Obsessive Bewilderment
(Author's Note: Don't read this fic if you haven't read at least one of the previous fics. It'll just confuse you. This is in dedication of one of my most favorite characters I have ever shaped)
"We're headed straight for Vermillion City in the Kanto region, they have a lovely port. The Kanto region is our most distant branch away from Unova so I doubt anyone will know who you are. We will provide shelter for you until you are ready to travel on your own again," The skipper said, returning to the captain's side. It wasn't a very big boat, but that was for the best as to not be conspicuous. Luca gave them a nod, slumping against the locked door that led down further in. He slid down the door slowly before finally landing butt first, his eyes already filling with tears again.
"What am I supposed to do now...? I know I'm free now...but it seems so pointless without you," Luca sobbed, holding his beloved Arkianna's poke ball to his forehead. Suddenly, his communicator start to ring, helping to snap him from his sorry sad fit. He wiped his tear filled eyes enough to see before moving it closer to his face.
"Ah! I see that you both made it safely aboard, kudos! Sorry I didn't contact you sooner, we had to deal with the authorities surrounding the area. Huh...I don't see Arkianna around you, is she alright?" Qualter's voice rang. Tears began to trail down his cheeks again, clenching his eyes shut with frustration as he shook his head.
"She...she's dead...she died to save me..." Luca managed to force up his throat and out his mouth. Dead silence filled the other end of the line for a solid few minutes while Luca pulled himself together.
"That is...truly tragic...I'm terribly sorry to hear that Luca. I'm sure she's happy your alive now that she's with Arceus. Anyway, I'm calling for another reason as well. It seems that the two of you left something...interesting behind," Qualter said, immediately causing Luca's face to brighten up slightly.
"What is it?" Luca asked. A short, quiet conversation between Qualter and someone else on the line could vaguely be heard, nearly impossible to make up. With a clearing of his throat, Qualter then laughed softly.
"Sorry about that. Luca, I have no idea how this managed to happen...but...we..." The signal on the communicator suddenly frizzed up, making loud static from the other side. Luca immediately shut it off, now curious beyond belief.
"I probably should've told you this, but now that we've passed a certain point, communications to Unova will now be impossible through your C-Gear. We're preparing one for you now that will function better to the location for when we arrive. This isn't the first time he's been cut off mid sentence due to the certain point, but he'll find a way to get the message to you," The skipper spoke up, giving Luca a smidgen of hope. The trip to Kanto via the small boat took nearly a week. They were forced to make port several times for resupplying and fueling, but overall the trip wasn't too terrible. Days and night began to blend together into a single entity of nature with fun stories from the captain and skipper were told to try and cheer him up, which was surprisingly effective.
Halfway through the trip he brought out Snivy and Zebstrika, consoling them with apologies and tears for the horrible things that happened. With too much love and respect for their dear trainer, the three of them came together in harmony; after all, they were all Luca had left. Snivy decided to stay out of its poke the majority of trip, getting some much needed catching up with Luca without the monstrous Arkianna glaring him down. Before he knew it, the week had passed, the sight of Vermillion city coming into view.
"Land Ho!" the skipper said, digging the bell that was connected to the small cabin housing the wheel and controls. A ring back from Vermillion port could be heard. Pulling in was quite the sight; the boardwalk was crowded with people who were also traveling. Pokemon and their trainers in all shapes and sizes were there as well as several worker Machoke handling the port work. Slowly, the captain pulled the ship to port, the skipper immediately hopping off to tie it to the deck. Luca was the first to hop off, his Snivy perched upon his shoulder like a parrot.
"Looks like we finally made it Snivy. That was one heck of a trip wasn't it?" Luca laughed, patting Snivy on it's head. Walking around, he quickly found himself in the sea of people. He retreated back to his original spot he came up, afraid that he would quickly become lost. He took a deep breath, releasing a heavy sigh before a smile formed upon his lips.
"Wow! This place looks amazing!" Luca said, his eyes brightening up with wonder. It would take quite awhile for Arkianna's death to come to pass, but he had to try and enjoy the new life he was graciously given by her in the end. He went ahead of the crew, going ahead and getting acquainted with his new life. It had been some time since he had seen so many people looking so cheerful and joyous; quite the change from officers of the law and grieving trainers. The crew finally caught up with him, both them hanging at his sides.
"Alright, follow us from here. We have a secret PPC set up here in Vermillion but it's in a secret location. Just act natural alright?" The captain ordered, Luca nodding nervously. It seemed like the PPC was becoming more and more like a secret society instead of just a classy club.
"So much for my smiles," Luca said with a heavy sigh. It seemed like hours that they walked around Vermillion City, as if neither of the two crew mates had any clue as to where it was. They then circled around a trail, the sight of a cave now before them. Snivy crawled down Luca and tapped its poke ball, returning itself to it.
"This is Digglet Cave. Don't worry, the travel through here will be easy, my mate here brought numerous Max Repels," The captain said, the skipper already spritzing them down from head to toe. Snivy and Luca coughed at the noxious adore upon contact, which soon dispersed within minutes. The stroll through Digglet Cave was indeed easy; he never realized the potency of Max Repels. Not a single Pokemon showed themselves before them as they toured on through. Fortunately it was only about 20 minutes before they reached the end. Climbing up a ladder that led to the surface, Luca saw a PPC building dead ahead of them with nothing but brush and forested area's blocking its presence.
"If you can't tell, we don't use this branch as a front for Pokemon rehabilitation. This is just an outpost for casual discussion and of course Pokemon human relations. Well look who it is.." The skipper's speaking topic tripped into silence as an Alakazam suddenly appeared before them. It was wearing similar attire to a Froslass that was tending to various people and leading people in through a back entrance. The Alakazam smiled and bowed its head, a strange looking box now floating at its side.
"Qualter sent me because the transmission between him and the trainer, Luca was lost," Alakazam said through telepathy to all three of them. Freaked out by it at first, Luca quickly settled down, remembering that psychic Pokemon could speak to others telepathically. Slowly, the box floated over to Luca, allowing him to gently take it from the air. With another polite bow, Alakazam vanished into thin air, leaving the three of them to themselves.
"We'll head in first and remind them about the arrangement, wait out here until we open the door for you," the captain said, Luca immediately responding with an "ok". After the two of them vanished, Luca plopped on the ground, taking a gander at the note that was taped onto the top of the strange, red velvet box.
"Luca, as crazy and impossible as your relationship with Arkianna was, the true bond of love both of you shared for one another was nothing short of perfect and beautiful. In the box is something that is probably going to shock you, but it belongs with you, especially considering the loss of your lover. I took the liberty of helping it along so it can be just like your love. Handle it with care and keep in touch. -Qualter" the note read.
"Help it along...so it can be just like Arkianna...?" Luca couldn't help but to wonder what the hell it could possibly be at this point. He thought through it over and over again, trying to figure out if they actually did leave something. He remember several trinkets that he did purchase for Arkianna while she appeared human over the course of their journey, so he immediately checked his bag. All of the trinkets were intact and neatly tucked away for safety. Suddenly, the box began to move, shifting from side to side as if trying to escape it. Luca grew a cold sweat as he pulled it over to him, gulping nervously as he unlatched the top of the box to open it. He paused one more time, taking a deep breath before popping it open. He looked inside of the box, his cold sweat turning into a cold shower as its contents yapped at him.
"A-A Z-Zorua?!" Luca stared at it in horror. Unlike a normal Zorua whose sheening coat with jet black, this little one had brown tinted fur, the same color as his hair. And its normally beautiful blue eyes were now a bright olive green, again, just like his own. His heart stopped in his chest as he continued to stare in disbelief.
"N-No way...i-i-it can't be..." Luca began to mumble, his catatonic stare refusing to break sight with a adorable little Zorua. It propped its front paws on the edge of the box smiling affectionately up at him. Time stood still in that moment; all the things he had read in books about Pokemon and shows about Pokemon breeding made this scenario impossible. Luca raised up his forearm, sinking his teeth into it. It was a thing he would do within a nightmare to awaken himself from it, but instead of fresh sunlight burning his eyes, pain coursed through arm, causing him to yelp in pain, signaling to him that his attempt at proving his theory was a nightmare was a failure. The Zorua began yapping, its strange barks nearly becoming a legible language. Thinking about it, it was a week before he arrived in Vermillion City and the PPC was capable of making Pokemon more human. After it yapped a few more times, something legible finally came out.
"Pa...Pa...Pa..." the Zorua yapped gruffly. Luca's eyes fluttered open and closed as 1+1 finally equaled 2. His eyes began to fill with tears as he reached into the box. Zorua yapped happily some more, its tail shifting from side to side as it eyed Luca intently. Luca could no longer fight back his tears as images of Arkianna smiling filled his mind. Pulling Zorua to his chest and hugging it tightly, Luca began to cry uncontrollably, his hand gently stroking its fur on its little head as he tried to speak, only to fail miserably. All that came from his mouth were uncontrollable gasps, Zorua now nuzzling against his chest contently as tears began to drip onto its head like rain.
The End~