FEARFUL OF THE NIGHT

By: Cy Mendoza

CHAPTER 9

FAMILY

Chip hit the ground in surprise, turning to face the giant fearow bearing down on him. There was no one around, not even Lillie—where had she gone? He closed his eyes tightly as those giant claws reached out and—

"Chip!"

The blond opened his eyes at the sound of the voice. It was Rotom, his mind realized at once, even before he saw the ghost shaking his arm. He was sweating, and the thin sheets of the pokemon center's bed stuck to his skin uncomfortably. Dim light flowed through the window nearest to him. He hadn't remembered that Lillie chose a bunk bed closest to the window. As he sat up, still panting, he glanced out it to realize that the sun was going down. That sick feeling was spreading faster through him, even though he was awash in the artificial light of the pokemon center. He didn't even notice that Rotom was still nudging him until it moved right in front of his face and pushed at his cheek.

"Chip, are you alright? I think you were having a bad dream… zzt…" Rotom looked at him in concern.

The blond took a moment to catch his breath. "It was just a dream. I'm fine." He took the ghost in his arms and lay back against the pillows again, holding onto Rotom tightly. Rotom shifted slightly in his grip to look at him. Chip buried his face against his partner and breathed softly, his breath forming condensation on the screen.

"How are you feeling?" Chip murmured, pulling his face away to look at Rotom. "Here, let me see your regular form."

"I'm doing fine! Zz-zz!" The ghost exited the PokeDex, and Chip set it aside. True to Rotom's words, it looked healthy. Whatever bruises had been on its body seemed to have faded away.

"Oh, you look fantastic, don't you?" Chip said with a soft laugh.

"Ro-to!" The ghost leaned to one side, looking at him curiously. "Zz-zz…"

"What's wrong?" Chip asked. "I'm fine, it was just a dream, Roro."

Rotom blinked at him, leaning the other way. Chip could almost feel the word implied from the ghost's expression—promise?

"Yes, I promise," he said, reaching to cup his partner in his hands. He nuzzled his nose against the ghost's cheek, pleased that the only sensation that came to his skin was a light tingling.

"Kzzzrt!" Rotom squeaked and giggled, an excited smile plastered to its face. It then wriggled out of his hands and darted around his head with little chirps. Chip laughed, much more authentically this time, twisting this way and that to follow Rotom's movements. Finally, he held his hand out, and the ghost immediately settled into his hand, its electric wings twitching back and forth.

"You're in such a good mood. Did you sleep well?"

"Ro, ro-to, ro-to-to," was the answer, followed by a vigorous nod. Chip patted Rotom's head spike again, then stretched and pulled the covers off himself. Rotom floated around him in a circle, then darted over to the window to look out.

Chip looked too. Based on the setting sun, he assumed he must have slept four or five hours. To be honest, he'd been feeling exhausted from his compounding wounds, so maybe it was best for the both of them that they'd taken such a long rest. He just wished that the night hadn't come so fast. Chip's heartbeat had finally calmed down when he realized he was safe in the pokemon center, and there wasn't a real fearow about to rip him to shreds, but anxiety still prickled at the back of his mind.

The night had come.

"Ugh," Chip said, looking down at himself. He'd sweated enough that he felt a shower was mandatory at this point, but he wasn't sure how to go about doing that in a communal place like the pokemon center. He still had the new shirt he'd gotten from the clothing store, so he could wear that. Would he leave his bag with Rotom? He didn't want anything to get stolen. "Hey, Roro?"

"Zzt?" the ghost turned and looked at him.

"Do you think you could guard my backpack here? I want to go take a shower, but obviously I don't want anyone walking off with my stuff."

"Zz-zzz!" Rotom said. The ghost hovered over Chip's backpack, its electric aura starting to build up and spark. Chip chuckled at the sight. Clearly his partner was willing to give a nasty shock to anyone who dared to try pilfering something from him.

Chip grabbed his overnight bag from his backpack, then the plastic bag that held the new shirt in it. "Keep an eye on everything, okay? Don't let anything distract you."

"Zzt!" Rotom waved one electric wing in salute.

Chip wasn't sure what to expect of a communal shower. He feared it might be something where everyone showered in one spot, sort of like a gym shower, but he was pleased to see there were stalls for showering. Exhaling softly, he claimed one of them and closed the door behind him. In the stall, there was a cube shower—no tub—and a space to put clothing and other belongings. He was almost tempted to go back and get his stuff to put it on the little counter, but he also wasn't sure he wanted Rotom in here with him. An electric pokemon plus water seemed like a bad combination.

The hot water refreshed him and soothed some of the ache in his body. When he'd changed clothes and came out of the bathroom, the lodging space was eerily silent.

"Roro?" Chip called out, walking in the direction of his bunk bed. His backpack still sat, untouched, on the bed, so no one had robbed him. He put his dirty clothes into it then zipped it up. The PokeDex was still inside too. He picked it up and frowned at its emptiness, then tucked it under his arm. Where had Rotom gone?

"Roooo-to!"

Relief hit Chip like a train. That was definitely Rotom, but where was it?

Chip looked around until he realized with a start that the television on the back wall had eyes. Rotom giggled and popped out of the television, then moved over to the coffee maker and possessed that next. Chip smiled, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, and moved over to the coffee maker. Rotom popped the top of the coffee maker open as Chip placed the coffee grinds inside, then filled the machine with water. He found a cup and set it under, then closed the top of the coffee maker and plopped into the chair beside it.

Rotom trilled quietly as it prepared the coffee. Chip gave it a light pat on the head, then closed his eyes with a sigh. He needed to get over this fear of the night. It was stupid, and he'd never felt this way about the darkness before, it was just because of those jerks from Team Skull that he had this sudden fit of anxiety. He hoped that the coffee would wire him up enough to keep the anxiety away, and he could finally get to training Rotom. Ilima had seemed excited—well, sort of—for him to challenge his trial, and he didn't want to let Ilima down. He kind of liked the captain, maybe because he'd saved Chip from that fearow.

"Ro-to," called out Rotom. Chip looked over to see that the coffee was ready. Rotom popped out of the coffee maker and settled on Chip's shoulder as the boy filled the cup with creamer and sugar, then took a sip.

"Tastes pretty good! You're super useful, you know that?" He reached up to pat Rotom's head with his free hand, then laughed when he noticed how intently the ghost was looking at the coffee. "Do you want some?"

"Ro-ro," the ghost said, nodding.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Chip asked. "Have you ever had coffee before? Did Professor Oak ever give it to you?"

"Ro-to!" Rotom said, nodding, though that was a lie. Oak had never given it coffee, but it badly wanted to try it! The professor had a cup every morning, so how bad could it be? And now Chip was drinking it, and… well, Rotom was curious.

Chip filled the creamer cup with some of the coffee then held it out to Rotom. The ghost picked it up with its electric limbs, then sipped it down in one or two gulps. Chip moved back over to the window and noticed the malasada shop's bright neon lettering against the growing darkness, which reminded him of how hungry he was. "I bet you're hungry, huh? I'm hungry too… should we go get malasada before we leave?"

Rotom was vibrating a little. "Ro-to!"

Chip looked at the ghost in alarm. "You're not going to explode now that you've had coffee, are you? You're not a Voltorb."

"Ro-to, ro-to, ro-to…" The vibrating grew more intense.

"Roro, you look like you're going to self-destruct!"

"Ro… ro… ROTOOOOO!" The ghost blasted off from Chip's shoulder. The electric pokemon squealed in delight and ricocheted around the room, bouncing off any surface it could. It hit the television, possessed it, then popped back out again, darting off toward the ceiling, where it found a ceiling light and possessed that. Chip counted the number of objects that Rotom possessed while it bounced around from the coffee—the overhead lights twice, the television three times, the fire alarm (and thankfully didn't set it off), the air conditioner, the thermostat, the coffee maker, until finally the ghost pokemon rolled out of the coffee maker and slammed into the PokeDex.

Chip finished off the coffee with a laugh then tossed the empty cup into the garbage pail. "Remind me never to give you coffee again."

The PokeDex powered up, and a moment later Rotom's appendages popped out and it wiggled out from under Chip's arm, circling him rapidly. "I feel wonderful! Thizzz is great!"

"Glad to hear it," Chip said, chuckling. He wished coffee worked that fast for him! "Hey, Roro, I was thinking… remember when you said that you can call people from the pokemon center?"

Rotom nodded rapidly, then seemed to realize where Chip was going with his statement, letting out a squeak of delight. "Are we going to call the profezzzor?"

"I promised I'd call him when I got my partner…" Chip could feel a spark of pain. Though he'd gotten used to telling the story of his loss, it still hurt to know he'd have to tell it again. Oak would be just as disappointed, no doubt, as Kukui had been. Chip almost didn't want to give Oak the bad news, but keeping it from him felt wrong too. "I can't put it off forever."

Rotom nodded, frowning. "Do you not want to tell him what happened? Zzzr?"

"I just… don't want to tell it again." Rotom was about to open its mouth when Chip shook his head. "I know you'd do it for me, Roro. But it's something I have to do, even if I don't want to. You could help me make the call though, right?"

"Of course!" Rotom gestured with one of its arms for Chip to follow him, then floated out of the lodging room of the pokemon center.

Chip followed his partner wordlessly through the hallway until they reached the front of the pokemon center. He didn't see Joy anywhere, which was odd, but he figured she might have been in the back. He could hear rustling happening in the hospital, as well as quiet voices. A quiet 'zzt' caught his attention as he looked up, realizing Rotom was waiting by the computer for him. Chip hadn't realized he'd stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Rotom placed an arm against the screen. "Dialing…"

The professor's picture filled the computer's screen. He looked a bit singed, as if something had shocked or burned him. That wasn't unusual, as the professor interacted with a lot of pokemon each day, but it still made Chip wince slightly. "Oh, Chip! How nice to hear from you again. I was wondering when you'd get around to calling me—I'm sure you're quite busy on your journey, aren't you? How has it gone for you? Is Rotom still with you?"

Rotom floated into view of the camera and waved at the professor. "Oh, profezzzor, are you okay? Zzr?"

"I'm quite all right, don't worry about me, Rotom. Chip? Are you alright? You look a bit tired, have you been getting enough sleep?"

Chip was building himself up to explaining his situation again, and it left his mouth dry. The professor's jovial smile had turned downwards in a frown of concern. "Something happened, professor… something bad." The story poured out of him easier this time, despite the ache in his stomach from telling it. Rotom had a light frown on its face, patting the boy's shoulder gently in hopes that it could comfort him.

"Chip, I'm so sorry that happened to you," Oak said. "This Team Skull is sounding a lot like Team Rocket." The moment the words slipped out of the professor's mouth, he started, and waved a hand. "But nevermind that, Chip—so you say Rotom's your partner now? Hmm, but I never trained it for battle?"

"Roro's doing a good job learning," Chip said, managing a little smile. But then he blinked and stared at the screen. "Wait, professor…"

"Hm?"

Something had flitted into the picture. Behind the professor was a small orange orb with blue eyes, looking between the professor and the screen on the other side. Rotom's eyes rounded out, though it didn't say anything.

"Oh," the professor said, looking behind him. "This is your sire, Rotom—ahem, you're blocking the camera—" The other rotom had moved right in front of the camera, eyeing it curiously. The professor waved the ghost away from the camera, and it shocked him with a laugh before flitting off screen. The professor stiffened, then smoothed down his hair. "My apologies, my own rotom can be a bit mischievous. I certainly hope yours didn't inherit that—Rotom, you're not shocking Chip for fun, are you?"

"Absolutely not!" Rotom said, its eyes still wide.

"Good. Chip… Rotom will be a good partner for you. It may be a challenge to train it, as I didn't breed it for battle, but the two of you will grow from the difficulties. If you need anything, please feel free to ask. I'm only one call away, and I'd be happy to send you anything you need by pigeot."

"I think I'm okay, but thank you, professor." Chip closed his eyes briefly, before exhaling. "And… thank you… for Rotom. I don't know what I would have done without it."

A sad smile appeared on the professor's face. "I managed to give you your pokemon partner after all, it seems."

Chip and Oak discussed the island challenge and trials while Rotom floated off to the side a little bit, lost in thought. It seemed foolish, but Rotom had felt something when it saw that other rotom—an inexplicable, intense emotion that sent its circuits tingling. That feeling still hadn't gone away. It was remarkably similar to the feelings it had for Chip. My family, Rotom thought. I have a family...?

It seemed like such a stupid thing to say. Of course Rotom had a family—where else would it have come from? It wasn't like Rotom could appear from nowhere. It still had memories of its hatching, pushing at its egg until the shell finally cracked, and the tiny ghost tumbled out. But the truth was, Rotom had never seen another of its own kind until now. I have a family…will I ever get to meet Professor Oak's rotom? I wouldn't even know what to say to it! It didn't even acknowledge me... oh, why would it? A lot of rotom were born in that lab, what makes me special?

Rotom didn't realize Chip was done talking to the professor until the boy poked its screen. "Zzr?"

"Um…" Chip looked at Rotom. "So what did you think of that other rotom?"

Rotom glanced off to the side. "I don't know."

Chip waited to see if Rotom would say anything else. After all, it'd met its sire—in a way, at least, it wasn't like the other rotom had said anything. But when Rotom didn't continue, Chip realized the ghost didn't want to talk about it… at least not now. He hesitated, trying to think of something else for them to talk about, when his stomach grumbled and gave him the perfect topic. "Do you want to get some malasada? Or maybe you'd like to start training? Should we train and then eat, or eat and then train?"

For the first time, when Rotom thought about battling, it didn't feel a sick sense of fear. It was actually a little excited, maybe because of the coffee, or maybe because it wanted something else to focus on besides the other rotom. The ghost put on a smiling face, a little forced, but hopefully that wasn't noticeable. "I wouldn't mind burning some of this energy, zzz!"

Seeing the change in its demeanor uplifted Chip. "Then let's see what we can find, huh? Oh, I forgot to ask—did you get stronger after you fought those spearow?"

"Zz-zzz? I think so." Rotom felt a surge of happiness, knowing that it wasn't as weak as it used to be. The proof was in the fact that it could control its electricity so much better now. It may not have been bred to battle, but it wanted so badly to show Chip that it could still do so and win, that it could protect him. It had a feeling that familiar fear would come back when it faced a tough battle, but for now, Rotom was grateful for the confidence. Rotom didn't like feeling anxious and worried, so any opportunity it had to avoid that, it welcomed.

"Then that's great! I bet you'll have no trouble with the wild pokemon around here then. You've gotten strong enough that you should be able to handle anything without trouble."

"Zzzr… If you say so, Chip," Rotom said, smiling.

The two left the pokemon center to a warm Alola evening. Though Chip initially felt anxious about stepping outside, he could see that the sun was still in the process of setting, and there was a lot of natural light. Coupled with the fact that the city had a ton of unnatural light, it seemed almost like it was daytime. That comforted Chip, and as he looked over at Rotom, he noticed it was watching him carefully, as if looking for any signs that he might be uncomfortable.

People smiled as they passed the pair, waving at them. It caught Chip by surprise—in the big cities in Kanto, that was never heard of, people waving at each other despite being strangers—but he quickly adapted and waved back with a smile. People here were so friendly it still startled him, but at the same time he loved it. This place was starting to feel more like home.

"Hau'oli City has a lot of wild grassland areazzz even inside the city," Rotom said. "If you take a right here, there should be some grass contained by fences on your left, zzz."

Chip had intended to follow Rotom's directions, but a grove of trees just outside the city's borders caught his attention and he headed in that way instead. Rotom made a quiet 'zzr' noise of confusion, then followed its trainer. A thicket lay past the edge of the grove of trees, and the forest was darker back there. A small road ran parallel to the forest, and light from a tall street light streaked through the tree leaves, dappling the ground with pale yellow. The boy stepped into the forest, Rotom by his side, and glanced around.

"It'zz… it'zzz a bit dark," Rotom said, watching Chip. "Are you sure you're okay with thizzz place?"

"There's a street light on the other side of the trees," Chip said. He took a deep breath. His anxiety, at least right now, was manageable. Maybe it was a sign he was getting better? Besides, he was so close to the city—what could happen? "It's not that bad. I'll stay within the range of the light. It's fine."

The two picked their way through the vegetation, then paused and looked around. It was so quiet, so serene. Above, the sky was streaked with bright pinks and golds. It was beautiful, and he found he was staring up at his favorite color—the gold even leaked into the forest itself, making the trees and their leaves aglow with it. It was just a shame that he could only see a golden sky before night fell. Maybe he could train Rotom a little during the sunset, and run back toward the city for malasada when the real night came.

"What are you thinking? Zzz?" Rotom asked, still watching him carefully.

"Um… just thinking about the sunset… there must be a lot of wild pokemon in here, don't you think?" Chip asked, picking his way through the thick of the vegetation. He expected to see bird pokemon in the trees and bug pokemon on the forest floor, but he didn't see anything. The place that'd seemed so serene just moments ago was now starting to feel very eerie.

"There'zzz a 90% chance of encountering a wild pokemon in this forest," Rotom said. Its excitement from the coffee was starting to die down as warning bells went off in its head. Something about this forest didn't seem right. Rotom couldn't figure out what was putting it on edge, but something was. "Chip, maybe we should go back to the city and search the grasslandzzz there…"

"Maybe you're right. Something about this place feels weird," Chip said, turning around to head back, but then he froze. Something stood behind them.

It was small, maybe about two feet tall, and looked like a doll. The creature lifted its head, stained with two red circles and tiny black eyes, and made a faint hissing sound. The forest seemed to grow darker. The street light flickered on and off. Chip stared at the creature as his heart threatened to pound out of his chest.

"It's a mimikyu!" Rotom said abruptly. "Chip, we need to escape, it'zzz too strong!"

A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will introduce Mimikyu!