I love championshipping!

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 3

Slowly, Lance recovered. His wounds were infected, but a kindly Oddish brought healing herbs, and after a few weeks, his fever had passed. He was painfully slender, and his formerly red hair was now stark white, but it mattered little. He was alive.

He petted the cute Skitty that had come today, bringing a bird’s egg. He had eaten it raw and given her a thorough check-up.

It really was nice of the pokémon to do this, but very soon, he would no longer need their assistance. Then, he would be able to protect them…

He ran sharp nails through his hair, untangling it, as he stood. It hardly hurt to stand anymore. That bastard, Bruno! He would have to torture him in a thoroughly satisfying manner, perhaps for a few years, before he killed him.

But that could wait until later. For now, he had other things to worry about. The yearly dragon ceremony was coming up soon and he had to be thoroughly healed before then, so he could perform his duties. Clair was too weak to stand in and he hardly trusted Drake to do it right.

Then he had to make sure Red was all right, though as he glanced at the Scales of Fate and Destiny, he was pleased to notice that the yellow glass globe was still clear. Only the barest flicker gave any indication the owner was alive. Good.

Let Red journey. Let him win, and let him realize what was missing. Perhaps he was mature enough to discover things on his own.

If not, he still had plenty of time…

For now, he would heal and prepare, and in a few years, when Red was older, old enough for, well, more adult things, he would see.

Time Jump!

“Lorelei?”

“Yes, Red?” The Ice Master smiled brightly at the newest member – and Champion – of the Elite Four. She was leaving in a few months, along with Agatha, and Will and Karen would be taking over. Bruno stubbornly refused to budge, saying that stress only affected the faint of heart.

Bastard.

She had been cold to him ever since her cousin had gone missing, and she made sure he knew it. Agatha had simply ignored Bruno.

The Fighting trainer had thrown himself into his training and gotten better, but no matter how good a fighting pokemon was, it could not defeat ice or ghost, in the end…

“Who is this?” Red asked, holding up a picture.

Lorelei’s expression faltered and her face fell. “Oh… Well, that’s Lance. Where did you find it?"

“In my new room. It was in a pile of papers that I was recycling, and it fell out.”

“I see.”

Red settled himself. “He died when I was still pretty little… but I remember it.”

“Did you want to ask about him?”

“Surely. After all, he was Champion before, right?”

“Mm.” Red settled himself comfortably on the couch with a jar of peanut butter cookies as Lorelei began to talk.

“It was horrible when he died, he was so young – and well, it hurts more, because he’s my cousin.”

“Really? I didn’t know that!”

“We like to keep our family affairs private.”

That Red could understand. He nodded, and motioned for her to continue.

“What is there to say, really? He was a Champion and a Pokemon Master and a brilliant trainer, and he cared deeply for pokémon, all kinds of pokémon. I think you would have liked to know him.”

“He sounds nice.” Red said wistfully. Oh well. Lance was dead, and there was no changing the facts.

“He was nice.” Lorelei seemed to come back to herself, standing. “Well, I have to go check on my pokémon now.”

Red watched her leave with a slightly preoccupied expression. In truth, he was quite nervous. He liked the Elite, but since Will and Karen were coming, the only old member would be Bruno.

Bruno…

Something about him frightened Red very much.

He was not sure. Bruno had never treated him ill. Well admittedly, he just grunted most of the time, but… but…

It was like there was a stain, stigmata of past sin on him, even as he tried so hard to become a shining hero…

Red shuddered, and ate another cookie.

He had best be on his guard…

< Are you sure this is going to work, Master? >

< Why not? > Lance asked. < You’ll have to stay hidden for this plan to work, however. >

< We understand. > His dragons chorused in his head.

< Besides, I have done things of a similar nature before. It is not difficult to slip back into a role… >

< No, I suppose not. > Ptera yawned.

Two weeks later, the newspapers were hailing a brilliant new singer. She had long white hair and dazzling golden eyes, and her voice was brilliant.

Red paid it no heed, believing himself firmly outside the realm of pop stars and the like. He had more important things to worry about. After all, with President Goodman dead, elections to find a new president were coming up.

He stroked Flareon’s fur idly as he frowned at the bill. He sincerely did not wish to sign it, but if he did not, they would simply waste more money.

What a trap!

What a deadly, dastardly thing to do! Those shameless men! Had they no morals!
How dare they try to govern? He ought to strand them all on a desert island infested with wild pokemon and see how they survived…

He angrily scrawled black ink across the page, and Flareon licked his hand, feeling her Master’s anger.

“It’s all right. I can endure this. I have to…”

Who else could?

End Chapter

Started 10/26/06

Completed 10/27/06

I’ve gotten to writing even shorter chapters. Oh well…. wait a second. This isn’t as short as I thought it was. So same length! Phew…