Johto Stories (PG to PG-13)

[PokemonHero]

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so it may not be so good. But I was wondering what all would happen to May and Max after leaving Ash and Brock. This is my version of the story. But before we get to them, I would like to introduce you to a new character who will play an important role in the story. It may not make sense now, but it will as I go along.

Feel free to make comments and suggestions about how I can improve the story.

Chapter 1: On a Grassy Hill

The boy rode his bike up the grassy hill. At the top was a single, tall oak tree, its branches spread out wide over the hill. From the hill, it was easy to see where the boy lived, Petalburg City.

This is the perfect place to take a break, he thought.

He dismounted his bike and set it up against the tree. Reaching down to his belt he pulled out two PokeBalls.

“Alright, Cyndaquil. Riolu. Come on out.”

A flash of white light burst out of the two PokeBalls and from that appeared two Pokemon. They opened their eyes and looked around. The weather was beautiful and they realized that their master was taking a break. Both smiled happily. Riolu started climbing the tree, with amazing speed and skill. Cyndaquil, on the other hand, walked over to the shady side of the tree, curled up, and went to sleep. The boy smiled, happy to see that they were enjoying the time outside. Recently, the weather hadn’t been so good and they were stuck inside the house.

He sat down, back against the tree. He was a good-looking kid. He wore an unbuttoned blue shirt over a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his brown hair. He looked up at the sky. It was fairly clear, with some passing clouds. He watched as a flock of Tailow flew through the clouds. It was days like today that made him become a trainer five years ago. He smiled. This is the life.

Riolu jumped down from the tree. He noticed that Cyndaquil was sleeping. Curiously, he started tip-toeing towards the sleeping Pokemon.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the boy warned, not even taking his eyes away from the sky. He didn’t need to; he knew exactly what Riolu was up to.

Riolu paused for a second, but shrugged it off. He was only a few feet from Cyndaquil. He moved closer, closer, and closer until…

*Snap*

He stepped on a twig.

Suddenly, Cyndaquil’s back flared up with flames as he stood up in anger. Riolu, scared for his life, dove behind the boy and hid; he stuck his head around from behind the boy and watched as Cyndaquil calmed back down and went back to sleep.

The boy smiled. “I warned you didn’t I? Cyndaquil doesn’t like to be disturbed when he’s taking a nap.”

Riolu looked at him, skeptical at first, but then with a smile.

“Hey Riolu, take a break,” he said to the Pokemon. “Check out those clouds.”

Riolu sat down next to him and looked. There were many clouds.
“Check that one out, it looks like a Pikachu.”

Riolu looked up at it and, recognizing the figure nodded in agreement.

The boy looked at the Pokemon. Riolu was still a very young Pokemon. But right away, he could tell that Riolu could become one of the best Pokemon he had ever trained. Then he looked at Cyndaquil. He had been with him for a little while and had shown some great skill in battle. The boy knew that they could be the keys for helping him win his next Pokemon League championship…

Suddenly, Riolu tugged on his shirtsleeve.

“What is it?” he asked. He knew that Riolu could see aura and might have just seen something.

Riolu pointed to the sky. The boy’s eyes followed his outstretched hand. Cyndaquil was also awake, this time because of the commotion Riolu had caused. He wasn’t angry, but was curious about what the young Pokemon saw.

Then the boy saw it. It was a large Pokemon, golden in color, flying across the sky. He could see its wings flash in the sunlight, reflecting many different colors. It was a beautiful sight. But just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

That wasn’t what I thought it was it, the boy thought. There’s no way that it would be here. I heard of it in Kanto and Johto, but here, the Hoenn region? This is not…

A beeping noise interrupted his thoughts. He looked at his Poketch that he had acquire while in the Sinnoh region. It was 2:30.

“Darn it,” he said outloud. He had to get back to Petalburg City. He had a training session he needed to get to. So much for a relaxing day.

He reached down to his belt and pulled out the two PokeBalls. “Come on guys we have to get going.”

Both Riolu and Cyndaquil had looks of disappointment on their faces. They just had seen something exciting and now they had to go? That was unfair.

“Hey don’t worry,” the boy reassured them, “we’ll see that Pokemon again. But right now its time for training.”

This made them feel a little better. They showed their master they were ready to go.

“Cool. Riolu, Cyndaquil return.”

A red light came out of the PokeBalls and surrounded the two of them. They disappeared into their PokeBalls. The boy put the PokeBalls back on his belt. He picked his bike off the ground and mounted it. If he didn’t hurry, he would be late. Norman wouldn’t be happy about that. But as he started biking down the hill towards Petalburg City, one thing was still fresh on his mind.

Why was Ho-oh in the Hoenn region?

<End Chapter 1>

 

[The Pig King]

Nice writing, great description. Nice suspenseful ending, it left me wanting more.

 

[PokemonHero]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I haven't written much recently. I have been stuck afterschool most of the week doing practices for a musical our school's putting on. (I have those darn songs stuck in my head now...Go, go, go, go, Joseph you know what they...argh!)

 

[The Pig King]

I feel your pain. I just finished doing backstage crew for a musical. Songs were stuck in my head.

 

[PokemonHero]

I finally finished Chapter 2. It's shorter than the last chapter. Here we are first reintroduced to May and Max. Feel free to make suggestions and comments.

Chapter 2: The Hat

Meanwhile, May and Max were walking along the road towards Petalburg City. They had arrived back to the Hoenn region not long before by ferry from the Kanto region. They were now not far from home, where they hadn’t been months.

“Wow, its amazing,” Max said looking up at his older sister, “I can’t believe how long its been since we were last here.”

“Yeah,” May replied, “Things are going to seem a bit different.”

Max was really anxious to get home. In a few months, he would finally be old enough to become a Pokemon trainer himself. He was going to spend as much time as possible working with Norman to prepare.

May, on the other hand was preparing to go to the Johto region to compete in Pokemon Contests there, hopefully earning herself a spot in the Grand Festival.

It really is going to be different, she thought to herself. She and Max had been traveling with Ash and Brock for the past few years. It was really thanks to them that she had become such a good trainer. But now Ash was going somewhere else and Brock was heading back to Pewter City to take care of the Gym his family run. She would be traveling by herself for the first time now.

Her thoughts were broken in an instant.

“LOOK OUT!”

May and Max turned around and saw a boy on bike barreling down on them. Quickly they dove off the road. May landed on the ground and looked up. She saw him continue down the road, not slowing down a bit to see if they were okay

“Hey!” May yelled after him, angered.

“Sorry…in a hurry…” he responded back as puffed down the road out of sight.

May stood up and looked around.

“Uh, I could use some help over here!”

She looked over towards where the voice came from. She found her brother’s leg sticking out of a bush that was next to the road.

“Max?”

“No, no, no. I’m not Max. I'm Bob the Talking Bush. OF COURSE I’M MAX! HELP ME OUT OF HERE!”

May grabbed the leg and pulled Max out of the bush. He sat up and adjusted his glasses. His face was all scratched up and twigs were hanging out his hair. May tried not to laugh; he looked absolutely ridiculous.

“What was that about?” Max asked as he started pulling twigs out of his hair.

“I don’t know,” May replied, “All I heard him say was that he was in a hurry.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t give him an excuse to be so rude. I wonder where he was going?”

May thought about it for a second. What was around here that this guy would be in such a rush to get to? The only thing that popped into her head was…

“I bet he was going to the Pokemon Center in Petalburg,” Max said, “That would explain why he was in such a rush.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” May replied. “Let’s get a move on Max. Mom will worry if we don’t show up soon.”

Max nodded and got back on his feet. Then he looked back at the bush he had fallen into and spotted something. “What’s that?”

May looked over. A baseball hat was sitting on top of the bush. It looked similar to the hat that Ash on when she and Max had last saw him, but with some differences. Where Ash’s hat was red, this hat was blue. And the logo in the middle, while the same, was gold in color. May picked up the hat and examined it carefully.

“I wonder who this belongs to,” May asked Max, showing the hat to him as well.

“I bet that this belonged to that kid,” Max inquired. “Look for a name.”

Sure enough, under the brim, there was a name. Xavier. It was stitched in with gold-colored thread.

May stuffed the hat into her sack. “We should try to find him.”

Max looked appalled by May’s suggestion. “Why?”

“Well, it would be nice to return to him, even if he was kind of rude. Maybe we could find out why he was in such a rush.”

“Fine, fine,” Max conceded in disgust.

They continued on the road and, a few minutes later, entered Petalburg City.

“So where do we look first?” Max inquired, hoping to get this over with quickly so they could get home.

“Well, the Pokemon Center seems to be the most logical place to look first,” May suggested, “If he’s not there, we can ask if someone has ever heard of him.”

Max nodded in agreement. They started walking towards the Pokemon Center when May pulled on his arm.

“What?”

“Look over there.” May was pointing to Max’s left. He looked over and saw she was pointing at Petalburg Gym. In front of the doors stood Norman, their father, talking to a boy getting off a bike. He looked familiar. Norman and the boy entered the Gym, without noticing them at all.

“Do you think…?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

May and Max hurried over to the Gym, anxious to find out if their lead was right.

 

[The Pig King]

Nice, although the George W. Bush reference was a little...odd.

 

[PokemonHero]

Nice, although the George W. Bush reference was a little...odd.

Yeah, I thought the Bush reference would be a bit of a stretch. It was the only thing that popped in my head at the time.

 

[PokemonHero]

Here it is. After nearly a month, I have finished Chapter 3. I sorry it took so long (lot of school work). Feel free to comment and make suggestions. And I promise Chapter 4 will not take as long.

Chapter 3: An Unplanned Meeting

The boy stood there in the lobby of the Gym and looked around. The decor was fairly plain, unlike most Gyms that he had visited, but he liked it. He took off his backpack and took out a bottle of water.

Gyms are just too flashy now, he thought to himself, unscrewing the lid and taking a long sip. He had been invited to visit the Mauville City Gym by Wattson a few days before and was treated to a crazy roller coaster ride. His hair still stood up in the back due to all the static.

“So Xavier…”

He turned around. Norman walked over towards him, looking a little bit unimpressed. He had been kind enough to take time to help him out, something that he normally didn’t do. Now, Xavier thought to himself, I was late. Not the best way to repay Norman for giving up his spare time.

Xavier looked Norman in the face. “I’m sorry sir,” he began, slowly, “I was at the hill and lost track of time and something distracted me…”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down,” Norman cut in quickly. “You don’t need to apologize. I understand that you were late.”

Gradually a nervous smile came across Xavier’s face. Norman was strict, but somehow Xavier had gotten along well with him not long after his family moved to Petalburg City. Norman turned his back on Xavier and walked over to a set of doors that opened onto the Gym’s battlefield.

“So,” Norman started speaking, back still to Xavier as he opened the doors “What exactly distracted you earlier?”

“Well…”

But before he could speak, the main entrance doors opened. May and Max entered the lobby and stood there. Norman turned around and, with a look of complete surprise, saw his two kids standing there.

“May. Max. It’s good to see you.”

“Dad!”

Both of them ran up to Norman and gave him a hug. Xavier stood there smiling. I better leave, he thought, walking towards the doors.

He only walked a few steps when Norman spotted him.
“Xavier,” he said, causing him to freeze, “where are you going?”

“Well…I…uh…”

May looked suspiciously at him, “Wait a minute, what is your name?”

“My name?” Xavier inquired, “ My name is Xavier. Why do you ask?”

“Ah-ha!” Max exclaimed triumphantly, causing everyone in the room to jump, “So you’re the guy who almost ran us over earlier!”

What is he…oh man, Xavier realized, they must have been the two people I ran off the road with by bike. I normally would’ve stopped, but I was late. He now looked at Max. He had a stern look on his face, looking intently at Xavier.

“Well…about that…I’m sorry,” he started speaking, feeling his face going red with embarrassment, “I was…well…I was in a rush to get here. I had promised Norman I would be here to do some training with him at three and I had lost track of time…Oh man I am really sorry.”

May, unlike Max, didn’t appear the least bit angry, which had surprised Xavier. In fact, she was actually smiling. “It’s no big deal,” she said, understanding the Max had embarrassed him greatly in front of Norman.

Max’s jaw dropped and he immediately looked as though he would protest. Norman, however, interjected. He whispered sternly to Max, “He already apologized, don’t make him feel any worse.” Max didn’t say a thing.

Xavier relaxed now, his feeling of embarrassment now replaced by a new feeling of curiousity. “How did you know it was…”

May knew this question was coming before he asked it. “We found your hat on a bush nearby afterwards.” As she spoke she reached down into her bag and pulled out the hat.

He looked at it. My hat? His right hand absentmindedly reached to his head. There was nothing there but hair. Then he realized that he must have been going so fast that his hat flew off. May was now offering the hat back to him.

Xavier thanked her, taking the hat and putting it back on his head. He looked over to Norman. “So,” he spoke, “ you still want to battle?”

Norman smiled. “I was just about to ask you that.” He turned and started walking into the arena. Xavier followed close behind and was just about to shut the doors when he got an idea.

“May. Max.”

May and Max were already walking towards the front doors when he said this.

“Do you guys wanna watch our battle? It’s the least I could do about earlier.”

Max turned back to face Xavier. He was surprised to see Max grinning broadly.

“Alright!”

Before Xavier could react, Max ran right past him, almost knocking over, and into the arena. Xavier now looked over towards May. She stood there, hands behind her head.

“Well I think that Mom…”

“Don’t worry about her,” Xavier replied quickly, “I go by later and explain.”

“What do you mean?” May asked, “What could you do?”

Xavier started walking into the arena. “I know your parents pretty well. Do you think that Norman lets anyone train with him?”

As he walked inside, May thought about it. He does have a point, she thought, I have never seen Norman actual train with someone else before. She sighed and looked towards the arena doors. I might as well go see what’s up. May walked over to the doors and followed Xavier inside.

<End Chapter 3>

 

[pokefan2]

Good chapter.

 

[PokemonHero]

Alright, remember how I said that I would make sure Chapter 4 didn't take as long. Well its done. I had a lot of down time this weekend, so I spent it writing. Don't get used to me writing chapters this quickly. I had all weekend and do not plan on starting Chapter 5 until next weekend. Now I present, Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: A Force to be Reckoned With

May walked over to the bench beside the battlefield and sat down. Max was already sitting, his face filled with excitement like a kid in a candy shop, a look that made May wonder.

“Why are you so excited?” May inquired, “Just a few minutes ago you couldn’t stand being near Xavier.”

Max looked towards May. “It’s simple,” he said, “Dad is going to kick his butt in this battle. There’s no way he can win. He’s just another trainer.”

May didn’t have the heart to tell her what Xavier had said before he walked into the arena. Do you think that Norman lets anyone train with him? When he said this, it created many more questions in her mind. Who is this guy? And how does he know Dad so well?

Xavier now stode over towards his end of the battlefield. He had a look of great confidence on his face and was walking tall. May noticed that he only had two PokeBalls on his belt. She thought about bringing it up with Max, but decided against it, knowing that it would only make Max that much more convinced of Xavier’s defeat.

Norman stood at the other end of the field, arms crossed. “Are you ready to battle?” he asked Xavier as he stepped into his box.

Xavier now looked Norman straight in the eye, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Norman pulled a PokeBall of his belt, which expanded in his hand. “One-on-one alright with you?”

Xavier nodded as he pulled a PokeBall of his own out. “Fine by me.”

“Slaking, go”

“Riolu, showtime.”

Both Norman and Xavier threw their PokeBalls at the same time. A flash of bright light and two figures appeared on the battlefield. May recognized Slaking, a giant, ape-like Pokemon that was her father’s most powerful fighter. However, she had no idea what the other Pokemon was. It was small, so small in fact that she was afraid that Slaking would crush it if things got out of hand. She reached to her Pokedex, hoping to be able to identify this new Pokemon, but was greatly surprised.

No data available, the computer-generated voice of the Pokedex replied to May pointing it at the unknown creature.

“That’s strange,” Max said, looking at May, very interested by the fact that the Pokedex couldn’t identify the Pokemon, “Wonder what it is?”

May thought for a second, “I think I heard him call it Riolu.”

Max shrugged and looked over towards Xavier. His face had not changed one bit, despite the fact that his Pokemon looked seemingly outmatched. What he said next surprised him greatly.

“You can go first Norman.”

Max began silently celebrating, believing that he had just sealed his own fate. Norman, on the other hand, didn’t look the least bit surprised. “Okay then. Slaking use Focus Punch.”

Slaking formed a fist with its large right hand. The fist started glowing white as it began lumbering towards Riolu as fast as it could. Riolu stood firm and watched Slaking’s every movement. Xavier watched as well, waiting for the right moment. Slaking was now to Riolu and thrust its fist at it. It was then Xavier acted.

“Riolu, dodge and get behind Slaking.”

Riolu seemingly knew what was coming. At last possible moment, it jumped in the air as Slaking’s fist slammed into the ground, right in the spot Riolu had been in just a second before. Before Slaking could try again, though, Riolu landed back on the ground and darted between Slaking’s legs, much to the giant Pokemon’s bewilderment.

May was impressed. If he has any advantage, she thought, it’s that Riolu is fast. She glanced quickly at Max. He still looked confident, yet May could sense that the last move had surprised him greatly.

Xavier looked towards Riolu. Good job, he thought, now to go on the offensive.

“Now use Force Palm quickly.”

A ball of bright blue energy started forming in Riolu’s hand. At first, it was small, about the size of a pea, but it kept growing. Slaking, now recovered from the shock of Riolu sliding between its legs, turned and faced the much smaller challenger. Riolu ran towards Slaking and thrust the ball of energy into Slaking’s sternum, sending it sliding across the arena floor. It was still standing, but it was easy to tell that the move had taken a toll on Slaking, now breathing hard and clutching the area where he had been hit.

Max nearly fell out of his seat. How in the world did that do so much damage, he thought, looking at Riolu.

“Follow it up with Brick Break.”

Riolu ran towards Slaking, right paw glowing. As it got close, it jumped in the air towards Slaking, aiming its right paw at Slaking’s head.

Norman responded quickly though. “Use Hyper Beam.”

A large beam of energy shot of Slaking’s mouth aimed directly at Riolu. Riolu tried to cut through the beam using Brick Break, but it was useless. Hyper Beam was just too powerful. It smashed into Riolu, sending the small Pokemon flying across the arena, landing a few feet in front of Xavier. All you could see though was a giant cloud of dust where Riolu had landed.

May was taken aback. How could Riolu have survived that, she thought. She looked at Xavier. His confidence was replaced by a look of concern, staring at the spot where Riolu had landed.

The dust cleared gradually from the spot. Riolu was laying on the ground, having taken a great amount of damage.

Max smiled. “It’s over,” he said confidently, loud enough for Xavier and Norman to hear.

Xavier shook his head, “I think that Riolu disagrees with that statement.”

To everyone’s amazement, Riolu slowly stood up, now glaring angrily at Slaking.

Max was shocked, “But…how…”

Now it was Xavier who was smiling, “Riolu is by far one of my most resilient Pokemon I’ve ever trained.” He now looked back at the battlefield. Slaking was breathing heavily, between having spent a lot of energy on the Hyper Beam and taking damage from Riolu. One good hit should do it, he thought excitedly as he absentmindedly readjusted his hat.

“Okay Riolu, get close to Slaking.”

Riolu darted towards, still going as fast as it had before being hit by Hyper Beam. Norman started to worry. There’s no way that Slaking can pull off another Hyper Beam, he thought, let alone hit it. There’s only one other option.

“Slaking use Earthquake.”

Slaking formed two giant fists and slammed them on the ground, sending waves of energy underground towards Riolu. Xavier, though, had a plan.

“Jump onto Slaking’s back.”

“Slaking, don’t let it.”

Riolu pushed off the ground and flew through the air. Slaking swiped its arms at Riolu, like a person trying to swat a mosquito. However, Riolu dodged the flailing arms and landed on Slaking’s back, gripping tightly to the fur on Slaking’s neck.

“No!” Norman exclaimed, amazed that Riolu made it past Slaking’s arms, “Try to get it off your back.”

Slaking tried reaching with its arms to grab Riolu, but it was unable to reach.

May shook her head, amused by the new development. “Sheesh, Riolu’s like a bad itch.”

Max was not quite as amused, “Well Slaking better scratch it or else.”

Xavier was now relax, the look of great confidence back on his face. “Finish it with Brick Break, full force.”

Riolu’s right paw glowed. Using all the power it had left, Riolu thrust it directly at the back of Slaking’s head. The effect was immediately evident. Slaking fell backwards, Riolu jumping off, and landed with a thud. Slaking was out cold.

Xavier was now smiling. “Now, its over,” he said excitedly as Riolu ran over to him. He bent down and gave the small Pokemon a high five and congratulated it on its great efforts.

Max couldn’t believe what had just happened. This Pokemon was a whole lot smaller than Slaking, yet it defeated it almost handily. Who is this guy, he now wondered, seeing that he was obviously a skilled trainer.

Norman recalled Slaking into its PokeBall. “Good job Slaking,” he said to the PokeBall before putting it back on its belt. Then he walked over towards where Xavier and Riolu were standing. There’s no doubt that he is an awesome trainer, he thought to himself, he’s going to win the Johto League, no questions asked.

May and Max now ran over to Xavier. “Xavier,” May started, getting to him first, “that was amazing. Riolu is so strong.”

Xavier looked over at May, “Thanks, but really, its no big deal.”

“No big deal,” Max said, now arriving next to May, “How could such a small Pokemon just…”

But before he could finish this statement, Max was sent sliding across the ground. Riolu, who had been standing next to Xavier smiling about May’s compliment, suddenly attacked Max with Force Palm, much to everyone’s surprise except Xavier.

“MAX!!!”

Xavier, Norman, and May ran over to where Max was laying. He sat up, though with obvious pain and looked at Xavier.

“What was that about?” he yelled angrily at Xavier.

Xavier took off his hat and began absentmindedly fiddling with it. “I should have warned you,” he started, an embarrassed look on his face, “Riolu does not like being called small. He considers it an insult.” He pointed back at Riolu, who was now standing there, arms crossed looking at Max.

May walked over to Riolu. “May,” Max shouted, “don’t. He’s dangerous.”

May didn’t listen to her brother’s pleas and walked over to it, “I actually think he’s cute,” she said, kneeling down and patting Riolu’s head. It no longer looked angry and was enjoying May’s attention.

Max’s jaw dropped. “How…but…?”

Xavier shook his head. “He doesn’t mind girls calling him cute or small,” he said, looking over at May and Riolu, “only guys.” He looked at Max. “You okay Max.”

“I think I need an aspirin,” he said before lying back down.

Xavier now looked at Norman. He wasn’t angry about what happened. He knew about Riolu’s temperament. He actually was the first victim of this. He was talking to Xavier about how it was so small not long after it first hatched. Riolu wasn’t impressed and hit him with a Brick Break in…well…a very unpleasant place.

Norman looked at Max, then at May and Riolu, and sighed. “Now what was it you saw earlier Xavier?”

<End Chapter 4>

 

[PokemonHero]

Here it is, Chapter 5. A new chapter. I got this done sooner than I thought I would. Some of the things discussed in this chapter will be very important in the future. So with out further to do, here is Chapter 5. Feel free to make comments and suggestions.

Chapter 5: Strange Occurrences

May and Max stood outside the Gym. Max insisted that he was okay and accepted Xavier’s apology. Max had wanted to ask Xavier a bunch of questions about Riolu, but Xavier cut him off. He told May and Max to wait for them outside, that he and Norman had some important business to talk about. But it had been twenty minutes and there was no sign of either of them. What could they be talking about that is so important?

Finally two figures emerged from the front doors. Norman turned around and locked the Gym doors. As the two of them walked over, Max could hear little bits of a conversation between them.

“Are you sure you saw…”

“For the thousandth time, Norman, yes. It’s got me worried…”

“But why would it come here?”

“That’s what’s got me so concerned…”

“What are you guys talking about?”

Max’s interruption snapped them back to reality. Xavier grinned nervously, “Nothing that would really concern you.”

“I heard you say you saw something,” Max inquired, “what was it?”

“I already said it isn’t your concern.”

“Come on…”

“No…”

And gradually an argument broke out between Max and Xavier. May walked past the two of them and walked up to Norman. “Dad,” she started, “what were you two talking about?”

Norman shook his head. “He saw something earlier that concerned him. Xavier is a great trainer who has been around the regions and knows when something isn’t right.”

“But what did he…?”

Norman cut in. “You would have to ask him yourself. He might trust you more than he trusts Max.” He said this as he pointed over to Max and Xavier, who were still arguing about the same subject. Neither seemed to be giving in.

Norman finally walked over to the two of them. “Would you two stop it?”

Xavier and Max looked at Norman. Xavier spoke first, “Sorry sir, but he just keeps pestering me about it.”

Max disagreed. “If he told me then I would have to pester him.” And he stared right back at Xavier.

“Let’s talk about it later,” Norman said and that was that. No one wanted to start an argument with Norman.

May rolled her eyes. Boys, she thought, walking past the three of them. She turned back to them. “Hey Max!” she shouted back at her brother, “Last one home is a rotten Exeggcute.” And she started running towards home.

“No fair you got a head start!” Max puffed as he ran to catch up with his sister, leaving Norman and Xavier alone again.

Norman turned back to Xavier. His face did not have the normal determined look that Xavier associated with him. Instead it was a look of great concern. “Back to what you said earlier. Are you sure that it was Ho-oh?”

Xavier nodded as he started walking along. “There is no doubt in my mind that it was. It’s clear to me that something is wrong.”

Norman followed and walked past Xavier. “You mean that something has happened in the Johto region. But we would have heard about it.”

Xavier shook his head, “I meant to say that something is about to go wrong, not that it has yet. I think Ho-oh can sense the danger rising. It fits perfectly with what has happened at the Whirl Islands recently.”

“What happened?” Norman asked, shocked at this revelation, “Was someone killed?”

Once again Xavier shook his head. “No but there has been strange thing abrewing on the islands.” He stopped and took off his backpack. He rummaged around inside it, tossing an empty water bottle, a guidebook, and numerous things past Norman’s head. “Ah here it is.” He held a newspaper in his hand. Curiously, Norman read the headline.

“Mad Meowth Lady Dies, Wills Home to Pokemon…”

“Whoops, wrong side,” Xavier responded with great embarrassment, as he flipped it over and showed Norman a different headline, “This one.”

Norman looked at it.

WHIRL ISLAND WHIRLPOOLS ACTING UNUSUALLY,
EXPERTS BAFFLED​

Norman looked back at Xavier and chuckled, “What’s this got to do with Ho-oh?”

Xavier started putting his things back in his backpack. “You know as well as I do that the Whirl Islands are home to Lugia. These ‘experts’ are looking for rational way to explain it: sea currents and weather patterns. I know better. The whirlpools are there for its protection. If Lugia is strengthening them, then obviously something is about to happen, something that has Lugia scared. It’s way too strange to be a coincidence.”

Norman watched as Xavier put his things away. One thing really was bugging him. “What is going on that would have Ho-oh and Lugia concerned? They are two of the most powerful Pokemon in the world.”

Xavier stopped and looked back at Norman. “I know of powers that are much greater than Ho-oh and Lugia. Maybe that is the problem, but currently I have no clue.”

He resumed packing his backpack. Norman stood there in silence as Xavier finished, stood, and slung the pack back on his shoulder. Finally he decided to ask the big question.

“What are you going to do about it?”

Xavier looked at a house nearby. It was a charming home, with a beautiful garden out front and looked absolutely clean. This was where he lived. It was small, but it was fine for him and his mother, whom he lived with. However she was visiting a sick relative in Lilycove and hadn’t been home the last few nights and wouldn’t be for a few days. He knew that somehow he would have to inform her about what he was about to do.

“Well?”

Xavier looked back at Norman. “I’m heading back to Johto earlier than I intended to. Tonight I’m going to call Morty and see if he has seen anything strange in Ecruteak. Tomorrow I will head off Johto to try and find some answers.”

Norman smiled. “This isn’t an excuse for you running off to compete in Contests again is it?”

Xavier smiled. Though his true love is battling, Pokemon Contests had provided him something different to do. The last time he had been in Johto he decided to enter some Contests in his downtime between Gym Battles. He won two Ribbons while there and earned some respect from veteran Coordinators who saw him a “go-betweener,” a person who competes in both Gym Battles and Contests. His goal was now to win both the Johto Grand Festival and the Johto League. But he hadn’t planned on going back so soon. He intended to train Cyndaquil and Riolu with Norman for a little while before going back to Johto. Oh well, he thought, they’ll have to learn on the fly.

He now looked at Norman as if what he said was a challenge. “So what if it is?”

They just stared at each other for moment, neither speaking nor moving. It was an intense staredown.

For a moment…

Then both Xavier and Norman burst out laughing. They couldn’t stand it.

After a minute of calming himself down he spoke again. “I’m serious about why I’m going back, but it wouldn’t kill me to have some fun would it?”

Norman thought for a moment. “You have a good point.”

“Alright, well I have to get going.”

And with that, Xavier turned and started walking towards his house. As he reached the front door, Norman shouted out to him, “Hey Xavier!”

He turned to face Norman, “What now?”

Norman smiled broadly, “You want to come to dinner later?”

Xavier thought for a second. “Is Caroline cooking?” He had once tried Norman’s cooking and…well it was—to say the least—horrible.

Norman laughed. “Of course. So you coming or not?

Xavier smiled. “Sure, why not? What time?”

“Be there at about quarter ‘til seven if that’s not a problem.”

“Okay,” Xavier responded as he opened the front door.

“One more thing.”

Xavier looked back once again at Norman. “Yeah?”

“Don’t be late.”

And with that Norman turned and walked back to his house, where Max and May were probably already home. They had probably already gone out to the greenhouse. He smiled. This is a great time to be a dad.

Xavier stood out on the front porch and looked around. It was still a beautiful day and the weather was fantastic. Maybe he should ride on his bike again and…whoops.

He realized he left his bike out in front of the Gym. Oh well, he shrugged, I get it later, as he walked inside the house and took off his backpack. I’ll let the guys rest out back. He reached to his belt and pulled the PokeBalls off his belt, walking towards a door that lead out back of the house.

<End Chapter 5>

Once again, comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Kamen_Fanatic]

I think it's good. It's kind of weird, using yourself in a fic. But, what are you gonna do? I think most of us use ourselves in a fic time to time.

 

[freddie515]

Im bumping this in the hope of another chapter being added =)

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

In cases like that, you PM the author. You can bump for reviews, but that's not a review.