The Platinum Adventure
Disclaimer: Check the last chapter.
Kenshin: I'm sorry for making you mad Ester. Can you forgive me?
Ester: Of course I will. After all, isn't that what love is about?
Kenshin: Well, not really, but you got a point.
Ester: Kenshin I'll accept your apology, but where's the apology gift?
Kenshin: …gift? Like what jewelry?
Ester: Of course! Like the saying goes; diamonds are a girl's best friend.
Kenshin: But you're all diamonds! You practically poop 'em!
Journal Entry 3: Wayward To The Hearthome!
It was a beautiful day this Wednesday morning; Lucas and Cheryl bike ride up the sand dune and head up to the base of Mount Coronet. When they get there Lucas continues until he reaches Cycling Road.
Before entering the gate Cheryl stops him and asks, "Why are we heading up there? Did you forget something in Eterna?"
"Oh no, we're not going back to Eterna." Lucas says as he pulls out his Town Map. He then points to a route placed under the bike path. "Under Cycling Road is a pleasant road that people go to get in good training. I also heard there was a cave nearby that may hold cool Pokemon."
"Oooh! What kind?" Cheryl asks him, already feeling excited at the new area they might explore.
"Who knows? Hopefully it won't have just Geodude or Onix. Ready?" Lucas gets back on the pedals and starts moving onward past the side of the gate. The two friends cycle down a hidden road under the Cycling one. There they see two Hiker trainers battling one another.
They finally reach a cave entrance and stop before it, as Lucas and Cheryl rise off the bike so he can pack it up. Lucas then looks around, only seeing Pokemon he's seen before.
"Darn. Guess all the good ones are inside." Lucas figures with spite.
"Lucas, look at that!" Cheryl points up to the sky, one hand cupping her Pokemon egg.
Lucas looks up and sees a gathering cloud of purple flying Pokemon. "There's something new…"
He takes out one of his non-vacant Pokeballs and sends out Staravia. "Staravia, try to lure one down here!"
Staravia nods in agreement and flies up towards the crowd of Pokemon. Cheryl walks over to Lucas, and asks him, "Uh Lucas, was that a good idea?"
"Of course. It is not like Pokemon are hostile creatures," Lucas then notices the purple Pokemon attacking Staravia, who flies back down to its owner. Sweating Lucas replies with, "But I've been wrong before. Run!"
Cheryl grabs Lucas' arm and heads underneath the bridge of the cycling road. There they were safe from being spotted by the purple Pokemon. Once they were close enough Lucas could scan with his Pokedex and confirm they were Gligar. As Lucas looks in his Pokedex his foot gets caught in something and he slips backwards, falling down a secret entrance to the cave.
"Lucas! Ah, why is he always getting in trouble?" Cheryl follows quickly after him, sliding down the entrance he fell in. She easily loses balance and tumbles just like him.
Lucas lands down on the ground, wincing in pain from the fall. Before he could say anything he sees Cheryl falling down after him. Acting on instincts Lucas remembers from chapter 1 he throws his arms out and grabs Cheryl when she crashes into him.
Having some experience from last time Lucas successfully stands his ground to catch her. "Gotcha."
"Thanks, even though this was your fault." Cheryl says to him. Lucas sets her on her feet as she scowls, still upset at their sudden escape.
"How was I supposed to know there was a secret entrance?" Lucas states. "I mean, who would notice when you're running from Gligar?"
"And just why were we running from Gligar in the first place?" She asks him. The annoyed trainer rubs his head with an upset attitude while Cheryl begins to try and climb up. "Let's get back up to civilization."
"Fine with me-AHH!!" Lucas looks down at his left foot after yelling in pain, and notices a blue Pokemon chewing on him lightly. It still hurts though.
Kicking it off Lucas grasps his foot in pain and looks at the spot where the Pokemon's tooth sunk in. Cheryl drops what she's doing to go to his side, apparently reacting to him in pain. "Lucas, are you okay?"
The little Pokemon wobbles away, as Lucas scans it with his Pokedex. The Pokemon appears in the Pokedex as Gible, a Land Shark Pokemon.
Its type shows as Dragon and Earth, which intrigue the trainer. Cheryl looks at the tiny shark, and could only smile while saying, "Ah, how cute!"
"You think so?" Lucas mutters under his breath. Of course he would get scolded if she heard him. Staravia flies down beside Lucas, ready for battle. "Zephyris, let's catch a Pokemon! Use Wing Attack!"
The starling swoops after Gible, who digs in the ground to dodge it. It then tunnels deeper into the cave, but leaves a trail tremor so Lucas could go after it. It seems like a trap. "Hey, get back here!"
"Lucas, hold up!" Cheryl calls out to him, as he and Staravia chase after the Gible. She soon makes haste after him, placing the Pokemon Egg in her parcel for safety.
Lucas and Cheryl chase the Gible deeper in the cave, too far in for them to remember how to go back. "Where the hell is this guy taking us Lucas?"
"I don't know!" Lucas replies, increasing his running pace. "But it looks to be a rare find, and I am not letting it go!"
"Geez, you can always find another one elsewhere right…" Cheryl mumbles under her breath.
Soon the Gible comes before a compiled group of boulders, popping up from the ground finally. Lucas and Cheryl stop in front of it and Staravia lands on his shoulder.
"Ha! No where to run now!" Lucas shouts, as Staravia prepares for battle.
"Lucas, the least you can do is wait for me!" Cheryl says, finally catching up with him.
Our male protagonist turns back to her, stating, "I did wait for you…I think…maybe."
"You didn't!" She corrects him.
"Hello?" A third voice calls out, this one being meek and silent like a little girl. "Is…is someone there…?"
"Who's that?" Lucas and Cheryl ask at the same time.
"In here, behind these giant rocks." It says again, as the two friends run to the boulders. Lucas peers in through a crack between two boulders, and spots a little girl inside; she has pink tinted red hair tied in ring-like double ponytails with a white shirt and purple shorts. On her legs are white stockings and red shoes on. She has orange eyes like Gardenia only lighter.
"Who is it?" Cheryl asks Lucas.
He turns his head around to face her, answering her question with, "It's a little girl." After hearing the green haired woman gasp Lucas turns back to the child and asks her, "What are you doing there?"
"I went inside here trying to train my Kadabra against Ground Pokemon, but then in a battle against an Onix it suffered Confusion and went on a rampage. I've been trapped for hours…even worse, Kadabra…was hurt protecting me…" Lucas could hear sniffling sounds, almost as if she's about to cry. Cheryl's heart was practically breaking apart from her words. "Please…help us…"
"Don't worry. We'll get you out!" Lucas shouts to her, his resolve now set.
"Of course! We'll help you!" Cheryl nods in agreement, while her egg unknowingly begins to shake a little.
"Staravia return!" Lucas calls back his bird Pokemon, and then pulls out a new ball. I'll have to use Natsu's Mach Punch to break through the rocks."
"No wait don't!" Cheryl grabs his arm, stopping him from throwing the ball. "From what I've seen Monferno's physical strength isn't enough to break through, and even if it was it might cave in the girl even more."
"Well how else can I get her out? Electric attacks won't break this apart, and water attacks won't just break apart the boulder in seconds." Lucas continues to go through the list of possible candidates out of the four Pokemon he has on him. "I also left Bidoof back at Rowan's so Rock Smash is out of the question."
"But we can't just give up!" The two of them must have forgotten about Gible toddling away. Lucas turns to look at the tiny dragon, and then remembers an ability it has.
"That's it!!" Lucas shouts, and then runs over to Gible. The blue Pokemon looks up at him. "Gible, can you do us a favor?"
"Lucas? What are you up to?" Cheryl asks the boy. Lucas picks up the tiny land shark and turns to face her.
"Gible here can chew through the dirt and dig a hole for her!" Lucas says, bringing Cheryl to mouth 'Oh'. Lucas then places Gible in front of the boulders. "Gible, if you can dig this girl out we'll do something for you."
Gible opens its mouth and points inside. Cheryl quickly guessed, "I figure he must want some food."
"Sure!" Lucas takes out a jar of Pokemon Food and hands it to the blue shark, which rips the top open with its jaw. It then starts gobbling down the food, until nothing was left. Gible tosses the jar away after finishing it, leaving Lucas in shock. 'It ate it all!'
Following his promise Gible digs under the boulders, or more like in between two so neither collapses over the tunnel. Trapped between the boulders the girl is seen cuddled together with her knees to her chest. Soon Gible digs up in her area, popping its tiny head before her. The girl sees it and screams, "Kyaah!"
"Don't worry! Gible is on our side! He's going to dig you out!" Cheryl says to her, hoping to bring easiness to her heart.
Gible continues digging a hole for her, going deep underground with enough width around the hole so she could squeeze through. After it was done it leaps in the hole, as the little girl follows it.
On the other side Gible pops up seconds after entering, and the girl crawls out. Lucas and Cheryl grab her arms and pull her out, as she coughs up dust from inhaling so much. Lucas asks her, "You okay?"
"Th-thank you so much…" She tells them, and then wraps her arms around Lucas. Cheryl and Lucas sigh in relief now that the girl is safe. Now all they got to do is find a way out.
"Now, let's get you out of here." Lucas says, lifting the girl up into his chest. He then looks to the ground and follows his footsteps back out the way they came.
Cheryl follows close behind, envious of the child in Lucas' arms. Oh how she secretly wished to be there. It didn't take long for them to reach the secret entrance they came through, the Gible from before trailing behind them.
"Okay, we're here. Cheryl, were you able to climb up here?" Lucas asks her, who shakes her head to mean no. Sitting down with the now sleeping girl in his arms Lucas tries to think up a plan.
"Can't we use Luxio to trek this steep hill?" Cheryl's idea seems like a good one to try.
"Okay, let's do this; Blitz!" Lucas releases his sole electric Pokemon, who lets out a roar as it appears. "Blitz, I need you to pull us up this hill. You're good at climbing steep platforms right?"
At his words Luxio nods, then jumps onto the dirt hill they fell in at the start. Lucas places the girl over the lynx's back as it climbs up. While it takes her to the top Lucas turns to Cheryl. "Okay, you go next. I'll climb up with Blitz afterwards."
"Okay Lucas. Do you think she'll be okay afterwards?" Cheryl asks him, showing concern for the little girl. Clearly she has such a heart.
"I hope so…" He seems worried as well. Luxio comes back down for the next person. Cheryl grabs hold of Blitz and climbs up with him.
"Okay, next is my-huh?" Lucas notices Gible right behind him nibbling on the ball of his left foot. "Hey, get off!"
Gible makes a couple of noises, to which Lucas had no clue to understand. At the end of its speech Lucas could only guess, "You want to come with me?"
"Ga!" It replies while nodding. Gible then waddles over to the entrance and digs in it. A curious Lucas walks over to the land shark.
Without having a second though he grabs hold of its fin. "What's it doing now-AAHH!!"
Gible digs up the entrance way while pulling Lucas along.
At the top Luxio and Cheryl reach outside, with her letting go. But before she could reply Lucas jets up from the entrance, flying headfirst onto the ground.
"Lucas!" Cheryl runs to his side, getting down on one knee to help him up. Lucas stands up quickly; a little peeved at the constant pain he keeps going through. Turning around he sees the little Gible that followed him, that came out of the ground after tossing Lucas up. "Lucas, why is Gible here?"
"Well I believe our shark friend here wants to join me. I think it's a good idea," Lucas says to her, taking out a Premier Ball. He first returns Luxio to its ball. "After all I can really use a Ground/Dragon type. Go Pokeball!"
He tosses a Pokeball at the blue Pokemon, who gets absorbed inside. After a few twist and turn the beeping red light disappears and Lucas grabs the ball. "I got a Pokemon!!"
"Lucas, no one says that anymore." Cheryl says, destroying his enthusiasm.
Now that they were out of the cave they could leave from under Cycling Road and head to Oreburgh, get the child to a hospital and continue with their journey. But on their way back they run into a murder of Gligar, murder being a pun on words for kill and crows.
"It's the same ones!" Lucas says upon realization. Cheryl hides behind him, which is also behind the girl.
"Don't these things ever quit?" She says.
"Go, Gabriel!!" Lucas throws out a contained Pokeball, releasing the Gible from before. "Gabriel, blind those things with your Sandstorm attack!"
Gible opens its mouth and releases a turrent storm of sand, blowing away the half scorpion Pokemon. The four of them use this as a way to escape. Unfortunate for them one of the Gligar could see through the Sandstorm easily, and flew after the humans.
"Lucas, one of them is following us!" Cheryl warns him, pointing to the flying Pokemon behind them. The white clothed trainer turns around and sees the incoming Pokemon, and begins to instruct Gible.
"Gabriel, use Dragon Rage!" Gible opens its mouth and fires a ball of draconic energy out at the fast Gligar, who flew straight into the blow. But this didn't stop it as Gligar strikes Gible with Fury Cutter.
"That should be enough; Go Pokeball!" Lucas throws a Nest Ball at Gligar, who swats it away with its tail. "Oh, a tough guy eh?"
Gligar flies after Lucas, with the intent to slay, but Gible gets in the way and blocks its left claw with its fin. "Gabriel…now, hit him with a Take Down!"
Gible lands down and leaps back up at Gligar, knocking it up into the sky. Before Gligar could crash and harm itself further Lucas throws his last Nest Ball, this time making a successful capture. After grabbing the ball and using another Sandstorm attack on the now caught up group of Gligar, Lucas, Cheryl and Gible dash back to Oreburgh.
--
"So, how is she Dr.?" Lucas asks a male doctor. Him and Cheryl are currently inside of a hospital center, this time one for humans and not Pokemon. After entering they bring the girl in before doing anything else, and the docs go straight to work.
"She'll be fine. All Mira needs is to rest so her injuries can heal." The doctor replies, bringing confusion to the 'couple'.
"So that's her name?" Cheryl realizes, and then receives a nod from the doctor.
"Yup."
"Should we wait here until her parents arrive?" Lucas asks him, seeing as it was the first thing to come up in his mind.
"I'm not sure. If she's okay then her parents can take over from here. You two can continue your journey." The doc says, and then goes back to where Mira's room is.
Lucas and Cheryl let out a sigh, his ending before hers. He then says, "Cheryl, do you think it's right to continue like this?"
"Well, like the doctor said she'll be okay. But, it does feel awkward to leave her like this." Cheryl agrees with him. After all, who wouldn't feel awkward leaving a child on her own in a hospital? That's just something normal for someone carrying a heart.
"At the very least, let's wait for her parents to arrive." Lucas says, as he sits down in a nearby chair.
--
"Well they were nice people." Cheryl says to Lucas as they walk toward the entrance of a cave.
After waiting two hours at the hospital the two friends meet with Mira's parents, a male scientist and a female police officer, yes Officer Jenny. After they explained the situation to her they thanked them and promised to pay them back somehow.
With their hearts now at ease Lucas and Cheryl continued their journey. The first thing to do is heal Lucas' Pokemon and stock up for the next run, through Mt. Coronet. After Lucas' Pokemon were healed up the duo continue their trek to the mountain, going up the sand dune.
"Yeah…you know what Cheryl…" Lucas says to her, staring into her eyes.
"What?" Cheryl begins to blush at the sudden gaze she receives.
"You know, now that I'm looking right at them, you have such-"
"Lucas!" Someone calls out for the male protagonist, who turns around to see who stopped his romantic sentence.
The two friends turn around to see a girl around Lucas' age coming up to them. She has long dark blue hair hidden under a white cap, and seems to look like a female Lucas. Her bright white parcel hangs under her left arm and her light blue eyes gaze lightly at Lucas and Cheryl.
"Ah, where have you been?" Lucas shouts back to her, sounding terrifically happy. Cheryl glares at Lucas with a pouting face; this is the third female she has seen Lucas be familiar with.
But her fears slowly dissipate when the girl slams her right fist into Lucas' skull. "Ow! What was that for!"
"The Professor got your latest gift, the Plasma Pokemon Rotom." She says in a matter-of-fact way. "Your Rotom took possession of many of the doctor's hard wares before causing mischief! We spent hours trying to get it out before returning it to its ball."
"I'm sorry Dawn. I guess I forgot to warn you guys." Lucas says with a bow. Cheryl watches the two talk with one another, and becomes ever so upset. Does Lucas always bow before people when he apologizes?
"Well, it's okay. No one got seriously hurt. And the doctor was happy you brought him such an interesting and rare Pokemon." Dawn then enters her hands into her parcel, and pulls out an item. "He wanted to give you this as a thank you."
"What, really? What's inside?" Lucas takes the item Dawn gave him, which is a Pokeball.
"That's for your friend over there. Father told me you wanted to request a starter Pokemon for her and this was the best way to deal with it." Dawn says with a smile.
Cheryl, who was listening quietly the whole time, walks up to them upon the mentioning of her. "A Pokemon? For me?"
"Anyway, that's all I have to say. Have fun with your journey!" Dawn walks off, leaving the two partners to watch her go.
"Well she seems nice. So Lucas, what Pokemon did I get?" She asks him with great enthusiasm.
"Well let's see!" Lucas hands her the ball. She takes it, and releases the Pokemon herself.
Out from the ball pops Turtwig, the grass turtle Pokemon. Lucas and Cheryl stare at it, as she learns down to pick it up. "Wow. It's even cuter than Gardenia's."
"Huh. You got a grass type, just like Dawn." Lucas comments, as Cheryl lifts her Pokemon into her chest.
"And Turtwig makes three. I'll be catching up with you soon." She says with a smile, as they continue inside of Coronet.
The two friends enter the mountain route, taking notice of how dark and creepy it is. Cheryl didn't hesitate to return Turtwig inside its ball for safety, and then grabs hold of Lucas' left arm for her own. Unfortunately he felt a little scared too.
As they walk through the route made long before their arrival, the two friends see a man with dark blue hair and a silver jacket walking up to him. Lucas takes a good look at him, and could only think, 'I've seen this guy before!'
"Move out of my way." He says to them, barging in between them rudely. He even knocks Cheryl down, who collapses on her rear end.
Lucas leans over to help her up. He lightly grabs her shirtsleeves to pull her towards him, asking, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Who was that guy?" She asks hypothetically, blushing at his kind gesture.
"I'm not sure, but now that I think about it he looks very familiar…" Lucas' suspicions keep jabbing at him, due to the fact that he could remember seeing him yet he can't figure out where and when. "Whatever…I'll figure it out later."
"Let's forget about that guy. Hearthome should be just at the other side." Cheryl says as she stands up straight and brushes her skirt of dirt.
"Okay." Lucas and Cheryl continue their trek through the mountain. It only took about ten minutes to reach the exit on the other side, almost like seeing a light at the end of a tunnel.
On the other side Lucas and Cheryl see a group of trainers buffing up their Pokemon against one another. Lucas sees the excitement and grows impressed and happy. So without warning he grabs Cheryl's arm and dashes towards them.
"Lucas, what are you doing?" She asks him.
"It's a fighting frenzy, and I want in on it!!" Lucas says as he rushes into battle.
After an hour of battling Lucas and his Pokemon stand victorious among the defeated trainers around them. Cheryl sighs from where she sits, on top of a planted boulder.
"Why does Lucas like running into trouble…" Cheryl mumbles to herself, then notices a mysterious man walking up to her. She leaped back in shock at his sudden presence. "Who are you?!"
"No talking. Take this!" He takes her hand and places something inside it. "Go to Route 209. Stone Tower. Go underground!"
"Huh?" But before she could say anything, the guy left in a hurry, disappearing without a trace. Cheryl opens her hand and looks at the item she got, which is a tiny keystone. "That was strange…"
"Yo Cheryl!" Lucas calls out to her, walking up to the teenage woman still staring at the stone. It is only natural that he becomes concerned when she makes no reaction. "Cheryl? Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, Lucas!" Cheryl quickly pockets the stone and turns to face him. "Ready to leave already?"
"Yup. We can rest up at the Pokemon center in Hearthome then take the Gym in the morning." Lucas says, and so the two friends continue into the city.
The two of them pass through the gateway and finally enter Hearthome. It's a fairly large city compared to all the others they've been to. Just as they were going to continue onward for the center they hear a squealing noise, and see an incoming Buneary hopping towards them. The rabbit Pokemon stops before them, seeing as there was no other route for it to take.
"Stop that Pokemon!" A female voice shouts out, which prompts them to listening.
They were able to stall the Buneary in time for its trainer to make it, a woman with blond hair and brightly colored clothes. "There you are, Buneary. Return!"
She returns her Pokemon to its ball, and then breaths a sigh of relief. "Thank god you two were here. Who knows how far it could have gone."
"Well, we really didn't do much." Cheryl says sheepishly.
"No, of course you did. Don't be so humble. Meet me at the Super Contest Hall and I'll reward you properly." She says to them, leaving them alone.
Cheryl let's loose an annoyed sigh. "What's with people these days?"
"What are you a robot? She's going to give us something; isn't that a good thing to look forward to?" Lucas' words bring an anger mark upon the green haired woman's head as she glares at him.
"Let's go to the Pokemon center. Then we'll go to this place." She says to him, gripping his left wrist tightly with her right and forcefully pulling him to the center.
"Hey, ow! Not so tight!" He pleads, but his words fall on death ears.
After Lucas and Cheryl healed their Pokemon, yes she got into the brawl as well, the two friends explore the city in search of the contest hall. One of the buildings resembles a church. Lucas and Cheryl finally see the contest hall, which resembles a sort of dome.
The two of them enter inside the building, adjusting their eyes to see plenty of people inside. There was a guy wearing a tuxedo, a woman staring at a poster of a trainer and his Pokemon, an older woman with a purple dress, and another woman with ball-like dark blue hair and-
"MOM!?" Lucas shouts while pointing to the woman he recognizes as his mother. She turns around to see who called out 'mom', and smiles at the sight of her only son. A confused Cheryl stares at Lucas' mother, not expecting this sort of surprise.
"Ah, Lucas. So you're here too. Planning to challenge the Gym?" She figures.
"Yeah, maybe later-Mom, what are you doing here?" He asks her, wanting to go to the most important topic first.
"Wait, this is your mother?" Says the woman who they met with earlier. She seems really excited upon hearing this. "You're the son of the legendary coordinator Joanne?"
"You have a mom?" Cheryl enters her own question into this conversation; this is the first she has heard of her.
"Pokemon Coordinator? Isn't that a trainer who trains their Pokemon into showing some sort of beautiful performance?" Lucas asks her, hoping he got it right.
"Yup. I use to be one of the best coordinators in the world, winning many Master contests before I met your father." His mom explains.
"Are? So you've experienced with Pokemon before? And this is the first I'm hearing about it? Where are all your trophies and ribbons?" He asks her.
"I hid them all. I only did that so I wouldn't influence your decision for when you grow up." She says to him, smiling while he sighs and bows his head in defeat. "But I suspect you'll be a trainer instead right?"
"Of course!" He rises back up with confidence. "I still believe the best way people and Pokemon can bond with each other is through hardship and battles."
Joanne chuckles a bit, then mutters, "You're just like him…"
"Well now that you're here I guess I can give you your rewards." The blond woman hands Lucas and Cheryl each a case of glitter. "You can use these for your Pokeball capsules, that way your Pokemon can appear with amazing grace."
"Well thanks, but like I said before-"
"Wow, thank you. This may be interesting!" Cheryl exclaims, interrupting Lucas once again.
"I'll be getting back to work now. Bye!" She says to them, leaving the two behind with Joanne.
"Keira's still a nice lady. Too bad she's single…" Joanne says. The mother then turns her attention to Lucas and Cheryl, or more to the fact the green-eyed woman. "Who is your friend?"
"This here is Cheryl. She's going to accompany me on my journey throughout Sinnoh as I tackle the gyms." Lucas explains to his mother.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs.…um, what's your last name?" Cheryl asks her.
"Kongouseki." Lucas and Joanne both say at once.
Cheryl then bows before her and says, "Nice to meet you, Kongouseki-san."
"It's okay. You don't have to be so formal…my, you're such a lovely young lady." Joanne says, commenting positively on Cheryl's beautiful posture, dress, pretty much her overall appearance.
"Wow, thank you." Cheryl takes the compliment well.
"I must say, I would never have guessed my son to attract such a beautiful girl." Joanne says with a chuckle. Lucas' jaw automatically drops to the ground, and Cheryl grows a humongous blush.
"No wait Mom! It's not like that; me and Cheryl are friends." Lucas explains, though he didn't seem to trust his own words. The blush growing on his face is a clear clue of that.
"He's right. Lucas and I, are just friends…really…" Cheryl says, though her heart wishes to say otherwise. Joanne stares at Cheryl's blushing face as she says his name.
A mother's intuition never falters. She grabs a hold of Lucas' shoulder. "Lucas, I probably told you this before, but I might as well remind you."
"Remind me? Of what?" Lucas asks her. Cheryl looks at the two curiously.
"Men have a tendency to do many things for many strange reasons; for their own pride, to satisfy their desires, to do the right thing, even to make a person happy. But no matter what the reason," She begins, staring deep into her son's eyes which glitter like diamonds. "The worst thing a man can do is making a woman cry, especially one they care so much about."
"Huh? Where is this coming from?" Lucas asks her. Why is she giving him advice on a person's feelings now of all times?
"The only way a boy can truly satisfy a girl's feelings is his kindness. If you can always remember this then you'll be fine." She says, and then releases her hand on his shoulder. "I guess I can go back to Twinleaf. My vacation here is already over."
"Uh, okay." It would seem Lucas had little luck in understanding her advice.
"I guess you don't understand. Oh well, you will eventually." Joanne says with a smile. She then walks over to Cheryl, and leans down to her ears. "Good luck."
"Huh?" Cheryl replies.
"Well, I'm off! Good luck on your journey, you two!" Joanne says to them while waving and walking out the dome.
"Bye mom! I'll see you soon hopefully!" He says to her, waving back.
Cheryl smiles as she sees Lucas ever so happy. The happiness one gets from their mother is something rarely matched. Lucas then says, "Well, that's done with. Shall we head to the gym?"
"It's going to be dark soon though…What if the gym leader is gone?" Cheryl states.
"So that's the legendary coordinator huh? And you're her son?" A voice intrudes into their conversation. The two friends turn around to see a woman in her early thirties probably in a purple, flashy dress with lavender hair wrapped into four oval ponytails.
"Who are you?" Lucas asks her.
"Oh, that's right. Where are my manners? I guess you didn't know that I, Hearthome Gym Leader Fantina, enter into contests regularly." She says to them, in an accent both of them had a hard time understanding. They could tell she was foreign.
"You're a gym leader? Well then why are you here? Shouldn't you at least leave signs letting those who want to challenge you in there?" Cheryl asks her, knowing about the responsibilities a Gym Leader should have.
"Maybe, maybe not. Do you wish to challenge me, petite fille?" She asks Cheryl as she stares down at her.
"What's that?"
"Hey, don't call my friend some sort of fish!" Lucas shouts to Fantina, backing up Cheryl.
"Imbecile…will you be challenging me?" The gym leader says to Lucas.
"Of course I do. Would you like to battle here or at your gym?" Lucas asks her, already about to grasp a Pokeball.
"I'll meet you at your gym. Hopefully your trainer skills will be as impressive as your mother's coordination skills." Fantina then leaves the Contest Hall, and goes to her gym.
Lucas grips his fists tightly. "Who does she think she is, calling us words that aren't in English?"
"Lucas, I want you to pulverize that woman!" Cheryl says, her eyes flaring with anger.
"Cheryl, I think you should calm down." She didn't listen to him. Lucas then sighs with depression and pushes her out the building. The two of them walk towards the Gym after leaving the Contest Hall. Since the gym has lots of features to it finding the place was very easy.
Lucas walks up to the gym statues, and reads the inscription placed on it. 'Hearthome Gym. Leader: Fantina, the Alluring, Soulful Dancer.'
"What's alluring?" Lucas asks without specifically talking to anyone.
"I think it means 'seductive'. Does that mean she seduces her opponents?" Replies Cheryl.
"Let's go in." Lucas and Cheryl walk inside, and there they see the same guy from the last two gyms.
He quickly approaches them, handing them a flashlight. "Here, you guys will need this. It's very dark in there."
"Really?" Lucas asks him, after he takes the stick. "So what challenges are in here?"
"To reach the gym leader you have to find the symbol on the ground and go through the door it matches to reach her." He tells them.
"Great. A maze…" Lucas complains, as he opens the door and walk towards their next challenge.
The two of them enter into a large maze. Everything around them was pitch black, and if it weren't for the skulls with flaming eyes and mouths on the walls of the maze they would be stuck in darkness. Two minutes of walking and Cheryl is already clinging to Lucas' arm. She doesn't do so well in ghost-related places.
They soon find the symbol on the ground in the shape of a sun. After a few more minutes of walking they come before a trio of doors, each one showing a different symbol. Lucas and Cheryl enter into the sun door.
Going through it they believe the worse is over. "Finally. Now I can challenge-AH CRAP!!!"
They seem to have entered into an even larger and darker maze. "What's with this place!?"
"Are we out yet?" Cheryl asks Lucas, her eyes closed so she doesn't get scared.
"We're in another maze." Lucas replies morbidly.
"WHAT?!!"
--
After searching for the next symbol, which was a heart, they reach the end of the maze and go through the heart-shaped door. There they finally reach a small room, or smaller in comparison to the last two.
Standing before them is Fantina, a smile plastered on her purple lipstick lips. "So, you have finally come. It's about time too. Did you have too much fun in my little maze?"
"Little?" Lucas seems to be a bit upset that she would call that giant mess they went through little.
"Are you crazy? It scared the hell out of me!" Cheryl shouts at her, her eyes open finally to see that they were in a much lighter room.
"Well if such a weak hearted person can't get through that they have no chance of handling me." Fantina says to them, and then laughs for reasons the two had no clue to. "But it is good that you have come. Ever since I have come to this country, I strived to try new things. When I discovered they hold contests, I was so surprised. I said to myself 'efin', I would excel, and so I dress this way."
"Is that so?" Lucas says.
Fantina then makes a twirl and continues, "C'est une performance! Also I study Pokemon very much, and came to be Gym Leader of Hearthome. And so it shall be that you, uh, challenge me. But I shall win; that is what Gym Leaders do, non?"
"Are you done talking? Lucas, teach her some sanity!" Cheryl shouts to him.
"Duskull set upon a grand performance!" Fantina tosses a ball, releasing the ghost type Duskull.
"Take him out, Gabriel!" Lucas throws out the Ground/Dragon type Gible, who lands before Duskull.
"Battle!" They both yell out, as Duskull and Gible leap at one another.
"Gabriel, use Take Down!" Lucas commands, but his Pokemon goes right through the ghost. "What?"
"Full. Normal and Fighting attacks have no chance of hurting ghost types." Fantina says to Lucas. His inexperience has caught up with him. "Duskull, strike with Night Shade."
Duskull's eyes glow dark purple, preparing for a ghost attack. But Lucas has a plan for this. "Gabriel, release Sandstorm!"
Gible opens its mouth and releases a sea of sand at Duskull, canceling its Night Shade. Fantina could say she was impressed, but to say such a thing would scar her pride. "Very good, but it won't work a second time."
"Gabriel, try Sand Tomb!" Using the leftover sand Gible brings up a flurry of sand to cover Duskull, but it easily flies high up and avoids it.
"It's foolish. Duskull holds the ability Levitate. With it all ground moves are ineffective." Fantina explains to Lucas about Duskull's ability. This pretty much makes Gible useless against it.
'There's still that attack.' Lucas remembers one more sure effective move to use.
"Duskull, strike it down with Shadow Sneak." Duskull's shadow crawls out to Gible and slams into its own, knocking it down in pain.
"Gabriel!" Lucas shouts out, worried for his Pokemon's well being.
"Finish it off with Night Shade." Duskull prepares to use the move it tried using last time.
"Oh no you don't. Dragon Rage!" Gible opens its mouth wide, and fires out a ball of dragonic energy. The attack collides with Duskull before it could retaliate, effectively knocking it out.
"That's one out of three." Lucas says, him and Gible punching their right fists high up in the air.
"Alright, Lucas!" Cheryl cheers him on from the sidelines.
As Fantina returns her Duskull, a glint could be seen in her eyes. 'This battle won't end so quickly, non?'
Kenshin: And that ends chapter 3. Let's get out of here before Ester comes back. I haven't gotten her a gift yet.
Yusei: Well, what does she want?
Kenshin: She said she wants diamonds, but I don't see the point in doing that. She can make diamonds with her magic, so why bother?
Yusei: Kenshin, I think she just wants you to spend allot of money on her for once. After all a couple of diamonds can't mount to the love of your wife right?
Kenshin: D'oh, you're on her side aren't you?