When I got home later, the first thing I did was get on the phone. I called Sae-chan first and told her to get Naoko-chan on the line after we hung up. The second thing I did was go to the PC so I could exchange a few Pokemon. Once I gave Konpan to Naoko-chan, I could find one for Sae-chan, just incase she wanted to go into the Tournament as well. I found out that people like to choose Pokemon that fit their personalities. Muchuuru was perfect for Sae-chan.
The two girls came over within a half an hour and we were ready to practice. I handed Naoko-chan the Poke-ball and she held it out in her palms like an atomic bomb. I sigh and take it back from her and toss it gently to the ground. She screamed. The ball opened and the vapor-like form of Konpan formed right in front of us. Sae-chan was goggling. I knew any second what she was going to say.
"Sugoi!!"
Right on cue.
Naoko-chan gets down on her knees and flicks one of the antennae. "It's a…bug."
"Its name is Konpan." I say. "Satoshi-kun told me that he uses Gousu a lot. Gousu is a ghost type of Pokemon. Konpan is a bug type, so it has the ability to learn psychic moves. Ghost Pokemon are weak against psychic moves. Normal moves just go right through Gousu, so we need something that doesn't require physical contact."
"Kasumi-chan. What if Satoshi-kun doesn't use Gousu?" Naoko-chan asks.
"Well," I reply. "The way he talked about it, he must use it a lot. But the Tournament is a three-on-three Battle. I'm not going to send you out there with only one Pokemon, trust me."
"What other ones did he say he had?" Sae-chan asks.
I try to recall. "Pikachuu, Karakara, Eifi, Derubiru, and Rafureshia. So other than ghost, he has electric, ground, psychic, fire-dark, and grass. Pretty good mix."
"But your Pokemon can beat them." Sae-chan smiles at me.
"Well, Sae-chan, I have one for you too."
Her eyes go wide. "For me? A Pokemon?"
I hand her the Poke-ball and she releases it. Muchuuru comes out, hopping up and down in front of Sae-chan, with its blonde hair bouncing. Sae-chan puts her hands on her cheeks and shrieks in joy. She crouches down and picks up the Pokemon and hugs it to her.
"Kawaii!!" She cries. "Wait, don't I get three too?"
"Keep your shirt on." I say. "Here you are, Naoko-chan. Two more. I thought hard on them. They should fit you good."
"Which ones are they?" Naoko-chan asks.
"Mariipu and Shawaazu."
Naoko-chan takes the balls. "Arigatou."
"What about me?" Sae-chan whines.
I sigh and go to the PC. I scan the ones I had and finally pick out two. I go back into the living room where Naoko-chan and Sae-chan waited. I handed her two more Poke-balls.
She smiles and cuddles them.
"Mirutanku and Kimawari."
"Arigatou!" Sae-chan says in her highest voice.
"Okay," I collect my thoughts. "Now, let's practice."
******
I was starting to think it was a bad idea: giving Naoko-chan and Sae-chan Pokemon. They did okay, but of course, I beat them every time. The one time I let the two girls battle against each other; it was sort of a draw. I could have told anybody it was be a draw. They need to work on picking their Pokemon better. Sae-chan sent out her Kimawari, while Naoko-chan put out Mariipu. Electric and grass don't go good together. Their attacks don't have hardly any effect on either of them. It took a while for either Pokemon to get fatigued.
After the two girls went home, I fixed myself some dinner since both my parents were off on vacation. I had nothing else to do, so I went for a walk after that. I took the same route I usually would if I were going to school. It wasn't quite dark yet, but the sky was a beautiful aquamarine. The first stars were just beginning to appear in the sky. It was like someone was dripping white paint on a velvet blanket. The low floating wisps of cloud hugged each other for warmth. Truly, a gorgeous night.
I end up at the graveyard, once more. I look beyond the gate at all the cold tombstones. I never cared for graveyards. Who has? Then, I remembered that Satoshi said his father passed away. Maybe I should go visit his grave. You'd think it would only be courteous. So, I slowly open the gate and to my surprise, it doesn't even squeak.
Walking down the path and over grass, I look for Satoshi's sir-name on any of the stones. Towards the back, I finally find it. On the bottom it said, 'A trusted Father, and a loving Husband'. I kneel on the ground before it and just think of what he must have been like. I've never met Satoshi's mother, so I couldn't be entirely sure were he got his personality. Even though Satoshi and I aren't necessarily on the same track most of the time, I can't imagine what it would be like not having a father. I don't see mine a lot, that's true, but I at least know he's out there somewhere.
"What are you doing here?"
I jump and look behind me. It was Satoshi.
"Satoshi-kun! You scared me!" I hold my heart in my hand.
"What are you doing here?" He asks again. "And looking at my father's grave…"
"Uh, gomenasai." I bow my head. "I was just walking by and I thought I'd visit. I have an aunt who's buried here as well." I was a lie, but it might ease the tension.
Satoshi just glares at me.
"You must visit him a lot." I say. "Every time I pass this graveyard, I see you."
"That's none of your business." Satoshi spits.
"Gomenasai." I repeat. "I guess I'll be leaving now."
"Wait."
I turn to him. "Hai?"
"You said you have strong Pokemon. Let's see about that." Satoshi reaches into his pocket and bring out a poke' ball. "A Battle. Three on three."
I smirk. "Challenge accepted. Three on three it is. You may call out first."
Satoshi enlarges the poke' ball and throws it on the ground. "Karakara!"
I reach in my own pocket and grab one. "Madatsubomi!"
Satoshi laughs shortly to himself. "Just because Karakara is a ground type, doesn't mean your grass type Madatsubomi can beat it."
"I didn't say that, now did I?" I reply. "I forgot to mention to you before that I specialize in water Pokemon, but I do make some exceptions."
"Karakara, use your Headbutt." Satoshi commands and the little Pokemon charges at Madatsubomi.
The attack hits head on and the little flower goes flying, but gets right back on its roots.
"Madatsubomi, Vine whip!"
The battle continued on. I could tell that Satoshi-kun was a good trainer by the shape of his Pokemon, even though most of them weren't even evolved. He didn't flinch a bit when my Madatsubomi won against his Karakara, but the round was different. He sent out Derubiru and I responded with Kameiru. Even though I had the type advantage, Derubiru made my turtle faint. We had each one a battle. The next one would determine the match.
"You're better than I thought you'd be." I say.
"You're not too bad yourself, Kasumi-san." Satoshi replies.
My heart unwillingly skipped a beat. He usually just called me plain Kasumi.
"Anyways," I take a deep breath. "For the last one, I call out Kodakku!"
The little yellow duck pops out and quacks once before grabbing his head and tilting it to the side like a little puppy.
"Kodakku, huh? I heard they were hard to train." Satoshi says.
"They are, but I've had this one for a while, so it obeys me."
Satoshi takes another poke' ball out of his pocket. "Last battle. I call upon Gousu!"
Gousu! I watch as the purple ghost hovers above the ground before my Kodakku. Satoshi claimed that this was his strongest Pokemon. It was a little too awkward, in a way. A ghost in a graveyard, how much of a coincidence. Gousu sticks its large red tongue out. But I didn't have a problem. Kodakku knew some psychic attacks. I could inflict damage on Gousu easily, if only it didn't attack first.
"Kodakku! Confusion!" I shout.
Kodakku's eyes glow an eerie blue as rainbow colors danced in the air.
Gousu didn't hardly seem tickled.
"Gousu." Satoshi says calmly. "Use your Nightshade."
Gousu opens his eyes wide and a purple beam of light erupts all around. Kodakku quacks and quacks. I shield my eyes from the light. Opening them, I see Kodakku lying on the ground, unconscious.
"Kodakku." I sigh softly. "Return."
"You're good, Kasumi-san." Satoshi says, returning his Gousu. "Just not good enough."
He takes off his sunglasses and I was almost sucked into his eyes. The most beautiful shade of brown imaginable. I could look into them forever. Yet, I felt like I had to pay some price for being able to see them at all. Satoshi turns and walks away into the darkness of the night, disappearing among the gravestones. All I could do was stand there with Kodakku's poke' ball in my hand.
I turn to leave myself. I was in such a daze; I couldn't tell where I was going. I suddenly see a pair of feet on the ground in front of me. I look up, expecting Satoshi again, but see a woman. She was dressed in a traditional, old-fashioned kimono. She had brown hair and eyes to match.
"Good Evening, Onna-chan." She says in a sweet slur.
I bow my head slightly. "Yureshiku."
"What bring you here, on a nice night like this?" The woman asks.
"I was visiting my aunt's gravesite, ma'am." I reply.
"I'm sorry for your loss." She replies. "Though, I thought maybe you could help me."
I look around, a little confused. "I guess it depends on what it is."
The woman walks closer to me until she was only about five inches from my face.
"Chi." She says.
Blood?
"I want…" She places her hand softly on my neck. "Your blood."
My eyes go wide and I could hear my gasp. I was so frightened I couldn't move. There were such things as vampires. Why did I have to run into one!? Someone help me!
