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The Dark Type	By : Manifest Destiny Category: Pokemon > General Views: 36310 -:- 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
- 31
- 32
- 33
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Chapter 32
Unexpected Conflagration
Part 2: Burn
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The sun beat down mercilessly on Johto’s Route 35, its stifling heat taxing to those without the grace of shade. Following the trend of the previous days, the temperature showed no signs of dropping. Travelers were few and far between during this intense summer weather. Despite this, two—a trainer and his Pokémon—trudged along the winding path, heading north.
One of the pair, a young man, had a hefty backpack slung across his shoulders, the weight of which was becoming more bothersome with every step he made. The two large bags of food and drinks he had clutched in his hands only added to the strain on his back. Every few minutes, he would stop and place the bags on the ground for a moment to reach up to wipe the sweat from his brow. His blond hair had become a tangled, matted mess.
He felt miserable, though not exclusively because of the weather or his aching muscles.
He looked down to his right at his companion, who was not bothered by the heat.
Beside him walked a Flareon with shimmering golden fur. Draped over her shoulders was a large, wool blanket—an important component of any picnic. Umari had calmed down a great deal since their ordeal in the tunnel. After a quick check up at the Pokémon Center, she had been given a perfect report. This had relieved Allan a great deal, but Umari still held her sullen attitude, unable to be brought out of it by Allan’s efforts to cheer her up.
Allan at least took it as a good sign that Umari was still determined to travel so soon after her sudden evolution.
Despite everything that had happened to her, a part of her refused to go along with the rest of her depressed thoughts. Even with the heavy blanket she was carrying, she felt absolutely at home in the hot summer weather. She could feel the flame within her—its heat radiating throughout her body—and it gave her a sense of fulfillment just by reflecting on it. Thinking back on it, even when she had been an Eevee, she remembered never minding a hot day as much as her trainer did. Though she wouldn’t admit it out-loud yet, Umari felt positively amazing as a Flareon, and was starting to believe that she was meant to evolve the way that she did.
She still had regrets—deep regrets—about her accidental evolution, but she was starting to think she might be able to make use of her fiery form.
Their current destination was a small clearing off the beaten path of Route 35. Allan and Umari had stumbled upon it by accident while on the way to Violet City back when they first started their journey. He had planned this small party as they neared Ecruteak City to celebrate how far they had come since leaving home. Now, it doubled as a victory party in light of their win at Goldenrod Gym.
Allan had decided to call it off after the incident in the Underground, but Umari had insisted that they go through with the day’s outing, not wanting to ruin the plans for the rest of the team just because of what happened.
‘Allan, how much farther is it to that field?’ Umari asked.
“It’s been a while,” he said. “But I think the path we have to take is just before the entrance to the National Park. It was near the large pond, you remember it don’t you?”
‘A little; we only stopped for a bit after we took the wrong path on the way to Violet.’ Umari looked up at him, ‘You were more worried about running away from Alice than going the right way.’
“We were just starting out,” Allan defended himself. “I didn’t want to have someone follow us wherever we went.”
His mind on the subject, Allan realized that he hadn’t heard from Alice since she had been discharged from the hospital. Before he could mention the uncharacteristic behavior to Umari, she spoke up again.
‘I hated how close we were to the National Park, but we never actually went there…’
“You want to walk through it on the way home? We actually have some spare time, and we wouldn’t have to worry about wild Pokémon until we’re almost home.”
‘Sure…’ Umari looked down at the ground as she continued walking, slowly falling behind her trainer. His suggestion did very little to raise her spirits.
As a worrying thought crept into her mind, Umari stopped walking altogether—so suddenly that it took Allan a few moments to realize she had fallen behind.
“Umari, are you okay?” he turned around and asked her.
‘Allan…do you…?’ Umari kept her eyes on the ground.
“What is it?” Allan started to walk back, concern for her obvious on his face.
‘Do you think they’ll... hate me?’
“Who?”
‘The rest of the team. They’ll probably hate that I didn’t turn out like them. I bet Duncan and Sontos will even be afraid of me burning them! I hate this! I’m never going to be accepted like this!’
She collapsed on the dirt road, crying anew. She covered her face with the blanket, refusing to look at anything.
Allan wasted no time going to her side, letting the bags of food fall onto the ground. He had hoped that she had made it through the worst of her ordeal since leaving the city, but it was clear to him now that his new Flareon held onto more worries than she had been letting on.
“Umari,” he said, kneeling down, “do you honestly think anyone would hate you because of an accident? They’re not the kind to just hate someone like that. Besides, you’re still the Umari they’ve known all this time. If they have any problem with what happened, I’ll deal with them. Here,” he lifted the blanket up, and rubbed her back comfortingly.
“And ignore Duncan if he acts like an idiot, all those heads of his don’t help with social interaction as much as battle. And Sontos already saw you back in the tunnel. I doubt anyone will have a problem with your evolution any more than I do. Please stop worrying yourself so much.”
‘I’m so sorry… I don’t mean to cause you so much trouble. I just—’
“Umari, that’s enough. Stop apologizing already. I keep telling you, it wasn’t your fault.”
‘I’m sorry…’ She couldn’t help herself.
“Umari, stop it!” Allan’s harsh voice snapped her out of her depressed stupor. The frustration he felt after seeing his once-cheery and optimistic Pokémon so distraught finally got the better of him. He had never raised his voice to her before, and it was clear that doing so now was a mistake.
Allan tried to console her as she stood up, but she quickly backed away from him, her ears pulling back in worry.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” She held a glare at him for a moment before turning away. That short turn of her head sent a jolt of fear through Allan’s body, causing him to tense up. He began to panic; he didn’t want to make things any worse than he already had.
“Umari please, look at me.”
She did, though not without giving him a hurtful glare. Umari couldn’t believe he would yell at her like that, especially considering everything that had happened.
Through their basic psychic link, though, Umari could feel genuine regret from her trainer, and she relaxed her defensive posture.
Allan tentatively reached out to the golden fur on her head, which she allowed.
He felt a fraction of the weight on his shoulders leave him, thankful that she was willing to forgive his outburst. He took a deep breath, picking his words carefully this time.
“I know you feel bad about what happened, but I just don’t want you to keep blaming yourself. I didn’t mean to snap at you. What happened was an accident, that’s all it was. I told you I’d always accept you no matter what you decided to evolve into, and I meant it. This changes nothing.”
‘But I didn’t choose this!’ It was Allan’s turn to be surprised at his partner’s ferocity. Her evolution seemed to have awakened a new, bolder side of herself.
‘I don’t feel “bad” about it, I’m not “sad” about it; I’m pissed off! I only wanted to evolve into an Espeon, not this! And now I can’t go back! Not ever! I’m stuck like this… and I can’t ever…’
“‘Ever’ what? Be useful to me? Umari, trust me, just because the circumstances don’t match from what I said earlier doesn’t mean I’m going to think less of you for not being an Espeon.”
‘No, that’s not it.’ Umari shook her head, taking a deep breath before continuing.
‘I think I can be a good Fire type. My internal flame, I can feel it. I mean really feel it. It’s hard to describe, but it feels like a raging inferno, just bursting with power. I think I finally understand what other Pokémon feel when they have a real connection to an element. But no matter how much I try, I’ll never be what I could have been to you as I am now. And you know it!’
“What do you mean? You’ll be the same as you always were to me, Umari.”
‘That’s just it! If I had become an Espeon, I could’ve been more than I had been. I’ll never have that bond that you have the rest of the team. The bond that all Psychic Pokémon develop with their trainers, the kind of bond where their two minds intertwine and act as one. Everything that you taught me, everything that I’ve looked forward to for years is all gone now. That’s what I’m regretting the most. I’ve always wanted that kind of connection with someone, something real, and meaningful. Now I’ll only just be a useless, extra member on the team. Someone you have to go out of your way to even talk to…’
“That’s not true! I enjoy talking to you, I always have. I’ll admit, the bond with a Psychic type is far more advanced than anything I could sustain by myself, but not having it isn’t the end of the world. And don’t think for a second that you’re useless. In fact, with your evolution, we’re probably even better off now.”
‘What?’ Umari blinked, unsure she had heard him correctly. She had thought that he couldn’t upset her any worse than when he had yelled at her, but Allan was apparently determined to prove her wrong.
Allan’s voice caught in his throat for a moment as he scrambled to explain his clumsy words.
“I mean, I wasn’t planning on catching a Fire type anytime soon, so now we’ve got that much more—”
‘“Even better off”?!’ She flung his words back at him, her fur bristling in anger.
‘What the hell are you saying?’ she growled along with her mental voice.
‘You’re Allan Relmstead! Remember? You’re a Psychic trainer. Your dream is to be the best Psychic trainer in Johto. Your idol is Will, a Psychic master. And now that I’ve become a Fire type, you’re suddenly better off?! NO!’
Unlike her depressive and intrusive thoughts, which shifted from one paranoid scenario to the next, her anger at Allan was clear and focused. In a way it was sobering; she couldn’t feel sorry for herself if she was furious at him.
‘For years we’ve been training to be the best. I’ve been dreaming of the day when I’d become an Espeon. We’d always talk about how once I evolved, we’d keep challenging gyms, and eventually challenge Will for his title rather than go for the championship. But now that I’m a Fire type you’ve given up! You even seem to be happy about it!’
“I’m not happy about it, but I’m not that put off by it either. We still have the potential to become an Elite Four team; don’t put yourself down just because—”
‘STOP IT! There! Right there! You just said ‘Elite Four’, not ‘Psychic Master’. You really have abandoned your dream because of me! I know it. Don’t try and deny it either, you’ll just make this worse. Why not just give me away then? You’d be able to go about your business just fine with your team of mind readers.’
“I’m not abandoning my dream, Umari,” he matched her ferocity with his own stern tone.
“I still want to be the best Psychic trainer, but not if that means I can’t have you with me. You’re too important to me to just forget about because you're different from the rest of the team. I wouldn’t think of just giving you up after all we’ve been through. If I have to, I’ll let Will keep his position and just be an ordinary trainer for you. But I don’t think it’ll have to come to that. We can still challenge him for his Elite Four spot, which is what we were striving for anyway.”
‘But you’ll still have just a pure Fire type on your team. You think anyone will respect you for that?’
Umari suspected Allan’s kind words were just for her own benefit; Allan couldn’t be willing to throw away everything he had always dreamed of just for her.
“And why wouldn’t they? A lot of ‘Type Specialists’ around the world have a few exceptions to their teams. Even Lance has a few non-Dragon types on his team. Besides,” he smiled at her, “people had better think twice before they start to judge you by your fluffy exterior. We’ll leave them all in pile of their own ashes, just you wait Umari.”
She looked up at his smiling face and couldn’t believe a single word he said.
‘How?’ she cried. ‘How can you be okay with this? Your life’s dream is gone in an instant, and you’re fine with just giving it all up? Just like that? For what? Why are you so damn accepting of this? I’ve ruined your life so much… Why?!’
“Because you’re worth it, Umari.” He brought her into a hug, and redoubled his message with his mind as well as his voice.
“You’re not just a Pokémon on my team who battles for me, and you’re not just some result of a freak accident. You are Umari. You’re one of the best things to happen in my life in a long time. All those nights where we just talked, all those times were we comforted each other, all the good, and all the bad. You’re invaluable, you’re irreplaceable, you’re the one who’s always been there for me, and who I want to be there in the future.”
Allan felt a sense of unease creep into him as he began to express his feelings to her, but pushed it to the back of his mind, knowing that Umari needed to hear what he had to say.
“You’re a great friend, a great fighter, and someone I would never dream of abandoning. You’re precious to me, and despite what you keep thinking, you're important enough to allow some compromise,” he set her down on the ground, wiping what tears still remained from her face.
“Now, can we please drop this? I don’t want to see you upset anymore.” After everything that had happened to them, Allan desperately wanted to move away from any more hardships.
‘I-I’m…’ She found herself hung up on a single word he had said.
Precious.
“And don’t apologize, Umari. It’s alright. Are we good now?”
‘Y-Yeah…’ Umari wiped her face with her paw, not minding that Allan had misunderstood her.
‘I think so. I didn’t mean to doubt you. I know you care about me, I was just— I don’t know… upset, angry, confused, sad… I’m sorry.’
He chuckled, “What did I just say? C’mon, let’s get our picnic started before it starts to get dark.”
Allan gathered up the food and put the blanket back over Umari’s shoulders before resuming their walk down the path under the blazing sun.
—————
“Umari, pull the blanket tighter on your side. There we go,” Allan set down the bags of food on one end of the blanket, his large backpack on the other.
With their seating arrangements taken care of, the two took a moment’s rest, each taking a spot on the blanket and watching the sunlight dance along the surface of the pond.
Umari laid down on the soft blanket and stretched out her body, trying to let go of some stress. The rest of the walk to their spot had been much more pleasant. After having put aside some of her doubts, she could finally appreciate her trainer’s prods at merriment. Before, she had also been too nervous to try out her Fire abilities, but after their talk, she'd spent much of the walk experimentally spouting short bursts of flame. Unfortunately, no trainers were to be seen to try them out in battle.
“Well, I think it’s about time we brought everyone up to speed. You ready?”
‘Well, we have to, don’t we? I’ll just,’ she sheepishly moved around behind his back. ‘I’ll just be over here… don’t stand up please…’
“Alright, I’ll ease them into it.” He reached to his side and grasped three of the multi-colored spheres that rested on his belt.
From the plain Poké Ball, Allan’s first Pokémon emerged. Xutan fluttered in the air on his tiny wings, taking in his new surroundings for a moment before settling down on the blanket in front of his trainer.
The second, coming from a Friend Ball, was the same metal arm that had shown itself in the underground tunnel. Sontos the Beldum was no longer the aggressive leader of an invasive population of his kind that had taken up residence in Ilex Forest. Thanks to the Friend Ball, he had warmed up to the rest of the team very quickly. His intelligence had also been developing at an astounding rate; Allan attributed it to having been exposed to more than just his own kind.
The third, Duncan’s Safari Ball, released the historically annoying cluster of six pink eggs. After few moments, and many bumped heads, the Exeggcute found a reasonable spot on the blanket to settle down.
‘Hey, Master,’ one of Duncan's heads spoke up. ‘What’re we doing today?’
‘We wish we could do this more often. This weather is great,’ said another, rather perky egg.
‘What’re you saying?’ a not-so-amiable head chimed in. ‘It’s hotter than it was back home. The sooner we get to old Two-Legs’ house, the better.’
“Guys, settle down—”
‘C’mon, this isn’t so bad. We’ve got everything. Food, friends, and a good time. What else is needed in this world?’
‘You gaining some damn sense for once. Why don’t you—’
‘Hey you headache of an egg pile, I think our master has something on his mind, so why don’t you stop your constant hexagonal bickering for a few minutes, and try and work on some coordination for once!’
The group of eggs turned in tandem to Xutan, the team’s habitual peace-keeper. Being the first of Allan’s Pokémon, his experience had gained him a leader’s status among the rest of the team. Duncan soon quelled his objections. Being wild in the Safari Zone had stripped him of his natural instinct that drove the “pack mentality”, but that hadn’t lasted long with Xutan’s goals to lead a strong team. Having dissent in the lower ranks was not tolerated.
“Thanks, Xutan. Now, everyone,” Allan addressed them. “Before we get to the food and whatnot, there’s something I need to tell you all.”
‘We’re still going back to your home, right master?’
“Yes Duncan, that’s still the plan, but I need to talk to you all about—”
‘We’re not going to face that Gym right away, are we? Ghosts aren’t exactly our forte, if you haven’t noticed,’ a few more heads added their resentment towards their next Gym target. Duncan’s multiple heads often had conflicting opinions, and occasionally came to a near standstill in decisiveness.
‘We’ve still got a chance, you three. Don’t just resign us to a loss just because of a bad outlook. Remember Azalea? That didn’t bode well for any of us, but we still won. All we have to do is believe that our trainer will—’
‘Stop it with the happy-go-lucky attitude, you always spout your stupidity at every turn, but you need to be realistic. Ghosts are a no-go. No one here has any sort of advantage except Umari. At least she’s immune to them.’
A sharp glare from Xutan silenced any further retort, and it was Sontos who spoke next.
‘Master Allan, why is it that Umari is absent from this meeting? It is my understanding that an explanation is the reason for calling this assembly.’
“I know, Sontos, I know.” Allan sent a mental nudge to Umari over what bond existed between them, ‘Go on Umari. You’ll be fine. But I can’t guarantee Duncan won’t explode with a thousand questions.’
‘Alright…’
Allan hit the nail on the head as he watched his team’s reaction when Umari walked from behind his back. Duncan was, not surprisingly, the first to comment on the revelation.
‘Well, hello there Flareon. Nice choice master, a Fire type will fry those ghosts!’
‘One of another color too! A lucky break and a lucky catch! We’re surprised you went for a non-Psychic though. We thought you were going to be purely a Psychic trainer?’
‘Not to mention the fact that it’s another Eeveelution. We doubt Umari is going to like this very much…’
‘Where is she anyway, Master? We think she should be here to meet our new member too.’
‘Yeah, we thought she was your favorite, why’re you leaving her out?’
“Guys…”
‘Really now, you go out of your way to improve the team, and you don’t think to include one of its main members? Seems inconsiderate to us, Master.’
Sontos shifted his eye to look down at the very confused Exeggcute, ‘Do excuse the interruption Teammate Duncan, but you’re denser than I am, and I’m made of metal. Do you really not see what is in front of your own eyes?’ He turned to the small bird sitting at the opposite end of the group, ‘Teammate Xutan, you’re the voice of reason on the team; is it safe to assume that what has happened here is obvious to you?’
The psychic avian ruffled his small wings, ‘It is, and although I would like an explanation, I think it would be best for Duncan if his collective heads actually put two and two together on this one.’
‘We don’t get the big deal here. We just thought it’d be nice to include Umari on this little debriefing, since she’ll have to get along with th— oh man…’
‘Yes, ‘oh man’ indeed,’ Xutan said to the now-shocked egg creature.
A few awkward glances, silences, and private conversations later, one of Duncan's heads turned to Umari and spoke up, ‘Alright, we’ll bite. What happened?’
‘I evolved.’ Umari sat down in front of her teammates. ‘There was an accident in the underground tunnel. A Fire Stone hit me, and well, it just happened. So, I’m a Flareon now,’ she took a moment to gather herself, ‘and I’m going to make the best of it.’
They turned to Allan, ‘And you’re okay with this?’
“Of course I am,” he ruffled the fur on Umari’s head as he spoke, “She’s still Umari, and isn’t any less important now than if she had evolved otherwise. And I don’t want to see any of you treat her any different, got it?”
‘Understood, Master Allan,’ was the response from Sontos. Xutan gave his affirmative soon after.
“Duncan, why the pause?” Allan had been wary of what his Exeggcute might do or say; the six individual minds were notoriously difficult to predict.
The group of six eggs remained silent, but rolled up close to Umari. Duncan’s heads each gave a scrutinizing glare as they stared her down, ‘Well, she looks alright, but can she control her flame?’
Allan made to retort, but Umari was quicker on the uptake, ‘Of course I can. I might’ve just evolved, but I’m not some clumsy Magmar setting fire to people’s houses.’
Allan watched the events that followed, as his Exeggcute showed a surprising amount of compassion, ‘Oh really now? Your evolution seems to have sparked more fire than just typing in you. Think you can stand a little target practice?’
‘Against you? You’ll be burnt to a crisp! You’re not exactly the fastest thing on no legs you know.’
‘Then you should have no problem scoring a few hits. Come on, let’s see what you can do,’ they all rolled off to the distance, keeping close to the water pool for safety. After a quick glance at Allan, Umari rushed over and started firing off small Ember attacks. Duncan surprised her by splitting off into six separate targets, bumping into her as she missed.
While the two played their dangerous game of tag, Sontos lowered himself to the ground, silently watching the event play out.
Xutan, however, had something more on his mind.
‘So, Allan,’ he said, landing on his shoulder. ‘This seems remarkably close, don’t you think? I certainly wasn’t expecting an evolution like this. Neither were you, I would think.’
“You got that right,” Allan said quietly.
‘Keep in mind; what I saw was never clear to begin with.’
“Don’t remind me…”
—————
‘Allan… Allan, wake up.’
Suddenly wrested from his afternoon nap, Allan awoke to his Flareon gently nudging his head. He had fallen asleep as his Pokémon ate their food that he had brought for the outing. He realized that his nap had far exceeded what he had planned for the day; the sun was barely above the tree line in the distance.
‘Are you alright? You looked like you were having a bad dream until I woke you up. What was it?’
He dragged his palms across his face in an attempt to focus, “It’s nothing…”
‘Come on, you can tell me. You seem pretty shaken up about it.’
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
‘What’s the matter? You’ve told me about your dreams before; you’ve even shown me a few. What’s so bad about this one?’ Umari had never seen her trainer so closed off before—least of all to her.
“Umari. Really, it’s fine. I’m okay. Whatever it was, I can barely remember it now anyway. I’ll be fine,” he hugged her.
“Thank you though. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Allan felt awful to be dreading how thoughtful his Pokémon was being. He knew that if he didn’t steer the conversation away soon, Umari would never let up.
‘You sure you’re alright? You’re always able to talk to me about anything, you know that.’
“I know, thank you.” Allan saw that his team was too tired to take on another route.
“Well, it’s too late now to start heading home, and the National Park is closed by now. Sorry we couldn’t get to it today.”
‘It’s fine. Are we going to head back to Goldenrod for the night?’
“How about a camp out? We’ve basically set up a spot already, and I think we’ve spent enough nights indoors lately. Besides, we’ll be taking a break for a little while once we get home anyway. I’ve got some things to take care of.”
‘What things?’
Allan turned away from her, looking out at the field around them. He grit his teeth, kicking himself for not being more careful; he had brought the conversation back to exactly where he didn’t want it.
“Well, things that I’m not too sure about, to be honest. I’m hoping this break will help me sort them out. But, let’s not worry about that right now. We’ve got to set up camp for the night.”
‘You sure you’re okay Allan? What’s bothering you? You can tell me.’ Umari was sure he was hiding something from her now, she just needed to get him to open up to her like he used to.
He turned to look back at his partner, her concern for him pervading the look on her face.
The rest of his team had stopped their activities, and were watching the sun slowly set behind the trees. Sontos looked on, ever watchful, never blinking, into the blinding light, Duncan's heads took turns at watching the bright display. Xutan was focused on another fiery matter, carefully watching his trainer dance around the questions of his Flame Pokémon.
“Umari,” he said as he stood up. “We’ve got to set up camp. These problems can wait. It’ll be dark—”
‘Problems?! What problems? Why are you hiding things from me? What is so damn important that you can’t tell me? It’s troubling you enough to have bad dreams about it, so why won’t you let me help you?’ Desperate for answers, Umari tried to see into Allan’s thoughts with her feeble psychic abilities. Just when she thought she finally found something, Allan shut her out completely.
“Don’t pry into my head!” he shouted, both vocally and mentally.
Umari had initiated a mental connection with him before, but she had never been so invasive. She had always just wanted to communicate with him, not read his innermost thoughts. Allan hadn’t been guarding himself very well and hastily blocked off his mind from all outside influences.
The sudden psychic shock forced Umari out of his mind, making her flinch. It didn’t hurt—not physically, at least. Allan had never refused her mental touch before, a fact that worried here even more. Allan was hiding something important—that much was clear.
“Look,” he started after a tense moment, “I know you’re worried about me—and I’m sorry that I yelled at you again—but you don’t try and invade someone’s consciousness! I’ve tried to make that clear ever since I began training you. I know you want to help, and I wish you could, but right now, I need to deal with these problems by myself,” he knelt down, but didn’t approach her.
“I apologize for being forceful, but I meant what I said. You are to never force yourself into someone’s mind.” Allan had taught his Pokémon that one golden rule throughout all of his years training them for the benefit of others’ privacy; he had never expected to be the one who might have their mind intruded upon, though.
‘I already know all that, but what else can I do? You’re scaring me Allan! You’re refusing to let me help when you’ve never hidden anything from me before. It’s something serious, I can tell that. Is it about me? About my evolving? What is it?’
“Umari… please—”
‘No! No more of your stalling. I want to know right now! What’s been bothering you so much? If you won’t tell me what it is, then at least tell me why you can’t bring yourself to say it. If I’m as ‘precious’ to you as you say I am, I think I deserve that much.’ Umari knew that using Allan’s own words—words she that was happy to hear no less—against him was playing dirty, but she was running out of ideas.
“I don’t— I mean, I can’t tell you—” he let out a frustrated sigh. Umari’s relentless pressuring was unnerving him.
“Listen, I know how frustrating this must be, but you’re going to have to let me handle this on my own. At least until I know I can’t handle it by myself. If it gets to that stage, I promise I’ll come to you. So until then, can we forget about it?”
‘So I’m just being pushed aside, just because you say so? How’s that going to solve anything? How do I know you’re not lying to me?’ She was getting him to cooperate, at least partially, but it wasn’t good enough. She needed to keep pushing.
“Because,” ‘I mean it Umari. I really do.’ His message to her was imbued with a sense of assurance and trust.
“I’ve never broken a promise to you before, have I?”
‘No…’ her posture eased as she calmed down a bit from her slight panic.
‘So, you’re sure you’re okay? I’ll never drop this if you show any doubt. I mean it, okay?’
“I know you do, and thank you,” he reached out and gently scratched behind one of her ears.
“I promise I’ll come to you if I need anything. So,” he addressed the small crowd that had formed behind him, “if the rest of you are done eavesdropping, I think it’s time to get ready for the night.”
Umari giggled as she watched her teammates’ collective reactions to being caught. Duncan hastily tried to scramble away from his teammates, and Sontos simply levitated upward until he was out of her view. Xutan flew off to the blanket, and started to fumble with gathering it up. She was glad for a break from the serious conversations, even for a brief moment.
The sun had finally fallen behind the tree-line when the group got settled in for the night. Allan rolled out a light sleeping bag—he had opted to leave his tent in storage. The strange weather of late made the nights all too hot for one, anyway.
—————
The team had taken up their rest in their respective Poké Balls, aside from Umari. She took her normal spot, though now she lay only partially on Allan; her evolution had made her too large to simply lie on his chest. The sky had accumulated a few clouds, enough to obscure the moonlight every few moments. The night was hot, as to be expected due to the heat wave. But tonight, Allan was sleepless for other reasons.
Dammit, at this rate… it’ll really be me that does cause it… unless it already happened… No, it’s still possible… Dammit.
—————
The pair had gotten up early and decided to spend the morning hours by taking the longer, safer path to their home by cutting through the National Park. The day had been uneventful and calming, until Umari suddenly asked, ‘Why is Bugsy here?’
“What?”
‘Bugsy, you know? Purple hair, likes bugs a bit too much? He’s right over there. He’s going around looking for something.’
Just as she directed him, Allan saw the Bug type Gym Leader of Azalea Town strolling about the park. He would every so often glance around pointedly, and stopped occasionally to ask a passerby an unheard question.
‘What do you think he’s—? Hey, what’re you doing?’
Allan quickly ducked down behind a bench and started hastily rifling through his pack.
“Hat, hat, hat, I know I have one… There we are. Yeah, backwards isn’t me, this’ll work. Umari, you make sure you’re close to me, alright?”
‘Sure, but why?’
“He doesn’t know you’ve evolved yet; no one does. This’ll work to our advantage.”
‘I’m still confused, what’re we working for?’
“Well,” he said as he adjusted his cap, “Unless I miss my guess, and I rarely do, I’m thinking Bugsy’s on the hunt for us, on word from Whitney. Bugsy’s a bug fanatic, and comes here often, so Whitney probably sent him here to intercept us on our way to Ecruteak. If it were any other time, I’d love to find out what that crazy girl was talking about, but now isn’t the time to mess with those people after the interest they showed back in Goldenrod.”
‘Why not?’ she asked.
‘I think now’s a perfect opportunity, and I think it’s good that Whitney’s getting back to us this soon. She made it seem like it would be a while before we heard anything more from them, so why aren’t we dealing with it now?’
“Because,” he sighed, “I have enough to worry about right now. Anything else just isn’t a priority to me. I want to get home as soon as possible, they can find me any time they want, but I don’t want it to be now. Now, stick close to me, and we should be able to get out of here without him recognizing us.”
‘Got it.’ Umari decided that if it meant getting closer to resolving Allan’s troubles, she would be willing to go along with whatever he had planned.
They resumed their previous path, casually avoiding Bugsy’s search pattern. Unfortunately, the park was far less crowded this early, and places that broke line-of-sight were fleeting at best. It was not long before a careless turn on Allan’s part brought him right in the path of the Bug trainer.
“Excuse me, sir? I’m looking for someone who may have passed by here recently. He has an alternately colored Eevee, and was heading for Ecruteak City. Name of Allan Relmstead, have you seen him today?”
Trying his best to act surprised, he made an attempt at disguising his voice and responded, “Allan, shiny Eevee, going to Ecruteak… Hmm… Can’t say I’ve heard of him. I’d remember someone else with a shiny Pokémon with them,” he paused, “Hey, aren’t you Azalea’s Gym Leader?”
“Nice guess! The name’s Bugsy, I come here every so often. I love the Bug types they have here, and I love watching the contests, even if I don’t compete.”
“So what’s a Gym Leader doing looking for a random trainer? This Relmstead isn’t one of those problem trainers the League has to ‘correct’ every now and then, is he?”
“Oh, it’s nothing like that. I’m just a messenger boy today. I don’t think I remember you coming by the Gym before, are you new to the region?”
“I’m from Kanto. The name’s Carson. Five badges. I thought I’d head to Johto for a while and test the Gyms over here.”
“Well, I hope you make it to Azalea soon, I’d love to battle you for your sixth,” he checked his PokéGear, and made to walk away.
“Sorry to leave so soon, but I’ve got to find this guy. Head to Azalea Gym when you’re in the neighborhood, you hear?”
“Can do!” He waited until Bugsy was far enough down the path before moving again.
After making sure they were well away, Allan removed his cap.
“That was close. Gotta hand it to my natural acting skills, I thought he’d catch on for sure.”
‘Acting skills? You were nervous the whole time and made all that up on the spot. Just be glad Bugsy didn’t have pictures to show people. He’d have recognized us straight away if he knew it was me too. He never did like the fact that we beat him.’ Umari felt a familiar warmth begin to return between the two of them. She didn’t realize how much she missed it until it was missing.
“Alright, we were lucky, I’ll give you that. Now let’s get a move on, I want to get home as soon as we can.”
Unlike his optimistic Flareon, who was dreaming of reviving the past, only one thing was on Allan’s mind:
The future.
—————
After their run-in with the Azalea Gym Leader, Allan and Umari enjoyed a very calming and peaceful morning in the National Park. The crowds had amassed to their usual sizes, and with them brought quite a few admirers who wanted to get a better look at Umari. The frequent stops were costing him time, but Allan was grateful that she was enjoying the extra attention.
Soon, the day crept into early afternoon, and the decision to skip breakfast was bearing down on the two. To Umari’s surprise, the National Park had a small outdoor restaurant. There was a pair of them, Allan told her, one on either side of the park itself. Trainers made up most of the clientèle, but some regular patrons also frequented the restaurants.
Before venturing on to the next leg of their trek, they agreed that a break from the heat of the day would do them well. Surprisingly, evolution hadn’t changed much of Umari’s choice in food. She did surprise Allan by asking for hot sauce to add to her meal, but she still requested a small side of ice cream for dessert.
“So Umari,” he asked between bites of his sandwich, “Did you have fun today?”
‘Yes. This place is beautiful. I’m glad I finally got to see it, but something’s been bugging me for a little while…’
“What is it?” Allan’s shoulders tensed up, worried she was going to bring up one of their earlier arguments.
‘Well, how did you know that Bugsy was looking for you?’
“I told you, it was a guess.” He let out a small sigh of relief that it was something so simple.
‘Liar. You read his mind from a distance, didn’t you?’ Umari wondered how her trainer would talk around this.
“I, well, you know, I wouldn’t really count it as reading his mind, but… yeah…”
‘How not? Seems pretty mind-reader like to me.’
“Well, I didn’t go looking for him; it was kind of on reflex. You know I’ve made it a habit to constantly scan the surrounding area for any potential danger. After you pointed him out in the crowd, I just happened to catch my name at the front of his mind. Like right now, the lady three tables to our right is wondering why her date is late, and the waiter just realized he mixed up the bills of two customers. You’re currently exuding a sense of amusement and a little bit of jealousy,” he eased up a bit at that.
“So I take it you’re not angry?”
‘Not really, no. I find it funny how you bend your own rules and somehow make sense of it. Don’t pin me as being jealous, but I do wish I could be as good as you some day with psychic abilities. You’re a human after all; you’d think I should be able to pick up on it quicker than you would.’
“Don’t worry so much, it isn’t easy for non-psychics to just become psychically able. I’m sure with enough practice; your skills will improve greatly.”
‘Would you help me, you know, like we used to back when you first learned you could talk to me? Soon too, I’m sick of having Duncan always one-up me.’
“Sure, I’d like that,” he lied.
The rest of Allan’s meal was filled not with musings of the memories of old, but with dreadful thoughts of what awaited him.
I’m running out of time.
—————
‘Remember this spot, Allan?’
“…”
‘Allan. Hey Allan! Wake up!’
“Sorry,” he said, “What were you saying?”
She pouted, ‘Thinking about your ‘problems’ again?’
“Y-Yeah, a bit. Sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you. What were you saying?”
‘This place, this route, you and me. Doesn’t this all bring back good memories?’
He smiled, “Sure, but I remember going through more than a couple rough patches just after we left home.”
‘I know, but I loved those first few days, even if they didn’t go as planned. We found our way soon enough, and the feeling of seeing Violet City come into view for the first time… can’t beat it.’
“You remember things like that?”
‘Don’t you? You’re supposed to always cherish the time you spend with the ones you love.’
“I remember things just fine, like that one day you woke up to an empty house and bawled your eyes out until I got back from the store.”
‘Hey, that’s not fair. I didn’t know where you went, and I had just met you. I thought… I thought you left me.’
He stopped to pat her on the head, “You and your abandonment issues, I swear. You really have to—”
“Hey, Blondie. Eyes front!”
Aww, dammit all, Allan thought. He looked up from his Pokémon to see a trainer holding out a Poké Ball towards him. Standing up and facing the newcomer, Allan glared at the young man.
“What do you want?”
“Think hard, genius. I’m itching for a battle. I just beat the Gym Leader of Ecruteak, and I’m on a roll,” he tossed the Poké Ball and released a Swinub onto the ground.
It was energetic for such a small pig, hopping up and down and snorting aggressively toward Allan and Umari.
‘Alright! I’ve wanted to try real battling ever since that target practice yesterday.’
“Hold on Umari, let’s have Sontos handle this guy.” Seeing Umari so eager to go into battle worried him; she had been determined to win their gym battle in Goldenrod to the point of driving herself to exhaustion. If she were to battle that way with her untrained, newly evolved body, Allan was certain someone would get hurt.
‘Why? That thing doesn’t look like it’s too tough; I’ll fry that tiny thing in seconds, just watch.’
“Hey buddy! Are we going to fight or what?” the intrusive trainer asked as he tossed the empty Poké Ball in the air a few times.
“You need to calm yourself, kid. We’ll hand you your loss in a second.” Allan shifted his attention to his Flareon’s mind, ‘I want to get more training in with Sontos if we’re going to battle. He’s still new to the team, and I like to keep you all as close to each other as possible, you know that.’
‘I know, but I wanna battle.’
‘We’ll see what else he has in store. Until then, I want to give our new guy a chance to catch up.’ Allan hoped he could stall Umari and keep her from out of the fight. Luckily he wasn’t lying when he told her he wanted to focus on his newest Pokémon; Allan needed Sontos for something, but he didn’t want Umari to think he was playing favorites.
She just needed to buy his excuses for a little bit longer.
‘Fine…’ Umari sat at her trainer’s side, thoroughly disappointed.
“Alright kid, here we go,” grasping the Friend Ball to his left, he released his Beldum.
“Sontos, come on out! We’ll show this kid what happens when people rush us!” Getting the affirmative from his Pokémon, the battle was underway.
The Swinub was very agile, as Allan had guessed from his observations. Whenever Sontos moved in to attack, it would hop away, scoring a light but slowing hit with an Icy Wind. As quick as the little pig was, Sontos’ levitation eventually won out in the battle of mobility. The battle lasted no more than a few minutes, and Allan ordered a swift Iron Head to finish off the Ice type.
“Great job Sontos. Let’s see what else this joke has to offer next.”
The trainer recalled his Swinub and quickly sent out a young Smoochum.
‘Allan, this kid is pathetic. Please, let me fight. It looks like he only has weak Ice types; I’d clear his whole team in a flash.’
“Sontos can still go a bit longer. I told you I need to train him.”
‘I know that, but—’
“Good,” his hasty cut-off caught her by surprise, and left her unable to continue her bargaining.
“Sontos, same plan as before. Let’s finish this quick!”
It didn’t last very long. The cocky trainer tried ordering his Smoochum to use Fake Tears, but Allan’s Beldum was unaffected by such attacks. A single Iron Head attack knocked out the Kiss Pokémon, eliciting a worried look from the young trainer.
“I hope you realize that you brought this on yourself, kid. Losing is part of being a trainer, but don’t go around challenging people who are out of your league.”
“Don’t call me out just yet; I’ve saved the best for last!”
‘Allan! Allan! Talk to me!’ She stood on her hind legs and pushed against his side.
“What is it?”
‘What do you think? Let me battle, please. I—’
“No.”
‘No? Why not? Your only excuse so far is that you want to train Sontos, but look at him. He’s getting tired. Let me switch in. This guy is using only Ice types. I know I can win, so why won’t you let me fight?’
‘Because,’ he switched to his mental voice, ‘I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?’ He felt heat rushing to his face, having nothing to do with the sunny day.
‘Is that all? Really? You sent me against Fighting types back when I was an Eevee, and you didn’t seem to have much trouble then.’ Umari couldn’t make sense of her trainer’s behavior. She suspected there must be more driving his actions.
‘Fighting types are almost exclusively physical centric, and you’ve always been good at taking physical hits, but I don’t want you going up against a special user. Let’s just—’
‘Don’t give me that crap! You know as well as I do that battles are decided during the fight, not the pre-battle banter! Who cares if it’s a special type? Do you think I’m too weak? Sontos has plowed through this kid’s entire team so far, and ‘he’s so far below me’.’
‘I care about your safety, not whether you’re strong or not. I already know you’re strong, but I have a bad feeling that he’ll send out something you won’t be able to handle. You’re not used to your new form yet and I don’t want to risk it.’
‘A bad feeling, huh? You sure you’re not just ‘scanning’ him for what’s in his party?’ Umari didn’t want to think that Allan would do something so dishonest during a Pokémon battle, but she had heard from his own mouth how he bends his own rules. With how Allan has been acting lately, Umari wasn’t sure of a lot of things.
‘Of course not! I’m just being reasonable; you could get yourself hurt if you go rushing into any fight you come across.’
‘And I’m being reasonable by understanding that risk and being prepared to deal with it.’
Allan merely stared back at her, his face growing uncertain.
‘Allan, please let me fight,’ Umari continued.
‘If you really care about me, at least try and understand why I have to do this. I need to know that I can still fight for you like this. Let me show you what I can do. I want to make you proud, but you aren’t letting me. So please, can I fight?’ She hated twisting his arm like this; she wished Allan would just open up to her. She needed him to talk to her.
There was a tense moment of silence and blocked feelings between the two—Allan grappling with a moral dilemma and Umari agitated and confused as to why he refused her. Sontos and the other trainer had been watching the quiet argument play out, intense stares and spontaneous movements gave somewhat of a clue as to the nature of the silent conversation.
“You going to forfeit, or what? I guess you’re too scared to face my last Pokémon. Don’t worry though; I get this all the time. It’s a curse really, I mean—”
“Kid, if you want to keep your clothes in an un-charred state, I’d shut up. Sontos, you’ve had enough for today… Get in there Umari.” ‘Just be careful, alright?’
‘Quit your worrying, I’ll be fine,’ she strolled proudly to the center of the makeshift battlefield. Without turning back, she added, ‘Thank you, Allan.’
The trainer looked a bit surprised at the appearance of the Flame Pokémon; he had assumed that the Beldum would have continued its battle. The look soon turned to a grin of overconfidence.
“Alright, come on out, Cloyster!”
The Bivalve Pokémon fazed into existence in front of Umari, the grin on the strange spherical head matching the one of its trainer’s.
‘Don’t say it, I know. You were right, but I’m still staying, got it?’
Allan wanted nothing more than to call off the battle, but he couldn’t disappoint Umari after the appreciation he had felt from her when he finally agreed to let her fight. He just couldn’t let her down.
“Just be careful, you got that! Keep your distance and—”
‘No thanks, I’m taking charge of this. Just sit and watch me dazzle you,‘kay?’
With that, she sprinted towards her opponent, a streak of white energy trailing behind her. Quick Attack was a speedy move, and the Cloyster had no time to react. The attack landed, with minimal results due to the rock hard shell, but the damage was sure. The Cloyster backed away, and coated the spikes coving its shell in spears of ice, readying an attack.
“Umari, get ready to dodge!”
She ignored Allan’s warnings and charged the oyster with a Fire Fang erupting from her maw. Her speed won out again, and she latched on to the shell of her opponent, chomping down hard and sending flames through the cracks.
“Umari, move!”
The Cloyster grinned wide from behind its shell and unleashed the torrent of icicles point-blank at Umari. Her fur’s high temperature weakened the blows somewhat, but she was knocked back a ways. Before she could counterattack, another volley of Icicle Spears came down on her. She had just gotten back on her feet from the first assault and couldn’t hope to dodge all of them.
“Umari, try a Flamethrower. Cloyster should be weak against special attacks.”
‘Shut up already, I’ve got this.’
In reality, it was difficult for her to contain her nervousness. Between volleys of Icicle Spears, the Cloyster would fire off Water Guns if she tried to get close. The battle was dragging on much longer than she would’ve liked, and she feared more than anything that she would lose after being so confident. Soon her exhaustion caught up with her, and her opponent hit her with a Hydro Pump that sent her reeling back into a soaking wet heap on the ground.
Allan couldn’t control himself any longer.
“Umari! Umari, are you alright?” he made to rush to her side, but a sharp glare halted his advance.
‘I-I told you to shut up and let me handle this. I’m—’
She coughed up a mouthful of water.
‘I’m fine… I just need a new plan.’
‘Umari, I’m calling the match; you’re hurt. We’re done here.’ He didn’t care anymore; Allan couldn’t bear to see Umari hurt again, even if she hated him for it.
He hated seeing her in pain even more.
‘No.’ Giving up was the last thing on the Flareon’s mind.
‘I get it Umari, I do. I’m sorry I didn’t let you battle earlier, but this isn’t—’
‘Stop it Allan.’
She found her legs.
She stood, the billowing wind alleviating the sting of the cold water a bit.
‘Let me ask you something; what if we had quit back when we fought Whitney?’
“I… I don’t—”
‘I might not’ve evolved into this.’
Umari took a deep breath, blowing out a short jet of fire into the air.
‘But we’ll never know. I am what I am now. And I refuse to run away from what I am. If I lose because I became a Fire type, then I lose. But that punk over there is smiling so hard I can’t believe he has that many teeth. I’m confident that I can wipe that smile off his face, and make you smile even bigger than he does. Now, will you let me, or am I going to have to go alone?’
“But, what can you do?”
‘You know,’ she smirked, shaking some of the water from her fur, ‘something amazing.’
The confident Flareon took off toward her opponent, a plan already in motion.
“Umari, wait! What’re you doing? Come back!”
Ignoring the calls from her trainer, she began running in a circle around the Cloyster, keeping out of its field of vision. The clam couldn’t turn itself fast enough to keep her in its sights. After gaining enough speed, she tried her idea. Breathing in deep and heavy, she ignited a Flamethrower. She began to release it in front of her at a low speed. The flames flew back onto her as she ran, catching and building on her fur, slowly covering herself in fire.
She continued to circle her opponent, keeping the flame at a constant level, her fur catching the fire effortlessly. Soon, she seemed like a living ball of flame jetting around the road. Rather than circle behind the Cloyster one last time, she caught it by surprise and waited until it turned to face her.
“Umari, don’t! You’re going to hurt yourself! Back down now!”
“Oh crap! Cloyster, Withdraw!”
With the roar of the combustion around her, and her own determination, Umari failed to hear her trainer’s calls for her safety. She bounded toward her opponent as fast as she could, roaring as she went. The Cloyster retreated into its shell, but was moments too late. A magnificent explosion erupted from the collision point of the two Pokémon. A tempest of fire, magnitudes greater than Allan thought possible, streaked across the road, scorching the worn pavement and singeing plant life all around. The opposing trainer had taken sanctuary behind a tree far from the blast, his cocky attitude lost in the abrupt end to the fight.
Unable to form any words, Allan rushed to the crimson scene. The heat of the flames kept him at bay, and angered him to no end. The blaze had created a tower of fire climbing far into the sky, and a crater nearly a foot deep and six feet in diameter. The bright inferno made it impossible to see the outcome, though the sound of hissing steam could be heard.
The moment Allan started to brave the flames in search for Umari, the wind picked up again, revealing the victor of the clash. Umari stood atop the Cloyster, whose insides were badly charred and burned. The fire continued to lick at her fur, only to be harmlessly blown away by the wind.
For a few, endless moments, the two locked eyes.
Umari’s expression was filled with pride, Allan’s with anger.
“Umari, what the hell were you thinking?! That was incredibly reckless! I told you time and again to back down, and you still ignored my orders. You could’ve seriously hurt yourself, or worse!”
She was crushed. That was all Umari could feel. After such a long ordeal, after exhausting herself to prove that she could take down her opponent despite its type advantage, he had yelled at her. Almost afraid to move, she jumped down from the unconscious clam as its trainer came to recall it.
“Hey there man, calm down. You won, and your Flareon did the impossible to do it. You shouldn’t yell at her for it—” the trainer found it hard to continue talking with a fist colliding with his jaw.
“I’ve had it with your mouth. Now get out of here, and I’d hurry too. Your Cloyster’s got some pretty bad burns,” he stared menacingly as the shell-shocked trainer ran off in the direction of Goldenrod City.
Allan turned to begin walking towards Ecruteak.
“You coming?”
‘I… I’m… What did I do wrong? Didn’t I make you happy? I won. I learned a new move and it worked! I beat it! Why are you angry!?’
“You ignored my orders, you put yourself in terrible danger, and you could have seriously hurt another trainer’s Pokémon with that attack.” Allan shook his head and turned back to her.
“It’s time to go… come on.”
‘But I won though! I promise it didn’t hurt, I’m fine. Don’t hate me for this, please. What did I do? Tell me! What did I do wrong!?’
He outstretched his arm towards her forcefully, causing her to flinch. Not at the motion, but at what he held in his hand; her Luxury Ball.
“Umari, you either come along on foot, or I recall you. We’re going home, with or without you by my side, got it?”
Unable to say another word, Umari nodded and began to follow her trainer, unsure if he was still her friend. The entire rest of the way to Ecruteak was quiet. No trainers, Pokémon, or unexpected Gym Leaders. Just a trainer and his Pokémon, both regretting ever accepting a challenge from a cocky Ice trainer.
Though the both of them didn’t know it, their minds were united in one line of thought that repeated itself over and over inside their heads.
Why… why did it turn out like this…?
—————
[MAIL]
[From: Cartographer ID: B. I. Thomas (53142)]
[To: Prof. J Elm]
[Subject: RE: Newest Acquisition?]
[Hey Professor,
[I’m not exactly sure what to tell you about the odd capture record. I can see it on my device as well, but I haven’t actually caught anything in a while other than the Drapion I was given not too long ago.
[All I can think of is that I might’ve dropped a Poké Ball or two while I was down in the underground beneath the Ruins of Alph (or even my recent trip through Diglett’s Cave), and the ball could’ve caught something on its own, or got broken and started sending a glitchy signal.
[The listing in my Pokédex doesn’t really bother me, but it might cause issues if I do catch a sixth Pokémon. I wouldn’t want the new catch sent to the storage system for no reason.
[I’ll just erase the capture record on my end.
[P.S. I’m actually on my way back to Johto now. I had some business I needed to take care of in Viridian City, but now I’m headed back to Vermilion to catch a boat to Olivine City. Hope you don’t mind if I challenge a few gyms along the way. My Pokémon and I feel like we’ve fallen behind.
—B. I. Thomas]
—————
To Be Continued in Part 3: Heat
—————
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The Dark Type