Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, Nintendo does; Any OC's in this story are mine, however.
Amari eventually entered back into the house, sighing deeply as he rubbed his temples.
"Is everything okay?" A male voice asked.
Amari's eyes widened as he heard the question, finding it coming from Ash, who was leaning across the kitchen table, his Pikachu also staring at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Pika?" It asked.
"Y-Yeah, it's nothing to make a big deal about, just a little tired." He said.
Another lie.
At least it was for a good reason.
"Maybe you should rest a bit?" Delilah asked, standing next to her son.
"It's still early in the morning, I'd rather not..." Amari said. "I've been needing to give Oak a visit so he could check up on Tera, anyway..." He continued.
At least that wasn't a lie.
Tera glared a him, making him smile nervously.
"Eevee..." She grumbled.
"To be fair, you have been sleeping more than usual..." Amari said.
"AND scratching up everything..." Delilah added, narrowing her eyes at the Eevee.
Tera blushed, but eventually gave in.
"Eevee." She mumbled, her cheeks puffing from embarrassment.
"Pika..." Ash's Pikachu said tiredly.
"So, are you going to head out?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, I just needed to-" Amari was going to say, before being interrupted.
'Not without me, you aren't.' A female voice rang inside of the boy's head once more.
"A-Ah, right..." Amari said, sweat-dropping as he looked at Mew.
"Is Mew going with you?" Ash asked. "That's rare from someone like her." He said.
He regretted his words almost immediately as those remarks earned a glare from the pink feline.
"N-Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course..." He said nervously.
"Mew..." Mew grumbled, before floating on top of Amari's other shoulder.
'Did you need to get anything else before you leave?' She asked Amari.
'N-No, not really...' Amari said, sweating slightly as he saw her half-angry glare.
He then turned back to Delilah.
"I'm gonna head out now, Mom...I'll try to be back as soon as I can." He said.
"O-Oh, alright, honey...be safe!" She said.
Amari nodded, as he exited the house, closing the door behind him.
"Well, that was awkward..." Amari said.
'Oh please, everything went smoothly.' Mew said, narrowing her eyes.
"Eevee..." Tera said, sweat-dropping.
A long silence then followed the three for a while as Amari walked down the route to Pallet Town.
'So...about that "talk"...?' He asked Mew, getting her attention.
'Oh, right...' She said.'The "voice" you heard inside of your head was Arceus, the god of basically, well...EVERYTHING. He created the world's first humans, as well as all Pokémon, and he even has other, lesser legendary Pokémon who serve their own purpose of monitoring and managing Earth, like me!' She explained.
What does she even do...? Amari thought to himself.
'So, let me get this straight; The god of basically everything, the one that can essentially DESTROY the world if he wanted to, wants something with me of all people?' Amari asked.
'From what I can see, yeah...' Mew said.'Did he say anything specific to you?'
'Something about-'
Prepare yourself.
My child...
Amari's eyes widened as he recalled those specific words.
'Amari, I sense you're worried...is something wrong?' Mew asked, raising an eyebrow.
'He called me "his child"...' Amari said.
Mew froze.
Did she hear that correctly?
'He...what...?' Mew asked, disbelief in her eyes.
'He called me 'his child', and then said something about 'preparing myself'...' Amari clarified, making Mew even more shocked.
'No, that doesn't make sense...why would ARCEUS of all Pokémon have a child...?' Mew asked mostly to herself, at a loss of words from the new information.
She thought for a few more minutes, before turning to Amari.
'Can I read your mind...?' She asked. 'Maybe your memory could be foggy.' She said.
'Go ahead.' Amari said.
Mew closed her eyes as a deep blue aura surrounded her.
Not even a minute later, her eyes snapped back open, her pupils visibly shaking.
'Mew...?' Amari asked, worried. 'You didn't see anything bad, did you...?' He asked further.
Mew took a deep breath, before turning to Amari, her eyes struggling to look at the boy.
'It's true...Arceus wants something with you.' She said.
Now it was his turn to be shocked and at a loss of words.
He stopped in his tracks completely, Pallet Town right in front of him as he processed Mew's words.
"S-So it wasn't in my head...oh god..." Amari whispered.
He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down, but failed as the thought of being a god's son popped up in his mind constantly.
Was he going to be in danger?
What would he tell his mother?
What about Oak...?
'Amari...'
Hell, what about himself?
What if others find out about this...?
'Amari-'
What if he's hunted, captured, experimented on...?
What if-
'AMARI TANORI!' Mew screamed inside of his head, snapping him out of his deep trance of thinking.
Amari looked at Mew, who had been floating in his face the entire time, trying to get his attention while he was having a full-on panic attack.
'Look at me.' She said.
Amari turned to her, his pupils shaking along with the rest of his body.
'Everything will be okay.' She said. 'No one, and I mean NOBODY outside of the house will know about this, okay?' She asked.
Amari was still panting for breath, not noticing the panic his body was experiencing.
Mew placed her hands on Amari's cheeks.
'You will be FINE, okay? We're not gonna let you be hurt again because of this, we'll figure it all out, alright?' She said. 'Just calm down for me...' She continued.
Amari took a deep, long breath.
"Eevee..." Tera provided her own comfort, rubbing her head onto her owner's own.
It was greatly appreciated.
Amari let out a sigh, as he stood up, no longer shaking, if only mildly trembling, though it wasn't too noticeable.
'Are you feeling better?' She asked.
'Enough to not want to collapse right now...I came to get that check-up, though...' Amari said.
'Then let's hurry; I think we've wasted enough time on, well...this.' Mew responded, sitting back on Amari's shoulder.
Amari nodded, as he began walking.
Well, until he was grabbed by some familiar-looking teenager.
"W-What the-HEY-!" Amari exclaimed, turning around to see what grabbed him.
He immediately regretted his decision, however.
A blonde, white male teenager with a red jacket.
Blue eyes, and spiked hair.
Beside him, a mixed female teenager; purple eyes, black hair.
And to the left of her, another male teenager who was the tallest(and oldest)of the three; Brown hair, black eyes, and nearly pale-white skin.
"So...this is where you've been hiding, freak?" The blonde teenager asked.
Amari physically cringed, his teeth clenching.
"Very funny, Nessie..." He responded, a frown on his face.
His Eevee growled, her fur rustling as she glared at the teenagers.
"Aww, I see the ugly boy managed to find a cute pet, at least..." The female teenager said. "Surprised she even likes someone like you."
"H-Hey, that's not-" Amari tried to say, until the tall teenager butted in.
"Hey, hey, hey, now...at least give the freak a chance to explain himself...surely he wouldn't be here for a useless excuse, now would he?" They said.
The three of them all looked back at Amari, a glare on their faces.
"W-Well, I...I came to get my Eevee checked-up on, so if you don't mind, I'll just-" Amari tried to explain, before he was abruptly cut off.
It felt like as if timed had stopped.
No sound, no movement, nothing.
Then pain.
Specifically in his gut.
He looked up to see who it was, and to no surprise, it was the same exact tall teenager he tried explaining himself to just seconds ago.
"Damn Trey, no need to hit the kid so hard!" Nessie said, chuckling.
"Ugh..." Amari groaned, clutching his stomach in pain.
"Eevee..." Tera growled, pouncing onto Trey and biting down tightly on his arm.
"AGH-!" The tall teenager gasped in pain, quickly picking up the small Pokémon and throwing it onto the ground.
"My arm...you little shit!" Trey cursed, kicking Tera back towards Amari, the normal-type landing beside him.
"T-Tera-!" Amari exclaimed, reaching out to pick up his Eevee.
"Bitch deserved it, next time train it to not bite me!" Trey yelled.
That pissed him off.
Adrenaline pumped into the boy's veins, as he got up and ran up on the tall teenager, socking him straight in the face with a clean uppercut.
"URGH-!" Trey grunted in pain as he fell flat onto his bottom.
"Why, you-!" Nessie exclaimed, grabbing Amari as he held him, restraining the boy.
"Let...go-!" Amari yelled, elbowing the teenager clean into his face.
"ARGH-!" Nessie grunted, holding his now-bleeding nose.
"So...the little boy's got some hands on him now, huh...?" Trey asked, getting up and he rubbed his face.
"You started this..." Amari said, getting into a fighting stance the best way he could think of.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't matter, though, as he felt a shocking sensation on his back, and soon his body, causing him to collapse in a mix of pain and discomfort.
"UGH-!" Amari grunted in pain, unable to move his body.
In the corner of his eye he saw A Raichu next to the female teenager.
"Nice job getting him with that Thunderbolt, Jessica." Trey said, smirking.
"Of course, you know I always come prepared." Jessica said, a smug look on her face as she turned towards Amari, the two other boys soon following her.
"So, what should we do to him first, now that he's paralyzed?" Nessie asked.
Trey wasted no time as he socked Amari in the stomach again, before following up with a kick to the face.
"URGH-!" Amari grunted in pain.
"Needed payback for that uppercut earlier." Trey said. "Your turn." He continued.
Nessie put a finger on his chin, thinking for a few minutes, before turning to Jessica, a grin on his face.
"Hey Jess, do you think you can get your Raichu to shock him again, this time without paralyzing him?" He asked.
Amari's eyes widened in fear.
Jessica looked between her Raichu and the paralyzed boy, before she grinned wickedly.
"Of course!" She cheered. "Spark, use Thunderbolt!" She commanded.
"Raii...CHUU-!" The Raichu screamed, before releasing a bolt of electricity towards Amari, shocking the boy.
"A-AHHH-!" Amari screamed loudly, his voice echoing throughout the forest.
"Ah, that's the sound I like to hear..." Nessie said, a smile on his face.
"Music to my ears." Jessica said.
"Nnh...Agh..." Amari grunted, his body trembling weakly as tried to get up, aching in pain.
"S-Stop...please..." He begged weakly, his voice hoarse from screaming.
"Now, why would we do that?" Jessica asked. "I think that deserves another Thunderbolt, don't you, Spark?" She asked her Raichu, as it nodded with a mischievous grin on its face.
"N-No-!" Amari yelled, fear etched all over his face, as he tried to move, but to no avail.
"Raii...CHU-!" Spark screamed once more, sending another bolt of electricity towards the boy.
But just as it was about to reach its target...it dissipated, seemingly getting blocked by some forcefield.
That was because it was, apparently.
A blue forcefield surrounded Amari and Tera, blocking them from any attacks.
"What the-?" Trey asked, his eyes widened.
"What is this...?!" Jessica exclaimed, running up to kick the forcefield, before being surrounded by a blue aura, constricting her completely.
"UGH, what the hell-?!" She exclaimed once more, struggling to move.
Her friends soon followed—both Trey and Nessie got surrounded by the same aura, as it held them tightly, not allowing them to move in the slightest.
"Urgh...what is happening-?!" Trey asked.
"Is this...Nngh...the kid doing this...?" Nessie added.
A pink cat-like Pokémon seemingly uncloaked in front of the three teenagers, glaring at them angrily as its blue eyes glowed bright.
'You despicable humans...hurting a boy your own age...none of you deserve to be here...' She said, before teleporting them all away from the area.
She looked back down towards Amari and Tera, seeing the body still struggling in pain.
She quickly flew down.
'Are you hurt?' She asked.
"Y-Yes...everything hurts...Nngh..." Amari said, grunting in more pain as he struggled to move.
'Looks like your check-up's gonna be a hospital visit;for both you and your Eevee...' Mew said, as she picked up the boy with her telekinesis and teleported the three in front of a Pokémon Center.
Amari barely had time to grab onto something, his hands gripping the metal railing beside him to help himself stand.
"Hello, welcome to the-oh my!" A Nurse Joy gasped from behind the counter, quickly running over to the boy and carrying him under his arms. "You look in terrible shape, dear...what happened?" She asked.
"Could you...please let me lay down, first...?" Amari asked, sounding like he was on the verge of collapsing.
"Of course dear..." She said, before looking up. "Daisy, we have another patient!" She yelled, as a Chansey in a nurse outfit walked from the hallway to the three, picking up Tera and placing her on a stretcher. She then took her into a secluded room.
As for Amari, he was carried to a separate hospital room, being placed onto the bed and stripped of his shirt, showing his bruised and slightly bleeding body.
"Dear Arceus, what happened to you...?" The Nurse Joy asked, worried. "There's burns and bruises all over your body, and your face is even battered..." She said, grabbing a couple of supplies as she began working.
She used a Paralyze heal on the burns, and treated the bruises by cleaning them with alcohol, then spraying them normal potions and bandaging them.
As for his face, she used a cotton swab to soak up blood from his nose and placed a few more bandages on his bruises.
There was the occasional hisses and grunts of pain from Amari, but it was nothing Amari wasn't used to.
Unfortunately.
"There, that should be better." The Nurse Joy said. "Now, get some rest, it'll take a while for your Eevee to heal, so I'll wake you up when you can leave." She continued, before exiting the room.
A few minutes later, Mew uncloaked, as she looked at the boy.
'Are you okay?' She asked, a frown on her face.
Amari looked at her, then at his hands.
Then at his body and legs.
He continued looking at his body, frowning deeply.
Then he looked back at her, and spoke.
"I guess I can't run away from my past, huh...?" He asked, forcing a smile on his face.
'Amari...' Mew whispered, her gaze softening.
"I'm fine, Mew...really..." Amari said, trying to laugh.
Soon, that laughter turned into tears.
And then sobbing.
Mew frowned, sighing deeply as she laid onto the boy's head, rubbing and kneading his hair.
No matter what he did, it always ended up in pain.
Even if he tried to hide from it, eventually it catches up to him, time and time again.
He was so tired, so fucking tired of it.
A mix of emotions surged through him; Frustration, sadness, anger...
He didn't know what to do anymore, all he could do was hope that it didn't happen again.
Eventually, the crying subsided, weak sobs escaping the boy's chest.
'Got it all out of your system?' Mew asked quietly.
"I don't know anymore..." Amari said.
'...I'll just stay here for now.' Mew said.
A long silence formed between the two, before Mew spoke once more.
'Y'know, it's fine if your past catches up to you every once in a while; even if it is a little early.' She said. 'It's also fine if you let others know how you're feeling, like how you did with Oak.' She continued.
"You listened to that conversation...?" Amari asked, looking at her.
Mew's eyes widened, realizing she may have said too much.
'W-Well, when Oak mentioned something about a boy like you coming to live with us, I was curious...' She tried to explain, sweating nervously.
Amari sighed.
"No point in getting angry about it now...not like I can grab you while I'm like this anyway..." He said. "I just...I'm confused on how to feel; or how, really..." He explained. "I'm happy to have a new opportunity at freedom, but-"
'You're scared of trying to experience your new life, I get it.' Mew said. 'You want to go outside, smile, talk, make new friends and all of that other jazz, but you can't, because there's the chance you'll run into something or someone that'll ruin that experience.'She explained. 'You really are like my children, you know that?' She asked.
Amari blushed softly.
"Besides the 'hating humans' part, I guess..." He said.
'Obviously, besides that.' Mew said, narrowing her eyes at the boy.
"Sorry, couldn't resist..." Amari said, chuckling softly.
Mew smiled, glad to see she was able to cheer him up.
"How long do you think it's gonna take them to finish treating Tera...?" He asked.
'Well, she was only thrown from a slightly elevated angle, and kicked in the stomach, so...probably a few more minutes, fifteen or so.' Mew said, placing a paw on her chin.
"I guess that's fine...hopefully Oak hasn't closed his laboratory by then..." Amari said.
'I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help his step grandson regardless of the situation.' Mew said.
"If you say so..." Amari said.
Amari finds out the true identity of what seems to be his true father...and then gets into a fight with some old classmates.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Jeez, this took WAY too long to finish.
Currently 1:33 AM in the morning and I'm writing this.
The things I do to write...
Regardless, another chapter's done!
The next chapter will be another mini-sode, so stay tuned for the next actual chapter later this week!