Chapter 4: Heartbreak Warfare
The sun is beginning to fade out in the sky as we make our way into the mine, a worker having given us hardhats as we entered. I can't control the small bit of rock dust that trickles into my lungs, making me cough violently.
As we push further into the mine, I trip over a Pokémon landing head first on the ground. I let out an "oof" as the Pokémon sticks out an arm to help me up. I don't know if it's luck or some twist of fate, but the Pokémon we come face to face with is a Geodude.
I toss a Poké Ball at her before Caspian can even so much as think of attacking her. The ball automatically confirms capture and our "sixth" family member is confirmed.
"Welcome to the team Pebbles." I announce as I sheepishly rub the back of my head. "Sorry about stepping on you like that.
"That's quite alright." Pebbles shrugs indifferently, flexing her small arms.
"Holy shit." I gasp. I realize that the deal was once I got six Pokémon I could hear them all clearly, but hearing them clearly is still enough to make me step back a little.
"I beg your pardon. Are you alright?" Pebbles scratches her head sheepishly.
"He can understand us now. He's got some sort of strange fate in our world that was granted to him from Arceus. I always thought he just had amnesia, but I'm starting to put two and two together." Napoleon laughs.
"Darius, can you hear us, really? Oh this is quite wonderful." Sandy beams. "Now I can tell you just how wonderful of a Bidoof I am. Quite a lot stronger than my cousin Sassy aren't I?"
"D-Darius. You c-can hear us?" Sibella stammers.
"What a relief. Now I don't have to pretend like I enjoy trying to translate stuff given that, up until Pebbles joined us, I was the only one with hands of sorts." Caspian chuckles.
"Caspian, I have "hands" too." Sibella announces, flexing the fingertips on her wings. "They just don't reach very far."
My head is spinning. I never thought I'd be able to hear them all so fluently. Not once in my time here, even after the talk with Arceus, could I have imagined it to be like this.
"Can you hear them?" I ask a worker of the mine, my heart pounding crazy fast in my chest.
"Kid, have you lost your mind? Pokémon don't talk." The man scratches the back of his head.
"We forgot to mention that very few other humans have the ability to communicate with us, much less their own Pokémon, like you do." Sibella coos.
"I feel like I'm living some sort of crazy dream." I mumble under my breath.
"Aye, kid. You should get some help with that. Thinking that you are talking to Pokémon and all." The worker calls.
I raise my finger into the air in a formal "piss off" salute. I am not in the mood for assholes. Right now I am torn between wanting to run off a cliff and be back in my comatose body. Yet at the same time, I don't really mind.
"Oh he doesn't like being able to hear us. I'm so sorry." Sibella squeaks. For a Relaxed Pokémon, she sure is flighty—literally.
"Whoa calm down. It's not that. It's just... I feel strange being the only person in this vicinity who can talk to my Pokémon. Especially given the possibility of our fate—er your fate."
"We'll stay by your side no matter what. We're your family too Darius." Sandy grins.
"I know. Thanks you guys." I stroke each of their heads, hoisting myself back up and walking with them further down the cave.
"Hey Darius, given that I was your starter and everything, am I your favorite?" Napoleon asks, tilting his beak up to me in a questioning manor.
"Oh no. Don't play this with me Mr. I don't do favorites."
"Aw come on. You have got to love one of us more than the others." Napoleon grins. He elbows Sibella, who is flying low with the others and she turns scarlet once more.
"Enough with picking on Sibella. I'm okay with her strange little one-sided crush on me. It's not like it's harmful or anything."
The other Pokémon just laugh. I shake my head as a trainer calls out to us for a battle. The battle is quick and painless. Caspian takes out the Geodude with one Water Gun to the face and proceeds to reach level 12.
We reach the end of the cave and observe a man with red hair and glasses smashing rocks with a Pokémon's fists. He glances up at us and grins.
"You see what I'm doing? I'm using Rock Smash to destroy rocks that are in the way. You could do this too if you had the badge from the leader."
"Yeah I'm here to look for the leader." I respond as Sibella flutters up onto my head.
"You're looking at him." My mouth hands open. "The name is Roark. It's nice to meet you challenger. I'll see you back at my gym for a battle."
He saunters off before I can even register anything. Then again, his Pokémon were just smashing boulders. That must be part of the strength of a gym leader.
We begin heading back through the cave, training hard along the way. Caspian flexes his claws.
"Level 13. This is awesome. I can feel my power increasing the more I'm with you Darius." His beak is twisted into a smile. It's kind of hard to imagine, but it's really funny and fills me with joy.
"Thanks Caspian. I'm glad to have you on my team and in my family."
We trek up to route 207 to catch our next Pokémon and it is apparent luck is not with me.
"Welcome to the family Ricky." I announce to the new male Geodude. "Unfortunately, I do not want repeats in this team at this time. So I'm going to ship you off to the PC. No hard feelings."
"No worries bro. Whatever is best for you." He flashes me a thumbs up and I smile.
We head back down to Oreburgh, pumped and ready for our gym battle. I stop by the Pokémon Center and place Ricky into the PC with Sassy. I think the two will get along.
We push open the doors of the gym and are shocked to see two trainers lined up, blocking our way from Roark.
"You must defeat them before you can face me." Roark calls.
"Yes sir." I respond.
The first trainer's Geodude just barely survives a Bubble from Napoleon. He goes down with another Bubble to the face and Napoleon proceeds to reach level 13 as well.
The second trainer has a Geodude and an Onix. The Onix is still no competition for Napoleon, as after he falls Napoleon reaches level 14.
My eyes lock with Roark's as we take our sides of the battlefield. My legs are like jelly, I'm really nervous and afraid that I'm going to mess something up. I feel Napoleon's flipper on my pant leg and look down.
"We can do this. I have faith in you Darius." Napoleon winks and I feel the strength that ties all of my Pokémon and I together—the will to defend our family.
"Bubble." I shout as Roark sends out a Geodude. It doesn't get a chance to blink before it is down and out.
Roark's next Pokémon is an Onix. It starts the battle off with Stone Edge, which I find out to be a move that affects Pokémon switched into battle. I start the battle with a Bubble and proceed to try to take the Onix out with a Pound. Roark heals him and I settle for a Bubble, which turns out to be critical as well as super effective.
Napoleon grows to level 15 and I teach him Peck attack. We are then faced with the last Pokémon Roark has, a Cranidos which seems to emanate power from its body.
"Bubble!" I shout.
"Pursuit." Roark calls.
"Bubble again!" I order.
Napoleon launches a Bubble attack after just barely surviving a Headbutt to the chest. Cranidos is down and out from the Bubble.
"Congratulations. You have defeated me fair and square. I admire your little Pokémon very much. Here is your first badge, the Coal Badge."
My Pokémon and I are ecstatic as he hands us the badge that is oddly shaped like a Poké Ball.
"Thanks so much Roark." I grin.
"You're very welcome. Continue to do well on your journey Darius." He grins at me and I grin back.
We step out the doors and into the light of the setting sun. I begin to train Pebbles, Sandy, and Sibella a little bit before we head back to the Ravaged Path. It's becoming windy.
"Sibella, use the wind to your advantage. I know we don't have any flying moves yet, but just keep doing what you're doing best."
"Will do Darius." She calls.
There are quite a few wild Machop on Route 207 that I'm afraid to send Pebbles and Sandy against, so we work Sibella into the training too. I teach Rock Smash to Pebbles.
I head back to Jubilife and am almost to Route 204 once again when I notice a man with a twitchy mustache and a young girl being picked on by a bunch of weirdos with blue hair and gray and black striped outfits.
"What seems to be the problem?" I ask.
"Darius, just in the knick of time. These jerks are threatening Dawn." The old man with the twitchy mustache glances over his shoulder at me as a blue haired jerk grabs a hold on the girl's arm.
"Excuse me, but how do you know me?" I stare at the man blankly, my thoughts wandering as I try to grasp his face. I have a strange feeling I've seen him before.
"Have you forgotten about me already?" He humphs and then smiles. "I'm the professor you received Napoleon from. My name is Rowan."
"Oh." I try to process this information and suddenly it hits me like a ton of bricks, forcing me to step back.
"Let's get back to business you old geezer." One of the blue haired punks glares at me.
"Hey, just because I'm only now remembering the professor does not mean you can talk to him in such a way. He may be old, but he's full of wisdom." I pry the other guy's fingers off Dawn's shoulder.
"I'll say." Napoleon smiles as he looks at his former owner.
"I demand you pay attention to us." The first guy stomps his foot and throws a tantrum. "Comply with our orders and hand over your knowledge to us."
I roll my eyes. "Why would anyone give information to thugs like you?"
"You wanna go punk?" The guy rolls up his sleeves as the other guy attempts to calm him down.
"Hey kids, don't grow up to be like these outlandish idiots." The professor turns his back on them.
"No worries. We're better than that." Dawn and I laugh.
"Let's battle together, Darius. We haven't had a battle together ever before. You're familiar with tag battles?"
"Not in the least." I shrug my shoulders. "But I'm willing to give it a try."
Dawn smiles and we call out our Pokémon. Sandy's by my side and Chimchar's by Dawn's. The team Galactic—as they inform us—grunts send out a Glameow and a Stunky. I start off the battle with a Growl as the Stunky begins working its Fury Swipes on Chimchar. Glameow follows suit with Scratch.
"Tackle." I shout to Sandy. She rushes the Glameow, nearly taking it out in one hit. Chimchar uses Ember on the Stunky.
Stunky proceeds to leave Chimchar with one HP left from its Fury Swipes. Chimchar aids Sandy and takes out Glameow, leaving Sandy no choice but to Tackle Stunky. Stunky proceeds to use Poison Gas on Sandy, which leaves her poisoned. Chimchar manages to wrap up the battle and Sandy is unharmed. She grows to level 13 and learns Rollout.
"You leave us no option but to retreat." The Galactic grunts pout and storm off up Route 204.
"Those rude people are from Team Galactic. It appears when Pokémon evolve they release some kind of energy. I believe it's a mystic power beyond our control. Team Galactic appears to be studying the power's potential. They want to use the energy for something." The professor frowns.
"The professor studies Pokémon evolution. He says almost 90% of all Pokémon can evolve. How cool!" Dawn cheers.
"Well, they are gone for now. Still, I thank you two for battling and handling that situation as though it were nothing. You're really rather strong Darius, I think you'll become a much better trainer if you can obtain all the badges of Sinnoh." The professor rambles.
"Yes sir." I frown. Isn't that what my goal was from the start?
The professor wanders away with Dawn at his heels like a lost puppy dog leaving me to go back to my training. I head back to the Pokémon Center to heal Sandy and my other Pokémon, a little afraid she was going to die from the poison in her system.
We exit the Ravaged Path and I come face to face with a trainer named Taylor. She's carrying a Budew and a Cherubi in her arms.
"Would you care for a battle?" She asks.
"Sure." I nod as Sibella takes to the air. "Supersonic, Sibella."
My bat opens her mouth and ultrasonic waves hit the Budew, making it confused. It retaliates with an Absorb that does hardly any damage. I follow it up with Leech Life. Budew proceeds to hurt herself in her confusion.
"Sibella, Return."
"Yes master." Sibella's wings begin glowing as she smashes into the Budew, causing a bunch of damage.
The Budew hurts itself again in an attempt to attack, smacking its face into the ground and struggling to get up. One more Return and it's down. Taylor calls out Cherubi and I grin. I start the battle off with Supersonic again, a tad afraid of the tiny bud. However, it hurts itself on its first attempt to attack.
"My lovely Pokémon are putting up quite a fight are they not? But your little bat is oh so strong." She giggles.
"I am strong aren't I?" Sibella grins a little bit.
"Leech Life." I order. Sibella follows my commands without flaw.
"Leech Seed, darling." Taylor calls to Cherubi.
"Return." I shout.
It's apparent the battle is serious as Sibella's health gets slowly sapped by the Leech Seed.
"Leech Life."
"Tackle."
"Return."
"Tackle."
"Return!"
"Tackle!"
That was my last mistake. Sibella winces as the seed binding her saps the remainder of her health. My hands are shaking at my side, my heart pounding in my chest.
"S-Sibella?" I call as I rush to her side.
"Call out your next Pokémon."
"Shut up!" I shout. I flinch at the tone of my voice and I notice Taylor is flinching as well. Tears are spilling from my eyes, I wipe them away as hastily as I can. Sibella's chest is faltering, but she's still alive... for now.
"Darius, I'm so sorry. Don't forget about me. I love you." She reaches up one tangled wing and wipes away my tears before the only sound between us is the strangled sobs racking through my chest.
"Sibella. Sibella no. Arceus why!" I scream to the heavens as I coddle my dead Pokémon. "Arceus why..."
"I'm so sorry for your loss." Taylor whispers.
"D-Don't talk to me you murderer." My voice is cold, like a knife cutting the thick air. Heat is coursing through my body as I clutch Sibella's to my own.
"Unfortunately I can't show you too much remorse, we're still in a battle." Taylor calls.
"Sandy, kill that Cherubi." My voice is anything other than kind as my Pokémon all make whimpering noises around me.
Sandy shakily steps onto the field, her paws like lead as she stares at the murderer. The tiny little smiling pink bud. She doesn't know what hit her as Sandy slams her with the hardest Tackle I've seen yet, so hard blood starts to pour from its wounds.
"The flowers... they are smiling for you." Taylor calls as I walk past her, up the route a little ways beside some trees and flowers.
I sink to the ground, words catching in my throat. My Pokémon are at my side, digging up the land under one tree. My heart feels like a stake has been driven through it and I feel like I'm becoming a monster. I brush tears out of my eyes with my dirty fists as we finally dig a large enough hole in the ground and cover it with fresh earth.
I take a stick and begin writing in the earth around it, placing a flower atop her grave. I write the words that come to mind "Here lies Sibella. A wonderful gal with a smile that lit up the world. Lv 5-11."
My Pokémon's thoughts appear to be as loud as my own. Just six levels to her life. Six levels. She was so close to reaching level 12 and then level 13 in which she would learn her first ever flying move.
"I'm so sorry guys." I whisper as I stare around at my Pokémon, each of them having tears in their eyes. "I was so foolish. I should have... I could have used that Super Potion. I could have saved her."
"It was her will." Pebbles looks to the sky. We all let out our shaky breaths and proceed up the route, our family short one member. We are forced to pick up the pieces of our breaking hearts.
-.-
Lightning strikes Clouds of sulfur in the air If you want more love why don't you say so? Drop his name Clouds of sulfur in the air If you want more love why don't you say so? Just say so... How come the only way to know how high you get me is to see how far I fall? It's a heart... heartbreak... I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight It's heartbreak warfare
Inside my chest to keep me up at night
Dream of ways
To make you understand my pain
Bombs are falling everywhere
It's heartbreak warfare
Once you want it to begin,
No one really ever wins
In heartbreak warfare
If you want more love why don't you say so?
Push it in and twist the knife again
Watch my face
As I pretend to feel no pain, pain, pain..
Bombs are falling everywhere
It's heartbreak warfare
Once you want it to begin,
No one really ever wins
In heartbreak warfare.
If you want more love why don't you say so?
God only knows how much I'd love you if you let me but I can't break through it all.
Let's just fix this whole thing now
I swear to God we're gonna get it right
If you lay your weapon down
Red wine and ambient
You're talking shit again, it's heartbreak warfare
Good to know it's all a game
Disappointment has a name, it's heartbreak, heartbreak.
It's heartbreak warfare
It's heartbreak warfare
-_ –
[ ]
Me: I had to. I just had to finish this chapter with Heartbreak Warfare by John Mayer. Holy crap, I like blinked for a minute when I heard the ping of Sibella's health drop to 4. I thought she could rush with Return and strike first. I think the Cherubi managed to strike first, however and in the end Sibella was lost.
To be completely honest, this first death probably hit me a little less than Darius. Don't get me wrong, Sibella was and still is one of my favorite Pokémon. However it's almost like a repeat to me, because in a previous Platinum Nuzlocke Run in which I only got to the second badge before everything fell apart (why is it always the second badge for me?) I had a Zubat named Vespa. She died at the hands of Team Galactic's Stunky in the Valley Windworks. So I guess I had a bad feeling she was going to die, it was just unfortunate she didn't make it very far.
And don't you just love it how Arceus doesn't come down to comfort Darius as he faces his first death in his small family? As the story progresses we'll get more of a feel on Arceus and how Darius and him get along. We'll also run into Alma here and there.
Any comments, questions, etc.? Please review. I'd really appreciate it. I see people reading this story on my traffic, but nobody reviews. Is it bad or something? Well, I mean it is bad in a morbid sense, but hey, that's just me.
~Heather the tiny ginger (or at least in the eyes of Jordan)