Dave and I bade a long goodbye to Joel, who was heading back to the boring, overtly religious shithole known as Lavender Town. If the ghosts didn't get him, the sheer boredom would, and I found myself feeling sorry for the guy. He was a loud-mouthed, happy-go-lucky kind of dude, and Lavender Town had to be the worst place for him. Other than Pokémon, there really wasn't much to do in any of Kanto. My thoughts of the region were beginning to dawn on me as true. Pokémon really were more popular than I thought – kids were more brainwashed and obsessive than I thought.
We stayed in the Center after "defeating" Misty thanks to the weather. It proved to be an insanely smart idea: clothes were washed, bags were organised, and the local Mart was only a ten-second sprint away. Shopping late at night was one of my favourite things; the knowledge I could do it as I pleased warmed my heart and my smiles. Our teams were out of their Poké Balls in the Center that night, and we were the only people there, aside from the nurse. She was kind to us, and was always smiling. She was cute, in the way I just wanted to take her home with me and love her.
February 20th was a fairly cold day, but there was no sign of rain or wind. It felt like forever I'd been in that Iron Maiden T-shirt, so I decided to change my outfit. I came out of the bathroom in a Slayer T-shirt, the same jeans, and black hoodie. Typical Darrell wear. Dave changed his clothes and after writing down a small plan of the day ahead, we were on our way.
Felt good.
"You know," Dave began as we headed down the southern route. Past the underground tunnel was Vermilion City, where we planned to wipe the floor with Lt. Surge, then head east to Lavender to visit Joel. After that we had many directions to go. "If you want to beat Surge and beat him easily, you could go to Diglett's Cave and catch a Diglett. Or a Dugtrio if you're lucky."
Five Pokémon? Four was enough. Hell, Flame right now was a damn responsibility. He was constantly aggressive and stomping around, up for a battle with any living thing, and it took a lot of telling off for him to listen. I kept telling myself that it was simply because he was currently a Charmeleon, and would calm down a bit when he evolved once again.
Ace had proved me wrong, and the shock had made me love him just that bit more. He looked young and fairly weak when I first saw him, but he'd zapped Gary Fucking Oak's Spearow into oblivion, and every time I looked at him now, I saw a confident, happy, tough little dude who could take on the world. He was young, but not weak. Not anymore.
I hadn't used Storm in a battle for a while, purely because he didn't need to. Like Flame, it was in his nature to be aggressive and thrash about everywhere, and I really didn't need that. It didn't make me love him any less. Lily was the one I was most protective of. She was still young, and the smallest of all my team. I barely let her battle unless she had the advantage, or the opponent was weak. She made a good special friend for Ace, though.
Here I was, talking about love. Love for my Pokémon. It was something I never thought I would experience. Sure, I'd thought Pokémon were cute, or badass. Or sympathy and worry for when they fainted. But not love. If I had the chance to look at my team, standing in a line, the rush of love and pride in my heart would have been too much and I wouldn't have been able to hold back the smile or the tears. They were my family, dammit. It wasn't uncommon for Pokémon to die – trainers, too – and fuck, if I saw a Fire-type Pokémon about to incinerate my Lily, I would have taken the blast in a heartbeat. No hesitation.
"Another Pokémon…" I wondered out loud.
"Maybe not," Dave chuckled. "It seems like your boy is getting a bit out of hand."
Dammit, Flame.
I didn't have any time to make a witty retort: some little dude wearing a backwards baseball cap and shorts rushed up to us, holding two Poké Balls. "Hey! Hey! Are you guys trainers?"
"Yeah," Dave shrugged after a few dumbfounded seconds. Then his face curved into a mischievous, but kind-hearted, smile. "You want to battle us, kiddo?"
The kid nodded frantically, grinning like a maniac. I couldn't help but try to understand how he was feeling –having Pokémon must have been the greatest thing in the world at that age. It meant you could battle, make friends, travel around the region if parents allowed it. But I didn't regret anything. I liked that Dave and I were older than most of the trainers in Kanto, for some reason. It didn't make me feel superior, or better than everyone else. I just liked it.
Dave turned to me, breaking my thoughts. Damn. "You want to have a go, dude?"
I shrugged and agreed. Lily could use some training, and the kid didn't look like he was exactly Elite Four standard. I couldn't help but think it would have been the funniest thing in the world if he'd sent out a fucking Dragonite against my Oddish.
"Well, I'm Darrell," I introduced myself. "How old are you, kid?"
"I'm Mikey," he grinned. "I'm 11, and just became a trainer. I just caught these!"
He sent out a Growlithe – not bad for a first catch, I decided. I didn't want to terrify him with the wrath of Storm, so I sent out Ace. He performed his signature move – the clenching of paws, charging some electricity around his body – and the pride found my heart once again.
"Ace, you know what to do, boy!"
"Growlithe, Ember!"
I knew that Growlithe would fiercely protect their trainers, and their evolution was the embodiment of dedication. I'd always liked Arcanine. But for now, I had to focus on the battle. Dave stood by and watched intently. Bastard. He hadn't battled for a while. It was going to be his turn if we met another trainer – and man, would I enjoy it.
Ace got in there first and zapped Growlithe with a Thundershock, and then paralyzed the pup with Thunder Wave. The pang of sympathy in my heart began to ache. Badly. My little dude took Ember quite well, and I didn't issue any attacks until I had had a good think about what I was doing. That thing could have died if I'd went all-out, but most trainers did return their Pokémon before any serious damage could be dealt. There were the idiots who didn't do that, though. I didn't want to be one of them. I certainly didn't want to be a fucking murderer.
"Pika?" Ace looked up at me, intrigued by why I wasn't saying anything.
"I wouldn't let your Pokémon get hurt," I said to Mikey. "Don't turn into one of those trainers who are bent on winning. Your Pokémon matter, and battles hurt. Don't let them get seriously hurt."
He wasn't the maniacal fanatic I had thought he had been. He nodded and returned the Growlithe to its ball. At least I was teaching one of the younger generation about how to be a good trainer – or at least how I saw a good trainer. He sent out a Rattata, much fiercer and jumpier than Growlithe.
"Ace, come back," I told my electric mouse, and he obediently ran behind my legs. It was time to train up the newest member of my team. "Alright, little lady, your turn to go!"
Lily appeared in front of me, looking much perkier and happy than usual. She was a very carefree Pokémon, oblivious to the dangers and horrors of real life. I admired that about her, and began to understand what people meant by learning from Pokémon. Lily's attitude to life was something I wanted to adopt into my own personality.
"Rattata, Super Fang!"
"Absorb, Lily!"
Rattata, that lightning-fast bitch, got in there with Super Fang first. Lily seemed to be in a bit of pain, but I couldn't tell very well. Like always, she stood up, jumped forward, and pulled life out of Rattata with Absorb. The small cuts from Super Fang I could see on her little body began to knit themselves together with the new life. It was just incredible to watch.
The Rattata looked a little dazed, so I quickly got in another Absorb before Rattata blasted off with a Quick Attack. Lily landed against my leg, and I was just amazed at her reaction. She looked up at me, and actually smiled. A cute, happy little smile. Then she jumped forward again. Man, that little girl was fearless. She either knew no fear, or that was just her attitude. It amazed me.
Mikey returned his last Pokémon to its ball, and looked up at me with a smile. "…even though I lost, that was still a good fight!" I couldn't help but nod. "Have you got any advice?"
Don't be a twat and let your Pokémon die. Listen to their feelings. Care about them. Spend time with them. You're their trainer, that means you're basically a parent. Look after them. Give them treats. Go places. Don't be afraid. Don't let them get hurt. Build up trust. None of the advice I could think of seemed to cut it in the way I wanted to say it. Any advice? I was just as much of a rookie as he was.
"I guess all you need to do is love your Pokémon."
He seemed to understand.
We were finally at Vermilion City by around lunchtime. We were eating lunch at a Pokémon-friendly café in the city, next to the seaside, and it was actually quite pleasant. I had Lily on my lap, for being the star Pokémon of the day, and Dave had Jett out, who was either underneath the table or sitting on the chair next to his trainer. The café was a small place, but the service was just beautiful and we had our food within two sweet minutes.
"I've never had soup this amazing before!" I blurted out to Dave when I took the first spoonful of luscious tomato soup. He had ordered some kind of chicken pie thing; it just made me miss my mother's cooking to the point of agony. Some exhaustive training with Flame would have to go down so he could evolve as soon as possible. Dave just laughed at me. They had put onions and mushrooms in the middle of my soup, so Lily received a nice treat. It only made sense.
"So, our plan," Dave spoke, beckoning Jett onto the seat next to him. The Jolteon obeyed, and peered at the food. "We go beat Lt. Surge's ass, right? And then lots of training in Diglett's Cave?"
I nodded – I was pretty sure that soup left me speechless. It was just so damn good. I gave another mushroom to Lily, who devoured it and smiled at me.
"It'll be good for Lily," Dave explained. "And Storm, too. Seeing as they have the advantage. I don't know if my Shadow will do any—"
For the first time in a while, my phone began ringing obnoxiously. It was no time to enjoy the gentle caressing of Damageplan, so I answered and was quite happy to hear the sound of dearest brother Eddie down the phone. He hadn't phoned since I'd been at Pewter City. That seemed like decades ago.
"Hey, Darrell!"
"Hiya, Ed. You alright?"
"Yeah, fine! Where are you?"
"Vermilion City. Trust me, it's actually not as nice as that advert makes it out to be."
Spend your vacation in the sunny Vermilion City! An exotic cruise awaits! That kind of bullshit. It could be sunny when it wanted to be, but it just wasn't exotic. It was too close to home to be exotic. Besides, the cruise I'd heard of wasn't leaving for a long time. It was a party boat dedicated to Pokémon. It sounded like fun, but wasn't my cup of tea.
"Anyway, Darrell…there's something you gotta know. Team Rocket have been prowling about here lately."
Everything froze. Time was sucked into a black hole and ceased to exist. I didn't care Dave was staring at me. Team Rocket was in my hometown. Team Rocket was in my hometown. But why? Why would they go to such a boring place? There really was nothing there, nothing of interest…
Apart from Professor Oak's laboratory.
"Why are they there?"
"I don't know. They're just wandering about, looking real suspicious. Hanging about the lab. I think they're wanting to steal some Pokémon from the Professor."
"Hell no!"
"Hell yes," Eddie sighed. "I just wanted to let you know. Maybe you could deal with them, seeing as you're the big tough trainer now!"
Like hell was I a big, tough trainer. Maybe Dave could deal with Team Rocket, maybe both of us could. But not me alone. I was still too worried that I would lose a team mate. I couldn't. I was pretty sure the loss would destroy me – and if not, it would get dangerously close. I had to get back to Pallet Town somehow. Neither of us owned a flying Pokémon, or something that could teleport us there.
Teleport…
That was it.
"Eddie, don't go near those guys," I fiercely instructed my little brother. "They're dangerous. They kidnapped Joel and tried to torture him. We'll be there soon."
I hung up and looked back at Dave, who was staring back at me, confused and in the middle of eating his lunch. I looked at Jett, then back to my travelling buddy. "We need to get to Pallet Town."
"The fuck was that, dude?"
"My thoughts exactly."
At Diglett's Cave, I'd taken Lily and Storm for some training, while Dave went further east to Route 16 to train Jett and Shadow. Ace was resting in his Poké Ball, and he wouldn't have done well against the endless Diglett in the cave. The cave was dark but Flame lit the dank, damp place up with Ember, and I figured letting loose some fire would be a good way to deal with any frustration or pointless rage he may have felt.
"Flame, boy," I called over to him. He looked up at me. Happy to see he still obeyed when he heard his name. "I need you to just light this place up for us. No fighting any Pokémon, I need you to be strong."
"Chaaar."
I hadn't caught any new Pokémon yet, but I was alone, and had plenty of time to think. Lily and Storm knew how to deal with the Pokémon by now, and they were taking turns. It was good to see my Gyarados actually get on with a Pokémon of completely opposite size. Part of it was almost funny but the humour was clouded by my worry and my concern. Team Rocket were in Pallet Town. Team Rocket were in Pallet Town.
"You did well, love," I smiled weakly down at Lily, who had just defeated the second Diglett in a row, but I couldn't feel any pride or enthusiasm whatsoever. It just seemed robotic and monotonous. I just felt sad. No other word for it. Not upset, troubled, hurt…just sad. I wasn't home, and had no way to get home unless we could get to Joel and somehow get his Abra to teleport us.
"Od?" Lily spoke up, rubbing her head against my arm as I sat down on the ground near the entrance of the cave. She climbed into the space between my legs and looked up at me.
"Never mind, girl," I spoke back. "It doesn't matter."
"Od…ish?" Her voice was somewhat unhappy.
"It's nothing to worry about, Lily," I told her, smiling at her, holding her as she sat on my knee. "I think I'm just a bit homesick."
I wasn't sure if I was lying to myself or to her.
"Odd-odd," she said, making a sort of shrugging gesture. I didn't understand what she was saying, but either she was accepting it or telling me that everything was alright. The air around us was still cold, but not to the point of nipping. A bright glow in the clouds above meant the sun and I hoped it would emerge soon. I was sure I was right. I was homesick. I hadn't ever felt homesick before. It was like I was discovering a new person, a whole new Darrell. There were still things I had to find out about myself. Lily had coaxed that realisation out of me – and the meaning of learning from Pokémon became just a bit clearer. They really were amazing creatures.
"We'll go back and train, okay?" I smiled at my girl, feeling a little less numb and more full of life. My Pokédex had told me that Lily was around level 15, Storm at level 22, Flame at level 20, and Ace at level 20. Dave's Pokémon had to be somewhere in their early thirties by now. I almost envied him.
"Oddish!" she nodded at me, and headed back into the cave by herself. I breathed in some fresh Vermilion air, and followed her into the cave, wondering what lessons I would learn next from my family, and shoving the worry of Team Rocket to the back of my chaotic mind.