Riley.

En Route to Hearthome City.

It took a long time, but eventually, I managed to accomplish mastering the art of bicycling. At least, enough to keep up with Amber and Dee.

Cycling Road was a long, paved, downhill path, but at least it was straightforward. We were due in Hearthome in two, three days, tops.

I wonder if Lee will be judging in the Hearthome contest, too. I was still a little shaken up by what Lee, or Leon, or whatever he went by had told me, but it made a lot of sense, too. Because I could always see things other people...couldn't.

Like the Onix incident. That kept on rearing its ugly head as an example, but it was one of the most recent "incidents". Even the day Riolu had been stolen-

Wait. Something was wrong. I could...I couldn't close my eyes to scan around or something, but I could feel it in my bones.

Someone, just off the road, was in trouble. I applied my handbrakes and skidded dangerously to a halt at the side of the path. Riolu, in the bike basket, was nearly catapulted onto the road. I stood there on the bike, leaning on one foot to support myself.

Amber and Dee pulled to much safer stops. Astro grunted as he thudded against Amber's bike basket.

"Riley, what the hell is wrong with you?" Dee demanded.

Astro chimed in, "You nearly crashed yourself!"

Amber was gentler. "Riles...are you okay?"

I ignored them. I closed my eyes. A little far off, I could see the outline of a girl. She was struggling in a battle against a...a Team Galactic grunt. I couldn't tell what pokemon she was using, but the grunt had a Beautifly out, and a Dustox.

"Someone's in trouble." My voice was flat. I climbed off of the bike , and put up the kickstand.

Amber and Dee didn't move. But then, off into the woods, I heard a small explosion go off, and a teenage girl screamed.

"C'mon!" I scooped Riolu into my arms, and ran off into the forest.

I heard Dee mutter a swear under her breath as her, Astro, and Amber followed me, but no further protest.

The scream had come from the direction of the sunset. I closed my eyes as I ran(yes, I know, stupid Riley moment). I couldn't see the girl anymore, but I could feel her aura, is what Lee called it. I knew it'd lead me to her.

I found a small clearing, about thirty square feet in all, with singed grass. A blonde girl with long hair about our age, holding a knocked-out purple shark-looking pokemon was backed against a tree by a female Grunt with a Beautifly on one side and a Dustox on the other.

She was surrounded, in other words.

The grunt snickered. "Hand the Gible over, girly. You lost fair and square!"

"Get away from me!" The girl barked. She clutched her pokemon, Gible, tighter to her chest. "Two on one is not fair!"

I could see the grunt tense up from behind. "You shouldn't have backsassed me!" She barked back. "Dustox, use Psybeam on this little-!"

"No!" I yelled. "Riolu, save that girl! Use Quick Attack!"

I let Riolu leap out of my arms, anmd he dashed at Dustox. The moth pokemon only had time to turn around before being slammed into a tree trunk.

The grunt turned around. "Who're you?"

"The boy who's about to kick your ass. Riolu, Quick Attack, again!"

While I distracted the grunt, the blonde girl had time to escape as Beautifly was told to dodge. She returned Gible to a pokeball, and met my eyes. She nodded, and I did too, although I didn't understand the unspoken message.

She took out a second pokeball. "Roselia, use Energy Ball!"

A pokemon with roses for arms came from the pokeball, and charged a shimmering green ball between its rose hands. Beautifly was rushed with an attack from either side, and was promptly knocked out.

Dustox finally rose up off the ground, shaking its wings. "Duuuuust!"

"Use Psybeam on both these little whelps!" The Galactic Grunt ordered. "We'll take them both for Commander Jupiter!"

"Quick Attack!"

"Petal Dance!"

The blonde girl and I ordered our attacks simultaniously, so when Dustox was struck, it stayed down.

"Ulp." The Grunt gulped audibly. "Oh...uhh...Plan B!" She returned her pokemon and turned tail, running farther into the woods.

I felt my blood boil. "Get back here!" I almost ran after her.

"Wait!" The blonde girl called. She put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "There's nothing too far further that way. She won't get far."

Riolu ran back over to me. I looked at him; he was beaming, happy about a battle won.

"Oh."

"I could have handled her without your help," She told me haughtily. "But, thanks. That grunt may have taken my Gible if you hadn't-"

"Don't even think about it." I shifted my weight awkwardly. For at least two weeks, the only girls I'd talked to were Amber and the twins. I felt awkwardly. "You're welcome."

She smiled, and returned Roselia. God, she looked pretty when she smiled.

"My name is Cynthia Rose. You?"

Cynthia held out a hand, presumably for me to shake. I shook her hand.

"Riley!" Amber, Dee, and Astro came out of the trees. "What the hell, man?" They finally found me. Astro was hyperventilating, and his fur was matted with sweat.

Cynthia laughed. "Your name is Riley?"

"Ye...yeah. These are...these are my friends. Except Dee, she just sort of came with Amber. Can't get rid of her."

"You asshole. I hate you, too."

Later That Night.

We went and retrieved our bikes, and decided to set up camp for the night. Cynthia Rose joined us for supper.

We explained to the girls what had happened as Dee was cooking supper. She cooked up a pot of stew for us using meat from Volkner's battery-powered cooler, peppered with spicy-as-Satan Tamato berry sauce.

Cynthia gulped down three bowls of the stuff. "This is...this is great stew, Dee. Honestly."

Dee beamed and glowered, "At least somebody appreciates my culinary skill."

I honestly made a mental comparison between eating Dee's stew and performing fellacio on a Slugma, but thankfully kept it to myself. I quite enjoyed my front teeth where they already were.

"I'm a traveller, taking the gym challenge," Cynthia told us. "I'm from up north, a little place called Celestic Town. Already gotten three badges; just got my third from Oreburgh Gym."

I nodded, a little jealous. "I've only gotten two," I admitted. "But my gym battle against Aaron in Eterna was a hell of a fight."

"I'd imagine. You were great against Dustox and Beautifly. Your Riolu-"

"Astro probably would've jumped in the fight, too, if we'd breen in time," Amber interrupted. "Azzy loves battles. Don't you?"

"Don't invoke my name in your sick love games, you territorial, parasitic bird of prey." He didn't look up from his bowl of food.

Both Cynthia and Dee snickered.

"That Riolu's funny," Cynthia commented. "I like him."

"I wasn't kidding, inexplicible blonde chick who was flirting with Riley."