I flew through the class room door before I even had time to say goodbye to Azumarill. I'll apologise later, I thought to myself. I sat in my seat next to my best friend, Brodie. "Where've you been?" he said jokingly. His face was framed with immaculately well-maintained blonde curls. He sat coolly in his posh designer clothes - everything about him said 'rich'.
"Oh, just battling a wild Poochyena," I said teasingly, "– the usual," I added sarcastically. He looked at me in disbelief, but before I was able to tell him the full story the teacher walked through the door and the noisy room fell silent. This was not our usual teacher though, a short old man. The new teacher was a healthy, younger guy. His light grey hair and handsome looks dazzled the class. Normally a cover teacher would be ignored, but this man was different. He had a strong presence, so much so, that all eyes and ears were focused on him.
"Today I will be taking your class," he began, as his eyes moved across the faces of the class. "You may call me Mr Stone", he added. I wonder if he's any relation to Mr Stone of 'Devon Corporation', I thought. Mr Stone of 'Devon Corporation' was my father's boss while he was working in Rusturf Tunnel. "You may know me as a former Pokémon League Champion" he said proudly. The room gasped as they realised they were in the presence of a champion. The class erupted into whispers until Mr Stone's mouth opened again and the room fell into silence again. "I have been asked to come here today by my good friend Roxanne, to teach you what it means to be a trainer," he paused and looked out of the window at something. "We will be entering into the Training Arena so I can see for myself each of your abilities," his eyes refocused on the class. The classes' faces lit up at the prospect of a battle. We never seem to get to go in the Training Arena. With our normal teacher, you get the impression that he has never seen a Pokémon up close in his life, he seems almost afraid of them. "Follow me, class," Mr Stone said as walked towards the door. The class jumped up with great enthusiasm and half of them nearly ran into the door in their haste.
Brodie and I were one of the last out of the classroom, "I'm going against you," he said competitively, "and I'm gunna win!" he added with a wide smile.
"We'll see about that," I said jokingly and we looked at each other and laughed all the way down the corridor to the Training Arena.
We entered the Battle arena; the large yellow and green room had a single battle area in the center. We all stood around the battle area, Mr Stone stood in front of us all. "Who's up first then?" he asked the class, several people grabbed each other and put their hands up. Mr Stone pointed at two students, Darcy and Michelle, "You two," he then pointed towards a stand of pokéballs, "Take one," he instructed them. "Today you will be testing your knowledge instead of just your skill. By not knowing which pokémon you are about to use, you will be preparing for a situation where you may or may not have the disadvantage," he informed the class as he watched Darcy and Michelle walk over to the stand. Michelle picked the first pokéball she saw, whereas Darcy hovered his hand over them all until he eventually decided on one and picked it up. They stood on either end of the battle arena until Mr Stone yelled enthusiastically, "Begin!"
"Go!" roared Darcy as he threw the pokéball high into the air, it opened and a bright light shot out of it. The light cleared and a small, blue pokémon appeared. A Poliwag, I thought. The class 'oohed' in excitement.
Then Michelle threw her pokéball, "Now!" she shouted and a similar light bolted out of it. The pokémon that replaced the light was orangey-red and its tail was alight with flame.
Immediately I knew, "Charmander" I said under my breath. Mr Stone turned to me as if to answer a question. I just embarrassingly ignored his gaze and continued to watch the match.
As long as Darcy played it right he was set to win. He definitely had the advantage. I'd never bring out a fire pokémon against a water pokémon, I thought, reassured. But I guess that this is what we're practicing; learning to battle with the disadvantage.
"Poliwag, water gun!" cried Darcy. The class watched in ore as the blue pokémon sent streams of water towards the Charmander.
"Dodge it, Charmander!" Michelle called, but she was very nearly too late. The Charmander got hit by 3 of the streams of water, but by a miracle it managed to dive out the way of the forth. The Charmander tried to get up off the hard ground. After failing to do so the first time, it eventually managed to pull itself up. "Ember!" Michelle screamed, she knew Charmander was not far off fainting. This was her last chance. The red hot flames flew at the unprepared Poliwag and knocked it to the ground. The class gasped at the turn of events.
"Come on, Poliwag!" called Darcy, "We have them!" the supporting words drove Poliwag to jump back up, "Yeah! Now, water bubble!" hundreds of bubbles appeared from the tiny pokémon's mouth aimed towards Charmander. There was no way to avoid the bubbles, the Charmander fled into Michelle's arms where it then fell. "Nice one, Poliwag!" Darcy said as he grabbed it in his arms. The class cheered in excitement and I was sure I could see money switching hands in the back of the crowd.
"Well done you two," Mr Stone called, he turned to Michelle, "You knew it would be a hard fight to win from the start, now you know why we're practising it," he explained. She nodded and took the Charmander off in her arms to recover. Mr Stone turned back to the class, "Next two?" he asked, scanning the room. Brodie grabbed my hand and shoved it in the air so fast he almost dislocated it. Mr Stone looked towards us both, "You two next, take your pokéball," he said pointing to the stand. Brodie and I casually walked up to the stand while the class talked amongst themselves about who they thought would win.
"You're going down, Miss Brown," he smirked. He smiled at me as he picked up a random pokéball. There was definitely something about Brodie's smile that made me go soft, and he knew it.
"Bring it on, rich boy" I joked. We laughed as I picked up the pokéball that was next to where Brodie's had been. I knew it was going to be a hard fight. Brodie was exceptionally talented in battles, but I think I had the hand when it came to knowledge. We got into our places and I gestured for him to go first. He hurled the ball far across the battle area, the light erupted from it. I was anxious to see what lay inside. The light vanished and a small, green pokémon emerged. It was a Treecko. I looked from Brodie's smug face to my hand where my pokéball lay. Come on, I thought as I hurled it towards Brodie. Out of the light materialised a brown and cream, furry pokémon. Eevee, I thought as I sighed in relief. I went through my head all the moves I knew the Eevee would have. 'Quick Attack', I thought, even 'Tackle' maybe? Not very many, but hopefully it would be enough to beat Brodie.
"Razor leaf, Treecko!" as soon as Brodie called it, the Treecko jumped into mid-air. Suddenly dozens of leaves were shooting out of its arms toward Eevee. I had to think fast.
"Dodge it, Eevee" I shouted across the arena. Eevee tried to dodge the soaring leaves from above, but a few hit. "Come on, Eevee" I called encouragingly. The pokémon stood ready, "Now! Quick Attack!" I screamed as Eevee seemingly vanished. It moved so fast at the Treecko you could hardly see it. Eevee hit the Treecko hard in the head, knocking it to the ground. In no time, Eevee was back in my half of the arena, stood ready to fight.
Brodie didn't even flinch; in fact he still looked as smug as ever. The Treecko jumped up, Brodie pointed towards Eevee, and without hesitation cried, "Fury swipes" the Treecko hurled itself at Eevee, claws poised. With a single swipe Eevee feel to the floor.
I gasped in shock and gritted my teeth; Brodie wasn't going to win this easily. "Eevee!" I cried, "Bite attack!" With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Eevee got up and ran towards Treecko with all its might.
But just before Eevee reached Treecko, Brodie commanded, "Mega Drain". Treecko and Eevee began to glow white. Eevee stopped its attack in confusion. It fell to the floor in exhaustion, as the glow faded and its energy was drained from it. The Treecko ran back to Brodie immediately where he picked it up and hugged it.
I ran over to the Eevee and feel to my knees. I picked it up and held it to my shoulder like you might a baby. I stroked its soft fur and rocked it back and forth. Brodie walked over with Treecko sat on his shoulder. "Well done" I said to him.
He smiled graciously, "You both put up a good fight," he replied as he stroked the Eevee in my arms.
"Nice battle the both of you, it was hit and run right until the end," Mr Stone told us as he walked over. "That was a nice recovery, Treecko," he added as he patted the delighted pokémon. He turned back to the class, "Next two?" he bellowed.
"Come on," Brodie beckoned, "We better go let Eevee recover," we walked off into the Nurse's office next door. I gave Brodie Eevee's pokéball and he opened it. The light reappeared and the Eevee in my arms vanished into the pokéball. I gave the pokéball to the nurse and she put both Treecko and Eevee's into a machine. Within a few seconds the machine stopped and the nurse took out the two pokéballs and gave them to us. We opened them again and went to sit down with both the pokémon.
Eevee and Treecko jumped on and off the couch we were sitting on. I was surprised that Eevee was happy to play with the Treecko that just battled it. "Do you want something to eat?" I asked the pokémon. They stopped playing and both nodded at me.
"I'll go get some," Brodie said as he walked back up towards the desk again. He came back with a white bag of PokéBlocks. They're basically just pokémon food made of different kinds of berries and such. He sat down and picked a pink block from the bag. He offered it to Treecko, who then took it with both hands and stuffed it in its mouth. I giggled at the pokémon's lack of manners. Brodie smiled at me, the kind of smile that makes me go soft. I stared at his perfect face as he stretched his hand out to mine. But just as his hand moved less than a foot away from mine, Eevee leapt on to it thinking Brodie was offering it some food. "Ouch!" he yelped, pulling back his hand. Eevee looked up at him confused and I burst out laughing. Finally, even Brodie couldn't help but see the funny side. I reached into the white bag and pulled out a PokéBlock. Eevee watched my hand carefully, like it was making sure that it wasn't going to let the food get away from it this time. I held out the food and the Eevee nibbled at it, using my hand as a plate. I smiled at the sight. Eevee seemed to really like me; she would cuddle up to me and lie in my arms. I make it feel safe, I thought happily.
The door opened and two new trainers came through, Alice and Myles. Alice was a sweet but quiet girl with short red hair, while Myles had dark brown hair and was rather more sociable and quirky. They handed in their pokéballs and Myles came over to us while Alice stayed at the nurse station. "What pokémon did you two get?" I asked Myles curiously.
He smiled at the Eevee now eating out of my hand, "I got a Bellsprout and Alice got a Nidoran – Alice won, obviously," he didn't even sound saddened as he spoke of his defeat. "God knows why I came to Trainer school," he exclaimed. "Everyone knows I'm a breeder," he sighed. It was true; Myles was the best breeder I knew. He could tell the gender of a pokémon a mile off.
"What gender are Eevee and Treecko?" I tested him as I watched the Eevee yawn.
"Eevee is female and Treecko is male," he responded promptly without a glance at either of them. Brodie and I looked at each other in amazement, but Myles seemed totally unfazed by his skill. Instead, he watched as Alice walked over holding in her arms the Nidoran and the Bellsprout.
So you're a little girl then, I thought adoringly to Eevee as I looked into her beautiful big brown eyes as she lay peacefully on my lap. Brodie passed over the white bag of PokéBlocks and Alice placed them on her lap and began feeding the Nidoran.
"Eevee is so cute!" Alice squeaked in a baby voice as she tickled Eevee's tummy. Alice was right; Eevee was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I smiled as the pokémon rolled on its back, begging for a tickle.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Brodie asked as he fed the Treecko another PokéBlock. He looked up at my blank face. We both looked at Myles and Alice, but they were both so involved in feeding their pokémon that they didn't hear Brodie's question. "Ahem," Brodie coughed loudly, trying to grab their attention.
"Oh," Myles said eventually, "Mr Stone told us to send you back in after your pokémon have recovered". Brodie opened the pokéballs and Eevee and Treecko vanished back into them. I miss her already,I sighed as I thought of Eevee. I saw Brodie notice my saddened face. Brodie put the pokéballs on a second stand on the nurses' station and we walked back through the door to the arena. As we walked through the door Brodie leant into my ear and whispered to me, "One day, I'll get you an Eevee of your own," I blushed. He shut the door behind us as he softly added, "I promise".
As we walked in to the arena, the fourth battle was just finishing. The remaining students still cheered passionately from the side lines until a pokémon fell. Mr Stone stood at the side of the battle area, his eyes moved between the class and me and Brodie. He beckoned us both towards him as the class chatted among themselves, oblivious to our return. We slowly walked across the empty pitch until we were back with the class. "You two," Mr Stone said as he pointed at me and Brodie. Some of the class chattered among themselves in annoyance, possibly mistakably thinking that Mr Stone was picking us for a second battle. "This is going to take a lot of time," he exclaimed, turning to the rows of eager raised hands, "Roxanne needs some assistance in the Beginner's class, you two seem to have learnt enough here," he said as he dismissed us. He turned back to the class and asked for new volunteers.
"Come on then," I said to Brodie as I walked down towards the door back to the corridor. We walked past the 'Pokéball storage room' and the 'pokémon doctor's class'; I peered through the door as we walked passed. I saw Nurse Joy showing a student how to bandage an injured Sneasel. We finally got to the yellow door that was labelled, 'Roxanne, Beginner's Class'. Brodie looked at me and knocked twice on the door.
"Come in," a high voice invited us. We both peered our heads behind the door to see Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader and the 'beginner's class' teacher. "Ah, Did Steven send you?-I mean, Mr Stone," she corrected herself.
"Urh, yes," Brodie muttered. The children in the class looked up at us curiously. "He said you needed some help with something," he questioned, trying to ignore the stares he was receiving from the class.
"Do you have a pokémon?" one of the small boys asked as he looked up at Brodie, his face was covered in paint.
Roxanne walked over and laughed as she ruffled the little boy's hair, "No Henry, but they're here to you teach you about some of the pokémon they know about," she looked from the boy's face to ours and added, "Take a few of the pokéballs out to show some of the children". She pointed at the small stand of about a dozen pokéballs on her desk. "Just talk about the pokémon," she said as she looked down at the children again, "no battling though" she added quickly. "I need to go take care of something at the gym. Hopefully it won't take too long, but you never know." She smiled and walked out the class door. Brodie and I watched her leave, both daunted by the responsibility that had been thrusted upon us.
Brodie turned to me as he picked up one of the many pokéballs from the desk. He opened the ball and a light appeared on the desk in front of him. The pokémon on the desk was a small blue pokémon with a shell on its back. "Squirtle!" the little boy, Henry, called as he pointed at the desk.
"Very good, Henry," I praised him. Brodie pulled out the chair under the desk Squirtle was sitting on for me. I sat down on it, I yelped - shocked at how low down the chair was, eventually remembering it was designed for small children. "This is a water pokémon everyone," Brodie said as the children looked at him curiously.
He taught the children like a proper teacher and I was very impressed at how well the children got on with him too. He will make a very good father one day, I thought to myself as I watched children laugh and put their paint-covered hands all over him. Brodie reacted melodramatically, throwing his hands in the air, making the children laugh even harder. Eventually he escaped and came to sit with me on the table which I was observing him from. "Okay everyone, its home time now," Roxanne's petite voice filled the room as she re-entered. The children turned their heads and dropped their pokémon plush toys.
"I made you this," a shy voice said from behind the two of us. We turned to see Henry holding out a picture for Brodie. Brodie took the picture in his hands; it was a picture of Brodie and the Squirtle. In the picture, Brodie was holding a pokéball in front of the large banner that filled the background. The banner read, 'Best Trainer Ever' in large gold writing. I looked up at Brodie's face, his blushed cheeks and teary eyes were fixated on the picture in his hands.
"Thank you, Henry," he said, he couldn't stop smiling. Henry gave him a big hug and ran out the door. As Henry left, Roxanne entered the room again; we'd never noticed she'd left.
"No running, Henry!" she called after him, but he was long gone. She walked up to the both of us, "Thank you both for your help," she said solemnly. She caught a glimpse of the picture Henry had drawn. "You obviously made an impression on the children," she added with a smile. She walked to door of the room and paused, still facing the door, "I don't doubt that you will both be great trainers," she turned around to us. "Once you have your pokémon you are free to come and test your skills against me for the Stone Badge," she smiled and then walked out the door.
"Come on then," Brodie said as he got up from the small desk. I smiled as I walked to the door he'd opened for me. "I almost forgot - I've got another joke!" he exclaimed excitedly, "hang on," he added, trying to recall it as we walked. "Oh yeah, why did the Torchic cross the road?" he grinned at me, obviously excited to tell me the punch-line.
I'd heard this joke before. Although I couldn't remember the actual answer, however I did remember it was an especially bad joke. "I don't know, to get away from a… urh, Poochyena or something?" I looked at him unsure. He looked back at my response in confusion.
"Urm," he looked at the floor, searching through his head for the punch-line. "I… urh, can't actually remember the answer so we'll go with the Poochyena thing," he looked away embarrassed. We walked in silence until we reached the pavement. A black tinted-windowed car pulled up to us. "You need a lift, Bist?" He turned from the posh car before him, back to me.
"I'm good thanks, Brodie," I pointed towards Azumarill who was sitting by the main entrance of the school. The chauffeur of the black car opened the back door and waited patiently for Brodie to enter.
Brodie nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said as he entered the car. The door shut and the driver got back into the driver's seat. As the engine started Brodie's window opened revealing his face. "Try not to be late tomorrow too," he laughed and the car drove off towards his mansion-of-a-house in the city.
I was left on the side of the road by myself. Looking up into the sky, I thought I saw an Skarmory flying graciously through the clouds. I jumped as a strong voice startled me from behind, "Bister, a word please". I turned to see Mr Stone, briefcase in hand.
"Yes, Mr Stone?" I asked curiously. He tilted his head towards the sky, probably after noticing the Skarmory is well.
"Please, Bister," he said as he looked down from the sky, "I am no longer your teacher, call me Steven". I still wasn't going to call him Steven, but I nodded in agreement, allowing him to continue. He noticed my hesitation but carried on. "I just wanted to tell you, I can see great things for you, Bister," he admitted as I felt my face turn red. "In fact, I have no doubts that you will be a great trainer one day, maybe even, a Champion," I felt my jaw drop as he said the words. I was so shocked and surprised. Why? I wondered, what's so special about me?
"But Mr St-", I began.
"-Please, Steven," he interrupted, before allowing me to continue.
"Steven," I corrected myself, "But Brodie beat me, isn't he the one who's going to be a great trainer?" I questioned.
He sighed and looked me in the eyes as he said, "Bister, being a great battler out of luck is just that, mere luck!" he exclaimed. "You have the ability – the knowledge - to train, to grow with your pokémon". He stared into nothingness, as if remembering a memory, before he turned sharply back to me. "One day, we will battle," he added, he said it like you would a goodbye. Suddenly a black blur shot between us and Mr Sto-Steven was gone. I looked into the sky to see that the Skarmory too was now gone.
While I was talking to Steven, Azumarill had noticed I'd already left the school building and wandered over to me. She looked up at me in confusion. I remembered I had to apologise to her for leaving this morning, I crouched to her level. "I'm sorry for this morning Azumarill," I said apologetically, "You did amazing against that Poochyena," she looked at me, her eyes full of glee. "We'll go by the PokéMart and I'll buy you a treat," I added, she started jumping up and down with excitement and before I knew it she was already bouncing off towards the PokéMart. "Wait up," I called as I ran after her.
We got to the door of the PokéMart and the automatic doors swung open. Azumarill eagerly darted off towards the 'Pokémon Food & Treats' section. "Bister!" a warm familiar voice called from behind the shop counter. "I haven't seen you in here for a while" the shop assistant exclaimed. I recognised him as Mr Pail, a middle-aged man whose son graduated from my school a year ago. "Where's that young lad you're always with?" he asked, I assumed he was talking about Brodie.
"He's gone home, I was just popping in for some treats for Azumarill," I explained to him as he knelt on the floor, placing Elixirs on the shelf in front of him. "How's Jackson getting on?" I asked him curiously as soon as I remembered his son's name.
He looked up from the shelf and smiled proudly at me as he spoke of his son, "Jackson's fine, he called the other day actually to say his Shroomish has evolved. He also said he wants to train to become a Pokémon Ranger". My mind flashed back to an image of a teenage boy running out of the school doors last year holding a delighted little Shroomish. If it's evolved, it must be a Breloom now, I thought, impressed at Jackson's level of skill. "So you've got your starter pokémon already then?" he said as he watched Azumarill struggling to reach a can of Aprijuice. Suddenly, he turned back to me in realisation. "Oh, I'm sorry Bister," he started remorsefully. "My old memory," he blamed, "I forgot Azumarill was your mothe-" he stopped himself in embarrassment. He knew my mother, I thought, astonished. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. "She was a good woman, your mother was," he said eventually, noticing my silence. I just nodded in agreement.
Azumarill strolled over to us and held out a bag of Poffins. I handed over the change, "Thank you, Mr Pail," I said quietly. He nodded sorrowfully back at me, "Tell Jackson I'll being keeping an eye out for him," I added before me and Azumarill wandered out the door. Even before the automatic doors had shut behind us Azumarill snatched the bag of Poffins from my hand and started to munch on the doughy treats inside. I stood there watching her nibble at the treats. I wandered about all the adventures Azumarill had had with my mother all that time ago.
My mother lived with her cruel grandmother in Dewford Town, a settlement on a small island off the west coast of mainland Hoenn. She'd always wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer, but her grandmother thought it was a waste of time and forced her to stay in the house and study with her. One day my mother snuck out of the house and wandered down to the shore near the bluffs. She was looking out at sea when suddenly she saw something small thrashing about in the water. She recklessly dived into the rock-filled sea and swam towards the distress. After battling the merciless waves she came across a small Azurill caught in a fisherman's net. The poor blue creature was struggling to stay above the water and was getting constantly hit by the high waves. It was nearly unconscious when my mother finally reached it. She dove below the Azurill and used her hair pin to free it. When she reached the surface again the Azurill was unconscious and sinking down to the bottom of the sea. My mother seized it and started the exhausting swim back to shore. Finally she reached land and ran straight to the local Pokémon Center, soaking wet. After the Azurill was revived it wouldn't leave my mother's side. They were simply inseparable, and due to her grandmother's disgust at the pokémon her granddaughter had brought home with her, my mother and Azurill ran away and left for mainland Hoenn, where Azurill evolved into Marill and then Azumarill, and where my mother eventually met my dad.
My mother had spent the majority of her life with Azumarill, the pokémon that had once been the Azurill she'd saved at the age of fifteen. I thought of all the tales my mother told me when I was little about her adventures with Azumarill. You could tell they were some of the best days of her life. Even in her bed at the hospital she'd tell me the stories of her youth. I looked down again at Azumarill as she finished another Poffin. "Do you remember my mother, Azumarill?" I asked sombrely. The pokémon looked to the floor and I felt a wash of pain flow through her. She seemed to have forgotten the tasty treats she held in her hands. Instead of gorging on them she remained motionless looking to the ground. Perhaps she was even recalling the scene where she and my mother had first met as I had just done. She finally looked up at me with teary eyes. She lost her best friend the day my mother died, I said to myself as I thought of Azumarill. We slowly turned away from the PokéMart and started the long journey home, both deeply depressed.
We both returned home that evening to find my father's Machoke in the front yard doing some gardening. Machoke looked like a scary brute of a creature, but it was actually incredibly sensitive and caring. Since the tunnel construction had been cancelled it had a lot of time on its hands and had taken up gardening as a bit of a hobby. It was very good at it is well, our Oran Berry Trees had never looked better.
We walked into the kitchen where we were greeted by my father and some visitors. Four new faces stood in the kitchen; an old couple who seemed deep in conversation with my father, and a young couple who seemed to not be able to take their eyes off each other. The young couple seemed at first sight a bit of an odd match, the man was a broad and burly-looking guy, whereas the woman was sweet and delicate looking. They stood mesmerised at the other as if they hadn't seen each other in ages.
"This, everyone, is my daughter, Bister," he introduced me.
"Doesn't she look just like Isabella, Stuart," the old woman said endearingly, "a natural beauty," she added. I smiled back at her, trying to graciously thank her for the compliment.
My dad nodded in agreement. Then he looked at me, "Bister, this is Betty and Graham from the other side of town," he pointed at the old couple as he acquainted us. He moved his hand towards the young couple and added, "and this is their daughter, Wanda, and her boyfriend from Rustboro City, Riley," they both nodded to me in acknowledgement.
"Riley just came from Rustboro tonight," Wanda told me, obviously delighted.
"Can you believe it? He managed to finish the tunnel between Rustboro and Verdanturf!" my father exclaimed, seemingly amazed at this fact.
"-with the help of a young trainer I might add," Riley interjected.
"Wait," I said in disbelief, "so there's now a tunnel to Route 116?"
I looked at Riley for an answer. But before Riley could speak, my father interrupted, "Yes Bister, but that doesn't mean you can use it as a short cut tomorrow to school," he said firmly. "You don't know who or what could be in there," he added softly.
I looked at the floor embarrassed at my dad's over protectiveness. I am not a child, I thought, I will be free to do as I will at the in two days!
"Your father is right, Bister," a solemn voice said. I looked up to see Riley, "I've never seen some of the pokémon I saw in there. Sometimes the shadows terrified me so much I thought of running for help," he looked at me with his petrified eyes. The tension in the room was as terrifying as the shadows he spoke of.
Wanda put her arms around his neck oblivious of the tension, "but you still went to all that trouble just for me," she said before she kissed him again.
"Come on you two, enough," Betty interrupted jokingly. "I meant to ask you Wanda, have you heard anything of your cousin in Petalburg City?" she asked. I walked over to the television, not interested in their change of subject and still slightly disgruntled at my dad.
I could hear Wanda continuing the conversation quietly in the kitchen, "He's still suffering mum, a serious form of asthm-"
"-The weather this week is simply to die for!" the television roared, "-And it will be like this for another week at least, our sources from the Weather Institute inform us," the man on the television had bright white teeth and combed-across hair. The screen showed him in front of the Weather Institute near Fortree, where the rainforest is. I tried to replace myself with the man on the television in my mind. Two days, I thought, I'll be free to travel everywhere and anywhere in just two days.
I thought again about the tunnel. What could possibly be so scary that I couldn't handle? I questioned myself, there must only be Zubats, Whismurs and maybe Geodudes in there, I've handled much worse. It was settled then. Tomorrow I would journey through the Rusturf Tunnel instead of going the long way round. I'd have to get Azumarill in on it too thought and knowing her, that would probably be the hardest part.