CHAPTER 178

"Bella, what do you think about altering the path of electric type attacks using physics? Or fizzling out the attack entirely? I'm stumped, and my textbook won't help. I have to prepare to face Volkner after Maylene."

Simply will it away, she answered. And I do not recall giving you permission to call me Bella.

"We can't just will things away," I rolled my eyes. "And for the nickname, I thought it'd be nice, but I'll give up if you don't want me to call you that."

Sunshine snorted, and I totally didn't understand why. I let out a short chuckle, playfully tapping his scales so he wouldn't give me away. The old dragon was too tired to be angry at fairies. He hadn't worked this hard in months, and even he was learning things from his few duels against Nightstalker and his mock battles against the family. The prospect of him growing stronger than before was terrifying, but also very exciting. The rest of the team were in their Pokeballs to rest up, excluding Princess, of course.

She was growing more and more every day.

Yes, you do understand. This trick that you've learned is irritating, I shall return to helping your daughter.

"You're teaching it to me, it's not my fault."

Don't use it against me. It is rude to resist your teacher, Hatterene said as she shuffled away.

Well, if she hadn't wanted me to stop her from reading my thoughts, she shouldn't have taught me to manipulate how I felt on a whim. Bella— Bellatrix used emotion to read thoughts, so I could essentially counter her by altering them. It was nowhere near perfect, and they were only minute adjustments, such as what I'd just done: hiding my disappointment that Sunshine had nearly given me away. Manipulating my emotions made me feel like a sociopath sometimes, but Bellatrix would scold me every time I was limited by 'artificial human barriers'. It had been this whole process of labeling each state I usually felt and putting them into boxes, practicing relaxation techniques until my mind was clear, and reframing those into what I wanted. Supposedly, my half-state had sped up the process.

There were limitations, of course. There were always limitations. This was no barrier, and would only work with benevolent empaths. If she'd wanted to, she could have ransacked my brain. Still, having a better understanding of emotion would go hand in hand with training Princess and my… gift. I still hated calling it that. Bellatrix had attempted to make me keep the mental barrier standing for as long as I could, but no matter how hard I tried, it only appeared when I focused on understanding. And focus was needed. It did not appear when I effortlessly translated my Pokemon's words.

Pretty shitty, for a barrier, but if what Hatterene had said was true and I was drawing power from somewhere to get started on the translating process, then it made sense. If I understood a Pokemon, I wouldn't need the power any longer.

I could understand Nightstalker perfectly now, although there were sometimes when he spoke so fast that I got tripped up. My ability had been proven in Hatterene's eyes, and she desperately wanted to study me further. It was strange, how emotions slowly morphed into understanding over time.

Bellatrix was a great teacher both to me and Princess, even though her words were harsh sometimes. Two days to reach Veilstone had turned into almost a week due to us meandering around the woods. I had grown used to telepathy now, and the headache from her speaking to me was completely gone. We had stuck around so long that I was pretty sure that all of my friends excluding Denzel, Cece and Pauline were already in Veilstone. I had almost run out of food, however, so today was our last day together.

"Meanie," I said to Turtonator. "You owe me for that."

The fire type pushed me away from his warmth, saying that he didn't play by the rules of the fae. I paused as a slight anxiety took hold. It was so easy to get lost in Bellatrix's ways, but I'd have to go back to society soon. Adapting would be tough. There'd be no more bargaining for everything and anything, no more gentle nights watching Buddy talk Nightstalker's ear off, no more Bellatrix sternly telling Angel off while he rubbed her hair with a thinly veiled smile and happiness radiating off of her.

Nightstalker placed a wing on my shoulder and hooted. It had a slight echo to it, but otherwise he sounded completely ordinary. Nothing compared to Bellatrix's horrifyingly charming vocalization.

"I'm not sad, just… melancholic, I guess," I answered. "It was fun being with you guys."

The grass type silently laughed and observed Hatterene telepathically yell at Princess as she formed a miniature Moonblast. It was nothing compared to hers— a bright pink ball of fairy type energy that sometimes revealed the dull grey that dwelled within. Bellatrix called it impure and imperfect, and it could only go a few feet before unraveling completely, but it was still a force to be reckoned with in battle. I never thought I'd see her wield this kind of power before she evolved.

And we had used it to beat Sunshine yesterday for the first time, after all. He'd been an especially good sport about the loss. Oh, he had still sulked in a corner like a baby and it took hours for him to even let me heal him with my few remaining potions, but deep down, he enjoyed the challenge.

"Say, can I ask you something? Let me know if it offends," I said.

Nightstalker nodded, not even looking at me. He was a pretty chill guy, but it was good to be polite.

"How did you end up standing by while Bellatrix had her revenge?"

He did not tense, nor did he even seem to care about me asking such a sensitive question. Nightstalker calmly explained that he'd been his trainer's first Pokemon and known him for even longer than Bellatrix did. In fact, he still carried the name given to him by his trainer, while Hatterene chose her own name. It had been a point of contention between them in the past, but she'd made her peace with it.

Nohea— their old trainer's name— had not been a good person. He was brutal with all of his Pokemon and kept them under control by pitting their rivalries against each other. Just like someone might feel compelled to stay with their abuser even though they could just leave due to manipulation, they did not dare to fight back. There was a fear that had been instilled within them from young, and they believed that going against him would be impossible. That was until Bellatrix came into the picture.

"There were no laws to protect Pokemon from abuse back then," I guessed. "I mean, not that the laws are very clear and enforceable now. I don't even think what he did would have been punished that harshly today. It's wrong."

The grass type nodded, but kept going. Bellatrix planned in secret at first, but slowly, she involved all of his eight Pokemon into her schemes, including him. When the day of the rebellion came, they all…

"Betray's the wrong word," I interrupted him. "They were scared and couldn't take the plunge. Even you were. Bellatrix told me that Nohea had started to genuinely change for the better in his last two years and apologized for treating them terribly. Things were changing for the better, and they probably wanted to give him a chance. I guess that's why you stood still and watched?"

Nightstalker hooted again, which was more of a sigh. He had called me very perceptive.

"Thank you for telling me. I'll cherish these words," I said, bowing my head slightly. "And thank you for helping Sunshine out for a week. He's burned you quite a bit."

Turtonator growled, saying that he would have managed to get a hit in if he had a few more tries. Well, I'd let him believe that, and so would Nightstalker. The grass type had no pride to speak of and routinely let Bellatrix walk all over him. Honestly, I couldn't exactly blame him. It was hard to fight back verbally when she had her sights on you. She won every single debate she participated in, although Sweetheart did give her a hard time once by just screaming all over her words when she had called Turtonator weak. That had been a fun night.

Decidueye sat next to Turtonator and me as he began to preen the feathers within his wings. They served as his arrows, so he constantly needed them to be in good condition for any battles. They were both stronger than anything on this route and everything around it, but Hatterene had said that the threats came from outside, which meant other areas. Although they did so a lot less than humans, Pokemon often fought for territory and resources, from small-scale battles to large communities like this one. Hatterene kept everyone safe, however, and she wasn't worried about whatever lurked on route 210 and generated all that fog. I'd be terrified if I were her.

Nightstalker cawed, seeing through my worry. He was no empath, but he was still good at reading people thanks to Hatterene teaching him the ropes. He had never seen her this happy since she'd killed their old trainer. After a week with these two, the brutality of those words just went in one ear and out the next. They didn't affect me whatsoever.

Sunshine mockingly jeered, but I playfully slapped his scales, accidentally hurting my palm in the process. My pain sent him into a laughing fit.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "No one saw that! You better not tell anyone. I'm cashing in what you owe me now!"

He immediately refused. Ah, well, that's what I got for getting cocky. I turned back to Decidueye and apologized for getting sidetracked.

"I'm glad that she's happy," I said, leaning against my knees. "What about you?"

For the first time, his eyes dimmed beneath his hood. They functioned somewhat like Jellicent's but with their own quirk. The golden iris around his red pupils was very emotive too, dimming or flaring up depending on what he felt. Sometimes, the pupils grew larger or narrowed— softened or sharpened as well. They were always soft when he looked at Hatterene. Buddy's eyes weren't as complex, but his vocalization was more so.

The grass type nodded as Princess' third Moonblast this time didn't fizzle out and actually reached one of the targets she had raised with Ancient Power. She'd made them look like Sunshine, much to her teacher's amusement and the fire type's anger. He'd been so well-behaved this past week that he deserved a reward when we got to Veilstone. I didn't know what he wanted, but I'd ask him soon. It was probably hard for a dragon to be bullied by two fairies and keep his head down.

"Good," I smiled. "I didn't want you to feel obligated to stick around. She'd hate you for that, and you're good at hiding your emotions from us. She complained about that to me when I started doing the same. I'm nowhere as good as you, though."

Decidueye thanked me for my worries, but this was where he belonged. He couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

"Of course. Hey, are we pals now?" I suddenly asked. He nearly ripped out one of his feathers right then and there. "I want to be your friend. If I'm Friend of the Forest—"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I coughed, choking on the powerful words. It was like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs. The title might have been bestowed onto me, but I could still not say it. Turtonator offered me a bit of support with his tail, and I thanked him for his help.

"If I'm that, and you live here, then I'm your friend, right?" I asked, tilting my head.

Decidueye resigned to his fate, and I patted him on the back.

"See? Not that hard," I grinned. "So, Night. What do you enjoy doing in your free time when you're not hanging out with kids like us?"

Sunshine angrily flared up at being called a child, but I ignored his outburst. I knew he hated when Buddy called him that too, so I had maybe teased him on purpose. I was happy that we'd gotten close enough to have this tongue-in-cheek thing going on.

"So?"

Nightstalker sighed and began to tell me about how he routinely traveled to Veilstone under the cover of Phantom Force to steal some books to read, and that somehow led Sunshine to talk about how Kamaile taught him how to read too, once.

I listened attentively, hanging to his every word.

I would ask him about his old team soon.

—

"Well," I sighed. "We're there."

Route 215 stood in front of us, and the gate into Veilstone was extremely close if Bellatrix's constant complaints about the toxic air were anything to go by. She usually never went this close to the city because of how industrial it was. Fairies that had spent centuries in the wild like her were not well-adapted to cities. Princess, meanwhile, usually liked to be in them. This time, however, she was terribly sad. Her head hung low and she held back tears as we stood in silence.

"Maybe I could stay another day," I said, turning toward Bellatrix and Nightstalker. "There's so much to learn still. I'll just go next to the gate so I can send a text to my friends and tell them I'm safe and check on how close my girlfriend's group is to making it. I can—"

Now, now, Hatterene gently said. You shouldn't allow your sadness to leak out that much.

I sniffled and clenched a fist. Tangrowth placed a vine of comfort around my wrist while Honey wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Bellatrix… Night…" I whimpered. "I'll miss you."

Decidueye hooted, saying that I would not leave forever.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," I said with a quivering breath. "But it still hurts."

I'd only known them for slightly more than a week, and yet I felt like I was saying goodbye to family. The tall owl looked at Hatterene as his irises stretched, their yellow glow dimming slightly. He whispered something to her, but I didn't manage to catch the words.

I will accompany you to the gate, Bellatrix said. It is only the right thing for a host to do.

"But shouldn't— didn't you want to stay hidden?" I asked. "Don't—"

Nonsense. I will do as I please, she smiled. Let us be on our way.

"Wait— Bellatrix—"

Bella will do, the psychic type said, pushing me along with her tentacle. Just this once.

We broke through the thick tree line and took our first steps onto the route. This close to Veilstone, it only took two minutes to meet our first trainer. She froze up, trembling like a leaf at the sight of the two Pokemon by my side. Her Breloom and Whirlepede protectively moved in front of her. I would have thought that they might have passed as my Pokemon and not wild ones, but it seemed that just the sight of them was enough to terrify anyone we met.

What I had not anticipated was more wild Pokemon coming to follow us. Hordes of them, simply walking along with me. I recognized Simisage, although he had two Pansage holding onto his massive head while he swung from tree to tree. The five Psyduck that had been with me at the cave, along with the Ponyta whose leg had been bruised, and more that I didn't recognize. Trainers ran away or watched in awe at the display of unity. Something of this scale had never happened before. I chuckled as a Cottonee floated in front of me, causing me to sneeze. A Starly landed on my head and nested there, pecking and pulling at my hair. Not even Sunshine dared flare up at the invasion of his personal space, and he was very careful not to step on the smaller Pokemon. Angel was over the moon, grabbing children and carrying them on top of him. There was even a Tangela on there, and the grass type was happily gurgling and intertwining his vines with Angel's. He'd always wanted to be a caretaker.

Sweetheart crawled on the ground, but a fierce Grotle had taken a liking to her and was walking by her side as she told him about the many battles she had been in. Five Phantump surrounded Buddy and orbited around his head, and he sighed at the attention. Still, I couldn't help but notice a hint of amusement in his eyes. Honey shied away from all of the stares, but he was too big to hide away behind me. And it wasn't like that would help anyway, seeing as we were surrounded from all sides, but he slowly got out of his shell and began to answer questions flying his way. Princess still hung by Hatterene, determined to exhaust every minute left that she had with her teacher for any last bits of insight.

"How is this even happening?" I asked, turning to Bellatrix. Her face was marred by a permanent wince. "Are you okay?"

It is loud, but I will live, she smiled. You are Friend of the Forest, are you not? They have simply come to bid a friend farewell.

I laughed as a Teddiursa pulled on my jeans and her mother, a towering Ursaring dipped her head in respect. When we reached the gate, an army of Pokemon Rangers was standing guard with their Pokemon out. A crowd of people— mostly trainers— behind them were pushing against a psychic barrier that looked ridiculously weak compared to Bella's. Imperfections, shallowness, unstable, it was everything you didn't want a barrier to be. We stopped in our tracks and observed them. There were at least fifty of them, but they weren't going to attack. You couldn't be trigger-happy if you were a ranger. All they wanted to know was—

"You! You, in the middle of the crowd! Can you explain what's going on?!" One of them asked. He stood in the center, so I assumed that he was the leader.

What will you do? Hatterene smirked.

I'd tell the truth, Bella. It was as simple as that.

She laughed, showing her impossibly long teeth and the Rangers all tensed. One of their Pokemon— A Luxray— began to charge up electricity, but its trainer stopped it.

Or him. I had a feeling he was a male.

"What is the problem?!" I asked loudly. As soon as I began to speak, all of the Pokemon behind me stopped their chatter.

"Are you serious? There are hundreds of Pokemon behind you threatening Veilstone. They seem to be under your control, so I will ask again. Explain what is going on," the leading Ranger said.

"Under my control?" I said. "None of them are under my control. They're here out of their own volition to send me off. And why shouldn't they be allowed to do so?"

"The city is right there—"

"But we're still on route 215, are we not?" I said, my voice holding firm. "This is their land. They are allowed to be there."

"But you have to admit that—"

"I will do no such thing. We were just walking. No one was attacked. Once I'm gone, they'll go back to living their lives. I think that you overreacted."

The leading Ranger scratched his head. "Well, we'll stay here until they leave, just to be sure."

"I'd like for you to make your Pokemon stand down first," I declared. I crouched and petted the scared Teddiursa's head. "It's the polite thing to do."

Good. You are asking for an apology after an offense, Bella said.

I was, but I had to be discrete about it. They probably would have looked at me funny if I spoke like her.

None of the Rangers recalled their Pokemon, but they did make them not stare with the intent to harm.

"Thank you," I said.

Now it was time to leave. I turned to Nightstalker.

"Goodbye, Night. I'll buy you books for when I get back," I said, wrapping him into a hug. "Stealing is bad, even if you do it to humans, okay?"

The grass type reluctantly hooted in affirmation but didn't refuse my hug. His feathers were sharp, as if I was touching a thorny bush.

"You wanted artsy stuff, right? I'll see what I can find," I added. "Maybe I can bring some paint too. It'll be tough to fit in my bag, but I'll make it work. We can go to your tree and paint a bunch of stuff together."

Nightstalker smiled for the first time, saying that he'd like that and that Angel was welcome to help. Tangrowth was too happy to even hear his words, but I was sure he'd love to paint stuff with all of his vines. He said his goodbyes to each member of my family, but his stare lingered on Sunshine. It was a respectful one, but also a challenge. Something that would drive the fire type to grow stronger and challenge him again when he came back.

"Bella."

Sister.

"May I?" I asked, extending my arms.

The fairy type let out an otherworldly groan. If you must.

I smirked, wrapping my hands around her soft hair as she rubbed mine with her tentacle. It was only now that I realized how light she was. I felt like I'd be able to lift her with a single hand.

To be honest, I had never seen her eat.

You have learned well, she said. I am proud of you.

I felt pride well up in my chest. "I had a good teacher."

Stay safe, and do not let these humans walk all over you and offend you without payment. And if you are in need of refuge, our doors are always open. Your title will carry you beyond this route. Pokemon in forests will see you as a friend and an ally, but you will still have to watch out outside of them. If these Rangers try to keep you, I will—

"Now who's allowing their sadness to leak out?" I said. "I'll be okay."

Her face twisted in sadness, but Nightstalker was there for her. She turned to my team, offering words of her own.

Wyrm— Turtonator, she began. Our time together was cold and bore no affection, but I have learned to live and let live. You are not as bad as I previously believed, and I can tell that you made efforts to be cordial. I apologize for the way you were treated at the beginning of our time together.

Sunshine nodded tightly, simply opting to stay silent. That was as good as his accepting her apology was going to get.

Electabuzz. Nightstalker loved your cooking, and I did think it smelled wonderful, she said. Honey smiled widely, flashing his sharp teeth. I see potential in you. Do not squander it by acting less confident than you ought to be.

That made him lose his smile right away, but Bella was right. He was strong, but he acted like he held the team back sometimes.

And you, Tangrowth. Your thoughts are so simple that I believed you were pulling some sort of elaborate trick, but you are truly appropriately named, she said. A strange fellow with occasional flashes of surprising wisdom, but with a hospitality unmatched. We all appreciate your kindness, especially the children.

Angel's vine excitedly wriggled at the praise, but he soon returned to playing with a pair of Wooper.

Pupitar. Obnoxious, loudmouthed, and even less regard for the rules than the wyrm.

She cheered at that as if they were qualities, and the Grotle next to her laughed.

Your evolution will bring an untold amount of rage upon you. Nightstalker and I have seen it with our own eyes, she said. Do not let it take hold no matter how much power it offers. Trust in your mother, and you shall reap the rewards in the long term.

It wasn't hard to fill in the blanks on what had happened. Their trainer had owned a Pupitar as well, and things must have gone wrong when it evolved. Sweetheart chewed on the words, growing silent for the first time.

Jellicent. Our conversations were fascinating, and you offered insight into the ghostly mind that I simply did not understand before today. The knowledge was well-received, and I am in your debt. Say the word, and I shall pay you back.

Unfortunately for her, he insisted on her not owing him anything. He thought that the conversations alone were worth it, simply reminiscing about old times and how different life used to be.

And you, baby sister, Bellatrix looked to Togetic. My words during training were harsh, but you have grown massively. The need to protect your mother drives you. Rarely has Moonblast been learned so quickly, and you are a prodigy of control. Keep practicing with glamour, and you will go far.

Princess nodded, trying not to cry as I finally grabbed her into my arms.

You will be missed, Grace Pastel. You are special.

"I might be," I said as I struggled to stop the tears. "Or not. It doesn't matter. I've learned so much about myself thanks to you. A side of me that I don't feel like repressing any longer."

Lean into my teachings, she said. Become more.

"Thank you for everything."

Thank you for everything. Goodbye, Friend of the Forest.

The wild Pokemon cheered one last time for me and then began to disperse once more. Bella and Night watched as I stepped through the gate, recalling my Pokemon one by one.

Before I could even hope to step into Veilstone, it looked like the Rangers were going to question me.

I couldn't shake the feeling of annoyance I felt when I realized I'd have to deal with human strangers again.

—

So? Nightstalker asked. How are you feeling now?

Bellatrix mentally sighed as her stare lingered in Veilstone's direction. Not one hour since Grace Pastel had left, and the world already felt dimmer. The Pokemon stared at her companion and blinked rapidly to make the glamour that filled every facet of the world disappear from her view.

She is the daughter I never had. Barely over a week, and it feels like I am losing someone I've known for years. She shines bright.

She was chosen for a reason, but bright ones tend to burn out quickly, Nightstalker said as he preened his feathers. What shall we do now, Bellatrix? Do you want me to go? I could keep an eye on her from the shadows for a while.

No, she would dislike that. It would be seen as a betrayal. Her independence is too important to her.

The grass type smirked. That, she would. Do you feel them yet?

Her so-called friends, yes, Bellatrix nodded.

She could see everything that touched her fief, and the three humans Grace had shown her had just made it onto the route. There was the foul presence of another wyrm— two souls for one body, but also a brother. He must have been the Sylveon Grace had told her about, and there was a good deal of glamour around him. The armor.

I promised her to let them through safely, and I will, but they will still be observed.

And their ways with the rules tested? Decidueye continued, studying the tip of an arrow.

Bellatrix hummed. Perhaps.