A/N: Hello my lovely readers. Welcome to the latest installment on Ash's Realization! This chapter is pretty much the last filler chapter of the book, so get excited for that.
This chapter will take you into the journey of ten year old Aurora, when Chari didn't listen to her. I wrote an entire chapter about Aurora's flashback because we never got to see her in an anime like Ash. Remember, I only remastered a part of Charizard Chills because the rest was shown (Ash losing to a Poliwrath).
Consider this... like an episode in the anime, heh. With that, I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, but the story and its ideas are mine.
To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float. -Alan Watts
Chapter 37: Belligerent Beginnings?
25 years ago…
Aurora and Chari walked though Route 11. The grass was lush and the area was bustling with different trainers. Aurora made sure that she wasn't in direct view of any trainers because she didn't want to battle anyone. Aurora had to drag Chari around with a rope to even move around with her. Even though Aurora had won three badges at this point, she'd won them mostly because of Chari's battling prowess, not because of her telling Chari what attacks to use. Chari tried to gnaw through the rope, but couldn't bite through. She thought it was odd because it looked like it was regular rope and she'd bitten through it before.
Aurora sighed. She had her knee-length black hair tied up in two pony tails on either side of her head. They were tied up in two small red bows and wore a matching red and white striped knee-length dress with frills at the bottom. It had a pocket of different berries in the middle of it. She also wore white stockings and regular shoes. Like other Ketchums, she had 'z' shaped marks on either side of her cheeks. She had not yet learned to properly hide them. She also had a red backpack and was holding it at one of its straps.
She loved Chari to death, but wondered why she was always so difficult with her. Chari was definitely her strongest Pokémon, but she longed for the day she could combine their energies together. This time, Chari tried to burn down the rope. Much to her surprise, it didn't look burned at all. She looked up flabbergasted at her trainer, then at the rope. Why wasn't it burning down? She looked up at Aurora again. She could see her trainer hiding a tiny smirk. Aurora did not say a word as she continued to drag her partner along towards Silence Bridge.
Chari herself was a larger than an average Charmander with striking red eyes. Aurora always wondered where she got her eyes from, but every time Aurora tried to get ask her, Chari would change the subject or try to attack her, so Aurora stopped asking. In this point of her life, Aurora hadn't learned how to allow her Pokémon to speak the human tongue, but she could still communicate with them easily. She spoke to a Pokémon just as easily as she could speak to a human.
With Chari, however, she wished she couldn't understand Pokémon sometimes.
Chari decided to break the silence, "(You know I hate you, right?)"
"I know." Aurora responded apathetically.
"(And that you're the worst trainer in the world, yes?)"
"I know."
"(And that you are absolute trash without me?)"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I suck. Will ya stop remindin' me every ten seconds?"
"(Why should I?)"Chari was surprised by the lack of emotion in her voice. Aurora was normally cheerful. She was wondering what was wrong with her trainer.
"There's no point in arguing with you, Chari. If you don't like me, then so be it." Aurora shrugged her shoulders. Aurora suddenly stopped between the divergence of the main path. To the north lied Lavender Town and to the south, eventually one would reach Fuchsia City. Chari looked up at her trainer, slightly confused.
She could see her fists trembling. Aurora stood directly in front of her, avoiding eye contact with Chari, "It's been three months since I met you and you've been saying the same hateful things every day. You know… if you truly hate me, you don't have to travel with me anymore. I'm not forcing you to stay with someone you can't stand."
"…"Chari remained silent.
"I know I'm not the best trainer, but I still try my best. If you don't want me… well, I can't do anything about it. It's your choice, Chari. Do you wanna be released?" Aurora now looked at Chari and sat on her knees. She looked at the fire type earnestly, waiting for an answer. Chari looked away from her trainer's yellow eyes. Up close, they were unnerving to look at, but she also felt a little guilty.
She knew that Aurora wasn't a bad kid. If anything, it shocked her that Aurora would just willing give her up without hesitation on her own terms. Chari looked hesitant to answer. Aurora smiled sadly and caressed her cheek. Chari looked down at hand with revulsion. Just because she felt guilty, that didn't mean she was going to let her trainer touch her. Aurora yelped as she withdrew her hand away out of reflex. Her Charmander bit her and she could see blood where the bite marks were.
"Ow! Dang it, Chari!" Aurora shook her hand to be rid of the pain. She looked at her hand. This wasn't the first time she bit her. Aurora shook her head again and sighed. Within a few moments, the cut on her hand disappeared. Chari never understood how Aurora could heal herself so easily and quickly.
"(As much as I want to ditch you for the wild, I know I wouldn't make it without you. So, I'm staying… much to my own disgust,)"Chari turned her nose up and away from her trainer. Aurora shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
"Right… Whatever, Chari." Aurora went into her bag and took out a Poke Ball with a blue flame sticker on it. "I'm heading to Lavender Town to train up for Celadon City. I think Fuchsia City is too tough for us right now."
"(Nothing's too tough for me, human! I can trash any gym!)" Chari breathed out a hearty flame to prove her point. Aurora face palmed.
"We still need to train. I don't care how strong you think you are, there's always someone stronger than you." Aurora told the fire type.
"(I don't need to train. Happy and Wasabi needs to train.)" Chari scoffed.
"Even a Raichu's electricity won't do too well with grass. I'm not sure about fairy types though… I gotta look up that matchup." Aurora started to think about when they got to Celadon City. She wondered how Happy would fare there. Only time would tell.
"(So it's a grass type gym we're going against? That's even more reason not to listen to you. I'll incinerate all those grass types!)"
"Not with that attitude, you're not. I'm putting you in your Poke Ball. If you don't like getting dragged, this will make it easier on both of us." Aurora said as she tried to return Chari in her capsule.
Chari immediately jumped away from the red light. Aurora could feel herself getting annoyed. She tried to return Chari a few more times, but Chari skillfully dodged each blast of red light. Then, she used Flamethrower on Aurora. Aurora titled her head to the side to dodge it. Chari once again tried to hit Aurora with Flamethrower, but Aurora grabbed Chari and tossed her in the air. Chari flailed her arms wildly as she plummeted towards the water. She closed her eyes in anticipation. She opened them only to see that the human caught her by her arm and her tail was only inches away from the liquid.
Chari whimpered slightly in fear. She'd never seen Aurora move so quickly. She could feel a dormant anger coming from Aurora, but could tell that Aurora was holding it in for her sake. Aurora placed the lizard down on the ground and looked at her with an indescribable expression. Chari could tell in the ten-year-old's movements that what she did was completely deliberate. Aurora didn't say another word as she moved northward towards Lavender Town.
"(H-hey! Wait for me!)"Chari hustled to meet up with her trainer. Once she made it up to where Aurora was, she asked angrily, "(What was that about?)"
"What was what about?"
"(You know exactly what I'm talking about, human! You almost killed me!)"
"And yet I didn't, did I?"
"(Er… you were going to!)"
"I just wanted to show you could be attacked just as easily as you attacking me." Aurora growled. She could see Chari getting more and more frightened by the moment and started to calm down. "Look, I love you to death, but I wish you'd just accept that love."
"(I don't see or feel any love coming from you, toots. Just hate.)"Chari retorted.
"Is that hate really coming from me? Or is that hate coming from you?" Aurora countered. Chari didn't have a proper response to her trainer, so she decided not to respond. Aurora took off the rope that she had around Chari. Chari looked up at Aurora, confused. Aurora responded to her confusion, "So you don't want to go your Poke Ball. That's fine, I guess. We are walking along a harbor, though, so you best be right by me."
"(I don't have to listen to you, swine!)"
"I know."
"(And you're OK with this?)"
"Whatever makes you happy, Chari…," Aurora replied indifferently.
"(Gah! What's wrong with you?)" Chari crossed her arms.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm tired of the biting comments, snippy attitude and your pompous personality!" Aurora huffed. Chari blinked in surprise. She didn't know what 'pompous' meant, but knew she knew from the way Aurora spoke, it was an insult. Chari was about to say something, but Aurora silenced her by raising her hand. Aurora said nothing else she continued to walk north toward Lavender Town. Wondering what was up with her trainer and wanting to give the rude girl a piece of her mind, Chari decided to follow her.
Eventually, while on route to the dreary city, the duo came across a fisherman to battle. Aurora really didn't feel like battling, but he managed to see her walking past him. Not wanting to be rude, she reluctantly accepted the challenge. As Chari was her walking Pokémon, she decided to let the Lizard Pokémon battle. She didn't know what to expect, but she did want Chari to gain some experience before challenging the Celadon Gym.
"Do you mind it being a three on three battle, little lady?" The fisherman asked her. Aurora nodded, but didn't like the way he called her little lady. She frowned, but decided to show him what this little lady could do.
Aurora pointed right in front of her. "Chari, I choose you!"
Chari crossed her arms and rose her nose up in the air. "(Not in your life. Choose someone else.)"
"Come on, Chari…"
"(Nope.)"
"Chari…"
"(Not happening.)"
At this point, Aurora was visibly irritated. Face-palming, she returned Chari in her Poke Ball before the fire type could react. A few moments later, Chari came out of her ball furiously. She looked ready to attack Aurora with Flamethrower, but remembered what Aurora did in retaliation the first time. If she disarmed her before, what made the second time any different? She didn't want to find out.
Chari glared at her trainer, but made no movement. Instead, she walked over to be beside Aurora, but faced away from her. The fisherman looked confused at her Pokémon not listening to her, but decided not to pay any heed to it. It wasn't any of his business. Aurora sighed and took out a Poke Ball with an electrical sticker in the middle.
"Come on out, Wasabi!" Aurora threw the capsule out and summoned the evolved form of Pikachu. It had a long black tail that morphed into a lightning shape. It was slightly taller and plumper than Pikachu and had an orange and cream fur color scheme. Its tail was slightly dented, indicating that it was a female.
"So a Raichu, huh? No way is it going to beat this!" The fisherman flashed a Poke Ball and threw it towards the water. Out came an elegant water Pokémon with a white and orange color scheme. It had a large horn on its head and looked like it wasn't afraid to use it.
"Goldeen…" Aurora said absently. She took out her Pokédex to gather information on the Pokémon.
It said, 'Goldeen, the Goldfish Pokémon. Its tail fin billows like an elegant ballroom dress, giving it the nickname of the Water Queen. Though it appears very elegant when swimming with fins unfurled, it can jab powerfully with its horn.'
Aurora placed a hand on her chin in thought. She smiled, "Based on Dexter's entry, I'm sure Goldeen will be a good battler. Good luck to you, sir!"
"I don't need luck to beat you little missus." The fisherman said somewhat arrogantly.
"Humph. We'll see about that! Wasabi! Let's show them what you can do!" Aurora said competitively. Wasabi nodded her head and had her fists raised up tentatively. She was excited to battle, but she was a bit shy to say anything. Aurora knew this and nodded her head with respect. "I'll take the first move. Wasabi! Use Shock Wave!"
"Dodge it!"
Wasabi rose her tail in the air. Right above her, electricity started to build up and energy began to surge in her. Goldeen noticed this and hid in the water. With a loud cry, she shot her electricity at the water. Goldeen shrieked in pain under the water. Aurora looked sad while the water type specialist looked distraught. Water and electricity don't mix. A few moments later, Goldeen floated to the surface of the water with swiggly marks in its eyes. Aurora stood on one knee and petted Wasabi on her head. She sighed with content.
The fisherman returned his first Pokémon. He placed it against his head, and then put it back on his belt. He thought, "Wow. The little girl isn't as weak as I thought she would be."
"Sir? Do you wanna continue?" Aurora tilted her head to the side.
"Of course. I gotta ask, though. How'd you train your Raichu to be so strong? Not many people can knock Goldeen out in one hit."
"When I was seven, I met Wasabi as a Pikachu. Before I started my journey, we got strong together while playing in the Mufasa Fields. When I moved to Kanto, I made sure Dad caught her so we could journey together once I got my first actual Pokémon. Once I tuned ten, I knew had to grow stronger with her." Aurora explained. Wasabi started to blush bashfully. She loved Aurora very much and it made her heart dance with happiness to hear her say that. Aurora took out Wasabi's Poke Ball. "You did amazingly, friend. I wanna let everyone have a shot to battle. Take a good rest." Wasabi nodded as she was returned in her Poke Ball.
Aurora took out another Poke Ball with a ribbon tied around it. She threw it up in the air. What was summoned from it was a Pokémon the man had never seen before in his life. It was a quadruped with pink ears and two bows. One bow was attached to its ear and the other, its neck. It had large blue eyes that resembled a pixie's. Each bow had two feelers attached to them for a total of four. He thought it looked kinda cute and really similar to Eevee.
"Who's that Pokémon?" The fisherman asked.
"Meet Happy the Sylveon. Unlike Wasabi, I think I accidently evolved her way too early. I found her as an egg in a hidden grotto in Viridian Forest. She may be an evolved form of Eevee, but she's still very much like a toddler." Aurora explained. Happy perked up to Aurora calling her name. Her tail started to wag vigorously in delight and she started to jump up and down in a carefree way. She was having fun without that much happening. He never heard of anything like this Pokémon, but didn't pay it too much heed.
"How in the world did you evolve your Eevee into that?" The man asked curiously.
"I dunno. Maybe it kinda helps that I'm very affectionate with her. I'm still trying to figure that out myself." Aurora answered honestly.
"(Battle! Battle!)" Happy started to chase her tail around in excitement. Aurora had to get down on her knees and scratch behind her ear in order for her to calm down.
The fisherman scratched his head in slight confusion. He could definitely see why the little girl said that the Sylveon was like a toddler. He had a feeling he'd have an easier time defeating her than he did with the child's Raichu. With a small smirk plastered on his face, he took out another Poke Ball and threw it towards the water. This time, the Pokémon that came out was a large, orange, fish-like Pokémon. It had round, dark eyes, prominent pink lips, and small fangs, as well as a large horn in the center of its forehead.
"Dexter. Tell me what you know about this Pokémon, please." Aurora once again took out her Pokédex to scan the water type. She'd never seen this Pokémon before and it made her curious.
It said, 'Seaking, the Goldfish Pokémon and the evolved form of Goldeen. In the autumn spawning season, they can be seen swimming powerfully up rivers and creeks. In the autumn, they travel up rivers to spawn. In other seasons, they make and live in their own nests. A male's horn is larger than a female's. This Seaking is male.'
"So, I'm going against a Seaking. Happy, make sure you try your best and you should have this battle in the bag." Aurora told the fairy type. She nodded and looked at Seaking with a determined glare.
"Don't count my Seaking out! This time, I'll go first! Use Horn Attack!" The man pointed at Happy to attack.
Seaking nodded as he jumped out of the water to impale Happy with his horn. Happy frowned as she took the brunt of the attack. However, before Seaking could jump back into the water, Happy used her feelers and grabbed the water type by the tail fin. Happy used the rest of her feelers to grab the rest of Seaking's body. Then, she raised the fish in the air and started to spin him around. Happy progressively spun Seaking faster and faster. Ultimately, Happy slammed the fish down on the harbor and kicked him back into the water.
Aurora took advantage of this, "Good stuff, Happy! Now use Quick Attack!" Happy nodded her head and dash around the harbor in a zigzag shape. She didn't have that much room to run, but she would make do with the space she had. Before Seaking could retreat in the water, Happy slammed her body into Seaking. Then, she wrapped her feelers around Seaking's fins and body and kept Seaking in the air. Eventually, for the second time, Happy grunted as once again she threw Seaking down on the harbor hard. Seaking was slightly dazed after the onslaught. Aurora smirked at the opposing trainer's surprise. Seaking jumped enough to make it back on the water.
"Now… Happy use Attract!"
"Keep that thing away with Hydro Pump!"
"Who's to say we need to get close?" Aurora continued to smile. "Happy, you got this! Use your love of jumping!" Aurora cupped her hands together and called out to Happy. Happy created two large hearts with her feelers. She squealed excitedly as she winked and created much smaller hearts around herself, looking to hit Seaking with one of them. Seaking looked at the Sylveon with a determined gaze. He shot a highly pressurized stream of water at Happy. Happy used her feelers to propel herself upward, narrowly avoiding the water type move. She shot the small hearts she formed around herself at Seaking. Seaking looked confused at the hearts surrounding him, but then his eyes became replaced with hearts once they struck. Seaking began to dance around in the water nonchalantly. Happy joined in on Seaking's dancing, but she was legitimately dancing.
Aurora clasped her hands together while the fisherman looked unhappy. He called out to his Pokémon. "Yo, Seaking! Snap outta it!"
Aurora giggled mischievously, "Happy, that's the way! You've put him under your spell. Now, finish this up with Fairy Wind!" Happy expressed disappointment at not being able to dance, but understood what her trainer wanted. She sadly waved goodbye to Seaking and closed her eyes. Blew a pink wind at the fish. Seaking continued to move incoherently as he took the brunt of the attack. He started to scream once the attack took its toll. A few moments later, Happy stopped her attack and opened her eyes again. Seaking laid floating in the water with swirls in his eyes. Happy looked sad and gave the fainted Pokémon a kiss. Seaking recovered slightly and smiled in response. Happy perked up again and started to wag her tail excitedly again.
"(You were super-duper strong! I love super-duper Pokémon! Let's battle again sometime!)"Happy licked Seaking's face.
Seaking was slightly unprepared for Happy's peppiness, but was still happy for her victory. Toddler or not, he had to give credit to strength where strength lied. The fisherman sighed and returned the fainted Seaking back in its Poke Ball. He took out another one from his belt and threw it out in the water. Much to Aurora's surprise, it was another Seaking. However, she could tell that this one was slightly stronger than the Seaking Happy just defeated. She could also tell that the horn was slightly smaller than the previous one.
"Happy… you did an awesome job. Take a long rest," Aurora came and scooped up Happy in her arms. She nuzzled against her. Aurora lightly tapped Happy's ball on her head. Happy flinched slightly in response. The close proximity was enough for the ball to open and engulf the fairy in red light. Within a few seconds, the Sylveon that was in the young girl's arms retreated to her Poke Ball. She looked at the Seaking swimming before her. She didn't know which Pokémon to use.
Seaking looked at Aurora, unimpressed. She then stared eye to eye at Chari. Chari narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion. She didn't like the way that fish was looking at her. Seaking decided to taunt her by shooting a weak water gun near Chari's tail. Chari immediately moved it out of range, but looked angry. Aurora noticed this and smirked. It was clear that Seaking wanted to battle Chari specifically. She didn't know why, but she didn't care why. Without Aurora's permission, Chari stood in front of her trainer, ready to fight the impudent fish. Her tail flame grew slightly hotter with annoyance.
"Read to rumble, Chari?" Aurora asked her partner. Chari crossed her arms and raised her snout up in the air.
"(Humph. I don't need to listen to you to beat this chump.)"Chari waved off Seaking and Aurora. Aurora expected that type of response, but Seaking didn't stand for it.
"(Such arrogance will lead to a pathetically easy match, lizard.)" Seaking retorted. This was a level of sophistication that neither of them expect from her tone. It was oddly conceited, but elegant hearing it from a Seaking. Chari was unimpressed.
"(I don't need to prove anything to you. Nothing you do will phase me!)" Chari answered back and glared at her. Seaking laughed incredulously.
"(As a rancid basic form, I beg to differ, especially since you refuse to obey your trainer's commands.)" Seaking noted.
"Aww… guys, you don't have to say those mean things." Aurora crossed her arms in disappointment. She didn't want to see them bicker on like that.
"(Stay out of this, ya dumb brat!)" Chari growled.
"I don't have to if I don't want to! It's like you love to insult me any time there's room, don't you? Keep in mind that I am your trainer and I can force you to stay in your Poke Ball." Aurora growled back. Chari looked surprised, but scoffed at the statement. She hasn't been able to do it before. What makes now different of all times? Still, she could hear a new air of seriousness in her trainer's tone. Chari decided to call her trainer's bluff.
"(Heh, you wish.)"Chari snorted. Aurora gave her a face that said: 'Try me'. She concentrated and placed her fingers against her temples. The fisherman looked at the girl in concern. He was wondering if she was hurting. Even though he didn't know her, he didn't want her to get hurt. Although… he didn't know how she was hurting.
He raised a finger in questioning, "Uh… little girl? Are you alright?"
"Don't… worry." Aurora strained to say. With enough concentration, she had access to what she was looking for.
"Chari, I'm not as normal as I appear. Speaking with Pokémon isn't the only thing I can do that's special. I really can keep you trapped if I want, but I choose not to. I don't want to be mean or unfair towards you." Aurora said to the lizard telepathically. Chari heard her trainer's voice echo in her mind and slightly panicked. She looked at Aurora, unsure if she actually heard Aurora in her head. Aurora was still concentrating, so she had a feeling this was actually real.
"(Wha? How'd you get in my thoughts, human?)" Chari asked with a hesitant voice. She still wasn't sure if she was hallucinating. She heard Aurora immediately respond.
"That's not important. For now, please be a little more respectful to me and to Seaking. I really don't want to keep you in your ball, but I will if I need to." Aurora continued. Chari looked at Aurora with slightly more deference than before. She glanced at Aurora and made a curt nod. Aurora still had her eyes closed, so she didn't see the small gesture. It was unlike her to regard her trainer respectfully and she was glad that her trainer couldn't see her.
"(Fine. I'll be more respectful… but only for this battle. Tell me what to do and I'll do it… if only not to be forced in my ball. Don't expect this to happen again…)"Chari said in a low growl. She didn't want to find out how Aurora would keep her in her Poke Ball, but she wasn't particularly willing to find out. Aurora opened her eyes and gleamed. She gave Chari a large hug. The Charmander, not used to the contact, didn't know what to make of it. Confusion was etched on her face. Then, anger. She used Flamethrower when she recovered her bearings. Aurora coughed a little at the fire, but it didn't burn her as bad as previous Flamethrowers. Aurora continued to smile happily, but knew what her partner wanted. She let go of her and Chari stood right in front of her, waiting to battle.
"(Just because I'll be a little more respectful, that doesn't mean I'll allow you to touch me, brat!)"Chari said angrily.
Aurora laughed, but nodded her head in understanding. "Right."
"Oi! Little girl, you can understand Pokémon?" The fisherman asked. Aurora confirmed it with a nod.
"A little…" Aurora replied. The fisherman seemed to be impressed and satisfied with the response while Chari hid a snort. Chari wondered why Aurora lied to the man considering how fluent she actually was. Aurora turned to her starter, "Chari! Let's give them what we've got. Let's show off your battling prowess!" Aurora curled her fist in determination. Chari crossed her arms indifferently. Aurora expected as much. She had a rare opportunity and she wasn't going to waste it.
Aurora continued, "I'll take the first move. Chari! Power yourself up using Dragon Dance."
Chari nodded. Pressing her fists together, Chari surrounded herself with dragon-like aura while dancing somewhat. Seaking tried to interrupt Chari, but the fire type turned Seaking's distractions into more dance moves. Seaking jumped in and out of the water to impale Chari with her horn and every time the first came close, the lizard dodged it beautifully. Soon, everyone could see Chari's speed increasing the more she dodged.
The man called out, "Seaking! Use Hydro Pump on the harbor to make it harder for that Charmander to move around!"
The Seaking complied by using shooting out a large pressure of water on the wooden pathway. Soon, the entire area they were battling on was soaking wet. Chari hated water with a burning passion. It simply wouldn't do if she was standing in a watery field. Chari looked at Aurora for a command. As much as she wanted to act on her own accord, there were two reasons she decided to listen to Aurora for this particular battle. The first was because she was a Pokémon of her word and she would abide by what she said she would do. The second? Since she was by water, she was afraid that her tail flame would go out. She didn't trust Aurora, but forced herself to trust the girl in order to stay focused.
Aurora thought of her options. She could get rid of the water, but she'd also burn the bridge down. So, she decided on something else, "Chari! Jump high in the air!" Chari complied by bouncing into the sky. She had a good aerial over everyone involved in the fight. Aurora smirked, "Now use Flamethrower to force Seaking out of the water. Make it boiling hot!"
Chari smiled at her trainer. She liked the idea. Her tail flame grew slightly in size as she released an explosion of flames from her mouth. She aimed specifically for the water. Soon, the usually stagnant water started to bubble up like a hot tub. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, Seaking yelped as she jumped out of the water to escape the scalding water. Chari started to descend towards the ascending Seaking. They both glared at each other.
"Seaking, use Horn Attack!" The fisherman seized the opportunity.
"Chari, swipe her down with Dragon Claw!" Aurora said with conviction. The Pokémon moved closer and closer to each other, looking to hit the other with their move. Seaking managed to impale Chari with her horn, but that wasn't enough to deter the fire type. With a growl, Chari used her now glowing blue claws to scratch the Seaking's back. Seaking wailed in agony as she was knocked on the bridge Chari landed right in front of her. Aurora decided to continue her assault, "Follow it up with Slash!"
Chari's claws stopped glowing blue, but instead grew a little wider. She attacked the Seaking once again, but this time knocked her back in the water in purpose. Seaking was panting heavily but Chari looked like she didn't even break a sweat. The way Chari was standing let Aurora know what she needed to do next, "Chari! Let's finish this with Dragon Rush!"
Chari channeled all her energy to create a dragon like aura around herself. With a mighty growl, she slammed her body into the fatigued Seaking. The force was enough to knock the fish toward her trainer's body. The fisherman yelped in surprise as he was knocked into the water himself. Seaking had fainted and her trainer was clearly shell-shocked. Aurora happily approached Chari, but made sure she didn't hug her. She made her hand level with Chari to try to let her 'high-five' with her. Chari looked at her trainer, then knocked the hand back with her tail. Shrugging her shoulders, she picked up the reluctant Charmander from the ground. Chari looked like she was going to bite her again. Indeed, that's exactly what she did. Aurora flinched slightly in pain and noticed the blood oozing from her index finger. Unlike the first time, Aurora made no effort in healing it. Chari looked at her trainer in surprise. Aurora went into her bag and took out a bandage to wrap around her finger.
"I know you don't like me near you, but you did an excellent job. See? We can make a good team if we work together." Aurora gave a small smile. Chari looked away from her defiantly.
"(Whatever. I only followed your instructions because I'm a Charmander of my word. You also owe me a bit of an explanation. How can you get into my mind?)" Chari asked in an accusatory voice. Aurora put the fire type down and tapped her fingers nervously.
"Well… there are things I can tell you when no one else is here. Mom and Dad told me to keep it secret, but I guess I can tell you later tonight. Deal?" Aurora said. Chari crossed her arms, but eventually relented. She made a small nod in agreement.
"Well slap my luck and call me Magikarp. You're pretty good, little girl! What's your name, anyway?" The fisherman climbed out of the water. He asked the question once he was sitting down on crossed legged on the harbor. All in the while, he was trying to knock some of the water out of his ears. Aurora giggled anxiously.
"Uh… My name?" Aurora echoed the fisherman's question.
"Yeah. Don't be shy!" The other trainer encouraged.
"M-my name is… Aurora." Aurora answered and placed her hand outward to shake. The fisherman accepted the gesture, but lightly shook it in return. Then, he got himself back up completely and looked down her with admiration. Chari was confused at Aurora's answer. Why was she so hesitant to answer? Aurora was acting weirder than normal and it really freaked out the basic form of Charizard. It wasn't enough for the fisherman to notice, but it was enough for Chari to see.
"Aurora, it was nice battlin' ya." The male adult acknowledged her.
The little girl nodded her head and regarded the older trainer with a smile. Waving her hands goodbye, Aurora said farewell to the soaking fisherman. They started to walk north again to Lavender Town once again. They could see the dreary town coming up within their line of sight. Chari eyed her trainer suspiciously. Just how much was the ten-year-old trainer hiding from her? She was determined to find out. Who knows? Maybe it was something really dangerous. The thought made her giddy, but slightly scared at the same time.
Upon entering the city, Aurora decided to rest up at the Pokémon Center. She gave her two Poke Balls and Chari to the nurse and awaited the pink haired lady's return. Although they battled, she knew that her Pokémon weren't particularly tired. Still, she didn't want to over exert them too much. She spent the rest of the day exploring the town while her Pokémon healed. She viewed the Pokémon Tower, but decided not to go into it without her Pokémon. She did take a sneak peek and saw some of the Pokémon graves. She had a hollow feeling when she saw them; she was never fond of Pokémon death and it made her think of her own friends. She didn't want anything to happen to them.
She also visited Mr. Fuji's house and saw some of the people who cared for Pokémon there. She wondered where the somewhat middle aged man was, but decided it wasn't important. She could tell that even though it was a small town, the community was intermingled with each other well. It reminded her of Shingetsu Town. She was sad that she had to move away from it when she was seven, but wanted to go back there someday.
It was also in this time that Aurora decided to heal the bite mark on her finger. She took off the bandage and could see the blood stained mark on it. She sighed and looked up at the sky. She felt happy, but at the same time, sad. Lavender Town had that effect on most people. She was also starting to feel lonely without her Pokémon. As much as she wanted to explore the city more, she rather would be with her Pokémon than wander the streets alone.
Eventually, it started to get dark and Aurora decided to go back into the Pokémon Center. She came just in time, too; Nurse Joy had just brought out the kart containing two Poke Balls and Chari.
Chari jumped off from the kart, stood beside Aurora, and crossed her arms. Aurora sweat-dropped slightly and gave Nurse Joy an apologizing look, but Nurse Joy didn't mind it.
"Your Pokémon are now fully healed. Please stop by again!" Joy said. Aurora nodded and put the two Poke Balls in her bag. Aurora then went into the back to rest. She did a good bit of walking and was starting to feel its effects.
Later at night, Chari was sleeping soundly near Aurora's bag. Chari was sleeping on the nightstand right beside the bed. If she wanted to, she could touch Aurora's head unwittingly. However, when she subconsciously moved her claws towards Aurora's bed, she didn't feel anything. All she could feel was the pillow. She felt something was off. Opening her eyes lazily, she looked at the bed adjacent to her. Her vision was still somewhat blurry. When it completely cleared, she noticed that her trainer was gone. Puzzled, she wondered where the little girl went. She jumped off the bed, but noticed something on the floor. She picked it up and sniffed it. She recognized the scent.
It was her favorite Pokémon food in pellet form.
Chari ate it and the flavors melted in her mouth instantly. She smiled with ecstasy. It was her favorite flavor: roasted Tauros. She noticed a trail of them leaving the room. Since Aurora was the only person who knew her favorite food, she knew Aurora must have left the trail for her to follow. One by one, the Charmander picked up a Pokémon pellet and ate it. She noticed that the trail continued out of the Pokémon Center and into town. She started to walk into town at night.
Lavender Town was significant creepier at night. The town seemed to be fogging up the more she walked through it. Chari heard from Aurora that Lavender Town was known to be haunted, but she didn't really take her seriously. Now, she regretted not listening. She wondered how many ghost type Pokémon was messing with her at the moment. Whatever they were doing, it was working. She wanted to be out of the town as soon as possible. She decided to continue following Aurora's Pokémon food trail. It was the only thing she thought to do at the moment.
Soon, Chari got out of the fog-filled city, but not without hearing eerie cackling. She looked back at the entrance of the town and shivered. She hated ghost types. She noticed she was back at Silence Bridge and that the trail was growing thin. The fire type also noticed that there weren't any humans on the bridge. She figured they all went to bed. She started to see something very peculiar the further she walked. She started to see sparks in the air, but it wasn't regular electrical sparks. It was made out of pure energy. Then, she started to see small embers of pure energy in the sky as well. She looked down to see what was making the attacks. To her surprise, it was Aurora.
Aurora cupped her hands together and those same sparks Chari saw in the sky was now in the girl's hands. The sparks started to formulate into something more defined. It looked like it was turning into a sphere. However, the sphere started to become unorganized and Aurora started to panic. Squeaking slightly, Aurora shot the incomplete sphere in the air and it formed back into sparks. It looked like mini fireworks, but Chari could tell Aurora was frustrated.
"Ugh! Why can't I get that right?!" Aurora roared in frustration. She curled her fists tightly and steam started to come out of them. "I can heal a simple cut on my finger, but I can't make a stupid aura sphere! What kind of a guardian am I?"
"(You're… a guardian? Like… an aura guardian?)" Chari spoke up. Aurora gasped upon hearing Chari's voice, then turned around to see her Charmander wide-eyed. Chari had an indescribable expression on her face. She didn't know what to think. She asked angrily, "(Why? Why haven't you told me yet, human?)"
"Mommy and Daddy told me to keep it a secret, but to keep developing my powers. I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure how you would take it. I know you're traveling with me, but some of the words you say really does hurt me. People tend to treat aura guardians like freaks of nature and I didn't want to be treated like one. I was afraid you'd treat me worse. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, Chari." Aurora looked down sadly. Chari widened her eyes. She didn't realize how much she had hurt Aurora. Aurora had tough skin. Whenever she answered back, she didn't think that Aurora was getting hurt by her. She also didn't realize how similar they were. She had that same fear of being considered a freak.
"(I'm… sorry, too. I… I understand the need to hide something for a reason like that. You don't need to say sorry to me.)" Chari said while looking away. Her eyes were glistening slightly. Aurora hummed slightly with understanding. Chari knew high level moves and egg moves. However, to get those moves were absolutely atrocious. Chari felt like she was an oddity with every step she took because she wasn't like other lower leveled Charmanders. She didn't develop the same way. Aurora figured out that much when they first started their journey together. Aurora wondered why Chari had red eyes, but didn't want to put pressure on Chari to tell her something she didn't want to say.
"I had a feeling you'd wake up when you couldn't feel me, so I left a trail for you. I didn't expect you to come so soon, though; it's only around midnight. Late at night when no one else is around, I train my powers. I've gotten pretty good with self-healing," Aurora continued.
"(This explains so much… You're the one who prevented me from burning the rope and biting through it.)" Chari realized. Aurora nodded and her hands started to glow yellow. Chari started to feel something odd. She felt something unlocking inside her. Her tail flame blazing, she felt the urge to show off her power. She used a powerful Flamethrower in the air and she noticed its reach was longer.
"I did, but I had to get a better rope to do that. With your fire being unable to burn the rope… I'm think it was because we don't have as good as a connection as we could have. I can feel our connection getting stronger now that we both made ourselves a little more vulnerable." Aurora told the fire type. Chari started to ignore her after she said 'burn'. Chari felt amazing. She'd never created a Flamethrower of such a strength before. However, when Aurora's hands stopped glowing yellow, Chari noticed that her Flamethrower was back to normal. She also noticed that Aurora was panting slightly.
"(Yo, brat. Are you ok?)"
"I'm fine. Chari… you actually care about me?"
"(Er… nuh-uh! I'm afraid of not getting fed! You're the only one who knows what I like.)"
"True… but you did just follow a trail of Pokémon food left by me." Aurora made a mischievous smirk. Chari bared her teeth at her. Aurora raised her hands in mock defeat, but continued to snicker at Chari's slip up. Chari crossed her arms with annoyance and decided to change the subject.
"(Do you still have that bite mark on your finger?)" Chari asked. Aurora answered her question by showing her Pokémon the finger she'd bitten in the previous day. It looked as if nothing happened to it. Chari was astonished. Her mother had told her about aura guardians, but she never thought her trainer would end up being one.
"I'm an advanced novice, though. When I'm able to create an actual attack other than aura sparks, that's when I'll be able to progress in my goal. I can't get a stupid sphere right and it's so frustrating!" Aurora cupped her hands again.
Aurora once again tried again to make an aura sphere. Sparks started to fly as Aurora tried to concentrate all her energy into her hands again. However, this time, a ball failed to form. It was wilder than before and Aurora panicked. She shot the sparks of energy at the water. It sounded like it hit something, but they couldn't tell what it was in the low light. Soon after she did that, they noticed the normally calm water bubbling. The bubbles started to increase. Then, a twenty-one-foot-tall blue serpent like Pokémon emerged from the depths. Its mouth was gaping wide. Its red eyes were seemingly glowing at them in anger. Its whiskers were blue, so Aurora could tell that it was a male one.
Aurora and Chari started to step back slowly and sweat-dropped. He took the movement as a sign of aggression. He made the conclusion that Chari was the one who attacked him while he was sleeping. As retaliation, the Gyarados opened his mouth wide and made a lunge towards Chari. Aurora noticed this and stood right in front of her with her arms right in front of her. However, the water type was not interested in the human girl and tossed her aside with his tail. Aurora grunted as she was knocked further onto the bridge and away from her partner. He once again made an attempt at Chari's head. Chari started to run for her life, but not without giving Aurora a hateful glare.
"(You idiot! Look what you've done! Now I'm going to be that guy's meal!)" Chari screeched at Aurora. She tried to defend herself the best way she could. She used Dragon Rage on the water type, but it looked like it didn't do that much. Leave it to their luck that they were dealing with a higher leveled irate Gyarados.
"(DIE FOR YOUR IMPUDENCE, LOWLY WORM!)"Gyarados roared as he tried once again to consume the Charmander. Chari narrowly missed Gyarados's jaws. The water type thrashing about caused the water to become more wild and frenzied. Chari held her tail up in concern. She didn't want her tail flame to go out. With the water splashing about, it seemed increasingly likely. Gyarados gingerly grabbed a hold of Chari's tail with two of his fangs while she was distracted. The fangs themselves were as large as Chari. Chari was inches away from being eaten and she closed her eyes, petrified of what was going to happen next.
"Leave her alone! She did nothing to you, you big meanie! I did it! I attacked you, but I swear didn't mean it to!" Aurora yelled at the rampaging serpent. She had her fists curled up pure anger and ran back towards Chari. Gyarados looked incredulously at the little girl. He started to laugh in her face.
"(A HUMAN POSSESSING THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND POKEMON IS ABSURD, BUT NOT IMPROBABLE. LYING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. BOTH OF YOU SHALL PERISH!)" Gyarados now made lunged at Aurora, but Aurora closed her eyes. Chari thought Aurora was a crazy fool sacrificing herself, but noticed that Aurora's fists were glowing yellow. Then, Gyarados bounced off a few feet away from Aurora when he came close enough.
Aurora had created a small aura barrier around herself. Since she was just a novice, it broke immediately when the water and flying type made contact. Slightly dazed, he threw Chari off from his teeth. She sailed high into the air. Aurora noticed the confusion and decided to take advantage of it. She ran as fast as she could to catch Chari. With a running start, Aurora leaped to catch the Lizard Pokémon. Chari was about to land in the water, but Aurora wasn't going to stand for it. At the last second, Aurora extended her arms as far as she could without touching the water and caught Chari.
Aurora landed on the wooden bridge on her stomach and looked at Chari worriedly. Her tail was mere inches away from the raging water. She'd never seen Chari so scared in her life and it was all her fault. She'd make it up to her. That was something she promised herself. Chari was paralyzed with fear. It took her a few moments to realize that Aurora managed to catch her before she met her doom.
Chari was completely flabbergasted. Why in the world would her trainer try to save her even after all the harsh things she said to her? Aurora got up from the ground and continued to hold Chari close. She glared at the Gyarados. Gyarados didn't like the boldness emanating from the human imp.
Gyarados once again plunged towards Aurora and Chari. Holding onto her first Pokémon tightly, Aurora leaped into the air. She jumped at least five feet in the air. Aurora landed on Gyarados's lower back. She started to climb up the Gyarados with one hand while holding Chari with the other. Aurora looked down on Chari with a look that seemed to convey: 'Trust me.' Chari decided to confide in that trust.
Chari climbed on Aurora's back, but held on to the top hem of Aurora's dress tightly. Eventually, they reached the top of the gargantuan Pokémon. Aurora smirked deviously as she grabbed on the horns and pulled it back. The water type was unprepared for the strength that little body possessed. Aurora pulled Gyarados back and forward repeatedly. The serpentine couldn't control his movement patterns because Aurora overrode him. He knew of only one type of human that could do this face to face and he dreaded going against one.
"(YOU'RE AN AURA GUARDIAN, AREN'T YOU? NO REGULAR HUMAN CAN POSSESS THIS MUCH STRENGTH, ESPECIALLY ONE OF YOUR STATURE. LET GO OF ME!)"Gyarados figured out. Even an aura guardian child was proving to be trouble. His head was starting to hurt from the constant tugging. He was not going to be done in by a measly human.
"Gyarados! We mean you no harm. I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not letting you hurt my friend, either! Please calm down!" Aurora pleaded. Chari was surprised that Aurora considered her to be her friend. Chari honestly thought she was more of a nuisance than a friend, but felt touched her trainer felt that way about her. Aurora mustered as much strength as she possible could to restrain the resisting Gyarados. Aurora pulled up Gyarados's horns to try keeping him still, but was struggling to.
"(INSOLENT SWINE! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!)" Gyarados screeched.
With a surge of strength, Gyarados propelled his head forward instead of back to counter Aurora when she was going forward. The confusion was enough to knock Aurora and Chari forward. They fell towards the water. With a bit of quick thinking, Aurora coarsely grabbed Chari off her back and threw her away from her and towards the bridge. Aurora fell twenty feet from the air in the cold water head first while Chari was thrown onto the bridge. Chari took a few moments to recover her ground before getting up. She looked down at the water and noticed that nothing was coming up. Chari was thoroughly disturbed. Why wasn't she coming up?
Chari started to search in the surface of the water desperately for any signs of her trainer, but to no avail. Chari looked completely distraught as she started to accept what happened to Aurora. Growling, she curled her fists in anger at Gyarados.
Chari roared bitterly. Gyarados showed no remorse, but instead tried to attack Chari from behind with Hyper Beam. With new resolve, the Charmander leaped into the air and dodged the attack easily. Then, she made her body engulfed in dragon-like aura as she tackled into the full evolved water type. Gyarados was not expecting with kind of strength coming from a measly Charmander. Gyarados landed in the water with a big splash. Chari had to jump up to avoid the water getting on her tail.
She noticed that Gyarados flinched from the effects of Dragon Rush. She decided it was the perfect opportunity to power herself up. She started to elegantly dance around with dragon-like aura surrounding her. She felt her strength and speed increase with every dance move she made. Eventually, Chari roared triumphantly, knowing that the Dragon Dance did its work.
Chari readied a Flamethrower in her mouth, but Gyarados recovered from his flinching. Angered, he shot a high pressure of water at Chari. Chari shot her Flamethrower at the water type. The two attacks clashed. Almost immediately, the Hydro Pump started to overpower Flamethrower. Chari stood her ground as she poured in all of her energy into the one attack. Chari's tail flame started to expand to be her height and the Flamethrower started to push back slightly. Unfortunately for the Lizard Pokémon, the Hydro Pump was still closer to her than the Flamethrower was to Gyarados.
Gyarados roared even louder. The Hydro Pump started to push forward once again towards Chari and there wasn't a single thing she could do able about it. She wasn't going to go down like this. She was not going to allow it. With a desperate yell, Chari channeled all of her energy from within. She started to glow a white light. That light consumed her body whole.
She started to grow taller. Her scales became more reddish and she developed a horn on her head. Her claws also grew in size, her tail got longer and she had a sharper gaze to her. Her tail flame was now orangey-white instead of reddish-orange. All in the while, the Flamethrower itself seemed to get even stronger. It was no longer getting pushed back. It was at a standstill with Gyarados's water type attack. When the white light dissipated. Chari widened her eyes in amazement, but she had no time to check herself out. Chari was no longer a Charmander. Chari was now a Charmeleon.
Out of all the times to evolve, she thanked Arceus he decided now was the right time. Gyarados grunted with irritation. Why won't this little pest get killed already? Even though she was now stronger, she could feel the constant use of Flamethrower starting to take a toll on her. Gyarados didn't look like he was fatigued at all. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out. She stood on one knee in fatigue while still pumping out flames. She wouldn't give up until the bitter end. For her sake and Aurora's.
Chari's body started to glow yellow. She gathered enough strength to stand upright once again. She could feel an outside force pumping energy into her. Her Flamethrower grew more and more powerful and even started to change color. The color changed from orangey-red to yellowish-white. Chari recognized the outside feeling she was experiencing. She experienced it briefly before they disturbed Gyarados. She almost teared up at what she saw opposite to her.
Aurora was panting heavily with her hands out. She was on her knees and had her hands shaking heavily. She was dripping wet and shivering slightly, but she was trying her best to help out the struggling fire type. The two 'z' like marks on her face were glowing the same color as her hands. Aurora gave Chari a small smile and a slight thumbs-up. Fortunately for them, Gyarados didn't notice Aurora right behind him. He was too busy focusing on Chari.
Chari felt relieved seeing her trainer. She felt a new resolve swell up inside her. Her flame once again became just as tall as she was. Her flames expanded and started to push through the Hydro Pump. Gyarados gasped in complete surprise at seeing the fire type attack breaking through. The aura around Chari started to become stronger and Aurora's hands started to glow more furiously. With a joint yell, Chari and Aurora combined their energies to finally overcome Gyarados's attack. The fully evolved Pokémon got hit by the powerful special move, despite being resistant to fire types. Chari felt Aurora's presence leave her and the full weight of her tiredness started to affect her. She stood on her knees and had her front claws on the bridge, panting.
In the corner of her eye, she could see Aurora curling her hands together. However, instead of trying to create an aura sphere, she created more aura sparks. This time, she shot the aura sparks at Gyarados deliberately. Gyarados screamed in pain and was knocked back by the young aura guardian. He wouldn't give in, though. He was still pissed off that they attacked him while he was sleeping.
Aurora ran to be right beside Chari. She got on her knees and inspected Chari. She was wheezing heavily, coughing out some smoke, but otherwise looked OK. Aurora felt relived. Aurora went into the front pocket of her dress and took out an Oran Berry to give to Chari. Chari looked at the berry, then at Aurora. She took the berry hesitantly and ate it. The Charmeleon felt some of her strength returning. Chari got up from the ground to continue to fight. She gave the water type a defiant glare. Aurora also stood up. Trainer and Pokémon stood side by side with an air of strength that the water type did not pick up before. They knew what they needed to do to defeat or at least scare away the raging water type.
"Chari… I've got a plan, but I need your best. Can you please listen to me?" Aurora implored the newly evolved fire type.
"(Humph. I have no reason not to listen to you, hum- er… Aurora. Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it.)" Chari said obediently. Aurora widened her eyes at her partner calling her by her actual name. Tears started to well up in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.
"(I WILL DESTROY BOTH OF YOU FOR DISTURBING MY SLUMBER!)" Gyarados yelled. He charged up a powerful beam of energy in his mouth. They both recognized the attack: Hyper Beam. Aurora, despite being dripping wet in cold water, was not phased. She wondered what was wrong with her. She should be scared out of her wits and yet she was calm. She guessed it was because Chari was standing at her side, looking at her confidently. That confident look inspired her to keep going.
"Chari, I don't want to hurt Gyarados, but we've got to show him we mean business. Now that you've evolved, we can kick his butt a lot easier working together. Jump above him and use Dragon Dance!" Aurora said with a smile. Chari smirked as well. She started to dance while approaching the angry water type. Finally done charging, he shot a huge energy of light at the Charmeleon. Chari jumped over the attack while simultaneously dancing. Chari's attack stat was stronger and her speed was now doubled of what it had been before. Chari landed on Gyarados's back. Just like before, Gyarados tried to force her off his back, but Chari had a tight grasp on.
"Chari! Let's do this! Use Dragon Claw and keep up the pressure! I'll attack with you." Aurora curled her hands together and created more sparks from her hands. Chari complied with her trainer's wishes. The Charmeleon's large claws started to glow blue. Chari began to rake the Gyarados's back with her claws repeatedly. With the Dragon Dances and her newfound strength through the evolution, the Dragon Claw did a devastating amount of damage. Aurora opened her hands and released the sparks she was building. Gyarados closed his eyes in agony from the assault. He could feel himself getting weak from all the attacks.
"Chari! Get off of Gyarados and come back by me. Whatever you do, cover your ears!" Aurora commanded. Chari looked slightly puzzled, but jumped off the weakened Gyarados anyway. Chari stood right beside her partner and covered her ears.
Aurora took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs. It felt as if she was using Supersonic on Gyarados. Whatever she was doing, it had a desirable effect. Gyarados was starting to get confused. He started to hit himself with his tail and also bite himself. Even though her ears were covered, Chari struggled not to get confused as well. She looked at Aurora with astonishment. When was she able to do that and why hadn't she been able to do it before? It would have been useful to do that earlier on, in her opinion. She figured Aurora was too occupied trying to protect her to try before.
Aurora stopped screaming and pointed to the water type. "Chari, we need to finish him off now! Wrap this up with Dragon Rush!" Chari punched her fists together as a dragon-like silhouette overtook her form and made itself more prominent. Chari slammed her entire body into the water and flying type. The force was enough to knock Gyarados down with a big splash. Chari bounced off the dragon-like Pokémon, satisfied.
The Gyarados lied still in the water with swirly marks for eyes. It was finally done. Chari blew her flames in the air in triumph.
Meanwhile, Aurora looked sad. The 'z' shaped marks on her face stopped glowing and she hobbled over to the fainted Pokémon. Chari was confused at the action. Aurora stood over Gyarados and she touched his scales. She closed her eyes and her marks once again started to glow. Gyarados's body started to glow., too.
Aurora felt her strength drain out of her as she poured her energy into him. Aurora fell on her knees panting when her work was done. Chari looked confused at first, then widened her eyes in fear. She noticed the Gyarados rising unsteadily from the water and looking at Aurora with an unreadable expression. Chari stood in front of her weakened trainer and growled at the water type. Gyarados lowered his head to Aurora's level. She was slightly alarmed at first, but immediately realized his intentions. She got up from the wooden harbor shakily and petted Gyarados's head.
"You've… finally understood… what you wouldn't listen to the first time. I'm… sorry for disturbing you." Aurora said in a raspy voice.
She was starting to feel an intense burning sensation stirring deep inside her. It was eating her out in agony. She was afraid of using too much aura, but she didn't mind doing it to help out Pokémon. Gyarados's red eyes looked into Aurora's yellow ones. Aurora started to pet behind Gyarados's horns and he started to sigh in content. Chari stared at the scene in awe. She never imagined seeing any human child petting a wild Gyarados without any fear. She noticed that she was clutching her stomach with her other hand.
"(You… I'm… sorry for attacking you. Why did you use Heal Pulse on me? Even after all things I did to you two, you decided to heal me...)" Gyarados spoke softly. Since he was so large, he had to speak this tenderly.
"I… bear no ill will towards you, Gyarados. I… wanted… to let you know how I felt. I… wanted… to let you know that I wanted you to be OK. I really… didn't want to attack you, but… you gave me no choice. I'm… glad you've calmed down now." Aurora told the water type while continuing to pet him. Aurora started to stumble, but Chari helped to keep her up, "I… feel…ugh…"
"(Easy there. You've tired yourself out. Do all aura guardians have the ability to use Pokémon moves? There was no way that wasn't Supersonic you used to confuse Gyarados or Heal Pulse to heal him...)" Chari asked.
"Heh. Guardians emulate Pokémon moves using the aura inside and around them. I can't use actual attacking moves yet. What you saw just now… I've gotten pretty good with non-attacking moves because of my mom. I'm still awake because of the two marks on my face… and another side of me that hasn't come out to see you so far. That's a story for another time." Aurora coughed slightly.
Chari tilted her head slightly in confusion. She looked closer at her trainer and noticed that there was a slight red gleam in her eyes. It only happened for a split second, but it was enough for Chari to notice. Aurora had a small smirk on her face that was uncharacteristic of her. It looked teasing… even slightly taunting. Aurora stopped smirking and started to smile like she normally smiled. Something told the lizard she would meet Aurora's other side soon enough.
"(Your name… Aurora…)" Gyarados rose his head and now was looking down at the girl.
"Yes?"
"(May I come with you on your journey?)"
"What?" Aurora was caught off guard by the question.
"(I can see you are a strong trainer. I can tell I'll grow a lot stronger with you, especially if a newly evolved Charmeleon can defeat me.)" Gyarados noted. Chari crossed her arms and puffed out some smoke. She could tell that the Gyarados had some arrogance. She liked that. Maybe he wouldn't be that bad of an addition to the team.
"She had some help to defeat you, but thank you for the compliment." Aurora winked at the serpent. "I would catch you, but I don't have my bag right now. I definitely don't mind having you a part of the team. Give me some time to get my bag. Chari, do you mind staying here to keep Gyarados company?"
"(Humph. I guess not.)" Chari shrugged her shoulders. She didn't expect Aurora to return soon, so she was slightly indifferent.
"Thanks…" Aurora gave Chari small kiss on the cheek. Chari growled and used Flamethrower on Aurora. Aurora's face got burnt and she coughed up a puff of smoke. The attack was enough to knock Aurora on the ground. Chari's Flamethrower got a lot stronger. Aurora herself had small swirly marks on her eyes as she said, "Wow, Chari, you sure pack a powerful punch as a Charmeleon..."
"(Don't touch me. I may respect you a lot more now, but it's gonna take some time for me to allow you to touch me, Aurora.)" Chari snorted.
"You're calling me by my name!" Aurora sang happily. "That's a hurdle I'm glad we've jumped over. I can't wait to jump over some more with you."
Aurora got up from the ground and made sure she could stand on her own. Aurora waved off the two of them as she went back into Lavender Town to get her bag. Chari and Gyarados stood there together, somewhat awkwardly. They stood together with a tense silence. Even though Aurora accepted Gyarados easily, Chari was still on the fence about Gyarados almost killing them. Angry or not, he didn't have to do that. Chari glared at Gyarados and Gyarados glared back. They could feel a rivalry stirring up between them. However, when they heard someone coming, they stopped looking at each other.
Before the two dragon-like Pokémon could think straight, Aurora came back beaming excitedly. They both sweat-dropped at the girl's speed. She rummaged through her bag and took out some stickers. She took out a teardrop shaped sticker and put it on a vacant Poke Ball. She then presented her work to the fully evolved Pokémon. Gyarados looked slightly confused. Aurora was hesitating on trying to catch him, but she was extremely excited.
"(It's almost as if she isn't tired.)" Gyarados thought to himself and eyed Aurora with interest.
"Honestly, I actually am very tired. I'm just running on excitement and adrenaline at the thought of adding a new friend! Not… sure… when… it's… all… gonna... go…" Aurora started to feel very tipsy. Just as she said it, she could feel the strength draining out of her legs. She was sweating and although she wasn't using her aura, she was still burning from the inside. She clutched her stomach in pain. She went into her bag again and took out another Oran Berry. She made sure she ate it so she could feel somewhat decent. Chari and Gyarados looked at the young girl somewhat worried.
Chari, surprising both herself and Aurora, helped Aurora up. Now that Chari was about the same height as Aurora, it was an easy task. Chari and Aurora both stood at about four and a half feet, but that was incredibly tall for a non-giant Charmeleon. Chari looked at Aurora worriedly. Gyarados didn't have time to ponder on how she was able to hear his thought; he was more worried about Aurora's health. He wondered why he would care since he barely knew her.
"I'm… I'm fine guys. That little sprint cost me the rest of my remaining energy. Now that you've both seen that I'm a guardian, I won't have to hide things like this anymore. I'm so happy…" Aurora let herself off Chari and tried to stand on her own. Even with the Oran Berry, she found that it was a hard task, but she made sure neither Pokémon could notice. She turned to regard Gyarados, "Now… Gyarados… what would you like me to call you by?"
"(What? Are you serious?)" The water type widened his eyes.
"Of course! I give every new friend I make a chance to tell me the name they want me to call them. I feel like it should be the Pokémon's choice, not mine, especially since I don't feel like I own any of you. I just train, love and care for you," Aurora told the large Pokémon with a smile.
"(My… name…?)" Gyarados's voice reverberated softly in the nightly breeze. Aurora and Chari almost didn't hear the serpent. Gyarados didn't know what he wanted to call himself. It took him a few moments to realize what he wanted. "(Aurora… can I be called Ryuu?)"
"Ryuu?" Aurora ricocheted the name back at the serpent. She found herself smiling. She liked the sound of it.
"(Yes. My father gave me the nickname before he was caught by a trainer when I was a Magikarp. I feel as though this would be a memento to him.)"
"You know, you're the second friend I've met that's had a reason somewhat similar to that. So you wanna be called Ryuu. That's fine by me. All right, then. Go Poké Ball!" Aurora threw the teardrop Poké Ball at the male Pokémon. Gyarados flinched slightly at the ball's touch. Then, the capsule opened and whisked Gyarados inside in a red light. The ball landed in Aurora's hands. Chari and her trainer watched anxiously as the ball started to move back and forward. Aurora smiled and looked at Chari for a brief second. Chari looked away from her trainer, but knew she had been talking about her. In a flash of bright light, the ball stopped wobbling and made a beautiful sound.
Ding!
Gyarados had been caught. Aurora hugged the Poke Ball. It was the fourth Pokémon she obtained in the Kanto region and she was ecstatic about it. Chari crossed her arms over her head in mock boredom. "(And here I thought you'd get a full party of six girls.)"
Aurora punched Chari's arm playfully. Chari was about to use Flamethrower on her trainer, but then realized that she meant it in kidding and that Aurora was incredibly tired. She judged Aurora's attitude. She decided it wasn't necessary to use Flamethrower, so she let it slide… this time. Aurora gave Chari a grateful look and that's how Chari knew her judgement was out of the ball park. Aurora started to speak, "Hey, I don't discriminate. It feels nice to finally have a boy on the team. Come back out, Ryuu! Come out Happy and Wasabi!"
Aurora threw out all of her remaining Pokémon. Ryuu came out with a smile while Wasabi and Happy looked tired. They both wanted to sleep still, but would humor their friend. Aurora immediately picked up Happy and held her in her arms. Wasabi was still somewhat asleep, but widened her eyes when she realized she was standing before a Gyarados. Her fur started to stand up in fear and she ran behind Aurora, holding her leg tightly. Aurora gestured her to be a little friendlier to the water type. She looked up at the water type with trepidation.
All in the while, Happy was clasping her feelers together excitedly. Happy wanted to greet the water type up close, but Aurora held her like she was a baby. Since it was late at night, Aurora didn't want Happy out from her sight. Still, she knew Happy wanted to be free. Sighing, Aurora decided to let the fairy type go.
Happy immediately ran to be in front of Ryuu. Ryuu sweat-dropped. He's never seen a Pokémon like Happy before and he could tell she was very peppy. Aurora lined all of her partners to be beside each other. Ryuu was at the opposite left end. Standing next to him was Chari. Happy was between Chari and Wasabi. Wasabi stood at the opposite right end. Wasabi was still very much afraid of the full evolved water type, but didn't want to appear insensitive.
"Everyone! I've got a few announcements to share. Please welcome Ryuu to the team! He's already an amazingly awesome addition!" Aurora gestured her hands to Ryuu.
Chari stuck out one of her fangs and grinned. Happy jumped up and down happily and Wasabi flashed a bashful smile. Happy jumped onto Ryuu and started to climb up his back. Once she reached the base of Ryuu's crown-like horns, she started to jump up and down. Ryuu looked up, slightly confused, but smiled anyway. Ryuu then looked down at Wasabi.
Wasabi flinched slightly at the Gyarados's gaze. Ryuu gave her a welcoming smile. It looked somewhat out of place on a Gyarados. Wasabi tilted her head to the side and walked up to Ryuu. Then, she petted one of the Gyarados's many segments, but withdrew almost instantly. She held her paw in fear. Surprised that Ryuu wasn't doing anything back, she immediately relaxed. Meanwhile, Aurora looked worried.
"Happy! Get down from there! It's dangerous!" Aurora shouted in concern.
Happy was too blissful to pay any heed. Ryuu answered Aurora's call by lowering his head. Aurora immediately grabbed Happy and held her in her arms again. Happy looked less than happy at the moment. Chari and Wasabi was chuckling slightly and Ryuu looked confused. Ryuu noticed the motherly look on Aurora's face. Chari and Wasabi seemed like sisters. He got the feeling that they all were like a little family. He could get used to that.
"(Aww, c'mon! I wasn't doing anything dangerous!)" Happy pouted in Aurora's arms. Aurora sighed.
"Tell that to how high you were. I know you like Ryuu, but I don't want you to get hurt." Aurora told the fairy type. Happy frowned and put up her nose in defiance. Aurora decided to hold Happy for the next announcement. "Wasabi… Happy… I want to tell you two that I'm an aura guardian. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier, but I'm not sure how you would take it."
"(It's alright, Aurora…)" Wasabi smiled. "(I… knew you were special ever since I first saw you. Besides, I already knew. I could tell in how we played before you officially caught me. I saw those aura sparks whenever you got nervous. I noticed you stopped doing that during our adventure...)"
"Wasabi, you perceptive little mouse…" Aurora whispered to herself. Aurora smiled, "I'm happy you knew. Sorry for not telling you directly, though."
"(No worries Aurora. I waited for you to be ready to talk to me about it.)" Wasabi nodded her head. Aurora said nothing else and let go of Happy to hug one of her oldest partners. Wasabi was surprised at the sudden touch, but decided to return the favor. Wasabi's lightning shaped tail started to wag uncharacteristically. Aurora only knew Wasabi only did that when she was extremely ecstatic, so the young girl could tell that the confession affected her more than she was letting on. Once they broke off, Happy had her front paws on Aurora's knees trying to get her attention. Her tail was wagging incredibly quickly. Aurora petted her head in response.
"(Are aura guardians like Pokémon or some sort of good thing? Or are they bad?)" Happy asked curiously.
"Aura guardians are good, super nice, and helpful. I can emulate some Pokémon-like things." Aurora responded. Happy's tail wagged incredibly quickly. She seemed super excited.
"(Ooh! Are you like a superhero or something?! What Pokémon-like things can you do? Can you fly? Can you make fire? Can you make ice? Can you-)" Happy asked a slew of questions that made Aurora wonder if she could breathe. Aurora had to rub behind her ear to make her stop speaking.
Happy's ears perked up as she felt an insatiable urge to just lie on her back. Indeed, that's what she did. Happy laughed when Aurora started to tickle her stomach. Aurora knew exactly how to bend Happy to her will and Happy certainly didn't mind that. Eventually, Aurora stopped and sat Happy down on the floor. She was still wagging her tail on the bridge, but was awaiting an answer to her questions.
"Er… no. I'm not a superhero. I can't breathe fire, ice or fly but one day I want to do some of the advanced stuff like those. It would come from my hands, though. I can do some Pokémon-like things, but I'm still learning. I'm still working at making an aura sphere," Aurora cupped her hands together and once again tried to make that blasted sphere. Aura sparks flew in her hands and started to condense into a ball-like shape. All of her Pokémon watched in awe. The ball-like shape started to become more well-defined. Aurora's eyes were widening.
"What is this? I'm actually doing it?! Holy Miltank, I'm doing it!" Aurora thought with astonishment. Aurora's excitement started to get the better of her. The energy in her hands started to become unorganized. Aurora started to panic. The ball got even worse. Eventually, the pseudo-aura sphere blew up in Aurora's face. Aurora blinked her eyes a few times and then started to laugh at herself. Chari and Wasabi sighed while Happy tilted her head in confusion. She had a pretty good feeling that wasn't supposed to happen. Ryuu looked at the sight in wonder.
"That was the closest I've ever got! I think you guys knowing of my powers is helping. One day, I'll be a master aura guardian! You can all count on that!" Aurora stated with conviction.
"(We all believe in you, Aurora.)" Chari stated simply. With her words, Aurora gave her a huge hug and everyone else came in. Ryuu picked up everyone and they all sat comfortably on his head. Chari, Wasabi and Happy looked up at Aurora expectantly. Aurora was grateful for having such wonderful Pokémon. Aurora couldn't wait to reach Celadon City with her newly cemented bond with Chari and the rest of her friends. She vowed she would beat the gym leader when they got there.
A/N: Fun fact: I completed this chapter back in July 2015. It's my least changed chapter, too. Yep. I had this concept all the way back then. Completed it in three days, too.
I know this was filler, but I wanted to experiment a bit more with trying to write out more about a character's journey. I decided to use Aurora's as a test. You've seen her as a Champion the entire book... might as well show a time where she didn't have all that experience, while still showing she's a battle prodigy. After all, her son is a battling prodigy, too~
Expect this type of structure of journeying in later installments.
One more thing to those who read this much: I'm still going to write three books, but I decided that the three books will involve this one, one with the focus at Tree of Beginning, and Ash's journey in Hokori.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of a good coherent plot of the tournament book because I'm a bit too ambitious with including older characters and I was struggling to, well, structure it how I want to. I overwhelmed myself with ideas, haha. Hopefully, the next two books will be even better than this one. I'll update my profile of the book names and synopses soon enough~
Next chapter: Kanto Abound! Ash's Realization!
Until then...
~SPG123~