The Future of My Past Chapter 2: Dreams, a pokémon fanfic

Part Two

As soon as I collapsed onto my bed I could feel my insides starting to squirm again. Ugh. This was the first and last time I'd ever travel by ship. What a relief it would be to walk on ground soon. I pulled my knees to my chest as my thoughts drifted to Zed.

Would he still want to be my friend if he knew who I was? Who I came from? Probably not. But for now I could pretend. Sometimes I wonder how my life would've been if my parents weren't who they were. Maybe I'd be a social butterfly, with tons of friends, and a steady boyfriend. My Pokemon journey would've started once I turned ten, and I would've learned about Pokemon from battles and real life experiences, instead of through a computer screen.

I rolled over as a sigh escaped me. Now that I was this close to setting foot in a different region, pangs of homesickness, despite everything, were coming more frequent. What were they all doing? Were my parents worried sick and blaming themselves? Or had things returned to normal? I could see Mom perfectly in my mind, scolding Dad to wipe up his spilled coffee stains. And Max from next door would find someone else to ride with.

My body was trembling and my pillow felt soggy, but I couldn't stop once the memories started. The day I refused to wear my pads and helmet because they made me look "silly" and I ended up wiping out. Unwrapping my first pair of high tech headphones. Asking Mom about the fence, her replying "never ask questions." Finding the broken picture frame of a young man in the attic, and yearning to ask who he was but never daring to summon the words.

The tears were coming so hard that I could barely breathe, yet I cursed myself as they fell from cheeks. I'd been strong for so long, and now I'd finally broken. Fucking dammit. I brushed my wrist across my face.

Suddenly a strange sound made me pause. "Ur?" I let out a half laugh, half chocked sob. Teddy, my Teddiursa, had broke free of his Pokeball. The little bear clambered up onto my bed and patted my shoulder tenderly.

"Thanks Teddy," I sniffled, and pulled him close. The softness of his fur and his sweet honey scent washed over me like tangible comfort. At least I wasn't alone anymore. I had my Pokemon. They'd always be there for me, and in the end they were the only ones I could trust. Humans seemed to poison everything they touched, but these creatures were innocent.

Even though I had less than an hour, even though I should've been planning a battle strategy, with cooled tears upon my face I found myself dozing off….

My mind wandered around the world, as my feet once did. Celestic, Dewport, Opelucid, Goldenrod, all full of cultures, thoughts, hopes, dreams, Pokemon, people…empty. Nothing in all my travels and life fulfilled me, but maybe I'm looking at it wrong. Maybe I'm just forever cursed to have a cynical mind that can't find good in anything, or maybe I'm just a naturally unwantable (that's not a word…) person. I sighed, and rolled over. Maybe Jamie can change me, give me hope…

In an instant, I go back to the first memory I can remember, but they bleed in with the rest of them, all of the memories of the first sixteen years of my life. School. Hours and hours. I don't remember if I enjoyed it that much, but it's all I had. Not much interaction with humans, and really only one Pokemon, my beloved Tesla.

Ah, my Shinx, that I raised to grow into a slightly formidable Luxray…I loved him so. We might not be the best battlers in the land, but does that matter? I always thought the purpose of having a team of Pokemon was to love them. Fighting is almost necessary, but unimportant. Gah, slow down brain.

I knew I was supposed to be devising some sort of battle strategy, but I tended to wing it anyway. Strategies were meant to be thought around, so thinking in the moment in tense situations, I've found, is more effective. Some sleep couldn't hurt, after all, my eyes were heavy…

I opened my eyes.

My cabin about the Anne was gone.

Instead, I was in a dark room. Dark bluish light illuminated the small space, and the first thought I had was dust. It was everywhere, covering the floor, a few pieces of furniture, and lots of boxes. This, I realized with a start, was the attic. My attic. And out from the shadows, a figure stepped into the light.

My hand flew to my mouth. I took a step back. It was him. The young man from the broken picture frame.

The first thing I noticed were his eyes. They were the color of storm clouds, and they were looking at me with such pity. His hair was longer than most his age, though not as long as Zed's, and it hung down in indigo strips. He wore a black jacket, the kind needed for harsh weather conditions. I couldn't stop staring at him. And the way he looked at me, with an almost sorrowful expression.

Who are you, I tried to say, but my voice wouldn't come. Somehow he understood though.

He reached toward me. "Jamie—"

"Passengers we have now docked in the Vermillion Harbor! Please take care not to leave any personal belonging behind, as the Anne is not responsible for any lost property. We hope your voyage was pleasant. Good day!"

I jolted awake and sat straight up. Teddy tumbled off the bed in surprise. My breaths came in short gasps and my hair was plastered to my face with sweat. That dream. It'd been so real. Who was he? I didn't have any clues. His picture was in a broken frame in my attic. He'd said my name, so he knew who I wa-

Jamie. Get a grip. I shook my head as Teddy peered up at me from the side of the bed. It'd been a dream. He said my name because I dreamed he did. And he was in my attic because that's where I'd first seen him.

"Ur?" Teddy tilted his head to one side and put a claw to his mouth.

"Aw crap!" I launched out of bed. "I've gotta find Zed!"

I grabbed my pack, and with Teddiursa following closely behind, took off for what would be known as my first real Pokemon battle.

I decided to sleep the duration of the voyage. I knew it was a decision I would regret, as my subconscious has tended to be on repeat lately.

And yet, sleep beckoned me. Maybe someone snuck a Hypno into my room to use Hypnos-

And I was gone again.

My mind was black, as usual.

I was used to these dreams.

A flash of red on my right, blinding, brief,

all of my pain symbolized.

A lone bolt of lightning in the distance,

A brief flash, brilliance come and gone.

Two outlines appeared. My parents.

Still anonymous.

But then, something new surrounded my field of perceived vision.

A golden light. The scrapings at the bottom of Pandora's Box. Hope.

Ugh. I was groggy, but this newish dream was burned in my mind. Why the change? Oh that's right, perceived hope of meeting a friend…"Time to find Jamie!" I grabbed my bag and guitar and exited the vessel, excited and somewhat scared.

I stood near the exit queue on the dock, waiting. I whipped my guitar gently around to my front, adjusted its tuning to drop-D, and played one of the first songs I ever learned how to play. With a simple strumming pattern and easy-to-remember melody, I gently sung. "Hello, I've waited here for you, ever long." Few watched, even fewer tipped me a few Pokedollars; I'd give them back to whomever needed them in time. "And I wonder, when I sing along with you…" I continued softly. The music was so simple, brilliant, otherworldly. I forget who wrote the song originally, if it even had an author, or if it was one of those melodies ingrained in the human mind, just translated through the hands and voice. Instinct. It is instinct to create beauty. I waited for Jamie.