Welcome to the fourth side chapter of Johto: Accepting Destiny! This chapter details Samir's experience in Mt. Mortar, where he struggles to comprehend a critical remark but finds solace in a kindred spirit.
Side Chapter 4- Staggering Uncertainty
In the caverns of the Mt. Mortar's left mountain range, Samir, Cappy, and Akasha were engrossed with the murals on the walls. The archaeology intern lightly touched the etched stone. These drawings are so well preserved! I can really feel the feathers of the Legendary Birds and...and...
He paused, unable to look at the leader of the Birds. It reminded him of their recent discussion in the Whirl Islands caves. Lugia...
"So," Lugia stated as he stood in front of his Legend Guardian. "Your bond with me is not strong enough, Samir?"
The boy nodded. "Yes. I bonded with all of you, but I still feel like I don't have full control of my power as a Legend Guardian."
The Psychic type observed the human carefully. To his disappointment, he saw fear in Samir's brown eyes. "I am sorry, Samir. Maybe you aren't the Legend Guardian we're looking for."
The intern was shocked. "Wh-What are you talking about, Lugia?! I passed everyone's tests and saved you and the others from Giovanni."
"True, and we owe our lives to you for that. But there is still some trauma in your mind. You have fear about the responsibility of being a Legend Guardian."
Samir was speechless. I'm...scared...? That can't be... Was everything I've done since then worth nothing?
Lugia turned away. "Until you master your fears, you will never be able to summon us."
The Legendary Pokémon returned to his cave as Samir fell onto his knees, sobbing.
Samir slowly moved his fingers down the drawing of Lugia, tears streaming down his face.
"Samir?" Akasha asked. "Are you all right?"
Her Trainer sniffled. "I-I'm fine, Akasha. D-Don't worry about me..."
Cappy crossed his arms. "Samir, you are not fine. You haven't been since we left the Whirl Islands. Do you want to talk about it?"
The boy sighed and sat down, hugging his knees. "You two wouldn't understand."
The Eevee nudged her head against his left knee. "Maybe if you explain, we can try to."
Before he could respond, a spiky black-haired man wearing a yellow tuxedo vest with black clubs, yellow slacks, and a black shirt approached the group. A white cape flowed behind him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I disturbing you?"
Samir stood up, noting the man's tanned skin and muscles. "Oh, no. I was just looking at this mural here."
The man took a look. "Interesting. The Legendary Birds and their master, Lugia. What a real find. Are you an archaeologist?"
The intern chuckled. "Not yet. I'm training be one. My name is Samir."
The stranger smiled. "Ah, you're Samir. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Khouri. I'm an expert in the Pokémon, Raikou."
"You know who I am?"
"Of course. The Kimono Girls said you're the Legend Guardian of the Bird trio."
To the man's surprise, the boy looked away. "I don't know if you should be calling me that, Khouri."
"Oh. Did something happen?"
Samir sighed. "It's a long story. My Pokémon know what happened, but maybe you can help me as well."
Khouri was amused. "You trust me that easily?"
The boy nodded. "You don't have the aura of a bad person, and I can feel you've been through something similar to mine."
The man smirked, knowing his new friend still showed signs of a Guardian. "Fair enough."
They sat on the ground in front of the mural.
Samir began his story. "I went to the Whirl Islands recently and met with Lugia. My powers as a Guardian, like summoning the Legendary Birds, haven't been working, so I asked him about it. He told me I was still scared to be the Guardian. At first I was upset, but I realized he's right... When I was younger, I was a prodigy. Not in breeding or archaeology, but in cards."
The man raised an eyebrow. "Cards? Like the one they use on that island east of Kanto?"
"That sounds crazy, Samir," Cappy interjected.
Akasha lightly tackled her teammate. "Let him continue, Cappy."
"Yes. The Trainers there use cards for battles. The island doesn't support the resources the main regions have in healing and training their Pokémon, so people made these cards that have those powers to use on real Pokémon. Not only do they have real battles but these special battles called card battles. In card battles, the Pokémon appear as cards so Trainers can battle on even terms. The Pokémon cards can have one or two moves, one or two types, and some have special powers. Since I didn't have any Pokémon yet, I focused on the card battles. I was really good at them; it was like I could understand the Pokémon illustrated on the cards and get everything I needed to have them evolve and defeat my opponents. People said I could be the best card battles player in the world...and I really thought that was going to be true. But one day, I was...well... It's still kind of tough to explain..."
"Go on, Samir," Khouri encouraged. "What happened?"
The boy was about to speak when his mind went blank. The bad memories were resurfacing. A man, several Eggs, Pokémon approaching him with evil in their eyes. This was a mistake. I...I can't go through it again! I thought I could talk about it, but...I just can't! I just can't!
He began to hyperventilate, reliving everything he endured for months that changed his life forever. The darkness, the threats, the fear... All because of something he loved, something that made others happy.
Akasha, sensing her Trainer's slip from reality, climbed onto his knees. She nudged him, trying to get Samir to notice her. But it didn't work.
"Samir..." she whimpered. "Why do you not sense my presence?"
Cappy tried next by pushing on his legs. "Samir! Snap out of it!" His words failed as well.
Khouri immediately took out a Pokéball. "Samir is having a panic attack. We need to reduce his heart rate before he goes into further shock. Lyashi, I need your help!" An Ampharos with a cherry blossom hairpiece on her left ear appeared, eager to help the researcher. "Lyashi, please make a bed for Samir with Cotton Spore."
The Light Pokémon created large, yellow, fluffy wool from her body. The Pikachu and Eevee aided her by spreading the cotton into a long oval shaped to Samir's size. Khouri carried the intern and placed him onto the bed. The softness and warmth soothed the boy's mind, and slowly, his breathing returned to normal.
"Samir!" Akasha cried as she crawled onto his lap. "Have you recovered?"
He blinked and petted the Eevee, who beamed at her Trainer's recovery. "I am. Thanks, Akasha."
Cappy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus."
Samir turned to Khouri. "And thank you, Khouri. I'm sorry I acted like that..."
Khouri sat next to Samir. "Nothing to be sorry about. Besides, I should be the one apologizing for making you relive whatever it is that traumatized you." He stared at the ceiling. "To be honest, I did something that I'm not proud of. I was almost corrupted into helping to initiate something called candidate disinheritance."
"I...never heard of that..."
Khouri chuckled. "It's not that common in your role, but with the Guardian of the Legendary Beasts, it happens all too frequently. In any case, I believed in something built upon the greed and revenge of my grandmother. I chose to ignore everything the Kimono Girls and Lady Lan told me because I wanted to please her. The only thing I, my brother, and my grandmother cared about was my sister regaining the family's honor. I was so blinded by wanting my grandmother's attention that I learned only recently what the consequences would be." He became silent, and he brushed his hair back.
"Wow... I never thought Summer has to deal with all of this. I knew she was a candidate but not about these sabotages. I thought you would be traumatized after learning the truth, but you certainly don't seem that way. How did you recover from this?"
"Well, it wasn't easy. This sounds really embarrassing, but I watched a lot of Sailor Lunatone and ate a lot of MooMoo Milk ice cream." After getting a chuckle from his listener, he continued. "After all of that, I realized that I needed to help my family regain their honor not by overthrowing Lan's descendent, but by aiding her to become the Guardian the Beasts need. But in the process, I lost contact with my sister, and I thought that was the best. Hearing Summer today though, about breaking up my family, I realized that I also had to stop Teeni from doing something she'll regret. I would never forgive myself if she is injured during this crazy ordeal or worse..."
Suddenly, the room shook and a loud noise echoed throughout the chamber. Then, it stopped.
An earthquake?! But...it felt different somehow.
Khouri smiled. "Well, I guess something good happened. I should get going and see how Summer and Yuki are doing."
Samir was stunned. "They're here too?!"
"A scroll similar to the one you have is hidden here."
"How did...?"
The man smirked. "I have my ways." He stood up and stretched. "Anyway, I better head out. Want to come with me?"
Samir looked down. "I don't know. What if I'm not ready to face them?"
"You don't know until you do it." Khouri offered him a hand.
Samir nodded and grabbed it. Khouri helped him up and they headed outside together, leaving most of their insecurities behind.