The Platinum Adventure
Disclaimer: I do not own any Nintendo franchise.
Kenshin: Let's see, what's on today's events…Oh yeah! Lucas, Cheryl and Riley head to Snowpoint and Lucas competes for his next badge. He also learns how to read the minds of Pokemon and humans, I think.
Yusei: What about skiing?
Kenshin: That's been scraped for a flashback. C'mon, no more dillydallying: let's start the show!
Yusei: Dillydallying?
Journal Entry 9: Cheryl's Past and Snowpoint City
Lucas, Cheryl and Riley land in Eterna City through the use of their Flying Pokemon. After returning their partners back into their capsules Cheryl quickly rushes towards the gym, her sites set on meeting with her sister the leader.
Lucas stretches his arms up in the air as he stares up at the statue in the middle of town. "So Mt. Coronet is past that statue right?"
"Yup. It'll probably take all day to get to the other side, and then Snowpoint." Riley answers him. "We'll also run into some strong trainers up ahead, so I'm going to have to stop by the Pokemon center to pick up some Pokemon."
"Oh yeah." Lucas searches around his belt for Staraptor's Pokeball and hands it to him. "While you're there can you send this guy back Rowan?"
"Sure. Why not?" Riley takes hold of the Pokeball and looks at it with interest. "Remember the meeting point."
"Okay. We'll meet up at statue in an hour. I'm going to see Gardenia again." Lucas says to him as he walks over to the center. Our diamond protagonist moves brisk fully to the gym hoping Gardenia would be there like Cheryl expected.
Cheryl enters the gym to see Roserade striking down an Umbreon. The dark Pokemon faints and falls to the ground. The other trainer retrieves his Pokemon in defeat as Roserade returns to its own ball. Holding it is Gardenia.
"Nice try kid. You almost had me then." She says to the trainer. Nonetheless the kid rushes to the Pokemon center to heal his guys and come back for a rematch. Gardenia sees Cheryl standing at the entrance and shouts happily, "Cheryl! It's good to see you!!"
"Gardenia!" She says back, the two running to each other and embracing into a hug. The sisters remove themselves and stare at one another. "You're doing great. How's the gym holding up?"
"Well, I lost to some kid a few days ago who had a Pikachu and a Staravia, but other than that I'm doing great. How about you?" Gardenia asks her little sister at the end.
"I caught a couple of good Pokemon. Look!" She takes out her Pokeballs and through them in the air. Out pop Chansey, Noctowl, Grotle, Togepi and Spiritomb.
Gardenia squeals as she picks up Togepi. "This one is the cutest!"
"That's what I thought; Lucas gave me Togepi as an egg." Cheryl says, blushing slightly at the mention of his name.
"Oh that's right; how is your petit boyfriend?" The gym leader asks her.
Not flinching, or maybe realizing, the 'boyfriend' comment at the end, Cheryl replies by saying, "Lucas is doing great. He's already won 4 badges after we left. We're on our way to Snowpoint now."
Cheryl then returns her Pokemon into their balls, save Togepi. Gardenia looks at her in surprise and says, "Oh my. You haven't reacted at all when I referred to Lucas as your boyfriend. Does that mean-."
"Yeah, Lucas and I am a couple. I kissed him officially last night." Cheryl says as she blushes while looking to the side and pressing her index fingers together.
Gardenia squeals and says, "Aw, that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard; a good night kiss. Oh yeah! I wanted to give you something! Wait here!"
"Are?" Gardenia places Togepi on top of Cheryl's head as she heads off somewhere else. "Something for me?"
Gardenia runs into Lucas as she makes it for her house, and says, "Lucas! It's good to see you!"
"Gardenia? Did you see Cheryl?" He asks her, a little shocked at her presence.
"Yup. She's waiting at the gym. Come with me for a sec." She says while grabbing Lucas' arm and heading home.
"Huh?!" A flabbergasted Lucas reluctantly accepts and follows her. This way his arm wouldn't get pulled off like Ulquiorra's when he fought Ichigo.
The two make it to Gardenia and Cheryl's home, and she finally releases his arm. Gardenia steps up to her door and opens it, turning back to Lucas to say, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"Uh…are you sure?" Lucas asks her. After she nods vigorously Lucas gives up and joins her inside the house.
Lucas takes a step inside the home, glancing with amusement at the furniture and wall hangings around the place. The house itself resembles a traditional Japanese style home, even coming equipped with an upstairs. He sits on a stool within the kitchen while Gardenia heads into the bedroom. He sees a tray of fruit on the table and picks up a pear.
"I wonder why she decided to bring me here." He asks himself while taking a bite out of the pear.
"Lucas, you situated?" Gardenia asks him as she joins him in the kitchen. She is holding a Pokeball in her left hand.
"Yeah. What did you want to talk about?" He asks her after finishing his pear.
"Well I believed I should tell you about the relationship between me and Cheryl, since you two are a couple now." She reveals to him.
"Relationship? Aren't you two sisters?" Lucas asks her, rather confused as to what was going on.
"Not by blood." Gardenia begins, causing Lucas to quiet down and stare with a blank look in his eyes.
He was about to say something when she interjects by continuing. "It all started that day, a long time ago…roughly 14 years actually…
Flashback Jutsu
Elsewhere in Sinnoh, 14 years before the story began, in which case Lucas isn't born yet at the moment, a city has been set aflame. A large group of buildings have been shown to burn to the ground while the rest are close to it. Bodies covered certain sections of the city. There seems to be no survivors of this horrible place.
One of the fallen bodies slightly twitches, in sighting that she is still alive. A half glazed look in her eyes and blood leaking out her mouth, she looks around to see that nothing around her was alive. No people, no plant life, not even Pokemon. Her eyes slowly begin to close through the use of her lids, as if she was about to give up on life.
'I can't believe they did this…those bastards at Team Rocket…' She mutters in her mind, those being the last things she flashes through her thoughts before going to sleep.
Her eyes quickly open up when she hears a child like voice, so sweet like the coo of a dove. She knows she heard that noise around here, and could recognize it as a baby. The woman slides her hands before her on the ground, pushing herself upward so she could look ahead.
"Who…who's there?" She asks, knowing that the person who was giving out that noise was close by.
Coming out from the corner of a burnt house she sees a little girl with brown and black hair and dressed in a green battered dress. In her arms is a wrapped up brown blanket, and it would seem something was inside. Following behind her is a Happiny. "A-ano…"
"Someone else survived…" The woman says to herself. She somehow finds the strength to push her onto both feet, and walk towards the girl and Pokemon in a limping motion. "Are you okay?"
"Un…mom and dad...they both…" She slowly begins to gather tears in her eyes, before the older woman places her arms around her, silencing her crying.
"It's okay…I'm here…I'll help you." She says to her.
"Lady…" The little girl whispers to herself. The blanket she holds begins shifting about, gathering the older woman's attention.
"Who's in there?" She picks up the bundled up blanket and unravels it, revealing a baby child inside. The infant has white fleshy skin and forest green hair. The baby looks up at the woman and giggles, revealing green eyes. The woman smiles hopefully. "At least, a miracle happened. Is she your sister?"
The little girl shook her head from side to side twice. "No. I found her crying, in a building over someone's body."
"I see…let's get out of here…" The lady says as she rises back up with the little baby in her arms. "I'll make sure to take care of you, so you never have to suffer like this again."
"Thank you lady!" The little girl says, a smile finally forming on her face for once. "My name is…Gardenia."
"I'm Ezra. What to call her though…" She says as she walks towards the outer limits of the city. Gardenia follows close behind with Happiny trailing afterwards.
End Flashback
And from then on the three of us watched over one another, mostly Cheryl and her Happiny. Later on Erza passed away from heart problems, and we both had to take care of each other." Gardenia concludes, ending her fragile story as a child.
Lucas is still in his seat, but is now crying, tears streaming down his lids like a waterfall. He rubs the tears away with his right arm. "That's such a…sad story…it's the kind of sad past filled with such hope…you would hear in a comic book…"
"Yeah, I get that," Gardenia says with a sigh. She then continues by saying, "I wanted to tell you this so you could understand Cheryl and myself some more."
"Does Cheryl know?" Lucas asks her.
"She might. Cheryl knows Ezra isn't our mother, but I never told her about us. Thing is; I might never tell her. She seems so much happier with that illusion, and it wouldn't really change how we see each other." She finishes her sentences with a sigh. The gym leader then rises up from her seat and leans in front of Lucas. "But, I should probably wrap this up seeing as how I'm taking up time on your journey."
"Uh, it's no problem at all! It's always nice to take a little break now and then with people you like." Lucas states with a small blush. This was coming from the two of them having their faces so close. He could see a faint blush on her face as well.
"Thanks…I need you to give that ball to Cheryl. It's a gift I caught her while you two were away. I know she'll like it." She says, leaning back to give them some space. With a devious smile she claims, "I won't forgive you if you make her cry. Got it?"
"Uh, sure." Lucas says sternly, agreeing with his love interest's adopted older sister. He then rises up from his seat and heads to the exit. "Have a good day! Bye!"
"Bye!" Gardenia says back. Her smile from earlier fades quickly as he disappears out the door. The grass trainer gives out a great big sigh, sadness present within her heart. "I really wanted to kiss him…oh well. I never had a chance in the first place…"
Gardenia sits down in the chair she was in before and places a hand onto her sternum. "Ah! What am I thinking? I should be focused on my next match! I should plan!"
--
"Lucas!" Cheryl says when she sees her boyfriend walking up to her. "Have you seen my sister? She was supposed to give me something."
"Your sister…" Lucas pauses as he begins to make a reply to her. He doesn't exactly know what to do, and he feels guilty about having a secret like this to him and being unable to tell her, but like Gardenia said; even if it is a lie, it probably wouldn't matter.
"Yes?" Cheryl walks closer to him and stops before the guy.
"Gardenia…is busy. She asked me to give this to you." Lucas says as he hands her the Pokeball the gym leader gave him.
"Really? What is it?" Cheryl takes the ball gratefully and opens it up, releasing Vespiquen. It was the evolved form of Combee. Cheryl couldn't hold in her excitement. "WOW!! Gardenia actually gave me this!!"
"It's a Vespiquen; the Beehive Pokemon that releases various pheromones to make the grubs in its body do it's bidding while it battles foes. Kind of gross." Lucas comments as he reads his Pokedex.
"Who cares!? I've always loved the Pokemon Vespiquen! They have perfect hp stats!" She says to her boyfriend as she hugs her new Pokemon. "I'll have to thank my sister definitely!"
"But we have to go now. We said we'd meet Riley soon at the statue." He says back to the girl. Cheryl pouts and returns her newest team addition to its ball.
"But I want to say goodbye to her…oh well…" She gives up and turns away from Lucas. She obviously didn't notice he was a little off at the moment.
"Sorry, but we can always meet with her again some other time." Lucas says in an apologetic voice. He then walks over to the area where the statue would be placed, knowing they would meet up with Riley there.
"Hey, wait up!" Cheryl chases after Lucas knowing he would instantly forget about her.
Lucas stops before the statue just as Cheryl reaches him, and spots their blue friend walking up to them from the other side. He then asks them, "You guys ready?"
"Yup! Let's get those bastards at Galactic!" He shouts throwing his right fist up in the air.
"Yeah. I want them gone too." Cheryl agrees as she tosses a punch in the air just like him.
"Let's go then!" Riley then dashes over to the mountain entrance, as his two friends follow behind.
The trio of trainers head outside the city and go over the bridge connecting it to the mountain. With Lucas heading in first and then Cheryl and Riley they each venture inside the building. Our diamond protagonist immediately feels a strange vibe around him causing him to shiver. Riley seemed tense as well, but Cheryl was the least affected by the atmosphere.
"Lucas, do you feel that?" Riley asks the teenager.
"Uh huh. It's the same as the last time I came here…I thought it was just fear last time, but that can't be it…" Lucas mentions to him. He notices not a single trace of Pokemon around, which was weird as well. He at least saw some Geodude and Zubat last time, even a Nosepass.
"We'll have to keep going. Once we move those boulders out of the way we can continue." Riley says as he takes out a ball.
"Right. Go Pokeball!" Lucas sends out Blitz, who approaches the ball. Riley releases his Pokemon, this time a Mamoswine. Once again Lucas stares with glee and awe at Riley's amazing Pokemon. He recovered quickly though and then directs his Blitz. "Okay Blitz, use Strength to move those Boulders out of the way!"
"Mamoswine, you do the same!" Riley adds. Their Pokemon summon up all their brute strength and force the giant rocks away.
Within seconds they successfully cleared a path for them deeper into the mountain. Lucas and Riley return their Pokemon to their balls and continue inside of Coronet. At some point during the venture the air around them slowly becomes thick and foggy, incredibly hard to see through.
"Where'd this fog come from?" Lucas asks no one in particular.
"Lucas, try and use Tropius to blow this fog away." Riley suggests to the younger trainer.
"Ok. Go, Tropius! Use Defog!" He reaches for Tropius' ball and releases it. The fruit Pokemon flaps its wings and blows away the cloudy atmosphere. They could easily see now. Lucas reclaims his grass and flying type and states, "Good. Let's move on!"
And so the three friends pass onward through the area before them. As they do they could see a pool of water by their right. This is probably where the fog came from. From there afterwards they didn't take long in reaching the exit. The trainers could tell this was the exit for it soon started to get cold, even more than normal.
Lucas and the others stop by the exit. "Time to put on those snow suits."
"I got them!" Cheryl holds up the bags she has been holding ever since they entered the mountain, which contained their snow gear so they could move forward.
After separating themselves from Cheryl, who was self-conscious about changing in front of Riley, the males end up zipping their suits on and now wait at the entrance for Cheryl. Riley has a blue one while Lucas wears a red one. After an extra minute Cheryl finally approaches them dressed in her green snow gear.
Riley then says, "Alright, try to stick close together. It's going to be extremely cold and windy, and there will be random Ice-type Pokemon that will attack what they see."
"Got it!" Lucas and Cheryl shout in unison.
The trio exit Mount Coronet together and enter the freezing cold atmosphere they would have to bear with eventually. Lucas instantly covers his mouth and nose up with his snow mask. Cheryl grabs both her sides and begins rubbing them. Riley ignored it.
"Let's go. Our path is that way." Riley says as he points ahead of them through the snow filled air and the ground covered the same way. Lucas nods first and heads forward, followed by Cheryl and then Riley.
By the time it grew dark out the trio have reached an inn. They walk inside and realize that it was a snow lodge. Riley sits in a nearby tree and watches Lucas and Cheryl head up to the front desk to book a night's stay, maybe to change. Riley sighs as he says, "She didn't want to change in front of me but she'll do it before him?"
"How long will you and your friends be staying?" A random pretty female asks our blue Aura Guardian.
"Not long. Just until tomorrow so we can continue to Snowpoint." Riley replies, as the girl pesters him more. She seems to be a fan girl type.
"Thank you for choosing to stay here." The receptionist says as Lucas receives the keys to their room.
The two friends turn to Riley and show him the keys. He rises up and quickly ditches the annoying fan girl and takes his room key. Lucas and Cheryl head to their shared room as Riley goes to his own.
As night fell Lucas and Cheryl have already changed into their sleeping attire. The male teen enters the bed first as his girlfriend joins him. The two snuggle closely together and embrace one another. Lucas kisses her on the cheek first before asking her, "Cheryl, do you really want to be my girlfriend?"
"Of course. I cannot visualize anyone else as the one man I would want to sleep with." Cheryl replies to him, kissing him on his lips once. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I was just a bit curious. I feel so lucky to have you by my side. I never thought I could ever have a girl as beautiful and sweet as you." Lucas confesses to her as he lays his head on her shoulder.
Cheryl flinches when he mentions those words, and then thinks up the possible candidates that would ask out her boyfriend should she have not confessed to him; Professor Rowan's assistant Dawn, her sister and Gym Leader Gardenia, the Pokemon Champion Cynthia, and maybe the Gym Leader Maylene. "With your heart touching personality, you can."
"Huh?" – Lucas
"Never mind. Goodnight Lucas." She says, giving him a final kiss on the lips before closing her eyes and drifting to sleep. Lucas follows her to dreamland.
--
The next morning, after breakfast, Lucas and Cheryl meet up with Riley by the living room of the lodge, all three packed and dressed in their snowsuits. Riley then asks them, "You two ready? Our next stop is Snowpoint, and then Lake Acuity where Team Galactic will show."
"Oo!" Cheryl and Lucas cheer.
They exit the lodge one at a time and head north past the snowy route. It seems to be a bit lighter than yesterday. Lucas heads forward up the snow banks at a faster rate, passing by his two friends. He wanted to make it to Lake Acuity as soon as possible and make sure Paul was okay; the guy wasn't really known for raising his Pokemon the right way.
"Lucas, wait up!!" Cheryl shouts at him, gripping his hand to stop him from going any further. "We have to stick together. You could get lost out here."
"I just want to get to the Lake fast. Pearl might be in trouble." Lucas replies, showing worry for his best male friend.
"Lucas you have to show some faith in your friend. It would hurt his pride if you didn't think he could handle himself." Riley replies in response to his worry.
"I know, but that doesn't make me feel better." He says back to him, and then aimlessly bolts into the cold weather.
"Wait, Lucas!" Cheryl calls out for him, but by the time she chases after the guy the weather starts to grow worse. Riley chases after Cheryl knowing she'll have the harder time getting through this snow.
'Maybe it was a good thing I came with them. They would get in so much trouble without me.' Riley complains in his mind. Regardless he follows after Cheryl knowing she'll need help.
An hour has past since they split up. Lucas is lost, no surprise there. He's now wishing he'd stayed beside Cheryl and Riley. Of course if he was going to get in trouble he could always use Staraptor to find a pathway and Infernape to keep him warm.
"It's starting to get worse out here." Lucas says as he stops in the middle of blank whiteness. It is at this time he begins to close his eyes and plop down. When he does he realizes that the snow he's sitting on isn't soft. It's rather lumpy and hard, like something's underneath. He rises up and looks down at what he's lying on, but can't get a clear view.
But as he looks at it his eyes begin to release a light blue aura around them. It is then that he blinks in surprise. In that sudden second he could see this object releasing an aura. His eyes have returned to normal as well. Now interested Lucas digs into the snow to get out what's underneath, and gasps when he realizes it's a body. Lucas digs harder and now gets a clearer view of the person. Turning the body to face him he could see that he is now holding Maylene, the Veilstone Gym Leader.
"Maylene!? Are you okay? Maylene!" Lucas asks her, feeling frantic and scared. He looks at her attire; she doesn't seem to be wearing any form of snow wear at all. She has on the same clothes he last saw her in.
"Don't worry Maylene! I'll get you to someplace warm…somehow…" Lucas says to her in her ear, embracing her tightly. Lucas continues trekking through the snow to find Snowpoint or his friends. But with the snow blocking his vision he could do little really.
Within two minutes Lucas could see a house ahead of him. It almost looks like the lodge they left. Did he go all the way back? Instead of questioning it further Lucas heads towards the house, his left foot clinking onto something. He bends down to pick up what he touched, and saw it to be a disk of some sort. Pocketing it because it might be useful he heads to the door and opens it, surprised that it was unlocked.
Inside Lucas could see a husky hiker sitting at a couch watching something on a laptop. The young trainer enters inside and closes the door, which grabs the hiker's attention. "Oh, didn't see you there. You traveling to Snowpoint or something?"
"Uh, yeah. Look, can we talk later? I just found this girl unconscious outside. I have to get her warm." Lucas says to him, holding up his friend Maylene.
"Oh my! Come here, we'll lay her down here." He says, walking over to Lucas to hold Maylene. He takes her to the couch and lays her down. "You go boil some warm water in the tub."
Together two males worked as one to save the life of the frozen maiden. After she is situated and warmed up, but still hasn't woken up yet, Lucas finally calms himself down. Maylene now lies in the hiker's bedroom while both the males were in the living room. "Good…I'm glad I was able to help her…"
"So what brings you here? Are you heading for Snowpoint City gym?" He asks Lucas.
"Uh huh. I'm heading to the gym to get the next gym badge, but first I need to help one of my friends." Lucas replies looking down onto the ground with a sad yet determined look on his face. "I need to help my friend at Lake Acuity. He might be in trouble if I don't help him."
"Really…then you will need Rock Climb." The hiker says, looking out the window.
"Rock Climb? Is that an HM?" He asks him.
"Yeah. It's HM08. It allows a Pokemon to climb up the jagged cliffs of mountains, but it requires the trainer to hold the Snowpoint gym badge." The hiker says while looking at him. "I had one, but I lost it yesterday when I was out training."
"An HM…" Lucas thinks over the ideas, and then remembers the disk he found. He digs into his pocket and pulls out the CD. "Is this it?"
"AH!" The hiker rises up and grabs the disk. "That's it! Where'd you get it?"
"Outside. I stepped on it when I found her." He says with a smile. "If it belongs to you then I can't really keep it."
"Really?" This surprised the hiker. The boy honestly wanted to give him his disk back.
"But, I wouldn't mind borrowing it for a little while so I can help him." Lucas says to him.
"Hmm. I guess I could lend it for a while. I am not leaving any time soon." He replies, handing Lucas the hm.
"Thanks so much!" He shouts as he takes the disk with both hands. "Now I just need to find my friends then-"
"You think someone's inside?" A voice says on the outside of the door.
"Uh huh. We'll ask them about Lucas." The door opens up, and in steps Cheryl and Riley.
"Cheryl! Riley!" Lucas notices that his friends have come by.
"Lucas!" Cheryl shouts happily. She then quickly calms down, because she now knows he's okay, and says to him, "Lucas, why did you run off so suddenly!? You weren't at the top of Route 217."
"You guys found the exit already?!" He asks them in a shocked voice.
"Were you here the entire time?" Riley asks his younger friend.
Lucas stands up and faces his traveling companions to say, "I came upon this cabin when I found Maylene passed out in the snow."
"Maylene? Isn't she the gym leader of Veilstone?" Cheryl asks him.
"Un. We can leave now though; she'll be okay, right?" Lucas turns around to look at the hiker. He gives a thumb up.
"Don't worry; she's in good hands." He replies.
"Thanks. Have a good day!" Lucas says to him as they leave the place.
--
"Lucas, are you sure it was a good idea to leave Maylene with him?" Cheryl asks her boyfriend. Sure she never really got to see the two battle each other but if she was hurt she would no doubt show concern, as all human beings do.
"We have to go find and help Paul at Lake Acuity. Afterwards we can return and see to her again." Lucas replies to her.
"But what if they guy tries anything on her?" Cheryl seems to now be bringing out a weird imagination. "He might try to see her naked."
"You don't have that much trust in people you don't know do you?" Lucas asks her with a sweat drop coming down the left side of his face.
"Lucas, you can't be so trusting of others! I mean, I would be peeved if I was found unconscious and soaked enough to need my cloaks off to prevent a cold." Cheryl begins, already envisioning things that did not and have not happened. She then grows a little ticked. "And why would she walk around in a t-shirt and sweat pants in this weather?! Your story doesn't sound very true!"
"Well, to be honest, I was the one who removed her clothes." Lucas confesses while rubbing the side of his head.
"You what! And you don't seem bothered by it!?" She yells at him.
"Thank god I got earmuffs too." Riley says as he walks on by, ignoring Cheryl twisting Lucas' ears while blushing.
They continue north of Route 217, where Lake Acuity would be, with Riley in the lead since he obviously knows where to go. The trio stops south before the Lakefront, and Lucas spots someone up top a cliff. The snow has lifted away so they could easily see, if only slightly.
"Yo Lucas! What took you so long!?" shouted the person from above. With his appearance and voice they could easily discern him as Paul, or Pearl.
"Paul! What are you going up there?" Lucas asks his best male friend.
"That blond kid looks familiar…" Riley mutters to himself, cupping his chin to think of something.
"The lake is up here. I had to clobber the Snowpoint gym leader to use Rock Climb, so you better hurry up if you want to join in!" He says to them with a laugh.
"Where's Team Galactic?!" Lucas asks him. There's no way they shouldn't be here after all.
"Huh? Oh they didn't show up yet. Guess they must have heard I was here! Ha hahaha!" He then goes off laughing as if proud of his strength.
"Guess I should head to the center. We'll check up on you after the battle! Don't leave that place incase they come!" Lucas says to the blond trainer.
"That would be a good idea. You can spend the day training for tomorrow's battle." Riley says as he heads east for the city. Cheryl grabs hold of Lucas' arm and pulls him along. "Take care Paul."
"Don't overdo it!" And with that last piece of advice from Lucas he willingly joins his friends and heads towards Snowpoint.
The trio reaches the entrance of Snowpoint, after running into a couple of ice Pokemon. The first thing they notice, besides the snow, is the cruise ship with drills in front of it. It seems to be made for traveling through ice. They step into the city and head for the Pokemon center, to book the night and rest their cold bodies and clothes.
After entering the center Lucas quickly strips himself of his snow gear. Cheryl follows afterwards, starting with her hair, which became frilly and messy. Riley removes his as well, and heads towards the front desk to book a room.
"Lucas, you want to explore the city a bit? It's not snowing anymore." Cheryl asks her love interest.
"Sure. Let's invite Riley too!" Lucas says with a smile. She shakes her head no.
"No…I mean, alone…just the two of us. Riley can be fine by himself." She replies, blushing a bit at her request. It would seem she was interested in spending time with him in the hopes of getting to know him better, on their second day as a couple. She couldn't do it yesterday because they were under heavy weather.
"Well, it's kind of late, but let's do it anyway!" He says to her. She quickly blushes madly.
"What? Isn't it too soon for us to do that?!" She asks him while holding the center of her chest.
"Huh? Aren't we going to tour the city?" Lucas asks her. She then calms down and sighs.
"Oh, of course. I was thinking…never mind. Let's go!" Cheryl grabs hold of his arm and heads out the door with him.
Riley at that moment finishes booking a room from Nurse Joy. "Hey guys, I was thinking we could…eh?"
He notices that Lucas and Cheryl both gone. The wise trainer smirks underneath his hat, quickly figuring out the deal. "Those two really are something…"
The door opens up quickly, revealing Lucas and Cheryl stepping in, their arms wrapped around themselves shivering. Sweat falls down the side of Riley's face. 'I had expected this from Lucas, but Cheryl…they're really something alright.'
The couple put their snow gear back on, or rather the only necessary ones for this none snowy weather, and prepare to head back out, despite how late it is. Hand in hand Lucas and Cheryl explore the snowy area in their lighter snow gear. As they do some sight seeing Lucas is easily amazed at what he sees, while Cheryl gazes at the white sky mostly.
They come before a late night cafe and enter inside. They order hot tea and cheesecake and sit at a table near a window. Cheryl looks out, and asks him. "It's a rather beautiful sight, but it doesn't compare to the garden I visited when I was 13."
"Was this in Eterna?" Lucas asks her, now interested in her story.
"No, it was Floaroma. It belonged to the man you got honey from. Remember when you were telling me about your adventure in chapter one?" She then looks at him with a peaceful face.
"First off, try not to break the fourth wall. But yes, I remember. That was a cool place to visit." Lucas states, smiling back at her. Cheryl's heart flutters positively about when she receives his smile and her face gains a light tint of red. "You know, I still have some of that honey if you like."
"You do?!" She asks in an excited manner. "I would love some later!"
"Then it's a deal!" At that moment their cake and tea arrived, and they chow down.
Lucas was about to make a mess on his face by using his hands, since the cake wasn't that big in the first place, but if he did then that wouldn't be proper etiquette. Also Cheryl might find this offensive. But then he remembered that she would still care about him even if he pigged out. So he ignores this sense of proper manners and bites on the cheesecake.
Cheryl giggles at the way he ate it, since he now has cheese crumbs on his lips. 'I'm glad he knows he doesn't need to impress me.'
"Cheryl," Lucas suddenly says, grasping her attention. "What do you think I should do? Team Galactic might strike tomorrow, or even tonight, and I'll be unable to stop them."
"Well it's true that you need the Snowpoint badge to move up those rocks, you also have to go there for your Pokemon quest. The only thing you can hope to do is battle the leader as quickly as possible, then hurry up to save your friend." Cheryl says to him, hoping this would help him out.
"Yeah. I was planning on challenging the gym sooner or later, but now I have to do it as soon as possible. Once the gym's over I'll have to put my quest on hold until we crush those bastards!" Lucas says, and then takes a sip of his tea. "This tea tastes like black cherry."
"It is black cherry." Cheryl corrects him.
"D'oh!" – Lucas
After Cheryl laughs at him the two of them finish up their snack and pay the bill. They redress into their snowsuits and head back to the Pokemon center holding hands. Cheryl seems to be rather closer to him than normally as they walked.
"Lucas, come here." Cheryl says to him. Lucas looks towards her, noticing how much taller she is than him, and receives a kiss to his mouth. She lifts her arms up and places her hands around his cheeks, adding more passion to the kiss. Upon instincts Lucas holds her by the hips and moves her closer to him. Cheryl removes herself from his mouth by a few inches. "I'm so glad I got to meet you that day, and went with you beyond Eterna Forest. I'm so glad, that I can say I love you; three little words put together I was hesitant to say before, but now I want to keep on saying."
"I love you too. I'll always be with you." He says to her. The two were about to engage into another kiss, when his backpack begins to glow. Lucas turns around and pulls out his bag, to reveal the egg he got from Riley inside. "Is it hatching?"
"Ooh! About time!" Cheryl squeals out. She seems rather excited about what's going to pop up. She got Togepi from the last egg, so one could only guess what this one has.
The egg finally stops glowing after taking a shape and form. It reveals itself to be the Aura Pokemon Riolu. Lucas and Cheryl gasp in amazement at the new Pokemon. Lucas takes out a Pokeball and his Pokedex, and scans it. 'Riolu the Emanation Pokemon. Like its evolved form Lucario it has the peculiar ability to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves, or aura.'
"Wow. It must be an offspring of Riley's Lucario. I'll train it to become a great Pokemon!" He says as he tosses his Pokeball at it. It successfully catches the blue dog and he places the ball around his belt. "Now my team has Infernape, Floatzel, Luxray, Gabite, Staraptor and now Riolu. Want to give it a nickname?"
"Uh huh. I know the perfect one," Cheryl says in response to his question. She places a kiss on his lips and then says, "Let's name him Lucas."
"Wow, really? Then it's decided; Riolu will be Lucas." Lucas says to her, giving back a heartwarming smile. She responds with her own smile, and takes hold of his hand.
The young couple together walk hand in hand towards the Pokemon center. Lucas is the first to enter, as Cheryl follows afterwards. With all the other places closing up, including the gym, they wouldn't bother trying till morning. In the rooms Riley reserved Lucas and Cheryl lie down on their shared bed, and huddle together in their pjs.
They kiss one last time, before diving into their minds to dream.
--
"And I'll rip everything away from you, starting with the one you love most!!" Cyrus bellows maniacally as he points to both Paul and Cheryl. These three, Lucas, Mars and Jupiter are all up top of a mountain pillar. Lucas is trapped in a sort of bubble shield with Cyrus. His friend and girlfriend were battling Jupiter and Mars respectively, before they were knocked to the ground by an unseen force.
Lucas continues to pound on the shield in hopes to pierce through it. As he does though his fingers start to bleed. He seems to be crying too screaming, "NO!! CHERYL, GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!"
"This is your punishment, for getting in my way and relying on pathetic things like emotions!" Cyrus taunts Lucas in a cackling voice. Standing behind him outside the bubble are a light blue being on four legs and a pink being on two. Both of their heads seem to be blackened with red mouths and eyes.
"CYRUS!! STOP!! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!!!" Lucas yells at him, grabbing hold of his collar with both hands.
"It's too late. Now you'll suffer the same loneliness and pain that I had to, right before you die!" He says to him with a grin, smacking him to the side. Lucas glares up at him with a blue glow in his eyes.
The pink being towers over Cheryl's unconscious body, as if about ready to finish her off. But before she could meet her end, everyone around them feels a tremendous spread of energy nearby. Lucas and Cyrus look to where the giant beings are, and see a black portal forming. The bubble shield spreads out enough so it and the beings could fit in it.
A shadow rises up from the portal, glaring down at Lucas and Cyrus with the same face as the other two beings. It knocks them back away and shoots out a tentacle at our Diamond protagonist and the Team Galactic Leader. Cyrus gets absorbed into the tentacle and disappears. Lucas rushes over to the end of the bubble to try and get free again, but is captured by the shadow as well. Cheryl wakes up at that moment and reaches out for him.
--
Lucas opens his eyes and looks around, a pale expression appearing on his face. 'What a horrible nightmare; were those Pokemon?'
"Mmm, Lucas…" Cheryl mumbles in her sleep, rubbing herself up on him. Lucas gasps in shock when she does. This was extremely new to him. "No, not here…let's do it…someplace…else…"
'What is she thinking?!' Lucas murmurs in his mind.
Lucas then notices the bright light outside. It would seem its time to get up. Lucas removes himself from her and sits up on the bed. "Today's the day I battle the gym leader. I'll have to make it as quick as possible."
"Lucas…" Cheryl mumbles, opening her eyes and waking up. She looks up to see her boyfriend sitting up on the bed. "You're up. Ready for today's battle?"
"Well, I haven't really trained my Pokemon for this battle, and I'm not even sure which Pokemon this person might use. Let's hope Natsu and Gabite are enough." He says, rising up from the bed to get his clothes. After he's done he leaves the room, so Cheryl can get dressed and so he can prepare his Pokemon.
In the main hall of the center he comes before the pc, ready to withdraw and put in some Pokemon. But before he does he hears someone shout, "Lucas!"
He turns around to face whoever called his name, and sees Maylene stopping in front of him. "Maylene?! So you're all better?!"
"Uh huh! And it's all thanks to you. Thanks for saving me!" She says then leaps onto him for a hug.
Lucas slightly blushes at the contact, but quickly pushes her back. "Whoa, hold on there a minute! Why were you out there in the first place, and in such clothes?!"
"Well I was asked by Candice to come visit her. I felt it was a good idea since it would help her in future gym battles. After all, Fighting Pokemon are strong against Ice types." She explains, releasing him finally.
"Okay, but why weren't you in a snowsuit or something?" He asks her, wanting to get to the main question.
"Well that was a part of my training. I didn't want to fly to Snowpoint either. The last time I did it everything went fine, but I passed out when I realized I didn't get anything to eat." She confesses while rubbing the side of her head shamefully with her right hand. As she does she laughs in an embarrassed way.
"You passed out from hunger…that's the dumbest thing I ever heard! You could have died, you know?" Lucas shouts at her. Maylene stops laughing and looks to the ground ashamed.
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I caused you and that hiker allot of trouble; I even beat him up when he was hovering over me that time…" She says with a sad tone in her voice. Now it's Lucas' turn to feel bad.
"It's okay. You're alive, and that's what's important…wait, the gym leader uses Ice types?" He asks her at the end, upon realizing what she said earlier.
"Yup. She usually has four Pokemon and all have the ice attribute. Are you planning to battle her?" She asks him.
"Lucas, I'm ready!" Cheryl's voice calls out. She is shown latching herself onto Lucas, and then gasps when she sees Maylene. "Ah, you must be the gym leader from Veilstone; the one who was caught out in the snow?"
"Yeah, sorry for worrying you. So it's just the two of you here?" She asks the two of them.
"Not really; our friend Riley should be coming out soon. After we meet up we'll be heading for the gym and then Lake Acuity." Lucas says to her in response.
"Where is Riley anyway?" Cheryl wonders, looking around for the blue trainer.
"Riley…you mean blue mobster hat and jacket Riley?!" Maylene seems to know who the Aura Guardian is.
"You know Riley?" Lucas asks her.
"Ah, Maylene. Nice to meet you again!" Riley says as he enters the room. Lucas, Maylene and Cheryl look to the left to see the Aura Guardian walking up to them.
"Riley-san! I'm so glad to see you!" Maylene squeals in a fan-girlish way. "How's Lucario doing? Mine's still doing well!"
"He hasn't gone rusty at all." Riley replies.
"You two know each other?" Cheryl asks the older teen.
"Uh huh. Riley-san gave me my Lucario when it was a Riolu. I've been thankful to him ever since." Maylene says to him, a small blush appearing on her face.
"Wow…just like me. Well I'm heading to the gym. You guys ready?" Lucas says, as he goes back to the pc. He places Floatzel's and Luxray's balls onto the pc and transfers them to Rowan's. He then withdraws a Great Ball and adds it to his seat. "Now I'm ready."
"Lucas, you forgotten one thing." Riley says to him before walking to a table.
"Huh? I did?" Lucas asks confused. Cheryl giggles at his cluelessness.
"Of course; you need to eat breakfast!" He says to him. Almost comedically Lucas falls down.
--
"Well I can honestly say I'm glad I got something to eat!" Lucas says as he exits the center while zipping up his snowsuit.
"You can't win any battles on an empty stomach." Cheryl says to him.
"You're starting to lose your personality little by little each day. You should really calm down and try to cherish your childlike self." Riley advises him.
"I'll be fine. I have to grow up sometime, and now's the perfect time since I need to stop those guys at Galactic." Lucas says with a serious look on his face. His serious exterior changes when Cheryl takes his right hand with her left.
"Don't be that way. I'd rather have the sweet and childish Lucas over the mature Lucas any day…" She says to him, giving off a smile to the boy she loved.
"Cheryl…" – Lucas
"We're here." Riley says as he looks up at the gym. It was fairly obvious it was a gym, since it's in the middle of the city. Lucas enters the gym first, with Cheryl next and Riley last.
When they enter Lucas could see that the floor was frozen solid. Save the back of the gym where a black haired girl sits on rock hard ground, there seems to be no solid ground to walk on normally. This would be hard for the main battle.
"How am I going to get over there?" Lucas asks himself.
"You'll simply have to skate over there." Riley says as he pushes Lucas forward into the icy gym. He loses his balance and slams headfirst into the ice.
Lucas pushes himself back up, and tries again. This time he succeeds in getting over to the other side. There he meets the female gym leader; she has black hair done up in two bead like ponytails, a blue stub placed in her hair for accessory, a white school shirt with a big cyan tie and a tan skirt. She also has a cyan sweater tied around her waist.
"Hi there. Are you here to challenge me?" She asks Lucas.
"Uh, yeah. I'm Lucas of Twinleaf." Lucas says to her, taking out a Pokeball and aiming it at her.
"Hmm…I guess I can battle you for now; Maylene hasn't shown up yet so yeah! Let's go! I was waiting for a tough customer!" Candice says to him, picking up four Pokeballs she has lying next to her. "But let me tell you; I'm tough too, because I know how to focus."
"Focus?" – Lucas
"Pokemon, romance and fashion; it's all about focus! I'll show you what I mean, so get ready!" She says as she tosses her first Pokemon out to the icy field.
Out pops Sneasel, the dark ice type. Lucas smirks, since he knew this would be coming. "Go, Riolu!"
Lucas sends out the emanation Pokemon, and the currently weakest one he owns, who lands on the ice before slipping and falling. Candice could only stare at it in shock, with a sweat drop falling down. "What?"
"He's going to use Lucas so soon? That can't be a good idea!" Cheryl comments, knowing how young the fighting type still is.
"So his egg hatched already?" Riley asks, cupping his chin as he watches the battle getting ready to begin. "Let's see if he knows what he's doing."
"Riolu, Quick Attack!" The young Pokemon lunges at Sneasel with all its speed. But when it reaches it Sneasel steps to the side and dodges the attack. Riolu keeps on running, unable to stop due to being on ice, and crashes into a wall.
"Like I said, you need to focus; Sneasel, Aerial Ace!" Sneasel leaps into the air, and then comes down at Riolu into a dive bomb attack.
"Riolu! Counter!" Riolu releases a strange brown aura around it, which receives the attack in full and knocks back the dark Pokemon. "Now use Force Palm!"
On Lucas' orders Riolu leaps after Sneasel, still influenced by the counter, and receives a forceful blast of energy to its stomach. Sneasel falls to its knees after receiving the blow, and glares at the young Pokemon. Riolu prepares itself as it watches Sneasel.
'Riolu will be fine. As long as I make sure to use his offense and defense abilities he won't have any problems.' Lucas says to himself in his mind.
Yusei: Let's see, what's in the next chapter?
Kenshin: Lucas finishes his battle with Candice, and then the group goes to Lake Acuity and then Veilstone. But there's something bugging me.
Yusei: What? What, the fact that current PS3 systems don't play ps2 games?
Kenshin: No; my hatred for that will never diminish, but that's not what's messing with me now. I'm wondering why it's taking so long to put up these chapters now.
Yusei: Writer's block. Ten wants to write, and he knows he has to, but right now he's lost his passion for writing. He's probably having money trouble.
Kenshin: Nah; more like girl issues. If it were a money thing he wouldn't be doing this in the first place. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the romance TCM added between Lucas and Cheryl. Now we're off to play Kingdom Hearts.
Yusei: But we can't; remember the PS3?
Kenshin: GAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!