"Reggie On The Rocks"
By MisterAnimeFan
Part of the DP Love Series
Alright, I'm back! I hope you had a great Christmas. Even though it's late, Happy New Year's to everybody! Here's hoping that I upload chapters faster in 2011!
Disclaimer: Did you know that "untrusted" isn't a word? Yeah, kind of goofed up there. Oh yeah, and Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak. The fan fiction exists out of fun and enjoyment.
(A/N: Just like the last chapter, this one is VERY long. It may even be longer that "Reggie On The Rocks." It talks about every detail of Reggie's past life (hence why it took forever me for me to finish it). Hope you guys don't mind!)
Paul Senior was in the master bedroom. He was packing a very large duffel bag with clothes and personal items. A young eleven-year-old Reggie was standing in the doorway, watching him. He was very nervous about approaching his dad. "Umm…dad," he squeaked.
Paul Sr. jumped when he heard his voice. He turned around and saw his son standing in the doorway. "Oh…it's only you," Paul Sr. replied. "Well…what is it? What do you want?"
"Dad, are you doing anything for the weekend?" Reggie asked.
"Um…why do you ask?"
"I was thinking maybe we can go fishing tomorrow."
"I don't think I have time to take you and Paul on a fishing trip. Maybe some other time," replied Paul Sr..
"Um…actually, maybe it can be just a trip for just you and me."
"Just you and me? Why don't you want Paul to be there?"
"You always spend time with Paul. It's been a while since you and I had some quality time together," explained Reggie.
Paul Sr. didn't continue with the conversation. He just went back to packing his bag. Reggie was a little annoyed that his father didn't talk to him. "Dad? How about it?" Reggie asked.
"I don't have time to fish with an effeminate little girl like you!" snapped Paul Sr.. He then went back to packing his things.
Reggie grew angry as his father had his back turned towards him. Young Reggie went up and grabbed him by the wrist. "Now you listen to me, dad!" he shouted.
Reggie jerked on his wrist. The man turned around, but it wasn't Paul Sr. anymore. Reggie was horrified to see that his father had been replaced with Justin's. "What are you doing?" Justin asked. "Why are you calling me dad?"
"I'm...I'm sorry!" apologized Reggie. "I thought..."
"Thought what?" Justin asked, sternly. "You thought I was your father?"
"Well, you were a few minutes ago."
"Are you that paranoid and stupid that you would go around pointing your finger at people, saying that they're your father! Are you THAT desperate for a father figure?"
Reggie suddenly opened his eyes. The sight of Justin, his father, and his old house had disappeared. Reggie looked around and realized that he was sleeping in a bed. He sat up, pushed the sheets away from him, and looked around the room. He was in a bedroom with light brown walls and dark brown décor. He recognized the room as one of the guest bedrooms in his mother's apartment.
He stretched his arms out and then fell backwards into a pillow. He let out a deep breath as he stared up at the ceiling. "What's wrong with me?" he asked himself. He remained in bed for a few more minutes before getting up.
He walked down the hallway to the living room. He looked around and saw his younger brother sitting on the couch, watching television. Paul wore a purple shirt and black sweatpants. "Morning Paul," Reggie said.
"Morning," replied Paul, keeping his eyes on the T.V.
Reggie sat down next to him. "Sleep well?" Paul asked.
"Meh," replied Reggie.
Reggie lifted his head up and looked around him. He and Paul were the only two people in the living room. "Dawn is still asleep?" Reggie asked.
"Yep," answered Paul.
"What about mom?"
"Umm...well, I didn't see her in bed, so I guess she's still out on her morning walk."
Reggie then noticed that Mightyena and Growlithe sleeping at their feet. "She didn't take Mightyena or Growlithe?" Reggie asked.
"Hmm...I guess not," answered Paul.
The two then went back to watching T.V.
Reggie leaned back into the couch and titled his head back. Paul quickly glanced at his brother and sighed. "What's wrong?" Paul asked, annoyed.
"I've just been thinking about Justin," answered Reggie, wearily.
"What...do you still think that he's our dad?"
"You know...I don't even know what to think anymore."
"But Looker says our dad is in prison," reminded Paul. "You really still think that Justin is our dad?"
"Well, to be honest, a small part of me still has doubt about the whole thing."
"That "small part of you" is stupid. Reggie, come on, what more do we have to do? Looker even said that our dad was still in prison."
"So that means you instantly have to believe him?"
"Well, what else could there be? I mean, there's really nothing that proves that Looker is wrong!"
"I don't know, Paul. Okay? There's just something about Justin that makes me think that he's dad."
"But he's not."
"I know but..."
"Then why do you say that he is?"
"I don't know. I just think he is."
"But he's not. How many times do I have to repeat myself?"
"Well...I...I just..." stammered Reggie.
"What? Do you want him to be dad? Do you want Justin to come in here and say, "Hey! I'm your father and I broke out of prison? Is that what you want?"
Reggie turned away from Paul. He remained quit, refusing to answer. "Well?" Paul asked, irritated. "Do you want that?"
"...don't you?" Reggie asked.
"What?" Paul asked.
"Don't you wish that you could see dad one more time?" Reggie asked.
Paul looked at Reggie as if he had just told him that he was from the Moon. "No!" shouted Paul. "No! Of course not! Why would I ever want to see him again?"
"I don't know," replied Reggie. "Maybe you want to talk to him about a few things? Maybe you could ask him why he really left the family. Or why he treated us the way he did? Or something like that, I don't know."
Paul growled. "Look Reggie, if you still have issues with dad, then that's your business, and I won't make fun of you for it," he said. "But as for me, I'm done with him. I don't care about him anymore. It's better for me to just forget all about him. I never want to see him or speak to him ever again."
Paul turned back towards the television. His older brother continued looking at him. "Are you sure Paul?" Reggie asked. "You sure you have nothing else to say to him?"
Paul remained fixated on the T.V. in front of him. "No, I got nothing to say to him," Paul muttered, quietly. Reggie then noticed him gulping, but he knew that Paul was not eating or drinking anything. Regardless, Reggie decided to ignore it and join his brother.
The two watched T.V. alongside each other. On the T.V. screen, the news team was covering various events going on in Sinnoh, such as new unofficial contests about to take place in some places and a festival coming up in Eterna City (hosted by Gym Leader Gardenia).
Eventually, Paul spoke up again. "Hey Reggie," he began. "Tell me something. What on Earth do you have to talk about with dad?"
"Paul..." groaned Reggie.
"I'm not making fun of you or anything," Paul assured. "I just want to know."
"It's nothing. I mean...you wouldn't understand."
"How so?"
"It's just personal things between me and him."
Paul only looked at him, confused and curious. But he decided to just let it go. "Well it doesn't matter what problems you have with dad," Paul said. "Because I don't think mom wants us to see him again anyway. I mean, she hates him more than you and me combined."
"Yeah she does," agreed Reggie. "I mean, she loved him so much. They loved each other so much that they got married and had two kids. I can still remember mom crying into her pillow day and night after he left the house."
"Oh please, don't remind me about that. I'll admit, it pains me seeing the image of mom just bawling and crying her eyes out."
"I know what you mean."
The two brothers then looked out straight in front of them, not necessarily to the television. Reggie let out a depressed sigh. "You know something Paul," continued Reggie, "sometimes when I'm taking care of Pokémon back in Veilstone City, I think about mom and how lonely she must be living here by herself."
"Yeah...wait! Actually, you know what's funny, I talked to her about that the night before," mentioned Paul.
"Really?" Reggie asked, surprised. "What did she say?"
"When we were talking, I asked mom if she felt lonely here by herself," began Paul. "She admitted that whenever you and I are away, she feels sad. She also told me that ever since dad left, she was afraid of being alone for the rest of my life."
"Oh...oh no," worried Reggie.
"But it's okay!" assured Paul. "Even though she misses us, she's happy that we are doing great things with our lives. She said that...she's proud to be our mom."
Reggie looked stunned. "Wow," he said. "She really said all that?"
"Yeah," confirmed Paul. "She also told me that she didn't want us to worry about her. She wants to go out and live out our dreams."
Reggie couldn't help but grab his chest. He felt touched by what his mother had told Paul.
Suddenly, the front door opened up and Regina walked into the room. Immediately, the two brothers turned towards the door and greeted their mother. "Oh hey, you're back!" greeted Reggie.
Regina looked up and saw her two sons sitting on the couch. "Oh, you two are awake!" remarked Regina.
Then, Growlithe and Mightyena got up and ran over to Regina. Regina laughed as Mightyena and Growlithe jumped up onto her legs. Regina reached down and picked up Growlithe. "Awww...did you miss me?" she asked, cheerfully. "I'm sorry I didn't take you out today. Mommy just needed some alone time."
She then put down Growlithe, patted Mightyena on the head, and walked over to her boys. Reggie and Paul noticed how happy their mother was. "So, how was your morning wal..."
Paul was interrupted when his mother grabbed him and Reggie and wrapped her arms around their heads, hugging them tightly. She sighed happily. "Boys, have I ever told you how much I love you guys?" Regina asked. "I don't know where I would be without you two!"
But Reggie and Paul were confused as to what to say. To see their depressed mother suddenly being cheerful perplexed them. "I'm so lucky to have you two with me today," Regina added.
Eventually, she let go of her boys and headed over to the kitchen. "Well, better get started on breakfast!" she said, happily.
Paul and Reggie looked at each other, baffled as to why their mother was suddenly acting like this. The two got off the couch and joined their mother in the kitchen. She was already cooking up a storm. The two stood by her side. "Um, mom?" asked Paul.
"I think you boys are going to like what I'm going to make you today!" Regina said.
"Mom...are you okay?" asked Reggie.
"What? Oh, I'm better than okay," replied Regina. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, last night you were so upset about being paranoid about Justin," reminded Paul.
"And now here you are all smiling and on top-of-the-world," remarked Reggie.
"And what's wrong with that?" Regina asked.
"Nothing really, except..." stammered Paul.
"Well...mom, you're not hiding anything, are you?" asked Reggie.
"Hiding anything? What are you talking about?" Regina asked.
"Mom, it's okay to talk to us about whatever's bugging you," continued Reggie.
"Yeah, you don't have to act happy for us," said Paul. "If something's bugging you, you can tell us."
Regina looked at her boys. She then realized what they were talking about. She put her utensils down and turned towards her sons. "Oh, I see what you mean," she said. "Look you two, I'm happy that you're worried about me, but I'm fine, really!"
"Are you sure?" Paul asked.
"Trust me, I have never felt better!" Regina proclaimed, proudly. "I just have a feeling that today is going to be a wonderful day! Now you two go and get dressed. And wake up Dawn if she isn't already!"
The two boys turned to each other. Paul shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it looks like she's not faking it," commented Paul to his old brother. Paul then walked away from his brother to go change. Reggie remained by his mother's side.
He watched Regina stirred a bowl of pancake batter. Afterwards, she grabbed a bag of chocolate chips and added them in along with the other ingredients in the batter. Reggie was confused. "What are you doing, mom?" Reggie asked.
"Oh, you will all love this!" Regina replied, happily. "It's chocolate chip pancakes! I had this when I went to the pancake house this morning and it was delicious!"
Regina then poured the batter into the hot pan. "You went to the pancake house?" Reggie asked.
"Yep!" confirmed Reggie.
"And you didn't bring us?" complained Reggie.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Reggie! It's just while I was out on my morning walk, I met up with Justin, and he insisted that I go with him, and..."
"Wait, you saw Justin this morning?" Reggie asked, worriedly. "How did that turn out?"
"Well, first I apologized to him for suspecting him of being Paul Sr." began Regina. "He accepted my apology and he took me out for breakfast. "
"Oh," Reggie said, relieved. "It's just last night you were so upset about accusing Justin that I thought you would be worried about seeing him again."
"Oh I was!" continued Regina. "But after I apologized to Justin, I felt much better. Then he took me to the pancake house, we had some pancakes, drink some coffee, and we just talked."
"Talked about what?"
"Oh, just this and that. He told me about his journey around the Sinnoh region and the interesting people that he meets on the way. Then...he asked me about your father."
Reggie perked his head up. He stared at his mother. "He asked you about dad?" asked Reggie. "Why would he?"
"He was curious as to why we would accuse him of being your father," explained Regina.
There was silence between the two. Reggie was worried. "You didn't tell him anything, did you?" Reggie asked, worriedly.
"Well...I didn't want to at first, but then..."
"He didn't force you, did he?"
"No he didn't! He asked me politely and told me that it was better to talk to someone about my problems with your father. He told me that it was a bad thing for me to keep it to myself, because something bad might happen if I did."
Reggie let out a depressed sigh as he listened to his mother. "What did you tell him?" Reggie asked.
"I just told him about a few things about me and your father. Then, I told him about how we first met, how he was as a father..."
"Mom, you didn't tell him about him being..."
"Oh no!" interrupted Regina, though she knew what Reggie was going to say. "I didn't tell him about him being a Galactic commander or that thing that happened at the Sunmoon Islands or that he's in prison now."
"Oh good," sighed Reggie.
"Come on now, Reggie. I'm not going to tell him everything. Just those things I mentioned earlier."
"The only thing that worries me now is that Justin might go telling everybody about it."
"Oh, I doubt he'll do that. He has no one to tell it too," assured Regina. "He promised me that he'll keep it a secret. And I believe that if Dawn can keep it a secret, then I think Justin can as well."
"Well, okay then."
"All and all, I'm glad that I talked to him about your father. He said some things that made me realize some things that I didn't know about myself. I feel so much better now. Now I feel like I'm on top of the world! And he made me realize how strong I was to press on even with your father gone. He made me think about how much you and Paul mean to me. Whatever pain I was suffering, it's gone now! And I have him to thank!"
Reggie smiled as he saw his mother beaming happily. "He did all that, huh? I guess it's great that Justin made you feel better about yourself. I guess he's not such a bad guy after all."
Reggie then thought of something. "Wait...mom, you were going through emotional pain?" Reggie asked, worriedly.
"I was, but now I'm not," answered Regina.
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Reggie asked. "I would have helped you with anything you were going through."
"Well...Reggie, I didn't tell you because..." stammered Regina. "Well, the important thing is that I'm better now. So, why don't you go and get changed? I'll have breakfast ready in a minute."
Reggie glanced at his mother quickly before he went back to his room to change out of his sleeping clothes.
As Paul made his way to his room, the door to Dawn's bedroom opened up and Dawn herself stepped out, rubbing her eye. "Well, it's about time you decided to wake up," remarked Paul.
"Good morning everybody," yawned Dawn. "Is breakfast ready yet?"
"Mom's working on it right now," answered Paul. "It should be ready in a few minutes."
"Speaking of which, how is your mother feeling right now?" asked Dawn.
"Well, she seems happy. It looks like she got over being paranoid about Justin."
"Oh...well...that's good. And Reggie?"
"He's...he's a little mixed up right now," mentioned Paul. "I'm just leaving him alone for now."
"What about you?"
"Oh, don't worry about me," assured Paul. "I've already gotten over that."
"Really? That was pretty quick."
"Well, what can I say? I thought Justin was my father. Turns out he wasn't. So yeah..."
"Paul, are you sure that you've gotten over it?" Dawn asked.
"I'm fine, really," Paul answered, rather hastily.
Dawn continued looking at him, unsure if Paul really had gotten over Justin. Paul continued on his way to his room to change out of his clothes. Dawn went back into her room to do the same.
After breakfast, everyone went their own way. Dawn and Regina headed into town to spend the day together. Paul went to Eterna Forest to go look for new Pokémon as well as train the ones he already has.
Reggie, however, decided to pay a visit to Justin's place. After talking with his mother, he had a few questions for Justin. He stood outside his door, staring at it as he was hesitant to knock. He brought his hands up to his mouth and took a deep breath. "Come on Reggie, it's no big deal," he told himself quietly. "All you're going to do is go inside and talk to Justin about a few things."
Reggie took another deep breath before turning back to the door. He raised his hand up to the door and knocked. He waited for someone to answer.
Just then, the door opened and Justin stepped outside. "Oh...it's you!" Justin said, surprised. "You're Regina's son, right?"
"Yeah, oldest son," Reggie clarified. "My name is Reggie."
"Oh well, it's nice to see you Reggie!" Justin said, happily. "Would you like to come in?"
"Um...sure," answered Reggie.
Justin stepped aside and allowed Reggie to walk into his apartment. Reggie looked around and saw the barren white walls. A few boxes lied on the floor, disorganized and all over the place. "Not a decorations person now, are you?" teased Reggie.
"I've only been living here for a few weeks," explained Justin. "So please forgive me for the mess."
"I see," Reggie said, still looking around.
"Go ahead and have a seat!" offered Justin.
Reggie kindly accepted Justin's offer. He sat down on the couch in Justin's living room. "Would you like anything to drink?" Justin asked.
"No thank you," denied Reggie.
Justin then sat across from Reggie. "So, what brings you here to my home?" asked Justin.
"Oh, I just felt like coming over," Reggie answered. "I heard you and mom saw each other this morning."
"That's right, just a few hours ago. I ran into your mother while I was roaming the city."
'Yeah, she told me about that. You guys went to the pancake house and had breakfast."
"I apologized for not inviting you and your brother. It was a spur-of-the-moment deal."
"Oh, that's okay! Don't worry about that. But while you were at the pancake house, you and mom were talking about a few things, right?"
"We had a conversation, yes. Why do you ask?"
"Did she...mention my father to you?"
"As a matter of fact...she did."
"Oh..."
"I must say, from what she told me, your father was quite cruel. He must have left some emotional scars on her, and quite possibly you and your brother, right?"
"You have no idea."
"You must have been hurt the most by your father."
"What makes you say that?"
Justin then held his back. Reggie didn't get the hint until he remembered what he did to him yesterday. "My back still hurt from when you tackled me yesterday," Justin mentioned.
"Oh yeah...that," sulked Reggie.
"Yes, that."
"About that Justin, I...should not have tackled you, regardless if you were actually my dad or not, which I'm not saying you are. I lost my temper and I took it out on you, calling you names and almost breaking your back. I'm really sorry about that. And unlike last time, this time I really mean it. I'm sorry."
Justin looked at him sternly, but then he smiled. "Don't worry, Reggie," Justin said. "All is forgiven."
"If there's any way I can make it up to you," offered Reggie.
"Oh no, that won't be necessary!"
"No seriously. I don't feel right unless I own up to it. I'll do anything you tell me to do."
"Seriously Reggie, you don't have to..."
Justin's voice trailed off as he suddenly came up with an idea. "Anything, huh?" Justin asked.
"Yeah," Reggie replied.
"Well, seeing as how you're offering, I do have something in mind."
"Like...what?"
"Reggie, you tackled me to the ground because you thought I was your father, correct?"
"Ummm..."
"Get away from me, dad!" Justin said, repeating Reggie's dialogue from yesterday. "Just reveal yourself, you heartless monster!"
"Yes, yes! I thought you were my dad, so that's why I attacked you."
"In that case, I want to know...let's say I was your father...why would you tackle him to the ground? What has he done to you to warrant you charging at him?"
"Oh...ummm..."
Reggie then turned away, hesitant to speak. "Come on Reggie," Justin continued on. "Why would you do that to him? I mean, he was your father."
"Didn't mom say enough to you about him?" Reggie asked.
"Oh no. Regina only told me about he affected her. I want to know how he affected you."
Reggie still refused to make eye contact. "Don't you think that I deserve to know why would you accuse me of being your dad?" Justin asked.
"I don't know if I should tell you," murmured Reggie.
"Why don't you want to tell me?"
"It's...just that..."
"Look Reggie, you clearly have some unresolved issues with your father, and I want to help you with them. All I am asking you to do is just tell me why you hate your father so much. It will do both of us a lot of good."
Reggie looked back into Justin's eyes. "If you talk to me about your father, I promise to keep it a secret," added Justin.
"You promise?" Reggie asked.
"Trust me. I really have no one to tell it to."
Reggie took one last look at Justin before he took a deep breath. "I still don't know," Reggie sighed.
Justin rubbed his chin, trying to find someway to get Reggie to talk to him. He then snapped his fingers. "I got it!" he exclaimed. He got up from his seat and hastily headed towards his room. "Wait right here!" he ordered.
"Me and my dad were never on good terms," he finally answered. "Only when I was very little did he every pay attention to me."
"Is that so?" Justin asked. "So, what did you two do when you were little?"
"For a while, he and I were pretty close," began Reggie. "He and I spent a lot of time together. We would always play with these Pokémon plush toys and pretend that we were battling. I used to play with his Totodile a lot too."
Reggie smiled as he remembered when he was three years old. Both he and his dad lied on the floor, holding plush dolls in their hands and acting out a Pokémon battle. The two laughed as they knocked out building blocks and other toys during their battle.
Justin noticed the smile on Reggie's face. "Sounds like a fun time between you and your father," commented Justin. "I guess there was a time when you actually liked your father. But continue."
"When I turned five, he and I began working on real Pokémon battles. He and I would go out into the woods, he would let me use Totodile, and I would practice battling wild Pokémon. One time, we went out to Route 215 and we ran into a wild Starly. He let me use his Totodile and I was able to weaken Starly enough so that I could catch it."
"Come on, Reggie!" shouted Paul Sr. "You got him!"
"Totodile, use Water Gun!" Reggie shouted.
Totodile shot a stream of water from its mouth towards the Starly in front of him. The wild Starly quickly flew up into the air, completely dodging the Water Gun attack. Reggie watched as the Starly flew circles in the sky. "Totodile, stop him with Water Gun!" commanded Reggie.
Totodile looked up high in the air and unleashed a barrage of Water Guns. Starly was able to dodge every one of its attacks. Starly then flew away. "Oh come on son!" scolded Paul Sr. "You let him get away!"
Reggie seethed through his teeth as he saw the Starly fly away. "Come back here, you stupid bird!" Reggie shouted, angrily.
"Forget it son, it's gone," said Paul Sr.
"Oh no, it isn't!"
Reggie then picked up a sizeable pebble and, with a mighty throw, threw it into the air. The pebble managed to hit the top of Starly's head, making it cross. "Wow...nice throw," praised Paul Sr.
The Starly quickly turned around and flew back to the battlefield. He had an angry look in his eyes. Reggie, however, remained indifferent to the bird's death glare. As the Starly flew closer to the ground, ready to tackle Reggie, he quickly came up with an idea. "Totodile, hurry! Use Bite on one of his wings!"
Totodile leaped up into the air and bit down hard on one of Starly's wings. Starly cried out in agony as it crashed onto the ground, unable to fly. "Reggie, here! Now's your chance!" Paul Sr. called out. He threw a Poké Ball at his son, which he caught. Reggie made the Poké Ball bigger and threw it at the weakened Starly. "Poké Ball, go!" Reggie shouted.
The Poké Ball tapped Starly and opened up. A red light appeared and sucked Starly in. The Poké Ball landed on the ground and rolled around as Starly tried to fight its way out. Eventually, the red light disappeared and it made a "ping" noise. "I caught it?" Reggie asked, still in disbelief. He walked up to the Poké Ball and picked it up. It was much heavier than before. "Yes! I caught a Starly!"
"Alright son! You did it!" Paul Sr. shouted happily as he lifted his son onto his shoulders. Reggie held the Poké Ball up high into the air as the two celebrated Reggie's accomplishment.
"Hmmm, only five years old and you were able to catch a Pokémon," commented Justin. "Impressive."
"Yeah, dad was really proud of me that day," continued Reggie. "In fact, that was the only time dad was ever impressed with me."
"And why's that?"
"Dad always wanted me to excel at battling Pokémon. But I never really was good at it...at least back then. Dad would occasionally challenge me to a battle. It was always his Totodile against my Starly. We would never win and dad would scold me when I lost."
"But that's not right. Your father shouldn't have expected you to be world-class in just a few short months. Of course, with you being so little and him being your father, you couldn't tell him that to his face."
"No...I couldn't."
Reggie let out a sigh. "It was always battling with him. He always pressured Paul and I to be the greatest Pokémon Trainers, but he never really told us why we had to be. He just wanted us to. Looking back now, I think he was trying to live his life through us."
Justin shook his head disapprovingly. "It saddens me to hear a story like that," he said. "I knew of a girl in Snowpoint City whose mother pressured her into being the greatest Coordinator in the Sinnoh region. Her mother had her on a tight leash, forcing her day-and-night to train for contests."
"Really?" Reggie asked, surprised.
"Yeah."
"Well, what did she do?"
"She ran away from home. She thought that her mother wouldn't really care if she was gone. But she was wrong. Her mother went looking for her, crying her eyes out. When I confronted her on the matter, she told me that she only pressured her daughter to be a great Coordinator so that she wouldn't have to live the terrible life that she did. You see, the two lived in poverty, so her mother worked hard to make her daughter excel at coordinating because she wanted her daughter to be well known around the world and have things handed to her. She wanted her to be happy."
Reggie was touched by what he heard. "Eventually," continued Justin. "We found her daughter at Lake Acuity. And...long story short, the two made up and are getting along much better now."
"Wow...what a great story," Reggie said. But he then felt sad again. "Although, I doubt that's what my dad had in mind with us."
"I don't know," replied Justin. "Maybe he did want that for you and Paul. After all, from what your mother told me, he was working at a job he didn't like. I suppose he didn't want that to happen to you and Paul. But let's cover one thing at a time. So, you and your father got along well for the first few years, but after you caught your first Pokémon, you two began to feel distant from each other."
"Correct," confirmed Reggie. "But it became got worse once Paul was born."
"Little Paul, you mean?"
"Yes."
"Oh dear, is it safe to assume that sibling rivalry occurred?"
"Sort of...once my brother was born, he focused most of his attention on him."
Justin nodded his head as he continued listening to Reggie. "Whenever dad wasn't at work, he would play with Paul, doing the same things he did when I was little. He and Paul would have mock Pokémon battles using the same dolls he and I used. Whenever I would try to join in, dad would always tell me, "Reggie, you're too old to be playing with dolls! Why don't you practice battling with Starly?"
Reggie slumped in his chair as he remembered being left out of the fun. "In fact, after Paul was born, dad never really spent any time with me, except for my birthday and Christmas. But even then, he still favored Paul over me."
Justin felt sad. "Well, that wasn't right," said Justin. "I mean, I understand why parents would pay more attention to the younger sibling than the older, seeing as how the younger one needs more care. Nevertheless, your father shouldn't be playing favorites with you or Paul. You must have felt so lonely then."
"I was for a little bit," replied Reggie. "Dad spent a lot of time with Paul, but that meant that I had mom all to myself."
Reggie was in the backyard, training his Starly. Starly flew overhead and Reggie sat down on a wooden bench on the patio. He stared at the ground, lonely and bored. He held a book in his hands, which he has been reading for the past thirty minutes. It was a book listing every Pokémon and several battle strategies. His dad bought it for him after he lost one too many battles.
Reggie looked inside the house and saw his mother and father playing with his younger brother. He went from being sad to mad. "Stupid Paul," he muttered, scornfully. "Ever since he came, no one has ever paid any attention to me."
Suddenly, Starly flew back down to the ground and landed next to his trainer. He nudged his beak against Reggie's arm, trying to comfort him. Reggie smiled as he petted his Pokémon's head. "Well, at least you'll always stay by my side. Right Starly?"
Starly only extended his wings out and smiled. Reggie felt better by the presence of his Pokémon.
Suddenly, the sliding door opened. Reggie looked over his shoulder and Regina stepped outside. She turned to her older son. "Oh Reggie, there you are!" she exclaimed. "I was looking for you!"
"Looking for me?" Reggie asked. "Why were you looking for me?"
"What do you mean?" Regina asked. "Don't you want to play with your little brother?"
Reggie put on an angry face and turned away from his mother. "I don't want to play with him," he answered.
"What? Why don't you want to play with Paul?" asked Regina.
"Because I don't like him."
"How come you don't like him?"
"Because I don't."
Regina then sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Reggie, how come you don't like your little brother?" she asked again.
Reggie looked up at her smiling face. He then turned back to the ground. "Because you and dad always spend time with him," answered Reggie. "You haven't played with me since Paul showed up in our house."
"Oh, is that what this is about?" Regina asked.
Regina then hugged her son. "Oh, I'm sorry, Reggie," apologized Regina. "I didn't realize that mommy was leaving you out of the fun. Now come on, why don't you come inside and you, me, your father, and Paul can all play together?"
"Dad doesn't want me to play with him or Paul," added Reggie.
"What?" Regina asked, disbelieved.
"Yeah, one time when I wanted to play with dad and Paul, dad told me that I was too old to play with dolls and that I should work on battling with Starly."
"Oh really?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow.
Regina looked back into the house and glared at her husband as he played with Paul. "Well, I'm going to have a talk with your father about that," promised Regina.
Regina then looked back at the Starly. "Hey son, I'm going to go out to Route 215 to pick some berries," mentioned Regina. "Would you like to come along? You and Starly?"
"Um...sure."
"Ever since then, I've always hung out with mom," Reggie said. "She was the only one who showed me any kind of attention. I felt so happy that someone was paying attention. But I guess over time, dad didn't like the idea of me being with mom so much. I overheard him talking about it one time. He thought that while Paul was excelling greatly as a Pokémon trainer, mom was making me effeminate. He even called me an 'effeminate little girl' in my face on the afternoon that he left the family."
Justin was a bit shocked at what Reggie told him. He didn't expect Reggie's father to come out and directly call Reggie effeminate into his face. "Oh my," he said.
"Back then, that comment from him was the last straw," continued Reggie. "I went back to my room. And.."
Reggie paused for a moment to regain his composure. "I just exploded. I just went crazy in my room: ripping up everything, breaking toys, and knocking things over. I was mad. I was mad at my Starly for not being good enough for my dad. I was mad at mom for making me effeminate. I was mad at Paul for making me look bad in front of dad. I was mad at him for just being a jerk. And..."
Reggie's voice trailed off as he remembered his temper tantrum from when he was ten. He could still remember how badly damaged and torn up his room was afterwards. He turned away from Justin. Justin, however, leaned in closer to Reggie, hoping he would continue. "And...?" he said, egging Reggie on. "Was there anyone else you were angry at?"
Reggie took another deep breath. "And deep down...I was angry at myself," he finished, finally. "I was angry that I drove him dad away from me. I was angry that I didn't meet my dad's expectations. I was angry that I let Paul show me up. That night, I just felt like hating everything and everyone."
"That was so childish of me," he groaned.
"Well, of course," remarked Justin. "You were only ten years old when that happened. And besides, we all have had moments where we felt so sad or so angry that we just wanted to grab the nearest object and smash it into tiny pieces."
"Do you have moments like that?" Reggie asked.
"A couple of times," Justin answered. "Especially when I was very young, almost at your age."
"Did you have a terrible father too?" asked Reggie.
"Well...actually none of my parents were very kind to me."
"Ouch," replied Reggie.
"Ouch, indeed. But let's not stray from the main topic. Earlier you said that your father insulted you on the afternoon that he left the family. If I may intrude even further, would you tell me about the night he left and how you felt after he left?"
Reggie rubbed the back of his neck. Normally, he would have stopped talking to Justin ages ago. But for some reason, he kept going. "That night," he continued, "my dad left the family. I didn't see him leave, but I heard the things he told my mom and brother. I cried that night. Not because I was losing a father, but because he was hurting the ones I love."
Reggie then glanced towards the clock. He saw that he had been talking non-stop for at least forty-five minutes. "Oh man," he said. "I have been talking for so long. I must be boring you."
"Oh no! It's great to hear all this," replied Justin.
"Well, to answer your question on why I would tackle own father, it's not because he didn't hug me enough or paid any attention to me, but because he hurt and talked down to those that I care about. Both mom and Paul were never the same after he left. Mom eventually recovered, but Paul..."
Again, Reggie's voice trailed off after he mentioned Paul. Justin decided that it would be best to change the topic (after all, he'll get to Paul eventually). "Reggie, I want you to answer just one more question for me and then I'll let you go," he said. "Because you said more than enough today."
"Okay," agreed Reggie.
"If your father was here, right now, in your face, what would you ask him?"
Reggie turned away as he thought about the question. "Well," he said. "If I had a chance to talk to him now, there would be a lot of questions I would ask him. Like why did he leave the family? Why did he break my mother's heart? Did he even really love my mom? Why did he really treat us the way he did? Did he have a bad childhood? Or is he just mentally insane?"
"Frankly, I don't believe that any person is mentally insane," remarked Justin. "I just think that they're people who want to talk to someone about their problems, but they don't know how to ask."
"Yeah, I...I guess that's a good way to put it."
Reggie stood up onto his feet, shut his eyes, and breathed through his nose. "Do you feel better now that you've talked to me about this?" Justin asked.
"A little," answered Reggie. "I can see why mom felt happy after talking to you. You are a really good listener."
"Well, I've been listening to people's problems for many years. I guess I just have a knack for it."
"You do."
Justin got onto his feet and began walking Reggie out of the door
"Well Reggie, thank you for coming here today and explaining to me about your father," thanked Justin.
"Thanks for listening me drabble," Reggie replied.
Justin opened the door for Reggie, but before Reggie stepped outside, he turned back towards Justin. "You know, my family and Dawn are planning to make hamburgers for dinner for today," he mentioned. "If you would like to come by..."
"I'll be there," promised Justin.
"Maybe while you're there, you can talk to my brother," Reggie added. "Because I know there are some things he wants to get off his chest. He usually doesn't like talking to people about it, but maybe you can get him to open up."
With that final word, Reggie walked out of the apartment. Justin shut the door behind him and pondering to himself. "Yes...Paul...how will I get to talk?" he asked himself. "I would like to know the other side of the sibling rivalry."
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: I hoped you guys enjoyed my own take on Reggie's past. This chapter was a bit hard to write because I had to keep going back through the previous chapters to make sure everything stays in continuity and find things I can bring up during this chapter. Seeing as how I've been working on this for three months, I know I probably screwed up in some places. Feel free to tell me if I make any mistakes.
Now then, I've received some questions from the reviews for the last chapter. So, I thought I would take this time to answer them right here:
Hey, how old are you? It seems like you have a lot of experience with writing stories.
Currently, I am 19 years old (will be 20 come July 22) and I have been writing fanfictions since my freshmen year in high school, so roughly five years. I like to say that I am a much better writer now than I was before.
How long does it take to write these stories?
Up until 2010, I was able to put out a new chapter to each one of my stories once a month. But ever since I entered college, it's been much harder for me to find the time and inspiration to come up with a chapter. In addition, since taking a few writing courses and discovering TVTropes dot com, I've began to take my writing a little more seriously and put careful thought into each one of them. So now, for each story, you'll have to wait roughly two to three months.
When are you going to make a new chapter?
Umm...here you go. Sorry about how long it took.
Does Ash ever find out [about Dawn leaving his group to join Paul]?
There will be a chapter where Dawn and Paul run into Ash and Brock. And Ash won't be happy to see Dawn after she ditched them. But that's all I will say about it!
If you guys have any more questions that you would like to ask me, feel free to leave it at my FormSpring account (link on my profile). It doesn't have to be anything related to fanfictions either. It could be stuff about my hobbies and what have you. Go and check it out and leave questions!
Next time: After speaking to both Regina and Reggie, Justin now only has to talk to Paul. He visits Regina's home and tries to talk to him, but Paul doesn't want anything to do with him. No matter how hard he tries, Paul just won't open up. Perhaps Dawn might be able to persuade him? Find out in the next chapter of "DP Love 2!"