A short and simple chapter, but it took a lot more editing than I thought it would. I still feel like it can use more work, but I've put it off long enough. So here you go!

Enjoy!

Chapter 72
Unexpected Encounter

"Magnitude, Phany!"

Marina's Donphan roared and rose to his hind legs, causing the ground to tremble violently when his feet slammed onto the ground. Their opponent, the Electric-type Flaaffy, flailed in panic at the shifting earth below it. The tremors proved too much for the pink sheep as it toppled over and passed out. Having no other Pokémon to fight with, its Trainer recalled Flaaffy while Marina praised her Pokémon.

"Good job, Phany!" Marina cheerfully said. "You've gotten so strong, haven't you?"

"Donfan, don!" her Donphan responded in glee and trotted over to her.

"You're scary good for a rookie," the female Pokémon Trainer told Marina and handed her some prize money.

"Thank you!" Marina took it with a polite bow.

"You're welcome. So are you heading for Blackthorn City already?"

"Yup, sure am. For my—our—eighth badge! Isn't that right?" she exclaimed with a laugh and turned to Phany, who had begun prodding her face with his long trunk. He continued to do this until she gave in to pet him behind his ears. Content, he looked at his surroundings such as the wooden bridge nearby, which had been built sturdily enough to endure his Magnitude technique. More specifically, he observed the glistening ponds that dotted the area. Marina let him wander freely as she talked with the teenage Trainer.

"So have you been there before?"

"Yeah. It's a gorgeous place, especially in the fall when the leaves change."

"I bet! You can see Mt. Silver so easily, too," Marina responded as she searched the horizon, where in the distance she could see the snow-capped landmass that towered over the mountain range.

"Blackthorn's anything but peaceful for Trainers, though. Competition is tough. There are people training rigorously to become Dragon-type users like the Elite Four's Lance, and the Gym Leader is so powerful that only Trainers with seven badges are allowed to compete with her. The whole Gym is dedicated to preparing Trainers for the Tournament and the League."

"Ooh, that just makes me excited. I'm totally going for the League!"

"You are?" the young woman asked, stunned.

Marina tilted her head. "Yeah. What is it?"

"Nothing. So many kids want to be like Red, but after seeing your Pokémon, I wonder if you can actually do it."

"I hope I do," she said jubilantly. "That's what I'm aiming for!"

"Well, good luck to you. It's just scary having all these prodigies running around; I feel old."

The girls shared an amiable laugh, and Marina looked about for her Pokémon. "Anyway, I gotta go—oh."

Marina suddenly jumped and skipped away. "Incoming!"

"What?" Confused, the older girl looked at her and then Marina's Donphan. Seconds later, the girl's question was answered as she was hit with a gallon of water to the face. Phany happily howled from his spot at the closest pond, and the Trainer gawked at him in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry!" Marina called and sprinted back toward her. "I should've warned you better!"

"No, that's uh...okay." She seemed anything but happy. Feeling as though she had overstayed her welcome, Marina decided to make her leave.

"I...I guess I should get going then. Sorry. Bye!"

Laughing half-heartedly, she ushered her Pokémon away and walked rather quickly down the dirt road.

"Geez, Phany! I thought you grew out of that," Marina chided as she pulled Phany along by the trunk. She looked behind them and made an apologetic wave to the other Trainer, who looked visibly perturbed at the drenched state she was in. However, she was too busy trying to squeeze water out of her coat to notice Marina's gesture.

Phany trotted alongside her, holding her hand in his trunk while humming a happy tune. Marina tried her best to stifle her laughter.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?"

"Donfan!"

"At least it wasn't me this time," she murmured with pursed lips. She admired the cliffy terrain as they continued their hike.

Marina really wanted to write in her diary, but she had done nothing but battle since that morning. The beginning of Route 45 was flourishing with Pokémon Trainers and spectators; there were even several small battlefields on the outskirts of Mahogany Town. She could not help but stick around for a while in order to put on a show for everyone. It was great practice; the Trainers fought in preparation for the upcoming Johto Tournament, and some were very challenging. But because of it, she was eager for a break—and she imagined that her Pokémon were running out of steam too.

Her PokéGear noted that there was a Pokémon Center somewhere on this route, yet she had seen no sign of its signature red roof—or any buildings, for that matter. The road forked into two paths early on, and she wondered if she had taken the wrong one.

I don't know how long it'll take me to get to Blackthorn City, so I'd love for everyone to get some rest, she thought. Guess I'll just have to keep searching for it.

"Ah!" She was jerked backward as Phany came to a sudden halt. Marina maintained her balance and turned to him. "What is it?" she asked.

The sturdy elephant glanced at her for a moment, but he kept eyeing the pond beside them with a genuine look of intrigue.

"I'm not letting you near that water again, not after last time," she told him playfully. When that did not raise a response, the girl decided to follow his gaze. "Hm? What are you looking at?"

She realized that he was not staring at the water, but what was beyond it. In the center of the lake sat an island consisting of some impressive trees and other lush plant life, and standing out from the various shades of green was a beast with stark yellow fur. It had the appearance of a sabertooth tiger, and its curly purple mane sparked with strains of electricity. The potent creature searched the sky with an intense stare.

Marina gasped. She remembered seeing it in the Burned Tower back in early November, and her heart began to race. That's one of the Legendary Beasts! It's Raikou!

She snuck toward the water's edge, recalled her Donphan and released her Lapras. While she climbed onto her Pokémon's shell, she reached into her bag for her Pokédex.

"Be as quiet as possible, Lapras," Marina whispered as she moved up front, "Go toward that big yellow Pokémon right there, but don't attack it unless I tell you to."

Lapras glided silently across the body of water. Marina gripped the red device in her hand as they grew closer to the beast. She wasn't sure how far the Pokédex could detect Pokémon, so she waited to see how close they could get before opening it.

I wonder what it's doing here? She thought, watching Raikou's powerful form. It seemed so fascinated with the sky that it failed to notice them even as they got dangerously close to the shore. Unable to stand waiting any longer, Marina opened her Pokédex and extended her arm as far as she could in front of her and her Lapras.

"Raikou, the Thunder Pokémon—."

With a sudden deep growl, Raikou turned to them. The device kept talking even as the nervous girl gripped it tight. She felt taken aback by the sheer pressure of the beast's aggressive glare. It appeared vexed by the presence of the Trainer, but Marina swallowed her fear.

"Hello, Raikou!" She tried greeting it with a smile. "Do you remember me? We saw each other at—."

Raikou turned and jumped into the air, clearing even the tallest trees. Its figure vanished after another impressive leap. The forest rustled its leaves, and peace returned to the area once more.

"Oh, wait!" Marina called out to it in vain. She spent the next minute pondering as she stoked and reassured Lapras—who had grown belligerent at Raikou's reaction. The Pokémon's hissing eventually quieted, and Marina frowned in concern.

Raikou seemed pretty mad... What was it doing? She looked up at the sky as Raikou had, seeing not a cloud in the blue abyss. Maybe it can predict thunderstorms? It was a lot more scary than Suicune, that's for sure.

"Speaking of Suicune, I guess I should tell Eusine," Marina said and fetched her PokéGear. She selected his name from her contacts list and hesitantly leaned back on her Lapras as she waited for the ringing tone to stop.

"Hello, who is it?" Eusine answered the call moments later.

"Hi, it's me!"

"Ah, good day, Martina!"

"What—It's Marina!"

"Is it? Funny, I could have sworn that's what it was."

"Geez, you never get my name right."

You're even worse than me, she thought with a silly grin.

"I'm terribly sorry. Aside from that, why did you call? Don't tell me—do you have any good news? Is it Suicune? I've had no luck searching since your duel with it at the Tin Tower."

"Sort of, but it isn't about Suicune. I actually saw Raikou just now," Marina replied, preparing for his excitement to spike.

"Ah yes, my intuition is right! I knew you were bound to run into another Legendary Pokémon. It was only a matter of time! Where are you right now? Where are you headed? Please tell me exactly!"

"I'm on Route 45. Raikou looked like it was heading...um, north. And now I guess I'm just going to keep going to keep traveling to Blackthorn City."

"Wait, aren't you in pursuit?"

"What? Oh, well, no. It's long gone now. There's no way I could catch up with it. It was lightning fast!"

"Try anyway!" Eusine's voice erupted from the phone, brimming with his flamboyant energy. "Come now! What kind of Legendary Hunter are you?"

"But I'm not a—."

"Oh, it isn't nearly as impressive as Suicune, but I bet it would be fantastic to see Raikou...! You! Wait right there and chase after Raikou! I'll get there as soon as I can! Please let me know if anything else comes up!"

The man ended the call, leaving Marina with a perplexed face directed at the phone in her hand.

"But how can I wait for you and chase Raikou at the same time...?" Marina glanced and shrugged at her Lapras, who also appeared quite puzzled as she looked down at her Trainer. "Well, we can try getting to the other side of the lake. That's where it was going, so..."

The obedient Pokémon worked her flippers to turn and then swim around the island. Even as they crossed the body of water, there was no sign of Raikou, whose brightly-colored silhouette would have been easy to spot. Giving some praise to her Lapras, Marina returned her to her Poké Ball once they hit land. She fought through the thick brush back on land until arriving at a vast clearing, and she smiled in pleasant surprise. Before her was the hilly northern road of Route 45 which she had passed up earlier. And some distance away, just up a hill sat the Pokémon Center she sought after.

"There it is! Maybe I'll just wait for Eusine here," Marina said with a satisfied giggle.

The Pokémon Center was spacious and had quite a few visitors despite not being in a town or city. Most were fellow Trainers, while a few were just ordinary hikers that enjoyed the rough terrain of the area. But they came and went, leaving the lobby in a mostly relaxed state—perfect for Marina to enjoy some downtime.

After healing her Pokémon, she began writing her rather extensive diary entry. Eusine interrupted her via phone once or twice; and from impromptu research he had done, he informed her that her Pokédex had the ability to track specific, super-rare Pokémon such as the Legendary Beasts. It took her far longer than it should have for her to figure out how to do it, even with his instructions, but she discovered that Raikou had not left Route 45. She could have switched out a teammate for Kenya, who would be able to search the skies for it, but she chose not to. Raikou would probably just run away again. She didn't intend on bothering the Pokémon anymore anyway, planning fully on leaving for Ice Path soon after the rendezvous with Eusine. So Marina was content to write down all of the information she could remember from her talk with Cilice.

When she was done, she closed it decisively and held the diary to her chest.

Now I've got something to go on if I ever look into it myself, even about Maya. She felt the rose clip underneath her shirt. I almost wish that I could start having those dreams again so I can say sorry for yelling at her. It's not her fault that the stuff at the Ruins of Alph happened.

But I guess it's better that things stay the way they are. I could do without all the weirdness!

Her PokéGear began to ring again, and she rolled her eyes with a smile. Muu-chan, who was floating serenely beside her, seemed to giggle in response.

"Here we go again." Marina picked up the phone that rested beside her. Seeing the name on the caller ID, she blinked in surprise and answered it. "Hi Jackson!"

"Hey, Marina! It's been a while, so I just thought I'd call!"

"Yeah, I guess a couple of days is a long time for you."

"Ehehe, it is! Hey, are you in a Pokémon Center? We can talk on the videophones."

"Oh, yeah. Let's do that!"

Once Marina had settled herself in front of one of the booths and cumbersomely connected her PokéGear to the machine, the two friends chatted with one another face-to-face with the videophone's webcam. She wasn't sure whether or not she should mention her incredible encounter with Raikou—as she had yet to tell him about even Suicune—but she had little chance to drive the conversation anyway as Jackson always had something to talk about.

"So listen to this. Recently I've been thinking of getting something flashy for myself. You know, like how you do a cute dance routine when you send out a Pokémon, and how Lance has that neat cape you were raving about last time."

"Mm hm! That cape was so cool, but everything about Lance is just cool," she replied with a merry smile. "It makes him look so much more awesome, like some kind of super hero."

"Exactly. Then it struck me: instead of using my hands to throw Poké Balls, I should use my feet!"

"Your...feet? You mean like kicking Poké Balls instead?"

"Yes!" Jackson answered her exuberantly. "I thought maybe I could line them all up to kick multiple ones at once. Then I could catch many Pokémon in one go!"

"Geez, Jackson. You'll never catch Pokémon that way!"

"Well, I thought it was a brilliant idea at the time, so the other day I went out into the grass, lined up about ten Poké Balls, and had my Meganium use Sweet Scent to attract a lot of wild Pokémon. Then I reeled my leg back and kicked as hard as I could!"

"What!" Marina covered her mouth, not wanting to make too much noise in the Pokémon Center's calm entrance hall. She went to pet her Misdreavus, who smiled in calm delight and proceeded to look around them curiously. Paying no mind to this, Marina asked, "Did you—what happened?"

"Let's see... The ones I hit missed entirely, except one that ended up decking me right in the forehead. Then I lost my balance and tripped over the last two like they were banana peels."

Unable to hold it in anymore, she laughed loudly.

"It was like something out of a slapstick comedy or something. In short, it was a disaster!"

"Right! Exactly!" Marina exclaimed through her giggles. "That's why I said, 'You'll never catch Pokémon that way!'"

"Yeah, you said it!" agreed Jackson with a bright grin as he always did. It faded unexpectedly for a moment, but it returned as he leaned over a bit, appearing as though he were looking over her shoulder. "Oh. Marina, look who it is."

"What?"

"Behind you."

Blinking in confusion, she looked past Muu-chan as she turned around. She froze stiff.

A few feet away from her, Kenta stood rigidly as the two made eye contact. An awkward moment of silence descended upon them, neither of them able to utter a sound as time passed in the quiet lobby.