Credit for the artwork: Omiza-Zu on deviantart. Lots of credit to them for making this piece of art.
The next early morning,
Incineroar's POV:
I immediately let myself almost pounce out of bed with Decidueye laying next to me, almost shaking to the point of stroke shaking. I gently picked him up and held him my arms as I started to rub his back a little, whispering into his ear that it was okay, nothing was gonna be coming up again from last night. I thought it was supposed to be perfect, how the hell did that "thing" attacked my birdie. Not on my watch! I called up the number from this morning, asking if she is still available and has some free time on her hands to help us out. Soon after calming my cutie down, I got a response from Trial Captain, Acerola. She's technically a skilled ghost type specialist, sometimes dark and psychic types too since they all deal with mostly soul matter moves and stuff like that. Acerola has a lot of trust within the customers she gets for any kind of problem, mostly ghost type Pokémon since their typing is far different and somebody's gotta look deeper than the normal ones do. I wrapped up my Decidueye up in a warm blanket from my bed sheets and quickly wrote a note to everyone else, letting them know where we'll be at for the time being first thing in the morning. To be honest, I don't even know why I called so early when the sun is halfway to its rising point. I got Decidueye's wheelchair folded up while Decidueye remained in my arms, fast asleep. Getting it into the minivan somehow pretty decent, I got Decidueye buckled into his wheelchair and had the bottom van buckles strapping the wheelchair in place before I looked at my beautiful owl with softened eyes to see him sleep in peace.
"It's okay my love, we're going to see her right now. Just try to relax for me." I whispered to Decidueye before kissing him on the head and shutting the door.
I got into the driver's seat, shut the door after me, and started the engine as quickly as I could before putting on a good warm temperature for Decidueye to sleep through on our way to Acerola's place. Once I was on the road, I overhear Decidueye move a little in the back-middle row behind me and I turned my mirror on him so I can see his beautiful face waking up from the sun's rays pouring into the vehicle. Decidueye, with a little flutter and sparkle in his eyes, he lets himself hang off in his wheelchair before I came to a red light from the road I need to go down. I took a small quick look at him with my own eyes and gave Decidueye that saying again from how I said it before I drove off. Only this time to myself, I didn't know what to do about this situation.
Every time I pay my mind a free buck to take a look of last night when I heard my owl scream for help and almost smacks of anger being yelled from his bedroom. The tiny second I saw the dude hovering over my love and disappearing out of sight with a scratch that could scar the rest of Decidueye's sleeping schedule, let alone his mental health for Arceus knows how long he will be prettified of it. No, it can't be him, he died during the accident of the eruption tour. He wouldn't be fully evolved if he were dead? Or was the paranormal being as weird as reality right now. It almost looked like someone I've known for almost my starting chapter of my childhood.
From the looks of the thing I saw last night, it looked to be a Gengar. Somehow..I don't know why, but it trailed to me from an old friend, before I met Primarina and Decidueye as a young small Litten. He was a Gastly at the time we met and mostly were almost brothers till the age of I think, Pre-School years as four year olds. The both of us met when my parents' friend, who was a Malamar, needed something taken care of and the Malamar lady brought her son, a Gastly, the same age as me at the time. I was a little weirded out at first of his appearance since I'm barely out of the house and I somehow loved the solitude, God I regret liking that after I met Primarina and Decidueye. Gastly was a chipper and energetic kid who tries to bring up the light out my introverted Litten self. I almost wanted to leave out the window at that point, but I gave in just so he could leave me alone. Turns out, it was actually a good time and I used to ask my mother and father if Gastly could come over again sometime. They DID NOT hesitate to say yes and had Malamar and her son come by almost every weekend to talk, in or outside the house. But that only lasted for a year and half before I and Gastly started going to different pre-schools in the region.
That was the time I met Primarina and Decidueye at first few days of the first week. It was like heaven when we first formed our friendship group and did the blood oath thing on ourselves as we got older, it felt stupid but we did it anyway to keep the promise with each. I got used to being social around other Pokémon since I met the two, however I saw Gastly not as often as I used to in the past and sometimes when we DID meet up, Gastly always asked me of why we don't see each other anymore or how my new pre-school life was. I regret sorta saying all about the day and first weeks being blissful with soooooo many other new humans and Pokémon, and how nice everyone was to me. Gastly gave me this look of almost disgust and worry after I said almost everything. I told him that we are still gonna be friends like this and it's not as bad as he thinks it is. Boy was I wrong when the future came up so quick.
Flashback!
I remember around in kindergarten, me, my family and Gastly's family took a little trip together to Kanto as a little way to make the fresh summer middle mark in late July. It was this factory museum kind of place that listed in so many astronomical times and events of history that sorta want to wish that Decidueye and Primarina were here with their parents so we can hang out and they got to meet Gastly. I thought Gastly would love a cute, shy owl and a peppy, cheerful seal as good friends just as much as he was to me. Our families had different ideas on where to wonder about in the museum so I managed to tag along with Gastly and my dad at the time so my mom and Gastly's mother could have some girl time with each other. The three of us boys went towards the telescope area and the tech place where most of the historical stuff was before technology started to screw around and give it an upgrade. I went along the walls and saw a gas tank somewhere in a dark hall with stars glimmering above the ceiling. I pressed the non-usable buttons that somehow fascinated a young me when all of a sudden, I feel Gastly drag me over to someplace with excitement in his eyes. I pulled away from him, asking why the heck was he dragging me so fast for and we should be at least some good enough distance from my dad. The ghost just looked at me and told me he's found the room of gas and air tanks for the rocket ships. Something about the rooms, once we got in, made me feel very uncomfortable and I asked him several times if we could leave and go back with dad in the techie room. I swear he was on my nerves when Gastly ghosted me out of his head and pressing most of the buttons. I even told me to get down from such a height he flew up. Plus, it was one of those "fly again certain distance from artifacts" kind of lines and as a young kindergartener, Gastly must've not seen it. He told me to go view the gas tanks up with him. As for me, I had really bad Acrophobia before I started riding roller coasters, so I declined the offer as started to wait for him to get down from the high ceiling. Gastly gave me the disgusted look again and called me no fun before he could start press some of the buttons. I swear to Arceus, I didn't think they were still monitored or connected to anything.
A little tiny leak of green gas spoiled out of the hole Gastly made on accident. He spoiled away from it by a few feet before the old metal lets away almost a breath-held in round of gas. I rephrased my words from telling him to back down but instead he told me that I should've told him that the paper black and yellow stripe was there on his way up. I almost felt what he was feeling, anger. I told him straight up that he was the one flying up towards past the lines himself. Plus on my defense, I didn't notice them till I circled around a big diamond carved gem in the center of the room anyway. We then started to hear a low whistling sound peeping from the hole Gastly made and it almost bursts into a toxic flame but the gas was almost like sand, blowing it out. The both of us made a run for it as the gas got worse, however for me, I was pushed out of the way by the one who should've stayed beside me from the day he first visited me. Gastly flew straight on out of there, looking as if to find my dad. I cried out his name as almost literally gas fumes were almost engulfing me into its system, but I managed speed run out of there with a couple coughs here and there. Almost the entire hallway Gastly flew through was empty so I tried to run somewhere to find help of any human, tourist, Pokémon visitor or anybody to get some help for the gas leak. I remembered the bursts of explosion coming from the gas pipe behind me and I managed to get far away from it so somebody could at least help me.
Soon enough, I found a helpful young dude swinging his keys around and noticed I was in a panic, then asking me what was the problem. I burst out into words of a frenzy and he rushed towards the room I began to run from and pulled the alarm to warn everyone else that there was a major accident and to exit the building immediately. Ugh..I couldn't get those words out of my mind and that blaring sound of a siren was loud enough to not even get me back on my steps when Gastly threw me down towards a corner and tried to attack me from nowhere.
"Why did you choose them?!?!" I remembered Gastly asking me before trying to make a shadow bomb move.
I had too much info going through my head at the time and he kept asking me the same question it started to use a Fake Out move on me to get me talking. I told him that I had no idea what the hell was talking about.
"You abandoned me for your new friends!!!!! H-How could you Litty!!!!"
I told him that nobody could replace a good guy like him and he'd still be my friend. But Gastly interrupted me and kept trying to beat some "sense" on me for replacing a good friend like him with some strangers I first met.
"What? No way! I would never abandon you?!? Who said I'd abandon you?" I recalled asking him by then.
"Then if you really flipping care, then come with me to fix the problem." I remembered Gastly yelling before flying away.
That's when I knew I shouldn't have mention Decidueye and Primarina or my entire whole community of classmates. I couldn't forget how he managed to drag himself to hell after that accident....he flew back towards the place of the gas leaking and I run after him, trying to explain the whole situation was nonsense and that if he can just meet them, things wouldn't have to be this way. Just before I saw him almost disappear into the green mist. I cried out for him until I saw my dad rush in, asking me if I was okay before picking me up, and dashing out of there. I cursed on myself for not saying anything about it earlier.
Gastly was found dead after the incident and I could remember my family almost shutting down for the rest of the month after that, especially Gastly's mother. However, for some reason inside me, I felt like I needed to back from him a bit so I could possibly meet new friends and such, just as how I was raised. Learning of his past behavior being obnoxious, I tried to get over his loss and I could thank Decidueye and Primarina for that, secretly and mostly Decidueye since I've started to crush on him at that time frame. Whenever I heard a faint whistle of air from pipes or anything, my thoughts always went blank and memories of him trying to make me his only and Gastly only my ONE best friend. But now thinking back to last night, that Gengar, the final evolution of Gastly finally made me want to question reality a little bit. Its vision was the ALMOST the same as what Gastly had as a kid.
End of Flashback.
We finally arrived at the boating system that sails to Ula Ula Island. I parked the minivan and quickly I strap Decidueye from the safety handicap space in the vehicle before pushing him towards one of the faster but larger boats that had some space. The two of us got tickets to the boat we wanted and I pushed my cutie pie up the ramp and towards an end of the boat for ourselves. We waited till the boat's horn started to honk at a high noise first thing in the morning. I cover Decidueye's ears when the captain was about to pull the level to the horn so he wouldn't wake up at this very minute. Again from the doctor, he has to have a lot of sleep. I took a seat beside him, slightly making me right at Decidueye's wheelchair height. I decided to keep him in since we might as well be at Ula Ula in a couple minutes. The boat started to drift off a few minutes after the horn was pulled and I enabled the parked settling from Decidueye's wheelchair so he won't move to any of the waves hitting the ship.
"A-a..am we g-gonna b....be okay?" I overhear Decidueye stutter, trying to get my attention.
"Oh! Baby, it's gonna be okay and you're gonna be fine. Acerola should be able to know what to do with sh** like this." I answer him with a hand/paw gently holding his.
"Wh-who's that? I-is..isn't she p-part of the E-Elite Four?" Decidueye asked while sounding more awake.
"Yep! That's the one, we'll be seeing her to see if we can get to what the hell attacked you and how to prevent it again." I explained as I cross my legs a little.
He went silent afterwards and I held his hand/paw for the rest of the ride. I feel the morning wind blow straight into our faces as we are heading towards Ula Ula Island, cold winds mixed with the mountain's snow made it cooler than it's normal temperature. I felt Decidueye's hand squeeze tighter till I saw him shivering from the sudden breeze. I didn't think from the short ride before taking Decidueye out of his wheelchair and giving him some warmth from my belt just heating up for him. He immediately wrapped his fluffy wings around me and I instantly felt the warmth almost mirroring back at me.
"I fluffed ya up pretty good last night, huh?" I whisper into his ear as I rub his back.
"Sh-shut up!" Decidueye whispered immediately after while snuggling up to me more.
"Aww what's wrong? Can't I hold and warm up my angel?" I whispered into his ear, teasing him.
"I-I said sh-shut up!" Decidueye says immediately and trying to push me away in response.
"But I wanna hold you, I barely got to last night without fear being the third wheel~" I tried to convince him as I held him close, one hand holding the unharmed portion of his head, and the other around his cute body.
"I-inci.!!!" Decidueye whispered under his breath with a cute look of angry blush on his face.
"I love you too my baby birdie~" I respond with a cheeky smile and a kiss on his beak.
I felt my pride strike once I didn't hear anything else come from Decidueye, who was about to explode from all the blush on his cute face. It was so cute I couldn't resist to hold this fluffy angel. It's what he gets for being born this cute and always doing everything for everyone else. I gave him a little kiss on the head before then Decidueye buried his face into my chest. The horn blared through the entire ship and atmosphere, scaring the crap out of me and Deci, finally letting Ula Ula Island reveal itself. Before the docking ropes were pulled up to be tied to the post, I quickly buckled Decidueye into his wheelchair once again. The captain asked for anyone with handicapped or volunteering for someone who is handicapped to head off the boat first, you know because of respected reasons or whatever. I called him up and rolled Decidueye off the ramp of the boat towards the dock, before anyone else could get off. It's honestly a good time too since I think it's a little rude to be late to these things with humans anyway. I tried to find the right route in remembering where the Aether House was located, being the place where Acerola said to meet up with us about the situation. That's when I noticed a map right near Malie City, close the Pokémon Center of the Malie Garden. I looked at the map from where we're at, and noticed the Aether House being on the other side of the island and I nearly cussed at myself. But since my birdie was in pain and being so patient, I took a breath in and out before I could say that it would be a while till we got there, unless we find a bus. Decidueye, then, tried to turn around and face me and said that we can maybe cut through the mountain. He said that he's heard from young trainers that they just go through that path because they don't wanna be bothered by jumpy Pokémon in the stones or grass over around the mountain side, the path to the House. I trusted him and found myself going through the mountain's trail, and he was right; it didn't take long at all to get through and out for Aether House, except the dry grass underneath us.
Decidueye's POV:
As we were going down the trail I told Inci to go down as a mini shortcut, I felt myself dozing off again but I tried my best to stay up at least till the meeting was over then I could try to get some sleep, as Incineroar kept instructing me last night. I don't know why he wants me to sleep so much, I was fine being awake for long periods of a few days, yet, whenever I have a goodnight sleep, it just feels weirder every time. The more care I get from everyone, the weirder it is to feel how I used to feel for the few months of the attic. I wanted to sleep but I felt embarrassed being outside of the home that I felt safe to do so. But it's what the doctor ordered I guess from how much I've been doing. Which reminded me, me and Primarina are supposed to be going to the hospital to get a check-in on my health. I already know how it may go, needles and stuff. I HATE needles, I don't care how much you say it doesn't hurt or it isn't scary, I just HATE needles with all my life. It's worst than blade I used on my self. Once the sunlight came back from the end of the tunnel, I felt a slightly jolt from my wheelchair as Incineroar began to bolt straight for the Aether House standing a few feet from us.
"I-Inci!! S-slow down!" I shout a tiny bit while holding onto my wheelchair arm rests tight.
Incineroar didn't listen before we got to the entrance and saw there not being a wheelchair ramp for my wheelchair to go up. Suddenly, the door to the entrance swung open to reveal a young teen girl, probably about almost eighteen to nineteen years old. She had short indigo-purple hair with a tiny violet flower clip in it from the top. Her dress looked to be made from larger other pieces and looked ripped with no holes at the very edges of her dress. The girl had somehow beautiful midnight violet eyes and a young face. I immediately got shy and confused when she saw me first before acknowledging Incineroar's struggle to get me up the steps so I close up my hood before she could see another second of me.
"Oh my goodness! Hold on I'll get the ramp don't move!" The teen girl called out to Incineroar before rushing inside again and returning with a long piece of wood, straight enough to get my wheelchair up the stairs.
"Thank you, I'm hoping we're not late for your time."
"Oh no! Not at all! In fact, you're quite early. I wasn't expecting you boys to be here so early in the morning." said the girl.
I kept my hood shut almost all the way once we got into the girl's house. The warmth and air conditioning of the place blew right at me in the face and the scent of pumpkin spices and pine trees filled the place with a sense of comfort a little bit. I felt Incineroar park me up next to a table filled with many textbooks and newspaper articles about ghost hunting and demonic paranormal activity happening in the Unova region recently from now. I looked at them a tiny bit before I heard my name mentioned by Incineroar, who was pulling up a chair next to me and making me twitch a little by the teen's surprised look at me.
"Aww you poor thing! When did this happen?!?" The teen said in a worried tone in her voice as she came over and examined me all around, me still in the wheelchair.
"Eh...it was a while ago...but the scratch over by the shoulder is new from last night." Incineroar says hesitatingly at first before being clear about the scratch.
"My goodness, well thank goodness for the early arrival. Young bird, it's alright. My name is Acerola, sorry that I didn't introduce myself before to you, and I'll be finding you an answer to the scratch you got."
I could tell he remembers what I did before at the cliff. I know he would always remember that horrible day: the day of when he confessed to me just about the same second I nearly held his hand but death pulled me away from him, and almost having me in its arms for good. I wanted to kill myself again as punishment for doing such a stupid act like that. I never knew he would ever love a crybaby and a wimp like me from the very beginning, but if it weren't for Arceus putting me back in this world to fight, I would've never had Incineroar as the perfect boyfriend. But now, I will have to live on to regret ever doing that. My thoughts were cut short when Acerola helps Incineroar stand me up, mostly Incineroar showing her a bit of my scratch that he covered up with a small bandage just for the sake of the night.
"Is this the first time this has been on your bird friend?" The girl asks Incineroar.
"Yes. In fact, I so happened to catch a glimpse of a Gengar, I think! I don't know for sure." Incineroar continued while holding my hand in secret.
"Okay! So you're suspicion about this scratch may be from a deceased spirit, because by the looks of it, it's really dark from how I've seen them."
"What does that mean?"
"Based from ghost types studies, lighter tints of blood by a ghost type with its spirit composing a move results in a specific liquid to seep into the wound of their opponent. Both dead or alive ghost types can do so." Acerola explains while her smile is tending to fade away.
"Aren't ghost types like half dead though? I mean I know their alive also but still."
"Well not really from what researchers have found out about ghost types as they evolved over time. You see, ghost types for a Pokémon, doesn't mean they're half dead and half alive. It's just a Pokémon type myth most people think about when they hear about ghost type Pokémon. In this case, the scratch here, is darker than the average tint of the regular blood tinted color." Acerola continued while pointing and getting a magnifying glass to give Incineroar a good look.
"Okay, is it dangerous if it gets in too deep?"
"I may have to examine it out and test it to find out if it is indeed dangerous, but thank you for the consideration, Mr. Incineroar." Acerola added before taking her eyes off me and then in Incineroar.
Acerola sets me back down in my wheelchair next to Incineroar before going into a back room to probably get something. I wasn't as scared as before and looked up at Incineroar, giving me a warm smile that always took my mind off the outside world and into our very own. I don't know how he does it so well but now I know what hot girls outside of the house think of whenever they see a handsome guy smile truly at them by the heart. Incineroar turned his head towards the footsteps of Acerola coming back with an empty syringe in her hand and felt my heart almost drop and burst out of my chest. For me, needles are like my biggest fear, despite me having a blade up in the attic with me, I HATE HATE needles. As she came over with the needle and bandage wrap, I pull Incineroar close to me as if I was about to get majorly hurt over this. Nobody told me there was gonna be a needle in this meeting!!!
"Now now it's okay, hon. I just need to taken in at least a majority of the scratch's extra liquid so I can examine if it's gonna hurt you or not. I promise you, there's nothing to be afraid of and I'll make the process extra quick, okay?" said Acerola with a soothing voice as she bent down to my wheelchair height with a smile.
"I'll hold your hand if you want me to, babe." Incineroar whispers to me in a calm voice as J felt one of my hands/paws being held and the other pulled up close to Acerola.
I tried to trust Acerola and Incineroar's words before Incineroar held me up a little for her to reach from the extra liquid of my scratch, inserting the needle and a dark dark oozing indigo color mixed in with my own red blood in the syringe. I felt my world almost stop once it got to the closest inch from my arm but I tried to close my eyes till she told me to look again. With sweat almost filling my face, Acerola told me I could look now. I opened my eyes again from looking as she puts a small bandage on the place where she gave me the strange shot. She gave me a small smile before she asked her partner, a levitating Mimikyu, with a pink flower on the left ragged Pikachu ear, to take the syringe sample to her office and let her know when it is ready for her to inspect. Not gonna lie, it looked kinda cute for. Mimikyu with a trainer. I watched the small Pokémon fly away with the syringe to the back room again before I felt myself back into my wheelchair. I looked back at the spot where she put in the needle and felt the flashbacks to when the stinging feeling of a scratch being applied by whatever it was that attacked me. Shivers went down my spine and Incineroar held me close when I guess he noticed me look at the bandage.
"Are you okay?" Incineroar whispers into my ear while holding me.
I gave him a brief but silent nod just so he won't get worried about my stupid fear of a freaking needle. I watched as Acerola's Mimikyu flies back into the main room we were in and gave the ghost claw of approval to its trainer, saying that the testing is almost done and needed Acerola's assistance to find out what kind of Pokémon it came from. Once she was gone, I finally rested my head down on Incineroar's warm chest and also slightly heard his heart slowly beating inside. I could feel Incineroar's arms embrace and hold me even more than the previous minute but I didn't want a human to judge us by our closeness of a relationship. I wanted to close my eyes and let any dream take me out of the world for a hot second before I get dragged in again.
"A-am I gonna be okay?" I stuttered out while holding Incineroar's arm with my free hand/paw.
"Oh babe, you're gonna be okay I promise. As long as it isn't harmful to your bloodstream, it will be easier to have you be okay. Try not to worry, okay?" Incineroar responds before lifting my chin up to make me look up at him and see his handsome smile.
"Wh-what was it that hurt me? Wh-what-d-did I do? Did I-I do something wrong when w-we kissed last night?"
"No Deci baby, no not all. You did absolutely nothing of what led to what happened last night. You didn't do anything bad or wrong, don't worry. What did the thing look like when you saw it attack you?"
"I-it was l-like medium sized i-indigo-ish Pokémon w-with red e-eyes and a smile that I want to forget forever...." I confessed a little bit about Gengar.
"Was it like a legless Pokémon?"
"N-no b-but its legs were kinda short....I-I don't wanna say anymore I-I feel like he's watching me." I confessed a little more before getting too anxious to say anymore, fearing that Gengar could be close by, listening to me gossip about him.
"N-no Decidueye, this is important. It might help me and Acerola to understand deeper in what attacked you and why. I know you're terrified to tell me, and I get it, but please tell me what's going on and what the thing looked like." Incineroar said in a concerned tone as he settled me further onto his lap.
I felt myself go numb. What else am I supposed to say other than truth about me and Gengar in the attic together. Do I really have to tell him about what Gengar has put me through to teach me about what the world really is? Is he gonna push me to actually crying out the truth? What if he wouldn't believe me and think I'm actually crazy on the inside? What if he gets mad at me for telling a crazy lie that makes no sense to how this would be any help to the problem solving?!? What if he breaks up with me if I say that it's full of BS?!? I can't do that to our relationship! We pretty much hit our relationship to the best start I could ever dream of and I don't want this heaven to go anymore, or do I if I tell him? I've been suffering from depression and anxiety, as what the doctors say, for so long that it would affect my thinking, but am I healing if I worry this much or not? I used to be so honest about my feelings but this time, I feel stupid for even doing any of the choices being forced down my throat. Incineroar held me tighter a little bit and gave me the sad, concerned eyes, his beautiful handsome yellow green eyes looking into my own. I looked around and with everything clear, I went from looking around to hugging Incineriar as tight as my healing body could hug my love.
"P-please don't be mad at me.......but I have something I-I forgot to tell you....a-and go ahead and say if I'm crazy and insane.....but it's happened several times..." I whispered out loud.
"Huh? What do you mean, babe? Several times?" Incineroar paused in between his sentences with his ears perking up.
*Tell him!!! Tell him!!! Tell him!!! TELL HIM!!!!*
"I-I've s-seen this Pokemon s-several times....th-the one you saw attack me....." I stutter while feeling my anxiety coming up through tears in my eyes.
I didn't dare look at Incineroar in case of anger or disbelief escaped from his facial expression, but surprisingly to myself, Incineroar sat me up and held me in a slightly half cradle hold in his arms, still being on his lap.
"Take your time sweetie.....what did it do to you?" Incineroar whispered to me while an emotionless tone escaped him, turning into a strict one at the last words.
"H-he.......H-he stayed w-with me in the attic......f-forcing me to learn how strict the world I-is.....I-I couldn't eat till you all were f-fed and well.......a-after I-I had a beat se-session w-with him....*sniff* h-he forced me to k-keep m-myself aw-away from you a-and the rest of the f-family...a-and..*sniff* t-told m-me th-that th-hat e-everyone w-would rather have me be up there *sniff*......" I tried to spill my words out while tears welled in my eyes, making it really painful to hold back with my boyfriend holding me and rubbing my back.
*sniff*
"A-and h-he was a-always t-taunting on me..*sniff* b-blaming me f-for a memory th-that h-he sa-said I-I r-replaced h-him s-so I-I c-could." I confessed while on the urge of falling into an ocean of tears and anxiety by his threat of hell.
Next thing I knew, I was crying about my time with Gengar, not mentioning his name till I felt like it was my only last resort. All the memories of torture and bittersweet hell that Gengar made me go through to learn that the world isn't always happy and lightly preserved just broke me down into my brain completely shutting off and my words turning into sobbing. I felt the complete embarrassment of crying in front of the one Pokémon I always wanted to show a smile too and nothing else than positive emotions. It was just as bad as when you get caught checking yourself out in a car window, with someone inside awkwardly looking back at you. I made sure that my face stayed out of Incineroar's sight as I feel myself become the world's biggest crybaby by just whining over a couple beatings that are disciplinary to my mind and health. It's what everyone is used to right? Right?!? Discipline is just how you sharpen the mind of mature Pokémon and humans right?? I don't know why I was crying this much about simple discipline. However, right when I was about to break down a hundredth time in my life, I felt Incineroar being me closer to him and a feeling of his lips on my bandaged cheek.
"Shhhhh Shhh shh shhh. It's alright...it's okay." whispered Incineroar while a feeling of his hand rubbing my back and grip around me tightening.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" I sobbed in a repeated matter before Incineroar forced me to look at him.
"Decidueye.....it's okay....it's all over. Your hell in there with whoever it is, it's finally over. You're not there anymore and will never be there ever again. It's all over, sweetheart.....it's over." Incineroar continued to whisper to me with a few kisses on the cheek in between every pause.
"There's nothing to be sorry about.....it's okay to cry now...it's okay to let your tears after all that....I give you full permission and right to cry."
My eyes lit up with surprise after he gave me full permission to continue shedding tears as he rubbed the unhurt spot on my head, slightly trailing to my hurting side, now healing after I almost hit it hard enough. Incineroar wipes away my tears with his thumb for both my eyes and gave me the sweetest smile that Peter Pan must've gave WENDY before they went to Neverland. I sniffled a little bit before I could really snuggle into his hold and close my clawed feet from the tension in my body, heating up and a blush spreading of both embarrassment and love for such kindness from my tiger. His tail held the rest of my body and the end of it slightly coming up to me, slightly wagging to calm me down. I forced myself to shut and watched the end of Incineroar's tail boop me on the nose of my beak, making me almost blush a pink gasket and a giggle coming from Incineroar.
"Are you okay?" Incineroar asks me while his tail still stayed close for me to hold and calm down.
I nodded to him.
"Who was it that horribly did this to you, I want it's name and I'll send em to hell for hurting you." Incineroar continued while readying my answer.
. . . . . . .
"H-he...his name is g-Gengar...."
Incineroar's POV:
My body and mind froze when my angel told me the name of his abuser. Gengar?!?!? I didn't know a Gengar in my life, but my mind went right to the past of when Gastly was still alive. I tried not to show my face with any shock but with concern and anger for whoever the Gengar really was and held my owl closer to me as he cried more into my chest. I hated seeing Decidueye this upset, let alone be upset about anything. I held him closer to me and let my fire belt's heat do it's work till Acerola came back with a book in her arms and a slightly straight look on her face. If what Decidueye says is true, then there will be a huge hell death row by me being the one to end it all for whoever it may be.
"So? Is Decidueye safe?" I asked, turning my attention towards Acerola.
....
"Yes, your bird friend friend is safe and it won't affect his blood work at all. Plus, I have the result of the cut coming from a deceased Pokémon. It's an alive one."
"What ghost Pokémon was it?"
.......
"It was a Gengar, Mr. Incineroar. It's claw marks are small from the way they appear after the air had gotten to it." Acerola announced while having a straight but concerned look in her violet eyes.
My body almost went numb and I nearly dropped Decidueye out of my grasp. Suddenly, memories of Gastly's words to me during the museum accident came pouring into my head all over again. How much he felt "hurt" for me befriending Decidueye and Primarina when we were very little and not having him as my ONLY friend. Now I KNOW, Decidueye is telling the truth!! I knew it had something to do with Gastly!! The way Decidueye looked when I first saw him at the cliff, the brightness of the snow showing off his bruised and horribly underweight body, and his anxiety and depression skyrocketing to the point of severity becoming harmful. The question of how the hell was he alive is the last of my mind at this point. I protectively held Decidueye closer to me and felt a small twitch in himself. I bottled up my anger and my boiling feelings down to the depths of my heart that's always been wandering around for the answer, now having it. It was hella difficult to keep my anger hidden from Acerola's speech of what I may need to do, some parts in between are her of trying to calm me down and say it's temporary. As if it's that easy! It's alive for peek sake! You're telling me that this may be temporary until further notice?!? No way in hell Im gonna worry for that long. She then handed me some purple like salt that came with a timing label on it.
"Make sure to have this around the spots of where the Gengar may be coming up. I suggest you call this number up early as soon as something comes up. Anything if it's anything! Even if it's the smallest little sample, call this number and they will know what you mean once you give the word." Acerola instructed while giving me a card with a phone number on it with a weird symbol at the bottom.
"Thank you a lot, Acerola, how long are we supposed to wait for till something pops up?"
"Mostly at night there should be something, so don't wait if something does happen, Mr. Incineroar. It will save you and your bird friend a lot of stress and pain in the future." Acerola said before shaking my hand/paw.
"Alright.....might as well be the right choice to set up..."
"Yeah! Start sprinkling the salt up in the late afternoon should set it up nice and well so it can manifest into the house faster for the night." said Acerola.
.....
"Thank you, Acerola...I appreciate the advice." I respond back while holding Decidueye.
End of Chapter 12