Quest for Possibilities 12

Chapter Twelve: Remedy

Frail, the skin is dry and pale, the pain will never fail
And so we go back to the remedy
Clip the wings that get you high, just leave them where they lie
And tell yourself, "You'll be the death of me"

I don't need a friend, I need to mend so far away
So come sit by the fire and play a while, but you can't stay too long
It aches in every bone, I'll die alone, but not for pleasure
I see my heart explode, it's been eroded by the weather here
If you want me hold me back

I couldn't believe it. Not long after having to bury Axle and Izzy, I had to lay another close friend to rest. I chose to bury Jun under a tree on the same route she had been killed on and rest for the time period. I had a lot to think about. Was I being too selfish, forcing these  innocent pokemon to fight for me and making them risk their lives?

Or was I not strong and smart enough to help these pokemon become stronger so they could fend off enemies better?

Either way, the blame rested on me.

"Whiiiiiiite!"

I heard a flap of wings and looked up. Bon was flying through the air and landed close.

"Look, I evolved! I'm much tougher and better now! Lemme fight some more!"

"But..." I hesitated.

"Yo, White," Duke said, coming up next to me. "Next gym is an electric type one. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be an easy beatdown with me in the fight. You ready?"

"Don't call it quits now, Mom," Elecman said. "We've only just begun. You can't let the deaths of our friends stop you. It's not what they would have wanted."

"How do you know?" I asked. "That's the worst part. We don't know what they think anymore because they can no longer speak for themselves. They're gone, guys. Completely gone."

"Then what about what we want?" Pagan asked. He was floating a few feet away in a meditating position. "Does that count?"

Pagan's question made me stop hesitating. "Well...of course it does. But I'm just afraid I'll lose more of you guys. Do you guys really feel right risking yourselves like this?"

"I don't think of it as a risk to our lives," Pagan answered. "We're on an adventure. So, of course, there's danger. It's how we overcome that danger that decides what happens to us. And I'm willing to stay on this adventure with you, White."

"Same here," Duke said.

"And me!" Bon chirped.

"And you know I am," Elecman said. "I'm never leaving you, Mom. So quit with all the doubting and let's go!"

I had to smile. These guys meant so much to me. I was so proud of them, knowing they weren't letting the deaths of our friends stop them from moving on. I really had to take an example from my own pokemon and show them a thing or two.

"Alright. Duke, get those fists of yours ready. It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of gum," I snickered.

"Now that's what I like to hear," Duke said with a grin.

Later...

"I FUCKING HATE THIS PUZZLE!"

"You know what? Screw this," Duke said. He walked through the electrical surges blocking my way to Lt. Surge. "Hey you. I'm not here to fight you. I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS!"

"What the hell? YOU CHEATED! You can't just walk through that without your trainer!" Surge fumed.

"Watch me," Duke said and spat out some mud.

"Fine. Go Voltorb!"

"Mudshot!"

"Damnit. Pikachu-"

"Mudshot!"

"Jolteon?!"

"Mudshot!"

"Electrode?!"

"Mudshot!"

"Magnemite-"

"Mudshot!"

"ARG, THAT'S IT! GO, RAICHU-"

"MUDSHOT!"

I stared in amazement. "That was the most flawless and epic beatdown I have ever seen."

"I go where I please and I please where I go," Duke replied, coming out of the surges and handing me the Thunder Badge. "Now let's blow this popsicle stand."

"Yeah, we better get out before Surge loses it," I said and ran out.

On the way out, a lady handed me a Squirtle and I sent him to the PC. On Route 9, I didn't catch anything but someone gave me a Bulbasaur and I decided to add him to the team. He was pretty high leveled and evolved right away.

"HEY YOU! LET'S FIGHT! OH, A GRASS TYPE!? SELF DESTRUCT!"

"YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed. Duke dug another hole and we said our good byes to a friend we didn't know for very long. "I'm sorry, BrandO...you had so much potential..."

"Come on...let's just keep moving," Pagan urged. "Rock Tunnel is ahead."

"Yeah, and so is Route 10," Elecman said. "We're bound to find someone new there."

"You looking for someone new for your team?" A Swablu popped out of the grass. Unlike Izzy, this one was a female and sounded genuinely nice.

"Yeah, I think we'll catch you now. Sorry, Bon, but I really want a pokemon that can become a dragon type," I said and put Bon back in the box. "As for you, you're now on the team, miss Dizzy."

"A pleasure~!" Dizzy chirped.

After healing up at the Pokemon Center, we started going into Rock Tunnel, but I stopped at the entrance. Elecman saw me and sighed. "Mom, you're not having doubts again, are you?"

"No, it's just...I heard Rock Tunnel is really inky dark inside. We might need something to light our way," I said.

"No it's not. Get in here, White!" Duke called. I stepped into the cave and gasped. It was all lit up with electrical lights built in the wall!

"Whoa...nice! I guess we don't need a dumb move to get through here after all!"

"Nuuuuuuuuup, you just need to move!" a robotic voice said. "We bounce, roll, rock, groove! Do what the fuck we want to!" A Beldum popped up.

"...You are amazing. I'm so catching you," I said and threw a pokeball at him.

"You're pretty amazing yourself!" a random guy said. "Here, have a Charmander!"

"Cool! Okay, back to the Pokemon Center. Time to reassess the team!" I called.

A few minutes later...

"Roll call! Elecman!"

"Here!"

"Duke!"

"Shake it, baby."

"Duke, leave Dizzy alone. Dizzy!"

"Up here!"

"Pagan!"

"Present."

"Rev!"

"On a Deathwatch!"

"Charlie!"

"Up in the millennium!"

"Yeah, we're ready. Let's get through Rock Tunnel and move along with our adventure!" I said cheerfully.

YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!