Antithesis: Yes, dark pokemon indeed. Think of them like the pokemon from the Team Rocket TCG Boosters, you know, like "Dark Rapidash" and such. Or I suppose you could think about them as like the shadow pokemon from Pokemon Collosseum. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!
Mareo and Anime: Yeah, I suppose it would make more sense to have a level 5 pokemon as a young pokemon, but Charmander's a special case, as you will find out a bit later. (And by a bit I mean like two chapters or so).
neogirl7900: Glad you liked it! I almost always have distractions unless I'm reading in the school computer lab where no one talks. Though, even there I sometimes have the unfortunate luck of sitting next to an older adult that has no clue how to operate a mouse….
Digi Fan: You're welcome. See, I do listen to my reviewers!
Maia's Pen: Yes, Marilu's my very evil bad guy/gal. You gotta have at least one of those to have a good story in my opinion. That's one of the things I'm not very satisfied about when it comes to the pokemon anime. There's no re-curring really evil person.
Now, apologies for taking so long for updating. Summer was consuming me, and lately reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been consuming me as well! Anyway, now that I've finished it (it was SO awesome by the way!), and my summer is now quite boring, you shall get regular updates! So enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Stop asking me! I know I just totally seem like the kind of person to own it, but really I don't!
The Glass Half Full
Ch.10 Pokemon Switch!
Kayla and Charmander had been running quite an awful lot. Kayla had never imagined that she would be spending so much of the time on her journey going at such a fast pace. As the trees thinned out and disappeared behind them, and the glowing lights of Pewter City came into view, Kayla couldn't help but wonder if she had done the right thing….
She and Charmander slowed their pace quite a bit, attempting to catch their breaths.
"Do you… think we did the… right thing Charmander…," breathed Kayla, too tired to think of anything else.
(Honestly I don't know. He said he wanted us to go, so we did. I guess what we should be asking is if Pops did the right thing,) said Charmander, shaking his head slowly, (You know, he was really creepin' me out! Talk about getting angry.)
Kayla's mind wasn't listening to anything Charmander was saying; she was so drained over the whole event, that all she could hear was the innocent sound of soft pokemon-speak coming from the little orange pokemon.
A few minutes later they had entered Pewter City, and had absolutely no idea where they were going. Kayla and Charmander wandered the streets, keeping alert to any buildings that were red and white, as Pokemon Centers usually were.
Suddenly Charmander let out a cry, and Kayla looked down to see him pointing to a Pokemon Center building! She smiled weakly, and the two dragged themselves over to it, wanting nothing but this whole day to end.
As they entered, Kayla remembered about Pidgey. She looked down at the remaining pokeball as she brought it out of her pack, and spied Cubone's pokeball as well.
"I hope he's alright," she whispered, fearing the worst.
The two approached the front desk of the cream-colored lobby, and Kayla glanced at a girl who was bent over trying to pick something up behind the counter.
"Um… hello?" asked Kayla timidly.
The girl stood up abruptly, her eyes wide. "Eeek! What! Who's ther--," she paused, "Oh; I thought you were going to like kidnap me or steal my pokemon or something. Man, don't sneak up on someone like that!"
Kayla stared for a moment at her. She looked a bit like Nurse Joy, but clearly was not. Her eyes were a green color, very atypical of Joy's; and instead of her bright red hair being put in two loops that come down from her head, hers were in two small poufs. She chomped her gum as she looked over Kayla.
"Uh, I'm sorry, it's just, could you heal my Pidgey please?" asked Kayla, feeling a bit intimidated by the girl's forwardness.
The girl snatched the pokeball out of Kayla's hand, and gave her a puzzled look, "Why would you want to battle at this time of night?" She looked up and down at Kayla's messed up crimson hair and dirty overalls.
"You must be from Pallet Town, huh? Are you a hick or something?" she said, now looking at Kayla with what seemed to be a prejudiced point of view.
Kayla blinked. This was the second time she had been labeled a 'hick' because of her appearance, and was starting to come with a mixture of shame and annoyance along with it. "I uh, I guess so…. And I wasn't battling, well, you see, these two Team Rocket members tried to steal my pokemon and two other kids'--."
The nurse grabbed onto Kayla's shoulders. "OH MY GOSH! That is SO HORRIBLE! Are you okay! Are your pokemon stolen! How'd you escape! Oh my gosh," the nurse shouted frantically. She seemed more upset about it than Kayla.
(Who is this chick?) mumbled Charmander, eyeing the girl curiously.
"Uh…" mumbled Kayla, not sure really what to say. She had never met a person as hyper as this before. She was glad though that this revelation seemed to push her preconceptions about Kayla out of her mind.
"Oh I'm so sorry, your pokemon should get healed. You can tell me all about your adventure when I get back with it; I'm sure you must need someone to talk with. What about that one? The Charmander?" she asked, pointing to the lizard standing next to Kayla.
Charmander waved his arms nervously, and backed away a few feet, (Oh no no no, I'm perfectly okay!)
Kayla assumed he meant no, and shook her head. She was glad that Charmander didn't want to go away. She didn't want to be alone right now.
The girl nodded briefly, and then turned around to go into a small room behind her. She paused in mid-step as she reached the doorway between the rooms.
"Oh! And by the way, my name's Julie. I'm the little sister of the Nurse Joy that usually works here! She had to go tend to an emergency in Saffron City, so now I'm watching the center! I know, know, I'm not a Pokemon Nurse, but from being around my sister all the time I've learned just as much as she has! Oh, and your name was…?" she said quickly, trailing off waiting for Kayla to reply.
"Huh? Oh! My name is Kayla," she answered, her mind still thinking of the little brown pokemon that was missing.
Julie nodded, then disappeared into the other room.
Kayla looked over to a marble bench at the side of the room. She walked over there slowly and sat down with a whimper, her body still recovering from the Thunder Wave she had received earlier in the day.
Charmander walked up to her and looked at his trainer's face. (Are you okay?) he asked, feeling sorry for all they had been through.
Kayla ignored him. She peered to the glass doors of the center. Where was Cubone? Was he alright? Kayla tried not to think of him, but the more she tried not to, the harder it became. He had sacrificed his safety for them to escape, and what had she done? Nothing.
She wanted, now, more than anything in the world to just see him walk through the doors.
Charmander was worried too. He had grown quite fond of 'Pops', and didn't want anything bad to happen to him. He looked up at Kayla, who was now about to cry and frowned.
Well, at least he could do some good for Kayla.
He walked up to the marble bench, and clumsily climbed up onto it and sat next to Kayla. She looked over to him, but then looked back to the sliding glass doors that blocked the entrance to the building. He moved a bit closer to her, and before Kayla even saw what he was doing, climbed onto her lap and gave her a big hug. Kayla was a bit surprised, but it seemed to be just what she needed.
She returned the hug, taking note as to how warm his skin felt. Charmander's skin was a bit odd feeling. It was scaly like a lizard's, but was not rough in any way. It was actually quite the opposite, and felt smoother and almost silky.
Kayla tried not to cry, but she couldn't help it; the hug had milked it out of her….
However, their warm-hearted embrace was cut short by the swishing sound of sliding automatic glass doors.
The two immediately looked to the entrance, and beheld what they had so hoped for.
There in the doorway stood a badly bruised, but still standing Cubone with a few additional cracks in his outer skull. He staggered through the entrance, and stopped when he got to the middle of the center's floor.
(Pops! ) yelled Charmander, both he and Kayla letting go of each other.
"Mr. Cubone! I'm so glad you made it safely," cried Kayla softly, as she ran over to the brown pokemon and kneeled down to see him closer.
Cubone hung his head a bit, and looked to Charmander, (I- I am sorry for how I acted. I have not been that angry since… well, since my Master parted from this world. That- that animal was asking for his death sentence. Pity I didn't get to carry it out.)
(That's okay! No hurt feelings in this happy Charmander! I think we're both just relieved to have you back! I can't believe you took on that really scary Jolteon!) said Charmander, a wide grin on his face.
(Yes well…,) Cubone said, now looking to Kayla, (I am also sorry to have worried you. I just did not want any more harm to come to you Kayla. You are my responsibility. It is my job to make sure that you are safe, and are protected from horrible people like that. It is my duty as your father's pokemon, and as your pokemon.)
Kayla nodded slowly, her eyes wide again. She had just understood the whole conversation. The part where Cubone explained that he was sorry, the part with Charmander saying that it was okay, and the part with Cubone apologizing again. She tried to find her voice, but all she could think about was the two very human speaking voices she had just heard from her pokemon. Cubone's had been a deep, rough male voice, not unlike his pokemon voice, and surprisingly, he didn't really sound as old as he was. Charmander's had been a squeaky boyish voice that strongly reminded her of a teenage boy's voice that was just about to change into a man's.
The two pokemon stared up at Kayla's surprised and almost scared expression.
(Something wrong, Kayla?) asked Charmander, tilting his head to one side.
Cubone blinked. (If you can understand me, try not to think about why you can; it will only make you lose the connection you already have gained. And do not worry or be afraid about your ability. You are supposed to have it,) he said quickly, watching Kayla carefully.
Charmander raised an eyebrow, (Huh? That's like what you said when we first met you. Why do you think that Kayla can understand us? And how do you know what to tell her to do?)
"This- this is weird. I could understand you. But, now I can't seem to anymore; why?" pondered Kayla, feeling a little scared about it.
Charmander rubbed the tiny hole on the side of his head that was his ear, and shook, (What! Did I just hear Kayla say that she could understand us! What the heck's going on! Can't I just get an explanation? Is that so much to ask!)
Cubone didn't answer, and Kayla was about to ask another question, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Huh?" jumped Kayla, looking around to see Julie.
"Hey, um, can I talk to you for a moment about your pokemon?" asked the nurse's sister. She did not look happy.
Charmander pouted, (Great, now my questions will go unanswered; again.)
Kayla began to feel a bit worried. "Y- yes, what is it?" she asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.
"Well, I thought you said that your pokemon I was to heal was a Pidgey," Julie said, looking confused.
"It is," answered Kayla, becoming curious as to what this was about.
"There was no Pidgey in that pokeball," whispered Julie, as if saying it quietly would make the problem less than what it was.
Cubone and Charmander looked at each other.
"Huh! Then- then what was in it?" asked Kayla, feeling scared once again.
"This Butterfree," she said, pointing to a small Butterfree across the room that Kayla had not yet noticed. It was an unusual color for a Butterfree; its body was a bright red color, and its mandibles, hands, and feet were an orange color. Its eyes were a sparkling sapphire, and its wings were a cream color. Around its neck was a brown collar that had a small golden tag on it. It floated around curiously, looking at objects in the room, and seemed unfazed by the fact that it was now in a very different place than before.
"But how did? Why?" stammered Kayla, trying to reason how her Pidgey had gotten switched. Then she remembered the trio of Butterfree that had helped them in the forest; and how they said that they had only enough time to grab some of the pokeballs.
"Team Rocket must have gotten my Pidgey," said Kayla, finally realizing what had happened.
"Oh that's horrible!" yelled Julie, looking angry about it, "You have got to file a report to Officer Jenny! She'll track down those crooks!"
Kayla sat down again on the bench, unsure of what to do or how to feel. So many things had happened to her; she just wanted to be home again.
Charmander looked up at Kayla. (It's okay, I'm sure Pidgey will probably sit on their heads so much, that they'll just let her go!)
Cubone turned to the orange lizard, (That joke was not funny.)
Charmander shrugged, looking confused, (What joke?)
Julie bent down to look Kayla face-to-face. "Hey! Don't just sit there feeling sorry for yourself! You've got to take action! I know what happened is horrible, which it totally is, but you can't let that stop you from getting back at those evil people! If they get away, then they'll just do what they did to you to someone else!" she paused, "Wait. Did that last part make sense?"
Kayla nodded weakly, "Yes, I suppose you're right. Could you tell me where the police station is?"
"Oh yeah!" the nurse answered with a smile, "Right down the street. You'll see a large building with a sign shaped like a Police badge. You can't miss it!"
The Butterfree from across the room was now near the two girls, hovering in timid curiosity.
Julie gave a glance to it. "And while you're doing that, I'm going to try and find out where this little one belongs. Luckily since it's a pet pokemon, it has a collar and tag on; it shouldn't be too hard to find out who the owner is. And in the meantime, I'll heal this Cubone for you too, 'kay?"
Kayla gave another weak nod, and began to walk out of the center with Charmander, still feeling sorry for herself, regardless of what Julie had said. She hadn't seen much of Pidgey, or gotten to know her that well; but she still missed the little bird. She had so much spirit it seemed; and Kayla would hate for any pokemon to end up like that Jolteon.
The two of them talked very little as they walked up to the police station, and as Kayla walked in, she noticed that there were many people all talking to Officer Jenny. Two of them were people she happened to know; Gary and Mike. Three others were trainers whom she didn't know. And the last was someone Kayla recognized, but didn't know personally; the leader of the Pewter Gym, Brock.
"Hey Charmander," said Kayla, looking to her pokemon, "Maybe you should get into your pokeball, I wouldn't want anyone to knock you or step on you."
(Fair enough. I definitely wouldn't want some kid's shoe stomping on my back, ) said Charmander, trying not to imagine the feeling of being crushed, and willingly returned to his pokeball in a flash of red light.
All of the people surrounding Jenny were shouting for attention, and she had to hush them all several times before they would all quiet. She cleared her throat and pushed her blue hair back behind her shoulder.
"Listen people; I know you all have something to report. But I can't get anyone's complaint if all of you are talking at once! Please, we are all reasonable human beings. You will now form a single file line, and either me, or one of my associates, will see you. And Brock," she said, turning to the spiky-haired gym leader, "This better be an actual complaint it's four in the morning." And with that she turned on her heel, and headed into a room, beckoning the first person in line to come in.
Kayla walked up to Mike and Gary, the only people she felt comfortable with, and gave a timid wave.
Mike started to talk to her, "Hey! What're you doing here? Did one of your pokemon get stolen too?"
Kayla looked surprised, "What? Y- you guys got your pokemon stolen also?"
Gary rolled his eyes, "Well duh! What do you think we're doin' here!"
It was now Mike's turn to roll his eyes, "Gary! Sorry Kayla he jus--."
"Will you stop saying that every time I talk to someone! Who are you, my mother!"
Mike shot an angry glance at Gary, and continued to talk to Kayla, "Anyway, Gary's just in a bad mood. After all, we didn't really help in the Viridian Forest against that Jolteon, and now my Pikachu and Gary's Spearow are missing. I thought I had my Pikachu's pokeball, but it turned out to be Gary's Caterpie. And then Gary thought he had his Spearow, but it ended up being an empty pokeball. So we decided to come here."
"Stupid Team Rocket idiots," mumbled Gary, looking angry.
Kayla nodded, "Yeah, my Pidgey ended up being a Red Butterfree."
Gary looked up. "A Red Butterfree? My grandpa once treated one of those for a Wingrot problem. Those are really rare in Kanto; although they're becoming more common though in other places like Hoenn or Johto. And they're already common in the Orange Islands; which is where they originated. The Orange Islands' pokemon are known to sometimes take on different shades, and the Red Butterfree is a very popular variation there," he finished, sounding almost as smart as the PokeDex.
Mike scowled. "Let us all bow to Gary's genius!" he said sarcastically. Gary didn't look like he liked the joke too much, and was about to retaliate when he was cut off.
Officer Jenny's voice called to the next person, Gary, and the three decided to enter together seeing as their complaints were all of the same people.
The policewoman sat at a small desk, covered in papers and pictures of her family. Kayla and the others sat down in three of the five seats all around her room.
Jenny scribbled something down on a paper in front of her, and then looked up at the three, "Alright now; what is it that you three need help with?"
Gary was the first, as usual, to speak up, "Well you see Officer, my frie--, I mean, my colleagues and I here had some of our pokemon stolen in the Viridian Forest by two Team Rocket members!"
Kayla and Mike both glanced at each other with expressions of mild surprise. Did Gary just almost call them 'friends'?
"Oh my. Well, I'll tell you right now; it's not that uncommon for people to get their pokemon stolen nowadays. When my mother was a little girl, you hardly ever heard about stolen pokemon! Back then Team Rocket was an organization that performed pokemon research. They never even thought of stealing pokemon! However, their practices were questioned at times," she paused, Gary sighed in boredom, "But then about the time I was born, three families took over the team, and made one man the 'Boss' or leader of the group. Ever since then, their police file has been getting bigger and bigger. So big in fact that we needed to get two file cabinets for them!" she motioned toward two black file cabinets outside of her office.
"That was a great history lesson, but when can you get our pokemon back!" yelled Gary, not caring about things that didn't pertain to him.
Jenny stood up looking angry, "Excuse me? And just who are you anyway? What makes you so special that you can just rudely yell at me like that! Little man, I would watch your tongue."
Gary gulped after seeing how much taller Jenny was than him, and slowly and silently sat back down in his seat.
"Ha!" said Mike, giving Gary a smirk.
"You watch yourself too," said Jenny, now eyeing both boys. She picked up a piece of paper, and began to scrawl things down on it.
"Excuse me," asked Kayla, raising her hand slowly, "B- but how is it you know all of this about such an elusive organization?"
Jenny smiled, "Good question." Gary made a fake gag, and Mike sat silently. "Well Kayla, you see, every family has its black sheep, and the same goes for the Rockets. People unknowingly join, and then decide that they're too brutal for them to handle. Some of them are revolted so much that they even report everything they learn to the authorities. That's why we know what we know."
Kayla nodded, glad her question could be answered. Gary began to look bored.
"Can we get on with this?" asked Gary, looking tired, "It's just a little late."
Jenny cocked an eye at the boy, but continued with her talking. "Yes well, I'll need all of your names, and the pokemon you're missing. And a description of the Rockets that stole them from you wouldn't hurt either. I'll tell you this though; there is no guarantee that we can even find the people who stole your pokemon. Team Rocket members have an amazing way of disappearing from places very quickly. And not to mention, shipping off stolen pokemon quickly too. So even if we find them, which I doubt kids, we probably wouldn't find your pokemon."
"So you're saying it's h- hopeless?" Kayla asked, already knowing the answer.
Jenny looked up from her paper, "Yes. I'm truly sorry. I wish there were more I could do. The law enforcement of today just doesn't have the manpower or the ability to track down all of the cases we get in here. But at least you can file a report."
Kayla sighed with defeat, but all the same told Jenny her name and what pokemon was stolen. Gary and Mike did the same, and soon all they were left with were the descriptions. The boys described Marilu, and Kayla described Zephyr.
Jenny sighed. "Such young people. Well, if what you told me was true, I think I know who we're dealing with."
Gary blinked. "Who?"
Jenny stood up and walked over to the Rocket's file cabinet and placed the papers she had been scrawling on into it carefully. "There is only one kind of Team Rocket member that wears that kind of uniform. Those two must have belonged to one or two of the three Rocket families. Remember those three families I mentioned earlier?"
The three trainers nodded.
"Yes, well, those kinds of uniforms are only worn by them. They tend to be the evilest of the members, seeing as their whole family is tied into the organization. As children they are taught that pokemon are tools and objects that must be taught to be obedient and tortured into submission."
Kayla thought about the two Rockets she had seen. The whips they had, the way Marilu had threatened her Jolteon.
"I would not want to grow up in that family," said Mike, looking shocked.
"No you wouldn't," said Jenny, shaking her head, "And you're expected to follow in your parents' footsteps too."
"You're making it sound like you feel sorry for those two creeps!" yelled Gary, staring hard at Mike, "I don't care what family they grew up in; they're still low-life's to me!"
Mike rolled his eyes, "Look Gary, that's not what I meant! I hate them too, but I can at least understand why they act the way they do."
Gary grew quiet, and sat back down in his seat. Kayla thought silently to herself. What would it be like to grow up in a family of criminals? To be taught since day one to disrespect living things, and not to care about anyone's feelings? Horrible. It certainly seemed to work though; Marilu didn't seem to care about much besides herself; but what of Zephyr? Kayla remembered how he had acted to his Chikorita. It was very different from the way Marilu treated her Jolteon; he actually seemed to care about its well-being. Then she remembered how he had warned Marilu not to battle with Cubone, because her Jolteon would get hurt. Although, he could have just wanted to get out of their situation before one of their strongest fighters was down. Kayla shook her head.
She couldn't really tell if they were good or not, but she wasn't sure if she could think of them as devoid of anything good.
"You know," she suddenly found herself saying, "I'm sure that they can't be all bad."
Gary and Mike gaped at her.
"Whatever," snapped Gary, unconvinced, "You two and your bleeding hearts."
"Well geez Gary," said Mike, looking offended, "Maybe it's a little hard for us to believe that someone can truly be evil."
Jenny looked bored of this argument between them, and cleared her throat to get them to quiet down. "Listen up you three. I agree that those two teens probably have their redeeming aspects, but as far as the law's concerned, they're not too good to hang around. And don't go thinking that you can take the law into your own hands or anything; especially with those Rocket members. Kids in the past have tried to steal back their old pokemon, and most of them who have tried ended up with more than just their pokemon hurt."
And with that, she dismissed the three of them, and they were left to ponder how badly those kids that Jenny was talking about were hurt. Gary and Mike began to argue about how they would get their pokemon back from Marilu and Zephyr if they could. Kayla was busy trying to imagine what it would be like to be a pokemon like Jolteon and suddenly found herself thinking of Cubone again. He and Jolteon didn't seem so different when they were going head-to-head.
It was then that Kayla finally realized the connection.
Cubone and Jolteon were the same. She didn't understand all of it right then, nor did she realize how much she really didn't know yet; but she at least knew that Cubone, at one time, must've belonged to a Team Rocket member. She shook her head as she imagined a time when he would have been just as evil and twisted as that Jolteon…
Then she pondered the black light that the two pokemon emerged from; was that what Rocket pokemon do? But Zephyr's Chikorita came out with the typical white light; what was that about? Had he just not had Chikorita long enough to turn it evil? Kayla shook her head; this was all too confusing. She just wished that she could simply ask Cubone about it; but her 'ability' never seemed to work when she wanted it to.
The three trainers slowly parted ways without really knowing it. They were too tired to even care to say goodbye. Kayla closed her eyes as she neared the Pokemon Center. It was late in the night, or early in the morning, and all Kayla wanted to do was curl up in a warm bed without the worry of Team Rocket or stolen pokemon and go to sleep.
A/N: Comments welcome as usual! Not much else to say here. Next time is Kayla's first attempt at a gym battle. More info on the red Butterfree. And hopefully it seems like an interesting battle to you all! Stay tuned!