Boom! Another update.

A reminder: progress for my stories can be seen at the bottom of my profile. I wouldn't suggest checking every day, maybe weekly, when I'm updating more often like I am now. Anyone that's been following me for a while knows that I tend to fall into a hiatus every so often.

Enjoy!

Chapter 67
Disconnect

Marina spent the next few hours uncharacteristically doing nothing. It was not very warm outside, and she had enough of the cold from the freezing gym for the moment—as did her tired Pokémon. After routinely healing and generally caring for them, she went back to her room to snuggle in the warm blankets of her bed. Growing bored by herself, she sent out all her smaller team members and turned into the radio on her PokéGear. There was a program about interesting things in Johto's cities and towns, but her thoughts drowned it out for the most part as she pondered.

"The Gym Leader said that I didn't 'see eye to eye' with you guys," she said, petting a sleeping Amber beside her. "What'd you think he was talking about? That I didn't understand you?"

"Efi?"

"Magu."

The girl turned her head toward Prince and then King, the latter whom had stretched himself completely across the bed like an animal rug. He seemed not to care as he kept his eyes shut, although he twitched his ears to show he was listening. Her Espeon, who was neatly curled up by her pillow, lifted his head and looked at her curiously.

"Well, I guess I can't technically understand you anymore since we don't have that collar anymore. It didn't work for anyone except King and Muu-chan, though. Sorta. But I don't think that's what he meant."

Prince closed his eyes and purred serenely as she went to scratch behind his long ears. She grinned.

"I mean, we get along great, right? And I love you all so much; we've been through a lot together and it hasn't even been a year yet."

"Efiii..." He rubbed against her hand in mutual agreement. Marina looked up at the window spilling yellow-orange light onto the walls and ceiling. The radio played a catchy jingle before a loud and excited announcer began talking.

"Announcing the top three in Mahogany Town! Number three is...ta-da! The fire lookout points! They learned their lesson from the fire that happened in nearby Ecruteak City, and constructed fire lookout points, which ended up as number three on our list!"

"Oh, I didn't even notice those."

"Muu."

Marina turned her head to the other side of the bed, where her Misdreavus sleepily slipped out of the bed sheets and hovered over to her.

"You and I didn't get along for a little while, but we're good friends now, aren't we?"

"Muu," hummed Muu-chan and huddled close. Marina giggled and returned the gesture with a hug.

A click resounded, and everyone turned to see a female Pokémon Trainer open the door. She stopped for a moment in surprise of all the staring Pokémon, but greeted Marina as she headed for the bed on the opposite side of the room.

"Hey, kid."

"Good evening!"

"You relaxing after that Gym Battle today?" the Trainer, her roommate, asked her. She set her bag on the floor and let out a deep sigh as she sat down.

"Yup!"

"They're so calm," she commented as she observed the resting animals. "My Pokémon would be bouncing off the walls if I let out that many of them together. It'd be a nightmare."

"Yeah, mine would be more energetic too if they weren't so tired, especially this guy," Marina replied perkily as she ruffled the fur on King's head. He grunted, but rolled over belly-up with a lazy, content look on his face. They laughed.

"So is the Gym closed now?" asked Marina.

"Mm-hmm. They just closed up for the day."

"Alrighty then!" Stretching her arms, she sat up and got on her feet. Amber squeaked and awoke with a start, but calmed once Marina leaned over to pet her. She grabbed her belt and thought for a moment, turning to the other girl. "I'll back, um, whenever."

"Well, okay," the teenage Trainer said and laid back in her own bed. "Have fun! I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay, have a nice nap!" After recalling her Pokémon, Marina slipped on her shoes and headed for the door.

Five minutes later, she stood before the Mahogany Gym once again. Having grabbed a hot bottle of milk from the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, she drank it and held the beverage close. She pulled the door's handle and went inside. Once filled and bustling with Trainers, the sudden emptiness brought a different kind of chill down Marina's spine. At least, until she saw the figures of Pryce and Cilice near the entrance. Quietly relieved, she made her way to where they were.

"Good evening!" Marina greeted them merrily.

"Good evening," Cilice mirrored with a polite curtsy.

"Hello again." The Gym Leader accompanied his greeting with a nod. "I'm glad you could make it."

The group began climbing the metal staircase onto the catwalks. Cilice walked ahead of them, the realistic-looking wings still appearing beautiful on her back. After admiring them for a moment, Marina looked over the great icy room as their noisy footsteps clacked with each step.

"So, about my Pokémon," she began. "I don't really understand what you meant."

"Have you been worrying over it?" asked Pryce. Though he was the one walking with a cane, he kept slightly ahead of her.

"I've been thinking about it a bit."

"Then what do you think?"

"Well...I think I take care of them really well," she answered and shrugged.

"There's no doubt about that. Most of them look healthy, happy and well-behaved, and they respond to your energy very well. You almost pamper them."

"What is it, then?"

Pryce looked the young girl in the eyes. His gaze was intense yet gentle. "As you might know, a strong bond between Trainer and Pokémon is what separates an average Trainer and an expert. You told me that you wished to challenge the Pokémon League. The Elite Four are powerful Trainers with equally as powerful Pokémon. If you and your Pokémon are lacking, you will lose to them no matter how strong you think you are."

"The Elite Four...?" Marina glanced down at her badges.

"I am aware of what had occurred at the Lake of Rage this past week. It seems that Team Rocket had snuck into my town during while I was away for many months," he said and shook his head. "But do you know who it was that drove them away?"

"Mm hm! Lance!" she answered quickly. "He's the Champion!"

And I guess me, too, her thoughts added with a bit of pride.

"It was him, yes," the old man said with a little laugh in response to her exclamation. "I trust you've seen him battle?"

"Yeah! The way he was with his Dragonite," she briefly looked away in thought. She remembered watching Lance's incredible fight against the red Gyarados, and then the battle they wrought in Team Rocket's secret headquarters underneath the souvenir shop. "They worked together really well. It was kind of like, I don't know—like they were synced?"

"Exactly," Pryce responded. "Anyone has the potential to form such a bond. It needs time to mature, but once you settle on a team, you will be with your Pokémon for many years.

"However, in your case, this bond is not shared with all of your Pokémon. There are conflicts driving you apart. This is what I am concerned about."

"Conflicts? With who? It's my Lapras, isn't it?" she asked and uncorked her milk bottle to take a drink.

"Yes. Your Lapras as well as your Plusle," Pryce answered. Marina stopped walking and covered her mouth as she almost spit out her milk.

"What? Amber? Why? She adores me! And she clings to me so much half the time," she said quickly.

"Your Plusle is a passive Pokémon," stated Cilice and looked over her shoulder. The young girl returned the gaze with a confused, blank look on her face.

"Passive?"

"It means that she does not like to battle."

"Doesn't like to... battle?" Dumbfounded, Marina appeared almost distraught in her disbelief. She fetched Amber's Poké Ball and looked back up at them. "But—I thought that all Pokémon loved it! It's in their nature! There are Pokémon that really don't like to battle?"

"Some wild Pokémon do it not because they have a passion for it, but because they must in order to survive," Cilice explained and briefly went to fix her icy-blue bangs. "That Plusle appears young. Did you raise her yourself? Was yesterday the first time she has had to battle?"

Marina nodded to both questions. "But she's watched my other Pokémon battle all the time," she reasoned. "She even did some practice exercises with my team. I mean, it was nothing serious, just a lot of running around, so I was thinking: maybe she wasn't ready for the Gym yet?"

Pryce shifted a bit as he contemplated her answer. He tapped his cane, quietly crushing the ice underneath it.

"Hm. From what I have seen... Because it never had to truly fight for itself, it fears battling, and has no desire to start anytime soon. Forcing it now will only bring discourse between the two of you, as you may have already noticed."

"I suppose," said Cilice and delicately crossed her arms, "it could adjust to a strictly supportive role, but at this point that seems unlikely."

"Indeed. It is significantly less experienced than the rest of your partners, so the battles you are waging now are too harsh for it to endure itself."

"But...Can I do anything about it? Can I fix it?" Marina asked them.

Maybe I didn't raise her right, the girl speculated.

"'Fix' is not the proper word; she is not broken," Cilice explained away the thought. "It is a merely part of her personality. At that age, a Pokémon will have grown enough to decide such things rationally. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I think...Then what do I do?" Marina leaned over the railing and looked over the arena. She gripped the cold ball in her hand.

She pondered for a little while. I can't carry around seven Pokémon with me, and having one less Pokémon will make challenging the Elite Four harder. But storing her in the PC just because she can't battle feels weird. Hmm...

"Give it some thought," Pryce advised her. "Consider her feelings before putting her against another Pokémon."

"I'm not going to force her to battle again, that's for sure," she said, looking at him with a forced grin. "Although I don't really like to say it."

"Yes, I understand. I appreciate your honesty."

They descended the next flight of stairs leading to the arena where Marina had fought and won the Glacier Badge. Bringing about a new air of energy, Pryce held his head high and tapped the floor with his cane again. He turned to her.

"Now let's move onto the next matter at hand! Your Lapras... It concerns me the most. I'd like to see it up close, if you wouldn't mind sending it out now."

"Oh. Sure, okay," Marina replied with a nod.

She put away Amber's ball and retrieved Lapras's unique azure one from her belt. Enlarging the sphere, she tossed it onto the ice portion of the pool. They watched as her Transport Pokémon appeared in the waters before them. Cautious and slightly reticent, she turned to the three humans after discerning that there were no Pokémon around to fight. Marina frowned and waved for her to approach.

"Come closer, Lapras," she said. Her Pokémon obeyed without second question.

"You refer to it so sternly," Pryce commented almost immediately.

"Well, that's just kind of the best way she responds to orders."

"Hm. Is this the only Pokémon you haven't nicknamed?"

"...Now that I think of it," Marina replied and looked up as she spoke. "I tried to name her, but she never listened when I called her anything else." The man in the blue longcoat walked toward the edge of the pool, and she grew nervous as he lifted his hand. Just as he placed it on Lapras' head, the Pokémon eyed him defensively and jerked away.

"Be careful!" Marina quickly said. "She's kind of..."

"Hm," he hummed again. He seemed completely unconcerned, and she could not understand how he could be so calm. "How did you catch her?"

Marina's lips twisted a bit as she took in his question. Her mind traced through the fuzzy memories she kept locked away. Deciding to avoid the complicated parts—or rather, the unbelievable ones—she cut straight to the point.

"She attacked me. It happened so quickly that I didn't know what was happening at the time... But somehow, I managed to catch her without getting hurt."

Cilice furrowed her brow in deep thought, and Pryce kept his back turned as he focused his gaze on the distant sea creature before him. He sighed heavily, however.

"I see. I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said.

The girl did not reply at first. Be honest, she told herself as she recalled Silver's words from his visit at the Ecruteak Dance Theater.

"Lapras always had this kind of dark aura about her," she explained. "I can't explain it. I've always been kind of scared to get too close. She listens to me pretty well, at least, but..."

"She seems to have been abused by her past owner," Pryce told her after another failed attempt to touch Lapras. Suspicious of him now, the Pokémon swam backward out of his reach. He made an almost pained face of sympathy.

"Abused?"

"Lapras are gentle creatures by nature. I know. For one to become so aggressive and evasive toward others, she must have experienced some terrible treatment."

I guess it makes sense why I found her by herself at the lake, she reflected and frowned. She wasn't wild after all. I can't believe it never crossed my mind.

"That's so cruel. Who would do something like that?" she sadly wondered.

"Unfortunately, it is something that happens." Cilice turned to her and asked, "Has your Lapras changed at all since she has been in your care?"

The blue-haired girl observed her Pokémon closely. Just by looking at her, Marina could feel a small part of herself that sensed and feared something so dark about her Lapras—something she could never quite identify. But as she thought, she became aware of just how much lighter it felt. Thinner, as though the negativity around her had evaporated some over the past four months. She considered how well-behaved Lapras was when she had taken her across Lake Alph in December. Back then she hadn't noticed it—she was just concerned about making it across safely—but her Pokémon seemed to almost enjoy the ride. Lapras had mellowed out immensely from the first days Marina had her; that was for sure.

"Yeah. I think she's gotten better," Marina replied. "I mean, nicer."

"Then I'd like for you to try bonding with your Lapras," Pryce requested. He faced Marina with a more gentle stare. "If her condition has improved, and she is opening her heart up to you, then maybe you are the one holding the both of you back. Do you think you can do it?"

"I can try." Marina carefully walked over by his side and gestured her Pokémon once again. "Come here, Lapras. It's okay. He won't do anything."

Though hesitant, her Lapras did as she was told and slowly swam toward them, but kept mostly near Marina's side.

"She definitely trusts you more," Pryce mused.

Nervously, she raised her hand. But when Lapras flinched so did she; and Marina quickly withdrew her arm. Tense and just as hesitant as her Pokémon, she stood rooted in place for a moment before turning to the Gym Leader. Reading the situation, he was able to advise her at once.

"Don't show fear. It will make your Lapras anxious, which in turn makes you anxious. A Pokémon looks to the Trainer to lead and inform it of how it should respond in all situations. Relax for a moment."

"Um, okay." Listening to his words, Marina took a long, deep breath. She loosened her muscles and was surprised at how much she had been bracing herself.

"Good. Now try again."

She faced Lapras. Even though she had loosened up some, Marina opted not to touch her. Instead, she thought of an alternative way to get closer to her troubled Pokémon without startling either of them. She looked at the milk bottle in her hand.

"Here, Lapras," she said. Pulling out the cork that sealed the top, she offered it as calmly as she could with a smile. "Try some of this. It's Moo Moo Milk. I love it a lot, so... maybe you will too!"

Lapras stared down the bottle for a few moments, as though trying to figure out what Marina wanted her to do. She lowered her head a bit, sniffing and prodding it. Sliding her red eyes toward her Trainer, who brightened her smile a bit as they made eye contact, the creature looked back at the glass container. With a slight nibble at first, Lapras bit the end of the bottle. Marina tilted it and giggled slightly as her Pokémon made a soothing hum in approval.

"It's—It's good isn't it?"

Making another hum in reply, Lapras pulled back and lifted her head. Marina stepped forward in a sudden panic as the bottle was taken from her hands.

"H-Hold on, give that back," she said as she reached for it. "I can't—!"

Her foot slipped off the edge of the pool. She heard Pryce call for her, but his voice was muffled by her scream of surprise. Intense, shocking, numbing cold overtook her as she fell into the water. The impact of the freezing temperature hit her with such force that it paralyzed her, and she closed her eyes tightly as they burned. Her hearing dulled, she heard a soft splash followed by a larger one. Marina did her best to swim upward, but she did not know how far she was from the surface.

Her outstretched arm was gripped by a firm row of teeth. Unable to see anything but darkness, Marina gasped and choked on water as her instincts screamed in discomfort. Her memories flooded through her thoughts, and she grew frightened and confused. A strong set of jaws had clamped onto her arm so tightly that it was painful, and it had dragged her into the water...

Th-This is just like—!

Marina flailed, grabbing and tugging away from the creature that refused to yield. As she was flung into the freezing air, she kicked about and shouted.

"No! Let go! Let go!"

"It's alright!"

"Marina, calm yourself!"

The terrified, blue-haired girl froze stiff as she heard the voices of Pryce and Cilice. Realizing that there was no danger, she looked around as she tried to figure what happened. Of all things, she first noticed the milk bottle floating in the water. Seconds later, her free hand slipped as her arm was finally released. She dropped and landed on concrete, shivering and dripping wet. Her gaze rose up to her perturbed but neutral Lapras, and Marina looked back downward. Trembling from the cold, she took in a breath of air in uneasy relief. She could hear the adults by her side, especially Cilice, who knelt down and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"It is fine, you are not in danger," she told her. "Your Lapras pulled you out of the water as soon as you fell in."

"S-Sorry," Marina responded and coughed, "I just panicked." She felt her turtleneck shirt that covered her throat. Her choker tightened for the first time in months, but it loosened almost at once. Even as time passed, it did not do anything else—and for the time being, she decided that it was just her imagination for simplicity's sake.

Pryce left the room for a few minutes to retrieve a warm towel, which she took with gratitude. She held it tight; she was uncomfortable but not quite able wave away their concern.

"I think that's all for today," Pryce said. "It wouldn't be good for your health to stay any longer."

"I think so as well," Cilice agreed. She helped Marina stand on her feet. "You have made an honest effort for the better today."

"Pokémon have many experiences in their lives, just like we do. Your Lapras—and I, too, have seen and suffered much in our lives," Pyce told the girl with a look of empathy and went to pat her shoulder. "But if you have a strong will, I know you will overcome all life's obstacles."

Marina nodded. She looked at her Lapras, who stared back the moment she noticed her gaze, and pulled out the Pokémon's ball.

"Thanks for helping me, Lapras," Marina said with a smile. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. That was my fault."

The sea creature uttered a small sound in reply. Though a part of her dearly wanted to try petting her as a part of her apology, Marina recalled Lapras into her Poké Ball.

Cilice kindly offered to walk with her back to the Pokémon Center, and Marina said farewell to the Gym Leader as they proceeded to leave the building. They were silent for most of the way, and she was very patient when Marina wanted to wait in the lukewarm night for her to dry off some more before entering the Pokémon Center.

The glow of the lobby shone through the glass doors. Marina looked on inside and then back at Cilice. The woman's short wings glittered, as though they too were made of ice. After a little while longer, Marina attempted to dry herself with the towel one last time before handing it back to her.

"If you wish to discuss what happened at the Ruins of Alph," Cilice said, breaking their silence, "I would like to chat with you. However, I understand if you would rather move on to Blackthorn City."

"It's ok. I'm so sorry I freaked out back there," Marina said with a bow.

"Do not fret, it is fine. Goodnight, Marina. Rest well."

"Thanks. Goodnight, um, Cilice!"

Laughing in her own tender way, the lady made a small wave as she elegantly turned and began to stroll back to the Pokémon Gym. Marina watched her for a little while, but her body shivered to remind her to go inside. She felt for the Poké Balls on her belt before stepping through the automatic doors.

But as she walked, she stopped suddenly.

Wait a minute, she thought with alarm and confusion, I never mentioned that I caught Lapras at the Ruins of Alph.

Marina quickly turned around and rushed outside, but Cilice had already disappeared from sight. Puzzled, she set the matter aside and went back in.

When she entered her room, her roommate was sleeping deeply. But being beyond tired, she was happy to take a soothing, hot shower and go to bed without conversation. Her mind wandered restlessly over what had happened and what Cilice told her. Just before she fell asleep, Marina hoped that her strange dreams would not return.