Chapter 1 - Remembering part 2
Ari went inside the closest café she could find, sat at the counter and ordered a hot pokécocoa for her and one for her partner. As they both sipped the hot beverage and allowed it to bring warmth to their bodies, she couldn't help but smile at her partner who had the mouth full of chocolate and was licking it but only spreading it around more. She laughed and remembered meeting her partner just two days earlier.
On the morning of her 14th birthday, Ari was in hurricane mode. She had prepared for this day all her life, and yet everything seemed to be falling a bit apart. She had prepared her backpack the night before and everything she might need, she put 7 alarms (SEVEN! Spread throughout the room so she would have to force herself to get up and turn off every one of them.) She was a heavy sleeper indeed but having not slept from excitement the night before, she woke up with the first alarm and while she was getting ready she had to eventually walk around and look for the next alarm ringing under some pile of clothes, so that didn't help for her morning stress.
She went to the kitchen where the smell of bacon and eggs was filling the room, and her father was flipping pancakes with the proficiency of a MasterChef. Her father had always loved to cook and he was excellent at it, Ari was always fascinated how she didn't become obese with all the amazing food her father did.
"Good morning sleepy head!" He cheered. "I could hear the twenty thousand alarms, glad you turned them off or you'd wake up all Kalos!"
"It's not a joking matter Dad; I can't be late today of all days. How do you want me to eat all of this food? You want me to roll there?"
"Hey, a good breakfast is the most important thing for a starting pokémon trainer. Your mother knew that and she always had a hearty breakfast before every trip…"
His voice faded out once he realized what he was saying. He slumped himself a bit and put the pancakes on a plate and went to sit next to Ari on the counter next to two plates full of eggs bacon and two big glasses of fruit juice.
"Dad… You don't have to feel bad talking about her. I like hearing stories of how Mom was before… I wish she could have prepared me more for my journey but I will learn things as I go along. And I will find out what happened to her."
"Don't forget your promise to me. You promised you wouldn't go looking for trouble and that you'd wait until you had at least 5 badges before actually going after whoever did this to her. I wish I could be of more help but unfortunately I am really bad at anything related to pokémon battling. Your mother tried to teach me a lot but I just don't have the gift. I'm not good at choosing the best types or advantages, I really suck at that. I wish I could come with you but I know this is also something you have to do by yourself, just like your mother…"
Thomas had never said so much about Sakura in so many years. Ari was happy her father was being able to open up. They had had a lot of fights about this in the past of course, at first he was entirely against the idea of her going out on her own and look for Sakura. It took a lot of convincing for him to understand that no matter what he said Ari wasn't going to change her mind. Eventually he agreed but made her promise she would gain enough experience before going into dangerous situations.
Ari finished her meal quickly and after hugging and kissing her father, promising to come back as soon as she had her new companion she grabbed her backpack and left running.
It was a warm summer day, and she was glad that she got up early so there weren't many people outside. Every time she crossed someone she could feel sometimes people giving her a look of pity for her mother and she was honestly tired of people doing that to her.
She maintained a quick pace as she walked through the streets of Kiloude, passing the Safari habitat reservation where she sometimes played with pokémon growing up. She had a couple of friends, wild oddish and paras, rattata and pidgeys that she fed from time to time. She never wandered into the deeper part of the reservation though, as she knew stronger pokémon lived there and could feel menaced by her and attack, and she didn't have her partner yet.
She walked past the stores that were still closed, and watched the windows in people's houses starting to open up to let the light in, the smell of freshly baked bread and other goods from the restaurants and cafés. She was wearing her favorite black short shorts, red top with some floral designs on the sleeves that came no more than half her shoulder, the necklace her mother had given her when she was born (with a symbol of the Tree of Life) and her red and black sneakers that were super comfortable for running and long walks. She always had a tomboy ish style. Her long black hair was tied up on a neat ponytail that was hanging tall giving the impression of a tail on her head.
She was to meet Professor Sycamore near Battle Maison, but she quickly spotted him on a café next to it sipping his coffee and holding a small box.
"Good morning Professor! I hope I'm not late!"
"My dear! Not at all, I came early because I wanted to eat some of the delicious croissants but I came too early I'm afraid hohohoho! They still haven't finished making them. Sit, sit child!"
Professor Sycamore was always in a good mood, and Ari saw him some times after her mother disappeared but unlike other people he never was one to show a lot of sadness to the whole thing. Not that he didn't care about Sakura, but Ari always had the impression he knew more than he was letting on. She could feel calmness exuberating from him every time so she was quite relaxed with him.
"Order something if you want, before we get started."
"No thanks I'm full, as you know my father made me eat for five people before leaving the house."
"Ohohohohoho yes, old Thomas will never change. He could feed a battalion without meaning to! Well, it is important you are well fed because you are about to start a very important journey. And I think the emotions you'll go through now after I give you this package would be a lot on an empty stomach."
He placed a medium squared wooden box on the table. It had some curious designs that Ari had never seen and a small lock that had the shape of her necklace, the Tree of Life. Her eyes widened as she realized that no one other than her mother could have made that box for her.
"Is that…" before she could finish the sentence Professor Sycamore raised a hand.
"It's better if you listen carefully and let me explain." He took a last sip from his coffee cup and put it aside, bringing the box to the middle of the table between them. «Inside this box is a pokéball with your partner and a letter from your mother. You see a week before her disappearance; she knew she was headed towards a hard mission. Your mother was quite the trainer in her young days, and after marrying your father she was approached by an organization that required her help on a very important matter. There is a criminal organization looking to take over the world by acquiring sacred stones that help them control pokémon. One stone for each type of pokémon. The stones are guarded by a guardian and are spread all over the regions: Kalos, Unova, Johto, Kanto, Alola… Their resting place is unknown to many, but not impossible to find. The guardian is of the corresponding type of stone. The criminals had already acquired 3 of the stones when the organization got hold of their plans. They contacted the best trainers of each region to make them aware and to try and find the stones before the criminals and protect them."
Ari was breathing faster but she kept a concentrated look as she let all the information sink in. Professor Sycamore was dropping so much information but she had waited for this day forever, so she was focused on learning as much as she could. He took a pause to see if she had any questions but seeing as she was listening he continued.
"The stones the criminals had got were the Fire stone, the Steel stone and the Poison stone. They can control pokémon of those types against their will and are committing crimes such as stealing money from banks in order to build up their technology and secret bases. They are also stealing Pokémon from trainers and using them for their armies. The police tried to stop a few of those attacks but having their arcanines disabled quickly and turned against them proved they were no match for the criminals. Your mother went on a few missions and managed to stop a few of those criminals, making her now a potential danger for them. When she found out she was pregnant with you, she put aside that life and promised your father she wouldn't put herself or you in any danger. Unfortunately she got called on an urgent matter against a criminal that she knew very well, so her experienced was needed. She left and that was when she disappeared, so most probably it's the organization that has her. I don't think they would harm her but instead try and make her tell everything the organization knows against them in order to gain the advantage. Knowing Sakura is one tough cookie, I wouldn't be surprised if she had escaped and is just in hiding all these years. She couldn't risk coming home and putting you and your father in danger as you must understand. Before she left for that mission, she planned everything for your future with me. She knew the perfect pokémonfor you and I promised her I'd find it and hand it to you as well as her letter. She couldn't include all of what I've just told you in the letter, so it's best you have this information beforehand."
In hiding… That would make sense. Ari always felt her mother was still alive, and she knew she wouldn't let herself go down without a good fight. And she would never risk putting herself or her father in danger, so she was just being precautious. Her adrenaline started to kick in knowing that maybe one day she could find her mother and defeat the criminal organization and bring her mother safe back home.
Professor Sycamore slid the box closer to Ari.
"As you must have understood by now, the box can only be opened with your necklace. I'd advise you to take it home and open it there, along with your father. I think he'll want to know your mother might still be ok even if I know deep down he must have suspected that all these years."
More people were starting to come out on the street, and these weren't matters to be discussed in front of a crowd, so she nodded and placed the box inside her backpack.
"Thank you so much for everything Professor… I will find out who did this and I will help taking them down."
"Don't be fooled Ari. These people are very dangerous and you'll understand why you need to create a strong bond with your pokémon before you decide to take matters on to your own hands. Read the letter, and always remember to be cautious. You can call me at the Pokémon Lab whenever you need and I'll help with whatever I can. I know you'll be an amazing trainer but you can't let yourself be carried away by your emotions."
"I promise I'll be careful, don't worry Professor." She got up and gave him a hug which surprised him but he laughed as he patted her back.
She took her cue to leave as a waitress arrived with a plate full of hot crispy croissants and the Professor started dropping saliva from the corner of his mouth. As he began to dig in, she turned around and almost ran back to her house.
When she arrived, she was panting. She closed the door and saw her father sitting on the couch in the living room reading the newspaper.
"That was fast! So what did you get?"
She sat down next to him on the couch and explained everything the Professor had told her. Her father nodded through all the explanation and when she finished he sighed and took out his glasses to clean the tears from his eyes.
"I knew it was them… those bastards… Sorry!" He covered his mouth and Ari giggled. "But I always knew she was hiding and too afraid to have any contact, because they would come after us for sure… I hope they pay one day for all they're doing…"
"They will pay Dad. I will make them pay. For us. For mom. And for the whole world!" She put her hand into fists and gave a fierce look to which her father couldn't help but laugh.
"You look more and more like your mother every day. Now let's see what pokémon it is!"
Ari placed the box carefully on her knees and took out her necklace. She inserted the symbol of the Tree of Life onto the lock and with a twist it clicked open. Inside was a velvet red cushion with a small pokéball placed on top of it. An envelope with her name in hand writing was placed carefully on the inside top part of the box.
"That's your mother's handwriting. I'd recognize it anywhere… "
Ari took the letter and handed it to her father.
"No no, it's you that has to read it." He pushed the letter back to her and she opened the envelope with her hands trembling.
Happy birthday my sweet daughter. I wish I could be there with you to celebrate this day, but as Professor must have told you the situation is very complicated. I might not be around to see you grow up, but I will see you again someday. My greatest gift I could ever give you is this pokémon. I'm sure you will become best partners as I am with Persian. She misses you a lot too. We both do. Tell your father I love him very much and I apologise to both of you for not being there. One day our family will be together again…
Ari, you need to become one with your pokémon in order to help me and find me. You are already at a disadvantage, but you can overcome that because you are my daughter and you are special. Never lose the necklace I gave you, and never forget who you are.
Love, Sakura
Ari couldn't help it. Tears were running down her face like a waterfall and she sobbed as she handed the letter to her father. He took it this time, and after reading it started crying too and hugged her.
Ari wiped her eyes and grabbed her pokéball.
"Here it comes… we can't let the poor thing see us crying and sobbing for the first time, we'll scare it!"
"You're right!" Her father cleaned his eyes, blew his nose into a tissue and re arranged his glasses. "Ok… I'm ready!"
Clicking the button on the pokéball, it became bigger and a flash of light came out as it opened. The light turned into a human like shape and the tiny pokémon appeared before them on top of the coffee table.
"Ri…olu?"