Chapter 8: The Curious Caretaker
Ceailean slept without a single fragment of a dream, which would’ve been relieving for him if he wasn’t so rudely awoken by the window violently shaking against his head. Dazed, he reached in his jacket pocket for his glasses, but they slipped and fell to the ground. In a rapid move, he tried to catch them, but ended up smacking them a couple of seats in front of him. Slightly annoyed, he looked around to see that the outside looked green and slightly sunny.
Ceailean felt sore and groggy as he had not slept in the most optimal of positions. Nonetheless, he slid himself towards the alleyway when he noticed a figure walking up to him.
“Hello, do these happen to belong to you?” it said holding its arm.
Ceailean squinted and noticed that it was someone holding out his glasses. “Oh yeah, thanks.” He took the glasses and put them on. Looking at the person, he saw a boy that seemed a couple years older than he was. His hair was a spiked ashy black and his skin was pale like snow. His expression felt laid back along with his black eyes. And he wore a simple white t-shirt with blue jeans and gray sneakers.
“You seemed like you would need them.” he said curiously.
“Yeah, by the way, who are you?”
“My caretaker has appointed me the name of Crisis. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand.
Ceailean shook his hand, “My name’s Ceailean, likewise.”
“Great. If you don’t mind my asking, does she happen to be your friend over there?” Crisis pointed to Marie, who was sprawled out over her seat and into the alleyway, snoring loudly.
“As it just so happens, yes.” said Ceailean slightly embarrassed.
“Isn’t that interesting, could you tell me the meaning of a ‘friend’?”
“The meaning of friend?” asked Ceailean confused.
“I’m sorry, it’s just not often that I am allowed to stroll freely like this. Many terms defining the relationships between people are often lost on me.”
“Okay, if you insist. A friend is basically another person you hang out with from time to time. They can also be someone you put your trust in.”
“Very interesting, and where would this range between what they call a co-worker and a spouse?”
“That’s a large scale to put it on, but I would have to say somewhere in the middle.”
“Is that how it is, now I must ask, how necessary are relationships between people and pokemon with other people and pokemon in order to improve ourselves for the future.”
Ceailean began to get suspicious, “I would say they are essential, the world just wouldn’t work without them.”
“Perhaps, but wouldn’t you think that we could all improve at the same time if we were all to think alike and move forward with the same goal in mind?” Crisis’s voice became more erratic and persuasive, with a slight hint of desperation.
Before Ceailean could answer, Reese barged in and picked up the intercom, “G-Good mornin y'all. I’m here to i-inform you that we are currently 20 minutes out from Lumiose station. Now, when we get there, I want all yalls to exit the train as soon as possible, because I had like 6 coffees and I’m about to crash.”
“Well, it would seem that I need to prepare myself.” said Crisis.
“Wait, why did you ask me those kinds of questions?”
“I, needed some clarification. I needed to see if what I’m going to do is worth it in the long run. If it is right.”
Ceailean was put off at this point, “What are you planning to do?”
Crisis looked at him, “I plan on leaving is all.” Ceailean was confused further. “Anyhow, if we are to meet again, I would love to ask more questions. Perhaps, we could even become ‘friends’.” He then gave Ceailean one last dry smile and exited to the other car.
“What was that about?” asked a groggy voice from beside Ceailean. Marie had woken up and was sticking her head over the seat. Her beanie had slipped off with Snom still inside, who continued sleeping as if nothing happened.
“I don’t know, he just asked me a bunch of weird questions.”
Reese woke up from being half asleep against the wall and explained, “Well all I know is that he is quite the regular from Santalune, he uh-” He stopped talking when both Ceailean and Marie looked at him for an awkward moment. “Ah, well it would seem you would like to use our remaining time for yourselves, I’ll get outta yer hair.” He walked over to the door and opened it. But before walking through he said, “And kids, be sure not to make a mess.” With that he left with a small chuckle.
“Okay, what was THAT about?” emphasized Marie.
“One thing at a time, Marie.”
“Oh well, it’s whatever. Where do you think we are anyway?” asked Marie looking out the window.
Having his attention constantly taken, he noticed that he never got a proper look outside. The thick forestry had just begun to thin out and Ceailean could see the sun beginning to crest over the horizon. Its rays slowly revealed the land that surrounded them. Scattered prairies and trees were home to several pokemon, idly resting. Mountains far off in the distance lined the horizon, their icy peaks shining brightly.
“Whoa, this is beautiful.” said Ceailean in awe.
Marie walked up to the seat in front of Ceailean’s. “Yeah it is.” They watched the sunrise for a moment. She then looked to Ceailean, whose face was becoming washed over with sunlight. Her eyes became heavy with thoughts running through her mind. A smile stretched across her face.
“Hey Marie?”
“Huh, what!” Marie was suddenly thrown out of her trance and she sat down facing away from Ceailean. “No! Nothing!”
“I was just asking if you were ready to go?” Ceailean pointed to their right. Off in the distance, the city was in view. Lumiose tower stood out amongst the city buildings and the windows shined from the sun. “We’re almost there, we should make sure that we have everything.”
“Yeah, alright.” Marie walked over to her seat, only to see a sleeping Snom that was beginning to stir. She looked back at Ceailean to see that he was shuffling through his duffel bag. Gaining a new worried expression, she picked up Snom and put on her beanie.
The train went inside a tunnel. For several seconds, all that could be seen was brick walls rushing by. Upon emerging on the other side, buildings flew by them along with bustling streets filled with the early birds of the city. It rode along in between the divided street with the occasional dinging of train crossing signs reverberating in and out of audible range. Ceailean and Marie took in the sights of the city as they moved along. Ceailean however, looked to Lumiose tower and remembered the water that surged to the sky from its tallest point. Their sightseeing was cut short when the train went inside of another underground tunnel.
Within no time the train slowed to a stop in an underground station. Ceailean and Marie vacated the car and on their way out, they noticed Reese was comforting an old man.
“It’s okay pa, at least they said that ol Vesta all yours.” said Reese.
“It just means they no longer have a use for her and want to dump her on anyone who would take it.” said the old man grumpily.
“Hey, at least they gave her to you that way she will have a good home.”
“Yeah, that way I can watch her waste away faster than I will.”
Ceailean and Marie were about to walk out without interrupting them when Reese called out to them. “Hey! Hold on you two, just a minute!” They stopped in their tracks and looked to him as he walked hastily towards their direction.
“Now, I wanted to be the first one to say thanks. This is me and my pa’s last ride on ol Vesta and we thought it was gonna be empty like any time we go to Snowbelle. You see, the only reason we were assigned there was because of some tax loophole I’ll spare the details on. But anyway, I want to show you my gratitude by giving you this.”
Reese took Ceailean’s hand and placed what seemed to be a red crystal in it.
He held it up to the light to observe it, “What is this?”
“It’s a little special something made within the internal flame of ol Vesta, it’s called a fire gem.” Ceailean stared at it in awe. “It’ll boost the power of any fire type move immensely, but only once, so use it wisely.”
“Oh cool, thanks,” thanked Ceailean, “But I currently don't have any pokemon at all. We were heading over to the professors to get our starters.”
“Oh really.” said Reese in a surprised way. “Have you heard what's been going around the grapevine as of late?”
“No, we haven’t heard anything.”
“Well, the fact of the matter is, many a trainer have come here from all around. And many of them are complaining. See apparently, darn near all the trainers that come around are told to come back again later. That would be fine if they weren't waitin for days on end.”
“Huh? C, we may not be able to get our starters.” said Marie.
“Of course, they are only rumors. Perhaps this whole thing has blown over by now.”
Ceailean pondered for a moment before saying, “Well thanks for telling us, if that’s all we’ll just-”
“Now hold on just a bit longer!” said a voice. They all looked to see who it was, and it was revealed to be the old man.
“Young man, I would hate to see ol Vesta become starved of exploration. So I am personally asking you, as the last passengers of ol Vesta, take a piece of her with you, wherever you may go.”
Ceailean felt hesitant, but Marie responded instantly, “Sure, we’ll take her anywhere.”
“Thank you young lady, here.” The old man gave Marie a piece of charcoal. “This is very special to me, make sure ol Vesta sees the world.”
“I sure will, Mr-”
“Call me Densk.” said the old man.
“Well you can count on us, Mr. Densk”
Densk smiled at Marie and turned around, “Come on Reese, we got places to be.”
“Right pa!” They both boarded the train and Reese looked back to give a thumbs up. Marie gave a thumbs up of her own and Ceailean waved goodbye as they climbed the stairs to the surface.
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“Marie, why did you decide to take that charcoal?”
“I like to think everything has a desire, inanimate or not. Right now, I feel that she doesn’t want to be cooped up in a shed until her final days. Besides,” she unzipped Ceailean's duffel bag and shoved the charcoal in, “it would be rude not to.”
“Hey! Couldn’t you hold it with your stuff?”
“I gave it to you to make sure that you’re also gonna help take her anywhere we may go.”
“Or you just don’t want soot all over your stuff.”
Marie’s façade broke, but she perked up quickly, “M-Maybe.” She said this while wiping her hand on the back of Ceailean’s jacket. All he did was sigh and accepted his new reality.
The sunlight was a bit harsh at first, requiring them both to shield their eyes for a moment. But after adjusting, the city was in full view. Many people were walking around in early morning hours, accompanied by various species of Pokémon companions. They began to walk down the street, weaving the crowd and taking in the sights of this new location. The buildings that lined both sides of the streets would’ve towered over any suburban house back in Snowbelle. People stood in front of shops cleaning and preparing for the business hours. Green leafed trees were planted in the sidewalk every few feet. But a thought had occurred to Marie that she should’ve brought a lot earlier.
“Hey C, do we even know where the lab is?”
Ceailean stopped walking and made a blank expression, “Huh, I guess we don’t.”
“We should ask someone.”
“Why? You have your phone don’t you?”
Marie became worried, “Yeah um-”
“You two, you’re looking for the Pokémon lab right?” said a man behind them. They turned to see a man parked up next to them in a yellow scooter with an Ampharos riding in the passenger seat. The man was quite burly and wore an attire that made him seem like a mechanic.
“Y-yeah, that’s where we were heading.” said Marie quickly.
“Well, if you two don’t mind, I can show you the way there. I also happen to be close friends with Professor Sycamore, so I can give you a good word if you want it.”
“That would be so cool, thank you!” said Marie excitedly. Ceailean got a feeling that Marie is going to drag him everywhere, but nonetheless, he followed them down the street.
“So who are you guys huh?” asked the man.
“I’m Marie, and that’s my friend, C-”
“Uh, Ceailean.” he quickly interjected.
“-and we’re from Snowbelle city.”
“Snowbelle huh, you guys used to not having snow everywhere yet?”
“You can say we adjusted fast.”
“Have you guys ever been to Lumiose before?”
Marie looked back to Ceailean, “Well uh-”
“I used to live here quite a while ago.” answered Ceailean.
“Really, must be nice to be back in the old stomping grounds huh.”
“I wouldn’t know, I haven't been here in so long that I forgot where everything is.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Meyer, and this here is my trusty Ampharos.” It raised its hand and greeted them.
“Well hello there Mr. Meyer,” she crouched down to Ampharos, “and hello to you too Ampharos.” It gave her a happy smile. Suddenly, Snom emerged from Marie’s beanie and jumped atop Ampharos’s head. It shuffled a bit and went back to sleep.
“Oh Snom.” sighed Marie.
Meyer laughed, “That’s quite an interesting Pokémon you have there.”
“Yeah, I guess he wants to hitch a ride on top of Ampharos for now.” They continued to walk.
“Well, here it is, the Pokémon lab.”
They walked through the green fence gate and opened the large doors.
“Huh, that’s odd.”
“Hey, what’s up?” asked Ceailean.
“Usually there's an assistant here that can help us.”
“Maybe we’re just too early?” suggested Marie.
“Well if we are, let’s give them a wake up call. Follow me.”
All three made their way up the central staircase. As they ascended, the sound of snoring grew louder.
“You hear that?” asked Marie.
They made their way to a door, where upon opening it, saw the professor sleeping and snoring on a swivel chair with a book over his face.
“Is that the professor?”
“Yep.” answered Meyer.
“What should we do?”
“I show you.” Meyer walked over to the professor and tapped the book on top of his face a couple times. “Hey Sycamore, you got a couple of visitors.”
Sycamore stirred and pulled the book off his face, “Huh, Meyer? What’re you doing here?”
“I’m here so that you can help these enthusiastic trainers start their journey.”
Sycamore looked drowsily in their direction. Marie gave a quick wave before he fell off his seat in a panic.
“Where did you guys come from?” said Sycamore. He picked himself up and walked over to a computer to hastily close several tabs.
“Well, we came all the way from Snowbelle in hopes that we can have our starter Pokémon.” answered Marie.
“From Snowbelle?” asked Sycamore surprised, “You guys came all this way?”
“Yep. We’ve been wanting to start our journey for forever.”
Sycamore gave a nervous chuckle. While scratching the back of his head, he looked to Meyer and got an idea.
“That’s very awesome of you, but could you guys excuse us a moment, I would like to have a word with Mr. Meyer here before we begin.”
“That’s fine, we’ll wait outside.” said Marie as she tugged Ceailean out the door forcefully.
“Hey Marie, what’re you doing?” asked Ceailean, losing his balance. Sycamore closed the door behind them as they left. Outside the office, Ceailean broke free of Marie’s grasp, “Marie stop, why’re you-”
“Shhhh.” shushed Marie, “Listen, clearly something is up. Did you see how the professor was acting in there?”
“I guess, but why would that give you the impression that anything bad is happening?”
“Come on C, Devin saying they canceled the NGP, Reese telling us the rumors, I think something terrible has happened.”
“It could just be that there was an especially large batch of new trainers and they're simply short starters.”
“If that was the case, wouldn’t they just tell us outright?” Ceailean was about to argue back, but the suggestion made sense to him and he promptly stayed silent. “I want to find out what’s actually happening, so come here.” Marie gestured Ceailean to come over to the door. She combed her hair out of the way and placed her ear on the door.
“Marie stop! What if we get caught?” reasoned Ceailean. But before he could resist any further, he heard the voices in the other room, and they sounded dire.
“-Sycamore please, I had already said I apologize.” said Meyer.
“Apologizing doesn’t help me get out of the situation I’m in Meyer.”
“Look, I forgot okay, but why is it so important that you keep the incident under wraps.”
“Meyer, you’re my friend, but I don’t want to cause a potential panic in the community or ruin the reputation of Kalos scientific community over this.”
Marie and Ceailean were listening intently when out of nowhere, Ampharos had walked up next to them looking curious. “Ampharos, you scared us.” said Marie in a hushed voice.
“Amphar-” it said happily before being shushed by Marie.
“Please be quiet?” asked Marie, unsure of what it would do.
“Ampharos.” it said quieter, sitting down next to them. Snom was still perched above it’s head asleep.
“-I’ll find them and bring them home.” said Meyer mid sentence.
“Thanks, I’m glad I can count on you.”
“But what’re we gonna do about those kids out there?”
“*sigh* I’ll just give them the same old story. We have only three days to make it true though, let’s hope we can get it done by then.”
“Right.”
Ceailean and Marie then began to hear footsteps heading their direction, causing them to scatter. When the door opened, Meyer looked to see Ceailean leaning on the wall, Marie whistling while looking over the railing, and Ampharos with its arms crossed looking panicked.
Sycamore came out after Meyer and said, “Look, it’s great that you came all this way, but unfortunately, I have some bad news.”
Ceailean and Marie looked to each other expectantly.
“You see, we currently don’t have any starter Pokémon that are ready to leave the lab yet.”
“Oh no, that’s too bad.” said Ceailean before Marie could respond.
“Yes I’m truly sorry guys, you mind if I have your names that way I can reserve you a spot when you come back.” said Sycamore, taking out a notepad.
“Sure, my name is Ceailean, and she is Marie.”
He wrote their names down and said, “Thanks guys, and again I’m sorry it had to be this way.”
“No problem, come on Marie, lets go.” gestured Ceailean. Sycamore walked back into his office and Ceailean and Marie made their way down the stairs.
“Well that sucks guys,” said Meyer, “Sorry I brought you guys all the way here for nothing.”
“It’s not your fault, who could’ve known that this would happen.” said Marie.
“If that’s the case, at least let me suggest you guys a good place to stay.”
“Oh, no thanks we’re kinda short on money.”
Ceailean looked confused, “No, we have money.” Marie then gave him an uncomfortable glance.
“Alright then, what I would suggest is the Kodoarla, just down 2 blocks east of here. They have a great free continental breakfast and their service is stellar.”
“Cool, well thanks man, we’ll see you around.” said Ceailean holding out his hand.
“Yeah, you too. And also, don’t forget about Snom.” he said pointing to Ampharos’ head.
Marie seemed to have snapped from another trance and said, “Oh yeah, right. Come on Snom, we’re leaving.” She peeled Snom of Ampharos’ head and placed it back under her beanie.
“Amphar.” said Ampharos, waving goodbye as it left with Meyer around the corner.
Marie began to walk off too when Ceailean stopped her with a question.
“Why did you say we didn’t have any money?”
“Oh...well, it's just that, my dad said that I should go on my own without any help?” said Marie, turning her own reason into a question.
“You know you’re bad at lying right, could just say that you want me to pay.”
“Huh, no! I would never, but things are complicated. I would happily pay if I could, but for now it looks like you...have to.” assured Marie.
Ceailean sighed, “It's okay Marie, whatever the reason, I’ll help you out. It’s what friends do after all.” He patted her shoulder and started to walk in the direction that Meyer had told them to go.
“Yeah, friends.” Marie looked down with a sad expression and followed Ceailean.
“At least we have a lot to look forward to, I’m pretty sure that they have a tourist pamphlet at the hotel that we can look at. There must be a lot we can do here while we wait for-”
“Fenn-” said a voice behind them. They turned around to see a Fennekin following them. It had a sad expression on its face. “F-Fennekin.” This was no ordinary Fennekin however.
“Huh, what’s up with that Fennekin?” asked Marie.
“Yeah, it has black and red fur instead of its usual yellow and orange.”
Marie crouched down, “Hey, what’re you here for Fennekin?”
It ran ahead of them, but turned around when it noticed they didn’t follow. “Fennekin,” it seemed to plead.
Marie and Ceailean looked to each other, then Marie asked, “Do you want to come with us?”
“Fenn!” nodded Fennekin, its expression seeming more desperate now.
“It looks scared, are you sure that this will be a good idea?” asked Ceailean of Marie. She gave a slight glance to Ceailean, but seemed to mostly brush him off.
“Do you have a trainer?” she asked. Fennekin nodded no. “Well, do you have your pokeball nearby?” Again, it nodded no. Marie sighed and stood up.
“Marie?” asked Ceailean, expecting a response. She looked around the street, facing both ways. She then looked to Fennekin, and promptly picked it up saying, “Yoink!” and ran down the street with it in her arms.
“What! Wait, Marie!” shouted Ceailean. He took off after her. “What do you think you’re doing!”
“This will be our starter, it doesn’t seem like it wants to stick around anyway.”
“They probably have cameras, they’ll see that we took it!”
“Oh come on C, stop being a conformist and have a little optimism. Just run!”
“Okay, if you’re sure!”
They ran and ran until the Pokémon lab behind them was no longer visible.