Chapter 22: Revealed
Electivire
Eventually, I grew tired and climbed the largest tree I could find, planting myself much higher than I had earlier. I decided not to use any Electric attacks, hoping that would conceal my trace from Electivire if he tried to follow me, which I doubted since I'd traveled up the mountain pretty far, farther than an old Pokemon like him could really go.
I nestled on my branch in the tree, dropping the satchel into my lap. I stared at the leather, running a hand over it gingerly, wondering what could possibly be so important inside. I opened it cautiously, letting a few sketchbooks fall in my lap. The sun had just started to set, so I used Brick Break to supply the little amount of light needed to see.
I curiously opened the sketchbook on top, being careful with the human-sized pages as I went slowly through. There were drawings of all sorts of Pokemon on each page, the most frequent among them being an Elekid. It seemed to be the same one and I guessed it was gramps. The drawings weren't all that great and seemed sloppy, or at least that's what it seemed to me from what Paul had showed me of his own drawings. He always focused on the negatives so much that I was only good at finding what was wrong, not what looked nice.
I got to the next sketchbook. The drawings seemed more realistic and were still of Pokemon. Most of them were moving, or at least would be if the picture was more than a picture. They seemed more challenging to draw than the last sketchbook. An Electabuzz appeared more frequently in the pictures. I even ended up smiling, wondering what kind of Trainer would be special enough to draw their Pokemon so frequently, as if they were taking photographs to remember.
I flipped through all of the pages, making sure to study each one for all it was worth, especially the ones of Electabuzz. Soon, I finished that book and moved onto the next, which featured mostly drawings of an Electivire. Of gramps, but he was a bit leaner. They weren't colored, but I could tell he used to be a much different Pokemon when he had been in his golden days.
You always looked like a gentle sap that wouldn't hurt anyone, I thought as I found a lot of pictures of him with a little boy. They always seemed to be together, even if there were other Pokemon. But they were always next to each other, or Electivire would be chasing the boy.
The child was too young to be a Trainer, I knew that much, but I was bad at knowing human age to know how old he was. He was small and reminded me of how frail and weak I used to feel as an Elekid, somewhat uncertain of his actions. Except when he was laughing or smiling, which he seemed to do a lot in the drawings.
Three-quarters of this book was dedicated to Electivire and the boy. But something bothered me about it. Like I'd seen these pictures before, which made absolutely no sense. Paul was not sentimental to keep pictures and I hardly ever touched human-made items or was in an area populated by humans to study any of their faces or so called art. So why would I feel somehow connected?
I went through the book again, my hands fumbling with the sheets. Suddenly, I realized I'd skipped a page near the back. My eyes widened as I saw the little boy holding a Poke Ball out straight, his eyes narrowed in concentration, in seriousness. But the boy wasn't smiling for once. Not in this picture.
My hands fell away from the sketchbook as I stared, disbelieving.
Paul?
I woke up with a start, almost falling out of the tree, noticing that it was still warm from the day and not much time must have passed since falling asleep. The sketchbooks began toppling out of my lap and I reached out to grab them, missing one as it began falling. I caught it at the last second with my tail, letting out a sigh of relief. I placed the first two back in the satchel and grabbed the last one from my tail, holding it heavily in my hand. This was the one with pictures of Paul.
How had gramps even known him back then? I wondered. Who had drawn these? And, the question most on my mind, since when did Paul smile? I thought he had always been how he was when I'd met him. But, according to these drawings, he'd been much different as he played and laughed with Pokemon.
What had happened?
"I think he's up there." I heard a very small voice whisper.
I hit the back of my head against the tree in exasperation before becoming quiet.
"Go check." Another voice, this one much deeper, said.
Great. I grumbled, More company.
I heard scraping up the tree as a Dedenne poked its head into my line of sight.
"So peachy to see you." I said sarcastically. How had they even found me this quickly? It had been only a few hours, tops. I never would have thought that this tiny little rodent Pokemon could be able to track me.
"It's him!" Peachy said gleefully, hopping onto my shoulder without my permission before bounding closer to the end of the branch to face me, "We've been looking all over for you."
"Funny. I've been looking all over for a place no one would find me."
Peachy squirmed uncomfortably, but smiled, "Well, we came to get our friend's collection back."
"All this way?" I asked in as bored of a voice as I could.
"Well yeah. He's our friend and that doesn't belong to you."
I placed the satchel in my hands and looked up as if challenging Peachy to take it. He couldn't even lift it, much less do anything else.
"Can we please have it?" Peachy's whiskers moved as he sniffed politely.
"I didn't want anyone to follow me here."
"But you took something that wasn't yours." Peachy used that same polite tone he always used, almost as if he was older and talking down to a child when he himself was a child. He sounded like Demi.
I sneered, "Don't talk to me as if I'm the hatchling."
"Then allow me." The deeper voice came from my left, above me. A Luxray, one I'd never seen before, was lying on the branch, staring at me with red eyes, "We were told to retrieve that satchel and I'm not going to leave here without it."
"I didn't even know Luxray could climb trees." I said quietly.
"I didn't know Electivire were so keen on not following instructions." The Luxray let a very low rumbling sound from his chest.
"Um, this doesn't have to be a fight, guys." Peachy said anxiously.
"No, it doesn't." The Luxray agreed.
I considered my options. I didn't need the sketchbooks. But I did need to talk to this Electivire again, "Fine. Have it back. I don't care about the drawings anyway."
I threw the satchel clumsily towards Luxray, who caught it without moving anything but his tail despite Peachy's squeal of fear.
"Thank you." The Luxray said smoothly, standing up on his branch.
"Yes, thanks a lot!" Peachy agreed, jumping to Luxray's shoulder.
The Luxray paused, "And Electivire?"
"What?" I asked suspiciously.
"No one is mad about your theft. There's nothing to be forgiven and you're welcome to come with us instead of the tiring tracking that you're planning."
I smoothed my face after opening my mouth in shock. Peachy giggled as Luxray began descending from branch to branch. I scowled, deciding to follow them despite my pride telling me to stay put.
As much as I hated to admit it, I needed answers, and I couldn't get answers without help.
"So what have you been thinking about? Do you think you'll stay with Paul? Because he seems ok. I mean, I guess he used to be mean, huh? But now he seems a lot nicer. He says he wants to treat you well. And I don't think he'd lie. But I don't know how mad you are. Are you mad? Or just somewhat mad? Because I think you should forgive him-" I started tuning out Peachy, who didn't seem capable of shutting up.
Luxray seemed to check on me through his peripherals as we walked. I didn't know him, but he was much easier to be around than Peachy. He was quiet and only spoke when he needed to.
"Peachy, conserve your energy and stop using Draining Kiss on Electivire. I can sense his enthusiasm for this journey dwindling with every step." Luxray stated softly.
"Oh. Sorry. I get all hyper and can't stop." Peachy's ears flickered and he settled to rest on Luxray's back.
"That's perfectly fine." Luxray comforted him.
We walked in silence for a few minutes. Somehow Peachy was capable of being quiet, but then I realized he was asleep.
"He can't help himself." Luxray explained once I noticed, "Dedenne have quick bursts of energy and take naps when it runs out. He doesn't mean to make you uncomfortable. That is his way of showing he cares."
"I see." I said uncertainly. Now that it felt like it was just me and Luxray, the walk was more tense and awkward. At least to me. Luxray seemed even more content now.
"You're wary of me." Luxray stated. I felt like I could hear his pleasure.
"Well, you seem much different from other Pokemon. And I don't know anything about you. Who's your Trainer?" I asked. All I knew is that he had a Trainer. Otherwise, I don't know how he knew Peachy or why he would have taken orders to get the satchel back.
"His name is Roric."
I felt like I'd heard that name before, but couldn't remember where.
"Demi is his little sister." Luxray explained further, "And I know that you are less than fond of her."
That felt like an understatement, but he didn't exaggerate.
"I like your Trainer... for the most part. You both struggle with anger and you both dislike my dear little one." I heard a growl building in his chest, which he restrained before continuing smoothly, "That could be a problem."
I guessed Demi was his 'dear little one' that he was so protective of, "Why do you seem to be affectionate towards the aura child?"
"She is my Trainer's sister, therefore she is my sister." Luxray paused, "She feels more like a daughter to both of us, really. Roric is much older than her, as am I."
I could tell from his voice that he was older than I was, though not nearly as old as the other Electivire. He was still very powerful and could hurt me easily if he wanted to.
"You act as if you're equals with your Trainer."
"We are."
"I don't understand." I admitted.
"You don't feel inferior to humans, yet you don't feel superior. So why would you not understand?"
"Because my Trainer doesn't have that kind of relationship with me." I sighed.
"He would if you allowed him another chance."
"How do you know?"
Luxray's eyes flashed at me as he smirked, "You didn't ask how I knew you were wary of me, how I knew that both you and your Trainer are angry and dislike my human sister, and yet you ask how I know your Trainer would form a better bond with you. That's interesting."
"Those aren't as important." I defended myself.
"Yes, and asking the unimportant questions would put you in a worse light then you want to see yourself in." Luxray murmured, "I don't blame you for that."
I remembered the worst of what I'd done lately, "Is Paul ok?"
"I was with him yesterday. He was very worried about you and doesn't know that Demi had seen you or that Peachy and I were sent to meet with you."
"Is he mad at me?" I asked, fearful.
"No. Does he have much reason to be?"
My silence seemed like enough of an answer to him.
"I noticed his wrists were still bruised." Luxray stated, "But he didn't seem to mind. He's pained for different reasons, all of them his own fault."
"What do you mean?"
"He wishes to be forgiven by you. That's all. He would like a fresh start. I'm told he asked that of you. He seems to need one badly."
"He's a lot different from the person he used to be." I said quietly.
"That may be so, but he is still full of darkness that should be let out." Luxray eyed me curiously, "And for some reason, you seem to have a tie to that darkness."
"Does that Electivire live at the church?"
"His living situation is quite complicated." Luxray answered slowly.
I sighed in frustration, "Does Paul know the other Electivire is at least around the church?"
"Is this of importance?" I could hear him trying to figure out the puzzle in his mind.
"Yes, but it's none of your business." I said curtly.
"That's why you're coming with us. You have questions only he can answer." Luxray stated smugly.
I frowned, "So?"
"It seems like today just got more interesting." I heard a slight purr of content from Luxray, who went into silence as he began trying to figure out what was going on.
A few moments later, he began slinking forward at a much faster pace. I matched it, muttering mentally about how my own private life seemed to always be on display for everyone to see ever since we came to this town.
It took us half the night to get back to the church. Luxray didn't seem to be in a huge rush, claiming that his Trainer wouldn't be there till later in the day and that the little mind reader was well taken care of by her own Pokemon, though he had promised to get the satchel back as quickly as possible. Throughout the walk, I daydreamed about battling them and even began planning strategies. Mostly, I thought about battling Luxray. I wanted to know how he would handle battling me since he couldn't use Electric attacks. I was sure he'd still be a formidable opponent.
When Peachy wasn't napping, he talked pretty nonstop, which was annoying considering I was missing out on sleep. Unless I was in a nightmare.
"Hey, Electivire, how did you get to be so fast? Because during our competition you could have been using Agility!" Peachy asked from the top of Luxray's stomach when we took a break, which he had insisted on as he curled his dark body onto the ground as is ready for a nap.
"Paul would have me run every day for two hours."
"Oh really? That sounds like a lot of work." Peachy's nose shriveled.
"It was, but I did get a lot faster. Plus he started training with me a lot recently. He usually wouldn't make us train more than he himself could stand."
"Sounds like he doesn't push you too hard then."
"No. Not anymore."
Peachy tilted his head to the side, "Why do you sound sad?"
"You wouldn't understand." I grunted.
"Then why don't you explain." Luxray suggested, his voice somehow maintaining a purr and a growl at the same time.
I held back a sigh, "Because I want to do my best, which I can't do if I'm not being pushed to my limit."
"Huh. That's different. Demi doesn't ever train us like that. She just loves us lots and working comes second." Peachy seemed jittery, as if wanting to say a lot more.
Luxray sat up, "Roric has trained much over the years. He was a lot like your Trainer, actually. Intense training. But then his parents died and battling wasn't the most important thing to him anymore."
"Then what was?"
"I'm sure you'll find out for yourself." Luxray's tail flicked across the ground, "But the main point is that my Trainer has also changed, yet his Pokemon are all stronger for it. Scizor actually hasn't completely adapted to the new strategy."
I took in his displeasure, "What's so wrong about not agreeing with strategy?"
His bold eyes met mine, "A Trainer and Pokemon cannot battle properly if they are not one. I've been told that Demi and Riley were able to beat you."
I glowered at the dirt.
"I believe that's because Paul has been changing and you have not. If you are to both get stronger, you must change together or else neither of you can reach your full potential. That is why Scizor is so frustrated at times. Their bond has been fractured and needs mending, which they are working on."
"And how am I supposed to mend it?" I asked.
"You're silly." Peachy laughed, "With love."
Such a Fairy type. I thought, annoyed.
"He is right, Electivire. Forgiveness is a form of love. And that is how you and Paul will reach your full potential."
"If I decide to train with him, that is." I said defensively.
"Of course." Luxray's ears flicked in amusement before he laid back down, closing his eyes for a nap. Peachy smiled at me before I faced the other way, pretending to nap while my thoughts went back and forth between decisions.
"It's too dark to walk." I heard Peachy stumble in front of us as soon as he hopped off of Luxray's back.
"Is it?" Luxray asked in amusement.
"Well, I don't have special vision like a Luxray does." Peachy huffed, then brightened, "Hey! So you can see through anything, like that Superman human guy right?"
"Yes."
"Can you see bones and things like that?"
"Yes."
"Can you see through just all that stuff humans wear and that's it?"
I heard Luxray stop walking, "Why are you asking that?"
"Well can you?"
"Do you even know what you're asking, little one?" Luxray asked with concern.
"Well they always wear all that stuff since they don't have fur and you can't see their belly buttons."
"Their belly buttons?" Luxray repeated.
"Yeah. Demi has this thing called a belly button. I want one. Can you see their belly buttons?"
I couldn't help but snicker and I heard Luxray's soft sigh next to me before he replied, "I suppose I can, though I don't."
"Why not?"
"I'm not interested in belly buttons."
Luxray's tail hit me softly, understanding that I knew exactly what he was talking about, before walking on. I heard Peachy scramble back onto Luxray. I'd been using Brick Break as a flashlight.
"We're only a few minutes away from the church actually. It would be the perfect time to stop and rest until morning."
I took a deep breath and let my Brick Break fade. I really hadn't wanted to get this close until I was sure where Paul was, "This is fine then."
Those two settled down, exchanging good night's, before falling asleep. I was still too awake, despite being pretty exhausted.
Without making a sound, I began making my way towards the clearing. At the edge of the trees, I could make out a large clump of people and Pokemon. Circling around, it was easier to see Paul's other Pokemon, ones that belongs to Demi, and two humans resting against Salamence's side. At first, I thought it was Dawn, but then I noticed it was the little mind reader that was curled against Paul's side. I frowned. It was odd, seeing him comfort someone he just met. Was it a soft spot for girls, human ones? What was it that was making him act so differently? And really, why was I so against the change when I would have begged for him to change all those years ago?
"Enjoying the scenery?" A low voice asked.
A spark of electricity escaped before I realized it was Luxray.
"I was just checking on him." I said, turning away to stare again. He seemed peaceful in his sleep. I wish I could feel that peace.
"He has his moments of softness, doesn't he?"
"They seem more frequent nowadays." I grunted.
"You want his affection as well."
"No, I want his respect."
Luxray's feet padded towards me, "You already have his respect. He hasn't treated you badly lately, and that hasn't changed your unease. You want more."
"I don't remember asking for your opinion." I sighed tiredly.
"No, but I give my opinion whether asked for or not." Luxray's eyes flashed despite the darkness, "You would do well to give him another chance. I left him alone with my little one all day to retrieve you, as she asked. Your Trainer was upset with her this morning. Now, it seems like all is well. Rifts can be pushed together."
"Not all rifts." I spied the satchel containing the pictures of young Paul with the older Electivire.
"It's a matter of choice and of will. It takes two to form a bond and both must be equally committed."
I didn't answer.
"Good night, Electivire."
I heard his feet pad softly away. I felt the satchel on my side and touched it gently, remembering the small boy that laughed and played with Pokemon as I stared at the older, tired face of my Trainer as he rested against the human child.
Maybe there was a possibility that he could change back. I thought, then added softly, And maybe there's a chance that I could change too.
Hey Readers!
So, I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely love writing about Pokemon speaking and having their own adventures. They have personalities and wonderful things to say too, you know. Come on Pokemon. Change the anime so Pokemon talk. It's not that hard.
Tell me what you think about the chapter!
Pokemon Question of the Day: Who is your favorite Fairy type and why?
Peace out!
-Flips