Ch. 14
Bonding
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
"Mmm, chocolate chip!" Catherine gushed as she feverously licked the scoop of ice cream that she bought while Delia watched her with amused eyes.
Delia stared intently at her ice creams scoop before she just shrugged and gave it a tentative lick. Her eyes suddenly beamed with joy before started licking the ice cream a lot slower than before to savor every last drop of it.
"What flavor did you get Delia?" Catherine asked casually as they headed back to the Pokemon Center.
"Vanilla," Delia answered simply as she turned her gaze to Catherine who was looking at her with a horrified expression.
"You demon!" Catherine nearly shouted at Delia who rolled her eyes and seemed to grow a sad, solemn expression on her face.
"Delia?" Catherine asked her friend in concern.
The battle ace turned towards Catherine and bowed her head in shame as she now looked at Catherine straight in the eye.
"I want…to…apologize for how I treated you when we first met. I was a jerk to you and I shouldn't have treated you as if you were inferior to me or Dmitri. I truly do regret my earlier actions when we first started traveling together," Delia told the Wayne family heiress earnestly who merely smiled at her in response.
"Delia its cool, I mean from your point of view I was just some weird, strange girl who invited herself on your guys' journey so it must have been really awkward and uncomfortable for you," Catherine responded warmly as she rubbed the back of her head.
Delia smirked briefly before she took another lick of her ice cream cone until she stared at Catherine with a serious expression, garnering her attention.
"What did Alice mean when she said that you and that demon used to be alike?" Delia questioned Catherine with a wary tone as Catherine stared down at the pavement with sad eyes.
"Let's just say that I did things I'm not proud of," Catherine replied melancholy as she took a slow lick of her ice cream cone.
Delia nodded and deciding not to press the subject any further, gobbled up the rest of her ice cream and threw the cone in the trash next to her.
"C'mon, Luka and Maris are probably wondering where we went," Delia said as she patted Catherine's shoulder reassuringly.
Catherine nodded and jogged towards the Pokemon center with Delia following suit.
Meanwhile…
Maris was sitting in chair right next to Dmitri's bed with an angry, ferocious scowl on her face as she had her arms folded across her chest and her eyes tightly closed. She would occasionally open her eyes and look at him sadly before returning to just closing her eyes. Shinx looked at her with nothing but sympathy as she rested her head against Dmitri's chest and felt it slowly rising and falling as she would open her mouth to say something, but would quickly close it as she didn't know what she was about to say would offend the very pissed off Mienshao.
Soon only the sound of the clock ticking and the noise from people's conversations and the sound from Nurse Joy healing other's pokemon was the only thing they could hear. Finally, Shinx mustered up the courage to ask Maris what was on her mind.
"(Um, Miss Maris, could I ask you something?)" Shinx barely managed to squeak out as Maris slowly turned her head and gave her an icy, piercing stare.
"(What do you want kid?)" Maris barked gruffly.
"(I was just wondering, what type of pokemon you are and how you got so strong?)" Shinx asked Maris hesitantly and with good reason as Maris gave her an irritated look and scoffed.
"(To answer your question I'm a pokemon from the Unova region and a fighting type pokemon from the species named Mienshao. Two, I'm strong because I battle constantly at this training academy that I use to attend and even then out of Dmitri's and Delia's group I'm probably the weakest pokemon,)" Maris replied in a bitter tone as she growled lowly and clenched her fists.
"(Curse this damn body for not being strong enough to protect him!)" Maris scowled as Shinx stared at her with kind eyes.
"(Miss Maris, he's going to be fine. He's just unconscious for now,)" Shinx told Maris soothingly which caused Maris to jump of her chair and roughly grab Shinx and lift her up so she could look at the startled flash pokemon dead in the eye.
"(He wouldn't even be like this if hadn't been so weak!)" Maris roared angrily as she shook the surprised Shinx to and fro.
"(You're not weak Maris! You took stood up to Alice's Infernape who is the strongest pokemon on her team! You dealt more damage to him than any other pokemon that she's fought so far and let me tell you that's no small feat!)" Shinx shouted back with equal vigor as Maris's eyes widened and closed in defeat.
Sighing, Maris gently put Shinx down on Dmitri's stomach and sat back down on her chair while running both of her paws on her face.
"(Oh yeah, what exactly makes hurting an Infernape so special?)" Maris asked apathetically as Shinx smiled and replied with:
"(Alice got all of the…what do trainers call it? It's something that shows that they beat a leader in a building?)"
"(Gym badge?)"
"(Yeah, that's it! Alice got all the gym badges! I know because she was gloating about it to a trainer that I was about to battle with,)" Shinx said happily as she wagged her tail.
"(This trainer wouldn't happen to be a young boy with a purple rat for a partner?)" Maris asked Shinx dryly.
"(It was. How'd you know?)" Shinx said puzzled as she tilted her head while Maris just shrugged.
"(Lucky guess?)"
"(I still can't believe that she would beat me for losing to such a strong foe though. How did she expect me to beat him when she just challenged him after I did such harsh training?)" Shinx shouted frustratingly as she gritted her teeth.
"(What kind of harsh training did you do?)" Maris asked curiously while Shinx just stared at the white blanket on Dmitri with furious eyes.
"(Every day I would have to try to beat her entire team by myself and endure super effective attacks from the whole team without flinching or falling,)" Shinx replied with barely controlled anger while Maris looked at her with sympathetically.
"(Let me guess, after you were done training she found that little boy and immediately challenged him to battle right?)" Maris said matter-of-factly as she sat back in her chair.
"(How'd you know?)" Shinx asked Maris bewildered.
"(Alice isn't too hard to figure out. Jerks like her all think that they're unbeatable and "invincible" as she liked to call herself so when they see a weakling they'll pounce on them ready to kill,)" Maris told Shinx nonchalantly as her eyes once again fell onto Dmitri before looking away with solemn face.
Shinx nodded and took a deep breathe in and out before looking Maris dead in the eye with determination shining in her eyes.
"(Would you guys please accept me on your team then? I promise I'll do my best!)" Shinx cried out as she looked at Maris with puppy dog eyes.
Maris folded her arms and chuckled lowly to herself as she stared out the Pokemon Center room window with a child-like grin plastered on her face.
"(We were already going to accept you on our team kid. If Alice hadn't come then we were just going to go to the shop, buy some pokeballs, and then have you go in one. Just like that you'd be part of Team Dmitri,)" Maris said with a happy grin on her face as she was sort of excited to have a teammate.
Shinx was absolutely ecstatic to hear this and leaped into the air a few times and spun around while Maris just watched her with an amused expression.
"(You know kid with that attitude I just know we're going to be a force to be reckoned with,)" Maris stated firmly as she rested her head against the wall while happily daydreaming about the exciting battles to come.
Meanwhile…
Catherine finally reduced herself to a slow, brisk pace allowing Delia to catch up to her and walk alongside her. The heiress suddenly grew a mischievous grin on her face and she playfully bumped into Delia who smirked and crashed right back into Catherine which knocked her off her feet. Both them laughed heartily as Delia extended her hand to Catherine which she graciously accepted as they both saw the Pokemon Center in sight.
"(Well, you two seem to be getting along,)" an amused voice said from behind the duo as they both turned around to find a certain familiar jackal pokemon staring at them from atop a street light.
"Luka, what're you doing here?" Catherine asked her trusted companion bemusedly.
"(Well, someone has to make sure you don't do something stupid right?)" Luka merrily mocked her friend who blushed furiously in response and angrily shook her fist at the snickering aura pokemon.
"Seriously Luka, why are you here?" Delia questioned Luka bluntly as she put her hands on her hips.
Smirking, Luka jumped off the street light right in front of Delia and replied with:
"(Maris was getting worried about you guys so I volunteered to come get you two and I find you two actually goofing off with each other. Honestly though, it's quite nice to see you two being friendly with each other.)"
Delia let out an annoyed sigh at the prospect of Maris actually being worried about them and placed her hands behind her head while Catherine, who was still fuming over Luka's earlier comment, tried to bonk her over the head. Luka didn't even attempt to block it as Catherine's fist smashed onto her head which led her to cry out in pain and nurse her hurt hand.
"(Catherine, what did you expect to happen?)" Luka said as she shook her head in embarrassment while Delia chuckled under her breathe.
After the little incident, the trio finally got back to the Pokemon Center and made their way to Dmitri's room where they found a hyperactive Shinx jumping up and down on the bed while Maris just watched with a happy expression on her face.
"So, what exactly is going on here?" Delia asked with wide, confused eyes.
"(Nothing,)" Maris responded with a cheerful grin.
The battle ace snorted and sat on a chair near her best friend's bed while Catherine just opted to lean against the wall with Luka following suit. Suddenly, they all heard a low groan as Dmitri slowly sat up and rubbed his sides until he saw the bewildered looks on his friend's faces.
"So guys what did I miss?" Dmitri asked bashfully as Delia, Luka, Catherine, Maris, and Shinx all stared at each other and broke out into fits of laughter.
"Nothing," they all told him as he tilted his head to the side in confusion which only made them laugh even harder as the whole Pokemon Center was soon filled with hearty laughter and joy.
Time skip
"Ah it's great finally being back on the road again!" Dmitri exclaimed to no one in particular as he thrust his hands up into the air as the traveling group walked down Route 207 towards Oreburgh City, where he would finally earn his first badge.
Maris couldn't help but let out a small grin at Dmitri's joy as the single pokeball on his belt rumbled violently on his belt signifying its happiness as well.
"Whoa Shinx don't worry, we'll get some training done as soon as we find a suitable place to rest," Dmitri told the pokeball assuredly as Maris shook her head and folded her arms.
"(This kid is just plain weird to me Dmitri. She doesn't want her own name and she would rather travel in a pokeball?! She's a freak dude,)" Maris stated plainly while Dmitri glanced at her with a warm smile.
"She just likes to do things differently than you do, that doesn't make her a freak right?" I'm sure there are people who call me, Delia, my mom, and Mr. Hope freaks because we can talk to pokemon right?" Dmitri told his trusted friend wisely who couldn't argue with what he said and let out a long, loud groan before returning to just folding her arms across her chest.
"I don't think you guys are freaks. I think it's cool that you can understand pokemon!" Catherine exclaimed cheerfully while Delia looked at her in confusion.
"But back at the Center you understood Maris perfectly," Delia suspiciously told Catherine who reacted by just putting her hands in her pockets and looking at Delia with a casual glance.
"Well, I understand her because Luka relays to me what other pokemon say through aura so she's like my translator so to speak, right Luka?" Catherine cooed as she playfully nudged Luka with her elbow as the aura pokemon responded by rolling her eyes and lightly poking Catherine on the forehead.
Catherine merely laughed at this and wrapped her arms around Luka's waist which caused the aura pokemon to blush and raise her arms as she stared at her friend with an annoyed scowl, but didn't actually protest with the contact she placed one of her paws on Catherine's back and rubbed it gently.
"Ahhhh, you wuv me!" Catherine said in baby voice as Luka grumbled irritatedly.
"(Shut up stupid Catherine,)" Luka mumbled as she tried to pry her happy best friend off of her.
Many more minutes passed as the young trainers continued to make travel towards their destination meeting many obstacles along the way. One such road block was a steep slope that many recommended going down a bike with, but alas, none of our young trainers owned a bike. Gathering their courage, they slid down the slope as they tried to maintain their balance.
Surprisingly, it was Luka and Delia who lost their balance as they tumbled violently down the slope. Luka reached the bottom first as she rolled with the impact and sprang up onto her feet just in time to catch Delia who fortunately managed to tuck herself into a ball and roll with the momentum. Catherine made no attempt to hide her joy as she burst into laughter and walked towards them. Smirking, Luka held her foot out and tripped Catherine causing her to fall flat on her face.
This time it was Luka and Delia who chuckled as Luka helped her friend to her feet. Maris, deciding to show off a bit, front flipped off the slope and landed in front Luka with arms extended in the air and a cheerful grin on her face. Luka simply rolled her eyes and forcefully pushed Maris off her feet causing Dmitri to look at Maris in concern. He walked over to help her, but she waved him off and pulled herself to her feet, glowering at Luka the entire time while she just looked back with an amused expression.
"Okay Luka, stop knocking everyone on the ground," Delia barely breathed out as she was trying to catch her breathe from laughing so hard.
"Yeah!" Catherine and Maris shouted infuriatedly as heavy blushes appeared on their faces.
As they got closer to their destination, many trainers seemed to shy away from them, mostly youngsters, who were terrified of the baffled group. Delia, knowing the reason why, shook her head sadly and tried her best to ignore the scornful or horrified stares they were getting. One youngster, however, seemed to be brave enough and walked up to them, challenging Delia to a battle. She was about to refuse, but seeing the fire and determination in the young boy's eyes, she reluctantly accepted.
The match didn't last long as Druddigon dealt with his entire team, which consisted of a geodude, a machop, and zubat. The boy returned his pokemon and stared down at the ground downcast as he muttered the words "He's right, you guys are cowards," and walked away downcast.
"Again though, he challenged us and I tried to reason with him that my partner is too strong for him, but he wouldn't listen. Ugh, what's it going to take for these fools to stop trying to act like they're doing something heroic by trying to beat me?" Delia yelled in frustration as she ran her hands through her hair as Druddigon patted her on the back.
"Thanks pal, although I wish he would have saw reason instead of blindly challenging a superior force. Thanks again for holding back as much as you could old friend," Delia told the cave pokemon gratefully as he returned to his pokeball in flash of red light.
When they finally reached Oreburgh City, they rented a room for the night and Catherine, having enough of today's events, fell down face first onto the big bed and yawned loudly. Luka grinned and plopped down on top of Catherine who shrieked in surprise as Luka breathed down her neck.
"Get off me!" Catherine yelled at Luka who rolled her eyes and closed them as she let herself drift off into sleep.
Catherine screamed and struggled under the aura pokemon as she tried to pull herself free, but her efforts were in vain as Luka just grumbled and pinned down her wrists without even opening her eyes.
"Luka I so hate you right now," Catherine screeched at her best friend who didn't respond as the only thing she could hear was her silent breathing.
Catherine struggled under her for a few more seconds before just sighing in defeat and closing her eyes as she tried to get some sleep. Dmitri laughed and patted Maris on the shoulder as he said they were now going to do some training. Maris happily nodded and nearly tore off the door knob in her haste until she noticed that Delia wasn't behind them.
"You guys go on ahead and do your own separate training. I have…something I need to work out," Delia said hesitantly as Dmitri shrugged and walked out of the room while Maris just stared at her concernedly and told her to "be careful."
Delia nodded and sat down on a chair and waited for a few minutes to pass before she would head out to…take care of some personal business. After ten minutes had passed, she rose from her chair and exited the Pokemon Center and headed out into a clearing near enough to the pokemon center so that her partners could get healed quick enough, but also far enough where no one could hear them.
Releasing all of her partners, she told Dragonite and Druddigon to go spar with each other off to the side while Haxorus and Hydreigon just glared at each other intensely. Delia patted Haxorus on the stomach and walked right up to Hydreigon who screeched at her, trying to get her back off. Delia, however, wasn't intimidated and grabbed Hydreigon's middle head, startling him greatly.
"You listen here. What you did a few days ago is completely unacceptable. I can't have any weak pokemon on my team hydreigon nor can I have one that is so rash and hot headed that he explodes at every little thing," Delia scolded her infuriated pokemon who simply glared at her in response and grumbled loudly.
"Yes, you may be strong physically, and my strongest partner on my team, but your brute strength will count for nothing in a real pokemon battle, as you discovered in your latest match. As it stands now, Haxorus can beat you and I wouldn't call it too much of a stretch to say that even Maris could beat you," Delia snidely remarked to her now outraged ally who growled at her and shoved her with his other two heads sending her clear across the field causing her other partners to watch in concern for the battle ace.
Delia simply rolled back and stood up on her two feet as the brutal pokemon stared at her menacingly and gritted his teeth. Hydreigon had never been insulted like this before. First the silly human calls him weak and then she has the guts to say that pathetic excuse for a dragon and that annoying weasel can beat him?! He wouldn't stand for this!
Extending his wings and roaring into the sky, he approached Delia with malicious intent as all of Delia's pokemon stopped what they were doing and tried to come to her defense. Delia, however, wouldn't have any of this and raised one her hands as her Pokemon stared at her as if she was crazy. All of them were about to protest, but one simple, icy cold glare told them otherwise and they all hesitantly stepped back, allowing her to fight.
Delia stared harshly at her once most trusted partner as she put one leg back and the other one forward and raised her hands like a professional boxer. Tilting all of his heads to the side, Hydreigon backpedaled and wondered if this foolish human was actually thinking of fighting him. Delia noticed this and mockingly said:
"Aw, what's the matter? The little baby pokemon is scared of weak, puny human? Of course you are becasue you couldn't fight your way out of a wet paper bag."
This was the last straw as Hydreigon's eyes widened in shock before they settled on their target and became a terrifying crimson red. Hydreigon let out a loud, bestial roar which caused many pokemon to fly or run away in absolute terror as the brutal pokemon charged at its intended target with one goal in mind.
Crush, kill, destroy the stupid human GIRL!