#i can't believe i've written a whole portion of pokemon fanfic and there aren't any actual pokemon in it

[skysplinter]

Fanfic: Buried Deep (pt1)

There was nothing anyone could do. When the lightning struck, it spread too fast to be stopped. The old tower was no match for the forces of nature. The city folk could only escape while they still could and watch as the building burned. Even the guardian of the tower could not hope to stop the flames - as the wood smoldered and collapsed around it, it spread its wings and fled far to the west where the fire would not spread.

The blaze proved to be unquenchable, and the people of the city feared that it would take the next tower, and the city itself if it continued to grow. In a panic, they sent word of their plight to the south, begging their neighbors and friends in the hopes that others could save them.

But while their pleas for help spread from person to person, another message was being sent. The birds and beasts of the wild passed a message of a great tragedy, as yet unknown to the people of the city. In the old burning tower, three poor creatures had been trapped by the debris.

The birds and the beasts gathered together and sang out for their three lost children. Their song reached the heavens and brought a great downpour of rain, finally putting out the flames that had destroyed the tower. The people of the city rejoiced. They were saved!

However, it was too late for the three little creatures that had been trapped inside the burned out building, for they had already perished. The birds and the beasts cried in mourning for their lost little ones.

This time, their voices were heard by another - the brethren of the burned tower's guardian, who lived in a tower made of tin. The second guardian took pity upon them for their loss, and granted the three little creatures life once more.

One was born again in a blinding flash of light as a memory of the storm.

The second returned in a blaze of fury, an echo of the flames that had consumed them.

And the third was formed from the tears of the birds and the beasts in a great deluge, as a reminder of the rain which had quenched the fire.

Then, with its gift bestowed upon them, the guardian of the tin tower disappeared into the clouds. It left a glittering rainbow in its wake as it departed, never to be seen again until the time was right and the world needed it once more.

Meanwhile, the three reborn beasts remained in the ruins of the old burned tower. Imbued with new powers given to them by the guardian, they served as a reminder for the tragedy that had taken place, and as a symbol of nature's wild power. It is said they lie beneath the tower even now, sleeping and waiting for their time to rise again.

***

'This is Reed signing off,' said the radio host. 'And remember, all you beautiful listeners out there - keep yourself tuned into the Lucky Channel.'

His voice trailed off and was replaced by one of the cheesiest jingles Ryo had ever heard. In a temper, she leaned over to the front of the car and turned the radio off. Anything was better than listening to that garbage.

Unfortunately, turning off the radio only left her more thoughts to contend with. With no sound to distract her, she could only dwell on what was probably going on inside Professor Elm's lab. Her mom had driven her here and asked her to wait in the car while she discussed something "really important" with her dad.

Knowing her luck, she was probably in trouble again. Ryo couldn't remember a time where she hadn't been in trouble. For the past year or so, she'd had her parents breathing down her neck almost constantly for one reason or another.

First, it had been her run-in with the neighbour's kid, Lyra. The girl had been so smug about the Pokémon her parents had gotten her and paraded the stupid blue mouse ball all over the place for weeks - Marill or Mareep or whatever it was, Ryo didn't care. Her parents hadn't found it funny when she'd taken Lyra's stupid pet and offered to show off her soccer skills with the thing, whatever it was called. Clearly no one in New Bark Town could take a joke.

Then after that, there had been the incident with another one of their more gullible neighbours. Her mom in particular hadn't been impressed when she'd found out that Ryo had convinced the guy to stand out all night in the pouring rain just to find a Pokémon that would only come out of hiding in the daytime. It was his own fault for actually going along with her, but apparently that didn't matter.

When that had all blown over, Ryo had accidentally broken the Pokégear her parents had bought her for her birthday. A Pokégear was an expensive gift, she knew, and her dad had apparently worked extra hours in the lab for Professor Elm just to afford it. Obviously she hadn't meant to break it, but one peaceful walk in the fields just on the town outskirts had turned into a nightmare when a bunch of what she had _thought_ were rocks turned out to be a family of very grumpy Pokémon who didn't enjoy being sat on. She'd come home covered in bumps and bruises after the little rock monsters had finished pelting her with pebbles, and her brand new Pokégear had been all but smashed to bits.

It never stopped. When her parents had finally forgotten about one problem, they'd find another reason to get mad and punish her. She was beginning to forget what a life without being grounded was like, and her TV probably didn't even know how to turn on anymore, but worst of all - worse than anything else that her parents had thrown at her these long eighteen months...

They'd forbidden her from getting her first Pokémon and becoming a fully fledged trainer. While all the other kids her age had been given a Pokémon by Professor Elm and sent off to explore and battle one another, Ryo could only sit and watch from the sidelines.

It wasn't fair. Okay, she had to admit - she might not have been the perfect kid all the time, but it was cruel to keep her hanging back for so long. She was already a teenager now, easily old enough to start her Pokémon journey - and yet here she was, stuck in a stuffy old car while her mom and dad cooked up new ways to make her life miserable. Meanwhile, kids much younger than her were probably setting fire to gym leaders and punching the Indigo League champion, Lance, in his stupid pretty face.

But what could she do about it? She didn't have the money to go out and buy Pokéballs, so catching her own Pokémon was out - and she couldn't just steal a Pokémon from someone else.

She slumped back in her seat. In time, maybe she'd meet other losers who never became a Pokémon trainer. Maybe she'd train to become an accountant or a bus driver or something else that didn't involve Pokémon, and she could be happy watching other people have fun while she begrudged her parents for forbidding her to get her first Pokémon until she was old enough to retire.

'Ugh.' She punched the seat in front of her and took a deep breath.

She was being stupid, she knew that. She just hated this. She hated waiting, she hated feeling useless - and she hated being held back like this. Maybe it was her own fault, or maybe it wasn't. It didn't really matter. She just couldn't stand feeling like all that was waiting for her was a great big nothing. If her parents were going to punish her, they could have made her do any chore they wanted - but this? This was pure torture.

Ryo was shaken from her misery by a knock on the door. Her mom was glaring at her through the window, tight lipped and stiff-limbed like she always was when her daughter got herself in trouble. Ryo opened the door and climbed out of the car.

'Come with me,' her mom said sharply. She was a very severe looking woman even at the best of times, with her sharp haircut and thin, angular build - about as far away from Ryo's dumpy, grumpy look as it was possible to be - but when she was in a mood like this, she looked even spikier than usual. 'You're needed in the lab.'

'Oh boy,' said Ryo. 'Is that where the electric chair is? I didn't think they did public executions any more.'

'Don't be smart, young lady. Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting.'

_Them?_ She was beginning to like the sound of this less and less, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. Her mother grabbed her arm and guided her through the lab's double doors, past a cloud of glasses-wearing nerds in lab coats, and finally - worryingly - to the entrance to Professor Elm's private office.

'What's the professor got to do with this?' asked Ryo. 'I just thought you and dad were going to ground me again...'

Her mom didn't answer her. She swung the door open, still frowning. 'In,' she said.

Inside the office, she was greeted by her dad and Professor Elm standing by a large machine on the far side of the room. It was a little difficult to tell the two men apart, if she was honest - they were both tall, thin, prematurely balding geeks, and right now, they were both staring at her like she had grown another head. One of them tried something that looked almost like a smile. Her mom closed the door and stood beside the pair, her arms folded firmly against her chest.

'Oh, Ryo! There you are!' One of the men greeted her cheerily. By his tone of voice, she presumed she was talking to the professor; he sounded a little less disapproving than her dad when he sPoké to her. 'Now, I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here.'

'Uhhh...' Ryo shrugged. 'I figure I've done something wrong?'

Elm laughed. Her dad followed nervously. Her mom was still deathly silent.

'No, no. In fact, quite the opposite,' said the professor. 'I need to ask you a favour. I've been trying to ask for your assistance for the past... the past... I'm not quite sure how long, but it's no doubt been several months at least. Unfortunately, with one thing or another, I just haven't had the opportunity to ask. With recent developments, however, I simply can't put off asking you any longer, which is why I've gathered both you and your parents here.'

Ryo was already baffled. A favour? Something her dad's boss had been meaning to ask her for months on end? But that meant... No, they couldn't have...

'Now,' Elm continued. 'I have an acquaintance who goes by the, uh... the intriguing moniker of "Mr. Pokémon". He is, uh, quite fanatical about his research, you see, and he continually raves to me about his strange discoveries. There have been numerous accounts he has regaled me with that, despite their preposterous nature, have intrigued me... but just this morning I received a message from him that was too remarkable for me to ignore. It really is an intriguing case, and I would love to go and visit him myself, but we're so busy with our research here, and I simply can't spare any of my assistants at the moment. And obviously, I have considered asking others to go and visit him, but given his... um, peculiar living arrangements, I daren't send anyone without a Pokémon to visit him - someone trustworthy and reliable. And I was wondering -'

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'You want me to visit this Mr. Pokémon guy?'

The professor nodded. 'I've already asked your parents' permission, and they've agreed,' he said. By the looks of her mom, asking for her permission would have been no easy feat: she was practically quivering in the corner, her face pulled into a furious scowl. 'I understand you haven't yet been given your first Pokémon, so I would be happy to give you one of the rare creatures we've recently discovered to help you start your journey...'

'Yeah,' Ryo interrupted, glaring at her mother. 'Yeah, that sounds great, doc. Sign me up. I'd love to have my first Pokémon. I've waited for so, so long,' she said, labouring the words, 'I never thought I'd ever get one. But yeah, I'd be happy to visit your friend for you. After all, you said yourself - I'm pretty trustworthy and reliable, aren't I? Kind of a perfect candidate for this kind of job, really. And if mommy and daddy dearest have said it's finally, _finally_ okay for their trustworthy, reliable daughter to start something that everyone else started months ago, then I guess I have no complaints.'

Thankfully, all of her snide remarks sailed over Professor Elm's head. 'So enthusiastic! Well, let's not delay any longer. Let's get you a new Pokémon, shall we?' He smiled and pressed a button on the machine next to him. A panel opened, revealing three Pokéballs. 'I thought I'd give you a selection, so you can choose one that suits you.'

She'd been waiting for this for so long. If it had been any other situation, she would have taken her time, too overwhelmed by the prospect of finally getting her first Pokémon to know which one to choose.

But her parents had done this on purpose. They didn't want her to get a Pokémon. They didn't want her to become a trainer. They wanted her stuck at home with them, miserable and left out. She stalked over to the machine, swiped the first ball her hand came to, and turned for the door. 'Thanks doc,' she said. 'I guess I'll go and see this Mr. Pokémon guy then. See ya.'

'Aren't you going to check your Pokémon first?'

Ryo's hand was already on the door. 'Nah,' she said through gritted teeth. 'This one will do. Thanks again, doc.'

She threw the door open and slammed it behind her. She could hear her mother erupt in the room as she left, and she broke into a run, bursting out of the laboratory and onto the street.