Disclaimer

Pokémon and its related characters are the property of Nintendo, Game Freak, 4Kids Entertainment, etc.  No copyright infringement is intended.  No profit is being made from this story.

Author's Notes

This Pokémon fanfiction is rated PG-13 for some adult content. 

With regards to shipping, I think I have invented a new pairing:  Lorelei and Koga.  I call it ZenShipping.

The Story

For Love and Honor

A Pokémon Fanfiction

By Barb the JavaMaster

The sun set slowly in the sky behind the Fuschia City Gym.  The sky itself seemed alive as clouds drifted without purpose towards the bright orange glow in the west.  In the east, pink and purple intermingled with blue and black, making a kaleidoscope.  Koga sat, his back to the beauty that was above him, and closed his eyes. 

Koga slowed inhaled and exhaled, bringing his breathing in harmony with nature.  The lake on whose shore he knelt was a mirror, reflecting the Indigo Mountains.  Although the largest mountain range in the Kanto Region, from the seaside hamlet of Fuschia, they resembled small hills that a child might climb.  No ripples were seen on the lake's surface.  As Koga exhaled, he heard footsteps from behind him.  He did not turn but simply waved two fingers at the Pokémon floating next to him.  His Venomoth flew swiftly, tracking the sound with its ultra-sensitive ears.  Once upon the source of the sound, Venomoth released its Sleep Powder and a light crash was heard.

Koga grinned and stood.  He recalled Venomoth and walked over to where the crash was last heard and saw his younger sister, Aya, asleep in a bed of flowers.  She had followed him again, despite his pleas for privacy and solitude.  Serves her right, Koga thought, before gently scooping her in his arms and carrying her to the Gym and to their home.

The following morning both Koga and Aya said nothing of the incident by the lake.  Aya's hero worship of Koga was well known to their family and to most of Fuschia City.  Orphaned when Koga was 13 and Aya 12, they had trained fiercely to become Pokémon Gym Leaders and then to set up their own Gym.  Trained from early ages as ninjas by their father, they adopted an unobtrusive lifestyle and shunned social activities.  Living in darkness, moving by night, such is the life of a ninja, their father had always told them.   Solitude was valued more highly than gold.

"Who are we fighting today?" Aya asked Koga at breakfast.  Kneeling on silken cushions, Aya looked rested and alert.  She wore a black tank top and black silk pants, bare feet folded underneath her.  Her long green hair was pulled into a ponytail. 

"I don't know.  Has anyone blundered in lately?"  Koga replied.  The Fuschia Gym is notorious for newcomers as they are unused to the surprise attacks hidden each step of the way through the Gym's myriad entrances.  And Aya's Venonat and Koga's Voltorb often made unexpected appearances-or disappearances.

"Is anyone here?  I am up to a challenge."  A feminine voice rang out in the silence of the hall.  Koga and Aya both looked up. 

Koga motioned for his sister to stay where she was.  Aya obeyed but watched her brother's back as he slipped into the hallway to confront the trainer.  Venonat waddled over to its trainer and Aya stroked its head, making its antennae wobble back and forth in delight.

Standing in the sunlight of the eastern windows of the wood-built Gym was a tall woman with red hair.  Dressed in a business suit, she wore glasses and had a cool aloofness about her.  Seeing Koga step into the Gym's arena she gasped slightly but recomposed herself immediately.  She introduced herself as Lorelei, a trainer from the islands. 

Koga bowed and introduced himself.  Lorelei watched Koga move to the opposite end of the arena, readying for battle.  He moved with feline grace, silent, but alert.  Lorelei steeled herself for a fight before releasing her Jynx.

The battle was hard but well-fought with Koga's Venomoth tackling the Jynx and sending it sprawling.  Lorelei reacted immediately by ordering an Ice Punch attack which froze the Venomoth in mid-flight and sent it crashing to the floor.  Koga bowed slightly at Lorelei's victory before sending in his Charmander.  Lorelei sweatdropped at seeing the Fire Pokémon.  Her Jynx dodged two Tail Whips before landing a well-placed Pound attack on the lizard's back.  Charmander's reaction was to reduce Jynx to a smoldering heap with a blazing Ember attack.  Lorelei recalled Jynx and introduced her Slowbro.  Charmander considered its opponent with ease and blasted out another Ember attack, which the dopey Slowbro avoided by Withdrawing into its shell.  Then it burst back out suddenly and Disabled Charmander. 

"We are evenly matched," Koga announced as he withdrew the now-fainted Charmander.  Lorelei smiled. 

"Indeed we are," she agreed. 

Their match continued as Lorelei's Haunter easily took out Venomoth in the fourth round.  Koga conceded to Lorelei and extended his hand.  His grip was warm but firm.  Lorelei looked into his deep azure eyes as he congratulated her on a well-won match. 

"Is the challenger defeated?"  Aya's voice called.  She was standing in the southeast corner of the arena, behind Lorelei.  She regarded the woman with some disdain but politely smiled as Koga introduced her.  Aya was very surprised to hear of Koga's defeat but then noticed a look pass between the two that made Aya feel like an outsider. 

***

Lorelei continued her training in Fuschia City, staying with a schoolmate from Valencia Island who had transferred to the Fuschia Charter School.   It was Lorelei's friend, Yuriko, who first suggested that Lorelei was infatuated.

"I am not," Lorelei said, sipping her wine too quickly.  She wiped her mouth and smiled.

"You are too.  You watch every move this man makes.  You are at his Gym nearly every day.  You, my dear, are in love."  Yuriko leaned back and grinned at Lorelei, who blushed bright red. 

She had never given much consideration to love, falling in love, or being in love.  Lorelei was, well, Lorelei.  Aloof.  Distant.  Cold to the touch, was how one boy in her class had described her after losing to her in battle.  A woman with a heart of ice.  Lorelei was one day to be a member of the Elite Four, or so she had told herself at age five.  And no one, no man, was to stop her.  But Koga was different.  He did not hold back in battle with her; he corrected her, consoled her, and confused her. 

"I am the Ice Princess of Mandarin Island, remember?  I cannot fall in love."  Lorelei replied.  The nickname resulted from her Jynx using its Ice Punch attack against an overly aggressive male trainer who assumed that the spoils of victory included a night with Lorelei.  He thawed out the next day and recovered but Lorelei's reputation had not.

"You are a woman, Lorelei.  A beautiful, voluptuous, talented, articulate, woman," Yuriko flinched as Lorelei flicked droplets of wine at her while laughing.  Yuriko's look became serious.  "And you are in love.  With a man named Koga, who according to you, is God's gift to womankind and Pokémon alike." 

"He is a great trainer, Yuriko.  I earned the badge only after three battles and many bottles of Restore potion."  Lorelei sat back and regarded her friend.  "And what about you, scholar?  Hitting the books lately?"

"Not really."  Yuriko stood and walked to the kitchenette in their studio apartment.  Lorelei began clearing dishes from the table half-listening to Yuriko and half thinking of how intensely Koga stared down his opponents, and how kind his eyes could look only seconds later. 

"I have actually adopted a new lifestyle that doesn't actually require my presence."  Lorelei grinned at Yuriko's odd sense of humor.  "In fact, if I don't want to, I don't have to get out of bed at all, and I still get credit for a full day."

Yuriko pulled down an eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Lorelei, who laughed loudly. 

The dishes done, the apartment silent, and Lorelei could not sleep.  She sat awake, naked under the cotton sheet on her futon, thinking of Koga.  How she admired him, his Pokémon, his ninja training, his Gym, his….  She drifted off.  What was she thinking of, anyway?  She unconsciously ran her fingers through her long red hair, loosed from its usual holder, and wondered how Koga's fingers would feel running through her mane.  Or what his lips tasted of.  Lorelei sighed and lay back, drifting slowly into a dreamless sleep. 

***

Aya was watching the two again from her vantage point atop a boulder behind the Gym.  Koga was leading Lorelei through the gardens that she and Koga had planted in their youth.  Koga pointed to the bonsai trees that were Aya's pride and joy.  Lorelei nodded perfunctorily.  Koga took Lorelei's hand and led her down the rock-strewn path which held Aya's and Koga's conversations, their dreams, hopes, and fears.  Aya seethed silently.  Who was this woman, this Lorelei, who had affected her brother so? 

Aya jumped off the boulder and walked back to the Gym to prepare dinner.  Lorelei was an invited guest, and Aya dealt with this fact by viciously slicing through several peppers and some mushrooms.  A Scyther could not have cut more deeply.  Aya loved her brother intensely but now felt a chasm developing between them: Aya had named it Lorelei. 

Some nights, when the news of their parents' deaths had first come to them, she and Koga slept in the same room.  She would lie awake at night and listen to Koga breathing.  Then she would regulate the rising and falling of her chest to match his exactly, and only then would she fall asleep.  Koga was her protector and confidante.  Now he was Lorelei's. 

Dinner was served precisely at six o'clock, according to the local Dotrio, squawking loudly as the sun set in the sky, sending streams of golden light into the room where Lorelei, Aya, and Koga knelt around a low wooden table.  Backlit by the sun, Lorelei looked like a goddess, Aya thought miserably.  Koga seemed not to notice the tension in the air, or else he simply ignored it.  Lorelei complimented Aya on her bonsai trees and Aya smiled politely.  Lorelei and Koga began discussing the League and how it was regulating Pokémon training in ways not considered before.  Lorelei suggested that Pokémon training should be separated into groups: those who trained for the sake of battling only, and those who saw Pokémon as potential helpmates and friends, and not only weapons.  Lorelei admitted that she had hoped to one day open her own Gym on her home of Mandarin Island, and teach others how to "go with the flow," as she put it.  Work in harmony with nature instead of against it.  Koga had agreed heartily.

Aya regarded Lorelei before replying, "When I hear a person talking about political solutions, I know I am not speaking to a serious person."  Then the table fell silent.  Lorelei sighed and self-consciously shifted her position.  Koga glared at Aya briefly before ignoring her entirely.  Aya smiled to herself.  Silence is golden, she thought. 

***

Aya had retired for the night with Venonat standing guard at her bedroom door.  Koga had taken Lorelei outside with every intention of walking her to her home.  But the moonlight glimmering off the lake made him change his mind.  This woman had completely captivated him.  She was more than beautiful; she was intoxicating.   They walked in the relative quiet of the night towards the lake, towards a foreseen conclusion.  Koga traced the outline of Lorelei's lips with his fingers. 

"You are the earth, Lorelei, and I am the moon, circling around you," he whispered.  She kissed his hand, his fingers. 

"Koga—" Lorelei replied.  He pressed his lips to hers and they became cemented together.  Fingers wound around necks and backs.  They knelt gently to the grassy lakeside, and wrapped around each other.  Clothes lay in a pile next to where the moonlit glow cast shadows from the two bodies. 

The coolness of the lake braced Lorelei.  She was swimming about ten yards from shore, where her lover still slept.  Movement in the lake, off to her left, made her swing her head around suddenly.  Without her glasses, she couldn't see much.  The morning sun rose and Lorelei realized that a Dratini was swimming next to her.   She smiled and floated on her back, neutrally buoyant in the lake's cold water.  A rare Pokémon—and me without a Pokéball.  Lorelei turned and swam for shore as the sun cast a brilliant glow on the lake and Gym.  The Dratini disappeared underwater. 

***

Aya glared at her brother.  Koga was relaxed in his blue kimono, eating his breakfast.  Lorelei had gotten home safely, he had assured Aya. 

"You love this woman, Koga?"  Not a question but rather a challenge, coming from his younger sister.  Koga looked at her.

"Lorelei is a fine trainer.  And a fine woman.  And yes, I am in love with her, Aya."  Koga went back to his meal and did not see the fire that blazed in Aya's eyes.

"And what about our Gym?  Our life, Koga?  Is this woman to be a part of that, too?" 

"You never were very good at sharing, Aya."  Koga's voice dropped slightly, a warning.  Aya ignored it. 

"I will not share my life, my Gym, my Pokémon, with her!"  Aya railed.  Koga simply wiped his mouth at his sister's outburst and waited for her to continue.  "And I will not share my brother with her." 

"The decision is not yours to make, Aya.  I have chosen Lorelei and she has chosen me.  You will stay as Gym Leader in Fuschia City."

"And you are going to leave me?"  Aya's voice caught in her throat.  She wanted her protector to be with her.  She felt unready to be a full Gym Leader.

"I am going to Mandarin Island to be with Lorelei." 

"You would leave your family, your home, for what?  A woman's touch?  A woman's caress?  A ninja would not be so weak-minded."  Aya replied bitterly.  Koga brought his fist down on the table, making the glassware and flatware dance.  Aya raised her eyes to meet Koga's glare.

"I am not weak-minded, as you are well aware."

"You aren't the strong man you used to be, Koga."  Aya sneered.  Her blood boiled within her. 

"It is true that I am not the man I used to be."  Koga stood up, dropping his napkin on the table. "But you were never the woman you used to be."  Koga marched out of the dining room.  A sob caught in Aya's throat at his terse dismissal.  Venonat spoke reassuringly to her, and she sobbed into its purple fur. 

***

As summer flowed into autumn and then into winter, preparations were made for Koga's departure.  The Pokémon Leagues (Kanto and Orange) both congratulated him and officially sanctioned the newest Gym, the Mandarin Island Gym.  Their badge was to be the Ice Badge: a white circular disc with a blue curve on the front.  Lorelei packed her things in anticipation of the life that was yet to come.

"Lorelei, stop singing.  I can't study!"  Yuriko exclaimed finally, slamming her book shut. 

From the far end of the hallway, she could hear Lorelei's voice:  "Turn my head with truths of summertime…say you love me, one love, one lifetime…"

Yuriko marched down the hallway, closer to the off-key voice. 

"Anywhere you go, let me go too….that's all I ask of you…"  Lorelei's voice drifted off and she smiled sheepishly at Yuriko, leaning against the doorway, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Some of us have to study, you know."  Yuriko smiled.

"And some of us have to pack!  Help me out."  Lorelei threw some clothes at Yuriko, who threw them back at Lorelei, which then began a pillow fight such as had not been seen since a slumber party many years ago.  The two friends picked themselves up of the floor and went about the task of getting Lorelei ready to leave for home. 

"I'll miss you," Yuriko finally said, biting her lip. 

"And I, you," Lorelei kissed her friend on the cheek and hugged her.  "Well, I think I'm ready."  Lorelei surveyed her now neat and tidy room.  She was going home.

***

Lorelei arrived early at the Fuschia City Gym.  Koga was nowhere to be found, so Lorelei wandered amongst the many rooms (some hidden) in the Gym.  She found Aya in the foyer with Venonat.  Aya glared at Lorelei. 

"Is Koga here?"  Lorelei asked, oblivious to Aya's frosty gaze.

"He is here, yes.  He will be detained."  Aya gave Lorelei the once-over and smirked at her.  "So, as I understand, two amateurs will be running the Mandarin Island Gym."

Lorelei regarded Aya with unease.  No matter how hard she tried, or what words she said, she could not close the gap between Aya and herself.   Lorelei felt that she and Aya came from different worlds and that merging those worlds would be impossible: a collision was more likely.  It was this instinct that told Lorelei to take Koga back to Mandarin Island instead of staying with him in Fuschia City. 

"We're all amateurs, Aya.  It's just that some of us are more professional about it than others."  Lorelei straightened up and prepared for Aya's comeback.  Aya said nothing but pointed directly at Lorelei, who watched with bemusement as Venonat approached her.  She did not fear the Bug Pokémon but as small yellowish seedlike spores filled the air, Lorelei felt a wave of fear wash over her.  The Pokémon's powerful Stun Spores hit Lorelei head-on, making her fall helplessly to the ground.  She coughed once, maybe twice, before finally closing her eyes.  Aya nodded at Venonat, who walked obediently behind its mistress.  They disappeared down the hallway.

Koga found Lorelei first and Aya heard his anguished cry from across the Gym.   

Aya did not move from her room as she heard her brother shouting commands, insults, profanities at her.  She did not move as she heard sirens wailing in the distance, coming ever closer.  She did not move until a knocking on her bedroom door startled her and she jumped. 

Aya opened the door and stared into the bloodshot eyes of her older brother.  He had been crying.  Aya hesitantly inquired as to Lorelei's whereabouts.  Koga raised his fist to Aya in a gesture of helplessness and rage, but lowered it almost immediately. 

"She has been taken to the hospital.  She was the victim of a Stun Spore attack."  Koga's voice went quiet with rage and anger.

"Will she be okay?"  Aya asked, backing a step from her brother.

"It is not her health I am worried about."  Koga half-turned and looked over his shoulder at his sister.  "It is the health of our unborn child I am most concerned about."  Koga slammed the door in Aya's face and stalked to the front door of the Gym, which he locked.  He drove to the hospital without looking back at the Gym, back to the window where Aya's face was pressed against the glass, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

***

Lorelei drifted in and out of consciousness for at least twenty-four hours, according to the nurse.  Koga sat with her, holding her hand, whispering to her.  Lorelei occasionally moved her head towards him, as though she could hear him.  Finally she spoke: "What happened to me?"

"My Lorelei, my love.  You were the victim of a Stun Spore attack.  It is my sister's fault.  She will be punished."  Koga reassured Lorelei as he kissed her hand.  Lorelei gripped his hand tighter.

"Your sister?  Aya?  But—why, Koga?"  Lorelei seemed only dimly aware of the jealousy and possessiveness she knew ran in Aya's blood.

"She is jealous.  She does not think of you as 'family', Lorelei.  You are an outsider to her.  An intruder."

"But I didn't do anything wrong."  Lorelei protested. 

"I know, my love.  But who can stand before Aya's jealousy?"  Koga kissed Lorelei's cheeks and forehead.  A doctor walked in shut the door behind him.

***

Aya walked outside in the garden.  Tending to her bonsai trees was what gave her new strength and made her worries vanish.  The trees were given her full attention and only Venonat's sensitive hearing told them both that someone was approaching.  Aya turned and stood up to face her brother.  Venonat jumped in front of Aya protectively.

Koga waved away the Pokémon.  "I do not wish to battle.  Not today, Aya."

"What news of Lorelei?"  Aya asked.  Koga frowned.  He avoided his sister's eyes as though she were a gorgon. 

"She will recover.  The one baby is unharmed."  Koga sighed, as did Aya.

"The one baby?"  Aya asked curiously.

Koga nodded.  "One of the twins Lorelei was carrying is fine.  The other suffered trauma when Lorelei fell to the ground.  That baby is dead.  But Lorelei will have to carry both babies to term, according to the doctor."  Koga now stared at his sister, who averted her eyes in fear.  "And I have you to thank for this, Aya."

"I—I only wanted you to stay.  I never meant for anything to go wrong, Koga!"

"What a weak and simple excuse, Aya.  No one ever 'means' for anything untoward to happen, but it often does.  And with deadly results, this time.  You are banished."  Aya froze at Koga's words.

"Banished?  From the Gym?"

"Banished from my life and from the Gym, Aya.  Leave.  Until you are able to control your jealous rages, I want no part of you.  I will stay here as the Gym Leader.  Our babies will be born in two months."  Koga moved closer to Aya, and she backed up.  "You have two hours in which to gather your belongings, potions, food, and whatever else you think you will need.  Then leave.  The Gym is closed to you."  Koga turned and walked away.  The wind whistled through the trees but the sound scared Aya.  She recalled Venonat and hurried into the house.

***

It was a clear winter day in January when Koga and Lorelei welcomed their children into the world.  One of their children, Miyoko, was born dead.  Lorelei held Miyoko in her arms, dressed her, and spoke gently to her.  Miyoko was buried the following day beside the lake, in a grave dug by Koga.  A small basalt slab was placed on the ground, which read:

Miyoko Lei Fujii

Born: January 21, 2059

Died:  January 21, 2059

From the mountain

The moon

Slowly goes to the stars

The other twin, Janine Katsuo, was born healthy and alive.  A solid eight and a half pounds, she cried loudly for a few seconds before Lorelei enveloped Janine in her arms.  Janine stopped crying and moved her head to the sound of Koga's voice.  Koga squeezed Lorelei's shoulder.   Koga had spoken to both children before they were born and it amazed Lorelei how Janine recognized the sound of Koga's voice. 

Janine delighted her parents with her voice, her actions, her just simply being with them.  Months passed into years, and Janine grew into a toddler, and then a child.  When Janine was five years old, her aunt Aya returned from exile.  Janine was beginning to discover that more existed in the world that what was around her, and these thoughts both comforted and frightened her. 

Janine was being fed by Aya one morning when Koga came in to breakfast, a huge grin on his face.  He held a letter in his hand.  "It is from the Pokémon League.  Agatha, a member of the Elite Four, is retiring.  They need a replacement to keep the number at four."

Aya looked at her brother.  "Who is the replacement?"

"Me, if I accept."  Koga smiled as Aya reacted to this news.  She dropped Janine's spoon on the floor, and jumped up to hug her brother. 

"I am happy for you, Koga.  Very happy."  Aya smiled for the first time in what felt like ages.   "Who are the others that you will be joining at Indigo Plateau?"

"Bruno, Lance, and Lorelei."  The last name selt a jolt of recognition down Aya's spine.  She froze momentarily but composed herself.  "Lorelei?"

"Yes.  Lorelei trained harder than ever after Janine's birth.  She was made a member of the Elite Four two years ago.  She has lived at Indigo Plateau since then, but Janine and I visit often.  I could not leave the Gym without you here, but now that you have returned, I can accept the League's offer."  Koga looked at his sister.  "And I will only accept this offer if I know that you will be all right, Aya."

Aya nodded.  Almost four years of wandering the forests and towns of Kanto had taught her much about jealousy and human nature.  She loved Koga, and he loved her.  And love grows only if shared, Aya thought, remembering something her mother had said many years earlier. 

"What of the Gym on Mandarin Island that you and Lorelei planned to open?"  Aya asked curiously.

"The plans have been shelved for now.  Lorelei has said that if she ever retires from the Elite Four, she will return to Mandarin Island—her home—and serve as a trainer and consultant. 

"And you will live in her home?"

"Aya, a home is a place where people who love each other live."  Koga smiled.  "I will have two homes, one on Mandarin Island and one in Fuschia City."

"I will be fine.  Join Lorelei at Indigo."  Aya kissed Koga on the cheek.  They regarded each other for a moment before hearing a howling coming from the far end of the table.  Janine was bent over, trying to reach the spoon Aya had dropped.  Koga laughed and went to his daughter's aid. 

The End