Purifying Dark Hearts

Rose: This is probably the fastest I've ever updated this. But hey, that one guest who reviewed really motivated me. This is a special one, since….. This is from Barry's POV! The first time we won't be looking into Lucas struggles now that his ideology is being torn down before his eyes. Let's get going!

Of course, Lucas was on the same floor my room was on. I was just nervously talking about the whole 'Roselia on fire' incident that was one of the worst things that have happened me today, other than any encounter with Lucas ever. The guy really hates me, doesn't he? But then again… He did kinda say he acted like that to not like me over by the mountain, didn't he? Dear Arceus Lucas is confusing no matter what. Speaking of which, I was still talking and he was just giving me his annoyed face again. Then his eyes went wide, staring at Happiny. Then I finally realized, oh god she was using metronome again.

She threw an orb of energy at Lucas, throwing him against the carpeted ground of the living area of the Center, groaning softly, before passing out. I screamed his name and ran to get a nurse, putting Happiny in her Pokeball. When Joy saw, she helped me carry him to the medical room more meant for human than Pokemon use and started running tests on him.

"You said your Happiny just used metronome right? Unfortunately, that's a rather large pool of attacks that it could've used. We can narrow it down and say it was a status type of attack since no physical damage has been done to him." The nurse mused, typing away on her computer, probably looking through all the status moves there are and trying to find the best fit.

"But Pokemon attacks don't affect humans right? So even if he did get hit by something, it couldn't have really done anything? Right? Right?!" I yelled nervously. Because if he woke up and found out something happened to him, I would be so dead. Joy tapped her chin before spinning in her chair to look at me.

"For the most part. But some moves can affect humans, just at a much lower level. For instance, hypnosis could make us fall asleep, but it wouldn't always work, and it's been noted that humans under hypnosis wake up very quickly, unlike Pokemon." She explained. Oh, thank goodness I won't be completely dead. Now the only issue is the whole 'which attack hit Lucas.' I tried to remember anything I could about the orb that hit him. It was the size of my hand roughly, was an orb and… Maybe it was kinda pink? I told Joy the limited description and she snapped her fingers.

"That narrows it down perfectly. Now, it was either Attract or Charm, either of which has very little effect. Well, Charm at least." I had no idea what she meant. She noticed and thankfully explained.

"Charm lowers the targets attack, but only if they are the opposite gender from the user. But, a Pokemon using it against a human basically nullifies the move entirely. Attract, however… We don't know nearly enough about. From the data we do have, it's pretty erratic. Unlike in battle against other Pokemon, attract being used on a human invokes a sort of 'fall in love with the first person they see' spell. However, the gender rule still applies… We think. Most likely, he saw you and the effect got canceled out entirely." She finished, before grabbing a clipboard a writing down some stuff, leaving me to my thoughts.

Oh, thank Arceus he isn't ill or sick or anything. I would never hear the end of it from him! But… Attract or Charm huh? If that whole gender thing was true, he should be okay either way, since most likely, he saw me before he passed out, and according to Joy, canceling out the effects. For once, me being around was a good thing!

"Well, if he's going to be alright, I'm going to be leaving then!" I walked to the door, ready to go and challenge Fatina and get me my 3rd badge before Joy stopped me.

"Hold it. You're staying here until this young man wakes up, and you're going to apologize for that Happiny and her trouble. Even then you should probably offer him something as an 'I'm sorry' gift." She said sternly, probably saying this to torture me after the stuff that did happen. I really should get my Happiny to the pc until I reach the daycare. Surely they could help her. But until Lucas gets up, I'm not going anywhere. Which sucks because I hated being cooped up in small spaces.

Thankfully, Lucas didn't stay out for long. I was looking at the clock and when I glanced over at him, he was already getting his jacket and scarf on. Which meant he wanted to get out of here as bad as me probably. Or he really didn't want to be in a room with me. Or maybe both, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Your up! Oh, my Arceus I'm so sorry for what Happiny did! Thankfully, the nurse said you should be fine since you're a guy!" Why did I say that like that? Lucas gave me an annoyed look.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He said in his usual uncaring tone, eyes glaring at me with what I thought was more venom than usual. I chewed on my bottom lip before hastily explaining.

"Well, Happiny used either Charm or Attract, but they can't really work as much since it was a Pokemon using it on a human and you saw me before you passed out and guy on guy nullifies it!"

"Slow down. I literally have no idea what you're even talking about." He said irritatedly, so I slowed down and explained, hopefully with more detail. While I kept talking, his eyes slowly got wider and the venom growing more hateful. He was not happy with all this at all.

"You need to keep better control of your Pokemon idiot! You can't just let that thing keep running around and messing with people or setting stuff on fire!" He yelled at me. I deserved it, so I just took it. Then I remembered the rest of what Joy told me.

"So… Um, as an apology I can go and do something for you…?" I said nervously, trying to change the subject before he started yelling again. He tilted his head, before his eyes lit up, probably having the perfect torture for me to do for him.

"You're helping me out with some errands. For the most part, just getting some badges, going to a haunted stone tower, maybe dig for fossils underground, and the investigating some ruins. I could use some extra hands after all." He hummed, smirking lightly. He was derailing my journey, to look at rocks and more rocks. I have to admit, he knows how to make people not want to owe him favors. And of course, Rowan's assistant likes ruins. Must be why Rowan hired him to assist him.

"Fine, but only because I'm really sorry about Happiny. If you're heading to the gym though, that means I can get my badge while we're there too!" Maybe this won't be so terrible! ...Who am I kidding, this is Lucas? He's either going to be boring me to death with knowledge, being a jerk to me as usual or doing the whole two-faced crap like he normally does when Dawn's around. Wait… He said it was because of me but what if… It was really because of Dawn? My heart sank before I mentally shook my head. Lucas wasn't the dishonest type. Rowan had said so back in Sandgem. He was a good-hearted kid who could be rough around the edges, but he wasn't a liar! Just gotta take his word on it and tell the paranoid thoughts to take a hike.

"If you want. Try not to fail miserably, since the Monferno of yours won't be doing much against ghosts, unless you plan on setting them on fire." Wait what- oh. Monferno's fighting moves can't hit ghosts… That just made the fight a little harder. Well, maybe Buizel could do it this time…? I'll worry about that later.

"I'll be fine! If anything I'm worried about you being able to win. Dawn and I have never seen you really battle. Are you any good?" He gives me a glare in response.

"I have the same amount of badges as you, so that would imply that I am somewhat competent right?" He said, rolling his eyes and starting to leave the room, before noticing he didn't have his bag. I took it off its spot on the table before handing it to him. He slung it over his shoulder and left the room.

"Come on, Fatina won't wait forever."

Rose: That's all for now! It's shorter, yes, I know. It' a little scattered, but Barry was never the most organized guy ever in the games. Always losing his patience and running off to go do more stuff. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Now to turn my attention to another story I've been ignoring..