Just so everyone knows, I am perfectly aware that there are autistic people out there who can be cruel and mean. I myself have encountered less than pleasant people on the spectrum online. This story just doesn't focus on that. I'm writing this for my own enjoyment and for that of others, namely those who are sick of seeing autistic people portrayed as savants, non-verbal, or always throwing tantrums.
Chapter 6: Eggs, Kimono Girls, and a New Friend, Oh My!
For the longest time, Julia had convinced herself that pokemon battles were nothing but senseless violence that hurt both people and pokemon. If someone told her two years ago that people considered battling as a way to strengthen the bond between people and pokemon, or that battling was more about trust than who was the strongest, she would have strongly disagreed, decreeing that battles were cruel and violent, nothing else. It didn't help that she had seen news reports on TV showing graphic videos of pokemon being forced to kill each other bloodily for sports, money, and even laughs. She couldn't believe some people would be so cruel as to treat pokemon as nothing but tools of war, her own sister being one such person even more so.
Going to Sprout Tower had been the best decision she had ever made, even if it was at Falkner's behest. They showed her that battling wasn't about hurting pokemon or seeing who was the strongest, but rather a different way of showing the trust between a pokemon and its trainer. For a brief moment, she truly did feel as though she had become one with her pokemon during her battle with the sages, especially Li. She loved her pokemon dearly and held her bonds with them in the absolute highest regard. She thought just that would be enough. The battles she had invigorated her, lighted a fire in her that she didn't think she had.
Another thing had come into her mind as well. In the deepest pits of her heart, she somehow knew that if she were to confront Amara, she would have to battle her someday. As much as she wanted to avoid fighting or battling with her, Amara wasn't one to listen to reason. If she couldn't get it in her head with words, Julia figured she might as well get it in her head through battle. After all, if she was going to go on a long journey, she'd have to battle in order to be strong enough to get through certain parts of life that weren't going to be easy. Life wasn't going to just hand everything to her on a silver platter. She learned that the hard way. But a little hard work wasn't all bad.
After her battles at Sprout Tower, she went back to the Pokemon Center to stay for another night and train her pokemon for a while longer. She even read some more books on battling and its rules and ethics. According to the National Pokemon Legal Rights Federation, killing a pokemon is absolutely forbidden in pokemon battles. If a pokemon has fainted, the battle cannot continue, and if someone uses their pokemon to hurt the fainted pokemon further or does it themselves, they either get arrested or fined at least a thousand dollars. Trainers cannot attack another trainer's pokemon, be it with their bare hands or weapons such as knives or guns lest they be sent to jail for eight years. Julia was glad someone had the decency to set those rules up. In her mind, that made battling somewhat more tolerable.
"Marill!" Aqua hopped on Julia's bed right as she was reading the book.
"Can't sleep yet, Aqua?"
Aqua shook her head. Julia smiled and stroke the blue mouse's head gently. "It's okay. I'm not nervous at all about tomorrow."
"Marill mar!" Aqua chirruped as she wiggled underneath the blankets, snuggling right next to Julia. The girl's heart grew warm as she put the book down and wrapped her arm around her friend, pulling her close.
"You're sweet," With that, Julia's eyes closed and she drifted off to dreamland.
No nightmares. No flashbacks of Mrs. Amoretto or that awful day. When was the last time she had slept so peacefully? Morning knocked on the door, and Julia was the first to open it without hesitation. She made sure to give back the book Falkner rented from the library and the other books to the Pokemon Center. She stood before the Violet City gym with Hikaru by her side. She pushed the doors open, and with a drawn out creak, they revealed the inside of the gym.
In the middle of the gym was a large battle field that looked just like the one at the school, with the PokeBall symbol and all. Large lights lit up the room, brightening it right up. Falkner stood at the end of the battlefield. He was no longer in uniform, but instead was wearing a blue kimono. Black and red arm bands covered his arms from his wrists to his elbows, and a sky blue cardigan with white cotton balls on both sides covered his back. A white cloth was wrapped around his waist, and he wore tall white socks along with black sandals.
"Ah! Julia!" Falkner exclaimed. "You actually came! I didn't think you would. I take it you found your answer?"
Julia clutched the strap on her bag tightly. "Umm...I'm not sure. But...I'm hoping to find it here...if that's okay," She murmured in a low voice.
Falkner shrugged. "Good enough. I accept your challenge."
A male referee stood on the left side of the battlefield, holding a yellow flag in his left hand and a white flag on his right. "The battle between Falkner the gym leader and Julia Parisa of New Bark Town is set to begin! The gym leader is only allowed to use three pokemon as per his wishes, whereas the challenger will use all six of his or her pokemon. Only the challenger can switch pokemon during the battle."
"How come?" Julia tilted her head to one side. "Doesn't that seem a little unfair? You have other pokemon, right? Like that skarmory?"
"I have plenty of pokemon," Falkner told her. "But they're too strong. I have pokemon I use for this gym only so I can put myself at the same level as trainers who challenge me. But I'll let you know this! Just because you're a beginner doesn't mean I'll go easy on you, whether you're autistic or not!"
That seemed to explain it. Julia found her heart ablaze with some kind of weird feeling. Was this the feeling trainers got when they battled? "I never said I wanted you go to easy on me!"
The referee held his flags up in the air. "Ready? Battle begin!"
Falkner pulled out a PokeBall. "I'll show you how far we can fly! Pidgey! Let your wings guide you!" A pidgey came flying out of his PokeBall.
Julia looked down at Hikaru. "Do you want to try this out?"
"Pichu!" The tiny mouse scurried onto the battlefield, its round eyes gleaming with courage.
"Pidgey! Use Tackle!"
"Hikaru! Tackle it right back!"
The two pokemon charged at each other, with pidgey descending from the air and Hikaru running right toward it. Their heads collided, and Falkner's pidgey found itself flying in the air again. Hikaru rolled on the battlefield to regain her balance. "Use Thunder Wave!" On command, Hikaru shot jolts of lightning at the bird, hoping to paralyze it. Since pidgey could fly, it was able to evade every single attack.
"Pidgey! Use Gust!" Falkner commanded. Pidgey cooed passionately before flapping its wings back and forth, generating a gust of wind that easily blew Hikaru to Julia's part of the battlefield. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to knock her out, and Hikaru wasn't intent on giving up just yet.
Hikaru wiped some sand out of her ears before running toward pidgey once more. Julia commanded that she jump on pidgey and use Sweet Kiss on it. When pidgey attempted a Tackle attack, Hikaru didn't dodge. Instead, she grabbed onto pidgey's wing and kissed it right on its cheek. Before long, pidgey was suddenly kicking sand in its eyes and slapping itself with its wings. Falkner didn't even blink despite the odds not being in his favor. To Julia's dismay, pidgey still managed to kick some sand into Hikaru's eyes.
"You okay, Hikaru?" Julia asked worriedly.
The tiny mouse wiped the sand out of her eyes before giving her trainer a thumb's up. "Pichu!" ("I'm just fine!") Hikaru's eyes gleamed with determination.
Falkner crossed his arms and flashed a smile. "Your battling skills are developing nicely. I can see the sages at Sprout Tower taught you well," He told her. Julia couldn't help but bask in his praise, but knew the battle was still going on. "But we're not finished yet! Use Wing Attack, pidgey!"
Pidgey shook its head vigorously, finally managing to get a grip on itself. The tiny bird ascended into the sky, its wings shining in a harsh white light. Hikaru ran as fast as she could, trying her best to outrun the little bird. Unfortunately, to their dismay, pidgey caught up with Hikaru and its wings made contact, throwing the mouse across the battlefield. With a grunt, Hikaru managed to stumble back on her feet.
"Are you okay?!" Julia yelped, her hands almost covering her eyes.
"Pi...chuuuu…" Hikaru grunted, wiping the sand off of her fur.
"You don't have to battle if you don't want to-"
"Pichu!" ("I want to keep going!") Hikaru snapped.
The girl found herself touched by her partner's insistence on continuing the battle. All this time she wanted to keep her pokemon out of battles out of fear of them getting hurt. The fact that Hikaru still insisted on battling said a lot about her. Elder Li had said it before. Pokemon battles are about trust and believing in her pokemon. She had to believe in Hikaru no matter what. A good trainer always believed in her pokemon.
"You can do this, Hikaru! I know you can!"
"Pichu!"
"Coo coo!" Falkner's pidgey cooed, daring Hikaru to see if she could beat it.
"Let's win this, Hikaru!" Julia exclaimed, her heart ablaze with new resolve.
"Piii!"
"Use Disarming Voice!"
"Piiii!" Hikaru let out a shrill cry, and despite pidgey's attempts at dodging it, one of the hearts managed to hit its wing.
"Cut through it and use Tackle!" Falkner shouted. On command, pidgey flew through the Disarming Voice, hitting Hikaru right in the face with its beak, canceling the attack. Hikaru rolled on the sand. But when pidgey tried to get up, its body suddenly went numb. Sparks of electricity danced across its body.
"Static!" Julia cried, realizing what had happened. Even Falkner's eyes were wide and mouth agape. He had completely forgotten the electric mouse had that ability. This was her chance, and she had to take it right now. "Finish it off with Thundershock!"
Hikaru was already on it. She dropped a jolt of lightning down on the pidgey. The thunder dissipated and pidgey's skin was black from the shock. It was unable to move. The referee got a closer look before holding up the yellow flag. "Pidgey is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner!"
Winner. The joy in her heart suddenly bubbled over, and she couldn't fight the urge to cheer and jump in the air. "Yay! Our first win!" Hikaru leaped into her arms, letting Julia spin her around. They both knew their battle wasn't over, but it didn't hurt to celebrate a little bit. "You did it, Hikaru! You were so great out there!"
"Pichu!"
With a sad smile, Falkner put pidgey back in its PokeBall. "You soared far above the clouds, pidgey. Take a good rest," He put the PokeBall in his pocket and pulled out another one. "Hoothoot! It's your turn to fly now!"
A hoothoot popped out of the PokeBall. "Hoothoot!"
"Want to take a break, Hikaru? That pidgey was strong," Julia asked.
"Pichu!" Hikaru nodded, crawling down to the floor.
Julia kneeled down and stroke Hikaru's head gently. "You deserve to rest a little," She pulled out an Oran berry and handed it to Hikaru, knowing she needed to get some of her energy back. Hikaru swallowed the Oran berry whole without hesitation. Julia pulled out another PokeBall and threw it. "Aqua! You're up!"
"Marill mar!" The water mouse leaped onto the battlefield.
"Battle begin!"
"Aqua! Use Water Gun!" On command, Aqua shot a blast of water at hoothoot, who flew all over the place to dodge it.
"Hypnosis!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Aqua wasn't fast enough to move away, resulting in her unknowingly making eye contact with the round bird. She found that her eyes had become heavy, and couldn't keep them open. Her head became light, and her body wobbled until she fell right asleep.
"Oh no! Aqua!" Julia exclaimed. Aqua laid down on the battlefield, with a snot bubble ballooning in and out, sleeping like it was time for bed.
"Now's our chance!" Falkner balled his hand into a fist and threw it in the air. "Use Peck!"
Hoothoot flew down toward Aqua and pecked her all over her body, driving her beak into her fur. "No! Aqua! Wake up, please!" Julia begged in a loud, pleading voice. "You gotta wake up!"
"Finish it off with Air Slash!" Falkner cried. Hoothoot's wings glowed in a white light. With just one flap of its wings, two sickles of white light suddenly flew right toward the sleeping water mouse. Once they made contact, a dust cloud appeared, almost blowing everyone away. Julia was quick to shield her face with her arms, and Hikaru clung to Julia's leg. When the dust cloud faded, Aqua continued to lay on the ground. This time, the snot bubble was gone.
"Aqua the marill is unable to battle! Hoothoot is the winner!"
Falkner crossed his arms and flashed a proud expression. His hoothoot fluttered back to the ground, hooting and cooing, happy to have achieved such a valiant victory. Julia ran over to Aqua and cradled her in her arms. "You okay, sweetie?"
This time, Aqua woke up. "Marill…"
"It's okay. You did your best," She put Aqua back in her PokeBall. "I'll take you to the Pokemon Center later. You did a great job."
"Losing and failure can pave the way to success if you're willing to learn from it," Falkner said as hoothoot descended onto his arm, begging for pets. The blue haired man stroke his faithful bird gently with his free hand. "In fact, failure can teach you so much more than success ever could."
Although she was happy that he was trying to encourage her, she wasn't sure how failure could be perceived as a good thing. She still had plenty of pokemon left to use, and she didn't want to put Hikaru back out on the field too suddenly. However, she wasn't sure if Neji could handle it, and Papillon is a bug type, making her weak against flying types. She could definitely satisfy a certain someone's thirst for battle. "Tsubasa! Get out there and show me what you're made of!"
Tsubasa flew out of the PokeBall proudly, happy to be able to battle. With this, the battle resumed. "Hoothoot! Tackle!"
"Tsubasa! Tackle it right back!"
Since Tsubasa happened to be smaller and faster than hoothoot, she managed to hit the opponent before hoothoot could hit her. "Keep tackling it!" Tsubasa proceeded to tackle hoothoot in every direction, throwing it around like it was a rag doll. Hoothoot tried to fight back, but Tsubasa kept bombarding it with tackle attacks, not letting up.
"Confusion!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed in a purple light. Tsubasa found herself frozen in place. Before long, Tsubasa was suddenly thrown across the battlefield, and she would have hit the ground had she not managed to flap her wings right before landing.
"Good job, Tsubasa!" Julia exclaimed. "Use Wing Attack!" Tsubasa charged right at hoothoot, throwing herself against the fat bird. Her wings collided with the bird, throwing it right on the battlefield.
"You can still fly, Hoothoot!" Falkner cried out. "Soar! Use Peck!"
Unlike before, the two birds were on equal footing. This time, Tsubasa was able to dodge the attacks since she could fly, like hoothoot could. Zipping all around the room like an annoying fly, Tsubasa found herself liking this. She could let off all her steam and beat this fat bird to the ground.
"Air Slash!"
"Dodge it!"
Since Tsubasa was awake, she was able to dodge the Air Slash attack as well. Julia prayed that hoothoot wouldn't use hypnosis. Unfortunately, her prayers weren't answered. "Use hypnosis!" Thankfully for her, hypnosis didn't work, as Tsubasa kept flying, making it impossible for hoothoot to land a hit on her. Julia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on, Tsubasa! You can do it! Knock it out with Wing Attack!" Julia cried. Tsubasa nodded in agreement. This was the nudge she needed to beat that hoothoot once and for all. With her wings glowing in a harsh white light, Tsubasa charged at the unsuspecting hoothoot with no mercy. WHAM! Hoothoot was thrown against the wall. Since the gym walls were made of stone, there weren't any dents. At least, not any that a small pokemon would be strong enough to make. Hoothoot's limp body fell to the ground with a thud.
"Hoothoot! No!" Falkner ran to his partner, only to find the bird unable to move.
"Hoothoot is unable to battle! Tsubasa the pidgey is the winner!" The referee announced.
Tsubasa flew to the ground and let out a hearty laugh. "Coo coo coo cooooo!"
"Tsubasa! It's not nice to gloat or insult people!" Julia scolded.
The tiny bird wasn't fazed. "Coo coo coo!" ("Come on, Jules! I'm awesome and they know it!") A hand flew to Julia's face. As much as she liked the victory, she wished Tsubasa would be a little more humble about it. Hoothoot was called back to its PokeBall.
"Wow. I'm impressed," Falkner told her, putting a hand on his hip. "You're soaring real high, kid. If you keep that kind of strength up, you can go far."
Julia scratched her brown hair with an embarrassed laugh. "I don't know. My pokemon are the ones doing the work. They deserve the credit. I'm just that annoying whiny kid who can't do much of anything," She sputtered.
"Don't put yourself down like that," Falkner pulled out another PokeBall. "But don't think you've won just yet! The wind is still with us! Go, Pidgeotto!"
A light shot out of the PokeBall, morphing into a large bird pokemon, much larger than Tsubasa. Its fur was a lighter shade of brown than Tsubasa's and its talons were larger than a pidgey's. Pink hair grew from the top of its head, forming a crescent shape if observed from the side, and its tail feathers were both pink and yellow, with the ends having notches on them. Its wings were big and long, and when outstretched, it looked as though it could easily trap Tsubasa in a big hug.
"Pijoooooo!" The large bird pokemon cried.
Julia pulled out her PokeDex to get some information on it. "Pidgeotto, the bird pokemon, and the evolved form of pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution, as they are very territorial and show no mercy when attacking their prey."
To the casual trainer and to small pokemon, a pidgeotto would be something they would stay away from for the time being. However, Tsubasa was not like normal pidgey. As soon as pidgeotto descended to the ground, Tsubasa pointed a wing at it and started cooing like crazy. Julia was quick to translate it, even though she facepalmed. "Ugh! Tsubasa says, 'You're not so tough! I'm gonna beat you bloody! Don't think you're so special just because you're bigger than me!' Really, Tsubasa?" She had to wonder if she caught the only pidgey in the world who was this boastful.
Pidgeotto let out some chirps, not looking fazed by Tsubasa's declaration. "Your pidgeotto says, 'I'd like to see you try, shrimp.'"
"Battle begin!"
"Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack to knock it out!" Falkner commanded.
"Pijo!" Without hesitation, pidgeotto flew across the battlefield. Tsubasa tried to move away, but pidgeotto managed to catch up. Its large beak slammed right into Tsubasa's wing, sending her rolling across the battlefield.
"Tsubasa! Are you okay?!" Julia cried. Like before, Tsubasa got back on her talons without a hitch. "Use Gust!" The tiny bird flapped its wings back and forth, generating a gust of wind.
"Gust right back at it!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings, creating a stronger gust of wind than Tsubasa's. As a result, the tiny bird found itself blown away. She was quick to regain her composure, but not enough to avoid another attack. "Use Quick Attack!" Tsubasa tried to fly away, but pidgeotto was too fast for her. Once again, pidgeotto's beak collided with her, sending her sprawling onto the battlefield. This time, Tsubasa was unable to move at all.
"Tsubasa the pidgey is unable to battle! Pidgeotto is the winner!" The referee announced.
Julia pulled Tsubasa back into her PokeBall. "It's okay. You did great."
"Pichu!"
"You want to go at it again? Okay. Just be careful."
Hikaru scuttled onto the battlefield, her round eyes gleaming with determination. She was going to need it. Julia knew that even if she did have a type disadvantage, size and strength also mattered, and she wasn't sure if Hikaru would be able to beat pidgeotto. But she had to believe in her. Surely, they had a chance. The battle resumed.
"Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack again!"
The bird ascended into the air before dropping downward. "Hikaru! When it gets close, use Thundershock!" Hikaru didn't dodge. She wanted to, but she wanted to trust Julia's instructions. Pidgeotto came closer and closer. Her tiny red cheeks crackled with sparks of electricity just dying to come out. "NOW!"
"Chuuu!" Hikaru didn't hold back, and unleashed an explosion of thunder. Pidgeotto was unable to avoid it, as it had been flying too fast, leaving it unable to dodge right off. As a result, pidgeotto's body was consumed by electricity, its feathers burning from the touch.
Once the shock dissipated, pidgeotto flew down toward Hikaru and knocked her away with one wing. That proved to be a mistake, as pidgeotto's body suddenly turned numb. Its muscles and wings became stiff, and its body didn't move the way it wanted it to. Static had taken affect once more. Julia knew this was her chance to defeat Falkner. She commanded that Hikaru use Thundershock once more, along with Sweet Kiss to make sure pidgeotto was so loopy it would be unable to battle or attack. Hikaru did what she asked, and pidgeotto found itself slapping itself with its wings multiple times. Julia's body blazed with courage and determination. She had never felt this way before. Was this what it was like to be one with her pokemon?
She yelled for Hikaru to finish it off with Thundershock. Pidgeotto was struck once more by a bolt of lightning. Despite it attempting to stand up and continue the battle, both of its talons gave out, and it landed in the middle of the battlefield with a thud. The referee walked over to get a closer look. Pidgeotto was out like a light. "Pidgeotto is unable to battle! Hikaru the pichu is the winner, which means the victory goes to Julia Parisa of New Bark Town!"
Julia fell to her knees. She had won. It didn't fully sink in. Ever since she was young, she hardly ever won at anything, like contests or games. It didn't help that kids and people like Mrs. Amoretto had convinced Julia that she would never have a chance at being worth something no matter what she did, even if she worked hard. Now...all of those beliefs had been whacked across oblivion by the baseball bat that was Hikaru's victory against pidgeotto. Her green eyes, wide with confusion at first, suddenly glimmered with joy. Her cup of happiness was full before, but Hikaru made it overflow by contributing one more drop to it.
"Pichuuuu!" Hikaru leaped into Julia's arms with a cheer.
"You did it, Hikaru! You did it! We won!" Julia stood back up and spun around, holding Hikaru high in the sky. Falkner pulled pidgeotto back into its PokeBall with a frown on his face.
"For pity's sake...sorry, Dad. I lost," Falkner mumbled to himself, lamenting his loss. If Elder Li were here, he would say that failure could teach one more than success ever could. In his heart, he was proud of Julia for beating him. Well, not for beating him, but for finally taking joy from battles. It was evident from the way Julia and Hikaru cuddled and nuzzled each other that they were truly rejoicing in their victory, brought about by their bond. "Oh well. There's always next time."
"Falkner!" The girl's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Are...your pokemon gonna be okay? We didn't hurt them too bad, did we?"
A smile appeared on his face, replacing the frown. "They'll be fine. You battled awesomely. Here," Falkner dug into his pocket and opened his hand. Julia and Hikaru looked down to see a shiny silver brooch made to resemble a hexagonal set of wings, with a slight opening going down the middle. "In honor of your victory, I present to you the Zephyr Badge."
At first, Julia just stood there. She was happy that she won her battle against Falkner, but she didn't really want anything out of it. All she wanted was to see battling from a new perspective. She had read about gym leaders and the Pokemon League, and didn't find it to be of interest. She had dreams she wanted to fulfill, but the Pokemon League wasn't one of them. Even so, she knew it'd be rude to refuse the badge. Perhaps she might like to try it out if she could. She slowly took the badge from Falkner's hand.
Right then and there, a memory came back to her mind. Her seven-year-old self was sitting in the principal's office crying. Falkner had released two of his pokemon to keep her company and cheer her up. One of them was a white pokemon with red and blue markings on its belly. "Did you...used to have a togetic?"
That was out of the blue. She did say she barely remembered the incident. Maybe seeing the badge triggered something. He flashed a sad smile. "Yes. I used to have a togetic. He was a real trooper, and a good friend."
"What happened to him?"
"He died last month. Old age combined with kidney failure."
Julia's eyebrows furrowed. She had no idea. The sweet white pokemon who made her happy so many years ago is gone now. She looked down at the badge, marveling in how pristine its steel surface looked. "I didn't know."
"It's okay. I'm sure he's flying in Heaven with his wings outstretched," Falkner crossed his arms. "You battled hard. If you keep this up, you and your pokemon will soar as high as you want to."
She closed her hand into a fist with the badge trapped inside. "Thank you, sir. For everything. I...I don't hate battling anymore."
"If you're interested, the next gym is in Azalea Town," Falkner explained. "You have to go through Union Cave to get there, though."
With that, Julia said her goodbyes and prepared for the trip to Union Cave. Now she had another place to go. The contempt she felt for Violet City disappeared, replaced with good memories. Meeting Falkner, battling the sages, the gym battle...she had only been here for a few days but learned so much. She was sure she was going to make good use of it for the future. However, as she left the gym, her PokeGear rang.
"I wonder who that could be?" She pulled it out and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"Julia! Hello! It's Professor Elm!" The nervous professor on the other line exclaimed.
"Hi there. What's up?"
"Your mother told me you're in Violet City. Umm…" He stammered, like he was having trouble putting words together due to being too excited. "The egg you brought back from Mr. Pokemon. One of my assistants is in the Violet City PokeMart with it. We would...like you to hold onto it!"
Julia found herself speechless for a moment before answering. "Uhh...sure. I can do that. How come?"
"I've been doing some research on it," Professor Elm exclaimed, calming down. "It's a genuine Pokemon egg, and although they can hatch just fine in the wild, according to my findings, pokemon that hatch from eggs that are raised by humans can be stronger than those of wild pokemon. Would you like to raise the egg?"
"Umm...sure. I'd love to," She answered nonchalantly. It was still sinking in, but she answered so she wouldn't disappoint Professor Elm.
"Great!" He shouted. Julia pulled the phone away from her ear. "My assistant has spiky black hair and is wearing a white lab coat. He's easy to spot. He has a big mole near his nose, too. Thank you so much! Bye!" Beep beep beep. With that, he hung up.
The egg...already, the memories of trying to protect it from Amara ran through her mind. This time, it was easy as pie to get it. She and Hikaru went to the PokeMart, met with the assistant, got the egg, and left without a hitch. No interruptions, no interference, nothing. However, when she left, she saw someone that caught her eye. It was a young woman with raven black hair styled in a Mt. Silver style(1), held in place with a gold barrette with a PokeBall dangling from it, wearing a pitch black kimono with yellow PokeBall patterns on it. Wrapped around her waist was a yellow and purple obi, and she donned brown geta sandals and white tabi socks.
Julia found herself stopping in place, frozen by her beauty. The woman's skin was pale like the moon, and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Resting in her hands was a perfectly round, deep violet, oil paper umbrella with white flower designs painted on it, giving her a regal, refined air. Julia clutched the egg tightly like a mother protecting her child. This was no time to be gazing at another woman's kimono, beautiful as it was. She was about to leave until the woman happened to glance at her.
"Is that a pokemon egg?"
She stopped in her tracks and turned around, noting the woman's plump, rosy cheeks. Julia stared down at the egg in her arms, her cheeks burning from being put on the spot. "Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes…"
"My," The woman spoke in a soft, clear, pretty voice that matched her elegant, proper appearance. "I've never seen a pokemon egg before. May I take a look at it?"
Something told her that the woman seemed nice and friendly, and there was no need to be so apprehensive around her. However, the nerves in Julia's body were all jumbled up into a mess. She wanted to just run and take the egg with her. She needed to go to Azalea Town quickly. At the same time, she didn't want to be rude. She let out a sigh, conceding defeat. "Okay. But don't touch it, please. It's very fragile," Julia told her firmly, hoping that her tone of voice had an authoritative air about it that would be enough to make her listen.
The woman bent over to gaze at the egg with her gleaming eyes. She tilted her head to one size, examining it closely. "Mr. Pokemon must have found it, didn't he?"
Julia's mouth fell open. "How...did you figure that out?"
The woman stood back up and let out a chuckle. "Mr. Pokemon watches our performances whenever he has time, so he tells us a lot about his discoveries," The woman explained. "I'm a dancer, you see, and my sisters and I reside in Ecruteak City. I'm Zuki, by the way."
"J-J-J-Julia," She stammered. That explained it. "Y-Y-Your...kimono is...really pretty."
"Thank you for the compliment," Zuki replied gratefully, bending down into a graceful bow. "My mother sewed it for me when my pokemon evolved. Oh!" She looked down at her watch. "I must be going. I'm meeting my sister for breakfast at the cafe. It was a pleasure meeting you, dearest Julia. I do hope you will become a great pokemon trainer."
With a soft smile and a wave, Zuki trotted off to a cafe that was close by. Julia waved back with a shy smile. "She seemed nice," She said to herself. Adjusting her bag strap, she walked southbound, down the path that supposedly led to Union Cave.
She expected the trek to be tough, like on Routes 30 and 31. However, it proved to be far tougher than usual, with trainers asking her for battles. She figured her pokemon needed some more battling experience if she was going to challenge the Azalea gym, so she decided to accept their offers. The battles themselves were either really tough or took a long time. At one point, a big red ladybug pokemon had flown right in front of her, sitting on a rock.
"Awww! How cute! A ledyba!" Julia watched the bug pokemon sit on the rock. The pokemon was large with a red upper body, and its stomach and face were a light shade of creamy white. It had big, soulful black eyes, six stubby legs resembling round fists, and big black polka dots dotted its back. Julia held up her PokeDex.
"Ledyba, the five star pokemon. These naturally gentle bug type pokemon gather in groups during the cold weather to keep warm. They are very timid and don't move a muscle when they're alone. In a group, they're more active and social. They prefer to communicate with others by emitting an aromatic scent," A pink female sign flashed in the corner of the PokeDex, indicating that it was female.
Julia put her PokeDex away and pulled out a PokeBall. "I'm definitely going to catch this little cutie!" Hikaru got the message and decided to help out. She commanded Hikaru to use Thundershock on it. Hikaru scurried over to the giant ladybug before it could react. With a piercing cry, a jolt of lightning dropped down on the pokemon. Ledyba's body became numb as the electricity surged through her body. When the electricity dissipated, the ladybug fell off of the rock, its limp body making contact with the grass with a soft thud. Julia threw the PokeBall without a word. The PokeBall bounced off of the ladybug, and it turned into light before going inside.
The PokeBall wobbled back and forth, the red light in the center flashing. All of a sudden, a light came right out, morphing into the ledyba, who shook its head to shake off the numbness. "Aww! I guess you better weaken it some more," Julia said.
"Pichu!"
The ledyba opened its translucent wings, ready to fly away. "No! Hurry! Use Disarming Voice!" She couldn't let it get away. Hikaru let out another piercing cry. This time, pink circles and hearts poured out of her mouth, ripping apart the poor ladybug's ear drums. The ledyba found itself descending back on the grass with two fists clinging to its two black antennae. Once more, Julia threw a PokeBall at it, and the ledyba was forced back inside. The PokeBall wobbled again. Julia squeezed her eyes shut, praying that the pokemon stay inside this time.
Click! The flashing red light disappeared. "Yay! I caught a ledyba!" Julia jumped up and down with a cheer. Once she stopped, she kneeled down to pick up the PokeBall. However, as soon as she picked it up, it glowed in a white light before disappearing into thin air. The smile on her face immediately morphed into a frown. "Wha?! What...what just happened?!"
"Pichuuuu?" Hikaru was just as confused as she was.
"Oh! Mom might know!" She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her PokeGear. She dialed her house number and waited for an answer.
"Hello?"
"Mom? It's me, Julia!"
"Hi, Julia! How's your-"
"I caught a pokemon just now but the PokeBall disappeared!" Julia interrupted, her voice almost bordering on hysterical. "I'm worried that it might have-"
"Don't worry," Kassia told her reassuringly. "We just received it through the transporter."
"Huh?"
"Professor Elm and I talked about this before you went on your journey," Kassia began. "He programmed your PokeBalls to make sure that if you ever caught more pokemon than you could carry, they would immediately be transported here to the house for safekeeping," The worry and hysteria that had caught Julia in its clutches finally released her. She found herself letting out a sigh of relief.
"Ohhhh. I get it," Julia facepalmed. "I even read about this in my books, too. Sorry."
"It's okay! I figured you'd wind up worrying about this, so I'm glad you called. Where are you right now?"
"I'm on a road that's supposed to take me to some cave called Union Cave," Julia told her.
"Oh dear. You better be careful then," Kassia advised, her tone of voice adopting a slightly more serious tone. "Union Cave's not an easy cave to get through. There's onix and zubat and sandshrew and everything in there."
Julia shuddered. She hated zubat with every fiber of her being. Just hearing their names made her freeze in place. "Don't worry, Jul. Your pokemon will be safe with us. Oh! I better let you go. My soap opera's getting to a really steamy part."
That made a chuckle come out. Mom and her soap operas. "Okay then. Sorry for worrying you. Bye! Love you!" With that, she hung up her PokeGear and went about her way.
She wasn't sure how long she had been out on the road, but by the time she had reached a pokemon center, the sky was draped in a deep blue curtain embroidered with twinkling stars. It must be confessed that she lost a battle to a particularly strong trainer, and as a result, all of her pokemon were too tired and injured to do anything. For a moment, Julia was worried. An eleven year old girl, all alone in the middle of the woods at night with pokemon that couldn't fight. What if a wild pokemon were to attack? She was sure she would be done for. At the same time, she couldn't just stay here.
Fortunately, she saw a red roof and bright lights just up ahead. Much to her relief, it was a Pokemon Center. Boy, did she need one. Not only were her pokemon in dire need of care, she was hungry, tired, dirty, and needed to go to the bathroom. Her stomach growled with a harsh rumble, begging for food. Her hair was scraggly, covered with dirt or leaves from some confrontations with wild pokemon. Her hoodie and shorts had patches of dirt on them from falling down, whether from tripping on roots or rocks or from pokemon battles. Not only that, she needed to go to the bathroom really bad. If that Pokemon Center hadn't been there, she might have considered doing it outside, and she really didn't want to expose herself. What if there were night prowlers or creepy perverts out there watching? She didn't want to take that risk.
The first thing she did was race to the bathroom. After that, she gave her pokemon to Nurse Joy. Once they were healed, she jumped in the shower to wash off the dirt and grime. Water racing down her body, dampening her hair...it felt great to finally be out of the wilderness. Never before had she appreciated shampoo and soap so much. She had always taken it for granted, especially since she liked being clean and was never a rough and tumble kind of girl who liked to get dirty or climb trees. Once she was clean, she threw her dirty clothes into the washer, then the dryer. After that, she treated herself and her pokemon to a very late dinner, she changed into her pajamas, and went to bed. She figured she'd go into the cave tomorrow.
Morning came, and when she woke up, she called Kassia again to send Papillon to the ranch in exchange for the ledyba she caught last night. She named her Ladybug. But for now, she needed to get through Union Cave. If she didn't get through it now, she wouldn't get to Azalea Town by nightfall. There was no doubt about it. She had to get through it.
The cave itself wasn't anything special. It was dark, but not so dark that Julia couldn't see where she was going. There were some creeks and ponds around, where some water pokemon played and enjoyed themselves. The ground beneath her feet was quite bumpy. Rocks of all shapes and sizes covered the cave floors, so hardly anyone could walk straight. At one point, Julia slipped on one rock and wound up falling on the ground. Another rock scratched her knee, leaving a small laceration surrounded by dirt. When she sat up, she looked down at her palm. Tiny scratches, dirt, and gravel decorated it.
"Oww…" Julia crawled over to a small pond and stuck her hand in the water. The frigid cold water made a shiver run up her arm, all the way down to her spine. She put her good hand in there and splashed some water on her scraped knee. The skin around her knee was red from the fall, and it felt warm when she touched it.
Hikaru noticed the scrape before hopping up on a rock and licking the blood away with her tongue. "Awww. Thanks, Hikaru," Julia's heart grew warm at the kind gesture. "You're so sweet," As thanks, she scratched Hikaru under her yellow chin. "I wish I brought band-aids with me. There's no PokeMart around."
"Chuu…" Hikaru agreed. All of a sudden, her ears twitched, and the tiny mouse looked up.
"You hear something?"
"Pichu!"
Julia stood up and put her hands behind her ears. At first, she heard nothing. A few seconds later, her ears caught the soft sound of a ringing bell. But there was no way a bell could be in a cave, let alone ringing. The ringing sound grew louder. "Pichu!" Hikaru cried, pointing further down the cave.
The area gradually grew brighter, as yellow light came pouring out. All of a sudden… "Mareeeeep!" A wooly sheep pokemon darted out with a cry. The sheep had a dark blue face, matching legs, cone shaped ears with black and yellow stripes on them, a curly tuft of wooly fur on its head, and a body that was completely covered tail to neck with soft, pale yellow wool. At the end of its black and yellow striped tail was a round, orange sphere that resembled a crystal ball, and it was glowing in a bright light. Wrapped around its neck was a red strap with a silver bell dangling from it. That explained where the ringing came from.
"A mareep! They don't live in caves," Julia told herself as she pulled out her PokeDex.
"Mareep, the wool pokemon. Mareep store static electricity in their wool, so touching it will shock you. They usually avoid battle and have mild dispositions. The wooly coat around its body stores a lot of air, allowing it to stay cool in summer and warm in winter."
"Mareeeep!" The mareep darted toward Julia before pulling on her pant leg with its teeth. "Mareeep! Mareeep!"
"What's wrong?" Julia asked. The mareep sounded desperate and kept baaing. She tried to translate its frantic words. "Your trainer's in trouble?" The mareep nodded vigorously. "Do you remember where you trainer is?"
The mareep darted back to where it came from, its silver bell ringing as it moved. "Mareep! Mareep!"
Julia turned to look at Hikaru. "Let's follow him."
Hikaru nodded. The mareep made sure not to move too quickly so as to lose sight of Julia and Hikaru, allowing them to see where they were going. Sometimes it stopped in its tracks, looking back to see if they were behind it. A blue bat pokemon suddenly flew past Julia, flapping its large wings. Letting out a yelp, she slipped on a rock and fell on her rear. "Owww!" She cried before standing back up. The pain from hitting the rock made her rear end throb, but this was no time to worry about that. They continued further.
The tiny mouse's ears twitched, this time to a different sound. Julia heard it, too. A person's voice calling out for help. Closer and closer they walked. The more they walked, the clearer the voice became. "Help! Help! Someone! Is anyone there?!" A girl's voice echoed in the depths of the cave.
Finally, they found the source of the voice: a girl of Julia's age sitting in front of a large pile of rocks. The girl had bright, wavy orange hair that went down to her lower back, tied in the back with a black ribbon. Her blue eyes were red, puffy, and wet from tears. They were hard to make out in the dark, but the light from the mareep's tail shined on her face, and the tears reflected it. She was wearing a white blouse underneath a sleeveless maroon vest, a brown skirt, white stockings, and deep brown shoes. Standing next to her was another pokemon, a small, four legged fox-like creature with six curly orange tails, matching the tuft of hair on its head. The pokemon had darker orange fur, soft grey eyes, a cream colored abdomen, and its paws were a deep shade of orangish brown.
"Mareeeeep!" The mareep suddenly darted over to the girl, pointing to Julia and Hikaru with its paw.
"Is everything okay?" Julia asked in a soft voice.
"Oh! Thanks so much, Chirin!" The girl hugged her mareep friend tearfully, referring to it as Chirin. Julia smiled. So the mareep was her pokemon. "I'm sorry to ask this of you…" The girl began. Julia could tell from the way her voice sounded that she had been crying for a long time. Her voice was hoarse, like she had screamed for a while. "But I need your help! I can't do this on my own!" She grabbed her by the arm, giving her a desperate, pleading look.
"What happened?"
"We were trying to catch an onix," The girl explained. "But it escaped by digging this hole here," She pointed to the rock pile. "One of my pokemon fell in, and I tried to get him back, but the ceiling caved in, plugging it up," Julia's green eyes widened. A pokemon was trapped in there. "I've tried moving a bunch of these rocks but they're too heavy! For all we know he could be dead!" The girl raised her voice, matching her hysterical state.
"Vul! Vulpix!" The fox pokemon cried, tapping the girl's shoe with one of its paws.
Julia could feel courage rising in her heart. There was no way she was going to abandon them, even if she wasn't sure she nor her pokemon had the manpower to help with this situation. She had to do something. "I don't know if this'll work, but we'll help you!" Julia released all of her pokemon from their PokeBalls. "Everyone! I need your help! Move as many rocks as you can! There's a pokemon trapped underneath here!"
As ordered, her pokemon began moving rocks away from the pile. Some of the smaller pokemon either moved smaller rocks or worked together to carry big rocks in case they were too heavy. Julia helped the girl carry some of the bigger rocks. She was never one to do much grunt work, and at some points she almost dropped big rocks. Physical strength was not something she truly had, but this was no time to complain about her shortcomings. Her pokemon must be scared, hungry, dehydrated or even dying. There wasn't a moment to lose.
"Umm...random question," Julia said as she and the girl carried a big rock on both sides. "Do any of your pokemon know Rock Smash?"
"Yes. My jigglypuff does," The orange haired girl replied, her voice plagued with doubt. "But we tried that already. It just makes things worse."
"I see…"
"Vulpix!" The fox pokemon called out.
"What's up, Kitsune?" The girl ran up to her vulpix friend.
"Is that your vulpix?" Julia asked.
"Yes. I named her Kitsune," She replied before noticing a hole. "Look! A hole, and it's big enough for my pokemon to come through!" She dipped her head into the hole, seeing nothing but darkness. Hikaru and Aqua took the liberty of moving some other rocks to make said hole bigger. "Floriaaaaan! Can you hear meeeee?!" The girl screamed. Julia's hands flew to her ears.
But she heard another voice loud and clear. "Chikoooooo!" A high pitched voice replied back.
The girl stuck her arms down the hole. "Use Vine Whip on my arms! You can pull yourself up, right?!"
"Chiko chiko!" Julia watched as a figure came closer and closer to the surface. Soon, a chikorita came out of the whole, its vines wrapped right around its trainer's arms. The orange haired girl was quick to trap it in a tight hug, her tears falling on the pokemon's leaf. The fear completely disappeared, giving way for unadulterated joy to come bursting right out. The same could be said for the chikorita, who gladly returned the hug.
"Florian! Thank goodness you're okay!" The orange haired girl cried, hugging her pokemon so tight she didn't want to let go. Florian withdrew its vines, letting himself be trapped in the hug, basking in his trainer's love and affection. "I thought I lost you forever!" The orange haired girl stood up, cradling her friend in her arms. "Thank you so much for helping us."
"You're welcome," Julia told her politely. "It's no big deal. I'm just happy you two are okay…" She let the sentence drift away as she got a better look at the girl. The light coming from Chirin's tail made it easier to make out her features. However, the girl looked familiar. Where had she seen her before?
Then it hit her. The girl had a chikorita. "Hey! I remember you!" Although she knew it was rude to do so, she found herself pointing her index finger at the girl in a dramatic manner.
"Huh?" Both the girl and her three pokemon tilted their heads to one side.
"I bumped into you at Professor Elm's lab last week! You're the girl who took the chikorita I was gonna get!" Julia shouted. Had her mother been there, Kassia would have stopped her right away or took her away from the situation at hand.
All the girl did was look down at Florian, then back at Julia. Looking at her made her remember their meeting outside Professor Elm's lab. "Oh. You wanted a chikorita? I'm...sorry."
Julia put her arm down. That was a surprise. Whenever Julia would say something that others would consider weird, they would either get mad or laugh at her. Instead, the orange haired girl just apologized calmly. "Well, it's kinda too late now. Besides, my partner's right here," Hikaru crawled up her shoulder, lowering her head for some free pets.
"A pichu?" The girl asked, putting her chikorita and vulpix in their PokeBalls. "But Professor Elm doesn't give away pichus."
"I know. But I found this one near death and my mom and Professor Elm nursed it back to health. She just sorta got attached to me after that."
The orange haired girl smiled. "I see. Hey! I'm on my way to Azalea Town. Do you want to get out of this cave with me?"
"Sure!"
With that, Julia and the orange haired girl went further into the cave. They were careful not to step on any rocks, or potential pokemon like geodude or onix. They did encounter some problems. At one point, Julia almost fell into a pond, but the orange haired girl was quick to catch her by the wrist before she fell in, saving her from getting soaked. Sometimes the orange haired girl unknowingly stepped on Julia's feet despite Chirin's light brightening the cave. Other times, Julia either almost went in the wrong direction or bumped into some walls.
"Uuugh!" Julia complained. Her legs began to feel heavy from too much walking. "This cave feels like it goes on forever!"
"I know," The orange haired girl said. "Huh?"
Finally, they found some light. The oval shaped light of the exit. It was small, and still a ways off, but it was there. "Look!" The orange haired girl pointed to the light at the end of the tunnel. "There's the exit!"
Without hesitation, Julia and the orange haired girl raced to the exit. The first thing they saw was a magnificent blue sky, with the white sun shining down on them. Since it was so bright, Julia covered her eyes for a moment. The sudden brightness made her eyes hurt, so she closed them for a few seconds before opening them to make them adjust. The light at the end of Chirin's tail faded.
"We're out! Finally!" The orange haired girl stretched her arms upward.
"It's still light out," Julia noticed. She checked the time on her PokeGear. It read 1:30 PM. "Wow. We've been in that cave for hours!"
"I'll bet," The orange haired girl said. Then her eyes suddenly got wide. "Oh lord! I never introduced myself, did I?"
"Me either," Julia opened her eyes, putting a hand over her head to block out the sun. "I'm...Julia. Julia Parisa, from New Bark Town."
"My name's Perrine," The orange haired girl, Perrine, introduced herself. "I'm from Goldenrod City. I'm sure you've already met Chirin here," She stroke Chirin's head gently. "Want to see my other pokemon?"
"Sure! I'd love to show you mine as well!" Julia released all of her pokemon from their PokeBalls. Tsubasa stretched out her wings. Neji and Aqua simply smiled warmly. Hikaru waved at Perrine. Ladybug simply latched onto Julia's back. "These are Tsubasa, Neji, Aqua, Hikaru, and my most recent pokemon, Ladybug."
"You give them names, too?"
"Yep!"
"I do too! Here are mine!" Perrine threw her PokeBalls in the air, allowing her pokemon to pop right out. First came Florian the chikorita. Second came Kitsune the vulpix. Next were a hoothoot, a jigglypuff, and a small red pokemon with stubby arms and legs, small yellow eyes, and two notched green leaves coming out from its head.
"These are Florian and Kitsune, as you know," Perrine introduced her pokemon one by one. "That's Fukuro the hoothoot," Fukuro cooed in a welcoming manner. "This is Baloo, my jigglypuff," Baloo gave a graceful bow. "And last but not least is my most recent friend, Fuwari the hoppip!"
The pokemon greeted each other warmly. Hikaru even shook Florian's foot with its hands. Aqua and Baloo were already running around playing. Tsubasa ignored Fukuro's attempts to befriend it. Chirin allowed Neji to play with his tail. Kitsune simply stayed by Perrine's side, content to be away from the crowd. "They're all cute!" Julia said with a smile.
"They sure are," Perrine agreed with a nod. "Hey! I think Azalea Town's just down this road!"
"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Julia was already on the path, with her pokemon following close behind. She held the egg in her arms tightly. "Let's go already!"
Perrine simply smiled and followed her.
Footnotes:
1. This is a reference to Japanese brides styling their hair in ways that resemble Mt. Fuji. Typically, Shinto-style weddings required brides to wear their hair up with ornamental pins, making their hair resemble Mt. Fuji. Geishas and maiko sometimes wear their hair up in this style as well, but it's different for everyone.
Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Sentret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), and Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard)
Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore)
Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)