"So let me get this straight," Liam said. I just told him about my adventure involving Little Suzie. "You stopped for snacks, ended up encountering the same Ghost-type I specifically told you not to, then you decided to show it off to a young girl?"
"Correct," I replied.
"So, where's my snack?" Liam asked.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You stopped for snacks," Liam said, "so I'm assuming you got me something."
"Uh, no," I said. "Sorry."
"Eh, I tried." Liam shrugged before turning towards the kitchen.
"So," I hesitantly asked, "you aren't mad about me handling the situation by myself?"
"What? No," Liam responded. "Job well done. Don't take stupid risks like that again, but it all worked out in the end."
"Thanks," I said, "I guess."
Liam and I spent the rest of the day going over pokémon types and effectiveness. I never realized how hard it was to memorize every last type, what was strong and weak against it, and how a second type can cancel out or increase the first type's weaknesses.
The sun set some time ago as I put the flash cards down. "Man, this got complicated," I said.
"Yeah," Liam replied, handing me a sandwich. "You could always just focus on what your pokémon are strong and weak against, but that's leaving you open to surprising new combination. It always pays to have a backup plan." He bit into his own sandwich.
"Can I ask you a question?" I said, looking at the sandwich.
"Sure," Liam replied, mouth full of food.
"Why is Gardevoir afraid of Ghost-types?" I asked.
Liam set his plate down. "It's not a pleasant story."
"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine," I said.
"It's okay," Liam said.
"Gardevoir?" She was in another room, peeking in with a fearful look in her eyes.
"Jolteon," Liam said, "take Gardevoir out for some air."
"Jolteon," Jolteon gently nudged Gardevoir out the door.
Liam cleared his throat. "It happened after a long day of training. I was in the kitchen, making supper, when I heard Gyarados roar." Liam took a deep breath. "I ran outside. Gardevoir was standing in the moonlight with a strange gleam in her eyes. There was a Mismagius in front of her, just chanting away. It was tormenting Gardevoir, so I sent out Gastly. I drove the Mismagius off, but the damage was done." Liam sighed. "Gardevoir wouldn't leave the house after dark for months. Her training suffered. She would even wake up from nightmares about Mismagius. Still does on occasion. Even feeling a Ghost-type is enough to bring back the torment."
"Is that why I've never seen your Gastly?" I asked.
Liam nodded. "The two were almost inseparable before. Now, Gardevoir can't bear to be in the same room with Gastly." Shaking his head, Liam stood. "I'm going to make sure Gardevoir's all right."
"Sure," I said. I stood up before heading to my bedroom on the second floor. There's something he's not telling me. As I settled in bed next to Sylveon and Mawile, I wondered what his secret was before drifting of to a dreamless sleep.
A month later, Liam needed fresh fruits. I missed the sense of adventure away from Liam's house, so I joined him as he set out for the forest on Beddleman's Island.
The trees bearing fruit towered next to the path. Marowak climbed the trees and tossed down fruit, Gardevoir and Metang caught the falling fruit, and Mawile, Liam, and I placed the fruit in bags. The simple labor was relaxing. The day felt refreshing, until we ran across a familiar face.
"Hello, do-gooders," the spoiled brat from before said. "How's the poor life treating you?"
"Leave us alone," Liam said. "Go be spoiled somewhere else."
"How dare you!" the brat yelled. "You will not talk to me in such a way." I ignored him, focusing on the fruits Metang was handing me. "How dare you!" the brat yelled again. "I am Edward Beddleman III, and you will not ignore me!"
"Can't talk to him, can't ignore him," Liam said, shaking his head. "He should really decide what he wants people to do." I nodded in agreement.
Edward's face turned red. I grinned. "You insolent peasants!" Edward yelled. "I will teach you to show your betters some respect!" Edward threw a pokéball. I wasn't shocked to see it was an Umbreon
Gardevoir started to step forward, but I put my arm out. "Sylveon and I will handle this," I said.
"Sylveon!" He stood facing Umbreon. This would definitely be interesting.
"Use feint attack!" Edward ordered. Umbreon made several false rushes at Sylveon before charging at a blind spot.
"Counter attack!" I yelled. Edward seemed confused. I wasn't yelling a move; I told Sylveon to counter attack.
Sylveon spun around, facing Umbreon, and kissed it. The draining kiss stunned Umbreon, causing it to stand on shaky knees. I felt the breeze as Sylveon prepared fairy wind. I smiled, remembering that Fairy-type attacks are super effective on Dark-type pokémon. Umbreon slammed into a tree, laying in the grass.
"Get up!" Edward yelled. "Don't just lay there! Get up!"
"Fairy beats Dark," I said.
Edward withdrew Umbreon. "How much for Sylveon?" The change was obvious. Edward went from spoiled brat to all business. "I assure you, money is not a limiting factor. Name your price."
"Well?" I jokingly asked Sylveon.
Sylveon looked at Edward, the trainer he'd evolved for, then at me. "Sylveon." He turned he nose up at Edward.
"No deal," I said.
Edward's face didn't change. "Just name a price," he said again. "No number is too high."
"Read my lips," I said. "Not. For. Sale."
As Liam and I started leading our pokémon away, I heard the familiar sound of a pokémon being released from its pokéball. "You should've taken the money," Edward said. "Bullet punch."
I turned around, facing my attacker. A Machoke was charging my with blinding speed. At first, I wondered how much Edward paid for a Machoke with an egg move, then I wondered how much it would hurt to get hit by a Machoke with an egg move. I raised my arms in a defensive position. A familiar mouth-shaped horn rose in front of me. Mawile stood ready for the attack. My eyes shut involuntarily.
I heard an impact, feeling the shockwave from the hit. Opening my eyes, I saw Mawile standing in front of me, unharmed. Machoke never made it that far. Standing between Mawile and Machoke was a pokémon I'd never seen before. It looked similar to Gardevoir without a skirt, except it was blue instead of green. Machoke's fist was currently in the palm of the strange pokémon.
"What?" Edward yelled.
"Gallade." If this pokémon was a Gallade, why was it blue?
"Chain takedown!" a female voice yelled. I glanced towards the sound. A young woman, wearing blue jeans and a pink shirt, was standing behind Liam.
Machoke readied another punch, but Gallade dropped and spun. The sweep kick let Machoke in midair. Gallade rose with incredible speed, landing an uppercut that sent Machoke into the air. As Machoke struggled to regain any sense of where it was, Gallade teleported higher in the air. The blade on Gallade's arm extended out with a purple glow. Gallade dove into Machoke, sending them crashing into the ground.
Gallade moved out of the crater, ready for a counter attack that never came. Machoke rested at the bottom of the crater, defeated. "How could this happen?" Edward said.
"Beat it, kid," the woman said. "Before I tell Gallade to beat you."
Edward put Machoke into its pokéball before running down the path back to town as fast as he could, yelling curses at us the entire time.
"Thanks for the save," I said, turning around. "Huh?"
Liam and the woman had their arms wrapped around each other. Gardevoir was looking at Gallade with a respectful stare, and Gallade was smiling. "I missed you," Liam said at last.
"I'm sorry," the woman said. "I took longer than I thought."
"I don't blame you," Liam said.
"Can I get an introduction?" I asked.
"Right," Liam said. The two of them split apart. "Amanda, this is my newest pupil. Zoe, this is my daughter."
