Chapter Twenty-Three: The Delta-Type
Nathan was already waiting for them when Aaron pulled into the driveway, sitting on his porch with his hands folded up, resting on his knees. He glanced upwards, and the expression he wore made Aaron nervous. As he stepped out of the car, Nora glanced downward, then made a subtle move for his hand. If Nathan caught the gesture, he ignored it.
"You guys go ahead inside," the older trainer stated. "I'd like to speak with Aaron for a minute." His tone reminded him of being sent to the principal's office in elementary school. Nora reluctantly let go of Aaron's hand, walking inside with the others and was greeted by Trina. The espeon telekinetically shut the door behind them.
"Is something wrong?"
"Potentially," Nathan admitted. "Come with me." He led Aaron away from the front of the house to a fig tree in his backyard. Before long, it would bloom, and Aaron had eaten them before and could attest to their taste. Nathan had set two stumps there, taking a seat on one and cleared his throat. "What happened over there? I visited while you were out and got bits and pieces from your team, but only Nora was conscious when the incident occurred."
"I'm not sure how much more I can give you, then. I was getting beaten to death when she did… whatever she did," Aaron replied.
"Any details you can give me – however small – could be crucial."
"I don't know. I didn't really have a good view from the ground."
"Nora sort of blacked out, so I wasn't able to get much from her," Nathan stated. "Though seeing the aftereffects, I can see why she might want to blot those memories out." He shook his head. "What pokémon was she fighting the last you saw?"
"Why does that matter?" Aaron asked.
"I'll tell you in a minute. Right now, though, I need you to focus." Aaron thought back to those painful seconds that crawled by like an eternity. Amid the chaos though, the last he could remember was a flicker of lightning as the golisopod slammed into him.
"I think… it was a magnezone. I'm not sure, though."
"Huh… Well, that confirms that," Nathan muttered. "And the car."
"What about it?"
"How close were y'all to it? I need you to think hard." That one was easier; he could judge distances very well after being a quarterback throughout high school.
"We were pretty close – maybe ten yards."
"And when it landed?"
"Wait… what?"
"How far was it after it got flipped?" Nathan questioned.
"Maybe… fifty yards?" His eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?" Nathan closed his eyes for a moment, clearly thinking something over, and opened them. A frown had set on his face.
"Don't suppose you remember much about your freshman physics class…"
"No – we've already established that I'm a dumbass long ago," Aaron replied.
"That's not what I was insinuating," the older trainer countered. "But that was a five-thousand-pound SUV. Just worked out a few rough calculations and more or less confirmed what Adira and I suspected." That made him nervous.
"…And what would that be?"
"One thing's pretty clear: Nora is able to use extrasensory. Some typhlosions are known for psychic abilities, so that part wasn't too surprising."
"Huh…" He never knew that; Nora had never mentioned that she knew extrasensory. Then again, he hadn't ever asked since he never assumed she would be battling.
"But… if my math is correct – and I'm fairly certain it is… she managed to release somewhere around fifty megajoules of energy. There's no way she should have been able to do something like that, but that's what it would have taken to launch a vehicle fifty yards."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the people closest to her attack got hit with somewhere around twenty-five pounds worth of TNT."
"Well shit," Aaron murmured. "So… they didn't live?"
"Some of the people further away did," Nathan replied. "If you count most of the bones in their bodies being broken as 'living.' The same can't be said for the ones closest." He was almost scared to ask, but the newfound fear of the person he had welcomed a relationship with overrode the former.
"What happened to them?"
"The same thing that happens to everything else directly exposed to an explosion of that magnitude. Pieces of them were picked up hundreds of feet away."
"Arceus…" Nathan leaned forward.
"So you can see why I'm as concerned as I am."
"Y-yeah…" Aaron said. "Fuck… I had no idea. I don't think she did either."
"She did not. We spoke with her while you were undergoing surgery, and I fully believe she is innocent with regards to her outburst. But as it stands, Nora is dangerous if not controlled. In fact, if Unova's government were operable right now, there's a good chance they would either have you hand her over or have every second of her life tracked."
"What?!" Aaron clenched his fist; they would not take Nora from him and his team.
"Trust me, I get it." Nathan chuckled, though it sounded forced. "Adira has been a secret to Unova for the better part of a decade. Fortunately, it looks like neither of us have anything to fear now. The government's fled like a bunch of rats, and at the moment, they're more focused on retaining their power rather than enforcing such laws." With that in mind, Aaron felt, there might have been one good thing that came out of this conflict. The thought of Nora being taken away was infuriating.
"You said you had some idea about… whatever is going on with Nora," Aaron said. "What is that?"
"She's a delta-type." Aaron cocked his head.
"A what now? What does Delta have to do with this? Well… aside from pushing her to the point of using that move…"
"No – a delta-type. Nothing to do with the team," Nathan stated. "That term was coined long before Elesa went off the rails, and there's always been some knowledge on the subject."
"Oh."
"Let's say we take Marcus and compare him to a thousand other lucarios," he started, reminding Aaron of a college lecture. "Each will have varying attributes compared to the others. Some might be a little stronger physically, others might have stronger aura attacks, or psychic abilities…"
"Alright…" Aaron said. "I'm following you so far."
"For every species, there is a typical range – a bell curve that encompasses everything from the weakest to the strongest members of its population. But sometimes you have an outlier. Someone who doesn't fit the rest of the data. For our lucario example, this could look like an individual who has way stronger ground-type moves than should be possible. When that's the case, there's a good chance you have a delta-type on your hands."
"And you think Nora is one?"
"She has to be," Nathan answered. "That's the only explanation for what happened. Adrenaline is a heck of a thing, but adrenaline doesn't account for vaporizing eight people and launching a car a hundred-fifty feet."
"So is she a psychic-type or something?" Aaron asked. "I mean, maybe that might explain why she can't make fire."
"That's another matter entirely. Nora's biological defects have nothing to do with her telekinetic abilities." He stood up, motioning for Aaron to do the same. "This happens to be a topic I'm very familiar with."
"And why is that?"
"Because Adira is a delta-type as well."
"…Oh…" That was a scary thought – a legendary that possessed far more power than she should.
"So I'm living with someone who's really dangerous," Aaron said.
"Adira is capable of doing the same – and far worse, should she want to – but we both know that's not who she is. Instead, she has boundaries; she knows what her strength is. It would seem as though Nora does not. For that reason, we think it would be best that you stay here for some time. Adira can teach her. She can show her how these abilities work. Once Nora is familiar with her own strength, she can learn how to best utilize it – and limit it."
"That sounds good," Aaron said.
"One more thing," Nathan added. "Keep some of the details of this conversation between us. Nora does not strike me as someone who would cope well with the knowledge of what she accidentally did. Not all truth needs to be revealed."
"Agreed."
Nathan left for work not long after that. With the world in chaos, it was of utmost importance that essential services remain functioning. Aaron watched as the silver truck backed out of the driveway.
A pillow bounced off the back of his head. He turned around and met the gaze of an espeon sleepily draped over the arm of the couch. "You gonna stand there all day, or are you and Nora ready to start class?" Trina asked.
"Don't suppose you'd like to show her a thing or two," Aaron replied, picking the pillow up and tossing it back. She mentally caught it, lifting her head and resting on it.
"Not really, no."
"Helpful."
"Mhm." Trina's eyes drifted shut, but after a moment, she spoke up once more. "Honestly, Adira's a better teacher than I am – and far more suited towards… well, someone of Nora's power." The typhlosion averted her gaze.
"What do you mean by that?" Nora asked.
"I can't launch cars."
"Oh…"
"So you two head outside. In the meantime, I think I'll stay right here."
"You won't be joining us?" Nora asked. "Not even to watch me make a fool of myself?" Aaron was glad that she could at least somewhat make light of the situation at hand despite what had recently happened.
"I'm good."
"Aw, don't pay any mind to her," Aiden said, walking into the room with a sandwich he'd put together after a great deal of noise in the kitchen. "She's just moping 'cause Kiel left yesterday."
"Do you want that sandwich on the floor?" the espeon snapped.
"Bold of you to assume I wouldn't still eat it," Aiden replied, sticking his tongue out. "But yeah – y'all go ahead! Mom will probably show you a whole ton of cool tricks."
Aaron and Nora left the other pokémon to themselves, gradually approaching the backyard. Adira floated in place, not even bothering with her disguise, and welcomed them with a smile.
"I will admit," the latias stated, "this was not what I expected, though I suppose the signs were somewhat present. If you were able to detect some peculiarity with my illusion and were affected like Marcus at the power plant, then it should have been clear that something was off." She came a bit closer to the typhlosion. "But never would I have imagined you held such strength within you."
"That makes two of us," Nora murmured. "So… what happens now?"
"I will show you what it means to be a psychic… and why we belong to the most powerful type of all." That caught both Nora and her trainer off guard.
"Why is that?"
"Every pokémon is able to manipulate some element or another. I will not bore you with the science behind it, but in the end, we are all descendants of a psychic type – a species directly created by the ultimate psychic, our very Creator. Over time, as mews adapted to their environments and changed to suit them, they specialized in certain aspects of their powers and lost others. Some even became humans, and every so often, one may find a human who is able to retain a fraction of the power that their ancestors once had."
"So… we're all psychics?" Nora asked.
"To an extent, yes. Your manipulation of the physical world derives from the power your ancestors once held. A power that Arceus steered and directed to create the wonderful diversity among all creatures of this planet." Adira held her clawed hands out, drawing moisture from the air to create a shimmering bubble – a perfect sphere. "Most psychics are not powerful – or even knowledgeable – enough to manipulate elements outside of their immediate type. They may be able to levitate an object with their mind, but can they change its essence? Can they retrieve water where there is none or manipulate the transfer of energy? Can they call for lightning?"
"I… I don't think so," Nora said. Adira held her left hand outstretched, and suddenly, a wave of heat dashed from the direction of her right. A flame flickered and danced in one while an icy orb levitated in place of what had formerly been water.
"But a powerful, educated psychic is not limited in such regards. At the end of the day, all of our manipulation of the physical world is based on a manipulation of the atom and its bonds – of electrons and energy and mass manipulation. You can discover greater and greater strength in the manner that I did: through great study and research. Or you can simply do as I show you and skip that part."
"I think we'll take the second option," Aaron stated. The latias laughed.
"I thought you might say that." She let the ice orb hit the ground. "So you were never aware of your gift prior to the incident?"
"Not at all," Nora replied.
"You had not so much as made a pebble levitate?" The typhlosion shook her head. "Interesting. I suppose you did not have much of a need for such powers before recently, but it is strange that you were never able to detect a strength of that magnitude."
"I mean… like you said, I didn't really have a need for it until then…"
"Then we will start with the very basics," the latias said. Aaron sat under the fig tree as the two of them trained, watching quietly as Adira spoke with her about forces and fields, of telekinetic abilities and the like. There was a temptation to drift off until the latias retreated to the shore, producing a large conch shell. "Now, I want you to use your mind and take this from my hand."
"What?" Nora said. "But…"
"If you sent a car flying, then this should not be an issue," Adira replied. She then tilted her head. "What was going through your head when you did that?"
"…I was scared." Nora looked down as though she had something to be ashamed of – as though Aaron himself wasn't fearful of an approaching death. "Scared that they would kill Aaron and all of us."
"Right. And that fear protected your life. But it never would have produced something you were not capable of on your own, even if amplified. As it stands, you are far more powerful than most psychics could ever dream of being, likely even more so than most non-distinctive legendaries will be."
"Uh… what now?" Aaron asked. Adira only nodded.
"You possess a great power, Nora. Influenced by fear, you have seen what it may do, but I want you to be able to control it – to be what you were meant to be, and not just what you must be at the moment."
"But where do I start?"
"Perhaps I can start for you, and we can go from there."
"What do you mean?" the typhlosion inquired.
"Relax," Adira said. "What I'm about to do is a very particular technique – one that my species is very familiar with. Other psychics may learn it with great difficulty, but it is innate to us. I need you to be calm, though." Aaron noticed that Nora was anything but, though she did attempt to steady herself. The legendary's eyes began glowing, and Nora fidgeted in place, looking around to see what was going on. It was then that the latias' words rang through their heads.
'Like I said, Nora – calm yourself.'
"What did you do?"
'I can now see things through your eyes – and feel as you feel.'
"You're in my head?!" Nora began panicking.
'To some extent. Fear not; I cannot read your thoughts nor control your actions. I can only give a gentle nudge here or there. A physical suggestion if you will. But please, steady yourself. You know that I mean you no harm.' Nora eventually managed to calm down, looking at her forearms, then back towards the latias. 'It is always strange seeing one's self in the third person,' she commented. Aaron watched attentively as the exchange occurred.
"Okay… so now what?" the typhlosion asked.
'Be still. Sense the movement of energy around you.' Nora closed her eyes, her breathing becoming lighter, and stood still. 'Do you feel it?'
"I… think so?"
'It is always faint; it blends in with the noise and the countless distractions around you. But once you learn to tune that all out – to focus on the task at hand – you will find that it was easier than you ever imagined.' With Adira's guidance, the typhlosion lifted her hand, and the shell zipped from the latias' over towards her, causing Nora to flinch. The conch stopped a few inches in front of her. 'Did you feel that?'
"N-no?" Nora managed to reply.
'The power I just used to do that was not my own. I merely directed yours.'
"So… you're saying she just did that?" Aaron asked.
'Is it hard for you to believe that? After she sent a car flying, do you doubt that Nora can make a seashell float?'
"Well when you put it that way…"
Aaron watched as the latias gradually showed Nora how use not only her own strength, but her own will to accomplish the same feat. And once she grasped the basics of moving an object, more advanced maneuvers were introduced, and before long, Nora was laughing as the shell circled around her.
"I… I did it!" she said, happily looking towards Aaron for approval. And whether or not she was launching cars and saving the day or simply making a seashell float, she had it.
"Yes you did." She quickly embraced him, and Aaron pecked her on the cheek. It was still somewhat strange, kissing someone that had fur, but this was Nora. He could get used to it. Then, realizing what he had done, he glanced towards Adira, not knowing what her reaction would be.
'Did you expect me to be surprised?' she asked.
"Well… a bit, yeah." Aaron was puzzled.
'Am I not in such a relationship myself? And despite your uncertainty, it was clear that a bond was developing between the two of you quite some time ago. No; I am not surprised.' The typhlosion nervously laughed. 'But I am glad that things are well between the two of you. Pursue your relationship with respect for Arceus and for one another and you will not go wrong.'
Shortly after that, Aaron felt that she would learn more without an audience - without someone constantly staring at her progress. Not to mention the fact that he himself knew nothing about introducing a pokémon to psychic abilities; both Marcus and Krista already knew theirs before joining him. For that reason, he stepped inside.
He sat on the couch opposite to Trina. Marcus and Aiden were playfully sparring in one corner of the yard, laughing when the lucario accidentally tripped over the fire-type's tail. A bit farther off, Aster and Naomi were positioned under a tree, clearly making small talk of some sort. Aaron flipped on the television, curious as to what was going on in the world and was soon greeted to the sight of Omega's flag flying over Hammerlocke.
"Damn…" he muttered.
'Better get used to it,' Trina said within his mind.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."
'Wasn't really sleeping,' she replied. 'Haven't been able to do much of that recently…'
"Everything okay?" he asked. "You did seem a bit out of it earlier. Where'd the espeon who liked harassing my lucario go?"
'Sorry,' she mumbled. 'I'm not trying to be a downer or anything. I just… I've been a bit frustrated with Kiel being gone so much.' She glanced out the window, seemingly focusing on the two serpentine creatures.
"Kiel's your mate, right? I seem to recall hearing something of the sort a while back." She nodded. "Well, why is he out so frequently?"
'He's a soldier.'
"Oh… yeah, that'd do it right about now."
'I tend to be a very happy person. Try to find joy in just about anything, you know?' Aaron nodded slowly, knowing that much to be true about her. 'But sometimes I get hit with that wall. And I know he's more than capable of protecting himself. I pity any idiot who thinks they'll be sending my Kiel home in a body bag, because they have another thing coming! But… that doesn't make the absence hurt any less, either…'
"I'm sorry."
'You have nothing to apologize for, but I appreciate it.' She turned her head a bit, focusing on the two males and their mock fight. A brief laugh came from her. 'I wish I had the same strength as that goofball out there.'
"How so?" Aaron asked.
'Valerie is deployed more often than Kiel, and yet he manages to be happy no matter what. For him, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but for me, I only yearn more for his return.' Her forked tail swished to the side, changing its position to what he assumed was a more comfortable one. Aaron noticed that her expression was stoic; her eyes closed slowly, and despite the circumstances troubling her, she looked to have come to terms with it. 'I have learned to be content, though, even with everything going on. At the end of the day, my mate is safe, he enjoys protecting those who cannot fend for themselves, and he has purpose.'
"What is Kiel, anyways?" That question had often gone through his mind, especially after knowing them for nearly two years. "Him and Valerie? I've never seen either of them around."
'Like I said, both are often deployed.'
"Okay… but what species are they?" She cast a sideways glance towards the trainer. He expected an answer, but instead, was met with another question.
'Would you agree that there was good reason to conceal Adira's true form?' He hesitated. Though he definitely understood that there was, the fact that she had dodged the question in such a way concerned him.
"Y-yeah. Hiding a legendary is one thing…" She looked back out the window.
'Then I trust you can understand that there is sometimes a reason to refrain from telling everything at once.'
"Uh… alright then."
'But if it eases your mind, neither of the two are legendaries – if that's what you were wondering.' Those words broke the tension, and Aaron rolled his eyes. He considered the matter privately. He knew, from the conversation, that both were in the military. But why would it matter what species they were? But then it dawned on him: it might be for the same reason that his cousin never talked about what he did for a living.
"Trina… are they in special forces?" The espeon initially said nothing. Aaron leaned back against the couch. "Oh…"
'I'm not going to confirm or deny anything. But as I've said, just as we did with Adira, we have a reason for withholding certain information.'
"I understand," he said. "I won't press it any further." The psychic-type nodded. He noticed that she was looking once more towards Aster and Naomi. "So… what do you think of the two of them?"
'Hmm?'
"Aster and Naomi – what do you think? It'd be kinda funny if our teams had that sort of overlap. If they end up together, that is."
'Maybe. But we only 'date' as you call it in such a manner that resembles a courtship, and we court for the purposes of finding a mate. Though I doubt Aster would have any issue being bonded to Naomi.'
"Is it that obvious?" he asked with a chuckle.
'Is water wet?' She cast a wry grin towards him, and after the previous topic, he was glad that she was able to smile again. The spunky espeon was preferable to the sad one.
"But aren't there a lot of pokémon who only mate for a season or two?" Aaron asked.
'Yes, though it was not meant to be that way. If you're using other people as the moral standard, you're using the wrong standard. And aren't there many humans who mate with people for a weekend? Does that make it right?' He didn't respond. 'What some people love isn't a person but rather being with a person. Any relationship based off of sex appeal alone will last as long as that sex appeal does. If that's the case, then the people never loved each other to begin with. They just loved being in bed with each other.'
"You sound a lot like Nathan."
'He is my trainer, after all,' Trina replied. 'And for that, I am glad. If he hadn't found me, I would have been far worse off, and I never would have met Kiel.'
"Alright. But Aster's different," Aaron murmured. "He isn't like what I used to be…"
'Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know him all that well, but I do know that pokémon often seek out trainers similar to themselves, and those who don't often become like their trainers.' There was at least some truth to that; the political teams had both proven that much. 'Also, those of us who do seek to live right don't just date or court for the sake of it. We are careful to approach a bond of that nature with the full respect it deserves. So… when nothing starts between the two of them, I hope that Aster does not take it too hard.'
"Huh?"
'I don't see things working out between them. It's for that reason that Naomi has been very cautious in developing anything further between the two of them.'
"Wait, so she doesn't like him?" He felt a pain in his chest at the thought. Aster had been so happy once he'd learned that there was a chance. To take that away from him was unthinkable.
'I never said that. But… I don't think they are compatible. They might be – I could be wrong – but I don't think so.'
"Why not?"
'Because at the end of the day… Naomi is a product of her father, and Aster is a product of you.'
A/N: Special thanks to FuryWrites for beta reading this chapter.