@RemFantasy's One-shot:

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

A scream ripped though the town. Citizens who heard had a confused look on their face before instantly relaxing, they all knew who that was. They all chuckled as they heard the scream.

In the little white house was a Lucario laughing hysterically on the ground and a not-so-happy soaken wet girl. The girl had black hair that competed with night and it flowed down to her waist. She had deep ocean blue eyes that, at this moment, were fill with anger. She was soaked from head to toe. Her name was Avery, she was well-known in this obscure town of Hoenn due to the pranks the Lucario pulls.

She crossed her arms and glared at the laughing pokemon. "Not funny," Avery huffs. Despite that, the Aura Pokemon still laughed until his sides hurt. Five minutes earlier, Avery woke up from a pleasant surprise from Lucario, who dumped ice water in an attempt to wake her up. As you can see, it worked.

When he finally stopped, he stood up and wiped away his none existent tears."Lu," He said. He picked up a rolled up poster on the table and gave it to his master.

Avery unrolled the poster and looked at the picture, it was a picture a popular beach here in Hoenn. The blackette sighed and combed her fingers through her wet and tangled hair. "I know that you are excited, but you can't just wake me up 5 am in the morning," she scolded. No shame was visible on Lucario's face, in fact, the only emotion on his face was pride. He lives everyday to annoy his master until she goes to the Distortion World.

"Cario~," he sang as if this was the proudest moment in his life.

Avery groaned as he continues to sing his name. "Now that I'm awake," she grumbles," I might as well get food." At the sound of the word 'food,' Lucario ran to the kitchen in a blue and black blur. Avery chucked a little at his enthusiasm. She rerolled the poster and placed it on her bed before going to get a change of clothes.

*********

"Lu.. cario!" He squealed when we arrived and face planted into the sand. Although he is a fully grown male, he can't help but become a Riolu again... No wonder he never took a mate.

The beach was packed with people, either playing in the sand, tanning, or swimming. The people close by took one look at the childish Lucario and laughed.

While he continued to roll around in the sand like a lunatic, Avery threw her beach bag into a ledge and set up a spot. She flattened her and Lucario's towel on the flat ledge and stuck an umbrella in the sandy part. She took off her sweatshirt and shorts. Underneath them was a dark blue bathing suit.

Once she was all set, Avery called her Lucario on the ledge. Waves splashed against the edge. The blackette used this as the perfect opportunity to train. They stood near the edge in silence, balancing on one leg. Waves would crash into them so their training was to stay upright. They have been doing this for at least thirty minutes. Avery was calm and patient during this training while her pokemon was itching to jump off the ledge.

Finally, Avery called the training to an end. "Lucario, you are free to go," she told him. The aura pokemon didn't need to be told twice before jumping off the ledge and disappearing into the waves.

Avery looked down over the ledge, she was worried until a familiar dog head popped out of the water. "Lucario!" He called. Avery sighed in relief, she was glad that her reckless partner wasn't dead and floating around.

She didn't know what she was thinking next because Avery found herself jumping of the ledge too. She felt the air rush past her. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. Soon she instantly felt the coldness of the waters despite being in Hoenn.

Avery opened her eyes to see many sea pokemon swimming around. Azurills, Marills and Azumarills swam together in a group. Clamperls rested on the coral reef below, and Huntail and Gorebyss swam along side each other.

The blackette felt the need for air so she kicked her legs. She broke out to the surface and looked around for her Lucario. I wonder where he is, she wondered. Little did she know that a very sneaky Pokemon was creeping-- or swimming-- behind her. It was too late, the Pokemon dunked her head under the water. She gasped, which let out some air, and desperately tried to get back up.

The Pokemon no longer had a hold on her and Avery came up coughing her lungs out. She then turned around to face her attacker. There was her attacker, floating on his back laughing at her. Lucario. Avery grew hot with embarrassment. "LUCARIO," she screamed," I COULD HAVE DROWN!" She knew that her Pokemon wouldn't drown her, but she was exaggerating.

The Aura Pokemon was still laughing. "Cario... Lu!" He said in between laughs. Although she couldn't speak pokemon, she new I went along the lines of 'that was hilarious!' Avery gave up, It was no use arguing with him.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Avery's head. She had a evil smile on his face. Soon, she thought. Soon.

"Let's get out now," Avery told her Lucario. He nodded in agreement and followed her on to the water. The climbed onto their ledge and sat on their towels. "Lunch?" Avery suggested.

"Lu," he says and held out his hand. I have him a Magickarp sandwich, his favorite. He ate it quickly before holding out his hand again. Avery laughed.

"If you eat so fast you'll get stomach ache," she told him. He nodded before she gave him another one. This time, he ate it slower.

We decided to rest before we play again. I lied down on my towel and took out a book to read, "Getting out of Fuchsia." Her partner took a nap in a sandy area on the ledge.

A grin crept up on Avery's face. Time for the plan, she thought. She made sure he was asleep before commencing. She tip-toed over to the sleeping pokemon and took a bucket with her. One by one she scooped sand into the bucket and poured it on top of Lucario. After many bucket-fulls later, Avery covered his whole body, besides his head. She stood up and wiped the sweat off my for head.

Looking at Lucario, another prank visited my brain. "Hehehe," she chuckled. The mischievous girl trotted over to her bag and dug through it. "Where is it?" She muttered to herself. Her hand felt something thin near the bottom. Taking it out, it was a sharpie. "Yes!" She cheered quietly.

Avery walked back towards Lucario. Carefully, She uncapped the sharpie and started to draw.

Swirls over there...

A deformed circle there...

Lets add a monocle...

And don't forget the mustache!

Voilà! Avery took a step away from the Aura Pokemon and took a second to admire her 'art.' The Lucario looked as if a Jigglypuff drew on it. "Meh," the blackette shrugged her shoulders," better than my other drawings." Avery was never the art type, although she tried to be better. Lets say she failed art in trainer school...

Avery propped herself on her towel and continued to read her book. "And now we play the waiting game," she mumbled to herself.

Second turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. How long can a Lucario sleep, she grumbled. She finished her book and is now laying on her back staring at the sky. The sun already past afternoon and is already making its way to mid-noon.

"LUCARIO!!" Avery her a familiar screech of her friend. His master was cheering to herself before calmly walking to the sand-covered Lucario. He layer there, defenseless.

Avery smiled innocently. "Oh, who do we have here?" She asked. If looks could kill, her Pokemon would be a murderer. "Looks like I got my revenge," she sang. Lucario growled. "Are we even?"

"Lu," grunted the blue and black dog. He nodded. Avery was instantly suspicious. Her Lucario would never admit defeat, not ever.

And she was right. It turned out that he was indeed had a plan circling his head. Before she knew it, an aura sphere started to glow through the sand and blasted it away. Sand was flung onto her hair in into her eyes.

Red eyes gleamed through the mist of sand. Scared, Avery screamed," TO THE WATER!" She quickly turned around and jumped off the ledge. It was crazier than the first time. The water was at a low tide and a few rocks were visible. The blackette closed her eyes, hoping that she hit water. Indeed she did.

She felt coldness tickle her skin just like the first time. She blinked open her eyes and kicked her way to the surface. Her head was out of the water and she took a big breath. The sand from her eyes washed out as she blinked, but the grains in her hair clung on. It will take a lot of time to clean it out. Avery groaned at that thought.

It was all forgotten when she heard the cry of her Lucario. "LU... CARIO," he cried. Avery could see him leaping off the ledge and plunging into the dark waters.

His head, that still had her 'masterpiece', broke the surface. Avery couldn't help but laugh. The aura Pokemon tilted his head in confusion, probably thinking, 'what is wrong with her?' He stayed puzzled until he looked at his reflection on the water. He saw the horrible artworks, but acted like he didn't care. Instead, he grinned at his new work.

Avery looked at him as if he is crazy, which he is. She was certain that he would throw a hissy fit. The blackette mentally hit herself. She remembered that not only did he live to annoy her, he also lived to make others laugh.

Avery sighed, finally giving up on this fight. She never won a prank war with Lucario. Their current war lasted for a month. "Fine," she hesitantly said, "you win." Lucario was doing a victory dance-- er, swim-- and sang his victory song. "Lets make a truce for a month," she proposed. Honestly, she was tired of nonstop pranking day after day.

The human-like pokemon nodded with a little hesitation, one month was too long for him. Avery laughed and splashed water at her pokemon's face. He let out a wolfish laugh before returning a splash.

The rest of the day consisted of them laughing and playing in the water. Occasionally, guys who tried to flirt with her got an aura sphere to the face. Other than that, the rest of the day was smooth and cheerful.

And it was also the best day she will ever have.

@d_s_t_e's One-shot:

Do you remember the day that we first met? I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but I thought I was having the worst birthday of my life. Sure, all of my friends had sailed in from the mainland and all six of the other islands. They greeted me on the long wooden dock with smiles on their faces and presents in their arms. Baoba even brought a Venonat he borrowed from the Safari Zone for a day, and we spent hours chasing it around One Island from top to bottom. All in good fun, of course. My mom even bought the special kind of ice cream that I liked, but the only wish I made as I blew out the candles on that beautifully decorated cake was that my dad could have been there like he promised.

When there came a knock on the door just as I was opening my presents and the you stepped in next to him, I didn’t even see you. Impossible, I know. How could a little boy so obsessed with Pokémon fail to see an Azurill bouncing up and down on the welcome mat? But all I saw was my father’s smile as I ran straight into his arms.

“Why are you late?” I demanded, just as soon as I was finished with my hug and ready to be properly angry with him. I stepped back, folding my arms and scrunching up my face in my best attempt to look as tough as the biker dudes no one ever wanted to get in trouble with. If he didn’t give me a good answer, he was going to be in trouble. Big trouble. This was a face that said I was never going to make him another macaroni painting again.

My father only laughed. “I wanted to surprise you. It looks like I succeeded. You haven’t even said hello to your new friend.”

He pointed to the Azurill on the welcome mat.

“Zu! Zu!” you squeaked.

You were so tiny then. Not eight inches tall, and half of that was your tail! I’d never seen a Pokémon with a ball on its tail that was just as large as the rest of its body. You didn’t treat it like a tail at all but as your own personal bouncy ball. I remember watching your little blue body go up and down as those tiny little ovals you called feet twitched with joy.

My little eyes opened wide. “Is that for me?”

“He is if you can win his friendship,” my father gently corrected me. “As soon as I met him, I knew the two of you would hit it off. Happy birthday, son.”

My father was right. By the end of the party, the two of us got along as if we’d known each other all our lives. By the end of the night, my father handed me my very first pokéball, and I watched in breathless excitement as you zoomed inside in a burst of red light. You wiggled it twice, like you were showing me that you were in there, and then it was complete.

The next morning, I begged my father to take me to the beach so that you and I could play.

“I have to reload cargo onto the ship this morning,” he explained. “We set off for the Orange Islands tomorrow. I’ll tell you what, though, you’re a whole year older now, and your new friend can help look after you, too. Promise me you won’t go swimming unless he’s by your side, and you can go down to the beach all by yourselves today.”

He meant the little beach near the Pokémon Center, I’m sure of it. He imagined the two of us building sandcastles in a tiny little inlet the size of a large sandbox while Nurse Joy peeked out the window at us. But I had better plans.

We walked out to the Pokémon Center, all right, but as soon as I saw the docks ahead of us, I turned to you and asked, “Are you a good swimmer, Azurill?”

“Azu!” you said, wiggling your tail.

I didn’t understand why until you jumped into the water. That big blue ball on the end of your tail was really a flotation device! No matter how much the waves tossed your tiny little body, you always stayed afloat. The only problem was that your feet were too little and weak for you to paddle your way out. Each time you swam just a little bit too far, I watched as a big wave came and pushed you back towards the shore.

My father saw this clear as day, I’m sure. As long as I was with you, I would not drown, but I would not be going too far, either. Or so he thought.

“Azurill!” I shouted loud so you could hear me.

You swam back to the shore and leapt out, wiggling your big round ears to shake out all the saltwater.

“If I swim with you and kick real hard, do you think your tail can keep us both up until we get to there?”

I pointed out across the ocean to the little island south of the place where my father’s ship was docked. It wasn’t as far as Two Island. Actually, it was so close that everyone from the mainland called it part of One Island, just like Mount Ember and the middle part of the island where I lived, but there wasn’t any land at all connecting it to where we stood.

You looked at where I pointed, and a devilish grin broke out between the white dots on your cheeks. You would be my partner in crime any day.

We jumped into that water, and I kicked with my long legs while I gripped onto your tail with both hands. It took us not five minutes to clear the distance, all the way to Treasure Beach.

“This is the beach where all kinds of things wash up on shore,” I told you, waving my hands around happily. “If we look around, we could find buried treasures!”

“Rill!” you squealed, and took off running.

“Wait for me!” I laughed.

You stopped at the top of a little mound of sand about twice the size of a pokéball and started kicking with your feet. Sand flew in all directions.

“Wait, wait!” I laughed again. “This’ll be much faster.”

I sat down on the ground and scooped into the pile with my hands. Bit by bit, I lifted it all away, but there was nothing at the bottom except more sand.

Your ears drooped sadly.

“It’s ok,” I said. “We’ll try somewhere else. Not even the best treasure hunters find stuff on their first try!”

You perked back up and smiled at me. I looked around and spotted a group of older boys digging in a spot nearby.

“Excuse me, can I borrow a shovel?” I asked.

One of them turned around. “Get lost kid, can’t you see we’re busy?”

“Yeah, get your own shovel, these are ours,” said a second.

“But no one’s using that one,” I said, pointing to a little green one perched inside a bucket near the first guy’s foot.

“Yes, we are,” the first boy argued. “Give up now, kid, all the treasure on this beach is ours.”

He turned his back on me just as a kid holding a metal detector said, “here, there’s definitely something here!”

They all crowded around in a circle, so tight I couldn’t see what was going on, but a little while later they were shouting that they’d found a Star Piece.

“Can I see?” I asked, craning my neck.

“Why, so you can steal it?” the first boy asked. “You’d better leave us alone; my father is a gym leader back in my region, and he’s teaching me to be the best trainer in the world.”

“Well, my dad works on a cargo ship,” I said. “And some day I’m going to be a sailor just like him!”

“Yeah? Well, too bad, we’re still not gonna let you see our Star Piece. Why don’t you get off our beach and find your own?”

“This beach isn’t yours. It’s everybody’s!”

“Oh yeah? Want to see what my Pokémon has to say about that?”

He pulled a pokéball out of his pocket and pushed the button to expand it. I looked back at you in alarm. My dad always taught me I should stand up for myself, but if you fainted in the battle, how would I be able to swim back to the main island?

“I don’t want to battle,” I mumbled. “I just want you to stop bossing me around.”

The kid smirked and opened his mouth, but, before he could say a word, you popped him with a Water Gun right in the face!He coughed and choked, spitting all the water out of his mouth while I just laughed.

“Oh, let him be,” the boy with the metal detector said, smiling along with me at the joke.

“He’s not going to find stuff anyway. We’re only wasting time,” the second boy agreed.

“But did you see what he just—?”

“Come on, you know your Pokémon can’t beat that Azurill anyway, your Torchic is a fire type,” the metal detector boy said.

“Sam! Why would you tell him that?” the boy whined.

“Come on, let’s look over here,” the second boy said. He grabbed the first one by the arm and dragged him off.

"Sorry about that,” the boy called Sam said as he put the metal detector on the ground. “I don’t even know those guys. I just met the two of them today. Tony seemed cool when he was telling me about all the Pokémon he’s seen in Hoenn, but ever since he started tagging around with me he’s been really bugging me. That was a nice Water Gun attack.”

“Thanks,” I said. “But it was all Azurill’s idea, really.”

You bounced up and down on top of your tail happily.

“My name’s Sam Oak,” he said.

I shook his hand, not even knowing I had just met the future inventor of the Pokédex! And it wouldn’t be the last time, either, although you had evolved into a Marill by then. But that’s a story for another day.

We never did find any items on the beach that day, you and I, but that didn’t stop me from deciding to name you “Hunter”. Hunter for Treasure Hunter.

What was that? Oh, sorry, Hunter, my first mate is telling me that the ferry is ready to set sail for Fuchsia City. She needs her captain, but I’ll come back to visit the next time we dock here. It was so nice of the people of the island to let me put your grave right here where the two of us can spend time together so easily.

I don’t have a star piece or a pearl, but I will always remember that day I spent with you. One thing I’ve learned in my old age is that, even after friends are gone, good memories are more precious than gold. Whenever I sit here and talk to you, I have all the treasure that I need.

@d_s_t_e

Do you remember the day that we first met? I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but I thought I was having the worst birthday of my life. Sure, all of my friends had sailed in from the mainland and all six of the other islands. They greeted me on the long wooden dock with smiles on their faces and presents in their arms. Baoba even brought a Venonat he borrowed from the Safari Zone for a day, and we spent hours chasing it around One Island from top to bottom. All in good fun, of course. My mom even bought the special kind of ice cream that I liked, but the only wish I made as I blew out the candles on that beautifully decorated cake was that my dad could have been there like he promised.

When there came a knock on the door just as I was opening my presents and the you stepped in next to him, I didn’t even see you. Impossible, I know. How could a little boy so obsessed with Pokémon fail to see an Azurill bouncing up and down on the welcome mat? But all I saw was my father’s smile as I ran straight into his arms.

“Why are you late?” I demanded, just as soon as I was finished with my hug and ready to be properly angry with him. I stepped back, folding my arms and scrunching up my face in my best attempt to look as tough as the biker dudes no one ever wanted to get in trouble with. If he didn’t give me a good answer, he was going to be in trouble. Big trouble. This was a face that said I was never going to make him another macaroni painting again.

My father only laughed. “I wanted to surprise you. It looks like I succeeded. You haven’t even said hello to your new friend.”

He pointed to the Azurill on the welcome mat.

“Zu! Zu!” you squeaked.

You were so tiny then. Not eight inches tall, and half of that was your tail! I’d never seen a Pokémon with a ball on its tail that was just as large as the rest of its body. You didn’t treat it like a tail at all but as your own personal bouncy ball. I remember watching your little blue body go up and down as those tiny little ovals you called feet twitched with joy.

My little eyes opened wide. “Is that for me?”

“He is if you can win his friendship,” my father gently corrected me. “As soon as I met him, I knew the two of you would hit it off. Happy birthday, son.”

My father was right. By the end of the party, the two of us got along as if we’d known each other all our lives. By the end of the night, my father handed me my very first pokéball, and I watched in breathless excitement as you zoomed inside in a burst of red light. You wiggled it twice, like you were showing me that you were in there, and then it was complete.

The next morning, I begged my father to take me to the beach so that you and I could play.

“I have to reload cargo onto the ship this morning,” he explained. “We set off for the Orange Islands tomorrow. I’ll tell you what, though, you’re a whole year older now, and your new friend can help look after you, too. Promise me you won’t go swimming unless he’s by your side, and you can go down to the beach all by yourselves today.”

He meant the little beach near the Pokémon Center, I’m sure of it. He imagined the two of us building sandcastles in a tiny little inlet the size of a large sandbox while Nurse Joy peeked out the window at us. But I had better plans.

We walked out to the Pokémon Center, all right, but as soon as I saw the docks ahead of us, I turned to you and asked, “Are you a good swimmer, Azurill?”

“Azu!” you said, wiggling your tail.

I didn’t understand why until you jumped into the water. That big blue ball on the end of your tail was really a flotation device! No matter how much the waves tossed your tiny little body, you always stayed afloat. The only problem was that your feet were too little and weak for you to paddle your way out. Each time you swam just a little bit too far, I watched as a big wave came and pushed you back towards the shore.

My father saw this clear as day, I’m sure. As long as I was with you, I would not drown, but I would not be going too far, either. Or so he thought.

“Azurill!” I shouted loud so you could hear me.

You swam back to the shore and leapt out, wiggling your big round ears to shake out all the saltwater.

“If I swim with you and kick real hard, do you think your tail can keep us both up until we get to there?”

I pointed out across the ocean to the little island south of the place where my father’s ship was docked. It wasn’t as far as Two Island. Actually, it was so close that everyone from the mainland called it part of One Island, just like Mount Ember and the middle part of the island where I lived, but there wasn’t any land at all connecting it to where we stood.

You looked at where I pointed, and a devilish grin broke out between the white dots on your cheeks. You would be my partner in crime any day.

We jumped into that water, and I kicked with my long legs while I gripped onto your tail with both hands. It took us not five minutes to clear the distance, all the way to Treasure Beach.

“This is the beach where all kinds of things wash up on shore,” I told you, waving my hands around happily. “If we look around, we could find buried treasures!”

“Rill!” you squealed, and took off running.

“Wait for me!” I laughed.

You stopped at the top of a little mound of sand about twice the size of a pokéball and started kicking with your feet. Sand flew in all directions.

“Wait, wait!” I laughed again. “This’ll be much faster.”

I sat down on the ground and scooped into the pile with my hands. Bit by bit, I lifted it all away, but there was nothing at the bottom except more sand.

Your ears drooped sadly.

“It’s ok,” I said. “We’ll try somewhere else. Not even the best treasure hunters find stuff on their first try!”

You perked back up and smiled at me. I looked around and spotted a group of older boys digging in a spot nearby.

“Excuse me, can I borrow a shovel?” I asked.

One of them turned around. “Get lost kid, can’t you see we’re busy?”

“Yeah, get your own shovel, these are ours,” said a second.

“But no one’s using that one,” I said, pointing to a little green one perched inside a bucket near the first guy’s foot.

“Yes, we are,” the first boy argued. “Give up now, kid, all the treasure on this beach is ours.”

He turned his back on me just as a kid holding a metal detector said, “here, there’s definitely something here!”

They all crowded around in a circle, so tight I couldn’t see what was going on, but a little while later they were shouting that they’d found a Star Piece.

“Can I see?” I asked, craning my neck.

“Why, so you can steal it?” the first boy asked. “You’d better leave us alone; my father is a gym leader back in my region, and he’s teaching me to be the best trainer in the world.”

“Well, my dad works on a cargo ship,” I said. “And some day I’m going to be a sailor just like him!”

“Yeah? Well, too bad, we’re still not gonna let you see our Star Piece. Why don’t you get off our beach and find your own?”

“This beach isn’t yours. It’s everybody’s!”

“Oh yeah? Want to see what my Pokémon has to say about that?”

He pulled a pokéball out of his pocket and pushed the button to expand it. I looked back at you in alarm. My dad always taught me I should stand up for myself, but if you fainted in the battle, how would I be able to swim back to the main island?

“I don’t want to battle,” I mumbled. “I just want you to stop bossing me around.”

The kid smirked and opened his mouth, but, before he could say a word, you popped him with a Water Gun right in the face!

He coughed and choked, spitting all the water out of his mouth while I just laughed.

“Oh, let him be,” the boy with the metal detector said, smiling along with me at the joke.

“He’s not going to find stuff anyway. We’re only wasting time,” the second boy agreed.

“But did you see what he just—?”

“Come on, you know your Pokémon can’t beat that Azurill anyway, your Torchic is a fire type,” the metal detector boy said.

“Sam! Why would you tell him that?” the boy whined.

“Come on, let’s look over here,” the second boy said. He grabbed the first one by the arm and dragged him off.

“Sorry about that,” the boy called Sam said as he put the metal detector on the ground. “I don’t even know those guys. I just met the two of them today. Tony seemed cool when he was telling me about all the Pokémon he’s seen in Hoenn, but ever since he started tagging around with me he’s been really bugging me. That was a nice Water Gun attack.”

“Thanks,” I said. “But it was all Azurill’s idea, really.”

You bounced up and down on top of your tail happily.

“My name’s Sam Oak,” he said.

I shook his hand, not even knowing I had just met the future inventor of the Pokédex! And it wouldn’t be the last time, either, although you had evolved into a Marill by then. But that’s a story for another day.

We never did find any items on the beach that day, you and I, but that didn’t stop me from deciding to name you “Hunter”. Hunter for Treasure Hunter.

What was that? Oh, sorry, Hunter, my first mate is telling me that the ferry is ready to set sail for Fuchsia City. She needs her captain, but I’ll come back to visit the next time we dock here. It was so nice of the people of the island to let me put your grave right here where the two of us can spend time together so easily.

I don’t have a star piece or a pearl, but I will always remember that day I spent with you. One thing I’ve learned in my old age is that, even after friends are gone, good memories are more precious than gold. Whenever I sit here and talk to you, I have all the treasure that I need.

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