Ch.30

Remembrance

Pokemon is the property of its respective owners

"Okay, that should do it; I hope this will be the last time you hurt the poor, innocent wall young man," Nurse Joy light-heatedly jabbed at the son of the former champion who grinned slightly and hung his head down as Nurse Joy finished up putting bandages around his hand.

"Thank you for the help Nurse Joy; may I go see my friends now?" Dmitri inquired as Nurse Joy jovially stood up from the edge of the bed and formally placed her hands behind her back while giving him a small bow.

"We hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy chanted causing Dmitri to tilt his head and give her a quizzical look.

"Nurse Joy, I've been meaning to ask; do you hear what you're saying?" Dmitri questioned the esteemed Nurse who furrowed her brow and tapped a finger to her chin, thinking about the phrase long and hard, before giving him a shrug and handing him Kiera and Sparkplug's pokeballs which Dmitri clipped to his belt one at a time.

"Never mind; thanks again for the help," Dmitri stated gratefully as he walked out of the medical room and towards the waiting room where his friends awaited him while Nurse Joy continued to mull over the phrase her family has been saying for years until she cocked a brow and stared up at the ceiling with a contemplative stare.

"I guess what we're saying is a bit unsettling," Nurse Joy mused as she wracked her brain for a new motto to say while slowly exiting the room.

Meanwhile

Karen was currently lying down on the couch while looking at an old photo of herself, Darris, and Dmitri at the Nimbasa Big Stadium with her young son perched on her husband's shoulders as they both flexed their thin arms while flashing the camera excited grins while she had one of her arms wrapped around Darris's waist while flashing the camera the peace sign which caused her to smile at the picture before frowning and staring up at the ceiling.

"I don't want to hear about this again! I have my responsibilities as the Unova League Champion and you have your responsibilities as the secretary of the Battle Academy so we both know that we have duties that we can't neglect!" Karen angrily shouted at her husband who narrowed his eyes at his wife and took a deep breathe in before addressing her.

"Karen, your duties as champion shouldn't interfere with the time you should be spending with your son! How do you think he feels when I have to tell him that his mom can't come on the days she promised she would be there because of her job?! Karen, believe me, I understand that we both have duties we have to do, but no matter how busy I am, at least one of us always finds time to be there for our child!" Darris yelled back scathingly causing Karen to growl angrily and tense her muscles.

"You think I'm a terrible mother don't you?" Karen snarled at Darris who groaned exasperatedly and shook his head before staring at his wife with forced look of calm on his face.

"I didn't say that Karen," Darris told his wife tiredly as Karen put her hands on her hips and leaned her face forward so close that their noses were touching.

"That's what you think though right? I try Darris! I try to find time to spend with Dmitri, but do you know how hard it is to be champion?! I always have to prepare for fights each and every day, make sure that the Elite Four and the Gym Leaders work at the high standards I set up, work with law enforcement to subdue threats to the public, or coming up with schedules for challengers! I'm sorry that I can't be the perfect parent like you Darris!" Karen roared at him furiously causing her husband to shudder at her tone and take step back while patiently waiting for Karen to recollect herself who was taking deep, ragged breathes.

"Karen, look, we'll talk about this after I get back from my trip from Kanto, okay? I love you," Darris said sincerely as he picked up his briefcase from the table and cautiously approached his still pissed off wife and gave her a passionate peck on the cheek causing her to grunt, but she gave him a quick hug and turned her back to him.

Karen heard him sigh deeply and heard him walking away until his steps stopped in front of what she assumed to be the front door and heard her husband and her son converse with one another.

"How come you and mom were fighting dad?"

"We weren't fighting Dmitri; it was just…an intense and passionate debate."

"Oh…okay dad."

"What's wrong bud?"

"It's just…how long are you going to go away for dad?"

"It's just going to be for a week, maybe more; I have to go to meet with the headmaster at the Indigo Plateau because we're thinking of opening a minor school there like we did with the Sinnoh and Hoenn region, but Lance is…adamant about not wanting "outsiders" to interfere with the Kanto and Johto region."

"He sounds mean dad."

"We can't blame him bud; some trainers from Unova are very prejudice to those from the other regions so his reaction is understandable."

"Do you hate Mr. Lance, dad?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate him, but I don't like him either although he is amicable amongst his Elite Four much like how Karen is with her Elite Four."

"Amee…ka…bowl?"

"If you're interested, your mother can help you look it up in the dictionary where it can show you the proper pronunciation for it," Karen heard Darris suggest to her son causing a small smile to come to her lips, but frowned when she heard Dmitri huff angrily at the mention of her name.

"I don't like mom, she never plays with me and she doesn't come on the days she said she would," Karen heard Dmitri rant to Darris and to the young mother it felt like someone had ripped out her heart.

"Dmitri, don't say that; your mother loves you very much. Look, I gotta go now bud; you and your mom have fun okay?

"Alright dad, I love you.

"I love you too son; see you in a week."

The former champion shut her eyes and solemnly shook her head when recalling the memory as she sat up from her current position and leaned back onto the couch with a focused, stoic gaze plastered on her face.

"I was a bitch; I'm sorry Darris. I'm trying to make up for all the time I couldn't be there for our son," Karen said sadly as she reached her hand up to the ceiling and clenched it as if she was trying to grab something until she brought her arm back down to her side as a sudden frantic knocking came from her door causing Karen to groan and get up from the couch.

The harsh pounding at her door increased causing Karen to pick up her pace and upon opening the door; she widened her eyes slightly before relaxing into a casual, friendly stare.

"How may I help you Mr. and Mrs. Shiina?"

Back at Veilstone

Maris, Luka, Catherine, and Delia all waited patiently for Dmitri to come out of the back room, but it was obvious that this was taking its toll on them. Catherine was sitting down on one of the chairs with her head laying against her legs and her arms wrapped around the back of her knees, Delia was leaning back on the chair with her arms folded while frantically tapping her foot against the ground, Buneary was grooming the fuzz on her ear, Maris had her head resting against her paw while her arm was propped up on the arm of the chair, and Luka sat crossed legged on the chair while silently whispering poems.

"(Sis, could I tell you something?)"Luka asked the martial arts pokemon who perked up from her stupor and glanced at the jackal pokemon with level stare and gestured for her to continue.

"(During our battle, I took note that you overextended when you go in for the knockout blow so you should focus on getting rid of that habit and you should really invest some effort into increasing your physical strength due to being unable to even match my strength in our battle,)" Luka told Maris point blank who took the blunt criticism quite well and leaned back in the chair she was sitting on.

"(Luka, I noticed that when you power up your attacks, you leave yourself vulnerable by being bringing them outwards too much so you should work on getting rid of that habit,)" Maris responded calmly causing the aura pokemon to nod and fold her arms across her chest.

"(You do have impressive skill and finesse and your ability to read what your opponent's strategy is beautiful; you're like the Professor Rowan of martial arts. I'm amazed how you can charge into battle like a berserker and still manage to read your opponent's movements and tactics in spite of your bold, upfront fighting style,)" Luka sincerely complimented her causing Maris to chuckle lightly and put her paws behind her head.

"(Thanks Luka; I've always liked how your fighting style is brutal and methodical with each move being expertly and forcefully applied to any weak points to cause maximum damage,)" Maris praised Luka who grinned slightly at the compliment before returning to a stone faced stare.

"(Is Dmitri going to be okay sis?)" Luka concernedly asked Maris who rubbed her chin with her paw before giving Luka simple nod in response.

"(This is the first time he's reacted so…violently towards someone else; not even Paul was able to get that kind of reaction out of him. Kind of funny to think about if Dmitri had punched someone like Paul or one of his bullies with the same kind of force that made cracks in the wall,)" Maris mused aloud causing Luka to cast her a blank stare which Maris returned with her own neutral gaze for a few seconds before they both broke out into fit of laughter.

"(You mean like how I kicked that Team Galactic thug in the face back at Eterna city so hard that I sent most of his teeth flying out of his mouth?)" Luka lightheartedly quipped causing Maris to slap her thigh and hunch over as she laughed uncontrollably for a moment before quieting down and staring at Luka with wide, happy grin that wasn't about to go away any time soon.

"You guys do know I can hear everything you're saying?" Delia informed her friends causing Maris and Luka to cast her bored looks and shrugged at her statement causing the dragon tamer to roll her eyes and turn her head away from them with an annoyed look.

Dmitri soon emerged from the backroom and sheepishly waved to his group of friends causing Delia to lightly tap Catherine on the shoulder causing her to stir and groggily look up, but smiled when she saw Dmitri. They all slowly approached him and when Maris got up close, she lightly punched him in the shoulder and pulled him into a hug causing Buneary to coo in delight at the affectionate display.

"Guys, I'm going to retire for tonight; a lot has happened and I just want to rest for now," Dmitri informed his friends who nodded in understanding causing Delia to hand him the keys to room and wished him a good night.

"You guys as well," Dmitri said back to his sister who grinned slightly and nodded in thanks as she watched Dmitri and Maris walk down the hallway and go into his room while Catherine and Luka turned to the dragon tamer with expectant looks.

"So, what do you want to do?" Catherine asked unsurely as she stretched her arms and then let them hand at her sides while Delia sighed and patted Buneary on the head while contemplating on her friend's question until her pokegear rang.

Delia unclipped it from her belt with a happy grin upon seeing who was calling her and answered it with a jovial tone.

"Hello Mrs. Long, it's surprising to hear from you, but…" Delia trailed off as her once happy grin turned into a sad, bitter face before roughly shutting it closed and shoving it into her pocket.

"Delia…" Catherine said worriedly as the dragon tamer hung her head down and ran it through her hair while Buneary concernedly stared at her trainer while Luka walked up and put a paw on her shoulder and gripped it reassuringly.

"Mrs. Long asked if I wanted to talk to my parents."

Back with Karen

"Karen, we're worried about Delia; she still lives in the village, but then all of sudden she just disappears completely without returning home from school so we're just wondering if you have any idea where she went," the man said causing Karen to sigh and gesture to the two of them to follow her into her house causing the duo to do so as they sat on the couch that Karen gestured to and watched her sit in an armchair with a focused gaze.

"She's a big girl who can take care of herself Jet, but if you really must know she's accompanying my son on his journey through the Sinnoh region," Karen replied causing Jet to rub his chin in deep thought before looking at Karen once more with an anxious, worried stare as his wife huffed and narrowed her eyes at the Battle Academy's best teacher.

"I know she's incredibly close to your son Karen, but she should have informed us if where she was going," the woman said with a hint of anger in her voice that the former champion perceived as directed towards her as if she was the one at fault for this.

"Maya, Dmitri didn't force her to come along, she willingly chose to go with him and if anything Delia invited herself to go with him. Look, I know you're concerned about her, but she's doing fine as far as I know; last I heard they were in Eterna and Delia and Dmitri had yet to win their gym badge," Karen informed them causing Jet and Maya to look at one another and sigh as they leaned forward from their chairs and gave clasped their hands together firmly.

"Karen, we want to make up for whatever Delia thought we did wrong so if you have any way of contacting her then please, let us speak to her," Maya implored the former Unova champion who ran a hand through her hair and sighed before taking out her pokegear and calling Delia who seemed to be happy, yet surprised to hear from her.

"Hello Mrs. Long, it's surprising to hear from you, but-"

"Delia, I know this out of the blue, but…your parents want to talk you," Karen hesitantly told her and when she heard angry grunting and pacing on the other line, she just hoped the dragon tamer would hear her out.

The signal suddenly went dead causing Karen to groan and facepalm at the dragon tamer's stubbornness while Jet and Maya seemed to be concerned about what had transpired as Karen stared at her two guests empathetically.

"If you want, I can call my friend to see where Dmitri is considering he's traveling with Delia."

With Delia

No sooner had Delia hung up the phone when Dragonite suddenly materialized out of his pokeball and angrily stared down at his human friend who seemed unnerved the gaze the normally jolly dragon was giving her. Dragonite put his claws on her shoulders and tightened his grip on them causing Delia to wince causing Luka and Catherine to step forward protectively, but surprisingly Delia held out her hand and shook her head.

"It's okay, we're just going to talk," Delia tried to tell her friends in a calm tone and tried to give them an assuring smile, but both Luka and Catherine saw right through it as Dragonite began leading Delia down the hall causing Luka to step forward to pursue them, but Catherine stopped her.

"I want to help Delia as much as you do, but I think this is something that Delia needs to settle with her friends who know more about this than we do," Catherine reasoned with Luka who growled lowly, matching Sparkplug in ferocity, before letting out an irritable huff and folded her arms across her chest.

"(I fucking hate it when you guys are right,)" Luka snarled as Catherine locked arms with hers and lead her to their room down a different hallway.

Delia fiddled with the keycard to her room all the while with Dragonite breathing down her neck furiously and when she got the door open the once jolly dragon gave her light shove into the room and locked the door behind them. Delia decide to take the armchair while Dragonite took a seat on the edge of the bed all while she hugged Buneary close to her chest tightly causing the bunny pokemon to do her best to bring her comfort. The other members of Delia's team came out as well as Haxorus and Druddigon took Dragonite's side while Hydreigon floated near Delia as the other three dragons furiously gazed at her with the wrath of the gods.

"(Delia, why do you think your parents didn't want you instead of a son? They praised all of your actual accomplishments and they gave you love and support so why…WHY DO YOU THINK THAT?!)" Dragonite boomed like a raging volcano causing Delia to defiantly gaze back at him with teary eyes.

"Don't tell me those lies! They say they loved me, but I could tell they always wanted a son with the looks they gave the other boys of the village!" Delia shrieked at Dragonite as Buneary wiped away some tears from her eyes with her ears causing Delia to grin sadly which in turn caused Buneary to grin back.

"(Delia, I know what's the problem; you've always held yourself to an unreasonably high standard and when you couldn't reach it, you lashed out and made up lies to cushion yourself from your failures. That's why you think you're parents wanted a son, but you're wrong, they love you very much Delia and shutting them out of your life has really hurt them,)" Haxorus spat disdainfully at the dragon tamer who buried her face in her palm and sniffled into it while Buneary gently rubbed her head until Delia suddenly perked up with fire in her eyes.

"I haven't been making excuses on my journey! I messed up in the beginning, I know that, but I made up and took responsibility for my actions! Hydreigon listens to me, Catherine and Luka are my friends because I made up for my behavior, and I wouldn't even be talking to you guys about my parents right now if I didn't own up to my mistakes!" Delia screeched with a broken voice causing Hydreigon to coo and gently nuzzle her head while Haxorus and the other dragons narrowed their eyes into slits and stared accusingly at their trainer.

"(So why can't you own up to this mistake then Delia?)" Druddigon pressed causing Delia to violently shake her head to and fro while some tears fell from her eyes and dropped like raindrops onto the floor.

"My parents may love me as you claim, but they still wanted a so-"

"(Stop it; your parents were never the strongest battlers in the village and they didn't have a legacy to pass down. Your mother was a tutor who taught battle tactics from little known places like the Orre region and the Orange Archipelago while your father was simply a wandering trainer who at his best was only able to barely get within the top 16 in all of the leagues he participated in,)" Druddigon interrupted Delia causing the dragon tamer to grimace and look off to the side with a scowl before glaring at the three dragons who opposed her with furious crimson eyes.

"Maybe you guys are right, maybe you guys are wrong, but I'm not ready to face my parents yet," Delia conceded reluctantly with a huff causing Dragonite and Druddigon to happily fist bump while Haxorus sighed in relief and tentatively stepped forward and placed a claw on Delia's shoulder.

"(All we ask of you right now is to let go of the misplaced hate you have for your parents and you took a little baby step in the right direction so thank you Delia,)" Haxorus gratefully said to his friend as he along with his other draconic teammates zipped back inside of their pokeballs leaving Delia and Buneary alone.

Delia went over to the bed and collapsed in a heap with her eyes deep in thought while Buneary watched her from her chair with worried eyes until she steeled her resolve and nodded. Delia closed her eyes when the glare of an ethereal light emanated like the sun throughout the room and when Delia felt herself being picked up and pulled into a soft, furry chest, she looked up and found not her Buneary, but another pokemon altogether. Lopunny leaned back and rested her head against a pillow while wrapping her legs around Delia's waist and enveloped her with large, floppy ears and gave her trainer an sunny grin while Delia softly cried into her shoulder until it broke into a miserable, heart wrenching wail, but Lopunny maintained her sunny grin and comforted her trainer just as Delia had done for her.

With Karen

"Are you sure this is wise; Delia will not be happy to see you two," Karen informed them bluntly causing Maya to snort and gently stroke her Swanna across the back eliciting a soft coo from the regal avian who ruffled its wings and crouched down so its trainer could mount it while Jet patted his Unfezant on the head and straddled it.

"We know, but we need to make amends with her so she can forgive us for whatever we did wrong," Jet replied solemnly causing Karen to nod in understanding as she had been in a similar situation as Jet and Maya.

"Before you go, there's something I need to give you two," Karen told the two calmly as she disappeared into the house and reappeared holding two backpacks filled to the brim with supplies causing the parents of Delia to give her grateful smiles.

"It's going to be a rough to get to Sinnoh so I figured having some supplies to take with you would help make the journey easier," Karen said softly as the two adults took them and gave Karen firm handshakes in thanks for her help as the former champion focused her eyes on the two and put her hands on her hips.

"You know, the Battle Academy is always looking for new teachers," Karen casually remarked causing Maya to chuckle and give the former champion a playful salute which Karen returned with small grin.

"That's what everyone's at the village has been telling us; well, thank you for all your help Karen," Maya said sincerely to the former champion who folded her arms and nodded at them as Swanna and Unfezant bolted into the sky and left a cloud of dust in their wake causing Karen to cough and swat at it to make it go away until a sudden gust of wind did it for her.

Turning her head, she saw her boisterous dragon slowly walking up to her with his brows furrowed and his head tilted to the side as he came to a stop at Karen's side and gave her a stoic look.

"Thanks Salamence, do you think I did the right thing by telling them where Delia was?" Karen concernedly asked the old dragon who huffed and pulled Karen closer to him by using his thick tail and wrapped a wing around her.

"(Time will only tell Friend Karen, but I admire the concern those two have for their hatchling. She grew up too fast and didn't take in all the necessary knowledge she needed from each cycle and left the nest too early,)" Salamence sagely commented causing Karen to tilt her head to gaze at him in reserved admiration before sighing and running a hand through her hair.

"I hope Delia gives them a chance at least," Karen softly murmured to herself as she stepped onto Salamence and felt him gently rise into the sky and slowly take off towards her backyard where she found her team training diligently with one another and to her surprise, the haughty Stephanie was taking tips from Rhyperior on how to perform outrage.

Stephanie, upon seeing Karen, gave Rhyperior a grateful nod and slithered over to Karen where she gazed at her evenly and folded her vines across her chest which caused Karen to tilt her head to the side and stare curiously at the grass snake.

"(Hey Kit Kat, we've been thinking and we've all agreed that we should bring Hope more often to our training sessions and we should also invite Malakai since he shows potential to be a strong trainer,)" Stephanie suggested to her causing Karen to smirk and give a slow nod in response causing Stephanie to smirk back as Karen held her hand up as Stephanie thumped her palm with her vine.

Karen and Stephanie made drew their respective appendages back while making an exaggerated explosion sound from their mouths causing both of them to let out soft chuckles.

"Anyone else you have in mind for training Steph like Mr. Yamamoto?" Karen teased her causing Stephanie to snicker for a moment before staring at Karen with a wide, cheerful smirk.

"(Don't get me wrong; Mr. Yamamoto's a good guy, but he's not strong enough to keep up with you, Hope, or Malakai,)" Stephanie replied bluntly causing her trainer to sigh and gently pat her on the belly while overlooking her teammates training rigorously with one another.

"Steph?"

"(What's up?)"

"I've been thinking…do you think it's fair to Dmitri that I'll be using you guys who are far more experienced and powerful than his team?"

"(No, but he knows that life isn't fair and frankly he and Maris would be insulted if you didn't fight him at your best.)"

"I guess your right; well, I wouldn't want to insult him so why don't we kick training up a notch then?"

"(I'd be delighted to.)"