[Pokémon] Mentor (PG-14)

78?

O -O

Oh my. That's a lot of fic.

Hey, now that you're all on the topic of the PM list (and now that you actually have one), can I be on it? =D Long fics amuse me.

No problem, Giratinasaur! Your now on my list.

I loved the chapter!

"We woke you up half-an-hour ago," Ed explained. "But you went back to sleep as soon as we left."

"I did? I don't really remember that…"

Click to expand...

Holy crud, that happens to me all the time. Today in fact, I apparently talked to my friend on the phone when she called in the morning, but I don't remember it at all. It was very weird when I called her again after I was actually awake and she said she had already talked to me, lol.

I'm glad you have all your chapters planned! It means this story will most likely actually be finished, yay.

I still love your characters! Ally secretly a mastermind... lol!

Keep up the good writing!

Thanks delongbi!

Heh, you're not the only one that doesn't remember waking up. I sometimes do that, but instead of completely forgetting the incident, I instead vaguely remember waking up to be a dream instead. Can be very annoying and confusing, lol.

A/N: Guess what? The chapter is - for once - on time! Yeah, it's a miracle. Though, I do have to say, the beginning of the chapter is a bit boring, but try to bare through it.









Beautiful Cinnabar Island. Known for its culture and wide display of rare Pokemon, especially fire types. Covered in lush jungles and surrounded by sparkling blue tides, it was the ideal place for a relaxing vacation. It was also home to three volcanoes that made lovely pictures to be shown to friends.

Busy Cinnabar Island. Known for being a tourist trap in all possible ways. It had several theme parks on the island and it wasn't the best place for privacy. It was also so crowded in the summer, it wasn't that rare for people to be almost trampled.

"Wow!" Ed gasped. "Look at all the people!"

Leah and Ally could only nod in agreement. When Leah thought it was going to be busy on Cinnabar Island, she didn't know how busy.

People were everywhere! On every street and in every corner, there they were. Most of them looked like tourists, some carrying cameras and such, but there were trainers too. They were the ones who carried Pokemon with them or plainly showed their Pokeball belts across their chests. The loud hum of voices and laughter surrounded the trio, but it seemed more intimidating then welcoming. Especially since there was no end to it!

"Let's find a Pokemon Center," Leah told them before glaring at the back of a guy who bumped into her. "I already hate this place!"

"What!" Ed said loudly as he held Ally's hand. "I can't hear you!"

Leah opened her mouth, but then closed it without comment. Instead she sighed and grabbed both of the kids' free hands, pulling them through the crowd. There were buildings running parallel to each other beside them, each somehow displaying a unique look. There were no gaps between the tall buildings, so the trio was forced the walk straight ahead. As they wandered deeper into the city, they were shoved and bashed by people rushing by. Ally yelped as one person harshly pushed her into Ed and they would have tumbled to the ground if Leah hadn't quickly pulled them back up.

"Come on!" Leah hissed as she dragged them forward. "The Pokemon Center has gotta be around here somewhere! This is insane!"

It took them another fifteen minutes to find a Pokemon Center. They had almost passed it, despite its prominent red and white colors, because it was hidden between two large structures. A rush of cold air greeted them as they entered the lobby, but it was immediately apparent that there really was no getting away from the crowds.

It was packed tight with people and hardly any of them were Pokemon trainers. Most were tired tourists with screaming children and crying babies. The people who actually were trainers looked haggard and annoyed at the noise, but it was hard to tell since as soon as Leah spotted them, she almost immediately lost sight of them.

"Damn it!" Leah cursed. The front desk was surrounded by people, all demanding to get a room. There was no way they could get to the front.

Ed noticed it as well. "I knew we should have gone to Viridian," he moaned.

"No we shouldn't of," Leah immediately snarled. "Look, it's your journey, this is stuff you'll need to deal with all the time!"

Against her better judgment, Leah allowed Ed to pull her and Ally closer to the front desk where they heard the woman behind it try to deal with the sudden flood of people.

"Excuse me!" the woman shouted over the noise. "This is a Pokemon Center! A hospital for Pokemon and a place where trainers may stay! Not for people that aren't registered trainers!"

None of the tourists appeared to be listening as they kept shouting and yelling for rooms, wallets and wads of cash being held up in the air.

"W-what do we do?" Ally asked pleadingly as she stayed close to Leah as she could, using her as an anchor.

Leah shrugged, but kept a groan to herself. "Dunno. Wait, I guess."

"But for how long?" Ed questioned with a yawn. "I'm tried! How long will this take?"

That was the question, wasn't it? They spent three hours that morning, waiting for the ferry to arrive and then used another hour sailing to Cinnabar Island. Now it looked they were going to be forced to give up even more of their time and it was only to do something that should have been easy.

"I don't know," Leah repeated as she eyed the rest of the lobby. There were no empty chairs; the only thing they could sit on was the ground.

"Hopefully, not that long though."





Leah cursed herself. She just had to say 'hopefully', didn't she? She pretty much set herself up to be jinxed.

It was two hours later, but most of the tourists had already left, probably going for dinner somewhere. The crowd had gradually thinned out until there were only the most stubborn of individuals present.

Luckily, they only put up a little fuss when Leah was able to get a room with three beds just by showing her worn-out trainer license. She sneered at them before herding the brats out of the lobby and to the stairwell.

They got to the second floor of the Pokemon Center and found their room, number thirteen. An unlucky number to some, but to them, it was a sign of relief. It only took a few seconds to slide the card key through the lock and to finally enter the room that they had been waiting for.

It wasn't a big room, just enough for the beds and a small desk. Two of the beds were propped against the wall and sitting parallel to each other, while the third was under the single window. There was a door right next to the front door which seemingly led to a bathroom. The warm shades of brown and gold on the walls and bedcovers gave a welcoming feel to the room.

Ed could only moan as he let himself fall onto the bed closet to the door. He seemingly didn't have enough energy to take off his shoes or backpack. Ally likewise sat on a bed, but at least she was not tired enough to lay down on her bag.

"Before you ask," Leah said as she dropped her backpack on the floor. "We're not leaving this room for the rest of the day."

"Don't care," Ed mumbled.

Leah nodded, satisfied. "Good."

"Leah?" Ally spoke up, too tired to be nervous as she continued without Leah replying. "Is it always going to be- be like this?

"Like what?"

Ally yawned in emphasis. "Tiring and- and busy."

"I don't know," Leah said, sitting down on the only unoccupied bed. "I wasn't a trainer for that long." A tone in her voice suggested that that was the end of the conversation, but Ally was feeling brave that day.

"What do you mean?" Ally asked curiously. "I thought you were al- always a trainer."

Leah snorted. "No. Only for a week."

"But- but that doesn't make any sense. Aren't you supposed our Mentor? I thought Mentors had to be good trainers."

Something in Ally's voice made Leah look up sharply. "Hey! It's not like I wanted to be your Mentor anyways."

Ally gulped, finally feeling the glare that Leah was sporting. "Well-"

Taking a calming breath, Leah tried to release the anger.

"Look," Leah said. "My grandmother pulled some strings. I don't want to be here and you don't want me to be here. So, let's just drop this subject before things go south, got it?"

Ally nodded, a bit fearful.

"Good."





It was nice and silent as the three trainers kept to themselves. It was so quiet that Leah assumed that Ed had fallen asleep since he hadn't moved since he had kicked off his shoes and bag off the bed. The steady rise and fall of his chest was the only thing that kept Leah from thinking that he had suddenly and mysteriously died.

The sun had started to set a little while ago, marking the end to a busy and somewhat torturous day. The only light came from the lamp at Ally's bedside table and it illuminated the room in a dull glow. Ally was the only one using it though as she looked through her notebook. Every once in a while she turned a page, devouring the words with her eyes.

That was thankful because it meant that no one would be interrupting Leah's peace and quiet time. After being surrounded by noise for the last two hours, the last thing she wanted hear was someone breaking the silence.

A sudden rustling sound had Leah looking up to see Ed turning over in his sleep, his back facing his roommates.

Leah sighed and glanced around the room quick enough to see Ally going back to her book, interest lost in the slumbering Ed.

Maybe she should get some sleep too? Leah thought. It would pass the time all right, but she really didn't want to be waking in the middle of the night, wide awake. That always happened when she went to bed early and it was irritating enough the first few times it happened.

Though, it wasn't like she had much else to do.

Leah glanced up at Ally. "Hey."

Ally looked up, but said nothing.

"Turn it off," Leah said as she motioned to the lamp. "I'm going to bed."

The girl looked at the clock which showed the time plainly. "It's only eight."

"I'm tired. Now turn it off."

It looked like Ally wanted to protest, but Leah gave her a weak stare.

As the light turned off, Leah shoved all the blankets off her bed except for a thin sheet, which she pulled over her shoulders once she laid down. Her head hit the pillow and in moments, she was out like a light.





The next day, anyone could tell that it was going to be nice out. The sun was shining, the Pidgey were singing and it was almost as if everything was all right with the world.

"It's that way!"

"No, it's not! Look, the map says to go left-"

"The map's wrong-"

"Did you just cut me off?"

"-Because the lady at the desk said we take a right."

"The lady at the desk," Leah argued. "Is a stupid blond airhead. You don't trust people over something factual like a map! We go left!"

Ed was never one to give up. "No! We go right!"

"Left!"

"Right!"

"Left!"

"Right!"

"Left!"

"Right!"

"Left!"

"Left!"

"Hah!" Leah said triumphantly, pointing at him. "You agree with me!"

"You messed it up!" Ed whined. "You're supposed to go 'Right!' and then I say-"

Leah rolled her eyes and started following the trail to the left which led towards a groove between the trees. "Oh, come on. Like any of Bugs Bunny's tricks can work on me."

Ed ran to catch up.

"The gym's not this way!" Ed said, but followed Leah anyway.

After they got through the groove, the trail suddenly narrowed, forcing Ed to walk behind Leah in an effort to avoid the vicious looking plants that surrounded the road. As well as the carnivorous bushes, foreign-looking trees towered over them, keeping most of the sky hidden.

They walked for several minutes without talking to each other, jumping over the off plant once and a while. Though, a lucky branch was able to snag on the hem of Ed's pant leg and he stopped after finding that pulling on it wouldn't do the trick.

After manually escaping from the branch's hold, Ed looked up to see Leah still walking, having not noticed that he stopped.

"Wait up!"

Leah paused and turned to look at him. "What? Why are you back there for? Come on, I thought you wanted to go to the gym?"

Ed again ran to catch up once Leah spun back around and continued walking. He pouted as he resumed a slower pace and muttered: "If Ally was here, we could've convinced you to go right."

"Well she's not here, so too bad for you."

"She should be here," Ed continued, not letting the issue go. "Why did she have to stay at the Pokemon Center?"

"Because, moron, she wanted to see if something was wrong with her Voltorb." She rolled her eyes. "Not that anything is."

Ed tried to look at the bright side. "Well, at least she won't get lost too…"

"We're going to find the gym," Leah said exasperatedly. "So stop complaining. Besides, you guys aren't even going to challenge it today. We're only staking it out."

"Why can't we?" Ed asked as they trudged down a shallow slope. "I mean, I've been training Paras and it knows attacks now! It'll obey me!"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, how many attack does it know?"

Ed shrugged. "Two. Scratch and Stun Spore, and I'm really close with Poison Powder."

"Good for you." Sarcasm dripped through her voice. "By the way, what type of Pokemon is Paras?"

He thought. "Uh, bug and grass?"

"Yeah, that's right. And what type of Pokemon does the Cinnabar gym leader use?"

"Oh." Ed's face fell. "Fire."

Leah nodded. "Fire," she repeated. "No bug or grass type would stand a chance, much less a bug and a grass type."

Pushing a branch out of his way, Leah suddenly stopped as the trail came to an abrupt halt. The ground in front of them was covered with tall grass, plants and wildlife, having seemingly grown over the trail.

"Huh?"

Leah looked at the map with a sharp eye. "Well, the map says we're on the right track."

Ed glared at her. "I told you the map was wrong!"

"No, no," Leah said, waving his complaints off. "It's not wrong, we should get to the gym if we just keep going forward."

"But there's no path!"

"So? We don't need one, we just need to walk in a straight line."

Ed solemnly looked through the dense plants and trees. "What if we get lost?"

"We're going straight," Leah snapped as she pushed her way through the bush. "It's not like we're making any turns or anything."

Despite what Leah said, the duo did have to make a few turns, but mostly just to get around the too thick shrubs that sometimes go in their way. As soon as they got passed it, they went right back on their imaginary trail.

Hearing a low chirping, Leah looked up to the tops of the trees to see a bunch of Pidgey (or were they Spearow?) cluttering up the same branch. It was the first wild Pokemon life they had seen all day. Vaguely, Leah could tell that Ed was saying something about them, something stupid probably, but she wasn't paying attention as something had caught her eye. At the edge of her vision and in a gap between the branches of the trees, there was a hint of gray and she turned her head to see the sky behind them clouding over rather quickly.

It was still warm out, perfect Cinnabar weather, but the dark clouds contrasted the summer picture.

"It's going to rain soon," Leah told Ed, still staring at the clouds.

"Really?" Ed said as he looked at them with vague disappointment. "But it was so sunny out, I didn't think it was going to start raining."

"I didn't either." It was true, too. Just that morning, before she and Ed left the Pokemon Center, she checked the weather on the internet and found out that it was going to be very sunny all day. The weather reports on that particular site were rarely wrong and Leah had to conclude that the sudden series of clouds were the result of the tropical climate or something like that.

"We should go back to the Pokemon Center," Leah said. "I don't want to be out when it rains."

Ed looked at her with keen eyes, taking in her expression of discomfort and fidgeting body. His eyes lit up in sudden realization.

"I know what you're up to."

"Yeah?" Leah asked, eyeing the path back to the trail. "What's that?"

"This is a scheme!"

"Huh?"

"That's right!" Ed said with a proud nod. "I've figured it out. You've discovered that you were wrong and we were supposed to make that right turn back there. You're using the weather excuse to make us turn back and go back to the Pokemon Center so you won't have to admit you're wrong."

Leah just stared. That wasn't the main reason why she wanted to go back to the Pokemon Center, though it was a good secondary one.

"We should go back to the Pokemon Center," she repeated.

Ed crossed his arms. "No, I don't want to."

"And why's that?"

"'Cause we came all this way just to turn back so fast. Let's keep going. Unless…" Ed trailed off. "Unless you want to admit you're wrong."

"What?" Leah said, frowning. "I'm not wrong."

"Really? Then prove it."

Leah glanced warily at the clouds.

"If you're right," Ed said, tempting her. "Then the gym can't be too far away. We'll get there and back before the rain comes."

"The clouds are coming pretty fast…"

"So? If you're right, you won't have to worry."

The teen tore her eyes from the sky and gave him a competitive look.

"Fine," Leah said. "I'm not wrong."

Her glaze drifted back to the incoming weather by their own accord.

"I'm not."





"Fine!" Leah shouted, her hands clenched tightly in her pockets and hood obstructing her face from view. "I'm wrong, I give up!"

Ed sighed, his hair and clothing dripping with water. "Yeah, that's for sure."

The rain had caught up to them just five minutes ago and it came suddenly and without warning. One minute, they were arguing, the next they were taking cover under the nearest tree. Leah, fortunately, never left her house without her rain jacket and was relatively dry.

Though she didn't act like it.

"Let's go! You win! I want to go back to the Pokemon Center now!"

"Calm down," Ed said, squinting through the rain. "The weather's not that bad."

Leah panicked. "But it will be! We need to go!"

Ed looked suspiciously at Leah. She was acting weird. It was only a little water; it never hurt anyone. He used to play in it all the time when he was little… Well, he still did, but that wasn't the point.

He turned around and, taking a few cautious steps forward, he gained more confidence as he didn't trip and fall flat on his face. Twigs snapped against his stride and he wiped his eyes clean of water. He felt Leah's body heat as she came up behind him and stayed close to his back.

Together, the duo made their way back up their makeshift trail.

"I think we're going to right way," Ed said, but a bit of doubt made itself known in his head. They went straight, doing what Leah's map said, but what if they stopped going straight? Neither of them could've known if they had started to go off a bit and just a bit made a big difference when you had been walking for ten minutes.

"We were going straight," Leah insisted. "We have to be going to right way."

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, but it was so short that Ed thought he had imagined it. It was only when Leah gasp that he knew that she had seen the same thing.

"Lightning!" she said softly, fear apparent in her voice. "We're caught in a ****ing storm!"

Thunder rumbled in the distance, the loud crackle forcing a shiver up his spine. He had never been scared of storms, but then again, he had never been outside when one happened.

His breath was knocked out of him when a sudden force pushed him forwards. He stumbled and spun around.

"What was that for…" He trailed off when he saw the frenzied look in his mentor's eye.

"Run!" Leah barked and shoved him again. This time, Ed nearly fell to the ground, but was able to catch himself by grabbing a tree. Hugging the plant around its truck, he looked up to see Leah looming over him.

"Run!" she repeated. "Don't stop! Just run!"

Ed was about to ask why as he didn't think that the lightning was very close to them when she glared with more intensity then he had ever seen.

"Run!"

Ed ran.

Run!"

Ed ran faster.

"Run!"

The final shout propelled him and he flew through the bushes and trees faster then he had ever run before. He didn't look back and took no notice of the twigs and branches that slapped his skin and scratched his arms and legs.

As the storm got fiercer, the soft pitter-patter of the rain started to turn into a dull roar. Ed could feel his soaked clothes clinging to his skin and they made a sloping sound every time he moved. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky and only a few seconds later, the clap of thunder followed, louder then before.

"It's coming closer!" Ed gasped out to Leah, who was behind him.

His eyes half-blinded by the rain, he felt his legs begin to burn from the inside out. His heart beat wildly and was begging him to stop, or at least rest, just for a moment. Just for a moment…

He didn't know how long he had been running for, but he felt like he had been doing it for a while. The forest he had been secretly admiring as he first came through, weird looking in its design, was now just green streaks as he whizzed by it, and in some cases, through it.

With another burst of adrenaline as the sky lit up, he suddenly found himself stepping onto the trail, which he and Leah had abandoned a while ago. Despite the feeling of relief in having a route to freedom, he didn't dare stop and kept on running.

It was only when the crossroad got into his vision did he start to slow down. He was jogging by the time he actually got there and finally came to a halt.

His legs felt like jelly and he happily let them rest by easing himself onto the ground, soaking his pants even more. He felt numb, though his body tingled weirdly as he rested it. Dazedly, he looked at the red welts and cuts that adorned his naked skin. They looked bad and when he touched one, he hissed in pain.

"Ouch," he said dizzily.

It was still raining, as hard as ever, and the storm got steadily worse. Ed absentmindedly thought that maybe he should go back to the Pokemon Center. It would be dry there, and he could see how Ally was doing. Maybe he could even do some training; Paras was so close at knowing what Poison Powder was, it would only take a little nudging…

As thunder rolled, Ed remembered. Oh, right.

Leah.

Ed really didn't feel like moving, he was pretty comfy despite his dampness, but he had to sacrifice it. Turning his head, he looked around himself, but couldn't see her. Weird. He thought that she had been right behind him. Glancing over at the groove between the trees, he waited. He stared at it for a while, but no Leah came running out.

Huh. He wondered where Leah was.

Ed sat there for another ten minutes.

She never came out.

A solid chapter.

Honestly, I can't think of anything to comment on. No grammar errors I found. I curious why Leah is scared of thunderstorms (if that is the reason she was acting so weird). It was pretty nice having a new chapter on time! I can't wait for more!

Just like delongbi above me, I'm interested to see why Leah is afraid of the storm if that's why she's acting strange. I saw a couple of errors, but I can't find them anymore. They were all minor though, nothing to worry about. Great chapter, you described Cinnabar really well in my opinion.

Thanks for reviewing, delongbi and Sladazo!

To answer you question, yes, Leah's afraid of storms. Well, that and all bad weather makes her very uneasy. And to why she's fearful? Heh, you guys are going to find out soon enough, I'll tell you that much. ;)

Yes, yes, yes! Awesome chapter! You're skills have really refined quick, Dagzar! Really active chapter too, I thought!

Haha, thanks Skunter!

By the way peoples, all chapters from now on will be posted on Friday night. That is my due date and I will stick with it.

*nods to self*

Well, I was going to say I wondered why Leah was afraid of storms. Then, I had a theory... that maybe it wasn't a storm, maybe it was caused by Zapdos; but, I quickly threw that theory out the window, because Zapdos lives in the Power Plant... which is no-where near Cinnabar. Hope to receive the answer to the problem soon and keep up the excellent work, Dagzar.

It had been twenty minutes since she had lost sight of Ed.

She had reasonably calmed down from her panic-induced hysteria at being caught in a storm. So, instead of being all scared and trying to hide under some wimpy looking tree, she was instead feeling depressed and moody. Not that she still wasn't a bit fearful (understatement), but it had since taken a back seat in favor of brooding and sarcasm.

Or that was what Leah kept telling herself.

Though, it didn't matter since she had to find a way to get out of the forest. Right now.

Like the people back in the city, the storm was all around her and no matter what she did, no matter where she tried to hide, she couldn't get it to go away! It blinded her senses. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear (not that it would've helped anyways) and she couldn't even run anymore, though that one was more her fault then the rain's.

Leah cursed herself for not exercising more. Maybe if she did then maybe she could've kept up with Ed's fast pace. It was really surprising, and a bit frightening too, how fast Ed was able to run. Leah tried to follow, really, she did, but she got tired and was forced to stop. It wasn't the best excuse, especially since she was the one that wanted that wanted to leave so badly, but how could she know that she was going to get caught in up in a freaking storm?

She flinched and her heart raced as the thunder growled in the sky. A pit of terror had formed her chest and she desperately wanted to get rid of it. Oh, what she would do to get out of the weather? Pretty much anything at that point.

Hunched over, but with her whole body on alert, she was stupidly walking in a random direction. She had no clue where she was going, but didn't care as long as it led her out of the jungle. If she was smart, she would've just stayed in the same place and would hope that Ed came back for her.

But no, she just couldn't stay still, could she? Nope, she just had to be a moron.

The trees provided pretty much no protection whatsoever, from both the rain and the lightning; not that she logically needed protection from lightning, but still. It was lightning! What if it hit a tree or something?

Shivering, she stuck her hands in her pockets. If the rain, lightning and thunder weren't bad enough, there was the wind. The stupid damn wind. Despite the storm, it actually wasn't that cold unless you accounted for the strong winds. It was blowing and howling and attacking her whenever she wasn't behind trees. It blew rain into her face and forced her to close her eyes and stop whenever a particular big gust came around.

With her eyes half-blind, she was surprised she hadn't tripped or run into anything yet, but she didn't think that would last long.

Where was the exit? There had to be one around somewhere! Although, she found that that hope was slowly dying. How long had she been walking? A long time probably and despite her tiredness, she had yet to get out of the dreadfully familiar scene of plants, plants and more plants. She needed a new plan. It looked like she wasn't going to be getting out of the storm the way she wanted to, so she was going to have to go with Plan B (always capitalized in her head).

Most people would be surprised that she had a Plan B already, but the specific plan had been thought up a few years ago. Just in case That ever happened again. And look-it that: it had.

So, Plan B: she needed to find a shelter. No, not a tree or a plant. Those couldn't be trusted. A cave of some sort would work, but she didn't think there were any around. Actually, maybe there were some. She sure didn't expect to find a cave Back There, after all.

Leah looked around her and tried to calm herself down. She had to find shelter or it would just get worse.

It always did.




"Well," Leah spoke to herself, voice shaking as a disbelieving grin came onto her face. "I would've liked a cave, but I suppose a creepy house in the middle of nowhere will have to do."

It was around ten minutes later and Leah had stumbled upon the jackpot.

A house, a mansion, stood before her, looking much older than her own house. It looked abandoned if the yard was any indication. The gardens in front were all dead and the decayed plants hadn't even been cleaned up. Though, it was hard to see through the thick rain.

Briskly walking toward the double doors that stood on top of a mini wooden staircase, she crushed the dead plants under her boots. When she got to the top of the stairs and under the overhang, she sighed, but didn't make a move to taking her hood off. Water dripped onto the damp wood and Leah looked at the door cautiously before shaking her head.

No, there was no point in knocking. She didn't care if it wasn't abandoned, she was getting out of the weather and that was that. Period.

She tried to open the door and was a bit surprised when it swung open easily. Hmm, suspicious. With one last look at the miserable weather, she casually entered the mansion. There were no lights inside and she couldn't see any light switches on the walls, but the light from the open doorway vaguely illuminated the scene.

It was… grand. That was the best word to describe it. The front room that she had entered was bigger then her kitchen and living room put together. At the very front of the room, about six meters ahead of her, were two great staircases which curled their way to the floor above. There was also a slight chill in the room and it almost made Leah think that it might be colder inside the house than out.

Before closing the door, Leah knelt down and dug around in her bag for her flashlight. She found it and switched it on, the beam of light providing more comfort then the light from outdoors did. She was happy to note, that once she closed the door, the sound of the rain was abruptly cut off, though she could still hear it if she was really quiet. Which she wasn't.

"Hello?" Leah hesitantly asked the mansion, feeling like a girl out of a horror movie. "Anyone there?"

Nothing.

"Okay then, I'll just make myself at home." Then she said quieter to herself as she looked around with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, I'll do that…"

Leah wandered over to the staircase, a once majestic red carpet guiding her from the door to the stairs, as if welcoming her. As she walked, she couldn't help but notice the five white columns on either side of her, extended to the ceiling and seemingly holding it up. They were probably once quite good looking, but now they were crumbling and worn from age.

The whole place was weird, she thought. An abandoned mansion in the middle of a forest would make a good tourist attraction, so why wasn't anyone here? Not only that, but there was a feeling in the air, like a static charge. She couldn't really describe it, but whatever it was, it just gave her the feeling that she was intruding on something… sacred.

Her footfalls paused as she stood before the stairs.

The terror which had been put on hiatus as she amused herself with the mysterious mansion suddenly started to rise. Suddenly, she started to wonder why a house like this was abandoned in the first place. Had something horrible happened? She felt her limbs freezing in place and her mind blanking out. All that was left was her and the instinct that something was inexplicitly wrong with the whole situation.

Then, as fast as it appeared, the fear left her and she let out a breath of air.

Nothing to fear, it was probably just that weird smell in the air that had been bugging her since she had come in. That- that burning smell. Her nose itched and she wished that it would go away already. The smell had proved that it was annoying, so could it just go bug someone else, now?

"Sorry, house," Leah said and forced a smile to hide a bit of unease. "Unless you can make it rain in here, there's no getting rid of me."

With nothing else to do, she sat down on one of the lowest steps, her arm leaning against her knee and her hand supporting her head. Silence descended on the mansion as Leah just sat there and did nothing. She could hear the dulled out sound of the rain outside as it attacked the roof with a roar.

She assumed it wouldn't rain for that much longer, but the longer she sat there in the quiet, the more that the hope withered and died. How long was she going to be stuck inside for anyways? Hours? If that was so, then Leah could pretty much sentence herself to hours of boredom. She didn't really feel like exploring the house because she'd probably just get into trouble. Besides, with the house in the condition that it was in, she didn't want to accidently fall through the floor or something like that.

Sighing, she took out Sand's Pokeball from her pocket and held it up to her face. She refused to suffer alone (it had nothing to do with feeling a bit uneasy, not at all).

"Hey, Sands," Leah said to the Pokeball. "There's no battle, but if I let you out, you gotta behave and be a good little Pokemon. Okay?"

Taking to the Pokeball was meaningless since Sands couldn't hear her; though it didn't matter because it wouldn't be able understand even if it actually did.

Leah released Sands onto the floor. Her eyes narrowed at the bright light and stayed like that until the spectacle was over. Sands looked up at her with a blank expression. It was obviously confused on why it had been called out when there was no battle.

"I'm bored," Leah told it, answering its imaginary question. "You're suffering with me."

"Sands?" it said.

"Yeah, that's your name," she teased it. Uh oh, if she was bored enough to play games with a Pokemon, then she was in trouble.

Though, Sands didn't seem like it wanted to continue their conversation either. It pawed the ground, claws scratching the carpet before it got up on its hind legs and stuck its nose into the air, sniffing.

"What are you smelling?"

The Pokemon didn't bother replying, putting its nose to the ground and then looking up at Leah.

"What are you-?"

With fast steps, Sands leapt onto the stair that Leah was sitting on and started to climb. Leah twisted her body around to watch her Pokemon walk away from her and go up to the next level with its nose first.

Leah scowled. "Hey!" She quickly stood up and with flashlight in hand, she followed. The beam of light kept a firm spotlight on the Sandshrew, who completely ignored its trainer when she called out to it again and again. Though she wasn't that happy at Sands' disobedience, she didn't try to stop it, instead hoping that the Pokemon will lead her out of boredom, but not into trouble. Huh, and she thought she wasn't going to explore. So much for that plan.

Sands and Leah got to the next floor up and Leah shined her flashlight onto the hallway walls. They were torn up and old, but that wasn't what caught her attention. No, the thing that caught her attention was the single handprint that had been smeared onto the wallpaper closest to the staircase. She went up closer and found that it was a dark, rusty brown and drips of it fell in a straight line to the floor. Or, once had. It was completely dried up and looked like it had been like that for a long time.

"Blood; ew," she concluded with a grimace. "This has suddenly gotten a lot creepier."

Leah turned from the wall and pointed her flashlight back at Sands-

-Or, where Sands was supposed to be.

The light hovered in that spot for a moment before starting to frantically move along ground, looking for the lost Pokemon.

"Sands?" Leah asked loudly. "Come here!"

When the Sandshrew didn't come trotting to her, Leah cursed at Sands' sudden abandonment. Not again! This was the reason that she hated relying on Sandshrew for anything other then a battle. It always seemed to abandon her when she needed it most! What if she needed protection or something? Argh!

Calm down, she told herself. There are only two directions Sands could have gone: up the hallway or down the hallway. Judging that Sands would have to slip past her to go down the hallway, she assumed that it had gone right. Leah peered up the hallway. No Pokemon could be seen, but there were three doors, two of them wide open, the other being closed.

She took a step forward and the floor creaked under her weight. Banishing the chills, she tried to walk casually down the hall, like nothing was remotely creepy about it.

"Oh, Sands…" she sung to herself. "Where are you…?"

Leah glanced into the first room, sweeping her flashlight around while doing so. Nope, nothing alive or spooky. Just a small room with a desk and an awesome looking high-back chair behind it. Putting her search for Sands on hiatus, she walked over (making sure that there definitely nothing alive (or un-alive) around her) and promptly sat down. The plush sagged under her and she bounced her head off the back of the plush chair.

"Liking the chair." She nodded to herself and noticed a few papers on the desk. Old, crinkled ones, but most obviously paper. She helped herself and dragged one of them over to her eyes, but didn't pick it up; it looked delicate.

It was legible and it seemed to be some sort of page out of a diary.


March 18th, 1954

Elizur is doing better now that the weather is warmer. He seems to enjoy sitting in the sun, but I must be careful not to leave him alone. This is the second time he has tried to wander into the bush. I dread to think what could have happened if Nidorina wasn't watching him; he could've gotten lost. I'm going to have to keep him inside for a while, though I must make it clear to him that it isn't a punishment. Kadabra has warned me that it is going to rain for the next few days and my dear psychic type has nary been wrong.

I do hope Elizur won't take it too bad. He does hate staying inside and I feel rather guilty that he must. I know he misses Brazil and I have decided that I'll be taking him there for the summer. He'll enjoy that, I'm sure.

My colleague, Professor Dawson, will be joining me for the next few weeks and he is in great spirits. He's wanted to meet Elizur ever since I mentioned him and I hope that they'll get along well. Elizur is rather shy, but I'm sure that the professor will be able to win him over.


The page ended there and nothing else was written.

"Who's Elizur?" Leah said to herself as she pushed the page away and dragged a different one towards her. She really shouldn't be snooping in some dead guy's belongings, but who was going to call her out for it? A ghost?

The page in front of her was shorter then the last.


April 5th, 1954

I am worried about Elizur. Ever since the professor left, he hasn't been acting as cheery as he normally is. He took to Professor Dawson quite much and I don't like seeing him so put out. I don't know what to do, but it's a sunny afternoon and I hope that Elizur will have some fun outside today. In fact, I may join him myself. I can't remember the last time that I went outside just to enjoy the weather. I haven't talked with Elizur often either and maybe we can talk things out.

"Wow," Leah said. "Elizur this, Elizur that. Is he the guy's son or something?"

She looked at the rest of the papers on the desk, but found the words were either too illegible, as if a bucket of water had been dropped on them. Leaning back in her chair, she pondered the mystery of the blurred notes. Now that she paid attention, she saw that the edges on one side of the pages were torn. They must have been torn out of a notebook, she thought. But why was that?

Leah looked over the notes again and picked one out that looked half-readable, though it was the shortest entry yet.


May 24th, 1954

….thing's wrong…… Elizur. He's gotten extremely volatile and I'm not sure what to do. He's……………hit Kadabra. …..tried to reason………………won't listen to me and now I've found…….always arguing. …………not the worst of it. ………. morning, I found blood…. his room…. confronted him………horrified…………..he cut …………….. A nasty slash. This has gone too far.


"Kid went insane then," Leah concluded. She was about to try to read another page when she heard a small sound coming from the next room.

It was a thumping noise and it came vaguely from her right.

She grinned and promptly forgot about the mystery in front of her. She had found Sands! Reluctantly getting up from the awesome chair, she left the room, flashlight ahead of her.

"Here's door number two," she said as she poked her head in.

The room was in serve contrast from the room she just left. Where the study was boring and was your typical office, the room she was in was bursting with life. It was a bedroom, the bed being an obvious sign as it stood pressed against the wall. The sheets were a brilliant blue and covered with yellow patterns. Above the bed was a window, the curtains open and the light from outside cast a blue glow on the room.

Water was dripping down the window and she could hear the pitter patter of the rain on the roof. The room was surprisingly warm, she found, as she stepped forwards onto the expensive wood lining the floor.

Something caught her eye, so she walked up to the shelf on the wall and stared at the beautiful rocks that stood proudly on display. They all gleamed, some shined and some even glittered. It was quite a collection. She could even recognize some of the rocks by name, though it wasn't that surprising. The gray stone, for instance, the one with green veins that spider-webbed across it was a Leaf Stone. Next to it was a blue stone, one that was a mix of blues and purples. That was a Water Stone. Most of the rocks were some type of elemental stone, but the rest were just your common variety garden rocks, or so she assumed.

Leah turned away from the rocks and looked down at the Pokemon who was lying beside her.

"What are you doing in here, Sands?" Leah asked. The Pokemon looked tired and its body was curled up around a stone that seemingly fell from the shelf. Sands' paws were around the rock, but the trainer could still see the spiral of reds and oranges of the rock.

"Why do you have Fire Stone, Sands?"

Kneeling down, she put her hand on her Pokemon's body and felt the heat it produced, but she also felt the faint shivering. Her hand ran along Sands' body until she could feel the warmth that was admitting from the Fire Stone. Leah frowned. Now that she thought about it, it was quite a bit warmer in the room than the rest of the house. And as she very well knew, the one thing that Sandshrew hated equally to water, it was the cold.

"Are you cold? Is that it?"

Sands opened its eyes into slits, but closed them again, uninterested in its trainer.

She sighed. "Guess that's a 'yes' then. Come on, Sands. You can't lay here all day and I really don't want to return you to your Pokeball."

The word 'Pokeball' was something Sands recognized and it raised its head. Keeping its paws firmly on the stone, the Pokemon unleashed a pleading look that Leah had never seen Sands give her before. The look was vaguely human-ish and the fact that she could tell it was a pleading look made her uncomfortable.

She really hated it when Sands started to give her those types of expressions. It made her think back to those Pokemon Rights propaganda that had been spreading around recently. The idea that Pokemon were sentient beings and could think and feel like a human gave her the shivers. If it were true, it would bring a whole new side to slavery and what Pokemon battling was really about. Thank god it wasn't, though. The only Pokemon that could be counted as sentient were psychic types, and even they had to be powerful to think like a human.

"Okay," Leah said as she got to her feet. "Fine, fine. Lay there. It's not like we need to explore."

With another sigh, Leah sank onto the bed, feeling the stiff mattress deny her the ability to be comfortable. She once again let her head be held up by her hand as she just sat there and did nothing.

… It was funny. Something had been gnawing at her mind ever since she had entered the mansion and she felt it was a good enough time then ever to figure out what it was.

It wasn't the torn and blurred pages, no matter how weird it seemed. People did odd things, nothing wrong about that. It also wasn't the burning smell that had bugged her downstairs. She didn't know how long smells like that were supposed to last, but she was sure nothing was on fire. Hmm. Whatever had been bugging her had been doing so ever since she had stepped in the haunted house.

The people, she supposed. She would have thought that an old mansion like the one she was in would be gotten rid of ages ago. Or at least bought by someone who liked weird, creepy houses. It just didn't make sense. Where were all the people? Not only that, but where were all the Pokemon? Abandoned places were the perfect homes for wild Pokemon and in a storm like the one outside, the place should be crawling with Rattata.

Yes, that was the thing that had been bugging her. Where was everyone?

Shifting, she sat up straight and eyed the room. It was surprising that no had ever entered the mansion. The rocks on the shelves, the elemental ones, they could have been sold for money or used on Pokemon. There were probably lots of things that could have been sold, but they were just left behind to rot.

Leah got up and went over the shelves again. She stepped over the sleeping Sandshrew and got right up close. The stones were really pretty and they shone when her flashlight flashed over them. But it was then when she noticed something. A small thing, something that she had always overlooked, but with her flashlight, it made it obvious. She breathed out of her mouth again and watched the few specks of dust on the rocks to lift into the air. They danced, completely visible in the light.

The dust. Why was there so little dust?

"Sands," Leah spoke softly as she shone her flashlight on the other stones. There was no dust on them and she could see the dust-free fingerprints on the shelf. It stood out horribly and she wondered how she could've missed it. There was no dust on the banister or the stairs when she came in either. Also, there was none on the desk or the paper in the study. She never found herself coughing over the fifty years worth of dust.

Then she remembered the thumping noise that had led her to Sands. Her Pokemon wasn't clumsy and she knew that there was no way that it could have knocked the Fire Stone off the shelf by itself. The sound came vaguely from her right. Well, was it from straight from her right or down from her right?

"Sands," she repeated as Sands cracked open an eye. There was an urgent tone in her voice and it couldn't be ignored.

"You know what? I don't think we're alone in the house."





Outside, the storm raged on.





A/N: Hey guys, I have a question, though it's hard to explain. In a sentence, for something laying on the ground, would you use 'laying' or 'lying'? It's a question that's been bugging me for a while and I suppose now's a good time to get an answer.

Also, do you guys think there's something wrong with the chapter? Like pacing issues or maybe illogical character actions…? I have to ask this because there's something bugging me about the chapter, but I can't tell what (except for the sucky conclusion).

Dagzar said:

Sighing, she took out Sands' Pokeball from her pocket and held it up to her face.

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This was another good chapter. I really liked the creepiness factor you added to it, and the only error I could find was the one quoted. When a name ends with an S (Alexis, Sands, Helios, and so on) you use the last letter as if it were the second part of the 's and put an apostrophe at the end of the word. ;D

It wasn't the best excuse, especially since she was the one that wanted that wanted to leave so badly, but how could she know that she was going to get caught in up in a freaking storm?

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That Is the only mistake that jumped out at me.

A/N: Hey guys, I have a question, though it's hard to explain. In a sentence, for something laying on the ground, would you use 'laying' or 'lying'? It's a question that's been bugging me for a while and I suppose now's a good time to get an answer.

Also, do you guys think there's something wrong with the chapter? Like pacing issues or maybe illogical character actions…? I have to ask this because there's something bugging me about the chapter, but I can't tell what (except for the sucky conclusion).

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but "laying" would be correct, because "lying" is the act of telling a lie.

And I did not see anything wrong with the chapter.

This was another good chapter. I really liked the creepiness factor you added to it, and the only error I could find was the one quoted. When a name ends with an S (Alexis, Sands, Helios, and so on) you use the last letter as if it were the second part of the 's and put an apostrophe at the end of the word. ;D

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Thanks, Giratinasaur! Heh, that was another grammar issue I was thinking about since I stupidly nicknamed the Sandshrew 'Sands'. Stupid possession grammar always gets me. ;) I'm glad you thought it was creepy since I've never written that type of stuff before. And man, was it fun to write!

That Is the only mistake that jumped out at me.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but "laying" would be correct, because "lying" is the act of telling a lie.

And I did not see anything wrong with the chapter.

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Thanks for reviewing, Buoysel! Okay, since I've been using 'laying' throughout the story, I haven't been making a mistake. Excellent!

It's "lying." When you're talking about something resting on something, or reclining in a horizontal position, that's "lie." It doesn't take a direct object. If you're placing an object somewhere, i.e. laying it down, then "lay" is the verb that you use. You can only use it in conjunction with an object.

So:

You can't lay here all day and I really don't want to return you to your Pokeball.

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Incorrect; there is no object, so it should be "lie." There should also be a comma after "day."

Ally likewise sat on a bed, but at least she was not tired enough to lay down on her bag.

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Correct; "her bag" is the object. Kinda funny because the comma in this sentence is correctly placed, and is required for the same reason that should be one in the first quoted sentence.

You know how it goes, grammar errors first.

Or, that was what Leah kept telling herself.

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This sentence flows better without the comma.

She couldn't see, she could hear (not that it would've helped anyways) and she couldn't even run anymore, though that one was more her fault then the rain's.

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I think you meant couldn't hear, not could hear. Also, then should be than.

Oh, what she would do to get out of the weather?

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When you read this sentance, it does not sound like it is a question. I think the '?' should be a period...

Uh oh, if she bored enough to play games with a Pokemon, then she was in trouble.

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If she was bored enough

Anyway, this was a great (but creepy) chapter. Even though you freaked me out several times, I enjoyed the thrill. You'd probably be a great horror writer (but if this turns into a horror fic, I'm leaving... I can't deal with too much creepy)- You're a little too good at it, lol.

It was completely dried up and looked like it had been like that for a long time.

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Yeah, and that's where I would leave.

When Sands went missing, I was reminded of I am legend...

Sands opened its eyes into slits, but closed them again, uninterested in its trainer.

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I'm seeing some similarities between trainer and Pokemon...

Nice chapter! Can't wait for more!

Thanks for the grammar advice, Buoysel! Since I've substituted 'laying' for 'lying' several times throughout the story, I better go back and do some much need editing!

And thanks, delongbi! I'll have to correct those errors when I go back to fix my 'laying' problem. Heh, and don't worry, this story isn't a horror one (though it may seem like it at times). Though, I suppose I'll say that the next chapter will have some creepiness, but then the story should go back to its generalness. Somewhat. :cheeky:

I've been too lazy to reply lately, but your recent chapters are great! Was it creepy? I didn't really find it creepy...but maybe that's just me. (Lol, my friends at school say that I have no reaction to anything whatsoever XD)

Yeah, as the others have pointed out, it's 'laying' for objects. I've had trouble with that verb too. There also some minor grammar mistakes and typos, but the overall story is great. I would just advise re-reading your chapter before posting it.

Then again, I never do that...so yeah. xD