Eternal Bonds (Updated 2/06)

[Lucario EX]

Prologue:

If anyone would have looked into the cave in the center of Celestic Town that night, they would have seen a small figure sitting on the ground near the deepest part of the cave, holding a tiny flashlight at an odd angle. They probably would not have seen that it was a young girl, with curly blonde hair that fell to her shoulders, and that her flashlight pointed toward the ground because her eyes were closed, and the flashlight had been forgotten.

"I hear you. I'll remember this. I promise, I'll always remember this!" the girl whispered as solemnly as one so young could. At least, it might have been a whisper. Even she wasn't quite sure whether the words had been spoken out loud.

She then rose, switched off the flashlight, and walked away. Behind her, three spots on the wall glowed faintly, so faintly that they were almost invisible even in the darkness.

By this slight light, even the most careful of observers would not have seen a smaller figure follow her away from the cave.

________________________________________

Comments and criticism please.

If you're thinking that this one will turn out like all my other fanfics, and will never be finished, I'm still working on the others. I just have a lot to write. It'll all get done some year.

[Pikamaster]

Ok. Not much to go on. I'm thinking this will turn out like some of your other Fanfics. About Riolu.=P

[Lucario EX]

Originally Posted by pikamaster

Ok. Not much to go on. I'm thinking this will turn out like some of your other Fanfics. About Riolu.=P

I told you, I'm still writing Delta Adventures. It's just, I'm writing 12 different things, so none of them are going to get finished too quickly.

Next chapter should be up tonight. This is only the prologue. Of course there isn't much to go on.

[Pikamaster]

And why are you writing 12 different things? I know I have some other things that I'd like to do, but I'm finishing what I started first. Wouldn't that be easier?

[Lucario EX]

Originally Posted by pikamaster

And why are you writing 12 different things? I know I have some other things that I'd like to do, but I'm finishing what I started first. Wouldn't that be easier?

Because inspiration isn't something that can be put on hold very well. Besides, if I only wrote one thing at once, Pokemon fanfiction wouldn't be very high on my list.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

Chapter 1: Reunions

One boy ran through the mists of Route 210, ignoring the shouts of Trainers looking for a battle. His green vest was tattered and ripped, his black jeans were covered in mud, and several tufts of messy blonde hair poked out from under his cap.
A Noctowl flew beside him, occasionally flapping it's wings to fan away the deep fog. Even at 14, Palmer was obviously a Trainer.

He heard another shout from the side of the rocky trail, but didn't realize that it wasn't another challenge until a young girl ran toward him, calling his name. Palmer waved to his younger sister, and grabbed a Pokeball off his belt.

"You've got your Pokemon with you, right, Cynthia?" he asked, grinning. Cynthia nodded, and pulled a Luxury Ball out of her pocket.

"Then let's battle, I want to see how good you are now!" Palmer yelled, and tossed the Pokeball high into the air. As it landed, a Charmeleon was released. Cynthia sent out a Gible, and waited for Palmer's attack. She remembered his style, and Charmeleon, his starter, would probably have mastered it.

"Charmeleon, use Swords Dance and then Dragon Claw!" Palmer yelled to his Pokemon. Charmeleon immediately began to use Swords Dance, and Cynthia silently watched it, waiting for the right moment. Charmeleon leapt up moments later ready to slash at Gible.

"Gible, use Sand Attack!" Cynthia shouted, and Gible kicked a wave of dirt at the lizard Pokemon, dodging as Charmeleon swerved past it and struck the ground, one claw stuck. "Now use Sand Tomb!"

Charmeleon was immobilized by the combination attack for a moment, but quickly broke free of the sand swirling around it.

"Now, Charmeleon! Use Dragon Claw again!" Palmer yelled to his Pokemon, and Charmeleon charged toward Gible, striking the smaller dragon with a shining claw and knocking it aside.

"Gible, get up, use Sand Tomb again!" Cynthia urged, but Gible lay motionless.

"Cyn, Gible's Knocked Out. The battle's over, unless you have any other Pokemon." Palmer explained calmly. Cynthia shook her head sadly, and returned Gible to it's Pokeball.
"It's okay, Cyn. You did an amazing job of analyzing my strategy and countering it effectively. My Pokemon were just stronger, that's all." Palmer told her, upset by his sister's disappointment. Cynthia merely nodded again.
"Where's everyone else, anyway?" he asked, trying to cheer her up.

"Back at home, I think. Where else would they be?" she answered dully.

"Let's go, then!" Palmer answered, momentarily giving up on Cynthia's mood. He began running toward Celestic Town again, Charmeleon following behind him.
He could hear Cynthia following him, but decided to ignore it. She had always been easily upset by losing.

As he entered the town, Palmer looked around for a long moment. It had been two years since he last returned, and yet everything still looked so familiar. It was still home, just as much as ever. He smiled at the thought. How could it not be? Celestic Town had hardly changed in centuries. A couple of years weren't about to make a difference.

"Excuse me, mister, but who are you?" a small voice asked, and he looked down to see a small boy standing next to him. Smaller, but so similar, Palmer thought, remembering how he had looked at that age.

"Hi, ... Corion?" he asked the child, guessing that it was his youngest brother. The boy cocked his head to one side, clearly analyzing Palmer.
"Yes..." he answered slowly and cautiously.

"What, don'tcha remember me? It's me, Palmer." the older boy explaining, a playful tone deliberately covering his sadness. They've all grown up so much... I should come back more often. It's not fair to stay away from home so long my own siblings don't know me, he thought.

"Oh. Hiya, I suppose." Corion answered dubiously. Palmer could understand his confusion. What did one say to a brother one hardly knew?
Cynthia reappeared behind him, still looking lost and confused.

"Corion, what's wrong?" she asked, oblivious to the awkward nature of the situation.

"Nothing, I guess. Nothing's wrong..." Corion muttered, and kicked at the ground. "But this guy's weird..." he said quietly, apparently only intending for Cynthia to hear him. Cynthia merely adopted an even more confused expression, and walked away toward the Pokemon Center.

As soon as she entered, a boy who appeared to be 9 or so ran out, and charged toward Palmer, grinning absurdly. He had similarly colored hair, and was dressed almost exactly the same way as Palmer.

"Didja bring back more Pokemon?" he asked enthusiastically. Palmer grinned. In his travels across Kanto and Hoenn, he had often encountered Pokemon rarely seen in Sinnoh, and always caught several to give to his younger siblings.

"Yup, sure did." Palmer answered, and headed for the Pokemon Center himself, gesturing for the two younger boys to follow.

Cynthia was still inside, sitting on one of the cushions in the lobby while waiting for her Gible to be healed. She did not even glance at Palmer, until she thought he wasn't looking. He pretended he hadn't seen her tear-filled eyes flick toward him, and walked toward the computer in the corner. Typing in his trainer ID, name, and password, he activated the Pokemon Storage System, and selected three Pokemon.
As the Pokeballs materialized, he handed one to each of the boys, and walked toward Cynthia. She turned away, but Palmer pressed the Pokeball into her hand.

"You didn't fail. It was more than I could have expected." he murmured, and turned back to the other two.

Corion released his Pokemon, a Growlithe, immediately. When he saw the small puppy Pokemon, he leaped into the air and whooped, earning them several irritated looks.

"What did you get, Kerys?" he asked joyfully, poking his older brother. "I betcha mine's better than yours!"
Kerys opened his, and a Chikorita emerged, shaking it's leaf as if happy to be out of the capsule.

"Thank you..." Kerys muttered, and looked at Corion's Growlithe. "Yours can't be better. Pokemon are all equal." he informed Corion, giving him a arrogant look.
Palmer smiled. It was good to be home.

[Lucario EX]

Come on, people! I've gotten more comments on this story on a non-Pokemon site, for cryin' out loud!

*sigh*

Okay, no chapters after this one until someone posts.


Chapter 2: Abandoned

Kerys silently walked outside into the cold night, still wearing his pajamas. After waiting a moment, he crept cautiously away from the house, scampering through the town to the small cave at it's heart.

A light emerged from the mouth of the cave, and Kerys quietly followed it, deep inside toward the center, where a shadow that he knew to be his sister sat silhoetted by the light of a flashlight. She sat cross-legged, head down, flashlight pointed downward.
The cold and rocky ground did not seem to bother her, so Kerys tried not to let it stop him. Settling into a similar position, he watched as Cynthia slammed one fist against the wall.

"I have to get stronger. I can't let Palmer down. I should be stronger, like he is. It's what he wants. By being such a pathetic loser, I'm failing him. I'm letting him down. What would people say if they knew that the champion of Hoenn and Sinnoh had a weakling little sister who couldn't even catch her own Pokemon?" Kerys heard her whisper, sobbing.

"No! I won't be weak anymore! I'll be worthy of him. I'll be worthy of you! Just wait, I will be." Cynthia cried, rising to her feet. Kerys backed up against the wall, making himself as hard to see as he could, then waited for Cynthia to run back out. He followed, careful to stay hidden, but not before glancing back at the walls of the cave, at the faint light emanating from the carving in the back.

Cynthia ran back into their house, and Kerys saw her grab the Pokeball that Palmer had given her the day before, as well as the one containing her Gible. She pulled a large backpack from a corner of the small room, and stowed both Pokeballs in it.

"I've gotta do this. I'll never get strong enough here." she whispered, and slung the backpack over her shoulders.

As Kerys backed away from the doorway, Cynthia walked out, and headed outside. Kerys continued to trail her, confused, until she came to the entrance of Celestic Town.
There the fog grew too heavy for him to see through, and he sat down at the very edge of where the mists began, as close as he could be to his sister, and began to cry. He had always considered Cynthia his protector, his guardian. And now she was gone.

As the sun crept over the horizon, Kerys heard footsteps approaching from behind him, but ignored them until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"She's gone, isn't she?" Palmer asker, but it sounded as if he already knew the answer. Kerys sniffed once and nodded. The two were silent for a moment, then Kerys turned to face his older brother.

"You knew all along, didn't you? You knew." he asked, tone accusatory.
Palmer glanced down, then nodded.

"Yes, I had a feeling she would leave today." he admitted.

"Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you stop her?" Kerys murmured.

"I... Ker, Cynthia was going to leave eventually, no matter what any of us did or said. She's a skilled Trainer, whether or not she knows it herself, and staying here would only frustrate her. I'm sorry, but it was inevitable." Palmer explained, and got up slowly, as if his younger brother was a magnet, holding him to the ground.

"You're leaving too, aren't you!" Kerys shouted, also standing up.

"Yeah, kid. I'm a Trainer too, remember? I gotta head out again. Kerys, I know it hurts, but face it. You had known all along that Cyn would leave someday. You knew I wasn't gonna stay long, either." Palmer said, then walked out into the fog.
"Say 'bye to Corion for me." he called back as he tossed Noctowl's Pokeball into the air, and then vanished from sight.

Kerys watched silently as Palmer left. His brother was right, of course; Kerys had known. He thought the words, then spoke them, but silently, as if hearing them would have confirmed a truth that he refused to acknowledge.

Turning back from the fog, he walked away.

"They've abandoned me here. They're gone, and not coming back." he whispered, as he retreated back inside, as if hiding from the thought.

[CyberManetric EX]

Woah, serious deja vu. I feel like I've read the first half of Chapter 1 from somewhere before. Nice job on both chapters. This seems like it's fits perfectly for Cynthia and Palmer's origins.
~Cyber~

[charmander rox]

Nice, again, pretty cool with Cynthia and Palmer.

[espeon1]

they're siblings?! =O wow i never expected that, even from a fanfic... overall though it's pretty cool.

[charmander rox]

Say, isn't Palmer from Twinleaf Town, and Cynthia from Celestic Town?

[The Supes]

I think it's pretty cool, well done, but maybe not long enough. I don't feel like I know much about the characters.

[espeon1]

actaully i think palmer lived with your rival from the games in twinleaf town. for all we know he could've moved there from celestic.

[The Supes]

I always got the impression that Palmer was his father.

[Pikamaster]

That's because Palmer IS his father.=P So that would make Cynthia your rivals Aunt.

[charmander rox]

Well, we know that Palmer started in Twinleaf Town, where he got a starter from Professor Rowan, and Cynthia's family is from Celestic Town.

[Lucario EX]

Originally Posted by CyberManetric EX

Woah, serious deja vu. I feel like I've read the first half of Chapter 1 from somewhere before. Nice job on both chapters. This seems like it's fits perfectly for Cynthia and Palmer's origins.
~Cyber~

Thanks. If you're trying to say that the first chapter is too similar to something, I don't know what it is.

Originally Posted by espeon1

they're siblings?! =O wow i never expected that, even from a fanfic... overall though it's pretty cool.

I've been writing too much Star Wars fanfiction lately. It's having a bad effect.

Originally Posted by charmander rox

Say, isn't Palmer from Twinleaf Town, and Cynthia from Celestic Town?

Originally Posted by charmander rox

Well, we know that Palmer started in Twinleaf Town, where he got a starter from Professor Rowan, and Cynthia's family is from Celestic Town.

Yes, but AFAIK all that's ever confirmed is that Palmer once lived in Twinleaf. I haven't seen anything stating when.

Originally Posted by The Supes

I think it's pretty cool, well done, but maybe not long enough. I don't feel like I know much about the characters.

Thanks. I tend to leak out information about the characters fairly slowly, so that makes sense.

Originally Posted by The Supes

I always got the impression that Palmer was his father.

Yeah, IIRC this was specifically confirmed in DP.

[The Supes]

No prob. I'll be continuing to check in on this. LMK what you think of the full Chapter 1 btw!

Later.

P.S. If there's I AM YOUR FATHER LINE in here we can't be friends anymore :(

[Lucario EX]

*sigh* I wish I was a good enough writer that my filler chapters weren't obviously filler chapters. Unfortunately, I'm not quite that good yet.

Chapter 3: Fight or Flight

Kerys slammed the door behind him, scrunching up his face in an attempt to not cry. He walked to a corner of the room and crouched there, sniffling.

"Ker? Whatsa matter?' asked the childish voice of his younger brother. Kerys looked up to see Corion's huge brown eyes inches away from his own. Panicking, Kerys shoved the younger boy away from him and stood immediately, backing up against the wooden wall.

"They've left. They're both gone!" he yelled quickly, holding one hand out in front of him as if for protection against some invisible threat. Corion merely lay on the ground where he had been knocked over and wailed.

"Whatever happened here?" a harsh, quieter voice asked, and Kerys saw, out of the corner of his eye, an old woman with a stern, wrinkled face approaching.

"Gramma 'Lena, 'e hit me!" Corion cried, his sobbing growing even louder.

"Oh, now did he..." the old woman muttered angrily, then turned toward Kerys. "Kerys Acetel, whatever possessed you to do a thing like that?"

"But, Grandma Alena, it's not my fault! He just came up and started screaming in my face!" Kerys mumbled, even more annoyed at his brother than before.

"And was that a good reason for you to hit him?" Alena scolded, helping Corion to his feet. The younger boy had stopped crying, and was now glaring silently at Kerys.

"No." Kerys groaned, rolling his eyes. And I don't care, he added silently.

"Now then, what's all this about someone being gone?" Alena asked, her tone impatient.

"Cynthia left! Cynthia left, and Palmer left again too, and they're not coming back again for years!" Kerys shouted, finally bursting into tears.

"Cynthia left? That girl's not old enough to be out on her own yet... Kerys, why didn't you tell someone?" Alena said, and Corion resumed his bawling.

"I just did tell you!" Kerys protested, but was quickly interrupted.

"No, impudent child. Why did you not fetch an adult at the time? Good grief, boy, do you want your sister to be hurt?" Alena told him, furious.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Kerys screamed, grabbing the Pokeball that he still had in his pocket and calling out Chikorita. The small Pokemon shook the leaf on it's head angrily, and Kerys balled his hands into fists, his posture defensive, as if the two of them were being attacked.

"Calm down, boy. You and your overly excitable Pokemon both. Go tell the neighbors what happened. We'd better start searching for the girl..." Alena ordered, pulling on a long white coat and walking outside.



Part 2 coming soon.

[meditite rox]

Is Kerys going to be a bad guy or something?

[ashinto]

this is pretty good, keep writing.

[Lucario EX]

Originally Posted by meditite rox

Is Kerys going to be a bad guy or something?

You assume that a little kid is going to become a bad guy because they hit their brother?

[espeon1]

Yeah that's just like saying I'm going to be a bad person because I sometimes hit my brother.

[meditite rox]

No, just that it would be possible, given the plot. He seems to have a lot of pent-up frustration.

[ILL-BILL]

THIS STORY IS AWESOME, PLEASE CONTINUE TO WRITE IT. HOW OLD IS CYNTHIA IN THIS?

[ashinto]

i'd say if u can throw in the history of cyrus, that would be great. i would love to hear the story of y he became the leader of team galactic.