I'm sorry for posting nothing this Tuesday. I bought new parts for my PC and the assembling service took much longer than I expected. My PC is here now, and starting next week I will post on the regular schedule.

To make up for this inconvenience, I'll post double chapter today! First one - The Prodigy!

CURSE – PART 2

The Prodigy

As long as she recalls, Clover was mature above her age: both in looks and personality. Some have called her a prodigy, which was a trait she rarely flaunted. It never meant much to her, and few people wanted to be by her side because of it. They would either consider her unapproachable, unobtainable or haughty. Gary Oak was among few who would see her for who she truly was. He respected this, and she respected he saw her for who she truly is.

Now he was gone, or he might as well be.

The big mirror on the closet in the hotel room reflected someone who grew too early, too fast. Her body and face betrayed it, the leg which was no longer there. In fact, she would easily pass as fifteen year old, or so she was told. Yet, this never made her happy. She did not want to grow up and grow older and hated the fact her very nature conspires against her. In fact, it felt like a burden she carried as the Squirtle carries its shell.

In fact, she was so carried away by her observations that she did not notice beeping sound from her Pokedex.

"Bulbasaur has reached level 16!"

How long was this thing going on?

She felt the slight of vibration coming from the Pokeball by her waist, and when she let her Bulbasaur out she was more than surprised to see something incredible happening in front of her eyes.

"Bulbasaur, are you...?" She didn't finish her sentence. Bulbasaur's bulb grew in size, sprouting like a red flower, it shifted and changed, glowing with the white light. She did not expect the change to come so suddenly - after all, she never witnessed an evolution.

When the glow finally subsided, the Bulbasaur was no longer the tiny frog-plant she wanted for such a long time. It looked similar, yet tougher, and the bulb was now a crimson flower.

"Ivy... saur!" It said.

"Ivysaur, seed Pokemon. There is a bud on this Pokemon's back. To support its weight, Ivysaur' s legs and trunk grow thick and strong. Exposure to sunlight adds to its strength. Sunlight also makes the bud on its back grow larger. "

Instead of feeling happy, Clover suddenly felt disappointment. Maybe it was her residual feelings due to observations she made, but her heart sank. Pokemon in front of her was no longer the Bulbasaur she coveted for such a long time.

"Ivy...?" It was confused.

"Bulbasaur, I mean Ivysaur, return!" She pressed the button on her Pokeball but Ivysaur refused to go back, avoiding the beam.

"Ivysaur! Ivy, Ivy!" It argued.

"What are you- return, now!" She snapped.

Ivysaur looked hurt, yet it still refused to return back to its ball. Thinking its master is hurt, it approached her and nuzzled her hand. Clover plummeted the depths of her inner darkness, however, and she slapped Ivysaur's face away, running to the bathroom.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she crouched in front of the doors, feeling absolutely lost and betrayed. This is unfair. First she hurts her best friend and destroys their friendship, all alone facing her perceived imperfections without anyone to accept them. Now, the only other friend that remained by her side changed to something she did not know.

She gritted her teeth and bawled, not even listening to Ivysaur's cries from the other side of the door. This time, nobody came to dry her tears.

She laid down on the floor of the bathroom for a while in a fetal position, staring at the wall. Ivysaur somehow opened the door, entering carefully.

"Ivy..?" It carefully asked.

"Leave me alone..." Clover uttered.

"Ivy-Ivysaur!" It did not relent.

"I said, leave me alone!" She yelled.

"Ivysaur!" It was now as angry as she was.

"What?!"

Ivysaur did not say anything, regarding her with serious and angry glare. Its chest rose and fell with shallow breath and its pupils narrowed.

"Why are you looking at me like that?! Just leave!" She screamed.

However, it completely rejected her orders, slowly climbing the toilet. She kept the blinds shut to keep the sunlight out, and it hit them with the tip of the muzzle. Sunlight bathed it and Ivysaur did not move or run away. It looked afraid, yet it didn't flinch.

"Ivy, Ivysaur!"

"Stop this! Don't force yourself just to prove your point!"

Ivysaur still did not move.

"I don't need any help! Leave!" She cried out.

Ivysaur remained motionless, giving her a hard, cold stare. Clover totally lost it.

"You know what? You're the reason I'm miserable! I've had a great thing going on in my life, a friend, everything I ever wanted. And then, then you had to go all out on that frickin' Squirtle, making Gary hate me! But it was not enough for you, oh no! You changed, just to spite me, and now look at you! I don't even know what you are!"

Ivysaur's eyes widened in pain. It looked at her for a split second before its eyes filled with tears and it bawled, jumping down from the window, running out of the room.

"That's right! Run away! That's all you ever do!" she screamed. However, Ivysaur left and it did not return back. After the dust settled, Clover almost broke. Realization what she did slowly creeped up on her. Ivysaur was one of her rare friends and she just went all out on it. There was no way she could be forgiven now!

She fell on her knees, weeping, her forehead hitting the ground. She couldn't move on anymore, the whole world seemed to come at an end. However, she found out a certain spite growing inside her. There was no merit in staying down and letting it all end.

"I'm the worst idiot in the whole world. You deserve to hate me, Ivysaur, and Gary. However, I won't let it all end here. I'll make things right… I have to."

"Have you seen Ivysaur?" she asked a woman with a baby.

"No, I haven't. Have you lost your Pokemon?" woman was curious.

"Yes, it ran away. Who can I talk about it?"

"Well, I suppose you could go to the police station. There is a suspicious activity around Mountain Moon and they've had reports of stolen Pokemon all over. Maybe they'll know."

"Thank you!"

Police station in Pewter situated itself below the hills surrounding the town. As with many buildings in this town, it showed the main source of income for the town, and it was the quarry. Just like gym, it looked as if made from stone. However, Clover did not exactly have time to admire the architecture. She stepped in, looking for anyone who could help her.

"Beanstalk!" she heard a familiar voice.

"By all the… Leaf! What are you doing here?!"

Leaf looked down, scratching her neck.

"Something terrible has happened. My Pikachu was stolen. I caught it in the Viridian Forest not long after you left, and while we were sleeping somebody took the Pokeball away."

There was something else about Leaf's demeanor. It was visible in the way she touched her neck, a small stutter here and there, shuffling of feet. Clover knew her friend – there was something she didn't say.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Leaf? You wear your heart on your sleeve, it's not hard to tell when you're hiding something."

"Well, I'm not hiding anything! Do you think I would do that to you, Clo? You're almost like a sister to me! Anyway, why are you here?" she asked. Clover still wasn't convinced, but she decided to drop it: for now. Thus, she decided to answer her question instead.

"My Ivysaur… ran away. I'm trying to look for it."

Leaf's face lit up.

"It was your Pokemon then? Red and I saw Ivysaur running towards the Mt. Moon, crying its eyes out. We were curious, but with our current issues did not pursue it."

As they talked, another officer Jenny appeared out of the backdoor, regarding them with worried stare.

"Another kid with a stolen Pokemon?" she asked.

"No, officer. Her Ivysaur ran away. It went towards Mt. Moon."

"Well, missie, we have good news then. The thief that stole your Pokemon indeed belongs to Team Rocket. He's at Mt. Moon as well. Both of you can go there. You can find your stolen Pikachu there, and the young lass can find her Ivysaur too."

"Oh, thank you! We'll go right now, won't we, Beans?"

"Yes, of course… I hope it won't be too late."