Chapter 12. Not much to say here, sorry. Just trying to advance the story.
Chapter 12: Dying on the Inside
-Rett-
From what Chris told me, this was Dante's first loss. From what I could see, he wasn't taking it so well. In fact, he had been sulking ever since we ran into that boy, Aleron. Maybe he just feels like being antisocial. I wouldn't know. Aleron obviously already knew; he probably just came along to annoy Dante. On the bright side, he had some powder that revived Kevin. I like to talk to myself sometimes. Usually this is because no one is listening to what I am saying. Did you know that I came from Route 1? Being a trained Pokémon is fun. I get stronger that way. It's past midday, and we're still barely halfway across the route. There weren't any more trainers here. There were some cat Pokémon. I wonder if the cats are better than Lilipup. I don't like Lilipup…
"No offence, Rett, but can you please shut up?" Max growled. I had been talking out loud without noticing it. That happens sometimes. Max can be mean sometimes. Sometimes is a fun word. I like words. Words become sentences. I get distracted easily. Dante is a good trainer. I like being a trained Pokémon.
"Um… I think we should have a break," Aleron said, "before your Snivy forces us to…" I noticed that Snivy was looking at me like he was going to hurt me. He wouldn't hurt me, though. We're friends. Friends don't hurt each other. That reminds me of a song. The song even has the word sometimes in it…
"Good idea," Dante said quickly.
-Max-
I swear, if Rett says sometimes one more time, one of Aleron's revives won't help him. I remember Chris saying that he was talkative, but this…
We stopped for our break in a clearing between two ledges. Both of the trainers had some food packed, so we had a small picnic. Aleron sent out his Pokémon – an Axew, along with the Timburr and Mienfoo from before – and Dante released Kevin and Chris, who had been resting from their previous defeat. While Rett went over to talk to the unfortunate Axew, Kevin and Chris talked to Timburr and Mienfoo, leaving me to my own devices. I wasn't hungry (and, while I wouldn't tell the others, I had become slightly suspicious of the Pokémon food), so I decided to do something that I rarely did as a human unless I was sleeping; I laid down.
Usually, I was more energetic – even when I was playing on the DS, I looked up to find myself in a completely different room every so often. But some part of me just felt like relaxing. It wasn't as bad or unbearable as it had once been, and it felt even better when I exposed the leaf on my tail to the sun. Closing my eyes, I felt some energy circulating in the new appendage.
"What are you doing?" A voice came suddenly, but Chris's request did almost nothing to penetrate my calm. Without thinking, I replied with the first word that came to my mind:
"Synthesizing."
Dante, Kevin and Rett stopped talking at once, and I could literally feel Chris's shock radiating from his body like a heat wave. Opening one eye, I could see the four looking at me with varied expressions, and Aleron and his team looking at them questioningly. The sudden change in the mood had shaken me out of my meditation, but I never fully registered what I had just said. "What's wrong?" I asked, still slightly under the influence of my rest.
"…you were… actually doing that?" Dante asked, still not recovered.
Aleron raised his eyebrow. "You mean you didn't know that Snivy can perform photosynthesis? Well, it'll be a while before he can use it in battle, but I'd think that the leaf would make the general concept clear…" he shrugged, "Well, I suppose that there is a lot that you don't know, considering that you can't command an attack."
Past event momentarily forgotten, Dante groaned and started trying to convince him of his competence. Rett instantly resumed his conversation with the other Pokémon, now including the other two. Kevin, after giving me an unsure glance, tried to save Aleron's Pokémon. But Chris was looking at me fiercely, the fires on his back blazing as hard as they had in the battle with N.
"Max. Were you even trying to control what you were doing?" He asked in a voice that suggested he was torn between fury and concern.
"Ah… kind of?"
Obviously the wrong answer, Chris punched me in the stomach.
"Listen!" He practically yelled. "Just because you finally get to be the strongest doesn't mean that you're better off this way! Because whether you realize it or not, that machine didn't only change your body; it changed your species. And eventually, that species is going to get to your head completely. It's going to make you forget that you were ever a human. You'll forget about Earth. You'll forget who we – Kevin and I – were. You'll forget who YOU were. And from the way you acted today – " he glanced at Rett as he said that " – that last part is already starting."
Against my better judgment, I asked, "And your point is…?"
He looked like he was about to punch me again, but he turned away. "…If you're jumping down into the trap N made, don't drag us with you."
