A hero is back
A soft ringing echoed in the lab of Pallet Town. Oak raised his head from the samples he had collected and turned to activate the video phone. A Nurse Joy appeared, smiling.
"Hello, Professor. I have great news for you."
"Really?" The elder man asked.
"Yes. The Hitmontop that was wounded during the Indigo Conference is completely healed. I'm about to transferring him."
Professor Oak nearly jumped in happiness.
"Great news indeed! Hitmontop took a Psychic from a crazed Alakazam to protect his Trainer. Ash sure wasn't happy about it ..."
The nurse smiled.
"I watched the fight. This Mightyena was impressive! Seeing her fight made the Pokémon very popular among Trainers. There have been commands from all over Kanto to have Poochyena and Mightyena exported and introduced in the region."
"Really? I heard more and more Pokémon endemic to other regions had been spotted in Kanto. Not so long ago, one of the inhabitants of that corral defeated a Nuzleaf ..."
"This must be a strong one! Anyway, I'm transferring Hitmontop. See you again!"
The transfer machine lit up and a poké-ball appeared. Oak nodded and went to the garden to release the creature.
"Welcome home, Hitmontop."
The Fighting Pokémon appeared in a red flash and stretched. He smiled when he saw the professor and bowed in a polite salute.
"Hello to you too. How do you feel?"
Hope flexed his arms with a victorious smile. Being out of that awful full-body cast felt wonderful.
"I understand. I'm going to phone Ash about the new. He'll be relieved to know you're fine."
Hope nodded. The professor dialed a number on the video phone. He got the answerphone instead.
"Unavailable. He must be travelling. Well, it doesn't matter. I'll leave a message instead."
Hope sighed. He missed his Trainer a lot. But well, at least he was home. And who said home also said his friends were here. Waving at the professor, he left to the training area. There was always a team member here.
Sandy Claws squealed when she saw the Hitmontop coming.
"Hope is back!"
Everyone instantly turned to the newcomer. Blazefire, Jet Stream, Nightsong and Twilight Fang, Heavy Blast … Even Timid Rainbow was here.
"Hope?"
"Silent Hope! No ways!"
"He took his time to heal!"
"Yay!"
"Hope is back! Let's party!"
The Fighting Pokémon was instantly surrounded by his friends and comrades.
"Back at last! You sure took your time!"
"Don't joke about that, Blast! Hope took a hit from Alakazam to protect Ash and had nearly every bone in him broken!"
"Ouch, I had forgotten it was that bad …"
"Well, it's nothing. I'm completely fine, now. The nurse even said I could go back to fighting."
"No, really?"
"Yep. I'm still one of you guys!"
"Awesome!"
A soft clapping echoed in his back. Turning, the creature saw a pink fairy gently clapping her hands together.
"Starlight …"
The Clefable smiled.
"Welcome back, Hope. I missed you."
The Hitmontop left the group and came at her.
"I missed you too."
The two were quickly caught in a powerful hug. Very unlike her, Starlight was on the verge of crying. And it was fully understandable. Twilight Fang leaned on his mother's legs.
"They look close!"
"They are." Nightsong smiled. "If they belonged to the same egg group, those two would have mated already. Unfortunately, Starlight is a Fairy while Hope is Human-Like. They can't have children together."
Twilight Fang's tail hung half-heartedly down.
"That's sad for them. They look very happy together."
The canine mother nodded.
"It wasn't too hard to be trapped in that cast?" Jet asked.
"Well, for the most part, it was boring. Being unable to communicate except by blinking was more annoying. I was relieved when they removed it, but then I had to undergo rehabilitation to be able to move properly. It was painful, especially since my body still felt utterly broken. But in the end, it paid off."
Alakazam came to the group and bowed in apology.
"I am sorry for this incident. Due to my bond with Gary, his rage became mine and I was driven mad by fury. I never intended to hurt you so much, and that you can continue Pokémon Battling pleases me."
"Thank you, Wise Beard."
Nightsong smiled.
"I was able to stop Wise Beard thanks to Ash's Aura powers. I still remember his mind in me and the Aura coursing in my body. The gift of the Ancients is truly amazing! I was seeing things in slow motion and my body felt so much stronger! I wished I could use Aura Sphere …"
"Don't dream about it too much." Shadow Grin smiled. "Only five non-Legendary Pokémon can use this move."
Blazefire stretched his wings.
"I think Hope's return calls for a celebration. Who agrees?"
Everyone cheered.
That night, the inhabitants of the corral gathered around the playground. A table had been set by Professor Oak and his assistants that held a lot of food and drinks. Everyone was happily talking, keeping Hope up to date with the corral's latest news, talking about battles, playing games …
"And then, he throws a log of wood in the air, hits it with Pin Missile and dares me to do better! So, what do I do? I use Water Pulse and the poor log's reduced to splinters! I swear I laughed my tail off when I saw his face!"
"Yeah, you sure showed that Jolteon who was the boss!"
"So Hard Candy got Bug Buzz as his first attack?"
"Yes. And he said he would become a trained Pokémon later on."
"I wish him good luck. Whoever ends up with him as his partner, they're gonna make a hit in the Leagues!"
"Absolutely."
Starlight watched from afar. Turning to the pond, the focused her powers and unleashed a silvery beam on the water. A thinner beam that shone like jewels followed. The Fairy Pokémon sighed. Somehow, even though her closest friend was back, she wasn't happy. At all. There was something stirring in her chest, something that felt like fear. And she knew perfectly why. Hope joined her.
"You've been pretty withdrawn since I came back. Something on your mind?"
Starlight looked away, silent. Hope frowned. It wasn't like his friend to keep quiet. In fact, Starlight was rather boastful and proud. Right now, she looked totally different. He rubbed a hand in her back.
"Hey, if there's something wrong, you know you can tell me about it, right?"
"Really?"
"Yes. That's what friends are for."
Starlight sighed. Friend. Their relationship was stuck at that point and couldn't go any further. Because they were incompatible. There was no romance possible between them. Added to her current issue, it was driving her mad.
"I can … really tell you anything?"
Hope nodded. Starlight sighed.
"Over a month ago, something happened that made me and several other Pokémon to change. Soft Lullaby underwent the same modification. I discovered we now have an advantage against Dragon, Fighting and Dark, but we're weak to Poison and Steel. According to Professor Oak, Lullaby and I are now Fairy Pokémon."
Hope looked down.
"I heard about it too. No one knows why such thing happened. But where's the problem?"
"You're a Fighting type."
"And? I don't see any issue here."
Starlight was speechless for a moment. No issue? On the opposite, it was a major problem! Her face darkened.
"Does that mean you've got no problem with me being so much stronger than you now?"
Hope was surprised. His friend looked at him.
"I am strong. Very strong. In fact, Flash, Blazefire and I are the three strongest members of the team. But since you had an advantage against me due to my typing, it didn't really matter. Now, however, I am no more Normal. I am completely Fairy type, which means the rules have changed and you're now even weaker against me."
Hope frowned. He understood what his friend meant by those words.
"Before, despite me being stronger, we were still somehow equal. Not anymore. Now, I'm definitely above you, so ... I am ... I'm ..."
She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. The simple thought of what she imagined was horrible, to the point she was scared of spelling it. She cared. She really cared. Hope was the one she was closest to, so breaking their relationship was just too attrocious to envision.
"You're afraid I'll leave you."
Starlight froze. When did Hope learn Telepathy? Her friend leaned closer.
"I don't care for such trivial matters like power dynamics and ranks. Our Trainer, Ash, always valued friendship above strength. Just like him, it doesn't matter to me if you're stronger or weaker than I am. You're the one I care for the most. We will remain close no matter what happens."
Starlight noted he carefully avoided calling her his friend. It intrigued her, the Hitmontop being usually honest and out-spoken.
"... Really?"
"Yes. In fact, I'm happy you gained new powers. Since you're always looking for ways to improve your strength, that you got a new typing means you also got new moves that must be quite powerful. I guess you must be eager to try them in a fight!"
That's it, Hope had to have mastered Telepathy. It was the only explanation as to how he read her mind so clearly. She leaned against him and rested her body in his arms.
"Hope ... Thank you."
"Anytime. I love you."
Starlight turned red at the words. Just as she thought, her friends had feelings for her. She cursed Arceus to have made them incompatible.
"I love you too."
Hope beamed at the words. Holding his friend closer, he rested his head against her and looked at the stars. True love knows no boundaries.
And here we have it. I promised I'd update Chronicles a bit more before continuing with Mysteries of the Sea, so the two stories are roughly at the same point. So, here we have it. And no, there's no fight in this chapter. Sure, Pokémon Battling is an important part of the story, but I want to keep room for character development and work on the interactions of the protagonists outside of fighting, which isn't everything. Besides, I found this chapter quite sweet. What about you?
- dh-hp: thank you.
- Amalgam24: you're right, Starlight's working Moonblast. It's one of her favorite attacks with Drain Punch and Solar Beam.
- MuggleCreator: well, here you go for the sweetness.
- ultima-owner: he's got his mother's temper and his father's battle prowess.
- cook563: when Ash gets home, I will update on Mysteries of the Sea. Chronicles is for the time Ash is away. And you're right for Hard Candy. Trust me, he deserves his name.
- The Moonfox Collective: you guessed right. And the beam that shines like jewels is Dazzling Gleam.
- Siggimondo: Caterpies don't have jaws. I was writting in metaphor, sorry. And by normalcy, I meant the fact of being average, so the statement wasn't an insult. One can be Normal and totally awesome. Clefable before the Fairy emergeance was a perfect example.
Well, one more chapter to update, maybe another, and I go back to Mysteries of the Sea. See you!
... By the way, does one know of a good picture to serve as a cover for the story? It's the only one with no cover image.
