Chapter 9: Silence is broken

It was another day at the pokemon center. Darla had just finished breakfast and was waiting, waiting for her friends to come and play. Even though she seemed antisocial for a pokemon, she really loved it when trainers came to the center to heal their pokemon. It had been a few weeks since Darla had first arrived at the center as a battered and bruised torchic. She had recovered from her physical wounds, but not from her emotional ones. She was still just as quite as ever, the pokemon didn't seem to speak or understand neither pokemon or human.

The small Torchic was also looked upon as an object of pity. Considered mute and unable to understand people or pokemon, they thought that even though she could hear them, she wouldn't be able to understand her trainer's commands or the opposing pokemon, she would be useless in a real battle. Thus no one was willing to adopt her. What no one knew however, was that Darla could definitely understand everything that was going on, she simply chose not to respond.

The young torchic often followed people around the center, usually, that person was Nurse Joy, but she usually didn't mind. However, this habit could get her into a bit of trouble.

Today wasn't much different, Darla walked around the center with Nurse Joy. She was treating some pokemon who were injured in a battle against a tough opponent. The small torchic often wondered why so many hurt pokemon came here to be hurt. Were humans often mean to pokemon? It was possible, but the pokemon didn't seem angry towards their human companions, in fact they seemed very happy.

It was around noon now. Darla was quietly eating her lunch in her strange way, picking each piece with her foot and popping it into her mouth. Nurse Joy was busy with her computer, checking up on files of the pokemon that need treatment. The strange man who sat in the center waiting room everyday was busy talking to himself or anyone else in earshot. Everything was quite normal. Then he arrived. A trainer had just stormed in all angry over something. The dust from his clothes fell onto the just cleaned floor. The mud from his shoes made prints everywhere he stepped. He occasionally muttered stuff under his breath, something Darla didn't really understand, but knew that it shouldn't be repeated. His brown spiky hair was quite scraggly and in need of a wash, and his face was contorted in a snarl that was quite scary. He managed to get a lot of people's an pokemon's attention when he entered. Who ever this person was, he was obviously very angry and should not be messed with.

When he got to the front desk, he gave his pokeballs to Nurse Joy. "Heal my pokemon" he said with a hint of anger in his voice. Nurse Joy didn't like the tone or the way this person acted at all. "Okay, I'll give your pokemon some treatment, but you must do something about that attitude" Nurse Joy was displeased with this trainer. As she took the pokeballs into a back room behind the desk, the trainer muttered something else under his breath. Darla thought she heard a "Shut up" from him.

Darla understood that this person seemed very mean. This was the same sort of meanness she experienced when she tried to make friends with the other torchics back at the farm. "Maybe I can make him feel better" Darla naively thought as she finished her food. She walked up to the trainer and made a cute face. He didn't or at least pretend not to notice. Darla then went to rub against his dusty pants for affection. She usually did this to trainers she thought needed cheering up, it usually worked, but not in this case.

"What are you doing you stupid torchic?" He asked in the same tone he had when he talked to nurse Joy. The young Torchic didn't take notice and kept on rubbing his pants. The dust was being wiped of his clothing and settling on to her face, but she did not notice that either. The trainer was getting more and more annoyed until he could not take it any longer.

"Leave me alone!" He said angrily at Darla. Now, she would have usually just ran away from him, but she just stopped and made the most adorable face she could. However, he was not pleased at all. "GO AWAY!" He yelled and he kicked Darla away. Everyone in the waiting was shocked at this act. The little torchic got up, and now she was angry, but she didn't know what she could do. She ran towards the trainer and started to scratch him with her foot in frustration. It didn't seem to do much to the trainer's rough, dusty jeans. The angry trainer then grabbed the small but angry pokemon by the ankle and held her upside down.

Darla was in absolute terror. She was upside down and 4 ft from the ground, the young torchic tried to struggle free but she didn't want to fall either. Darla started to cry. "Aww... What's the matter? Scared of heights?" The trainer said tauntingly, he then shook Darla a few times. He continued to shake the small torchic until someone cried out

"STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" A voice shouted from across the pokemon center, it was another pokemon trainer, her long flowing chestnut hair flowed behind her as she ran towards the cruel trainer and the distressed torchic. "Why are you bullying that torchic Albert? It wasn't doing anything wrong to you!"

"This stupid weak pokemon was bothering me" Albert said as he kept dangling the small torchic by the ankle. Darla had enough of this, it seemed she just could not remain silent any longer. So she decided that she would not be ruled by her fears any longer. After weeks of being in silence, She then let out a huge shriek that stunned everyone in the center.

"PLEASE LET ME GO!!!" The usually small voice cried out. Heads turned, and everything became silent as a voice they never heard before was heard for the first time. In shock, Albert dropped the small torchic, but she didn't seem to scream. She fell to the ground with a thud. She wasn't hurt but she didn't like it at all. The small Torchic them went running down the hall of the pokemon center