Chapter 3: "I Need to Rethink My Life"
Walking back to the restaurant
where Ethan and his girlfriends had eaten earlier, Ethan couldn't help but
notice a few of Christine's features. Most notably, the spikes on her chest and
paws were more rounded out than what was often seen from the Lucario species,
resembling more of miniature domes than spikes, not too different from when she
was just a Riolu. Part of him wanted to ask her what that was all about, but he
chose not to, sensing that she had perhaps grown self-conscious about the
subject. "And you're not too far from the truth, Ethan. And yes, I can hear
your think. Kind of like Sherlock." Christine suddenly said, choosing to speak
in her tongue so only he could hear her.
"Something up?" Nathan
had asked, hearing her say her species name instead of using her telepathy.
"No, nothing." Ethan
quickly said. He knew that Nathan could tell when he was lying, but decided to
roll with what his cousin said.
As soon as the four
were inside, Ethan had asked "So, what brings you back to Johto? The girls and
I thought you and Christine were going to be in Kalos longer than just two
years!"
"Well, I guess I can
start with the obvious." Nathan responded, as they grabbed a seat. The two
noticed their respective jackal and sea snake holding their own conversation on
the other end of the table.
"Hold on" Ethan
interrupted, as he let Phosphora out of her ball.
"Whoa, I was just
resting, why call me out so soon?" she asked, not too pleased of having been
sent out of her Pokéball while having been snoozing. Granted, she knew Ethan
was unaware of her sleeping, but still.
Not sure if she was
aware, Ethan explained "Sorry, dear. We just met up with Nathan, and I was
wondering if you were up for chatting with Christine."
"Okay." The Ampharos, still
sounding a bit sleepy, before asking, "Where...is she?"
"Just follow my voice."
The Lucario replied, as Phosphora slowly followed to where Christine and Beleza
were chatting, and sat down with the two.
"You were saying,
Nathan?" Ethan had asked.
"Oh, right. As it's
already obvious, Christine had evolved while we were training to be Aura
Guardians....I have some odd feeling that this is going to be a long story."
"We've got time." Ethan
replied. After ordering a coffee, he continued "Okay, I'm ready."
"You're not going to
fall asleep on me, are you?" Nathan questioned.
Laughing, he replied "Of
course not, Nathan."
"I'm sure of that...."
Nathan responded.
About
three hours later....give or take...I might just write an entirely separate story
revolving around Nathan and Christine in the future...
"...and during the last
month I was there at the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City, Andrea had said that
there was more for me to learn of Aura Manipulation, but out of some odd
generosity, she had told me that I should come back to Johto, and at least pay
you and Mom a visit. I promised her that I'd be back in two weeks from now to
resume my training.
After meeting up with Mom
and Dad, they asked me to come find you and see how you were doing, since Mom
is disappointed you haven't contacted either her or Dad for the last two years."
Nathan finished, having a sip of his tea. "What've you been doing ever since I
was gone?"
Sighing, Ethan looked
around briefly before replying "Well, I promised Tia Hilda before I had left
New Bark Town that I'd use my powers for good, so I've been doing that. Or at
least trying to make part of Johto a better place. And I've been experimenting
with parkour, given that I'm able to take an express elevator of sorts if I
need to get to places."
"You're jumping off of
buildings, Ethan?!" Nathan replied, figuring out his joke. "What are you
thinking?"
"Relax, I've been okay
each time. Although I surprise myself at times." Ethan interjected with a sad
smile. "But if you really want to know why I haven't bothered to go back, it's
because the people in Cherrygrove City are scared of me." Looking around, he
continued "When I first went there to hone my abilities, they were afraid, and
some even tried to attack me, forcing me to make a run for it. I wouldn't be
surprised if there were any wanted posters of me over there in Cherrygrove
City."
"Well, that's terrible
to hear." Nathan responded. "But couldn't we just find a way around the city?
Take a bus or something?"
"Remember when I was
eleven, and I nearly blew up Tia's car by just sitting in it? We're going to
have to walk it....on the other hand, I've figured out a trick where I can ride
across any form of a train rail, or an electric line...never mind. We're just
going to have to walk back to Cherrygrove City, and then we'll be on our way to
New Bark Town. Might take us a day or two, but we'll make it." Ethan had
explained, not liking his idea.
"Are you serious?! You've
been travelling around Violet City for two years honing your electrokinetic abilities;
have only two Pokémon at your side, no place to really call a home, and haven't
made any contact with Mom ever since you left!?" Nathan suddenly argued, trying
to keep his cool, his burst coming out of nowhere.
Balling his fists,
Ethan tried to think of a good response, only to relax his hands, for he knew
that his cousin was right. He was wasting time, trying to use his powers with
good intentions, and he wasn't going anywhere. "You're right, Nathan. I'm
disgracing my parents, I haven't done anything productive, I could've been
beating Gym Leaders back then, and perhaps taken on the Pokémon League by now....
I don't care how we do it. Let's go home. I need to rethink my life." He
explained, now feeling awful for what he hasn't done.
"Ethan, I wasn't saying
that to make you feel awful. I was...just trying to make a point."
"And you did it
brilliantly, Nathan! I just feel like going home now." Ethan responded before
regaining his composure, and calming down. "And besides, I'd like to give our parents
a visit." Looking towards the girls, he asked "Ready to head out?"
"Okay!" they said in
unison, before Ethan and Nathan recalled the three, and walked out of the
restaurant.
Noticing the crowd of
people that had walked the many streets of Violet City, Ethan had questioned
himself "Given how massive this city is,
along with the length of the routes, we'll just have to take a bus. Maybe my
sneakers can work as some kind of insulator; maybe keep it from exploding. Only
one way to find out."
Noticing how his older
cousin appeared to be lost in his own thoughts as he thought out their options,
Nathan had asked "Something up, Ethan?"
Being pulled out of his
thoughts, he replied "No, I was just thinking of some ideas. Perhaps we could
just take a bus back to Cherrygrove City; it should take us a few hours instead
of just walking back."
"Aren't you afraid of..."
"I'll take a longer way
around if necessary, Nathan." He quickly interjected, with Nathan only
responding with a nod. After grabbing a bus stop and waiting for what felt like
an eternity, the two soon saw a public bus roll up. Paying their toll and
asking to go to Cherrygrove City, Ethan and Nathan took the back seats, with pedestrians
coon coming in to fill the other seats. Knowing that it'd take a while, Ethan just
looked outside, and watched the roadways merge with a nearby highway that was
constructed long ago to connect Violet City to Cherrygrove. Soon he fell
asleep, believing that he mastered his control over electricity enough to avoid
blowing up a vehicle.
Not too far from a
rooftop, the same young woman, clad in white, watched as Ethan and his friends
had left Violet City through a pair of binoculars. "Damn!" She muttered. "We missed
him, He won't be pleased."
"What do we do now,
Commander Violet?" she heard a voice from behind her ask. Turning around, a
grunt stood by, wearing a pure white suit, and sunglasses with metallic gold
rims around the lenses.
"We wait." She responded.
"We wait for him to be completely alone with his Pokémon, or we go for an all-out
assault on New Bark Town and just kill everyone!" Clenching a fist, she
continued "As tempting as it is to go the latter, it's too soon for us to
reveal ourselves. I know its lame how long we've been waiting, but its better
this way. " Knowing better than to make an argument, the grunt nodded in agreement,
perhaps out of fear. Fear of her. Or their leader.
As he slumbered, he
could hear many voices. Some of the people chattering on the bus, another pair
being of Nathan and Christine, whom he let out to chat with her. "So what are
we going to tell your parents? About us, that is?" the blue furred jackal asked,
using her telepathy.
Knowing that she was
able to channel it in a way so no one else could hear her, he replied quietly
"I don't know. What I do know is that Mom won't be proud of us being together, but
she can't know of our 'sessions'. That might send her over the edge." Wanting
to change the subject, he looked over at Ethan, who had fallen asleep, then
asked "This is a bit random, but given that you can see the colors of people's
auras, I was wondering what the color of Ethan's was?"
"Sure I can do that."
Closing her eyes, she could only gasp when she saw his aura. Quickly opening
her eyes, she regained her composure and checked Ethan's aura, only to see the
same exact color.
"What is it,
Christine?" Nathan asked out of concern.
Opening her eyes, the
young Lucario turned back to her mate, and lied "Sorry, I just see a bright
blue aura when I look at Ethan. I suppose it fits with his power. I thought I
saw a different color."
He could tell that she
was lying, but whatever reason she had for lying to him, he decided not to
question her further. "Okay then." He responded, before she fell asleep on his
lap.
Eh, it could be worse. After
all, Ethan's aura could be a white and gold, right?
"Welcome to Cherrygrove
City!" The bus driver announced, waking up the two trainers unsurprisingly.
After rubbing his eyes, Ethan had checked on his cousin, before the three
walked out of the bus. Much to Ethan's surprise, he didn't find himself being
attacked by the people of Cherrygrove. Have they forgotten him?
"I still believe what
you said before, but I'd say don't keep your hopes up." Nathan had said, as he
and Christine had followed him.
"Hey, Ethan. Why aren't
Beleza or Phosphora out with you?" Christine asked curiously.
Pulling out a Dive Ball,
Ethan was unsure of a response as he pushed a button, and his dear red "haired"
snake had emerged. "Milotic!" she said cheerfully.
Curious of what the
Milotic was saying, Nathan had asked "Translation?"
"Beleza's surprised to
see us back in Cherrygrove City, basically." Ethan replied, as they walked
across a sidewalk. Despite having been walking for only a few minutes, he still
felt uncomfortable being around so many people. But who couldn't blame him? He
preferred the company of his Pokémon over other humans.
Save for an occasional
stare, or a negative remark from a Cherrygrove resident or two, Ethan was
surprised at how fast he and Nathan were able to leave the city. On the other
hand, he had forgotten just how much smaller it was compared to Violet City.
And he was kind of speed walking, now that he thought about it. "Ethan, you
didn't really have to walk like that. You looked like you were about to break
into a run at times."
Frowning, Ethan replied
"I'm sorry, I...I was bracing for the worst. Have I become that paranoid?" Rather
than give his cousin a chance to respond, let alone their respective
girlfriends, he began to walk towards a very expansive dirt path that connected
Cherrygrove City to New Bark Town.
"Ethan! You're not
paranoid!" Beleza called out, as she slithered up to him, wanting to hug him. "You
have just been waiting to use your powers with good intentions, but you feel
that you've been denied numerous times, isn't it?" Smiling sadly, he just hugged
her.
Instantaneously, Phosphora
jumped out of her ball, and hugged Ethan. Christine couldn't help but smile at
the sight, but she was worried about the color of the aura that emanated from
him. Perhaps I'm stressing over
something too miniscule. But still, the color seems....unnatural...when Nathan and
I get back to Kalos; I'll have to ask my brother...yeah, that's an idea. She
thought to herself. Looking back, she noticed Ethan kiss both Beleza and
Phosphora affectionately, a sight that caught her off guard.
Noticing the surprised
looks on their faces upon kissing the both of them, Ethan had said "Yes, I
know. I'm with the both of them. Is there a problem?"
"No, no. No problem
here, Ethan. I mean, Christine and I are together. I thought most trainers and
Pokémon practiced monogamy, like our parents encouraged us." Nathan quickly
replied.
"And aren't most
trainer and Pokémon couples like Nathan and I generally mates for life....?"
Christine began to ask, before she realized what she was asking. Ethan
facepalmed at the unintentional discovery of what his own cousin had been doing
with her.
Getting the rough idea
of the two having slept together, Beleza jumped in, saying "Well, we haven't
done any of that..."
"Nathan, Christine...if
it makes you two feel better, I won't tell Tia about you two sleeping together,
let alone being together." Ethan offered.
Smiling at the offer,
Nathan requested "Thanks cousin. And in return, I won't tell her that you
involved with two Pokémon. But I have another request..." Pulling out a Pokéball,
he asked "How does a Pokémon battle sound? Specifically, a double battle?"
Before Ethan had a
chance to respond, he suddenly felt a surge of pain, throwing him onto his
knees as he grabbed his head. "What on earth?!" he groaned.
Unsure of what to do, Beleza
asked with visible concern in her ruby eyes "Are you alright?"
"I....feel like....I took....a
sledge....hammer to....the face. Must be the lack...of electri...city on this route."
He attempted to explain. "Do you feel it too, Phosphora?" He asked his Ampharos,
who didn't seem affected by whatever Ethan was feeling.
Shrugging she responded
"Not really. Although...I can't see anything right now. Just pure black. Whatever
you're feeling right now might be no more than the absence of electricity where
we are..."
Groaning, Ethan
acknowledged "Whatever I'm feeling right now should go away once we're back in
New Bark Town." Feeling a pair of arms lift him back onto his feet, he noticed
Nathan and Christine trying to help out their somehow exhausted friend. "Thanks."
He uttered weakly, as the five walked back to where Ethan and Nathan had grown
up in their early years.