Our surroundings in route 10 send me shivers down my spine. I don't know what it was, other then knowing there was a lot of tall grass where Pokémon can pop out of nowhere, there were huge stones in lined in this specific area... almost reminding me of gravestones from its eerie feeling
"What do you think?" Calem pointed high at the tall stones "these stones are pretty impressive, aren't they?" Because Calem was holding my hand to at least help me move around the route, I was able to stand behind him without making it look like I was hiding
"They're... something" he chuckled
"To be honest, I don't know what's the big deal with these stones. There were a few people who are very interested in them" I looked around, seeing little flowers growing around the edges of these stones
"I believe this area was used for the Pokémon war that happened 3000 years ago. Many Pokémon lost their lives, and I believe these stones represent graves. Though that information is unclear, the war came to an end when a ultimate weapon was used" I held my chin to see if I can remember anymore information. Nothing was related to the fact. Calem smiled big
"You really studied up on your research! That's awesome!" I rolled my eyes "gravestones, huh?" Looking around, he stopped and grabbed my shoulder, confusing me when he pointed forward "isn't that the kind of person you were talking about?" He pointed at a grunt I met in Glittering cave "the one wearing all red?"
"Yeah" the grunt noticed us staring and glared, wearing a dark bruise on his face and his glasses cracked
"You again?! You're the one who foiled our fossil-finding plans! And kept beating on me even if I didn't know where the heck your sister was!" I crossed my arms
"I don't know what you're talking about" now that I know this fool doesn't know where Serena is, he's useless "get out the way, we're trying to pass"
"Why you! You think you can just act a certain way and be like this like nothing even happened?! You were such a bitch in Glittering cave, now you're here, standing around these stones. Do you have any idea what they even are?"
I walked over and pushed him out my way, knocking him on the floor, and walked away. I don't have time for this "son of a bitch! You'll pay for that!" He hurried back on his feet and send out his Houndour "time for some sweet revenge... with style!" He did a strange pose
"Sophie, this is your chance!" Calem said "you've been training to learn how to battle with your Pokémon with rules! This can help you connect more with your Pokémon" at the Battle Chateau, Calem kept encouraging me to battle the right way and told me it was better to battle with my Pokémon then to let them do what they want. All I've known to do is self defense, so this new method is very different. He wanted me to create a bond, and it can help me get over my fear. Even if it's something I would love to conquer, I still have doubts in myself
"O-okay..." I gulped and threw out Eevee "E-Eve... battle with me" Eevee gasped in happiness and nodded, facing its opponent "use swift!" I hesitated the entire time battling. Accidentally yelling it moves that it didn't even know, thinking Z was in the field. Eevee fell hard and fainted
"I keep loosing..." I frowned
"You're learning! You won a battle before!Remember?" We battled in the Battle Chateau awhile ago, which I won only because I battled with Z. I still don't know how to battle with any of my new Pokémon "you can do this. Send out Fennekin. It's okay" the grunt was laughing at me when returning Eevee. I hated being laughed at... my blood started to boil
"Who are you laughing at?" Knowing Calem was watching, I couldn't just go out and beat the crap out this guy again. The simple way I cracked my knuckles was enough to make the grunt stop laughing "Fennie!" Fennekin was send out "Use scratch!" Fennekin did everything I yelled out, even tried to do the moves it didn't do. I felt stupid for continuing to do such a thing, but luckily it was enough to defeat the grunt. I got weak on my knees and fell on my hands
"Hmph!" The grunt snorted and turned around to take a call on his holocaster from that female admin I met back in the cave, the one that was oddly different and didn't even seem like she cared about her own team. Calem stared at the girl hard, looking confused, but ignored it and helped me up "roger that!" The grunt turned back to us with a glare and ran off without saying anything else
"That was weird" Calem crossed his arms. I dust myself off and watched Fennekin run over all proud. I smiled, letting Pichu down so it can give its congratulations. Calem held my shoulder, like he was giving me sympathy for failing the first time. I didn't want to push him away or give him any attitude for feeling sorry for me. I feel sorry for myself
"You were great, Sophie"
"You don't have to lie to me" I looked down "I don't want you looking down at me... I just... can't battle like you can"
"You're getting the hang of it! Fennekin is more experienced than Eevee, so keep training them. I'll be helping you" I nodded, knowing I was looking down at myself, I could feel Pichu staring at me for some reason...
During the walk through the graveyard, Team Flare grunts flooded the area. Calem took care of most of them while he assisted me on my own battles. It took allot of me not to snap at every grunt I see and demand to know where my sister was, but Calem did most of the talking and got nothing
The town up ahead was covered in stones. It was so amazing that I almost didn't even see Calem run off to chase a grunt "huh?" I watched him run off before I head off to the Pokémon center. Eevee and Fennekin recovered well and were now eating their meals with Pichu. Pichu simply looked at the plate it was sharing while I purchased something from the mart
"Is something wrong?" I asked, taking out what I bought as I leaned down to wrap it around it's neck. Careful not to touch it with my hands, I wrapped gifts around all my Pokémon. Pichu had something that was different from the rest though "since you're not leaving my sight, I figured you should wear a bell just in case I need to find you. You can't get very far, so a bell sound should be good for me to hear where you are" I looked at the others "you guys have actual tags, just in case I lose you. I know I'm not the best trainer and am pretty much crap, I can at least do this much before I hand you off to my sister when I leave Kalos" I can't take these two with me back home. Not only have I not conquered my fear of touching them, but it's not allowed. Pichu has papers and can easily come back home with me. The others don't deserve a pathetic trainer such as I
They didn't like what I said and started crying "I don't want to hear whining. I already made up my mind..." I sighed "finish your food, you're staying in Kalos. That's final" trying to protest by not eating, they failed miserably and finished their food. We were off to find Calem probably still roaming around the town
"Lucario! Where are you going?!" Someone yelled out. I turned around to see a familiar Lucario approaching me. This has to be...
The girl, Korrina, from the security cameras back in the daycare, the one who dropped off Serena's Pokémon, came skating over. "Lucario! What's gotten into you?" She looked at me, staring at my eyes and face as if she was trying to read me. Lucario smiled and stood next to me. I moved a bit, not wanting to get too close "huh.." she held her chin to think "this kind of reminds me..." she thought to herself before looking back at me "sorry, I was just remembering something! Hi!" I nodded my head "it seems my friend's Lucario got a interest in you" her friend... so it does belong to Serena "I'm taking care of it while she's being found"
"Yes... I'm aware. You took the rest of her Pokémon to the daycare center" she looked surprised
"How do you know that?" Calem showed up out of nowhere "oh! Calem! What a surprise!" She smiled. Lucario looked at me, offering its hand. Looking away made it cry in confusion. It kept staring at me while the two in front of me talked. Even the Lucario that belonged to the Korrina stared at me, like it felt my uneasiness
"No way!" Korrina looked at me "you're Serena's older sister! You look so much alike! No wonder her Lucario likes you!" She told me, laughing "this reminds me of the time when Lucario wanted to battle her here in this very town"
"Thank you" I played with my scarf "Serena told me allot about her adventures and friends. I'm glad you became close to her. If you don't mind me asking, but how did you end up getting her Pokémon?"
"The strangest thing! Really! I'll tell you about it while on our way to my place. I have to get home to my grandpa" we followed her out the town and all the way to a place called Reflection Cave
The cave was odd for a cave. It was lit with actual light bulbs, meaning it was a tourist attraction. I heard about this cave, and it suddenly became more interested in it more than what Korrina had to say
The word about this cave is that if you look at your reflection, you'll be able to see your true self. It reminds me allot of my dream... when my old self reached out to me, telling me I'm broken
I caught myself stopping my tracks and staring at my reflection looking back at me. I could see Pichu popping out its blanket to look at me spacing out. My reflection had my image, but it wasn't using the eyes I was using to stare at it. It looked cold and lifeless, looking down at me now
"Open your heart a little more..." her lips moved on her own, and a echoes of my voice rang in my ears. Not knowing if I spoke for myself, I reached out to her like in my dream, only thing was... this wasn't the person with the red eyes "I'm breaking more and more... if I don't admit how I feel, I'll fall apart" my reflection cracked, causing me to gasp loudly "I'm falling... I'm falling apart!" I felt myself scream and hold my face
"Sophie? Sophie!" I looked up to see Calem shaking me. Calem..? When did he turn me around? When I came back to reality, I realize what I was doing. Korrina was meters away from where I stood "are you okay?" He let go of me
"Y-yes..." Pichu cried up at me. I used the blanket to pet it's head. Calem sighed and pet my head, making me look up at him
"You know... now that I think about it, Serena did the same thing when we came here" my eyes widened
"What?" He shook his head and took my hand
"Come on, I'll tell you later" I nodded and looked back at the mirror I looked through, seeing that the crack disappeared. Did I just imagine what I just saw..?
The path further was silent until Korrina started talking again when we made it to Shanour City "it's been along time since being here" Calem looked at me "this is where we learned a lot about mega evolution"
"Mega evolution?" The topic was pretty big here in Kalos, a thing that was found here in this region first. Stones were found in various places and connected with Pokémon and linked people's hearts. Though I didn't bother putting much research in it, Serena had a key stone that connects with these mega stones and will only work with bonds between the trainer and Pokémon... it takes a person with a special heart to even own one
I looked at Calem walking me away from Korrina waving at us. I was curious for this long on why Korrina was involved and why she had Serena's Pokémon, but I've been too much in my head to be paying attention to anything lately. She had told us on our walk that Serena's Pokémon were delivered to the Tower of Mastery without a return address, so there wasn't much she could had told us
I stared at my feet walking on sand, heading towards a large tower that was almost as big as the landmark in Lumiose "where are you taking me..?" The sound of Pichu's bell brought me back to reality "I'm... I'm going insane" I cupped my face "The more I feel like I'm drifting away from my sister, the more I feel my sanity is going away. It's been too long without talking to her... I hate it!"
"Sophia..." Calem frowned, walking me into the tall building "it's a good thing there was a low tide... we wouldn't have gotten here. There's a place I want to take you. We can talk up there"
"Talk about what? How crazy I'm becoming..?" He chuckled
"Trust me, I know crazy" I gave him a questionable look, watching him walk me to the very high staircase leading to the very top. Unlike me, Calem was slowing down the farther we go up. Eventually, he walked me to a balcony that showed a beautiful view of the ocean and land. Calem let out a big stretch and yawned
"We're not allowed up here unless we beat Korrina, but we have access because you're her sister. That's awesome, huh?" He smiled
"I suppose..." I leaned on the edge "what did you bring me here for?"
"In the reflection cave" I looked at him "I watched you notice the mirrors and stared at them, talking to your reflection, like it was responding or something. You panicked and yelled out those words 'I'm breaking, I'm falling, I'm falling apart' And screamed at the last part. Our friends watched Serena do the same thing, same words and everything. The only difference between you two was that she was sobbing" I frowned in devastation "you told me to not tell you the secrets she told me, but I'm allowed to tell you why she told them to me. Shauna and I were the only ones who listened to her. She told us she doesn't tell you or your mom because she's afraid of judgement" he looked down "that's all I can really say"
"Judgment..? Who in the right mind would judge her?" I shook my head "that's for me to find out..." he nodded
"Listen, Sophia... I might not have been the best partner for you and I'm sure everyone annoys the crap out of you" strangely, it hasn't even felt that way lately. I'm too focused on myself that I can care less on what the people around me do. Calem on the other hand... "But I want to explain exactly why I'm so obsessed with you" the sudden words made my heart drop
"H-hey!" I glared "you just don't say things like that so suddenly!" He leaned closer, making me catch my breath "what?"
"Remember what I said before..? You make me feel. I never knew what it was like to feel anything, not even for my Pokémon" I frowned and looked down at him digging in his shirt and take off a necklace I remembered holding back in the rented room, the one I kept thinking about, and took what looked like a keystone "that's why I never been able to use this" he lifted the necklace as a sign to make me lift my hand to take it. It was about the size of a eyeball... don't ask how I know that
"I can't use it..." he said "but I wanted to give it to you"
"W-why..? What use do I have for it?"
"I know you have love for your Pokémon, you just can't conquer your fear by running away, that's why I've been wanting to help you this whole time. I know you're strong, and I couldn't let you stay the way you were, hiding everything you got. I can't say that it might work on you because it might not be yours to begin with, but this keystone will unlock more power than you can imagine... ever seen mega evolution up close?"
"No?" He smiled again
"Well, you're in for a surprise" he handed the stone closed my hand holding it. My breath suddenly got knocked out of me when feeling my heart beating a million miles per second "I have no right to tell you how to live your life, but because you've been the only source of emotion my entire my life consist of... you're mine" he stared at me breathing heavily "Sophie?" I shook my head, showing that I was fine before I saw that he kneeled down. My jaw dropped
"T-there you go again with the sudden words! Do you even know what you're saying!?" He kept my closed hand in his "is this some proposal or something? Is that the reason you took me up here?!" his smile never changed, making me think that was the case "wait... w-what..?"
"Don't worry, you don't have to answer me now" I glared and punched his cheek out of reflex and embarrassment. Pichu laughed and took the stone out of curiosity before noticing something flying out Calem's bag. It jumped off, falling on its face, and reached out to look at the picture
"Oh honey..." I picked it back up "you really need to go in your Pokéball" It gave me what it picked up, a Polaroid picture Calem likes taking "huh?" My eyes slowly widened when I realize what the picture consist of "Calem?" Calem rubbed his cheek and looked back at me, not even looking like he was in pain
"Yeah?" He noticed what I was looking at and froze "is this me..? When I was a little girl?"
~~
Busted or nah?