Man, you ever have one of those things that just gets you thinking? For me it was reading about that Live Action Pokemon thing, Pokemon Live! Don't know why, but I really want to see it, but now it's impossible and it make me kinda sad...anywho don't own Pokemon and enjoy the chapter.
It was the smell that finally awoke him, the smell of food. Opening his eyes, the trainer sat up, Tori's blanker falling off of him unnoticed. Turning to look at the fire he saw Tori studiously watching a batch of food cook over the fire in a pan. Tori, hearing him stand up, turned and smiled at him.
"Good morning…or…at least I think it's morning, you can't tell, the blizzard's still going outside," she motion to the entrance to the cave where a fierce blizzard could be seen blowing, "want some breakfast?" Tori offered the pan towards him, inside appeared to be a batch of sizzling, diced up potatoes. Ignoring the food, the trainer looked over at the blanket lying on the ground.
"I did not go to sleep with a blanket," he stated, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Oh, well you were shivering last night and I…" Tori fell silent as the trainer turned his gaze back to her, "…thought you might need it," she finished quietly.
"I don't need your charity," he responded coldly, sitting down in front of the fire to warm his hands.
"Fine then," she replied in a huff, "I guess you don't want any food then either," she set the pan on the ground near the fire, allowing it to cool off. Scowling, the trainer grabbed the pan by the handle and pulled it towards him. Grabbing a bit with his finger, he blew on it to cool it off before popping it into his mouth. Swallowing it, he noticed something.
"I've had this before," he said to no one in particular.
"Yeah, I served it to you back in Sienna Village, it my dad's world famous potatoes," she paused, wondering if her parents were worried about her, she had ran away about a day ago…did they even think she had gone up the mountain?
"World famous?" ask the trainer, interrupting her thoughts, "I've never heard of them before…"
"Yeah," admitted Tori, a slow smile forming on her face, "we only serve them at our restaurant, and they don't even taste that great. They're just plain potatoes cooked by my dad, but that doesn't mean they're not special," the trainer simply responded with a blank stare, it was obvious he didn't understand.
"My dad is always so happy to make them, bragging about how wonderful they are and how famous he's going to be, that you can't help but get caught up in it. My dad can always use them to bring a smile to me or my mom," her smile grew brighter just thinking about it, "they're special because of the memories I have with them," she finished.
"Foolishness," was all he said before returning to the food. Tori's smile disappeared and she immediately stood up in anger, glaring down at him.
"What's wrong with you?" she shouted at him, "you take everything good and make it seem like nothing!" The trainer stood up, allowing himself to look Tori in the face.
"I make it look like nothing because it is nothing!" he retorted, "memories do nothing! Looking back at them serves only as a distraction."
"Why?" asked Tori, "why are they so terrible? What makes you see them like this? What happened to you?"
"You want to know?" replied the trainer, anger etched onto his face, "you really want to know?"
"Yes!" Tori screamed back at him.
"Everyone I knew and loved died in front of me! The only place I could even call home is nothing more than a black pile of ashes, a blank spot on the map!" Tori was taken aback, she hadn't thought he would answer, but he was not yet done, "I don't even know how I survived, all I remember is fire, and running. I'm running and I can't do anything else. I hear people screaming but I can't stop, I can't help them. You tell me memories are special? I can close my eyes and remember my parents, see them smiling, but when I open my eyes again, all I see are ashes. Memories won't get me to the top of this mountain, memories won't help me get my revenge, and memories won't bring them back. They are nothing!" he finally finished, practically spitting the last words at her. Glaring down at the pan he had left on the ground, he picked up and dumped the rest of the food into the fire. Throwing the pan back to the ground he turned away and headed for the mouth of the cave.
Tori didn't know what to say, she didn't know if there was anything she could say. Silently, she went about the cave, picking up her blanket, the pan, and putting out the fire. Throwing her backpack over her shoulders, she headed to the front of the cave, where the trainer was waiting, staring out into the blizzard.
"Ready to go?" he asked, not bothering to look at her.
"Hmm…" she muttered, not quite having found her voice. Heading out into the snow, Tori felt the leading presence again. Not knowing what else to do, she followed it. As she began walking all she could hears was the trainer's voice in her head, repeating over and over.
"They are nothing!"
Tori stopped suddenly in the snow, causing the trainer to unceremoniously run into her.
"What are you doing?" he asked angrily, thinking she had done it deliberately. Tori simple raised her arm and pointed off to the distance as an answer. Following her gaze he saw what had caught her attention. It was the last thing either had ever expected to see in a desolate place like this, it was a house.
It was situated neatly in the snow, built out of sturdy stone with a powerful roof. It looked large, probably large enough to house several people. Both of them stared at it for a few minutes before finally saying something.
"W-what's a house doing here?" Tori asked, the question both of them had been thinking.
"No idea," answered the trainer who immediately began heading for the front door.
"What are you doing?" Tori asked him, confused.
"Going inside," he answered obviously, "there might be food or water, or even a map."
"But what if people are living there?" Tori followed up.
"Then we'll ask if they have food, water, or a map," he sighed, now sounding very annoyed. Seeing no other choice Tori ran up behind him as he opened the front door, surprisingly silent. Peering inside, everything appeared pitch black.
"You bring a flashlight?" the trainer asked Tori still peering inside.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," she replied, rummaging around inside her pack, finally pulling out the flashlight. Flicking it on, she handed it to the trainer who shined it inside. They slowly headed inside and entered what looked like a hallway. Heading through it, they peered into the few rooms they passed, shining the light in then quickly moving one. There were two bedrooms, each consisting of a single bed, neatly made, along with a desk and chair. Another room looked like a study, it had a desk and chair like the bedrooms, but also several bookcases full of books that were either about raising Pokémon, or simply books of fantasy. Continuing forward, they reached the end of the hallway, which led into a large living room. There was a large table, set for four people, along with a large chair, most likely for relaxing. At the edge of the room was another door that looked like it led to another bedroom.
"There's no dust…" Tori finally said.
"What?" asked the trainer, still looking around for anything that could useful to him.
"Someone kept this place clean, otherwise there'd be dust, but how do they see in here? There's no way to light it…" she explained, looking around. It was true, there were no switches for electrical lights, or lanterns or torches that could be lit by flame…it was all very strange.
"Doesn't mater, there's one more room, if there's nothing in there for us were leaving," heading for the last room, he was almost inside when the door suddenly slammed shut in front of him. Turning around in confusion, he began eying any corner, expecting an attack.
"Dusk…noir," a ghostly voice echoed throughout the room, yet the source could not be seen. Slowly, a large figure began rising out of the wooden floor. It faintly resembled a genie, but it only had one glaring red eye and a yellow antenna on top of it's head.
"Wha-what is that?" Tori stammered, terrified at the giant apparition.
"Dusknoir…just a Pokémon, beaten just as easily as any other," he replied, reaching down for one of his Pokémon.
"Dusknoir!" a deep voice suddenly shouted, shocking everyone, "that's enough, they're just two kids," stopping, the ghost Pokémon nodded and slowly drifted off to the side, still eyes the two warily. Shining the light down the hallway they were greeted by a powerful looking man. He was at least six feet tall with long white hair and a huge beard, dressed in thick wool clothing to protect him from the cold. His shoulders and head where covered in snow and when he saw the light pointed at him he let out a huge laugh.
"Is that a flashlight? Hah! I haven't seen one of those in years, but put that away there are better ways to light this old house. Dusknoir, use will-o-wisp," the ghost nodded and waved it's arms. Tiny balls of blue flame spiraled around it's body before spreading around the house, alighting neat the ceiling and giving a steady even light throughout the building.
"Easy way to light up the place, and I save on my electricity bill," the man let out another powerful laugh, "now, let see here, two kids and, oho! A trainer!" he added upon seeing the Pokéballs on the trainer's belt.
"Uh…sir? What are you doing up here?" Tori finally asked.
"Well that's obvious, I'm living here!" the man answered with another laugh, "and call me John, no need for all that sir stuff."
"No, that's not what I meant, I-"
"No more questions," John interrupted her, "at least, not until after we've had some dinner," with that he led them over to the large table set up in the living. Seeing no other choice, they followed him and sat down. John hurriedly went around the house, seemingly producing plates and other tableware out of nowhere. Finally he served them a meal, which consisted of mainly green vegetables and mushrooms. Tori, not wanting to look rude, picked up a mushroom and put it in her mouth, surprisingly, it was delicious! Staring over at he trainer though, she saw that he had not even attempted to touch his food, simply staring at John who sat down and devoured his meal with great gusto. Continuing to look around the room, Tori was surprised to see that Dusknoir had moved, not behind John, but behind the trainer. It seemed to be watching him, as if confused with what it saw.
"Well now," John said, finished with his meal, "I believe you may ask some questions now," seeing that the trainer wasn't going to say anything Tori asked a question first.
"Um, how did you get up here? Did you build this house? And, where did you get this food from?" Tori stopped, afraid John would get mad if she asked any more questions.
"Hah, is this an interrogation?" John asked, "no matter, I walked up here, same as you two. I actually found this house; I only added a few things, like this table, the silverware, and a few other odds and ends. As for the food, the constant tunneling of the Pokémon leaves tunnels and caves all throughout this mountain, and all sorts of things grow in them. Now, if you don't mind, I'll ask a question of my own, why are you two climbing this mountain?" Tori paused, unsure of how to answer, she couldn't tell him the real reason but…
"We've heard stories of the legendary Pokémon on top, we want to see it," the trainer answered for her.
"I see," John replied, nodding, "so trainer, why don't you let your Pokémon out for a bit, I'm sure they'd like to stretch out a bit," John added as an afterthought. The trainer slowly nodded and reached down to his belt, releasing his Pokémon in four busts of light. Each one looked around, expecting a battle, seeing none they each wandered around the room, unsure of what to do. Hitmonlee finally sat down cross-legged, looking like it was meditating. Houndour sat down next to it's trainer, acting like a guard. Banette headed over to Dusknoir, observing the large ghost Pokémon, while Scyther sat down as well, relaxing next to Hitmonlee.
"Quite a team you've got," observed John, "where'd you get them all?"
"You ask a lot of questions," countered the trainer, still on his guard.
"Excuse me," John apologized, "you are the only company I've had in a few decades, I apologize if I'm a bit overly talkative," he let out another chuckle.
"Hmm…" the trainer turned to his Pokémon, starting with Houndour, "Houndour go through abandoned towns, they're like scavengers, and I ran into a pack. Fighting them off, I was able to capture this one. Scyther I found in the woods, I knew they were powerful and he'd be useful, so I captured him. Hitmonlee attacked me, trying to prove it's strength, it was defeated easily. It began following me, hoping to become stronger by doing so," the trainer paused as if reflecting on those memories.
"And what about Banette?" John asked, indicating the grinning ghost that was scrutinizing his Dusknoir.
"That one…simply began following me one day," John nodded at this, as if it had some deeper meaning, "it was strong enough, so I kept it…" the trainer finished.
"I see, well, thank you for the company, it's been a long time since I've seen anyone up here, you are both welcome to use the bedrooms, it looks like it's getting dark outside," John offered.
"Sure…" replied the trainer, slowly getting out of his chair, Tori got up to follow him but John called her back.
"Wait, there's something I'd like to say to your friend first," he explained. The Trainer simply shook his head.
"Say whatever you want, she's not my friend," with that he left the room, his Pokémon following behind him. Tori, alone with John, glanced down at the table, nervous.
"Um, John…" she began unsteadily, "there's something I need to tell you…"
"You're not going up to just see the Pokémon on top of the mountain, are you," John finished for her.
"How did you know?" Tori asked, completely surprised.
"That boy…even I can feel the hatred and anger flowing from him," he explained, "his Pokémon, Banette, they are drawn to emotions, mostly dark emotions, and to see that one following him so closely, what he's going to do is obvious…" John's jolly nature was gone; his voice was one of complete seriousness.
"But, but can't you stop him somehow?" Tori asked, now worried.
"I could try…but I would lose," he answered easily, "tell me, have you heard the legends of this mountain?"
"Legends? No, never," Tori replied, now confused at the shift in topics.
"This mountain, is alive in it's own way, it can sense the emotions of the people climbing it, and it responds to them, drawing wild Pokemon to them, or even starting blizzards. Trainers, who try their luck, wanting an adventure, full of battle, find it, yet they are always forced back. But that trainer, to have so much hatred, I have never seen the mountain whip up such a terrible storm, yet he didn't stop, he was never forced back, he fought his way up here…" the old man sighed, a look of pity on his face, "you saw my Dusknoir didn't you, watching him? Dusknoir is known as a grim reaper of Pokémon…death swirls around that boy, that's what gives him strength, the need to avenge the dead…no, I could never defeat him.
"But what about me…I made it up here so easily," Tori argued.
"But you didn't come looking for a fight, what did you come looking for?" John asked, staring intently at Tori.
"I…I came looking for…him," Tori realized.
"Exactly, and the mountain led you, then once you found him…you wanted to help, and his desire to reach the top, and your need to help, led you here," John continued to explain.
"Tell me…how close are we to the top, to the end of this?" Tori asked needing to know.
"Close…very close, he could most likely make it up without you…but you need to go with him," John told her leaning forward.
"Why? You heard him, I'm not his friend, he doesn't even listen to me," Tori told him, looking back down at the table again
"No…you're wrong," John said silently, "just think, you followed him all the way through this, something he probably doesn't understand. Your probably the only person he ever hears, that why he distances himself, because your words get through to him. You're the closest thing to a friend he'll ever have…"
"But…what am I supposed to do?" Tori asked, desperate for an answer.
"I don't know," John sighed, "you must try…or something truly terrible is going to happen…" with that John stood up and headed to his room, Dusknoir following behind him, leaving Tori alone at the table as the will-o-wisps began to darken and fade away. Finally, she stood up and headed to the hallway. Looking into a room she saw the trainer, alone, his Pokémon having been returned, sleeping silently in a bed. Passing him, she went to the second room to find a bed of her own. Sitting down, she stared into the darkness of the room, unsure and afraid of what tomorrow would bring.
Hah, this one was a bit longer than I expected, I hope it's okay, I really like how the Trainer's scream match with Tori went, so please read and review everyone!