The more I watch her, the less I understand.
After A left the lab, I followed her outside. Her progress is slow—painfully so, but over the past few hours, she somehow made it to Petalburg, where her dad serves as gym leader.
I'm more interested in her journey along the way. She's run into a lot of battles, both wild and other trainers, and while she seems capable of holding her own most of the time, she's had to hurry back to the Pokémon Center once or twice.
That's where things get interesting. The voices seem to have complete control over her body most of the time, and there's nothing she can do to fight it. I'm all too aware of how it feels. But when her torchic—still the only pokémon in her possession, thankfully—faints, it's like she becomes a different person. Suddenly, she's completely coordinated and full of purpose; the way she runs back to the nearest Pokémon Center... it's nothing like her usual movements.
I've tried to take advantage of this. Since leaving Littleroot, I've only let her see me once, during one of her emergency runs to heal her torchic. I called out to her, but she just ignored me and kept running. The panic in her face was apparent, though, and I just can't believe the voices would have that kind of concern for a pokémon.
A—the real A—is still in there.
For now, I'm operating under the hypothesis that the voices only retain full control so long as she has a conscious pokémon in her possession. I know it's not the best theory, considering she didn't have one until my dad gave her the torchic, but it's the only way I can explain it so far.
There was one other abnormality. A boy, Wally I think, asked her for help. Together, they actually captured a wild ralts. A didn't say a word, just like before, but Wally carried out his one-sided conversation without hesitation. I don't yet know what this means. My best bet would be to talk to Wally, maybe ask him what she "said", but I lost track of him somewhere in Petalburg. For a guy with green hair, he's pretty quick to disappear.
For the time being, I'm going to watch her roam around Petalburg from a distance. It seems she can only manipulate people at close-range, so it's safest if I keep out of sight. Maybe I'll try and find another pokémon that can resist her torchic's attacks. Defeating her in battle is still my only idea; if that provocation doesn't work, I'll just have to come up with another plan. Surely someone has to know something, right?
Though I have to wonder. If the voices do decide she's too weak, will they leave us alone for good?
Or will they choose me again?