Chapter 19
I left the large tent with Raikou at my side. From the sounds coming from inside the tent, Fennel wanted to talk to Rex alone. I bowed my head slightly and started down a short path towards the remnants of one of the larger buildings. I knew I would have a lot to think about, and I felt I needed to be somewhere that wasn't very busy.
Once I was within the remnants of the building, I found a shaded corner beneath some stairs. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered no one near us. I removed my bag from my shoulders and slumped against the sturdy-looking wall before sliding to the ground. Now that I was seated, Raikou promptly sprawled its front legs across mine and rested its chin on top of its paws so it could stare at me while I removed my journal.
Just before I started writing, I noticed that the Pokémon from earlier, the white and brown one, had followed me. I pulled out my Pokédex to discover that it was called a Snover and that it was a seemingly curious Pokémon where new people were concerned. It probably explained why it was following me around. I invited it to stay with a gesture of its arm and it settled down beside the crumbled remains of a stairway to what might have once been a second floor to this building. It watched me with curious green eyes as I pulled out a small book from my bag and a pencil.
I wrote for a while.
I wrote about our departure from Accumula Town and my battle with Rex. I wrote about reaching the Dreamyard and everything we'd learned while it was still fresh in my mind. When I ran out of writing down the actions of the past few days, I could no longer put off contemplating the future.
I was uncertain of what I wanted to do. I guess I want to do the right thing, but I wasn't entirely confident with what that was supposed to be. I do know that healing Raikou was definitely the right thing to do. I was no longer sure if releasing it was the wisest course of action though. Fennel had mentioned that Team Plasma had extended their reach to the other regions.
I spent some time reflecting and writing. Most of it helped me lay out the words so I could recall them later in a more condensed and coherent form.
My first priority was Raikou's safety. As much as I was reluctant to admit to it, I had become very attached to the young Pokémon. It was quickly becoming a best friend. Within the glances it kept shooting me, I could tell most of what it seemed to want me to know. About halfway through my writing attempts to figure out what I wanted, I found myself speaking out loud to my Raikou and the Snover. Neither seemed to mind being a part of what I was thinking and I continued to jot down notes every so often to keep up with my one sided conversation.
I realized that as much as I wanted to return to being the normal person I had been back in Nuvema Town, I couldn't go back. Even if I let Raikou go to Johto, Team Plasma already knew I'd defied them and had captured a Pokémon. I wouldn't be free to return to my old life with my mother. I would be captured the moment they saw my face and thrown in a prison somewhere; and that was the best case scenario I could come up with. I figured there was a lot worse they could do. The only thing keeping my family safe was that Plasma was uncertain to the extent of their involvement with my crime.
That left me with the option of possibly remaining within the Dreamyard. I could probably enjoy helping Fennel save Pokémon and send them to the other regions. Joleen would probably be useful here too which her healing knowledge. Staying here would mean I could continue to learn about Pokémon. It was something I was beginning to discover I really enjoyed. The more I learned about them, the more I wanted to learn. Both Raikou and the Snover showed signs of intelligence similar to that of a human's; I was convinced I could learn a lot from them.
Another option was to continue travelling around Unova. I could discover the full extent of what Team Plasma had done to the rest of the region. Maybe, if I was able to learn enough, I might be able to do something about it.
That possibility made both Raikou and the Snover stare intently at me. It seemed they both liked that idea. I was a little confused why I had even come to that idea. Maybe it had to do with the strong feelings of betrayal directed towards them for my stunted personal growth? How about the fact that my home town looked like a barren wasteland of a forest whereas the Dreamyard was the only place I'd seen actual living trees? Or was it that they were chasing down and hurting intelligent creatures? What where they doing to my mother and grandfather?
What if I did nothing? What if I waited for someone else to stop Team Plasma? Surely I wasn't the only one who had Pokémon friends and the desired to do so. I only had Raikou and I didn't know nearly enough to take them on in hopes of defeating such an overwhelming threat. Rex had admitted to trying to defeat Team Plasma before and losing his Pokémon to them. If I decided that that was the course of action I wished to take, I would need both Joleen and Rex by my side. I knew that much from the short time I'd already spent travelling with them. They would be valuable allies with what they knew of Unova and Pokémon in general.
I petted Raikou's head and scratched behind one of its ears. It rumbled happily at the additional attention.
If I was to take on Team Plasma, I would need more allies. I'd need more Pokémon to help me. I'd need a strategy for taking down the organization. I'd need to know everything I could learn about how to take down Team Plasma and its king. I'd probably need to find out exactly how they had won in the first place so I wouldn't repeat the mistakes that lead to them winning.
I chuckled lightly to myself. It was mostly wishful thinking. It wasn't like I'd ever be the kind of person who could become a hero to save an entire region of people. And yet, the idea of freeing all the Pokémon Team Plasma had taken in the name of preventing human influence was a very tantalizing thought.
"What have we here?" A male voice I didn't know intruded into my contemplation.
I jumped to my feet and dropped my journal beside my bag. Raikou was instantly at the ready next to me with a stray spark travelling the length of its cloud-like cape.
"Who's there?!" I yelped.
"Just someone interested to know who wants to take on Team Plasma," replied the voice as a man with long green hair stepped around the stairs I'd placed myself under. He was grinning as he blocked my only exit. "I'd like to know just how you think you'll be able to do that."
A/N: Insert dramatic music here :P