-SubjectCharles#002-
"It's always a pleasure to see you, Walter," said the middle-aged man as he lay back on the living room couch with a heave. "But what was so important that Gwen and I couldn't hear over the phone?"
Charles was sitting down on the opposite couch, and it was hard to breathe with his father and Halley sitting right beside him. Janice was in a similar predicament; her parents were squeezing her sides, and Janice's mother, Gwen, had a hand around her daughter's shoulder.
"And why did we need to bring Janice? She's busy training for her next gym battle. By golly, she's already doing an excellent job, aren't you, my girl?" the man announced while tapping his pointy dress shoes on the marble floor. Janice's father wore a loose, white button-down a tad too small for his large belly. It was tucked into his black dress pants, and his chest hair poked out from the v-neck he left unbuttoned. The front of his golden hair had begun to fade with age, and his wrinkled face had this gleeful expression on it.
Janice's shoulders tensed in the rose-red dress she wore. Her embarrassed face was pecked with makeup and blush, her afternoon-gray eyes surrounded by an uncomfortable amount of eye shadow. Janice caught Charles's gaze, and she immediately looked away while adjusting the black choker that complimented her dress's long collar.
"That's admirable, Henry. I presume Gwen is handling her training?" Walter asked while scratching his thick beard.
"Some of it. Most of the time, she trains on her own initiative!"
Gwen nodded along with Henry. She wore a similar dress to Janice, however, hers was white and thinner. A few strands of white hair peeked out from her lush-green hair. Charles could have sworn she almost looked like a Gardevoir. Besides the matte-red of her lips, her slightly wrinkled face had no other makeup.
Walter smiled and said, "Actually, what I want to talk about has to do with Janice."
"Oh?" Henry exclaimed. Even Janice lowered her eyebrows.
With a cleared throat, Walter said, "I'd like your daughter to accompany my son on his journey here."
Henry and Gwen looked at each other with wide eyes, and then back at Walter. They stayed silent to let him continue.
"I've permitted him to go on a journey, but I fear for his safety here in Hoenn. Halley was the one to suggest that Janice should accompany him since she too is going at it alone. You know I wouldn't ask anyone I don't trust.
"That's... true. The chauffeur has been taking her to the gyms, b-but I've been a little too afraid to let her travel the routes by herself," Gwen said. Her graceful voice was uncertain, as if she was afraid she would say the wrong thing at any time.
"This would be perfect then," Walter said. "My son is more than capable to protect her on the routes, and I think him journeying with your daughter would be a great opportunity for him to grow. You should already know, given Elliot went on a journey with Halley here."
Halley smiled upon hearing her name. Henry stroked his chin, his sharp eyes fixed on Charles. "Hm, yes that makes sense."
"So, what say you both?" Walter asked, leaning back in his seat.
Henry and Gwen looked at each other again, and Charles saw Gwen... shrug?
"By golly, I think that would be absolutely fine, Walter!" Henry jubilated.
Charles died inside. No suspicions. No thinking. Janice's dead-brained parents just up and agreed with his father. Did they not know he was friends with Moxy? Maybe they did, but they just didn't care. He looked at Janice, wondering what she thought about this horrible situation. She was rubbing the toes of her high heels on the floor shyly, not a peep from her mouth.
"Good." Walter stood up, rubbing his hands together. "Well, we all need to get some rest after that horrendous flight."
"Ugh," Halley exasperated. "You wouldn't believe the service, mum. The sparkling water was stale, and the food was cold. And don't even get me started on that smarmy flight attendant."
"Oh my! What did you ride Walter?" Henry spoke up. "Altaria Commercial? Their first-class isn't as good as Unovan Airlines."
Charles cringed. The service wasn't as bad as they made it sound. They did get all the first-class accommodations that were promised.
Henry took Gwen's hand gently as they both stood up. Gwen locked eyes with Charles. "I'm trusting you with my daughter's wellbeing. Take care of her, won't you?"
Charles hesitated for a moment. His entire being told him to refuse, but a burning glare from his side steered him otherwise. He gave Gwen a quick nod, but a grumble from his father drove him to stand up and bow.
"What a gentleman you've raised, Walter." Gwen smiled.
With that, the two said their goodbyes. Charles caught Janice gazing at him before she turned her eyes towards the ground as her parents led her outside.
The door to the mansion closed.
"Well, my boy? What do you think?" Walter asked.
"I'll be in my room." was Charles' response as he trudged past his father, his fists balled. However, his father caught him by his arm.
"Charles," Walter said. Charles' shoulders sagged, and he looked despondently into the reflective marble floor.
"What's with the attitude? I thought you wanted this."
"I do... but-" his throat caught his words before he could finish.
"But?"
Charles looked away from his father. "I don't know if Janice is really the person I should be traveling with."
"Did you have a different person in mind?" Walter asked, the sharpness in his voice making the hairs on Charles' back stand.
"N-no. I just thought maybe... I could travel alone? It might-"
"Not a chance," Walter interrupted him. "These are the Greaves. They are a powerful name, and more importantly, friends of the family. I won't look like a fool in front of them because 'you want to travel alone.' Janice is an accomplished trainer. There is no one I'd rather have looking after you. And I'm sure you'll look after her, right my boy?"
Charles kept his mouth pursed, but his jaw was crunching itself tightly. He knew something was up that his father wasn't telling him.
"Right," Charles responded. His father gave him a slight smile.
"Good." With that, Walter let go of Charles' arm. "Now get some rest. At daybreak, I want you up and ready in the training grounds."
Charles nodded and headed for his room.
As soon as the sun peaked over the horizon the next day, Charles jumped out of bed and threw on his training outfit. He ran to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and made his way down the marble steps and towards the backdoor of the mansion. Stepping out into the cold and fresh air, he saw the huge garden that lay before him. It was as big as the mansion itself.
Walter was standing in the grassy field wearing his black robe and slippers. His back was turned to Charles, and in front of him was Gothorita and another pokemon.
The pokemon in question was dark green on its upper body and pure white on the lower. Two, crimson horns protruded from the center of its body. The one on its back was glowing with red energy, while the one on its chest was chipped off. As Charles got closer, he could make out the pokemon's washed-out, teal head crest and baggy red eyes. The pokemon was using its long and green, blade-like arms to block Gothorita's psychic attacks.
"Again!" Walter called out. Gothorita whimpered before unleashing another blast of raw, purple energy towards the Gallade. Gallade shielded his body with his arms in an X-formation, and the psychic blast collided with him in a shockwave of smoke. However, besides being pushed back a little, the attack did little to harm him.
"Again-" Walter hesitated upon seeing Charles beside him. Both pokemon looked his way, and Gothorita yelped before skittering up to Charles. When she got to him, she hugged his leg and nuzzled him.
"I don't think Espeon's gonna like this." Charles looked down at Gothorita trying to become one with his right leg. Gothorita laughed before letting go, but her antics continued when she began to skip and jump in a circle around him. Charles didn't notice it before since this was the first time he'd been this close to Gothorita, but her laugh sounded a bit like a shooting star far in space. It was disconcerting.
However, Gothorita's shenanigans were put to a halt when Walter snapped. The pokemon stopped what she was doing immediately before shambling up to Walter.
It was Gallade's turn to greet Charles. He knelt in front of Charles, his head bowed low. Gallade turned his head up, a wrinkled smile on his face.
I really missed you. Charles may have thought the words, but his involuntary smile revealed them to Gallade.
"Gevehtu," Gallade whispered contently.
"You're late," Walter said before pulling out Gothorita's pokeball and returning her.
"Huh?" Charles was caught off-guard. "I thought you said daybreak."
"The sun rose 10 minutes ago. On the road, you're going to need to save as much sunlight as possible when traveling to other cities. Those ten minutes could be the difference between making it to a city or being caught dead before reaching the gate."
Thanks for the advice, commander dad, Charles grumbled in his mind.
Walter crossed his arms. "I need you to take this seriously Charles. I don't want to hear about a single mishap when you go out there."
"I understand, father," Charles said. He had started to tap his foot impatiently. He didn't need to hear this for the millionth time.
Walter squinted his eyes at him before turning around.
"There is one more thing I should mention. Gallade is forbidden from training with you today."
Gallade's eyes widened. "Kherr?"
"What? But I always train with him!" Charles protested.
"Your training starts," Walter glanced nonchalantly at the watch hidden under his sleeve, "Now."
Fuck that! Charles was stirred into a frenzy as he primed Machoke's ball already in his hand. He dropped it directly at his feet and jumped away before a dark figure could strike him from above.
Dirt and grass exploded from the point of impact, and before the dust could even settle, Bisharp lunged out of it.
Where the hell did he come from?! was all Charles could think as he got to his footing. A white, shoulder cape flourished behind Bisharp as he made his impending dash towards Charles. A glowing hand suddenly met Bisharp from his blind spot.
Charles had to shield himself from the shockwave of Machoke's Karate Chop and Bisharp's Metal Claw colliding. Bisharp's sword hand seemed to strain from the impact, and a grin spread on Machoke's face. However, that grin turned into despair when Bisharp struck Machoke again with the blunt side of his other hand. Machoke tried to parry the attack with another Karate Chop, but to Charles' surprise, Bisharp broke through the attack with ease. Machoke was pushed away by the force of Bisharp's attack.
Charles was speechless. Bisharp should be at an extreme disadvantage from Machoke's attacks! What gives?!
"Machoke, defend me!" Charles broke out an order, a sweat forming on the side of his head. Machoke was quick to run in front of Charles, his arms and feet spread wide like a wrestler.
There was a pause as Bisharp simply stood there. After a second, Bisharp grumbled, spinning his back towards Charles and whipping his white cape around his right shoulder.
"Good warm-up." Walter strummed his beard as he walked beside Bisharp. He gave him a pat on the back, but the Dark-type didn't seem moved at all.
"That," Charles was forced to take a deep breath from his exhaustion, "was not a warm-up."
"Get used to it." Walter crossed his arms. "This is nothing compared to how an actual predator might strike you from the shadows. You'd be dead in seconds if you're unprepared. At the very least, you had Machoke ready to come out and defend you before Bisharp could attack."
Charles looked to his right, where he saw Gallade standing, blades elongated and raised just a little. There was an angry expression on his face as he stared at Bisharp. However, when Walter gave Gallade a glare of his own, Gallade's expression turned weak. Silently, Gallade left for the mansion.
Charles brushed a speck of dirt off his shoulder. "So, is this another one of your lessons? I thought we were through with those the first time around."
"Don't be so naive. Didn't I tell you to take this seriously?"
Charles grumbled, "I am, dad. But these lessons feel so impossible sometimes. First, you want me to beat the unbeatable, and now I'm supposed to see the unseeable? Bisharp literally appeared out of thin air!"
Walter walked up to Charles. He gulped as his father put a hand on his shoulder.
"These lessons aren't a punishment, boy. If I were punishing you, I wouldn't let you go on this pointless journey."
"My journey isn't pointless," Charles hissed.
There was a squint in Walter's eyes. "You're starting to sound like your mother."
"Well, I guess that's where I get my adamancy from, then." Charles mirrored his father's expression.
Walter's face turned grave, but after a second of silence, he sighed. "There is a point to all this nonsense. And it's called caution."
Charles was about to refute, but his father had that familiar face he always had when he didn't want to be interrupted.
"I went on a journey around your age. And I was exuberantly reckless. You can see how that ended." Walter pointed to the horizontal cut across his nose.
"Nothing can happen to you. Because if you were to die out there…" Walter pinched the gap between his eyes, and Charles thought he could see a tear fall down his father's cheek.
"Well, let's just say there's going to be a lot of paperwork." Walter coughed, not a shed of water anywhere on his rough face. Charles deadpanned at Walter.
"Anyways, continue you're training with Bisharp for now. I put in a favor with Roxanne and scheduled you an official gym battle a week from now. Bisharp is a tool for you to train against, and his typing makes him exceptionally well for this specific gym battle.
"You won't be going anywhere until you get that badge. Understood?"
Charles hesitated, and with a despondent look on his face, he nodded.
Walter turned away before snapping his fingers. Bisharp, who was silent throughout the entire affair, began to walk up to Charles.
"Sha" Bisharp said before doing a battle-stance.
"What-" Charles had no time to ask what Bisharp was planning when he suddenly slammed a glowing, white-glove into the dirt. There was a tiny rumble before a cluster of stalagmites shot out from the ground directly in front of Charles. It didn't touch him, but the pure force was enough to send him reeling to the floor.
"Machoke!" Charles yelled as Bisharp prepared another Stone Edge. Machoke closed in to attack, but Bisharp formed another Stone Edge, this time directly at his feet. It threw him into the air and away from Machoke. When Bisharp landed, Charles swore he could see a grin on his face.
"Alright, game plan." Charles ran up to Machoke's side, who signified his attention with a flash of his teeth.
"I think Bisharp is going to solely use rock-type attacks to mimic our battle with Roxanne. You're resistant, so all you have to do is break through the rock and-" Charles cut himself off again when he saw Bisharp do something strange.
Bisharp swung his cape to reveal a pouch along his right hip. Upon opening it, Charles saw a familiar red and white object gripped in between Bisharp's glove like it was a mitten holding a snowball. Bisharp flung the pokeball forward, and an odd-looking rock formation towered about ten feet in front of him. The orange crystals attached to it warbled with energy, and it raised one of its navy-blue rocky stumps for legs and roared.
"Uh oh." That was all Charles could think to say before the dirt around him began to lift off the ground. It swirled faster and faster until a whipping fog of sand enveloped the entire garden. Machoke hid his eyes under an arm, and Charles found himself doing the same when his eyes began to sting from the sand. Through a squint, he saw Gigalith's crystals glow brightly.
Things are never fair with you, huh? Charles gritted his teeth before unclipping Espeon's pokeball. "Focus on dodging the attacks and getting close, Machoke!"
"Grahh!" Machoke yelled before sidestepping a hurtling rock coming his way. Unlike his previous battle, Gigalith didn't seem interested in attacking Charles at all, which was an advantage. Charles released Espeon, and he was surprised to see some of the sand bouncing off an unseeable bubble around her. She looked around the garden in confusion before spotting Charles behind her. She chirped a greeting, but Charles couldn't share her jubilations just yet.
"We're fighting Bisharp and a Gigalith! I need you to focus on maintaining your Magic Bounce!"
Espeon nodded courteously, the gem on her forehead glowing red. The bubble turned more prominent until a zone of fresh and clean air was surrounding her. Charles was quick to slide inside it, and he let his arm rest.
"You're doing great Espeon." Charles smiled at her.
"Nyao" she chirped. Charles directed his attention at Machoke, who was looking worse for wear. Along with fighting the sandstorm and the pebbles Gigalith kept pelting him with, it didn't look like he was making much progress in getting close to the giant rock.
"Let's go help Machoke!" Charles told her. The two hurried up to him, and Machoke was surprised when the sand around him disappeared.
Together, Charles and his pokemon began to march towards Gigalith. A rock hit Espeon's shield, and she winced.
"Keep it steady, Espeon!" Charles ordered. Espeon's forehead gem glowed more brightly, and she cried out in pain.
Unfortunately, her forehead gem dimmed down along with the magic bubble, causing Charles' eyes to sting once more. Gigalith's crystals had begun to glow brightly through the storm as it prepared another assault.
Think Charles, think! He racked his mind with all the strategies he'd used before.
"Machoke, recall!" Charles shouted, engulfing his pokemon back in his pokeball. Charles shoved Espeon gently to get her attention while she fought the sandstorm.
"Remember what we did in our last battle?! Wait for Gigalith to attack, and then shoot Machoke's ball at it!"
Espeon nodded, and Charles stepped back as she waited. Through squinted vision, he saw another Rock Blast hurtling towards Espeon. She side-stepped the rocks as they came, and once the volley ended, that was Charles' cue to toss Machoke's ball in front of her. Red, psychic energy enveloped the ball as it appeared in her line of sight, and she shot the primed ball directly at Gigalith just as it was charging its crystals again.
The sound of a rock getting shattered vibrated throughout the garden. The swirling sandstorm came to an abrupt halt, and once the dust settled, Gigalith's body was toppled over like a building. The unconscious Gigalith had a huge dent on the side of its face, and Machoke was standing with one leg planted on it. Machoke flexed his biceps and gave out a triumphant roar before a wide grin spread on his face.
"Good work, Machoke!" Charles cheered. However, something was wrong. Before he could realize it, he saw Machoke's grin disappear, and a shiver ran down Charles' spine when he felt cold steel touch the nape of his neck.
"Crap." Charles completely forgot about Bisharp, and the one pokemon that would protect him was meters away.
"Shehehe…" Bisharp metallic voice laughed behind him.
With a sigh, Charles raised his arms.
Charles ended up training with Bisharp until noon. By the end of it, his trainer's outfit was muddled with grass, and his hair was grained with dirt. Espeon and Machoke were both exhausted, much more than he was.
After their first battle, Bisharp continued to have Charles fight in a sandstorm. The sand never seemed to bother Bisharp at all, but it made sense since he was a steel-type. However, Machoke was constantly missing his attacks, and Espeon could never keep up her Magic Bounce barrier long enough to help him. Charles sat down on the stone steps leading up to his mansion from the garden, Espeon and Machoke in tow.
Caldwell, his family's butler, had come down from the mansion to offer him and his pokemon some lunch. Charles eagerly took the mozzarella sandwich from him and began chomping down. Behind him, Charles saw Gallade holding three bottles of water in his arms. Gallade knelt to Charles' level and offered him one of the bottles.
"Thanks, Gallade," Charles said. Gallade gave him a big smile before going up to Espeon and Machoke.
"How goes the training, young master? You are looking quite rough around the edges." A courteous voice behind Charles took him by surprise. Charles turned his head to see Caldwell staring towards the great garden about three steps above where Charles sat.
Charles sighed and slumped his shoulders. "You could say that again. This is on a whole other level from when I used to train with Elliot. Bisharp is relentless."
"Ah, I do believe that is one of his defining traits." Caldwell chuckled. Charles looked back at him, this time unamused.
"Apologies, master. Gallade and I have been watching you from inside the mansion's walls. They sure are giving you a walloping."
Charles gazed at Espeon. Gallade was bowing his head low as he poured water into a small bowl for her to drink from.
"This would be so much easier if Espeon could control her new ability." Charles began. "It finally activated when we fought Bisharp the first time, and I think she only activates it when there is an imminent danger."
Caldwell was silent for a moment, and Charles wondered if all this talk had begun to bore him. However, he finally spoke up.
"Take this advice with a grain of salt, but I do believe a bit of patience may be in order, master?"
Charles stood up, maybe a little too dramatically. "I'm done waiting, Caldwell. I need to get stronger. Now. I've tried almost everything, and…" Charles' voice became softer, "I fear if I push her any further, she might break. If her little sister had already mastered most of her techniques, I don't understand why can't she."
"Ah, yes. Young Moxy was quite the talented trainer. But all pokemon learn differently. Espeon just needs to be shown her proper way, that's all."
Charles lowered his head in defeat. There has to be something I can do. I need more time…
"Hmm." Caldwell put a hand on his chin. "Perhaps Gallade may be able to help you a bit. I believe he knows the technique Magic Coat, which is simply a temporary form of Espeon's special ability."
Charles looked over to Gallade, who had just given a bottle of water to a downhearted Machoke. This scene was familiar; after their fourth loss to Bisharp back in Unova. Gallade walked back to Caldwell and stood patiently beside him.
"Um, Gallade?" Charles spoke up. Gallade was quick to perk up upon hearing his name, and he regarded Charles with his full attention.
"I know father said you were forbidden from training me today, but… could you possibly help me teach Espeon how to maintain her Magic Bounce?" Charles asked. Gallade's first instinct was to look at Caldwell.
"This is your decision, not mine," Caldwell snuffed away Gallade's doubts. Gallade took a moment to gaze at Charles before pacing quickly back into the mansion.
"Wha…" Charles' lowered his eyebrows. "Did I say something wrong?"
"He would have made it abundantly clear if he was saying no," Caldwell assured, one of his eyebrows raised. Not too long later, Gallade returned with something shiny in his palms. He walked up to Charles, knelt, and offered it to him.
"G-Gallade… this is…" Charles was speechless. Right in the middle of Gallade's green palms lay a red collar with a silver bell attached to it.
"If I'm not mistaken, that is Gardevoir's Soothe Bell. It's your keepsake, Gallade!" Caldwell was just as astonished as Charles was.
However, Gallade was fervent on giving Charles the bell. When Charles wouldn't budge, Gallade simply clasped the bell into Charles' hands by force. There was an intense look in his red eyes.
"I don't know what to say." The high noon plinked off its shiny exterior, and Charles couldn't help but admire it.
Gallade pointed his fingers to his eyes, then towards the bell. He seemed to be concentrating on it, and soon after, a translucent wall appeared in front of Gallade.
"Woah." Charles backed up to see his reflection through the brilliant wall. Charles picked up a decently sized rock and chucked it at the wall. The rock bounced off the wall, and when Charles peeked up at Gallade, sure enough, the rock did nothing to strain him.
"It's all about concentration," Caldwell stated. "The bell is just a medium. She needs to forget about her surroundings and focus."
Charles nodded, somewhat understanding what Caldwell was trying to say. If this bell helped Espeon like Gallade and Caldwell thought it would, then it might just be enough to help Machoke fight off the sandstorm and protect him from long-range attacks.
"Thank you so much, Gallade. This really means a lot to me. You're doing me a kindness, and I won't forget it." Charles told him. Gallade put a hand on one of Charles' shoulders.
"Khevuu," Gallade said. There was a moment of silence between them before Gallade took his arm off and stood beside Caldwell once more, a smile on his face.
With a grip on the bell, Charles was ready to get back to training once more, this time with a reignited vigor.
"C'mon guys, break is over!" Charles shouted to his pokemon. Espeon and Machoke noticed Charles' attitude, and they both nodded to each other before following him back to the garden grounds.
Reviews:
-RuGuard: Unfortunately, Charles didn't get one this time. However, there will be a Treeko, you'll just be surprised with who it belongs to. As for Moxy, I don't want to spoil too much about it. Thanks for reviewing!