Chapter 65; A Wave of emotions
Jet was waiting patiently to get his coffee and leave. He didn't want to risk running into Amy.
Over the last two and a half weeks, rumors about his brother and the team kept popping up everywhere, and for that reason many people in their hometown kept asking him to verify said rumors. But none as persistent as Amy Rose.
From the awakening of the legendary beasts to the Greenfield incident and then foiling team rocket's plot, the popularity of team Sonic kept rising. And that, at least from Jet's point of view, was the trigger for Amy's insistence to try and make amends with them.
Finally getting the coffee, he left before the coffee place became too crowded.
Life as the relative of a celebrity, or whatever similar to it Sonic was, wasn't as easy as one would imagine. Every day new rumors, each one more far fetched than the last, kept appearing. And people usually ended up badgering Jet and his parents for answers.
Jet of course knew the truth. He was keeping in touch with team Sonic and therefore knew the truth of their endeavors. What they did with that truth was for them to decide.
And then there was the incredible progress both Tails and Knuckles had made as trainers. Knuckles especially was seriously trying to rival Sonic.
With the Johto tournament being about a month away, Jet could barely stay patient enough to wait. Now not only would Sonic be taking place, possibly rematching Ash in the process but Knuckles was also set to participate.
The excitement was getting him to bursting point. Especially as he couldn't decide which matchups of the triangle of Sonic, Knuckles and Ash would be the best to watch.
As he went to the beach near the town to drink his coffee in solitude and peace, he watched on as a couple of magikarps jumped out of the water for a moment.
Oh how jealous he was of Sonic for getting to encounter so many pokemon. Hopefully next adventure, he would be allowed to tag along. Or maybe just sneak along.
While drinking, he received a text message from Sonic, telling him they had just arrived at the safari zone and pictures of the place, themselves and their prey, as he jokingly called what they would catch, would soon be on the way.
Jet allowed himself to relax as he drank a little more coffee, wondering what powerful pokemon were awaiting capture in the safari zone.
Few moments later a voice called out to him.
"Never expected I'd find you here".
At first Jet thought that it was Amy coming to badger him about Sonic again, but the voice was not Amy's. Yet it was strangely familiar.
Turning his head in confusion his face lit up when he saw…
"Wave?! Is that you?"
Wave the swallow smiled just as much.
"Long time no see".
Jet jumped up and to her surprise hugged her. She returned the hug after a moment.
"It's been so long" Jet said after they broke the hug.
"4 years" Wave said with a hint of guilt "I'm sorry we fell out of touch".
"Hey don't worry about it. Life happens" Jet reassured her.
She smiled in relief as she took a seat at the sand next to Jet.
"What are you doing out here all alone?"
Jet went to answer but had to lie back to be less visible when a couple of people passed by the beach.
"You hiding from someone?" Wave asked half-amused and half confused.
"I'm hiding from everyone" he responded while sitting normally again.
"Why?"
"To avoid badgering".
"Who'd want to badger you?"
"Oh pretty much the whole town. But more than everyone Amy".
"Amy? Haven't heard from her in a while. How is she?"
Jet sighed. He had a lot to tell Wave.
"Before I explain, tell me about your news first. How come you're back in Green Hills? I thought your dad had found a good job at that place… what was it called again?"
"The Devon corporation. In the Hoenn region".
"Yeah that's right! So how come you're here?"
"Oh dad actually got a promotion and so applied for a transfer at the department here. His application was approved" she explained as her smile broadened.
"Does that mean you're here to stay?!"
"Yes".
Jet was just left there stunned, not saying a word, processing it.
"But… what about there? Didn't you make friends there? Had a new life there?"
"I did. I met a girl named May. Daughter of pokemon professor Birch".
"Just that?"
"Well I wouldn't call littleroot town the paragon of social life exactly. Dewford town was a lot more lively, though I only visited when my dad took me there on bring your child to work days".
"What post did he have?"
"Fossil studies".
"Huh" Jet smirked "your dad might some interesting conversations with one of our friends".
"Really? Did Tails get a passion for fossils? I mean he always had this nerdy nature but more on the tech savvy part".
"Oh I know. But a bit after you left, a boy named Knuckles moved in our neighborhood. He, my brother and Tails quickly became inseparable. Not to say that I was excluded, but their dynamic is just different".
"And I assume Amy has had it with all those boys and no female friends?" Wave joked.
Jet's smile was gone in an instant.
"You ok?" she asked curious.
Jet's brain was racing. Only now id he realize how hard of a conversation was in order. After all before she left, Wave and Amy were inseparable.
"Jet?"
"Wha… oh yeah. Yeah I'm ok. I'm just grateful you're here. And to stay too".
"Me too. I missed everyone so much. Can't wait to see all of them. And meet your new friend of course".
Jet again got silent.
"Jet what's going on?"
"A lot has happened since last time you were here" he said with a hint of frustration.
Wave looked concerned.
"Is something wrong with one of our friends? Your brother?"
"What? No. Of course not. I mean… not now at least".
Wave was now just curious as there was no reason to be concerned apparently.
"Well why don't we just all group up and talk about it together? You know like we used to".
"Not an option".
"Huh? Why not?"
"Correction. We can but not in the flesh and with some changes".
"Ok no more cryptic answers please. Let's start at the beginning".
Jet sighed.
"It started around 6 months ago. A guy named Shadow moved into town".
"Shadow…" Wave repeated, seemingly reminded of something.
Jet then realized something himself.
"Wait Wave. When did you and your family return?"
"Yesterday".
Jet's eyes widened.
"Did you by any chance run into someone called Shadow the hedgehog while in Hoenn these last few days?"
"Yeah… yeah I did".
"Where?"
"Dewford town. He was hanging out with someone named Tabitha. Or more accurately grumbling about someone and this Tabitha was just taking it".
"Who was he talking about?"
Wave shrugged.
"Not sure. From the little I heard while waiting for my turn to order - I was grabbing chinese for the family as we were on the final stages of packing to leave- it was someone he called… the hero of Kanto".
Jet's eyes widened again momentarily then he smiled in a satisfied way.
"Did you know this Shadow?" Wave asked, noticing his expression.
"Yeah I did. He's an asshole. He and Sonic didn't get along well. Though that it an understatement".
"What happened between them?"
Jet hesitated.
"Amy happened".
"Excuse me?"
"Before Shadow came along it was all as you remember. When he came he started courting Amy. And Sonic didn't like that".
"So I was right back then? He likes Amy?"
"Liked. Thankfully no longer".
"Thankfully?"
"When Sonic realized if he didn't act fast he would miss his chance he expressed his feelings to Amy. And she destroyed him in return".
"What?!"
"You heard right. She destroyed him. She called my brother a softie loser who can't assert his dominance, revealing Shadow had already beaten Sonic to her".
Wave couldn't believe her ears.
"No… no. Not Amy. She couldn't…" she mumbled.
"And yet she did. Not even the combined efforts of me, Tails and Knuckles could get him to snap out of it".
"But why would Amy treat him like that? I mean ok this Shadow beat Sonic to her, but why would she treat Sonic so horribly?"
"I wish I knew. But that wasn't the worst of it all. Shadow's way of courting Amy was to belittle Sonic. It never got physical but it affected him deeply".
Wave gasped.
"So she goes and gets together with the bully of her childhood friend?"
"Yes. And adopts his beliefs on top of it".
"Oh man… but wait… Shadow is in Hoenn correct? Does that mean Amy left Green Hills with him?"
"Wish she did. But no she's still here. Which honestly, I don't understand why. She's become the town's pariah after that was revealed".
"Dude…" Wave was saddened by her friend's fall from grace.
"The place has changed a lot ever since I was here".
"You have no idea" Jet agreed.
Wave let herself wonder about Amy and how she could have fallen from grace like that. Getting together with a bully and even worse, joining the bullying. And even worse than that, bullying someone she knew since childhood.
Then she realized that posed another question.
"Wait a sec. If Shadow left and Amy stayed, that means they broke up correct?"
"Correct".
"Why?"
"Amy started changing her mind about Sonic after he became high and mighty".
"Sonic?"
"Yeah. Broke Shadow's heart the same way she broke Sonic's, maybe in a less dramatic way" Jet continued on, not giving context about calling Sonic high and mighty "I'm just glad the tables have turned on Shadow. Made fun of Sonic, now he is grumbling about him".
"But he's not here. So how do you know?"
"You told me" Jet explained confused.
"I told you? I told you he was grumbling about someone called the hero of Kanto".
"Yeah. And that's Sonic".
"What?!"
"You didn't know?!"
"No. That's new to me".
Jet was visibly surprised. He was so used to Sonic's fame being spread so far and wide that someone not knowing felt out of this world.
"Wow. I was not expecting that. Ok. I need to take this from the beginning".
"Do so" Wave agreed, thinking to herself that Green Hills was definitely not as she remembered it.
"After Amy broke his heart, as I have already stated, we fought to help Sonic get over it. We were unsuccessful. But then my dad suggested he took a trip to the Kanto region, on an errand for him of course".
"Ok. And?"
"Sonic agreed. More so to get away from everything but he did" Jet said getting up.
"Get up".
"Huh?"
"Let's walk over to my place. Some of the facts you will probably only believe if you see the proof with your own eyes".
Wave got up intrigued. And besides she was planning to come by and greet Sonic and Jet's parents later that day. They were always so nice when the gang go together as kids and played in the backyard, sometimes just them, and sometimes with random pokemon that came by.
As the two started walking back to town, Jet continued.
"As I was saying, Sonic was tasked delivering a file to professor Oak on dad's behalf".
"The esteemed pokemon professor? I heard professor Birch, the Hoenn region's equivalent praise him many times"
"Yes. Sonic did so but before he could leave, he took along a squirtle that was not picked by trainers starting Kanto's gym challenge. Later he also decided to take the challenge to instead of returning home".
"Seriously? He became a trainer?"
"Yes. Though at the time it was merely an excuse to stay away from Amy and Shadow. But I'm glad he did. That journey changed his life".
Reaching the house, Sonic and Jet's parents were excited to see Wave back in town. After a bit of catching up, the two headed, to Wave's surprise, to Sonic's bedroom.
Once inside, she gasped and felt her mind flatlining.
On the desk stood the shiny golden trophy of the indigo league conference tournament.
"You're kidding! He won a league tournament?!"
"Oh yeah. But with the training he had and a team like his, what chance did his opponents really stand?"
Wave, with a hanging jaw looked at the trophy again in awe.
Next to the trophy was a picture taken outside the stadium, right before the squad left to return to Green Hills.
Sonic was holding the trophy, a gleaming smiled etched upon his face. Wave was deeply impressed. She didn't remember him being so confident, though that was to be expected after such an accomplishment.
Around Sonic, Tails, Jet and a red echidna who she presumed was the one named Knuckles who Jet had mentioned, and a kid whom she didn't recognize.
"Who's the kid with you guys in the picture?"
"In due time. Check Sonic's team first".
Wave took another look and noticed the trainers in the photo were amidst a full team of pokemon.
"His team?"
"Yeah. They deserved to be part of this memory".
Wave looked at the picture carefully, identifying a Blastoise, a Raichu, an Alakazam, a Pinsir, a blue nidoking which she found cool, not knowing its true rarity and behind everyone, its wings stretched out majestically…
"IS THAT A MOLTRES?!"
"I know pretty cool right?"
"You mean to tell me Sonic got a freaking Moltres?! A legendary pokemon?!"
"Yup. That's part of why his legend grew so much".
"His what?"
"Look on the wall".
Wave turned back to the wall behind the desk. On it were several newspaper clippings.
The first one that caught her eye was one reading "team rocket assault thwarted; heroic trainer repels mob boss".
Wave read the article, her mouth moving but no sound coming out. Once she finished she slowly turned to Jet.
"That was Sonic?"
"Not alone. The other kid from the photo? His name is Mike. They stormed the place together".
Wave then looked at the next clipping.
She read "Hero of Kanto saves the day again; team rocket disbanded".
"He took down team rocket on his own?"
"He finished the job on his own. But without Mike they wouldn't have made it".
"How's that?"
Jet's face darkened.
"Sonic's partner, his Raichu… it was spared from death by Mike's Jolteon sacrificing itself to the horn of a rhydon. Without it…"
Wave raised her hand to stop him, a tear streaming down her cheek.
"No need to continue" she whispered. She didn't know how much more of it she could take.
Her friends had gone through a small hell of their own and she had no idea.
"And what happened afterwards?"
"Well Sonic won the tournament as we have established. Then… look at the next clipping".
The next clipping read "crisis at orange islands averted; Hero of Kanto and orange islands chosen one save the day".
On the cover was a photo of Ash and Sonic taken by a bystander who had captured the moment when Melody had proclaimed Sonic had an equally important role to Ash in that year's festival. On the background was Jet.
"You were there?"
"Yes but there wasn't a lot I could do to help" Jet said sitting at the desk's chair "I was stuck at the hotel with mom and dad as I had and still have no pokemon".
"I see" Wave nodded "dude… Sonic took Kanto by storm huh?"
"You can say that again. But that wasn't the end. Quite the contrary in fact".
"How so?"
Jet again motioned to the next clipping. Their parents had collected even the newest mentions of Sonic's deeds.
The next clipping, as Wave noticed was not from Kanto but rather its neighboring region, Johto. Specifically it was the New Bark town news. The headline read "Hero of Kanto spotted in New Bark town; Soon to be two time champion?"
"He went to Johto too?" Wave inquired not taking her eyes off the photo of team Sonic in New Bark town.
"They went. Together. In pursuit of team rocket".
"Team rocket? But he brought them down right?"
"Not quite. Merely disbanded them. Now he's gone there with Tails and Knuckles to finish the job".
Wave slumped on Sonic's bed. It was seriously getting too much.
"Like he's in Johto right now?"
"Yes. And as I said, Tails and Knuckles are there with him. And they already have begun making a name for themselves there" Jet explained as he showed her the last newspaper clipping while taking out his phone and typing something.
Wave read the final clipping. It read "Greenfield crisis averted; Hale family saved by three heroes".
Under the headline was a small note indicating the reader to go to page 3 for professor Hale's interview and opinion on team Sonic. And under the note were 2 pictures. The first was of Greenfield when it was a crystal dystopia and the second was of team Sonic bidding goodbye to the Hale family, taken by a paparazzi.
"How long have I been away?" Wave rhetorically asked.
"And all this" Jet said having one final thing to show "is their recorded achievements" he explained as he gave her the phone.
He had entered a forum about the legendary beasts of Johto. Several photos of them could be viewed there, having been taken by trainers looking for them. There were also several conversations about the beasts.
One such conversation was about their legend, their disappearance and their supposed return thanks to team Sonic.
"They were responsible for this too?!" Wave exclaimed in shock "the legendary beasts had appeared in Hoenn in the past but stopped appearing for the same reason as in Johto. And you mean to tell me Sonic…"
"Brought them back? No. It's more complicated".
They spent the next hour discussing the beasts, the facts about them Knuckles had explained so far and all of team Sonic's encounters with them as well as their supposed connections to them. By the end Wave was at a loss for words.
Her phone suddenly beeped as she received a message from her mother.
"Damn I got to go home. Hey. If you talk to Sonic anytime soon, I'd like to be there ok? You know catch up and all but…"
"Chill I understand" Jet reassured her "I have trouble believing some of all that has transpired myself".
Wave thanked Jet and left, heading home. Unfortunately for her, their old house was not up for sale when they were planning to return so they had to compromise with an apartment 2 neighborhoods away.
As Wave was making a note to self to download a video call app so she could participate in the group's video calls, a voice called out to her.
"Wave?"
Wave recognized the voice. That wouldn't be easy.
It was Amy.
"That you Wave?" she asked again as she caught up to her old friend "my gosh it is you!" she exclaimed giving her a hug.
Wave didn't reciprocate.
"When did you return?" Amy asked her, trying not to look concerned with the lack of reciprocation.
"Yesterday".
"Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?"
"Amy" Wave stopped her. She didn't like to pretend "drop the act. I know".
Amy's face dropped.
"You… know?"
"Jet told me".
Amy went silent.
"How could you do this? Not only get together with Sonic's bully but bully him as well?"
"Look I know it seems bad but if you let me explain…"
"Explain what?! Jet showed me Sonic's accomplishments. He showed me your texts to Sonic. How could you?!"
"I made mistakes I know. But I swear it wasn't my fault…"
"Not your fault?! You really going to blame everything on your infatuation with that bully Shadow?"
"No it's not that. It was my…"
"Save it. I can't do this Amy. I didn't want to believe it but what I saw is your true face. So leave me be" Wave shushed her and walked past.
After a few steps she stopped.
"You should have gone to Hoenn with Shadow. Sonic doesn't deserve someone like you. Not when he has been chosen by the legendary beasts".
"Wave I…" Amy tried to say in vain as Wave walked away.
Amy was left there, alone once again, reaping the rewards of her actions.
Even her closest friend had turned her back on her.
"I don't get it… why… she… she wouldn't… set me up to fail… would she?" she wondered as she slowly and painfully headed for her empty home once again, struggling with her conflicting emotions.