Chapter 9:

Emotional Breakdown

. . .

I ran into Dad during my little recon in Ambrette - his squad of Rangers had been called in to investigate what Team Flare was doing in Glittering Cave and why they were trying to hoard the fossils out of there. Apparently news about them got around fast, so the residents of the town wasted no time to bring in the authorities. This caused a full-scale investigation of the cave, leaving it off limits to all locals and visitors until further notice, and every resident and visitor was going to be questioned just in case anyone else had gotten involved in the incident. The assistant from the Fossil Lab was the first to be brought in, followed by the other employees. As you would have guessed, they were more than willing to share their stories about Team Flare and whoever was involved...so, of course, Calem and I were mentioned to be part of the involvement.

Dad had a Miltank after that.

"What is wrong with you?! Do you know how dangerous it is to cross paths with a criminal gang?! What if something happened to you?! I wouldn't be able to face your mother then!"

The amount of embarrassment Calem and I had to endure while being scolded was unbelievable. Calem's parents had been called once the new information was out, and they wasted no time to rush down here to Ambrette to check if their son was unharmed...and to scold him just as my Dad was doing to me. So there we were, stuck in the Pokémon Center being yelled at by our parents. Our starters were out at this time, and they were feeling as guilty as we were.

"Dad, we didn't know they were in there, honest!" I exclaimed "We were just in there to find some fossils and find the missing assistant! And even if I had faced them intentionally, Merida would have made sure nothing happened to me!"

"We weren't being reckless idiots," Calem added, though he was addressing his parents "It was an honest mistake! Besides, have you seen Team Flare? You couldn't take them seriously!"

"That still doesn't give you the initiative to jump head-first into a dangerous situation," Mr. Xenen chastised "You could have been seriously hurt or worse. You're only kids - you shouldn't be fighting against a gang of criminals!"

I quickly noticed that Calem favored his Dad more than his Mom - he was tall, had short dark hair, and looked like an older version of his son. The only difference was that his eyes were deep brown. Calem got his eyes from his Mom, who was a fairly short woman with long blonde hair. They had a disciplined, almost strict air to them - I could tell that they were indeed seasoned veterans.

"And what if they took your Pokémon? Or worse? What would you do then?" Mrs. Xenen added, though she was more calm and reserved than her husband and my Dad combined "Calem, honey, never doubt that we aren't aware of your talents, but you're still our son and we worry about you. Just...just don't get into any trouble, please..."

"Mom..."

"And that goes double for you, young lady," Dad glared at me, causing me to sink further into my seat. His eyes suddenly grew soften before he sighed, realizing he was being a little too hard. "I just don't want anything to happen to you...We already lost your sister, and I nearly lost you and your mother back in Ecruteak."

I noticed Calem snuck a curious glance at me, but I ignored him. "I know Dad, I'm sorry," I say "I promise, I won't intentionally meddle with those people ever again. But, uh...we're kinda public enemy number 1 on their list so..."

"I understand, but promise me you won't fight unless you have to. I know being a Trainer has its dangers, but you're not completely defenseless either." He looked over at Merida, who twitched her ears a bit. "After all...you're our child, so I'm not really surprised that you would run into trouble. But there's a difference between being brave and being foolish, and sometimes they're one in the same. I just want you to know when's the right time for either or. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dad..." Calem went with his parents in order to pass a statement to the officers since he had fought against the grunts first-hand. I had already given my statement to Dad, so all he had to do was give it to the chief and process it, and possibly put out an alert for any of the grunts and warn anyone in any neighboring towns about them. Other Trainers will also have to be cautious during their travels, so anyone who encounters anyone from Team Flare is advised to call the authorities right away rather than challenging them. It's to ensure the safety of the Trainer and his or her Pokémon.

I've started to realize just how long it's been since I really seen Dad - it's only been about a month since I could really sit down and talk to him, the last time was when we first moved to Kalos. His job as a Ranger has been very demanding, so he's rarely at home nowadays. Not that it really mattered since he and Mom weren't exactly together, but I still have a feeling that they still genuinely care for each other more than they let on. But hey, I wasn't going to get into their business.

"So you made it this far in a few days, huh? For some reason, I'm not surprised." Dad decided to buy us lunch since he was on break - I also took this as an opportunity to share my traveling tales so far. I shared just about everything that's happened so far, from when I first left home, winning my badge, acquiring my Pokémon and how I managed to get here. Dad was very interested and hung on to every little detail I told him, making a comment every now and then when necessary. I asked him what he had been doing as far as his job goes, but all he told me was that he's been helping Clemont with the blackout in Lumiose City.

"It's gotten real bad up there," he told me "We're beginning to suspect something's happened at the Power Plant on Route 13 that's causing this. Unfortunately, unless I'm given the task, I can't just go there and investigate. Once we leave here, it's back to Lumiose to keep things in order. With very limited power in such a big city, Clemont needs all the help he can get to make sure chaos doesn't break out there. It's too bad, but I think we're fighting a losing battle there. At least, until we can get to the Power Plant."

"I didn't stay in Lumiose," I explained "I only stayed overnight because we had to meet up with the Professor, but it had gotten too late to leave, and I wasn't well equipped to take a walk to the next town at night."

Dad nodded. "That's reasonable. Besides, the students who attend the schools have gotten a bit rowdy with the schools closed down, and gang activity has gone through the roof. By the way, when was the last time you spoke to Grace?"

"Um..." It's been a few days since I last talked to Mom, hasn't it? "Coupla days I think."

"You should call her before you leave," he advised, and then he grew a sort of distant look in his eyes. "I should do the same thing..."

"What's going on between you and Mom anyway?" I know I said that I wasn't the one to poke my nose into my parents' business, but their relationship kinda went sour after...after my sister went missing. Dad blames himself for it, but Mom knows better, and tried to convince him that what happened to her doesn't change the way she sees him. Despite how tough he acts and looks, Dad's a really sensitive guy underneath, and has a very soft spot for his family. I just wish that he would be honest with himself and admit that he wants to stay with Mom. "You guys are acting like two teenagers who are afraid to admit they like each other...Mom still loves you, y'know..."

Dad fell silent as he stared down into his glass of what was left of his orange juice. He usually gets likes this whenever I bring Mom into our conversations. "I...I still have feelings for Grace, but I can't face her after what happened..."

"She doesn't blame you for it, y'know. She blames herself just as much as you blame yourself, but neither of you could have prevented what happened. You had no way of knowing!" My words had to get through to him this time - I tire of seeing my Dad like this. He doesn't want to admit it, but he's miserable without Mom, and I wish he would just see that. "Hey, I know! You gotta go back to Lumiose once you leave here, right? Why don't you invite Mom to stay with you until your assignment's over? I know you gotta stay in a hotel while you're there - you and Mom can talk things out. It benefits from you both, y'know? You're lonely and Mom wants to get out of the house - she really doesn't have a reason to stay there now that I'm not there as often. And her training doesn't start for a few months so..."

Dad shot me an annoyed glance. "If you're trying to set us up, it's not going to work."

"I'm not trying to set you two up, but I'm telling to truth, aren't I?" I grinned. "But hey, it's entirely up to you. I was just trying to make your work days more more bearable."

"You're just like Grace," he says disdainfully, though he grows a broad grin. "Actually, you're just like us both. You have your mom's quick thinking, strong will and adventurous tendencies, while you have my stubbornness, boundless energy and passion. You even have your own quirks that makes you unique from your mother and I combined. But I like to believe you are your own person, regardless of whose genes you have more of. I only regret coddling you so during your upbringing..."

I cocked a bemused eyebrow. "You only started coddling me after I got separated from you in Dark Cave that time."

"You were only 6 at the time! What was I supposed to do?"

"I'm joking, jeez!" I laugh, and I happened to looked over at Merida who deciding to start eating off of my plate using a spare fork. "Oh! That reminds me, is Scar with you?"

Dad nodded. "He is. You want to see him?"

"I haven't seen him in a year."

Dad smiled as he took a Pokéball from his belt and pressed the release button. In a few seconds, a Feraligator materialized next to our table and yawned. His nostrils flared at the new scents of his surroundings, but the scent he was more interested in was the one that was very familiar, even though he hasn't experienced that scent in quite a while. His attention turned to me, and by now I was standing in front of him, trying to contain the grin on my face.

Scar was Dad's accidental starter Pokémon. I say that because Scar was originally a Pokémon that was bred purely for fighting in illegal, underground fighting clubs that made Pokémon literally fight to the death. Dad was still in training by then, but he had graduated from Ranger school and could go out into the field and participate in certain missions. His squad had joined up with the police after they found the location of the fighting club Scar was in, and they pulled off a sting operation to catch everyone involved. Scar was a Croconaw when they first found him, and in a feral state that rendered him unable to be owned by any Trainer and a danger to society, and it had been decided that he was to be put down. Dad didn't want to give up on him though - it took a lot of begging and convincing, but the agency finally allowed Dad to take him in as long as he promised to try to rehabilitate him. If he couldn't, then Scar would have to be put down regardless of what he says. So, without a second thought, Dad took him in, and even gave him his nickname, which came from the two scars on his right right eye he gained during a fight, which cost him his eyesight in that particular eye.

Scar was still a dangerous Pokémon, so he wasn't allowed no where near the house. I was around a month old at this time, so Mom wasn't going to allow the Croconaw anywhere near her or me no matter what kind of explanation Dad had. But Dad was a persistent man, and he wasn't going to give up on Scar that easily; He spent hours upon hours everyday with Scar, talking to him, feeding him, trying any method to bond with him. Physical contact was a no-no since Scar would attack anything that moved, so Dad spent his time behind the protection of a glass screen during his time with Scar. Mom and I would go to the Center to visit and watch his progress when we could. Despite everyone's doubts, Dad managed to get his feelings through to Scar after nearly two years, and they have become an inseparable pair since then. Still, even though Scar had passed his evaluation to be released from the Center, everyone was still wary about him being near a young child (me). So, even though Dad could take Scar home, he had to either stay in his Pokéball or outside whenever I was around. Dad was heartbroken to know this; Not only did this mean that this might put some distance between Scar and the family, but Dad wanted me to get as much interaction with Pokémon as possible, and this was exceptionally difficult since Team Rocket was rumored to have reunited by then.

I remembered when I first interacted with Scar:

Just as Dad said, I was 6 years old at the time, and I was accompanying Dad on one of his scouting missions - we were investigating the area near Blackthorn City, and the other end of the Dark Cave. Since I was getting closer to the age of becoming a Trainer, Dad wanted to get me started early as far as what kind of Trainer I was going to be. I was still doing the Rhyhorn riding training on the side per my Mom's same way of thinking, but my parents liked to keep options open, so I did both whenever I wasn't in school. This time, Dad had the assignment of finding a Hiker who had gotten himself lost in the cave. As its name implied, Dark Cave was...well...dark. So dark that it was illegal to go in without a source of light, particularly a flashlight or a Pokémon that knew Flash so that no one wanders in, gets lost and possibly dies. In this case, the Hiker had the proper means to enter, but he fell somewhere and gained a broken leg, rendering him immobile. So naturally, it's the Rangers' responsibility to ensure the safety of other Trainers and Pokémon regardless of the situation.

Scar was Dad's only Pokémon at this time, but he couldn't learn Flash, so he had to use a strong flashlight to navigate through the cave.

"Stay close to me at all times, Kat," Dad told me shortly after we entered "You can get lost easily in here, so never leave my sight under any circumstance, understand?"

"Yes Daddy." I gripped Dad's hand as we traversed deeper - he had released Scar to take care of any wild Pokémon that decided to attack us during the mission, but he still wasn't allowed anywhere near me. Everything was proceeding as normal, but we must have stumbled into a Geodude nest during the trek, causing a horde of them to jump out and attack us. Dad dropped the flashlight while trying to dodge the wild Pokémon and watch me, but I got scared and ran off after I felt one of them brush against my leg. Of course, I got lost and ended up blindly wandering through the cave with little to no light at all, but despite all that, I wasn't scared. I kept telling myself that I would find Dad, that I didn't get too far away from him, and that we would eventually reunite before the day was over. Even as a 6 year old, it still amazes me how I was able to keep myself sane in that kind of situation.

I had spent a good hour wandering around the cave and haven't found any traces of Dad or Scar. I hadn't realized that I had somehow ended up on a lower level of the cave during the chaos, but I had no way of knowing. "Daddy? Daaaaaaaaaaddyyyy? Where are you? I'm lost - come get me!" The only response I got was my own echo, and probably a noise from the wild Pokémon who lived in there. You would have thought I would've lost my cool by then, right? Nope...I was a weird kid, I'll admit.

I eventually found myself at one of the pools near one of the waterfalls. I had gotten tired of walking, so I sat down in front of it to collect myself. "Huh...I've been in here for a while. I wonder if Dad'll come get me...I'm hungry!"

"Rrrr!"

"AH!" Scar managed to track me down in record time - he was rubbing his snout against my face with a Berry in his mouth. Since Scar was completely blind in his right eye, he had to rely more on his sense of smell than his eyesight since he could only see out of one eye. Feraligator's evolutionary line have a good sense of smell since they're predatory Pokémon, but Scar's sense was enhanced due to his handicap. I was still glad that he had found me though - at least I wasn't wandering around in the dark anymore.

"Oh. Hi Scar," I rubbed his nose after taking the Berry. I was told to never touch Scar until Mom or Dad said it was okay, but I had completely forgotten my parent's words at the time. I just wanted to find my Dad. "Hey, are you lost too? I got separated from my Daddy somehow, and now I dunno where I am. Do you know where he is?" It was too dark to actually see Scar, but my eyes had adjusted to the darkness to where I could make out a faint outline of the Croconaw. He rubbed his chin before he nodded, and started sniffing the ground, seemingly to follow an invisible trail. "Oh, I get it! You're gonna follow Daddy's scent, aren't you?"

"Rocoo." I made sure to stay close to Scar as he led me through the cave - if I every strayed too far or lost sight of him, he would find me and hold my hand while following the scent. There was no way to distinguish the amount of time that had past, but we finally found Dad a while later. Dad was in a frenzied panic that he had entirely forgotten the lost Hiker he was supposed to be searching for. He fussed over me when he saw I was alright, and nearly had tears in his eyes as he hugged me until I was almost suffocating.

"Scar helped me!" I told him after he had calmed down "He's a really nice Pokémon - he led me right to you!"

"He did?" Dad asked - by the tone of his voice, I could tell that he could barely believe it. "He didn't try to bite at you? Was he aggressive towards you at all?"

"Nuh-uh!" I wriggled out of my Dad's arms and hugged Scar, who released a small snort at the gesture. "Scar is the best Pokémon ever! I love him, and I think he loves me too!" Scar let out another snort as he went back over to Dad's side. I had to be sent home after that - Dad refused to keep me in the cave any longer since he feared that he thought that if I got lost again...well, let's just say he assumed the worst. Mom wasn't as frenzied as my Dad was when she found out I got lost, but she very relieved that I wasn't gone forever. Since then, Scar has become a permanent member of the family; he's even took it upon himself to look after me when my parents weren't around, so he sorta became my bodyguard or babysitter of sorts. At least until I had gotten older. Looking back on it now, though, Dad had always had this weird ability to calm Pokémon down, or at least get rid of the evil and resentfulness from its heart.

Scar lowered his head and nuzzled my left temple, his hot breath grazing against my cheek and through my hair. "Hey pal," I cooed, rubbing his snout.

"Arceus, you've gotten big," I heard him say - hearing his voice in my head startled me at first, simply because I forgot that I could understand Pokémon. "Been a while since I've last seen ya, Squirt. Where've ya been?"

"Ya know...around." I noticed Merida was fidgeting a bit out of the corner of my eye. "Oh, right! I recently became a Trainer, and this is my partner Merida. She's my starter."

Scar turned towards Merida - his nostrils flaring as he took in her scent. "Oh, okay, gotcha. Nice to meet ya. The name's Scar - I looked after li'l Squirt 'ere since we were the same height. Guess I gotta pass the torch on to ya, huh? Take care of 'er, a'ight? She's a good kid."

"If it costs my life, I'll make sure Kat stays safe," Merida says "She my invaluable partner, and friend, and I know you feel the same way."

"'Course. I mean, Silas over there is my partner. Saved me from a life of fightin' with nothin' to lose or gain. I was supposed to be put down, but ol' Silas wouldn't have it. I owe a lot to the man - I owe him my life. Never lose sight of what's important, a'ight? That goes for you too, Squirt."

"Understood."

Dad must have picked up on the conversation, since he decided to speak up. "What's going on over there?"

"They're just talking," I told him "They're getting along, at least."

"But what were you doing?" he pressed "It almost looked like you were understanding what they were saying."

I paused; I haven't told Mom or Dad about my new ability, which was probably my biggest mistake right now. I know I should have told Mom when it first happened so Dad would know by now, but I was afraid they wouldn't believe me, or at least take me seriously. I'm not the one to lie to my parents, nor do I like to keep secrets from them, but I wasn't sure how they would approach this. Hell, I wasn't even sure how to approach it.

"Well," I started "okay, I have something to tell you, but you have to promise me that you'd believe me."

"What makes you believe I wouldn't?" he asks "You never lied to us before."

"Alright..." I sat down at the table and faced him, keeping my expression as serious as possible. "Okay...so...a couple of days ago, something happened. It all started after I left Santalune City - I started feeling this weird pressure in the back of my head whenever I heard my Pokémon talk, and it got worse as time passed on. And then, that morning before we left Lumiose City, the pressure came back when Merida talked, but it suddenly popped and I got this headache and started feeling dizzy, and I almost passed out. When I finally came to, whenever I heard Pokemon talk, I can hear them. Like, I hear them speak, but I can understand what they're saying...And it's not just me - Calem's been experiencing the same thing. But...we dunno what it is...the Professor is looking into it for us, and we've been trying to search for answers, but we've come up empty handed so far...I'm starting to believe that we might be psychics."

"Or ginjinkas." I paused and stared at my Dad blankly for a second before he went on "Kat, look...your mom and I always noticed that you were...well, different from other kids. At the same time, we weren't exactly surprised because we're the same way."

I ended up frowning before I knew it. "I don't understand...what are you saying? You knew about this?"

"I didn't say I knew you could do this, but what I do know is that our family line is...different."

I cocked an eyebrow. "How different?"

"I don't know the full details since I've been coming up empty handed whenever I tried to trace back our family tree...But I've managed to gather enough information from certain sources that there's a strong possibility that my, and even your mom's ancestors, were members of a race that closely resembled ginjinkas. There's very little information to go off on, but I do know that they had a special connection with Pokémon, even to the point where they could understand them. It all focuses around a gene that belonged to the race - it acts very odd in humans. It can't be a recessive or a dominant gene...it's just there." He took a swallow of his orange juice before looking over at Scar, who had wandered out to the pool for Water types in the back. "Many believe that this gene is the reason why certain people are psychics, or have a sixth sense that others don't. But I don't think that's the case - the gene also causes the person carrying it to have a completely different blood type, and even have DNA that has the same genetic code as certain Pokémon."

That's interesting. "So you think our family carries this gene?"

"I believe so." Dad grew a very serious expression on his face. "But I believe our family line are direct ancestors of these people. Think about it - don't you think it's a bit odd that I could literally turn a bad Pokémon into a saint in a short amount of time? Or how Grace can tame the wildest of Pokémon, no matter the circumstances? And now you can speak to Pokemon...this isn't a coincidence - it's all connected. I'm sure of it."

"What about Calem? You think he and his family is carrying the gene too?"

"It's a strong possibility," he nodded "You should probably ask him when you get the chance. Better yet, the next time I meet up with Grace, we'll try to look up our earliest ancestors for answers."

"I'll do the same when I have the time," I said, twirling my straw in my lemonade. "...Wait, so you are gonna invite Mom to stay with you in Lumiose, aren't you?"

Even though Dad was dark skinned, I could see his cheeks flush pink a bit. "I never said that!" he scowled, then asked "By the way...have you told Grace about this?"

"Not yet..." I say honestly "I've been afraid to. But...it's probably best if she heard it from me first, y'know? I'm going to call her before I leave Ambrette, so I'll tell her then."

"Good." Dad chugged down the last bit of orange juice from his glass before a loud beeping started coming from his Holo Caster. He took the device from his belt and looked at it, reading a message that was on the screen. "Well, it's time to get back to Lumiose. Looks like the squad is in need of some backup...I'll see you later, okay?"

"Alright.." Dad stood up, leaned over the table and kissed my forehead; I followed after him and got up from the table, just in time to see Calem walking over to us. He was spending some time with his parents after they gave the authorities his statement - he must have finished around the same time we did. Being the courteous guy that he was, Calem took it upon himself to introduce himself to Dad, just to make sure that he knew that we were travelling buddies. Dad was glad to meet him at first, since he couldn't get to know him since he arrived here. But his demeanor suddenly changed moments later - he furrowed his brow and glanced at Calem with suspicion clear in his eyes.

"Wait..." he demanded "you're travelling with a boy?"

And that's when I remembered how overprotective Dad was. I immediately grabbed Calem's wrist and started pulling him out the Pokémon Center. "Okay Dad, I love you! See you later!"

"KAT-"

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Yvetta!"

I laughed as I dragged Calem out of the Center and towards the Aquarium with Genji and Merida at our heels while Dad shouted something after us. We had to slow down once we got to the entrance so we didn't look like a bunch of suspicious maniacs - the small town was already on edge thanks to Team Flare, they didn't need any crazy teenagers running amok in their aquarium.

"Your dad's gonna kill me," Calem panted once we entered the building.

"He's gonna kill us both," I giggled, paying for my ticket. "So, did your parents chew you out as bad as my Dad?"

"No, surprisingly," he explained "They were worried sick, but they let me off. But now I have to call them everyday so they'll know I'm not in any sort of trouble. What about you?"

"I got off pretty easily. That reminds me...have you told your parents about your ability yet? I told my Dad."

Calem shook his head. "Well, I told Mom, and she said that our family might have a special gene that allows us to bond with Pokémon differently than regular people, and it dates back really far in the past to a race of people with the same gene. Mom thinks your family might have the same gene as well, but she isn't sure...but she believes they're connected."

Calem went silent for a moment, staring into one of the tanks that held a group of Seel and Dewgong. "You think that the race of people your dad mentioned might be the tribespeople Arthur told us about?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they're one in the same. It would explain a lot...I mean, my Mom and Dad always had a closer connection with Pokémon than most people do, but I think we were the only ones who was able to get the gene that enabled us to speak with Pokémon. Dad says the gene isn't dominant or recessive - it's always there regardless of the person's genetic make up."

Calem tilted his head a bit. "Maybe it acts differently depending on the person?"

"Maybe..." We walked through the aquarium, stopping by each tank and looking at each of its inhabitants. I recognized nearly every Water type there, except for ones native to Kalos, and some I haven't read about in school. They even had a habitat that held Goomy's evolutionary line. It was a remade swamp habitat that held many swamp and marsh-dwelling Pokémon. I decided to let Vivian out to allow her to look at her brethren - the other Goomy, its second form Sligoo, and two Goodra, the final form. They wandered over to the glass and started inspecting Vivian, my Goomy pressing her nose up against to glass to get closer to her potential relatives. I decided to leave her be with them for a bit and I wandered away to look at the other tanks. This was a prime time to fill in some Pokédex pages, so I spent more time filling them in rather than learning about the actual Pokémon living in the aquarium. Vivian eventually slithered back to me, but she nudged my leg once we met up again. I expected her to tell me about the interactions, but instead she said that she was tired and wanted to take a nap. I thought that was a bit odd since she hasn't done any battling or training since yesterday, but I didn't press the matter and returned her to her ball. Merida noticed it too, but she kept quiet about it as well.

I found Calem near the fresh water tanks - there was this little area that allowed the other patrons to feed some Buizel and Floatzel. I decided to join in and got some food from the dispenser nearby. I started feeding them, watching a small group form around me as each of them tried to get their share of the food pallets. I kept noticing that he kept glancing over at me, licking his lips nervous as if he wanted to ask me something. I noticed, but kept quiet and continued to look around the Aquarium, looking at each of the various Water types, but my thoughts weren't even on the Pokémon.

"...Hey, Kat," Calem finally asked "if you don't mind me asking...you had a sister?"

I paused. I never really talked about my sister, and for good reason. No one else besides Mom, Dad and I knew who she even was. She was literally nonexistent to the rest of the world..."Yeah."

We entered the gift shop, though we had no real intention on going in there in the first place. We were wandering aimlessly at this point - our thoughts were clouded with a whirlwind of emotions, and doubts. However, I knew Calem's mind was on my family's own little secret...and I was too. I was looking at a rack of fishing rods when Calem asked "What happened to her?"

I paused again, picking up a bright red and silver rod from one of the racks and started messing with it. I wasn't even there at this point - my body was on autopilot while my mind was was just...gone. But...I needed to tell someone about this - I didn't feel right keeping this to myself anymore. I strongly believed that I would feel better to get this off my chest, to share the pain and grief my family had to endure after the loss. I didn't have anyone, no one but Mom and Dad and no friends...until now. I had friends - four wonderful friends that, even though we only met a couple of days ago, we became close as if we've always known each other. Calem and Shauna were the ideal best friends, Trevor and Tierno were the supportive friends that will always try their best to bring light back into your heart, even if they don't fully understand what the issue is. It was the first time in my entire lifetime where I felt...well, loved, wanted.

"...I'll tell you, but not here." I told him, before walking past him to look at the other souvenirs the shop had to offer. I noticed Merida was looking at me, concern written on her face. But I sent her a sad smile before I continued browsing. Calem wandered back over to us with a blue fishing rod of his own, but he didn't seem as interested in the other products as I was, but I was only looking because I needed a distraction. Calem didn't press the matter and we continued on in relative silence, but I could feel a sense of unease coming from him. He was probably feeling guilty about asking me such a personal question, but how could I blame him? Anyone would be curious about it after hearing about it for the first time - I know I would, anyway. Still, I got tired of looking around and decided to buy the rod and leave, since I had no real reason to be here to begin with.

I started to head for the checkout up front, then paused as something caught my eye. There were charm bracelets, ribbons and scarves out on display near the checkout. The scarves and ribbons came in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes, but I was more interested in the bracelets. They started out as bare silver, but the charms were colorful and bright in all kinds of shapes. I grabbed two of the bracelets and a handful of charms, and picked up a few of the ribbons and scarves before finally going over to the checkout line to pay for everything. I ended up paying 2,400 Poké for everything (the rod was pretty expensive), which took a bit of a chunk out of my savings, but it was worth it in my eyes. Merida tried to peer into my bag to see what I had bought - she was looking at some Pokémon toys when I bought the other things - but I hid the bag and told her she couldn't look.

"It's a surprise," I winked at her "Just wait a li'l longer, 'kay?"

She folded her arms and gave me a sort of defiant look. "I hate waiting."

Calem eventually emerged from the shop, the only thing he came out with was the fishing rod. It was at that moment when I realized that we were at the entrance to the lower part of the Aquarium - a large, golden Magikarp statue sat in front of the exit/entrance to the lower part of Route 8. People were mostly sitting around in this area, reading the pamphlets on the wall, looking at the map, taking pictures in front of the statue, and resting their feet on the benches. Cyllage City was just a straight walk from here once we left the building, so we wasted no time to walk out the Aquarium, leaving Ambrette Town behind us...for now.

. . .

The lower part of Route 8 was the more ideal and scenic route than the upper part. Lower Route 8 was directly next to the ocean, so the path was only a beach and rested under the cliffs of Ambrette and the upper part of the route. The salty, cool ocean air was very refreshing compared to the direct heat and the mountainous terrain of before, followed by the the sounds of the waves gently hitting the shore with Wingull and Pelipper riding the ocean winds. Evening started to set in, turning the sky into a bright orange as the sun began to make its slow descent, turning the route into a scene right out of a romantic chick flick.

Our feet sunk delicately into the sand as Calem and I walked - Genji stayed near the water, swimming with us while Merida made sure to stay as far from the ocean as possible. It remained quiet between us for the first couple of minutes - I found a rock to kick around the sand during the walk, challenging myself to kick it all the way to Cyllage City if I don't lose it. Calem was trying to shrink his new fishing rod down so he could fit it into his bag, but he was having a bit of trouble getting it to coöperate. I watched him struggle for a moment for my own amusement, but he eventually gave up and resorted to carrying it the rest of the way.

"I never understood how these things work," he sighed, lightly waving the rod around "I hear they made the rods easy to travel around with by allowing them to be packed down to a compact size to fit in bags so it's easy to carry around, but I wish they could at least give us newbies an instructional booklet or-"

"I only knew my sister for a few years, but we had grown close in that short amount of time we spent together."

Calem grew quiet and looked at me, a frown growing on his face. "Kat, I didn't mean-"

"Biologically, she was my sister, but only because of Dad," I went on, my mouth moving on its own by now. "Mom and Dad were college sweethearts, and they continued to date as they attending college until Dad had to drop out to get into Ranger school. When Dad left for Fiore to finish school, Mom stayed in Johto so she could graduate from college and start her Rhyhorn racing training. Even though they were regions apart, Mom and Dad always stayed in contact with each other, and their relationship never faltered in the slightest. They were madly in love, and had promised each other that they would marry once Dad came back from Ranger school. Now Dad, he was a good man...faithful, honest, outgoing, and loyal to a fault, but he wasn't perfect either. As you know, Dad was still young at the time, so he was prone to be influenced by his peers."

I kicked the rock pretty hard, and it rolled and tumbled a few feet ahead of us. "One night, Dad and his friends were out for a night on the town because they had recently completed a training course and were out celebrating. Dad was always responsible, but this was the first time that he and his squad had ever had any time to fully unwind, so they decided to go ahead and let loose since they wouldn't have to worry about rising early the next day. So...that night...Dad got drunk and ended up having a one night stand with one of the dancers that worked in the club they were in. He didn't do it intentionally, but he was heavily intoxicated and sexually strained, so it's not too surprising that he would jump at the chance to relieve himself. The following day, a few of his friends found him passed out in a hotel room with the dancer, and when he came to and saw what he had did, he immediately contacted Mom to tell her of his mistake, even though he was still hungover."

We made it to the rock again, but I kicked it into a tile pool that was under one of the cliffs. I watched the rock slowly sink into the shallow water, a Krabby skittering away at the sudden disturbance. My gaze then lifted up towards the sea - the sun just a few inches from being completely gone, the sky slowly turning from orange to a very dark blue. "As I said before, Dad was a good man, and was never the one to lie or keep secrets...He knew Mom would be upset at him, but he felt that Mom needed to know then and there rather than later. So when he told Mom the mistake he made...she lost it. She felt heavily betrayed, not only because the man she loved dearly, the man she thought was her soul mate, decided to have an affair with another woman while they were far apart, but also because she had found out she was pregnant with me. Mom ceased contact with Dad for a month after that, and Dad was devastated...he even dropped out of training just to get back to Mom. Even when Dad landed back in Johto, Mom avoided him, still hurt from Dad's mistake. But...she found it in herself to forgive him - she knew that Dad would never do such a thing out of his own free will, nor would he abandon her for another woman, especially some dancer in a nightclub. And...he wanted to be a good father to me and a good husband to my mom - he always wanted to start a family, so when he heard Mom was pregnant, he was willing to drop everything he had worked towards just to be there for us...and that made Mom realize that Dad wasn't just any other guy. So she forgave him...it was obvious that he did love her more than anything."

"Mom had to stop her training because she was pregnant, but she refused to be the reason to stop Dad from living his dream, so she convinced him to go back and complete Ranger school, but he wouldn't go back to to the school in Fiore...so he attended the school in Johto in order to stay near Mom during her pregnancy. When I was finally born, Dad stopped going to school and decided to be a stay-at-home father while Mom went back to complete her Rhyhorn racing training. But...I wasn't even 2 months old when the dancer tracked Dad down with a baby girl of her own. She ended up getting pregnant by Dad too, and she threatened to ruin our lives if Dad didn't compensate for the baby. Dad panicked, but Mom was calm during the whole ordeal - she knew that there would be negative repercussions behind Dad's mistake, but she stayed on Dad's side rather than turning against him. They offered to help the woman support the baby, but the woman wanted money. Eventually, she agreed to let the baby come over to visit while she worked at the club, but only when she was old enough. The visits started when I was around 2, and that was the day I had met my baby sister...she was a year under me, just a year old."

"We didn't know my sister's mom was a neglective alcoholic and abusive towards her until we noticed her visits started to last longer. Instead of staying for a few hours, she started to stay for days...then weeks...then months...and she also had bruises appearing on her skin whenever she came around. By that time, the dancer just wanted to get rid of my sister so she could work, and was more than glad to drop her off with us for a long time. But...we didn't care - we loved it when my sister came to visit, and Mom and Dad did their best to raise her the right way, telling her that she had a family here and to never let her mom get to her. We loved her to death...even though her mom was beating her and letting her fend for herself, she was always bright, happy and smiling. And we became inseparable the moment we met - she had an older sister, and I had a little sister...but more importantly, we were best friends. She loved to watch me train with Mom and Ryder, and we played with Scar, my Dad's Feraligator, whenever he wasn't working...We spent hours upon hours playing with each other, going on adventures in our backyard, and learning about Pokémon through the various books my Dad had. We were so happy then...it felt like everything was perfect."

"But then...my sister's mom...she grew jealous that her daughter had a better lifestyle that she did, and stopped bringing her over. Mom and Dad threatened legal action against her since they have enough evidence to show the authorities that she was an unfit parent, but the dancer threatened to fight back, saying that Dad had raped her and wouldn't care for the baby. Of course, there was no way that she would win that case, but Dad didn't want to risk it, even though Mom said that we would be fine even if they believed the rape case...So, all we could do was sit and watch as my sister slowly began to slip away from us. Her visits got shorter and shorter, until she just stopped coming all of a sudden...We didn't see her for a year..."

My voice started to crack as tears began to well up in my eyes, my gaze never leaving the sea. "Then, one day, we got a call from my sister's social worker...Apparently, the dancer took her daughter and fled here to Kalos to hide from Dad because she knew that he could easily take her daughter and throw her in jail, and she didn't want to take that chance. But she couldn't find a stable job like the one at the club, so she had to result with stealing and getting involved in a drug ring in order to make quick money. Child Protector Services had gotten involved after neighbors in the apartment building she stayed in reported what sounded like beating and yelling coming from her apartment. They tried contacting the mother but...they never got a response, and since there was a child in there, they had to find out what was going on. So when a week past and they still didn't receive a response, the social worker called the police and sent them to the apartment. They got in...but...when they finally got the door open and went in...the entire place had been ramshackled. Furniture was turned over, the windows were busted out, things were all over the floor...it was a complete mess. And then...they found the dancer in her room, dead..."

I saw Calem's eyes widened in horror out of the corner of my eye, but I continued. "She had been beaten to death...apparently, she owed money to a gang member after getting drugs from him to sell, but she never paid back what she owed. So he and a few of the gang members raided the apartment, killed her and took whatever they could that was of value...but my sister was no where to be found. The police put out a missing child alert throughout Kalos, but the social worker told us that it was pointless searching for her...She...was most likely dead as well...I was only 10 when we heard the news...w-we...we were devastated..."

The sun was gone now, the sky completely dark aside from the stars and the moon. I turned towards Calem, tears streaming down my face as the cool ocean wind blew by. "She's still missing to this day...somewhere, out there, alone and suffering, if she isn't already gone. My parents...gave up...believing that she suffered the same fate as her mom...but I...but I...!"

I was done.

I couldn't stop the waterfall of tears that streamed down my face as I started wailing, my body shuddering at each sob that escaped from me. This was the first time in a long time where I was genuinely crying - I didn't even shed a tear when I found out my sister wasn't coming back, but I have been holding in these emotions for years, trying to remain strong for myself and continued to live on with my feelings locked away. And all I could do was just stand there and sob pitifully into my hands, powerless to stop any of it. I suddenly felt something wrap itself around me and pull me into a hug, and it took me a moment to realize that Calem was the one hugging me. I didn't bother with stopping him - hell, I needed someone to be there right now. I gripped his shoulders and continued to sob into his t-shirt, mentally apologizing to the poor boy for pouring my emotions on him.

"She was all I had!" I cried "She was the only friend I ever had, my only sister, and now she's gone! I was left all alone!" This continued for a while - I don't know how much time had past, but it felt like years. I eventually calmed down enough to where the sobs turned into whines and hiccups, but I didn't stop crying. "I never st-stopped believing t-that she's still alive...st-still out there, somewhere, w-waiting to be f-found...but no one's tried to l-look for her..."

Calem remained silent for a few seconds before asking "What was her name..?"

I finally found the strength to pull away from Calem and stand on my own. I wiped my face, wiping away fresh tears welling in my eyes before murmuring "Emma."

E/N: So...funny story; I had a dream where I was in X and Y and my character in the game, but Emma - a character you meet during postgame - was my sister, and we started our journey through Kalos together. That's where I got the inspiration for this chapter, plus I really liked Emma and wanted to add her somewhere. I also thought she kinda had a slight resemblance to my character...maybe that's just me. Also, she becomes a bit important later on...if you keep reading, you'll find out why (hint: it also has something to do with the cover art change).

One thing that really worries me about this story is that I won't want it to be boring or filled with clichés - it's hard trying to make a fanfic interesting and fresh to the other readers, and I only hope that I'm doing a good job at that. I put long hours of through and typing for these stories guys...it's not like I'm just publishing something just because I can.

Whoo! 9,000+ words! That's a new record!