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An Uncertain Future	By : Twill Category: Pokemon > General Views: 12908 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Rob woke them early that morning, anticipation of the match ahead preventing him from sleeping in. The fact that Kirlia was the one not waking up surprised him, usually it was only Cyndaquil who gave him trouble. He gently shook her by the shoulder to try and get her up.

“You can't stay in be-” her small hand shot up to grab his wrist, his arm tingling at the touch with what he assumed was psychic energy. Her eyes widened as she saw him and quickly released her grip.

“Mm sorry,” she mumbled sleepily into his head. Those eyes that had raged with hatred for the briefest second now looked up at him apologetically.

“Are you okay? You don't look like you got very much sleep.”

“I'll be fine,” she grumbled, rubbing sunken eyes as she sat up. Nightmares were nothing new to her, and she had a fight to focus on so she could prevent those dreams from becoming reality. Rob gave her a searching look before moving on to warm up their leftovers for a quick breakfast.

Time had seemingly crawled by while she waited in their room for their scheduled match time, but now that they were walking towards the gym, Kirlia felt incredibly tense. She had never been this anxious for a match in her life. Rob and the others lead the way as they made their way to Violet Gym, Cyndaquil listening to a few words of advice and strategy from his trainer. She didn't pay them any mind, Rob was still a beginner and Cyndaquil was just as inexperienced, it would be up to her to win.

The building they stopped in front of was quite a structure. An imposing tower loomed above as they entered through ornate doors. Kirlia breathed deeply as she entered the gym, and Rob went to the lady sitting behind the desk.

“Hi, I have a match scheduled for this morning,” Rob said to the woman behind the counter. It was the same one who took his information the other day, though she looked up at him this time.

“Rob? Go on in, there will be a league official to the right who will go over everything with you.” She said it in the same disinterested voice used during his last visit, and waved him through offhandedly before returning her attention to the papers on the desk.

“Thanks,” he muttered and walked through the large double doors leading out of the lobby, into the gym. The area inside was not at all what he had been expecting. It was spacious, open and lacking features such as an arena. A few people mingled about but it didn't seem like a gym challenge was about to happen.

“Hey, over here,” a voice called from his right, probably noticing his confused look. “You're Rob right?” The man said and walked towards him. “I'll be officiating the match today if you'll just step over here for a minute. The name's Devin.” After shaking the man's hand Rob followed him off to a side room that looked like an office.

“So, is this really where the gym battles are held?” Rob asked to the man's back as they entered his office.

“Oh no,” the man said with a small laugh. “The gym matches are held on the roof, the inside of a building is no place for a bird to fly about. Now,” he said jovially, sitting down across the desk from Rob and grabbing a few papers. “The rules are two pokemon each, no substitutions and once a pokemon is declared unable to continue, they are out of the fight. Who will you be registering.” Rob indicated Cyndaquil and Kirlia, and filled out a few more forms quickly.

“All right then, you're all set, any other questions before we begin?”

“No, I think I'm ready,” Rob said, his excitement building as he got closer to his very first gym challenge.

“Good, if you'll follow me I'll take you up to the arena.” Grinning, the man lead Rob out of his office and towards an elevator. They took it to the top where a small tunnel lead towards blinding sunlight. “Best of luck to you,” Devin said, stopping just before the exit. “Now, the crowd is waiting for you, give 'em a good show.” With a smile and a gentle push on the back from Devin to get him going, Rob stepped out onto the sun bathed arena.

He almost froze as his eyes adjusted to the brilliant light and got a good look of his surroundings. There must have been hundreds of people surrounding the stadium as he walked nervously towards the challengers box. He'd never considered there would be other people watching him. While people went to watch battles at Azalea Gym on occasion, nowhere near this many ever came out, even for highly publicized matches.

He tried to steady his breathing as his heart raced, waiting for Falkner to appear. He didn't have long. The crowd erupted in cheers as Falkner stepped from the tunnel and strode towards his side of the field, his stride and demeanor betraying total confidence. He said nothing but smiled from across the field as the judge Rob had spoken with earlier took up position on the side of the arena.

“Is the challenger ready?” The official called, looking towards Rob for his affirmative. Rob nodded. “Send out your first pokemon.” With a deep breath, he prepared himself.

“Cyndaquil, go!” Rob called loudly and Cyndaquil leapt to take the center of his half of the field, unaffected by all the eyes that watched him, eager to fight. Falkner sent out his own pokemon, throwing a pokeball high into the air, releasing a Pidgey.

“Begin!” And Rob's first gym battle began.

Kirlia watched as both Rob and Falkner began shouting orders to their pokemon at the same time. The difference was that Falkner was clearly the more skilled trainer. He and his Pidgey seemed to work very well together, while Rob let his excitement and nerves get the better of him, fumbling with his strategy.

Despite his inexperience though, Cyndaquil held up admirably against his winged adversary. Ember kept the small bird at bay while he was able to dodge most of Pidgey's gust attacks. Though while his ember kept Pidgey away, it also made it difficult to land any lasting damage, the fight quickly turning into a furious test of endurance.

Flames blazed skyward again as Pidgey tried to swopp in close, forcing the bird to retreat and swing around to try once more from a different angle. Cyndaquil found himself constantly having to jump away from a gust attack and reposition himself to counter. The pair were locked in a perpetual dance that they wouldn't be able to keep up forever.

The crowd around them embodied the frustration that the two fighting pokemon felt, adding to the tension of the match. Their cheers and groans following the combatants, all of which seemed to be leading up to a climactic finish. Both Cyndaquil and Pidgey beginning to flag.

As Kirlia watched the fight, she began to notice a pattern to Cyndaquil's attacks and counters; and as he began to tire more, his moves became increasingly predictable. It was only a matter of time before Falkner or Pidgey noticed it as well. Which ever one of them finally noticed she couldn't tell, but the next gust that came from Pidgey's wings were not aimed at Cyndaquil, but Cyndaquil jumped right into its path.

The crowd began to cheer as Cyndaquil was blown into one of the arena's walls. Seeing victory before it, Pidgey dove from the sky, landing a vicious quick-attack to the dazed Cyndaquil's belly. Cyndaquil slumped to the ground as the crowd exploded, releasing the tension that had built from the nail biting round.

“Cyndaquil is unable to continue, challenger, send out your next pokemon!” The judge had to shout to make his words heard over the tumultuous roar of the crowd. Rob let out a ragged breath as he returned Cyndaquil to a pokeball, but smiled as he looked down to her.

“It's all up to you Kirlia,” he said grinning. “Time to show them what you can do.” She stepped out onto the arena, conscious of the eyes that followed her.

“Begin!”

“Kirlia, confusion!” she heard Rob call from behind her. She hadn't been sure if he'd try and give her orders during the fight, but she humored him this time. Pidgey was almost defeated anyway, flying around much more slowly than when Falkner originally released it.

She poured psychic energy into the tired bird's mind and watched it tumble awkwardly from the air. The crowd gave a much more contained cheer this time, having to fight an already defeated foe clearly was not quite as exciting. The official declared Pidgey unable to fight and for Falkner to also release his last pokemon.

“I've been waiting to try my newest acquisition out for some time, I hope you're up to the challenge,” Falkner called out across the arena to Rob as he reached for his last pokeball. “Go Swellow!”

The bird appeared in a red flash over the arena, its wings stretching wide as it let out a majestic cry. It was a much stronger opponent than she had expected after seeing the first. Kirlia's eyes narrowed as she examined the bird. She would crush it.

“Begin!” the shout came for the third time and Swellow shot upward, a blur through the air. The bird was fast, and Falkner was trying to end the match quickly. Wes had given as few instructions as possible when his pokemon fought, instead instructing them to listen to the other trainer's commands. She had no need to listen to Rob, and could focus on the gym leader.

“Kirlia, confusion!” but the command fell on deaf ears, instead Kirlia charged a psybeam as she stepped slowly towards the center of the arena, Swellow a mere speck in the sky above. If Falkner wanted a quick fight, then that's what she'd give him. Time seemed to slow down as it happened.

The tiny spot in the sky that was Falkner's Swellow began to grow rapidly. The flying pokemon was incredibly quick, but that would ultimately be the bird's downfall. Kirlia prepared, needing her timing to be perfect. She waited until her opponent was seconds from connecting with a devastating blow and then jumped to meet it, a powerful psybeam swirling around her hand.

Creating a barrier inches in front of the speeding bird, she teleported, missing the sickening crash as Swellow slammed into the wall of psychic energy. The world lurched drunkenly around her as she rematerialized again, still not completely used to teleporting while in motion. She had to twist awkwardly in the air to see the crippled Swellow, not even finished bouncing off her barrier. As she dissipated the field, she hurled all her stored energy at her foe, throwing it crashing back into the ground. There was silence for a few seconds as Kirlia fell roughly to the arena floor.

“Swellow is unable to continue, Rob from Azalea Town is the victor!” The crowd exploded in cheers as Kirlia watched the broken mass of feathers get recalled by a red beam. She clenched her fists to try and stop them from shaking, breathing heavily. Her mind cleared a little now that the fight was over. What had she done?

Kirlia grunted as Rob grabbed her, dropping down and pulling her into a tight hug.

“You did it, that was incredible!” Rob exclaimed, his excitement obvious. She could feel his heart racing as she was pulled against him. “Sorry,” he grinned widely, releasing her.

“Well well,” Falkner's voice came from behind them and Rob stood up to greet him. “That was quite the performance. I must say there's not many who can get a crowd so worked up during their first gym match.”

“Wow, uh thanks,” Rob said shaking the gym leader's hand. “I wasn't expecting something so strong as a Swellow though.” Falkner laughed heartily at Rob's comment.

“You'll have to forgive me for that, I saw you walk in with your pokemon. Not many new trainers come here with anything of the caliber of that Kirlia you have there, and I thought I'd at least give you a challenge. Though you didn't seem to have any trouble with him.”

“You can do that?”

“Well, if I had won I may have felt a little guilty, but the league puts us here to make sure trainers are ready for what's ahead, and I'm not one to let somebody slip past me too easily.” Falkner laughed again. “But you've more than earned this, I'm happy to present you with the Zephyr Badge,” and handed the shinning silver medal to Rob.

“Thanks,” Rob said with a grin, taking his first badge from the gym leader's hand. He was about to say more but surprisingly, was interrupted by Kirlia.

“I-Is he going to be okay?” her timid voice spoke in his mind. Rob was going to respond but Falkner must have also heard her, he smiled soothingly down at her.

“Don't you worry yourself little one, that was quite the unexpected attack but Swellow will be fine, we have great healing facilities here. But,” Falkner began, turning his attention back to Rob. “I must commend you, you've got a lot of potential. Not many new trainers come into my gym with such a thorough plan already created ahead of time. Telling Kirlia to use confusion while you had that little acrobatic maneuver planned was quite something,” Falkner said, his confident grin unwavering. Rob couldn't help the slight blush at his words, especially since his praise was basically for Kirlia ignoring him.

“I er, well...” he began but Falkner talked right over him.

“Most rookie trainers just come in here and treat it like any other battle, keep this up and you'll go far. Now, after a fight like that I'm sure you'll want to go get your Cyndaquil healed up and celebrate a bit, so go take it easy will ya? Oh and don't tell Bugsy I threw Swellow against you, he already thinks I'm too hard on new trainers as it is.” Falkner extended a hand out.

Rob felt awkward at the wrongly given praise but it was too late to correct the gym leader now. With a smile he grasped the man's hand and shook it one last time.

“Thanks, it was a great fight,” and with that, Rob lead his two pokemon off of the rooftop arena.

Falkner watched as the trainer he had just battled walked down the tunnel, his long time friend and gym officiator coming up beside him.

“Don't tell me you think the kid came up with that plan,” Devin said. Falkner chuckled.

“I just wanted to see him squirm a little, maybe he'll figure out that he can't just rely on that pokemon of his to carry him his entire career. He looked just as shocked as I probably did when that Kirlia did her thing.” Devin only shook his head in wonder.

“You know sometimes I wonder if Bugsy is right about you, you're terrible. She was something else though wasn't she.”

“Indeed,” Falkner said as the two began to make their way back towards the gym's interior. “I just hope her abilities aren't wasted on someone so... Green.” They exited down the hidden set of stairs to where the gym's healing facilities were located.

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Kirlia wished she could feel a tenth of the giddy joy that she sensed radiating from Rob. For herself, she just felt cold. Now that her anxiety at being abandoned to Falkner had dissipated, all she could think of was the broken form of Swellow laying on the ground. She had been the cause of it.

What was worse was the exhilaration she had felt during the fight. She had reveled in the feeling, completely outmatching her opponent in skill and power, and she had almost killed the pokemon. She felt like she was going to be sick.

Rob felt as if he were in a dream after the victory. He had never imagined how intense being in that challenger's box would have been, the crowd watching and cheering, hundreds of eyes examining him and his pokemon's every move. It had been one of the most surreal and invigorating experience in his life, and he loved it.

He walked quickly in the direction of the pokecenter, his excitement part of it, but also having Cyndaquil in his ball felt odd to him. Rob had grown so used to constantly having the small fire type at his side, and after the fight Cyndauil had put up against Falkner's Pidgey, he didn't deserve to be cooped up in the device.

The pokemon center was only a few minutes walk from the gym and soon after arriving, Rob had handed off Cyndaquil's ball to one of the nurses.

“We'll have him all taken care of in a jiffy,” the smiling nurse told him and carried the pokeball into the back of the center. Rob lead his other two pokemon to wait, taking a seat in the lobby of the large building. Sandshrew had hopped into one of the seats next to Rob and Kirlia had moved to stand against the wall on his other side. He wouldn't say that her silence was uncharacteristic, but he had thought she would have been a little happier after her amazing performance on the rooftop.

“Kirlia you okay? Did you want to get checked up while we're here?” he asked, a little concerned. She hadn't so much as been touched during the fight but...

“I'm fine,” she replied not taking her eyes off the ground, voice distracted and sullen. Rob sighed. He didn't know why he had expected a different answer. Stretching a little in the chair he let himself relax a bit as they waited. Having been awake only a few hours, the day had already been incredibly fulfilling.

The nurse and Cyndaquil were only gone for about 10 minutes before reappearing through the doors they left through. Cyndaquil ran towards Rob as soon as he saw his trainer, and Rob got up to scoop the little fire type into his arms.

“Haha, glad to see you're all better, you did amazing,” Rob said happily, ruffling the fur on Cyndaquil's head.

“Quil!” came the happy reply back, his pokemon chipper as ever.

“Your Cyndaquil is all set, he took quite a hit but it wasn't anything serious,” the nurse said as Rob let Cyndaquil back to the ground.

“Thanks I appreciate it,” Rob thanked her and with a smile, the nurse returned to her work. The four of them returned to their room in the pokemon center and Rob sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I just wanted to say thank you all for everything you guys have done for me,” Rob began, looking at each of his pokemon in turn. “Even you Sandshrew, I know that this gym was just bad luck with typing for you, but I'm glad you were there with us. Cyndaquil, you put up an excellent fight, you were so close to defeating that Pidgey. And Kirlia, I don't know what you did but that was one of the most impressive displays I think I've ever seen. Falkner's Swellow didn't even stand a chance.”

He smiled at her but his words didn't seem to cheer her up at all, if anything she seemed to wilt further. “I just wanted to say thanks, you guys are my best friends, I'm glad we've got a long road ahead of us.”

Kirlia stood against the wall not far from where she had entered the room as Rob patted his other two pokemon on the head. Rob stood eventually and made his way over to her. She flinched instinctively as she felt his hand run through her hair.

“Come on cheer up Kirlia,” he said soothingly to her. “We won, and you did amazing today.” She continued to gaze at the floor, enjoying his calming touch despite herself. She wished he would stop saying that, complimenting her on how she utterly defeated Falkner's Swellow out of her own selfish desire and fear.

It had been less than a week since her miserable life with Wes had been torn apart and the pieces thrown into the winds of fate. And with everything that had happened since compounding her confusion, she still felt numb to most of it. Abra, the strange power that could take control of her just as easily as it could take a life, Rob. It was just too overwhelming.

She finally looked up as Rob withdrew his hand and stepped back. He still smiled down at her but there was the faintest tinge of sadness to his eyes.

“Try an let yourself enjoy the small stuff, things will get better,” he said, and returned to the bed where he had placed his pack. “Well since we still have most of the day ahead of us, you guys want to get a head start on going back to Azalea?” Cyndaquil and Sandshrew quickly voiced their assent and Rob looked towards her. “Kirlia?” She didn't know why he bothered to ask her but, where they were didn't really effect her.

“Sure,” she replied, whether here or somewhere else wouldn't change anything. She watched as Rob quickly finished stuffing everything back up into his pack and straightened up the room a little. When he had finished, Kirlia followed him and the other two pokemon out into the pokemon center and to the main desk.

“I'd like to check out of the room I've been staying in,” Rob said to the nurse who deftly took the key and found Rob's information.

“Of course, are you planning on heading out of town?” the nurse asked as she finished processing their room information.

“Yeah, we'll be heading back to Azalea Town.”

“Hmm, well just be careful, I've been hearing rumors of some strange things along Route 32,” the nurse began conspiratorially. “People like to make a big fuss about nothing, saying that Team Rocket or some nonsense is causing trouble,” she laughed at the notion. “But a trainer did have to be brought in after a rough engagement with some wild pokemon. He was a younger trainer,probably just got in over his head, but just keep an eye out while you're out there, you never know.” The nurse smiled as she finished checking out the room. “Take care.”

“Thanks,” Rob replied and left with a wave. Kirlia had never heard of a Team Rocket, but neither the nurse or Rob seemed to be worried about it. In celebration of his first badge, Rob decided to get them lunch at one of the restaurants before they left Violet City. It was a quick meal but Kirlia was still amazed by how good human food was, and couldn't help but feel a little uplifted after having eaten.

They were soon back on the road, the sun above already past its peak but still keeping the ground on the warm side of comfortable. Once again the four of them were walking along Route 32. Kirlia took her place a little behind the others as usual, not bothering the three ahead of her. Sandshrew was filling in Cyndaquil on what he missed while he was in his pokeball during the battle with Falkner.

They discussed her part of the fight but she did her best to ignore them. It didn't bother her that they were talking about her, but fighting was the last thing she wanted to think about right now, she wished she could just forget the entire morning. Unfortunately the others didn't seem to share her sentiment, and it wasn't long before Rob's other two pokemon fell back to walk beside her.

“So Kirlia, did you practice that move you used against Swellow earlier?” Sandshrew asked. Sandshrew seemed to have lost a little of the calm composure that he usually maintained, doubtless being infected by Rob's good mood and Cyndaquil's ever constant energy.

“Not exactly that, but similar strategies I guess,” she replied, splitting her mental communications to the both of them. She tried to keep her dark mood out of her words, though she didn't know how much success she achieved. If they noticed though, they ignored it.

“So then did you do a lot of fighting before being captured by Rob? Cyndaquil said that you'd only been traveling a few days before you met me, but the way you fight, well you're very good.” They were both looking at her with interest, as if she was hiding some great insight.

“I did enough,” she muttered, though this time she knew she did a poor job of hiding her feelings. Sandshrew looked like he was going to say something but Rob decided to speak, her eyes picked up at the possible rescue from her current conversation.

“I hope those two aren't bothering you too much,” he said good-naturedly, leading them alone now that the others had decided to join her.

“No, they were just asking about the gym battle,” she sent to her trainer.

“Oh, that reminds me now that we're back on the road, I was wondering if you had any training methods or ideas that could help the others.” She couldn't take it, she squeezed her eyes shut as she stopped walking, unable to suppress the anger that boiled up within her. All three of them turned to look at her.

“Why would any of you want to learn about fighting from me?” she didn't direct it at anyone in particular, and all those around her would be able to hear her telepathic voice. She tried to keep her anger contained but failed miserably.

“Do you want to know what great advice was drilled into me when battling an opponent? Aim to cripple them, it will give you an easy win and a short match. Make them so afraid of being hit by one of your attacks that the fear will cause them to make mistakes. If you have the advantage, don't stop attacking even if you think they're defeated, make sure that they won't be getting up.”

She struggled not to choke up as vented her frustration and anger. She was probably being louder than intended but they all treated this as if it were some kind of game. “And you know the best way to win a fight? Kill them. There's no chance that they'll get back up or surprise you that way.”

She was panting by the time she had finished. She felt like escaping to some dark corner to be alone, away from everything. Three sets of eyes, wide with shock, looked back at her as she finally opened her own. She didn't look at any of them but they seemed to wither under her angry words.

“I'm sorry Kirlia. I didn't mean to bring up,” Rob began but she cut him off, the heat that had burned in her dieing out as soon as she had finished.

“It's fine,” she said wearily. “I shouldn't have raised my voice.”

“Do you need a minute?” he asked gently but she just shook her head and they began to walk down the path again, in blessed silence this time. Sandshrew nudged Cyndaquil who was still looking dumbfounded at Kirlia and motioned him forward, the two of them rejoining Rob and leaving Kirlia to walk behind them in solitude.

The group continued their way along Route 32, leaving Violet City as a fading mark on the horizon as they entered back into the wilds. It felt good to Kirlia after spending all that time in Violet City, with so many humans and their constructions around.

She regretted her outburst, the less the others knew about her past the better. There was no taking it back now though, all she could do was hope that they didn't try to probe any further. The though of losing control again, like the first time, still haunted her, but she couldn't talk to any of them about it. They wouldn't understand, and if they knew the truth about her. She shivered as she watched them, unknowingly presenting their backs to something like her.

After a while of walking, Sandshrew and Cyndaquil had picked up a conversation and were talking quietly amongst themselves. She ignored them for the most part though, getting caught up in her own thoughts. Wild pokemon occasionally made an appearance as well but with the progress Rob's other two pokemon had made as of late, they were able to handle most of them without trouble. Cyndaquil and Sandshrew took turns fending them off with little injury to themselves.

The sky above them grew darker as the sun dipped towards the treeline, and thick clouds moved in to shroud the appearing stars from sight.

“I guess we might as well stop here,” Rob's voice came from ahead. “And it looks like it might rain tonight,” he added much less enthusiastically. The camp was set up in short order, Rob getting the tent put together while she and the other two pokemon prepared the fire. No one had asked her to help, but anything was better than just sitting around. Despite how mentally exhausted she felt, her body was restless.

Once the fire was blazing and their simple camp was all set up, the four settled into their usual spots. Kirlia watched between the leaping flames at her three traveling companions. They looked happy, bathed in the orange glow of the fire as they talked quietly, Rob doing his best to not let the language barrier get in his way.

She stared into the coals of the fire, unable to stop the twinge of jealousy she felt at watching them. Everything seemed so easy for the others. They were able to laugh as she had everything taken from her, as she transformed into some deranged monster that could snap and kill everyone around her in an instant.

The fire burned itself out as the night progressed, Kirlia letting its warmth lull her into despondence. The flames eventually died down to nothing more than glowing embers and Rob got up to approach her.

“Hey, we're going to bed, you should come in, it looks like it's going to rain tonight.” He spoke gently and she didn't have the energy to put up a fight. Besides, he was most likely right about it going to rain. She stood wordlessly and followed the other three into Rob's utilitarian tent, trying to take up as little room as possible in one of the corners. Rob tossed a blanket to her and she curled up into its soft folds, trying to sleep.

She stared into the darkness for a long time as she listened to the others breathing slowly transition to the calm rhythm of sleep. Everything that had happened playing over and over in her mind, questions that she didn't have the answers to.

“Rob?” she reached out timidly with her mind, unsure if he was still awake, making her mental voice as quiet as she could.

“Yeah Kirlia?” she heard his quiet response whisper from the darkness to her left. She hesitated, unsure if she really wanted the answer, or how he would react, but she needed to know.

“Which one of use did you wager?” her voice still a whisper, wavering slightly. “Against Falkner, who did you wager?” She held her breath, silence hanging in the air for a moment before he replied.

“Kirlia,” he began, his voice low and sad. “Trainers don't do things like that. If battling meant that I had to risk losing one of you, any of you, then I wouldn't do it. But that's not how it works, and I will never let any of you be taken from me. The three of you mean the world to me, I'd never risk that.”

“I see.” She had to struggle to maintain her calm. She hadn't sensed anything but sincerity and a touch of anger and sadness from him. It must have been the truth, but then that meant she had almost killed Falkner's Swellow over nothing.

“Sleep well Kirlia,” Rob's gentle voice came from the darkness. She squeezed her eyes shut as her thoughts tormented her to sleep.

----------------------------------------------------

Kirlia giggled as they ran from her. Human and pokemon alike fled in terror as she cut them down with her incredible psychic power. She was amongst them as if a storm, striking with bolts of psychic energy, tossing them about. Her mind reaching out to them, grasping them with invisible hands, and tearing them apart.

The chaos and death she rent was ecstasy, her mind lusting for more. Absol was there, and she crushed the four legged monster just as easily as the rest, the beast's dark powers offering no protection against her unfathomable might. She was invincible. She was a god.

The very power to recreate all existence was hers, everything was clear to her as she laid waste to the corrupted world around her. The screams of those she cleansed from the earth a blissful melody that drove her to continue the onslaught.

Her ivory torso was stained, splattered with the crimson evil that leaked from blackened souls purified by her infinite power. Nothing could compare to this, her very presence creating a new, better reality around her, bending the very world to her will.

“Kirlia why?!” a voice shouted at her, his eyes trying to meet hers despite the sickening distortion that engulfed her. Rob's pokemon lay twisted behind him, never to rise again. “Why?” It was a desperate, confused, betrayed sound. It exhilarated her.

“I can fix it, I can fix everything,” she laughed, joy pulsing through her in unison with her psychic powers. “I can make the world better, I just need to remove all of the evil first,” she shouted into the pandemonium around them. She grinned widely as the indigo fire that burned within her eyes roared to life, and Rob was cleansed from her new world.

Kirlia's eyes snapped open, her mind devoid of everything but the all consuming confusion and terror that paralyzed her. It was dark and something snared her limbs. Panicking, she teleported. She stumbled, falling to the wet grass, her stomach emptying itself on the ground before her. Light raindrops fell on her shaking form, mixing with the tears as they ran down her face. What was she?

Choking for breath, she wept quietly as her body was drenched by the morning rains. It had felt so real. She scrubbed her hands on the wet grass, desperately trying to remove the invisible blood she could feel covering them. That power. It had been just like when she had grasped it reality, was that what it would turn her into? Its intoxicating effects irresistible. She could never do anything like that, but then again hadn't she already? Huddling in on herself, she let the cool rain wash over her.

Rob woke much earlier than he had expected too. It was hard to tell by looking out of the small clear patch on the rear of the tent, since thick gray clouds blanketed the morning sky, but not much light made it inside. He had thought something had woke him but the tent was silent aside from the gentle patter of rain on the tent roof.

He sat up and glanced around, his heart leaping into his throat. Kirlia was gone. She wouldn't have run off like that would she? He grabbed for his pokeballs quickly and sighed as he felt all three of them, she must be close by then. Why she would go out into the rain he had no idea, but he didn't really understand much about his psychic type.

Cyndaquil, who had been sleeping snuggled up against his side began to stir but with it being so early, Rob told him to go back to sleep. Cyndaquil gave him a happy coo and curled back up, needing no further encouragement. Rob moved towards the tent entrance and opened it up.

The achromatic morning did not at all look inviting as he peered out into the spring rains. It was warm enough despite the early hour, but the rain would quickly turn cold after any length in it. Their traveling today would likely not be the most pleasant since they'd started out. At least it wasn't coming down too hard though, it could have been worse.

His quick scan of the area from the inside of the tent didn't reveal Kirlia's whereabouts, and he contemplated going out in the unpleasant weather. If nothing else it would wake him up, and bracing himself, he stepped out into the cool rain. The water felt invigorating as he stood up and looked around.

It took him a moment to find her in the dim light and shrouding rains, but he finally located her small form. Her back was to him, knees pulled up to her chest and head down. She looked miserable sitting there. Rob had no idea what could be bothering her this time, but Kirlia didn't so much as twitch as he approached her, completely ignoring his presence.

He wanted to say something, but his mind was drawing a blank as he gazed sadly down at his despairing pokemon. Talking with her would probably just end up making things worse anyway. He couldn't think of anything else to do, so he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shaking form and pulling her against his side.

Kirlia didn't fight the gesture, in fact she still didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence. Her skin was cool against his, the rain continuing to fall on the pair of them. Rob looked down at her, face buried in her knees, hair clinging wetly to her. He wished he knew something more he could do, but nothing came to him, so he sat with her as the morning wore on.

Rob didn't know how long they ended up sitting there. Despite the rain receding to a light drizzle, his clothing had already long been drenched. Kirlia stirred beside him, moving for the first time since he had sat down beside her. While he sat, Kirlia stood at about eye level with him, but she refused to meet his gaze.

“Shouldn't we be getting ready to leave?”

“Kirlia what's-”

“Please,” her voice begged him, “not right now.” He stared at her defeated posture for a moment longer before slowly getting up.

“Yeah, let's get going,” he said gently to her.

He faced an interesting conundrum as he returned to the tent with his depressed Kirlia. He didn't want to get everything inside wet, and his damp clothing didn't bother him, but there was still all the sleeping articles spread about. He poked his head in through the tent, surprised to see his other two pokemon already up, Cyndaquil chuckled at him.

“You're going to be out here pretty soon too, we'll see how good you look with soaking wet fur,” Rob said, trying to comb some of his bedraggled hair into place with his hands. Cyndaquil's smile faded as he looked out into the saturated morning.

“You guys wouldn't happen to be able to pack everything up though would you? I don't really want to get everything in there wet.” Cyndaquil didn't look like he wanted to do anything that would mean they would be on the road sooner, but after a nudge from Sandshrew the two of them set about.

Rob watched with amusement as his two pokemon struggled with the much too large blankets that had been laid out. He had to admit though, it was an admirable effort and they did manage to fit everything into his pack. When they were done he quickly made sure that the waterproof bag was sealed tight and pulled it out into the rain with him, his pokemon following reluctantly.

Rob quickly took down the tent and before long the four of them were back on the road towards Union Cave. While the rain was a slight annoyance, it had calmed down to little more that a misting, and it seemed to keep most of the wild pokemon at bay, so it probably helped their speed in the end.

He kept looking back at his trailing psychic, worried that she would just sit down and give up. Kirlia kept her eyes to the ground as she followed them, however tense she had been the past few days paled in comparison to how she was acting now. Whatever had her so scared must have happened during the night. The only thing he could imagine was a nightmare, but he had a hard time imagining she would get so worked up over a bad dream. Especially after all the other things she must have had to endure.

The day dragged by slowly, the rain never really letting up much to his fire type's dismay. They did manage to cover a good amount of ground though, and with both Cyndaquil and Sandshrew much stronger than the last time they made the journey, even the encounters with wild pokemon were becoming trivial.

Sunlight finally broke through the clouds, but not in time to do much more than paint the sky red. Rob found them an acceptable camp site and quickly set up the tent. He was going to skip trying to make a fire, but between the chill the evening had brought with it and Cyndaquil's insistence, they finally got a small blaze going, Cyndaquil having to spend much longer than usual breathing flames on the damp wood.

Kirlia sat with her back to the dancing flames, away from the others. She couldn't even look at them. The dream had been so vivid, so real that she could still barely tell it differed from reality. She had felt as her very mind destroyed them, and what reason did she have to think that it wouldn't happen for real. Worse, what if the others found out what she was, a freak, a threat to everything around her. Would Rob try and kill her? Use her? Abandon her?

Maybe it would have been better had she died in that basement. Thinking back, she hadn't done a single thing to be proud of in her life. She wanted to live, but she caused nothing but misery to those around her. It was hard to even tell how she was any different that the ones she despised. Cruel, selfish, she wanted to be happy, but it was always at the cost of others.

Her heart nearly stopped as Rob sat down next to her, she hadn't noticed him coming up behind her. As her shock wore off she quickly dropped her wide eyed gaze to the ground, shame beginning to fill her. He was kind to her, and the feeling of glee she felt as he died still tormented her. She wilted under his very presence, waiting to be confronted. The accusations never came though.

He just sat there, silent, calm, relaxed, and for some reason, it calmed her. He didn't say anything, or even look down at her, simply sat. The fire burned itself out as the two of them sat there, Kirlia finally feeling a little of her unease ebb.

“You ready to get some sleep?” Rob asked quietly, still looking out into the night. She had been too preoccupied with other thoughts, but now that he mentioned it, she could feel the fatigue dragging at her.

“Yeah,” she replied meekly. Rob got up, and she followed slowly behind him, heading towards their tent. Cyndaquil and Sandshrew joined them as they passed, the two of them having been relaxing in the heat of the flames after the cold and rain, looking just as ready for sleep as she felt. Once she was curled up in a blanket Rob had provided in her usual corner of the tent, she quickly drifted off to sleep. Rob whispered something to her in the darkness, but she was too far gone to make out his words.

Kirlia woke early to the sound of movement in the tent. Sunlight and a gentle breeze poured inside, the tent was left open to allow the clear blue morning in. The tent flaps rustling in the wind. Rubbing her eyes she got up and walked outside, squinting in the bright light.

“Good morning Kirlia,” Sandshrew greeted from where he sat eating a small breakfast.

“Morning,” she replied slowly, examining their surroundings. Rob and Cyndaquil were a little ways away, Cyndaquil on Rob's shoulder as they shared a breakfast, Rob handing up food every now and then to his fire type.

“Rob left this for you,” Sandshrew said handing her her own meal.

“Thanks,” she sent quietly. “How come you're not with them?”

“I just thought I'd have a quiet morning to enjoy the sun after all the rain yesterday,” Sandshrew said, stretching under the warm morning rays. “And between you and me, everyone needs a little time away from Cyndaquil now and then.” He grinned at her and she couldn't help but give a slight smile of her own. She ate the rest of her meal in silence, also enjoying the sun's warmth after yesterday's cold.

All in all she felt much better than she had the day before. That horrid dream still troubled her mind, but if she had dreamed last night, she didn't remember anything. Rob didn't seem to be in a hurry this morning and the sun was already well above the horizon when she had finished eating. Sandshrew had begun basking in the sun and Rob was playing around with Cyndaquil.

It was nice to relax at first, but as the time passed a growing sense of unease seemed to settle over her. She couldn't help but glance around, expecting to see ominous blood red eyes glaring hungrily, stalking slowly up on them. As much as she tried to shake the feeling, it only intensified.

She began to feel out their surroundings with her psychic powers. While her ability to destroy was impressive compared to the other psychics that had been captured by Wes, her other psychic abilities were pathetic. As much as she had tried she wasn't able to read minds, and even her ability to detect the forces around here were laughable. Time after time she felt as if she should be able to, but all her efforts had ended in failure.

With what she could manage, she spread out her mental powers to search the surroundings, but found nothing. And although she wouldn't be able to sense a dark type directly, she should still be able to feel their lack of presence, like a void in the picture. She thought so anyway, cursing her lack of skill. Not finding anything didn't remove the feeling that was quickly approaching dread. She couldn't sit there doing nothing anymore.

“Rob?” she asked apprehensively as she approached him.

“Oh, good morning Kirlia,” Rob replied cheerily as both he and Cyndaquil turned to look at her. “Feeling any better today?” he inquired a little more gently.

“I uh, well I was but,” she tripped over her words, unsure of exactly what she was trying to say. What if he just thought she was crazy? “Does anything feel, wrong, to you?” she asked glancing about nervously.

“Wrong? I don't feel anything, what makes you ask?”

“I don't know, it's just, something isn't right. We shouldn't be here.” It was getting worse, her mind screamed at her to run, but the calm pleasant morning merely taunted here with inactivity. Rob studied her for a moment but he obviously didn't feel the impending catastrophe that she did.

“I know the past few days have been stressful for you, but try and relax a bit, enjoy the morning,” he said in a calm, soothing tone. He gave her a carefree smile and went on. “If you're still feeling anxious to get back on the road in a bit we can pack up in get moving, sound good?” He was dismissing her fears, but then what reason would he have not to.

“Sure, sorry,” she mumbled and wandered back to where she had been sitting before, out of everyone's way. Rob might have said something back but she didn't hear it, her mind consumed by the feeling that twisted her stomach. She sat down and once again began to search with her psychic power.

The minutes dragged by, her mind detecting nothing besides an occasional bird flying overhead. She wasn't practiced enough to tell what kind of pokemon they were through her psychic powers alone, though she thought she could tell Rob apart from Cyndaquil. And even if she did detect something, she didn't have the range to give more than a few seconds warning anyway.

She began to feel silly as nothing happened, but then they came. There were pokemon heading directly for their camp, a lot of them. She concentrated on the pack bearing down on them, feeling them with her mind; they felt angry.

“Rob,” she called, quickly getting up, not limiting her telepathy so the others could hear her. They all turned as her panicked voice entered their minds. “There's wild pokemon coming, a whole group of them, and they seem hostile.” They all looked confused as she slowly began backing away from where she felt them coming, moving slowly towards Rob.

“Are you su-”

“Yes I'm sure,” she said frantically. “We need to leave here, we need to run,” but it was too late. As she said it the tall grasses in the distance began to roil, purple bodies lunging through the greenery, yellow tails whipping behind them.

Rob was momentarily frozen by how many pairs of golden eyes were bearing down on his small group. This wasn't good, two of his pokemon had type advantage over the Ekans, but there were so many of them. He was surprised when his back thumped against the bark of a tree, not even realizing he had been backing away from the incoming pokemon. His own three pokemon forming a small triangle around him, faces grim.

He tried to steady his voice the best he could and give them some confidence, “Just stay together and focus, they out number us but we can beat them. Kirlia I shouldn't have dismissed you, I'm sorry; and I hate to lay this on you, but you're our best chance of getting through this.”

His heart raced as it began. Kirlia started it out by dropping three of their foes before they even reached striking distance with her powerful psywaves, after that it was chaos. Rob could do nothing but watch as adrenaline coursed through his body and his pokemon engaged the wild Ekans.

Cyndaquil put everything he had into his flame attacks, burning large swaths in the grass and forcing the wild snake pokemon to either back off or get roasted. Sandshrew was having a more difficult time having to rely on his short claws to attack, though he used the thick hide of his back for protection. Kirlia on the other hand practically radiated her deadly grace.

She danced around the other pokemon, unleashing devastating blows on the ranks of the Ekans all the while dodging their attacks. She even threw up a barrier now and then to save Cyndaquil or Sandshrew from a poisonous bite. Had Rob not been all but paralyzed with anxiety at the dire situation, he would have marveled at her beauty.

With Kirlia guarding the left flank and Cyndaquil on the right, the Ekans were prevented from encircling the group. None of the wild pokemon willing to risk being targeted directly by the intense flames or psychic attacks. When the Ekans realized that their dead rush wouldn't be enough to overwhelm their would-be prey, the snakes began to make more strategic advances.

Rob began to control his breathing as his friends fought desperately to protect him. He fumbled for an empty pokeball, the only thing that would offer him any protection if one of the Ekans made it near him. He felt useless as he watched the scene unfold. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and he felt that if he tried to offer instructions to his teammates he would only end up distracting them.

One of the snakes finally got past Cyndaquil's defensive flames and managed to sink it's fangs into Cyndaquil's side causing his pokemon to go down. Rob felt as if time slowed as his body locked up completely. Kirlia noticing him go down and trying to be in three places at once. Sandshrew struggling to do what he could as the wild pokemon tried to capitalize on the break in their prey's defense.

Flames erupted from Rob's downed pokemon and the snake screeched in agony as its face was seared by the intense flames. In a brilliant flash of the purest white light Rob had ever seen, Rob's very first pokemon rose.

“Quilava!” Rob's freshly evolved pokemon roared as it sent a devastating wave of fire crashing into the Ekans. Rob let out a shuddering sigh of relief, but it was short lived. In the confusion one of the Ekans had made it past his pokemon's notice. He himself didn't even see it coming. An Ekans launched itself at him, grunting in pain as he was pushed back into the tree behind him and the snake latched onto his leg. Agony lanced through him from the two puncture wounds.

Rob half threw and half dropped the empty pokeball on the Ekans hanging from his leg and used his adrenaline fueled body to send the ball flying with a kick. He was hyperventilating, that wasn't good. His thoughts rushing back to his academy days. Poison. Keep the wound below the heart, well he got bit on the leg so that was easy. Remaining calm however he was finding to be a much more difficult task, he was starting to feel faint. He slowly sank to a sitting position, delicately moving his injured leg.

“Rob!” a voice yelled into his mind, he snapped his focus back to the battle, he had completely forgotten... “Return Quilava!” Kirlia's voice was ragged and desperate. He looked up to see his best friend struggling futilely as one of the purple creatures was crushing the life out of him. Rob's fingers clumsily grabbed Quilava's pokeball and returned him in a red flash, the snake that had ensnared him dropping to the ground.

Sandshrew had also fallen prey to an Ekans' bite, two angry red marks marring his soft underbelly as he continued to fight on. It wouldn't be long before he too succumbed to the poison. Rob's fingers shook as he set Quilava's ball to stasis, his mind clouded by fear and adrenaline as he felt an uncomfortable heat spread up his leg.

He tried to force himself to breathe normally, fighting to calm himself, he couldn't afford to keep panicking. His pack lay near him from where he and Cyndaquil had been eating breakfast, and he slowly reached for it, hoping for all he was worth that his other two pokemon were doing okay. He dug into the bag, shoving aside the food and clothing that was on top and searching along the bottom for the items he had bought before he had ever even left home.

Reaching, he felt the smooth bottles and pulled them out, setting them at his side. Potions, his pokemon could use them after. He reached back in and pulled out two more. A third time and his hands felt nothing besides the few empty pokeballs he still had, as well as the flash HM he picked up in Violet.

Had he been so distracted the day he picked up Cyndaquil that he had forgotten to buy antidotes? He laughed as a horrifying sense of calm washed over him. He had managed to doom them before he owned his very first pokemon.

“Shrew,” came a wheezing voice, Sandshrew staggering towards him as he collapsed in front of Rob. He rolled onto his back, laboriously filling his lungs.

“I'm sorry buddy,” Rob said wearily as he returned Sandshrew, setting the ball to stasis. Kirlia was also walking towards him, a stillness settling over the area, the fighting done. Kirlia actually looked like she made out pretty well aside from some disheveled hair and heavy breathing.

“You're injured,” Kirlia noted, motioning to the small tears in his pant leg, the surrounding fabric tinged red.

“Yeah I guess so,” he replied with a rueful chuckle. Poison was slow to kill, but quick to incapacitate, he didn't have very long. “C'mere a second,” he said motioning to her, and she approached cautiously. “I know you never wanted to come with me,” he began, the calm and clarity he felt at that moment at odds with his impendent death.

“And I've always regretted capturing you the way I did. I tried my best, but clearly it wasn't enough. I was glad for the time I got to spend with you regardless though. I hope you don't resent me for it.” He held out the pokeball that bound her to him. Kirlia's eyes were wide as she grasped the item with shaking hands.

“I can't release you out here, but it won't be long till you're free.” He smiled, looking into those ruby eyes as their gazes met. She disappeared with a shimmering crack. He rest his head against the bark of the tree before making his final preparations. He set Sandshrew and Quilava's balls to save as much power as possible. They'd have a day and a half, maybe two before they were released by the emergency mechanism.

He laid the two pokeballs next to him. If another trainer came by then maybe they would be able to save his pokemon. He had no regrets about anything save for completely letting down his two friends. There was no reason they should have to suffer for his incompetence.

“I'm sorry guys,” Rob spoke to his two friends that would never hear his words. “You were both incredible, I froze but you two didn't hesitate a moment to protect me. I'm sorry I wasn't worthy, but I love the both of you. When you get out of here, well, make the best of it. I only wish I could have talked with you for just a moment, one more time.”

The tent was still set up and they weren't too far off the road. It was a long shot, but maybe someone passing would notice in time. For himself, it was over a day's time in either direction under good circumstances to civilization. He didn't have a chance. Resting his head back he made himself comfortable. He didn't know if it was the poison or just his fading consciousness, but he closed his eyes feeling nothing but serenity.
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An Uncertain Future