Chapter 14: A Ghostly Battle!
"Chirin! Thundershock!"
"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!"
Mother nature painted the sky in an array of mystifying colors as the sun set on the horizon. An ocean of orange with a few pink, purple, and blue streaks spread out all over. But Julia and Perrine were on the battlefield behind the Pokemon Center training for their battle with Morty tomorrow. Although he said he could only battle one of them tomorrow, the kids decided to prepare for it by doing some training. Chirin, Perrine's fluffy sheep pokemon, brought down a bolt of yellow thunder down on Julia's new friend. Lucretia, being agile as she was, easily leaped out of the thunderbolt's path before firing a black and purple sphere at the sheep. Chirin had no time to dodge, as the sphere came too quickly for him to outrun it.
"Good job, Lucretia! You're getting better at this!" Julia exclaimed.
Lucretia turned around and squeaked gratefully. Wrapped around her neck was a dark purple ribbon with a fake jewel encrusted on it in the same color, but a lighter tint. Julia had bought it for her a few hours earlier to symbolize their new friendship. Her large, fluffy tail wagged back and forth happily.
On the other hand, Chirin stumbled back on his feet. "It's okay, Chirin! You're doing just fine!" Perrine told him reassuringly. Encouraged by her kindness, Chirin shook the remnants of Lucretia's Shadow Ball off of him. Electricity crackled across his wool.
"Mareeeeeeep!" Chirin growled. All of a sudden, the sheep's body was glowing in a brilliant white light that brightened the area around them. Everyone covered their eyes with their hands. Even Caiseal and his pokemon, who sat on a bench watching the girls battle, had to do so. Chirin grew at least one foot, and stood on two feet instead of four. Some wool came off of his body.
When the light dissipated, out came Chirin. This time, most of his wool was gone from the neck down, with white, cloud-like wool only covering his head and neck. His body was a light pink instead of dark blue. His round eyes and ears remained the same in terms of their shape. A shiny, sky blue orb tipped the end of his tail, which in itself was covered in black stripes. "Flaaaaaffy!" Chirin squealed, announcing her glorious rebirth.
"Awwww! A flaaffy! So cute!" Julia cooed, her eyes twinkling at the sight of Chirin's new evolution.
"Awesome, Chirin!" Perrine exclaimed before pulling out her PokeDex.
"Flaaffy, the wool pokemon," The PokeDex said in its usual robotic voice as Lucretia went over to Chirin to congratulate him on evolving. "Flaaffy are able to use their soft wool to trap electricity easily, building it up for whatever uses it has for it. It's body is covered with a rubber-like layer that prevents flaaffy from being electrocuted. However, as a result of storing too much of it, the rest of its body is unable to conduct electricity or produce wool, not even downy wool. Ifits coat becomes fully charged with electricity, its tail lights up. It fires hair that zaps on impact."
Once Perrine put her PokeDex away, she ran over to Chirin and flung her arms around him. Chirin returned the kind gesture by hugging her back. "You evolved! You're so great!" Perrine rejoiced.
"Flaaaaffy!" Chirin's cute voice hadn't changed one bit. The pink sheep's wool was warm to the touch, like he had spent a lot of time next to a campfire. His pink fur felt rubbery, like the rubber on a car tire. Perrine and Chirin giggled and cheered and spun around happily.
"You two are doing great!" Caiseal called out, holding a hand next to his mouth. Mallow stood next to him, throwing his bone up and down, spinning it as though it were a baton.
"Should we call it a day?" Lucretia leaped into Julia's arms. "We don't want to wear them out before the gym battle."
Perrine stretched her arms out. "Sure. By the way...who's going to battle Morty tomorrow?" She asked.
"Oh, right!" Caiseal exclaimed, running over to the girls. "There's three of us, and he said only one of us can battle him tomorrow," He crossed his arms, losing himself in thought. "How do we decide?"
"How about rock paper scissors?" Perrine suggested.
"Yeah! That'll work!" Julia exclaimed.
"Eevee!" Lucretia added.
Caiseal shrugged. "Good enough."
"Ready?" Everyone held their hands out on Perrine's command.. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" All three held their hands into fists. "Again! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Their hands were flat this time. "One more try! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Caiseal and Julia held their hands out with two fingers sticking up, whereas Perrine's was in a fist. "Ha!" She whacked their hands with her fist gently. "Rock crushes scissors! That means I get to battle Morty tomorrow!"
"Awww…" Julia whined. "I wanted to battle him."
"Oh well. This'll give us more time to train, plus we can watch Morty and observe his battling style," Caiseal told her reassuringly. "That way we can come up with our own strategies."
"Good point."
Julia was the first to run back into the Pokemon Center for the night. Her legs were aching from too much time on her feet. Before Caiseal and Perrine could follow her, Caiseal whispered, "Perrine. Would it be okay if I borrowed that autism book you have?"
"Sure. Just don't wreck it, okay?" Perrine handed him the book, although with a dubious look.
True to his word, Caiseal spent most of the night reading it with interest. All of his pokemon had gone to sleep on another bed, but he kept a lamp on so he could read. Perrine had told him about Julia and her autism. He figured it was about time to understand his friends and quit snapping at them at every little thing. 'Come on, Caiseal! Don't be such a scaredy-cat! They're not like her!' He told himself. 'You have to trust people again. They haven't lied to you so far. They're not gonna just throw you to the streets like she did!' He reasoned silently.
Immediately, a sense of fear came over him. Only for a brief moment, as he shook it off the minute he felt it. This was no time to be thinking of the past. After all, his pokemon were here with him. Seeing their content, sleeping faces made a smile touch his face. His hazel eyes turned back to the book. Before long, his eyes wouldn't stay open. Knowing what this entailed, he turned off the lamp and allowed his body and mind to drift off to dreamland.
The girls in the next room did the same. However, unbeknownst to everyone else-Perrine and the pokemon-Julia found herself still awake. Darkness turned the room pitch black. There was no sound other than Perrine and the pokemon breathing in their sleep. She found herself staring at the wall with blurry eyes. Tears escaped, trickling down her face. A trickle turned into a downpour. She tried to hold back her sobs, but was unable to do so, only managing to keep them to a whisper.
'I had no idea...a pokemon journey was so hard…' She thought. Memories of everything she went through since the beginning of her journey hit her like a freight train.
Amara stealing the totodile and running off. Almost getting killed by beedrill. Returning to the Pokemon Academy, confronting her bad memories of Mrs. Amoretto. Walking through a dark, wet, sticky cave full of zubat. Fighting off burglars who could have easily killed her right then and there with their guns, all whilst protecting a child younger than herself. Trekking through a dark forest full of pokemon, with some being poison types. Trapped in a huge city that was far bigger than other towns she had been to combined, complete with the possibility of getting lost. Bearing the brunt of Amara's uncharacteristic anger and hatred. Some random kid attempting to steal her pokemon for a reason she couldn't fathom. Falling through a dirty, burnt tower almost to her death. All the times she feared for her life, got hurt (both physically and emotionally), dirty, hungry, thirsty, tired, lonely, needed to go to the bathroom desperately...
Everything overwhelmed her right then and there. A torrent of tears came storming right out, leaving a big dark mark on her pillow. Julia had no idea she had that many tears in her. The faces of her parents and sister flashed through her mind-Amara before her sudden transformation-already, the girl found herself yearning for their love and warm hugs. Her father's silly yet corny humor, her mother's kind, reassuring words when she was troubled, the sister who used to love pokemon and help her with her homework, the pokemon on the ranch she would play with...her soft, comfy bed, her favorite food, her nice clothes. The love from her family. Her old, peaceful, ideal life.
'How did I even get this far on my own?' Julia asked herself, wiping her tears away. She hoped she didn't wake Perrine or her pokemon.
It hit her right there. She never had any interest in going on a pokemon journey. While it was true she wanted to see the world, make friends, and meet lots of pokemon, she thought it wouldn't be until she was much older. She had only gone on a journey on impulse. To catch Amara and bring her to the police all by herself. Perhaps her parents were right in not wanting to send her out on her own at first. Going on a journey was hard. She knew it would be, but none of what she went through crossed her mind when she used to think about pokemon journeys. Now she knew. A twinge of regret cropped right up, complete with a spring of doubt. She was traveling with no real destination, other than wherever Amara was going. Chasing her sister all throughout the land. Even Julia came to think that what she was doing was crazy.
Perhaps it was hopeless. No matter how much she chases after Amara, her sister has no intention of connecting with her. The bleak reality finally hit her right then and there. Talking to Amara didn't work. Calling her out on everything she did didn't work. Even attempting to understand her didn't work. She kept telling herself she went on this journey to find Amara, bring her to the police, and hold her accountable for her actions...but she wondered if she was lying to herself. Chasing her would only make things worse for herself and her sister. So far, she had failed to even so much as catch Amara. That pretty much told her that her reason for going on a journey was rendered moot.
Chasing her didn't work. She wondered if the police would find her. Where was the police station in Ecruteak? She needed to report Amara. Her sister needed to take responsibility for her actions. The week before she left on her journey, the memory of a police officer visiting her parents flashed through her mind. Seeing her poor mother bury her hands in her face and her father hugging her left a deep impression on her. Her family had fallen apart, and now, Amara was doing whatever she wanted. This couldn't go on.
Soon, the quiet darkness consumed her, pulling her to sleep.
At least Julia had decent shelter and a bed to sleep in. Amara didn't even have that luxury. She found herself sleeping beside some bushes, inside a big, purple sleeping bag she purchased with money she got from defeating other trainers. She might have slept in what remained of Brass Tower, had she not managed to escape through that big hole on the wall as Julia was distracted by those legendary pokemon. Had she remained, the police might have caught her. She couldn't afford to get caught. Not like this.
"Ugh! I hate this!" She groaned, pushing her skinny legs against the bottom of her sleeping bag. "People call this comfortable?"
The sound of hoothoots cooing echoed on the night wind. Frigid air made Amara's whole body shiver. Not even zipping the sleeping bag up entirely could block out the cold, her lack of warm pajamas not helping. The bush she slept next to rustled in the breeze, constantly keeping her awake. Sometimes, she would look around cautiously, wondering if a pokemon was going to come out and attack her. She was too far from any Pokemon Centers right now, so traveling in the night wouldn't bode well for her.
Twinkling stars reflected off of fresh puddles on the dirt paths nearby, turning them into pools of jewels. The illusions cracking with the occasional pokemon running their feet through the puddles, turning the water into mud as it seeped into the dirt. Amara thanked her lucky stars that she stayed away from the dirt road. Mud in her hair and clothes was the last thing she wanted to deal with. However, she did notice her long hair being wet. She stroke her cheek to find a stream of tears pouring right out.
"Mom...Dad...Julia…" She found herself whimpering. She thought she was happy to get away from them. To be able to do what she wanted despite being pursued by police. But she was constantly on guard, being forced to take care when someone would inspect her essentials and notice she was the pokemon thief. She barely had time to just sit down and have a break. Her legs would ache from walking many miles to the point where she would take her boots off to find her skin peeling off of her feet and toes, leaving red marks. Her long fingernails would have dirt sneaking inside whenever she gripped just about anything.
She pulled her hand out to examine her fingernails. It was dark, so she couldn't see very well, but she could make out some chunks of paint, with the rest of it having been chipped off, her fingers weary from travel. Her mind went back to the days where she and her friends would flock in her bedroom and giggle, painting each other's nails, putting hair up, and dressing up like the girls they'd see in model magazines. A sigh escaped her mouth. Happy days, indeed. If only she could go back to those days, where she wasn't constantly angry and brooding.
Once again, her body begged for sleep, so sleep she did. Perhaps she wasn't alone in her situation.
Perrine and Morty stood on both sides of the battlefield, with Caiseal and Julia watching their friend from the bleachers. A referee stood on the side of the battlefield, with a purple flag in his right hand, and an orange flag in his left. "The battle between Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City and Morty, the gym leader, will begin briefly! Only the challenger will be able to substitute her pokemon and use her entire party. The gym leader will only use three pokemon!"
The blonde haired man gave the younger girl a confident expression, like he wasn't intent on losing. "Good enough for me."
"I really hope Perrine whoops his butt. Really hard, too," Julia mused.
"You sound pretty irritated," Caiseal said. "Is this about him yelling at you? Don't worry. Perrine will beat him."
"She better," Julia hissed. As much as she hated it when Morty yelled at her last night, she tried to understand why. She knew she and Amara unknowingly got in the way of his business and got to see the legendary pokemon when they weren't supposed to, and she had to admit, it was their own fault for going to Brass Tower without proper preparation. But still, he was a gym leader, a grown up, an adult. He could have at least lightly scolded them in a calm manner instead of yelling about it and insinuating that she got in the way on purpose. She was glad she got to call him on it somewhat. If her parents were here, they'd tell her to let it go, as it's not appropriate to yell at someone in public and to let the adults handle it. So what? Like letting adults handle it did any good before.
Perrine sent kitsune out, and Morty sent out a ghost pokemon. A black sphere floated in the air, with a purple, gas-like substance surrounding it. It flashed a wide smile at the little fox, flashing its two sharp fangs, and its large eyes didn't give it a friendly air. "Gaaaaastly!"
"Urk!" Julia shivered and pulled her PokeDex out. "Gastly, the gas pokemon. They usually appear in deserted, decrepit buildings, and prefer to remain invisible. They have no real shape as their body is made completely of gas. When exposed to strong wind, their gas-like bodies can dwindle away, but they can envelop an opponent of any size and cause suffocation," Reading that last part made Julia shiver once more.
The referee raised his arms in the air. "Battle begin!"
"Gastly! Use Night Shade!"
"Gaaas!" A black and purple aura shot out from its gas-like body, flying right toward the orange fox.
"Dodge it, Kit!" On command, Kitsune leapt to the left to avoid the attack. "Use Flamethrower!" A stream of fire escaped from the fox's mouth. Since the ghost pokemon was airborne, it easily dodged the attack, and any others that came with it. Morty crossed his arms, flashing a confident smile.
"You don't have much restraint, now do you?" Morty said.
Julia squinted her eyes at him angrily. 'Yeah, you're one to talk!' She thought.
"Use Lick!" On command, gastly wrapped itself around Kitsune using its gas. The fox flailed her legs back and forth to escape, but they just passed right through its body. Before she could launch an attack to free herself, a sticky pink tongue pushed her face up, slathering her fur with a huge glob of saliva.
"Ewwww…" Caiseal looked away, disgusted. "I like getting licked by my pokemon and all, but that can't be pleasant."
"Indeed," Julia added.
Once gastly was finished, it released Kitsune, who simply plopped to the ground. "Are you okay, Kitsune?!" Perrine exclaimed. The fox's body felt heavy and numb. Even attempting to stand up made her whole body feel as though thousands of pins and needles were piercing her whole being.
"I appreciate your determination," Morty piped in. "But you're going to need more than that to win this battle."
'He's right,' Perrine thought to herself. 'That lick attack must have paralyzed Kitsune, and gastly's a ghost and poison type. She won't be able to hold out for much longer...I got it!' An idea hatched in her head, and she figured she might as well put it in motion. "Kitsune, use Confuse Ray!"
Struggling to get back on her feet, Kitsune's eyes glowed in an eerie, pale blue light. Thick energy circulated all throughout the battlefield. Despite gastly attempting to dodge the attack, it's mind was suddenly overwhelmed with shock. Before long, gastly found itself flying in circles. Morty's eyes turned wide for just a moment. "I had forgotten vulpix could use confuse ray."
"Finish it off with Extrasensory, and give it all you've got!"
The blue glow in the fox's eyes changed to purple, as gastly was trapped in a purple light. Losing control of its body, Kitsune threw gastly right at Morty to the point where he fell on his rear. "Whoops," She said, wondering if maybe that was a bit much. Julia smiled at the scene, thinking he deserved it.
"Gastly is unable to battle! The winner is Kitsune the vulpix!" The referee announced. Morty put gastly back in it's pokeball. Perrine did the same with Kitsune out of consideration for her well-being. There was no way she was going to put a paralyzed Kitsune out on the battlefield and risk getting her hurt.
"I'm impressed," Morty told her. "Most trainers aren't able to defeat my friend gastly. I can see a bright future ahead of you."
Perrine pulled out another pokeball. "Flattery will get you nowhere! Hey, Chirin! This is your cue!" Chirin the flaaffy came spiraling out of the pokeball, striking a pose as he descended on the battlefield. "Flaaaaaaaffy!"
"Haunter! Let's test the fruits of our training!" With a swing of his pokeball, another ghost pokemon came out. This time, a deep purple pokemon with purple teeth and floating hands floated out of the pokeball. It had the same eyes as gastly. "Hauntaaaah!"
This time, Caiseal held out his PokeDex to examine it. "Haunter, the gas pokemon, and the evolved form of gastly. Its tongue is made of gas. If licked, its victim starts shaking constantly until death eventually comes. Haunter is a dangerous Pokémon. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. In total darkness, where nothing is visible, Haunter lurks, silently stalking its next victim."
"I don't wanna die from getting licked by a haunter!" Julia complained.
"Me neither."
"Battle begin!"
"Haunter, use Lick!" Morty commanded. Haunter immediately flew toward the pink sheep upon command.
"We're not falling for the same trick twice!" An idea hatched in Perrine's head, and she didn't stop tp think whether it could actually work or not. "Chirin! Grab its tongue!"
"What?!" Everyone's eyes widened at the command, even Morty's. Before Haunter could pull its tongue back, Chirin wrapped his stubby arms around it, enduring the sticky saliva. "Thundershock!" Haunter couldn't escape as electricity ran all throughout its body, frying it to its gassy core. Once the electrocution session was over, haunter pushed Chirin's arms off of his tongue and flew a few feet in the air.
"Wow. I haven't been that surprised in a long time," Morty said after he calmed down. "But don't think you've won yet! Shadow Ball!"
"Use Cotton Spore to block it!"
The pink sheep shook his body wildly to produce huge balls of cotton. The cotton balls floated aimlessly around the battlefield as the haunter fired an array of black spheres. Chirin dodged them all, using the cotton as a shield. Haunter could barely see Chirin, as he practically blended into the cotton field. "Thundershock again!"
"Sucker Punch!"
Chirin didn't even dodge as he took the time to let his body completely charge with electricity. Haunter's left fist was covered in a black light as it descended toward the pink sheep. An explosion of smoke consumed the battlefield, swallowing up almost everything. Everyone in the room covered their faces with their arms in the hopes of not inhaling any smoke. When the smoke dissipated, both Chirin and haunter were lying on the ground, unconscious.
"Both pokemon are unable to battle!"
With a sad smile, Morty recalled his haunter. "You were wonderful, my friend."
"One more to go," Perrine mused to herself.
"Yeah, Perrine!" Julia shouted as she jumped on one of the bleachers. "You get'em, girl! Kick his butt!"
"You can win this!" Caiseal exclaimed.
Perrine flashed a thumb's up and a smile radiating confidence. Morty sent out his final pokemon: a deep purple, almost black, pokemon with small arms, legs, and lots of spikes on its back. It's eyes were a bloody red color, and its pearly white teeth curled upward to form a smile that didn't look human. This time, neither trainer pulled out their PokeDex. The tension in the air was thick. With this, the battle resumed.
The orange haired girl sent Kitsune out in the hope that she might have overcome her paralysis. Unfortunately, Kitsune was still numb, making it laughably easy for Morty's gengar to defeat her with two Shadow Balls and a Sucker Punch attack. They didn't even give Kitsune time to attack. Baloo and Florian fared no better. With this, Perrine was down to two pokemon only. Her confidence began to waver.
'This is bad...he's really good,' Perrine thought to herself. 'But I can beat him! I won't lose here!' She pulled out a pokeball and threw it. Fukuro came flying out.
"Hoothoot!"
Morty didn't say a word. He just kept his arms crossed. Gengar continued to flash it's creepy smile. "Battle begin!"
"Sucker Punch."
"Confusion!"
Fukuro's eyes glowed in an eerie red light. Gengar found itself unable to move briefly, as Fukuro froze him in place, leaving him incapable of landing the first punch. "Break through it and use Sucker Punch again!" Gengar broke through the confusion and attempted to punch Fukuro square in the beak. Since Fukuro could fly, he was able to easily evade the attacks.
"Peck!" The little owl found an opening and pecked gengar's eyes incessantly, causing the sentient shadow to cry out. With a reckless slap, gengar sent Fukuro flying onto the battlefield. He would have landed had he not flapped his wings in the nick of time, giving him a graceful landing.
"Hoothoot!" ("I'm smarter than you give me credit for, bub!") Fukuro boasted in a regal manner.
"I suppose you know that ghost type moves won't work on hoothoot," Perrine said, crossing her arms to give off a confident air. "You're in quite a bind."
"Smart girl," Morty mused. "But don't get cocky! Gengar, use Hypnosis!"
"Don't look at it, Fukuro!" Perrine shouted. Gengar's eyes glowed in a red light. Fukuro, being agile and capable of flight, was able to dodge the hypnosis fairly easily.
Then it happened. Fukuro's body glowed in a white light, brightening up the entire gym. As usual, everyone had to cover their eyes with their arms, it was that dazzling. Fukuro grew at least a foot, his wings tripled in size, and his round body grew long and lean. Once the light dissipated, out came Fukuro, reborn. His wings stretched to about two feet long, and a large set of cream colored eyebrows kept his round, red eyes in place. Six black, upside down triangles covered his long belly, and his talons remained the same. His tail was a darker shade of chocolate brown, along with his back and the back of his wings.
"Toooohh!" Fukuro exclaimed.
"Holy…! Fukuro, you're a noctowl now!" Perrine rejoiced, pulling out her PokeDex. "Noctowl, the owl pokemon, and the evolved form of Hoothoot. This highly intelligent nocturnal pokemon is capable of twisting its head roughly 180 degrees when it is thinking about something, which can sharpen its intellectual power. Noctowl never fails at catching prey in darkness. This Pokémon owes its success to its superior vision that allows it to see in minimal light, and to its soft, supple wings that make no sound in flight."
"Awesome!" Caiseal stood up on the bleachers.
With this, the battle resumed. Despite gengar's attempts to land sucker punches on Fukuro, the large owl adeptly flew all over the place, dodging every attack. Finally, Fukuro landed two more confusion attacks on gengar, sending the shadow falling to the ground, unable to move. "Gengar is unable to battle! The victory goes to Perrine Innocenti of Goldenrod City!"
"Yay!" Perrine leaped into the air, jumping for joy. Fukuro flew over to wrap his wings around her, trapping his trainer in a hug. Julia and Caiseal leapt from the bleachers and tackle-hugged their friend.
"You really whooped his butt, Perrine! You did it!"
"Way to go! You totally won!"
Morty's confident smile morphed into a frown as he recalled his gengar and walked over to the girl. "You're a good trainer, Perrine," He noticed the glare Julia was giving him, but he didn't think anything of it. "Here, this is the Fog Badge," He handed Perrine a small black badge with two red semi-circle eyes on it. "As for you two, I'm free all day tomorrow, so we can battle then," He said. It was here that he finally took notice of Julia glaring at him. 'Why is she looking at me like that?' He asked himself.
With this, the kids left the gym. "I hear there's some pokemon on Route 38," Caiseal said, pointing to the left side of the city. "How about we do some training there?"
"Sounds great. But I want to heal my pokemon first," Perrine told him.
"Sure. That's fine. How about you, Julia?"
"That'd be great. But…" She paused briefly. "I want to do something else first. You can go on ahead."
Both Caiseal and Perrine headed to the Pokemon Center. Julia, on the other hand, found herself in front of the police station. She remembered the things her mother and Caiseal said to her regarding Amara's actions.
"Julia. Calm down a little. This is a matter the police are more than capable of handling."
"You should only go on a journey for yourself, not for someone else! If you spend your whole life chasing someone, you'll only think you exist for other people! You're basically chasing her all over Johto! You saw how that girl treated her! She doesn't look to be one to listen to reason! I say forget her! It's not worth it!"
Her parents had tried to dissuade her from her desire to go on her journey, but Julia didn't listen. She thought she could find Amara and turn her into the police by herself. That was what she decided. They said they didn't want her to get hurt, but...perhaps they knew that Julia wouldn't be able to catch her. The cold reality of the situation hit her like a freight train. She couldn't catch Amara, and no matter what she tried, Amara refused to own up to her actions, nor was she willing to listen to reason. Perhaps she should have let the police handle this from the beginning. True, her parents and Professor Elm had reported her already, and for all she knew, the police all over Johto might have received many reports from other people.
As for why she herself didn't call the police, that was because she knew her parents already did that. After her hospital stay, she heard Kassia call someone and tell them about Amara. All the other times Amara had attacked her, Julia hadn't called anyone because she assumed someone else did. She saw tons of policemen walk around, searching for Amara. All this time, she wanted to understand Amara. But understanding her and chasing her wouldn't change a thing. Perhaps it was time to stop playing nice. No more chasing after Amara. This was a journey for herself. Let the police do their job. Her mother and father were right. The police were more than capable of catching her than she could ever be. Her job was to live her life for herself.
Julia walked through the revolving doors of the police station. "Excuse me! I'd like to report my older sister, Amara Parisa, for crimes of pokemon abuse and multiple assaults on civilians, gym leaders included!"
"Whew!" Perrine stretched her arms out as she sat on a stump. Laying next to her was her PokeGear, which was on the radio section. A sentimental love song played through the phone, a suave, rich male voice being somewhat muffled by the low quality audio. "That battle felt great!" Kitsune stretched her legs out, her back arching backward as she pushed herself back and forth.
"Jeez, that song is so cheesy," Caiseal groaned, brushing Apollo's fur with a brush. Once again, Mallow twirled his bone around like a baton as though he were a cheerleader. Baloo found herself dancing to the sound of the music from the PokeGear, bouncing back and forth, waving her stubby arms around.
"Baloo likes it."
"Jiggly!" ("Oh yeah! The Golden Boys are my jam!")
"Perrine! Caiseal!" The kids whipped their heads up to find Julia scurrying down the dirt road, white fences lining it right up so she wouldn't stray from the path. "Sorry about that!" She apologized once she caught up to them.
"No worries," Perrine told her once Kitsune curled up on her lap. Julia sat down on another nearby stump. Soon, the song on Perrine's PokeGear ceased. Baloo donned a sad expression, and her body bloated up to the point where she looked like a large balloon. How she didn't float away was anyone's guess. "So what did you need to do before?"
The brown haired girl was quick to let her pokemon out of their pokeballs. Saoirse and Hikaru found themselves playing pretend ballroom dancing, spinning each other around like they were dancing to the waltz. Tsubasa simply began poking Flippy on the head with her beak, the latter being completely unbothered by the pesky bird's pecking. Lucretia tickled little Tokiko with her large, fluffy tail. Viole was making a failed attempt to woo Blossom by giving her a daisy he picked out.
"I...needed to think about some things," That was Julia's only response. "My mom's coming to visit with a friend."
"Your mom?" Perrine asked.
Julia nodded. "Yeah. I haven't seen her in a while. She said she'll come sometime tomorrow," At this point, Blossom hopped on Julia's lap and sat down, begging for her trainer's affection. A smile touched the girl's face as she held the little oddish in her arms. "I'm starting to miss my family…"
"You have good families. Lucky," Caiseal mused. His voice took on a twinge of contempt peppered with sarcasm. Not toward the girls. "I'm happy I'm away from those brain dead idiots. They don't care about me, so I don't care about them."
Not once had any of the girls ever heard someone talk like that about their parents before. Caiseal did say he was an unwanted child, and they wanted to press him on it. But it seemed to be a sore subject for him, and their parents had drilled it into their heads that they shouldn't ask someone about their personal lives, especially their private stuff, as it's their business only. Both girls silently dropped the subject, feeling they had no place to comment on it or press him further.
"So who's gonna battle Morty tomorrow?" Julia asked, changing the subject.
"Another round of rock, paper, scissors, Jule?"
"Sure!" Both Julia and Caiseal stood up and held their hands out in front of one another. "Ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Two rocks. Again, two scissors. "One more time! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Julia held her hand out flat like a paper, but Caiseal held out two fingers. "Ha! Scissors cuts paper! I battle Morty tomorrow!"
"Awww…" Once again, Julia lamented her loss. Then again, it would be another chance to prepare for her own battle with him. Defeating him would be very satisfying, indeed.
After that, Julia and Caiseal found themselves in a faux pokemon battle, with Julia using Lucretia and Caiseal using Ravenclaw. The other pokemon just did their thing, and Perrine laid down on the grass, listening to the music channel on her PokeGear. The faux battle went on for about an hour before Julia decided to pack it in. Perrine was still lost in the music, her eyes closed, her head bobbing back and forth. Some grass blades intermingled with her flowy orange hair, with some breaking off from the rest of the grass.
Right as Julia rummaged through her bag, she found herself pulling out a sketchbook. The cover was hard like cardboard, and a bright, sunny yellow color, just like Hikaru's fur. She flipped through the pages, discovering that she still hadn't drawn anything in it. It was a good thing she brought mechanical pencils with her. As soon as she pulled it out, the inspiration to draw suddenly struck her like a thundershock attack, and she found herself lying face down on the grass, drawing on a blank page. She didn't mind that the grass blades tickled her arms.
Before long, she had gone through at least three pages already. None of her pokemon bothered to pull her away from her drawing, feeling that she didn't want to be disturbed, so they respected her privacy. Caiseal, on the other hand, noticed Julia lying on the grass by herself. Just like Perrine. He ambled over to the girl, kneeled down to her level, and glanced at the drawing. It was a pencil drawn picture of Hikaru, complete with the pink ribbon on her right ear. Caiseal was speechless, as the drawing looked almost exactly like Hikaru.
"Wow. That's amazing," Caiseal mused out loud.
His voice pulling her out of reality, Julia looked up to see her friend right above her. "You...think so?" Her cheeks turned pink. "Thanks. I'm not all that good, though."
"You're a heck of a lot better than me at it," Caiseal sat down so he could talk with her better. Plus, his legs were hurting from standing in one position for so long. "I can only draw stupid little stick figures."
Julia failed to stifle a laugh. "That's what my dad says."
"Can I...see?"
"Sure. Just don't rip it," Julia handed him the sketchbook. "I only filled out three pages, so there isn't much."
Caiseal flipped through the pages that Julia drew on. The first page showed a pencil drawing of Tokiko and Lucretia lying down on the grass as the sun shined down on them with its warm rays. Both had their eyes closed, and Tokiko's Soothe Bell was dangling from her neck, or what could be interpreted as a neck. The second page showed a similar drawing of a flock of butterfree flying in the air, with their large wings catching the wind underneath them. He could barely make it out, but among the butterfree was a small pokemon with a large, cornet shaped head with two antennae, large eyes, tiny, transparent fairy wings, two toeless feet, long arms, and a bright smile on its face.
"I didn't know you draw. You're really good," Caiseal mused.
As much as she appreciated the compliment, she found herself scratching her hair with one hand. "There are plenty of others who are way better than me, though."
"Don't be so modest."
"Hey...Caiseal?"
"Hm?"
Julia's sweet smile suddenly turned into a frown. She found herself staring down at the grass she was sitting on. Some blades of grass were bending over, limp, swaying in the breeze. "Remember back in Goldenrod when you said I was only chasing Amara around, and that it was a stupid reason to go on a journey?"
The blonde haired boy looked down, averting her gaze. "Yeah...I guess I could have put it in better words. You didn't deserve my yelling."
"No," She shook her head. "You were right. I've been doing a lot of thinking since the last time I saw Amara back at Brass Tower," She began, looking down at her hands. "If I ever caught up to her, I wanted to take her to the nearest police station by force and make sure she didn't hurt anyone else, the pokemon she stole and caught included. I wanted to be the one who...would make her take responsibility for what she did to everyone…" She let the sentence drift away.
"I see…" The regret that attacked Caiseal right then and there was instantaneous. He had apologized for snapping at her that time, yes, but now that he understood her reasons better, he wished he hadn't done it at all. Perrine was right. She did have her reasons for going on her journey, and they were just as valid and his own.
"But...I see now that...I haven't even been able to so much as catch her," Hikaru snuggled onto her lap and begged for pets. Julia smiled and gave in, stroking Hikaru's head gently with one hand. "Now don't get me wrong, I still want to understand why she's doing all of this, and why she's become so...angry. She wasn't like that before. But...as it stands now, I'm not living my life for myself. My parents even talked to me about this before…"
That was when she was ten years old, about six months before her birthday. She had come home crying because some kids bullied her, and despite the interference of some kind teachers she liked, the pain in her heart hadn't subsided. Her mother calmed her down, but she did have something she wanted to say to her.
"Julia. This'll be hard to say, but while I am happy you tell me when things aren't going exactly well in school, crying and cowering in fear all the time isn't going to solve your problems. It's okay to be scared and cry when you want to, and you can always talk to someone if something bad is happening, like us or your teachers or your friends...but there will be times when you need to be brave and stick up for yourself, when no one is around to protect you. When you get older, things will only get harder. Your father and I won't be around forever, so you'll need to stand up for yourself when someone's being cruel to you. Don't live your life constantly being scared, nor should you let other people walk all over you. You need to live life for yourself and make sure nobody can take it away from you."
"I never understood what she meant back then," Julia went on before looking up at the sky. It was a bright blue, unmarred by any clouds. A small flock of butterfree flapped their wings as they flew toward some big trees. "But now I get it. Amara isn't the only reason I went on this journey. There's so much I want to do!" She looked at Caiseal with a serious yet still soft expression on her face. "I want to meet lots of pokemon, make friends, write books, draw comics, make cartoons, help people when they're sad or hurt...all that stuff!"
Even Lucretia, Tsubasa, Saoirse, and Tokiko stopped to listen in on their conversation. Tsubasa pecked at her feathers, scratching off some itches. "I know I'm not the best trainer in the world. I hate loud noise, I cry when I get overwhelmed, I never know what to say in certain situations, sometimes I say and do stuff that's...inappropriate...and I'm autistic and a weirdo! I get that! But...I'm sorry. I sound like a brat, don't I?"
Caiseal stretched his arms out. "No you don't. I get how you're feeling. You really want to get through to someone and understand them, and you try and try and try…" A wistful look appeared in his hazel eyes, like he was about to take a walk down memory lane. "...but in the end, they just refuse to budge. I've been there. Actually...I have some confessions to make myself."
"Like what?"
"I...I never really gave you the time of day when I first met you and Perrine," Caiseal began, meeting Julia's eyes for a brief moment. She looked away, focusing more on his hair. "I only followed you around because I kinda got a little crush on Perrine. We had similar family issues, and I thought we could be friends. But when she made up with her dad, I did get a little mad. Now, I don't really have the crush anymore. But…" This was when he frowned. "When I first met you, I hated you. I always thought you were some spoiled, sheltered, naive kid who got in the way and dragged us down. I even tried to make Perrine ditch you so we could go on a journey together."
Caiseal shivered when he saw Julia glare at him. He didn't blame her. "Yeah, I know. That was stupid of me. I get that now. I don't like trusting people. I've been betrayed by people I thought loved me, and I thought you would do the same. I didn't…" He looked down at the grass once more. A black silhouette shaped like a woman standing at the entrance of a house flashed through his mind for a brief moment. "...want to go through that pain again. But I see now that you really aren't the bad person I thought you were. In fact, you've been nothing but kind to both me, Perrine, and the pokemon out of the goodness of your heart. Your autism had nothing to do with it. Both you, Perrine, and the pokemon kinda made me realize, probably indirectly, how much of a jerk I've been. For all that, I'm sorry."
A smile returned to Julia's face. "I...I appreciate your honesty," She replied. "And it's okay. I'm kinda used to people telling me I'm stupid or annoying or dumb or retarded or a bad kid. I didn't have any friends my age when I was in school. I was too different from the other kids, and they picked on me...so I believed what they said...that nobody would ever want to be friends with someone like me."
"Well, they're wrong," Caiseal said, standing up. "If you really were a bad kid, or all those things you said, Perrine and I wouldn't be hanging out with you, and I'm sure your pokemon wouldn't love you like they do, either. So that's gotta mean something, right?"
Julia nodded in agreement. For once, she actually felt sure of herself. No longer did she believe the things the bullies and Mrs. Amoretto said about her. It wasn't as though she ever believed what angry Amara said to her. "And the thing is, my sister used to be nice. I used to look up to her. She'd teach me stuff, yell at bad kids when they were being mean, play with me, help me with my homework, all that stuff. She'd even let me play with her and her friends when they'd come over," She explained. "I just wish...there was some way I could help her."
"I'll bet," Caiseal sat back down. "By the way, what's that little pokemon hanging out with the butterfree?" He pointed to the fairy pokemon in her drawing.
"This? Well, that's-" Before she could explain it to him, she saw light blue and pink blurs with long ears run right past her. They ran so fast, she could barely make them out. She did catch a red and black dog-like pokemon running after them. Growls echoed in the air. Her eyes widened with horror once she translated the growling. "I'm gonna kill you, you vermiiiiin!"
"Whoa! That was a houndoom!" Caiseal exclaimed, standing up right as Julia did. "I wanna catch it!"
Perrine finally walked over to her two friends, having grown bored from listening to so much music. "What was that about? Do you think it's chasing some pokemon?"
"Let's go see!" Julia suggested.
Yeah, gonna have to make another 0.5 chapter. I hate having school and not having inspiration enough to make just one chapter instead of splitting it into two. Oh well. Some people have said I need to slow down a little and give my characters time to breathe and make the world a bit more vivid, so perhaps this'll be a good way to do so. You might not see me much, though. I have a lot of homework and projects to work on, so updates will be slow. I don't like giving specific dates for updates, as I'm one who tries to keep my word, but I fear that giving dates for things when I'm not sure I'll be able to complete them gives my readers false hope, and I don't want to disappoint you guys with promises I may not be able to keep. So please be patient!
Random fact: While I will use established PokeDex entries for most pokemon, for others I'll make my own, as some entries are too repetitive, or don't have enough good information, such being the case for pokemon such as Manaphy. I plan on REALLY exploring certain pokemon and giving them better backstories and personalities than what the anime and even the games establish so as to make the world more interesting.
Julia's Party:
Hikaru (Shiny Pichu, Female, Jolly Nature)
Ability: Static
Attacks: Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Tail Whip
Tokiko (Togepi, Female, Hardy Nature)
Ability: Serene Grace
Attacks: Extrasensory, Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam, Protect
Tsubasa (Pidgeotto, Female, Naughty Nature)
Ability: Keen Eye
Attacks: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Twister
Saoirse (Snubbull, Female, Gentle Nature)
Ability: Intimidate
Attacks: Ice Fang, Bite, Lick, and Scary Face
Blossom (Oddish, Female, Docile Nature)
Ability: Chlorophyll
Attacks: Acid, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and Mega Drain
Lucretia (Eevee, Female, Bashful Nature)
Ability: Anticipation
Attacks: Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Bite, and Shadow Ball
Perrine's Party:
Kitsune (Vulpix, Female, Quiet Nature)
Ability: Flash Fire
Attacks: Flamethrower, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, and Faint Attack
Florian (Chikorita, Male, Gentle Nature)
Ability: Overgrow
Attacks: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Reflect, and Poison Powder
Fuwari (Skiploom, Female, Relaxed Nature)
Ability: Leaf Guard
Attacks: Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder
Chirin (Flaaffy, Male, Adamant Nature)
Ability: Static
Attacks: Thundershock, Charge, Cotton Spore, and Take Down
Baloo (Jigglypuff, Female, Docile Nature)
Ability: Cute Charm
Attacks: Sing, Wake-Up Slap, Disarming Voice, and Round
Fukuro (Noctowl, Male, Sassy Nature)
Ability: Tinted Lens
Attacks: Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Dream Eater
Caiseal's Party:
Mallow (Cubone, Male, Lax Nature)
Ability: Lightning Rod
Attacks: Bonemerang, Bone Club, Headbutt, Growl
Apollo (Quilava, Male, Bold Nature)
Ability: Blaze
Attacks: Flame Wheel, Tackle, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen
Flippy (Quagsire, Female, Jolly Nature)
Ability: Damp
Attacks: Water Gun, Mud Bomb, Mud Slap, and Slam
Ravenclaw (Murkrow, Female, Hardy Nature)
Ability: Super Luck
Attacks: Wing Attack, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, and Haze
Viole (Oddish, Male, Quirky Nature)
Ability: Chlorophyll
Attacks: Acid, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Sweet Scent
Geo (Geodude, Male, Brave Nature)
Ability: Sturdy
Attacks: Tackle, Rock Throw, Rock Polish, and Magnitude