Kalina returned. Alone.
Her face was painted in a triumphant smile, but concern flicked in her eyes. Worry lines cut into her smooth cheeks.
I chose to ignore them, knowing I'd get short shrift if I asked what was wrong.
She looked at me and turned, beckoning with her arm, and I followed her through the grass.
The sun was dipping in the sky, leaving a yellowish hue of sunlight resting on the buildings. The shadows slanted on the the floor, harmlessly marking the ground. The air was still warm.
"I took Zoya to see Bill." Kalina spoke softly but firmly. Her voice sounded scratched.
"Bill?"
We walked past the Pokémon Centre and up ahead, I saw the grass transform into another gravelly track. I moaned internally, and my mind played with me. An ache pushed into both my feet, my legs cramped. And yet I walked.
"He's a pokémon professor who can help her," Kalina said flatly. "She'll catch up with us when she's ready." A slither of shadow carved at her head as she turned around and looked sternly at me. "You'll be doing the next couple of battles." She said the words with a hidden emotion, was it anger? Her face assigned no emotion though. I coughed as my breath caught in my throat.
"Okay," I muttered, scared and pleased at the same time. Seeing how Zoya had been completely brushed aside with a good group of pokémon hadn't exactly distilled the biggest amount of faith in my ability.
Hell, I hadn't even released Mareep from its pokéball in days. Who knows if it would still respect me enough to obey me, let alone win a battle for me. A bead of sweat clung to me brow as I started panicking. Kalina took no notice, eyes set firmly ahead.
The crunch of gravel bit my eardrums and snapped me out of my worry. Thick trees lined both sides of the path, claustrophobic yet comforting. Their trunks were scratched with nature's mark. Some weren't. Deep gashed scarred one while the other stood up uneasily, scorched. It crouched, blistered and ugly. Flakes of wood peeled revealing it's soft wooden interior. A beautiful blister.
I stopped and looked at it closer. It radiated heat, a searing wave of ember-induced haze which meant I couldn't get too close. Surely it was too hot for it not to burn. So why wasn't it?
"It's been hit in battle." Kalina had calmly crunched to my side. With a disinterested look on her face, she pushed her hand onto the bark and it sizzled. I winced and snapped her arm back, expecting to see her hand's skin stripped to the bark.
Surprisingly, her hand remained in tact. The skin still remained flawlessly smooth. The tree continued to crackle and spit.
"I don't get it," I said, feeling confused. Kalina sighed.
"In battle," she started slowly, chewing over her words, "Only the pokémon sustain injury. The environment remains in tact."
I interjected, shaking me head. "But where Togepi blasted the ground up-
Kalina bit back. "-Yes, it looked bad but actually, if you go back to where it all happened, the would be perfectly fine. This whole world we live in, it's designed to host pokémon and pokémon battles. But it also regenerates."
I looked at her dumbly. She growled, frustrated. "For example," she almost shouted her sentences now. She strode to the tree and pulled off a twig with a sharp snap. Grassy sinew squirmed before falling limp. "If I, a human, does damage to an environment, it will remain permenant. This world wasn't made for us. But..."
She pulled a pokéball out of her jacket and threw it. A flash and Mismagius appeared, glaring at Kalina. "Oh hush."
Kalina smirked at her pokémon before muttering a command. The witch pokémon slowly glowed and belched out a black shadowy ball which crackled with dark power. It slammed into the burnt tree with a mighty crash, toppling it. A crack and the spine of the tree snapped and slowly gave way. Diving out of the way, I watched as it slammed into the ground. Billows of dust were forced into the air, creating a mini dust-storm. I felt soil in my mouth.
I stood up angrily. "You could have told me you were planning to do that," I steamed. "Why did you do-"
Kalina raised her hand. "Close your eyes for five seconds." She said it so calmy, I insantly obliged despite the fact I had adrenalin pushing through my body at a rate of knots. "And open." The whisper was released and when I opened my eyes, the tree was back in its standing bruised state. My mouth fell open.
"B-but..." I tried to stutter an excuse but words failed me. "It's an illusion Zen." Kalina slid the words to me almost like she was passing me a secretnote. Like she shouldn't be saying it. "But if I chopped it down, it would stay down, and it would die."
I shook my head slowly, but noticed the twig Kalina had snapped off still stood at the foot of the tree. Correctly predicted. "Touch it," she said aggressively, yet still passive. I slowly approached the tree which ten seconds eariler had been felled. My head felt a confused mess.
Gingerly, I pushed my hand to the tree, wincing as the heat seared it. But did it? I snapped my hand back and looked again at the scorched patch of bark. Focusing on it, I pushed my hand out again. No heat.
"See?" Kalina was smiling. "It's just your mind. That's the power of humans." I pushed my hand on the burnt bark and it sizzled but didn't hurt. Just tingled, like pins and needles. I smiled, impressed. Confused.
Kalina pulled me away from the trunk, suddenly serious. "Now, can we get on with things?"
"So, what else don't I know about?"
We were walking slowly down the gravel road. Every couple of minutes I checked over my hand, half expecting blisters to greedily take over my palm. But they didn't.
"Too much to tell you now," Kalina said it with a grim tone. "You'll find out as you go along." I nodded.
"So, can you tell me why you're here to see me to Goldenrod City? I mean, Zoya isn't here now. Surely that's the reason you didn't want to tell me?" Kalina shook her head.
"No Zen," she scraped the words out with force. They fell heavy from her mouth. "I didn't tell you because I know you'd refuse to believe what I was telling you." She looked down and continued walking.
My heart hammered but I tried to stay cool. "I think I can handle it." Kalina shook her head.
"I'll tell you later Zen." She pointed ahead. The road was littered with large rocks. Up past the rocks, huge boulders stood, glued to the ground. Blocking the path completely The sun had just closed its curtains. Kalina spoke.
"Looks like we have some night-time climbing to do."
After some casual scrutiny of our situation, Kalina told me I should hoist myself up on to the biggest boulder and scout ahead. "See what we're facing," she suggested. I protested.
Three boulders up, I looked down and protested again. I received the promise of a punch if I didn't get to work.
My hands were greasy and slapped helplessly against the smooth surface of the rocks. My legs shook, my feet felt like would slip at any minute. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I was being pulled up to the top of the pile.
My shoes scraped against the rock as I shouted, half afraid, half relieved. I shut my eyes until my feet landed on a stable surface. Opening them up, I saw a night scene sprawled out in front of me. It stretched for miles.
Below us, fires were lit and figures huddled round them. Faded laughter softly trickled in the airways.
In the distance, a huge rocky cliff stood, with a dark gaping entrance. More fires illuminated the darkness in the distance.
Music tingled my on my eardrums. "Not a bad view..." Kalina whispered next to me. I snapped my eyes to hers.
"Wait, you were down there a min-
"- Lesson number one." Kalina smirked. "Pokémon aren't just for battle. They help too."
Jumping lightly from the boulder to ones below, she called to me. "Now let's go." I sat down and slid down the boulder.
I was a terrible gymnast.
We reached the summit of the boulders and walked towards the group which were sitting around the fire.
Four men and a couple of women surrounded it, drinking and laughing. The fire crackled lamely, snapping and biting the air with embers. The group stopped laughing as Kalina approached.
One of the guys stood up. "Can I help you?" He directed the question pleasantly enough, but a steely, serious tone hid behind the charm. An aged tone. Overused, but necessary.
Kalina flicked her eyes to the man. Pushing one hand in her pocket, she pulled out a letter. "Yes," she hissed gently, without menace but enough to make a touch of anxiousness flicker in my stomach. "I'm looking for Cedar." The man stiffened.
The three other men stood up. "And what does it concern ye' little lady?" The man remained stiff, almost on edge.
Kalina stepped forward, and her shoulderblades pushed through her jacket. I deliberated running but my feet were like lead.
"I'm not little thank you very much." She spat the words now, they showered the fire like a venomous rain. The two ladies cowered. My eyes were trapped open, dry and disbelieving.
"Now," Kalina's voice was merely a sharp whisper but it slit the air. "Where. Is. He?"
The man squinted. "Okay," he muttered gruffly. "I don't know who you think you are but you can't just come and push demands on us. I know where Cedar is but there's no way in hell I'm telling you." Kalina stood like a statue.
"Will you tell me if I beat you in a battle?" One of the other men snorted. "You won't beat him, lady." He said the words with an immeasurable amount of confidence. If I hadn't been so confused and worried, I would have laughed.
"Prove it." Kalina spat the sentence and the man nodded. "Fine," he said. "A double battle though." My heart raced and I instantly stepped forward to protest that I had nothing to do with this crazy woman who had just turned up and ruined their night.
"Fine," Kalina said fiercely. "My two versus your two. Let's go."
The man nodded again and pulled two pokéballs from his belt. He wore a patched lumberjack style jacket, faded against the night air. A thick belt held up some thick jeans. Steel toecapped boots adorned his feet. The leather was worked down to the steel, and they glinted against the fire.
I was too busy observing his shoes to realise I was standing in the middle of the two. Looking up, I was blinded by a flash and stumbled to the ground, much to the amusement of his entourage. Rolling to the side, I dusted myself off, face burning.
The man stood opposite Kalina, bristling. Kalina stood, tall and slender. Devastatingly beautiful, she melted into the night air and her green eyes shone like cat's eyes. The flash was from the man's pokéball and in its place stood a furry beast, snorting and shaking.
Its thick arms and legs were adorned with metal shackles, dulled and dented. Two pink triangular ears pushed from its messy-haird body. A delicate pink nose, dripping with juice and two angry eyes made up the rest of its features.
I squinted at something moving at the top of its head and was disgusted to see it was a thick, tubular vein pulsing. It squirmed like a trapped worm. I tried not to retch. I pulled out my Pokédex.
'Primeape, the pig monkey pokémon. Always furious and tenacious to boot, it will not abandon chasing its quarry until it is caught.'
Next to Primeape stood a small blob of dark matter. A ball of haze, it possessed just two evil looking eyes and a jagged mouth glittering with sharp white teeth. The Pokédex chattered again.
'Gastly, the gas pokémon. aid to appear in decrepit, deserted buildings. It has no real shape.'
Kalina had called out Sableye and Mismagius. Sableye stood lightly, almost invisible. It jittered, and moonlight made his jeweled eyes glint. Mismagius hovered, forlornly moaning. Its features were one of pure distaste for its opposition.
The battle got underway with a gruff voice breaking the silence.
"Okay Primeape," the man called. "Use Focus Energy!" The creature grunted and several swirls of lights pulled up from the ground and surrounded it. Its arms and legs tensed, and more veins pushed to the surface of its thick skin.
Kalina, emotionless, whispered a command. "You know what to do. Do it." Sableye jittered excitedly, a tinny and painful sound. Instantly, it melted into nothing. Primeape, pumped from its move, scouted the field in front of it, snorting. Ears twitching.
The man scratched his chin before calling to his pokémon. "Wait it out Primeape, let's see what this little lady's got planned." Kalina snarled, a silent curl of the lip before harshly calling in front of her. "Sableye, Spacial Rend!"
The man's eyes snapped opened and he screamed out a command to Primeape but to no avail. Before he opened his mouth, the air in front of Primeape twisted, like soft plastic. Purple flares erupted from nowhere and Sableye appeared. Primape's figure twisted with the air, and it's eyes rolled into the back of its head as it was sucked into a seemingly invisible void. The man's crew cried out in shock. Kalina's snarl remained littered on her lips.
A loud POP and the Primeape disappeared completely. Sableye stood, still.
Suddenly, a loud crack and the Primeape was coughed up from nowhere and landed heavily on the ground in front of the man, unconscious. It's vein still pulsed, but it breathed slowly. The man looked desparately at Gastly but it had disappeared too.
"That's not fair!" He yelled furiously at Kalina. "Surely that move doesn't affect two pokémon!" Kalina laughed.
"Of course not," she hissed. "But Mismagius here..." The ghost screeched eerily, triumphant. "I don't need to command her with my voice." The man looked worried. Kalina tapped the side of her head. "We're linked in more ways than one." She grinned cruelly.
"At the moment, your Gastly in there." She pointed at a small, almost invisible lump on the floor in front of the man's shoes.
"Mismagius used Sucker Punch," Kalina walked into the field, past her pokémon. "Which worked, which means..." Her voice was louder now, thick with defiance. "You were going to attack next and try and catch me off guard while you were watching your poor Primeape get torn to shreds." She poked a finger into the man's ribcage accusingly. "And you can't deny it." Each word was coated with spiteful venom.
"I knew your own move before you did." Her voice was was damning. "Next time, you should think twice before you label someone a little lady. Do you understand me?" I couldn't breathe, she was so scary. Her eyes were raw with disgust and she spat the words into the mans face with brute force. Each stress and syllable blackened his eyes. Clubbed at his nose until it bled.
The man nodded forlornly. His crew watched, fascinated and appalled.
"Now," Kalina kept her finger pushed into the man's ribcage. "Where is Cedar?"
The man pointed to a tent almost away, lightly illuminated by a fire which faintly flickered, shady in the night background.
Without another word, Kalina returned her two pokémon and with a flick of her head, ordered me to follow her.
I stumbled forward, looking apologetically at the man. He stared at the ground.
I didn't say anything as I caught up with Kalina.
Her footsteps crunched into the ground. Her breathing was rusty.
I was scared. Petrified actually. But my main concern was who angry Kalina had got.
And if that was the case with a stranger, what would she be like with Cedar?
And more importantly, who was Cedar?