2.4.1. Reyes, Part I

"This is Adam Castello reporting live from Sootopolis City," said a wild-eyed brown-haired reporter as noises and explosions raged in the background. "The fight between Pokémon and humans is still going on strong. They have yet to withdraw, changing our minds about what we previously thought was a temporary thing. The casualties are in the hundreds area on both sides as Gym Leader Wallace alongside Gym Leaders Tate and Liza of Mossdeep City work to quell fighting in both their areas. The Elite Four, also, is coming to aid us. Is this the final straw for Trainer-owned Pokémon? Is this the last of the relationship between us? Find out next time on—no, don't come any closer—don't—AGAAH!"

Brendan and his Pokémon watched, stunned silent, as the broadcast ended and the television went to fuzz. Eoin was the first to cry out in outrage, where Azalea tried to calm him, and Kim and Leroy started arguing about Adam Castello's last words. "Guys, guys!" Brendan said, trying to quiet them all. The three of them were getting frustrated and messing up his furniture. "Guys!"

"That's enough!" Reyes shouted, instantly silencing all of them. "Brendan, we're going to help them, right?"

"Help them?" Brendan fell silent for a bit, bringing back the commotion. Reyes silenced them again as Brendan walked around his parents' living room, mussing up his already messy dark hair and wiping his hands on his jeans. Reyes abruptly realized how unreasonable the request was: Brendan was just fourteen, a child in every sense, and he was talking about a rebellion, which nobody seemed brave enough to call it. "Don't get me wrong, I'm terrified for all the people getting attacked, but…"

"We can handle it!" Eoin said.

"Yeah, we can!" Kim and Leroy slapped their claws together. He swallowed, then he looked at Reyes. All of them knew no matter how much the others lectured Brendan, the final say would always be Reyes'.

"Please," Reyes said to him. Brendan scanned his face before nodding.

"Going from eating nachos and watching old movies to savin' the world," he muttered in disbelief, grabbing his backpack and filling it with money, snacks, and healing supplies. "What a jump!" He threw it on and ran to his mother's room while Azalea looked at Reyes with concern.

"Are we sure this is a good place for him to be? It's not an arena with rules like a Gym, Pokémon are actually hurting and…killing humans."

"Our Trainer is tough," Leroy said.

"Toughest," Kim corrected.

"You guys…"

"Azalea, you have to trust in him," Reyes said. "And also believe if he does fall, we'll pick him up as we've been doing. You're the most faithful of us all, don't go wimping out now."

"…You're right." She didn't seem entirely convinced with the situation, but she believed in Reyes' answer. "Let's go be heroes."

It was challenging work securing a train ticket to that side of Hoenn, and when they finally managed to get a hold of one, the station was crammed full of evacuees making their escape. Brendan was visibly unnerved by the sight, but as his Pokémon, Reyes and the others kept him moving forward. It was a long trip from Verdanturf, made even longer by frayed nerves, but they didn't even have to reach Mossdeep: the rebellion had spread in a brief time to Lilycove. They weren't even aware until Brendan walked through the sliding glass doors of the tri-rail and his sneaker landed in a puddle of blood. He jumped away, hands clapped over his mouth, and visually tracked the trail to an alley, where a Shiftry's arm protruded without an attached body.

He groaned with his face taking on a green shade. He blindly moved backwards until he crashed into a metal trash bin and gripped the sides hard enough to turn his knuckles bone white. Right after, he doubled over and started retching.

"What's this?" Eoin pawed at the dirt, sniffing around bits of grey matter peppering the blood. Reyes fought down the bile in his throat and gently grabbed him by the scruff to pull him backwards.

"That's gore, Eoin."

"Gore…?"

Azalea rubbed Brendan's back until he was done, pulling back and dragging a shaky arm across his mouth. Brendan took one look at Reyes' face and frowned, shaking his head furiously.

"What?"

"You're gonna tell me it's too much for me, I should go back, and…I'm not," he said after a moment, his face set with grim determination. "If anything, it helps me realize these people really do need help. I'm staying."

"…If you choose to," he said quietly. Brendan nodded once, paused, then fell to one knee and threw his arms around Reyes, pulling him close. Reyes accepted the embrace without a word before Brendan spoke again with a small, fragile voice.

"Promise we'll make it back okay. All of us."

They had told their fair share of lies to each other before. Reyes told Brendan he looked good with a mullet, and Brendan told Reyes no, he didn't paint Reyes' face in his sleep. But this wasn't a mere prank or white lie: this was a matter of life and death. Both knew it, and both knew there was no straightforward way out once they set foot on the battleground. Yet both remained there at the boundary, still considering an early grave over feigning ignorance for the rest of their lives.

Reyes looked back at Eoin, the first wild Pokémon Brendan managed to catch, and Kim and Leroy, the Zangoose he won from a hotdog eating contest that ended up becoming vital parts to his team, all three of them. Azalea was an Egg given to him by his mother, and he and Reyes had many hours of pleasure watching the awkward Raltz, then Kirlia, try to dance for them. Reyes was nowhere near as memorable by origin, just another of the professor's lab-bred Pokémon to be grabbed during the annual induction ceremony. But as Brendan entered the lab, his eyes never left the very ordinary Treecko, and for the first time in his young life, Reyes felt as if he had real purpose beyond being a tool to win the League. He became an advisor, a parent, a brother, a scapegoat, a test dummy, and a best friend all in one sentence: "Professor? I pick…this one here."

"No," Reyes said. "I won't promise."

He felt Brendan's tears run down his shoulder as he gave a wet laugh. "I didn't think you would."

As Brendan walked through the city they became aware of noise on the shore. He and Reyes took off and found a squad of Officer Jennys and their Pokémon holding back a larger territorial army of Pokémon coming out from boats and from swimming and from flying.

"Reyes, help them!" Brendan said, rooting through his bag for his Pokéballs. Reyes nodded and ran into the fray, leaf blades at the ready. A Swellow swept above him and latched onto his head's leaf with its claws, and he was nearly dragged into the air before he rooted his vines in the ground. He then entangled its wings with his vines and brought it down into the water. He felt some Pokémon jump on his back, then a much larger one followed. His feet sunk into the sand and he fell over on his stomach, immobilized.

"Get offa him!" Eoin yelled before the smell of sulfur filled the air. The Pokémon leapt from his back as the air around them supercharged, Eoin barking up a storm and shooting off electric bolts at any stragglers. Reyes pushed himself to his feet as Eoin grinned triumphantly at him, bouncing back and forth on his paws.

"Yeah, good boy," Reyes said, patting his head. Eoin laughed and leaned into his touch. Reyes saw an Exploud coming up behind him and pulled Eoin out of the way, giving it a punch in the gut. It stumbled back, startled, then he struck it down. "Eoin, I need you to—"

"Watch it!" Eoin pushed past Reyes and released a lightning bolt at a swooping Honchcrow.

"Thanks…"

A sharp cry pierced the air as Kim and Leroy came spinning with Fury Swipes, giving several Pokémon bloody haircuts, and then Azalea pushed them away psychically. She started fretting over Eoin and Reyes almost immediately. "Oh, I hope you two are alright…"

"Yes mom," Eoin said, his tongue coming out as she scratched behind his ear.

"You, Eoin, and I stay here. Kim, Leroy, you two help protect the city's borders," Reyes ordered. Kim and Leroy saluted him before turning back and running across the sand. At the city's borders, leaning against the protective barricade put up by the Jennys, Brendan was looking out at them with concern, eyes wide. Reyes raised his fist, trying to assure him that everything would be okay even though he himself couldn't be any less sure of the answer.

It felt like thirty minutes, but then again it also felt like three hours. Reyes wasn't sure how long they had been fighting, but there were now much less Pokémon defending the city than there were attacking it. Bodies littered the ground, human and Pokémon alike; some of them were just unconscious, but more were dead. He was tired, and Azalea was supporting him more much than he'd like, even though she wasn't much of a fighter. Eoin was at his wits' end as well, as he was quick to burn himself out when it came to producing electricity. Reyes felt something gnawing on his leaves and threw his arm forward. A Carvahna flew from his arm into the water, but it had already consumed his leaf blades, and he couldn't focus long enough to perform Photosynthesis.

"We're not going to win," Reyes said, falling on the sand. Azalea created a psychic barrier around them, keeping the other Pokémon at bay, but even that was pushing her limits. Her powers were naturally more defensive than offensive—at most, she could stay on the sides of a fight, speak of the opponent's next move at times, but big battles like that were a great weakness for her.

"Reyes—"

"He's right." Eoin collapsed with his tongue lolling out. "It's, like, three on thirty." The other Trainers were doing a decent job of keeping the rebelling Pokémon's attention, but it was obvious the domestic Pokémon's side was failing. The rebelling Pokémon were getting closer to the barricade, which the Jennys consequently had to push back. One officer was trying to push Brendan back and he fought tooth and nail to stay close. He watched the Pokémon get closer and closer, heart banging painfully against his ribs, then it nearly stopped when he saw a Flying-type sweep down with talons out. Brendan and several other children were in its direct path.

"Lea, let me go!" She dropped the barrier and he pushed off from the ground, then he gave one final jump off a Tangela, using its springiness to launch himself into the air. He seized the Fearow's legs, causing it to veer away from the people and towards the buildings. It squawked angrily and pumped higher into the sky until the battle was far below them. Reyes lost his grip on one of its talons and it lashed at his face, cutting deep grooves and impairing his left eye. He hauled himself up with his other hand and sat on its back, lacing his vines around its neck in a snare trap. He pulled on the vines, forcing the Fearow to start diving.

The ground swelled closer. Reyes realized it seriously had no intent of stopping. He waited a moment to regain his balance before jumping from the Fearow's back (he also saw that it could pull itself back in the air three inches from the ground, to his dismay) and nearly falling on top of the crowd. As he expected, Azalea took hold of him, slowing his descent until he hit the ground lightly. He saw the Fearow come back again and used Razor Wind. The sudden gust threw it off-course back towards the main battle. The Fearow quickly spun around with a war cry, returning to the people, and this time it brought more than a few friends. Eoin and Azalea tried to turn but the lot of them were still occupied by the Pokémon stuck on the ground. Reyes tried coiling his vines like a web around the outer buildings but the birds still easily cut them away.

"Pelipper, use Ice Beam!" a female commanded from somewhere within the crowd. A Pelipper hobbled into the air sluggishly, but the strength of its Ice Beam made up for that tenfold, encasing all two dozen or so Flying-types in a thick coat of it. "Now, Skarmory, Aerial Ace!" A metallic blur raced between all the Flying-types too fast for even Reyes to track, then they shattered into a shower of ice cubes, falling to the asphalt. The crowd cheered as the Flying-types landed and turned in the direction of their Trainer, a tall woman dressed for flight. Reyes recognized her as the last Gym Leader Brendan fought, Winona.

"Everyone, get to safety!" Winona commanded, her Pokémon helping to push the crowd back. "You'll get injured staying here!" The Jennys worked to move the crowds while Reyes searched for Brendan. He was still stationed at the barricade, his fingers gripping the plastic so hard they turned bloodless.

"Reyes…" he said in a shaky voice, his eyes roving across the lifeless bodies.

"We can't do anything about them," Reyes muttered, looking away. He saw Brendan take out their Pokéballs but didn't have the energy to argue. Any longer out there anyway and they would die of exhaustion…or die from something worse. Brendan shifted the Pokéballs around in his hands, trying to figure out which belonged to who, while Reyes was distracted by a peculiar noise that grated his instincts. It went against all fibers of his being, but eventually he did turn to see the source, and it was one of the few things he monumentally regretted in his life.

"EOIN!"

Eoin was wide-eyed and whimpering in pain as the Aggron gripped his head. Azalea was being held back by two Sableye as she tried to run towards him, and Leroy was on the ground trying to rise with Kim wailing for him. The sound, that sound was a skull cracking. Reyes ran back onto the beach, but it felt as if he was being dragged by Arceus itself, getting nowhere as the Aggron's grip tightened, Eoin's cries intensifying—he couldn't look, he just couldn't—Arceus kept his eyes focused—Eoin was wailing now—Aggron laughed—

CRACK!

…

Brendan's team is down to four.

Reyes blinked repeatedly but that image was and forever would be scratched into his eyelids with the roughest of blades. He felt Brendan's arms go around him and became vaguely aware of Pokéballs activating, then they were moving, Brendan practically dragging him along. Reyes' legs moved automatically, but he still had no sense of what was around him. "He's just a kid," he whispered. Brendan made a strangled sound in an attempt to hold his cries back. "He was a kid, he didn't deserve that…"

Brendan took him to the Pokémon Center. It was twice the size of most others considering Lilycove's size, but it was packed with Pokémon going in and out from the battle on the outskirts on top of the usual flow of Trainers. He sat in the lobby, tears still running down his face. Reyes knelt at his side and rested his head on Brendan's lap the same way he had been doing since he was a Treecko, but not as recently since Eoin had occupied the position. "What happens now?" Brendan muttered, working his hair into knots with his fingers. Reyes couldn't tell if he meant Eoin or the rebellion in general, but it didn't matter since either way, they were damned.

The rebellion in Lilycove was much like the common cold: it was severe at first, but was short-lived, as the rebelling Pokémon hadn't organized themselves well enough to continue. Still, the disease was running across waterborne cities with greater strength due to their isolation, and with the rebels gaining strength like a hurricane, it was just a matter of time before they hit Lilycove again with too much force to handle.

There was a memorial ceremony for everybody that perished protecting the city. Since Lilycove didn't have a Gym Leader of its own, it was held by Winona, who managed to get there the fastest to quell the fighting. Eoin was buried in some nameless cemetery with nameless others—no, they weren't nameless, their names had been carved onto a great stone in the center of the city, forever to be remembered as heroes, but Brendan and his Pokémon would just think of Eoin as a pointless casualty in a pointless fight.

Brendan did attend, his Pokémon out, but he was one of the people mourning a tangible loss, and like them, he was quick to escape when the ceremony was over. He retreated into a local park with his Pokémon following, his fists clenched so tightly they were bloodless. "Brendan," Azalea said with brow furrowed. Reyes raised his head slightly and saw her reaching out to touch his arm. He yanked it back almost immediately.

"You can't heal this pain," he said, eyes dark. He then removed his backpack and turned it over, dumping their Pokéballs onto a paved square. Eoin's Pokéball rolled across the pavement and tapped against Reyes' foot. He took out a ball-peen hammer and, before anybody could intervene, smashed Azalea, Kim, Leroy, and Reyes' Pokéballs into bits.

"Brendan!" Reyes exclaimed, feeling his heart turn cold and heavy as stone. He couldn't have been giving them up, could he? Not even as distressed as he was… Reyes couldn't imagine a life without Brendan any more than he could imagine a life without the sun and moon and he was certain the others felt the same. But, when he stepped forward in concern, Brendan gave a furious groan and tossed the hammer as hard as he could. It landed in a stone birdbath, breaking the Taillow figure spitting the water. He sunk on his knees, his jeans getting mud and grass bits all over them, and started to cry. Reyes walked over and put his hands on Brendan's shoulders. With him on his knees, they were an equal height. Brendan sniffled, eyes wide and watery, and Reyes pulled him into a hug. Brendan gripped him back so tightly it hurt.

"Things can't stay this way forever," Azalea whispered. "Can they?" Kim and Leroy exchanged looks.

"I don't have high hopes," Kim said.

"Me neither," Leroy said. "Sad, but true." Azalea knelt to take up the remnants of her Pokéball, then she picked up Eoin's and held both to her chest.

"I pray to Arceus that both of you are proven wrong."

"Oi, you guys," Reyes interrupted. "Just…be quiet."

"I…I'm okay." Brendan sniffed. "'m 'kay…Reyes." That was the first time Brendan ever lied to him and Reyes hated it. He punched Brendan on the crown of his head hard, and when he raised his face Reyes pinched his nose. "Hey! Owowow!"

"Don't do that again." Brendan rubbed his nose and nodded warily. "…I'm sorry that I couldn't protect Eoin."

"Reyes, no, it was far from your fault." Azalea wiped her eyes. "If anything, I should have seen this coming."

"Me and Leroy were playing around too much," Kim said, bowing her head.

"Maybe if we really put our heads in the game," Leroy said, ears flattening and shoulders slumping.

"You guys," Brendan whispered, understanding the basis of their conversation. "There was nothing you could've done… It's my fault as his Trainer. I shouldn't have put him out there cuz he was still so inexperienced. I…" Tears started running down his face again and he visibly lost his train of thought, his expression growing steadily darker. Heartbroken by the sight, Azalea knelt in front of him and clasped her hands to her extended heart. A soft pink aura appeared around her body, then it slowly moved to Brendan's, surrounding him and emitting the soft sound of tin bells. His expression changed as Azalea gave a gasp and fell over.

"Lea!" Reyes caught her before she hit the ground, her skin feeling warm beneath his touch.

"That's all…I can do," she whispered. "The rest is…for you…as his best friend."

"Lea, you're not dyi—"

She laughed softly, her eyes shutting. "Tired… Only tired. My wish for…for Brendan to heal…was a lot… I'm weak, remember?"

"We're kind of useless now," Kim said sheepishly. Leroy patted Reyes' shoulder.

"None of us can affect Brendan like you can, not even with fancy tricks."

"I…understand," Reyes said. "I understand."

Reyes later found out what the Pokéballs meant: Brendan was taking that rebellion far more seriously than they expected him too. It wasn't because he was young, rather they didn't believe he could think that deeply about anything, and having been his Pokémon since the beginning, it wasn't just an assumption. Still, he surprised all of them by constantly tuning into the news channel, watching any reports that he could, and writing half-baked counterattack ideas in his notebook when he had time. He tried to hide them though, and while the others didn't notice, Reyes always did. Though that was as far as Reyes had seen, and it was two weeks before anything more came of it.

Reyes was woken by a loud argument in the living room. He rolled over in his sleeping bag trying to get back to sleep, but the voices persisted. Finally, he crept from Brendan's room and into the hallway, peeking into the room. Brendan was arguing with his mother as she held up the notebook he had been writing in for the last couple of weeks. "You're not going out there and that's final!" she said.

"Mom, I have to do something! People are dying, Pokémon are dying—"

"And you want to die too?" He tried to snatch his notebook back but she held it out of reach. She was usually such a nice and easygoing person, essentially the female version of Brendan down to appearance; seeing her like that was scary. He frowned when he couldn't grab his notebook and his cheeks flushed.

"I can travel all of Hoenn but I can't do this?"

"Hoenn was never explicitly dangerous before this! Pokémon killing people and people killing Pokémon… It's just madness, Brendan!"

"That's why I have to stop it. I have to! Even if all I can do is save one Pokémon, it…it'd be more than I've done here!" Reyes' heart constricted. Her expression changed.

"I miss Eoin too," she set her hand on his head and pulled him closer, "and although the ceremony didn't handle it all very well, he did die a hero."

"It's got nothing to do with Eoin," he said in a clipped voice. "I'm just… I want to help." She held his face forward and kissed his forehead.

"I know you do, but just not like this, alright? because if you die…" For a moment, Reyes could see a sorrow in her eyes he hadn't seen since Brendan's dad passed years ago. He remembered that he wasn't the only one who would suffer if Brendan died: his mother would too, plus all the other people he's met on his journey. Brendan made a small sound in the back of his throat.

"I promise I won't die, Mom." He started back towards his room and bumped into Reyes, who was pressed against the doorway. He stared in surprise as Reyes stared back at him. "You've been listening this whole time?" He sighed, but he didn't sound as pitiful as before, so Reyes easily let him slide to his room. He almost went too before Brendan's mother stopped him.

"Reyes, I know he's your best friend, so do me a big favor," she whispered, holding his gaze. "Make sure that he doesn't do anything reckless, okay?" Reyes nodded. "Please. You never disobey him because you love him so much, but please, just this once?"

"I promise," he told her. Reassured, she retreated to her bedroom, shutting the light off. Reyes passed by the bathroom and noticed that Brendan had left his pajamas in there. He took them up (Brendan didn't like to sleep in his clothes, and he didn't sleep naked because Azalea and Kim counted as girls to him) and started to give them to Brendan, then he noticed the room was empty and the window was open—second story window.

"Damn you," Reyes muttered, setting his clothes on his bed and hopping onto the window ledge. Brendan had used their big Berry tree to climb down to the lawn and was sprinting down the sidewalk with the others right behind him. Reyes wanted to tell his mother but it would take too much time. He felt a loose tear come down and wiped his face—he wasn't going to be gone long…he would just bring Brendan back, yeah. He wasn't going to let Brendan go out on some mindless hero's voyage and nearly kill himself or anybody else, and he wasn't going to let down Brendan's mother, who took just as loving care of him as Brendan had. Nope, he wasn't going to do it.

"Brendan!" Reyes called, chasing after him. That was six and a half years ago.