Chapter 7: Love and Understanding
#7 of Love and Understanding
Chapter 7 of "Love and Understanding
POKESPEECH/THOUGHTS:
"Normal Speech"
'Pokemon Telepathy/Pokemon thoughts'
'Normal Telepathy/Normal Thoughts'
" POKESPEECH/Abilities"
I must give a special thank you to Lord Genesis Shadow. His story "Man with the Gallade's Arm" served as inspiration for future character development for my 'OC'
I HIGHLY recommend you read "Man with the Gallade's Arm" if you haven't already, its an amazingly well-written story and you'll get hooked after the first chapter.
*Present Day*
I gently rubbed Angels plumage as we landed in front of my house, satisfied with yet another day under my belt and another deal in the works with the company I work for. Now I get to spend time with the ones I loved more than anything else.
It had been twenty years since I met Jessica on that fateful morning in the front yard and the memories we made, and shared through mind link, made me smile. Growing up and becoming fast friends, sharing our most guarded secrets with each other and even bonding in the most sacred way possible. Ever since that night we had continued to grow closer and, through what could only be considered a miracle, had two children.
Our first was a male Ralts which we named Blade, partially because of my wish to raise a Gallade and partially because the bond me and Jessica had created over the years had changed something in me. I was still human but I could sense things that an average human could not, able to tap into a constantly growing reserve of latent psychic energy. The repeated mind linking sessions with Jessica had also granted me the ability to speak telepathically with her as well as those with a strong enough constitution. What truly got my attention though was the strange discoloration on both of my arms.
For reasons I simply couldn't comprehend, or fathom for that matter, after me and Jessica shared our first time with each other a strange power began welling up within me. At first I assumed it was a result of all my hard work exercising and lifting but when the marks began forming along my arms I knew it was anything but a result of physical training. I asked Jessica about the markings and her face lit up with a joy I hadn't thought possible.
She went on to explain the prophecy of a boy who would bring together humans and pokemon in a new way. the boy would commit a taboo practice with his Gardevoir after much mental bonding between them. She told me how it had all started when a man a few years younger than myself found a Ralts huddled inside his makeshift tent during a rainstorm.
Jessica went on to mention how the man ran into the Ralts' parents, a Gallade and a Gardevoir. He tried to give the Ralts back to them but she wouldn't leave his side and so the Gallade transferred some of its power to the human as a sort of pledge to keep their daughter safe. Over time the human began showing symptoms of being part-Gallade, able to form blades of his own from his arms, he developed powerful psychic abilities and had the same discoloration in his skin that I now had. Not only that but the man and his Ralts eventually fell in love after she became a Gardevoir and had children of their own. She went on to mention how the world that they lived in saw their kind of love as taboo and an abomination.
"Wait...are you saying that I'm an..."
Jessica gave a gentle but affirmative nod. 'Yes, my dear Michael, you are from the same bloodline as the man I spoke of. Your father is too, and so was your mother. You are destined for great things, Michael, that is what Arceus has revealed to me.'
I could only shake my head in disbelief; me, a child of prophecy, following in the footsteps of my fathers' father...it figures, a boy growing up with no friends only to befriend a pokemon and later fall in love with said pokemon.
Still, I took this knowledge to heart, knowing I could do so much more with my new and still growing powers, such as protecting what I hold near and dear.
Namely Jessica, Blade and our other child, a female Ralts which we named Amber. The reason for this was much simpler than the one for Blade yet it held just as much significance, if not more. When I told Jessica of my reason she immediately blushed and began crying, that was a day i'll never forget as long as I live. I told her I wanted the name Amber because she had her mother's eyes.
I smiled at Angel once more before returning her to her pokeball and fumbling for my keys. After a short search for the correct one, which always irked me considering I only use a key for the house, the car and the storage shed, ( yet, somehow, I ended up with over ten different keys on the damn thing. ) I found the correct one and pushed the metal into the small hole. With a firm twist of my wrist the key followed my motion and pulled back the lock on the door, my other hand reaching for the door handle and pulling it down. When I had finished the door was easily pushed forward and, with a boisterous roar I yelled out.
"Jessi! I'm home~"
I immediately felt a suspicious presence coming towards me, the source of which was not visible to me. I steadied myself by digging my feet into the hardwood floor and held my right hand out just behind my hip while the other hand was positioned in a "guard" to stilled my body and closed my eyes, blocking out the outside world and focusing inside my soul to tap into the farthest reaches of my other senses.
" Ba-dump..."
My ears twitched.
" Ba-dump..."
My palms tensed yet my mind stayed alert.
" Ba-dump... Ba-dump..."
I readied my body.
" Ba-dump.. Ba-dump... Ba-dump..."
I opened my eyes to an empty living room and a gentle bell-like sigh echoing through my head, along with the trailing heartbeat from earlier. I kept absolutely still, knowing my attacker would pounce at any moment. In fact, he was already in the room. I was unable to help but laugh inwardly at such a poor attempt in hiding ones presence, yet I had to give him credit for trying.
Too bad I never believed in the word "try."
It was a toxic word with numerous meanings and definitions, yet the most critical one always made the most sense to him. To try meant "to attempt" and it wasn't enough to try, it wasn't anything worth noting at all actually. His father said it best when he lectured him after a lengthy sparring session.
"I expected better of you, my son! I know you are trying but...trying means you aren't "doing" so stop trying and start doing." I declared to the empty room, I knew he was in the room with me. I could sense his spirit and I felt the air tinge with latent psychic magic. I could accurately predict where he was in relation to me...
'Ten feet infront of me...eight feet to my left...five feet behind...three feet to the right...directly in front of me...'
I quickly thrust my right fist infront of me and felt contact, the invisible "attacker" wincing from the unexpected assault.
"How many times must I tell you, son? Your attack pattern is too predictable! You were moving literally counterclockwise and did not deviate from your course whatsoever. You also failed to suppress your psychic energy. Finally, I could hear your mind pulse as well as your heart beat the closer you got to me."
My son looked at me incredulously and twitched his eyebrows. I sighed half-heartedly and raised my left hand up just as a fist made its presence known, my hand blocking the rage-filled attack while the other began to glow brightly with an orange hue, I was preparing to use Focus Blast. My son stepped back and I watched as his right arm began to glow a deep lavender, he was preparing to use Psycho Cut , a devastating Psychic-type attack...but only if it landed. I watched as he lunged forward, completely disregarding the fact that my skill in melee combat was unmatched as a human.
This would be his undoing.
Growing up I had spent many days and nights building my body strength and perfecting my martial art skills. In addition I spent many days at the local dojo fighting Pokemon built for tournaments and even the occasional rogue street brawler. Through much trial and error, along with the help of my Sensei, a Lucario named Storm, I was able to master the use of many Fighting-type abilities. The one I was about to use would put a quick end to my sons poorly-planned attack.
I focused my body and soul, waiting for my chi to align with my spirit as time began to slow down to a crawl. I could see the air being disturbed by my sons reckless advance as well as each particle of psychic energy flowing away from his Psycho Cut attack. I smirked gently before making me move. I imagined myself fighting tooth and nail with a wild Ursurang...and my training took over...' Close Combat'
My eyes shot open and I was upon my son in less than a second, landing haymakers and elbows across his temple and hips. He stumbled back but I refused to let up, following my punches and elbows with another signature Fighting-type move, Hi-Jump Kick. the attack devastated Blade's jaw, the sound of bone being shattered echoed through the house before I body slammed him in the air and brought him down with a simple but very effective finisher, Focus Punch. The entire house shook bringing a few of Jessica's Frostlass statues close to the edge of the shelf they were perched on.
I watched as my son got back up, on one knee and panting heavily. His body had numerous bruises from when I used Close Combat and his jaw was certainly broken from the kick I used. Blood was trickling down from the corner of his mouth and one of his blades looked cracked. Seeing the fight completely drained out of him I made my way over and began using Recover to mend his injuries.
Deep down I felt terrible putting my son through the mill like this, the ends would most certainly justify the means however. I only hoped Blade would one day understand my reasoning. For now, I had forced myself to play the 'tough love' card until I saw improvement.
"You disappoint me, Blade...I thought I had taught you better than that!" I said with obvious frustrarion. "You failed to land a single blow on me while I landed over twenty-five. I need you to be strong for when I am unable to be there." My lecture was suddenly cut short by another powerful presence making its way downstairs with a frown of annoyance on her face. "What's the matter, Jessi? Is Amber not sleeping?"
'No, she is sleeping just fine, what I'm upset about is the condition of our son! Did you really have to go so hard on the boy, Michael?' She asked rather worriedly but also with a silent rage burning in her eyes, like any mother would do in a situation like this. To be perfectly honest, though, the harsh training I put Blade through would only benefit him and the rest of our family in the long run.
We were living in dangerous times and families like ours didn't last long because of the one foundation set by society. It was a pathetic rule that made no sense whatsoever. That day, when me and Jessica became one, I knew the harsh road we had to travel. In spite of this, however, I refused to let the fact we lived in secrecy deter me from making sure my family was safe and could properly defend themselves if the situation called for it. Love between a Pokemon and a human was one of the worst taboos you could partake in, yet that didn't stop me and Jessica from letting love run its natural course.
"I've said it once and I'll say it again, Jessi, we simply cannot afford to take chances anymore. You saw the news last week." I saw Jessica wince at my statement. The memory was still fresh on both our minds, seeing that mangled body...a Raichu sprawled out on its back with numerous gashes and lacerations dotting its dirt-caked body. We could only assume the human next to the Pokemon was its trainer, its former trainer. The cause of death was immediately declared to be a case of a wild Pokemon attack turned-lethal.
I was not so convinced however.
Teeth and claw marks spread out across the humans chest while several puncture wounds dotted the trainers neck, giving the impression that it was a pack of roaming Houndour or Houndoom, or even Mightyena. Those three Pokemon were certainly notorious for protecting their territory from intruders, even humans, yet one thing didn't add up. There was no sign of a struggle aside from the area where the body was found. In addition, there was the fact that there was no blood or splatter patterns outside of ten feet from the dead trainer. If it had been a roaming pack of Pokemon the struggle would have covered a much larger circumference, and it would have traveled a much greater distance with chaotic blood patterns which would indicate a pursuit. The way the scene looked at the moment to Michael played out as an ambush from a trainer or group of trainers.
Or even a criminal organization.
The latter made me feel more uncomfortable than anything else I had known in the twenty-eight years I had been alive. Team Magma and Aqua were merely focused in the Hoenn region while Team Rocket always put their own needs above others, even if it meant using Pokemon to obtain those goals. If it had been Team Rocket than why was the Raichu left alone? They would have snatched the poor Pokemon up in a heartbeat. Team Plasma was out of the equation due to their former leader, Ghetsis, rotting in a Unova jail cell and his protege, "N" seemed to have turned over a new leaf practically overnight after the manipulative Ghetsis was apprehended. That left Team Galactic, Team Flare and Team Snagem. No one had heard from the first two in years while the latter was leased in the Orre region; even then a young trainer and girl had put an end to Snagem so it couldn't have been them. Perhaps it was an outside organization not yet known? There were always rogue criminal agencies seeking to spread their corruption yet never had the numbers or backing to do much more than boast and offer false promises of glory.
If it was an outside organization than me and my family needed to be on high alert and be physically and mentally ready to defend ourselves if an attack made its way to our doorstep. Sometimes the worst threats were the ones you couldn't see coming and I had a premonition that this was the case, therefore I had to make sure my son was ready to defend the family if I was unable to or otherwise incapacitated. Such an occurance seemed unlikely, however, I not only had latent psychic powers but had also been strengthening my fighting skills at the local dojo. As a result I had perfected the powerful Fighting-type move, Close Combat , along with several other abilities perfect for handling close-quarters combat. Still I couldn't help but worry for my wife and growing family, especially Amber who had only recently hatched and wasn't even a Kirlia yet. Her psychic powers were still developing as a result so she was the one most vulnerable to a surprise attack.
'Sweetie? I know you're worried about us and the kids but try and relax some, please? I have absolute faith in you and Blade, not to mention I can fight too, you know.' I smiled at Jessica's comforting words, reaching down to grab her waist and gently pulled her in for a kiss.
She was right, after all, it would do no good worrying about what we couldn't see, so it was best to take things as they came and, if it came down to it, deal with the problem first hand.
Little did I know that the problem would come much faster than me or my family could have ever predicted.