Disclaimer: Own Pokémon? Man, you can't own Pokémon! As if they were mere items to be gotten and traded away, like trading cards or tiny pixilated animals?
Wait… that happens? What have I been writing about?
Chapter 28: A Giant
Ye've got to understand, I've been trying to get the darned police to let me raid that Musket place for years now. No matter how many times I'd tell 'em that those crooks had no place on my mountain, they always said the same thing: it's not yer mountain, Goliath, and we don't have no warrant. Infuriatin' as all hell, I'll tell ye that.
So when they came up to the top o' my mountain, told me they had a Trainer on the inside and that they'd need my help raidin' the place, I wasn't exactly goin' to turn the offer down. Finally, a chance to get the stench o'criminal scum out o' my air!
My job was simple: have my Bastiodon escort the police to prevent 'em from gettin' shot, have my Excadrill dig an escape route for the Trainer in case he needed it, and keep Ol' Reliable in reserve: just in case.
Granted, when I heard the crash coming from inside, I very nearly brought out Ol' Reliable and dug a hole down there myself! But Excadrill's always been a good 'un, and soon burst out o' the ground. I was expectin' the trainer to be the first one out, and so I actually let one o' those Musket bastards by me! Damn. Can't win 'em all though. I growled, grinding my fist into my hand to vent my anger, and turned my attention back to the tunnel. I could let one go, I suppose, but I'd be damned if I let another one out!
Another one didn't come out, though, and instead the Trainer jogged out, lookin' a little bruised but otherwise fine. I locked eyes with him for a moment, looked at the Cyndaquil on his shoulder, and then back at him.
And slapped the living daylights out of him.
"I assume I deserved that?" Axel said, rubbing his sore cheek pathetically.
"I thought you were dead!" I boomed, rage and relief filling my chest simultaneously. "You haven't called in years! Do you know how much they mourned for ye back home? I sent flowers! ME! I SENT FLOWERS!"
"You… sent flowers?" Axel echoed, sinking to the ground in terror (and… exhaustion too, probably). "To who?"
"To me," came a voice I hadn't heard in far too long. Amber ran over to Axel, assessing his wounds, while Vanna (what's she doin' here?) trailed behind, mopin' slightly. "And there's no need… I've already..." she stopped, eyes widenin' as she saw a blue Pokémon crawl out of the tunnel. "Totodile! There you are!" She quickly went from Axel to the Pokémon, huggin' it with that trademark death-grip. "Don't you ever run away like that again, understand?"
The Totodile growled. Never been the best behaved, that one.
Amber, taken aback, bit her lip to keep from speakin' out, as she's want to do. Lookin' at me, she said: "There's no need for the lecture, I've already give it to him."
I nodded. "Right then. Sorry Axel," I apologized; givin' a hearty laugh to show him my anger was gone. "No harm done, I hope."
"No more than twice as much as I'd taken up to this point…" I heard him mutter, and I laughed again. Vanna, however, was still mopin', and I couldn't help but ask:
"What exactly's got you down, Vanna? And, by the way, hello. Haven't seen you in a while… did you grow again? I swear you get prettier every time I see you."
"Thanks, Goldy," Vanna smiled. "And I know it's a bit silly, but… I was sort of looking forward to introducing you to Axel. I was going to look all connected and have this authoritative Gym Leader aura to me and everything! But, of course, you already know him." She frowned, but this time it was clearly just for show. "And how exactly are you two acquainted?"
I hesitated, lookin' over to Amber, who was makin' the ol' 'don't say a word' slash across her throat. I could have told her she was doin' it in the wrong direction, though, because almost immediately, Axel blurted out: "He's Amber's dad."
Amber slumped visibly, and I laughed, which may seem odd to ye. But I've understood for years that Amber's not actually ashamed of bein' a Gold… it's just that a gym leader's daughter gets constant Pokémon battle challenges, which Amber… doesn't exactly appreciate, bein' a breeder.
That's part of it anyway. As for the other part…
"Amber. Gold." Vanna pronounced, a smile playing across her lips. "What's your middle name, I wonder… Amarillo? Perhaps just plain Yellow?"
Amber didn't even have time to make the 'don't say a word' sign this time, as Axel immediately chimed in with: "Nothing like that… it's Marie."
Any sign that Vanna had been sad earlier was completely erased. "An Amber Marigold, huh? And for a redhead, to boot? Goldy, what were you thinking?"
"It's entirely on her mother," I defended, escortin' the children away from the laboratory and back into Severna. "I wanted to name her after Athena, over in Jinford… good friend o' mine, Athena, has been for years… but no, it had to be Amber Marie. Somethin' about it bein' beautiful and delicate." I snorted, still findin' the concept hilarious. "Not that ye turned out delicate, eh Amber?"
"I couldn't exactly afford it, having to keep you and Axel in line, now could I?" my daughter replied, grinnin' at me slightly and widenin' those big, green eyes. Looks just like her mother when she does that, every time. It's times like this I miss home. "Speaking of which, Dad, you haven't been crushing too may young trainer's dreams lately, have you? The League gets upset with you when you don't give out enough badges and you know it."
"If a trainer isn't strong, they don't get a badge. Period. That is how it's supposed to work, young lady, and I'd bloody well like to see the League try and do a thing about it!" I bellowed proudly, scaring off a herd of nearby Deerling. "Half of 'em probably couldn't even reach my gym. Fat lot of fatties."
"Fat lot of fatties…" a Meditite said, rising to my eye level and floating in front of me. "That's good. You're my kind of guy, Goldy."
"Only close friends can call me that," I replied, the fact that it was a Pokémon not matterin' in the slightest. "And who exactly might you be?"
"Medici, the Meditite," he said, holding out a hand. "I'm in charge when Axel's away. And a good bit of the time that he's here, too."
I looked down at Axel (not exactly hard, when you're 7' 7"). "Is that true?" I chortled.
"In a way…" he admitted, embarrassed. "I… uh… I've caught some pretty weird Pokémon over the years, G-man. You wouldn't believe."
"Well I'll have to sooner or later, you are comin' up the mountain to challenge the gym, right?" This may look like it was a question, but it really wasn't. Axel, havin' dealt with my non-commandin' commands for a good portion of his existence, knew immediately, and nodded vigorously. "Of course. I've been preparing for this basically my entire life, you know?"
"Ach, I know, I know," I laughed, shovin' past the guard at the gate as he tried, stupidly, to check my identification. "But I warn ye, Axel. Jus' cause I've known you since you were a lad, I'm still goin' to smash your skull in if I have to. Rules be rules."
"Bring it," he grinned, crackin' his knuckles. "When I'm through with you, G-Man, your skull's gonna come clean off."
"Challenge accepted," I said, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously before he could object. "Don't make me wait for ye tomorrow."
"Day after tomorrow," Amber chimed in, drawin' my attention. "We've sort of made plans for tomorrow."
"She has a date. We're completely free," Vanna interpreted, drawin' a scowl from Amber.
"Well, no… I've got to be there, you know," Axel jumped in. "If there's any possibility of future matrimony, I have to approve. Done and done."
"Shouldn't my opinion also be considered in all this?" I growled.
"Father…" Amber said, graspin' my hand and looking in my eyes as sweetly as she knew how. "Would you like to come have dinner with us tomorrow?"
"Now that's more like it! About time you started talkin' about spendin' time with your old man!" I looked and Axel and Vanna, motioning for them to continue on with my head. "You two go on, move all your stuff over to Harrow Heights Hotel; tell 'em any room you want's on my tab, understand?"
"Oh, Goldy!" Vanna said, huggin' me quickly (much to Amber's disgruntlement). "You have no idea how tired I was of sleeping in a tent. This is going to be fun! Come on, Axel, let's hurry!"
"But… even if we don't, will it really…" but they were already gone, the Gym Leader draggin' her trainer off despite all protests.
I turned to my daughter, clearin' my throat and pointin' at a nearby waterin' hole. There were words to be said. "In. Now. We need to talk, ye and I."
The Totodile, reluctantly stayin' within eyesight of Amber for the whole walk back, was now clingin' to the back of her leg like its life depended on it. Not that I blame it… I have that effect on most Charizards.
Vanna
I've always liked Harrow Heights Hotel. Whenever I come up to see Goldy for a Gym Leader's conference, this is always the place I stay. I've always had a thing for the log cabin/mountain cottage feel, with exposed stained wooden beams and bearskin carpets… it's incredibly romantic.
Which is actually why staying is here, as lovely as it is, is usually a bit sad, since there's no one to share it with. I hope that, by this point, it's clear that I'm not the sort of person who would even think of leading a man like Goliath on, and so it should follow that when I come up to Severna for conferences, I always room alone. I figured this year I'd at least be old enough to have some cocktails from the mini-fridge, and it wouldn't be so bad. Of course, now there's an entirely different issue to consider.
"So… I'm assuming we're going to get two rooms?" I asked, pausing in the luxurious lobby to get matters settled.
"Well, yeah, if you're planning on rooming with Amber," Axel said, slumping down onto a chaise lounge.
"Ah, no… actually, I thought you were…"
"Out of the question," he said immediately. "We don't room together. There are reasons."
"This isn't my fault, is it?" Medici asked, actually seeming a little concerned. "Because I'll room with Vanna if that's what's stopping it."
"No, it's not you…" Axel reassured him. "It's from way before I knew you existed… actually, how old are you?"
"I'm turning three soon, I think…" Medici frowned. "Of course, I only think I'm two because that's what Professor Redwood aged me at. "
"Ah, that's right," Axel said, smacking his forehead… and cringing from the resulting pain. "Then yeah… might have been before you were even born."
"And, I assume you're not going to tell me what happened?" I asked, curiosity piqued, but understanding why this would be private.
"Exactly," Axel smiled. "Thanks for understanding, Vanna." He paused, nodding. "Three rooms, then. We might as well, since it's all on G-man's tab."
I nodded, standing up to go the front desk, but couldn't quite leave. For most of the night, there'd been a question burning in my chest, and I couldn't think of any better time to ask it but now.
"Axel…" I began, turning back to face the lazing trainer. "Um… there's something I wanted to ask you, actually."
"Go on," he invited.
"Well…" I paused. Why did this feel so awkward? It really shouldn't be. "When you were working your way into Team Musket's base, I sort of… heard you talking to that girl." I bit my lip unconsciously, and Axel sat up straight, most likely anticipating what I was about to ask. "You said something about how I… how I was just looking for a good time or… something." I looked at him. "Did you… really mean that?"
"Of course not," he said without hesitation. "I was just making it up on the spot, you know?"
This didn't convince me. "You? Made something up on the spot?" I sighed. "I want to believe that, but you're not exactly the kind of person who can do that… no offense." I paused. "I'm just worried that, even if you were making it up, some of it was based on truth, and I don't want you to think…"
"I already told you, I didn't mean it, ok?" Axel reassured me, though not quite meeting my eyes. "It's just that… I had to give some reason why I wasn't with you, you know? And there really aren't any good ones to choose from."
Judging from his startled reaction to my gasp, I don't think Axel really understood what he'd just said. Could it be that he hadn't meant it the way it sounded? No… it's Axel. The more likely is that he was just failing at being discrete, letting on more than he thought he was.
I do sort of like that about him. It gives me oh so much material to tease him with.
"No good reason, huh?" I said, putting on a coy smile to drive him crazy. "Axel, I'm flattered, really, but it's just not good to think like that. We're travelling companions, after all. How would we deal with things going wrong? How would Amber feel?"
He turned immediately red, and began to sputter. "Wait, hold on… that's not what I meant! All I was saying was…"
I put a finger to his lips, silencing him. "I understand, Axel," I said, sighing dramatically. "And perhaps, another time, another set of circumstances, things could work out differently." I struck a pose, flopping a hand across my forehead as if pained. It'd been a while since I'd done this, and I'm not ashamed to admit I was having fun. "But alas! It just won't do. I hope you understand."
Axel opened his mouth, trying to explain himself, but eventually closed it. "I understand," he nodded, admitting defeat. "I'll go reserve the rooms."
As he went up to the front desk, I looked after him, smiling to myself and hoping he didn't notice.
Forgive me, Axel. One of these days, almost certainly, but let me have a little fun first, ok? It's the only way I know.
Author's Note
Query: Did you know that looking over stuff that you rejected can be a good creative exercise?
It's true! Looking over what I could have named Axel spurred some surprisingly decent creative juices within me! (Mind out of the gutter, all you people… oh you weren't thinking that? But now you are and OH GOOD GOD YOU CAN'T GET IT OUT OF YOUR HEAD? You're welcome. No, I'm not going to close the parentheses.
… Wow. I might actually not have filters. I should get that checked out.
But anyway, because I can (since this isn't really part of the story), here's rejected names for the two Gym Leaders introduced so far: Vanna Albright and Goliath Gold.
Vanna Albright:
Vanna was originally going to be a quiet, unassuming type character, pure and untouched. Some of the names reflect that early line of thinking (which was, as you can probably tell, scrapped).
Clara (or Clarabelle) Soule
Clara (or Clarabelle) Brighton
Innocence Soule (Too obvious)
Anna Saint-Soule (Barely less obvious)
Guinevere Gooding
Jezebel Scanner
Jezebel Hook (which was just… no. Too extreme.)
Vanna Gooding
Vanna Brighton
Goliath Gold:
Goliath, on the other hand, was always supposed to be a giant, hulking man. I picture him having a Scottish accent. Did you get that from reading?
Talor MacPhail
Titus Andrews (Shakespeare fans, laugh: and cringe at the implications)
Gorgon Tenor
Hugo MacPhail
Hugo Brawn
Titus Brawn
Hector Armstrong (A name I've rejected for many characters, it seems.)
As you can see, none of these ideas were very good. Which is why, though it stung a bit of cliché, I ended up going with the whole "David and Goliath' motif. It's so original, isn't it? Though in my defense, Axel isn't named David. And he's not exactly diminutive in any way. So I'm only using half a cliché, which makes it somewhat original, right? Right?
Then again… fan fiction. So probably not.
Viva la feminism?
