Oh my vaguely defined PokéGods, I almost forgot that today (the 29th of July) was this story's Three Month-aversary! Hooray! Enjoy this, and a few more chapters that I'll post throughout the next month or so.
Chapter Nine: A Night Time Chat
An impassible wave of Rattata crashed into her, only barely turned aside by her humble stick. But she knew she could do it; she could weather any storm as long as Barry was beside her. But where was he? As she beat back another pack of the rat-like creatures, she finally caught sight of him some ways away, squaring off against the Raticate. He rushed it, only to be knocked down by by a swing of its tail. It leapt on top of him, fangs gleaming a hideous red. She tried to shout, tried to intervene, but a sea of Rattata had formed between them, preventing her from coming any closer. She could only watch in silent horror as the Raticate bent down and snapped its jaws closed. But instead of on Barry, all of a sudden it was on her, tearing through the flesh of her leg like paper. In moments, both of her legs were gone, and in a few moments more, so were her arms. She could only watch, defenseless, as the Raticate came closer, its dripping fangs reflecting the distorted image of her fear-stricken face before it lunged-
"AAAAAAAAA-" Dawn stifled the scream before she could wake her mother. A familiar FWOOOSH!, however, told her that she inadvertently awoken someone else. "H-hey, Chimchar," she said, trying to soothe the Fire Type's worries. "It was just a bad dream; there's n-no need to worry." Chimchar wasn't convinced, and insisted on jumping into bed with her. With a sigh, she adjusted him to avoid his flames and said, "Really, Chimchar, it's all right. It's over now, so it doesn't matter anymore." His liquid eyes pored deep into hers, and she her will crumbled enough for her to say, "Okay, do you really want to know?" The Pokémon's chirrup were at odds with the yawn that came immediately afterward. Still, he stared at her intently, willing her to continue. "Fine, fine, but I'm not a great storyteller." She sat up and laid the Chimp Pokémon across her lap.
How do I even begin? "You see, a month ago, a bunch of Rattata attacked our town. Everyone was told to leave, but Barry and I went to warn people in the school." She shivered involuntarily, but drawing strength from Chimchar's heat, she continued, "We were too late. The Rattata were already chewing their way into the school, and there was a Raticate with them. It took a long time, but the two of us beat off the Rattata, alone even!" She couldn't help but feel some pride at their feat. "But fighting the Raticate was… pretty much impossible." She held the little Fire Type closer to her chest, warding off the crushing feelings of fear and worthlessness that were absent from her heart since she first saw him battle. Shaking her head to clear it, she did her best to finish the tale: "It brought us down so easily, I'm surprised it didn't fall asleep from boredom." She chuckled humorlessly. "It certainly wouldn't have been any easier for us. It took Barry throwing sand in its eyes for us to have a fighting chance, and even then it nearly tore off my leg." Chimchar stiffened under her fingers, but was soothed by her slow, even strokes through his fur. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay, I'm fine now. Barry's dad, Palmer, saved us, so everything's okay." But it wasn't okay, and they both knew it; even as she said it, she began to shudder at the memory of Raticate shredding skin and muscle, and her stomach turned remembering the impossible pain she went through. Breathing deeply, she got her nausea under control. Damn it! Why is this affecting me so much? Barry got hurt, too, but this doesn't seem to bother him as much, if at all. Is it me? Am I just… weak?
Chimchar, perhaps sensing the turmoil in his Trainer's mind, stood up and held her face between his hands and hooted meaningfully. Dawn, understandably confused, did her best to decipher her Pokémon's message. "Are… are you saying I shouldn't be down? That a Raticate would be a lot for even you to handle, so I should feel proud that I did what I did?" I feel like an NPC in a Mystery Dungeon game! He chirruped approvingly, though, so she supposed she was doing something right. "I'm sorry, Chimchar, but I can't help how I feel…" But then, that's not fair to him, is it? Plus, she knew how she felt when the two of them battled. She was almost an entirely different person, a heretofore dormant confidence infusing her very core. "But… if I am weak, Chimchar, I believe training with you will make me strong. Together, we'll both become stronger than anything that thinks it can step all over us." Understanding the weight of Dawn's proclamation, Chimchar nodded seriously, before letting loose another tiny yawn that made her giggle. "Okay Sleepyhead, I won't keep you up any longer. Besides, we've got a busy day tomorrow." She kissed his forehead.
"Sleep well, because tomorrow is the day our story truly begins."
This chapter was packed with meaning, eh? But it wasalso, unfortunately, short. Sorry about that, but again, the chapters are written as they're written. If I try to stretch the events out unnecessarily to reach an arbitrary word count, then I might degrade the quality of the story. ...However, I will try to write a bit more as time goes. For now, Follow, Favorite, and Review, and, as always, thanks for reading.
