Chapter 14

First Lessons

Ruby was hanging her head as Tide's father began talking. The old carracosta was fuming mad.

"YOU TWO RAN OUT OF CLASS!" Wake shouted.

Jed was in the room as well and tried to interject with "that youngen needed help though, shouldn't we consider that when…." Jed was cut off almost immediately.

"QUIET! I am Tide's parent and have been ever since I found him! Wake scolded. "You ran out, completely disregarding your safety, and you were foolish enough to follow her!"

Wake rambled on for almost an hour before finally allowing Jed and Ruby to leave.

They arrived back at Jed's house as the Nuzleaf sighed, saying, "sorry about that….old Wake is set in his ways. Personally, I reckon you did nothing wrong, I explained that to Ellen, and she agreed."

Ruby nodded, then said, "that's why you went to the town square for a but"

"Not entirely; there's something else," Jed began, causing Ruby to frown.

"My Ma's sick, so I'm gonna go tend to her for a bit; I'll be gone for a week or two," Jed admitted.

Ruby nodded and said, "I'll come with you!"

Jed shook his head and explained, "she's got a thing against fire types, so you'll stay here. I talked to Rick and Leaf; they'll mosey on over every now and then to check on you."

Ruby bowed her head and said, "ok, what will I eat?"

In response, Jed turned around and pulled a bag of coins out of a drawer, saying, "this I'll be enough to buy food for ya'll, go to the cafe and tell Alice. She'll fix you up."

Ruby nodded and asked, "anything else I need to know?"

Jed shook his head and replied, "nope, I ain't got an issue with you going around exploring as long as you're careful; just keep the place neat and tidy, and be sure to go to school."

Jed departed after teaching Ruby how to use the deadbolt via a small metal chain she could pull with her teeth.

Blake was standing atop Sharpedo Bluff swinging gambol shroud when Blaze arrived.

The Mewostic sheathed her sword and gave a respectful look, standing firm.

"Ease up; I'm not gonna be hard on you," Blaze assured her. The Infernape sat down his treasure bag and took off the silver bracelet on his arm.

Blake relaxed slightly as Blaze drew his sword and said, "a blade is an extension of your body; it obeys your commands and is a tool for you to use. It is not solely for harm; it should be used for defense first and foremost."

Blake nodded and asked, "who taught you how to swordfight?"

"A pair of Pokémon by the name of Ran and Shaw, they perfected two styles of swordplay but found few Pokémon willing to learn it. Despite having claws, their skills with a blade are unmatched."

Blake nodded but stayed silent, getting a chuckle from Blaze.

"Not much of a talker, more of a listener. You sure remind me of Alex when we first met" Blaze said, clearly looking back on fond memories.

He then took Blake through some basic exercises involving clashing swords in seven different positions at increasing speeds. After an hour of practice, Blaze said they were done, and the two sat down in the grass.

As they relaxed, Blaze handed Blake a small cup of water and said, "good start, no need to rush, though. Taking lessons slow will allow it to stick more."

Blake happily accepted the drink; she then noticed Blaze clicking the silver ring back in his wrist; Blake noticed the gem and asked, "what's that gem?"

The Infernape noticed where she was pointing at and replied, "this a mega stone; I assume you know how evolution works?"

Blake nodded and said, "Jewel told me that when some Pokémon get strong enough, they evolve into a new form, so that's like a fire-stone?"

"Nope, this a mega stone, allowing a Pokémon to evolve beyond their normal limits temporarily. There rare but not impossible to find, but this one is one of a kind," Blaze explained.

"Where are they found?" Blake pressed, interested at the prospect.

"Varies; some are found underground, mostly near other gemstones. A legendary Pokémon we know made mine and Alex's. They are becoming easier to find, but only a select number of Pokémon have mega forms; still, there's always the possibility of more being discovered," Blaze began.

Blake nodded and said, "ok then, is there one for a Meowstic?"

"Not that I'm aware of, if you're ever on mist continent, there's an expert on it. The Granite brother's ruby mine found a bunch of them recently," Blaze mentioned offhandedly.

"Ruby….." Blake repeated as she stared off into space.

Blaze noticed it and asked, "that word seems familiar to you….know why?"

Blake nodded and answered, "yea, but it's just a gemstone. Maybe, someone I knew liked them, but it's probably nothing…."

Alex scowled as he was brought into the infirmary "this better be…."

The former human's agitation vanished instantly as he saw a statue in the shape of a Luxray, the electric type was in a pose like it was getting ready to pounce on something.

Alex's hand glowed white as he held his hand over the stone's surface; he could already sense what was within as Bell arrived. His white matter seemed almost attracted to the frozen Pokémon, but it wasn't affecting it.

Alex had used white matter to heal wounds, but it wasn't working on this Pokémon. White matter was an incredibly rare energy, so much so that Alex was the only Pokémon on the planet that could channel it as far as he knew, and the fact that the frozen Pokémon was immune to it was concerning.

"This Pokémon isn't dead; it's asleep as if someone turned its entire body off," Alex explained.

Bell nodded and replied, "I sense no neural activity, so even if we could unfreeze it, the heart isn't pumping."

Alex nodded and ran his hand along the Luxray's back, trying to get a vision, but nothing happened. For the first time in years, he couldn't get the dimensional scream to activate.

"Something about this is stopping the dimensional scream as well. Is any Pokémon capable of this that you know of?" Alex questioned.

Belle shook her body back and forth. "I checked my research as soon as Fang brought this member of his tribe here. Powerful psychics can freeze Pokémon in place, but the effect only freezes the nervous system, a condition I've deactivated before, no Pokémon has ever shown an ability to turn a Pokémon to stone like this"

Alex looked at the frozen Luxray and said, "then what in the world could have done this?"

Author's Note- It's good to be back!

1. Decided to give some more context to Jed leaving, and why the school staff never bring up Nectar Meadow.

2. Sword training and Psychic training, Blake sure is busy. Her memories have almost started to return...wonder if something can break them loose.

3. The plot is starting to begin, and I can't wait for you all to read the rest.

Leave a review, I desperately want your feedback between uploads on how to improve. Even if there's nothing to say error-wise, leave a review on what you like in the story so far.

Next time- Ruby visits cafe connection while Blake has her first outlaw mission!