Chapter 55
Great, Sky thought, just great…
Ultimately, he probably shouldn't have been surprised that Alex lost Whisper. The guy had been so terrified that he had no idea what to do. Sky should have looked after their prisoner himself.
Whisper's escape, however, did save him the trouble of coming up with a way to contain him. Pokéballs meant nothing when the human Pokémon inside could get out and walk away on their own. And what kind of cell could hold a human Pokémon? The best he could do would be to find somebody that knew Spite and drain all of Whisper's abilities. Maybe when the human Zoroark could do nothing but Struggle he'd behave himself.
Maybe, but Sky didn't want to count on that.
"What time?" Sky asked Coraline, Alex's Banette-girl. Apparently she had woken up when Whisper was escaping. Despite his wounded state he had been able to scare the ghost girl into silence and escape before she regained her wits.
"One-thirty," her voice shook as she said it. Sky also wasn't surprised that she was still recovering from the encounter. Whisper seemed to have that effect on women. Flurry was still mentally shaken from their battle and hadn't left the Pokémon Center because of it. Tempest decided to watch over her and even she wanted to rip Whisper to pieces all over again.
"One-thirty…" Sky reflected on the new information. Seven hours ago. Whisper would be long gone by now.
"We…tried to go after him," Alex sat next to Coraline to offer what comfort he could give her, "but…he was gone already. He couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes."
"Alright…" Sky nodded. That was not good news.
"You don't believe us?" Alex asked, unsatisfied by PureBlueSky's passive attitude. Whisper had attacked Coraline and scared her half to death. He felt useless. They needed to find Whisper and make him pay and Sky didn't sound like he was going to do anything.
"No, I believe you," Sky nodded, thinking. What Alex didn't realize was that his role in this was likely to be over. Whisper had ignored his trainer entirely when the two had fought each other. Alex was just an annoyance to him, nothing of any real value.
No, it was Sky that would be Whisper's newest target. More specifically, it would be Flurry or Tempest that he would go after. It would be Flurry if he wanted to finish what he started. More likely, given his sick attitude, he'd play with her more. And if he wanted revenge, then Tempest was public enemy number one.
But Sky was hardly worried about that possibility. Let him come and Tempest would tear him apart all over again.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Alex asked.
"You do nothing," Sky commanded him, "keep your head down and don't try to chase him. He won't come after you, anymore."
"How do you know that?!" Alex snapped.
"Because he ignored you," Sky had to be patient. Alex was scared, okay, Sky understood that, but he didn't really need to get pissed at him, "he doesn't care about you, he just wants to be free so he can kill again."
"Then we have to stop him!" Alex urged.
"You're not listening to me," Sky sighed, "look, he obviously had help. In the state that he was in, he would not have gotten away from you. A Caterpie could've fallen on his head and he'd be out for hours. That means that somebody found him and hid him. In all likelihood, he has a new trainer. And if he has a new trainer, then he isn't going to give a shit about sad, scared, little Alex anymore."
Alex hung his head. He hated how Sky was talking down to him, like this. Didn't he understand how dangerous Whisper was? Alex had seen him do worse than torture a Glaceon-girl. They would be lucky if that was all he did next time.
"Look," Sky continued, "just leave this to me. I can get my entire team to start searching the island for him. It won't take long and we'll have him back in just a few days."
Sky wanted to believe it would just be a few days, but honestly he had no idea. He knew what a normal Zoroark could do, but what did that Illusion ability become when Whisper turned part human? During the fight, Whisper had first appeared disguised at Alex's Seaking-girl. The transformation had been flawless, excepting that he couldn't use her abilities. But would it be so outlandish to believe that Whisper could change into any human Pokémon? If he could, then his capture just became a hundred times more difficult.
Still, it felt like a necessary lie. Alex was broken up over losing Whisper and Sky needed to keep him from doing something stupid. If he did, Sky couldn't guarantee that he could keep him safe.
"Okay," Alex nodded, "we'll stay out of your way, then. I trust you."
"Good," Sky nodded back. But as he turned to leave, he still wasn't convinced that Alex would do as he said.
When Lily returned with Eric and their human Pokémon, Cherry was peering closely at a small, blue bracelet.
"What is it?" the Charmander-girl asked Aurum as he stood over her.
"It's called a Power Anklet," the small, old man answered.
"It's heavy…" Cherry said, passing it between her hands.
"It's supposed to be," Aurum explained, "put it on your ankle. It will slow you down, but it will help with your training."
"Speed training?" Mark asked. He had heard about this, but he had never practiced it. Advanced trainers had learned how to train their Pokémon in specific ways. A Pokémon could be trained to be much faster than normal or possess incredible attack strength. It had to be done very carefully and often with young, even newborn Pokémon. But those that put in the effort swore by the results. The technique was known as effort training. And the Power Anklet was created solely for the purpose of effort training in speed.
"I want you to go into the forest," Aurum instructed Cherry, "and fight Aipom. Only Aipom. Most likely, you'll be out there all day, but we cannot continue until you do. Defeat fifty of them and come back."
"Fifty?!" Cherry gasped, "how am I supposed to even find fifty Aipom?!"
"Katana will go with you," Aurum nodded impatiently, "and your trainer," he glanced at Mark, scowling as usual, "use Scratch. It will be harder, but it will help."
"Why only Aipom?" Mark asked, curious about the new training method. Most likely this was another reason for the power behind the Four.
"Aipom are quick, agile Pokémon," Aurum explained, "to defeat them, you need to be even quicker."
Mark nodded in agreement. It made sense. And from what he knew about Charmander and its evolutions, Cherry would benefit greatly from this speed training. He wondered if he should be taking notes.
"Okay…I'll do it," Cherry sat down on the grass to put on the anklet. She attached it to her right leg, where it hung loosely around her ankle. After a moment, she decided to move it about halfway up her calf where it fit better, but it still felt loose. For being so small, it weighed a lot. She wasn't really sure what was going on, but for once Mark and Aurum seemed to be in agreement.
"Katana," Aurum called. He handed his human Weavile a few bottles of the blue colored potions as well as a few red ones. The red ones, Mark realized, must have been ethers, for when Cherry became too tired to use Scratch. Fifty Aipom...they would be lucky if they finished before the week was over, let alone a day.
As the three readied themselves for their expedition, Maple glanced back and forth between them and Aurum. He hadn't instructed her to go with them and it felt strange for her to part ways with Mark and Cherry. Maybe Aurum had something else planned for her…
"Alright," Mark nodded to Aurum, "we'll be back." The three disappeared into the woods, off to hunt Aipom.
Once they were gone, Lily was afraid to speak up. The three that remained hadn't noticed their return. Not only that, but Aurum scared her. When Mark had offered to take her and Eric to train with him, she had no idea what to expect. She had heard about him before, but to see him was something else. Aurum was no taller than Lily and she probably weighed at least ten pounds more than him, but he was harsh and mean.
She had been inside the hideout of Team Deus and rescued her kidnapped human Meganium, but even then she had been calmer. But now, Silver wasn't with her. She wanted him and Aroma to be with her. She had Shinobi, but it was Silver she wanted.
"Well, go on," Eric nudged her. The boy next to her was just as scared. With Mark gone, who knew what Aurum was going to do? He had stood up for them before, but now they were all alone.
"Umm…" Lily took a step forward, "are we, I mean, can we…still…umm…" She couldn't be sure that Aurum had heard, but a few moments later, he slowly turned his head to look at her. He adjusted his straw hat a little to block the sun as he evaluated her.
"Yes, I'll still train you," Aurum did not show any emotion in his voice, "as long as you do exactly as I say."
"Oh…uhh…okay," Lily nodded quickly, "uhh…what should we do?"
"You only have a Ninjask?" Aurum asked, nodding towards Shinobi where he knelt behind Lily.
"Well…no…"
"Where are the others?"
"They're, uhh…" Lily did not want to answer and furthermore she didn't even know. Silver and Aroma were off on their own. The two had all but abandoned her after their return from the Team Deus underground. That mission had been the spark that brought the two together. Lily realized that the two of them had probably been in love with each other for a long time, but…
"Then we'll just train this one," Aurum sighed, "I'm not waiting for them."
"Okay," Lily nodded.
"And you…" Aurum turned to Eric, "you're a little young, aren't you?"
"Uh…am I?" Eric was only ten, but this was an odd question for him. It was true that most trainers could not get a Pokémon until they were a few years older, but the age requirement varied from region to region, even city to city. It was not unheard of for trainers to start as early as ten.
"Never mind," Aurum shook his head and dropped the question, "a Swampert and Tropius? Anything else?"
"No, sir," Eric answered. He looked over his shoulder at Tsunami and Fernelia. They both looked strong and proud, ready for anything. It gave him strength to see them like that.
"Alright," Aurum nodded, "let's get started, then." Aurum called over Nails and the human Ferrothorn stomped towards him. Nails had already defeated all of Lily and Eric's human Pokémon single-handedly. He was in a class of his own; training against just him would be difficult enough. However, Aurum drew out two more Pokéballs.
Neither Lily nor Eric had met Billow, the small Drifblim-girl that appeared before them and not even Mark had seen the Jellicent-man. The two ghost-types floated down to the ground, landing gently in front of them. Billow blinked her wide, red eyes at the group of strangers then darted behind the Jellicent-man. The second ghost Pokémon peered down at them, tall and proud.
With no tail and no strange ears, it was difficult to tell that the human Jellicent was in fact part Pokémon. He wore a simple light blue suit with white trim. His coattails floated up and down, even without any wind. He looked to be in his early forties, but it was difficult to tell because his hair was a snowy white. An enormous white mustache hid most of his face so that Lily could only read his expression by looking into his eyes. Much like Aurum, he looked like another crotchety old man, annoyed with the children before him.
Billow was the exact opposite. Lily could see her purple dress and curly white hair on the other side of the Jellicent-man. She poked her head out on occasion, peering around his side or in between his legs before letting out a sharp squeak and hiding again.
"Billow, stop it," the Jellicent-man growled, "You're only embarrassing yourself with these games."
"I'm not playing a game, Mortem!" Billow squeaked indignantly, but then she saw Maple standing off by herself, "Miss Maple!" The tiny girl cried before lifting her feet off the ground and quickly floating to the Leafeon-girl.
"I missed you!" Billow squeaked, hugging her around her waist, though she still floated off of the ground.
"I missed you too…" Maple smiled at the ghost-girl as she nuzzled against her. Her heart felt a little bit lighter at the girl's greeting. So much had happened since she had seen her last. It felt good to see her again.
"Make them go away!" Billow stood up to her full height, which was only chest-level with Maple, and pointed at the group of strangers.
"But…they're here to train with you…" Maple tried to explain.
"I don't want to train with them!" Billow shook her head, "I want to train with you!" Again, Maple felt touched by the girl's innocent sincerity, but she really did need to train with Lily and Eric.
"Billow, enough!" Mortem roared, "You're acting like a child!"
"I AM a child!" Billow screamed back, "I'm only one hundred and twenty-six years old!"
"And what about them?! That Leafeon-girl is probably only two or three!"
That made Billow pause. She slowly turned her head back to look up at Maple. The Leafeon-girl nodded down at her.
"They told me I'm sixteen in human years," Maple explained, "but I'm really only two and a half years old. I'll be three in October."
"Oh…" Billow bit her lip, taking in the new information. Then, suddenly, she backed away from Maple, brushed herself off and tried to look dignified, "then I will do my duty as your senior!" Billow floated away, leaving Maple blinking in confusion.
"A hundred and twenty-six?" Lily asked. She seemed to be the only one who didn't know what they were talking about.
"Human Pokémon age differently than normal Pokémon," Aurum sighed, "most Pokémon age more quickly than humans. But some, like ghost and dragon Pokémon, have their life-spans shortened when they become human," he paused, as if it hurt to continue, "ghost Pokémon in particular have very long lives. Most live for thousands, even millions of years."
"I never even knew ghost Pokémon were, you know, alive…" Lily admitted.
"Of course, we are!" Billow squeaked, "We hatch from eggs just like any other Pokémon! And we die too!"
"Ghost Pokémon…die?" Lily asked. Like most trainers, she knew very little about ghost Pokémon. They were a mystery, even amongst the endless mystery of all other Pokémon. Few could say for certain whether or not ghost Pokémon were even alive. Many believed they were nothing more the ghosts of other Pokémon; an echo of what was.
"I assure you," Aurum sighed even more deeply, he sounded as if his years were catching up with him, "ghost Pokémon die. But they don't leave anything behind. They simply…fade," he closed his eyes, "I've seen it myself."
"Master…" Mortem began, but he had no words to comfort his trainer.
"I've lost many, many friends in my life," Aurum leaned heavily on his fishing pole, "and I can't seem to stop losing them…" The Golden Trainer was no longer speaking to anyone but himself.
"Before we evolved," Mortem explained for him, "Master Aurum specialized in ghost Pokémon. They say it's common amongst elderly trainers."
"I was tired of watching my friends die before me," Aurum continued, "I thought that with ghost Pokémon, I would never have to go through that ever again…" he opened his eyes and looked at Billow and then at Mortem, "I never told you before, but…I'm sorry. I made you give up your lives when you evolved for me."
"Don't say that!" Billow suddenly shrieked, "We knew what we were doing! And I don't care if I'm going to fade sooner! Everybody fades eventually! Why can't I decide to be human and fade with everybody else?!" When Billow shed tears, Lily was certain that she was alive.
"She's right, Master," Mortem added, "we chose to evolve and we knew what would happen. It makes no difference to us."
"Very well, then," Aurum nodded solemnly before turning to Eric and Lily, "Fight these three until you can defeat them. Once you do, I have nothing more to pass onto you."
"Okay…" Lily agreed, still shocked by everything she had just heard. It made her all the more grateful when she heard the faint buzzing of Shinobi's wings as he came up next to her.
"Just leave me in peace," Aurum began walking towards the lake, where his folding chair waited for him, "I'm tired…"
No one stopped him as he sat in his chair and cast his line out over the lake.
AN: I didn't think I'd get a chance to work in EV training, but, well, there it is.
For those unaware, EV training is actually quite a bit more complicated than that. I'd suggest googling "Pokémon EV training" and I'm sure you'll find something that can explain it better than what I can. Be warned though, it's largely for advanced trainers and super-nerds, like myself. It's not for everybody.
See you next time and thanks for reading!