyle no longer needed him to worry. He had shown unbelievable bravery by rescuing Riolu from an enemy organization. They needed someone they could trust to protect Riolu from any other bad people who would try to abuse his power.
"During my time in Almia, I saw the notice and thought that I'd check it out. After they asked me a few questions, the Union determined that I would be the perfect person to care for Riolu…Kyle and Riolu wouldn't be separated, really, because they could use their Heart's Voices to contact each other, and for the first few months, everything was fine. Riolu was really happy, but after he evolved, I think he somehow lost part of his control over his Heart's Voice. He was having a harder time trying to connect with Kyle, and as we went overseas to another region, it became even fainter.
"I think that it's not so much that he's losing the connection that bothers him so much as it is that he's worrying about Kyle again. If they lose the connection permanently, Lucario won't be able to reassure Kyle, grant him confidence from a distance.
"I once offered to take him back so he could go live with Kyle again, but he refused. You see, Lucario is actually a very proud Pokemon as well as an emotional one. In his mind, if he leaves me to go back to Kyle, he'll be giving up on me. He's worried what Kyle would think of him. Ever since his Heart's Voice started to fade, he's become more taciturn and has started to isolate himself from others…"
There was a silence in which both Hayley and Evoleon contemplated what had just been said. Evoleon had to admit that Lucario's story sounded even more morose than hers. She couldn't remember her past and therefore hadn't seen it slip away, but he could remember his past and could do nothing but watch as it slowly faded into oblivion.
"How do you know so much, Hayley? Are you an old friend of Kyle's?"
"Unfortunately, no. I've only ever seen him once, when he trusted his dear friend to me. That was when he explained this whole story to me, and I promised him that I would never let anyone lay a hand on Riolu."
"Why was Gardevoir the only one who seemed to care?"
"Oh no, don't misunderstand us. All of us care very much. His story just touched her most of all. The rest of us give him space because that's what he likes nowadays. Gardevoir is the only one out of all of us who can actually make him talk and cheer up. She somehow got him to open up to her and has been comforting him ever since he started distancing himself from us."
As if to prove Hayley's point, Gardevoir chose that moment to give Lucario a light hug. Evoleon was surprised to hear a small giggle escape from Hayley's lips.
"Gardevoir is said to be the Embrace Pokemon. Though, I never really knew how literal it was until she became one of Lucario's closest friends."
And that was all it took to make Evoleon smile too.
There was a rustle from the trees behind and everyone turned their heads to see what it was. From between the tree trunks emerged a young Trainer, leaves in his hair.
"Hi," Hayley grinned. "I didn't expect anyone to be coming here today. Would you like us to leave so you can be here alone?"
"Oh, um, no," the boy said, looking surprised. "Actually I never knew about this place until now…I-I kinda followed you here, but I got lost and have been wandering around for a while now."
"Oh, really? What would make you follow me like that?"
"Well, um, I saw you in the Pokemon Center earlier and I thought I heard that Pokemon talk," he said, his voice growing stronger as he pointed at Evoleon. "I haven't ever seen a Pokemon like that. What is it?"
"This is Evoleon. She just recently joined my crew."
"Uh, hi," Evoleon said, startling the boy despite the fact that he claimed that he'd already heard her talking.
"So, I wasn't just hearing things." The boy suddenly stood up straighter. "I have just started my journey and want to challenge your Evoleon to a one-on-one battle."
Both Hayley and Evoleon were surprised at the boy's sudden declaration, but Hayley, being the experienced Trainer she was, recovered quickly.
"Uh, sure," the teen replied. "It's okay with me. Are you up for a battle Evoleon?"
"I guess," Evoleon answered, nervousness starting to creep into her body. This would be her first battle. How would she do?