Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon, this is just a fanfiction for entertainment porpuses and also for improving my writing abilities.
By the time we made it to the Pokemon center, Elizabeth was half asleep on my shoulder. She was breathing softly which was sometimes interrupted by a disgruntled bell-like sound as she tried to readjust herself. My feet were sore from walking all day and I could hardly wait to shower and rest. A nurse joy welcomed us from her front desk as we entered. She seemed to be full of energy, which confused me until I saw the steaming cup of coffee on her desk and 4 torn up packs of instant coffee in a pile next to it.
"Good evening sir! How may I help you?" Nurse Joy got up from her desk as she greeted us.
"We're looking for a room to spend the night." Nurse Joy looked behind me with an eyebrow raised. "Me and my Pokemon, I mean." I corrected.
"Oh! Of course!" Her lack of sleep showed despite the numerous cups of coffee coursing through her. "Right this way sir!" She led us to a room and gave me the key before wishing us a good night.
"You too Nurse Joy!" I swear I could hear her scream internally. I entered the room then gently scooped off the half-asleep Elizabeth off my shoulder and put her down on the floor before letting Tide out as well.
"Mwud~Kip." He yawned. The little guy was also pretty tired. He wasted no time and hopped onto the bed and curled up before I could even say good night. I set down my backpack on the desk and fished out my pajamas. It was nothing fancy. Just some loose-fitting boxers with a checkers pattern and a long-sleeved shirt designed to look like a Snorlax belly.
"Alright you two, I'm going to shower, but you guys can just sleep if you want to." I whispered. It seems Tide already took the initiative as he was fast asleep. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was awake, but I could tell that she was rather tired. She was looking at me with her head slightly cocked to the side.
"What's a shower?" Her soft voice echoed strongly in my mind. The pleasant warm feeling from earlier accompanied her question.
"How about I show you?" I replied in a hushed tone. I felt it would be smarter to show rather than explain and I could be in the shower a lot sooner. The room we were provided with had its own shower and bathroom unlike the Pokemon centers in the city where I'm from. They had a common shower and bathroom, separated by gender of course. Elizabeth was really curious about everything in the bathroom, especially the toilet. Without thinking I began undressing. I was about to take off my boxers, but I was interrupted.
"Ra!" Elizabeth yelped covering her eyes. I was so tired that I became completely oblivious to the situation.
"Oh right." I thought to myself. "Well, I guess I can just shower in my boxers. You can uncover your eyes, Elizabeth" I took off my pants and placed them on the sink with my shirt. Elizabeth slowly moved her hands away from her brilliant red eyes to reveal an embarrassed smile and a blush that made her face match her eyes. I stepped in the shower and motioned for her to join me. She hesitantly obliged. She got a little spooked when I turned on the shower, but she quickly began to enjoy the warm sensation.
"This is fun! I like." She giggled as she swatted at the water. Most of the dirt from today's scuffle washed off of her as she was playing, but her hair seemed to retain a lot of it.
"Let me wash your hair, it's a little dirty." I kneeled down with a shampoo bottle in hand. She gave me a confused nod then turned back to play with the water again. I got a good handful of it and began scrubbing her green scruffy hair.
"Slimy…" Elizabeth said in a slightly grossed out tone. She eased up soon after and began to enjoy getting her head scrubbed. She even started making a purr like bell noise and pushing her head into my palm. I chuckled then directed the showerhead at her to wash off the shampoo. She pouted a little after I stopped, she must've really enjoyed being pet. Shortly after I turned off the shower and reached for a towel. I wrapped up Elizabeth in a hand towel, it was perfect for her size. Turns out that washing a Ralts' hair with shampoo and drying it off makes it floof up. Luckily I brought a comb with me and I managed to return her hair to the usual style.
"How was your first shower, Elizabeth?" I asked as I was toweling off.
"Fun! Can we do it every day?" Her voice was full of excitement.
"There are no showers on the road, but we can whenever we stay in a city." I pat her head then ushered her out so I could change. I hung the towels to dry, changed then came back out to find Elizabeth still awake sitting on the bed waiting for me. When she saw me I once again felt that warm feeling invade my body and mind. Her powers were growing stronger and stronger each passing day. I gave her a tired smile and crawled into bed, making sure not to wake Tide on the bottom corner of the bed. Elizabeth curled up next to me, burying her head into my chest along with her horn. It was a little uncomfortable, but her soft cooing made me unable to move her away. I fell asleep still enveloped in that wonderful warm feeling.
"Eric! Can you hear me?" Elizabeth's echoing voice awoke me to an open white void. Unlike the black void from before this vast world did not feel empty, I felt at peace as I scanned my surroundings, looking for Elizabeth. This white world had gravity and a hard surface, which felt like marble, yet it was blended in perfectly with the rest of the vast emptiness.
"Elizabeth! Where are you?" I shouted into the void to no answer. I took a few daring steps forward, determined to find my Elizabeth. I took no more than a couple of steps before I was blinded by a bright pink light. The light loomed closer to me as I shielded my eyes and became less blinding. It began morphing and shifting as if it was trying to take shape.
"Mm meeh!" Came the muffled sound from the glowing figure. It stopped shifting and began to take a stable shape. What seemed like tendril or an arm was reaching out for me, but just before it could touch me the figure erupted into a blast of light, blowing me into the empty void.
"Ghah!" I gasped for air as my eyes shot open. I was in our room at the poke center, this was real. I rubbed my eyes rolling to my back and let out a sigh. "I hope this won't become a regular thing." I thought to myself.
"I'm sorry, should I stop?" Elizabeth's sweet innocent voice echoed in my mind. I couldn't help but smile, she sounded concerned, but also adorable.
"Wait. What?" I shot up looking at Elizabeth. "This void, these dreams were you?" I asked with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. She looked a little taken back, she must've misunderstood my tone. She looked at the bed and twiddled her tiny hands.
"Y-yes…" She sheepishly said. "I just wanted to be closer, but I'll stop if you don't like it…" She looked up at me with those big red eyes. I could tell she was about to tear up. She is so adorable.
"Don't cry, Elizabeth." I held her face and wiped her tear away with my thumb. "I didn't mean to sound harsh, I was just really excited and surprised." I reassured her in a hushed tone.
"So, you're not mad?" She asked, taking my hand and holding it in front of her.
"Of course not! I pat her on the head. "You're too cool to be mad at. Not to mention adorable…" She yelped and covered her face in embarrassment at my compliment. I laughed a little at her reaction then looked around the room. Tide was still asleep, drooling on the sheets as he did. The morning sunlight was beaming through the window. I glanced at the clock above the door. It said 8:45 sharp.
"Just about time for breakfast." I mumbled to myself.
"Mudkip?" Tide sprang up looking around, trying to find the breakfast I was talking about. Once he realized there was no such breakfast he squinted at me then let out a mighty yawn. "Muwd!" He yawned walking up to me and settling down in my lap, then nodded at the still pink Elizabeth in a sleepy manner. I pat him on the head before scooping him off and gently plopping him back down on the blanket so I could get ready.
"I'll change clothes then we can get something to eat." I said getting out of bed. "I wanna walk around the city for a while before we move on." I grabbed a new shirt out of my backpack along with my pants from yesterday and changed in the bathroom. When I walked out I saw Tide and Elizabeth trying their best to pull the heavy blanket over the bed so it would look like how it was before.
"What are you guys doing?" I chuckled at the sight. They looked up, then at each other, then back to me. I felt Elizabeth invade my mind, she was searching for something, perhaps a word or a phrase.
"Customary." I heard her voice after a few seconds. I cracked a smile and decided to help them. I fixed the corners of the blanket and fluffed up the pillow. I pat their heads and promised them an extra treat next to breakfast. Tide's eyes lit up at my offer. I swung my pack on my back before scooping up those two. One on each shoulder. I looked around the room, to make sure I left nothing behind.
"Let's get some breakfast." I cheerfully exclaimed and headed out the door.
Author's note: My dear readers, I'm sorry for the long pause and his slow (little sloppy) chapter. I've been very busy since my last post so I had little time to write. I'm trying to schedule myself to get my life in a groove so I have time for myself and time to create new chapters. To be honest I haven't fully thought out the story past chapter 4 and I have gone with the flow (which may show). But I really love these characters and this story and I hope you, my dear readers do too. I'll try to be somewhat consistent and decent with the chapters. Please leave a review or any question you may have about the series and I will reply as fast as I can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a fantastic day/evening!