Chapter 29

After Amy once again lost to Derek in a battle, she was ready to bid him farewell. However, he asked if she wanted to go somewhere with him, like the boy wasn't completely ready to return to his lonely journey. Of course, Amy took the opportunity to spend more time with her rival. The two are currently sitting over a hole in the ground with their legs dangling in it. They can't see the bottom of the hole, but Derek told Amy that it's not a bad drop if they do fall.

"Why do you come here? It's abandoned and scary." asks the girl. Their Pokemon are in their pokeballs after the exhausting battle earlier where Amy narrowly lost.

Derek shrugs. "That's why. No one comes here. I can be alone." Plus, he knows his father won't come in a place like this.

"People don't usually like being alone." notes the girl.

Chuckling, Derek gazes up at the moonlight seeping through the broken ceiling. Brass Tower has been burnt down long before Derek was born. "I'm used to it."

Amy lays back on the ground. She doesn't care that it's dusty and dirty. She just wants to look up at the clear sky too. "You know how you said I grew up rich and happy?"

The boy awkwardly scratches the back of his head. "Uh yeah. I was angry."

Amy shakes her head. "No. It's not your fault. Everyone thinks that just because we have money, then we're happy, but we're not." She glances over at him. "The world knows how Dillon was the delinquent of the Kanto Champion."

"Spoiled brats usually act up for attention."

Amy sighs, but she knows people thought that about Dillon too. "I wasn't happy, Derek. My dad was never home, my mom was sad about him and stressed about Dillon, Dillon was always in jail. I felt lonely."

He finds himself looking over to see Amy is looking up at the sky. "You don't seem like it." She's too positive and strong minded to have grown up lonely. He grew up cold and scared.

"My mom was stressed out trying to keep our broken family together. I couldn't be another burden on her or our family." She looks over where her eyes lock with his dark red ones. "I was scared that if I wasn't good or positive, then it'd really break our family for good." If everyone was rebelling and doing their own thing, then they might as well have not been a family. However, with Amy on Misty's team of trying to keep the family together, that's the strength that managed to hold the Ketchums together.

Derek lets out a breath. "How is your family now?" He watches the news. He knows the Ketchums are a lot better, and he's seen Dillon who doesn't look as angry.

Amy smiles at her rival. "We're good. My dad is home. We have a little brother now. My mom is happy. Dillon is-" She frowns as she recalls her older brother. "He was good. I don't know what happened."

Derek lays down beside her to look back up at the hole in the ceiling. "Maybe you should talk to him?"

Amy chuckles. "Yeah. Dillon's never liked talking to me about his feelings."

"Me too." she curiously looks at Derek. "But it's not too bad now."

Sighing, the girl nods. "I guess, I'm scared. I don't wanna push him away because our family is finally a family. Like what if my questions make him leave?"

"He won't."

"How do you know that?" Derek and Dillon have never interacted.

"Cuz if my mom came back, and my dad stopped drinking, and they were happily married again, I wouldn't want to leave that." Derek shuts his eyes. "She left when I was young. I don't even remember her anymore."

"Der-"

"But if she came back, I'd let her." the boy locks eyes with Amy again. "So don't be scared. Dillon won't go away. He won't risk losing his family again."

She finds herself smiling warmly at him. Who would've thought that the cold mean boy she met in Violet City would be consoling her right now. Although Derek hasn't said much about his family situation, Amy seems to understand why he is the way he is. "Thanks, Derek."

Derek isn't sure why he wants to keep spending time with Amy. Maybe it's because she didn't leave him? She won't leave him. He's had plenty of people leave him, starting with his mother. Even when he told Amy to leave earlier, she didn't. A small smile appears on his lips as he closes his eyes.

"I should get going." Amy sits up. It's late, and she doesn't want her friends to worry. Derek nods with his eyes still shut. When he doesn't get up, Amy asks, "The bed at the Pokemon Center is still available."

He shakes his head. "I like it here." Derek has spent the night in Brass Tower lots of times due to running away from home. He'll camp out here and then leave in the morning when his Pokemon are well-rested.

Amy stands, and Derek sits up where he receives a smile from her. "I guess I'll see you next time."

"You still won't beat me next time." He smirks at her, which surprises Amy.

"You mean?"

He nods and shyly looks down the hole his legs are dangling over. "Yeah...rival…"

Amy tackles him in a hug out of excitement for him acknowledging her as his rival. Unfortunately, that sends them both tumbling into the hole. Like Derek said, the drop isn't that bad, but the wind does get knocked out of him because he cushioned Amy's fall. "Sorry." blushes the girl.

When the two manage to get up, Derek tells her, "Grab my shirt. I know the way up." She expected him to get upset about bringing them down here and landing on him. Plus, she knows his back is already bruised from the item that Derek's father threw at him earlier. Nonetheless, Derek isn't saying anything.

Grabbing his shirt, she lets him lead her through the dark ground. "Thanks, Derek. You're actually really nice."

Derek blushes from the compliment. "You shouldn't worry your friends."

Amy smiles warmly at his back, which she can barely see. Soon, they arrive in an area where they notice it is lit brighter than the rest of the ground. "What is that?" Amy asks in slight fear at the light blue light.

Derek's face is illuminated by the light for Amy to see he is just as confused. "I don't know." He whispers back. They're near the ladder, and this has never happened to him before. To his surprise, Amy shifts to defensively stand beside him.

Behind a large rock, emerges a large blue doglike pokemon. The teens freeze up looking at the majestic Pokemon who stares them down. The stare isn't a hostile one. It's calming. Like the Pokemon isn't scared, and this makes Amy and Derek relax. "I've never seen this Pokemon before." Amy tells her rival.

Her voice breaks Derek out of his daze. Smiling brightly, he quietly breathes out, "It's Suicune." He's heard stories about the legendary dogs coming to Brass Tower, but he's never seen them before.

As quickly as Suicune appears, the dog sprints past them and out of the holes above. Derek looks over at Amy excitedly. "We just saw Suicune!" He's never seen a legendary before. Grabbing Amy's hand, Derek quickly leads the blushing girl to the ladder. "C'mon! Let's follow it!"

Unfortunately, they don't see Suicune again because the dog is too fast. Derek chooses to camp out in the tower where he hopes to see Suicune, though he knows he most likely won't.

Letting out a long breath, Amy watches the boy set up his sleeping bag. She knows she needs to go back to her friends, but she isn't ready to part ways with Derek. This is the first time they've ever gotten along. Will he still be like this the next time she sees him? "Bye, Derek."

The boy curiously looks up at her. He thought she was gone already. Standing up, he walks over to extend a hand to her. "Bye, Amy."

With a blush on her cheeks, Amy shakes his hand. Her brown eyes don't waver from his warm red ones. "I'll beat you next time!"

Chuckling, Derek heads back to his sleeping bag. "I doubt it."

Hoenn

Kaz and his Pokemon are relaxing on a route near the daycare center when his Bellossom exclaims, "Bello!"

Sitting up alertly, Kaz and his Pokemon look at Bellossom who is glaring in the distance. "What is it, Bellossom?"

"Bell bello bellossom bell!"

Curiously following where she's pointing, Kaz and his Pokemon still don't see anything. Sighing, Kaz lays back down with his eyes shut. "I don't see anything." He yawns. It's a beautiful day out, and he's way ahead of schedule, so he wants to continue enjoying the day.

"Bell!" insists the grass type.

Tank gives her an unamused glance. "Blast!"

"Stop arguing!" exasperates their trainer. In a huff, Bellossom storms off towards the direction she was pointing in. Rhyhorn calls over to Kaz who sighs. His Pokemon don't normally act up, especially the serious Bellossom. Standing up, Kaz returns the rest of his Pokemona s he follows Bellossom. "Where are we going?" He could just return her, but he doesn't want Bellossom to get upset. She's one of his strongest Pokemon, so he needs her in a good mood.

"Bell bello!" Bellossom points in the direction she's been pointing in.

"Fine. I'll follow you." Kaz will show Bellossom that there's nothing here, and then everyone can go back to relaxing.

However, they eventually arrive in an empty area. Before Kaz can tell Bellossom that nothing is here, the pokemon shows him a hidden entrance. Rolling his eyes at her smug look, Kaz peeks inside the dark opening. Bellossom enters past him causing Kaz to follow. Just where is his pokemon taking him? He trusts all his Pokemon, but he wishes Bellossom would tell him what's going on.

When Kaz sees some dim lighting ahead, he gets wary. This must be someone's hideout, and he just trespassed. Well, Bellossom did, and he followed his Pokemon. He hopes he doesn't piss off whoever is inside. It's too late because a black ball shoots his way. Fortunately, Bellossom is quick enough to hit the attack away.

"Guess they know we're here." grumbles Kaz as he reaches for a pokeball.

"Bell!" Bellossom cries out, making Kaz groan and stop. Why is she telling him not to attack? They're getting attacked. Granted, they are trespassing, so they deserve to be attacked, though they should be able to defend and explain themselves too.

Another shadow ball attack heads their way, which Bellossom also deflects. Annoyed by the weird situation, Kaz yells out, "We come in peace!"

Fortunately, the shadow ball attacks stop, but he now hears a high familiar snicker. "Are you an alien?" Deoxys is known to be spotted in Hoenn, though Kaz is confused why she asked this question.

"Look, my Bellossom brought me in here, and I don't know why. It was an accident, so we'll be leaving. I'm sorry." Kaz wants no unnecessary problems.

Much to his dismay, Bellossom runs out to the hidden room. "Seems like you can't control your Pokemon." teases the voice inside.

Groaning, Kaz walks into the dimly lit room where his eyes land on Bellossom squaring up in front of a menacing Mightyena. Why is Bellossom picking fights she shouldn't be picking? "Return, Bellossom." Kaz tries to recall his pokemon who ignores him.

"You're trespassing." the feminine voice reminds him.

Glancing in that direction, he sees a teenage girl around his age. She looks familiar, but he can't tell with the black cap covering her face in the dim room. When his eyes land on the heavily injuredPokemon beside her, though, his breath hitches in his throat. "A Grovyle." Kaz whispers, and Bellossom nods. This isn't just any Grovyle. It's the one they had an encounter with in Slateport City a couple of weeks ago. No wonder why Bellossom was so adamant about coming here.

The girl looks up with a smirk on her lips. She recognized his voice and that Bellossom. However, she isn't scared of anyone or anything. It's hard to fear anything when she has nothing to lose. "So we meet again?"

Johto

"Dillon!" Lately, she's been avoiding her temperamental brother, but after her evening with Derek, Amy feels like she can talk to Dillon again. She didn't expect to run into him outside of the Pokemon Center, though Ecruteak City is pretty small. The teen wants to be alone, so he continues walking. Running up next to him, Amy puts a hand on his arm. "Wait up!"

Dillon pulls away. "Leave me alone."

Furrowing her brows angrily, Amy blocks his path. "No way! You need to stop moping and being angry at the world!" Dillon's intense glare makes Amy shiver, though she will remain tough. If she could get through to Derek, then she can get through to her brother. "I know you didn't see Aurora when you went to her gym."

How does everyone know this? Dillon thought no one saw him but Pachirisu. However, if Pachirisu told Aurora, she would've called him already. Pachirisu wouldn't call Amy, especially Jane. "Mind your own business."

"No!" exclaims Amy. "You're my brother! You are my business!" Her eyes gloss over painfully. "I always wanted an older brother, and I thought I finally got one, but you've turned back to the old Dillon!"

"I've always been this Dillon. It's who I really am." he walks past her to no avail as she grabs him again.

"If you don't tell me what's going on, I'm gonna tell Aurora you were there. I'm gonna find out why you left." threatens the girl, adding to Dillon's anger.

"I told you to mind your own fucking business." He seethes.

Amy glares right back at him. She won't back down. In the past, she was scared of him. Their family was already so broken that she didn't want to piss him off and break it more. Plus, the way Dillon didn't care about anyone or anything made it hard to reach him. Now, Amy knows Dillon values their family too much to lose them again. Also, a good way to reach him is through Aurora. Aurora can reach Dillon in ways no one else can, even their mother.

"Why didn't you see her?" Amy knows how much he cares for Aurora, so she's very concerned he didn't see her.

Moreover, with Aurora not knowing he was there just worries Amy more. Dillon misses his friends a lot, and he misses Aurora the most. Since he went all the way to her gym, he should've spent time with her, but he didn't. He came back to Johto angry, so Amy wants to make sure her brother is okay. Something big must've happened to make him leave Kanto so abruptly, and leave Aurora too.

When Dillon doesn't respond, though he's quit walking, Amy softly asks, "Dillon?"

With his gaze to the side, the boy mutters, "I don't wanna talk about it."

Sighing, Amy nods. She understands, else he would've said something earlier. "Then can you at least be nicer to us again? Jane doesn't know this Dillon, and I want my big bro back."

He shrugs. "I hate faking things, Amy."

"So you're saying you were faking everything back in New Bark Town? In Cherrygrove? In Azalea? In Goldenrod before you left? That was all a lie?"

He glances up to meet her eyes. "No. That wasn't a lie."

"But it'll be a lie for you to be nice to us again?" inquires the confused girl.

"It'll be a lie for me to act like life is okay when it's not."

"Why?" Amy insists. "Is it because of mom and dad? Is there something I should know?" Dillon used to get so angry over their father. If Ash has resorted back to his old Champion ways, then of course Dillon would be upset. It'd also make sense as to why no one will say anything to Amy.

He shakes his head. "Mom and dad are fine." Sighing, Dillon shuts his eyes. "Please don't make me explain myself."

"Then please be nice again, Dillon! You don't have to talk to us, but at least respond when we talk to you. At least be nicer! We won't question you!"

"No. I said if I'm feeling angry, that's how I'm going to express myself."

"But we don't deserve it! We're not the ones making you angry!" the furious girl shouts. "It's Aurora, and I don't know why! I'm gonna call her!"

"You won't." Dillon narrows his eyes at her. "Leave her out of this."

"Why should I? You won't! She's the reason you're like this!"

"Which is why you need to leave her out of this." Dillon sidesteps his sister. "If you tell her, I will stop traveling with you and Jane."

Glaring at his retreating figure, Amy yells, "I'd rather not travel with you than travel with an angry Dillon!"

"And then I'll be angry at you." Dillon seethes. "Don't break up our family again, Amy." It aches his chest using this threat. This is his family he is talking about, but he really needs Amy to leave him alone. He'll cool down eventually. He just needs time and space. He knows that Jane and Amy don't deserve this treatment, but he isn't going to move through life like a lie.