Chapter 2

Jill whipped a roll of duck-tape out of her purse and forced it around the boy's wrists, wrestling him to the ground. The monster boy laughed in spite of all this, his forked tongue showing as he cackled.

"i ThOUgHt wE WeRE fRiEndS, jILL!"

"Shut up, Satan!"

The girl and the others restrained the boy by appyling extra layers of tape around his wrists and ankles, forcing his body to be tied to the muddy ground, dirt covering the boy's face.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIS FACE?" The boy's father yelled after they finally restrained his monster son.

"It's the demon in him! It's transforming him into a monster!" Jill squeaked. She held up her fingers to make the shape of a cross. "May the power of Christ compel you! May the power of Christ compel you!"

The boy, still possessed by the demon, cackled in an inhuman voice. "yOu'rE fUnnY."

The father began to panic. "Oh my god, this can't be happening...how do I...what do I...wh-why would this..." Even though he and his son had issues with each other in the past, the man was still worried over his only child, his pride and joy.

"There is only one way we can free him..." Magnolia said. She pulled a completely dark red Poke Ball out of her jacket's pocket.

"Wh-What is it?!" The father was desperate.

Professor Magnolia tossed the ball into the air, and a blinding light filled the area. Once the light died down, a Pokemon was visible. The top part of its body was humanoid, while the bottom half was made of rock and pink diamonds. The creature's hair was made of long, sparkling pink diamonds, and its eyes glittered like jewels. It was none other than Diancie, the Diamond Pokemon of legend.

"D-Diancie..." The man was speechless as he stared in awe at the Pokemon's beauty.

The creature levitated around the group of people and giggled. "Professor, what are we going to do today?" She spoke telepathically to the group of people.

"This is Diancie. She's a Legendary Pokemon I found in the Kalos Region. She allowed me to study her and her powers so I could document them for the books." The Professor turned to the Pokemon. "I'm sorry, Diancie. We can't play together right now. I need you to do me a favor."

Diancie tilted her head in confusion. "What is it?"

"Use your powers to bless this boy. I know you have holy powers since you're a Fairy-type, so force the demon out of the kid's body."

Diancie looked scared for a moment. She trembled slightly, speaking with a quivering voice. "B-But...a demon? I don't know if I'm strong enough to..."

"I know you can do it. The power is in you, Diancie."

Diancie nodded, then tried focusing her energy. She held her hands together and closed her eyes, and a light emerged from inbetween her palms. A pink diamond twinkled between her hands, and the diamond flashed and sparkled, floating over to the boy. The jewel soon turned into thin air, it vaporating just as it reached the demon.

"yOu'Re GOnNa nEEd tO dO BEtTer tHaN THat, diAnciE DEaR!"

The Pokemon grew frustrated, and it groaned in anger. Then it tried clearing its mind and calming itself. Slowly but surely she created another diamond, this time the size of a pumpkin. Then bit by bit it grew to the size of the sky, the sky turning pink, glittering in the sunlight. It rained pink jewels, like a meteor shower, and the group of humans and Pokemon smiled and laughed as the diamonds came down, their beauty surpassing anything they had seen before.

When the jewels hit the boy on the ground, he hissed and struggled to get up and run away so it wouldn't hurt anymore, but he failed in doing so.

Then bit by bit the monster's cries of pain turned into vicious cackles that broke into the silence. "YoU'LL nEed mOrE tHaN sOMe rhINesTonES to GeT rID oF Me, FAiRy-giRL!"

Diancie grimaced as horrible pain surged throughout her body. She fell to the ground holding her chest. "I don't know if I can do it...this is too much power...if I strain myself anymore, I might just...faint..."

The demon finally broke out of its binds and laughed as he broke free. He turned to face the group of people cowering in fear before him. He began inching towards them, speaking in a sing-song voice; "jAcK aND JiLL wENt uP THe HiLL tO fEtCH a PAiL Of wATer..."

Coward's father ran in front of the group to protect them. "DON'T TOUCH THEM!"

The boy, with tremendous strength, tossed the man aside like he was a rag doll. "jACk FeLL dOWN AnD bROKE hiS CrOWN..."

"ROSS!" Magnolia ran to help the man.

The demon pushed the Professor aside and picked up Jill by the throat to choke her. "...aND JiLL cAME tUMbLing AfTeR!"

He then threw the girl to the ground, giving her a concussion. Her head was bruised horribly and she began to bleed. "C-Coward...come on...you can't give up like this..."

Diancie floated over to the boy and stood between him and Jill. "Coward! Is that your name?"

The demon laughed. "nOt anYmORe."

"Don't give up, Coward! Don't let him control you!"

I sat in my mind, no longer controlling my own body. Diancie heard my thoughts echo in her mind. "No one cares about me...my father hates me...I have no friends..."

Diancie relayed what I had said, and Jill began to cry. "You idiot! I'm your friend! You're not alone, you asshole! No one wanted to like you because you were a bully, but you decided to change! That means you have a future! So you..." She sobbed. "...you can't just give up! You can't!"

My father sat up. "Don't say I don't love you! Just because...just because we been through some tough times together doesn't mean I'll just stop loving you. And...I'm sorry I've been mean to you at times...I don't mean it...I need you in my life! You're all I have left!"

My eyes widened. The demon began to screech in pain. He doubled over and held his head as he cried out. "...stOP...StOP iT!"

"That's it, Coward! Fight back!" Diancie smiled.

"Help me...I don't have enough strength on my own..." I tried fighting off the demon.

Diancie nodded. "Everyone! Believe in Coward! Use your power to help him!"

Everyone joined their hands and closed their eyes.

"Coward...believe in the future that you now have...that bright, wonderful future..." Jill thought.

Ross sighed. "I'm sorry...I know I'm a bad father...I promise from now on I'll be a better person for you, Coward..." He thought.

"Your Pokemon need you, Coward. Don't let them down..." Magnolia prayed for a miracle.

Diancie joined hands with the group and used the energy from everyone to project a pink aura that sparkled like diamond.

"Go back from whence you came, demon!"

Diancie threw the ball of light and energy at the boy, and he was knocked off of his feet, rendering him unconcious when his head hit the ground.

The Pokemon flipped her hair sassy-like, and she made a little "hmph" noise. "All demons like him can do is give you nightmares. He's just the monster under your bed that will scare you sometimes, but he can never actually hurt you because his existence's purpose is just to scare you and nothing more. How pathetic..."

Suddenly Diancie gasped, a rush of pain going through her body. Diancie stopped levitating and fell to the ground. Magnolia caught her just in time as the Pokemon lost much energy.

"That took a lot out of me...I-I'm sorry...I think I...I think I only have enough energy to cast him out temporarily..."

"It's fine, honey," Magnolia smiled, "you did great."

Jill ran over to me and kneeled down to my level. "Look," She pointed out, "he's better now!"

The demonic features had disappeared from my face, and when my eyes opened, their color was amber once more.

When Jill saw I was okay, she squealed and squished me, suffocating me with a huge hug. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHMYGODYOU'REOKAYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY"

I smiled, and then I met eyes with my father. We both stared in silence at each other for a moment before my father kneeled down and gave me a hug as well. I was surprised to say the least, but I was glad my father cared about me, and I returned the hug.

I gasped when I saw the blood on Jill's face. "Oh my god...did I-"

"-Nope. The demon did, but not you." She laughed. "Thanks for staying strong for me, kid."

"Indeed. You have quite the power in yourself, Coward. However..." A grim expression crossed Magnolia's face. "...the demon is gone only temporarily, according to Diancie."

Everyone gasped. "But...what do we do to stop him from coming back?" Jill's happy expression faded.

Dianice floated by. "We'll need way more Fairy Pokemon to help drive him out. We need more holy power, enough to rid him of the boy forever."

"How many Fairy Pokemon?" I asked.

"Like...a LOT more than just me. Each Fairy Pokemon only has a little bit of holy power, so if we counted the exact number we would need to exorcize a demon, we would need..." Diancie counted with her tiny fingers. "...99."

My jaw dropped. "99?!"

Diancie laughed nervously. "Don't worry, I'm sure there are plenty of Pokemon willing to help you. I'll even ask my Fairy-type friends to help come and bless you."

"But until I get blessed does that mean I'll still be possessed?"

"If you're not careful, you will be. Just don't lose your guard. Always be on alert and never doubt yourself. If you doubt yourself, you become weak, and if you're weak, he'll take over when you're most vulnerable."

I held my head and sighed. "I don't believe this..."

Jill smiled. "Chin up, Coward! You've got us to help you along the way!"

I grinned back at the girl. "I guess..."

An idea popped into Magnolia's mind. "Why don't you use your Pokemon journey to find Fairy-type Pokemon across the Regions who can help you? I'm sure they'll be TONS of Fairies on the journey!"

I groaned. "A Pokemon Journey?"

"You know what this means?" Jill giggled. "Road-trip!"

...

Jill kissed her father on the cheek. "Bye! See you later!"

"Be careful! I love you!"

The girl wore a navy blue dress with a poofy skirt that had white ruffles and lace underneath it. A short-sleeved white dress shirt was underneath the sleeveless dress, and strings of pearls were dangling around Jill's neck and wrists. Black Mary-Jane shoes were worn on her feet, as well as white socks with lace trimming the edges being underneath the shoes.

She carried a dark blue tote bag that bobbed up and down as she ran down the steps of her front porch. Her white hair was pulled back by a single bobby pin, and her smile was wide and joyful.

"Coward!" Jill laughed.

Coward turned to face the girl, smiling. His eyes seemed brighter than usual, his smile not a fake one. His orange hoodie was clean and bright, his backpack full of items for his journey.

"You ready?" Coward grinned.

Jill showed a smile that revealed her pearly whites. "You bet."

The two took off onto the cobblestone trail that led into a forest that was their first stop on their journey.

Coward's father, Ross, watched with a bit of sadness on his face. "Do you think he'll be okay out there?"

Magnolia grinned, her lip gloss glistening, her long, curly hair blowing slightly in the soft breeze. "I think as long as those two stick together they'll be just great out there."

"I'm just scared...my boy has been so different from everyone else all his life. I want to believe he's a changed man, but...what if he makes the wrong choices? What if he gets hurt?"

"With that demon around him all the time, I'm sure he'll be protected from anyone who do him harm. It would do anything to protect and keep his host alive, since he's his only way of having a physical form in the living world."

"You see? That's what's worrying me! A demon is attached to my son's back! How am I supposed to just be okay with that?!"

"As strong as your son's will is, I'm sure he'll be able to fight against anything that comes at him. And if that's not enough, his friends and Pokemon will be there to stand by him at all times." Magnolia rolled her eyes. "Looks like I'm the only person here with faith in your son, hm?"

"Wh-what?! Of course I have faith in him! I just-"

Magnolia laughed. "I'm kidding. I know, I know-you're just a father worried about his son, and there's nothing wrong with that." She let out a long sigh. "But even so, we must not lose our faith in the child. That is what saved him the first time, and it will continue to help him along his journey."

Ross nodded and crossed his arms. His eyes widened when he saw Coward laughing and smiling, waving goodbye from afar. A smile slowly grew across the father's face, and he waved back. Coward was finally becoming proud to be his father's son.

...

A Froakie hopped along the path with its owner, and a Chikorita went along on its merry way by humming a little song as a small smile sat on its face.

Two kids walked the road to the next city, the town just across a few bridges and one forest.

I glanced at what was behind me, and I screeched like a little girl when I saw my shadow.

Jill gasped in surprise. "What is it?"

I trembled and pointed at my shadow with a shaking hand. "M-My sh-shad-shadow...l-look..."

My shadow had demon horns and a devil's tail, and a deep cackle that spoke with my voice broke into the shocked silence. "sCArEd bY yOUr oWn sHaDOW, cOwARD?"

Jill's jaw dropped. "OH. MY. GOD. That. Is. So. FREAKY!"

"nO ShIT, sHErloCK."

"Don't get sassy with me, Satan."

I rolled my eyes. "Just keep walking. Keep an eye out for Fairy-types, would ya?"

Jill couldn't keep her eyes off of the demonic shadow that followed me next to her. "I'm worried someone is going to see that and freak out."

"Why wouldn't they?"

"I mean...what if some religious fanatic freaks out and tries to kill you because they think you're an abomination of God?"

"They can try, but with him around, I don't think they'll get very far." I pointed my thumb at my shadow.

Jill sighed. "I can't believe this stuff..."

"Hello? Is someone there?"

The two of us and our Pokemon halted in their tracks at the sound of someone else's voice in the forest.

"Satan? Was that you?" Jill looked at the shadow.

"What?! What are you talking about?"

The owner of the voice came forward.

"Rupert?" I said.

The boy with scruffy black hair stood before us with his hands placed on his hips. He wore a pair of gray shorts and a thin, light blue button-up shirt that was open to reveal a dark blue shirt underneath it. Dirty white sneakers were worn on his feet, and his glasses were sitting lop-sided on his face.

Rupert fixed his glasses so that they sat properly. "Coward? What are doing here?"

"We're going on the whole 'Pokemon Journey' thing. What about you?"

"I'm...I'm going, too. You going after the Pokemon League thing, too?"

"Probably."

"How can you have a Journey and not go to the Gyms?" Rupert laughed nervously. "It's a yes or no thing, Coward."

We all stood in an awkwardly silence for a moment.

"aWkWaRD, mUCh?" The Dybbuk laughed.

I stomped on the shadow and it yelped in pain. Rupert tilted his head in confusion. "Who said that?"

"Who said what?" Jill smiled nervously. "I didn't hear anything."

Rupert scratched his head, then shrugged. "So, uh...who's this?" He pointed at Jill.

"Uh, Jill Zhao. Pleased to meet you." She shook hands with the boy. "I'm going of the Journey with Coward. So, are you one of his friends?"

Rupert laughed. "Sure. Why not?"

"Me and Rupert go way back."

"All the way back to the sixth grade when you started picking on me and making my life a miserable existence."

"Rupert!" Jill snapped.

"No, he's right." I calmed the girl down before she could go all ape-shit. "I'm an asshole. He's not wrong about that."

"Okay, what is with this bull? How come you're acting all goody-goody all of a sudden? What, are you born-again or something? 'Cause I don't see anything that could've made you have such a random switch in personality so quickly."

"I just...I don't wanna be mean anymore..."

"Oh, he doesn't wanna be mean anymore! Because obviously what you did to me was simply 'mean', nothing big." Rupert gritted his teeth. "My ASS that's what happened!"

"...What did you do to him, Coward?" Jill asked.

I bit my lip and didn't answer. I stared at the ground and Jill grew frustrated. "I said, what did you do to him, Coward?!"

"I...beat him up..."

"WHAT? WHY?!"

I clenched my fists. "It was back in the sixth grade...he had said something rude about my mother rotting in hell for raising someone so horrible like me..."

"Your mother? That was it? How could you-"

"My mom is DEAD, Jill! He said she was 'a whore that should rot in hell for raising a little bastard like you and I'm glad someone so awful is wiped off the face of this planet'."

Jill's eyes widened. "Why would you say something like that to him?"

"Because he made my life a living hell, that's why!"

"That's no reason to bring his mother into it!" Jill sighed. "You shouldn't let a bully make you become a bully!" She turned on me. "And you! You're a horrid person for doing that to him! How could you make a person hate you so much that they would say something like that to you?"

I felt like I could scream. I could solve all my problems and lash out at these two right now, but I can't. Not now. Please...don't do that...anything but that, you idiot...

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "I realize that picking on him wasn't a good thing. You don't realize the hell I go through every day remembering how horrible I was to people. You don't know how many times I've wanted to not live anymore because it was all too much..."

Rupert rolled his eyes. "It's your own fault for that."

"I KNOW! Don't you think I understand? How many times do I have to tell you I'm sorry? Of course, why would I expect you to forgive me...it is all my own fault. I deserve to never be forgiven, and I understand if you won't be able to do that..."

"UGH! Would you knock that off already?!"

"Knock what off?"

"That whole...'I understand you'll never forgive me' bullcrap! I can't stand it! Stop pretending to be nice! I don't believe it!"

Before I could say anything more, Jill stepped between me and Rupert.

"Neither of you are right. You're both bullies in your own rights. Neither of you did anything right." She looked up at Rupert. "So...if Coward is willing to apologize and regrets everything he's done, wouldn't the right thing to do as a man of good principles, a person who's NOT a bully, be to accept the apology and move on with his damn life?!"

Rupert didn't answer. He swallowed, and then let out a long breath. "...Fine." He walked over to me. "As someone who doesn't want to be a bully, I will forgive you." Before I could respond, Rupert held up his hand. "But, that doesn't mean we're on good terms just yet. If I ever catch you being an ass to anyone ever again, we're back to me hating you."

"Th-thank you. I won't let you down."

Rupert took a few steps back. "So...the next time we meet...let's have a battle. Show me how much you've changed by being a good Trainer to your Pokemon."

I nodded.

Rupert took off into the forest on his own, and within seconds he disappeared into the green expanse.

"See?" Jill placed her hands on her hips. "All better."

I sighed, and we continued on our path to Ventus Town.

Professor Magnolia had recommended to us to complete the International Championships instead of taking the Regional Championships because we wouldn't be able to simply just look in the Johto for Fairy-type Pokemon, and we would have to go to a bunch of other Regions to look for ones. With the International Championships we could still compete in the Pokemon league and go to all the gyms while still being able to search for Fairies.

I never thought I would have to look for Fairies. Believe me, it wasn't my intention to do this. I would really rather just go to school and learn then fend for myself in the wild with a demon and a little girl.

I'm absolutely sure that everything will be just fine, though. What could go wrong?

I mean, besides all of the other things that went wrong.