Pokemon: Mischief and Mayhem

Unlikely Gift

The sunlight crashed into the darkness, shattering it in an ultimate defiance at the exit of the cave. Skye let out a long breath throwing her hands behind her head. The wind held a frosty bite, as if winter had set in, in the blink of an eye. She watched Finn and Link fumble with their packs for extra clothing, their breaths making tiny clouds of mist in front of their faces.

"I hate the cold," Skye said to herself but Finn quickly agreed. It didn't seem to bother Link to much. He had already picked up his pack without getting a jacket or anything. Skye just rolled her eyes when he tried to tell her it wasn't even that cold. "I think your breath is telling a different story," Skye said. She saw Link blush at that, that small victory made herself feel just a little warmer.

Skye began to feel dizzy, the he greens of the grass and trees were starting to swim and blur with the blue of the sky and the other colors of nature. Skye dropped down to her knee. Her leg was warm despite the cold. Skye felt back and looked at her fingers, covered in blood from the wound Aurora inflicted on her. She almost had forgotten about it in the excitement but she must of lost to much blood.

She breathed in a sharp gasp, the cold biting into her lungs. She tried to stand but the dizziness crashed into her like a wave against a cliff side. She felt gravity pull her down, she crashed face forward into the road, then blackness.

Skye let her eyes flutter open, she had a massive headache and the fluorescent lights above her bed weren't helping the issue at all. She sat up the pain in her head continuing to ache. She used the heel of her palm to kneed at the pain. She quickly drew her hand away feeling the rough texture of bandages. Skye got herself out of bed. As soon as her feet hit the cold tile floor she winced when she attempted to stand. She limped over to the mirror in the room, careful not to put to much weight on her right leg.

"You're a real mess Skye," she said to her disheveled reflection. She gingerly touched the bandage around her forehead and began to inspect her person for the total damage. She lifted the gown to inspect her leg. The back of her right knee was bandaged tight. In the middle of the back Skye could see faded crimson of dried blood. "At least it's finally stopped, just how deep did that lunatic cut me after all."

As if on cue Link and Finn burst through door, Link with an infectious ear to ear smile and Finn's face a thunderstorm of emotion and concern, the contrast was amazing, yet the variance of emotions seemed to compliment each other, Skye just shook her head. "Get out you two, I'm going to bed, for at least seven years. It feels like I've been ran over by a stampede."

"You'll miss the carnival if you did that Skye. Well I guess you could catch the one in seven years and all," Link said in his mirth filled voice, "but this one, well rumor around town is that there's some kind of race or competition or whatever for a rare item. Skye I'm calling you out."

"I'm sure you can handle it without me, you and Finn will be fine on your own," Skye said limping over to the bed.

"That's the thing," Link said looking almost heartbroken, "Finn doesn't want to either and it won't be any fun without one of you to compete against. The challengers look pretty pathetic and a little friendly competition is good to get your blood pumping."

"You're not going to let this one go, are you Link?" Skye looked at her friend, "Fine I'll do it," she said instantly regretting agreeing to it when she saw Link's eyes light up and his mouth turn into a crooked smile.

Skye searched around for her clothes until Finn told her they were in her pack, and that Nurse Joy was the one that had changed her and dressed her wound. She was relieved at that and let out an inward sigh of relief. She grabbed her pack and pulled out her jeans. The stone that Aurora had given her fell to the ground. Skye reached down and picked it up. "I've heard about these, Link you still have yours don't you," Skye asked looking at Link. He nodded to her and reached into his pocket. "They look just like Shiny Stones, a stone used to evolve a certain type of Pokemon, I remember reading about them in one of Professor Cherry's books. I just wonder, why would a member of Team Rocket want to help us."

Skye turned the stone over in her hand, letting it catch the fluorescent light cascading down from the ceiling. It shine iridescent and she was captivated.

"If I remember right Skye, your Roselia needs one of those stones to evolve and Link's Floette does as well," said Finn, "My mother was fascinated by stone evolution Pokemon. It's what she was studying before we moved to Border Town."

Skye looked over at Link and called out her Roselia and he brought out his Floette. "Well here goes nothing," Skye held out the stone in her hand, "Roselia, this stone will change you, it'll make you stronger, I won't make your choice for you, and I'll be okay with whatever you decide, I promise."

Almost immediately the Pokemon reached for the stone. Roselia began to flow when she made contact with it, changing into a new Pokemon. Skye pulled out her pokedex and found out her old friend had become a Roserade.

Skye watched Link as he also gave his Pokemon a choice. His Floette floated around the stone with an unsure look. It looked like it wanted to please Link and being given a choice she didn't want to make the wrong one. She finally settled on the stone and began to glow the same way that Skye's Roselia had. When Link's Pokemon was finished with its transformation he pulled out his pokedex to find that his Pokemon had turned into a Florges.