Thank you to all who reviewed, especially Templar of Honor for the extremely helpful input. :)
My friend gave me an idea for this chapter and I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy!
Miraculously, Raelin didn't have nightmares that night. It was, admittedly, a little weird, she thought, pulling her hair back into a long ponytail. But she wasn't going to tempt fate.
They started off early that day. Raelin, determined to do anything to tick Gary off, never once said a word to him, but instead had light conversations with Brock, Ash, and Misty as they walked. Though the redhead still acted a little off-handed, Brock and Ash were quite happily chatting away. Raelin couldn't help but feel a small glow of satisfaction when she saw Gary glaring at her—he'd obviously caught on to her plan. Oddly enough, it faded quickly when she saw him frown and look away.
At lunch, they overheard two Trainers talking about the battle park near the center of the town. Ash immediately committed to going and the others agreed quickly.
After they had passed through the gates and registered, Ash glanced around the outdoor area. The park had a good amount of Trainers, most of them engaged in battles. He looked to his right. Underneath a tree sat a young girl with long, wavy crimson hair. Her eyes were closed, her legs were crossed, and she was leaning against the tree, as if she were resting. A Pidgeot sat next to her, wings folded and eyes closed. As they passed, the girl opened her eyes and asked excitedly, "Ash? Do you want to have a battle with me?"
He blinked and fell backward in surprise. "H-how do you know my name?"
The girl looked confused. "What a silly question!" she said, now talking to her Pidgeot. She stood, graceful despite her lanky form. "My name's Anika. There. Now that we're properly introduced, would you please answer my question?"
"Maybe you should answer my question," came a voice from behind the tree. Jessie stepped out. "James, do you think they should prepare for trouble?"
"I do and let's make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of true and love!"
"To extend our reach to the—"
"Hey, you're cute!" Anika cut off the motto by rushing up to the purple-haired Team Rocket member. She grinned and swiped the rose out of his hand. "Oh, and you even got me a flower! That's so sweet, James!"
James made a sputtering noise. "How do you know my name?"
"Your girlfriend said it, silly!" Anika giggled.
Both Team Rocket members reacted at the same time. Jessie shouted, "I don't love James!" while James exclaimed, "She's not my girlfriend!"
"She's not?" Anika asked. "Great! Then maybe I can be!" She clung to him happily, giggling. "We'll make such a great couple! You can meditate with me and Pidgeot and we can battle other couples! It'll be so much fun!"
"Now wait a minute sister!" Jessie stepped forward, glaring. "James is a Team Rocket member! He would never date someone outside of Team Rocket, much less some scrawny Trainer! Isn't that right, James?"
"Well, I, uh…" he stammered when Jessie turned on him.
"I'll be your boyfriend if he doesn't want to be!" exclaimed Brock suddenly, darting forward to take Anika's hand. "My names Brock and I think we could be the greatest team of Trainers ever!"
She studied him thoughtfully. "Do you have a flower for me?"
"Huh? Uh, no."
"Then sorry, Brock. We can't be together." She turned away from Brock, whose mouth had dropped open in disbelief.
"B-but…" he stuttered. "Ow! Hey!" Misty was pulling him away by the ear.
"The girl said no, Brock. Let's go."
"Hey, what about Ash? He doesn't have a girlfriend." Gary had decided to get in on the game. Ash shot a glare at him.
"Oh, really?" Anika studied the increasingly nervous Trainer and his Pikachu. She nodded. "Hm. You'll do."
"Oh, no, he won't!" Misty shoved Ash back and stood in front of him, causing Pikachu to lose balance on the boy's shoulder and jump quickly down.
Anika tilted her head to the side and only seemed quaint and confused. "Why? Is he already your boyfriend?"
"WHAT?" Misty's face reddened. "N-no!"
"Misty's not—" Ash began.
"Uh, guys?" Brock asked.
"Well, if you're not his girlfriend, what are you?" Anika asked.
"His coach and his friend!" Misty shot back.
"You guys seem pretty close to me. Are you sure she's not your girlfriend?"
"No, she's not!" Ash exclaimed, turning red.
"Guys?"
"Then I don't see why I can't have him," said Anika in a pouting sort of voice.
"You can't because I say so!" said Misty, stepping right up to the girl. "And besides, he has lots of training to do so—"
"Guys!"
"What?" the whole group asked, turning simultaneously to Brock.
"I think we've got a problem." He pointed up. The familiar shape of the Meowth balloon was rising over the trees. Several Trainers in the park were gawking at it.
"Tanks fo' da easy snag!" Meowth called down to them, laughing. He held up a glass case, which contained the yellow mouse Pokémon.
"No way!" Ash fumbled for a pokéball. Before he could send out a Pokémon, Raelin had jumped into action.
"Ember, use Hidden Power!"
White rings swirled around Ember's body, causing Team Rocket's balloon to glow and rock back and forth. Meowth lost hold of the case containing Pikachu and it fell toward the ground. Raelin darted forward and caught Pikachu. "All right, Ember, send them flying!" Ember barked and swished her tail. The light got brighter and the balloon was suddenly flung far off, with the cries of Team Rocket following it.
"Do they always show up like that?" asked Gary, watching the balloon disappear.
"Pretty much," said Ash with a nod.
Raelin sighed. "How do you put up with that? Here, Ash." She held Pikachu out.
Ash smiled and took his Pokémon "Thanks. Are you okay, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" he replied, scampering up to his perch on his Trainer's shoulder.
Ash smiled. "Awesome! And now I'm ready for that battle, so—Aah!" He turned to find that Anika was already well down the path of the park, almost out of sight. Confused, he called, "Hey, wait, what about our battle?"
"What about our future?" Brock wailed.
"Oh, both of you give it a rest!" Misty said, dragging the pair backwards.
Gary snickered. "Oh well. Let's go, guys."
As the Trainers exited the park, Raelin caught a glimmer of yellow flash in the hedge. She stopped suddenly. Ash, who was only a step or two in front of her, paused and looked back. "What?" he asked, seeing the startled expression on her face.
Raelin's eyes scanned the other bushes. Nothing abnormal. But…
Ember barked. Something's there.
Ash was beside her now, staring into the hedge curiously. "Hey…what is that?" He frowned. "It's gone. I saw it for a second and now it's gone."
"It was probably some wild Pokémon that wandered in here," Raelin told him, noticing his confused look. "Come on." She ran to catch up with the others at the gate. Ash had no choice but to follow.
"Kind of a shame, if you ask me," joked Gary later as they headed for the Pokécenter. "She was cute."
"She was awesome," Brock fawned. He received a whack from Misty and immediately shut up.
"You didn't need to get involved in that," Ash said moodily to Gary, shrugging a shoulder to adjust his backpack strap.
"Why? You have no idea how hard it was to keep from laughing when she asked if you and Misty were going out." He chuckled, remembering.
"That girl was crazy," said Misty, still annoyed. "Who could think that I would ever go out with Ash?" Even as she said it, her cheeks tinged pink. She looked away and raised her chin to appear lofty.
"Gee, thanks," muttered Ash sourly.
"Sounds like someone's bitter," laughed Gary.
"We are not!" Both looked at each other furiously and continued to argue.
Raelin slowed, allowing the group to get farther ahead so she could think. She directed her thoughts to Ember. 'What do you think that thing was?'
"So what were you and Ash talking about?" Gary had slowed too, matching her pace.
So much for talking with Ember. She glanced sideways at him. He was looking ahead as he walked, hands in his pockets. The perfect picture of someone who didn't really care about what he was talking about. But she could see that the corners of his mouth had turned down.
"We saw something in the bushes. That's all."
"Hm. Maybe you are better off not speaking. You're a terrible liar."
"I'm not lying! I saw something in the hedge and Ash came over to look too."
"Hm. So what was it?"
"Not sure. Might've just been a Pokémon."
"Lots of wild Pokémon wandering around here, so that's probably right." Gary looked up as they neared the rest of the group. "And besides," he continued in a lower voice, "even if it was a big bad monster, Umbreon and I would be able to protect you."
"Yeah. Sure." Deciding to simply dismiss his attitude, she joined the others. Gary was close behind. They all entered the Pokémon Center, Ash and Misty still arguing.
Ember paused before following her Trainer. She looked back, uneasy at the shifting she heard behind her. She couldn't see anything wrong, but she knew something was lurking. A soft growl rumbled from her throat—just in case. She'd mention her suspicions to Raelin the first chance she got, but for now, at least they were relatively safe. Ember ducked through the doors, which swung securely shut behind her.
Something shifted between the trees. A shadow moved, barely discernible from the dusky light surrounding it. A feral growl issued from between the thick tree trunks before slowly fading away. In an instant, the shadows were still and the creature was gone.
I'm going to start bringing in plot points, but it's going to take a couple of chapters to really get it rolling. This chapter is (mainly) some goofy stuff. I couldn't resist putting in some ship-tease. Ash & Misty's "fights" are the best, aren't they? *giggle*
Sorry about the long pause. The next few chapters are giving me problems. . But I wanted to have something up because I'm going to be maxed out for the next few weeks.
I only own Raelin, Emberstep, and Anika
Read & Review is appreciated! :)
Peace! ~DarkBloodbender937