Ch3: Differences.
A pair of icy blue eyes cracked open.
There was a small crowd gathering in the room. The small crowd comprised most of the apprentices.
Darkrai frowned.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" He challenged.
"Not YOU, but whatever YOU are SLEEPING on!" Loudred boasted.
"Oh? You mean this 'futon'…" Darkrai trailed.
(Wait, how do I even know this word?)
"Team Logos gave you this?" asked Marill.
Darkrai nodded.
"And you slept fine last night?" Chimecho asked.
"I have never slept better." Darkrai replied.
The apprentices all looked uneasy. Darkrai tensed.
"Wait! Don't tell me you all had nightmares!" Darkrai panicked.
"No."
"NO."
"Gosh, No!"
No siree!"
The apprentices reassured Darkrai.
Darkrai sighed in relief.
(One less problem to deal with.)
"Then… Why are you guys crowding around me?" Darkrai asked.
"Well, all this stuff here that we have never seen before!" Said Sunflora while gesturing at the teacup, saucer, teapot, and the futon.
"Oh, these are all from Team Logos. I should return it to them." Said Darkrai.
"Golly, that's a cup? How are you even supposed to drink from it?" Bidoof asked.
"Well, like this." Darkrai held the teacup and saucer elegantly, as though he had done so a thousand times before.
"That seems… complicated." Chimecho mused.
(How does something so rudimentary seem complicated?)
Darkrai stared at the metal teapot.
"I'm going to boil some water and make some tea. Then I'll pack all of these items to give them back to Team Logos. They likely brought it with them from their country." Said Darkrai as he took the teapot and headed to the mess room.
"I'd like to see how water is boiled in that instrument." Said Chimecho as she followed Darkrai to the mess room.
The remaining apprentices gathered around the foreign items.
"You're SUPPOSED TO sleep in THIS?" Loudred boasted before trying to lie down and rest his head on the rectangular object in the same manner Darkrai had been in.
"This is MIGHTY UNCOMFORTABLE!" Loudred complained before getting up.
"Hey Hey! Let me try!" Corphish tried to find a comfortable way to lay down on the 'futon', but he couldn't. "How did he even manage to lie down like that?"
"Golly, let me try!" Bidoof too tried to rest on the 'futon' in the same manner Darkrai did but failed… and so did Marill… and so did Azuril… and so did Sunflora, who complained that her stem hurt when she tried laying her head on the rectangular object.
"Meh heh heh, let me have a try." Said Croagunk
Croagunk lifted the sheet and slid under it and rested his head on the rectangular object while lying on his back.
"Woah." Croagunk mused. He then lifted the sheets over his chest and said, "Woah! This is wonderful, meh heh, heh!"
"WAIT WHAT!" Said everyone.
"Sheesh, are you playing us Croagunk!?" asked Sunflora.
Croagunk shook his head. "Nah, I'm serious, I have never rested on anything this pleasant in my whole life." He said while dropping his usual voice tick.
"Maybe some Pokémon find this 'futon' comfortable, and others don't, like gummies?" asked Marill.
Sunflora shook her head, "I don't think so. Gummies are affected by one's attributes. This is more related to our body shape, I think. Sheesh, I mean look, Croagunk kinda has a similar shape to Darkrai."
Everyone stared at Croagunk.
"Hey, hey, does that mean the fancy teacup thing can only be held by Pokémon like them?" Corphish asked while reaching for the teacup.
Croagunk's lax demeanor dropped, "wait stop, that looks very fragile and expen-"
"Snap!"
Both the teacup and saucer snapped into pieces in Corphish's pincers.
"Oh no…" he whispered, then began to panic.
"Oh no no no! Darkrai is going to lose it!" Corphish wailed.
"But this Darkrai isn't evil right?" asked Marill.
"He isn't, but golly does he have an explosive temper!" Stressed Bidoof.
"Yeah, he's more ANGRY than ME!" Boasted Loudred.
"On my gosh! Here he comes!" Sunflora panicked.
—
(For some reason, I know how to use this 'teapot.' Chimecho had struggled to pronounce the word Alonso had used to describe it. Even now, she struggles to hold it, pour water in it, and lift it. She claims that it's complicated, just as she did regarding holding a 'teacup.' Yet, I find the concept of using both instruments and pronouncing their names to be quite natural… why.)
"Do you think it's ready?" Chimecho asked.
Darkrai nodded and pulled the metal 'teapot' away from the hearth, grasping its wooden handle firmly. "Uh-huh, let's head back."
(I have some leftovers from my Lunar Tea from yesterday. I can make some more of it before Breloom brings me some more tonight.)
"Snap!"
"!"
"What was that?" Chimecho asked.
"I don't know, let's check it out." Darkrai headed towards the lodge room he was staying at. He saw red the moment laid his eyes on the sight before him.
"Corphish what did you do!" Darkrai shouted.
The small Pokémon began to panic.
"I, I didn't mean to-!"
"Those items aren't even mine! I have to return those! What am I supposed to do now!?" Darkrai shouted again.
Corphish cowered and said, "I… I could refund them! Or maybe get them new ones?"
"Refund them? These items are from a different land altogether! It takes so much effort to make even one of those cups!" Darkrai shouted, then paused.
(How do I know how much effort it takes to make those cups?)
Corphish's eyes began to water. But Darkrai wasn't done yelling.
"And why is the 'futon' so dirty? Don't tell me you walked all over it?" Darkrai shouted.
Corphish began to cry. "I'm sorry! I was so curious, and I didn't know any better!"
(….)
Darkrai shut his eyes and swore to himself.
(… What would my partner and Breloom do in this situation…. I need a minute to breathe…. Inhale… exhale…. Inhale…. Exhale.)
"Well, I am the one that needs to think of something. Those items were lent to me, so unfortunately, this is my responsibility now!" Darkrai shouted.
(From where I am going to find a 'pottery shop' to-)
A burning sensation flared in Darkrai's head.
(I feel… dizzy...)
(Why do I… feel so weak…)
Darkrai collapsed.
—
Corphish began to shake. Not only did he mess up so badly, but he stressed out the already stressed out Darkrai unconscious.
Croagunk and Sunflora were quick to move Darkrai back into the 'Futon.'
'What do I do!?' Corphish thought to himself as Chimecho instructed Marill to hurry to Spinda's cafe to borrow a cup from her.
"We still have some of his medicine here, and hot water. All we need is a cup." Said Chimecho.
"Meh hehe heh, I'll pour the hot water." Said Croagunk.
"I'll go inform Breloom, yes siree!" Said Bidoof.
"And I'll head to inform the guildmaster. We need everything to be under control before the bounty gets announced today!" Said Sunflora.
As everyone immediately acted according to the situation, Corphish found himself to be the only one not helping in any capacity.
"Hey, hey, I'll go to where Team Logos is and tell them what happened!" Corphish announced.
(I caused this mess, so I better face the consequences myself.)
"Do you know where they are?" Chimecho asked.
"I'll ask Chatot and go see them." Corphish replied before leaving the room.
—
Later.
—
Corphish reached the crosswalk. Coincidentally, Team Logos were already there. They appeared to be discussing something.
"Hey, hey! Team Logos! I have something important to tell you!" Corphish shouted. They turned around to look down at him as he reached them.
"… yes?" Said Alonso.
"Hey, hey! Umm, I need to admit a few things! Firstly… well, Darkrai woke up and headed with the eeiepop to get some hot water for his tea. During that time, I and other apprentices messed around with the eetoon. Everyone found it uncomfortable except for Croagunk. I then got curious about the eeiebob and tried to grab it even though Croagunk told me not to, and I ended up accidentally breaking it, and then Darkrai got frustrated when he saw it broken and he passed out" Corphish admitted everything in haste.
"I see. It was a mistake for you to overwhelm him as soon as he was awake. He still needs one more days rest." Said Alonso.
"Hey, hey. About the eeiebob, I owe you its cost… How much?" asked Corphish.
"That 'teacup' is part of a custom made 'tea set.' It cannot be replaced in this country." Alonso replied.
Corphish lowered his head in humiliation.
"Please head back to the guild and avoid further stressing Darkrai. We will be there shortly." Said Alonso.
"Yes… of course." Said Corphish. He hurried back to the guild, looking dejected.
Team Logos watched him leave.
Asturias activated his telepathy.
"I had forgotten that those animals can't speak anything outside of that primitive language." Shared Asturias.
"That lobster did mention a Pokemon that found the futon comfortable and warned him about holding the teacup. I say we have a quick chat with that Pokémon." Shared Aragon.
"Good idea, we may be able to get more information about that Darkrai from him." Shared Alonso.
—
Team Logos climbed down to the ground level of the guild. They ignored the chatter from the Pokémon on the first level. There was about an hour left until Cresselia's bounty was revealed.
Chatot was on the ground level. He hoped to greet Team Logos. "Ah, good morning, Team Logos! Quickly, Darkrai isn't feeling very well."
Alonso nodded and hurried to the room where Darkrai slept. He was surrounded by several apprentices. However, only one of them seemed to be properly tending to him.
"Croagunk." Asturias shared with the rest of his teammates. Croagunk was pouring more hot water in a cylindrical cup and stirring the Lunar tea properly before giving Darkrai the tea in the same manner they had instructed Breloom.
"What's with this crowd? It's not healthy for him to be surrounded by so many Pokémon when he's still fighting the urge to spread nightmares. You're stressing him out." Alonso scolded.
The apprentices seemed shocked to hear this sans Croagunk.
In the corner of the room, Aragon noticed the remains of the broken teacup swept away via a makeshift broom.
"Oh, gosh! Yes, that is whatever is left of the heeka'a!" Sunflora said, heavily mispronouncing the word.
"What 'heeka'a?" Alonso asked.
"That thing… the one that got broken." Said Chimecho.
"The teecup, meh, heh, heh!" Croagunk replied to Chimecho.
Team Logos exchanged a few glances, then looked back at the crowd.
"Everyone aside from Croagunk, please leave." Said Alonso.
"WHY!" Loudred Grumbled, earning himself a vine whip from Sunflora for being so loud next to a sleeping Pokémon.
"Because he's the only one who appears to be tending to him rather than hanging over his head. Don't you have work to take care of? The announcement will be made very shortly." Aragon criticized the apprentices.
The apprentices frowned and left the room one by one, with Corphish trying to make himself look as small as possible.
"Meh heh heh, I'm glad my health aide skills are appreciated." Croagunk chuckled softly as he used the remaining hot water to pour it over a clean, yet tanned cloth.
"What's that?" Alonso asked.
"Meh heh, heh. I learned this from my parents. To clean a cloth for dealing with ailments, you boil it in tea, dry it, then pour hot water over it to use it." Croagunk wrung the water from the cloth in a bucket, careful not to scald himself, and placed the cloth nearly over Darkrai's forehead.
"I see… are your parents 'medics'?" Alonso asked.
"Huh? Medics? What's that?" asked Croagunk.
Team Logos exchanged glances again.
"It's someone whose job it is to help the ill and injured recover." Aragon explained.
Croagunk chuckled and said, "No, they just had a lot of useful life skills passed down to them from their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and so on."
"… they 'had-'?"
"-they're gone." Croagunk interrupted Aragon, his tone of voice changing from its lax tone to a stark one.
Team Logos went quiet.
Croagunk turned to look at Team Logos.
"Is the hallway clear?" He asked them.
Asturias generated a Light Screen around the room's entrance and over the window.
"Speak your mind." Said Asturias.
Croagunk was silent for a moment, taking his time to take the now cool cloth off of Darkrai's forehead and soaking it in hot water again.
"The lot of you are from that closed off continent, aren't you?"
"How do you know that!?" Asturias spoke in a low tone.
Croagunk scoffed, "My parents smuggled medicine in and out of your country."
Croagunk then pointed at the futon upon applying the new hot cloth on Darkrai's forehead. "There is nothing like this anywhere. So, it had to be from that closed off country where all these new inventions are coming from."
Alonso was going to say something, but Croagunk cut him off.
"Yesterday I overheard you and Darkrai say something about having real names… I have a real name myself."
"You do?" Alonso exclaimed.
"My real name is Birch. My mother was called Maple, and my father was called Linden… This is the first, and last time you will hear those names spoken aloud in this country. As long as I'm here, my name is Croagunk." Said Birch.
Asturias exchanged glances with Alonsa and Aragon. They stared at one another briefly.
Birch suspected that Team Logos were conversing with one another.
"You made a mistake announcing your real names here. And you there, Alonso, you do not look like a normal Bisharp. That custom made armor of yours is sticking out too much. The general behavior of you lot is sticking out too much. So much so that I'm starting to wonder if that was the point." Birch speculated.
Team Logos went quiet again. But then suddenly, Alonso began to chuckle darkly. It was not a dry, sardonic, or maniacal laugh. Birch has heard this type of laughter before, from himself every time he laughed at something. It was laughing at one's own self.
"You're right Bi- Croagunk." Alonso corrected himself. "We are trying to stick out as much as possible."
Alonso gave Asturias a nod.
Asturias shared telepathy with his teammates and Birch.
"I will let you in on why we are here, Birch of the Silver Aura." Alonso shared.
—
"I see… You have my full support." Shared Birch.
—
A pair of icy blue eyes cracked open.
(How many times am I going to end up passing out like this. Is this the fifth time this week? Or is it the sixth, or seventh?)
"Rise and shine, meh heh heh." Croagunk laughed.
Darkrai looked up at Croagunk.
"How long was I out?" Darkrai asked.
"Well, you missed quite the event, meh heh heh."
"Why what happened?" Darkrai asked.
Croagunk spent time explaining the events that had transpired over the past two days.
(… I see… that… explains a lot of things.)
"Was she really your caretaker? I thought you mystical Pokémon were like, super old, meh heh heh." Croagunk chuckled.
(Old? No… my oldest memory was-)
Another wave of pain hit Darkrai.
"Augh! Not again!" Darkrai clutched his head.
(What is wrong with these headaches? Why do I keep on getting them whenever I try to remember anything too far back… when far back.)
"… eight years? No, technically nine… that's as far as I can remember." Said Darkrai.
"What do you remember, meh heh heh?" asked Croagunk.
"What's it to you!?" Darkrai snapped at Croagunk.
"Curious. Meh heh heh." Croagunk replied.
"Quite the bounty they put on her. Five million Piece." Croagunk chuckled.
"Five million what!?" Darkrai shouted in bewilderment.
"Who- who even has that kind of money!?" Darkrai said.
"The Exploration Team Federation, I guess? Meh heh heh." Croagunk replied.
(With that kind of money, it will be a calling card for all sorts of exploration teams and roughians alike to go after her… that bounty seems… off. Is it because everything I did in the past was pinned on her now? There has to be more to it than that.)
"That's not all that is to it, isn't it?" Said Darkrai.
"Are you asking me, or yourself? Meh heh heh." Croagunk answered.
(I just noticed it now. Had Croagunk been tending to me since I passed out again? That warm cloth, he was the one that applied it, and reapplied it on me when I was out cold. Only Breloom and Weevile had gone this far before for me aside from my partner.)
"Why are you being nice to me?" Darkrai asked.
"Was I ever not nice to you?" Croagunk replied without his usual lax tone.
(Come to think of it, he never did push me away when I was at the guild. It's not that he ever put in the effort to befriend me either, but he was the only one not to treat me like a freak out of all the apprentices. Heck, even now they treat me like a freak that could go berserk at a moment's notice.)
"No, but you were never approachable either." Darkrai retorted.
"Mmhm, a habit of mine after having been shunned by the rest of the apprentices myself." Croagunk spat, but then laughed as usual.
Croagunk paused and looked at Darkrai with a stern expression and said,
"It may be hard for you to believe this right now but, you're not the only one out there who had to suffer the ire of this world for being different."
Darkrai ice blue eyes widened.
(The only other person to tell me something similar was Weevile… I really do seem to only befriend other scorned Pokémon.)
Darkrai sighed and said something that had been sitting on his mind from before he rejoined his spirit with Darkrai.
"Why do they hate us?" The words weighed heavy on his shoulders.
Croagunk dropped the cloth he was cleaning back into the bucket.
"Have you ever noticed that Pokémon like you and I are a bit too…" Croagunk paused. "Tomorrow, could you come with me to an exploration? you'd want to look for leads on Cresselia as well, won't you?" Croagunk suddenly asked.
"You're after the money?" Darkrai asked.
Croagunk's face darkened. "No, money isn't what I'm after…"
"We'll talk tomorrow. Meh heh heh." Croagunk laughed.
(He's hiding something, but it doesn't seem to be for malicious reasons. No, he wants to tell me what he's hiding, just not here at the guild. I don't blame him. Even after coming clear with me last week- last year, I still don't trust Chatot or all the other guild members aside from Wigglytuff.)
"Where at?" Darkrai asked.
Croagunk reached for a shoulder bag that was lying nearby and pulled out a map.
(When did he bring this here?)
Croagunk unfurled the map and pointed to an archipelago found off the southeast corner of the map.
(Well… that's far… very far.)
"Gather everything you need to gather tomorrow. I'll give you the accounts to my storage, take anything you'll need from there. Get your medicine from Spinda, this journey will take some time, and you will need to prevent the Dark Void from returning with the moon phases." Croagunk explained.
"I'll meet you at the crossing tomorrow night after curfew." Croagunk added.
"But!" Darkrai started, but then dropped whatever he wanted to say when he saw Croagunk revert back to his lax self. Croagunk rolled his map, grabbed his bag, and left the room laughing softly.
—
Later that evening.
—
Breloom assisted Darkrai with taking his medicine.
"So, Buddy. What crazy plan do you have?" Breloom suddenly asked.
"Umm, what?" Replied Darkrai.
Breloom scowled and said, "don't 'what' me! I know that look on your face! It's the one you have whenever you're about to do something stupid!"
"Breloom, all I'm going to say is I'm going to go after Cresselia." Said Darkrai.
"Yo it's dangerous!" Said Breloom.
"I'm Darkrai."
Breloom flinched.
(! Was that me speaking!? Or is it the darkness!?)
"Breloom…. I'm…"
Breloom looked Darkrai in the face and frowned.
"Buddy… you want to understand yourself, and why she tricked you all this time. I know. But it's dangerous for you to do something like this alone, man!"
Darkrai shook his head and said, "but it's too dangerous for anyone to be around me! This medicine is just keeping me from being lethally dangerous. But the monster is still in there, and I don't know how to quell it! I'm not sure if I'll end up losing control and hurting someone! And the last thing I'd want is to hurt someone I care about!"
Darkrai rested his fists over his legs. "I've waited for several days, and I have yet to hear back from my partner. I'm not surprised if they don't even want to see me and head straight to apprehending Cresselia instead. I wasn't their real partner to begin with, just a monster masquerading as the friend they deserved to have."
"How long will it take before I start hurting someone again? And given that I'm Darkrai again, how long will it take before someone perishes because of me? Would I lose control of myself entirely?" Darkrai began to tremble.
"No, you won't lose control." Breloom said softly.
"But how would I know for sure?" Darkrai cried.
"Because you are a real Darkrai. Not that evil spirit masquerading as him, but the real dealio dude!"
"And how is that not a horrible thing!?" Darkrai replied.
"Well, I dunno man, instead of running away from yourself, you should embrace who you are! You're you man! And what's better than being yourself…. You're better than this!" Breloom added emphasis on the last sentence, hoping to install some sense in his friend.
"What if I hate who I am!?" Darkrai cried.
"I don't hate you." Breloom replied.
"But just now, you were scared of me." Said Darkrai.
"Dude. If you were in a quiet room and someone dropped something that crashed, you'd be startled too! That loudmouth used to make me flinch every morning whenever he decided to boast his yap on a quiet morning! It's noise dude! Loud noise in a quiet room startle anyone!"
Darkrai searched Breloom's eyes. He was at least convinced that his friend was not lying to him. Darkrai suddenly felt the fire creep up again.
(Not again! What does it want now? Violence? Please stop, I'll have my violence tomorrow on my journey!)
"Buddy. I know you're planning on going off somewhere. So, let me come with you!" Breloom offered.
Darkrai frowned.
(Croagunk insisted I meet him alone. But knowing Breloom, he'll just follow me anyways.)
"Fine… You can meet me tomorrow at Sharpedo Bluff during sunset." Said Darkira.
Breloom smiled and said, "It'll be like old times! And who knows, we might find your buddy along the way…."
Breloom sized for a few seconds and said, "Umm… Ayo, where are we going exactly?"
Darkira sighed and said, "I'll tell you tomorrow. Just gather enough essential supplies to last for two weeks."
Breloom nodded, "Hundreds! Now good night, sleep tight, and don't let the Joltiks bite."
"Goodnight Breloom."