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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Chapter 7: Between the Dark Blue and the Gray
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“Three Months” had been the time-limit given to Iruni Thomas to make his way to Newbark Town in southeastern Johto. More than two months have passed since the strange meeting with the Champion, and Iruni’s injuries have all but faded into memories. Days of extra-careful preparation and planning culminated in the day he finally left his home in Mahogany Town to start a life as a Pokémon Trainer. His initial plans had been forced to change with Lance’s surprise visit, and the route Iruni and his Pokémon traveled took them through a place that both Iruni and Rikalia had on their minds; the Ice Path.
The early signs of the coming spring were nowhere to be seen inside the frigid caverns and caves. A thin sheet of ice covered nearly every rocky surface, which could sometimes lead to unexpected slips that could last until one collided with a rock or wall.
Iruni made sure to test his footing on the slick cave floor before continuing through the cave. He carefully stepped over another ice-covered ledge, his heavy boots thankfully held enough traction to keep him stable. Were it not for his PokéGear’s clock, the time of day would be near indiscernible in the dark caverns of Ice Path. He and his Pokémon had woken up early to try and cut their remaining time in the caves down as much as possible. Three full days of traversing nearly identical paths of glittering ice crystals and three whole nights huddled next to one another for warmth were starting to wear them down—Rikalia being an obvious exception. The Sneasel had been born and grew up here and her knowledge proved to be invaluable during their time in the frosty cavern.
“Hey Rika,” he said, nudging the half-asleep Dark type resting on his head, “are you sure this path leads to the exit?”
“Mmm? Oh yeah, this is the right way,” she flipped herself over on the large backpack that she was laying on. “I didn’t come this way that many times, but do you see that carving?” Rikalia pointed to a symbol caved into the cave’s wall to the left side of them. She mimicked the design by following it with her claws. “These two diagonal lines and a half-line connecting them means ‘exit’ or ‘outside’.”
“That’s good. I’m actually surprised you can read that after… well…” he let the thought trail off, but Rikalia caught the meaning.
“Don’t do that to yourself, it’s fine Iruni. I know what you were trying to say…” she shifted her seat on the backpack to be facing behind Iruni again, but didn’t let the awkward silence persist. “Even if it had been years since I last saw any of my kind or our writing, I’d still know what any sign meant.”
Relieved that he hadn’t driven the topic of conversation anywhere he shouldn’t, Iruni asked, “How so? Is it instinctual?”
To himself, Iruni was incredibly thankful for the strange ability to talk to each other that he and Rikalia shared. The chance to speak to a Pokémon about their natural habits and even how they communicate within their own species was a fantastic opportunity for the aspiring Dark type specialist. The reasons as to why Iruni could understand his rescued Sneasel were still unknown. In his spare time, he would contemplate what could be going on, but figuring out how they were talking was often forgotten by simply enjoying the conversation he was having.
“No, not really,” continued Rikalia, “but I doubt I’d even know how to explain it you. See, I could write the sign for ‘fire’ completely differently from how another one of my kind might. It’s all in the context of location and how the marking is drawn. The lines could be jagged or smooth, deep or shallow, even the angle in which they’re carved can mean something important. I can tell what the carving was intended to mean no matter how it ended up being made.”
“Did your parents…” he caught himself, “I mean, who taught you how?”
She rocked her head back into his, annoyed, “Stop doing that. You don’t have to keep avoiding the subject. I’m not going to break down crying every time someone mentions my family… but to answer your question, no, I wasn’t taught how to read them. Like I said, it’s just that I know how to read them, not like I automatically know what they mean by instinct. Does that make sense?”
Iruni paused to look at another symbol on the cave wall. He removed a glove and traced the lines with his index finger, “I think so. You’re born with the ability to read whatever your species writes. Would it be hard to learn? To read these, I mean. It’s really interesting to think that your species has written language that can differ completely simply because someone else wrote it down…” He put aside his inquisitive mood for a moment, “And I’m sorry. I’ll try and not baby you from now on.”
She flicked her ear at him, the feather lightly tickling her trainer’s head. “You don’t need to apologize… but thank you.” She turned back around and laid her head on his shoulder, “I don’t think I could teach you though… There’s not much to teach when I can’t even explain it. Why would you want to learn?”
“I’m looking to be the best Dark type trainer out there, especially after Lance told me that people already think I am one. Learning something like your writing style would be a great thing to research and study.”
“Like how you’re trying to find out how I’m even talking to you right now?”
“Exactly,” he said as he ducked under a low rocky outcropping. “Dad, Kate and everyone else we’ve met have given us plenty of evidence to show that it’s only me who can hear you. And the fact that I can’t understand other Pokémon leaves me to think this:” he looked at her, “You’re unique, or at least doing something specific that Karros or Vester can’t.”
“So… how’re you going to find out what it is?”
“I’ve got a few ideas. Since you say you’re not doing anything that you know of to allow me to hear you, it probably means that you’re doing it on reflex, or subconsciously. Why it just happened to start when it did, I’m not sure. It could be that you’ve always been able to communicate like this, but just weren’t old or strong enough to do it. This is the most plausible explanation, I think, because you started showing this ability very soon after living with me.” He sighed, choosing his words carefully, “Before then… you were in poor health, so this trait might have just been stunted, along with your growth.”
“But you're still not explaining how I can do it,” she said, slightly irritated.
“My idea is that it could be hereditary, like this thing here,” he said, running a finger along her ear-feather.
In the two and a half months since he had found Rikalia, the feather above her left ear began to change from the characteristic pink color common among Sneasel. The light blue color it now was had been a surprise when it first began to develop. At first, Iruni thought she might be developing an alternate or “shiny” coloration extremely late, but those rare cases have only been recorded to happen at birth. That, coupled with the fact that her tail-feathers underwent the natural darkening to the common red color led him to believe it was merely a genetic trait. Slowly the pink follicles began to change to a light blue. Now, only a small streak of the original color remained. Whenever Iruni stroked her feather, Rikalia always returned him with a sunny look.
“You said your mother had blue ear-feathers too, right?” asked Iruni.
“Yeah,” she said. “I always thought they were pretty… hers were darker though—even my father said they made her look beautiful. Despite how he seemed to hate me,” she let herself smile a bit, “he did say that he hoped I turned out like my mother.”
“I’m glad you did, I like it. It’s a nice color,” he said, petting her head, he was met with an appreciative purr. “But as I was saying, your feather started to change around the time I started understanding you, and that lines up with when I caught you and got you healed at the Center back in Mahogany. When you started getting healthy, your body must’ve recovered from the shock of being so malnourished. Since then, you’ve started growing normally, if a bit faster to catch up to where you would be normally. If that’s the case, then it would make sense that something like this would’ve stayed dormant until you got better.”
“I guess that makes sense…” she said, drifting off into thought. “Hey,” Rikalia said, remembering something, “Your headaches started around that time too. I’m not causing them, am I?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“You’ve been having those headaches ever since I’ve been talking to you, even right after it started… and you said you never had them before that…” her head fell against his, her eyes staring down at the ground. “I’m hurting you again, aren’t I?”
“Rika,” he said, reaching his arm back to rub her head, “Don’t go starting this up again. You can’t keep blaming yourself for those accidents.”
“But I still hurt you,” she shook his hand away from her and slipped down to the ground behind him. “I don’t like it when I hurt you… like when I bit you…”
“Why do you still beat yourself up over that?” he said, kneeling in front of her.
She sat down and brought her legs close to her chest. “Because you were just trying to help, and I lashed out at you…”
“I still saved you that night, didn’t I?”
“Yes… but—”
“Rikalia, you’ve got to understand that I don’t hold it against you; it’s natural to be defensive when you’re scared and hurt. It was just something that happened. I know that you regret it, and that’s enough for me. I could see it in your eyes almost immediately; you’re very kind. You wouldn’t hurt me if it’s your choice.”
“But what if it’s not?” she lowered her head to her knees. “You said it yourself; I don’t know how I’m doing this, so how do you know it’s not something bad? What if I am hurting you because of this? I don’t want to hurt you, you’re—you’re the one who saved me…” she looked up with a sad expression on her face, “How is this any way to repay you?”
As much as he wished it weren’t the case, his headaches did seem to find their roots in his Sneasel’s peculiar communication. Early on, they came as a sudden jolt of pain—blinding, thought-shattering pain. Over the past months, they slowly began to dwindle in intensity, and now he simply suffered from a steady pulse of pain when Rikalia would talk to him. He guessed it could be him building a tolerance to them. But now, as with a few other occurrences, when she would be very emotional, or put a lot of force behind her words, the pain would spike in intensity. He winced as another wave wracked his brain.
“Rika,” he said as the pain ebbed away, “You know you don’t have to repay me for what I did. And these,” he pointed to his head, “headaches don’t matter to me. If it is because of you that I feel this pain, then I can bear with it to be able to talk to you.” He reached out and stroked her ear-feather, “Remember how happy you were when I first understood you?”
“Yes…” she relented in her sullen pose and looked up at him.
“And would you want it to go back the way it was? Always needing Ruby or some other Psychic Pokémon just to translate what we say?” he asked.
She clenched her paws and looked away from him, “No…”
“I know I wouldn’t, even if it meant I’d lose these headaches. Losing this would mean that I wouldn’t be able to talk to you anymore, and I’d miss it too much. I’ve been gradually feeling less pain since they’ve started, so I’ll get used to them completely soon. And I doubt I’ll suffer anything long-term.”
“But you don’t know for sure! What if…” she began breaking into tears.
“Hey, it’s alright. If I start feeling anything, or notice any changes, I’ll do something about it, okay?”
“But… what if… it,” she fumbled with her words. She looked back up at him, trying to hold back her sadness.
“Rika,” he put his hand to her face to wipe a tear away, “What is it?”
“I—If I am hurting you—really hurting you… then you’d have to send me away… or leave me. And I wouldn’t want to be near you because I couldn’t stand knowing that you would be suffering because of me…” she hugged his arm tightly, “I don’t want that.”
With his free arm, Iruni took off his heavy backpack, the loud thud it made as it hit the ground startling the crying Sneasel. He picked her up in his arms and held her close to his chest. She struggled in his grasp for a moment, but soon relaxed and buried her head into his chest. She wrapped her arms around his chest, gripping tightly onto the fabric of his coat.
Iruni rubbed her back as he held her, thinking to himself, Anything that looks like it might separate her from anyone she cares about, she instantly thinks the worst. I can’t blame her though… her family abandoned her, how does she know I won’t?
“Rika, do you worry about this sort of thing a lot?”
She nodded.
“Why? You know you’re safe with me; you’ll always have a home, friends, and people who care about you.”
She pulled her face away from his chest and looked up at him, “Because… before you found me, I didn’t really expect to survive. I know that sounds pretty pathetic, but I didn’t have anyone; I was alone. After my family disappeared, I only wanted to find them… but I gave up… I didn’t know if I even wanted to trust anyone else…
“Then that tree fell, and I was stuck. I tried my best to move it—I even tried calling for my mother… but no one came. I almost gave up trying… but then you found me. At first, I didn’t know what to expect, so I was defensive. But you were only there to help. Even after I attacked you, you still saved me.” She closed her eyes and smiled, laying her head on his arm, “I was so happy. For the first time since my mother, someone actually cared for me. I didn’t—I don’t want this to end.
“I worry about this because I’m afraid that…” she clenched his arm tightly, looking back at him, “I’ll end up alone again. So I try my best to not let anything bad happen. But I’ve been hurting you, and I hate that. You’re not someone I want to hurt… and, I’m afraid that these headaches, or anything else, might push you away from me.”
“Do you honestly think I would do that?”
“I… No… but…”
“Rika, please listen. If I were like any of the bad trainers out there who abandon their Pokémon, I would have done so before now,” he patted her on the head, “But I’m not like that. You may be causing the headaches, you might not; but if you are, I wouldn’t mind. Headaches can be treated. The point is, as long as you’re here with me now, you shouldn’t worry about this. So, can you please forget about this?”
“But I can’t!” she turned around in his arms, looking into his eyes with a fierce gaze, “I can’t just ‘forget about it’! Not when I might be seriously hurting you… I can’t stand it. I won’t stop caring for you, Iruni. I care about you as much as you do for me, you know. Don’t ask me to stop, because I won’t.”
Iruni held her stare for a few moments, and then let out a long sigh. He fell backwards onto the icy floor, startling Rikalia at the sudden movement. “Well,” he said, looking at the ceiling, “looks like we’re stuck then, huh?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, sitting on the ground beside him. She leaned against his body, “I just don’t want to leave this open.”
“Can we at least agree to just put it aside for now?”
“Until when? We’re not just gonna magically know that to do sometime later on. We need to do something.”
Iruni continued laying the cold cave floor, racking his mind for a possible solution or answer. She’s so stubborn sometimes… it’s not like we’ll wander into some expert’s office to ask…Wait… He brought his arms beside him, propping himself up, “Alright Rika, how about this? We put all this worrying behind us for now, and we’ll ask Professor Elm for advice when we get to Newbark Town once this Cartographer business is settled. Until then, we forget about it, okay?”
She look over at him, hopeful, “Do you think he could help us?”
“He’s a Pokémon expert with many connections to very prominent people all around the world; if the professor can’t, I’m sure he knows someone who can.”
“So… you promise you’ll ask him about it?”
“Yes Rika, I promise. And I’m sure if I forget, you’ll be there to remind me, won’t you?”
“Definitely.”
He got to his feet, readjusting his coat as he stood up, and picked up his gear, “So, we let this be until Newbark then?”
“Fine… but don’t expect me to completely forget about it…”
“Deal,” he said, bending down to let her crawl up his arm. Once she situated herself back on top of his large pack, they set off once again, “Now let’s hurry out of this cave. If we’re lucky, Elm might introduce us to Karen if he can’t help us! I’ve always wanted to meet her, you know.”
Rikalia flicked an icy claw at his face, “Just focus on walking for now… forget about the subject, remember?”
Iruni wiped the snow from his cheek, “Yeah, yeah… I got it.”
—————
Iruni quickly threw up an arm to shield his eyes from the falling rain as he stepped out of the cave. The difference in temperature outside of the Ice Path was staggering. He stood on the edge of a steep slope, carefully holding on to the wall of the cave’s entrance, looking down to discern the safest route to take. The road leading out of Ice Path exited halfway up a mountainside and the only way to town was via a steep, icy, trail. The spring rain was doing well to whittle down the ice that escaped the cave’s interior, but nearly half of the way down the path was still covered in frost.
“So,” he said, throwing up the hood of his coat, “How’re we going to do this?”
Rikalia popped her head out of his coat, hiding under his chin, “How bad is the ground after the ice is gone?”
He reached into his pocket and removed his PokéGear. Scrolling through the screens to find the current weather, he said, “Let’s see… Damn. It’s been raining for a while, and it’s still got a ways to go… It’s probably really muddy, and this rain makes the ice really slippery…”
Rikalia shook her head as a raindrop hit her face, “I hate the rain…”
“Hmm… Well, we either risk sliding down the rain-slicked ice, and try and catch ourselves as it goes to mud, or have you freeze a path the rest of the way down. How good is your Ice Punch these days?”
She extended one of her arms out of his coat, clenching her paw. “Not very, watch,” she concentrated. A moment later, a thin sheet of ice began to slowly form on her hand. “I can get my whole paw covered, but I still only get a little bit. It takes a while, and I can’t hold it for long. It’s still too weak.”
He rubbed her head, “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it, it wasn’t a realistic suggestion anyway; it’d take very powerful Ice type to manage that,” he leaned back against the cave entrance, “So, unless we want to wait out this rain, it looks like we’re out of options, huh?”
“What about Kar?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“He can use his fire to melt the ice, and maybe even dry a path for us temporarily. You did the same thing the night you found me, remember?”
“Nice catch, Rika. That should perfectly,” he said. Iruni reached for Karros’ Poké Ball on his belt, “I just hope Kar’s not too pissed that I’m releasing him in an ice-covered cave,” he laughed.
He turned around and took a step back into Ice Path. The shining surfaces if the cave amplified the flash of white light as Iruni released his Houndour. As Karros’ feet touched the ice, he yelped in shock at the sudden change in temperature and scrambled to maintain his balance. Karros blew a quick Ember down at his feet to melt a place to stand. Annoyed, he looked up at his trainer and companion, questioning the rude and rather cold awakening.
“Before you get all upset, Kar,” he gestured over his shoulder, “just be glad that I didn’t release you out in the rain.” Iruni had another chuckle as Karros’ ears drooped in shock, and then raised in relief. “You think you can help us?”
Karros questioned what his trainer meant, tilting his head slightly.
“Come here— No… Come here and see,” he said, leading him to the mouth of the cave. Iruni tried to make sure Karros stayed out of the rain, “Look, we’ve got an annoying sheet of ice ahead of us, and then it just fades into mud. How about clearing us a safe path with some fire? We’ll celebrate with some food once we finally get into Blackthorn.”
His Houndour barked in agreement and nodded to indicate that he was waiting for the order.
“Awesome!” Iruni stepped aside, “Now, this’ll be some good practice; let’s try out your Fire Blast, just to make sure we don’t miss anything.”
“Wait… Fire Blast—?” Rikalia had to cut her question short as the temperature suddenly spiked.
She ducked back down into her trainer’s coat, peeking down at her four-legged partner. His form was distorted as heat waves began rising from his body, melting all the ice surrounding him. Noticing her discomfort, and thinking of his own safety, Iruni stepped further back into the cave.
“Aim low, Karros! Don’t want all of Blackthorn freaking out, do we?”
With flames escaping through gritted teeth, the Houndour nodded and stepped up to the edge of the slope. The heat he generated evaporated the water just before it struck him, clouding him in steam. He let loose the explosive blast of fire straight down the mountain path, trying to direct the flare as best he could. The force of the eruption sent a large wave of heat into the cave, causing Iruni to turn his back to the flames to protect his vulnerable Ice type in his arms. Iruni kept a sidelong-glance towards the cave exit; he felt a great sense of satisfaction watching Karros do what he does best.
A few moments later, Iruni felt the cool breeze return and turned back to the cave entrance. He laughed with a prideful mirth as he saw the aftermath. All around his Houndour, the ground was dry and steaming as fresh rain landed on the flash-burnt dirt. Karros stood at the top of the hill, panting a little, surveying his work. An ice-free path now trailed down the center of the mountainside; some of the dirt near the bottom was charred as well.
Iruni stamped his foot on the ground, testing it. “Good job as always, Kar. So long as we hurry, the ground shouldn’t get too muddy before we’re at ground level,” he aimed Karros’ Poké Ball at him, “We’ll get food after we settle in at the center. ‘Til then, take it ease.”
Rikalia worked her head out of the coat as her teammate was engulfed in red light. She looked up as her trainer pocketed his gloves and started walking down the freshly scorched path, “It’s nice to be out of that cold place. I probably won’t be needing all this cold weather gear for a while…”
“Umm, Iruni?” asked the Sneasel.
“What is it, Rika?”
“How…” she fidgeted a bit in her trainer’s coat. “How is Karros that strong?”
“It’s to be expected, isn’t it? Karros has been with me for nearly seven years now, and until you came along he was my only Pokémon. I’ve always been anticipating the day we’d begin our journey, so I spent a lot of time training him. Plenty of potential birthday gifts and extra cash have gone the way of a few expensive TMs as well; Fire Blast was last year’s, I think,” he placed his hand on Karros’ Poké Ball, “He’s really strong, he’ll likely be the powerhouse of the team, I’ll bet you that.”
“What about me? Will I get strong like him?” she asked.
“Sure you will. You’re already closing the gap between the two of you; Karros has just had more time to train than you. We never had that much battle exposure until now, but we’ve practiced our moves the best we can.” He rubbed the fur on her head, “And don’t you go feeling inferior to Kar just because he’s older; you’ll be the key to us winning in Violet City.”
“Why?”
Iruni sighed, “Violet City’s has a Flying type Gym; I wouldn’t want to put Karros through something like that… So, we’ll have to rely on your quick moves and advantage over their typing.”
Rikalia continued her barrage of questions relentlessly as they made their way down the mountainous path toward Blackthorn City. “And what Gym is after that?”
“Unfortunately Bug, in Azalea. But Kar will have the advantage there, so he’ll tear through that one all on his own, I bet.”
“You won’t let me try?” she asked, sounding hurt.
“Wh— No, I didn’t mean to say it like that, sorry. I was just saying that he’d do better there than—” he sighed, “I’m sorry; I was just getting ahead of myself.”
“So… you will let me fight at Azalea?”
“If you want to, of course. I’ve heard that Bugsy, the leader, his main Pokémon is a Scyther, it’ll be a good match for you, don’t you think?”
“Scyther… what are those again?”
“Big green bugs with scythes for arms; sharp, fast, smart, and tough. Think you can handle it?”
“I don’t know…” she said smugly, “I’ll probably be able to out-speed it way before we even get there, so it wouldn’t be much of a challenge. I can almost beat Kar whenever we train.”
“Well, you gotta keep in mind, Rika,” he said, reaching his left arm out towards the sky, letting the cool drops splash against the back of his hand, “We’re going to be seeing a lot of interesting places, meeting new people, and finding new Pokémon. You and Kar do fine by yourselves for now, but we’ll have to catch a full team eventually, so we’re likely going to have to change our regular battle plan.”
“Do you have any Pokémon you’re looking to catch?” Rikalia asked.
“I don’t know, I haven’t set my mind on anything specific. A Murkrow maybe since I already have a Dusk stone,” he paused for a moment, shaking out the water from inside his sleeve. “But if I set out to make an all-Dark team, we’d be at a disadvantage to anyone who exploited that fact. Fighting, Bug, and Fairy types would be a major threat. So, at least for the start of our journey, I’m not going to bother trying so hard to catch more Dark types, and just focus on a balanced team.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes. The mountainous terrain soon leveled out to a rocky path, making walking far easier. Before turning their last corner until they entered the city, Iruni looked back up at the exit of Ice Path. The heavy rain battered the path, already freezing over the sections near the mouth of the cave and muddying the rest of the ground. Not going even let me think about turning back, huh?
“Iruni… what’s the matter?”
“What? Oh, nothing. Just mindless thinking.”
“Oh… How long are we staying here?” she asked. “I know you said we’re not going to bother with the badge here for a while, but what else are we going to do while we’re here?”
“Let’s see…” he said, pulling out his PokéGear again. “Today’s the 29th, so that means we’ve got nineteen days before Lance’s deadline.” He thought for a moment, “I’ll ask around at the center, and I think we’ll give Kate a call to see if she has any advice on how we soon we should leave.”
“Yay, I miss Katie! I wish we could talk to Ruby too…”
He laughed, “You know you can, but it’s too bad telepathy doesn’t travel over video-phone.”
—————
Unlike the mountainous area surrounding Blackthorn, to the west, Ecruteak City had already dealt with its share of rain. A few small puddles still remained on the roads and sidewalks around the city, and the air held an almost uncomfortable humidity about it. A blond man threw the last of many suitcases into the trunk of his car, and went back inside his home to join his wife.
“Allan!” the woman yelled up the stairs, “It’s almost ten-thirty! Your father and I have to get going soon!”
The young man being beckoned surprised his mother by vaulting the banister from the second floor and jumping down from the landing outside of his room onto a step just a few feet in front of her. Allan Relmstead did his best to stifle his laughter at his mother’s shocked expression.
“I have a clock you know.” The shock from landing hard on the wooden staircase stung his legs, but he ignored it. The reveal was worth the effort. “Also working ears; you don’t have to yell.”
Recovering from the sudden appearance from her son, Mrs. Relmstead stepped back a bit, shaking her head, “Allan… how many times have we told you to not jump down the stairs! You could’ve hurt yourself!”
Allan walked towards the kitchen, “Could I? Yes. Did I? No.” He laughed at his mother’s angry expression, “Hey, it’s either jump, or have Xutan test out his multi-being teleporting. Walking down stairs is boring.” As he entered the kitchen, he was met with a palm smacking his forehead, causing him to stagger backwards.
“Listen to your mother, Allan,” scolded his father.
“Good morning to you too, Dad…” His parents followed him into the kitchen, and he rooted through the pantry for a box of cereal. “So, how soon are you leaving?”
“The car’s all packed,” his father—Nathan Relmstead—said, “We were just waiting on your lazy butt to get out of bed.”
Mariah—his mother—noticed the distinct lack of a small, chipper, four-legged Pokémon and asked, “Where’s Umari? Is she still asleep?”
Allan looked down at his feet, now just as curious. “Well, she was following behind me when I came out of my room…” he leaned back to look up the stairwell. He paused, and motioned for his parents to look, holding a finger to his lips. “She didn’t make it…” he whispered.
Umari, his silver-furred Eevee, was asleep halfway down the stairs, one paw draped over the edge of the step she was sleeping on.
“It seems the sleepyhead needs her rest,” Allan said, sitting down at the table, bowl and spoon at the ready.
“How late were you up last night, Allan?” asked his father.
“I’m still up, actually. Umari’s gotten a lot better at responding to telepathy lately. We were up last night working on it. She’s able to communicate without Xutan around now!”
“That’s great, but make sure you get some sleep after you get back from work; you’re still my growing boy you know,” his mother said, ruffling his hair.
“You know I’m nineteen still, right? Same as yesterday, mom…”
“You’re lucky your mother called you when she did,” his father said, “We couldn’t wait on you much longer.”
“Oh how would I ever sleep at night if I missed the departure of my beloved parents?” Allan asked, pouring all the fake emotion into his words that he could. He prepared himself a bowl of cereal, added milk, and got a glass of water, “So,” he said, after taking a bite, “where’s this year’s trip taking you?”
“We’re going to the conference in the Unova region this year,” his mother said.
“Why they’re holding it there of all places,” Allan’s father chimed in, “I don’t know, but we’re excited all the same.”
“So… today’s the 29th,” Allan glanced at the calendar hanging on the fridge, “how long is the conference?”
“One, two weeks usually.”
“So, you won’t be able to be back before 15th, will you?”
“Actually,” his father said, “Your mother and I decided to stay in Unova after the conference and tour the region, like a vacation. We’re not exactly sure when we’ll be back.”
“What’s so special about April 15th honey?” his mother asked.
“I told you,” he said between bites, “That’s when I want to head out to start my Trainer career.”
His mother came up behind him, rubbing his back, “Oh, I’m sorry Allan. Does it bother you that we won’t be here to see you off?”
He swallowed, “Not really. You travel a lot, I’ve gotten used to it.”
“You sure you’ll be ready in two weeks?” his father asked. “What about your job at the bookstore?”
“Seventeen days,” Allan corrected, spoon raised, “and yes, I’m sure. I’ve already put in my ‘two weeks’ there—two weeks ago, actually—and today’s my last day. I’ll get my last paycheck there, and work on getting everything I need ready. The rest of the downtime I’ll spend training around town, I guess; that or sleeping since it’s so important.”
“Well, son” Nathan said, “We’ve got a plane to catch soon, is there anything else you need?”
“Are you two at least going to be back by my birthday? It’ll probably work out with me being ready to challenge Morty by then, so I’ll be in town.”
“That sounds manageable, that gives us a good date to shoot for to come back, right honey?” Nathan asked his wife.
“Just as long as our young trainer here doesn’t stand up his own parents on his birthday,” Mariah said, hugging her son.
Allan wrapped a free arm around her, returning the loving gesture, “I’ll be here, mom. I promise.”
“You’d better,” she said, pulling him into a full hug, “or I’m kicking your ass,” she laughed.
“You say that now…”
“Well Allan,” his father said, “I guess we should be heading off. You’ve got our numbers, so call us if you need us. If anything happens, let us know.”
“You know I will,” he said hugging his father. “Have a good trip. Hope the conference goes well.”
“We’ll try,” Nathan thanked him.
His parents walked to the door, calling back into the house as they opened it, “We’ll call when we land in Unova!”
“’Kay,” he called back at them. “Be sure to get me a souvenir or something! Oh, and let me know about the gyms over there!”
“We will!” his mother answered.
Allan waved them off as they closed the door behind them. After hearing the car start up and pull away, he turned back to the counter and leaned over his breakfast. He ate in silence for a few moments before he felt a familiar mind enter the room.
“Well there you are, sleepyhead,” he said, anticipating her next move.
Umari jumped up to the counter next to his arm, ‘Why you leave?’ she asked, her words fuzzy and groggy, ‘I missed you.’
He put his spoon down and rubbed her head, “My parents just left to go to their conference; I had to come down and say goodbye. I said you could go to sleep without me, you didn’t have to follow me down.”
‘Wanted to.’ Umari yawned and closed her eyes. She laid down, resting her head on his arm.
“No Umari, you gotta stay awake,” he said. After a few unsuccessful attempts at waking her, he had an idea.
Allan gathered some milk from his near-empty bowl into his spoon. He held the spoon in front of her nose for a moment, watching as Umari’s face lit up as she recognized the scent. She happily lapped the milk up. She got to her feet and nodded expectantly at the bowl, ‘The rest?’
“Go for it.”
The silver Eevee soon buried her face in the bowl, quickly eating the scraps of cereal and making sure not a drop of milk remained.
“If you were hungry, you should’ve said something…”
‘Sorry.’ She raised her head, her small snack finished, with crumbs and a little milk clinging to her fur.
“Umari, today’s my last day at work, so I’ll probably be back early today, alright?”
‘I go too, right?’
He pointed at her face, “Not looking like that you’re not. Clean yourself up.” He gathered his dishes and set them in the sink.
Umari began cleaning her face with her paws, but paused to ask, ‘We leave soon?’
“I don’t need to be in for a little bit, so we’ve got a while.”
‘No. Leave home. To go gym battle and win.’
“Oh, that. We’ll be leaving here in a little over two weeks.”
‘Parents? They be here?’
Allan leaned against the counter, petting her, “No, they’ll still be off at their conference, or carrying on around the region. They’re going to Unova this year.”
‘Unova? Where that?’
“Pretty far away, Umari. I’ve asked them to let me know about the gyms over there in case we ever get the chance to go.” He laughed as a thought came across his mind, “Who knows, they might even send us a new teammate like they did with Duncan.”
‘Duncan idiot,’ Umari said with a sour look.
“He’s not so bad when he concentrates, but yeah, ‘idiot’ works.” He made to leave the room, “You stay and clean your face, I’ve got to go change for work. Be back in a sec.”
‘Okay. Allan… hurry?’
“Sure, I’ll be quick, Umari.”
—————
Iruni took off his hood as he entered the Pokémon Center of Blackthorn City, glad to be out of the heavy downpour behind him. He looked around the main lobby; it was crowded with other trainers wanting to stay out of the rain. A few of them looked his way and exchanged words as he unzipped his coat, revealing the blue-feathered Sneasel that quickly crawled over him and onto his shoulder.
“Hey there, new guy,” a rather bold local said, walking up to him. The man wore a large leather coat, one of a style that seemed rather eccentric for daily wear. It was trimmed with orange and dyed a deep blue. His short, orange hair seemed to draw the attention straight to him, “Welcome to Blackthorn City!”
The man extended his hand, and Iruni shook it, “Thanks, It’s nice to see some friendly people, you don’t see that too often.”
“Well, ya will here, friend. The name’s Jake, Jake Ostra. Our city isn’t large like Violet or Goldenrod; we know how to treat our own, and outsiders too.” He led Iruni by the shoulder over to his table, insisting that he join for a while, “So new guy, come sit down with the rest of the gang, will ya? What do they call ya?”
Despite the welcome being a bit too friendly for his tastes, Iruni decided to humor him. The rain-soaked trainer set his belongings down beside him as he took a seat, “Iruni Thomas, and this is my Sneasel, Rikalia.” The feathered-weasel waved at the group sitting at the table.
Another at the table spoke up, “Are you here to challenge our Clair? I see you already have an Ice Pokémon ready.”
“Is she your only Pokémon? Who else do you have on your team?” asked a woman.
“I won’t be challenging the gym on this trip, I’m afraid. We’re just passing through,” Iruni answered. “Aside from Rika, I’ve only got my Houndour; we’re pretty new on the trainer circuit at the moment.”
“Only passing though?” Jake asked. “Where’re ya headed?”
“I’ve got an appointment in Newbark Town,” Iruni said. He remembered his earlier conversation, and asked, “Say, do you know how long it takes to get to Newbark from here? I’ve got a deadline to meet.”
Jake thought for a moment, “Can’t say I’ve been as far east as Newbark before, I’ve always headed straight to Violet from Cherrygrove whenever I needed to go that way. If you’re walking, I can’t see it taking any more than a week to get to Cherrygrove, but if you’re careful and try and dodge the tricky paths, I think it’d be doable in five days.”
The woman, Andrea, added, “The road from the Route 29-46 junction to Cherrygrove is very calm and quiet, so going the other way to Newbark should be even easier. Just watch out for those Rattata,” she said, “they bite.”
Iruni laughed, easing up a bit around this new group of faces. He continued to exchange jokes and stories with the group of trainers, until Rikalia tapped his head, whispering something in his ear. He looked to his right and saw that the man sitting closest to him, who hadn’t spoken yet, was leaning towards him, staring intently. The man wore a simple black coat, much tamer than the garb of his friends, which fell over a thin frame. His skin was paler than it should be, almost yellow in tone. He had long, straight, black hair that obscured over the right side of his face.
“Yes? Is something the matter?” Iruni asked uneasily.
It took just a moment for the man’s attention to break, the man’s head snapped to Iruni’s. Having been caught, he raised his hands and sat up in his seat. “I—I’m sorry,” he said in a quiet voice, “I didn’t mean to stare...”
“Well, is there something you wanted?”
“It’s just that—your Sneasel…” he said, leaning back in, “I haven’t seen one with a blue feather in a very long time… is it dyed?”
“Nope, that’s her natural color. Rika just takes after her mother,” Iruni said. “Why do you ask?”
“I was… curious, that’s all…”
“Don’t worry about Mr. Galian there,” Jake boomed, slapping Iruni on the back. “Whenever he finds a unique lookin’ Pokémon, he’s just gotta ask about it. Don’t ya, Coralis?”
Iruni saw the black-haired man flinch at the name, he heard him whisper, “Don’t use my first name… I’ve asked you not to…”
“Oh, my bad Galian,” he leaned down to Iruni’s ear. “He’s not from around here, but he’s a good guy to have around. He took to our group pretty quick since he got here, but he hasn’t quite gotten used to the whole ‘social’ scene, if you get what I mean. Oh, and he hates his first name, so it’s best if you forget I said that, ‘kay?”
“That’s fine, I can relate.”
“So…?” Galian spoke up, “Do you know? What makes her feather that color, I mean?” His head slowly tilted as spoke.
Rikalia moved over to Iruni’s left shoulder, wanting to distance herself from the strange man.
“No, I’m not sure. It’s not like a normal alternate coloration. Like I said, her mother had the same coloring in her ear-feathers and Rika inherited it from her. Shiny Sneasel have a bright pink coat and golden feathers.” Iruni remembered an earlier part on the conversation. “You said you had seen blue-feathered Sneasel before, didn’t you?”
“I have.” Coralis Galian spoke flatly. His face slowly began to fall as he talked. “It may not be commonly known, but Sneasel once had brown fur and blue feathers, just like that,” he said pointing to Rikalia’s head. “But, it probably doesn’t matter now.”
“Why doesn’t it?”
Galian suddenly leaned over the table, bringing his face close to Iruni’s. The man’s black hair fell away from his face as he tilted his head again, eyes wide. Iruni could see his right eye was glassy and was a dull gray color; blind. His left, the bright green iris it bore seemed to look straight through him and almost seemed to glow.
“Because it’s been too long. They’re all long gone. Now, all that’s left are only fragments and remnants of another age. They’re all gone and you might be all that’s left, Sneasel Rikalia,” he said, bringing a hand up to Iruni’s Pokémon.
Even faster than he had moved forward, Galian pulled his head back, holding a hand to his face. It took Iruni a moment to realize it was Rikalia that had caused the man’s sudden retreat; the entire move happening in a blur of red and blue. She stood on the table in a defensive stance, bloodied claws extended, pointing in the direction of her target. She hissed at him, punctuating the noise with a deep growl of intimidation. Iruni cringed as a little blood trickled past Galian’s fingers, running down his side of his palm.
“Rikalia!” Iruni rushed forward, pulling Rikalia off of the table and onto the floor. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Whoa there, no need for that…” Jake said, standing. The rest of the group stood along with him, except for Galian. All eyes in the center seemed to be converging on the group. The nurse behind the main desk began walking over to the scene.
“S—She…” Galian said shakily, “She attacked me…”
“I’m so sorry,” Iruni said, holding back his aggressive Sneasel. He looked back down to her, “Why did you do that to him?”
“He got too close, and I didn’t like the things he was saying…” she answered, not lowering her stance or taking her eyes off her prey.
“Rika, you don’t—”
“I apologize for my actions, Iruni Thomas and Sneasel Rikalia,” Galian said, surprisingly loud and forward. He pushed his hair out of his face, revealing a calm expression. “It was not my place to say such things; I let my emotions get the better of me, but that does not excuse me.” He removed his hand, revealing the two new shallow cuts on the bridge of his nose, trailing to his right cheek, “I’ve earned these marks today, and I’ll do better to not earn anymore.” He extended his unbloodied hand, “I hope you can accept my humble forgiveness, it was not my intention to offend.”
Rikalia snarled at the gesture, but the man did not flinch.
“Well, thanks,” Iruni said, shaking the frail man’s hand, “but it really should be me who apologizes.”
“Alright, what happened over here?” The nurse asked as she finally pushed her way through the small crowd and made it to the table. She pointed at the small splatter of blood on the table, and noticed its origin, “Sir! Are you alright? If it was this man’s Pokémon that did that to you, I can have them removed immediately—”
“No need for that… No need” his voice fell back to its reclusive tone. “Perfectly fine… I assure you. It was my fault, I shouldn’t have intruded… Do not punish them, I hold no grudge.”
“But sir—”
“Miss, this trainer’s Sneasel was merely acting on her right to protect herself and her trainer, if anything, it is I who should be reprimanded…”
“Listen,” Iruni said to the nurse, “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“And trouble you avoided, my friend,” said Galian, putting more insistence in his words. “Ma’am, I believe these two are in need of lodging during their stay in the city, if you could, provided them with a nice room, at my expense. You may charge it to my account.”
Iruni could hardly refuse in time, “I can’t accept tha—”
“I insist!” Galian said, standing. “Please, I insulted your Pokémon, such an act is unbecoming of myself and how the people of this fine city treat others. This is merely a token to help alleviate the guilt I feel, so please Iruni Thomas of Mahogany Town, take the room as a gift, and let no more bad blood be between us.”
“Uh… well,” Iruni looked at the worried woman, “Is this even doable?”
“Of course, but are you sure you want to do this Mr. Galian?”
“I am certain; it’ll help put my mind at ease,” he said solemnly.
“Alright, if you’re positive, then I guess that’s that. Mr. Thomas, I’ll be at the front desk whenever you’re ready to take down your information for your room.”
“Thanks, I’ll be up in a minute,” he said to the attendant.
“And Mr. Galian, be sure to see me for any bandages should you need any, alright?”
“I will remember that, Miss…” said Galian.
Iruni looked to his Sharp Claw Pokémon, who let out another low growl as Galian sat back down. She stared the black-haired man down as he settled back into his seat. Rikalia slowly edged back to her trainer’s side, reluctantly letting her posture relax at the comforting hand on her back.
“Rika, you alright?”
“No…” she shook her head. “Not till we’re away from him.”
“Well, let’s go and get our room now then? We can talk about this in private.”
“Fine,” Rikalia said. She backed up slowly, and turned back to Iruni. “Let’s go.”
Iruni stood up, letting Rikalia climb up to his shoulder, and picked up his pack, “Hey everyone,” he addressed the group, “I’m really sorry for all this, especially you, Galian.”
“No trouble… none at all…”
Jake walked over, talking quietly, “Hey man, sorry about that. Galian’s normally not that… weird. He’s a nice guy.”
“It’s fine trust me; I’m sure he’s not the worst out there.” He started toward the main desk, “Thanks for including me, you guys! It was nice meeting you all!”
“Any time!” Jake called.
Iruni crossed the short distance remaining to the front desk, trying to not meet the eyes of the various other patrons who watched as he left the scene. He caught Rikalia giving a last glance over at Jake’s table and rubbed her head reassuringly.
“He’s just strange, Rika. He’s not going to hurt us, stop worrying so much.”
“I still don’t like him…”
He sighed as he set his bag down in front of the desk, getting the nurse’s attention.
“Oh, hello there sir. If I can just get your information; here, here, and here… Okay, you’re all set,” she said with a smile, handing him his keycard. “And I am obligated to say that if your Pokémon will continue to be a problem while you stay here, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask that you keep her in her Poké Ball.”
“She won’t be, I promise. She’s normally much better around people, but we just started on our journey.” Iruni pet Rikalia’s head affectionately. “Something about that guy really spooked her.”
“Yes, Mr. Galian is… and odd one. I still find it odd that he stuck with Ostra’s group once he came into town, but that’s neither here nor there.” She gave Iruni a practiced smile, “I hope you and your Pokémon enjoy your stay here in Blackthorn City, Mr. Thomas.”
“Thank you,” Iruni said. “We’ll do our best to stay out of trouble.”
—————
To Be Continued…
—————
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The Dark Type