Pokѐmon Journey IV: Eira's Adventure
Chapter 11: The Wayward Trainer
Rosalie's Point of View:
It was a quiet journey for my brother and I as we headed out to the east to find the so called pokemon that my brother was referring to while in Eterna. Two more killers to add to my team would be more than wonderful… I've only had Gengar for the longest of time and Hypno I only retrieved in the last year.
The only other pokemon being on my team were Belossom and Porygon-Z who I killed long ago; it felt like centuries behind me after all that's happened. They were not worthy to be on my team if they couldn't easily kill others, or allow me to use their abilities. We did not connect; they wouldn't allow me to that dark place within their souls, and because of that, their bodies were lost to the sea of lava in Cinnabar Island's volcano.
Right where those sorry worthless pieces of shit should be.
I've moved on since then, my partner from the beginning, Gengar, is still there for me in all of this, just as evil, just the same temperament as me. We were perfect for each other. For years, it was just the two of us, all we had to rely on and all of our power was used to fend off Violet and her group. However… in recent years she's obtained such a powerful team of trainers to help her out, and it's become more of a hassle to deal with. I had my brother now, and his small group of pokemon dedicated to him and our cause, however, I needed more members as well. Only having two pokemon, no matter how strong, would only take you so far…
We soon arrived at the clearing where my brother had deemed the pokemon would be at, the two killers that murdered their own trainer out of lust and because of how weak he was. The last of their team, an innocent little chatot, had flown back to its family and warned them of what had happened. Many have been sent to deal with them, but these two were too powerful…
And just right for me.
So this is where you're hiding, killers… I could see them lift their heads; their eyes glowed with lust at a possible kill. Let's see how well you handle another killer… attack Gengar!
My partner flew out next to me and cursed them both in no time, but I could see the struggle, the desire not to give in. They pushed against it and I knew then that I wanted them.
You're mine!
Violet's Point of View:
"Bre!" I was woken from my frigid slumber by Chalcedony as he used psychic on me to show that the girl and her friends were leaving town. I smiled at him, petting him before handing off some food I had on hand to hold him over for a bit while I was after them.
I hope whatever I learn about that girl isn't too upsetting… but with the way she stands… anything could be possible…
Wings grew from my back as I took over Amethyst's form and took to the sky, careful to stay in the clouds and be thought as a bird pokemon rather then something else as I followed the children, going south with the cycling road that they seemed to be traveling on.
Eira's Dream:
I was honestly surprised to be here in the distorted world once more with Shadow, Celeste and Rotom. I was only here moments ago before being woken to travel to the southern city of Hearthome… so why was I here now?
"You're back!" The little girl squealed before talking me in a hug. "But I thought you had to go back to your world?"
"I did too…" I blinked and looked around. "Something must have happened to render me unconscious to bring me back here, even after I had been with the three of you all night. I overcame… what I dealt with yesterday… I remember getting up and heading to the cycling road… Was I hit?"
"Rhu…" Shadow brought down her head to mine for me to rub. She soothed me even more then she had before during the night when I had been fretting how I nearly killed that woman. I had a good reason behind it, trying to kill Bouncy, but that didn't mean I should… It was so hard to reason anymore…
"Why don't we try going to the island now?" Celeste questioned me. "You want to get the orb right?"
"I suppose so… It would be better than just sulking the night away once again…"
"Then come on! We can play and talk along the way!" The young girl pulled on my arm and soon we were moving forward and away from Shadow's normal spot at the bottom of the Distorted World. A new path formed before us that led us toward the blinding light that was off in the distance. It only seemed like a speck of dust shining in the light at the moment, but that mattered not. We would approach it soon enough.
I was surprised when in the middle of our path that there was a bit of a puzzle before us. Multiple paths seemed to appear before us. Celeste walked forward and jumped onto one of them before she screamed and fell. I raced after her only see her floating below the edge.
"It's a puzzle! But maybe Rotom and I should check the paths?" She wondered aloud as she looked at the five before us. "If you fall… you couldn't save yourself."
"I probably won't have time to check them all before I go back, we need to decide on one and try it…" I looked at all the paths before us, nothing that each other seemed a little different and all faded from sight if you walked too far away from it. There was no way to tell which one was real or not.
"Can't you tell us which way to go Shadow?" I looked up to my friend while she sadly looked down at me, shaking her head.
"The queen can't do that…" Celeste tugged on my clothes to get my attention. "How else can you prove yourselves to her if you don't face her tests? Even if she really likes you?"
I blinked at her for a few moments before looking back at Shadow. Why would she want to test me? Was that what all those years since I was a little girl was for? To see how far I could make it? I faced troubling puzzles all the time to try and make it to where I would meet her.
I contently watched her as she looked at me worriedly. I know that Shadow was weary of me before as I came to her world, however, she may have set rules before that she'd rather not break, and she might be using it to keep my mind off of things, in which case, that would actually help until I awoke.
"Okay… it's alright…"I hushed the three before me." I understand, its fine… now… which path to choose?" I looked at all the paths before me, trying to see which one would possibly make it to the other side, which was hard because they were only half apparent in the Distorted World. Until you chose a path, some areas are invisible to you and you are unable to access until you decide. It was a bit annoying after all the many years I spent just trying to remember the paths I had come down before.
After a while, I finally decided on one by walking toward it. I jumped from the area I used to be on and landed on the path, it stood strong and I didn't fall. The other paths vanished and the one I was on was all that was left.
"Yay!" Celeste and Rotom cheered from back on the main piece of land. "You figured it out! How'd you guess?"
"I just guessed… that was all." I shrugged at her. I pointed ahead. "Shall we?"
The little girl and her partner pokemon jumped after me while Shadow took the skies and followed us. Halfway down the path, I felt a sudden pain in my skull that forced me to bend to my knees.
"Miss Eira! Are you okay?" The three hovered around me, and through the throbbing pain in my head, I felt myself slipping away to reality. "No… you just got here!"
I braved a smile through the pain I was in. "Don't worry… I'll be back, just like always." She nodded and I turned to Shadow who looked me over worriedly. She suddenly screeched and I felt something roll down the front of my head. I put a hand to it and pulled it back, my eyes widened at it.
Blood…?My vision blared out again and it was long before I fell back on the path I was on and saw the faces above me, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. They soon faded from sight and I was gone from the Distorted World and back to my own.
Awake:
I groaned as the dimmer lighting seemed to come into view. I could barely make out a small fire next to me and a dark cave in all directions. I raised a hand to my eyes to help stop the pounding behind them.
"Mag!" Cries of my pokemon echoed around me and it did little to help with the throbbing pain inside my head.
"Guys stop it! You're going to make her head hurt worse!" Silence echoed through the room, only the light creaking of the wood on the fire being what I could hear. I then heard footsteps next to me before I felt someone gently tug on my arm. It felt childlike, even younger then my own. "How are you feeling?"
"My head… pounding…"
"Here, I have some medicine you can take for that." I felt the girl turn my hand over and placed some small pulls into it. Once I felt them, I quickly brought them up to my lips and swallowed them as fast as I could. While I was letting it take effect, I kept my eyes covered and listened around me.
"Where am I?"
"This is the Wayward Cave. Your pokemon brought you here after you were pushed over the Cycling Road above us."
"I… fell?"
It would explain a lot. I mean… I hardly remember anything other than getting up this morning and getting a bike… After that it was all a blur when we went to ride.
"Lux!" Elecky I could feel nuzzling my side before she and the others went to take turns telling me what happened. Apparently we had started to drive down the Cycling Road when some travelers decided to race behind us. They avoided most trainers until they got to me and my friends. Cameron and Parker they missed thankfully, but I was slammed into. The guy who hit me cried out and tried to reach for me, but it was too late.
I was sent surging forward off my bike, crushed my head into the stone guard that kept people from falling over, and then plummeted myself. Apparently Magma released himself from his pokeball just in time to grab me by bouncing off of the walls of the cliff and the support beams of the Cycling Road and slowed our fall, but I wasn't in good shape.
People were screaming above and my pokemon were trying to take care of me before a herd of angry pokemon came rushing at him and me. With no time to wait, he rushed us inside the cave to hide from wild pokemon, even if all my pokemon could have taken them on, how could they watch over me if I was out cold and hurt. I was their first priority.
Once they got inside the cave, they wandered around for a little while before they met up with this girl before them, named Mira Camilla. She had her partner kadabra use recover on me to help some of my wound, but my head would still be pounding for a while.
I dared to open my eyes then to look at the said girl that helped me. She was young then most trainers that were allowed to go out on journeys. She seemed to be only ten. I was surprised to see that she was actually out and about. Her parents must have signed those special forms to let under age kids become trainers.
She herself seemed to be pale in skin tone with dark violet eyes and maroon hair pulled back into pigtails that were shaped in loops. However, it seemed that one of them came loose and was hanging down to nearly her feet to show how long her hair was. Bright yellow scrunchies held it in place. Her clothes were nothing more than a bright white shirt and yellow short and sneakers. But she did have a small pink back pack over her shoulders.
"Are you okay?" she questioned me as I tried to open my eyes and look at her.
"I... I'm not sure..."
The girl pulled out a pokeball. "Kadabra! I need you to heal her again!" I was surprised to see the psychic type behind the little girl and it came over to me, held a hand over my head and began to heal me. The pain was subsiding slowly, but it was much better then what I felt before.
"Where... is this place?"
"The Wayward Cave? It's a maze of tunnels under the Cycling Road." The little girl sighed before looking around. "I've been stuck here for a few days now, Kadabra and I got lost... Then your pokemon and you came running in here looking for help."
"So… we're stuck here?" I slowly tried to sit up with the help of my pokemon while looking at the upset girl.
"I guess so…" She sighed. "I hope not… people are going to be looking for you since you fell, but I'm not sure how far they'll come into the cave…"
"Don't worry…" I reached on of my hands out to pat the girl's head. "I'll help you find the way out…"
The girl's eyes glittered in the fire's light. "Really?"
"Of course… help me stand up." The girl nodded and reached her arm over to me to grasp. Once I was to my feet, I held my head for a moment to steady myself, my pokemon and the little girl holding me up. I shook my head lightly before looking around and feeling a bit steadier on my feet. "Shall we?" I pointed my finger to the path before me. "Maybe we should try this way… I feel a slight breeze in that direction."
"Really?" The little girl jumped for joy before she followed right on my heels toward where I thought was the exit.
Parker's Point of View:
Arceus… I was freaking out. Only a short while ago did I see my best friend get slammed into, her head smashed on the railing and then fell to her near death over the bridge… If Magma hadn't been there… Oh Arceus… what have I done?
Cameron and I were fretting on the side of the bridge where Eira was thrown over. The cyclist was already treated for his own wounds, but was being charged, and his time could be worse if Eira either presses charges or she's…
No, don't think like that, just like you're not allowed to look at the railing…
I had to prevent myself from looking in that direction. It was thanks to Cameron that I was mostly able to. When I first looked… my best friend's blood was dripping loosely from there-
Stop, stop, stop! I couldn't control my thoughts as they wandered all over the place. With Eira gone, the police all over the place and her mother on her way, things weren't looking good for us today.
"Easy Parker, just calm down and think of what Eira will say when she gets back." Cameron was patting my shoulder, trying to keep me calm. "She's going to be so upset with you worrying over her and not the other guy-"
"But I should be worried about her!" I jumped up where I sat and Cameron pushed himself back.
"I know, I understand Parker, but wouldn't that be a typical Eira response?"
I had to think it over for a moment. Eira was rare to worry over herself, it was others that came first over anything. A comment, while it does make me frustrated beyond belief, it would be something Eira would say…
"Yeah…" I sighed and Cameron grinned as he slowly made progress with me.
"Hey boys!" I lifted my head to see two figures approaching us. "You two alright?"
I was surprised even more when I was seeing two women, one of them I already knew who I'd met in Eterna Forest with Eira, Champion Jezebel Emery-Twain, and her companion I knew of too. The woman was a year or so older then Jezebel with dark blue hair with lighter highlights in it. A tattoo of the organization they worked for was on her hand. Her outfit was a pink and red dress with a white jacket over it and shorts under it. White boots (that I was shocked how they stay clean…) were on her feet and fingerless black and red gloves on her hands. It was Champion Gwyn Jalen who looked at me with her worried crystal like eyes.
"We're fine," Cameron answered for me. "But Eira… she was knocked over the edge and fell… we barely saw Magma catch her and rush her into the cave down there before pokemon rioted on the ground. They're hiding in that cavern…"
"Don't worry; our boss is in there looking for her." Jezebel smiled lightly. "Violet will find her, heal her up, and get her out as fast as she can."
"But that's the Wayward Cave down there… people get lost for years in that place…" Cameron argued lightly as he and I glanced down there again.
"But no one lost in there is much like Violet Vilmos. She knows most always where she is, a little cave with fog and her advanced abilities isn't much of a challenge for her. She's been doing this since she was your age five years ago."
"Not to get off topic too much, I really just need a distraction…" I started. "Doesn't that mean Violet could marry now if she wanted?"
"…The hell?" Jezebel's eyes widened, as well as her partner's as they looked at me. "Well… yeah, I guess. But I don't think Violet's ready for that just yet, we still have Rose to deal with. She wouldn't even think about it until Rose is gone, and then it's Alex who would propose, not her. Just cuz its tradition."
"I remember him talking about it thought…" Gwyn held a finger to her chin. "Alex has been thinking about it. Working on finding the perfect ring, but doesn't plan to propose until Rose is dealt with so Violet could have a stress free wedding, should she say yes."
"She'd madly in love with him, or course she'd say yes!" Jezebel huffed. "I mean, she's been dating him forever now and the two of them get all protective of each other… its kinda scary to be honest… but really cute too."
"Still, what in the world made you ask that question?" Gwyn crossed her arms as she looked down at me as my eyes closed as I tried to shake certain images from my head.
"I don't want to think what Eira looks like right now…" I lowered my head.
"What does that have to do with-"
"Gwyn, look." I only had one guess to figure out what she was pointing at, but it worked and Champion Gwyn Jalen shut up. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Parker, she'll be fine. She's a strong girl with monstrously strong pokemon, if anyone can do it, she can."
"How about a different topic then?" Gwyn suggested. "We're actually curious about some things that only you could probably tell us about Parker."
"What are you talking about?" I looked up at the two women who looked at each other worriedly before Jezebel nodded to her sister champion and the two looked back at me.
"What made Eira the way she is?"
"…Excuse me?"
"You heard me right." Gwyn crossed her arms. "Violet and the whole league have taken interest in her, for her power, for the way she handles her pokemon, the way she handles Team Galactic, and the way she acts. We're fearful for her because she may become a target in the future for Rose Agustino, or if Cyrus has his way…"
"Wait, Cyrus?" My eyes widened. "Is that what you said?"
"Yeah… why?" Jezebel questioned.
"Oh man…" I held my head in my hands. "Damn it! It was him!"
Eira's Point of View:
Mira and I spent a few hours walking through the cave, trying to find some sort of land mark or opening that would show us where we were. Many times we found ourselves at crossways where paths had been marked in certain ways and my pokemon and Mira would let out a cheer. Lots of other people had been here before and left markings, each one a little different, but it started to give us ideas as we kept moving.
While we walked, Mira told me a bit about her five close friends, all much older than herself, who wandered around the region. One of them, to my surprise, was Cheryl. I told he girl how I met her friend in Eterna Forest and how the two of us saved and healed Bouncy. The other three I had yet to meet, but from what Mira had told me, they often travel all over the region, so I would likely meet the three others soon.
"What's that over there?" Mira pointed to a small opening up ahead that we had not been to before. There was a strange ominous light glowing there that seemed to be approaching us. In the cover of darkness, I watched as the creature had red eyes that landed on the two of us. Mira squealed and jumped behind me while my pokemon took a defensive pose before me.
"Don't be alarmed by him, he won't hurt you," a voice called out. "He likes girls too much."
"Bre!" The lights and the red eyes moved before they suddenly morphed into that of a small pokemon, an umbreon, which beckoned us toward it before turning around and walking back the way it came. The smell of smoke came to my nose before I stepped toward where the pokemon had gone. I could just barely make out the markings in the darkness.
Soon we came to an opening and a small fire was in the middle of it. The small pokemon curled up next to a woman who was a good few years older than myself, a young adult. Dark chocolate hair cascaded down her head with purple highlights in it and eyes to match the darker color of her hair. Dark boots covered her lower legs and indigo shorts covered her legs. Her shirt was a maroon color with lavender polka dots and an old worn black jacket to keep her warm.
"Hello," she motioned us toward the fire. "How are you two? Hungry? Feeling alright?"
"We've been here for a while…" Mira perked up behind me. "Eira got hit on her head before she came here…"
I unconsciously touched my head, still feeling the dull pain in the back of it and a slight dizziness. I had to rely on Mira and my pokemon quite often to avoid walking into walls and random rocks.
"So you're the famous Eira Helaine I've been hearing about then." I watched as the woman rose and her umbreon jumped up onto her shoulders. "Let me see what I can do for that head of yours, I'm sure it hurts like hell."
"Worse…" I managed to mutter out. The woman nodded to me and her eyes and body changed to that of the pokemon on her shoulder. The two of them preformed the healing attack 'moonlight' on me and slowly the pain and throbbing were fading. I could feel the skin closing up from where my head had been split open and the blood fading away. It was much more powerful then Mira's kadabra's recover attack. Her abilities were incredible… they were something I'd only seen once before, when I met Jezebel Emery-Twain the other day…
"Violet Vilmos…"
"So you know who I am?" she chuckled at me. "Well I'd love to know more about you and your friend."
"I'm Mira! I helped her with my kadabra when we ran into her pokemon a while back." The little girl came out from behind me seeing the woman in the light. "We healed her the best we could…"
"And you did a wonderful job," the woman told her. "Maybe you didn't heal her entirely, but looking at how much damage that was left over; you really did a lot for her. Don't be disappointed in what you couldn't do yet, but be proud in the fact you were able to save her."
Mira smiled at the woman, her actions seemed redeemed in her eyes.
The woman turned back to me. "But now to talk about you Eira, and there's much I want to know."
I blinked at her. "What do you want to know about me?"
"There are a lot of things I want to know, things that I'm sure you'd prefer to forget…" My eyes widened at her statement as she stood from her spot on the ground. "Such as what happened to you when you were a child that made you… like this…" She gestured to me before crossing her arms. "Suffering, darkness, those and other things entirely hover around and inside of you like a disease… and I saw the damage you did at the base, I took the blame for you, but I still want to know."
She smiled at me. "I may seem like I know everything about you, but the reality of it is, I hardly know a thing."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Then what do you know then?"
She sighed and took a light step back. "I know that you're afraid of yourself. I know that you're afraid of what you can do to others because of how far it's gone sometimes. And in know that Cyrus sends you into a panic attack every time you see him."
My eyes widened in fear. "It… its him… it's really him?"
She nodded her head slowly. "I'm sorry Eira, but yes, it's him."
Before either of them could stop me, I fell to the floor, sobbing. Tears raced down my face and I didn't try to stop them. It was no panic attack this time, it was acceptance that he was the one hurting me… present day and back after the accident.
"Eira! Are you okay?" Mira was quick to jump beside me with my pokemon, holding some part of me to give me the ability to push these feelings away.
"No… I'm not…" I hiccupped. "I haven't been for years…"
"Then let's start making it better shall we?" Violet sat before me, taking my hands in her own to show she was here for me. "All of us champions and our friends have experienced some sort of suffering for a period of time. Some of us for years, some of us our whole lives. It has taken us a long time to cope with what's happened and the mistakes we've made or what we feel responsible for, but the first step was always letting out our emotions, and you my dear girl, I think, have a lot to let out." I looked up at her through the tears. "I'm not going to push you, but normally it feels better once you get that stuff off your chest."
I looked at her for a few moments longer, studying her to see if she was truthful. She seemed to be, but I was very cautious. The only ones who knew about my past were Parker and Cameron, though the latter had only heard enough to get him off my back when he started pestering me. Parker was the one who knew the whole truth and my darker feelings, helping me through it when I was little and when my mother had a hard time coping with me.
But Violet was also right, I needed to get this out, and while she may have been a stranger to me that I just met, she understood the pain I'm going through and has helped others like me through it before. She would understand best how I feel.
"Before I was five… I had an amazing life with my parents… my mother Joey and my father Cyrus. My mother adored me… my father was always teaching me new things he learned from pokemon, as he was a partner to Professor Rowan… they were both working with pokemon and evolution… I loved every moment of it… every moment I shared with the two of them… but…"
I paused for a moment and looked at the others. Mira was very curiously waiting in anticipation to hear more. Violet on the other hand seemed to be a bit more on the understanding side. She waited patiently for me to continue with a knowing face that this was going to turn dark.
"…We got into an accident… my father and I on our way home from work… we had stopped in Jubilife in order to pick up some supplies and new clothes for mother, she's a coordinator… traffic was piled up and people honking horns all over the city. It was scary… My father had a tight hold of my hand to keep me closer to him… but it mattered little… A man got impatient from waiting and raced around the stopped traffic, running right into pedestrians walking between the streets… my father and I were in the middle of the accident… though no matter how much damage he took, he never let go of my hand…
"We were brought to the hospital later… my father had the worse injuries because he was protecting me, seeing the oncoming traffic. My father ended up in a coma for nearly three months. I recovered in a month or so and my mother and I sat there, waiting for him to wake up.
"When he finally awoke, he wasn't the same... My father... he ignored my mother and I and left us shortly after he recovered. We never saw him again... until now... For some reason he seems to be following us all over the region. I've seen him twice already, more times than I've seen since I was five. And even though he's following us, he seems to be ignoring myself. Never have I been with him alone, Cameron or Parker has either one or both been with me."
"Does Parker know about your past too?" the woman questioned.
"Parker's been the only one to really know..." I felt the tears glaze over my eyes. "After my father left, my mother didn't know what to do with me. It was the only time I've been unreasonable. I would lash out... I'd scream... my mother had no idea how to calm me down... She didn't understand the pain and betrayal I felt... Parker was the only one who knew... the only one who cared..." Thinking of my best friend brought a smile to my face. "He was the one to watch out for me... and no matter what, he made sure I never felt alone..." I shook my head. "But there was only so much that he could do..."
Mira's eyes widened. "What happened?"
"My mother became fearful of me... She soon wouldn't speak to me or have much to do with me. She was afraid of the darkness inside of me that she knew my father had left when he abandoned us. I didn't want to lose her either... so I closed off most of my emotions, shut down entirely. My mother seemed to think I was easier to handle then, that somehow, I pushed it away and rid myself of it. The method saved me from losing her... but I still felt the pain... I never stopped suffering... And then... I met Shadow in my dreams... Giratina..."
Violet's eyes blinked before they narrowed in confusion and curiosity. "You know the legendary beast of the Distorted World?"
"I met her years ago, just after the accident… she came to me in my dreams… or I came to her. I'm not really sure… Jezebel probably told you about what I said to her… but I think she chose me… for what or why, I'm not sure. But we became friends in time… she shares the same feelings that I do…"
"Wow… that's a lot to take in…" Violet seemed to slowly absorb the information like a sponge. "That was more then I was expecting to know…" She looked back at me. "Thank you for sharing this with me Eira, I won't forget it. I realize you don't care for others to know about this, and I'll keep your secret safe. Now," the woman smiled, giving me a hug. "Why don't I show you guys the way out? We're right by it."
"Really?" Mira cheered as Violet put out her fire and took our hands before we were led out of the cave. The light of the day blinded me, but I wasn't deaf to miss the cries of my best friend from the miles of distance between us over my head.
I smiled. I actually felt a lot better now that I'd talked… but the feeling was short lived as a dark depression came over me, telling me that things would only get worse before getting better.
I had a lot to tell Parker and Cameron…
Witch's Note:
Man… I felt like that chapter would never end! Not because it was super long or anything, but I just couldn't stop myself from adding little pieces here and there! But now we have it, Eira's past has come to light! Now we know what Cyrus and Joey mean to her! But will it last, or will the fragile peace be broken as she continues her journey and faces more of Team Galactic? And what the hell happened to Cyrus? Why is he doing this to his own family?
Guess you'll have to find out next time!
Love you all and see you next week! Don't forget to send in Questions and Reviews for the characters! They love what you give them and get more excited as the story goes on!
Halloween Witch