Chapter 7: Redefined Destiny

The Raticate jumped back to avoid Nadine's Tackle, and leaped forward to try and bite her with his oversized fangs. But the little rabbit quickly curled into a ball, causing the rat to hit her poisonous spines, causing him to reel in pain. Meanwhile, Larvitar was dancing around the Spearow's assault, barely getting any room to attack. It had been five days since Cody and Heather had left Lahonburg and his Larvitar, while having improved a little bit, had still yet to win a fight. But maybe that day would be his lucky day.

The double battle was only a minute old and it was already intense. It was two pokémon per trainer, and everybody was on their first monster, save the youngest trainer on the opposing team. Cody's and Heather's opponents were two traveling trainers, one, a young trainer of about eleven years, and the other about their age. The younger trainers Zigzagoon was taken out rather quickly after it was poisoned by Nadine, but his Raticate was much faster and smarter. But the older trainers last pokémon had yet to appear, and judging by the Spearow's battling skills, Cody was anxious about the mystery pokémon.

"Larvitar, you need to be more aggressive. That Spearow is too fast to play defensively. Tackle!"

"Raaah!" The lizard finally found time to launch himself at the bird, but he only half hit the target, razing past. The Spearow followed the miss with a furious assault of pecks, forcing the Larvitar to curl into a ball. Meanwhile, Nadine was still struggling with the Raticate, who seemed to be getting faster as the battle wore on. They would need to find a way to take down the rat and soon, since neither of Heather's remaining pokémon would be able to cope with the rodent's aggressiveness.

"Hey, Cody, can we have our- Nadine! You can't stand still in this fight- can we have our pokémon switch targets for now? I don't think Nadine can handle this Raticate."

"Larvitar, you can't attack that Spearow if you stay curled up like that all day!" He turned his attention to Heather for several seconds. "And you think Larvitar would do any better right now?"

"He's a rock-type, so… yeah!" Beads of sweat were running down her face now. She got much more anxious over battles than he did.

"So? That typing doesn't stop that Spearow from dominating him!"

"Look, I know Nadine can beat the Spearow. Just see if your Larvitar can at least hold off the Raticate for now!"

"Oh, we can do better than that!" Larvitar was up and was blocking the Spearow's pecks with his stubby arms. He was getting better at holding off the bird's attacks, but he couldn't hold out for long. Suddenly, Nadine leaped out and landed a direct Tackle on the bird. The Raticate tried to follow, but Cody's Larvitar had a brief moment of courage, and he managed to Headbutt the passing pokémon. But this only angered the feral rat even more. At his trainer's orders, the rat used Quick Attack, slamming Larvitar before he could make any sort of defensive action. The Larvitar sprung to his feet almost immediately. Something was burning in the little pokémon's eyes as he ran head on at the Raticate, trying to gore it with its horn, but the rat scurried out of the way and slammed into the lizard's side. Meanwhile, Nadine was trying to dodge the Spearow's attacks, shooting Poison Stings at the bird between swoops.

"Larvitar, he's too fast, you need to grab hold of him to slow him down!"

The Larvitar reached forward and grabbed the rat by the tail before slamming the oversized rodent into the ground by the appendage. But in the daze, the Raticate lurched forward and bit down on the lizard. But as the rat's fangs chomped into the lizard's rocky hide, the Larvitar let out a loud Screech. Both the Raticate and Spearow cringed at the sound. The lizard then clutched the rat in its arms, ran forward with the rodent in tow, and slammed the rat onto the ground under his weight.

"Nice running Body Slam, Larvitar!" The moment was cut short as the rat stood back up, only to be shot down by a flying Nadine. The Spearow had thrown her with her claws in an attempt to weaken her, but accidentally threw her right at Raticate. Both pokémon lay in an unconscious slump. They were returned to their pokeballs by their respective trainers.

"Who do you think I should use next?" Heather asked Cody as Larvitar tried to duel with the Spearow again, though the fierce little bird was much faster.

"I don't know. I bet Feathers would be better at fighting another bird. Better than Somnos. He'd probably be too slow."

"Okay. You're up Feathers!"

The little Pidgey burst out of the pokeball and hit the Spearow with a full body tackle. Meanwhile, the Larvitar attempted to break the Spearow's fall with his horn, but the bird caught flight at the last second and avoided the Horn Attack. She tried to attack Feathers again with a furious combination of pecks, but the Pidgey was a much faster flyer. She quickly dodged the beak of the Spearow and at Heather's command, slammed her entire body into the opposing bird, who had taken a beating. She fell several feet to the ground and was not able to return to flight. His trainer reluctantly called her back.

"Well, this looks good," Heather said looking over at Cody. "Three versus one. I think we got this one in the bag."

"Do you now?" the remaining opponent said, a smile crossing his face. "You've only seen the tip of the iceberg." With a fluid movement, he tossed his second poke ball, exploding to reveal an armor-dressed bird. It had a long beak, matched by an even longer neck.

"Holy…" Cody glared at Heather. "Thanks for the jinx."

The bird, standing well over five feet tall, dwarfed Cody and Heather's pokémon. Its glowing yellow eyes gazed upon its prey, and without warning, it let out a deafening screech. Both Larvitar and Feathers cringed at the sound, and before they could regain focus, the Skarmory began to flap its wings and flew straight at the targets, only a foot or so off the ground. Feathers managed to fly out of the way, but Larvitar was not so lucky. The steel bird crashed its entire body at the lizard, and Larvitar was knocked over. Feathers flew in immediately, ramming her body into the Skarmory's side. However, the larger bird didn't even flinch. Turning his attention to the little pigeon, he let out an ear-piercing roar, causing her to fly away in fear.

"Cody, it's too strong," Heather gasped as the Skarmory went back to Larvitar, trying to peck it now with its metal beak. "How do we- Feathers! Go back and help!"

"Win? I don't know. We'll figure something out. Larvitar, Screech!"

His Larvitar let out a screech almost as loud as the Skarmory's, but the bird didn't seem phased. Instead, he screeched back at an even higher decibel. But this pause gave Feathers enough time to ram into the bigger bird's neck. He shook in the air, trying to regain balance, but Larvitar managed to stand back up and charge the Skarmory with his horn. The iron bird let out a shriek of pain as it was forced to stop flying, but it landed on its feet, barely hurt at all in the end.

"Now's your chance. Tackle!"

The Larvitar ran full speed at the Skarmory with Feathers flying at his side, but the bigger bird would have none of it. With a swift motion, he swatted at the Pidgey with his wing and grabbed the Larvitar with his beak. Using his neck muscles, he threw him several feet away into the ground, and on its trainer's command, charged the Larvitar in flight, slashing at him with his silver wing. Larvitar was knocked out cold.

"Good work, Larvitar!" Cody returned his pokémon, and grabbed Bastion's ball and released it to reveal the little turtle. The Squirtle looked up at the steel bird and grunted with disinterest. He was just another target for him.

The Skarmory let out another screech and flew face first towards his enemies. Both Bastion and Feathers managed to dodge the attack, but the steel bird made a wide turn and flew back towards Bastion. The turtle was one step ahead though and had managed to make a decently high jump before unleashing a downward Iron Tail onto the bird's wing. A loud clang broke out from the impact, but the Skarmory didn't seem shaken, even as Feathers made another failing effort to injure the much larger opponent via a Quick Attack to the side. Ignoring the smaller bird, the armored one turned around and aimed towards Bastion once more. This time, the turtle sprayed a powerful Water Gun into the bird's face, but the Skarmory cut through the attack like a knife and struck the Squirtle at full force with its chest.

"Cody, our attacks aren't getting through. I don't know how we can beat this thing," Heather gasped. Not receiving a command from her trainer, Feathers flew down to the earth and grabbed a talon full of dirt and tossed it into the Skarmory's eyes. The larger bird let out a scream of pain and began to flap its wings in a frenzy to stay airborne.

"Keep doing that," Cody shot back. Suddenly, he saw an opening: the back joint of the Skarmory's wing. "Bastion! Aqua Jet to the back of its wing!" he shouted and crossed his fingers that the turtle would understand his command.

Like he had been practicing, Bastion immediately withdrew into his shell and shot a blast of water through the tail opening of his armor. The shell launched at a diagonal into the back part of the Skarmory's wing where it merged with his body. The armored-bird let out another scream and crashed into the ground. He stood up and tried to gain flight again, but its wing was too damaged.

"Now's your chance Feathers! Quick attack!" The unarmored bird flew at her grounded opponent, but the Skarmory saw her coming and slapped her at full force with its steely wing. The Pidgey was knocked into the ground, unable to get up.

"It's all you now, Cody!" Heather sighed as she returned her final pokémon.

The Skarmory wasted no time in returning to the battle as he charged Bastion on foot. The Squirtle was not able to get away and was picked up by the large bird's beak before being tossed into the air. It all happened so fast that the Squirtle crashed into the ground before being able to withdraw into his shell. Bastion got to his feet and sent a stream of Bubbles at his foe. It caused the bird to flinch, but he continued charging Bastion, and managed to pick him up once more by the shell's tip. This time, however, both Cody and Bastion were ready.

"Water Gun!"

The turtle shot a force of water strong enough to escape the beak's clutch, and as he flew away from the bird at a horizontal angle, he continued the blast, at the bird's side body. It was enough to push the Skarmory onto his side.

"Finish him, Bastion!"

The turtle ran until he was five feet away from his target before leaping into the air with a flip and landing an Iron Tail on the side of the bird's head, pressuring it against the ground. That wasn't enough, however, and as the bird lifted its head again, Bastion was ready with another tail strike. And again with a third.

The Skarmory let out one more screech before passing out. Bastion stood back up and let out a satisfied grunt before looking at his master for approval. The little turtle could not understand his trainer's amazement for grounding a Skarmory. For him, it was just another fight.

"Well, that was a good battle. I think we're getting a lot better," Heather said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her tension seemed to have melted away following the battle.

"You mean 'you're' getting better." He clarified. "Nadine did half of the work. I spent most of the battle trying to keep Larvitar from getting eaten alive," he released Larvitar from his pokeball to look at his wounds. Nothing too serious. Just a lot of marks from the multiple pecks and bites. He sprayed him over with a potion and fed him an oran berry for good measure. The lizard seemed relaxed following the fight and he had grown far more comfortable around his trainer. "You know, maybe I should think about catching a new pokémon soon. I don't know, maybe Larvitar just isn't cut out for battles, and I need three pokémon for gym battles." He patted the little monsters head, and it closed its eyes in a comforted trance.

"We only have a day or so left until we reach Tempest Valley, so you better get on that," Heather replied, only half paying attention. She was looking over Feathers, and after a few seconds of studying her injuries, she took out an ace bandage and began wrapping the bird's wing. "To be fair, he has gotten better. But you know, if you wanted to carry more of the load, you could have just used Mars instead."

"Against bird pokémon? Not gonna happen. I don't even know how he's gonna manage the gym." He returned Larvitar to his pokeball, and let Bastion out. After a quick overview, he concluded that the Squirtle didn't suffer any injuries. He fed the turtle a berry anyway, and then he stood back up and turned back to Heather. "Besides, Larvitar needs the experience if anything. But I think we did enough work. Bastion took out that Skarmory in the end." That had probably been Bastion's biggest win so far. That Skarmory was very durable and strong. A feeling of envy grew inside him and desire flashed in his eyes. "I want one."

"You want one what?" Heather asked. Feathers was sitting on her shoulder at that point, tweeting happily. The two had begun walking again, as they had a lot of ground to cover to make up for all the battling they had been doing.

"A Skarmory. Think about how cool that would be," he answered, his eyes glazing over as he imagined flying on a Skarmory. More importantly, he imagined battling with one. The one they had battled that day was young after all. A full-grown Skarmory would be far more powerful.

"You're kidding, right? How would you even catch one?" she asked in humorless disbelief. "They're big, mean, and hard to train. Don't you think it would be hard for you right now?"

"Everybody wants a Gyarados, and they're bigger, meaner, and far harder to train. But that's why people catch Gyarados: it's worth the challenge," he replied as if the answer was that simple.

"Umm, don't people typically Magikarp and evolve them, rather than going straight for a Gyarados?"Cody turned his head to see her giving him a devious 'I just poked a hole in your logic' smile.

"Shut up Heather, it's a good analogy and you know it," he affirmed.

"Even if it makes absolutely no sense?" she laughed.

"It makes perfect sense!"

Without thinking about it, he pulled out his cell phone. No bars, but he had missed a call from his father. He would have to wait until he could get better reception. But it didn't look like that would be happening, since they would be going through a small wooded area up ahead.

The woods were pretty empty as far as animals went. No humans or pokémon were in sight, though one could hear the occasional song of a roosting Tailow. Mars was out of his pokeball, popping in and out of the ground, nibbling on roots that the party passed. Feathers was still sitting on Heather's shoulder. She wasn't flying since her wing was patched up, though she'd probably be able to fly again in the morning.

The walk was boring. Nothing of interest was happening, and Cody had run out of things to say to Heather. So he looked over at her and notice how soft her face looked. He wondered why she never seemed to have any problems with acne, especially since his had been getting slightly worse over the passing weeks. But before he could look away, she suddenly caught him staring at her.

"Are you staring at me?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yes," he answered bluntly. There was no point in hiding it, as he had been caught in the act.

"Why?"

"Because you're preeeetty," he said in the creepiest, cheesiest voice he could muster. She immediately burst into giggles.

"I'm flattered Cody, but you are such a creeper. And I know you're lying because my ends are splitting. Creek water is a bitch."

"Why do you think I would lie to you? I can't lie. I'm probably the worst liar I know." he said innocently. It was true though.

"Well, you're doing a good job at it now."

"You women and your hair and your make up, and your… obsessions with… Johnny Depp," he said, using a desperate fill-in name, as he had run out of things to say. "This is why men rule the world. We're just more efficient."

"Oh please Cody, if women ruled the world, things would be a lot better."

"Please, women always change their minds. At least men are consistent."

"I'm calling you out on that one," Heather shot back. "My last boyfriend was very bipolar. Like, not actually bipolar, but... Point is, he constantly jumped between crazy and emo, it was unbearable."

"Well, he's the exception to the rule. But men like me, we're consistent," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, when have you ever been consistent about anything? Name one time right now," Heather demanded. Their particular banter was getting intensely nonsensical.

Cody stopped talking for a second, and in the creepy voice, he answered, "I still think you're pretty."

"And you're still an asshole," she sighed, a smile still on her face. "Look, there's a stream. Let's stop for a minute and let the pokémon drink. This hike is getting a little monotonous."

"Sounds good to me," he replied. He released Bastion and Larvitar, who joined in with Heather's pokémon to drink. Somnos seemed to appreciate the stream the most, as he drifted off to sleep in a shallow, slow-moving portion of the creek. Cody sat down on a nearby stone and began to chew his last piece of beef jerky. He didn't prepare that well for that specific trip, so he really hoped they did reach Tempest Valley by the next day.

"You can have some of my food when we stop for the night if you want," Heather offered as she sat with him, as she had taken notice that he was out of food.

"Oh, thanks, but I'll see if I can find some berries or something like that." He let out a sigh and laid back on the stone, resting his head on his hands. The trees over the creek had very peculiar oversized leaves. But after staring at them for several seconds, he realized they weren't leaves at all. They were emanating with a mellow hum.

"Heather! Check out the Metapod. There are like, twenty of them." He stood up as she approached. The chrysalises were taking on an orange tint now from the setting sun. Some of them seemed to be fidgeting.

"Oh wow…" she gasped in amazement. "I've never seen so many in one place. Why are they clustered like this?" Without a response, Cody reached for his pokémon handbook and flipped to the page about metapod. After skimming the pages, he found a relevant passage and began to read it out loud.

"While Metapod can survive on their own, they will sometimes cluster in groups as Caterpie when making their chrysalises for security. While they can move and even attack predators in this stage at evolution, they prefer to remain distant from attackers, and most predators will avoid groups of Metapod. After a period of time ranging from one week two several months (depending on the season), the Metapod will emerge from their chrysalises as Butterfee, typically at the beginning of either dusk or dawn." He stopped there and looked back up at the clustered cocoons. "I guess they like this spot, because it would be easy for them to descend for water." He flipped through his book again to the notes page and began to jot down what he saw. "Damn, I wish I had a camera right now."

"Well, maybe its better that only we get to see this. Something that only we can remember someday," she said in a soft voice as if being loud would wake them from their trance.

"Yeah, maybe your right." He looked back at the pokémon hanging over the creek. All of them were fidgeting. "I wonder what they are doing ri-"

Suddenly, a loud cracking noise burst through the humming, surprising them both. Heather let out a small cry and grabbed Cody's hand. His attention suddenly switched to her hand which was now enclosed in his.

How the hell did that happen? he thought to himself.

"What's going on?" she asked as she drew his attention back to the Metapod. They were all making cracking noises. One by one, their chrysalises were beginning the split open. Their own pokémon had now rushed to their trainers' sides in fear and excitement of the noises. All except Mars, who was squeaking angrily at the Metapod for being so distracting.

"I think they're hatching," he answered in a hushed voice. The entire scene was nerve wracking. What if the pokémon attacked them when they emerged. They would be very outnumbered if that were the case. "Mars, quit doing that!" he shouted at the squeaking mole, but he was wasting his breath.

Suddenly, all the pods began to glow, and multitude of humming voices chimed together. Almost all at once, all of the Metapod emerged from their glowing chrysalises as Butterfree, leaving their empty shells behind. The butterflies seemed to be laughing like children as they fluttered around the two teens and their pokémon without a trace of malice. Their new wings looked shiny as the last light of day reflected on their new bodies.

"Wow, they're beautiful," Heather sighed among the singing butterflies.

"Yeah, they are…" Cody replied in amazement. Her hand still in his, he turned his body towards hers and took her other hand in his as they looked up at the singing insects. Cody looked down at their own pokémon, all of which were staring in wonder at the sight. Mars had quit squeaking, and was standing still for once. Even Larvitar was not afraid of the pokémon. He just looked up in awe. The only pokémon who was moving was Feathers, as she hopped around on the ground, trying to join the butterflies in their flight by flapping her injured wing.

Eventually, the butterfree began to fly in different directions into the forest. One quickly flew between Cody and Heather, giving out a soft cry before slowly flying down the path the trainers had originally walked down on. As it disappeared down the trail, Cody looked back at Heather who had just noticed that they were holding hands. Her face suddenly reddened as an embarrassed smile crossed her face. But the two of them were now staring into each others eyes. The moment seemed perfect.

Hopefully, she doesn't notice how stupidly I'm smiling right now, he thought.

"Hey Cody?" She asked in asked in an almost whisper.

"Yeah?"

"I have… I have something I want to tell you."

"What is it?" He asked as he inched his way closer to her.

She slowly moved her face closer to his, and with a small smile, whispered, "dibs."

Suddenly, she let go of his hands, grabbed Somnos, and ran off down the path after the last Butterfree with Nadine following behind her.

"Hey, that's cheating," he shouted after, though he wasn't loud enough for her to hear. He then noticed Feathers trying to hop after her trainer, but Cody grabbed her before she was out of reach. "Oh no you don't, you can't fly right now." After the little bird calmed down, he placed her next to Bastion, and he collapsed next to them.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked himself out loud. All of the pokémon looked at him as if they were about to answer the question. But none of them did. Cody still felt that stupid smile still plastered on his face. His mind was no longer on the butterfree, but Heather.

You should have kissed her bro. She wanted you to, the voice in his head said.

"Shut up Laurence," he said out loud again, getting more stares from his pokémon. Suddenly, he felt his pocket vibrating. He pulled out his phone, which was somehow getting reception under all those trees. Without looking at the ID, he opened it right away. "Hello?"

"Cody, I finally reached you!" his dad's voice came in over the phone. He sounded tired, despite the energy level of his voice. "How you doing out there, buddy?"

"Great, we've been doing well. We're winning a lot and stuff."

"Oh, that's great. I hope you're giving it your all."

"I am. Hey dad, you sound tired? Everything okay? Did mom tell you about the Larvitar I caught?"

"Yeah… Cody, that's one of the things I wanted to talk with you about. It's one of the reasons I needed to call you."

"My Larvitar?"

"No, your mother. She told me when you two were talking the other day, you were getting belligerent with her."

"What? I wasn't being that bad! I was just saying how it was unfair that mom doesn't want me to travel with Heather, the girl I met."

"Yeah, Cody, that's kind of the point." His father sounded uncharacteristically tired over the phone; defeated even.

"What do you… Dad, you aren't taking her side, are you? I mean, I really like hanging out with this gi-"

"I'm not telling you shouldn't hang out with her, date her, or any of that. You're a teenager now. You're going to be responsible for what you do out there. I'm just saying…" Long pause. "I'm just asking that you be careful out there and remember that your actions have consequences."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, getting a little belligerent as his mother said he had been. "I'm being careful, I'm not being irresponsible, I'm-"

"Look, son, your mother has been very unhappy with the situation. I'm not supposed to be talking about this, but we have been… never mind."

"What the hell? You're going to tell me that something is wrong only to say nevermi-"

"Language Cody," his father said in his parenting voice. "I just hope that you are planning on making something of yourself after all of what has happened and not just clowning around. It's dangerous out there and it would destroy our family if something were to happen to you."

"As if our family wasn't wrecked to begin with," Cody responded, resentment in his voice.

"Don't talk that way about-" His father had started shouting, only to stop almost immediately. Cody could hear his mother shouting something in the background. "Look Cody. Just think about everything I said. I have to go. Be careful, son."

"Sure Dad," he groaned, hanging up.

All of the good feelings he had just minutes before were gone. He stared at Bastion, who was staring back. The Squirtle had been staring at his trainer for the past few minutes, his eyes carrying sadness, though his empathy did not allow him to truly understand.

"Well, what the hell did all that mean? What is he trying to tell me?"

Bastion just grunted sadly in reply. But Cody's mind just kept spinning. His father was being indirect about what he wanted to say. It was obvious that he didn't approve of Heather either, but that wasn't the point of the phone call. It led back to Derrick. It always led back to Derrick.

"So close," Heather groaned as she trudged back into the clearing by the creek. "I don't know how we're going to win at the gym if only Feathers can fight flying pokémon effectively. Somnos and Nadine struggled the whole time, and they couldn't bring that Butterfree down." Despite her complaints, she seemed happy, following the beautiful thing they had experienced. But as she looked at Cody's face, the smile disappeared. "Cody, you alright? You looked a little haunted."

"Yeah, just got off the phone with my dad… I've never heard him sound more critical of my life than he did just then." His father had always been his biggest supporter, and suddenly.

"What?" A few seconds pause. "You… do you want to talk about it?"

"Meh, not right now…" he replied quietly. It wasn't anything he wanted to explain to her. Suddenly, he felt a large drop of water splash on his face. The clouds were dark. They hadn't been so dark earlier.

Bastion was sitting on his trainer's lap. He could tell Cody was still troubled from earlier. He didn't seem as lively after making sounds at the little sound box he carried. Humans were so curious to watch. They did things that made little sense. He had little understanding of what motivated his trainer. But he respected him for what he did understand: that his trainer had made him stronger. That was his goal now. To grow stronger alongside his trainer.

"I wonder what you're thinking about," Cody said as he looked at the little turtle that sat in his lap. They had made camp in a small cave to escape the rain. After checking it for Zubat and Ursaring, they started a small fire at the edge of the cave with sticks they had picked up along the way. He was alone with his pokémon. Heather was out in the rain so she could help Somnos get to a pond to get some fresh food. Mars was busy eating fungus in the cave while the Larvitar poked around the stones for the minerals he preferred. Meanwhile, Feathers and Nadine were looking around for bugs.

While looking at his pokémon, Cody's mind still raced on what his father had said on the phone. What had he meant? He was already trying to be careful. It might have had to do with what his father had almost said before he stopped saying it. Something having to do with him and his mother. He knew his parents had been fighting. That was nothing new. The fighting had gotten far more intense ever since Derrick cut cotact with them. Could it have gotten worse?

"It probably got much worse," he muttered. "I may have made it worse when I left." He looked at Batsion's face again. While the turtle looked a little distressed, he didn't seem to have a care in the world. Would he care if they were to stop the adventure?

"Should I go home? Maybe I should. These four weeks have been great. But maybe these weeks are all I get; all I deserve. It's not too late to go back home and fix things." But then his mind went back to what he wanted. He had always dreamed of traveling Skitrex with pokémon. Some would call it childish. Many young people had the same dream. And many failed to ever make something of themselves.

Maybe I should go back and study to become a doctor or something. It would be easier to get into college by just going to school instead. Professional trainers live in a sink or swim world. There are other jobs involving pokémon. The government has large groups devoted to all sorts of pokémon programs. Research positions are also possible, but such careers don't require being a trainer. And having a non-pokémon related career may prove harder if I go down this road.

Letting out a loud groan, he unzipped his sleeping bag so he could make a place to sit, laying part of it against the cavern wall so he could lean back.

"Well what would you do?" he asked Bastion. The pokémon playfully fell on his back and began to rock back and forth. "Of course you would," he said again to the playful pokémon. It made sense. The little turtle enjoyed battling. He wanted to be the biggest fish in the pond.

It suddenly came to him. He remembered his dad telling him to make something of himself. And that's what he wanted. The wounds of his family were always there. Maybe he made them worse, but there was little he could do about that at that point. He decided that he might as well continue and make it all worth it. For himself and for his pokémon.

"That's what we're going to do," he whispered to Bastion. "We're going to become great. I swear it. From this day on, we're going to train like our lives depend on it. I'm going to become the greatest trainer in Skitrex if it kills me. Sound like a plan?"

The tiny turtle licked his cheek. He petted his Squirtle gently and felt something pulling at his shirt. Nadine wanted to play.

"Go play with her, Bastion."

As the pokémon began to romp, he began to think about Nadine's trainer. The fact that Heather was traveling with him was great. Laurence had told him not to let her slip out of his grasp. Why would he let that happen to a cute, fun, friendly girl that obviously seemed to like him? But then, he thought about his new goal: becoming the best trainer in Skitrex. At that point in his training, a relationship with her would be a distraction. Maybe after he became skilled at raising pokémon, he could make time for a relationship, but at that point in time, it seemed like it would be hard to maintain both since he would be willing to spend loads of time with her. He also thought about his parents. Maybe it would be better to listen to them. Not lying to them would be a lot easier, and it would probably ease their nerves. In short, "being with" Heather was a risk that he couldn't take. But he also contemplated what he was giving up.

"Sorry Laurence," he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Somnos waddled in, chirping happily. He seemed to have been enjoying the rain a lot. Heather followed closely, looking completely soaked, even though she was wearing a poncho.

"We should find a bunker or something, I think Lugia has resurfaced," she laughed as she took off her cover and plopped down next to Cody. "Hey, I hate to ask, but can you make the dinner? I really need to brush my hair before it dries."

"Sure," he replied blankly. He reached in for the last can of raviolis, opened the lid, and placed it in the fire to cook. It was a crude way to prepare the meal, but it was effective. There wouldn't be enough to completely satisfy their hunger, but it would do for the night. He looked back at Heather, who was now brushing her long brown hair. He began to question his decision but managed to repress his hormones.

"Sooo…" Heather began, breaking the sounds of a crackling fire and the falling rain after several speechless minutes had passed. "You seem pretty off right now. Have you been thinking again, Cody? You know that's a dangerous thing to do."

"Yeah, I've been thinking…" he admitted, trying to smile as if it were some sort of hardship. On that day, it definitely was.

"About what?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now. Hey look, the raviolis are done." Using some of the cooking utensils, he pulled the can out and ordered Bastion to give it a light spray to cool the outside of the can down. They both took forks and began to pick at the raviolis.

"Cody," Heather finally started again. "Is this about… you know, that moment back when the Butterfree were hatching and we were… well-"

"I'm gonna stop you there before you say something awkward," Cody interrupted, chuckling a little bit nervously.

"Well," she continued, "I'm not embarrassed." She shifted closer to him. Their faces were inches apart now. "I just… It's so strange. I've only known you a short time and it feels like I've known you so much longer. I don't know… I feel like…"

"Like you could fly to the moon?" he interrupted again. Yikes, that's sappy. But she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you could say that." She set the almost empty can of raviolis down and slowly took his hand in hers. The sound of the crackling fire, the playing pokémon, and the pouring rain were now drowned out by the sound of his heartbeat.

"I… I feel the same way," he replied, but when he looked into her smiling face, he couldn't smile back.

"Then what's wrong?" she asked again. Another awkward pause.

"It's my parents. I think they're fighting again and I'm pretty sure I'm the reason it got worse."

"What do you mean?" she asked in concern. They hadn't really talked about his family all that much, and for good reason.

He sighed. "You see, my family has been falling apart for several years. Ever since my brother left for good, they started fighting. For a while, I've been trying to get into pokémon, but my mom wouldn't let me. Now that I am, they're fighting again, and I haven't helped. I've said some things in rage that I wish I had not. I've caused a lot of problems. A lot of pain."

"I'm sorry," she said in a soft voice. She moved even closer, not realizing where he was going with what he was saying. The moment was feeling bittersweet. Cody knew what he had to do and he hated himself for it..

"Don't be, it's not your fault." He paused. "My dad told me something today that made me see clearly. That I need to make something out of this adventure. I know now that I can't reverse the wounds I reopened. So I have to make something of what I'm doing here. I have to become a great pokémon trainer or it will be all for nothing. I can't just joyride through Skitrex."

"Wow," she said in almost a whisper. "That's... that's something else."

"Unfortunately…" he started again slowly. "My parents also don't want me to be getting involved in a relationship right now."

"Oh…" Her entire body became tense.

"Normally, I would ignore them… But… But right now, I need to focus on becoming a great trainer. I have to devote myself to my pokémon. And at this given moment of time… I really need to…" He looked back into her eyes. Her smile was gone now. She knew what was coming. "Right now I really can't be distracted, even if that means saying no to the other things I want." He let go of her hand. "I'm sorry, Heather."

The silence between them could have lasted for hours. It sure felt as if it did. But Cody forced himself to feel as little as possible. The only sense that was still turned on was his vision, and all he could see was the hurt and the embarrassment on Heather's face. He wanted to take it all back, but he knew he couldn't and he wouldn't even try. But it would be worth it. He promised himself that. And she would be the next one to speak.

"Oh… well… okay." They moved apart now. She couldn't even look her in the eye. "I understand."

The two said little to each other for the rest of the night.

The dream had returned. Cody felt a wave of anxiety come over him, similar to the one he felt weeks ago in the dream. That second time, however, he was more observant of the surroundings. Though he was standing on something solid, there did not appear to be a floor or wall or anything else except for what looked like white smoke coming from below. He also realized he was naked.

"Well this is awkward," he thought to himself. He looked around, but saw nothing. The last time he had that dream, someone or something had touched him and had said something. Did that thing have a connection with the dark dream?

"Indeed I do."

Cody felt his body jolt at the voice. Again, he looked around and saw nothing.

"Who said that!" he shouted out into the nothingness.

"Look into my eyes, Cody Michael Storm!" Looking straight ahead, he saw two colorless eyes staring back at him.

"Who- what- why- how-"

"How do I know your name?" The voice continued. "I know more about you than you know about yourself, Cody."

"But who are you?" Cody demanded.

"So impatient, Cody. All in good time, child. And I have all the time in the world. Just remember this dream. Remember that I am real. Remember that I will be watching." His vision went black.

"You look terrible," Heather remarked. She had noticed his eyes looking bloodshot.

"Gee, thanks," Cody grunted back. "I had this strange dream last night and I couldn't get to sleep afterward." He only had one battle that day since he couldn't focus, preventing his pokémon from focusing as well. His pokémon were not so happy about the situation either. Bastion, who had been outside of his pokeball all day, had been tugging on Cody's jeans every time they saw a pokémon, only to be denied every time.

"Well, that sucks. What was it about?"

"Hell if I know."

The two trainers had now reached a suburb of Tempest Valley. Most of the walk was downhill, the closer they got closer to the city. The wind turbines that the valley was known for were scattered between the houses and on the hills, each of them powering the city with clean energy.

"Well, I hope you get better. If there's still a waiting list, we're going to need a week to train."

"Yeah…. Heather, about last ni-"

"Look, Cody," she interrupted. "I know I put you in an awkward place and-"

"No, it's not your fault," he said, cutting her off. "I'm just saying I can understand if you don't want to travel together after that. I just-"

"I still do," she said immediately. "Cody, traveling with you has been great, and I still want to be friends. I feel like I've gotten so much better at training by training with you. I'm sure we could improve from each other's help."

"Well… Sounds like a plan!" he said with a smile, even if it was slightly forced. "Me and you, Heather. I'm going to be the best trainer in Skitrex, and you… you can be the runner-up if you stick with me."

"I think you got the roles reversed," she teased, laughing for the first time that day. "If Mars keeps bursting out of his pokeball at the beginning of every battle, I know I can beat you in the first round with Somnos."

"Assuming Somnos isn't asleep," Cody shot back.

The two kept the banter going for the rest of the walk. It was as though the night before had not existed. Sometimes, all one needed was a good friend and nothing more.

This chapter was edited on 1/10/18. There may still be continuity or grammatical errors. If you notice any, please alert me in a review or a private message.

EDIT: I'm updating this author's note for new readers. I've received some comments from readers (in response to this chapter and beyond) in regards to the referencing of popular culture, people, places, religions, etc. that exist in the real world within this story and how these references don't fit the narrative of a Pokémon story. I'd like to clarify that in my personal headcanon of Pokémon, I've always viewed the universe as being an alternate universe of the real world. I personally believe this to be confirmed in even the oldest games themselves by the references to real-world countries, continents, events, movies, and popular culture. If this differs from your interpretation of Pokémon, I hope that you can accept my interpretation and that it has no bearing on your interest in the story. Thank you.