She had caught it. She had caught the monster that killed Sting.
Blue stared at the Pokeball on the ground, her thoughts muddled. She frowned, wiped a tear from her eye, and walked over to where Sting lay. Coal was by her lifeless form, closing Sting's eyes one last time, but not before Blue looked into her late Pokemons' eyes.
That stare.
Oh god, that stare! Blue shuddered. That last look into Sting's eyes moved something from within Blue. Stings' eyes were compounded, as all bugs' eyes are, but this was different. Within her eyes was a life, a thing, that moved within it. Blue had caught a glimpse of that something exiting Stings' eyes.
Blue shut her eyes and shook her head, trying to rid herself of that image. Instantly the vision of Stings' last moment and stare popped into her head. A giant, dying eyeball took up the entirety of her minds' eye view. Blood pounded in her ears.
Blue jerked her eyes open, Coal now looking at her with concern. "Char?"
She had to look away, her brows furrowed. She frowned in the direction of her Pokeball that was on the ground before kneeling beside Sting, being careful not to look at her face. She took Stings' Pokeball out from the strap of her bag and placed it against Sting. A flash of light brought the fallen Pokemon back into its 'home'. Blue pet Coal on the head once and stood up.
Walking to the monsters' Pokeball, Blue grew more hesitant. Would I really keep Sting's killer?she wondered to herself. She bent over and picked it up and held it within her hands. Coal was by her side again, forever Blue's loyal guardian, and he was growling at the ball within her hands.
"You're a killer, you're a monster," she began, looking at the Pokeball. "I didn't even have a chance to be with Sting, and yet you..." Blue had to sigh. "You're coming with us and your name is Don. Seems fitting..."
Blue tossed all of her Pokeballs on the ground, releasing all of her Pokemon. Bolt and Pudge shook themselves and seemed very happy to be free. Blue also released her new Pokémon, Don, but with much chagrin. The newly released Mankey yowled in anger, but the mighty little Charmander spat a small flame at him.
"Stop fighting." Blue's fists were clenched and she grit her teeth. Her tone of voice was one of struggling control. "We are all a team now. Sting is gone... but... As someone once told me, we have to move on. That's the only way we can get... stronger."
Her Pokemon looked from one another, but they all ignored Don the Mankey. He was off to the side of the group.
"So we're going to train now... All of us. Let's go."
It took awhile, but Blue's Pokemon eventually got to level 10, according to her Pokedex. All of them were becoming a little more confident in themselves, with the exception of Don. He followed orders, however he did so grudgingly. Blue knew that he was a proud Pokemon, and that he most likely hated every minute that he was her Pokemon. All the while, she had said nothing, her face revealing nothing.
It was the next morning when her team finished her training. She had rented a room for the night at the Pokemon Center, who were more than willing to share whatever space they had with her. Blue had come to really enjoy spending her free time at the Center, but she knew that she had to press on. She decided to finish exploring the rest of Route 22 before moving forward into Viridian Forest.
As she passed the spot where Sting was slain, Blue averted her eyes and kept closer to Coal. He had taken to being outside of his Pokeball and being by her side, and Blue felt comfort in that. He was really starting to grow on her, and she felt her heart soften for the first time in years.
She passed through a small gate that seemed to be overgrown by tall grass. At second glance, Blue noticed that the grass had been parted as if it had been used recently. She shrugged it off and continued forward. Then, all of a sudden, she heard a voice...
"Hey! Blue!"
She squinted her eyes. The sun was really shining and Blue had to cover her eyes with her hands. The person calling to her had a guys' voice. It sounded like Gary.
"You can forget about going to the Pokemon League!"
"This is the way to the Pokémon League?" Blue asked, honestly not knowing the answer.
Gary had walked closer and stood within five feet of her. He smirked and ran a hand nonchalantly through his hair. "Yeah. But since you're here... Yesterday was a fluke. Let me see if your Pokemon got stronger!" He grabbed a Pokeball out of his belt roughly and eyed her Charmander before tossing the ball out in front of him. A Pidgey was released from its Pokeball.
Coal immediately seemed raring to go, so Blue let him. She trusted his decision to go out, but at the same time she feared for his safety now more than ever. She couldn't lose him, too.
The Charmander growled at his opponent. The foe Pudgy flapped its wings in anticipation.
Blue eyed Gary warily as he glared at her. The silence lasted for a minute until Gary ordered, "Use Sand Attack! Get him in the eyes!" The Pidgey flapped its wings again, this time loosening up all of the dirt that was on the ground and sent it hurtling towards Coal's eyes. Coal tried to dodge, but was unsuccessful: he was blinded.
Blue watched as her Pokemon struggled to clear his eyes from the sand - the attack had left the sand hanging above the ground like a cloud. "Use Ember!" Coal, still rubbing his eyes, released a flame at his opponent, scoring a hit.
Gary's Pidgey shook off most of the attack, but its feathers were singed. It was Burned. "Feh. Pidgey use Gust!" The bird flew around once, twice, all the while flapping its tiny wings. A small but powerful gust of wind was aimed directly at Coal.
"Use Ember again!" Blue cried, hoping that Coals' flames could dissipate the wind.
Coal, the sand now out of his eyes, released another jet of flame at his opponent. The attack worked somewhat: some of the flames did reach the target, however some of the wind scored a direct hit on Coal. Both Pokemon were knocked backward.
Coal was the first to recover. He growled and jumped into the air just as Blue said, "Scratch!"
Gary frowned and watched his Pokemon get up slowly. "Get up! Move it!" he said angrily, but it was too late.
Coal had hit his mark, but avoided killing the bird. He had to show mercy; he was no Mankey.
"Grr..." Gary was angry as he returned his Pokemon and brought out another. "Squirtle, you're up!"
"Coal, good job; get back now..." Blue also recalled her Pokemon. She looked into her bag and located Bolt's Pokeball. "You can do it, Bolt!" she said, tossing the ball onto the ground.
Bolt the Pikachu let loose small sparks of electricity from her cheeks - she was excited for the match. Squirtle was sent out at the same time as she, and immediately went to Tackle his opponent. He did not want to take any chances.
"Even with a type advantage, you won't be able to defeat Squirtle." Gary said cockily, hiding his anger. "Get it!"
Still running towards his opponent, he jumped and retracted into his shell. "Jump, Bolt! Thundershock!" Blue cried. She knew her Pikachu has poor defenses, and if that attack hit, Bolt would be badly hurt.
"Pika... CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Bolt jumped out of the way and released the electricity from within the pouches on her cheeks. The attack went straight to her opponent, shocking it thoroughly.
"Fuck! Squirtle, move!" Gary put his hands on his head, forcefully grabbing his hair. His face was slightly turning red.
Squirtle's shell bounced off the ground when it landed, and it was sizzling. Smoke wafted from within the shell, and he eventually got back out. Blue was scared - had her Pokémon killed the turtle? she thought.
Her fears were uncalled for, however. Squirtle coughed and attempted to get up, looking back at his trainer with apologetic eyes. Gary clenched his jaw and returned his defeated Pokémon to its Pokeball.
Without a word, he walked past Blue, shoved a handful of cash into her chest, and walked away.
Blue was glad that she won, but felt sorry for his Squirtle. The look on its face when it faced its angry trainer was heartbreaking. She hugged both Coal and Bolt and congratulated them on their victory. With nothing more to see on this route, Blue went back to the Pokémon Center to rest.
I can't believe that I lost. Twice, for fucks' sake! That fucking Charmander and that stupid Pikachu... who was she, to show me up?
I walked away from the battlefield, my face red. My firsts were clenched tightly against my palms - if I didn't get out of there soon, I would have punched the nose right off of that bitch. "That bitch... the next time I see her, I'll show her who the loser is..."
On my way to Viridian City, I walked by some random people, forcing them out of the way. I'm the most important person. Don't get in my way. I rammed into a guy who wasn't paying attention, and knocked him to the ground. I gazed at the man, uncaring, and kicked him in the ribs, which caused him to wheeze and cough up blood. I walked on.
The Pokemon Center was cool, just the perfect temperature. There was no-one inside, which was just how I wanted it. I wasn't in the mood to deal with people, not even the I'm-always-so-fucking-chipper Nurse Joy, so I walked up to the counter and slammed the Pokeballs on the counter.
"Get them healed. NOW!" I glanced away, not even looking at the nurse and her fat tub of lard of a Pokemon. A man walked inside, his hands in his pockets. His shoulder-length red hair was striking - it wasn't a hair color commonly seen in Kanto.
He strode in with his hands in his pockets. An air of upper class-ness seemed to surround him. I disliked the guy instantly. Who the fuck gave him the right to walk around like he owned the place? I scowled when he looked at me, a curious expression on his face. He proceeded to walk over.
"I have some information that you may be interested in. Follow me into room three when you're finished here." Hands in his pockets, the guy walked away.
