Chapter 4: Light
Milli crept toward the dim orange light in the corner of the building. Molina followed closely behind her. A small, glowing orange sphere was floating just above the ground. It spun slowly in the air.
"What is it?" Milli wondered aloud. Milli reached out to touch the sphere.
"No! Don't touch it. We don't know what could happen," warned Molina.
"Right, right," said Milli. She opened her bag and slowly lifted it until it engulfed the sphere. The sphere now somewhere safe, Milli turned and asked, "What now?"
"The storm seems to have let up. Let's get going to Verdanturf so my Mommy can stop worrying and you can continue on your journey."
"Surskit, return. Ok, come on."
Milli opened the door to the abandoned Day Care. Scattered gray clouds raced across the sky. The air was cool and a light breeze was blowing from the direction of Verdanturf. The girls began walking toward their destination. It was a quiet day. There were no chirps from the bird Pokémon and the insect Pokémon were also oddly quiet.
"Hey, Milli."
"Yeah?"
"Are you gonna give your Surskit a nickname?"
"I hadn't really thought about it. I didn't give one to Pichu. I'm not good at coming up with nicknames anyway."
"Can I suggest one for Surskit then? It hasn't been long enough since you caught it to require the services of the Name Rater."
"Sure, go for it."
"I was thinking its nickname could be 'Ame'."
"'Ah-may'? Where did you come up with that?"
"I don't know. It just seemed to fit it."
"'Ame' it is then. Come on out, Surskit."
Surskit emerged from its PokéBall. "Surskit!" it said.
"What do you think about the name 'Ame'?"
"Skit skit. Surskit." Surskit chirped happily.
"Well, I think she agrees. From now on, Surskit will be called 'Ame'. Now return, Ame."
"Hey! I think I see the Verdanturf Town Limits sign. We're almost there!"
"Yeah, I can see the Pokémon Center. Race you there?"
"You're on!"
A few minutes later, Milli arrived at the front door of the Verdanturf Pokémon Canter. Molina caught up a few seconds later.
"Here we are, the Verdanturf Pokémon Center," said Milli.
"I can see Auntie Joy inside. I can just have her take me home later. I guess this is the part where we say goodbye."
"Yeah, I guess it is. Farewell, Molina. If you're ever in trouble, you can count on me."
"Thanks. Goodbye, Milli. I hope we meet again someday."
Molina entered the Pokémon Center. The nurse inside saw her and a look of relief washed over her. The nurse made eye contact with Milli and silently thanked her with a nod. Milli turned her back on the Pokémon Center and began walking toward Wally's house.
***s***
The light grew brighter as it approached Mia, who was huddled in a corner of the cave.
"Hello?" called a voice from beyond the light. "Is anyone in this cave? It's a Zubat roost, and I don't want anyone getting hurt. I saw someone run in here. Where are you?"
"O-Over here," said Mia quietly.
"Huh? Come again? I don't see you."
"Over here," repeated Mia, slightly louder.
The light shined in her direction, illuminating Mia's crouching form. A woman began to take shape behind the light. The woman wore a dark blue vest that matched the blue of her hat. Long, spiky, cerulean hair cascaded down from beneath the hat.
"Hi," the woman said brightly. "I'm Officer Jenny and I'm here to help. What happened in here?"
"Officer Jenny! I'm so glad you're here. I took shelter from the storm, but this turned out to be a Zubat roost. Originally, they went out hunting and ignored us, but when they returned, I panicked and attacked without thinking. Then, they started to swarm me and Pichu here. I…I dropped my Daddy's prized Master Ball that he gave to me for emergency use and caught something. I don't know what, but the Zubat left us alone after that. I was just going to my uncle Brock's house in Pewter and my parents let me travel there with Pichu for protection."
"Slow down a minute. How old are you, dear?"
"I just turned eight the other day.
"And your parents let you off on your own?"
"Only sort of. The plan was for me to get to Viridian by myself and then I would call Uncle Brock and ask him to get me from the Pokémon Center there. It was just to let me see what a journey was like without actually setting off on one."
"I see. You look vaguely familiar too. I can definitely see those two letting their daughter go off early to get a taste of adventure, if your parents are who I think they are."
"They probably are," said Mia, as she whispered their names into Officer Jenny's ear.
"I knew it. All right, my police scooter's outside. I can get you all the way to Pewter if you want."
"Oh, could you? Please? I want to get to Uncle Brock's as soon as possible. I haven't seen him in forever."
A strange look crossed the officer's face.
"Wait a minute. Brock? The world-renowned Pokémon Breeder? You're his niece?"
"He's my honorary uncle, no actual relation."
"That explains it. Well, let's see what's in that Master Ball. We'll do it the easy way, that way whatever is in there doesn't attack us."
"Easy way? What's that?"
"We scan it with the Pokédex. Professor Oak came up with this feature a few tech generations ago. It allows you to gather basic information about the Pokémon inside any PokéBall. The basic version, which is what's given to us officers, tells species and shows a picture of the Pokémon inside the ball, as well as its current energy levels. The more advanced version is used by the various professors and researchers to determine other things, like moves and how near it is to evolution. So, let's find out."
Officer Jenny took out a Pokédex. She pressed a blue button labeled "Scan".
"Scanning Master Ball," said a feminine automated voice. "Energy level: Medium. Likely to be active. Low possibility of being in an aggravated state. Species confirmed: Zubat."
An image of the Zubat popped up on the screen.
"That's odd," said Officer Jenny. "It's doubtful, but maybe Brock will know about this."
"What's so odd?" said Mia. "Are Zubat not supposed to be that color?"
***s***
A slender beam of sunlight entered the window and alit on Marie's eyelids. The bright light woke Marie and she squinted toward the window. She rolled out of bed and began getting ready for the day. She counted herself lucky not to have been plagued by nightmares of worry for Drifloon. But something was still on her mind. Again, she had dreamt of her grandfather's Gym and seen him in a wheelchair. There had been no sound in this dream, save one lone word. She had been trying to lip-read her parents' mouths when that word rang out like a thunderclap. She looked out the window and whispered, "Kiri." That was a name she hadn't heard in almost three years. She put the thought out of her mind and exited Adelie's room.
Mmmm, thought Marie. Something smells delicious.
She entered the kitchen to find Mr. Bitterleaf cooking up a hearty breakfast of potatoes, eggs, and bacon. Mr. Bitterleaf noticed the quizzical look on Marie's face.
"Ah! I bet you haven't had this kind of food much. Well, I'm from Unova originally, and this constitutes a good old all-Unovan breakfast. You can't beat meat and potatoes in Unova. Strengthens your muscles and gives you plenty of energy for the day. I'll send you off right and full."
"Thank you so much for the food and shelter, Mr. Bitterleaf. We are ever so grateful. Is there some way we can repay you?"
"Don't worry about it. Wait, no. Actually, come back in a few years. I'll have you teach Adelie what it means to be a Pokémon Trainer."
"You can count on it. We have to be off as quick as we can, so that Drifloon can get proper medical treatment at the Pokémon Center."
"Yes. Go along now. I don't want to delay you any longer."
"Come on, Pichu. We'll come back some day, and you'll be able to play with Adelie again." Marie turned toward the blond-haired child. "I guess I'll be seeing you in a few years. Learn as much as you can before I get back."
"I will. Thanks for letting me play with your Pichu."
"Anytime. Goodbye now," said Marie, walking out the door into the bright light of the new day.
"Goodbye," cried the old man and little girl.
Marie walked on toward Jubilife City. Around 6;00 p.m., she reached the outskirts of the town.
"This city is huge. I can't even see the Pokémon Center from here. Well, at least I have a map."
Marie took out her PokéGear to determine where the Pokémon Center was. She quickly located it and deduced that it wasn't as far away as she had feared. Approximately forty-five minutes later, she arrived at the front door. Filled with trepidation, Marie opened the door and stepped into the soft light of the building.
***s***
Milli arrived at Wally's house soon after leaving Molina at the Pokémon Center. She knocked on the front door.
"Come in," said a voice. "I'll be down in a minute. Make yourself at home."
Milli walked through the door and entered a small antechamber. Continuing on, she found herself in a green-carpeted living room. A TV sat against the wall. It was playing the old classic Gone With The Whirlwind. A couple of brown rocking chairs sat opposite the TV. The house felt small on the inside, though it was cozy as opposed to cramped. Milli sat in one of the rocking chairs and waited for Wally to make an appearance. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
A green-haired man was descending from the top floor. The man was thin, and gave off an air of frailty. That's Wally? He doesn't look like someone who should be giving advice to Trainers. thought Milli. Not exactly someone I would want to tell me how to go about on my journey. But Mom and Dad say he can give good advice to Trainers starting on their journeys so here I am.
"Hello," said the man. "My name is Wally, but you probably already knew that. What's yours?"
"I'm Milli. Mom and Dad sent me here to get advice on where to start my journey, but there's no way you can make a living off of that. What else do you do?"
"I usually just help the Contest Hall get organized, on account of health issues that prevent me from working too laboriously. But people say my advice is usually spot-on, so I do that on the side for free. So what advice do you want to ask for?"
"Originally, I only had one question. But now I have two. I'm here to ask advice on where I should go for my first Gym Badge. I don't want to follow in my parents' footsteps exactly, but I do want to be a great Trainer. I was going to go defeat the Rustboro Gym first, but that seems impractical with Pichu as my Pokémon. The second question doesn't have a lot to do with journeys. Do you have any idea what this is?"
Milli slowly lifted the orange sphere out of her bag. The ball of light hovered in the air above her palm, rotating slowly. Wally leaned closer to get a better look at the strange orb.
"I don't know what that is," said Wally. He reached out his hand to touch the sphere. Milli jerked it away before his fingers made contact.
"Are you crazy? You don't know what it is, and your first instinct is to touch it? A six-year-old would know better."
Wally's eyes were glazed as he continued to reach toward the sphere. Milli was beginning to worry. Something felt very wrong. She left the chair and began slowly backing her way out of the house, keeping an eye on Wally, in case he decided to follow. Wally continued in his silent endeavor to touch the glowing orb. Milli was at the front door. Wally was in front of her, reaching for the ball.
Maybe, I've got to find help. And I won't show them the sphere. There's something off about it, thought Milli.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
A low humming sound was being emitted from the ball that Wally had managed to touch while Milli was thinking. Wally disappeared. A book appeared. Milli was only able to read the title, The Meowth in the House, before the book vanished from view. She heard a noise coming from the upper floor. She dared to look up the staircase. A Gardevoir had appeared at the top. It seemed confused. It was looking at something behind Milli. Milli turned around and gasped in shock.
***s***
Mia was tired of riding on the police scooter. Her legs were sore and the constant bouncing had become annoying hours ago. At last, she saw the sign for Pewter City's outer limits.
"We're here," she shouted above the engine.
Officer Jenny didn't acknowledge her outburst. Continuing with the drive, she parked outside a modest house.
"This is it, right?" she asked tersely.
"Yeah. Why were you so quiet the whole way here?"
"Do you want the long story or the short story?"
"Well, we're almost there. So the short story will be fine."
"All right then, here we go. It was about ten years ago. I was fresh out of the police academy and assigned to Pewter City to help with the fossil fraud exploits of Team Rocket. I was at the museum one day when this guy came in. He started going around telling everyone that he was back in town for the next few years while he studied to become a doctor. He introduced himself to me. Started hitting on me pretty much immediately. I was young back then, so I felt flattered. We went out for quite a while, but about a year after we started dating, he said there was another woman. I was initially furious, but he told me he didn't mean it literally. There was just one girl he would never be able to give up on. Soon after we broke up, I was suddenly re-assigned to Viridian. I've avoided Pewter ever since because I didn't want him to think I'd specifically asked for re-assignment. There's a lot of stuff I skipped over, but that's the basics of it."
"I don't think you should have worried so much. My uncle isn't one to hold something like that against you. And you definitely could have come back. I think he found the girl he lost. They've been together for about two years now."
"Really now? I didn't think she was real, or at least that she was dead and he would eventually move on. That's his house up there, isn't it?"
"Yep. I can walk the rest of the way if you don't want to see my uncle."
"No, it's fine. I'd like a chance to talk to him again after all these years."
They pulled up to a large white house with a red roof. A waist-high fence surrounded the building. The doors were open. People were hustling and bustling about inside. A tall man with tanned skin stood with his back to the doorway. He seemed to be giving orders to the ones inside. The officer drove to the front gate. The man turned around as he heard the beeping of the police scooter's horn. His face lit up as he saw Mia.
"Mia!" he said. "I wasn't expecting you to be here. I was supposed to get you in Viridian at the Pokémon Center, wasn't I?"
"Yeah, but things got kind of bad in the woods, and Officer Jenny found me and offered a ride the whole way here."
"Thank you for bringing my niece here safely. It's good to see you again. I'm sorry things ended the way they did with us."
"No, no. It's ok. I haven't come back here because I thought you'd thought I'd asked for re-assignment."
"I know you wouldn't do that, La-," Officer Jenny cut him off.
"Don't say my name. I have to be leaving now, though if I may ask a favor?"
"Anything you want."
"I want to see this girl, the one you were so hung up on. Your niece seems to think you finally found her after all these years."
"Um, well, she isn't here right now exactly. She went to the League to get some paperwork that would allow her to move her Gym here by taking over the current building. Um, I know I have a picture around here somewhere."
He began searching his pockets for a picture when a blue flash of light suddenly swept through the room and a book dropped to the floor.
"What was that?" he said. He bent down to pick up the book that had fluttered to the floor. The book was bound in brown leather. Gold lettering was engraved on the front. "Surskit, Wurmple, and Other Bugs of Hoenn: A Guide to Catching and Raising Various Insect Species," read Brock. He flipped the book over but found no text on the back describing the book beyond the title being repeated. Opening the book, he found the introduction and began reading.
"Hello there. This book is dedicated to my children, who have to put up with me and my Ariados on a daily basis. I grew up being taught that Bug Pokémon were creepy. But I caught a Spinarak on the first day of being a Pokémon Trainer and we've been inseparable ever since. The memories we share only deepen our bond with each passing day. Enough about me. I wrote this book to challenge the common assumptions about Bug Pokémon. With any luck, I'll inspire the next generation to at least consider training Bug type Pokémon. I plan on turning this into a series. This book focuses on Hoenn for the specific reason I did not wish to uproot my family just for the purposes of my research. And now, without further ado, I present: Surskit, Wurmple, and Other Bugs of Hoenn: A Guide to Catching and Raising Various Insect Species: Volume 1."
"I've never heard of that book," piped up Mia.
"I haven't either," said Officer Jenny. "Which is strange because I happen to both be a fan of Bug type Pokémon and an avid reader of pretty much anything."
Brock closed the book. "I can't find anything on this book. Not a publish date, not a city or town, nothing. There's no way to identify where this book came from except the author's name which is-"
A second flash of blue light interrupted Brock's sentence. The book disappeared into thin air, but almost nothing else changed.
"That…was…weird," said Officer Jenny.
"Yes, very strange," agreed Brock.
"Well, I see something even weirder," Mia chimed in.
An imposing stone gray door covered in glowing blue runes stood before the three. With a start, Mia realized she could read the symbols carved on the granite slab. Enter, Mia, and travel your path. It's all just a game. Find your way home from the other side. The only price to pay is freedom. Enter, Mia, and never will you be forgotten. Mia slowly approached the door. She gripped the Master Ball containing her Zubat and pressed the release button. A burst of blue light emanated from the Ball. Zubat's form coalesced from the light. Brock's eyes opened in shock, for Zubat was a brilliant yellow.
"A yellow Zubat. I've never even heard of one of those. I know some can be born with a rare green coloring but this is completely new."
Mia gave the Master Ball to Brock. "I don't need this anymore. Will you please give it to my father?"
"Wait! Mia! What are you doing?"
"The door compels me to enter. The cost was freedom. Zubat is now free to do as it pleases and I can enter the door." As she said this, she pushed open the door. A familiar scene played before her eyes.
"It's…just a Pokémon Center," said Officer Jenny.
"This is still weird. Let's just stay away from….Mia, come back!"
But Mia was already through the door, and Brock learned the hard way that only those who the door chooses are let through as his hand slammed against an invisible barrier.
"What can we do? My niece just walked into some weird door and I can't do anything about it."
The door was slowly closing. Brock frantically tried to reach Mia, knowing it was a useless effort. Suddenly, the red Zubat dove toward the door.
"Zubat?" said Brock questioningly. "But Mia gave you your freedom as the cost to enter the door."
They watched as Zubat also disappeared through the door just before it shut
"But how can that be?" asked Brock. "Why couldn't I do anything? Why could Zubat pass through that door but not me?"
"I think your niece may have misinterpreted the door. Zubat saw her mistake and at that moment decided to stay with her and protect her. The cost wasn't Mia giving the Zubat its freedom, but Zubat giving up its freedom to protect her. The door wouldn't have opened if it didn't think Zubat had truly given up its freedom."
"Well, at least a Pokémon Center is a safe place. As long as I stay calm, I can try to figure things out. First things first, I need to call her parents and tell them what happened."
"Good luck, Brock. I'll file a report and get the police on this case."
"Get the police on what case?" A mysterious woman with dark green hair appeared behind them out of thin air.
"Oh, hi, honey," Brock said nervously. "Um, Mia sort of went through this door that appeared out of nowhere. We couldn't do anything to stop her. There was some sort of barrier that I couldn't get through. I was just discussing what to do with Officer Jenny here."
"Hello, Officer. I'll help in any way I can. Did you call her parents yet?"
"I was about to when you got home. I'll go do that now."
Brock dialed his friends and prayed that they would pick up the phone, or he would have to deliver the news in person.
"Hello?" said Mia's father. "Brock? Are you there?"
A voice called on her father's end. "Who is it, dear?"
"It's Brock. I think Mia got there early."
"Oh wonderful! Let me talk to my brave little girl."
"About that," said Brock, proceeding to explain all that had happened and apologize repeatedly and profusely.
"Mia," whispered her parents in simultaneous disbelief.
Meanwhile, at the Pokémon Center on the other side of the door, Mia was confused. She remembered seeing a big door, but not much else. Zubat was with her, perched on her head like a Chatot and hissing at everyone that came near. The door at the front of the Pokémon Center opened. A girl came in who looked a few years older than Mia. The girl frantically spoke to the Nurse Joy running the Center. Mia couldn't decipher what they were saying, but Nurse Joy's brow furrowed as the girl's gestures and tone became more frantic. She gave the Nurse a PokéBall and then sat down on one of the provided chairs. Mia approached the girl.
"Hi," said Mia. "My name's Mia. Technically, I'm not old enough to be a Trainer, but I caught this Zubat by accident and my parents gave me a Pichu for my birthday. You seem worn out. What happened to you?"
"Nen axadan'nan," said the girl in the chair.
Mia realized that it wasn't the distance that confounded her senses. She literally couldn't understand a word this girl said.
***s***
Light spilled from the building into the evening air. People milled about the lobby. Trainers sat around with their Pokémon, reading assorted magazines.A few Chansey, differentiated by their differently colored wristbands, hurried in and out through a door leading to the back of the center. A woman stood at the front desk. The woman had pink-red hair and wore the standard uniform for a Nurse Joy. Marie walked up to the counter and began telling the nurse about what happened.
"It sounds like this Drifloon owes its life to you. You say an old man helped stabilize it after you caught it to protect it?" said the nurse, who like all the nurses, was a Joy.
"Yes, that's correct. Is Drifloon going to be all right?" asked Marie.
"We'll see. It's in pretty bad condition if it couldn't even continue to float around. It'll need to be in intensive care for a few days, at the very least."
"A few days? Why so long? The stories I always hear end with the Pokémon being fixed with a night of rest."
"Normally, that would be the case. However, based on these medical charts, it's severely malnourished and dehydrated. I don't even know how it could have possibly been floating when you found it."
"It really wasn't. It just fell from the sky. At the very least, Drifloon is safer here than with me on the road."
"Leaving already?" the nurse asked, eyeing Marie suspiciously.
"Oh, no, no. That's not what I meant. I just meant that I could breathe easier having made it here in time to give it a fighting chance. I'll obviously be staying here until it gets better. Though tomorrow I'll need to travel to the Jubilife TV headquarters to pick up some things and contact my parents."
"I'll try to get in touch if anything goes wrong with Drifloon."
"Thank you." Marie left the desk and went to find a spot where she could read one of the waiting room magazines.
"Hey, wait a minute."
Marie turned around.
"Why would Jubilife TV have your things?"
"Um, no reason." Marie glanced nervously to the side.
Nurse Joy looked at Marie through camera-frame fingers.
"What are you doing?"
"You look aw-". Nurse Joy's eyes widened as a look of recognition shot across her face. "You're her daughter, aren't you? Of that lady who hosts the show about conspiracies and all that? That's the most popular show in the Center. Though that's mostly because it's my favorite show and I control the remote. Everyone else just think she's just an extremely lucky crackpot theorist with some admittedly insightful thoughts." The nurse was exclaiming all this in a rather vocal manner and people were beginning to turn and look at the commotion.
"Keep it down, keep it down. I don't want people to know that. Right now, I'm just another Trainer with an injured Pokémon and there's nothing special about me."
"I see what you mean. Ok then. Go get yourself settled in now. It won't do any good to worry about Drifloon."
I've got more than just Drifloon to worry about, thought Marie as she remembered her dream from that morning. What's going on, Mom and Dad? Is Grampa ok? Will you be back soon?
Nurse Joy interrupted her troubled thoughts. "Can you get your mother's autograph for me? It would mean a lot. Just have her make it out to "my number one fan, Ophelia. Before you ask, the answer is yes, my parents did enjoy Shakespeare's Hamlet a little too much. Alas, poor Yorick. My brother fared much worse than I in their insanity."
"Right, right. I'll just be going and getting settled in now." Marie quickly walked away from the odd nurse. She loked around the lobby for somewhere to wait out the night. A girl approached Marie. The girl appeared to be quite young, but she had a yellow Zubat perched on her shoulder.
"Mnhredii," said the girl. "Icc mtiau tumu odunh fatac isgwtw eapy ou bapt brhcal tsaot hmyu iti nnti zomaiy lyeed shont ayhdm riyen cybnye pronueamc aoetgs dobtt vuerhglob eiahh tm nae aoer aenp?"
Marie shook her head and blinked. She must've misheard the girl. "I don't understand you," said Marie.
The other girl's eyes widened. She didn't say anything more to Marie. The girl picked up magazine after magazine and threw them to the floor one after another. Marie watched her run up to the Nurse in a desperate attempt to communicate with someone, but the girl's efforts were in vain. The strange girl sat down, a look of utter bewilderment on her face. Marie approached the girl.
"I know you can't understand me, but I'll do whatever it takes to help." As she said this, Marie attempted to gesture what she meant.
The strange girl suddenly threw her arms around Marie. The girl smiled with gratitude. Marie returned her smile warmly. The strange girl began to become frantic again. Marie tried to calm her down but her attempts were futile. The girl was pointing somewhere behind Marie. Marie turned around and watched as a mysterious gray door appeared in the lobby of the Pokémon Center