I was awoken by a cold nose prodding at my legs. I gave a yelp and jolted awake, opening my eyes to find Ashley staring up at me.

((Rise and shine, sleepyhead!))

I snorted and blinked sleep from my eyes, slowly stretching my legs. ((It's too early for this,)) I mumbled. ((Can't you let a girl get her sleep?))

Ashley's eyes held an amused twinkle. ((It's eleven o'clock. That's AM, not PM. You've been asleep for almost sixteen hours.))

I turned my head far enough to see the windows. The rain was still pouring steadily down outside. The sky might have been a bit lighter than the previous evening, or it might have just been my imagination.

"None of us is going anywhere for a while. Even after this rain stops, every road in the area will be pure mud. It was bad enough just crossing the street." Ashley's trainer was holding cardboard containers from which the smell of human food wafted through the room. "It slacked off for a little bit, so I ran across the street and got some real food. I almost got nailed on the way back, but I made it, and the food is still hot. Let's eat."

"I am hungry," Courtney admitted, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Taking one of the boxes, she opened it and tore into its contents. Ashley, it seemed, was also content to enjoy the human breakfast items. It wasn't quite to my taste, but her trainer had fortunately anticipated this and obtained some Ponyta feed from elsewhere in the building.

((So what we do, if it's raining so hard we can't go anyplace?)) I asked. Ashley was munching her way through a generous portion of scrambled eggs. All of the Pokemon I had encountered had eaten either commercial Pokemon food or had obtained food in the wild. I had never seen one eating the same food as humans, but Ashley seemed to love it. I wondered if she was an exception.

Ashley shrugged. ((Whatever people normally do when it's raining and they can't go anywhere,)) she said, her words slightly muffled. ((Talk. Watch TV. Whatever. We'll probably go up to the lobby after we finish eating. It's warmer up there.))

That sounded like a good idea. The air was a little bit chilly. I shivered.

When we had finished eating, the two humans collected our trash and deposited it in the bins that stood next to the door. We collected our belongings and left the room. The man sitting at the desk on the way upstairs looked exactly the same as he had last night, which was why I did a double take when I noticed it wasn't actually the same person. He was sitting in the same way, leaning back in the chair with his feet up on the desk--he was even reading the exact same book--but it was a different person. I could tell Courtney was confused too, but neither of us said anything.

The lobby seemed larger than it had the previous night, I had to admit. It was actually fairly expansive, able to accomodate quite a few people, and was divided by the front door into two distinct halves. One, which a few people were already sitting in, was centered around a large television. On the TV was a man with a suit, saying something indistinct and gesturing at a large weathermap that seemed to be wholly covered by clouds. The gist of his remarks seemed to be that it was raining, which was of course fairly obvious to anyone with adequate powers of observation.

"Biggest storm in ten years, they're saying," murmured Ashley's trainer as we walked into the room. Nobody responded to the comment.

As the humans sat down in chairs and Ashley scrambled eagerly into her trainer's lap to watch the television, I turned my attention to the other half of the lobby. It was devoid of human beings. Devoid, in fact, of anything save what seemed to be an Arcanine curled up in the middle of the floor. He was facing away from the rest of the activity going on in the room, and I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. I slowly moved closer and sniffed experimentally at the unmoving form.

((Mmmmrrrrr,)) he rumbled suddenly, arching his back and stretching his legs. I backed away quickly, hoping that I hadn't disturbed his rest. For that matter, I had no real desire to interact with another Fire Pokemon at all. Damn my curiosity! As I stood there, wondering whether I should walk away, hoping that he would just go back to sleep, he propped himself up on one leg and turned his head, looking in my direction. ((Who's there?))

He was looking right at me. No hope of a graceful exit now. ((Um, I am. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your rest.))

He chuckled. ((A disturbance is welcome. I get terribly lonely some days... nobody to talk to.)) He shifted his weight underneath him, adopting a more comfortable position lying on his belly. ((I hope you'll talk with me. Please come closer.))

I did so, reluctantly.

((You're a Ponyta, I take it.))

What kind of a remark is that? ((Yes, I'm a Ponyta,)) I responded, wondering why he had bothered to state the blatantly obvious.

((Thank you. You speak Ponyta, of course, but it would theoretically be possible for another species of Pokemon to mimic the Ponyta language in order to fool me. I have no idea why anyone would wish to do so, but it would be possible. I don't see very well.))

That was when I noticed that he was not, in fact, looking at me. His head was pointed in my direction, but his eyes were not focused on me. I also saw that his fur appeared slightly faded-- what had probably once been a vibrant orange was now a dull rusty color.

((What's your name?))

I was thinking about how awful it would be not to be able to see, and his question startled me a bit. ((Um... Ponyta, I guess. I don't really have a name.))

((That's no shame. I've known many fine Pokemon who didn't have names of their own. I personally would hate to not have a name other than the name of my species, but to each his own.)) He extended one massive paw in my direction. ((My name is Supernova. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ponyta.))

I raised a hoof, somewhat awkwardly, and touched his paw in a sign of greeting. ((Supernova. That's an interesting name. How did you get it?))

He sighed. ((My trainer gave it to me, when he thought we were going to go on to be the greatest Pokemon team in the world. He wanted me to have a name that carried a ring of awesome power, he said. He was very much into that sort of empty symbolism.))

((What happened? Did you accomplish that goal?))

((It looked like we were going to. When he was just a second-year trainer and I was newly evolved, we tore through the Johto League like a hurricane. For that one summer, we were the talk of the Pokemon world. We were invincible. It seemed like nothing could stop us. Nathaniel, the leader of the Elites at that time, boasted that his Psychic-types would be our downfall. In the last match, I injured his Alakazam so badly that it never fought another battle. There was a brief scandal over that, but the judicial review unanimously decided that Nathaniel was negligient in not conceding the battle when that became the only prudent choice. We were the undisputed champions of Johto. Everybody expected us to duplicate the feat next season on one of the other major league circuits.))

((That must have been great,)) I said, fascinated by the story. All the stories I had heard of the great League heroes focused on the Trainers. I had never heard the Pokemon's perspective before.

((It was, I suppose. But as it turned out, I never fought another battle either. A week after our victory, I began to lose my sight. The doctors said it seemed to have been caused by some sort of rare virus, but nothing they did seemed to have any effect. Within a couple of weeks, I was almost completely blind. I couldn't fight anymore, obviously.))

((What happened? What did your trainer do then?))

((Jason went on. I might have been the star of his team, but I was hardly its only member, and he elected to continue with the others instead of quitting altogether. He washed out of the Orange League in the fall, and I lost track of him after that. He never came back for me, and it was the last I ever heard of him.))

It sounded sort of like Josh to me, although at least this Jason guy didn't seem to have been abusive. ((That wasn't very good of him.))

Supernova laughed. ((No, it wasn't, was it? It's been twenty years. I imagine he's got a house and children now, or something. He's probably forgotten about me. I wish I could forget about him.))

((What did you do after he left you behind? Where did he leave you?))

((He left me with his parents. When he didn't return home at the expected time, they didn't wait too long before deciding to get rid of me. I changed hands for a while. Nobody really wants to have to deal with a disabled Pokemon. Add to that the inconvenient destructive potential of an Arcanine who can't see where he's going or where he's aiming the occasional belch of fire, and nobody really wanted me, period.))

I wanted to tell him I understood how he felt, but didn't feel comfortable opening such a line of conversation. ((That's horrible.))

((Eh, you can hardly blame them. Eventually, the director of the Pokemon Center in Ecruteak City crossed paths with me. Blindness in Pokemon was something of a specialty of his, so he made arrangements to acquire me and house me at his Center. The tests he did on me didn't show any reasonable expectation of a cure, nor did they shed any light on the cause, but after they were over he kept me around. He said the Pokemon Center needed a mascot, but I think he knew that my days were numbered if I didn't find a permanent home fast. A little bit later, he got transferred here to oversee the new Pokemon Center being built. I came with him, and the rest you can figure out for yourself.))

((Are you happy here?))

Supernova thought for a bit before replying. ((There's a saying: Any day above ground is a good day. I believe a human said it first.))

He seemed to consider that an answer to my question, so I didn't press that line of inquiry further. ((It must be awful to be blind,)) I said instead. ((No offense.))

((None taken. Actually, except for that initial period of moving from one place to another, being blind has been the best thing ever to happen to me. It's shown me how much our eyes truly deceive us. 'Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force; that thoughts rule the world.' Another human said that, I believe.))

((But there is so much beauty in the world,)) I said. ((Surely to see cannot be a bad thing. And what do you mean about our eyes deceiving us?))

((Our eyes do not deceive us when they show us beauty and inspire feelings of love and compassion. They deceive us when they inspire feelings of anger and hatred, for there is nothing evil but our own minds and senses create it. That is the conclusion I have come to, at any rate.))

It seemed to me that I couldn't very well argue with that, and I told him so.

He shrugged. ((It's just what seems to me to be true,)) he said. ((I've certainly had a long time to think about it, but that doesn't neccessarily mean I'm right. Sorry for going all philosophical on you, by the way. I have a tendency to do that sometimes.))

((It's no problem,)) I assured him quickly. ((I've enjoyed listening to you. It's very interesting.))

He chuckled. I couldn't tell if he believed me or not. ((Thank you. But you haven't told me about yourself yet. I'm sure I'd find your story equally interesting.))

My story? I was so distracted by what he had said that it took me a moment to figure out that he wanted me to tell him about my life. Of course, I couldn't really do that. ((I'm on a trip with my owner,)) I said, trying to figure out what I could safely tell him. ((We stopped to spend the night here, and now we can't leave because of the rain.))

((A trip? To where?))

It would probably have sound suspiscious if I told him that we didn't really know where we were going, but I didn't know enough geography to name a reasonable-sounding destination. ((We just wanted to get away from home. We're not really going anywhere, just wandering around the countryside.)) That was true, as far as it went.

Supernova nodded, taking this in. ((I know the feeling. I wish I too could wander around. Do you battle?))

((No. My owner isn't interested in training.)) Which wasn't exactly true, but hopefully I could keep her interest level to a minimum for as long as was neccessary. How long that would turn out to be, I didn't know.

((Ah.)) He smiled. ((Just drifting around. How nice that must be. No worries at all.))

((Hardly,)) I muttered in a voice that I thought would be too low for anything, even sensitive Arcanine ears, to detect. The moment his head jerked towards me in surprise, I knew it hadn't been nearly low enough.

((What's wrong?))

Damn you for that comment, I told myself. ((Nothing, just talking to myself. It's nothing.)) I silently begged him to believe me.

((There is nothing wrong with my hearing,)) he said. ((If anything, being blind seems to have made it sharper. If you do not wish to tell me what you meant by that, I shall not force you, but I do wish you felt comfortable talking with me about your problems.))

((Why? Why should you care?))

((Why should anybody care about anything?)) he replied. ((Many Pokemon have told me their troubles. Perhaps they think that an old, blind Arcanine who will spend the rest of his life in a Poke Center is harmless enough to be trusted with whatever secrets they might have, which I suppose is true to some extent. Sometimes I am able to help them, sometimes not, but I believe that merely listening helps to some degree. And I have never betrayed a confidence.))

I became aware of a tingling sensation inside my body, a tingling that seemed to grow as I stood there. It was exactly the same as the sensation I had experienced in the woods. How long ago had that been? Several days? It seemed a lifetime. I grew afraid of what might happen if I remained there for too much longer. ((Sorry, I don't want to tell you about it.))

((That is fine, of course,)) he rumbled. ((What else do you feel comfortable telling me about yourself? Where do you come from?))

I didn't want to talk with anybody. I wanted to be alone. ((I'm sorry, I have to go now,)) I said, backing away from him.

((Have I done something--))

((No! No! You haven't done anything! I just need to be by myself for a little while.)) I tried to think of where in the building I could go to be alone. The basement, with its maze of corridors and storage rooms, seemed my best bet.

((Please come back and talk to me sometime. I enjoyed our conversation.))

I didn't answer him that time. I was already too busy trotting towards the basement stairs. Focused with grim determination on what I knew I had to do, I failed to notice Ashley turn her head to watch me go, then jump down from her trainer's lap to follow me.