Chapter 35: Youth and Vigor
Ceailean heard a silent panicked breathing to his right. His whole body ached and his vision was fuzzy.
“W-Who’s there?” he asked.
“Kid!” A set of hands shook Ceailean by the shoulders. “Kid, wake up! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” It was the Weavile trainer.
Ceailean put his hand to his forehead. “I-I think…” He tried to stand up, only for him to exhale sharply through his teeth from a horribly sharp pain in his back. He slumped back down against the wall. “Ah! My back!”
“Stay still, get some rest. I’ll uh… try to put something together.” The trainer walked off. Ceailean got a look of the place. The sky was just as red as before. Veils of red light illuminated the dust in the air. Off to the side was a counter with glass displays of what seemed to be baked goods. He then noticed a pulsating drone ringing in his ears. Was that always there? That was when he noticed the thing to his left.
A gigantic red vine blocking the entire storefront, pulsating with red energy like veins. A tiny branch was reaching out, almost grabbing Ceailean by the face with its finger like red leaves. He immediately yelled and backed away, knocking down a trashcan in the process.
Something yelled at him sternly from across the room. It was Weavile, insisting that he be careful. It was standing on top of a chair on its toes trying to look out the upper most crack of the window blocked by a vine.
“Is everything alright?” called the trainer from the back. Weavile assured him that everything was fine. “Good. Try to be quite kid. I don’t want that thing to come around and find us.”
“T-Thing?” Ceailean asked. Something was doing this? It wasn’t just the end of the world, something or someone wanted the world to end. Strangely, this thought gave him comfort somewhat. “W-What thing?”
“You didn’t see? I guess, with being a kid and all.” The trainer came back with a first aid kit. “There was a Pokémon that caused all this. One by the name of Zygarde.”
“Zygarde?”
“Yes. One heralded as the Pokémon of order, keeping the balance of life and death in this world.”
“But why would a Pokémon do that? The one my dad has is so nice. D-Did we do something?”
“Hmph, I forgot children were naïve.'' The trainer crouched down next to Ceailean and opened the kit. “Though, I cannot say you’re entirely wrong. This is not the work of the Pokémon's own decision, but by spiteful people.”
“Spiteful?”
“It practically means angry people. Angry at the world and what it represents to them. They took control of this Pokémon's power and unleashed it upon the city. And this is the result.” The trainer gestured to the vine.
“...How do you know this?”
“He told us on television, fuckin’ ego maniac.”
“That’s a mean word!”
“If that’s what sets you off, then we should just leave.”
“What?”
“Look kid,” The trainer ran an alcohol wipe down Ceailean’s face. He was shocked to see that it was all bloody with just one pass. “I’m gonna be honest with you, shit’s fucked. If we keep going, I can’t guarantee anything for you. The city is gone to hell. We’ve only just started and already we had to jump out of a crumbling building. I want you to look me in the eyes, kid. Are you absolutely sure your dad didn’t make it out of the city?”
“I…” Ceailean struggled to answer. “I think he said he had to go somewhere first…?”
“Think he had to go somewhere?” The trainer sighed, “That’s nothing to go on kid. With just that, he could be anywhere.” Weavile argued from the chair, saying they just hurry up and leave. “We’re considering it! Please be patient a little while longer.” Weavile scoffed and continued scouting out the window.
“H-He said it was really important.”
“Like I said, that’s nothing. What can you tell me about him then?”
“I dunno. I went with him to work once.”
“Good good, what was the name?”
“I don’t know. It was a long time ago. We went underground… and a bunch of signs…”
“Go on.”
“I think it said Luminous industries…?”
The trainer's eyes briefly held back shock. “Oh…”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Technically yes, but…” The trainer looked to Weavile, who stared impatiently back. “It’s a complicated place to get to. Are you absolutely sure that’s where he works?” Ceailean nodded. The trainer looked back to Weavile. It sighed and waved him off. “Okay, look. Chances are that I need to head there too. And taking you out of here will take too long for me to do what I need to do. I’d highly advise you to stay here, where you’ll be safe until this all blows over. But I’ll let you come with me, if you’re up for it. What will it be, kid?”
Ceailean pondered for a moment while the trainer cleaned his wounds. Once the trainer turned away to get more wipes, Ceailean shakily stood up. “I… I wanna go.” Weavile raised an eyebrow to this.
The trainer smiled. “Hmph, you’re pretty tough. You’ve even stopped crying unlike the first time I met you.” He took Ceailean by the chin and wiped the remaining blood off his face. “You remind me of my kid.”
“What were they like?”
“I… can’t say we’re on speaking terms right now. But enough of that…” The trainer looked around real quick, “We need to get out of here. Weavile!” Weavile nodded and used metal claw on the vine, shattering the glass and ripping the vine apart. A clear way out of the shop now opened. Ceailean covered his ears from the loud sound. “Here.” The trainer held out a single doughnut. “Hopefully this will calm you down.”
Ceailean took it. He bit down, it was cold but sweet. “Thank you.” he said.
“Don’t mention it. Weavile, take Fletchinder. We’re leaving.” Weavile protested. “Don’t argue! We need to go now!” Weavile groaned and jumped to the display counter and grabbed Fletchinder from under a heat lamp which Ceailean thought was a cake of some sort.
“Is it okay?”
“A broken wing. Nothing a little time can’t fix. But still, I’d feel guilty if we left it here.” The trainer offered his hand. “By the way, I don’t believe I’ve ever introduced myself. My name is Eyse, like the ice type in Pokémon.”
Ceailean shook his hand. “I-I’m Ceailean, Ceailean Crimis.”
“Ceailean? Such a weird name. Do you know why you were called that? How do you even spell it?”
“I dunno. But it’s spelled C E A I L E A N.”
“Very interesting.” nodded Eyse. “Come on, let’s take a walk.” he gestured to Ceailean to walk with him. They all left the store. “Do you remember which way?”
Ceailean pointed down the street. “That way.”
“Good, let’s go.” They walked down the street for a moment in silence. “So uh…” Suddenly, a deep roar rushed through the air. Everyone turned around to a red, serpentine like Pokémon slither around the corner. Ceailean got ready to yell, but Eyse quickly picked him up and covered his mouth. “Quiet kid.” he told him in a quiet voice. “That’s Zygarde. If we stay silent, we can go unnoticed.”
Suddenly, A red laser shot from the middle of Lumiose tower, enveloping Zygarde. It writhed around in pain, curling and tumbling on the ground. Eventually it stopped and stood straight up, looking directly at the group.
“Uh oh.” said Eyse. Zygarde roared and immediately started barreling towards them. “Shit! Run Kid!” They all took off full sprint. Zygarde wasn’t patient however, sprouting vines from the ground to ensnare them. “Weavile! Metal claw!” Weavile tossed Eyse Fletchinder and went on the offensive. It hacked and slashed the vines as best it could, but quickly became overwhelmed, becoming pinned under the weight of one. “Return!” Eyse quickly returned Weavile to its pokeball right before another vine could’ve smashed it to a pulp.
“What do we do now?!” asked Ceailean in a panic. Fletchinder was flailing to get out of Eyse’s hands.
“Hey! What’re you-!” Fletchinder freed itself and stood on the ground. It spread its wings as much as it could and fired off a huge attack. The air became unbearably hot and rushed towards Zygarde. The vines all stopped as they all seemed to writhe in pain along with Zygarde and the super hot air singed through them all.
“What is that?!” asked Ceailean.
“That’s heat wave!” exclaimed Eyse. Fletchinder gave it it’s all. But then the ground split apart and vines shot up, violently entangling Fletchinder and tossing it high in the sky.
Ceailean ran off to help. “I’ll catch you!”
“Kid! What are you doing!”
Ceailean ignored his concern and went for Fletchinder, catching it just before it hit the ground. “You’re gonna be alright.” Fletchinder looked at him and nodded thanks.
“Kid! Keep moving!” shouted Eyse. Ceailean then had his legs taken by the vine. He screamed as they dangled him high in the air. Eyse tried to think of what he could do. He then noticed that Zygarde was fixated on Ceailean. “Weavile! It’s head is exposed! Give it all you got!” He tossed the pokeball as high as he could. Weavile then somersaulted out of it and landed a devastating metal claw across Zygarde's face. Weavile stood upon its face and continued to wail on it with metal claws, then finishing up with an icy wind. That was when a purple energy built up under Weavile's feet.
“Quick! Block it with metal claw!” shouted Eyse. Weavile quickly shielded itself with a cross guard metal claw. The purple energy enveloped itself around Weavile as Zygarde spazzed out, launching Weavile away in a seemingly random direction. This attack was a dragon pulse and it made Weavile plow straight through a car, a brick wall, and then explode upon a building's interior. “Weavile!” shouted Eyse. He then gasped when Zygarde roared out in pain.
It let Ceailean out of its grasp, having him drop to the floor hard and losing Fletchinder in the process. Zygarde continued to spasm around before falling to the ground, seemingly spent. Ceailean stood up quickly and ran over to Fletchinder.
“Kid wait! Dammit!” shouted Eyse. Another laser shot out of Lumiose tower, enveloping Zygarde once more. It writhed around in pain before standing slump, charging up an immense amount of energy. “It’s gonna blow kid! Leave Fletchinder! It’s too late for it!”
“I can’t leave it behind!” said Ceailean. He finally got it and picked it up. But now he was right next to Zygarde. It roared the loudest it ever roared as a pulse of red energy exploded out. Eyse and Fletchinder shielded their eyes from it, but Ceailean stood in awe. The energy washed right past them all like a rushing wind. The light blinded Ceailean in a red flash. That was when it happened.
An immeasurable amount of anger built up from within. Red energy pulsed through his body like veins. Fletchinder was scared at Ceailean’s new behavior and tried to get away. But he held on tight. He grit his teeth and yelled at the top of his lungs, hoisting Fletchinder up in the air ready to smash it into the ground.
“Kid! What’re you doing?!” Ceailean didn’t listen, he couldn’t listen. All that existed in the world now was anger and hatred. He yelled even louder before his body suddenly gave out on him. It was like he had just gotten knocked out.
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() Just as his face hit the ground, he was stunned awake. But it still wasn’t the present. He found himself once again in the classroom at Snowbelle. His rude awakening caused him to shake his desk loudly, gaining the attention of everyone there.
“Sleeping in my class again, ain't ya Ceailean?” asked Mrs. Jones.
“I…”
“No excuses. See me after class. We’ll sort this out later.”
Ceailean sighed. “Yes Mrs. Jones.” He then instinctively went to scratch his head, but received a sharp pain in his arm instead. He covered his shoulder with his right arm and saw that his left arm was still in a cast. The world changed into a swirl of watercolor until Ceailean heard the tail end of the recess bell.
“I’ve noticed that you’ve been struggling to pay attention in class, Ceailean.” said Mrs. Jones. Ceailean noticed that he was stood right in front of Mrs. Jones’ desk. The last of the students have cleared out. “I know you’ve just moved here, but that doesn’t mean I expect any amount of slacking off. Do you understand?”
Ceailean refused to look her in the eye. “Yes Mrs. Jones.” Mrs. Jones clacked away at her keyboard, expecting Ceailean to have left by now. But when she drifted her eyes away from the screen, there he stood. His eyes staring at nothing, head down.
Mrs. Jones took off her glasses and put them down on the desk. “Ceailean? Are you alright?”
“I’m… alright.” he said.
Mrs. Jones sat up. “Is there something you need to… you want to say?”
“…no.”
Mrs. Jones glanced back and forth between her work and her student. She took a deep breath and doubled down. “Okay, then let’s start small. Is there something you like?”
“…why?”
“I’m curious.”
“Nothing… I guess.”
“Hm. How about this? Where are you from?”
“…Lumiose.”
“Oh. A-Are you friends with anyone? Even Pokémon?”
“One… in Lumiose. N-No Pokémon though.”
“And what does your family look like?”
“Just me and mom,” Ceailean voice cracked, “…now.”
“Oh… would you like to-“
Ceailean quickly backed away. “No! …no.”
“Okay, it’s alright. W-What about your arm? What’s the story behind that?”
Ceailean put his hand on the shoulder of his broken arm. They stayed silent for a moment. “…Can I go now, Mrs. Jones?”
Mrs. Jones sighed. “Sure. But before you go, just know, there are many people willing to help you, should you ever want it.”
“…yeah.” Ceailean quickly made his way out of the class. Mrs. Jones exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose. She slumped down on her chair, looking to the door in disappointment.
The world swirled again. Ceailean was sitting under a tree. With his head down, all he could see was an endless expanse of crunchy white snow. His arm began to hurt immensely. He held on to it, remembering the greater pain associated with it. Tears were brimming in his eyes.
“Hey! Aren’t you cold out here!” called a voice. Ceailean turned around to see Marie excitedly approaching him. He quickly turned back around, trying to compose himself, wiping the tears away. As she approached however, she heard sniffling. Her smile disappeared and she slowed down.
“*sniff* What do you want?” asked Ceailean.
“I… I just thought-”
“Don’t you remember what I said? Didn’t I hurt your feelings?”
“Well, you did make me sad, you meanie. But I saw you sitting out in the cold all alone. It made me think you were sad too.”
“I’m fine.” Ceailean said adamantly. Marie stood for a moment. She then sat down next to Ceailean, wiggling herself into the snow to make herself comfortable. “What’re you doing?”
“I wanna ask a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you sad?” Ceailean didn’t answer. Marie rocked back and forth, still waiting for one. “You know, I’m sad sometimes too. But then I tell my Daddy about it, and he always figures out a way to make me feel better about it. So I was thinking maybe you could tell me what you’re sad about and I’ll help make you feel better.”
Ceailean sighed. “...No.” Marie frowned. The two sat for a little while longer. A sleek black car pulled up to the road and stopped in front of them. The back door opened.
Marie stood up. “Well, it looks like Christ-shin-shin is here. I’ll uh… be seeing you later.”
Ceailean almost wanted to tell her that he hoped they didn’t meet later, but then he thought back to what his mom said and the promise he made to her.
You shouldn't push away people who are eager to be your friend. You may not know it now, but they might be your greatest help to you one day. Never forget that.
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“H-Hey, wait!” he called.
Marie spun around on her heel. “Uh huh?”
“I… wanted to say I was sorry, for what I said at my house.” Ceailean turned away, scratching the back of his head.
Marie beamed. “Really?!” She could barely contain her giggles. “Thank you! I forgive you C-vee-an!”
“It’s Ceailean.” he corrected.
“Chilean?”
“Ceailean…”
“Cream-ian…?”
“That one was on purpose.”
Marie turned her head away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh.”
The car honked, startling Marie. “Ack! I’m coming! Just a sec!” See then ran back over to Ceailean and offered her hand. “Since you said sorry, why don't you come over to my house.”
“I’d… rather not.”
“Oh come on! Do you just not like me or something?”
“I… I didn’t say that.”
“Then let’s go, hurry! It doesn’t look like you’re doing anything right now anyway.”
Ceailean scoffed. “Look who’s being a meanie now.”
“I was only joking. Come on♪.”
Ceailean sighed. “Mmm, fine.” He took Marie's hand, only to almost get dragged across the snow. She tugged with such force that he could barely stand. They came to a sudden stop and he almost slammed his face into the side of the car.
“Hey Christ-Shin-Shin? Can I bring a friend along with me today?” Marie asked excitedly.
“A friend?” Christianson asked enthusiastically. “That’s great. Of course he can.”
“Hehe, thank you. You first, Cerulean.”
Ceailean got in the car. “You can say that word by not my name.”
Marie followed and closed the door. “It’s really hard though.”
Ceailean sighed. “Fine, I guess you can just call me C.”
“Really?!” Marie was practically squirming in her seat. “Mhmhm, I knew I made a great nickname for you!” The car started to move down the street.
“Just what is his name, Marie?” asked Christianson.
“It’s uh, See-meian… no uh, Celierian… that’s not it either-”
Ceailean spoke up. “It’s Ceailean. Mr-?”
“Christianson, Christianson Wesser. I do hope you don’t mind Marie’s lacking enunciation skills. It would appear both our names are a handful for her.”
“No it’s not! I can say yours, Christ-shin-shin!” said Marie.
“Sure. Young man, I believe we should contact your parents before you visit the Visu residence. Might you have a number?”
“N-No, we don’t have phones.”
Marie looked at Ceailean confused. “Huh? But your house was pretty big.”
“A person’s life is not always defined but what they have, Marie. We don’t know their situation.”
“S-Sorry.”
“No matter. Marie has already informed me that you walk home. Do you know the way from here?”
“It’s 1851 Antarch Ave.”
“Ah, you know your address?”
“Yeah, mommy always makes me memorize it every time we move.”
“You’re frequent movers? Must be tough.”
“Yeah. That's why I didn’t want to be friends with Marie.”
“Still, it was mean the way you talked to me back at your house.” Marie pouted.
“Let’s think of it in a more positive light, Marie,” said Christianson. “He could’ve been concerned that your feelings would be hurt if he had to leave one day. So you could say he was just looking out for you.”
Marie’s eyes widened. “Is that for real?!”
Ceailean scratched the back of his head. “I mean, maybe…”
“Then we should be friends already! You wouldn’t do that if we weren’t.”
“That’s certainly an optimistic way of putting it.” said Christianson. “But I think the phrase you wanted was ‘practically friends’.”
“Pre-tactically?”
“Eh, we’ll work on it later.”
“But still,” said Ceailean. “Why do you want to be my friend when you won’t even know me for that long?”
“Because you only need a tiny bit of time to create great memories! Like there was this time I went to this restaurant, and they had the greatest food ever! It was called something like a Fe-Fe-chini Afreado! That was months ago and I still remember! I can’t wait to go back to… to. Christ-shin-shin, what was it called again?”
“The Ol’ Love Garden,” he answered.
“Yeah that.”
“And you’ll have as cool memories with me like you did there?” asked Ceailean.
“We won’t know unless we try.”
Ceailean could but smile slightly at this. For what seemed like ages, it felt like he had forgotten about The Battle for Kalos for a moment.
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“Dreamwalker!” shouted an ear piercing voice. Ceailean covered his ears quickly and closed his eyes. He slowly opened them back up to see he was back in his present day self, but surrounded in an endless void.
“Who-?”
“Yes yes, I am one of the Zygarde cores. And to be frank, I grow tired of this one-sided communication. Dreamwalker, I require your services once more.”
“That-”
“Yes, that dumb name coined by Bonnie.”
“But I don’t-”
“Yes I know you don’t remember talking to us before.”
“B-But I can’t-”
“-Can’t in any way be the Dreamwalker. I have heard it all before!”
“W-What the hell are you?!” Ceailean started to have a panic attack. “S-Stay away from me!”
“And let you deny your responsibility? I cannot allow this. Please pardon my brashness but, YOU ARE THE DREAMWALKER!”
“No I-!”
“Yes you are! Dreamwalker, Dreamwalker, Dreamwalker-!”
Ceailean gripped the sides of his head. “Stop!” The overbearing voice stopped for a moment.
“We thank you for your service once more.”
“W-What?! What did I do?!”
“In all honesty, even I don’t know what you’re doing. But you have summoned something that will allow us to do our job.”
“I did? But… I can’t- I-” Ceailean could barely breathe, much less say anything.
“Anticipate us soon Ceailean, we will catch up once we are done here. May Arceus have mercy upon our souls.”
Ceailean’s heart sank. He was so shocked he couldn’t breathe. The void shook violently, his body convulsed, and it felt like his hair was about to be torn out.
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“Ahhhhhh!” Ceailean shot awake, “Ow! Ow! Ow! What the heck is happening?” He quickly felt his head and caught Noibat desperately tugging on his hair, trying to wake him up. “Ow! Stop! I’m awake! What are you guys waking me up for?” Noibat and Scorbunny moved to the side of the bed and urgently pointed to the door, where a bunch of arguing ensued. Ceailean immediately threw his sheets off him and went to check it out.
“-Let me through!” shouted Marie.
“Must you be so persistent?!” said Crisis. Fennekin was jumping around, trying to calm Marie down as well.
“I wouldn’t have to be if you would just let me through!”
“Enough already!”
“Hey!” shouted Ceailean, rubbing his eye tiredly. “What’re you two arguing about?”
“See? Now he has awoken. Must you keep up this racket?” said Crisis accusingly.
Marie attempted to push Crisis out the doorway, only for him to stand firm. “Uh, last time I checked, I wouldn’t have had to make a racket if you would just-!”
“HEY!” Ceailean said louder. “Answer the question. We’ll figure out who to blame later.”
“I’m not gonna take that loss laying down, C!” argued Marie. “I wanna train, I need to train! If I ever want to get better, I have to start working now!”
“And you shouldn't over exert yourself right out the gate.” Crisis argued back. “You have re-injured your wound too many times as of late. If you were to continue, who knows what might happen. Perhaps you will lose your ability to use your left leg.”
“That’s not what’s gonna happen, Crisis!”
“Can you not see yourself? You are currently using the wall to support yourself to make it easier to stand on one leg.”
“I-I would never!” Marie turned her head away, though continued to lean her shoulder on the wall.
“You need to allow yourself to rest, Marie. I am just looking out for you.”
“I am not a kid anymore, Crisis! I can do whatever I need to!”
“Alright guys! That’s enough!” Ceailean ordered. The two became silent. “I *sighs* Can you just leave me and Marie alone for a minute, please?”
Crisis stood for a moment, pondering. He then nodded. “As you wish, Ceailean. If only for the sake of not escalating this conflict any further.” He then walked off to the Pokémon center lobby.
Marie began to follow him out, but Ceailean grabbed her arm. “You’re staying though.”
“Huh?” Marie said, getting defensive. “Don’t tell me you agree with him?”
“Not wholly. Just… let me talk to you first, okay?”
Marie stood for a moment and sighed. “Okay, C. I’ll hear you out.” The two went back into the room and sat across from each other on their respective beds.
Ceailean sighed. “I think Aeise got to you Marie.” he said calmly.
“Yeah, what else is obvious?” she said, putting her head on her hand.
“So you get that you’re acting at least a little irrational?”
“No! I’m doing exactly what I need to do! You saw what happened right? I can’t let that happen again!” Noibat cheered for Marie, to which Scorbunny immediately shushed it.
“But you’re hurt. Crisis was right. I could see that you can barely walk.”
“I’ll just sit nearby then! Is that good enough for you?”
“I know you’re not one to sit still-”
“Yet you’re asking me to sit still anyway?”
“...Yeah, but-”
“Forget it, C. I’m doing what I need to do and you can’t stop me.” She stood up and limped to the door. “Come on Fennekin, we’re gonna train like we’ve never trained before!” She put her hand on the door knob before noticing that Fennekin didn’t follow. She turned around and saw it at the other end of the bedroom, looking concerned beyond belief. “Come on, let’s go.” she said with a cracked voice. Fennekin shook its head. It climbed up to Ceailean's bed and stood behind him, looking back at Marie through the gaps in his arms.
“I… I’m pretty sure Fennekin thinks it’s a good idea either.” said Ceailean. Fennekin nodded at his statement.
“No no, look Fennekin, I'm fine.” Marie tried to walk normally back to her bed, but she winced in pain. She settled for falling onto her bed to try and hide her pain. “S-See?” Fennekin shook its head slightly. “W-Well, let’s see what Snom has to say about it-” Snom immediately burst from her beanie with an icy wind and joined Fennekin. “You too?” Snom nodded melancholily. Marie sat up and looked at her Pokémon. She gripped her jeans hard.
“Marie, if you would just-”
“It’s not fair!” she screamed, her head looking down. This startled Ceailean and the Pokémon. “I jus… I just wanted a normal Pokémon journey! One where we would be able to learn from each other as we battled, spend time together, see ourselves reach the top. Not any of this… this weird stuff! Pokémon hunters? Solga? Why does it have to happen to us of all people!? I feel like I’m part of an army all the time! Working to take down the villain of the week! And the times where I finally get to have a normal battle, it just seems like I can’t even do that right! June and Aeise. I just keep getting beat down every time I want to stray from our path!” Tears began to stream down her eyes. All the Pokémon only watched in shock.
“Things aren’t going to change unless I’m the one who changes them! I can’t stay like this. I refuse to stay like this! Can’t I just participate in the gym challenge like a normal person?” She waited for Ceailean to answer, which he did not. “Yeah,” she wiped a tear away. “I’m just… I’m just tired, C. You understand?” Ceailean did not answer again.
Marie turned her head away. “I’ll just sit still like you asked, since it seems to make you all happy-” Ceailean immediately moved in and gave her the biggest hug he could. Marie was stunned. She couldn’t quite process it. She slowly accepted his embrace.
“I’m sorry Marie,” he said, “this should be my fault also. I never considered how much those events affected you. I must’ve looked like I was just along for the ride for so long huh?”
“...No, but, you’re just kinda hard to convince.”
“Well no more.” Ceailean held Marie out at arm's length. “In hindsight, you’ve seemingly done everything by yourself. You’ve convinced me to do a lot of things, so for that, I think you deserve a way overdue ‘Thank you’.”
“You’re thanking me?”
“Of course. 9 times out of 10 I would’ve chosen to save myself, you wanted to help people and Pokémon. So I thank you for drawing that part of me out. Though, with that kind of attitude, you're bound to attract the wrong kind of attention. I realize that sitting idly just isn’t going to cut it anymore. We have to be ready for anything, whether it be challenger or foe. So anytime you want to train, just ask me and I’ll help you anytime.”
Marie’s eyes grew wide. “Really?!”
Ceailean gave a thumbs up. “For sure. One hunned percent.”
Marie smiled. She sniffled as she wiped a tear away. “You know, this must be like the third time you’ve comforted me like this. I must be such a burden.”
Ceailean remembered something. “Marie, that day you invited me to your house for the first time was probably one of the best days of my life. I don’t know where I’d be if you didn’t. I’d probably still be under that tree, wallowing away. With that, I want you to convince yourself of what you think I think of you.”
Marie teared up again, this time with tears of happiness. “Thank you, C. That means a lot. You don’t even know. I’ll be sure not to be as much of a cry baby from now on.”
Ceailean spread his arms out. “As long as you talk to me, I’ll always try to find a way to make you feel better.”
Marie chuckled slightly, wiping away another tear. “You still remember that?”
“More or less.”
Marie laughed. “So uh… what should we do now?” All the Pokémon looked at each other, though Noibat seemed concentrated on something.
“Get some rest first. We can’t have you working on that leg. We can train first thing tomorrow if you can walk well. What uh… what time is it anyway?”
Marie checked her pokédex. “Um, about 1 in the morning.”
Ceailean slumped his shoulders. “Fuuuuuuuuudge. So late.”
Marie scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“It’s whatever.” Ceailean turned off his lamp and got back under his covers. “Get some rest Marie, we have a big day tomorrow.”
“For sure.” Fennekin and Snom joined her on her bed.
“You’re not gonna change into your pajamas?”
“N-No.” Another tear slid down her smiling face. She couldn’t help but grab at her chest as there was what felt like a huge weight crushing her flat. “I’m beyond exhausted. I could just pass right now.”
“Eh, suit yourself.” Ceailean turned away from. “Night, Marie.”
“Night, C” Marie got under her sheets and took the most relieving sigh she’s ever had, drifting off to sleep with her Pokémon in her highest hopes ever.
Out in the hallway, Crisis leaned against the wall. “You two really are something.” he thought to himself. He then headed back to the lobby, wishing to leave them alone for a little while longer.
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() Three hours later
Everyone was sound asleep. The blue moonlight poured into the room through the slightly open curtains. The little sliver of light shined directly on Scorbunny’s closed eyelid, agitating it enough to wake it up. It yawned and rubbed its eyes. It drowsily walked to the other side of the bed, tripping on Ceailean’s leg in the process. It mattered little as it almost went right back to sleep. But then it noticed that Noibat wasn’t there. Scorbunny smacked its lips and looked around, struggling to see in the dark. It double checked everything. The other beds, the floor, maybe even the ceiling. Nowhere. Scorbunny was sure that Noibat wasn’t returned to it’s pokeball. That’s when it saw the bedroom door ajar, the golden light pouring out from the hallway. Wondering if Noibat went outside, it got up to check it out.
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() Noibat stood outside on the Pokémon center battlefield. It looked up to the bright full moon, it’s eyes full of thought. Scorbunny drowsily walked up behind it, rubbing its eyes and asking what Noibat was doing up so late. Noibat didn’t answer. Scorbunny tilted its head curiously. It asked Noibat the same question again, this time adding that they should head back to bed since they have a big day tomorrow. Noibat grew cross. It chuffed and yelled loudly into the night, exploding into dragon rush. This startled Scorbunny awake, confusing it as to why Noibat seemed to be irritated. Noibat turned around and looked Scorbunny in the eye. Noibat told Scorbunny to go.
Scorbunny only had a split second to react before Noibat came full force with dragon rush. It bounced way up in the sky to dodge. Noibat slid to a halt and launched air cutters at Scorbunny while it was airborne. Scorbunny’s feet burst into flames and it kicked away each air blade. The attacks exploded around Noibat as they came down. Scorbunny landed on the ground. The entire battlefield was shrouded in dust. Scorbunny braced itself for something purple to show where Noibat was. But instead, Noibat opted for a regular tackle, taking Scorbunny by surprise.
Scorbunny was hit in the stomach, sending it tumbling across the ground. Noibat flew past and Scorbunny tumbled right into Noibat right as it exploded into dragon rush. Scorbunny was sent flying into the air and Noibat pursued it. Scorbunny recovered and desperately ax kicked Noibat in the head with blaze kick, sending it back down to the ground with an explosion of dust. Right as Scorbunny landed back down, all the dust was blown away by Noibat exploding into dragon rush once more. Scorbunny braced for another attack, but Noibat sighed and dissipated its attack.
Scorbunny let down its guard and asked Noibat why it was attacking. Noibat said it just needed to work off some steam. Scorbunny was confused. Noibat explained that the conversation between Ceailean and Marie earlier left it conflicted. It wants to put its full energy into helping the both of them, but something has been bugging it. It indicated that it selfishly wanted to know what happened at Tuviere.
Scorbunny sighed and pondered for a moment. Noibat said that it didn’t have to say anything if it felt uncomfortable. Scorbunny assured it that it was no problem, it was just a first for it. It told Noibat it’ll try, but it just doesn’t have the whole story. Snom and Fennekin would have to tell it the rest. Noibat said it was fine.
Before beginning, Scorbunny sat on a stair and asked why. Noibat joined it and said it just wanted to understand. Marie was so distraught and Noibat wanted to know what it has to look forward to in terms of protecting them all. What’s at stake when Noibat might have to protect them. Scorbunny smiled, complimenting Noibat’s drive. It wished Noibat could’ve been there to see Tuviere itself, perhaps things would’ve gone very differently. Scorbunny happily agreed and began to tell the story of Tuviere from its perspective.
However, hiding nearby was Solosis. Initially woken up from the sounds of battle, it had come over to complain. But now this story was way too juicy to pass up. It hid behind a planter box and listened intently.