I replaced this chapter with another accidentally. Whoops. Fixed now.
"Will you be all right? I need to go soon."
Sarim stood in the center of the circle of mounds arranged around him, staring at the single horn implanted into the tree directly in front of the burial, a look of sadness in his face. "I do not believe I will ever be fine. But I'll continue on, like you said. It's my duty now, to be a father to these eggs. Twelve pups at the same time, however… that is going to be a little rough."
Riven chuckled, bringing up memories of the Rustboro school and the swarms of children. "Just a little?" He shook his head. "I don't think I could ever take care of kids. They're terrifying." Just thinking about taking care of twelve of them made him twitch.
Sarim stared up at him, curiously. "You hunt down poachers with those weapons that shoot sparks and metal, yet you are afraid of harmless children? You make absolutely no sense."
"You can't punch kids into good behavior. They're also difficult, noisy, clingy, and ask way too many questions. Children are handfuls, more often than not," he scoffed. "And baby pokemon are by no means harmless." Being able to cause third degree burns with a hiccup could testify to that. Or encase someone in a block of ice, pick your poison really.
Sarim gave him a frown. "Ah well. Regardless, having a family is a way of life. They stop being completely unpleasant after a few months as they grow," Sarim said. Korek would restlessly prance around in the night and freeze things for fun. He always woke the others up, resulting in quite a few complaints and groans from the others. Sarim still missed him, and just thinking about his pup made his heart ache, forcibly holding back tears.
Riven snorted lightly, "Hmph, lucky for you. Your toddler age is a few months, ours is a couple years." It only took a few months for pokemon, perhaps less with battle, judging by how fast his team had grown. Humans? Not so.
"Hmmm, I forgot how long it takes humans to grow… Slow and weak? I guess it is only fair that you possess the intellect you do, otherwise your kind would be useless."
Riven crossed his arms. "Some of us are geniuses. A majority of us are not. Most pokemon have human-like intelligence too, so we really aren't that special. We are having a conversation like two people would." Humans were like pokemon, just much more ambitious, corrupted, and hilariously weak. It was like the fantastic creator upstairs decided to make them out of the worst possible material, on purpose. Even a Zigzagoon could break a rib with a tackle. A Zigzagoon!
"I suppose." Sarim flashed a toothy grin. "However, maybe on your travels you will meet a beautiful potential mate, and then you may wish to settle down and start a family of your own? Of course, you would need to engage in certain activities first…"
The look sheer horror on the human's face drove Sarim to laughter."You are far too easy to tease, my friend!" Laughs settled. "Speaking of which, do you not have an appointment with a female today?"
He did that on purpose.
"Wipe that smirk off your face. You're making it sound like it's a romantic thing. It's just a mutual favor for past services," Riven protested, a little flustered. "And yes, I do. I just wanted to check up on you before leaving to make sure you haven't lost your purpose."
"I regained it, thanks to you," Sarim smiled gratefully. "I can only wish you luck finding yours, which is all I can give you for helping me, at this time." The human had mentioned he was still searching for his calling, having had it taken from him due to unforeseen complications out of his control, most likely involving legendary pokemon. That was all Sarim had to know, one did not trifle with legendaries and escape unscathed. This human either did something incredibly stupid, or was just incredibly misfortunate. Perhaps both.
"That's more than enough for me," Riven said, waving good bye to the Absol. "I'll come back sometime and see how the little ones are doing, alright? Need to get going, she's probably irritated from waiting so long." He whipped back around and ran into the forest, out of sight.
The shiny Absol shook his head and sat down, watching him go. I see why humans have reached such a level now. For all their flaws, and all of their shortcomings, they just keep getting back up. Raw tenacity. That's what makes them so dangerous. Trainers even more so than that. Is that why pokemon bend to their will?
He thought it over, watching a stray pecha berry sitting idly on the floor, and stretched out a paw.
They're even stranger than the legendaries themselves…
"Look, that's the clearing. Let's land there, right next to that pecha berry tree." Even if the berry tree had been picked clean, it was still very much pecha. Easily recognizable landmark.
Gale touched down in the area where Riven had mentioned he was supposed to be in. At first, she looked around for any people but saw nothing. When you tell someone that you're meeting them somewhere, you better damn be there after they've traveled three days to come and get you.
She nearly shouted when her Swellow shoved her, throwing off her balance.
"Hey!"
The bird shook its head slowly. Short for- unless you want things to come after us, don't make your presence known. The flying type didn't specify what, not that she wanted to find out, really. Could be anything, Forina wasn't known for tame pokemon.
"We'll do it your way then," Gale said, plopping down on a decently sized rock to just wait. After twenty minutes of doing exactly that, she groaned in exasperation. The sun was starting to burn and it was getting uncomfortable, Forina was humid so the sweat didn't evaporate much either. Conditions like that made for nasty stickiness, not preferable in the least. "Well, where do you suppose he is? He sure is taking his sweet time. If he doesn't come soon, I'm going to lea-"
A familiar voice replied, "Right behind you."
Gale jumped and crashed into Kyne, placing a hand on her chest from the scare. She could have sworn there was no one there a second ago. Her Swellow absorbed the impact, lost its footing, and toppled over with an indignant squawk. Gale shot to her feet, as red as a tamato berry.
"H-how did you do that? And what in the world are you wearing? " she asked, looking over his long pokemon pelt thing that people made when they were living in the wild. It must be a downright creepy sight during the night…
He looked down at himself, feeling the texture of the fur with his fingers. "Zangoose pelt. Really warm. It was handy during the winter, not so much now though. It gets stuffy when it's hot out. Now that we're headed to warmer climates, I won't need it anymore," he explained. Hoenn was fairly tropical and the heat got very uncomfortable at times, so the thing would be useless. Selling it was impossible, since he doubted anyone would want a crude coat drenched in months of sweat and blood, even if it was washed recently. He wasn't a very skilled tailor or craftsman, so it wasn't of very good quality to begin with.
Gale reached out to touch it, with slight hesitation. It was, indeed, very fluffy and soft. "Wow… I can see why rich people like this sort of thing."
Riven took off the coat, along with the hood, tossing it to the side. Getting rid of that thing was liberating, since the sun had been making that pelt really stuffy.
Gale stared at the young man before her with a scrutinizing look. "Your hair got longer. Now it's really shaggy. You really should invest in a brush, it's a mess. Even if it is a trainer staple." It covered his eyes and almost went down past his shoulders, scruffy-galore. She tried to flick a section of it but he dodged out of the way.
He sighed, backing away from Gale's attempts to straighten it out. "I had more important things to do, like hunting for food. My pokemon are terrible at it and scare away all the Swel- I mean Sevipers," Riven corrected himself, pretending to look innocent as Kyne laid a suspicious eye on him.
Gale reached out and grabbed his chin with her hand as he was distracted, noticing that he had no facial hair whatsoever. "But shaving was a higher priority? When I think of people disappearing into the wild, I picture them coming back with a full man beard, if you know what I mean." Some of the backpackers that disappeared into the wild came back with HUGE beards, it was pretty cool.
"Hey, you have no idea how annoying facial hair really is," Riven stated flatly, swatting her hand away. "Nigh-impossible to sleep facing down. I bought a mirror in Lavaridge and I had a very sharp knife, so why not?"
Gale held a look of surprise. People cut themselves with razors while shaving, and those were baby blades. Shaving with a knife more suited to murdering things? Not exactly for the faint of heart. Any small slip and, oops, accidental exsanguination. "Isn't that really dangerous?"
"You have to take it slow, you see, or you might sever something important. That… wouldn't be very fun."
"No kidding," she said, taking a pokeball out.
Riven stared at her strangely."Pokeball? You're a trainer now? That's… unexpected." She definitely didn't have those before. Did she suddenly find a new inspiration in life for battling immature ten year olds with dangerous creatures capable of bringing down a house?
"Oh, no. It's just they're really convenient for carrying pokemon around in. Your trainer belt gave me the idea, so I went to Lavaridge and bought two of them for Emile and Kyne. Makes things so much easier, especially since I don't have to sweep up so many feathers anymore." She blew out a breath. "Having to sweep multiple times a day was irritating."
Riven shrugged indifferently as she threw the ball out. That's what she got for having birds. At least Aine burned away all of her feathers. No mess, just some ashes that blew away with the wind. Her randomly setting things on fire was a problem though, Quil probably rubbed off on her far too much to be healthy.
The ball opened in mid-air and let out a content Emile. He had had a long nap in that pokeball, fairly rejuvenated and ready to go about his day. Took in the surrounding scenery and tensed, not unlike that of a Linoone spotting a wild Mightyena. The bird frantically scanned the skies and stretched its wings, going into flight mode, prepared to bolt at any sign of territorial dragons coming to have a little "chat".
Riven crossed his arms with a smug grin. "I think you spent a little too much time with me. You're picking up my habits," he sneered. The Pidgeot stared down at a familiar mess of black hair, took note of the mismatched eyes, made a shrill sound, and pecked him on the head. Gale held back muffled giggles.
"Nice to see you too, overgrown pidgeon," Riven ground out, holding his head. That one hurt. "Ready to travel with disaster again?" He asked, putting on his translator to understand what the annoyed flying type would say.
"Ecstatic. After all, evading dragons with fire hot enough to agitate rock pokemon is always fun. Who needs skin anyway?" He said sardonically. "Having a rope swinging trainer on my back with no flight skills and an unhealthy streak of crazy makes it just that much better."
Riven frowned and suddenly remembered why he didn't like the Pidgeot very much.
Gale's mouth dropped open and forcibly jabbed Riven in the arm with a finger. "You got into a fight with a dragon!?"
"Well, I wouldn't call it a fight…" He protested sheepishly, trying not to look her in the face. "It was more of a run like hell situation, really." As if that made things any better. It probably didn't, but he hadn't purposely agitated it, at least.
She crossed her arms and scowled deeply, shooting a glare at her Pidgeot. "And you! Why didn't you tell me this?"
Riven raised a brow. "You didn't tell her?" Surprising, considering the bird managed to get stuck with him for seven days, had to outmaneuver a murderous Salamence, fly for three more days without regular meals, and worst of all, got his tail feathers singed. Most people(and pokemon) would be slightly pissed off after something like that. The only upside was having one hell of a campfire story. "I distinctly remember you boasting about it after I got launched into a tree."
Gale briefly glared at Riven, before going back to burning holes through Emile with her eyes. She would question Scruffy about it later. Getting launched into a tree? What in the?
Emile shrunk, feeling the fury of the brunette's gaze. "I kind of forgot? I was so hungry I couldn't really think straight. After that, I fell asleep and the next day it slipped my mind. And the next, and the day after that…"
Gale's Swellow snickered. "Oh, you're getting it when we go back home, Emile. She's giving you the look."
"Shut it, Kyne!" Emile screeched. "You're not helping!"
Riven chuckled briefly, slightly entertained. "So, Gale, we going yet?" he asked. His gear was packed and ready to go, the event thing was only a week away, and they had some considerable flying to do. He wasn't enthusiastic in the least though; the mere thought of the word "flying" made Riven's stomach churn.
Gale snapped out of her gaze-earning Riven a grateful look from Emile- and nodded. "Yeah, let's get out of here. In case any pokemon that Emile doesn't want to tell me about comes here to kill us." The bird edged away, slowly. "Anyway, hop on Emile and we'll get going. Got lots of ground to cover!"
Riven climbed onto the bird's back and settled himself in, nervous energy collecting in his gut. He breathed in deeply and unknowingly tightened his grip on Emile's feathers.
Gale winced at his reaction. "Still scared of flying?" Nearly five months and he was still tense? She didn't mean to give him a flying neurosis.
Riven grimaced and exhaled deeply again. "Not scared…just, a little uncomfortable." Took another breath, slow and steady. Getting taken on a joy ride while being nearly incinerated by a very ticked off dragon would give anyone a bit of nerves. "Gah. Maybe more than a little," he said as Emile jerked slightly.
Emile rolled his eyes. "There you go grabbing onto my feathers like a Kingler. This is why I dislike this guy," he complained, nudging the human on his back. "Can we just-"
"Quiet," Gale scolded. "It doesn't matter if you like him, unless you don't want any more spicy pokeblocks, you will behave."
"Fine," the bird grumbled and stretched out his wings.
Gale looked over to Riven. "Come on, let's get skyward. I heard while in Lavaridge that there's a group of poachers around here. We wouldn't want to get caught up with them, they're notorious for murdering trainers who try to stop them or get in their way."
Riven flicked a glance towards her, face completely impassive, as usual. "There were poachers," he replied simply, patting Emile on the head, much to his annoyance. The Pidgeot lifted into the air, flapped his wings, and began to ascend. "You coming or what? I don't know how to fly very well, you know. And I have no idea where Meteor Falls is!"
Gale was a little perplexed. There were? What does that mean? Shaking her head, she gave Kyne the approval for flight and quickly joined Riven in the air, who looked green in the face and about ready to throw up. Must be nothing, she figured.
"You might want to put on your goggles now!"
"Forgot about that." Riven took out his desert goggles from his trainer bag and attempted to put them on.
That's when Gale caught a glimpse of the highly noticeable black bags under Riven's eyes as he moved his hair out of the way to put on his goggles. It looked like he hadn't slept in a week!
"Riven!"
Her shout startled him and he nearly dropped the goggles. "Huh, what?"
"Have you been sleeping? Like… at all? You look like one of those Slateport university students. Poor guys are completely overworked all the time."
Riven frowned, rubbing his eyes. "Just a little insomnia. Nothing to worry about. Really." In actuality, he felt like he was about to break apart, his sleep deprived eyes felt like someone had dunked them into a pool of water and left them in for too long. It had been a hellish week for him and for his pokemon. Hopefully he'd be able to sleep better being away from Forina.
"That's what you said last time. Insomnia isn't just anything to shrug off you know. Been getting those nightmares lately?" She recalled his fidgeting when they would rest in between flights, and that frightening time when he nearly attacked her. Even worse than a Whismur when it came to jumpiness, and that was saying something.
"They've been a little relentless this past week," he said. "Something reminded me of things I'd rather not remember. And don't ask what it was, I won't tell you."
"Alright, I won't pry but, I hope you're okay. Being way too tired can affect your battling. Are the dreams that bad that you can't sleep?"
"They're pretty… vivid," he said, trying to be vague. "A bit intense too."
Gale raised an eyebrow and bit back giggles.
"What did I say?" he asked, missing the point. There was nothing wrong with his statement, in fact, it was perfectly acceptable. Why was she laughing?
"Nothing, it's just the way you said 'vivid' and 'intense'." She caught the puzzled look on his face and snickered even harder. He was a teenage(almost adult) boy, it was perfectly understandable to have those kinds of dreams. That probably wasn't what he meant, judging by his cluelessness, but it was hilarious anyway. Dork.
Riven ignored her giggles. "Right... I'll just try and get some sleep. Hopefully. Tired. Wake me up sometime, not suddenly, and no dive-bombing either. I will throw up… on you." Paused. "Forcefully," he warned, and buried his face in Emile's feathers. He was out in seconds after that, sleeping like a rock, breath rising and falling steadily.
Gale shook her head and turned her attention to the other matter she had pending. "Emillllllllleeeee."
"Yes?" he asked nervously, fearing Gale's fury.
"Tell me everything, right now. Every little detail. I'm up for a little amusement," she grinned devilishly. "If I even get a hint that you're withholding information, no red pokeblocks for a week."
The bird swallowed. "Arceus, help me."
Riven lay flat, looking up at a dreary white sky, arms and legs stretched outwards. He sat up straight, seeing the endless white void go on for what seemed like forever.
Strange place, he thought, shuffling ahead. The ground was a solid black, in contrast to the stark white of the sky, mixing into a dull grey beneath him.
"This a dream? Or something else?" He wondered, looking down at his clothes, also colored a dull grey.
Both. A figure rose out of the black, right eye glowing red. Its entire body was covered in black shadows, darkness whipping back and forth around it. Hello, Cerul.
Riven glared at it, blue looking back into red. "You."
Hmph. That's all you have to say?
"What are you, and what have you been doing to me?" This was the voice in his head that had been pestering him at odd intervals. And shoving thoughts into his mind he'd rather not carry out. The white streak of hair, that seemed to get larger over time. His fault.
A distorted laugh, not quite human. Nothing. I've been doing nothing, lately.
Riven didn't believe it. "Stop messing with my head," he bristled. "My eye stings whenever you do that… whatever it is you say you are. Those thoughts, those emotions. They. Aren't. Mine." The anger, the rage, held back by willpower and control. The unexplainable impulse to stab someone in the neck if they pissed him off; it scared him, in more ways than one.
They're not? You didn't have a problem with those before, it cackled, smiling widely. What's wrong, engine changed to a new fuel? Don't fool yourself, Cerul. You thrived off them in the past. You certainly didn't object a few nights ago, either. And that was all you. You claim to hate hypocrites, yet the irony of being hypocritical right now is very amusing.
It held out a pitch black, clawed hand, staring at it like a person would their nails, then clenched it. As for what I am. You should know, after all, I've been with you since birth. Every battle, every memory, everything. Including this… alien world. I thought you wanted to get rid of me, in that fire. But it turns out I was wrong. You've still got it in you.
Riven's eyes narrowed, "I have what, in me? Insanity? Depravity? Rage?"
You'll just have to see soon enough. You probably won't remember anything anyway. Have fun, and try not to die. If I have to save you again, I'm not going to let go that easy, I promise you that.
"Wait! Come back! Answer me!" Riven snapped, rushing towards the shadow of himself.
The figure broke out into a vicious grin, flashing sharp black teeth, sinking back into the darkness.
When will you awaken, Cerul? The wait is killing me.
A sudden jerk woke the sleeping young man, almost throwing him off Emile. He briefly took off his goggles to rub his eyes. The sky had darkened and was now a dark orange, meaning that nightfall would arrive soon. He slept more than he should have, it had been around mid-day when they took off, which implied about seven or eight hours of rest. Nonetheless, it was a very fulfilling sleep long overdue. He stretched and cracked his back a few times, enjoying the rushing wind against his face.
"You're awake. Finally," said an annoyed female voice. "Sleep well?"
"Great, actually. Haven't slept in five days and man did it feel good," he replied with the most laid-back tone Gale had ever heard him use. He stretched, yawn indicating that he had, in fact, slept like a baby. However, something pulled at him, like he was missing something important, something… he'd seen. But couldn't recall what.
"Well, I'm glad you finally got your sleep," she said, with fake calm.
"Why do you sound so irritated?"
"Your Castform," she replied simply. He should understand that perfectly, it's his pokemon anyway.
Riven's nonchalant face quickly devolved into a deep scowl. "Did he break out of his ball? Wait, don't answer that. Rhetorical question."
"I had to snatch his pokeball from your belt to return him." Very dangerous thing to do while flying, but it was worth it to get the pokemon to shut up. "He's… eccentric, and unbelievably loud," Gale noted, not quite being able to formulate the correct word for: annoying, loud, demanding, arrogant, dramatic, and charismatic at the same time. Bombastic? Boisterous? She didn't know. "Does he always talk like that?"
"Most of the time. Sometimes I sit down and think about why I let him come with me in the first place. I think I've suffered some hearing loss from listening to one too many of his speeches. He's not that bad though." Riven shrugged. "Castform seem like good support pokemon. They have rain dance, sunny day, and weather ball, among other things. Boagrius and Aine are a powerful team with sunny day, makes even her ember a force best not trifled with. Still need to find a use for rain dance in battles though."
It already proved useful before, but Gale doesn't have to know that.
"His name's Boagrius?" Gale asked, trying not laugh. Just saying the name made Gale feel more masculine, and she was a girl.
"Doesn't quite fit does it?" He grinned. That was his reaction when he first heard it as well.
"Appearance wise? No way. Personality wise? Oh yeah," she agreed. "You didn't name him that, did you?" Gale's judging glance was upon him.
"No. If it was up to me, I'd probably name him something else. Short, not a mouthful and not ridiculous." He chuckled. "Some trainers call their pokemon Fifi or Rex. It's even worse when said pokemon happen to be Arcanines or Swamperts. I saw a Dusclops named Ghosty in Slateport."
"Poor pokemon," Gale agreed, letting out a giggle. Dreadful indeed.
"Yeah…"
Having nothing else to really say, Riven let the conversation drop. Awkwardly so. The wind helped mitigate the stagnant silence, if but a little. Gale seemed to be waiting on him to say something, frequently switching from looking at the setting sun, to back at him.
"So, how long is the trip to Meteor Falls?" He started, trying to eliminate the awkward silence and Gale's strange head turning.
She put a hand on her chin. "Couple days. We'll arrive there in time for the festival!" She announced with excited glee, raising a fist in the air. She looked over back to Riven and noticed that he did not share her sentiment, and looked more confused than anything, blinking a couple of times.
"Festival?"
Gale threw her hands up, prompting a squawk from Kyne. "Oh you've GOT to be kidding me! You don't know what a festival is?" She was very much starting to think he was raised by Mightyena or that he actually did live under not a Geodude, but a mountain of damn Golem.
Eyes shifted back and forth through the goggles.
Gale couldn't help but sigh, not out of irritation, but pity. "Do you know what the meaning of fun is, at least?" What did this guy even consider to be entertainment?
Emile made a loud, mocking chirp. "His definition of fun is being in danger or in a fight. When you said he was an adrenaline junky, you were right. Except for him, it's only fun when he can actually control the outcome." The bird jerked deliberately, causing said human to tense up immediately. "See?"
"You don't know that for sure," Riven said dismissively, attempting to divert the topic. "It's not like you're a psychic."
"Don't need to be. It's in your eyes, you crazy human. It's all there. When that Salamence was chasing us, you felt alive. Don't bother denying it. You had that spark, just like all those other trainers that go off and do dangerously stupid things for the thrill of it."
Riven frowned in defeat.
Gale grinned. "I had him tell me the whole story while you were busy having your 'vivid' dreams. My sides nearly split open, I was surprised you were that deep in sleep. Must have been a good dream." She giggled, and knew it would go right over his head.
"Wait. How can you understand him if you don't have a translator?"
The brunette stopped laughing and held up a scolding finger. "And you're supposed to be the trainer. Didn't the more experienced trainers tell you that if you spend enough time with a pokemon, you eventually get to the point where you can practically speak to them? Translators are for lazy people."
His frown deepened, if that was even possible. "Other trainers don't usually talk to me and I only talk to them when I need information," he explained matter-of-factly, pointing a finger to his face. "Guess why."
Gale bit her lip."Yeah, I can see why that's a problem. Well… No one really knows how or why it happens, but most people and trainers usually, kind of develop this. Some scientists think it's because humans are sort of really, really toned down psychics, and have some sort of extremely weak telekinetic ability. It's all science babble really, but the reason I know what Emile and Kyne are saying is because I've been around them since I was a little girl. I've recognized the way they make their sounds and gestures, it's like second nature at this point." She stroked Kyne's head and he responded happily.
"Psychics… that's… really weird," Riven muttered, thinking deeply.
"Hmm?"
"No, nothing. Just something I just remembered. Don't worry about it."
"You know, you saying don't worry about it is getting a little annoying." Don't worry about this, don't worry about that. It made her want to worry about it, just to spite that saying. Boys. Never wanting to talk about their problems.
He shrugged once more. Gale rolled her eyes and instead focused on the road(err, sky) rather than pay attention to a guy that had never had any fun in his life, and whose facial muscles weren't strong enough to form a sincere smile.
"Let's land and get some rest. Well, the rest of us, anyway. You can keep watch," she said, with a cheerily forced smile.
He nodded in acceptance. Graveyard watch huh? I'm up for a little nostalgia.
So many colors.
Riven and Gale had arrived at the festival in time, walking inside and paying for the tickets(Riven's wallet was crying). Still, everything was so… colorful. And vibrant. Kids and other trainers rushed around, going to as many stands as possible. Every single food item was shaped like a dragon head he'd never seen before. It was even worse than Petalburg's obsession with the color red and pink. The high-pitched squeals of children didn't make things any better, either.
It got annoying, walking to everything Gale set her eyes on, but at the same time, the cakes and food were delicious- understandable too, after five months of tasteless Seviper and Linoone, anything with a sliver of taste was delicious. Even his pokemon couldn't stop shoveling food into their mouths. Everyone in the immediate vicinity stared like they were watching a pack of feral mightyena feast, but it didn't matter. It tasted good, etiquette be damned.
As they made their way through the place, Gale informed Riven that the festival was organized by Drake- one of the elite four. Apparently, it was a big deal for dragon trainers that came from different regions since there was a race where they could compete for a chance to get the golden dragon claw- which distinguished dragon trainers as good flyers and trainers. This year was Hoenn's turn, explaining why it was way out here in Meteor Falls, instead of Mt. Silver, where it was held last year in the Johto region.
The race had been pretty exciting to watch, and he had Charles scan several of the new dragon pokemon he'd never seen before; like Dragonite, Hydreigon, Garchomp, Druddigon, and Noivern. He also saw one of the Kanto starters- Charizard, as well. It wasn't a dragon, but it definitely looked the part.
After the winner had been announced and the golden claw was awarded, everyone headed back to the festival grounds.
"That was awesome! Did you see the way the Flygon trainer whipped up a sandstorm and used fire blast to create glass?" Gale gushed. She had been pretty happy with the result since she had bet on the Flygon trainer in the first place. Still, that combo? Way awesome.
"It was creative and effective, really well played. The other racers were great too," Riven agreed, strolling along with the girl among the booths once again, looking for anything of interest. "You're lucky you picked the dark ponyta of the race and won. That was a lot of money on the line."
Gale beamed, flashing several bills in his face. "Twelve plus three zeros." A wide grin and a twirl, as if taunting him.
"Stop that before my wallet makes me snatch your money. It has been very convincing lately," he said flatly, feeling how light his own was.
"Going to assault me now?" She asked playfully, smirking. "Forcefully?" She giggled and edged closer. His face was already starting to show signs of discomfort, which made it hilarious for her.
Riven backed off a healthy distance and pointed to a random booth. "Look, win a pokemon egg!" He announced with fake enthusiasm, and rushed over. Gale burst out laughing and went to go join him.
The booths had plenty of games and prizes, the best prize being a pokemon egg. Riven eyed the eggs suspiciously, noting something off about them. He wasn't a breeder or anything but they seemed out of place. It could just be paranoia, after all. They were just eggs, it's not like they'd try to kill him. "A bit large, aren't they?"
The man behind the counter picked one up with some difficulty and set it in front of him. He adjusted his glasses and rubbed his chin. "Hmmm. Don't tell anybody this, but they are bigger than last year's. Much bigger actually. Wonder what pokemon they got in 'em. Must be something pretty strong by the looks of it- and expensive. Drake outdid himself this time it seems. Guess he wanted to top Clair. That Dragonair synchronization act had him raving mad for days, hehe."
"You don't know what's in them?" Riven asked warily. He could give away an egg to a kid lucky enough to land a coin in a bottle. Said egg would hatch- into something potentially dangerous, given the size. Baby pokemon were by no means harmless, as he'd told Sarim. An inexperienced handler of a baby pokemon could cause serious injury, and children were not good handlers despite everyone believing it to be just fine to let a ten year old have a fire starter. If the baby pokemon was startled and was either an electric or fire type- well, it wouldn't be pretty. Quil came to mind. Will had gotten lucky.
"Well, I do but if I told ya, you 'experienced' trainers would probably laugh and walk away. What would be the fun in that?" He smiled knowingly. "If I told you that it was an oddish, or a wingull egg, would you still do it?"
Riven thought about it, and shrugged in acceptance. "That's true." They were pretty generic, and from what he'd seen, most trainers had fairly grand delusions of having a team of awesome pokemon. He had received so many jealous looks from people after they saw him with a Kirlia, Combusken, and Absol. If anything, he had lucked out there, especially when Baron and Haona came together.
"Want to try winning one anyway?" The man gestured to the bottles, holding out a coin. "First fifteen shots are on me."
"Think I'll pass, eggs wouldn't have a very good chance of hatching with me," Riven declined quickly. He was always moving, so it wouldn't be ideal to be carrying an egg around. With all of the crap that happened to him rather consistently, the likeliness for an egg to hatch was essentially nothing, adding on to that.
"I'll take the free fifteen," said a shorter, blue-haired boy, standing next to Riven.
"Okay! Here you go. And good luck." The booth keeper handed him fifteen coins and sat back happily.
Riven cocked his head, noting the teenager's vaguely familiar face. I've seen you before… but where? He brought up countless images in his mind but he had no such luck. He knew he'd seen him somewhere but he couldn't for the life of him recall where. It doesn't matter, I'll just watch his attempt for some amusement, I guess.
Nine shots later, and the teenager landed a coin inside the yellow bottle.
Gale's eyes widened. "Wow! He actually got it!" She congratulated the guy, who just rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "Nice aim! I've been trying to land one but no dice, hah!"
The teenager reddened, "it was nothing, really…"
The man behind the counter brought up the egg and gave it to him, with a wide smile. "Here ya go, youngster. Ya earned it. Raise it well ok?"
The boy held the egg, happy smile plastered on his face. The same as-
A light lit up in Riven's head as he caught a glimpse of a trainer belt. I know where I saw him before!
The guy nodded and was about to turn away when Riven tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up at long, shaggy black hair with a streak of white and a face better suited on an official. Growing a bit nervous, he asked, "Errr, can I help you?"
"I've seen you before."
Seab's face burned, ready to bolt or reach for his pokeballs- this guy looked questionable. He decided to do this calmly and prevent a freak out. "Where exactly, did you... um, see me?" Backed up a step for caution. Trusting guys like that wasn't wise, you never knew if they were packing something dangerous.
"At Brawly's gym, the Lucario trainer right? That Lucario is one tough bastard."
Seab breathed, exhaling relief. He's a trainer, thank god. "Oh, yeah. Ren is really determined. Were you one of the gym trainers?" Sad as it was to say, gym trainers were really forgettable. No one ever knew their names.
"No, I was just a trainer that spent some time in Brawly's gym until the ferry arrived, mostly watching others battle," Riven replied simply.
"Ah." He held out a hand. "I didn't catch your name. I'm Seab, nice to meet you."
He shook Seab's hand firmly. "Likewise, I'm R-" About to introduce himself, he was whirled around and slugged across the face. The blow made his head spin for a moment and a familiar tang of metal filled his mouth. Trickling blood, he whipped around, brow furrowed, ready to strike.
Anther fist came at him- Smaller than usual. Not male? Reflexes kicked in and time seemed to slow down.
If it's a gi- no, it doesn't matter. They attacked me.
Catching the fist, he tightened his grip and twisted. His attacker let out a high-pitched gasp of pain, only then did he look at her. Green eyes, blonde hair tied up in a spiky ponytail.
Gale freaked, "What the hell! You just sucker punched him! What is wrong with you!" This crazy girl just went up and punched Riven in the face, with not so much as a shred of why. Normal people didn't punch other people for no reason. She reached for her own pokeballs while taking two out of Riven's belt.
Seab reached for pokeballs too, seeing how badly downhill this situation could go. The noticeable pain in Amy's face from the amount of force that the guy was squeezing with looked painful. Dammit, I know she's reckless, but that's no way to challenge someone! I can't let this escalate any further. It's like I'm the one protecting her.
Pokeballs flew and thirty seconds later, blades were at necks, birds were circling in the air, and electricity crackled and sparked, ready to strike at any moment's notice.
Riven and Amy stood in the center, in a stalemate. Baron's blade was at her neck, and Veer's own was at Riven's.
Rage settling in the older boy's head, he stared into green, surprised. "Amy? What are you doing here and why the hell did you punch me?" He demanded, feeling the blade press up even closer to his neck. He growled, but the Grovyle didn't budge, regarding him with wary eyes.
Amy's brow furrowed. "I don't have anything to say to you." She tried to free herself from his grasp, but his hold was firm.
"At least explain why you assaulted me," he said with strained patience, still licking at the cut in his gums. He shot a glare at the Grovyle, who coolly stared back, with no hint of discomfort or worry.
"Or what? You going to kill me? Because that's all you know how to do," she spat venomously.
"What are you talking about?"
"Playing stupid is that it?"
"About what? I haven't seen you in a year or more and the first thing you do is sucker punch me? If anything, the one who should be answering questions is you," he got out through grit teeth.
"You know each other?" Seab and Gale asked in unison. Honestly, they were confused. Apparently, it hadn't gone well. Couple perhaps? They both thought about it, then dismissed it quickly; there was a higher chance of winning the lottery than those two forming any sort of relationship, let alone with each other.
Amy didn't remove her glare from Riven's face. "Unfortunately," she said with pure disgust. "I wish I didn't."
"What the fuck is wrong you?" He snapped, knowing that he didn't say goodbye to her on such hostile terms. "Why are you acting like this?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Let. Me. Go."
"No."
The leaf blade at Riven's neck drew a small trickle of blood. "Tell Veer to back off, or things will get ugly. I don't want to hurt you and cause a scene," he warned, expression growing dark. They had already attracted a crowd of onlookers that were just now realizing that this was no show. "I've already been in-" He shut his mouth quickly.
"-Trouble with the law? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. Right, Gray? If that's even your real name," she hissed, like a Seviper about to strike.
Hearing the name made Seab's spine melt. This was Gray? THIS? The one in the- He backed up warily. "Ren, hold an aura sphere, don't let it go. Grum, if he moves, paralyze wave him." The guy didn't even need a pokemon to murder someone, letting him get close was a death sentence.
I'm staring at a killer. This is bad...
"Not so fast buddy," Gale interjected. "If your Lucario so much as twitches, Emile is going to make sure he stays down. As for your zap happy buddy there-" She released another one of Riven's pokemon, a Combusken.
"Busk!" Aine cried, settling into a stance, exhaling flame.
Riven shifted his gaze among the onlookers, hearing murmurs in the crowd and whispers of Petalburg. Does she want to draw official attention? "Not. Here. There are children, you stupid girl." Amy finally looked around to see multiple children witnessing the scene, wide-eyed. Riven lowered his voice, "do you really want to scar them for life? Let's resolve this somewhere else, somewhere quieter and more secluded."
"So you can get rid of me?"
Riven remained silent, and straightened, pushing Veer's leaf blade away with his hand, careful not to cut himself. He nodded and Baron backed off as well, retracting his own blade.
Baron leaned in to hear Riven whisper something to him. Understanding, he turned his gaze towards Amy, eyes glowing blue.
Meet us at the edge of the festival, near the equipment storage. We don't want to harm you, but if you do, we will not hesitate to take you down, even if you were his friend, once. Got it? The Gallade warned telepathically, extending a blade for emphasis.
Amy scoffed. "Fine. We'll settle this there." She beckoned to Seab, Lucario and Manectric following close behind. "Let's clear out before Drake and the other organizers come here."
"Who was that?" Gale asked, studying Riven's hard expression.
"She... helped me when I first started out as a trainer. We split ways in Petalburg, but- well, she didn't seem that hostile when we did. I haven't seen her since then. I wonder what could have set her off." Maybe her mother relayed the message. No, that wouldn't warrant a punch to the face. Or would it? Irene, what did you tell her?
"Sounds like she's crazy."
"Everyone's insane," he replied dryly. "Some more than others."
Gale frowned at him. Normally, she'd joke around, but in this instance it didn't seem appropriate to do so. Instead, she absently stood next to him and waited. "So, were you two a… you know, couple?" A very personal question, but she was curious. She doubted it, but surprises did happen.
His left eye twitched.
"Forget I asked."
"That'd be best." He huffed. "I didn't know her for very long. But she was the first- friend, I had. Here. If that makes any sense," he explained, with a hint of melancholy. "I'm from a place that's… really far away. Can't go back, and she was the first person I sort of felt- you know what? That's not important. Point is, we're just acquaintances. That's it."
Gale stayed quiet. She had a feeling there was a labyrinth of understated information there, but she didn't think it was her place to ask. He'll chose what he wants to reveal. I'm just his flyer for the time being. It's not my business…
Two people came around the line of equipment, the crazy blonde, and the mild-mannered blue haired guy from before.
Riven straightened and his reminiscent expression completely lost all readability. He means business. It was a look reserved for law enforcement, or people that had seen a lot of things. Many officials looked like that, and seeing it was never enjoyable.
The pair came to a halt before them.
Riven noticed Seab reaching for a pokeball. "No, pokeballs." At that distance, he could easily incapacitate the kid. He wouldn't even have time to get a second pokeball out; factoring in the egg, he'd be down before he could get one off. "Let's talk. It works a lot better than surprise attacks," he hissed, looking directly at Amy.
"Because, apparently, you're a silver tongue with the charisma of a champion," she retaliated. "I thought you'd feel much more in your element shoving knives into peoples' chests."
Gale swallowed. Not good. This was going to devolve into violence again. They were already exchanging venom and it had only just started.
Only a matter of time before pokeballs start flying again. Her finger brushed past Kyne's ball. He's doing too, she noticed, watching the boy with the egg doing the same.
"What. Is. This. About?" Riven's tone was steel, stopping short of intimidating.
Amy caught his look and part of her resolve seemed to crumble. That look. Definitely military or something of the sort, no other people could pull off glares powerful enough to shake others into submission. She resisted and willed up the courage to face him. "You lied to me."
"About?"
"I don't know, everything?"
Cold eyes didn't waver. "You're going to have to be more specific."
"First off, you didn't even tell me your name. Gray is an alias, and don't tell me it isn't." Amy looked over to Gale, who looked confused as to why she was calling Riven, "Gray".
"True. That isn't my name," he confirmed bluntly.
"Then why did you give me a fake name when I gave you mine?"
"Let me tell you something, Amy." He stepped forward. "Do you honestly think that total strangers are trustworthy? That they would all be the grandest of people and that they wouldn't harm a single golden hair on your beautiful head?"
"I never-"
"It doesn't matter what you thought, or said. You expected a complete stranger to trust you?" He cut through, raising his voice. "The world isn't a good place. There are others who wish to harm you, whether you know it or not. You can't trust people after you first meet them. Someday, sometime, someone or something will want you dead or maimed. It would be a horrible tragedy if it was someone you trusted. Get it through your head. This is the real world, Amy."
She isn't this petty, though.
"What's the real reason behind this?"
"The Petalburg incident," she said grimly. "That was you." Green eyes seemed to burn, like emerald flames. "You were the security guard, weren't you?"
Riven's eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Blood seemed to freeze in his veins. How did she-
As if reading his mind, Amy continued, "The news report was everywhere. And the recording of it was caught by Kalos television, which means that not only was it broadcasted to all of Hoenn, but Kalos too. They're scared of you, and you have no idea how much a mentally unstable trainer with a penchant for violence and willingness to commit murder does."
Riven looked like death had given him a hug.
Gale gasped. Riven's… him? No, he wasn't- There were poachers, she recalled, words falling into place. She edged away from him, in what seemed like shock. "The poachers, you-"
Brown and blue sadly stared back at her, in silent confirmation. "I don't - I don't want people to be afraid of me. I've never wanted that. It's a horrible feeling. But that's the price for doing what has to be done."
Amy's look softened. "Then why do you do it if it hurts so much?"
Riven turned back to her, grim. "Someone has to." He clenched a shaking fist. "Those poachers... they killed nearly all of the Absols, Gale. If I left them, they would go and kill more. And what did they ever do to them? Nothing. I couldn't let them do it again."
"You didn't have to do anything," Seab said quietly. "You could have left them to someone el-"
"NO! Of course I did! You weren't there. You don't have an Absol. Do you know what it's like? Seeing so many of your kind die in front of you? She. Did. Her face. Her expression. I never want to see that face again, not on my pokemon, not on anyone's. And you know the worst part? They laughed about it, joked about it, like it was a fucking game." Knuckles white, anger crept into his mind, before he willed it back down. "So I hunted the bastards down. They won't be hurting anyone else, ever again."
Silence.
"I wouldn't imagine you would understand, anyway. Trainers- no, people. All of you live in a sheltered bubble of delusional safety, rules, and regulations. Hard decisions have never been forced on any of you, so you don't know how to react when one does. Morals? Those go out the window, because it isn't black and white, or it wouldn't be so difficult, would it?" He regarded Amy, speaking about Petalburg again. "I only had seconds to make a decision. Do I kill them, and get rid of the problem, sacrificing my own image? Or do I let her die, and live with the guilt of failure, risking everyone else's lives in the process?"
Amy pursed her lips, struggling.
"So I chose the first, because it was my job to protect her. I had a task, and I completed it. I was not going to let her die. I did what I had to do to in order to carry out my task. Even if it meant resorting to lethal force."
Seab analyzed the man before him with a new perspective. He wasn't a cold killer, or a raging psychopath. The thought came as a relief, but at the same time, it was confusing. It was easy to condemn an insane killer, because they were complete monsters, devoid of sympathetic feelings, only wishing to destroy. He wasn't, and that made things hard.
Amy averted her eyes and shook her head solemnly. "I'm sorry."
Rage and anger dissipated. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault. Things happen, if we want them to or not. That's just the way it is."
"It's just…"
Gale spoke up softly, "-hard to believe. Right?"
"Yeah... It looked bad. On TV. Really bad. Maybe not to the people in Petalburg, but to the other cities, they see something else," Amy said levelly. "Contests aren't the same anymore. Everyone's scared, and jumpy. People got discouraged. A lot of coordinators retired. And they're looking for you, the guy in the video."
"But why?" Riven asked. He had left, he wouldn't cause anyone anymore problems like that. "I'm not going to do anything to them."
"They don't know that. Sinnoh's fault," Seab added quietly. "What happened there… gave trainers a negative stigma. People are wary of them now. That's part of the reason I came to Hoenn. There's less nasty looks." He shuffled his feet, not knowing how to proceed. "Trainers that are… lethal- they're on a watch list. For better or worse, in case that ever happens again."
"I'm on a watch list?"
The younger boy gave him a silent "yes". "If it happens again…" Cut himself off abruptly, glancing towards the floor.
Death.
Riven knew that was what he meant. Whatever happened there, was drastic. Enough to make them resort to immediate deadly action. Kill first, ask questions never. Which implied that they seriously believed that trainers were extremely dangerous, no matter what. Given what he'd seen pokemon do in his time, Steven's warning made a lot more sense. And those pokemon weren't at the champion level. If they were…
Riven shuddered at the thought.
Gale looked like realization slapped her in the face as well. "That explains why there's so much Sinnohan immigrants these days," she pointed out. "Since about two or three years ago, a lot more Sinnohans have come to Hoenn. Mostly in the port cities, I hear. The biggest concentrations being in Lilycove or Slateport. Although, Mossdeep is gaining popularity."
Riven looked at her curiously, "How do you know that? You live way out in the plains."
"Does that mean I'm dead?"
Argh. "Point."
"Gray," Amy called out, voice level.
"Yes?"
"What's your real name? No bullshit. I don't want to find out more nasty secrets about you. One was enough."
There's way more where that came from. "Riven. Riven Cerul."
"Okay, Riven. How do I say this…" She waited for a few seconds. "Be careful. You don't know who you may have pissed off. And you might want to avoid the authorities, they don't know who you are yet, but they will if you fuck up enough times."
Riven nearly smirked, but held it back. Too late for that. Lavaridge made sure of that. The authorities must have kept it under wraps- no media coverage, or else everyone would know. And he would be thoroughly screwed. The fact that an army of officials hadn't subdued him yet was a good indicator he was still in the clear. "Thanks, Amy."
The blonde sighed, mentally vexed. "I'm not sorry about the punch, though. That felt good."
Riven smiled slightly, "I'm sure it did. I can still taste the iron." His stance relaxed, not on the edge of his toes anymore. "So, we... how do you say it- square?"
"Rematch me sometime and we will be," Amy grinned, punching his chest.
Seab and Gale couldn't help but smile also.
Even if Riven had done all of that, even if he had killed those people, deep down, he wasn't all that bad. Didn't change the fact that it was unnerving knowing that he had taken a life before, though. Still. It was best not to get on his nerves, even if he wasn't as psychopathic as Seab envisioned.
"Well then. Should we go back to the festival, get some food, and introduce ourselves?" The Sinnohan suggested.
Three nods solidified the decision, and they were off.
That, was a long chapter. Sorry for the delay, university and all. Expect chapters every 2-3 weeks. Maybe less if I get enough downtime from school. Except during finals. Because finals.
Regardless, I just wanted to say that I appreciate that you are reading my story. Taking time out of your day to pay attention to a little known fic lost in the sea that is the pokemon section touches the soul. It's not about fame, or praise, but flexing the imagination and sharing it with others. I think that's great. In a way, reading stories is like picking a person's brains, it's quite something.