Effie and I gave a stern warning to Kemuri to not hurt still-asleep Cheryl while we were away and to not touch the stuff we had salvaged. Kemuri agreed without hesitation, albeit looking rather nervous. Some other Pokemon nearby assured us that they'd keep an eye on them. Taking their words, I led ourselves to a lake at the Ruins Of Alph to the south, the same one I had in mind when I threatened to drown Kemuri.
This lake was familiar to me. It was larger than the pond near the Burned Tower, but the atmosphere felt the same. I got down on all fours like before, washing the dirt off my paws and drinking to my heart's content. Effie simply stood behind me, watching. Funny how things have come full circle within just two days. Just like before, I felt afraid and confused. Slowly, I got up and looked at the large body of water illuminated by a dim moon. There were small clouds here and there, even then, the water was shimmering. It was a beautiful sight. Not a bad place for it to be the final resting place.
If Effie finally decided to 'break my neck and be done with me' after hearing what I was about to tell her, could I at least ask her to give me a proper burial here?
I took one final, longing look at the shimmering body of water before turning around. Sooner or later, I'd have to face Effie. I had no choice. Might as well get this over with. She was staring at me with immense curiosity, which made the task all the more harder. Almost reflexively, I went back to my arms-before-chest pose, prepared to at least try and defend against any oncoming attacks.
"Effie, uh, if you want to kill me or anything, please make it painless like you promised, okay? Don't drown me or anything. I'd hate to drown." The idea made me fearful. Maybe I should've picked a different place.
"What's wrong with you? Why would I want to drown you, Nemo?" She sounded clearly irritated. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now. And a promise is a promise. Why are you even thinking of drowning? Also, is this where you wanted to drown that Vulpix?" She hissed. I fumbled my way back to a large, nearby tree before sitting down. Effie was still standing up, all on fours, following me with her eyes and looking all predatory.
"Do you think I could really do that to someone? It was just a hollow threat! Someone tried to drown me once and it was awful." I quickly covered my mouth. There was no need to tell her that.
"Who did that?" Effie looked bewildered. "Mountain people?"
"No, just a family member. Forget it, it has nothing to do with what you wanted to hear from me." I sighed, trying to get back to what we were here to talk about in the first place.
"Understood. Continue, Nemo." She waved with her paw. Did she pick that up from me?
"Efiie, would you hate me if I were a human?" I finally asked, my heart beating out of my chest. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see her reaction.
It took her a few moments to answer. I could hear her creep closer to me, one step at a time. Still, I dared not open my eyes. If she wanted to attack me or something, then be it. I kind of deserved it for not being honest. But I had to do what I had to do. After all, it didn't seem like a very bright idea to stumble into a den of Pokemon and introduce yourself as a human who suddenly became one of them.
"What makes you ask that, Nemo? Are you a human?" She was close enough for me to feel her breathing. "You really look like one of us, Nemo, and not a human. You even smell like one of us, and not a human. While you speak in a really strange manner, you still speak like us, and not a human." She inhaled a long, drawn-out breath. Like a predator. "Are you a human, Nemo? Doesn't feel like that to me." Her voice sounded cold, almost emotionless. I wondered why her voice always changed tones so many times whenever we tried to have an important conversation. Maybe it was her way of hiding her true emotions behind them, as I couldn't tell whether she was angry or simply being dismissive of the ridiculous idea.
"Well, I'm obviously ot one anymore, but you didn't answer my question, Effie." I hesitantly opened my eyes. She was staring at mine, as expected. I quickly averted my gaze again, fearing that staring at her might let her dig out all my memories and secrets. No matter how alluring her eyes looked, I can't let my guard down now.
"Do you want an honest answer, Nemo? Then be honest with me first. Who are you, Nemo?" She tried to press against my chest with her paws, probably as a symbol of dominance, but I instinctively grabbed it. It felt assuring, just like when I held it after being injured by her. I gulped. I dug myself into this mess. Maybe I should've scooted out of the Burned Tower when Roro and Rori tried to scare me away. Then I wouldn't have to face a situation like this now.
It's been only two day, but it felt like weeks, months even. Was I ever really a human? Maybe that was just a bad dream and I had always been a Lopunny. But I had to tell her what I knew to be true. I didn't want to drown.
"I'm just... me. A Lopunny. But I used to be a human once."
Effie jerked her paw away from mine, before breaking into a series of cackles.
"Nemo, Nemo, you're not a very good liar! At least you being from the mountains trying to help your trainer was more believable!" Effie said and continued to laugh, scaring away a few Pokemon from the vicinity, one of whom I recognized to be an Aipom. I sighed, hugging my knees, not knowing what to say anymore.
I glanced at the water again. It was no longer shimmering like before. There were more clouds brewing, obscuring the moonlight that wasn't very bright to begin with.
I turned my attention back to Effie after she finally finished laughing. She looked serious again, but that expression was interrupted by her signature yawning. I wanted to yawn too, but held it back, not wanting to make it seem like I was mocking her. I was pretty sleepy myself, but it didn't seem like I had any chance of getting any sleep tonight without explaining myself first.
"So, tell me about it, Nemo. You were a human, like, in your previous life or something?" She still sounded dismissive and rather amused. At least she didn't sound angry, which was definitely a good thing.
"See? I told you that you wouldn't believe me." I mumbled before clarifying myself, "Basically I used to be a human until the day I stumbled into the Tower. That day, I woke up and found myself like this." I raised my paws to my eye level to ascertain myself that I had indeed become a Pokemon. Effie just shook her head disappointedly.
"I said I wouldn't be surprised with you anymore, but you don't really expect me to believe that, do you? But your other story doesn't make sense, either, Nemo. I kept playing along because it was fun, but -" She angrily kicked at the dirt, "Nothing about you makes sense anymore! Oh Raikou, I wish I could read minds!" She cried out loudly.
"Wait, you can't?" I looked at her with surprise. That, I wasn't expecting.
"No, you dummy! Othewise I wouldnt' have to try my patience with you or that Vulpix!" She snarled, "Why did you have to give him your words, anyway? You didn't go to the trouble of capturing him, Cheryl and I did! We could've made a meal out of him!"
I didn't know whether to feel sick, amused or thankful that I wasn't on her meal list yet. But something didn't add up. The food chain and the normal diet of the likes of Effie.
"You were really going to eat him? The last time I heard, a Vulpix wouldn't be the first choice of food for an Espeon or a Furret." I tried to make light of the situation. What if she tried to prove me wrong by attacking me now? I doubted that she would try something like that, having promised to not hurt me.
Effie sighed, "You got me. We were looking for a Rattata or two, maybe a Pidgey nest. He just happned to pass by, lost. But why do you know all these? You don't actually seem like a long-time traveler, and if you were really a human, then you shouldn't have to know this. Humans don't hunt for food anymore, do they?"
"We still have to learn stuff like that, some do it out of actual interest and others do it to sell their knowledge and buy food and survive. My reasons were a bit of both." At least, it seemed like we were finally having a normal conversation. But why was I suddenly explaining the concept of human education and finance to her now?
"I really want to believe whatever you're telling me, Nemo, but it doesn't make sense! Say, you were a human, so why did you wake up as one of us? Did you have visions? Great Lugia or Great Ho-Oh telling you something?" She laid down on the ground, yawning again.
"No, nothing like that. But that's where Yuki-hime and her supposed curse comes in." I braced myself to tell her my version of the legend. I began grooming my ears as I continued to speak. Curse or not, they were soft and fluffy. I liked them.
Effie was the one looking at the water body by the time I was finished with my tale. I waited for her to process what I just told her. As I recollected my tale, I came to the realization that it just solidified the idea that humans were just cruel and dastardly beings. But still, so many details were missing to be certain about it.
Why did my ancestor participate in that killing, assuming that's what actually happened here? Maybe they wanted Yuki-hime's pelt as a trophy or something, that'd be a plausible explanation. Maybe the humans tried to lure Her out by putting Her family in danger and it didn't work. Whatever, has nothing to do with me. I've never participated in any cruel slaughter and that's what counts. But what if Effie didn't feel that way and she hated me now? I just wished I could fall asleep and let things settle themselves, like I was used to for most of my life; crying myself to sleep and finding things suddenly looking better the following day.
"Nemo." Effie took a long pause between uttering my name and following it up with more words, which turned out to be a repeatation, "It doesn't make sense."
"I know, Effie, that's why I need answers! Actually -" I hesitated for a bit, "Maybe I want to apologize now, too."
"To whom?" Her ears perked up.
"To Yuki-hime, of course! She didn't deserve what happened to her."
"How do you know what actually happned to Her? You don't know what your distant family had done and that Vulpix seemed too fond of Yuki-hime to tell you anything without bias." Effie impatiently scratched at the dirt, "He even said there is no curse, so that goes against your story."
"You're right, maybe my change has nothing to with that Ninetales. But I wouldn't know that for sure if I don't keep looking, Effie." I yawned. These two days have proved to be more eventful for me than the past two years combined.
"Why are you so obsessed with finding answers, Nemo? Will that change anything?" Effie scoffed.
"Probably not, but that's what I've done my entire life, gathering knowledge and trying to make sense of the world. I thought I had it all figured out, then one day it turns out I really know nothing. And you still haven't answered my question, Effie." I countered.
"What question?"
"Do you hate me now, now that you know for me to have been a human?" I heart was pounding again. But this time, I refused to avert my gaze. Maybe I wouldn't find answers about what happened to me, but I could at least get an answer from her. In fact, her answer seemed more important to me now.
"What makes you ask that, again?"
"Well, uh, you seem to have a history with humans and you said they deserve all the misery." I lightly winced.
It took Effie a few seconds to answer.
"I haven't known you as a human, Nemo, I've known you as you are now. No reason for me to hate you. And please never give me one." She paused for a second or two again, "And what makes you think I have a history with humans, Nemo?"
Well, too late to turn back now. I should learn to watch my tongue.
"You know how to use man-made stuff, like Potions. Not many wild creatures can do that. And it seems unlike of you to disdain another kind without being in close contact with them." I said with uncertainty.
"Like I said, not all humans are bad, Nemo. I hate the bad ones. Those who abandon others, those who don't keep their words. You don't seem like either of those types, Nemo." She sighed, "Tell me this, Nemo, why did you leave your human family and didn't go back, even though they live close to the Tower, like you just told me? Did they abandon you or did you abandon them?"
I felt my throat burn up.
"Mother told me to leave them if something like this ever happened, and I obliged, so I guess it's both. Besides, my home wasn't the nicest place to begin with. What about you, Effie? An Espeon or Eevee isn't a very common sight in Johto, either." I tried to distract myself by focusing on the sounds in the distance. What were Cheryl and Kemuri up to now? I hoped they were okay. What about Markov and the others at the Tower? Were they missing us?
"Sounds like they abandoned you, then." Effie held her breath before continuing, "Now I know why you seemed so familiar when I first spotted you; you looked lost, frightened and confused." Her voice softened a bit, almost muffled. Was she crying? I couldn't see the details of her face or eyes in this faint light. The clouds have obscured pretty much all the moonlight by now. Only thing that prevented us from being in complete darkness were the lights from the buildings in the distance.
"You... You were abandoned too?" I felt like I shouldn't be asking this, but I couldn't stop myself. I wanted to reach out and comfort her, but now didn't seem like a good time. Maybe I'd be crossing a line there.
"At the Day Care. You know what happens there?" She turned her head the other way.
"No." I admitted. Pokemon rearing facilities weren't a part of my curriculum and never piqued my interest. But a daycare? I guess Effie had a trainer once and he or she left her in the daycare and never came back.
"You're better off not knowing." Effie sighed. "Shall we head back? I think we've talked enough for one night."
Finally! I was getting really tired of this painful conversation. I sprung back up on my feet.
"Sounds good to me. I hope the food is still there and those two haven't helped themselves to it!" I tried to sound cheerful. I'd rather sleep now, but I wasn't really used to going to bed hungry. In a way, I had been lucky so far. No matter how bad things were at the home, I always had food and shelter.
Effie followed suite, walking by my side.
"Trust me, if they've done that, I'll really kill them this time!" She chuckled. I felt glad the atmosphere was finally changing.
"Wouldn't it be better to just send them on a hunt for more food?" I suggested.
"That makes sense, but they might just run away instead. Whatever, we have each other." She nuzzled my legs. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
I had no idea where to go tomorrow, I had no idea where to look for answers, but at least Effie wasn't upset with me. That's what mattered the most to me right now.
"Hey, Nemo, can I request you something?" She asked in a soft voice, which surprised me. What could I possibly help her with? I haven't proven myself to be a very reliable companion.
"Of course, as long as it's within my capabilities. You know how bad I'm at things." I nervously laughed.
"You do things differently, but it's not really bad. And I wouldn't ask this if it was beyond your capabilities, Nemo." She held her breath, stopping on her tracks. I stopped too, not wanting to leave her side.
"Don't you abandon me too, Nemo, even after you've found your answers and whatnot." Her voice sounded almost inaudible, even to my sensitive ears. I felt my heart skip a beat.
"I'll never abandon you, Effie, I give you my words." I uttered. What was I doing, making such bold promises to her? Like I did to my highschool sweetheart, promises I couldn't keep? I was really hopeless. But I was different now. Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to stay true to my words. I have to.
"Good. I'll protect you in return, Nemo." She said in the same soft voice and then we continued walking once more.
The campsite was in a state of chaos. There were a bunch of Pokemon circling around the campfire, a couple of Mareep, a few Rattata, some Noctowl perched on nearby brances. The fire had almost burned out, with Kemuri and Cheryl huddled together near them. I felt a surge of panic hit me.
Before I could ask anything, Kemuri shouted at us:
"Sir Nemo, Lady Effie! Something's wrong with this Furret here! Please help!" He sounded frightened.