Chapter Seven: Hatching a New Future
James woke up and stretched, grateful that he could sleep in his own bed again. Sleeping on couches was fine, but he was starting to realize that perhaps it was time to upgrade to two-room hotel units.
He splashed some cold water on his face and brushed his teeth to rid himself of his 'night breath' before leaving his room to visit his fiancée.
He rubbed his eyes as he padded down the hallway and gently tapped the door to Kimono's room. "Kimono?" he whispered. "You awake?"
No answer.
"Kimono?" he said a little louder, knocking on the door with an equally increased volume. "You there?"
Still no answer, which worried him.
Feeling guilty for invading her privacy, he turned the doorknob and entered her room. "What the…"
On her bed laid a large, blue crystal-like object. It was easily the size of a human and, with the way it pressed into the mattress, fairly heavy. A steady pulsating glow emanated from it. "Kimono?" he said as he looked around her room, giving the thrumming crystal a wide berth. "Are you in here? Please answer me…"
"Is something wrong, sir?" James jumped as the Lucario suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "I detected distress from you."
"Do you know where Kimono is?" James demanded, in a near-panic not just from the Gardevoir's disappearance but also from Shade's abrupt appearance.
"She is on her bed," he replied, pointing at the large crystal. "She appears to have encased herself in there for some reason."
James cautiously made his way over to her bed and examined the crystal more closely. "Kimono? Are you in there?"
No answer.
"Kimono?" he said, hoping that mind-speaking would give him more luck. "Are you in there?"
Still no answer.
He reached out and carefully touched the structure; its texture matched its appearance, hard and smooth to the touch.
"I don't believe she can hear you," Shade confirmed as he joined his trainer by the bed. "I'm sorry, sir."
"It's okay," James said, running his hands across the bluish gem's glowing surface. "Thanks for telling me."
"Will you be okay, sir?"
"Not until I find out what's going on," the veteran trainer replied with a sigh as he laid his other hand on the Lucario's shoulder. "Well…I guess I'd better get started, huh? Would you be willing to get my cellphone from my room? I…don't want to leave Kimono alone right now."
"As you wish," he Pokémon replied; one blink later, he had disappeared.
"How does he do that?" James wondered aloud, grateful for the mild distraction. "One of life's great mysteries, I guess..." He turned back to the crystal and laid both hands on it, closing his eyes and trying to reach out to his fiancée, so close yet so far away…
"Amazing…" Professor Oak breathed as he checked the readings on the device in his hand. "Simply amazing. My scanner shows that she is in there, James, but…it's as though she's in some kind of suspended animation."
"How do you know it's her?" James asked as he tried to look over the doctor's shoulder at the screen.
"The psychic 'signature' in there is that of a Gardevoir," he replied, pocketing the scanner. "Even though all psychic Pokémon use the same kinds of attacks, their 'signature', for lack of a better word, is different between different species."
"Do you know why she's in there? And how long she'll be in there?"
The older man shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea. To be honest, I'm surprised that my scanner was even able to detect this much; it's not designed with this in mind." He cupped his chin with his hand as he studied the crystal. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this is like a cocoon or chrysalis."
"Are…Are you saying that she's evolving in there?" James asked incredulously.
"It's a possibility," Oak said with a heavy sigh. "Other than bug-types, Pokémon usually don't need a cocoon to evolve, so to find a Gardevoir in one…" He briefly gnawed on his lower lip. "If she is evolving, it must be something major."
"Like a permanent Mega-Gardevoir?"
"It's possible. Look, James, I can't give you any definite answers; I wish I could, but I can't. Perhaps Professor Burnet might be able to help with this, but I can't be certain."
"Okay, doc," James said, heavy-hearted. "Sorry for being such a pain in the butt."
Oak chuckled warmly as he laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "It's fine, son; I'd be worried if you weren't asking a bunch of questions." He cast a gaze over at the pulsating crystal. "For now…treat her like a coma victim."
"Sir?"
"You know how when people are in a coma, their friends and family are encouraged to talk to them?"
"I've heard of that, yeah." He looked over at the crystal. "You think she can hear me?"
"If she can, you'd want her to hear your voice, let her know she's not alone, right?" Oak asked, smiling as he clapped the veteran trainer on the shoulder.
Despite his distress, James managed to return the doctor's smile. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."
"Don't worry, trainer Gottum," Oak said reassuringly. "I'll call the others and see what we can find out for you…and for ourselves, to be honest."
"Sir?"
The old professor looked appropriately sheepish. "Well, this is an amazing find; of course we'll want to learn as much as we can. But don't worry; she is still an individual first, and we'll respect that."
"Thank you," James replied. "This might sound weird, but I really do hope that this helps you out in some way."
Professor Oak's smile broadened as he clapped the younger man on the shoulder again. "Hang in there, Mr. Roberts; I believe everything will turn out just fine."
As the good doctor left, James looked back at the crystal on Kimono's bed and wished that he shared the professor's optimism.
The Pokémon professors came and the Pokémon professors left, all of them scratching their chins and promising that they would let James know of anything they discovered. They had carefully scanned the crystal, taken slivers of samples from the structure itself, and just generally hemmed and hawed over it.
Most of all, they tried to be reassuring toward the distressed trainer. "I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this," Professor Burnet said sympathetically as she left with her husband. "We'll do our best to find out what's going on and get back to you as soon as possible."
"Thanks," James managed through the lump in his throat.
"Chin up!" Kukui said while giving a thumbs-up. "Maybe she's working on making herself mega-hot for you!"
Burnet gasped and sent an elbow into her husband's midsection. "Are you seriously going to say that? Under these circumstances?"
"Sorry…" Kukui said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Spoke before I thought."
"It's fine," James said. "Thanks for caring."
"Everything'll be fine; you'll see," the wrestler-professor said, sending a nod toward the bed. "Just take good care of her and she'll be in your arms again before you know it."
"Thanks."
Days passed, then two weeks, then three. James spent much of his time sitting in the chair next to Kimono's bedside, talking to her about his dreams for their married life, about coaching the other Pokémon, about the weather, about…anything to keep the communication line open. When his vocal cords tired he'd switch to 'mind-speaking'.
Eventually, though, he broke down. "Kimono, please come back; I miss you. I love you. It doesn't feel right without you around."
It was the middle of the fourth week, and James was exhausted. His eyes had become bloodshot, he had started slouching, and he wouldn't speak to anyone if he didn't have to. He looked like he had aged ten years in a handful of weeks. No amount of encouragement could lift his spirits.
He was sitting slumped over in the chair next to Kimono's bed; he had run out of things to talk about, so he would spend hours just…sitting.
As he sat, he noticed something…different…about the crystal; the rate of the pulses had quickened. "What the…" He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number before heaving the phone to his ear. "Professor Oak? This is Jim. Sorry to bother you, but…something's different about the crystal."
"I'll be right over," came the reply.
It was easily an hour, but to the distressed trainer it seemed like an instant. "The light's flashing faster," he explained as he led the doctor to Kimono's room. "I called you the minute it started."
"The others should be here before long as well," Professor Oak grunted. At James' surprised look he added, "I thought it'd be best to have their collective expertise. Was I wrong?"
"No, not at all!" James replied as they turned the last corner leading to the hall to Kimono's room. "I'm just…a little overwhelmed to have so many…well, famous people in my home."
"This could revolutionize our understanding of Pokémon on so many levels!" Oak exclaimed, visibly becoming excited. "The cultivation of your relationship, this sudden phenomenon involving the crystal…but first, of course, she is your fiancée," he conceded, settling down again.
They entered the Gardevoir's room and the professor immediately took out his scanner and held it toward the crystal. "I've made some modifications to this based on our discoveries from last time-yup, she's in there, but…" He punched a few buttons on the device. "…something's…different."
"Not surprising though, right?" James asked.
"True," the doctor grunted. "I'll admit that I'm still surprised that my theory is correct, but-"
THUMP
Two heads snapped up at the sound. "What was that?" James asked anxiously.
"Oh my…" Oak breathed.
The light within the crystal had subsided, and a silhouette could be seen moving within; it appeared to be punching at the inner wall of its prison.
"Kimono?" James slowly approached the side of the bed and could see a figure pounding on the inside of the crystal.
"James?" a terrified voice cried out in his mind. "What's happening?"
"Professor, I think she's trying to get out!" he cried out in a panic.
"Stay with her!" Professor Oak ordered as he whipped out his cellphone and hurried for the bedroom door. "I'll be right outside!"
"Got it!" James yelled, the previous exhaustion falling away as excitement overwhelmed him. "It's okay, Kimono, I'm here."
"I…I can't breathe, James!" her panicked voice replied. "I feel like I woke up underwater!"
"What?!"
"Help me, Jim!"
He looked around for something, anything that he could attack her prison with. Finding nothing, he came to a decision. "I'm gonna try something, Kimono! Cover your face!" He braced his feet and folded his hands together in a hammer. "Here goes….NGAAAH!" he yelled as he brought his clenched hands down on the gem's smooth surface.
No noticeable change.
He brought his hands down onto the crystal again and again until they ached, but the structure refused to yield.
"James…"
Just as he was about to bring them down on the crystal again, he had a flash of intuition. "Kimono, use one of your attacks!"
"Which one?"
"It doesn't mat-Will-O-Wisp! Use Will-O-Wisp!"
An orange glow started to emanate inside the crystal, and part of its surface melted away, evaporating into some kind of mist, which was oddly drawn back into the crystal.
"Kimono? Are you okay?"
"It's working, James!"
"Do it again!"
Two more Will-O-Wisp pulses were enough to dissolve the top of the crystal, and a hand thrust from the liquid. A very human-looking hand.
James grabbed the hand and helped Kimono sit up. What he saw caused his jaw to drop. "K-Kimono…?"
A young woman sat waist-deep in the pool within the crystal. As she choked, coughing out the fluid from her lungs, James could see some hints that she was his bride; her shoulder-length hair was the same shade of green and 'styled' very much like a Gardevoir's, her skin was unusually pale for a human and, when she blinked up at him, he saw with a gasp that her irises were a reddish color. "K-Kimono…?"
"Jim?" she said, throwing her arms around him, still coughing. "Oh James, I was so scared! I was trying to go to sleep, and when I woke up I was underwater!"
Before she could say anything more they heard a shocked gasp from the entrance to the bedroom, and James looked to see Professor Oak, with professors Rowan and Juniper right behind him, all of them with mouths agape. "What…What happened?" Professor Rowan managed to ask.
"Jim saved me," the young woman said tearfully, still holding on to her hero. "He had me use an Attack on the shell, and it went away!"
"K-Kimono?" James repeated. "You're…Kimono, right?"
"Of course I'm Kimono!" she exclaimed as she pulled away, leaving her hand on his arm. "Don't you…recognize…me…?" She trailed off as she noticed her hand. "M-My hand…what happened to my hand?"
"Kimono…" James said carefully, "You…don't look like a Gardevoir anymore." He got up and retrieved the mirror from her dresser and handed it to her. "Here."
She accepted it with a puzzled expression before directing her gaze into it; her eyes immediately widened. "Wh-What?!" She reached up with her free hand and touched her face. "I…I'm human?"
James watched with a mixture of joy and anxiety as his newly-transformed fiancée ran her hands over her face, through her hair which covered slightly pointed ears, and down to-
"I have these?!" she said as she discovered a pair of soft protrusions from her chest.
"Gah!" James choked; in everything that had been happening it had never fully registered that she was naked. "Towel! Sheet! Something!" he quickly started rummaging around for anything he could use to protect his girl's dignity.
"Here, sir." As was his usual way, Shade appeared seemingly out of nowhere, this time holding a large towel. "Will this be sufficient?"
"Thanks," James said, accepting the rescue. "You're a lifesaver."
The Lucario inclined his head slightly before disappearing again.
"How…did he do that?" Professor Oak stammered.
"I'm still trying to figure that out myself," James admitted as he wrapped his bride in the oversized towel. "Are you up to walking, Kimono? I'd like to get you cleaned up."
"I…I think so," she said and, with an odd combination of exiting the crystal while being covered by the towel, she managed to get to the floor on unsteady feet. "J-James, my legs feel weak…"
"Okay, I got this," he replied, then picked her up, princess-style, and started for the door. "Excuse me please, gentlemen."
"O-Of course." The three scientists stepped aside to let the young couple through. "May we study the crystal while you're gone?" Oak asked.
"Let's…ask Kimono later," James replied, briefly pausing at the door. "Right now, she needs taken care of."
"Of course," the professors replied in unison, all with warm smiles.
"The last thing I remember was crying on my bed before waking up in…that," she shuddered as she accepted the mug of warm tea from her man; with her sat all of the known Pokémon professors, the others having arrived during her bath. "I felt like I was drowning."
"Wait, you were crying? How come?" James asked while studying, and still trying to get used to, her new 'look'; she wore a pale green dress that he'd sent Symphony, a Meloetta, to purchase. "Did I hurt you or something?"
"No!" She exclaimed, then looked down into her mug. "I was…wishing I was human."
"Well, it would seem that your wish was somehow granted," Oak said, his voice a mixture of amusement and awe.
"Indeed," Rowan grunted.
"And you didn't intentionally create that chrysalis, right?" Birch asked, leaning forward.
"No, professor, I didn't."
"Miss Kimono," Sycamore started, "may we have your old chrysalis to study?" At James' glare he quickly held up a hand. "I wouldn't ask now, but we don't know how long it'll remain viable."
James grunted but looked to his fiancée. "He has a point. Is it okay with you?"
"The sooner that's out of here, the better," Kimono said. "I may never recover from that suffocating feeling."
"Then maybe we should take care of that now," James suggested. "Are you up to walking? We shouldn't go in your room without you there."
"I think so," the former Gardevoir replied, putting down her mug.
They made their way back to her room, where Professor Sycamore headed over to the chrysalis. "We'll need some way to…what in the…"
The giant crystal had started to glow again, but instead of pulsing, it started rapidly dissolving into some kind of mist, which flowed to Kimono and disappeared into her chest. The whole process was hauntingly beautiful.
"I guess we won't be studying that, then," Oak said awkwardly.
"I'm so sorry, professor," Kimono lamented. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
"Don't worry about it, dear," Rowan said consolingly. "I have a feeling that it was just part of you, returning to you."
She laid a hand on her chest where the mist had entered her. "James, do all human women have red gems on their chests?"
"Huh?"
She moved closer to him and lowered the neck of her dress just enough to remind him of the spot he had seen while bathing her; a small protrusion, about an inch tall, stuck out slightly from her chest, just above and between her breasts. It appeared as though she had a small rock somehow embedded in her chest. It was pretty, if a little out-of-place.
"That's…" Juniper gasped as he pointed at the protrusion. "…that's got to be her horn! Or part of it!"
James felt the need to intervene as the scientists stared at the horn in amazement. At her chest. "Gentlemen, please; this is my fiancée you're staring at," he said while moving her hand to allow her dress to cover her again.
Several pairs of eyes blinked. "Oh! I'm terribly sorry!" Oak exclaimed. "I saw it and turned all 'scientist'."
"Perhaps we should be going," Rowan suggested with a meaningful look. "Our secondary reason for coming has returned to its owner, and our primary reasons need some time alone."
"Indeed," Sycamore agreed. "Would we be rude to leave rather abruptly?" he asked the young couple.
"Not at all," James said. "You're right, though; I can't speak for Kimono, but I'd like some time alone with her."
"I'll see them to the door."
James turned to see a Gothorita standing patiently by the door. "Are you sure, Oui? I wouldn't want to put you out."
"I was just passing by and heard that you needed help, so here I am," she said sweetly.
"Okay, thanks, but…no hypnosis, got it?"
"Oui."
James still didn't fully trust the Gothorita despite having helped with her evolution from Gothita. "Okay…thanks, then."
"How long will it take for me to earn your trust?" she grumbled as the professors followed her out the door.
"She's probably right," James grunted as the last professor left the room. "She really hasn't given me any reason to distrust her."
"Reputations can be hard to overcome," Kimono remarked, "but she's doing her best."
"How are you doing?" he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.
She sighed heavily. "Better, but this is going to take some getting used to." She glanced worriedly at him. "What about you? Are you okay? Am…Do…Do you still want me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Am I still pretty enough to be your wife?" she asked self-consciously. "After all, I'm not a Gardevoir anymore, but I'm not fully human, either." She then squeaked as she found herself in the circle of James' arms.
"I told you; I see who you are," he reminded her. "As far as your…unique looks?" He moved a hand to stroke her hair as he looked her in the eyes. "I like your hair; it's a nice shade of green. And your eyes?" He allowed himself a shudder. "I could get lost in them."
"What about my…my horn?"
He quirked a smile. "At least I don't have to worry about being jabbed by it?"
"Jim…" she giggled.
"Seriously, though; if you're worried about it, we could have you wear necklaces to cover it. Better yet, it's low enough that nobody should be seeing it, anyway."
"Except for you?" she asked, gazing deeply into his eyes. "I'd want you to see it."
He swallowed hard. "Let's…Let's get married, first; then you can tempt me all you want, all right?"
She smiled softly, her crimson eyes twinkling brightly. "Okay, Jim."