Finally! Happy TCQ DAY!
Felicitations, we turning three today.... today, today
So all gather around let us say ... hooray, hooray!
Before we get on with the show... let's get the replies to fan post outta the way...
@Diddy:
Except Zen's poor infiltration skills. tsk tsk. Poor show my fighting type friend, poor show. As a fan of those type of games, stealth based (Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell etc.) RPG's with stealth options (Oblivion, Fallout 3) I think I've infiltrated enough virtual houses to know that it could have been a lot less messy.
Yeah, well, I never got the hang of such games. Plus he wasn't there for an assassination. no matter how much the world would hero worship him for nixing Reg. either way, they had an easier time escaping with no one in any fit state to give chase.
But at least we got to see Lunar Beam, I want that move for my Umbreon.
LOL... I'm not surprised... the dark form of Solarbeam, Lunar beam becomes more powerful the closer the user is to nighttime, and if it could blow up a quarter of a house at ten in the morning, then you have the ultimate dark type attack.
Thank you, thank you all!
And cheers for the seconding, Lecan!
@DarkPersian479:
Obviously Reg is not to be trusted. And that entire family save Nora and Rosa are insane. Although... I'm sure there has to be some record of Sapph owning those Pokemon. After all, what would happen if he got his Pokemon stolen? A bit of a plot hole there, but by the time anyone figured it out, he would have been long gone.
In other words, it all went according to plan.
I still can't wrap my mind about how cruel and closed minded the Saunders clan is. I mean, I'm all for evil, but not at the cost of a girl who only wanted to chase her dream. That's not just low - that's damn low.
Too true... now Leopold and Isabelle may have just as well have lost their daughter for good.
If I trade you a Pokemon, can you give it Lunar Beam? I need that move now XD
If wishes were horses... your Umbreons would pwn all.
@asperger1981:
Maybe Rosa made Leonard wash a lot of floors or something like that when he was little; and adding that to a complex of 'must-have-women-barefoot-and -pregnant' meant a lot of trouble for Nora.
That, or he must've had one major fight with his wife or something and he is taking it with the entire gender? don't you think?
Nah, Nora and Reg's mom isn't much of a fighter. Never has been. Rosa was champion for a very long time and was subsequently rarely home. Leopold was sickened by what it did to his father and swore to never let women one up him in his lifetime.
Too bad Sky, Nora and 'G' showed him otherwise... XD
On a final note, has anybody mentioned anything about Nora's mother; if she is alive, I'd like to see her reaction towards the treatment of her daughter; that would be a good excuse for ending the Saunders masculine line once and for all, if you know what I mean. If not, a good plot filler could be done from that, or not?
Nora's mom, Isabelle, is very much alive. She's just no help in a confrontation, least of all against her husband.
and thier backstory really could be a good plot hole fill, couldn't it? it'll help me express my opinions on future projects at the end of this post.
@Divnity_123:
Who are you, EM1, fgs? xD
You should be ashamed of yourself P:
Maybe...
But I shall never be ashamed!
Man, did a lot of things happen in this chapter, I had to read it over twice to fully take in some of the scenes. The Arlene/Sapph was rematch was pretty entertaining as was the quest to save Nora, but honestly, this quote killed it:
Quote:
And without a backwards glance, Rosa Saunders moved off twards the corner amidst a shower of sapphire rose petals, muttering, "Let that be a lesson to you punks. Nobody messes with G."
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD *breathes* XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
You would've had a lock for best fic quote if this chapter had been posted before the noms
ah, well... there's always next year...
And damn you for teasing us with ships! >D
Who, me?
Now that you've posted a gigantic chapter like EM1, I think it'd be fair to the readers if you came out with a chapter as quick as EM1 ;P
If only... I really hate March. not to mention April and June...
@Lecan:
Edit: This is my first post, so I'm wondering why the Celebi by my name is green. :O
Maybe it's because i'm green to this forum? XD
Or, perhaps, everyone's own Celebi is green so they can tell themselves apart from others without reading the name.
Estoy confuso!
Hey, there, new guy! Welcome to Serebii! There's a whole plethora of awesome fanfics out here, this one being one of the best of the best:
http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?t=207042
so lemme say I'm honoured you picked mine to put your first ever post.
I was going to explain, but Diddy got there first. Hope you're good on that. On the flip side, thanks for the comments and input.
Stay tuned cause after the chapter there are some latest news reports. So now, the feature.
Rated T for some suggestive themes.
Chapter Thirty Five – Little Dude
“How much further does the PokéNav say we are from… ‘White Cliffs’, is it?” A young boy’s voice asked curiously.
“We’re nearly there,” a female voice replied, almost as though fed up with the question, which was all its owner had asked for the past two hours.
Sapphire ‘Sapph’ Manson and Haley Kent were walking along the rock-strewn forested Route 318 towards White Cliffs, a beach town where the duo planned to get a ferry to Utopia Island and the next gym challenge.
Sapph, itching for some action, was impatient as ever, and Haley, tired of his incessant questions, was rebuffing them with words of lip comfort. A high cliff face before them brought a smile to her lips as she announced proudly, “Here we are!”
“Oh, come off it, Haley,” Sapph groaned, now some what tetchily, pushing past her and walking through a hole in the cliff side that resembled the mouth of a cave. “There’s nothing here but another… crummy…” Sapph was lost for words as bright sunlight and an amazing sight hit his eyes.
“...’Cave’?” Haley asked as she followed Sapph through the tunnel and stood beside him on the wooden platform that overlooked the city before and around them. “Ha, ha… no. Welcome to White Cliffs.”
Whoa, Sapph thought, his eyes roving over the innumerable ridges and platforms that ran around the alabaster circular cliffs, houses that seemed to be partly modeled after the ones in Dinocanyon, others more so, set in the cliff side. The expanse of white sand that sat fifty feet or so below them looked like a flower garden of parasols was littered with beach combers and holidaymakers and breathed with activity.
“Talk about a training field!” Sapph exclaimed happily. “Come on, Haley! Let’s g… Haley?” The space that held Haley’s body mysteriously vacant. Wondering where she went, Sapph scratched his head and shrugging, turned and asked a local for directions to the Pokémon Center.
After a twenty minute walk from the Upper Pier, Sapph closed the door to his room at the Pokémon Center and unhooking five red and white spheres and one pure white one released his Pokémon in a collective flash of white and green light.
<Mmm, smells salty, Sapph,> Lavender said in her chipper voice, directing her small black nose towards the open window which gave them a view of the ocean. <Where are we?>
“White Cliffs,” Sapph said, scratching the back of his dark brown hair around the nape as he fished around for a pair of swimming trunks. “A beach town.”
Arcana and Zen’s ears perked at the sound of the town’s name and whilst the Fighting type looked excited, the firebrand almost looked fearful.
Finding his trunks, Sapph told his Pokémon to sit tight as he stepped into the shower to change.
As the cool water ran over his face and down his body, Sapph wondered where Haley had vanished to. Admittedly, he didn’t really care, but as he pulled up his black and gold trim swimming trunks which the girl insisted he bought before leaving Nightspark their first time there, he thought he could be concerned, right?
Shrugging to himself, he studied himself in the mirror, something he didn’t do often due to time and unavailability of mirrors for most of his journey, Sapph noticed he’d been hollowing out slightly, definitely looking much more athletic than he did when he left home a few months ago. His hair fell into his bright blue irises and decided to get it trimmed at the next chance he got. He kind of liked it long, though not too long… it made him look that much more of a girl.
Stepping out of the bathroom with a large blue and white beach towel hung around his neck and his clothes draped over his right arm, the first thing he noticed was a lack of persons in the room. Three, to be exact.
Dropping his clothes, Sapph gasped and inquired of the Pokémon left, “Where the heck did the guys go?”
Lavender and Arcana looked up (the former doing as close to it as she could) and Ace said, <Out, Sir.>
“’Out’?!” Sapph repeated incredulously. “Out where?”
<They didn’t say,> Lavender said calmly. <But if Anii’s with them, they’ll be fine, right, Sapph?>
“That’s beside the point!” Sapph said in a state of mild hysteria. Running to the door, Sapph turned back to the others and said, “Well? Come on! We gotta find them!”
But Arcana looked back fearfully and said, <No way, homey. I’m stayin’ here. No offence, but beaches and me really don’t like to talk civil-like.>
Lavender felt Arcana shiver and made her decision. <Me neither, Sapph. Arcana and I can watch the room for you. Ace, too… if she’s staying.>
<No, I’ll enlist,> Ace said dutifully. <You’ll need help finding the deserters after all, Sir.>
Sapph looked at Lavender and Arcana searchingly and decided that on balance it’d be better for some members to stay in case Haley came to call.
“OK,” he agreed. Beckoning to Ace, who flapped off the bed and soared out the open window. “Anything you guys want?”
<No. We’re good, Sapph,> Lavender assured her trainer.
<Thanks, homey,> the Arcanine said gratefully, though in a small and abashed voice.
Sapph nodded warmly and closed the door with a snap.
***
Haley walked along the beach, keen to put some distance between herself and Sapph’s endless blabber about training.
Honestly, she thought desperately as she moved along the shore to a rocky part of the beach.
Is that all he thinks about? We’re on the bloody beach, for Arceus’ sake!
Stopping for a few minutes, she said to herself, “This should be far enough. Come on out, Vapor!”
And in a single burst of light, her Eevee stood before her, shaking his ruff briskly and fixing an ****** off look on his face.
<About time!> He said, annoyed. <D’you know how cramped it gets in there?>
“Sorry, Vapor,” Haley apologized. “I had… preoccupations.”
<I’ll bet,> Vapor drawled, rolling his eyes. <So, are we out here to train or something?>
Ignoring the pulsing vein near her temple, Haley said, “No, we are not going to train. Keep an eye out while I change.”
<Here?!> Vapor gasped as Haley blanketed him with her hat and proceeded to unbutton her shirt. <Oi, Haley! That’s not coo… oh,> Vapor stopped yelling, blushing at his moment of uncool. <
Of course she was wearing her bathing suit under her clothes. Talk about duh,> he thought as Haley turned to look at her Eevee curiously.
“What’s wrong, Vapor?” Haley asked nonplussed, as though the fact that this was her intent all along should be obvious.
<Nothing,> Vapor muttered, re-employing his aloof and cool manner. <Ready yet?>
“Don’t you know better than to rush a lady?” Haley asked, eliciting another eye-rolling from the Evolution Pokémon. “Very well, let’s go.”
<So why are we here, Haley?> Vapor said calmly walking at his mistress’s heel obediently.
“At this part of the beach, the ocean is said to react with the rocks in very special ways,” Haley explained. “The area’s called Stony Shore as the stones here are said to react with the sea to produce Water Stones.”
<OK, so a lot of people know about it?>
They rounded a corner and saw beach combers and their Pokémon covering nearly every square inch of the beach, digging and prodding around in search of the mystical stones.
“Question answered?”
<Aw, man,> Vapor groaned, his ears drooping as he beheld the sheer number of competition. <So not cool.>
“Let’s split up,” Haley suggested. “We’ll cover more ground that way.”
<OK,> Vapor said slinking off further inland than Haley, who took the hint and proceeded to the water’s edge.
Vapor hadn’t been looking long when something long and blue caught his eye. Moving closer, he saw a dark turquoise squiggle embedded within and said, <Cool.>
As he reached towards it, a powerful jet of water caught him unawares and sent him sprawling a few feet away. Hitting all fours, he shook himself and saw what looked like the ugliest baby he’d ever seen making a dive for the stone, red fingers twitching with anticipation.
<
Not cool, Slowpoke,> Vapor thought, inhaling quickly. <
You ought to chill for a while.>
One split second later, a Lombre-shaped ice sculpture stood gleaming in the sun a few inches from the larger than average Water Stone from the combined effort of two Ice Beam attacks. Surprised, Vapor looked around and saw another fox like creature identical to him except with a swishier tail and brighter, more enthusiastic eyes. A flower near its ear told Vapor that it was a girl.
<Back off, scrub,> she said in a challenging tone. <That Stone’s mine.>
<Chill, chick,> Vapor said coolly. <Don’t you think you’re overreacting?>
<Not really, scrub,> the female Eevee said dismissively, taking a challenging step forwards. <Now back away, or you’ll get what he got.> She jerked her head at the Lombre for emphasis.
<I don’t fight girls,> Vapor drawled. <They’re too whiney…>
<What was that, scrub?> the girl Eevee demanded.
<Plus it’s no fun losing to a girl,> Vapor went on regardless. <Why take the chance?>
This somehow cooled the girl down a bit as she said, <at least you’re smart, scrub. Now, move.>
<You could learn my name, you know,> Vapor said amusement highlighting his bored voice now.
<You could learn mine,> she shot back.
Vapor was definitely amused now. <Fine, the name’s Vapor. And you are…?>
<Meria.>
<Cute,> Vapor said sincerely. <Well, this hunk of rock’s too big and too well wedged up there to move. Why not just touch it together?>
Shooting a suspicious glare, Meria said, <Are you sure you gonna play fair?>
<Hey, I’m in no hurry to evolve. If it’ll happen, it’ll happen. If one of us doesn’t evolve and it looks like it’ll be you, I’ll just let go, OK?>
Studyinng his cool face for a few moments, Meria sighed and smiled, <Whatever. Let’s do this.>
Vapor and Meria walked up to the giant Water Stone and looking at each other, Meria said, <On three, alright?>
Vapor nodded calmly.
<OK,> Meria said, her voice dry at the prospect of achieving a lifelong aspiration, <One… two… three… NOW!>
Both placed a paw to the Stone and both began to glow in unison.
A minute later, two Bubble Jet Pokémon looked at each other, long blue tails waving in the wind and bright yellow ruffs rippling in the sun.
<Finally!> Meria cried out ecstatically.
<Congratulations,> Vapor smiled, looking his regular cool self. <You look really cool.>
<D’you know how long I’ve waited to be a Vaporeon?> Meria asked excitedly.
<Nope,> Vapor replied coolly. <But we have some time. Let’s take it slow, OK?>
<You and your cool attitude,> Meria laughed, still giddy at their shared evolution.
<You like it and we both know it,> Vapor shot back calmly, the two Vaporeon walking away side by side, leaving the utterly defeated Lombre to thaw slowly.
***
Zen, with Anuvi and Crimson in tow, strolled amongst the beach, watching the multitudes of humans surf, play with Frisbees or simply kick back and soak up some sun.
<Zen,> Crimson asked for the fifth time since they snuck out of the room. <Where are we going?>
<
You said something about training,> Anuvi thought silently, his violet eyes narrowed in suspicion as their ‘leader’ looked around, evidently searching for something. <
So we’d better be out here to train.> Aloud, he told his Fighting type team mate, <My energy cycling needs work, so this better not be a waste of time.>
Crimson stared at his best friend and asked incredulously, <Is training all you’re interested in?>
Anuvi turned to look at his long-time companion and nodded, saying, <After Dopeak City, it makes sense to become stronger. We’re outta options. We need to win the last two badges to qualify for the League this year. We haven’t got the time to fool around, Crimson. And you know I’m right,> he added, staving off a stuttered reply.
<Yeah, you’re right, Green Bean,> Zen said calmly. <But no one said we can’t have fun while we train… ah, there it is! Come on, you two!> He added bossily, causing the two Flying types to pick up the pace to keep up with the Combatant Pokémon.
After a minute of dodging through a crowd of excited spectators, Anuvi, Crimson and Zen stood on the edge of a rectangular area marked out with ground charcoal. The shape was roughly ten metres wide and twice as long, its long side divided in half, creating two ten by ten metre squares.
A large crowd of humans and Pokémon were around, seemingly prepping up for some major event. As Crimson and Anuvi stared at the sheer volume of Pokémon around (all seemed to be insanely high leveled – Golem, Feraligatr, Alakazam, Typhlosion, Scizor… the list went on and on) and whilst Anuvi’s quiet smile betrayed his excitement at the endless training possibilities, Crimson’s shaking hands openly revealed his nervousness.
Sensing their spiked tension, Zen smiled mysteriously and said, <Green Bean, calm down. We’re not here to ‘fight’, exactly. So stop shivering, Bugsy Wugsy, OK? You’ll make me nervous.>
Beckoning to the two of them to follow him, Zen led the way through the throng whilst an announcement blared, “
Will all entrants for the Northern Sector Poké-Volley Nationals please move to the desk for registration? Pokémon are to be entered with their trainers. This is the last call. Thank you.”
Questions exploded like happy Electrode in Anuvi and Crimson’s minds. Crimson, being the more articulate, spoke up first, <What the…? What’s Poké-Volley? It’s not dangerous, is it? We’re not entering, are we?>
<For the last time…
relax, Bugsy,> Zen said exasperatedly as they approached a desk at which a mid-teenaged girl with bubblegum pink hair wearing a bright white T-shirt over a two piece bathing suit was collecting entry information, chunky blue bangles glinting in the bright sunlight. <You’ll find out what it’s all about real soon.>
Anuvi, however, had seen another problem as the trio stepped up to the young woman after a particularly large Aggron, Machamp and Exploud moved away with their beefy, thickset trainer, who’d been forced to cut his one-sided flirting with the entry officer short by her gesturing a slim yet well-built youth in blue swimming trunks and wild black hair, who stood at the sidelines of the pitch and noticing the girl, waved enthusiastically, causing the large hairy man to scowl heavily.
<Sapph isn’t here, Zen,> he said quietly as the lady called out, “Next!” <How do you plan to enter us?>
<With this,> Zen whispered back conspiratorially, pulling a small white rectangle of plastic out of nowhere and handing it over to the girl to confirm the validity of the identity card.
<Wha… you STOLE Sapph’s TRAINER CARD?!?> Crimson screeched in appalled shock.
Looking shocked at the weight of Crimson’s accusation, Zen gave a theatrical gasp and breathed, <Stole?> Making a soft tutting noise, Zen smiled and said, <No, no, no, no… ‘stole’ is such a naughty word. I just… ‘borrowed’ it on a whim!>
<’Borrowed’, hunh?> Crimson muttered as the girl handed the card back together with a scrap of paper on which the number ‘2’ was printed. <Boy, are you in debt… Sapph’s been looking for that thing for weeks.>
Before Zen could laugh out loud at Crimson’s shot at humour, the voice, which was revealed to belong to the attendant blared out through a megaphone, “
Entries for the Poké-Volley national contest are closed! Will entrants fourteen and two please make their way to the pitch, please?”
<That’s us,> Zen said looking at the scrap of paper and pushing his team mates gently forward onto the field while the burly trainer from before stepped up to the edge of the field, his three VERY large Pokémon passing him as they stepped into the opposite square and formed a triangle.
<Zen, whadda we dooo?!> Crimson trilled anxiously. <I’ve never played Poké-Volley before!>
<Have you played before, Zen?> Anuvi asked quietly, locking eyes with the largest opponent, the Machamp and remembering their previous loss at the Dopeak City Gym.
<Not really, but I understand the theory. Listen,> Zen told his team mates as they went into a pre-match huddle. <One thing you need to know: don’t touch the ball if it has been hit with an attack you’re weak to, unless you can counter the attack. Leave this first round to me, I’ll show you how it works.>
“First set: Team Grader vs. Team Sapph!” A young man in trunks, a large, crane-like bird with a red head crest, sharp yellow beak and cream and brown plumage beside him, announced to the buzzing crowd. Turning to the Jutunkick, he asked, “Erm… you wouldn’t be Sapph, would you, dude?”
<No, but don’t worry,> Zen muttered back. <We’ll be fine.>
<No, we won’t,> Crimson said, quailing under the mean leer of the Exploud and the smell of its breath coming from its gaping mouth.
The referee shrugged as Fearow took flight and began to circle the pitch from ten feet up and announced, “Both sides ready? Set One… begin!”
A large royal blue ball with rounded black bumps dotting its surface was dropped from the sky by the referee’s Fearow and Zen muttered, <Don’t blink,> to both his allies and adversaries before leaping upwards, a ball of aura glowing in his right hand.
Taken aback by his speed, Grader and his Pokémon could only watch as Zen roundhouse kicked the ball straight towards Aggron, unleashing the Aura Sphere a split second later.
“Aggron, watch it!” the beefy beach man said desperately, but it was too late. The ball, charged with the Rolling Kick’s Fighting type attributes, slammed into the side of the Iron Armor Pokémon’s head, sending it reeling out of the playing field. The Aura Sphere hit the ball a second later at an angle that sent it skimming across the field towards Exploud, striking it in the… ah, nether regions.
The purple and yellow Normal type’s eyes bugged out on contact as high pitched whistling erupted from its facial pipes. Clutching its marbles in pain (a major understatement), it hobbled about for a few seconds, before falling over, completely spent.
<Ouch,> Anuvi and Crimson echoed in unison, wincing empathically. <That will sting.>
“
And just like that, two of Grader’s Pokémon are out of the match!” The commentator announced, sounding pleased that Grader was getting punished so soundly. “
Score is 7-3 to Team Sapph and only Machamp remains!”
Landing on his feet, Zen explained quickly, <Both sides start with five points. Either knocking the ball into your opponents to score damage for clean hits or so they can’t return it takes one point from the opponents’ score and adds it to ours, and vice versa. First to render the other team unable to play or devoid of points wins the set. Got it?>
Anuvi nodded as Crimson shrieked, <Watch out! That thing used Focus Blast on the ball!>
Zen turned sharply to see the ball hurtling towards him, vengeance etched deep in the Superpower Pokémon’s red eyes. Raising a palm calmly, he brought the ball to a dead stop, a bright blue aura surrounding it.
<Oops, sorry about that,> Zen laughed, as Grader and Machamp blanched in horror. <Here, is this yours?> and with a flick of his wrist, sent the ball flying straight back into the Machamp’s kisser, sending it cart wheeling straight out of the pitch to join its unconscious comrades, its fat yellow lips swelling up horrifically.
“
Game!” the girl announced as the crowd went crazy. “
Team Sapph win their first match with an 8-2 shut-out!”
<So,> Zen smiled, turning to his now grinning team mates, <ready to play ball?>
Both grinning, Anuvi and Crimson nodded.
***
The white sands of the beach area burned with the sun’s unrelenting heat as Sapph trudged over the loose soil carefully, giving the multitude of couples, playful kids and their Pokémon a wide berth.
“Looks like a pretty peaceful place,” Sapph said to himself, watching a couple of surfers ride a long, roaring curl. “Beautiful beaches… plenty of sun… maybe the guys were right. Maybe we should just chill for a day…”
As he meandered through the large, Technicolor medley of parasols and thinking wistfully of the lack of foresight that prevented him from getting himself one of the large sun shields, a loud chorus of young voices called out, “Hey,
Oh-neh! Watch out!”
Sapph wasn’t aware of the warning’s recipient until something slim and hard slammed into the back of his neck and sent him lurching forwards into the sands and right on top of something small that let out a frightened squeak and squirmed desperately as Sapph’s fall kicked up a cloud dust.
“TOGI!” A worried voice cried out as Sapph groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, spitting out fine grit as a large red Frisbee landing with a loud plop in the sands besides him. A young girl rushed up to him and shoving him into a roll scooped up what looked like a tearing eggshell which had red and blue triangles dotting it all over. Sapph groaned as he sat up and massaged the part of his ribs that came into contact with the hard item he’d hit before a shadow fell over him.
“Look what you did to my poor Togi!” the same girl half-yelled, glowering down at the winded boy trainer, shoving the egg into his face “Now apologize!” Sapph looked horrified as he saw the cracked top half and thought he’d broken it (and the girl’s sanity) until it chirped tremulously.
Sapph blinked in confusion and rubbing his eyes (mentally swearing as he got sand in them again) he squinted at the ‘egg’ again only to see the crown-shaped head of what was inside it. A pair of beady black eyes peered nervously over the cracked ridge of its shell as it shielded itself with pointed, stumpy little arms.
Sapph, realizing he hadn’t broken the Togepi’s shell, looked up still clutching his ribs into the girl’s face and met a pair of dazzling green eyes which were presently narrowed in anger at Sapph’s apparent inconsideration. A few stray strands of pink hair so dark it looked red fell into her pretty, freckled face and partly covered her ears which were studded with small pearl earrings.
“Well? I’m waiting!” the girl demanded angrily, sitting heavily on Sapph’s tummy and keeping up her scary pout. The Frisbee lay forgotten besides him, its owners’ no doubt terrified by the awful wrath their misaimed throw had incurred and in no hurry to fess up to their blunder.
“OK, OK, I’m sorry!” Sapph groaned heavily, his stomach adding to the other parts of his aching body. This girl was, though dainty, no Chairy princess.
“Like you mean it!”
“I’m sorry,” Sapph said as sincerely as one could with a girl on your stomach and sand in your eyes. “Could you please get off me now?” Sapph asked piteously, his eyes seeming like they were on fire. “I kinda got sand in my eyes and they hurt like all hell.”
The girl studied him for a few seconds before standing up and hoisting Sapph to his feet, dragging him towards her parasol. Sapph could only half see what was happening when a trickle of cool water splashed in his face, washing away the abrasive sand. A towel followed quickly, rubbing away most of the sand vigorously, and almost poking his eyes out in the process.
“Ow, my eyes! Ow, my eyes!” Sapph groaned, his arms flapping about madly and causing the Spike Shell Pokémon to break out into tinkling laughter.
“Oh, sorry,” the girl said in a more docile voice, dropping her towel and seizing Sapph’s face around the eyes, blowing gently to cure the irritation. Slowly, Sapph’s vision sharpened once again and the girl’s slightly puckered lips came into view barely an inch away.
“Tha-that’s better, th-thanks,” Sapph mumbled, his voice trembling slightly as the girl studied his sapphire irises with her own emerald ones searchingly, a moderate amount of blood flushing the young male’s cheeks.
Seemingly satisfied with her work, she pulled away her freckled cheeks slightly pink. “You’re welcome. Sorry I was a bit short with you earlier. But nobody hurts my Togi and gets let off lightly.”
Togi chirped cheerfully and waddled over to her trainer on stubby yet springy yellow feet. Sapph watched the girl picked up her adorable Pokémon and coo gently to it, all smiles and smiled a little himself in an oddly vacant manner until her voice came over loud and brash, “Hello, Earth to Kid? OY!”
Snapping out of his trance, he snapped back to attention and said, “Sorry. You just reminded me of … someone.”
“Girlfriend?”
Sapph reddened, astounded at how quickly she had caught on. Looking away, he muttered, “Yeah. Sort of…”
“Well, you’re not half bad-looking… for a kid,” the girl said in an appraising tone of voice. “My name’s Zeta. What’s yours, Blue Eyes?”
“Sapphire,” Sapph said with a smile. “Listen. I’m really sorry about Togi, even if it wasn’t entirely my fault. Let me make it up with an ice cream on me.”
Zeta glared at Sapph for a few seconds before turning to her excited Togepi and said loftily, “As funny as seeing you covered in ice cream would be, Togepi and I accept your apology.”
“Oh, OK,” Sapph said calmly standing up slowly. “Well… guess I’ll see you…”
“OK, Blue Eyes,” Zeta groaned, standing up abruptly and stretching, showing off her curves which were a little on the generous side for a twelve year old. “Wake up already. I said we accept your apology. I didn’t say we refused your invitation for ice cream. Geez,” she pouted playfully, tossing her long ponytail over her shoulder, scooping up Togi and hooking herself to Sapph’s arm, “you can’t have done this often, have you?”
Sapph, blushing furiously, decided not to answer and defend his still-growing male pride.
“By the way,” Zeta said as they walked towards an ice cream cart a few feet away. “Just how old are you, Blue Eyes?”
This was a question Sapph felt he could answer. “I’ll turn twelve in about two weeks.”
“Ha! Knew you were only a kid,” Zeta crowed triumphantly. “I’m roughly five whole months older than you!”
“W-what does that matter?” Sapph spluttered, obviously incensed by her challenging tone.
“Well, it won’t matter in a couple of weeks,” Zeta admitted brightly. “But I’m still older than you, Blue Eyes.”
“Apparently,” Sapph said in a grouchy voice. “You can’t even get my name right. It’s not ‘Blue Eyes’, alright? It’s Sapphire, although I guess you can call me Sapph.”
“Well, Sapph,” Zeta said in mock surprise as they reached the open air ice cream parlor. “Are you perchance hitting on me?”
“Urgh, no!” Sapph blanched as he paid for the ices. “All my friends call me that. Girl, get a clue already!”
Zeta laughed as she loaded her scoop with strawberry and chocolate ice cream and pausing bare inches from her Togepi’s face, looked over at Sapph with a vivacious smile and teased, “Are you sure you’re lying, Sapph?”
“Yes… I mean no! I mean,” Sapph blundered as the girl let out an open peal of laughter. “Just eat your ice cream,” Sapph grumbled, looking away and focusing on his frozen treat after catching a glimpse of the girl’s charming smile.
Looking back as he watched the girl called Zeta spoon-feed her Pokémon, Sapph began to think, a smile forming on his lips again as he watched the girl laugh animatedly at Togi’s antics.
The girl had spunk. Not to mention intuition and a sense of fun. Plus despite the differences in hairstyle, mood swings (
and weight, Sapph thought furtively) she was every bit Joy Jr.’s twin.
Next time they met, Sapph thought meditatively, licking his ice cream some more, he and Joy would need a serious chat.
<General!> A loud caw called out from above.
Looking up and shielding his eyes from the sun, Sapph saw Ace swoop in and flare out, wings beating to keep altitude.
“Hey, Ace,” Sapph said cheerfully. Offering his ice cream, he asked, “Fancy a bite?”
<No, thank you, Sir,> Ace declined respectfully, wings still beating.
Watching Zeta and Togi struggle to stay steady, Sapph turned to Ace and said, “You know, you
can land if you like.”
Thanking her trainer and flapping to the ground, Ace, saluted with one wing (sending Togi into a fit of giggles) and unabashedly announced, <Report.>
***
“Well, now we found what we were looking for,” Haley announced, stepping out of the Pokémon Center, clad in her one-piece white and red floral-print bathing suit and a wide brimmed straw hat this time. “We can kick back and relax, eh, Vapor?”
<I suppose so,> Vapor yawned from her heels, blinking in the bright sun.
“You better get back in, Vapor,” Haley said thoughtfully. “I want to surprise Sapph when he sees you.”
<Sure, but just wait a minute,> Vapor yawned again. <This is the first time in almost a week you’ve let me out. Just chill... besides,> he went on, looking sideways at Haley through droopy eyes; not sleepy, merely bored. <Isn’t the packed lunch a big enough surprise?>
“Oh, quiet, you,” Haley said with a smile as girl and Pokémon walked down catwalks and strengthened cliff sides to the beach below.
As the reached the beach, Haley heard loud cheers coming from a crowd of people surrounding a wide area in the centre of the sandy cove, leaving the beach area uncommonly free. A female voice was announcing, “
And Team Sapph does it again! This rookie trio seems to be unable to do wrong as they defeat Team Salvo after a grueling set, pitting them in the finals against last year’s champs… Teeam… Ryley!”
“Did she say ‘Team Sapph’?” Haley asked in surprise. Shaking her head, she laughed, “Typical Sapph… forever chasing the challenge.”
<One question, then,> Vapor said calmly. <If Sapph’s meant to be over there… why’s he sitting over there,> he said, jerking his head towards the ice cream parlour, <chatting up that cute redhead?>
Haley’s smile slid off her face as she saw what indeed seemed to be Sapph, seemingly startled by what his Swoop Pokemon had announced and after footing the bill, stood up abruptly, and saying something to a very attractive girl who wore a green and white bikini and dark pink hair in a long ponytail, before running off, totally oblivious to the fact that Haley had seen him.
Watching the young girl smirk fondly at Sapph’s retreating back and talk to her Togepi who was seated before a large chocolate and chopped nut Iced Dream, Haley went from happy to jealous faster than a set of traffic lights.
<You were right about Sapph,> Vapor chuckled softly, <’Forever chasing the challenge’, hunh? And what a challenge he chases today!>
“Shut it,” Haley snarled, returning Vapor abruptly.
Some confrontation was in order, and Haley was all fired up.
***
“There you guys are!” Sapph exclaimed a little out of breath as he ran up to the Poké-Volley pitch and saw his triumphant team mates comparing their medals and basking in the attention. “What have you been up to? I was worried!”
<Hello! Look what we won!> Crimson said brightly, showing off his golden octagonal medal and the game ball, roughly the size on a large Electrode proudly.
“Yeah, yeah, very nice,” Sapph said snappily. “But what did you win them for?”
<Annual Poké-Volley Champs, Northern Corei Sector,> Zen informed their trainer with a grin. <Looks like we actually did get some training done after all…>
“But without me?” Sapph said with a groan. “Sure, I know you’re hardcore on the beach, but it couldn’t hurt to have some more help, you know!”
<We’re sorry, Sapph,> Crimson said apologetically, glancing at a happy Zen. <We were sort of dragged into it at the last minute, and…>
“It’s OK, Crim,” Sapph said tiredly. “But you guys did a good job. I’m proud of you guys.”
<Thanks, Sapph,> Crimson said happily as Anuvi nodded in warm acknowledgement.
“Come on, let’s go find Haley and the others and tell them the news,” Sapph said turning to each Pokémon in turn. Pausing, he looked quizzically at each in turn and asked, “By the way, other than the medals, what did you guys win?”
<Hmm,> Crimson muttered, studying the prize envelope, <Fifty thousand Pokédollars cash…>
Sapph whistled in appreciation.
<…and a complimentary ticket for the SS Royal Corsola,> Crimson finished, looking up at Sapph.
Sapph blanched and said quickly, “You know what? Let’s not tell Haley you won a free ticket until we reach Utopia Island...”
Anuvi suddenly tensed and muttered, <Looks like we have company…>
<Hey, Kid,> the Jutunkick nodded, jerking his head to his trainer’s right. <Surfer Boy over there wants a word…>
Sapph wheeled about as he heard a late pair of suntanned hands applauding him and turned to see a stocky yet somewhat slim surfer standing on the edge of the pitch.
“Yo, Little Dude! Nice match!” The man called out cheerfully. “Your team has the makings of a pro Poké-Volley team!”
Little Dude? Sapph thought shocked. He wasn’t expecting that…
“Though, I’d keep my skills on the low-down if I were you, Little Dude,” the surfer dude went on, brushing his long, bushy brown hair out of his bright blue eyes. “Tough competition is drawn to this beach like Limoth to a flame, little man… real tough competition… don’t want ya little crew getting’ hurt now do we?”
The slight on Sapph’s team was the thin line between Sapph’s euphoria and rage that the upstart had blatantly crossed… and Sapph was going to let him know it… no quarter given…
“Yeah? Maybe I can show you a thing or two about skills, little man,” Sapph shot back, evidently incensed. “Maybe your little crew would like to see what my team can do…”
“I’ve seen plenty, Little Dude,” the surfer retaliated nonchalantly. “But at your level, your skills are like a splash, compared to the big wave which is
moi.”
“Yeah? Well, why don’tcha put ya skills where your mouth is,
Little Dude,” Sapph retorted, the flame of anticipation only a good battle could bring lighting up in his eyes.
The surfer grinned as he unhooked a pokéball off the top of his trunks. “Gladly, Little Dude.”
***
“Hey, you!” Haley called after Zeta. “Hold it!”
Zeta complied, amused by the younger girl’s rudeness. Turning around in a manner that showed off a slim yet curvy body and said, “May I help you, little miss?”
Ignoring the slight, Haley proceeded to go on the very heavy offensive, “Just what did you think you were doing with Sapph a few minutes ago? Trying to- to make him lose focus?”
Zeta grinned and asked slyly, “What’s it to you, little miss? You Blue-Eyes mother?”
“No!”
“Girlfriend?” Zeta persisted, enjoying the taunting game.
Haley went incandescent with embarrassment and yelled, “Hell no!”
“Didn’t think so,” Zeta said coolly. “So why do you care?”
“I’m his travel buddy!” Haley declared defiantly. “And I’ll thank you to refrain form getting near him!”
“Aren’t you a jealous bird?” Zeta cooed gently, her green eyes boring into Haley’s pewter irises. “Blue-Eyes is a big boy, he can handle himself. He doesn’t need you to mother him, if you haven’t noticed,
mummy,” she remarked, a coy emphasis on the last word.
“You want to make something out of this?” Haley yelled, plucking a pokéball out of her net bag and enlarging it.
“Heavens no,” Zeta laughed. “Please don’t hurt me, mummy! I’ll behave!”
Haley was seriously beginning to hate this girl.
“DON’T CALL ME MUMMY!” She roared, causing a few stares as she threw down the pokéball, causing light to explode from within its otherwise hollow interior as it opened. A smallish, slender quadruped hit the beach on all fours, its sea green skin seemingly rippling under the bright noon day sun. The creature fanned out its white, web-like ruff as it opened its small fanged mouth and yawned.
Its long, yellow and dark blue fringed ears resembled fins as they wiggled slightly, it’s long, Orchorn-like tail swishing from side to side, looking everything but eager to battle.
“So!” Haley demanded, a proud glint in her eye, Vapor the Vaporeon standing before her. “Are you gonna battle?”
“OK, mummy… two things,” Zeta said coolly. “I wouldn’t battle you even if I could. You’re not really worth that and I wouldn’t want to accidentally kill your Vaporeon the day it evolved.”
Haley and Vapor were too taken aback by the amount of knowledge the girl had about them or the cold, yet calm way she made her statement to retort.
“Secondly,” Zeta continued holding up two fingers to emphasize the point. “Who Sapph wants to date isn’t really any of mine, and even less your, business. If you don’t like it,” she said turning to go, a smile on her lips, “I suggest you do something about it.”
With that Zeta walked through the crowd and was soon lost amongst the throng of stunned onlookers.
Haley grit her teeth and swore loudly. What did she mean, ‘do something about it’? She wasn’t interested in Sapph. The tart (she wasn’t sure what that meant, but she heard her mother use it either when she was very angry or when talking about her sister Marjorie) could have him, she didn’t care…
A loud cheer went up about thirty yards away from a gaggle of people who’d formed a wide circle around the Poké-Volley pitch obviously watching a post tournament match (she’d heard there was an event going on but was preoccupied with her research to watch). Feeling aggravated, Haley stalked off to the docks to cool off and wait for the ferry to arrive.
*continued next post*