Chapter 17: If you had to choose, would you rather be a rock, or a tree?
Another new day had begun, and the Pokémon of Fenix Town was going about their regular morning routines. Sera and her older siblings were eating breakfast together as usual, making small talk about recent events and things like that. During the breakfast, Sera had noticed that Sirena had kept looking at her.
"… Do I any food stuck in my teeth, or something?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Oh, I was just wondering if you had any plans for today," Sirena responded, with a smile on her face.
"Um… Okay?" Sera replied. "I'm guessing I'll be going on some mission with Blitz and Chiaki, but we haven't decided on anything in particular yet. Why do you ask, anyways?"
"Well, it's occurred to me that we never really do anything together, you know?" Sirena responded. "So, I was thinking that, maybe we could go somewhere together?"
"… Do you want something from me?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly. "What is this about?"
"Oh, Sera, don't be silly!" Sirena responded, giggling a little. "I just thought it might be nice to spend some time with my little sister!"
"… No seriously, what do you want from me?" Sera asked, looking somewhat confused.
"Come on, Sera! It'll be fun!" Sirena said, with a cheerful smile. "Take a day off from the rescue team stuff; I'm sure your teammates will understand!"
"… Yoru, Flare, Volt? Do any of you know what's going on?" Sera asked, looking around at her older brothers for answers.
"I don't know, but she's definitely up to something," Volt responded. "She's acting way weirder than she normally does."
"Maybe she has a fever?" Yoru said, pressing his paw against Sirena's forehead. "… Nope, her scaly, yet surprisingly soft skin feels just as cool as it normally does."
"Oh, come on, guys," Sirena said, pushing the Umbreon's paw away from her forehead. "Is it really that strange that I want to spend some quality time with my little sister?"
"Yes," Volt responded bluntly.
"I'm really confused here…" Sera muttered, unsure what to do.
"It can't really do any harm to spend the day with your sister," Flare said, giving Sera a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you and Sirena will have fun."
"You really think so, Flare…?" Sera responded. "Well… Okay, then …"
"Yay!" Sirena replied, with a happy smile. "Today is going to be fun; I promise you won't be disappointed!"
"Uh… Okay," Sera responded, trying to smile back. "I guess we'll go once I've talked to Blitz and Chiaki."
"Be careful, Sera," Volt whispered. "We don't know what she's really after."
"Don't worry about it," Sera whispered back. "I'm sure I'll be able to find out what she wants from me once we're on our own."
"Go for it," Volt responded, smirking.
After finishing her breakfast, Sera headed out to see her teammates, albeit leaving the rescue team badge and treasure bag at home. She almost felt it was a little strange to go out without those. She found Blitz and Chiaki, and explained the situation to them.
"So, Sirena wants to spend some quality time with you?" Blitz asked.
"Yeah, isn't it strange?" Sera responded. "What could she be up to?"
"I wouldn't know," Blitz replied, smiling at Sera. "But I hope you have fun."
"Thanks," Sera responded, smiling back. "And since you two are getting the day off, go do whatever you want. Anyways, see you later!"
"Bye Sera!" Chiaki said, and waved good-bye as Sera left. "Have fun!"
"Tell me how it went later!" Blitz said.
After Sera had left, Blitz and Chiaki were left wondering exactly what to do with their day off. They walked around town for a bit while trying to figure that out.
"Maybe we can head over to the dojo for some training?" Blitz suggested. "I haven't really had a chance to talk to Hercules these past few days."
"You sure that's what you want to do?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Oh… Well, if you don't want to…" Blitz said, rubbing his forelegs together.
"No, it's fine!" Chiaki responded, smiling at Blitz. "If you want to head over to the dojo, go ahead! I can look around on my own, and see what else there's to do!"
"Are you sure?" Blitz asked.
"It's no problem, really!" Chiaki replied, still smiling. "I'll be fine on my own!"
"Okay, if you say so," Blitz responded, starting to head over in the direction of the dojo. "See you later."
Chiaki began walking around town, wondering what he could do while Sera was spending time with her big sister and Blitz was training at the dojo. As he looked around, he came across a certain Deino.
"Hi Frederick!" Chiaki said, happily greeting the Deino.
"Oh, hello," Frederick responded.
"So, why aren't you at the café?" Chiaki asked. "Did River give you the day off?"
"Yeah, she did," Frederick responded, nodding his head. "She apparently had to take Azure somewhere, so the café is closed today."
"Oh? Where did they go?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"I don't know," Frederick responded. "River told me they'd probably be back sometime in the evening, though."
"Oh, okay!" Chiaki said, smiling. "I've got the day off too!"
"Cool," Frederick responded. "So, what are you doing?"
"I don't know yet," Chiaki replied. "What about you?"
"I don't really have any plans either," Frederick responded.
"So, if you don't have any plans, and I don't have any plans, why don't we try to think of something together?" Chiaki asked, smiling cheerfully.
"Sounds good to me," Frederick replied, smiling too.
The two Pokémon began to walk around together, trying to see if there was anything for them to do. As they looked around, they noticed two other Pokémon, who seemed to be looking for something or someone. One was a blue Pokémon resembling a turtle with a brown and beige shell, and a white tail which vaguely resembled a wave. The other was a small green Pokémon with two red flowers on its head and something resembling a skirt made of green and yellow leaves.
"Oh, where did he get off to this time?" the Wartortle asked, looking rather frustrated.
"I really hope we find him soon," the Bellossom said, trying to stay calm. "It wouldn't really be a good idea to go on this mission without him…"
"Excuse me, but is there a problem?" Chiaki asked, walking up to the two Pokémon.
"Well, we're heading out on a mission soon, but our teammate seems to have wandered off somewhere again," the Wartortle responded, looking rather annoyed.
"Need any help finding him?" Chiaki asked, giving a friendly smile.
"Oh, that would be nice," the Bellossom said.
"What does he look like?" Chiaki asked.
"He's a Sudowoodo," the Wartortle responded. "Basically, a rock type Pokémon that somewhat resembles a tree. So, if you see any moving trees, odds are it's him."
"Got it," Chiaki replied, looking over at Frederick. "Should we split up to go look for him?"
"Sure," Frederick said, nodding his head. "I sort of know what rocks smell like, and if I wander around, I might bump into him!"
"All right, let's go!" Chiaki said, and so the two headed off in different directions to help the other rescue team find their missing teammate.
Sirena was cheerfully leading the way as she and Sera were making their way over to a lake where Sirena liked to relax. Sera wasn't too surprised that the water type in the family liked to spend time near a body of water. She still wasn't sure why Sirena had all of a sudden decided to spend some quality time with her, even inviting her along to her favorite spot.
"I think you're really going to like this, Sera!" Sirena said, grinning. "It's really pretty there!"
"Yeah, sure…" Sera responded, looking at her older sister suspiciously.
"Ooh, there it is!" Sirena said, running up to some bushes. "Through here!"
Sera walked up, and peeked through the bushes, and saw a clear blue lake sparkling in the light of the sun.
"Wow, that is pretty," Sera said, taking in the view.
"It is, isn't it?" Sirena responded, smiling at Sera. "I bet Amethyst has never taken you anywhere this pretty, huh?"
"Wait, what was that?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Oh, nothing," Sirena said, giggling a little. "Come on, let's go swimming!"
"Oh, now I know what this is about!" Sera commented, smirking. "You're jealous of how much I admire Amethyst, and this is yet another one of your attempts to get attention!"
"What? Where would you get that idea from?" Sirena asked, trying to look innocent.
"Oh, so this isn't about Amethyst at all?" Sera responded, with a smug smile.
"Okay, maybe a little," Sirena replied, looking down sheepishly. "But I really do want to spend time with you! I can be a cool big sis too!"
"So, you want to be a cool big sis, huh?" Sera asked. "Well then, let's see how you do. So, what did you have planned for us to do?"
"Ooh, well, we can relax by the lake, or I can teach you how to swim!" Sirena responded. "I can also show you some really cool things I can do!"
"Sounds fun," Sera replied, following her sister over to the lake.
Chiaki had ended up wandering out of town while searching for the Sudowoodo, and was now looking around near the area leading into the Lush Valley. He briefly wondered if the Sudowoodo might've wandered into the mystery dungeon, but soon noticed what appeared to be a moving tree standing between two regular trees.
"That must be him," Chiaki said, as he walked over to investigate.
The strange tree was indeed the Pokémon he was looking for, a brown rock type Pokémon with a body vaguely resembling a short thin tree. The Sudowoodo had three green orb-like fingers on the end of each arm, and kept tapping one of them against the side of his face while seeming to be in deep thought.
"Um… Hello?" Chiaki said, waving to the Sudowoodo. "Are you on a rescue team with a Wartortle and a Bellossom?"
"And you are?" the Sudowoodo asked, looking down at Chiaki.
"I'm Chiaki," Chiaki responded. "I'm part of a rescue team too."
"Hmm… Interesting," the Sudowoodo replied. "I'm Arbolith, and it seems you have met my teammates?"
"Well, yes," Chiaki responded, nodding his head. "They're looking for you."
"Hmm… Interesting," Arbolith said, sighing. "I suppose I should head back to town, then…"
"Why are you out here, by the way?" Chiaki asked.
"Oh, I was just thinking to myself, wondering who I really am," Arbolith responded. "Things like that."
"You don't know who you are?" Chiaki inquired, tilting his head slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Well, look at me," Arbolith said, gesturing to himself. "I look like a tree; yet, my body is made of rock. So, what am I? Am I a rock, or a tree?"
"Oh, so you're wondering who you are in a different way than me, then," Chiaki responded. "You see, I seem to have lost my memories some time ago, and I haven't really regained much of it."
"Hmm… Interesting," Arbolith responded. "So, you don't know who you really are either."
"No, I don't," Chiaki replied, shrugging slightly.
"I see…" Arbolith responded, thinking for a moment. "So, who do you think I am? Do you think I'm a rock, or a tree?"
"Uh… You're a rock type that just happens to kind of resemble a tree…?" Chiaki replied as best as he could.
"Hmm… Interesting," Arbolith said, nodding slightly. "I suppose that is a good answer…"
"Glad I could help?" Chiaki replied, trying to put on a friendly smile. "Well, should we head back to town, then?"
"I suppose we should," Arbolith responded. "Lead the way."
The two Pokémon began walking back into town, however, Arbolith suddenly stopped for a moment. Chiaki stopped as well, wondering what was going on.
"Is something wrong?" Chiaki asked.
"I was just wondering…" Arbolith said. "What would you rather be?"
"Huh?" Chiaki responded, tilting his head slightly.
"Would you rather be a rock, or a tree?" Arbolith asked, looking thoughtfully at the young Mienfoo.
"Um… What kind of question is that…?" Chiaki responded, understandably confused at this random question out of the blue.
"I'm just curious," Arbolith replied. "If you had to choose, would you rather be a rock, or a tree?"
"Uh… I don't really want to be either of those things," Chiaki responded, shrugging slightly. "I'm fine with being a Mienfoo."
"Hmm… Interesting," Arbolith replied, as he and Chiaki continued walking back to town.
At the dojo, Hercules watched while Blitz had a practice battle against Lotus and Riley. In mystery dungeons, one would often have to deal with multiple wild Pokémon at once, and in some situations one couldn't always expect ones teammates to be able to help. Hercules watched how Blitz waited for the right moments to dodge the opponents' attack, and then using Flash to momentarily blind them and give himself an opportunity to attack.
"Very good," Hercules commented, observing the battle. "Have you learned any new attacks recently?"
"Not that I know of," Blitz responded, dodging a kick from Riley. "I'll probably start practicing some new techniques soon, though."
"I believe you are strong enough to properly use a Bite attack," Hercules said.
"Oh, well…" Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together. "I suppose I can at least practice the technique for that one, although I doubt using my fangs in battle is a good idea…"
"Not if you master the technique," Hercules said, giving a reassuring smile.
"I know," Blitz responded, looking down at the ground. "My father told me that I had to be careful when using my fangs in battle…"
Hercules motioned for Lotus and Riley to take a break and let him and Blitz have some privacy so they could talk alone.
"Heard anything from home recently?" Hercules asked.
"Well… I got a letter from my little sister, asking me if she could come visit me," Blitz responded. "I haven't mentioned it to Chiaki yet, and I haven't figured out what to write back to Lita…"
"I guess Lita misses her big brother, huh?" Hercules replied.
"I miss her too," Blitz said, looking down at the floor. "But… I just don't know if it's a good idea to have her come here. Sera and Chiaki are probably going to ask questions, and… I-I don't know if I'm ready to…"
"Still afraid of what will happen when your friends find out about the events that led to you coming here?" Hercules asked. "Blitz, you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"That's easy for you to say," Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together. "You don't know what it's like for others to have already decided what your future will be, and treating you as if that's theonly possible path for you…"
Hercules glanced down at the floor, unsure what to say to Blitz. He just comfortingly put his hand on Blitz's shoulder, not knowing how else he could show the Shinx his support.
"Other Shinx might say I'm lucky, and wish they had my destiny," Blitz said, his ears drooping down slightly. "But, I'm really just a regular Shinx like them, there's nothing really special about me…"
Hercules occasionally nodded his head slightly, to show Blitz he was listening. Blitz needed his support, but at times like these Hercules just didn't know what to say to him to make him feel better.
"Why does it have to be me?" Blitz asked, sadly looking down at his own paws. "I'm not like my father, and I'm not any more qualified than any of the other Shinx… So, why do I have to be the one?"
"Blitz… I know it must be difficult for you to have to deal with the high expectations other have of you, and feeling you can't live up to them," Hercules said, comfortingly petting the young Shinx. "Having others decide your life for you because they think that is the best path… I understand that it must be hard for you."
"I can't change my destiny, I can only delay the inevitable," Blitz muttered, sounding as if he was on the verge of crying. "I'm pathetic, really…"
"Blitz, that's not true," Hercules responded. "You're an intelligent and brave young Shinx, and you're always trying to do your best."
"I'm not brave," Blitz replied, sighing. "If I were brave, wouldn't I be able to face this instead of trying to hide from it?"
"It's a complicated situation, and I understand that it must be difficult to deal with," Hercules responded, giving a reassuring smile. "Even I don't know how to deal with it, but I'm sure in time, you will find a way."
"You think so?" Blitz asked, rubbing his forelegs together.
"Yeah," Hercules replied, patting Blitz on the head. "I'm sure another path will open up, just give it some time."
"I don't think that'll happen," Blitz responded, looking up at Hercules. "But thanks, anyways."
"Anytime, kid," Hercules replied, smiling at Blitz. "Feeling better now?"
"A little," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Good," Hercules said. "Let's take a short break before resuming your training, okay?"
"Okay," Blitz replied, giving a small smile.
Blitz sat down to rest for a moment, while Hercules went to check on some of the other Pokémon that were training at the dojo this day. He was glad Hercules was willing to take the time to listen to him and give him advice, and acted as his mentor without treating it as preparations for the future that had been chosen for him…
Sera watched as Sirena swam around, moving swiftly, yet elegantly through the water. Sera had to admit that she was interested in seeing a side of Sirena that she had never seen before now, even if she knew that Sirena was doing it partially out of her usual desire for attention.
"Hey, Sera? You want to come in now?" Sirena asked, cheerfully swimming up to her younger sister. "Your big sis can teach you how to swim!"
"You sure I'm able to do that?" Sera responded, tilting her head slightly. "I mean, I don't really have the fishy tail and all the other stuff that makes you move so fast in the water."
"Don't worry," Sirena replied. "Even if you can't swim as fast as me, I can still teach you a few things."
"Well… Okay then," Sera responded. "I'll give it a try."
Sera carefully stepped into the water, Sirena offering to let Sera hold onto her tail if she had trouble staying floating. Sera somewhat clumsily moved around the water, not entirely sure how to move forward. While her instincts at least gave her some clue as to what she was supposed to be doing, she found herself moving slowly.
"Don't worry if it goes a little slow at first, that's normal," Sirena said, smiling at her little sister. "When swimming, you should make every movement count."
"Well, what do I do, then?" Sera asked, splashing around a little.
"First of all, don't splash around like that," Sirena responded, giggling a little. "You'll just use up your energy that way."
"Oh," Sera replied, calming down a little.
"Try following my lead," Sirena said, smiling at Sera. "Feel free to hold onto my tail if you need to."
"Okay," Sera responded, trying her best to follow her sister.
After bringing Arbolith back to his teammates, Chiaki met up again with Frederick. He had found the Deino bumping his head against a rock, asking it if it was the Sudowoodo. Chiaki and Frederick walked around town, wondering what else they could do.
"So, Sera is spending time with her big sister today?" Frederick asked.
"Yeah," Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly. "I hope they're having fun."
"And Blitz is training at the dojo?" Frederick asked.
"Yep," Chiaki replied. "Hercules is his mentor, after all!"
"Huh, that's cool," Frederick responded. "There must be something special about Blitz if Hercules is training him personally."
"Why do you think that?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Well, I don't know this Hercules very well, but if he really is Blitz's mentor, then there must be something special about him, right?" Frederick said, pausing to think about whether what he was saying made sense. "Do Pokémon running dojos normally take on apprentices like that?"
"Hmm… I don't really know," Chiaki responded, shrugging slightly. "Blitz says that he's just like any other Shinx."
"Maybe I'm just overthinking things?" Frederick wondered out loud. "That seems so unlike me, though…"
"I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about," Chiaki responded.
Even as he said it was probably nothing to be worried about, now Chiaki couldn't help but wonder just why Hercules had taken on the position as Blitz's mentor. All Blitz had said on the matter was that he came to train because he was having trouble getting proper training back home, but was that really all there was to it?
The more he thought about it, the more he wondered how well he really knew Blitz. It hadn't occurred to him earlier, but it seemed Blitz was avoiding answering certain questions, saying he would answer them later only to not bring it up again. Maybe Sera knew why he acted that way?
"Azure has been telling me about the adventures she's had with you guys," Frederick said.
"Oh?" Chiaki replied, looking at the Deino.
"Yeah, and it sort of makes me want to go on a mission with you guys sometime," Frederick responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Ooh, that would be fun!" Chiaki replied, smiling cheerfully.
"You think Sera and Blitz would be okay with that?" Frederick asked.
"Of course they would!" Chiaki responded.
"Well, maybe when I've got time, we can try to make that happen?" Frederick asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Sure we can!" Chiaki said, excitedly jumping around.
"Cool," Frederick responded, smiling. "So… I guess we'll do that sometime, then."
At the lake, Sirena helped Sera back onto land, as Sera had gotten tired after swimming after Sirena for a while. Sirena got out of the water as well, and lay down to relax on the grass next to her little sister.
"I have to admit, spending time with you was fun," Sera said, smiling at her older sister.
"It was?" Sirena asked, grinning. "So, does that mean I'm your new role model now, instead of Amethyst?"
"Well, Amethyst is better at giving me advice about other things," Sera responded. "But it seems you can teach me some things that she can't, so I guess you can both be my role models."
"Meh, I suppose that's good enough for me," Sirena replied.
"You know, Sirena, I think I like you better when you're not always trying to one-up Amethyst," Sera said. "Maybe you should spend less time trying to be like Amethyst, except better than her, and instead just do what you can do that she can't do?"
"You think so?" Sirena asked, tilting her head slightly. "Amethyst is like, everyone's favorite."
"Well, that's because Amethyst is awesome," Sera replied, wagging her tail. "But you can be awesome too, in a different way."
"Thanks, Sera," Sirena responded, smiling. "You know, I had fun today too, we should spend time together more often!"
"Yeah, we should," Sera agreed, smiling back.
While Sirena could be annoying at times, Sera had to admit, she wouldn't mind spending more time with her. Plus, learning how to swim would probably be useful for rescue team missions. Of course, with rescue team work and such, it could be difficult to find time for that, but hopefully she and Sirena could work something out.
End of chapter 17