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Wow, thanks for all the reviews! I'm blown away by the positive feedback, and super-appreciative of the good criticism. Let me know if this chapter has any more of what you guys are looking for as far as my writing and description goes.
Episode 5
Well, obviously, although I don't forget, there are things that I simply don't remember... like the whole time I was blacked out, don't remember a thing. I'm sure you all guessed that. Well, continuing on, here's more of my story, where was I?
* * *
I awoke staring at the ceiling, in a soft bed in a cold, white building. I had no idea where I was, really, and the night before was a bit of a blur. I rolled over onto my stomach, then stood and turned myself around, taking in my surroundings. Before making a complete three-hundred-sixty degree turn, I stopped at seeing a kind face. She was a tall, light-skinned, light-red-haired human with an heir about her that said joy.
She smiled at me and said, "Oh good, you're awake. Hello, little Aecen, Terrance has been worried about you."
So many things I wanted to ask her, if only I spoke her language. Where was I? What had happened? Who was she? Was Snowy okay? Was Terrance okay? Where was Terrance? I gave a worried look to the joyful woman in front of me.
"Oh," she said, "you're probably worried about your friends. Don't worry, they're fine. I'll take you out to them."
With that, she picked me up out of the bed and brought me outside a plain, white, swinging door with a small window. As soon as I was on the other side of the door, I saw Terrance come running up to meet me. Once again, the emotional bond we share became so obvious, as he was feeling for me the exact same way I felt for him... entirely, out-of-our-brains worried sick. The woman handed me over to Terrance and he embraced me.
"Oh, Aecen," he said, "It was amazing! Joseph and his Magnemite saved the day! I know you tried hard, buddy, but it's okay, you'll get 'em next time!"
I felt a little twinge inside after that. In my short life to that point, I don't know that I had ever felt patronized, and I knew Terrance didn't mean to hurt me that way, but that's what I felt. That feeling was quickly replaced by guilt. Oh, the guilt, it was all my fault. It was my disastrous power that caused the Zubat to attack, and... those were small stitches I saw on Terrance's forehead. They really got him good. I caused Snowy to faint in the worst of times, and rendered myself completely helpless.
I looked into Terrance's face once again as he held me. He didn't appear to be upset or accusing of me. Love was all that I saw. He had already forgiven me. He put me down on the floor and said, "The nurse says you're all better now, so we're going to go investigate what happened last night. At least, Joshua wants to investigate, and so does Joseph, so we're going to go. Angela isn't so happy about it."
I looked past Terrance and saw Joshua and Joseph sitting next to each other on small, cushioned chairs. I looked the opposite direction and saw Angela with Snowy. Angela looked upset. No doubt it was from the way she found Snowy last night; it didn't sit well with her at all.
Terrance got my attention again as he spoke, "Aecen, you were really brave trying to tackle the Zubat and save us last night. Thank you, buddy."
More guilt now. With those words, Joshua got up and headed towards the exit to the cold, white building.
"Alright," said Joshua, "I've got a feeling I know what scared the Zubat last night. I say we go into the woods and figure it out."
The boys nodded all together and followed Joshua. Angela pouted and reluctantly got up with Snowy. I was the last to leave, and I heard Angela speak under her breath, "I really just want to stay in this town. I'm so sick of it out there."
It was a long six hours to get all the way back to our campsite. By some miracle, probably one involving Joshua's Totodile and Joseph's Magnemite, my brave trainer and his companions had made it all the way to Cherrygrove, and now we were walking six hours to go all the way back out of town. I understood the young boys' curiosity about the happenings. Angela, obviously, did not. The one thing I didn't like, however, was them finding out that this whole disaster was my fault.
* * *
The campsite was a complete wreck. Really, it wasn't a campsite at all. Four sleeping bags, strewn every which way, and a few fainted Zubat still on the ground here and there. There were berries somewhere in the camp the night before, but no doubt the Zubat or some other wild Pokémon had already made off with them now. Joshua was prepared, however. As soon as we arrived at the camp, Terrance and his siblings began to gripe about hunger. And honestly, I was feeling the stress of hunger- or guilt, maybe it was- myself. Whatever the feeling, food couldn't hurt.
Joshua reached into his bag, "Okay, everyone, don't worry. I brought a lot of berries from home, as well as some real food for us." Joshua unloaded a few morsels of food from his bag and proudly said, "dig in!"
As was typical of Terrance and his family, we all ate in complete silence, aside from the chewing and grunting. Joshua let his Totodile out of its Pokéball to enjoy a meal too. Wanting to get my mind off of the disaster, or the guilt, I promptly introduced myself as soon as I finished eating.
"Hello," I said, "My name is Aecen."
Joshua's Totodile's lips parted to an enormous smile, then spoke with a voice that finally revealed her gender, "I'm Tootsie!"
I giggled. She was so sweet already, "Nice to meet you, Tootsie! I'm glad to see you're feeling better after battling Snowy."
"Well," Tootsie said, "my pride is a bit hurt, what after losing to a boy, and an ice-type to boot! But I'll be fine. He's a good fighter."
Snowy was just walking towards us as she said that. "Thanks," he replied, but his tone was a little less cheery than it usually was when someone complimented him. The following statement from him clarified why, "But after last night, I don't know that I'm cut out for battling. Not after what I went through."
I looked at Snowy, utterly shocked. Did I really put him through that much damage, that he wouldn't want to battle anymore? "Snowy!" I said, "No way you should give up battling. Please don't say it's because of what I did. It was a freak accident. I couldn't even do it again if I wanted--"
"Okay, let's go!" I was interrupted by Joshua's voice, "We're going into the woods to explore a bit, maybe encounter some wild Pokémon to catch, and hopefully discover the cause of the big rumble that set the Zubat on attack."
Our trainers began walking, so we followed, Snowy shaking his head at my feeble defenses of my lack of control.
It was that moment I realized something about myself. I was not strong. Powerful, yes, but strong... without the ability to restrain your own power, how can you call yourself strong? My thoughts weren't quite that profound at that age, but that theme was certainly present, no matter how simple. If I lose control, I am weaker than any other Pokémon. No matter who I can beat in a battle, if I cannot control, I am not strong. That is what I discovered that day. I was not strong.
On into the woods we marched.
Joshua seemed to be an expert tracker. As soon as he entered the woods, he spotted my tracks and Snowy's tracks, and matched them to be exactly the same size as ours, as he took our feet and measured them against the footprints we left on the moist forest ground. He followed our tracks in no time, straight to the epicenter of the disaster.
"This is simple," said Joshua, "I've heard about this all over the place. Terrance, your Pokémon knows the move Earthquake."
Terrance looked over at me, stunned, "But... how?" he asked, "I haven't ever taught him that move."
"No," Joshua replied, "his father did. And depending on what Pokémon his father was, he may know more than one move that you wouldn't expect from him. The explanation is simple," Joshua walked over to the tracks left from the battle. He pointed to the skid marks, the foot prints, and narrated our whole battle exactly how it happened. He was truly impressive, "Aecen and Snowy went out to play, to battle. They both fought hard, but with their low levels, and Snowy's access to a super-effective move on Aecen, the battle couldn't last too long before Aecen would faint. However," Joshua continued, moving to the large crack in the earth, with my footprints embedded deep into the ground at the mouth of the crack, "The battle turned out differently than expected. All the stress caused Aecen to use Earthquake, a move that he probably didn't know he had yet either. Not knowing which Pokémon his father was, we could be in for more unexpected moves like that from him."
"How would we ever know who his father is?" Terrance inquired.
"More than likely," replied Joshua, "he was bred in the Goldenrod day care center. No doubt the current champion of the Indigo League, or an avid collector, decided to breed two of their Pokémon, or more, to give new trainers starters that they may otherwise be unable to obtain. Don't you guys know this? It's on the TV all the time."
Terrance looked down, probably thinking of the fact that all he really watched were cartoons, "Yeah... sure," he said abashedly, "just like that, of course."
Even Joseph seemed surprised at Joshua's knowledge. Angela, however had a look of wonder on her face that was unexpected.
"Do you think Snowy or Magnemite have these moves too?"
"It's possible." Joshua replied, "Were all of your Pokémon bred in Goldenrod or caught in the wild?"
Terrance knew the answer to this one, and he spoke it loud, "Yeah they were all bred in Goldenrod! Mom and Dad couldn't get Pokémon any other way."
"There you have it," said Joshua, "If we want to find out what other kind of crazy moves are in store, we should head for Goldenrod. But we just might want to stop in one town beforehand to collect a gym badge."
Terrance leaped up suddenly with excitement, ran over to me and picked me up, saying, "Aecen, wow! You're so strong!"
... So strong.
Episode 5
Well, obviously, although I don't forget, there are things that I simply don't remember... like the whole time I was blacked out, don't remember a thing. I'm sure you all guessed that. Well, continuing on, here's more of my story, where was I?
* * *
I awoke staring at the ceiling, in a soft bed in a cold, white building. I had no idea where I was, really, and the night before was a bit of a blur. I rolled over onto my stomach, then stood and turned myself around, taking in my surroundings. Before making a complete three-hundred-sixty degree turn, I stopped at seeing a kind face. She was a tall, light-skinned, light-red-haired human with an heir about her that said joy.
She smiled at me and said, "Oh good, you're awake. Hello, little Aecen, Terrance has been worried about you."
So many things I wanted to ask her, if only I spoke her language. Where was I? What had happened? Who was she? Was Snowy okay? Was Terrance okay? Where was Terrance? I gave a worried look to the joyful woman in front of me.
"Oh," she said, "you're probably worried about your friends. Don't worry, they're fine. I'll take you out to them."
With that, she picked me up out of the bed and brought me outside a plain, white, swinging door with a small window. As soon as I was on the other side of the door, I saw Terrance come running up to meet me. Once again, the emotional bond we share became so obvious, as he was feeling for me the exact same way I felt for him... entirely, out-of-our-brains worried sick. The woman handed me over to Terrance and he embraced me.
"Oh, Aecen," he said, "It was amazing! Joseph and his Magnemite saved the day! I know you tried hard, buddy, but it's okay, you'll get 'em next time!"
I felt a little twinge inside after that. In my short life to that point, I don't know that I had ever felt patronized, and I knew Terrance didn't mean to hurt me that way, but that's what I felt. That feeling was quickly replaced by guilt. Oh, the guilt, it was all my fault. It was my disastrous power that caused the Zubat to attack, and... those were small stitches I saw on Terrance's forehead. They really got him good. I caused Snowy to faint in the worst of times, and rendered myself completely helpless.
I looked into Terrance's face once again as he held me. He didn't appear to be upset or accusing of me. Love was all that I saw. He had already forgiven me. He put me down on the floor and said, "The nurse says you're all better now, so we're going to go investigate what happened last night. At least, Joshua wants to investigate, and so does Joseph, so we're going to go. Angela isn't so happy about it."
I looked past Terrance and saw Joshua and Joseph sitting next to each other on small, cushioned chairs. I looked the opposite direction and saw Angela with Snowy. Angela looked upset. No doubt it was from the way she found Snowy last night; it didn't sit well with her at all.
Terrance got my attention again as he spoke, "Aecen, you were really brave trying to tackle the Zubat and save us last night. Thank you, buddy."
More guilt now. With those words, Joshua got up and headed towards the exit to the cold, white building.
"Alright," said Joshua, "I've got a feeling I know what scared the Zubat last night. I say we go into the woods and figure it out."
The boys nodded all together and followed Joshua. Angela pouted and reluctantly got up with Snowy. I was the last to leave, and I heard Angela speak under her breath, "I really just want to stay in this town. I'm so sick of it out there."
It was a long six hours to get all the way back to our campsite. By some miracle, probably one involving Joshua's Totodile and Joseph's Magnemite, my brave trainer and his companions had made it all the way to Cherrygrove, and now we were walking six hours to go all the way back out of town. I understood the young boys' curiosity about the happenings. Angela, obviously, did not. The one thing I didn't like, however, was them finding out that this whole disaster was my fault.
* * *
The campsite was a complete wreck. Really, it wasn't a campsite at all. Four sleeping bags, strewn every which way, and a few fainted Zubat still on the ground here and there. There were berries somewhere in the camp the night before, but no doubt the Zubat or some other wild Pokémon had already made off with them now. Joshua was prepared, however. As soon as we arrived at the camp, Terrance and his siblings began to gripe about hunger. And honestly, I was feeling the stress of hunger- or guilt, maybe it was- myself. Whatever the feeling, food couldn't hurt.
Joshua reached into his bag, "Okay, everyone, don't worry. I brought a lot of berries from home, as well as some real food for us." Joshua unloaded a few morsels of food from his bag and proudly said, "dig in!"
As was typical of Terrance and his family, we all ate in complete silence, aside from the chewing and grunting. Joshua let his Totodile out of its Pokéball to enjoy a meal too. Wanting to get my mind off of the disaster, or the guilt, I promptly introduced myself as soon as I finished eating.
"Hello," I said, "My name is Aecen."
Joshua's Totodile's lips parted to an enormous smile, then spoke with a voice that finally revealed her gender, "I'm Tootsie!"
I giggled. She was so sweet already, "Nice to meet you, Tootsie! I'm glad to see you're feeling better after battling Snowy."
"Well," Tootsie said, "my pride is a bit hurt, what after losing to a boy, and an ice-type to boot! But I'll be fine. He's a good fighter."
Snowy was just walking towards us as she said that. "Thanks," he replied, but his tone was a little less cheery than it usually was when someone complimented him. The following statement from him clarified why, "But after last night, I don't know that I'm cut out for battling. Not after what I went through."
I looked at Snowy, utterly shocked. Did I really put him through that much damage, that he wouldn't want to battle anymore? "Snowy!" I said, "No way you should give up battling. Please don't say it's because of what I did. It was a freak accident. I couldn't even do it again if I wanted--"
"Okay, let's go!" I was interrupted by Joshua's voice, "We're going into the woods to explore a bit, maybe encounter some wild Pokémon to catch, and hopefully discover the cause of the big rumble that set the Zubat on attack."
Our trainers began walking, so we followed, Snowy shaking his head at my feeble defenses of my lack of control.
It was that moment I realized something about myself. I was not strong. Powerful, yes, but strong... without the ability to restrain your own power, how can you call yourself strong? My thoughts weren't quite that profound at that age, but that theme was certainly present, no matter how simple. If I lose control, I am weaker than any other Pokémon. No matter who I can beat in a battle, if I cannot control, I am not strong. That is what I discovered that day. I was not strong.
On into the woods we marched.
Joshua seemed to be an expert tracker. As soon as he entered the woods, he spotted my tracks and Snowy's tracks, and matched them to be exactly the same size as ours, as he took our feet and measured them against the footprints we left on the moist forest ground. He followed our tracks in no time, straight to the epicenter of the disaster.
"This is simple," said Joshua, "I've heard about this all over the place. Terrance, your Pokémon knows the move Earthquake."
Terrance looked over at me, stunned, "But... how?" he asked, "I haven't ever taught him that move."
"No," Joshua replied, "his father did. And depending on what Pokémon his father was, he may know more than one move that you wouldn't expect from him. The explanation is simple," Joshua walked over to the tracks left from the battle. He pointed to the skid marks, the foot prints, and narrated our whole battle exactly how it happened. He was truly impressive, "Aecen and Snowy went out to play, to battle. They both fought hard, but with their low levels, and Snowy's access to a super-effective move on Aecen, the battle couldn't last too long before Aecen would faint. However," Joshua continued, moving to the large crack in the earth, with my footprints embedded deep into the ground at the mouth of the crack, "The battle turned out differently than expected. All the stress caused Aecen to use Earthquake, a move that he probably didn't know he had yet either. Not knowing which Pokémon his father was, we could be in for more unexpected moves like that from him."
"How would we ever know who his father is?" Terrance inquired.
"More than likely," replied Joshua, "he was bred in the Goldenrod day care center. No doubt the current champion of the Indigo League, or an avid collector, decided to breed two of their Pokémon, or more, to give new trainers starters that they may otherwise be unable to obtain. Don't you guys know this? It's on the TV all the time."
Terrance looked down, probably thinking of the fact that all he really watched were cartoons, "Yeah... sure," he said abashedly, "just like that, of course."
Even Joseph seemed surprised at Joshua's knowledge. Angela, however had a look of wonder on her face that was unexpected.
"Do you think Snowy or Magnemite have these moves too?"
"It's possible." Joshua replied, "Were all of your Pokémon bred in Goldenrod or caught in the wild?"
Terrance knew the answer to this one, and he spoke it loud, "Yeah they were all bred in Goldenrod! Mom and Dad couldn't get Pokémon any other way."
"There you have it," said Joshua, "If we want to find out what other kind of crazy moves are in store, we should head for Goldenrod. But we just might want to stop in one town beforehand to collect a gym badge."
Terrance leaped up suddenly with excitement, ran over to me and picked me up, saying, "Aecen, wow! You're so strong!"
... So strong.