The four of us woke up early the next morning to begin our day. We had breakfast together and then left the Centre, the girls splitting from us once we were outside. Well-wishes were said, and then they headed straight for the Gym. Not long after, Bradley left in a different direction as I walked further until I reached a small empty rock field training ground.
There were three practice dummies spread out among different sized rocks, boulders that were much larger than me. I decided that this was a good place for training, so I set down my backpack, and pulled out only Zatanna's pokeball.
I'll make it up to Synin later with tomorrow's afternoon mission and aerial drills in the morning.
Zatanna let out a long yawn when she appeared and then shook herself. "Eat up," I told her after setting down a handful of food on the ground in front of her. "We're doing a different kind of training today. You'll need your strength."
I waited for her to finish. When she was done, I poured some water into my hand and let her drink. When she had her fill, I put the rest of the water away and stood facing her.
"Today, you're going to learn an attack called Hidden Power," I told her. "Listen very carefully. This attack will be harder to learn for any on the ones you've learned so far. Try your best but don't be disappointed if you have trouble with it. I expect that it will take a few hours before you're able to form the energy of the attack. Got it?"
She barked an affirmative.
"Good," I said. "This is what I want you to do. When I tell you to start, I want you to close your eyes and look inside you to find the energy you have buried deep inside. You know what your Dark type energy feels like. This energy will feel completely different from that energy. You must focus within to find the energy that you're not familiar with. Do you understand?"
She barked again.
"Good," I said. "Once you find that hidden energy, I want you to let me know that you found it. I'll be waiting right here. Don't become distracted by anything happening around you unless I call your name. Alright?"
She barked a third time.
"Alright, then. Start."
Zatanna closed her eyes and stood still. I sat down on a big rock, lotus position, to wait her out. I'd asked around and this was what many other trainers had suggested.
[2 hours later]
I decided to give her a quick break and offered her some water in my hands. After lapping it up, I let her lay down for a while before I sent her back into position for training. To pass the time, I started on my exercise routine some distance away.
[Around one hour later]
Zatanna suddenly tipped over and fell on the ground. I jumped and ran over to check on her. Her breathing was fine but slow. She was asleep.
"Zatanna!" I yelled.
She gave a jolt and woke up. She quickly stood up and looked at me with her ears drooped down. I chastised her a bit before I sent her back. She whined but went back into position for training.
[Roughly 30 minutes later]
She gave a surprised yelp. I quickly stood up and walked towards her.
"Zatanna," I asked. "Did you find the energy?"
She barked an affirmative.
"Excellent!" I exclaimed. "Now for the next part of the training." She stood at attention. "I want you to find the energy again and try to draw it out just like you draw out your Dark type energy when you use Pursuit. Once you draw it out, I want you to hold it until I tell you to stop. Understood?"
She barked. "Alright," I said. "Start now."
She closed her eyes and started to focus within again. After a few minutes, her body began to glow with bright red energy. I was slightly disappointed because I had hoped for pale magenta which indicated Hidden Power: Fairy, checking out Fighting, Dragon, and other Dark type Pokémon or Fighting since it would give an in for Focus Blast.
And yes, HP: Fairy was a thing in this world.
Nevertheless, HP: Fire was still good as this would set the foundation for Flamethrower and Incinerate later down the line. It would also check out one of her weaknesses, Bug, in addition to Grass, Ice and Steel types as well as a small probability to burn her targets.
I have no idea why other trainers did not make much use of this, but I for one, am certainly going to abuse it!
"That's good Zatanna," I praised her. "Great job. You can stop now." She stopped and laid down panting. "Take a quick break before we move on to the final part."
I let her rest for roughly 15 minutes before I instructed her to follow me. I led her to one of the practice dummies, stopping a few feet away from it.
"Now's the time for you to learn how to actually launch your Hidden Power." I told her. "When I say to start, call up this hidden energy again and this time try to form it into the shape of a ball right in front of you. Once you have the ball formed, try to release it so it flies forward and hits the target. Understood?"
She barked.
"Alright, start then."
***
Zatanna managed to form a large orb charring a dummy as black as charcoal. Against the surrounding boulders, it was of little use, but she had been able to split her single large orb into smaller orbs, though three seemed to be the limited as any further meant no power.
Would have loved to experiment more were I less conscious of time.
I made it back to the Centre after feeding Zatanna. There, I got ready to see my family before boarding the magnet train, heading to District 7. Eventually, I made it to the station closest to my old house and disembarked walking the rest of the way.
As I made my way through my old home district, I looked around at familiar surroundings. Nothing had changed from what I could see. The closer I got to my old house, the more I saw familiar faces of old neighbours, and even saw some people that I used to go to school with, most ignoring me and some outright leaving the area upon catching sight of me.
However, as I gained the reputation of being a helpful neighbour throughout the years, I was still greeted cordially by some of the nearby families. Or more notably lonely housewives that I 'helped' on a couple of occasions...
Finally, I had reached the house I lived in for the past seven years. I made sure I looked presentable before ringing the doorbell. A few seconds later I heard the door unlock and it opened to reveal a familiar woman of average height, sharp, facial features, and blue-green eyes. I noticed that her blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail with a decorative bow matching her elegant long-sleeved French-styled dress.
We just stood staring at each other for a moment before I broke the silence.
"What's up?" I asked jovially.
She rushed forward and gave me a hug. I returned it warmly, a pleasant floral scent tickling my nose as I embraced the lady in front of me, her soft assets pressing against me.
"Welcome home," Aunt Helena whispered gently.
"Dex!" I heard just before a little monster lunged at me. A little blond tyke hugged me tightly as I tried to steady us. I tried my best to get her to let go of me, but she held on adamantly. It was only thanks to her mother ushering us into the living room that I was released from the devil's grasp.
My foster father stood up when he saw me and offered me his hand.
"Hello, Dexter," he greeted.
"Hey," I replied in turn, shaking his hand.
"Sit down," Aunt Helena told us. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'll call you when it's done."
Uncle John, Rosalyn, and I sat down as Aunt Helena went to the Kitchen. There was silence among us for a moment. Eventually, he broke the silence.
"How have you been?" he asked me.
"Great, so far," I answered. "I'm a D-rank trainer now and completed my first mission yesterday."
"That's good…" he said hesitantly.
"Dex," my cousin began, her hands fidgeting. She didn't say anything but looked uncomfortable. I felt that she was struggling to say something.
"Yeah…?" I said, raising an eyebrow at her.
After a moment of twiddling her thumbs, she said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" I asked, a bit puzzled.
"You're a trainer now because of me," she said solemnly.
'Oh,' I realised as understanding dawned upon me.
Her eyes stared downwards as she continued. "You wouldn't have volunteered if I wasn't chosen."
"Don't apologize for that," I told her. "It's my job as your big brother to look after you. I wasn't about to let anything bad happen to you if I could prevent it."
"You did the right thing," my uncle said.
"Thanks," I said.
"Dinner's ready!" A shout from the kitchen.
We made our way to the dining room and began to eat the meal that my aunt had prepared for us. If it was one thing that I missed, it was certainly homemade food. Throughout the dinner, we kept the topics light. We talked about their jobs, how Rosa was doing at school, and some small gossip about the neighbours. We did not mention anything involving Pokémon for that matter.
After clearing away the dirty dishes and the leftovers, we went back to the living room for coffee and desserts which really were just fruits.
We kept up the conversation from before for an hour or so. Throughout, the conversation my uncle was uncharacteristically silent. My aunt's voice was the most prevalent out of the three. When there was a lull in the conversation, Rosa spoke up.
"Dex?" she asked. "How many Pokémon do you have?"
"Two," I answered. "I caught them both during my Ordeal. A Rookidee named Synin and a Zorua named Zatanna."
"Can I see one of them?" she asked.
My uncle went stiff. My aunt and I both looked at each other in surprise. While Rosa was not as prejudiced towards Pokémon like other kids, thanks to my influence, but last I heard, she did not want to be a Pokémon trainer. I remember it distinctly that she was crying that day.
"Rosa," my aunt began, "I don't think it's a good idea."
"They're tame right?" she asked, "Then it should be okay then!"
I found myself face to face with puppy eyes.
It was super effective.
I hesitated for a bit before deciding to release Zatanna. She would perhaps be better choice than Synin. I reached into my pocked and took out her pokeball. A brief flash of light and my little fox appeared in the living room. Zatanna sniffed the air and looked around the room for a bit. As soon as she saw me, she bounded up to me. I offered her my hand which she licked happily.
"Zatanna," I said, pointing at my sister, aunt, and uncle, while petting her head. "This is family. They're pack."
Zatanna immediately moved to where Rosa was sitting and began to sniff her. Rosa just sat there, tense, but excited.
"Can I pet her?" Rosa asked.
"Sure," I nodded.
Rosa reached out to pet Zatanna's head. Zatanna closed her eyes and began wagging her tail. Somehow, Rosa managed to elicit a purr out of her. Zatanna let her pet her for a few more minutes before moving to my aunt.
She began sniffing her as she did with Rosa. Aunt Helena looked ready to bolt any second. Zatanna sat down in front of her and stared at her. She looked at me.
"It's alright," I told my aunt.
She hesitantly reached down to pet Zatanna. A few seconds later, Zatanna was wagging her tail like she did with Rosa. Once Aunt Helena stopped petting her, she moved on to my uncle. She started to growl as she looked at him.
"Zatanna!" I yelled at her. "Stop that!"
Zatanna stopped growling but kept her eyes on my uncle who just stared back blankly. I decided to recall her at this point.
"Zatanna return," I said.
She was sucked into the pokeball. Once I put it away another awkward silence filled the room. Finally, I glanced at the clock on the wall and excused myself.
"It's getting late," I said. "I should get going. I have another guard duty tomorrow. I want to get a good night's sleep."
Outside, I could hear the pitter patter of the raindrops hitting the rooftops and the pavement.
"We should be getting ready for bed as well," my aunt said. "I'm glad that you came to visit us. You need to come over for dinner whenever you have free time. I have to make sure you're eating well."
"I will when I can." I answered her.
Rosa hugged me tightly before I could move. "Don't go," she pleaded. I shook my head and gently wiped her tears away.
"Sorry, can't do," I apologised. "Remember that song? The one about Princesses?"
Rosalyn tilted her head adorably. "...That Princesses don't cry?"
"That's right," I said petting her. "I know you'll be fine, just like Princess Rose." Guiding her into her mother's arms, I warned light-heartedly, "Don't forget about what I said about boys with pretty eyes!"
"M'kay!" A smile blossomed across her cute face. "I'll stay away from them! Promise!"
I smiled, then stood to leave. My uncle had yet to say anything. "I'm going now," I said. "I'll keep in touch."
"I'll walk you out," he finally said.
I looked at him. "Alright."
I said my goodbyes to Aunt Helena and Rosa and followed my uncle out of the house. He closed the door behind us when we were both outside, droplets of tears hitting an umbrella that I had prepared in advance.
"I don't want you to come back here," he told me.
"What! Why? I thought you were okay with me being a trainer?"
"I thought I was," he responded. "But I'm not. I can't handle this."
"What's the problem?"
"What's the problem? You just released a Pokémon in my house!" he yelled. "What if it attacked me! Or worse, Helena and Rosa!"
"She wouldn't have attacked any of you!" I half-stated, half-yelled.
"She growled at me!" he yelled.
I tried to calm him down. "She was just reacting to your negative emotions," I told him. "If you can just learn to accept me as I am now, I'm sure she'll accept you."
"I don't want to accept either one of you," he spat. "Did you see the look on Rosa's face as she was petting monster? She was excited. I don't want her to start thinking of Pokémon as pets. What happens if one day she comes across a wild Pokémon and tries to befriend it?"
"Rosa has more common sense than that," I said.
"I can't take the chance," he said. "I've already lost a son. I'm not going to lose another."
"You haven't lost me," I told him, softly.
"Yes, I have!" he declared. Silence followed. "I don't want to see you ever in this house again."
We just stared at each other for a moment. Finally, I nodded at him.
"Fine," I said. "I won't come back here again. But I'm not going to just turn my back on Aunt Helena or Rosa. I'm going to keep messaging them and calling them when I can."
He looked like he was about to start yelling at me again. He stopped himself and thought for a moment.
"Fine," he said. "But whenever she or Rosa asks you to come for a visit, I want you to make up whatever excuse you can think of to avoid coming. If you keep putting it off long enough, they will stop asking eventually."
"Fine," I said again. "I'm going now. Tell Aunt Helena that I'll contact her in a few days. Goodbye."
I turned and began to walk away from him. Once I was a few feet away he spoke up again.
"I didn't want it to come to this," he said.
I just kept walking, somewhat disappointed in this outcome. It was not entirely unexpected, but I did not expect for this to happen so soon. I do not regret my decision to volunteer back then. Given the choice, I would do it again, if only to pay back my debt towards the family who raised me like a son when I had nowhere to go, and of whom I had little blood ties to.