Don't Cry, Baby ~Echoes~

Maya wrapped her scarf more snugly around her neck. Outside the sun had been shining but the cave cut off all warmth. There was just enough light to see by, so using flash wasn’t necessary, but she allowed cyndaquil to wander a little ways ahead of them: the flames on his back acted as a torch. She could have sworn they passed icicles as they took the winding path to the summit. This was the perfect place for graveller, zubat and other such pokemon to thrive: rock and cold blooded pokemon suited the mountain just fine. There was something about Mt. Silver that scared her a little. She found herself walking as close to Blue as she could without having him see it as an invitation. They were friends and that was all. No amount of flirting in the world would change that.

Although, if she had to categorize men into types just like pokemon, he was probably closest to her ideal. Maya welcomed confidence; it was a refreshing change from people who shied away from everything. Not that she thought about such trivial matters more than fleetingly. After all, she had places to go and battles to win.

“Are you sure Red’s still up here?”

“Yeah. He always visits me whenever he comes down.” Blue hesitated. “Not that he’s left this angst zone for a while.”

Maya caught the uneasiness in his voice. “A while?”

“Well.” He bit his lip. “Over a month.”

“You’re joking.” Maya thought about Red just sitting around or battling challengers day in and day out in this frosty, dark hell. “There’s no way he could live here for that long.”

“He hardly has a snorlax’s appetite.”

“Blue.” She exhaled slowly. “He’s your friend. Can’t you just—”

He turned to her with a small smile on his lips. “Tell Red to move out of this place and go home to his mother? I’ve already tried doing that. And believe me, I paid for that faux pas. He refused to say anything for a long time afterwards. So we don’t talk about him leaving anymore.”

“Home to his mother?” Maya scoffed. “Well, I’m sure that disturbed him. He’s an adult now. You know that.”

“Where else could he live? He has no money.”

She stared at him. “Red can’t stay with you? If you’re too busy being a gym leader, he can move in with me, even though I’ve only met him a few times.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Wait. He’s the Champion. He should have plenty of poke dollars.”

“Why are you asking me all of this?” Blue shot her a pleading look. “I don’t know what goes on in that kid’s head any more than you do. If you wanna interrogate someone, try Red himself.”

“Why would he prefer speaking to me over you?”

“You‘re the one who wanted him to come down for a double battle,” Blue reminded her. “Me and Red…we’re not best friends or anything.”

“That’s news to me.” Maya adjusted her hat. “Let’s turn back then.”

“No!” He gestured to his backpack. “I brought some stuff for him. Who knows what he’s been surviving on. Last time I only brought berries cause I couldn’t get my sister to help me cook so I burnt everything…”

She patted his shoulder. “You’re such a softie, Blue.”

“That so?” He grinned. “I should mark this day down in my calendar: ‘Maya was nice to me. Is giratina warping reality? I‘ll report back with more info…’.”

“I retract my previous statement.”

Blue chuckled. “Don’t deny it. Our chemistry’s totally off the charts.”

“Thank Arceus!” Maya ignored his remark. “We‘re at the top.”

She hurried up the last stretch. Cyndaquil bounced into her arms, having been careful to withdraw his flames. She gave the two-toned pokemon a kiss on his velvety head. He chirped happily and nuzzled beneath her chin.

“Good job, boy.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Sure I did.” He blinked innocently. “I kept you safe. You were clinging to me all the way up here. Ring any bells?”

“Don’t make me sic cyndaquil on you.” If Maya blushed he didn’t comment on it. Lucky for her that that happened more rarely than a ho-oh sighting. She pointed at the summit’s entrance. “What are you waiting for? Go say your hellos and ask him if he wants to come down with us.”

“What? I’m not leaving you alone.”

“It’s snowing. I’d rather stay in here.” Maya leaned against a wall. “I’m a big girl.”

He looked unconvinced.

“A big girl,” she paused dramatically, “with a tyranitar.”

“You have one of those?”

“He‘s only a larvitar now, but he‘ll evolve. Close enough, right?”

“Fine. Try not to get abducted by Team Rocket or anything. I’ll be back soon.”

“Just you?”

“We’ll be back soon. Be careful, Maya.”

She couldn’t resist; he looked so adorable when he was concerned. Something about those wide green eyes and flushed cheeks was enchanting. Unable to resist, Maya stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. There, that was still something friends would do. Nothing romantic about it.

“I‘ll be waiting for you guys.”

“Did… did you just…?”

“Tell it to your diary.“ She smiled. “Go already.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue squinted against the driving snow. He could barely make anything out. Everything was white. He glanced from left to right, hoping to see a sign that Red was here, but there was nothing but shards of ice and gray sky. His fingers already felt as if they were freezing over. Of course the weather had to be this extreme on days he came to visit.

“Damn it,” he muttered through chattering teeth.

He carefully made his way along the summit, trying his best not to blink in case he missed signs of Red’s whereabouts. Usually, Red was closer to the entrance than this. Where was he? Had he changed his plans and moved to a cave in Sinnoh or something? The kid made no sense at the best of times but Blue thought that they understood each other regardless. They were friends.

Friends didn’t leave each other like that. Or maybe Red didn’t need him anymore.

Come to think of it, he never showed much sign that he enjoyed Blue’s visits. Red always accepted his offerings with a stoic expression. It had always been this way. Blue was the one who showed his emotions; Red never seemed to have any. But if you made Red angry, you’d know about it. His angry silence was certainly different than his usual one.

Blue cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, “Where are you?”

The howling wind drowned out his voice. Defeated, Blue was about to make his way back to Maya--only she could make him feel better about this-- when he saw something move up ahead. He walked along the cliff wall, trying to keep hold of anything he could. That was a challenge, as it was so slippery, but he somehow he managed.

Red stood there, hands in his pockets, cap looking even more battered than last time. Blue wanted to beat the snot out of him but his friend looked rather frail so he set aside his violent urges. Blue took a deep breath and almost choked on the blast of cold air before he managed to speak.

“Hey, Red.”

“Hello.”

This was an encouraging sign. Sometimes he never got anything in reply.

Blue placed his hands on Red‘s shoulders. “Listen, before you say anything else, I wanna let you know that Maya is here with me. She’s worried about you and these antics of yours. So come down now, okay?”

Red didn’t even look at him. He gazed somewhere into the distance.

“Are you listening to me? I’m serious.”

Red’s eyes drifted to his face. They looked like a doll’s eyes: blank. Blue found himself wanting to shake some sense into the kid. That wouldn’t do any good. Besides, he didn’t want to hurt him. Red was already hurting badly. Maybe a stranger wouldn’t notice anything more than the black-haired boy’s physical suffering, but Blue could tell that the problem went much deeper.

“This isn‘t funny.” His grip tightened. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Let go of me.”

“No can do. I know you. You‘re going to run away the second I do that.”

“Mm.”

“Maya wants to have a double battle,” Blue heard himself saying. “You’ll be my partner, okay? Not that you have a choice. But we make a great team. You can‘t argue with that.”

“Battle?”

“Yeah. That’s the only thing you care about anymore.”

Red brushed Blue off him. “Not true.”

“No?” Blue faltered at this unexpected comment. “Well, unless you want to continue standing around freezing our asses off, I suggest we leave now.”

Red nodded at Blue’s backpack. “For me?”

“I made poffins ‘cause I know you like them, even if you won‘t admit it. I’m the king of those things. But none for you unless you come.”

“How can I resist?”

“Don’t be such a sarcastic bastard.“ Blue’s lips were numb as he spoke. “C’mon, Red. I’m not gonna ask you again.”

“Okay.”

Blue looked up at the sky and sent up a silent prayer of thanks to Arceus.

Dream World ~Revival~

In a quiet clearing near New Bark Town, the sharp commands of two young Trainers echoed through the field.

"Flamethrower!"

Cyndaquil inhaled and released an intense torrent of flame. The temperature rose rapidly as the defending Pokemon was ignited by a pillar of fire.

Maya raised an arm to shield her eyes from the glare. It was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. She loosened her scarf and threw it to the floor. She would have liked to unbutton her jacket, but there was no time for that in the middle of a battle.

The boy seemed mortified by the sight of his Rattata being charred into roadkill.

"Get up Mickey! Counter with a quick attack!"

The purple rodent with the terribly unoriginal name somehow stumbled to its feet and lunged towards Cyndaquil, baring its thick teeth.

Cyndaquil flipped down on its stomach, giving the rat nothing but a mouthful of the burning flames on its back, sending it recoiling in pain.

"We got this, Cyndaquil!" Maya could sense victory at hand. "Finish with a tackle!"

Cyndaquil broke into a run and slammed the Rattata squarely in the side. The two creatures skidded, a mess of paws and frantic scrambling.

Ambitions Like Ribbons ~Echoes~

Lololol your B/W rant was amazing. :’D I must say I agree with your assessment. Completely spot-on work there. I mean, the starters are varying types of monstrosities. Especially as they evolve. That fire-pig, man… I have no words to express that. But uh. At least the characters in B/W are appealing. Although White and her shorts with pockets showing is still kinda TAG to me…yeah. But Misty worked the short-shorts first so whatever! I somehow happened upon N’s backstory and is it ever tragic! Poor guy. I’ll be aww-ing all through the game, even if he’s supposed to be my evillll rival. Thank Arceus for female professors. Another old geezer type would be the last straw!

I’m going to be a weather reporter and inform you that it was hailing like mad outside. Now I know something about what Red has to endure in his solitude. Ouch. I actually haven’t beaten him in the game yet. I went off on a tangent a while back of trying to EV train and not succeeding too much. Besides, how can I beat his level 80 something pokemon? He’ll “…” his way to victory. Although being beaten by Red can be justified cause he is the champion after all!

Why do I dislike Blue? This is similar to how I feel towards Noctis, isn’t it… maybe it’s some subconscious thing of only wanting the original E4 and not outsiders intruding or something. But that’s way too weird. Seriously, haha. I’m fond of Kraut, Erik, Faust, etc so that argument doesn’t even work! I’m so wishy-washy, damn it. I can see how Blue’s lovable (!) but I’m just not feelin’ him. Maybe I need to see him written about by you so I can get another perspective or something. Oddly, I like the Blue/Maya pairing even if I’m ambivalent about Blue himself. Well, I enjoy seeing happy couples, so that plays a part. Even if they’re not exactly together or happy yet. Or are they? Hmm let’s see… they’re definitely on their way there, even if Maya is rather resistant. She is determined to improve herself as a trainer, after all, so making time for relationships might pose a challenge. That’s an excuse though, so there’s something else stopping her. Like Lance. Wait, what? I do have this impression that Red is immature compared to Blue. I mean, retreating to a mountain because you’ve lost all sense of yourself as a person doesn’t seem well-adjusted…

Man, do I prefer Red because I relate more to his immaturity (if that‘s what it is)? Or maybe I’m not reading him right and he’s just having some kind of breakdown or something. Mental illness is a complex issue. Don’t do anything too crazy to yourself, Red… it’s good he has friends like Blue, then. Heart of gold indeed! Perhaps I can warm up to Viridian’s gym leader in time…

Speaking of couples (since when?!), Kraut and Karelosina popped into my head when I was lying awake last night. Not the serious version, more like their comic selves, where they’re all lovey dovey. I imagine that they were like relationship guru celebrities in Germany and had a book called “Victory in Love and War!” that was massively successful during wartime. Karelosina is also a pop singer and her love songs are all about… wait for it… Kraut. Yesss. But Nazi Germany isn’t supposed to have that kinda music, so her songs are a front about praising the Fuhrer. However, when you go all metaphorical, they’re not. Hahaha cause that totally works somehow!!

I didn’t write any further… but I did get more intimate with paint!

Under The Same Moon ~Echoes~

Hey guess what? I think I died from how cute Maya is hnghhhh. ♥♥♥ ;w; AND I KNOW YOUR SECRET... that Blue in those cargo pants is your favourite! Ehehehe. I don't know if I even like Blue or not (just in general ok, not like that!!!) but I love how he's drawn by you~~ Why would you even stop drawing if your creations turn out like that? But creativity blocks are such a pain. Man, the devil's handiwork I tell ya. But things might flow smoothly now? Maybe... I'll keep trying. Because god knows I haven't been doing anything productive with my time. Only the E4 world can get me out of this slump I've been in. I'm not too interested in creating things about anything else. We so need a tv show or something. Srsly. But we've spoken of this before, have we not? And it shall be done... yesss~ Or we can just keep being our badass selves right here.

ALSO. ALSOOOO. HOLD UP!

Red is so fierce. Woah. I think... he should always be drawn in a more serious style rather than a chibi one which'll like, bastardize him. xDDD Like in comics everyone else will be all cute and such but he'll be like BAM BADASS DUDE!! If you get my drift...hehe.

I like your style loads so don't stop. Can't stop! Let's keep this rollin' k? ;DD I need to be told more details because I'm just so bad at background info. So if anything comes to mind let me know please. Or write about it or something! Like Terra's mother, for instance... I need to see her since you have this vision of what she's like? Share with me! Don't hold back. I need your inspiration before I hit a wall and make everything stall/die/etc. .__.

I don't know if the pokemon a/u is supposed to be serious or whatnot... well I'm trying to make it both? But the art is totes lulzy. From my side anyway cause I can't draw in any other style besides chibi, damn it. D:

Anyway, for your reading pleasure (hopefully!), here is part two.

--

Terra held her phone away from her as it emitted strange crackling noises. She half-hoped that it wouldn’t die on her but it went ahead and did just that. The tour guide, an older woman in a white pantsuit, frowned at her. Terra knew that she should have turned her phone off on the ferry ride over. The group had been told about radio waves interfering with the wild pokemon around the islands.

Terra shoved the phone into her bag. “Sorry. I was just…calling my mom. She worries about me as if I were still a ten year old.”

The woman didn’t look as if she believed this. “All right, but that’s not the issue.”

“It isn’t?”

“You’re in trouble,” Ethan sang in her ear.

Terra would have done something unpleasant to him if there hadn’t been other people around. He had no concept of personal space. The kid had been glued to her the whole way here. However, she couldn’t blame him. He didn’t have the best socials skills in the world.

“You need to return your chikorita to its pokeball.” The woman glanced at the green creature, which was rolling a pebble around on the beach. “We‘re here to look around the caves and, if we‘re lucky, catch a glimpse of unusual pokemon. ”

Terra fiddled with the hem of her shorts. “I‘ll…do that.”

“Quickly, now. You’re holding the group up.”

She didn’t know what to do. Everyone stared at her, some not bothering to mask their irritation, others giving her sympathetic smiles. Terra reached for a pokeball, feeling her hands tremble slightly.

Chikorita whipped the leaf on her head back when she saw the red and white object. Before the pokemon could make a break for it, Terra captured her. The look on chikorita’s face promised destruction upon release from her prison.

Terra wondered if she could keep chikorita in there forever.

“Great.” The woman clapped her hands together once. “Everyone has their super repel at hand, I trust?”

“Yup!” Ethan held his up for all to see. “My marill found this when we were walking in National Park. Isn’t that so amazing? I wouldn’t have managed to find it by myself, but my marill is really good at picking up dropped items!”

“No one’s listening, Ethan,” Terra pointed out.

“Oh.“ He wasn’t fazed by this. “It‘s a true story, though.”

“For Arceus’s sake.” She pulled him towards the others. “We’re going to get left behind if you just stand there. Can’t you walk and talk at the same time?”

“Sure I can.” He scowled. “Stop being so pushy.”

The cave’s dampness made her shiver as she stepped inside its yawning mouth. There was a strange smell in the air, like salt water and lime. She tried not to think about what pokemon scuttled past her in the dim light.

They were at the very back of the group. Their guide’s voice bounced off the walls as she explaining the history of the Whirl Islands. Terra knew all of this already, so she decided that chatting with Ethan would have to do until something exciting happened.

She glanced at him suddenly. “What do you mean, pushy?”

“You’ve been dragging me around all day.”

“Then don’t be such a space cadet.”

“Well, you’re not as nice as you think you are. No wonder chikorita doesn’t like you.”

She flinched and dropped his arm; she had, in fact, been yanking him around like a growlithe on a chain. Ethan was right. No doubt she had been too controlling with chikorita as well.

“Terra?” Ethan peered at her. “I was just mad, I didn’t mean--”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Really?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“My grandpa told me to believe the opposite when girls say that.”

“That’s good advice.” She couldn’t help but smile. “What you said wasn’t totally unjustified. I was just surprised, is all. I’m not a delicate sunflora who can’t take criticism. ”

“Cool.“ He beamed. “So now I can say that marill is the best and lugia is lame! Don‘t you think it‘s weird how legendaries are like, automatically considered awesome? What‘s up with that?”

She sighed. “Lugia is the best. No contest!”

And here she thought they had been getting somewhere. Oh well. Terra appreciated Ethan’s generosity in letting her come with him on the tour. She would thank him once he stopped talking long enough to let her get a word in. He had already exceeded his listening quotient for the day.

If only Maya were around…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up on the peak of Mt. Silver, a boy stood looking out over the landscape. His breath escaped from his lips in clouds. Anyone else would have hightailed it out of there; it was freezing at that altitude. But the black-haired boy had been here for so long that he didn’t notice the chill anymore. Not that he was immune; the hailstones still cut him, the wind chapped his lips and tinted his skin blue. Occasionally, if he was outside for too long, snowflakes crystallized in his hair. His charizard helped with the cold.

Today, Red wanted to be alone.

Earlier in the morning a hiker challenged him to a battle. Red won without difficulty. The man had pleaded with him to say something, anything, but Red merely looked on in silence. That had been enough to send him away. But sometimes, these challengers didn’t want to leave. They had the idea that staying with him to train would be in their best interests.

Red didn’t want anyone here.

The only thing that mattered at Mt. Silver was staying alive. There was no room for anything besides that. He preferred it that way, crazy as it was, according to his old flame. She wanted him to remain in Cerulean with her. But he hadn’t. All those promises of devotion dwindled away with the changing seasons. Her visits up here had grown less frequent before she stopped coming altogether.

Perhaps it was selfish of him to expect people to try so hard.

But he never asked anyone to visit him.

The one person who showed up without fail was…

“Hey, Red!”

He opened his eyes.

Blue.

Warning: May Have Side Effects ~Echoes~

Ahhh I'm glad that I've been given some details about the Pokemon a/u! Please feel free to expand upon this world as you see fit. I mean that was gonna be a one-shot or something (that was actually the first thing I've written in weeks!) but I want to write more now. But my favourite is when we take turns doing chapters. I'm trying not to let my creativity die too much. So like... I'm telling myself not to post on this wunderful blog unless I can actually contribute something; I need to cut down on my regular nonsensical stuff. I mean, a dose of spam is well and good, but most of my writing hasn't been that interesting. .__. Well, everyone knows that if they want to get to the meaty stuff they should read a K.S.Y post! That's the real deal right there. I'm super-interested in everything Karen writes, not gonna lie!

And what do I have to show for myself today? you may be wondering.

Are you ready?

...I don't even think I am, ahaha.

Terra and her chikorita don't quite see eye to eye. On anything. Even though Pokemon are supposed to be your loyal friends and such. o_o Oh, but Terra managed to convince chikorita not to make any more unnecessary cameos in the upcoming pictures!! We'll see how long that lasts...



So this is Maya! And she is cooler than you will ever be. ;] Figuratively and literally. She is in a blizzard (or so I tried but failed to show) after all! xD I think cosplaying her would be a super good idea. Do ittt!



LOLOLOL @ BLUE. This is the OTP of our Pokemon a/u right here. ;D



...nevermind, these two are the true OTP. OBVIOUSLY. I mean it's like fate k! ;o;



Hmmm yes why on earth would Maya be doing such a thing? I mean, dragons? Dragons have nothing to do with anything. NOTHING. And I have come to the conclusion that I can't draw Blue or other boys at all but I try anyway. xDD Lulzzz.

??????????????? ........................................ !!!!!!!!!!!

AND THEN THE GRAND FINALE.

OH GAWD!! SHIELD YOUR EYES. REALLY, I MEAN IT.


YOU SHOULD PROBABLY TURN BACK NOW...


NO, YOU REALLY SHOULD.


OKAY FINE THEN, I'LL GO BY MYSELF! HAVE FUN!!! @___@

Number One ~Echoes~

A girl and a boy sat opposite each other on the sixth floor of the Goldenrod department store. Sunlight pooled in from the windows. Maya liked it up there. She was quite a fan of heights. Her cyndaquil dozed in her lap and twitched occasionally in his slumber. She stroked him absentmindedly, trying to make sense of the boy before her.

If Maya knew one thing, it was that Blue was probably the most arrogant trainer she had ever met. Fortunately, he had it going on in the looks department. He glanced up from his lemonade and winked. She never blushed—either all that training in Snowpoint had taken effect or she had a colder personality than she thought— so the action made no impact on her.

“You’re staring at me,” he said.

“I’m afraid your ego is mistaken.” She wrinkled her nose. “Could you stop with the slurping noises?”

He set the can down with exaggerated gentleness. “There.”

“Thank you.”

His green eyes swept over her. She wondered what he thought of her new fandango jacket before dismissing the thought. Boys didn’t know one pink from another. Well, Lance the Dragon Master certainly knew quite a bit when it came to the world of fashion. Not that she cared about the man with a penchant for capes. The simple fact was that his face was everywhere now because of the upcoming tournament. Anyone with eyes could see that he was the best-dressed man on television.

No, she didn’t care about Lance one way or another.

“Yo.” Blue waved a hand in front of her. “It’s not like you to space out.”

“I wasn’t.”

“No way.” He feigned shock. “You’re blushing! Thinking about Lance?”

“Blue?” She sipped her soda pop delicately. “Try harder.”

“You’re pretty good. I’m impressed.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Good at what?”

“Lying.”

“Whatever.”

“What colour are Lance’s eyes again?”

“Too easy!” She couldn’t help herself. “They’re brown.”

He smirked. “How interesting that you noticed.”

“I’m obviously superior in the finer details department.” She grabbed his lemonade and he only raised an eyebrow to show his protest. “Hey, want to do something after this?”

“Like what?” His fingers trailed along her forearm. “I’m up for anything.”

She finished off the rest of his drink. “Great.”

“I know that look.” He sighed. “We’re gonna be battling, aren’t we.”

“Yes. Not any ordinary battling, either. Terra and Red will be involved.”

Blue snorted. “We’ll crush ‘em. Those two are weak.”

“Well, who said I’d be on your team?”

“I’m impressed, babe. You’re brave to take me on.”

“I’ve beaten you before.”

“Only because I was distracted. I mean, your legs—”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t be vulgar. Anyway, if you win I’m prepared to give you a nice reward. So try your best, honey!”

“You’re on.” He paused. “The question is, where the hell do we find them?”

“We just call them on our...” Maya furrowed her brow. “Oh.”

“Right. I dunno about Terra, but Red doesn’t get reception up on Mt. Silver. At least that’s what he tells me.” He rolled his eyes. “I think he just wants to be left alone to be all emo.”

“I think it’s impressive how Red’s so focussed.” Her eyes glinted. “Maybe you should follow his lead. I mean, he did beat y—”

“Anyway, where’s your little girlfriend?”

Maya ignored his teasing. “She’s probably at home. Her chikorita has been acting up lately, which makes going out to train tough. Terra spoils that creature to no end. You need to show your pokemon who’s boss and that means keeping them inside their pokeball.”

Blue patted her cheek. “You’re so cute when you’re in denial.”

Cyndaquil hopped onto the table and stretched luxuriously in a puddle of sunlight.

They both observed him for a moment. Maya knew she was beaten.

“He’s getting tubby, ain’t he?”

“Shush.” Maya scooped up the fire pokemon. “He’s just a healthy eater. Besides, we need to stop talking and go find Red and Terra. We’ll only improve our skills by battling. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to beat L— the tournament.”

Blue looked as if he had a whole lot he had to say about that when Maya’s phone rang. She answered it, thanking Arceus that a distraction had come. Blue was generally a tolerant boy, but she had a feeling that he wouldn’t be as accepting towards this last little slip up.

“Hello?”

“Terra here! You won’t believe where I am right now. It’s amazing!”

“Not at home, I assume?”

Terra couldn’t keep the glee from her voice. “I’m at The Whirl Islands! You know how they do this tour once a year? Well, Ethan managed to score tickets, so of course I had to go. Our group’s gathered outside one of the caves right now. Maybe lugia will show itself to me!”

“Maybe,” Maya agreed. “Wait, you’re with Ethan? That sounds painful.”

“We get along quite well, actually. He rants about his marill and I rant right back about lugia. It works out beautifully for both of us. I wish you were with me instead! But I bet you’re doing all sorts of hardcore training with your boyfriend.”

“Mm.” Maya bit her lip. “Listen, when you’re finished stalking lugia, could you call me? We’ll be partners for a double battle against Red and Blue.”

“What? My phone’s cutting off.”

“I said that you....”

A bunch of static filled Maya’s ear before she heard the dial tone. She flipped her phone shut and slid it back into her pocket. Maybe Red was telling the truth about his reception after all. Technology was amazing nowadays, but legendaries still had a way of interfering with manmade creations.

Maya glanced at Blue. He sketched on a napkin, unaware that she had finished her conversation. She couldn’t really tell—art wasn’t the boy’s strong suit— but his drawing seemed to be of Lance getting eaten by a herd of bidoof.

They definitely had a problem.

scripted

Maya sat in front of a glowing computer screen. Her Cyndaquil lay curled up in her lap, a ball of yellow and black. Her brow was furrowed as she tapped at the desktop impatiently, faced with a completely blank word document.

"What are you doing?"

Blue, who had snuck into the room quietly, suddenly spoke up. From right behind her chair. Maya jumped in surprise and Cyndaquil tumbled to the floor. Flames erupted from its back and lit up a pile of half-finished drawings littering the floor. Maya spent the next five minutes batting it out with a frilly cushion.

"I'm TRYING to write something epic for Terra," she finally said, throwing the pillow back onto her bed as if nothing happened. Various other items in her room had been charred by the starter she had received only days earlier, and while the first time was quite a shock, the tenth time, not so much. "It's her birthday soon, you know."

"I see!" Blue's nose crinkled at the burnt smell. "Why not catch her a Pokemon? I'm sure she'd love a new-- I don't know-- Bidoof or something. You girls seem to love silly creatures like that."

"I would, but I haven't quite perfected my catching skills," Maya said. "I threw a million Pokeballs at a Pidgey after chasing it around for an hour. In the end I just gave up." She pushed the rolly-chair away from the desk and spun around to pick up Cyndaquil. It promptly resumed napping on her lap. "And I hate Bidoof! They're so creepy."

"But not as creepy as Bibarel."

"I know right!" Maya started to grin, then stopped. "Wait a minute. Why are you being so friendly? Are you here to ask me a favour?"

"I don't ask for favours," Blue said matter-of-factly.

"Oh." She stroked Cyndaquil, rubbing at the spots on its back. "Are you here expecting me to give you a favour then?"

He spun her chair around and leaned over so that they faced each other. "Maybe!"

"Eww! Personal space, please!" Maya shoved Cyndaquil between them. He backed up about two inches.

"How about this. If you help me with one small task, I'll help you catch an amazing Pokemon for your friend Terra. Is it a deal?"

"Do I get to choose what it is?"

"No."

"Aww, but she really likes Lugia !"

Blue sighed. "Are all little girls so hard to deal with?"

"I'm not a little girl, okay. So don't call me that!" She crossed her arms sternly. "What do you need help with, anyway?"

"Well, I have a gym battle scheduled for tomorrow."

"Why? Aren't you supposed to be watching me or something?"

Maya knew her mother was out in some Hoenn region, visiting an old friend. She had refused to go, stating that all third-generation Pokemon were ugly pieces of crap and that she wanted nothing to do with them. Her mother was always going off to other lands to visit people. It was amazing how many friends she knew throughout the country. Maya guessed it was because her mother used to be quite the Trainer too, back in the days of Professor Oak and stuff

...Eww, Professor Oak...

Anyway, her mom wouldn't be back for a couple days. Why the Viridian Gym leader was chosen to babysit her was a mystery, but it was Sunday night, so maybe he was the only available candidate.

At least it wasn't Chuck again, Maya thought to herself. That had been the most boring time of her life, sitting in the gym while he sat under a waterfall for 72 hours straight. Well, at least his wife was kind enough to offer her Staryu-shaped cookies...

"-- hello? Are you even listening to me?" Blue rapped her on the head with his knuckles.

"Oww! You're so mean!" Maya rubbed at her skull. "What?"

He crossed his arms. "I said, you'll just have to come with me to Kanto."

"What the hell! Do you even know how far that is from here? In case you didn't know, I live in New Bark Town, the town all second-generation newbies start out in! And Kanto's like, the other side of the world or something."

"It's not my fault I'm popular, I get a lot of worthy challengers." Blue seemed to beam with pride. "I worked really hard to get where I am now. And it just so happens, a particular Trainer I've been itching to battle has agreed to meet with me tomorrow evening."

"But I don't waaant to go. Why can't you go yourself?" Maya started to whine. It always worked with her mom. Unluckily for her, Blue was something else.

"Don't be stupid. I can't leave you here alone, what are you? 12? You're gonna get assaulted by some Maniac or Hiker."

"Oh yeah. This is the Pokemon franchise, after all. I forgot I was an insanely young age." Maya stared at Cyndaquil. "How about it, should we follow Blue to Kanto?"

Cyndaquil nodded, wriggling around excitedly. Yeah!

Of course you'd want to, you're this level5 newb! Maya rolled her eyes, but a decision was a decision. She didn't want no Hikers harassing her. And besides, she still had nothing to present to Terra. Maybe she could catch some amazing Kanto Pokemon or something.

"Okay, fine. But you have to promise you'll help me catch something cool for Terra's birthday."

"Deal!" Blue grinned in satisfaction. "Meet you outside in five. Gotta find my jacket. I think I left it on the couch."

He flashed his V-sign and left. Maya watched him go. When she was sure he had gone downstairs, she glanced at the crumpled black mass shoved beneath her bed. Yes, that was Blue's leather jacket. Slightly charred sleeves and all. Sigh. She knew she shouldn't have let Cyndaquil participate in that couch-jumping contest with Ethan and his Marill. Now others would be the ones to smell him later.

Colour Vision ~Revival~

Here's a random picture of me and Cyndaquil! Yes! *_*
Because we totally have to parry the amazing Kratalie+Chiquita!
I wish Cyndaquil was in a better angle though! He fails at camming!
What can I say though... he's no expert!!!

I had one of the coolest dreams in my life last night! I will document it while it's still heavy on my mind.

Red and I were in this restaurant. It was a Japanese-themed place. I can't describe it well, but it was amazing. Nothing high-class, but a cozy little place with booths to sit and a bar with a television. We had noodles, chicken wings, etc. I can no longer remember it all but there was an intense spread of food! It was evening. We were babysitting Kotone, for some reason. Well, she is 3-4 years younger than Red, so I guess that's possible. As for myself, I guess I was Red's age. She sat across from Red and I. When it was time for dessert, I told her to order something. Instead of the $4-5 cakes, she ordered a $8.97 baked potato!! Or $9.97, I don't remember. What I do remember is complaining to Red, "That's almost ten dollars!" I was apprehensive about the bill you see. It was probably something high so in my dream I was contemplating whether or not I should split it with Red and pay using debit, etc.etc... I was quite peeved at Kotone for ordering something so random and expensive but it was okay since she could have it if she really wanted it. Her hat was black instead of white for some reason. Red's was black-ish too, for some reason their hats matched in that regard. I didn't wear a hat.

The ladies were these annoying-looking Asian ladies who looked like the ones I saw before at Duffin's Donuts... but that's an irrelevant and least important detail, ahah.

After dinner, (I think Red ended up treating...), we went to an amusement park oh my god LOL! I walked between Red and Kotone, she held my hand. We went on this spinny-ride kinda like Hell's Gate and the ferris wheel combined, but each seat only fit one or two people so the three of us split up into separate seats. Kotone's hat fell off and I was laughing with her when I suddenly slipped out of my seat and fell down, down to the ground. I think Kotone did too. I hit the ground and remember my left shoulder and arm being really sore and stuff. I lay there hurting and Kotone pulled herself up and screamed my name and scurried over. Red was rushing over with her hat and weakly I took it from him and placed it back on Kotone, who was kneeling beside me. I think it started to rain... (LOL my dream is dramatic. And makes no sense. I fell off a ride with minor injuries. LOL)

To my great surprise(!), Blue came out of the blue in his leather jacket and picked me up and slung me over his shoulder! (This scene was shot in 3-rd person view... like I saw him and saw myself slung over his shoulder while Red and Kotone watched.) He said, "I'll pick up this junk. Let's get out of here shall we" or something like that. I don't remember how the message was worded but basically I was insulted, and it was implied we were to move to a sheltered location. XD

And so we walked. Down the street and into a school gym... Where people were playing some sport (Idk in detail they could have been battling Pokemon for all I know). Blue suddenly got into this mood... where he was provoking Red. And I think Red, despite being as calm a person as he was... got angry. Blue said something like "maybe I should dump this trash where it belongs... in the dumpster!!" The trash being myself, after all. God Blue is mean BUT WAIT UNTIL WE REACH THE END. Okay so Red started saying "You wouldn't dare" or something along those lines I can't remember how to phrase dream-conversations in English. Blue started walking out the door and into a hallway where people could practice archery like in Japan. With the white targets and Japanese robes and such. And long white arrows for some reason. Anyway it was nighttime now, the hallway was outside with a white fence surrounding and we were on the 2nd floor, the archery field-stuff was below. Red suddenly pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Blue and said "I'll shoot you and make it look like an accident", implying that he would somehow set it to make it look like an archery accident or something. I was only half-conscious all this time but I was scared and I remember writhing out of Blue's hold and running out to Red and telling him to please stop. All the commotion drew some attention from within the gymnasium so Kotone had been stalling all this time. Red backed off and went out to help her explain that nothing was going on, I guess.

I was sitting on the floor and I looked up to see Blue looking back at me holding a mop and wearing a janitor's apron. To try and "blend in" I suppose, like 'Oh I am just the janitor of the school i didn't do anything and i belong here!!' Silly Blue. I told him that was stupid and he took it off and came down to sit beside me.

We were both sitting on the edge of this hallway-balcony. And he said something like... "I hate everyone. Even Red but he's the only one I can talk to, him and you. But you're a girl and that scares me... (not that girls scare him, but in the sense that he's scared (scared=worried) that he/we might develop feelings for each other. I felt a lot like Leaf. BUT I don't think he actually hates Red. just sayin'.)

Somehow that led to me scooting closer and kissing him on the left cheek. He kissed me back too on the right cheek, but it was a bit sloppy LOL. So I grabbed his face and whispered into his ear I could teach him how to be a better kisser... hehe, I was joking but he turned kinda pink I guess, LOL! It was cute. And then the dream skipped to me opening one of two boxes of vanilla cookies and eating them in my bed! There were pictures on the back of the box telling me they were microwavable, I could heat them up using the stovetop, aha! They were small rectangle-shaped cookies that tasted okay.

And that was my epic(?) Pokemon dream, without any actual Pokemon! I quite enjoyed it. And what's even better is that the past 6 days or so, I've been sleeping with Jacky in bed tucked under my arm, hugging him. He's so soft after his haircut/grooming. And he still smells wonderful. I'm so glad we can cuddle while sleeping with each other!!! That plus an amazing dream gives good reason for an enjoyable sleep!