Chapter 7: Not My Problem
Our return to Slateport was less than triumphant. I still couldn't believe I'd lost Noguri. His life, stolen in an instant because of me. Because of my need to win. If I'd just trained more before facing Brawly…
"You made the right call," Taylor reassured me over the phone as I crossed the sun-soaked beach, heading for the hostel. "Even if you'd trained more, without a psychic or flying type you were still at a disadvantage."
"But I didn't have to battle him at all!" I replied. I felt like crying, and almost did.
Taylor said, "Well, yes, that's true, strictly speaking. But you're a trainer. That's what trainers do: they battle."
"Why does it have to be this way?"
I heard Taylor sigh. "The mantle of a trainer is a heavy one, Lidya. You can always quit if it gets too heavy… but I know you won't."
I felt a little shocked. Was she calling me a coward? "You think I'm not brave enough to quit?"
"Listen to yourself," Taylor said gently. "Of course you are. What I mean is, you're not going to quit because you're fighting for something bigger than yourself. Because you're strong enough to endure the losses. And because you're waaay too stubborn to give up now." I could hear her laughter through the phone.
Her mirth made me feel better too. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. You're right."
"So when will you be back in town? I miss you, kid."
"Dunno. I can't really get there easily from Slateport."
"Don't worry about it. I'll see you when I see you."
"Yeah. Hey, hang on a sec…" Some commotion was happening up ahead. I held my hand over the phone as I asked a nearby stranger, "What's going on?"
"Not sure," he said. "Bunch of these guys just showed up suddenly." He was gesturing toward a line of men and women in strange blue costumes, just like the one that thug I defeated in the tunnel had been wearing. They were making their way into the Oceanic Museum.
"Tay, I'll have to call you back." I hung up. This looked serious. I headed for the front doors and made my way inside.
Within the Museum, a swarm of goons were hanging around one of the office doors, looking shifty. I swallowed my nerves and approached.
"Beat it punk. Team Aqua is in charge here," one of them said. He had arm muscles bigger than my legs.
That ruffled my feathers. "How about you beat it?" I snapped back.
The goon grinned. "You got guts kid. Run along. You don't stand a chance against me." His buddies chuckled.
Something was churning inside me: rage. "How 'bout you put your Pokémon where your mouth is?" I growled. "I don't mess around."
The thug's smile melted. "Fine by me. Prepare to lose." His friends stepped aside, crossing their arms. Waiting to see what happened.
I readied Hotwings's ball. "Lose? After what I've been through? Not likely."
He sent out a Poochyena. Hotwings kicked it until it passed out. His second Pokémon was a Zubat; Breaker took care of it with a few well-placed chomps. The Aqua grunt stared at me, jaw-dropped, stunned. His friends appeared flustered, wondering if they should step in.
"Stand aside!" I snarled.
The goon took a step to his right. I walked through the doorway.
Inside, I found a group of scientists standing in a huddle, cowering before another grunt. As I approached, the Aqua chump stepped in my way. "Who the hell let you in here?" She readied a Pokéball. "Doesn't matter. Face me!"
I decided to let Crystal get a little experience. "Go, Crystal!" The Surskit burst from her ball and landed deftly… only to be immediately bitten nearly in half! The beast the grunt had sent out was a red and blue fish with massive teeth, and its bite had badly injured Crystal. She was bleeding from wounds on her torso, little rivers of black blood. I gasped and recalled her.
"Heh. Weak," the grunt said.
"Hotwings!" I called, releasing the chicken. His fighting type moves made short work of the dark fish, despite a water/fire type disadvantage. I tried to appear calm as I brought him back to his ball, but inside I was screaming, hoping beyond hope that Crystal would be all right. I needed to get her healed as soon as possible.
The grunt grudgingly stepped aside. Just then I heard the sound of the door opening. "Archie!" the thug exclaimed. looking at someone over my shoulder. "I… um..."
I turned to look. The man she'd called Archie stood in the doorway. He wore a black suit with no shirt-just his bare chest peeking out-and a silver chain. On his head was a blue bandana with a skull, and he had a thin black beard and mustache. When he saw me, he smiled. I didn't like that smile.
"I came to see why it was taking so long to snatch some parts, and you simps are held up by a mere child?" he began, addressing the grunt. His voice was like a raging whirlpool. Staring at me, he continued, "I'm Team Aqua's leader, Archie. Tell me, why do you meddle in the noble affairs of Team Aqua? Pokémon, people… all life depends on the sea. So, Team Aqua is dedicated to the expansion of the sea. Don't you agree? What we are doing is a magnificent undertaking." When he saw my confused expression, his eyebrows furrowed. "Ah, fine… you're still too young. It can't be helped that you do not understand our ideals. But, if you ever oppose us again," and here he pointed a weathered finger at me, "there will be consequences! Heed my warning! Farewell!"
Archie snapped his fingers. All the grunts in the room fled to his side and followed him out, leaving me alone with the scientists.
"...well." I turned to face them. "What the heck was that about?"
"We're not sure," one of them said. "They wanted some pieces of aquatic machinery we keep here, but we didn't give them up."
"Huh," I said. "Glad I stopped by."
The lead scientist smiled. "We are too. What's your name?"
"Lidya Pine," I said as I turned and headed for the door. "Don't forget it."
I slept at the hostel that night, thinking over the events of the day. Why had I decided to intervene in that situation? It wasn't my problem. Why'd I make it my problem? And what would happen next?
I left town in the early morning, heading north along Route 110. This trail was wetlands. My feet made gloop sounds as I trekked through mud and high grass, fending off wild Pokémon as I went. The path wove underneath a towering highway, which I learned was the Seaside Cycling Road, a special path for bikers only that connected Slateport with Mauville, my destination. Too bad I didn't have a bike. I could make it there in one day instead of two if I only had wheels.
"Lidya!" a male voice called as I rounded a bend.
"Huh?" I was shocked to hear my name.
"It's me! Brendan!" Brendan came out from behind a large patch of brush. "I thought that was you!"
"Hey!" I said, happy to see a familiar face for a change. "Oh wow, Brendan. What are you doing here?"
"Training, obviously! Just on my way to Slateport for some supplies before hitting the beach. I hear there are lots of trainers there. You?"
"Off to Mauville Gym as well." I paused. "How did you get here?"
Brendan cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, how did you get to Route 110? The trail from Rustboro is closed. The only way around is south through Dewford."
Brendan shrugged. "I dunno. Does it matter?"
I gaped at him. What was his deal? Why was he being evasive? "Yeah, it kinda does actually. I had to go all the way around the southern routes to get here, and you come waltzing down from the north like it's no big deal."
He chuckled. "Whatever Lidya. Don't worry about it!" His expression betrayed his true feelings: he was looking at me like I was insane.
Maybe I was insane. But how could he have gotten here? Why wouldn't he tell me? "Oh, fine. Well, anyway, it was cool running into you. Have fun in Slate-"
"Whoa whoa whoa! What, you think you can just walk away?" Brendan's tone had turned serious. He narrowed his eyes at me, and for the first time I could remember, I felt afraid of him.
"What do you mean?"
"We have to battle!" he exclaimed. "Two trainers meet on the road. That's what happens. You know how it works!" He took a few steps back, offering the space we'd been standing in as our arena. "C'mon, show me how you've been training those Pokémon!"
Battle ensued. Much to my surprise, Brendan's Pokémon were… weak. Unfocused. His first assault came in the form of a Shroomish, a little tan and green mushroom cap that sprinkled paralyzing powder. I used Count's gust ability to make short work of it. Next came a Numel, a little yellow lump with a hole in its back where magma spilled out. My faithful Crystal, having recovered from her harrowing battle the day before, handled the hotshot easily with bubble. Brendan gritted his teeth as he threw his third and final ball, containing Marshtomp. I'll admit this: I got cocky. I let Hotwings fight, despite the danger of water. He was much stronger than his foe anyway, and was never at risk.
When it was over, Brendan fell to one knee. "I can't believe you bested me," he said hollowly.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. Besides, you wanted to battle, not me."
"But you're a girl."
His unexpected prejudice, while not as intolerable as it might've been, still struck me hard. "And what does that have to do with anything?"
Brendan rose, brushing the brown mud from his black pants. "Never mind. Here." He shoved some coins into my hand and walked past me.
"Hey," I called.
The boy turned. "What?"
"It was nice to see you. Enjoy your time in Slateport-it's a pretty cool city."
"Right-o." He left without another word.
Poor Brendan. Beaten by a girl. I smiled, feeling satisfied that I'd shown him how tough a girl could be.
I reached Mauville the following afternoon. Brendan must've gotten a really early start to meet me where he had. The town was small, much smaller than Slateport by far. One building caught my eye right away. It was festooned with flashing neon lights and glowing signs, one of which read Mauville Game Corner. I spotted the PC and hostel, and made my way over to heal up and check in. Afterward, I started exploring a little more. The Gym was hidden away behind the Game Corner; when I found it, I noticed a massive bundle of power cables running from the Gym to the casino. Was the Gym... powering the Game Corner? I checked the sign out front. Mauville Gym. Leader: Wattson, the cheerfully electrifying man. Hm. Not much help there.
Heading back to the main road, I was once again caught off guard by someone calling my name.
"Lidya!"
I turned to see a familiar small, scrawny boy. "Wally?" There was a grown-up with him as well. "What are you doing here?"
"My uncle and I came into town today to see about getting me a bike!" Wally said excitedly.
I couldn't help but smile. "Good to see you Wally." He still looked so fresh and innocent. I realized then how much I'd changed in the last month since we'd met. How much I'd been through. Had Wally been training as well?
I was about to find out. "Wanna battle?" he asked eagerly.
"Oh, uh, no… Wally, I shouldn't."
Wally's uncle stuck his nose in. "Please miss, won't you battle Wally? He's been so anxious to fight a trainer instead of wilds."
"You haven't fought any other trainers yet?"
"No," Wally said. "Not yet. But I'm about to! C'mon!" He had his Pokéball in hand, ready to throw. "Fight me!" He looked so eager and excited.
I sighed again, deeper this time. "If that's what you want. Count!" I knew Count's dark type bite attack would be strong against Wally's only Pokémon. And sure enough, it was. The blue bat fluttered wildly around the Ralts, gnashing teeth on display. Ralts launched a psychic attack, stunning Count, but Count retaliated with a vicious chomp. It was over fast-Ralts was no match.
Wally stared in horror at his fallen Ralts as it lay there, too winded to stand up. I recalled Count and tried to shrink away to nothing. Why had he wanted me to fight him? Didn't he realize I had two badges now? Couldn't he see I was stronger than him?
"Th-th-th-thanks Lidya," Wally stammered. "For the battle."
"Listen, Wally..." I started.
"No, no. Don't apologize." Wally was biting back tears. "I see now that I'm weak. But I won't always be weak." He clenched his hands into fists. "I'm going to train and train and someday I'll be the strongest trainer in all of Hoenn!" His gaze was steady as he stared at me, as if challenging me to disagree.
I nodded slowly. "I… I should go. You should get on with your errand."
Wally said, "Good to see you again. And thank you. Really! You showed me that I have a lot to do before I'm a real trainer."
I closed my eyes. "I hope I showed you that being a trainer is not always easy. And you don't always win."
He appeared not to have heard me. "See you later Lidya!" Wally called, walking away with his uncle.
I watched them go. In a rare moment of mature thought, I realized I'd just taken from Wally what my two months with Pokémon had taken from me.
Innocence.
