"Model Behavior"
Author's Note: I did not create the world of Pokémon, the creatures within it, nor the basic concept of it. I did, however, create the characters in this story and would like to be asked permission if you wish to use them. This is the first time I have written in a very long time and look forward to reading your insight on the text. I'm a lot older now, but my interest in Pokémon has not changed. Thank you.
Sometimes it is difficult to remember that there are other people in circumstances that mirror your own who have their own unique struggles and backgrounds. It is so easy to just write everyone off as this or as that without ever really taking the time to see what makes them tick. With that said, I find it surprising that being away from home for so long and joining the ranks of the fashion elite had made me grow so callous towards genuine human—and nonhuman—emotion. I am certain that, from afar, nobody would have ever guessed that I was the eldest of four daughters and that I paid for almost everything down to my sisters' tampons; and nor would they have ever supposed that my motivation for being on the show was not driven by fame, nor by glory. Instead, I wanted...well, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted and quite frankly, I still cannot say to this day. All that I know is that closure just wasn't quite what I was looking for at the time.
I admire the people who know what they want out of their current stations in life down to the exact shade they want their future dream room to be painted. Maybe that is why, after our random encounter on the beach, I found myself hanging around Bastian so often during my stay on Pearl Island. From the tip of his skull-ringed finger to the snug fit of his spotless white V-neck shirt down to the worn brown leather of his favorite pair of shoes, comfort emanated from his very being. He spoke with unspoken authority although he was probably the most spaced out person I had ever encountered up to that point. Polished, yet down to earth—yes, that is how I would describe him. Meticulous, but remarkably chill.
It was the start of a great friendship, if nothing else, I thought to myself as I sat across from Bastian on a large boulder in the Luminescent Forest. I sat, subconsciously fingering the grooves and cracks of the cool gray stone as Aron, Whismur, Bastian, and his Shinx peacefully ate their breakfast. Not feeling particularly hungry, I barely nibbled on a leftover English muffin and jam as the others chowed down. Decidedly, I liked this spot; and as much as I wanted to focus on the present and the future, my mind kept drifting back to previous, unfortunate events.
"That loss is still on your mind, huh?" Bastian asked matter-of-factly.
I didn't have to answer him in order for him to know the truth. Instead, I just grinned a slight, rueful grin. In spite of myself and all of the soul searching I had done with Bastian and Lucie, the sting of defeat was far from gone. I can't deny that it bothered me how intuitive this boy was, especially when it came to me and my little tribulations, but the manner in which he pursued it was not at all invasive, which distinguished him from the rest of the pack. I guess that I would call it his saving grace.
"You've just got to let it go and keep moving forward," he breathed. Then, as if struck by a novel idea that he just couldn't contain. "Haha, you have to walk it out."
"You would say that to the supermodel, wouldn't you?" I smirked, then looked at Whismur and Aron. I needed to put in some serious work. Strategy was first on the agenda: what kind of battler did I want to be? Did I want to be the defensive tactician, the kind that had the speed to dodge most attacks and then waited for the opening? No, it made sense that my battling style should reflect my own personality in order to be at its most effective. If one thing was sure, it was that I was the type that actively pursued my goals and not the type to sit around and wait. Nevertheless, if I just went all out offensively, then that would be no good either. There needed to be a middle ground in all of this, but how? My goal from that point forth was thus to find an equilibrium in the midst of all that madness.
"I need to battle more."
"Whis-whismurrrr," Whismur stammered as he choked on his morsel of Pokémon Chow Deluxe.
I shook my head in disapproval.
"That's," Bastian barked, "what you need to change." His sudden change in moods puzzled me.
"What are you talking about?"
Bastian reached forward and affectionately scratched behind Whismur's floppy ears. With a dismissive shrug, his temper suddenly cooled, he replied, "You'll figure it out sooner or later." The way that the sunlight fell on his visage through the leafy canopy of Luminescent Forest gave it a mottled appeal, obscuring his intentions.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, the first of which we had ever participated in, I rose and began to gather my things. "Let's go, Aron and Whismur, we have some work to do."
The two little pokémon waved their goodbyes to their friends and collected at my feet, waiting for my next move.
"Later," Bastian said, never lifting his head to acknowledge our departure.
I would like to think that we had made some improvements after our intense training session. Having spent two hours doing a mixture of cardio (running on the treadmills), resistance training (dumbbells for me and pulling bags of sand for the others), agility (weaving in between wooden poles that were set up outside for trainer use), and a decent attempt at target practice with cans, we were pooped. Sprawled out on a large tumbling mat, we lay, stretching our sore aching muscles. I assisted them both in this effort once I had finished stretching on my own. Aron seemed to revel in this individual attention as I stretched and massaged the limbs of his soft underbelly. Whismur closed his eyes in ecstasy as I rubbed his plush fuchsia body.
It was the closest we had even been.
"We worked really hard today. Doesn't that make you feel good?"
They shook their heads vigorously, anything to revel in my deft movements as I teased out all of their tensions.
The gym was full of trainers, all competing to see who could win the privilege to say whom was victorious over whom and then, from there, equating that with actual training ability. I wasn't overly concerned with their petty arguments, inflated chests, and puffed-up egos, but I did, however, want to get in on the action. Training on our own could only do so much for us. As with modeling, practicing poses in the mirror is great for coming up with different looks, but if you cannot deliver in front of the camera lens, then all of that mirror time will have gone to waste. After all, practice makes perfect.
Thus resolved, I headed over to one of the training rooms and entered my name in the computer database located next to the entrance. Before long I heard a computerized voice call out "Will Miss Delacroix and Mr. Meiha please report to the training room? You are now ready to battle!" It was odd to hear my name called in that manner, like it could have been at the Indigo League or something. So official. This place was too efficient for its own good.
Much to my surprise, my opponent had not yet arrived once I made my way to my end of the ring. Where could he be, I wondered as I tied my shoelaces and tightened the bun of hair atop my head. After a few more moments of idle waiting, a guy in board shorts rushed into the room, the slap of his wet flip-flops echoing throughout the room. Immediately, my cheeks began to burn once I realized that Mr. Meiha was none other than Kai himself. The elusive photographer. Suddenly I wished that maybe I hadn't decided to do a practice battle without changing out of my workout gear. I didn't like how exposed I felt when around him.
"Sorry that I'm late. Had to take a whiz before the match," he yelled from across the ring.
"Erm, um, ok!"
Talk about awkward.
"So, how about a three-on-three battle?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Um, I only have two pokémon so..."
"Then, we'll do a team battle. You go first!"
Shit. I hadn't really worked on combinations with them yet. For me, this had come from left field. Clenching my jaw, I reached to my neck and pulled down my only two pokéballs. We just had to make the most of the situation. With a deep breath, I called forth my pokémon. Upon their release, they looked back to me, their eyes wide with wonder. I shrugged and told them that they would have to work together if we were to win. Teamwork.
"An interesting combination, nonetheless. I'm going to go with Totodile and Chikorita!"
Chikorita? But how? I wondered as the twin pools of crimson light materialized into a dark, yet vibrantly marked Totodile and a fawn Chikorita with a lime green leaf. They sported matching menacing expressions on their cute little faces.
"For this team battle, Delphine Delacroix has chosen Aron and Whismur and Kai Meiha has selected Chikorita and Totodile! Let the match begin! Delphine will make the first move."
I didn't know where to begin, but after a brief moment's reflection, I soon decided that starting off strong would be our best bet. Both of the opposing pokémon were sure to possess strong long-distance attacks. Therefore, the closer we got, the more penetrating our attacks would be.
"Aron, tackle Totodile! Whismur, use pound on Chikorita!"
Like a bolt of lightning, Aron set off at a gallop towards Totodile, picking up speed with each powerful kick of his legs. A second later, Whismur soared through the air towards Chikorita with a glowing fist.
"Chikorita, use vine whip to stop Aron from tackling Totodile and you, Totodile, use water gun on Whismur!"
Shit! That's exactly what I was trying to avoid.
Almost as soon as his mouth had uttered the words, twin vines shot across the stage and wrapped themselves around Aron's tiny body. With a very audible grunt, Chikorita hoisted Aron's body into the air and, with a loud snap, sent him flying into the air. My eyes had trouble focusing on this because, at the same time, Totodile had unleashed a powerful stream of water upon Whismur, who was forced down to the ground by the pressure of Totodile's attack. Things were looking bad but I had to think on my feet.
"Aron, use rollout on both Chikorita and Totodile!"
Just as he had done days before during our practice battle, Aron used the momentum from Chikorita's toss to get his body rolling. Chips flew into the air as his rocky body carved through the field and he barreled towards his shocked opponents. It was a critical hit when he collided into them, the force of which put an end to Totodile's relentless water gun assault upon Whismur.
Whismur struggled to his feat, weakened, but still capable of continuing the fight.
We were at a momentary standstill. I knew that if Aron continued his rollout attack, then it would only intensify with each turn, so I lifted a finger to tell him to keep it up. Accordingly, he brought himself full circle before starting up the attack again.
"Chikorita, use razor leaf on Whismur, then dodge Aron. Totodile, use dig to escape the rollout attack."
"Whismur, use astonish to stop the attack!"
Totodile dove into the ground with no hesitation, narrowly missing Aron as he came tearing across the floor. Missing his mark, Aron veered off to the right so that he could right himself before locking onto Chikorita. Chikorita's attention was elsewhere, however. With one sharp twirl, five round leaves in shape of fat crescent moons went slicing through the air. As the leaves cut through the air, I realized just how nervous I was, just how much this battle meant to me. My hands were clammy with moisture.
It was our time to win. How else would I know that I had made the right decision in coming to Pearl Island if I couldn't even win a pokémon battle?
"Whismur, do it! Now!"
"WHIS!" he cried as he emitted a large white sound wave that washed over the stadium. The leaves halted, as if frozen, before falling to the ground in a heap. Much to my surprise, the leaves weren't the only things that were stuck in place, for Chikorita stood there with its whole body stiff with fear. I clenched my fist with the taste of victory already sweet on my tongue as Akon went careening into Chikorita, causing her body to skid across the ground. Her motionless body told us all that she could battle no more.
"Don't think this is over! Chikorita, return! Totodile, come on up!"
The ground began to shake as Totodile made his ascent upward from who knows where. I had no idea where he would surface, so I didn't know who to warn. Not knowing made me uncomfortable. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that I had to act. I knew that as long as Aron kept on rolling then I know that he was pretty much impenetrable. But what about Whismur? He didn't have any attacks that would be very effective as long as Totodile was still underground.
"Aron, keep on rolling, and Whismur, start your uproar attack!"
I very quickly discovered that making faster decisions was something that I would have to work on, for as soon as Whismur began to wail, Totodile leaped from the ground and knocked Whismur out with one move. Before I had time to lament my loss, Aron came tearing through the air and sent Totodile flying.
Things were looking up for us after all, I thought as I recalled Whismur back into his pokéball.
"Use water gun on the field!"
What?
Within seconds, the whole field was slick with water. It was then that I could see that we had fallen into a trap. Sure enough, Aron began to spin out of control.
I had an idea, though.
"Use mud slap!"
"Airr!" Aron cried as he dug one of his feet into the ground as he was sliding. A mass of gooey residue from sodden field collected within his paw and then, in a split second, he flung it at Totodile.
But Totodile and Kai had other plans. "Use scratch attack like we practiced". I felt my eyebrow raise and my mouth widen in horror as I defenselessly watched as Totodile leaped into the air, went into a retrograde spin with his claws aimed well in front of him, cut through the airborne sludge of Aron's failed mud slap attack, and pierced the soft underbelly beneath Aron's formidable steel armor. In other words, Aron was out for the count.
I had lost again.
I just couldn't put my finger on it. Everything was going so well. We had come up with some amazing attacks, used the environment to our advantage—in other words, we had put our best foot forward in that match. True enough, there were some moments when I didn't know exactly how to react, but in my opinion, we had done a decent job in recovering from those situations. It wasn't exactly in my nature to admit the superiority of my opponent—so be it: I was a sore loser at heart and very much afraid to admit it, mostly to myself—so I concluded that it was something that was wrong with our training. Modeling, like everything else, is something that has to be honed, even if at first it seems to come naturally. Pokémon training is no different it seems.
I kept things brief after the match. As Kai was somewhat of a man of few words, which was something that I can say that I admired at the time, this proved not to be so difficult a task. Propping myself against the cool stone wall of the training area, I began to contemplate the two precious orbs in my hand, but not without stealing a few glances of Kai's retreating figure as he left the gym. This situation was getting the best of me in too many ways and I didn't like it one bit.
Deciding that I needed some fresh air, I slunk away from the auditorium in a way that wouldn't illicit too much attention but sure enough, without fail, the cameramen remained ever vigilant in their responsibility to film my every move. As I walked, I passed a flock of people talking about their various exploits of the day. It was like a melodic sort of cacophony in its own weird little way, the manner in which they were talking about everything, yet about nothing at all.
"Did you hear?"
"Check out my new Pokégear application!"
"How's training going?"
"She's out for good."
"Donphan is getting so powerful!"
"Someone else is coming."
"I need more pokémon!"
To try and pay attention would have been a complete waste of time. Therefore, the path that led me away from them and into some relative solitude was just the place for me. Eventually I found it on a fallen log that was being overtaken by a bright, silvery moss that hung from it in thick, moist shingles. The wood had decomposed so much that I no longer felt that I was, for all intents and purposes, sitting on a piece of rotting wood, but rather, that I was relaxing on a plush chaise lounge with nothing to disturb me but my own musings.
It was nice. Luminescent Forest seemed enchanted. The exotic calls of pokémon that had been separated from the mainland and had developed their own unique characteristics, colorings, and behaviors filled the air; and unlike the maddening effect that gossiping trainers' speech had had upon me, these noises were soothing. I felt one with nature once again. I felt myself beginning to let go as gravity gently beckoned for my head to take refuge upon the velvety trunk. My spirit felt like it was rising above my body, beyond the treetops, and into the sky above...
"Believe," she murmured. Tears like crystals welled in her eyes as she extended a palm the color of golden sand towards my face. Her touch felt vaguely warm against my skin, as if the very life was being drained from her being.
"Cha!" squeaked the powdery white creature as his fur tickled my bare legs and feet as my mother and I embraced.
"But—but—I don't know what to believe in," I stammered.
"Shh," she said, her voice firm, yet dripping with honey. She placed a long, slender finger to my lips and peered deeply into my eyes. I felt as though I were looking at my own reflection at that moment. We were the same, yet so radically different. She and I. Not knowing what more to do, I lay my head on her gently heaving bosom. I wished we could stay like that, one enveloped in the other and vice versa, for the rest of time.
"Trust yourself and.."
I looked into her eyes, pleading for her to finish her thought. Many seconds passed before she uttered a word. My heart was racing and my body felt about to give out at any moment. My wobbly knees and my troubled psyche could no longer support it.
Her eyes brows bulged as they knit themselves into a line. "Trust them."
Once said, she promptly turned her back on me.
"Pacha cha!"
My body jolted upright and my feet began to move to the source of the squeals long before my fuzzy mind was able to process everything that was happening around me. Before long I had made it to a small clearing in forest. The trees were so tall and overbearing that they seemed to arch over me, like miserly old schoolteachers. My attention, however, was soon riveted towards what was unfolding in the center of the clearing.
"Pachirisu, you're mine! Go Teddiursa! Use fury swipes"
A stream of scarlet energy pooled at the feet of the young girl trainer with the messy bun and Gotta Catch 'Em All t-shirt as she looked upon her prey with a look of steely determination. Her right fist was clenched into a tight little ball and her left index finger pointed almost accusingly at the object of her desire. Teddiursa appeared with her paw deeply entrenched in her drooling mouth, taking a moment of pause before justly hurling herself at the Pachirisu.
Immediately I was struck by the appearance of that particular Pachirisu. I fancy that I had actually heard the sound of my leaden stomach as it fell to my feet. I looked on, mouth agape, powerless to do much of anything else but stand there and balk. The fluffy white pelt was all that I required to know that, in some outrageously twisted way, my dreams were actually coming true. Furthermore, I could bet a million dollars that this was the same Pachirisu that had given me that little jolt that one time at the waterfall. If it were under different circumstances, I would not have restrained myself from reaching out to touch it, or even from calling out to it, but instead, I kept my distance. It was not my place to intervene, but at the same time, I couldn't help but to feel that something just wasn't right about the scene.
With all things consider, should not Pachirisu, the pokémon of my dreams, belong to me?
All that I knew was that Pachirisu, whether it had other plans in store or not, did not intend on becoming a part of Messy Bun Girl's team. He wasted no time in charging at Teddiursa, with its body bathed in an electric blue, on an intentional path towards a head-on collision. Teddiursa didn't stand a chance. It was knocked out in one blow. Pachirisu paused, its breathing tempered and even, awaiting the next move. Unfortunately for Messy Bun Girl, she did not have another move. I watched as, visibly spooked by this deceptively powerful creature, the girl scooped her fainted companion into her arms and made a Beedrill line back to the mansion. When I shifted my gaze back to its previous position, my body suddenly tensed up in a start once I saw that Pachirisu had trained his eyes upon me.
With twinkling eyes, Pachirisu made its approach with sure, confident steps. It rubbed its paws together and its tail flicked as it let out a soft "Pachaa." I wasn't quite sure of what I should do at the moment, but I knew that I had to do something.
Without a second thought, I said, "Pachirisu, it's me, Delphine."
Pachirisu nodded its head, as if in agreement.
He knew.
"I'm your old master's daughter," I continued, quite unsure of where these words were coming from, or even why I was only confirming what Pachirisu already seemed to know.
Pachirisu nodded again, moving in closer.
I exhaled deeply.
"Come to me," I whispered, reaching for my pokéball.
Pachirisu's eyes widened in excitement, though by the sparks flying from its cheeks, I couldn't quite tell what lay hidden beneath those eyes that shone like jewels.