Chapter 5: Consequences
I woke up the next day excited for a day of training and, hopefully, making my way to Jublife. I got out of the bed and carefully made my way across the room, taking care to avoid Franklin and Brittany, who had both opted to sleep in the middle of the floor. Glancing around as I got dressed I saw Sora perched on a shelf and Mufasa was lying on the desk sitting in the corner. After I got everything in order, doing my morning rituals such as brushing my teeth, I decided it was time to wake the team.
"Alright everyone, time to get up. We have a big day of training today and I want to get to Jublife before dark." I announced, lightly shaking Brittany awake when she didn't stir like the others. Sora was the quickest to wake up, gliding down from her perch to land on my shoulder.
"So we're all training today?" she said. I nodded. "Mostly Mufasa and Brittany." I said. "You need a bit of training to reach Franklins level, but not much." Turning my attention to the pokemon in question, I found Brittany almost falling back asleep and Mufasa seemed to have actually gone back to sleep.
"C'mon man, wake up." I said, reaching over to shake him awake too. Right before I made contact he stood up and walked to the other side of the desk before lying back down. I stared at him, unsure about what to do before deciding I needed to put everyone in their pokeballs anyway. I returned everyone but Sora, keeping her on my shoulder as I marched through the PokeCenter.
"Thank you for staying!" the Joy said at the front desk. I waved as I went out the door and stepped into the morning air. It seemed to be the beginning of fall in Sinnoh, the trees just starting to turn from green to red. Looking around, I got my bearings and started towards Route 201.
"Uh, Nick?" Sora asked. "Why are we going to 201? Shouldn't we train at Route 202 where there's tougher pokemon?"
I nodded. "On any other day I would agree with you Sora." I answered. "But, as I said last night, this isn't an ordinary adventure. I don't want to push you guys in training and risk someone dying. No, we'll be fine with the weaker Bidoof and Starly. No offense." I added, remembering that Sora was from Lake Verity, which was close enough to 201.
"None taken." she said, pleased with my answer. After walking through town, we arrived at the entrance to the route, tall grass waiting for us, filled with unsuspecting pokemon. "Okay Sora, you're up first." I said, nudging up with my shoulder indicating she should fly. She took the hint, spreading her wings to an impressive for her size two and a half feet and launched into the air. I spent a few minutes just watching her fly before focusing on the task at hand. Walking around in the grass, I spotted a Bidoof grazing lazily. "Okay Sora, Tackle!" I cried, pointing out the target.
The brown and white bird dived out of the air, slamming into her target right on. The Bidoof was clearly fazed, but hadn't taken enough damage to faint. Before Sora could get enough altitude, it retaliated with it's own tackle, knocking the bird to the ground. For a moment my heart stopped, wondering if the Bidoof was to much of a challenge, even for her. But then she took to the skies, clearly no worse off then she was before the attack. "Great job Sora, come in for another Tackle!" I ordered.
It went on like this for a while. Eventually I decided that Sora had had enough training and I switched her out for Brittany. Noon seemed to be a much more preferable time to be active for the little rodent, now that she was wide awake.
"You know, I didn't get a chance to talk to you much last night." I told the brown pokemon. I walked along the route with her, looking for a new pokemon to fight. "I'm curious about what you think about this whole challenge thing."
Brittany was quiet for a while. "Well, it's not exactly my place to say." she said. "I mean, I'll put my best foot forward but I don't see this challenge being any different than day-to-day life for a wild pokemon like myself." She seemed to have a better outlook than most, but that may be because she's a Bidoof. I looked forward and saw another wild Bidoof ahead. "Oh hey, there's one!" she said, spotting it too. She charged forward without my orders, ramming headlong into the other brown rodent. It took the hit surprisingly well, shaking it off and glaring at my pokemon.
"Brittany, back off for a bit, I have a bad feeling about this one." I said nervously, hand reaching for Mufasas ball. "Let someone else take this one."
"No way, I've got this!" Brittany said, standing her ground against the other Bidoof, a male I noticed. The two Bidoof circled each other, bringing to mind some kind of gladiator fight. Suddenly, the wild one launched forward, hitting Brittany with a solid shoulder tackle. She was shaken a bit by the blow, but not enough to make her back off. She charged again, hitting him with all her might, knocking him off of his feet. For a moment, I thought the force of the blow would be enough to end the fight. Then the wild Bidoof stood back up, still ready to go. I noticed Brittany was breathing hard. She needs to get out of there I thought. "Brittany! Back off!" I shouted, releasing Mufasa in preparation for the switch.
"No! One more hit and he's down!" she said, charging for the wild Bidoof again. Something sparked in the wild ones eyes and I knew immediately that this wasn't going to end well. It charged forward to meet her, side-stepping at the last minute and ramming her side full-force. I heard a crack and watched as Brittany tumbled down the path and lay still.
"Mufasa! Get him!" I shouted, running towards Brittany. In the corner of my eye I saw the blue cat latch himself onto the wild Bidoof's back, scratching at his hide with his claws. It didn't take long for the weakened Bidoof to faint under the barrage of attacks. I knelt by Brittany's side, noticing that she wasn't moving. "Brittany?" I asked, nudging her a bit with my hand.
"S-sorry Nick." she said, looking up at me with one black button eye. "I thought I had him." Her eyes closed and I knew she was gone. I can't believe this! I thought, anger towards myself building. I haven't even left the second town yet and someone's already dead! I yelled wildly and punched the ground next to me. Dammit! What's wrong with me? I thought.
I soft glow caught my attention, and I looked back up at Brittanys body. The symbol on her stomach was glowing blue. The glow spread itself across her body until it covered all of her. Then, before my very eyes, the blue shape of her rose off the body and started floating away. I stared in awe as the blue Brittany moved up towards the clouds before being lost in the sky. I blinked a few times and looked back down at her body. The mark's gone I noticed. That...that must have been her spirit.
"She died a warriors death. Nothing to be ashamed of." a deep voice said. I looked over to see Mufasa, sitting next to me, cleaning his claws form the battle. "We need to move on." he said when he saw me looking. I nodded and got to my feet. "Not yet." I said. "We need to bury her."
Thankfully, it didn't take long to make a hole big enough for Brittanys body. After filling the grave, I grabbed two stick from the nearby woods. Tying them together in a cross shape, I planted it at the head of the grave. "Bye Brittany." I said. "I'll do better from now on. I promise."
I spent the rest of the afternoon training Mufasa. At dinner time I went back into town and bought some picnic supplies from a local store, as well as some markers, plastic card sleeves and index cards. "What are those for?" Franklin asked as I put the items in my bag. "You'll see." I replied, making my way back to Route 201.
I decided to eat dinner as a picnic out on Rout 201. I lay out a blanket and released Sora and Mufasa before setting out the bowls and food. Sora looked around, then walked up to me. "Where's Brittany?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. I flinched unconsciously, then pointed. Sora looked in that direction and saw the cross on the other side of the clearing. "Oh." she gasped. "Oh no."
Franklin walked over, a weird look on his face. "Nick, I thought you said no one would die." he said. "Why is Brittany gone?"
Before I could answer, Mufasa stepped forward. "Because she misjudged her strength." he said. "She was overconfident, and took on an opponent she shouldn't have." His golden eyes latched onto me. "That does not remove all the blame from you." he said coldly. "You need to know our strengths better than we do. We are warriors under your charge. We fight, and die, at your command." Having said what he wanted to say, Mufasa went over to his bowl and began chewing on the cooked meat and vegetables inside. Franklin looked conflicted, and eventually moved over to his salad bowl and started eating as well.
Sora, however, refrained from eating. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen." she said. "I just want you to know that if you want to talk, I'm here. And Franklin is too." she patted my back with a wing before moving over to the bowl of seeds I had laid out for her. I stared at my own food, my appetite not exactly what it was before. Putting it down, I reached into my pack and grabbed the other supplies I had bought. I wrote on one of the index card, before sliding it into a plastic sheath. Tying some string around it, I stood up and walked over to the cross. I put the homemade sign on it and looked at my handiwork.
Here lies Brittany the Bidoof.
I barely knew you, but
you taught me much.
I nodded and went back to the picnic, digging into my food and feeling better about myself. I'll do better. I have to do better. I thought.
After dinner, we packed up quickly, wanting to get to Jublife before sunset. Returning Franklin and Mufasa, I sped through Sandgem Town for the last time, Sora flying overhead. Arriving at Route 202, I made my way up the hill, occasionally fighting off wild pokemon with Sora. She had learned a how to use Quick Attack, and was putting the new move to use, hitting her opponents before they could even see her.
"Hey you!" a voice called out as I turned onto the second level of the path. I looked around and saw a young boy, about 13 from what I could tell, wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He wore a backwards baseball cap and, most importantly, had a pokeball in his hand. "Let's battle!" he practically shouted, excitement clearly evident in his voice.
This has to be his first trainer battle I thought. "Alright then. Sora! Come down!" I called. The Starly swooped down, landing on the path between me and the youngster. "My name's Nick." I said.
"I'm Tristan." the boy said. "Let's go, Starly!" he through the ball a little to hard, his pokemon materializing far closer to Sora than what was probably intended. The bird squawked in surprise and flapped it's wings, backing up a respectable distance. "Alright, let's get started! Tackle!" the boy shouted.
"Quick Attack Sora, don't let him hit you." I called. Sora's easily outsped the other trainers pokemon, taking to the air and ramming it hard. The Starly was made of tougher stuff, however, and retaliated with a light tackle, knocking Sora off balance temporarily.
"Good job Starly, now use Quick Attack!" Tristan announced. The fact that his Starly knew Quick Attack too caught me off guard, allowing it to score another hit on Sora. "Sora, hit him with another Quick Attack!" I called. The blow clearly hurt the enemy Starly this time. It started flying a lot closer to the ground, and only flapping occasionally to stay aloft. "Starly, Quick Attack again!" Tristan shouted. "Sora, finish it off with your own Quick Attack!" I ordered. Tristan's Starly flew upwards, it's fatigue doing nothing to diminish it's speed, but Sora dodged out of the way and came back around, hitting it hard in the back. The Starly gave a cry and fell to the ground, fainted.
"Great job Sora!" I said as she flew back over, landing on my shoulder. I ruffled the feathers on the back of her head a bit.
"Thanks Nick." she said. I looked back at Tristan, who had recalled his fallen Starly. "Good match man." I said, offering a hand that he shook begrudgingly. "Yeah whatever." he muttered.
We parted ways then, Tristan heading back to Sandgem and the PokeCenter, and I went up the trail to Jublife. After a short while, and a few more trainer battles, I arrived at the entrance to the city just as the sun was beginning to set. I had Franklin out at the time, and we both marveled at how big the buildings were. It reminded me a lot of the downtown area of my hometown. Tall office buildings that weren't exactly skyscrapers, but were definitely 50 floors up were placed here and there. In between these giants were smaller buildings with all kinds of different shops and restaurants. I saw the local PokeCenter and made my way there, hoping to heal my team and book a room for the night. I was distracted when I caught sight of a familiar pink coat. The blue penguin next to her confirmed it. "Hey Dawn!" I called, waving.
Dawn looked around, eventually catching sight of me. "Nick, Franklin!" she said waving. Lizbeth made a half-wave, which I guess was progress for the introverted pokemon. Franklin and I walked over to them, noticing the large quantity of bags they were holding. "Doing some window shopping huh?" I asked, gesturing at the bags.
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Dawn said, looking down at the bags herself. "I guess I went a little overboard, but there's so much cool stuff to buy!" Lizbeth nodded solemnly.
"So being the Professor's assistant pays well then." I said. I noticed Dawn's face flush a bit.
"Not exactly." she said quietly. "I'm...see, my family's...well, rich." she said, embarrassment evident in her voice.
I raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, that's certainly interesting. So why do you work for Rowan?" I asked.
Dawn brightened up, apparently glad at the change in subject. "I wanted to get to know pokemon better." she answered. "I figured the best way to do that was to work with Professor Rowan."
A small silence fell after that. I decided to break the tension. "So, what brings you to Jublife, other than the shopping? Seems like the Professors Aid should stick close to the Professor." I said.
Dawn nodded. "Normally, yeah, I wouldn't leave Sandgem. But Professor Rowan sent me on a special mission." She put one bundle of bags down and fished around in her coat pocket. Finally, she withdrew a pokedex. "The Professor wants me to fill this pokedex as much as possible. I can't do that stuck in Sandgem." She returned the device to her pocket.
"Oh cool." I said. "I would've done that too if it wasn't for...complications." I said, remembering that Dawn didn't know about the challenge. Dawn looked at me, curiosity clear on her face. She seemed to let it go, relief rushing through me.
"So, want me to show you the sights?" she asked. "We've only been here for a few days, but we know enough to be your guides." Lizbeth chirped sharply from the sidewalk. I glanced down at her, then did a double take. She wasn't chirping in agreement as I first thought, but was actually tugging on Dawn's pantleg and pointing down a nearby alley.
"What's going on?" I asked Franklin, seeing the turtle also looking down the alley. He looked up at me. "There's a strange looking guy hiding in there, watching us." he said before looking back. I followed his line of sight and found the man in question, trying his best to squeeze behind a trashcan that was easily half his size.
"Uh, dude? Can we help you?" I asked, taking a step forward. He drew himself closer together in an effort to be smaller. "Dude, we can see you. Honestly, it's not working. At all." I said flatly.
"First he can talk to pokemon, and now he can see through my clever disguise. Who is this mysterious lad, and what does this mean for the future?" the man said to himself, apparently oblivious to the volume of his voice. I could hear him clearly from a good distance away despite the noise of the city.
"Uh, look man, I don't know what you want, but can you leave my friend and I alone? We don't want to cause a scene here." I said, backing away. Last thing I want is to get involved with this looney I thought.
Asking to be left alone was a bad move it seemed, as the man leaped out from behind the trashcan. "Vile villains!" he announced. "Your evil plan will never succeed as long as I, Agent Looker, am on the case! Now, Team Galactic, submit to authority and tell me your plans!" he cried, running towards us.
As much as I hate to end this chapter mid-scene, it's going on far to long in my opinion. Don't worry, next chapter will be up soon, I promise.