Same as usual; italics and brackets for Poke-speech, no italics for telepathy. And for some reason I can't center the last word of the title without centering the whole chapter, so I'm sorry about that.
Chapter Three
The Stench Of Victory
Rarutos
I gripped the edges of the basket tightly as we wobbled along the muddy path. Marisa's forehead was slick with sweat and I could see that she was pedalling as hard as she could, but the bicycle seemed to be responding at half-speed.
It had been days since we had left Hearthome City. Most of our time in Solaceon Town was a blur for me, but I distinctly remembered waking several times in hospital to find Marisa by my side. I remembered the feel of soft, white bed sheets; seeing bright lights above me; an unfamiliar human sponging my sweaty face and feeding me by hand. My fever had broken the night before and since we had left the town the following morning, I had been able to describe our surroundings in one word: mud.
I snapped back to reality abruptly; the front wheel had fallen into a deceptively deep puddle and I was nearly thrown out of the basket. The entire vehicle lurched forward and, with a sudden screech, Marisa left her seat and soared directly over my head before landing with an enormous splash.
(What the heck just happened?!)
A violent sneeze rocked my entire body, triggering a fit of coughing which changed into a badly-concealed laugh as Marisa rose out of the mud. Her entire body was so thickly coated in the sludge that she resembled a brown Grimer. It dripped from her clothes and hair in torrents as she dragged one hand across her face, clearing space to see through. Her eyes resembled twin spots of white and hazel burning in her filthy face.
When I finally managed to stop laughing, my body convulsed with another sneeze. I was still recovering from the cold I had developed when riding through the rain days earlier, but thankfully I had gotten through the fever and the nausea.
"What are you laughing at?" Marisa demanded, her eyes blazing with fury.
I was once again laughing so hard that I had to grip the edge of the basket to stay upright. Another bout of coughing took hold and I clutched my chest, feeling the spasms tear at my throat. Blood splattered onto the basket and I wiped my mouth, drawing a shaky breath.
(Maybe the worst of the cold hasn't passed yet.)
Marisa shook her head ferociously, sending mud flying in every direction. Dizzy, she stumbled and nearly fell. "Whoa… I shouldn't have done that."
Her hands closed around the black trunk of a twisted, gnarled tree. As soon as she had regained her balance she let go of it, wiping her hands on her filthy clothes to rid them of the splinters of rotting bark. "Do you think we're close to Veilstone City?" she asked brightly.
I ignored her completely. I may have gotten used to Marisa and realized that she wanted to be my friend, but I had still not warmed to her.
Marisa seemed to understand that I was not going to talk to her. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she returned to the bicycle and embarked on an attempt to drag it out of the pit it had sunk into.
A burst of telekinetic energy engulfed me as I teleported out of the basket, reappearing a few feet away. My wide feet instantly sank into the muddy ground despite my light weight. I glanced down at it disdainfully before returning my gaze to Marisa, who seemed to be having a lot of trouble with the half-submerged bicycle.
With a lot of swearing and straining, the young girl finally succeeded in dragging the contraption onto reasonably-solid land. I stood and watched the process silently, occasionally stifling a chuckle; it was more amusing than watching two Psyduck try to outthink each other. As Marisa finally dropped the thing, however, I heard a quiet snuffling sound emanating from somewhere behind me. My muscles immediately tensed up and I cautiously turned my head toward the sound.
My gaze immediately fell upon a patch of purple in the sloppy surroundings. The Pokemon was roughly my size, a quadruped with long, plum-coloured fur punctuated by a creamy stripe down the centre of his back. His four short, stubby legs were braced apart in the mud, their short claws gripping plants or rocks to prevent him from sinking. He was obviously well-adapted to this environment. His white, bulbous eyes were fixed firmly on me and his long, scraggly tail lifted slowly into the air behind him.
Marisa had also noticed the creature; an expression of delight stole over her muddy features. "A wild Pokemon! Finally I can capture something! Raru, get it!"
(As if I'm going to battle that. I'm not as stupid as she seems to think.)
Marisa's delight gave way gradually to irritation as she realized that I was not going to fight for her. She covered it quickly with false despair in an effort to convince me to assist her. "Come on, Rarutos," she begged. "I looked after you in hospital! Aren't we friends? I promise I won't call you Raru any more! I'll give you something nice to eat tonight! I'll… oh, come on, please?"
I remained stubbornly unresponsive. The creature's long whiskers twitched and his gaze shifted from me to Marisa, the latter of whom returned his gaze intensely. Unnerved, he took a few steps back.
I broke my silence to Marisa, unable to stand it any longer. "Marisa, don't frighten him, whatever you do. Do you know what he is?"
"Not a clue, but he's wild so I'm going to catch him!" Marisa replied excitedly. Her hands tightly gripped the straps of her backpack and she shrugged it off, gripping it between her side and one elbow. Her eyes never left the terrified Pokemon as her fingers fumbled with the buckle.
"He's a Stunky," I told her, exasperated. "Didn't you take a class or something? Are all humans this clueless?"
"I'm not clueless," Marisa murmured, half of her attention on Stunky and half on her hand, which was groping in her bulging backpack for a spare Poke Ball. "Besides, what does it matter what he is? I'm going to catch him anyway!"
I sighed in exasperation and started to warn her, then changed my mind. An evil smile crept across my face. "Never mind," I said sweetly.
Marisa withdrew her hand from amongst her drenched possessions. There was a light of excitement in her bronze eyes as she raised her hand, her fingers wrapped tightly around the empty red and white sphere clutched in her grimy fist. "You're mine!" she cried, swinging her arm back and throwing the orb with all her strength directly at Stunky.
The creature gave a squeak of terror and attempted to flee, but the ball collided with his back. At the impact, it burst open along the hinges; a pure white glow surrounded the creature, dissolving him into a haze of light. In an instant the light had vanished inside the sphere, which closed with a quiet click as it fell into the mud.
"Yes!" Marisa cried, her fist punching the air in triumph. She started forward but my silent telepathic warning stopped her in her tracks. A reddish glow was emanating from the white button as the sphere began to quiver.
The glow faded and Marisa paused, but it did not return. She gave a whoop of victory; she had just captured her first wild Pokemon, all without my help. (Not that she had a choice.)
"Yeah!" Marisa cheered. She jogged forward, splashing me in her haste, and snatched the ball out of the mud. Her thumb depressed the button and Stunky rematerialized in a blaze of white. His entire body was tense in terror.
(Uh-oh. I think I know what's going to happen.)
Marisa turned to me, her expression haughty. "Look! I captured a Pokemon all by myself! Aren't you going to congratulate me?"
I rolled my eyes once again and edged away from Marisa. "Sure. Congratulations on your capture of the living Repel."
Marisa's brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"
She didn't take long to find out what I meant. Still partly frozen in terror, the Stunky had turned his back on Marisa. His tail trembled as it was lifted into the air.
(Here we go. I wonder if humans have a good sense of smell?)
As Marisa watched in confusion, Stunky's muscles tensed and he fired a jet of liquid stench from his rear - directly at Marisa.
It turned out humans did have a fairly good sense of smell.
"AARGH!" Marisa screeched, clawing wildly at her face in panic. She flung herself down into the mud and writhed, coating every inch of herself in it in an effort to get rid of the stink. I could smell her clearly despite my cold. I couldn't help myself; I felt laughter beginning to shake my body. Despite the horrible stench assailing my nostrils, I clutched my belly and doubled over, laughing uncontrollably.
Stunky was watching me in alarm, his entire tense body quivering. Still chortling, I splashed my way through the mud to get to him. I could easily block his attack if he decided to repeat what he had done to Marisa.
"(Hi, there,)" I said cheerfully. "(You can't be so bad if you don't like her either. Unfortunately, she's your trainer now as well as mine.)"
Stunky didn't reply; his nervous gaze shifted from me to Marisa, the latter of whom was still groaning as she rolled around in the slop like a Quagsire on a hot day.
"(Skittish little thing, aren't you?)" I commented. I raised one pale arm and pointed to the writhing human. "(The girl you just sprayed, the mud-monster, the colossus, whatever you want to call her… that's our trainer, Marisa. She doesn't have a clue what she's doing and it's my goal in life to make this journey as difficult as possible for her.)"
Stunky's whiskers twitched. "(And you are…?)"
Pleased at getting a response, I answered cheerfully, "(I'm Rarutos. What's your name, Stench-Factory?)"
"(Sutanu.)"
"(Huh? Sultana? What, like a dried grape?)"
"(No, I said Sutanu! I'm Sutanu the Stunky. And you're… a Ralts?)"
"(Yep, that's me,)" I said happily, ignoring the humanoid mud-monster still thrashing behind me.
With a loud groan of disgust, Marisa rose, dripping, from the filth. "That was a horrible thing to do," she admonished.
I pasted an innocent expression on my face. "So, what you're saying is that you don't want your new partner to use his special ability on you again?"
"No!"
I turned to Sutanu. "(Why don't you try it again? I don't think she got the full blast of it.)"
"No! Aah!" Marisa threw herself to the ground once more when she saw Sutanu aiming at her again. She thrust out the fist still gripping his Poke Ball and, before he could attack, he dissolved into a shapeless cloud of particles which vanished harmlessly into the sphere.
Marisa climbed to her feet and turned her furious gaze on me. I was laughing so hard that I slipped and fell into the mud. "Gullible little thing, isn't he?" I asked innocently, straightening up again.
"Raru! Did you tell him to spray me?"
"Only the second time. What?" I protested as she glared at me venomously.
Marisa started to clip the ball onto her belt, realized she didn't have one and tucked it safely into the pocket of her shorts instead. "What were you talking to him about?"
"Just asking his name," I replied casually.
"And…? What is it?"
"Sutanu. But he likes to be called Sultana," I added, deciding that it would be fun to torment the newest addition to the team.
"Sultana? Like a dried grape?"
"The very same," I agreed, trying not to laugh. (Sutanu won't like this… or should I say Sultana?)
(O)
By nightfall we had still not left the swampy Route 215. Due to the mud-encrusted state of her bicycle, Marisa had been walking with it instead of riding it. Ignoring her complaints of my laziness, I had dozed in the basket for an hour or so as she struggled along.
We arrived in a reasonably-dry area and Marisa dropped her bicycle onto the grass without warning, sending me tumbling directly into a tree. I picked myself up and gave her a filthy look. She simply drew the grimy red and white sphere from her pocket and pressed the button.
A burst of light briefly illuminated our surroundings as Sutanu materialized once more. He stood and shivered for a moment before realizing that Marisa, in her weary state, was obviously not a threat. As he made himself comfortable, Marisa turned back to me.
"Find some firewood," she told me wearily.
"Find it yourself. You can't order me around."
The girl simply shook her head tiredly. "Rarutos, if you don't help me we'll spend the night cold and hungry. Although I guess I could put you back in your Poke Ball…"
I crossed my arms and glanced up at the tree, gathering telekinetic energy. With a crack that pierced the quiet night air, a branch longer and wider than Marisa's entire body ripped itself free of the trunk and dropped, with a deafening crash, two feet from my trainer. The impact sent dirt flying everywhere and Marisa lurched to her feet, stumbling away from the branch.
"How's that for firewood?" I asked calmly.
Marisa's fingers twitched; for a moment I thought she was actually going to try to strangle me. With a huge effort that showed itself in her reddened face, she regained control and began snapping smaller twigs from the fallen limb. After arranging them artfully on the driest patch of land she could find, she produced a box of damp matches from her backpack and began attempting to light a campfire.
Unconcerned, I settled down in the grass to sleep. Sutanu spared me one nervous glance before closing his eyes. I lay staring up at the sky, my garnet eyes reflecting the countless tiny pinpricks of light, and thought about how I had seen exactly the same stars over a hundred times before in my life.
(I wonder if my friends are watching the same stars right now? What would they be doing, I wonder? Would they be eating with their families? Sleeping beside their brothers and sisters? Oh, Galen… Jesse… Kira… I miss you all so much…)
My vision blurred and a single tear made its way down the side of my face before falling silently into the grass. I raised one hand and rubbed angrily at my eyes, smearing mud over my cheeks. (I don't want Marisa to see me crying. I need her to think I'm strong.)
I glanced over to where Marisa was sitting. She was still striking match after match unenthusiastically, failing to get even a single spark out of the damp wood. Eventually she flung the entire box of matches onto the unlit campfire with a defeated groan. "I give up…"
I made no move to assist her. After a moment she climbed to her feet and splashed away through the mud, treading heavily as she vanished among the gnarled trees. I waited until I was sure she was gone.
Slowly I pushed myself up off the ground and approached the pile of wood. A tremor of cold raced through my body as I focused my power again, my eyes beginning to glow with a violet light. A ball of blue flame began to gather between my outstretched hands as I drew light and heat energy from the very air. The sphere pulsed for a moment as I released it, then it collided with the wood and exploded into a roaring campfire.
Sutanu awoke with a squeak of terror as the fire burst into life, but moments later he scuttled closer to the blazing warmth. I settled down and hugged my knees as I stared into the flickering flames, once again thinking about my friends.
After a few minutes the sound of squelching indicated Marisa's return. I didn't look around, but when she spoke I could tell from her voice that she was surprised. "Raru, did you light the fire?"
I remained silent.
"Thank you," Marisa said quietly.
I spun to face her, anger etched over my pale face. "I didn't do it for you."
"Oh. Well, thank you anyway." She settled down on the grass and began to search through her backpack. I stared dully into the fire once again.
"I hope we can be friends one day," Marisa told me.
I ignored her completely and extended my cold hands to the warmth. Marisa abandoned her search through her bag and faced me. "Rarutos, why don't you like me? I'm doing all I can. There's no reason for this hostility."
(Believe that if you want. There's no one more deserving than you.)
I merely turned my head away, indifferent. Marisa heaved a sigh and leaned back, stretching out on the ground. "I'll cook something in the morning. I'm too tired tonight."
(I'm sure any other trainer would take better care of their Pokemon.)
I turned away from her and curled up on my side in the grass. After only a minute something soft was spread over my filthy body. I turned my head, startled, and realized that Marisa had covered me with one of her spare T-shirts to keep me warm.
(I guess she's doing her best. She's trying really hard to be my friend; maybe I should give her a chance.) I curled up under the cloth and stared into the darkness, thinking about how my trainer was attempting to make peace. She at least deserved a chance.
(I wonder what it's like to fight for a human? If she pushes me too hard I'll refuse to continue, but it might be fun. It might be interesting to be a trained Pokemon…)
Despite my attempts to stay awake, I felt my eyelids drooping. I was asleep almost instantly.