Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Yui's Journey - The Tokko Adventures ❯ On Wings of Silver ( Chapter 8 )

Yui's Journey - The Tokko Adventures

Chapter 8 - On Wings of Silver

"Avalon…" Teal sighed as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "you're dead."

"What?" Morty questioned innocently. "I didn't do a thing…"

"You know exactly what you did!!!" Teal shouted at him, holding up her soaking wet red shirt. "This is my favorite shirt, and now I can't even wear it!"

"Hehe…" Morty sweatdropped as Teal went on to lecture him further. Tristan and Yui sat at the other end of the Pokemon Center; Tristan was playing with Chikorita and Yui was examining her new badge.

"I can see myself in it!" she laughed, fluffing her hair.

"That's usually what mirrors do," Tristan said.

"Kee!" Yui simply squeaked. Tristan looked at her strangely, and went back to petting Chikorita's leaf. "So, Yui, what are you going to do tomorrow? Are you going to head out to the next city?"

"Not yet, actually," she smiled. "I was actually hoping that the four of us could go shopping around the city…"

"More shopping?" Tristan exclaimed. "I can hardly contain my excitement."

Yui smiled. "You don't have to come if you don't want to! Where are you planning on going after you leave this city, anyway?"

"I'm not actually sure," he sighed. "I might just stick around the Tokko area, and explore a bit…"

"Sounds cool," Yui said, lying down on the couch. "But, I guess we should all get some sleep if we're planning on going anywhere tomorrow… Teal? Morty? Are you guys done resolving your little argument?"

Teal, however, wasn't quite ready to turn in. "I don't know what gave you the stupid idea to throw me in the water in the first place!" she barked at a very confused Morty. "You know, you're not much of a gentleman!"

Morty blinked. "Was I supposed to be?" he asked.

Now it was Teal's turn to blink aimlessly. "…Good NIGHT, Morty," she finally said, storming away from him. She took her place on the couch under the front window, and curled up, her back turned away from everyone.

"What's wrong, Teal?" Yui asked, snuggling underneath her own blanket. No response came from her friend, and Yui sighed, allowing Chikorita to crawl under the covers.

"What… did I say?" Morty asked himself. "I was just kidding around…"

"I'm not sure," Tristan said. "She sure does get touchy sometimes."

"Aw, let her sleep, you guys," said Yui. "I don't think I'd like to be thrown into that water either…"

"Yeah, you're right," Morty finished, looking around the room. "Hey… Wait a second. There are only two couches. Where are Tristan and I supposed to sleep?"

Tristan laughed, and dived for the big fluffy armchair by the phones. He stuck his tongue out silently at his friend as Morty settled himself in another chair. Not quite as fluffy, but comfortable nonetheless.

Yui and the two boys fell asleep right away, but Teal was still lying awake, staring at the back of the couch. Her heart was burning inside; she wanted to scream, but she help it in. "Stupid Morty," she thought to herself, pulling the blankets tighter around herself. "How could I have ever liked him? He obviously doesn't care about me at all… There's no use in thinking we'll ever be together."

The next morning, Teal was the last one to wake up. When she opened her eyes, she saw Morty sitting on the couch next to Yui, talking to her while she packed her bag. Chikorita was obviously morning-friendly, because she was sitting atop Tristan's head, 'Chiko-ing' randomly at him as he attempted to pull her away. Slowly, Teal got up, picked an outfit out of her backpack and walked off to get changed.

"Good morning!" Yui said as she walked by. Teal waved to her without bothering to look up as she disappeared into the back. Yui sighed again, leaning up against Morty. "She really seems out of it," she said. "I hope she's not too angry at you."

"Same here," Morty said. "I'm sure it'll be fine. She can't stay mad at me forever, right?"

"Who could?" added Tristan, who had just succeeded in removing the hyperactive Chikorita from his head. "Come on, Morty, you're everyone's best friend."

"Okay, that's overdoing it a bit," he said. "There are some people that dislike me, you know."

"Although it's hard to believe, it is true," Yui laughed. "Like Kitira…"

"Especially Kitira," Morty groaned. "I hope she's out of the city by now."

"Oh, so you did hear me talking about staying in the city a bit longer today," said Yui. "It's okay with you if I do a bit more shopping?"

"I have no problem with it!" he replied.

"Neither do I," said Tristan. "

"Okay then," said Teal, who had just stepped out from the back. "Let's hit the malls!" She was looking particularly energetic in a white T-shirt and blue shorts, and her hair was tied back in a sporty ponytail.

Yui blinked once, but she decided not to ask where the change in attitude came from. "Sounds great!" she exclaimed, jumping up. Chikorita was immediately at her side, following with equal enthusiasm.

"Yeah…" Morty agreed. He and Tristan followed the two energetic girls out of the Pokemon Center, both with the same thought in their heads: "This is going to be a long day…"

~*~*~

It had only been an hour, and Yui and Teal were already carrying three shopping bags each. Yui had "accidentally" gotten into her dad's bank account, and, well… yeah, you can pretty much guess that she was taking complete advantage of this. She had already purchased an expensive pink kimono from a small Japanese clothing shop, and was looking in the direction of a store that sold imported chocolates. As for Teal, her account didn't seem to be limited either.

Finally, the chocolate shop got to be too tempting for Yui to pass up. She shoved her bags into Morty's arms, and ran off in its direction at light speed with Chikorita in tow. Teal laughed, and passed her bags off to Morty as well. "Here, can you watch these for a second?" she at least had the courtesy to ask. "I'm just gonna go check out that pet shop…"

"Sure," Morty sighed monotonously, his shoulders drooping as she walked off. "How in the world do I get myself into these things?"

"I guess that's what you get for going shopping with two girls," Tristan laughed.

"Think it's funny?" Morty asked, handing a couple of the bags to him. "Then you can help me."

Teal stood by the window of the Pokemon pet store, admiring the baby Eevees, Growlithes and Meowths playing in the window. "They're so cute!" she said to herself, pressing her palms against the window. "I'd buy one, but these are house pets, not Pokemon for PokeBalls and training… But it wouldn't hurt to get a closer look!"

She reached out for the door handle and walked in… just as someone else was about to walk out. Unable to stop in time, she crashed right into him, and both of them fell to the ground. The other person's bags (which contained some kind of bird food) dropped to the ground, and without looking up, Teal scrambled to pick them up.

"I am so sorry," she said, scooping the items back into the bag. "I had no idea you were there. That was completely stupid of me."

"Hey, don't worry so much about it," said a male voice. Teal looked up to see a boy about her age; he had his dark blue hair clumped over his right eye, and the eye that she could see was sky blue in color. "I should have been watching myself too."

"Um…" Team stammered, finding that a blush was coming to her cheeks. "No, really. It was all my fault.

She handed him his bag and he stood up, helping her to her feet. "No, don't worry," he repeated. "It's no big deal."

"You're sure?" she confirmed nervously, looking down so he wouldn't see her flushed cheeks.

"I'm sure," he laughed, stretching his arm toward hers. "I'm Falkner."

"Teal," she said, shaking his hand. "Wait… Do you mean the Johto Gym Leader, Falkner?"

"Yeah, that's me," he sighed. "I'm sure I've heard the name Teal before…"

"Oh…" she breathed. "No, I'm nothing special…"

"Oh yeah! A girl named Teal won the battling competitions the other day! That was you, right?"

Teal's eyes widened, pleased at the thought that he'd remembered her. "Yeah," she said softly.

"I thought so… You were great up there," Falkner commented. "So… Doing a little shopping, I see?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Um, do you want to join us? My friends and I, I mean?"

"Sure," he laughed, "that'd be great. Where are your friends?"

Teal quickly turned and started jogging back to where she'd left her group. "This way," she called, "follow me!"

"You got it," Falkner said, sprinting after her.

They returned just as Yui was taking her bags back from Morty. She was holding a big circle-shaped box of chocolates, offering some to the boys. Teal skipped up and took two, offering one to Falkner as he stopped in front of her.

"Thanks," he said, catching his breath. "Hey, people I don't know. Hey Morty!"

"Falkner" Morty questioned. "What… the heck? Why are you all the way out here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said. "Actually, Matt dragged me down here for the competitions, and I decided to stay for a bit after that."

"I just followed her," Morty explained, motioning to Yui.

"Hi! I'm Yui," she said. "I know you. You're another gym leader person!"

"Yeah, he is," Tristan said. "Come on Falkner, you should remember me. I beat you a while ago."

"Oh yeah," Falkner said, narrowing his eyes. "Tristan, right? Now I remember you."

"Took you long enough," he joked.

"Hey, is it okay if Falkner hangs out with us today?" Teal asked. "I figure I owe it to him, since I knocked him over…"

"There's nothing wrong with it," Yui said.

Teal's eyes practically lit up with happiness. "Yay!!" she exclaimed.

"Kee, Teal!" Yui cried suddenly, breaking her little moment of happiness.

"WHAT, Yui?"

"Look! Shirts on sale, three for fifteen bucks!!!" Yui screeched.

"No way! Let's get 'em before they're sold out!" Teal screamed just as loudly. The tow took off running, leaving Chikorita, Morty, Tristan and Falkner in their dust.

Falkner blinked. "I should have expected this," he said; the two others nodded, and Chikorita tilted her head confusedly, trying to figure out what was so special about a bunch of shirts…

~*~*~

"So… You like this Falkner guy, huh?" asked Yui, pushing through the shirt rack and picking out almost every purple shirt that was there.

"What?!?" Teal exclaimed. "I… I guess you could say… Um… Yeah. I do."

"I knew it!" Yui said with a mischievous smile. "We should drag him along with us… That way, I can play matchmaker and get you two together…"

"That's crazy!" Teal exclaimed. "There's no way…"

"Don't even start saying that!" Yui cut her off mid-sentence, "of course he likes you! It's obvious!"

"It is not…" she said, looking down. "He'd never…"

Yui interrupted her again: "Oh, someone's blushing!" she giggled.

"Yui, shut up!" Teal laughed. She picked up a blue t-shirt… just as Yui was reaching for the same shirt. "Hey, no. I saw this first."

"No, I did."

"No, I did!!"

"Me!"

"ME!!"

~*~*~

The day was ending, and the girls were (surprisingly) almost all shopped out. Morty was carrying at least eight shopping bags, all Yui's, and she still had four of her own to hold. The same went for Falkner, who had been given the job of carrying Teal's stuff around. The group had also met up with Akiko, one of the girls from the competition. She was talking with Tristan, the two of them hanging back from the others a little.

"This was fun," Teal yawned, stretching out her arms. "I'm ready to go to sleep…"

"And head out to the next city first thing in the morning?" Yui asked enthusiastically.

"Sure, why not," Teal said.

"Where are you off to next?" asked Falkner.

"The next city with a gym is called Sky Town," Yui informed, "but Prof. Willow said it's kind of hard to get to…"

"Not really, if you know how," Falkner said, his eyes lighting up at the mention of the city. "I'll stick with you guys for now, and help you get there."

"You will?" Teal cried. "That's great!"

"Okay then… It's probably best if we head back to the Pokemon Center now then," Morty suggested. "To get a good sleep, and have a fresh start tomorrow morning."

"I agree," Yui said, walking alongside him. "It's right up ahead there! Let's go!"

~*~*~

That night, at about eleven, the doors of the Pokemon center closed; nobody could leave or enter until morning, unless it was an emergency. Yui and the rest of the group were already fast asleep… except for restless little Teal. She sat awake, staring around the room… mostly at Falkner. She thought about what Yui had said… "Of course he likes you! It's obvious!!" Was this actually true? Or was her friend just trying to help her feel better? She couldn't decide… Yui had done an excellent job of concealing her emotions in her voice when she had said that.

Finally, she gave up on thinking, and decided to move on to more important matters… like getting some sleep for the next day. She turned over on her pillow, letting her eyes slip shut… and was promptly brought back to reality by a crash coming from the roof of the Pokemon center. Jumping to a sit, she looked up at the roof, as if trying to see what was up there.

"Oh, great…" she thought aloud to herself. "Just my luck, it's probably a couple of thieves trying to break into the center." She sat back, frustrated, but another thought ran through her mind… "Come on, Teal! Are you really going to sit here and let some creeps break in and steal your friends' Pokemon? Do something!"

She hesitated, the other half of her mind fighting back. "I can't," she was speaking out loud again, "what if I can't do anything about it?"

"Of course you can do something about it! You beat Akiko for the championship! You won the competition! You know you're a strong trainer!"

"Yeah, but…" It was almost like she was having an argument with herself. "Okay, I'll go. I just hope this isn't a stupid decision…"

~*~*~

Since the doors were locked, Teal's only alternative was to climb out through the sunroof… that was a stupid idea in itself, but she didn't give up that easily. She got a ladder from the back room and climbed up, carefully pushing the glass covering aside as she climbed out onto the roof. There was a small breeze blowing, but it didn't bother her too much. She pulled herself to a stand, and started looking around.

"I don't see anyone," she said to herself, shielding her eyes from the wind. She then heard a faint Pokemon cry… Almost like a bird call. Teal rushed forward to see a nest full of baby Pidgeys; the nest was behind the chimney, which was blocking the oncoming wind, so they were pretty much safe. They still looked distressed, however; they were chirping furiously for no given reason. Teal knelt down beside the nest and started petting the feathers of one of the smaller Pidgeys.

"Aww, it's okay, don't cry," she cooed softly. "This wind will die down soon. You can fly away then… If you even know how." She smiled weakly, and stood up. "I should get going though," she said, whether it was to herself or to the Pidgeys. "It's strange, though," she looked down at the nest again, "if you guys are the only things up here, what made that banging sound earlier?"

The Pidgeys suddenly started to chirp even more, reaching their wings toward the sky. A confused look spread over Teal's face, and she looked up to see what the babies were reaching for.

It was definitely not something she wanted to see.

A Pidgeot was descending on her… Most likely the mother of the children. Teal backed up and turned away, making a run for the sunroof. The Pidgeot caught her collar in its talons and flew away from the building, releasing her over solid ground.

"H-hey!" Teal stammered, grabbing at the bird's talons, but she missed her target and fell. She turned her head upward and closed her eyes, not wanting to watch when she landed on the ground. But when she made contact, it wasn't something hard she was sitting on… it was soft, and fluffy, and she wasn't hurt. "What the…" Teal looked down to see another Pidgeot, with a familiar person controlling its flight.

"You should be more careful," said Falkner. "Those mother Pidgeots are extremely protective of their young."

"Falkner!" Teal exclaimed, jumping into his lap and hugging him. "You saved me! But… How did you know I was out here?"

The dark-haired boy laughed, smirking at her. "I was never asleep," he said smartly. "I saw you come out here, so I went out to watch over you… I guess it was a good idea, huh?"

"Yeah," Teal sighed as his Pidgeot flew back toward the Pokemon Center. The bird hovered over the rooftop as Falkner deposited Teal on the solid floor, but before he could step down himself, the mother Pidgeot flew forward with an angry shriek, knocking him off of his Pokemon.

"Falkner!" Teal cried, running to him. He stood up slowly; his side was bleeding from where the Pidgeot's beak had pressed into his skin, and he looked incredibly weak and tired. "Are you…"

"…Fine," he said, mounting his Pokemon once again. The wild Pidgeot was already turning in its flight, coming back to strike again. "Teal, stay low. That thing is really angry… Pidgeot and I have to get it under control."

"But you're hurt!" she exclaimed, reaching her arm out. "Let me come too!"

"No way. It's way too dangerous!" he said, ducking as the Pidgeot flew straight past her head. "Stay here, and stay low to the ground!"

"Right…" she said reluctantly, watching Falkner take off into the air. He and his Pidgeot chased after the other one at an extreme speed, Falkner hanging on for his life the whole time.

"Pidgeot, come on!" he yelled. "You can catch up to it! Quick Attack!"

Both Pokemon cried out as they flew side-by-side, both trying to knock the other out of the air. Suddenly, the wild Pidgeot backed up and flapped its wings rapidly, creating a whirlwind that blew Falkner and his Pokemon way off course. They descended, nearly hitting the ground before coming back.

Teal was incredibly tense now. "Falkner, come back, it'll get you killed!" she screamed, tears forming in her eyes. "Falkner!"

He ignored her; all of his energy was focused on this battle. "Pidgeot, Steel Wing attack now!" he shouted. His voice was iced over with fury.

"Pidgeoooo!" cried Falkner's Pidgeot, its wings glowing with a silver aura. It flew up and struck the opposing Pidgeot, who in turn let out an agonizing cry of pain before plummeting toward the ground. Falkner's Pokemon grabbed it by the collar and slowly carried it toward the roof of the center, placing it in its nest beside its babies.

"There," Falkner said, breathing heavily as he jumped onto the roof. Teal immediately ran to embrace him. He recalled his Pokemon and hugged her back, bringing her head to a rest on his shoulder.

"You scared me so bad," she cried, clutching at the back of his shirt. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Hey, I am a gym leader, you know!" he laughed. "I'm used to tough battles like these."

"But… You were right in the middle of that battle! You could have gotten hurt… even more hurt than you already are!" said Teal, smiling weakly. "I was worried!"

"But I'm okay now," he said. "And that's all that matters… Right?"

"Right," she agreed. "Can we go back inside and talk about this?"

Falkner laughed a little, bringing his head down to kiss her cheek. "Sure," he said. He took her by the hand, and directed her toward the open sunroof. "Let's go."

~*~*~

The next morning, Yui was naturally the first one awake. She had been dressed and ready before anyone else was even out of bed, and she had taken it upon herself to wake them all up.

"Teal!" she giggled, poking her friend in the shoulder. "Wake up! You're the last one!"

"What…?" Teal questioned slowly. She sat up and looked around; Tristan and Akiko were cleaning up the areas where everyone had slept, and Morty was having a bit of trouble pulling a shirt over his head. Falkner was just waking up as well. He sat across from them, rubbing his eyes lightly. "Oh… Good morning, everyone."

"Mornin'," Falkner said, running his hand along his injured side. "Heh… I slept on it. Ouch."

"Oh, no!" Teal said, jumping up and running to his side. "Here, I'll replace the bandages I put on last night."

"Ow!" Yui yelped, looking at the wound on Falkner's side. It wasn't deep, but his entire side was red and stinging. "What happened?"
"Long story," Falkner said, wincing as Teal rubbed on some medical cream from her little medicine bag. She placed a bandage over the cut, and softly pressed it down.

"There ya go, Fal," she said, smiling.

"Fal?" Morty asked? "That's a cute nickname. Luna used to call him that when she was going out with him."

"Shut UP, Morty!" Falkner snapped.

"Luna? Morty's sister that he was talking about?" Teal thought aloud. "You used to date her, Fal?"

"Um… Well, you see, it's like this…"

"What's the deal, Teal?" Yui said, laughing at her own stupid rhyme. "You two are together now, is that it?"

"No!" they both countered at the same time. Teal continued, "It's just that… I was curious! That's all!"

"Sure," Tristan said, picking up his bags. "That's what everyone says."

"They do make a cute couple!" Akiko exclaimed.

"We… do not!" Teal said, her face reddening.

"Right," Yui nodded her head sarcastically. "I'm sure you don't. Now, are you guys going to get ready, so we can head out to Sky Town?"

~*~*~

The group of six stood on the line between Route 51 and Dream Town. Route 51 was one of the many between-city trails in the region of Tokko; it would lead them straight to Sky Town.

"Yay!" Yui cried. "Let's go! I want to get there by the end of the day!"

"You guys go ahead," Tristan said with a smile. "I'm going to stay in the city for a bit with Akiko… I mean, I can't just leave her without a shopping buddy!"

"Heh, I'm sure that's all it is," Morty joked.

"It is," Tristan said. "Now come on Mortemeo, you wouldn't want to keep Yui waiting!"

"Yeah," Yui said. "See, at least he knows how to treat a lady."

"Oh, whatever," Morty said, flicking Tristan's glasses down his nose. "Don't call me that."

Tristan, flustered, pushed his glasses back up as Akiko giggled. "Bye, everyone!" she said. "I hope to see you later!"

"Yeah… We'll battle again someday," Teal said, looking into the face of the girl that was one of her biggest rivals in the competition.

"Okay, okay! Enough heartfelt goodbyes! Let's go!" Yui laughed. A wave of sweatdrops fell over the group, but they just laughed it off.

"See ya later," Tristan said, walking off with Akiko. When the two of them were out of sight, Yui ran excitedly down the trail, laughing all the way. Morty followed her, and Teal and Falkner hung back a bit, talking quietly.

"So, Fal," Teal started, "what's the big secret with this Sky Town place anyway? Why is it so hard to reach?"

"Well…" he began, as the two of them walked down the path.

~*~*~

At almost this exact moment, Elite Champion Lance was sitting down at his computer, planning to check his files and accounts before getting into the training and paperwork for that day. As he logged onto his bank account, one of his Elite trainers randomly wandered into the room, looking for him. Karen, the master of Dark Pokemon (and the most beautiful girl in the entire League, according to many male trainers…), stopped behind Lance's computer desk and leaned over his shoulder, smiling flirtatiously down at him. "What'cha doing?" she asked brightly.

"Just checking my account balance," he replied monotonously. "I have to do some more shopping soon, and I need to know what my limits are for this month…"

"I see," Karen breathed, obviously not paying much attention to what he was saying. She was busy staring at the computer screen… or was that at the reflection of the Elite Champion on the monitor? He'd never know…

"I think I have to send in my outfit to be cleaned again," he thought aloud. "Unless you'd do it for me, Karen. Dry-cleaning is not my thing…"

"Well, on one condition," she smirked, throwing her arms around his neck, "I get a new dress."

Lance laughed to himself. "Sure, why not," he said. "It all depends on my limits this month, though…. ERK!"

Karen stared in confusion as Lance's eyes went wide and he gasped, dropping straight out of his chair. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, helping him back up.

"Look," he said, pointing to a spot on the screen. "Someone charged nearly $3500 on my account. All coming from stores in Dream Town."

"Er…" Karen wondered aloud, watching Lance fume as he closed the bank account screen. "Was it… who I'm thinking of?"

"You bet," he said, steaming. "Let me tell you, when my darling daughter Yui gets back from training… she is in BIG TROUBLE!!!"

~To Be Continued…~

A/N: Well… Wasn't that chapter fun? Heehee… I like it. It's one of my favorites so far. I think I'm liking how this story is coming out. I've got a lot of ideas ahead, so get ready for some really weird and exciting chapters coming up! Hehe… I'll stop being weird now. Bai-bai!