TheoLeung@sprint.ca

Ryna lay at the base of a tree in Viridian Forest. Her long brown hair was braided as her crystal blue eyes gazed at the little sunlight that can come through the dense trees. She wore white shorts and a white T-shirt. Her blue backpack sat beside her as she admired the sound of the forest.

"Ryna?!" a voice asked. "Where are you?" Ryna got to her feet and scanned the area, the diamond shaped pendant she had since birth swung around like a pendulum. A small red mass was seen. She waved her hand. The red mass approached her.

"Charles, where did you go?" Ryna asked the Charmander that walked up to her. It was still a mystery why Ryna could understand Pokémon language. Some of the people form Pallet, her hometown, says it’s a gift. Others say it’s a curse. Ryna didn’t really care.

"You walk too fast!" Charles responded. He was panting.

"Sorry Charles," Ryna responded. She knelt down beside the Charmander. "I didn’t mean to do that. I was waiting here for you."

"Don’t worry about," Charles responded. The Pokémon regained his breath. "Just remember not to walk so fast."

"No problem," Ryna responded. The two walked down the path towards Pewter City.

* * * * * *

"Charles! Ember!" Ryna yelled out. The fire Pokémon nodded and blasted hit the opposing Pokémon with a blow of fire. The Beedrill fell fainted under the pressure of the heat.

"Beedrill! Return!" the opposing trainer commanded. A red ray of light blasted from the Pokéball, sucking the injured Beedrill into it. The clearing in the forest provided an excellent battleground for the two trainers.

"Good battle," Ryna commented. Charles walked towards his trainer. "Good job Charles."

"Thanks!" Charles responded enthusiastically. Ryna smiled and patted the Pokémon on the head. The opposing trainer scratched his head.

"Good match," he placed the Pokéball on his belt. "Is it okay for you to keep your Pokémon out in the open like that and not in ball?"

"Just say Charles and I have an understanding," Ryna answered.

* * * * * *

Charles and Ryna were near a big oak tree in Viridian Forest. Darkness began to sweep the land and the two were ready to get some sleep. Ryna was laying her sleeping bag on the ground. Charles sat near by, eating some Pokémon food. His flaming tail provided some light against the darkness.

"So, what going on tomorrow?" Charles asked, swallowing another bite of the food.

"Go to Pewter City, try to beat the Pokémon gym leader for a badge, anything else of interest," Ryna spoke out.

"So, you’re really going for the Pokémon League then," Charles mumbled. He took another bite from the Pokémon food.

"You say something?" Ryna asked her companion. The Pokémon just nodded. "Okay," Ryna said cheerfully. She entered her sleeping bag. "Good night," she said, yawning at the same time.

"Good night," Charles answered. He finish the last of his food, then cuddled up around Ryna, keeping her warm with his fire. Ryna smiled at the consideration of her Pokémon.

* * * * * *

"Ryna, wake up," Charles muttered softly into his master’s ear.

"I don’t want to get up yet mom," Ryna moaned, turning towards the other side.

"Ryna, please wake up," Charles tired again, taping her. Again, Ryna just shrugged off the request.

"Would you please be quite?" another voice asked. At first, Ryna didn’t really notice, but then she realized there should only be two people. The Pokémon trainer almost bolted straight up, wondering who the third person was. She looked around, but saw no body to the distance of her sight.

"Down here," Charles informed her, pointing to something beside her. Ryna felt something cuddling up to her leg, and was surprised at who she found.

"It’s a Pikachu!" Ryna exclaimed in glee. She wanted one, but Prof. Oak said he didn’t have any to the dismay of the young trainer. The trainer grasped her pendent, putting her to ease slightly. "I wonder where it came from?" Ryna asked next, making Charles shrug his shoulders. The tail of the Pikachu raised as its tiny eyes opened.

"AHHH!!!" the Pikachu screamed out, jumping up and going into a fighting position.

"Hey, don’t worry!" Ryna said and raising her hands. "I’m not going to hurt you." The Pikachu stared suspiciously at the trainer, then her Pokémon.

"How do I know I can trust her?" the Pikachu growled at Charles. The Charmander looked at his trainer, then back at the Pikachu, confused on what to do.

"You can trust me," Ryna said reassuringly, only making the Pikachu jump back in surprise. Ryna mentally kicked herself, realizing that the Pikachu wouldn’t know that she could listen. "What’s you name?" Ryna asked next, crawling up to the Pikachu like it was her pet. The Pikachu took a step backwards, obviously questioning what to do.

"Don’t worry," Charles told the Pikachu. "I’m Charles, she’s Ryna. Now, what’s your name?" Charles tried to sound as calm and friendly as possible, but that wasn’t his forte.

"Lin," the Pikachu said after a while, the words staggering a bit. "Lin," the Pikachu said again, more confidently. A questioning look appeared on Ryna’s face.

"Guy or girl?" Ryna asked.

"Girl of course!" Lin yelled out. "Can’t you tell?"

"Uh…no," Ryna squeaked. Lin just rolled her eyes, but then began to laugh.

"Sorry," Lin apologized. "I didn’t mean to be so upset." This brought a smile Charles and Ryna.

"So, what’s are you doing out here?" Charles asked, making an abrupt end to Lin’s laughing.

"I was...separated from my family…" Lin told them, sniffling. Ryna placed her hands over her mouth in utter shock. "They were wearing white lab coats and said that I was to small for the experiment," Lin continued, obviously about to burst into tears. "They tossed me away. I wanted to catch them, but I couldn’t so I walked around, unable to figure out where to go. Then, I stumbled upon you, and I was to tired to move anymore so I rested by you since you were so warm…" the orphaned Pikachu burst into tears, Ryna instinctively picked her up and cradled the Pokémon in her arms. "And now no one is here to take care of me…" the Pikachu finished.

"I’ll take care of you," Ryna told the electric mouse. She wiped the tears away from the Pikachu. Lin’s crying suddenly turned to only sniffling.

"Really?" Lin asked, confused at the sudden generosity.

"Of course!" Charles exclaimed happily. "It’s always nice to have another companion!" Ryna smiled and nodded her agreement. Lin’s sadness suddenly became a smile as she jumped up.

"Okay!" Lin told them. "I’ll come!"

* * * * * *

The three found bright light when they reached the exit to Viridian Forest, causing the three travelers to cheer before continuing their story.

"What’s with the pendent?" Lin whispered to Charles, the two Pokémon walking behind Ryna. Ryna refused to allow her Pokémon in a Pokéball since she thought it was inhumane.

"What do you mean?" Charles asked his fellow Pokémon.

"I feel something from it," Lin whispered back. "Something, unusual."

"You too?" Charles asked, amazed and wide eyed. "I thought I was the only one who could sense it."

"I can too," Lin told the Charmander. "Do you know what it is?" The Charmander shrugged his tiny shoulders. "It feels like it’s trying to open something in me…"

"Yeah, exactly," Charles confirmed. "Weird, isn’t it?" Lin nodded. "I hope it isn’t a bad omen," Charles continued, looking up into the sky. Again, Lin nodded her acknowledgement and looked up as well, wondering what was so interesting.

"The skies so tranquil," Charles said, exhaling. Ryna stopped and looked back at her two companions, noticing both of them facing he sky. She looked up.

"Yeah, it is," Ryna said, slightly shocking her Pokémon. She lay down on the grass beside the dirt path. Her friends took the lead and lay down beside her, one on each side.

"What’s our plans then?" Lin asked. She continued to admire the view.

"The Pokémon league," Ryna said.

"Beating Brock may be a problem then…" Lin muttered. The other two sat up and looked down on the Pikachu.

"What do you mean?" Ryna asked. Lin placed her tiny hands under her head to provide a cushion.

"Well, from what I heard, Brock is a rock Pokémon trainer," Lin said. "Making it pretty much immune to my electric attacks and Charles fire attacks."

"I see your point," Ryna said. She lay back down and began to concentrate.

"Let’s go anyway," Charles told his trainer, jumping to his feet. "I feel confident we can beat him!"

"Yeah, me too!" Lin continued, jumping to her feet as well. The two gazed down at their trainer. Ryna could see them gleam of confidence in their eyes.

"Okay!" Ryna told them, full of the confidence they placed in her. "We’re going to get the Boulder Badge!"

* * * * * *

"Lin, go!" Ryna commanded, her Pikachu jumping into the rocky battlefield.

"Geodude, go!" Brock commanded, tossing his Pokéball into the arena, the rock Pokémon jumping out of the ball in the red flash. "Geodude, tackle!"

"Lin, quick attack!" The Geodude charged Lin, only to be evaded and kicked from behind. "Good job!" Ryna complimented. "Now use your Thunder Wave attack!" The Pikachu nodded her approval, and fire a blast of electricity at the Geodude, paralyzing it.

"Geodude, return!" Brock ordered, placing the Pokémon back into his ball and minimizing it. "I see you have a well trained Pikachu." Ryna scratched her back, knowing full well this was probably Lin’s first battle, and that she was doing a fine job. "I wonder if your Charmander is as well trained."

"You bet!" Ryna told the gym leader confidently.

"I would like to see it," Brock answered, a bit skeptical. Ryna knelt down beside her Charmander.

"You up to it, Charles?" Ryna asked, only to get the confident reply of her friend. Okay then, Lin return!" The Pikachu ran back to the trainer. "Charles, go!" The fire Pokémon jumped into the arena, ready to fight.

"Onix, let’s go!" Brock yelled out, tossing his next Pokéball into the arena. Charles confidence dropped when he saw his opponent.

The massive rock serpent towered over the tiny Charmander, growling out.

"Don’t worry Charles! I have faith in you!" Ryna told her fiery pal. The Charmander shot his trainer a thumbs-up sign.

"Onix, tackle!" The Onix went headfirst into the ground, Charles narrowly evading the attack.

"Charles, ember!" Ryna ordered. Charles attempted to burn the rock giant, but failed to do any noticeable damage. The fire Pokémon silently cursed, then tried again.

"Flamethrower!" Ryna commanded next, seeing the ineffectuality of the previous attack. Searing flames busted from the mouth of the Charmander, singeing the rocks and obviously making some damage. The giant creature reeled back in pain, but the attack still proved little effectiveness against the rock.

"It’s not working…," Lin said, trailing off. When the Onix circled around Charles, making it impossible to escape, the Charmander began to panic. Ryna began to think hard in hopes of salvaging the situation.

"Charles, Flame Rain!" Ryna commanded, knowing full well that such an attack was not in a Charmander’s repertoire. Heck, there was no such attack at all, and yet this trainer called it out. And even more peculiar was the fact that the Charmander knew what to do.

"Onix, bind!" Brock commanded. The Onix slowly approached the lone Charmander, only to be surprised at the Charmander’s next attack.

"Here I go!" Charles said out loud. He spewed fire into the air, confusing the Onix and halting the rock serpent’s attack. The airborne fire soon fell back to the ground, most of it burning into the Onix. The Onix roared out in pain as the liquid fire slipped and spilled into small crevices and gaps between the rocks. The Onix twisted and turned, until it fell onto ground, unmoving. The giant Pokémon disappeared as Brock recalled his Pokémon.

"Very impressive," Brock mused. The gym leader took something from his vest pocket and tossed it to Ryna. Ryna caught the item, and found that she had acquired her first badge. "You deserve this badge; yet, I’m confused about something."

"What is it?" Ryna asked, pocketing the badge.

"The attack your Charmander used, it isn’t in anything I read," Brock said.

"I know," Ryna told Brock, patting her two Pokémon on the head. "I just…shouted it out, and Charles here did it."

"Interesting," Brock mused. Ryna juts shrugged and left the gym leader to his thoughts.

* * * * * *

"I’m proud of both of you," Ryna told her two Pokémon as they left Pewter City the next morning. Her two small companions walked ahead of her.

"Thanks!" they both chirped at the same time. They followed by exchanging glances, then laughing out. Ryna smiled at their happiness.

"Where to next?" Lin asked.

"Cerulean City," Ryna told the small Pikachu. "There’s a gym there. I heard they train Water Pokémon, so this should be simple," Ryna continued, patting the yellow electric mouse on the head.

"How about that attack I did?" Charles asked his trainer. "What was it?" Ryna just shrugged her shoulders.

"I don’t know," Ryna muttered. "I just felt like yelling it out."

"Yeah, I felt that I could use such an attack," Charles continued.

"Strange," Lin commented, making the other two nod in agreement.

* * * * * * *

The Pokémon battle raged out, but not with Ryna. She witnessed the battle on the sidelines, as the two trainers fought.

"Spark! Ember!" the female trainer commanded. Her Growlithe jumped forward, hurling embers towards the opposing Pidgy, causing the bird Pokémon to faint.

"Drat!" the other Pokémon trainer cursed, putting his Pokémon back into the Pokéball. He ran off, cursing about his defeat.

"Talk about your poor sport," the female trainer said.

"I’ll challenge you," Ryna offered.

"Hey, all right! Let’s go," the other trainer answered. "Well, I guess you can figure which Pokémon I’m using."

"Yeah," Ryna answered. "Lin, let’s do it!" The Pikachu jumped forward, facing off with the Growlithe.

"You’re going down," the Spark growled.

"Yeah, right," Lin replied, pretending to yawn.

"Hey, no taunting!" both trainers yelled out, surprised at each other.

"By the way,, what’s your name?" the other trainer asked.

"Ryna," Ryna replied.

"I’m Samantha, just call me Sam," her opponent told her. "Well, let’s start! Spark! Ember!"

"Lin! Quick Attack!" Ryna countered. The Pikachu ran towards her opponent, avoiding the flaming pieces fly gin towards her and kicked the Growlithe in the face, causing him to stagger backwards a few steps. "Thundershock!" Ryna commanded next. Small bolts of electricity blasted from Lin and headed towards her opponent.

"Flame Shield!" Sam commanded. Spark recovered and breathed puffs of fire that surrounded his body. The thunderbolts bounced of them.

"What?!" Ryna gasped, shocked at the attack. Flame Shield was something new to her.

"Tackle!" Sam commanded next, the Growlithe charging forward and shouldering the stunned Pikachu. She sailed through the air.

"Lin! Spark Attack!" Ryna countered. The Pikachu gave her a confused look first, then smiled. Sailing through the air, Lin positioned herself to face the Growlithe. Sparks emitted from her cheeks, then a small star like light approached the Growlithe.

"What the!?" both Spark and Sam gasped at the same time. The star came closer, until it touched the nose of the dog like Pokémon. Volts of electricity surged though the Fire Pokémon’s, causing him to howler in pain until it fell to the ground, exhausted. Everyone else stood there, shocked. The only sound was the hard breathing of Lin and Spark…

<Fin>