The Will to Go On

[SlowPokemon]

Sorry, I was joking as well.

I wouldn't get mad at criticism, if it was in good taste. I love feedback, good or bad. Then I know what I can fix about it.

[DrP]

Oh, I do too, but when it gets out of hand or just is plain dumb... then I say さã,ˆãªã,‰ to the sucker and just press the "ignore" button

[SlowPokemon]

Chapter eight is finally done! (Is ANYONE reading this? Seriously)

Note that I got lazy and didn't write the Gym battle sequence.

Chapter Eight
I Will Solve the Puzzle

   Karen and Will were waiting outside the Violet Gym. Aaron had gone in without them – only challengers were allowed. He returned less than thirty minutes later, bearing a shiny Zephyr Badge on his jacket.

   “Come on, Karen,” said Aaron smugly. “Give me a compliment.”

   “No way,” scoffed Karen. “Once a day is enough.”

   Aaron smirked and shrugged. “If you say so,” was all he said.

   “So, what’s our next move?” Will asked Aaron.

   “The Gym Leader in there told me the closest Pokémon Gym is in Azalea Town, due south from here,” said Aaron. “We have two choices – take Route 32, or cut through the Ruins of Alph, southwest of here.”

   “More caves?” said Karen skeptically. “I think we better take the safe route.”

   “The long route,” corrected Aaron. “I disagree…”

   “Big surprise,” muttered Will.

   “…because although the Ruins of Alph are creepy, old, and dangerous, not to mention they contain the freaky Psychic-type Pokémon called Unown, and no one really knows why they’re there, and scientists are still trying to figure out what was there a long time ago, and it’s creepy, and old, and dangerous, and they house the Unown, and it’s dark, and…” his voice trailed off. “What was my point again?” he said, confused. He thought for a second and said, “Oh, yeah. But it’s the shorter route.”

   “I don’t want to go,” said Karen nervously.

   “Scared, are you?” said Aaron in a falsely pitying voice. “Okay, then. I guess we could…”

   “I’m not scared,” said Karen defensively. “I just don’t feel like seeing you break another arm today.”

   “It’ll be fine,” said Aaron, subtly leading her to the western exit of Violet City. “I’ll be right there to hold your hand.”

   “Try anything in the dark and you’re dead,” said Karen darkly, but reluctantly followed Aaron and Will.

They walked through the entrance to the Ruins. It was startlingly quiet.. There were a few rotting buildings standing here and there, looking lonely and forlorn.

   “Why don’t we look in the ruins?” said Aaron enthusiastically.

   “No,” said Karen sharply. “I just want to get out of here.”

   “Why can’t you ever just be okay with doing something fun?” said Aaron exasperatedly.

   “What you call fun I call life-threatening,” said Karen furiously. She suddenly had a mental image of Aaron standing in the Ruins, and the floor crumbling beneath him. He was screaming and falling into the white-hot core of the Earth… Karen suddenly perked up a little bit. “You know, maybe this could be fun,” she said, smiling malevolently. “Why don’t we go in?”

   “That’s the ticket!” said Aaron, looking pleased. Will lagged behind them a bit, and Karen all but shoved him into the building. Inside, there was a young attendant standing by a small slate. She had black circles under her eyes and was yawning.

   “Hello,” she said glumly. “Visitors. Hooray. Though why you would want to be here, I have no idea.”

   “Why do you work here, then?” said Will, frowning.
   
   The attendant looked at him with dislike.

   “Why do you think?” she snapped. “No one wants to accept a résumé without a college degree on it. So I have to work at this stupid old historical place…”

   “You didn’t go to college?” laughed Will.

   The attendant lost it and grabbed him by his shirt collar. She pulled him right up to her face and shrieked, “IT’S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS, YOU LITTLE LIMA BEAN!”

   “‘Lima bean’?” said Aaron questioningly.

   “DON’T JUDGE ME!” she screamed, and ran crying from the room. They stared after her incredulously.

   “What was that about?” said Aaron in disbelief.

   “Some people have feelings,” said Karen nastily.

   “How would you know?” snorted Aaron.

   Karen turned her head. Will was examining the slate that the attendant had been standing near. It was a slider puzzle. Above, letters  read, “TRY YOUR LUCK AT THE SLIDING PUZZLE! REWARD FOR COMPLETION!”
   
   I wanna try!” said Aaron enthusiastically. Karen shoved him aside and leaned over the puzzle herself.

   “No thanks,” she said. “We don’t want this place to come down on our heads. Will and I will do it, thank you very much.”

   “Whatever,” said Aaron, looking a bit crestfallen. “Okay, then… yeah… you guys do it… that’s cool…”
   
   Will and Karen worked on the puzzle for a full half hour before giving up.

   “This is impossible!” cried Karen in frustration.

   “Can I try?” said Aaron hopefully.

   “Whatever,” snapped Karen. She and Will stepped aside. Aaron had been there about two minutes when he cried out, “I got it!”

   “What?” said Karen in amazement.

   “It’s not that hard,” said Aaron, shrugging. “You just AAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHH!”

   “Aaron!” shouted Will and Karen together. The floor below him had opened up.

   “Where did he go?” said Karen frantically.

   “The floor below him opened up!” said Will in horror. “Who would have guessed that would happen?”

   Karen suddenly turned fiercely red and became very interested in the top of her shoes.

   “Look!” said Will in a hushed voice. The letters that read, “TRY YOUR LUCK AT THE SLIDING PUZZLE! REWARD FOR COMPLETION!” were peeling off the wall. They floated through the air and out the door. “I think we should follow them,” hissed Will.

   “You mean you see them too?” said Karen lightly.

   “Yes, of course,” whispered Will.

   They followed the letters out into a different building, and down a ladder into the ruins themselves. Karen drew closer to Will; it was very eerie. Crumbling Pokémon statues could be seen everywhere, and thousands of faintly glowing, pulsating letters were stuck to the walls.

   “Where’s Aaron?” murmured Karen to Will (this was the sort of place where you felt you needed to speak quietly).

   Will pointed, and they saw Aaron, getting up and dusting himself off.
   
   “Aaron!” hissed Karen. “Get over here!”

   Aaron groaned; he had a few bruises.

   “I’m on it, princess,” he said resentfully. “Give me a second.”

   “We don’t have a second,” said Karen urgently. “Those letter things are going to attack us…”

   “What, the Unown?” said Aaron, puzzled. “They’re not very dangerous.”
   
   “Those are the Unown?” said Will incredulously. He pulled out his always-helpful PokéDex.

   “Unown, the Symbol Pokémon. Its flat, thin body is always stuck on walls. Its shape appears to have some meaning.”

   “Hmm,” said Karen. “They may not be dangerous… but they are creepy.” She shuddered. “Let’s get out of here.”

   They climbed the ladder noiselessly.

   “Well, Kare,” said Aaron sourly. “Nice job, convincing us to get in the ruins. We just wasted a whole afternoon.”

   She gave him such a look that, had he looked her directly in the eyes, it’s possible he would have been turned into stone.

[DrP]

This chapter was EPICALLY AMAZING! I cant wait for the Karen/Aaron fight with the tree... maybe it could be a Sudowoodo... haha

you have readers! trust me... and it aint just me (for reassurance purposes only)

[SlowPokemon]

Thank you very much, good sir.

Here's the next chapter, DP and, apparently, readers who, er... "ain't just him".

Chapter Nine
Will the Slowpoke Come Out to Play?

   They headed out to Route 32, and were dismayed to find that they were right next to the southern entrance to Violet City.

   â€œNice shortcut,” muttered Karen. She still seemed bitter.

   â€œCalm down, Kare, we still have quite a bit of time,” said Will, frowning. “And could you please not be so spiteful to him?”

   â€œYeah, Kare,” said Aaron, looking offended. “Stop being so spiteful.”

   â€œDrop dead,” suggested Karen.

   â€œDrop the conversation,” said Will sharply. “You too, Aaron,” he added, as Aaron opened his mouth again. “One can only take so much of Karen and Aaron arguments. I’m going to go insane, and it won’t be because of my Psychic-type Pokémon.”

   They continued for some time in silence. It was nearing three o’clock when they saw a Pokémon Center in the distance. And just behind that was…

   â€œAnother cave?” said Karen in horror.

   â€œAnother cave?” said Aaron enthusiastically.

   â€œUnion Cave,” said Will, reading the sign. He sighed as he looked up at the monstrosity of a cavern. “Is there a way around it?” he said hopefully.

   â€œDoesn’t look like it,” said Karen dejectedly. “The sooner we get through this place, the better. Why don’t we stop at the Pokémon Center first?”

   No one agreed, but no one objected either, so she led the way to the Pokémon Center. Before they reached the door, however, three people walked out.

   â€œOh, crap,” Karen muttered. “Not these guys.”

   Lucian, Cynthia, and Norman gazed critically at Will, Karen, and Aaron.

   â€œGood afternoon,” said Lucian in a polite tone. “…Or, it was until we caught sight of you three.”

   â€œJust shut up,” snapped Karen, shoving past him.

   Lucian glared at her, all traces of amusement gone.

   â€œMake me, you â€"” snarled Lucian, but was cut off by a rather satisfying scene. Aaron, already about to explode at this foul creature that was Lucian, was not about to watch him insult Karen. He raised his fist and punched Lucian as hard as he could in the face. They saw a tooth fly out of Lucian’s mouth, which was bleeding.

   â€œYou nasty, spiteful, vicious, vulgar, atrocious, brutal little â€"” Aaron was screaming, and here he called Lucian something rather offensive. “No WAY you’re going to think you can push HER around! Leave Kare alone and GET OUT OF MY LIFE!”

   Lucian, Cynthia, and Norman were staring at Aaron in stupefied disbelief, and Will was looking at him with something that almost seemed like awe. Lucian picked himself off the ground, glared at all three of them, and muttered, “Come on” to his friends. They walked hurriedly toward the cave and disappeared through the entrance. Aaron stared after them for some time, breathing heavily.

   â€œWow,” said Will finally. “I’ve never seen you this angry before, Aaron.”

   â€œThat guy seriously irks me,” muttered Aaron, a bit pink in the face.

“We noticed,” Karen said, smiling slightly.

“Come on, I’ll take those,” he insisted, taking each of their PokéBalls inside and returning a moment later, their Pokémon fully healed.

   They entered Union Cave, prepared for the worst… and then some. They were pleasantly surprised. It was dark in this cave, but not pitch-black. A few fire breathers lit up the darkness briefly. They could see that this cave probably connected to the ocean; there was running water all over the place. It was completely silent, but not in an eerie wayâ€"it was just peaceful.

   â€œThank God I can see in here,” sighed Karen.

   â€œYou’re not the one who has to look at your face,” said Aaron, but Karen merely looked at him, no glare involved.

   It wasn’t long before they could see the exit. It was nice to be able to relax for a little and enjoy themselves.

   Karen was looking at Aaron strangely, Will notedâ€"though Aaron appeared not to notice. The reason he thought it was strange was that she didn’t have a murderous look in her eyes, nor did she seem to want to hit him over the head with the nearest heavy object. She simply stared at him as though she were puzzled, as though she were trying to figure something out.

   What was wrong with her?

   Will left that fascinating issue for another day and headed out to Route 33. It was pouring rain now and they all ran as fast as they could towards Azalea Townâ€"but of course they still got soaked. Their feet splashed in mud puddles and they put their arms over their heads.

   They ran through the town, past a water well, past a house with a smoking chimney, past the PokéMart, past the Pokémon Gym, until they at last arrived in the Pokémon Center, completely drenched. Karen’s hair was sopping wet; it hung in front of her face and Aaron had to bite his tongue to keep from calling her Cousin It. Her t-shirt stuck uncomfortably to her body. Aaron and Will were dripping all over the floor, but luckily there was a young and friendly nurse at the Pokémon Center here and she was not visibly angry.

   They looked up at the clock and saw it was already 6 o’clock.

   â€œUgh,” shivered Karen. “I hate being wet… Hold the phone! I have an idea!” She began to rummage in her pocket. “I knew you would come in handy somehow,” she said, triumphantly holding out a PokéBall and sending out her Houndour. “Houndour, dry us off!” she commanded.

   Houndour yelped happily at being released and blew flames at Karen. She yelped as well, but out of fear, and dodged the fire narrowly. The minimal exposure she had dried her immediately and effectively. Will and Aaron reluctantly did the same.

   They glanced outside and saw that the rain was letting up a bit, and so walked out of the Pokémon Center to look around. Karen, still not quite in a murderous mood, allowed her Houndour to trot proudly alongside her… seeing, of course, as it stayed behind her. Will’s Smoochum toddled happily alongside him, and Aaron (wisely deciding against bringing Skorupi out) sent his own Yanma out to soar above them. They took the time to examine the features of the rather pleasant town, and they stopped outside the well they had passed earlier. The sign in front read, “Slowpoke Well. When a Slowpoke yawns, it is believed to be a sign of coming rain. Records show that a Slowpoke’s yawn ended a drought four hundred years ago.”

   â€œSlowpoke…” said Will musingly. He suddenly realized something. “Slowpoke is a Psychic-type Pokémon… I can catch one!”

   â€œGoody for you,” said Aaron sarcastically. “Look at Will, about to catch his fourth Pokémon, while the rest of us only have two. How thoughtful.”

   â€œIf you remember correctly, I released one of mine,” said Will, frowning. “I’d only be one ahead.”

   â€œAaron doesn’t care anyway,” said Karen, with a warning look at her green-haired friend. “We’ll all end up with tons of Pokémon in the end.”

   â€œWhatever,” sighed Aaron melodramatically.

   They climbed warily down the Slowpoke Well. A flurry of Zubat greeted them on their way in. They reached the bottom and looked around. Zubat and Golbat were hanging everywhere from the ceiling, but there wasn’t a single Slowpoke to be found.

   â€œThat’s strange,” said Will thoughtfully. “I wonder where they went.”

   â€œLook behind you,” said Aaron.

   Behind him was a Slowpoke with its tail in the well water. It had an extremely dopey and happy look on its face.

   â€œI’m going to catch it,” said Will.

   â€œWhat else would you do to it?” snapped Aaron. He was evidently still in a bad mood.

   Will called Smoochum forward to battle the Slowpoke. Smoochum glared at it and narrowed her eyes. The Slowpoke didn’t seem to realize it was entering battle; on the contrary, its pleasant smile only seemed to widen. This infuriated Smoochum.

   â€œSmoochum, use Pound!” said Will.

   Smoochum ran forward importantly and punched the Slowpoke as hard as she could. A nasty bruise appeared instantly and Will winced slightly, realizing how hard the Pokémon had been hit.

   The Slowpoke smiled at Smoochum, apparently unaware that it had been attacked. It yawned contentedly.

   Karen, Aaron, Will, and Smoochum looked at the Slowpoke incredulously. Was this Pokémon even fully alive?

   Suddenly, a full ten seconds later, Slowpoke gave a violent start as if it had been shot, startling Smoochum into falling over. Slowpoke moaned loudly and screwed up its face in pain. Its breathing was labored.
   
   â€œThat’s what you called a delayed reaction,” said Karen, still a little dubious of the Pokémon.

   The Slowpoke took a step forward, pulling its tail out of the water. The trio saw that its tail had the tiniest little Shellder hanging from it. Suddenly, the Slowpoke began to glow brightly. It stood on its hind legs. It grew quite a bit. The Shellder was even affected, and it grew into a shell worthy for a giant hermit crab. As the Pokémon stopped glowing, however, the three were astonished to find that that was exactly what it had become. It had the same relaxed and uncaringly pleasant face, but it was on its hind legs and it had grown huge. Completely nonplussed, Will pulled out his PokéDex.

   â€œSlowbro, the Hermit Crab Pokémon. Naturally dull to begin with, it lost its ability to feel pain due to Shellder's seeping poison. Type: Water/Psychic.”

   Will looked at the vacant expression on the Pokémon’s face and pulled out a PokéBall. Smiling, he threw the PokéBall hard at the Slowbro. It bopped unpleasantly off its head (Slowbro didn’t notice) and drew it inside. The PokéBall shut and Will picked it up.

   â€œNow I have a Pokémon that can’t even feel pain,” he laughed. “How cool is that?”

   The three walked up out of the Slowpoke Well and back into Azalea Town. It was nearly dark, so Aaron decided to leave the gym challenge for tomorrow. They went to book rooms at the Pokémon Center, but…

   â€œEr, three rooms?” said the nurse. “I’m sorry… we only have two open. What will the arrangements be…?”

   Aaron’s eyes lit up with a greedy and excited flame.

   â€œSince I’m so nice, I’ll give Will a whole room to himself,” he said, unable to keep a broad grin off his face. “Kare and I will go in the other room (she won’t mind coed) and…”

   â€œI don’t think so,” said Karen, glaring at him, and Will was relieved to see her angry again. “I’ll take one room and they can have the other,” she said to the nurse sweetly. While the nurse booked the rooms on her computer, Karen turned around and made a face at Aaron.

   Will patted Aaron on the back as they headed towards their room.

   â€œSorry,” he said, though he didn’t look it. “Better luck next time.”

   â€œWith the way things are going, I’ll need it,” said Aaron, looking disgruntled.

   The three said their goodnights (Aaron rather moodily) and went to bed.

[DrP]

well, im surprised that Aaron didnt go gaga over Cynthia again...

overall, nice writing dude.

[SlowPokemon]

Chapter ten, which is the first chapter not to have the word Will in its title. :3

Chapter Ten
Of Forests and Strangers

   Karen and Will watched smilingly as Aaron paraded confidently out of the Azalea Gym, proudly flaunting his new Hive Badge on his jacket.

   “How did you beat him?” asked Karen.

   “He had Bug-type Pokémon,” said Aaron. “I know how they work.”

   And Karen, though that wasn’t really much of an answer, inquired no further.

   They left town via the west entrance and walked straight into the dark and silent Ilex Forest.

   “Pretty creepy here, huh?” said Aaron happily.

   “Very,” said Karen, looking around.

   “Very dark…” pointed out Aaron.

   “It is…” said Karen, a little nervously, drawing a bit closer to Aaron.

   “And quiet…” said Aaron helpfully. “No one would ever hear our screams if a tree fell on us and pressed us to death.”

   Karen turned white.

   “Why the heck would you say that?” she scoffed, but she stayed very near the center of the path, away from the trees, after that.

   “You know, we really should be getting through here as quick as possible,” said Will. “We don’t want to get bitten by some freaky Bug Pokémon.”

   Smoochum shivered at the thought.

   “Er…Will?” said Karen tentatively.

   “What?” said Will.

   “Umm…” she stammered.

   “What is it?” said Will, slightly impatient.

   She just pointed at his shoulder and said weakly, “Bug.”

   Will looked at his shoulder. A tiny Nincada was injecting its long proboscis into Will’s neck. Will blanched. He looked back towards his friends and mumbled something that they couldn’t understand, then his eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted.

   “Great job, Kare,” snapped Aaron. “You had to tell him.”

   “I wasn’t going to let him keep going!” said Karen indignantly.

   “Whatever,” said Aaron, clearly at a loss. He plucked the little Bug- and Ground-type Pokémon out of Will’s skin and threw it into the forest.

   “Er… you were pretty mad when Will caught a Slowbro because you only had two… then you pass up an opportunity to catch one of your own,” Karen pointed out.

   Aaron considered it, then sighed.

   “Too late now, I suppose,” he said.

   Will started awake and shook himself. Seeing how his neck was completely insect-free, he sighed in relief and continued on.

   Soon they started hearing strange noises—mainly, they kept hearing loud thuds. After a while it was apparent what the cause was: a young man was slamming his head into a thick and hard tree trunk, over and over.

   They watched him in bewilderment for some time before Aaron finally called, “What the heck are you doing?”

   The boy smashed his head once more, then shook himself and looked around to see the source of the voice.

   “What am I doing?” he repeated in a very southern accent. “I’m honing my Headbuttin’ skills.”

   “Your…Headbutting skills?” asked Will cautiously.

   “Yessirreebob,” said the boy proudly. “I can teach any Pokémon the Headbutt—practically any Pokémon at all. Seein’ as they have a head.”

   Karen’s eyes lit up.

   “Actually, I’m pretty good at teaching Headbutt myself… And I have a pretty worthy candidate,” she told the boy. “Aaron!” she called slyly, and Aaron jerked back to Earth. He had been zoning out for a minute. “Come here!”

   Aaron obliged.

   “Yes?” he said suspiciously.

   “I want to show you something,” she said, her eyes widening innocently. “Or…maybe we should say…teach you.”

   “What is it?” he said, still rather wary.

   “Just come here,” she said coaxingly. “That’s right…now, bend a little forward…Yep! Perfect…turn this way…and do this…Uh-huh…You’re a natural! Now…are you paying attention? Here goes…” she said gleefully, and, driving him from behind, pushed him with a running start and rammed his head at full power into the tree.
   
   Aaron realized what had happened for a split second. But now it was his turn to faint.

   Karen giggled maliciously behind her hand. She turned around and saw Will staring at her exasperatedly, arms folded.

   “Did you have to?” he said weakly.

   “No,” said Karen. “But I think you know as well as I do that he deserved it. He’s the one who suggested that we would be hurt by a tree, remember?”

   There was no point in arguing that logic, so Will dropped it and went to wake Aaron up. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to remember what had happened (Karen was actually far stronger than she looked) and they waved the boy off.

   Soon they came to the entrance to Route 34. They gratefully entered through it and it wasn’t long before Goldenrod City was within their sights. It wasn’t long after that that they passed through the town’s gate.

   “Wow,” said Aaron.

   Goldenrod was the New York City of the Johto region – the city that never sleeps. There were huge skyscrapers on every side of them. A bright casino flashed on their left while an enormous department store stood on their left. It was truly an amazing sight.

   They entered the Pokémon Center, and though they had been walking all day, none of them were the least bit tired. A boy their own age with dark brown hair stood in front of the PC. He didn’t appear to be anywhere near done.
   
   “Dang, I wanted to use that,” said Karen. “I haven’t checked my mailbox in a while.”

   “Same here,” said Aaron, looking crestfallen.
   “Go ask him for it,” suggested Will.

   Karen bit her lip.

   “You know, I think I will,” she said, and went to go talk to him. Aaron followed. Karen tapped the boy on the shoulder.

   “Excuse me?” she said politely. “Do you mind if I use this PC?”

   The boy turned around and looked at Karen. His eyes did a sweeping motion as he scrutinized her up and down, and a smile formed on his face. A slight frown formed on Aaron’s.

   “Of course you can use it,” said the boy. “Who would I be to turn down a beautiful lady?”

   Aaron’s frown was suddenly more pronounced, and his eyes had a dark look about them.

   Karen’s cheeks went a tiny bit pink.

   “Thank you,” she said breathlessly, looking flustered but pleased. “It’s not often that I get compliments from the people around me,” she continued, and that last bit was perhaps spoken a bit too pointedly for Aaron’s liking.

   “Then you are being robbed,” said the boy with a confident smile. “The name’s Bill, by the way. What do you go by?”

   “Karen,” she said, and her grin was a little bigger than before.

   “That’s a fantastic name,” said Bill. “You know,” he said conversationally, “I invented the Pokémon storage system.”

   Karen’s eyes widened. “No way! But you’re so…”

   “Unintelligent?” suggested Aaron hopefully.

   “Young,” finished Karen, ignoring her companion.

   “Yeah, well, I’m great with technology,” said Bill modestly. “Anyway… were you looking to use my storage system?”

   “No,” said Karen regretfully. “I don’t really have enough Pokémon to start using it yet.”   

   “Well, I do have a Pokémon that I’ve been hoping to get off my hands here,” said Bill. “Would you like to take it?”

   “Of course!” said Karen, surprised but looking very pleased indeed.

   “It’s an Eevee,” said Bill, handing her a PokéBall. “And it’s at a pretty low level. But I already have all of Eevee’s evolutions… so I really have no reason to train it.”

   “Oh, no,” said Aaron quickly, “she only likes Dark OOOF,” he finished in pain as Karen stomped on his foot.

   “I love it,” she said, eyes sparkling. “Thank you.”

   “My pleasure,” said Bill. He leaned down and kissed her hand lightly. “Till we meet again,” he said, still smiling, and left the Pokémon Center. Karen smiled vaguely and walked back to Will without using the PC. Aaron followed her, crossing his arms and muttering under his breath.

   Will’s Smoochum was making Will laugh by pulling off crazy faces. He looked up and saw Aaron and Karen returning. He picked up his Smoochum and held it in his arms.

   “How’d it go?” he asked brightly.

   “It sucked,” Aaron snapped grumpily and flopped down on the couch.

   “It was great,” said Karen pleasantly.

   Will looked from one face to the next.

   “Erm… Okay, then,” he said awkwardly. “What took you so long?”

   “I met this amazing guy,” said Karen happily. “He was really nice and had nothing but compliments—” (here she glanced at Aaron meaningfully) “—for me, actually.”

   “Cool,” said Will.

   “I’m going to bed,” said Aaron darkly, and without even looking at Will or Karen, left for his room.

   “Why?” Will asked disapprovingly, looking at Karen in an annoyed way.

   “He needs to know that he’s not the only one who’s noticed I’m a girl,” said Karen reproachfully. She got up, stretched and yawned, and went to bed, and Will followed not long afterward.

[DrP]

<3

This chapter was AMAZING!!! and Karens getting an Umbreon!!! WOO! And you made the "headbutt" scene parfait!

What else to say that this is the most epic chapter in this story!

[SlowPokemon]

Hee hee hee.

Like I said, I haven't been this happy with a chapter since number four.

[DrP]

see... just like my chapter 7... chapter 8 in my story may in fact be great (cause i got bored of talking about Kanto)... and now there's dialog since Professor Araragi is joining him!

[SlowPokemon]

Chapter eleven, people (more like person)...

btw, sorry if this is turning into more of a relationship story. I didn't mean it to be that way, Honest.

Chapter Eleven
I Truly Kare For You   

        “Good morning, Will,” said Aaron pleasantly as he walked in on Will and Karen eating breakfast.

   “Good morning,” said Will, sure that Aaron would be ignoring Karen.

   “Morning, Kare,” said Aaron brightly, surprising Will. “Good sleep?”

   “Um, yes,” she said, looking at him suspiciously. “Why are you so interested in how I sleep?”

   Aaron went bright red and quickly stammered something under his breath.

   “I’m only joking,” laughed Karen. “You should see your face.”

   “Nah, I can see everything I need to,” said Aaron casually, still looking at Karen. He blinked, realizing what he’d just said.

   Karen opened her mouth to say something, but Will cut her off quickly.

   “So, Aaron, when are you going to go and face the Pokémon Gym?” he asked.

   “Probably as soon as possible,” said Aaron. “I think we should head out right away.”

   They did just that, but found that the Gym didn’t open for a half hour.

   “I wonder what the Gym Leader’s like here?” said Aaron thoughtfully.

   “You don’t know who the Gym Leader is?” said an old man who happened to be passing by. He had a rather southern accent, even more so than the Headbutter; meanwhile, he rather looked at Aaron like he had gone mad.

   “Er, no. We’re not from around these parts,” said Will hastily.

   “Gotcha,” said the man, relieved. “All right. The Gym Leader here’s a pretty young girl. Goes by the name o’ Margaret. She’s just taken over for her mother—parents wouldn’t let her become leader till she was fifteen. She’s right steamed, too. She got saddled with a younger sister a few years back—when Whitney turns fifteen, it’s out with Margaret….”

   “Sounds cool!” said Aaron, who had truthfully heard only the words “pretty”, “girl”, and “fifteen”.

   “You know, I think that Will and I should come with you this time, Aaron,” said Karen. Seeing the look on Will’s face, she quickly added, “You know… because we haven’t seen him face a Gym Leader before…”

   Will didn’t need his psychic powers to know that that wasn’t the whole story, but he decided that it would be, on the whole, better if he didn’t fight this.

   “Okay,” he agreed.

   They walked around the city for a bit, waiting for the Gym to open. Finally, the clock struck nine, and they all headed for Goldenrod Gym, not wholly sure what to expect.

   The Gym was in the distinct shape of Clefairy, with a complete wall for the spiral on its head and others for its ears and arms. Flowers that smelled intoxicating were placed pleasantly about the room. But none of the trio really noticed, because they were more focused on the Gym Leader, who stood confidently right in the middle of Clefairy’s belly.

   Margaret, Goldenrod’s pride and joy, was the prettiest girl any of them had ever met. Her big, clear blue eyes were complemented by long eyelashes. She had a flawless body. Her long hair (dyed bright pink) was tied into a ponytail behind her back. She was, all around, an extremely appealing person look-wise, and Aaron was ogling her with his mouth so wide open that a bee that had been hovering about the flowers flew into it and he didn’t even notice. It fluttered around a little in there, then floated lazily back out. His face wore a dazed expression.

   Will too was looking at Margaret, but he was not so captivated as to not be able to look away. He glanced at Karen, who was glaring not at Aaron, but at Margaret.

   “Aaron!” she snapped. “You’re here for the Gym Challenge, remember?”

   “Huh?” said Aaron, his face slack. He shook himself. “Uh… Oh. Right… I’m here to…to…” He was staring at Margaret, and he appeared to lose his train of thought. “to…” he trailed hopelessly.

   Karen had had enough.

   “He wants to challenge you!” she snarled at Margaret.

   “I’d surely take on any challenger who wants to fight,” Margaret said, smiling and winking at Aaron. Her accent was also southern, more so than the Headbutter and the old gentleman together. “When did you want to do battle, hon’?” she asked Aaron pleasantly.

   “Umm…” he said, completely fascinated with this striking new creature.

   “Right now!” Karen said angrily. “Why would he come in here right now if he didn’t want to battle you right now?”

   Margaret looked surprised.

   “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, looking honest. “There’s no need to be like that, is there? We’ll battle as soon as you like. I won’t hold you up none, promise.”

   Her sweet and agreeable reply left Karen more infuriated than ever.

   “I never got your names, now, did I?” asked Margaret. “As you know, I’m Margaret. Gym Leader of Goldenrod. You are?” she asked Karen, a look of polite interest on her face.

   “Impatient,” said Karen darkly.

   “How ‘bout you, hon’?” asked Margaret, looking at Will.

   “I’m Will,” said Will pleasantly.

   “And what’s your name, you lucky challenger?” Margaret inquired.

   “Aaron,” said Aaron eagerly.

   “Well, want to battle, Aaron?” asked Margaret, winking at him again.

   “Definitely,” said Aaron breathlessly.

   “One Pokémon each sound good?” she asked. “Great. Go, Clefable!”

   Clefable, the pink evolved form of Clefairy, was sent out.

   “I choose…Skorupi!” said Aaron decisively. “Skorupi, use Pin Missile!”

   A series of sharp and seemingly painful stinging barbs were shot at Clefable, who winced but shook off the hit.
   
   “Use Metronome!” said Margaret enthusiastically.

   Clefable waggled a finger back and forth, back and forth, back and forth… suddenly, an enormous Flamethrower was belched out of its mouth and Skorupi took the hit full-out.

   “Umm…What the heck was that?” said Aaron anxiously.

   “That was Metronome,” said Karen, who was smiling malevolently. “The user becomes capable of using any move in the book.”

   “Why are you only happy when someone else is miserable?” asked Will defeatedly.

   “No matter,” said Aaron, but he was growing pale. “Skorupi…use Crunch!”

   Skorupi darted quickly up to Clefable and bit down hard into it.

   “Doubleslap!” ordered Margaret, but Clefable suddenly started shaking violently and couldn’t budge.

   “It Flinched!” shouted Aaron with joy. “Skorupi, finish it off! Poison Sting!”

   One hit seemed to do the trick and, within a very short time, Aaron was presented with the Plain Badge.

   “Nice job!” said Margaret, eyes shining. “That was really good work! You must have trained that thing really well!”

   “Not really,” said Aaron with unconvincing modesty.

   “Don’t be modest,” she said. “You did a great job.”  She hugged Aaron.

   Karen’s smile had vanished. She blurted out “See you later, Will!” in a choked voice, and rushed out of the Gym.

   Will sighed. He really hated this. Aaron walked over feeling very confident and together they walked to the Pokémon Center. They decided to head for Ecruteak City as soon as possible, and Will went to his room to prepare.

   Aaron gritted his teeth and knocked on Karen’s door.

   “Kare?” he said tentatively.

   The door flew open. Her eyes were bright, shiny daggers that pierced Aaron’s skull. He wouldn’t be surprised had his eyes started to bleed.

   “What do you want?” she said fiercely.

   “I just thought you should know…we’re going to go to Ecruteak really soon…” he said hopefully.

   “Fantastic,” she snarled. She slammed the door shut.

   Aaron sighed ruefully and knocked on the door again. It opened again.

   “Yes?” she said coldly.

   “Umm, this may be just my imagination,” he said, “but I’m getting this feeling you’re mad at me.”

   She gave him a disbelieving look and folded her arms.

   “Whatever gives you that idea?” she said sardonically.

   “Tell me why!” pleaded Aaron.

   “Why?” she said, her voice rising. She gave a frightening high-pitched laugh. “Why?”

   “Kare, please don’t be like this,” begged Aaron.
   
   The nurse walked over from the lobby and whispered that they’d either have to keep it down or take it in the room. Aaron gave her a “can’t-you-see-we’re-in-the-middle-of-something-right-now” look and turned back to Karen.

   “Why were you flirting with that cheerleader of a Gym Leader?” Karen hissed.

   “I wasn’t flirting!” Aaron said angrily.

   “Yeah, okay,” said Karen, clearly disbelieving.

   “Even if I was, it couldn’t have been as bad as you with that creepy Bill guy!” said Aaron accusingly.

   “Oh, please,” said Karen, rolling her eyes. “I was one hundred percent not doing anything.”

   “Neither was I with Margaret!” shouted Aaron.

   A crowd had gathered behind Aaron, and they were watching the shouting match with much interest.

   “Well, you weren’t exactly avoiding her!” said Karen loudly.

   “Why do you care?” demanded Aaron. “You’re ALWAYS bringing me down! Half the time it’s like you hate me!”

   “I don’t hate you!” cried Karen. “I actually sort of…”

   The crowd watched with bated breath.

   “…like you,” finished Karen.

   Aaron blinked.

   “…Like me?” he said, shocked.

   Karen nodded resignedly.

   “As a friend, you mean,” he said quickly.

   Karen shook her head.

   “You’re lying,” said Aaron with horrible realization.

   “No, I’m not,” said Karen. “I…really do like you.”

   Aaron cleared his throat and stood there awkwardly.

   “Umm, okay then,” he said nervously. “Umm…”

   “Wrap this up already!” yelled an angry voice from the crowd. Looking over Aaron’s shoulder, Karen saw it was the old man who had interrupted their conversation earlier. The old man stamped his cane on the ground angrily—except he accidentally bashed a woman’s foot. The woman subsequently hopped up and down on her uninjured foot, bumping into the man right behind Aaron. The man stumbled forward into Aaron, who was pushed into Karen. Their faces banged together, and they kissed—true, with more force than they would like; true, so hard that it actually hurt; true, their teeth clacked together painfully—but they kissed.

   The crowd cheered.

[DrP]

Mediocrity leads to a delightful romantic ending. I'd give this chapter 2 and a half stars. That battle scene was atrocious and dull.

[SlowPokemon]

I know...that's why I never write them, I'm not good at it!

Thanks for your honest feedback, I'll take it into account when writing other chapters!

I didn't have much fun writing this chapter. It took me an hour (maybe more) to write six pages. ;P

And it's weird...I thought you were going to say that I overdid the ending!

[DrP]

I know...that's why I never write them, I'm not good at it!

Thanks for your honest feedback, I'll take it into account when writing other chapters!

I didn't have much fun writing this chapter. It took me an hour (maybe more) to write six pages. ;P

And it's weird...I thought you were going to say that I overdid the ending!

you didnt overdo it... im older and i have seen WAYYYY too many romantic comedies. its just the right amount of doing it

...and I can't write romance scenes, too... especially for my book. I want to focus more on the war than the behind the scenes

But REALLY fix up your battle scene. Give it more "umph", and give that Clefable a more photo finish faint!

[SlowPokemon]

Surprise!

A short filler chapter that nonetheless took me a long time to write. Enjoy. (I should have been doing an English essay...feel fortunate xD)

Chapter Twelve
Lucian Helps With Aaron Dirty Laundry

   Will, Karen and Aaron were out of Goldenrod City. Route 35 was a short but peaceful road with a few roadside fire breathers entertaining passerby. Will cleared his throat.

   â€œSo, have you two made up now?” Will said cautiously.

   â€œMade up?” asked Aaron. “Yeah, weâ€"OOF,” he finished as Karen elbowed him in the ribs. “â€"made up,” he finished lamely.

   â€œGood,” said Will happily. He knew nothing about what had happened while he had been packing his bags. He walked ahead, and Karen grabbed Aaron and stood him next to her behind Will.

   â€œWhat?” said Aaron loudly.

   â€œShut up!” hissed Karen. “I don’t think we should tell Will about…what happened.”

   â€œWhy not?” said Aaron blankly.

   â€œWell…” she said hesitantly. “I don’t want to let him know just yetâ€"”

   â€œGuys?” called Will, who was at the gatehouse leading into the National Park. “Are you coming?”

   â€œYep!” called Aaron, and, without waiting for Karen to finish, ran to Will.

   Karen sighed and followed suit.

   â€œThe National Park…” said Aaron in a bored tone. “Hold on… look at this sign! Bug…Catching…Contest…held every day except Friday, Sunday, Monday, and…” he frowned. “Wed…nes…day… Wed Nes Day?” he said, bewildered.

   â€œThat’s how you spell Wednesday,” snorted Karen.

   â€œNever mind arithmetic right now, Kare,” said Aaron impatiently. “What day is it?”

   â€œTuesday,” said Will.

   â€œI’m gonna catch a Bug Pokémon!” said Aaron importantly. “Ticket for one, please,” he asked of the officer standing near the door.

   â€œI hate my life,” sighed the officer as he handed Aaron a ticket.

   Karen looked at the officer strangely, but made no comment. Aaron walked into the National Park (Karen and Will were asked to wait in the gatehouse).

   They heard a voice say, “On your marks…get set…GO!”

   Then they heard a lot of scrambling around. They sat there awkwardly for a few minutes. Will got up and left for the restroom. Then Karen heard a very familiar voice shouting, “NO WAY! THAT WEEDLE IS MINE, BUB!”
   
   Karen sighed.

   â€œYour boyfriend doesn’t have a very good temper, does he?” sneered a voice behind Karen.
   
   She turned around to see Lucian folding his arms and looking so smug it ought to have been illegal. Cynthia and Norman weren’t with him.

   â€œWhat do you want?” she snapped.
   
   â€œI want to point out to you what an idiot your boyfriend is,” said Lucian, the smirk even more pronounced in his voice than on his face.

   â€œHe’s not my boyfriend,” said Karen angrily.

   â€œI was there when he tackled you to the ground,” said Lucian knowingly. “You two are an item.”

   â€œWe are not!” said Karen, more loudly than she had intended.

   â€œYou are,” said Lucian, smiling superiorly.

   Karen stood up abruptly and glared threateningly at the purple-haired jerk in front of her. She was taller than him by a few inches.

   â€œWhat does it matter to you?” she seethed.

   â€œIt doesn’t,” said Lucian, shrugging. “But I think it might matter to…Will.”

   Karen could have killed him. If only there were a weapon handy…and there weren’t so many people present…

   â€œYou’re not going to tell Will,” said Karen dangerously.

   â€œWhy?” said Lucian with a look of mock concern. “He’s your friend. He would WANT to know, wouldn’t he?”

   â€œYes,” admitted Karen grudgingly. She sat down.

   â€œThen why aren’t you telling him?” inquired Lucian.

   â€œI think it would be really awkward for him to be…between us,” said Karen.

   â€œI don’t think it would,” lied Lucian, looking serious. “He wouldn’t care one bit.”

   â€œReally?” said Karen, looking doubtful.

   â€œCross my heart,” said Lucian, looking honest.

   â€œMore like cross your fingers,” said Karen darkly. “Why should I listen to you? Why should I even give your opinion a consideration?”

   â€œBecause,” said Lucian, looking sincere. “I don’t want to see my rivals be torn apart. Then I would have absolutely no incentive to keep going.” Except power, fame, respect, and admiration, he thought to himself. No, he really wanted to see Will blow up at his friends, to make him (Lucian) look better by comparison.

   â€œWow,” said Karen, looking surprised. “I’m surprised you actually care.” She frowned. “Really surprised. Wait a second…” she said with dawning realization. “You just want Will to blow up at us to make yourself look better!”

   â€œLook who’s caught on,” said Lucian, looking bad-tempered. He suddenly smiled horribly. “You know what? I think I should tell Will…for you.”

   â€œWhy do you think that Will would care so much, anyway?” she inquired.

   â€œWell, he’s your guys’ best friend…” said Lucian. “He would feel awkward and it would be horrible for him if you guys broke up.”

   â€œYou know what?” said Karen thoughtfully. “I don’t think it would.”

   â€œHuh?” said Lucian, shocked.

   â€œAll of this seems…silly…when you look at it in the light of day…” she said. “I think that, if anything, he’d be happy.”

   â€œYes, but what if Will likes you?” asked Lucian hopefully.

   â€œI don’t think he does,” said Karen, frowning. “In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that Will…”

   â€œNo, no, no!” said Lucian, looking angry. “He’d be miserable! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go!”

   â€œYou’ve just shown me that it will all be okay!” said Karen, beaming. “Thanks, Lucian!”

   She hugged him tightly and then went to meet Will as he walked out of the restrooms.

   â€œStupid…completely missed…preposterous…” muttered Lucian. He was bright red. He stomped out the door, muttering, and a second later Aaron entered.

   â€œHey, guys, check out my Bug Pokémon!” said Aaron happily. A small honeycomb-type Pokémon was flitting about his ear.

   â€œIs that a bee?” said Karen, looking cautious.

   â€œYep!” said Aaron proudly. “Her name is Combee!”

   â€œFantastic…” said Karen, but she looked a little disgusted. “You know I’m allergic to honey, right?”

   Aaron shrugged.

   â€œAnyway, Will, I have something to tell you,” said Karen, looking happy and apprehensive.

   â€œYes?” said Will.

   â€œAaron and I are a couple!” she said, smiling and taking Aaron’s hand.

   Will looked at the ceiling and sighed with relief.

   â€œFinally!” he sighed. “I was wondering when you were going to tell me!”

   Karen’s smile faltered.

   â€œYou…knew?” she said uncomfortably.

   â€œOf course!” said Will. “The way you two acted…your strange stiff way of sitting next to me…it was completely obvious that you two made out in front of a crowd.”

   â€œWe didn’t make out,” muttered Karen. Her ears were red. She shook herself. “But that doesn’t matter. How do you feel about this?”

   â€œI’m definitely cool with it!” said Will, looking very happy. “You two were made for each other!”

   â€œIt took HER a little while to figure that out,” whispered Aaron loudly.

   â€œDon’t even get me started,” muttered Karen.

   With a large weight off her chest, Karen led the way out of the National Park and a few steps closer to Ecruteak and the fourth Gym.