Number 1 of the double update!
~~**VIII**~~
Saving Darmanitan From the Bell
Gwen was being more than patient with Cilan as he slowly cooked lunch. It was only for his superb cooking that she was willing to sit at the table without complaining over her empty belly. But oh did she want to complain. She wanted to eat. Now!
Iris was the one who set the first plate on the table. The plate was filled with kabobs of berries and fruit. Gwen actually squealed and reached for one of them. A hand stopped hers as she grabbed one of them.
"Not so fast-" Cilan started, but was interrupted by Gwen who snarled at him. Cilan smartly backed away.
Gwen pointed her kabob at him - which he failed to grab as she'd yanked her hand away. "Lesson number one," she told him, "never try taking my food from me." She slipped the first berry into her mouth.
Cilan seemed shocked as well as bemused at her ferocity as well as her wild grin, but conceded the point. He sighed lightly and shook his head. "Well, my vegetable paella with fresh vegetables and olive oil will be done in no time." He turned to Iris. "Which is actually being cooked." Iris playfully stuck out her tongue in reply. For Gwen it hardly mattered either way as long as she got to fill her empty belly.
"Pikachu?"
"Axew?"
Cilan turned to the two Pokemon sitting at the table. "Don't worry," he told them, "here's some Pokemon food using the natural flavor of Oran Berries." He placed two of the bowls in front of them.
Gwen placed a hand on her hip. "So you would take my food from me and make me wait, but not them?" she sassed, staring over the line of her glasses.
"You could have waited a few more minutes," Cilan gently shot back.
"No way," Gwen said, biting into the next berry. She saw movement from the corner of her eye and looked to see a small red, round shape. Pausing in her eating, Gwen startled at the Pokemon. "Huh?"
Iris added in. "Whoa! What's that?"
Gwen pulled out her PokeDex from her pocket. "Let's see." She pointed the 'Dex at the round Pokemon. Darumaka, the Zen Charm Pokemon. When asleep, even when pushed or pulled, it cannot be knocked over. "So, you're a Darumaka."
Iris approached the Pokemon and knelt down next to it. Darumaka seemed a bit unsettled by the proximity. Even more so when Iris began pulling at its eyebrows and makes googoo sounds at it. Darumaka let out a Flamethrower at Iris and Gwen had to keep from sniggering. Who was the kid now?
"Darumaka's the kind of Pokemon that stays focused and never gives up," Cilan said, coming up next to Gwen. "Many think of it as a good luck Pokemon."
Gwen assessed Darumaka again, shifting her glasses. "I can see that," she commented.
"Pika pika!"
The three turned to see Pikachu and Axew on the table, an argument seeming to be between them.
"What's going on, Pikachu?" Gwen asked. Pikachu pointed next to Axew's food bowl...where nothing was there. Pikachu's food bowl was gone! "Pikachu's food is gone!" Gwen exclaimed.
Pikachu glared at Axew, pointing accusingly at him.
"It was Axew?" Gwen said.
"Ax!" Axew denied the accusation.
Iris approached the table. "Axew says he didn't eat Pikachu's food," she said. "Perhaps Pikachu ate it and forgot."
Gwen quirked a brow. "Oh yeah, and what about the bowl?" she gestured to the empty space. "Did Pikachu eat that too? Because it's not here."
Iris crossed her arms. "Axew said he didn't do it, so I believe him."
Gwen scoffed. "Because Axew's always an angel, just like you."
Iris made to counter, but Cilan cut in. "Hold it, you two," he said, more to the girls than the Pokemon. "It is odd that the bowl is gone. If Pikachu ate his food, the bowl would still be here on the table."
"Axew didn't do it!" Iris shrieked.
"I didn't say that," Cilan replied calmly.
Iris turned away, still fuming. Gwen glared up at the sky. "Hey look!"
Gwen turned at Iris's shout toward Darumaka who seemed to be asleep as it was tucked into a ball and its eyes gently closed. "It's asleep," she stated absently.
Iris nodded. "Sure looks like it."
"A Pokemon with a mild personality, yet with an element of surprise," Cilan added.
Gwen turned to Cilan. "And when it's asleep you can't knock it over. No matter what," she said. Cilan nodded back.
Iris decided to test the theory. She knelt next to Darumaka and poked him. The Pokemon shifted to the side, but ultimately bobbed back into place, even when Iris did it harder.
Calls again came from the Pokemon and Gwen turned to see Axew tackled over Pikachu, scratching at his face. With a gasp, Gwen lept for the Pokemon - Iris as well - and pulled Pikachu from Axew's angry gasp. "What's wrong with you!" Gwen shouted at Axew in Iris' arms. Why would he randomly attack Pikachu?
"Hey, don't yell at Axew!" Iris hollered.
"Then why was he attacking Pikachu?" Gwen shot back.
"Axew! Ax! Axew!"
Iris turned to the table. "Wait, Axew's food bowl is gone too," she said. She looked down at Axew, who was pointing accusingly at Pikachu. "You say Pikachu did it?"
"Don't even think about it!" Gwen shot, daring Iris of accusing Pikachu as well.
"Pika Pika! Pikachu!" Gwen's Pokemon called before Iris made her opinion known.
Gwen's brow knotted. "You say Darumaka did it?" Pikachu nodded.
The group all looked at the Pokemon that still slept. "But Darumaka has been asleep this entire time," Cilan said.
Gwen - still holding Pikachu - approached Darumaka and tried waking it up. "Darumaka," she prodded gently, shaking it, "wake up." Just as when Iris pushed it, the Darumaka simply bobbed back into place. She shoved it a bit hard with the same effect. "Sleeping like a log," Gwen deadpanned.
A slight ruffling from behind had them turning to spot another Darumaka. This one held both Pikachu's and Axew's food bowls as well as the plate of Iris's Moon Watch Dumplings.
"There are two Darumaka!" Cilan exclaimed.
"And they're stealing our food!" Iris added.
"Give it back!" Gwen hollered, making toward the Darumaka. She was stopped as one of them shot a blast of fire at her. Recoiling from the heat, Gwen immediately grabbed her Pokeball. There was one way she could handle this pair of thieves. "Oshawott, I choose you!" Oshawott popped out, raring to go.
"Good choice, using a Water-Type to deal with a Fire-Type," Cilan commented.
Of course. Gwen often passed by Type-advantage, but she didn't ignore it. "Oshawott, Water Gun!"
Oshawott shot a stream of water toward the Darumaka, only for them to leap away from each other so that the attack jettisons between them, missing them both. They both countered with a Flamethrower that Oshawott had no time to dodge from. Once the barrage is over, Oshawott is flat on his back, knocked out.
"Oshawott!" Gwen gasped, kneeling by her partner. She could feel the heat from the Flamethrower as she cradled her Pokemon in her arms. Her Pokemon whimpered, going completely limp in her arms. Gwen stood. "We need to get to a Pokemon Center, now!"
Cilan pointed to the small town just a ways away from us. "There should be one right up ahead." The trio packed up quickly and headed straight for it.
The three quickly made it to the Pokemon Center, Gwen calling out for Nurse Joy and near tears. Nurse Joy quickly went to work, wheeling Oshawott into the back alongside her Audino.
Gwen collapsed onto one of the chairs in the waiting room, her head in her hands. It was hardly the first time one of her Pokemon were injured or in need of serious care, but it was never easy.
She felt someone sit behind her. "Don't worry about Oshawott," Cilan told her. "Nurse Joy exceeds at her job." His hand came to rest on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"I know," Gwen replied, moving her hands through her hair and leaning back, pushing down her glasses that got shoved against her brow. "You'd think it would get easier each time something like this happens, but even though this time I don't feel like I'm gonna faint, I'm still anxious."
"I know exactly what you mean," Cilan said.
They sat in the waiting room for another twenty minutes before Nurse Joy and Audino roll Oshawott out on the trolley.
"Oshawott!" he cried.
Gwen lept from her seat. "Thank goodness you're alright!" she said, approaching the trolly and reaching out a hand to scratch behind her Pokemon's ear. He cooed in response.
"Your Oshawott healed very well," Nurse Joy told her.
"Audino."
"Thank you both," Gwen said, returning Oshawott to his Pokeball.
"I'm glad those two Darumaka didn't hurt Oshawott too badly," Iris said, coming up behind Gwen.
Nurse Joy gasped. "You mean you met those two?"
"We just met them," Cilan told her. "Just as we were about to have lunch. You know of them as well?"
Nurse Joy nodded, turning to the window and placing her hand on it. "Those two Darumaka lived her in town along with Darmanitan. At first, they all couldn't have been friendlier to the townspeople. But then one day, the Darumaka started to mysteriously steal people's food. The two Darumaka were always with the Darmanitan, but for some reason, only the two Darumaka stole food."
"They stole our food as well," Cilan said.
"Yeah, and Oshawott tried to stop them," Gwen added.
"So that's what happened," Joy mused.
"What I don't understand," Gwen started, "is why the Darumaka began stealing in the first place. And what about the Darmanitan? Have you even seen it lately?"
Joy pondered for a moment. "Now that I think about it, not since before the Darumaka began stealing food."
"Then something could have happened to trigger the Darumaka's thievery," Cilan said.
"Perhaps," Joy murmured.
"Pardon me for changing the subject," Iris interjected, "but what's that?" She pointed out the window toward a tall brick tower within the city.
"Oh, that's the clock tower," Nurse Joy answered. "It's one of the oldest buildings in town. So old, in fact, that the clock and bell no longer work. I'm afraid it's going to be torn down soon."
"Aw, that's a shame," Iris mused. Nurse Joy nodded.
A growling broke the somber mood within the Pokemon Center. Gwen groaned and placed a hand on her stomach. "Hungry," she muttered.
Cilan chuckled. "Because of what the Darumaka did, we haven't had lunch yet."
"Well, I vote we stay here for the night," Iris said, "and have dinner right away!"
"Sounds good to me," Gwen replied.
Dinner couldn't come fast enough and Gwen's stomach felt like it was going to cave in on itself as the dishes came to the table. Immediately, she began shoveling food in her mouth. From beside her, Iris did the same, both of them shoveling down the fried potatoes.
"These fried potatoes are delicious!" Iris exclaimed.
"Mhmm," Gwen agreed.
Cilan watched them from across the table, amused. "You know what? You two are actually quite alike."
Gwen and Iris halted their eating, staring at Cilan. "WAIT! YOU THINK I ACT LIKE HER?!" the both shrieked at him.
Cilan was left stunned, his eye twitching. "Uh...uhhh," he chuckled nervously.
Gwen was about to tuck back in to her food when Nurse Joy called out the dessert. "Excuse me! Tonight's a full moon, so we have Moon Watch Dumplings for dessert."
Cheers errupted along the tables, anticipating the delicious dessert. Gwen stood from her seat, "I'll help you hand them out," she offered. Iris and Cilan were quick to follow.
The four entered the pantry, Nurse Joy flipping on the light to see one of the Darumaka holding a sack over its back. The dumplings!
"Not again!" Iris cried.
Darumaka lept from the window, Iris and Gwen on its tail. "Come back!" Gwen called. The other Darumaka was there as well and the two head to the right. Gwen pulled out her Pokeball. "Pidove, I choose you! Follow those Darumaka." Pidove soars upward over the buildings as Gwen hops out of the window. She turned back to Nurse Joy, "I'll find them!"
"What are you doing, Gwen?" Iris cried.
"Are you just gonna let them keep thieving?" Gwen retorted, "Or are we going to find out why? Now come on!" Iris and Cilan decided to follow.
The three follow the Darumaka down the streets and one alley. They come up to a block where the street splits right and left. The Darumaka split up.
"I'll go right!" Gwen called without looking back.
"Me too!" Iris added.
"I'll take the left!" Cilan yelled.
Gwen and Iris continue chase after the lone Darumaka, but it proves to be a quick one, especially when it hopped over a tall fence with a single bound. Iris and Gwen took more time to climb it and by that time, they'd lost sight of Darumaka's direction. Defeated, the girls head back toward the Pokemon Center, running into Cilan.
"Any luck?" Gwen called to him.
He shook his head. "Sorry, I lost track of it."
"Us too," Iris added.
Gwen sighed, her head tilting to the ground. "Where could they have gone?" she muttered.
"Pika..."
"Pidove!" Pidove! The trio turned to see Pidove land atop a lamppost, gesturing with her wing toward the right. They turned to see the clock tower...with the Darumaka heading inside!
"There they are!" Gwen called, racing for the clock tower. They followed the two Pokemon up and up the clock tower, barely keeping an eye on them. The Darumaka, distressed at being followed, sped up just out of Gwen's vision.
"Get back here!" Gwen screamed. She bounded up the next set of stairs, tripping out once she reached the top. Rising to her feet, she was shocked to not see either of the Darumaka. They couldn't have ditched her that quickly!
She turned just in time to see the two of them clinging to the opposite wall and shooting a double Flamethrower at her. Behind her, Cilan ducked back into the stairwell while Gwen dove back. Breathing sharply from all the running as well as nearly being burned to death, Gwen stared incredulously at the Darumaka.
"What's wrong with you?!" Gwen didn't mean to shout, but she couldn't help herself, after what the Darumaka just did. "What do you need that food for so much that you would hurt me for it?!"
The Darumaka's faces dropped at her words and they came down to the floor. "Darumaka." Their faces were apologetic. "Darumaka."
"Gwen, are you alright?" Cilan asked from the floor below.
"I'm fine," she answered him. "You can come back up." She then picked herself up and slowly made her way toward the Darumaka, kneeling in front of them. "You wanna tell me why you've been stealing food?"
The Darumaka nod and point to the stair that led to the next level. They walked toward it and gestured for Gwen to follow. She looked to Cilan and Iris who'd just came up the previous stair. Gwen followed the Darumaka with her two friends following.
Upon reaching the next level, Gwen felt something...different.
"Hey, do you feel heat from the ceiling?" Iris spoke up. Gwen nodded but said nothing, continuing to follow the Darumaka up another staircase.
It seemed that they finally reached the top as she saw the top of the bell. And underneath it...was a greyish spherical shape that oozed red-purple waves. Gwen gaped, pulling her PokeDex from her pocket. "What is that?"
Darmanitan, the Blazing Pokemon, and the evolved form of Darumaka. Darmanitan switches from Standard Mode to Zen Mode when it has little energy left. The PokeDex screen showed an image of Darmanitan that is red instead of grey, with its arms used as second feet and its eyes open. The next one showed up and it had Darmanitan in a similar way Gwen saw it, greyish, curled into a ball, and its eyes glazed over.
"This must be the Darmanitan that hands with the Darumaka," Gwen commented.
"Let me see," Cilan spoke up. "In Standard Mode, it's physical powers enhance, while its psychic powers enhance in Zen Mode."
"Wow!" Iris exclaimed. "What a strange Pokemon." She wiped sweat from her brow. "I'm burning up. Hey! Darmanitan must be giving off that heat!"
Gwen nodded. "Must be." She looked down to the Darumaka who set down the sack of dumplings that began floating in the air and right into the Darmanitan's mouth. Her eyes widened. "That's Psychic! So these Darumaka were stealing food to feed Darmanitan."
"And because Darmanitan keeps using Psychic, the heat from its flame sac is leaking out," Cilan added.
"I don't get it," Iris interjected. "Isn't it true that Darmanitan switches forom Zen Mode to Standard Mode as soon as it recovers?"
Cilan nodded. "Right. You'd think it would recover after all that eating."
"So why hasn't it?" Gwen wondered. A nudge at her knee brought her attention to the Darumaka who held a curved rod of iron in their hands. She knelt in front of them. "What's this?"
"It looks like some kind of hook," Ciln commented. Indeed it did, one side was hooked while the other...was more straight. But Gwen could see the crookedness of the iron and noted that it wasn't always straight.
Gwen looked from the hook to the Darmanitan, wondering what the connection was. Then she noticed the bell, and..."The bell is floating! Darmanitan must be using Psychic to keep it suspended!"
"Why do that?" Iris inquired.
"Hm...let's see," Cilan thought. "If that heavy bell were to fall, it would crash though the floor and possibly bring the entire clock tower with it. To keep that from happening, Darmanitan must've caught the bell when it started falling. When it couldn't withstand the weight anymore, Darmanitan probably had to switch to Zen mode to enhance its psychic powers to keep the bell from falling. And to help keep Darmanitan's strength up, those two Darumaka were bring it as much food as they possibly could."
That explained Darmanitan's disappearance according to Nurse Joy. Gwen turned back to the Darumaka. "Is that true?" They nodded. "Well," she continued, "now we have to repair this hook so we can get the bell back up. That way, Darmanitan can come back and you won't have to steal anymore food." She turned to Cilan. "I need Pansage's help." He nodded.
Cilan called out Pansage while Gwen called on Growlithe as well as Oshawott. They needed to reshape the hook and Gwen knew just how to do it. "Growlithe, use Ember on the hook!" Growlithe inhaled for his attack and Pansage used that as his queue to toss the hook high. The Ember heats up the iron, but it was hardly hot enough for any chance of reshaping it. She turned to the Darumaka. "I need your help. Both of you use Flamethrower with Growlithe. We need to heat the iron." The two nodded, preparing themselves alongside Gwen's Pokemon.
Pansage tossed the hook up again and Growlithe and the Darumaka heat it up, this time it's shining red.
"Now Pansage, use Bulletseed on the hook!" Cilan called. Pansage shot at the hook, aiming for the bottom of the hook, curving it back into place.
Gwen turned to Oshawott. "Use Water Gun!" Oshawott's spray gave off a hissing noise as the iron went under an intense cooling effect, steam errupting from it. It dropped to the ground and Pikachu went over to it, hesitantly poking at it to make sure it was cool enough.
He picked it up, "Pika!"
Gwen smiled, approaching her Pokemon. "Now, let's hook it to the bell."
"How?" Iris wondered.
"We'd need a ladder to reach up there," Cilan added.
Gwen was about to reply when she felt her feet rise from the ground. "Whoa!" Pikachu was lifted as well, an light blue coloring emanating from him. "Darmanitan's using Pyschic!" Gwen took the hook from Pikachu and was lifted to the iron bar that stretched across the room. Gwen hooked the top on it and leaned down to the bell's holding, but it was too far away. "I can't reach it!"
"You can do it!" Iris encouraged.
"Keep trying!" Cilan added.
Gwen reached again, her fingers nearly ghosting the bell before she felt herself falling. She barely had the time to grip the top of the bell as she realized that Darmanitan had lifted its Psychic. It then tossed the bell up, leaping on top of the bell bar, gripping the bell hold before it went crashing down. "You're in Standard Mode now!" Gwen exclaimed with a smile, hopping down from the bell. She looked back up at the large Pokemon as it hefted the bell back into place with ease.
The Darmanitan jumps down to the floor, sounding very little impact which amazed Gwen gazing at its size. The two Darumaka run up to it, glad that they have their friend back. Darmanitan pat them both on the head before the three turned to the trio.
"I wonder what they're saying?" Cilan asked.
"I think they're thanking us," Iris commented.
Gwen knelt in front of the Darumaka. "I understand now why you two were stealing food, but try not to do it again," she told them. They smiled shyly and rubbed at the back of their heads. She placed her hands on their temples as well. "I'm glad this has all been settled."
The next day, Gwen, Iris, and Cilan made their way out of town. The night before, they had returned to the Pokemon Center with the Darumaka and Darmanitan in tow, explaining the situation. Thankfully, the townspeople were understanding of the two former thieves and thanked Darmanitan for saving the clock tower. Also, the Darumaka's promise of no more thievery was again made clear. The whole ordeal was settled nicely.
Just as the three made it to the bridge, someone called out to them. Gwen turned. "Nurse Joy?" Gwen wondered.
She caught up to them. "I wanted to tell you three that the clock tower is not being torn down. I thought you'd like to know."
"Wow!" Iris exclaimed. "What's gonna happen to it then?"
"It's going to be completely restored and maintained, all thanks to the town," Nurse Joy explained. "And to thank Darmanitan and the Darumaka for protecting it, the town also decrees they will be able to live there as long as they like."
Cilan smiled. "Delicious! People and Pokemon alike will be happy with a generous gesture like that!"
Gwen looked up to the clock tower in the distance, seeing three familiar figures. She waved to them. "Hey you three!" she called. "That's great news for you. I very proud and happy for you!" The three Pokemon waved down to them, grins on their faces.
"Pika!" her pokemon called from her shoulder.
"Now you take care!" Iris called.
Axew popped out from Iris' hair. "Axew!"
"'Til we meet again!" Cilan finished.
With that, the trio gave a farewell to Nurse Joy, heading back down the road and continuing their travels.
