Chapter 4

He tilted his head in curiosity. "So about how close are we? I can hear the sounds of people out and about."

The boy offered a chuckle. "Not too far now, we're just getting into the city limits. Hey, man, I think it's really awesome you asked me to help you out, you know, after you own the match and all that. Some of the others like to look down on me when I don't win."

"That doesn't strike me as very sporting," he commented. The tap-tap-tap of his cane provided counterpoint to his remark.

"Well, no. Some of them won't even make sure I get out of the tall grass, if you get my drift."

His facial expression didn't change but the tenor of his voice changed slightly. "That goes from unsportsmanlike to just plain rude. When was the last time any of them could use Teleport to get out of a tight spot?"

"That's what I'm sayin'! So, I mean, thanks a lot. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem. Just a shame that common courtesy isn't so common."

"Smoochum!"

He could hear the grin in the boy's voice. "I guess your Pokémon thinks the same way?"

"Heartily, at that," he agreed. "I raised her to be as helpful as possible. Same for Starmie – they both help me out quite a bit."

"Well, that's really cool of you. Aha! There it is, just a few blocks away, straight ahead."

"Well, then, lead on, my friend," he answered.

–

Color was just beginning to touch the horizon, and Kelly was sitting on her heels on the paved sidewalk just beyond their house. Her hands were clasped together and she was staring intently at the concrete, as though it would do something extraordinary within the next few seconds.

She could hear the low hum of a vehicle in the distance and just a few short moments later, a pair of bright lights accompanied the noise on the road leading north to Viridian City. She couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the irony. Something to be said here – traveling from the city of vindication for the best, to "the town of new beginnings". Guess there's always a new beginning to be found somewhere.

The car pulled up in front of her. It was a modest vehicle, really meant to convey two people comfortably and three or four at a stretch. Assuming that stretch required one to stuff the extra passengers in the trunk. The passenger side window scrolled down to reveal Amanda sitting in the driver's seat.

She took a moment to size Kelly up; her eyes passed slowly over the researcher's capture ball belt. Five of six slots on it were occupied. "I see you're not one to waste time."

"Friends and plumbing, always high priorities," Kelly noted, her tone somewhat glib.

Amanda frowned, causing the other to flinch slightly. "This thing is happening to me, I'd sort of appreciate if you didn't joke about it just now."

"Sorry. I just feel a bit... out of place, being the one you asked to help."

Amanda arched an eyebrow at Kelly. "If you'd prefer I do this by myself after all..."

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily. You asked me to be here and here I am. I'm ready to do this if you are."

"Hope so. Hop in."

Kelly obliged, buckling in as she sat down. As Amanda pulled the car back onto the road, Kelly watched her for a long moment and said, "I really am sorry. This is just really sudden."

"If you listen to Adam, a lot of the stuff I do seems to be based on sudden urges," Amanda remarked.

Kelly blinked in surprise. "Where did that come from?"

A sigh escaped the driver. "He thinks I've been rushing into wanting to have a baby. He wants time for just us first."

"And there's a problem with that?"

"Well... yes and no." Amanda sighed again. "My thing is, I became the damsel in distress for him. It was his goal to get me out of the league so that I could come home. Not just for the sake of coming home, but of coming home to him. Which, yeah, I wanted... but I don't want to be the one looked after anymore. I want to do the looking and the caring."

"And you feel having a baby would be the right thing for that?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Kelly considered. "I suppose I would, in a way." She couldn't help the wryness that crept its way into her tone. "I've been a prisoner of circumstance myself. But if Jason and I are going to have kids, it's not going to be now. We're both pretty much settled on that. Not ready yet."

"Which is fine, since you weren't inoculated with mifepristone." Amanda pursed her lips. "I think it's a good thing I've been 'rushing' into it. If I hadn't wanted it so soon, I wouldn't have found out what I know now. And now I have a chance to fix it before it's too late."

Kelly chewed her lip for a moment before responding to that. "I wanted to ask about that, actually. Just how much chance... would you say we have?"

Amanda looked sidelong at Kelly and a long silence hung between them. She finally offered a long sigh. "Look... the Atlantis League is constantly changing. It's not like just any schmuck can walk in there expecting to win. Jason and Adam are... or were... uncommonly good trainers. But Adam had the benefit of knowing me and which Pokémon I was likely to use, and he probably tipped Jason off on at least a couple of the gym leaders."

"And?"

"And it's been two years since I left. You can bet the composition of the gym leaders has changed drastically, maybe even some of the policies. The fact that he was even there was a miracle, to say nothing of willing to tell me what happened."

Kelly cocked her head. "'He'? He who?"

"Darth." Amanda scoffed at Kelly's incredulous look. "Not his real name, just like 'Trixie' wasn't mine. We get to pick them. It can help to psyche out an opponent. Anyway, Darth is the leader of the first gym."

"Jason told me about him. Didn't have much to say, though."

"There's virtually nothing to say about him at all. He lives in total solitude on the Colossal. He's been with the League a lot longer than me or anyone else I worked with – even Mark, the champion, wasn't there as long. Why he isn't the champion is anyone's guess."

Kelly shrugged. "Well, maybe he was, and then got bumped?"

"Possible. Like I said, it's anyone's guess. Even when he's had the chance, and he's had a lot of them, he's never relinquished his status as the Colossal's gym leader." She scoffed again. "By being Gym Leader Number One, he's only allowed to use one Pokémon. It's a waste of his skill to restrict him like that."

"Except he's not the only one restricted, is he?" Kelly pointed out. "Jason and Adam both told me how the trainers going in are embargoed from using any more Pokémon in battle than the gym leader."

"Yes, as they say, all a matter of fairness." Amanda shook her head. "You need to see him in battle. If he were the fifth gym leader... or even the champion... I'm not sure anybody could win that trophy."

"Why?"

"He loves his solitude. The only thing he loves more are his Pokémon. He's only permitted one in battle but he doesn't always use the same one. He keeps it fresh. We all did. We all were mandated to."

"Makes sense. Sooner or later word about your Pokémon."

"Exactly. I don't know how many Pokémon he has but he is a master breeder. He breeds and trains them on that ship. For all I know, the new gym leaders are following his example, making the absolute best Pokémon they can specifically to beat people like you and me."

"Which brings me back to my question."

Amanda's voice softened. "And I think that answers it."

–

It wasn't like Jason to awaken later than the sunrise, so when he finally did open his eyes and realized the sun was already beginning to blaze through the house, he felt disoriented. He passed a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger to try and rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep. Since having his cycle interrupted, his hadn't been a peaceful slumber. Fragmented memories of the Orange Islands, his excruciating electrocution, and the sight of Gyarados destroying the marina had all mixed together to create a disjointed nightmare of pain and confusion. But even now, the images and sensations of the dream were beginning to fade.

And best that they do. I have enough trouble dealing with the real memories without getting them turned into some subconscious game of Tetris.

He rolled onto his side – and again found himself confused. Kelly wasn't in the bed with him. Usually she was awake by this point, but she wasn't one to leave the bed quickly; one could count on her to stay there until perhaps 9 a.m., and the clock read only 8:12. He frowned as he dug through his memory, no less hazy than the vanishing dream, of having been inadvertently awoken during the night.

Right. She said she had something to take care of with Amanda. "Girls-only." Whatever that means. He stretched his arms and arched his back, yawning loudly in the process, then wrestled himself into his wheelchair and moved out to the living room. He tilted his head at the sight of a piece of looseleaf paper on the coffee table; a pen acted as a weight atop it, and even from his position he could tell the note had been hastily scribbled on. He moved his chair next to the table and picked up the note.

Jason:

I'm on something of an emergency business trip with Amanda. Sorry for not letting you know sooner but it came up REALLY quickly. We're going to be out of town for at least a few days. I'll give you a call as soon as I can. I love you!

Jason frowned. That's strange. Amanda's not really into business – neither's Kelly. He made his way back into the bedroom and withdrew his PokeGear from his bedside table, then dialed in a command.

A few moments later, he heard a click, followed by Adam's voice, which offered no preamble. "Jason? You calling about Amanda and Kelly?"

"Uh. Yeah. Hello to you, too, by the way."

"Sorry, hi. I was just going to call you, actually. Wanted to know what you knew about it."

"Apparently no more than you do. Kelly left me a note saying they had some kind of emergency business trip. Which seems strange to me. The two of them aren't really involved in business. Unless Amanda's started up on something I don't know about."

"Afraid there's not much I can tell you. All Amanda told me was that she had to leave town for a few days. I'm worried about her. The latest attempt was a non-starter, too."

"I'm sorry to hear." Jason tried to stifle a chuckle. "Maybe you two need to try more often?"

"Funny, I suggested that very idea. I'm thinking maybe she went to a specialist. Didn't think she'd try to push me out of that, though – isn't it the both of us trying, here?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm not in the room." Jason hesitated. "Are you?"

"Well... yeah. I mean, I know how much she wants a kid. And I understand why. I want to have kids with her too, I just... didn't think it'd be so soon. We're still in our mid-twenties."

"I gather you've talked that part out with her already."

"You don't want to know how many times. I want kids, sure. She wants kids now. I just don't know if I'm ready for that kind of adventure yet."

"You're a writer, for godsakes. Adventure is your bread and butter."

"Too many books on being a parent. It's the original fable."

"So what's the next one going to be about?"

"You'll be the second to know."

"The first being?"

"Me." Jason heard a chuckle emit from the other end. "Let me know if you hear from Kelly, I'll do the same if I hear from Amanda. Sound good?"

"Fine by me."

–

The day passed with no word from either Kelly or Amanda, leaving Jason to prepare his own food and peruse the latest periodicals and news channels in solitude. He appreciated the head-clearing silence that came with being alone – it was something he hadn't experience for a very long time. There had always been his family. Then there had always been Gyarados. And then there had always been Kelly. So on and so forth. The only time his day was interrupted was during the late morning, when Professor Oak dialed to find out whether Kelly was at home. The revelation that she was not was met with the barest and most distracted of good-byes.

Come the sunset, Jason was seated idle just beyond the shorefront. The sun might have been kissing the western horizon but his eyes were directed to the south, towards what remained of Cinnabar Island – and beyond that, the far-off Orange Islands.

Since his fatal encounter with his insane brother two years ago, he had never deigned to return. He saw the occasional article in various periodicals offering general and vague descriptions on the state of business there, but for the most part his eyes had long gotten accustomed to skipping such pieces. There was never any reason for him to read them, or so he'd come to believe. The simple truth was he had no family remaining, and nothing of theirs to claim – even if he reported himself to the authorities there as alive and well, which he had never done. As far as they were concerned, he was a cold case. According to an article Kelly had shoved under his nose several days after their return to Kanto from that nightmare, the discovery of Daniel's body was followed rapidly by a liquidation of the family's assets in order to cover outstanding debts owed. Meantime, the body had been properly buried; the autopsy report showed he'd been mauled to death by a wild Gyarados.

He could still remember scoffing at the irony of the report... so true and yet so false at the same time. Gyarados virtually bit him in half. They don't get much more wild than that. Imagine the scandal if they knew it was a tamed one.

That wasn't information that he, Kelly, or Adam were interested in sharing with anyone. The evidence collected created a story that appeared to conveniently keep the three of them out of the picture, leaving only Daniel and an unfortunate encounter with a vicious animal. On top of that, it was shown that even if the most cutting-edge medical technology and care had been available the instant it happened, it wouldn't have done any good. He'd been doomed the moment Gyarados set eyes on him.

He felt stirred from his reverie, and frowned as he heard what sounded like a faint, rhythmic tapping noise. Tap-tap-tap-tap, as if someone was hitting the sidewalk with a branch. He straightened in his chair, turned–

–and immediately his eyebrows shot up, because that was almost exactly what was happening.

The person approaching was male. He appeared to be in his late teens – Jason estimated perhaps 16 or 17, not old enough to be a man but not quite a boy anymore either. His black hair was close-cut, almost buzzed. He wore light blue jeans, a red shirt, and a black vest, all of which were faded and somewhat frayed – indicative of heavy use in conditions both moderate and extreme. Over his eyes was a dark pair of narrow, ski-goggle sunglasses. The young man stood a little less than two meters, and in his right hand he bore a collapsible white cane, the culprit of the tapping noise: left, right, left, right, left, right.

But perhaps most striking to Jason about this person was the standard issue capture ball belt adorning his waist. A pair of Poké Balls occupied two of its six slots. They, too, did not seem particularly new. For all the sunlight that still blazed across the horizon, there was no glare shining off the miniaturized devices. Jason's eyebrows shot up for a moment, then he frowned.

A Pokémon trainer... that's blind? ...Or maybe just someone with "seeing-eye" Pokémon? But if they were that, why wouldn't they be outside their balls?

Interest piqued, he turned his wheelchair to face the young man more fully. As he watched, the other continued to approach, apparently making a beeline for the paraplegic. He stopped short only a meter from striking the wheelchair with his cane, at which point he came to a stop. His face was turned in Jason's direction, leading the wheelchair-bound man to wonder whether the trainer's blindness was total. Or perhaps even genuine.

Attempting to cover his balk, he spoke up. "I don't smell that badly, do I?"

The young man's face broke into a wide grin. "If you'd prefer I bump into you..."

Jason let out a chuckle. "Point taken. Need me to move out of your way?"

"Somehow, I don't think I will. I was told I could find Jason Creight out here and rarely do I hear a grown man speak from waist level. So would you be Mr. Creight?"

The paralyzed trainer cocked his head somewhat cautiously. "The last time I checked, I was. Is there a reason you're looking for me?"

"Yes, there is. But first and foremost I wanted to tell you how much an admirer I am. You're the reason I'm even here at all."

Jason tilted his head in the other direction. "Well, I'm flattered by that... but I hope you'll forgive me for not being more dazzled. Over the years, I've been made quite aware of the inspiration I've provided to others."

"I'm sure of that. Still, I thought you should know you provided an invaluable example for me to follow."

"Wasn't really trying to. But I'm glad people..." He hesitated, looking for the proper phrasing. "Well, I'm glad they can glean some hope from it." Jason loosely laced his fingers in his lap. "May I ask the name of the hope-gleaner in front of me?"

The young man smiled again – this one appeared to have a slight bit of trepidation attached to it. "My name's Samuel Curtis. I tend to go by Sam. And as you're probably able to tell, I'm blind."

Jason caught himself nodding in affirmation; realizing the faux pas, he followed the nod with an abrupt, "Yes, the, uh... cane and sunglasses were a bit of a giveaway."

"They usually are. And by now you've certainly noticed that I have Pokémon with me. I am, in fact, an active Pokémon trainer."

Jason chewed the inside of his lip for a moment. "A blind trainer must not be that common here in Kanto."

Another smile graced Sam's features. "Very true, Mr. Creight. Not in Kanto, or anywhere else, really. I'm the only one I know of. Anyway, there's one standing here now. And if you're not too terribly busy, I'd like to talk with you for a while."

Jason's eyebrows rose. "Talk? No challenges to battle?"

"Mr. Creight, I have a lot of respect for you. Whether the myth of Jason Creight matches the man, I really don't think I could beat you in a battle if I wanted to. Besides... they say challenges are issued the moment trainers lock eyes. Let's face it, kind of hard for me."

Jason actually laughed at that. "How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

The laugh wasn't reciprocated – in fact, not even a smile came to the trainer's face. "I'm afraid it wasn't that difficult, other people helped to come up with it for me."

Jason sobered. That certainly wasn't said in jest. "Tell you what... not really doing anything important just now. How about we go over to my place?"

"Really?" Sam shifted in place, but appeared to have a poor time concealing his excitement at the thought. "I wouldn't want to impose..."

"Hardly. If you're looking to talk to me, I imagine you'd want at least a little privacy, so rather than wait for you to awkwardly ask me about the chances of finding a place, let me remove that particular hurdle."

"Your wife won't mind?"

Jason blinked. "My, my. You do keep up, don't you?"

"Mr. Creight, if you're so unimpressed with the inspiration that brought me into training, then you're probably used to hero worship."

Jason scoffed. "Okay, I'll grant that. Actually, as it so happens, my wife is out of town for a while, so this is the perfect time for me to have unexpected guests."

"Sounds like you've got it all worked out, then. Care to lead the way?"

Jason tilted his head once more. "You don't want to walk ahead so I could tell you what direction to go?"

"I'll just follow the smell."

Jason tried to restrain a guffaw and began to move his wheelchair. Hoo, boy. Wouldn't Adam love to take this kid aside. He exudes that sort of "adventure" about him.

... He's adventurous and he's been looking for me.

This will be trouble.