Mindy | Pokémon Fanfiction

Six 「 Your Call, My Answer 」

Music: 「ETERNA FOREST: Remastered」by Zame

"And why the fuck should I serve you?"

Mindy kept mum. If it wasn't for her mutism, she would have argued for her rights. Not that the woman in the blue apron would listen. Mindy felt so much in a span of hours. Those who were truly mute must feel worse.

"Word has it you don't pay for your food. How do I know you won't kill me and dash away with whatever supplies you need?" The woman sidestepped for a couple to enter the Poké Mart, and when Mindy inched forward, the woman blocked her path. "I don't care if you're broke. I don't care if you have some legendary Pokémon with you. You will treat me like a human, not like the spoiled brat that you are."

"And this is humane treatment?" Uxie rose to the call. "You humans indulge in discrimination, even if you know it's far from humane."

The woman shut up.

"C-Coming through!" Mesprit zapped into the mart and paid for three Poke Balls using Mindy's money.

"We just teleported the cash to the cafe," Azelf told the woman. "You'll know if it's true when 'word has it'."

The audacity to doubt and judge the benevolence of a Legendary Pokémon! Mesprit delivered the thought to Mindy. There are reasons why we're celebrated!

Mindy harrumphed and gestured for them to leave. She had better things to do than to teach a gullible, judgemental woman a lesson in rumour.

"I hope whatever Pokémon you catch with those Poké Balls will kill you!" The woman undid her apron and tossed it at Mindy. "You won't have your way, Mindy! You won't see it coming!"

Of course. I'd do anything to know when and how I die.

Mindy paused and turned around to confront her. She wished dearly that people like the woman could experience being mute for a change. Imagine yielding to the suppression of speech which they delighted in. Mindy could already see the woman resorting to violence to speak her mind, maybe even betray her conscience if it had yet to be flung aside like the job she was oh-so-proud of. It would be fun. The woman would go viral, would probably replace Mindy.

Brandishing a caustic smile, Mindy fantasised all the ways irksome people who were easily slighted and annoyed at every little thing life had to offer them would suffer doubly so if they took up the mantle of a Trader. A treasure trove of comedy, no doubt. If she had to go through this much humiliation in two Trades, she'd reckon the same would happen for them. The only difference perhaps would lie in the fact that they wouldn't learn as much as she did. Her suffering far outweighed their petty complaints about daily life.

Mindy was still swimming in her thoughts when she stepped back into Eterna Forest, immediately thrust into a world of darkness only pierced through by the most tenacious tentacles of light. A rustle in any patch of grass warrantied attention, even if it was the wind coming through or a harmless Buneary running to a fallen berry to lay claim before its peers. A chilly air enveloped the quartet. Thankfully, they had only to linger at the ends of the maze that was Eterna Forest or they would be lost.

From where they stood, the Old Chateau was prominent with its roof that seemed to collapse at any time, golden with ash and dust collecting on the eaves. Its grey walls hoarded cobwebs. The house had two attics with purple light flowing out from the shut windows, and with the red door, the Old Chateau screamed of murder and wayward justice, a public announcement that it was a place where all things went haywire.

Mindy averted her gaze with a shudder. Now wasn't the time to be distracted or skip steps. She must first get herself a trusty sidekick that wasn't a Buneary or Budew or Bidoof. She wouldn't want a Gastly or Misdreavus either.