Lesson 8: A man of words and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds
"NO, NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO!" Mr. Ferilli shouted, his utterly speechless daughter buried her face in Oreo's short fur. The piglet snorted angrily at the adult, a plume of black smoke trickled out of his nostrils sending out an obvious warning.
Even a seasoned optimist, much like Bianca had a hard time not backing down after seeing the pulsing vein emerging from Mr. Ferilli's temple. Encouraged by the presence of her Pokémon and friends she stood her ground, and managed to keep her tears at bay, shrinking lower and lower as his voice grew louder.
I can't believe he's doing this to me in front of my friends and Oreo, she thought squeezing her eyes shut, bracing herself for a second wave of shouting.
"Look at that Pokémon Bianca!" the adult said shoving an accusing finger in a rather affronted Oreo's face, "He's as powerless as you are! Do you actually think that he'll be able to protect you? How will you take care of him, when you can't even take care of yourself? You hardly made it in time to see that friend of yours this morning, so being a trainer can't be THAT important to you!" His last words took an immediate effect. Cheren's words still fresh in her mind resurfaced and Bianca bowed her head, blonde bangs covering her eyes. Despite it being a low thing to say it still hurt and her confidence took a serious blow.
Her father always managed to lift over exaggerating to a whole new level. He's so far past the line, that he couldn't even see it with binoculars! I thought while positioning myself in front of Bianca, rising to my full height. The worked up adult accustomed to his daughter's small and weak form was in the right kind of mind to take a step back.
"Listen up old man!" I barked placing my hands on my hips, ignoring Cheren's groan of frustration and Bianca's loud gasp.
"You've been annoying me for ten years by now, and I'm not even your daughter, thank the Legendary Pokémon for that! The little image you have of your daughter makes me want to laugh in your face!" An awkward silence hung in the air, a speechless Mr. Ferilli opened and closed his mouth in a very fishlike manner, sheer surprise coming from his side allowed me to silence him. However judging by the growing anger in his eyes my time to vent was coming to an end quicker than I could say 'Tackle!'
In a flash of light Marron joined me, wrapping a thin vine whip around my wrist, urging me onwards. I shot him a sidelong glance and smiled. In life there were different kind of battlefields and it felt good to know that he was my ally.
"You truly believe that she has her head stuck in the clouds twenty four seven don't you? Well I'd like to see the look on your face when she returns with a whole team of Pokémon capable of kicking your sorry ass! Oreo won't be like you remember him, but he'll sure as hell remember you!"
With this I noticed Bianca was tugging my clothes, blushing fiercely I returned to the empty space next to Cheren, whispering to Bianca, "I'm sorry but it's about time he opened his eyes."
"You just had to say something didn't you?" Cheren muttered through gritted teeth, his grey eyes fixed on Bianca, a weird expression on his face.
He would never admit it to his hard headed best friend, but she had handled the situation a lot like he would've done if she hadn't beat him to it.
Hearing some kind of praise might be enough for her to turn the tables on her father. He thought, a small smile on his face as he saw a glint of determination in her deep green eyes.
"I'm seventeen years old dad." Bianca said her tone firm and skipping the whole 'daddy' for once. "And I might not stand up for myself that often, I barely do, but I won't allow you to insult Oreo. The moment you lashed out to him was the moment I became one hundred percent sure of my cause. Or you wish me luck, wave me off with a smile, and make me the happiest girl in the world all at once, or you don't say a thing and just watch me leave. No matter what you decide, I Will Leave with my friends and Oreo."
The man remained silent, the whole argument had cost him ten years of his life and he found himself at a loss.
Unable to take the silence Bianca turned and with a loud "Humpf!" she stormed out of the house. Oreo snorted, accidently producing a jet of flames that set the kitchen table ablaze and left to follow his trainer, coiled tail in the air.
Cheren muttering something to himself tossed a Pokéball allowing Saya to appear. The little otter extinguished the danger with a quick jet of water. In a split second she exchanged glances with Marron, who nodded, a small smirk on his face. Mr Ferilli's angered cries and Mrs. Ferilli's laughter accompanied us outside as Saya 'accidently' splashed Bianca's dad with a jet of icy cold water.
"You told her to hit him with that water gun didn't you?" I asked, eyes wide as the lizard nonchalantly walked through a patch of grass, following Bianca and Oreo's footsteps, the color of his scales the perfect camouflage. "Little rascal." I muttered, giggling as a pleasured hiss reached my ears.
"Makes two of us." Cheren admitted in a cold voice, quickening his pace as Bianca's retreating back appeared in front of us. The blonde halted, her arms folded across her chest protectively, professor Juniper's lab looming behind her. She was sobbing by now and practically threw herself in my arms, shoulders shaking violently.
"I can't believe I said that. I have to go back and apologize." She sobbed incoherently adding something along the lines of "Homeless…" and "Freeze to death."
Seeing her miserable like this, on the day she became a trainer nearly had me running back to her dad so I could yell some more.
"Okay." Cheren sighed, the facial expression and slumped posture of someone about to do something completely out of character. "Don't interrupt because I won't be repeating myself." He said his words primarily addressed to me. "First you aren't weak. Silly yes, but weak never."
Bianca lifted her head and sniffed, wiping her eyes with the hem of her sleeve, "You are funny and always nice to everyone, your Pokémon will like you the moment they lay eyes on you." He continued avoiding her eyes, only glancing down as she giggled. "You'll have Ashe to help, and if you ask nicely I might consider training with you." I nudged him with my elbow and rolled my eyes, only Cheren managed to comfort and insult someone at the same time and got away with it.
"Okay." She hiccupped shaking her head, trying to cast off her anxiety, "Okay."
I put my arm around her shoulder, "Give yourself some credit once in a while B Ferilli. You do that and the world of Pokémon won't know what hits them."
"Wouldn't surprise me." Cheren muttered reluctantly joining in on the beginning of a group hug.
"And you won't freeze to death," I chuckled, "not with a fire Pokémon by your side. By the way Cheren, you got that smoke you asked for after al!" And with that all three Pokémon jumped in, Saya and Oreo hugged Bianca's leg yipping loudly, and pushed a rather reluctant Marron forward nagging him into handing the collection of wild flowers the three of them had collected.
"Let's go and meet the professor."
A teary Bianca smiled, Cheren sneezed and I yelled, "Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!" breaking into a run.
After receiving a free Pokédex, five usable Pokéballs and a demonstration on how to catch Pokémon every rookie trainer would happily die for, I listed my seventeenth birthday as my best birthday in history.
Cheren, who would suffer from a hernia, if he continued his series of bows to express his gratitude towards the professor bowed one last time before dashing through the thick grass.
"Head north and you'll reach Accumula Town, you might encounter some wild Pokémon so put those items I gave to good use! Remember the Pokédex's pages update automatically whenever you meet and catch a new Pokémon, so check it out occasionally. And don't forget when you catch a Pokémon,..."
"Weaken it before you throw a Pokéball, we know!" Bianca and I recited.
Okay, okay, seems you girls know the drill. Good luck!" Juniper said rubbing the back of her neck, her fluffly Minccino already waving goodbye.
Walking alongside Bianca, lazily enjoying the warm sun and an occasional sea breeze I listened to her talk about how cute Professor Juniper's Minccino was.
"I'm so going to catch one!" she chimed almost tripping over several tree roots that broke through the small path's surface. Marron in need of a rest after climbing every single tree we passed scampered on top of my baseball cap literally basking in the sun, using his leafy tail as a fan.
"Where is Cheren?" I asked after a few minutes of silence in which I listened to the sound of my boots crunching against the underground.
"Of to catch some Pokémon of course. Did you see the look on his face when I suggested to take our first steps on Route 1 together?"
"He's crazy for running in this kind of weather. What's that saying? Oh yeah, it's not the destination, but the journey that counts! Reaching the Pokémon League isn't a hard thing to do, but reaching it AND being allowed to compete is something else! Next time he allows me to use his laptop I'll use that sentence as his desktop background, to make sure the message sinks in." I breathed, halting as we passed a huge apple tree.
Oreo ran head first into the tree and looked up expectantly, gaining a head ache instead of apples. Marron hissed in delight at his failed attempts but scowled as his vine whip proved to cut short when trying to reach the fruit. "What goes around comes around." I joked as he grudgingly climbed the tree throwing down apples as he went.
A high bark coming from a patch of tall grass caught our attention, and a rather pissed off Lilipup appeared from the thicket, a large bump the size of an apple on its furry head.
"CUTE!" Bianca squealed, turning to me with hands folded, ready to beg.
"Go ahead." I scoffed staring at the puppy furrowing my brow.
Despite their cute looks, Lilipup, and especially it's evolved form Herdier gave me a nagging, sad kind of feeling. I couldn't quite remember why though...
As a small child I loved the doglike Pokémon, but somewhere along the way something changed. I must've outgrown them. I thought still staring at the Pokémon.
"You sure?" Bianca asked, practically shaking with happiness.
"Yup I like cats better anyway. I don't do well with the drooling and all that jumping about."
"JIPPIEE! Go Oreo! Use Tackle!" The fire type flung himself towards the Lilipup. It dodged easily by jumping in the nearest shrub, taunting a snorting Oreo by wagging his fluffy tail.
"Toast him out of there Oreo!"
Taking a deep breath and releasing it infused with enough fire to set the whole forest on fire the Lilipup reappeared and ran around in circles trying to escape his own burning tail.
"Now's your chance Bianca!" I warned the already celebrating blonde, "Oh yeah!" she said snapping out of it, but still taking her time to retrieve a Pokéball from her bag and throwing it at the panicking pup.
The Pokéball shook a final time, Bianca and Oreo bursting out in cheers right on cue. "Ashe did you see! I caught a Pokémon!"
I nodded, my breathing hitched after stomping out the fire, "How about a battle?" I suggested.
"Good idea, that way Dodger and I can get to know each other."
"Dodger?" I asked, "As in actually dodging?"
"Nope, Dodger as in Dodger, Bianca's Lilipup." She replied breezily releasing said Lilipup. The puppy sniffed Oreo's nose, the piglet seemed to check if they were still able to be friends after setting his tail on fire. Receiving a lick cleared all worries and Oreo trotted to the side settling down to watch the fight.
Marron, who stood calmly waiting for Dodger to make the first move shivered at the sight of the dog licking others, and shot him a glare holding the very obvious meaning try licking me and you'll regret it dearly.
"Let's do this Marron!" Trailing his long tail through the grass the Pokémon didn't even blink as he charged into Dodger hitting the mark, his stealthy movements surprising both me and Dodger. Shaking his furry head the pup recovered quickly, his tail wagging, "Lick him Dodger!" the improvised attack worked immediately, a panicked Marron running around in circles receiving a rather harsh tackle from the pup.
"Try confusing him!" I shouted. Marron changed his course, by zigzagging and jumping trees he managed to outrun the barking pup, eventually pinning the Pokémon to the ground with a loud 'smack'. After releasing the yipping dog and shaking paws, Bianca and I put our Pokémon inside their Pokéballs giving them the time to rest.
"I want to win a battle too! You already won twice!" Bianca whined sweating from walking uphill for about two hours. The sun had reached its highest point, warming my hair and neck, and our surroundings grew silent as all the Pokémon sought shelter from the sun. "Winning two times doesn't mean a thing. And Dodger had only just battled Oreo." I said standing doubled over resting my hands on my knees and gasping slightly.
"Who knew Accumula was that far away." Bianca huffed as we made our way downhill, the small town with a Pokémon Center and actual benches to sit on beckoned temptingly. A small stream carved its way mercilessly through the land. It ran alongside the unwinding road ahead and kept us company with its rushing sound, the mere presence of water had a soothing and cooling effect.
Arriving with throbbing feet and in desperate need of a shower Bianca and I approached Accumula Town, matching wide grins plastered on our face.
"Finally. I crawl faster." Cheren huffed, a sour look on his face, scrambling to his feet after sitting on the side of the road awaiting our arrival.
"You could've waited for us in a Pokémon Center." I said noticing his clothes. Though just fine to me, according to Cheren's clothing standards they looked rather messy, and if I didn't know him better I could've sworn he had rolled through the grass only seconds ago.
"What have you been doing?" Bianca inquired dusting of his shoulders examining a strand of violet colored hair pinched between her fingers.
"First things first." He said ignoring her questions and walking towards town, "Let's find a Pokémon Center and a place to spend the night."
Shrugging my shoulders to a puzzled Bianca I followed my friends, snorting as we passed an unsteady wooden sign that proclaimed 'Welcome to Accumula Town.'
"It should say, Welcome to Silent Hill, days without anyone getting killed 'zero'." I laughed as we crossed the center of the town, that turned out to be an open park-like area.
"Sometimes you really exaggerate Ashe. I think it's cozy." Bianca replied waving at a small group of local children playing on the streets in a very carefree manner as hardly anyone seemed to own a car. She had been biting her tongue as soon as she saw the local people's clothing style, if the word style even applied to the things they wore.
"Nightlife here won't be very interesting." Cheren backed me up as he pushed open the Pokémon Center's double doors, a scowl on his face, "The staff should realize how useful automatic doors are in case of an emergency."
Entering the lobby of the Pokémon Centre a pink haired nurse approached us almost immediately, actually finding herself happy with trainers and their Pokémon in need of healing. Handing her five Pokéballs, (Bianca and I exchanged several glances at the sight of Cheren's mysterious new Pokémon) we turned our back on the counter and the expensive looking machines used for simple healing procedures.
I almost threw myself on the comfortable couch, stretching my legs and yawning wide. if I had to wait, I might as well make myself comfortable, and set on doing so I was just seriously considering how angry Cheren would get if I took my shoes off, when a second nurse spotted me and came over, scanning me from head to toe.
I lifted my head in surprise, aware of her eyes trailing my what had to be considered as super revealing clothes in this town.
"Excuse me Miss, but I think we have a delivery for you." The nurse said kindly, Bianca clearly straining her neck as her head snapped up from her magazine, and Cheren prying his eyes of his town map. "Your grandfather called two days ago, and had us look out for your arrival, wait here please." She continued disappearing behind the counter leaving through the same door as the first nurse had gone, leaving me curious as hell.
"Knowing my grandpa it could be anything." I said biting my lip in anticipation jumping slightly at the sound of wheels. The nurse now carrying a tray with five Pokéballs walked slowly along a pink Audino, keeping an eye on the object carefully placed on a medicine cart the Pokémon pushed towards us. Bianca and Cheren jumped to their feet as she carefully placed an oval egg about the size of a small football in my lap.
"Holy- is this for real?" I murmured minding my language in front of the nurse. "It's a birthday gift." She beamed handing me a Pokéball containing Marron and a pamphlet in the shape of an egg that said 'How to hatch and raise your egg from scratch.'
"This is so cool." I muttered ten minutes later sitting on a bench in town, determined for the egg to soak up as much sun as possible.
Trailing my hands along the egg's smooth, white surface, I once again wondered out loud what kind of Pokémon would hatch from it.
"Ooooh maybe it's a Legendary Pokémon!" Bianca chimed huddling closer almost expecting Reshiram himself to burst out of the egg.
"Bianca, when will you grow some brain cells. It's impossible for most of the legendary Pokémon to reproduce, that's what makes them legendary!" The black haired teen groaned in dismay, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose inspecting the egg yet again. "That grey and red zigzag stripe along the middle has to mean something though." Cheren muttered the tip of his nose nearly touching the egg's smooth surface.
"I hope I don't drop it…don't wanna get a scrambled egg..." I mused, instinctively shielding the fragile object with my body as two people ran past us at high speed, knocking Bianca off her feet in the progress. "Jerks!" the blonde yelled taking Cheren's extended hands to hoist herself up.
A small crowd that grew by the second huddled closer to a raised platform apparently listening to some sort of speech. "A cult?" I asked as I saw the mutual emotion on almost every bystanders face. A mixture of anger and shock.
"Definitely." Bianca agreed her eyes the size of saucers. "If you're caught wearing something like that in broad daylight you're either out of your mind or part of a cult."
I laughed, she had a point though, adult men and women wearing robes that resembled those of a medieval knight didn't really scream "normal!"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Cheren muttered looking rather tense and already getting to his feet. I frowned at the expression on his face. Something that caught the black haired teen's attention and made my Ice-King childhood friend nervous had to be taken serious.
"Saya, Sherazade stay here please." Without even tossing their Pokéballs his Pokémon appeared out of nowhere in a flash of light. A happily chittering Saya now accompanied by an exquisite Purrloin huddled close to the egg and Bianca. The blonde released Oreo and Dodger, the two Pokémon blinked in surprise seeing the purple cat, and got acquainted before settling down on the bench.
"Go see what's happening, I'll stay here." Bianca said, Cheren's sudden tense behavior hadn't escaped her either.
"Okay, but Marron should stay with you in case those goons…Err where is Marron?" I asked crouching down to peek under the bench, seeing nothing but a disgusting collection of chewing gum attached to the bottom.
We spotted the tiny snake climbing a tree that overlooked the whole scene. "Typical Marron to claim front row seats." I muttered as Cheren and I fought our way through the crowd, hardly seeing or hearing anything. "Hush." Cheren hissed, tall enough to actually see what happened, filling me in on everything he saw.
An older man, definitely the superior among what had to be his group was pacing up and down the plaza talking at the same time. Untouched by the crowds growing anger he continued his speech. His baritone voice made me shiver despite the sun's warm rays, and my former frustration for not seeing a thing vanished along with the warmth on my skin. Cheren and I gasped along with the crowd as the man voiced out the words "Pokémon liberation."
Allowing the tense silence to lengthen the man resumed pacing up and down, his long robes billowing behind him and his hands clasped behind his back. I noticed how two rather tall men exchanged looks before detaching themselves from the scene, unimpressed or possibly too disgusted by the green haired man's speech.
Furrowing my brow I allowed them to pass, quickly focusing on the small part of the plaza visible to me, as the man spoke again.
"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans." He spat the final word as if it were something dirty eyeing each and everyone in the crowd with a look of utter disgust,
"That we humans and Pokémon are partners. Equals even. But have you ever considered that we merely weigh them down? We command them, rob them of their freedom and eventually keep them from unlocking their true potential, all under the guise of 'being partners'. Consider the relationship between people and Pokémon…
If you believe what I believe, and feel what I feel we should live up to our responsibility and free every single Pokémon in the world. We, Team Plasma, sincerely appreciate your attention."
With that he turned his back on the crowd's 'attention', that now consisted of angered people yelling insults, questioning his words, and left with his guard of honor.
A few people remained to talk for a while, shaking their heads as if waking from a deep slumber. Remembering their daily duties the crowd dispersed and scattered throughout town again. Some of them turning, disgruntled looks on their face, as a loudly yelling blonde ran towards the plaza waving her arms like a mad woman.
"Bianca what happened?" I asked automatically checking the tree Marron occupied and counting the Pokémon hot on her tail, immediately noticing the absence of my newly gained egg.
"This is terrible….I'm so sorry! They just snagged it from me, I was too slow, before I even realized they, and, and…" with this her tears got the best of her, and she almost ripped her beret to shreds as she pulled it over her eyes.
"Cheren, you stay here." He opened his mouth to argue but I shot him a look over my shoulder, eyes blazing in fury before running of at top speed. He hadn't been pleased but the dark haired teen was smart enough to recognize a dangerous female if he saw one, catching Sherazade had given him a taste of female wrath.
My anger rose as I spotted the two tall men from earlier casually holding the white egg as if it belonged to them. They even have the guts to hang around after stealing something! I thought my vision practically glowing red with fury.
"THAT'S MINE SO KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS TO YOURSELF!" I exploded ignoring the possibility of fighting through Pokémon and throwing myself full force at the shortest of the two that smirked, clearly unimpressed by a teenage girl's fighting skills.
"Watch it Jake, she might scratch you." His accomplice, who held the egg to his chest joked, sputtering on nothing but air as he saw how I landed my fist in his friend's face.
"Hand it over or you'll find yourself wishing you got the same treatment as Jackass-Jake over there!" I growled pausing to aim a kick at a very particular body part belonging to Jake, who yowled jumping about with one hand clenched to his bleeding nose.
In the amount of time it took me to turn my attention back to the remaining goon I received a painful blow to my stomach. I toppled over by the sheer force of it, cringing as he lifted his hands to hit me a second time. Shit shit shit, this is gonna hurt. Smart move Ashe turning your back on the other guy, I thought unable to move without getting sick to my stomach.
"Fuck! Jake get a grip we have to run!" Peeking through my eyelashes I spotted a furious Marron in the midst of choking the life out of Jake. Lifting the entire grown up male in what could only be the spur of the moment the tiny snake flung him towards his accomplice, reducing them to a pile of tangled arms and legs.
Landing sprawled out, my face flat on the ground but most importantly the egg secured in my outstretched hands I sighed in relief.
"Marron." I coughed, "You are the best, most awesome Pokémon ever." The tiny snake carefully climbed in my lap as I rolled over exposing my dust covered t-shirt.
I winced when I felt his weight on my stomach, and he hissed apologetically. His reddish brown eyes trailed towards the two men, a flicker of anger grew brighter and brighter as he imagined throwing the humans responsible for hurting his trainer of a building.
"Don't worry he hits like a girl." I joked petting the yellow scales above his eyes, planting the seeds of a firm resolve in my heart and mind without realizing its consequences.
"Screw that green haired dude and those wig wearing morons doing his biddings. What he said might've made sense on a certain level, but it turned out to be rather messed up when put into practice. I love you, you know that right?" I asked giggling as the tiny snake snuggled against my chest and tickled my exposed neck with his leafy tail. "I don't know what all that hissing means but earning a hug from you must mean you like me too right?" I inquired as he pressed his head against the egg's surface listening closely.
"Everything alright in there?" I whispered, the anxiety in my voice turned into a high pitched "Gah!" as a green haired teenager suddenly hovered above me, his messy hair tied together in a ponytail trailed downwards.
"I'm capable of answering both of your questions." He said ignoring my outburst and closing his eyes for a second as if listening to something. His eyes snapped open boring into mine and he tilted his head to one side in a strange familiar kind of way.
"Do I know you?" I asked craning my neck to study his face. Unaware of the two slender Purrloin that trailed along his ankles staring in that peculiar way only felines seem to master.
She looks so familiar. N thought suppressing the urge to steal her cap so he could see just how long her hair truly was. Her Snivy catching his drift swiftly climbed her shoulders followed by her head, grabbing the two locks of her hair that seemed to naturally curl up, his whole demeanor screaming, She's mine, back off.
Zero, who had recognized her scent almost immediately, shifted uneasy almost expecting that stinging smell of gunpowder to linger on her body.
Still flowers and that something else,… I should be capable of recognizing it by now. However no gunpowder. Good.
Swishing his tail he realized the small lizard like Pokémon was staring down at him with a smug smirk on its face.
Some respect might be in place hatchling. Zero growled rather pleased with his feline form and the sharp fangs that came with it.
I know when I'm ought to show respect, and I might consider doing so once I see your true form. Trickssster. The last word was spoken with a deliberate hiss causing Zero to flatten his ears.
Careful. He spoke to N using the secret language the two of them had designed during their childhood, excluding the second taller Purrloin from their conversation, the feline's only reactions were a jaw breaking yawn and a knowing glow in his emerald eyes.
Those two idiots who tried to steal her egg were new recruits, if she finds out we're the ones behind all of this she won't even consider talking to us. N shot him a dry look, wordlessly communicating with his lifelong friend, a handy trick that had taken them years to perfect.
I can take her on. He said, a rather amused look on his face as he eyed the surprisingly long legged female, adding with or without the help of a Pokémon that is.
Zero minding to act like a cat stopped himself from snorting and settled for a soft purr, switching to normal Pokémon speech he said I believe in everything you do, but as a Pokémon I also know how fierce a female can be when the ones she considers family are being threatened.
She's very much like a female of my kind. The second Purrloin commented locking his green eyes with blue, startled ones followed by intense pale green ones.
Worth teasing just to see the expressions on that face of hers and to test the sharpness of her claws. You agree do you not? The feline asked deceitfully coy, still managing to look innocent after voicing out N's exact thoughts.
No wonder I prefer dogs. He thought as the slightest of smiles tugged at his lips.