Sorry for the long space between updates. Now that we're past his first gym battle I hope to start uploading more often.
Mother was always there for me. It had always been me, her, and brother. Other people were a rare sight for us. But we were never lonely, she'd tell us stories. Stories and Ho-oh and Lugia, stories from her home land. She said that one day she'd take us there.
Then they started to come. Those people in the black. I never liked them, they spoke to mother rudely, but she never got upset. No matter how badly they treated her. They all seemed to be rude to her when he wasn't around. They always glared at mother in a way that made me want to run.
Except for him.
He never spoke badly to her, his voice was quiet, comforting. He said he cared about her. He seemed to truly love being around her. He always spoke kindly to her.
Father has never spoken that way to me.
"Onix, Tackle!" Brock cried, and the large rock snake dove forward, slamming into Tempest with enough force to launch her across the field. Red cringed as the small yellow Pokemon tumbled on the rocky battlefield.
The Pikachu growled, dragging herself to her feet. Her cheeks began to spark, building up an electric charge. The Onix glared down at her as Tempest released her strongest Thunder Shock, temporarily lighting up the dim room. Red flinched a bit as the electricity hit the Onix, but the rock type didn't even cringe as he was hit. Tempest took a step back in surprise, no one had ever taken her electric attacks like that before, not even other Pikachus had such a resistance.
Brock smiled, "Rock Tomb," The Onix swung his tail, three spheres of white energy forming. The spheres solidified into rocks, being launched at Tempest. She darted forward with Quick Attack, dodging the move. She slammed into the Onix's side with a solid thunk. She whimpered, stumbling away. She growled a bit, letting loose another Thunder Shock, but the Onix only coiled around her, unaffected. Why weren't her attacks doing anything?
"Red!" Aoi cried, "Call her back, electric moves can't do anything to a ground type!"
Red chewed on his lips, looking at Tempest. She sent a few sparks in his direction, she wasn't done with this battle yet! She charged at the Onix with another Quick Attack. The Onix slammed into her as Brock ordered it into another Tackle. Tempest groaned as she was flung back.
"And normal type moves barely do a thing to rock types..." Aoi added quietly.
"Pika!" Tempest cried, wheeling back into a Quick Attack. Some damage was better than nothing! The Onix took the attack once more, looking back at Brock, like it wanted a better opponent. Tempest growled in frustration, deciding to pull off her strongest move. She began to spark, surrounding herself with electricity. She threw herself forward, her whole body encased in a powerful electric current. The Onix's eyes widened in surprise as she darted at him, slamming her whole body into him.
Usually this attack would make her opponents faint, so Tempest could only stare as every last bolt was absorbed into the Onix like it was nothing. She winced as the remains of the electric attack shocked her, a powerful move at the cost of her own health. She panted, tired and frustrated. Brock whistled, impressed.
"Your Pikachu knows Volt Tackle?" He asked, "That's pretty neat, typically you only get that move under certain breeding conditions," He shook his head, "No matter, it still can't touch my Pokemon. Rock Tomb it again, Onix."
Tempest was hit with the rock type move, stumbling. She groaned, head hurting from every time she had hit the Onix with her body.
"Char!" She turned, Aiden was calling to her. The Charmander was waving for her to come back, along with Red. Pikachu growled, she wanted to battle! But she sighed as well, she was now part of a team. She reluctantly returned to Red's side as Aiden jumped off of Red's shoulder, running to take Tempest's place. Tempest crossed her paws as the Charmander took up a battling position.
Red snapped his fingers, and Aiden let out an Ember. The Onix cringed at bit as the small bits of fire hit his rocky skin, but the same skin protected him against the majority of the damage.
"Onix, Rock Tomb!" Brock ordered. Red panicked a bit as the Onix summoned more rocks, this creature was massive! Aiden panicked too as Red's emotions ran through him, and he darted out of the way of the rocks that fell. The Onix slinked forward, using his large body to block the Charmander's escape, "Now Slam!" Onix lifted up his tail, ready to bring it down on Aiden.
Snap snap! Red quickly snapped twice, and Aiden slipped under the Onix's tail, scratching at his face. The Onix drew back it's head, and Aiden clung to its neck.
"Shake it off!" Brock ordered, and Onix flung his head wildly as Charmander hung on for dear life. Luckily his claws on his hands and feet gave him a good grip on the rough surface. Aiden's eyes were closed, and he opened his mouth, releasing an Ember at the Onix.
"Char!"
"Rah!" Onix cried, and he slammed his face against the ground. Aiden's Ember had hit him in the eye. Aiden leapt off the rock snake, and fired another Ember.
The Onix reared up, letting out another roar of pain. Aiden panted, darting forward to Scratch him again.
"Behind you, use Slam!" Brock ordered.
The Onix, still slightly blinded, swung his tail around, catching Charmander. Aiden yelped, and he was thrown to his back, right in front of the Onix. Red gulped.
But Brock didn't give an order, but put a hand on his hip. Charmander curled up, shaking like Red in the Onix's shadow, "You're Pokemon are depending too much on themselves," Brock commented, "That Pikachu of yours didn't even have orders and it seems to lack an understanding of types. In the wild Pokemon can handle other wild Pokemon, since neither have a trainer. But when one side has orders their battle ability sky rockets. Humans give the Pokemon an extra set of eyes, medicine, and strategies. You instantly put them at a disadvantage when they are on their own on the battlefield," Brock sighed, "What I am saying is you need to be one with your Pokemon when you battle. It's a joint effort."
Red glanced at Aiden, who was still reacting to Red's emotional wave of worry. Red instantly severed the connection, realizing that he was putting him at a disadvantage that way as well. Charmander stopped shivering, slowly standing up. Aiden looked back at Red, confused at the sudden cut off. Red chewed on his lip, looking up at Brock from across the field. He seemed to be waiting for Red to make the next move, even though he had the opportunity to attack.
You need to be one with your Pokemon. Red thought over Brock's words, and he made eye contact with Charmander. Aiden had always been easy to connect with on an emotional level, he never had to struggle to get into the Charmander's mind. Red took a deep breath, reaching out to Aiden, similarly to how he had when Proton had cornered them, but this time he wasn't being forceful. He offered the connection to the Charmander, and when there wasn't any resistance from Aiden the Charmander's emotions quickly filled Red's head, and his in Aiden's. A two way bond.
Aiden immediately snapped to attention, tingles running through his whole body. The strange sensation made him feel alert, like a slap to the face. He could feel Red's uncertainly, but his curiosity as well. He could tell that Red was interested by the battles, fascinated by the way people were acting, but unsure about the process. He could tell that Red wanted to win, but was unsure about doing so. Charmander shuddered, this was different that just feeling and taking on Red's emotions, but more like he was in Red's mind. He just didn't feel his trainer's emotions, but why he was feeling that way, the thoughts behind the feelings. It wasn't just one emotion at a time, but a whole wave of different feelings all at once, twisting in and out of him.
It also wasn't overwhelming. Usually Aiden was overtaken by the emotions Red emitted with no choice, but this was different, he had accepted this.
Charmander glanced back at Red, who seemed to be feeling the same thing, but with Aiden's emotions. Red blinked his eyes, which had taken on a more brilliant shade of crimson red. Aiden lowered himself into a charging position, not sure how long Brock was going to wait for them to make a move. Red didn't move, but Aiden could tell that he wanted him to attack. He could feel it. The fire type darted forward, allowing Red's thoughts to become his own- Go behind the Onix, stay in its blind spot, it can't attack you if it can't see you.
They weren't direct thoughts, but somehow a mixture of a thought and a feeling. Right now a feeling of caution was radiating from Red, to fight but to avoid getting hurt. Charmander slipped under the Onix's tail, running behind it. He could feel the dirt battlefield under his claws, yet at the same time he felt like he was on the side of the battlefield, watching.
He felt his body turn, slashing with his claws at a chink in the Onix's rocky armor. Charmander blinked, unsure if he or Red had thought of the attack. The Onix groaned in annoyance, turning to face Charmander, but Aiden had already took off running again. He slunk into the Onix's shadow, releasing an Ember as the rock snake turned, aiming for his eyes.
Red cringed as Onix let out roar, that was the second time he had been hit in the eye. Red had never been hurt in the eye before, but it didn't look pleasant.
Brock nodded, "Better," He seemed a bit confused on Charmander's sudden and much sleeker battle movements, especially without any noticeable orders from Red, but didn't question it. The boy must have his own way of communicating with his Pokemon if he didn't speak. The boy had listened to his advice and improved. That was his job as a gym leader, "Much better, but in the end none of your attacks can do any serious harm to Onix. This battle will go to us. Onix, Rock Tomb!"
The Onix had his eyes closed, still recovering from the Embers, summoned three more rocks around his tail. He launched them at a dodging Aiden, who managed to avoid the first two. The third stone caught the Charmander in the chest, knocking him to the ground with the force. The Onix dove forward, ramming into Aiden with a powerful Tackle. Red cringed in pain as his fire type was flung back into the wall on the side of the battlefield. Red could feel the force of impact on his own back, and his chest throbbed as if he had been hit with the Rock Tomb himself.
Carl sighed, stepping forward, "The Charmander is unable to battle, so the match goes too-"
"Char..."
Aiden began to stir, his blue eyes gleaming. He stumbled to his feet, the flame on his tail flaring up to a harsh blue, flickering in and out with white fire. Aiden became surrounded in a fiery aura, claws gleaming as he took several steps forward.
Brock blinked, "... It just activated Blaze. Your Charmander's ability," He muttered.
"Mander!" Aiden sprang forward, a fierce look in his eyes. His claws shone with a metallic gleam, and he struck Onix in the side with a Metal Claw. The super effective attack made the Onix roar, and Charmander slide back.
Red stumbled back as well, clasping his hand to his head. He couldn't see a thing, blackness was taking over his vision. Aoi took notice of this, glancing at him with worry. Charmander was still in the heat of the battle, the fiery aura still surrounding him as he released a Blaze-boosted Ember. The sheer heat of the attack managed to get through the Onix's rocky skin, finally dealing a reasonable amount of damage to the snake. The Onix recoiled, sliding his side into the cool dirt trying to sooth the burning sensation rushing through him.
Aiden leapt forward one more time, delivering a final Metal Claw to the back of the Onix's head. The rock type shook, his large body falling to the ground. The Charmander huffed as a few seconds of silence past by, then Carl stepped forward as Brock glanced at him.
"Onix is unable to battle, meaning the match goes to Red and his Charmander," Carl declared, he turned towards Red, "For defeating Brock in battle you have earned the Boulder Badge-"
Carl paused mid sentence as he watched Red stumble forward, then fall to the ground, out cold.
"... I could find no signs of any problems. Has he ever had fainting spells in the past?"
"I don't know. I only really got to know him a few days ago!" Aoi's high pitched voice whimpered, "... Well, Professor Oak did find him unconscious, but he said that was from a lack of nutrition and being worn from the wilderness... So I don't know..."
"Hmm..." An unfamiliar voice mused, "Well, I assume that he his fine nutritionally now that he's back with people. I believe he fainted due to exhaustion. If he was in such an unconscious state not long ago, then traveled from Pallet to Pewter it makes sense that could have been pushing his body too far. I would recommend that he gets some rest, then get him to a doctor as soon as you can. There could be something wrong that a Pokemon specialist like me or the Professor could have missed. The nearest clinic would be Cerulean, but that's through Mount Moon ever since they closed off the main road."
"We'll manage," Aoi said, "Thank you for helping though, nurse!"
"Don't worry, he's not the first human to be brought to this Center, let me know if you need anything else. I'll check up on your guys' Pokemon for now," There was the sound of someone walking away, then of a door opening and closing. Then silence.
"Hey Red," Aoi whispered, and Red flinched, "Oh!" The girl cried, "Are you awake?"
Red hesitated, then opened his eyes. Aoi was standing over him, blinking her bright blue eyes. He recoiled, quickly sitting up. He glanced around, taking in the small room.
"This is a small place in the Pokemon Center for human check ups. Many of the smaller towns lack a certified doctor, so places and people like the Pokemon Center nurses take care of the simpler checks ups and such. Professor Oak does that back in Pallet Town since there is no Center there," Aoi frowned, "Of course you have to go to larger cities if something is serious, but I wasn't sure what to do with you. Brock and Carl helped me get you here. Do you remember what happened?"
Red closed his eyes, shrugging, trying to think over her wave of words.
"Well you defeated Brock in battle with a fire type!" Aoi whispered excitedly, "That was so cool!" She shook her head, "Anyways, you just won, and Brock was going to give you your badge, but then suddenly you fainted! The same thing happened to Charmander too, out cold! Of course he had been battling, but we took you both to the Pokemon Center..."
She went on and on, talking about the nurse and how Aiden had woken up on the way to the Center. Red opened his eyes, trying to take a deep breath. He had never done something like that before. He had overwhelmed his powers before, but what he had done with Aiden... that was new. It was strange to be able to connect that deep in the heat of a battle. The most he had ever done was order simple comands in controlled environments, let alone during a battle. Father would never let him do that to a Pokemon capable of battle...
Red flinched as his thoughts turned to his father. He couldn't help but shake as his mind turned to the last time he had driven his powers to make him faint...
"Red? Are you alright?" Aoi asked, noticing Red's trembling and far off look. The boy cringed, looking at Aoi. His scarlet eyes were wide and nervous, "Hey, the nurse said you'll be fine, your Pokemon too. We'll get you to a real doctor as soon as you feel like walking again. You can also get your next badge in Cerulean City, and your Pikachu will have an advantage there!" Aoi leaned over, putting a tray in front of Red, "You better eat."
Red pushed the tray away, a hard look entering his eyes. He was no longer confined, and he wasn't going to let anyone ever force him to do anything ever again. And he most certainly wasn't going to let any memories hold him back.
Note about the last paragraph- Red may say (think) stuff like this, but under pressure he will break, much easier than he likes to think. So if you see parts like this where he seems determined, then he submits to the simplest things soon after, don't be surprised.
