Wow, okay, I didn't expect this to gain the attention it did. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites, it really means a lot.
I struggled a little writing chapter two. It was hard to develop the characters a bit more without giving too much away. If you couldn't tell this story is going to be a bit dialogue heavy. I will include action scenes and battles and stuff, but the primary focus of the story is the development of the relationship between these two nut cases and how they fight and defeat their inner demons.
So with that out of the way, the cringy I don't own Pokemon thing.
In the video game industry, Pokemon has dominated the handheld market, gaining a considerable fanbase in the process.
It is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoshi Taijiri
This is my story
*dun dun*
December 15th, 7:30 am Age 2207, Route 6 near Mistralton Cave
Nathan walked across the narrow bridge leading from the research lab. He had just finished his morning walk to chargestone cave and was heading back to Driftveil, admiring the view the route offered. The river beneath him shown in a dull orange, reflecting the morning sun. Wild Basculin swam up the stream, continuously nipping at each other's tail fins to decide who would lead the group. Nathan chuckled and moved off the bridge, spotting two Pidove in the process. They were snuggled up together in a small nest built in the crook of a branch. He smiled at the two and continued on his way, his hair blowing helplessly in the morning air.
Nathan had been coming to chargestone cave each morning since the strange Pokémon had left his house. However, in each of the five days he came, he had not seen a single trace of her. Nathan wanted to know if she was alright, see how she was healing up. But he hadn't found even a single bandage.
Nathan let out a short sigh. 'Well, she has moved on, I suppose I should too at this point. I'll be late for work if I don't hurry up.' He transitioned into a light jog, his open hoody flapping in the wind.
Grace let out a long breath. She had been careless in picking where she would hide. The human almost saw her. She groaned as she came out from behind the tree across from the bridge. She looked back down the path to see him running back towards that city he lived in. She slumped against the tree, breathing out a small sigh of relief.
She had been following him for five days now and hadn't really accomplished much. She thought it would be easy; follow him around, see how he ticks, what he does. She had, to a degree, learned what he does during the day. He would spend a large portion of it inside a building with a red rooftop near where he lived, and that when he was in there, he was happy. There were tons of different emotions in there, those of human and Pokémon alike. Some of worry, or anger. She felt sadness mixed in with fear, only for both of those feeling to be replaced by joy a while later.
She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She had seen those buildings all over Hoenn but had never been inside of one. What was it, what is its purpose? There was so much about humans she didn't and couldn't understand. She also didn't get why he felt so much Joy in there, and next to nothing out here. It was like he is an emotionless husk. An unfeeling, cold abyss that was only filled when he was in there… or in that cave. Though when he was in that cave, she felt something else entirely. He absolutely radiated concern for her whenever he was in there, and she had no idea why. This human was so frustratingly confusing. The first time she saw him, he was filled to the brim with negative emotions. He was lonely and sad and angry at something all at the same time. And now it was all dominated by his concern over HER of all things. He was so hard to decipher, an issue which she had not known she could have until now.
She decided it was time to go against her better judgment. As much as she hated the idea of going back into that city, she wasn't really left with much of a choice. Either remain a full blown stalker until she finally figured him out. Or… rip the bandage off and confront him directly on this matter. It wasn't something she could put away in the back of her mind so easily. He decided to save her life, rather than let her bleed out in that cave. She had to know why and she needed to know now.
December 15th, 8:00 pm Age 2207, Outside the Driftveil Pokémon Center
Nathan walked out the sliding glass doors, waving goodbye to Nurse Joy as he left. She waved back at him, giving him a small smile. He returned the smile and began the walk home. He stretched his arms upwards, stifling a yawn. He had been treating Pokémon all day. It was exhausting work, but he always felt a sense of accomplishment from his work.
When he had gotten to Driftveil, it was Nurse Joy who helped him the most. She gave him a job, trained him to treat Pokémon, payed for his hotel for the first week. She was the one human being he actually gave his trust anymore. Everything she had done for him was so selfless. She put the lives of trainers and their Pokémon first, before her own personally comfort.
At first the work was just that. Manuel labor. He would be the one cleaning and washing the floors, performing very basic repairs, and movement of supply shipments they received. After a month of working here, Nathan asked if she could train him to be a nurse himself. 6 months go by in the blink of an eye and Nathan is able to treat certain wounds and poisons. Before her death, his mother was a successful Pokémon breeder and his father a world renowned surgeon for both humans and Pokémon. He had been surrounded by professionals in the field of medicine his whole life, it was really all he could think to do with it.
Nathan continued trudging along and came up to the corner where his house was. It was a small, two floor house; its tall stature but slim form made it look a little odd, but it was home to him. He didn't need much and was grateful nurse joy had managed to snag him the place for cheap. She was sort of a central figure in Driftveil, being the one that managed almost all of the medical care for both Pokémon and humans in the area. It'd be a safe bet to assume that she could get a few things to swing her way every once in a while.
As Nathan turned the corner and walked down the street, he noticed something odd. His bedroom window was open. He always made sure that his doors and windows were shut and locked before he left for work every day, it was unlike him to forget.
A knot began to form in his stomach. Had someone broken into his house? On this side of town? Normally break-ins occurred on the south side of town, it was rare to see one up north.
He walked up to his door and his heart began to race. He could feel the veins on the side of his head beat, blood rushing through them as his anxiety grew. What would he face in there? Would they have a weapon of some kind? Would they even attack or would they just run?
Dozens of different scenarios raced through his head as he gripped the door knob. Whatever it was, this was his house and he was not about to let someone get away with breaking in. Nathan breathed in deep, steeled his nerves, swung the door open and walked in.
And was promptly greeted by his empty kitchen.
Now a look of confusion took over Nathans face. So did he really just forget to close the window before he left? Did he really just panic for nothing. He let out a deep sigh, thankful nobody saw his little anxiety attack. He brushed back his hair as he set his things down and began to climb the stairs.
'Well, on the bright side, it was a bit stuffy in there,' Nathan thought, 'Maybe this aired out the room.'
He reached the top of the stairs and grabbed the knob on his door, twisting it and throwing the door open. He walked in, turned on the light, and his let out a weak scream at what he saw.
Sitting on his bed, legs crossed and head resting on her hands, was the strange Pokémon from the cave.
Grace couldn't help it. She giggled at the humans' reaction to her. She could feel confusion and fear radiating off of him.
'It's afraid of me,' She thought, 'I'm faltered.'
She gave the human a wave, a small smirk spreading across her face. He remained rigid, his fear beginning to melt away, being replaced with anger.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!" he screamed. "YOU BROKE INTO MY HOUSE?! WHY?! HOW?!"
She tensed up slightly, thinking he would attack her. But he just remained still. When he didn't, Grace relaxed, flashing him a cocky grin.
[Oh, you know, I just wanted to stop by, have a chat, and ask for a cup of sugar. I am making a cake, you see, and just ran out. You're welcome to some when I finish it.] She said with pride.
Her grin slowly washed away when she looked at his face. He looked utterly confused. Like what she just said went in one ear and out the…
Her cheeks turned red and she remembered something rather important. He couldn't understand her. How could she forget such a simple thing!
"Well, I don't speak Pokémon so I have no clue what you just said. However, by your demeanor, I can only assume it had something to do with you breaking into my house." He said, his voice still laced with hints of anger.
She gulped and nodded, slightly glad he didn't know that she just bragged about her break in. She wished she knew how to form a temporary link with him just so she could get the answers she wanted. But she had never had any reason to up until now. She wasn't very experienced and didn't have the slightest idea of how to do it. Her break in was now pointless. There was no way he would be able to understand what she would say.
For some reason she felt ashamed. Even though she despised humans, this one saved her life, and how does she repay him? By breaking and entering with absolutely nothing to show for it.
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness and regret. She turned to jump out the window and leave. She would just accept defeat and leave the area, and hopefully never see this human again. She stopped when she felt something grab her shoulder.
"Stop. Are you seriously going to jump out that window again?" He asked her. Grace gave him a small nod, grabbing his hand and taking it off her shoulder. "For god sake I already patched you up once and I would rather not have to fix your broken leg."
She froze. She felt it again. She felt his concern. It was masked by annoyance and anger, but she could sense it.
'But why?' she wondered, 'I just broke into his fucking house and he feels concerned about me jumping out? It doesn't make any sense!' This human was pissing her off. She didn't understand him, and it only made her angry. She was angry that he was different. She was angry that he was twisting her view of humans. She was pissed that he left her dumbfounded.
She turned to him now, her eyes burning with fury. She didn't care that she couldn't understand him anymore, she had to get this off her chest. [Why are you so concerned for me?! I don't get it, you humans see us as tools. Tools used to turn a profit and please you fuckers! Weapons for you to use to fight against our own kind! I have been mistreated for years by you creatons, and yet, you are concerned for my well-being! I don't understand, why you are different than every other human I have ever come in contact with?!] She stood up and began walking towards him, causing him to start backing up. [It just doesn't make sense! You could have left me to bleed out and die back there but you didn't! You decided to do the opposite and save my life. Why was I worth saving to you? I don't even know you and yet… and yet…] Grace began to trail off.
Even though Nathan didn't understand her, he could tell she was unbelievably upset. It was hard to watch. He reached out to grab her to try and comfort her. But as soon as she saw this, Grace hit him with confusion, slamming him against the wall.
[Don't touch me! I hate humans, none of you can be trusted! I hate…] She looked up. There was blood splattered on the wall where his head had hit. He was slumped on the ground, completely still.
Grace stared in horror at what she did. There was so much blood. It oozed down the wall, the crimson liquid dripping down like a fresh coat of paint.
'Oh god, oh shit, oh crap.' Tears began to well up in her eyes. 'I didn't mean to force him that hard, I just wanted him to back off I didn't mean to…' She was interrupted by a weak groan that escaped the humans mouth.
It took her a few moments to process that he was still alive, just out cold. She sighed in relief and a few tears spilled over. She wiped them away and slowly walked towards his still figure. The wound wasn't as bad as she initially thought, but it was still nasty. Through his hair she could see a somewhat large gash. It was big, but it was also shallow, and looked like it was beginning to clot. He would definitely be feeling it in the morning though.
Grace backed up a little and plopped down in the middle of the room. She took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself.
'Well, bright side is I'm not a murderer. Down side, this guy probably wouldn't want to answer any of my questions after he wakes up, even if he could understand me.'
She looked at him, feeling a pang of relief hit her heart. Even though it was already filled with sadness. Even though she hated humans, Grace couldn't help feeling awful about hurting this one like she did. All he had done was help her. All she has done was hurt him… and break into his house… and throw rocks at him.
Her head dropped and she groaned. 'What the hell am I doing?' She thought. 'The whole time I have been in this stupid place has been a living hell. Not as much as before I was here, but still hell.'
After moping for a little while, grace stood up and decided that she should at least clean and dress the wound. She walked downstairs and looked for anything she could use. Bandages, a bowl she filled with water, towels. It wasn't much but it would have to do. She climbed the stairs and entered the bedroom, hoping he was still unconscious. Luckily he was, so she got to work
After about 45 minutes, she finished wrapping the final bandages, and Grace stepped back to admire her work. After years of having to patch herself up, she had gotten pretty good at it. Just like before, it wasn't the best work, but it would manage. The towel she had used was soaked with blood, and her palms were masked with a tinge of red. She washed her hands in the bowl and dried them with the remaining clean towel. Grace looked at the spot on the wall where she slammed him. At this point the blood was dried and caked onto the wall. It'd be a pain in the ass to clean it. Either way right now she had to get the human into his bed.
The gardevoirs eyes began to glow blue and she lifted her hand at the human. He lifted off the ground slightly, still limp. She began to move him over to his bed, but she started to feel light headed. By the time she put him down on the bed, she was Gagging, trying to keep her lunch down.
'Well than,' she thought, 'that's never happened before.'
She sat down on the bed, waiting for the world to stop spinning. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to collect herself. Once she composed herself, Grace took a look at the human, this time really studying his face. He looked young for a human, and his hair fell to the side. Though it looked black normally, in the moonlight it shown a deep purple. And he was handsome. Like, really handsome. Grace couldn't help finding herself staring. She was brought back into the real world when she noticed something odd. There was a tear rolling down his face. She put her hand to her face and wiped away a tear of her own. Why was she crying?
Then she felt it. Misery. His misery. He felt sad and alone. Scared with nowhere left to run. It felt awful.
Whatever dream he was having, it wasn't a good one, and she could feel it. But… she could only feel the emotions of those that are conscious. She had never felt them coming from someone who was unconscious. So why could she feel his?
'Ugh,' she groaned, 'this whole night has been one strange thing after the next. I'm exhausted.' She looked back down at the human who lay beside her. His eyes were clenched shut, and he was rolling around.
She sighed and reached to put her hand on his head. She flinched, remembering how she had attacked him at the thought of trying to touch her. She closed her eyes and put that thought at the back of her mind. She had caused his current state so she was going to do what she could to fix it. She reached out and put her hand on his forehead. Grace allowed calming thoughts and emotions flow to him, tricking his mind into thinking everything was alright. Almost immediately, his thrashing stopped but his eyes remained clenched. His breathing returned to normal and he lay still, sound asleep
'That's it, I'm done,' she thought as the last of her energy was taken from her. 'Hopefully you don't mind me sleeping on the floor, because I'm not sure if I'd make it back to the cave at this point.'
Grace slid off the bed and crashed onto the floor. She had used up all her energy on this guy and was now fighting to stay conscious. Eventually, she allowed sleep to take her, drifting off to the land of dreams.
December 16th, 4am Age 2207, Nathans room
Nathan groaned in pain as he woke up. His head felt like it was splitting and he was dizzy as all hell. He thought back to the last thing he remembered. He was just about to grab the Pokémon and comfort her when something forced him away and… that was it. It was all a foggy, his memories jumping around his brain.
He slowly sat up and looked around the room. He was still in his clothes from before he passed out. But now he also felt something wrapped around his head. He reached up and felt bandages wrapped around his cranium, holding it snug.
"My god what happened," he groaned. He felt around his head, touching something wet on the back of his head. He pulled his hand back around and his eyes widened. His fingertips had traces of blood on them. Did he hit his head on something? That would explain why he couldn't remember much.
Nathan tried to stand up but lost his balance and the world began to spin again. He fell back on his bed, nausea taking his stomach for a ride. He reached out and grabbed the bowl that the water had been in and emptied the contents of his stomach into it.
'Well whatever happened, I now have a concussion. This just keeps getting better and better.'
After a few minutes of gathering himself, Nathan slowly tried to get up again. He was still dizzy but could at least stand. He was about to start walking to the door when he heard a low moan. He looked down and saw that the Pokémon from earlier was at his feet, sound asleep. It was dark so he couldn't make out the details of her face, but for some reason, he felt fear. It was overwhelming. Overpowering. But it wasn't his. It was hers. He was feeling her fear.
'Okay, seriously what the hell happened.' Nathan wondered, a little on edge now.
Careful not to wake her, Nathan leaned down to try and get a better look at her. She was sleeping on the ground with nothing to cover her, using some of his dirty clothes as a pillow. Her face was contorted and twist, and even though it was dark in the room, he could see her tears sliding down her face. She was having a nightmare, and a bad one from what he could tell. From what Fennel had told him, the Pokémon looked exactly how Nathan would if he was having a nightmare. He didn't want to leave her like this. He could tell just how much some dreams could hurt, and just how real they felt. Nathan grabbed the pillow off his bed and moved to place it under her head, pushing the dirty clothing out of the way. He also grabbed the blanket from his bed and covered her with it. If he had a concussion he wouldn't need either right now. Then he did something his mother used to do when he would have nightmares as a kid. He slowly pet the Pokémon's head, his hand gliding through her soft green hair, praying that she wouldn't wake up and punch him.
Slowly but surely, her face relaxed and the tears stopped flowing. Her mouth even formed into a small smile. Once he was sure she wouldn't wake up, he stopped petting. He got up slowly, using the leg of his bed for support. He crossed the room and grabbed the xtransiever the lay flat on his desk. Nathan dialed one of the only two numbers saved and waited for the person on the other line to pick up. He heard a low groan from the other end when they did.
"Nathan, its only 4:25 in the morning what could you need at this hour?" The woman questioned.
Nathan, shut his eyes and silently cursed, his headache getting worse. His eyes had an extreme sensitivity to light, confirming his prior "diagnosis."
"Well good morning to you too sunshine, how are you this fine morning?" all Nathan saw was the person on the other line give him the finger.
"Don't be smart with me, tell me what's up." The woman asked.
Nathan chuckled lightly. "I somehow hit my head last night and am 99% certain I have a concussion. Think you could grab some stuff from the center and help me out a little?"
"Yeah, sure give me 20 minutes. Also if you are upstairs, stay there. Would rather you don't lose your balance on the stairs and die a slow painful death. I like you better alive." The woman teased.
"Yeah yeah Joy, I'll stay upstairs. Bring the portable MRI too I want to know just how bad the bruising is."
Nurse Joy gave him and acknowledging grunt and ended the call. Even if she was snarky as all hell, Joy was a good friend. Though that name didn't really suit her personality.
Nathan walked back over his bed, careful not to step on the Pokémon. He sat with his back leaning against the wall, staring at the other side of his room. He tried to recall what happened last night.
The Pokémon currently asleep on his floor freaked out about something, though he had no idea what. He tried to comfort her and was hit by some invisible force, sending him into the wall. After putting two and two together, he came to the conclusion that it was her that sent him flying. Meaning she was either a psychic type, or that she just knew psychic type moves. Or both.
He didn't know how to feel about what she did. On one hand she flung him against the wall and gave him a concussion. But on the other hand, he woke up in his bed with bandages wrapped around his head to stop any bleeding. Meaning she had treated whatever wound he gained and moved him to his bed. More than likely, her attack was probably out of panic, and he guessed that she didn't actually mean to hurt him.
He lowered his head, not having the energy to think any more on the matter. His head felt like someone had taken an axe to his skull. The world would spin around him, his body feeling like it was constantly in motion. Even in the dim light of the moon, he couldn't keep his eyes open for very long. The glow just made the pain even worse. It was hard to tell which way was up and which was down.
Nathan heard his front door open, signifying that Joy had arrived. He heard the creek of his stairs as she ascended to the top. His door opened slowly, and a pink haired girl poked her head through.
She gave him a smirk that said, 'Way to go dumbass. Giving yourself a concussion in your own home takes real skill.'
He scowled back at the nurse as she walked in.
She turned back to him but stopped halfway, instead staring ahead near his bed.
"I didn't realize you had become a trainer, Nathan. I thought you didn't like battles," Joy whispered, clearly puzzled by the Pokémon.
"I'm not. She actually… broke into my house. Also threw me against the wall. Which gave me a concussion…" Nathan trailed off, his voice getting quieter as he spoke.
"Well than why the fuck is she here! If she is that much trouble, throw her ass out!" Joy growled.
"First of all, you know I am not the kind to just throw a Pokémon to the side. Humans, sure, I'll shove my foot up their ass and show them the door. But Pokémon, especially this one, I just can't bring myself to do it. Besides, she has certainly peaked my interest. I found her a few days ago in chargestone. She was bleeding out. Also before she threw me against the wall, she got really upset about something. It was really strange and I want to know why. She patched me up and took care of me while I was out, too. So, needless to say, I'm intrigued."
Joy gave him a small nod before pulling a portable MRI scanner out of her bag. She turned on the device and mapped his head, searching for any swelling in his brain. Sure enough, she found some.
"Yup, there is a bit of bruising on your parietal lobe," She said, being careful not to touch his head. "Here, can you feel this?" Joy pinched Nathans arm, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Alright, so it looks like the damage isn't too severe. Still, I'm pretty sure you know what you should and shouldn't do while you are concussed but I'm gonna tell you anyway. Don't sleep for tonight and possibly tomorrow, don't want your lights going out for good. It's gonna suck but hey, maybe you shouldn't have pissed off the green Akira over there." She gave him a condescending smirk, almost laughing when he shoved her lightly. "Avoid any visual or auditory stimuli for the next few days. Also take these every day at breakfast for the next month or so." She handed Nathan a bottle of pain meds. "You can stay home from work for the next few weeks. If you try to come before January is over, I will personally drag you back here, got it?"
"As long as I am still getting payed." Joy rolled her eyes and Nathan chuckled, wincing as his headache spiked.
"That's what you get for being a smartass. I'll handle your utilities and groceries for a while and I'll give you some money every once in a while so you aren't cooped up in here 24/7. Otherwise, don't be a dumbass and you should be fine."
Nathan nodded and smiled. He had no clue what he would do without this woman. She has been a good friend to him for the longest time, and he would always be grateful.
"Thanks so much Joy. I would be completely screwed if I didn't have you as a friend." He stood up and gave the girl a hug. She was warm and inviting. Her long pink hair tickled his fingers while they embraced.
"I know. I'm pretty great." She giggled as Nathan grabbed her shoulder and pushed her away, holding back a laugh himself. Joy picked up her bag and started walking towards the door. When she grabbed the knob, she stopped, turned back to Nathan and said, "Oh, and tell your new friend that she isn't very good at pretending to sleep. She moves around just a bit too much." She winked as she walked out and closed the door.
A few moments pass and Nathan hears movement behind him. He turns around and eyed the Pokémon as she turned to face him. The two stared into the others eyes for what seemed like an eternity, scanning for any sign of hostility. After a few moments, Nathan decided to try and break this awkward tension. He knew they would get nowhere fast if one of them didn't at least try and speak.
"Well, I'm sure you already know this by now, but my name is Nathan. I don't know how we will get any info across, but I'd like to talk if that's alright."
The Pokémon averted his gaze and pondered his words. After a minute or so she looked back to him and began to speak. Only this time, as she spoke, Nathan made out four words, clear as day.
"My name is Grace."
