Ch.22
Gathering Forces
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Karen overlooked her gathered team as they conversed with one another and caught up on each other's activities. She watched as Salamence and her Rhyperior babbled and laughed merrily with one another as they both boasted about spectacular battles they have won in the past while Lucario and Electivire just stood off to the side, leaning against the wall and enjoyed each other's silent company. Her slowbro, as dimwitted and lax as she had remembered her to be, lay next to her with her butt in the air as Stephanie just eyed all of her teammates warily before glancing at Karen out of the corner of her eye.
The former Unovan champion chuckled at the fond memories she had with her team such as the time when she got her foot stuck under a boulder and a stubborn rhydon rammed into it and freed her while another time was when she was just lying down near a lake and a slowpoke decided to join her. Karen would pet the dimwitted pokemon every now and then, but when she tried to go back to the Pokemon Center, slowpoke…slowly followed her causing Karen to capture it and train her to be one of her strongest pokemon. Karen felt herself get pulled into a tight, yet affectionate hug as she gazed into the eyes of her compassionate Rhyperior who then cradled her in her arms as if she were a baby.
"Rhy, I'm not a baby, I'm a grown woman," Karen chuckled as her pokemon shook its head and continued to rock her like small child causing Karen to sigh and allowed this to continue.
"(You know that you'll always be my baby Karen. How's your ankle dear? Does it still hurt?)" Rhyperior dotingly asked her trainer who sighed and gently smiled at her pokemon.
"Rhy, that was a long time ago; you know I'm all better by now so you don't have to worry," Karen assured her pokemon who shook her head and pulled her closer to her chest tenderly.
"(I'll always worry about you dear; when I lost my child and when I heard your cries for help, I couldn't just leave you trapped underneath that boulder. I consider you my own so I'll always worry, even if I don't have to,)" Rhyperior told Karen kindly as she lightly poked her trainer's nose causing Karen to giggle and hug her pokemon back as she felt her hands run along Rhyperior's smooth rocky surface.
Flashback
A young fourteen year old girl struggled to pull her foot out underneath the giant rock as she felt herself getting weaker by the minute. It wasn't fair! She just wanted to get a better look at those Starly so she decided to climb up a cliff which lead to her current predicament. She cried in pain every time she tried to move it as she faintly heard a crunching sound coming from her foot indicating that it was indeed broken as she feared. Even if she managed to free herself, what then; hop on one foot back to camp as a Luxray ambushes her from behind in order to make her its next meal?
"Help, help!" the girl cried out as desperately, but suddenly felt stupid.
Who was going to come to help her in the middle of nowhere? She had left her pokemon back at camp to explore by herself, but the only one who probably heard her cries was slowpoke due to her psychic powers and she was undoubtedly slowly shambling to her location. The girl knew that Servine and Elekid would just dismiss their partner's disappearance, thinking that she was just trying to find a body of water to splash in, so the dimwitted pokemon was her only hope as of now. Hearing loud, booming footsteps behind her, the girl reluctantly turned her head to find herself staring up at a giant behemoth of a pokemon with a gray skin, a cream colored belly, and a giant horn on its face.
"(Child, I will free you,)" the pokemon stated firmly as it took a few steps back and rammed its shoulder into the boulder causing it to shatter into a million pieces.
The girl stared wide-eyed at what she just witnessed until she felt herself being lifted up and held in the pokemon's arms as it narrowed her eyes at her.
"(Why are you all alone little one; don't you know it's dangerous out here? If I hadn't come by a Luxray could have had you for a snack,)" the pokemon chided the little girl who sniffled and nodded her head as she hugged the pokemon tightly while it cooed at her and gently rubbed her head.
"(What's your name little one?)" the pokemon questioned the girl who rubbed her eyes and shyly stared up at the giant being.
"Karen, my name is Karen," the girl responded as the being nodded and carried her bridal style in her arms.
"(Where is your den child?)" the giant pokemon asked the girl who pointed to the left causing the pokemon to slowly trudge in that direction determinedly.
They remained silent for quite some time until Karen, as curious as ever, tried to break it.
"You don't seem surprised that a human can understand you," Karen pointed out as the being grinned at her warmly.
"(When you get to my age, nothing ever really surprises you anymore dear. We live in a world filled with beings who can manipulate the universe as we know it, so how surprising is it to find a child who can understand us pokemon?)" the pokemon replied simply as Karen nodded and snuggled closer to the being's chest.
After much walking, just as Karen had predicted, they encountered slowpoke who looked up at the giant pokemon dumbly and tilted her head to the side causing the giant pokemon to pick her up and place her near the girl who laughed and hugged slowpoke affectionately.
"Thanks for coming for me girl," Karen whispered to her pokemon who cocked its head to the side in response and lied on her chest causing the little girl to snicker and gently rub her head.
When they finally got back to camp, Servine and Elekid's eyes widened in shock when they saw Karen as Servine slithered over to her to chew her out, but when she noticed her trainer's broken and bruised ankle, she immediately fished through her backpack for medicine. Elekid, however, found Karen's sleeping pillow and as gently as he could, grabbed her foot, but nonetheless the girl cried out bloody murder at the touch. Elekid winced at her tone as he tenderly placed her foot down on the pillow while Slowpoke…was Slowpoke and comforted her trainer as best she could. The strange pokemon continued to hug Karen close to her chest as she sat on her haunches and cooed at her tenderly as she constantly assured her it would be alright.
"(Kit Kat, I'm going to use the Hyper Potion okay? This is going to sting like a bitch, just fair warning,)" Servine told her trainer as she saw the Rhydon shoot her a glare which the grass snake eagerly returned with one of her own, but stopped as she knew Karen's health mattered more than her petty argument.
Spraying the contents of the bottle onto her trainer's foot, the girl bit down on her tongue as she tried to suppress a scream as the being continued to coo at her and assure her it was going to be okay. When the task was finally done, Karen thanked everyone who helped her and turned to face the pokemon who had freed her and gave her a tender smile.
"Would you like to come with me?"
"(You mean compete in those gym battles and the pokemon league you humans have? I would be delighted to dear, it would give me the opportunity to keep an eye on you anyway seeing as how you seem like the kind of child to run off,)" Rhydon replied jokingly causing Karen to blush deeply and stare off to the side while Servine and Elekid laughed their asses off while Slowpoke just tilted her head to the side once more and plopped down on the ground.
End Flashback
"(Ahem,)" Stephanie coughed interrupting Karen's daydreaming as Rhyperior placed her down on the ground tentatively and looked back stoically at the grass snake.
"(Stephanie, you seem to be in good health,)" Rhyperior observed as Stephanie nodded and stared back at her passively.
"(That I am,)" Stephanie replied curtly as Karen sighed and got between the two as she extended her arms and placed her hands on their chests.
"Easy guys, we're all friends here right?" Karen said calmly as Stephanie just grunted and slithered over to Lucario and Electivire while Rhyperior sighed and folded her arms.
"(Really dear, how do you put up with her?)" Rhyperior asked her trainer exasperatedly as Karen chuckled and patted her belly.
"It's a lot simpler than you think," Karen snickered as she walked in front of her group and placed her hands behind her back.
"Alright everyone, listen up! I know that you're all probably confused as to why I've gathered you here today, but rest assured all will be explained shortly. For starters, I would like to say I have missed you all and to have you all gathered here brings back fond memories," Karen yelled to her pokemon who stared at her in awe and their continued silence meant she could continue.
"Next, how many of you would like to live with me again?" Karen asked as all of Karen's former pokemon raised their hands (or wings in Salamence's case) eagerly causing Karen to grin and wipe away a stray tear.
"Good, because starting today, you all will be living with me once again. The Headmaster approved of this seeing as how you guys trained most of the teachers here and they're pokemon are more than ready to lead classes," Karen told her pokemon who let out loud cheers as they all happily hugged one another while Stephanie turned her head away, but couldn't help but let a smirk come onto her face.
"I know what you're thinking; I was planning on retrieving you guys anyway even if this matter I'm dealing with hadn't come up," Karen assured her pokemon who eagerly nodded and urged her to continue.
"Now as for why I've gathered you here, how many of you know I have a son?" Karen questioned her pokemon as all of them raised their respective appendages in the air causing Karen to nod.
"Well, he's on a pokemon journey right now and when he comes back I intend to test him to see how much he's learned. To do that, I'm going to need some help. So, who's with me?" Karen asked her pokemon as they all vigorously shouted and bounded over to Karen and Stephanie and stood by them side by side.
"(I lend you my strength Karen,)" Lucario said passionately as he stuck his paw out in the middle as Electivire's hand quickly came on top of his as he gave Karen a determined look.
"(My power is yours to wield once again Karen,)" Electivire said vigorously as Salamence stood up on his hind legs and place one of his feet on top of Electivire's hand.
"(Friend Karen, for all the hardships we have endured together and for proving yourself a worthy commander, I will ride into battle with you no matter the odds!)" Salamence roared determinedly as Slowbro placed her claw on top of Salamence's wings and gave her teammates on odd look as she cocked her head to the side dumbly.
"(Karen, my dear, you know I'll always be there for you so I'm in too,)" Rhyperior told her trainer happily as she placed her rocky hand on top of Slowbro's claw which just left Stephanie who was giving them all weird looks.
After a few moments of stares and silence, Stephanie sighed and shook her head as she placed her vine on top of Rhyperior's hand.
"(Aw, what the hell; life's too short anyway,)" Stephanie muttered as all of her pokemon happily threw their hands in the air and gave loud screams while the grass snake lazily did so and did a sarcastic "yeah."
Stephanie watched on blankly as Salamence and the others encircled Karen and threw her up in the air and caught her only to repeat it causing the noble grass snake to grin slightly. Stephanie watched this go on for a little while longer before she slithered over and caught her trainer in mid-air and placed her gently on the ground as Karen fake pouted at her while Stephanie narrowed her eyes at her before breaking out into a fit of laughter. Karen chuckled and gently petted Stephanie's head as she looked at her team who were watching on intently.
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's get to work!"
Back in Eterna...
Delia bit down on her tongue as she suppressed a scream that was dangerously close to being let out and when that feeling passed, she resumed her workout of push-ups despite her weakened state. She had unknowingly been hit hard by some debris during the explosion, but due to her intense rage at Ash Ketchum, she was able to ignore the pain, until the power subsided. When she awoke in a hospital bed with her chest and head covered in bandages, she immediately set out to work out her body in order to strengthen it so it could better handle the strain of this new power she had always possessed. Delia chuckled dryly as she continued to her push-ups which were taking a toll on her as her body was screaming at her to stop, but she ignored those warnings as she continued on with her workout.
"This power I have, it's the heart of the dragon isn't it?" Delia pondered as she felt her arm grow weaker with each push up she did and felt the bone was going to collapse on itself.
"I've always thought that power was a myth, just a story to make the dragon tamers work harder; guess I was wrong," Delia mused to herself as she groaned in agony as her arms could no longer support her from the intense pain causing her to collapse on the ground, unable to move.
"Work through the pain Delia; that's how it is and how it will always be," Delia encouraged herself as she struggled to pull herself onto her feet, but fell miserably onto the ground face first as a voice chuckled behind her.
"(Mind if I join you?)" the chipper voice called behind the battle ace as Delia turned her head to the voice and frowned darkly.
"Dragonite, what're you doing out of bed?! You should be resting!" Delia yelled angrily at her friend who chuckled and got himself into a push up position as he gave his trainer a wide grin while she just continued to frown at him.
"(Only when you do,)" was Dragonite's simple reply as he did a single push-up with much difficulty as he forced the searing pain in his chest down.
"That's it, no calling me a hypocrite, nothing? You just say you'll rest when I do?"
"(Yep,)" Dragontie replied cheerfully as he did another push-up as he continued to force the pain down, but Delia could see the strain he was putting on himself.
"Okay, that's enough Dragonite. Fly back to your bed and rest," Delia ordered her friend who defiantly shook his head and narrowed his eyes at her.
"(Only when you do,)" Dragonite repeated as he tried to do another push-up, but the pain was too much this time causing him to collapse on the ground and gave a shout of pain as he clutched his chest in the hopes that it would make the pain go away.
"Dragonite, please stop! You're hurting yourself!" Delia pleaded as she reached out a weak arm and placed it on top of Dragonite's claw as he looked back at her with a serious expression.
"(Will you rest too?)" Dragonite asked her as Delia sighed and reluctantly nodded; not wanting to see her friend hurt himself anymore.
"(Okay guys, you can help us now! She's agreed to rest!)" Dragonite hollered as loud as he could which caused Delia to cringe from the loud tone until what he said clicked for her; causing the battle ace to glare at him.
"You, you!" Delia yelled furiously at her friend who cheekily grinned at her and flashed her a peace sign as he flew up in the air and floated in place while Haxorus knelt down next to Delia and helped her sit upright.
"(Delia, are you alright?)" Haxorus asked his life-long partner concernedly as she nodded and with the help of Haxorus, managed to stand up while leaning against him.
"(C'mon, let's get you and Dragonite back to the Pokemon Center,)" Haxorus grunted as he gently pulled Delia along with him while Dragonite fake pouted and looked over to Druddigon.
"(Hey Druddigon-)"
"(Sorry bro, but you can fly, and she can't,)" Druddigon told his partner who huffed indignantly and snubbed his partner as he slowly floated back into the Pokemon Center with Druddigon following him.
After helping Delia back into her bed for much needed rest, Haxorus tapped Delia on the shoulder as she turned to him and asked him what he needed.
"(Delia, as you probably already know, you possess the heart of the dragon which is indeed an incredible power, but you must learn how to control it. Otherwise, you'll just be passing out or feeling exhausted every time you use it which would be a problem if you were in a life or death situation. So starting when you get better, I will train you on how to use it,)" Haxorus said as Delia sighed and leaned her head against the pillow while Hydreigon clicked angrily at Haxorus who shot him an irritated stare.
"(Fine, we'll all help you learn how to use it when you get better, and not a moment before that okay?)" Haxorus stated as Delia sighed and nodded her head as Haxorus pulled the covers over her and gently rubbed her head causing Delia to move closer to his touch.
"(Good, now get some rest battle ace,)" Haxorus ordered as Delia chuckled and gave her life-long friend an amused gaze.
"Who made you the boss?" Delia joked with Haxorus who snickered and leaned on the bed as he got right in Delia's face and stared her down.
"(You're my trainer and best friend, but when you make stupid decisions, I'm the boss,)" Haxorus retorted as Delia rolled her eyes and grinned at him as the axe jaw pokemon tucked her in with precise, delicate care.
"Haxorus?"
"(Yeah?)"
"I don't want you guys getting weaker waiting for me to recover, so while I'm in bed Dmitri's you're temporary trainer. I know you have your doubts, but he's really proven himself and I know you can learn a lot from him," Delia told her team as Haxorus grunted and folded his arms, Dragonite gave her a happy salute from his bed across from her, Hydreigon clicked in confusion, and Druddigon shrugged.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Go meet Dmitri in the fields and go train! Catherine, Luka, Dmitri, and Maris already visited me earlier while you guys were being healed so I'll be fine," Delia shouted to them as Haxorus and Hydreigon slowly made their way to the door while Druddigon and Dragonite conversed with each other.
"(Sure you'll be okay Dragonite?)" Druddigon asked his teammate worriedly as Dragonite smirked at him and lay back down on the bed.
"(I got Delia to keep me company so I'll be fine,)" Dragonite reassured his partner who nodded and cupped Dragonite's chin in his hand and gave him a quick kiss which Dragonite returned while Delia rolled her eyes and smirked at them.
"Get a room you two!" Delia shouted playfully as Druddigon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while Dragonite gave Delia a confident grin and cocked his head to the side.
"(We already did, and unfortunately we have to share it with this stubborn, foolish girl who thinks she can carry the entire Earth's weight on her shoulders,)" Dragonite retorted causing Delia to chuckle as Druddigon waved goodbye to both of them as he rushed to catch up to his other two teammates who were probably already in the practice field.
Delia and Dragonite stared at each other in silence for what seemed like forever as the only thing that could be heard was the clock's ticking and the patter of footsteps beyond the room until the Delia laid her head on her pillow and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to get some sleep, you'd better get some too," Delia ordered her dragon who grinned as he closed his eyes and tried to get some rest as well.
On the Practice Field…
Dmitri nodded in approval as Maris grabbed Sparkplug and like a professional baseball player, threw her at Luka as hard as she could as the Luxio encased itself in an electric aura with a smirk and slammed into the jackal pokemon who cried out and fell onto her back with a thud. Maris slid to catch the airborne Sparkplug in her arms as she quickly, yet gently, tossed her to the side as the martial arts pokemon narrowly avoided a stream of water shot at her while Sparkplug rolled with the impact like Dmitri had shown her and stood up on all fours, ready for more.
"Maris force palm!" Dmitri yelled as Maris formed a gigantic chi sphere in her paws and shot a condensed beam at Luka and Buizel as the aura pokemon slapped Buizel out of the way while she brought up her hands and stopped the beam in its tracks…briefly before being slowly pushed back.
Luka gritted her teeth as she struggled to push back the powerful beam of energy until she sensed Sparkplug approaching her from the side and relayed this information to Catherine.
"Buizel, aqua jet!" Catherine shouted as Buizel formed a surrounded himself in water and shot towards the Luxio like a speeding bullet as Sparkplug didn't notice him in time and let out a gasp for air as the water weasel slammed into her and knocked her backwards.
Sparkplug barred her teeth as she slowly crouched down and circled her foe while Buizel just glared at her and kept his paws up defensively. Maris gave out a war cry as she poured more energy into the attack forcing the jackal pokemon back some more until Luka got tired of this and held the attack back with one hand with some difficulty as she formed an aura sphere in her paw. Flinging it at Maris, the Unovan pokemon was forced to break off the attack as she kicked the ball of spiritual energy aside giving Luka the chance to close in as she threw a punch at Maris who ducked under it and wrapped her arms around Luka's waist as she hoisted her up in the air. Maris squeezed causing Luka to growl in pain as she brought up both her paws and slapped them against Maris's ears causing Maris to hiss as she fell backwards and tossed Luka over her head. Luka extended one of her paws as she managed to catch herself only to howl in agony as a sharp kick to her ribs which interrupted her flow causing her to fall on her face and roll out of the way as Maris's foot nearly stomped on her head. Maris's foot left an indent in the ground as she kicked one of the rocks to Luka who caught it and shattered it to dust in her paw as she glowered at Maris and speed away leaving an after image of her.
"(Sis, instead of using chi to sense me, use your aura like I taught you,)" Luka instructed as Maris nodded and let a sense of calm come over her as she tried to feel out where Luka would strike.
Maris, using this power Luka had taught to her, could feel everything around the area, not just life signatures. Maris waited as she held up her paws and cocked her head to the side at just the right moment as Maris had to stop a powerful, yellow ball of energy that nearly knocked her off her feet had she not braced herself for it. Maris yelled determinedly as she managed to throw it up into the sky which gave Luka the opening she needed as she used extreme speed to close in and socked Maris straight in the gut causing her friend to wheeze and clutch her belly as she took a few steps back and spat some saliva up. Luka capitalized on Maris's weakened state and threw a flurry of blows at her foe who managed to deflect most of them with her one free hand and legs, but some did slip by her defenses, angering Maris as she caught one of Luka's wrists and yanked her towards her. Maris threw her head back and forcefully threw it forward onto Luka's skull causing the aura pokemon to cry out as she stumbled around dazedly until she felt as if she had been hit by a herd of rampaging tauros causing her to double over in pain and grip her gut. Buizel wailed as Sparplug's iron tail wacked him across the face and sent him sailing back to Catherine's feet as the former heiress returned her pokemon and thanked it for its efforts while she watched on worriedly for Luka.
"(Give up Luka,)" Maris ordered as the aura pokemon sensed Sparkplug behind her at the ready just in case if she tried anything, but Luka would have none of that as she twisted her body and landed a solid kick on the young pokemon's face causing Sparkplug to stagger around for a bit before collapsing as Dmitri sighed and returned her to her pokeball while thanking her for her efforts.
Luka nipped up to her feet as she settled into a fighting stance with Maris taking a step back and adopting a fighting stance of her own as they glared at one another until Maris threw a chi blast at her forcing Luka to duck as she blocked a strong, savage roundhouse with her forearm and wrapped her arm around it as she forcefully brought her elbow down onto it. Maris grimaced from the blow as Luka brought one of her legs under around hers and pushed forward while simultaneously sweeping Maris's leg causing the martial arts pokemon to extend one of her paws and catch herself which prevented Maris from eating the pavement. Quickly bringing her free foot back, she violently struck Luka in the face causing the aura pokemon to howl in pain, but she didn't release her grip as she proceeded to pound Maris's side with fierce blows that made Maris want to throw up as she caught one of Luka's paw into her own and brought it to her side where she could no longer use it. Maris wrapped her legs around Luka's midsection as she slowly stared to push herself up and forcing Luka into a kneeling position as Maris once again threw her head forward.
Luka, anticipating this, weaved her head out of the way in time and threw her head forward causing Maris to shout as she suddenly felt arms wrap around her waist and squeeze the life out of her. Dmitri worriedly watched on as Luka continued to squeeze Maris harder and harder as he could see his girlfriend barely had the strength to lift her arms as she weakly placed them on Luka's shoulders and feebly pushed on them causing Luka to smirk slightly as she intensified her pressure; causing Maris to groan miserably.
"Maris, focus!" Dmitri pleaded as Maris, who was on the verge of blacking out as her vision got blurry and her eyelids constantly moved up and down, barely managed to hear him as she growled with vigor and forced down the pain.
Throwing her paw forward and latching it onto Luka's face, she charged what little bit of energy she had left as Luka stopped her torture hold and desperately tried to pry of Maris's paw as she knew what the crazed Mienshao had in mind.
"(Eat this!)" Maris yelled as she released her energy onto Luka's face causing a huge explosion that rocked the entire area and sent the aura pokemon sailing back to Catherine's feet as Luka gripped her face and weakly got onto all fours as she extended her aura sense through the smoke.
Luka's eyes widened in shock as Maris, despite all the horrific damage she had suffered, was steadily walking towards her, albeit with a slight limp as she was clutching her gut and holding out one of her paws at the helpless Luka.
"(Looks like I win Luka,)" Maris stated with a tired grin as she offered a paw to her friend who smirked as she took Maris' paw into her one and felt herself being heaved to her feet.
Luka and Maris shook hands respectfully and nodded at each other as they both decided to critique one another.
"(Luka, didn't expect you to use a chi blast in our fight. Looks like I taught you well; that damn thing nearly knocked me on my ass,)" Maris complimented her friend who smiled at her tiredly and put a paw on Maris's shoulder.
"(Sis, you're ability to use aura to sense your surroundings has improved as well. Soon I will be able to teach you how to use aura sphere,)" Luka praised Maris as she noticed her friend sighed in response to the compliment and stared off to the side.
"(Damn it, I want to teach you how to use focus blast, but I don't know it. It isn't fair that you teach me one of your most powerful moves and I can't teach you what should be my most powerful one,)" Maris grumbled bitterly as Luka chuckled and shook her head.
"(When you finish training me in the ways of chi, I'm sure Catherine can just pick up a TM for focus blast and I'll be able to use what I learned from you and apply it to that move. So in a way, you're going to indirectly help me learn that move,)" Luka assured her as Maris snickered and saw that their human companions were approaching them with hyper potions ready to heal them.
When Dmitri and Catherine finished healing their pokemon, they all noticed Haxorus, Druddigon, and Hydreigon awkwardly watching them causing Dmitri to raise a brow as he called them over. Haxorus explained to him that while Delia was resting, he was their temporary trainer, shocking both Maris and Dmitri. Getting over his initial shock, he clapped his hands to get everyone's attention as they all looked at him expectantly.
"Maris, Luka, since Delia is paranoid about countering pokemon who could have any sort of advantage against dragon type pokemon, I want you to help teach them some fighting type moves since she might encounter some steel and ice types in our journey. Haxorus, Druddigon, Hydreigon, in exchange, I want you to continue teaching Maris on how to use dual chop and teach Luka how to use dragon pulse. Sparkplug, I want you to work with Buizel and Geodude to see if you guys can learn anything from each other," Dmitri ordered confidently as Maris smirked at Dmitri gave him a mock naval salute while Sparkplug, who is up and eager thanks to a revive and a hyper potion, mewled cheerfully as she trotted over to her training partners.
"After an hour will switch off and work with different partners," Dmitri yelled as everyone shouted in agreement while Catherine chuckled and folded her arms as she watched Luka try to conjure up draconic energy in her paws only for it to blow up in her face causing the aura pokemon to fall on her back and blush embarrassedly while Maris just laughed like there was no tomorrow.
"Wow, you really got them all working together. Nice job Dmitri," Catherine complimented him as Dmitri flushed and awkwardly rubbed his foot on the ground while the former heiress sighed and shook her head as she grinned at Dmitri.
"You know, I can't thank you guys enough for letting me come with you. I was planning to go on my own, but as you know Luka isn't exactly much of a talker and I doubt she would of got as strong as she was without your guys help," Catherine said gratefully as Dmitri happily smiled at her and pulled her into a hug, surprising her.
"Delia isn't exactly that much of a talker either. Took her a while just to say single word to me when we started to get to know each other and if it hadn't been for her, Maris wouldn't be as strong as she is. So I guess where in the same boat on huh?" Dmitri joked as Catherine giggled and playfully pushed him away from her as they both sat down next to each other and watched their pokemon train.
"Dmitri?"
"Yes?"
"Not to be rude, but why did Maris stay with you if you kept losing a lot?"
"Well, Maris didn't want to leave me since I practically raised her by myself and because she vowed to get stronger in both body and mind for hers and my sake."
"Why's that?" Catherine pressed as Dmitri sighed and lowered his head while Catherine looked at him worriedly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I understand if this is too personal," Catherine said guiltily as Dmitri shook his head and stared at her right in the eyes.
"When we were out in the forest one day, we got attacked by some wild Scolipede. I was terrified, thought I was going to die, so I just stood there, frozen in place. My fear is the reason Maris got hurt when she tried to save me and I was afraid they were going to be killed and I could only just sit by and do nothing. They managed to defeat them, but when I was told my dad died, Maris could sense my pain even though she was still young back then. She's stuck by my side all these years because she doesn't want me to experience that kind of pain and fear again so she figures getting as strong as she possibly can will help her with that. I will always be by her side because of this; I owe her that much to try and do the same for her. We will always have each other's backs," Dmitri responded passionately as Catherine pulled him into her own hug and rubbed his back affectionately until she suddenly broke off the hug and rubbed her arm sadly while Dmitri just stared at her concernedly.
"Catherine?"
"Dmitri, since you told me something about you and Maris, I think I should return the favor and tell you something about me and Luka."
"What would that be Catherine?" Dmitri inquired confusedly as he saw Catherine's expression darken as she narrowed her eyes at Dmitri and put her hands on her legs.
"Before Luka became my best friend and partner, she tried to kill me."