X: The Worthless Rejects
Now my dear listener, I've told you some about my exploits during the early portion of my journey, but little about the others. The truth is, plenty had been happening to them also, but I'm going to focus on our first day out of New Bark.
"Anna, pound!" I commanded, watching my little Treecko bring her tail down on a Hoothoot, or rather, the third Hoothoot. In one hour.
"Why are you beating up Hoothoot?" Michael asked, "You have a personal grudge against them?" He and the others were sitting down, under a tree, watching me.
"First gym is flying-type" I said, "This is the best way to prepare her, have her get used to enemies that won't be on the ground" A little ways away from the others was a group of five pokemon, watching us.
"Why does the infernal death reptile have so much trouble against the clockwork bird!? Pecha could take it down with a single jolt!" The primary one talking, to the surprise of no one, was Pecha. "Pecha would have no trouble against all birds!"
"You know Pecha" Trish said, "Some of those infernal birds could easily kick your ass up one end and down the other" Trish was perched on a low set piece of wood, jutting out of the tree they were under. She had knocked some berries down to the ground for the others.
"If Pecha remembers correctly, Pecha beat you down foul death bird" Pecha said.
"Yeah you did. Say Pecha, how is that world domination going?" Pecha growled.
"Fool! While you were still learning to spell your name, I was training myself, to conquer galaxies!" Trish shrugged.
"What does that mean?"
"How about we don't argue?" Rush asked happily. "Let's just enjoy this beautiful day" Rush had, inspire of all that had happened to him, managed to keep a smile permanently glued on his face. You had to wonder if he was faking it sometimes, but you didn't care. Rush's happiness was a consistent, and as of late, we all needed something consistent.
"You're right my beloved Kip" Pecha said, "Trish being wrong is no reason to argue"
"Me being wrong! You know fuzz ball, I could come over there and"
"Maybe you shouldn't argue with her" Streak said, in his slightly out of it voice. "Maybe you should just take it with a smile on your beak, or as best a smile as you can. Pecha's stubbornness is like the ocean, never ending"
"Again with the ocean? What is with you and the ocean?"
"I like the ocean" Streak said, "It's so calming, so pleasant. I think the afterlife is like an ocean, where everyone can float and rest"
"I like that idea" A new voice said. Everyone turned to the silent member of their little group, Iggy the blind Chinchou. "I always like how ocean water feels, so wet and gentle"
"What's it like?" Rush asked, "Being unable to see, how do you do it?"
"It's not something you do" Iggy said, "It's something you adjust too and overcome. I had to deal with it, but I did. Truth be told, I'm better for it"
"Or really?" Trish asked. "Name one good thing about being blind" Iggy shrugged.
"Well" Iggy said, "I'm not afraid of anything" Trish laughed.
"I'm calling shit, you have to be afraid of something. I mean, it's a big dangerous world, and you can't see. You have to be afraid of something"
"I don't" Iggy said, "Maybe you have to be afraid, but I'm not" Trish flew upward, above Iggy.
"Really? Well, this is why you should be afraid!" Trish dive-bombed at Iggy, wings folded in, going full force. Iggy's antenna sparked, and a thunderbolt shot off, hitting Trish on the underside. Trish jerked violently, and slammed into the tree.
"...Crap" Trish slid to the ground from the tree, finally resting on the same branch she had started out on. "How did you know?"
"You're to loud when you flap your wings" Iggy said, "Also, your wings are small so you have to flap a lot, I could feel the air. I wasn't scared though, I told you. A Chou without sight is a Chou without fear"
"If you say so" Trish said.
"Pecha must consider this!" Pecha said, "A blind army of Kipchu! It will revolutionize the entire industry of world domination of the...my organization"
"Why aren't you calling your happy club New Chu Order?" Rush asked stupidly.
"Pecha is no founder of the club that is happy!" Pecha said, "Pecha is a dominator of the world in the making, Pecha will rule everything, Pecha will...will...ah, who care?" Pecha's spirit and insanity vanished. Rush walked over to her.
"W-What's wrong?" Rush asked. Pecha started to cry.
"If I don't have subjects, what's the point of being a world ruler? Does anyone truly care about me? Without Nel, do I have any real friends!?" Now Pecha began to sob openly. Rush licked her across the nose, and Pecha grabbed him.
"What's wrong with her?" Iggy asked.
"Show some respect" Trish said, "She lost her best friend a month ago" Trish sighed. "She lost hers, I lost mine, we all lost something that horrible day"
"What day?" Iggy asked.
"The day of the shooting" Trish said, "The day I lost Flash"
"I lost Nel and Lisa" Pecha cried.
"I lost Wisp" Rush said, with a slight negative tone in his voice. "Louis lost L3, Titan lost Sharon, we lost Titan and Bane"
"I lost Shu" Streak said. "I flow on though. We all flow through the great river"
"The great river?" Iggy asked.
"If death is an ocean, to get there we flow down the great river of life. We don't know how it's going, or if it'll be rocky, but we do know it's going somewhere" Streak then, no joke, fell asleep while standing up. I guess he lost interest in the conversation a took a nap.
"Weird" Trish said. "I don't know about a great river. Hell, I don't know about much of what Streak said. I know that Flash still has to be alive somewhere, but I don't care. It wasn't fair what happened to us""
"I don't think life really is fair" Iggy said, "I knew that early on. You just deal with it though, you smile and you continue on. I've always tried to do that"
"What's going to happen to us you think?" Rush asked suddenly. "I'm the only pokemon Michael officially has. He's been taking care of us, but I'm the only one originally on his team. He isn't battling anymore, so what is their for me to do? How can I prove my worth?" Rush's smile slipped, and he didn't automatically put it back on. Pecha began to sob harder, holding harder onto the little kip.
"What should I do!?" Pecha asked, "What should one Chu, with as much intelligence and charisma as me do?" She turned serious suddenly, and stopped crying. "What have I been doing? My New Chu Order was supposed to help pokemon, and has it? It was supposed to make pokemon equal to humans, superior. I wasn't helping the others though, I was hurting other pokemon. Everything I did was a waste"
"Don't say that" Trish said. "You did help us, maybe not the way you wanted"
"How? I didn't do anything"
"You made me laugh" Trish grinned as best someone with a beak could. "Your insane rants, your poses, the nazi costume that vanished awhile ago, you always brought a smile to my beak"
"See, I was ineffective. I was a clown, a clown to be mocked, and not a leader! I was nothing"
"You don't get it" Trish said. "You made things easier for me, even when I was mad at you. Pecha, I never hated you, I loved you for making my journey with humans so much easier" Pecha sniffled.
"Th-Thanks" She whispered. "Trish, ar-are you my friend?" Trish sighed.
"Yeah you dork, I'm your friend. I have to be, I can't loose any of you. I don't care how much you annoy me Pecha, or you Rush"
"Rush annoys no one" Pecha snapped.
"...Anyways, it doesn't matter to me. Guys, not counting you Iggy sorry, we are the last of our group. We need to stay together no matter what we do. Things are going to change. I-I don't want that to happen"
"You're scared" Iggy said suddenly.
"N-No I'm not" Trish protested.
"I can hear your heart beat" Iggy said with a small smile. "Your heart has actually been fairly steady, which surprised me. When you mentioned change, your heart started hammering. Even when you mentioned Flash, your voice wavered, but your heartbeat was steady. Change scares you I think"
"Not change, new pokemon" Trish said, "New humans. A new Angela, an old me. I'm going to get ignored, I just know it. Left to rust in the dust heap, fed and not acknowledged by who ever my trainer is now"
"Trish, you never battled" Rush pointed out.
"It wasn't battling that mattered" Trish snapped. "It was that I was part of the group, I had a trainer who noticed me, even if I never battled. Now what though? Do I just vanish into the background? No, not again. I spent to long as a decoration, I won't let that happen again"
"You don't just vanish" Streak suddenly said.
"...I thought you were asleep"
"I'm always asleep" Streak said, causing everyone to pause and try to figure that statement out. "You go out of your way to be noticed, you won't let yourself be forgotten, I'm sure of it"
"What if they ignore me?"
"We won't ignore you" Rush said happily, getting a small giggle out of Trish.
"Thanks" Said Trish, "Rush, you do know that you have value to us right? You won't need to prove your worth"
"Rush is worth more then me!" Pecha cried out. "Rush, your worth is beyond measure"
"Thanks Pecha" Rush said, rubbing his nose against her snout. "Pecha, you said your New Chu Order isn't doing what you wanted it to do. Why not get rid of it?" Pecha froze.
"Get rid of the New Chu Order? Insane! Pecha is the New Chu Order, getting rid of it would be getting rid of Pecha!" Iggy looked (sort of) over at Pecha.
"Ms. Pecha" He said, "I may not be an expert on this, but I don't think that you are your organization, you are you. Raving and a little nuts, but definitely you"
"I thank you Chinchou" Pecha said, "But no, getting rid of the New Chu Order is out of the question"
"Why?" Trish asked, "Your army is shattered, not that it ever amounted to much. You've more or less lost your zeal for conquering the world since you realized you're not helping your fellow pokemon. Why not give it up?"
"Because it has been the anchor in my life! One Chu's goal, to take the world, and help all the pokemon who live within it"
"Pecha, you're not happy though" Streak said, "You should do what makes you happy, instead of dragging around the order"
"But it's familiar! I need something familiar right now" Said Pecha, "I can't do something new, not now. The New Chu Order will never die!"
"I don't like the New Chu Order" Rush said.
"The New Chu Order must die! How do I do that?" Pecha slowly looked at everyone. "Now, I had added all of you, except you Iggy, into the New Chu Order. You would all have to request your release, which I know would deeply hurt all of you"
"No it wouldn't, we agree" The three of them said in unison. Pecha frowned.
"You could at least pretend to be upset" Pecha mumbled. "Well, then I have no choice but to agree with the wishes of my subjects. I, regretful, announce the immediate termination of the New Chu Order!" With that, the New Chu Order ended, and no one cared. "What now?"
"Well, I didn't like the New Chu Order" Rush said, "But I liked being part of a group. What if we made our own club, one just for us, for the ones from the first group, and Iggy 'cause he's here"
"Iggy says thank you Mr. Rush" Iggy said. "I'd be happy to be a part of your group"
"I'll join" Trish said, "I'd like to be a member of something, even if it is just a group who do nothing. It's something"
"Count me in" Streak said, "Why not? I'm not going anywhere, I might as well not be going anywhere in a group" Everyone turned their attention to Pecha. She sighed.
"The Chu agrees, on the condition that I get to name our group. I choose New-New Chu Order!"
"No" Everyone else said.
"Grr, fine! I agree to join, but we need a name" Pecha said, "A name to strike fear into the hearts of men! A name like, Pecha's Army!"
"Pass" Trish said, "How about the Legion of Awesome? Cause, we're a legion, and we're awesome!"
"I like Super Happy Fun Club!" Rush chirped happily. "Happy fun times for all!"
"I vote for...I dunno" Iggy said, laughing. "Names aren't my thing, we could name ourselves the Test Pattern Avengers!" Everyone stared at him. "Twenty points to whoever gets that reference"
"Can...Can I make a suggestion?" Streak asked, getting everyone's attention. Trish shrugged.
"Go on Iggy"
"Thank you Trish" Streak said. "You know what Dana called me when she captured me? Worthless. A reject. Said she could have bought a pair of shoes for what she paid to get my pokeball. Trish, have you ever been called worthless?"
"Yeah, my mother" Trish said. "Said I was a failure as a fighter for being, so small. I was a failure as a daughter for being me"
"That's what I was told by my tribe of Kips!" Rush said, "They rejected me, said I was worthless because I got caught. You know, I miss them sometimes"
"I was once owned by Dana" Pecha said, "Dana hated me, said I was only good as a purse Chu, and she wanted an Igglybuff. Pecha is cuter then the buff who is Iggly!"
"Before Ms. Desire" Iggy said, "I was ignored, rejected, all because I was blind. My school refused to have anything to do with me, they hated me. I...I always felt worthless"
"You see, that's what I mean" Streak said, "They insulted us, they called us worthless rejects. They made that an insult, then let us make it a compliment. Let's be worthless rejects!"
"You want us to be called the worthless rejects?" Trish asked cynically. "We're insulting ourselves!"
"I dunno" Rush said, "It sounds more like we're showing them we can't be hurt by their insults, or their red hot nails. I like it"
"Whatever Rush likes, I like" Pecha said, "Pecha agrees"
"I think its ironic" Iggy said, "It's stupid, and punchy. I agree" Trish looked at the little group, and smirked.
"Well, if everyone else agrees, who am I to argue?" Trish said. "I guess this means we're the Worthless Rejects?"
"Yep, Worthless Rejects!"