A/N: and once more we return to the world of Pokemon. Yes Mark is a very, very obvious reference but hey, I like the guy.
"Yes, yes, just like that." Mark reassured me as I slowly exhaled along with Combusken and Totodile. We were still at his cabin today, just after dinner, when Mark and I resumed training. Honestly after our duel with the group of Team Magma and Aqua, Mark gave us bed rolls and I collapsed for a couple hours. In that time I had a peculiar dream.
I stood on a small bit of land surrounded by ocean on all sides while the sky seemed to be at war with itself, a fine line between the dark clouds that had gathered tightly together, thunder rumbling within the growing grey mass, and the bright, clear blue sky with the sun's rays shining down with an unrealistic intensity. I looked down and saw that the ocean around me was swirling and shifting roughly, the waves that came up from either side seemingly hitting each other as if that was their only focus. Nature was at war with itself, two natures fighting for dominance. Thunder rumbled loudly, wanting to unleash its lightning while the light of the sun seemed to intensify even more than it was, the reflections off the water's surface glaring into my face with each rise of a small wave. Both sides intensified and only solidified the stark contrast between them.
Then I heard it: the roar. From my left on the stormy side, a roar echoed as if from beneath the waves, intensifying the winds and rain and thunder. From my right, another, deeper roar echoed from the distance, forcing more calm winds but the sun's light and heat intensified to the point that the part of my bit of land that was within the sun was practically baking. I wasn't affected by the change personally but I could feel the heat and cold form both sides constantly growing without limit, rage and anger behind the intensifying weather. The ground shook beneath my feet and from the water on the story side, just the round part of a head rose above water. Two massive eyes glowed a threatening red while red markings glowed along what was visible. Then from the sunny side, what looked like only half of a massive, massive creature rose up. Its body was a silhouette against the shining sun, shading me. Blue runes suddenly illuminated its body, leading up to two large, glowing blue eyes. It opened its mouth and let out a guttural roar that seemed to shake the very earth to its core. I could feel the rumbling of the earth below my feet. The creature on the left let out another roar that seemed to make the waters swirl hard into a whirlpool around it. I could almost feel myself being torn between them, as if they each had their own gravitational field that was clashing as well.
Both seemed to have their eyes focused on me as they roared and challenged each other, as if they were trying to impress me while also shoving the other back down. Just being near each other and near me, their power was ancient. They had been lying in wait and wanted to end this, to fight until the other was destroyed and become the ultimate being. My head started hurting incredibly bad as these two fought each other by standing still. This wasn't a good choice. There are times when what you think is the lesser of two evils isn't actually lesser. Both are equally bad choices. To let either of these creatures win was a bad idea, I could tell. They wanted to impress me so I could free the one I found the best. But that didn't seem like the best idea. There had to be a median, a middle path. Something from the book I read back at Katherine's hotel came back to me: the creature that came to stop them.
Above me I heard another, higher pitched roar echoed throughout the open sky, disrupting the warring sides that I was in the middle of. Both creatures looked to the sky as it seemed to split, and something was coming down from on high. It let out another shriek of a roar and the two sides backed down more. Then in the middle of the sky, several lines of yellow markings glowed with incredible intensity. It aimed itself at the ground and rocketed towards me before I jolted awake.
"Okay" Mark said, observing me. "Listen to their breathing, sync yours up with it." I inhaled and exhaled slowly, listening for my Pokemon. I heard them and they sounded more in sync than myself. But they were slightly out of sync. I inhaled loudly and exhaled loudly, drawing their attention to me, inciting that we needed to be in line with each other. They did slow themselves down to my level, or closer to it. "That's good, focus on this." Mark reassured me. It was nice to hear him compliment me but this was infuriatingly precise. I can see how it took so long for Mark and Ventus to become as in sync as they are. "Focus not on leading, but becoming one." Mark advised. I quieted my breathing so as to fall within Combusken and Totodile's own breathing. This was far more difficult than I imagined, trying to sync up with two Pokemon. Mark assured me it was difficult but not impossible.
Combusken was ever so slightly faster in breathing to Totodile and I could feel myself falling more in line with Combusken but I wanted him to learn to join in instead of leading and being the best. This wasn't the time for him to be the fastest, this was the time to-
"Okay, let's stop for now." Mark spoke and I opened my eyes, shielding them from the light before they managed to adjust. Mark stood in front of me with a smile on his face. "You're doing quite well, Brendan. I'm quite impressed. You still have a while to go but I think that with some time you can be the next person to abandon verbal commands and become in sync with their Pokemon."
"Thanks Mark." I smiled, looking past him to Thalia, who sat with her back against Mark's house. Ever since the battle, she'd been moody and aloof. "I really do appreciate it."
"No problem. Just make sure to practice it constantly and you should eventually get it."
"I have no doubt." I bit my lip. I hadn't told anyone about my dream and Mark seemed like the guy to tell. "Listen, while I was out, I had a dream." I explained it to him in a hushed tone but in detail. Mark's face became more and more concerned as I went on until he was holding his chin in thought.
"Land and sea at war with each other." He repeated slowly.
"Yeah. And I remember Thalia mentioning a Legendary Pokemon when we first met." I added.
"Legendary…" Mark's voice drifted off as he thought about it.
"Mr. Briney said this old couple at Mt. Pyre would know about it." I mentioned and Mark nodded in affirmation.
"Your friend is right. The legend sounds familiar but it's been a while since I got that glimpse of it. The couple who live on Mt. Pyre will know, they know about most everything in Hoenn." Mark nodded as he spoke. "If I'm right, though, then the Hoenn Region is in more trouble than I thought."
"How bad do you think it is?" I wondered, already knowing the answer.
"If your dream is anything to go by, if these Teams achieve their goal, more than just Hoenn will be ripped apart in the chaos that will occur." Mark laid that down on me.
"Sounds bad." I said, gulping. Mark saw that and smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"My advice Brendan? I wouldn't worry about it too much for now." Mark patted my shoulder as we turned back to his cabin. "After all, the teams don't seem close to their goal, at least not right now. So just go on your adventure. I'm not saying you can't stop them, but you might not need to. There are plenty of powerful trainers in Hoenn who care about it as much as the next person." Mark gave me another reassuring smile. "Trust me, you might not even need to worry." I smiled back.
"Thanks Mark, you're a life saver."
"No, my boy" he shook his head "just a humble trainer." He walked over to the edge of the clearing to go check on Aron and Ventus while I let Combusken and Totodile go around and run. I knelt in down in front of Thalia, who was picking at the grass with little interest. She was looking down and seeming angry. I opened my mouth but she got there first.
"There's a reason I didn't step in." she said roughly and abrasively.
"Okay." I responded. I was legitimately curious as to her reason but I did want to vent at her. But best to hear her out.
"Brendan, that wasn't just any normal brawl between rival teams. That was a blood feud." She stated, her eyes a bit wider than normal.
"A blood feud?" I asked to which she responded by nodding.
"Yeah. Within both teams, I guess, since this is in Magma at least, when someone on the other team kills one of your Pokemon, you join the ranks of those who really, really want some fucking vengeance." She kept her eyes fixated on the ground, as if in shame. "Then you go out and you find who did it and you return the favour." Oh. My expression must've been one of shock since Thalia looked up and smirked without humour. "Yeah. Jet used to be a really nice guy, believe it or not. He was amicable, nice, kinda handsome." Thalia's smirk twitched at the edges and lengthened into a semi-smile that was genuine. "I remember the time we were out in the field and we pranked a bunch of Aqua we came across. Caused them to fall into a dirt trap we set up in the road that was only about halfway up the shin deep. Then his at the time Numel started sending out just little bits of fire, we got them dancing in the hole…" Thalia's face saddened a bit before neutralising. "Anyway a year after that, after his Numel had evolved, he got into a bad situation."
"What… kind?" I asked stupidly despite knowing the looming answer.
"Bunch of Aqua ambushed him on a rainy night while he was patrolling an area. I'll just say his reinforcements got there too late." Thalia sighed and I felt a bit sick. "Maxie pulled him and put him in with the rest of the bunch. We call them the Mourners. His Camperupt, though, was a girl and she had an egg. He's using the child in his vengeance fueled rage." Suddenly the Numel that Totodile was fending off came to mind. That must've been the child.
"So what happened between you two?" I asked.
"Jet just became so bitter and distant when he joined the Mourners that he whipped them up into a more organised group based purely on revenge." The Magma grunt had stopped picking at the grass and was now digging into the ground with her index finger. "The reason he even thought about making a temporary truce was we got in his way. I'm assuming that was a similar group in Team Aqua since they were at each other's throats."
"They were." I replied, thinking about how he must've felt.
"Anyway, the point is that we got caught in Jet's crusade. He's not gonna forgive you or Mark or… or maybe even me." Thalia's voice softened a great deal.
"Isn't there any way you can reach him?" I asked. "What he's doing doesn't really seem healthy."
"No" Thalia shook her head in agreement "it's not healthy. But I haven't been able to get through him, that's why I ducked out of the fight." She hugged her knees closer to her chest. "I didn't want him turning on me."
"But you mentioned telling your boss about-" I started but Thalia cut me off.
"I might, I might not." She said with an almost defeatist tone to her voice. "If I do he'll be reprimanded severely and he'll come after me, I know it, since it'll throw off his quest to find the guy who…" Thalia let the sentence drop off and I didn't blame her. I sighed, wondering what to say. What in the hell could I say? I mean that wasn't a simple story by any means.
"Well if he does come after me, then I'll face him head on." I said, drawing Thalia's attention.
"What?" she asked and I gave a smile.
"Listen, if this Jet guy is gonna come after me for simply getting in his way, I'll beat him down hard core." I slammed my fist into me knee lightly. "Because what he's doing isn't right. Mark was right about Totodile but I'm gonna do whatever I can to fix it. This Jet guy isn't doing anything smart or healthy, raising a Pokemon based solely on vengeance. It's not right or healthy. I know that much." I set my mouth in a line. "He's a friend of yours so if he comes after us then I'll do what I can to get him to listen to you. Sound fair?" I asked, waiting for Thalia's reaction. I expected her to laugh at me or to get angry. Instead she looked up at me with an almost hopeful expression before she went back to looking at the grass, defeated.
"Thanks Brendan." She sighed. "But I don't think that'll work."
"Why not?" I asked, a genuine challenge. "I doubt he's a lost cause. I mean he has the child of his Pokemon and that would be a ray of hope in my eyes." I said. Now Thalia chuckled at me.
"Oh Brendan, get off your soap box a bit." She said. "I mean Jet's been like this for a good couple years."
"A couple years?" I suddenly said in shock. "And his Numel never evolved?"
"Nope." Thalia responded, shaking her head. "I thought you needed love between a trainer and their Pokemon." She nodded towards a direction behind me. I turned and saw Combusken kicking at a tree with some impressive force.
"I mean yeah but, haven't there been forced evolutions like that?"
"Most likely. However I'm not sure Jet wants his Numel to evolve."
"Really?" I questioned.
"Probably bring back too man painful memories." Thalia reasoned which made sense, I'll admit.
"Well, we won't know till we try." I said, trying to be a bit hopeful. Say what you will about me, I'm a pervert, sleazebag, etc. but I do like to think of myself as a bit of an optimist.
"I'll settle with predictions, thank you." Thalia said, lowering her head again, almost in shame. I decided to change the subject.
"I had a weird dream while I slept earlier." I suddenly said and Thalia raised her head, eyebrow raised.
"Oh?"
"Yeah." I nodded and I explained it to her in detail, much like with Mark. The two creatures that seemed to make nature fight itself and the thing from the sky that seemed to disrupt them. I described every brutal detail which made me shiver. That's twice I've explained it and more than the third that I've relived it in my head. It was such an odd yet foreboding dream. I even repeated what Mark said. "Mark said to go to Mt. Pyre, like what Mr. Briney said to do. The old couple would know. Mark said not to worry about it too much but…" I let the sentence run off.
"You think it might have to do with what our goals are?" Thalia asked. I flinched. Sad moments aside, I keep forgetting she's apart of Team Magma sometimes.
"Kinda sorta." I said sheepishly and Thalia chuckled a bit.
"I can safely say it maybe could maybe couldn't." she said with that smug ambiguity one uses to keep a birthday surprise a secret from someone. "All I'll say is that Aqua has a similar goal."
"Really?" I frowned and Thalia nodded.
"We both want Legendary Pokemon." She said.
"The same one?" I asked despite the reason that wouldn't work hitting me a second after. Thalia let out a genuine laugh at my idiocy.
"No, Arceus no." she said once she finished laughing. That was after a good half a minute of laughing. "Different ones. Polar opposites, just like our teams."
"I see." I responded, my mind going back to the book in Katherine's hotel. The two creatures, one of land, one of sea. But then the third one… I didn't know. "There wouldn't happen to be… a third Legendary Pokemon would there?" I risked. Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"I doubt it. Honestly, the sea and the land are the two that are always at war with each other."
"Yeah. Okay." I accepted her answer while letting the subject drop. If those two were as powerful as they were in my dream, then what came at me must've been some sort of mediator. After all, two primordial beings like that can't simply be left alone to wreck each other's shit. You have to rein them in. The book did mention the third one but I kept that a secret from Thalia. I'd need it later.
"Besides it's getting late and-" Thalia started before both our stomachs growled loudly.
"Yeah, I guess it's time we got some supper." I said while standing. I held a hand out to Thalia who reluctantly grabbed it and let me help her up. We got steady just as Mark was coming over, the Pokemon following him. "Listen, you could benefit from his training a bit." I whispered quickly before Mark came up to us.
"Well, I assume we're all quite hungry. I have food for the Pokemon and we can continue eating the soup from earlier, sound good?" Mark asked and both of us nodded. Mark smiled and lead us into the cabin where we sat down just like before and he served us bowls of soup which we ate heartily. Mark took his time and both Thalia and I were slower eating this time around than earlier. Though we still went through a couple bowls quite fast.
"Thanks a ton, Mark." I said, genuinely happy with my stomach full.
"It's no problem Brendan. I've helped more than a few trainers around here. It's just what I do." Mark smiled and continued eating.
"So have you paid attention to the recent League stuff since your departure into nature?" Thalia asked.
"Yes and no. I get news every now and again about the status of championships and rivalries within the League. Right now, though, I don't know who the Champion is. Though I'd assume he's quite good if he became Champion."
"Of course." I agreed, leaning back in my seat. "Truth be told I'm not sure who it is either." I admitted. Thalia looked at me sideways.
"I would've thought you'd know. And shouldn't you? You are going to go for the championship, right?" she asked almost accusingly.
"Well, I mean…" I looked up to the ceiling. "I mean yeah I should've but I was moving from Johto, I was busy enjoying time with my friends before I learned anything."
"You're from Johto?" Mark asked with intrigue in his voice and an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah. I completely forgot to mention that." I sometimes forgot people are interested in foreigners. "Sorry."
"Oh it's perfectly fine." Mark replied amicably. "But what is it like there?"
"It's kinda like Hoenn just a bit less diverse I guess." Was my only answer. "I mean it's rustic. Like we have old ways we've followed since their conception. Especially Ecruteak city. It's a very rustic place though it has its modern edge to it."
"Have you traveled throughout Johto much?" Mark asked.
"Not in particular. Farthest I've really gone is Ecruteak. It's a very nice place. Goldenrod too and that's basically our big, big city. The place where everyone goes to shop."
"Sounds like Lilycove." Thalia commented. "They've got a huge mall place. Though I wouldn't call that the city to shop since it's kinda sparse."
"From my recollection" Mark began "Mauville is quite a hub of activity. They have their own large mall there as well as a gym. The mall is large enough to hold apartments I'm told, above all the shopping."
"That's…" I started but I wasn't sure what I was gonna say.
"Impressive." Thalia concluded for me. Sometimes she's incredibly useful.
"Exactly." I nodded my thanks to her. "But yeah, Johto's pretty rustic overall. I know Violet City is home to our Bellsprout Tower which is one of our big landmarks that's been there for a long time."
"That sounds quite interesting." Mark smiled kindly as he finished his meal. "I might have to make a trip there someday to travel."
"You travel much?" Thalia asked. "Aside from, you know, living here."
"Oh I do a bit here and there. Ven helps quite a bit if I'm being honest. Though I never venture too far. Perhaps a day's trip at most. It's enough for me to get a bit of experience in the bits farther from home." Mark reasoned.
"You've never gone to other regions?" I asked, curious.
"Were I Champion I'd be in Unova every so often for the Pokemon World Tournament."
"The Pokemon World Tournament?" I asked. I'd never heard of this. Mark nodded to confirm.
"It's a contest held in Unova where Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and even Champions go to pit themselves against one another and possible random contenders. It's mostly a contest for bragging rights I've heard. No real weight to it, just a simple throw down between the best of the best."
"I wonder if Red has been there." I wondered aloud without realising it. Mark raised and eyebrow and I felt a bit self-conscious.
"Who's Red?" he asked.
"The Champion of the Indigo League." I explained. "He won it a few years ago. Though he kinda left the building and went off into nature, like you, but to train I heard. He's still the Champion but you gotta face the former fourth Elite Four, Lance."
"Ah. He seems interesting." Mark said, much like how a parent says they're interested in a kids program.
"Not really." I admitted. "He's a quiet guy I'm told. So kind of hard to talk with him."
"Strong, silent type?" Thalia asked.
"Yeah, pretty much." The conversation seemed to drift a bit now, without something much to talk about. I looked out one of the windows and saw that the sun was beginning to set, turning the sky an orange-y red. Then I got an idea. "Say Thalia?" I asked.
"Yeah?" she looked at me quizzically.
"How would you feel about a bit of a sparring match?" I asked, wanting to get some training in.
"Spar? Against me?" she asked, sporting a bit of a smug grin. "You sure there?"
"Yes. Or should I bring out Gyarados since he made you-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Thalia suddenly hurriedly agreed to avoid the topic of her first sighting of my Gyarados making her wet her pants. That is something I will never ever get over in my life.
"Awesome." I turned to Mark. "Would you like to ref?"
"Sure, I can do that." he responded and we all stood, stretching a bit before we exited the cabin. Ven was flying around up high while my Pokemon were either running around or lazing about. I did a whistle and they gathered around. It was a bit strange seeing Combusken, I'll admit, standing at least three times as tall as Aron and about a foot higher than Totodile. Roughly.
"Okay, Thalia can go over there" I pointed "and I'll be here. Sound good?" I asked Thalia, who shrugged.
"Yeah, sure." She said, walking over to that part of the clearing. I crouched down and got my Pokemon close to me.
"Okay it's just a sparring match, okay? We lose, that's fine. No reflection on us officially. Anyway…" I put a hand to my chin. Who to start with? Combusken would be a good choice since he's new and Thalia might not know how to counter him. Aron's stability is good but something I should fall back on more. Totodile can get aggressive if I give the order so perhaps he'd be a good start. "Totodile, you're starting. Aron and Combusken get behind me and I'll call you when I need you. Got it?" I got some noises from them which must've meant yes. I stood and Combusken and Aron got behind me while Totodile remained before me. "I start with Totodile."
"Okay then." Thalia reached behind her and grabbed a Pokeball. I'd suspect Electrike due to Totodile being a water type. Sure enough, out of the ball came the tiny little electric dog. It yipped at me loudly which gave me the urge to shout at it. Back in New Bark one of the families had a Growlithe they had gotten from Kanto that always barked at me no matter what. Walking? It barked at me. At night? It barked. Saw me through my window in the morning, it fucking barked. I almost punted it across their house one night but Krys stopped me and we left it alone. To this day I still have no idea on why it always barked at me. "I choose Electrike."
"Okay" Mark began "Totodile vs. Electrike. First to be knocked out without grievous harm loses the round. Are both of you ready?" I nodded and Thalia nodded as well. "Okay then, begin." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, listening for Totodile. I exhaled and inhaled again, trying to match up with Totodile. Everything around me seemed to slow down.
"Electrike, Thunder shock!" Thalia ordered and I heard the charging sound. I opened my eyes and quickly gave the order.
"Totodile, Water gun!" Totodile fired the stream almost immediately, blasting Electrike in the face and knocking the pup back before it could get off its blast.
"What?" Thalia asked, shocked. I took advantage of this.
"Water gun!" Totodile shot the blast of water but Electrike rolled out of the way and got on its feet.
"Thunder shock!"
"Water gun!" Totodile fired as Electrike lit up with yellow lightning that it shot at Totodile. Both got hit and the attacks ceased as quickly as they began as they were knocked back. Electrike pushed itself back up as Totodile slowly got up, the electricity possibly giving him a bit of paralysis.
"Thunder shock again!" Thalia ordered.
"Totodile, dodge!" I ordered and Totodile managed to roll to one side. The little gator got to his feet and fired a water gun without my order, which hit Electrike in its face, knocking it back to Thalia. It rolled over and got back up. "Water gun!" I ordered.
"Thunder shock!" Thalia ordered but Totodile beat her to the punch and fired his spout of water at the pup hard, hitting it in the face and knocking it back at Thalia's feet where it didn't get back up. Mark raised a hand in my direction.
"Brendan wins this round." He announced. Totodile made his way to me and I patted his head.
"You did good buddy." I smiled and let him behind me. I nodded to Combusken. He stepped out before me while Thalia returned her Electrike and pulled another Pokeball. She tossed it and out came her Zubat. It flapped its wings quickly, which made its tiny body bob up and down a bunch as it stayed in midair. This would be a tad bit of a challenge.
"Begin." Mark announced. Thalia wasted no time.
"Wing Attack!" she ordered, Zubat following quickly and flying at Combusken.
"Ember!" I ordered and Combusken shot the burst of small flams at Zubat, which was enough to send it off course to avoid being burned. I tried to think of other moves Combusken might know to keep this thing off of him.
"Gust!" Thalia ordered, which surprised me. Zubat suddenly started flapping its wings hard, sending out a nice burst of wind.
"Ember!" I ordered, but I remembered too late. Combusken opened his beak and shot out the small burst of flames only for it to be flung back at him and fizzle out in the wind. "Damn!" I berated myself. Combusken needed to get in close. "Scratch!" I ordered and Combusken began running… well as much as he could with that wind blasting him full force.
"Keep it up!" Thalia ordered, a smile on her face. Damn it. Combusken struggled to get to Zubat, who only flew up higher.
"Keep trying!" I ordered Combusken while also thinking. Flying types weren't his strong suit, not by a long shot. Combusken was forced back a bit, his feet carving trails into the dirt as he struggled against the blast of wind.
"You aren't gonna make it!" Thalia taunted, grinning. I had to make it. I gritted my teeth and thought. Combusken's fire attacks wouldn't work since they'd get blasted away by the wind and the gust was pushing him back. This is honestly one of the most annoying standstills I've seen in a long, long time. If only I had a way to get up high and defeat this thing. Just then the wind stopped and I saw Zubat flying in low at Combusken. I was too slow to react as Zubat got in close and sunk its fangs into Combusken's neck, making him flip out. Poor Combusken started running around in circles, flailing his arms and trying to shake Zubat loose but He wasn't able to. For such a small guy, Zubat had an incredible ability to hang on while being shaken around by overgrown fried bird. However, if what I assume was right, Zubat was using Leech Life and was slowly- boom, Combusken tripped and fell but struggled to get up. Zubat finally let go of its grip and hovered above Combusken.
"Combusken, you can get up." I urged him.
"Blast him with Gusts." Thalia ordered and Zubat obliged, hitting Combusken with a couple blasts of gust and Combusken fell, landing at my feet. He tried to get up but I lightly pushed him down.
"You did good." I said to him as some form of comfort as Mark raised his other hand.
"Thalia wins this round." He announced. I picked up Combusken and set him beside Totodile. He was a kind of heavy guy, but I was able to get him to where he needed to be. I nodded to Aron who gladly ran up before me. Thalia returned Zubat and tossed out her remaining Pokemon: Poochyena. The hound came out of the ball, ready to fight. It wasn't like Davis' Mightyena but the little guy still looked angry. Aron, however, looked about as ready as ever. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, matching up with Aron as fast as I could and as much as I could. We were getting kinda close when Mark announced
"Begin."
"Poochyena, tackle!" Thalia ordered, her Poochyena running at Aron with its full body weight. That wouldn't be enough to knock Aron over or even unbalance him. My suspicions were confirmed when Poochyena didn't even budge Aron and wound up flipping itself over the tiny little ball of heavy and onto the ground behind him. Aron turned around as it got up.
"Headbutt!" I ordered and Aron didn't even need to run. He just hit Poochyena with his big, heavy head and the little dog got sent a couple feet in my direction. The Poochyena got up and Thalia gave it another order.
"Tackle again!" Poochyena ran up and was ready to hit when I gave an order Thalia probably wasn't seeing coming.
"Metal Claw!" As Poochyena got near, Aron raised one of his seemingly innocuous stubs to show tiny, sharp nibs that resembled some kind of claw. He brought his stub down as Poochyena came close, slashing it and sanding it sprawling past Aron with its momentum carrying it closer to Thalia as it flipped over once and landed with a bit of a skid. Aron turned and Poochyena wasn't getting up but it was still breathing, that much was obvious. Mark raised his hand and announced
"Brendan wins this round and wins the match." Thalia walked over to her Poochyena and looked at it closely, frowning.
"Hey Mark" she asked "Do you have any potions? She's got a bit of a scratch."
"Of course." Mark nodded and went to his cabin to retrieve what he had. I felt a bit bad. I walked over to Thalia who I expected to react in anger.
"Hey, uh, sorry." I said quickly before she could say anything. I expected a bit of anger, but she just shrugged her shoulders.
"What happens, happens, y'know?" she said, smiling a bit. "I wouldn't have gotten into Magma if I blew up over tiny nicks like this on my Pokemon. It's fine, you won." Then Thalia chuckled a bit. "Partly my fault for sending Poochyena to try and knock over Aron since I'm sure that little guy outweighs her by quite a bit.
"Oh no doubt." I agreed, chuckling as well. Just then Mark came out with the potion and made his way to us quickly, leaning down and checking Poochyena out. He found the scratches, which weren't that bad in all honesty, and sprayed the potion on the wound. Poochyena flinched reflexively in tis knocked out daze but otherwise remained still.
"There, that should do it." Mark said with a sigh. Around us, the clearing had darkened as we battled and I looked up, seeing the stars lighting up the sky.
"It's beautiful." I commented unware that I was speaking aloud. I noticed when Mark chuckled as he looked up as well.
"It is, isn't it? It's one of the reasons I love living out here, the see the stars every night in their full bloom." He smiled and I saw Thalia looking up as well. It was a strange moment, the three of us captivated by the beauty of Nature if that made any form of sense. Kind of made me wish I could live out here like this, somewhere in nature where I had no hassles. However, I had a goal and I intended to stick to it.
"Well, it is lovely." Thalia finally said. "But I think it's late and I am feeling tired. So I think we should go to bed and let our Pokemon get some rest."
"That sounds wonderful." I added, despite the fact that I wasn't all that tired. Mark nodded and picked up Poochyena gently.
"I'll let the pup sleep close to me tonight. I'll bandage her up and make sure she's good by tomorrow."
"Thanks Mark." Thalia smiled and we headed back to the cabin while I picked up Combusken. He deserved a chance to sleep inside under Mark's care. Totodile and Aron followed us into the cabin where we crashed for the night.
Earlier That Day
Anne was feeling exhausted. She'd spent all day wandering around the massive establishment that was the Mauville mall. Who knew that place could hold apartments? For Arceus's sake it was the most crowded, hectic place Anne had had the misfortune of being within. She got some things but by the time she got back to her hotel room, she was bushed. She set her bags down and flopped onto the impossibly large bed that was also quite soft. She grabbed a remote and turned the TV on but kept the volume low so it was just more background noise. Outside her room, Anne could also hear the traffic of Mauville turn from day to night, which mean some shouting from young people her age, or thereabouts, and younger partying and having a great time. They'd all be there, having fun at a club before a guy and a girl wind up heading to the bathroom and getting down with their bad selves.
Anne shivered for seemingly no reason. Ever since Slateport she'd lost the urge to actually go out and find someone. She had enjoyed it far, far too much when her and Brendan were going at it like wild creatures who had just figured out the act of sex. That night and morning had been so much fun, Anne was beside herself. She knew Shelly would start to berate her if she got attached and Anne wasn't one to build a relationship based on sex. Maybe she just had to get to know Brendan a bit more. Her mind was confused and addled, attempting to separate the sex from the person and figuring out which one she enjoyed more.
It was a tough process. Anne was concerned that Shelly might have gone way too overboard with the pills since Anne was still feeling some lingering effects. Though they really only happened at night when she was alone with her thoughts and when she was thinking about this stuff. She didn't have the urge to start blowing guys on the spot in the middle of the day. Just when she remembered that night she felt something inside her get…. Giddy. She found it difficult to describe. She hadn't taken any of the pills since that night and was completely sure that two had been far too much to take at once. Even three was too much for Marcus and Jacqueline. From Shelly's last communication, Marcus had recovered somewhat. Meanwhile Jacqueline had been given several guys to see what would happen. One gang bang later and that entire group of guys left drained and defeated while Jacqueline was still going strong. Though she was slowing down and recovering her normal mental state. Baby steps, Shelly had said.
Anne felt a bit bad about that, honestly. She despised Jacqueline since she was a colossal bitch. Perhaps three was overboard. However, what's done is done. Anne looked over to the couch where her travel bags were, which contained the bottle. She got off the bed and opened the pouch that contained the amber plastic bottle. Inside bounced the pills, small pink tablets that could drive a person insane, Anne was sure. She sat back down on the bed and turned the bottle over in her hands. She was feeling it again, the urge. To pop one in and go wild though Shelly warned about that. Anne was keeping strong and avoided it but she wondered if Shelly was working on something less addictive. Or if that was all just based on the person and Anne was just someone who could become addicted to sex easily.
Truth be told she wouldn't mind it if she and Brendan were locked in a room so they could fuck each other senseless all day. Take a pill, maybe two, go wild
Anne put the bottle back into the pouch with great effort and walked over to the bathroom and stripped down naked as she turned the shower on. She'd suffice with non-augmented personal pleasure for now.
It was late and I was trying to sleep. Totodile was asleep beside me, nestled against the wall. For some reason I just wasn't tired. At least not now. I was staring at Thalia as she slept, covered up, the blankets moving up and down in time with her breathing. I felt hot. Not like feverish mind you, just hot. Overheated. I needed to do something about it. I got up slowly from my bedroll, making sure to Totodile a bit of my blanket to cover himself, when I remembered I had Aron curled up in my…. I looked down and noticed he wasn't there. I felt my heart lunge from inside my chest. I whipped my head around, looking for him anywhere within the cabin and-
"Brrrrrrrrew." I heard silently, like a whisper. I looked behind me and down to see little Aron on his haunches, looking up at me with his big, blue eyes. I heaved a sigh of relief. And patted his head.
"What do you think you're doing there?" I whispered lightly. He just cocked his head to one side and I chuckled. "Well it's hot in here. I think I'll step outside. Wanna come?" I asked. Aron looked at me for another second before he lowered his head and fell back asleep. I smiled and patted his head before rising and making my way as silently as I could out of the house. Opening the door allowed the cool night air to flow in and it was relaxing. Nice. I stepped outside and closed the door before taking a seat in front of one of Mark's flower patches just to the door's right, if you looked head on at it. It was a small patch so I was able to lean against the wall as I sat, enjoying how cool the night air was. Like taking the blanket off your leg and finding it just cooled you off completely. I dunno. Maybe my heat had to do with the fire inside, which was low and covered by a piece of metal that looked like quarter of a sphere with slits in it. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of the air around me as it cooled me off. Although ever since Mark taught me about syncing my breathing with my Pokemon I've enjoyed closing my eyes a bit, if that makes sense. However it didn't make my hearing much better.
"Something wrong?" I heard. I jumped a bit and saw Mark standing at the door, the door itself slightly ajar. His face was one of concern.
"Oh, uh… no." I answered as fast as I could. My brain was lagging. "I was hot so I came out here to cool off."
"Oh, I see. Mind if I join you?" Mark asked with a smile.
"Come on out." I offered and he stepped out into nature and sat down in front of the door. We both looked up to the sky and just stared at the stars, the ones that people make shapes out of, constellations, I could never get. Like a square was some kind of monster usually and it never made sense to me, personally. I played a game with that in its level up system I think. Still barely made any fucking sense.
"I know how you feel." Mark suddenly commented.
"About what?"
"Constellations. Never really made sense of them either." He smirked. "I know, I'm in nature, don't know constellations." I chuckled and Mark smiled. "But I just prefer the chaos of it all to be its own beauty, if you ask me."
"I can see that." I looked up again and saw Mark had a point. All the scattered stars and stuff that we could see had a chaotic appeal all its own. It was interesting, to be honest. From then on, Mark and I sat in silence and thought different things, I'd assume. I just thought about Ethan and Krys, if they looked up like this in the dark and saw this wondrous sky and just sat there, contemplating things. It kind of made things daunting if you let it get to you: this ever expanding space above all of us. It makes us kind of an insignificant speck in the grand scheme of things, in a way.
I've never subscribed to that thought process, personally. I always figured that just because you're tiny in the big picture, doesn't mean you don't have your own picture that isn't important. You have your own picture about your adventures and experiences through life, I think, and that's just as important as anything else in this big world of ours.
Of course, thinking like that makes me sleepy. Next thing I knew my head was bobbing as I tried to stay awake but I couldn't. Sleep over took me and I dropped off into the land of slumber.
A/N: I know, this chapter got a bit heavy with Jet's backstory, as told Thalia, and some life contemplation. But blame my music, The Other Promise, from the KH II Final Mix OST. Gorgeous song. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed.