Reviews from the readers:
and this means that Cody is going to have six (or more) Pokemon, right?
Yup, he's gonna have quite a few. There will be more than six.
I do not like Jared, he seems like a nice guy, but the fact that he is rivaling Cody for Heather's love is ** me off.
Awesome, I'm doing a great job already then. If I can keep this up, you're going to despise him later on.
Is Bastion going to evolve soon?
Right now, Bastion is just a badass little pokemon. But will he evolve? Yes. Someday. There will be no super Pikachu in this story. But soon? You'll see.
You need more supporting characters, or some awesome reacurring ones... And when are we going to see the infamous pokemon gangsters again?
You mean like Frank (gangster)? He won't be gone forever. But other characters... Laurence is obviously Blue to Cody's Red, but he's going to be less frequent as a present character and more of a confidant since he sort of acts as Cody's older brother. There will be future supporting characters, but many of them won't show up for awhile. If I do ever need an OC, I'll ask the frequent readers, but I can't think of a good place where I need them right now...
LARVITAR WAS SO EPIC!
Yeah, that battle was mainly to show off Larvitar's coming to skills.
Daaa-yum, it takes that long to raise a skamowee just to a BEGINNING to fighting level? Gonna be one hell of a ride. :/
Look at it this way: Cody's pokemon when caught were just young; but they were not infants. An infant Skarmory may be able to hold its own against young pokemon. But you'll see why it wouldn't be able to fight higher level pokemon until later when I get to that point in the story. It'll all make sense.
Note to the readers: Due to the growing number of pokemon and nicknames, I will now be listing all of the pokemon each trainer has with them currently prior the chapter.
Cody: Bastion(Squirtle), Mars (Diglett), Colossal (Larvitar)
Heather: Somnos (Poliwag), Feathers (Pidgey), Nadine (Nidoran [F])
Jared: Charmeleon, Nidorino, others?
Chapter 11: Alpha Male
"Wake up," a voice said, penetrating Cody's sleep. He rubbed his eyes and turned on his phone. The display read 7:05 AM.
"Five more minutes. It's seven," he moaned as he buried his head in his sleeping bag.
"Look, this whole detour thing was your idea," Jared continued. "So if we get up now, we can make good time. It's going to take two or three weeks to get to St. Anthony's, and we can shave off a few days if we go fast enough."
"You're not going to let me go back to sleep, are you Jared?" Cody sighed as he sat up in his sleeping bag.
"Nope. So if you will, go get some water for us to boil," he asked before walking away.
"Sure thing, Adolf," Cody muttered once he knew Jared wouldn't be able hear him. He slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag before rolling it up. It had been like this since they left Tempest Valley two days ago. Jared had seized control of everything: from where they slept to when they ate. It was getting pretty obnoxious, since there was no compromising anything with him. Cody would have said something, but Heather didn't seem to mind, so he just tried to ignore it.
"Come on, Bastion." He groaned as he picked up the big pot and began to make his way to the stream. As the two walked, he began to think about how bored he felt now that everything was under strict control. Everything seemed a lot more entertaining when combined with spontaneity.
"Okay, grab some breakfast." he told the turtle as he bent down to fill up the pot at the stream. The only issue Cody had managed to get his way with was that of going to the St. Anthony's Mountains before Kito Grove. He had made a good argument for the detour, saying that it would be a good training experience for both him and Heather, and it would give them more chances to catch pokemon and hone their skills before the next gym. Heather decided she would be okay with it, but Jared wasn't sold. However, he complied since Heather did. He was already whipped.
"You ready?" Cody asked his Squirtle. Bastion nodded as he gulped down the last of the minnows he caught before returning to his trainer's side. The two of them began to make the walk back to camp. "This too shall pass," Cody murmured to his pokemon. Bastion looked up at him and grunted as if he understood. "If Jared's around for awhile, I'll get used to him." In time, dealing with Jared would become a necessary skill for survival.
"Are you sure you can't battle?" the cute strawberry-blonde trainer asked again.
"Sorry, one of us would, but we really need to get going," Jared answered. He urged Heather and Cody to keep walking into the forest. As they passed the trainer, Cody looked back at her disappointed face and gave shrug as if to say "sorry."
"Poor girl," Heather sighed. "She really wanted to battle."
"Yeah, well, we need to keep moving," Jared stated. "It's almost five, and we need to put in a few miles and try to get to a good camping spot before it gets to dark."
"Oh come on Jared, battles are battles and we need the experience," Cody complained. This was the second battle they had turned down in the last hour.
"I know, but we've been battling all morning and afternoon. You gotta walk sometime if you want to get anywhere."
"Yes, I get that," Cody continued. "But that's an easy bit of extra cash and experience back there just waiting for us to take it. Why not do so?"
"Well Cody, if we weren't traveling out to St. Anthony's just so you could catch a Skarmory, we'd have a lot more time to battle other trainers," Jared responded smartly.
"Look, I don't see the issue here," Cody replied in an annoyed tone. "How long did it take you to train to be ready for your second badge?"
"Well, I went after the Terra badge second, so…" he paused to think. "About three months. It's been about three months or so between each of my badges thus far."
"Okay, three months," Cody repeated. "The trip to St. Anthony's is only going to detour us a month, give or take a few days, so we'd make it down there in three months even with the extension. That gives all of us an extra month to train, and Heather and I will have extra chances to catch additional team members."
"Yes, I understand, but you have to add in a week for any mishaps that may occur along the way."
"You worry too much," Cody sighed. "Sometimes you have to live in the present if you want to have any fun."
"And sometimes you need to plan ahead if you want to get anything done," Jared retorted. "Besides, I don't understand why you want a Skarmory so badly, especially if you have to catch a chick that you won't be able to use in high end battles for several months."
"It will pay off," Cody answered in a confident voice. "And having Skarmory will awesome. You look at the best bird trainers on earth, and you'll notice that many of them use a Skarmory on their teams. They make incredible anchors."
"Yes, but you don't need a Skarmory to do well. There are plenty of other flying pokemon that can do well on your team. My Fearow does the job quite well."
"Okay Jared, I'll play your game," Cody said. "If you were me, what would you catch?"
"Well…" Jared paused to think again as he looked around the path they were walking on. "You could catch that Natu," he suggested, pointing at a tiny green bird sitting in the tree. It was watching them pensively.
"How did you spot him up there?" Heather asked. "He's so puny."
"I have an eye for spotting pokemon," Jared subtly bragged. "You develop that when you're out here long enough."
"Wow, that's so cool," she replied in wonder.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Cody thought to himself at the sound of Heather's amazement. "Look, I would really like to catch a Skarmory. I don't see anything wrong with tha-"
"But Natu are part psychic," Jared interrupted. "You ever see a Skarmory use Psychic?"
"You're not selling me on this," Cody answered flatly. "I would rather have a Skarmory than a Natu."
[What? I'm not good enough for you?] the Natu asked through telepathy.
"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying-"
"I think you are saying that this Natu isn't good enough for you," Jared interjected again. "At least try to catch it. He's just sitting there, practically begging you to."
[No I'm not,] the psychic bird corrected.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on Jared, you said we didn't have time to battle, and now you want us to stop so I can catch this thing?" Cody asked smartly.
"Yes, because if you catch it, we can forget about going to St. Anthony's and start heading to Kito City," Jared answered. "Now go on. Catch it!"
[No, please don't,] the bird stated. [I taste terrible.]
"See, he tastes terrible," Cody repeated. "Let's keep going. He doesn't want me to catch him."
"Cody, most pokemon don't want to be caught at first. Besides, you're not going to eat him." Jared looked up at the Natu. "He's not going to eat you. He wants to catch and train you."
[You expect me to believe that garbage? I know you want to eat me and I'm not falling for it. I didn't hatch yesterday. You all can f*** off.] With that, the bird hopped off the branch and flew away.
"Wow… why are all psychic pokemon so snarky?" Cody asked his traveling companions. Neither of them answered. They couldn't believe that a wild pokemon would have that kind of vocabulary "See, that's why I didn't want to catch him. He wasn't that nice. If I'm going to have a pokemon that can talk with me like that, it has to be one that's agreeable."
"Well, my point still stands," Jared said. "There are many good pokemon you can catch, so why waste all of our time just to catch one pokemon that's incredibly out of the way? That's just selfish."
"Well, I can just go myself and you two can go straight to Kito Grove. I don't care."
"You know what, that sounds like a good idea," Jared agreed with a pinch of animosity in his voice.
"Boys, boys, quit it," Heather snapped. She turned to Jared. "Look, I don't mind going out to the mountains for a few weeks. We're already ahead of schedule as it-"
"Heather," Jared interrupted, "You're just saying that so he doesn't throw a tantrum. You can't let him have everything he wants."
"Hello? What do you think I've been doing for the past two days?" Cody shot back. "You come into our group and take control of everything. When we wake up, when we eat, how much we battle… It never ends! And I've been trying to not say anything so I don't cause any problems, but I'm saying it now. You're so goddamn controlling!"
"Look, I've been doing this longer than you and I know what I'm do-"
"We were doing just fine before you," Cody cut him off. "And you're just saying that because you claim that you're a better trainer than us that you can tell us what to do? Well how about you put your money where your mouth is."
"What are you saying?" Jared asked.
"You and me. Battle. My three boys versus three of yours. If we win, we don't have to follow this ridiculous day schedule anymore."
"You can't be serious," Jared laughed. "Look Cody, I've seen you battle. You're good, no question about it. But both you and your pokemon are young and inexperienced. I don't think you'd even be able to beat one of my pokemon, let alone all three."
"Let's sweeten the deal then," Cody continued. He was in a gambling mood. "You're so sure that I can't defeat one of your pokemon. How about we keep the original bet, but also, if I manage to defeat at least one of your pokemon, I get control of where we travel. If you sweep me, you get control of that too. You up for that?"
Jared stared off into the trees for a moment with a contemplative look on his face before turning back to face the challenge. "You're either really arrogant or really gutsy. I can't figure out which, but I'll humor you. You're on!"
"Okay then!" Cody answered with a confident smile. He had a good feeling about this. A fight against Jared may be an uphill battle, but it was a mountain he was willing to try and climb.
"I'm going to look for a clearing then so we don't have to battle on the path," Jared said before heading into the woods to find a good spot. After he left, Heather looked at Cody as if he were insane.
"Are you crazy? What are you trying to accomplish?" she asked in a frustrated whisper.
"Yes I might be and I'm standing up for myself and my ability." Cody stated, answering both questions.
"You can't beat him Cody. Remember when I battled him? He swept my entire team with just his Croconaw. How do you expect to win? He has five badges and you only have one."
"Your face gets hilarious when you're flustered," Cody chuckled, just to see what reaction he could draw from her. "Look, I know my chances are slim, but I only need to beat one of his pokemon if I want to keep going to St. Anthony's. I can deal with all of these regulations as long as I can get my Skarmory."
Heather sighed. "I guess this is why you and Laurence don't travel together. Too much testosterone."
"That might be it," Cody admitted. He took off his backpack and pulled out the camcorder. "Record this please. I want a copy of me beating Jared to give to my grandkids."
"Whatever Cody," Heather replied with a roll of her eyes. To her, this whole thing seemed incredibly childish, but she wasn't about to get between the boys as they locked horns.
"Okay, I found a spot!" Jared shouted from somewhere the thicket.
"Okay, we're coming!" Cody shouted out in reply. Heather and him followed the sound of the voice. They found him in a clearing big enough for a battle. "So three pokemon, no switching, set on the bets we already made. Does that sound alright?"
"Perfect. Pick a pokemon," Jared answered as he picked a ball off his belt.
"Alright then," Cody said as he chose a ball from his belt as well. As long as he could knock off at least one of Jared's pokemon, he would be happy with the result.
"Let's get this over with," Jared said, then both trainers threw their pokeballs onto the field. Cody had chosen Colossal to enter first, since the Larvitar had been on a roll lately. But his expression fell as soon as he saw the pokemon Jared had chosen.
"Seeeiii!" his Servine cried. The little leaf covered grass pokemon stood daintily on both feet. Cody felt his stomach turn. Of course Jared would start with a pokemon that could elementally trump all the members of his current team.
"The sooner I get that Skarmory, the better," he thought to himself, but he was beginning to realize that catching a Skarmory may be out of the picture now. "Horn Attack!"
"Out of the way and use Growth!" Jared shouted. The grass snake dropped to her belly and slithered out of Colossal's way at lightning speed. As she slithered, her body began to absorb sunlight and the leafy growths on her body began to grow larger. She was only going to get stronger from here on out. "Now Vine Whip!" The Servine shot two vines from her sides that began to whip at the lizard, who tried to fend them off, but to little avail.
"Gore her before she's in front of you!" Cody ordered. Colossal started running at the circling snake at the right time and smacked her with his horn. The snake let out a cry, but reacted by wrapping around her foe, trying to strangle him. "Chip Away!"
Using his natural defensive maneuver, Colossal began to pound on Servine until she released him. However, she had left a seed-like residue on the Larvitar's body.
"That's a Leech Seed! Get it off you, buddy!" Colossal tried to scrape some of the seeds off him, but they weren't coming off. As he was trying to get the residue off, Servine struck with a tackle. Colossal grabbed her after she struck and threw her across the grass, but he seemed more drained then he should have been at this point in the battle. The experience of the Servine and the Leech Seed on his body were weakening him rapidly.
"Start up a Sandstorm!"
"Leaf Tornado, now!" As Colossal started a sandstorm with all of the field's loose dirt, Servine countered by rapidly spinning in place. She spawned a tiny tornado of flying leaves and pieces of grass that was sent at the Larvitar. Even within the sandstorm, the slicing leaves and the leech seed were weakeninging him even more. Suddenly, he fell to his knees and the sandstorm fell as well.
"Now's your chance! Leaf Blade!" Jared commanded. With a loud shout, Servine struck the fallen Larvitar the razor sharpened growths on her sides. Colossal fell limp after that.
"Good try Colossal," Cody said with a weak smile as he returned the lizard to his ball. He looked over at Jared's Servine. She had taken a few hits, but it looked as though she could withstand a lot more.
"Bring the pain, Mars!" Cody shouted. Mars popped out of his ball and immediately laid a scratch on the Servine, who returned the favor with a mean glare in her eyes. Mars stood back in fear as he was being leered at.
"Now Vine Whip!" The Servine shot out a vine that wrapped around the Diglett's body while a second vine began to whip at the moles face. Cody began to panic. Mars may have been a spitfire, but he wouldn't have the endurance to withstand these grass attacks forever.
"Try to dig!" Cody ordered. Mars dug underground, but the grass snake refused to let go. "Now wrap her up!" Mars popped out of the ground and jumped out of the ground and over the Servine's back. The vine was still wrapped around him, so as he crossed the Servine's back and reentered the ground, the vine pulled the snake against the ground. She was pinned.
"That was great Mars! Slash to the face!" The mole reappeared at the Servine's face and took a swipe at it with his claws."
"Cut the line Servine!" Suddenly, the vine popped out of Servine's side, and she retaliated against Mars with an unexpected Leaf Blade. Mars fell over and couldn't recover.
"Dammit," Cody muttered under his breath. Mars had acted brilliantly with what he was given, but he still failed to severely weaken Servine. "Nice try Mars!" Cody called out as he returned the mole. He was feeling incredibly uncomfortable now. He was one pokemon away from skipping St Anthony's. "Come on Bastion, daddy wants a Skarmory!" he shouted as he released his last pokemon. Bastion confidently stared down the grass snake. Before he was given a command, he taunted the Servine with a Tail Whip.
"Don't fall for it Servine!" Jared urged, but the snake didn't hear him. She immediately charged the turtle.
"Iron Tail to the back!" Cody shouted. The Squirtle jumped into a flip and struck the charging Servine on the back with a metallic tail. A sickening crunching sound was heard as his tail and her back connected. The hit looked critical.
"Get up and leech him!" Jared commanded, panic slightly. The snake regained her composure and wrapped herself around the tiny turtle's body.
"Rapid Spin!" Cody shouted. Bastion pulled into his shell and spun the snake off his body before she could leave any seeds. "Now Aqua Jet!"
"Leaf Blade him now!" Jared ordered at the same time. As the Servine charged the Squirtle, Bastion pulled into his shell and shot his body at the snake. The shell hit her in the face and sent her back a few feet into the ground. She managed to stand up, but before she could do anything more, Bastion hit her with another Aqua Jet, slamming her into a nearby tree. She was unable to roll back onto her belly.
"Yes! Great job Bastion!" Cody cheered. "Looks like we're going where I want, Jared," he shouted across the clearing with an uplifted tone. Bastion had taken everybody by surprise, including his opponent.
"You may have won the battle, Storm," Jared stated as he withdrew his Servine, "but you have a snowball's chance in hell at winning the war." He picked another pokeball off his belt. "Finish this, Charmeleon!"
The flame lizard let out a roar as he exited his pokeball. Cody flinched as the heat that exuded from the Charmeleon's body brushed against his cheeks. Even though Bastion had an elemental advantage, Cody knew from watching Jared battle that Charmeleon was hiss strongest pokemon.
"Water Gun now!" Cody shouted. Bastion hit the Charmeleon directly in the chest with a blast of water. Even though the bigger pokemon cringed at the attack, he looked more pissed off than hurt.
"Metal Claw," Jared ordered coolly. Charmeleon rushed Bastion and began to swipe at him with his arms as they glowed silver. Bastion managed to dodge a few of these using his speed, but the final swipe hit him in the chest. Despite the powerful slash, the little pokemon got back up.
"Iron Tail to the face!" Cody shouted as he tried to counter the steel attacks with one of Bastion's. But as the Squirtle leapt to strike the Charmeleon in the face with his tail of steel, the Charmeleon parried the tail with his claw, creating a loud clanging sound. The lizard's attack was more powerful, and his force sent Bastion flying into the ground.
"Don't give up Bastion! Aqua Tackle!" Cody shouted. Bastion's shell flew at the Charmeleon and smacked it in the face, but the lizard grabbed the turtle with both clawed hands and held him away from his body at arm's length.
"Dragon Rage!" The Charmeleon followed his trainer's orders and shot a bluish flame straight at the front of the Squirtle's shell. The turtle yelped in pain as he flew out of the Charmeleon's arms. It was a direct hit, yet Bastion still made it to his feet. He was wobbling though.
"Now finish him with a Flame Burst!"
"Defend yourself with Water Gun," Cody shouted fearfully. The attacks collided as they left their pokemon's mouths, but Bastion was too weak to overpower the flames. In a last effort to save himself, he withdrew into his shell, but the Charmeleon kept breathing fire at the fallen turtle's shell. When the flames stopped, Bastions scorched shell was sitting within a burnt circle of grass from where the fire hit. The Squirtle slowly pulled his limbs and head out of the shell, but he was unable to get to his feet.
"Good try Bastion," Cody sighed as he returned his final pokemon. "Looks like you win," he admitted to the victor.
"Yes, I told you that you couldn't beat me yet," he chuckled.
"Maybe not, but I still beat your Servine. That means we're going to St. Anthony's," Cody replied. The loss wasn't completely sour.
"Okay, you're right about that. You get to be in charge of the map. Just don't take us anywhere stupid, okay?"
"I'll try my best." Cody replied sarcastically. He walked over to Heather to get his camcorder.
"You did better than I did," she said to him in an attempt to raise his spirits.
"Maybe so, but it still wasn't good enough," he murmured. He now had a rival that was even stronger than Laurence, but that was just another bar to reach.
"It's so much easier starting a fire with a fire pokemon around," Heather commented as the fire began to pick up. Jared's Charmeleon stood casually near the flames like it was no big deal.
"Yes, it saves a lot of time," Jared agreed. "I almost forget how to start a fire by hand now."
"Okay, so what are we eating?" Heather asked. "We just gonna do canned food again?"
"No, I think I'll get us a treat tonight. I'm going to take Mightyena out hunting. There are probably some Bidoof over near the river that we can catch. That sounds like good eating, doesn't it Cody?" he added at the end while flashing a cocky smile.
"Sure, that sounds just dandy," Cody replied as he returned the smile with one of his own.
"Glad to hear it." He picked a pokeball off his belt and released a fearsome looking hound to his side. "I'm gonna take the flashlight with me, so I'll leave Charmeleon here to keep the fire going. I'll be back in about thirty minutes." After that, he and his dog walked into the forest.
"It won't be long," Cody thought to himself as his new rival disappeared into the woods. "Someday, I'll be the top dog."
The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire and the occasional hoot of the owls in the trees. Cody looked across the fire to see Jared's Charmeleon sitting and staring into the flames. Outside of battle, the fire pokemon seemed very intense, yet quiet. His gaze drifted over to Heather, who was also pensively staring at the fire, as the flame's light bounced of her hair and skin. Nadine and Feathers were both nestled on her lap. Somnos was in his pokeball. Cody sort of felt bad for the little tadpole, since he couldn't spend a whole lot of time outside of his pokeball with his trainer due to his limitations in a dry environment. The sooner he evolved into a Poliwhirl, the better.
Cody's own pokemon were sleeping next to him. With a gentle tap, he woke Colossal up and had the pokemon sit in front of him so he could clean the pokemon's rocky skin. Taking a rag out of his pack and dampening it with a little bit of canteen water, he began to scrub the lizard's skin. The Larvitar wasn't a big fan of swimming, so this was the best way to clean him up.
"You've been quiet tonight," Heather said to start up a conversation. "What's up?"
"Not much, just thinking," Cody answered as he continued to wash the little Larvitar.
"It's okay Cody. Losing can be a very humbling experience," she teased.
"Oh please, I've lost before," Cody defended himself. "I'm okay with losing. We put up a good fight and we're still going to St. Anthony's, so it's all good. I'll beat him someday."
"Whatever you say Cody," Heather chuckled. There was a pause before she spoke again. "You don't like him that much, do you?"
"Who Jared?" Cody asked. "No, I'm cool with him. He can be a little hard to deal with, but he's a good trainer, so I respect him for that."
"But you don't like him otherwise?" Heather asked again. A bit of disappointment was in her tone.
"Does it really matter?" Cody questioned. He didn't want to say anything that would upset Heather, but he didn't want to lie to her either. "You seem to like the guy enough that you want him to travel with us to the mountains and to Kito Grove, and I'm a reasonable enough person to accept that."
"Well, I thank you for that then," Heather said. "You're a good friend, Cody. Just promise me that if I ever fall in love with a pokemon that I haven't met yet, we can take a detour so I can catch it, okay?"
"Deal," he replied. He was finished cleaning up Colossal, and the Larvitar dozed off again, this time resting his head on his trainer's knee. "Really though, I'm okay with him. He kind of reminds me of my older brother: serious and obsessive, just to a more reasonable degree I guess."
"You mean Derrick?" Heather asked.
"Yeah, him," Cody answered indifferently. He wished he hadn't brought it up now.
"How come you never talk about him?" Heather asked curiously.
"Why should I?" Cody answered the question with one of his own.
"Well, you always talk about how your dad is pulling for you to succeed as a trainer and that your mom worries about every little thing. But you never seem to mention your brother. I know you said it's because he left your family, but I just…" Her voice trailed off. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm being a little bit nosy right now when it's none of my-"
"I've brought him up before, so I might as well tell you since you're curious," he interrupted. He felt as though he owed it to her to tell her about Derrick since his brother was connected to the awkward situation involving the two of them. "You see… my dad was a trainer when he was our age. He was pretty good. Got ten badges and competed in minor league tournaments and stuff like that. Of course, he wanted to be a journalist, so he stopped being a full-time trainer and went on to college. He's got a good job and everything now, but he still loves pokemon, and he always encouraged Derrick and I to consider becoming trainers, at least on the casual level."
"Wow, that's awesome," Heather exclaimed. "Wish my parents were that understanding. You know what my mom wants me to become? A dietician. Seriously, I can't even control what I eat. Why does she think I'd be good at telling others?"
Cody laughed. "Well, my mom is the same way. She wasn't so happy about Derrick becoming a trainer, but she accepted it since my dad was all for it and stuff." He stopped for a moment. "That's when it all began. You see, Derrick was a really good trainer. He was extremely passionate about becoming the best, but it caused him to neglect everything else. He stopped calling home, he stopped staying in touch with his friends… even the few times he was home, all he ever did was study pokemon or train his own. It became an obsession. Eventually after a few years, we got an email from him telling us that he wasn't ever coming home because he decided to devote himself to his training. Of course, that hurt our entire family, and then my mom and dad started fighting all the time… As for me, when it finally came time for me to get a pokemon, my mother wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't even let me keep one just to train back home, because she said it would be a slippery slope and I'd end up like Derrick." He paused again. "They've been fighting a lot more ever since I left. I don't know anything about marriage, but it doesn't look good for theirs."
Silence overtook once more. The stillness was broken as Nadine hopped off Heather's lap and began to sniff around.
"I'm sorry, that sounds pretty rough," Heather admitted. "Do you have any idea where he is right now?"
"Not a clue," Cody sighed. "He was actually in the Diamond Beach tournament last year. Made it to the semi-finals too, but he wasn't in this year's tourney listing, so I don't know. For all I know, he could be in Sinnoh or something. But I don't care anymore. He's a selfish bastard, considering how we all supported him and he decided to abandon us. It's because of him that all this is happening." In his mind, Cody also believed he was also partly responsible for the trauma after leaving home on this journey, but he knew it was too late to change anything. He could only move forward.
"Well, I'm sorry," Heather repeated. "That sounds awful. To be honest, I hope I'm not doing the same thing to my parents by leaving without their permission."
"As long as you stay in touch, I'm sure they'll be fine. You're a good person. I'm sure they realize that."
"You are too, Cody," she replied softly. "It's awful that you have to live in your brother's shadow like this." She paused as she tried to think of what to say next. "Just remember that if you want to talk about anything, I'm here for you, okay?"
Okay, thanks Heather," he said with a small smile. It was nice talking with her. His attention drifted over to Nadine who was sniffing a weed. The rabbit took a bite out of one of its leaves and suddenly, the weed sprung out of the ground.
"Priii! Priii!" the little Oddish shouted in pain before running down the trail away from the fire. The hungry Nadine gave chase.
"Dibs," Heather shouted before following her pokemon out of the camp with Feathers fluttering by her side.
"Have fun." Cody said, though he doubted she could hear him. It was just him now in the clearing with his pokemon and Jared's Charmeleon, who hadn't looked away from the fire the entire time.
"I'm glad I can talk with her," he said to himself quietly. "She's worth enough to hang out with, even with Jared around." He knew that life on the road was going to be different, but adversity was only going to make him stronger.
Hehehe. Controversy for the win.
You see that link below this paragraph? If you press it, you can REVIEW this story. Pretty cool, huh? If you haven't done so yet, I recommend trying it out right now. Think about how cool that would be. Thanks to all who left reviews and a special thanks to MagikarpMaster for selflessly taking on the role of editor. You're such a bro. Later gators!