Pokémon Lapis

Chapter 7: Keep In Touch

(Beth Larson)

Mom!

Hey. It's Beth! Of course, since, you know, the envelope indicates as such. :D

Beth paused there, gnawing on the end of her pen. There was nothing to say she had to get this letter out today, but something told her if she allowed herself to procrastinate on it it would never get sent. The day was going to pick up shortly, and it was anyone's guess as to when she'd have time to pen this out next.

Well, here's the monthly update from your wayward kids. Not much new to report, I'm afraid.

That was lie number one. Beth blew some hair out of her face and grimaced slightly, but plowed on, now that she had an idea of what to write next.

We're still not famous, but you'll be the first to get the paper clippings when we are. Victoria's Pokémon are doing great—so are mine. The new Tentacool is warming up to everyone pretty well, but Poliwrath is still snubbing him a little.

Beth paused again, tapping her pen against the paper, but not hard enough to leave ink spots. That update had been true—Poliwrath and Tentacool were not big fans of each other. The next part she was formulating in her head would be more lies, though, even if they were relatively harmless ones.

Beth had begun using her and Victoria's Pokémon as code names for the friends she was unable to tell her mother about any other way. Every so often her Pokémon updates were genuine, such as reporting on Staryu's evolution or a new catch here or there, but almost all of the rest of the time her stories about the Pokémon were really about her friends. It was a way for her to vent to a third party, and to feel like, in some ways, she was still a part of her mom's life and her mom was a part of her own. Sometimes her mother would write back with advice, though she always prefaced it with, "I don't know much about Pokémon, but…" and occasionally Beth would find some insight gained that she could use when mediating between her friends. Of course, "Try seeing if changing their Poké-chow diet" was an example of advice that she couldn't exactly apply to her human friends.

Butterfree's away more often than not—we miss him a little, he was a Metapod for so long, but now that he has wings he's using them. This was a reference to Amaris being in Pallet. Oddish is trying to look out for Victreebel—it's still in a funk. That was code for Gina trying to help Jason out wherever she could. Shellder and Victreebel don't spend as much time together. Shellder's sort of clamming up now, keeping to herself. Shellder was Edith. Goldeen is still refusing to train. That was Gav. Poliwrath's really grown, she's stepped up to the plate. She's, by far, the strongest on my team now.

Poliwrath was Kaylee in her letters home. The analogy couldn't have been more apt, too. Kaylee had changed over the last many months, as surely as if she, too, had undergone evolution. Gav's sister, once the most likely to fly off the handle and give in to impulse, was now the one to keep them moving forward even when everyone else wanted to throw punches or break things. Her temper was still there, and likely always would be, but Beth was sort of glad for it—she wasn't sure she could handle her best friend completely pulling a 180 on her, too.

Finding that she didn't really have a lot more to say—that she could honestly write about, even in code, that was—Beth signed off with a happy face and forged Victoria's signature, per usual. She sealed the envelope and slid it into the outside pocket of her messenger bag. She'd drop it in the post office box near Viridian's central park—where Kaylee and she would be meeting Wilbur that afternoon.

Viridian had seen a ton of rainfall over the past few days, and a healthy amount of moisture-saturated rust broke and fell off the PO box as Beth pulled the swinging door back to drop her letter in. Cringing and looking around to see if anyone had witnessed that, Beth instead found the person they were waiting for—Wilbur Amrhein.

They'd opted to arrive early at their meeting spot, but evidently so had he. Wilbur was a balding, shrewd-eyed older man—Beth and Kaylee had familiarized themselves with his photo online before coming and though he bore the stature of a once tall and broad man, he seemed to have shrunk a little with age. He was leaning heavily on a scarred-up black metal cane, scratches of silver peeking through the old paint, and it made a clicking-shuffle sound as he made his way down the nature trail to them.

Beth and Kaylee exchanged a look, and at once Beth could see that her friend was as nervous as she was. They'd been overjoyed to even secure this meeting when the former police chief had finally written back to them, but now nerves were sinking in.

The girls were faced with the awkward choice between calling over the slowly-shrinking distance with a greeting in advance or waiting while Wilbur got within comfortable hearing range. They chose the latter and as a result, all three were staring at one another for a painfully long time before Wilbur ambled up and stopped, drumming his fingers on the grip of his cane and not moving towards the picnic table they had chosen for a sitting place.

"Thanks for meeting us," Beth murmured, at once coaching herself to stand up a little straighter and not mumble so much.

"No problem," Wilbur grunted, seeming to suffer a little hip pain as he shifted his weight. "Thank you for the mark of good faith."

Beth smiled a little weakly, still feeling anxiety over that. She'd conceded to give Wilbur her full, real name, as a caveat to getting to meet him and talk face-to-face. Kaylee had kept hers private, for obvious reasons, but Beth still couldn't help feeling a prickling, tingling sensation shoot down her back at being identified, even if Wilbur was just about dead-last on their list of suspects. After all, they had once thought the same thing about Whittaker-Cheng.

"Well… had to give you something to go on," Beth decided on for her answer, hitching a brighter smile to her face and forcing the "what-ifs" from her mind for now.

Wilbur lifted an eyebrow at her. Those were thinning a little, too. "Yes, it certainly did. I need to know one thing right off the bat, Beth." Again that thrill of horror at being named. "Is this about your father?"

Beth opened her mouth to answer automatically but stopped. Heat rushed to her ears as she comprehended the statement and broke it down for what it really meant. Wilbur had done his research about her, which shouldn't have surprised her. He had access to databases she could only dream about. And she had a family member who was incarcerated—that wouldn't even be that difficult to find out. Of course he'd make that leap.

She shook her head, still a little dazed. "No, it isn't. I swear."

"Alright," Wilbur said, but he added, "Because if it were, I'd have to be upfront with you—I have nothing to do with Celadon's incarceration system. There'd be nothing I could do for him, anyway."

Beth shook her head violently. "No, I know. That's not what I'm here about, promise." She was suddenly, blindingly relieved that she hadn't opted to bring Victoria along to this, too. That would have swiftly buried any chance of this talk going even remotely well.

As if thoughts of her sister had triggered Wilbur's interest in her companion, Wilbur cast Kaylee a dubious look. "Would you be her sister, then?" She could understand why he was uncertain—Beth and Kaylee looked nothing alike.

"No, I'm not," Kaylee responded, which triggered a lapse into silence as she didn't elaborate further.

"Ah," Wilbur said after a few seconds. "Well, okay. Fair enough. I know one of you by name, and we'll trade off for information as we go."

Beth deferred to Kaylee on this, keeping quiet. She wasn't sure Kaylee would ever want to give up her name, and she couldn't blame her for that.

"... Yeah, that's fair," Kaylee responded, crossing her arms and giving Wilbur a hooded, calculating look. Wilbur sighed and repositioned to put weight on his other side instead.

"Alright. So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

This was going to be the tricky part. It was also why Beth had decided that Kaylee was the best person to bring along to this meeting in the end. They had an idea of where to start, and a general feel for what they thought Wilbur might be interested in, but there would have to be a lot of improvising as they went. Besides Gav, no one else knew the ins and outs of their work better than Kaylee did.

"We saw the news article," Kaylee began as they'd planned, "Talking about how you were suspicious of the reports of more savage wilds on Route 7."

"Mm," Wilbur said, nodding. Thankful that he wasn't the type to interject with a load of questions, Beth picked up on the talk next.

"We've noticed the same activity on our travels, and we also noticed that of all major news outlets and police departments, it's pretty much just you and a handful of others who even think there should be an investigation."

"Who're some of the others who agree?" Wilbur asked. Beth got the impression he already had his own list in mind but wanted to test their sleuthing skills.

"Alan Zachariah, League Official and former Gym Policy spokesperson—" Wilbur gave a nod at the name. "And Spikey from Everything Under the Sun, to name two." Beth finished there, not eager to give up their whole list just on the off chance that he'd leak anything to them.

Wilbur genuinely beamed at Spikey's name. "Quite the lady," he acknowledged. "You've got good taste in radio—and in potential people to trust." Beth relaxed a hair, but she could practically sense the other shoe about to fall. Sure enough— "But it should tell you something that my own list of people whose heads are out of the sand only includes eight other individuals."

A dual reaction of shocked disappointment and keen interest flitted through Beth's stomach. She both wanted Wilbur's other eight names and to sit down on the ground to process how dismal that seemed. Forty years with the Celadon Police Department and a police chief only had ten people he felt he could trust?

Kaylee spoke up next. "We know it's a rigged game, and that people are either bribed or threatened to keep quiet," she said, and Beth shot her a quick look. This was getting out the big guns a little early, and Beth hoped it wouldn't make them sound like crackpot conspiracy theorists.

"Not just that," Wilbur added. "You'd be surprised how many people are simply in the dark. Control a few high-ranking officials and you don't need to corrupt or threaten the rest."

Well, it seemed Wilbur spoke their crackpot conspiracy theorist language, too. The hope mingled with vague frustration was clear on Kaylee's face. "So you do agree with that much," she said. "You can add Beth and me to your list—and there's more of us, too. People who believe it."

Wilbur didn't seem all that enthused by this revelation. "If you've been looking in the right places and at the right people, which it sounds like you have—I'd be wise to tell you to keep your noses out of it and stay safe." Before Beth's heart could plummet through the soles of her feet, Wilbur added, "But—while I'm old, I'm certainly not wise. You know this is an uphill climb—and now you know how outnumbered we are." Kaylee's face was set, determined, and Beth nodded for both of them. "I can't say I can help you. But I'd like to keep in touch."

It sounded like their talk was coming to an end, and as a last-ditch effort to try to get something more solid from him, Beth blurted out, "You have contacts you can trust—you must also have a list of people you suspect. If we can at least pool that information today—"

But Wilbur was already turning and repositioning his cane to walk again. "You say I can add your names to my list, but it'll take a little longer for me to set them in stone. I'll keep in touch. You'll get more from me if you pan out and stick with it," he promised.

He'd only made it three or so paces away when Kaylee let out a harsh, shaky breath and said, "Kaylee Harrison. I'm Ando's daughter."

Wilbur stopped walking. For a time his back was still to them, and all Beth and Kaylee could do was watch him on tenterhooks. He half-turned to address them over his shoulder.

"I wanted to work on the Harrison case very much," he said, quietly. "It was outside of my jurisdiction, of course, and—as you know—it was botched very badly. I wondered if it was you," he mused, his voice soft and sad. "You look like Ando's daughter." Wilbur faced forward again and continued his unsteady walk. "You'll be hearing from me."

Beth watched him go, ten steps beyond disheartened. When he was out of earshot she turned to Kaylee, lost. "I thought for sure he'd have given us something after that last bit."

"Don't worry," Kaylee said, and Beth did a small double-take to her friend. Kaylee was watching Wilbur's shrinking form in the distance, her expression thoughtful, but calm. "He's on board for sure. We'll get somewhere with him. Just give it time."

Beth took a second to study Kaylee's profile, her sharp, angular features and dark brown eyes. It really was true—her metaphor proven right all over again. Kaylee had always been tough, but now she'd evolved into a true fighter, just like Poliwrath. As of right now, she was the strongest of their team, the one most likely to push them forward to anything even remotely resembling victory.

Kaylee parted ways with her at the PokéMart, slipping inside to kill some time before she'd be heading back to the cottage via Alakazam evac. "If he doesn't show, text me and I'll hunt him down."

Beth wrinkled her nose at Kaylee. "Why wouldn't he show up? He's my boyfriend."

Rei did show up, and he was early to boot. Though they'd video-chatted and sent each other photos periodically, it wasn't the same as seeing him in person. He had on one of the two "good" shirts he owned—she recognized it from the series of photos he'd sent her of the meager contents of his closet, carefully laid out on his bed in all their crumpled glory. She'd selected this one for their date tonight, a marsh-green short-sleeved collared one that was soft and faded with years of wear.

He always looked a little nervous when they met up, apprehensive, somehow, but when he saw her his face lit up. Her own smile back, coupled with gnawing on her lower lip, brought out a bigger grin from him and they closed the distance between them with a fast walk bordering on a jog. Rei scooped her up and she let out a shrill laugh that was probably too loud. It was perfect.

It was also temporary.

That was the knowledge she carried with her as they ambled around Viridian. Rei didn't want to see a movie. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with her, talking, actively interacting, holding hands, detangling her windblown hair, giving her sidelong glances. It really was perfect.

Beth tried to have a good time. She was happy to see him, genuinely, but every word he said, every update and detail about his team or his dojo training just reminded her how much she was doing wrong by him. Even the perfect parts, how eager he was to see her, how often he liked to brush her hair behind her ear, how he couldn't stop grinning at her like a puppy left home alone for too long—it all reminded her that they could very well never be the couple who could curl up together and fall asleep watching a movie. They saw each other far too infrequently for such things. Every second had to be savored, and she hated it as much as she loved it.

When Beth ordered her ice cream from a vendor, offering Rei a bite, he made a regretful face to her and quirked an uncomfortable half-smile at her. "Pistachio, right?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked, still holding her untouched spoon out to him.

"Um, allergic, sorry. Wait—" he said, for she had marched straight to the nearest trash can with it. "No, seriously, you don't have to—" But Beth had already chucked it.

"Don't be silly," she said, trying to make her smile genuine. "I don't want you breaking out in hives when I kiss you!"

He turned pink around the ears at that and coughed into his hand, but jerked his head over to the vendor so he could get her a different flavor. It was little things like that—she would have known his food allergies if they spent more time together. They popped up time and time again between them, details she might have known if their relationship wasn't constrained to once-every-multiple-months outings like this and the occasional video talk with texts tossed in between.

Rei did a good job not bringing it up until they reached a row of hedges near Route 1, a secluded spot this time of the year with so few Initiates bustling around. Twilight had fallen in earnest by then, though, and the little looks he kept casting her let her know she'd be on the receiving end of a worried question soon.

He cleared his throat softly to get her attention, but instead of needling her about her mood, he offered her a tentative smile, the one that was so at odds with his intimidating appearance. "So, ah. Any idea when I'll get to see you again?"

She wasn't sure when, but Beth had developed the nasty habit of joking when she didn't want to talk about something serious. "Our date isn't even close to over yet, you know," she said, wiggling her eyebrow at him and giving him a soft nudge with her shoulder.

Rei's expression faltered a little. "Yeah, I know. But… you can't blame me for wanting to think ahead a little, yeah? You're ah… not the easiest girl to keep contact with."

It was said lightly, with a smile, but Beth went quiet, at a complete loss for what to say. Trying to keep her face expressionless was never easy for her, and now all she could do was stare straight ahead while Rei looked at her profile.

It wasn't fair. And it wasn't going to get any easier. Not sure how to word it, Beth began slowly, haltingly. "I'm—sorry. Really." She tried to meet his eyes, but hers flickered away from his face and fell somewhere along his collarbone instead. "I wish it wasn't… difficult. Sometimes it seems like, maybe it would be better, if you could, for you to find—"

She was crashing and burning, but before her words could get any more jumbled and out of sorts, Rei interrupted her with a sudden kiss. He was warm—he always was, and it was chilly. Beth pushed back against him, letting out an embarrassingly sad little sound, wrapping her arms around his neck while he pulled her closer.

When he pulled back, looking a little dazed, the same way she was, he shook his head. "That's not what I mean, not even close. I don't want another girl. I—didn't mean to make it sound—"

"You didn't," Beth assured him, shaking her head. It sure wasn't chilly anymore—her face was on fire. "I just—I don't want you to—"

Rei and Beth reacted at the same moment. For Beth, it was years of being scared, paranoid, listening for sounds that were different from the innocent snap of a twig or settling of a Pokémon in its nest. For Rei it was probably instincts honed at the dojo. Either way, they both tried to shield one another at the same time, and as a result they nearly collided.

A heartbeat later the Fearow burst through the line of trees at Route 1, spreading its wings and screaming past in a blaze of dusky orange. Beth hit the dirt at an odd angle, the breath knocked out of her, but she'd long ago learned to push through things like that. A second later Poliwrath and Starmie were out, and lagging behind by only a second was Rei's Primeape.

The Fearow banked up, howled in a way that rose the hairs on her arms, and dove down for them again. Starmie leapt up to meet it halfway, spinning haphazardly and colliding with the bird's broad shoulderbone, not hurting it but knocking it askew at least. Beth rolled aside, holding her throbbing ribs and trying to catch her breath while the Pokémon duked it out above them.

Poliwrath and Primeape, grounded, waited for Starmie to bring the fight lower, but Beth had a sinking feeling they'd soon have their hands full. Sure enough, no sooner had she thought it than the Arbok appeared, whipping its way from a different line of trees and diving straight for Primeape. Rei shouted a command, but Poliwrath got in the way first, landing a blistering uppercut to the snake's jaw.

Beth gave no commands—she didn't need to in this situation. She fumbled for her phone, yanking it out of her pocket and tried to call up her phonebook or a message—whichever would respond first. They had single-character codes for disaster, and she was about ready to send the ! to Victoria when the Fearow screeched again and dove for her, causing her to have to run.

Rei was shouting her name, but Beth stayed focused. She gave her first verbal command to her team, coaching them in only the most general way. "Block it, up! Poli, flank Primeape!"

Starmie obeyed the instruction to engage the Fearow and try to lure it higher, away from the humans, and Poliwrath dove down beneath the Arbok's renewed strike, getting behind it while the snake was distracted by Primeape. Primeape boxed it with its large fists, sustaining a bite, but it was worth it. Poliwrath landed a devastating, skull-cracking blow to the back of the snake's head a moment later and its long, ropey tail only managed to wind its way around Poliwrath's leg for a second before Primeape kicked it in the middle of its body and made it twitch. Poliwrath rolled free and let loose with Hydro Pump next.

The Fearow was the biggest trouble, though, and Starmie was having hardly any success keeping it distracted. It had a goal, and attacking their Pokémon was not that goal. It was obvious, and becoming more clearly obvious to everyone present, that the Fearow was aiming exclusively for Beth.

There were two more flashes of red light and a second Poliwrath and Machoke joined the fray. Rei had waited a while before releasing these Pokémon, and Beth knew why—they were not as highly trained as the Primeape, and one thing had become clear immediately from the beginning. Their opponents were extremely skilled and deadly. Not wanting Rei's other Pokémon to get hurt for her sake, Beth swore under her breath, wishing she had something else that could get off the ground. If only Blake were here.

But no—she was beyond glad that Blake wasn't here. Even though Grumpy could go toe-to-toe with the Fearow, seeing Blake here would probably force her attacker's hand. After all, Zeke couldn't stand his little brother.

The idea hit Beth while she was thinking of Blake and his training runs with Grumpy. It was risky, but it was the only way to get the Fearow out of the sky. Beth whistled to get Starmie's attention and shouted, "Follow!" Her heart flipped—if Starmie misunderstood the order or was off by even a fraction of a second, she'd be speared by this savage Pokémon.

Beth took off running, and as she'd expected, the Fearow soared after her. Behind the Fearow, she could only pray, was Starmie, tailing it closely behind. Acidic, bright fear blossomed in her body, a sort of humming hysteria that would have been expressed in a yammering scream if she could spare the breath for it. She counted down in her head, knowing she couldn't be off in her count, or it would just adjust its flight path to get her anyway.

She almost didn't jump back in time. The Fearow's beak grazed her shirt, tearing at her shoulder in a glancing way before Beth slammed herself to the side and back, rolling roughly on the dirt. The Fearow tried to bank up, but Starmie was on top of it in another second, slamming it roughly into the ground.

Rei's Poliwrath and Machoke joined the fray a few seconds later, and not a moment too soon—Starmie wouldn't be able to keep itself latched to the bird's back, grounding it for long. Beth, ears ringing and blood pounding through her veins, scooted back, coughing, and watched as the bird was finally overpowered by their team mates.

The Arbok wasn't faring any better, as it was up against Rei's and Beth's strongest, and before long the Fearow pulled its head back and screeched, gaining the Arbok's attention at once. Retreat, Beth guessed, and she was right. The Fearow blasted everyone in vicinity with Whirlwind, sending Poliwrath, Machoke and Starmie flying. Beth herself was pushed backwards against the dirt, hair twisting around her face in a tangled net, fingers and sneakers scrambling for purchase against the grass.

The Arbok twisted itself in a quick whiplash, landing a crushing blow to Primeape and tossing Poliwrath off long enough to disappear into the trees in a dark streak. The Fearow followed and Beth, for one crazy, wild-eyed moment, wanted to pursue them. It'll never stop. This is why we can't be normal, because of you. You'll never, never stop.

"Beth!" Rei shouted, skidding to the ground and taking her into his arms. "God, oh god, are you okay? Did it hit you?"

It took Beth a second to realize what he was saying. She shook her head, standing up and examining her shoulder. It was bleeding, but not badly. When Rei saw it, however, he paled.

"You're hurt. We've got to get you to the hospital—and we'll call the police, those sure as fuck weren't wilds—"

Beth's heart sank a second before she knew why. Her instincts were sharpened and keen, but her frazzled mind had a hard time keeping up. "They—what else would they have been? There wasn't any trainer—we should just—"

"What?" Rei asked, incredulous. He gently cupped her chin to make her look at him. "What are you talking about? There aren't Pokémon like that out here. The Fearow, maybe, maybe, but not the Arbok. They had to belong to someone—hey?"

Beth had been scouring the skies again, wary, and Rei seemed to mistake that for her wanting to get away from the area. "Let's go," he whispered, and she could at least agree with that. Their five Pokémon stayed out as their escorts.

When Rei reached into his pocket and yanked out his boulder-like cellphone, though, Beth managed to find her words. "No," she said, putting her hand over his. "Don't—not yet."

Rei stopped walking, turning to face her better. They were right at the outskirts of the city proper, and since it wasn't too late at night there wasn't a shortage of citizens out and about. Feeling remotely comforted by this, Beth allowed herself to be stopped and turned towards Rei again. "Don't what? Don't call the police?"

"Right," she said. "Please."

There was a long, dragging silence while Rei stared at her. He swallowed a few times, clearly trying to calm himself down before he kept talking. "We have to file a report. Can you imagine what would have happened if those things attacked non-trainers?"

He was right. Beth hated that he was right. Even as the words left her she hated them, too. "I don't know if that's such a—you know how the police are. They can't—they don't really do anything."

Her game was weak, and Rei closed in on the holes in her argument. "We have absolutely nothing to lose from filing this report. If they do nothing, they do nothing. Why are you so against this?"

It wa escalating and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Beth's heart started to pound again, not from the residual adrenaline, but from real dread over where this was going. She prided herself on being good with words, at least enough to get her the unofficial title of PR expert among her friends—good enough to be the only one who could get a meeting out of Wilbur. Now Beth had nothing.

Because she had nothing, Rei continued. "This is about your—your secrets, again, isn't it? This had something to do with that?" he guessed.

"No!" Beth hurried, lying, trying to make it sound genuine. "Of course not, I just—I thought you distrusted the police as much as I did." Another lie—she had just spent the earlier part of her day talking to a cop herself. Her tally was too high to count now, so many scraps of dishonesty piled up on top of each other.

"Are you lying to me?" Rei asked. He didn't even sound mad—the words were loaded, but the pain in his eyes and the shock on his face told her what his real feelings were. It was a realization, even though he didn't want it to be. He already knew the answer.

Beth couldn't afford to be speechless any longer, and sucked in a shaky breath, also hating the tears that sprang to her eyes. "T-tell them whatever you want." She hated that waver in her voice, too. "Just—I wasn't here. I can't—get involved with the cops."

Rei's face fell. Not wanting to see that expression, Beth turned away, yanking out her phone and calling up a text to Jason. "What are you doing?" Rei asked, trying to move around her. Beth channeled her younger self, shouldering away from him like he was Victoria trying to sneak a peek into her journal. "Beth. Who are you—Beth! Talk to me."

need Ala evac. Rt 1. She snapped her phone shut, trying to sound remorseful but calm, failing on both counts. She just sounded miserable as she gasped out, "I'm sorry."

"Who were you texting? What the fuck is going on?"

Beth didn't answer him for a moment, pacing, trying to gauge if Rei was going to try to apprehend her. He looked right on the cusp of it. Jason, come on. You have one job, one freaking job, please, god, be by your phone. "I can't, right now. I can't. I'm sorry."

"Please," Rei pleaded, trying to reach out for her arm. Gently, slow—not trying to yank her around or manhandle her. Just scared, worried, not wanting to push her away.

That was when Alakazam appeared. Beth's heart broke even as she let out a rush of breath, relieved. Thank you, Jason. The last thing she saw before she vanished was Rei's crestfallen, disbelieving face.