Re: Lisa the Legend - Chapter 52 up!!
Pichu Luver: OMG you have been reading after all? Lol I wondered if you were still out there or not, although you did always say you would hardly ever reply. Thank you so very much for reading this whole time. And thanks for the reply!
100FangCroconaw: Yeah, pretty scary hey? Definitely not a good thing for Lisa!
Karania: The next chapter will be up any minute if I can manage it. I'd like to give you a clue to your theories, but I can't! Of course!
Seeya in a minute!
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Chapter 31 – Friends.
Lisa Walters was sprawled out across the lush front lawn of her house in Ecruteak City. Her close friend Gavin Luper lay beside her, rubbing his forehead repeatedly. Lisa’s entire body was feeling crushed, but she knew she was much better off than Gavin, who felt like curling up and hibernating for eternity.
“Aipom?” questioned Lisa, and she struggled up to a sitting position and searched around the well-kept garden and grass. Aipom hung from it’s furry purple tail in a nearby tree. Lisa rolled her eyes as she stood up to retrieve her first and most loyal Pokemon.
After being kidnapped only a day ago, and meeting a girl named Jess who was about her age, Lisa had had a really dangerous but nonetheless exciting experience; she had battled for her life. Gavin had met Andrew (Jess’ brother), and after a massively important Pokemon battle against a deformed pokemon, the new acquaintances exchanged phone numbers for later on. Lisa was thoroughly pleased after driving in her solarpowered buggy to another province – not only had she received the Legendary Pokemon Book she had been looking for so long, but her Elekid had become a good deal stronger, as well as Aipom learning the glowing Super Swift or ‘Speed Star’ technique.
“Gavin?” Lisa moved on to see if her best friend was alright. He wasn’t used to using his psychic powers to teleport Lisa and himself anywhere, let alone long distances. Andrew’s friends Glenys and Ripper had arranged for Lisa and Gavin to fly back to Ecruteak, but no taxis were in sight when they arrived, and as Ecruteak was quite a big city, Gavin had teleported them home. His use of teleportation or telekinesis always left the teenage boy incredibly weak, occasionally injured, and he had tried not to use his abilities. But Gavin hadn’t been completely alone in the method – his first ever pokemon Natu had also contributed in moving Lisa, Gavin, Aipom and itself to Ecruteak again.
The black-haired boy stirred and looked up. The plaster cast on his arm with the scribbled messages from Lisa, Jessica, Phil and Andrew had shifted and come off his arm during the teleportation, although it really needed to stay on for a good many weeks yet. Lisa moved over to Gavin’s right arm and examined it as the boy mumbled to himself and tried to open his eyes. His arm from just above his elbow to his hand, which had previously been covered, was pale and thin, very weak-looking. Lisa knew the arm shouldn’t have healed yet, but with amazement as she examined it, she was quite sure it had!
As Lisa began to puzzle over the arm, there was a shout from the large Teak door, and two children came tearing out.
“Lisa, did you get your book? How’s Aipom? Did you get a pokemon for me? What’s with Gavin, why’s he down there on the grass?”
“Hi Leese, have fun? Mum and Dad are waiting for you, I think you’re gonna be busted for coming home so late!”
Lisa’s younger siblings – cheeky, 12-year old brother, Pokemon-obsessed Wesley and even cheekier 10-year-old sister, the sarcastic little Jean – came racing onto the lawn and both slammed into Lisa. Lisa rubbed her head impatiently, as Wes began conversing with Aipom and Jean looked at Gavin, and little Natu asleep beside him.
“Is he dead?” she asked, a droop to her bored face.
Lisa glared reprovingly at her. “Don’t be stupid, Jean, he’s fine. He’s just really tired from all the driving we had to do. He hasn’t slept for AGES.”
Lisa knew that Gavin liked to keep his psychic powers quiet – only a few people knew; Lisa, Aipom, Gavin’s Uncle Eusine, Jack Criddle the sailor and Frank the captain and Tom, Lisa’s older brother. Once Gavin had accidentally used a Psychic attack before hundreds of people, but luckily they were eventually convinced that Gavin’s Girafarig and Natu had caused the attack.
“Where’s the buggy?” Jean asked inquisitively, never to forget a detail.
“Kris took it back,” replied Lisa, lying. She didn’t want to even give Jean a chance at discovering Gavin’s psychic powers, otherwise the entire Primary School and eventually City would soon know.
“OK.”
As Jean ran off to see Wes and Aipom, Lisa turned back to Gavin to see that his brown eyes were wide open and he was smiling faintly. “Thanks for covering for me,” he said softly, still looking dazed after using his abilities. “Whoa … I am NOT doing that again.” Gavin stared at Natu, and quickly recalled him into his Moon Ball, and then suddenly noticed that his cast had come off. He slipped his arm out, and examined it with disbelief. “What the …”
“I know … cool hey,” said Lisa.
“Thanks for covering me,” Gavin repeated blankly, still staring with wonder at his healed arm.
“No prob,” Lisa said, grinning. “Come on, Mum and Dad will be wanting to see us back safely.” Gavin nodded, and the two close friends both stood up and made for the door. Then, as a very serious afterthought, Lisa turned back. “Aipom, come with me.” Her monkeyish pokemon was prone to running onto the road, and Lisa shuddered when she thought of such a thing.
Wes and Jean both groaned at this. “Lisa, Aipom’s fun to play with!” moaned Jean at once, and Wes’ face echoed her words. Lisa’s smile wavered.
“Sorry guys, but this guy hasn’t learned road safety yet. C’mon, Aipom.”
Aipom nodded, obedient for the first time Lisa could remember, except against the fight for their lives. Maybe he had turned over a new leaf? Aipom sprinted across the lawn to reach Lisa. Strangely, halfway across the grass, he appeared to slam into thin air, and keeled over, crosseyed. Gavin and Lisa exchanged amused glances, until suddenly something abruptly clicked in both their minds. Maybe it was just because they had been just reading a book all about legendaries (but particularly Suicune) but their minds both jumped to the same conclusion.
Lunanine
“Wes, Jean, don’t move!” urged Lisa in a panicky voice, and her two younger siblings stared at her in surprise. They both looked confused, and began talking and ignoring their sister, but Gavin backed Lisa up.
“Just stay over there, we think something’s wrong – Lisa will come over and get you …”
Within moments, Gavin had sent out his Girafury, the evolved form of Girafarig, onto the lawn, as Natu was very weak, and prepared to use Radar Eye. Lisa, meanwhile, had walked in a wide semicircle around the garden, and had now reached Wes and Jean on the other side, and urged them to walk back to the portico while Gavin dealt with Lunanine, the Dark Dog pokemon who could make himself invisible at will, except when exposed to special psychic energy.
Once Wes and Jean were safely back on the portico with Lisa, Gavin and Girafury glared at the air, where both Lisa and Gavin were sure Lunanine lingered. At Gavin’s sudden command, Girafury’s golden yellow fur ruffled, and an abrupt beam of scarlet transparency, similar to a widened pokeball beam, shot out into thin air, nearby Aipom, who was slowly waking up.
Wes and Jean gasped loudly as an enormous dog-like creature appeared from nowhere. It had a massive head, which looked too big for it’s body, and four short legs, which were as wide as tree trunks. Its eyes glinted redly, and it’s teeth seemed large enough to kill Aipom in one bite.
As the two younger ones sprinted into the house screaming, Lisa and Gavin themselves were little more than shocked. Lunanine seemed bigger this time, though in the broad daylight it was a very different situation to the gloom of the video vault in the Radio Tower.
“I can’t believe it …” stuttered Lisa, staring at the huge black creature.
“Well, hurry up and battle it, I can’t do everything for ya,” cried Gavin, standing tall beside Girafury, ready to consolidate both their Psychic powers in an instant if necessary.
Seeing Lunanine was a really big deal … even glancing Suicune once in your life was amazing, but seeing it as many times as Lisa and Gavin had was stunning. Lunanine was even rarer than Suicune and the other legendary dogs … seen barely five times in recorded history. But here it was, standing tall before Lisa and Gavin, for the second time. Why had it revealed itself to them on two occasions now, when it had only been seen about four times in history? Why? What secrets did he hold? And why was Suicune following them? Lisa felt that she needed to study her book a great deal.
Lunanine stood for barely a few seconds as Lisa and Gavin puzzled over his appearance, it’s mouth and eyes conveying no secrets or emotion, before it’s body slowly began to dissipate.
Dratini and Fiskmire had barely appeared on the lawn, and began launching Ice Beams, than Lunanine disappeared into thin air, leaving Lisa, Gavin and all the pokemon feeling as though it had been the biggest anticlimax ever.
“It finally appears, out of nowhere, and I just STOOD there!” cried Lisa, angry at herself. “ It would’ve been so easy to fight it!” She finished arrogantly. Her voice was filled with unshed tears of frustration .
“D’you think it’s still there?” Gavin asked slowly, staring at what could either be thin air or a huge legendary pokemon.
“Nah, it’d be long gone now,” Lisa said slowly, her eyes downcast, and a weight settling back on her shoulders. She suddenly felt as though the confused weight had been there for a while now. Her world didn’t seem as innocent as it did a couple of months ago. When she first saw Suicune, Entei and Raikou, she had thought it a great start to a journey; a one-off experience. But after Lunanine in the Radio Tower, and meeting Gavin, not to mention the Rocket who attacked her earlier, Lisa couldn’t help but think something very sinister was going on – somewhere – behind the scenes of her life.
Most pokemon were returned and both friends felt bored and gloomy, let down after the excitement of Lunanine’s abrupt appearance. Had it been there coincidentally? Lisa highly doubted it – her whole encounter with the legendaries since October seemed almost like fate – they had an abnormal tendency to come near her – Suicune, Entei, Raikou, Lunanine. And Gavin had thought he saw Lugia once, but of course it turned out to be his Ditto.
It all seemed very puzzling. Lisa scooped up Aipom from the ground and returned him to his pokeball, as Gavin turned the doorknob and began to enter the house. However, as he twisted the golden handle, it turned itself and swung wide open.
Lisa’s parents stood there together in the entry – her brown-haired mother, who wore a worried expression, and her Dad, who looked unusually serious, his black eyebrows frowning with concern.
“Lisa …” Dad began, frowning. “Wesley and Jean just told us something we think requires some discussion.”
Lisa was expecting her parents to embrace her for her return from up north, and take her into the kitchen or on the veranda for lemonade or a snack. Their seriousness was odd to her at first. But then, as usual, her curiousity was aroused. What did Wes and Jean know that was so important? And that involved her?
“What is it?” she asked slowly.
Mum spoke up. “They just made mention of a pokemon outside – a scary one. And then they explained a lot about pokemon … including a certain adventure of yours to Goldenrod,” she paused, allowing Lisa’s mind to tick over.
Goldenrod! Of course. Her parents had not been allowing Lisa outside of Ecruteak at all. It was Tom who gave Lisa permission, not them, and Tom required her to be home a few days prior to their return. Her parents were supposed to be kept in the dark about the kids breaking the sternly-enforced rule.
“Uh oh.” Lisa couldn’t suppress a sheepish grin.
Mum and Dad’s eyes both glinted for a moment. “Let’s discuss this situation – all of it – over some lemonade, shall we?”
Lisa smiled again. Even her angry parents were glad to finally have their daughter home.
*
“Tentacraw, come on, we have a way to go yet,” called Marina, her ghostly pokemon Tentacraw hovering in the water ahead, dragging along Marina’s canoe.
She couldn’t wait to see Lisa again. Ever since the party after the Whirlpool Cup Final, they had not even spoken, or seen each other, but Marina was hoping to catch up with Lisa as they had arranged – over Christmas. When Marina went sobbing to Ecruteak a few days ago to visit the tree where Anna died – it had been all over the news – she had meant to find Lisa also, but Lisa had been in the province up north.
Now, by lucky chance, Marina had found that the river she was drifting down just for the pleasure of it (she spent most of her time floating in the coves, inlets, rivers or lakes with her pokemon) would eventually lead to Ecru Lake, right in Ecruteak.
“Lisa should be home this time,” Marina hoped. She was still a bit silent after Anna’s incident with Entei. She was glad she had strong pokemon to assist her if anything like that was to happen to her.
There was an abrupt rustle in the trees which overhung the River Azura up ahead, and Marina’s heart leapt in fear. She quickly convinced herself that it wasn’t what her mind was thinking; Entei, come to attack her, like poor Anna. It was just a pokemon, she thought. An Ekans, at the very worst. Just as a precaution, Marina threw out three more pokeballs, revealing Golduck, Starmie and her most recent find, a Mudkip.
They all leapt into the flowing water. Tentacraw continued to pull the raft along, so the rustling branches drew ever nearer, until …
Just as Marina’s raft passed the branches, there was a shout and two people leapt out of the tree, landing abruptly onto the raft, backed up by a Crobat and a Venomoth. Typically of the rocket gang, one was male and the other a young woman.
Marina reacted so very quickly that both the team rocket members were subdued instantly; she yelled out “Mudkip, Water Wheel”; “Golduck, Psybeam” and; “Starmie, Swift!”
Marina’s pokemon were very powerful, as she had a knack for training water pokemon. It was the skill which had won her the Whirlpool Cup. Psybeam and swift hammered the Crobat until it fainted, while Mudkip’s water wheel weakened Venomoth. Tentacraw, Marina’s most experienced Pokemon and her best ‘friend’, was strong enough to take care of himself. His ghostly tentacles lashed at the men and the moth, then they wrapped them up tightly, and with a grunt Tentacraw extending his tentacles and launched the villains far away.
Panting heavily, Marina sat down, shocked with what had just happened – so rapidly, too. At least she had got out of THAT mess, before it had really begun.
Behind her, a periscope followed, mostly submerged.
*
Lisa’s dark hair waved behind her freely in the wind as she stood on the balcony from her bedroom. The wooden planks were cool to her hot feet, and the evening breeze whistled through the wind-chimes Lisa hadn’t seen since the warm October. Below her, she could see the pool glittering in the dusklight, the green grass and the garden. Elekid, Dratini and Aipom were apparently playing hide and seek with Gavin’s pokemon. Fiskmire had gone with Miki for a training session at the dance theatre.
The heavy book beneath Lisa’s hands was muddling her. The first two chapters were about all the legendary pokemon apart from Suicune. Raikou, Entei, Ho-oh, Lugia were included, along with some others – Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mew and Mewtwo, which Lisa had scarcely heard of. There was some sort of legend or myth about Ecruteak and the pokemon there. The Tin Tower and the Brass Tower had both stood proud for centuries, until, around 1400 AD, the Brass Tower had just burned down out of the blue. The pokemon at the top just flew away forever … never returning.
Some reports in the book spoke of Entei and a Giant Gengar having a fight, others spoke of Ho-oh, who lived in the tin Tower, some referred to Lugia and others blamed the inferno on a lightning strike. But, given the fact that the stories were 600 years old, how reliable could they be?
Still, they mentioned the legendaries. Lisa wondered where she and Gavin fitted into everything. Perhaps there was some sort of link between them and Suicune … but how? Did the reason for Suicune and Lunanine following them go back six centuries?
The glass door slid open and Gavin appeared on the balcony. Lisa shut her book as he shut the door behind him. “It’s nice out here,” said Gavin.
“Mm hmm,” replied Lisa, feeling the wind blow her hair back still more, whistling its tune through her ears. The sun had merged into the sky, which was now streaks of pink, yellow and rare tinges of blue to the west. The city of Ecruteak was spread out before them. Lisa could easily see the Tin Tower, where she had never been, and the Burned Tower, where the rest of her life had begun in the not-too distant past. The new Pokemon Gym was also visible – a large stone building, very ugly.
“You been reading that book?” Gavin crossed the balcony and leaned over the wooden railings beside Lisa.
“Yeah … stuff about Suicune, and so on.”
“Cool,” said Gavin, standing beside her and leaning on the railings. “Well I’ve not had my plaster cast on for a good eight or nine hours now,” he said, showing her his weak-looking arm. “I don’t need it any more.”
“That’s great,” said Lisa, barely enthusiastically.
“I’m bored.” Gavin said abruptly.
“Hmm?” Lisa allowed the cool breezes to carry her into a pleasant state of semi-dreaming.
“I’m bored,” he repeated.
“Well fine, I can take a hint!” Lisa jerked herself from her dreaming to reply in a mock-dramatic way. She threw her hand onto her forehead melodramatically, and began giggling.
He laughed. “Very funny … no, I just mean … look …” Gavin found he was unable to talk for a moment. He had spent more than a year with a shattered life, not knowing who his real friends were, being misled so very much, until he found his uncle Eusine, and then Lisa, that he found he couldn’t even remember what it was like to have a real friend. “Well, you know I’m psychic,” he said abruptly, feeling the word sizzle on his tongue like a horrible swearword and trying to get his thoughts into line.
“Yes, I know only too well,” she said, remembering the time when Gavin had revealed everything about his psychic powers and the reason for them to her on the boat to Red Rock Island. “Why?”
“Well … I just want to have a bit more … fun,” he said slowly. A very odd expression was crossing his face. Like he was constipated. But not quite.
“Fun?” Lisa repeated, wondering where this conversation was going.
“I just mean I want to travel again, you know, roaming the countryside, it was so much fun walking around between Olivine and Moo Moo farm, before we got that damn buggy,” said Gavin, sounding as though the words were making themselves up as he went along.
Lisa couldn’t remember Gavin doing anything but complaining and whining on the trip between those two places, but she nodded along anyhow. “I can’t Gavin … I mean Mum and Dad just argued with me, although we sorted it all out in the end … but I can still tell that they don’t like the idea of me just running off around the country.”
“What, I thought they didn’t like you travelling at all? Isn’t it like FORBIDDEN for you?”
Lisa blushed. “Well, I told them about how I fared independently since I left Ecruteak, and how I … took care of myself.”
Her grin was almost as cheeky as Jean’s. “You glossed over a few facts?” smirked Gavin. “Slipped your mind about being kidnapped twice, nearly shot and killed, Anna’s death and Suicune’s appearances?”
“And the Radio Tower,” chuckled Lisa. “Although Tom’s bound to ‘accidentally’ tell them one day.” She paused, getting down to ‘business’. “I like travelling too, Gavin, I’ve always wanted to … but people who journey have a goal, you know. They don’t just walk around just for the hell of it.”
“I know that,” Gavin sighed. “But you have a goal. You want to find out about Suicune. And I want to develop my Psychic powers.”
Lisa sighed even more deeply. “Suicune is in Ecruteak. I don’t need to travel to find out about him. Besides, why do you want to develop your psychic powers?”
Gavin looked as though he had just been shot in the head. “I told you all about it on the boat.”
“What boat?” she muttered
“Frank’s boat, you remember?!” spluttered Gavin.
“Frank’s boat?” burst out Lisa. “That was in November! Like … almost two months ago! I don’t have a memory that good.”
Gavin spoke slowly and darkly. “I have to develop the psychic abilities of myself and my pokemon because the Great Psychic Legend will come and challenge me for a fight to the death. If a Luper family descendent ever wins against this legend, the curse placed on our family will be lifted forever. If he or she loses, that person dies and the curse goes on.
“If I could be the one to free out family from this curse after so many years … it would mean I could live a life longer than twenty years. It would mean all my cousins and relatives, and my own kids … could life normal lives. I wish I could be that person,” said Gavin, a lump building in his throat.
Lisa stayed silent for a minute. It was information she had been told, and forgotten. In one ear, then out the other; the Whirlpool Cup matches in November had driven her mind to think of herself rather than Gavin’s confession a few days before. She had almost ignored him. A huge feeling of selfishness came over her. “I’m sorry,” she said at last, unable to find any more words.
“That’s alright, it’s not your fault.”
“No, I mean, for ignoring you all this time. I virtually forgot how hard it was for you. I have a family, Mum, Dad, siblings, and I take them for granted all the time. You don’t have any of them.”
Gavin’s mind flickered. ‘I might …’ he thought.
“Yours have all been killed, and you have to live life alone, without anyone to be your family, or friends,” continued Lisa, and Gavin winced as though an icy blade had been shoved through his stomach. He tried to block out his past … especially the past year. It was too painful; upon reflection, he couldn’t see why … he didn’t even know what Lisa was going to be like, then he met her …
“I’m really sorry, Gavin,” Lisa finished, working herself up into a big dramatic tizzy, and Gavin almost laughed at how upset she was. She was almost sobbing as she threw her arms around him for a moment, then drew back. A stupid smile wavered on Gavin’s face for a second.
“How sorry?” he asked. “Because there is one thing you could do that you forgot about … when we were in the Radio Tower, before Lunanine, how you said you’d give a practice battle outside?”
“Oh my God, you remembered that?” cried Lisa.
“Yeah … so how bout we battle now then?”
Lisa paused. “It’s night … I hate battling at night … but I’ll battle tomorrow, for sure,” she paused, seeing his glum face. “But do you like basketball?”
Before Gavin could reply, she darted into her room, threw down her legendary book, opened a cupboard and drew out a basketball, spinning it skilfully on her finger.
“I’m the best player you’ll ever see,” she grinned, briefly remembering her friends from the basketball team last year … most of whom she had not spoken to for some time. Almost everyone she had been to school with, until they all graduated along with her last year, had drifted into the city, never to be seen again. Lisa’s friends from both school and basketball – Charmaine and Tuscany - still contacted her regularly. Not since October though … she would have to get back to them one day.
“You’re on then!” grinned Gavin. “I’ll be down there in a minute.”
Lisa nodded, bouncing up and down, and sprinted off to the corridor and down the stairs. Gavin stood up on the balcony, sighing. Basketball would be fun, for a change, but … the dammed up feelings and confessions were eating him alive. He could hardly bear it.
The wind chimes tinkled softly as he walked back inside, and felt a sudden soft crunch under his feet on the wooden floorboards. Staring down at his feet, Gavin bent down and saw something like a chain … a necklace, he decided, picking it up. It was wedged in between two of the boards, and looked like the shine of it had faded. Gavin picked it up, put it in his pocket, and instantly forgot about it.
Gavin was feeling bitter inside at that moment. It was like being friends with Lisa had hacked into his soul and unlocked pain he had tried to put behind him. He knew why, but he just couldn’t come face to face with it.
“You’re a stupid, stupid man, Gavin!” he muttered angrily, slamming the door of Lisa’s room shut and running downstairs for basketball.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next up on Lisa the Legend
Gavin might have got his ‘wish’ – Lisa and him might just have to travel again.
Lisa sighed. “So, Hiro, you need me to get a badge for you?”
Nurse Joy’s Sandshrew chase might have been a little insane, but now it’s gone too far …
Nurse Joy had lost sight of Sandshrew a moment before, but could feel its presence nearby, as well as something massive – the Tin Tower, rising up over the entire city. She knew it was very close by.
… and she has landed herself in a heap of trouble.
A high-pitched shriek reverberated into her ears, followed by the pelting of heavy quick-paced footsteps. Joy grabbed Issechu with tensed hands and sprinted towards a bush near a pine tree, ducking behind it for a moment, then peering out in fright.
What is this strange situation she has barged into?
A man screamed into the clearing, panting and sweating. He dropped to the ground in a heap of exhaustion, and even in the dim moonlight Joy could make out beads of sweat and blood on his forehead.
Chapter 32 – Tin Tower Terror.
Originally Posted by mr_pikachu
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