Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

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
- 26
- 27
- 28
—————
Chapter 27: Heating Up
—————
It was an agonizingly slow elevator ride, and as much as he wanted it to be over, Iruni Thomas knew something much worse awaited him and his father. He could imagine just how his father would react when he saw the state Kate was in. He had gone through the same ordeal himself, after all, and dreaded seeing his father experience it.
This is worse than telling him over the phone.
Iruni leaned back against the wall as he ascended from the ground floor of the hospital. He had just met his father for the first time since resurfacing from his time in the strange underground tunnels beneath Johto. It should have been a joyous occasion, celebrating Iruni’s good health and being thankful a greater misfortune hadn’t befallen him.
However, neither of them could even think of celebrating at the moment. Earlier that day, a sudden and powerful fire had broken out in Katelyn Thomas’s apartment building, leaving her hospitalized with terrible burns and other injuries.
Despite being very late in the evening, Iruni’s father had made the trip from Mahogany Town to Saffron City without a second thought. Concern for his daughter radiated from him.
“Did you see anything that might’ve caused the fire?” asked his father.
Iruni had already been asked this question—by the police, the fire department, and his father once before—but he answered anyway.
“No. Everything was fine when we left earlier this morning, and we were gone for a while,” he said, looking down at the Sneasel and Houndour at his feet—the only Pokémon he had that really knew Kate. “No one knows anything.”
“Did the doctors say when Kate might wake up?” asked Bruce.
“They said it was too soon to tell; she was in and out of consciousness while they were treating her, but she’s been out ever since. They said they might have a better idea in the morning.”
The elevator doors chimed as they opened, revealing the fourth floor of the hospital. Iruni led his father and Pokémon to the nurse’s station and let them know they were here to make a quick visit, then proceeded onward toward his sister’s room in the intensive care wing.
“Bart.” His father used his first name, giving the impending sentence more weight and importance than usual, “What you did today was… great and terrible at the same time.”
“I know.”
“I mean it!” Bruce pressed but kept his voice low for the other patients. “You just came back from your own life-threatening experience. I almost lost both of my children today because you ran into a fire without waiting for the proper people to take care of it. You need to be more careful.” He stopped his son and hugged him. “Of course I’m glad you ran in to save your sister… I couldn’t be more proud of you or more thankful you saved her. But I can’t stand the thought of losing either of you.”
“I know…” Iruni hugged back. “We’re safe though. Kate’s alive, I’m alive, and all our Pokémon made it and are all healthy. I’m focusing on that, because if I don’t I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to handle everything that’s happened.”
Being as late in the day as it was meant only a few hospital staff were in the halls, leaving an eerie silence surrounding them. They continued down the hallway, each step toward their destination echoing through the quiet building, carrying on behind their conversation in flat repetition.
“If you need to take a break, I understand,” suggested Bruce. “Come home, relax, and recover.”
“I can’t do that,” Iruni said. “But thanks. It’s good to know you’re there if I need you, really.”
As the group turned their last corner, Iruni heard a sound similar to the chime the elevator made when opening its doors, but they had walked too far away to have heard it. The sound of a single bell rung out through the hallway, low and clear. He looked down and saw his Pokémon had heard it too; both Rikalia and Karros were looking around for the source, but neither could seem to place it.
“Might’ve been the hospital’s intercom acting up…” Iruni dismissed. He walked a few paces faster than his father to open the right door. He reached out for the knob, “Her room is right here…”
Iruni pushed the door open gently, walking into the room, “Kate? Dad’s here now—” The sight waiting for him on the bed sent shivers up his body. Kate looked great, perfectly healthy and uninjured. Even more, she looked like she was simply waking up from a deep sleep. “Kate!”
Her brother’s loud voice shook the last remnants of grogginess from her in an instant. Kate’s eyes opened wide with confusion and surprise.
“Where am I?” her words were muffled slightly by the oxygen mask she had been wearing. She had needed to wear it to ease her troubled lungs, though it hardly seemed necessary now. “What happened to me?”
“Katelyn, honey?” Bruce asked as he pushed into the room. Relief washed over his face as a smile spread wide across his aging features.
“Dad!”
Iruni told Rikalia and Karros to stay in the room as he turned and ran out of it. The slow and heavy walk from the nurse’s desk before flew by in a few seconds at the speed his legs carried him. The evening shift staff all looked up from their tasks at the frantic looking young man that ran up to them.
“Someone, please come quick! My sister is alright!” He needlessly pointed in the direction of her room, as if any of the nurses needed directions. “Katelyn Thomas, burn victim, intensive care? She’s fine!”
“She is in stable condition, yes,” a nurse said, trying to get Iruni to lower his voice. “That’s how she was declared a few hours ago.”
“No, she’s all better! She’s fine! Completely! I know how this sounds, but just come see!”
“She shouldn’t even be awake,” the nurse said, standing.
Iruni hurried her along and showed her into Kate’s room, who was trying her best to undo the bandages on her arms.
“Oh my goodness!” she said, rushing inside.
Iruni followed her in a few steps before stopping dead in his tracks. Something had just touched his mind.
Something he recognized.
Along with the presence was the general location, as if to say “Look over here!”.
Taking the hint, Iruni turned his head to look out the window to the right of Kate’s bed. There, just on the other side of the glass, four stories up, was Celebi.
The two held each other’s gaze for a tense moment. Iruni tried to make sense or her appearance here, but soon pieced things together when Celebi sent him a single, short message with her telepathy.
‘You’re welcome.’
‘You! You did this?’ He tried to respond but she had already disappeared by the time the thoughts formed in his head.
“This is incredible! I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” The nurse had completed a short exam of Kate to confirm her sudden change in condition. “I’m going to get the on-call doctor, please stay put!”
“I’m—!” Iruni blurted out, unsure of what to even say. His father, sister, and Pokémon all looked at him. “I’m going to call the police! They’ll want to hear what you have to say about the fire, right?”
“Oh, you bet,” said Kate. “I know what happened.”
“Great!”
Iruni turned on the spot and ran down the hallway again, taking the stairs this time to reach the ground floor. He heard a pair of clawed paws following him as he rounded the corners of the staircase.
“Iruni, wait!” Rikalia yelled for him. She didn’t need him to wait—she could easily catch up to him—she was more confused at his actions than anything. “Where are you going? Can’t you call them in the room?”
On the main floor of the hospital now, Iruni ran outside onto the sidewalk. He turned around a few times, looking both ways and even up into the air.
“Come on, then!” Iruni yelled into the night air. “You want to talk? You want to butt in more, huh? Come on! Let me thank you properly!”
His Sneasel grabbed and tugged his hand, trying to get his attention. “Hey! What’s going on?”
“I’m right here, dammit! Come on!”
He stood still, fists clenched, breathing hard and fast. Iruni looked around the street, up in the trees, in the sky, but saw nothing.
“Gone… Dammit!” Iruni punched the air with his free hand, his frustration getting the better of him. “She’s doing it again.”
“Who?”
“Celebi…” he said, defeated. Iruni knelt down on the sidewalk next to his Sneasel, holding her paw gently. “She’s the one who healed Kate. I told her to stop going behind my back and interfering with things, but now she’s involving my family, Rika! Even after she said she would stop…”
“Why are you even considering work with her then?” asked the Sneasel. She gripped Iruni’s hand tighter, “I read what you said in your journal. I wouldn’t stand it if someone kept manipulating my life just to get something done.”
“I don’t like how she’s going about handling this,” Iruni said. He paused, letting out a defeated sigh, “But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to help her. That guy we met in Blackthorn, Coralis, do you remember him?”
“Yeah, you mentioned she did something to him, right?”
Iruni nodded, letting go of Rikalia’s paw and petting her head, more for his comfort than hers. “He’s in a much worse place than we are because of a mistake she made. I’m apparently the only one she could go to for help, but she won’t even be open and talk to me about anything.”
“I still don’t understand what it is she can do,” Rikalia said, “or what she’s done, but you’ve got me with you to help. You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”
“I know…” Iruni rubbed her head again. “Thank you for being patient with me. Not like I deserve it.” He stood and pulled his PokéGear from his pocket and dialed the number for the Saffron City police department. “I’ll explain everything soon, Rika. I swear.”
—————
[CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT]
[SAFFRON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT]
[TRANSCRIPT OF WITNESS STATEMENT]
CRIMINAL INCIDENT IN QUESTION: ARSON (Case: 0637 Type: A I)
DATE OF INCIDENT: 5/25/2000
DATE OF STATEMENT: 5/25/2000
STATEMENT OF: Katelyn May Thomas (Age: 21 Born: 9/12/1979)
STATEMENT FOLLOWS:
Okay, so I was in my apartment—it was mid-afternoon, I think—and I was making a meal for my Dratini. She has to have a special diet to help with her scale shedding. She’s developed a condition because we’ve kept her unevolved for space reasons.
Anyway, there was a knock at my door and I thought it was my brother over there coming back from his gym battle. He was staying with me while he was in town.
So, I open the door without a second thought, and there was this tall man—he had short orange hair, but he had a hat on. He said he was from building maintenance—he was wearing a uniform like them anyway. He said there had been reports of damage through the building by some Pokémon, and wondered if any of mine had gotten lose lately. He asked specifically if I had a Dratini and asked to see her. I don’t know why.
I told him no, but he wouldn’t leave. It’s not maintenance’s job to handle that sort of thing. He barged his way in despite me trying to keep him out.
He started asking about other things—something that happened back before I even moved here—which was creepy, so I started to try and push him out of the apartment. He grabbed my arm and twisted it, asking his questions again. He told me not to scream for help and he just wanted information.
He asked about my Dratini and where we had been back in January this year. He asked about some time when I apparently saw some guy in a trench coat and what we spoke about—which didn’t happen, by the way. I told him over and over I didn’t know the guy, but he wouldn’t leave.
So I punched him in the face.
It knocked his hat off but he didn’t seem hurt by it.
But without his hat I recognized him.
It was—and I am not kidding—Dalton Drake. Yeah. Ex-Elite Four member Dalton Drake. Unova. He let go of my arm and picked up his hat, and looked like he was getting ready to leave, but… I was stupid and said I knew who he was.
I told him I would call the police about him harassing me, but he turned around and shut the door to my apartment. Before I could call my Pokémon for help, it was like I blacked out for a second. I guess he punched me as hard as he could, because suddenly I was lying on the floor with a bloody nose and my face felt like I had ran head-first into the wall. I did see him reel back and kick me in the stomach though. That hurt.
Things got really fuzzy after that.
I couldn’t hear him very well, but I heard something like a Poké Ball opening. It looked like a big moth with six wings. It started to catch everything on fire, but I blacked out not too long after that.
Oh, I have an Espeon, she could give you a statement, yeah. They’re being kept at the gym right now. My Pokémon were in another room at the time, they apparently found me in the fire and tried to help me as best they could until my brother showed up.
He had a Drapion to help. And— Oh. That’s right. My Dragonair got us all out.
END STATEMENT.
REPORTING OFFICER(S):
M. FLYNN #7980
N. BENNETT #4541
—————
Kate sat silently on the hospital bed, watching the pair of police officers finish up the paperwork for her testimony.
“I’m really sorry about Azula,” her brother said. “It was the only thing I could think of at the time, and we had to hurry.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Really. She was itching to evolve, literally. That Everstone was really bothering her.”
“Miss,” one of the officers spoke up. “I don’t know if it will be relevant to the case or not, but why might Mr. Drake have thought you met this specific man on a particular day in January?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Kate said. “He must’ve mistaken me for someone who did though.” She glanced at her brother, who sat with a Sneasel in his lap and a Houndour to his side. “I never really took my Dratini on walks in the winter because of the snow.”
She saw Iruni’s face flash with concern, but the police were focused on her.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“I don’t believe so. The hospital hasn’t told us when they plan to release you, but when they do, we would like to speak with your Espeon for a few details between you losing consciousness and your brother arriving. Eye-witness reports verify most of what happened after that. Thank you for your help identifying the suspect.”
The police left the hospital room, leaving the Thomas family alone.
“Dad, can you close the door?” she asked.
Doing as she asked, Bruce got to his feet and shut the door to the hallway. Once the door closed completely, Kate leaned out of her bed and pulled her brother out of his chair to grab his attention. The Sneasel that had been sitting on his lap fell to the floor from the sudden movement.
“Talk!” she hissed in a loud whisper. “And don’t tell me you haven’t pieced it together!”
“Katelyn, be careful. That’s his bad arm.” Her father moved to the other side of the bed, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down, please honey.”
“My Pokémon and I almost died in a fire because someone thought I was him!” Kate accused. “Don’t tell me to be calm! Tell me why!”
“I don’t know, okay!” Iruni said, pulling free. He looked at his sister, then to his father, and then to the two confused looking Pokémon on the floor next to him. “I swear, I don’t.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I told the police Dalton’s name right away to distract them from the details, but do you know who the man was that Dalton was asking about? It was Giovanni. As in leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, Iruni. That’s who you met that day at the lake!”
“Pryce did seem concerned at your description of him,” Bruce mentioned. “You’re sure that’s who he was asking about?”
“Yes. He practically laid out the events just like Iruni told them back then,” Kate said, glaring at her brother. “Only he thought it was me and Azula who were there.”
Iruni sat back down in the chair, now the center of attention in the room. His Sneasel put her claws on his leg, saying something Kate couldn’t understand. “It was before I found you, before that heavy snowfall.” Iruni told his Sneasel a short summary of that day. “It’s odd; he mentioned Team Rocket and even himself when he spoke to me, but I didn’t think that’s who he was. At the time, I didn’t think anything of that guy really. I was just glad to get home.”
“Why would someone like Dalton Drake be looking for you just because you happened to speak to Giovanni?” asked Kate.
“I have no idea. I don’t know who this Dalton guy is or why he wants anything to do with Giovanni. Really.”
“Bullshit. You said yesterday you had things that were bothering you—You wouldn’t tell me, Ruby, or even your own Pokémon! Then, here comes some crazy pyromaniac ex-Elite Four looking for one of the most notorious criminals in the region’s history, and he just so happens to be asking about the time you happened to meet him! What is this about?”
“Bart, please,” said Bruce. “This isn’t the time for secrets anymore.”
“This has to do with what you had to see Sabrina about, doesn’t it?” Kate asked.
Iruni sat in quiet thought for a moment, his Pokémon urging him to go on with what was on his mind.
“It might.” Iruni finally said. “No, I’m sure it does.” He looked up at the rest of them. “Look, there is a lot that I don’t know, but there’s too much lining up to be coincidence.” He told Rikalia and Karros to hop up onto Kate’s bed. “You two have been with me the longest, so you deserve to hear the explanation too—I’ll tell the others, don’t worry. Something I learned today lines up with everything else, so it’s hard to think it’s not all connected. Alright, I guess to start, I have…” Iruni took a deep breath, “been visited by a Celebi; the time-traveling Legendary Pokémon.”
“…What?” Kate said, disbelief obvious on her face.
“Be serious, Bartholomew!” Their father admonished. “These are dangerous criminals!”
“I am serious!” he yelled back. “Celebi is the one who made me disappear for almost two months. She’s been interfering in my life so that I can help her save her friend. She says she needs my help to bring her friend back to his proper place in time. I still don’t know what I have to do, but she says I’m the only one who can help her.”
“How do you expect us to believe this?” Bruce asked.
Iruni gestured to his sister.
“Look. Celebi healed her, I assume so I could move on and not be stuck here worrying about her getting better. She even admitted to it to me! That’s why I ran out of here earlier, to try and find her.”
Rikalia spoke up, forgetting the other humans couldn’t understand her. “Tah maya otta naya. Nyah rette.” Her words sounded supportive of her trainer, agreeing with what he was saying. Karros nodded as well.
“Believe me, I know how this sounds… but there’ve been strange things proven in the world before. Hoenn had their deities rise up and cause that mess for all the world to see a few years ago, remember that? Well, Johto has myths too,” Iruni offered.
“He’s not wrong there, Dad,” Kate said. “Sabrina has first-hand experience with Pokémon of ‘Legendary’ status… Hey, is that why you came here?” she asked her brother.
“Yep.” He pet his Sneasel’s head, “I blew my first gym match with her just to have a private psychic conversation about Celebi because I knew she might have at least some knowledge about her. I needed advice on what to do, where to go. She told me that Giovanni, old Team Rocket leader, once had plans to use Celebi’s time travel powers, and that if I needed to know more, she told me to meet with his son.”
“What you need to do is stop putting yourself outside of your own depth,” Bruce warned. “I take it you had no choice being stuck in those tunnels, but time travel? Dealing with violent men like Dalton and Giovanni? No, no more. You’re coming home and I’m going to keep you safe, both of you,” he looked to his children. “We’ll leave the country if we have to. You can’t be getting involved with things like this.”
“Dad, I’ve already agreed to help Celebi get him home,” Iruni explained. “I have to do this. No one else can.”
“Then no one will! I can’t sit by and let my son risk his life over and over again!”
“If I don’t do anything, then eventually more and more people will get caught up in Celebi’s mess, just like Kate! We can only assume the worst, but we know Giovanni had plans for Celebi in some way, and if this Dalton guy’s looking for Giovanni, then he’s might have similar plans. Coralis—the guy that got stuck here in our time—needs to get back home before anyone else gets hurt.”
“And when you get hurt? Or killed? What happens then?”
“Na nyara tareh kah!” Rikalia responded, flexing her claws defiantly and taking a stance in front of her trainer.
“See?” Iruni said. “I’m not alone in this. I have my Pokémon with me.” Iruni got up from his chair and stood at the foot of Kate’s hospital bed, his Pokémon standing in front of him. He rubbed his Sneasel and Houndour’s heads, “These two got me to Newbark Town, where we met Atanya and Kreen. I was just given Hadarah, my Drapion, but he’s already shown he’s a valuable member of my team. With their help, we can handle it.”
“I don’t like it,” said Bruce.
“Neither do I, but this entire situation has been going on outside of my control since the very beginning, and I need to get a handle on it. I know what I’m dealing with, at least in a broad sense. I told Kate yesterday and I’ll say it again; If I can’t handle it—I mean really can’t handle it—then I’ll get help. That’s what I’m doing right now. I have a chance to get some real help from someone who might know something.”
Kate watched as her father met Iruni’s determined gaze head on, “You shouldn’t be risking your life for people you don’t know… but I’m proud to have a son who will. What do you know about Giovanni’s son, since you plan on meeting him?”
“I know he hates his father,” Iruni said. “He’s historically been anti-Team Rocket and has been actively looking for Giovanni since his disappearance. Sabrina told me a few other bits, but I think he’s trustworthy.”
“Promise me,” Bruce put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Promise me and your sister right now. Promise us that if you can’t handle this, you come home. Don’t look for help or another way to fix things, just come home. Be done with it.”
“I can’t leave this unfinished, Dad.” Iruni looked away from his father. “Coralis deserves to go home to his family.”
“Well what do we deserve?” asked Kate. “Did I deserve losing everything I own and nearly dying because we can sometimes look alike?”
“No,” said Iruni, shaking his head. “Of course not. But this is just… how things have to happen. If I go against what Celebi wants, you guys could be dragged into this again. I have to… We have to do what we can on our own to fix things.” Iruni stepped back from the bed away from his father’s reach. “Even though he hates her, Coralis wants the same thing Celebi does; for him to go home. I’m sure we can get him to work together with us too if we figure out how to fix this.”
“You… really won’t drop this?”
“No, I won’t,” Iruni said.
“Then, promise us you’ll be careful at least.” Kate held out her arms, waving for her brother to come and give her a hug. “There’s dangerous people looking for the same thing you are,” she held her brother tight. “Make sure you don’t cross any of their paths.”
“Don’t forget,” Bruce spoke up. “You have people you can rely on, even if it isn’t us.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Iruni said. “I promise, I’ll be careful.”
—————
“Everything is alright,” said Allan.
The sun was still climbing into the sky above southeastern Johto, but without much of a breeze or cloud cover, the air had already become warm. The weather left a sense of unease that lingered on the mind.
[“Are you sure, honey?”] His mother’s voice came from the speaker clearly, but was preceded by a short delay. [“You’ve been through so much, no one would—”]
“I’m fine,” Allan said, more pressing. “Umari, Xutan, Duncan; we’re all good.”
[“That’s what I want to hear,”] his father’s voice came over the phone. [“You get that third badge yet?”]
“Not yet,” Allan sat down in the shade of a tree, letting his silver-furred Eevee hop into his lap. “I’m still a bit shaky after what happened.”
[“Take your time,”] his mother said. [“Don’t push yourself too much, Allan.”]
“I won’t.”
[“And we’re sorry we can’t get home right now,”] she continued. [“There’s something happening in Unova right now and they’re restricting travel—”]
“Look, I get it!” He surprised himself with how he raised his voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
[“It’s okay, we know you’re upset. You’ll do fine, like you always do.”]
[“Your birthday’s coming up,”] his father said. [“We’ll probably be stuck here until after then, but we sent you a gift already. It should be at the house by then.”]
“What’d you get me?” Allan caught himself smiling at the lighthearted question.
[“Let’s just say—”] his father started.
[“—We thought your three little ones might be getting lonely,”] his mother finished.
“Oh, you guys…” Allan shook his head. “Thanks. I’ll take good care of them once I get home.”
[“M-Make sure to wait and pick it up if you get there before it arrives!”]
“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t just let some Pokémon sit in its ball,” Allan tried to ignore the look Umari shot him just then.
[“Well, it’s getting pretty late here,”] his mother said. [“If you need anything, even just to talk, let us know, okay honey?”]
“Yeah, mom. I will.”
[“Good luck in your next gym battle, Allan. We’re rooting for you.”]
“Thanks.”
Allan hung up the call and let his arm fall down to his side. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, trying to quiet his anxious mind. In the days since, the events that transpired inside the Ilex Forest had been playing on infinite repeat in his head. Any new story or news report about the catastrophe was quickly dissected and added to the collection of facts and figures he had gathered up.
Something was pulling him back toward the forest. A strange urge—almost an instinct—kept Allan from challenging Whitney for her badge and moving on from Goldenrod City. As the days went by, however, Allan could not find the answer as to why, or what, was drawing him to such a source of danger and bad memories.
Something soft pushed against his cheek, first from the left and then from the right.
‘Are you really okay?’ Umari asked, her front paws on his chest.
Allan opened his eyes, blinking from the bright sunlight streaming through the leaves of the tree.
‘Did you hear me?’
“I did, yeah,” he said, petting her head. “I’m just… still trying to process everything that happened. How something could go so wrong…?”
‘Don’t worry about it so much,’ said Umari. ‘It’s in the past now. It can’t hurt us.’
“It’s not that easy! I can’t just leave this the way it is! Something still feels wrong!”
‘I’d be worried if you thought it felt right,’ Umari teased him. ‘It’s alright, Allan. You don’t have to be okay with everything right away.’
“It’s not that,” Allan said. “It’s like I keep missing something… something not adding up…”
‘I can help, can’t I?’
“I’m not—” Allan stopped what he was saying. “Help…”
‘With what?’
“No!” Allan stood up, setting Umari down on the ground. “Someone needs our help! Come on!”
Allan and Umari ran down the beaten path of Route 34, a new wind blowing at their backs, toward the northwestern entrance of Ilex Forest.
“I was going over everything in my head,” Allan said as they ran. “Reports of people going into the forest and not coming out. Their bodies being found… There’s some still unaccounted for, and one of them is calling for help!”
‘I don’t hear anyone.’
“It’s not their voice, it’s their emotions. Their fear and desperation; I can feel it and it’s close!”
The trainer and his Eevee continued along the dirt road, looking for the source of the disturbance Allan had felt. At the top of a hill, the two looked out toward the tree line of the menacing forest. The wind blew from the sea to the west, whipping the limbs of the trees and sending leaves into the air. Tall grass waved in time with the gusts.
“This… feels big.”
‘What is it?’
“Something— a huge presence is in there…” Allan closed his eyes, focusing on what he felt. “It’s aggressive. Hunting, maybe.” He looked down when he heard Umari let out a low growl. She had her eyes shut tight, as if she were mimicking her trainer. He smiled, despite the looming sense of danger. “Do you feel anything, Umari?”
‘No… just you.’
“Consider yourself lucky, then.” Allan looked back to the restless trees ahead of him. “It’s not just odd how big it is—it’s that I can’t even tell what it is. It feels like one being one second and then a hundred smaller minds all thinking the same thing the next…”
The trainer and Pokémon walked down the hill slowly, carefully making their way closer to the edge of the forest.
“How could someone have survived in there all this time?” Allan wondered.
‘Wait!’ Umari told him. ‘I can hear something now!’ The silvery Eevee ran off into the forest, her large ears picking up sounds her trainer couldn’t.
As he followed her, Allan could feel the strange mental presence getting closer, but also two smaller and more defined minds. A faint buzzing in the air gradually increased as they made their way into Ilex Forest and metallic clangs could be heard in the distance. Focusing his mind so far away from his immediate surroundings, Allan didn’t fully notice the person he was trying to help until they ran right into him.
He kept his balance, holding the young girl in his arms, and recognized her right away; Valerie, the girl with the Growlithe that Allan had been assigned to escort through Ilex Forest. She carrying her faithful Pokémon in her arms, it seemed unconscious.
“You’re alright!” he said, smiling. Allan bent down to the younger girl’s height, trying to calm her down. “Valerie, right? It’s me, Allan Relmstead.”
Valerie tried to pull from Allan’s grip, “Let me go! They’ll catch up!”
‘Allan? What are those?’
Turning around, Allan first saw one, then many red glowing lights in the distance. The large mental presence was now focused directly on him.
“Something bad,” he said. “Come on, we’re getting you to safety.”
Allan stood and guided Valerie out of the forest as fast as he could, Umari helping find their way without getting lost in the dark trees.
“I’ve been lost for days,” said Valerie. “Growlithe kept me safe as long as he could, but… When I ran into those things there were just too many.” She held her Pokémon tightly in her arms. “They took his Poké Ball.”
“What are they?”
As if to answer his question themselves, two of the red orbs flew past the humans and hovered in front of them. Surrounding the red glowing light was hard and metallic flesh, rotating on a joint that connected to a three-clawed limb. The two eyes scrutinized the party before zipping back behind them.
“Beldum.”
“They had us surrounded, but then it seemed like something was distracting them, and that’s when I made my escape.”
‘Was that because you tried to read them with your mind?’ Umari asked Allan.
“Possibly. That means they might be mad at me spoiling their hunt.”
Allan hurried Umari and Valerie along, reaching the open field as fast as they could.
“They move like one big creature,” the girl told him. “They hit hard and move around you so you can’t escape. I don’t know what I did to them…”
“Probably just territorial… I don’t think they— Never mind that,” Allan pointed up the hill Umari and he had walked down earlier. “From up there you’ll see the road that leads to Goldenrod. Go, hurry!”
“But, what about you?” she asked. “You can’t beat those things!”
“That doesn’t matter right now!” Allan clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. “Look, back in the forest, I ran away and abandoned the people I said I would protect! Not again, not anymore. They’ll follow us both of us if we head to the city. You need to get safe.” He gently turned her toward the hill, “Go on, I’ll take this from here.”
“I… Thank you!” she turned and ran away up the hill. “Don’t die, okay?!”
“We’ll try,” he said, mostly to himself. Once Valerie slipped from view, Allan turned to face the incoming threat from inside the forest.
‘What should we do?’ Umari asked.
“We’re making sure she gets to safety like I should have done in the first place.”
‘But what about us?’
“We’ll—”
A single Beldum shot out from the tree line and crashed into Allan’s chest, knocking him off his feet and falling to his back.
‘Allan!’
While the trainer struggled to breathe, the single Beldum flew back away from its prey. It was joined by another, and then two, four, sixteen, soon more than a hundred metal arms and eyes floated in the open air. The mass of eyes and claws closed in together, moving with single purpose and rhythm, forming a large limb to strike down Allan where he lay.
Umari tackled him out of the way of the strike, but now a wall of angry metal arms separated her from her trainer.
“Uma—… ri…” Allan struggled to get to his feet, still having trouble catching his breath. He ran at the many Beldum, trying to force his way through their ranks, but they knocked him back to the ground. “Return!”
Allan tried recalling his Eevee into her Luxury Ball, but the Beldum blocked the signal.
“Fine,” he stood again, this time trying to focus his mind as a weapon to draw the Beldum away. “Come on!” his efforts managed to pull the attention of a few Beldum away from the mass, who flew at him with great speed. Allan dodged their attacks as best he could, the Beldum slamming into the dirt with their heavy bodies, but he took a few more blows to the shoulder and chest.
“Come on…” he tried to lead the Beldum away from his separated Pokémon, but he was running out of room to move. Behind him was a cliff that dropped off to the sea, ahead and to his right was Ilex Forest, and he had to give Valerie enough time to get to safety. “Come on!”
‘Allan, it’s not working!’
Umari was now encircled by a dome of Beldum, the lone Eevee doing her best to avoid the individual attacks the swarm launched at her. Before long, two enemies began attacking at once, and taking a hit from one would leave her vulnerable to the next pair.
‘I can’t fight these things!’
“Return!” Allan tried again, but the outer wall of Beldum merely pulled the ball from his hand with their magnetism. “Like Valerie said… No!”
The entire swarm began to rotate around Umari, slowly closing in on the helpless Eevee. A single Beldum, one larger than the others, singled itself out from the group, landed on her back and pinned her to the ground.
‘I can’t get up!’
“No…” Allan shook with fear. The same fear he had felt when he watched an innocent little boy stand between a mother Tyranitar and her child. He felt powerless in the face of overwhelming strength.
You can do the impossible.
The words drifted through his mind, a memory from before Allan let his fear take control of him.
Umari’s words.
“No! No more!” Allan held a hand out toward Umari, “I can do the impossible! Umari, bite its eye! Now!”
Doing as she was told, the shiny Eevee struggled under the large Beldum’s weight, turning over and biting its red eye as hard as she could. The pain sent it recoiling off of her, and the rest of the swarm reacted in kind, compromising the structure of the dome.
Allan pushed his psychic abilities past their limits in order to attempt something he had never done before. He grabbed his Eevee with telekinesis and pulled her into his arms, safe from harm.
‘You did it! That was incredible! I thought you couldn’t use telekinesis?’
“I… I…”
Umari turned around in her trainer’s arms and gasped.
Allan stared off into the distance, blood streaming from his eyes, nose and ears.
“I think… I broke something…” he barely managed to speak. “My head… feels…”
‘Allan? Allan! Can you hear me?’
“I can’t… I…”
‘Allan! They’re getting back together! We have to do something!’
He tried to focus, but his vision was blurry and red. A buzzing bundle of red dots flew above him. Were those the Beldum? They were dangerous, he knew that much. They moved toward him, so Allan did all he could think of; walk backwards.
‘Allan! Stop! Look behind you!’
He couldn’t stop, he knew that. He had to keep Umari safe. Keep her away from the angry balls that hurt when they hit you.
Can’t go to the forest.
Can’t let the dots go to the city.
Can’t let Umari get hurt.
The other voice in his head called out to him again, but he couldn’t understand what it said.
It sounded scared.
One option.
Another step back. No more ground. The world disappeared.
Please live.
Sudden stop. Wet. The taste of salt.
Something pulling his shirt, that same scared voice.
—————
“I think I’ve got it.”
Rikalia looked up from her chewing, quickly pulling her paw down from her mouth. She’d gotten lost on another train of thought again, worrying about their new objective. She looked down at the torn claw on her left hand, wincing at the state of it. She would have to fix it later.
Iruni had been focusing his attention on a new map he had bought earlier that morning. Save for what he had been carrying at the time, everything they had with them had been lost in the fire, so nearly everything had to be replaced. A brand-new backpack, new clothes, food, medicine, and supplies—it hadn’t been a cheap shopping trip.
“What do you think?” he asked her, standing up from the table they were seated at. They had taken a table in the busy Saffron Pokémon Center for themselves to plan the next leg of their travels. Iruni insisted on being where people could see him; the people that attacked Kate had done so when she was alone, and Iruni was betting that they weren’t bold enough to make a move in the public eye.
Karros was lying at their feet, doing his best to look asleep while he listened for any potential threats that might approach them in such a crowded place.
Iruni spun the map down on the table for Rikalia to see. “Saffron’s in an odd spot if you want to get to the eastern part of the region, which we do. There’s no direct route there; we either head north to Cerulean, then through the mountains to Pewter, then south to Viridian, or go all the way down to Fuchsia City to catch a boat to Pallet Town and head north from there.”
The Sneasel stood up on her seat and stared at the paper large paper map before her. She visualized the two potential journeys in her head, judging their distances across the land. Neither of the two seemed any better or faster than the other as far as she could tell. Rikalia leaned forward, putting her paws on the table as she poured over the map of the unfamiliar land.
“What’s that?” Iruni asked.
Before Rikalia could react, Iruni’s hand grabbed her paw. She nervously watched him examine the damage her teeth had caused.
“When did this happen?” he looked at her worriedly. “If you were hurt, you should’ve said something. We’re at the Center after all.”
“I… I just messed up trimming it,” Rikalia said, declining the offer.
“Is everything okay?” Iruni still held onto her paw. Rikalia simultaneously wanted to leave it there and pull it away.
“I just feel so powerless!” Rikalia yelled before reluctantly breaking eye contact. Sitting back down in her seat, she closed her eyes, “I couldn’t do anything when we were trapped underground, I barely helped saving Kate from the fire, and now there’s Celebi and these people that are after you and I don’t think I can do anything to stop all this from happening!”
When she felt Iruni let go of her damaged paw, Rikalia expected a comforting pat on the head and some reassuring words. Instead, she was picked up from her seat and pulled into his arms.
“It’s okay,” Iruni told her. “It’ll all be okay.”
“How?” she asked, her face pressed against his neck. “I can’t do anything!”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, setting her back down in her seat. Karros abandoned his post to show his concern as well. “You’ve done plenty; everything you could have done, you did it.”
“I know, I just want us to go back to how things were,” she raised a claw and dragged it gently across the wound on Iruni’s forehead. “Before… she came into our lives, you know? I hate this… sense of danger hanging over us now. I miss us just traveling, seeing new places, meeting new people, fighting battles…”
“I miss it too,” said Iruni. “You know, watching you fight Sabrina’s Meditite helped me forget all about Celebi. Even if it was just for a little while.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Iruni smiled. “It was really, really, nice to get that off my mind. And that was thanks to you, Rika. You were strong and fierce yesterday, and I’m going to need that strength if we’re going to want to get through all of this.”
The Sneasel nodded, wiping her face with her paws. “Okay.”
“Good,” Iruni rubbed her head. “Because, there’s something we have to do that you might not like.”
“What is it? I already don’t like that we have to help because she says so.”
“Well, also because Coralis deserves to be brought home.” Iruni stood and turned back to the map still spread across the table. “Both of the obvious routes to Viridian are long and time consuming. So, I thought, how about something off the beaten path?”
Rikalia watched Iruni point to a small mark on the map south of where they were.
“What wouldn’t I like about… oh,” her eyes narrowed at the name her trainer was pointing to. “Do we have to?”
“It’s really our best bet. Trainers use it all the time, it’s a much more direct route to that part of the region, and it’ll be good to keep my eyes out of the sun for a little while,” he explained.
“But… underground?” Rikalia glared at the words “Diglett’s Cave” on the map one more time. “Fine,” she said as she held up her gauntleted arm. “But I’m staying with you. The. Whole. Time.”
“Not just you,” Iruni said, looking down to his Houndour. “Watching Azula yesterday made me realize it, but none of you guys have evolved yet. How about we work on that?”
—————
A weight pressing on his stomach woke him up.
Allan coughed and coughed, spitting up water and blood onto the dirt. He gasped for air, rolling onto his side in agony. His head felt like it had been hit by a truck. Every movement, thought, or sound resulted in jolts of burning pain.
‘_̩̟͎̝͊̌ͪͩ͆_͉͎̼l͍̩̤͜å͖͈̣̰̭͉͌̿ͮ̇̚n̥̫̝̼͔̹̾̐͒ͩ͌̓̇͟ͅ, ͚̹̭̦̔̓͑ͩ̂ỷ̟͍̦̱̮ͭo̜̞̪̦͜_̴̥̐͋’r͌ͥ̑҉͔̪̟͙̰̥̤_̠̲̜͔͒ ̗͚̙̬ͥ͋̄̀̋ͩ̊a͙̭̺ͪͭ̀ͮ̌̒̈́͟_̱̻k͚̣̦͚_̢̺̭͔̼̯̿̊̊̋ͣ̂!͢’
“Ah! Stop!”
A psychic touch to his injured mind felt like salt in a wound. He pushed himself up from the ground and backed away from whatever had touched his mind.
‘W͋̑ͮ̊ͯ̊̆͏͚͇͖̤͈̪͎h͈̼̽͗͂ã_̰̭̼̼͍̒̅̑̐̆s̥̮̬̔̒ͭͨ͂̾͡ͅ ̍́̿͆̔̓̓͝t̖͙̍̒̏̎̍͛͌h͗́ͣ͆͗̔́ȩ̳͓̘̠̍̏͒̅̓ͤ ̯͈̳̗͒̅m̫͇̜ͥ͒̅̄̏͞a̼̞̠̘ͮ_͚̬̮̫͛̔ͤͪ̾̐t͓_̩͓̺͇́̅̂ͦ̄͐r̡̹͂̋̍ͯ?͙̺̭͛̊̏̓̈́ ͍̫͙̰͋̄̓ͫ͊̀̂Į͔̹̠̙̳̄̍ͮt͚̬͉̝̥͉̫̀_̹̻͉ ͚̼̜̗̝̲͎͒̃͞m̳̟͓̹̙̻̣̅̋̚͞e͕̞͕̫̫ͪ!́̎̽̊̂̿͆’
“Stop!” Allan clutched the sides of his head, hunching over in pain.
A gentle lick across his nose and a soft whine brought Allan back to reality.
He opened his eyes to see his Eevee, fur matted and wet, standing beside him in the dirt.
“You’re okay…” Allan stroked her fur with an unsteady hand. “You’re okay…”
‘W̡̖̥̯͆͒̑̇h̦̜̥ͥ͌ͯ͊̎͂̇a_̵̱̻̙̖̪̱ͯ ̫͚̹̲͌͒̈͆͗̉̓̕_̸̆͐̅ȍ͙̀̌ͮͫͬụ͈̙͇͔̬ͩ̾ͭṫ͓͐̅̆̄ ̴̯͔͖̫̬͎̋̍̑ͦy̭͍̰ͮo͖̗̤̤̥ͫ̇̂̒ͮ̈̑_̙͑ͤ͛̔̇̾͜?͖̪̫̼̕’
“Ah, please!” Allan winced. “My head… really hurts from…” All at once his memory caught back up to him. The forest, the girl, the Beldum, “I used telekinesis…”
Umari nodded, pointing a paw up at the tree he had backed up against. A lone Natu was perched on one of the branches, looking down at his trainer.
“Xutan…” Allan stood. “I guess you helped get me to shore?”
The tiny bird shook itself side to side, denying the claim.
“Umari, you did it yourself?” he asked, kneeling down to her. “Thank you,” Allan slowly pulled her into a hug. “I save you, then you save me… thank you.”
His Eevee nuzzled his face, mewling softly in his ear.
Setting Umari down next to him, Allan pulled his PokéGear from his pocket, glad that it was still there at all. The map showed they were nearly a mile south of Route 34’s main road, just inside—
“Ilex…” he said under his breath.
Allan took in his surroundings as best he could in the darkness. Much like his previous venture inside its borders, the tall trees of Ilex blocked nearly all traces of sunlight from reaching the ground below. They were in a small clearing of grass and shrubbery with dense forest all around them. The coast was close by, he could hear the waves, and he spotted the small path of broken foliage Umari must’ve dragged him through.
“You must be exhausted…” he said, petting her head.
Umari simply shook her head, putting a paw on Allan’s knee.
“I’m fine… or… will be.”
The Natu above tweeted a warning to his two companions on the ground.
“Beldum?” Allan asked.
A short chirp confirmed his worries.
“Damn.”
Umari whined, asking what they could do, Allan guessed.
“I…” Allan closed his eyes. The pain in his head made it difficult to think. “Alright… just let me… Yes, I got a plan.”
He called Xutan down from his branch and released his Exeggcute, Duncan, from his Safari Ball. Allan had to quickly quiet down the excitable bundle of eggs before their multiple minds tore his weakened one to shreds.
“Guys, we’re going strictly vocal for a bit, okay?” His three Pokémon—including all six of Duncan—nodded their heads. “Okay, these guys might’ve kicked our butts earlier, but now it’s time for payback. One of you, stay with me,” he pointed to Duncan, “The rest of you scatter yourself around here, but keep even spacing and keep out of sight. Umari and Xutan, you too. Go hide.”
His Natu whistled at him inquisitively.
“I’m sick of taking losses.” Allan wiped his face as best he could with his soaked shirt. “We’re coming away from this with something to show for it.”
At their master’s words, the Pokémon took their positions around the small grassy patch of land. Allan stood up, picking up the lone egg of Duncan that stayed behind.
“Sorry I can’t explain the plan too detailed for you,” Allan said, knowing his other Pokémon could hear as well. “If we’re all thinking the same thing, the Beldum might catch on. My brain’s fried as it is, so they probably won’t figure it out.”
The egg in his arms frowned, rocking side to side.
“What? It’s a good plan, I swear.”
A rustling of tree branches heralded the arrival of the Beldum swarm. The formation was lead by the largest of them, as they slowly descended before Allan. Its eye was dim and flickering, still recovering from the hard Bite it had received from Umari. The swarm came to a halt a few feet from Allan, all eyes glowing and staring him down.
“Hey you guys,” Allan smiled. “Glad you could make it. Especially you, big guy.” He pointed to the main Beldum. “You broke off from your formation and hurt my Eevee. Makes me think you’re the boss of these guys around you. That right?”
The larger Beldum floated away from the shifting mass and met Allan’s gaze. It buzzed menacingly, as if challenging the human who stood before it.
“Good, then you’re the one I want.” Allan held up the head of Duncan he had. “Worry Seed!”
The Exeggcute spat out a small brown seed from its mouth, striking the Beldum and releasing a white powder. The Iron Ball Pokémon recoiled slightly, rejoining its swarm. It twisted its eye back and forth while the rest of the Beldum also investigated their leader.
“I know, I know, didn’t do much, did it?” Allan asked the leader of the swarm. “It wasn’t supposed to damage you,” Allan ducked down, covering his head. He yelled, “The rest of Duncan, Sleep Powder!”
From out of the bushes and grass, and somehow from out of a tree, the five other Exeggcute eggs spat out clouds of blue powder at the mass of Beldum. They condensed and grouped together defensively in response to the ambush, but one by one, the Beldum began to fall to the dirt fast asleep.
All but one.
A few seconds after the last thud had met his ears, Allan stood and let the head of Duncan roll and rejoin the others.
The main Beldum looked around erratically at the rest of its group lying on the ground.
“Worry Seed,” Allan explained. “Makes you unable to fall asleep. I wanted you alone.”
Allan snapped his fingers and Umari leaps out from behind a tree, tackling the Beldum down to the ground. The Eevee bit the hard steel body over and over.
“Xutan!” Allan pointed at the scuffle on the ground. “Ominous Wind!”
His Natu flew down from above and flapped his small wings, sending gusts of purple air down at the Beldum and harmlessly passing over Umari.
“Not so fun when you’re outnumbered, is it?” Allan yelled.
The Iron Ball Pokémon writhed in pain at each blast of ghostly wind, screeching a metallic cry.
“Let go!”
Umari jumped off the Beldum just as the Friend Ball hit it. The green and white sphere absorbed its target and rocked around on the ground for a moment, then went still.
“Gotcha…”
Allan sat back on the ground, letting go a breath he had been holding since throwing the Poké Ball.
His Pokémon joined him on the grass, wondering if he was alright.
“Just need to rest,” he said. Allan pointed at the remaining Beldum, “Look.”
The members of the swarm, their leader now completely cut off from them, awoke at random and went on their own ways back into the forest. In their wake were various metal objects they had stolen from trainers.
“Guess the leader was the brains of the operation,” Allan said. “They might not be so bad now.”
‘A̬̭̳͖̳ͫ͗ͪ͋̈ͪ́̏̈ͅͅr̦̲̙̼̒ͣ̌ě̬͍̠̻̻̊ͅ ̝͖̓͗ͣ͌͐̽̇y̮̰͈͙͖̣̠̋o̥̗̪͚̠̮͑̉̊û̟̙̱̤̞͌̇ͨ̇̎͌ ̭͖́o̬̼ͬ̎͊ͣ̀̊͊̚k̠͉̳̯̝̉͂ͯͬ͂ͣa̰̦͚̪̫̣͙ͮͬ̐ͅỷ͖̪͑̽͆ͣ ͔̟͇̞̥̻͓̜̄͆̅̊̓n̦̯̮͔̦̄͐͑͒ő̖̩̗̝͓̞̊w̼͓͚̍̽ͯ̒ͨ̍̚?’
“Easy, Umari,” Allan said, petting her head. “Try and ‘whisper’ if you can, please.”
His Eevee’s mental voice came to him at a much lower volume this time, ‘Sorry. Are you going to be okay now?’
“Yeah,” he said, standing. Allan walked to the pile of objects and picked up Umari’s Luxury Ball, and another ball he assumed belonged to a girl and her Growlithe.
“I just need to practice telekinesis a bit before doing something like that again,” Allan said. He raised a hand toward his new Beldum’s Poké Ball, trying to lift it with his mind, but he recoiled at the effort.
“Not today, though.” Allan walked over and picked up the Friend Ball, “Come on. Let’s go give Valerie her Poké Ball back.”
‘Does this mean we’re back to training now that we got a new teammate?’ asked Umari.
“One step at a time, Umari.” Allan started walking toward the shoreline, motioning for his Pokémon to follow.
“I need to get out of these clothes first.”
—————
To Be Continued…
—————
- 26
- 27
- 28
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Dark Type