The first thing Susan heard as she came to was the soft, distant rattle of raindrops rolling off the roof. For just a single moment, its gentle cadence drowned out her inner turmoil, and she thought-hoped, perhaps-that maybe it had all been another dream.
But no. As quickly as it had come, her feeble hope had been washed away by a wave of nausea as reality took hold once more. She felt the warmth of the blanket around her as she tried to sit up, ultimately succeeding.
"Oh thank god."
Susan's heart leapt out of her chest as she whipped her head around to see Penny sitting in a chair next to her bed. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves as Penny spoke.
"We were starting to get worried there. You woke up pretty much immediately once we got you he, then went right back to sleep. You were out for a while after that." The girl took a moment to stroke her Larvitar, who had perched on the windowsill next to her and was currently munching on a berry. "It's nearly nighttime now. Antoine got back from the Gym a little while ago, but he didn't seem to be in the mood to talk."
Susan opened her mouth to speak, but her mouth felt so warm and dry that she could barely form words. She finally got out a question, phrased as a single word: "Basil?"
Penny nodded toward the foot of her bed. "He's been there pretty much since they got you here."
Susan now looked down to see that, indeed, there was her Chikorita, curled up and snoring away as he often did. She nodded, prompting Penny to keep talking.
"After you freaked out, they got a couple of medics to take you here. Your brother had to stay back for some legal stuff, I think, but they let me come with you, so go figure, I guess." She gazed out the window. "Doctor said it was just a fainting spell, and that as long as you get some rest and stay hydrated, you should be back to full strength by the morning."
Susan nodded again. The words weren't coming this time.
"You know…" Penny's voice hitched a bit. "If there's anything I can...you know, anything that'll help, just…"
Nod. Now the tears were coming, but Susan held them back as best she could. She wouldn't let herself believe it. She couldn't.
Silence resumed its hold on the room. Penny stood abruptly, scooping up Goji. "I'll be back later. I told Antoine I'd let him know when you were awake." With a hesitant glance, the girl left the room, leaving Susan there by herself.
She sat in silence as she lost track of time, the ticking of the clock on the wall the only sound breaking the auditory void. She watched Basil's tiny chest rise and fall as he snoozed away. Susan had to admit that she was a little jealous; if only she could be so peaceful.
She felt her stomach crawl as her mind dwelt on the last image she'd seen before blacking out: the sight of her Geodude dea-no, she couldn't even think that word right now-of her Geodude lying on the floor of the Gym. Her thoughts panned upward to Antoine, standing there in shock. Couldn't he have done something? No, perhaps not. She'd heard tell of Pokémon battles being potentially unsafe, and Scyther were known for their incredible power-that was why Bugsy trained them. And it certainly wouldn't be like a Gym Leader to set out to intentionally injure challengers' Pokémon-or worse. It wasn't Bugsy's fault, and it certainly wasn't Antoine's fault.
But it was.
But it wasn't.
She heard the door swing open, but didn't bother to look up to see who it was. A figure made its way around the foot of her bed to its side, before taking a seat where Penny had been just a moment ago. Susan kept staring at Basil, for lack of better options. She wasn't quite ready to look her brother in the face.
Antoine, for his part, seemed to have trouble speaking himself. It was difficult to blame him; he'd seen what she'd seen, and had been closer to it to boot. Eventually, Susan heard him clear his throat and make an attempt:
"Su, I…"
A pause. He'd false-started. He took a breath, and tried again.
"Su...I'm sorry."
Susan felt a wave of melancholy wash over her. Of course he'd apologize. It was his fault.
But it wasn't.
But it was.
"I don't know how it happened," her brother continued. "I should have been more careful, but...I didn't expect that Scyther to be so strong…"
Susan continued to say nothing. Basil stirred in his sleep; what could he be dreaming about?
"Bugsy wanted me to tell you he's sorry, too. And he gave me the Hive Badge, I think to try to make up for it." Out of the corner of her eye, Susan could see Ant holding up his lapel, trying to show her the badge. He must have sensed that this wasn't working, because he withdrew it in a bit of a hurry.
Basil was tossing and turning now, letting out little whimpers every now and then. She leaned forward and began to pet him, which seemed to ease the Chikorita's sleep a little.
Antoine took another moment before trying again. "The doctor said you'd be free to go once they make sure you aren't at risk of this happening again. He said it must have been the shock that caused it."
Susan nodded a bit, her efforts still focused on petting Basil, who was now nearly back into his regular nap cycle.
She sat there for a while as time melted again. Then, with no warning, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. When she looked, she saw her brother leaning over the side of the bed to embrace her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear. "I didn't want this to happen. I'm sorry."
Without hesitation, Susan returned his hug, reaching her arms around him and squeezing as tight as she could. Now the tears at last began to flow.
It wasn't his fault. It really wasn't.
Once the doctor had confirmed that Susan was in good enough health to be discharged, the trio went straight to the Pokémon Center for the night. With nothing else to do after the draining events of the day, and with the hour so late, the only thing left to do was to try to get some sleep.
Yet for the first time in Susan's life, sleep refused to come. She stared up at the bottom of the bunk above her, trying to will herself to become drowsy. Yet for whatever reason, her brain was still very much active. Was it because she'd practically just woken up a couple of hours ago? That had to be it.
She tried her best to avoid thinking about Foley too much, instead trying to focus on becoming mentally unfocused. But no matter what errant train of thought she chased, it always ended up back at her Geodude. It still hadn't set in that he was...no, she wasn't ready to admit it yet. There had to have been a mistake.
Her mind's protests were in vain, and she knew it. She rolled over onto her side to look across the aisle. There was Antoine lying on his bunk with her back to her, seemingly without a care. It was almost as if he didn't care, as if he didn't even realize-
No, that wouldn't do either. No point getting angry, she tried to tell herself. You know it wasn't his fault.
Then whose was it? It had to have been someone's fault, right?
Susan racked her brain, trying to find a scapegoat. Bugsy? He was a Gym Leader; he wouldn't dare attack with the intent to kill. The Scyther? No, she'd seen it use that attack before on weaker Pokémon, and while they'd been knocked out by it, usually in spectacular fashion, they were ultimately fine, as far as she could assume. The medics, for not getting there fast enough? Now that was just silly; how could they have known that would happen before it actually happened?
Every suspect, one by one, was exonerated, leaving nobody left. It wasn't even her fault-she wasn't even part of the battle, outside of Foley's participation. But then, was it simply nobody's fault? Was it really something that could be attributed to sheer bad luck, or a whim of circumstance? The thought went against everything she knew, but there were no alternatives.
She didn't want to think about it anymore. What time was it now? Susan pawed at her phone, trying to get a grip on it. When she was finally successful after several feeble attempts, she could barely make out the time against the brightness of the rest of the screen. She was really regretting setting a beauty shot of Mt. Silver as her background photo right now.
It didn't really matter, anyway. She turned the phone off and resumed gazing up at the cot above hers. Occasionally she closed her eyes, hoping that it would trick her body into committing to sleep. It didn't work, though, and for who knew how long she found herself repeatedly opening and closing her eyes, in a vain attempt to doze. At some point it started raining again, harder than before; the crash of the downpour against the Pokémon Center's roof did her no favors in this regard.
Just as she'd finally found a magic combination that was finally about to let her rest, a loud CRASH cut into the room, startling her back to lucidity.
Susan sprang up in her bunk, her heart pounding from the shock as she sat staring at nothing in particular. As far as she could tell, she wasn't the only one startled by the noise; down the corridor, a handful of other trainers were stirring as well. Across from her, even Antoine seemed to have been jostled into a state of near-consciousness.
There was silence save for the rain. Then, another CRASH, louder this time.
There was nothing for it. Susan had to see what the source was. She swiveled her legs out of the bed and planted them on the floor, but for some reason she found herself unable to stand. Why weren't her legs working? She had to go, she had to…
Do what, exactly?
She felt her heart sink. Nothing, it turned out. She could do nothing to affect the situation.
Outside, a great yell went up, followed by a loud, furious cry and an even louder CRASH.
This last peal made up her mind. Maybe she couldn't do anything, but she was at least going to see this for herself.
With as much speed as she could muster early in the morning, Susan pulled on a spare set of clothes and grabbed her Hoothoot and Mareep before making for the front door of the Center. She took a look back at the kennel; Basil would have to stay behind this time. With a sharp breath, Susan pushed out into the storm.
The quiet of the Pokémon Center gave way, replaced by the cacophony of the torrent splashing onto the ground. Susan kept underneath the modest awning as she peered out into town, squinting in an attempt to peer between the raindrops. She could see movement not too far off, but no solid forms, be they human or Pokémon. All she knew from this angle was that there was some sort of commotion that had sparked a minor upheaval within the town itself. In other words, nothing she didn't already know.
Without thinking, Susan sprinted out from under the protection of the awning and out into the pouring rain. Within seconds, she realized she'd made a critical error in leaving her raincoat behind, yet she pushed on regardless.
As she drew closer to the main part of town, the picture began to become clearer. A handful of trainers were scurrying about with their Pokémon, as if preparing to fight back against...something. Not far off, Susan saw the cause: a giant, teeming swarm of buglike creatures were currently wreaking a fair amount of havoc, uprooting trees and even damaging buildings with their long, powerful horns.
She ducked behind a nearby house to continue observing the rampaging monstrosities. Now that she got a good look at them, they looked a lot like a Pokémon she'd seen in nature documentaries-"Heracross," she thought they were called. Her thoughts turned back to some of the feats she'd seen them perform: lifting huge trees into the air, withstanding blows that would devastate many other Pokémon, even plowing through solid concrete at full speed. But one thing above all sprung to mind now: Heracross became agitated in rain.
So this was the cause of the uproar, then. Susan watched as the Heracross hustled about, paying little heed to their surroundings. One, in its rain-induced discomfort, ran straight through one side of a wooden house and right out the opposite side, seemingly without breaking stride.
One thing was clear to Susan: she did not need to be here right now.
She was just about to turn back and race for the Pokémon Center when one of the larger Heracross spotted her. With a cry that made her blood run cold (or perhaps that was just the rain), it turned on the spot and charged straight at her, horn lowered.
On instinct, Susan dove out of the way of the rush, landing face-first in the mud as the beast charged right past her. She scrambled for her Poké Balls, her fingers fumbling against the metal of the little spheres. She seized one of them-she wasn't sure which-and rolled back onto her feet. As the Heracross finally slowed its momentum and turned back to face her, she flung the Poke Ball as hard as she could.
The flash of light the ball emitted was just enough to cut through the obscuring rain for a moment. From the ball sprung the Mareep she'd caught yesterday-Gem, she reminded herself.
"Gem, quick!" She wasn't sure if the little sheep could hear her through the rain, but she had to try. "Try to zap it!"
Gem complied with the unorthodox command, as she began to store electrical energy. For such a small creature, Susan noticed she was taking in an awful lot of electricity.
Before them, the Heracross bellowed once more and stalked forward, its bulbous eyes locked onto the Mareep.
Susan gritted her teeth and waited for the bug to close the distance. Just a bit closer...there!
"Now, Gem!"
The Mareep, now at full capacity, unleashed a massive bolt of energy into the Heracross that brightly lit the vicinity, halting its advance and sending it skidding back through the mud. As it struggled back to its feet, Susan saw it twitch, perhaps uncontrollably-Gem's attack had done even more than she'd thought.
She leapt for joy. "That was great, Gem! Now-"
She cut herself short when she saw her Mareep-actually, no, was she still a Mareep? For now, what had been a four-legged beast covered in wool had become a bipedal creature. It still resembled a sheep, but with significantly less wool and a longer tail than before. Susan couldn't believe her eyes. Had Gem just evolved?
Whether she had or not, the Heracross refused to be bested so easily. If anything, it seemed the lightning bolt had just made it angrier. The Heracross leaned back and let loose what could only be described as a war cry. It rushed forward once more, aiming straight for Gem. With a violent flick of its neck, it caught Gem with the shaft of its horn, flinging the newly evolved Pokémon off to the side. Gem crashed into a nearby tree and slid all the way down to the ground. Susan watched as it stirred, trying and failing to get back to its feet, before falling unconscious.
The Heracross, its secondary opposition removed from the fight, now turned its attention back to Susan. In a panic, the girl dug around for her Hoothoot's ball, which had gotten lost in the fray. By the time she found it, though, the Heracross had already come within striking distance. The huge bug roared right in her face, startling her badly enough that Hoothoot's ball slipped from her fingers as she stumbled onto her backside.
The Heracross lowered its horn and prepared to finish off its prey. With nothing left to protect her, Susan raised her hands in a last vain attempt to protect herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the beast's attack.
An attack that never came.
A few moments passed, and somehow Susan didn't feel herself being eviscerated. Had she perhaps passed out from the shock before the beast made impact? It would certainly be a lucky break if that were the case. But then why was it still raining?
Against her better judgment, she decided to risk opening her eyes again. When she did, what she saw only confused her more. Not only was she still there, which was miraculous in itself, but now she saw the Heracross just standing in front of her, gazing down at her.
Incredulous, Susan slowly crawled to her feet, hands still raised, as the giant bug continued to stare, seemingly no longer incensed. The fire she'd seen in its eyes was long gone, its ready stance replaced by a more relaxed posture. In behavior it now appeared to be far from the rampaging warrior it had appeared moments ago. For some reason, the beastly fury had given way to a more calm, even curious temperament as it continued to watch its former prey closely.
The rain was beginning to ease off quite a bit now. Susan made sure to lower her hands as slowly and gently as possible, doing her best to avoid making any sudden movements. The Heracross didn't seem to have any reaction. Instead, it took a step closer, so that now it was within reach. It bowed its head ever so slightly, causing its horn to protrude closer to her.
Susan's heart threatened to break free from within her as she watched. This was something Heracross only did with people they trusted. Why was it doing this now, when just seconds ago it had been trying to kill her?
Across from her, the Heracross tilted its head in either confusion or annoyance; she honestly couldn't tell which. She took a deep breath, trying in vain to calm her thoroughly wracked nerves. Then, following after what she'd seen the professionals do before, she reached out her hand and placed it on the shaft of the Heracross' horn, just below its heart-shaped tip.
The Heracross pulled back gently, the ritual having been completed to its satisfaction. It gave her a stern nod to signal its approval. Susan nodded back, more on instinct than anything else; her heart was still racing.
Then, out of nowhere:
"Susan!"
Another flash of bright light made Susan reel backward, causing her to nearly trip over an exposed tree root. When she regained her balance, she looked back to see that the Heracross had vanished; in its place lay a blue-and-red Poke Ball, embedded slightly in the mud.
Susan knelt down to pick up the ball, but was cut off.
"There you are!" Antoine ran up to her, pushing through the pouring rain as though it barely existed. "What in Xerneas' name are you doing out here?"
"I...I wanted to figure out what was causing the disturbance out here!" Susan knew she didn't have a leg to stand on this time, but pushed on. "I couldn't sleep, and then there was this big noise, and-"
"And you nearly got hurt, most importantly! Do you have any idea what those things can do? You're lucky I was able to catch that thing before it got upset."
"Actually…" Susan hesitated. Would he believe her? Probably not, but she had to be honest. "I think I would have been okay."
Antoine, predictably was stunned. "What? What do you mean? What are you even talking about?"
Susan explained what had happened, from the Heracross' initial attack to Gem evolving to its sudden calm. At the end of it all, Antoine seemed no less confused than she was.
"So you're telling me," he said once she'd finished her explanation, "that it just stopped charging you out of nowhere? Just like that?"
Susan nodded. "Just like that."
Her brother stared at the ball in her hands for a moment, pondering something. Then, with a sigh, he shook his head. "Well, the important thing is that you're okay." He pointed to the ball. "Maybe you should keep that thing nearby, just in case. You may be able to keep it in check as we travel."
Susan didn't say anything. She merely looked back down that the Great Ball that contained the Heracross. If she didn't know any better, she'd have found it hard to believe that the capsule was housing something that could level entire buildings.
As she stared at the ball in her hands, though, something caught the corner of her eye-a flutter of bright white, somehow undisturbed by the downpour around them.
She looked over at the flutter to find a lone figure: a man in a purple suit, white cape fluttering in the wind. For the moment, his sapphire eyes were trained on Susan, his expression stoic. The man's umbrella barely bowed against the force of the storm, only adding to the haunting effect of his icy stare.
The two locked eyes for what felt like an eternity. Susan felt the world begin to grow just a little bit colder as his gaze dug into her.
Then, his lips curled into a wry smirk, and her turned and walked away. Susan stared after him, waiting for some sort of reprisal, but none came. She just stood there for a while, watching the man fade into the wet darkness of the early morning…
"Sis? Are you okay?"
Ant's words snapped Susan back into reality. She looked around for a moment, having lost her bearings, before spotting Antoine and relaxing a bit.
"You spaced out for a bit there," her brother continued. "Let's get back inside. You're going to catch a cold standing out here in the rain."
As he said this, Susan finally noticed the downpour again. When had she stopped feeling it? "Yeah," she replied, absent-minded in her confusion.
Antoine nodded, and began to lead her back to the Pokémon Center. She cast one more glance at the spot where the mysterious man had stood, before collecting the still-unconscious Gem and following Antoine.
