Legends come in all shapes and sizes

This fanfiction is about the adventures of the sixteen year old Michael Bansing and takes place several years after the start of my first fanfiction Life of a trainer Michael is the nephew of Andy Bansing, who is an adult in this fan-fiction. So, this story may contain some spoilers for Life of a trainer. The story begins on Rhando Island, where Michael will go on an expedition with his uncle, two months before he will start his journey as a trainer, a journey he will start in Sandgem Town in the Sinnoh Region. Feedback is appreciated, English is not my native language, so I assume there will be grammatical errors here and there. List of Chapters Chapter 1 - The promise Chapter 2 - A phonecall Chapter 3 - Going to Evoru Chapter 4 - The broken heart Chapter 5 - Going to the Cyndaquil colony Chapter 6 - Observe and learn Chapter 7 - Going home

Chapter 1 – The promise A sixteen year old boy with short brown hair and brown eyes that held a happy sparkle came running down the street. A Cyndaquil was running behind him, doing a good job in keeping up with him. Together they ran over the sidewalk in Mesperit city, on their way to the harbour. “Hurry Lytse, we can’t be late.” “Quil!” the small Cyndaquil replied, getting slightly out of breath but determined to keep up with his trainer. Michael almost bumped into a woman who was walking on the sidewalk with a buggy, but he was able to move to the right just in time and the Cyndaquil passed the woman on the left. “Sorry about that!” Michael called over his shoulder to her with a laugh on his face. He didn’t slow down either, he had to be in the harbour before the ferry left. There were more people on the sidewalk and Michael had to do some effort in evading them and keeping up the pace, but he managed. “What’s the rush, boy?” one of the older pedestrians asked when she noticed Michael running towards her. “I have a promise to keep!” Michael said as he passed her, his eyes sparkling as he spoke. They reached the harbour district, an open space between the city and the harbour with a big statue in the middle. And the ferry was still in the harbour. Perfect. He ran to where more people had gathered to wave their loved ones goodbye. His eyes skimmed over the people that were standing on the ferry until he found the one he was looking for. A girl of his age, her long blonde hair reached down to her shoulders and she had a blue hat on her head with a wide edge and a white band around it. Michael started waving. “Kimberly!” Kimberly looked around when she heard her name and her eyes lit up when she noticed Michael. “You came! I thought you wouldn’t show up anymore!” “I promised I’d be here, didn’t I?” Michael laughed and picked up his Cyndaquil, so he could wave goodbye as well. “And when you will get your first Pokémon, I will be there and we will travel Sinnoh together!” “Deal!” The Cyndaquil waved with both his front paws as he was being held in one of Michaels arms. Michael used his free arm to wave as well as the ferry started to depart. He had made it in time to say goodbye to Kimberly. Kimberly was a tourist, a girl from Sandgem Town of the Sinnoh region. She has come to Rhando Island with her family for the summer vacation and they had met on the peer, where she had been looking at the sunset. Michael had walked up to her with his Cyndaquil walking next to him and they had started talking. She had told Michael she wanted to be a trainer, she had wanted to get her own Pokémon ever since she was ten, but her parents had said she couldn’t become a trainer until she was sixteen, which would be in two months. Michael told her he wanted to be a trainer as well, but even though he already had his first Pokémon he hadn’t left his hometown yet. He had offered her to show her around and she had gladly taken the offer. Since that evening they had spent a lot of time together on the island and Michael showed her the beautiful places close to Mesperit City. Toward the end of her vacation they made a promise, Michael would come to the Sinnoh region when she was old enough to get her first Pokémon and travel around together. Michael waved until it was impossible to see Kimberly, but he didn’t leave just yet. With his Cyndaquil in his arms he watched the ferry leave towards the horizon.

Chapter 2 – A phone call Michael had returned to his house after the ferry had disappeared behind the horizon and he was now sitting on his bed in his room, listening to some music. His Cyndaquil was napping on the foot-end of the bed, his body slowly rising and falling in the calm rhythm that came with sleep. Michael could hear the phone ring downstairs and his father answering it, the voice of his father was a distant buzz, he could hear his father was talking but he couldn’t make out what. Not that he was actively trying to overhear the conversation, but it he was able to hear him and for some reason it was comforting to know his father was home. Then he heard his fathers voice, calling him from downstairs. “Michael! Come to the phone, uncle Andy wants to talk to you!” Michael quickly got up from where he had been sitting and walked down, where he met his father in the hallway. His father gave a wink, pointed towards the living room and walked towards the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. Michael quickly walked into the living room, where he picked up the phone. “It’s Michael.” “Michael! Andy here. Say, are you interested in joining me on a mission of utter importance that will most certainly save the world?” Michael laughed, knowing his uncle the mission would not be as he just described it. “What’s the mission?” “We’re heading over to Evoru Island and take some notes on the colony of Cyndaquil there.” Evoru Island, the final and smallest island of the Rorie-Islands, of which Rhando was the first and largest. It had one town, a stadium where once a year the League was being held and there were a few isolated houses spread over the island. There weren’t many Pokémon there, some common species you could find anywhere and just one or two colonies of rarer types of Pokémon. One of them being a colony of Cyndaquil, as Andy had just mentioned. “I’d love to come!” Michael said, not at all surprised the mission to save the world had come down to an expedition to observe some Pokémon. “Fantastic! Meet me at the harbour in one hour, I’ll have a boat ready for us.” “I’ll have to ask my father if I can come along, but I will come to the harbour,” Michael promised and after a final goodbye he hung up the phone. Almost immediately he left the living room to go his father in the kitchen. Cornelis was stirring in a cup of coffee when he noticed his son enter the kitchen. “And?” he asked Michael. “What did my brother want?” “He asked me if I wanted to join an expedition to Evoru island to visit a colony of Cyndaquil,” Michael said enthusiastically. “He...just didn’t tell how long it would take,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I kinda forgot to ask as well.” “That’s alright,” Cornelis said, chuckling as he did. “You can go.” “Really?” Michael asked and his eyes lit up. He really wanted to go and when he saw his father nod the smile on his face grew. “Fantastic! Thanks dad! I’m going to pack.”

Chapter 3 – Going to Evoru For the second time that day, Michael came running down the street towards the harbour, with his Cyndaquil following him closely. The small Cyndaquil was doing a good job in keeping up, but he couldn’t help but wonder why his trainer insisted on running when walking would get them there just as well. For some reason his trainer had an excess amount of energy today, as it was the second time they were running down this path. Soon enough the harbour come into their view and Michael walked the remaining distance, getting out of breath himself. He had already spotted his uncle, who was talking with gym leader of Mesperit City. They spotted him as he approached and Michael walked over to them to greet them. “Hello Michael,” the gym leader greeted him back. “Going on an adventure with your uncle I heard.” “And not just any adventure!” Andy exclaimed. “It’s a world-saving one, Henri!” “Of course,” the gym leader responded. “It’s the only kind of adventures you do, right?” “Wouldn’t settle for anything less!” Henri turned to Michael and winked. “Yes, examining Caterpie in their natural habitat is world-saving, right?” With a smile on his face Michael nodded. “Of course. Just as visiting a colony of Cyndaquil is world-saving.” Henri chuckled and looked at Andy, who was grinning as well. All three of them knew there was nothing world-saving in most of the research Andy did, just as they knew Andy loved exaggerating. Henri, the ground gymleader of Mesperit city, was a childhood friend of Andy and had come to the harbour for a chat before Andy would leave for Evoru Island. Andy himself lived in Lilan Town, where the research facility where he worked was located, so now that Andy had come to Mesperit city to leave for one of the other Rorie-islands, Henri had taken the opportunity to catch up. Now Andy turned to Michael and his Cyndaquil. “Ready?” “Ready” Michael said, followed by an approving ‘Quil!’ from the Cyndaquil. The four of them walked over to one of the lower docks, where a speed-boat was secured to the dock. The harbour itself was large, with docks where freight-ships or large ferries could dock, but also docks where recreational boats as well as smaller fishing boats could dock. This speed boat had the logo of the research facility where Andy worked and Andy swung his backpack in the back of the boat. Evoru was the last of the islands and it would take two hours to reach it. Andy got in the speedboat and helped his nephew in after that, who held his Cyndaquil in his arms. Henri remained on the dock and released the mooring line when they were ready to go. “Have fun you guys,” Henri said and he raised his hand as a greeting. Both Andy and Michael waved goodbye as well and Andy fired up the engine of the speedboat. It wasn’t long before they left the harbour of Rhando Island behind them. “It’s just the two of us?” Michael asked and he could see his uncle nod. “Yes, well, observations usually require only one researcher, but I didn’t feel like going alone.’ Andy glanced back and winked, some hair that had escaped the elastic band he used to bind his hair together was caught in the wind. “Besides, you have a Cyndaquil yourself, I thought you’d enjoy the trip.” It was true, Michael was enjoying the trip. The wind blowing in his face, skimming over the water in high speed. It was great, he was really enjoying it. His Cyndaquil not so much. When some sea water splashed in his face, he cowered under the legs of Michael. “It seems your Cyndaquil doesn’t like water,” Andy commented. “Well observed, uncle,” Michael said with a grin, as he took the Pokéball of Cyndaquil from his pocket. Michael had decided he’d return his Pokémon so he could sit comfortably and away from all that water in his Pokéball. “Of course, I am a fantastic researcher after all,” Andy said, meaning every single word in that sentence. After Michael returned his Cyndaquil to it’s Pokéball, he sat back to enjoy the trip to Evoru Island. He had been there before, it was the smallest island of the five and home to the stadium where the Rorie-league was being held. Besides that, there wasn’t a whole lot to do there, so he didn’t go there often. After a while he looked at Andy, who was giving the impression steering a speed-boat was like a walk in the park. “Uncle, why are we going to observe a colony of Cyndaquil? I mean, I think it’s great, but hasn’t that group been observed already? What more do you think we can learn?” “Backpack,” Andy replied, without taking his eyes from the horizon. “What?” “Backpack, there is a book in there.” Michael moved to where Andy’s backpack was lying, curious to find out why his uncle directed him to a book in the backpack, rather then just telling him. It wasn’t the first time his uncle answered a question by providing the means to discover it for himself. He quickly opened the backpack and pulled out a book that was titled ‘Lore’s and legends of the Pokémon World’. After examining the cover, Michael opened the book and started flipping through the pages. The book had a drawing of a Pokémon and a short description of the lore’s and legends surrounding the Pokémon on each page. It contained legends about known legendary Pokémon like Mew, Ho-Oh, Manaphy and Celebi, just to name a few, but also legends like the slowpoke yawn from Azalea Town, a tale about a red Gyarados who saves fishermen in heavy storms and a mention about a Rainbow Cyndaquil. “Rainbow Cyndaquil?” Michael muttered, looking surprised at the page. Up until now he had never heard about a Rainbow Cyndaquil before. The picture on the page was that of a Cyndaquil, but with flames in the colours or a rainbow, rather then the normal flames, shooting out of it’s back. “That’s it,” Andy said. “That’s what we’re going to look for.” Michael briefly looked at his uncle, before looking back at the page in front of him. He started reading the text that was printed under the image. Legend of the Rainbow Cyndaquil It is said that when the sun shines while it’s raining and a double rainbow is visible in the sky, a Rainbow Cyndaquil might come forward. The Rainbow Cyndaquil is a Cyndaquil in every way, one would not be able to tell the difference between a Rainbow Cyndaquil and a regular Cyndaquil when both would stand side by side. There is a difference though. The flames of a Rainbow Cyndaquil are not your average flames. They burn in all the colours of the rainbow and when these flames are shot from the back, this Cyndaquil can create a beautiful rainbow. From it’s mouth come rainbowcoloured flames that will melt hatred and fear away, that will split the sea and destroy rocks, while leaving plants unharmed. It is said only a kind-hearted Cyndaquil can become one, even though it has to pay a price for it. One sacrifice for one powerful gift. A gift that can not be returned. Once a Cyndaquil is turned into a Rainbow Cyndaquil, it will remain one until the day it dies. “Are you serious?” Michael asked, closing the book again. “Is there is a Rainbow Cyndaquil on Evoru?” It was the first time he had ever heard about something like that, what were the odds one would actually be so close to home? It seemed like a wild goose-chase to him. “I don’t know yet, that’s what we’re going to find out.” Andy had a thoughtful expression on his face. “So far no-one has ever seen one, according to my research. Or at least, no-one has ever documented it or taken a picture. Someone obviously has found that legend somewhere, otherwise it wouldn’t be in the book. Most likely the legend was passed on for generation and none of those generations actually saw one. But someone must have seen one at some point in time, otherwise the legend wouldn’t exist. And I have heard a rumour that a trainer has recently saw something he described as ‘a flash of flames that shone like a rainbow’ on Evoru. We have a colony of Cyndaquil there, so it is possible. And that’s what we’re investigating.” “Wow.” That was all Michael had to say as the information sank in. Was he actually going on an expedition to find a Rainbow Cyndaquil? “That’s amazing!” Andy glanced back at his nephew with a smile on his face. “I thought you’d like an expedition like this. And as awesome as we are, there is no doubt in my mind that we will find one,” he added with a wink. With an excited look in his eyes, Michael looked at the horizon. Hoping Evoru Island would come into view soon, so they could start looking for this special Pokémon.

Chapter 4 – The broken heart After a two hour trip by sea, Andy steered the small speed-boat into the harbour of Evoru-island. Michael was already standing by with the mooring line and tied it to one of the poles that was sticking out of the dock. Once the speed-boat was secured, both Andy and Michael grabbed their backpacks and walked across the docks towards the city itself. In this time of year the city of Evoru, named just like the island as it was the only large city there, was almost empty. Michael and Andy walked through a street that would be buzzing with life when the Rorie-League was being held. Now most of the souvenir shops, hotels and diners were closed as there were just not enough tourists on the island to keep them open. Only near the docks were a couple of bars open, to accommodate those that came or left with cargo. One place that was always open was the Pokémon Center and that was the building Andy was heading towards. Even though only few people came to Evoru when there was no League being held, there were still trainers that came to the island. And of course some of the locals had Pokémon. “Nurse Joy!” Andy said as the entered the building. “My day is complete now I’ve seen you again!” “Professor Bansing,” the nurse replied politely. “How are you today?” Andy walked over to the counter and leaned on it with one elbow. “When will you start calling me Andy?” Nurse Joy smiled politely, but didn’t respond to that. “How can I help you today?” “Information, my dear Joy. We’re here to investigate a legend and it would help if we could speak with someone who knows about them. Or maybe someone who knows the colony of Cyndaquil.” “I can help with that,” nurse Joy said and she calmly took a pen so she could write an address on a piece of paper for Andy. “His name is Charlie and he spends a lot of time near the colony. His wife has a grocery shop here in the city.” “You are an angel,” Andy said as he took the piece of paper from Joy. Nurse Joy smiled at him and then looked at Michael, who had been silently listening to their conversation. “Who is this?” “This is my nephew and the second best Pokémon trainer of the world.” Andy winked at the nurse. “As long as I’m around that is, he’d be the best if it wasn’t for me.” Michael sighed and shook his head. “Really uncle, I’m nowhere near claiming to be a real Pokémon trainer. With just one Pokémon and no gym badges I have nothing to back I’m even a trainer, let alone claiming I’m one of the best.” “You will be,” Andy reassured him with a firm pat on the back. “Let’s go.” The nurse was smiling and she turned to Michael. “Good luck.” this remark made Michael smile as well, but Andy leaned with both hands on the counter and looked at the nurse. “Good luck? What are you wishing him good luck for?” “Let’s go, uncle,” Michael said with a grin and he took the arm of his uncle to make him come along. Andy allowed Michael to lead him away, but he turned his head towards Joy. “I can’t believe you would say something like that! Like he would need luck when he hangs out with me!” Nurse Joy was smiling and waving them goodbye. “You broke my heart, dear Joy!” Andy said dramatically and the nurse giggled softly. “You’ll live,” Michael said to his uncle, still grinning. In the doorway he raised his hand to the waving nurse Joy to say goodbye and together they left the Pokémon Center. Once they were outside, Andy looked at the address on the paper, the broken heart already forgotten. As Andy was looking at the piece of paper, Michael took out his Pokéball, tapped the button once to enlarge it and pressed it a second time to release his Cyndaquil from it. The Cyndaquil looked around to see where he was and sighed in relief when he noticed they were no longer surrounded by water. “This way,” Andy said and he started walking in the direction of the grocery shop. Michael nodded and beckoned his Cyndaquil to follow as well. The three walked silently through the city, two elderly women watched them as the passed them. Andy smiled at them and winked, making the women turn to each other and whisper. As they were walking, they came across a small flower bed with beautiful red flowers unlike Michael had ever seen and his Cyndaquil walked over to them to examine them, as he had never seen such flowers before either. After a careful sniff the Cyndaquil sneezed and as he sneezed orange flames erupted from his back. “Whoah,” Andy said when he noticed that. “Does he always do that when he sneezes?” Michael nodded to show his uncle was correct. “Ever since I found him. When he sneezes his backflames appear.” Michael smiled fondly at his Cyndaquil. “When I had found Lytse, it was raining and he was cold. When I took him home, I wrapped him in a blanket to warm him up, but then he sneezed and put the blanket on fire.” It was a memory he always recalled with a smile, although he had been rather startled when it happened. Andy walked over to the Cyndaquil, the flames on his back had disappeared again. “Must be some kind of involuntary reaction related to the pressure of a sneeze, though I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Cyndaquil do that.” As Andy was talking, the Cyndaquil was sitting on the ground and looking up at the tall man in front of him. “Can I make him sneeze again?” Andy then asked. “I don’t mind,” Michael said, knowing very well something like this would spark his uncle’s curiosity. Now that he had the approval of his nephew, Andy plucked one of the flowers and tickled Cyndaquils nose with it. As expected, the Cyndaquil sneezed again and again his backflames ignited. “Interesting,” Andy muttered and the Cyndaquil sneezed a second time. After this, the backflames died out again. “I know that when Cyndaquil are angry or surprised, like when they are attacked, they flare up their back for protection. That it can happen when they sneeze is new for me, but it does make sense in a way. Really interesting.” He took a pen and a small note-block from his pocket and quickly made a note of it, before turning to his nephew and winking. “I’m glad you came along. Let’s be on our way, the grocery store is right around the corner.

Chapter 5 – Going to the Cyndaquil colony A small bell announced the arrival of Michael and Andy in the small grocery store, where nurse Joy had directed them to. Michael looked around and examined the shelves, with his Cyndaquil standing right behind him and carefully peeking around his legs. There were fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, cheese, meat, bread, alcohol, all kind of different foods. There was also stuff like soap, hygiene supplies and magazines. When he noticed his uncle was moving through the grocery store, he followed him and together they walked towards the counter. A woman in her late thirties / begin forties, with long black hair and a pair of glasses on her nose, was standing behind the counter and watched them approach. “Good day,” Andy greeted her. “I’m professor Andrew Bansing and this here is my nephew Michael. We’re Pokémon trainers and we were hoping your husband is at home, we would like to ask him some questions about Cyndaquil.” “Charlie knows a lot about Cyndaquil,” the woman said with a smile. “I’m Naomi, my husband is back there.” Naomi gestured towards a door with the label ‘private’. “Thank you,” Andy said and together with his nephew he walked to the door that would give them entrance to the rest of the house. Even though Michael wasn’t sure as to where they had to go, Andy had no such problems and just followed the corridor to what he hoped would be the kitchen or the living room. And sure enough, after opening a door they entered the kitchen, where a man was sitting at the kitchen table. Charlie was a man in his early forties, with short black hair and a beard and moustache in the same colour. “I take it you’re Charlie,” Andy started the conversation and reached out with his hand. “I’m Andrew Bansing, professor and Pokémon trainer. But call me Andy.” “I’ve heard that name before,” Charlie said, as he took Andy’s hand to shake it. “I’ve read some articles of you.” “Aha! Always nice to meet a fan!” Charlie chuckled politely and he turned his attention to Michael and his Cyndaquil. “This boy is a trainer as well, I presume?” “And not just any trainer, he’s my nephew! For that reason alone he can be called one of the best trainers around!” “Really uncle?” Michael sighed. “We’ve been there already, I don’t have a party or badges to make that claim.” Andy grinned, but didn’t respond to that. Charlie had a friendly smile for Michael, but soon turned his attention to the Cyndaquil standing behind Michael. “This one is yours?” Charlie asked Michael and he stood up from where he had been sitting, so he could walk over to the Cyndaquil. The Cyndaquil noticed the strange man approach and hid some more behind Michael’s legs, trying to make himself smaller then he already was. “Yes, he’s a bit timid,” Michael said apologetically, looking down at his Cyndaquil. “That’s alright,” Charlie said, turning to Michael as he spoke. “My starter was a Cyndaquil as well, I got him from professor Elm. I started my travels in the Johto region, before settling down here. Would you like to meet him?” “Sure would!” Charlie smiled and took a Pokéball from his belt. “Well, he’s not exactly a Cyndaquil anymore...” The Pokéball opened and released it’s content in a white light. When the light faded, it revealed a large Typhlosion. The small Cyndaquil looked up in awe, but stayed in the safe area behind Michael’s legs. “How far is your Cyndaquil?” Charlie then asked. Michael looked down at his Cyndaquil. “Well, he knows Ember and Quick Attack, but we haven’t really been in a lot of battles yet.” “Oh, don’t worry, every Pokémon will evolve at it’s own time and pace. Well then.” Charlie now focussed his attention on Andy again. “Why did you come all the way to my house, professor Bansing.” “Please, call me Andy,” Andy said as he pulled back one of the chairs to take a seat. As Andy was sitting down, both Charlie and Michael did that as well, as it was obvious whatever question Andy had, it wouldn’t be a short one. Now that the legs he had been hiding after moved away, Lytse hurried after Michael so he could sit under his chair, from where he looked at the large Typhlosion again. The Typhlosion said a few words to Lytse in their Pokémon language and Lytse replied with a few words of his own, after which the Typhlosion came standing behind Charlie. “First of all, you are familiar with Cyndaquil?” Andy asked Charlie. “Sure am, I read a lot about them when I got my starter from the professor back in Johto and I’ve been doing that ever since. I’ve spent quite some time near the colony here on Evoru as well, observing them.” Andy nodded and leaned back in the chair. One arm was lying on his stomach, the elbow of his other arm was resting on his hand and his other hand was around his chin. Obviously he was thinking. “Have you ever heard about the legend of a Rainbow Cyndaquil?” It was silent for a moment and Michael looked from Andy to Charlie and back to Andy, as the two men were looking at one another. Finally Charlie nodded his head once. “Yes, I have heard about that legend.” “Do you think they exist?” “I don’t see why not.” “Is there one in the colony here?” Again there was a moment of silence and there was a serious frown on Charlie’s face. “Not that I know off,” Charlie finally said and Andy nodded his head. “The reason I ask is that a trainer claimed he had seen flames in the colour of a rainbow, but he didn’t see where it came from. I had read about this Pokémon a few years ago and when I heard that, combined with knowing there is a colony of Cyndaquil here, I started to assume there is one here. It’s the best bet I have to look for one. Has there been a double rainbow when it was raining and the sun was shining at the same time in the distant or remote past?” Charlie scratched his head and shrugged. “I don’t know, I haven’t kept an eye on that.” “Too bad,” Andy muttered. “That would have been another clue.” Now Charlie leaned forward on the table and looked straight at Andy. “Professor Bansing, what would you do if you came across one?” “You really are allowed to call me Andy,” Andy said, smiling a bit. “And I would study it, take notes and study it some more. Like any good field-researcher.” “Would you catch it to examine it?” Charlie then asked. To answer that question, Andy started by shaking his head. “I wouldn’t. I have a habit of only catching Pokémon I find interesting for a reason, personality wise. I have a party of four and have had that since years. Any Pokémon that is interesting, because it’s rare, will only be observed. That’s my policy and even though I know professor Maple would love me if I would bring a Rainbow Cyndaquil back, it’s not my intention to do that.” Charlie nodded and leaned back in his chair again. “You know that proving a legendary Pokémon exists, will spark the interest of trainers who do want to capture them.” “I am aware of that,” Andy said. “And I was planning that if I would publish anything, I would ‘forget’ to mention the exact location.” Now Charlie showed a smile. “In that case, Andy, I would love to help you look for one. I will take you to the Cyndaquil here and we’ll start looking for it from there, it’s the best place to start. To tell you the truth, I would love to see a Rainbow Cyndaquil. It’s one of those Pokémon that you just don’t know if they truly exist or not.” After this they decided to leave for the colony of Cyndaquil. Charlie had a Jeep and would drive them right to it. As Evoru Island barely had any roads, the only way to get to the Cyndaquil was either with an off-road vehicle, or by foot. Most trainers chose for the latter, but Charlie preferred the first and Andy couldn’t agree more. Anything that wouldn’t make him tired was great. Michael didn’t care much, he wouldn’t have mind the walk, but he didn’t mind the ride either.

Chapter 6 – Observe and learn Once they reached the Cyndaquil colony, located in an open place in the woods with a small cave nearby, the three guys took position behind some rocks to observe them. The Cyndaquil hadn’t noticed their arrival, some of them were lying on the ground, napping. Others were eating berries or talking to each other. There were approximately eleven Cyndaquil, two Quilava and one Typholosion. “Hm,” Andy said in a soft voice. “That’s rare, you don’t often see evolved Pokémon in the wild.” Charlie nodded to that. “It’s true, one of the Quilava ran away from it’s trainer last year and has joined this group. The other two evolved over time defending the colony.” Andy frowned at that. “I thought Evoru was supposed to be a peaceful island.” It was the smallest of the islands, certainly it was calm here, but much to Andy’s surprise, Charlie shook his head. “No, Evoru is probably the wildest of them all. Rhando, even though it harbours the most species of Pokémon of all the Rorie-islands, is in fact most calm. Because the area of the island is smaller, there is a lot more struggle for territory.” Andy nodded to that, it made sense after all. “There is an Onix roaming this island, left behind by it’s trainer and he has become aggressive because of that. And we have a small pack of Houndour, lead by a Houndoom, who try to expand their territory.” Andy nodded and looked at his nephew, who listened to the conversation between the two older men. His Cyndaquil was curiously looking at his own kind, but he stayed next to Michael. One of the Cyndaquil curled up on the ground, yawned and lay his head down to sleep. “That one is an interesting one,” Charlie whispered. “I’ve seen him use Flamethrower and Eruption, which indicates it’s at a high level, but it hasn’t evolved yet.” “That is interesting,” Andy agreed and he made a small note of that. “I wonder...” Both Charlie and Michael looked at him, but Andy was looking at the now sleeping Cyndaquil with a frown in his forehead. “Uncle?” Michael whispered. “Remember how the legend said ‘it will remain one till the day it dies?’ I just wondered how literal we have to take those words.” Charlie shrugged. “That probably just means it will always keep it’s new-found powers,” he said. Andy nodded, that could be it of course. For now he settled on just quietly observing the colony-life. Two days of observing followed, two days in which Andy took notes when he noticed something interesting. They had set up a camp close to the colony, with three tents and a campfire in the middle. During the evenings, both Charlie and Andy told about their adventures and Michael listened with eyes that showed his eagerness to learn. He himself didn’t have any adventures to share. When Charlie informed if he had a girlfriend, because he certainly seemed old enough for that, Michael looked towards the campfire and shook his head. That made Andy and Charlie look at each other and nod, there definitely seemed to be a girl that had sparked his interest. On the third day they were once again looking at the colony and it seemed like nothing special was going on, just like the previous days. Until the ground trembled and a giant Onix appeared from the ground, roaring as the large body rose into the sky. The Cyndaquil started going towards the cave to hide, but with his large tail the onix swept some of the Cyndaquil from their feet. Charlie cowered behind the rocks they had been hiding behind. “That is the Onix I was talking about,” he whispered. Michael’s Cyndaquil hid in the arms of his trainer and Michael looked at the large rock-type with big eyes. “Shouldn’t we help?” he whispered to his uncle, but much to his surprise, his uncle shook his head. “We’re here to observe. Let’s see how they handle a threat.” The two Quilava were running around, doing their best to get the Cyndaquil to safety as the Typhlosion lit his flames and roared, ready to defend the colony. One of the Cyndaquil came standing next to him, also lighting his flames. Both of them used a flamethrower against the Onix, who roared when he was hit by the flames, but it didn’t seem to do a lot of damage. ‘Of course,’ Michael thought to himself. ‘Rock-types are resistant to fire-attacks.’ The Onix slammed his tail in the ground and rocks came hurling towards the Typhlosion and the Cyndaquil and they both got hit, though both managed to get back on their feet. The Onix did a second rock-throw and the Cyndaquil again lit his flames. This time the flames weren’t bright orange, as they normally were. They were shining in the colours of a rainbow and when it opened it’s mouth to launch a flamethrower, the flames came out in the colours of a rainbow as well. As the flames hit the incoming rocks, it shattered into a thousand pieces. Andy, Charlie and Michael watched in astonishment to what was happening. After only three days of observing, they had seen the Cyndaquil mentioned in legends: a Rainbow Cyndaquil. The Cyndaquil fired a second flamethrower at the Onix and this time it roared in pain as it hit. It quickly left again and the Cyndaquil let out a sigh of relief, as his rainbowcoloured flames died out again. With the Onix gone, the other Cyndaquil came from the cave again, very carefully at first, but as soon as it was clear that the threat was gone, they took care of the Cyndaquil that got wounded from the attack and otherwise just continued their daily activities. “That...” Michael whispered, “that...” “Was amazing?” Andy finished his nephew’s sentence and he noticed Michael nod. “Couldn’t agree more. Let’s go back to camp.” Once they were back in camp, Andy sat down in front of his tent and took his book about lore’s and legends in the Pokémon world from his backpack. He started to flip through the pages until he reached the chapter about the Rainbow Cyndaquil. “I was right,” he then said. “There is a Rainbow Cyndaquil here. And it has been for quite some time if he learned moves like flamethrower and eruption.” He tapped with his finger on one of the paragraphs and then gave the book to Charlie. “I’m certain there is a reason for that Cyndaquil to know the moves of a Typhlosion without evolving into one. That book says a Rainbow Cyndaquil will remain one until the day it dies. It also mentions that they gain a powerful gift, but also a sacrifice is made.” Michael looked at Charlie as he read through the entry he himself had read in the speedboat and then he looked at his uncle. “It certainly is a powerful gift,” he said. “It shattered that rock, normally fire does little damage to rocks.” “The flames will split the sea and destroy rocks, while leaving plants unharmed,” Charlie recited from the book. “It’s basically super-effective against types it’s normally weak to, judging from the effect the attack had on the Onix, but in return it will have no affect on types it’s normally strong against. That is at least what I make of that sentence.” He looked up from the book to look at Andy. “What do you think the sacrifice is?” “It’s just a theory,” Andy said. “But I’m going for evolution. It loses the ability to evolve, remaining in it’s first stage for ever. Literally remaining a Rainbow Cyndaquil for the rest of his live.” After those words a silence came over the camp, as the other two thought about it. Michael looked at his Cyndaquil, who looked up at him. Many wild first-stage Pokémon stayed in their first stage, but they had the ability to evolve when needed. He couldn’t help but wonder how it would make a Pokémon feel to know it’s kind could evolve, but he would never be able to. Evolving always meant getting stronger, comparing a first-stage and a final-stage of the same level always showed the final stage was stronger that it’s first-stage counterpart. Research done by professor Maple, the woman who lead the research facility where Andy worked, had proven that. “Quil?” Lytse asked as he looked at Michael, as if he wanted to ask what Michael was thinking about. Michael smiled and scratched the head of his Pokémon. “It’s nothing, just thinking about evolution. How about something to eat?” “Quil!” came the immediate and enthusiastic response and Michael laughed at that. He could have know his Cyndaquil would agree with that, so he reached towards his backpack to take an apple from it. Out of all the fruits and berries that existed, his Cyndaquil liked apples best. Andy watched how his nephew gave an apple to his Cyndaquil, who held the apple in his two front paws and happily munched on it. A smile appeared on Andy’s face as he realized how close the two were.

Chapter 7 – Going home After having spent the remainder of the day and night near the colony, Andy decided it was time to go back. He had seen what he had wanted to see, the rumour he had picked up had turned out to be true. And it has been interesting to watch some Cyndaquil in the wild as well. What no-one had noticed during that final night on Evoru Island, was that Michael’s Cyndaquil silently had left the camp and had made his way to the colony. There he had spent a couple of hours with the wild Cyndaquil, talking and sharing some berries together. Before dawn he had returned to Michael, curled up next to him and had fallen asleep. Naturally the Cyndaquil didn’t wake up when the others did and when Michael woke him up, he laughed and called him a sleepy-head. Lytse didn’t mind, he knew his Human friend didn’t know he had been in the colony most of the night, just like he knew it was nothing more then a mild tease. He yawned, got up on his feet and walked to the bowl that Charlie had filled for him. He was sitting next to Charlie’s Thyplosion, the only Pokémon the older man had brought along, and ate from the food. A nice man, Lytse decided, he had brought decent food after all. When everyone had eaten and the camp was packed up, Charlie drove them back to the port, where the small boat Andy had used to come here was still lying in the water, gently moving on the waves that moved underneath. Before getting in the speedboat, Michael called his Cyndaquil back to the Pokéball, knowing very well how much the small Pokémon hated water. They said their goodbye’s to Charlie and moved away from Evoru Island. Once they were on the open water again, Michael was mostly just sitting back, enjoying the view and the sensation of wind in his face. “So,” Andy began, keeping his eyes on the water up ahead. “There really is no girl in your life yet?” “Uncle!” Michael protested. “What business do you have with that?” “Nothing, I’m just nosy,” Andy stated bluntly. “But really, you’re sixteen. It would be quite normal for a boy of your age to get interesting in girls. And you certainly inherited the good looks that run on the family, a trait of which I received the lion’s share of course. I mean, compare you father and me and you can see for yourself...” “You’re digressing,” Michael sighed, knowing very well his uncle considered himself handsome, smart and everything good one could say about himself. And truthfully, he wasn’t far off. Michael had often noticed women did tend to get attracted to his uncle and he certainly knew a lot. “Right! Like I said, you certainly have the looks to get a girlfriend. Have you ever gone on a date before?” “No,” Michael muttered, silently hoping his uncle would just let it go. “And that girl you hung out with the last two weeks?” Michael looked at his uncle in surprise, he hadn’t thought he’d know about that. “How did you...” he began, but he was cut short by his uncle. “Your father mentioned it,” Andy said, broadly grinning and he looked at Michael. “So, how about her? Just a friend?” Michael turned his eyes to the ocean and he nodded. “Just a friend, she came her for vacation and left today.” There was an audible pause, in which Michael contemplated whether or not he would tell. After a sigh he continued. “When she’ll turn sixteen, in two months, her parents will allow her to become a Pokémon trainer. And I have promised her I will go to Sandgem Town when she’ll receive her first Pokémon and that we can begin our journey to become Pokémon trainers together.” Michael refused to look in the direction of his uncle and he expected a comment or two, but nothing came. He carefully glanced over his shoulder and faced the friendly face of his uncle. “So you’re going to explore the Sinnoh region then? Good choice.” Andy turned his attention back to the open sea, he wasn’t going to say anything about this girl that would make his nephew uncomfortable. “I started in the Kanto region myself, together with Henri. Well, not really together, we parted ways in Vermillion City, each going our own way and we didn’t meet until two years later, back on Rhando. At Danny’s restaurant.” Andy grinned when he said that. “I had called Danny for the reservation when we were still sitting in a cafeteria in Vermillion City and he couldn’t get over the fact I was calling for a reservation for that day, two years later. He still talks about it.” Michael laughed and sat back, feeling a bit more relaxed. He was glad his uncle didn’t continue his questions about Kimberly. She was just a friend after all, and soon just another trainer, like him. A friend with gorgeous blonde hair and the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen. Andy noticed something in the distance and steered the small boat towards it. As he neared it, he slowed down. Michael looked where they were going and noticed a man sitting on the back of a Lapras “Oscar!” Andy greeted the man. “How is your research going?” By the casual greeting, Michael deducted this was a colleague of his uncle, a researcher or scientist working at professor Maple’s lab. And if he had to guess, the field of expertise had probably something to do with water-Pokémon. “Great,” Oscar replied. “I’m making good progress. How about you?” “I’m keeping myself busy,” Andy said with a wink, “and I take every opportunity I get to get out of the lab and avoid paperwork.” Oscar laughed at that. “I hear you. I prefer field work over office work any day. Even when it rains.” “You can dress for rain,” Andy agreed, “not for boredom.” “Quite right, quite right,” Oscar replied, nodding his head. “I’ll leave you to your work,” Andy said and then he turned to the Lapras. “Keep him safe, princess.” The Lapras nodded and Oscar waved as Andy steered away from them and resumed his course to Rhando Island. “Co-worker?” Michael inquired. Andy nodded to that. “A good man, he’s doing some studies about migration of maritime Pokémon. Or how water-Pokémon living in the ocean move around, as normal people would say it.” He chuckled. “Researchers just love throwing around with expensive words.” Michael smiled at those words, but let his eyes drift off to the horizon. He was looking forward in taking the ferry to the Sinnoh region and to start his own adventure there, but he would have to wait two more months. First there was his birthday though, he would turn seventeen in two weeks and some friends had already promised they would celebrate that properly. It was something he was looking forward to. And he knew he’d be back to Evoru and watch that colony. Watching the rainbow Cyndaquil in action had been nothing less then amazing and he felt like he wanted to learn more about it. Maybe he’d try his hand at catching some Pokémon as well. With some luck, the two months would fly by. *** This is the end of this story. I want to thank you all for reading so far and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it ^_^ The fanfiction will continue in the story When things don't happen as they were planned, where Michael will start his journey with Kimberly in the Sinnoh region. This is a 15+ story though. You can find the story here: * in the Pokémon FF section of PF (15+) * On Archive of our own And there is a story that takes place before this one: Title: The tale of Lytse Summary This story takes place before the story Legends come in all shapes and sizes. It's about a small Cyndaquil who got lost when his family had to flee the land they used to live and how he managed to get to Rhando Island, written from the perspective of the Pokémon. Location: * in the Pokémon FF section of PF (15+) * On Archive of our own For those who are interested, artwork of the Rainbow Cyndaquil can be found below.

Even a small Pokémon can achieve great things If you like my Pokémon stories, any kudos on On Archive of our own are greatly appreciated ^_^