FOREVERMORE
~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~
Chapter 29
To Normalize
January 15, 5001.
(Fiori's POV)
"Let's go into this cave!" I said, turning back to face my companion.
Grey's expression was blank as ever. It drove me nuts, how he never showed any emotion. He usually talked more and relaxed around me, but ever since that encounter with the admins he'd been acting strange. Something was bothering him. I wanted to know what, but I doubted he'd tell me.
"Why?" he asked.
"To explore, of course," I replied. "Besides, I need more Pokemon, and there might be a good one in there."
He sighed, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Fine."
I grinned. "All right, let's go! C'mon, Kitty!"
The Skitty mewed, and followed me inside the cave. It was dark, of course, but not enough to blind us. It painted everything with a gray tint. It was oddly silent; the only sounds were dripping water, waves rippling up against stone, and our footsteps.
"Be on the lookout," I said, looking around. "Who knows what's in here."
I glanced behind me to make sure Grey was following. He had released Squirrel, who was now perched on his shoulder. The darkness made it difficult to see his handsome face, though I could see the white of his Pachirisu perfectly fine. I turned back around and walked to the shoreline, and eyed the water. I pondered what was under the gently rolling waves. I kicked the surface, spraying water everywhere. Then, suddenly, a Poliwag leaped out.
A Poliwag, huh? With good training, it could be tough.
Well, it looked like I found my new Pokemon.
"Go, Kitty!" I exclaimed, pointing to the young Pokemon.
She leaped forward, facing off with the Poliwag. She hissed at it, baring her fangs. Then the Poliwag flinched slightly, but steeled itself, looking determined. That was the kind of courage I was looking for in another teammate. This was really good.
Due to Kitty's high leveling, we'd have to go easy. I would have to be careful. The idea of actually trying not to knock out a Pokemon in battle seemed almost silly to me after all these years.
"Ice Beam!" I ordered.
The temperature dropped even more around us, and a beam of icy energy shot out of the Skitty's mouth. The Poliwag was fast, and leaped out of the way, but its tail still got hit by the attack. I was shocked to see it collapse, almost knocked out. Arceus, I forgot how strong Kitty was.
I took a Poke Ball out of my bag. I stared at it for a second. Should I dare use it like I used to? Well, I decided to. I dropped the Poke Ball, and expertly kicked it, sending it flying at the struggling Poliwag. The device bounced off off the swirl on its belly, which was the target spot Mom had taught me, and the Poliwag was dragged inside.
My hands clenched into fists as I impatiently waited for the capture to be complete. I was so involved with this I didn't notice Grey had walked up to join us until I glanced over at my right. I could see his face slightly better, but still couldn't read his expression. When I looked back to the Poke Ball, it was done shaking; the capture was successful.
"Woot, we did it!" I cheered, running up to pick up the device. I whirled back around to face Grey, a grin on my face. "This is my first new teammate since... four years ago."
"And when did you quit battling?" he asked.
I grimaced. "Three years ago."
"Will you ever tell me why?"
This was one thing I didn't like talking about. I was not fond of my past, especially when it came to my brothers. Especially Am. I hated thinking about it, much less talking about it. I wasn't angry at Goldy for leaving; I remembered him begging me to help him train Phano to get stronger, and I remembered asking him why, and him telling me why—a reason that was obviously not going on now due to the memory loss. But Am... He left, he abandoned us. Dad, Mom, me, our little sister Poppy. I couldn't forgive him for that.
I bit my bottom lip, and looked down at the Poke Ball in my hand, and the injured Poliwag inside. "I can't. Not yet." I looked back up at him. "Sorry."
I couldn't see his face, but he probably narrowed his eyes or something. I knew him well enough.
"We should go back outside," he said after a moment of silence.
I nodded, and then remembered he probably couldn't see me. "Right."
We headed back outside. The blizzard that stormed us in two days ago had covered the land with a thick layer of white snow. It was cold—colder than it had ever been so far. But we had to keep trudging on. We had to get stronger. It was the only way to stop Synis, the creep who took my family away from me. My boots crunched in the snow as I walked; Kitty had returned to her spot in the top of my backpack.
We stopped at a cluster of boulders. I brushed the snow off before heaving myself up on it. I winced as the freezing rock sent cold through my jeans. Arceus, it felt like ice.
I released the Poliwag and immediately began tending to its injuries. Grey took out his Pokedex and told me the information about my new Pokemon. I wracked my brain for a suitable name for the little guy. It took a moment or two, but I figured it out.
"Your name is Caecilian!" I declared.
The Poliwag let out a happy cry, and I grinned. Yep, things were getting good.
But things were always great with Grey around.
...
January 18, 5001.
(Grey's POV)
We were slightly behind on the Gym battling schedule due to the blizzard, but we were still making good time. Right now time was essential; it was only a matter of time before Synis attacked us again, though I had to wonder if he'd take the risk of angering Unova.
Anyways, Fiori was really getting into it. Her Poliwag had already evolved into a Poliwhirl. She really was enjoying battling. It made me happy to see her like this. She was taking her promotion seriously, which was what we needed. She was going to be a great commander.
I honestly did my best to talk more, to open up. I did manage to get some of her past out of her; her real name was actually Iolite, but she didn't like it, so she came up with her own nickname, what everyone now called her. She was a successful trainer, just like I assumed, and had many trophies back at home from before she quit. And she loved to cook, which was already obvious, so I let her do all of that.
I told her just about anything she asked about me. Except for my time as a admin. I was not proud of anything I had done during my time with the Government. I was disgusted with myself, ashamed. It pained me even to think about it. And it was all being thrown back in my face, especially due to our recent encounters with the admins.
Flax seemed to be especially fond of bringing up my secrets, but I had a feeling that he knew something I didn't. But I guess it wasn't that important because Navy would have told me.
"C'mon, let's go," Fiori said, sliding out from the booth in front of me in the table we were eating breakfast at in the Pokemon Center. "The Gym awaits!"
I stood, and we put our coats and other winter clothing items on before heading outside. I stuffed my hands into my pockets as we walked around. Nacrene was still pretty small, mainly consisting of old warehouses, even after all these years. The Gym was still a museum, too, and we had heard that they had stuff dating back from when my father was battling Team Plasma.
Fiori pushed open the door, and I followed her inside. We were greeted by the men behind the front desk. The museum was packed with artifacts of all kinds. The most striking had to be the dragon skeleton, which was about the size of Dragon, if not slightly smaller.
"This place hasn't changed much," Fiori said, looking around. "They've gotten a few new things, though."
I stayed silent, content to follow her around and let her look. We even came across a old photograph hanging on the wall that showed all the Pokedex holders. Visitors noticed how similar I looked to Black, and began to point and whisper, so we hastily moved on. Suddenly, she gasped, and rushed over to a glass box that contained a black stone resting on a velvet cushion. I followed her over.
"They have the Dark Stone!" she exclaimed, her pink eyes lightening up with excitement. "Do you know what this means? We can wake up Zekrom!"
So this was the Dark Stone, where the legendary Pokemon Zekrom slept, the partner of my father. I pursed my lips. The idea was very tempting.
"No," I said at last. "We can do this without a legendary's help, unless Synis has his hands on one, which I doubt. This is our battle. We shouldn't bring them into this."
My words must have surprised her, for she looked up with me with a shocked expression. But then she nodded, accepting what I said.
"I understand. You're right. Well, at least we have Zekrom to fall back on."
"If he finds a suitable partner," I reminded her.
"Oh, don't be so pessimistic," she chided me, poking my cheek. "Now let's go get the Basic Badge!"
...
The Gym leader was a thirty-year-old woman by the name of Tema. She reminded me of Lenora, being on the hefty side and having dark skin and dark, dark blue hair. She was very friendly, and pleased to see us. Apparently it was true that Alan called all the Gym leaders to tell them about us. I guess that was a good thing.
We discussed who would go first, and it was decided that Fiori would have the first battle. I didn't mind at all, really. But first Tema had some questions for us.
"So, what are your rankings in the Resistance?" she asked.
"Commander," Fiori replied with a grin, and Kitty mewed.
"General," I responded.
Her eyes grew wide with surprise. "Oh my goodness! You're the cream of the crop, aren't you?"
"So we've been told," I said. "Synis thinks so, at least."
A frown formed on her face. "The president? You've met him?"
I grimaced. "Yes, I have."
"I haven't, though," Fiori said. "Not that I mind."
I really did not like the way this conversation was headed. Tema seemed to notice this, though, thank Arceus.
"Well, we should get to the battle," she said. "Come on, Fiori!"
The two women went out onto the arena, and I sat down in the stands. Every Gym seemed to have a arena for battling, which was different from the past, as Fiori had told me. I wasn't surprised when Viper released himself; he wanted to see Fiori in action as well.
"All right!" said Tema. "This will be a two-on-two battle. Only the challenger is allowed substitutions. Understood?"
"Gotcha!" Fiori said, nodding.
Tema smiled. "Good. Now let's go, Stoutland!"
I was surprised that I recognized the Pokemon. Apparently that part of my memories had not been erased, which was rather odd, since the others didn't know all the Pokemon. Maybe it was because I was a Unovan. It still made me curious, though.
"Caecilian, you're up!" Fiori announced, releasing her Poliwhirl.
I was surprised that she chose him, since he was so weak compared to the rest of her team. But I supposed she had a purpose—to level him up even further. And that was wise, especially since he needed to be high leveled to survive the war.
"You may go first," Tema told her.
She nodded. "Caecilian, use Hypnosis!"
The Poliwhirl sent translucent waves at the Stoutland, and it collapsed, falling into a deep sleep. I saw what she was doing now. She had to be a master of strategy; I was impressed. I couldn't believe she had been hiding all of this from us for all this time.
"Ah, Stoutland!" said Tema. "Hang in there!"
"Now use Body Slam!" Fiori commanded, her voice firm.
I watched as the Poliwhirl tackled the sleeping canine, sending it sliding back a few inches. It didn't wake up at all, but it was apparent barely any damage was done. This seemed to frustrate Fiori.
"Okay, Caecilian, return!" she said, calling him back to his Poke Ball. "Dragon, you're up!"
It was weird having a Pokemon that had the same name as hers. But her Dragon was a Hydreigon, not a Dragonite. The three-headed beast let out a snarl as it appeared, baring its fangs. Tema looked surprised to see such a Pokemon, which I guess was okay, seeing as it was so difficult to raise a Deino into a Hydreigon.
"Dragon Rush!" Fiori commanded seeing as the Stoutland was still snoozing.
The Hydreigon rushed at the Stoutland, his body becoming outlined with what appeared to be a blue version of Aerial Ace. The attack hit, and Tema's Stoutland was knocked out. The older woman looked genuinely surprised by the turn of events.
"Impressive," she said as she returned her fallen Pokemon. "You are the leaders of the Resistance, after all."
Tema wasn't the only one impressed; Arceus, Fiori was good. She would give me a hard time in battle if we ever got the chance to duke it out. And now I did want to battle her.
"However, my Watchog won't be as easy to defeat!"
Again, I recognized Watchog. Another Unovan Pokemon I knew. Maybe being in my home region was affecting my memories. That had to be it.
"Watchog, Hyper Fang," Tema ordered.
"Dodge it with Fly, Dragon!" Fiori commanded, her voice resonant.
The Hydreigon was already in the air, but it pumped its wings and soared higher into the air, avoiding the grounded Watchog's violent attack. Dragon snickered a raspy chuckle, a calm smirk on his face. I almost smiled. Fiori's Pokemon had to miss battling.
Tema gave her Watchog another command, which was completely useless since Dragon was still in the air. The Hydreigon tucked in his wings, and dove down towards his opponent with wicked speed, slamming into the Pokemon with force. Dust went flying, blinding us.
Viper hissed from his spot beside me, and I glanced at him. He didn't seem to be impressed by the Gym leader at all. In fact, the Serperior looked bored.
When everything was clear, it was obvious that the battle was over. The Watchog was out for the count. I was again surprised; Fiori's Dragon's level had to be in the nineties, then, to be able to defeat a Gym leader's Pokemon so handily.
"Well I'll be," Tema said, returning her Watchog. "I've never been beaten like that before. You are most definitely commander material!"
Fiori grinned. "Thanks!"
And so Fiori earned the Basic Badge from Tema. The Gym leader's team was so whooped from the battle, my match with her was postponed until the next day. That was fine with me; I doubted the battle would be much of a challenge for me since Fiori had such a easy time.
But it was a good thing that things were easy.
Or maybe Fiori was just amazing.
This is shorter than what I would have liked, but whatever. And it seems icky to me, but whatever.
SECOND GYM DOWN, SIX MORE TO GO. THEN THE EPIC-NESS THAT IS THE REST OF THE SECOND ARC. And then the third arc. Which is... INTENSE.
Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed the budding ForestFairy! I loved being able to finally dive into Fiori's past. And I hoped I did her POV good, haha.
HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY THING.
Wow, Navy has more fans than Jewel and Grey. x.x Man, you guys sure like him. But that's cool. Because Navy's awesome.
So I should tell you about the next thing coming up in this arc. There will be a time skip to May after the Gym challenges. Why? Because I need warm weather here for the good stuff to happen. And, well, EVERYTHING revolves around birthdays. A certain character's birthday is the trigger to all of hell being let loose. And I'm not telling you who yet. BUT. EVERYTHING. REVOLVES. AROUND. HIS/HER. BIRTHDAY. EVERYTHING.
*cough*
Review!