"Lorelei, Lorelei, little Zubat's come to play!"
Lorelei ran away from the taunting kids, sniffling as she did. Her faulty vision was blurred even more by tears. She closed her eyes to blink the tears away, and ran straight into a tree. She cried, both from the pain and the other children's mocking laughter. Putting a hand to her face, she decided that she had a nosebleed and would have a black eye soon.
"Hey, Zubat. What makes you think you belong in this school?"
Lorelei wiped away her tears and tried to focus on the kid towering over her. She gulped, recognizing him - he was Jek, the school bully. Weakly, she tried to protest.
"I'm not a Zubat," she whispered, her voice a pale ghost.
"You're blind as one!" Jek taunted, grabbing her by her collar and hauling her up. Her feet dangled off the ground.
"I'm not blind," she whispered again. "I'm nearsighted."
Jek dropped her and punched her in the face. "You think you can talk back to me?" Lorelei cried out in pain as Jek twisted her arm behind her and pinned her to the ground.
"Please, let me go!" she begged, sobbing. "I'm sorry! Let me go!"
"Say mercy!"
"Just let me go, Jek-sama! Please!!"
"I said to *say mercy*!" He twisted her arm harder. She cried out.
"mercy," she said, quietly enough not to wake a baby Rattata.
"I can't hear you!" He squeezed her arm.
"Mercy," she whimpered, loud enough to hear. Jek released her, leaving the scrawny little dark-haired girl crying and in pain. It was always like this for Lorelei. She hated it. It wasn't *her* fault that she was nearsighted, or that her parents didn't have a lot of money, but these awful kids always made her feel like it was. Even worse, she couldn't do anything about it. They didn't beat her up too much, probably not wanting their frail plaything to be hospitalized. So they did the next best thing: they wore down her spirit. By the end of fourth grade, Lorelei was a very cold and bitter girl.
-
The summer after fourth grade was a wonderful escape. A few weeks into it, Lorelei walked barefoot along the beach, enjoying the peace and relaxation it offered. No taunting kids, no 'Zubat', just peace.
Until she heard the crying.
Lorelei looked around frantically and saw a little blue blur on the beach ahead. She ran towards it and knelt by it. It looked up at her with huge, mournful dark eyes, and cried. Lorelei frowned and took the little thing into her arms, running towards town. By the time she stumbled into the Pokémon Center, she was thoroughly winded and had a stitch in her side. Nurse Joy looked up at the disheveled, fragile little girl clutching a baby Pokémon in her arms.
"Nur... Nurse Joy... I found this... Pokémon... on the beach," Lorelei gasped, making it to the counter and putting the baby on the counter before her knees gave out.
"This is a baby Lapras!" Nurse Joy said, wide-eyed. "A water/ice Pokémon. They're very rare! You should let this little one go after it's healed."
"But it was stranded on the beach and looked starved! Can't I take care of it?"
"I suppose you can for a little while, but then you must let it go!" Joy said sternly. She looked Lorelei over after sealing the Lapras in a Pokéball and putting it in one of the Center's healing machines. "What's your name?"
"Lorelei Korino," Lorelei responded quietly.
"Oh, I've heard of your family. It must be hard," Joy said quietly. Lorelei just nodded, head bowed. The machine chimed to indicate that the Lapras was healed. Joy took the Pokéball out, released the Lapras, and handed it to Lorelei.
"You take good care of this Lapras," she said. "And don't forget to release it!"
Lorelei nodded and went back to the beach.
-
It wasn't too long before she found another Lapras, the baby's mother. This one wasn't moving, and didn't look like it was going to be moving ever again. Lorelei closed her eyes and bowed her head, not noticing that the crying baby mimicked her.
Before long, Lorelei was the official owner of the baby Lapras.
-
The other new trainers laughed at the frail little girl who entered the arena with a little baby Lapras. A lot of them had gone to school with her, and settled back into teasing.
Those people soon found themselves on the receiving end of a furious Water Gun attack. Anyone who tried to battle the baby Lapras walked away from the battle with fainted and frozen Pokémon.
They stopped teasing.
-
Lorelei's skills as a trainer grew quickly, as did Lapras' battling skills. She battled for badges, and won mostly with just her Lapras. Within a month, she'd raised enough money for her family to live on, and for herself to get a pair of glasses. She added more ice Pokemon to her arsenal: a Dewgong, a Cloyster, a rare Jynx, and a Slowbro. But Lapras remained her favorite and most powerful. After leaving the Viridian City Gym, tossing her new Earthbadge to herself, she sighed and released Lapras. The gentle-eyed monster looked ungainly and awkward on land.
"Lapras lapras pras lap?" Lapras asked.
"I've beaten all the Gyms, but I don't want to try to beat the Elite Three," she said. "I wanna become a member of the Elites. But do you think I have a chance?"
Lapras nodded enthusiastically. Lorelei smiled.
"I guess I can trust your judgement--" she laughed as Lapras nodded even more enthusiastically "--so it's off to Indigo Plateau. I just hope Lance'll accept me..."
-
The caped dragon master stood as Lorelei entered the room, bowing deeply. He studied the frail young woman for a moment, before speaking in a surprisingly young and friendly voice.
"What's your name?"
"Lorelei Korino," Lorelei said quietly, not rising from the bow. "Ryuu no Meijin-sama, I am here to--"
"Hey, hey!" Lance laughed. "I'm not royalty or anything. Make yourself comfortable."
Surprised, Lorelei got to her feet and moved towards a comfortable-looking chair in the cozy office. Lance sat in another chair, leaning back casually.
"Now, you were saying...?"
"I'm here to apply for Elite membership," Lorelei said quietly.
Lance's eyebrows hit his hairline. "Really."
Lorelei nodded and fumbled for her resume, shoving it towards the dragon master. Lance read.
"Hmm... we do have a nasty shortage of ice and water Pokémon in the Elites," he affirmed. "Nice idea, having a couple psychics in there too. It's always a good idea to round out your squad some." He handed the resume back with a warm smile. "Congratulations, Lorelei. Now we're the Elite Four, not the Elite Three."
"I got the job...?" Lorelei whispered, her voice several shades quieter.
Lance nodded.
Lorelei fainted.
-
And that's the story of Lorelei of the Elite Four.