Mitsumi: Wizard? Could I ask you something?
Wizard: Sure… What is it?
Mitsumi: Why in Arceus' name did you name me Mitsumi? Last time I checked, I was a boy!
Wizard: Hannah's Not a Boy's Name (XD Hooray for making obscure references) either, so tough nuggets!
Lennie: Yeah, suck it up! At least you ain't DEAD!
Mitsumi: Good point O-O;
Disclaimer: The Wizard of Dim-Wittedness does not own Pokémon, and all rights of ownership to such characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri and the Pokémon Company. However, he does own the plot line of this story, so he'll get pretty riled up if you try to use his junk without asking…
Chapter Two
Mitsumi's POV
My eyes slowly opened, and I couldn't help but wince as the sharp luminescence of a flashlight pierced through my vision, "Excuse me?"
"Huh?" I babbled incoherently, my speech slurring groggily.
"What happened, little guy?" it was a woman, a police officer at that, she and an Arcanine stood over me, "Are you lost?"
"I don't know…" I replied, and it was true, I didn't have a clue as to where I was, but what I did remember, I'd rather forget, "Where am I?"
"You're in Oldale Town…" she answered curiously, pointing to the orange glow of streetlights in the distance, "If I may ask: Why are you outside at so late an hour? I mean, it's almost midnight!"
"Sorry…" I chuckled to the skeptical police officer, trying to think up a lie off of the top of my head, "I kinda fell asleep out here…"
"Is that true, Ralts?" she replied, goading a small, white Pokémon with a green helmet that had a pink horn out from behind her. The feeling Pokémon shook it's head, "I see…"
"Sorry… I'm afraid I need to take you in for further questioning…" I made an anxious gulp, and my palms got just a little clammy. Shit… Ralts can identify emotions… And can even tell if you're lying… The Police must be getting smarter…
She led me downtown to a small building near the Oldale Pokémon center, watching me ever step of the way to make sure hadn't run for it while her back was turned and was still there. Walking in she sat me on one of the chairs waiting in the lobby, the scratchy cloth clawing at my thin clothes as I shivered, realizing that I was cold as that never-melting-ice that Shimmer told me about.
Shimmer was a Snorunt that Mama had caught when she was 11, and it was her first and best Pokémon. She came from the Shoal Islands in the north, and she said that Never-melting-ice was a sort of ice that never melted, and was said to be a part of Regice that chipped off and grew over the years.
Unlike never-melting-ice, however, I could feel my arms and legs begin to defrost inside the heated building, and immediately the aches and soreness returned to them, and I could feel my joints creak as I moved. I was like one of those vampires I read about in a book once: pale and cold, with joints that creaked due to overuse. All I was missing was an unquenchable thirst for blood and insatiable hunger for human flesh, but that's going a little too far…
"I need you to be completely honest with me… Okay?" the officer said, continuing as I gave her a small nod, "Now, what's your name?"
"Mitsumi Iridaceous Takashi Samuel Ultarion Martin Ilon Suujiro the Fourth." I answered, the officer having trouble keeping track of all of the names, only uttering: "Mitsumi Suujiro" as she wrote just that on her pad.
She typed my name into a sort of handheld device that flipped open, and looked at me sternly as her impatience rose, "You sure about that? According to my PokéNav, there is no Mitsumi Suujiro in Hoenn!"
"Yes," I retorted sourly, looking at the Ralts for support, "I am, and I have ALWAYS lived in Hoenn!"
The Ralts nodded with approval causing the officer to relax a little, yet only broadened the spectrum of confusion that showed on her face, "Then where exactly do you live?"
"I live in the forest…" another nod from the Ralts, "With my Mother…"
"I see…" she mused quietly, taking notes of this on her notepad, "Is there any way we can get a hold of her?"
"No." the Ralts nodded once more.
"Why not?"
"Because she's—" I paused, half expecting the searing pain to return to my heart, but oddly enough something different come in. It was cold, more malevolent and deep reaching and it caused my heart to jump into my throat from surprise, slowly choking me as I felt my throat tighten around the lump.
It was grief.
The Ralts, sensing this, immediately hushed its trainer, whispering, "Taralas, ralata sal rasat sara!" or something along those lines as it cried softly.
"Oh…" the officer said in an out-of-place manner, jumping out of her skin as she noticed the line she had crossed, "I'm sorry…"
"It's okay," I gurgled; my stomach felt so heavy, I felt like I could heave any second, "You wouldn't have known, anyway…"
"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, "Do you need a place to stay?"
"Yeah…" I said quietly, turning my head to hide the tears that had begun to flow down my cheeks. However, I was unable to hide from her Arcanine, which walked over to me rather awkwardly, trying to comfort me as he nuzzled at my side. I tried pet him with a wary hand, but even so, I couldn't help myself, and hugged the fire-type tightly as the lump in my throat had finally broken and sent my sobs into the air. Each breath was like a hiccup, with me gasping desperately for the air that eluded me and wispily entered me with so little comfort to me that I felt as I couldn't breathe. It was then that I realized what was happening…
I was drowning in my tears.
Nurse Joy's POV
Just another boring nightshift… I groaned to myself behind the counter, making an attempt to entertain myself by fidgeting with my hair. Nothing EVER happens in Oldale… Well, except for this afternoon. Someone found a woman and a Lucario, both dead in the forest, and some charred ruins of what we thought was a house. I wonder why they were living out there when we have this town already? Probably to get away from the boring routine of the neighborhood.
Out of nowhere, my PokéNav started ringing, and when I picked it up, Officer Jenny was on the other end, "What's up, Jenny?"
"That's OFFICER JENNY to you!" she said sourly in reply, soon moving on, "I need you to accommodate someone for the night."
"Is he a Trainer?" I asked. Trainers stay here on the daily, but it costs around 200 Poké so people usually just camp in the Town Park… Talk about annoying.
"No." she responded rather awkwardly, "He's just a friend of mine. I'll be bringing him over in just a sec."
"Oooooh~! Someone's being naughty!" I said raunchily, giving a suggestive growl into the receiver as I continued, "See? I told you! You're finally gonna get some!"
"You pervert!" She said sourly, not laughing as I would expect her to have done, "He's only, like… How old are you?" I couldn't surpress snickers; she so irritable sometimes, "He's only 11, you sicko!"
"Says the one who wants to sleep with him…" I replied as-a-matter-o-factly.
"I do NOT!"
"Do too~!"
"DO NOT!"
"Do too~!
"Shaddup! I'll be there in an sec'!" she screamed as she hung up he PokéNav roughly as stormed in the front door of the Pokémon Center seething wth rage; I wonder who spat in her cornflakes? "See this kid?"
"Yeah?" I said hesitantly, half thinking it was a trick question, "What about him?"
"Let him stay the night!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, no doubt waking the rest of the Pokémon Center with her outburst.
"Fine…" I said dismissively, looking at her as I held a palm out. I could smell something tasty on Jenny's person.
"What?"
"Give me one…" I said airily.
"One what?"
"Duh!" I exclaimed, "One of those Pokéblocks you have in your pocket!"
She handed one to me with some skepticism, but left soon after I popped it into my mouth. It tasted like Oran and Bluck berries, the sweet and dry tastes mixing and sticking to the sides of my mouth as I giggled to the boy, "Well? What's your name, hun?"
"Mitsumi…" the boy muttered, he sounded tired, but it was just the bitter face he wore that made it so. He looked just like Jenny when she got angry…
"Well, my name's Joy." I said as I took him into the hall and into a room, he would be sharing this one with a trainer I met earlier today. This trainer was an interesting character. He was so charismatic for his age, and that would be beyond my guess… Maybe fifty? "But that's Nurse Joy to you, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am…" he said quaintly before climbing into the bed. I seriously wonder why Jen's making me babysit him… I mean, seeing this, it's hard NOT to believe she's a cougar…
Mitsumi's POV
I'm quite surprised at how soft this bed is, despite the fact that it's probably been soiled about a million times… But I have no room to complain, so I just decided to wait until sleep caught up with me… And it did much sooner than I thought. The next thing I knew, it was morning, my eyes opening to see a man of questionable age staring at my awakening figure.
"Good morning to you, young lad!" he said, he looked familiar, sort of… Maybe I saw him on TV before? "Do you know who I am?"
"Why are you asking?" I replied.
"If you guess correctly," He began, a grin crawling across his face, "I'll give you a prize…"
I thought carefully… He had tanned skin, and white hair. He acted quite differently…? And looking at his backpack, which was filled to the brim with Pokéballs, I could see he was a trainer… He was so ancient… And the only guy I ever saw who was this old on TV was…
I told him my guess.
"CORRECT!" he exclaimed excitedly, smiling broadly as he congratulated me, "I am the one and only, Professor Oak!"
End of Chapter Two