Oh man, I love writing too much. I thought that this chapter was only going to be about 1,300 words, but it ended up being a little over 1,800! XD Oh well, that just means that you have a nice long chapter to read! I hope this makes up for my temporary absence over the past...what is it? Month (or maybe two)? That's just too long. Sorry about that guys.
After all the school work that I've been getting hammered with, I'm sincerely surprised how easily I was able to continue writing this. Ideas just kept flowing and I even got an idea for something later in the story (but for obvious reasons, I can't tell you what it is). Just keep reading to find out what that idea is! ;)
This chapter is kinda like filler/background info...whatever you want to call it, I guess, but I feel that it's essential to the developing relationship between Hayley and Evoleon.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please don't hesitate to review. I like hearing from you guys. It's very interesting to read what you guys think is going to happen and what-not.
Oh! One last thing: a while ago, I drew concept sketches of Evoleon and Hayley and posted them on Deviantart, so go check 'em out! The link to my Deviantart page can be found near the top of my profile.
Chapter 5
Dwelling in the Past
"So, what are we going to do now Hayley?"
"Well, it's getting late," she replied as she gazed at the sunset-hued sky. "Why don't we go to the Pokemon Center in the next town and get a room for the night?"
"Okay. Sounds good to me."
Hayley reached down and released her Pidgeot for the second time that day, greeting it like usual and asking it to give her a lift to Viridian City. The bird made its cooing sounds again and lowered its body to the ground, indicating that Hayley should hop on.
The flight didn't last nearly as long as the one from the Seafoam Islands. In fact, it seemed as if it was almost too short for the distance they had to travel. Maybe it was because she was a bit more used to flying now, or maybe because she felt some satisfaction in finally knowing something about herself. Whatever it was, it wasn't long before they saw Viridian City growing larger on the ever-darkening horizon. Calling her Pidgeot back into its Poke Ball, Hayley strode through the double sliding-glass doors.
"Nurse Joy?" the teen said, getting the attention of the pink-haired lady behind the counter. "May we have a room to stay in tonight?"
"Of course." Nurse Joy rummaged through a drawer for a while before taking out a key and handing it to Hayley. "Second door on the right."
"Thank you." Hayley bowed her head momentarily as a sign of gratitude and headed for the specified sleeping quarters. She fumbled with the key, trying to insert it into the lock so they could get inside, but the task was made slightly more difficult because Evoleon was still in her arms. After a few minutes of this, she asked Evoleon to climb onto her shoulder so she could unlock the door with ease. Evoleon gladly followed directions and stationed herself on the teen's right shoulder while she tried the lock again. They heard a metallic click and the door swung open, finally allowing them to enter.
The room was fairly small, had a bunk bed against the right wall, a door that lead to a bathroom on the left, and a square window on the wall opposite them. The last few fading rays of sunlight gleamed in through the glass window panes. Evoleon jumped off of Hayley's shoulder and bounded over to the windowsill, staring out across the landscape. She could see a forest in the distance, framing the many buildings in the town perfectly. A few Pidgey flew toward the trees and disappeared among the foliage, most likely settling down for the night, just as they were.
The sunset itself was amazing. Pinks, yellows, and a myriad of other colors blended into each other, reflecting their light off of the outlines of the trees and houses, painting the wispy clouds with their vibrant tones as well. Even though Evoleon had seen a few sunsets before, none of them could compare to this magnificent one. It was breath-taking, the most beautiful thing she had ever laid eyes on.
Hayley walked over and patted Evoleon on the head, happy to see the Pokemon looking so tranquil.
"You fur is a little matted," she commented as she felt a snarl in Evoleon's cloud-like collar. "How would you like a bath?"
"A bath?" She honestly didn't know what a bath was.
"Yeah. You know, using water to clean yourself off? Come on," she said as she lifted the Pokemon into her arms once more. "It'll make you feel better."
She carried Evoleon into the bathroom and set her in the tub, turning on the water and letting it warm up before stoppering the drain. She let the tub fill up until the water reached Evoleon's underside and grabbed a special bottle of Pokemon shampoo from her bag. She poured some along Evoleon's spine, making her shiver from the sudden coldness. Hayley then lathered up the shampoo and worked it through Evoleon's fur, being careful not to pull on any tangles with too much force. Evoleon just stood there, enjoying the whole cleansing process. Hayley's hands were gentle and soothing as she massaged the shampoo through her coat, the water so warm and pleasant. It was obvious that she had had experience with giving a Pokemon a bath before. She knew exactly which spots felt best when stimulated and the pressure with which to touch them.
Hayley dragged some of the bubbles to the top of Evoleon's head, combing through the hair with her fingers and rubbing her long ears. Then she cupped her hands, sifted some of the bath water through her fingers, and dropped it over Evoleon's head. She smoothed the suds and water toward the Pokemon's back, preventing it from seeping into her eyes. She repeated this process until Evoleon was properly rinsed, after which she pulled the plug out of the drain and lifted Evoleon out of the tub, wrapping her in a towel. She gently stroked the shaggy cloth across the Pokemon's body as she went back into the other room and sat on the lower bunk, soaking up any excess water.
"How do you feel now?"
"Great!" Evoleon answered, shaking her fluffy, and recently cleaned, fur around. "Thanks Hayley."
"No problem," she smiled back. "I'm just gonna go change into my pajamas real quick, alright?"
"Alright."
As Hayley closed the door behind her to change, Evoleon jumped back onto the windowsill, gazing out at the now dark blue night sky. Stars glittered overhead as the moon cast its shimmering glow on the town, clouds occasionally drifting in front and disrupting the moonbeams. Evoleon was surprised by how many natural beauties there were. First the sunset, now this. What other wonders were there for her to discover?
Hayley emerged from the bathroom and joined Evoleon at the window again, now clad in her nightwear. They continued to stare outside until a low rumble sounded from Evoleon's stomach.
"Hungry are you?" Hayley laughed.
"Yeah. To tell you the truth, I haven't eaten anything since this morning."
"Well we better fix that now, shouldn't we?" She reached into her bag and pulled out a container of Pokemon food and a small bowl. She emptied the container into the bowl and set it on the floor. "There you go."
Evoleon hopped off the windowsill and made a bee-line for the food bowl. Hayley retrieved a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich from her bag and took a bite as Evoleon chowed down.
"I haven't eaten either," Hayley admitted, peanut butter sticking to the roof of her mouth. There was silence for a while, both of them eating their fill. Hayley went to brush her teeth and came back yawning from the sudden exhaustion that sometimes came with eating. She found a brush in her bag and started dragging it through her hair, Evoleon watching in curiosity. Hayley caught her staring and explained.
"It's a brush. It helps you from getting your hair really tangled. Want to try?"
Evoleon jumped onto her lap and laid down, permitting Hayley to stroke the bristly device through her coat. It felt really good, just like the bath, and Evoleon couldn't help but think how useful human inventions were.
"Hayley?"
"Hmm?
"What was your past like?" Evoleon asked, unable to contain the question that had been in the back of her mind ever since they had left the Professor's lab. "I mean, do you know? Or are you like me and you don't know?"
Hayley stopped brushing for a second, thinking of what to say.
"Well, there are some things I can't remember very well, like what happened when I was a baby, but that's normal. Most people don't remember anything from when they were a baby." Evoleon wondered if that might have explained why she didn't remember anything before waking up in that tank. After all, Professor Oak had said that she was a young Pokemon.
"Where did you grow up?"
"For the most of my childhood, I lived in Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region. I remember always sneaking off into the nearby woods to go and play with the wild Pokemon that lived there." Hayley paused for a few seconds, apparently lost in her memories. "While I did have kids around my age to play with, for some reason I felt more comfortable being around Pokemon. I could understand them easier than I could humans. I have gotten a little bit better at reading people's feelings, but I'm still better at knowing what a Pokemon is feeling. It's weird, but I guess you could say that I have a natural skill of knowing the Pokemon psyche.
"My mom was always there to take care of me, but my dad was in LaRousse City most of the time, since that's where he works. Mom and I would take a ferry there on occasion to go see him, but he was usually so boggled down with work that we ended up going around town by ourselves…It was a pretty cool city," Hayley added. "There were all these moving sidewalks and little blocky security robots, and the coolest thing was that the city got all its power from the wind turbines. No pollution or anything.
"But the one thing in the entire city that interested me the most was the Battle Tower. It was the thing that convinced me to go on an adventure. I was fascinated by all the tactics and techniques that the trainers used in order to win. I saw so many different kinds of Pokemon there, even ones that didn't live in Hoenn. Every time we visited LaRousse, I would beg my mom to take me there. I loved watching the Pokemon jump elegantly out of the way of enemy attacks and smoothly loose their own.
"A few years later, I left for my journey with a spunky Mudkip as my companion. The more I traveled, the more I realized that I wasn't just interested in battling. In fact, for me it was more about going around, seeing new places and meeting new people and Pokemon. Along the way, I gathered the Gym Badges and before I knew it, I had beaten the Pokemon League! After that, I decided to go to other regions, see what kinds of adventures they had to offer, and that's how I eventually ended up here, in Kanto."
There was a long silence after Hayley had stopped talking. She had finished brushing Evoleon's fur and they were both in deep thought, Hayley reminiscing and Evoleon replaying her words in her head.
"Oh, it's getting late," Hayley said, snapping back to reality. "We should get some rest."
She placed the brush back in her bag as Evoleon climbed off her lap and onto the soft quilt. Hayley got under the covers and invited Evoleon to sleep under the warm blankets next to her. Evoleon settled herself up near Hayley's head as the teen tucked them both in. Hayley fell asleep quickly, but Evoleon laid there awake for a while, still thinking about what Hayley had told her. Hayley was able to remember her past, so why wasn't she able to remember hers?