AN: For anyone that's still confused.
Charlie= male Farfetche'd Charlotte=female Farfetche'd Tess=female Poliwhirl Jack=male Cloyster Chester= Gyarados
Chapter-8
The morning of our departure was rushed as expected. Dad was hysterical as he rushed everyone to get ready faster all the while complaining that we would miss the caravan back to Azalea Town. The journey back was sort of awkward as Heart and Soul were like fire and water and refusing to get along with each other but they both still tried to pull me into their side. It wasn't easy being the middle man and staying neutral, thinking about what the future would hold for me if things didn't change made me shudder.
We dropped Heart off at her place and headed to our house. We were surprised to find that the house was neater than we expected it to be, I knew Mom wasn't all that much conscious of having a clean environment from the couple of times I'd seen her lab in the background of our video calls but she had seemingly tried her best in order to welcome Soul into the family. We threw a small party at home that evening to welcome him into the family and although he put up the image of being completely indifferent to everything I saw the occasional smile break out on his face when he thought no one was looking. There was one more surprise as Mom said she was able to apply to work from home till the end of this summer since there wasn't anything critical that needed her personal attention. Mostly I think she tried so hard in order to help Soul adjust into the family.
Over the next couple of days, Soul adjusted to his new surroundings really quickly, even the transfer procedure to enter him into the same class as me went without a hitch. I guess it was to be expected seeing as he had a Unique Innate Skill called [Flow]. Looking at this skill let me appreciate how diverse they were, its effects were-
High adaptability of user (stats and physical ability quickly readjust as per environment).
High resistance to toxins and other substances that negatively affect the body.
Psyche Stream- State of mind has severe impact on physical body, agitation and similar emotions result in 30% increase of physical strength capabilities, serenity and similar emotions offers 30% increase in cognitive capacity, fright, worry and other emotions offers 30% increase in agility and reflexes.
Its effects in a Pokémon battle include-
Your Pokémon are 50% less likely to be affected by status conditions due to high resistance.
Your Pokémon will optimise stats to best counter your opponents and gain a 10% all-round boost from weather and terrain changes irrespective of typing also Pokémon take no damage from weather and terrain changes.
All in all a very powerful skill that had many applications. He was sort of uncomfortable when he heard of my skill especially when I mentioned the effects of Prying Eye but he got around to it really fast. This made me realise once again how broken my skill was, nobody liked it when their secrets were seen through.
Needless to say that he joined in on our daily routine into the forest much to the disapproval of Heart but she gave out in the end. Dad was worried over the next couple of weeks and didn't let us wander too far like usual for the benefit of Soul. At first I found Soul's general interaction with Pokémon to be a little harsh, he could be quite cruel at times especially to the weak ones. Seeing this Dad and I had a feeling that his experience with thugs out on the streets had a big influence on him so we tried our best to help him get over that phase. My wild Pokémon friends also understood and didn't really retaliate against him too violently. One night about ten days after he joined our family I asked him why his attitude tended to be nasty at times to which his reply was-
"There's no right or wrong; only the strong and the weak, if you're weak then you have no right to complain about whether something is unfair."- With a statement like that I knew it would be difficult. So over the next few days I took it upon myself to show him that kindness could in itself give rise to great strength and that it was better to fight with the aim to be able to look after your loved ones than to fight with rage and hate. Everything said and done he still didn't seem all that convinced even after I showed him that being polite and caring can also let you get closer to more People and Pokémon and that can give you a lot of strength and you need not be alone all the time either. Finally one evening in our back yard I decided to use his logic against him, I asked Dad to lend me his Pokémon so I could have a battle with Soul; needless to say he lost miserably. Even when he said it was Charlotte's fault for being too weak and proceeded to borrow Mom's Pokémon he still lost, even Chester couldn't save him from his losing streak.
When he seemed lost on what to say I told him-"Going by what you said I am right since I am strong, so it stands to reason that what I've been trying to tell you all along is also right whereas you are wrong. You were in the wrong when you said it was ok to be cruel to those who are weak. You were wrong when you said the weak were trash and should be abandoned." When I got to there, he seemingly couldn't take it anymore and ran off. I was left there with a blank expression wondering if maybe I was too harsh."Sage..."- I heard an ominous voice as Mom was going to chew me out any moment now but Dad hurriedly cut us short saying that the important thing right now was to find and bring Soul back safely. So we gave some Medicines to the Pokémon and restored their health and have them aid our search.
We discovered traces of him leading into the forest which caused Mom to panic all the more and throw one more glare at me before we decided to split up so we could cover more ground. Dad sent Charlie to scout by air while Tess accompanied me and Mom and Dad each left with Jack and Charlotte respectively. As I moved through the forest I tried to get some help from some of the wild Pokémon.
Meanwhile in some other remote part of the forest Soul was rushing forward blindly. His eyes were sort of red and there were some dried up tear tracks on his cheeks. He kept muttering to himself-"They're all the same, every last one of them... Just picking on the weak. If you're not strong you're nothing." He angrily kicked a stone on the ground with all his might and it flew straight up into a tree. Moments later the leaves of the tree began to shake violently and a swarm of Beedrill came rushing at Soul.
Soul only paused for a moment before he frantically ran in the opposite direction cursing his luck. It didn't take him long to realise that he was lost in the forest with no one to help him. The Beedrill were quickly catching up to him, how fast do you expect a normal 7 year old to run anyway. He quickly changed direction just as a Beedrill dove at him.
Fortunately on his newly selected path one of the Caterpie I was friendly with was roused from its sleep and spotted him from up on its perch. Seeing Soul in danger it roused some of its other friends from nearby and rushed to intercept Soul and Beedrill. All in all Caterpie gathered a bunch of its friends which included a few more Caterpie, some Paras and an Oddish, they soon picked up the pace when they discovered that Soul was heading straight for a cliff concealed behind some shrubs. All the Caterpie hurriedly used String Shot in a bid to slow the Beedrill and it sort of worked as they were slowed by the silk tangled around the trees like a web but they were persistent in their chase, the Paras and Oddish used Sleep Powder as soon as they got in range but Soul in his panic didn't notice soon enough to stop and jumped over the shrubs. Looking out over the edge with nothing to break his fall Soul nearly passed out but no sooner had he fallen down more than a dozen metres that he found his descent brought to a sudden halt thanks to a bunch of sticky silk strands that had caught him. When he calmed down enough to look up he was shocked to see that nearly half a dozen Caterpie were at the edge of the cliff and had used String Shot to catch him.
Eventually with the help of the Paras and Oddish combined, the Caterpies managed to hoist Soul up to safety. The Caterpie that first spotted him slowly approached him to check if he was alright, Soul although pretty shaken up and with a few bruises here and there was alright. The Caterpie gently nuzzled up to his arm to show that it was glad it made it in time. Soul was momentarily shocked as he stared at Caterpie and its friends, they were all Pokémon he used to consider as weak and trashy but now they had held off a swarm of Beedrill and saved him, he slowly reached out his hand and started stroking the Caterpie next to his arm. The others seeing this all approached closer as well and Soul in a sort of lost manner started to gently pat and stroke all of them, suddenly what Sage had said to him and all the interactions Heart, Sage and his new Parents had with Pokémon came to mind and he started to re-evaluate himself on his behaviour and approach.
After some time Caterpie moved away from him and started to make some gestures as if asking Soul to follow it. Soul snapped out of his contemplations and decided to follow; he was soon led to a well trodden path and was eventually spotted by Charlie. It was only a matter of time before the whole family arrived at his location. Mom rushed up to him as soon as she spotted him and started fussing over his dishevelled state as she started to pat the dust off his clothes and picking at the leaves and brambles stuck in his hair, Dad heaved a sigh of relief.
"You really had all of us worried sick. I'm really sorry about what happened before... and you know if there is any way I can make it up to you just let me know."- I apologise as I was feeling really guilty. Anyway you look at it, it was my fault pushing Soul too hard in the first place that got us into this mess so I really wanted to make it up to the guy, maybe I could give him some of my custom made Poke balls later on or something.
"I was so worried, its good that you're safe... its good that we found you so soon."- Mom kept fussing over him and he was starting to panic again for a completely differently reason as he was clearly not used to this sort of treatment.
"Kid you had all of us really worried there, don't you ever do something like that ever again. We don't even let Sage wander about alone in here especially at this hour, its a miracle that we found you before something bad happened."- Dad says in a half relived- half admonishing tone.
"We...Well i-it was all thanks to these guys that I was safe."- Soul points to the Wild Pokémon clustered close by. Upon further questioning he recounts the entire series of events that transpired right from where he was chased by the Beedrill and lost his was to how those Pokémon by his side rescued him and brought him to this path safely.
Mom was having fits when Soul mentioned being chased by the swarm of Beedrill and nearly falling off a cliff. That was the absolute last straw, both Soul and I were grounded with no desserts for the rest of the week and Mom was even reconsidering letting us go to Pokémon Summer Camp.
Dad eventually calmed her down and said we should all head home first. Before we left though I was surprised to see Soul bend down and pet all the Pokémon that helped him, my Parents and I watched as he sincerely thanked them before standing up and saying goodbye to them as he left with us.
"..."-I was staring hard at Soul as his recent behaviour really stunned me.
"What are you staring at?"- Soul eventually snapped at me.
"Nothing, its just, are you really Soul Reese, the one I remember would in no way treat Pokémon like that especially the "weaker trashy" ones."- I muttered.
"*humpf* Don't call them weak and they are definitely not trashy Pokémon. In fact there are no weak Pokémon they are all amazing."- He retorts back angrily, it seems that I hit a nerve there when I called those Pokémon back there weak and trashy.
"... Who are you and what have you done to Soul? He must still be lost in the forest we need to go save him."- I started joking and teasing him but very soon *smack*. Charlotte had smacked me on the head with her stick and Mom was giving me a glare. I soon piped up and hung my head down afraid to meet her gaze.
*snort* Soul let out a soft snicker at what just happened but Mom soon turned her glare at him before saying-"Don't think you're not at fault here young man, although it was Sage who was initially hard on you, it was entirely your fault for running into the forest and acting reckless causing you to be in danger. When we get home don't expect to get off scott-free." Soul also hung his head and didn't dare make a sound while being reprimanded.
As we head back in a solemn manner Mom and Dad exchange a quick and quite exchange as they are both relived and happy. Although things did get really dangerous at one point but everyone was safe and sound now and it seemed as though both Soul and Sage would get along better from now on. Well they were right as at that moment Soul and I raised our heads slightly and exchanged a glance out of the corner of our eyes and we sort of knew that we had each gained a sort of acceptance and friendship with each other at that very moment.
After we got home and Soul was cleaned and bandaged up we got an earful just as expected, Mom even threatened us that we would not be allowed to go to camp if our behaviour over the next couple of weeks didn't improve. The both of us hurriedly nodded before we were sent off to bed for the night.
In our shared room-"..."-Soul hesitates for a while not knowing what to say.
"*sigh* Look about what happened earlier, I really am sorry about pushing my ideals onto you like that. Each person has their own opinions and I should have been more considerate, its just that I didn't like the way you treated some of my friends in the forest, well truth be told I even wanted you all to kind of get along together you know."- I start off trying to explain why I did what I did.
"Its ok, well I sort of understand what you meant now more than ever. I.. I know that I can seem difficult at times and I'm also sorry for being so rude and mean before."- Even he gave a nervous apology which made me really happy. I decided to tease him just a bit more-"So are you going to apologise to Heart as well?"
"*snort* Keep dreaming."- Soul retorted while throwing a mock punch at my shoulder. I was really starting to like having Soul as a little brother.
"So... a-about Pokémon and the battle earlier... you mentioned something about bonding with friendship...or care or something."-He starts enquiring about raising and training Pokémon. So we sit down on our respective beds and have a lengthy discussion. Its mostly me telling him some of the important things I had learnt from the library and some Pokémon health care tips I picked up from Nurse Joy. His earlier ideology about Pokémon Trainers had been only the pursuit of strong Pokémon with minimal training and care from the trainer's side; sort of like the attitude of that jerk Trainer in season 1 of Pokémon who abandons his Charmander or that other one in the Black and White series who abandons his Tepig, both were quick to abandon their partners when they were weak instead of raising and strengthening them but later shamelessly came back to retrieve them when they grew stronger. I really hated such Trainers.
I also share my views on general attitude that comes to my mind when someone mentions an accomplished Pokémon Trainer-"Well its my belief that there are no useless Pokémon just incompetent Trainers, being a great and famous trainer isn't just about catching a whole bunch of Pokémon and especially not about only catching and battling with strong Pokémon. A real Pokémon Trainer has to do exactly as the name implies train the Pokémon, bring out the best of that Pokémon and raise it with care. Each and every Pokémon is different and has different requirements and I want to be the kind of trainer that is capable of bringing out the best out of any Pokémon."- As I finish my dramatic monolog I am left staring at a dumbfounded Soul who is staring at me with his mouth open a little...
"*pfft* hahaha... that is really a big goal you have set for yourself there, I wish you the best of luck."- He starts mocking me a few seconds after I finish. I throw my pillow at his face.
"Well its getting really late so lets get some sleep."- I say as I reach for my blanket.
"One last thing... about the wild Pokémon in the Ilex Forest how... how did you get so friendly with them a-and how can I get –get to know them better as well?"- he asks nervously as he hands my pillow back to me.
"You need to be calm and patient when dealing with Pokémon in the wild, you also need to be sincere and not try to take advantage of them. By the way Bug and Grass type Pokémon like sweet things so I recommend giving them some Berries coated in Syrup."- I answer back. I could guess that that last question was especially for him to find a way to genuinely make friends with them and also find a way to thank those Pokémon that helped him out today so I gave him an honest reply. He seemed to slowly digest what I just said, so I told him I would help him prepare some snacks to feed the wild Pokémon tomorrow before wishing him good night and turning off the lights.