Chapter 10 - Adrift

"The project is very simple," Celeste said, using her new stick to point to a drawing in the sand. "We just need to attach the ends of those big leaves to a few ropes,"

Delia was staring at Cee's drawing. It was all very… confusing.

"Well, I said sail, but maybe the word should have been parachute," the trainer explained. "Basically, we can tie the parachutes to the lifeboat and keep a rock on top of it. Whenever the wind is right, we deploy it and… MAGIC!"

"Are you sure this will work?" Delia was very sure it wasn't.

"Not really. But I'm not jumping in the tentacool filled water to catch another pokémon."

"You could have come to this conclusion before any of that," Delia muttered while gesturing to her friend's many injuries. "When will you let me look at your wounds?"

"Later… It's not that bad, really. I still have to tell you about Plan B, you know?"

"There is a Plan B?"

Celeste looked at her friend triumphantly. "We should thank the tentacool for this idea."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"Don't worry, it's nothing crazy. After I had a firsthand experience with a Hydro Pump, I figured we can use our pokémon's moves for propulsion." Celeste pointed to something that vaguely resembled a slowpoke spitting water. "Water attacks will be better, but I'm sure Powder Snow and Swift will work too. We lunch the attacks into the water and they will propel us in the opposite direction. "

Okay, perhaps this could work.

"We can't use those moves all the time, though, or our pokémon will get too tired," Cee added. Plan B was better, but wasn't a solution. "But we can use it in emergencies."

"What about directions?"

The trainer put a finger on her chin and thought for a while. She had read about ancient civilisations that navigated using the stars alone. To her, those stories always sounded inspiring. People braving the unknown with only the stars to guide them. Navigating using a star map, that would be fantastic. Her parents would certainly be proud…

Not that she cared what they thought. She definitely didn't.

"I think we just go north," Celeste said, for once keeping things realistic. "There is an entire continent in that direction. The worse that can happen is that we end up in Johto."

That made sense, Delia decided. They couldn't have gone too far off and if they went north, they were bound to hit the mainland at some point.

"So, what do we need?"

"Rocks, wood and leaves. We will use the rope on the lifeboat," Celeste answered.

"Okay… also berries and fruit, so we don't starve," Delia added. "Although, I suppose we can have slowpoke tail in an emergency."

"DELIA!" Celeste yelled, getting a chuckle from her friend.

—*—*—

They spent the day at the islet gathering all they needed for their journey. At some point, before the sunset, Delia demanded to do something about Celeste's wounds.

"Tentacool are very poisonous, you know?" Delia said as Celeste winced.

The Pallet girl had made a paste with some oran and pecha berry and was spreading it over some of the worse looking wounds. For good measure, she also had Cee eat a pecha berry. They would at least slow down the effects of most pokémon poison.

"You don't say…?" Celeste rolled her eyes, but kept quiet after Delia shot her an icy glare.

As night fell, the girls and the pokémon that helped them quickly fell asleep. The day had been too eventful for them to have any energy left. Well, the last days had all been pretty eventful to Celeste. This was only the fourth day of her journey, even though she felt like ages had passed.

"I'm almost at a week, dad," Celeste said in a low voice as she petted the vulpix who once more laid on her belly.

The trainer looked at Aria by her shoulder and at Patrick's ball by her side. Unfortunately, she and Delia had agreed to take turns letting Shelly and Patrick out, and it was Shelly's now.

"Good night," she said, falling asleep.

As she drifted off, Celeste dreamt. Once again, the geodude from Vermilion city was there, speaking with his funny voice. However, she couldn't understand him this time. There were also no meadows or flowers, nor was there any dancing.

There was a battlefield. On one side, the geodude stood, on the other, a tentacool… The tentacool.

Once he saw the tentacool, the geodude stopped speaking. The tentacool laughed. Its laugher was a piercing sound that made Celeste freeze on her toes and choke on her own breath. As the crystals in the pokémon's head lit up, she realised she couldn't speak. Her mouth was filled with water.

"Geod… can't… out…" Celeste's desperate words left her mouth as bubbles of air. Air that was running out. She needed to warn the geodude, though. Why didn't it look worried?

It had nothing to worry about.

The tentacool didn't use a Hydro Pump. From its crystals, a red light emerged and hit Celeste directly. As its eerie glow enveloped her, the girl looked at her hands and saw the skin cracking. She was cracking like the geodude.

But no one was coming to help Celeste this time.

She was doomed. Too weak to help others, too weak to even protect herself.

The cracks grew and spread throughout her whole body. They spread throughout her entire existence. Until she broke into a million pieces.

"Celeste!"

The girl's eyes flung open. It was morning. Both Delia and her pokémon stood in front of her with worrying expressions of varying degrees.

"Are you ok? You were screaming."

"I…" Celeste started, the cold sweat on her neck made her shiver. That was only a nightmare. She was fine. "I think we have work to do!"

The trainer jumped up and tried her best to forget her fears. Her leg was getting a lot better, and they had an awesome plan to get away from that horrible place.

Everything was absolutely fine.

—*—*—

"Berries to last us a week." Delia read the words written in the sand.

"Check," Celeste said, looking at the big pile of berries. They were neatly organised into what she assumed was Delia's best attempt at weaving a basket out of a leaf.

Delia marked down the first item on her list. "Extra leaves in case we need repair. Also, extra wood."

"Check and check."

"Coconuts," the Pallett girl prompted as she marked down the last two items.

"Thankfully, check," Celeste said, happy they found a reasonable source of water.

She was petting Patrick's snout. It was his turn to be out now, and she was making the most of it.

"I guess that is it," Delia said. Shouldn't they have more stuff?

"If you want to have a full inventory in there, you can also add excess clothing and pokémon collar."

"These are both your things, Cee."

Celeste looked at the collar again. Delia had carefully placed it on top of her vest and hoodie. The day was too hot for her to be wearing those pieces of clothing.

"Should we get rid of it?" Celeste asked. It was not like the collar was hers.

Delia pondered for a moment. "Maybe there is someone listening, like you said?"

With a deep breath, Celeste shrugged. She doubted anyone would be listening in on two lost girls. In fact, she doubted either girl would want to meet whoever was listening for the collar's signal. Yet, against her better judgement, the trainer didn't actually want to throw the device away. She was too curious.

"Should we move on, then?" Delia asked while looking at her brief list one more time. They were as prepared as they would ever be…

Hopefully, that was enough.

—*—*—

The wind was blowing east. That wasn't the direction the girls wanted to go, but they concluded they needed to move at some point, so it was better to just go for it.

Celeste carefully removed a rock holding her parachute and adjusted it into position. As she expected, her 'sail' caught the wind, and it lifted into the air. Like a parasail, their inflatable boat was hauled away, hopefully back to civilisation.

For a few hours, no one said much. The day was cloudless and the winds gentle. They both appreciated this moment of peace. It was nice to have a silent rest. Yet Celeste has never been one for silence.

"How come you only have one pokémon?"

"Huh?" Delia blinked at the girl. She didn't want to answer that question.

"You know a lot about capturing pokémon. It's weird you never captured more than one yourself," Cee pointed out.

"I don't know a lot, just the basics," Delia answered. At least she had a good outing.

"Still… did you really go on a journey with just a shellder and no other teammate?"

"I…" Delia felt a tightness in her chest. She hadn't dealt with those feelings in years. "I had others…"

"I knew it!" Celeste said, oblivious to the turmoil in her friend's heart. "Are they back in Pallet? I would love to meet Delia Ketchum's awesome team."

"Celeste…" Delia started, her eyes getting teary.

"I promise I won't tell any of your pokémon they are dumb," the trainer teased, but stopped as soon as she noticed the other girl's expression. "Delia…?"

Delia was sobbing now. She either couldn't or wouldn't talk, but big tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Celeste said, nudging closer to her friend. "Did I say… I…"

When words failed, Cee put her arms around Delia, who at first stiffened at the contact, but soon relaxed her shoulders and let herself go. The ocean and the wind surrounding them seemed to have stopped. In all directions, only the sad sobs of the once trainer echoed.

"I'm sorry," Celeste finally said. Now Powder, Aria, and, most importantly, Shelly, had all joined in the gentle embrace.

Delia liked the hug. She needed it.

After all these years, she had never cried for her pokémon. How could she? When could she? Professor Oak and Spencer had been there for her when her life crumbled, of course. They would have given her the extra support, too. But even if the world fell apart, Delia wouldn't. Delia Ketchum was the nice girl who always smiled despite all the pain. Everyone knew that.

"I let them go," Delia said after some time.

Celeste looked at her friend. "You don't need to talk about it if you don't feel comfortable…" She squeezed the girl's shoulders. "It's okay."

Every single person in Pallet told her she was strong, just like her mother. They couldn't be that wrong. When life became hard, she pushed down her feelings and worked herself to exhaustion. She was good at working, though. She used to be the little girl who loved to label the spice jars in her mother's restaurant. It was no wonder the professor gave her a purpose and a home when she had none. She was perfect for the job. Everyone knew she was not letting him or anyone else down. All of Pallet knew Delia Ketchum was reliable.

"No… I… I want to," Delia said once she was in control of her sobs.

All she had wanted was to leave that claustrophobic town. If only she could move to a big city where no one noticed her. Where no one would talk about her. But how could she? What would Spencer say if she left? She couldn't leave him and she couldn't leave the professor. People would say she was ungrateful if she let them down after all they did for her. Who would organise the professor's papers? And what they would eat without her cooking? They cared for her, so she would care for them. That is what everyone expected. It was common knowledge, after all, that Delia Ketchum was caring, borderline motherly.

"My mom got real sick when I was on my journey. I… I didn't think it was that bad at first, so I kept going, like nothing was happening. But she…" Delia closed her eyes. "It got really bad."

Celeste said nothing, but squeezed her friend's shoulder to make sure the girl felt safe and heard.

"I had to go back eventually… But the doctors said it was just a matter of time before…" Delia paused. She didn't need to finish.

"I'm so sorry," Celeste said one more time, trying not to cry herself.

Delia didn't want her friend to be sorry, though. People had been sorry for long enough.

Her mother had gone to Pallet with nothing but the clothes on her back and, despite all, made a life for herself there. She had raised a family; she had opened a restaurant; and even through the hardships of life, she had never faltered, and she had never erred. Or at least that is how people chose to remember Mrs Ketchum.

When someone is not there anymore, reality doesn't destroy the image we make of them. Those who are gone often become the perfect snapshot of their best qualities. That is also how Delia remembered her mother: perfect. She couldn't be wrong, though. After all, everyone knew Delia Ketchum was prudent in her judgement. She never made mistakes.

"I felt so guilty, to be out there, travelling like nothing was happening. I just… I couldn't do that anymore… Be a trainer. I can never be a trainer again. Back when I got the news she had… I was so angry, so…" Delia sniffed. "I released all my pokémon. All but one."

Delia looked at Shelly, who was also tearful. How could she not be? This was her story, too.

"Me and mom, we fished her together, I… I couldn't."

A beach holiday or a few days lost in the middle of the ocean. It all felt better when she was away. Just her and Shelly, away from all the people and their endless talking.

Back home, there was a hole that could never be filled by anyone. Yet everyone filled it with Delia. After all, everyone knew Delia Ketchum was just like her mother.

"Delia… I don't even…" Cee started to talk, but she didn't know how to finish. She couldn't even understand this sort of pain. So she hugged Delia again and let her friend cry all she needed to.

After all, Celeste only knew Delia Ketchum. And for once, that is who the Pallet girl was going to be.

—*—*—

They had been sailing for three days that were absolutely uneventful. There wasn't too much wind and luckily there were also no storms or dangerous pokémon. So the girls fell on a pattern: at mornings Celeste would let Patrick out and try to bond with him. She would get frustrated quickly with his empty stares and attempts to chew her hair.

On their second day travelling, Cee had discovered Patrick's love for berries was bigger than his appetite for her hair, so she attempted to train him by providing positive reinforcements. It wasn't working well.

During the mornings, Aria would also have the most fun, laughing at her trainer's failings and making some snarky remarks to Powder, who was never too amused. In fact, the vulpix was just in a constant bad mood. She hated that boat. It was small, and nothing ever changed. Even though she was with her favourite person, the boredom seemed endless.

During the nights and afternoons, it was Shelly's time out. Her job during that time was to use a water gun to fix the boat heading. Like that, the girls filled all the extra hours with chatting. They would talk about the stars and the universe. They would talk about pokémon and Celeste's endless knowledge of trivia. They would talk about everything and about nothing at all.

"I've watched your TV show, you know?" Delia said one morning during breakfast, making Celeste choke on her food.

They might have talked about everything, but the trainer did not expect this conversation.

"Took me a while to figure it out, though," Delia giggled. "Why did you try to hide it?"

"It's not my TV show…" Celeste said, wondering if her face was burning because of the scorching sun. "It's embarrassing. And I want to be taken seriously as a trainer."

"And think you won't be because you were on TV? That makes no sense."

Celeste wasn't sure why she thought people wouldn't take her serious. But trainers weren't pampered celebrities. Well, she wasn't a pampered celebrity either, but no one would make that distinction.

Celeste pondered for a moment on why she didn't want to be recognised. However, before she came up with an answer, an enormous wave swayed their lifeboat.

"What the—" Delia cried, holding on to the eevee beside her.

Celeste held on to Powder and Patrick as another wave hit. "Is that some pokémon?"

There was no wind or cloud in the sky. The ocean had been peaceful until those waves hit.

"It has to be," Delia said while frantically looking at the water. She pointed to a shadow swimming below them. "There."

Celeste looked around for some land. Her encounter with the tentacool taught her water battles with wild pokémon should be avoided at all costs.

"Did it go away?" Delia asked, as the waters calmed down.

"N-no…"

When Delia turned around to see what was frightening her friend, she saw it. The biggest and meanest looking gyarados she ever met.

It was readying an attack. A hyper beam.


A/N:

* A bit of a sad chapter. But I hope you guys like it.

* Thanks again for all comments and follows and likes :)

* NEXT CHAPtER: We Rescue Ourselves