The sole heir to the Team Rocket Corporation hated parties. He was always, always forced to go to them against his own will. Okay, there was always a lot of food, but being introduced to countless people he was supposed to care about at any social event he had to attend was something he hated. And of course, today was no different.

He was brought to this grand event, shoved into a suit and tie, and pushed through the crowd until he got to his seat. His father left him with a bunch of other kids while he went to socialize. This wasn't what he wanted, but this is what he got.

The other children came up to him, one by one, as if sussing him out. He was bombarded with questions from girls in floaty party dresses and boys who had somehow managed not to wear a suit.

"What age are you?"

"Eight."

"Do you have any Pokémon yet?"

"None of my own."

He didn't like these questions, but he was used to them. He knew every answer to every question he could possibly be asked. He hated those other kids, but there was nothing he could do but pretend he cared about what they were talking about. He watched the adults talk and make business deals, he watched money exchanged, and he crawled around the floor picking up dropped dollars and stealing better food off unsuspecting business men.

He was almost falling asleep by the time his father paid attention to him again. He was joined by another man, and one of the girls that was irritating him with questions earlier.

"Son, I'd like you to meet Crystal."

"Right. Hello," he offered with a scowl, only to be met with a sickly sweet smile. She obviously knew what was going on, whereas he was in the dark.

"Hello," she said in return. Her voice was breathy, and it was irritating him even with one word.

"Crystal is Petrel's daughter. I'm sure you've met both of them before." He looked past the girl and up to the man standing above her. Now he thought about it, he did know Petrel, but he was convinced he hadn't met the overbearing girl before tonight. He nodded anyway, wanting to seem polite.

"Well, I have chosen Crystal as your fiancé. You will be married when you both reach the right age." The young boy looked up at his father. Wasn't it a bit early to be thinking about marriage? He hadn't even started his journey yet, so how was he supposed to think about things like this?

"No," he stated, looking is father straight in the eye. He wasn't putting up with his family deciding his entire life before he'd even had a chance to think about it.

"No," his father repeated, "You have no choice. This is what's happening. You'll do as your told." He turned to Petrel and mouthed a thank you, before shoving his child out the door into the corridor outside.

"Go to bed. I've had enough of your insolence." He turned on his heel, walking back into the party. The boy stood still for a moment, before kicking the wall violently. He didn't care that it was hurting him, he just wanted to let all his anger out, and to him, this was the easiest way to do so.

After a minute of kicking, he slumped down the wall and onto the floor, where he lay, not wanting to drag himself off the ground. He heard the clicking of heels nearby, and immediately panicked, hoping it wasn't a party guest and he would be found.

Instead, his sister appeared at the top of the stairs, red hair flowing around her shoulders.

"What're you doing, little brother?" She enquired, taking her shoes off and running down the stairs to the sobbing mess that was her brother. When he shook is head, she just hugged him, picking the writhing ball of annoyance up and carrying him to his room.

"Do you…wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Tomorrow then. I'll make you talk. I'll get you some of those pastries you really like and bribe you with them." As the taller girl turned to leave the room, her brother spoke up.

"I'm getting married."

"Lucky you!" The girl laughed, turning back round to face him. "I wish I was. When's the big day? Any time soon?"

"I'm serious," He whimpered, wiping his tear stained face. "Dad set me up with some girl. It's like an arranged marriage thing you always hear about on TV but I didn't think they actually happened!"

"Woah." The girl's face suddenly turned stony. "You're not gonna let him do this are you?"

"No! I hate him! You of all people should know that."

"I do, I do. I don't know what we're supposed to do about it, though. You know that here, his word is law. It's going to take something drastic to change his mind."

The red haired boy nodded his head, tiredly agreeing with her. It was a lot for him to take in; he went from eating a finger buffet to being engaged in the space of twenty minutes.

"Go to sleep. Don't think about it too much. I'm sure he'll come round."

But of course, he didn't.

Four years on, Silver had left. Just, left. Taken his bag, and left. He felt as though he couldn't breathe in the place where he was. By that stage, both his sisters had left as well, done their own thing. Arianna, his eldest sister, had joined Team Rocket, like their father, and was now one of the highest ranking officers. His only other sibling, and the one he actually liked, Mars, had gone to Sinnoh, to join some space obsessed group.

As for him… well, currently he was standing in the rain in New Bark Town, staring through the window of a house with three baby Pokémon in it. These Pokémon were generally given to new trainers who didn't have any other way of getting a Pokémon. There was a fire type, a water type, and a grass type, all sitting happily in a row. Silver liked the look of the water type. It looked strong, and fierce. All he had to do was sneak into the lab and take one. Easy enough.

"Um. Are you okay? Are you lost?" Silver spun around to see a girl standing with an umbrella, two pigtails standing beside her head at almost right angles, and stupid marshmallow hat.

"No. Get lost." He stalked towards the girl, and in one swift movement, pushed her over.

"You shouldn't be so rude, you know." The brunette got up off the ground, dusted herself off, and walked into the lab which he was previously looking through the window of. She was talking to the professor, selecting one of the Pokémon. She smiled at the professor as he talked to her, and left the lab. Silver shrank into the wall, praying to whatever gods were out there that she didn't notice him.

And she didn't. At least, not this time.

Two hours later, he met up with her. Again. And they battled. And he lost, with the Pokemon he didn't mean to steal because he wanted to other one. He dropped his trainer card, and she learned his name.

"Silver…"

And again, at Sprout Tower. He had just lost a battle, and had no time for her chit chat. He glared at her, and she simply smiled.

He saw her in Azalea Town when he was investigating Team Rocket. None of his family were there, and he was glad, because he probably would've punched them. And then this girl turns up and says she defeated the executive who was there and then beats him in a battle and he's just had enough. She yells after him.

"My name's Lyra, by the way!"

He glares to himself as he walks away.

She turns up again at the Burned Tower and she's staring through the floor at the legendary Pokémon. She spots him and comes running over. He challenges her to a battle, and of course he loses. He's angry, and complains loudly as he leaves the tower. He turns back to look at her and she's smirking.

He takes a break in Olivine City, and lo and behold, there she is again. He rants about the gym leader and the girl just sighs at him, rolling her eyes. She's just thankful she doesn't have to battle him.

She seems to be spending an awful lot of time chasing after Team Rocket for someone who has absolutely no connection to them. He spills his guts to her, telling her how angry he is that he can't win, and then runs off before she can answer. He's confused as to why he decided to talk to her; she's his rival, after all.

He sees her yet again in Goldenrod City, and she's trying to infiltrate the Team Rocket base. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand this, and accidentally rids her of her disguise. He calls her by her name, and she smiles.

They battle each other again less than an hour later, and as per usual, he's the one with five Pokémon unable to battle. He breaks down, and she looks kinda confused before patting his head awkwardly and leaving him in a crying heap.

The next time he sees her he's gained a tougher exterior, but is still losing battles, this time with the Kimono Girls. He watches her from outside the building as she eases through the five battles in a row. He curses under his breath and leaves the city before she knows he's watching her.

"Wait!" He yells, after running through Victory Road to catch up with her. "I challenge you!"

He loses, as he predicted, but this time he's not angry. He's not happy either, but… content. He knows what he has to do, and for once he doesn't yell at the poor girl. As she waves goodbye to him, his heart sinks. He knows she'll win the league, and then not have time to battle him.

"Good luck, Lyra."

He hears about her win from the TV at the Pokémon Centre in Cherrygrove City. He grins at the TV, and the nurse at the desk asks if he knows her. He tells her that she's the one who he wanted to beat in battle, and she smiles and shakes her head.

He travels to Kanto to train, and bumps into her again. This time, it's her that challenges him, and it's the closest battle they've ever had. He offers to heal her Pokémon afterwards, and tells her where to find him if she ever wants to battle again.

Silver spent a lot of time over the next few months training and watching TV for any mention of Lyra. She made an appearance on the TV about once a week, whether that being because she had defeated another gym leader or she'd restored power to the east of Kanto.

He retreats to Blackthorn City, training daily in the Dragon's Den. He's determined to beat that girl. He knows it will take a lot; even if his Pokémon have the upper hand, her strategies are second to none. And that Meganium- its definitely one of the strongest Pokémon in the entire region.

While in the middle of training one day, she appears, tailed by Lance and Clair. He glares at them, unsurprisingly. He challenges Lance to a battle, annoyed by the fact that he hasn't had a chance to defeat him yet. The dragon tamer suggests a tag battle; he and Lyra against Silver and Clair.

"No. I'll go with Lyra."

No one disagrees with him and they take sides to battle. He only has to use three Pokémon and Lyra only two for them to win. He's shocked, and Lyra is bouncing up and down with happiness. She hugs him, and he feels his face hating up. Lance and Clair leave the two younger trainers alone, and they talk about Kanto. Lyra wants to challenge Red, and Silver thinks she's crazy, but doesn't tell her that. She's so happy, who would want to burst her bubble?

Lyra spends a lot of time in Johto over the next four years. She's lost contact with Silver, and with Ethan, and with most of her other friends. She wants to complete the Pokédex, travel the world, but a seventeen-year-old girl shouldn't do such things, according to the press.

She's still the Kanto and Johto champion, but that's not enough for her. She needs to conquer other regions; Kalos, Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn. She needs to see more Pokémon, catch more Pokémon, beat more trainers. But she doesn't want to go alone- that would be boring. But who would she go with? Not her family, not any gym leader. Lance had offered to take her Unova- he was going to see the coronation- as he called it- of the new champion. She was invited too, of course, but she wasn't really feeling up to an overseas trip with him.

She's given up on her dream of becoming a six time Pokémon champion. Alright, she was one of the youngest trainers to ever become champion of one region, never mind two, and still had at least ten years before she was told she should 'settle down'. She expected to spend the next few years in Kanto and Johto, before she sneaked off to another region to even travel around a bit. She never expected to be leaving only a few days after she planned this.

New Bark Town was small, and almost rural. It was the most easterly point of Johto, beside the sea. It was quiet, with only a few houses and Pokémon lab. It was easy enough to find, and locating someone in the town was even easier.

One breezy autumn day, a red haired boy entered the town. He was in his late teens, tall, and his hair fell just past his shoulders. He carried only a backpack, and had a Pokéball clenched tightly in his hand. He headed straight to the house in the corner of the town, the house where the pigtailed girl lived.

With one swift motion, he knocks on the door. Lyra was home alone, and jumps up to answer the door after a moment. She opens the door, and her eyes widened.

"…Silver?"

"We need to go."

"What?"

"How hard is it? We. Need. To. Go."

"Go where?"

"Olivine City. Get some stuff. This is important." She looks into his eyes, and sees him pleading with her. She sighs, and ran upstairs while he waits in the porch. She scribbles a note to her mother. I've gone travelling again. I don't know when I'll be back, but you can call me if you want.

She grabs her bag, and stands beside Silver in the porch.

"Are you ready?" He asks, taking a step onto the ground.

"Yep."

The two walk out of the town, Silver setting the place and leading her through the grass and into the next. As they walk through Cherrygrove City, Lyra pipes up.

"Silver, why are we running?"

"We need to get away from my father."

A/N: I haven't written anything in ages so here we go. Back into SoulSilverShipping hell. Also? If anyone is still following me from last year and cares, I'm slowly working on a sequel to Endless! Excite