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The Dark Type	By : Manifest Destiny Category: Pokemon > General Views: 36309 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is copy write by GameFreak, INC. and Nintendo. I make no money from this story, nor do I seek any.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
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Chapter 13: Mind Over Feather
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Allan went from room to room, briskly walking through the house as he checked for various things: whether any lights were left on, appliances or electronics plugged into the wall, a mess he overlooked while cleaning. Always behind him followed a small, silvery, four-legged fox-like mammal that kept him company. Her presence in his mind served as a constant reminder of how he saw the world around him. Allan passed by the front door, now finished with his third sweep of the house, and glanced at his prepared belongings and went through his mental list of them, trying and hoping to remember a hastily forgotten article or necessity.
‘Allan, you’re done now. Let’s get going,’ Umari said, her voice was weighted with concern for her friend.
“I’m just being thorough,” he said quickly.
In reality, he was just trying to find one last excuse to delay what he had been anticipating for weeks. Allan had originally planned to depart from home nine days from now, but days of boredom caused him to accelerate his preparations. Now that the day was upon him, he found himself second-guessing all of his decisions and left him feeling overwhelmed with doubts. Among these new concerns was the fact that he was leaving his house unoccupied for an unknown length of time. His parents had called him while in the Unova region, as well as instructed him well beforehand on what to do, but his constant uncertainty kept driving him back to his routine checks around the house.
As Allan went into the kitchen on the start of his fourth pass, he felt another mind contact his. ‘Thorough doesn’t even do it justice, Master. You’re nervous.’
This second voice held a masculine tone to it, but a free spirited quality that came with the inspiration of flight. Xutan fluttered down on small wings from atop the refrigerator, landing on the kitchen counter. As the small Natu settled and folded his wings, Umari jumped up to join him.
‘Yeah, Allan,’ his shiny Eevee said. ‘Everything’s fine here. The house isn’t going anywhere.’
‘There comes a time when each hatchling must spread his wings and take flight. Your time in the tree of security is done, and dwelling here will do us no benefit.’
Allan sighed, closing the cabinet he knew contained no perishable food to go to waste. He slumped into the tall stool next to the counter, ruffling the short feathers on top of Xutan’s head. “You’ve gotta stop it with the bird analogies, Xutan. But thanks.”
‘I helped too!’ Umari protested.
“Yeah, but Xutan’s known me for a lot longer, Umari. He’s always had a way of reading me like a book.”
‘’Cause he’s Psychic. I’d know you too if I was,’ she said.
“Well yes, he’s a natural Psychic type, but he’s gotten to know me better over the years, and can easily recognize what my thoughts are doing. You’ll get there, Umari,” Allan said, scratching his silvery friend behind her ears. “You’re like me right now. Still learning how to manipulate your mind. Soon you’ll be able to control it to do amazing things.”
‘I don’t have to evolve to get that far do I?’
Allan leaned back, thinking. He had befriended and acquired his first Pokémon, Xutan, ten years ago. It had taken about a year before Xutan’s thoughts made their way to Allan’s mind, but even then, they were just vague sensations or emotions. After another three years, they began to be able to converse with thoughts. Soon after, Allan discovered he had developed his own range of psychic abilities. It shocked no one that Allan decided to specialize in Psychic types when he became a trainer.
Three years ago, Allan’s parents had given him Umari as a birthday gift; with him instantly taking to acclimating her to the touch of his mind. Initially the situation mirrored how Xutan had first tried to contact Allan’s thoughts, but with the Natu’s patient assistance, they had established a link fairly quickly. Allan’s capabilities began to strengthen, and in time Xutan was no longer required for Allan to talk to Umari, and surprisingly, for Umari to touch Allan’s mind. For a while she could only contact his mind, or Xutan’s, but she managed to, within a few days, manage communication with Allan’s newest Pokémon, Duncan.
Duncan had been a present from his parents when they were at a similar conference in Kanto, a prize from the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City. Despite being made up of a multitude of minds—which perhaps even helped in some ways—Umari quickly grasped how to contact the Exeggcute’s singular minds, as well as address him as a whole. Her progress in such a short amount of time is largely unprecedented in non-Psychic types, which on the whole, pleased Allan a great deal. Even if he never made it to a place of prominence in the world, he already saw himself as an accomplished Psychic Trainer.
“If you evolved—regardless of type—it’d help you out, since your brain and mind would mature and strengthen just as your body would. If you became an Espeon though, it’d likely all come naturally to you after that. But really Umari,” Allan said, “you’re progressing surprisingly fast. Faster than I did. You even got the hang of sorting through the blur of minds that is our friend Duncan.”
‘I had you guys helping me, though.’
“I’m serious,” Allan said, standing. “You’re already getting used to contacting other humans. It took me more than two years to learn that trick, and sometimes I still get the wrong person.”
Umari hopped down to the floor, following Allan. Xutan flew and landed on Allan’s head as the human went through the doorway to the main hallway. The three made their way through the house one final time before Allan stood staring at the pile of travel gear propped against the front door. The world around him began to dull and deafen until the pounding of the blood running though his head was all he could hear. It muffled the sounds coming from outside his house, and focusing on it blurred his vision.
‘Allan? Are you alright?’
Blinking twice, Allan focused on the interruption that was Umari’s voice. He rubbed his eyes with a hand and said, “Yeah, I’m fine… Alright, if I stall any more, we’ll never leave.”
After one last check to see Duncan’s Safari Ball was safely stowed away—Exeggcute weren’t the most travel-friendly Pokémon to have on the road—Allan grabbed his backpack, checked to see if his camping gear was secured to it and put it on. Stepping out into the bright morning sun stung his eyes, but they soon adapted. He did an about-face and locked his front door. He placed a hand on the wooden door and let his head fall forward onto it.
“I’ll be back. It won’t be too long. And I’ll be in touch with mom and dad… It’ll be fine… I can do this… I’ll come back…” he muttered a few more self-assuring phrases before he felt his Pokémon’s presences in his head, giving their sentiments. Nodding, he turned back around and took a deep breath, “Alright.”
After the first hesitant step, Allan began to move at a steady pace away from his home and walked towards the more modern part of the city. Umari kept pace with him while dodging the many towering sets of legs around her while Xutan kept a watch over the world from Allan’s head. A few choice people stopped to greet Allan and wish him luck; they weren’t particularly close to him or his family, but “the psychic boy with the specially colored Eevee” became his title since Umari had come into his life. A few who knew him well joked saying he was already late, playing on the fact that he had waited so long to start his trainer career.
Allan’s destination was the Poké Mart, to pick up a newer model PokéGear for navigational purposes. His model was woefully out of date, lacking the common GPS feature of most current devices. He would have done so sooner, but a newer model was set to be released just a few days before he had planned to, so he put it off until he was headed out of town.
The farther he walked into the city, the newer the buildings became, but they retained the classic theme of days long past. Ornate wooden roofs crowned almost uncharacteristically modern architecture, but flowed together in a way Allan couldn’t put a finger on. He preferred the genuine, old parts of the city. They were quiet and peaceful, well out of the way form the typical hustle of a functioning town.
Whenever he did venture out into public, he practiced a technique to strengthen his mental abilities. Allan would often shift his focus from mind to mind, scanning tiny bits of information from them, scanning his surroundings and familiarizing himself with various emotions, sensations, intentions, and the feeling of minds he could recognize. To test himself, he would sometimes pick a mind far away, and take a small sample from their current thought process, and match that to when he was closer to the person. Slowly but surely, his mental abilities were growing and becoming easier to call upon. A trait he hoped would come in handy in training, and even battling with his Pokémon.
Just then, his mental scanning of the city streets picked up a heightened sense of fear and desperation. Allan stopped and focused on the source of the sensation. Once again the world seemed to dull around him, but this time he focused on the pinpricks of activity in the distance. About one hundred feet to his right, he could sense two minds with malicious intent, as well as two frightened and worried sets of thoughts.
‘Why’d we stop?’ Umari asked.
“Come with me, Umari,” he said, starting to run. “I’m getting a bad feeling.”
Despite questioning the suddenness of her trainer’s worry, Umari made sure to keep up with him as he turned down an alleyway. She trusted him, she always did. She knew that he wasn’t stalling like before, something else brought on this distraction. ‘What’s up, Xutan?’ she asked.
‘I am not completely certain, Umari,’ the psychic bird responded. ‘But I feel something as well. Let’s trust our Master’s judgment from here on involving this situation.’
One of the frightened minds Allan felt then slipped into unconsciousness. Umari noticed Allan curse under his breath and break into a sprint down the deserted path, sliding once he came to another turn and sprinted up another back road. Umari caught up right as Allan came to a halt in front of a small group of humans and Pokémon.
Two men stood with their back to her group, Umari could see two Pokémon by their side; a Machop and a Tyrogue. The four were surrounding a girl with long blond hair who was backed into a corner of a wall and a dumpster. She was cradling the pink and cream body of a Pokémon that Umari didn’t recognize, it leaned limply into the girl’s chest. The girl had tears streaming down her face, cringing the more the brutes closed in on her.
“Hey!”
The boom of Allan’s voice caused the five of them to recoil slightly; even Umari flinched at the ferocity of it. The girl’s eyes widened at the sight of his arrival, but she didn’t move. The two men turned to see who it was who had intruded on them. They wore plain clothes, gray hooded sweatshirts and torn jeans, each with their hoods over their heads.
“The fuck you want, kid?” one of the men asked.
Allan cooled his initial enraged attitude and eased his stance a bit. These guys won’t be much of a problem… He took a step forward, “Come on now guys, I think it’s obvious the nice lady there doesn’t want to enjoy your company anymore. Why don’t you call it a day, huh? You two look… no, I don’t think ‘sensible’ is the right word, but I think you see my point.”
“Naw, naw bro, you see? This little girl here lost a Pokémon battle with us, you see?” the second man said. In an attempt to seem friendly, he lowered his hood, revealing a head of wiry black hair and a smile of yellow teeth. The man wrung his boney hands together as he talked. “But you see, she didn’t pay up our prize money when we won.”
“A two on one battle? Hardly what I’d call a fair fight,” Allan said.
“Ah, but she agreed to it, bro.”
“Th-That’s not true! They attacked me!” The girl finally said. “I got lost walking around, and—”
“Shut up, bitch!” the hooded man yelled, his voice deep and baritone. The man’s Tyrogue lunged and dented the metal of the dumpster next to her head with a quick Mach Punch.
“Eyy, don’ I know you, bro?” the wiry haired man looked down to Allan’s right and noticed his silver-furred companion. “Oi, look who it is! Allan ‘I’ve got the shiny Eevee so I’ll flaunt it around town’ Relmstead.” The man’s false face of kindness contorted into a sneer. “Are mommy and daddy out of town again so you can leave the house again?”
The two men laughed but Allan just laughed along with them. “Now, now guys, no need to be hostile. I’m just here to pick up my cousin. She was on her way to meet me, but didn’t show up on time. Good thing I found her.”
“Bullshit,” the man with the hood said. “You’re just trying to save the poor ‘damsel in distress’ so you’ll look good. Trying to make yourself important and shit. If she’s your cousin, what’s her name?”
“Alice,” Allan called, watching the girl’s expression light up, “You should’ve called me once you got lost. How’s Aunt Sarah, by the way? We haven’t seen each other since the reunion in Fortree.”
“I… she’s fine.” the girl tried her best to hide her surprise. “Th—Thanks for coming to find me, A—llan. Sorry I’m late.”
“Not your fault, clearly,” he said, gesturing to the two dumbfounded assailants.
“Well shit…” the deep voiced man said. “Same hair, same eyes, same obnoxious attitude as her too, sure looks like they’re related.”
“Like that shit matters. Listen here, pretty boy,” the black haired man edged closer, Machop at his side, “Here’s what’s going down. You see you’re going to turn right around and leave us the hell alone. But, we’ll let you go with your pretty little cousin here, if you hand over all your cash, eh? Bank card too, whaddya say?”
Allan shrugged and tossed his gear against the wall to his right. “No, that’s not how I see things working out. You two are going to either let Alice and I leave, or you’re going to spend the next few hours unconscious while Alice and I walk away.”
The large man with the deep voice laughed, his teeth a contrast to his dark skin, “Boy, you ain’t got no more muscle on you than my little finger. You’d be killin’ yourself before you end up hurtin’ us.”
‘Xutan, you and Umari take out their Pokémon. Attack once I make my move.’ Allan said with his mind.
“Bro, if you don’t get going, we’re going to have to up the price o’ our little agreement to include your little friend there,” the thug with the black hair pointed to Umari, who lowered her stance and growled back at the man. “Yes, she’s a pretty little gem, isn’t she Relmstead? You don’t want to lose her, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” Allan said simply. “Good thing you two can’t take her when you’re kissing pavement.”
“You serious, boy?” the two men began to edge closer to him. The deep voiced man shook off his hood and cracked his knuckles. “Tyrogue, make sure our pretty little lady don’t run off on us. Let’s get this punkass kid out of our hair already.”
As the two men started to advance on Allan, he made a short backward dash as Xutan flew down from his head and landed on Umari. Two small flashes of light caused the two to stop for a moment. The first was in front of them, then a fraction of an instant later, behind them. Xutan and Umari now took up a defensive position between Alice and the thug’s Pokémon.
“What the—?”
“I thought it’d be fair, you know. We’ll have our Pokémon battle while you two get what’s coming to you,” Allan said, popping his shoulders and neck with a stretch. ‘Xutan, keep what I’m about to do a secret from Umari. I don’t want her learning my bad habits.’
‘Understood.’
“You punk!”
The two men converged on him at once, Allan shifting into a defensive stance. The smaller of the two revealed a knife but the other merely came at him with fists covered in scars gained from prior confrontations. The large man swung his fist toward Allan, aiming for his face, but Allan took a half step back, letting the swing miss his head. Using little effort, Allan shoved the man in the back, sending him crashing into a pile of garbage bags. Immediately, Allan dropped on his hands and knees to avoid the blade of the thin man’s knife. Pushing up with his legs, Allan crashed into his attacker’s chest, knocking him backwards. The knife clattered onto the concrete below as the small man lost his grip of the handle. Allan quickly grabbed it and glanced over to his two Pokémon.
Umari didn’t have much trouble dodging the Machop’s slow blows, but they hit her especially hard. Twice now she had been caught off guard by a Low Sweep, tripping up her speedy movements. Her Bite attacks did little damage against the taut, muscly skin of her opponent, leaving her to rely on her other physical moves and raw speed. After she dodged another blow however, she remembered a tactic that Xutan had showed her. Using her back paws, she kicked a small amount of dirt into the eyes of the Machop, it wailing in pain and frustration as the dust stung its eyes.
Xutan’s opponent was on its last legs, already exhausted from attacking and being hit by the bird’s Flying and Psychic type techniques. Since the start of the fight, Tyrogue was unsure on how to deal with such a small opponent. He constantly switched between various fighting tactics, finding none that could to hardly much damage against the Natu. Punches could be dodged, kicks rarely worked, and he was slower than the Tiny Bird Pokémon. An idea came to him just then, and after faking another lunge at his opponent, the Tyrogue changed targets and focused on the silver Eevee. With her out of the way, Machop could join and take out the bird with ease. Tyrogue never reached his friend’s scuffle, however. A flash of light in front of him was the last thing he saw before losing consciousness. Xutan teleported in front of the sprinting Tyrogue just after building up an amount of Psychic energy into his forehead and sent the untrained Scuffle Pokémon skidding across the alley with a Zen Headbutt. Gathering his wits, Xutan looked and saw Umari just on the verge of victory in her battle.
After an almost laughably long time, the two attackers recovered from their initial assault. Allan had closed the collapsible knife and tossed it into an open dumpster behind them, grinning as the skinny man almost made a leap to grab it before the big man grabbed him by his sweatshirt, pulling him back. The two began swinging haphazardly at Allan now, not even noticing that their Pokémon had long since been defeated.
Since the beginning of the fight, Allan had ignored his own personal code of honor when it came to the use of his psychic powers. He held constant contact with the two attackers’ minds and read their every move. Initially he was worried about the prospect of being outnumbered, but the longer the fight dragged on, the easier it became to manage. They soon began taking turns rather than attacking at once, allowing for a few redirected punches to hit an unintended target. Even easier to dodge a blow then land a few of his own.
The smaller man came lunging at Allan with a poorly thrown punch, which Allan caught. Tightening his grip in his hand, Allan twisted his arm around and pinned it behind him. Allan grabbed the man’s free arm and turned him around as a shield just in time for the large man to land a punch to his gut. Allan kicked the unconscious body of the thin man at his accomplice, causing him to stumble backwards with the dead weight of the thin man in his arms. Using the confusion, Allan sprinted behind him and swept his legs out from under him. The large man crumpled to the ground with the added weight of his friend, hitting the ground hard. By the time Allan had stood up, he was already out.
“So, what did we learn?” Allan said, panting. “Don’t pick on girls… in the hometown of the world’s next Psychic Master.”
—————
As he sat in the lobby of Ecruteak’s Pokémon Center, Allan leaned back against his seat, two seats away from the girl he had saved just an hour ago. The short skirmish left him a little sore in his shoulders and his fists. The commotion from their back alley battle eventually drew a crowd, and in turn, the local law enforcement. With Alice’s corroboration, Allan was cleared of any charges he would’ve faced, and the men and their Pokémon were taken away. Alice and Allan were free to go about their business after a few more minutes of questioning. Alice’s Pokémon—an Audino—was badly hurt from having to fend off the two Fighting types the men had, and was currently being treated by the staff at the Center. Allan’s Pokémon were merely resting inside their Poké Balls for the time being, already having been treated for their minor wounds and exhaustion.
After almost twenty minutes of silence, Alice finally spoke up. “So, um… how did you…?”
Allan cocked his head at her, “How did I what?”
“You just came out of nowhere and saved me. You knew my name, and you… knew me.” Alice sheepishly looked down, “You’re not really my cousin, are you?”
“Oh, that. I’m sorry but, no I’m not.”
“Then how—?”
“I couldn’t think of any other way, so I tried to get those goons to just leave you alone if they knew you were my family,” Allan said.
“But what did you do? I knew I never met you before, so how’d you know my name and who I was?”
“I…” Allan thought for a moment on how to explain himself. “Like I said, I’m sorry, but…” He focused on her mind, ‘I did this.’
Alice immediately bolted to her feet in shock, holding her hands to her head. “You… y—you just… talked in my head!”
“I’m a psychic, Alice. I can read and communicate with other minds around me, more or less. I found you because I sensed your heightened level of fear and I… took enough basic information from your memories to make it seem like I knew you well enough.” He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. Alice followed his movements carefully with frightened eyes.
“I only did it to try and help you,” he said. “I’m sorry, I don’t normally abuse my powers like that, and I never enter another’s mind like that without their permission.”
Alice shook his hand off her, “What else did you take from my head? Tell me!”
“Nothing, I swear. I didn’t ‘take’ anything either, I just looked for a few simple things and picked up what first came to me; your hometown, mother’s name, your name, and how you came to be in that alley. I promise, I know what it means to have your mind open to another. That lost sense of security? I like personal space too. I’ve had to practice and train for years to make sure that when I touch other minds, they don’t see into mine. If you’ve got secrets, they’re safe. I didn’t go looking.”
“How do I know you aren’t lying?”
Allan sighed, “Why would I? I threw myself into danger to save you not two hours ago. If I didn’t do what I did there’s no telling where you’d be. I’m telling you the truth, Alice. I know what I did was shitty, but I only did it to help.”
Alice retreated a few steps but eased her stance, now aware of the stares from the people in the Pokémon Center now aimed at the two of them. She stood quietly for a moment, and then said, “You did help. I’m glad you did. Thank you, Allan. But… is there any way you could prove that you’re telling me the truth?”
Allan sat back down, and offered her the seat next to him. She sat down beside him this time.
“I can, but it would involve me letting you into my mind and let you ‘see’ what I know.”
“Is that hard?” she asked.
“Only on your end, really. I don’t know if you really have the…” Allan chose his words carefully, “‘ability’ necessary for reading through someone’s memories.”
“You could teach me, right?”
“Yes,” Allan said, “but it would take a lot of time. A simple solution would be for me to let you in and show you all that I’ve learned myself. I could guide you through what I saw.”
Alice turned in her seat to face him directly. “Let’s do that, then.”
“Well, do you trust me enough to not hide anything? That’s the whole reason we’re doing this, so you’ll believe me.”
“I do. I think you’ll be honest because of two reasons,” she said. “One: you mentioned your work to make sure nobody gets in your head, so I know on some level that bothers you. The fact that you’re offering to let me in, even though you don’t know me or my reasoning, shows that you at least trust me. I think I should return that trust in you.
“And two: your method is easily one that can be falsified, and you admit that, and are hesitant because I have to put my faith in you. This tells me that you’re planning on telling me everything I want to know, because you want to make sure I believe you.”
“You’re not a psychologist, are you?” Allan said, surprised by her sudden shift in tone and confidence.
“I know how people think. I’m a people person,” she smiled. “Now, let’s do this, alright?”
“Alright,” he said. Allan brought himself to face her on the bench and closed his eyes.
‘Can you hear me, Alice? Respond by sort of ‘thinking’ in the sound of my voice.’
The response came quicker than he was expecting, ‘Like this?’
‘Exactly like that. Keep contact with my mind. Now here, this is all that I saw…’
A little girl walks the streets of a town with such high trees, they obscure the sky. A Swellow flies toward her from a distance with a woman on its back. She has flowing lavender hair that ripples in the wind. She introduces herself as Winona… Now a woman comes running toward the little girl, crying but happy beyond measure. She wraps the girl in her arms and thanks the Alpha her little Alice is safe and sound. She gives her thanks to Winona, but she assures Sarah it was her duty, and pleasure… The little girl is now a young woman. She walks the streets of a town she is unfamiliar with. She turns to notice a strange man following her, and another blocks here path of escape.
“There,” Allan said, breaking their connection. “That’s everything.”
A few strands of golden blond hair had fallen in front of Alice's face. She lingered in a sort of trance-like state for a few seconds. She blinked and brushed her hair out of her face, “Okay… Wow. Thank you.” She slumped backwards onto the bench, “Reliving memories like that is… different.”
“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what that was?” asked Allan.
“It’s…” she started, drifting off into the memory for a moment. She sat up on the bench and brought her knees up to her chest. “It’s a memory of when I was back living in Hoenn—we moved to Violet about three years ago—and I got lost. I wandered the city for hours, and I was afraid. Winona found me and brought me back home… my mom was so worried… I thought I had forgotten all about it.”
“I’m sorry,” Allan said. “Those were just the quickest memories I could find.”
“If I had forgotten them, how did you find them so quickly?”
“I think because you were so afraid and alone in that alley, it triggered that memory in your subconscious, causing a similar reaction. Same thing, different place, more or less.”
“Yeah…” she said. “I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even call on my other Pokémon when my Audino was hurt.”
“You have others?” Allan asked.
She nodded. She produced two more Poké Balls from inside her bag. She pointed to one, “This one’s Feraligatr—he’s scary—and this is Tropius—who doesn’t really listen to me. They would’ve helped out a lot, but I just… froze.”
After a few moments of silence between them, Allan brought out Umari’s and Xutan’s Poké Balls. He released them in front of her, startling her with the bright flashes of light. “These two you’ve met already, but my Eevee’s name is Umari and my Natu is Xutan. He was my first Pokémon. I’ve also got an Exeggcute, Duncan.”
Alice’s expression brightened as Allan’s Pokémon came up to her. Umari climbed into the seat next to her, and she allowed the Eevee to climb into her lap. Xutan flew to her shoulder. “They’re very friendly,” she said. “And she’s just so cute, isn’t she?”
‘I like you.’ Umari said as she nuzzled Alice’s hand.
“Sh— She can talk into my head too?” Alice brought her hands up for a moment in surprise, shooting a worried look at Allan.
“Yes,” Allan said, “but don’t worry, my Pokémon won’t go into your head either. That’s just telepathy; pure communication.”
“H—How? She’s just an Eevee.”
‘And our master is merely human’, Xutan said. ‘I helped him acquire his powers as he’s helped Umari develop hers. It’s a fairly simple process once you break it down.’
‘For you, maybe,’ Umari said.
Alice looked from Umari to Allan, “You taught an Eevee how to use telepathy? That’s amazing!”
“It was just an idea I had after I had gotten her,” Allan said. “If non-psychic humans can potentially hone their mental abilities, then so could non-psychic Pokémon.”
“Have you decided what you’re going to evolve her into?” Alice asked. “I’ve only ever seen a shiny Glaceon before. They look so pretty.”
“I’m a Psychic type specialist and Umari’s wanting to get better at what she does, so we’re working on her becoming an Espeon.”
Alice nodded, “Makes sense.”
“Hey,” Allan said. “Where’d you get the—?”
“The Feraligatr was a gift from home! Before I left Hoenn!” Alice blurted out.
Allan looked at her confused for a moment, “I… was about to ask about the Audino. That’s a pretty exotic Pokémon.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
“Something the matter?” he asked.
“Uh… No, I’m fine. My Audino, uh,” she paused, fidgeting with her hair. “My family are from all over, so one summer we went to Unova. I found her there.”
Allan studied her for a moment. Every time her eyes would meet his, they would dart downward and away.
“Alright then,” Allan said as he stood up. “I really need to get going.”
“Wh—What?”
“I was on my way out of town when I ‘ran into’ you. I’m off schedule as it is anyway.”
“But… uh… where are you headed?”
Allan bent down and picked up his backpack. Umari and Xutan returned to their trainer’s side. “South.”
“Uh… So am I! Can I, uh…” Alice gripped the edge of the bench nervously.
“Something on your mind, Alice?” he asked with a grin.
“Don’t peek!” she said angrily.
“I’m not,” Allan said plainly. “You’re just being obvious. Spit it out.”
“I… um…”
“Should I sit, or stand?” Allan asked.
Alice patted the seat next to her. Allan took his seat once more, with his Pokémon joining him.
“I… I’m heading, uh… south.”
“I gathered that much.” Allan said. “Alright Alice, what’s the matter? I’ll help if I can, but it looks like you’re too worried about telling me anything specific. All of your stories were vague, no real answers.”
“Okay…” Alice took a deep breath and straightened up in her seat. “I can’t really tell you all the details, but I’m… ‘important’. I’m a part of a team currently working in the region. I’m not sure if I can tell you what I’m doing or not, but I was on my way to Mahogany Town when I got word that we—my group—had gotten a new member. So, I turned around and was on my way back through the city when those thugs jumped me.”
“Right, that leaves us up to now.”
“I’m so… I’m scared that something will happen to me now. What if those guys have friends or what if something else happens to me? I can’t let down… who I work for. It’s important. So, I was hoping… you’d come with me. At least until I leave this city, or a bit further. I think… I think I can trust you. You saved me and you were open about how you invaded my mind.”
“I see. Where are you headed?”
“South,” Alice said.
“I get that, but where?” Allan asked, getting impatient.
“I… don’t want to say. I’m sorry, I really am. I just… I really don’t know how much I can tell you.”
Allan sighed, “Alright, I’ll head with you as long as our paths keep us together.”
Alice surprised him with a very affectionate hug to show her appreciation, drawing attention to them once more. After a less than comfortable exchange, the two fell back to casual conversation while they waited for Alice’s Pokémon to recover. Allan learned a few key things about her, most notably that she wasn’t a strong battler, or even wanting to compete for gym badges. Her goal as a trainer being to see the world and learn more about Pokémon. She elaborated on her story about her Audino, saying that after seeing it heal her broken leg as a child, she was inspired to become a doctor.
“I really just want to help people who are in pain,” she said. “Pain is terrible. Emotional or physical. But it’s universal. Everyone understands pain. Everyone hurts at some point or another. I want to help relieve that when they do.”
“Noble cause,” Allan remarked.
“What about you?” she asked. “Do you have a dream? Or are you just, you know, a trainer for the sake of it.”
“It’s a bit lofty, but I want to be the strongest Psychic specialist in the region.”
“Apart from Will, of course,” she said.
Allan looked at her, “I’m sorry?”
“Well,” she said. “You’re not really thinking you can be better than an Elite Four member, are you?”
“That’s the idea. Will’s my hero. He’s such a powerful psychic and a master trainer. He’s the one of the best. That’s what I want to be, but better; I’ve got to surpass him.”
Alice stared at him in awe, “How? He’s super strong! I mean, you’re good, but he’s…”
Allan looked down at Umari in his lap and the two exchanged a few thoughts. “I’ve trained my skills with my Pokémon for years. I’ve even been able to teach Umari how to use telepathy, and she’s shown signs of other abilities as well. If that’s what I can do just by hanging around here, what will the rest of the world teach me? Teach us? I believe I can surpass Will, but not alone, and not by sticking in one place. I don’t know how long it’ll take me, but I’ll definitely get there.”
“Wow… you’re pretty cool, you know?”
Allan shot her an amused look. “Cool? That’s the word you chose?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Don’t girls normally call guys they’re interested in ‘hot’ or ‘cute’?” he said.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just… complimenting you on your drive to accomplish your dream…” she slightly shook her head, letting her blond hair cover her reddening face.
“Sure you were.”
“But…” she started, “can I get your PokéGear number? Just… you know, in case we get separated?”
Allan laughed, “At least try and play it off, woman. You’re so obvious it hurts.” Allan continued to laugh as she playfully attacked his shoulder.
—————
As the day wore on and slipped into the afternoon and the midday meal had been consumed, Rikalia found some seclusion in a tree near their camp. The sun shone into her eyes whenever the breeze would move the leaves above her head. She tried to ignore it. The only thing the day had yielded in terms of interesting events so far was a rather relaxing breeze. A late start and a lack of encounters with wild Pokémon left her in an anxious mood. She clawed into the bark next to her idly.
She looked down at the foot of the tree. Karros had lazily walked over and fallen asleep in the shade. He was the reason for her boredom, or at least a part of it. Her trainer had an idea after a revelation had struck him as they were eating lunch: in case they couldn’t cure Karros’ fear of all things avian, then he’d be left with only two Pokémon for his eventual gym battle in Violet City. His idea then was to find a Flying type Pokémon in the surrounding area. This would leave further increase his chances at the gym and their new feathered companion would hopefully help Karros get over his phobia.
Currently, Iruni was off somewhere with the newest member of their little team. The cheerful little plant thing, as Rikalia came to know her, was another cause for her annoyance. Her personality seemed to grate at Rikalia’s nerves whenever the Chikorita was around. Which was often. Iruni was eager to get to know her more and asked for her help in going to and find the supposed fix-all cure for Karros. Rikalia couldn’t help but think she could do a better job at hunting a bird. She’d done it plenty of times before—however successful she was back then, she decided, was irrelevant—so why pick the little green thing?
Rikalia didn’t see the logic in it Iruni’s plan either. Inducing Karros’ fear of birds wouldn’t help it, would it? Even if he became used to this one bird, would that extend to every other kind out there? Going by what she was told, Karros froze at the sight of any bird, regardless of threat or familiarity with it. Exposure sure hasn’t helped Iruni with his sensitivity to blood, she pointed out to herself.
A rustling of leaves to her left caught her attention, followed almost immediately by the frightened squawks of a dozen or so Pidgey as they shot into the skies to flee what appeared to be large, thorny vines. The tendrils were thick and warping, digging through entire trees and grasping branches wherever they pleased. Three of the vines seemed to randomly change course and head for Rikalia’s own tree. She quickly leaped down to the ground before the thorny creepers reached her. On the ground she saw they had pierced and grown into the tree, ripping into the bark and felling limbs.
Karros, startled by the noise, awoke and stood guard at Rikalia’s side. The two exchanged questioning glances and agreed silently that the vines had to be stopped. Karros began to build a mass of fire to attack as Rikalia moved into cover. Just before the attack was loosed, the vines went rigid and lost a fraction of their living green color. Suspicious of the once-angry vegetation, Karros held his mouth full of flames at the ready for a few more moments before calming down. Coming out of her hiding spot behind her teammate, Rikalia looked up at the gnarled remains of the tree. Cautious, she sent an Icy Wind attack toward the mass of tendrils, coating the tangled confusion in ice.
Nothing came slithering after her.
“What are those things?” she asked. She looked to Karros for an answer, but he just shook his head and kept his eyes on what was just trying to strangle and stab them.
Rikalia looked and followed the path of the vines back into the forest, wondering if she should try and find the source of the attack. The thick vines snaked back into the trees for some distance, tearing into and passing through trunk after trunk in their path. Splinters of bark and tree limbs littered the ground for the next fifty yards. Rikalia climbed a tree on the edge of their camp which had thankfully escaped being entangled and tried to get a better view of the damage. Before she was halfway up the tree, another rustling sound caught her attention. Something else was heading their way.
Thankfully it wasn’t another volley of attacking plant life. Carefully making their way through the path of destruction that the vines had paved through the forest, Iruni was—as quickly as was sensible—returning to the campsite. Atanya, due to her smaller size, made it back before he did, looking rather worried as she looked around at the carnage the strange vines had wrought. When Iruni finally made it through the thick debris his arms were covered in small scratches, and small twigs and leaves clung to his clothes.
“Oh good, you’re both alright…” he said, relieved.
“Barely,” Rikalia asked. She pointed a claw at the mess of vines trailing into the forest. “Do you know what those are? You look like you might’ve fought whatever caused them.”
“Well,” Iruni said, “not ‘fought’, but I sure as hell saw it happen. Atanya did that.”
Rikalia looked over to her Grass type teammate for a moment, struggling to grasp the idea that such a small and seemingly weak Pokémon could have caused that much destruction. “No way. That couldn’t have been her.”
“It was,” Iruni said. He sat down on the ground and began picking the small bits of foliage off himself, wincing as he pulled a thorn from his arm. “Professor Elm said when we got her that she knew a few techniques already. And well,” he gestured behind him, “that’s what’s called ‘Frenzy Plant’. Needless to say, she’s a bit new at it.”
“Really? I didn’t notice…”
“On top of that, we missed our chance to catch a way to help you out,” he said to his Houndour. Rikalia thought she saw a look of relief oh the fire dog’s face.
“Well,” Rikalia said, “you’re going to try again, right?”
“I guess I’m going to have to…” Iruni looked over to his Grass Pokémon. “So Atanya, ready to give it another go?”
She nodded.
“You’re using her again?” Rikalia asked.
“Yeah, is something wrong?”
“Well, you wouldn’t have lost the one you were trying to get earlier if I was there. She’ll probably just overdo it again.” She couldn’t help but notice the almost dejected expression that had Atanya. Then the leaf-headed creature grew determined and insisted on trying again.
“I can control what I do, just watch,” Atanya said, almost glaring at her.
“Right,” Rikalia said. “Good luck with that.”
“Rika, you’re not the most experienced either you know,” Iruni said. “If you want, you both can help.”
“But I’ll get it done. She’ll just mess up again.”
“Still,” Iruni said, “it’s fair for her to try. She’s the newest and need the experience in battle.”
Unhappy with his decision, but willing to help out Karros, Rikalia agreed. Once Iruni was sure things at the campsite weren’t disturbed by Atanya’s attack, he left Karros in charge to guard his things while they went off in search of a Pidgey that wasn’t scared away by the commotion. Deciding to head the opposite way, back toward Newbark, Iruni sent Rikalia ahead to quickly look for signs of Pidgey nests. Every so often she would encounter the strange red worms that she had no familiarity with. Iruni called them “Wurmples”. They weren’t native to Johto, and they were just one of the reasons why this Project Cartographer was started.
Lot’s of Pokémon are moving. I wonder where I would be if I wasn’t left behind?
The better part of the next two hours was mostly spent in silence. Despite Rikalia’s best efforts, she was having trouble finding the telltale signs of a Pidgey nest. She tried to push aside her worries for the time being. Iruni and Atanya were relying on her to track down their target first, and she was determined to show that she could, if only to show the latter she was more capable than she is.
Maybe I am out of practice? How long has it been since I needed to hunt? Hunt… Hungry… Food!
Rikalia paused, sending a sign below to have her companions slow to a stop. She stood up and looked around in all directions, scanning the trees, trying to find evidence to use with her idea. It wasn’t specific details that she was looking to spot, but color. Or the distinct lack of, if she was right.
That way.
A tree to her left had far less red pigment when she just glanced at it. It had less berries. Without looking back down, Rikalia beckoned Iruni and Atanya where to begin heading. She went ahead, quietly now that she was on the trail. Within another few minutes, she began hearing chirping noises. An adult Pidgeotto flew close by, making her stop and hide in the shadow of the tree’s trunk. After it was past, she smiled inwardly at herself—she did it. Silently gloating to herself all the way down to the ground, she found Iruni and her teammate a small walk away. Apparently they didn’t see where she went.
“Found ‘em,” Rikalia said in a proud tone. “They’re about… thirty feet away. I can hear a few.”
“Really?” Atanya asked.
“Yup. It was easy.”
“Good work, Rikalia,” said Iruni. “Now,” he knelt down to his two Pokémon, “What’s the game plan? I don’t want to delay this again, so let’s think this through.”
“I’ve already got an idea, but she probably won’t like it,” Rikalia said, pointing at Atanya.
“Oh?”
“Mhm…” Rikalia looked over to Atanya. “How about it, girly? Want to try my idea?”
“You haven’t said what it is yet,” Atanya said.
“You can be bait.”
“Rikalia!” Iruni said shocked. “Don’t be like that.”
“I’m being practical. It’ll work. If she goes out there and threatens a nest, they’ll defend it. They can tell she’s an easy target,” she said. “And when she has one in front of her, I’ll attack it from behind. Easy.”
“Alright, but how is this different to what Atanya and I did earlier?” he asked.
Rikalia turned to Atanya, “You can’t use any of your stupid-strong attacks. It’ll scare all of them away again, and probably backfire. Again.”
“How am I supposed to defend myself?” Atanya protested. “I’m weak to Flying types!”
“Don’t you have any, you know, non-overpowered moves you can use?”
It looked like Atanya was going to respond immediately, but she caught herself. She stayed silent for a few moments, then looked at her trainer expectantly.
“Oh, well, let’s see…” Iruni brought out his Pokédex from his pocket. After a few seconds he seemed to cringe slightly at the results. “According to this, it looks like you can only use Tackle without really pushing it.”
Atanya seemed to be weighing the odds in her own head. The Chikorita would have to face a Flying type, and try to fend it off without any of techniques that she knew she can defend herself with.
“You can say no,” Rikalia said. Atanya looked almost relieved until Rikalia continued, “If it’s too much for you, then there’s nothing you can do. I guess we’ll have to waste more time and make another plan.”
“I see what you’re doing, you know. I’m not afraid.”
“So you think you can handle yourself without your special moves?”
“Yes!” Atanya stamped the ground defiantly, then gave a confident nod to her trainer.
After Rikalia gave her best directions on how to find the Pidgey flock in question, the next ten minutes were spent deciding on a much more specific plan of action. They settled on an idea that would leave Atanya in danger the least, and split up once again.
Rikalia headed north of their intended targets and doubled back to flank them from the side. Making sure to be silent and hidden, once there she waited for Iruni and Atanya to appear at the arranged spot. She looked up into the trees from the shrub she hid in at the birds which were still unaware of her presence. She thought how easy it was to hunt and find these Pidgey, finding a sense of satisfaction that she could survive on her own much better now. Not that she’d ever leave, of course.
Just as planned, Iruni and Atanya came within range of the protective birds still in their nests. Most just squawked and flapped their wings in angry protest at the trespassing human and Pokémon, but a few took to the sky and fled. Rikalia saw Iruni grip an odd pink and beige Poké Ball in his hand and commanded Atanya to advance on their territory. Also as expected, one of the flock swooped down to meet the little green intruder before she made much more progress.
I wonder if they know it’s her who wrecked up the forest back there?
The Pidgey that flew to greet Atanya landed a few yards away, flapping indignantly at her. Hesitance was evident across Atanya’s face, but she stood her ground. For their plan to work, Atanya needed the enemy Pidgey to fully invest its attention in her. Then it was up to Rikalia’s own judgment when to join the fray. Knowing her part in this, Atanya took a ready stance.
“Tackle!” Iruni called.
The Chikorita did just that. She took the bird by surprise and landed a clean hit on the angry avian. It caught itself with its wings before losing too much ground and returned with prompt Gust attack. The sudden blast of air hit Atanya full force, stinging her eyes. When she opened them again, the Pidgey was in the air above her, diving down towards her. Her trainer’s call to dodge the attack was unnecessary, but she was trained to trust his sense of timing. When the call was ordered, the wild Pidgey had no time to stop itself from crashing into nothing but the ground.
Angered further from the botched assault, the Pidgey caught Atanya off guard with a Quick Attack, surprising her with speed. Seeing the advantage, the Pidgey began to use its agility against his opponent. It easily dodged the rest of the Grass Pokémon’s attacks and was gaining confidence in being able to clear out this annoyance without much more trouble. Deciding to quickly shoo the strange green creature away from its home, the Pidgey landed on the ground and sent a volley of Gust attacks toward Atanya. It dug its talons into the soft dirt beneath it to keep from flying away by accident.
Just as the wild Pidgey began questioning why its target wasn’t trying to defend itself, it became aware of a staggering drop in temperature. It became difficult to breathe and move his wings much faster than a gentle wave. A chilling wind was blowing from behind it, leaving a thin layer of ice to accumulate on its feathers. It struggled to twist its neck around to see where the strange and sudden cold wind came from, but the ice was rapidly spreading over its body.
Rikalia ceased her Icy Wind attack on the Pidgey and closed the distance to her target. The Pidgey was too sluggish with the ice coating its limbs to move out of the way as she slashed at it twice with her claws. Despite the hits it had taken, the wild Pidgey tried to gather itself back up, surprisingly to fight back at its new opponent rather than flee. Rikalia dodged the Pidgey’s frantic but slow Peck attacks, sidestepping to its side and landed a Faint Attack.
This time however, the Pidgey failed to get back up immediately. Knowing what was coming next, Rikalia backed away from the beaten bird just in time to watch her trainer throw the pink and beige ball. The Pidgey was swallowed up into the ball in as a mass of pink and blue light. After a few tense seconds watching the Poké Ball rock back and forth on the grass, it finally chimed and the capture was made. Then the ball did something Rikalia didn’t expect— the light-blue band across the sphere pulsed lightly for a few moments before the center button blinked twice. She made sure to remember to ask about that. Rikalia walked over and picked up the sphere containing yet another new teammate and tossed it to her trainer. She and Atanya started walking over to him as he caught it.
“Yes!” he yelled. “Good work you two.” Iruni knelt down and gave the both of them an appreciative head rub.
“Hey,” Rikalia said. “What’s with that Poké Ball? It glowed and blinked after it caught the Pidgey. Did mine do that?
“You don’t know?” Atanya asked. “Oh, that’s right, you ran off before you heard that part of the plan… I almost forgot.”
Rikalia tried her best to ignore her comment.
“This is a Heal Ball,” he said, holding it up to her. “It’s designed to completely recover any wounds a Pokémon sustained before it was caught.”
“Why’d you use that one then?”
“Because I want…” he checked his Pokédex for a moment, “him to be able to help us now. Today. And I had a feeling you’d rough him up a bit, Rika.”
“Blame the bird; he wasn’t going down without a fight,” she said.
“That’s good,” said Iruni. “We’ll need that kind of determination. You know something?”
“What?”
“What is it,” Atanya asked.
“This guy here,” he said, rolling the Heal Ball in his hand, “is actually the first Pokémon that I’ve caught. Karros and you, Rika were rescued from the wild, and Anya was given to me. This means a lot, you two. Thank you both for your help.”
“You’re very welcome, Master.” Atanya said.
“No problem. I had fun with it,” Rikalia said. “So, now what? Are we headed for the next town yet?”
“Actually you two, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like for you to stay here.”
“What?” the two Pokémon questioned.
“I really just want to handle Karros alone, at least just for this first time meeting… I’ll need a name for this guy here soon. I’ll come find you two in a little bit, so stay close by.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to have Kar surrounded by friends if he’s going to face his worst fear?” Rikalia asked.
“Of course, and I expect the both of you to help him out in this. But he and I went through what caused his fear in the first place. I think it should be me alone when he finally tries to get rid of it.”
Rikalia eventually agreed but didn’t like the idea of spending an extended time with her Grass type teammate.
“So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” she asked.
“Try training on your own for a little while—keep it light, Atanya—but really it’s up to you.” Iruni stood up and stretched his arms out, cringing a little bit as he twisted his left arm a certain way. “Shit… still can’t do that. Alright you two, I’m headed back. I’m not sure how long this’ll be, but I’ll come get you before dinner, definitely.”
Rikalia bid her trainer farewell and watched him start to walk off. Just as he was beyond the trees she was assaulted from behind, landing hard on the ground. She quickly rolled onto her feet, claws extended, ready face whatever tackled her. She looked around, but no one was in front of her but Atanya. It didn’t take a second before she growled in anger at the Leaf Pokémon.
“What was that for?”
“Our trainer told us to train by ourselves,” said Atanya, casually looking around. “Or did you forget that already?”
“Well I wasn’t ready!”
“Then get ready then!”
Atanya charged her again, hitting Rikalia square in the chest. The Grass type backed away quickly before she could recover. Rikalia looked Atanya in the eyes and hissed sharply.
“What’s the matter, huh?” Atanya asked coyly. “Aren’t you going to attack me back?”
“Fine.”
Rikalia sprinted forward at her teammate, reaching back to slash at her face. When she got close enough however, Atanya started twirling the leaf on her head, conjuring a tornado of sharp leaves around her. Rikalia couldn’t stop her momentum and crashed into the wall of green. The leaves buffeted and nicked at her, forcing a retreat. The flurry of leaves sent the remaining bird Pokémon in the immediate area to scatter to safer ground.
“Hey, Iruni said to keep it light!” Rikalia screamed at her.
“I am,” Atanya said simply. “This is full strength!”
The Leaf Storm encircling the Chikorita then expanded rapidly, catching Rikalia off guard. She immediately brought her hands up to shield her face as the attack crashed into her. The force of the assault of leaves was great enough to pull her from the ground and send her crashing into a tree behind her. By the time she could recover, Atanya had her leaf pressed against her neck, staring intently at her.
“I win,” the Leaf Pokémon said.
“So what?” Rikalia spat back at her.
“So, said Atanya, “I’m better than you.” She smiled smugly at Rikalia.
“You think so?”
Rikalia inhaled and blew an Icy Wind straight at the Chikorita, causing her to stagger back. Rikalia jumped up and went to slash at her, but a thin green vine caught her arm. Atanya grunted and lifted Rikalia off the ground without much effort, staring angrily up at her as the helpless Sneasel flailed around in the air.
“Can I ask you something, Rikalia?” Atanya asked.
“Let me down, now!” Rikalia tried to claw at the vine, but another snatched her free arm by the wrist.
“Why do you avoid me?”
“Wh— What?” Rikalia stopped struggling and looked down at Atanya.
“You clearly don’t like being around me and I want to know why.”
The vines’ grip in her arms slackened and Rikalia was lowered to the ground gently. Rikalia gently rubbed her left wrist and looked back to Atanya, who had abandoned her previously angry demeanor.
“I… I don’t avoid you,” said Rikalia.
“Yes you do. You’ve acted different towards me since we met. I can detect that with my leaf.”
“Whatever.” Rikalia looked away.
“You also fight with me on every little thing. You try every way you can to just shove me around or ignore me.”
Rikalia was silent.
“You also had the nerve to just use me as ‘bait’ to catch our new friend! You could have joined the battle any time, but you just sat on your butt and watched me get attacked.”
“We wouldn’t have had to go after another one if you didn’t mess up the first time,” said Rikalia.
“Don’t change the subject! Answer my question: Why do you avoid me? Do you hate me?”
“No…”
“Then what is it?” Atanya asked. She shook her head and sat on the ground. “Do you feel threatened by me because I’m a girl?”
“What?”
“Well, as far as I know, it’s only been you and Karros until I showed up, and I haven’t seen you act this way toward him,” said Atanya. “I noticed you really reacted negatively when our Master asked me to help catch the Pidgey earlier today.”
Rikalia just stared at her for a few moments. She could feel herself getting warmer, but she tried to ignore it. She sat down on the ground and looked off into the trees.
“Did anyone tell you that you notice too much?” she asked.
“Oh, so it is that then. You’re just jealous? That’s good”
“No I’m not!”
“That’s textbook jealousy there, Rika,” Atanya said.
Rikalia turned head toward her. “Don’t call me that,” she said.
“Why not? Our Master does all the time.”
“And you’re not him! And why do you call him ‘Master’? He’s just ‘Iruni’ to me and Kar.”
“You are so jealous,” Atanya chided.
“Shut up, you.”
“Don’t worry about it though,” Atanya said.
“Why?” Rikalia questioned.
“Because I’m not angry about it, so that only leaves you to get over it as soon as possible. I’m not trying to usurp your spot as our Master’s ‘favorite’ or anything. I’m just trying to be a useful member of the team.”
Rikalia was silent for a few moments, then said, “What if I don’t get over it then?”
Atanya stood up, “Then you’re hurting the team!” Rikalia wasn’t expecting her to raise her voice. “You aren’t supposed to fight and plot against your fellow teammates! We’re supposed to be helping our Master out with the Cartographer mission—and anything else—together! And in case you’ve already forgotten, you just helped our Master catch another team member. We can’t afford to waste time fighting with you over every newcomer that joins us, so you better start getting over yourself now while the one you’re fighting against right now at least forgives you.” Atanya ended her rant with a huff and sat back down, fanning her leaf in the sunlight. “I mean it, don’t worry about this, and it’ll be easier for you.”
Rikalia stared at her for a few minutes, letting the words ring inside her head. She couldn’t argue with any of the points Atanya just made. It made her feel childish.
“If you’re not going to respond,” Atanya started, “at least answer this: Do you feel that our teammate Karros didn’t feel any jealousy when our Master got you?”
“I…” she stopped herself. She really hadn’t even considered it. “I don’t know. He might have.”
“Did our Master give you any special treatment when he first got you?” Atanya asked.
Rikalia could already see her point. She only nodded.
“Now, do you think that Karros hold that against you?”
“No. He wouldn’t,” said Rikalia. She sighed and resigned herself. “Alright, I get what you’re trying to do. I’m sorry.”
“Oh really? Just like that? No more pushing and fighting?” Atanya had to laugh and give her Sneasel friend a pat on her head with her large leaf to show she was only joking. “Enough of the constant back-and-forth, alright? I was only kidding around.”
“How’d you get so smart? You seem to know a lot about… a lot of things.”
“I read a lot when I was being raised,” said Atanya.
Rikalia failed to hide being impressed. “You can read?”
“Who raised me? You think anyone—Pokémon or not—would be able to be near that man without being taught how to read?”
Rikalia chuckled a bit, “Yeah, I guess. How long were you with him?”
“I’m just over three years old, most of them spent with the professor.”
“Do you miss him? Rikalia asked.
“Of course I do,” Atanya said. “He’s my father, and the other two Pokémon he gave out to the Cartographers were like my brothers. I don’t remember much of my birth parents, so they’re my family.”
Rikalia nodded.
“So, are we good now?” Atanya asked.
“Yes, we’re good. I apologized, didn’t I?”
“Good, I didn’t want to use another of those Leaf Storm attacks on you. That one really almost went out of control.”
“It hurt like hell.”
“Well, it’s not supposed to feel good,” Atanya joked.
The minutes that passed after that were a contrast to what had just transpired. Rikalia and Atanya talked for a while more, sharing stories and joking around with each other. Atanya was particularly interested in the story of how Rikalia came to meet Iruni. They picked up their sparring session once the two were able, but twice they had to pause for Atanya to try and contain the strength of the techniques she tried. Rikalia gave her the best advice she could on how to moderate her power, but it seems her own personal intuition didn’t translate to how the Chikorita harnessed her Grass type abilities.
Sooner than they were expecting, Iruni came walking out of the trees to meet them. He looked a bit dejected, but otherwise pleased with what he saw. Their new teammate sat on his shoulder and nodded at them.
“Nice job you two. Make any progress?” he asked.
Rikalia relayed Atanya’s messages to their trainer about their training. She especially stressed her successes in controlling her techniques.
“Don’t expect to get them down overnight,” he said. Iruni put his hand out and the Pidgey on his shoulder hopped on. “Oh, I’ve decided on his name; Kreen.”
“How’d introducing him to Karros go?” Rikalia asked.
“About as good as you’d expect,” Iruni said, disappointed. “We think we’ve got him convinced Kreen won’t hurt him, but we’re a long way from getting through completely.”
“Don’t worry,” Kreen spoke up, his tone assuring an confident, “If a member of the flock has a problem, we work to fix it.”
“Well said!” Atanya cheered.
“You certainly adjust quick, eh bird boy?” Rikalia asked.
Kreen ruffled his feathers, “All that’s changed is the flock. My loyalty to my comrades is unaffected. You sought out my assistance, and I’m happy to oblige.”
The four then decided to head back to the campsite. Kreen left his perch on Iruni’s arm and flew ahead of the group, enticing Atanya to try and beat him in a race. The Chikorita’s small legs weren’t made for speed, but she rose to the challenge anyway. A few moments later, Iruni looked down at Rikalia, noticing the many small scratches she now had.
“Did things go alright with Anya?” he asked.
“Yeah, she just caught me off guard with her attacks a few times.”
“No, I mean you and her. You two talk it out?”
Rikalia groaned, “Let me guess, you noticed me sulking around lately too?”
He nodded. “I asked her while we were off on our own if she noticed anything, and she told me she was worried that you didn’t like her. I take it you sorted things out?”
“Yes, yes, we’re good.” Rikalia desperately wanted to leave the subject alone. “Hey, Iruni?”
“Yes?”
“You’re going to be giving Atanya training to help her control her attacks, and you’ll be training Kreen and helping Karros too, right?”
“That’s the plan,” said Iruni. “What’s up?”
“Well,” she paused. She wasn’t sure why she did—she knew what she wanted to ask, but the process of asking escaped her for some reason.
“What is it, Rika?” Iruni asked.
“Can you train me alone too? I… I want to get to be able to control that Dark Pulse that I have.”
“Why? Because you don’t want to hurt—”
“Not just for that,” she continued, “Atanya has moves she can use, but not control. I’ve got one that I can’t even begin to call on and it hurts you. I don’t want to have that sit unattended anymore.”
“That’s a good idea, Rika. We can start on it whenever you want,” he said.
“Today?”
Iruni stopped walking and looked at her. He seemed to be questioning her insistence on the matter, but he didn’t ask any more questions.
“Sure,” he said. “We’ll be spending most of the evening trying to make it to Cherrygrove City, but we’ll work on it as we go. How’s that sound?”
“Good.” She smiled up at him.
Rikalia and Iruni continued the rest of the way to their campsite in idle conversation. Rikalia asked Iruni’s opinion on their chances of being successful at the Violet Gym. He said he was confident now with Kreen they would at least stand an even chance without having to risk Atanya in the battle—though with her moves, she may very well be able to hold her own. Rikalia wasn’t particularly worried, but Iruni warned her that a Gym Leader’s Pokémon aren’t like the wild ones she was more familiar with battling. Rikalia thought that was part of the appeal; fighting more powerful Pokémon to show your worth. Iruni agreed, but cautioned her to still be wary when the time comes.
Once they returned to their campsite, Atanya was trying to coax Karros out from behind a tree while Kreen stood about fifteen feet from them. Iruni told them not to worry about it, but thanked them for trying. Iruni recalled Atanya and Kreen, then set about to gather things up to head to Cherrygrove. He was certain they would make it without arriving too late, but he was unsure on what the rest of the route would offer. He doubted it would be anything that he and his Pokémon couldn’t handle.
—————
[Cartographer Log: 4/6/00]
[Cartographer ID: B. I. Thomas (53142)]
[“Is it recording? Ah, there it goes. Sorry if the time of day is an issue with these things, Professor. We just got into Cherrygrove about half an hour minutes ago, and just now got settled in our room.
“We saw quite a few Wurmple and their relatives on our walk through Route 29, but not much else that we noticed out of the norm. Though I might’ve caused the local Pidgey population to consider relocating; Atanya is almost too strong for her own good! Why didn’t you tell me she only knew these really powerful moves? It took forever to catch one, but we managed to. I’ve named him Kreen.
“Really though, Atanya’s doing fine. She just hasn’t had any practical… practice with these moves yet. Once she does though, she’ll be damn strong.
“Well, I’m think this should do it for my audio log for today. I don’t think we’re going to be in Cherrygrove very long tomorrow, so hopefully we can get on the road and out fairly early.
…I’m not entirely sure if there’s any protocol for ending these things, so I’ll just end it.”]
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To Be Continued…
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The Dark Type