Memories never die.
He finds it at the bottom of a box. It is a plain thing, with a thin wooden frame. There's dust on the glass covering. Using his sleeve, he wipes it off. Carefully. His breath catches in his throat and his heart wavers. The people in the picture. They're exactly the same as they were nine years ago.
The merry middle aged couple grinning happily without a care in the world.
The blue eyed girl whose bright smile has never faded.
And finally, the boy with golden eyes who looks out of place with his frown.
"Colress?"
Startled, he drops the photo onto the hard floor, splintering the glass covering. A dark haired girl stands behind him, concern reflected in her brown eyes.
"Mei." He straightens up his white lab coat, in an effort to hide his shakiness. "What can I do for you?"
Wordlessly, she walks forward and picks up the dropped photo. She glances at it, a look of curiosity coming to her face.
"Who are they?" her understanding is clear.
The blonde sighs, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.
"The past."
He hopes that's where she'll leave it. Leave the broken pieces alone. At the same time he's curious. Would she actually care?
"Where are they now?" she asks, prodding further.
Colress laughs quietly to himself. Of course she would. He wouldn't expect any less from the girl who single handedly ended Team Plasma's plans. Kindness and compassion. He had lost those years ago, along with Them.
"The Mom and Dad are dead. They died in an accident." Colress spoke expressionlessly.
Still, the words felt odd in his mouth. When had he last spoken their names? It had hurt of course. But his loss had slowly faded away into a cold feeling of emptiness. He watched her expression for sympathy. It was something he had always hated. People constantly apologizing for Them. But their words were meaningless. They could not bring back the dead. Strangely, the girl responded with another surprising thing. Empathy.
"And Her?"
Colress went on sorting through the contents of the box. Hm. A couple of old rusty screw drivers and some scraps of paper.
"She's alive."
"Who is she?"
"The Sister."
"Name?"
"…."
"Fine. You don't have to tell me."
Colress threw the scraps of paper in the garbage. He tossed the screwdrivers in a pile in the corner.
"They're not gone though."
The blonde glanced up.
"What do you mean?"
Mei approached him, crouching down to meet him face to face. She poked him lightly in the chest.
"They're here with you. In your heart."
A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Maybe you're right."
"Hm?" She hadn't heard him. He smirked.
"Actually, it's the brain that does the remembering."
Mei slapped his shoulder. Her cheeks turned a bright red.
"Shut-up Mr. Geekyknowitall." She shouted.
But she grinned knowingly, bursting into raucous laughter. After a couple minutes she had slumped against the wall, eventually curling down into a sitting position. Colress watched her amused. That girl knew how to have a good laugh.
"That's not why I'm here." Mei spoke suddenly.
Colress dragged out a metal stool, offering her another one which she took gladly.
"I was wondering that myself. It's not every day that a girl comes all the way out to Route 17 just to visit a cramped old boat whose getting older any day. Not to mention coming to see a madman like me."
Mei cracked a smile.
"If you'd be quiet I'd tell you. You may be a madman but you're still plenty young and energetic."
Colress raised an eyebrow. Intriguing. Had this girl just called him young? Not to mention energetic!
"How old are you anyway?"
"Nineteen. I'll be turning twenty tomorrow. But we're getting off topic. What did you want to tell me?"
Mei turned serious.
"Professor Juniper, I don't know if you know her or not. She has offered me the opportunity to travel to Kalos and stay there for a couple weeks."
Colress tilted his head to the side curiously.
"And you're telling me this, why?"
The dark haired girl turned her head to the side, but not before a bright crimson sprang to her cheeks.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."
The blonde fell still. Of course he'd like to go. Just think of all that data he could collect! However, he didn't want to sound too eager and scare her away.
"Why are you inviting me?" He was curious after all.
The red in her cheeks turned an even deeper shade.
"I figured this would be a good experience for you and that you'd be getting bored, stuck here all the time."
Since when did she know him so well? She did visit him almost daily after all. Mentally he scolded himself at his poor skill at keeping track of time.
"That sounds fine to me." He kept his voice neutral, but smiled so that she knew he was in.
She grinned.
"Perfect. There are three conditions though."
"What are those?"
"One. You have to get clothes besides that stupid lab coat of yours."
Colress touched the white fabric that hung around him. It was stupid? She saw his expression and smiled apologetically.
"You have to look like a normal person and not like the former boss of one of Unova's most notorious criminal organizations. Get my drift?"
He nodded.
"Two, you need a full balanced team of Pokémon to take with you. They have to be fully evolved and not all electric types. I have a list of requirements right here. I'm willing to lend you some of mine if you'd like."
"Alright."
"1) You need a flying type that knows fly. This bird Pokémon must possess good endurance and be able to fly long distances. 2) You need a Pokémon that knows surf. This Pokémon must be able to carry your weight safely across a body of water. 3) You need a Pokémon that knows teleport so if needed, you have easy access to a Pokémon center. The rest are up to you as long as you have a balanced team. This means no three electric types."
"Fair enough."
"Do you need any of these Pokémon? We're leaving in two days."
Colress shook his head.
"I can provide for myself."
Mei nodded.
"Good. And finally three. We're going on a shopping date tomorrow."
Colress distantly felt heat at the base of his cheeks. He warded it off and swallowed hard.
"Why?"
She looked at him annoyed.
"To get you clothes of course. And to get your Pokémon. Wherever they may be."
"I'll have them tomorrow morning." He said automatically.
Mei looked at him doubtfully.
"If you say so. Kay, I have to go. Got a battle with Iris. Apparently she wants to train more."
"Fine with me."
Mei began to walk towards the door Colress suddenly remembered something.
"Mei?"
She turned around.
"Yes?"
He grabbed the photo off the floor and tossed it to her. The girl caught it with ease looking at him questioningly.
"Can you get that fixed?"
She nodded.
"Of course."
"Lillian."
"What?"
"My sister's name was Lillian."
Mei smiled and for a moment her image was replaced by Hers. She still had the same unwavering smile.
"Don't forget. You're never alone."
How was that? I've been playing Pokémon X for way to long so it's hard to write for Black 2 Unova. I am currently Masuda Methoding for Shiny Pokémon. I've gotten a shiny Electrike after just 23 eggs! So if you know the names of the characters thoroughly you might know where some of this is headed. Or you might not. I feel like my writing style has changed and I wrote another chapter for Pokémon Metal it might not match. I also didn't really know where to go with the plotline. I don't know if you guys are still reading this but if you are, leave a review. I currently have three Pokémon planned out for Colress's team. I won't tell you what they are but here are the types: Water/Psychic, Normal/Flying, and Electric. If you have suggestions for the remainder of his team, leave it in your review.