A metallic scratching fought against the howling winds as it stumbled into the lock.
"C'mon…!" She groaned, shielding against the freezing rain as the door refused to co-operate. Frustration eventually reared its head, and niceties were thrown aside as the door gave way to a shoulder charge.
"Damn thing," The woman rubbed her shoulder. "Remind me to phone the landlord tomorrow, okay Catherine?"
She dumped her keys on the nearest flat surface and lowered the hood on her jacket. Nestled under an umbrella and huddling together with a sleepy Furret and a stressed looking Kadabra, her teenager was just standing outside with a vague look on her face.
"Earth to Catherine!"
"Wha? O-oh, okay!" She murmured. Ambling through the door with the Furret bundled under her arm and the Kadabra holding her other hand, she nonetheless shook water everywhere negotiating her umbrella into the flat.
"You can't just drag them around like that, Catherine…" her mother sighed. "They could get hurt."
"I-I was just helping them into the house." Catherine withdrew into herself. She let go of the Kadabra's hat and pat him on the head.
"Pokémon are smart, honey." Her mother soothed, closing the front door. "And they can work things out on their own, so you don't have to do everything for them, okay?"
"…okay," Catherine nodded. "But this little Furret is sleepy, so I can carry her, right?"
"If you must…" Her mother stalked into the sitting room opposite and fell into the couch. "Just make sure you treat them properly!"
"Mum's so scary, isn't she Mr Kadabra?" Catherine mumbled. He just frowned up at her.
"C'mon, let's go upstairs! I have another friend for you!"
Higgle nodded, adjusting the itchy beanie hat on his head. Mr Kadabra? Was that his name now? It had a certain endearment, he supposed.
The first thing he noticed about this new house was the boxes. Dozens of boxes, taking up floor space everywhere he looked. It was a bizarre conundrum. Boxes were usually a means of storing possessions. Why were the possessions inside the boxes, rather than displayed around the house?
He recalled the mother saying they had recently moved from another region. Perhaps that was why? Had they not had time to unpack yet? The important possessions, like the sofa and television were on prominent display already, so perhaps it was a manner of priorities.
Higgle carefully watched Catherine's footsteps as she weaved between the boxes, before mimicking. It was strange that they had so many possessions. Her mother said that Pokémon were expensive to keep. Yet they had all of these things? When Lady Holly moved from Ecruteak City to Accumula Town, the boxes were not nearly this many. Poor Miss Catherine could barely move for them, squeezing her skinny frame between gaps.
There were far too many questions for one Kadabra to answer. Perhaps it was best to just leave them be for now, as it seemed he was going to be here a while.
"Almost there Mr Kadabra!" Catherine carefully twisted her upper body to sidle through a particularly awkward gap, holding Socks tighter to her chest before sidestepping through another little gap.
She lifted her leg away and hopped back to reach a door, meanwhile Higgle narrowed his eyes at the wall of boxes. Skinnier than he yet almost as tall, it presented more of a challenge than initially evident. Climbing seemed feasible, but what if there were valuables inside that particular box? What if he fell through and broke them? And worse still, what if he knocked other boxes down in his attempt?
Could he even climb something this high? Strength was not exactly his forte…
Miss Catherine looked to him, and then the door, and to Socks in her arms, then back to him. "Hmm…"
"W-wait here, okay?" She says, pushing the door open.
"Here you go, honey…" Higgle could hear her say from the other room. "Look Mythos, new friend!"
A slow grunt acknowledged her presence, and clumsy footfalls had her making her way back.
"Ooh, good boy Mr Kadabra. Did you want a hand? I'll be careful, okay?"
She knelt down in front of him and tucked her hands under his arms. There was a momentary flash of panic as Higgle felt his weight leaving the ground, yet it seemed as though Miss Catherine was straining.
He wasn't that heavy, was he?
Perhaps he could help out…
With a burst of energy, Catherine hauled him through the gap between the boxes. "Wow, you're lighter than I thought!"
Higgle rolled his eyes. The old powers still worked, it seemed.
Catherine lowered him again with a thud, and he rubbed his underarms before following after her into her room.
Despite him, a gasp escaped. Aside from some basic possessions, a couple of books and some scraps of paper, the room was practically empty. A thin flowery pair of curtains did nothing to block the light from outside, and the carpeting was flat against his feet.
Socks was sprawled out across most of the tiny bed, and an unusual pink and yellow Pokémon was sat in a kiddie pool next to it, barely moving. Its look echoed with familiarity, but Higgle couldn't recall a name.
"Look Mythos! Another new friend!" Catherine cried. A smile touching her face for the first time since they'd arrived home, she curled up next to her Pokémon and mimicked its vacant, staring facial expression.
"Can you say hi to Mr Kadabra, Mythos?" She asked her Pokémon. Higgle just glanced at the strange pink mound, having yet to see it move.
"…hello there?" He mumbled, slowly kneeling down to meet its stare. Its eyes were pointing in two different directions though, so that was easier said than done. It remained unmoving next to Catherine, with four stubby limbs splashed out across the bottom of the kiddie pool. Mythos blinked dumbly a few times, before eventually letting out a slow, "…hi."
"Ooh, good boy Mythos!" Catherine wrapped an arm around him and squeezed. "I knew you could do it!"
"Mr Kadabra, this is Mythos, my Slowpoke," She said, and the gears clicked into place. Slowpoke, of course. That was why it looked so familiar. The bizarre yellow tinge atop its head was unusual though. Maybe a different species of Slowpoke, Higgle mused.
Mythos the Slowpoke blinked a couple more times, and Catherine sat back up again, facing Higgle.
"S-so… is this place nice, Mr Kadabra?"
Higgle stood up straight to address her properly. Courtesy is key, after all. Curling his fingers into a fist, he left the thumb pointing outwards, then raised his arm up and put on the most genuine smile he could muster.
"Oh, you're so clever!" Catherine shuffled forwards to hug him. If he ever met Rufus again, he was going to have to give his thanks. "Wh-what about the little Furret? Does she like it here too? I guess she's asleep, so that means she's comfy… right?"
Higgle frowned. It was a safe assumption that she was happy enough, given that she had fallen asleep in a strange place. But the validation must have been important to this girl. Why else would she ask?
He simply nodded. It wasn't his place to make assumptions on Socks' behalf, but she was asleep. What could he do?
"Such a lovely little Furret…" Catherine ran her hand along Socks' long skinny body. Socks uncoiled and stretched out in response. "…oh! Wait, that's a thing! You guys might have nicknames!"
Higgle's eyes widened. That was an issue. Socks had been Socks ever since they had met. Would she even respond to 'Furret'?
He looked around the room. Perhaps there was a spare sock just lying around?
No such luck, he shook his head. Miss Catherine was obviously the tidy sort.
She wasn't wearing socks either, instead donning bulbous foot coverings resembling some dark blue, yellow-eyed rocky Pokémon. There must have been other ways of communicating with humans. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, recalling back from the depths of his memory.
"Okay, watch closely now, Sir Higglesworth." Lady Holly's soft voice coursed through his mind. Her blurry hands gestured to the tiny, petrified Sentret hiding behind her leg. Beyond her grey shirt though, Lady Holly disappeared into the shadows.
"This," he muttered, mimicking recollected movements and pointing towards a non-existent object on the ground. "Is," he curled his hand into a circle shape, sticking out his pinky finger and pointing to his bottom lip with it, then pointing in front of him.
"…S-Socks!" He gasped, pointing towards his own feet with both index fingers and rubbing them against each other. A surge of adrenaline ignited in his veins. He'd remembered! And from so long ago too! Miss Catherine would be able to understand!
"H-her name is Socks!" He repeated the movements, smiling broadly.
"Nuuu, I don't like blue poke puffs…" Socks muttered in her sleep, and Miss Catherine stared at him blankly.
The pride seeped out of Higgle like a punctured balloon. She wasn't aware of that communication method, clearly.
He looked around the room again. What other ways were there…?
"Can you… write it?" Miss Catherine suggested, standing up and grabbing some paper and a pen from her desk.
Higgle frowned at the pen. It was completely unwieldy, especially with the pokeball charm on a spring, but maybe it could work?
Wielding it in one hand like a stabbing motion, he scratched boxy shapes across the paper.
"…this is impossible!" He raged at it after mere minutes. "How are Socks and Sparky so good at this?! It is laboriously difficult!"
He glared at the pen, then the paper again. "That is not a sock! It more closely resembles a fishing rod! I-I cannot do this!"
He screwed the paper up into a ball, then threw it and the pen in opposite directions.
"Ohh, I'm sorry Mr Kadabra…" Miss Catherine sighed, pulling him into a hug. "Let's… find another way, eh? I'll be back soon!"
"Hmph," Higgle just grunted, staring at nothing in particular on the wall while Miss Catherine made a quiet exit. Meanwhile, a soft chittering;
"H-hey, who drew the funny looking sandwich Higgle?"
"…it is supposed to be a sock." Higgle growled. Sandwich? That was even farther away from a sock than a fishing rod. Was he that unskilled at such a simple discipline? Outrageous.
Suddenly, realisation hit. "…Socks! You are awake?"
"Yeah…?" Socks yawned. "This little paper ball hit me on the head and it woke me up. Why? What's wrong?"
She squinted at the crumpled sheet of paper. "Something tells me this is important, Higgle?"
"…Miss Catherine was asking-" Higgle began, however footfalls approached once again, and Catherine herself reappeared.
"Hello again, Mr Kadabra!" She beamed at him. "I've brought some poffins! Does anyone wa- hey, Furret's awake!"
Edging the door open again, Catherine was carrying a tray stacked with a teapot of all things, as well as the mentioned poffins. She stepped out of her slippers and put the tray down on her nightstand.
"Hello there, Furret!" She smiled. "Are you feeling happy?"
"Does… New Person want something from me, Higgle?" Socks met Catherine's stare.
"She wishes to know your name, Socks." Higgle muttered darkly. "I-I have attempted, but all of my methods of communicating have proven fruitless."
"Hmm?" Socks blinked at him. "…ooh!"
She sprang to her feet, and made sure to give Catherine a friendly nuzzle before dismounting the bed. "I love this game!"
Balancing on her hind feet, she raised one of her stubby little paws into the air.
"O-oh, I know this game!" Catherine gasped, sitting down on the bed. "…one word?"
Socks nodded happily, and cupped her paw behind one ear.
"S-sounds like?" Catherine asked, while a wide-eyed Higgle simply gawped at the pair of them. Mythos just gawped.
Socks nodded again, and began scurrying about the room. "Hmm… do you think you can help, Higgle?"
"What exactly are you looking for, Socks?" Higgle wobbled back to his feet.
"I need things that sound like my name!" Socks instructed, picking up a picture book and flicking through the pages. "B-but I don't know what things are very well! And you do, Higgle! So you can help, right?"
"I… suppose I can try?" Higgle shrugged. Taking a less manic approach, he followed Socks' example.
"It is unlikely that we will find rocks in here…" He muttered, a thoughtful hand stroking his chin. "Blocks would be convenient, but they do not seem present either…"
He caught a glimpse of Miss Catherine, sat on her bed with one leg hanging over the edge, occasionally sipping tea out of her Bellsprout mug. Her lips upturned in obvious amusement, she seemed happy enough to just watch Socks' antics. An auspicious flash on her wrist caught Higgle's attention, however.
"Wh-what is this?" He gasped, rushing up to her and consulting her wristwatch. "What a fantastic timepiece! Oh wow, it is so small, so precise…"
"Hmm?" Catherine smiled at him. "What's up, Mr Kadabra? Do you like clocks?"
Higgle was mesmerised by the ticking, however his world was knocked sideways when Socks crashed into him. "Higgle, you did it!"
"Wha?!" Higgle gasped, snapped out of his hypnotic state by the Furret colliding into him. "What did I do?!"
"You found a thing Higgle!" Socks beamed at him, before returning her attention to Catherine. She made the motion for 'sounds like', and placed her ear on the girl's watch.
"Huh? Did you want something?" Catherine was taken aback.
Socks smiled up at her warmly again, and repeated 'sounds like'.
"Your name sounds like… clocks?" Catherine cottoned on at last, and got a vigorous nod from Socks in front of her.
"What words rhyme with clocks…?" She ran her finger along the rim of her teacup. "R-Rocks? Nooo, you don't seem like a Rocks…"
"Box rhymes with clocks… knocks, locks…"
Socks waited patiently. There couldn't be too many words that sounded like her name.
But then the New Person ran out of ideas.
"I'm sorry honey…" She sighed, stroking Socks' head. "I-I can't think of anything else?"
"So close…" Socks mumbled, her head hanging loosely against Catherine's knee. "I… I really want New Person to know my name, Higgle."
"It is alright, Socks." Higgle gave her a reassuring stroke along the back. "We will fine some-"
"-Socks, look!"
"Hunh?" Socks frowned. "Did you find a thing, Higgle?"
She looked where Higgle was pointing, and noticed."Ohh, those things! Trainer wore them all the time to stop her feets from getting cold!"
Catherine watched the both of them getting excited over her feet of all things. "What's wrong, guys? A-are my socks nice or something?"
But then the little Furret's head practically snapped upright, and she beamed at the girl in front of her.
"Wait a minute…" Catherine mumbled. "Socks… that rhymes with clocks!"
She put her tea down at last. "I-is your name Socks, little Furret?"
"Yesss!" Socks leapt forward into the girl's arms. "New Person knows my name, Higgle!"
"Y-yes Socks, she certainly did." Higgle stammered. "Where on earth did you learn that communication method?"
"T-Trainer taught me…" A faint wistful note crept into Socks voice. "S-she made it into a game, so it was easy to learn, Higgle! But New Person knows this game too, so we can play it together!"
"That is fantastic news, Socks." Higgle smiled. "I may have to request assistance from you for-"
Higgle's sentence died where it stood when a sudden, window rattling gale blew in, swirling about the room and scattering papers from the desk.
"Oh no!" Catherine cried, scrambling from the bed to retrieve them. "Dear dear, the silly wind…"
Higgle helped, plucking sheets of paper from the floor. He slowly walked them back to her, scanning the sheets with curiosity.
"Hm?" Catherine slowly reached towards him. "Is something wrong, Mr Kadabra?"
"Such intricate words…" he muttered. "And so many, too!"
"You found lots of words, Higgle?" Socks chittered. "C-can I see?"
"You are no better at reading than I, Socks." Higgle huffed. "Why would you want to look?"
"Because I think New Person can read lots better than you, Higgle." Socks said. "Maybe you can let her read them for you?"
"…that is a fair point." Higgle said. He held the papers out for her.
"D-did you like my little story, Mr Kadabra?" She giggled awkwardly. "Ohh, they're all out of order…"
She started shuffling the papers, and caught sight of two Pokémon eyeballing her intently. "…yes?"
The pair of them kept looking back and forth between her and the papers in her hands. "Huh?" she nudged her glasses. "Did you… want to hear my story?"
The two Pokémon nodded fervently back at her.
"W-wow, really?!" Catherine gasped. Even Mum doesn't wanna read my stories…"
There was more vibrant nodding in response. "W-well, I guess I can do that if you really want me to…!"
She gathered up her papers and resettled back on the bed. "C'mon everyone, let's read a story!"
With a hand free to stroke Mythos the Slowpoke on her right, she had Higgle sat next to her on the left, and Socks across her shoulders.
She took in a nervous breath;
"It was a beautiful autumn day in Ecruteak City," She said, her voice taking on a much softer tone. "Many people walked on the ancient stone paths, with the occasional street vendors negging at people to buy their products. The sun shone on the beautiful town lazily, with plenty of white puffy clouds floating in the sky…"
And Higgle was transported back into the past, dredging up ancient memories of the cobblestone paths Lady Holly once walked. Socks in her arms, him floating after her in tow. A happy sigh escaped him. Lady Holly was the past, but Miss Catherine was the future it seemed. And that was okay.
Another blustery wind pierced the building, and Catherine gripped her papers tighter. "Not this time, silly wind…"
She waited for a moment before settling back into her story, about a young girl and her Slowpoke making friends with the ghosts.
And while one story began, another story continued somewhere else.