From: "Bandraptor" <bandraptor@yahoo.com> Subject: [PW!] Flirting With Danger Date: Sunday, February 08, 2004 12:29 AM While many poison-oozing Gulpin live in the vicinity of Route 110, the grassy path that winds beneath Cycling Road is green and lush, and the breeze that stirs the water on every side of the road smells clean and fresh. On a cloudless day like today, the sun bounces off the leaves of the beautiful Nanab plants that grow in patches along the road, and simultaneously fights off the chill of the ocean air. So pleasant is the walk down Route 110, that most travelers find themselves lost in blissful contemplation, and therefore pay no mind to the charred wreckage of New Mauville that sits no more than thirty yards away from the main path. "Oh, Sapphire, isn't this wonderful?" Elsa twirls around in the grass, making a sweeping motion with her arms to indicate the area around her, "Hoenn is such a beautiful place!" "Yeah, beautiful." Sapphire murmurs absently. He has a contented expression on his face, and is deriving quite a bit of enjoyment from Elsa's show--he particularly likes the way that her breasts jiggle when she spins. When Elsa stops spinning, and looks directly at him, waiting for him to open up to her and say something poetic about their surroundings, Sapphire tears his eyes away from her chest, and looks her straight in the face. "All of Mother Nature's majesty means nothing when compared to the beauty that stands before me." Elsa blinks self consciously, then smiles and says, "Sapphire, that's so corny." Although she doesn't say anything, Roselia is giving Elsa's traveling companion a withering glare. The blue-haired man hasn't said anything specific to arouse her suspicion, but she can't shake the feeling that he's trying to take advantage of Elsa's trusting nature. As the trio continues to walk along Route 110, she intentionally marches inbetween Sapphire and Elsa, making a passive attempt to keep the pair from getting any closer than she thinks is appropriate. As Elsa stares upwards, at the sprawling, cloudless sky that stretches past the horizon, a serene smile spreads across her face. "It feels so good to be free." "Hmm?" Sapphire is too busy admiring Elsa's features to really care about what she's saying, but he knows it's in his best interest to pretend that he's fascinated. Elsa blushes, worried that she might be boring Sapphire with her prattling. "I'm sorry...you probably think that I'm making a big deal over nothing. It's just, I can't believe that I'm actually here. I've wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer for so long, and now that I'm finally about to become one, I can't help thinking that this is all part of some wonderful dream. You don't know how much it means to me just to be here, just to be in the company of friends." "I think I do know how you feel." Sapphire wraps a reassuring hand around Elsa's shoulder, much to Roselia's dismay. "When I was younger, I always dreamed of becoming a Pokemon Trainer--but after my dad was killed by Team Magma, I was the only member of my family who was old enough to help my mom take care of my five little brothers. Since we owed a lot of money in funeral expenses, I had to take on two after-school jobs in order to help make ends meet--and when winter came early one year, I had to sell my pet Manectric just so we'd be able to afford food for the month. Now that my brothers are finally old enough to take care of themselves, I'm finally getting to do what I've always dreamed of doing--travel across Hoenn with my Pokemon by my side!" Sapphire removes Filly's Pokeball from his belt, and gazes at it lovingly. "My loyal Torchic...she'll never replace that Manectric, but she's named after him, to carry on his memory." When Elsa hears Sapphire's story, she's sorry that she ever questioned his reasons for setting out on his Trainer Journey later in life. "Oh, Sapphire, I'm so sorry to hear about your father." Having spent many years of her childhood without a father herself, she knows how painful it can be to live without a parent's love. Sapphire shrugs. "Bad things happen. The important thing is that we're here now, and so long as we keep them in sight, nothing will stop us from accomplishing our dreams." He clasps Elsa's hands in his, "Elsa, I don't know what happened to you in the past that prevented you from becoming a Pokemon Trainer, but I want you to promise me something right now. Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll always believe in yourself, and you'll never let anyone or anything get in your way of accomplishing your dreams!" Before Elsa can respond, the drama of the moment is broken by a cry of "Selia!" Roselia emphatically points to the path in front of them, calling, "Roselia, sel!" Sapphire's expression darkens when the Thorn Pokemon interrupts his prose. "What--" Elsa has a better understanding of her Pokemon's gesticulations than Sapphire does, so she follows Roselia's gaze until she sees what her friend is calling attention to. Considering the wording in Sapphire's pep talk, she can't quite suppress a smile as she explains, "It seems that there's an obstacle in our way." Sapphire had been so busy trying to woo Elsa that he hadn't even noticed that they'd reached the end of Route 110. They are now standing on Route 103, and a large blue lake sits between them and the path's continuation. Sapphire frowns as he stares at his reflection, searching for the bottom of the lake. "Elsa, if this was a puddle, I'd take off my sweatshirt, and use it to bridge the gap for you--even though that would mean that I'd have to expose my chiseled torso." He heaves a long sigh, then shrugs and begins to raise his arms over his head, "I suppose it's worth a try, anyway..." "Sapphire, no!" Elsa points to a figure who is pacing back and forth along the bank of the river, a short ways north of them. "You don't have to ruin your sweatshirt--there's a fisherman right over there! If we ask him, maybe he'll let us borrow one of his Water Pokemon, so we can Surf across the lake." Depressed that he's missed what seemed like a brilliant opening, Sapphire lowers his arms, and trails Elsa as she makes her way over to the fisherman. "Excuse me!" Elsa calls as she approaches, "Excuse me Sir!" When the fisherman turns to face her, she continues, "Hi. My friends and I are trying to cross the river, and--" The fisherman turns to face them with a rabid expression on his face. Instead of greeting the pair, he lets out an animalistic growl! "GAH, I'm still boiling mad! GRRRR..." He gnashes his teeth and resumes his pacing. Elsa backs away from the enraged fisherman. Having lived in an asylum for eight years of her life, she has developed a certain amount of empathy for those with mental illnesses--but even so, she knows that some people are better left alone. Turning back to Sapphire, Elsa frowns, "I suppose we won't be Surfing across..." Sapphire laments, "It's a shame that I don't have a fishing rod with me. I haven't even earned my first Gym Badge, though, and key items are usually unobtainable until after certain requirements have been met, so..." When he sees Elsa staring at him in confusion, Sapphire puts one hand behind his head and chuckles in embarrassment, "Sometimes my life seems so scripted, that I tend to view the world as if it were a videogame full of conveniently placed NPCs, rather than a fluid environment filled with real people." "Tad?" A nasal voice pipes up in response to Sapphire's comment. Sapphire blinks, and looks down at the ground in front of him. A duckbilled Pokemon with six stubby blue legs and a lily pad on its head is watching him with inquisitive eyes. Not particularly interested in the Pokemon, since it appears to be a Grass-type, and not the conveniently placed Water-type that he was hoping for, Sapphire suppresses his urge to punt the oblong creature and send it flying across the lake. Elsa on the other hand, is quick to recognize the Pokemon, since she had a stuffed approximation of one when she lived at the asylum in Verdanturf Town. "Sapphire, that's a Lotad--it's a Water Pokemon!" "A Water Pokemon?" Sapphire perks up a bit upon hearing this, but he quickly becomes skeptical. "It's a little small, don't you think?" While Sapphire is aware of the fact that ridiculously small Pokemon such as Goldeen are capable of learning the move Surf, it has been his assumption that the carrying capabilities of such Pokemon extend only to the ten-year-old children who generally serve as their Trainers. He explains this to Elsa, "Don't get me wrong--you have a *gorgeous* figure--but that tiny Pokemon probably isn't going to be able to support your weight..." Viewing this comment as a challenge, the Lotad decides to prove to Sapphire that its species is perfectly capable of carrying humans across water. It rears back on its two hind legs, and calls towards the lake in a cute voice, "Lotad! Lotad, Lotad, Lotad!" Four more lily pads break the surface of the water as four more Lotads float to the top of the pond. The Lotad that's on the bank quacks to get Elsa and Sapphire's attention, and when it's sure they're watching, it hops onto each of the floating lily pads in turn. After hopping onto the head of the fourth Lotad, it leaps into the air, riding the wind back to shore with its Frisbee-like headgear. It gallops around behind Sapphire, and begins shoving him towards the water with its four arms, trying to get him to mimic its actions. Sapphire cautiously places one of his hiking shoes on top of the lily pad that's closest to him. As he shifts his weight onto his leading foot, the Lotad that's holding him sinks about an inch into the water, but the brim of its lily pad remains above the surface, and no water seeps onto the platform. With a bit more confidence, Sapphire places his other foot on the adjacent Lotad. The two Lotads wait until Sapphire has balanced himself, then, in perfect synchronization, they begin to swim until they're about five feet away from the bank. There, they stop to wait for the rest of the group. Elsa has experienced the move Surf before. For young children in Hoenn, Wailmer rides are every bit as commonplace as Ponyta rides are in some other countries. She realizes, however, that there is no comparing a ride on the back of a very large Pokemon, in a controlled environment, with what she is about to do, and as she steps onto the head of the Lotad in front of her, she is excited, but also extremely nervous. Once both of Elsa's black pumps have been situated on top of the lily pads, the Lotad that's on the riverbank scoops Roselia up on its own lily pad, and jumps into the water with a splash. When the lead Lotad begins to Swiftly Swim across the lake with Roselia on its back, the two Lotads that are carrying Elsa dart after it, moving so suddenly that Elsa loses her balance, and begins to topple backwards! Just as Elsa is about to fall, Sapphire reaches out to steady her. Balancing on his own Lotads, he skates around behind her, placing his arms gently around her waist to help her keep her footing. Blushing violently, partly due to embarrassment over her lack of grace, and partly because of the close quarters, Elsa whispers, "Thank you, Sapphire." "Shhh," Sapphire touches a finger to her lips, telling her that there's no need for words. While the Lotads fall into a slower pace, drifting through the calm water with smooth strokes of their many feet, Sapphire stands behind Elsa, holding her close in a protective embrace. Feeling safe and happy for the first time in as long as she can remember, Elsa slowly relaxes into Sapphire's arms. Upon reaching the opposite riverbank, Sapphire swings around to Elsa's side once again, hopping onto land before she does, and extending a hand to help her onto the shore. Elsa accepts his offer, and an instant later, the two of them are standing toe to toe on the bank, their faces practically touching. Sapphire delicately lifts Elsa's chin, encouraging her to stare deeply into his friendly, gray eyes. While what happens next is the result of careful planning on Grey's part, were there any onlookers standing on Route 103 at the time, they would think it completely spontaneous when Sapphire and Elsa lock lips in a passionate kiss. TBC? --Beth