The Heart of a Trainer: A Pokemon Story [PokemonWattyAwards2017]

Seven: The Meeting

Friday, 4:00 pm

Alice

Rebecca couldn't stop talking about her life, hobbies, and almost anything else she could think of along the trail towards Mount Silver. Rebecca told us that she was an Ace Trainer recovering from a harsh loss at the Victory Road and she was preparing for a second run in Route 27 before she ran into us. As she described her story in further detail I thought about my own journey, my mission in life. Would I have already achieved my goal if I hadn't met Theo and if Croconaw wasn't incapable of battle? I began to obsess over what my life would look like if the past week's events hadn't happened. Theo explained our story, straight from the beginning, how his father disappeared, our chance meeting, Croconaw's unfortunate downfall, and our decision to unite and look for the truth. She didn't seem too bothered by it, in fact, it only made her want to tag along even more. Rebecca insisted that she could take care of Chester if things got out of hand during the scheduled meeting, and the time deadline was growing ever closer. As the dirt and grass turned into rock and dust, I knew we had arrived. Looking upwards, I saw the tall peak of Mount Silver, soft grey rocks and striking white snow covered the entirety of the mountain, and combined with it's height, the scenery took my breath away.

"Wow." I said unintentionally, breathing in the fresh air of higher elevations. Even Rebecca was speechless, for she couldn't find the exact word to describe how she was feeling. I looked over at Theo, and he seemed indifferent to the remarkable sights of nature that were being hoisted on a pedestal right before our eyes.

"Have you been here before, Theo?" I asked, his reaction was too unusual to have any other reason.

"Yeah, once, when I was younger. I went on a camping trip with my dad, I had the time of my life up here. It's unfortunate that we're here on such disadvantageous circumstances." Theo replied, lost in thought, as nostalgia seeped into his deep voice.

"Is everyone ready?" I inquired, noticing everyone's hesitation to advance forward, knowing that Chester would be waiting for us at the summit. Who knows what he had planned for us? And why we even agreed to pursue his request?

"I guess so. We should prepare ourselves just in case Chester tries to pull something." Theo suggested, making his way up the mountain path.

Rebecca and I soon followed, picking wild berries from nearby bushes and shoving them in our mouths as we reach for more.

"These are delicious! They're really sweet, they have to be pink apricorns, right?" Rebecca said excitedly between mouthfuls.

"Yeah, I think you're right." I replied, my stomach now full and perfectly content.

The three of us finally reached the summit, Chester was facing with his back towards us. He was dressed in a long dark grey trench coat, black slacks, and his hair was the normal platinum blonde color. Rebecca stepped on a small branch in a small, sparse patch of grass, and Chester immediately turned around to face us.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up, and you brought a new friend too, huh? How wonderful." A sly grin was plastered onto his face as he realized who we were. "As I said in my little 'gift,' I have a proposition for you two, one that both of you will consider seriously."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Get on with it then."

"Impatient are we? Well, no matter. Both of you will have to come to your own individual conclusions, that is the only rule."

"For Theo, you have two options, you can either finally be with your father or you can save the region with this antidote I have here." He dangled a small bottle between his fingers over the mountain. "But that's only possible if Alice chooses the same option." Chester turned towards me.