Chapter 13

"We'll rest 'ere for lunch," stated Rex while dropping his bag beside a log and sitting next to it.

I collapsed beside him; eternally grateful for the rest.

We had made swift work of travelling through the thick forest between Accumula Town and the Dream Yard and Rex speculated that we should be able to reach it sometime on the next morning. According to our new travelling companion, it would have been quicker to travel the main road from Accumula Town to Striaton City, but we were avoiding being detected by Team Plasma. That meant taking a longer route through the untamed forests of Unova.

Rex hadn't talked much beyond making sure we were following closely behind him. He seemed to be reserving his energy for the journey. His face took on a slight scowl while we'd been travelling. Even now, his thoughts seemed to cause him irritation.

"This forest doesn't look that different from the one back at home," I muttered in an undertone meant just for myself as I glanced around at the brown trunks surrounding us.

"Which is a shame," grunted the man beside me.

"Why's that?" asked Joleen as she settled herself on his other side and began pulling out bottles and non-perishable foods stored in cans. She passed them to Rex and he passed some to me to get into while he replied to her question.

"You two are too young to remember a time when forests were green," said Rex in sober contemplation. He gripped the unopened can in his hand tightly. "Unova never used to look this barren. It used to 'ave lush green trees an' flowers which changed colours with the seasons. The forests used to 'ave smells which invigorated the spirit. You used to be able to find fruit almost everywhere there was a forest. The fresh fruit tasted so rich it was like eatin' a delicacy. Even better than this stuff we have to get imported from Hoenn."

I blinked several times as I took a spoon of the canned fruit and thought about it. It tasted just like it always did. It was on the sweet side, but not in an overpowering manner.

"I grew up with green forests," Rex murmured, now sounding lost in thought. "Not brown. Not leafless no matter the season. Not so empty."

"I couldn't imagine the forest looking any other way," I muttered softly.

Rex glanced sideways at me. "Well, it's Plasma's fault it's in this state. They promised they would free all Pokémon from their Poké Balls, an' they did. It wasn't too long after that in which they began roundin' up all the Pokémon they could find across the entire region. They didn't care if the Pokémon was wild or tamed. They rounded up everythin'. To prevent the temptation of capturin', they said. Moved to a safe location away from the negative influences of humans, they said. And when all the local vegetation began to wilt an' wither without the wild Pokémon to look after it, they turned a blind eye. No one could oppose them. They 'ad the King, the Hero of Truth, behind them. All who tried failed an' their Pokémon companions were taken as well."

In the silence that followed his outburst, Joleen and I shared a glance at each other. She quickly swallowed her mouthful of canned fruit and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It sounds like you were someone who tried to stop them and failed," the girl stated with a sad smile.

"I did," replied Rex while getting to his feet and starting to pace before them. "Well, dwellin' over wha' 'appened won't solve anythin'. I finally 'ave a chance to make up for my failure an' I'm takin' it.

"Tell me kid, what do you know about Pokémon?"

"I …" I started before averting my eyes to my dirty shoes. "Almost nothing. Only what Plasma allowed to be taught in our schools now."

"That explains the battle," muttered Joleen in a quiet undertone that I barely caught.

"Battle?" asked Rex as he swung around in his pacing to face me. "You and Raikou 'ave already 'ad a battle?"

"Sort of," I muttered, placing my hand just below my heart. "I got hurt during it when I tried to protect the Raikou. It ended with it using Roar and scaring the Plasma members trying to catch us."

"Sounds like you were lucky," grunted the man as he turned away from me. He finally opened the can and gulped the fruit inside down as though he was drinking ale. "Let's start with findin' out 'ow much you do know. How many different Pokémon types are there?"

I stared at him with widened eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Pokémon types," repeated Rex. "As in, 'ow many different elemental groups can different Pokémon be a part of? What is their type?"

"Raikou is an Electric type," Joleen input to my continued blank stare. "The Herdier you battled from Plasma is a Normal type, and the Liepard is a Dark type."

I felt my cheeks grow hot in shame as my hands crunched the empty can I'd been holding onto. I closed my eyes as I tried not to succumb to despair or rage.

"I don't know," I admitted, barely able to choke the words out. "I was only taught that catching Pokémon was bad, there were over 700 known species and that we were supposed to report any that we find to the Plasma officials. I was never taught anything else about them!"

I suddenly found myself on my feet without knowing how I got there. I continued on as my voice rose without me realizing it was doing so.

"I don't know how to look after Raikou! I don't even know the first think about feeding it, or what I'm supposed to be doing with it at all to get it to full health. I didn't even know what a Poké Ball looked like until I found the Master Ball. I thought they'd all been destroyed! I definitely don't want to be out here in the middle of nowhere fleeing from the people who uphold the King's law within Unova! I just want to go home and help my mother teach her classes."

I trailed off in bitterness and dropped myself back onto the log beside Joleen. She looked slightly stunned with a spoon halfway to her face which was dripping fruit back into the can she held on her lap. Rex let out a sigh.

"Tha' clears up tha'," grumbled the man. "How did you find the Master Ball?"

"It was in a box my mother had told me not to touch," I replied as I tucked my legs in towards my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "I was hoping to find something about my father when I took it out into the forest before the storm. I didn't think I'd find that ball."

"And why did you decide to use the ball on Raikou?" Rex asked in quiet contemplation.

"It was hurt," I replied automatically. My eyes settled on my bag and remained there. "It appeared before me, collapsed in the mud. I couldn't carry it the way it was. I wanted to do something. It was the first Pokémon I'd ever seen. I wanted to save it. I didn't want to catch it."

"You did save it by catching it," said Joleen while placing a hand on one of my knees in comfort.

Rex halted in his pacing right in front of me so his black shoes entered my field of vision. A hand fell on my shoulder.

"Tell me why you ran from Plasma instead of just turning over the Pokémon to them the moment you caught it?"

I hesitated.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't like how the ones who were chasing after the Raikou treated me when they first found me. I didn't trust them. It was a gut feeling. I knew they would hurt it more if I let them have it. I guessed they had hurt it in the first place. I just wanted it to be okay."

A/N: Yes, Chris is an insane noob character.

Bear with me as he needs to learn a few things about Pokémon before he reaches the Dream Yard.