DISCLAIMER: See Chapter One.
Chapter Eleven
Alone, Not Lonely
She was standing in front of the burning museum again.
The flames crackled in her ears. She could feel the heat on her skin. Stray sparks were dangerously close to igniting her clothes.
She needed Ferry. He was part Water, he would be able to put the fire out. She scrabbled frantically in her bag, but she couldn't find his Pokéball. Where was it?
She looked up again and froze in horror, staring straight ahead. The building in front of her wasn't the museum any more.
It was the cabin in the woods.
Carla opened her eyes to complete darkness. Her heart was racing again; she forced herself to take deep, calming breaths.
Before long, her eyes adjusted to the night. She slipped out of bed and padded softly over to where she'd put Kess and Eggy, just to check on them. Once she was fully reassured that they were all right, she crept back to bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders while forcing tears back.
It was over an hour before she fell asleep again.
xxx
The following morning, the Pokémon Centre was very quiet. Trainers were still coming in to get their Pokémon healed, but they didn't - or wouldn't - stay long. They were on edge, and Carla didn't blame them at all. As they waited for their teams to heal, they would look around them with anxious eyes; some of them would pace restlessly.
Carla watched them as she ate her breakfast. At her feet, Kess pecked at the food in her bowl. Ever since the previous day, she had been unwilling to let her trainer out of her sight.
Carla wondered how she would react to the new team member - whatever it would end up being.
"Mum called me this morning." Tally's voice dragged Carla out of her thoughts. "One of her pickers is really ill, so she needs someone else to help out. It's either me or my cousin, and Lynn's in Sinnoh at the moment."
Tally's hands were resting on the table. Carla looked at them and saw small hardened patches of skin on Tally's palms.
"What are you guys going to do?" the black-haired girl asked. Carla and Bruno looked at each other. Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Carla had no idea what she would do, but she knew that she couldn't stay in Slateport now. She had one ribbon and for now, that was enough. Her determination had completely disappeared and she didn't know how to get it back.
Ferry wouldn't even have been stolen if we'd stayed outside the Centre. The thieves still got away. We didn't change anything.
"I'm going to catch a new teammate and...then I'm going to do some training. I don't know when Kess is going to evolve, but Egg...my egg should hatch soon."
"Can I take a look?"
"Sure." Carla opened her bag and placed Eggy into Bruno's waiting hands. He carefully put his ear to the egg's smooth surface.
"The noises have gotten a bit louder. Start checking it more often; when you hear sounds without putting it agains your ear, it's due to hatch. Sorry," he said, grinning awkwardly and looking down at the table. "I sound like my parents again." He handed Eggy back to Carla and reached down to scratch Frank's head.
"What about you?" Tally leaned on her left elbow, resting her chin on her hand. "What are you going to do?"
Bruno shrugged. "Don't know yet. Mauville City's the next stop, then...well, I'll figure it out."
"Like always," Tally replied, smiling at him. "Hey, should we give Carla our numbers? It's been fun travelling together, all three of us. I'd like to do it again - and it would be great if we stayed in touch."
"I'd like that as well." Carla took her phone out of her pocket, then frowned as she glanced at the screen. There was a text message from her father. Carla made a mental note to respond to it later.
"Here." Tally passed her a small scrap of paper that looked like it had been torn from a notebook. "The one at the top's mine."
"Thanks." Carla put the phone number into her contacts list. Hold on. She's written two numbers down. "What's the bottom one?"
"That's a helpline for trainers. If you're injured or in really serious trouble, or if your Pokémon are too hurt to battle and you're nowhere near a Centre, you can call them and they'll come to help. They've helped me out a few times."
"Whoever came up with that is a genius."
"That'd be the Champion." Bruno handed Carla a second scrap of paper. "The story is Brendan talked to Steven Stone about it, then Steven talked to his dad. With the current Champion, the former Champion and the head of Devon Corporation backing the idea, there was no way it couldn't get passed. But take care of yourself, all right?"
"Course I will."
"Seriously." Bruno looked Carla directly in the eye. "Take care of yourself."
Now he sounds like my dad.
But after what had happened, Carla knew she wouldn't be taking any risks for some time.
xxx
Once again, Carla found herself walking by herself. She had grown used to travelling with people and she was surprised at how lonely she suddenly felt.
I'm not alone. I've got Kess and Eggy, and soon there'll be someone else.
Until then, Carla hadn't given much thought as to what she would actually catch. There were Voltorb in the area due to Slateport's proximity to Mauville. Carla's dad had told her there were also Plusle and Minun in the area. She remembered the way Sid, Randall's Minun, had attacked Dusky the Cascoon.
This would be so much easier if I knew what Eggy was.
Carla knew she could have just used the Centre computers to look up the different types of brown-and-yellow egg, but there was a part of her that still wanted Eggy's identity to be a surprise.
If she ended up with two Electric-types, that would be fine. She could handle that.
With her mind made up, Carla stepped out of Slateport City. In front of her was the building that opened onto the seaside cycle path; to her right was a large patch of grass. Carla had stocked up on Pokéballs before leaving the city; she took three out of her bag, just in case her target put up a bigger fight than Ferry had.
She stepped boldly into the grass, clutching Kess' Pokéball tightly in one hand and looking around her for a glimpse of blue or red ears. A breeze gently ruffled the grass, making it sway like dark green waves.
Suddenly Carla's foot knocked against something. Something that sprang up and growled warningly but stood its ground, poised and ready to move. The yellow tip to its tail twitched.
...That'll do.
"Come on out, Kess!" she called, mentally thanking Arceus that Kess wasn't part Flying. Kess was a lot smaller than the Electrike, but she still faced it down, unfazed by the eyes staring back at her.
The Electrike darted forward in a Quick Attack before Carla could open her mouth. Carla yelled for Kess to dodge and use Scratch; just as the Electrike came to a halt and spun on its haunches, it was hit in the face with Kess' claws. It growled again - loudly - and unleashed a wave of electricity towards Kess. The Torchic cried out and stood where she was, shuddering.
Carla wished she'd been able to use Ember, but she hadn't wanted to risk the grass catching fire.
"Kess? Are you all right?"
Kess didn't answer. Another smaller jolt of electricity came off her body.
She's been paralysed. And I don't have another Pokémon.
The Electrike was getting ready to charge again.
"Use Scratch again!" Carla cried. But Kess couldn't move and she was sent flying out of the grass.
Carla ran to her side, took a Paralyse Heal out of her bag and sprayed Kess liberally. The Torchic cheeped thankfully and readied herself for battle again.
The Electrike had emerged from the grass and was watching them closely, waiting to see what the next move would be. Carla grinned. Now they could use fire.
"Use Ember!"
Kess did so just as the Electrike let loose with a Spark. The attacks met in midair, causing a small explosion. Carla told Kess to use Ember again just as the Electrike tried another Quick Attack. It was a direct hit: the green-and-yellow creature fell onto its side.
Carla seized her chance. She hurled a Pokéball at it; the Electrike disappeared inside the capsule...and almost immediately burst out again. It lowered its head and narrowed its eyes, as though daring Carla to try again.
"You're doing great, Kess." Let's see what it'll do next.
It was another Quick Attack. Carla quickly shrieked for Kess to dodge and use Peck; Kess avoided the attack, spun around and launched a flawless attack. It may have been a Flying move, but the Electrike howled in pain and staggered backwards.
Hoping that the combined attacks had done enough damage, Carla threw a second Pokéball. This time it rocked three times before going still. Carla held her breath, but the Electrike didn't emerge.
"Well done, Kess." Carla knelt down to give her Torchic a hug. After putting Kess down, she took out her Pokédex and scanned the Electrike's Pokéball. "It's a girl."
The Pokéball seemed to tingle slightly in her hand.
xxx
The moment Carla's team was healed, she went back to her room and released both Kess and the Electrike. As she materialised, the Electric-type looked around her, her body tense and alert.
Knowing she had to put her new team member at east, Carla slowly knelt down in front of her. "Hi," she said softly.
At the sound of her voice, the Electrike looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. She raised a paw and stepped towards Carla. Carla held her breath and put out a hand; the Electrike sniffed at it.
"My name's Carla," the girl said quietly, "and I'm your new trainer. It's nice to meet you." She smiled.
The Electrike's eyes were still cautious, but she didn't attack Carla or back away from her.
"This is probably a really big change for you, but I want you to know that you're going to be OK with me. I promise to be the trainer you both deserve."
Kess chirruped and hopped forwards. The Electrike sniffed her as well; Carla noticed that she stepped right up to Kess in order to do so.
"This is Kess. Kess, meet...Sisi."
Sisi's posture seemed less tense than before. Carla prayed that this meant she had at least accepted the Torchic. She knew it might take a while for everyone to adjust, but she hoped they would be happy with each other.
"OK, guys, let's..." Carla bit her lip and closed her eyes. "OK, girls," she said, opening them again, "let's get going. We have to stock up on food and supplies before we leave."
From now on, she vowed to herself, I'm going to be a lot stronger. Hoenn is going to see an entirely new Carla Louise Delarue.
And it had better watch out.
To be continued…
