A note: I've recently gone back and watched all the old Pokémon episodes and am somewhere in season 5. I've read up on the ending of Master Quest so I could get info on Gary, but I didn't want to be spoiled too much ...
Original (older) Gang + Gary are in this story... (they're around 15/16, but traveling in Johto)
This is based on the show, not the manga/games since, for me, the show's easier to follow in a story...
Bear with me on the age change, guys! :)
There will be some Pokeshipping later on, just to warn you guys. :)
Disclaimer: Do you really think I own Pokémon? If I did, Misty would still be on the show, she and Ash would be together, and I would freakin' own Ash Ketchum!
But I don't, they're not, and only in my dreams. XD
All rights go to Nintendo and Game Freak.
"Ember, let's go!" came the whispered command from the highest branches of the tree.
The Pokémon leapt from the opposite tree, landing as softly as its trainer on the grass. The strange blue stars on the grey fur of its body glowed softly through the darkness, matching the mark on the girl's left cheek.
The girl knelt next to her trusted Mightyena. The moonlight bounced off her pale skin, making her appear to be glowing dimly. Her features were elfin, with a mysterious, almost wild look to them. She brushed her messy black hair out of her eyes and spoke in a low voice that barely carried over the rustle of the leaves. "You know where we're heading, but we have to be careful. I've heard rumors of thieves in this next town."
The Mightyena growled softly.
"Yes, we are. But we don't hurt others. They do. So we've got to be careful."
Mightyena let out a bark.
The girl smiled. "Then let's go!" At the last word she sprang up and sprinted between the trees, the wolf Pokémon following close behind.
'This is where I really belong,' the girl thought as the wind whipped her choppy black hair around. 'Out in the forest, especially at night, with Ember…My old life didn't suit me. Still…sometimes I wish things could have turned out differently.'
A small whimper brought her attention to her companion, who brushed its tail against her heels in comfort, never slowing its pace.
The girl smiled. 'You've always known what's up with me, dear friend. You may not be a Psychic-type, but we share something very special, don't we? One mind, two beings…'
Ember didn't answer, but the markings on her trainer glowed brighter than before.
It wasn't long before the half-moon began to pale—morning was probably only a few hours away. The girl and her Pokémon neared the town. Silently, with only a sideways glance for communication, the two climbed up to the rooftops. If anyone had looked up, they would have only seen two shadows, one taller than the other but just as graceful.
She landed in a crouch, Ember landing silently next to her. "Ember, go!"
The Pokémon glowed deep purple and melded into a mist-like substance, which faded into the walls of the grocery store. The girl smiled. Yes, her spirit sister was one of a kind.
She waited for three tense minutes. Jolting up from her crouch, she spun around to face the forest at the exact moment the Mightyena emerged from the store with a bag full of spoils clutched in its mouth. "They're on the alert," she hissed. "Let's go this way!" She darted around the corner and into the trees, Ember following at her heels.
"Stop! Thief!" The girl's lips twisted in cynical smile as the familiar cry rang out behind her. She continued to run, thankful for the millionth time for her jeans, sneakers, and dark shirt that allowed her to run free and disguised in the night. 'Nice try. I have to be good at this though. Considering the alternative…' She shivered and continued running.
"Stop!" This time, the call came from ahead, just in front of her. She drew up short and watched with narrowed eyes as a boy about her age emerged from the forest with an Umbreon. "Put it back."
"Put what back?" she asked, feigning innocence. She couldn't run, so she had to find a way to keep this boy talking long enough to slip away.
He only raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his black shirt. "You know, all the commotion you've stirred up interrupted my research."
"You were doing research at this time of night?"
"Early morning, actually," he corrected, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "And yeah. Field research. It's my job. Besides, Umbreon here wanted to go for an early run—and so did I. So…" He tilted his head, a lopsided smile on his face. "Why don't you just hand over the stolen stuff and I can give you some free food?"
"I don't take handouts," she snapped, narrowing her leaf-green eyes again.
"So you'd rather steal and be on the run than be full and comfortable?"
"Yes."
He laughed. "Okay. But I still think you should accept my invitation."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"Hey, you're the thief here, not me."
The girl ground her teeth together. 'If he had any idea of what I really was—'
If he knew, then you'd either be dead or under watch at some lab. Her Mightyena didn't speak human language but, somehow, she and the girl could talk mind-to-mind. Now, she was advising the girl, Don't give anything away.
'Do you think he's dangerous?'
I'm not sure. But he's human. Don't trust him.
The boy was speaking again, seemingly unaware of the conversation that had just passed. "Do you at least have a name?"
'It couldn't hurt,' the girl thought to herself and her Pokémon. 'It's not like anyone else knows my name. The information's useless.' "Raelin."
"Nice name," he commented. She stayed silent. "My name's Gary."
"Common name," she said, smirking.
"Yup, I was right. You're definitely a rebel."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Quit chatting and let's go! Ember said with a bark. Gary's eyes darted to her companion. His eyes glinted suspiciously.
"I'd really like to chat, but…" She tried to move past Gary, but he and his Umbreon shifted, blocking her way. She took a step back, annoyed. "Look, I really need to go."
"Well, I don't think you're in any immediate danger." His voice had taken an amused tone. His lips twitched upward when she gave an annoyed grunt. "Tell you what, Raelin: you battle me, 2-on-2. If you win, then I'll get you past the police and make sure you aren't seen."
"Sounds like a good deal. But what's in it for you?" She crossed her arms. Ember tensed at her side.
Gary smiled. Raelin decided that she actually liked his smile—or, she would have, if it hadn't been at her expense. "If I win, you come with me and have a proper meal and a decent conversation. Who knows? You might even like being civilized."
She barked out a laugh. "Maybe I like being uncivilized more." She suddenly got serious, inky hair falling into her fierce green eyes and body crouching in just the slightest way. At that moment, Gary thought she looked remarkably like her Pokémon—no human could change that subtly and look more like a predator than she did then. "Listen, you," she growled from behind bared teeth. "If you turn me in, put me in any danger, do anything against my wishes after this match, your life will end. I'll be the one that makes sure of that. Got it?" He nodded, cool and uncaring—on the outside, at least. "Good." She straightened, back to looking human again. Except for her eyes, which glowed at him through the dark. "Then let's battle."
"Ladies first."
Ignoring her irritation, Raelin pulled a Pokéball from her belt and tossed it. "Lunatone, I choose you!"
"Blastoise, go!"
White light burst from the two Pokéballs as their inhabitants were released. Raelin flexed her hand in the fingerless gloves she wore. This would be difficult. "Lunatone, start things off with a Rock Throw!"
"Luuna…" The moon-rock Pokémon glowed dimly. Several boulders lifted from the earth and shot forward.
"Blastoise, use Water Gun!"
The huge blue Pokémon shot water from the two canons in its shell. The jets of water hit the boulders, flinging them back at the opponent.
"Lunatone, dodge it!" The Pokémon zipped out of the way along with its Trainer, the rocks missing them. "Nice work!" Raelin said, standing smoothly. "Try a Confusion attack!" A white ring radiated from Lunatone's crescent body and blasted out. When it hit Blastoise, it stumbled, disoriented. "Now use Tackle!"
"Lun-a-tone!" Its meteorite body hit the opponent dead center, knocking the already off-balance Pokémon back into the trees.
"Now finish it with Giga Impact!"
Lunatone began to glow with purple energy.
"Blastoise, try to shake it off and use a Hydro Pump attack!" Gary called. His Pokémon stood, shaking its head. Purple energy shot from its enemy. Just before it hit the water Pokémon, an immense amount of water shot from Blastoise's canons. Lunatone was thrown backwards.
"Lunatone!" Raelin ran to her Pokémon, which was lying in a deflated manner on the ground. She knelt next to it, pulling the empty Pokéball from her belt. "He had the type advantage. You did great, Lunatone. Go ahead and rest." Red light streamed from the Pokéball and Lunatone disappeared inside.
Raelin stood, hands clenched. 'He's good. He knows what he's doing. And I'm on my last Pokémon for this match…' Her eyes scanned his face; he was waiting patiently for her to choose. "All right. Ember get out there and let's win this!" The Mightyena leapt out to the battle field with a growl.
Gary studied her shrewdly. "Okay. Blastoise, hit it with Skull Bash!" His Pokémon leapt forward, intending to strike Ember head-on.
The Mightyena darted away, having been warned by her Trainer's thoughts. She ducked underneath the Blastoise, confusing it. Ember used a Take Down attack, again knocking her opponent off-balance.
Gary frowned. "Blastoise, use Rapid Spin," he commanded. His Pokémon drew itself into its shell and began to spin quickly. It knocked into Ember, who was thrown into the air. She landed on the ground hard.
"Ember! Are you okay?" The Mightyena growled the affirmative and stood shakily. "Good. You know what to do." With a bark, she dodged back from another attack. A glowing orange ball appeared in her mouth as she charged her Hyper Beam attack. Just before Blastoise was about to hit her again, she jumped away, letting the orange beam fire at the water Pokémon. Blastoise fell and its Trainer moved forward.
"You gave it your all, Blastoise. Good job." He returned Blastoise to its Pokéball and stood. "I'm surprised, Rae. You're good."
"Don't…call me that," she hissed, wincing at the use of her childhood nickname.
Gary laughed. "Aw, why not? It's pretty. I think it fits you."
She tried to feel angry about his comment, but for some weird reason she got a strange twisting feeling in her stomach instead. Trying to ignore it, she spat, "Just send out your next Pokémon."
"Whatever you want, Lin." He grinned.
'That one's new,' she thought, surprised. She sort of liked it.
Stop drooling over the human and pay attention!
Raelin snapped out of her thoughts abruptly. Her face felt a little hot, but she focused in on the task at hand. Gary had sent out his Umbreon.
"Umbreon, start with a Quick Attack!"
"Um-bre!" The glowing black and yellow Pokémon darted forward, catching Ember off-guard and knocking her backwards.
"Good, now use Toxic!"
The Umbreon leapt out of the way of a Tackle attack and opened its mouth. A thick black smog drifted out across the small space. Ember stood and took a breath to steady herself.
Sharp pain hit Raelin's side and she coughed. Panicked, she cried mentally, 'Did you inhale that stuff?'
Yes, I think so. The wolf Pokémon winced. But I can keep going. What about you?
'I'm okay.' She could tell Ember didn't quite believe her; that was the problem with a psychic connection. 'Go ahead and try a Bite attack.'
Ember used Umbreon's most recent attack to flip it over and dart in for a powerful bite. The Umbreon flinched back.
"Umbreon, are you okay?" called Gary, concerned. His Pokémon answered with a quick, "Bre!" "Then finish it off with Quick Attack!"
"Breon!" It ran through the space, gathering speed. The yellow rings on it body glowed and had a dizzying effect on its opponent and her Trainer.
"Ember, try to get out of the way!"
But the Mightyena wasn't fast enough. Umbreon hit her hard in the side, knocking the already unsteady Pokémon off her feet. Ember wasn't able to continue; she dropped to the ground with a pained bark. Her Trainer ran and knelt next to her.
"Ember…" Raelin panted, weakened from the poison now coursing through them both. "You should have forfeited. You know we make these decisions together."
Ember whimpered. At least we put up a good fight, huh? That human's impressed.
'We should have quit while we were ahead and gotten out of here,' she thought, head dropping. 'We're both weak and we can't go back to that town. We'll have to keep going to get to a Pokémon Center and that's a long way from here. Maybe we could ask Gary—'
No! He's human! A pause as she shifted her weight, trying to stand. And he's coming over! We have to get out of here, now!
"Hey, sorry about that. Here, lemme help you." Gary's hand entered Raelin's line of vision, and she panicked.
"Move!" she gasped, shoving him away. Ember yelped and staggered sideways. Raelin clutched at her ribs and looked down. No wound in sight, clothing intact. But the pain was there, no doubt about it. Her eyes darted up when she saw Gary trying to help her. "Get the hell outta my way!" she snarled. With all force possible, she stood straight and dove past him into the trees. Her Pokémon followed, literally at her heels.
For a few minutes she heard rustling behind her. Gary was obviously trying to follow. Her lips twitched. He was fast for a human. But even when she was weakened and hurt, she was still faster.
She almost collapsed from the pain and her confused thoughts, Ember's will to continue being the only thing making her run. 'That's the second time tonight I've thought of 'humans'. Almost like I'm not one. That hasn't happened since the accident…' She shoved the strange thoughts away, willing them to be blown away by the wind rushing past.
Just keep moving! Her companion barked, tongue lolling. Raelin could sense her Pokémon getting weak.
'Ember, maybe we could just stop for a little—'
No! You're hurt!
'But so are you!' She tried to use their connection to pull the Mightyena back.
Stop that! My wounds aren't serious, but yours are. Besides, most of the poison is in you. My wound from the battle is physical.
Again, she almost stopped running. 'You mean my wound isn't?' There wasn't an answer. 'Ember!' Her Pokémon winced slightly from the force of her mental shout but did not speak. Raelin let out a huff, but maybe it was for the best. It took energy to speak telepathically and she needed that energy to run.
It dawned on her that Ember was getting too far ahead and she knew she couldn't go for much longer. If the Pokémon knew that, she didn't show any sign. Raelin's chest and throat burned every time she tried to inhale and the sharp pain in her side kept coming back at random intervals, sapping her strength quickly. Her whole body was starting to feel weak and achy.
She fell to the ground hard, foot tangled in a root from a large tree. Her head was pounding and hitting it on the ground didn't help at all. She stumbled back up and almost immediately fell again as the ground titled underneath her. Pain radiated from her side all through her body now. Even lying down, she felt sick and dizzy.
Raelin! She could feel Ember turn and run back. I didn't think it would get that bad…It wasn't this bad last time…
She could tell the Pokémon was mad at herself for ignoring the situation. "Ember!" she gasped. "Just…get help! Now!"
She barked. Even if I have to get a human, I'll get help! She darted back through the trees.
'Please…come back…soon.' She didn't even know if Ember could hear her or not. Her vision was blurring, and it felt better if she closed her eyes. She could feel her consciousness slipping and strange scenes began to flash in the black behind her eyelids, confused and blurred.
A house burning. Lightning hit a tree and now the forest was lit. Screaming. People running from a town. A boy with black shaggy hair was running toward her, it seemed. Calling her name.
Her gloved hands clenched, fisting in a death grip on the grass. She tried to speak, barely managing a weak call to a person who would never come. "Ryder…"
Her hands and body relaxed as she gave in to the dark.
I freakin' LOVE Gary. *glomps Gary*
Raelin is this really pretty Celtic name I found that means "mysterious/beautiful warrior".
R&R is much appreciated!
Peace!
~ DarkBloodbender937