Blue Skies Smiling at Me

April drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. She had been sitting in the lobby while time passed at an incredibly slow pace. Chromel was nestled in her lap. She had allowed him to be healed up by one of the Pokemon nurses at a Pokecenter and quickly went back to wait for Cyan. Chromel noticed how uneasy she felt and put his head on her arm which was resting on the arm rest. She gave him a smile and a pat on the head.

"Talk about a stretcher of a story huh Chromel...?" The joke didn't seem all that funny to April, even though she was trying to make light of the situation. Chromel's ears went back, he knew his trainer was worried and he gave her hand a small lick. April looked up in time to see a Riolu guiding Cyan into the lobby. "Cyan! You're here!" She exclaimed and wrapped her arms around Chromel to hold him while standing up. "What did they say? You're okay right?" Chromel let out a more enthusiastic 'goon' as if asking his own question.

April's voice seemed to echo for a moment, bouncing off everything in the room, along with all the other noises that Cyan's mind and ears were able to register. He looked in her general direction, his pupils a light gray, ashy color. It was obvious that they no longer functioned, as it was hard for Cyan to look April in the eye due to his inability to even see her face.

"Not really...but hey, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right? I'm not gonna give up my quest just because of this little set back." Cyan stated, chuckling half heartedly as he tried to keep the mood hopeful. He felt the tiny paw in his right hand tighten slightly, and Cy couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh, by the way, this is my new friend Gawain. Why don't you say hello?"

Gawain looked at April for a moment, as if sizing her up for a moment before nodding his head in a silent greeting.

"Little set back? What'd they say?" April asked, unsure of what exactly he meant. She noticed he was having a hard time looking her in the eyes and tilted her head to one side. His seemed to be acting different, something had definitely happened. "Did that guy from before do something to you? Did his Pokemon attack you again?" She didn't exactly want to straight out ask if he was blind, though she had managed to put two and two together. Whoever that man was, he had a lot of power... And lackeys to back him up. She squeezed Chromel who looked up at her. She had a slightly worried look, wondering if that stranger would find them later. Chromel looked at Gawain, letting out a greeting in the form of a "Zigzagoon" noise. He lifted a paw slightly to say hello to the Riolu.

"I got hit in the head with a Psybeam and...well, I'm not carrying around this stick for nothing April. Now come on, we have a town to explore, don't we?" Cyan replied, waving his stick swiftly in front of him and making his way to the door. Gawain gave Cy a mournful stare, not really replying to the zigzagoon's greeting as he was far more concerned about his "partner's" well being.

Gawain could feel the waves of anger and sorrow flowing around Cyan, the injury obviously dealing more damage than he was currently showing. The riolu ran to catch up with Cyan, grabbing onto his pant leg and steering him away from any pedestrians.

April followed after Cyan, hovering behind him for a few moments. "Yeesh..." She said and caught up to him after a few moments. Chromel seemed to frown at his trainer's response and relaxed over time. She could tell Cyan wasn't in a good mood, at all, so she kept quiet for a few moments, only to speak up after the silence got too awkward. "So where to now?" She asked. The trip had gone from sweet to sour within their first time out and April was wondering what Cyan would be doing now being blind and all.

"I'm going to fight the gym leader, what else? I told you before, I'm not going to let this set back get in my way, right guys?" Cyan asked his Pokemon, who both had mixed responses. Tycho cheered, happy to see that his master's resolve hadn't diminished after such a tragedy, while Gawain was skeptical about taking on the first gym leader so soon. After all, Cyan hadn't perfected how to fight while blind, and it would certainly help if he had some sort of practice.

April looked unconvinced. "With a Pokemon you just got? Shouldn't you at least train with Gawain first?" Even though April was a rookie trainer, she knew that much. It wasn't even that Cyan was blind, but that he had just obtained the Pokemon he had.

Chromel squirmed in her arms, as if uneasy about something. "What's wrong Chromel?" April asked her Pokemon. He gave her a troubled look, as if something was bothering him. April figured he was just uneasy the way she was, unaware that Chromel was more alert than her to something. "Well.... If that's what you want to do though Cyan, go on ahead." She said with a smile, although she knew he couldn't see it.

Cyan stopped, April's advise making sense to him. In his current state, he wouldn't stand a chance against the gym leader. He turned to April, managing to look her in the eyes with a pleading look in his eyes as he asked, "You're right, but I can't practice alone. Do you think we could spar real quick? After I get the hang of fighting again, then we go out down to the route again and I'll help you catch some pokemon, how does that sound?"

April and Chromel looked at one another. Chromel was just a newbie Pokemon and he had a lack of confidence in himself, but he seemed to understand why April was going to agree. She was doing it for a friend. "Okay, we can spar a bit, Chromel isn't going to hold back though!" She said and Chromel let out a 'goon!' of agreement. "Come on then! Let's find somewhere to have a battle! We're not gonna lose that easy!" She said, fired up.

Cyan nodded, smiling at the thought of learning how to fight again, now that his eyesight was gone. Gawain looked around, trying to find a big enough space to battle, and tugged on Cyan's cane, pulling it towards a wide open area next to a gigantic fountain that spewed streams of sparkling water upwards in glorious arcs high into the air.

Of course, Cyan, unable to see this beauty, made no comment on it and instead followed his new friend to his position, tapping his cane on the ground experimentally, and smirking as he could hear the sound echo off of the environment, the babbling of the fountain making the environment clearer to the young trainer.

"Alright Gawain, lets show her what we're made of."

"Ri!"

"Okay Chromel, let's show em what we're made of! Don't hold back now!" April said and Chromel hopped to the ground, landing in a ready pose. She pointed at Gawain dramatically. "This battle.. Is for Riolu... Got it?" April grinned.

"Chromel go! Use Growl!" She ordered. Chromel responded without trouble this time, letting out a loud growl that could lower the attack power of a foe in front of it.

Cyan smiled, "Alright Gawain, let's see something different. I saw you use Quick Attack earlier, but I want you to change it up. Let's see something wild!"

Cyan snapped his fingers and pointed at Chromel, his finger aimed dead center at the target, which the Riolu gladly obliged, his right leg glowing with a blue light as it jumped into the air, spinning around until it's leg became surrounded in a blazing inferno like fire. It then threw it's leg out towards the zigzagoon, trying to hit it with a Blaze Kick.

"Woah.. Woah! Come on Chromel! Dodge that attack! It could be a fatal blow!" April said and clenched her fist, waiting in anticipation to see if Chromel would even follow orders. Chromel looked up, seeing that Gawain was about to attack him he managed to dodge to the side with a small leap.

'Goon!' He let out facing the Riolu who had just hit the ground. "Tackle it!" She ordered. Chromel gave his trainer a slightly confused face leaving an opening. "Ohh... Slam into it! Use your body to hit it!" April said and stomped her foot, not out of anger but out of an adrenaline rush. Chromel nodded, about to attack his foe yet again.

Cyan heard the Blaze Kick strike the ground, and whistled at the sound of the strike, impressed by how powerful it was, but regardless of that, he remembered that this was still a battle, and if his pokemon were going to get any stronger, then he would have to win.

"Gawain, use Quick Attack to evade the Tackle and counter attack!" Cyan commanded, listening as the Riolu's footsteps sped up drastically, the blue fighting type sprinting out of the way of the tackle before looping around and trying to strike with it's quick attack.

April gasped as Chromel was hit by the Quick Attack, and impressive order from Cyan. "Oh no, Chromel! Use Tackle again!" April called out. Her Zigzagoon steadied himself from the blow and upon hearing her command ran towards the Riolu to strike it. Thankfully, because he hadn't been hit by the Blaze Kick and only the Quick Attack he still had quite a bit of stamina and drive left.

"Gawain, take the hit and try to hold your ground, then while it's recovering from the Tackle, use Blaze Kick." Cyan commanded, twirling his cane as he "watched" the unfolding battle, hearing the soft grunt of Gawain's as he was struck head on by the Tackle, but remained on it's paws, skidding back a foot or so as it's right leg began to glow with the same energy it did moments before.

Gawain then sprinted forwards, it's leg bursting into flame as it attempted to deliver a roundhouse Blaze Kick to Chromel, performing proficiently well, despite having been hit moments before.

Chromel let out a cry of pain has he fell to the ground from the hit. The attack has struck him dead center in the face. He tried to stand up, barely managing for a second but fell to the ground. The hit had clearly done a heavy amount of damage. "Ahhh! Chromel!" April said whipped out her Pokeball. A red light appeared, allowing the Pokemon inside of it's Pokeball. "Rest until we get to a center okay?" April said and tucked the ball away. "Geeze, you really.... blazed through that battle with that flaming kick. Gawain sure is powerful. But we put in our best effort!" She said and shrugged, because she and Chromel had at least attempted to fight back, there was really nothing to be upset about.

Cyan smiled, "Thank you for the fight. It was a real eye opener, if I must say so myse-ow!"

Cyan's punny sentence was interrupted by Tycho, who bit him on the ear for letting such horrendous plays on words to continue. Cyan rubbed his ear with a frown as he looked down to Gawain, who had returned to him post haste. The young trainer scratched the fur behind the little fighter's right ear, causing Gawain to let out a soft "Lou~" in appreciation.

"April, why don't you go get Chromel healed up, then we can scout Route 231 and see if you can't catch yourself another Pokemon. What do you think about that?" Cyan offered, patting Gawain comfortably on the top of the head twice before returning his blind gaze to April.

April grinned. "Not bad Cyan, not bad... But even if you won the battle you'll never beat me when it comes to jokes." She said and nodded in agreement. "Yeah that works, are you gonna come along to make sure Gawain gets some rest too?" She asked while adjusting her bag. She started walking towards the Pokemon Center, though they'd probably be wondering why she was back within a short period of time.

Cyan shook his head, "I'm sure he'll be fine if I give him one of my Oran Berries. Just tug on my shirt twice if you think you need to go to the pokemon center, okay Gawain? Here."

Cyan handed the Riolu one of his Oran berries, which the little fighter gingerly took a nibble out of, testing it's effects before his eyes widened. Gawain felt his lost strength slowly come back to him with each bite, and eventually he just wolfed the berry down, sighing in content as he was restored to his full strength.

Cyan chuckled, "Good to hear that you're all better now Gawain. Don't worry April, we'll wait right here till you get back."

"Alright! Be back soon!" April said and ran to the Pokemon Center. As she walked in the door automatically let out a ping-pong sound, announcing her entrance. The nurse smiled as April approached the desk and handed her a single Pokeball containing Chromel.

"Welcome and one moment please, your Pokemon will be healed. Please have a seat while we fix it right up." The nurse said in a voice that was almost relaxing. April went to a loveseat, fairly comfortable and sat by herself idly kicking her feet.

"Hey man, did you get attacked by the wild Pokemon roaming in the city again?"

"Yeah, that Zangoose is out of control, seriously. Why hasn't anyone stopped it yet? I tried to catch it and it beat up my Pokemon easy. It's like it's looking for a fight."

April looked up, seeing two young trainers standing together, clearly upset over the supposed roaming Pokemon. "Huh...? A Zangoose... I wonder if Nurse Joy knows anything...." She said to herself.

Nurse Joy appeared after a few more moments, her Pokeball in a tray with six slots for a full team. "Thank you for your patience." Nurse Joy said and gave a small polite bow.

"Wha.. Nurse Joy wait!" April called out, slightly startling the nurse because of her loud voice. "Is it true there's a Zangoose running about knocking out Pokemon?" She asked the nurse, who frowned at the question.

"Well... Yes there is, but I advise you stay away. It's known to be powerful and has made Pokemon faint like you mentioned. If you see it, please report it to the police station and avoid confronting it." The nurse said and went about taking care of another trainers Pokemon.

April held her chin between two fingers, clearly thinking. She decided she'd talk to Cyan about it and left the center to find her friend who was still at the fountain. "Heeeeyyy Cyan! I've got news for ya!" She called out from a distance.

Gawain and Tycho ran around the wide open area, playing a friendly game of tag with one another while Cyan scanned the Riolu into his pokedex, and was surprised to hear about something called Aura. He had heard mention of it when April had first analyzed Gawain, but Cyan had paid no mind to it until now. He had to wonder what this Aura was, and why Gawain could feel it's waves.

However, this train of thought was derailed when April returned, her voice catching Cyan's attention as he turned his head to "look" at her.

"Oh, what might that be?" Cyan replied, letting Gawain and Tycho play for a little longer while April explained her recent findings.

April rubbed her hands together, clearly excited about the information she had just received. "Apparently there's a wild Zangoose roaming through town looking for fights. It's supposed to be tougher than anything. Oh man, oh man! I bet it's so cool! Call it a wild Zangoose chase but I wanna try my hand at catching it!" She said and clenched her fists, clearly bubbling over with excitement at the thought of catching a new Pokemon. "Just imagine.... A new teammate..." She sighed, obviously imagining some strange vision in her head.

The blind trainer gave April a big grin, and clapped his hands, signaling that play time was over for this two friends and that they had to get moving. The duo frowned slightly, expecting that they would've had more time to play with each other, but they obediantly made their way to Cyan, with Gawain guiding his cane while Tycho rested on his shoulder.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's get going! You go first April, I'm a bit...you know." Cyan stated, ecstatic at the opportunity to help his friends get stronger and realize their full potential. Besides, it would be a good time to work on strategies that he could use upon the gym leader.

"Alright, alright! But hurry! There's no way it's getting away from me!" April said and started marching down the road. "I bet it's waiting in an alleyway... No no! Near a store! Maybe near a house or something." She said while pondering on the location of where the Zangoose might be. A shout signaled someone was in trouble. A young trainer, about their age ran by with an injured Pidgey in his arms. He clearly seemed upset.

"Woah, woah! Hold your Horsea mister! What happened?" April asked while staring at the Pidgey that had clearly fainted from a battle.

"There's some crazy wild Pokemon that got into a battle with my Pidgey! It was over by my uncle's house just a block away! After it beat up my Pidgey it ran away!" He said and turned to run before April could even say anything.

April frowned. "Cyan! Come on we gotta catch up with it before it gets away. Aughh! I'm gonna Machop it in the face when I find it!" She said stomping off in the direction the kid had pointed in.