4 Years Later:
Decided to give it a try again.
The excitement on the bus ride back to the Pokemon Center near the airport was palpable between the four of them as they each shared play-by-plays of their respective battles with Fantina. Edric found his leg uncontrollably bouncing as he playfully debated which of their Pokemon had grown the most in the last few weeks before they finally decided on Hart's Fraxure, who had apparently taken out all three of Fantina's ghost Pokemon solo.
As the bus came to a stop and the four of them exited, Edric's phone rang with a text from Peter. As he unlocked his phone, he also realized he'd missed one from his father as well. He sent off a quick response to Peter and put his phone away without checking on his dad, telling himself he'd have Ethan remind him later.
As the bus pulled out of sight, Edric inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Where to now, yall?"
Hart pulled up a map on his phone as they milled about. "Well, there are a couple options here. Since it's about November soon, there are a couple that could probably be ruled out. I can't really imagine you guys are up to making the trek to Snowpoint City quite yet?"
Edric and Emily both shook their heads at once.
"Yeah, same. It's a little too northern for me. Perhaps we could look at it once the weather is warming up for the spring again." He tapped a few buttons on his phone screen.
Ethan piped up, "I think I've done my fill of flying for now anyway. Perhaps somewhere closer we can walk to?"
"Well that would leave two options for us then," Hart said. "We can head Northeast to Veilstone City and then take a trip south to Pastoria, or we could head Southeast to Pastoria then directly North to Veilstone. We're going to be hitting the same two places regardless. There are some differences with travel, but they're pretty small for the most part; Same amount of travel time and all that. The weather is obviously going to be slightly warmer if we go south but not by much since autumn is going to be coming in soon."
"Well isn't the next tournament supposed to be hosted in Veilstone?" Emily asked. "Cause if that's the case, I think we would definitely want to hit Pastoria first to get the next badge before then. We only need four to compete if I recall correctly, but we might have a bit of an upper hand with experience if we manage to get five..."
She made a face at Edric, mocking him and adding "Could also be good for press, Champ. We know how much you love to make an appearance."
Edric gave her the finger and blew raspberries. "Someone's gotta do all the work, Miss Fifth Place."
There was a slight grimace on her face and she seemed to begin to retort before she turned, adjusting the straps on her backpack. "Anyway, that seems like the best idea to me; Pastoria City, then due north to Veilstone City. All in agreement?"
Edric's agreement was echoed by the other two boys and they began walking South toward the city gate.
–
The sun was just falling below the treeline when they decided to stop walking for the day and head to camp. They all had agreed that after so many weeks of not traveling on foot it was best for them to take it slow to steadily get back into the groove of things. They made a small encampment on the side of the main walking road to have dinner.
Much to Edric's dismay, the amount of young trainers, local and foreign to Hearthome City, had not let up in the past month or so they had been off the beaten path. The walking roads were still packed with people of many different ages, most a lot younger than him but there was the occasional mid-twenties group of trainers. Most of the older one's seemed to stay to themselves for the most part. The younger aspiring League Champions are what caused most of his exasperation in traveling this way. They seemed to be always ready to put their foot in their mouths when it came to speaking to him, and they always wanted to speak to him. He found himself being randomly approached at least 4 times in the space of 5 hours he had been on the road.
"I saw you on TMBN last night on one of the replays! They didn't have you there for long, maybe like 10 seconds, but I recognize you." One kid with messy blonde hair said excitedly, coming uncomfortably close to spraying Edric with saliva through braced teeth. "And I think they showed part of your interview too!"
He heard Emily snort and mumble something to his side as the kid bounced up and down in front of him.
Eventually, the kid went back home and let the four of them rest for the night, but Edric couldn't help but log on to the TMBN website once he was sitting in front of the campfire after sundown. As the page loaded, one of the first images was a live leaderboard of the current newcomer Pokemon Trainers and there, at the top, was Edric's full name. A quick scroll down the leaderboard led him to find his other three traveling companions scattered about, but there he was, Edric Ryerson, at the top of the list. He tapped his name and it opened a new page. It looked at first to be a Trainer Card. His picture was there, the picture he had taken for his ID Card a few months ago, but there were obvious blank spaces where it looked like information would be filled in. There were some bits and pieces of information about where he was from and his tournament placing but for the most part it looked like it hadn't been updated in a while.
"They'll probably update them in a few weeks for the tournament." Ethan said, looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah…" Edric said, trailing off. Deciding he was done, he closed the page and stood. "I'm going to go make a phone call and go for a walk."
–
His father answered after the third ring. Immediately, Edric noticed a change from his father's usually bright voice. "Hey, Son. How's it going?"
"It's going good, Dad. Good to be back out here again. We all won against Fantina for our Rematches." Edric responded. "Sorry I couldn't return your call earlier. I think you called when I was in the gym still…" There is a beat before he adds "How are you?"
"Well…" He hears his father start. There is a short pause and he hears someone else mumble something in the background of the call, someone familiar. His father makes an annoyed noise before he comes back to the phone. "I'm at Gio's for the weekend."
Edric knew all too well what that meant. His father never went to his Uncle Gio's house willingly for any reason other than holidays and to watch the League Championship matches on his big TV. His mother had had another episode. He grimaced, knowing all too well of his mother's unwarranted wrath. "Are you okay? She didn't do anything?"
"No. I'm alright. She's just upset because I came home a little later than usual when she had plans. I told her I was sorry, but you know how she gets. She'll calm down by the end of this weekend and I'll be back in the house."
There is another, much larger pause between them. Edric's jaw clenches and unclenches as he fears repeating the same conversation he's had with his father for the past 3 years. "Dad…" He starts.
"I don't want to hear it, Ed. She's been getting better recently and I don't need your negativity right now. She's working on it." His father speaks sternly, although there is a slight wavering in his voice. Edric knows that quirk, he's been crying. Memories of his father, alone in the spare bedroom in the late hours of the night, softly sobbing over his broken relationship flood back to Edric's mind. He bites back an annoyed growl, pauses, and attempts to regain control of his temper. He realized long ago that he cannot remember a time where they were happy with each other, but they still seemed to be holding onto this idea that they needed to keep this marriage intact.
"Dad, you've been saying she's getting better and working on it for years now. Have you maybe began to consider that she isn't?"
The other side is silent for a minute, Edric looks around and into the mostly navy blue sky above him. Slowly his dad repeats, "She's working on it, Ed. She is. We both just have to give her the time and space that she needs to figure her anger out. In the meantime, I will remain patient with my wife; Your mother. What is going on here is between us and has been going on since before you were born."
Edric takes a deep breath again and is silent as his Father's demanding tone peels away his defenses. He knows he's probably tired of arguing tonight anyway. Edric feels a bit of a pang of remorse before it fades in the white noise of the call.
His father's sigh reflects his. There is another pregnant pause between the two of them where Edric is kicking up dirt at his feet.
"Today I learned from a random kid on the street that I'm apparently the number 1 rookie trainer in Sinnoh. He just walked up and told me. I was apparently on TMBN last night." Edric said, attempting to break the ice.
He was happy to hear his father chortling on the other line briefly, then he leans away from the phone and Edric hears him call to Gio. They exchange a few remarks and he hears Emily's dad's raspy voice answer "I recorded the interview on the TV!"
"Of course he knows about it already, Ed. It's the only thing he watches over here. Gio's still such a trainer at heart, although he absolutely was never good at it when we were ten." His father muses.
"I could say that to Emily and she'd rip my throat out. She talks constantly about getting all her talent from Gio." He laughed, adding "Watch it and tell me what you think. Apparently Emily and this random kid thought I had a way with words.
"I will, son." In the background, there is more speaking with Gio about bringing his father into the living room. His father waves Gio off. "I don't need to watch that to know you kind of do, Edric…"he says, much to Edric's dismay. "Where are you guys headed to next and do I need to be afraid you'll talk your way into another secret prison camp?"
He updates his father on the party's decision to head south in hopes of the warmer weather. His father laughs at the part about having Emily suggesting they have more gym badges than needed to enter the next tournament. Saying something like "That's just like her father." and then waving off his brother's annoyed goads in the background.
"Do you all have plans for the winter months, then? Your mother expects you to be home for the holidays."
"We haven't really thought about that part quite yet, I think. We've just came from Kanto and I feel like everyone's mind is maybe off of vacation for at least the next few weeks. I'll bring it up once we reach Pastoria City, I think." Edric said, running his hands through his messy hair.
"Well I think I may have a gift or two for you and Ethan once you both get home. I've been working extra hours at the lab and I… uh…" He pauses, and when he speaks again his voice is a little hushed. "I think my boss is maybe going to give me a promotion soon."
Edric stops kicking dirt up, his eyebrows raising. "Oh? That's great to hear, Dad! That'd make you the lead researcher, right?"
"Yes, it would. My team all voted and decided that I deserved it the most, but I can't necessarily say it's been easy. Glad everything is looking to pay off soon, though."
"So am I, Dad." Edric says, then pauses and adds. "I just wish she would realize how lucky she is to have someone willing to put up with her sh-"
Edric is abruptly cut off with his Dad's annoyed groan. "Edric, I'm doing fine. Fucking drop it already and let me handle it."
He suppresses a retort and clenches his fist a little hard. One of the things that annoyed him most about his father and by extension, himself, was how stupidly stubborn they could be sometimes. After a beat, Edric attempts to change subjects again. Eventually, the conversation turns back to Edric's personal health and his travels again before Edric figures it's time for him to return to camp. His father gives him another once over, asking if his head is feeling back to normal and his wrists fully healed. He runs through a quick series of affirmatives and goodbyes before hanging up.
He takes another deep inhale-exhale as he takes a moment to examine his surroundings and realizes that during his conversation he seems to have walked quite a ways away from where his friends had set up camp. It's quiet out here as the sun has completely disappeared and the night has taken the road. Under the streetlamps, Edric does not see any people walking about. He shivers as a cool breeze touches the back of his neck and he begins walking.
3 minutes pass with Edric walking down the road alone and he realizes all the camps he's sure he passed on the way through here are all of a sudden gone, and he has been walking down an empty road for several minutes now. He pulls out his phone again and taps the screen lightly to awaken it, but nothing happens. He holds the power button down and the phone once again remains completely black as though it had just died.
"I swear this thing was at least half-full before I-" He mumbles under his breath as he taps his screen impatiently. He tries to hold the button down again then gives up. A chill runs over him again and he shivers, looking up from his phone screen and nearly choking on his own spit as he no longer recognizes his surroundings.
The streetlights have gone completely black, leaving no light to see even his own body in the darkness. Instinctively, he throws his arms out around him in order to try to reach and touch something but he finds nothing there. "Hello!?" He shouts. His own voice shouts back as it echoes off of something he cannot see in the darkness. As he stands there, his eyes adjust to the sudden darkness and he feels a presence there with him. He squints, and in the distance he sees something there, something writhing, shimmering and clouded in black. As he stares, it moves closer to him, pulsing and moving in a bizarre zig-zag pattern. His hand next travels to his belt but there is nothing there, no Pokeballs attached. He curses and turns in the darkness, moving to run the opposite direction of the shimmer.
Edric's entire body locks up as he turns and meets two giant blue eyes cloaked in the darkness, they hover 7 feet off the ground, disembodied in the pitch black. Each eye focused straight at him, he thinks to scream in shock but the thought never makes it to his mouth. The eyes paralyze him where he stands, their piercing vibrance seeming to glimmer in the eerie darkness. They stare directly at Edric, into him, through his head and out the other side. The eyes shift slightly in a way he cannot desribe, almost like they're expressing. He hears a deep, musky voice say a word in a language he does not understand. He has no idea if it's coming from him or the creature, but a split second later he hears his voice respond in the same language. He does not feel his lips move or his throat stress as the words leave his mouth, but he somehow knows it is him. As he finishes speaking, the eyes before him blink, seeming to accept whatever answer he gave and disappear before him. Edric stares into the darkness in confusion and fear, wanting to say something but unable. He closes his eyes tight, wanting to wake up.
–
When Edric opens his eyes, he's laying in his own tent next to Ethan, who is sound asleep. His breath seems to come at labor and theres a chill on his skin from sweat. He sits up and rouses Ethan, who to his surprise is staring back at him, brown eyes wide in the dim light of the tent.
"I just had a terrible dream." Edric says, the words catching in his throat a bit. He swallows and his saliva coats his dry throat.
"I can tell…" His boyfriend responds. His hand comes up to meet Edric's forehead and Edric feels static connect between the contact and flinches. Ethan withdraws his hand and makes a face, sitting up too. "You alright? You said something in your sleep. I couldn't tell what it was. Sounded kinda like gibberish."
Edric shakes his head slowly and uses the hem of his shirt to wipe his brow. He makes a concious attempt to slow his breathing and soon he feels back to normal again. After a beat he feels Ethan's hand on his head again.
"You don't seem super hot or super cold, so I think you're fine for the most part. You should try to get some sleep."
"Yeah… You're right. Let me just go to the bathroom and get some air."
Edric zips on a light hoodie as Ethan lays down again and moves toward the tent opening. As he unzips it, a thought occurs to him, and he leans back over toward his clothes and grabs a Pokeball from his belt.
When he makes it out onto the road, the streetlights are on and the moon is shining in full force. Edric looks around warily, still a little shocked from the dream. After a few seconds, deciding things are normal, he releases his death grip on the Pokeball and takes a deep breath again. He spends a few minutes looking into the sky before he returns back to camp, sighing deeply with relief.
