Part 10: Shakes! Fear!

* * *

‘What is this? A trainer lies yonder the observant moon? The heart strong but the mind weak. Like a fool he walks the earth, unbeknownst to the cruelties of love and life. Alas, he shall fall, fall like all the others, like this damned city which crumbled before mine eyes! Only I shall retain the name and all th’addition to a gym. Come young trainer, your fate is sealed!

* * *

        We walked at a leisurely pace under the clear twilight sky. It had been almost a week since we had departed from Cerulean City and Saffron City was finally in sight. Lamp lights sprung up around us as we entered a suburb of the city. It was a middle class estate but it seemed to be well maintained.

        A sudden rush of excitement surged through my body. My gym battle was approaching fast. It was only a matter of time before I won that third badge. I was brimming with confidence, especially from the last three battles I had on Route 5. Our day of training had really payed off as I had won all my battles over the last few days. There was a noticeable difference in my pokemons’ reaction and speed. For instance, the other day, Mia, the boot-legged Meowth avoided a Doduo’s fury attack, and finished it off with faint attack. I was really pleased with all my pokemons’ performances. Even my newest team member, Beri won a match. It was only against a Metapod, but still, we all have to begin somewhere!

        We walked on for another half an hour, deeper into the lurking city. The thing that most surprised me about the city was the decline in up market properties. I had expected the inner part of this metropolis to look attractive and prosperous. Instead we were surrounded by dilapidated buildings. Some of them even looked burned down. The streets were eerily empty as we walked on in silence. I couldn’t help but think in the back of my mind that someone was watching us, but maybe I was just tired?

Thankfully, we soon stumbled upon the pokemon centre. I was looking forward to getting a proper nights sleep.

‘Finally!’, exclaimed Aly, ‘We made it!’, she sounded happy and relieved at the same time. I knew she was eager to treat her Dratini properly. Salvadore had been giving the dragon potions and berries to keep up her strength but after that battle against Leigh she was in bad need of a proper treatment.

Nurse Joy welcomed us with a cheery smile, though she did seem quite tired herself. I couldn’t help but notice her uncanny resemblance to the other Nurse Joys we had come across so far in Kanto. It was like they were all identical to one another. Brushing this crazy thought aside I handed her my five pokeballs. Aly and Salvadore did the same, relieved knowing that their pokemon would be in safe hands.

My two friends decided to skip supper and go straight to bed, even though it was not that late. I, on the other hand could not resist a quick bite to eat. It was just a cup of hot chocolate and a few slices of marmalade on toast but it did the trick. I was satisfied. Just as I had finished the last slice of toast I had an idea, something that I had been meaning to do for a long while... ring home!

I went to the main reception area of the Pokemon Centre and sat myself down at one of their free video chat phones. Resting my cup of hot chocolate on the counter I dialed home. I waited nervously for a few seconds before my mom answered. Her face was glowing with happiness when she saw me. I was beaming to see her too.

‘Hi honey! What a nice surprise! I was getting worried about you. You should call more often!’, she tried to talk sternly but she could not control her happiness, ‘How have you been!?’

I chuckled a little at her bombardment of questions before answering, ‘I’m doing fine mom. I have five pokemon now. I also made two friends who decided to travel with me!’, I exclaimed. I continued to talk about everything since I left home. How I met Aly and Salvadore. All the new pokemon I had caught and my victories over the two gyms. Her eyes began to well up with pride. We must have talked for over half an hour, even Growly popped his head on the video screen, panting happily. I got so absorbed in our conversation that when I reached for my hot chocolate it had gone cold.

‘And you’re brushing your teeth every night? And changing your underwear regularly?’, she said quickly. It was such a “mom” thing to say.

‘Mom! I’m fine. Really!’, I shook my head in embarrassment but could not help but laugh, ‘Anyways, I really need to sleep. It’s been great talking to you’

‘Ok honey, make sure you get plenty of rest. And ring more often! Also, ring the Professor Oak when you get the chance. He’s curious to know how you're progressing’, her words were mumbled and she stuttered with intermittent sniffs. She was doing her best not to cry.

‘Will do, mom’, I choked on my words. Even I was starting to get a bit emotional.

‘Take care honey, and do your best!’, she smiled and then the screen went blank.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to hide my tears in my tiredness. I missed home.

I made my way to the dorm where Aly, Salvadore and a few other trainers were sleeping. I tiptoed into the room and lay on top of my bed, thinking. Thinking of my home, my mom, Growly, my friends, my pokemon, Saffron City, my upcoming gym battle. I lay there, thinking, thinking until I was no longer conscious, engulfed by sleep.

Everything was dark. I stood in my pyjamas in a long, cold corridor. Where was I? Suddenly, a woman stepped out from the shadows. She was young and beautiful with a pale complexion. Her ebony hair fell softly over her shoulders, covered by a red suit and black skirt.

‘Come’, she beckoned softly and began to walk away, back into the darkness.

‘Wait! Who are you?’, I yelled after her. I was so confused. I started to run after the mysterious woman but suddenly an explosion of flames erupted before my eyes. I was in a large, spacious room filled with smoke and fire. I covered my nose and mouth with my t-shirt, shielding myself from the smoke. A chandelier came crashing down before me, followed by support pillars, collapsing... everywhere. I was beginning to back away from this nightmare scene when I saw the woman unconscious on the floor. She was trapped under a broken pillar. I wanted to help her but we were separated by a sea of flames. There was nothing I could do. I felt helpless.

A deafening plea pleaded with my mind, ‘Robin, help me!’

I covered my head with my hands. My head was throbbing with pain. ‘I... I can’t!’, I cried back to the voice. Tears flowed endlessly down my face.

‘Please, Robin! You have to try!’, the voice called out again. The woman’s voice echoed through my head.

I fell to my knees and screamed for it to stop.

‘Robin!’

A burst of flames surged towards me.

‘Robin!’

I lunged forwards on my bed, awake, screaming. I was shaking violently, gulping for breaths of air. I felt a bit nauseous. My clothes and bed sheets were drenched in my sweat. A hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped and cowered back.

It was Aly, firmly holding my shoulder, staring at me with worried eyes. Salvadore was behind, also looking at my frail, frightened state as he cradled the pokemon egg.

‘Robin’, Aly said calmly, ‘You’re ok now. It was just a dream, or a nightmare. It’s over’

I began to slow and steady my breathing at her reassuring words.

I was alive. There was no fire. No voice, screaming pleas in my head. But I was still worried. I had had many nightmares in the past, but nothing like that. Nothing that... real!

It took me a few minutes to properly come to terms that I was safe.

I told Aly and Salvadore about my nightmare “experience” over breakfast. All about the woman, the room engulfed in fire and her pleas for help. Aly dismissed it straight away as just a bad dream and that maybe the marmalade I had eaten last night was gone off. Salvadore, however seemed more interested. Asking for vivid detail. He seemed very interested about the woman, although he had no idea why such a nightmare had happened to me. Aly soon interrupted our conversation, ‘I know what you thought you saw was real. But it isn’t! What is real is that you are probably going to challenge a gym today of which you know nothing about!’

She was right. I had to refocus myself and concentrate on what was important. I needed to win my next badge. I slurped some of my strawberry and banana smoothie and cleared my throat. ‘So, do you guys know anything about this gym?’, I asked.

Both Aly and Salvadore shook their heads.

‘Sorry, Robin. I’ve never been here before’, Aly apologies.

‘Me neither’, Salvadore confessed, ‘But this section of the travel guide is very interesting’, he continued as he flipped a page. Then, his face went from curious to stern. He squinted his narrow eyes as he read through the text, ‘Hey guys, listen to this.’

Aly and I perked up, curious to know what Salvadore had found.

‘It says that Saffron used to be a prosperous city with potential for many businesses and employment opportunities. However, three years ago, a mysterious fire broke out and raged across the city. Many buildings were destroyed and lives were lost.’

‘How sad’, said Aly weakly.

‘Yeah, I guess that explains why the houses in this city are fit to fall down’, I guessed.

‘It goes on to say that many of the local businesses moved to neighbouring towns and cities, leaving this city an empty shell’, Salvadore continued, ‘But nothing is mentioned about the gym leader in the guide’.

I sighed and continued to slurp my smoothie. I guess I would have to chose my pokemon based on instinct when the time came.

Once we had finished our breakfast we collected our pokemon from Nurse Joy. She reassured us that they were all in good health. Aly hugged her Dratini and clipped her pokeball onto her belt. We thanked Nurse Joy for her service and hospitality and left to find the Saffron Gym. We followed Nurse Joy’s directions which she hesitantly gave us. I may have misheard but I thought she said, ‘See you soon’. I dismissed it and focused on my upcoming gym battle.

We walked for about five minutes before taking a final right. This brought us down a short cobblestone alleyway, leading to one of Saffron’s main streets. Given the high status of this street there were very few people around. Evidence of the mysterious fire three years ago was strong with some buildings missing roofs and boarded up windows.

Then I noticed a building at the end of the street. It was large and in the shape of a small dome. It resembled the other buildings in the way that it looked decayed and dilapidated, almost dangerous. However, badly etched above the door were the words, “Saffron Gym”.

The road was eerily quiet as we approached the gym, cautiously aware of the people  that were lurking around the area. An old couple gazed at us from inside a small corner store. A person casually read his paper, sitting on a nearby bench as a pikachu happily ate an apple beside him. A small child sat beside her Marill, eyeing us suspiciously. I was very creeped out and I could tell Aly and Salvadore felt the same way.

As we were about to enter the foreboding doors to the gym a man’s voice called from behind us, ‘Wait! What do you children think you are doing?’, the old man boomed. We spun around to see an elderly bearded man wearing a green overcoat and a tacky bashe hat.

In confusion, I stuttered my words trying to answer him, ‘Muh-my name is Robin and I-I have come to challenge Saffron Gym’.

The old man chuckled heartily at my words. Then he stopped when he realised I was being serious. He smiled and shook his head, ‘Listen kid, do yourself a favor and challenge a different gym. There are plenty around Kanto. But believe me when I say this. You cannot possibly beat Emmet!’

I scowled at his words, ‘Sorry, sir. I don’t know who you are and although I appreciate your concern I cannot simply walk away from this gym without a badge. My pokemon and I have trained and worked hard. We have earned our two badges so far and now we want a third.’ My words were stern and cold. Determination burned brightly in my eyes.

‘Look, I’m not trying to dismiss you as a bad trainer. I’m just trying to save you the hassle of losing. Emmet has been undefeated for the past two years since he became the City’s new gym leader. No amount of training can compare to the unstable emotions he shares with his pokemon, Gengar. Trainers have walked out of that gym demoralised, changed. I’m not going to stop you, but you have been warned. Turn back now and save yourself the embarrassment of defeat... or worse’. The mysterious man turned and walked away. His harsh words were planted firmly in my mind.

How could this guy make trainers change I thought to myself.

‘He seemed very serious’, said Aly, ‘Maybe we should just leave here and go onto the next city. This place is creepy. I heard Celadon is suppose to be-’

‘Aly!’, I looked at her coldly, ‘I’m not leaving this city without that badge, or at least not without giving it my best shot! I’m going in to face this “Emmet guy”, whoever he is and show him that I’m not just a pushover. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.’

She gave a large sigh and looked at Salvadore, then back to me, ‘I said I would stick with you no matter what’, she said with a weak smile, ‘And I meant every word of it!’.

‘I don’t like the look of this place, but a great pokemon breeder never abandons his pokemon. This goes for his friends too!’ He smiled at me.

With a hesitant agreement we walked through the creaking doors of Saffron Gym.

We walked nervously into a long dark corridor. It was deathly cold and yet somehow seemed eerily familiar. Suddenly, a series of torches flickered down through the hallway, offering to light our passage. We walked passed numerous doors on either side of us, all of which were bordered up.

‘I don’t like this at all’, Aly admitted and took out a pokeball, ‘Dratini, return. You’ll be safe inside your pokeball’. The nervous looking Dratini gladly went inside her pokeball.

 I began to doubt if this was actually a gym at all, that was until we came to an enormous set of doors at the end of the hallway. I slowly extended my hand, about to push them open when they suddenly flew open at their own will.

We entered the darkened room nervously, almost frightened. I could tell it was spacious room, perhaps the gym battle arena?

Without warning, a spotlight flashed down at the opposite end of the room, showing the place was a lot larger than I had thought. The spotlight shone on a human figure that laid sideways across a throne. It was a male figure, a young man. He wore a long purple garment and skinny black jeans. A miniature top hat somehow balanced on his jet black hair. Long strands of hair draped to the side of his face like curtains. Something which shocked me was a small skull which the man held in his left hand. It was very theatrical yet creepy at the same time.

A well spoken voice echoed across the room, still shrouded in darkness, ‘Thou has come to challenge mine Gym, correct?’. It looked like the man was speaking to the skull.

I hesitated before stuttering, ‘Eh.. yeah... I guess?’

‘Does the humble trainer not know thy own ambitions?’, he laughed.

I gritted my teeth, ‘My name is Robin. I come from Viridian City and I challenge your gym!’, I spat back in confidence.

The gym leader giggled to himself, almost deliriously and then sprung off his throne.

Torches flickered around the room in unison, blinding us. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light. I could now see the man’s long, thin figure standing tall across the arena, looking at me oddly. The battlefield was a plain ground terrain that looked like the floor of Mt. Moon. The ceiling was tall, supported by giant pillars. This sent trembles down my bones, reminding me of my recent nightmare. This could have been the same place for all I knew. But that was impossible, seeing something in a dream before seeing it in reality. My breathing became fast and heavy at the thought. I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head and focus on my battle.

‘Very well! Thou challenge I take, not with much promise but mild interest. For the moon’s eyes have granted me passage onto the unforeseen. My name is Emmett. Thou fate I have seen  and determined. A due defeat falls upon you, justly from my grieving hands. Now we begin. Make quick work of him, Gengar!’

I was still trying to understand his weird Old English speech when he held up his skull. The skeletal head glowed red, both from its eye sockets and mouth. Its jaw dropped and from it an ominous purple gas erupted out, swirling into a malevolent shadow. The shadow pokemon stood menacingly, glaring at us with its stern red eyes. I hastily checked my Dex:

Gengar, the gas pokemon and the evolved form of Haunter. Gengar lurks in dark corners, waiting to cast its curses on the unexpected traveler.

I eyed the spooky Gengar who stared back at me, emotionless. A ghost type? I knew ghosts were weak against other ghost types... but I didn’t have one. There was also something which should be noted, something that might give me a fighting chance. With this in mind I grabbed a pokeball and braced it firmly in my hands, refusing to break Gengar’s stare. I had never felt so nervous before a battle like I did now. Emmett... Gengar... this place as a whole just gave me the creeps, but I had to give it my best shot!

‘Mia, I chose you!’, I yelled and threw my pokeball. My Meowth landed on her hind legs, in her signature boots. She licked her paws, unphased by Gengar’s deathly appearance.

‘Robin! You DO realise that Gengar is a ghost type and is unaffected by normal type moves!?’, Aly said in disbelief.

‘The fair maiden speaks the truth. The feline cannot strike what it cannot touch. Alas, no harm a spirit can do onto a complexion so plain!’, Emmett said in a calm voice.

Aly blushed at his words, then shook her head and began to cheer me on.

‘Ok, so what type of battle is this?’, I asked, trying to sound more confident than I actually was.

Emmett laughed theatrically across the battlefield, ‘My carelessness took precedence of this battle. This is it. The feline and the spirit shall battle to the last!’

So this was it? Gengar and Meowth. A one on one battle for a badge. I was quite annoyed that the Ghost Gym Leader did not mention this at the start. This was evident in my livid facial expression. Emmett saw how angry I was. It obviously amused him as he laughed to himself.

‘Is the young trainer troubled. Afraid of losing, perhaps? No confidence unto thine own pokemon, perhaps?’

I gritted my teeth angrily, ‘Mia, lets show them what we’ve got. Faint attack!’

‘Gengar, confuse ray’, Emmett ordered calmly.

Mia approached Gengar on all fours, prowling, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. However, Gengar’s eyes glowed violet and the ghost pokemon emitted mystic waves towards the unprepared Meowth. Mia leaped forward but started to scratch the ground, blunting her paws in confusion.

I gasped in surprise. Then I remembered Tammie’s Vulpix and they way that it had confused that poor Machop.

‘Mia, stop! You have to snap out of it!’, I encouraged my pokemon but she persisted to shred the ground beneath her.

‘Hmm, the little kitten make’th a good plough’, chuckled Emmet, ‘Would the wise trainer leave here with nothing to claim but his last grain of dignity?’

I was fit to explode. How could he possibly think I would give up so easily?

‘Not a chance!’, I barked, ‘I came here to win this badge and I’m not leaving here without it! My pokemon and I have worked too hard to quit. We’ve stuck together, even through the tough times and the sacrifices I-’

‘Tough times? Sacrifices, you say!? What poison do spit from thine tongue!?’, Emmett retorted.

I struggled to answer, taken back by the harshness in his voice. I thought back to my phone call with my mother last night and answered weakly, ‘I left home by myself. I left behind my mom, Growly-’

‘Home? Home you say!? At least you had a home! A place to call thine own. People that unrequitedly tended your existence in this forsaken world! You made no sacrifice but a choice. A choice of the naive like the many privilege before you!’ I became scared at his words. Scared at what I had exercised from the disturbed gym leader. His eyes glowed a bright violet colour, matching the eyes of his Gengar. ‘Gengar, I think it is time we showed these fools what true sacrifices are!’

-Geng-gyar!-

The surrounding torch flames flickered violently around us. A sudden flash of white light blinded us. When I opened my eyes we were in what looked like a school classroom, or so I thought. I looked at Aly and Salvadore. None of us knew where we were.

Emmet, Gengar and Mia had disappeared.

‘Where are we!?’, I screamed out, ‘And what did you do with Mia!?’

At first there was silence. Then we noticed some commotion outside the window in the schoolyard. A group of boys were teasing a smaller boy with greasy black hair, pushing him to the ground and chanting abusive names.

‘Quiet child. Listen and thou mind may be freed of innocence, the bain of life. Let Gengar be thine eyes, and I your ears!’

So Gengar was making this illusion or memory? We looked on nervously, in silence.

‘Mine own mother abandoned me, fresh from the womb. Left to suffer a lonely childhood in a cursed orphanage. I stood out from the other children, the sore thumb of society. Hated for my gift, loved for my ragdoll status. I could see beyond the moon and touch objects from afar with mine own will, mine gift and burden.’

There was another flash of light. This time, we appeared on a lonely street. The rain came down heavily upon us, but not a single drop wet our skin. A young teenage version of Emmett trudged down the street. He had a small rucksack and his head sunk low. His long hair caked to his face with rain drops streaming down his cheeks. He looked miserable.

‘I wandered alone through Kanto. The tempest in the sky, mirroring the tempest of my mind and heart. I kept to my own, never to get attached. Never to love but that of which Shakespeare told. Tragedies. Romantic comedies. Love was the greatest joke of all. He, the master of literature that finally made use of words, words that caressed mine troubled mind.’

There was another bright flash. This time Emmett was talking to a young girl whose face was hazy and hidden by a strange shadow. They were conversing outside the Saffron Gym, although it seemed a lot more clean and prosperous than the one we had entered. There was a striking familiarity about the girl that I could not place.

‘Then, from the darkness came a flicker of light. A glowing beacon of hope. Her name was Sabrina. We shared a bond of power, but her beauty suppressed all that of the stars and the heavens and all that was good. She learned upon me to accept mine faults and cherish mine burdens. But words turned to actions and actions to love.’

Another flash of light. Emmett was kneeling on one knee in a fancy restaurant and held a ring up to the girl named Sabrina. Her face was still blurred by a shadow.

‘We soon eloped. I finally served a purpose. Love hath made me a tame snake. There she was, my lady to be! And then...’

A surge of flames encircled us. Aly screamed as we grouped together for safety. Salvadore huddled tightly over the egg.

We were back in the gym, but the battle hall was exploding in a sea of flames. Pillars crumbled all around us. We heard a scream. A scream which still haunted me. Through the flames a girl lay unconscious on the ground, trapped under a fallen column. It was her! The girl from my nightmare. It was Sabrina!

‘Then Sabrina, my love was ripped from my grasp! Death took her, like a selfish child takes the last piece of candy. Leaving a true taste of bitterness. She perished, her actions surrendering her own life so that I may give survival a glimpse of thought.’

I turned around to see Emmett, lying half conscious in the smoke filled hallway. He lifted his feeble arm as if trying to reach Sabrina, but there was nothing he could do. He watched her fading... dying. The only person he had ever loved perish before his eyes. Tears streamed down his face as he slowly began to lose consciousness.

I then found myself crying. This was a true tragedy. Emmett was right. I had been naive of my blessings and selfish of my opportunities.

There was another roar of fire before we were sent out of this memory, back into the gym. This time the gym was intact and Mia was there in front of me, licking her worn claws. I was relieved that the nightmarish vision was over but I was still crying, still shaking in fear. Having to relive those nightmares suppressed all the horrible things that used to worry me.

‘Hast thou eyes been opened? Thine pitties relieved? I fight only with what was once hers, Gengar, mine last memory, mine last friend!’, there was a tremble in his voice. The visions of the past had an obvious impact on him.

I shook my head and wiped my streaming eyes, ‘I’m... sorry...’, I weeped in a whisper, ‘I didn’t know it was her...’

‘Know it was who? What drivel does thou mouth so speak?’, Emmett said sternly, somewhat curious.

‘That girl who was in my dream... or nightmare... It was Sabrina!’, I mumbled.

‘What blasphemy do you speak of? Our love is no more. Explain your words!’, he demanded. His voice boomed across the battlefield furiously.

I began to steady my breeding and recollect my thoughts. ‘Umm... That vision or memory or whatever it was. I saw it! I saw it in my sleep, but it felt so real!’

Emmett took a step back in shock. His lips began to tremble and his cold face stiffened. ‘IMPOSSIBLE! LIES!’, he screamed. His voice made an eerie echo through the room.

‘No, I’m serious! She called out to me. She wanted me to-’

‘Sabrina is dead! Nothing but eaten memories remain. Thou dare to mock me of mine ill luck? Gengar, finish this!’, he thundered. His pale face turned a violent red. ‘Dark Pulse!’

Gengar appeared out of thin air right in front of Mia. A dark orb pulsed in its fiendish hands. Mia gazed at the ghoulish pokemon. She was now frightened.

I tried to scream a command to avoid the attack but no noise came out of my mouth. I then realised that my whole body was immobilised by a strange force. I wanted to look back at Aly and Salvadore but I had no control. Were they in the same state. I was panicked and confused.

‘Has the fool gone mute?’, said Emmett menacingly. His eyes were narrowed like he was possessed, ‘Or hast thine feline got your tongue? Why the fool, the maiden and the straggler so still?’, he laughed mercilessly.

Mia froze with fear as Gengar unleashed its ball of darkness. The helpless Meowth was sent soaring back in my direction, knocking me off my feet with great force on impact. I wanted to shout out in pain but I still could not move. All I could see was the limp Meowth sprawled out over me, fainted. I had lost the match but that was the least of my worries.

I could hear Emmett’s footsteps advancing towards us. The mystic force controlling my body tightened its grip on my chest. My head started to throb from the lack of oxygen.

‘I am disgraced, impeach'd and baffled here, pierced to the soul with slander's venom'd spear, the which no balm can cure but thine heart-blood which breathed this poison. The silence shall suffer the cause!’

I could feel all happiness and life drain from me. Were Aly and Salvadore suffering too? I could not bare to think my friends suffering from my own stupid actions. I soon felt my consciousness wean away. The room around me began to spin and fade.

‘Teleportation!’

* * *

I feebly opened my eyes. It was dark and wet. A misty rain descended upon me and drenched my clothes. I suddenly lurched up in a panic. I could move. I could breath. I cleared my throat. I could speak. I carefully observed my surroundings as I calmed my breathing. I was sitting on the path outside Saffron’s Pokemon Centre. Aly and Salvadore were sitting up on the ground behind me, wearily rubbing their heads.

A man stood over me, staring coldly into my eyes. It was the same man that had warned us outside Saffron Gym. He spoke to us in a low commanding tone, ‘I told you. I told you all to leave, but you never listened. You were lucky to escape with your lives’. He threw a pokeball to me. I barely caught it as my arms were so weak from the whole ordeal, still shaking. ‘Heal your Meowth and get out of this place as fast as you can. Leave this forsaken city and move on. I won't be there to save you again!’

With those words of warning the bearded man turned and walked away.

I turned to face my friends. Aly was weeping silently, cradling herself softly against her knees. Salvadore was staring at the pokemon egg and gently rubbing it with a worn cloth.

We sat on pavement as the rain came down even heavier. None of us wanted to talk, just reflect on what had just happened.

After a while, maybe an hour or more we looked at each other with blank faces and stood up. We entered the Pokemon Centre silently.

I felt disorientated...

Fragile...

Hollow...

Changed...