There weren't a lot of things that Mika hated in this world, but if there was one thing that she loathed above all others, it was boredom. She hated those quiet moments in which nothing seemed to be happening. She hated even more when the world seemed to be cloaked in the quiet blanket of rain and darkness, because then there wouldn't even be anything interesting to see out the window of her home, as well as her parent's place of work.
Patisserie Daisuke, named for her family's name, was helmed by her father, a Kalosian-born baker who was both the source of the delicious treats that the shop sold as well as Mika's own blonde-hair and blue eyes. Her mother, a quiet, serious, dark-haired woman, ran the business half of the operation, and she too was staring out the window this evening.
It was a precursor to the coming rainy season in Kanto, a spring thunderstorm seemed to bring night a bit earlier than Mika liked to Vermilion City. It was a boring end to a dreary Saturday spent working in the shop. With her father baking and her mother running the shop (and her brother goodness-knows-where on his Pokémon journey), it was left to Mika to clean the glass windows and door for the patisserie, where her family lived in an apartment upstairs. It was, at the very least, convenient for the family to all work in the same place they lived.
But the thought of inheriting the bakery filled Mika with a sense of dread.
Not the dread that her friend Chloe seemed to feel when thinking about her own future. Mika loved baking and feeling like an artist who created those temporary works of art for people to enjoy both as a visual spectacle and delicious delicacy. The dread Mika felt was the same dread that she was feeling right now; the dread of total, complete boredom.
She found herself sitting at case where her father would put out his daily creations to draw in window shoppers, staring into the darkness and rain outside, wishing fervently in her heart for something, anything exciting to happen. She would even take seeing Chloe and Goh walking through the rain together. Even if teasing Chloe about her dreadfully obvious feelings for Goh didn't have the same sting as they did when she was still pretending she didn't have feelings for him, at least it would provide Mika with some sort of distraction.
She'd take anything at this point.
"Mika," her mother said, closing the cash register behind her. "You can lock the door. I don't think anyone else is coming tonight."
Mika sighed, giving up on any hopes for something interesting to happen today. "Right, Mom," she said, turning to the door.
As she raised up a hand to lock the door, though, her eyes caught a glimpse of a small dark shape running through the darkness. It was either a short person or a tall Pokémon, and Mika seeing someone rush over towards the bakery in this weather gave her pause.
"Hold on…" she said.
At first she wasn't sure, but whoever it was, they were definitely heading straight towards Patisserie Daisuke. And as they drew closer, Mika felt her heart leap into her throat.
She threw the door open and ushered them inside.
She recognized the hoodie and long pants even in the darkness, and her friend's brown hair was matted to her head.
"Dii, what are you doing here?!" Mika asked, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders.
Dii was her nickname for Deliah, a friend from school she had known for as long as she had known Chloe or Goh. After class changes had split the four of them up, Mika and Deliah had managed to stay in each other's classes in the meantime, and even getting into Sunset Junior High, they stuck together.
Deliah was always a quiet girl. A year younger than Mika or the others, Deliah was still in their same grade in school as they were, which was something that Mika had always thought of as odd, but she didn't put too much stock into it up until now.
Deliah felt absolutely small and fragile under her hands, and it made her heart ache in an unfamiliar way.
Her friend looked up at her, and Mika's voice caught in her throat.
Dii had a black eye and a bruised cheek, and her eyes were puffy and red, like she had been crying all the way here. She raised a hand up towards MIka, shaking, but it seemed that her strength was at its limit.
She held out her hands, holding the small Pichu that was her erstwhile companion in her hands. Jolt, as the Pichu was named, looked even worse for wear than Deliah herself did.
"Please… help Jolt…"
Deliah's eyes slid shut as she slumped over onto the ground, still holding Jolt out.
Mika's voice echoed through the patisserie.
"DELIAH!"
Mika's mother rushed over to her daughter's side and helped support Deliah's small body. At the shout, Mika's father emerged from the back, where he was winding down the kitchen for the day. He was a well built man who Mika's brother took after, with the distinctive curled blonde moustache and goatee one would expect on a Kalosian chef. He was also much, much taller than most other grown ups Mika knew. Despite his somewhat intimidating exterior, Mika knew him as her beloved Papa who threw himself into all of his creations.
For now, though, he bent his large frame over and picked the small Deliah into his arms. "Come. I will carry her to Mika's room."
"A-And I've got Jolty!" Mika said, quickly picking the Pokémon out of her unconscious friend's hands.
The Daisukes all nodded and followed their patriarch up towards the apartments.
Mika's room was the closest to the stairs, and the door was sitting open. The room was covered in pictures and posters of the Pokémon Mika loved so much. There were popular Pokémon, such as Charizard and Gengar, as well as less famous ones that Mika just found cute, like Murkrow and Gulpin. There was a small television set on the dresser for Mika to watch away from the main living space from the comfort of her bed, on which were several plushies of other Pokémon, like a Charmander she had gotten from her brother for her 9th birthday and a pillow that was shaped like a Slurpuff.
These were quickly pushed aside so that Mika's father could place Deliah on the bed. He checked her pulse and her temperature before stepping back. "I will go prepare something for her to eat," he said. "Can you two get her out of these wet clothes? She needs to warm up."
"Right," Mika's mother said. "Mika, get out a few blankets from the closet while I help her out of these."
Mika gently placed Jolt on a pillow. "R-Right! I'll do my part!"
Even though looking at the clock on her wall it hadn't even been twenty minutes since Deliah arrived, Mika felt like it had already been several hours.
Deliah was changed out of her wet clothes (which were taken by Mika's mother to be washed and dried) and changed into some of Mika's older, smaller clothes from before she had hit her growth spurt. Even so, they seemed too big on the small girl currently lying in the bed, and Mika could only look at her friend with worry as she propped her head up with her hands, looking at her.
Deliah at least seemed to be sleeping peacefully despite her injuries, and it seemed that Jolt was fine as well, having been placed by Dii's face after she had been changed by Mika's mother.
Still, the secrets under the clothing weren't what Mika was prepared for.
All over Deliah's arms were bruises. Some looked fresh, but others were much older and faded. Her legs were much the same, and Mika could see much the same on her shoulders and more.
There was a reason Deliah had taken to wearing more and more clothing to cover her body, despite the season only growing warmer. Only now Mika felt like an idiot for not getting it.
She took out her phone and saw that it was about 9PM now. The only sound she could hear was that of the rain continuing to pound against the roof and windows of the building. The quietness was unsettling to the girl normally surrounded by light and noise and life.
She hated it.
Mika turned on the floor, now having her back to the bed, Deliah, and Jolt.
"I said I'll do my part… but what can I even do at a time like this…?"
Her friend and her friend's Pokémon were resting peacefully, now. The only questions that remained were what befell Deliah and why she came to the bakery.
And while she had her suspicions about the former, the latter was what drew her attention more.
"...why me? Why here…?"
She pulled her knees to her chest, thinking over the question.
Deliah was a quiet, reserved girl. She usually only spoke up around friends and mostly only around Jolt. But she always seemed to gravitate towards Mika, even when compared to Goh and his actual army of cutie Pokémon or Chloe and her dad's lab filled with Pokémon.
It was the Pokémon-less Mika who seemed to be her closest friend. And the thought made the blonde's heart ache a little.
She turned back to her phone and began typing a text, sending a short, unassuming message to Chloe:
'Hey, can I ask you for some advice? What's the best way to take care of a sick friend?'
She sat the phone down and returned to looking over Deliah's sleeping form.
Her breathing was even, and there wasn't any hint of pain on her face. It seemed that her parents' thoughts for taking care of her in a moment like this were spot-on: she was warm and safe here, far away from anyone who could hurt her. That thought did help Mika relax a little, even sitting in the dark while Dii slept.
Her phone vibrated against the floor, and so Mika picked it up and checked it.
'If they're sick, the best thing to do is nurse them back to health.'
Chloe's response was predictable, if a bit dry.
Mika responded quickly.
'Okay but they're asleep right now. What can I do to help?'
Immediately the indication that Chloe was writing back came on screen; clearly she was wondering what was going on in Mika's world, but if Chloe learned through her school friends that there was a serious situation like this going on, it wouldn't be long before everyone else heard about it.
Mika, of course, knew how virulent a rumor could be. Especially one about drama. But for Deliah's sake, she would reign in her worst impulses and focus only on her health and safety.
"That's really all you can do. Maybe make sure there's something for them to eat and drink when they wake up?"
It wasn't the answer she wanted, but she would have to accept it.
'Thanks, Chlo.'
Chloe began typing a response back.
'Cheer up, Mika. I'm sure whatever Pokémon you're looking after will be alright.'
Mika felt herself scowling at the phone, but if Chloe thought this was only about some wild Pokémon, then all for the better at the moment.
She looked back at Deliah, and frowned. She wondered just how long she'd be asleep.
"C'mon, Dii… please…"
She took Deliah's hand and squeezed it, wishing for her friend to come back to her in some way.
Her heart skipped when she felt Deliah squeeze back.
Looking up at her friend's face, she saw Deliah's eyes open slowly, as though they were struggling against the fatigue that pulled down on them.
"...Mimi…" she said, frowning. "Is Jolt…?"
Mika wanted to slap her. The first words out of her mouth were more worried about the Pokémon that both of them knew could take heavy hits and be fine, rather than worry for herself.
But it was because Mika was so worried for her that she pushed the tears back into her eyes and smiled.
"Jolty's just fine," she whispered as sweetly as she could. "He's right here next to you."
Deliah sat up and picked Jolt up. "I'm so glad he's okay…" she said, gently brushing her hand over his spiked ear. "Thank you, Mika."
"You're the one who did the hard part, Dii…" she said, trying to downplay what happened the best she could. She stood quickly and backed towards the door. "Oh! Dad said he was going to make you something! I'll be right back with it, okay?"
Deliah watched Mika wordlessly as she slipped from the room and into the darkness of the apartment once more.
The soup Mika's father had made was loaded with veggies and seasoned to perfection, and so of course Deliah devoured it like a young woman possessed. Jolt, as well, gorged himself on the Pokémon treats that they had around the patisserie. Even if it wasn't the healthiest food for Jolt (given that they didn't have a Pokémon, they didn't keep regular Pokémon food stocked), it was still a nice diversion from the events of the night that had brought Deliah to the Daisuke household.
Of course, it was those events that Mika wanted to ask about, but she also wanted Deliah to have her strength returned to her, so she didn't push things.
She took the tray table back away from them after Deliah and Jolt were finished eating and put them to the side.
"Sorry…"
It was the first thing Deliah had said since beginning to eat, and she looked absolutely crestfallen as she said that. Mika frowned.
"What've you got to be sorry about?" she asked. "I was just really worried about you, so I guess if you're sorry for scaring me, I accept your apology. But Dii… c'mon, what's going on here? What's been going on with you?"
Deliah looked down at her arms, now bare, as she sat wearing one of Mika's t-shirts.
"...it… it started a long time ago."
Mika sat up and paid close attention to her friend.
Deliah's right hand was stroking Jolt's back, and her left hand was laying loose. Mika saw tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes, but as much as she wanted to reach out, she waited for Deliah to speak.
"...Do you remember what happened that made Jolt my Pokémon?"
Mika felt her blood run cold. Of course she did. It was a story that she had known for a long time, though it wasn't one they openly spoke about for Deliah's sake.
Ever since Mika knew her, Deliah's father had worked for a shipping company out of Vermilion Harbor. It was hard labor, she knew, but Deliah loved her father very much and was always proud of the work he did.
One day, someone had snuck into the harbor and was caught searching around the trucks in a restricted area, and so after that incident was resolved, new guidelines came into effect that made the jobs of the workers that much safer, though there were many who buckled against those regulations.
It was one such worker who, in a fit of negligent behavior, caused the accident that claimed Deliah's father's life.
It was a grim week for everyone involved. Mika could remember attending the funeral as one of Deliah's friends. Chloe had even managed to get the reclusive Goh to show up that day, and the four friends all did their best to carry the weight of the smallest among them.
Of course, when it came time to go through Deliah's father's effects, one of them was the Pichu he had been keeping as a pet who hatched from an egg found by Deliah's mother's Raichu. Deliah had already loved the Pichu very much even before that day, but it was when she became his primary care-taker that she bestowed the name 'Jolt' onto him.
It was from that day on that wherever Deliah went, Jolt went with her. Whether that be hiding in a pocket or a backpack, Jolt would always be on hand to help Deliah throughout the day.
It was a slow process, Mika remembered. She was so sad and closed off, but Mika and the others worked hard to help her return to her normal routine. And, on the surface at least, it seemed like this was going to work out.
With all these memories flaring in her head all at once, Mika could only nod to Deliah's question.
"...it started after that," she said, turning to look at Jolt.
"Wh… what started?"
Mika didn't want to be right. She desperately wanted to be wrong. For Deliah's sake.
"Mom… she…"
Deliah tensed up, the words getting caught in her throat.
Mika could practically feel the pain in her friend.
She reached out and put her own hand on Deliah's balled up fist.
"...It's okay. You're safe here, I promise," Mika said, doing her best to smile.
Deliah's breathing seemed to relax and she did her best to smile back.
"...She… she changed," Deliah said, trying to explain. "It was like she wasn't the same person anymore. She… started yelling at me whenever I did something wrong. She… started hitting me and Jolt whenever I didn't do what I was supposed to."
Mika felt her heart shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.
"Dii…"
"I-I tried my hardest to help out!" Deliah said. "I wanted Mom to be proud of me… I wanted to do what I could after we lost Dad. But Mom… she never came back after what happened to Dad. I never saw her smile after that… She… was just replaced by a monster. And… and tonight…"
Deliah sniffed, trying to hold the tears back.
"S-She… she said she was going to… she said she was going to kill Jolt…!"
Mika couldn't help but gasp. "No way…"
"S-She said she'd do it herself or she'd make Raichu do it…!" Deliah said, tears beginning to pour down her cheeks. "I… I couldn't let that happen to him! I wouldn't! And so, Mom started hitting me again, but I wouldn't let her hurt him!"
Mika crawled onto the bed next to Deliah and hugged her. "Dii… I'm so sorry…"
At Mika's touch, any restraints Deliah still had were washed away by a flood of tears.
She began to cry loudly, and in earnest, pressing her head against Mika's chest as she did. Mika put her arms around her back and held her there, just letting her friend cry.
"I-I-I didn't know where else I could go!" Deliah said. "S-Since I'm not actually a Pokémon Trainer, I can't take Jolt to the Pokémon Center, and if they learned what happened, then Mom would just be even more mad at me!"
She continued to cry, coughing mixed in between the sobs.
"Breathe, Dii… I'm here. I promise, I'm not going anywhere. Please, breathe…"
Deliah did her best to breathe while crying, and she kept speaking as well.
"Every day… I loved coming over here because I could see how you were and I could remember what a family was supposed to be like. But every day at home was like torture…I… I couldn't do anything right! Everything I tried just made Mom madder and madder… I thought that if I came here, I could at least protect Jolt…!"
Deliah's words once again faded into her pained sobs as she cried against Mika's chest. Mika did her best to hug her friend, and Jolt climbed up onto Deliah's shoulder and gave the best small hug he could against her cheek.
"Pichuuu…"
"I just want it to go back to the way it used to be… with Dad and Mom and me all happy together… I wanted to go back to Floaroma Town… and see the flowers again…"
Mika felt her own hot tears rolling down her cheeks now as she held Deliah in the darkness of the room.
"It's alright. I'll make sure you'll see them again, Deliah… I promise."
Mika rubbed Deliah's back as she cried, though the soothing action helped Deliah gain control over her tears and slowly but surely calm down.
"Thank you, Mika… Thank you for helping me and Jolt."
"Pichu," Jolt added. Even he wanted to extend his thanks to Mika.
Once Deliah had calmed down, Mika finally let her go. "Why don't you try to get more sleep, okay? It'll just be like the sleepovers we've had before! We don't have to worry about anything else tonight. We could even watch a movie if you wanted!"
The smile on Deliah's face didn't quite reach her eyes, but Mika figured she looked content enough, so she didn't pry. "That sounds great," she said.
"Alright, then" Mika said. "Let me take down the dishes and I'll get one we can put on, alright?"
Deliah, still forcing a smile, gave Mika a nod, and Mika took the tray table and the dishes upon it back towards the kitchen.
Sitting in the kitchen, both looking pensive, were Mika's parents. Both of their eyes went to Mika as she stepped in with the tray table. And as Mika placed the tray into the sink, she turned to her parents and let her heartbreak show on her own face as she began to quickly, quietly explain to them about the abuse that had befallen her best friend.
After that, things began to move at a dizzying pace.
Neither Deliah nor Mika left the Daisuke residence over the next few days, not even to go to school. Deliah wasn't physically recovered enough to return to school, and Mika held to her promise to stay with her to help her through every step of her recovery.
Chloe, then, was the first visitor to the patisserie, bringing Deliah and Mika's homework and wishing them both well. Mika hadn't told Chloe anything about what had happened, but even Mika knew how virulent a rumor could be.
Especially one about drama.
It wasn't something she enjoyed hearing about, but there were reports on the television about Officer Jenny paying Deliah's mother a visit and escorting her to prison. This, of course, moved Deliah's mother's Raichu someplace to be watched while the criminal justice system did its part.
And in all of Vermilion City, there would be no better place for Raichu to go than to the Cerise Pokémon Laboratory.
"D-Do you know anything about Raichu?" Deliah asked as Chloe turned to return home, wearing her school uniform and that strange, empty leather pouch necklace.
Chloe gave them both her most comforting attempt at a smile. "Right now she's with Goh and Ash in the park," she said. "They'll take good care of her until someone can make a decision about what happens next."
Even Goh and that Ash guy had to be aware of what happened with Deliah, Mika thought. And it just made her even sadder.
She looked to Deliah, who was doing her best to stay strong. Jolt stood at her feet, pushing against her leg to keep her from falling over in exhaustion.
Chloe seemingly noticed and did her best to give them both some encouragement. "I'm sure things will work out, somehow. No need to worry."
"Saying that just makes me worry more," Mika said, but she shrugged. "...We'll just have to hold onto our hope, you know?"
Chloe bid her friends farewell and left, vowing to return on her way home from school each day to pick up their homework and drop off the next few days until they were able to return to school themselves.
It was about a week after Deliah had turned up that Officer Jenny finally arrived at Patisserie Daisuke, and she did not come alone.
Stepping into the patisserie behind the saluting police woman was a man Mika and Deliah were both very familiar with. From the top of his graying red hair down to the bottoms of his shoes, he was in every stretch of the imagination both a Pokémon Professor and a father. Professor Cerise adjusted his glasses and kindly greeted Mika's parents as Mika, Deliah, and Jolt all watched from the stairs.
"Mika!" Her father called. "Come and bring ton amie down here and speak with the Professor!"
While Mika trusted Professor Cerise, she wasn't sure what Officer Jenny was doing here. She was struck with a fear that the police woman had come to take Deliah away or send her back to her mother.
It was something that sounded to Mika very much like a trap.
Deliah fidgeted nervously, shooting Mika a glance before she began moving down the stairs herself. Mika felt like she had no choice but to follow, to offer any support she could.
Once the two girls were at the bottom of the stairs, Officer Jenny looked like she would begin to speak, but she turned to Cerise, saying "I think it might be better if it came from someone she knew and trusted."
Chloe's father nodded. "Of course. I've known Deliah for a long time. Let me explain it to her."
Professor Cerise stepped past the Police Officer and crouched down to Deliah's level. His face bore an expression of a hurting father. "Deliah… I am so sorry this had been going on for so long underneath all of our noses. You deserve so much better than you've been getting… From the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry."
Deliah nodded. "It's okay, Professor," she said, holding Jolt in her arms. "I… I know my Mom wasn't doing what she was supposed to… I just… I didn't know what I could say… I thought it was my fault."
Professor Cerise put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's never your fault. Not when an adult harms a child. As adults, we're supposed to look out for children and act in their best interest. And this is a failure that weighs on all of us for not stepping in sooner."
Mika frowned. "Why'd you come to see Dii today, Professor?" she asked. She still wasn't convinced this wasn't some sort of trap, some sort of way to put Deliah back in danger.
Professor Cerise shot Mika a sympathetic glance.
"...well, it's just that Deliah can't stay here forever. That just isn't an option for her."
Deliah's head fell and her grip on Jolt tightened.
"Why not?" Mika protested. "She can just stay here as long as she has to!"
"In situations like this," Professor Cerise explained, "It's important for a child to get the support they need, and our government has set up foster child programs for people in Deliah's exact situation."
"Foster child…?"
Deliah squeaked the words out of her mouth quietly.
"It's sort of like getting a different set of parents who would treat you better," Professor Cerise said. "They wouldn't be adopting you per se, but they would definitely give you a stable place to stay and live."
"A… different set of parents…?" Deliah asked.
Mika felt her own anger boiling up. The only parent she knew Deliah wanted to have was no longer part of this world. She didn't need a replacement.
"You'd remain in Vermilion City," Officer Jenny spoke up. "Though… I'm not sure who the parents you'd end up with are. You might be on the other side of town. It would be an adjustment for sure. That's why I wanted Professor Cerise to be the one to explain it to you."
"I…"
Deliah looked like she was about to accept.
"B-But Professor," Mika said, stepping up, "you said that it wasn't an option for her to stay here, right? That must mean she has some other choice than going into foster care, right?"
Professor Cerise cracked a smile. "Indeed, she does have another choice," he said.
He stood up and backed away from the girls. He reached into his lab coat and pulled out three Poké Balls before gently tossing them into the air.
Mika felt her breath catch in her chest as the balls all snapped open and three very familiar Pokémon appeared in the Patisserie before her. She recognized them immediately, from Bulbasaur's iconic bulb on her back to Charmander's iconic flaming tail and even the round, shiny shell of Squirtle.
These were the three choices that a beginning trainer had as their first partner Pokémon in the Kanto Region.
"...Deliah, you're 13 years old, aren't you?" Professor Cerise asked.
Deliah nodded, her eyes glued to the Pokémon now standing in the sweets shop. "Y-Yeah…?"
"Since you're older than ten now, there is another option open to you. You can get your Pokémon Trainer's license and become recognized in the eyes of our government as someone who can take care of yourself."
Mika and Deliah both gasped. Somehow, this wasn't what Mika expected, and from Deliah's surprise, she doubted her friend saw it coming, either.
"Of course, this would come with choosing a first partner Pokémon and getting a Pokédex from me, as well," the professor continued. "But you wouldn't be limited to staying here in Vermilion City. You could go anywhere you wanted."
Deliah's eyes went wide with the possibilities. "Anywhere…?"
The professor nodded. "I know it can be a little scary, thinking about how big the world can be, especially after what you've been through. That's why I wanted to make sure you knew what your options were. But Deliah…"
He crouched down to her level and put a hand on her shoulder. Mika could see tears welling up in them, but she saw the kindness in Professor Cerise's eyes as well, and the strength to hold the tears there without letting them fall.
"This world is an incredible place. I know you've seen that it contains some darkness and other awful things, but you have to know that it contains a beautiful light, too. There are many incredible things out there you can open yourself up to if you choose to walk this path alone."
Deliah went quiet and looked away. Of course, Mika could tell that the thought of going wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted was appealing to her, but the thought of going alone terrified her.
But Mika also knew what her heart was telling her. That Deliah wasn't alone.
"She's not alone. No way that she's alone!"
The words came from her, drawing everyone's attention, including her parents.
"Mimi…?"
Deliah was looking at her now, too.
Mika took a breath and took a step to be bold.
"If Dii wants to face the world, it's not going to be by herself. Because… she'll have me. She's always had me, and I'm not going to let this change just because she becomes a Pokémon Trainer! I'll become a Pokémon Trainer, too, just like my bro is! I'll stay by Dii's side and help protect her!"
"Mika…!" her mother said, gasping. She saw her own mother's legs shake as she fell into her father for support.
Mika's father stared into her blue eyes and nodded. "Of course, if this is what you want, Mika, ta mère and I will support you complètement."
"Mama… Papa…"
Mika felt the tears forming in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.
Professor Cerise chuckled. "Well, this isn't something I fully expected when I came here today," he said, a wry smile on his lips. "But I guess you have always loved Pokémon, haven't you, Mika?"
She scowled back at him. "Well, yeah, Pokémon are cute, but Dii needs me. I don't want her to have to face this all by herself. Right now, she's only got Jolty to stand by her side. And so… I want to be someone she can rely on, too. No matter what."
Deliah swallowed and turned to the professor. "If… If Mimi is with me, then I'll do it. I'll become a Pokémon Trainer!"
Everyone's attention was again drawn to Deliah as she held onto Jolt.
"But I don't need a Pokémon, Professor. I've always had Jolt. And Jolt's always had me."
Jolt puffed his small chest out and held his tiny head high. "Pichu!"
The professor gave Deliah and her Pichu a nod. "Of course. Well then… how about you, Mika?"
Mika's eyes went wide. "You mean…?"
"You said you're going to protect Deliah, right? You'll need your own Pokémon to help out with that."
Was it finally happening? Was Mika Daisuke about to get her own Pokémon…?
She looked at the three Pokémon on offer and she felt years younger again.
She remembered watching her brother choose his first Pokémon, a Charmander, from Professor Cerise in his original, smaller laboratory when she was only about six years old. She had always daydreamed about choosing a Charmander of her own, once she was ready, and setting out on her own journey with them.
Squirtle, of course, would give her the edge over her brother, but it also reminded her of her father's mentor, a famous Water-type trainer from his home region of Kalos. Choosing Squirtle would be like following in her father's footsteps, and it was something she would love doing, making delicious and visually wonderful treats for all the world to see.
But she also knew that wasn't her path. At least for now.
She turned to the Bulbasaur, who was watching her with bright, red eyes.
She could hear Deliah's wish from that dark, stormy night.
"I wanted to go back to Floaroma Town… and see the flowers again…"
Bulbasaur, she knew, would one day bloom into a great flower when she became Venusaur. And she wanted to be able to show Deliah a flower whenever she wished.
She stepped to the small Grass- and Poison-type, and patted her on her head.
"I choose Bulbasaur to be my first partner."
"Bulba! Zoar!"
Bulbasaur fired a burst of sweet-smelling pollen from her bulb, covering Mika's face with what looked like pink, sugary glitter.
"Bulbasaur, come on! Don't do that…!"
Mika picked up her Pokémon and looked at her, only for Bulbasaur to begin licking the pollen off her face.
Through it all, Mika tried to be stern, but hearing Deliah's laughter broke down her need to look cool or be strong, and she joined her friend in a glorious, freeing laughter.
The five of them stood at Vermilion Harbor a few days later. Mika stood next to her Bulbasaur, while Deliah stood with Jolt on her shoulder. Both of them were looking at the ferry that would carry them far away from the Kanto Region as they left on a journey.
"I never thought you guys would leave home before I did."
The two girls turned back to see Chloe standing there, holding her Eevee in her arms. Standing behind her were both Goh with his Grookey on his shoulder, and Ash with his Pikachu on his.
"Well, all kids leave home someday, right?" Mika said. "It says so on TV!"
"I haven't watched much TV…" Deliah said, looking away.
Mika turned to her with a smile that she was sure radiated sunshine. "Well, you're in for a treat, Dii! We'll have a lot of time to catch up on all the wonderful stuff that this world has to offer!"
"You promise?"
"Promise!"
"Bulbazoar!"
"Pichu!"
Chloe frowned. "But still… School's going to be a lot lonelier without you guys around. I know this is for the best but… I'll miss you both."
"You can always call or text us," Mika offered, waving a hand dismissively. "Not that I'm sure you have much time apart from your boyfriend."
Goh glanced away, and Mika was sure he was blushing just as hard as Chloe was now. "Mika, is this really the time for jokes? Right before you leave? We might not see each other in person again for years!"
"...I just wanted to do it one last time. For old time's sake," Mika replied.
Deliah giggled behind her hands, which to Mika meant that at least she wouldn't be leaving with a frown.
Goh turned his focus away from Chloe and Mika and towards Deliah. "Hey, Deliah? About your Mom's Raichu…"
Deliah's giggling stopped, and she turned to Goh with a very sober expression in her eyes.
"I figure that your Mom won't be allowed to keep Raichu anymore, and as much as we love having her at the lab, it wouldn't be right for us to keep her cooped up there if she doesn't have anyone coming back for her. But you're basically Raichu's next of kin, so… what would you like us to do with her…?"
"Most of th' time," Ash said, "Pokémon that belong to people who do bad stuff get released to the wild, since it's usually the person's fault, not the Pokémon's. But you're Raichu's family, too, so we thought we'd ask what you thought before anything happened."
"Grooki groo."
"Pikachu."
Deliah crossed her arms, a look of contemplation settling on her face.
"Can… she stay with Mimi's parents?"
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "With Mika's family?"
Deliah nodded. "They might get lonely since Mimi's coming with me on this journey, and if she stays with them, then I'll always know when to find her… when we're all ready to have a new start."
"Pichu!" Jolt added.
"That sounds perfect to me," Mika said. "I'm sure Patisserie Daisuke will love having an extra set of hands to help out!"
"Sounds good to me, too," Goh said. "We'll make sure that's exactly what happens."
Ash pumped his fist as well. "Right! No need t' worry about a thing!"
"But where are you two headed?" Chloe asked. "It seems like you're going pretty far away."
Mika grinned like the Meowth who had captured the Pidgey. "Well…! Dii has some folks who live in the Sinnoh Region, and I thought there wouldn't be a better way to start our journey together than to head up there to see how they're doing!"
"I didn't know that…" Chloe said, blinking. "Where do they live?"
Deliah gave a wide smile before answering.
"Floaroma Town!"
Ash nodded. "Floaroma Town's famous for all the flowers they have! I hope you two have fun!"
"Pikachu!"
"Thanks, Ash," Deliah said. "It may be a long walk from Sandgem Town, but with Jolt and Mimi with me, I feel like I can go anywhere!"
Ash grinned back at her, stepping towards her and offering her a closed fist. "That's right! You can go anywhere you want with a good buddy and Pokémon by your side!"
Deliah nodded and hit her own fist against Ash's.
As the two trainers held their fists together, Pikachu and Jolt walked across their trainer's arms before turning around and fitting their two jagged tails together, shaking them like two people might shake hands.
"Pika pikachu!"
"Pichupichu!"
Both mice returned to their trainer's shoulders as the horn for the ferry began to sound.
"I guess that's our cue, huh?" Mika said. "C'mon, Dii! Adventure awaits!"
She offered Deliah a hand, which the smaller girl took, linking fingers with her's.
The motion made Mika's cheeks feel a touch warm, but she could blame it on the afternoon sun if anything.
The two girls and their Pokémon quickly boarded the ferry, and watched from the back of the ship as it left Vermilion Harbor. Chloe, Goh, and Ash all stayed and waved to them for some time as the ship pulled away, but Mika and Deliah weren't going on a journey to keep facing the past, so eventually they turned and walked to the front of the ship.
The ferry was sailing towards the east, away from the setting sun, on its way towards the Sinnoh Region, and so they, too, faced east towards a brighter tomorrow and a more hopeful future for the two of them.
And feeling Deliah's small hand in her own, Mika was sure it would be the future filled with excitement she had always dreamed of, and they would face it together.
Hello, this is Purim, the author. This probably isn't the sort of story you expected to be reading today, but last time I did promise something different.
While I have mentioned it in passing when asked, I do want to start things off this time by noting that Deliah is in fact an original character created by pennychu_ on twitter, who you might recognize as one of the people I credit with beta reading (also, thank you to Viroro and mezamun for beta reading these as well). We're friends who have written in roleplaying spaces together, and that's how I came to know her character.
While I was writing 'Silver Shadow' for this series, I came to a scene where I needed Goh to ask Mika where Chloe was, but I felt like I needed another character for Mika to be talking to in that scene as well, and that's when I remembered Deliah who on top of other things was an OC who was very close with Mika as you can tell from the story written above. So I quickly added her to the scene without asking for permission at first and continued onwards, but before the story was ever going to be published, I reached out to Deliah's creator and asked permission and made sure the characterization was correct and I got the go-ahead to include her (which meant going back and rewriting a few more scenes to include her earlier in the book!) but I think she adds a well-rounded sense of Goh and Chloe's friend group that they were growing up. I suppose I imagined Chloe as this person who has a natural affinity for caring for people who seem lonely, and so between Goh and Deliah, she would have had her hands full, which is where Mika comes in to help take care of Deliah.
Or to put it another way, Deliah's downbeat status helps prevent Goh from being overwhelmed by Chloe and Mika. I really enjoyed writing 'Chaser and the Night' as a look into how these four were friends back in those days... It would be a lot of fun to continue exploring this era in their lives, so maybe I will one day.
But for now, let's talk about the story we have.
Ever since I first introduced Mika in a fic back in 2021, I've been playing with the idea of a story from her perspective. Just who is 'Madcap' Mika Daisuke and what's her life like? Honestly, most of it was dreamed up by me back in those days, but there have been changes both subtle and not as time has gone on. I think I like her portrayal in OWC the best of the things I've included her in because she finally feels like more than a satellite character. She does live in the same world as Chloe and the others, but she has her own close friend in Deliah and her own things going on in life. She has an older brother who is a Pokémon Trainer and desperately wants to go on her own adventures, which is why she's such a nosy busybody with Chloe whenever she gets the chance. Her biggest fear is that her life will end up being too boring and she would love to leap at the call to adventure.
This, necessarily, brings us to Deliah's backstory. In truth, it isn't originally my creation here (it, as well as Deliah's Pichu named Jolt, are aspects of my friend's character that were brought over) but you can consider this my adaptation of that story with her blessing. I do a bit to reduce the amount of violence Deliah was subjected to, but the major parts remain basically the same. The resolution is also of my creation, as I wanted the story to fit into this world rather than the world she normally belongs to, and Pokémon is a place where while one can definitely write a story that's on the darker side, it is by and large and optimistic setting of dreams and adventures. As someone who has experienced my own share of child abuse and neglect, it was very easy for me to put myself in Deliah's mindset as she just sought to protect Jolt and wanted things to go back to how they were before things went 'bad'. Harder, though, was telling this from Mika's perspective, as the outsider with the normal family finding out just what her close friend had been experiencing for so long.
All of these, as with the rest, were done with the blessing of pennychu_ for this version of Deliah in this story.
I think my favorite aspect of this story may have been the appearance of Professor Cerise in the role of a good, loving father who hates to see children in pain and blames himself somewhat. I think giving Deliah and Mika a chance to leave the pain of the past behind and find new friends (and indeed, love; while they're not a couple here, hopefully this set up that they are intended to fall in love sometime in the future!) is the best ending that I can grant them, and I hope you keep the ideas of leaving the pain in the past where it belongs as we enter the final stretch of this storyline.
Next time, we begin Book 7, "Chaser and the Ruined Kingdom". I hope you join me then!