Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…
-x-x-x-x-
Chapter 8: Stress for the Tendered Heart
Aiden and Celine were in the room within minutes. Lizette, once seeing them, jumped to her feet and rushed over. "We have a problem! … Wait, why are you two soaking wet?"
"It started pouring suddenly," Aiden said, walking over to the unconscious form of Kalista. "We got soaked on the way back in. Now, what's the problem?"
After pointing Celine in the direction of their bathroom, she walked over. "It's the sleeping curse. Kalista is one of its newest victims."
"The sleeping curse?" Jaxon inquired, his face falling immediately. "Oh no! No no no!" he cried as he buried his face in Kalista's fur. "Not her too! Please! Don't take Kalista away from me too!"
"How do you figure it's the sleeping curse?" Grovyle asked.
"She isn't waking when we shake her," she answered matter-of-factly, "Any normal pokémon would have woken up by now – especially with all the commotion."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "For all you know she could have just collapsed due to exhaustion."
She shook her head.
"No, I'm positive that it's the sleeping curse because of another reason. The weather," she pointed to Aiden for emphasis, "suddenly changed when she fell victim. Based on the rumors I've been hearing, whenever a pokémon falls victim to the sleeping curse, the weather around that area suddenly changes. I thought that it was absurd at first, but now I see it isn't."
"Maybe it was cloudy before we came in," he said, obviously not believing in Lizette's story. "I've never heard of a case where a pokémon falls into a deep sleep and the weather suddenly changes at the same time."
Lizette folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "There have been countless cases where a pokémon has fallen under the curse and the weather changed at the same time."
Grovyle snorted. "And what kind of pokémon could change the weather and cause a pokémon to fall into a deep sleep at the same time? I can think of none."
"That probably because it's not just a lone pokémon! There might two!" she argued.
"Instead of spectating how or why the weather suddenly changes the minute a pokémon falls victim, help me figure out how we can break the curse!" Jaxon yelled, his ears flattening against his skull.
"I agree," Celine said quietly as she entered the room.
She handed Aiden his towel, but kept her gaze lowered and prevented herself from staring at the two injured pokémon in the room. "We can figure out that stuff later. For now, we should focus on breaking the curse and releasing those affected by it."
"But you have other things to worry about," Aiden said.
"And I'll get to those." She looked over at him. "I know that I'm here to stop a pokémon from destroying your world, but I also might be here to stop these curses and break free the pokémon under this curse."
"Then you have quite the feat on your shoulders," Grovyle commented, gaining her attention. "You'd be responsible for figuring out why there have been natural disasters happening more frequently, what causes the sleeping curse and how to break it, and freeing the pokémon under this major threat your up against. Do you honestly believe you can shoulder all of that on your own?"
She didn't answer. He continued. "It took a single human turned pokémon to figure out why natural disasters were happening a while ago, or so I hear. It took another human turned pokémon to fight against the ideals of a dark future. There have been hundreds of human turned pokémon being called to this world to solve a dangerous and life-threatening situation, but they only faced against one major threat. You're facing against three major epidemics. I hardly doubt you're the only human turned pokémon called here to solve these cases."
"Are you suggesting that there is two other human turned pokémon out there?" Lizette asked.
Grovyle nodded his head. "I asked Vivian about it. She told me that every pokémon that went missing had previously claimed that they were once a human. Meaning they had come here to solve a problem that threatened our world and decided to stay when they completed that mission. We have knowledge that there are three major fronts to this – the dark army, the sleeping curse, and the natural disasters. The only logical theory I can come up is that there are at least two other human turned pokémon in this world; if they're like Celine, they believe it's their task to deal with all three fronts at the same time, when in fact, they're just being called here to only deal with one issue. Or they're meant to join forces together and deal with this threat as a team."
He turned to Jaxon. "How did you and your team solve the issue with the natural disasters?"
"Well, there was meteor coming our way and it was upsetting the balance of the world. Nyla and I had ascended to the sky tower to speak and request help from the legendary pokémon Rayquaza," he said. "Why?"
"Because I don't know if it was meant for you guys to solve this problem again," he said, rubbing his chin in wonder. "I'm not sure if you were meant to come here, team up with Celine and her team, and deal with the natural disasters all over again. Or, if you're meant to guide another human turned pokémon who is tasked to doing what you did. Unless the circumstances that caused the natural disasters are different this time and it's something totally different from what you had to do."
Seeing that he was trailing a little off topic, he shook his head. "Anyway, the point to all of this is simple: we need to divide into groups. One group would look to see if there have been any new notices of new pokémon living in town, or around the area. Another group would be responsible for taking care of Kalista. And finally, the third group will look into the dark army and the disappearances. Does everyone agree with this?"
Everyone looked at each other. When there were no complaints, Grovyle spoke again. "Once Silver and I recover, we can look and see if there have been any new arrivals in town. Jaxon, since Kalista is your teammate, you can stay here and take care of her. Celine, due to your dreams being connected to the appearance of this 'dark army,' I think it's best you and your team investigate the matter. Look into the disappearances and discover any clues that others may have missed."
"That's… actually a very good idea." Lizette nodded in approval. "It takes off some stress for Celine. Speaking of which, are you feeling better?"
Celine nodded slowly, but she still looked upset. Grovyle sighed. "Celine? I overheard Kalista and the others talking. You saw us as we were attacked, didn't you?"
Celine froze in her spot. She was waiting for him to scold her, to yell at her, to tell her that this was all her fault. But instead, she received something different. "I don't blame you. In fact, I thank you. You couldn't have done anything for us. But you did save us from dying out there. So please, don't blame yourself. We will find Vivian."
She stared at him for a while. Finally, she smiled and nodded.
-x-x-x-x-
Icy leaned her head in the palm of her hand as she flipped through her research. Fortunately she had come across some legends concerning the stones. But unfortunately that's all they were: legends. She sighed and closed her eyes. Just where could she find more information?
She didn't even bother to move when she heard a knock at her door. It opened a minute later and she heard the familiar voice of the leader of Team Poisonix. "We've completed the task you asked us to do."
"Perfect," she said, a sly smile appearing on her face. "I do hope you didn't harm her too much. After all, a broken toy is no good."
"We restrained ourselves, but her colleagues on the other hand… well, unless they're found they're good as dead."
Icy opened her eyes and chuckled. "Where is she now?"
"We weren't sure if you wanted us to do this or not, but we've placed her in a fire-resistant cell not far from her leader." Gothitelle tilted her head slightly to the right. "And if I may ask, why did you request we just capture her? Why not the whole team?"
"Because," Icy said as she pushed her chair away from her desk and slid off the chair. "I'm going to conduct an experiment and I just need the ninetales. Plus, you did me a big favor by putting her in a cell not far from her dear friend. Torturing her in front of her friend would be delicious, but I have something far more pleasant for them. A sacrifice, if I may say."
She strolled towards Gothitelle. Her eyes were gleaming with sadistic delight as she re-called her plan.
"I've reconsidered the Dark Army. It won't be just human turned pokémon; it'll consist of some of the very partner's of those human turned pokémon. Furthermore, they play a key part in the research I have been doing. I need the partner and I need the leader. Annabelle and Vivian are perfect subjects for my experiment. All that is left to do is to… enlighten them. Then, once I have obtained that of which I seek, we will have gained more power than our enemy could ever hope to obtain."
"That sounds… marvelous," Gothitelle said, still not understanding why she didn't ask to bring the whole team. "But… wouldn't it be more effective to use the whole team against Annabelle? You know, to torture her, to weaken her mind, and so on?"
Icy paused and tapped her chin. "That would be more effective, wouldn't it? Well, it's too late now. You and your team did an excellent job. I'm very pleased, and I'll be sure to inform the Master of your accomplishment. For now, however, I insist you and your team enjoy a short break. I will be dealing with our newest guest."
Gothitelle shivered inwardly as she watched the weavile leave the room. There is something seriously wrong with that one, She thought with a frown. She shrugged and left the room, going down the opposite way that Icy was traveling down. She couldn't wait to tell her teammates that Icy was going to tell their newest boss of their accomplishment. And she was more than certain that they would be rewarded.
As she traveled back to her room, Icy traveled to the cells. She greeted the guards with a nod of her head and grinned when she heard the screams of Annabelle. "What have you fiends done to Vivian? Let her go! Let her go now, dammit! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, but my dear, she has everything to do with this," Icy replied, appearing in the leafeon's view.
Annabelle was snarling at her. This only made Icy's grin widen. "My, did I strike a nerve?"
Annabelle immediately crumbled. "Please, let her go! Don't hurt her, please!"
"I'm afraid that I cannot do that," Icy said, leaning against the stone wall.
She folded her arms in front of her chest. "I need her for some of the experiments I plan on conducting. Unless, you mind volunteering?"
Annabelle fell silent. Tears ran down her cheek as she stared at the ice/dark-type. Any hope that she once had was crumbling, and she felt her heart sinking with each passing second.
Icy laughed once more. "How about this? I'll leave you and your friend to discuss this? I'll be back in two hours time. You have better made up your mind by then. Toddles!" She waved good-bye and left the cells.
Annabelle collapsed, burying her face in her paws. Her ears flicked back and forth when she heard a groan. She lifted her head and watched as her best friend slowly came too. "Vivi!"
Her name being called snapped the ninetales out of her haze. She looked around, her eyes eventually settling on Annabelle as she rose to her feet and walked over to the bars. "Anna…? Is…is that…really you?"
She nodded, making the fox-like pokémon brighten. "Oh Anna! You're all right! I was so worried about you! Everyone is, in fact. I can't wait to tell the others that you're okay! But first," she looked around hesitantly, "where the heck are we?"
"I hate to inform you of this, but…Vivi…you've been captured."
The information had not sunk in right away. Vivian laughed it off, thinking that this wasn't real, but as she settled down she noticed the seriousness behind her friends frown. Vivian just stood there with her eyes growing wide with each passing second. She lowered her gaze. "Ha, and it's supposed to be me who is saving you, not get captured."
"Oh Vivi… How did you get captured? You're usually so cautious."
"I was out on a mission with Silver and Grovyle, and before you ask me, I will tell you about his return in a moment. Anyway, we were following a lead we got concerning the kidnappings. However, we were ambushed and… well, that's all I can remember. It was sudden and we never had the chance to react, or at least I never did. I just pray the other two are all right." She couldn't help the smile from forming on her lips when she saw Annabelle's shocked expression.
Tears were welling up in Annabelle's eyes as she registered the information. Her mind stopped processing the moment she heard his name. "Grovyle… is back?"
Vivian chuckled. "He is, and he misses you. As soon as he returned to our time and heard about your capture, he sought us out and joined the team. There hasn't been a moment he hasn't spent searching for you. He is such an idiot." She shook her head. "He loves you and he doesn't even know it."
"He…loves…me…?" Annabelle felt her heart stop. The tears were falling down her cheeks now.
Her friend nodded. "He says that he's just looking for you because he cares as a friend, but I can see through his façade. He's spent his nights with us reviewing every little detail he knew concerning your kidnapping. I'm not sure what kind of memories you two created before you met me, but they must have been wonderful because he's dedicated his time to finding you."
That finally did her in. Annabelle collapsed and sobbed her heart out. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she did miss him dearly. His sacrifice and the words he left her with left her in tears. And ever since, she felt as if a part of her heart had been torn out.
Vivian frowned, her ears drooping. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"No," she said, wiping away her tears, "that's the best news I've heard in a long time. As warming as this is, how is the outside world? I'm going to assume that a lot has changed during my captivity."
Vivian nodded regretfully. "A lot has happened. The sleeping curse is still going strong. The kidnappings have slowed down; I assume that they have almost captured every pokémon that has claimed to be a human before. As for the natural disasters, they're increasing. The sleeping curse combined with the natural disasters has started to affect how pokémon view human turned pokémon. They're beginning to think that it is because of the human turned pokémon that the world is in such chaos."
Annabelle looked dismayed with the news. Seeing this, Vivian quickly added, "But not all hope is lost. A new human turned pokémon has descended from the human world."
She listened carefully as Vivian told her about the newly human turned pokémon, Celine. She would shake her head at certain parts of Vivian's story, remembering how she felt in a similar situation. She was glad to know that Celine had not been captured yet and had already formed her own team. But what really caught her off guard about the entire story was the mere fact that Celine was able to evolve.
Annabelle remembered that neither she nor her partner could evolve until the situation with Dakrai had been settled. When she thought of him, worry began to bubble up inside of her, "That reminds me, how is Darkrai doing?"
Vivian winced and looked away. This unsettled Annabelle who leaned forward in her cell. "What is it? What happened to Darkrai?"
"He…He's gone," Vivian said quietly. "We got word from Radia that he disappeared shortly after Silver and I had departed."
Annabelle's ears went back. "Do you think he could be responsible for the sleeping curse? I thought he changed!"
"That's what we all thought, but we haven't found any evidence linking him to the sleeping curses. I'm on the fence about it myself, to be honest. He did grow rather fond of you. You were the only one on the team who really gave him any chance and any kindness. Everybody else, including myself, shunned him because we were fearful he was just playing us for a fool," she said.
Annabelle chewed on her lip in silence, thinking about what he could be doing out in the world on his own.
Vivian continued, "This is merely an assumption, but he could've left the team to pursue clues on your whereabouts. We could be reading the situation wrong and wrongly accusing him. He probably didn't feel right with the team since… well, I feel horribly guilty for saying this, but we've had some of the team members keep eye on him before we departed and asked Radia to continue keeping an eye on him while we were gone. I'm sure that he could sense the hostility among us, and without you, probably didn't feel safe."
"He seemed…to have really changed after losing his memory," Annabelle began, praying that she wasn't wrong about him, "So despite my worries, I'm going to put my faith in him. I'm not mad at you guys either. I understand why you guys were hostile. It's not easy to accept someone who caused us so much suffering into the team. I just hope my intentions don't bring us more harm."
Vivian could only frown in worry. "If it's any consolation to you, I believe you made the right choice. It was just my error, among others, for not fully believing in your choices."
Her partner smiled at her thankfully. Her demeanor suddenly changed when the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Vivian was confused by her longtime friends sudden change in attitude.
"Vivian, I need you to promise me something," Annabelle said urgently.
Vivian nodded her head slowly. "Promise me that you will find a way out of here and save the human turned pokémon. Or rather, keep the remaining one safe and free. Protect her and her team with all your strength. Do you hear me?"
"I do, but –"
"Vivian, please, just promise me!"
"Okay…I promise," she said.
Annabelle's eyes were watering up again as she nodded gratefully to her friend. She quickly wiped her tears away and kept a stoic face when Icy and Team Poisonix arrived.
Vivian, recognizing the trio, snarled. "You!"
"Why, hello, Vivian. I hope you're enjoying your cell!" Gothitelle chuckled.
Icy glared at her from the corner of her eyes, quickly silencing Gothitelle. She turned back to Annabelle with her hands resting behind her. A smirk was playing on her lips. "Have you made up your mind?"
"I have," she said, "And I decided that I will do it. But I don't want you laying a finger on my friend."
"Do what?" came Vivian's confused voice.
Annabelle looked away as Icy began laughing. "You never told her? Oh, how admirable!"
"Pay no mind to her words," Annabelle said, looking at her friend. A small smile was on her face, but Vivian could see the overwhelming sadness in her eyes. "Just stay strong for me, Vivi."
Icy flicked her wrist, obviously bored. Gothitelle and the rest of her team moved to open the cell door. "You so much as try to escape, human, and you will regret it."
Annabelle said nothing. She kept her head low as she left the confinement of her cell. She grunted when Banette kicked her forward. "Let's go," he ushered.
"Wait, where are you taking her?" Vivian demanded, watching as the group walked away without so much as a word. "Annabelle?"
She watched in growing horror as her friends form slowly disappeared. A sudden rush of adrenaline filled her and she began to attack the bars to her cell. She tried ramming them, scratching them, and even using her fire attacks to melt the bars. Nothing worked.
Vivian pressed herself against the bars and continued to watch as the group's forms disappeared into the darkness. Fear gripped her heart as she thought about what Icy had asked her moments before Team Poisonix escorted Annabelle out of her cell. What had she agreed to? Where were they taking her?
She was finding herself grow more agitated as she moved away from the bars of her cells and attempted ramming them again. She didn't care about the growing pain in her shoulder.
But as soon as she heard the sound of a door being slammed shut, she collapsed and screamed out for her partner. "ANNABELLE!"
-x-x-x-x-
Grovyle and Silver were sitting outside. They enjoyed the pleasantness of the weather and engaged in small talk. It was a nice distraction to their current predicament. Neither of them wanted to dwell on the incident that had caused them to lose their second-in-command.
Silver was telling Grovyle of all the changes that had occurred in their team during Grovyle's time away when Lizette approached with a bowl and glass of water. She smiled. "How are you two feeling?"
"My body aches still," Silver winced from his small attempt to move, "But they're nothing serious. I might have a few scars afterwards, but they're better than losing anything. Thank you."
Grovyle nodded in agreement. "I am doing well as well. How is Kalista?"
Lizette sighed at the mention of the arcanine's name. Grovyle got the hint and took the glass of water thankfully. "No changes, huh?"
"Jaxon hasn't left her side," Lizette said woefully. "In a manner of hours, we've gone through so much. We used to be so many, but now we're so few. It's depressing."
"It's depressing alright," Silver nodded with a disappointed look. "Though I must say I'm interested in this theory you've come up with Grovyle. Are you really certain that there might be two other humans out there?"
He shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. It's just a theory I came up with after my talk with Vivian. I'm leaning towards believing it might be true, though. I've noticed that only one human has been called down to fix a single problem in the past. And despite how strong Celine might become, I highly doubt she is capable enough to shoulder all that stress. It would only make sense that others were called down to assist her."
"Then where could they be? There hasn't been any noticeable differences in the population of this area," Silver said, eyeing Lizette who only nodded to confirm his statement.
Grovyle hadn't said anything for a while. He could come up with a ton of reasons why they hadn't noticed any changes. "They could be staying low so that they don't attract any unwanted attention. I have no doubt in my mind they've heard of the kidnapping's."
Lizette tapped her chin as she thought about it. It was definitely a sound theory. "Aiden and Celine think it's worth looking into. And since I know you don't want to feel like you're not doing anything for the team, Silver, this will be perfect!"
Silver snorted and lapped away at his water. Lizette and Grovyle chuckled. "Well," Lizette said as she dusted herself off, "I'm off!"
"Where are you going?" Grovyle questioned.
Lizette pointed to the town. "To the library. I want to check through their sections once more to make absolute certain that they don't have anything else about the Mega Evolution."
"Oh," he said. "Good luck."
She winked as she trotted away. "Thanks!"
-x-x-x-x-
It took a little longer than Lizette would have liked to get to the library. Some of her friends from around the well had pulled her over to talk. They were curious as to why she hadn't been there lately. That was when she presented her team badge and introduced herself as the newest member of Team Cosmic.
She had been a little disappointed when her friends asked who Team Cosmic was. But she didn't stay long to describe the team to them. She departed, telling them that she had some work to do and that she would get to them whenever she had the chance.
She had left a little disappointed that her friends hadn't heard of the team. But then again, they didn't necessarily pop out that much. Either way, she hadn't joined the team for the popularity.
Her disappointment had faded quickly as soon as she got into the library's oldest sections. She was now in full business mode. Everything around her was shut out as she browsed through the books. She made sure to take a few extra minutes to carefully inspect a book that caught her attention. With a nod, she would hold that book closely and continue through her browsing.
She would repeat these steps until she found herself carrying too many books. Then she would begin the short process of finding a nearby table, setting down her books, and returning to her browsing.
Off in the distance, a male meowstic watched her. His eyes were wide with shock as he watched her return to her table with a handful of books and, after setting them down, rush back into the older sections. He had counted at least three piles of books when she had finally finished.
Interested, he approached her. "What in the world are you studying?"
Startled, she turned to him. "Oh, just something that my friends asked me to do."
"What did they ask you to look for?" he asked as he took a seat beside her.
She didn't say anything at first. She didn't feel like it was a topic of major importance, but figured that if she told him, his curiosity would be satisfied and he would leave her alone. "I'm looking up an ancient process known as Mega Evolution. On my previous trip here I found a book talking about it."
"Mega Evolution?" he asked, rubbing his chin in thought. "I think I've heard of that before."
"You have?" she asked, both surprised, yet hopeful he knew something of interest.
He frowned and put his hands up. "Though I might've just read about it in the very same book that you've read it. I've read just about every book in the library." He flashed a prideful smile.
Her ears drooped. "You've read every book here?"
He nodded. "Why?"
"Because I was hoping that there was another book that would describe the process, where to find the items, and so forth…"
She sighed and put down the book she'd been holding. "But if there really isn't any other book here describing it, then I guess I'm just wasting my time."
He flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to discourage you. I have read all the books here, but truth to be spoken I don't exactly remember everything that's been written. So, there actually might be another book speaking about it. Tell you what, how about I help you go through these books?"
"You wouldn't mind?" she asked, a little surprised of his offer.
"Nah. It's not like I have anything to do today. Since my team is busy off in the wilderness, I'm keeping an eye on things here."
"You have a team?" she asked, even more surprised. Suspicion started to creep in through her skin.
He nodded. "Yeah. We're fairly new. We started our team a couple of months ago. Why? Are you on a team too?"
Now it was her turn to nod. "Yes. I'm the informant for Team Cosmic. My name is Lizette. What is yours?"
She jumped when he clapped his hands excitedly. "Wow! You too, huh? I'm also the informant for my team! I'm also supposed to be the strategist for when we go out on missions, but they decided to give me the day off. And it's nice to meet you. My name is Aldous, and I'm from Team Invincible Hope, or just call us by our shorter name, Team Invincible."
He offered his hand out for a handshake. At first she just stared at him and then his hand, but eventually she mirrored his smile and took his hand.
"So, you're the team informant?" she asked, releasing her hold on his hand and turning back to her books. "Who is on your team?"
"Information for information," he chuckled, grabbing a book, "promise to tell me about your team after I tell you about mine?"
She eyed him from the corner of her eyes, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course."
"Alright, how do I begin?" he asked to nobody specifically, staring off into space. "As of right now we only have three members. Drexel is our leader and Fiona is the co-leader. Drexel isn't much for words and he is always so serious, but he does have good intentions. He tends to hide in the shadows a lot lately, though I have suspicions that his latest trip into town is behind that. You see, for some unfathomable reason, he attracts the ladies. I'm only guessing that the ladies swarmed him when he got into town. As for Fiona, she's a sweetheart. She's always helping someone, so I wasn't surprised when she told me she was making a team with this new friend of hers. I'm sure you'd like her. And you already know a little about me. So, how about your team?"
Lizette didn't answer right away. She was wary of him since her encounter with Team Poisonix had caused her to become more wary of those she trusts. But she didn't feel any malice from him, so she told him as little about her team as possible.
"We also currently have three members, including myself. Celine is our team leader, while my best friend, Aiden, acts as the co-leader. Though sometimes I wonder if he's the leader and she's the co-leader with how they act. The description you gave me for you friend Fiona just about describes my friend, Celine. She loves helping others, and she has a large heart that forgives easily. Aiden, well, he's addicted fighting or just plainly showing off," she said with a chuckle, "but he has a warm personality. If I were to start picking at his flaws, I'd say that he's quick to judge. We also have a few off-hand members, err, more like friends really. They're members of Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts."
"Your friends with Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts?!" he asked, flinching when other pokémon around them shushed him.
She blinked. "Yeah. Team PokéStars started helping us after Celine and Aiden stood up for one of the leaders of Team PokéStars during their search for their missing friend. Team Echo Hearts started helping around the time they first came here. Apparently, they were searching for Team PokéStars so that they could aid in their quest."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot," he said shamefully, "both of their leaders are human turned pokémon. I can see why they'd decide to work together. Only those who've had a leader, or really a friend, whose claimed to be a human before when know the pain and loss they've suffered."
"You seem to sympathize their situation," she noted. "Very few do. What makes you so different?"
She unknowingly caught him red handed. Since her attention had been focused on the book, she hadn't seen him visibly flinch. But he said nothing to either confirm or erase her slowly rising suspicions.
"I just don't think it's fair."
Lizette shifted her gaze to his. "I see."
"What are is your opinion on the matter?" He kept his ears perked. If she was going to become that interested, then he wanted to know why she seemed to show no hatred or malice towards the hybrid pokémon.
The question didn't seem to catch her off guard, much to his dismay. "Friends are friends. Who are we to judge who is evil and who is good? I think nothing bad of them because they've given us no reason to hate them; for each time they've appeared, they've saved us. If anything, they deserve our respect. Or at least most of them do. Only few of them have turned out to be bad eggs. Furthermore, just as there are bad human turned pokémon, there are bad, regular pokémon. So it's balanced no matter which way you look at it."
Aldous remained silent. She might've been half aware of their conversation, but her answer was absolutely philosophical to him. She brought up great points – points that he could not fight against, even if he wanted to. She spoke the unspoken truth of their species as a whole.
And it was for that very reason that he had supported the cause.
I'm terribly sorry for the lateness of these chapters! A lot of things have been going on. Combine that to major writer's block and you have long periods of unusual updates.
Also, I want to give a fair warning to everyone. Most of you, if not all of you, have already seen a rather cute romance starting to bloom between the main character and her partner. There are also the hinted romance suggestions blooming between the main characters and partners from other PMD games. I'm a sucker for love stories, what can I say?
Especially if you're a girl and you play as a girl character and have a male partner. It's kind of hinted that the male partner has more than just a "friendly" view of his partner in the game, or at least it seems that way to me.
Anyway, be warned that more sappiness is on its way! Hope all of you are enjoying the story as I am writing it!