Chapter 26: A Day Alone
"Hey, I'm going to get supplies," Dawn said the next morning as we finished off the remainder of our fruit and granola bars. "We need more food and I think it'd be a good idea to pick up some medicine from the Poke Mart."
Both of us had been quiet ever since waking up, ignoring what had happened the night before. All that I'd really worked out in my head was that when Dawn was uncomfortable, she avoided talking about it. Since I usually avoided talking in general, I decided not to bring up last night's conversation again. Not that I wanted to bring it up anyway.
"Good idea," I said offhandedly, watching Bagon eat his food. He'd been eating more at every meal and I was taking it as a sign that he was growing and may evolve soon.
"What'd you just say?" Dawn asked. "Did you say 'good idea'?"
I looked up at her. She was standing quite still, her empty backpack in hand. My expression desired to mimic the shock on her face that we both felt at my approval, but my face remained impassive. "Yeah. We need supplies."
I shrugged indifferently and turned back to Bagon.
"You've just never complimented me before, except when I dared you to."
"Is it against the law?" I practically growled.
"No." Dawn smiled and stared at me keenly. I looked away as she continued, "I'll be back by sunset. It'll be interesting exploring Verdanturf. Have fun training, guys."
She began walking away, Piplup at her heels, as I called, "We're not training for fun!"
Dawn turned around and grinned before waving a last good bye. She disappeared into the trees. I sighed and looked down at my knees. What had made me blurt out that compliment?
A low chuckle began to my right. I eyed Bagon, who was smirking at me.
"What's your problem?" I asked dryly.
Bagon's smirk widened as he held up a piece of Pokemon food and put it to his chest, his eyes blinking slowly and his lips quivering. His posture and expression reminded me of a certain someone.
"Are you attempting to be Dawn?" I frowned.
Bagon nodded and, unable to hold it in any longer, began laughing and pointing at me in what I assumed was amusement at how I'd told her she'd had a good idea.
My face turned red with anger. "For that you're going to have to train for twice as long when it comes to our Flamethrower and Dragon Claw drills."
Bagon stopped suddenly, his face sour.
"Or don't you want to be the strongest?" I crossed my arms.
"Bagon!" he growled.
"Then stop making fun of me and let's get to work."
We trained all day. The hours passed quickly as Bagon practiced, mostly in silence except for my few pointers.
"No, direct the flames with your tongue, Bagon. That's how you aim," I corrected as he shot off mark.
Nodding, he tried again, succeeding for the first time in hitting the target which spiraled, swinging violently back and forth.
"Now try to continue the Flamethrower for ten seconds."
Bagon straightened and prepared his stance, looking nervous. He's never been able to continue a Flamethrower for longer than two seconds before.
"Focus," I commanded. "Take a deep breath and find your inner fire near your stomach. Close your eyes and visualize the Flamethrower. When I say 'now', you will strike with all you've got."
Bagon did as I told him, breathing in and out slowly, his frame oddly intimidating for his small size.
I stood there, arms crossed, sensing the small changes around us from the small breeze, feeling Bagon's concentration as he stood rigidly, eyes shut tightly.
It's darker than it should be for this time of day, I thought, then looked up to the sky. A cloud blocked the sun, the wind forcing it to move slowly like a ship on the sea.
The cloud sailed across the sky, ten seconds later uncovering the sun completely. The warmth was rich and perfect.
"Now." I ordered.
Bagon's eyes burst open and he roared, a Flamethrower gushed from his mouth as if he couldn't hold the fire inside of him any longer, burning the target to crisps and continuing on, stretching ten, twenty, thirty feet.
The inferno blasted the hair off of my face from the intensity and I felt the entire forest seem to lean back away from the heat, from the scorching beauty of power that was coming from my Bagon's mouth.
Ten seconds and it still continued.
I thought of Dawn and how she would have jumped and cheered if she were here, how excited she would have been while a heat in my stomach that felt like contentment because of the outstanding Flamethrower, surely, rose inside of me.
The Flamethrower lasted twenty seconds before ceasing as Bagon closed his jaws and collapsed, shuddering on the ground.
My eyes were wide. "Bagon."
He looked up, panting, and pushed himself up so he was standing, wincing as his blue body rose from the ground. Bagon's eyes stared into mine, glaring, daring me to say he was weak as I kneeled in front of him. Our eyes never strayed from each other.
"That was one of the most powerful Flamethrower attacks I have ever seen." I nodded to him. "It was outstanding."
Bagon's black eyes softened and I reached out to touch his head, which craned up to meet my hand as if it were a gallon of water and he was dying of thirst.
"Do you really like approval that much?" I patted his head, feeling very out of my comfort zone.
Bagon smiled reluctantly.
"It seems like a distraction to me." I frowned.
Bagon shook his head angrily, bouncing my hand.
"Hmph. You're like Dawn." I stood up, putting my hands in my jacket pockets, a light smile forming on my face. "She'd say training is better with encouragement as well."
Bagon smirked again at my softened expression.
"Will you stop that? Why do you keep smiling like that every time Dawn is mentioned?" I stared him down, but Bagon merely nodded and grinned.
I frowned in disapproval.
Bagon opened its mouth, releasing a small puff of smoke. Startled, he fell backwards, landing on his rear.
It was my turn to smirk and, feeling an impulse to let Bagon rest, said, "Come on. Let's go back to the bags and get something to eat."
Bagon jumped up, looking very happy with the progress he'd made. I watched him walk with an air of importance as we made our way through the woods.
I released all my Pokemon and provided them with their lunch. Bagon, who was now fully respected among all of them, talked eagerly while the others nodded in encouragement, smiling at his newfound strength and confidence.
"You'll have to show them your Flamethrower, Bagon," I said to him. "You can all learn from each other."
I'd never thought about the factor of a Pokemon team long enough to even consider how my Pokemon could truly help each other learn- not by just attacking and learning to take offense or defense against an opponent, but by encouragement and belief that their fellow team mates would succeed.
It reminded me of Pokemon Contests in the way Dawn described them. Double Contests. The way her Pokemon had to work together to make a magnificent performance.
I rolled my eyes at the word 'performance', but otherwise I felt more open to what I can learn from what I thought was useless before.
If I could teach some of my Pokemon Earthquake for a double battle. Honchkrow and a Salamence would be immune.
The rest of my lunch was spent in concentration, strategies growing clearer in my brain. Satisfied with the results, I turned my attention back to my Pokemon who were all surrounding Bagon, talking perhaps of the same thing.
I smirked and opened my mouth, about to say "I never would have thought anyone, especially my Pokemon, would be more talkative than you, Dawn", but realized she wasn't there.
My eyebrows pulled down as a pang of loneliness attacked me. I put the containers from my meal away and shook off the feeling. "Time to train some more. I've thought of some new attack combinations that would benefit our battles."
Hours passed as my Pokemon and I trained. We spent a lot of time working on attacks and combinations. We performed drills for speed, strength, and endurance. We all ran together through the forest, dodging trees, panting and sweating as our muscles worked and the sun hit our bodies, warming them further.
"Weavile," I barked. "You're supposed to be faster, stop lagging!"
"Weav!" Weavile gasped. Honchkrow had been flying above, speeding in front of Weavile easily for the past couple minutes as Weavile had slowed to rest.
Torterra and Bagon were farthest behind, scuttling behind our group. Bagon may become speedier if he worked hard enough, especially when he became a Salamence, but I knew Torterra just couldn't run like he had as a Turtwig. Still, the exercise was good for us all.
We broke through the trees to our campsite suddenly, Electivire by my side, Gastrodon sliding after us. Honchkrow and Weavile were already there, trying to get their breath back. I looked up at the sky and noticed it was sunset.
Breathing heavily, I glanced around. No sight of Dawn.
Disturbed by her absence, I said, "Honchkrow, fly over the trees and see if you spot Dawn anywhere near here."
Honchkrow, who was perched in a tree, extended his wings and took off as Bagon and Torterra entered camp. Torterra's feet stomped, shaking the ground as he approached.
"How'd he do, Torterra?" I asked.
Torterra nodded vigorously and looked at Bagon who was taking heaving breaths. Bagon was getting faster, but his endurance was still low.
"You're doing better, Bagon." I turned to the others. "Thank you all for working so hard."
There was a chorus of happy cheers followed by panting. Leaving my Pokemon to recover, I went and sat down on a fallen log, staring at the red sun that was now just a sliver peeking over the mountains, casting long shadows.
Honchkrow cried and flew into view, flapping his wings rapidly as he landed in front of me.
"See her?"
He shook his head sadly.
I grunted. "Thanks for looking anyway."
Honchkrow stretched his wings and flew to join my other Pokemon,
Where was she? I wondered, staring at the ground. She'd never been late before, never shown any indication of loving the towns we visited enough to stay in them for an entire day, especially by herself. I knew she disliked being alone as much as I enjoyed it.
Was she in trouble? I picked up a stone and rolled it around in my hand. Could she be in danger? Hoenn may yet have Team Magma and Team Aqua thugs scattered around here and there, not to mention the normal thieves and criminals. Dawn, so innocent and fragile, would attract unwanted attention.
The urge to stand up and take action, comb through the woods and town for her, was sudden and choking. I tightly gripped the stone in my hand, trying to gain control of myself. It was unwise to leave. Dawn would have no way of finding me if she came back to find me gone. She was probably just late.
I looked around the campsite again and noticed every bag she owned was gone. Not one pink item in sight.
My heart clenched. What if she didn't intend to come back? What if she had gotten sick of me? What if my insults, my criticism had become too much for her to handle? I'd been easier on her lately, but still, had I offended her?
She'd never seemed to dislike me for being honest. Sometimes she'd get mad, of course, but had she decided to leave because of it?
My thoughts went back and forth. Was she late, lost, or just gone?
I threw the rock I was holding angrily against a nearby tree. It hit the trunk so hard it made a flock of Taillow rush into the air, swarming upon me and my Pokemon. They began pecking and screeching at us. I winced, holding my arms over my face for protection.
"Torterra, Stone Edge," I called. "Electivire, Thunder. Gastrodon, Ice Beam. Weavile, Ice Shard. Bagon, Flamethrower."
They all released their attacks. The Taillow cried out in pain as each one was hit, some falling to the ground before recovering and soaring away. Bagon's Flamethrower had, yet again, been extremely powerful.
"Thanks." I looked at my Pokemon who all bore red scratch marks on their bodies. "I'm sorry I made them attack us."
It had been tactless to disturb the forest. I hadn't been thinking, just feeling. I hated myself for it. Before Dawn, I'd never felt before. I just trained. It was just me and my Pokemon and there was no worry, no anger, no confusion. But now?
My fists clenched as I sat back on my log and stared at the ground. Bagon walked forward into my line of sight and stared up at me. I could see my angry expression reflected in his eyes. Without a word, Bagon hopped onto my lap and sat there, his head against my chest.
Surprise washed through me, extinguishing most of my frustration. The rest of my Pokemon crowded around the log, smiling to comfort me. I sat rigidly, unused to this behavior.
"So, you guys don't think I'm just a weakling for allowing this touchy little gathering, do you?" I smirked. They all shook their heads and grinned back. "Hmph. Maybe we should do this more often, then. Twice a year, tops."
They laughed and fell silent as we waited together for Dawn to come back, for the first time feeling like more like one single, breathing being than a Trainer and his six Pokemon.