Chapter Four: Past

"Don't forget your PokéGear. Oh, and you can't forget about your bag. Do you have enough food for the week? Wait! You need your notebook, too, so you can write down what you're saying to others. Maybe you should bring this, too… perhaps a sleeping bag in case you can't find anywhere to stay? No, I don't want you sleeping the middle of the woods or anything. But if you have to stop, a sleeping bag would be useful—"

I touched my mom's arm, and she jolted, looking down at me as though she had forgotten that I was even here, despite having been worrying about me for the past two days. Ever since Professor Elm had given me my Cyndaquil, she had been going crazy; she knew the favor that he had asked of me—to go visit Mr. Pokémon—was just the beginning. And the possibility of me leaving for good frightened her.

She eventually loosened her grip, though, when Professor Elm came over to my house to explain the situation—how most teenagers went out on their own, how it was a rite of passage, how keeping me from this meant keeping me from an experience that I needed. If she didn't loosen her leash, I would never come back, and although Elm didn't say this directly, he alluded to it, giving me a knowing glance.

For a man who knew so much about Pokémon, he seemed to know a lot about me, too.

"You're right," she finally sighed, smiling weakly at me. "I just… I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Why can't Ethan go with you? Or me? I could be your escort—I've been all around Johto. I just think it's a bad idea for you to be off by yourself when you… when you can't speak. You're going to be taken advantage of."

The smile vanished from her face, and I lowered my gaze. It was in this moment that I decided that leaving home was of vital importance to both me and my mother. For me, I needed to escape this cage, to do things that normal teenager girls did, and as much as I loved Ethan and my mother, I needed to go alone. As for my mother, she was still ashamed to have a mute daughter—so she needed some time to think about that.

So, I pointed at myself, curled my index finger and jabbed down, and shuffled my hands away from me and towards the door. I picked up my bag, swinging it over my shoulder, and stuffed my PokéGear on the outside pocket. Knowing that I'd regret it later if I didn't do anything, I kissed my mom on the cheek, my final act towards her before turning to leave.

I had just reached the front door when she stopped me. "You don't have to," she said.

But I just nodded, walking out the front door.

Mr. Pokémon had been quite friendly to me upon my visit to his home, and considering this was the first time I had been out on my own, I appreciated this impression. My mother obviously had nothing to worry about. I had already made it past the next town over with no problems, and the people I had met along the way were quite welcoming.

In fact, Mr. Pokémon's colleague, Professor Oak, thought me (or at least my Cyndaquil) quite charming. On a visit from Kanto, the professor was one of the most famous in the world—everyone, including me, knew who he was, and it was an honor to stand in his presence. It was even more of an honor to receive a Pokédex from him.

Even if I could speak, I was too baffled to say anything. A Pokédex? Only a few people in the world were Pokédex holders, and me, a girl who couldn't even speak—whose own mother didn't believe she would be able to handle being on her own—had just joined the ranks.

I ran outside, bowing to the professor and Mr. Pokémon as I pushed open his door, in hopes to test it out. But the second I stepped outside, with Cyndaquil close at my heels, my PokéGear began to ring. I figured it was my mother, but upon reflection, I realized my mom would know not to call me. And when I saw Professor Elm's name on the Caller ID, my heart sank.

I couldn't pick up. I couldn't answer. But what else could I do?

"H-hello? Lyra?" Professor Elm's shaky voice began, and I, of course, didn't say anything. He sounded terrified, like something horrible had just occurred. I began to panic, wondering what I could do, what I could say—then I remembered: nothing. "It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just terrible! What should I do? It… oh no… Please get back here now!"

The PokéGear clicked in my ear, signaling the end of the call, but I stood with it against my ear for a few seconds in attempt to register what had just happened. And then, stuffing the PokéGear into my bag again, I started to run. And I didn't slow down until I crashed into another person at the edge of Cherrygrove, falling down. Cyndaquil jumped out of the way, hurrying to my side and nudging me with its nose.

"What the—" the person I ran into said, and I looked up; a gangly boy with long red hair and a disgusted expression stared down at me. He didn't even offer his hand to me, and as I rose to my feet, his eyes moved to my Cyndaquil. There was a flicker of a smirk on the boy's face, but his disgust seemed to surpass his amusement. "You got a Pokémon at the Lab. What a waste. That's a Pokémon that's too good for a wimp like you."

He stared at me expectantly, and when I didn't say anything, he frowned. "Don't you get what I'm saying?" he asked, and I pursed my lips. "Well, I too have a good Pokémon. I'll show you what I mean!"

He threw a Poké Ball into the air, and a small crocodile popped out, snapping its jaws happily. I held out my Pokédex, and the machine hummed, "Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokémon."

I looked back at Cyndaquil, and it ran from behind my legs, standing defensively in front of me. I had no idea how to battle, and I had to admit, this hadn't exactly popped into my head when I pictured going out on an adventure. Sure, I wanted to battle, but I forgot how important using your voice was when battling. Now I felt like an idiot, and my Cyndaquil was going to get hurt because of my stupidity.

"Totodile, use scratch!" the boy yelled, and Totodile charged at Cyndaquil, its little claws ready. My Pokémon looked back at me, waiting for an order, but I just stared at it with wide eyes. It flopped against the ground as Totodile scratched it, and I covered my mouth with my hands in surprise. I couldn't even tell it to move.

"What are you doing? Don't you know how to battle?" the boy asked me, and I nodded. Of course I knew how to battle. I just didn't know how to battle without a voice. "Totodile, finish it! Use scratch again!"

I closed my eyes, expecting the worst. But a wave of realization came over me; I could communicate the same way with Cyndaquil that I did with people. Cyndaquil had trusted me this whole time, hadn't it? Why did I need to rely on words with it? So far, so good—I didn't need to be afraid of battling.

So, I threw my hands out, not using the form for tackle but still attempting to get the point across. Cyndaquil jumped, rushing into Totodile and knocking the poor creature off its feet. With a single powerful blow from my fire-type, Totodile was down, unable to get back up and fight. I sighed, relieved.

Training. All we needed to do was train. Cyndaquil would know what to expect soon enough.

The redhead returned Totodile to its Poké Ball, staring at me with narrowed eyes. He seemed a tad confused about what just happened, but he just crossed his arms.

"Are you happy you won?" he asked me, and I smiled. Well, if he wanted the honest answer then—yes. Yes, I was. "Do you want to know who I am?" When I didn't say anything, he took a few steps, standing so close to me that I had to take a step back. "I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer."

And then, as if this was a perfectly acceptable thing to do, he pushed me, knocking me out of his way and brushing right past me.

Well, that was rude. Who did he think he was?

Silver.

I bent down and picked up his Trainer card, examining it closely. There was a headshot of him from several years ago—his hair was shorter and his cheeks chubbier, but the angry look remained. In fact, if I didn't know better, I thought he looked even meaner here. What had been going on at the time this picture was taken?

Silver, I thought to myself, turning around to see if the redhead was still around. And sure enough, he was running back towards me, his hand outstretched towards me.

"Give it back! That's my Trainer card!" He yanked the card out of my hand, shoving it in his pocket and throwing me a nasty look. Then, touching his pocket where he just shoved his card, his eyes widened, and he backed away from me. For a minute, I thought fear flickered through his eyes. "Oh no! You saw my name…"

And without another word, he ran away.

Well, that was strange. But it made me think. That Totodile… didn't Professor Elm have a Totodile?

So, I headed back towards New Bark Town, running into the Pokémon Lab to find the professor chatting with a policeman. I raised my eyebrows, picking up my Cyndaquil and approaching the two men. Professor Elm jumped at my appearance, but he laughed nervously when he realized it was me, running a hand through his barely-existent hair.

"Oh, Lyra," he said. "Thank goodness—"

But the policeman cut him off, clicking his pen and sticking it to his notepad. "Who are you?" he demanded, taking me aback. "We are investigating the case of the missing Pokémon here. Rule number one! 'Whoever did it will come back to the site.'" He paused, staring at the Pokémon in my arms. "Oh my! So you must be… the one who did it?"

I opened my mouth, holding up my hands in embarrassment, but before I could say anything, Ethan rushed to my side, panting.

"Hold on a second…" he muttered, taking off his hat and rubbing the sweat off his forehead. "She has nothing to do with it. I saw it. There was a red-haired boy looking into the building."

The policeman raised his eyebrows, glancing between Ethan and me in disbelief. The words of two teenagers probably didn't sound too convincing. But Professor Elm could back me up. He knew that I didn't steal this Cyndaquil.

The Totodile though… the red-haired boy… that had to be the boy I battled.

So, I looked at Ethan, signing quickly to him that I had battled that redheaded boy just a few moments ago in Cherrygrove—and that he had the missing Pokémon.

Ethan passed my words onto the policeman, and he crossed his arms. "What? You battled a boy like that?" he asked me, and I nodded. "He must be the one who did it… Did you happen to get his name?"

I turned to Ethan again, pointing a finger at my ear before curling it into a fist and rolling it twice away from my body. My friend, however, looked confused, and when I repeated myself, he laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Silver?" Ethan asked incredulously. "What kind of name is that?"

I shrugged as the policeman jotted the name down. "I see! So Silver was his name. Thanks for helping my investigation!" He smiled, but I just hugged Cyndaquil tighter. "My next assignment is to search for this red-haired individual. Professor Elm, we'll catch him. Don't worry. You'll get your Pokémon back!"

Professor Elm laughed meekly, sounding completely unsure, but the policeman just walked away as if he hadn't heard it.

This whole thing was strange. This redheaded boy named Silver just randomly showed up at the Pokémon lab and stole a Pokémon? Why? What did that Totodile mean to him? And why couldn't he just go out into some tall grass and find a Pokémon on his own? Why that Totodile? Why not something else?

Well, whatever the case was, I knew that boy was going to mean something to me, and I doubted it was the last time I was going to see him. I didn't tell Ethan that, but it was important to me; he was the first one I ever battled, the first person to make me realize that I could succeed without a voice. Silver meant something.

So, whenever I thought about him, I found myself twirling my hand away from me, repeating his sign over and over again.

Silver, I thought when I set off for the Violet City gym. Thank you.

Author's Note: It's been awhile since I updated, but I've been working on an original novel (by the title of "Aerosion"). You can check it out on my dA account or my Figment account. It's not done yet, but I figured it was time to come back to this for a moment.

So, a little introduction to Lyra's life as a Pokémon Trainer and her first encounter with Silver. The next past chapter will skip forward quite a bit, but it should be interesting. As for the next present chapter, what do you think will unfold there? Will she find Red?

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.