Save the world, huh? Aside from that, it's save two worlds. That's quite the responsibility. I sat on the edge of a skyscraper, the terrifying drop only feet away from me. Not to mention you're taking care of a Pokemon now.
Somewhere in me, I knew the voice was right. I tilted my head up, letting the endless rain of the city pour over my face, closing my eyes to keep it out. Besides, this world isn't that bad. You run your life dry with dancing and partying, and what could be better than that? A lot of things, I reminded myself. Friendship, perhaps.
Almost as suddenly as I had been there, the world spun and lurched forward. I sat on a pier, overlooking the ocean. Then again, this world really wasn't all that bad. Not when I considered its sunrises and sunsets, or the way it was friendly to me. But it was foreign, and I didn't really know anyone. I had... well, did I have a reason to go back?
Yes. You're an anomaly. You don't fit in this world; you weren't born of it. You will never belong.
Just as you never belonged on Earth.
No. I'll... I'll save it.
How the hell do you plan on doing that?
It was about mid-day the next day that something of note happened on my journey. With Theo happily bouncing alongside me, energy I couldn't quite muster, I paused when I saw movement in the trees ahead of me. "Theo, be careful-!" I tried, but it was just a bit late; the Pokemon launched its way out of the bushes at my Sentret before I could give him ample warning. Caught by surprise, Theo was thrown back onto the ground, and the opposing Pokemon stood proudly over it. I scrambled to pull out my Pokedex, and pointed it at the yellow-tinted creature.
Drowzee. It can tell what people are dreaming by sniffing with its big nose. It loves fun dreams.
A...dream reader Pokemon? I didn't know Pokemon could do things like that. I was entranced for a moment, but my head shot up when I heard Sentret cry out.
"Treeeet!" the Drowzee had punched, and Sentret flew back again.
"Theo!" I gasped. Ohgod, remember what Malachi did... "Are you okay?"
Loyally, Theo stood, nodding his head, looking a little out of it. He set my scarf down, his eyes narrowed at the Drowzee, and raised up on his tail. He wanted to fight.
"Right then, uh..." The Pokedex had to have a section for this. I concentrated- oh. This sort of knowledge was in the back of my memory. "Alright, Theo, start us off with a scratch!" I called. Sentret bounced forward, claws extended towards its enemy-
and was shoved away almost effortlessly by the Drowzee. Theo hit the ground and whimpered a quiet "Seeen..." before he closed his eyes.
"T-Theo-!" I failed as a Trainer, I couldn't do this, there was absolutely no way. Ignoring the other Pokemon for now, I rushed forward, taking Sentret's body into my arms. "Nonono. Please don't...d-don't..." Pokemon didn't die. Pokemon fainted. They didn't die. Gods, I hoped that was true.
"Drowwww-zeee." I lifted my head to see the Pokemon in front of me, nose raised. It held up its arms and my eyes locked with the Drowzee's. They spun hypnotizingly and I was immediately unable to look away; the world warped in and out, but I couldn't break eye contact. Those eyes were absolutely mesmerizing to look at, their depth and...did they have that much color before? Color... wonderful, amazing, beautiful...color...
Nothing else mattered.
"Hey, are you okay?" I was jolted from my reverie by a younger female voice. Blinking my eyes, I shook my head as if I were ridding myself of a headache- one that was actually starting to develop, I noticed, as the light raced back into my system. The source of the voice, I learned, was from a girl whose long blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. She probably stood almost five feet tall, but she was thin, and looked only to be about thirteen. "That Drowzee really took a toll on both of ya, huh?" she asked, giggling as I stood groggily. Her disposition turned serious, though, as she saw Theo in my hands. "We're gonna have to go to the Pokecenter for your Sentret, though."
"Yeah..." I vaguely agreed. It was then I noticed the Pokemon next to her; a blue-colored, round-shaped rabbit like Pokemon with a crooked tail, a bulb at the end. "Uh..." I looked over to where the Drowzee had been and it lay defeated, knocked out. "Thanks?"
"You're welcome! Azumarill helped out, though." she grinned. "Her name is Mai. Mine's Kamryn. It's nice to meet you!"
Well, she was excitable. I nodded once to her. "Valerie. Do...do Pokemon normally act that way?"
"Not really. That's why it really threw me off. Hm, I figured you'd know that. Did its psychic powers mess with your head or somethin'?" Kamryn asked, tilting her head, her hair spilling out over her nearly-bare shoulder. It was tank top weather, and her spaghetti strapped top was definitely taking advantage of that. At least her assumption was a quick way out.
"Yeah, maybe so. I'm... not really from here, either, so a lot of stuff is still new to me."
"Well then. That's not your Drowzee? Hm, I'm tempted to take it with us. Buncha weird stuff's been going on in Veilstone, and-"
"You live in Veilstone?" I interrupted. "That's where I'm headed."
My abrupt subject change didn't seem to faze the girl. "Awesome! Well, like I said. I think I wanna take this Drowzee back with us. You got a Pokeball on you?"
"Oh, uh." I shifted Theo to one arm to slip my backpack off my shoulders and retrieve an empty Pokeball. "Here you go." I held it out to her.
"No, you found him. You capture him. 'Sides, we're probably just gonna get him checked out at the Pokecenter, and they might keep him around." She seemed to reflect on that thought for a moment before shrugging. "Plus, psychic Pokemon are really powerful!"
I hesitated. I wasn't particularly interested in capturing the Pokemon that had hypnotized me, but if Kamryn thought it was the right thing to do, I wouldn't argue with her. Besides, having her along the way during the final leg of the journey to Veilstone would be refreshing, to say the least. Theo was company, but Kamryn could actually speak my language. I could handle that.
Along the way, Kamryn held her assumption that I had suffered some sort of amnesia, and was more than happy to tell me a few more bits about Pokemon, and about Contests, which did sound like a bit of fun, to me, to watch. She also told me a little about herself; she was thirteen, as I had guessed, and lived in Veilstone. She liked to explore outside the city a lot, which explained why she was out so far where I had been.
"So do you still live with your parents, then?" I asked offhandedly. It quieted her down a lot; her usual spunkiness dissipated almost immediately. "...I'm sorry I asked. Don't worry about it."
"It's okay." Kamryn smiled up at me, but I could read that it was a pained smile. It stung. "Me and Mai here are best of friends, and they know me really well at the Pokecenter. I help out there a lot, too. It's no hotel room, but...you know. Better than an alleyway."
I felt absolutely terrible. How in the world could I have brought up such a sensitive topic? I searched for a way out, and came up with nothing good. "So, uh, the Contest. Tell me more about it?"
"Yeah!" she seemed to brighten considerably. "Coordinaters come from all over with their Pokemon, like I told you before. They train really hard to choreograph moves with their Pokemon to show off that Pokemon's impressive qualities. For some Pokemon, it's strength, and for others it's beauty, for example. I, uh. I'm actually entered, for the first time this year."
"But that's awesome." I told her with a slight nod. "I'll be sure to come watch." I wasn't sure I had the time, but dammit, I would make time. She was a cute kid. If I hadn't been an only child, she would have been a wonderful little sister to have.
"You will? Thank you, Valerie!" she grinned. I couldn't help but grin back. It was contagious.
When we reached Veilstone, it was late afternoon. The Pokecenter was, thankfully, on the edge of town, so we headed there first. The Pokemon Center itself on the outside reminded me of a hospital, but the inside was more welcoming. The walls were painted in warm colors, and the nurse greeted us like I had never been greeted in a hospital.
"Welcome to the Veilstone Pokecenter! It's so nice to see you again, Kamryn! Did you bring a friend today?" The woman's hair was a pinkish color, dyed or not I couldn't tell, and put up in pigtails that drooped down to her shoulders and back up again to be pinned down once more. Interesting, to say the least.
"This is Valerie, Nurse Joy." Kamryn responded, her Azumarill happily bouncing off to go play with another nearby Pokemon I didn't entirely recognize. "And this is her Sentret. They ran into a Drowzee, and came out with a couple scrapes.
"Oh? Does this Sentret have a name?" Nurse Joy asked me, holding out her arms. I nodded, passing him across to her.
"Theo. Is...is he going to be okay?" I asked, worried.
"Of course! He'll be better in no time!" the nurse assured me. I felt relief; I would still have to apologize to my Pokemon, but at least he would be okay.
"Oh," Kamryn said, matter-of-factly. "The Pokemon they ran into was actually acting kind of strange. That Drowzee... well, I think it intended to actually hurt Valerie, but I got there in time to stop it. We caught it, and brought it with us... do you think you could have a look?"
"I'd be happy to." I handed the Pokeball the Drowzee was in to the nurse as she spoke and she walked back towards the desk. "Give us just a few hours and we'll have Theo up and ready to go, and I'll see what I can do for the Drowzee."
"Thank you so much, ma'am." Kamryn bowed her head slightly. I respected her; she was a very well-spoken girl, especially for thirteen. "Well, Valerie? Would you like to see the city while we wait?"
I reached out, on impulse, to ruffle her hair. She let out a cry of surprise, and then laughed. "Of course. Lead the way." I agreed. She went on to do just that, taking me along Veilstone's major roads and showing me its bigger buildings as well as smaller shops. When we passed by a cafe, I stopped her for a moment. "Wait here." I ducked into the stall and returned with wraps for both of us to have as a meal; it really caught her off guard.
"Are...are you sure? I can't take this." Kamryn seemed hesitant. When I insisted, she threw her arms around me, hiding her face against my shoulder. "Thank you so much." she said, taking a tiny bite and looking overjoyed. "You're...a great friend, Valerie."
"You've done me more than one favor." I responded. "I owed you. I'm also getting a hotel room for as long as the Contest lasts, and you and Mai are staying with us. No arguing."
We met a few other Trainers and Coordinaters along the way, some of which knew Kamryn and some of which had traveled into town for various reasons. The Contest was a hot topic no matter who we talked to, and I saw kinds of Pokemon I hadn't ever seen before. We returned to the Pokecenter that night, and I was given Theo back, inside his Pokeball. The nurse pulled Kamryn aside to talk to her, and I assured her I'd be back shortly. I was only gone for about twenty minutes, long enough to walk a few buildings down to rent a hotel room for the next couple of nights; the Contest would last two days, total. When I returned, however, Kamryn looked more than a little upset. "What's wrong?" I asked, looking worried.
"I've got something to tell you."
A/N: omgcliffhanger or something. So yeah, pacing's coming along nicely. I've got a lot going on right now, but I think Tuesdays are a fairly good day to update. See you next week!