Something felt wrong.
The blue-haired pokemon trainer touched the ground beside her. But instead of hard packed earth, she felt... nothing.
Faye sat bolt upright and looked around. She didn't feel the sleeping bag below her, or the conforting fire that kept her warm. Not even the sound of late Zubat or Hoothoot. She was in a bizzare and blurry white place. She couldn't tell whether it was a room or not. White cloud-like objects floated past the trainer. She reached out a hand and touched one delicately, feeling it disappear and wisp into vapors.
Faye.
Said trainer whirled around, grabbing for her Milotic as she turned. But her hands came up empty. Faye looked down in surprise. She had her traveling clothes on. She slept with them on when she went to sleep. But no pokeball. Where were her pokemon?
A thin dark blob suddenly appeared, plastered to the background of the whiteness. Faye couldn't be sure how far or close it was. Perception was very vague here.
"Who are you?" Faye questioned.
The blob hesitated for a moment. It quivered a few times and stepped forward. A long and slender looking pokemon appeared. A white gown fell to the feet, almost gliding off the ground. A pale white face gazed at her from a single red eye, the other hid beneath a curl of green hair. Long green arms waved slightly as the pokemon stepped forward. A red horn protruded from the chest. It glinted as the psychic stopped severeal feet from the trainer.
It was a Gardevoir. But not just any Gardevoir. It was Faye's Gardevoir. The psychic pokemon was gazing at his trainer with a mixed expression of fright and resolve.
"Terry?" Faye squinted. "Terry, what are you doing here? Where are we?" It did seem like an odd place to meet one of her team-mates.
Your dreams, trainer. The voice didn't come directly from Gardevoir's mouth. It echoed faintly in Faye's head. Psychic communication. The pokemon twisted his elegant hands together nervously. I didn't think it'd be best to appraoch this in the waking world. We need to talk.
"What about?" Now that Faye knew this was all just a dream made by her pokemon, she felt more relaxed. She even laid back down to gaze comfortingly at the fluffy white clouds that drifted past.
Gardevoir cleared his throught in her mind. I wanted to talk about-about you. Us. This whole life we have.
Faye sat up crossly and folded her arms. "Terry, what are you trying to say? Speak up!"
What you are doing is wrong.
Fay blinked. It was true few of her pokemon could actually communicate with her, save her psychic or ghost pokemon when they came to visit her in her dreams, though never in this place. But it was even stranger for one of them to tell her when she's wrong about something.
Pokemon were supposed to be loyal creatures, were they not?
She narrowed her eyes. She taped one of her fingers impatiently on her elbow. "Why do you say that?"
It is this life you set for yourself and all of us, Gardevoir said. His voice sounded grieved. Giving up your old pokemon, releasing others who weren't strong enough to satisfy you. Faye, why are you doing this?
"Is that why you pulled me here?" Faye sneered. She heard this before from her last psychic pokemon. "To tell me about that? You know why I do it. It's so I can raise a more powerful team. For us to get to the top."
But to turn your back on the very pokemon who helped you? Worked with you? Faye, Terry held his hands out pleadingly. This is not the right way to become a better trainer for your pokemon.
"How would you know?" Faye snapped. She stood angrily. She was not going to let a pokemon, even herself, tell her what's best for the team. "Are you a pokemon trainer? Do you know how to raise pokemon? Were you the one to pore through hundreds of files of different pokemon and figure out how to make them stronger? Or pay for that expensive nature-pad to determine their nature now to save the time I may have wasted on training a weak pokemon? No, you just come out when I tell you to battle, and get back in your pokeball!"
Faye, wha is wrong with you? Terry demanded. He stood taller, glaring at his trainer with his red eye. Faye glared back. Ever since you got into the battle Frontier you've been different. Less caring of your pokemon and more focused on battles without our opinion!
"I'm trying to win," Faye dismissed. "That is why we started this journey, isn't it?"
The environment suddenly grew colder. Dark clouds floated lower, heavy with mood. Faye shivered involuntarily, but hid it from her pokemon. It woudln't do to reveal weakness now. Especially in a dream!
Terry growled. You show your power by breeding us constantly? he countered. Tell me, what happens to all the baby pokemon who do not match your interest after you make us breed constantly and lay too many eggs for even an Alakazam to count?
"I let them go."
Faye!
"What?" she snapped. She stomped forward and pushed her pokemon roughly. Terry stumbled back a few paces, suddenly frightened. She shook her head, disappointed at the lack of bravado her pokemon now displayed. "They weren't strong enough-none of them were! They didn't have the proper nature, or attacks. Why should I waste my time training pokemon that won't live up to my expectations?"
The Gardevoir gazed at her sadly. You were never like this Faye, Terry said. He lowered his head, his arms drooped to his side. You used to teach us to love ourselves, and be proud of our strengths, no matter what.
"And it's because of that way of thinking we lost so badly in the Battle Fronteir," Faye growled. "For Arceus's sake, you weren't even born yet, Terry! We got wasted on the first round! Do you realize how embarassing that is? I beat the Elite Four, but I couldn't get by a single round in the Battle Fronteir? What kind of a trainer am I?"
Not a very good one, if you abandoned the others for that, Terry muttered.
Faye glared.
The psychic pokemon turned his head away. My own mother used to speak highly of you, he said quietly. She used to say you would sit down and teach them how to never give up, to love them for who they were, not what you wanted them to be. Or let them evolve in their own time until they were comfortable. She used to look to you like her own mother.
Gardevoir looked up. Before you got rid of her because she didn't match your standards. And replaced her spot on your team with me the minute I was born. His voice came out bitter. I was nothing but your swine, wasn't I? He said it too low for Faye to hear. Born just because you wanted a stronger pokemon, nothing else.
Faye nearly reached a boiling point. Not only was her pokemon talking down to her, but he was now using others to try to get her to feel sorry? She gritted her teeth. "Is that was this is about? Your mother?" She said loudly. She shook her head in annoyance. "Honestly, if that's all, you can still see her-"
No! Terry flared. His voic reverberated the entire room. Something dark bounced past them, too fast for Faye to see. She covered his ears. You abondoned the old team for others! Even your very first Infernape! He helped you get those eight badges and defeat the Elite Four! But you just abaondoned him for his daughter the minute she was born!
"And he's doing fine with the professor," Faye snapped, lowering her ears. Terry was beginning to scare her. "I make sure they're all taken care of."
And the babies hatched by you and Macargo?
"I release them. You know that already."
But it's wrong!
Faye waved her hands. She was becoming increasingly annoyed now. "You don't know anything about pokemon. They can fend for themselves."
Terry gazed at his trainer for a few moments. He suddenly looked exhausted, almost ten times older than his mother. Sadness etched his pale features. I wish I could have met your other self, Faye, he said sadly. Before all of this...
Everything began to blur. Terry became a smudge on the background. Faye couldn't even see her own hands anymore. She felt dizzy. Nautious. Was the room spinning? She shut her eyes and took a couple of deep breathes. Stupid Terry. If he felt that way she would have gotten rid of him for Gallade long ago!
When she was sure the dizziness passed the trainer opened her eyes. She looked around with some surprise: she was back in the forest. A pale watery sun rose out the trees, blinding the trainer for a moment. Somewhere a Beedrill buzzed lazily.
Faye sat up, peeling the covers off her sticky body. It was matted in sweat. She scratched her hair absently and placed a hand to her heart. It was thumping loudly. She took a couple more deep breathes until it quited down.
With that done she told hold of her green traveling bag and reached inside for her pokeballs. She was so angry that she was seeing red. This was the last time Terry spoke against her. She tried to be patient with the meek pokemon, but he just wasn't trying hard enough. She was going to make him remember who the trainer was in the form of Garchomp's Fire Fang and Roserade's poison powder. She'll have the other three pokemon on standby in case she wasn't satisfied with just those two.
When she pulled out her pokeballs, Faye immediately noticed something was wrong.
There were only five pokeballs. Terry's was missing.