Light

[ryan22424]

Chapter 26: Storms on the Horizon

Light laid under a tree near the Pokemon Center, trying to finally relax. However, he was starting to want something to hit again. He thought about the tree, but decided that destroying it would draw a crowd. Suddenly, his feelings were starting to change again, and he wanting to just be with Cream once more. He put his paws over head as he tried to sort out the assortment of raging feelings inside his head.

He felt a presence nearby and raised his head. He couldn't see anyone nearby, though. However, he didn't think his senses would suddenly start failing him. He closed his eyes and reached out with his consciousness. No one was nearby . . . on the ground.

Light irritably looked up and saw the Milotic from earlier looking down at him. "What do you want?" he asked, wishing he had injured it further so it would take longer for it to heal.

"I noticed that you're depressed and I wanted to help," she said.

Light snorted. "You can't help me, so leave."

"But I can. I have the ability to soothe and calm feelings. I could help, Light," she said.

"How do you know my name?" Light asked.

Nick told me; I can use telepathy, too, he heard in his mind.

"Well, I don't want your help. Goodbye," Light said, waving his tail at her.

A frown appeared on the Milotic's face. "But I want to help. I don't like to see others depressed or angry. Why won't you let me help you?"

"Well for one, I'm positive you can't help," Light slowly said, trying to get it in her head.

"Then let me try," she insisted.

Light sighed and put his head back on his paws. "Fine," he finally relented.

He suddenly heard the song he had before, though it was much stronger. It seemed to melt all his feelings away and leave him in a blissful state. The moment seemed wonderful and perfect . . . until he glanced at his empty side and remembered Cream wasn't there. His grief started anew and the blissfulness left, though the song continued.

The Milotic gasped and the low song ended. "But . . . but . . . what happened? You were supposed to feel better."

Light snorted. "I told you so."

"Why are you so sad?" the Milotic asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. Go and leave me alone," Light said, closing his eyes.

"But you don't understand. You're the first person I haven't been able to cheer up. What saddens you so much that my song doesn't work?" she asked.

"Wait; there is something you can do to make me happier," Light said, looking up and instantly getting her full attention. "You can leave me alone," Light said flatly and without emotion.

The Milotic looked mutinously down at him before finally leaving back to the Pokemon Center. Light sighed with relief as she left and went back to his meditations of Cream. He jerked his head up as he felt the Milotic's mind touch him again.

So that's why you're so sad, he heard her comment.

Light growled. Get out of my mind before I force you, he threatened.

He heard a mental sigh coming from the Milotic before she retreated from his mind. However, she appeared from the Pokemon Center again. Light got ready to blast her with a Dark Pulse.

"Can you not take a hint? Get away," Light demanded.

"No," she said, a new tone of authority in her voice. "Not until I find a way to help you."

Light seriously considered blasting her right then, but finally decided it wasn't worth the lecture from Nick.

"Now, who is the little Eevee?" she asked coiling down next to him.

Light didn't answer and turned his head away.

"Fine, is she one of Nick's Pokemon?" the Milotic asked.

Light hesitated for a second before nodding.

"Then why isn't she with Nick? Can't trainers carry six Pokemon?" Milotic asked.

Light sighed and finally gave in. "She's with a few others back at Nick's home."

"So the problem is that you want to get back to her," she stated. "Well if you're going to see her again, why are you so sad?"

"Because, I won't see her until Nick gets his last badge. That would take about two and a half weeks with no delays. But we can't cross the sea to get to the last badge," Light said.

"Well why didn't you say so? I can cross the sea," she said.

"What do you mean?" Light asked.

"I can use what humans call Surf. I can cross the sea with Nick on my back," she answered. "See? I can help."

Light quickly got up and headed for the Pokemon Center, ready to leave. She had been right. The news that they could leave at any time had seriously lowered his agitation. They wouldn't be delayed anymore.

"I did it! I did it! I helped someone again!" the Milotic answered, darting around giddily behind Light.

Light entered the Pokemon Center, the automatic doors allowing him entrance. Light went on back to the room they stayed in and saw that the others were lounging around. Ace and Nick glanced over as Light entered, but Blaze didn't even twitch an ear from his place in the corner.

Nick, we have a way to Cinnabar Island. Come on, Light thought to everyone.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

You still haven't checked . . . the Milotic's moves have you? Light asked.

"You mean Azul? No," Nick said. He pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at the Milotic that was at the window of the room. "Hmm . . . Water Pulse, Aqua Ring, Ice Beam, and Surf . . . Surf . . . HEY! We can cross with Azul using Surf!" Nick exclaimed, after a few moments of thought.

Light sighed at his strange trainer and waited as Nick dashed about to pack. Blaze got slowly up and sat next to Light. Ace flew out the window after Azul moved for a second. Azul was looking extremely pleased at what she had accomplished.

Nick finally finished packing and brought out his Pokeballs. "Okay, in you go," Nick said, returning Blaze. He brought up Light's Pokeball, but stopped with Light's stare. "Err, Azul? Could you carry Light along with me?" he asked.

I think I should be able to handle that, yes, Azul mentally answered.

Nick let out a low sigh, but Light still noticed. He didn't care as long as he didn't get put in the Pokeball. Light followed Nick out the Pokemon Center where Azul and Ace met up with them. Nick led them down to the beach where several people stopped to stare at Azul. Light waited impatiently as Azul went over to settle a dispute between a couple.

Finally, they reached the water. Azul slid gracefully into the water. She let part of her long body rise above the water. Nick swam over and got on the hump, getting prepared for their journey. Light jumped onto the back of the Milotic and sat down in front of Nick, who seemed to be having a great time already. Azul hummed happily as she started south, toward Cinnabar Island. Ace flew overhead, surrounded by several Wingull that cawed noisily. Ace's flying form brought a question to Light's mind.

Why didn't we just ride Ace over to Cinnabar Island? Light asked Nick.


Nick paused in his cheering. He slapped himself in the face. "Whoops," he said, laughing a little.

Light turned forward and waited as Azul slowly gained speed. The air ruffled Light's fur as they moved gracefully through the water. The sea sent a little spray up, refreshing him. The ocean made a soothing sound once away from the mainland.

Light's tail started to wag as he enjoyed the new experience. He hadn't felt this good since . . . his posture fell as he remembered Cream wasn't there. Azul looked back worriedly as she traveled, but she didn't comment, much to his relief.

They slowly crossed the sea. Once the mainland was out of sight, they seemed to just be sitting still, the scenery never changing. Ace flapped overhead, the Wingull slowly dispersing. Soon, the only sound was the occasional flap of Ace's wings and the waves around them. If Ace wasn't there, he would have been positive they weren't moving. As it was, he was in doubt.

After several hours stuck on Azul's back, Ace let out a caw overhead. Light glanced at the horizon, but didn't see anything. What is it? Light asked.

I see land, Ace answered.

Light became excited at the news and translated to Azul and Nick in response to their questioning looks. Nick became excited, also, while Azul put on an extra burst of speed, also in a happier mood now that Light wasn't so sad. Ace easily kept up above them. The land in the distance slowly came closer and Light could start to make out buildings on the island.

Azul came up to a pier and let Light and Nick off onto the planking. Nick glanced once at the crowded streets of the city and returned Azul. He let Blaze out and headed into the city. Nick led them to the gym. However, the gym leader, Blaine, was not there.

Light followed Nick impatiently as he searched for the elusive gym leader. No one seemed to know where the gym leader had gone or when he would be back. After a while of searching, Nick went to the Pokemon Center to rest.

Light decided to go out on his own and walked along the busy streets. It was almost sunset, but the streets were still extremely busy. Several children walked along with their parents and let out excited cries as they saw him. Only their innocence and the way they reminded him of Rose prevented him from snapping at them. Instead, he let them pet him and exclaim about him. However, even the children's playfulness didn't rub off onto him.

Seeing no peace on the streets, Light headed through an alley and appeared at a cliff. Light headed along the cliff and finally left the city behind a little bit. The cliff ended with a narrow point. A man was lounging on a chair, facing the edge of the cliff and toward the sunset. Light didn't want company, but felt drawn toward the human for some reason. Seeing no reason to leave, Light walked past the human and sat at the edge of the cliff.


"You might not want to sit that close to the edge or you might fall," the old man warned. Light glanced back at the man and took in his appearance. He was wearing a red spotted shirt with a white background. He had black glasses on and had no hair.

He seemed extremely old, yet still fit. He had a small, snow white mustache.

I don't care, Light answered, though with some respect to the elder.

"Ah, a telepathy user. I don't see many Pokemon like that away from their trainers. Where's yours?" the old man asked.

The Pokemon Center, Light told him.

"Does that mean he's a trainer? Has he fought the gym leader yet?" he asked.

Light shook his head. No, the stupid man has disappeared for now, Light thought to him.

"Why the verbal, err, mental assault against the man?" he asked.

He's delaying me from getting home, Light answered, opening up quickly to the man.

"So you're in a hurry? I always thought it was the trainers who wanted to rush. . . . I could possible tell you where the gym leader is," he said after a moment of hesitation.

Oh? Light replied.

"Yes, but I want you to solve a riddle first. If you can answer correctly, I'll tell you where the gym leader is," the man explained.

Okay, tell me, he said.

"Here it is: I'm white as snow, yet dark as the shadows. I can tell all of bad things to come, yet all run in fear of me. What am I?" the man said.

Light thought about it for a few seconds before snorting. Easy, the answer is an Absol, he answered.

"You're good. You're actually the first to figure that riddle out," the man said.

So, where's the gym leader? Light asked, already reaching for Nick's consciousness.

"You're looking at him," he said. "I'm Blaine, gym leader of Cinnabar Island Gym."

Light was slightly surprised, but found Nick's mind quickly. Lowering the channel with Blaine, Light contacted Nick. I've found Blaine. Bring them to the gym. He switched to Blaine and said, My trainer would like to challenge you. Will you come back to the gym and fight?

"Hmm, okay," Blaine said, getting up. He folded the chair up and carried it along, heading toward the city.

Light followed alongside him, and they soon arrived at the gym. Ace was already perched on the roof and nodded in greeting. Light looked down the street and saw Nick rushing toward them, Blaze beside him. Blaine opened the gym and went in.

Nick came up to the gym, panting. He stopped to catch his breath and Ace came down to land next to him, though slightly awkward with the solid, flat ground under him. They headed inside and saw an announcer rush past them. They soon entered the challenging area and found it was outside. The actual arena was in the backyard of the gym. The referee looked tired, but quickly took his place. Blaine was already at the other side of the arena, waiting.

"He has to be at least a hundred years old, but is still the gym leader," Nick muttered.

"Challenger, you have challenged Blaine, gym leader of Cinnabar Island Gym, for the Volcano Badge. . . . It will be a one-on-one battle between three Pokemon. The Challenger may at any time switch Pokemon . . . but may use only a total of three Pokemon. The gym leader may not switch his Pokemon at any time. Ready? Begin!" the announcer said in between pants, starting the match.

Light was about to jump in the arena when Ace flew in. Blaine threw a Pokeball and a small creature that seemed to be made of lava appeared. It had a large, dark shell on its back. Nick pulled out his Pokedex and Light heard him say, "Magcargo."

The Magcargo immediately started the battle. As it most likely didn't know telepathy, Light figured it was an experienced battler. It opened its mouth and a small, orange sphere appeared for a half second before shooting toward Ace in a torrent of flames. Ace dived under the blast, waiting for a command.

"Ace, use Agility and then Fly!" Nick shouted.

Ace increased his speed drastically and flew high into the air. The Magcargo release a black cloud of smoke, hiding him from view. Ace paused over the cloud, no clear target anymore. A fireball came out of the cloud and hit Ace before he could react. Light could tell the attack was a powerful one.

"Ace, use Gust to blow it away and then use Arial Ace repeatedly!" Nick directed.

Ace flapped his wings rapidly, quickly removing the smoke. Magcargo could soon be seen again, struggling not to be pushed back. Ace flew at the Magcargo again, his speed still affected by Agility. When he activated Arial Ace, he disappeared from sight. Normally, he would temporarily appear by the Magcargo, but his increased speed allowed him to move even faster. Without being seen, the Magcargo jerked to either side in sudden motions, taking hits from either side. Ace finally hit the
Magcargo one last time and it fainted from the repeated attacks.

"Magcargo is defeated," the announcer said, raising a green flag.

Blaine returned his Magcargo and retrieved another Pokeball. He threw it and a flaming Pokemon appeared. It seemed to be made of yellow and red flames. It had two arms that ended in cannons. It had black bands on the neck and each of its limbs.

Nick pulled out his Pokedex again and muttered, "Magmortar."

This Pokemon also started without a command. It raised an arm and a small sphere of flames appeared at the end of the cannon. It shot the fireball at Ace, who was hovering at the other side of the arena. Ace dived out of the way, its speed back to normal.

"Ace, use Wing Attack!" Nick called out.

Ace dived at the Magmortar. The Magmortar raised both arms and cloud clouds quickly billowed out of the ends. Visibility was quickly reduced to almost nothing except for Light, who could see some of the battle.

Ace stopped inside the cloud, unsure of what to do. Magmortar moved from its previous position and started to shoot fireballs at the blinded Pidgeot. Ace didn't see the onslaught of attacks until they started to hit Ace. Ace quickly headed up until he was high above the smokescreen. The fireballs continued, but Ace was able to dodge them once he could see them coming.

However, the previous fireballs had done the trick. Ace looked exhausted and Light realized that he had been burned by the attack from the Magcargo from earlier. He had been taking damage all this time. Before it wasn't that bad, but in his state, the burn would be a deal breaker. Ace wouldn't be able to continue long in his condition.

"Ace, return," Nick said, pressing a button on his Pokeball. A red light hit Ace and he disappeared to rest inside the small container. "Okay, Blaze, you're up," Nick said quickly, before Light could jump in.

Light snorted as Blaze stepped into the arena and got ready to battle. If you won't use me, than why not use Azul, who has a type advantage? Light asked.

Blaze has his ability to help along with Dig, Nick explained.

Light was impressed that Nick had come up with the strategy, even if it was a small one. Nick didn't come up with any strategy easily. Just something else to put on the strange list for Nick.

"Blaze, use Double Team and then Dig!" Nick yelled.

Blaze split into eight forms and they separated. The Magmortar raised a fist and launched two fireballs at the Flareon. Three Flareon disappeared on contact, but the rest managed to get underground in time. The Magmortar looked around in confusion, but didn't react otherwise.

Two Flareon burst out of the ground in front of it and it whacked each of them with an arm. They both disappeared. But right before the arms hit them, two more Flareon sprung up from behind and hit it. One, however, backed away and didn't make contact.

After hitting the two Flareon, it turned to face the two new ones. One was the real, but it didn't know which had hit it. Finally, it raised both arms and shot a fireball at each. One disappeared while the other simply took the hit and seemed to gain energy. The Flareon that took the hit dived underground.

Another two Flareon came up and Magmortar countered them. This time, it swiveled around, ready for another blow to the back. Blaze shot out of the ground where the previous two had, where Magmortar had just turned its back to. Blaze rammed the Magmortar and dived underground again.

The Magmortar stumbled under the blow, but got up and started to check the area around it. The last of the Flareon shot up, surrounding the Magmortar at each cardinal direction. It waved its arms at its sides and managed to hit the Flareon on either side and behind it. However, they disappeared; meaning the Flareon in front of it was Blaze. Blaze hit him and jumped back.

Before the Magmortar could do anything, Blaze's body was aflame as he ran at the Pokemon again. Blaze hit Magmortar and it fell on its back. Blaze attempted to hit it again, but it grabbed Blaze. It stood up, not letting go of Blaze. Once up, he threw Blaze against the ground and then put his arms together. He aimed at Blaze and a small white sphere formed at the end. He was preparing a Hyper Beam.

Blaze tried to move, but was too stunned. The Magmortar fired the attack and the white beam hit Blaze, destroying much of the ground near him while doing massive damage. Blaze coughed as the attack ended, but didn't allow the Magmortar to recharge after the attack. Blaze shot up and hit it with one more of his enhanced Flame Wheel. The Magmortar fell back and fainted.

"M-Magmortar has fainted," the announcer said, a little bit of disbelief in his voice.

Blaine returned his Pokemon and threw another Pokeball. In the signature red flash, a large horse like creature appeared. It had a large mane made of fire, with a tail to match. It had a pointed horn and looked extremely dangerous. It was a Rapidash.

The Rapidash rushed at Blaze, almost as fast as Ace while using Agility. Blaze was hit by the horn as it rushed by, sweeping its head low to make contact. Blaze fell onto his back after flying a few feet. The Rapidash turned after going a little and leapt into the air. It went higher than Ace usually flew, making Light sure it was using a flying type move.

The Rapidash came down on Blaze, dealing a high amount of damage. Its move seemed to do extra damage, also, removing any doubt that it wasn't a flying type move. Blaze started to gasp for air, but stayed conscious.

"Come back, Blaze," Nick ordered. He reached back, rushing a little, as Blaze limped back over to the edge of the arena. Light realized too late that he was pulling another Pokeball out. He tried to move into the arena, but Nick threw the Pokeball, yelling, "Go, Azul."

Light muttered under his breath as the Milotic appeared, tossing her hair and making a sparkling entrance. Light was almost tempted to jump in anyway, but didn't want to disrespect Blaine by refusing to listen to the rules. Light clawed the ground,

wanting something to hit.

Nick furrowed his brow and Light realized he was giving orders through telepathy. Azul opened her mouth and formed a small, watery sphere appeared. It grew and then expanded into a disc before separated into three rings.

The Rapidash started to run around the Milotic, trying to dodge the move. However, the Milotic aimed perfectly at the rushing Rapidash and it made a direct hit. The Rapidash became confused as Light had on their first encounter. It shook its head, trying to gain its sense again.

Azul flipped its tail and water erupted from the ground and whirled around her. It formed the water and then hit the Rapidash with its Surf attack. The Rapidash fell down, exhausted from the battle. Blaine waved an arm and the announcer shouted, "Stop! Blaine has forfeited the battle. Rapidash has been defeated. The challenger wins."

Nick jumped up in victory and started his dance. Azul joined him, seeming to know the exact dance and Light realized they were a perfect pair. Not wanting to look at the celebrators, Light looked away. He noticed there were a few dark looking clouds
on the horizon, but didn't care.

Suddenly, the back of the fur on Light's neck rose menacingly, as though some great predator was nearby. A sense of dread came over Light. Light realized that he could detect where it was coming from and pinpointed it. The feeling seemed to come from the clouds that he had noticed, as though something more sinister hid inside them.

Light dismissed it, but couldn't get the feeling to leave or his fur to lie flat. Light looked over at the others and stopped. Blaze seemed to be frozen to the spot, and his face sent just as much a dreading as the mysterious feeling. On Blaze's face was a picture of pure panic and fear. And it was directed at him.
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[ryan22424]

Chapter 27: The End of the Storm

Light's heartbeat increased and he took a step back from Blaze. He had never seen Blaze show fear. Showing any fear would have got Light's attention, but this was scaring him. Blaze looked as though he was about to face his worst fears.

Light took another step back and Blaze's frozen state stopped. Blaze flipped around and grabbed Nick's pants leg with his teeth. Nick yelped and Light guessed he had got some of his skin also. Nick spun around, ready to give Blaze a lecture, when his gaze landed on Light. He face also turned grave and attained a light, white tone.

Light's fur rose at the reaction of his trainer. He glanced over at Ace and Azul, who had noticed the disturbance, but they were looking at him normally. He relaxed slightly as he realized only Nick and Blaze were giving him the horrible looks, but he still stayed tense.

Nick crouched down in front of Light, who took another step back. "Where's it coming from?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. He seemed ready to leap at anything.

Light tilted his head at the strange question. Err . . . what do you mean? Light asked.

Nick gave a small sigh of frustration. "You don't know. Great," he muttered. "Are you feeling some strange feeling?"

Light slowly nodded, still confused at his trainer's actions.

"Where's it coming from?" Nick asked.

Light hesitantly pointed toward the clouds with his snout. The clouds over there, Light answered.

Nick and Blaze slightly relaxed. Nick jumped up and ran over to Blaine and the announcer. "Quick; we have to warn the others. A dangerous storm is coming. Everyone needs to take cover," Nick said quickly, with more authority in his voice than Light had ever heard before.

Blaine nodded while the announcer looked slightly hesitant. However, as the respected gym leader agreed, he also nodded. "Harry, show them where the shelter in the gym is. I'll go convince the weather warnings to sound the alarm," Blaine said, moving away at a surprising speed.

Harry nodded, though Blaine didn't see it. "Okay, err . . ." he started.

"It's Nick," Nick said quickly.

"Okay, Nick, come with me. I don't know how you know that those clouds are a storm, but I trust Blaine's decisions. We'll take shelter in the safe part of the gym," Harry said, going into the gym.

Nick followed into the gym, returning Azul, who couldn't fit through the small door. Light followed Blaze, still confused. At least Nick and Blaze weren't looking at him with those fearful faces anymore.

Harry led them down a set of stairs within the building and then through a few more doors. They stopped in a solid concrete room with only one door that they had come through. It was a steel door that had magnetic locks. There were several boxes in the back that had small, white boxes with red crosses on them, cans of food, and bottles of water. Light wondered why they had constructed the room.

Harry shut the door, but didn't lock it yet. Nick sat down against a wall and Harry took the one opposite. Light saw his chance for some answers. Nick,he thought, getting Nick's attention.

Nick looked up at him. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I didn't say anything," Harry said.

"Sorry, I was talking to Light," Nick said.

"Umm . . ." Harry started, looking at Nick strangely.

"Light knows telepathy," Nick explained. "So what is it?" Nick asked, turning his attention back to Light.

What was that? What do I not know? Light asked.

"Yeah, I better explain that. See, by the way you felt the storm coming, and the look on your face, we realized you were a seer," Nick said.

What is a seer? Light asked.

"A seer is a Pokemon that has the abilities of an Absol, without being one. See, as a seer, you can sense catastrophes just like an Absol, but are a different species. Once in a great while, an Absol will be born without the ability to sense disasters. As it does, the ability it should have had goes to another Pokemon that isn't an Absol. So, an Absol were born around the time you were, giving you the ability," Nick explained. "That's how we knew that the storm was some kind of natural disaster that was coming."

S-so, I'm just like an Absol? Light asked.

"Yes," Nick answered.

But I don't want to be like an Absol. There hated creatures that people avoid. I don't want to live like that, Light said, backing up a few steps and shaking his head.

"It can't be helped. It's a natural ability that you can't just turn off. However, I'm sure others won't do that to you. For one, it's not like they'll instantly know that you're a seer. Also, you're a captured Pokemon," Nick said.

Light sighed and went to sit against the wall by himself, thinking over this new predicament. He didn't want to be a shunned Pokemon, hated by an ability normally given to Absol only. He wouldn't be able to stand being avoided by others. Maybe he would be able to keep it secret, like Nick said. He would have to keep it secret if he wanted to live a normal life.

Suddenly, a thought came to Light. How did you know what my reaction would be when I felt a disaster? Light asked Nick.

"Oh, umm . . . let's leave it with experience," Nick said quietly, petting Blaze sadly.

Light was curious about what he meant, but didn't push the subject.

Light's head swiveled to the door as it opened. Blaine came in, breathing slightly hard. He shut the door behind him and locked it. A few seconds later, a loud ringing noise reached his ears. It seemed to be coming from above the ground. It was probably the alarm Blaine had been talking about.

"Good, you got here. Now, I guess we sit and wait out the storm," Blaine said. He sat down next to Light.

They sat in silence for a while before Blaine spoke up. "So, what are you planning to do after the Pokemon League?" Blaine asked.

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. I may try to settle down, or I may go on to another region like Johto and collect more badges," Nick said.

"That pretty much sums up the plans of most trainers," Blaine said.

"How long have you run this gym?" Nick asked, his curiosity removing his manners.

Blaine chuckled. "More years than I care to count," he said with a smile. But his shoulders sagged, and he let out a sigh after he finished. "However, I'll have to retire soon. I need to find a suitable replacement. Many think that I'm too old for battling as it is, let alone another year or two."

Nick at least had enough sense not to ask any other rude questions. They sat in silence once again. Soon, Light heard the pattering of rain overhead. However, it wasn't a nice, calm rain, but a slinging, raging rain. Soon, they heard thunder start up.

Everyone sat in silence, not even trying to communicate during the onslaught of noise. The tenseness of the moment could be felt in the air. The storm seemed to be getting worse and worse, instead of calming down. Light felt uneasy as the hours passed.

Finally, the noises from the storm raging overhead died down until there was silent. Light was going to get up, but two things stopped him. One thing was that somewhere inside him, he could tell it wasn't over. The other thing was that no one else was getting up or even slightly relaxing. Light stayed still for another twenty minutes before the storm started up again, as bad as ever.

Light muttered to himself, the noises of the huge storm overhead making sure nothing was overheard. This storm was definitely holding them back from leaving. The storm seemed as though it was never going to end. It was definitely way past the time they normally went to sleep. However, no one seemed like they were even going to try to sleep. Light knew that if Nick stayed up, he would be sleeping the complete day tomorrow. They would be delayed even more.

The storm continued above them. This time, the storm seemed to be slowly dying down. As the hours passed, Light was sure that the storm was starting to die down. After a long, long while, the noises went to just a normal rain, and finally, nothing.

It was an eerie silence, stranger than the mysterious silence during the storm. However, this one at least seemed natural.

The others slowly got up and Light followed suit. His muscles felt slightly stiff from staying in the one position so long. They stretched and Blaine went over to the door. He unlocked it and let them out. "Okay, it will be dark and still be dangerous outside, so you'll stay here for the night, okay?" Blaine asked.

Nick nodded his consent.

However, Light had a question. Is there a place for Nick to heal Ace, Blaze, and Azul? Light asked Blaine, opening the channel to Nick also. He didn't want to be delayed any longer.

Blaine nodded. "Yes, there is a personal one for the gym leader's Pokemon here. I'll let you use it overnight," he said.

"Thanks," Nick said. He returned Blaze and handed the three Pokemon to him. As Blaine took the Pokeballs, he handed over a small item. "Oh, I forgot about the Volcano Badge!" Nick exclaimed.

Blaine chuckled. "Harry, will you take them to one of the guest rooms?" he asked.

Harry nodded and started off. Nick followed with Light close behind. Harry led them to a small room with only a bed, a desk, and a chair in it. The room was pretty plain besides that. Harry left them at the door with instructions to the nearest bathroom.

While Nick went to take care of his business, Light jumped onto the end of the bed. He curled up and fell asleep quickly.

(0)

Light stood at the door, waiting for someone to come. Nick still slept, as Light had guessed. Light had woken three hours ago and had mentally contacted Blaine. While Blaine checked on Nick's Pokemon, Light promised to himself that if Nick didn't wake by the time the others healed, he would wake Nick himself.

A soft knock sounded on the door. Light opened the door and saw Blaine in the entrance, three Pokeballs in his hands. "They're all completely healed," Blaine whispered, seeing that Nick was asleep.

Light wasn't going back on his promise. Light jumped up onto the bed. The mattress shook roughly and Nick started awake. "Uh, wha- What's happening?" Nick asked.

Blaine chuckled. "I came to tell you you're Pokemon are fully healed."

It's time to head out, Light ordered.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up," Nick said. He got up and started to get ready as Blaine put his Pokeballs on the desk and left. After getting prepared, Nick led Light outside. He released Blaze and Ace, both looking completely refreshed.

Light impatiently waited as Nick got the rest of his stuff from the Pokemon Center. As Light waited, he looked around at the ruined island. The large storm from the last night had destroyed trees and ruined the look of the island. The storm had knocked over a few houses even. The island seemed to be in a paused state. No one was outside and it looked like a Pokemon had used several Whirlwind on the area.

The ocean looked like the only thing that hadn't been affected by the storm. Blaze looked at the destruction bleakly. Light had never known that a storm could do so much damage. Even the Pokemon seemed scared as the usual Pokemon that would be out and about were in hiding somewhere. A silence gripped the island as not even the cawing of Wingull could be heard.

Nick finally came out and they headed down to the pier area. Nick released Azul, returning Blaze. Azul seemed hesitant to leave, wanting to go and calm all the raging emotions covering the area. Finally, Nick had to return Azul and test Ace. Ace assured him that he could hold Nick and Light for the short trip to Pallet Town.

Nick got on Ace, picking Light up in his arms. Ace hopped forward a few times before leaping into the air and starting to flap his wings. After a few struggled flaps, Ace took to the air. Nick held on tightly and looked as though he was going to get sick.

He closed his eyes and gripped Ace even tighter. Light was sure Ace was going to come out of this missing a few feathers.

Ace flew through the air, his speed pretty much the same as normal. The air rushed by Light, ruffling his fur and making his ears slightly flop around. He allowed himself to enjoy it, knowing that they were finally on their way back to Cream. He would be able to see her again soon. He also finally allowed himself to smile.

Nick, however, was having a much worse time. His face was getting a slight green tint and he kept swallowing. Light wondered what was making him sick, but decided that wasn't the best moment to ask. Ace flew as calmly as possible, realizing that Nick was starting to get sick.

Finally, the mainland came into sight near sunset. They would have reached it much faster if they hadn't stopped to heal the others and let Nick sleep in, but it couldn't have been helped. Ace landed smoothly on the ground and Nick rushed off to the bushes. He barfed into the greenery and came back to his patiently waiting Pokemon.

They stopped at the Pokemon Center for the night, even though Light wanted to go on. Light could barely get to sleep from anxiousness. He couldn't wait to get back to Cream and they were almost there.

(0)

Light mostly led the group as they walked the next few days. As was expected, all the trainers they met were newbies, unwilling to test themselves against the strong team of Pokemon. Azul was able to get out of the Pokeball, the path rarely traveled heavily. People's gazes were drawn to her wherever she went as they went along. Azul seemed to love the attention, though.

Light continued to walk ahead some before stopping and impatiently letting the others catch up. He would then repeat the process, wanting to try and hurry the others. The thought of heading back to Cream gave him more energy than a Pikachu and made his walking crazier than a Zigagzoon's.

Nick estimated that they were about four days ahead of the time he had set when they left. Light didn't care as long as they kept moving. Azul commented several times on his better mood, and seemed to be in a better mood herself. Light even groomed himself, wanting to look his best when they got back.

Soon, they were leaving Viridian Forest. However, as they exited the buzzing forest and got back on the road, Nick stopped. Light looked up and saw that the sun had already set. Nick started going about getting the camp ready, while Light cursed the fact that humans couldn't see in the dark. Then, an idea struck him.

Nick, Light thought, grabbing his attention.

What? Nick asked.

I'm going on. I can see in the dark. I'll meet up with you at the house,Light told him, not caring to ask permission.

Nick chuckled. I'm not going to be able to stop you, am I? Go on, but be careful.

Light darted off the path and decided to follow it from the trees nearby. He ignored the confused glances of the other Pokemon as they helped Nick. Light loped off down the route, already knowing where to go. The air rushed by him and ruffled his fur as he went as fast as possible. Pokemon peeked out of their dens as he sped by.

Soon, complete darkness had fallen. The moon was only a sliver overhead, recently being a new moon. Luckily, his rings gathered enough lunar power to glow, making seeing easier. Light could see in the dark, but with his rings glowing, he could go faster while still being cautious.

Lights began to appear on the horizon. Light soon came upon Pewter City. Large metal trees with glowing light on top lit up the city in small intervals. Few people were outside. Light sped down the streets, ignoring the gasps of surprise from the onlookers. Nothing was going to stop him now.

The end of the city came into view and Light sped out onto the rarely traveled road to Twinleaf Village. He loped down the dusty road, finding some hidden energy as he got closer and closer to Cream. They wouldn't be apart for long.

The forms of houses appeared around him suddenly. No lights lit the small village and the inner lights of the buildings had long since been turned off as the people went to bed. Following the path they had gone down earlier, Light found himself in front of the house. Light stopped in front of it and took a deep breath.

Light walked down the little path to the front door. His heartbeat started to race faster as he got closer. Light touched it with Psychic and undid the locks. It was always a little unnerving how easy it was to get inside the house. Light opened the door quietly and slipped in. He shut the door quietly behind him. He glanced around and determined that everyone was already asleep.

Light slipped into the living room. The window in the wall allowed the little moonlight to fall onto a sleeping form on the cushions. Light stopped as he saw his mate again. The moonlight seemed to make her beautiful coat shimmer and glow. Her sides slowly rose and fell as she slept.

Light took another breath and came closer; his heartbeat was so fast, he thought it would burst. He saw that Cream was the only one in the room, signifying that Rose was sleeping elsewhere. Light stopped by Cream and stopped as he watched her sleep peacefully. He would have been content to watch her like that for the rest of his life. She looked so serene and perfect.

Light shook his head slightly to snap out of his trance. Light raised a paw and put it on Cream's shoulder. He shook her slightly and whispered, "Cream."

After a few seconds, Cream blinked open her eyes and yawned. She uncurled, but stayed lying on her stomach. She looked up and saw Light. Her face drained of color and terror replaced her sleepy look. The look sent daggers into Light.

"N-no, n-not a-again!" Cream exclaimed in a quiet tone, disbelief dominating what she said. Cream hid her face under her paws and started to shake in fear. Light could hear quiet sobbing start.

Light didn't know what was wrong, but he was at her right side in an instant. He laid his tail on her back and started to soothe her. He put a paw on her shoulder and asked, "What's wrong, Cream?"

She didn't answer, but Light did hear her saying something into her paws. Light leaned down and heard her muttering, "Not again . . . oh, please, not again . . . I can't take another nightmare . . . wake up, wake up . . . please, not again." Her sobbing
continued, her shoulders shaking slightly.

Nightmare? Light thought to himself. "Cream . . . Cream listen, this isn't a dream; I'm really here," Light whispered into her ear.

Cream froze. Realizing what was about to happen, Light threw up a psychic barrier around them. "LIGHT!" Cream screamed, springing on him. If it wasn't for his barrier, she would have woken the whole house with her exclamation. Cream's sudden spring bowled Light over onto his back, Cream now on top of him. She wrapped him in a tight hug, slightly blocking his airway. Light hugged her back, glad nothing was wrong.

Light sighed with relief and he embraced his mate. "Good, you had me going there for a second," Light whispered.

Cream laid her cheek against Light's chest. "I-I'm sorry, Light, but . . . I've just had . . . these horrible nightmares and . . ." she said, taking deep breaths during her exclamation. She sniffed at the end and closed her eyes, unable to go on.

"Let it out, Cream; it's alright. I'm here and I won't be going away anytime soon," Light said.

Cream started to cry into his fur. Light calmed her by rubbing his paw up and down her back. After a while, she stopped crying and simply laid on top of him. "Oh, Light, I'm so glad you're back," Cream said, tightening her grip on him.

Light chuckled slightly. "I am, too, tough it wasn't the greeting I expected," he teased.

"I'm sorry; I really am, but I thought it was another nightmare and I was scared," Cream said quietly.

"Well we won't have to worry about that anymore, well we?" Light soothed.

Cream gripped him even tighter, nuzzling her head against his chest.

"I won't be going anywhere anytime soon, Cream; you don't need to bind me down." Light smiled at her.

"Oh, sorry," she said, releasing her death grip.

"What? No hello kiss for your mate?" he asked, putting on a pouting face.

Cream giggled and looked back at him. She reached forward and Light raised his head. Their lips met in a passionate kiss as they finally reunited. Light and Cream closed their eyes, concentrated only on the moment. That kiss seemed to be better than any other they had ever had before. Light would have done anything for that one moment as he enjoyed their reunification. They finally broke apart as their lungs started to scream for air, forcing them to take a breath.

Light embraced his mate again, enjoying the feel of her fur against his. Her tail wrapped around his, squeezing slightly. Her wonderful, nature like smell wreathed around him. Her breathing was music to his ears as she embraced his back. He was in a moment of total bliss.

Light finally broke the silence. "So are we going to sleep on the floor?" he asked.

Cream slipped off him. Light got up and got onto the cushions. Cream curled up against him, snuggling up as close as possible. Light laid his front paw over her, pulling her right up against his chest. Light laid his tail over her, even though it wasn't like her fluffy, bushy tail that he loved.

Light licked her between the ears, receiving a giggle from her. "I've missed you so much, Light," she whispered again.

"I've missed you, too. But I'm here now, so let's not think about it," Light whispered, nuzzling her head with his snout.

Cream laid silent for a few seconds, before she whispered, "I love you, Light."

"And I love you, too, Cream," Light whispered back.

They smiled contentedly as went back into a comfortable silence. Cream's breathing soon slowed and went into a regular pace as she fell into a peaceful sleep. Light soon followed suit, his first true contented sleep since he had left.

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[ryan22424]

Chapter 28: No Time for Relaxation

"Daddy!"

Light groggily opened his eyes to see a brown blur coming at him. Light coughed as the breath was driven from his body, the blur having jumped onto him. Light blinked his eyes again, chasing the sleep away.

"I didn't know you were back. When did you get here? What was it like? Did you get hurt? Can I go next time?" a voice asked him eagerly, the creature starting to bounce slightly on him.

Light laughed and slowly got up, giving her enough warning to get off his back. Rose came around and sat in front of him, her tail swishing around eagerly behind her. Once Light was fully up, Rose jumped at him and embraced him around the neck.

Light licked her forehead and put her down. "It's good to see you, too, Rose. Have you been good?" Light asked playfully.

"She's been very good," Cream said, getting up beside him.

Rose beamed under the compliment. "Is Nick here?" Rose asked.

"Not yet. I went ahead and got here early," Light said.

"R-Rose?" a timid voice asked. Light glanced over and saw Patch's head come around the corner. He gasped as he saw Light. "You guys are back! Where's my dad?" Patch asked, coming into the room.

Light shook his head. "I came ahead. The others are getting here later today," he said.

"Oh," Patch said, his voice dropping in level.

Rose saw his disappointment and went over to him. "Come on, let's go play," she said, darting away once she was done.

Patch seemed to instantly feel better and chased after Rose, laughing as he went along.

Cream and Light chuckled. "Do you think, Cream? You've seen them together longer than I," Light said.

Cream laughed. "If you can't see it, you're blinder than a Zubat. Yes, I think they will," she said.

"Has Rose talked about evolution at all?" Light asked.

"Well, she says she doesn't want to be a Jolteon, Vaporeon, or Flareon. However, she hasn't said anything about the other evolutions," Cream answered. "However, Patch has made it clear what he wants to evolve into: a Leafeon."

Light chuckled. "Yes, but we're in Kanto. Eevee can only become Leafeon with the Moss Rock in Sinnoh."

"He does seem determined, though. He refuses listening about the other evolutions except when Rose talks," Cream said.

Light's stomach growled before he could reply.

"The same old Light," Cream laughed.

Light laughed with her and walked into the dining room. Nick's mother was just putting food into the bowls. She glanced and saw Light. "Oh, I didn't know you guys got here. How did you get in?"

Actually, I came ahead of the others. I unlocked the door with Psychic and came in, he informed her.

"Oh, I didn't know you could do that. Maybe we should get better locks. Oh! Let me get you some breakfast," she said.

Light waited until she filled his bowl and finished his breakfast eagerly, enjoying the refreshing taste of the fresh food compared to the dry food Nick brought when traveling. He felt much better after his stomach was contentedly full.

Light and Cream sat together on the bench as they used to, both relieved that he was finally back. Nick finally caught up and came down the path to the front door around noon. Nick brought them outside so everyone could meet Azul, as she couldn't fit inside the house.

"I glad you're feeling better, Light. I was hoping you weren't always a depressing Pokemon," Azul commented to Light, after all the introductions and greetings were over.

Cream frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Azul laughed. "An hour didn't go by when Light wasn't thinking about you and dragging his tail in sadness," she explained.

Light glanced back and was relieved to see that his tail was still normal. Cream pressed against him, smiling up at him. What are you looking at? she asked, their channel now open again.

My tail; I thought that it would have a cream tip by the time I got back, Light answered.

Cream giggled and nuzzled his side.

Light saw Patch running up to them and turned to meet him. Azul leaned down as to hear better.

"Azul, could you come translate for me?" Patch asked.

Azul smiled. "Sure," she said, happy to help.

Light and Cream followed them over to Nick. He was just finishing talking to his mother and was about to go in.

"Nick?" Patch asked.

Nick stopped and crouched down to make their conversation easier. "Yes, Patch?"

"I . . . I want to go to Sinnoh to become a Leafeon," Patch said.

Nick frowned and put on his thoughtful face. "That may be a problem as we're in Kanto, though," Nick said, pointing out the obvious.

"But you could take me on Ace," Patch said.

Nick grimaced and shook his head at his first experience at flying. "Well, see, I don't really like the flying experience and all. Last time I got sick and we were going only a short distance. Sinnoh is much farther," he explained.

Patch's demeanor fell. "Oh . . . okay," he said, his ears and tail drooping.

Nick reached out and started to pet Patch. "However, I think I may know a way to solve that," he said.

Patch ears perked up, waiting for his solution.

"See, I won't be able to go, but Light can since he is easily able to fight on his own and can easily lead you," Nick said.

Light lowered his ears and backed up a step.

Patch's demeanor rose again. "Really?" he asked. Before he got his answer, he turned to Light. "Light, will you? Please?"

"Err, only if Cream wants to and can come along," Light said. "How about it, Cream?" he asked.

"I'm up for it," she said, pressing against him.

Nick frowned. "Actually, I don't think Cream should go," he said. "The three of you might be too much and there also might not be enough space on his back."

Ace was perched nearby and had overheard the conversation. "I'll make room. There is no way I'm taking Light without Cream," he said, shaking slightly. "I know what he's like without her, and I'll make a way to take all three," he finished. Ace hopped off his perch and landed next to Light and Cream.

"Well, I guess if you think you can it's okay then," Nick said, scratching his head in thought. "Come on in, Light, and I'll show you a map of the regions. I'll need to teach you where you'll be going."

Light nodded and followed Nick in, Cream staying by his side. Nick took him to his room where he pulled out a large map and unrolled it on the bed. Nick showed him it and started to tell him what everything meant. Light's head swam with what he was saying. Even after all the explanations, the paper just seemed like blobs of color to him. How did humans expect to make sense of it? However, the trickiness of it all, at least for Light, was what interested Light. He actually liked the challenge of interpreting the map.

After a while, Nick thought Light knew enough and rolled the map up. He started to pull items out and put them on the bed. He put down seven Oran berries, a Pecha berry, and a Rawst berry along with three small packs. He put three berries in each pack.

"Here, you two and Patch will carry these. This way, if anything happens, you'll be okay. The Oran berries restore health and heal some wounds; the Pecha berry will heal any poison ailment; the Rawst berry will heal any burn," Nick informed them.

Light slipped his head through the strap of one of the packs. It fell against his chest, slightly tight around his neck. Cream slipped one on herself. It laid gently against her side, looser around her smaller neck. Light picked up the third in his mouth.

"Now, you can leave now, which Patch will probably want to. Just remember the directions I told you and you should be back in two or three days. And Light?" Nick asked.

Light tilted his head, wanting for him to continue.

"No stupid stunts," Nick said sternly, pointing a finger at him for emphases.

Light nodded, but didn't promise on purpose. If it would protect Cream, he would still do it.

"Come on; I'll go see you off," Nick said.

Light and Cream headed outside. Patch was nearly bouncing with excitement. Ace was grooming his feathers, ready to go. Light helped Patch to get his pack on. Patch was then given a hug and goodbye from both of his parents. Light and Cream embraced Rose tightly and Cream told her to listen and obey Blair. Rose then gave Patch and Ace a hug also.

Light helped Patch to get onto Ace. On Patch was on, he helped Cream get on and got on himself, putting Cream between him and Patch. Nick had been right as Ace's back was crowded as all three of them got on, but Light was sure each of them would be able to hold on.

Once they were all on, Ace let out his wings and leaned down. He gave a great leap and went sailing into the air. Ace gave a few flaps of his wings and was able to keep in the air. Once fully in the air, Ace was able to move much easier. Nick, Blaze, Blair, Rose, and Azul waved as Ace started to head north.

Soon, Nick's village was out of sight and no human objects obstructed the scenery for as far as they could see. Light enjoyed the trip much more than before now that Cream was next to him. Cream raised her head in joy as the wind ruffled the fur on her face and made her mane fly around. Light smiled as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the air.

After a while, Light noticed that Patch didn't seem to be happy, but rather forlorn. "Is something wrong, Patch? I thought you were going to be happy that we are finally headed for Sinnoh," Light said.

Patch started at his voice and looked over at him. "N-no, I'm f-fine," he said quickly, too quickly.

"I know something is wrong, Patch. What is it?" Light asked.

Patch sighed. "It's . . . it's Rose," he said quietly, his voice almost lost on the wind.

"What's wrong with her?" Light asked, worried for a second.

Patch's eyes widened slightly, though not much because of the wind rushing by. "No!" he exclaimed, as though the idea was ridiculous. "Err, I mean no, there's nothing wrong, it's just . . .," he said, sighing at the end.

"You like her, don't you?" Light asked, keeping an emotionless face on.

Patch blushed and looked at his paws. "Y-yeah," he said, his voice low again.

Light smiled. "So we were correct."

Patch looked at him surprised. "How did you know?"

Light chuckled. "By watching you, of course. So, what's wrong?" Light asked.

Patch's ears slightly went down. "Well, it's just that Rose hugged me, but then hugged Ace also. I . . . I don't know if she likes me back," he said.

"So what am I, then?" Ace asked suddenly.

"Oh, sorry," Patch said.

Light laughed. "So, what makes you think Rose doesn't like you?"

"She treats me the same as she does everyone," Patch said, looking away.

"I treated Cream the same before we became mates," Light said.

"Really?" he asked.

Cream laughed. "Yes, which is why I thought he didn't like me. I almost ran away, thinking that," Cream said.

"I'm glad I was unable to stop Light, then," Ace said.

Patch gave them a confused look.

"Ace was to prevent anyone from looking for me until I was long gone," Cream explained.

"Wow, you took it hard," Patch commented.

"If I hadn't found her, you would never have met Rose," Light pointed out. "If you think she doesn't like you, don't go doing something rash, like running away. She may just be wondering if you like her."

"Guys, look," Ace said.

The others looked out toward the horizon and saw a sliver on the edge. It soon came into focus, shimmering slightly from the sinking sun. It was the ocean.

"Wow," Patch whispered.

"It's too late to pass over the ocean tonight. Let's find a place to rest for the day," Light proposed.

Ace nodded his head and everyone started to search for somewhere to stay the night. "There," Cream said, pointing at the scenery below. Everyone followed where she was pointing and saw that there was a cave in a small clearing. Ace veered off his course and started to dive slightly toward it, unable to slope downward too much with his passengers on his back.

Ace landed in front of the cave and everyone piled off. The cave was about twice the size of the one Light had found Cream in before she ran away. Inside, there was a small, curled figure. It had a roundish head that came down into a very long snout.

There were small spots on its dark green back. The creature raised its head at the newcomers.

"Hello, we're travelers and are looking for a place to stay the night. Could we possible stay with you?" Cream asked.

The Pokemon looked at the suspiciously before uncurling. It stood up on its legs, showing them its light yellow stomach and stripe that went up its chin and stopped at the end of its snout. "If it's just for this night," it said.

"Thank you. I'm Cream and this is Patch, Light, and Ace," she introduced, pointing to each of them respectively.

"I am called Ty," he said.

"Err, I'm sorry, but what species of Pokemon are you?" Patch asked.

He looked surprised at the question. "I'm a Cyndaquil, of course."
"Ah, you're a Johto Pokemon. We're from Kanto. We're heading toward Sinnoh so Patch here can become a Leafeon," Light said.

"What's a Leafeon?" Ty asked.

"It's the grass type evolution of an Eevee," Patch said.

"I've never heard of a Leafeon before," Ty said.

"Eevee can only become Leafeon by touching a Moss Rock. There's one in Sinnoh," Patch said.

"Do you know of any nearby berry bushes?" Light asked.

"I'll show you," Ty said.

He headed off into the undergrowth. Ace flew up into the air to look for his own meal, while the others followed Ty into the forest. Ty led them to a berry bush that was overfilling with berries. Light, Patch, and Cream harvested as much as they could carry and brought them back to the cave. They had gathered enough for breakfast, along with some more that they would leave with Ty as a gift for letting them stay.

They ate their dinner mostly in silence. When it was over, Light was about to lay down, when Patch suddenly left the cave. Light followed him out to see where he was going. Patch stopped near the cave and seemed to be looking down at something.

Light came up beside him and saw a small disc in the ground.

"It's a TM or maybe one of the rare HMs," Light said, startling Patch.

"What's a TM?" Patch asked.

"A TM is a small disc that puts instructions of how to do a move in your head. However, you can't use it unless you're able to collect that information," Light said.

"Can I use it?" Patch asked.
Light shrugged. "I don't see why not. Just put your paw on it and concentrate on it."

Patch put his paw on it and closed his eyes. The small disc glowed for a second before cracking and losing all color. Patch opened his eyes after a while. "Did it work?" he asked.

"You're the one that learned the move," Light said.
Patch looked down at his feet for a second before smiling. He looked back up and opened his mouth. A small sphere formed and grew larger by the second. Before long, it was as big as Patch himself, yet getting bigger. Finally, it exploded, though it didn't seem to have any effect on Patch.

"Was that Shadow Ball?" Cream asked, walking up to them.

Patch and Light shrugged their shoulders. "Patch just used a TM, so maybe," Light said.

"Do you know Shadow Ball?" Patch asked.

Cream nodded, though it was a hesitant one.

"Oh, could you teach me to use it? Pleease?" Patch asked.

Cream hesitated again, but finally relented. "Okay," she said.

Light stepped back and watched as Cream started to instruct Patch on the attack. Light thought the attack was pretty similar to Dark Pulse, though one had to only fire once instead of continuing a single attack.

Soon, Patch formed another Shadow Ball. This time, the sphere stopped before it became as large as him. It didn't explode as before and Patch sent it forward by throwing his head slightly forward. The dark sphere went forward, straight for a tree.

However, the attack veered off majorly and hit a different tree. Patch seemed both excited and disappointed at the same time.

Light stepped forward again and heard Cream saying, "Don't worry; all you need to do is learn to aim. Once you do, you'll have the attack down."

Patch nodded, but started to give a large yawn in the middle. "I think it's time we headed in for the night. You can practice it when we get back, Patch," Light said.

Patch nodded again, his eyelids starting to droop. They went inside the cave and Light laid down with Cream, pulling her close. Ty laid down in the back, on top of a nest of leaves. Patch went over and laid near the entrance. Ace soon came back and perched on a tree outside, finding it a comfortable place to roost.

Light stayed awake a little longer, a little uneasy in the strange land. However, tiredness, along with Cream's body gentle moving up and down as she peacefully slept, made he closed his eyes and fall asleep himself.

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[ryan22424]

Chapter 29: Bug Problems

Light woke with the sun when it shot down rays as it began to rise. The sudden sunlight slightly hurt Light's eyes, his natural nocturnal side not helping. Light groggily noticed Patch and Ty beginning to stir as the sunlight woke them, too. Cream was protected from the bright daylight by Light's body.

Light heard a cawing and looked outside. Ace was already awake outside, grooming his feathers. Light was surprised at how he was once again getting up early. It seemed that the laziness he had attained as a Pidgeotto was started to leave, replaced by his older side from when he was a Pidgey. However, he didn't seem as rash and headstrong as he used to be either. All in all, Light thought it was a good change.

Cream soon woke, even without the glaring sunlight hitting her, and they all got up. They ate their breakfast quietly, all of them still a bit groggy. Soon, they were ready to leave and Ace came down to prepare for his passengers.

Ty seemed sad as they got ready to leave. "If you guys come back this way, stop by, will you?" he asked.

Cream smiled at him. "We will. Have a nice day," she said getting on after Patch.

"Good luck," Ty called out as Light finally got on.

Ace spread his wings and leapt into the air. They were soon high in the air again. Light looked down and saw Ty waving from below as they passed overhead. Ace went straight over the ocean, heading in the rough direction that Light thought they should be going.

When they had gone a little, Light got an idea. Even though the ocean air slightly reached them from their high height, it was nothing like when he had ridden on Azul's back over the sea. Light closed the channel between him and Cream temporarily and opened one with Ace. He told Ace his idea and Ace agreed. Light quickly changed channels again before Cream could notice what had happened.

Ace slowly flew lower and lower as they went over the sea. Soon, he was right above the sea level. Cream gasped in surprise as the ocean spray hit her and the others. Light laughed at her reaction and enjoyed the moment fully, his mate now by his side. They all started to laugh in excitement as they went over the calm sea.

Before they knew it, the mainland behind them was out of sight. They seemed to be in a timeless adventure, enjoying the great feeling. However, they saw that they were heading toward another landmass. Light could see large pointy things rising from the ground and sloping to sharp points in the clouds. As they got closer, Light realized that the strange things were actually mountains, just like the ones he saw in Kanto. If he had understood the map thing right, they were to travel with the mountains on their right, heading for a large forest.

After discussing their directions with Ace, Light started to enjoy the emerging scenery. They quickly reached a long beach. Soon after, they saw a small town to their left. It was only another hour before they passed over a large city. The people walking along the paths didn't pay much attention to the flying Pidgeot. Several Pidgey and small gray birds called out to the larger bird Pokemon, trying to start a conversation. However, Ace kept flying forward, ignoring the questions that were sent at him and his strange passengers.

After passing the large city, Light started to pay more attention to the landmarks, trying to gauge where they were. However, whether Nick's information didn't sink in or because there were so few landmarks, Light couldn't figure out where they were.

He started to get worried when they passed another small village on their left after another hour.

Finally, Light gave up his prideful watch and told Ace to land. They would have to get directions. Ace passed over a small river and landed in a small clearing. After they had got off, Ace flew to a perch on a nearby tree, immediately starting a conversation with one of the strange gray birds.

Light looked around and saw an orange creature nearby. The Pokemon seemed to have a jolly nature and Light approached it. As he got closer, he saw it had a small blue fin on each of its arms and could stand on its hind legs. It had two long tails that ended with cream tips. A light orange thing wrapped around its neck. Light had no clue what it was.

The Pokemon turned as the three friends approached. "Why hello! I do believe we haven't met. I'm Jet, and you?" he said.

"Uh, hello, I'm Light and this is Cream and Patch. We need some directions to the Moss Rock near here. Do you know where it is?" Light asked.

"Do you mean that green, glowing rock in Eterna Forest? That's just about an hour's walk away northward," he said. "Would you like to come to my den? I have many berries and even some honey."

"Err, sorry, but we don't have time. Thank you," Light said.

"Don't be strangers. Visit me whenever you like," the Pokemon said, bounding away toward the river.

Light started to lead the others north, deciding it wasn't the effort to get on Ace again. Soon, an imposing forest stood in front of them. The air seemed to be different as they entered it, as though it was cleaner or purer. For some strange reason, it sent a slight shiver down Light's back. He quickened his pace, not wanting to stay for long.

Cream pressed against his side to comfort him. Light gratifyingly licked her on the forehead, thankful for her presence. The small sense disappeared as he felt Cream come against him.

Suddenly, the silence was broken as a large figure broke through the undergrowth nearby. Light had never seen anything like it. It was a large purple Pokemon that had two arms coming out of the side of its head. It also had a long tail that swept around behind it. Two menacing pincers were on the end of its arms and tail.

Another figure stepped out of the undergrowth, though Light recognized it, or at least what it was. It was a human in some kind of white and gray getup. It had crazy hair and a large yellow thing on its shirt. The Pokeballs around its waist told Light it was a trainer.

"A shiny Pokemon! Team Galactic will really benefit from this catch," the trainer said, rubbing his hands together. "Drapion, X-Scissor!"

Light didn't recognize that the human was giving a command until it was too late. The Drapion crossed its arms and slammed Light on his back. Light collapsed to the ground. The blow seemed to have crushed his insides and he couldn't catch his breath for a while. After the first few seconds, the pain initiated in his brain. Light cried out loudly, not expecting that much from a single blow. He heard Cream cry out somewhere behind him.

"Continue till it faints. Use X-Scissor again!" the trainer commanded.

Light couldn't concentrate to bring up a shield, and his body was in too much pain to move out of the way. But right before the Drapion came down on him, Ace flew by and hit it. The Drapion stopped attacking and regained its feet before getting ready to attack again.

However, Ace had given him enough time to concentrate. Light focused and formed a Dark Pulse. He shot up close and right in the face. The Drapion slowed its movements some, but the energy he was hitting it with seemed to not bother it at all.

Finally, Light's attack ended. The Drapion seemed to have lost no strength and was still ready to attack.

It grinned as it prepared its attack again. This time, Ace didn't make it and the attack hit Light again. Light cried out for a half second before all went black.

(0)

Patch looked back again to see if he could see the strange Pokemon. It was so friendly on it was the first time they had ever met. He wished Light would have let them talk with it longer. He wanted to find out what species the mysterious Pokemon was. Plus, he wasn't exactly full and wouldn't mind an extra meal. He wondered what Jet was talking about when he said he had honey. Was it food?

Patch's concentration was broken as something rustled in the bushes. Patch looked toward it and froze in fear as a giant, purple Pokemon appeared. It had two, weirdly attached arms with claws on the end of them and its long tail. He saw that Light and Cream didn't recognize this new Pokemon either.

Another figure came out of the undergrowth. Now Patch hadn't seen many humans yet, but this was the strangest one so far. He didn't know how to describe the hair, let alone the yellow thing on its shirt. Patch would have laughed if he wasn't so scared of the purple Pokemon. Patch then saw the Pokeballs along the belt of the human and realized it was a trainer. Patch let his guard down, knowing trainers wouldn't fight other captured Pokemon without asking the trainer.

Patch was completely unprepared as the human rubbed his hands together said, "A shiny Pokemon! Team Galactic will really benefit from this catch." He then pointed at Light and said, "Drapion, X-Scissor!"

The large Pokemon crossed its arms high and then brought them crashing down on Light. Patch was too stunned to do anything, while Cream cried out. Light collapsed to the ground from the assault. Now Patch was really frightened. Light, who had been training with Nick for months, was being taken down with one blow.

"Continue till it faints. Use X-Scissor again!" the human barked.

The Pokemon started to cross its arms again. Patch was still frozen to the spot. Cream seemed to almost be passing out in horror. Then, Ace came in at a speed Patch didn't think possible. Ace struck the Drapion and flew away before it could retaliate. However, the attack only made it become off balance a little, and it quickly got its footing back.

Patch let out a breath as Light opened his mouth and a small dark sphere formed. Light was finally fighting back. Patch watched, amazed, as Light shot the sphere into a sudden beam, hitting the Drapion right in the face. Patch was about to cheer when he realized that the attack wasn't doing anything visible. The Drapion was still getting ready to attack as though it wasn't being blasted with anything.

Then Light's attack stopped and the Drapion grinned. It crossed its arms and came down on Light again. Light gave cried out, but it was quickly cut short. He hoped Light had just fainted and hadn't died. Cream was starting to cry beside him. As he heard her start to cry, the petrification that seemed to have taken hold of him suddenly left.

Patch was still scared of the powerful Pokemon, but he found some kind of courage somewhere deep inside. Patch opened his mouth and formed a Shadow Ball. He remembered what Cream had told him and stopped putting energy in it before it got too large to handle. Giving a flick of his head, he shot the sphere. It went sailing toward the Drapion, but started to veer as it got close. However, the Drapion was so large, the attack still hit it on the tail.

The Drapion turned its gaze to Patch, and Patch was almost frozen in fear again. The Drapion didn't look at him long as it was hit upside the head by Ace again, this time coming from the opposite direction. The Drapion didn't seem to be bothered by the high speed attack, though. Something was majorly wrong with this Pokemon. Did it not feel pain or was it just that strong?

Something caught Patch's eye and he turned his head to follow it. It was a small ball, but it was spinning too fast for him to determine exactly what it was. The ball hit Light and he was covered in a red light. Patch realized it was a Pokeball. The light soon left and the Pokeball fell to the ground, Light still already on the ground near it.

The human seemed to try to be growling. "It's already a captured Pokemon. Come Drapion, we need to go find something else," he said, turning away. The Drapion turned and left as though nothing had happened. Soon, they were out of sight as they went through the undergrowth nearby.

Cream rushed over to Light and started to check him, her tears still flowing. Patch didn't know what he should do, so he started to watch for anyone else. He was starting to regret coming to Sinnoh at all.

(0)

Light didn't know where he was. Everything was black. It wasn't a natural blackness, though. He couldn't see anything, but his body. He could see his body clearly, as though in sunlight, but everything else was black. He couldn't tell if his rings were glowing, for there was nothing to illuminate in the dark place. He couldn't feel the ground underneath him, but he wasn't falling either. It was like he was in a different void.

All Light remembered was being attacked, and he wondered why he wasn't in pain. Then he realized he wasn't feeling anything. It was like all feeling had been taken from him. Light laid down on his stomach and closed his eyes. Peace and serenity flooded over him as he closed his eyes. It was almost perfect.

Light didn't know if he had been dozing or not, when he saw a small light appear near him. With it, he felt pain and fear flowing out of it. Light couldn't exactly move without the ground to propel him, but when he shrank away from it, the light seemed to move away, as though following his will. The pain decreased and he started to feel the peace and calmness return.

Then, the light grew slightly stronger and moved closer again. The pain also increased, almost to the point of making him cry out. Light growled at the light and moved it away as he had before. However, as it started to move away, he heard a voice.

"Light! Wake up, Light! Please!" the voice said. He knew that voice, but his memory seemed inaccessible at the moment. When the voice repeated itself, Light concentrated on it, determined to remember who it was. A pounding headache
immediately formed, but he finally remembered. It was Cream! And it seemed that she was crying.

When he realized this, he started to head toward the light, or rather, made it come to him. Soon the light started to encompass him. The pain returned also, making him gasp with its intensity, but he plowed on, focused on Cream.

Soon, it all disappeared as he blinked open his eyes. He saw grass to his left and brown fur to his right. He heard Cream crying and repeating what she had said earlier. He could feel Cream pressing against him and feel her body shaking as she sobbed.

"C-Cream," Light struggled out of his mouth. His voice seemed to croak and he wondered how long it had been since he was last awake. Cream continued to cry, not hearing his weak voice. Light gathered his remaining strength and lightly brushed Cream's consciousness on his own.

Cream instantly stopped for a second and then realized he was awake. "Light!" she exclaimed. Her face soon came into view as she started to cover his face in licks. Light weakly smiled at her actions. After a while, she stopped and went out of his sight range. She came back and put two berries down in front of him. Light barely registered that they were Oran berries by their bright, blue color. "Quick, eat these and you'll feel better," she said with a motherly tone.

Light didn't know if he could handle chewing at the moment. He could barely talk, let alone move his jaw that much. But he knew the pain would certainly weaken when he ate one and he would be filled with strength. Light tentatively nibbled on one, unable to take a bite. After he had eaten some of it, the pain started to decrease and a little strength filled him. He was finally able to take bites and soon finished off both berries.

Light was able to sit up by the end of the first berry. The pain was still there after them, but it was standable now. Cream had pressed against him the whole time, her demeanor slowly calming down until she was just happy he was awake. Tear stains still covered her face and there was probably tear stains on his side.

"What happened?" Light asked when he had finished.

Cream sniffed. "Y-you fainted w-when that Pokemon a-attacked," she said, pressing her face against his side.

Light laid his tail on her back to comfort her. "Where did that Pokemon go?" he asked, looking around. Patch was sitting a little away, looking around as though keeping watch. Ace was perched in a nearby tree, watching him carefully. The Pokemon and trainer were nowhere in sight.

"It l-left when the trainer c-couldn't capture you," Cream answered.

"How long was I out?" Light asked.

Cream sniffed again. "About two hours," she said.

Light looked up and saw that the sun was almost going down. "We need to find somewhere to stay the night," Light said.

Patch and Ace came over and went out, searching for a spot to stay. Finally, they came back and led Light and Cream over to a large, hollow tree. A small hole in the side allowed them entrance. Light, Cream, and Patch laid down inside, while Ace went to perch on a branch overhead. Light gratefully sank down on the ground. Cream snuggled up to him, still slightly upset over his condition. Light fell asleep almost instantly.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 30: Repayment

Light woke up stiff. His muscles screamed in protest as he raised his head slowly. Cream was still next to him sleeping contentedly. Patch was curled up near the entrance, but he seemed to be stirring slightly. Light could hear Ace shifting around above already.

Light saw that the sun had already risen and knew they had to get going. Light got up and started to stretch. His muscles ached as he tried to move them. As he was stretching, he suddenly started to get dizzy and nauseated. Once the dizziness passed, Light went to the entrance and sat down. After a while of concentrating on normal breathing, his nauseated stomach settled down. Light hoped he would be fit for travel.

Light continued his slow breathing to make sure to keep his stomach under control. After a little, he felt a pelt brush his. He glanced over and saw Cream pressing against him. She was still blinking sleep out of her eyes as she looked up at him in concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I think so," Light said. Light looked back as Patch started to finally get up. "We need to be going, soon."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cream fretted.

Light nodded, hoping he was correct. He got up and walked outside. He was slightly hungry, but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold anything down. Patch and Cream followed him out. Cream was still fretting about him, while Patch had a guilty look on. Ace took to the air as they got ready to go.

Light started off north, taking the lead. Cream stayed beside him, keeping a watchful eye on him. Patch trailed behind, glancing to the left and right repeatedly. Ace caught watch overhead. The trip had turned from carefree and happy to serious and careful overnight.

Patch's strange behavior finally got to him. "Patch, is something wrong?" Light asked.

Patch looked down at his feet, as though preparing to be punished. "Well, if I hadn't had wanted to come along, you wouldn't have been hurt," Patch mumbled.

"So you think you're the reason I'm hurt. Listen, Patch, I chose to come. You didn't force me. Nick is sometimes stubborn, but I'm much more stubborn. Just ask Cream," Light said. Cream giggled a little at the end. "Besides, where's the fun in just a trip without anything unexpected?"

Patch gave him a confused look. "You think getting hurt is fun?" he asked.

Light chuckled. "Not exactly. What I mean is there is no fun if nothing happens that you don't already know will happen. If we knew everything, then what fun would there be in presents or gifts? I've never had a normal life. From saving legendary
Pokemon to having Nick as a trainer, I've never been able to really plan anything," he explained.

Patch just gave him a stumped look.

"You'll learn with experience," Light said, giving up.

They walked on, their pace slightly slowed by Light. Light was glad to note that the nausea seemed to have completely left him along with some of the stiffness in his muscles. Light was looking forward to a soft, cushion bed when they got back.

Maybe Nick would even give him a day off. Light snorted at the thought, getting a confused look from Patch, though Cream had heard his thoughts.

After about an hour's walk, Patch suddenly stopped. Light looked back and saw Patch's fur slightly rising and he was looking at nothing in particular, as though in deep thought. A second later, Patch closed his eyes and furrowed his brow.

"Is something wrong, Patch?" Light asked.

He replied with his eyes still closed, "I don't know. I have this strange . . . tug telling me to go a certain way."

"I can feel it, too," Cream said.

Light concentrated, but didn't feel anything like what they described. "Okay, which way?" he asked.

"This way," Patch said, taking the lead.

Patch led them through the trees, his pace growing ever more confident as they went along. Soon, Light was struggling to keep up the pace as Patch got faster and faster. Light was just about to stop and rest when Patch abruptly stopped in front of
them.

Light moved around Patch and saw they were on the edge of a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a large stone protruded from the ground. The normally dark gray color had a greenish tint and there was actually moss growing on top of it. A slight glow emanated from it. This must be the Moss Rock.

"That's where the feeling is coming from," Cream whispered, still beside him.

"Maybe only Pokemon that evolve from it can feel that," Light replied. "You're both Eevee, which evolve into Leafeon. That would explain the feeling."

Patch just simply stood there, not moving at all.

"Patch, are you going to go or not?" Light asked.

Patch jumped as Light addressed him. "Huh? Oh!"

Patch hesitantly entered the clearing. He slowly walked toward the stone. Light didn't know how he could walk that slowly. His pace was agonizing just to watch. After a long while, Patch was finally in front of the rock. He gazed at it in wonder, still in that strange trance.

"Hurry up," Light called.

Patch shook his head and raised a paw. He tentatively reached out and pressed it against the stone's surface. Instantly, his body was coated in white and light streamed from his body. His form started to change. His legs became longer, though not fatter. His body also grew in size, but it seemed to get slimmer. His mane and tail disappeared and were replaced with long slender shapes. Another long shape grew out of his forehead and curved back. Then, the light was gone and they could see him clearly. His brown fur was replaced by a yellowish pelt, though his paws were still brown. The long slender shapes turned out to be large leaves and there were also two small ones around each of his paws. The end of his ears and tail, along with the others leaves, were green. His ears also made a few small nicks in each one. His brown eyes were now yellow to match his pelt. The one thing that stayed the same was that the fur on his forehead still stuck up a little. Light could easily see why the form was called a Leafeon.

Patch stared down at himself, trying to get a good look. He looked back at his tail and flexed it in wonderment. The look on his face was even better than Ace's when he had evolved the first time. Light couldn't hold back his laughter, though he still tried. Tears started to run down his cheeks, both from laughing and pain as his sides stretched with his large exhaling. Cream started to laugh beside him, also.

"How do I look, guys?" Patch asked, walking over a little unsteadily.

"Great, now let's get going," Light said, stopping his laughter. Ace, come on down.

Okay, he heard Ace respond. A second later, Ace landed down on the ground near them. "Get on and we may make it back to the house by nightfall," he said.

Patch climbed on his back as before, but Light was disheartened to see that there was only enough space for one of them left after the large Leafeon had got on.

I've got an idea. Go ahead and get on, Cream told him.

Light got on, sitting down as he had before. It was only slightly less crowded with him and Patch on. The Leafeon form was certainly one of the largest of the eeveelutions. Light looked back and watched as Cream started to get on also. She slipped
around him and stopped in front of him. She wiggled in between his legs and turned around, only her head showing from between his front two legs.

There we go, all nice and snuggly. Let's go, she thought.

"Okay, Ace, we're ready," Light said.

Ace nodded and then tensed his muscles. He leapt into the air. For a second, Light thought he wouldn't be able to carry all their weight, but after a few quick flaps of his wings, Ace got into the air. As when he had carried Nick and Light, he was much faster and his flapping less strenuous once completely in the air.

The day was slightly colder than before, but it eased Light's sore muscles some. Patch shivered slightly as the cold wind rushed past them. Cream snuggled cozily between his legs, protected from the cold wind.

Soon, they had passed the last small town and were going over the sea again. Patch let out a sigh as they passed the beach. A few other bird Pokemon that Light didn't recognize followed them a short distanced, but stopped after a little while. Ace continued on, heading south for Kanto. The trip seemed much shorter as the mainland came into view.

Light's thoughts turned to home and the soft cushion that awaited them. He couldn't wait for a chance to actually rest for once. He hadn't had a rest since a little after Rose had been born.

Light perked his ears as he heard something. It was like . . . something swinging through the air. In fact, it was like several things swinging through the air. Light glanced over and saw two black things in the air. They were definitely human crafts and seemed to float through the air. Then Light realized they were using long, rotating blades to keep them in the air. Both of them were moving through the air, leaning in order to move.

Light stared at them suspiciously as they turned slightly. As Ace finally passed over the beginning of the beach, Light realized that they were turning toward them. Light knew it might have been a coincidence, but his doubt was removed when a red flash appeared out of the side of each one. They were releasing Pokemon.

One flash became a large, winged Pokemon. It was large and had a gray pelt. Its wings were purple and its tail ended with a spade design. The Pokemon had stubby horns on its head. It opened its mouth and let out a ferocious roar, showing its large teeth. Its two feet had large claws

The other flash revealed a similar Pokemon. This Pokemon had a blue pelt with white plates over its stomach. The Pokemon's wings were completely red. Rather than hands on its wings, this Pokemon had four legs with long white claws. Its long, blue tail ended with the normal tip. The Pokemon had spikes that come out of the side of its head. All in all, it easily matched the ferocity of its partner. Light didn't recognize either Pokemon.

"I think it's time for some evasive action, Ace," Light warned.

"I can't exactly do that with you guys on my back. I'll have to land," Ace replied.

"Quickly," Light said as the Pokemon and machines came closer.

"What are they?" Patch asked.

"Trouble," Light answered.

"Why would they be trouble?" Patch asked.

"Why would they suddenly release Pokemon as we pass? They're definitely preparing to attack," Light said.

"Why would they want to attack us?" Patch asked.

"Well, I can come up with three possibilities. One, they're training their Pokemon and decided we would be their next target. Another reason is they're going to capture us since I'm a shiny Pokemon or because there are so many of us. Or three, Nick sent them to test us as a new training exercise," Light said seriously.

Patch gasped. "Nick wouldn't do that. He's our trainer and we possible get hurt," he said.

"You haven't seen his victory dance," Light answered simply, a small smile appearing.

Patch looked at him, confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You'll learn as you spend more time with Nick," Light said.

Up to now, Ace had been slowly landing, unable to dive with them on his back. Light looked back as he heard another roar. The blue Pokemon had roared and now had his mouth open, a small white sphere already forming. It was getting ready to attack.

"This isn't good," Light muttered. "I can't use Protect while we're moving."

"I'll stop it with Shadow Ball," Patch said. He turned his head and opened his mouth. A small, shadowy sphere formed and then shot forward. However, after about ten feet, it started to veer and it missed the two Pokemon badly.

"Get ready for impact, then," Light said, gripping Cream under him. If they fell off Ace, he would make sure he still had her.

"But we've got to do something," Patch said.

Suddenly, a fireball came up and hit the Pokemon's head, making it face a different direction. A beam appeared in the new direction, destroying several trees and leaving a trench behind. The Pokemon slowed majorly as it started to recover from the major attack.

"What was that?" Patch asked.

"I don't know, but it bought us some much needed time. Ace, speed up some with Agility," Light ordered.

Ace nodded slightly and his speed suddenly increased. Light and Patch almost fell off, but kept their grip on his feathers. Soon, Ace alighted on the ground. Light and Patch quickly jumped off, Cream following suit. Ace took to the air again once they were safely on the ground. He went after the blue Pokemon, ready for battle.

Soon, the gray Pokemon had caught up to them. It landed skillfully on the ground and let out another roar, making both Cream and Patch shrink back in fear. Seeing both of them were distracted, he decided to attack. Light opened his mouth and let a Dark Pulse go. It beam of dark energy hit the Pokemon and made it flinch back. However, Light flinched even more as his body screamed in pain. He still hadn't fully recovered.

The Pokemon let out another roar and shot a blast of fire toward him. Light threw up Protect and barely kept it up as his body told him he was at his limits. Once the attack was over, he let the shield down, his sides heaving from the effort.

"Patch, you'll have to take over from here," Light warned.

Patch started as Light said his name, but quickly went into action. He shot another Shadow Ball. It veered off and went in front of the Pokemon instead of hitting it. However, the attack still got the Pokemon's attention, and it turned toward Patch.

"Light, let's get out of the way," Cream said, pressing against him.

Light didn't protest as she led him to the edge of the clearing they were in. He was in pain from his exertions and even a little nauseated like before. Cream made him lay down, ignoring his objections.

"Are you okay, Light?" Cream asked worriedly.

"Just a little sore," Light said, looking past her to watch the battle.

Patch rushed at the Pokemon and hit it. However, the Pokemon wasn't even pushed back slightly and Patch simply bounced off its skin. The Pokemon raised a wing and brought it down, slashing at Patch with its hand. Patch tried to move away, but was hit, sending Patch across the clearing.

Patch struggled up, preparing to attack. He opened his mouth and shot another Shadow Ball. However, the attack still veered off and missed. The Pokemon took the time to form another torrent of flames again. Patch cried out as he was engulfed in the flames. Patch fell as the attack stopped, unable to stand.

Light got ready to try and intervene, but the Pokemon turned away from Patch, not interested in him anymore. Instead, the large Pokemon turned back to him and Cream, letting out another roar. It started to slowly approach on its two legs.

Light struggled up and got in front of Cream. Cream gasped and tried to move around him, but he wouldn't let her. He wasn't about to let her get hurt. Light kept his groans inside as he kept himself standing. He didn't know what he would do if he could barely stand.

The Pokemon came right up to him and raised a wing, ready to attack. Light brought up a shield to block the attack, but gasped at the expense of energy, breaking his concentration. Light fell to the ground and let the shield go, unable to continue.

The Pokemon brought down its hand, slashing his side. Light cried out as its claws ripped into him. He could already feel liquid seeping out of the wound.

"LIGHT!" Cream screamed.

Through half closed eyes, Light saw Cream launch herself at the Pokemon. Light wanted to tell her to stop, but couldn't speak or summon enough energy to use telepathy. Cream sailed toward the Pokemon's face. Three white, glowing claws appeared on each of her front paws suddenly. She brought her paws down and slashed at the Pokemon's face. Six slender, red marks were left on the Pokemon's face as Cream landed skillfully on the ground. Light was astonished to see that the Pokemon didn't even flinch from the fierce attack. In fact, the attack didn't even seem to have penetrated its skin.

Cream wasn't done, though. She launched herself up again, her speed greatly increased, and rammed the Pokemon in its stomach. This attack seemed to have winded it slightly, but it was still standing strong as it raised a wing to attack her.

Cream landed again and formed a small, shadowy sphere. She launched a Shadow Ball of her own and hit it in the face. This attack actually damaged the Pokemon, making Light think it was rock type Pokemon.

Cream then disappeared underground, tunneling faster than Light had ever seen before. The Pokemon started to look around in confusion once it had recovered from her last attack. Cream finally came up behind the Pokemon and shot it with another Shadow Ball, finally making it cry out.

The Pokemon turned and raised a wing to attack, its speed somehow much faster. Light was sure Cream was going to get hit, when Ace suddenly appeared, hitting the Pokemon with a wing and then continuing on. The other Pokemon soon flew by, following Ace. The two machines were right on its tail, intent on taking Ace down.

Cream darted away, out of range of its Slash attack. The Pokemon turned toward her again and started to follow her, its walking speed still slow with only two legs. Cream ran into the trees, the Pokemon following all the way.

Light looked over at Patch and saw him trying to get up. However, he wasn't in much better condition than Light, and he fell back down. Light wanted to cry out in frustration as he realized he couldn't help Cream.

Ace flew by again, the Pokemon and devices still following. Ace was looking more and more tired, while the blue Pokemon looked to still be in top condition. Ace was also out of the reckoning. There was no one who could help Cream.

A small figure appeared at the edge of his blackening vision. As it came closer, Light realized it was Ty, the Cyndaquil from earlier. He approached Light and crouched down, checking out Light's wound.

"Ty, you've got . . . to go help . . . Cream," Light struggled out.

Ty shook his head. "You're in too bad of condition. You need to get some help, now," he said.

"Help . . . Cream," Light ordered, growling a little.

Before Ty could reply, their attention turned to Ace as the Pidgeot crash landed in the middle of the clearing. The blue Pokemon followed, ready to continue his attacks. Ty shot out a fireball at the Pokemon, hitting it in the wing. Its attention turned to Ty as he moved away from Light.

The Pokemon chased after Ty through the air. It started to form a Hyper Beam, but Ty launched a series of small stars, hitting it right in the head. Soon, their battle was also taken into the forest. Now even Ty couldn't help Cream. Light felt tears start to form as he imagined what the large Pokemon would do to her.

Light's ears twitched as he heard a chiming sound. He opened his eyes and was surprised at what he saw. In front of him, floating in the air, was the last Pokemon he had expected to appear. It was Mew. Mew floated in the air, bobbing slightly from the wind.

I'm here to help, the Mew said telepathically, a slight chime like sound in its mental voice.

Light weakly shook his head. "Help . . . the . . . Eevee," Light said, closing his eyes in pain.

You need help, Mew thought.

Light opened his eyes and saw the Mew coming closer to him. He let out another weak growl. "No . . . Eevee . . . first," Light got out, unable to send his thoughts out. The pain started increasing again.

The Mew mentally sighed. Fine; it seems that you haven't changed since last time, it thought, before disappearing.

Light sighed with relief, even though he was in excruciating pain. As his vision continued to fade, a small smile formed that he had finally found a way to help Cream. Soon, his vision became completely black and he returned to the black void he had been in before.

(0)

Light opened his eyes to see he was on a white bed. Light laughed as he remembered this happening the last time he met Mew. After a while, his eyes fully adjusted and he saw that he was alone in the familiar room of a Pokemon Center. Light tried to get up, but straps held him down. He saw large, white things covering the slash wounds.

Light found that most of his mental strength had returned and he started to search the area around him, looking for Cream. He soon found her, but he could tell she was sleeping and didn't wake her. He laid there and simply enjoyed the thought that Cream was safe.

After a while, the door opened and Nurse Joy entered. She started a little when she saw he was awake and whispered a command to the Chansey that was tailing her. The Chansey hurried out of the room, while Nurse Joy approached him. She put her hand on his forward.

"It seems you're going to be okay," she said. "You're a lucky Umbreon."

Can I see Cream? Light asked.

"And a talented one, I see. I'm sorry, but I don't know who you're talking about," she said.

Yes you do; you met her in . . . Fuchsia, I think it's called, Light thought.

Nurse Joy chuckled a little. "I'm the Nurse Joy in Pewter City," she said.

Light tilted his head, which was slightly hard while he was lying down.

"There's a Nurse Joy for each Pokemon Center. We're all cousins," she explained.

That explained a lot. Well, Cream is the Eevee my trainer Nick owns. Can I see her?

"I'm afraid not. You're still in the healing process right now. You can't have any visitors except your trainer," she said.

Light wanted to object, but an idea formed. So Nick can visit me? Can he do it now? Light asked.

"Yes, I'll go get him if you want," she said.

Yes, please, Light said innocently.

Nurse Joy started to continue to check him. While she did, Light contacted Nick, who was still asleep.

Nick, wake up, Light thought.

I want to sleep more, Mum, Nick thought back.

I'm Light, Light thought.

Umm, yes, I'm sure you lost weight with your diet, but could I sleep just a little more? Nick thought.

I'm Light, your Umbreon, Light answered.

Light, my Umbreon . . . Light . . . Light! Oh! Sorry, what is it? Why did you wake me up so early? Is something wrong? Nick asked. Light could hear him mentally groaning.

Sneak Cream into my room when Nurse Joy comes to get you, Light thought, revealing his plan.

I thought you weren't supposed to have visitors, Nick pointed out.

That's why you have to sneak her in, Light answered.

Fine, Nick replied.

Light's attention came back to his room. He noticed the door shutting and rationalized that Nurse Joy must have just left. Light waited anxiously for Nick. Soon, Nurse Joy came back into the room, Nick right behind her. Nick sat down in a chair beside his bed. Light waited for Nurse Joy to leave, but she didn't. She stood next to the wall, watching them closely.

Stall until she leaves, Light told Nick.

"How are you doing, boy?" Nick asked, reaching out a hand.

"Sir, your Pokemon can't be disturbed with contact right now," Nurse Joy warned.

"Oh, okay. So, what happened, Light?" Nick asked.

Holding back his growl of frustration, Light started to retell everything he remembered. Around the time he finished, Nurse Joy went out the door. As soon as she shut the door, Nick pulled out a Pokeball from his shirt. He released Cream from the Pokeball onto the floor. Cream crouched to jump up, but Nick stopped her.

Let her up, Light thought with a slight growl.

Nick hesitated, but let Cream jump up onto the bed. Light stretched out his paw as far as he could with his straps and pulled Cream into a tight embrace. His side flared up in pain, but he ignored it. Light's ears perked as he heard footsteps from the hallway.

Block the door, Light commanded Nick. Nick got up and started to pull a chair in front of the door. Light tightened the embrace some before finally releasing Cream. "Are you okay, Cream? Did you get hurt?" Light asked.

"You've been in here a week and you ask if I got hurt? Oh, I've been so worried about you," she replied, nuzzling his cheek.

"What happened after I passed out?" Light asked.

"Uh, well, Mew came and teleported us away from-" Cream started. She stopped as they heard someone trying to get in.

Go away, Light ordered to whoever it was. "Go on," he said.

"Mew teleported us away and took us to Nick's house. Nick brought us here to the closest Pokemon Center," Cream said.

The banging on the door started to get louder, but Light continued to ignore it. "I'm glad you didn't get hurt. I thought that Pokemon would injure you badly. I was scared out of my wits."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let that Pokemon just attack you like that," Cream said, lowering her head.

"Well, if you don't mind me saying so, you were marvelous with what you did. I'm proud of what you did. That took a lot of bravery," Light said. He leaned forward and licked her on the cheek. "Just another thing I like about you."

The banging on the door increased even more. Nick sighed. "We're going to have to let them in, Light."

"I'll be okay, Light. I love you," Cream said. She gave him a small kiss before jumping back down on the floor. Nick returned her and opened the door. A very mad Nurse Joy and Chansey came in.

I'll let you handle this, Light thought, laying his head down on the pillow. His vision quickly faded as Nick started to try and explain himself.

[Previous]
[Next]

[ryan22424]

Chapter 31: Surprises

Light sat in front of the door, anxiously waiting for Nurse Joy to come get him. Normally he would have been left at the counter, but she knew he would go on to the room before Nick came if she did. If it wasn't for the mysterious dark material on the knob, he would have already opened it and got out.

Light smiled as he remembered the reason for the dark material. After Nurse Joy had left with Nick, giving him a stern lecture, Light had guided Cream back to the room, using psychic to open any doors. It was as if Nurse Joy had expected it as she came in right before Cream jumped up on the bed. In order to stop him from doing it again, she had a small piece of material that had dark properties put on the knob to stop psychic.

However, one little cloth wasn't going to stop Light. After she had put on the material, Light had simply opened his window and let Cream inside. The second time that she came in, Nurse Joy came them, locking the window from any further attempts.

Not even this stopped Light as he devised a way through the ceiling tiles. Nurse Joy came in and caught them after the fifth day. Nurse Joy had the tiles nailed down to prevent that way, also, insisting that it wasn't good for his health to have any
visitors yet.

Finding no other way in, Light continued by blocking the door and refusing treatment until Cream was allowed in. Nurse Joy definitely didn't like him anymore, but he didn't really care about her opinion. He had found a way to get Cream to be able to visit him.

The last two weeks were a blur as, while he slowly healed, he was able to spend a lot of quality time with Cream. However, Nurse Joy stubbornly refused any other visitors. He was glad he would be able to see Rose soon. Also, he was anxious to see the many 'surprises' that Cream had said were awaiting him.

In stark contrast to his feelings, it was raining outside, seeming to tone down all other noises as the falling raindrops made a soft, calming patter. This, combined with the low lighting, almost made him fall back asleep as he waited diligently by the door. At the back of his mind, he wandered if this was Nurse Joy's plan.

Light's ears perked as he heard a soft padding from down the hall. Light stood up, hoping it was finally time for him to go. The padding got slowly closer and closer. Light held his breath as the padding came to his door . . . and let it out disappointedly as the padding went on to the next door in the hall. Light frowned and sat back down.

Time seemed to slow as Light waited and waited. Light was just beginning to think about how best to hit the door when the knob started to shake slightly. Light stood up hurriedly, his tail already starting to wag.

The door opened to show him Nurse Joy. Before she could even come in, Light shot out the door, relying on his connection with Cream to guide him through the twisting hallways. He could hear Nurse Joy irritably following him, his actions already putting her in a bad mood.

Soon, Light came to the final door before the lobby area. Light stopped as he realized there was a small piece of the dark material on the doorknob here also, blocking him from continuing. Light waited restlessly as Nurse Joy finally caught up. She seemed to purposefully drag out coming to the door and turning the knob. Light hoped for a chance to pay her back later.

As soon as the door was open enough for him, Light slipped through and into the waiting area, instantly spotting Cream. Light rushed over to her and nuzzled her lovingly. Cream gave him a lick on the cheek and nuzzled him back.

Once their greeting was done, Light looked around and found that only Nick was also there. Light was just about to ask where the others were when Cream said, "They're back at the house."

Light licked her on the ear. "You know me well," he said with a chuckle. He looked up as Nick received another short lecture from Nurse Joy before he was finally allowed to leave.

As Light started to follow Nick out of the Pokemon Center, he felt all of his built up energy trying to get out. Light started to circle around Nick and Cream happily as they headed on down to Twinleaf Village. Light felt as though he could run all the way to Pallet Town and back without resting.

It didn't seem like even a minute had passed before they had finally reached Nick's house. Light had been so occupied trying to get the secrets out of Cream, he only just noticed that it had stopped raining and that the sun was out. As they approached the house, Light was sure he saw something dart away from the window. Light looked again, but didn't see anything else.

Nick opened the door, revealing the creature that had been waiting behind it. Light stared, amazed, as the creature stopped forward into the sunlight. The creature was slightly bigger than Cream. It had a silky, light purple coat that showed off its lithe shape. Its triangular ears came to sharp upward points with a dark blue hue to the insides. It had a long tail that split into two near the end. Its four legs matched the rest of its feline body. A large, shining red gem was on the middle of its forehead. It was an Espeon. However, instead of having two bangs below each ear like normal Espeon, this one had three.

Stop staring, Cream thought to him.

Light snapped back to attention and blushed at his actions, especially right in front of Cream. The Espeon giggled and came up to him. "So does that mean you like my new form, dad?" it asked.

Light gasped as the Espeon spoke. "Rose, it that you?" he asked.

She giggled again and nodded. Rose came up and nuzzled her father's face. "Yep," she said.

Light nuzzled her back. "When did you evolve?" Light asked.

Rose simply smiled and looked back at the doorway. Light saw a brown nose peeking slightly around the corner. Light watched as the Leafeon slowly came outside, brushing up against Rose. Light smiled at the look Patch gave Rose. That one look
answered everything.

"I'm glad for you two," Light congratulated.

"Thanks," Patch said, nuzzling Rose. Their tails started to slowly entwine.

"Let's go on in," Light told Cream, stepping into the house. Once inside, the rest of the gang greeted Light. After about ten minutes, Light and Cream finally made it to their cushion near the fireplace. Even though Light had a lot of energy left, he still laid down next to Cream, enjoying the feel of finally getting back.

Light had only been lying down a few minutes, when someone else entered the room. Light looked back at the door and was surprised to see someone new walk into the room. It was a long, slender Pokemon that walked on all fours. The upper part of its body was a dark green, while the lower part of its body was a light, cream color. It had a few small, dark round spots on its back and head. Light got the feeling he had met it before, but only knew that it was a Quilava for sure.

As the Quilava started to come closer, Light realized it was Ty. "Ty? What are you doing here?"

Ty smiled slightly. "When Mew got us out of there and got us here to be treated, Nick asked if I wanted to join. So I did," he said simply.

"Awesome. So how do you like it so far? And when did you evolve?" Light asked.

"It's pretty good, and I evolved just a few days ago when Nick started to train me," he explained. "I'm glad you're better."

"Me too," Light replied grinning at him. "Thanks for helping out before."

"Ah, it was nothing," he said, looking away. And with that, Ty turned around and left the room, leaving Light and Cream alone again.

"So, are there any other surprises for me?" Light asked, turning to Cream.

Instead of saying something, Cream leant in and locked his lips in a kiss. Light was surprised at first, but quickly returned the passionate kiss.

(0)

Light stepped through the half lit forest, keeping his eyes on the lookout. According to his information, what he was looking for was just around here. If what he heard was true, it would be the perfect present for Cream.

As Light turned around another bend on the barely distinguishable path, his thoughts went back to the past month. Now that there had been no more badges to get, Nick had stayed at his house, training each of them for the Pokemon League, not including Rose, Blair, or Cream.

The time for the Pokemon League seemed come quickly. Finally, their training stopped as it opened. Nick could only bring only Light, Red, Azul, Blaze, Patch, and Ace with him as he had to get them registered, but Light was glad when they explained that his parents would come, bringing the others with them.

In fact, this detail was just the one Light had been hoping for. While he didn't like being away from Cream, he knew it wouldn't be long and it would also give him time to initiate his plan. After some intense studying and finally giving into Nick's help, Light had figured out what day Cream had been born on. Now all he needed was some time to go and find something for her.

Once they had arrived at the Pokemon League and Nick had registered them, Light had immediately started to ask others about the area near the stadium. He had been delighted when he had heard about a more isolated landmark nearby that he was Cream would like. Now he just had to find it.

Light had thought it would be easy to find what he was looking for, but he had been looking for three hours now. If he didn't find it soon, he would stop looking. After all, it had just been a rumor to start with and needed to find something for Cream.

Light slipped under a rather large bush and gasped in surprise from what he saw. The rumor about the place had been true. As Light stared at the majestic sight, he knew Cream would love it. Now he just had to wait a few more days and then bring her here. He couldn't wait to see her face when she saw this.

Grinning, Light turned around to leave. Now that he had found it, he was sure he would be able to find it again easily. Just in case, Light memorized the surrounding area. Light slipped out of the small clearing and started to trot back toward the stadium, where Nick would be waiting.

Light was about half way back when the sensation came over him. Light's neck fur rose slightly, and a small feeling of dread came to him. Light stopped and realized this had happened on Cinnabar Island. However, the feeling this time seemed to come from the ground itself. Also, the feeling was much weaker, as though it wasn't real but rather more fake.

Even with the warning from his power, Light was completely unprepared when the ground started to rip and crack under him. A loud booming sounded as the ground started to crumble, hurting his ears. Light was thrown against the ground, painfully hitting his jaw, as the ground shifted under him. The ground rippled slightly and Light was thrown into the air, landing on his stomach.

And then, just as fast as it started, it stopped. The area seemed unnaturally quiet after the short earthquake. However, this didn't last long. After only two seconds of complete silence, before Light could even get up, Light could hear the pounding as a Pokemon approached. Light tried to get up, but the broken ground underneath him prevented him at the moment.

Light cried out as he felt two blows hit his back. Light's vision immediately started to fade. As he slowly fainted, he heard footsteps approaching. Right before he fell into complete unconsciousness, he heard someone say, "Good work, Machamp. That makes another one already."

[ryan22424]

Chapter 32: Caged Time

Light's eyes slowly opened, the light painful to his eyes. The world seemed to be swimming around him, until he realized that his eyes weren't focusing. Light shook his head and immediately regretted it. It seemed like a team of Loudred were yelling into his head. What had happened?

Instinctively, Light reached out with his mind for Cream. Light yelped as he got a zap instead. Light blinked his eyes some to try and focus, but his vision was coming along slowly, everything just a blur. Reaching out more carefully, Light searched for Cream. However, Light began to worry as he realized she was close. He reached out further and once again got mentally zapped. What was that?

Finally, Light's vision came into focus and everything stopped swimming. Light looked around and saw that he was in a large, black cage, able to fit about two of him in comfortable. The floor and ceiling of the cage was a simple, hard, black rectangle connected and held up by inch wide bars marking the perimeter of the cage. One end of the cage, where the light seemed to be coming from, had a large door on it, almost the size of the cage side. Light could see it was a simple latch door, though latched from the outside.

It took about ten seconds in Light's confused to state to realize what this meant. He was locked in a cage! Light started to panic and he paced around in his cage a few times, not really knowing what to do. Why was he in a cage? How did he get here? Where was Cream? Light instantly stopped. Cream! Oh no! Cream!

Light began to really panic. If he was in this cage, where was Cream? What had happened to her? Not thinking, Light reached out again and got shocked for a third time. The mental jolt seemed to mentally jump him and put his thoughts back on track. If he was going to get answers, he needed to be calm and not panic.

Light calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths. Once he had calmed down somewhat, he noticed he hadn't been attentive at all. He had been so focused, or rather unfocused, that he hadn't been listening to anything around him. He could hear faint whimpering and even something sobbing near him. How could he have missed it earlier? However, now that he did hear it, he couldn't ignore it.

Looking around more carefully, Light noticed his cage was in a row with a few others, the cages touching each other. Light knew there were Pokemon in each cage, but there wasn't enough light to see them. Light increased the glow of his rings and whatever was in the cages shied away, staying in the shadows. Seeing they didn't want to be seen, Light let his rings return to their normal glow.

Something then clicked: the door. The latch was so simple, he was sure a Magikarp could unlatch it. Light approached the door slowly, wondering why it was so simple. As Light reached out to touch it, he got an extreme case of de ja vu. It felt like he had done this all before, but when. He couldn't remember ever being locked up in a cage. In fact, he couldn't remember much recently, just farther memories. Why was that?

Light gasped as his paw touched the cage door; his paw was pushed away, almost magically, as soon as it made contact. Frowning, Light used more pressure and pushed his paw forward. This time, his paw was forced away even more, and faster.

Frowning even more, Light shoved his paw forward. This time, his paw was forced away enough that he had to jump back to avoid getting tripped.

Something was wrong with the cage. It's as if an invisible . . . what do humans call it? . . . trampoline is there, Light thought. What about special attacks? Making up his mind, Light got ready to shoot a Dark Pulse. However, he stopped as he remembered his telepathy effort. If there was some sort of reflection from his Dark Pulse, he would be seriously injured, not something he could afford at the moment.

Thinking, Light began to slowly prod the other walls, making sure not to push too hard. To his disappointment, it seemed the barrier thing covered all the walls, though not the ceiling or floor. That would make things difficult.

Seeing as there was nothing else to do, Light sat down and tried to remember what had happened for him to get here. Let's see . . . there was a . . . warning . . . my seer ability went off! . . . but something was wrong . . . That's it! It didn't seem like normal at all. It was . . . fake. But how do I know that? Because there was . . . an Earthquake! Yes, it's coming back. There was an Earthquake, but then something hit me. What was that? Then there was a voice. Then what hit me must have been the Machamp it had talked to, which means . . . the Earthquake had been an attack, not a natural one. I had purposely been attacked. Why? I guess I'll have to get out of here in order to find out, Light thought.

Now, how could he get past both a physical and mental barrier without putting up too much of a risk? He only knew Quick Attack, Dark Pulse, and Psychic as attacks. All of them would be risky to try, especially if he started to bounce off the walls. If only he had a non-damaging attack he could- He did! He knew Protect!

Thinking quickly, Light took a deep breath to prepare himself. By the way he had his plan, it would still be dangerous. However, he would have to risk something if he was going to get out. Light closed his eyes and formed his small, protective shield around him, keeping it close and away from the walls. Light slowly approached the door. As soon as his shield touched the door, several things happened at once. For one, a large pressure hit his shield before almost immediately dissolving. Another thing was that all the noises in the room stopped. The final thing that happened was that a blaring siren outside the room came on, loud enough that it hurt Light's ears even from in the room.

The pressure that had hit his shield had made him drop it. Light, realizing he might be short on time, reached out and touched the door. Nothing happened. Seeing that the barrier was gone, Light flicked his paw up and unlatched the cage door. The cage door swung open on its own and Light hopped out, taking the room in for the first time.

The light was dim in the room, but Light was able to easily see still. The room was pretty plain. On the opposite wall was a door with a square of glass in it. Next to it was a table with various items littered on it. The interesting part came when he looked back where he had been.

Where his cage was, Light saw that it had been near the end of a row of cages. There was a total of ten cages right next to each other. Inside each cage, besides his own, was a Pokemon. Light was able to recognize every Pokemon, but something was different about each one, besides the final caged Pokemon.

In the first cage, there was an exhausted looking Azumarill. However, where it was supposed to be blue, this Azumarill was instead gold. The next cage held a black furred Manectric where it was normally blue. The third cage contained a golden Arcanine, crouching low in its tight quarters. The fourth cage held a pink and blue Porygon, while the fifth cage held a cramped, silver Ninetales. The sixth cage had a purple Ariados with blue leg stripes. The next cage had been the one holding him, but the eighth cage held a cowering, blue Corsola. The ninth cage was where most of the whimpering had been coming from. Inside was a pink Dratini. Finally, the last cage held a normal Absol.

Every Pokemon's attention was on him. Light felt slightly weird as all the Pokemon stared at him silently for several moments. Light could tell everyone of their gazes were sending a message of help. Light knew he couldn't leave these Pokemon here, but he wouldn't have enough energy to free them all separately. There had to be some way humans lowered the barrier in order to put Pokemon inside the cages. Light tried to think, but the siren outside the room, was starting to give him a headache.

After a few seconds, Light started to search near the door, looking for a switch or lever. Seeing nothing, Light leapt up onto the table, narrowly missing a needle. Looking around, Light saw a small box with a red button on it. Smiling, Light pressed the button down. The doors on each of the cages opened up, allowing the Pokemon to instantly jump out, though a few were hesitant. Seeing the disorder among the Pokemon as they were freed, Light jumped down and took charge.

"Hey!" Light tried shouting, but the siren was so loud, he could barely hear himself. Light tentatively reached out with his mind and found that there was nothing zapping him now. Hey! Light mentally shouted in everyone's minds.

Instantly, silence, at least from them, ensued. Light flicked his ears as the annoying siren continued.

Good, now, I don't know how we got here, but since you were all in cages, I'll take it that you were captured like me. Now, in order to have to best chance of escaping, we need to work together. Ten Pokemon in a group is too large, though. Let's split up into two
groups of five to make it easier, Light instructed. I'll volunteer to lead one group. Does anyone think they can lead the other?

The Arcanine stepped forward and tried to say something. The siren drowned it out, but Light took it as a volunteer.

Got it; the Arcanine will lead the other group. Listen, we'll most likely have to fight to get out, so I'll split the groups to balance them out. I will take the Dratini, Ninetales, Absol, and Azumarill. The Porygon, Corsola, Manectric, and Ariados will go with Arcanine.
Any questions? Light asked.

How is he talking without moving his mouth? Light heard the Dratini think.

I'm speaking through telepathy to each of you, Light explained, the Dratini looking surprised. Any other questions? No? Okay, then split into the groups, Light ordered.

The Pokemon went to their respective groups. Once they were organized, Light opened the door with Psychic. Seeing no one, Light took his group on out into the hall. The hall went to the left and right with no other doors. Both ends stopped and branched off to the left and right. Looking around, Light was delighted to see exit signs hanging from the ceiling. There was one in either direction.

Okay, Arcanine, you go left. Follow the green signs hanging from the ceiling. They'll point the way out, Light instructed before heading right. He glanced back only once to make sure the Arcanine was following his instructions.

Reaching the end of the hall, Light glanced at the sign again before turning left into another hallway. This hallway was much the same, though there were a few more doors. Another convenient sign was at the end of the hall again.

Light started to lead his group down the hallway. The Absol of the group came closer and tried to talk to him. Here, I've opened a link. Just think what you want to tell me, Light thought.

I wanted to say thanks. My name is Dark, he said, keeping pace with Light.

My name is Light. . . . Dark, I think I've almost figured out why we were captured. Each of us is a different color, besides you. Do you know why you were captured? Light asked, the question bugging him for some reason.

Most likely because Absol are supposed to be able to locate disasters. However, I can't, Dark replied.

I thought Absol were born with the ability, Light replied.

Some aren't. There have been speculations that a random Pokemon gets the ability when an Absol doesn't, but it's just speculation, Dark explained.

Hmm . . . How old are you? Light asked.

I'm about a year old. Why do you ask? Dark answered.

Because I'm about a year old . . . and I have the ability to sense disasters, Light answered.

Dark stopped for a second before catching back up. So it is true. Wow, not only was it proven in front of my eyes, I meet the Pokemon who got my ability, Dark absentmindedly thought.

If you don't mind, I would like to keep this private, though, Light warned.

No problem; I'm not too quick to tell others I'm abnormal, Dark replied.

Before the conversation could continue anymore, a human turned around a corner, looking to be in a hurry. The human was wearing all black, except for a red design on its shirt that Light thought he had seen somewhere before. The human swore when it saw them and brought out a Pokeball.

Light grimaced. They didn't need to be wasting all their energy on battles. They needed to escape quickly. Using Psychic, Light grabbed the Pokeball and pulled it out of the human's hand. The human froze and looked at the Pokeball now floating in front of his face with a horrified expression. After a few seconds, the human broke out of its trace, turned, and ran, screaming down the hall.

Dark chuckled beside him, though Light more saw than heard it. Starting to move again, Light sped it up some, though they were slightly held back by the exhausted Azumarill. Light led them down the halls, following the easy exit signs. They met two more humans, but Light was able to scare them with the same technique. Somewhere along the line, an explosion sounded from somewhere, most likely from Arcanine's group.

Light almost sighed in relief when they finally came to a door, an exit sign hanging above it. Light tried to open the door, but found it locked. Stand back, Light ordered the others. Once the area was clear, Light let a Dark Pulse loose, obliterating the weak door.

Harsh sunlight came through the now open door, but Light still led them out. As soon as they were out, the Pokemon started to scatter. Light took a few minutes before finally getting them back in a group. They would need to stay together to make it back to . . . Then it hit Light. They didn't really know where they were going.

The sirens now quiet and only inside the building, Light used his voice and said, "Okay, umm, does anyone know where we are and the closest city or town?"

To his surprise, the Dratini slithered forward. "Umm, I-I know where we are. W-we're just s-south of the P-Pokemon League. I w-was still c-conscious when they b-brought me here," the Dratini mumbled.

"Good, we'll go there. Everyone stick together," Light ordered. "Can you take the lead, Dratini?"

The Dratini hesitantly nodded. Light motioned for the Dratini to take the lead and followed behind it. The Dratini stopped every little bit, seeming to be unsure at times. However, after a long walk, the Dratini's directions proved to be correct. They came out of the forest in view of the large stadium, the small village visible surrounding it.

Light took the lead and led them all straight to the police station. Asking each Pokemon, Light found they had all already been a trainer's Pokemon and were all here for the Pokemon League when they were captured. Light knew the police should be able to locate the Pokemon's respective trainers.

As they came into view of the police station, Light was surprised to see that Arcanine's group had already made it here and were crowded around the doors of the small outpost. While it was only a small police station, there were several cops already surrounding the building and more on the way.

Light led them right up to the officers and pushed his way through. Once past the mixed crowd of Pokemon and humans, Light got to the middle where Arcanine was talking to an officer's Growlithe. The Arcanine looked over to Light as he came up.

"Here, I'll translate to the officer," Light said.

"Okay, and I'm glad to see you guys made it, too," the Arcanine said, before turning back to the Growlithe.

Light opened a channel with the officer that seemed in charge. Hello, I'm Light, the Umbreon.

"Okay, who said that?" the officer asked, looking around.

As I said, I'm the Umbreon. I'm talking through telepathy, Light answered.

"Ah, then does that mean you can tell us why a large group of Pokemon have just appeared after mysteriously disappearing?" she asked.

Yes, Light thought. He then went into what happened, including where the building was and what the people looked like.

"Hmm, did the symbol look like this?" the officer asked, holding up a poster with a human on it. Sure enough, the red symbol was there on the black outfit.

Yes, Light answered. Suddenly, Light remembered where he had seen it before. It had been on the two flying things they had met coming back from Sinnoh.

"I was afraid of this. This is a symbol of an organization of crooks and thieves that call themselves Team Rocket," the officer said, putting the poster up. "We'll need to hurry to capture these crooks before they get away." The officer turned away
from him and started to give orders to the other officers.

Seeing she was done talking to him, Light turned to the other Pokemon. "Okay, guys, the officers here will help you find your trainers. So just wait here and be patient," Light said, turning to head on. He knew right where he would find Nick.

As Light headed out, he wondered how long it had been since he had been captured. He hadn't found out from any of the others, though he hadn't thought to ask. According to his now growling stomach, he must have been gone about a day. Hopefully Nick wouldn't be too worried.

Light quickly made his way to the Pokemon Center. Light was just coming in through the automatic doors when he heard a thud. Light looked over to where it had come from and saw the door leading to rooms bow temporary as something hit it again.
Someone on the other side of the door cursed as the door bowed again.

"Cream, what are you doing?" Light heard. Light realized it was Nick. Light hurried over to the door, already guessing who was hitting the door.

Light heard a growl as a reply to Nick. Light quickly opened to door using Psychic and saw Cream facing Nick, her back to Light, growling at him. "Huh?" Cream said, twisting around as the door opened. Before Light could react, Cream threw herself at him and tackled him against the ground, locking him in a tight embrace. "There you are, Light! I've been so worried about you!" she exclaimed, starting to cry against him.

Light returned to embrace as best he could. "Err, how long have I been gone?" he asked.

Cream sniffed and backed away slightly to made eye contact. "You don't know?" she said, sniffing again.

"Not exactly," Light answered.

Cream pressed her head against him again and said, "You've been gone for three days." She once again started to cry against him.

Light comforted her as best he could. "I'm here now; I'm here now, shh," he whispered, licking her on the head.

Nick knelt down next to them. "Hey, Light. Good to see you're back. Why don't we go back to the room and you can explain there?" he said, rubbing Light on the head.

Light nodded and gently lifted Cream off of him. "Come on, Cream," he whispered.

Cream pressed against him and he led her back to their room. Nick opened the door for them and they went inside, only to have to back up as the others started to crowd him. "Guys, I'm okay, really," he said, trying to stop them. After a few more minutes of persuasion, Light was able to reach the coach and settled down, Cream still right beside him.

Taking a deep breath, Light told everyone at once what had happened and what the officer had said. Once done, everyone started to talk at once, though they were all interrupted by Light's stomach as it loudly complained its empty status.
"Here, I'll get your food," Nick said, getting back up.

All the others finally stopped asking Light questions, leaving him alone with Cream. "So, what all happened here?" light asked her.

"Well, Nick's parents brought us here. Nick told us you had left with a vague time when you would be back. So we waited, and waited, but you didn't come back. After a day, rumors went around of several Pokemon just disappearing. I thought that might have happened to you, but Nick insisted you were too smart to get captured. Finally, I was just coming to find you whether Nick allowed me to or not when you showed up. Oh, you don't know how much I was worrying about you," Cream said, pressing her head against his side.

Light licked her head and thought about what she said. If he had been gone three days . . . uh oh. Nick? What's the date, today? Light asked, keeping the channel to Nick and him only and hoping he was wrong.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 33: Perfect

Light woke up next to Cream from their spot on the couch. Glancing over at the small window, Light saw that the sun was just rising, its sunlight just reaching him. The sky was a clear blue, without a hint of clouds. The warm heat from the sunlight on him told him it would be a good day weather-wise. He hoped it would be much better than just a good day, though. He was still glad that he had been wrong, and that Cream's day was today, not yesterday.

Light gently nuzzled Cream awake. Cream glanced up at Light and gave him a little peck on the cheek before getting up with him to stretch. "Good morning, Light," Cream said, yawning and blinking away the last of her sleepiness.

"Good morning, Cream," Light said, ready to get going. "Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked.

Cream instantly looked more awake. "Okay," she agreed eagerly.

Smiling, Light led Cream outside, using Psychic to open the doors. Once outside, Light started to head toward the place, already imagining Cream's expression. The thought put a spring in Light's step as he took her to her surprise.

"So, Light, where are we going?" Cream asked, walking right beside him as they entered the undergrowth.

Light put on a phony pouting face. "What's wrong? Don't you like taking a walk with me?" he asked, lowering his ears some.

Cream licked him on the cheek and pressed against him some. "I love walking with you, but since when do we take a walk so early in the morning in the forest? And since when do you enjoy walking so much?" Cream asked.

Light grinned. "That would be now," he said teasingly.

"Come on, you know what I mean," Cream said, flicking him slightly with her tail.

"You'll just have to be patient," Light said, giving her a lick on the forehead.

Cream let out a huff and frowned for a second, before grinning also, unable to keep up the charade. Cream took a large sniff of the air, enjoying the morning smells. "It's a lovely day," Cream commented.

"It's going to be a perfect day," Light promised.

"Oh? Really?" Cream asked, still trying to get him to tell.

"Yes," Light said, nuzzling her cheek.

Cream giggled and nuzzled him back before gasping. Light turned his head and smiled as he realized that they were there. Light stepped into the small clearing, motioning Cream to follow him. Cream stepped into the clearing, still staring at the spectacle that was in front of her. Light sat down beside her and looked back up at it.

The sight they were viewing was a small waterfall. About thirty feet away, a fifty foot cliff started, throwing water over its edge onto the small pond below, before heading away in a small stream through the undergrowth. It was a rather calm waterfall, but the extraordinary part was that it made barely any noise, as though it was muffled by something. Surrounding the small pond was the clearing. The clearing had lush, soft grass, unusual with the heavy amount of undergrowth nearby. The blue of the stream went nicely with the bright green grass. All in all, it was an astounding sight.

"Wow," Cream whispered.

"So, how do you like it?" Light asked.

"It's amazing. How did you find it? When did you find it?" Cream asked, still staring at it.

Light chuckled at her reaction. "I had just found it before I had been captured," Light said.

"What were you doing out here?" Cream asked, finally looking at him.

"I was looking for this for you," Light said.

"Aww, that was sweet," Cream said, nuzzling his side. "But you didn't have to do that for me, though."

"Do you know what today is?" Light asked.

Cream paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Err, I don't think so," she said, tilting her head.

"Then let me be the first to say Happy Birthday," Light whispered into her ear, a large smile on.

Cream looked confused for a moment before she realized what he meant. "Wait, how do you know today is my birthday?" Cream asked, surprised.

"I had Nick help to find the exact date," Light replied.

"Aww, thanks, Light," Cream said, nuzzling his side again. "But you really didn't need to do all this just for me."

"Well I wanted to. I would do anything for you, Cream," Light said, looking right into her large, brown eyes. "And this place is great. It's quiet, calming, tranquil, and secluded," Light continued, putting an emphasis on secluded.

Cream smiled and nuzzled his side to hide her blush. "Thanks," she said. Suddenly feeling playful, Cream teasingly nipped Light's side before jumping away, a large grin covering her face. Cream crouched down facing Light, her hips and tail waving as she waited for Light to retaliate.

Light crouched also, his grin as wide as hers. Light leapt at Cream, who squealed and jumped out of the way. Laughing, Light chased her around the small meadow, always letting her get away at the last second. Soon, Cream was out of breath, both from laughing and trying to escape Light. As she paused to catch her breath, Light playfully tackled her, scoping her up into an embrace as they rolled on the soft grass. Gasping for breath while trying to stop laughing, Light and Cream collapsed onto the grass next to each other.

"We haven't . . . done that . . . in a while," Cream said between breaths, giggling at the end.

Light chuckled with her. Getting his breath back faster, Light pulled Cream closer and started to tickle her. Cream squirmed under him, unable to stop him with her shorter limbs. After a little, Cream finally managed to get out a plead between her
gasps of air and laughter. Light stopped tickling her and pulled her against his side.

After a few minutes, Cream finally got her breathing back under control. "I haven't have this much fun in a long time. Thanks, Light," Cream said, nuzzling his side.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Light said, nuzzling the top of her head. Leaning over, Light began to groom Cream's fur back into place with long, slow strokes of his tongue. Cream purred under his treatment and laid fully out, basking in the attention.

Light made sure to get her fur perfectly into place, straightening each little strand until it was just right. The combination of all their playing, the warming sunlight on her back, and the rhythmic caressing of Light's tongue soon put Cream in a contented, light doze.

Light gazed fondly at Cream as he finished grooming out her stunning, long fur. Her body was rising and falling slightly as she quietly rested. Her fur seemed to sparkle as the sunlight fell on it, making her look like an angel. He had to be the luckiest Umbreon ever to have her. Smiling, Light curled up next to Cream and pulled her gently against him.

As Light rested his foreleg over Cream, she woke and looked up at him happily. Cream nuzzled Light's cheek and snuggled up closer to Light. "You were right; this is a perfect day, Light," she whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment.
"Happy Birthday," Light whispered, licking her on the forehead. "I love you, Cream."

"I love you, too, Light," Cream whispered back. Cream laid her head against Light's chest, soon falling back asleep.

Light watched her lovingly for a moment, before settling down himself, letting Cream's breathing and the feel of her against him to lure him asleep as the sun kept them both warm.

(0)

Light slowly awoke from his doze. Looking down, Light watched Cream as she continued to doze next to him. Even as she slept there was a smile across her face. She looked so content and peaceful. She looked perfect, and in Light's eyes, she was.

Right there, Light made a silent vow to keep her safe and happy.

Looking up, Light gaped at the scene in the sky. The sun was just about to set, its lowest point about to hit the tree line. The sun seemed about four times larger than normal and was a blazing yellow, though it wasn't as hard to look at as usual. The sky was painted a dark red, purple following it as night began, while a majestic orange surrounded the sun. The hues made the sky look like a huge canvas, the colors perfectly blending, yet still somehow contrasting, giving it the quality never able to be captured on paper.

Light gently shook Cream, waking her from her slumber. Cream blinked at him happily as she started to awake. "Cream, look up," Light whispered.

Cream, still slightly asleep looked up, gasping at the display. Light smiled at her expression and turned to watch with her. Light placed his head gently on top of hers as they watched the sun start to set. Cream purred quietly as they watched the scene unfold, their tails entwining behind them. Seeing the grand sight in front of him as he cuddled his beautiful Cream, Light thought the moment couldn't be better. This truly was a perfect day.

Soon, the sun was finishing setting, the topmost part sliding below the tree line. The sky was now changing as the deep red lost its dominance, the darker purple hue starting to take over. The signature dark blue of night was now creeping up in the east. The first few stars were now visible in the east. Light could hear a few Volbeat, Illumise, and Ledian starting up their nightly music, setting a soothing atmosphere with the soft sound of the waterfall.

Light looked down and met Cream's eyes. "I love you, Cream, more than anything else. You're the most important thing in my life and I'll do anything for you," Light said, staring into her deep, beautiful, brown eyes.

"I love you, too, Light. You're the most important thing to me, too. Thank you for all this. This was my favorite birthday by far. I'll always cherish this day, Light," Cream promised, touching her nose to his.

"I will, too," Light replied, not bringing up the point that it had been her only birthday.

Closing his eyes, Light closed the tiny distance their lips. Light was wrapped in a total state of euphoria and became lost to the world as he passionately kissed his mate. Time seemed to slow as he enjoyed what then seemed to be the most loving kiss they had ever shared.

Light and Cream slowly pulled away, their eyes still closed as they enjoyed the last moments of it. Light slowly opened his eyes and met Cream's loving gaze. Light nuzzled her cheek and whispered, "Let's get some sleep."

"Out here in the open?" Cream whispered.

Light nuzzled her again and pulled her closer. "Don't worry; I'll watch over you," Light promised, laying his tail over her.

"Okay, I trust you," Cream decided. Cream reached up and licked his cheek. "I love you," she whispered, before lying back against him and closing her eyes.

"And I love you, my beautiful angel," Light whispered back. Light smiled as he saw a smile and a blush appear on her adorable face.

Light protectively curled up around her, Cream cuddling closer as he did. Even though he had just woken up a little ago, his body still seemed plagued with some sort of lethargy and he quickly fell asleep. His last thought was about his perfect Cream.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 34: Hurt

Light blinked open his eyes, the morning light just reaching him. When Light heard a quiet, watery sound nearby, he was confused for a second, unsure of where he was. Then he remembered what had happened. He looked down fondly at Cream, still curled up against him. He smiled at the content look on her face.

Light didn't know how long it he was lost looking at Cream before she slowly began to stir. Light nuzzled her softly before getting up. After stretching and getting a drink from the small stream, Light and Cream were ready to go.

Light led Cream into the undergrowth. Cream had a skip in her step and seemed extremely happy. Light enjoyed watching her smiling and looking around as they headed back toward the Pokemon Center they had been staying in.

However, Light kept an eye out for anything suspicious, not wanting something to happen like last time. Luckily, Cream didn't seem to notice his anxiousness and frolicked along beside him, enjoying the early morning air.

Soon, they were coming back into the small, village-like area around the Pokemon Stadium. Light relaxed some as they got back on the paved streets bordered by shops and buildings of all sizes. Cream stayed a little closer to Light as a children started to pet her as they went by. The adults seemed to not even notice them, though.

After a little, Cream started to look around a little worriedly. "Shouldn't we be getting back to Nick? It's starting to get late," she said.

"Nick won't be awake, yet. Come on, let's look around," Light said, turning onto another street. This street was slightly different, flowers having been here and there as decorations.

"Oh, those are pretty flowers," Cream said, darting over to a patch of blue and yellow flowers and sniffing them. Cream promptly sneezed, sending pollen flying along with a petal or two. Light came up beside her and laughed. Cream tried to say something and sneezed again, her head bouncing with it. Cream backed up a little from the flower patch, wiggling her nose to try to stop sneezing.

After that, Cream was more cautious about approaching the flowers, though she still smelled almost every flower patch along the winding road. The road slowly curled around, leading them back to the main square in front of the Pokemon Stadium, not too far from the Pokemon Center. In the square, a large, circular, stone fountain stood erect. A stone statue of the trio starter Pokemon of Kanto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, stood, each one squirting out water into the fountain below.

"Oh, that's pretty," Cream said, starting to approach it.

Light stayed beside her, starting to laugh. "Remember what happened last time," he warned.

Cream giggled, but went up to the fountain. She was just tall enough to look over at the clear, blue water. Her face was reflected onto the water, Light's soon joining hers. Tentatively, Cream reached over and touched the surface of the water. Ripples went out in circles, getting larger and larger, as her paw brushed the water. The image of their faces was distorted for a moment, becoming clear again after a few seconds.

Both Light and Cream jumped at what they saw. When the image had become clear, a large, purple ear had been above each of their heads. Light and Cream turned around to see who it was, Cream instinctively moving closer to Light.

A large, feline-like creature stood there, its fur a mixture of white and dull blue. Its two large ears were purple explaining what they had seen in the pool. Two long whiskers that frizzled on the end were on each side of its face. The creature did not, however, have the shape of a feline. It was rather large, being slightly bigger in height but looking like it had much more mass.

The strangest part was that it staring intently at Light, not even acknowledging Cream beside him. Suddenly, it smiled, literally sending chills down Light's back. The smile was definitely not a nice one, but rather devious looking. Normally, Light would have asked something, but something inside was telling him to leave and not talk to it. It wasn't his seer ability, but it was more instinct, which had never let him down before. If it wasn't for the fountain at his back, he would have already walked away.

"My, my, I never thought I would see you again," it said, a definite feminine sound in its voice. The feline leaned a little to look more at Light. "My, you have grown, cutey," she said, still eyeing him.

The sentence sparked something in his memory, though he didn't know what. He did know it was important, though. Cream started to bristle up beside him, a spark of anger appearing in her eyes, going unnoticed to the Pokemon in front of them.

"The muscle you've put on and the sleek fur. You're evolution did you well," the Pokemon said, purring slightly.

Cream bristled even more beside him and the anger in her eyes was unmistakable. Light took the moment to speak up. "Excuse me, but not only do I not know you, but Cream is the only allowed to speak to me like that," he pointed out, his frown becoming a slight smile as he saw Cream instantly relax a little out of the corner of his eye and felt a strong feeling of love go through their connection.

The Pokemon seemed hurt, though the emotion looked fake liked the rest of them. In fact, Light thought he saw a glint of relief in its eyes. "Oh, well, I guess I didn't tell you my name before, did I, cutey?" she replied, winking at him. She glanced at Cream and Light saw a familiar glint of fury enter its eyes for half a second before changing to normal and looking back at him.

Light's instincts were really going off now. "Umm, we've got to-" Light started.

However, the Pokemon interrupted him. "Yes, you look much better in your evolved form. Plus, you're the perfect size, now. I think you'll do nicely," she said, the devious smile back.

Light saw the unmistakable glint of lust and instantly realized who this was. Uh oh, Light thought, quickly trying to look away.

However, it was too late. Right before he turned his head, his eyes made contact with hers, the barely familiar feeling from the Day Care of being mesmerized came upon him and his eyes locked with hers. This time, though, instead of blacking out, he found that the move was different than before. The differences were most likely because of his innocence and young age as he realized what was now happening. Instantly, an attraction for the Pokemon came upon him, and the strange aroma of the Pokemon became pleasant. His thoughts were also a mess.

Wow, what sleek fur. What magnificent eyes. And that amazing form ending with those hips. I wonder-, Light was thinking. Light heard a slight gasp beside him, giving him something else to think about, also making him realize what he was thinking.

Light quickly stopped that train of thought. However, the thoughts were pressing against him and he couldn't move. Light bit his lip out of frustration and found the pain distracted him. Using all of his willpower, he covered his eyes with his paws and crouched against the ground, trying to block out the thoughts. Without making eye contact, the strength of the move weakened, but it still took all of Light's concentration to stop it.

Suddenly, all bombardment of the strange move stopped as a loud shriek went through the air. Steeling himself, Light got up and saw Cream growling and standing protectively in front of him, while the Pokemon was backing away slightly, six angry claw marks on its face, even with a little blood starting to appear. The Pokemon looked even more furious than when she had been stopped at the Day Care. Hissing, the Pokemon lunged at Cream, her front claws getting longer.

Cream hissed with great fury, launching up with a great speed and hitting the Pokemon in its broad chest, dodging its dangerous claws. After being pushed back some, the Pokemon got traction under its feet on the stone paved street and came to a stop, sending up little clouds of dirt and dust as it skidded. It leered at Cream with a face that somehow even scared Light. Cream continued to hiss, seeming oblivious of the move.

Seeing it had no effect, the Pokemon started to lunge at Cream again, its claws getting longer and turning white again. Cream matched it with her own claws, using Slash to deflect the attack. A sharp ringing sound was made as the claws collided, pushing both Pokemon back. Both opponents landed skillfully, facing each other determinedly with no signs of backing down.

Light tried to step forward, but the Pokemon once again looked at him and he had to quickly look away. There was no way he could get close and not make eye contact without leaving himself dangerously open. When Light looked away, he saw that several people had showed up to watch, cheering quietly as they observed the clash of the Pokemon as though it was an everyday occurrence. A circle was soon formed, the fountain creating part of it. Light heard many of them exclaiming Eevee and Purugly. That must be the species of that Pokemon.

"So are you the tramp that he picked up?" the Purugly taunted. "I can't believe he would have such bad taste." The Purugly tossed its head, though it quickly looked back at Cream grinning wickedly.

Light had just gotten over the shock of her words and realized its new strategy, when he saw Cream. She seemed to be so angry, that it was vibrating the very air around her. Then, Light realized the air was vibrating. The air around Cream seemed to be rippling as though Cream was emitting out raw power. Light gasped as he saw a slight pink glow start to appear around her.

"But then, I guess, you were probably the only choice when he needed an outlet," the Purugly continued, the smile broadening even more with the sharp, barbed edge of her statement. She didn't seem to notice what was happening to Cream.

The statement Purugly made infuriated Light so much, he was just about to risk being mesmerized just to try to attack, when Cream let out a scream, "You f****** b****!" Suddenly, a pink, translucent light surrounded Cream as she charged at Purugly. The pink light trailed behind her, making her appear to leave a short tunnel as she gathered speed. Light could feel the energy of the attack from where he was and he could only watch in amazement as Cream used the new move.

The Purugly seemed to have been preparing for an attack, but didn't seem to have expected this one. Cream leapt rammed into the Purugly at top speed. The Purugly was blown back into the side of a building, breaking off a chunk of the wall, before Cream even landed back on the ground. Purugly was out cold.

There was a complete silence before everyone's shock faded and they realized that the Purugly was defeated. A cheer went up from the human observers as though it had only been a planned battle. Light quickly came up to Cream, concerned about her.

"Are you alright?" Light asked, checking her over.

"Yeah," Cream said quietly, not looking at Light. His ears and tail was slightly lowered, also.

Not expecting that response, Light started to really worry. "Come on, let's get back to the Pokemon Center," Light suggested, leading the way toward the edge of the crowd.

The crowd instantly split for the victorious Pokemon, leaving them an aisle through. Some were even taking pictures of the event, while others were talking in small, excited groups. A few dared to reach toward them to pet Cream, but Light's threatening growl stopped them. Once outside the crowd, Light quickly led them down a short street to the Pokemon Center.

Light stopped in front of the Pokemon Center, seeing no one around. The battle must have drawn everyone close by to the square. "Thanks, Cream," Light said, standing in front of her. "How did you know something was wrong?"

Cream shifted her gaze from her feet to his, still not meeting his eyes. However, as she had shifted, Light was sure he saw the glint of tears forming in her eyes. "Because . . . you looked like you were struggling . . .," Cream started slowly, her voice low, "and the psychic channel was up." Her voice broke slightly on the word 'the.'

Light instantly realized what that meant. His ears and tail lowered significantly in shame. "Cream, I'm so sorry. I tried not to, but," Light started, taking a step toward Cream. He stopped when she took a step back.

"Light, that hurt, a lot," Cream croaked, her voice now responding to her emotions. Tears started to slowly trail down her face. "And right after you had been so adamant," Cream continued, now making eye contact.

The hurt in her eyes pierced Light's heart thoroughly. It hurt more than any other wound Light had received. Almost in tears himself, Light tried to find some way to make it right. "Cream, I know I shouldn't have thought those things; I should have tried harder. Please forgive, Cream. I love you, and only you. Please," Light pleaded. He took another step, but this time, Cream didn't move.

Cream numbly nodded her head, her eyes now closed and tears still trailing down her face. Her body was shaking slightly, showing the signs of her sobbing. "But it still hurt, though," Cream said, sounding as though it was forced out. "And what that Pokemon said." She sniffed and Light knew she would completely break out crying soon.

As Cream collapsed, finally fully crying, Light quickly weaved around her so that she fell against his chest and not the hard pavement stones. Light hugged her tight, as Cream began to cry into his chest. Light didn't know how long it they were like that before Cream's crying slowly stopped. Light and Cream still kept their position with Light gently embracing Cream as she slowly relaxed.

Eventually, Cream pushed herself a little away and looked up at Light in the eyes. Sniffing, she asked, "Was all that true? What she said about me?" Cream seemed to be ready to be on the verge of tears again. The look she gave him made her look so vulnerable as she awaited his answer, that it almost broke his heart.

"Cream, never think for a moment that you're some tramp. You're the most wonderful, beautiful, kind hearted Pokemon I've ever seen. There couldn't have been anyone better for me. I love you, Cream, truly. Don't listen to a word that trouble making Pokemon says at all," Light said, pulling Cream into another embrace.

Cream licked him on the cheek and whispered into his ear, "Thank you." She tightened the embrace for a moment longer before slowly getting up.

Light had just gotten up also, when the doors to the Pokemon Center opened, revealing a stretching and yawning Nick. "Oh, there you two are. Did you guys have a nice time?" Nick asked happily, knowing what Light had planned.

Don't ask, Light told him, leading Cream into the Pokemon Center.

Nick watched them enter for a second before he realized something. "Wait, what about training?" After a moment's pause, Nick sighed and came back in. He followed the two Pokemon back to the room before promptly going into the bedroom and closing the door. Light knew they would soon hear snoring soon.

Light and Cream jumped up onto the single couch, not seeing anyone else here. Light wondered for a moment where they would be before his attention went back onto Cream. "Cream, I'm so sorry about what happened today," Light said, lowering his head.

"Let's not think about that anymore," Cream said, scooting closer to him.

"Actually, I do have one question: what was that pink attack?" Light asked.

Cream looked down at her paws and blushed. "I don't know. I just thought about you and then . . . poof, I was attacking."

"Amazing; I wonder if that is a brand new move or something," Light said, excited.

"Can we stop talking about it, now?" Cream asked.

"Oh, sorry," Light apologized.

Cream suddenly yawned and blinked her eyes rapidly. She curled down next to Light, scooting as close as she could to Light. Light laid down, himself, allowing Cream to position herself more comfortably. They cuddled closer to each other, thrusting the thoughts of that morning far away. Light glanced out the window and realized that we going back to sleep at noon. Maybe they were starting to pick up the habit from Nick.

(0)

A shadow moved outside the Pokemon Center. Having just arrived, it already knew what it had come to find out, having seen Light and Cream go inside the building before Nick. So that is its trainer. I will get revenge, and I know just who will help me to do it, it thought maliciously. It quietly moved away, careful not to give itself away.

(0)

The next few days were hectic as the preliminary rounds started. Light had learned that because the large amount of trainers, the preliminaries would be the way to lower the contestants down to the final sixteen.

Nick had insisted on using the others besides Light to challenge the preliminaries. He told Light that he wanted to save Light as his secret weapon against the final opponents. Light thought him crazy, but Nick was his trainer. Besides, for some reason, Light wasn't feeling as enthusiastic to battle as normal.

After a week, the final participants had been announced. Light had to give credit to Nick that he had beat the preliminaries without his help. For a second, Light thought he was starting to mature . . . until he started his victory dance. It actually was caught on camera and became a pretty hilarious thing to watch, if you weren't associated with Nick.

However, Nick didn't mind and was fully pumped as they announced the match-ups. Nick cheered as he got the first match, though to Light's displeasure, he had forgotten who he was fighting. But, Light was glad that he was finally able to battle.

Light, along with Nick's Pokemon and his parents, followed Nick down the short tunnel to the arena. Light felt his heartbeat start to increase as they prepared to start the official tournament.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 35: The First Round - Unova

Nick and his group walked out onto the stadium and were received by loud cheers. After getting over the last of the shock of the instant daylight and noises, Light looked around at their surroundings. In front of them, a large red square was on the ground. A white handrail went around three parts of the square, the side closet to them not having one. Past this was the arena area, a large rectangle outlined in white with a circle in the middle. Parts of the ground were a slightly different color from where they had had to repair it in the past. Not a single blade of grass was growing on the packed earth, leaving the area completely clear. On the other side of the battling area was a green square with white handrails on it, too. A large sign rose above the whole stadium on their right, showing a 2D-Pokeball. A person stood on their right also, in the middle of the arena. He had a flag in either hand, making him the referee.

Near them, to the side, were two benches, allowing the select people the trainer chooses to sit close by, giving them the closest seats to the arena besides the trainers themselves. Nick's parents sat down on one of the benches, Tiger immediately jumping up into his lap. Nick waved at the crowd with wide spread arms, laughing.

Light glanced over at the other side of the arena as someone entered through there. It was a woman with a bright yellow dress on. Her long, brown hair flowed freely down around her shoulders, reaching her waist. She looked even more excited than Nick did, which was saying something. She waved one arm at the crowd, looking much more elegant than Nick. A Vulpix was perched on her other shoulder and seemed to be laughing with its trainer.

Light twitched his ears as a sudden voice rung out of the strategically placed speakers. "Welcome to the first battle of the annual Pokemon Indigo League Tournament. This is the first battle of the first round. On my right," the announcer started, though Light wondered how anyone knew where his right was, "is the young lady, Gabriella Cook, from Castelia City in the far away Unova region." Cheers accompanied her name and she waved her free arm, stepping onto the green square area. "To my left is the boy from our own Twinleaf Village, Nick Davis." Nick waved his arms wildly as his name was called and ran onto the red square, not anxious at all. Light mentally slapped himself for not knowing Nick's last name until now. You think you know someone and then, you remember you don't even know their full name. Light's mind was started to go off wandering why Pokemon didn't have last names when the ground vibrated slightly.

Everyone's attention went to the field as the squares actually began to rise above the ground, revealing its real dimensions as they ten feet into the air. Nick let out a whoop as his rose, still excited. Light saw that a ladder was located on the back of Nick's podium, guessing it was the same on the other one. Light immediately saw the advantages of this as the new height would allow the trainers to see the battle better and not be as affected by the dust clouds that could form during battle. On the large screen, Gabriella and Nick's faces were shown on either side of the screen, three blank boxes next to each of them.

"And now what you've all been waiting for. This match will be a three on three single battle. Substitutions are allowed on both sides. The first trainer to knock out his or her opponent's Pokemon will be the winner and move to the next round," the announcer said, an exciting tone in his voice. After a pause, probably for dramatic effect, he continued, "Now, trainers, release you're first Pokemon!"

"Okay, Ace, you're going up first," Nick said, pointing into the arena. Ace took flight and hovered in the air on the edge of the arena. Light took cue from the others and sat down, Cream cuddling up next to him.

"Ruth, it's your time to shine," Gabriella said. Though it didn't look as though she said it very loudly, Light clearly heard her, as though it had come through the speakers. The Vulpix smiled and hopped down from her shoulder to the white handrail. It perched for a second before leaping right down in the arena. It took an aggressive stance, but it was still looking happy. Light was sure that it was a seasoned fighter.

"Just to let you know, I don't plan on losing," Nick said to Gabriella.

Gabriella laughed. "I don't either."

On the large screen, a face picture of a Vulpix appeared next to Gabriella, while a face picture of a Pidgeot appeared next to Nick. "Well, folks, it seems that Nick has chosen his Pidgeot to start off while Gabriella has chosen her Vulpix. This will be an interesting choice as while Nick's Pidgeot has shown great speed in earlier battles, this is the first time Gabriella has used her Vulpix! And with those bold words from both of them, this will definitely be an interesting battle to start off our tournament! Alright, are you ready trainers?" the announcer asked. Nick and Gabriella grinned at each other and nodded. "Okay, start the match!"

The Vulpix immediately started rushing toward Pidgeot, no command given. The concentration made Light think it could be telepathy involved, but then he remembered that there was no way Vulpix could. Nick, they've already planned out the battle. Be careful, Light warned.

Gotcha, Nick replied before shouting, "Ace, Agility." Light smiled when he realized Nick was being as loud as normal, or maybe the speakers were lowering the noise level.

Ace shot forward, his speed already hard to keep up with. Ruth kept rushing before it suddenly stopped. The Vulpix shot underground, leaving a small hole behind. Ace stopped and hovered above the hole, unable to attack.

"Well, folks, it appears Gabriella's Vulpix has gone underground using Dig. What is her plan?" the announcer said, as though they all hadn't just watched it.

"Keep an eye out, Ace," Nick warned, looking around himself.

Suddenly, Gabriella smiled even more, this one more dangerous. Light, suspicious, kept an eye out for what she was planning to do. Someone gasped in the crowd and then everyone was looking upward. Light looked up and saw the Vulpix in the air
just coming off the height of its jump. Light was shocked as he was sure he hadn't seen it come aboveground, let alone jump up there.

Ace turned around, but it was too late. Ruth's tail lit up white and it twirled around, hitting Ace in the wing. For some reason, the attack seemed to slash, rather than whack, Ace. Ace let out a cry and started to fall, unable to stay aloft. Ruth, started
to fall also, landed on Ace, forcing him to fall faster and ram into the ground.

"Well, it seems that Gabriella's Pokemon somehow got into the air and landed a solid blow on Ace, grounding him. What will Nick do?" the announcer broadcasted.

"Now," Gabriella said, waving one arm out in a horizontal cutting motion, "Night Daze!"

Grinning, Ruth did a smaller leap into the air. At its climax, the Vulpix did a rapid spin. For a second, as it seemed to glow pink, Light thought it was going to use an attack. Then, it stopped spinning, revealing a small black creature. Light was unable to really look at it, though, as it landed nimbly beside Ace and rose on its back paws. A purplish, red color went over its body before it slammed its paws down into the ground. A rapidly expanding sphere formed, covering half of the arena as the small creature released the energy.

When the dust had settled, the creature had returned back to where it had started, while Ace was lying knocked out in the middle of the arena. Gabriella and her Ruth smiled as the referee waved a green flag at Gabriella. A red X marked over Ace's picture as Nick returned his Pokemon.

"Spectacular. In a surprising chain of events, Gabriella's Vulpix has revealed itself to be one of the Unova illusive fox Pokemon, Zorua. Who could have expected that? And what Pokemon will Nick choose next?" the announcer said, a round of cheering almost drowning his first sentence out. The Vulpix picture changed to one of the creature's.

"Zorua," Nick said as he quickly pulled out his Pokedex. Pulling it open, he aimed it at the creature. "A dark type Pokemon capable of creating illusions. That's not good," Nick said, most likely not realizing his voice was being carried out around the arena. Upon hearing this, Light looked at the arena and saw that the hole was gone, proving it had just been an illusion. The real one had been above the ground. That ability was like using Double Team and making yourself invisible. Nick was right; this wasn't good.

"It seems Nick is in a bad spot," the announcer said.

Nick put up his Pokedex and threw his left hand out toward Gabriella. "One win doesn't mean anything. I'm just getting started. Light, you're up!"

As Light got up, Cream gave him a lick on the cheek and wished him good luck. Light nuzzled her briefly before getting on the field. Nick relaxed and leaned against the handrail, knowing he was now a spectator as well. Ruth grinned at him as he came on the field. Light returned the friendly grin and got into a ready position.

"It seems Nick is also doing a first. He is now using his Umbreon for the first time, but will this new Pokemon be enough to defeat Gabriella's Zorua?" the announcer posed the question as an Umbreon's picture appeared on the screen. Light noticed that the picture was of a regular Umbreon, not a shiny one, though.

We're about to find out, Light thought, lowering his thoughts to himself. Cream was always too worried when she could feel his pain even when he tried to hide it.

Deciding to leave the initiative to Ruth, Light searched his brain for a way to defeat its illusions. He would need a way soon. Even this could be an illusion, while Ruth snuck up on him. Then Light realized he was asking the wrong question. How can I fight without my eyes? If I can figure out that, than it will be a cinch, Light thought, still keeping an eye on the unmoving Ruth. However, does it only affect one's vision, or do the illusions affect all five senses. Then the solution hit Light, just as the Ruth disappeared in front of him.

"It seems that Gabriella's Zorua has disappeared, meaning it was using its powerful illusions again. It seems that Nick is unconcerned. What is his plan?" the announcer continued, his commentary started to get on Light's nerves. However, to see Gabriella's surprise at Nick's indifference was worth it.

Smiling, Light closed his eyes. Focusing, Light slowly reached out with Psychic. Light could feel the smoothness of the ground and the podium not too far behind him. Soon enough, Light felt another presence, or rather non-presence, as Zorua was a dark type like him. Light mentally followed Ruth until it came close. Then, Light let loose with Quick Attack, hitting the startled Zorua before it could move.

Light opened his eyes and saw that its illusion fell as it was hit by him, making it visible. Ruth flew through the air and landed on the other half of the arena. Light contributed its low defense to its reliance on its illusions. However, that wasn't a safe course anymore.

Gabriella gasped as her Zorua landed in a heap. "Ruth, get back up," she cried. Ruth shook its head and stood back up. Light was slightly unnerved when it snickered.

"It seems Nick's Umbreon can somehow see through Zorua's illusions. It seems both of their reserved Pokemon were their secret weapons. Which one will emerge victorious?" the announcer said.

"Use Night Daze!" Gabriella ordered.

The Zorua disappeared. Light realized too late that it had moved while the announcer had talked. A wave of energy hit Light as Ruth used the move behind him. Light grounded his teeth as the move was a powerful one, sending him flying. Light landed and quickly got up out of his prone position. Light saw that they had basically switched positions on the field. However, the Night Daze seemed to have some sort of the Zorua's illusionary power as his eyesight seemed poorer than normal.

"And in a powerful display of its signature move, Zorua seems to have started to make a comeback," the announcer exclaimed. "However, Nick still seems completely calm."

This time, Light had kept track of Ruth as it tried to use its powers again. Using his psychic powers this much, even to track, was getting tiring. It was time to end this tricky battle. Locating Zorua, Light formed the shadowy form of the beginning of his Dark Pulse. He didn't aim until the last second, keeping Ruth oblivious that he knew where it was again. Light shot his Dark Pulse and hit the Zorua right on, making it visible once more and making the fake one disappear.

Light trotted back to his side of the field through the dust through up in his attack, using the same arrogance Ruth had used against Ace. The dust settled to find Light sitting in front of Nick's podium with Zorua fainted. The referee looked at Zorua for a second before waving a red flag. An X now covered Ruth's picture.

Cheers went up before the announcer even started. Once the crowd had calmed some, he said, "It seems that the tides have changed as Nick's Umbreon has shown an amazing power and abilities. What will be Gabriella's next Pokemon?"

"Oh, Ruth, return," Gabriella said sadly. However, as she pulled another Pokeball out, her face was once again confident. "Time to come out, Zebstrika."

In a flash of red, a large, Ponyta shaped Pokemon appeared. However, instead of a fire mane and tail, a zigzag patterned white mane and tail was on it. Also, it was mainly black with white, zigzagged stripes all over it.

"Zebstrika has much more power so you better watch out," Gabriella warned Nick.

Nick smiled and shrugged. "You should tell Light, not me," he replied, pulling out his Pokedex. "Zebstrika, the thunderbolt Pokemon and an electric type, with a high speed." A picture of Zebstrika appeared on the screen under Zorua's.

"And Gabriella pulls out another Unova region Pokemon, Zebstrika, along with a bold statement. However, Nick has shrugged off the comment, having complete confidence in Light. Both trainers are down to two Pokemon. How will this turn out?" the announcer said dramatically.

Nick returned his Pokedex and leaned against the handrail again. Light shook his head a little, the effects of Night Daze still affecting him, which now matter as he was using his senses again.

"Okay, Zebstrika, use Thunder Wave," Gabriella ordered.

Zebstrika raised its head for a second before lowering as a ball of electricity formed between its horns. The ball launched at Light in a circular ring, two more following. Light stood his ground and threw up a barrier up at the last second to last for all three rings. The electricity simply dissipated with a crackling against his light blue, translucent shield.

Light started to prepare a Dark Pulse, but the announcer started to talk before he could finish. "And Zebstrika sends out a dazzling Thunder Wave at Nick's Umbreon, but it stops it with its powerful Protect. Now it's charging up a counter attack of its own."

By now, Light had charged and let it out. However, Zebstrika moved to the side with surprising speed and dodged his slightly off attack. Night Daze was started to count, now. Once again, the annoying announcer came on, "It seems the rumors of Zebstrika's speed have been proven as it dodged that strong attack."

Not giving his opponent time to counter, Light quickly used Psychic, being able to aim with his mind with it. Light picked Zebstrika up into the air, a blue light now around the Pokemon.

"No, Zebstrika!" Gabriella called. Setting her teeth, she suddenly shouted, "Zebstrika, use Volt Switch!"

Volt Switch? What move is that? Light thought. Slightly distracted by the new move, Zebstrika was able to lower its head while still in his psychic hold and fired a ball of electricity from its horns. The attack hit Light and sent a little back, but didn't do too much damage.

Light looked up and saw a flash of red before a weird looking creature with a rock on its back appeared in the arena. Zebstrika was nowhere to be seen, meaning it had somewhere had switched.

"Gabriella uses Volt Switch effectively, freeing her captured and wounded Pokemon, switching it, and hurting the opponent all at once. Plus, Gabriella's Dwebble now has a type advantage, while Nick's Umbreon is exhausted from previous battles. It seems things might be going in Gabriella's side, now," the announcer exclaimed excitedly. A picture of the weird Pokemon appeared under Zebstrika, filling the last slot.

Exhausted, indeed! Light thought. I'll would show them.

Quickly charging a Dark Pulse, Light unleashed the energy in the Pokemon's path. Dwebble quickly hid under its shell and a light blue aura surrounded it. Light's attack hit it and veered away, not damaging it at all.

"It seems Nick's Umbreon hasn't run out of steam, but Gabriella's Dwebble is ready for its attacks," the announcer said.

Behind Light, he heard Nick using his Pokedex and then promptly heard Nick's voice say, "Dwebble, a rock and bug combination Pokemon. Common moves are Protect, Shell Smash, and X-Scissor."

Light mentally thanked Nick, being too rash to get that information before attacking. Light quickly came up with an obvious strategy, removing its shell. It had used that in order to use Protect, and it would also help its defense.

"Dwebble, use Dig with Shell Smash," Gabriella ordered, already confident again.

Dwebble pulled itself out of its shell and started to turn red. Outside its shell, it looked slightly like a scorpion. It hurriedly burrowed underground, leaving its shell behind. Light knew the most common uses of Dig and did a quick one eighty as he heard the ground start to break, ready to attack.

However the Pokemon came up beside him instead. Its red, outer shell suddenly cracked and hovered around its body for a second as it came up beside him. Light barely heard Gabriella's command for Dwebble to use Bug Bite as the shell formed around its miniature teeth. It bit down on Light's shoulder.

At first, Light barely felt its little teeth and he easily shook it off. As soon as it hit the ground, Light rammed it, using Quick Attack. As Light took a second to recover from the quick exertions, he felt it. It was some sort of itching where the Dwebble had bitten him. Then, the itching grew more and more. Light tried to concentrate on the battle and ignore the overwhelming itch, but it was useless. His mind couldn't focus on anything with that infernal itching.

Finally, Light gave in and laid down, rubbing his shoulder against the ground. He left out a sigh of relief as the itching started to stop. However, as soon as he stopped rubbing his shoulder against the ground, the itching returned, with even more intensity.

"It seems Umbreon has been stopped the itchiness of Dwebble's Bug Bite, while his trainer is now getting worried. However, Dwebble seems hurt when it was hit by that Quick Attack while outside its shell. What will happen next?" the announcer said.

"Dwebble get up. Use Shell Smash and then finish with X-Scissor!" Gabriella said, using her cutting motion.

Light only waited a few seconds before he felt the Dwebble hit him hard with its powered up, super effective attack. However, as Light felt wonder as he slipped into consciousness and the horrible itching stopped.

(0)

"Light, return," Nick said, putting Light into his Pokeball. "Go out, Patch. Let's finish this!"

Patch, eager to battle again, rushed onto the field after pecking Rose on the cheek. The Dwebble had already used the time Nick had taken to return Light to get back to the safety of its rock like home. From the way Dwebble was breathing, Patch
knew he had this battle won already.

"After Nick's Umbreon was finally taken done, he has sent out his Leafeon to take its place. Nick is backed into a corner with only one Pokemon, but Dwebble doesn't look like it can take much more," the announcer said. Patch raised his head proudly as he was mentioned.

"Patch, use Razor Leaf," Nick ordered.

"Dwebble, Protect," Gabriella said.

Patch let out his Razor Leaf attack, but didn't use full power, knowing it would be stopped. The sharp leaves flew at Dwebble, now hidden under its shell, and landed on the ground harmlessly after hitting the protective barrier.

"It seems Leafeon and Dwebble are in a stalemate," the announcer said.

"Patch, keep up with Razor Leaf," Nick said, determined to win the stalemate.

Gabriella looked worried, but still just said, "Protect."

Patch let out two more volleys of Razor Leafs. Once again the leaves simply hit the ground. Then, an idea hit Patch. Forming his now perfected Shadow Ball, Patch shot the sphere at the ground in front of the hiding Dwebble. The blast of the sphere
threw Dwebble up into the air. Not wasting the chance, Patch rushed at it and hit it with his now most powerful move, Leaf Blade. Dwebble was slammed against the ground and it slumped out of its rock, fainted.

The referee glanced at it and waved the red flag. Gabriella returned Dwebble and threw out Zebstrika. "It seems that Dwebble was unable to stop Leafeon's relentlessness. Now it all comes down to this. Both trainers only have one Pokemon left!
Who will be the victor?" the announcer exclaimed.

"Patch, Shadow Ball!" Nick shouted.

Patch was just started to form the shadowy sphere when Gabriella said, "Zebstrika, use Flame Charge!"

Patch didn't know that specific move, but he knew anything about flames wasn't good for him. The Zebstrika started to charge at him. Patch let the attack go, but the Pokemon slipped to the side and the projectile completely missed.

"Patch, use Leaf Blade with everything you've got!" Nick yelled.

Focusing all his power in his tail, Patch started to charge at Zebstrika. As Zebstrika ran, it started to be covered in flames. Patch feinted to the side before slamming it with his tail as the came close. Even so, he was hit hard by the attack. Both of them flew away from each other, landing on the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Patch got up. He saw that Zebstrika was still down, though not out. Taking the advantage, Patch let a Razor Leaf go. Zebstrika started to get up to dodge, but its larger size and awkward legs made it slow getting up. Zebstrika took the attack right on and fell back to the ground, knocked out.

The referee raised the red flag again, ending the battle. Patch cheered and rushed back over to the sidelines on Nick's side. Nick was jumping around on top of the podium and waving his arms wildly. Suddenly, he rushed to the side and jumped down. Patch winced as Nick landed in a heap at the bottom of the ten feet drop. However, Nick got quickly back up and started to do his little victory dance.

The ground started to rumble a little as the podiums started to lower and Nick's face took over on the large screen. "And that concludes the battle with a stunning win by Nick's Leafeon, making Nick Davis the first winner of the first round. Give him a hand, fans; he worked hard. Let's also give a hand to Gabriella Cook, for giving us that outstanding battle," the announcer said. The podium shook slightly as they finally came to rest in place, making them look like just squares again. The crowd around them was going wild.

After waving a little more, Nick went over and met Gabriella halfway across the stadium. They shook hands and then returned to their sides. Even though Gabriella lost, she took it well, still genuinely smiling as she went back into the tunnel. After gathering the whole crew, they went into the tunnel they had used to enter the arena.

As Patch came up beside Rose, she rubbed against him and purred. "You did great, Patch," she said.

Smiling, Patch simply entwined his tail with hers and stayed beside her.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 36: The Second Round - Rivalry End

Light woke up inside the dark, sealed quarters of his Pokeball. Yawning, Light got up and waited. Light once again renewed the fact that he disliked the Pokeball. It reminded him too much of his egg, except the area inside seemed smaller. However,
Azul had told him that her area seemed just as large as his, meaning the Pokeball adjusted to the size of the Pokemon. Light didn't really care that much as long as he didn't have to go into one. He would have tried to find a way out, but his mind was like in a sedated muck, unable to really concentrate on much.

As he really couldn't tell time inside the Pokeball, he didn't know how long it was before he was finally released. Blinking from the sudden light, Light found himself in the lobby of the large, fancy Pokemon Center of the Pokemon League. Noises abounded in the crowded lobby as people brought their Pokemon up to be healed after battling. He could tell it was late by the lighting being used inside.

Before he could even fully get his senses back, he felt someone pressing up beside him. "You're okay," Cream said, nuzzling his side.

"Hey, Cream," Light replied, nuzzling her back.

"Well, is this the warrior that was able to take down my Ruth?" a voice asked. Light looked away from Cream to see Gabriella crouching down in front of him. An infectious, pleasant smile was on her face, telling Light that there were no hard feelings.

"Yeah, this is my Umbreon, Light," Nick responded, standing beside Gabriella.

Gabriella reached out a hand toward Light, but stopped a little away. "May I?" she asked. Light nodded and she started to pet his fur. "Wow, he's well groomed," she said, standing back up. Light smiled and chuckled a little for it wasn't Nick that groomed him.

Light was distracted from Nick and Gabriella's conversation as a familiar creature came closer. It was Gabriella's Zorua, Ruth. Now that Light wasn't focused on battling, he saw that she looked almost like an Eevee, though a little bigger. The biggest difference was that its pelt was a smoky, dark gray, almost a black; some would even mistake the color for a true black if it wasn't for the actual black mane that spiked a little more than an Eevee's mane. Its tail was only the one color of its pelt and came to two tips instead of one. It had head fur like a Flareon's, and had red colorings on the tip of its head fur and feet, its eyelids, and its eyebrows. Two prominent spikes of fur were on the sides of its face underneath the more triangular ears.

"Hello, I'm Ruth," she said, the same smile as Gabriella, like before.

"Hello, I'm Light, and this is Cream," Light introduced.

Suddenly, Ruth grinned and then then a flip. She flashed pink for a second and seemed to grow slightly. When she landed, Light was startled to see himself there. He heard Cream gasp and press against him. The mirage image of him snickered before flipping as before. This time, Ruth appeared back in her Zorua form.

Ruth snickered again before saying, "My special ability is to be able to make illusions. Your expressions were funny."

"So you're from the Unova region?" Light asked.

Ruth nodded. "Gabriella's really not that much of a trainer. She really doesn't know what she wants to do, yet, so we're just traveling around for now," she explained.

Nick then caught their attention as he asked, "Who's that?" Light looked to where he had pointed to see a teenager, a little older than Nick, sitting on a bench. Though there were several people milling about, Light could still see that the nasty look he had on was being directed at Nick.

"That's Damien. He's one of the other trainers who've reached the first round. In fact, I think he reached the second round as well," Gabriella answered.

"I wonder why he's looking at me like that," Nick said.

"He does seem to be looking directly at you. Maybe he thinks you're someone else," she said.

"Let's go see what's wrong," Nick said, leading them over toward Damien. However as they got close, he stood up and walked away. Nick and Light were the only ones who noticed the finger he slipped them. "Well, he wasn't very polite," Nick said.

"Some people are just like that," Gabriella said.

"Hey, there's Benjamin," Nick suddenly said. Nick headed away, and the rest of them followed. "Hey, Benjamin," Nick almost yelled, the crowded place not exactly quiet.

Someone turned around at the name and Light realized that Nick was right; Benjamin really was here. "Uh? Oh, it's you, Nick. You did pretty well there back in the first round," Benjamin said, shaking hands with Nick as they finally reached each other.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked.

"He's in the tournament," Gabriella spoke up, catching up. "If I'm not mistaken, he also reached the second round."

"You did?" Nick asked. At Benjamin's nod, he continued, "I didn't know you were collecting badges."

Benjamin shrugged. "Badges are an easy way to attain the respect of other trainers, your own Pokemon, and even other Pokemon. Besides, there hasn't been much that I could help out with at the Police Station."

"How do you two know each other?" Gabriella asked.

"Benjamin's my rival," Nick announced.

Benjamin, however, looked confused. "Wait, rival? When did I become that?" he asked.

"When we first fought," Nick said.

"Oh, well I guess we could be rivals if you want," Benjamin said, scratching his head. Suddenly, Light noticed that Black was sitting quietly beside Benjamin. Light had completely missed him, as he was just sitting there not making a noise. "In fact, we can settle this tomorrow," Benjamin added.

"Tomorrow?" Nick echoed.

"Yeah, we're up against each other tomorrow," Benjamin explained. "Then we'll see who's grown stronger. I've trained a lot in my spare time."

"Okay then, tomorrow it is," Nick said shaking Benjamin's hand again.

Benjamin yawned as he finished the handshake. "I'll be getting to bed, then. See you," he said, walking toward the rooms.

"I think he has a good idea," Gabriella agreed. "Night," she said, holding an arm out at a forty-five degree angle. Ruth nimbly leapt up onto her hand and then up onto her shoulder. Gabriella waved goodbye as she walked toward the rooms, also.
"What do you say, Light? Are you ready to go?" Nick asked.

Light nodded and followed Nick to their room, Cream by his side the whole time. Light comfortably curled down with Cream on the couch, having been reserved by the others for them. Light quickly fell asleep, his thoughts on the next battle.

(0)

The shadow slipped out into the night air. That's exactly how I can get it. It's so simple, it's laughable. Now, just a little push of the strings, and I'll have my revenge in my grasp. They'll never see it coming.

(0)

Light once again experienced the shocking feeling of suddenly stepping into the arena. Nick once again didn't seem affected by it as he waved crazily at the crowd. Light saw Benjamin coming out of the other entrance, only Black outside his Pokeball. Benjamin almost looked the opposite of Nick as he came out cool and collected, only holding up one hand in greeting to the crowd.

Light tried to look for the invisible announcer as he started to talk once again. "Good morning, folks. Welcome to the annual Pokemon Indigo League Tournament. Soon we'll be starting the first match of the second round. On my right, is Benjamin White, the mysterious boy from Lavender Town." Cheers started up as he waved an arm and stepped onto the green podium. "To my left is Nick Davis, fresh from Twinleaf Village." Nick waved his arms wildly as his name was called and ran onto the red podium, almost exactly as last time.

The ground vibrated as before as the podiums rose into the air. The trainers' faces appeared on the screen. Light went ahead and sat down, Cream laying down beside him.

"And now what you've all been waiting for. This match will be a three on three single battle. Substitutions are allowed on both sides. The first trainer to knock out his or her opponent's Pokemon will be the winner and move to the next round," the announcer said. After the pause, he continued, "Now, trainers, release your first Pokemon!"

"Go on out, Ace," Nick said. Ace flew into the arena, ready to battle.

"Go, Sand," Benjamin said, throwing his Pokeball. His Flygon appeared in a flash of red, ready to battle. Light could see that the Flygon was stronger than before. However, Ace was also stronger and had evolved.

"I'll win this, just like last time," Nick boasted.

"We'll see," Benjamin replied.

"It seems Benjamin has started out with a Hoenn region Pokemon, Flygon, while Nick has once again started with Pidgeot. It also seems that these two have battled before. However, which one will emerge victorious this time?" the announcer said.

"Now, if our trainers are ready, let's begin the match."

"Sand, use Sand Storm," Benjamin ordered.

"Ace, use Gust," Nick countered.

Both Pokemon started to flap their wings, though sand was being blown up by Sand. The winds pushed up by both of them met and started to swirl around each other. Light watched in amazement as a tornado made out of sand was formed. The winds also swirled around the arena, ruffling all the nearby spectators' clothing or fur. Light tried to cover Cream slightly to block some of rushing wind. Soon, Sand started to show signs of weakening as it had to use more force to blow the sand up.

"You better hold on to your hats, folks, as it seems that the battle is already heating. The battle has started quickly as the two flying Pokemon fight for control of the air," the announcer said, the voice carrying slightly with the wind.

"Okay, Sand, use Dragon Rage," Benjamin commanded, his voice almost lost in the wind.

Still slapping its wings rapidly, Sand formed a dark blue sphere. The sphere was almost as large as Sand. Before anyone could react, it shot the sphere toward the swirling sand tornado. In a loud explosion, the sphere erupted and stopped the swirling chaos, throwing sand everywhere throughout the air.

"Now, Fly," Benjamin ordered.

"Ace, use Agility and then Wing Attack!" Nick yelled.

Ace started to speed up. However, before Ace could start to attack, Benjamin's Flygon promptly disappeared. Suddenly, Ace was rammed in the back by something, though it wasn't clear enough to see.

"There's a reason why Flygon are called the guardians of the desert," Benjamin commented.

"Well, folks, it seems that Benjamin's Flygon is somehow using the sand thrown through the air to increase its speed and evasion. How will Nick deal will this new problem?" the announcer said.

Ace was hit again and barely stopped himself from falling from the impact. "Ace, blow the sand away with Gust," Nick ordered.

Ace started to flap his wings to push the sand away, but the sand seemed to be stubbornly in the air, only swirling here and there in reaction to Ace's exertions. Ace was then hit again, this time losing some altitude before regaining his balance.
Nick grimaced before suddenly snapping his fingers. "Ace, use Aerial Ace with Agility!" he shouted.

Ace shot forward for half a second before speeding out of sight. Flygon was suddenly visible for a second before disappearing again. After about half a minute of tense silence, there was suddenly a cry and then Ace was falling to the ground. Ace fainted upon landing, giving Benjamin the first win. The referee waved the green flag and the crowd started to cheer.

"And Pidgeot is down. It seems that Nick came up with his solution a little late. Flygon is still using the sand as camouflage. Who will Nick choose next?" the announcer said.

"Return, Ace," Nick said, putting Ace back in his Pokeball. Nick closed his eyes in concentration.

Deciding to intervene, Light told him, Use water to weigh the sand down.

Nick nodded and pulled out Azul's Pokeball. As Azul was so large, she had been the only one that had had to stay inside a Pokeball. Throwing the Pokeball, Nick shouted, "Go, Azul." Azul appeared in the arena, ready to fight. She tossed her head a little in preparation.

"Nick goes with his own Hoenn Pokemon, Milotic. As Milotic makes its gorgeous entrance, one must wonder if it has the power it match its beauty," the announcer commented.

"Azul, use Surf," Nick ordered. "Wet the sand in the air."

Underneath Azul, a gush of water spouted and swirled up and around Milotic. The water then started to spread outward, covering the entire arena. Nick's other Pokemon had to quickly get on the benches to avoid being hit. The arena soon became a sea, wetting everything. After a few moments, Benjamin's Sand became seen again. Soon after, the water seemed to just seep into the ground. Finally, most of the water was gone, though the ground was still wet and there were a few puddles left.

Sand heavily landed, seeming unable to fly anymore.

"And it does prove it with that spectacular Surf attack. By wetting the sand with the attack, Nick has now removed Flygon's cover and slowed it down some. The tides are now turning toward Nick," the announcer said, snickering slightly at his pun.

"Azul, finish him off with Ice Beam," Nick commanded.

Azul formed a small, light blue sphere in front of her mouth before shooting it off into a beam. Sand didn't even try to dodge and was hit head on, freezing it solid. The referee waved Nick's red flag.

"Flygon is unable to battle, making things even once again. What Pokemon will Benjamin use next?" the announcer asked.

"Sand, return. Go, Rex," Benjamin said, throwing out another Pokeball. In a flash of red, a large green plated Pokemon appeared. The creature was definitely menacing with the spikes on its back and large tail. The armor looking skin only changed with the blue, diamond shaped skin around its stomach. It let out a roar that would make anyone shake in their boots.

"In a marvelous display of intimidation, Benjamin's Tyranitar has appeared, strong and menacing. Will this give Benjamin the advantage?" the announcer said.

"Azul, don't falter. Use Surf again," Nick said.

Once again the water started to rise out of the ground. However, Benjamin interrupted. "Rex, use Earthquake."

Light's seer ability immediately started to warn him of disaster, but he could now recognize that it was fake and didn't panic. Rex roared again and then smashed one foot onto the ground. The ground around it immediately cracked. A large crack started toward Azul, branching out everywhere. The water from Azul's Surf flowed away slowly to fill up the cracks. Soon, the attack reached Azul and a large piece of the arena suddenly flipped upward, ramming Azul hard. The arena was completely ruined now.

"Azul, counter with Water Pulse," Nick ordered.

"Rex, use Berserk," Benjamin said.

Azul started to form her attack, but Tyranitar acted first. Rex rushed toward Azul, its eyes suddenly having no pupils. It was waving its arms wildly as it went berserk. It started to smash the arena near Azul. In its state, it really wasn't aiming as
just trying to destroy everything nearby.

By now, Azul had her attack ready and hit Tyranitar. Light could tell that it did damage, but it ignored it and continued attacking. Azul was soon hit by one of the wild swings and fell to the ground from the heavy hit.
"Azul, get up and use Ice Beam!" Nick yelled.

Azul raised up, her serpentine body slithering quickly to hold her up. Azul formed her attack and tried to aim. Azul was shaking slightly, though, from the recent attack and her attack was slightly off. To their luck, one of Rex's arms swung around into the beam, freezing its left arm all the way up to the shoulder.

However, this also got Rex's attention. Rex turned and aimed closer to Azul. Soon, Azul was hit again and fainted, unable to take the disastrous blows. The referee waved a green flag and the crowd started wildly cheering.

"Return, Azul; you did well," Nick murmured as he returned Azul. "Light, you're up next."

Cream nuzzled Light and whispered, "Be careful." Light nodded and stepped into the arena while Nick leaned on the rail to watch.

"And Nick brings in his resourceful Umbreon. It seems Tyranitar is still going wild. Will Umbreon be enough?" the announcer asked.

Rex seemed not to notice Light and was still destroying the area around it. Taking advantage of the situation, Light blasted Rex with a long range Dark Pulse, making sure not to get too close. The Tyranitar took the blow and basically shook it off. After a second Dark Pulse, its attention finally went to Light and it started to chase him around the ruined arena.

After a little, the swaying Rex finally slipped and landed on the ground. Light aimed one final Dark Pulse at the prone figure and it fainted as the attack hit. The referee waved his little red flag.

"Amazing! Nick's Umbreon came in and defeated Tyranitar with simple and calm moves. An impressive feat for any Pokemon," the announcer exclaimed. "We're now down to only one Pokemon apiece. Who will Benjamin choose?"

After returning Rex, Benjamin simply looked down at his Umbreon and nodded. Black jumped down into the arena from the podium. Light grinned, having waited for this match. He didn't plan to just simply tie this time.

"And Benjamin has matched Pokemon for Pokemon with his own Umbreon. We've seen how both are strong fighters, but which will turn out to be stronger?" the announcer said.

Light sped forward with a Quick Attack, but made his path a zigzagged one. Sure enough, two Shadow Balls passed him and turned to follow him. However, they collided and exploded, hiding Light in a cloud of dust and sand. Light slipped down into
one of the larger cracks Rex had created and sneaked closer.

As he got to the end of the crack, Light leapt out, his attack already charged. Light took half a second to confirm his target before firing the beam. Black was hit and pushed back, though he remained standing. Taking the chance, Light continued pushing energy into the attack. Black was continued to be pushed back until he finally fell. Light released the energy, using the moment to recover from the attack himself. Continuing an attack like that took large bouts of energy, but Light knew he could land a blow that hard on the Umbreon.

Even having to get up, Black still recovered first and charged at Light. Light held his ground and threw up Protect at the last second. Black bounced off and Light took the chance to land a Quick Attack. Both Umbreon took a second to recover from their exertions, in which time the announcer took to come on.

"And the Umbreon have gone straight into a heated battle! Using a combination of their attacks, they've created a beautiful display of attacks and power. So far, Nick's Umbreon seems to have the upper hand. Will this last?" the announcer exclaimed.

Light saw Black creating a Dark Pulse and made his own. The two attacks hit midway and exploded. The explosion actually blew away the dust and sand that had gotten into the air, clearing the view for everyone.

Black then started to charge again. Light got a sudden idea and quickly used Psychic to trip Black up with a rock on the broken battle field. Taking the moment, Light fired a close range Dark Pulse. Though he was thrown back slightly by being in the proximity of the attack, Black suffered much more and had fainted by the time the smoke cleared. The referee waved Nick's red flag after a few moments of watching Black.

The ground rumbled as the podiums went down and the announcer exclaimed, "And that ends the battle! Nick's Umbreon has shown a powerful strategy and has managed to get Nick into the next round. Let's give a hand to our two awesome battlers today!"

Nick waved wildly as he waited for the podium to lower this time. Light wearily went back to the sidelines and was greeted by congratulations. Cream rubbed up against him after giving him a complete once over to make sure he was okay.

After doing a little bit of his dance, Nick went over to shake Benjamin's hand. Light followed the rest of them as they went back down the entrance, the loud crowd subsiding behind them. All Light wanted to do at the moment was just go and rest. He was definitely looking forward to the cushioned couch.

(0)

"That's the only way we can do it," the first figure confirmed. The conversation was paused until it was translated to the second figure.

"And it has to be during battle?" the second figure asked.

The first figure nodded. "Will you do it?"

"Anything for you. Besides, I wouldn't let them get away with what they've done. And I make sure it's as public as when they did it to you," the second figure said, ruffling the fur of the first. He smiled as he set up his plan.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 37: The Third Round - The Scream

Light woke up slowly. If it wasn't for him going to sleep so early, he was sure he would have been tired today. For some reason, he had woken up in the middle of the night twice. Everything had been silent and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for a nagging feeling of someone else there, which gave him the creeps. Light had only been able to go back to sleep when he had used Psychic to check the whole area. He had never just woken up for reason before and he was sure there had been some reason why he had last night, but he couldn't figure it out.

Light looked up and was astonished to see Nick already up, eating breakfast. Light could tell that his trainer was tired in his constant yawning, but he could also tell that Nick had been awake for a while in the way he was moving around so quickly. Maybe anxiousness was finally getting to him, but Light had a strange feeling that it was the same reason he had awoken last night.

Light closely watched as everyone awoke, but they all seemed to be fine, not affected by anything like him and Nick. As Light started to eat breakfast, he put his nagging thoughts at the back of his mind and concentrated on today, as he would probably be battling. If Nick would have just been diligent enough to find out who he was battling, they would be able to plan so much easier for the battle, giving them a higher chance of winning.

After breakfast, they all met up outside the Pokemon Center, Nick's parents having stayed at an inn since they weren't trainers. Light and Cream walked behind Nick as they went to the stadium. Cream had been strangely silent so far and had kept right beside him. She was actually staying closer than usual, their pelts constantly in contact, but Light decided he would ask her later, as she appeared to be deep in thought at the moment.

Taking their cues from the staff, they started down the tunnel when the match was about to begin. Light shook off the shock faster this time as they entered the arena. Somehow, there seemed to be more people here than before, which Light thought would end in a headache from the screaming and shouting.

Light gasped as he looked at the battling area. The arena was completely flat and fixed, as though there hadn't been a rampaging Tyranitar destroying it the day before. There had to be some trick they did to the arena, because it wasn't exactly easy to fix earth and drain all the water and such.

Nick stopped waving suddenly and looked across the arena. Light looked also and saw that there competitor was there, standing still and silent, not even looking at the crowd. The glare he gave Nick was unmistakable even from the other side of the arena. His mood immediately affected Nick and the others, besides Cream who seemed to still be in thought. Light was just about to ask her what was wrong, when the announcer came on.

"Good morning, and welcome to the annual Pokemon Indigo League Tournament. Today we have finally come down to the exciting semi-finals. These matches will tell us who will be moving on to the finals. On my right is the traveler, Damien Rain."

The cheers were quieter as he just stepped onto the green podium. "To my left is the trainer from Twinleaf Village, Nick Davis." This time, Nick more calmly stepped onto his podium, most of his excitement having left from Damien's look.

Light took the time the podiums were rising to finally speak to Cream. "Is something wrong?" Light asked in a low voice.

Cream looked down at her feet. "Umm, I'll tell you later, okay?" she said quietly.

Light was confused, but simply replied, "Okay." Cream nuzzled his side before she went back to thinking.

"And now for the exciting first match of the semi-finals. This match will be a three on three single battle. Substitutions are allowed on both sides. The first trainer to knock out his or her opponent's Pokemon will be the winner and move on to the finals," the announcer said. After the annoying pause, he continued, "Now, trainers, release your first Pokemon!"

"Let's go, Red," Nick said. Red jumped onto the field, letting a small plume of fire come out of her mouth for dramatic effect.

Damien didn't say a word as he threw a Pokeball. After the flash of red, an Arcanine stood there, looking regal and yet imposing at the same time with its large size and yet golden pelt. It looked at Nick and Red with the same look Damien had given them. It glanced over and looked at Light and Cream. Light was astonished to see that it was the Arcanine that had been in the cages with him. The Arcanine looked astonished, also, but soon the nasty look returned. Now Light was really confused, as he had helped this Arcanine and yet it was still glaring at him.

Unlike last time, Nick didn't say anything to Damien, just as Damien stayed silent himself. The announcer hesitantly cleared his throat, the noise vibrating over the speakers, before continuing, "Well, Nick has chosen his powerful Vulpix, while Damien has brought out his golden Arcanine. It seems that these Pokemon will be fighting fire with fire. It seems our trainers are ready, so let the match start!"

"Red, use Energy Ball," Nick ordered. Damien stayed silent, though his Arcanine got ready to fight.

Red opened her mouth and prepared her most recently learned move. Light thought the move would have been more effective for Patch to learn, but Nick had decided for Red to learn it, who didn't object to learning a new powerful move. A glowing, green sphere was formed at Red's mouth. Red shot the sphere off will a tilt of her head. The sphere went straight for Arcanine, and hit nothing. Right before contact, Arcanine had vanished from sight.

Red cringed as Arcanine suddenly appeared right in front of her. Arcanine's tail suddenly started to glow white and grew stiffer. Arcanine swung at Red and smacked her away, creating a small crater in the ground from the blow. If Red hadn't cringed backwards, the blow would have done much more damage.

"Amazing! Damien's Arcanine has used its Extremespeed to not only dodge the Energy Ball, but also to close the distance between it and Vulpix. Now it has shown its strength by its powerful Iron Tail! With both speed and strength going to Arcanine, how will Vulpix favor?" the announcer said.

You need to use super effective attacks, Light told Nick.

Nick's small nod told him that he heard. "Red, use Dig!" Nick shouted.

Red hurriedly got up and started to dig underground. Arcanine simply moved to the middle of the arena as he waited for Red to come back up from the ground. Red suddenly came up under Arcanine and rammed him the stomach. Arcanine winced slightly, but quickly recovered and suddenly bit Red. Red was suddenly shocked as Arcanine shook her a few times. He finally tossed her a few feet away. Red laid limply for a little before slowly getting up.

"Well, Nick has now gone with the Ground type moves to defeat Arcanine, but this doesn't seem to be working either. I don't think Vulpix will try that again after the shocking Thunder Fang Arcanine used. What will Nick try next?" the announcer said. Light was starting to angry from the comments he kept coming up with.

"Red, use Extrasensory," Nick ordered.

Red crouched down and heat seemed to come off her as she prepared to attack. Her six tails fanned out behind her and her eyes changed colors to a dark purple. The air seemed to simmer for a second before Arcanine was lifted slightly off the ground, the same dark purple color surrounding him. It let out a cry as Red started to painfully stretch Arcanine painfully.

"Well, Vulpix now shows its psychic abilities off with Extrasensory. While Arcanine uses its physical prowess to attack, Vulpix is showing a just as strong mental prowess. It looks like Arcanine is in a tight spot," the announcer commented.

Light thought Red had the match won when Arcanine suddenly roared and seemed to break its psychic bonds with just physical force only. Before he even hit the ground, the Arcanine had disappeared, utilizing its Extremespeed again.

Red stood panting, still getting over using Extrasensory, when Arcanine appeared behind her. Arcanine stood in an aggressive stance, but didn't attack Red. Then light realized he was attacking, just using Overheat. Light was dumbfounded, knowing Arcanine would know full well that Red had the Flash Fire ability to boost her attack power.

Light winced as the heat started to increase around the arena. By now, Red had realized Arcanine was there and had jumped away to put some distance between them. The heat continued to increase. Light covered Cream pulled her back from the arena to the side wall, trying to keep the heat back. Finally, Arcanine stopped the attack, his sides heaving from the effort. Light knew Overheat lowered the user's ability to damage others, so why did it use the ineffective attack?

"And Arcanine shows its impressive power with its Overheat attack. But was that a smart move with Vulpix's Flash Fire ability? Will this turn the match towards Nick?" the announcer asked.

"Red, use Extrasensory one more time," Nick ordered. He was seating heavily up on the podium, having been closer to the fight.

Red crouched down to use the move, but Arcanine once again disappeared. Red was thrown through the air as it rammed into her. She was still air born, when Arcanine used his Iron Tail and whacked Red, ramming her into the podium. The referee waved the green flag for Damien's victory.

"And Vulpix is defeated. With those powerful attacks, who will Nick use next to counter Damien's Arcanine?" the announcer said.

"Red return," Nick murmured as he returned his fainted Pokemon. He stared at Red's Pokeball for a second before shouting, "Come on out, Blaze."

Light was startled at Nick's decision. Wouldn't Azul do better as a Water type Pokemon? Light asked.

No, Blaze can handle this, Nick thought. His face was set and Light knew he wouldn't be able to change his mind.

Blaze stepped onto the arena and faced Arcanine, completely unfazed by its glare.

"Well, folks, Nick has chosen to go with another Fire type Pokemon instead of his Milotic. Will his Flareon fare better than his Vulpix, or will this end with another defeat?" the announcer said.

"Blaze, Double Team," Nick ordered.

Blaze split into eight copies all around Arcanine. The Arcanine glanced around before suddenly sending off bursts of heat again. Light once again covered Cream and pulled her back, the heat even closer this time. Soon, seven of the Flareon disappeared, leaving only the real Blaze left behind it. Without needing to be told, Blaze shot underground through the hole Red had used, allowing him to get underground before Arcanine attacked. Arcanine stood still, his sides really heaving now from another Overheat attack.

"Flareon's Double Team has seemed ineffective as Arcanine has already singled Flareon out. However, Flareon has now gone underground. How will Arcanine attack, now?" the announcer commented.

Blaze suddenly emerged under Arcanine and rammed him with a powerful Dig attack. That's when Light realized Blaze had provoked Arcanine into using Overheat to power his attacks up. Arcanine got up slowly, starting to get exhausted.

"And Flareon hits Arcanine with a powerful Dig. It seems that Flareon has this match pretty much wrapped up. Will Arcanine somehow make a comeback?" the announcer asked.

"Finish it off with Double Dig," Nick commanded. Light snickered at Nick's name combination of Double Team and Dig.

Blaze once again split into different Flareon before each one went underground. The Arcanine jumped as one come above the ground to attack, just to have it flicker out with contact. Light knew Arcanine must be pretty much finished if he was getting that jumpy. Three more copies came up, Arcanine swiping at them, revealing their true forms. In quick succession, the rest came up to attack, Arcanine attacking each one until it was overwhelmed and the real Blaze was able to land a blow, knocking out the tired Arcanine. The referee waved Nick's red flag this time.

"And that's it for Arcanine. It seems that Nick's Flareon has pulled him through this one, but will Damien come out with another power packing Pokemon?" the announcer said.

Damien silently returned Arcanine and threw another Pokeball. A purple, spiky backed Pokemon appeared, a wicked grin on its face. It seemed to float slightly off the ground. Nick hurriedly pulled out his Pokedex. "Gengar, a Ghost type Pokemon," Nick murmured, though his voice still carried out through the speakers.

"Well, Damien pulls out a Ghost type Pokemon. What will his strategy be this time?" the announcer said.

"Blaze, use Flamethrower," Nick ordered.

Blaze opened his mouth and shot a torrent of flames toward the Pokemon. The Pokemon just seemed to melt into the ground as it dodged. The flames hit nothing but air. There was a shadow on the ground where Gengar had been, but there was no other evidence of Gengar having even been there.

Light gasped as the shadow moved. It started to slowly approach Blaze in quick, short, jerky movements in a zigzag motion. Blaze stepped back hesitantly as it came closer, unsure of what to do. Blaze jumped back as Gengar suddenly came out of the ground. It put its hands together and shot a beam of dark circles that Light recognized as a Dark Pulse at Blaze. Completely unprepared, Blaze was thrown back.

"Incredible! Gengar traveled through the ground and suddenly attacked. With this incredible power, how will Flareon fare?" the announcer said.

"Blaze, Flame Wheel," Nick ordered.

Blaze charged at Gengar, his body slowly becoming surrounded in flames sprouting from his mouth. Gengar tried to slip into the ground, but was too slow and was hit, floating high into the air instead of normally being thrown back.

"Remarkable! Nick's Flareon has used Flame Wheel, a move not normally being able to be learned by Flareon! It seems Nick's Flareon is full of surprises as well," the announcer said.

Gengar lowered down to the ground, some distance from Blaze. Gengar once again started to lower into the ground, but stopped before its eyes went underground. It simply stayed that way a little, making Light uneasy. Suddenly, Light noticed a shadow going from Gengar to Blaze. Before he could get a warning out, Gengar's arm appeared and rammed Blaze in the stomach. Blaze fell to the ground, winded.

"And Gengar comes back with Shadow Punch. That appears to have put Flareon a little off," the announcer commented.

Gengar slowly rose from the ground and put its hands together, getting ready to use an attack, when Nick shouted, "Blaze, Double Team!"

Blaze got quickly up and began to spread into nine Flareon. Gengar looked around, slightly put off, before raising its hands into the air. A dark, shadowy ball formed above each one. Throwing its arms, the spheres fell at two of the Flareon, making them disappear.

"Blaze, use Flame Wheel," Nick ordered.

Gengar slipped into the ground as the remaining seven Flareon started to speed forward. The Flareon stopped, no target left to hit. Light could see that Gengar had once again left a weird shadow on the ground.

Attack the shadow! Light quickly told Nick, remembering its Shadow Punch.

"Use Flamethrower on the shadow!" Nick yelled.

The Flareon shot flames at the shadow. As the real Blaze's flames hit the shadow, there was an explosion, sending up dust around it and the Flareon. The dust, combined with small chips of rocks thrown up, was enough to remove the final copies of Blaze. When the dust cleared, Gengar was once again above the ground. It was showing signs of weakening, but it still looked ready to battle.

"Spectacular! Gengar went underground, but Nick reacted quickly and has damaged Gengar while underground, though Flareon has lost its other Double Team copies. Will Nick's Flareon defeat Gengar will its fiery attacks?" the announcer said.
"Blaze, finish this up with Flame Wheel," Nick ordered.

Blaze once again became enshrouded in flames as he charged toward Gengar. However, the enlarging grin on its face sent shivers down Light's back. Gengar spread its arms wide and caught Blaze in a tight hug, even with the flames still around Blaze. It seemed to be damaged heavily, but it was still grinning evilly.

"And Gengar catches Flareon up in a tight grip. What does it plan to do now? And will Flareon be able to escape from this new predicament?" the announcer asked.

The Gengar started to rise into the air. Blaze squirmed wildly, but the Gengar had too tight of a hold, and his head was turned away, preventing him from attacking. When they were about three feet into the air, Gengar stopped. Light wondered what it was doing as it just paused there, hanging in the air with Blaze wriggling in its grip. Then Gengar started to glow, ever so slowly. A white light started to shine from him, slowly covering his whole body.

"Oh, my, it appears that Gengar is going to use Explosion!" the announcer cried.

Having heard what the move did, Light took the warning to heart and threw up Protect. It was just in time as Gengar was fully enveloped in light. A massive explosion burst from where Gengar had been ruining the area around it. Several rocks bounced off Light's shield with little pings. A few were actually rather large, showing the massive power of the move.

The dust cleared slowly. Gengar was lying on the ground it had previously on floating above, while Blaze was several feet away. Both Pokemon were lying in a giant crater created from the blast. Both had also fainted in the blast of energy. The referee, confused on what to do, hesitantly waved both flags.

"Outstanding! Gengar used Explosion and took down Nick's Flareon with it. And with that, both trainers are now down to one fresh Pokemon apiece," the announcer commented.

"Return, Blaze," Nick said, returning Blaze into his Pokeball in a flash of red. Damien silently did the same. "Go on out, Light," Nick said, already relaxing. Light shook himself and nuzzled Cream comfortingly before slowly stepping onto the ruined field.

Damien suddenly smiled, though it wasn't a nice one. "Finally," he shouted, throwing another Pokeball. A large, winged creature appeared in the flash of red. Light remembered seeing another one of these blue skinned giants when he had come back into Kanto from Sinnoh. It was certainly just as menacing, if not more, as the other with its roar it gave as it came out. Light could see how powerful it was from his side of the field.

Nick quickly pulled out his Pokedex and started to read, "Salamence, a Dragon and Flying type Pokemon with the ability Intimidate."

Light knew that he wouldn't do well if that power packer could fly on top of it. This was definitely going to be a tough battle. In fact, Light wasn't too sure he would be able to overpower the beast. Light shook the thought off, knowing it was the effects of its Intimidate. However, he did know he would have to come up with a great strategy in order to win.

"Nick goes with his powerful Umbreon, but Damien brings out his finisher, Salamence, and speaks for the first time. Nick's Umbreon may be resourceful, but can it take down Damien's strongest Pokemon?" the announcer said.

"It's time," Damien said. "Salamence, use Hyper Beam!"

Light smirked. This would give him a perfect chance to attack while it recovered. Light focused and brought up his strongest Protect, knowing Hyper Beam would be hard to stop. The Salamence pulled its head back and started to charge its attack. A small, white sphere of energy formed at its mouth, more energy being pulled into it from the air. Light noticed that its head was slightly tilted, but he didn't let his guard down.

Suddenly, in a quick, whip like motion, Salamence threw its head forward. A loud cracking could be heard from the movement as it formed the energy into a beam. However, for some reason, everything seemed to slow for Light as the beam approached. Light watched as it got closer to his protective shield.

Light let down his shield as the attack from the highly experienced Pokemon missed the non-moving target by a couple feet. Light was still considering this, completely shocked as the beam slowly went by him, when it happened.

Light's thoughts completely froze as he heard a blood, curdling scream, right before an explosion.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 38: Wishes

Light's fur was lifted the wrong way and the very ground underneath him rumbled from the force of the explosion behind him. The light stop coming from the sky and come from behind him for a second as the beam finished its course. After the sound of the explosion, the air was eerily quiet. The menacing Salamence in front of him simply twitched a little as it recovered from the exertion of the attack.

Light was almost too afraid to look back, and yet he knew he had to. Time still seemed to be moving slower as he turned around. At first nothing could be seen from the smoke. However, Light was still able to see where it had gone and knew who had been there.

Light a step forward and then another. Finally, he broke out of his shocked state and ran forward. A single syllable came out of his throat as he ran across the ground: "Cream!" By the time he had reached the site, the smoke was clearing away with the slight breeze of the day.

A long trench led from the last place Light had seen Cream to the light gray wall of the stands around the arena. The wall was cracked and broken where it met the trench left from the Hyper Beam. Light almost choked as he finally saw Cream lying where the wall and ground used to meet before the attack. She was lying on her side, splayed out. Dirt covered her where she had been knocked into the ground, but not even that could hide the small trail of blood slowing coming down her side.

Light rushed to her side, just to find that she looked even worse up close. Part of her fur had been singed, showing Light that gash on her side that was leaking the blood. There was also blood on her forehead and on one of her forelegs, which was held out at an awkward angle. Light tried to reconnect their mental link, but couldn't as she was unconscious. Her sides were moving at a slow, eccentric pace.

What do I do? What do I do? Light frantically thought. Is it safe to move her? Arceus! What do I do?

Light glanced backwards as he heard a thump. Nick had leapt down from the podium, though this time he landed more skillfully. Light also saw that the others had approached, but were staying a little away, unsure of what to do.

What do we do? Light desperately asked Nick as he ran up and dropped to one knee beside him.

"We need to get her to the Pokemon Center," Nick said.

He carefully scoped Cream up into his arms. Cream didn't even twitch as she was picked up. Light watched anxiously as Nick slowly stood back up, still unsure of what to do. Nick quickly left the arena in a jog, Light right on his heels. Light barely realized that the others were following as he concentrated on Cream. Even while jogging, the path seemed impossibly long as they headed down the hallway. Only a few janitors were in the hall at the time; they moved and paled a little as Nick's group rushed by.

After what seemed forever to Light, they exited the stadium and started toward the Pokemon Center. The automatic doors slid open to allow access as they rushed in. The Nurse Joy behind the counter gasped as they came up to the counter.

"Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed, holding a hand up to her mouth in astonishment.

"Nurse Joy, quick; my Eevee's been seriously injured," Nick got out, heavily panting afterward.

"Don't worry; we'll get right on it," she responded. "Blissey, come quick!" she called out behind her. A large pink and white Pokemon appeared out of a doorway, pushing along a stretcher in front of it. "Place it on here," Nurse Joy ordered Nick.
Nick complied and laid Cream carefully onto the padded stretcher. Light was distressed when Cream still didn't react at all. Blissey quickly rushed the stretcher back through the door it had come through.

"We'll take it from here," Nurse Joy said. She gave a slight bow before also slipping through the door.

Light stared at the door. Tears were starting to form into his eyes as he anxiously waited. It hadn't even been a minute and it was almost unbearable, not knowing how Cream was. He jumped as he felt something touch his back.

"It's okay, boy; it's just me," Nick said, starting to rub Light's fur back into place. "Don't worry, Light; Nurse Joy's an excellent nurse. She'll have Cream better in no time," Nick said, trying to reassure him.

It didn't work. Light started to pace the floor, doing small circles around the front of the door Cream had gone into. He vaguely realized that the others had found places to sit and rest. However, his body wouldn't allow him to rest as he continued to worry about Cream.

Will she be alright? How could this happen? Why did this happen? Light wondered as he paced. He stopped as he suddenly realized the obvious answer. The Salamence had purposefully aimed at Cream; its trainer had planned it all along. Light was just about to rush out after the horrible trainer when he remembered the state that Cream was in. He couldn't leave until she was well again. However, Light promised he would one day get that trainer and his Pokemon back, no matter what.

Light continued to pace in front of the door. He was unable to tell how long it was before the doors to the front of the Pokemon Center opened. Light stopped and looked up long enough to see that there were two men in black suits, each with a suitcase, standing there. Light continued to pace.

Light watched out of the corner of his eye as the two men walked up to Nick who was sitting on a short, orange bench. Pulling Nick up, they started to whisper urgently to him. Nick kept shaking his head no, until he finally lost his resolve and followed them out of the building. Nick's father had watched and hurried out after them.

After countless more small circuits, Light's legs finally started to weaken. Exhausted, Light flopped down in front of the door he had been so diligently guarding, spreading himself to cover the width. This way, he would know exactly when Nurse Joy came out. However, the day still continued without any word. A few people came in, but grew impatient when Nurse Joy didn't arrive and left.

Soon, night came and the others, who had silently waited with him, slowly fell asleep until he was the only one awake. Moonlight was already shining through the glass of the Pokemon Center, when Nick and his father came back in, looking tired. Nick came over and petted Light a little before lying down on his previous bench and falling asleep.

Light had only stayed awake so long was because of his nocturnal side, the dead silence and stillness not helping. Light didn't know how long it was before his eyes slowly drooped, unable to stay open any longer.

(0)

Light jolted awake at the sound of clicking. After adjusting to the brightness of the morning sun coming through the windows of the Pokemon Center, he glanced up and saw that the door was slowly opening. His morning tiredness immediately left and he sat straight up.

He looked up anxiously as Nurse Joy came out, making sure to be quiet. There were small purple spots under her eyes, and she looked as though she hadn't slept all night. She glanced down at him and gave a small smile before walking past him and going over to the still sleeping Nick. As soon as she put a hand on him to shake him, he came awake, which surprised Light.

"Uh? Nurse Joy! How's Cream?" he asked getting up.

Nurse Joy's face suddenly turned grave for a second before her neutral expression came back. "Would you like to see her?" she asked.

"Definitely," Nick said.

"Okay, right this way," she said, coming to the door again. Light got up as she did, and she looked back down at him again. "You're the famous Light, aren't you?" she said.

Light was shocked that she already knew his name.

His expression must have shown for she laughed slightly. "All Nurse Joys have heard about you by now. We all know about the Pewter Town incident," she explained. "Would you like to come, too?"

Light nodded his head and followed them into a white hallway. After passing a few doors, Nurse Joy opened one and led them in. Light took a sharp breath as he saw Cream on one of the beds that he had so often been on. There were a few cords leading away from her, and there were several white patches on her, the largest one where the gash had been.

He flinched as he suddenly made a horrible connection. He would end like this sometimes, and Cream would have to walk in like this. He felt guilt start to stir up as he realized he made Cream feel this way whenever he battled. This was why she disliked to battle.

Light approached the bed, but didn't jump up, unsure if it would hurt Cream. Instead, he jumped into a chair next to her. Cream was lying on her side, the same way she had after the attack. He was dismayed to see that she was breathing was at an unsteady pace.

Nick crouched down next to him and looked at Cream, too, numbly petting Light on the back. Finally, Nick turned to Nurse Joy. "So, what's her condition, Nurse Joy? Will she be okay?" he asked.

Nurse Joy hesitated for a second, before replying, "Will you come out into the hall for a second?"

Light realized that she didn't want to say it in front of him. Nick walked out with her, but Light already knew what this meant. He lowered his head and started to weep. It couldn't be true. It was just one attack. She had to pull through. She just had to.
The worst was implied when Nick gave a startled exclamation on the other side of the closed door. Light shook his head numbly. This couldn't be true. With all his will he wished it to not be true. She couldn't just die. Light started to break down even further.

Light suddenly stumbled as he felt a large part of his energy start to leave. Light started to panic as the drain continued. His wasn't doing anything, so he must be being attacked. Light tried to stop the steady drain of energy, but was unable as the attack continued. Light's vision started to twist as he got weaker. Light realized too late that he was falling out of the chair as he finally started to pass out.

(0)

There was a loud beeping as Light wearily opened his eyes. He felt extremely weak and he turned his head to the side. Sitting next to him was Nick, his face in his hands. By his height of vision, he realized he must be on one of the medical beds.

Looking around a little more, Light realized Cream wasn't there.

Cream! Light thought. He immediately started to struggle to get up. However, his limbs refused to cooperate to his commands, instead lying limply at his sides.

Nick, though, had noticed him trying to move. He gasped and wrapped Light in a tight hug. "Light! You're okay!" he said, his voice sounding hoarse.

What happened? Where's Cream? Light thought, opening up a channel, though it was hard.
Nick released him from the pressing hug and sat back in the chair. "We came back in to find you on the floor passed out. Nurse Joy had to immediately hook you up to the healing machine. For some reason, your energy was leaving you, and at a high rate, too. After a little, it stopped. Nurse Joy said the only other time she knows of energy leaving like that is where a Pokemon was being attacked with an attack like Absorb," Nick explained. "We looked around, but we couldn't find the culprit anywhere. Officer Jenny has set up a psychic watch on the area for the time being."

What about Cream? Will she be okay? Light hesitantly asked, fearing the answer.

Nick sighed and looked away, already answering the question. "The attack did some large damage, Light," he said, closing his eyes. "Nurse Joy's informed me that she won't make it." His voice cracked as he told him.

Light stared numbly at the wall for a second. He then closed his eyes and willed the nightmare to leave. It couldn't be true. It all had to be some cruel joke or strange dream. This couldn't happen. Light shakily rose and jumped down. His legs almost collapsed as he landed on the floor. Nick gasped as he jumped and got up.

"Light, you've got to rest. Nurse Joy didn't see any injuries, but you need to recover your energy," Nick warned.

I need to see Cream, Light told him.

Nick leaned down and picked him up. "Okay, but I'm carrying you."

Nick walked out into the hall and carried Light to the Cream's door. Nurse Joy was in there, checking at the various monitors around the room. She gasped as she saw Light in Nick's arms.

"He was adamant to see Cream," Nick explained, putting Light in the chair.

Light looked at Cream, his one and only mate, lying there splayed out on the bed. Her sides rose shakily. Light closed his eyes on the image, tears started to come again. He couldn't lose Cream, not now; not ever. She was his other half. How could he live without her?

He opened his eyes as he heard Nurse Joy and Nick gasp. He stared numbly at Cream as small dots of light started to suddenly appear above her and float down onto her, seeming to melt into her pelt. Then Cream herself began to glow a bright, yellow light so intense, that they all had to look away.

[ryan22424]

Chapter 39: Parting

After a while, the light died away. Light looked up to see Cream still lying there, her sides slowly moving. She looked exactly as she had before the light started. "What just happened?" Nick almost yelled, echoing Light's thoughts.

Nurse Joy immediately started typing away at a computer, her eyes scanning the screens. Light anxiously watched Cream, wondering what that had been and if there were any effects. The only noise was the typing and soft hum of the machines. The wait was starting to be unbearable for Light.

After a while, Nick once again repeated himself. "What happened, Nurse Joy?"

Nurse Joy paused, still scanning the monitors. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "However, there doesn't seem to be anything different on the monitors."

"So what was that light?" Nick asked.

"Hmm, usually light like that is energy glowing when outside a body, however" Nurse Joy said slowly. When she continued, Light could barely hear her, as though she was talking to herself, "I wonder . . ." Nurse Joy approached Cream and carefully laid her hand on Cream's forehead. She then did a few more tests, all the while murmuring to herself. "Well, it seems everything is still the same, but . . ." Nurse Joy said, hesitating for a second.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

"I wonder why that energy would appear. But that energy is gone, meaning something had to use it," Nurse Joy said.

"Where are you going with this?" Nick asked, stumped. However, Light thought he knew. He didn't use it, which meant that it had to be Cream. He had seen it go into Cream.

"Your Eevee used it," Nurse Joy said. "Which means it had to use the energy on something, but everything seems the same as before."

Light looked at Cream closer, but saw nothing different from before, just as Nurse Joy said. Her breathing was still erratic, the bandages stretching slightly as her sides rose unsteadily. Light's ears lowered as he realized that nothing had changed, meaning that he was still going to lose her. Then it hit him. The bandages! he thought.

He didn't mean to, but his thoughts had gone out and both Nick and Nurse Joy had heard him. "The bandages?" Nurse Joy asked. "Wait, of course." She deftly moved to Cream's side to start.

"What about them? I'm not following you," Nick said.

Nurse Joy carefully chose a bandage over a lesser wound. She hesitated for only a moment before she gently pulled it off, the medical tape taking a few loose hairs with it. All of them gasped when they saw that there was no wound. In fact, there
wasn't even a scar. The skin was slightly pink, as though it was new.

Light watched Nurse Joy closely as she then began to take the bandages off one by one. It was nerve wracking to expect a wound to soon pop up, but each one simply revealed skin. Light held his breath as Nurse Joy finally came to the last bandage. It was the largest of them all, the one that covered her side from the initial impact of the attack. Nurse Joy carefully pulled the bandage off. Here, there was a small, diagonal scar on her side, but there was no open wound.

"So the energy healed the wounds," Nurse Joy said. She suddenly looked over at Light. Light was starting to get uncomfortable under her stare, but she finally turned away as Nick spoke up.

"Does this change anything?" Nick asked. "Will she . . . you know."

Nurse Joy shook her head sadly. "I don't know. This may change things, though. I'll have to watch, but I can't make any promises."

Nick sighed, sitting down on the chair on the other side of the bed. Light sadly watched Cream, his hopes once again dashed. He had been so excited to see that the wounds were gone, but then she could still not make it.

Come on, Cream, Light silently willed. You have to make it. I can't survive on my own. You just have to make it through.

After a little, Nick went out and came back with Rose, Patch following close behind. Rose was distressed when she saw Cream and pressed against Patch. They all sat in silence, besides Nurse Joy who continued to type away, until the sunlight of the sunset started to come in through the window. Light was still watching Cream, when a knock sounded on the door.

Nick opened the door to reveal the same two men as before, still dressed in black suits. "What is it?" Nick asked.

"Come out in the hall for a second," one said, moving to the side to allow Nick through. Nick hesitated, but did as asked, shutting the door behind him.

Nick exclaimed a few times, everyone hearing it even through the wall. After a while, Nick came in in a fit, slamming the door behind him right in their faces. He sat down and crossed his arms angrily. Worried, Light asked, What's wrong?

"It appears that they threw Damien out for attacking a bystander on purpose. However, they want me to actually continue on as a default win. It's either that, or Damien gets away with it all, and continues in the tournament with no charges," Nick said.

Light sighed, but looked back at Cream. He could still see that gruesome moment of when Cream had been hit and smashed against the wall and ground. Whether Damien was thrown out or not didn't matter to Light. He would find a way to get him back, no matter what. No one attacked Cream like that and get away with it.

Silence once again prevailed as they watched Cream. Eventually, everyone had once again fallen asleep, the only exceptions being Nurse Joy and Light. Nurse Joy was yawning almost every other minute as she still worked. The two straight nights of working were beginning to affect her. Soon enough, she, too, called it a night, turned out the lights, and sat down, falling asleep in one of the chairs.

Light kept up his vigil, though. He didn't want to sleep until he knew that Cream was going to be okay. The room was almost pitch-black. The only light was coming from the stars outside, the small, blinking lights from the monitors, and his dimly glowing blue rings. The night seemed long and tiring as Light worried about Cream. When the moon became visibly within the window, Light knew the night was almost over. The moon was just a sliver, not giving off much light.

As Light looked at it, he wondered if the moon was going to be a new moon soon, or if it would start toward becoming full? Would it become dark and stop giving light, or would it slowly become brighter as it became full. The moon seemed almost sad, and yet strangely content, as he stared at it in that way. The moon could never change its way of its cycles. But life would change unexpectedly at any time. The moon would know what would come and when. No one knew what would happen to them, not even the next day.

Light's attention snapped off the moon as it suddenly set behind the buildings outside. Light blinked, not realizing how long he had been staring at the moon. He quickly checked Cream, but everything still seemed the same. Then Light thought that her breathing was steadier. Light shook his head, thinking he was just being hopeful.

Soon, the others were awakening with the light. Nurse Joy quickly checked the monitors and Light waited to see what she would discover. Light held his breath as Nurse Joy suddenly sighed, a small smile appearing. She turned slowly to them and then slowly said, "Well, it seems that she will be pulling through after all. All she needs is rest, and a lot of it."

Light's shoulders dropped and he took a deep breath, his built up anxiousness leaving. The others were also showing signs of relief.

"Err, then why isn't she awake?" Nick asked hesitantly.

"She's still in a coma. That attack did a lot of damage, even if the wounds healed. Her body's shut down so that she could heal," Nurse Joy explained. "I don't know when she'll come out of it, but she'll make it through." She finished with a reassuring
smile.

There was suddenly a buzzing noise. Everyone turned to Nick, who raised his hands in innocence, until he remembered the PokeGear on his wrist. He pressed a button on the side, answering the call. Immediately, a familiar voice asked, "Is Cream
alright?" Light was barely able to hear the question, though, let alone place the voice.

"Yes, it appears she'll be fine, Gabriella," Nick said in response.

"Oh, that's good. Does that mean you're coming to the tournament for the finals?" she asked.

Nick hesitated a moment, but Light nodded. Not only would Nick get to go on, but Damien would be forced out. It wasn't much, but it was something. "I guess so," Nick said.

There was a slight pause before Gabriella asked, "You do realize the battle starts in about thirty minutes, right?"

Nick gasped and jumped up. "Uh, got to go," Nick said, pressing another button. He started to go out the door, only to turn back around. "Patch, are you coming?" he asked.

Patch looked up startled. When he glanced back at Rose, he looked torn at going or staying. Rose leaned over and whispered something, before nuzzling his side. He smiled slightly and nuzzled her back before going out into the hall.

Nick paused a moment, staring at Light, before finally asking, "Are you coming, Light?" Light immediately shook his head. Nick simply nodded and closed the door. His footsteps could be heard fading away as he ran. It wasn't even a full minute later
when his footsteps grew louder again. Light could hear him pass their door again as he ran in the other direction.

Light and Rose sat together as they watched Cream. Light could finally admit that her breathing was slowly becoming steady. After a while, Rose finally got up and went out the door. Light was left alone with just Nurse Joy and Cream.

It wasn't long before the effects of all the stress leaving, along with being up all night, hit him. Light was soon yawning as he grew tired. Nurse Joy noted this and said, "I'll watch her. You rest."

Light smiled at her gratefully, but then turned his attention back to Cream. Yes, he would like to rest, but by Cream's side. He longed to be by Cream again. To sleep without her by him was horrible for him, the cold spot beside him reminding him of
what condition she was in.

"Go ahead." Light's ears perked as he heard the voice. It was barely a whisper, but he was sure what had been said. He glanced back at Nurse Joy, but she was sitting at the monitors, watching. However, there had been no other person here. Light
was just about to toss the words away as hopeful thinking, when Nurse Joy suddenly looked at him out of the corner of her eye and winked.

Light smiled in appreciation and carefully got up on the bed. He made sure not to disturb Cream or any of the wires as he moved around to lie down against her back. He laid one arm over her carefully and curled around her. He almost instantly fell
asleep as he once again laid by his mate. However, right before he fell asleep, he whispered, "I love you, Cream," into her ear.

(0)

Light slept deeply and soundlessly next to Cream, even when Nick came yelling later on and was thrown out of the Center by Nurse Joy. By the time Light had awakened again, the sun had already set and the darkness of the night sky had prevailed.
Light looked around, using the glow of his rings, to see that Cream and him were the only ones in the room.

Light looked down at Cream, all pressed up against him. He smiled, so thankful that she would okay. He laid his head on her shoulder, her mane fur tickling his neck. Not really thinking, Light started to talk to let out his relief.

"I'm so glad you pulled through," he said, though he knew Cream couldn't hear him. Maybe she could hear him, though, just not respond while in the coma. No matter what, Light knew he needed some way to vent all his bottled up emotions. "I don't
know what I would have done without you. I love you so much," he whispered out into the night. He liked to imagine that she smiled at that. "You're the most beautiful, kind, loving Pokemon there ever was or ever will be." He could imagine her
blushing at his compliments like she always did, making her appear even cuter. "I hope you wake up soon."

He closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the feel of her fur. "I didn't know you were so good at speeches." Light's eyes shot open at the slightly hoarse voice. Cream was smiling at him, her beautiful, brown eyes locking on with his. Light drew a
breath, but Cream put a paw on his mouth, stopping him from exclaiming. As soon as her paw moved away, her lips met his. Light closed his eyes enjoying the moment. Finally, they pulled away.

"Cream, you're awake," Light said in a lower tone than he had planned before the kiss.

Cream simply smiled. She then nuzzled his face, giving him another kiss afterwards.

"How do you feel?" Light asked worriedly.

Cream snuggled up against him some more. "I feel great," she said, though her voice was still slightly hoarse.

Light smiled and laid back down against her. Cream continued to nuzzle him lovingly and he willingly returned the attention. Finally, Cream snuggled as close as she could get. She pressed her face against his chest, smiling, and fell into a normal,
contented sleep. Light watched her, almost bursting with happiness. He watched her for a while, somewhere drifting off to sleep.

(0)

Light woke to Cream cuddling closer to him. He looked down at her to see her contentedly smiling. Light smiled with her, glad that it wasn't all some sort of bad dream. He finally had his Cream back.

Suddenly, then was a thump behind him. He glanced back to see that Nick was outside trying to raise the locked window. He noticed Light's attention and pointed at the window. Confused on why Nick was outside, Light unlocked the window with Psychic, allowing Nick to open it.

"Thanks, Light," Nick said, climbing inside. He shut the window behind him, leaving it unlocked, though. He came around and crouched down next to Cream. "How is she doing?" he asked, petting Cream's fur.

Cream smiled even more and opened one eye. Cream giggled as Nick jumped up in surprise.

"Cream! You're alright!" he exclaimed.

However, he was a little too late as the door soon flew open, a stern Nurse Joy standing in the doorway. "Young man, what did I tell you about coming in here?" she asked. She came over, about to pull him away, when she noticed Cream was awake.
"She's finally awake. Let me check these," she said, going over to the monitors. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself and turned back to them. "It seems that Cream has made a full recovery. All she needs is a lot of rest," she announced with
her pleasant smile.

She came over to Cream and started to pull off the cords attached to Cream. Nick kept trying to say something, but Nurse Joy kept shushing him to keep him quiet. He seemed almost ready to explode with what he wanted to say. Finally, she pulled
off the last cord, freeing Cream from the entangling things. Nick got up, ready to finally say what he wanted to say.

Nurse Joy suddenly turned stern again as she looked at him and started to pull Nick out by his ear, "She needs rest, which means you can't be in here."

Nick tried to stammer an excuse as he was dragged away. Finally, he looked at Light and shouted, "We won!" Then the door was closed and Nick was gone.

"We won?" Cream asked, looking at Light questionably.

"I think he's talking about the tournament," Light explained.

Cream tilted her head in confusion. "Why was he telling you? Weren't you there?"

Light shook his head. "I stayed here so that I could watch you," he said, nuzzling her slightly. "Besides," and now he put on a determined look, "I will not be battling anymore."

Cream gasped at his announcement. "Why not?"

"I never knew how it felt to see someone you love in bandages and all beat up. However, when I saw you, I realized that you had to walk in to that so many times because I willingly battled others. I can't do that to you, Cream," he said.

"You don't have to do that for me," Cream said, hiding her face against his chest.

"I do, because you're the most precious thing to me, Cream," Light replied, giving her a lick on the forehead.

Cream nuzzled his chest before once again looking at him. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Light replied, embracing her. "Now, hold still while I clean you up. Your fur's a mess," he said, a teasing tone in his voice.

Cream giggled as he started to groom her out, getting her fur back into place. He was careful where her wounds had been, but she never flinched away from his touch. He tried his best to position her fur where the missing patches wouldn't be noticed,
but there was just too much fur gone from the worst spot to completely hide it.

Cream didn't even seem to notice her fur or the scar. She just let Light groom her while she giggled, snuggling up to him as soon as he was done. Light didn't know what had put her in such a good mood, but he was glad for it. She continued to rub up
against him as they just stayed there. Light laughed as he reacted to her playful moment. He couldn't be happier now that he had his Cream back.

(0)

The days passed quickly for Cream and Light as they simply enjoyed each other's presences and the moments when Nurse Joy would allow the rest to come in. Unlike the others, Nurse Joy never made him leave Cream's side, which for that Light
was grateful.

It was only two days before Nurse Joy said Cream had had enough rest to leave to go back to Nick's house, though she should still not be in any battles for a week, as though she would anyway. Cream's playful attitude continued even when they
left, though she stayed near Light at all times. Light was a little worried that she might be afraid of leaving his side again.

They had been back for only two days before Nick made his announcement. Now that he had won the Indigo League, he wanted to go to Johto and win the eight badges there, also. His parents then reminded him about Blaine's request.

Light was interested to find out that Blaine, the Gym Leader, had come and watched Nick in the tournament. Afterwards, he had come to Nick with an opportunity. Because Nick had so many fire types, Blaine was willing to leave the Gym to him after
he did some training. With Blaine's and Nick's Pokemon, the Gym would easily have even competition to continue.

Nick, however, refused the idea, at least for the moment. Light could tell that Nick was still on the adrenaline rush from winning, but didn't intervene. Nick then explained that Blaine allowed him two years to choose to come back, if they didn't find
someone else by then. So, he would defeat the eight Gym Leaders in a year and come back, ready to take up the job. Then, on top of all that, Nick announced he was leaving in two days. It took a while, but Nick finally convinced the others that he
wouldn't change his mind and they continued with their day.

Light found himself with Cream on a cushion later that evening, watching the sunset from Nick's window in his room. Her head was lying comfortably on his shoulder as they watched the sky start to turn dark. However, their peace was interrupted as
the bedroom door was opened.

Light looked back to see Nick come in, shutting the door behind him. He came over and sat next to them, petting Light's back. After a little, Nick finally spoke up. "What do you think, Light? A brand new adventure when lots of new trainers. We'll
make lots of new friends and have so many new experiences," Nick said, his eyes starting to gleam as he spaced out thinking about the days to come. "With you and Blaze by my side, there's no way we could lose."

Light flinched, having forgotten to tell Nick his choice. Light took a deep breath to prepare himself and finally thought, Actually . . . I've decided not to battle anymore.

Nick jumped in surprise. "What do you mean? You love battling."

Light shook his head. I just don't want to fight anymore, unless it's to protect.

Nick quickly got up. "I can't have that, Light. Besides Blaze, you're my strongest Pokemon; and with your strategy, we could win the whole thing easily! Do you know how hard it was to win that final battle?" he asked.

Light continued to shake his head. Come on, Nick, I've already decided not to battle anymore, Light thought, putting as much conviction as possible behind his words.

Nick took a deep breath and covered his face for a second with a hand. "Fine, but will you still help with battle strategy?" he asked.

Light nodded. Who else have you decided to take? Light asked.

Nick started to count off his fingers as he said, "Well, you and Blaze of course, along with Ace . . . Azul . . . and Patch and Ty."

It took a second before it finally registered in Light's head and he realized what that meant. What about Cream? he asked.

"Cream's going to stay here," Nick answered.

Cream suddenly pulled away from Light a little, her ears drooping. Light could understand why, too. What do you mean, Cream's staying here? Cream's going with me, Light replied.

"Uh, no. I have to have a diverse amounts of Pokemon fighting, Light. You're already not fighting, which means I would have only five," Nick stated.

I'm not leaving Cream again, Light thought, angry that Nick would suggest it.

"It won't be that long, Light. We'll be in and out in less than a year. In fact, I bet we could do it in six months if we flew on Ace. Cream will stay here, safe," Nick reasoned.

I'm not leaving Cream, Light stubbornly replied.

"I can't go out with both you and Cream," Nick retorted, his anger also starting.

Then I'm not going, Light stated.

"What? I can't do it without you, Light. Not only are you strong, but you're the one with all the plans and strategies and stuff. Do you know how long it would have taken me to get all eight badges without you? You're coming with me and that's that,"
Nick ordered. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and started to leave the room. As he was about to go out, he said, "Remember, we leave in two days." And with that, he was gone, leaving Light and Cream stunned.

Cream suddenly broke into tears and pressed against Light. Light quietly embraced her, rocking slightly back and forth, until she calmed down enough for her to talk. "What's going to happen, now? A whole six months? I can't be away from you for
six months!" Cream wailed, crying into his chest.

Light's own tears started to come, though they were more angry than sad tears. "I can't be without you for half that long. We'll think of something, Cream; don't worry," he said. He continued to reassure her until she finally stopped crying, though
she continued to sniff constantly.

Light made her lay down and curled up around her. "We'll have all of tomorrow to think of something, okay? I promise that I won't let us be separated," Light said.

It a little before Cream finally settled down enough to relax against him. Light continued to think about ways to get Nick to choose otherwise, when the others came in to go to bed. Nick didn't meet Light's eyes as he crawled into his bed and went to
sleep. Light finally took his own advice and went to sleep himself.

(0)

Light woke in the middle of the night. He glanced out and saw that there was a new moon out, leaving very little light besides his rings. He laid there a while, until he suddenly heard Cream sniff beside him.

"Cream?" Light asked in a whisper.

"Yeah?" she answered, just as quiet.

"Why are you awake?" he asked, worried.

She took a second before she answered. "I don't know," she replied.

Light fell silent and simply listened to the silence. Strangely, he was wide awake, not tired at all. His thoughts then drifted to Nick and the problem. And then an idea hit him, and he somehow knew it would have to be the answer. All the other solutions would have undesired effects, while this one had much lesser ones. This way would work all around and be the only sure way. He knew how adamant Nick could be sometimes.

"Cream?" Light asked.

". . . You've thought of it, too," she stated more than asked.

"You know?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, but I don't see another way."

Light closed his eyes, knowing how hard this would be on both of them, especially Cream. But he knew anything else would only hurt them worse. They would have to do it, tonight. Cream seemed to instinctively know what he was thinking even
without a channel open, and got up as soon as he did. She pressed against him as he led the way over to Nick.

As usual, Nick had gone to bed with his clothes on, belt and all. Light leapt up onto the bed with Cream and went over to him. On his belt were the Pokeballs for each of them, all shrunk down to a small size. Light pulled his and Cream's off and rolled
them a little away. Light pressed the middle button on both, expanding them.

"Are you sure about this, Cream?" Light asked.

Cream had her eyes closed, tears slowly flowing, but nodded, pressing against Light afterward. Light knew this was hard for her.

Light took a breath and pressed a small, hidden button in back. The first Pokeball suddenly shot its ray at Light and enclosed him, but flashed away before putting him in the Pokeball. Another difference was that it was blue, instead of red. Light felt a
strange tingle, followed by a feeling of detachment.

Light then pressed Cream's Pokeball. The same blue ray hit Cream before disappearing. Cream shivered, before leaning on Light. There was no turning back now.

Light hopped down, Cream right beside him. They left the room silently, leaving the others behind. Cream leaned slightly against him, still silently crying. Light laid his tail on her for comfort as they went down the stairs. Light was just about to open
the door, when a fluttering stopped.

Light jerked his head back to see Ace alighting on the banister of the stairs. "Why are you awake?" Light asked, trying to look inconspicuous.

Ace gave him a stare as though that was a dumb question. "I could ask you the same question, Light. And why Cream is crying; but I won't. You don't honestly think I wouldn't guess what you guys would do," he said.

"You know about . . . Johto?" Light asked, unsure how to put it into a few words.

Ace nodded. "I don't want you to leave without a goodbye first," he said. "I understand what you're doing, but I just can't let you leave without a goodbye to both me and Rose."

Cream gasped as Rose suddenly slipped out of the living room. "I can see the near future, remember?" Rose said, walking up to them. These were tears in her eyes, but she didn't look too sad. "Don't worry; I'll always remember you and love you,
Mum, dad. Stay safe," she said.

Cream took a second before she could reply. "I love you, Rose. You've grown into a great daughter. Keep Patch close," she said, embracing Rose in a hug.

Ace hopped down onto the floor and waited his turn. Cream gave him a hug, while Light hugged Rose. "I'll always love you, Rose. I'm glad you've found someone to be with," Light said.

"Now, I've kept your secrets for a long time, Cream, and I will now. I'll let them know what happened tomorrow evening, so you better get going," Ace said. "I'm glad we met and became friends. I hope one day we can meet again."

Light opened the door to the house. "Goodbye and good luck," Light said.

"Goodbye," Cream said, though her voice almost cracked.

Light turned and walked outside with Cream, closing the door behind him. Slowly, silently, they moved into the undergrowth, heading away from the ones they had grown to call family. Cream's crying grew more as they left, but Light knew Cream
wouldn't have taken it back through their channel.

Light concentrated first on distance. Once they were a good deal away, Light led them to more recognizable terrain, keeping an eye out for a suitable burrow or cave. They would need one soon if they would start to live out here, near the end of the
summer.

Cream soon stopped crying, but she also grew tired. She had less stamina than Light, which meant she couldn't go as far. Light picked her up and placed her own his back to let her rest. She soon fell asleep to the constant movement of his body and
the quiet forest sounds.

Light let his rings glow less than normal, not wanting to wake any Pokemon that could be dangerous. As Light walked on, he thought of everything he had left behind. But when he thought about Cream, he knew he would make the same choice over
again. They would start another life out here, the two of them. It was the start of another adventure, but this one he would start with Cream.

The End

Alright, that's Light, the 39 chapter story. Now that it's over, I'd like some feedback on how it was. Also, I have found my other story, 'Silver'. If you want me to upload it, tell me. Otherwise, this will be farewell, for the last time.
-Ryan22424

[Sweaty]

Okay, I think I have a way to upload the next chapter so that if they read it and call me a sick person, I will have something against them. You will have to download it in order to read it so you will have to willingly click save if you are going to read it. Just... don't judge me okay? I have had more than enough of that this past month. I have a feeling more people are going to be masturbating to this rather than reading it just to read it. Oh well...

Warning!
This chapter contains m rated content, do not download if you are not willing to read m rated content.

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Wait, you were a 12 year old writing erotic bestiality stories..?..