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

Chapter List
- 35
- 36
- 37
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Chapter 36: No Turning Back
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Woken up suddenly by Karros, Iruni had immediately begun fearing the worst.
He had been asleep inside the tent that Celebi had helped put up earlier that day. The front of the tent had been left open—partially to let some fresh air in, but also in case something happened and Iruni needed to get out in a moment’s notice.
Karros had stuck his head inside and woken him with a low bark.
Iruni’s eyes had snapped open, and he'd shot up from where he lay.
“What’s wrong? Is everyone alright?”
“Up. Urgent.”
Even though Karros had been slowly improving, Iruni still had trouble fully understanding his Houndoom's speech.
“Celebi and Rikalia.”
“Are they in trouble?” Iruni leaned forward, urging Karros to elaborate.
“Don’t know. Gone a while. Starting to worry. Should find them.”
Iruni sighed; while the initial shock of being woken up was slowly beginning to fade away, it was only being replaced with unease from Karros’ unclear message. He checked the time, seeing that it was very early in the morning, just a few hours before sunrise. He quickly threw on a shirt and grabbed his shoes.
His Houndoom backed out of the tent, letting Iruni stand and exit himself.
A cool breeze from the south cut through the warm night air, catching Iruni’s exposed limbs and making him shiver a bit. Looking around the campsite, he could see the rest of his Pokémon were still asleep.
“Do you know where they went?” Iruni asked, keeping his voice low.
“Beach.” Karros answered. He nodded in the direction the chilly wind was coming from.
“Let’s go bring them back then. We need to be sticking together as much as we can.”
Iruni walked over to where his Drapion was curled up and sleeping, carefully waking him up as quietly as he could.
“Hadarah,” he whispered.
The Ogre Scorpion blinked awake and raised his head up.
“Karros and I need to leave camp for a little bit. Can you keep watch while we’re gone?”
Nodding affirmative, Hadarah rose up on his four legs and stood watch over his remaining teammates at the campsite.
With Karros beside him, Iruni left the campsite with a quickened pace. He wanted to make sure that Celebi was safe and back under supervision as soon as possible. He really didn’t like the idea of her being so far away from him, especially while he was asleep. If some passing person or Pokémon happened to see her, it could very quickly put their group in the sights of anyone who might be after Celebi and her time traveling ability.
Iruni assumed that Coralis and his allies weren’t the first ones to ever want to change the past or the future.
I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t do this again, he decided.
“Why’d they leave camp?” Iruni asked his Houndoom.
“Rika left first. Alone. Then Celebi. Find her?”
“That’d be nice,” Iruni guessed at the meaning behind Karros’ last words. “If those two could just be nice to each other, it would save us all some headaches.”
“Doubt it.”
“I know. Can’t hurt to hope, though.”
Without warning, Karros took off running ahead of Iruni.
“Kar! What’s the matter?”
Karros stopped and called back to him, “Trouble! Rika and Celebi!”
He couldn’t make sense of his Houndoom’s entire message, but he couldn’t afford to waste any time figuring it out. He knew that any time spent hesitating could spell disaster. Iruni had to make a decision.
“Go on ahead! Make sure Celebi is safe and bring her back to camp! I’ll be right behind you!”
Iruni ran as fast as he could manage in the dark forest, making sure not to run into anything or trip over some upturned root. That was until a bright burst of light in the distance drove Iruni to push himself to move even faster. The tall grass and low lying tree branches smacked and snagged his body as he ran, but he pressed on through.
Did one of Coralis’ allies find us? They shouldn’t suspect us anymore, right? What else could it be?
If Karros could just get there in time to retrieve Celebi, Iruni thought, he was sure that his Houndoom would be able to get her to safety. He couldn’t let Celebi fall into anyone’s hands who might use her power unchecked. Too much relied on having Celebi’s past remain unchanged.
Iruni was sure that when he got there, Rikalia and himself could fight off whatever kind of trouble the two of them had found themselves in.
He was sure that they would be able to handle whatever it was that had made Karros dash off so quickly.
He knew they would.
However, once Iruni finally caught up to the commotion, he found himself no longer sure of anything anymore.
No…
Arriving at the beach, Iruni saw what was unmistakably Karros defending Celebi from an enemy. He took a quick glance around, hoping to find any other explanation for what was unfolding in front of him, but there was nothing to be found.
Celebi and Rikalia weren’t in danger from some unknown attacker.
The attacker was Rikalia.
Teeth bared and claws extended, ready to strike, his Sneasel was clearly prepared to fight her oldest teammate just to get at Celebi.
Iruni had been fearing the worst, but he hadn't expected this.
“Fight? Me?” Iruni heard Karros ask her.
“Are you going to get in my way again?” Rikalia asked him. She crouched low, preparing to leap at him—willing to attack one of her friends.
“No.” Karros turned around and spoke to Celebi. “Follow.”
Once Karros’ back was turned, Rikalia took her first step forward toward him—whether to attack or in defiance of being ignored, Iruni didn’t know—but she stopped herself. She had caught sight of Iruni staring at her from the tree line and froze in place. The Sneasel slowly stood up straight and retracted her claws. She pulled her arms closer to her body, as if shielding herself from some impending blow.
Karros repeated his order to Celebi, who finally noticed Iruni’s arrival.
Iruni took his eyes off of Rikalia just in time to see Celebi turn and look up at him. He could see that Celebi had small cuts on her body and along her arms. Rikalia had actually hurt her. As much as his Sneasel’s behavior angered and worried him, Celebi’s safety still needed to be assured.
“You heard him. Camp.”
‘Look,’ Celebi tried to explain herself. ‘I…’
“Now.” Iruni ordered. He looked back to where Rikalia stood; she had since taken a few steps back away from him.
She flinched when he looked at her. Iruni guessed that she was expecting to be yelled at.
Rika… What happened? How could you take it this far?
Iruni stayed standing on the edge of the grass and shore, keeping his eyes locked on Rikalia. He didn’t bother to look down as he heard the sound of Karros’ footsteps come close and then continue on past him. He knew that his Houndoom would see Celebi back to the campsite safely. Once they made it back, the rest of his Pokémon would be more than enough to keep her safe until Iruni could make it back.
Even though he hated himself for even thinking about it, he still hoped, deep down, that he wouldn’t have to go back alone.
When he couldn’t hear anything but the sound of the waves on the shore, he finally stepped forward onto the sand.
Rikalia didn’t run away, but she didn’t stand and face him either.
All that she did was stare at the ground and kept holding her arms close to her body.
When he got closer, Iruni could see that she was shaking. Her fur was wet and covered in sand.
“Are you cold?” he asked, coming to a stop just in front of her. A cool wind was still blowing up from the south.
Rikalia closed her eyes and shook her head.
Is she embarrassed… or afraid?
Iruni knelt down in front of her. He wanted to reach out with his hand to comfort her—he didn’t want to see her like this, no matter what had happened tonight—but he stopped himself. He didn’t know what he should do; he couldn’t decide if he should try to comfort and soothe her, reprimand her for her unacceptable behavior, or somehow justify doing both.
Does she deserve one, but not the other? he asked himself.
“I need help, Rika.” Iruni sat down in the sand in front of his Sneasel. “There’s something going on and I don’t know what it is.”
She shook her head again, covering her face with her paws.
“Rikalia… Please. If I don’t know what’s wrong, then I can’t help with—”
“Yes you do!” Rikalia shouted. She pointed at Iruni with a pair of claws. “Don’t act like you don’t know what’s going on! Stop pretending like there’s nothing wrong! Just stop it!”
Iruni winced; his ears ringing for a moment from her outburst.
She was right.
He did know what was wrong, and it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to avoid it anymore. Things had only gone this far because he had done nothing; brushing it off instead of facing it head on.
Iruni felt like he had backed himself up to the edge of a cliff. If he said nothing, or tried to avoid the problem again, he would surely be pushed off the edge. Iruni knew that he needed to move forward, no matter how hard it might be.
“Okay,” he finally said.
Rikalia lowered her arm and clenched her paws.
“Which is it, then?” Iruni asked his Sneasel.
“Which what?” she asked.
“What is it that’s making you so upset? Is it because I’ve put our training and traveling plans on hold to help Celebi? Is it about how she’s messed with our lives? Is it because I’ve been keeping you at a distance ever since you kissed me?” Iruni reached forward and grabbed Rikalia’s right paw, holding it up between the two of them. “Or maybe it’s that all of those things are making you chew up your claws again?”
Rikalia let out a shocked gasp before pulling her arm back and hiding it behind herself. She avoided his eyes, looking down at the sand beside her.
“How… do you know about that?” she asked.
“Remember when you took my Pokédex and read the journal I kept in there? Well, that must have been a bad night for you, because there was some blood on it,” Iruni explained. “I’d forgotten about it after I first noticed it, but Karros pointed it out to me after he evolved. He tried to tell me about what had been going on with you as best as he could, but there’s still stuff I don’t know.”
“I’ve been trying to stop…” Rikalia whined. “Kar wasn’t supposed to tell you.”
“Well I’m glad he did. If you messed up while trimming them once or twice that’s not a big deal, but if you’re upset about something and it’s making you bite and gnaw your claws until you’re bleeding, then it’s a serious problem!” Iruni took a deep breath, not wanting to raise his voice any more than he already had.
“Karros did tell me that he’d already talked to you about it, so I decided that I’d let you handle it on your own. I trusted that you would be able to break the habit yourself, but I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry,” Iruni apologized. “I should have asked what was bothering you a long time ago.”
“…so you know everything,” she said after a moment, still staring down at the ground.
“No I don’t. I know the problems, but not the solutions. Rika,” Iruni paused, unsure how to continue.
“I don’t know what to do, and it feels awful. It’s obvious now that I can’t make you and Celebi get along, but I don’t know how to make that any better. I don’t know if that’s what’s driving you to destroy your own claws, or if it’s…”
Rikalia looked up at him, “Or what…?”
“…the other thing.”
“Why can’t you say it?” she asked. “You just mentioned it a minute ago! Are you ashamed of it?”
“Rika… I know you want to, but we shouldn’t.”
“Why not?!” Rikalia stepped closer, her eyes close to spilling tears. “You said it was fine before! You even kissed me first, remember?”
“Yeah, I did…” Iruni said. He took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to say. “It meant a lot to me that you were willing to guard Celebi’s ball. Keeping her with us in the first place was risky, but I had always planned on taking responsibility for that. Then you decided to help take on some of that burden on your own. I didn’t have to ask. You even gave up your own ball to do it.”
Rikalia wiped her face with her paws, nodding for him to continue.
“So, I guess I got a little… carried away,” Iruni continued. “I wanted to show you how much I appreciated what you were offering to do. But, right after I did it, I felt like I shouldn’t have. I felt like I was overstepping my boundaries with you… but then you kissed me back.”
Rikalia stared on at him, looking puzzled.
“We were always pretty close before then,” he began to explain. “You never liked being in your ball, you always slept next to me at night, and we even managed to find a way to talk to each other—that’s something most trainers never get to have that experience. After a while, I… thought about what it might be like if we… you know… cared for each other more than just Pokémon and trainer.”
“You did?” Rikalia’s expression softened. “It’s… It’s not just me?”
“No… it’s not just you.” Iruni looked away, down at the sand beside him. “It was just a thought in my head that kept coming back from time to time. I didn’t think it was anything real. I never expected it could be something that might actually happen until you kissed me. I had no idea that you actually felt that way towards me, and when you kissed me it made me really start to think about it.”
“…Well?” Rikalia pressed.
“I…” Iruni sighed, knowing full-well how his Sneasel would react to what he was about to say. He turned back to face his Sneasel, hating the look of optimism in her eyes that his words had given her.
“I wish things were different, I really do. If we weren’t in this situation, then maybe we’d… give it a shot. I know how this sounds, but until we help settle Celebi’s business with Coralis, I don’t think we should.”
Rikalia’s face slowly twisted into a scowl and clenched her paws, her fur standing on end.
“Even this?” she growled. “You’re going to let her get in the way of this too?!”
“This is my decision, Rika. Not hers. We have to focus on getting Coralis back home and keeping Celebi safe. We can’t afford to spend time on anything else.”
“But this isn’t like us challenging gyms, or working for the professor… it’s… us.”
“I know what I’m saying,” Iruni said somberly. “I told you I’ve thought about it. This is what has to happen.”
“Why can’t we just… try it anyway?” suggested Rikalia. “If you’re worried about focusing on me too much, then we can… take it slow or something. We shouldn’t have to hold ourselves back entirely just for her!”
“Look, I know it’s selfish of me to ask you to wait for me to—”
“But I won’t be waiting for you! I’ll be waiting for her to figure herself out and get out of our lives! I don’t get it! We both want the same thing, but you’re just saying ‘no’ for no reason!”
“There is a reason!” Iruni let his voice rise. He stood up and turned around, looking down the length of the beach. He focused on something—anything—in the distance, trying to cool his temper.
“It’s the same reason why we’re putting everything else on hold,” he said.
“This is not the same thing!” Rikalia pulled on Iruni’s hand and turned him around. “We don’t have to push our entire lives aside just to help her!”
“If we don’t, it’ll just take us longer to get back to where we want to be! You’re right, Rika; I do want it too. I really do. I want to try it, but like I said before, I wouldn’t feel right about it if we pursued our own happiness while Coralis is stuck in our time away from his.”
Iruni took a deep breath, pulling his hand back from her.
“So,” he continued, “I don’t think we should start a relationship if we can’t fully dedicate ourselves to each other. You deserve more than just some of my attention.”
“And what? Now I get none of it?!”
“No! I’m not going to ignore you, we just… have to put aside anything romantic for now.”
“How is that better?!”
“Because the sooner we get Coralis back home the sooner we can even get the chance to try, Rika!” Iruni hated that he had to yell at her. “I hate this too, you know! I want to have our lives back! But if we don’t act now, we might never get them back!”
“That’s stupid! She doesn’t even know what to do! We can be mates and still help fix her stupid mistakes if we have to!”
“Say it all you want, but it’s not going to magically make me feel better about this. I’ve made up my mind.”
“Why do you get to decide?!” Rikalia cried. “What about me? What about how I feel? Why didn’t you even ask me about this?! We— We could’ve tried it when we had Celebi locked in her ball!”
“And what about after, Rika?” he asked her. “What if we had tried it out and I decided that I couldn’t deal with both things at once? How would you feel if I had to break our relationship off after we started?”
“I— We could still…” she fumbled with her words, unable to find what she was trying to say.
“I love you, Rikalia.” Iruni knelt down to her level once more, reaching out with a hand to stroke her head. “I really think I do. But we have to wait—”
“Don’t!” Rikalia snapped, batting away Iruni’s hand. Her words were doubly bolstered by an increasingly powerful Dark Pulse.
“You can’t wave the one thing I want more than anything in my face and then tell me I can’t have it!”
Rikalia’s paws and feet sparkled in the moonlight as they began to freeze over with ice crystals.
“Why won’t you at least try to be with me? Am I not worth it to you? Am I not good enough?”
Iruni stood up and walked past her, clenching his fists until his hands hurt.
“Let’s head back.”
“No! Not until you answer me! Am I just not pretty enough for you? Do I have to become a Weavile to get you to look at me more than something you can just push aside?”
“Rika, I told you why I’m doing this!” Iruni turned around. Rikalia’s words were making his head pound. “Now that’s enough! Let’s go back!”
“How can you do this?!” she yelled at him, letting her arms fall down in defeat. “How can you throw away something you want just like that?! If you love me then just love me!”
“Helping Celebi comes first,” Iruni told her. “That’s not up for debate.”
“Why isn’t it?!” Rikalia fought back. “She’s done nothing but waste our time and ruin our lives! Why should we give her so much of our time and effort when she hasn’t done a thing for us?!”
“Because it’s the right thing to do!”
“I don’t care if it’s right or not! She doesn’t even deserve our help! She’s only trying so hard because she just wants to make up for the stupid, selfish mistake she made. All she’s ever wanted is to have Coralis to herself! We should just leave her behind and be done with her!”
“Whether that’s true or not, I don’t care about her reasons; they don’t change what she did or what we have to do to fix it. Besides, how are you acting any different right now? You want us to just abandon her so we can be together. Isn’t that selfish?”
“Don’t compare me to her!” Rikalia shook her head and threw her fists down, sending shards of ice into the sand beside her. “I don’t manipulate or ruin people’s lives!”
“What about Coralis then? Don’t you think we should help him get back home?”
“Not if it puts our lives in danger! I care about what happens to us more than him! It’s not worth it!”
“You already said you’d help, you know,” Iruni reminded her. “You thought it was worth it before.”
“Well I’ve changed my mind! Just like you should!” Rikalia moved closer to Iruni as she spoke. “Just because you feel bad about Coralis, or because she asked you to, doesn’t mean you’re obligated to help them! We have nothing to gain from wasting our time with those two!”
“It’s not about gaining anything, Rika! It’s about protecting what we already have!”
‘That’s actually a good way of putting it. I’m impressed.’
The sudden touch of a psychic’s mind snatched Iruni’s attention away from his Sneasel. He quickly looked around and saw that a certain Time Travel Pokémon hadn’t followed his orders.
Celebi floated in the air, eye-level with Iruni, her back to the tree line.
When he heard Rikalia start to growl at Celebi’s sudden reappearance, he knew that it was a bad idea for her to have shown back up at the beach.
Iruni locked eyes with Celebi, silently wondering why she would choose to come back.
“You were supposed to go back to camp. Where’s Karros?”
‘Probably on his way back here to grab me, but first, I have unfinished business with this one,’ she explained, pointing down at Rikalia.
“I don’t have anything else to say to you,” the Sneasel told her, crossing her arms.
‘Maybe not, but there’s something very important about all of this that you don’t know about.’
“What are you talking about?” Rikalia glared at Celebi, anger slowly giving way to curiosity.
“Celebi…” Iruni warned. “What are you doing?”
She wouldn’t, he thought, not now.
‘Come on…’ Celebi looked at the young trainer with an annoyed and tired expression. ‘You know.’
“You do?” Rikalia asked, shooting a sharp look at Iruni.
“I—” Iruni focused his mind toward Celebi’s.
‘Celebi, don’t! You agreed—’
“Hey!” Rikalia shouted, her voice tinged with a Dark Pulse. She pointed at Iruni with a pair of claws. “Don’t talk to her with your mind! I know that’s what you were doing!”
Iruni blinked hard, his vision blurring momentarily from Rikalia’s voice.
‘That’s right, Iruni. You really shouldn’t be keeping her in the dark about this anymore. Even I’m starting to feel bad.’
“What is it?” Rikalia looked back and forth between Iruni and Celebi. “Come on, tell me!”
“It’s nothing.” Iruni glared at the Psychic type, silently pleading with her to stop what she was trying to do.
‘Really? The fate of your precious little Sneasel “nothing”?’ Celebi mocked him.
“What are you talking about?!” Rikalia yelled, trying to grab both of their attention.
“Why are you doing this?” Iruni asked the Time Travel Pokémon. “We agreed—”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here when I'm right in front of you!” Rikalia spoke up again.
‘Don’t you feel guilty for hiding something like this from her? I mean, keeping something so important a secret after all this time? Shouldn’t we tell her?’
“Iruni… please!” Rikalia tugged on his hand. “What is she talking about?”
‘He’s been keeping a secret from you, Rika.’ Celebi spoke, waving Iruni off when he tried to protest. ‘He figured out something that I did and tried to make me promise not to tell you.’
“Why?” Rikalia asked. “Why can’t I know?”
‘Because he’s afraid.’ Celebi floated down to Rikalia as she spoke, hovering just above the ground. ‘He doesn’t think you can handle it. He’s so sure about how you’ll react that he’s made up his mind that it’s better to keep it a secret rather than tell you the truth. He’s afraid of what’ll happen when I tell you.’
“Shut up! Stop talking!” Iruni blurted out. “You’ve made your point, alright?”
‘There, see?’ Celebi pointed at Iruni. ‘I bet if I tell you, you’ll understand why this guy’s so hell-bent on putting everything on hold to help me.’
“Tell me,” Rikalia demanded.
“Rika, I don’t—”
“Not you!” She snapped at him, then looked back to Celebi. “Come on! Tell me, please.”
‘Oh I will, don’t worry. You see, even though you were so nasty to me earlier, and I could just keep this secret from you just out of spite, I think Iruni’s right; your trainer over there wants me to tackle my problems head-on from now on, so that’s what I’m doing. The secret has to do with you and me, so it’s my responsibility to deal with it.’
“Us?” Rikalia took a step back away from the Time Travel Pokémon, unsure of what Celebi meant.
‘The thing is, you and I,’ Celebi pointed to herself and Rikalia, ‘have a certain “history”, you know.’
Iruni wanted to shout at her to stop, but he couldn’t move. His breath caught in his chest and he couldn’t speak.
What can I do? What can I say?
Nothing would come to him, no matter how hard he clenched his jaw or glared at the floating, green Pokémon.
“History…?” Rikalia asked.
‘Do you remember what it was like before this guy came along? Living all alone in those woods, shivering in the cold, going to bed hungry?’
“How do you know about that…?” Rikalia backed away further from Celebi, holding her arms up in front of her.
‘How about that time when you woke up one winter morning and found the tree you had been sleeping in had suddenly bloomed with berries to eat?’
Rikalia’s eyes widened, her mouth hanging open in shock.
‘Remember what it was that made you cry out in pain on that snowy night so much that a young human and his Houndour came and found you?’
“N-No…” the Sneasel shook her head. “Th-That wasn’t…”
‘Yes.’ Celebi floated down and landed on the ground in front of Rikalia. She spoke to her as calmly as she could. ‘It was me. I made sure that you survived those winter nights alone and I made it so that Iruni found you when he did.’
“…Then I— if you didn’t—”
‘You were never supposed to see the spring. I’m sorry, but it’s true.’
Damn it… Iruni felt a knot in his stomach.
“…You’re lying,” said Rikalia.
‘Ask him,’ Celebi waved at Iruni. ‘Like I said; he figured it out a while ago.’
Iruni had been staring at Celebi as she told Rikalia about how she had forever altered her life. He didn’t have the strength to look at Rikalia as she learned about what had happened.
“…‘runi?” he heard Rikalia ask, her voice small and trembling.
He slowly looked down at her.
“…is it true?” Rikalia blinked, sending tears running down the sides of her face. “I… died?”
“You didn’t die, Rika—”
“But… I would have!” she broke down. Rikalia looked at her paws and sunk to her knees. Her entire body shook as she began breathing hard and fast.
“I shouldn’t be alive right now! I wasn’t ever supposed to meet you, or Kar, or anyone else!”
“That doesn’t matter anymore!” Iruni fought through his unease and went to his Sneasel’s side, kneeling down beside her. “What matters is that you’re here! Right now!”
“But it’s all fake!” Rikalia cried, clutching the sides of her head with her paws. “She made it happen! It’s all fake! Everything!”
“No, that’s not true!” Iruni was scrambling to find the right words for her. “All she did was make sure that we met! Everything else is real! I mean it!”
“But none of this would’ve happened without her!”
‘That’s exactly right, little Rika.’
“Shut up!” Iruni yelled at Celebi.
“It’s not real… It’s not real… Why?” Rikalia looked up at Celebi standing in front of her, utterly defeated. She let her arms fall limply to her sides, no longer having the will to keep them up.
“Wh-Why did you… give me a life… just to tell me it’s f-fake?” Rikalia asked, shuddering and sobbing.
‘I saved you that night because I needed Iruni’s help to get Coralis back home. To do that, he needed you by his side. It’s that simple.’
Rikalia stopped shaking abruptly and slowly turned to look up at Iruni.
“Did you…?” she asked. “Did you really know about… all of this?”
Iruni didn’t know what to say.
He doubted there were any words that could make her feel better, but lying or hiding the facts wouldn’t undo anything that had happened.
“Yeah… I figured it out,” he admitted.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Rikalia looked at Iruni like she didn’t even recognize him.
“I wanted to, but—! I thought…” Iruni couldn’t keep his eyes on her, looking down beside her. “I thought it would be better if you didn’t know.”
‘Can’t imagine why…’
“But just because she made us meet doesn’t mean she’s responsible for everything in our lives!” Iruni looked back up and fought to keep Rikalia’s attention on himself, hoping to drown out Celebi’s comment.
“She didn’t make me take you home with me. She didn’t make you stay with me. She didn’t make us care about each other,” Iruni tried his best to comfort her, stroking her head gently.
“What we have—everything that’s happened between us—it’s all real. I swear.”
“But… but… she made it! She made it all happen!”
Rikalia wrapped her arms around her body and slumped forward, crying into the ground.
“That doesn’t make it mean any less!” Iruni tried to convince her. “I promise!”
‘Hey, if you think about it,’ Celebi said to Rikalia, ‘giving you a home and a family to fight for is probably the least cruel thing I could have done to you.’
“Will you just stop talking already!” Iruni yelled, clenching his fists tightly. “Why did you even come back here and say all of this?”
‘It had to be done. Can you really sit there and tell me it was right to keep hiding the truth from her?’ Celebi didn’t shy away from Iruni’s outburst and floated up into the air in front of him.
‘She deserved to know.’
“I was going to tell her! I was just—” Iruni looked down beside him, at the huddled and sobbing Sneasel on the ground.
‘“Just” what? Protecting her? It’s not your past; it’s not your secret to keep; this was between me and her. Besides, she needs to understand what’s really at stake here.’
Even though Rikalia was still huddled over and crying, Celebi spoke to her again.
‘Do you get what all of this means, Rikalia? If something happens to me and my past gets changed in any way, then I might not be around to keep you alive. You and Iruni never meet if I’m gone. It all goes away like it never happened.’
“Celebi! That’s enough!” Iruni stood up and got in between Celebi and Rikalia.
‘She needs to know everything! Your life’s at stake too, you know. Without me making sure things go the right way, you would’ve been caught up in that bloody mess that tore up Ilex Forest, with or without Rikalia!’
“What makes you think that she’s going to help now after you’ve told her all of this?! Didn’t you say you need the two of us to help you get Coralis back home?”
‘Oh I already know what she’s going to do. She’s going to help me whether she likes it—or me, for that matter—or not. There’s no way that she can sit back while the life of the one she loves hangs in the balance.’
“You…” Iruni began to speak, but heard hurried footsteps coming toward them.
Karros had made it back to the beach, faithful to his order to escort Celebi despite her giving him the slip.
“Camp!” Karros barked up at her, but quickly noticed that Iruni and Rikalia were there as well.
“Wrong?” he asked, looking concerned at the sight of his teammate collapsed in the sand.
“Yeah.” Karros’ arrival had broken Iruni’s thought, giving him a small chance to gather himself. “You could say that.”
‘Speak for yourself. I did what I had to do to clear my conscience.’
“Celebi— If you don’t stop talking and go back to camp right this second—”
Iruni held back his oncoming rant when a chill crawled up the back of his legs. It was then that he’d finally noticed that Rikalia had stopped crying. He turned around and saw exactly what was making Karros look so uneasy.
His Sneasel was still kneeling down in the sand with her arms wrapped around her body, but she had raised her head and was staring up at Celebi. The air around her was cold, and ice was forming over her body and the sand beside her. Rikalia slowly stood up as more and more ice began to form on her arms and legs.
“Rika…?” Iruni asked cautiously. “Are you okay?”
‘I know that look,’ Celebi said, floating forward. ‘What is it? What did I say this time that you’re about to explode at me about?’
Rikalia stared on at Celebi, her blank expression slowly turning into a scowl.
“You think… you know what I’m going to do?” she asked. Her words were cold and threatening.
‘Yeah, I do.’ Celebi smirked. ‘You’ll be a little bundle of anger and cold shoulders for a little while, but eventually you’re going to see that helping me is more important than whatever grudge you have against me for saving your life.’
The Sneasel flexed her claws and growled up at her.
“Don’t!” Karros barked.
‘Go ahead and be mad! It’s just a fact. There’s nothing you can do but help me, no matter how you feel about it. If you don’t, your lives are all at risk.’
“We get it, alright!” Iruni shouted.
‘I don’t think she does!’ Celebi shot back. ‘I mean, look at—’
Rikalia leapt from her spot on the ground, yelling as she dove with her claws out in front of her.
Celebi floated to the side just in time, avoiding the ice-covered Sharp Claw Pokémon.
Rikalia landed on the sand, her attack failing to connect. She spun around and readied another attack, but Karros jumped in front of her.
“Stop it!”
“That’s enough, Rika!” Iruni called to her.
“No it’s not!” she yelled. Rikalia pointed up at Celebi. “You’re wrong!”
‘Oh am I?’ Celebi put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. ‘About what?’
“About me! Just because you know my past… or gave me a future… doesn’t mean you know who I am!”
Rikalia reached up and grabbed Karros’ horns, pulling herself over his head and jumping off of his back. She leapt for Celebi again, ready to attack her with her icy claws.
‘Oh please…’
Celebi flew out of Rikalia’s reach and came around behind her in one swift movement. Before Rikalia could turn to see where she had gone, Celebi shoved her down to the ground.
Rikalia hit the ground hard, groaning in pain.
“Rika!” Iruni shouted. He stepped forward to see if she was alright, but Celebi flew in front of him.
‘This isn’t your problem,’ she told him. Celebi turned back around and looked down at the Sneasel lying in the sand beneath her.
‘Isn’t it about time you grew up, Rika? Lashing out at everyone who makes you upset is just the attitude of a spoiled little child. It won’t get you anywhere.’
Rikalia rolled herself over on the ground and huddled over herself, shaking in anger.
‘Even if you don’t, I’m ready for whatever you’ve got now, little Rika,’ Celebi taunted, floating closer to the Sneasel. ‘All I have to do is stay out of your reach—’
“Ah!” Celebi cried out audibly, reeling back in the air away from Rikalia.
Rikalia had sprung up and swiped at Celebi again, this time her target coming away with a thin scratch across her forehead.
‘How’d you—?’
“Rika, that’s—! Where’d you get that?”
Held between her two claws of her right paw, Rikalia brandished a curved Razor Claw, which had extended her attack just enough to hit Celebi.
Iruni noticed her left arm was bare and without the gauntlet that held her Umbra Ball. He spotted it lying in the sand just behind her.
She must have had it hidden in her gauntlet and took it off while she had been leaning over herself, he thought.
“Jallen gave this to me,” Rikalia said, her voice surprisingly calm. She held it up in the moonlit air, admiring the still-sharp edge of the shed claw.
“When he gave it to me, he told me to not regret using it…” she bared her teeth and glared at Celebi. “And if I don’t get rid of what’s putting our lives in danger, I won’t ever forgive myself!”
The claw held in her hand began to shimmer and shine, the light slowly taking over Rikalia’s entire body. Her arms and legs grew longer, making her taller than she had ever been. Rikalia’s hands and feet each gained another claw, larger and sharper than before. Two long tail-feathers replaced her previous three and a crown of red feathers sprouted on her head, along with a collar to match around her neck. The glow of her evolution began to dim, revealing that the feathers on both of her ears were a different color than the rest; a light blue color, more vibrant than the lone blue feather she had as a Sneasel.
“You said you knew what I was going to do… that I would help you no matter what I felt,” Rikalia said.
Standing up tall on the beach, illuminated only by the moon in the sky, the newly evolved Weavile locked eyes with Celebi and extended her new claws.
“None of that will matter if I get rid of you!”
“Rika…” Iruni said warily. “What are you saying?”
“I’m going to make her leave!” she declared. “If she isn’t around, then we wouldn’t be in danger anymore. She wouldn’t be able to mess around with our lives ever again!”
Rikalia gathered up a ball of dark, swirling energy in the hand pointed at Celebi.
“Iruni told me you can’t time travel very well,” Rikalia explained. “That’s the whole reason Coralis is stuck here; you can’t get him back home even if you wanted to. You’re going to do it right now and leave us alone forever!”
‘Or else what? Do you really think I’ll be intimidated by some mundane little knifecat?’ Celebi crossed her arms and stayed perfectly still. ‘You’ll have to try a little harder than that to—’
“Shut up!”
Rikalia yelled, launching a Dark Pulse beam from her palm. She aimed slightly above Celebi, leaving her little else to do but to dodge by floating down.
As if expecting that reaction, Rikalia was already on her target by the time the Dark Pulse had missed its mark. The Weavile grabbed Celebi and dragged her down to the ground, forcing her back against a tree’s trunk.
Celebi struggled in her grip, but wasn’t able to move.
‘Well, looks like someone got stronger.’
“Do it! Travel in time! I don’t care where!” Rikalia demanded.
‘Make me, brat.’
“Do you want me to kill you?” Rikalia let go of Celebi with one of her hands and reared back her arm, extending her claws.
“Rika, that’s enough!” Iruni dashed forward and grabbed Rikalia by her arm, pulling her away from Celebi.
“Let go!” Rikalia pulled her arm from her trainer’s grip, but Celebi had already floated up and away from her.
‘Really, that’s your ultimatum? You really think this is going to work? If you kill me here, then…’ Celebi stopped herself, going into deep thought for a moment. ‘Damn. That actually would work…’
“Don’t tell her that!” Iruni chided her. He knelt down and put his hands on his Weavile’s shoulders.
“Rika, please stop this! We don’t have to fight!”
“That’s up to her!” Rikalia yelled. “All I want is for her to leave us alone for good, but if she doesn’t want to go on her own, then I’ll make it so she won’t be around anymore! Just like how she made it so I would live!”
The Weavile stepped around her trainer and then filled her paws with many sharp chunks of ice and flung them at Celebi, who wasn’t paying close enough attention to dodge.
The Time Travel Pokémon fell down to the ground, shivering from the chilling assault.
“Come on! Get out of here!”
‘If you say so,’ Celebi took to the air again and flew into the trees.
“Not like that!” Rikalia growled, running off after her.
“Rikalia!” Iruni called out to her, but she had already disappeared into the night.
The shore quieted down almost instantly, with only the sound of the waves gently rolling up onto the sand remaining.
The seconds that passed by felt like hours.
Iruni knew he needed to move, but he felt frozen in place.
If he didn’t do anything, Celebi might be hurt, or even killed. If she were to fight back, then Rikalia might be in danger.
But what could he do?
Lying on the ground where Rikalia had been huddled over in the sand sat the arm-guard that she would normally never leave behind. Her Umbra Ball was still locked in its clip on the gauntlet.
It had meant so much to her to be able to be in control of her own life.
If she left it behind, then she must think that getting rid of Celebi is more important…
Iruni dashed forward, picking up the gauntlet as he did, and ran into the forest after his Pokémon.
“Come on Kar! We have to stop them, no matter what!”
—————
She was faster now.
Her arms and legs were longer, and her body was larger than she was used to. Rikalia would have expected that a bigger and heavier body would slow her down, but her muscles and reflexes responded and reacted quicker than they had ever before.
Her new sets of claws were sharper too.
Celebi was flying away from her, moving back and forth to dodge the branches and trees in her way, but the distance between the two of them was slowly shrinking.
I can do this… I have to!
Rikalia ran and leapt through the trees in pursuit of her target with only one thing on her mind: She could end it all tonight, one way or the other.
If I can just force her to leave us for good, this will be over!
Ahead of her was everything that was wrong in her life, and the one thing that could fix it.
Behind her was everything she wanted to protect.
She decided that Iruni was right; protecting what they already had was what was most important. If she could remove Celebi from their lives, then they would be safe.
Just a little farther… a little faster…
If she had to kill Celebi to accomplish that, then she would have the rest of her life to live with that in peace.
This ends tonight!
When Rikalia saw her target next, Celebi was standing on the ground, not even attempting to hide herself. It looked like she was waiting for Rikalia to catch up to her.
The Weavile dropped down to the ground from the tree she had spotted her from and cautiously moved closer to her.
“You’ve taken this is far enough, you ignorant little brat,” Celebi called out into the night.
Rikalia couldn’t tell if Celebi knew where she was just yet.
“Don’t think your little growth spurt is enough to put you on my level. I’ve still got enough power to tear down a building. If you think you can make me jump in time, come try it!”
Rikalia moved silently toward Celebi, scanning her eyes over the area around her. As far as she could tell, Celebi had just stopped at a random spot in the woods. She crept through the shadows and behind the trunks of the trees that surrounded the Time Travel Pokémon, slowly closing in on her.
Why would she just stop and show herself? Did she set up a trap?
“I know you’re out there!” Celebi yelled, turning to her left.
“Right there!”
Celebi pointed right to where Rikalia had been hiding, surprising the Weavile. She dashed away from the tree she had been hiding behind.
Just after she did, a flurry of leaves came crashing down and tore up the ground she had been standing on.
How’d she find me?
“Wow, you’re quick!” Celebi taunted her. “Quick, but not sneaky.”
Liar… I’m hardly making a sound. She can’t read my mind, but she’s following my movement somehow…
“Going around to my right won’t save you.”
A clump of vines shot up out of the ground around Rikalia, trying to ensnare her. She slashed through enough of them to dive out of their reach and jumped, landing in the grass a few feet away. Rikalia backed away from the remaining vines, but found her feet soon tangled in the long blades of grass.
“I’ll admit,” Celebi called out. “You had me at a bit of a disadvantage down at the beach. You caught me off guard, and you had plenty of extra water around to make into ice.”
Celebi moved toward where Rikalia was clawing at the plant life that held her in place.
“Why do you think I led you into the forest?” Celebi asked. “I’m connected with everything green in this place. I could feel you in the trees and where you stepped in the grass.”
The Time Travel Pokémon moved closer, surrounded by a barrier of leaves.
“Give it up. There’s nothing you can do to force me to travel in time. You were never going to be able to beat me here.”
“Prove it!”
Rikalia dug her claws into the ground and froze all of the grass around herself. The thin blades became brittle and shattered at the slightest touch, granting Rikalia freedom to move once more.
“Stop! You take one more step and I’ll end this,” Celebi warned. She raised a hand above her head, as if getting ready to swat at an insect.
Rikalia and Celebi stared each other down for a tense moment.
A rumble of thunder echoed through the woods. A storm was coming.
I have to do this…
“Come on. We both know you don’t have it in you to kill me.”
I will!
Rikalia dashed forward, her new claws extended and ready.
“I warned you!”
Celebi waved her arm and sent the barrier of leaves off to her side.
The action made Rikalia halt her attack, waiting for whatever Celebi had planned. She was sure that the leaves would come back around and attack her from some direction. She had to be prepared to dodge or deflect the attack whenever it came.
“Sorry ahead of time if this brings up any bad memories…”
The sound of creaking wood and the snapping of branches drew Rikalia’s attention and to a tree to her right. Celebi had used those leaves to cut through the tree’s trunk, and it was now falling toward her.
She wants me to back away. If I do, she’ll run away again.
Rikalia turned to face the tree entirely, planting her feet solidly on the ground.
Not tonight.
She gathered up and poured all of the strength she could into summoning a wall of ice, like she had done in Diglett’s Cave to block Karros’ flames.
Rikalia slammed her hands onto the ground, sending spikes of ice shooting up and impaling the tree as it fell, holding it in place. Once it had been stopped, the Weavile stood back up and looked to Celebi, breathing heavily.
“That… won’t work on me… again.”
“Wow. You’ve really—”
“We’re not done!” she cut her off.
Pushing past her exhaustion, Rikalia ran toward Celebi. She reached out with her claws, expecting that Celebi would dodge once more and the chase would begin once more, but to her surprise, she managed to grab hold of Celebi’s ankle as she tried to fly away.
Her eyes widened.
Her breath caught in her chest.
Celebi looked back over her shoulder, locking eyes with Rikalia.
This is my chance.
If I don’t end it now… everything could be lost.
“I’ve got you!” Rikalia yelled. “No more running! No more ruining our lives! It’s over!”
She clenched her hand and froze it.
“Ah!” Celebi called out in pain as the ice-cold claws dug into her leg. She lost her concentration and fell from the air onto the ground.
“Do it,” Rikalia demanded. “Right now.”
Celebi shivered, trying to pull her leg free but Rikalia grabbed on with her other hand as well.
“L-L-Like I said b-b-before. Make me.”
“Fine!”
Rikalia swung Celebi by her leg and slammed her into one of the pillars of ice she had conjured to stop the falling tree. The pillar cracked, breaking off tiny shards of ice that dug into Celebi.
Celebi cried out in pain, both at the force of the impact and the sharp, frozen crystals that clung to her body.
“Do it!” Rikalia repeated. “I’m not going to hold back anymore!”
“You d-d-don’t have the g-guts…” Celebi groaned, pushing herself up with her arms and trying to pull her leg free once more.
“I… w-won’t abandon Coralis. No matter w-w-what.”
Rikalia dragged Celebi away from the pillars of ice and swung her towards a tree, letting go of her leg. Celebi crashed into the trunk and fell down to the grass at the foot of the tree.
“Come on! Just leave!” she demanded.
“…no.” Celebi tried pushing herself up from the ground once more, but her arms gave out on her.
“…do… what you have to… I can’t leave him…” Celebi shut her eyes and let her head fall to the ground.
“…I won’t…”
Rikalia stood still and watched her lie in the grass for a few moments.
“Get up,” she told her.
Celebi was quiet.
“I said get up!” Rikalia yelled. She coated her claws in ice and pulled her arm back, ready to strike.
“Leave or else!”
No response.
An uncertain feeling began welling up inside Rikalia.
This was it.
Celebi was lying unconscious in front of her. She wouldn’t be able to dodge the next attack.
It would all be over in just one more second.
But… why?
Rikalia let the ice on her claws melt away.
Thunder boomed overhead once more. The sound of rain hitting the leaves of the trees filled the woods around her.
All I have to do is… I can end it! Right now!
But…
Rikalia let her arms fall limp down to her sides.
She wouldn’t leave him…
No matter what.
Before she could do anything else, a beam of red light streaked past Rikalia’s head and struck Celebi’s body, transforming her into more red light. The Time Travel Pokémon zipped out of existence and disappeared somewhere behind her.
“Good… she’s… just knocked out…”
Rikalia slowly turned around to see Iruni bracing himself against a tree’s trunk, panting to catch his breath. Karros stood beside him, looking more uncomfortable from the falling rain than any physical exertion.
“Rika!” Iruni choked out. He swallowed hard before continuing.
“You have to stop this!”
“I…” she started, but seeing the desperate expression on his face made her avoid his gaze. “I couldn’t do it…”
Rikalia looked down at her hands and took a look at the new claws she had for the first time. They were solid and sharp; nothing like the ones she had chewed to ruin when she had been a Sneasel. Rikalia knew she should be happy with her new self, but looking at her new claws only made her more upset.
“I couldn’t make her leave!” She shut her eyes and clenched her paws. “She’s just too stubborn! She would’ve rather died than abandon Coralis!”
Footsteps slowly made their way towards her.
“I was so close!” Rikalia yelled in frustration. “I thought I’d found a way for things to go back to normal! But I couldn’t make it happen!”
The footsteps stopped.
“I couldn’t make her travel in time, and I couldn’t bring myself to kill her! I couldn’t do anything! I wasn’t strong enough!”
Rikalia’s eyes snapped open in surprise when she felt herself being pulled into Iruni’s arms. She was held close to his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.
“It’s alright,” he told her as he knelt in the wet grass. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”
Exhaustion hit Rikalia like a tidal wave. Her body went numb and limp and her breathing went heavy and labored. She let herself lean forward against Iruni’s chest, unable to hold herself up in his arms. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her face.
“I just… I didn’t know what else to do! I just want this to be over with!” cried Rikalia.
“I know,” Iruni said, running his hand down her back. “Karros.”
Rikalia pushed away from her trainer’s embrace and stood up, watching Iruni hold out Celebi’s Dusk Ball.
“Can you take her back to camp for me?” Iruni asked his Houndoom. “Get yourself out of this weather.”
Karros simply nodded and took the ball in his mouth. He turned around and headed off into the trees, dodging the falling rain where he could.
Rikalia turned away from her trainer, showing her back to him.
“I’m… sorry.”
“You are?” Iruni asked.
“Not for what I did…” Rikalia defended herself. “For not… finishing it.”
“Rika… I didn’t want you to.”
“But we would’ve been done! We could’ve had our lives back, just like we wanted!”
Rikalia clenched her paws.
“Why couldn’t I do it…?”
Tears began flowing once again.
Iruni pulled her back towards him and turned her around to face him. He sat down and pulled her into his arms once again, sitting her down in his lap.
“Because you knew it wouldn’t be right,” he told her.
“But it would’ve fixed everything…” she whined.
“No it wouldn’t, Rika,” Iruni said, pressing his forehead against hers. “You and I both know that if Coralis ever found out about what you did—killing her or not—if he learned that you got rid of his only way home, there’s no telling what he’d do to you. I won’t let that happen. I can’t lose you.”
“We could… run away.” Rikalia said through sobs. The last of her strength was waning. “We could hide…”
“We shouldn’t have to do that.”
“I just… I was just…”
“I know.”
Rikalia lowered her head and leaned it against Iruni’s chest.
“The only way this ends is if we help Coralis get home,” Iruni told her. “It’s the only way to be sure.”
“…I know,” she finally said. “You must hate me now…”
Rikalia heard Iruni sigh and put a hand on her head. He gently ran his fingers over her new crown of feathers once.
“I could never hate you, you know.”
The Weavile could only sniffle and try and suppress her sobbing.
“I mean it. I… understand why you did what you did tonight. I don’t agree with it, and I really wish you hadn’t, but I get it.” Iruni wiped away the tears from her fur with gentle strokes of his fingers.
“What happened tonight was…” Iruni paused, stroking her feathered head again.
“Scary,” Iruni finally said.
As Rikalia sat back in his lap and looked at him, she found that Iruni’s eyes were not so much higher than hers now. She only had to look up a little to lock her gaze with his.
“I was terrified about what would happen if we didn’t catch up to you,” Iruni continued. “I knew that if you had gone through with everything, you would have regretted it. Living with that kind of regret… something that you can’t take back… I just couldn’t let you go through that.”
Rikalia looked down, letting Iruni’s words wash over her.
“Do you think things would be better if you had gone through with it?” he asked her.
“…I don’t know…” Rikalia took a deep breath, calming her mind and focusing on what would have really happened if her last attack had taken Celebi’s life.
“Our past would be safe, but then…”
“It would be our future that would always be in danger,” Iruni finished for her. “Seeing this through the right way is the only way to close up both ends. There’s just no other way.”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Rikalia gripped his shirt in her claws, pressing her face into his chest.
“…don’t get rid of me. Please! I’m sorry!”
“That won’t happen, Rika.”
Iruni put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from him, looking into her eyes.
“It’ll be okay, I promise.”
“How?” she asked.
As she watched Iruni lower his head, Rikalia tried her best to not get excited. She assumed he was leaning down to hug her close again. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel his face press against the side of her head.
Instead, she felt his lips press against her mouth.
She opened her eyes in surprise, but didn’t dare to move.
He’s… kissing me!
Iruni had closed his eyes, but a soft expression could easily be seen spread across his face.
He pulled away, leaving Rikalia speechless as she hung in his arms.
She barely even felt the rain as it continued to fall.
“No more secrets and no more holding back,” he told her. “We can’t afford to anymore. I see now that I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I was so afraid of our past being in danger that I set aside everything to make sure it was safe. If I had just… made you happy, then maybe you wouldn’t have—”
Rikalia reached up and grabbed Iruni’s face in her hands, pulling herself up and kissing him deeply. She felt him push against her, kissing her back, holding her in his arms.
“Shut up…” she said, breaking away. “Stop talking… You talk too much.”
“Just one more thing?” he asked her. “I feel like it’s overdue.”
“Make it good.”
“I love you, Rikalia. We’ll get through this together. No matter what.”
“…”
Rikalia lowered her head, letting it rest against his chest once more.
In spite of everything that had happened that night, she couldn’t help but smile.
Even if she felt that she didn’t deserve to.
“…say that first part again.”
—————
To Be Continued…
—————
- 35
- 36
- 37
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The Dark Type