An Age of Valour
by the Lady of the Mists
Chapter Seventeen: Walking into a Trap
It didn't take long for Lydia to find a new outfit that she was reasonably comfortable with. Dark blue jeans, as her usual style, she just needed some new ones because the ones she had were wearing in, and a light blue shirt that matched her eyes perfectly. She also bought a new jacket, though it was similar to the one she already had, just not as worn.
To Jesse's relief, they were out of the clothes department in ten minutes and went through the check out with a breeze. After they were done with Lydia's shopping, they headed downstairs to check out some potions and antidotes, as they were running a bit low on supplies. Lydia left Jesse at one point to go look at some TMs that were on sale, inspecting each of them carefully.
"What are you looking for?" Jesse asked, appearing suddenly beside her. He was carrying a load of various supplies in a basket and was looking down at her curiously.
"Um . . . well, I was trying to find Eevee some kind of move that he wasn't going to learn on his own," Lydia confessed. "He's been really depressed lately, because Poliwag's been learning all kinds of different attacks and Cyndaquil managed to take down Scyther all by herself, with just one attack. Not to mention, Cubone . . ." She sighed. "He's got that really powerful headbutt attack that won three matches in a row on the way here."
Jesse nodded, rolling his eyes. On the way here, they had battled a few trainers who wanted some experience before taking on Whitney. In an effort to work with Cubone, Lydia had been using him a lot, trying to get him some experience, but it was clear that he didn't need it. With both headbutt and the bone club, he usually won against his opponent in just a few attacks.
"He's been feeling that jealous, has he?" Jesse teased. Eevee just walked over to Lydia, rubbing her ankles hopefully. "Well, let's see here . . . what kind of move are we talking about?"
"Dunno . . ." Lydia admitted. "Probably something that will hold up pretty good in the next gym battle. Maurice told us that Whitney's really good, so it should probably be something that normal Pokémon are weak against."
"What about iron tail?" Jesse suggested, picking up one TM marked 23. "It's a steel type attack and those work really well against normal types. I'd suggest shadow ball, but that's a ghost type move and it's not going to have any effect against normal types, so this is the next best thing."
"Iron tail, huh?" Lydia took it and bent down to Eevee, holding it out for him to sniff. "What do you think, buddy? Want to try this one out?" she asked when he looked up at her happily. "All right, then. I guess that's everything that we need, then."
"Hold on a sec," Jesse said, bending down to pick up a TM labelled 10. "Here we go. Hidden power," he explained to Lydia, who looked towards it curiously. "Gastly's in desperate need of some help in this one."
"You're gonna use him, huh?"
"Well, normal moves don't do any damage to ghosts," Jesse pointed out simply as they walked through the check out.
There was a long silence as they walked through the line, Jesse picking up some candy bars and tossing them into the cart. He looked deeply perturbed about something and Lydia had the feeling she knew exactly what he was thinking about. But she didn't press him; if there was one thing she had learned from the past day, it was that he had to deal with his family in his own way, in his own time.
But at least he talked to her about it. "Lydia," he said after a long moment, "do you think she was telling the truth?"
"Your mom?" she guessed and he nodded. "You mean, about her telling you that your dad wanted you?" He nodded again. Lydia sighed. "I don't know, Jess, I mean I really don't know her."
"Take a guess, then," he challenged her. "Your predictions always seem to turn out accurate." She smiled slightly and tried to think about what she knew, and what Mrs. Turner had said.
"Probably," she said at long last. "I mean, people usually say things that they don't mean to say when they're angry or spiteful."
"Or both," Jesse muttered under his breath. Lydia smiled faintly and nodded. "But why didn't he stay around, if he wanted me and my sisters? I don't get why he left us, if that's the case."
"Why don't you ask him?" Lydia asked him. He stared at her. "Look, I know that Turner isn't an unusual name, but there's got to be some way to find him and talk to him, Jess."
"I don't even remember his first name," Jesse protested. "Lydia, I was only six when he left." The look on his face clearly said that he was trying to remember and failing miserably.
"So we'll get a list of anybody with the last name of Turner and call each of them, seeing if your dad's one of them," Lydia suggested brightly. Jesse smiled faintly, but shook his head. "Come on, Jesse, there's bound to be someone who knows where to find him—"
"Lydia, drop it!" Jesse snapped. Instantly, Lydia felt bad for pushing the subject and she looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap." He sighed. "It's just been a long day."
With a nod, Lydia placed a hand on his shoulder. "What do you say we grab a bite to eat after this?" she asked. "You hungry? What do you want? It's my treat," she added. "Don't bother trying to protest, Turner, it's not going to do any good."
--
They were eating through their lunch at a café downtown with their Pokémon sitting around them, making their way through the Pokémon food, when Lydia glanced up, catching that same familiar presence that she had felt back in Ilex Forest. Jesse sighed, seeing the look on her face. "Now what?" he wanted to know.
"Unless you want to know that I'm sensing that presence again, then don't ask," Lydia told him. Jesse grimaced as he cast a careful glance around them as Lydia stood up, looking at the people that were passing them in Goldenrod. "I've felt it before, back in Ilex Forest. And it seemed familiar then, Jess. Whoever it is that's following us, we've met them before."
"Yeah, so where are they?" Jesse asked, glancing around them. "Lydia, you might as well sit down. You're looking like a lunatic, standing up and looking at the crowd."
Lydia stuck her tongue out at him as she sat down, continuing to look at the crowd. Deciding to try something, Lydia touched her temples, focusing her psychic energy towards the crowd, searching for the person who was following them, to track where they were.
"They're close," she whispered softly, perfectly aware that Jesse was shifting in his seat nervously. She ignored him, though. "If I had to take a guess, then I'd say that—"
"Say what, psychic?"
Lydia whirled around at the sound of the voice that spoke, recognising it instantly. Cyndaquil squeaked in alarm as she ran to hide behind her trainer, scared of the young girl that stood behind them. Jesse stood up, his green eyes menacing as he glared at her. Only Lydia kept her calm as she looked towards Alicia Knightly, hardly surprised that it was her that was following them.
Alicia didn't look happy as she looked towards them, a scowl etched onto her features. "I can't believe how unbelievably hard it was just to track the two of you down," she commented. "And you know, it's really just a waste of my time, time that could be better spent."
"So, then why are you following us?" Lydia wondered as she placed her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows at Alicia.
"Oh, I'm just here long enough to set the record straight," Alicia responded, throwing a sheet of her blonde hair back across her shoulders. "Then I'm history after I deal with the two of you and make sure you never deal in my business again."
"What do you mean, 'set the record straight'?" Jesse demanded, staring her down as Lydia folded her arms across her chest.
Alicia's evil smile spread across her face as she withdrew one of the Pokéballs that she was carrying. Lydia stared at her, then shook her head. "No way," she responded, glaring at her. "I'm not going to have a Pokémon battle to settle our own personal differences."
"You don't have much of a choice there, Talon," Alicia replied, snapping her fingers. Lydia glanced around as the waiters and waitresses crowded around the two trainers, sneering at them. They'd walked right into a trap, she realised. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice. I'd rather do things the easy way, but—"
"There's no way that we're going to play by your games," Jesse retorted. "Totodile, water gun!"
"You too, Poliwag!" Lydia told her water Pokémon. "Cubone, bone club! Cyndaquil, flame thrower!" The Pokémon did as their trainer instructed and Eevee looked up at Lydia, giving her the sad eyes look. She smiled slightly; now was the perfect time to see if that TM had worked. "Eevee, it's now or never. Iron tail!"
Eevee sprung into action, leaping into the air and landing precisely on Alicia with his tail. She shrieked, knocked off her feet. "Everybody, return!" Lydia commanded, calling her Pokémon back into their Pokéballs as she scooped up Eevee. "Jess, let's go!"
"No problem!" he yelled back to her as he recalled his own and hurried towards her. Before they could reach the entrance, however, a Flareon appeared right in front of them, using his flame thrower to stop the two in their tracks. Lydia shrieked as Jesse seized her, drawing her against him to protect them both from the flames.
"Did you really think that we weren't expecting you to try and escape?" Alicia asked, appearing from the smoke, looking a bit dishevelled, but otherwise unhurt. "Or were you simply naïve enough to think that you stood a chance against us?"
"Well, considering that we've managed to thwart you twice before . . ." Lydia replied, but Jesse clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her from saying anything more. She scowled at him when he let her go.
Alicia smirked slightly as she turned away. "The daughter of Rosemary Talon," she said softly and Lydia glanced at her. "Did you know that our boss has taken a great interest in your demise? We would be rewarded greatly if we were to bring him your head."
"Ew," Lydia muttered.
"I wonder what a good little girl like you could have possibly done to cause such an enemy with one of ours," Alicia murmured as she patted Flareon on the head. "I see that you haven't evolved your Eevee yet. Don't you know that the more that they evolve, the more powerful they become?"
"Pokémon aren't ours to own," Lydia snapped. "They make their own choices. If Eevee wants to evolve, that's fine with me. But if he wants to stay the way that he is, then I'm fine with that too. They are our friends, not our servants. And I will not let you hurt my friends."
Looking positively disgusted with Lydia, Alicia shrugged. "Fine, have it your way, then," she said, looking towards Flareon. "Take care of them, Flareon, will you?"
"Wartortle, water gun attack!" a female voice rang out and a burst of water hit the Pokémon head on as a Wartortle appeared, along with the last person on earth that Lydia had expected to rescue them.
Jennie Turner.