Pokemon Revolution: Advent Phoenix (Rated T)

[Venastois]

Oh yeah. On a side note. Totally unrelated issue. If your playing a gamecube game on the Wii. Do you have to have a gamecube controller to play it. I just need to know so I don't go out and buy a game that I won't be able to play.

*Believe me, the british folk will understand. An advert that I don't believe you get in america. funny stuff.

off topic: gamecube controller. :/ hope you don't have to buy one to play the games. that would stink.


on topic, the one thing that i've always been curious about, is the characters of Matt's pokemon. and we haven't seen Shiro's or Madelyn's if they still have them which i hope they do. i like the way you set up madelyn's character as the champion of the orange islands. anyway, as those are smaller characters, i wouldn't imagine too much developement on them. but a Small amount of character development so we can at least understand their character would be good. (i'm talking mostly about Matt's.)

IIRC, combuskin and grumpig are the only ones we have any clue into their personalities of matt. :/ hm. just stating. not complaining.

[SamuraiDragon1]

To play a gamecube game on the wii I think you ether need a gamecube controller or a kind of wii controller that is like an older type of controller.

[Diddy]

Yeah I'm sorry about the whole uber off-topic thing.

Just I wanted to post here and ask about it somewhere else, but I thought 'why not kill two birds with one stone'

And to go on-topic with this post. Fortree is miles away from Lavaridge, even in the games. So I reckon there must be quite a few chapters and a possible resurgance of Darris and Co. All that tall grass and general forest is perfect for an ambush.

Sorry again and i'll post again when necessary. \\m//

[Air Dragon]

Hey, it's all good...

As long as a mod hasn't closed this yet, it's all good...

I feel generous now (felt really *****y earlier today) so I decided to put some more sketches up... hope these go down as well the first lot did...

Travis

SORRY, EM1... I FRANKLY SUCK AT DRAWING BRAIDS SO I TRIED A TUBE LIKE ACCESSORY...

Matt

Mariah

I dunno... have I done these before?

Shiro

Madeline

Kenjiro (2nd TRY)

Reivyn (Also the 2nd TRY)

AND YES, I KNOW THEIR LEGS SUCK, OK?

OK, guys... I'm out...

L@er!

[Kazekage]

Hey EM1, the past chapters have been effin awesome!!, well I can't review all of them, so I'll review them as a whole.

The thing with your fics are that they are so good I can't wait to get to the end see everything unfold so sometimes I feel as if I'm rushing.

But they all have been amazing, as a whole this fic so far earns, 4 out of 5.

Amazing Fic I really love it beyond great, but there have been some moments where I want to yell and slap Travis, and other characters. But that actually makes them great characters, sooo.

5 out of 5.

Awesome

[EonMaster One]

Venastois: Yeah, a guy on my hall just bought SSBB for the Wii and I used a Gamecube Controller because we didn't have enough Wii controllers (and I hate those f@$king nunchuck things anyway). By the way, as much as Melee rocked, Brawl rocks double. Yeah, Brawl rocks almost as much as Slash's guitar solos. I'm dead serious. If you have a Wii, get this #$#&ing game as soon as you can.

Air Dragon: That's one thing I like about you guys. Since the time I started writing Revolution: Johto, that's probably about the second time I've ever seen anybody have an off-topic conversation on my thread...and I don't think a mod's ever gotten on my case about it. Some threads get closed because of all the spam. Granted, I think that's extremely unfair to the author because if (s)he isn't a guilty party there's not a hell of a lot (s)he can do about it. If I were a mod, I would probably only close a fic thread under three circumstances. One, if it were so bad that it wasn't readable (one thing I like about the current mods is the fact that they are very tactful when doing this). Two, if it becomes a flamewar...God, I hate flamewars, maybe that should be number one, or if the author requests it to be closed.

Anyway, slightly off topic, but on topic as well.

Oh, and thanks for the pictures. If you want my honest opinion, these aren't bad; but the last batch you sent me - especially the one with Travis standing on the rock and the ones of Voltyger and Volterror - were so damn good that it would've taken a lot to top them. I like Mariah's and Madeline's pictures, though. Only question about Madeline's - was that depiction from any particular chapter?

    Spoiler:- Hmm?:

Show Spoiler

 
Getting a well-drawn peacetime picture of Nate and Avril together would make me very happy...something like Chapter 26 if you need a reference - I don't think I've seen you do a picture of Nate. Don't forget about the poor guy! He's still important! (*wink wink*)
 

Kazekage:

One thing you'll find out quickly if you research any kind of writer - well-known, a relative nobody, fan fiction, actual published work...a lot of times their work reflects their lives and beliefs. Without going into too much detail, let's just say that I have firsthand experience with the way Travis' character has been. Now, I haven't had to fight an insane (as well as insanely powerful) demon hell-bent on taking over the world, but I still know as well as anyone that, although physical wounds suck, emotional and mental scars stay with you for a very long time. I've had to deal with getting over some past hurts that I dealt with in my high school years, and as I've moved on to college, I've found out - and I've been taught - how to let go of things that have happened to me in my past.

That said, it's been very recently that I've gotten to a point where it looks like my situation has some closure. I'm happy with my friends and I've realized that the only true challenge in front of me was school, which (like Travis' Pokemon Training) I've found myself to be pretty good at handling, so it doesn't bother me that much. The next several chapters will be a point of transition for Travis because he's going to be dealing with things he isn't used to like a more extended time of peace and having several friends around him. People you didn't know would be so helpful will end up being instrumental in getting Travis to the end of the journey.

[Air Dragon]

OK, i get the message, *wink, wink*. A remake of an earlier request may make an appearance soon too.

Gotta go, got reviews to write, and chapters to prepare...

L@er!

P.S. Your chapter list is out of date... need a hand?

[EonMaster One]

Número treinta, as my neighbors to the south would probably say. This sure feels like an accomplishment now that my chapters are averaging well over twenty pages in length. For those that like the war scenes and the swashbuckling action, you’ll see a bit in this chapter – I just went about it a little differently.

Chapter 30: The Distant Storm

July 6, PA 2013 – Rustboro City, Hoenn

From under the blanket covering a bed seemingly a size too small for the young man resting within, a head of reddish-blonde hair was visible. His eyes, a deep russet brown, were veiled behind their lids in slumber. A ticking clock set into the forehead of a Sunflora beat away the time…

On the other side of the small room, a pre-teen boy with hair of a slightly darker shade of blonde sat bolt upright after hearing a dull THUMP.

“Ah!” the boy gasped haltingly, looking around him. He was about twelve years old, but quite short for his age. Next to him in the same bed was his younger brother, a six-year-old boy with light, fair hair.

THUMP.

“Coming!!” the boy heard his mother’s voice carry through the house – which wasn’t saying much, honestly. The house was essentially a glorified slum, very narrow with two stories. The boys stayed on the second story. The five females in the house – four girls ranging in age from two to fifteen, and the children’s mother – stayed on the first floor. The young boy heard two steps of footsteps and a loud wail from below. “Honestly, Victoria! Quiet!!”

The boy listened and heard silence for a moment as his mother opened the door.

He heard the voice of a young man downstairs and then the yell of his mother.

“Sheridan!!” the woman’s cry echoed up the stairs. The boy jumped out of bed and took the two large steps across the tiny bedroom until he reached the bed of the young man. He gripped the older youth’s shoulder through the blanket and started shaking it.

“Sheridan!! Get up! Get up!” the boy said rather loudly, trying to keep his voice low enough not to wake his younger brother, because the six-year-old was rather cranky in the morning.

After about fifteen seconds of this, the young man began to stir.

“Erf…Dietrich…what’s going on?” Sheridan said sleepily, opening his earth-colored eyes at last.

“Mom called you – I think there’s someone at the door…” Dietrich Hadley said quickly.

THUMP.

“Geez!” Dietrich muttered, running to the door and opening it. A middle-aged woman, slightly squat from the aftereffects of having eight children, stood framed in the doorway. Her graying, cardinal-red hair was barely visible in the form of fringe hanging out from the nightcap that matched her slightly tattered gown. She definitely looked the part of a mother of eight. Her tired brown eyes and her careworn face, lined with a shallow wrinkle or two, stared at Sheridan for a moment before she spoke.

“Morning, boys,” the middle-aged mother of the two teenagers said. Drawing in a breath, she added, “Sheridan, you need to get dressed – and quickly. There’s a young man by the name of Woodson at the door saying that he has to take you to meet someone.”

“Woodson? At this hour?” Sheridan asked. Sheridan peeked at the Sunflora clock in his room. It was only slightly after six. “What could he want?”

“I don’t know, but it seems that he wants you to go somewhere with him,” Sheridan’s mother answered. In her eyes he could see an outward display of the same feeling he had in his heart.

Something was going on.



Meanwhile, a brown-haired young man stood in the small square of a small neighborhood in Rustboro City, awaiting an answer from one of the gray-looking houses that lined the square. His silver, steel pauldrons and cuirass gleamed in the sunlight over an emerald-colored, long-sleeved shirt that was held to his wrist by silver bracers. In its sheath, his standard-issue short sword hung from a belt at his waist.

His upbringing had been so different from that of his comrade. He was from Petalburg City, from a reasonably well-to-do (although not rich) family, and found the good Prince as he was investigating a rumor about evil spirits coming from the Romero Mansion. His father was not a soldier, but rather a trader that was often away from home fostering trade with the overseas nations, like the Twin States and Sinnoh, as well as the two large archipelagoes, Sevii and Orange. He also had no large family – just two younger siblings. His ten-year-old sister was at home with their parents. The twelve-year-old, though…he would be thirteen soon, and he had opted to take his first Pokémon journey (for he had studied and graduated from the Academy here in Rustboro) in Kanto of all places.

Kelvin Woodson laughed to himself. The prospect of war had a way of becoming a social equalizer. In war, the rich bleed no less than the penniless, the grizzled veteran no less than the young conscript. The proud warriors of high repute can die ignominious deaths, while those who begin as relative unknowns…

…can earn an opportunity at heroism.

The door swung open to reveal a young man of only seventeen with short, reddish-blond hair and armor very similar to Woodson’s. A sheathed sword sat at his belt buckle as well.

Sheridan Hadley got straight to business.

“Who sent you here?” he asked.

“Lady Ivanna,” Woodson replied. “She wants to speak with you.”

“Sorry, but that’s kind of random,” Sheridan raised an eyebrow. “I’m just a rank-and-file private, anyway.”

“Really?” Woodson answered knowingly. “That’s not what she told me.”



“Tori, come back!!”

Ten minutes had passed since Anna Hadley’s eldest son had gone outside for a meeting with a fellow soldier, and now, the six remaining children in the house were all awake. While the others in the household were all old enough to wash and dress themselves, Anna always had to bathe her two youngest children, both girls. Hannah, age five, was in the bathtub already, but Victoria, a two-year-old, had escaped from the eye of her mother and subsequently began tearing through the small house as fast as her tiny little feet could take her – wearing only her skin.


One could hardly blame Anna for irresponsibility here. She had much less help around the home than she was used to. Normally, she had backup in the form of her husband, Victor, as well as her two oldest sons, who were both very close to their father and who both took the most senior Hadley’s disappearance from his post as a Captain in the Hoenn National Army in different ways.

Sheridan, the oldest at seventeen, idolized his father and wanted to become a soldier at his first chance. It just so happened that his first chance was with the Emerald Knights, who had been called the ‘wrong’ side in the brewing civil war. This worried Anna to no end, but she always knew deep down that Sheridan would become a soldier. She just prayed that she wouldn’t lose him, too…

Chandler, on the other hand, far from having greater respect for his father, only harbored a deeper resentment for the man. He was interested in Pokémon and dreamed of one day becoming a Trainer. As a pre-teen, he worked odd jobs – most of them involved walking pet Pokémon of others in the neighborhood or helping to deliver packages – to save enough money to buy Pokéballs. Therefore, it came as no huge surprise when Anna went to her sons’ room one morning last summer to wake them that she found, where Chandler should have been, a note explaining his resolve to become a Pokémon Master as well as the fact that he had managed to sneak up on and capture a Nincada.

Anna was worried about him as well, but was nonetheless proud of his determination to one day make enough money by being Champion to bring his family out of the slums.

The truth is, this family had fallen on hard times. While they were never rich, they were always reliably supplied by the salary that Victor made. After Edgar’s accession and Victor’s subsequent disappearance, Anna, who was, of course, a homemaker by virtue of her high fertility, was unable to work and take care of her eight children, so they were forced to move into what had been government housing…at least, until Edgar took over and things turned chaotic in Rustboro. At that point, the housing projects were all but abandoned in favor of protecting more high-profile parts of the city. Perhaps they thought that no dissenter from such a humble place could attract enough attention to stir up any trouble.

But Anna couldn’t afford to lament the past. After all, she had at least six children depending on her. As much as she hated to admit it, both Sheridan and Chandler could likely fend for themselves if needed.

“Tori, why are you streaking through the house? Good grief!” the shocked and exasperated voice of a boy darted through the hallway to her ears. Anna gave a start – Dietrich must have found her.

“Yeah, Tori! You’re gonna get sick!” a younger voice echoed. Raymond must have seen her as well. Anna continued to make her way down the hall until she reached the boys’ room. There, she found Dietrich neatly folding the covers over his and Raymond’s bed. Sheridan’s bed was also made and empty. In the middle of the small room was six-year-old Raymond, keeping a close watch on a blanket that seemed to be standing up on its own. Anna peered down at the blanket and saw the pale face, blonde hair, and mischievous smile that told the entire story.

“Victoria,” she said seriously. The fair-haired toddler peeked her head out from under the faded, purple blanket, smiling innocently as she seemingly realized that her little game was over. Anna scooped up the girl, blanket and all, into her arms and sighed, “What are we going to do with you?”

“Should I go talk to Sarah?” Dietrich asked.

Sarah was almost ten years old and known for being the house’s drama queen. Usually, whenever Dietrich asked this question (which had become very often after Victor went missing) Sarah was upset about something. If Anna were to hazard a guess, it would be that Sarah’s behavior came as a result of Victor’s disappearance. Of course, everyone in the household (except for Victoria, who was only a year old when he left and wouldn’t remember him) was upset when they hadn’t heard from Victor in a while. Sarah happened to be exceedingly bad at hiding her feelings, though.

Dietrich, on the other hand, was his mother’s pride and joy. With Sheridan and Chandler in the house less and less, he seemed to understand extremely well that the responsibilities that those two had as the oldest male in the home fell to him. As a result, the last year saw very large leaps of maturity for young Dietrich. Anna’s only worry about him was that his sense of obligation to his family would one day keep him from leaving the slums – and perhaps Rustboro altogether – to follow his dreams…whatever those were.

“Sarah?” Anna finally answered. “What’s wrong with her now?”

Anna heard the clanking of the front door as it swung open with a loud creak. A pitter-patter of multiple footsteps said that several of the children had been alerted to the presence at the door. Victoria squealed in excitement at this new development.

“Was that –” Dietrich trailed off and ran past Anna, out of the door of the small bedroom, and down the hallway.

“Slow down!!” Anna called after him. Giving Victoria an extra lift into her arms, Anna followed her son’s path down the stairs, albeit at a much slower pace. When Anna reached the top stair, she immediately saw Sheridan along with Dietrich and his twin sister Deidra, who had short, strawberry-blonde hair and was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Anna descended the stairs and approached her oldest son, all the while being careful not to lose her grip on little Tori. “Sheridan! Sheridan, what happened?”

Sheridan had a look on his face that clearly said that something significant had happened and he knew not how to make sense of it. He was looking down at something in his hand.

“Dietrich, move over,” Anna rushed forward as her third son obediently stepped aside to let her through. “Sheridan? What is it?”

Sheridan took a deep breath.

“The Prince has ordered an attack on the Imperial camp at the Petalburg Woods,” he said.

Anna’s heart sank.

“…and they want you to fight?” she asked.

Sheridan handed Anna a circular object. Anna felt a slight weight as she took it with her right hand. She turned it over and saw an emblem with two legendary Pokémon. This was a shield...it looked familiar. What was the significance of…

“They want me to lead the unit,” he said. “Mother…I’ve been made a Captain.”

Meanwhile, in Fallarbor Town…

A girl of about sixteen with flaming, bright orange hair slunk through a back alleyway of the small town of Fallarbor. Around her tight, off-white pants was a belt – a belt that held a sheathed short sword that she knew her way around well enough to defend herself should the need arise. Her top was not quite as tight, and was a dark green.

She caught up with a taller, slightly older male wearing a dark green shirt with white cuffs. His hair was also a tangerine color and rather short. He also carried a sword, but his was longer and heavier, a bit more like a broad sword.

“Damn it,” the young man muttered to himself. “How long is this passage?”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting tired, Talan?” the girl said, elbowing her older cousin with a knowing smirk.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jill,” Talan Ainge replied. “This is just kind of irritating. Wonder what the hell Orda’s doing in a place like this?”

“Well, we can ask him…” Jillian replied. “If we ever find the guy. What do we need him for anyway?”

“Orda’s the only one of Grandfather’s apprentices that’s still alive,” Talan answered. “The Knights are getting to the point where we’ve got too many workers and not enough tools.”

“What?” Jillian uttered a bit dimly.

“We need Orda to make weapons for us – or at least show some of our guys how,” Talan sighed as he simplified his last statement. “Can you understand that?”

“Of course I can understand – I’m not stupid,” Jillian retorted, folding her arms.

“Well, then, let’s go,” Talan answered quickly, rounding the corner. He and his younger cousin ran the long passageway, which was lined with brick walls on either side and was narrow enough to cause problems for anyone who happened to be unfortunate enough to be substantially overweight. They approached the end of the alley at a jog, seeing something that made Talan quite upset.

“Damn!” he groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

There were bricks all around, as well as a few trash cans. But as for doors or other denizens…nothing.

“Shoot!” Jillian snarled in exasperation. “Now we’re going to have to wind our way out of this alley!”

“Great…” Talan said, standing still for a moment to reflect on his disappointment. Something was off. He was sure that Orda lived down this alley, from the report he’d heard. Then again, very few common citizens had seen Orda. Not even the few Imperial soldiers in the area (which had the smallest garrison, as the majority of the guard had been pulled to bolster the defenses of towns like Petalburg and Mauville, which were on high alert because both were in striking distance for the growing rebel faction known as the Emerald Knights…

Talan’s ears perked up as he heard a sound similar to rushing wind.

“Jill, get down!” the young man yelled. Jillian, with a slight shriek of surprise, ducked as Talan, all in one motion, whirled around and drew his sword. With a reverberating clang that might have been heard atop Mt. Chimney, Talan’s blade clashed with another.

Jillian looked up.

“Orda?” she gasped. Talan stepped back out of necessity, for although he was the average height for a young man his age, Orda was quite tall. In this shaded place, his short hair, which had rather untidy bangs at the front, appeared black, but Talan knew for a fact that was actually a very dark green. With slightly angled eyes and an utter lack of anything that could be mistaken for facial hair, Orda still had a rather youthful appearance despite being slightly over thirty. He was wearing a cheap-looking, drab green, v-neck shirt with brown sleeves and yellow lacing across the exposed area on the upper torso. He also wore brownish pants that came close enough to an exact match of his shirt sleeves. Obviously, he had a sword in his hand. It was similar in style to the one Talan carried, except that the blade itself was a dark green similar to his hair.

“Talan and Jillian,” Orda’s voice was calm but had a bit of a cocky edge. “You’ve sure grown up.”

“Apparently not enough,” Talan quipped, looking up slightly at Orda, who was still well over four inches taller than he was.

“Sharp as always,” Orda said. “I wish I’d have stayed around long enough for Master Ruvell to teach me to have eyes in the back of my head.”

“I don’t have eyes the back of my head,” Talan said, shaking the aforementioned head in negation. “I have ears, though, and those work almost as well. In any case, I see you’ve reduced yourself to attacking people in dark alleys.”

“Don’t worry – I wasn’t going to cut your head off…immediately,” Orda lazily rested the broad side of his sword on his rather broad shoulders. “That treatment’s only reserved for Imperials who come calling.”

“Can they find you back here?” Jillian asked?

“Find me? Hell, no. I make sure of that,” Orda commented, pacing the small square between the brick walls. “The fact that you managed to find me means you must have really been looking…so we’ll get straight to the point. What do you want?”

As Orda was very direct in his speech, so was Talan.

“You’re the only person left alive other than me that knows how to forge swords anywhere close to what Grandfather can do,” Talan said. “You can guarantee the Imperials know about you – they’ve killed all of the others. So we thought that maybe you could work for us.”

“Work for you? You mean, the rebels?” Orda said, a smirk crossing his thin lips.

“It’s right up your alley, isn’t it?” Talan asked. “Being controversial…rebellious…going against the grain.”

“People are talking about you guys, you know,” Orda finally replied. “Some of ‘em even think you’ve got a ghost of a chance at bringing down the Imperial Army. Me, though…”

Jillian and Talan separated as Orda strode between them, walking toward the far wall, about twenty yards away. Then, he turned and flung his sword in a defiant gesture, pointing it at Talan, who understood immediately.

“…I need convincing,” Orda said.

“Fine,” Talan answered, gritting his teeth.

“Last time you tried to spar me, five years ago…I beat the living hell out of you,” Orda stated, sounding rather matter-of-fact instead of reminiscent. “I really hope you’ve improved since then.”

“Why don’t you attack me and find out?” Talan asked by way of a taunt.

“If you say so,” Orda responded, charging.

Orda’s footsteps rang dully in the clearing of concrete as he accelerated toward his younger, ginger-haired opponent. Talan jumped aside a wide, arcing strike and skidded to a stop, planting from his feet at that moment to mount his own offensive.

The two swords clashed magnificently as they met each other high over the combatants’ heads. Talan gained leverage and began to use his physical strength to push not only Orda’s sword, but Orda himself, backward. After three or four steps, Orda slipped himself free of the grapple. Talan’s momentum caused him to over-balance badly and the orange-haired youth nearly took a header into the concrete ground.

“Talan, careful!” a worried Jillian shouted loudly, for Orda had seen his chance and leapt with hopes upon falling upon Talan’s back with the blade.

“Got you!” Orda announced. Each of his angled eyes swelled to the size of small moons as he watched a silvery brand somersault into the air, missing his face by mere inches. This caused him to avert his eyes from Talan for just a second…

BIG MISTAKE.

Talan, now getting up from his back, hooked his arm inside the crook of Orda’s elbow and summarily hip-tossed him to the concrete below, where the older fighter landed with a rather nasty crunch and rolled once as Talan sprang to his feet. He turned around and leapt back quickly to where his sword had landed, a few feet away from the feet of his younger cousin, landing and picking up the sword in one motion.

Meanwhile, Orda stood, looking a bit winded. A trickle of blood was dripping from his lip, but he quickly took care of that with one of his knuckles.

“Maybe you’d better call this one off,” Talan suggested. “After all, I haven’t done my job if I take you back to Verdanturf in pieces.”

“I’ve still got another few rounds left in me,” Orda laughed.

The sky uttered a tempestuous growl, making the ground shake with the deepness and volume of the sound. Travis looked up and saw clouds colored that ominous bluish gray that usually signals all too clearly that a summer thundershower is on its way. He and his friends were walking back from the Torkoal Springs Restaurant in Lavaridge Town, trying their hardest to make it back to the Pokémon Center before nature turned nasty.

After being reunited as an entire group for the first time in nearly two full years, there was obviously much catching up to do and much to talk about.

“So, the door’s closing, and Shiro’s freaking out and dropping F-bombs left and right, ‘Oh, blank! Oh, blank! We’re gonna blankin’ die!’” Madeline continued to describe a rather hairy incident that occurred in a mine shaft in the Orange Islands last year. Katrina, to her greatest surprise and dismay, was looking straight across Travis (with whom she was holding hands, of course) and Shiro, right at the bridge of Madeline’s small, rather girlish nose.

What this meant in so many words was that now Madeline, who had been the definition of a ‘late bloomer’ as far as many of her physical attributes, was now quite a bit taller than Katrina and, in fact, almost the same height as Travis. Granted, if Madeline and Katrina had been the same height, the former (who still had the majority of her hair tied back with the exception of her blonde bangs) and her boyfriend would look rather awkward together, seeing as Shiro, at nearly five-foot-eleven, now positively towered over everyone else in the group by at almost a full head.

However, if Madeline’s account was true, this didn’t do a whole lot for Shiro’s toughness.

“Really, Shiro? That doesn’t sound like you at all,” Katrina commented.

“When I choose to do something crazy, it doesn’t bother me at all,” Shiro said defensively. “Getting dragged around is another story, though…in any case, Madeline had Nidoqueen, so she just got her to blow the friggin’ door down.”

“Having strong Pokémon really gets you outta some jams – especially when you don’t have superhuman powers like some people…” Madeline quipped.

“Yeah, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, but I guess that goes without saying, right?” Travis coolly inserted his own opinion, eliciting a laugh from his girlfriend.

Madeline smirked.

“Anyway, we got out,” she explained. “And got that crazy little Meowth back to his owners.”

“And I’ve had to deal with about a year of this – all because Madeline can’t say ‘no’ to anybody,” Shiro commented. Madeline drove an elbow into the red-haired boy’s ribs, causing him to grunt in slight discomfort.

“Oh, come on – you don’t want to admit it, but it’s fun,” Madeline sang, cutely using one finger and fiddling with her blonde fringe. Shiro grinned.

“Yeah, I guess it never gets old…” he said.

“You guess…come on,” Madeline purred, resting her chin on one of his shoulders. Shiro drew in a breath as her blonde hair tickled his neck. By this time, they had reached the Pokémon Center. Shiro and Madeline entered the doors, which opened on their own accord with a low hiss. Travis followed them, but Katrina didn’t seem to be following him.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” Travis asked her, turning around.

She smiled.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. Travis approached her. She let out a slight shudder as his hand traced the outline of her cheek. As they drew close to kiss, lightning flashed, a very loud clap of thunder sounded and both young lovers found themselves drenched in a ridiculously heavy rain. Katrina screamed in surprise.

“Oy! Lovebirds!!” Travis turned around and saw Shiro under the awning just outside the Pokémon Center’s doors. “Kyogre says he doesn’t like public displays of affection!!”

Travis shook his head.

“And since when have you ever followed anybody’s rules?” he yelled back, turning around toward Katrina and kissing her.

Katrina instantly felt her wet face grow hot, as a warm surge of pleasure and affection washed over her just as quickly as the storm had done, running through her inner being like her insides had been purified by some kind of fire. She let out a slight moan and clenched her fist…it was almost too much to take…

And then he released her. Her face was hot and as pink as her rain-soaked hair as he took one of her hands into his own.

“Are you coming in or not?” he asked. “I like a good summer shower as much as the next guy, but we’re gonna end up waterlogged if we stay out here.”

“Yeah…” Katrina said, sounding rather like she was in a daze. Nevertheless, she walked inside with him, holding his hand the entire way.



Ten minutes later, she was pressed into discussing the matter with Madeline, who asked her about the unusual redness of her face while the boys went to get drinks for the four of them.

“I don’t know…I can’t put my finger on it,” Katrina explained. “I can hardly recognize him anymore. He’s so much……”

She seemed at a loss for words, so Madeline finished the sentence for her.

“Happier?” the brunette girl said. She leaned over the table slightly. “What do you think he would do without you?”

“I don’t know…I guess he’d find a way to…” Katrina muttered modestly, but Madeline cut her off.

“You are so full of ****,” she laughed. “You know as well as I do that he needs you…but he wants you, too. You make his life worth living.”

“Since when have you known so much about us?” Katrina asked.

“Well,” Madeline said with a slight laugh. “I’ve grown up a lot since the year before last.”

“Rub it in, why don’t you?” Katrina commented.

“That wasn’t what I was talking about,” Madeline answered quickly. “I mean…emotionally. When you first met me, I had just started finding out about a lot of stuff.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Katrina said. “You’re almost four months older than I am, but you always felt like the baby of the group.”

“I was…really insecure back then,” Madeline replied. “I guess that’s part of the reason I fell for Shiro in the first place. He always seemed so sure of himself – sometimes too sure – but I liked being around that because I wasn’t used to people having a lot of confidence in me.”

She paused for a second.

“After the war was over, I really didn’t know who I was anymore. I stayed with Shiro and we just wandered aimlessly for a little bit. I couldn’t go back to Cherrygrove – I knew too much.”

“That’s why…” Katrina muttered. The main reason that she and Travis had not seen Madeline or Shiro face-to-face in such a long time was because the latter couple was struck with the kind of restlessness that comes from not being accustomed to peace.

“We’ve gone to a few places,” Madeline stated. “We went to Kanto right after the war ended and stayed there for the winter. We came back and traveled Johto again in the spring. After Shiro’s tournament in June, we went to the Orange Islands just for the hell of it. That’s where we were when Shiro’s dad died.”

Katrina nodded in comprehension.

“I don’t think he ever forgave his dad for keeping the truth from him about his mom,” Madeline said soberly. ‘The truth’, of course, was that Lauren – Laena to those who knew her during her childhood – was a Blackthorn by birth, therefore making Shiro a nephew of Lance, Clair, and Lorca Blackthorn. The same, obviously, went for Shiro’s younger brother, who had been taken in by the aforementioned clan immediately after his father’s sudden death. “But, anyway…by the time we got to the Orange Islands, Shiro’s constant encouragement started to work. I was a lot more comfortable with myself, and it took Shiro some time to get used to me being that way. After I beat the Orange League Champion…I did tell you about that, right?”

Madeline waited for an answer to this question which was, in all honestly, a bit of a tangent.

“Yeah, but we kind of heard it through the grapevine – as in, from the guy you beat,” Katrina replied offhandedly.

“Brad Carmichael? He’s here?” Madeline sounded surprised.

“Yeah – he’s trying to make a run at Hoenn’s Championship now,” Katrina commented.

“He was pretty strong,” Madeline said. “It took all I had to beat him. My father found me there. He barely recognized me – it’d been almost five years and I guess it was for more than one reason. The old me would have never had the confidence to attempt anything like that…no matter how much crap I talked. When I was still in school, I only had just about enough courage so that most of the class bullies wouldn’t mess with me or Matt.”

“Gotcha…” Katrina uttered. “Uh…where’d Matt go, anyway? I haven’t seen him since yesterday. He didn’t leave without saying goodbye, did he?”

“Well…he talked to me before he left. Said he didn’t want to get in our way…whatever that meant,” Madeline sighed. “He’s so erratic now. Not, like, bipolar or anything…what I mean is, he’s so much harder to read. When we were little, each of us could tell what the other was thinking.”

“You guys didn’t do that twin thing where you finish each other’s sentences, did you?” Katrina asked out of curiosity. Madeline replied by shaking her head.

“Nope,” she answered. “But only because Matt was too shy to string two words together in front of someone he didn’t know. I really hope he’ll be okay.”

“Matt’s grown up, too,” Katrina remarked. “He can take care of himself.”

“I’m not worried about anything happening to him,” Madeline answered. “It’s just this whole family thing…I hope it doesn’t consume him.”

The two girls sat in awkward silence for a moment, mulling over all that had been said in the last several minutes. It seemed that in the last year or two, Madeline had acquired, among other things, a knack for blunt honesty. For the most part, she said what she thought about something if one were to ask her. She would no doubt become a woman that would be easier to figure out than most.

That had to be the key, Katrina thought. That was why Shiro and Madeline’s relationship had settled so well.

There was a point where Katrina was concerned about whether Shiro and Madeline would work out in the long run. The fact was that the relationship had started not out of years of friendship, like Travis and Katrina’s relationship, but rather out of something that was more or less a crush that never had the chance to pass over. In short, Katrina knew back then that Shiro and Madeline liked each other, but it was a while before she saw that they loved each other – because it took them both a while to learn. The war and the losses that came with it made her realize that she could talk to him about absolutely anything. That was why they could travel the world together after having met barely two months prior, with no sense of awkwardness. That was why she could confidently introduce him to her father and stepmother.

Speaking of Shiro…

He and Travis were presently returning to the table, each carrying a pair of sodas. They seemed to be talking about something. Travis was very obvious in the rather dubious look he was giving his best friend.

“I’m telling you, man, get a move on,” Shiro muttered. “I’ve got money riding on this. When someone said, ‘I bet you he won’t,’ I took it literally. I’ll be owed money by half of New Bark Town by the time it’s all said and done.”

“What did you bet on?” Madeline asked curiously. “It wasn’t on a Gym Match, was it? You know that’s illegal in most places…”

“Of course not – I’m not an idiot,” Shiro sounded slightly insulted. “Actually, I was talking about a long time ago, when a couple of guys bet me that Travis wouldn’t p—OW!!! What the hell!!?!”

Travis had discreetly, yet powerfully…trodden on one of Shiro’s quite large feet, eliciting a yell of agony that drew the attention of everyone inside the ‘Lounge’ area.

“Sit down, already. You’re gonna mess around and get us kicked out of here,” Madeline sighed.

“Ah…shit,” Shiro swore through his teeth, sliding into the booth next to Madeline and wincing continuously.

Travis edged into his seat, directly across from Shiro and to the right of Katrina, who gladly moved aside just far enough to give him room, but leaned against him immediately after he was seated.

“So…Shiro was telling me you guys brought a couple of old friends of mine with you?” he asked, obviously trying to change the subject and yet genuinely interested in the new topic.

Madeline gasped as if there’d been something she’d neglected to remember.

“That’s right!” she exclaimed, reaching back behind herself and pulling out a Pokéball. She looked at Shiro, seemingly waiting for him to do something. When he didn’t, she elbowed him on the arm to get his attention.

“Oh – yeah, yeah,” he muttered rather distractedly, pulling out a Pokéball of his own.



One of the beauties of Hoenn was that many of its smaller towns were built with nature in mind. Hoennites were very sensitive to natural forces, as they believed that certain legendary Pokémon held power over those forces and to desecrate nature would be nothing less than a sin against these mighty beings. In fact, there had been previous incidents in Hoenn within the last decade or so that had nearly destroyed Hoenn utterly because of man’s sins against nature.

That said, the Pokémon veterinarians of the country had researched and found that injured and tired Pokémon do better if allowed to walk freely in a natural setting once allowed to do so. This resulted in gardens being placed in three of the nation’s Pokémon Centers. The second largest of the three just happened to be located here in Lavaridge Town. With trees, a flat grassland, and a small pool, this particular part of the garden was friendly to nearly all organic Pokémon except for desert-dwellers, who had their own separate area because of their rarity and trouble interacting with Pokémon of other habitats.

Several convalescing creatures made use of these gardens, where they relaxed and interacted with each other.

One in particular – a black-coated, panther-like creature – stood at the edge of the pond, looking at his reflection and…appropriately enough, reflecting on the battle that had taken place two days earlier and had essentially landed him here.

“<Raiden…>” the Voltyger’s ears perked up as he heard a female voice call his name. He looked up from the pond and turned around to see a vermilion rodent approach him, swinging the flame on her long, slender tail.

“<Hey, Amber,>” Raiden responded contemplatively, not meeting Amber’s eyes.

“<Um…so, nice day, huh?>” Amber said really distractedly.

“<If you’re Meru…or maybe a sponge,>” Raiden replied, looking through the windowpanes, where he could see rain falling down in sheets.

Amber giggled.

“<A sponge…>” she repeated. “<That’s funny.>”

“<No offense, but it doesn’t take a lot to make you laugh,>” Raiden sighed, looking away from her. “<Now, if I make Arcus laugh…then I’ve done something.>”

Amber giggled again. She then went quiet, leaving an awkward silence.

“<You don’t think you’re funny?>” Amber asked seriously.

“<Not really…>” Raiden sighed.

Amber rolled her eyes.

“<Seriously,>” she said flatly. “<Is there anything you like about yourself?>”

“<I’m…nice, I guess…>” Raiden said, sounding unsure of himself as always. “<But that’s just probably because I’m too much of a wimp to stand up for myself.>”

“<A wimp? You totally, like, K.O’d a Houndoom,>” Amber countered. “<I saw the match. Champ found out how to work one of those tele-thingies the humans watch all the time.>”

“<I brought him down, sure…but not before getting beaten to a bloody pulp,>” Raiden replied dismissively.

“<AARGH!>” Amber suddenly lost her temper and swatted Raiden across the face. His eyes prickling, he looked up at her angrily. “<Why?!>”

Raiden stayed silent.

“<I don’t get you!>” she cried. “<What’s wrong with you? Why do you hate yourself?>”

“<I don’t hate myself,>” Raiden tried to convince her.

“<Why are you always trying to tell me how rotten you are, huh?>” Amber shot back, drawing closer to him. She was now shouting and her eyes were watering. “<What does it do for you?>”

Raiden failed to answer again.

“<Do you want everyone to feel sorry for you?>” the Marhot continued shouting. “<Let’s all cradle poor baby Raiden because he doesn’t think he can fend for himself!>”

Raiden stayed silent; why was Amber getting so angry?

“<I try to be your friend and you won’t even listen to me!>” she continued yelling. She was now nearly nose-to-nose with the Voltyger, who was looking straight into her glistening eyes. “<And I know she said something to you! And…and…>”

She paused for a second, and then…

As she ran away – crying, no less, and not at all like her usual, bubbly self – Raiden found himself trying to make sense of what had just happened. It had been quick – maybe a split-second at the most – but there was no denying it. In what looked like her half-hearted attempt to headbutt him, it seemed that their heads had met, but at the face rather than the crown. As soon as he felt it, he realized what Amber had done – or, at least, tried to do.


Meanwhile, a certain canine Pokémon was resting under a tree rather grumpily. He had spent this time alone – he obviously preferred it that way – until a quite large, antelope-like creature sidled next to him.

“<Sitting around doing absolutely jack diddly, eh?>” Magnus the Georyx drawled. “<Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon. It’s Arcus, isn’t it?>”

“<Yeah, whatever,>” Arcus sighed, his piercing eyes gazing out toward another small pool presently being occupied by a bluish form that was just visible in the water. “<What are you doing?>”

“<Um…absolutely jack diddly,>” Magnus replied. “<Just the way I like it.>”

“<You’re really a lazy-*** bum, aren’t you?>” Arcus asked. “<I don’t know how the hell you expect to be competitive doing this if you have that kind of attitude.>”

“<You misunderstand me, my dear canine companion,>” Magnus replied pompously – or at least as pompously as the lazy drawl of his voice could make him sound. “<I am – how do they say it – ready to rumble…when needed. But seeing as it isn’t ‘needed’ right now, I prefer not to waste energy.>”

“<So, in about a hundred words…you’re a reliable, lazy-*** bum.>” Arcus answered. “<Oh, and if you ever call me your ‘companion’ again, I’ll personally turn you into an ice statue…then shatter you and show the others how to put you back together when you thaw out. On top of that, I’ll probably make sure to have them shove certain body parts down your throat…if you have them to begin with.>”

“<You really don’t want to use that much energy, do you?>” Magnus asked dissuasively, nonetheless eyeing Arcus with distrust after the latter’s rather gruesome threat of violence.

“<Not really…but if it’s ‘needed’…>” Arcus trailed off.

“<I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to offend you. Seriously, man, you need to calm down,>” Magnus drawled again.

“<Don’t worry about me. I hate everybody equally,>” Arcus replied flippantly. His eyes gazing out toward the pond, he asked Magnus the first question that popped into his head, wondering if he would regret doing so. “<…what do you think about Meru?>”

“<Meru? The little swimming fox gal?>” Magnus repeated. “<You ever heard of someone who does anything they do with a chip on his shoulder? That’s Meru. She’s plenty attractive, I suppose, but she seems like she’s carrying a bit of baggage. Why these questions all of a sudden? Interested?>”

“<What? Hell, no,>” Arcus replied a bit too defensively. “<She (Arcus didn’t talk much, but when he did, he could be very foulmouthed indeed) hates me – everybody knows that. And I think she’s irritating.>”

“<But deep down, you wonder about her – is that it?>” Magnus asked.

“<Not like she’s anything special or something like that,>” Arcus again defended himself. “<Baggage…what kind of baggage can she have that could possibly be worse than a dead mother?>”

“<Have you ever asked her?>” Magnus questioned as if doing so would require no effort on Arcus’ part.

“<What are you, stupid?>” Arcus shot back. “<There’s no way in hell you can just walk up to somebody and go, ‘I want to hear your life story.’ It just isn’t done.>”

Magnus, for the first time, didn’t answer.

“<You know what? I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Leave me alone,>” Arcus said, laying down on the grass – a clear signal that the conversation was indeed over.

“<Suit yourself,>” Magnus replied, walking away. Arcus growled to himself. Being around all these weaklings must have made him soft. That was it. He tore his eyes away from the pond and began to close them in slumber.


On the other side of the garden, an Umbreon lay, pensively staring at nothing in particular. His reddish eyes arrived at the door, where a lavender form was presently entering the garden, guided by a fat, pink, egg-bearing blob with a small, white hat.

“<Don’t try doing too much,>” Crescent heard this Chansey say to Angel. “<Some of your wounds still haven’t healed.>”

“<Yeah, sure…>” Angel seemed to be growing tired of the Pokémon nurse very quickly. “<Well, don’t you have some other patients to check on? I can walk fine on my own.>”

“<Okay, but be careful,>” Nurse Chansey waddled back into the doors and out of sight.

“<Urgh…>” Angel groaned in annoyance as Crescent approached her rather apprehensively. “<You ever met someone that takes their job way too seriously?>”

“<Yeah. I think you guys call him ‘Champ’,>” Crescent answered. Angel laughed. “<How are you doing?>”

“<Obviously better than yesterday,>” Angel sighed. “<My head still hurts like hell, but I can walk, so that’s an improvement.>”

“<When did you learn how to use Psychic?>” Crescent questioned.

“<Three days ago,>” Angel said. Crescent looked at her and blinked.

“<Wow…you sure looked like you knew what you were doing,>” he said. “<In any case, you won...you said you’d tell me a secret after we won, so…>”

“<Oh, that…>” Angel muttered as if she’d just remembered seconds ago. “<Why’d you have to put me on the spot like that? I mean…you see, the thing is…>”

“<Is it that hard for you to say aloud?>” Crescent asked her. Angel looked away from him slightly. “<Tell me in my ear, then.>”

Angel took in a deep breath before hearing her name being called. The voice sounded somewhat familiar – like something she’d heard a long time ago – but she couldn’t quite place it.

She whirled around as Crescent whispered a swearword.

“<Angel?! Are you in here??>” a rodent with a sunshine-colored coat of fur sprinted into the garden. The cheeks on this bright-eyed creature were a cardinal red, the tips of its ears a midnight black. A tail shot out from its back like a bolt of lightning, ending with an ever-so-definitive fork right at its very end.

She was followed closely by a canine creature with hardly any resemblance to an Arcidane. Instead, this doglike monster was colored ginger and black, with a cream-colored ruff of fur under its chin, atop its head, and a bottlebrush tail of the same color. It looked almost like a dog with tiger-like markings.

Crescent eyed the approaching Pikachu and Growlithe curiously. Angel, on the other hand, seemed to recognize them.

“<Sparx? Hotshot?>”

Both Pokémon looked straight at Angel and ran toward her. It was not long before jubilant shouts filled the garden air. Crescent looked on as three old friends were reunited for the first time in nearly two years, feeling rather like one excluded from a special sort of club.

“<We have so much to tell you,>” Sparx the Pikachu said enthusiastically. “<Uh…who’s the strong, silent one behind you?>”

“<Oh…>” Angel looked back at Crescent, who caught the cue to walk up to introduce himself – or at least be introduced. “<This is Crescent.>”

She gave the others a sort of dazed smile that rendered a long explanation completely unnecessary.

“<You mean, he’s…>” Hotshot picked up the hint almost immediately.

“<Don’t tell me…>” Sparx started, sounding incredulous.

Angel nodded, answering with a simple “<Yeah.>”

“<Whaaat?>” Hotshot drawled.

“<When did this happen?>” Sparx asked curiously.

“<Summer before last,>” Angel answered.

“<Hold on – where were we?>” Hotshot asked.

“<Probably at that lab,>” Sparx commented.

“<Oh, this is great – this is freaking priceless!!,>” Hotshot lifted his head up into the air and released a long, barking laugh.

Angel’s face went as red as a beet. “<Hey! Wh-what’s so funny??>”

“<Are you kidding me?>” Hotshot guffawed. “<You were teasing me every chance you got when Sparx and I got together!>”

Angel rolled her eyes.

“<So, is anyone else with you?>” she asked.

“<Um…>” Sparx thought for a second. “<Queenie’s with us, and…Sora. I don’t think you’ve met her yet.>”

“<Who’s Queenie?>” Angel asked.

“<Oh, that’s Nidoqueen. We call her ‘Queenie’ for short,>” Sparx explained, “<because it annoys the living hell out of her.>”

“<And…Sora?>” Angel asked.

“<A Swellow,>” Hotshot answered. “<Shiro caught her as a Taillow a week or two back.>”

“<Oh, I see…>” Angel said. “<Well, come on! Let me introduce you to everyone else!>”

With that, she took off around the garden, being followed by Crescent, who found himself flanked by Hotshot and Sparx as he walked.

“<You really don’t say a lot, do you?>” Sparx asked. Crescent, feeling slightly awkward, didn’t respond.

“<Strange…I always thought Angel would go for someone a little bit more…assertive,>” Hotshot commented. This comment stopped Crescent dead in his tracks. As Sparx and Hotshot continued to follow Angel, Crescent stayed rooted to where he was standing, looking straight down at the ground.

So now even people and Pokémon that didn’t know him at all could see it. He wasn’t ‘assertive’ enough – a tactful choice of words for stating the obvious. He, Crescent, was a wimp. Not even the friends of hers that had just met him thought that he was good enough for her. Maybe, deep down, she thought that, too…

No. Hadn’t she chosen him?

But he had been stronger than her then…hadn’t he?

He was supposed to be taking care of her…protecting her. But he knew the truth.

Someplace hidden away in a secret chamber of her heart…she looked down upon him. She had been disdainful of him ever since day one. She was just a bit nicer about it now. He just couldn’t see any way that Angel loved him as an equal.

His maroon eyes narrowed.

He would have to do something about it.

And he would have to do something big.

Travis, sitting on the bed in his room, closed a recently-purchased newspaper. A loud rustling was heard as Travis let the paper float to the ground from his hands as he read.

A heavy sigh escaped the boy’s lips.

“Dammit,” he muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Katrina’s voice drifted in from the bathroom. A moment later, the door opened and she stepped out. “Travis, what happened?”

Travis didn’t even bother to pick up the newspaper.

“Imperials stepped up security in Mauville. They think an attack’s coming.”

With a long, loud groan of exasperation, he laid his head back on his pillow, looking to his left at the room, which was flooded with reddish light from the Sun, which had decided to appear one last time as it set.

“We need to catch a boat across the river from Mauville to get to Fortree,” Travis explained. “I don’t need to tell you how hard that’ll be if a whole bunch of Imperials are swarming the place.”

“Hmm…” Katrina hummed noncommittally. She crouched down near Travis’ bed and looked right into his eyes. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“A walk?” Travis repeated, looking like he wasn’t in the mood to go walking anywhere.

“Yeah – just you and me,” Katrina answered. “We can watch the sunset together.”

Sighing, Travis sat up.

“Sure, why not?”

[EonMaster One]

A golden-orange light drenched the entirety of Lavaridge Town, from the Pokémon Center at the foot of the town all the way to a cliff face at the western edge. It was over this that Travis and Katrina watched the sun go down behind the peak of a tall mountain as the sky went ablaze with star fire.

A breeze blew Travis’ hair into life.

“So…” Travis asked. “Now that Shiro and Madeline found us, how long do they plan on staying here?”

“As long as it takes for you to get to Evergrande, I guess,” Katrina replied. Travis looked at her, hardly daring to believe it. Katrina laughed. “Did you seriously think that they’d come all the way out to Hoenn only for a few days? They’re coming with us.”

“Oh…but then there’ll be six of us…” Travis muttered to himself, counting in his head.

“Um…no,” Katrina answered. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice this, but Kenjiro and Reivyn left two days ago.”

“They just…went?” Travis asked. “No note, no telling us where they were going…nothing?”

“They didn’t say anything to me,” Katrina shook her head. “I do have an idea, though…”

Travis waited.

“I’ve just got this hunch that they went back to help Prince Elrik,” she said.

“Elrik…” Travis repeated. “I wonder how things are going on his end?”

Sheridan Hadley rapped sharply on the door of his mother’s bedroom twice.

“Go away,” the sniffly voice of a little girl said nasally.

“Open the door, Sarah,” Sheridan said loudly.

“No!” Sarah yelled from the other side, again sounding like she had a horrible cold.

“Sarah, come on!” Sheridan sighed. After a long silence, he finally said, “Well, I’m going. Goodbye, Sarah.”

A pitter-patter of little feet told Sheridan that this half-truth (he was indeed leaving, but not right then) had done the trick. Soon, the door swung open to reveal a nine-year-old little girl with neck-length, straight, red hair. Her eyes were puffy and her face pink from crying, and she was wearing a slightly dirty nightgown that looked to be tattered in places. She looked up at her older brother with a pitiful mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes.

She reared her hand back and, as hard as she could, tried to punch Sheridan in the stomach. Unfortunately for her, his stomach was being protected by iron armor, so all her efforts served to do was to give her an immense pain in her right hand. Sheridan knelt down and put a hand on the crown of her head.

It was at this point that Sarah broke down entirely, falling upon him and positively wailing. Sheridan lifted her from the ground, and with her holding on tightly to the back of his shirt, carried her back into the room. Calmly, he sat down on the larger of the two beds in this room, placing the little girl on his knees, where she still held on for dear life as if releasing him was something irreparable – irrevocable. She looked up into Sheridan’s face, her eyes angry, streaming slits, and uttered a statement very simple and yet very profound:

“I hate fighting.”

Sheridan stroked the top of her head as she continued to bare her feelings to her eldest brother.

“First it took Daddy away, and now you…” she said. Tearfully looking up at her brother, she said, “I may never see you again.”

“Don’t say that,” Sheridan said, hoping he sounded reassuring. “Of course you will, Sarah.”

Sarah reached around her neck, pulling from her person what looked like a necklace with a strange charm on it. It looked to be of the sun and radiating rays, but was made of solid pewter. She put it around the neck of Sheridan, who didn’t protest.

“I’ll come back…” Sheridan said, holding his red-haired sibling close to himself as she began crying again. “I promise…”

Sheridan sat on the edge of his new bed at the Romero Mansion, looking at the pewter amulet. His eyes prickled as his fist closed around it and began to shake violently. He hissed through his teeth, trying to will himself not to shed any tears. Nevertheless, the memories of his family’s faces as they said goodbye to him – for what they all understood could be the last time – proved to be next to impossible to allow to pass.

Becoming a Captain offered Sheridan Hadley the chance at either a glorious victory or a heroic death on the battlefield…but Sheridan no longer cared anything about glory.

For little girls like Sarah and his other sisters, and boys like Dietrich and Raymond, war should have been something that they only saw or heard about from history books.

But in the times they lived in, war was right here on their doorstep, threatening to take away anything and everything that was precious to their young, fragile hearts.

He couldn’t allow that. All he could imagine were the faces and the saddened hearts of families…of wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, sons, fathers, brothers, husbands…their faces at receiving a sword, perhaps notched in battle, or a Captain’s targe like the one he wore…

What would it be like for those people to hear that someone they loved was never coming home? Many would carry the memory of this lost loved one with pride…eventually. But the fact was, war had many more casualties than those that were only physical. Hearts were casualties of war as well…hearts of those who had maybe never so much as grasped the handle of a sword…

…but those they held most dear had chosen to, and had been lost for that sword’s sake.

Yes, Captain Sheridan Hadley, the son of a soldier missing in action, and now a soldier himself, knew better than anyone.

His new rank gave him command over fifty men – quite a percentage in such a small army. But it charged him with the protection of the hearts of all who loved him and those fifty men…and that would no doubt amount to hundreds, perhaps even thousands.

That was why he could not fail. Not because it would keep him from advancing in rank, but because he could not bear to live with the prospect of seeing innocent young children cry any more.

He would be the sword that struck for His Majesty’s cause, and the shield that protected Rustboro City.

He would do all that was in his power to bring this war to an end…

With the peace-loving side victorious.

A giant, stone Sentret overlooked the small municipality of New Bark Town. On the base of this statue sat Avril Pennington, leaning against the giant likeness’ tail as she looked over New Bark Town at the sunset. She was wearing a light, flowing, sleeveless dress that bore various floral designs and stopped right at the tops of her unshod feet. Her small, half-yin-yang necklace hung down to just where the top of her dress began to cover the rest of her. As always, she was plucking the strings of her guitar, watching and waiting.

She stopped abruptly and let out a loud gasp as her sight left her, her eyes covered by an unknown hand.

“Oh, my gosh,” Avril giggled. “Don’t do that. You scared me half to death.”

“You ever thought about how that doesn’t really make sense? I mean, how do you scare something half to death?” Nate’s voice questioned as the hand was removed from Avril’s eyes – which opened, silver and shining, to look for him.

He was standing to her right, his shock of jet-black hair swaying slightly in the dusk breeze. He was wearing a black shirt that looked to have a grainy, yellow, crudely-drawn car on it. In golden, script lettering next to the car was the word “Silvercoin.” His jeans were a light blue and rather ordinary-looking, which seemed to be what he had been going for. His eyes, a warm burgundy color, looked into hers as he showed a smile, which showed only a few of his even teeth as it had a cute sort of demureness.

Avril beamed as she rested her guitar against the statue. She jumped down into his waiting arms, where he received her with a gladly accepted kiss before setting her down and allowing her bare feet to touch the soft grass.

“You’re late,” she said, a wry smile crossing her face.

“Sorry,” Nate sighed. “Cousin had me work an extra two hours, and then I had to go home and change. He paid me double for it, though.”

“That’s good,” Avril answered. She took Nate’s hand and followed him to the railed cliff very near the monument.

There were a few seconds of silence.

“What do you think about Tai?” Nate finally asked.

“You mean the guy we met last time we went to Cherrygrove?” Avril asked. “He’s really nice – not to mention he’s a great guitarist.”

“Yeah. He invited us to hang out with him for the weekend,” Nate announced. “He says he wanted to hear some of the songs you and I wrote.”

“Me?” Avril repeated incredulously. “I sing in front of you because I know you won’t laugh at me, but other people…”

“Come on,” Nate coaxed. “You never know what could happen.”

Avril heaved a long, heavy sigh as she thought about it for a moment.

“Okay,” she said. “If you say so. He might know how to make them…I don’t know, not so bad.”

“Alright,” Nate replied with a smile. Avril leaned back against Nate, closing her eyes. Nate held her close, appreciative of the relative peace these days had brought him…

…but at the same time, wondering about those whose lives were not quite so peaceful.



The great thing about having such a web-like plotline that it’s really hard to write a pure ‘filler’ chapter that’s entirely skippable. (Skippable? Is that even a word? Whatever…)

Well, guys, I’m on Spring Break. *hoots and starts to lift up shirt* Erm…nevermind.

What I’m saying is, I’ll probably be back to writing again after a few hours off. I’m going for quality, of course, but my goal is to have another chapter up by this time next week. Until then, have fun analyzing this one.

- ;196: EM1

[EonMaster One]

Sorry for the late add, but I nearly forgot about this.

Inside the Head of…

Katrina

Full Name: Katrina Lynn Sasano
DOB: December 1, PA 1998
Birthplace: Goldenrod City, Johto? (current home is New Bark Town)
Current Age: 14
Approximate Height: 5’6”
Approximate Weight: She eats…but not too much.
Occupation: Pokémon Trainer, Member of Emerald Knights
Defining Characteristics: Aurillian descendant, girlfriend of Travis.

Confident, strong-willed, and unreserved with a taste for some of the finer things in life, Katrina is the kind of girl many guys either want or fear. As a graduate of the New Bark Pokemon Academy, she's a very skilled and accomplished Trainer in her own right and, as far as female Trainers go, one would be hard-pressed to find one better.

Born to a teenage girl who had taken to selling herself on the street to put food on the table, Katrina had the fortune of being adopted as an infant by a young businessman and his socialite wife. There she stayed, financially well-off but mostly alone, until her mother, Nicholette, decided to hold a party (big surprise) for Katrina’s sixth birthday. It was there that she met two boys named Travis and Shiro, not really knowing the significance of the event.

The following fall, Katrina began schooling at the New Bark Town Pokémon Academy, where it just so happened that Travis and Shiro were starting that same year. The three became fast friends and stayed together for years. She and Travis were especially close to each other and the two children were, for the most part, strangely impervious to the juvenile taunts of many of their classmates (including Shiro) who jokingly predicted the two to one day be married.

Not long after Katrina turned ten, she overheard an argument between her parents, where she found out about her true origins. This sent her into a deep depression that began with an identity crisis and bottomed out at self-mutilation and thoughts of suicide. She became more withdrawn from Travis and Shiro, especially after falling into the first thing that remotely resembled a relationship – with Nathaniel Elm, of all people, who was nothing less than a mortal enemy to Travis at the time. That began a painful year of separation for the three, but she began to find that it was especially painful being separated from Travis. From nearly the time that they had met, she had considered him a friend – mainly because she knew no one else in town. It had taken her an entire year, however, to realize that she felt him to be…or at least wanted him to be…something more than a friend. Little did she know that he was quietly going through the same change.

June 2011 came, and the three friends, along with Nate, graduated from the Academy and began their careers as Pokémon Trainers. Soon into the journey, they mended their friendship. It was not long, however, before Katrina realized that her brief time with Nate had done nothing to solve any of her problems or answer any of her questions. Although more confident on the outside, she still held the same insecurities about her own worth than she had at an earlier point in her childhood. It was not until she and Travis saw each other again at Goldenrod City – ironically, her birthplace and the city from which she had been adopted eleven years prior – that she saw some of her questions answered…and realized the mutual feelings she and Travis had for each other.

From then on, Katrina was by Travis’ side. Even as Travis received one of the legendary swords and found his destiny as the savior of Johto, she stayed with him, pouring everything she had into becoming his source of strength as he had once been hers.

During that war, she encountered (among other people) a witch named Lilith – a woman that claimed to be her biological aunt. It was then, during that meeting in Mahogany Town, where she found out her more distant heritage, as a descendant of Queen Aurille of Aldibar – a woman whose daughters were well known for their beauty as well as their magical powers. It was also here that she encountered a near-death experience after Lilith attacked her. Upon waking up in Blackthorn City – the main base of the war – she realized that Travis was no longer there. Injured as she was, she nevertheless pursued him all the way to the mountainous outskirts of the town to find him literally seconds away from killing himself. Naturally, she stopped him and brought him back to Blackthorn City.

As the war drew to a close, Katrina never left Travis’ side again, even during the fearful Battle of Jonah’s Plain, where she was nothing short of heroic, destroying her fair share of enemies, saving Travis from a potentially lethal sneak attack, and even having a direct hand in defeating Angelos by using her newly-learned magic to distract him long enough for Travis to finish the demon off.

After the war ended, the two adolescents – tired, injured, and in Travis’ case, comatose, were taken back to New Bark Town. Once Katrina could walk, she visited Travis every day until he awoke a week later. They had conquered the challenge of fighting the war. Now came an even bigger challenge – the challenge of recovering from it.

Katrina quickly realized that while Travis’ physical injuries were bad (it was thought at one point that they would force Travis to retire from being a Trainer) his mental scars were far worse.

With her encouragement and help, Travis’ injuries recovered to the point of him being able to travel again two years later. Naturally, when he went to Hoenn, she accompanied him.

Now, as Travis’ emotional state finally becomes more stable, it appears that the two are set to enjoy the happier elements of their relationship.

Nonetheless, Katrina is slightly concerned, as Travis has said several times that he had a surprise for her at the end of the journey, and she cannot seem to figure out what this is.

[SamuraiDragon1]

I 'gotta say you are one heck of a writer. I don't know of many authers that could have so many charicters and make it work like you do.

This was a really cool chapter. I lke how travis was not so emo in this chapter.

[Oathblivion]

This is the kind of chapter that I love to read. Not only were you hopscotching all over Hoenn, but you managed to find your way back to Johto as well. Heck, even when you spent a lengthy amount of time in Lavaridge you gave us a (somewhat ominous) detour to the Center's garden. Furthermore, in the description of said garden you dropped another bit of random backstory for the continent, which is one of your greatest strengths as a writer.

Also, are we beginning to see the death of emo Travis? Could it be that the paradoxical character we all came to know and hate is finally going to push up daises? Eh, he'll still have the hair. But seriously, kudos for sending Travis on his next great development spree. To finish the paragraph, I'll say great throwback with the sodas, just like in Cherrygrove if I recall correctly. *claims not to have recently read that part ^_^*

On a more -- for lack of a better word -- severe note, I really liked that little bit about the casualties of war. Philosophical indeed, perhaps worthy of working into my rare anti-violence speech.

Anyway, pressed for time now, so I'll close. Happy writing (and Spring Breaking) -Oath

PS: Probably not the best place to put this, but where the heck is Saber?? *glances around furtively*

EDIT: Remembered something: I like the way you do pokemon attacks. Rather than just learning an attack and pwning people, you make the pokemon work for it as you did with Angel's Psybeam and Psychic. If there isn't some sort of negative aspect to the new attack, then it comes as a sensible progression like Hotshot's Flamethrower did. Very thoughtful of you, but I'm pretty sure that I never got to compliment you on it.

[EonMaster One]

Heh. She's much to busy to read work as unimportant as this one. But maybe not. The first time I reviewed Destiny Journeys, Mix freaked out and said I was "famous". I don't know about all that, but...

In any case, I have an announcement.

If you've ever had trouble picturing the faces of some of the characters in my series, I'm here to help you. I just decided to start a PhotoBucket account, and I'm uploading some of my stuff on it. Even retro (Revolution: Johto) stuff and...(gasp!) some stuff from the future?

My username there is EonMaster1. 1 - as in the number - 1. Not "One", the number "1."

Got that?

Alright, guys, I'm outie for now.

- EM1

[xXPorygonXx]

Heh heh...I finally beat out Air Dragon.

To discuss the major elements:

Plotwise, it was a filler episode that added to the plot. Basically, a regular chapter and a filler had a baby. Which this is. Still though, it does introduce the new Captain in the Emerald Knights, and provides some background to him.

And then there's Shinx and Hotshot. It's good to see them again. Hopefully they'll make some major appearances in the plot.

Crescent's apparent jealousy is a cause for concern. I hope this doesn't turn into another emo-fight.

And now, time for some fan-fic exerpts:

    Spoiler:- OMG! A wild SPOILER TAG appeared! XD:

Show Spoiler

 

“Oh…but then there’ll be six of us…” Travis muttered to himself, counting in his head.

“Um…no,” Katrina answered. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice this, but Kenjiro and Reivyn left two days ago.”

“They just…went?” Travis asked. “No note, no telling us where they were going…nothing?”

Don't know why, but I found that extremely funny.

“<Don’t worry about me. I hate everybody equally,>” Arcus replied flippantly. His eyes gazing out toward the pond, he asked Magnus the first question that popped into his head, wondering if he would regret doing so. “<…what do you think about Meru?>”

“<Meru? The little swimming fox gal?>” Magnus repeated. “<You ever heard of someone who does anything they do with a chip on his shoulder? That’s Meru. She’s plenty attractive, I suppose, but she seems like she’s carrying a bit of baggage. Why these questions all of a sudden? Interested?>”

“<What? Hell, no,>” Arcus replied a bit too defensively. “<She (Arcus didn’t talk much, but when he did, he could be very foulmouthed indeed) hates me – everybody knows that. And I think she’s irritating.>”

“<But deep down, you wonder about her – is that it?>” Magnus asked.

“<Not like she’s anything special or something like that,>” Arcus again defended himself. “<Baggage…what kind of baggage can she have that could possibly be worse than a dead mother?>”

“<Have you ever asked her?>” Magnus questioned as if doing so would require no effort on Arcus’ part.

“<What are you, stupid?>” Arcus shot back. “<There’s no way in hell you can just walk up to somebody and go, ‘I want to hear your life story.’ It just isn’t done.>”

Magnus, for the first time, didn’t answer.

“<You know what? I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Leave me alone,>” Arcus said, laying down on the grass – a clear signal that the conversation was indeed over.

“<Suit yourself,>” Magnus replied, walking away. Arcus growled to himself. Being around all these weaklings must have made him soft. That was it. He tore his eyes away from the pond and began to close them in slumber.

Good call, using Mr. Stick-up-his-*** Uchiha from Naruto. And considering he really isn't emotionally attached to anyone, is there a possibility of him running away?


 

That's it. Off topic, Brawl is good. If you disagree you should be shot. By the way, anyone seen Saber around? She kinda disappeared.

P.S. Get some, EM1!

[Diddy]

Stop being modest EM.

Your like fic royalty up in here. And so your head doesn't inflate too much, your kinda like an obscure relative, not about to be king yet but maybe, If enough people die. I mean come on how many years have you been at it especially with PRJ and with this. You gotta admire determination.

Not to mention, the readers talking about it in comparison to other things, lists of favourite fics etc. and I'm not exactly sure but I think you've had an award nomination.

Now, I've not read Destiny Journeys but I seen the hype and stuff people say about it, might even become quite prolific if they keep at it.


Anywaaaaaaaaaay.

Great chapter, plenty of stories going on everywhere, Captain Sheridan Hadley and his family woes. Talan and Jill getting some steel. (adds 'Atlas Shrugged' reference. They should make it out of Rearden Metal. Yay)

Not to metion things going on closer to home, K&R leave M&M (lol) leave, which leaves just Travis and Katrina and Madeliro.

Thats about it really, didn't see any grammar mistakes so its all peachy.

Review ya soon.

[EonMaster One]

Well, I guess one thing I've got going for me is the longevity factor.

Destiny Journeys is quite good - and I mean that. It's one of the stories I keep up with regularly. If you're going to spend time catching up, now might be a good time to do it. There's 25 chapters and I'd have to say that in terms of chapter length, she's about where I am on average in that the majority of her chapters are two- to three-posters.

One of the few beefs that I had with Saber's writing was that sometimes she would launch into idioms and figurative speech that was way out in left field to the point where I'd have a hard time figuring out exactly WHAT happened.

Mix doesn't do that to you, but she writes quite intelligently. She's evidently studied Saber's ways of plot and character management, but is really starting to come into her own as far as her voice and writing style.

I don't mind that she emulates Saber one bit. She picked one hell of a role model. Myself, when I started writing, my two main inspirations were Archangel R.J. (whom I had been compared to once or twice) and Indigo. Unfortunately, neither of them are on the forums anymore...*sigh*. Anyway, if there are more quality writers with her talent waiting in the wings, I'm excited.

- EM1

[Air Dragon]

Heh heh...I finally beat out Air Dragon.

Heh... don't get cocky, padawan...

The only reason this review is late is because the damn forum lags cut me off from reviewing this baby for two days straight... otherwise this baby would have been out long before now...

And on the praise front, I'm with Diddy all the way here...

Now to the main review...

There was only one small grammatical error in this chapter:

slightly squat from the after effects of having eight children

after effects = two separate words.

Other stuff worth mentioning...

“Oy! Lovebirds!!” Travis turned around and saw Shiro under the awning just outside the Pokémon Center’s doors. “Kyogre says he doesn’t like public displays of affection!!”

LMAO at that one!

“<Urgh…>” Angel groaned in annoyance as Crescent approached her rather apprehensively. “<You ever met someone that takes their job way too seriously?>”

“<Yeah. I think you guys call him ‘Champ’,>” Crescent answered. Angel laughed. “<How are you doing?>”

So did Air Dragon…

What Crescent is going to do is putting me on edge... damn cliffhanger mode... and Magnus reminds me more of Shikamaru than any Uchiha, but I think i've said that already...

Anywho, I'm home on Easter Break... so i may get the sketches done by then... but i do have two chapters to put up by Saturday... so i may be held up a little... rest assured that i will keep an eye on this fic!

L@er!

[xXPorygonXx]

Ah, but the padawn always outdoes the master in the end, Air Dragon-san.

EM1, stop ignoring the obvious. Next to Dragonfree, Air Dragon, xXSbaerXx and Mix, you're one of the best writers on this site.

In more on topic news, the drawings of the cast look very good. And the legs aren't bad, they don't even look remotely bad.

Also on topic; Slipstream. The attack that ended quite a few battles. Will it make a return?

[EonMaster One]

Well, that's just it; Saber seems to have suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. Air Dragon and I obviously communicate a lot. You go into TCQ - especially recently - and there are a few nuances (some tangible, like the calendar he uses ^_^) that are similar to things that come from my fic. Mix has obviously heard of me from somewhere, although I don't think Dragonfree or Saber have.

I'm glad you asked about Slipstream. It will make a return, and in a rather surprising way.

That's about all for now; I've gotten 9-10 pages of Chapter 31 done as of now, so I'm a good shot to post it by Monday.

AD: Thanks much...although I believe that Porygon was comparing Arcus to Sasuke, which would have made a lot more sense. Magnus...definitely very much like Shikamaru, who was essentially the main model for his personality. Arcus has some Sasuke-ish traits, but is really more of a meld of a combination of Sasuke, Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, and another well-known game or anime character whose identity utterly and frustratingly escapes me at the moment.

- EM1

P.S. Does anybody like the crudish banner I put together?

[Air Dragon]

squeee! Monday chappyness! hooray!

Banner's cool, too... working on the Nate/ Avril sketches now...

Apparently, i forgot to check your account before posting... this rocked hard! did you do them all yourself? Cuz they're rad! all my pix are on photobucket too... gonna up a few more soon...

Here we go... next in the art set. Only three new pix this time, hope you like them all the same!

Nate and Avril

Georyx impression

just before A very special request...

L@er!