One Special Person

[FullmetalxFangirl]

"I have no regrets." - Minor pairing of OC characters

A/N: This FanFiction is based on a plot I roleplayed with a friend a while ago.
I do not own any of the pokémon names. I also do not own Rayne - he is a friend's character. Blah blah blah blah, legal rights copyrights etc. You know the drill.
This fanfic is set in the Kouseki region - the main region in one of my forums.
Note: This fanfic was later re-dubbed 'Pokémon Kouseki: Let me Love you'.
Also, because I am from New Zealand, any Americans will note spelling mistakes Please excuse these - NZers spell some things a little differents from you guys. ^^"

Thank you please.

So on with the show!​

Chapter One

-A not-so-brief Briefing-

In which we meet our characters​

Ember strode up to the oh-so-familiar lab in which she had spent so much of her childhood. She wore her usual outfit - greay jacket with blue faux fur around the edges, pale grey mini skirt and large, black boots. She found they contrasted marvellously with her pale red hair.
As a twelve-year-old, while determined, she had been too young to understand. But now, at sixteen, she was ready to follow in the footsteps of her foster-mother, Solaria.

Ember Narusegawa had been put into an orphanage at birth, but it was soon found that she was … different. Her mind was quick and cunning, and some months after her seventh birthday, she had already made her first attempt to escape the hall. A successful attempt. For a whole night and a whole day she ran, until she came to a huge laboratory. There were some people in white and gold uniforms hanging around with their pokémon, so she asked one, "Is this Professor Akasaka's lab?"
The stranger looked curiously at her. "Are you kidding? Like I'd tell you! Scram, kid!" He made a shooing motion with his hands, and an exeggutor glared at Ember. "Exeggu-TOOR!" it cried angrily, and Ember promptly sprinted in the other direction.
Of course, she could not live on air alone. Walking around the lab, she found a back entrance that was unlocked and slipped inside.
She had barely spent thirty seconds in the building, which was large, round and white, before she felt a delicate hand on her shoulder. She spun around, and found herself face to face with a beautiful woman of perhaps twenty. "Hello," the woman said softly. Her voice was sweet and gentle, and sounded like the sweetest of music, or like small, beautiful bells ringing and laughing, or like bubbles floating on the air. "I'm Solaria. What are you doing here? Where are your parents?"
Ember explained that she had never known her parents, and that she was hungry. Solaria smiled warmly at her and took Ember's hand. "Let's go find something to eat, and you can tell me more about yourself."

That had been how it'd started. When she had been old enough to truly understand, it had been explained to Ember that the laboratory she had wandered into was that of Team Pearl, an organization dedicated to good, and that they were forever warring with Team Opal, an evil team of no-gooders, who only wanted to abuse pokémon to help them become rich.

Eyes of emerald glinting with pleasure, Ember flung open the door, and began skipping as she started up a flight of stairs and down a hall. As she reached a large door, she knocked thrice and entered.
That same beautiful woman, though nine years older, greeted her with her bubbly and cheery voice. "Oh, Ember! So you finally decided to join Team Pearl! And so young, too!" She leapt up and threw her arms around Ember. Taking her hand as she had done so long ago, she lead Ember back out the door, down the hall and back down the stairs.
The walls were lined with pokéballs, and each ball had an emblem on it – a blue water droplet, a green leaf or a red flame.
"Go on," Solaria said encouragingly, releasing Ember's hand. "Pick your first pokémon."
Ember reached out an arm and closed her eyes, and closed her fingers around one of the balls. The smooth surface was strangely warm and comforting.
"Chimecho, huh?" Solaria commented, a tone of satisfaction in her voice. "I think it's a great pokémon!"
Ember smiled. "Thanks, Solaria," she said quietly. "I'll take good care of it."
"Oh, and Ember?"
"Yes?"
"Stop by my office a bit later, okay? I have a job for you."
"Sure thing."
With that, Ember strode back out the door to join the crowd that she had seen when she had first arrived before the lab nine years ago.

~​

A tall, raven-haired boy stalked down a hallway - Rayne Black. His hair, which was relatively long and covered much of his face, glinted with a steely sheen as he walked by a window. A new entrant to Team Opal, he was trying to make the right … evil impression. He had been called in for some mission, and could barely wait to find out what it was. Not that he was going to tell anyone that.
As he approached a door, he looked at a map that had been roughly drawn on his hand. "This is the place," he muttered, kicking the door once to alert the office's inhabitant.

The door swung open violently and a woman with short, black hair stuck her head out. "Where the 'effing hell is my soy latte?! I've been waiting for over an hour!" she yelled down the passage. She seemed to catch a glimpse of Rayne out of the corner of her eye, and said in a more pleasant tone, "Oh, you're Rayne. I remember now - I requested to see you. Come in ..." She gestured inside the office and sat herself down at her desk, an umbreon, houndour and houndoom at her side. The sharpedo and carvanha looked menacingly at Rayne from their tank, accompanied by a cacnea and cacturne. "Don't mind them. They won't attack unless I tell them to. Such good pets ..." she murmered to her umbreon, who gave an undertoned growl of delight and pressed into the woman's hand.
"Right, where was I …" she said thoughtfully. "Oh, yes. I had a mission for you."

Rayne raised an eyebrow, scanning the woman with eyes of red. This was apparently Celeste, leader of Team Opal. "Yes," he said flatly. "Hurry. I don't have all day." The confidence with which he spoke belied histrue feelings of horror, which were fueled by the quiet snarlings of the two wolf pokémon, who were just close enough that they could leap at him and rip out his throat, and he wouldn't have a chance to escape … Rayne quickly shook his head. He was being dumb.
Celeste smiled. "Indeed. I have selected you to go on a most important mission for me, as I am busy at the Opal base. Should you succeed, you will be promoted, with power second only to mine. In saying that, you will also become heir to the team, and will be its eventual leader. Are you ready for the briefs?" The woman scanned Rayne over, accompanied by the umbreon, who had hopped onto the desk, all the better to see this intruder.
Rayne nodded, "I'm always ready." He said confidently. Rayne could see himself being the leader of Team Opal someday, with his own loyal pokemon. But to be promoted, he had to finish the tasks he was to be given.
Celeste raised an eyebrow. "... Yes. You see, Team Pearl is our sworn enemy. Thwarting of the goodie-good plans is of top priority. However, in order to thwart, we must learn of their actions. Team Pearl has been sending recruits to do various jobs, though to do what is uncertain. It will be up to you to find a Pearlite, extract the information from them by any means necessary and return to me with the plans. Understood? Good. Now, I do believe you will find a Pearlite on Route 1. Ember, I believe her name is," came the not-so-brief brief. "You will also need a partner. You may choose from any of our standard pokémon; carvanha, cacnea and houndour. Oh, and take this also ..." A syringe with a sapphire-blue liquid was handed to Rayne. "One shot of that and you should hear all you need to know."
Rayne examined the syringe, then took it in his hands. "Ember, eh?" he muttered, tipping the syringe over and then back again. A soft slopping sound met Rayne's ears, and he turned his attention to the pokémon around him. "I like the look of that carvanha," he said after a few moments of thought.
Celeste smiled and took a pokéball from behind her desk. "Smart kid. There aren't many who recognise the potential of the little fishie," she said quietly, standing up and gazing at the sharpedo and carvanha in the tank. She handed the pokéball to Rayne. "Good luck. Don't come back until you have Team Pearl's plans."

~​

Ember skipped once more up the stairs and down the hall, humming a happy tune as she went. She was soon to receive her first official mission, and she was totally psyched about it! As she reached the office door, she rapped out the tune she was humming with her knuckles, then swung open the door and stepped inside. Solaria's cheerful tone greeted her once more.
"Ember! You've finally come for your mission! I had one 'specially picked out for you. Do you think you're ready?" the young woman asked her foster-daughter. While she was not yet thirty, Solaria looked wise beyond years, and knowingness seemed to dance in her eyes.
Ember nodded. "I am ready, mother. With Chimecho at my side, I'm unbeatable!" she said happily, striking a confident pose.
The woman behind the desk nodded. "Good. We know that Team Opal is beginning to send recruits just as we are, though for what, we do not know. That's where you come in." Solaria surveyed Ember closely. "We need you to befriend an Opalite and discover what it is that they are doing. At the same time, you must not allow any information to leak from you about Team Pearl. And, incase you need backup-" Solaria handed a syringe containing a blood-red liquid to Ember. "-just inject that into your subject. The theory is that they'll be so desperate, they'll leak any information you desire. I believe you can find a member of Team Opal on route 1. Rayne Black, I believe his name is."
Ember nodded. "I won't let you down, mother!"
With these last words, she ran out the door, and out the building. Before leaving, however, she grabbed a white bandana with a golden 'P' emblem on it and tied it around her wrist. "To route 1!" she cried. "To route 1, and to Rayne Black!"

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

God I wish I could change the title ...

A/N: I'm happy. The chapters are a decent length, and average quality, and I'm still getting them uploaded at the speed of light. Yay me.

Chapter 2

-The Meeting-

In which the characters meet, and our plot commences​

Rayne walked casually down route 1. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair slightly, and he scratched at his forehead as a stray lock of his tickled it.
He needed to find this … Ember person, but at the same time act casual. He looked around, and strained his ears for any sound.

He needn't have strained them hard, for without warning, a great crashing came through the bushes, and young girl with strawberry blonde hair came crashing through, preceeded by a chimecho. "No! Stop, Chimecho! I only said that to psych you up! I didn't mean it!" The psychic pokémon continued to float away, muttering something under its breath and shooting dirty glances at the girl.

Rayne's eyebrow lifted slightly. He grabbed the chimecho's tail, getting annoyed with it. "You should put it back in its pokéball," he grumbled. "For safety."
He held it out to the girl. The pokémon made a loud noise of protest, and the girl grabbed it quickly, returning it to the correct way up. "I don't need help from an icky boy," she said in a scornful voice. She returned her pokémon anyway. She folded her arms with a huff and strode away.

"Nice meeting you, too," Rayne called after her sarcastically. He needed to find Ember, not waste his time with this stubborn little twerp. Unfortunately, Rayne was headed in the same direction as the girl, and walked behind her, glaring into the back of her head.

The girl looked up at the leafy ceiling, allowing the dappled light to wash over her face in short bursts. The slight breeze whispered through the trees and twisted through her hair, gently carrying it in soft swirls around the girl's delicate frame.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rayne behind her. "Hey!" she yelled, spinning around to face him. "You following me or something? You want a battle? I have things to do, you know!" she said grumpily. She unclipped her chimecho's pokéball. "Let's go! Ember and Chimecho are on the stage!" she called, releasing the 'ball from her hand with a flourish and allowing it to burst open a few feet from where she was standing. "I challenge you, mystery stranger! If I win, you leave me alone for good. Okay? Okay!"
Rayne smirked and did a victory dance in his head. "Ember? Cute name for a cute girl," he said teasingly. "Well, we all know that Rayne can put out an Ember. Go, Rouge! Use bite, followed with water gun!" he commanded as his carvanha appeared on the battle field. The fish pokémon swiftly dived towards the chimecho for its initial attack.
Ember glared angrily at Rayne. "I'll get you for the remark! Chimecho, dodge and use wrap!" The chimecho danced, or rather, floated neatly around the attacks, then made to coil its tail around the carvanha.
Rouge, the carvanha, was caught in the wrap, and Rayne gritted his teeth. "Use water gun at its face!" The carvanha drew its head back and fired a powerful stream of water directly at the chimecho's face.
The chimecho was hit, but retained its grip. "Hold on, Chimecho!" Ember cried out encouragingly. "Use astonish!" The chimecho obliged, and a loud screeching rang out from the bell on its head.
Rouge was badly affected by the sudden attack and flinched. "Don't hold back! Attack with bite!" The carvanha threw its head forward and sunk its teeth into the chimecho.
Ember gasped aloud. "Chimecho, work through bite and tighten wrap!" she cried. The chimecho tightened its grip as it took damage from the bite attack. However, it had been weakened a lot, so released the carvanha and floated slowly and wonkily away from Rouge. "Don't give up, Chimecho! Use another astonish!" Ember ordered. Chimecho once again gave out a loud shriek, but it was weak and pathetic, and the poor pokémon fainted.
The carvanha was astonished by the … astonish. It was already weak, and the wrap had drained most of its energy. Rayne had seen this coming. Rouge somehow tripped over itself and made a loud 'thud' as it collided heavily with the ground, fainted.

Rayne returned his pokémon to its pokéball. "Humph. Looks like a draw."
Ember smiled as she, too, returned her pokémon. "Yeah … I'm Ember, by the way. Who're you?" She seemed decidedly perkier now.
Rayne gripped the syringe that was in his pocket, and slowly began to remove the cover from the needle. "Like I said, I'm Rayne." He put on a fake smile and slowly shuffled closer to Ember.
Ember's action was the same as he uttered the words. Smiling brightly, she inched closer to Rayne.
Both felt their fingertips curling tighter around the syringes that held the strange substances.
At the same moment, their thoughts were the same.
Difficulty.
Both drew their syringes at the same time, pulled the other closer and each drove their needles into the other's wrist, injecting the liquids into their bloodstreams.

~​

Ember's eyes widened as she felt the substance creep up her veins, sending a strange shiver through her whole body. In a few seconds, she had fallen limply on top of Rayne, who had also fallen, unconscious.

"Where am I?"
Ember woke up, or so she thought, in some strange place. It was a deep, pure blue, and there were beautiful bubbles hanging everywhere. Rather than making a sound, her words seemed to ring out in tendrons of thought, ricocheting off some non-existant wall. She reached out an arm to touch one of the bubbles – to her surprise, it popped, but in its place stood a small, purple, cat-like creature with large ears and a forked tail.
"Solaria has you … you're … an espeon, right?"
The pokémon nodded and leapt into Ember's arms. Ember giggled. "You're very friendly," she commented, holding the espeon out before her. Without warning, it cried out, then placed its paws on her chest and leapt into her.
"It … merged with … my body …"
The world that she was in began to dim,but Ember could still see herself in perfect, untainted colour. She felt a strange, unknown strength pouring into her body, a warmth, and a new … understanding.
"Strange …
This feels …
Really nice …"​

~​

Rayne felt the pain of the needle entering his arm. As the liquid ran through his veins, he felt a numbing sensation taking hold of his body, and he fell to the ground. As his vision began to blur, the last thing he saw was Ember falling on top of him, and then … darkness.

"… What is this place?"
When Rayne opened his eyes, he found his surroundings were a vivid red, almost the colour of blood. The were shimmering bubbles around him, and he started to get annoyed for no reason. He lashed out at one, aiming a kick at it, but it popped to reveal a strange, black creature with long ears, and yellow rings over its body – an umbreon.
"What the hell does it want?"
The umbreon walked up to Rayne, looking at him with its sparkling eyes of crimson. Rayne picked up the umbreon with a raised brow. "Why did you bring me here?" he asked, looking at it as if it were the answer to all his questions. The umbreon closed its eyes and placed its paws gently on his chest, then sank slowly into him.
"It … went into me ..?"
The strange world of red began to dim, but Rayne still saw himself as if looking through the clearest of glass.

"...
.....
What the hell?"​

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

Next chappie

A/N: This is a long one, folks! "Got your Bell tea? The chappie's about to start."

Chapter 3

-Transformation-

In which a girl discovers her courage, and a boy begins to understand.​

Ember slowly awakened, and passed her hand over her face. "Wow ..." she murmered, her heart beating a mile a minute. "That was a creepy dream." Realising that she was sitting on Rayne, she leapt up with a quiet shriek. Walking over to a tree, where she slumped down, she scratched her head and felt ... oh dear. A pair of ears. "Omigosh!" she cried out in distress. "That dream ... was no dream! ESPAA-" She immediately clamped her hand over her mouth. What did I just say ...? She stood up again and jumped into a bush. "Why me ..?" she grumbled, trying desperately to squish down the ears that were protruding so obviously from the crown of her head.

~​

Ember's cries of distress woke Rayne from his slumber. He groaned loudly. "Ugh ... what just happened ..? I feel like I swallowed a bug ..." Rubbing his head, he felt something soft. It wasn't hair. "Oh great. Just great. This is exactly what I needed, 'bre!" His eyes widened. "Did I just ..? I didn't. Did I?" Rayne leapt into a tree and tugged at his new ears. "Oh, god, no ..." he muttered in shock.

~​

Ember crouched in the bushes, breathing heavily. "Dammit! Whatever Rayne injected into me must have done this ... but then, that would mean ... ARGH! Something must have happened to him as well! Espaa! Okay, Ember. Relax. As long as you don't spill any information about Pearl, everything should be fine," she told herself, barely believing it. She felt over her head. The ears were gone. With a sigh of relief, she pulled herself up and stepped into the clearing she had just departed. Rayne was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, you!" Rayne shouted to Ember from his perch in the tree. "What the hell was that? Pokémon DNA?" he snarled. "I look like a freak!"
Ember looked curiously at him. "Hm? What're you talking about? You look normal to me. What did you expect to be there, ears? And anyway, I have no idea what I gave you a shot of, and I don't know what was in that thing you gave me, either. But I don't seem to have suffered any major side-effects." Aside from temporarily growing ears! Geez! I have no idea if they're going to show up again! And what happens if-
Ember felt behind her and, as if on cue, felt something long and furry, and very tail-like. A small sound that sounded a little like 'eep' escaped her lips, and she quickly said, "I'm going to go find a place to bathe. Get on with your journey!" she called to Rayne. She decided then and there that keeping her secret a secret was more important than Team Pearl.
Rayne gulped. "Uh, okay. I mean, that is, um ..."
Ember looked at him curiously.
"Uh ... do you ... that is to say ..." Rayne swallowed his pride. For the team. For the team. "Djoowanatraveltogether?" he said very quickly.
Ember gave him another look.
"Would you ... Would you like to travel together?"
Ember giggled. "Okay! If that's the case, stay here." Without a seconds hesitation, and still guarding her rear-end, she ran to find some cover while she tried to get rid of the forked tail that had sprung from the base of her spine.

Rayne smirked. This mission ... it would be a piece of cake. Minimum work for maximum prize. It was a good feeling, but at the same time he felt almost ... dirty. As far as he could tell, Ember had no idea where he was from, and almost seemed to trust him ... He quickly shook away the thought. He couldn't afford to think in such a way, not now that he was on his way to becoming an Opal administrator.
As he thought, a huge roar came from somewhere deep within the undergrowth. The snapping and crashing of trees as they fell filled the area with a crude, bone chilling music. He saw Ember turn back at the noise, then disappear into the cover of thick brush. He remained where he was. Whatever it was, this thing sounded huge. He struggled to retain his composure, and to keep a calm, emotionless face.

The roar came again, this time followed by the appearance of a giant gengar, much larger than usual, and with a strange pattern covering its body. It grinned evilly and struck a blow at Rayne, not noticing Ember, who was still hidden.
The blow was unexpected, and Rayne was thrown backwards into a tree. He cursed loudly, and took in quick, strained breaths. His face screwed up in pain, he glared at the monstrous pokémon as he struggled to his feet, clutching his arm.
Ember remained hidden, looking out with terror at the scene before her. She felt she had to do something, but ... She lifted her jacket sleeve to touch the bandana that was wrapped around her wrist. As she did, the knot unraveled, and a strange marking came into view. It had definitely not been there before. Ember touched it with a slender finger, and as she did, she felt that same strength she had felt in her dream rush through her. At the same time, she felt ears and tail pop up. She touched to her forehead, wondering, and felt a hard, circular lump there. Her mind began to race, and she wondered ... Concentrating on a nearby twig, she spent a few moments imagining it floating a few inches into the air. Before long, her eyes glowed a brilliant blue, and the twig did as she had imagined it. Smiling, she quickly took of her jacket and boots, and ruffled her hair, doing her best to look as different from herself as possible. Wearing only a thin strapped top and mini skirt, she felt a chill creeping over her, but it was soon dismissed by the warm feeling that was in her veins. Without further hesitation, she leapt into a tree that the gengar would soon pass by.
The gengar took another step towards Rayne, and still failed to notice Ember. It lifted a giant hand, ready to bring it down upon its victim. "Gen-GAAR!" it roared, looking menacingly at Rayne. He quickly tried to run, but found his foot trapped in a root. He swore, and tried to tug his foot out of the root, but to no avail. He looked up at the gengar, trying not to let his fear show.
As the gengar came closer to Rayne, Ember made her move.
Why am I doing this for someone I barely know?
She leapt in front of Rayne, making a point of hiding her face from him. "I'll not allow you to bully the weak!" she cried in an assertive voice.
"Confusion!"
Her attack burst forth from the jewel on her forehead and took control of the gengar's arm, leading it a few yards away from Rayne. Any distance was good distance. Leaping into the air with in-human speed and agility, she called out once more, "Confusion!" The attack struck the gengar squarely in the forehead, and it staggered away a few paces before dissipating into nothingness.
I'm sure he knows now.
Embarrassed by what Rayne might be thinking of her, she looked sadly at him for a moment. "Good bye," she said quietly. Ears laid back, she turned, ready to leap forever into the bushes.
Good bye.

Rayne finally managed to break free of the root, and his foot was free. The umbreon ears and tail had gone, and Ember was nowhere to be seen.
He sat down, scratching his head, and looked curiously at the place where the mystery girl had disappeared. He felt he knew who she was, but ... no. She had already told him there had been no side effects. Why would she lie to him if she knew the same had also happened to him?

Ember, in her desperate attempt to get as far away from Rayne as humanly possible, wasn't looking where she was going. As a result, she crashed into a tree, and returned to her normal self. The feelings of strength and warmth disappeared, and she quickly looked around for her coat. When she found it and her Pearl bandana, she looked down at the strange marking on her wrist. Why was it there? How had it got there in the first place? There were so many questions, and so few answers.
Tying the bandana so it once more covered the marking, pulling on her jacket, putting on her boots and hurriedly combing her hands through her hair, Ember made a decision that would be hard. What if Rayne had realised? She was a mutant, and she had lied to him. What would he think of her? Swallowing her fears, she returned to where she had left him.
"Are you okay? What was that thing? How did you get it to disappear?" she asked quickly, rushing over to him while putting on the best act she could.
Rayne blinked. "Yes, I'm okay, it was a giant pokémon, no-duh, and I don't know how it disappeared. Happy?" He rolled his eyes. He couldn't tell if it had been Ember or not. Maybe she was just a good actress. He had no real way of knowing. "Now was there, or was there not, pokémon DNA in that ... syringe?"
Ember shrugged. "I don't know. I just picked it up, and when you grabbed my wrist I decided to take it as an assault and return the favour. Happy?" She rolled her eyes, mockingly imitating Rayne's sarcastic expression.
There goes the promotion, Rayne thought. But maybe ... maybe there's still a chance ... Rayne tried to give his best smile, but it was not as fake this time. This time ... he sort of felt like smiling. "You found it, then thought I was assaulting you?" He laughed. "Why on earth would you think that?"
Ember shrugged again. He must think she was a complete and utter imbecile. "I dunno. Maybe because I still have a mark from where you grabbed me," she suggested, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She huffed, and began to play with a lock of her hair.
Rayne grinned. "Sorry," he said. He found that he almost meant it, too. "Now, let's see what losers roam around here ..." Rayne looked around them. Nothing but trees, bushes, and more trees.
Two wurmple then scurried past the pair. Ember gave a loud squeal of delight. "Ooh! That is just too adorable! I must have it!" she cried, eyeing the wurmple with longing.
Rayne sighed and slumped against a tree. Women, he thought, rolling his eyes again.
One of the wurmple spotted Ember watching them and glared at her. Ember smiled happily at in return and released her chimecho. "Let's go! Wrap!" she cried with surprising confidence.
The other wurmple gave an inquisitive glance at Rayne, then settled for staring expectantly at him. Rayne stared back at the wurmple, then released his carvanha after a moment. "Rouge, use bite attack," he ordered. The wurmple was hit, then retaliated with a string shot aimed directly at Rouge's mouth.
The wurmple that had been wrapped by Chimecho gasped for breath as the psychic pokémon wrapped its tail tightly around it.
Rouge was hit by the string shot, but it didn't worry Rayne. "Rouge, use water gun!" The carvanha shot a jet of water out of its mouth towards the wurmple, its own string shot traveling with it.
"Hold on tight, Chimecho! Use astonish!" The chimecho used astonish while holding tightly onto the wurmple, apparently attempting to squeeze the life from it. "Not that hard, Chimecho!" Ember cried exasperatedly.
The wurmple was first hit by its string shot which pinned it to the ground, then was hit hard by Rouge's water gun. The water attack washed the gooey strings off the bug pokémon and it fired a poison sting at Rouge.
The wurmple was now begging to be able to breathe, as the ever-enthusiastic chimecho appeared to be slowly killing it. The wurmple took in a quick, strained breath, then fainted in the chimecho's grasp.
Rouge was hit by the poison sting, and took a critical hit. Rayne's expression changed from confidence to annoyance, half from the wurmple's attack, and half from the fact that Ember had knocked out her opponent before him. "Come on, Rouge, use water gun again!" The carvanha regained itself, and released a slightly stronger burst of water at the wurmple.
Ember grinned at her victory. "Yeah! Go, pokéball!" she cried, tossing one of the empty pokéballs that had hung on her waist. The sphere rocked once, twice, three times ... 'poof!' Wurmple was caught! Ember picked up the pokéball and whispered softly, "I'll call you ... COOKIE!" She spoke the last word loudly. Returning her chimecho to its pokéball, she waited for Rayne to finish up.
Rayne's wurmple was hit again by water gun, as its legs were too short to dodge, and this time, it fainted. Rayne threw an empty pokéball at the wurmple, more than a little sour that Ember had already caught her first pokémon. The ball rocked a few times, before making a loud dinging noise and holding still.
Rayne picked up the pokéball. "I won't bother with names." Turning to Ember, he said, "Might as well train for a bit before we move on to the next city."

A loud thumping noise started to come from the distance, as if many little feet were stomping in unison on the ground. This thumping was followed by the loud chanting of, "Oddish, odd! Oddish, odd!" A green and blue blur began to move towards Rayne and Ember, and the thumping and chanting became louder.
Ember looked over towards the group of pokémon. "Oddish! Cute! I want one!" she cried, running towards the blur, only to realise there were at least thirty of the plant pokémon. How the hell do I get myself into these messes? Ember unclipped her two pokéballs. "Chimecho, use astonish! Cookie, use string shot! Go, go, GO!" she called happily, allowing her pokémon to carry out their orders. The chimecho began to cry loudly, while the wurmple began to spray half of the oddish with string shot so they couldn't escape Chimecho's attack.
"Rouge, use water gun on that group of nine!" Rayne yelled. The carvanha shot a powerful flow of water at nine of the oddish. "Wurmple, use poison sting on the six over there!" The wurmple glared at the oddish, then shot a volley of needles at the oddish.
The oddish that had been hit by Chimecho and Cookie's combination attack were badly affected, but managed to keep charging onwards.
The oddish that were hit by water gun were barely affected, and attacked with sweet scent. The six that were hit by poison sting were affected greatly, but managed to shake off the damage and attacked with tackle.
Ember smiled. "Keep it going! Chimecho, keep up astonish! Cookie, start coating the ground around the oddish as well!" she called. The ground around the oddish immediately became as sticky as the oddish themselves, courtesy of Cookie's efforts, and the chimecho continued its loud crying.
Rouge was hit by the sweet scent and fell into a daze. Rayne swore under his breath. "Rouge, don't get distracted! Use rage!" The carvanha regained itself and snarled at the wurmple before charging towards them, snorting.
"Wurmple, use string shot on the oddish!" The wurmple shot out a sticky web at the oddish, gluing them fast to the ground.
Some of the oddish became stuck thanks to Cookie's string shot, and fired absorb at the bug. Others were hit by Chimecho's astonish, and used sweet scent in defense.
A blank expression came over the chimecho, at it floated in mid-air for a moment, gazing happily into space. Cookie looked up in terror, but thought quickly and directed its string shot at the absorb, rendering it useless. "Cookie, Chimecho, you're doing great! Cookie, use your string shot as a whip and send the oddish soaring! Chimecho, shake off sweet scent and attack with growl!" Ember commanded. Chimecho used growl on the oddish, backing up Cookie, who was whipping at the oddish that were trapped by string shot.
Many of the oddish were held down by Wurmple's string shot and hit hard by rage. Four of them fainted, while the other two struggled uselessly, trying to escape the strings. Suddenly, Rayne's wurmple began to glow white. The battling ceased for a moment as the pokémon began to change in shape and size ... When the glow had disappeared, in the wurmple's place was a cascoon! Wurmple had evolved! Cascoon's cocoon began to shine a steely grey – it was using harden.
The oddish that had been battling Chimecho and Cookie were struck numerous times by Cookie's whip-like attack. Any that remained conscious immediately tried to protect their ears from the chimecho's growl, but failed, due to the fact that they had no arms, and fainted. Chimecho glowed blue, and rammed itself into a tree – it had learnt two new attacks – confusion and take down. At the same time, Ember's wurmple began to glow also. When the light faded, in Cookie's place was a silcoon! It too shone a steely grey, proving it, too, had learnt harden.
Eleven oddish remained, their courage faltering. In unison, Rayne and Ember smiled.
"Cascoon, use string shot!"
"Cookie, use tackle!"
The cascoon, with a more powerful attack, managed to glue the remaining oddish to the ground. One by one, Cookie rammed into them, and each fainted.
Then, together, both pokémon began to glow. Their bodies lengthened, and wings unfurled from their sides. At the same time, both pokémon had evolved – Cascoon into a dustox, and Cookie into a beautifly.
Rayne grinned and returned his dustox and carvanha. "Some training, eh?"
Ember smiled. "Yup. I still want to catch one, though." Unclipping another empty pokéball, she threw it at one of the fainted oddish. "Pokéball, go!" The oddish disappeared into the red vortex, and the pokéball began to shake. When it released its dinging sound, Ember walked over and picked it up. "I'll call you Pea," she said happily, returning her other two pokémon and clipping all three pokéballs to her belt.

~​

"Hm ... what now? It looks like it's getting late" she asked, looking over at the setting sun.
Rayne looked to the golden orb in the sky, casting its golden glow over route 1. He and Ember both felt a strong, cold wind, and looked up as dark clouds began to gather. There was the crashing sound of rolling thunder, and rain began to pour down from the sky. Cold, wet, freezing rain.
Ember leant against a tree and hugged herself, trying to keep warm, but it was useless. She shivered, and pulled her coat closer around her.
Rayne looked over at her, and felt sorry for her. He took off his jacket and put one side over his shoulder. Walking over to Ember, he held the other side around her, and felt his face turning slightly pink. "Is that a bit warmer?" he asked, having no idea why he was doing what he was doing. Though he was only wearing a singlet, he didn't mind. He didn't even feel a little cold, which surprised him.
Ember blushed deeply. "Yeah ... thanks," she said, smiling as she looked up at him. She felt the blood rush quickly to her face. Oh no ... my ears will pop up ... she thought desperately. She looked down again and bit her lip. She felt nervous, but having Rayne's arm around her was strangely ... comforting. Then again, she couldn't have him finding out for sure what had happened. "I ... I have to go!" she said quickly, pushing him away and dashing into the undergrowth.

~​

Rayne blinked and put his jacket back on. His umbreon ears and tail popped out and he heaved a sigh of relief. "That was close," he muttered, tugging at his tail as if he expected it to come off. "Hopefully she'll stay away long enough for me to get rid of these ears and tail."
There was more thunder, and the rain pelted down harder still. Before long, hail began to fall.

~​

Ember sat under a large tree, hugging her knees to her chest. Rain slashed at her flesh, leaving slight bruises and causing her hair to stick together. Hail danced around her and flayed her skin with its icy touch, causing her to flinch and shiver even more. She lifted the bandana from her wrist, the better to look at the strange new marking that had appeared there. No matter how wet it got, it did not smudge or fade a bit. Ember gazed blankly at it.

I bet he hates me now.​

The thought preyed on her mind and made her uncomfortable. Although he was an Opalite, Ember regarded him as her friend, and while she disliked to admit it, maybe something more. After all, no person was truly evil. Maybe he could be persuaded to change teams. It was unlikely, but Ember dearly wished it could be so.

~​

Rayne climbed up a tree, the rain blowing harshly against his face. He wondered where Ember had got to. Even though she was a Pearlite, his enemy, Rayne still thought of her as friend – perhaps something more, although it was a feeling he was unsure of.
Where ... the hell ... is she?
"Ember!" he called out, hoping for a reply. This was the worst possible time he could lose her, for business reasons, and because she was his 'friend'. The umbreon ears remained, as did the tail, but he didn't worry about it.
Suddenly, a rush of emotions hit him, swirling around in his mind. Rayne fell to his knees and clutched his head, and consequently plummeted to the ground. Injured and cold, Rayne felt himself change. He held out a hand before him, and watched it morph into a paw. He grew smaller and smaller, and fur began to cover his body. His eyes became wider, his vision more acute, and as he called out for help, all that escaped his mouth was a loud, "Umbree!"
No ...
The realisation hit him, like someone slapping his face.
He had completely changed into an umbreon.

 

[Tyranita]

I like it so far. Good storyline although i did find it a little hard to follow at the start like distinguishing between the two characters storylines was a confusing but i got over it. A suggestion, when you swap scenes you might want to put a sign like ***** or something like that or right elsewhere... just a suggestion also its just my opinion. otherwise a great story. cant wait for the next installment

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

I like it so far. Good storyline although i did find it a little hard to follow at the start like distinguishing between the two characters storylines was a confusing but i got over it. A suggestion, when you swap scenes you might want to put a sign like ***** or something like that or right elsewhere... just a suggestion also its just my opinion. otherwise a great story. cant wait for the next installment

When I swap between storylines there is a ~ sign. Thanks for the comment. ;3
Also, chapter 3 was made longer because it's just that cool. And now it has a better ending. Yay me.

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

Chapter 4

-She's Sorry-

In which Rayne is never in the right place at the right time.
​

Ember wiped a tear from her cheek as the hail stopped, and the pouring rain became a mere spattering. She slowly made her way back to where she had run from Rayne. This predicament was slowly becoming worse and worse. "Rayne! Where are you? I just wanted to say I'm ... sorry ..?" She whispered the last word as she saw he wasn't there any longer. Hearing the cry of an umbreon, she looked around for a moment before finding it, 'it' being Rayne. "Oh, hey little guy! What're you doing here?" she asked, picking him up and stroking him gently.
Rayne blinked. Oh. My. God. Please tell me I'm not as cute as she seems to think. He shifted around uncomfortably in Ember's arms. "Umbre-on!" he barked with a look that clearly communicated 'my life sucks so much right now'.
Ember smiled and hugged Rayne to her chest. "Uwaa! You're so cute! You can stay with me, little fella'," she said brightly. She sat down on a thick bough nearby and placed Rayne on her knee. "I can come clean with you, little umbreon," she whispered to him. "I don't think he likes me." She scratched the umbreon behind its ears. She hugged him to herself again. "I'll have to make my move soon, won't I? If I want to finish the mission."
Rayne gave a quiet yelp as Ember hugged him. Aiee! Wow ... the hugness ...
When he was seated on Ember's lap, he lay down and tilted his head as she talked. Come clean ..? Is she talking about me?
Ember sighed as she looked up at the sky. It was hidden by clouds, but she could see the Moon, shining silver through the gossamer curtains. She gave a sigh and placed Rayne beside her. "I guess I better get some sleep," she said quietly, rummaging through Rayne's bag, which he had conveniently left behind, until she found a blanket. Rayne gave a quick yap of protest, but silenced as Ember lay down beside him, pulled the blanket over her and tucked the little umbreon in beside her head. "Good night," she whispered in Rayne's ear, then closed her eyes. Sleep soon took her, and she lay, umbreon beside her, on a thick branch. A most curious sight, girl asleep in a tree, but Ember no longer had a set definition between normality and strange.

In the silence of the night, Rayne crept out from under the blanket. He looked down at Ember's sleeping face. She looked so calm and innocent in the pale, milky light of the Moon, and Rayne regretted leaving her side. However, he could feel himself changing back into a human, so he slunk away to a place that would be out of Ember's direct line of vision. As he once again stood on two legs, he took a deep breath, allowing the cool air to fill his lungs. It was still a little damp from the earlier rain, but anything air was better than air breathed in from the lungs of an umbreon. When his ears had melted back into his head, he tip-toed over to the tree in which Ember lay. He grumbled for a moment that she had rummaged through his bag, but got over it and sat at the base of the tree, closing his eyes to get some sleep.

Ember opened her eyes. She decided it must still be very early, as it was quite dark. Surprisingly, she found she could still see very clearly. She supposed it had something to do with the espeon DNA. She leapt out of the tree and took a side-glance at Rayne. Finally, she thought with a huff. She placed the blanket over him and smirked, wishing she had a camera. It was at that moment she realised the umbreon was gone. For a moment, she worried about it, but then realised it would have gone back to its real trainer. Not tired, she decided to take a short walk.
After a few minutes of walking leisurely through the undergrowth, Ember came across a small lake. Sitting down at its edge, she stared down into the dark depths of the water. There were a few small fish pokémon, and she felt her ears pop out.
They look so yummy ... fishies are swimming round and round ...
The pokémon in the water swam near to Ember, and she couldn't resist. Her espeon genes began to take over and her tail appeared and began to flick excitedly. She took a swipe at the water, trying to catch one of the fish.

Rayne woke up not long after Ember had placed the blanket over him. He looked at it for a moment, stunned that he could still see quite well in the dim light. He also marveled at the scents on the air – he had never really noticed them before. Among them was Ember's scent, and he followed it, unable to restrain his curiosity. He soon came upon her at the edge of a pool. His mind triggered an idea, and he crept up to her with in-human stealth. He acted with such speed that he did not notice her ears and tail – he pushed her into the water, in which she landed with a shriek and a splash.
Ember managed to calm herself down enough to lower her heart rate, and the ears and tail disappeared. She emerged from the water, however, completely sodden and with a small relicanth clamped tight in her mouth. She spat it out, an annoyed expression on her face, and behind her the water glowed blue, and a wave reared up, threatening to crash down on Rayne. Ember soon took control, however, and it fell back to the pool.
Rayne fell to the ground and rocked backwards and forwards, clutching his stomach and howling with laughter. After a while, he regained his composure and stood up, grinning broadly. "What are you, an espeon?" he laughed, smirking in an annoying fashion.
Ember scowled. "What're you, an umbreon?" she snarled, punching him on the shoulder and stomping back to the tree in which she had spent the night. Turning back to him, she returned the smirk. "Oh, and ... you owe me lunch for that," she giggled.
It was Rayne's turn to scowl. "Yeah, right," he said sarcastically. "You should have kept that fish you found. We could've eaten it. Go get some bread out of my bag. I'll catch some more fish. We can't live on air alone, afterall."
Ember smiled. She knew that too well, and it was that fact which had brought her here. "Right. It's beside your underwear, right?" she teased, jumping out of Rayne's reach. Rayne scowled again.
"Just get the bread."
"Will do." Ember gave a mocking salute.

Rayne rolled his eyes, then walked back into the bushes towards the lake. Not that he really wanted to go, but he could feel those emotions again ... he was turning back into an umbreon. First the ears and tail, then the rest of the fur, and then the paws. As he had said he would, he trotted over to the small lake to catch fish.

I hate umbreons so much right now, it just isn't funny.​

Ember began to regret what she'd said. It was quite harsh, so she had thought it best to apologise. Following Rayne's footsteps, or unknown to her, pawsteps, she arrived at the lake and looked around. "Uh, Rayne? I want you to know I'm sorry about what I-" She cut herself off as she found, once again, Rayne wasn't there. However, she saw the umbreon and delightedly picked it up. "Hey, you remember me?" she asked, scratching its head gently. "I think I was right, little umbreon. He can't like me. After all, we're supposed to be enemies, and now ... now I think he doesn't even wants me to be his friend." She held the pokémon tight.
Rayne barked softly. "Umbre! Umbreon!" <No! That's not true!> He pulled away from Ember, attempting to become human again, but failed miserably and sunk into her arms, closing his eyes.
Ember smiled. "You know what I mean, don't you? The feeling that someone just doesn't like you at all ... I know you're just an umbreon, but I almost feel like you can understand every word I'm saying ..."
Rayne looked up at her with a flat expression. "Umbre." <No-duh.>
Ember began to walk away from the lake and back to their 'camp site'. The bread that she had got out earlier was sitting beside Rayne's bag, and she ripped off two pieces – one for the umbreon and one for herself. "If Rayne wants to be a lazy bum and not have anything to eat, fine. He can go hungry," she muttered to no-one in particular. Biting into the bread, she asked, "You don't suppose they have showers out here, do you, umbreon?" she asked, looking around as if she expected a shower to pop up out of nowhere.
Rayne looked up cutely at Ember. Not because he wanted to, but because umbreons are always cute, y'know. If only she knew it was me ... heh, that would really embarrass her.
His ears twitched slightly as he listened for the sound of running water. The sound of the trickle of warm water reached his audits, and he leapt out of Ember's arms and stuck his head into a bush, which he pushed away to reveal a rough track coming of the main one. "Umbreon!" <This way!> he barked, running down the pathway, the smell of steam filling his nose.
Ember was willing to do pretty much anything to get this ridiculous ... 'mud', they called it, off her skin. She followed the umbreon swiftly, her legs stronger than they had been previously.
The path led them to a small, steaming pool with a small waterfall at one side. Rayne took one look at Ember and growled, "Umbreon. Bre umbreon." <You smell. Take a bath.>
Ember scowled at Rayne. "I heard that, y'know," she muttered while taking off her jacket. When fully undressed she slipped into the pool. Her ears nearly popped up, but were restrained by a hand which zipped over her head. She closed her eyes and thought over what had happened over the past day-and-a-half.
Rayne was nearly asleep – the warm air around the pool was relaxing, and was making him feel very drowsy. He sat near the edge of the water with his tail in, softly swishing around. The peace and quiet made it a good place to think.

What is she hiding ..?​

Ember smiled and rolled over onto her stomach. "Rayne, come here!" she called to the umbreon. The little pokémon was always around when Rayne was missing, so she needed a temporary substitute for her traveling companion.
Rayne bolted upright. "UMBREE!" <HOLY CRAP!> He fell backwards into the water, then broke through the surface again, flailing around, waving his furry paws in a pathetic attempt to stay afloat. He eventually managed to swim to the edge and pull himself out, shaking the water from his pelt. Rayne was wet. He hated being wet. He shot Ember a quick glare, then began to beat his tail on the ground, trying to get out the water.
Ember looked at Rayne in a concerned way. "Hm? You don't like that name? Well, I'm out of ideas, I'm afraid." She smiled softly, not wanting to scare the umbreon again.
Omigod, that scared me. Rayne grinned nervously and laughed as well as any umbreon could. "Umbreon, umbre." <Uh, Rayne will be fine.> He sat down and, without thinking, began to lick himself. When he realised what he was doing, he gave a little cough then continued. Act ... natural ...
Ember frowned. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what that meant ... How about Breya? That'll be easy for me to remember." She stood up out of the water, flicking back her hair. She looked around, then sighed. "What, no towels?" She looked down at Rayne, newly dubbed Breya. "Breya, could you fetch me a towel? There was a bag near where I found you. Now, the towel really is beside his underwear." She giggled.
Rayne pulled his umbreon features into a scowl before stalking back to his bag. Sure enough, his towel was beside his underwear. "Umbreon, umbre umbreon?" <God, has that girl gone through my bag or what?> He pulled out the towel then trotted back to Ember. She laughed at the umbreon's expression as she began to dry off. "It was beside the underwear, right?" Rayne nodded. Ember picked Rayne up again and hugged him.
Once again, Rayne became quickly embarrassed by the hug. He hadn't been hugged since ... well, since the last time Ember had hugged him. (o_O)
Feeling the familiar swirl of emotions, Rayne leapt from Ember's arms and sped as far away from her as humanly, or as umbreon-ly, as possible. Well, just far enough for her not to find him for a while.
When he was back to his human self, he bent over, coughing, and with a tear running down his cheek. "I hate this ... I hate this so much ..." he choked, slowly making his way back to Ember, making sure to allow her time to get changed.

~​

Ember laughed sourly. "Heh ... looks like I'm alone. Ah well. I can get on by myself, save for that mission ... Hell, this is going to be hard if I can't even find my target. Geez." She sat down, now fully clothed, and held tight to Rayne's towel. "It's ... really lonely ... without Rayne or Breya." She looked at a group of three stones and imagined them moving in circular patterns. They did as she thought, and began to juggle themselves. Then, one by one, they threw themselves into the pond. Ember gave a sigh as she buried her face in the towel. She spent a few seconds like that, then stood up. "I guess I'd better rummage through Rayne's bag if I'm going to make it by myself," she said quietly, walking back down the rugged path. She pushed back the bush and arrived once again at their campsite. A breeze blew past her and she shivered slightly as she began to fish around in Rayne's bag for some food.
As she did, Rayne stumbled out of the bushes. He looked around, and his eyes flicked from Ember to his bag. He smirked. "You weren't trying to raid my bag, were you?" he asked accusingly, a mocking tone to his voice.
Ember looked at Rayne, then the bag, then the food that was in her hands. She immediately dropped it and leapt away from the bag. "Where were you?" she yelled, chucking his bag at him. "I found an umbreon, took a bath, was DITCHED by the umbreon, and now I find you, who left me alone and hungry, accusing MOI of raiding your bag? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
Rayne walked over to her, trying to look intimidating. "How was I supposed to know where I was? It was dark, cold and scary! I was ... alone ..." He whispered the last word dramatically and sarcastically, and bent down on one knee and clutched at Ember's arm, as if weak and in pain. He smirked then stood up again. "Anyway, you needed a bath. You smelt bad." He grinned teasingly.
"Thanks." Ember scowled at him. Then the unthinkable, or not-so unthinkable happened – her ears decided to make an entrance. Ember squealed, clutched at her head and leapt into the cover of the brush.
Rayne walked after her, smirking. "What's up with you, girl? Last night you did the same thing. That really hurt my feelings, y'know." Rayne tried to look and sound genuinely hurt. "You're not keeping a secret from me, are you?"
Ember turned up her nose, hands still fixed firmly to her head. "Secret? What would I keep a secret?" she asked. "I don't know anything – I'm just a regular girl." She glared at Rayne accusingly. "What about you? Is there something I don't know?"
Rayne put a hand on his hip. "Don't change the subject! You just totally gave it away! I know you're hiding something from me." He craned his head around a tree, trying to see what Ember was doing.
Ember sneered. "Okay, I admit it. I /accidentally/ raided your bag, because I thought you changed your mind and were going off by yourself. Happy?" she laughed. "Like I said, I'm nothing special." She flicked back her hair, checked a final time that her ears were gone, then approached Rayne.

She is something special ...​

"Accidentally? Dude, you must've been desperate." He laughed, trying to act casual, as though he suspected nothing more. He looked her in the eye, scrutinizing her. He failed to notice that her eye colour had changed from a bright, emerald green to a deep, sapphire blue. "That pokémon DNA ... weren't there any side effects? Did it change you at all?"
Ember raised an eyebrow. "Pokémon DNA? Side effects? What're you talking about?" She laughed inwardly. She had always been a good actress.
"Just checking." Rayne swore inwardly. I have to get the information out of her somehow ... He smiled at Ember. "Maybe we should move on. I want to get to Onyx Town before the day is over.
Ember returned the smile. "Sure. Let's get going."

A/N: Meh. Not going to update until I get some more comments. ^^" Mainly because I'm lazy, but also because I want to know that people are reading this. If you read it, review please. >_>

 

[Tyranita]

Im reading. Im actually a little bit hurt that my opinion doesn't matter to you *sob* *sob* lol still good ;) ps i didn't see the ~ between the chapters so disregard my previous comment about the **** keep up the good work. pps you have had ninety two views on this, i think people are reading but are to lazy to post comments.

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

Im reading. Im actually a little bit hurt that my opinion doesn't matter to you *sob* *sob* lol still good ;) ps i didn't see the ~ between the chapters so disregard my previous comment about the **** keep up the good work. pps you have had ninety two views on this, i think people are reading but are to lazy to post comments.

*kicks readers who didn't review* COMMENT OR I EAT J00R BRAINS >:O

Tyranita, you deserve a cookie. ;D

 

[BlackCat]

I haven't read a lot of pokemon fanfiction, maybe one or two ( I don't really remember what they were about ^^;), your fanfiction is really interesting. ^^ I like it a lot. :3 Keep up the neet stuff!

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

Chapter Five

-Entering Onyx-​

Ember and Rayne strode side-by-side down the path, with Onyx Town in clear view. Both were thinking the same thing – Act natural. You are a regular trainer, set on becoming the pokémon champion.
Ember was having a considerably easier time acting natural than Rayne, with the promise of a department store. In the back of her mind, however, she could feel as if something, someone, was searching for her. It was a scary thought, but she quickly shook it off. I'll just go shopping. That'll give me some time to think.
Rayne could also feel something pressing on his mind, and occasionally he thought he saw a pair of red eyes glaring at him from inside his head. He gulped when he saw them. I'll think about it when I'm crushing the gym leader.
As the tall building bearing the pokémart logo came into view, a muted shriek emitted Ember's mouth, and she grabbed Rayne's wrist and pulled him at an insane pace towards the mall. She gave a tug, trying to pull him inside, but Rayne blushed and held back. Ember pouted. "Aren't you coming with me?"
Rayne shook his head. "I'm not really a shopping person."
"Then make yourself useful and take these to the pokémon center." Ember shoved her pokéballs into his hands then skipped through the sliding doors. "Wait for me there, okay?" she called to him as she disappeared into the crowd.

Rayne sighed, and sincerely hoped she didn't spend too long in there. As he stepped into the pokémon center, which was warm and homely, he approached the counter and placed both his and Ember's pokéballs in front of Nurse Joy. "Could you heal these for me?" he asked her, running his hand through his hair.
The nurse smiled. "Sure. Please wait a moment."
Rayne thanked her and took a seat on one of the couches. There were a couple of younger trainers hanging around, talking. One boy was flirting with a girl beside the counter, and she looked rather bored. Rayne had just lain back and closed his eyes when a loud crash came from outside. Rayne swore loudly as he stuck his head out the door. A giant nidoqueen with the same strange markings as the gengar he and Ember had encountered earlier was outside, and appeared to be destroying pretty much anything in its path. This time, Rayne knew want to do. He rushed outside and flung himself into a neatly trimmed shrub, silently apologizing to the person who owned the property. He felt his ears and tail emerge, this time followed by a small circle of fur on his forehead. Leaping out again with surprising ease, he found he was able to reach a good six feet in the air. He nearly lost his balance as he came into contact with the ground, but quickly straightened. He was currently behind the nidoqueen, and from this angle, he might be able to get in a hit without being noticed. Holding out his hands in front of him, a void of black began to amass. "Shadow ball!" he yelled, and the void released itself from his hands with a great speed, and struck the nidoqueen in the neck and leaving behind a small patch of shadow, which dissipated quickly.
A lot happened in the next few seconds. Some sort of stampede headed towards him, and from somewhere he heard a familiar voice calling, "Rayne!"
"Ember!" Rayne yelled, leaping into the air again. No one seemed to notice that there was a young man with umbreon ears and tail hovering a few feet in the air, and Rayne didn't really mind if they did. He caught a glimpse of her, then she disappeared again. He cursed under his breath as he fell to the ground. He had no time to rest before the giant arm of the nidoqueen came swinging down at him, and grazed Rayne across his leg. More swearing. "Shit, I haven't got time for this!" he snarled, hurling another shadow ball at the giant pokémon. This time, it must have hit a sensitive area, because the nidoqueen staggered back a few paces before disappearing into nothingness. The crowd had also moved on, leaving only a pile of debris and a few trampled bodies lying in their wake. Rayne willed himself to return to normal as he searched for Ember. "Ember!" he called, rifting through the rubbish. Something told him that she was here, but he had little time to think about it before he felt himself shrinking, and fur beginning to cover his body ...

~​

Sure enough, Ember was lying not so far away from Rayne. She heard him calling her name and turned red. "Is he ... really worried ..?" she whispered to herself. She slowly stood up and crept away as she felt her ears appearing again. I need to clear my head ...
She found a block of toilets and entered the womens' room, then leapt up to the bench.
Hold on ... she thought, slowly lifting her head to the mirror. Why do I need to jump to reach the sink ..? As her eyes met with the mirror, she lifted her hands, paws, to her face.
"Espaaa!" <Nooo!>
As she staggered out of the door on all fours, a mix of emotions whirled through her head. Of all the possible times for this to happen, this is the worst ...

<Why the long face?> a strangely familiar voice asked from the shadows.
Ember looked up, sapphire eyes shining with fear. <Who- who's there?> she replied, sounding just a little more confident than she felt.
A small pokémon with long ears emerged from the darkness – an umbreon. <Just a fellow pokémon. You can call me Rayne,> it said quietly.
Ember's eyes widened. So ... that was pokémon DNA ... and that also means that ... that ... that ... Her eyes widened further still.
<Do I get a name?> Rayne asked again.
<No, you meanie!> Ember huffed, leaping past him, and taking the time to slap his face.

Rayne blinked as Ember disappeared into the shadows. <...What did I do?> Shaking his head in a confused manner, he wandered back over to the pokémon center.

~​

Ember sniffed as she retreated back into the womens' room. She stumbled groggily into a cubicle and locked the door with a rather weak confusion. Sitting down on the closed toilet seat, she sighed. "This is so, so, so annoying! I can hardly even talk to him now, for worrying about these darned ears ..." She lifted her head as she realised she was speaking English again. A watery smile crept onto her face and she ran outside to see if she could find Rayne. He had apparently left, so she began to look around. Thinking that he might have gone back to the pokémon center, she ran across town until she reached the small building, and sure enough, there he was, looking as bored as ever. Could that really have been him ..? she asked herself. He looked like he had been there a long time, and wore an expression that clearly stated he was as bored as it was possible to be. Embe shook herself. Rayne wasn't a common name, but she could hardly expect there not to be at least one person or pokémon with that name.
When he saw her, Rayne stood up and took something out of his pocket – a golden skitty bell with a crimson ribbon. He approached her slowly, his face red. "I thought I lost you," he whispered, tying the ribbon around her neck. Ember touched it cautiously. "Just in case," he said with a wink.

-Scene from three minutes ago-

As Rayne continued to walk, he slowly felt himself becoming human again. He looked down at the ground. A thin layer of dust covered the concrete. Suddenly, a bright glimmer of golden poked out through the dust. Rayne looked at it and bent down. "Hey, what's tha- Ooh, shiny!"

-Back to the present-

"Let's go find somewhere to stay the night. It's getting late, and I've been hanging out for a real bed."
Ember smiled. My first gift from Rayne! Could this mean that ... "Sure!" she replied brightly, rushing up to him. "There's no point in staying outside when we're in a town like this."

 

[BlackCat]

"Hey, what's tha- Ooh, shiny!"
Heehee! I totally love it! Keep it up! I wanna read more. ^^

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

A/N: Okay, I know the last chapter was really pathetic. But this one is way better. I promise. x_x Also, there's a new character. I don't want to ruin the surprise ... I don't own her. ^^ Also a friends character because ... yeah. O.o

Chapter 6

-Meena than you-​

At seven o'clock in the morning, Rayne got his wake-up call. It came from a perky lady, who rung him and said brightly, "Good morning, sir! It's seven o'clock! We have your table ready and waiting for you."
Rayne groaned and snarled into the receiver, "ARGH! I didn't ask for this!"
Rather than point out that he had requested a wake-up upon booking into the hotel, the woman hung up.
Rolling over onto his stomach and covering his head with a pillow in true teenage fashion, he contemplated his choices for the day. Not that there were all that many.
So first ... I'll just get ready and wake Ember up. Then we'll go down to the gym, and I'll beat the snot out of whatever poor loser owns it. Then I guess ... we'll go.
He turned onto his side. Thankfully, the curtains were still shut, and the light was straining to reach him. Unknown to Rayne, however, it would not be so for long.
The room he was staying in was pleasant enough, with a comfortable double-bed, satellite TV, an over-stuffed couch and en-suite bathroom. It was also very clean, and had the distinctive smell of nomel berries.

"Rise and shine! It's butt-kicking time!" The cheery voice of his travel-mate startled Rayne and caused him to jerk upright in his bed. "What? Ember?!" He looked down to see his bare chest. "I'm not wearing anything!" he yelled in distress, chucking a pillow at her.
She ducked and threw open the curtains, letting a flood of golden light stream in through the windows. She seemed to have donned a new outfit – her hair was tied into two pony-tails with strands of red yarn, and she was now wearing a dark grey dress with no sleeves, a white polo-collar and white diagonal stripes that crossed over each other. She had an espeon cell-phone strap at her waist, attached to the same belt as he pokéballs, and cream coloured boots with black laces that came just below her knees. She still had on the bell Rayne had given her the previous day. Rayne squinted through the glare as his eyes struggled to become accustomed to the brightness. "Well, you ignored the call, so I thought I'd take the liberty of waking you up myself."
Not caring how she had known that he had gotten a wake-up call, considering her room was at the other end of the hall, he grumbled, "Just get out."
Ember smiled. "Okay then, Mr. Grumpy-pants," she teased. "Oh, and by the way," she added, her head craning around the door frame. "We have to go over to the gym. You know. Pokémon champion and all that jazz ..."
Rayne sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever you want. Just ... get out so I can get dressed."

~​

Later that day, with Rayne still a little sour from the morning, the pair walked to the gym. Ember looked at the ground, avoiding eye-contact with Rayne.
"So ..." Rayne said casually, yawning. "What inspired you to travel?" he asked, prodding around for the answers he was looking for.
Ember shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I just got bored with my studies. I was ahead in class, so my parents let me go."
Rayne cursed inwardly. "Huh ... I guess it's like that for everyone."
Ember nodded, but said nothing, not trusting herself to talk.
Before long, the pair arrived in front of the gym, which was large and boulder-shaped. "I guess this is it," Ember said quietly.
"State the obvious," Rayne grunted.
Ember frowned at him disapprovingly. "Well, excuse me!" she said in an offended tone.
Before she could continue, Rayne put his fingers to her lips. "Shush," he hissed. "Just ... be quiet, okay? I'm trying to think."
Ember scowled and opened her mouth as if to say something, then thought the better of it.
Both stepped into the gym with rather negative expressions plastered on their faces.

~​

A teen girl watched the two go into the gym as she leant against the gym wall as if she owned the place. She tousled a locked of her wavy, red hair and narrowed her eyes, which were equally as red. Her arms were folded across her torso, and were quite well muscled. As a trainer passed by, she stuck out one leg and he tripped over her foot.
His smile turned immediately into an angry scowl. "You! You tripped me up, you cow!"
The girl looked up, bored. "So what if I did? What are you going to do about it, you novice?"
The trainer took a step back and rolled up his sleeves. "No need for pokémon here!" he snarled. He ran forward and aimed a punch at her face. She tilted her head left then grabbed his arm and slammed him hard into the ground as if he weighed nothing more than a feather.
"Ack ... I'll get you, you freak!" he shouted, trying again. This time, the girl sent a rock-breaking punch into his gut. The trainer fell back, writhing in pain. "Shit," he said simply before staggering away.
The girl just laughed at him. "You can tell them Meena Diox beat your butt, novice!" she called after him in a cold, harsh voice.

~​

Inside, Ember had just defeated the gym leader, Roxy, who specialised in the rock element. After receiving her badge, she skipped over to Rayne and smiled. "Your turn," she said brightly, taking a seat on one of the rocks that lined the arena.
The gym was going for an earthy look, with many plants and boulders dotted here-and there. There was also a small (fake?) creek running alongside the battle arena.
The ring too had obviously been custom-made – the area was slightly sandy, but had many small pebbles and some boulders, as well as numerous ditches running through, making it the perfect place to train and battle rock-type pokémon.
Rayne had just taken his position on the opposite end of the battle field to the gym leader when the red-haired girl, Meena, strode in through the door and crossed her arms on a large rock and resting her chin on her hands, careful not to be seen.
The gym leader released a larvitar, and Rayne released his carvanha, Rouge.
Finding herself at a difficult angle to view the battle, Meena climbed up onto the rock, all the better to see, but lost her footing and slid down, landing awkwardly on top of her right ankle. "Ow ... ouch, godammit ..." she hissed, glaring at her grazed knees and hands and gently massaging her ankle.
Ember looked over at Meena and hurried over, concerned. "Hi! Um, are you okay?" she asked, not really expecting much of an answer. Ah well. You never knew.
"Back off!" Meena spat angrily, and a nuzleaf appeared at her side. Her hair hung messily over her shoulders, and her eyes were a darker red than Rayne's. Her eyes shifted over to him, and she frowned, as if trying to remember something.. She seemed to recall his face, but not his name. Returning her gaze to Ember, her eyes softened, making her features a little less hard.
Rayne raised an eyebrow (now a trademark of Rayne) as he strode over to Ember and Meena. He seemed to have already completed his battle with Roxy – not really surprising, as his pokémon had had a clear advantage from the start. "Well then," he said in an unamused way. "Who do we have here?" He grinned knowingly, but did not let Ember see it.
Humph ... Meena. Why is she here? Rayne recognised Meena as one of the Opal grunts that had also taken part in the beginners' course when he had first signed up. Back at headquarters, the two had a reputation of not quite seeing eye-to-eye. "What a clutz," he laughed, sneering at her.
Meena glared at him and struggled upright to sit on a rock. "I can hear you, boy," she hissed through gritted teeth. "I know you, boy ... I do. Where are you from, fool?" she asked, an air of importance in her voice. A houndoom suddenly ran into the gym and sat just behind Meena, followed by the sound of stones pelting against the outer walls.
Ember poked her tongue out at Meena. "Right. I'll wait for you outside the pokémon center, Rayne." She gave a dismissive wave of her hand, then exited.

Meena continued to glare. "Rayne ... what're you doing here?" she asked, as the name came back to her. The houndoom growled softly at him and barked once or twice before calming down. "What is your problem? Stalking me?" she snarled accusingly, grimacing as she attempted to stand up.
"I'm not stalking you. As you may know, this is my mission." He gave a know-it-all smirk. "You're in no fit state to carry on by yourself. I'll help you, unless you wanted to get a badge." He held out his arm for Meena to lean on.
The houndoom's upper lip curled slightly, revealing fangs of ivory. Meena rolled her eyes and returned both the nuzleaf and houndoom. "I've already got it." She took Rayne's arm under hers and hopped upright. "Let's go get your girlfriend and we can get out of this place." She coughed loudly, as if she had a serious cold, then smirked.
Rayne blushed deeply. "She's not-"
Meena cut him off. "Don't worry. I know you like her. But, I won't tell her yet. That or your little secret." She put emphasis on the last word.
Rayne also coughed, although it was a more distracted one. "Yeah, well ... let's find her. She always seems to run off like that ..."

They found her in front of the pokémon center, looking at a poster for the upcoming pokémon contest. It also bore the locations of other contest halls – there was one wherever there was a gym. They walked over to her, or in Meena's case, hobbled. Ember spun around at the sounds of their voices.
Rayne smiled at her. "Ready to go?" he asked, slowly releasing his grip around Meena's back to make sure she could stand by herself.
Ember nodded and returned the smile. "Yeah, sure!"
Meena folded her arms and sighed. Her ankle seemed to be okay again. "Don't forget me," she said with a lack of enthusiasm. This is his assignment ..? She thought to herself. I knew he was going to kidnap someone, but her? This girl's pathetic ... Can she really tell us anything? Is she really something special?

 

[Forci Stikane]

......Pretty good, but I see signs of a rip-off of Mew-Mew Power...and where did the "pokemon champion" thing come from?

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

......Pretty good, but I see signs of a rip-off of Mew-Mew Power...and where did the "pokemon champion" thing come from?

A) Mew Mew Power is the pathetic excuse for a dub and I will not hear mention of it on this thread. Also, it is entirely different.
B) I have no idea what you're talking about

 

[Forci Stikane]

A) Mew Mew Power is the pathetic excuse for a dub and I will not hear mention of it on this thread. Also, it is entirely different.
B) I have no idea what you're talking about

The thing about the ears popping up all of a sudden and Rayne & Ember trying to hide them from each other. I remembered seeing something like that before, and I realized that's where I saw it.

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

((If you had a tail poking out of your butt, would you be telling everyone about it? I wouldn't have them tell each other, because it's just not logical. I'm trying to get some sort of logic into this fic. O.o))

A/N: I am really sorry. I have been so lazy this week, it's just not funny. And this is a really short chappie! T_T Right now, I'm glad no one really reads (or reviews >_>). Otherwise I'd have to ask you not to eat me. I still will. o.o"

Chapter 7

-The trio-

The three travelers wandered down the path of route 2, Meena a considerable distance in front of Rayne and Ember. "Gawd, you two are so slow!" she remarked, laughing. She seemed to be in a good mood. The sun was high in the sky, as it was around three o'clock PM, and touched all with its gentle shafts of light, the shards playing against the faces of the trio.
Ember smiled as she looked into the distance. There was a large cliff far ahead of them. "It's amazing!" Ember exclaimed, raising her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun. It was then that her cell-phone began to ring – the ring tone was a new song by a popular artist.
"Heya, what's up?" she said brightly into the receiver.
A familiar voice replied, although it was just a vague mumbling to Rayne and Meena, who both felt beads of sweat rolling down the sides of their faces.
Ember screamed loudly, slightly shaken. "I'm doing my best, mother!" she protested. "I'm busy right now!"
Meena walked over to her. "It's your mother right?" Ember nodded, her face a deep magenta.
Meena snatched the phone from her easily. "YOU'RE A HOPELESS MOTHER, YOU KNOW THAT?!" she yelled down the phone. "I HOPE YOU ROT!" She hung up, smirked, then passed the phone back to Ember. "Done."

The pair of red eyes that had haunted Rayne previously suddenly returned, and a loud voice in his head cried, "Hurry up, you idiot!" Rayne glared back at them, then scratched his head casually, trying to think of how to complete this mission. It was turning out to be harder than he'd originally thought. I'm not going back to the 'hi, my team wants to know everything about your teams plans, so cough it up!' strategy.

Ember giggled. When she went back, she would probably be forced to clean the headquarters toilets ... ugh. "Thanks," she said with a slight laugh. "I didn't think I was ever going to get out of that one."
Meena shrugged. "She deserved it. A mother should always be kind ... like mine was." Her expression softened for a moment before hardening again.
She unclipped each of her pokéballs. "Well, Houndoom, Nuzleaf, Magby, Scaylet ... go!"
Ember looked curiously at Meena before smiling. "Chimecho, Cookie, Pea, Char, come on out!" She tossed her four pokéballs in front of her, releasing her chimecho, beautifly, gloom and cyndaquil.
"Go, Rouge, Dustox, and Nuzleaf!" Rayne's three pokémon – a carvanha, a dustox and a nuzleaf – appeared at his side. "Shall we train?"
Both girls nodded.
"Right, then. Let's go see what we can find.

The three walked side by side, Rayne in the middle. Meena's magby, spitfire, hung on to Rayne's leg, a little afraid. Their pokémon walked out in front, Houndoom nobly walking in the lead. Char, Ember's cyndaquil, looked up at it in awe. It could only dream of being so big and strong.
The houndoom looked down at it, and flames flickered between its dagger-like teeth. "Doom, doom doo, houndoom." <Train hard, and you shall be strong also, small one.>
The small cyndaquil squeaked loudly and fell back on its haunches, then proceeded to leap up and walk beside the houndoom. Puffing out his chest, he did his best to appear strong.
Ember looked at the cyndaquil and smiled. Pokémon really are very cute ...
The houndoom picked up the cyndaquil by its scruff and placed it gently on its back, which was met by a loud squeal of delight. The cyndaquil sat, proud as a peacock, on the houndoom's back.

Meena couldn't help but glance occasionally at Rayne, then look quickly at the ground before he noticed. She frowned and kicked herself inwardly. Argh, what's the matter with me? I keep looking at him ... what so great about Rayne, anyway?

Ember laughed at Char, smiling brightly. She looked at Rayne out of the corner of her eye, watching him closely as he walked. He was slouching slightly – not good for his posture. Who is he, really?

Meena felt a pulse in the rock under her foot, traveling from her to the edge of the cliff that they were approaching. "What's going on ..?" she whispered to herself. "Could it be ..?"

As they came to the edge of the cliff Ember had seen earlier, Rayne stepped in front of the party. "Route 2 is so ****ed big," he muttered. He turned his head slightly, the better to see the crystal-clear lake far out below the overhang, then looked back again just in time to see the ground crumble beneath him. "Oh sh–"
As Rayne fell, everything seemed to be in slow motion. He managed to grab hold of a rock that was jutting out of the cliff-side, but it was cutting into his skin and didn't seem very stable, and was a long way from the top and bottom.

Ember gasped as the rock Rayne was holding on to crumbled into dust, and he continued his descent. Without a moments thought, she had jumped over the edge after him.
She fell ... her streamlined pose caused her to fall faster than Rayne, and she passed him in mid-air. Though the look on his face was priceless, she was more interested in the fact that she was about to die than the look of terror that covered her travel-mate's face.
She came closer to the ground ... closer ... closer ... She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact, but it never came. She found herself standing, or rather crouching, on all fours, and while scared stiff, she was otherwise undamaged. "How did–"
She cut herself short as Rayne came into her line of view. He was just a few feet from the ground. "NO!" she screamed. But she couldn't move. My head says run, but my feet won't budge!

Rayne landed with a sickening thud. His life seemed to flash before his eyes the second before he came into contact with the ground. As he did, his sense dulled and his eyes lost their focus as he slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was Ember's shoes.

Ember crouched over him, taking his hand in hers. It was cold. "Rayne ... Rayne, please wake up! You have to get up!" There was no response. "Come on, Rayne! Open your eyes!"
They remained shut. And Ember was unsure if they would ever open again.​

A/N: Still sorry. x_X That was really lame.

 

[Forci Stikane]

What a cliffhanger...

...When did Oddish evolve and where did the Nuzleaf and Cyndaquil come from?

 

[FullmetalxFangirl]

What a cliffhanger...

...When did Oddish evolve and where did the Nuzleaf and Cyndaquil come from?

Ah, that's right. I cut out a lot of battles because they're boring to write and read. The nuzleaf was caught on route 1, and oddish evolved then. The cyndaquil was a promotion for new year on the forum this was [originally] roleplayed on. I was gonna say that, but I have a bad memory and yeah.

I hope cliffhangers are a good thing. o_o"

 

[Forci Stikane]

Thank you for clarifying. Now, ON WITH THE STORY!!

 

[BlackCat]

o.o
Curse you for leaving a cliffhanger.. >.>
Post more! Now! Please ;-;