@GoddessofRandomness' one-shot: "Mazes and ruins"

"Ly, hurry up!" Lyria chuckled at her friend's impatience, intentionally slowing her pace in order to aggravate her further.

"Coming~" she replied in the sing-song that she knew would anger the Water Type Specialist. Misty groaned. Lyria (or Ly, as Misty called her) finally reached the annoyed female's side, smiling angelically.

"Remind me why I let you talk me into this," the orange-haired girl grumbled, irritated at the oddly-named girl. (Hey!)

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun! Besides, you promised," Lyria pouted and gave her the puppy eyes, knowing full well that she was a sucker for that look. Misty sighed.

"Fine," she muttered, and her companion instantly perked up. "So, where are we going?" The question only brightened the mood of the already-chirpy brunette.

"Come on, I'll show you!" And with that, she proceeded to lead the Gym Leader to the outer fringes of the island, leading her towards the water she was so fond of.

Allow me to explain. Lyria is your ordinary eight-badge trainer. She’s challenged the Elite Four once (a prank, courtesy of her brother) and fallen short against the Champion, but that’s a different story. Well-known by name, yet unknown by appearance and personality. Everyone thought she was a very serious trainer who constantly trained her Pokemon.  But, in truth, she was a perky brunette who loved exploring. Not treasure hunting, just wandering through caves and discovering undiscovered areas. It was a hobby of hers, and the only one who knew of it was her best friend, Gym Leader Misty of Cerulean City.

The two were rather close, but Misty suffered the consequences of being good friends with an explorer all the time. Like now, when she’d forced her to come to the Sevii Islands with her, where she was “on vacation”.

They trudged through Sevault Canyon, exchanging small talk along the way. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, since Misty was almost always busy with Gym Leader duties and Lyria with whatever it was she did.

After following the path for a while, they stumbled upon a cave.

Lyria frowned. “I never noticed this before…” she said, seemingly to herself. Misty cast her an odd glance.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Positive,” the brunette replied, bobbing her head in a quick nod. She glanced at her friend before speaking again, “Wanna take a look?”

Her excitement shone through her words, despite her efforts to hide it. She knew her friend wasn’t as keen on caves as she was. But Misty noticed her feelings towards this sudden exploration, and she didn’t want to disappoint Lyria. She knew the girl was only being held back by her, and she felt slightly guilty. So, naturally, she replied with a smile and a quick “Sure”. Lyria beamed at her, and Misty fought the urge to laugh at her sudden lack of restraint.

Most girls are excited by the prospect of seeing (and flirting with) hot boys, or going clothes shopping [I said most, not all!] Most teens in the Pokemon world find thrill in battling. Lyria? The only thing that gave her a feeling of exhilaration was dark, murky caves. A very typical teenage girl, isn’t she?

The duo entered the cave, only to be disappointed in its shortness. It was just a wide room. Filled with boulders. And some ledges. That was it.

Misty looked around and noted, “There’s nothing here.” Lyria gave her a look that said, Whoa, didn’t see you there, Sherlock. Misty rolled her eyes at her expression.

Rather than looking all crestfallen like Misty had expected, Lyria looked over the area once more before walking towards one of the boulders. She scanned the place around it before her eyes fell on a mark of sorts near it. She carefully knelt beside it and inspected it as her companion walked over.

Lyria got up as Misty reached her side, and glanced around the cave one more time. She lifted an arm and pointed at the opposite corner from where they stood. “Look there,” she directed, and without waiting for some sort of reply, quickly pointed out a few more locations in succession, each time saying, “And there”. Misty frowned.

“I was about to ask why you had developed a sudden interest in random marks on the cave floor, but I guess I got the answer. So, what, you think there’s some kind of pattern or something?” Lyria nodded, ignoring the first part.

“Give me a sec.”

She approached one of the boulders and frowned. She spun in a circle, her eyes going from one boulder to the next, and then did the same for the indentations on the floor, counting them. A smile slipped onto her face.

“It’s so simple!” she cried out, her initial excitement returning. She pulled a Pokeball from her belt, ignoring Misty’s questioning stare. “Rhydon, come on out!”

A grey-skinned, muscular-sorta Pokemon with red eyes and a drill on its snout [can that even be called a snout?] emerged from the red flash. He proudly declared his name before looking to his trainer curiously, wondering why he’d been called on.

Lyria smiled at him and called out, “Rhydon, see those boulders? And those indentations on the ground? Can you move each boulder over one of those marks, please?” Lyria was one of those extremely loving and polite trainers, who never commanded their Pokemon, but requested them to help her. It was no wonder they loved her so much.

Rhydon grunted, seeing the task as a challenge. He nodded his big head and got to work. Misty was unable to hold in her curiosity anymore ad asked, “Care to explain?”

Lyria blinked, and gazed at her blankly before face palming. “Oh, I forgot!” She cursed under her breath before continuing with a sheepish grin, “Sorry, I’m just so used to going on these escapades alone… Anyways, the number of marks on the ground and the number of boulders are equal, in case you haven’t noticed. It looks like a puzzle. Those marks are kinda deep, more like indentations, so that’s what I think.”

“Oh.”

The two watched as the sturdy Rock Type carefully pushed the rocks into place. Pretty soon, he shoved the last boulder into its designated area, and the two held their breaths. When no visible change appeared around the cavern, Misty turned to Lyria with a questioning look. “So, what exactly are we waiting for?”

And right on cue, a loud rumbling could be heard as a mini earthquake shook the land. Alarmed, the two instinctively grabbed onto nearby rocks jutting out of the cave wall. The trembling quickly died away, and Lyria grinned at Misty.

“That.”

“Oh-kay,” Misty started, “And what exactly was ‘that’?”

Lyria shrugged in reply. “I dunno,” she admitted, “But from the sound and feel of it, I figure it was some sorta movement of rock formations down the island or something.” Count on an explorer to be able to guess that from a simple tremor. She glanced at Misty. “Shall we?”

Misty nodded and exited the cave, with Lyria following behind after thanking and returning her Rhydon. The Gym Leader put a finger to her chin and tut-tutted disapprovingly. “You spoil them too much, Ly,” she scolded. “Rhydon’s a full grown male that doesn’t need to be pampered!”

Lyria raised an eyebrow at her. “Look who’s talking,” she muttered, earning an angry glare from her friend. She shrugged it off, and trudged southwards out of Sevault Canyon, with Misty trailing closely behind.

They hiked carefully through the expanse, avoiding wild Pokemon that leapt out of the tall grass to attack them, exchanging small talk for the millionth time that day. Lyria wasn’t very talkative, but Misty could be quite a chatterbox at times. Her friend laughed as she went on and on about the idiots that challenged her gym and a gazillion other things.

Soon, they came to where the land let out and the sea expanded in all its glory. Misty eyes lit up in unmistakable delight at the sight of her favorite place. She was a Water Type Gym Leader, after all.

Lyria frowned and squinted into the distance. She poked her friend’s arm and pointed out something. “You see that?” she asked.

Misty nodded. “It looks like a small island,” she informed, and grinned at her friend, “Guess we’ll be checking it out?”

“You know me too well,” Lyria replied with a laugh. She reached for her belt to call out her only Water Type Pokemon but Misty stopped her.

“Leave this bit to me,” she suggested. Lyria shrugged in consent. Misty grinned again and reached for her own belt. “Gyarados, let’s go!”

A massive blue and yellow sea dragon roared as it appeared from the glow released by the Pokeball that held it. Its face was cruel and tyrannical, its red eyes glowing. Lyria stared in awe.

“You said he didn’t listen to you!” she exclaimed in disbelief. Misty laughed.

“Oh, that’s ancient history!” she replied, “Now, come on!” The two climbed aboard the apparently-not-so-cruel-and-tyrannical Gyarados express. They rode downstream, the small islet getting closer and closer. Only now did they notice another islet in the distance, and another, and another.

“What are those?” Lyria asked, gazing curiously at them.

“How exactly do you expect me to know?” Misty replied with an eyebrow arched. Lyria rolled her eyes.

When they reached the first islet, Misty hopped off before helping her friend down and returning her Pokemon. Gyarados grunted once before the red light enveloped him and he was gone. Misty groaned as she saw her nimble companion standing before the entrance t yet another cave.

“Another one?” The brunette laughed at the annoyance in the girl’s voice, causing her to only grumble further, “Not helping, Ly.”

Lyria put her hands up in defeat before proceeding to enter the cave. [Ugh, saying ‘cave’ so many times is starting to piss me off…] Misty followed behind. She stopped in her tracks as soon as she got inside, and stared; as did Lyria.

The cave itself was not much different from the last one; aside from the fact the walls had ancient engravings on them. What startled the two were the things inside.

Dozens of Pokemon, shaped like letters and symbols, milled around inside the cave, a faint glow emanating from their bodies.

Unown, the symbol Pokemon.

@dragofan010's one-shot: "Baylee's Letters Home"

Dear Mom, 12 January 2015

The Swavy Islands are beautiful here (Please don't tell Dad that I butchered the name of this place, he'll freak out.)!  I hope you're okay with me traveling to a different region to train, Dad told me how you were crying the night I told you guys.  He understands that I simply do not want to be a Pokémon Trainer in our home region.  I mean, Dad is one of the Gym Leaders at home, how could I possibly train there?  I'd feel like I'd have an advantage, someone would always be watching me (From the press, relax.), or I'd end up embarrassing myself and our family.  At least in this area, the only person that actually knows me is Dad's colleague, Professor Oak.

Don't worry, I got here safely, at least.  Professor Oak was so nice when he picked me up from the ferry (Or, at least sent people to pick me up from the ferry.  He was busy with an experiment.).  The day after I arrived, he let me pick a starter Pokémon.  You know how much I've always wanted a Squirtle, you know I wouldn't be able to resist.  I named him George, since his head's so big.  You'd like him, he loves food, as in he has a serious problem with always eating, and it's running my wallet dry!  Thank goodness you get prize money from trainer battles here, or I'd never be able to take care of him.

Well, I've got a big day tomorrow.  George and I are officially leaving Pallet Town tomorrow morning, and it's ten at night as I write.  I'll drop this off in the mail on the way to the first gym.

Love you!

Baylee

Dear Mom, 26 January 2015

(Semi Islands.  Did I get it right that time?)

Wow, Pokémon Training is harder than I thought.  I figured that it would be hard, but not like this.  I'm constantly training my team, I barely found time to write this letter.  It's fun, though, and I'm proud of myself for not giving up like I used to for every situation possible.

I fought the Pewter Gym leader the other week.  Brock, I think his name was?  He was rather easy, to be perfectly honest.  I had only caught George and Matt (A Kakuna I captured.  I misheard the name as Hakuna Matata, so I had to make it a variant of the song), which surprises me even more that I ended up winning.  He gave me the Boulder Badge and something he called a TM.  How come Dad never mentioned anything about TMs?  As I understand it, they're these disk things that teach one Pokémon one move, and if they already know four, it makes them forget one.  Rather inefficient, if you ask me.  Why can't a Pokémon know more than four moves?  That would be like knowing the lyrics to only four songs.  Stupid.

Two days ago, I made it to Cerulean City.  You'd love it here.  It's this beautiful city with a port where you can see boats for miles taking people around the area.  I think I might take a ride there one day, after I finish Pokémon Training.  Immediately when I got there, I had a big ego and thought it would be a good idea to challenge the next gym leader immediately.  Yeah, you know how I run into things without thinking, that wasn't a good idea.  You should have seen me, I ran back there about five times with George, Matt, and Stacie (A Rattatta I found after beating Brock).  The water gym leader, Misty, creamed me every time.  She was nice, though; she gave me some advice on Pokémon Training.  It made me wonder, how did Dad become a gym leader?  Did he have to take a test or something?  I got curious and ask Misty, but she said she was not allowed to share that information.

Speaking of Dad, what should I get him for his birthday?  I know you won't get this in time to respond with an answer, but you understand my frustrations, right?  I have absolutely no idea!  What do you get for a gym leader who spends so much time with Pokémon?  A custom PokéBall Belt?  A "World's Best Dad" Badge?  I have no clue.  Guess I have until his birthday to think of something.  Or, at least until the two week point,

Love you.!

Baylee

Dear Mom, 13 February 2015

I just got off the boat at the next city on my Pokémon Journey.  I finally had some free time while George, Matt, and Stacie wake up (We got here really early, sometime around six.  They don't wake up until eight.), so I decided to write after like two weeks.

I finally defeated Misty after who knows how long, or after how many tries.  I trained for countless hours, to the point where George evolved!  He's such a touch looking Wartortle now.  He probably thinks he's all macho or whatever the phrase is.  Not as cute, but he looks like a little kid dressed up as a vampire on Halloween.  Not sure what to do.

Anyway, so after I defeated Misty, she gave me my second badge, the Cascade badge.  She also gave me another one of those weird TMs.  I never used the first one. They self destruct after one use (Great job inventing something efficient, humanity!), so I'm not going to use them and keep them as a trophy.  I mean, may as well.  I've dropped the first one enough times on accident.  It's indestructible, unless it is destroying itself.  It's not like I even need the moves inside to become the best.  May as well.

Misty taught me a really valuable lesson, though.  I can't just have one Pokémon leading the team if I want to be a good Pokémon Trainer.  I can't have George be the only one fighting.  Everyone needs a shot, no matter who I am up against.  Don't worry, Mom, I won't make that mistake again.  By the time I get to the next trainer, all of my Pokémon will be at level fifty!

(Well, not really fifty.  That might be a bit too extreme...)

Wow, how many times have I rewritten this letter?  George just came out of his Pokéball looking groggy.  I gotta go.  Sorry, I'll write as soon as I can!

Love you!

Baylee

Dear Mom, 24 May 2015

(Sevii!  The Sevii Islands!  That's the name!  I finally remembered it!  After how long now?)

Sorry for not actually sending you a letter after all this time.  Even though we've talked for about half an hour every day ever since I got that PokéNav, I feel so empty not writing this stuff down.  These moments where I write to you and picture your face as you hear about my adventures.  I know I'll talk to you well before you get this message.  But still, I felt better writing this stuff down.

As of this morning, I've officially earned all six Pokémon Gym Badges.  All six!  Can you believe it?  I thought that, at the very least, it'd be somewhere closer to a year when I finished.  How long has it been, six months?  That's only half!

I actually ran into Misty as I left the final gym.  Remember, the water gym leader, the second one I faced?  She was getting the final gym leader, Giovanni, for some Gym Leader meeting when we bumped into each other.  She was confused when I told her that I did not plan on fighting the Elite Four and becoming.... um... the Region Pokémon Leader?  I have no clue, I honestly never gave it a thought.  She taught me something that day, though.  Why do I have to try to be the best, push myself to the brinks for something that I did not even want to do?  I'll be honest, I'm glad I left home to train here in this region.  I don't feel pressured to do anything special because Dad is a gym leader.  I'm happy that I went to gather gym badges, but I didn't do this for a stupid title.  I did this for fun, did I not?  I don't think I would have had fun trying to beat the top four Pokémon Trainers in the region.

Oh, I'm coming home soon.  My ticket for the ferry is on the first of June, and the boat ride should take a week.  I'm bringing all my Pokémon with me (And I do mean all of them.  You know how many I've caught and befriended.), and I can officially introduce you and Dad to the team.  George, specifically, wants to meet you badly.  Probably because when I first adopted him (Is adopted the right word?), all I talked about was how scared I was that you wouldn't talk to me again.  Fair warning, though, he'll drive you nuts whenever you finish cooking.  He could literally eat an entire Pokémon farm if he tried.  I remember him completely destroying some buffet in the third town I was in.  Yeah, that's why I told Dad to never let you try and visit, in case that happened.

Love you!  See you soon!

Baylee

Time sure does fly, doesn't it?  Annie just left home to begin her Pokémon journey.  I remember this day, twenty seven years ago, I began my journey as a Pokémon trainer.  I'll be honest, I cried.  Did you cry when I first left?  Were you sad that your baby had grown up, or happy?  I'm not sure what to think.

Thought I would write you one last letter, for old time's sake.  You're literally ten minutes by foot, but still.

George is doing well.  He's a really old Blastoise now, looks like Grandpa.  I gave him a cane the other day, he just gave me a look.  It was funny.  The rest of the gang is doing really well, too.  Matt and Stacie occasionally fight each other, Marie is always sleeping (I realize that's in the name Snorlax, but still.), and Proton and Electron are strange, same as always (Remember, the Plusle and Minun?).  All of the other Pokémon I caught are doing well as well, but I don't think you remember them, especially after they spent almost my entire adventure on a computer.

Before I go and send this to you, thanks.  For everything.

Love you!

Baylee

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