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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
- 36
- 37
- 38
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Chapter 37: Take Your Time
—————
Strong and steady rainfall poured down from the sky, drumming against and bouncing off of the walls of the tent.
Leaves shook on their branches as the trees were pushed around by the blowing wind.
The sun had already risen some time ago, but the dark clouds kept the world in a dim, gray light.
A streak of lightning lit up the sky, followed quickly by an angry crash of thunder. The storm still had a ways to go before it was through.
Rikalia’s eyes snapped open at the jarring sound, her entire body jolting in surprise. The blast had shaken her awake, but she couldn’t remember falling asleep. The sudden rousing from her slumber and the noise all that surrounded her made it difficult to think clearly.
She could tell right away that lying on her side with her back to something warm. Her eyes glanced down at whatever her head was resting on. It took her a moment to realize that it was the arm of a human. After slowly rolling herself over and lying down on her right side, Rikalia could finally see that she was lying next to Iruni.
Her movements seemed to cause him to stir in his sleep, the Weavile finding herself suddenly being pulled close against his body with his left arm.
Rikalia raised her head up and looked over at his sleeping face. Iruni looked more calm and at peace than she had seen in a while. No stress or worry weighing him down.
How did that thunder not wake him up? It’s so loud.
Reaching over with her left arm, she gently placed her paw on Iruni’s bare chest, watching how it would slowly rise and fall with his breathing. She moved her hand further up his chest, coming to a stop above his heart. Rikalia could feel the human’s gentle heartbeat just beneath the palm of her hand, another hint that told her just how at ease Iruni was as he slept. As her gaze lingered, she found herself surprised and confused by the way her own paw looked.
Since when did it have three claws?
Only a Weavile would—
Rikalia gasped, sitting upright in the tent.
She stared down at her hands with wide open eyes, flexing her claws experimentally. She could tell how sharp they were just from their appearance. Scythe-like and bone-white, the claws she had now were not the same ones she had caught herself chewing on yesterday. Relaxing and retracting her claws, she felt up around her neck, finding that new feathers had sprouted there. Even more feathers were now growing from the top of her head; a full crown. Rikalia could also feel two short feathers growing from the tips of her ears on both sides of her head.
She looked over at Iruni and desperately wanted to wake him up. She had to let him know that she’d finally evolved, even if she didn’t know how or why it happened.
As she leaned over his chest and gently shook him with her hands, a low voice called out from behind her.
“Don’t. He needs to get some sleep.”
Just like how the boom of thunder had earlier, the sudden voice made the Weavile jump. She turned to look towards the front of the tent, her eyes easily spotting Karros lying in front of the closed entrance even in the dim light. Rikalia couldn’t help but notice the cold look she was being given from her Houndoom teammate.
“You should go back to sleep too,” he continued, placing one of his paws over a Dusk Ball that sat on the floor in front of him.
“Why do you have Celebi’s ball?” asked Rikalia.
“Why? Because you—!” Karros stopped himself, lowering his voice. “Don’t you remember anything that happened last night?”
“Last night…?” Rikalia tried her best to recall the events of the previous day. “After everyone else went to sleep, I went down to the beach, and…”
She gasped again, covering her mouth with her paws.
Celebi… She came and talked to me.
We fought each other…
Then Iruni showed up…
And then I…!
Piece by piece, the events of the previous night played back in her mind, causing Rikalia to relive everything that had happened in a matter of moments. She shivered, shaken by the memories of what she had done, and what she had almost done. Rikalia worriedly looked from the Dusk Ball that was being kept under the protective watch of Karros, up to the Houndoom himself, and then back over her shoulder at Iruni’s sleeping form.
I must’ve fallen asleep while he was carrying me back here.
“I… I…”
Rikalia carefully stood up from her spot next to Iruni and started to move closer to Karros, but as soon as she made the first step he quickly dragged the Dusk Ball closer towards himself.
Karros let out a low warning growl at her approach, lowering his head and shifting his body.
The Houndoom was prepared to strike if the need arose.
“No, no! I wasn’t trying to take it!” Rikalia held her hands out in front of her; frantically trying to assure her teammate she meant no harm. She did her best to keep her voice down, “I was just…”
“Just what?” Karros kept a cautious eye on her, following her as she took a step away from him.
“I wanted to…” Rikalia looked down at her feet, unable to maintain eye contact. “I just…”
What can I even say to him…?
She remembered that once she had calmed down from the blind rage that had been guiding her the previous night, Rikalia had been terrified that Iruni would hate her for what she had done. After he had forgiven her, she was so relieved that the thought of what her fellow Pokémon friends might think of her had never crossed her mind.
Even if it was just Celebi, I still attacked one of our teammates! I was going to fight Kar too! I can’t imagine what everyone else thinks of me!
She clenched her hands tightly, shaking in frustration and anger at no one else but herself.
“Don’t just stand there and cry,” she heard him say just as the tears began to fall from her eyes.
Looking up, Rikalia saw that Karros’ expression had softened a little bit.
“You want to apologize, don’t you?” he asked.
Rikalia wiped her face with her paws, blinking away the tears.
“W-Would that make any difference?”
“It couldn’t hurt,” Karros offered as he relaxed his posture, stretching out and letting go of a deep breath. He still kept a paw on Celebi’s Dusk Ball.
“I’m… I’m sorry I attacked Celebi… I know I shouldn’t have, and—”
“No, not that.”
Rikalia stared at Karros, blinking in confusion.
“What?”
“You should be saying that to her. That’s not what I want an apology for,” Karros said plainly.
“Oh, uhh?” Rikalia tried to think back to the frantic events of the previous night.
Not that?
“I’m sorry for trying to force her to—”
“No.” Karros shook his head.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you—”
“Why would I want an apology for something like that?”
“I’m sorry for trying to fight you?”
“Still no,” he said, looking almost bored with the guessing-game Rikalia was having him play.
Rikalia raised her arms and shrugged in defeat.
“I don’t know! How about I’m sorry that I don’t know what to apologize for?”
Karros sighed, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Well? What was it?” asked Rikalia. “I really am sorry for whatever it was.”
“His horns,” a groggy voice came from the back of the tent.
Iruni was awake, propping himself up with one arm to look at his Pokémon.
“You grabbed his horns and used him like a step stool,” he said. At his Houndoom’s disappointed whine, Iruni apologized. “Sorry, Kar. She was never going to guess it.”
“Really?” Rikalia asked, looking back to Karros. “Not for any of that other stuff?”
“You grabbed them really hard. It hurt,” Karros simply said. “Plus, I really didn’t appreciate you trying to use me to get at Celebi.”
Rikalia’s eyes widened as things started to make sense.
That’s right. Karros was trying to protecting her… he’s always taken this whole thing more seriously than anyone else on the team…
“I’m—”
“Yeah, yeah, we get it…” Karros stood up, leaving Celebi’s ball where it sat. He took the few steps the limited space in the tent would allow to come closer to Rikalia, raised one of his front legs and pulled the Weavile close to him.
“I think we’ve both heard you apologize enough,” he said.
Rikalia felt tears well up in her eyes once more, finding it hard to believe she had a friend as good as Karros.
She certainly didn’t think she deserved one.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Rikalia hugged Karros and nuzzled into his neck.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Karros told her. “Save the rest for her.”
Rikalia stepped back and nodded, glancing down at the silent and still ball on the floor.
“Is she… okay?”
“She’s injured, but her life isn’t in any danger,” Iruni spoke up. He sat up and yawned, reaching to grab his Pokégear that sat beside him. He continued talking as he tapped his way through a few screens on the device. “She’s worse off than when we ambushed her, though. We’ll definitely need to get her some help, but I’ve got an idea on how to go about doing that. Damn… another hour of this rain?”
Iruni lied back down, sighing in annoyance.
“If it’s going to keep raining like this I’m going to try and get some more sleep. Kar, are you still awake?”
“Of course,” he replied.
“You’ve been up all night,” Iruni said. “Take it easy.”
“I’ll sleep once you’re up again,” Karros said.
“Alright. If the rain stops early, wake me up. I want to get moving as soon as we can.” Iruni looked to Rikalia, “You staying up, or coming back to bed?”
“Oh… uh…” the Weavile felt a strange rush of embarrassment pass over her. She looked over at Karros who gave her a short nod in Iruni’s direction.
“Go on. I’ll be fine,” Karros told her.
“Okay.”
When Rikalia made her way back over Iruni’s side, he had already laid his head back down on the pillow. As she crept up next to her human trainer, she desperately wished she had been awake when Iruni must have taken the two of them to bed. Despite having slept next to Iruni countless times since she’d met him, now that the two of them weren’t holding anything back, she felt unsure on how she should approach him now. Such a simple and familiar thing now felt strange and left her second guessing herself at each little thought she had. She must have been kneeling over him for some time, because Rikalia suddenly found herself being pulled down towards him.
Iruni had reached out with arms and laid Rikalia down beside him, letting her head rest on his left shoulder once again.
He gave her a kind smile, stroking her back with one hand and caressing the side of her face with his other.
“Hey,” he whispered to her.
“Hi…” she replied.
“You okay?”
Rikalia reached over and put a clawed hand to his face, looking into his eyes.
“I… think I will be.”
She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss.
“Get some sleep,” she told him. “You need rest.”
“So do you.”
Rikalia nodded, shifting and getting comfortable next to her human. His arm draped over her, her arm stretched out over his chest.
“I’ll try.”
She closed her eyes, finally letting herself relax.
Rikalia let the world around her fall away.
She was no longer surrounded by the sound of rain.
There were no more trees blowing in the wind.
Lightning no longer flashed in the sky, nor was there any thunder that shook the world below.
There was only herself, lying beside the one she loved.
Being held close by the one who loved her.
—————
The rainstorm did not let up until it was late into the morning, which frustrated Iruni a great deal. He would have liked to have made it to Olivine City by this hour, where they could make arrangements to travel to back to Mahogany Town. Being forced to wait out the weather motivated him to pack up their campsite as quickly as possible once the skies finally cleared. He was determined to make up for some of the lost time.
As Iruni attempted to make progress in dismantling their tent, the trainer was almost tempted to leave the soaking wet thing behind and just count it as a loss. He tried to shake the dripping fabric dry as best he could as a gnawing sense of urgency and paranoia ate at him.
I’ve got to get us home. It’s the only place that’s even remotely safe now.
I’ve got to get Celebi healed up.
I’ve got to figure out a way to help her with her powers somehow.
I’ve got to avoid Coralis.
Each negative thought that crossed his mind spurred him on to move faster.
Giving up on getting the tent completely dry, Iruni decided to just pack it away as it was and knelt down in the still-wet grass. In his frantic state of mind, he clumsily fumbled with packing up the tent properly, finding it hard to get all of its components to fit in its carrying bag.
I shouldn’t have called him.
I shouldn’t have let him know where we were.
I should have figured out who he really was.
I should have known he was in charge of those people.
He pulled hard on the zipper to close up the tent’s bag, trying his best to speed up his already aggressive and sloppy movements.
I need to hurry!
I need to—!
Iruni gave the zipper another hard pull, but it slipped out of his grip, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards onto the wet ground.
“Dammit!”
He quickly pushed himself back up and tried again, finding no more success than before with his wet and muddy hands.
“Come on!”
I don’t have time for this!
I can’t keep making these stupid mistakes!
Before he could vent his frustrations again, a white paw slowly reached over and gently grabbed hold of his hand.
Despite Iruni’s hurried and anxious mood, the small gesture made him stop in his tracks.
The panic and worry that had been welling up inside him vanished in an instant.
“Hey…”
At the sound of her voice, Iruni slowly looked over at Rikalia.
“You don’t have to do everything yourself. I’m right here,” she told him, gripping his hand tightly.
Iruni closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath, focusing on the feeling of Rikalia’s clawed hand holding his. He placed his other hand on top of his Weavile’s, looking into her eyes once again.
“I know. Here, help me get this packed up.”
Together, the two managed to fold up and pack away the tent much more easily than when Iruni had been trying on his own.
That’s right.
Nearly everything else had already been gathered and put away while they had waited for the rain to stop, leaving little else to do before they were able to leave their campsite on Route 40.
It’s not just me.
With all of their belongings ready to go and the rest of his Pokémon safe inside their Poké Balls, Iruni and Rikalia finally started off toward Olivine City.
I’m not alone.
In a silent agreement that neither of them were conscious of, the two did not speak much while they walked; and where they could, they ran. They only focused their energy on getting to their destination as soon as they could.
—————
Iruni followed his Pokégear’s directions to the nearest bus station once they finally made it back to Olivine City. His small group hadn’t spent too much time in the city after their boat ride from the Kanto region, so the seaside port still felt unfamiliar to him. He had thought that he had prepared himself for it, but Iruni still felt as if eyes were watching his every move now that they were now back in a populated area. He didn’t have any idea what he would do if anyone were to find out what he was keeping in the Dusk Ball hidden inside of his backpack.
After arriving at the station and purchasing their tickets, Iruni and Rikalia took a pair of seats along the back wall of the waiting area, deciding to keep their distance from people as much as they could. All that remained now was to wait for their bus that would take them back to Mahogany Town.
Even though it was already well into the afternoon, and despite the fact that their bus wasn’t scheduled to leave for another hour, Iruni was glad to have made some kind of progress after his frustrating morning. He let himself relax as best as he could, trying to put aside everything that had been weighing down on him. Iruni leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, letting the noise of the bus station around him drown out the rest of the world.
That was until Rikalia finally spoke up after a few minutes of sitting in silence.
“Hey…” she started, unease clear in her voice.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, leaning forward. Iruni could see a different kind of troubled expression on her face. It was unlike the one she showed Iruni when she was worried him back at the campsite.
She sat in her seat beside Iruni, staring down at her clawed hands.
“Did you… tell the others about what I did?” Rikalia didn’t look up at him as she asked her question.
“No,” Iruni said. “Kar didn’t either. We thought you should be the one to do that once we get home.”
Rikalia didn’t say anything back. She only clenched her fists, her whole body shaking.
“I know,” Iruni said, putting a hand on her back. “It’s going to be okay, Rika.”
“But what if they—?”
“They’re going to react how they’re going to react, no matter what,” Iruni interrupted her. He began rubbing her back, trying to soothe her despite his admittedly harsh words. “I know it’s impossible not to worry about it, but working yourself up about it isn’t going to change anything.”
“…do I have to tell them?” she asked.
Iruni sighed.
“You could try and keep it a secret, but we both know how badly that can turn out. Don’t we?”
“But this—!” Rikalia turned to face Iruni and looked as if she were going to argue with his words, but she stopped herself.
“This isn’t the same thing…” she said quietly.
“No, it’s not,” Iruni agreed. “But even if it was, do you really think You-know-who will be able to keep her mouth shut about it once she’s all better? They’re going to find out one way or another.”
The Weavile groaned and crossed her arms, looked back down at the floor.
“She would tell them.”
“I think so too. So, if you don’t want to give the others another reason to be against you, being honest with them is for the best.”
“…”
Rikalia sat still in her seat for a moment before looking back up at Iruni, worry once again spread plainly across her face.
“What if they want me to leave?” she asked, the fear in words making it clear that this was what she wanted to ask all along. “What if they don’t feel safe around me anymore?”
“Hey,” Iruni said, his voice low and calm. “Don’t ever think about that, okay? I already told you that that’s not going to happen. You’re not going anywhere.”
He gently but a hand up underneath her chin and tilted her head to better meet his gaze.
“I need you, Rika.”
“But what about the others?” she asked, still unable to shake her concerns. “Don’t you need them too?”
“Of course I do. We need as much help as we can get if we’re going to make it through all of this.”
At Rikalia’s expectant gaze, Iruni continued, “But, if it comes down to it, then they’ll have the choice to either stay with us or I’ll find them a better home.” Iruni let his hand fall from his Weavile’s face and put it on her shoulder. “You and I are going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but even if it’s just you and me, we’re going to be okay.”
Rikalia took a deep breath and nodded.
“Alright.”
“When we get back home, we’ll sort out everything. Together.”
—————
Another day done, mused the old Gym Leader of Mahogany Town as he neatly placed a stack of papers into a folder. He pulled open the filing cabinet to his right and placed it in its proper place. Glancing over at the clock on the wall, he sighed when he saw that its hands told him it was past eleven at night.
Pryce had just finished filing and sorting the battle applications he’d received that day; more than he’d been used to. Days like the one he’d just had were becoming more common. They almost made the idea of converting his system to use digital forms seem worth it. Ever since the surprising, albeit necessary, changes made to the now-combined Kanto and Johto Pokémon League, the predictable and easy to manage flow of challengers that Pryce had grown accustomed was nothing more than a memory. Some days with more challengers, some with less, and with each battle requiring a different kind of challenge catering to each individual challenger’s skill level, Pryce could feel his age more with each passing day. Despite the increased workload, Pryce still stubbornly ran his gym the same way he’d always done; alone.
However, he knew he wouldn’t be able to continue doing things the same way forever. The world kept advancing in new ways every day, all while he did his best to keep things the same. One day, Pryce knew, change would happen one way or another.
He leaned back in his office’s chair, Maybe I should start looking for a successor…
Looking down at the filing cabinet beside him, he noticed he was starting to run out of space inside of it. Pryce shook his head.
If I ever get the time, perhaps.
After pushing the cabinet shut, Pryce stood up and put on his coat. He walked out of his office, flicking the lights off behind him as he left the room.
Maybe I should just hire someone to do all the damn paperwork.
From his office, Pryce made his way toward the front lobby of the Mahogany Gym. After a quick check of the front desk to make sure it had everything in it that he would need for the following day, he went over and locked the front doors. Like he always did, he would exit out of a door on the side of the building after arming the security system. After double-checking he had everything with him he needed to take home, he walked down the hallway to the building’s alarm system and punched in the code on its keypad without even looking at the numbers.
Unlike usual however, the alarm didn’t begin its arming countdown. The keypad beeped and told him that something was setting off its motion sensors somewhere in the building, preventing it from arming.
“The gymnasium?” he asked. As he walked down the hallway back to the main lobby, he tried to think of what the security system could be picking up. Reaching inside his coat, he checked to make sure that none of his Pokémon were unaccounted for. Nobody else should still be in the building, especially not at this hour.
Nothing to steal in there, so why bother?
Pryce pulled a Poké Ball from inside his coat before he rounded the last corner, preparing for anything as he made his way back to the gym’s lobby. At a glance, nothing seemed to be any different from when he had locked the front doors just a few minutes ago. Slowly, he walked toward the double doors that led to the gym’s main battlefield and spectator stands, but before he could reach out to push them open, a noise caught his attention from inside the lobby behind him.
With a swift turn, Pryce caught sight of a familiar creature running away from the front desk. It was a Weavile, and the blur of dark fur and red feathers had something gripped tightly in its clawed hands as it ran down the opposite hallway away from Pryce.
“Hey! Get back here with that, you—!”
Pryce made a few quick steps after the little thief before stopping himself.
Nothing to steal in there either. No food, that’s for sure.
Turning around, Pryce looked back at the doors to the gymnasium, remembering that was where the security system had said there had been movement.
“And I doubt any wild Weavile would think to close a door after they go through it,” Pryce said, finishing his thought aloud.
After releasing his Pokémon, a tall and intimidating looking Abomasnow, Pryce pushed open the doors to the battlefield. Light from the lobby streamed into the dark room, long shadows trailed inside from the Gym Leader and his Pokémon. With a small wave of his hand, Pryce ordered his Frost Tree Pokémon to send a chilling blast of Icy Wind into the gymnasium to announce their arrival.
From where he could stand, Pryce could make out the shape of a person standing near the far wall, watching them turn around in surprise at being caught in some sort of act.
“Consider me impressed. Your little trick almost worked,” Pryce told them, calling out over the battlefield. He walked over to the panel of light switches and flipped on enough to get a good look at who it was that had been caught trespassing.
However, who it was gave Pryce the first real surprise of the night.
Standing in front of the gym’s restoration machine was the son of his best friend.
“Iruni?” he asked, walking across the gym floor toward him.
Pryce had ordered his Pokémon to stop its attack, but it still followed close behind him with heavy footsteps.
“What are you doing here?”
“I know this probably looks pretty bad,” Iruni said, stepping forward to meet him. The young trainer almost looked ashamed, hanging his head slightly and holding his hands up in surrender.
“I’m not entirely sure what this looks like, my boy. I thought you would have left the region with the rest of your family,” Pryce crossed his arms, leaning to take a look behind the young man. The restoration machine was running with a single Poké Ball inserted in its slots.
Why go through all of this trouble just to heal a single Pokémon in secret? Pryce wondered.
“Is the Pokémon Center closed?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“No…”
Iruni suddenly leaned to the side, looking around behind Pryce and his Pokémon. His expression instantly shifted from that of a child caught misbehaving, hardening into a look of serious determination and focus.
“Rika, no!” he called out. “We’re not fighting them!”
It wasn’t until then that Pryce noticed the rapid footsteps coming from behind him. They came to a slow, uneven halt with the sound of claws scraping against the ground of the battlefield.
Turning around, Pryce saw the same Weavile that he’d caught stealing from his gym’s lobby, only this time instead of running away from him the Sharp Claw Pokémon was now standing her ground and ready to defend herself. His Abomasnow turned to face its would-be opponent with a bellowing roar and shook its arms, ready to fight if its master gave the order.
“Come here,” Iruni said to the Weavile. “No sense making this any worse for ourselves.”
“‘Rika’? Isn’t that the name you gave the runt you found out in the forest?” Pryce asked Iruni.
He looked back at the thieving Weavile as she made her way back to her trainer—she kept a cautious distance away from his Abomasnow while doing so—judging her appearance against his own experience with the species.
“My, my, look at how much you’ve grown up,” he said with genuine praise. “I didn’t recognize you one bit.”
Pryce followed the Weavile all the way back to Iruni, who had gone back to check on the lone Pokémon receiving medical treatment.
“You’ve done a good job raising her by the looks of it. So why would a good trainer like yourself doing sneaking into my gym after hours?”
“I’d really like it if you just let this one slide,” Iruni told him, trying to dodge the question. He turned around and faced the Gym Leader again but he stayed where he was, as if he were shielding the restoration machine with his body.
“I’m sure you would, but what will you do if I don’t?” asked Pryce. “Your friend there looks ready pounce any second now.”
Iruni looked down at the Pokémon beside him, then back up to meet Pryce’s gaze.
“Please. Just let me finish healing my Pokémon, then we’ll go. I swear.”
He never struck me as someone who would beg, Pryce thought.
“So, what have you got in my machine there?” he asked Iruni.
“I can’t tell you.”
“And why is that?”
“It would be a problem.”
“Must be something worse than breaking into a gym and using the leader’s equipment without permission,” Pryce pointed out.
The old Gym Leader stepped forward and fully intended to walk right up to the gym’s restoration machine, but Iruni and his Weavile continued to stand in his way.
“Pryce, please,” Iruni pleaded. “Just a few more minutes and we’ll go!”
“My boy, the more you try to keep me from finding out what’s going on is only making it clear that I need to know.”
Pryce raised his hand, ordering his Abomasnow to come to his side once more.
“That said, this is still my gym. If you want to keep me from seeing what’s in that machine and to let you do as you please, then you’re going to have to stop me!”
The two trainers stood in silence with their Ice type Pokémon waiting anxiously beside them.
The low, electrical humming of the restoration machine droned on as the tension continued to rise.
Until it stopped.
A series of alerts rang out from the machine’s console, signaling that the mysterious Pokémon in question had finally been rejuvenated.
Now then, what will you do?
Pryce moved forward, putting a hand on Iruni’s shoulder to move him aside. For a moment, he stood his ground, not budging from Pryce’s efforts. The Gym Leader stared the young man down until Iruni finally relented and stepped away from the machine.
“Damn it…” Iruni muttered.
Before Pryce could tap a single button on the control panel, Iruni’s Weavile leapt up from the floor on top of the machine. She growled and brandished her claws, prepared to keep the old man away from whatever was inside, but Iruni stepped in and grabbed one of her paws.
“That’s enough, Rika. We’re done.”
The Weavile stood and argued with her trainer from atop the restoration machine for a moment while Pryce tried to get a look at what the medical readout said about the occupant of the lone Dusk Ball inside.
“An unregistered species…?” Pryce read aloud. “Grass and Psychic type… Not very large, but it looks like it’s quite powerful.”
The Gym Leader looked back to Iruni, who was now lifting his Pokémon off of the restoration machine.
The young trainer and his Pokémon stood a few feet away, waiting anxiously for what Pryce would do next.
“It’s strange to think that one of Elm’s Cartographers would be keeping such a discovery a secret.” Pryce tapped the button to open the dome of the restoration machine and picked up the capture sphere. He turned to face Iruni and the Sharp Claw Pokémon that stood beside him.
They both looked nervous to the point of panic.
The Weavile might’ve thought she was standing at ease, but Pryce could see that her claws were extended and ready to strike at any time. He expected that she would swipe the ball right out of his hand if he gave her the chance.
Iruni himself made almost no attempt at hiding how anxious he was; glancing between the Dusk Ball in Pryce’s hand and looking the elderly man back in the eye.
“So, let me see if I have this correct.” Pryce began, holding the ball up in between the two of them. “Whatever creature you have in this ball got hurt and you didn’t want to take it to one of the public medical facilities. It’s such an important secret that your best course of action was to break in here and use my machine to heal them. Why here?”
“I… couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.” Iruni looked down, shaking his head. “This was the best way we could get help for my Pokémon without anyone finding out.”
“Is it really so important to keep this a secret?” asked Pryce. “You’ve known me your whole life; is it so important that you couldn’t trust even me?”
“It’s complicated,” Iruni said. He pointed to the ball in Pryce’s hand, “That’s why Dad and Kate had to leave the region. It’s something I have to take care of by myself, with as little people knowing as possible. If anyone—anyone—found out that I have… that, so much could be in danger.”
Iruni held his hands out beside him, “So please, Pryce… let us go.”
“Does your father know about this?” he asked.
“Not everything, but I promised him that if I needed help, I’d ask for it. That’s what I’m doing now. Please. Help me by letting us leave.”
“Take it from someone who’s lived it; trying to do everything alone isn’t a very healthy lifestyle, my boy,” Pryce warned. “But I understand the feeling.”
The old leader gently tossed the Dusk Ball into the air toward Iruni and his Weavile, the latter leaping into the air and catching the green and black sphere before it touched the ground.
“I’m not alone,” Iruni corrected Pryce. The younger trainer held out his hand and his Weavile ran back to his side. “I’ve got her and the rest of my Pokémon with me. I wish I could ask for more help, but for now—”
“Whatever is going on,” Pryce cut him short,” you need to figure it out. If it’s dangerous enough that it’s become a threat to everyone around you, then it’s already gone too far.”
“I know.”
“Then get out of here before I change my mind,” the old leader said, pointing to the door behind him. Pryce looked down at the Weavile standing beside Iruni, “And you put back whatever you took from the front desk!”
“Thank you,” Iruni said, taking his leave with a hurried jog. “Come on, Rika!”
Pryce stood in the dark gym with his Abomasnow, watching the trainer and his Pokémon scramble out of the building. He wondered what could have possibly been inside that Poké Ball that was making Iruni take such drastic measures.
His thoughts soon shifted, wondering if the young man could really handle the situation by himself; with or without Pokémon.
Well, I suppose he didn’t take me up on my challenge, so I don’t think he gets out of this one entirely scot-free.
Pryce sighed, patting his Pokémon’s shoulder for a job well done.
“Looks like I need to make a phone call before we head home for the night.”
—————
To Be Continued…
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- 38
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The Dark Type