Chapter Two – The Sidetrack
It had been three hours since the encounter with the lab workers passed and the walk had remained generally uneventful. Helios was dancing a little while a head of his companion, singing simple songs in French. "Frère Jacques, frère Jacques. Dormez vous? Dormez vous?"
"What are you singing?" Finch finally asked. "I can't understand it."
"That's because you don't know French. My mom was teaching me French," the other boy answered simply. Finch didn't seem satisfied with this and stared blankly. "I can sing other songs in English, if you want. Maybe you'll know the words!"
The blonde remained silent, thinking. "I don't know many songs. I think the people made me listen to some sort of songs… music, they called it… to see my reaction. I remember they wrote a lot of things down, at least. I didn't like much of it, though. It was either too loud or too quiet."
Helios smiled at this. "Then I can teach you!" he exclaimed happily, throwing his arms into the air.
"But I've never sang before," Finch responded quietly as he withdrew into himself. He felt awkward again.
"Don't worry about tha—" Helios began, but got cut off.
"No, wait," the Vaporeonmorph said distantly. "I do know a song. There was a woman who came in the mornings to tidy my room. She would sing as she cleaned. Her voice was very pretty. It sounded much better than the 'music' the people made me listen to. It sounded like… perfect."
Helios was completely enthralled with the recount of this singing story he begged to know more. "What did she look like?" he asked, eyes lit up like tiny firecrackers.
"I don't know. I never saw her. I had been scolded whenever I woke up earlier than I was supposed to, so I always just listened to her with my eyes shut." Instinctively, Finch closed his eyes and tried to imagine the scenario. He could hear the strange lilt of her voice bouncing off the walls and meager furniture. Her name was Bridget he'd heard some of the lab workers say.
"Dumb as a post, but she'll do anything you tell her," one of them had said. "She's my cousin's daughter. She's staying with us for a little while. Lives somewhere out by Hickville, if you know what I mean."
"Are you sure she won't leak anything?" another asked.
"Nah. She thinks this is some kind of day-care. She's sixteen and I'd be surprised if she could write her own name. Which means she can't read the contract that says we can pay her chicken-feed for a nine-hour shift!"
The two men laughed, but Finch remembered thinking she seemed much smarter. He had heard Bridget speak before, and it sounded nice and friendly, like Helios, but with quite different tones and pronunciation.
"Yea', sir. I'll get th'boy's room cleaned up right away. 'E'll be sleepin' like th'angel 'e is and won't even know I'm there," she had whispered once upon entrance – her first day. For the next few months, she'd come in each morning and Finch made a note of waking up early just to hear her. In this time he perfected the art of feigning slumber while remaining completely alert. She sang many different songs, but there was one he liked the most.
"That's called 'A Song for th'Mira', li'l sleepin' angel. They say you're real smart, so you might be able t'hear me." And then she'd continue to sing.
Opening his eyes again, after what seemed like an eternity of memory searching, Finch's expression became hollow. "One day she left. The people said it was because she wasn't doing her job right. I made sure I remembered that song, though, so I played it over and over in my head every night. I haven't thought about it again until now."
"How did it go?" Helios inquired, on the edge of his seat.
Finch was taken back by this question. "I… I never sang it. I… I… I wouldn't know how…" He was blushing.
"C'mon, you gotta. I'm all excited! Please?" Helios tried his puppy-face on his new friend, who turned away.
"Ok, ok. Here goes….
Out on the Mira one warm afternoon
Old men go fishing with black line and spoon
And if they catch nothing they never complain
I wish I was with them again."
Helios was in awe. "That's amazing! Go on! You have to!"
Finch nodded and continued to sing, missing a note here and there, but doing Bridget proud as she listened on from a far away distance in the clouds.
Soon, Helios had taught his friend some new songs and the pair of seven year-olds was belting them at the top of their little lungs. But Finch stopped short suddenly, halfway through 'Row-Row-Row Your Boat'. Finned ears twitching, he hushed his companion quickly, explaining that once again he heart approaching footsteps.
"I only hear one set of feet, but there's another strange noise with him. It's shrill, but musical. There's flapping, also. I sense that it's not like us… or you at least," he said as the two took cover.
Moments later, a round, but jolly-seeming man appeared over the hill they had just descended. Whistling a cheery tune, he was followed by a rather large butterfly calling the harmony.
Helios became excited. "He looks friendly and I think that's a Pokémon. Maybe he'll help us find a faster way to the giant Pokéball!" he whispered happily.
Finch looked skeptical but agreed.
As Helios jumped out from behind the shrubbery he was concealed in, the large hiker drew back, startled.
"Well, hello there!" he pleasantly greeted, looking down on the youngsters. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Helios and that's," (he thrust a thumb at the blond who was slowly skulking behind him), "Finch."
"And I'm Leon. It's a pleasure to meet you two lads!"
Leon and Helios shook hands, but the Butterfree was trying to draw attention to Finch.
"Free! Free!" she called, hovering over the small boy in question.
The man looked confused until he caught a glimpse of the blonde.
"You've got…. Fins! Why, I'd say you were either the best at arts and crafts in your class or …you were part Vaporeon."
Finch, meanwhile, was drawing into himself in embarrassment. The woodsman's smiled warmly, eyes squinting with age and cheerfulness. "No worries, little one. But you're quite lucky you stumbled across me and not," (he drew in close to them), "someone unkind."
"Well whaddya mean?" Helios questioned, clearly confused. "Why wouldn't people like a couple'a kids like us?" He made a pert face of defiance and crossed his arms.
Leon's face became grave and he rubbed at the dark beard on his chin as he wondered how to say this to a seven year old. "There are bandits and malicious people who like to take advantage of those who are weaker than them. There are dangerous Pokémon wondering about. Not to mention Team Rocket has been springing up in a lot of unlikely places lately and I have no doubts that a Vaporeonmorph wondering around without any sort of guardian would be most intriguing to one of those grunts."
At the mention of Team Rocket, both boys unconsciously shuddered and glanced around them with unease. Helios was the first to push these fears away and pipe up.
"I'm his guardian," he quickly said as he thrust a thumb in Finch's direction again, "and he's mine. We're looking out for each other now." Confidently the child nodded.
"But what are you both doing in the middle of nowhere without your parents? You're too young to have started your Pokémon journey," the hiker said, placing a worried hand on his forehead.
"We haven't got any parents," Helios answered with his characteristic spunk. "We're trying to find our way here." He pulled the rolled up map out of his bag and pointed to his sought after destination.
Leon was taken by surprise as he focused on the vibrant map of Johto and Kanto, examining the area Helios was pointing at. "That's the start of Victory Road. Luckily for you, that's exactly where I'm headed." A smile tugged at his portly face. "I'll take you there myself. I wouldn't feel right otherwise."
Helios's face burst with a grin. Victory Road. With a name like that, it had to be fantastic. The promise of glory and fame sparked brand new feelings within him and drove his heart to a faster pace. "What are we waiting for? Let's go! Let's get there tonight!"
The hiker chuckled and shook his head as they began to walk along the path again. "I think you two owe me a few things." Helios's face fell as Leon went on, "Firstly, what on earth are you both doing out hear on your own?"
The black haired boy looked around nervously and sighed. "I just wanted to start my Pokémon journey early, really. It's not fair that I have to wait till I'm ten. I'm smarter than any ten year old that I've come across. One day, I'm gonna be a famous Master and people will either run to me or run away from me," he said, small voice strong. "My mom doesn't get it… she doesn't get much." He did his best to mask the hurt from his face, but his overwhelming eight-year-old honesty revealed that it was a touchy subject.
"And your father?" Leon asked in a kind and serious tone.
"Gone," the talkative boy said simply. It was clear that he wouldn't be made to say much else. Leon accepted this and moved onto the silent Vaporeonmorph.
"I believe it's your turn," he said.
Finch was sucking on his swollen lip, hoping that he would not be called on. But when he saw Helios and Leon's faces intent with curiosity, he forced himself to begin.
"From what I can recall, I've been living in some sort of lab my entire life. There were always people with trench coats and clipboards and vials and needles. In fact, you and Helios are the first people I've seen who don't fit that description, outside of picture books, of course." He became uncharacteristically fluent and went on with detail. "My room was very white and plain, nothing like this forest. It had a small bed, a small table and chair, a few books, and a great big mirror. I have a feeling that the scientists watched me through it. The scientists would test me in many ways, forcing me to tell them every event that happened in the book I had read, or remember a series of one hundred pictures. They also tested my body, forcing me to run for long periods of time on the treadmill or punch a seed bag for hours.
"The tests they most preferred involved water. Often, they would throw me into a pool and then not let me come up for air. I didn't mind being in the water very much, though. It healed a lot of my cuts and bruises and I felt very calm. One time I wished so hard that I would never have to leave the water. I think the water wished for me to stay in there, too, because they began looking for me like I had disappeared. I had to start breathing air again, though, and once they noticed me they let me up. They seemed very happy."
Finch had shut his eyes and entered a trance like state. As he recalled the long list of mystifying events, the other two looked on with open mouths. The story he recalled was disturbing to say the least, but they had not heard the end of it.
"There was one room that I was tested in that had a window. I loved this window almost as much as the water. I figured out how to answer their questions while paying attention to the world outside. The questions were easy enough anyway. Outside I could see that we were on a mountain. I could see countless trees near by and much further away, I could see a city with houses and people. One day the window was open and I could smell the fresh, mountain air. That's when I knew I had to leave.
"It wasn't very difficult to find a way out. Some of the scientists were quite lazy and one had a strange habit of puffing on white things. He would blow smoke into a vent and when he forgot to close the vent, I crawled through it.
"When I was finally outside, I realized that the lab was very big and also very high up on the mountain. They noticed my escape right away, so I ran as fast as I could and didn't bother making a plan. I just ran and ran down. After one night, snow began to fall and the wind grew much colder. The next thing I knew, I was knee deep in snow and I couldn't see, feel, or hear a thing. I guess I must've blacked out and fallen down the mountain. I don't remember much after that until Helios found me."
A long, thoughtful silence followed Finch's tale. Rattatas and Sentrets weaved in and out of their path innocently, appreciating the quietness of these travelers. This was a treacherous mountain way and most of people who dared make the trek attempted to fend off the pressing silence with noise of their own. It was the Butterfree who made the first sound and it snapped Leon out of his daze.
"Finch, I've been thinking hard on a few key things you mentioned in your recount," he said, brow furrowed. "When you said that the water hid you, perhaps it was your own doing." When he noticed the boys' confusion, he went on. "Well, you're clearly part Vaporeon. I think it's quite possible that you were using one of the Pokémon's renowned aquatic tactics. It's known that Vaporeons can literally dissolve into water if they so did chose." Excited, he explained further. "You also mentioned that in the water, your wounds healed. That is Vaporeon's ability known as Water Absorb."
The pair of children remained without a word of response, still a bit confused as to what the hiker was getting at.
"What I mean is you, Finch, not only have the physical traits of a Vaporeon, but you also have the abilities. Under the right training, you could maybe one day perform Hydro Pump! A boy performing Hydro Pump! It's remarkable!"
Finch wasn't sure how he should react to this odd information and he looked to see Helios's response. Helios quickly smiled enthusiastically and cheered. "Geeze, my best friend could one day do Hydro Pump? You are the coolest!" The black haired boy wasn't sure what a Hydro Pump was, but it certainly sounded fantastic.
Pleased with this positive attention, Finch's stoic expression broke to reveal a shy smile curving his lips. Never had he been treated as anything other than an experiment. Even the Butterfree was congratulating him in her own way.
"There are more like you out there and a friend of mine is an expert. She may be able to give you some insight into your past and how you became the way you are. Would you be willing to meet her?" Leon asked.
Caught up in the swell of excitement, Finch nodded sheepishly as Helios patted him heartily on the back.
"That's my boy! Now we should want to get to the mouth of Victory Road as soon as possible and if we kept along this path we wouldn't make it for at least two weeks."
"Free! Free!" chimed in the Butterfree.
"Ah, yes. Good idea. Belle my Butterfree suggests we arrive in style and I know just how to do it." Leon's face was glowing with cheer as he began to dig into his large backpack.
Helios stared with wonder up at the flying Bug-type. "Could you really understand her just then?" he asked, voice hushed and full of anticipation.
The round man laughed and nodded as he continued to rummage around in his bag. "Of course. When a trainer and their Pokémon become friends, they begin to form a bond that is incomparable to anything else. The trainer must require a lot of heart to gain the level of trust required and often the trainer and Pokémon must know each other for a very long time. If conditions are right, a Pokémon and their trainer can do just about anything. Ah, here it is." He had finally found what he was looking for: a small, two-toned sphere. He tossed the ball to the ground and in a flash of red light, a great bat appeared. It was almost as tall as the man with a thick back and a wide, purple wingspan. With another Pokéball, he returned Belle.
"Hop on," he said, patting the cave dweller. "This is my Crobat Charlie. Charlie, meet Finch and Helios. We're taking them to Victory Road."
It wasn't long until the boys had clamored onto the Zubat evolute and were sailing high in the sky, Finch trying to push the memories of his past away from him and Helios imagining his future friendship with some powerful Pokémon.