Chapter 21: You never told me you had a sister.
With every new day, there were letters and newspapers containing the latest news and interesting articles to deliver. For Santos the Delibird, there was always much work to do, but he didn't mind. After all, the letters and newspapers couldn't deliver themselves; someone had to do it. And Santos the Delibird was just the right mail-mon for the job. He went around Fenix Town, delivering letters and today's newspaper with the headline letting the readers know that yet another crystal from Axis Tower had been found.
It was important to let the Pokémon know what was happening in their world, and keep them updated on the whole situation regarding the stolen crystals. That way, they would be reassured knowing that rescue teams were sorting the situation out. After finishing his rounds around the main parts of Fenix Town, Santos headed towards the west exit of town to deliver the letters to the Pokémon living just outside of town.
However, as he was making these deliveries, he suddenly noticed a shadow appear over him.
"Excuse me," he heard a female voice say, echoing slightly in a light purr as he felt her breath on his neck.
Santos shivered slightly, and slowly dared himself to turn around and look at who or what was behind him. As he did, he suddenly found himself face to face with a beast with blue and black fur and glowing yellow eyes.
"Hello, little bird," the beast said, gazing down at the small red penguin Pokémon. "You seem to know your way around here."
Santos was shaking and couldn't bring himself to say anything; he barely managed a small stutter under the gaze of the terrifying beast before him. He wanted to run, but was frozen in fear.
"I'm here to visit someone," the beast said, leaning down and grinning widely, giving Santos a good view of her sharp teeth. "Perhaps you could tell which house he lives in?"
After staring right at the sharp teeth that were now in front of his face for a few more seconds, Santos finally managed to get his sound out, and screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. The Luxray just watched him run away with a confused look on her face.
"… Was it something I said?" the electric lion Pokémon wondered, before shrugging it off. "Oh well, I guess I'll just use my eyes then!"
Blitz and Chiaki were asleep, but were quickly woken up when they heard the terrified Delibird's screams outside as he ran past their house. Chiaki quickly got onto his feet and looked around, while Blitz still seemed a bit groggy.
"What was that!?" Chiaki said, wondering what could've scared the poor mail-mon so much.
"Someone screaming in terror…?" Blitz muttered tiredly for a moment, before perking his ears up and getting to his feet. "Oh! My mom must be here!"
"Huh?" Chiaki responded, scratching the back of his head.
Blitz walked up to the entrance to the hut to keep an eye out for his mother, and Chiaki curiously followed behind him, wondering what exactly was going on.
"Mom, I'm over here!" Blitz shouted, waving a paw at the Luxray outside.
"Ah, there you are, my little prince!" the Luxray responded, walking up to the stone hut, causing Chiaki to leap back in surprise as he saw her smile, or rather the sharp teeth that were visible when she smiled. "Oh, your mommy has missed you so much! How have you been?"
"I've been doing okay," Blitz replied, smiling back at his mother, although of course his smile wasn't anywhere near as frightening as his mother's. "And you?"
"Oh, I've been fine, more or less," the Luxray responded, still smiling.
"Blitz!" another female, much younger voice called out, as another Shinx suddenly stepped out from behind the Luxray. She was smaller than Blitz, and the fur her hind paws were blue instead of black like Blitz's. She also had a smaller tuft of hair on her head than Blitz did, and was currently smiling sweetly at him. "I've missed you too, big brother!"
"Lita!" Blitz replied, seeming delighted to see his little sister again. "It's so good to see you again!"
"So… That's Blitz's little sister…?" Chiaki said, watching as the younger Shinx walked up to her brother and affectionately nuzzled him, before Blitz's mother suddenly moved her grinning face into view, startling Chiaki once more. "Yikes!"
"Hello there!" Blitz's mother said, not seeming to realize she'd frightened him. "What's your name?"
"Uh… It's Chiaki," Chiaki responded meekly. "It's n-nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too!" Blitz's mother replied, nodding her head slightly. "I am really glad to meet one of my son's friends!"
Chiaki nervously smiled back at the Luxray, realizing that she was actually quite friendly, even if she had an intimidating gaze paired with a set of fangs that together could probably even send shivers down a Beartic's spine.
"So, what brings you here?" Blitz asked, looking at the two female electric lions. "I wasn't expecting either of you."
"Well, I'm sorry about that," Blitz's mother responded. "But I need someone to look after Lita for a few days as I'll be going on a little trip with some of the other members of the pride."
"Ah, I see," Blitz replied, nodding his head slightly. "Food supply's running short?"
"Exactly," Blitz's mother responded, nodding her head. "I know this is short notice, but you wouldn't mind looking after Lita for a few days, would you? She has really missed you, and I was thinking this might be a good time for the two of to spend some time together…"
"Of course I'll look after her!" Blitz replied, smiling warmly. "I've really missed spending time with my little sis!"
"Thank you, big brother!" Lita responded, jumping for joy.
"All right, it's settled then!" Blitz's mother said, leaning down at nuzzling her daughter. "Be good and listen to your big brother, okay?"
"Okay!" Lita responded, nodding her head. "I'll be good, and listen to big brother!"
"I know you will, my little princess," the Luxray replied, before turning back to Blitz. "So, I guess you can show her around town, tell her about what you've been doing and introduce her to your friends."
"Yeah, sure," Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together for a moment.
"Well, I guess I should get going then," Blitz and Lita's mother replied, turning around and getting ready to leave. "Have fun, you two!"
"Bye mom," Blitz said, waving good-bye to his mother. "Good luck on the trip!"
"Bye-bye!" Lita said, also waving good-bye. "Try not to scare any small children on your way home!"
"Uh… Bye!" Chiaki said, joining the two siblings in waving good-bye, until the Luxray was out of sight. "Whew… That was unexpected…"
"Yeah…" Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Why'd you rub the rings on your legs together like that when my mother talked about you introducing me to your friends?" Lita asked, looking up at her brother.
"Huh?" Blitz responded, meeting his sister's gaze.
"I know you do that when you're nervous, you know," Lita replied, smiling at her brother.
"Uh… I do?" Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together.
"Uh-huh!" Lita said, nodding her head. "So, what's wrong with me meeting your friends?"
"Um… T-There's nothing wrong, really…" Blitz responded, nervously glancing around.
Even Chiaki could tell something wasn't right here, but he had no idea what was going on with his friend right now. It seemed like Blitz was hiding something, but Chiaki couldn't think of any reason why Blitz would be keeping secrets from his friends. He decided that he would have to ask Sera about it later. After all, Sera was Blitz's best friend, and so Chiaki figured that she would likely know if anything was bothering Blitz.
"Relax; I won't embarrass you or anything!" Lita said, smiling up at her brother. "Come on, let's go!"
"O-Okay…" Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly. "Chiaki and I will show you around town."
"Yay!" Lita replied, and ran outside. "Let's go! Let's go!"
"Hey, wait for us!" Blitz shouted, and quickly ran after his sister along with Chiaki.
It didn't take long before the three of them reached the town plaza, where the Pokémon were going about their business as usual. Lita excitedly looked around, while Blitz explained to her what each shop was for. Chiaki couldn't help but smile a little as he watched the two Shinx siblings, the way Blitz was showing her around town kind of reminded him of the time when Blitz gave him a tour around town the day after they first met.
"This place is very different from home!" Lita said, looking around in awe. "This place has lots of buildings and shops, while Lightning Plateau doesn't really have any of that!"
"Yeah," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly. "It's pretty different, but one gets used to it."
"Oh? What was your old home like?" Chiaki asked.
"We live in a cave!" Lita responded, smiling. "But it's a really nice cave, so it kind of feels like a house! Blitz and I even have our own rooms!"
"Cool!" Chiaki replied, smiling back at the younger Shinx.
"The Lightning Plateau is Luxray territory, so Blitz and I didn't often see other species of Pokémon around," Lita said, looking around at some of the other Pokémon wandering around town. "There were plenty of other Shinx for us to play with, though."
"Sounds nice," Chiaki responded.
"Oh, it is!" Lita replied. "Or at least, things were really great, until our father lef-"
"Hey, Lita," Blitz said, interrupting his sister before she could finish her sentence. "If you don't pay attention, you'll fall behind!"
"Huh?" Lita responded, tilting her head slightly. "I wasn't falling behind! I'm right next to you, see?"
"Well, that's good," Blitz replied. "Come on, I still need to show you the dojo and the café, oh, and the rescue team HQ!"
"Blitz, are you okay?" Lita asked.
"Of course I am," Blitz responded, smiling at his sister. "Also, I need to introduce you to my mentor, Hercules, and my other teammates, Sera and Azure!"
"Okay…" Lita replied, following her brother and Chiaki as they headed for the café.
At the café, Azure was helping out her mother at the café, and was bringing a drink over to Sera, who was sitting at one of the tables and looking rather tired. Sera yawned as Azure put the glass of berry juice in front of her.
"There you go, one glass of Chesto berry juice," Azure said, winking at Sera. "That should help you feel more awake!"
"Thanks, Azure," Sera responded, rubbing her eyes. "I was hoping to sleep in today, but Volt and Sirena's arguing over which one of them was responsible for the mess in the living room was just so loud…"
"Mess in the living room?" Azure inquired.
"I don't know what happened in there," Sera responded, drinking some of the berry juice. "I was so tired I didn't even bother to check…" Sera's ears started perking up slightly as she drank the Chesto berry juice and started to wake up more. "Ah… That feels much better!"
As Sera finished her drink, Blitz, Chiaki and Lita entered the café. Azure noticed and waved the three over.
"Hey guys!" Azure said.
"Hey there, Azure," Chiaki responded, walking up to the table along with Blitz and Lita.
"Who's this?" Sera asked, noticing Lita.
"I'm Lita!" Lita responded, smiling at Sera. "I'm Blitz's little sister!"
"Oh? Well, it's nice to meet you," Sera replied, before looking over at Blitz. "You never told me you had a sister."
"Well, um… You never asked," Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together. "Anyways, she'll be staying with me and Chiaki for a few days."
"I see," Azure said, petting Lita on the head. "Does that mean you'll be too busy to go on any missions?"
"Hmm…" Blitz thought about it for a few moments. "Don't worry, I can probably ask Hercules to look after her while we go on missions."
"Oh, can't I come along?" Lita asked. "I'd like to see what you and your friends do!"
"Sorry Lita, but I think it's a little too dangerous for you," Blitz responded. "Besides, only four Pokémon can enter a dungeon at a time."
"Aw, that's not fair!" Lita replied, pouting. "I wanted to see you fight and stuff."
"Hey, don't be upset," Blitz said, smiling at his sister. "Even if you might not get to see me battle, we're still going to have a lot of fun, right?"
"I guess…" Lita responded. "Oh! What about watching you train? Can I watch you train with your mentor?"
"Uh… I guess that's okay," Blitz replied.
"Yay!" Lita responded, the four pointed star-shape on her tail flashing for a moment from her excitement.
"The little cutie adores you, doesn't she?" Azure commented, looking over at Blitz.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Blitz responded, blushing slightly. "Lita and I have always been very close."
"Uh-huh!" Lita said, nodding her head. "We're not just siblings; we're also true friends and can tell each other everything!"
"How nice," Azure responded, petting Lita again.
"Wish I had that kind of relationship with one of my siblings," Sera commented. "Not that I don't have good relationship with most of my siblings, but I don't really know if I'd consider any of them a true friend."
"Well, I think that's enough talking for now!" Azure said, grinning. "So, how about we drop off the little cutie at the dojo so Hercules can look after her, while the four of us head out on a mission?"
"Sounds good," Sera responded, stretching her legs. "Let's go."
"Okay!" Chiaki said.
"All right," Blitz said.
"Tell me all about the mission when you get back, okay?" Lita asked, looking up at her brother.
"Yeah, I will," Blitz responded, nodding his head. "Now, let's go."
After stopping by the dojo, introducing Lita to Hercules and asking him to look after Lita, the rescue team headed to the rescue team HQ. After checking the boards and discussing the available missions amongst themselves, they eventually decided on two missions in the same dungeon. The first request was from a Happiny, who wanted a rescue team to go retrieve the Oval Stone she had lost, and the other was from a Tropius who wanted them to look for her Nidorino friend who had gone missing while exploring the dungeon.
"All right, if Blitz's calculations are correct, then these two missions should give us just enough points to reach the Silver rank!" Sera said, wagging her tail happily.
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Azure asked, smirking. "Let's get going!"
And so, the four Pokémon hurried over to the room behind the purple curtain and asked Kala to teleport them to the mystery dungeon they needed to go to. In a flash of light, the four appeared at the entrance to the mystery dungeon. They entered the dungeon, and began exploring as usual.
"Hear any wild Pokémon, Azure?" Blitz asked, looking around.
"Hmm…" Azure walked up to one of the paths they could follow, listening for any wild Pokémon approaching.
Chiaki noticed that Blitz and Azure seemed to be busy trying to decide on where to go, and decided that this would be a good time to speak with Sera. The only problem was that even if Blitz and Azure weren't paying attention, the fact that they both had good hearing might make it difficult for him and Sera to talk privately. Still, Chiaki decided to quietly walk up to Sera.
"Hey, Sera?" Chiaki whispered into Sera's ear. "Could we talk privately? I need to ask you about something."
"Oh?" Sera responded, glancing around. "Sure, I guess… but not here. We'll wait until we're out of the dungeon."
"Okay," Chiaki replied, nodding his head slightly.
"Guys, come over here!" Azure said, waving to Sera and Chiaki before pointing to one of the two paths. "Blitz thinks we should head this way."
"All right, thanks," Sera responded, nodding her head slightly. "Let's keep going, then!"
Meanwhile, at the dojo, Lita was talking with Hercules and watching a few of the rescue teams training at different things. Hercules told the young Shinx what she wanted to know about her brother's time in Fenix Town, and helpfully answered the questions she asked. Lita seemed to be happy that Hercules was willing to share what he knew with her, although there were a few things that surprised her.
"So… Blitz hasn't told any of them?" Lita asked, tilting her head slightly. "Not a thing?"
"Well… Blitz is afraid of what everyone will think," Hercules explained, petting Lita's head.
"Why?" Lita asked. "I don't get it. Why is he afraid?"
"Back at Lightning Plateau, you and Blitz told each other everything, didn't you?" Hercules responded. "Told you how he felt, what was happening in his life, how much he wanted the other members of the pride to just accept him the way you did, without demanding anything else of him?"
"Oh…" Lita replied, thinking for a moment. "I think I get it… But, this place isn't like Lightning Plateau! There are lots of buildings, lots of different types of Pokémon and they do things differently here than we do in Lightning Plateau!"
"You have a very good point there," Hercules responded, smiling at the young Shinx. "From what I understand from what Blitz has told me, Lightning Plateau is indeed very different from Fenix Town. I know that Blitz probably wouldn't experience the exact same things he went through with the other members of the pride with the Pokémon here, but I guess he still hasn't fully recovered from the events back at Lightning Plateau…"
"Yeah…" Lita replied, her ears drooping slightly. "He hasn't really been the same after our dad left, and the stuff that happened after that…"
"I hope Blitz will be able to open his heart to his friends someday," Hercules said solemnly, while scratching Lita behind her ears. "I want to help him, but I don't know what I can really do to help him trust in his friends enough to be able to tell them the truth…"
"He trusts you, doesn't he?" Lita asked, looking up at Hercules. "You know everything, and he can talk to you?"
"That's right," Hercules responded, nodding his head slightly. "I do everything I can to support him and try to help him find the right path."
"You mean like parents do?" Lita asked, smiling at Hercules.
"Huh?" Hercules responded, blinking a few times as he thought about what Lita said before giving a slightly flustered smile. "Oh… I guess it is kind of like that, isn't it..."
"I think that's really nice!" Lita replied, giggling a little.
"Uh… Thanks," Hercules responded, rubbing the back of his horn. "Still, I think he needs more than just me for support."
"Ooh, maybe I can help?" Lita suggested. "I can be very persuasive!"
Lita then decided to demonstrate, and lowered her head slightly while gazing up at Hercules while making her golden eyes look as big as she could. She then added in a small smile and started purring softly.
"I suppose that is a pretty compelling argument you've got there," Hercules commented, chuckling a little.
"Everyone will bow down to my superior cuteness!" Lita said, giggling and winking.
"I'm sure they will," Hercules responded, smiling at Lita. "Not sure if it is what it'll take to convince your brother, though."
"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Lita asked, looking at Hercules with the same look she demonstrated earlier.
"Well… I suppose it can't hurt to try," Hercules responded, chuckling a little. "Anyways, let's talk about something else for a bit. Want to hear about how exactly this dojo works?"
"Sure!" Lita replied, with a cheerful smile.
After two successful missions, Sera and her teammates returned to the rescue team HQ, and picked up their rewards for the missions. To Sera's dismay, it turned out they were a few points short of reaching Silver rank, but she cheered up a little once Azure pointed out that they would likely hit Silver rank on their next mission. Leaving the HQ, they went to the dojo to pick up Lita, and then decided to head over to the café to enjoy some refreshments while telling Lita all about their adventure.
"So, Chiaki wanted to talk to me about something, so could the three of you just go ahead to the café?" Sera asked. "Chiaki and I will catch up to you later."
"Uh… Okay, I guess," Blitz responded.
"Fine with me," Azure said, smirking. "Just don't keep us waiting too long!"
And with that, Blitz, Azure and Lita headed off to the café, while Sera and Chiaki decided to go find a quiet spot where they could talk in private.
"So, what's the matter?" Sera asked.
"Well, Blitz was acting kind of strange earlier this morning," Chiaki explained. "So, I was wondering if you might know if something is bothering Blitz, since you're his best friend and all."
"Oh? Blitz hasn't really mentioned anything that's bothering him…" Sera responded, tilting her head slightly.
"So, you haven't noticed anything?" Chiaki asked.
"Not really…" Sera replied, shaking her head.
"Maybe I'm just worrying for nothing, then…" Chiaki responded, shrugging slightly. "I just can't shake off the feeling that Blitz might be hiding something from us…"
"Well, then…" Sera said, thinking for a moment. "Maybe Hercules knows something?"
"Hercules is his mentor," Chiaki responded, nodding his head slightly. "I guess it is likely that Blitz may have told him something he hasn't told us."
"All right, then," Sera said, and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Chiaki asked.
"To the dojo, of course," Sera responded.
"But, weren't we supposed to meet the others at the café?" Chiaki said, pointing in the other direction. "They're kind of waiting for us, you know…"
"I know, but this is more important right now!" Sera replied, nodding her head slightly. "I have to get to the bottom of this, so I'm going to the dojo to get some answers!"
"Oh, okay…" Chiaki responded, following Sera. "Guess I'll come with you, then."
After a short walk back to the dojo, Sera and Chiaki began looking around for Hercules. They soon spotted the Heracross giving Frosty some advice on how to improve his throwing technique so he could make the icicles he threw hit the targets more accurately. Chiaki waved to Hercules to get his attention, and once he noticed them, Hercules decided to leave Frosty to continue his target practice while he went to speak to them.
"Hello there," Hercules said as he went up to them. "What brings you two here?"
"Well, we're kind of concerned about Blitz," Sera responded. "And so we were wondering if you might know if anything is bothering him?"
"Oh, um…" Hercules glanced around. "What gives you the idea that something is bothering him?"
"He was acting kind of strange earlier today," Chiaki replied.
"And based on your reaction there, I assume you know something?" Sera asked, trying to make eye-contact with the Heracross. "You do know something, don't you?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything," Hercules responded, shaking his head. "The conversations I've had with Blitz are just between the two of us, and Blitz doesn't want anyone else in town to know certain things about him."
"What things?" Sera asked, refusing to drop the subject.
"I really can't tell you," Hercules replied, sighing. "It would be better if you waited until Blitz is ready to tell you everything himself."
"But… I don't understand!" Sera responded. "Why would Blitz keep secrets from us? We're his friends!"
"It's not like I haven't been trying to convince him to tell you guys…" Hercules replied.
"Please, tell us!" Sera pleaded, her ears drooping down slightly. "I need to know!"
"Listen, Blitz had a pretty difficult time before coming here to Fenix Town," Hercules explained. "There are still some things he hasn't fully understood yet…"
"What do you mean?" Sera asked, growing more and more distressed as Hercules refused to directly answer her questions. "That isn't enough! I need to know more!"
"Sera, please calm down," Hercules responded, patting her on the head. "I know you're concerned, but I've already said too much."
"I tell Blitz everything, so why is there something he won't tell me?" Sera asked, looking up pleadingly at Hercules. "Tell me what happened to Blitz before he came to town!"
"Can't it wait for another time?" Hercules responded. "Besides, you haven't really shown much interest in Blitz's background or asked him about any of this before, have you?"
"Hey, that's not…" Sera started, until she recalled something from earlier that day.
"You never told me you had a sister."
"Well, um… You never asked."
"I… I…" Sera stuttered, realizing that Hercules was right. She often told him about how she felt about certain things, like how her siblings often got on her nerves, how she hated it when others didn't listen to her or take her seriously because of her age, but she had rarely asked him about his feelings on things not related to their rescue team business.
"Sera…" Chiaki said, unsure of what to say to his teammate.
"Hercules, I… please! I have to know!" Sera pleaded.
"… You're not giving up on this, are you?" Hercules responded.
Sera looked up at Hercules and shook her head. Hercules sighed and motioned for Sera and Chiaki to follow him.
"All right… I'm probably going to regret this later, but I'll explain the situation," Hercules said. "It's kind of a long story, but… basically, this is what happened."
End of chapter 21.