When Daddy drinks, it is never fun.
He is always so angry, always, always. Mommy is gone, and has been for a long time. Now there's only Reiya. Ever since Mommy left, there's been nobody to protect Reiya from Daddy.
Nobody.
This time, Reiya runs. She runs out of the house after Daddy falls asleep, just so that way he can't hurt her. Not right now, at least. Besides, he's already did it today. He doesn't want to do it anymore today, not that Reiya knows of.
When things go wrong in Petalburg, nobody says a word.
Reiya runs out of the city, runs out into the tall grass, the same patch she always visits. Usually some Pokemon are there, some that she plays with. Not all the time, though. Sometimes they get scared of her and run away. She doesn't mind, though. Reiya understands what it's like to be scared.
She sits in the grass, pulling pieces up and throwing them aside. Her arm hurts from Daddy grabbing it, and her face hurts from the door. It's okay though, they'll feel better in a while. They always do.
Reiya wonders if any Pokemon are going to see her today. She hopes so, she wants some company and some friends to hug. She likes hugs.
Suddenly, she hears a rustle in the bushes in front of her. She blinks, and peers over at it. Who's that? Who's there? She hopes it is friendly, whatever it is...
...and out steps a Ralts. Reiya's eyes widen, and a giant smile appears on her face. Ralts are always rare here; they like to hide from people a lot!
"Ralts?" the little one questions as it looks over at Reiya from the bush. Reiya holds out her hand, leaning forward a little, just a little. She doesn't want to scare it away...
"It's okay," she says gently. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Come here."
Ralts hesitates, but eventually slowly approaches her. She flinches back the tiniest bit once her hand brushes against Reiya's, but then a small smile lifts her lips, and she walks over and stands in front of Reiya. "Ralts!" she declares happily.
"There you are!" Reiya exclaims, clapping her hands happily. Yay, a Pokemon is coming to see her! "Do you want to be my friend? We can play together and roll around and stuff!"
"Ralts!" the Ralts replies, holding up her arms happily.
"Okay!" says Reiya joyously, forgetting her troubles. "I think I'll name you Raltsie! It's cute, just like you!"
Raltsie smiles up happily at her. Then her eyes change, as if they're worried or something. She lifts up her hand to brush Reiya's cheek, and Reiya automatically flinches, even though she knows Raltsie can't hit her. Raltsie wouldn't hit her anyway, she thinks. She is too cute for that...
"Ralts?" the small Pokemon asks, as if it sees Reiya's reaction. Reiya feels a lump in her throat suddenly, and it's difficult to swallow. This is when she knows she's about to cry, and she doesn't like crying. She picks up Raltsie and moves her onto her lap.
"Daddy gets mad a lot," Reiya says softly to her new friend. "He's scary when he's mad. He likes to hit me and push me into things, and it makes me have lots of ouchies." Tears fill her eyes, and she wipes them away. "My skin turns different colors sometimes when he does it. It makes me cry a lot..." She looks down and sees little tears in Raltsie's eyes, and she wipes them away gently with her fingers. "Oh, no, Raltsie! You're sad! I'm sorry, Raltsie!"
Reiya cuddles the little Pokemon in her arms, trying to make her feel better. "Raltsie, please don't cry!" she says. Tears start falling from Reiya's eyes as she hugs her friend, and Raltsie hugs her back, as if she wants to take away all of Reiya's hurt. As if she can take away all of Reiya's hurt.
They sit like this for some time, until Reiya stops crying. She sets Raltsie back down onto the grass, and Raltsie puts her hand on Reiya's face again. Her hand glows, and suddenly Reiya's cheek stops hurting. Reiya smiles, looking down at her friend.
"Thank you," she says, rubbing her eyes a little bit. "I have to go home now. Can we play again sometime?"
"Ralts!" Raltsie declares happily, clapping her hands. Reiya stands up, smiling.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" she says, waving before running back to her house. Hopefully Daddy would still be asleep, and never even notice she was gone...
It has been a few months since Reiya's and Raltsie's first meeting. Reiya has gone to visit Raltsy every day, every day after Daddy gets mad and falls asleep. Their friendship has grown incredibly, and now, Reiya can't imagine not seeing her new friend, not even for one day.
Today, Reiya's arm hurts more than ever. She can't really move it; when she does, it's almost enough to make her start crying again. She thinks she broke it, but she doesn't know for sure. She is a little slower to go outside today, since she can only use one hand, but eventually, she makes it outside, and goes to the familiar clearing where she always meets Raltsy.
"Raltsie!" she calls, waving her hand that doesn't hurt in the air. Just like always, Raltsie comes out to meet her, and Reiya sits in the grass, cradling her arm. The Pokemon's face instantly wears a look of concern when she sees Reiya's arm, then looks up at the girl questioningly.
"Oh," Reiya says, trying to hide her arm. "It's okay... Daddy was mad again today... and I think it's broken... But it's okay! It'll heal!"
Raltsie's eyes narrow, and suddenly, her body starts glowing. Reiya watches, slightly afraid, as Raltsie's shape changes, growing a bit taller and shifting in appearance... and when she is done, her hair is longer, and Reiya can see her eyes a bit more clearly...
"Kirlia!" Raltsie declares. Reiya gasps.
"Raltsie!" she cries happily. "Raltsie, you evolved! I can't believe it! You're Kirlie now!"
"Kirlia!" Raltsie, or rather Kirlie, exclaims, starting to dance. In the middle of it, however, she stops, and she flits over and gently takes Reiya's hurt arm. Her hands glow again, and just like all the other times before, Reiya's hurt goes away again. Kirlie lets go of her arm, and Reiya finds she can move it without it hurting. She cries out in delight, and Kirlie starts dancing again, and Reiya starts dancing with her, and it is wonderful...
...until she hears Daddy's voice yelling.
"Reiya! Get the fuck in the house!"
Reiya stops dancing as fear spreads through her. Uh-oh. He woke up. That isn't good.
"Kirlie, I have to go," she says, letting go of the Kirlia's hand.
"Kirlia?" she asks worriedly.
"I'll come back tomorrow, I promise!" Reiya cries, dashing off. Oh no. She's in trouble now...
It has been weeks.
Months.
Possibly even a year.
Reiya has not gone to see Kirlie in ages. Ever since Daddy noticed she'd escaped outside that one time, she hasn't been allowed outside ever. Reiya's door is kept shut, and she can't open it. She can't open it unless Daddy does.
Reiya is the loneliest she's ever been.
She tries to be good, tries to be extra good so Daddy won't get mad. Maybe if she's super good, Daddy will let her play outside again. Maybe Daddy will even let her play with Kirlie.
Oh, how she misses Kirlie.
It hurts somewhere inside her when she thinks about Kirlie. The hurt only makes her sadder. She thinks Kirlie misses her too. Maybe Kirlie will come visit her.
Something says she won't.
If Kirlie wanted to visit, she would have.
Maybe Kirlie's left her. Maybe she forgot Reiya.
Reiya's forgot a lot.
Reiya can only stare out the window. She's cuddling with her blankie, the one she uses to hide from Daddy when she hears him yelling. It doesn't work all the time though.
The only thing she can do now is wait for Kirlie.
It's been even longer now.
Kirlie still hasn't come over.
Kirlie's forgot Reiya.
It's dark outside. So dark. Her nightlight is broken. She can't see anything, and it scares her.
Reiya's tummy hurts. She's so hungry. Daddy forgot to give her food again. When did she last have food? A long time ago, she thinks. Maybe yesterday. She doesn't know.
All she knows is she's lonely. She wants a friend. She wants her friend.
She wants her Kirlie.
Kirlie made her happy. She could say anything to her, and she wouldn't get mad.
The door creaks. A little bit of light shines on the wall.
"Reiya." The voice is growly. She curls up on the bed. She's scared... there's a monster in here now.
The monster grabs her by the arm and drags her out of the room. She wants to get away, but her legs don't move. Maybe they're broken too...
"Did you ever wonder why your mother left?" She can smell Daddy's drink on the monster. It's yucky, and makes her tummy hurt more. She never wants to smell it again.
She wants to know why Mommy left, but she doesn't say anything. If she does, the monster will hit her. She doesn't want the ouchies. She wants the monster to go away.
"She left because of you." The monster's voice gets louder. "She left because she couldn't stand you. She didn't love you... she never wanted you!"
The monster pushes her, and she hits her head on the table. She wants to cry, but she can't. Reiya finally looks up at the monster wearing Daddy's face. It's scary.
He's scary.
Mommy never wanted Reiya.
He says it again. He says he's not lying. He picks her up off the ground as if he's going to hug her. But why would he do that? That's a nice thing to do, and Daddy is not nice.
His voice is even more scary. "I never wanted you, either."
Mommy never wanted Reiya.
Daddy never wanted Reiya.
He puts her down, very hard. The floor hurts her. She cries out. A mistake.
Daddy kicks her.
It hurts.
Reiya wants Kirlie.
Kirlie doesn't do that.
Kirlie is nice.
Suddenly, something is in front of her. Something tall. Something white. Reiya looks up, even though she's not allowed.
It looks like a bigger Kirlie. She's wearing a pretty dress, and her hair is short now. Who's that?
"Gardevoir," the bigger Kirlie says.
Daddy is even more mad now.
"What the fuck are you doing in my house?!"
He hits the bigger Kirlie. She falls down, and Daddy is in front of Reiya now. He picks her up, the mad on his face getting even worse.
"You let this fucking thing in, didn't you?!" He's screaming now. "I told you you're not allowed outside!"
Even more hurt. Her head hits the table again, harder this time. Reiya can feel the crying come from her eyes. Daddy growls.
Daddy drops her. He has something shiny. It's sharp, too. Reiya isn't allowed to touch the sharp, shiny things.
The bigger Kirlie is in front of her again. This time she does not move, not even when Daddy sticks the sharp thing right in her.
Bigger Kirlie does not cry.
Reiya cries.
"Daddy! No!" Her own voice sounds strange to her. It's loud. "Leave big Kirlie alone!"
Daddy comes after Reiya with the sharp thing. The big Kirlie gets mad.
She is glowing.
Daddy slams into the wall. He doesn't have the sharp thing anymore.
The sharp thing is in Reiya instead.
It hurts. The hurt is big.
Really big.
There's some weird red stuff coming out of her. It looks like water, but Reiya knows it isn't. Water doesn't hurt.
Big Kirlie raises her hands as Daddy has another sharp thing.
Reiya can't see very good anymore.
Everything's all weird and blurry.
She hears big Kirlie cry out too. It sounds like big Kirlie is hurt.
Reiya wants to help, but her legs still won't move.
Will they ever move again?
There's lots of slamming.
Big Kirlie screams.
Daddy screams.
Big Kirlie screams again.
Daddy does not scream. Daddy is quiet.
Daddy is never quiet.
Reiya doesn't know what happened. There is too much hurt.
Then there is a little thump. Reiya opens her eyes, but now everything is really weird. It's like it's all mixing together.
She can still see big Kirlie, though.
She's on the floor next to her.
There's red stuff coming out of her, too.
Reiya's voice is quiet. "Kirlie?"
Big Kirlie looks over at her. There is lots of sad in her eyes. Big Kirlie is hurt, too.
"Gardevoir."
"Kirlie is Gardie."
This is Kirlie. Kirlie evolved again!
Reiya's figured it out. That's why Kirlie didn't come back.
Kirlie had to evolve first. But why...?
Gardie moves closer to Reiya. Gardie's arm comes out and cuddles her.
Reiya feels sleepy. Really sleepy.
Why is everything turning dark again?
"Gardie..." Her voice is getting more quiet. "I love you, Gardie."
"Gardevoir."
Authorities received a call around 2am from concerned citizens. Reports of loud screaming from a small house on the outskirts of Petalburg City were made, and when a team went down to investigate, they were greeted with a horrifying sight.
Three bodies lay within the residence. The oldest, an adult male, was slumped against the wall, clearly deceased. The remaining two bodies were of a small girl, around six years of age, and a Gardevoir. The Gardevoir was found sprawled over the girl's body, as if it had been protecting her. Both of them were discovered to be deceased as well.
Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokemon: It apparently does not feel the pull of gravity because it supports itself with psychic power. It will give its life to protect its trainer.