Chapter 21: Undoing
Dawn and Aaron were in the field wearing worried looks as Demi and I came out of the forest. Demi skipped ahead of me and hugged Dawn and grinned at Aaron, telling them not to worry. She still didn't mention anything about what she'd been looking for in specifics, which I found odd.
Aaron and Demi decided to go off and play a game which gave me the perfect opportunity to talk to Dawn who had been looking at me curiously.
"What's wrong?" She whispered to me as we walked farther away from the church, too close to the building for comfort.
"I feel like there's something going on that I don't know about and I don't like it."
Dawn glanced back at the church before her eyes honed in on me, "I think you're being paranoid."
"Things are really weird." My eyes narrowed in concentration, "The abnormal wind, the rockslides caused by Ghost Pokemon, this little prodigy girl who can read minds who won't tell me what she lost in the forest..."
"She's nine."
"She could be a little manipulative liar."
Dawn scoffed.
"The truth is Dawn, I have no idea what's going on. And that's a first." It was really driving me crazy, "One of my Pokemon is hurt, Electivire went on a rampage and I don't know if he's ever coming back, and there's my state of mind as well. So yes, maybe I'm paranoid. But you have to admit all of this is a little overwhelming."
Her eyes softened, "Of course it is. There's no reason for you to get defensive."
I realized how rigidly I'd been holding my body and relaxed, trying to take a few deep breaths.
"I'm surprised you admitted all that, Paul." Dawn stepped forward and hugged me, "You're changing a lot."
I hugged her back numbly, feeling like I didn't know if my changing was good or bad. It was more like I was being pulled in two directions, worn down to a fray on both sides. It was exhausting.
"It'll be alright." She whispered against my neck.
"I'm staying here tonight to sleep outside." I felt her shift in confusion, "Demi made me promise to have a sleepover. It'll be good for Salamence to be outside more."
"Ok. That's a good idea." Dawn wrapped her arms around my neck and studied me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"John invited me to his house tonight for dinner to meet his wife."
"Oh."
I knew what that meant. More praying. More smiles that I didn't know what to do with. At the rate this week was going, his wife would have wings and they'd be trying to convince me she was one of God's created angels.
"Oh, you're just being silly now." A small voice made me jump and I felt Dawn's arms unwind from around me as we both stared at Demi, who had somehow gotten close without being loud, "Just because someone has wings doesn't mean they're an angel."
"And how would you know that?" I felt the urge to sneer but held it back.
"Volcarona has wings but he's not a Flying type." Demi argued.
"So?"
"So just because something has wings doesn't mean it's an angel." She blinked up at me, then looked at Dawn, "You should go to John's house. He's really really nice and he makes good food. Plus he loves you like a daughter."
"That's so sweet." Dawn said in surprise.
"You should go too, Paul." Demi said.
"No." I said firmly.
"Why?" Demi looked really close to stomping her foot.
Dawn and Demi both looked at me impatiently as I thought up a Plan B.
A few hours later, I was forcing myself up the giant hill for what seemed like the hundredth time, carrying a box of pizza and containers of Pokemon food.
I told Salamence I'd be at least mentally training him, but the only thing I've been doing is training myself to be patient. I mentally huffed, sweating as I made it to the top, But at least I got out of dinner with John.
"Yay!" I heard Demi's gleeful cry as she barreled into me, almost knocking me down the hill of death. I let out a grunt and she gasped, grabbing onto my jacket and hauling with her little might until I was steady, "Oh, sorry!"
"Don't you know not to run into people when they're on the edge of a cliff?"
"I keep forgetting that rule." Demi blinked.
I stared at her.
"Pizza time!" She squealed, grabbing some containers of Pokemon food before running off to where Salamence and the rest of the Pokemon were.
How does she forget the rule of not pushing people off of cliffs? I wondered, sighing as I went to join them.
After eating, in which Demi spent most of her time with the Pokemon, talking to them cheerfully and making sure they were taken care of, she spent approximately thirty seconds lying down in the grass, silent, in which I let out my own silent "thank you". Soon after, she bolted upright and went to play as the sun set. I watched, actually smiling at times as my Pokemon reacted to her forcing her way into their inner circle. Honchkrow at first seemed reluctant to let her be a part of preening his feathers, but after many wonderful compliments to his looks, boosting his ego considerably, he allowed her to play tag with him.
"You have a way with words if you were able to get Honchkrow to give you all of his attention."
"Oh, well my brother used to be pretty full of himself so I know exactly how to get my way by playing off of it." She grinned.
"No wonder I keep thinking you're evil." I said out loud.
She heard and poked me while sighing impatiently, "I'm not evil. I just know what people want to hear. What's on their hearts. But that makes it easier to help people change for the better too."
Before I could reply, she was back to moving around like a Ninjask with Speed Boost. I watched Demi dance around Salamence. His eyes stayed on her as she ran, laughing. He tried to trip her with his tail. Eventually, she ended up getting caught, hugging her body tightly to his tail as he waved it in the air. She screamed happily and slid onto his back, giggling. I couldn't help but smile as they played.
Demi came and sat by me, panting, before collapsing onto her back as the sky got darker and stars began to appear, "Wow I'm beat."
"You still seem to have energy to me." I mused.
"Yeah I guess." She always seemed a bit jittery almost. Her feet moved back and forth as if dancing, "I really like staying outside like this. Just watching the stars and talking."
I looked up at the sky, "My uncle and I used to do this all the time."
"So it must be special to you."
"It is." I kept staring at the stars, "He taught me the constellations. And by that time at night it was too dark to draw, so we would talk or play with his Pokemon. Sometimes wild Pokemon would come join us. It felt like no one else in the world existed on those nights."
Demi's shoes hit each other gently.
"What are you thinking?" I asked after her silence continued.
"I'm sorry for you. Because I want you to see your uncle more. He was a nice man."
I took a deep breath, unsure of what to say or even what she meant.
"So what's Electivire's story?" Demi asked softly.
"It's long." I stuffed my hands in my pockets, "And I highly doubt I could explain it properly.
"Hey Paul?"
"Yes?"
"Can I share an emotion with you? I won't be able to see into your head."
I clenched my jaw, "Fine."
A wave of gratitude for allowing her message swept through me, replaced by a calm presence, which switched immediately to guilt and sadness for her intrusions into my head that she couldn't control. I could tell she wanted me to understand that she couldn't control it and she did just want to help. Her emotions embraced me like a hug, trying to comfort. She withdrew from my mind quietly, her eyes sad.
I mentally sighed, "I'm going to show his story to you. The parts that matter."
I forgive you. I said mentally, not sure if she heard me or not, before thinking about my Electivire.
I walked through the forest, the same rhythmic foot falls, my muscles tired from walking through Johto all day, every day. I ignored them, continuing on anyway. I was absolutely alone. Even the area seemed quiet despite how many Pokemon there should be swarming through the undergrowth.
Feeling like something was off, I stopped, listening around me for the familiar sounds of Pokemon. After a few seconds, I heard a cry for help piercing through the silence. Quickly, I made my way towards the noise, careful to remain quiet as I approached the location of the noise, but instead heard angry screeching.
I peered stealthily through the bushes, finding a lone Elekid collapsed on the forest floor, surrounded by a colony of Mankey, all of them thrashing and chattering angrily. There were what seemed like thirty of them, some hanging from tree limbs, some standing on top and stomping to make the trees shake. The rest were on the ground with Elekid, taking turns hitting him as he screamed out in pain, occasionally letting out a weak Electric attack that only angered them further.
I watched one Mankey tackle him after Elekid used Thunder Punch, smashing his fists into the Electric type, who crumpled, giving up. Going still.
I stood and threw a Poke Ball, "Use Razor Leaf."
Grotle appeared and instantly sent a storm of leaves, slicing at the Mankey. They thrashed more and started bounding towards their new opponent.
"Leech Seed."
Grotle waited until they were all jumping to land on top of him before releasing a seed, which unraveled into a net. As it hit a group of Mankey, it glowed red, zapping their health. They fought to tear it until they were too weak to continue.
"Razor Leaf again."
Grotle aimed at several different sides all at once, trying to hit as many Mankey as possible. They were in an uproar, enraged that we'd interfered with their bullying. Grotle furiously attacked them. One knocked me over and began dragging me until Grotle roared and slammed into him, sending him flying.
I stood up, breathing fast. Perhaps I should have used two Pokemon, "Leech Seed again."
He caught another five with Leech Seed, while the rest sent out a high pitch chatter that hurt my ears. The ones that were still able to fight retreated after hissing at us, swinging through the branches to go prey on a different innocent victim.
I checked Grotle first, who seemed fine, before hurrying over to Elekid. His eyes were closed and his body was bloody and bruised. I could feel Grotle staring at me as I thought through my options.
I grimaced and picked up Elekid, carrying him on my back, "We need to get to the Pokemon Center."
Elekid was healed, but still didn't look in good shape. It would take time for his body to fully heal, even given the proper treatments. He had his own bed, which I went to visit as soon as I was allowed. Elekid looked up at me in confusion as I crossed my arms and stood over him.
"You're lucky I was there or you would be dead right now." Were my first words.
Elekid gulped and looked down at the sheet covering him. His lip trembled and I felt like he was about to start crying.
"How did you learn Thunder Punch? You're a wild Pokemon. That must have been hard to learn." I mused, studying him.
Elekid continued looking down.
"Perhaps you aren't all that bad." I said softly, replaying him punching the Mankey in the face before getting tackled. It reminded me so much of myself punching Tanner. Waking up in the nurse's office, afraid. If I hadn't been saved...
"You can come with me if you want." I said suddenly, my eyes widening as the words slipped out of my mouth. Was I kidding? Why would I want this stupid Elekid? It was a baby stage, it seemed to cower, and I had no idea if it could be trained easily or not. I instantly blamed my uncle and his stupid Electivire. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't care about this pathetic Pokemon that seemed incapable of becoming tough.
The Elekid's eyes widened as he made a very Lillipup "You'll really take me home and love me?" expression that twisted my stomach.
"But let's get things straight. You will obey every order I give you. Your main goal is to get stronger so you won't get pushed around by a bunch of stupid Pokemon like those Mankey. They don't even use strategy, they just punch anything that moves." My eyes narrowed, "That won't be you. And if you can't handle that, you're not coming with me and I'll dump you back where I found you. Do you understand?"
Elekid nodded quickly, bobbing his head up and down in what seemed like fear. His eyes still held the same child-like enthusiasm that I wanted to get rid of, "Fine. We leave in the morning. Your training starts then. Be ready to feel even more pain."
I turned around and walked out of the room, hoping that my scare tactic would make him decide to leave before morning.
Elekid ended up being a difficult Pokemon to train. He had horrible balance and second guessed himself, paused too long before attacking, and lost every training session we had. I wanted to pull my hair out and yelled constantly as he shook in fear, seeming to be unable to make any progress.
"Why can't you just shut down your thoughts and fight? Don't think. Just battle, or else you're useless to me."
He nodded, holding back tears, before trying again. And again. And again. Progress was slow for months.
And then, all of a sudden, he began to do better. I wasn't sure what had changed in him, but his moves became more powerful. He became more confident, striking at exactly the right time, the right place, not losing his balance. He was ready for more. His hits were hard and his endurance and concentration went up. I would yell at him less often, which increased his confidence. I began using him in regular battles and, after multiple successes, even found him worthy enough to use in gym battles. He was especially helpful taking on Claire's Gyarados, taking it down in one hit.
But then we got to the Johto League. An entire year's worth of training, of longing, to prove myself. I'd been an utter disgrace at the Kanto League, only making it to the second round. Of course, I'd gone up against one of the higher ranked Trainers who got to the semi-finals, but still. That wouldn't be acceptable this time.
The first round was easy, as was the second. Torterra had taken down opponents with ease and I hardly had to use my other Pokemon. The third round came. I defeated the first two Pokemon easily, but the third was a Primeape. An angry, fast, raging Primeape that knocked Torterra and Nidoking out within seconds. I held Elekid's Poke Ball, wishing I could have made a different choice.
"Don't mess this up." I hissed at him after releasing him.
Elekid cringed and assumed a fighting stance. I could feel his fear as the Primeape yelled and screamed, echoing the Mankey that had almost killed the small Electric type that stood in front of me.
The battle wasn't even close. Elekid was just as broken and mangled as when I'd found him in the forest. The second he was awake at the Pokemon Center, I yelled at him. Paragraph upon paragraph of insults, of disappointment, of anger. And he sat in his bed, staring into his lap, his eyes often tearing up as he took it.
"You're going to train with my brother. I may never use you on my team again, but you're going to go stay with my pathetic brother and maybe he can turn you into something that won't cower in fear." I slammed my fist into the wall, making it tremble, "Until then, you're not worth my time and I'm going to regret saving you."
I took out his Poke Ball and returned him without another look, rushing to call Reggie and tell him about his new "prodigy".
After my journey through Hoenn and I decided to compete in the Sinnoh League, Reggie begged me to try to use Elekid again. Telling me that he'd been training really hard, all day, every day. That he wasn't the same Pokemon. That he was scared that I'd turned this Pokemon into a monster.
I'd scoffed at him and agreed to at least see Elekid in action, who battled Reggie's Swalot. I was shocked by the improvement, but it wasn't that. It was his whole being. He wasn't the little scared runt anymore. He was a machine- he attacked perfectly, even if it would be considered too rough. His attacks were overpowering. He didn't stop to rest if he was hurt, but continued on, relentlessly attacking.
"I told you he's changed. He really needs you, Paul. You need to tell him this is too much." Reggie whispered to me after the battle.
"Sure, Reggie." I said, before walking over to Elekid. His eyes were cold and he didn't even seem to acknowledge my presence as I said, "So, are you ready to be on my team again?"
Electricity sparked off of him, making my hair stand up from the intensity. I felt a ghost of a smile on my face.
"You're not that kind of Trainer at all anymore." Demi whispered.
"I know. But I don't blame him for being upset with me."
"You don't think he'll come back."
"I wouldn't if I were him."
"He's a lot like you, but he's not you. So don't lose hope."
"Demi, I lost hope a long time ago." The words burned as I said them. I'd been so closed off from the world all these years.
"Lost things get found, right?" Demi smiled at me.
"Sometimes."
"You're silly." She sighed heavily, "You're so different now and yet you think there's no hope. You want to change... isn't that was hope is? There'd be no reason to want to change if you didn't hope for it, right? And you wouldn't have changed if there wasn't any hope."
"You're very wise for a nine year old." I murmured.
"That's because I'm turning ten soon."
I chuckled and leaned against Salamence, enjoying his warmth. Within seconds, I felt weight against my side. I glanced over to see Demi with her eyes closed and mouth open, nodding off on my shoulder. Instead of pushing her away, I focused on her light weight against me.
She really wasn't all that bad.
Demi shivered. I wrapped an arm around her small frame to keep her warm, feeling a bit more secure myself as I stared up at the stars, remembering when I had been the one who got cold, seeking shelter in the dark of the night.
Hey Readers!
So, Electivire's story is pretty sad, isn't it? I wish the anime would really go into what Pokemon had been through more. Ash's Pokemon get that a lot I guess, but that's about it. Why can't they have their own stories? Whhhhy?
Pokemon Question of the Day: How did you catch your favorite Pokemon? And I mean if this wasn't a game and you could actually have a story. I guess you can be unoriginal and say you threw a Poke Ball at it, the end, but come on :P
Let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading!
-Flips