An Age of Valour
by the Lady of the Mists
Chapter Twenty-three: Hayden
It was bright and early the following morning when Lydia, Jesse, and Jennie rose to start the new day and continue on the road to Ecruteak City. Her uncle had left the night before, heading back to his house back in Cherrygrove. Lydia could tell, even without looking at him, that he was distracted about something. And if she had to take a guess, then it would be about the mysterious stranger who had saved their lives.
She wanted to ask Jack what he knew about the mysterious stranger, who he was, but when Lydia saw the disturbed look on her uncle's face, she wondered if it was even a good idea to ask. So she kept her mouth shut as she said goodbye to him and promising to call him when they reached Ecruteak. If either Jesse or Jennie noticed anything strange about her or her uncle, then they didn't comment on it.
Lydia was actually kind of curious as why people kept coming to her and telling her that she needed to use her powers. What did it matter why she used them or not? Wasn't it up to her whether or not she used them?
"Hey, guys, look there!" Jesse announced as he pointed up ahead. Both girls looked to where he was pointing at. Lydia let out a low whistle when they saw a Scyther in the woods, right next to some trees.
"He's hurt!" Lydia said immediately, realising that the Pokémon was breathing heavily and painfully. Jesse went pale as he realised this and hurried up to the Pokémon, squatting down beside it. "Jess, be careful!" she warned. Frightened or injured Pokémon would most likely strike out at anyone who went near them, even if they meant no harm. Lydia held her breath as Jesse started talking gently to it.
The Scyther let out a sharp hiss and swiped its blade towards her friend. "Watch out!" Lydia yelled, but Jesse had moved out of the way just in time and was looking at Scyther determinedly. Jennie was staring at this with apprehension in her eyes.
"Easy, Scyther!" Jesse whispered, moving towards him again. "Take it easy. Don't worry, I'm a friend." Lydia watched him as he pulled his bag off of his shoulders, searching through it for some medicine. "Guys, do you have any of the Super Potion that we bought?"
"Here," Jennie said softly, handing him one. Jesse sent his sister a grateful look as he turned back towards the injured Pokémon, who was now regarding them warily.
"What's a Scyther doing out here?" Lydia muttered, frowning as she looked at her friends. "I mean, don't they usually live in the National Park? It's supposed to be hard to find one . . ."
"Maybe this one was abandoned by his trainer," Jennie said quietly as Jesse talked to him gently, finally persuading him to spray the Super Potion on his injuries. Almost the second that the potion was sprayed, Scyther reared up, squealing in pain.
"Whoa! Easy, easy!" Jesse yelled, grabbing his Pokéball and tossing it into the air. "Gastly, hypnosis!"
The ghost let out a tiny moan as his eyes glowed and Scyther slowly calmed down, the attack sending it into a deep sleep as he lay down on the ground and Lydia slowly approached him, kneeling down beside the fallen Pokémon. "Poor thing," she said sympathetically. "We can't leave him out here, you guys. He'll die."
"Yeah," Jesse muttered as he finally finished tending to the Pokémon's injuries. "I'll talk to him when he wakes up, convince him to come with us so we can get him to a Pokémon Centre."
Lydia looked at him before returning her attention to Scyther, closing her eyes slightly as she stretched out her mind to Scyther's. It was always so easy to read Pokémon, easier than it was humans, anyway. She saw what had happened to Scyther before they found him.
Jennie was right; he had been abandoned by his trainer. His former trainer had used cruel and harsh methods of training, resorting to whips and abuse to force Scyther to reach his potential. He had suffered through it, but finally in the last gym battle, he collapsed, forcing his trainer to lose the match. Which was why, after giving him a fierce beating, he had abandoned Scyther, leaving him to die here.
"I don't think that's going to be so easy, Jess," she said quietly. "He was abandoned, after his trainer beat him and left him to die." She looked at Jesse, her face pale. "I don't think he'll come with us. I think you're gonna have to catch him."
"But—" Jesse started before looking down at Scyther, looking so weak and helpless. "How can I catch him now, when he's like this? It's not right to catch him without even a proper battle."
"Then he won't come with us. We leave him out here, he'll die."
"Jesse, she's right," Jennie whispered as she stared at the broken Pokémon. "You're gonna have to catch him and then we'll be able to take him to the Centre when we reach Ecruteak." Her green eyes stared into the identical ones of her brother.
Jesse stared at the two of them before retuning his attention back to Scyther. "I really don't like this," he muttered, shaking his head as Gastly roamed overhead, circling around Scyther. He pulled out a vacant Pokéball, throwing it towards Scyther. "Pokéball, go!"
Scyther was engulfed by the red light and sucked into the Pokéball, landing on the ground. All of them held their breaths as the ball shook violently for a minute and then went completely still.
Lydia brushed her hand through her hair as Jesse picked up the Pokéball, staring down at it grimly. "All right, so let's get going," she said quietly. "The faster that we get to Ecruteak, the faster we can get to the Pokémon Centre, the faster we can get him some help." Jesse nodded, giving her a small smile as they continued down the road, at a much faster pace than they had been before.
--
It was late at night when Lydia was lying awake with Umbreon right next to her, his chest rising and falling as he slept on. Lydia climbed out of her sleeping bag, having the uneasy feeling that were others near them as she walked through the dark woods, pulling her jacket on around her as she walked.
Closing her eyes, Lydia stretched out with her psyche, trying to sense anybody that was nearby and almost instantly caught the sensation of at least three people close by.
"Gotcha," Lydia muttered as she headed in the direction where she sensed them at. She was so absorbed in tracking the people that she sensed that she didn't noticed that someone was right behind her, watching her as she climbed further into the dark woods, finally coming up on a mansion parked in the middle of the woods.
"What the . . .?" she muttered, staring at it. "What is a mansion doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" Lydia frowned slightly, pushing herself out of view as she saw a familiar blonde girl, along with the three boys that had attacked them the previous night, approach the house.
Alicia Knightly glanced over her shoulder, checking to make sure that nobody had followed them, before she and her friends entered into the house, closing the door behind her. Lydia let out a slow breath as she waited a few minute before walked towards the house, trying to keep out of view as much as possible.
Climbing up the steps, Lydia placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it and pushing it open. She frowned as she looked around, making sure that there was nobody to attack her as she entered. Letting out a slow breath, she stepped into the porch, where the door to the house was locked tightly.
Letting out an exasperated sigh as she tried unsuccessfully to open, Lydia suddenly caught wind of someone behind her, just out of sight, but relaxed when she sensed the presence. Only slightly, though. "I don't suppose that you've got a key on you," she commented, turning around to face the mysterious stranger, leaning against the doorframe.
"They really don't like me barging in," he responded with a grin as she folded her arms across her chest. "Take off on your friends in the middle of the night much?" She narrowed her eyes at her just as they both heard a familiar growl behind him and he turned around to see Umbreon right behind him, barring his teeth at the stranger. "Oh. Right, then. I think I'll keep my distance to keep him from biting."
"He doesn't know bite just yet." Lydia was fighting the urge to grin as she motioned to Umbreon. "Calm down, buddy, I don't think he means any harm yet." Umbreon growled at the stranger again, but walked over to his trainer's side, still watching him carefully.
"I knew you were going to want to figure out what they wanted with you sooner or later," the stranger said, looking at Lydia as she placed her hands on her hips, waiting expectantly. "Although, I have to admit, with everything that's been happening, I've got to say, I thought it would've been a little sooner. Guess you've been busy, though . . . gym battles, Pokémon raising . . . problems with the Turners' dad?" he added with a small grin that made Lydia suspect that he had been watching them.
"What are you, following me or something?" she wanted to know. He only grinned, which only confirmed her suspicions. Lydia sighed. "Okay, look, if you're gonna be coming around and helping me out or whatever it is that you're doing, could you maybe drop me a name?"
He considered her for a long moment, then shrugged. "Hayden," he answered.
"Hayden," Lydia repeated, frowning slightly. "There's no last name that goes with that?" He chuckled, giving her a faint smile, but didn't reply. "Not going to humour me even a little bit, huh?" She looked away towards the locked door. "All right, fine, then."
"Don't go down there!" he warned her as she turned away from him, trying to figure out how she was going to get it unlocked without attracting a lot of attention. "Look, you can't go down there. They'll be expecting you and you can't get out by yourself."
Lydia looked at him sharply. "Well, then, if you're so worried about my well-being, why don't you just come along and protect me?" she countered. "Or are you afraid of them?"
"I'm more afraid of them hurting you than you are," he replied, then closed his eyes, looking exasperated with himself. Lydia frowned at him. "There's no way that I'm gonna be able to talk you out of this, is there?" She shook her head. "All right, but I'm not going to help you in there. It's time you started using your powers."
"What are you . . ."
"Come on." He placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her down towards the lock. "Close your eyes, Lydia. Relax, clear your mind and focus only on your power. Do you feel it?" Lydia nodded, her eyes closed as she plunged into it. "You can feel everything . . . focus on the door, the lock. Can you see it?"
Lydia wasn't sure why she was doing what he was telling her, but for some reason, she trusted him. "Yes," she breathed.
"Good. Now envision it unlocking. See it opening from the inside, the deadbolt moving out of place. And then the door swings open." She obeyed him and looked up the moment that she heard the hinges swinging open.
Stunned, she looked up at Hayden, who was grinning as he held out his hand, helping her up. And then the two trainers slipped through the door, entering the forbidden fortress.