Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Onward ❯ Chapter Eleven: Rocky Relations ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter Eleven: Rocky Relations

 

 

 

“Moving alongggg, on the old prarieeee…”

 

“Kathryn. Shut up. Now.”

 

“But, Krissy… my singing's not that bad.”

 

“It's not that good either. Now shut up.”

 

Kathryn gave a big huff. This scene was playing out too much like yesterday. Krissy needed another nap, or coffee, or something…

 

Opting to be quiet, Kathryn turned her attention to Rachel. For some reason her friend seemed nervous, flighty even. Kathryn could understand the urge to get to the tunnel and get through it quickly but Rachel seemed more anxious than eager. After a long debate with herself, Kathryn decided she'd better not ask. She didn't want to pry into something that wasn't her business and since Krissy was already boiling she didn't want to risk getting Rachel riled up. Inhaling deeply, she held her breath, annoyed that she couldn't do anything. A drop of rain struck her forehead and knocked her out of the mood, causing her to give a glance upward.

 

“Oh boy, that's not good…” Digging her hands into Blaze's mane she kneed her steed forward, shouting. “Gah!”

 

Blaze's impromptu gallop made the other two Ponytas react, Rachel and Krissy almost falling off when their Ponytas bolted, their shouts and cries doing nothing to slow down their Pokémon. A clap of thunder and a streak of lightening only made the Ponytas gallop faster. Fortunately, the entrance to the Rock Tunnel lay just ahead. Charging into it, they made it just before the rain began pelting down. It took longer for them to calm down the equines.

 

“Whoa, Blaze! Easy!” Kathryn struggled to hold on, her Ponyta bucking wildly. Kathryn couldn't get her under control! Blaze's reckless bucks and kicks made the other two dance and shield away, Krissy's Ponyta almost crashing into the rocky wall of the cavern. While Krissy and Rachel frantically moved their Pokémon away from Kathryn's, Kathryn tried to hold on as Blaze continued her hysterical behavior. Her hooves shattered the rocky floor of the cave, stone shards flying up and pinging against the cave walls.

 

Think, think, think… Kathryn wasn't coming up with any brainstorms and a sudden clap of thunder boomed in the background. With a shrill whinny, Blaze took off again, racing deeper into the cave with Kathryn desperately holding onto her back.

 

“Blaze, stop!” Yanking back on Blaze's mane, the Ponyta reared. The flames suddenly flared, burning at Kathryn's hands. She let go, trying to hold on with her legs but not having the strength needed. Falling backwards, she reached for something to grab onto.

 

Her hands found nothing.

 

 

 

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Krissy and Rachel had gotten their Ponytas under control and returned them to their Pokéballs before something else could set them off. Darkness swallowed them up and quickly Krissy released Pyro.

 

“Charrr?”

 

“We have to find Kathryn, with Blaze in that kind of state who knows what could happen.” Krissy didn't like this, didn't like worrying over Kathryn. She ought to be able to take care of herself! Stupid idiot! What mess have you gotten yourself into? Can't you stay out of trouble?! Her rage boiled. Oh, when she found Kathryn, it would not be pretty.

 

 

 

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By Moltress, what have I done? Blaze worriedly whinnied, examining her fallen trainer. It had only been luck that she hadn't crushed Kathryn in her panic! As it was the girl wasn't moving and the scent of copper filled the equine's nostrils. If only she hadn't spooked… but it was too late for that. She had and now she had to find some way to help Kathryn. Perhaps one of the other Pokémon could help?

 

Blaze moved closer, extremely careful so as not to accidentally step on Kathryn. Tilting her head, she examined the belt Kathryn wore with the Pokéballs, debating. Nashley would most certainly chew her out for being so careless and Urusaiwan would not be much better. Flora would simply cry and weep and wail, Chomper… Blaze tilted her head the other way. Well, she wasn't sure Chomper was all there. After all, he was a Water Pokémon…

 

That really only leaves Surfer. I suppose he's better than nothing.

 

Delicately taking the Pokéball between her teeth, Blaze tossed her head, releasing the Pokéball. It flew up in the air and opened, releasing Surfer just before it collided into the ground. Looking around, Surfer noticed immediately that something was wrong.

 

What happened? He scurried over as fast as his limbs would move, intent on studying Kathryn. Her hands, they're burned! Turning his attention back at Blaze, he asked, astonished. Did youdo this?

 

Not on purpose, I can assure you! Lowering her head, Blaze gave him an angry glare. Now, what can we do to help her?

 

You're asking me?How am I suppose to know?

 

Useless insect!

 

At least I didn't almost kill her!

 

Tossing her mane, Blaze huffed and fumed.I never—

 

Never what? Surfer couldn't resist taunting. Think? A click of teeth just barely missed him. Hey! He scurried to the right, preparing a Poison Sting attack.

 

I say, could you chaps keep it down?

 

Startled by the voice, the Pokémon glanced around to find who had spoken.

 

Up here, chaps.

 

Slowly turning their gazes upward, Blaze and Surfer became immobilized. There, on the ceiling were hundreds, no! Thousands of Zubats.

 

Mind turning that light down while you're at it? It's making us bloody uncomfortable.

 

Blaze shifted and her flames flickered lower, a sigh of relief echoing from the masses.

 

Much better, much better. The speaker dropped down, gliding over, flapping his wings to hover just above Kathryn's prone form. Hmm? What's this then? Zubat opened his mouth, “seeing” with his echolocation. Turning his head upward, he called out, Which one of you blokes ordered out?

 

She is notfor you to eat.

 

Oi, Oi, hold on ter yer webbin'. We donna eat humans. Another Zubat flapped down from the ceiling, fluttering next to the other one. We're blood suckers, don't cha know. From the smell of it, yer human here is leaking a nice, sweet brew.

 

The other Zubats had begun leaving their perch, lazily soaring around the human on the ground. For some reason, they didn't think that Blaze or Surfer would mind too much if they happened to take a sip. Blaze's reaction quickly put them in their place.

 

Shaking her mane and tail, bright Embers shot out, scorching many of the Zubats. They didn't like this. The girl was their food, their fodder. No longer were they a swarm of Zubats. Now, they were one large, hungry flock.

 

The blood is ours… Ours… The hissing grew louder, bouncing off the walls. They now moved as one being, circling and trying to take nips at Kathryn. Surfer tried spraying at them with his String Shot and shooting them down with his Poison Needle, but for everyone he took down, five more took its place. Blaze reared and tried to strike out with her hoofs but they evaded her neatly and brushed by her flanks, making her shiver. She was fighting down panic as their wings and bodies brushed by her, small cuts appearing on her from their fangs as they smoothly flew by. In her terror, her flames erupted outward, lighting up the whole cavern.

 

Shocked by the sudden pain they felt, the Zubats lost their connection and scattered as individuals, the momentary fright befuddling them as several crashed into walls, stalagmites, and stalactites. Once it wore off, they fled, seeing out darker parts of the cave. After they left, Blaze managed to calm down, her flames going back to normal.

 

Let's not do that again. Blaze nodded and Surfer moved to look over Kathryn. It seemed that Kathryn had made it fairly unscathed, only a few cuts marked her arms. She still hadn't woken though, and that really worried the spider.

 

Is she okay? Why isn't she up yet? Blaze danced about, nickering and fretting.

 

I don't know. The anguish in Surfer's voice made Blaze lower her head. He reached toward Kathryn's belt, Blaze's whinny of dismay halting him.

 

Don't!

 

We need the others help! Would you rather have her die because of your stupidity?

 

I didn't mean to… Blaze's flames dimmed and she dropped her head even lower. The light… and the noise…

 

I don't care! Even I'm smart enough to know that you should have gotten everyone out! Surfer plucked a Pokéball from Kathryn's belt, casting the forlorn Ponyta a look. I don't want to be you when Nashley finds out.

 

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Krissy's anger was struggling to remain as the primary emotion. Secret doubts and worries were assaulting her the longer the search went, working at breaking down her anger. They had been walking for a while now, often having to backtrack when they reached a dead end. There were no tracks to be seen and none of the Pokémon they had were capable of tracking by scents.

 

With a loud curse, Krissy slammed her fist into the nearest wall, savoring the pain that the action had brought. She pulled her hand away, closing her eyes as calmness washed over her. Kathryn had been fine the time she wandered off, the Rockets got her, the other time she had wandered off, the other-other time she wandered off… She would be fine this time.

 

“Krissy, look at your hand!” Rachel shook her head and went to get some supplies out to tend to it but Krissy's look stopped her. With a resigned sigh, Rachel promised herself that she'd see to it after they found Kathryn. Knowing Kathryn, she'd probably gotten lost somewhere in the cave. If only they had someway to find her…

 

“I wonder…” Rachel pulled out a Pokéball and threw it. “Go, Sandshrew!”

 

The Pokémon appeared, his side still tightly wrapped. His tail wagged a bit and he slowly moved towards Rachel, sitting on his hind legs when he got to her.

 

“Shrew.”

 

“Where'd you get him?” Rachel winced, not turning to meet Krissy's gaze.

 

“Uh… Internet?”

 

A memory fluttered in Krissy's mind. When Kathryn had pulled her into the room with Rachel, there had been a Pokémon on the bed. One that looked very much like…

 

“Rachel. You didn't.”

 

“You would have done the same thing.”

 

“That's someone else's Pokémon!”

 

“Nope. He's wild.”

 

“Rachel, look at him. He's giving you puppy eyes! He is not wild.”

 

“Nurse Joy was going to release him, I didn't want him to get hurt again.”

 

“For the love of… You aren't a Pokémon Hospital! What are you going to do with him when he's better? What about Kanga and Khanie? You can't just adopt every wounded Pokémon you come across!” Krissy stopped her ranting when she realized Rachel wasn't paying attention to her. “What are you doing?”

 

Digging around in her bag, Rachel pulled out a sock. “Kathryn left this in the room, I threw it in my bag by mistake.” Holding it out to Sandshrew, she softly explained. “Maybe Sandshrew can find her…”

 

“I don't think that's a good idea.”

 

“What? Do you have a better one? Like punching rocks?”

 

“No! It's not that, it's-” Sandshrew toppled backward, his eyes spiraling about in little swirls. “That's one of Kathryn's dirty socks.”

 

 

 

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She hit her head on something, probably a rock or even just this floor. Urusaiwan's tail hit the stone floor to emphasize. The bleeding isn't really that bad but it should be stopped.

 

Nashley growled, shaking Kathryn's backpack about as she struggled to open it. With a mighty roll of her eyes, Urusaiwan walked over and calmly hooked her nail into the zipper loop and pulled, the contents spilling forth. Nudging some of it aside, Urusaiwan found the box that Kathryn used to fix the various scrapes sustained by both the humans and Pokémon. This box was trickier to open but she figured out how to unlock the metal clasps, despite Nashley breathing down her neck.

 

Now what?

 

Urusaiwan looked over the objects, trying to figure out what each was. There were little bottle things, too small to have food. Probably they had some nasty stuff that Kathryn called “medicine.” There were different kinds of nasty stuff though, Urusaiwan knew from taste and experience. Staying away from that, she spotted some clear bottles, the “not glass but see through” material. They looked to contain liquids, the kind Kathryn would spray on wounds. That might be good but there were too many to determine which was right. They all stung the same but it would be best not to take chances. If nasty stuff had different kinds, so the stingy stuff probably did too. Finally, Urusaiwan's eyes fell on the fluffy things and the wrapper things.

 

We can put these fluffy things on the wound and wrap the wrapper things around her head, to keep the fluffy things in place.

 

Great, Nashley growled, irritated. So tell me who exactly has the ability to do that.

 

Looking around, Urusaiwan realized Nashley was right. Both of them had paws, Oddish only had feet, Blaze had hoofs (not that Nashley would probably let Blaze anywhere near Kathryn right now), and Surfer's legs weren't capable of holding the wrapper things properly.

 

None of us have hands.Nashley pointedly reminded.

 

Urusaiwan blinked, glancing at the last member of their group. That's not quite true…

 

Nashley followed her gaze before wildly shaking her head. No! Absolutely no way in hel-

 

Chomper! Come here!

 

 

 

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.

 

After Sandshrew had recovered from his fainting spell (and Rachel had apologized profusely), Rachel had released Kanga and Khanie. It took a long time to persuade the large Pokémon but, after some heavy guilt tripping, Rachel convinced Kanga to let Sandshrew ride in Kanga's pouch along with Khanie. Now, Sandshrew was low enough to catch the scent of Kathryn without having to walk.

 

“Which way?” Rachel looked at the ladder, then down what looked to be a potentially long corridor.

 

Sniffing around, Sandshrew pointed his muzzle towards the cavern walkway.

 

“Well, duh, it's not like Blaze could have gone down the ladder.”

 

Rachel rubbed her temples, trying to prevent what she could tell was going to grow into a massive headache. “But Kathryn might have.”

 

“She wouldn't leave us to worry about her!”

 

“Why not, she disappears all the time!”

 

“Not like this,” Krissy gravely replied. “Not like this.”

 

Rachel silently agreed with Krissy, following after Kanga and the crew as they lumbered on, deeper into the cave. Pyro's flame was doing less and less the further they wandered. Releasing her Ponyta, the area around them brightened a little more. Krissy sent hers out, probably in response to what she had done. Rachel checked her friend out from the corner of her eye. She was holding up surprisingly well. The death threats on Kathryn's life had stopped a while back, giving way to silence. There was no doubt she was worried, the way she had treated the wall earlier proved that.

 

Unbidden, the conversation she had with Kyle came back to her…

 

`“What can I say? Kathryn and I are like oil and water and Kathryn and Krissy are like oil and flame. At least Kathryn and I can co-exist peacefully without exploding.”

 

“It's all for show, you know.”'

 

All for show? What was for show? She wished he had time to tell her before their orders had come. Did he mean that Krissy and Kathryn harbored romantic feelings for each other? If he did, he didn't know Kathryn well enough. She couldn't keep a secret; it was painted over her face when she knew something big. Besides, Rachel couldn't believe that Krissy or Kathryn would keep such a thing from her.

 

Krissy, on the other hand… Her reactions were odd for someone who preferred to tease and pick on Kathryn, just as Kathryn's decision to bring Krissy along was also odd. Then again, Kathryn had invited her on this journey too, so what did that say about how Kathryn felt toward her? Rachel wanted to clear her head of such notions but found that she couldn't. All the sayings about opposites attracting and emotions such as hate and love having a fine line danced along her mind. The more she thought about it, the harder it was to not imagine Kathryn and Krissy together. The only way she would ever know for sure would be to ask but… well, that wasn't something you just asked about.

 

I guess I'll just have to watch them…

 

“Shrew?”

 

The query from her Sandshrew made her focus on him. He had his head up and tilted, as though listening to something that was further away.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Sand, shrew shrewsand…”

 

It sounded like he didn't quite know what he was hearing. Straining her own hearing, Rachel was surprised to find that there was something, sounded like flapping… and animal shrieking.

 

She never expected the swarm of Zubats that erupted from the corridor before them. The suddenness of it left her with her mouth open and no sounds coming out. Almost as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared, the cries louder and frantic. Two had bumped into the wall in their desperate attempt to escape whatever they were fleeing from. Casually, Krissy tossed a Pokéball. One of the Zubats was enveloped by the ball and with the normal rock and ping routine; she became the proud owner of a Zubat. The other quickly made his escape before Rachel had even given a thought to capturing it.

 

“What on earth do you want with that thing?” Rachel shuddered.

 

“You saw, right? This thing's got echolocation. Maybe we can use it to find Kathryn and then release it afterwards.” Krissy eyed the Pokéball in her hand, wary. Throwing it out, Zubat appeared, recovered from his encounter with the wall. He immediately flew to a dark corner of the cave, ignoring Krissy's commands to come back.

 

“Why isn't he listening?” Krissy fumed while Rachel pulled out her Pokedex.

 

“Zubat, the Bat type Pokémon. Zubat gathers with others of its kind in dark places (such as caves or under the eaves of old houses) during the daytime. It does this because prolonged exposure of sunlight can cause its body to become slightly burned, making the Zubat become ill. Zubat has neither eyes nor a nose and instead uses ultrasonic cries to check for obstacles, allowing it to fly safely in dark places. Scientists theorize that Zubats once had eyes but, over time, living in the dark caused their eyes to grow shut, depriving them of vision.”

 

“Oh.” Krissy returned Pyro and her Ponyta, leaving the cave only slightly lit up. Zubat cautiously flew to hover just in front of Krissy, keeping his distance. “Zubat, find Kathryn.” Zubat remained where he was, not moving to obey. “Zubat!”

 

“Krissy… I don't think he knows what Kathryn is.”

 

Krissy grew sheepish at Rachel's remark. “That might do it… alright then, Zubat, we're trying to find our friend Kathryn. She's a little shorter than me and has a Ponyta. I want you to try and find her with your echolocation.”

 

With a squawk, Zubat took off, heading back in the direction he had come from. Pausing a moment, waiting for them, he flew a little further, waiting a little longer.

 

“I think he already knows where she is, come on!”

 

Leading the way, Krissy and Rachel trailed after Zubat, Kanga lumbering after them with her passengers.

 

 

 

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There!

 

That's…not too bad.

 

Who's there?

 

It could have been a lot worse.

 

Why does it hurt?

 

What about her hands?

 

They don't look too terrible…

 

Whose hands? Why do you sound uncertain? Are you talking about me?

 

She isn't awake yet, I don't like this.

 

What more can we do? Humans aren't like us.

 

Who are you? Where am I? Stop it…Stop it from hurting…

 

THE PAIN HAS ONLY BEGUN.

 

Kathryn's eyes flew open, startling the Pokémon around her when she sat straight up, her breathing labored. Hand shaking, she lightly touched her forehead, rough bandages meeting her fingertips. Tracing along the wrappings, she felt a sudden pain by the back of her head when her fingers touched it. She remembered…falling. Then, voices.

 

Trying to rise, she found her limbs shaking, as though her body remembered something fearful that she could not. Forcing herself to stand, she tried to find who had been speaking, wondering if her mind was yet again playing tricks on her. It had been getting worse. At first, when she left home, she had only thought she heard people calling her name. As the trip went on, she had heard other things, other words, no, other speakers. The last few days had gotten better but now… she wondered if Krissy's assessment of her mental state was right, maybe she was crazy.

 

Kathryn?

 

She almost toppled over but Blaze moved behind her to keep her balance, despite the warning growl she received from Nashley. Kathryn turned, immediately clinging to the familiar creature, her body unable to stop quivering. She really must be going crazy… When her hands caressed Blaze's fur, she found she had to retract them, the sensation being painful instead of pleasurable, like each hair was a sewing needle, pricking at her hands. Pulling them to her face, she saw that they were an angry pink.

 

“They…got burned.” A sudden memory surfaced. That's why she had to let go, because Blaze had freaked out and lashed out with flames. She fell… and…?

 

Her fingers again went to trace her bandage. Who had treated her? Leaning against Blaze's side, she finally took a glance at her surroundings. Her bag had been tampered with, her clothes and things strewn about. The first aid kit laid opened, bandages and cotton pads overflowing from the top. She took a step forward, wanting to clean up the mess but a wave of dizziness and nausea had her clutching her mouth as she fell to her knees.

 

Kathryn!

 

The chorus of voices made her want to look up but she couldn't lift her head. Crazy…was she? She had to be… She just wanted the voices to stop…

 

Nashley approached her human first, lightly brushing her nuzzle against Kathryn's cheek, licking at a scrape. She could smell the scent of salt and suspected Kathryn was crying but she couldn't fathom why. Whimpering softly to try and get across how worried she was, Nashley soon became embraced in a tight hug as Kathryn clung to her, as though Nashley was the only thing keeping her from drowning.

 

“Make it stop.” Kathryn's voice came out a ragged whisper. “Make the voices stop…”

 

What voice-

 

“Kathryn!”

 

Nashley's question went unheard as Rachel and Krissy ran in, Zubat circling Kathryn. He didn't get a very good reception, Blaze flared up when she saw him and he quickly dove for cover. Krissy and Rachel were too busy to notice, they were by Kathryn's side and examining her, relieved to see she wasn't too badly injured but at the same time worried because of her pale face.

 

“What happened?” Krissy's fingers moved to stroke Kathryn's mostly bandaged forehead and brush away some stray strands of hair, the soothing gesture not lost on Rachel.

 

“I…I fell…” Kathryn tried fiercely to wipe the tears from her eyes. “An…someone bandaged me up… there were voices… and they won't go away…”

 

Her voice broke and she buried her head into Nashley's fur, her friends unable to pry her grasp from the Houndoom.

 

“Kathryn, talk to us, tell us what's wrong. What voices?” Rachel grew frustrated when Kathryn didn't answer and finally snapped at her. “Kathryn!”

 

Krissy lightly placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder, stopping the other girl from trying to tug Kathryn off of Nashley. Pulling her aside, Krissy nodded to Kathryn and whispered, “This isn't working, we have to try and get her to calm down.”

 

“How? I've never seen her this upset.”

 

“I have.” Krissy's toneless voice made Rachel wonder exactly how well that had gone over. “It'll only get worse if we don't get her to relax.”

 

“What should we do?”

 

“I… I really don't know.” Krissy went silent and Rachel noticed the worried glance Krissy shot in Kathryn's direction.

 

“Maybe if we distract her,” Rachel hesitantly offered. “If we could get her to think of something else then maybe she'd calm down.”

 

“It's better than nothing,” Krissy muttered before putting on a smile that looked more to be a grimace. Moving back to where Kathryn was, Krissy tried to force some enthusiasm into her voice, “Hey Kat! Why don't we get out of this cave and get some ice cream?”

 

Kathryn hugged Nashley tighter but she did turn her head to look at Krissy. Continuing, Krissy kept her voice soft and tried to remain patient. “And after ice cream, we'll go to the next gym. Now, which leader was it again?”

 

Kathryn lowered her gaze to the floor and didn't answer. Krissy admired the Houndoom for being so tolerant of the death grip Kathryn seemed to have around its body. “Come on, Kat. What about a story? Would you like me to tell you a story?”

 

Kathryn's head turned a little more to look at Krissy and Krissy quickly turned to hiss at Rachel. “Tell her a story!”

 

“I don't know one!”

 

When Kathryn started to turn her head back into Nashley's fur, Krissy floundered. “W-what about Goldilocks and the three Ururigs?” No response. “Uh, The Big Bad Houndoom and the three little Swinubs?” Nashley growled and Kathryn still didn't respond. “T-the legend of the Were-Arcanine?” Kathryn looked back out at Krissy and Krissy quickly went into telling the story she vaguely recalled from her Mythology class in school.

 

“The Were-Arcanine is a creature of night,” Krissy began in a hushed voice, making it so Kathryn would have to release a little of Nashley's poor body to hear. “It is unknown exactly how one receives this curse, there are a lot of different theories though. Most people say that you get it from the bite of an Arcanine on the night of a full moon, others say that only the bite of a Were-Arcanine can pass along the curse. One thing is certain though…” Krissy's voice dropped lower and Kathryn had to move closer so she could hear. “Once you get the curse, there is no cure.”

 

Oh wow, Krissy is good at this. Rachel found herself wrapped in the legend, having to jerk her attention off of the story and back to Kathryn. Her body shivered once in a while but she seemed to be calming down. A little more and maybe she would relax enough to talk to them… though how a horror story like this was calming, she would never know.

 

“Were-Arcanines were all people before receiving their curse, normal just like you, or me.” When Kathryn began shaking her head furiously, Krissy paused in her story.

 

“No? What do you mean `no?'” When Kathryn's bottom lip trembled, Krissy quickly waved her hands. “Hey, hey, hey. No crying. It's alright, Kat. Rachel and I are here, just, stay calm, okay?” When she took a deep, shaky breath, Krissy continued on with her story.

 

“A part of them is still human, you see, only on the night of a full moon does the person become a Were-Arcanine. They grow fur allll over their bodies.” Krissy waved her hands over her body to illustrate. “Then they get claws, long black claws on their hands and feet.” Kathryn shivered again but she was intent on the story now. “Till then, they look mostly human till they…” Krissy stopped. Rachel was about to ask her why when Kathryn's soft voice broke the silence.

 

“Till what?”

 

“Till they transform.”

 

“T-transform?”

 

With Kathryn's full attention on her, Krissy continued. “They get bulkier and look more like an Arcanine than a human. When they're like that, they're nearly unstoppable.”

 

“W-what can stop them?” Kathryn sniffled, rubbing at her nose again. Her hands had slowly slid off Nashley, the Pokémon taking deep gulps of air out of Kathryn's sight.

 

“A bullet made from a water stone. It can kill them if it hits a vital organ but you know how expensive those are…” Kathryn slowly nodded her head but Rachel was perplexed.

 

“A water stone?”

 

“It's…”

 

“This.” Krissy interrupted, pulling at the necklace that was under her shirt. Pulling it out and over her head, she showed the gem to both girls. Carved into the form of some kind of dog creature, Krissy had bought it from a booth before leaving on this trip. She doubted it was a real water stone, it had been way too cheap to buy. Then again, this little stone wouldn't be able to make a Pokémon evolve either, so maybe it was.

 

Kathryn reached out to touch the gem, her eyes half open. “Suicune,” she murmured. When her hand contacted with it, the stone flashed from inside, her hand feeling strangely numb as she withdrew it. Looking at Krissy and Rachel, she realized that neither had noticed it. Cradling her hand, she said nothing as Krissy went on.

 

“Water will discourage a Were-Arcanine from attacking, if there's enough of it. This stone, however, will make sure it keeps its distance. If a Were-Arcanine was to touch any form of a water stone, it would be in pain.”

 

“Why?” The question came from Rachel, who was equally curious with where Krissy was going with this.

 

“Because, an Arcanine is a fire type,” Kathryn slowly answered.

 

“Yeah.” Krissy flashed Kathryn a smile, one that made Kathryn give a small one in return. “You see, because the stone's element is water and the Were-Arcanine is fire, the stone's powers cause it harm and weaken it. A fire stone, on the other hand, would make it stronger.”

 

“So, do normal Pokémon react that way to stones?”

 

Krissy really wasn't sure how to answer that question. She hadn't heard of anything to say that it was true or untrue…

 

“No,” Kathryn answered quietly. “Normally, stones don't effect Pokémon other than getting them to evolve… and only some kinds evolve.”

 

“What makes some of them evolve and others not?” Rachel couldn't understand the reasoning behind the stones. If they could make some Pokémon evolve, why not all of them?

 

“Don't know… I didn't really study over it, the words were too big.” This got a laugh out of both Krissy and Rachel, making Kathryn forget her fright enough to be angry with them. “I couldn't help it! They were all scientisty words! All I got out of it was that the stones contain energy that cause a chemical reaction for certain Pokémon but not others, making them evolve.”

 

Noticing that her friend seemed in better spirits, Krissy sought to try and pry information out of her about the accident. “Hey Kathryn, can you tell Rachel and I what happened now?”

 

Kathryn chewed on her lip, avoiding her friend's gaze. How did she explain to them that she thought she was certifiably insane? Was she, though? She didn't hear any voices, and she was told that if you thought you were crazy, you most likely weren't… Perhaps it would be best if she kept the voices as much to herself as she could…

 

“Blaze was spooked… she flung me off,” Kathryn looked down at her hands, thinking to herself how mangled they were. She felt nauseated when she spotted the marks from the ropes, old bandages burned free thanks to Blaze's fit. The scars on her wrists were almost as red as her burns.

 

Rachel noticed Kathryn was looking at her hands and mistakenly assumed she was worried about her burns. Digging out some cream, Rachel spread it on Kathryn's hands, noticing tears forming in her eyes.

 

“Hey, it's alright… the burns aren't too bad, not much worse than touching a hot pot. Now, go on.”

 

Kathryn swallowed before continuing. “I was unconscious, I suppose. I'm not really sure. I mean, I must have been… someone bandaged me up. I'm not sure who though.”

 

“Maybe it was a hiker or another trainer wandering through the cave?” Krissy offered helpfully.

 

“Why didn't they come back then?”

 

“I don't know, Rachel, I'm just saying, maybe someone came along and helped her, that's all.”

 

Kathryn listened to them bicker, figuring that so long as they were talking, they would forget about her. She looked around at the Pokémon, all of whom seemed to be watching her. It seemed to her that something wasn't right with the situation and it took her a while before she got it.

 

“Sandshrew!”

 

Sandshrew tilted his head and looked at her, still comfortably snuggled inside Kanga's pouch, Khanie squirming near him. The other two girls broke off their arguing to see what had gotten Kathryn's attention.

 

“Oh, him?” Krissy remarked dryly. “Apparently, Rachel acquired him from the Internet.”

 

The joke went right over Kathryn's head. “But, he looks like the one that was at the Pokécenter.”

 

“That's because he is the same one, Kathryn!”

 

“Oh… alright, Krissy.”

 

“Hey, enough about Sandshrew…” Rachel finished up on Kathryn's hands, bandaging them and wondering how in the world she ended up getting stuck bandaging everyone. “What were you talking about, voices?”

 

When Rachel looked at Kathryn, she noticed her friend wouldn't look at her. The laugh she gave was weak, almost nervous. “I must have been hallucinating from the whack to the head… that's all.”

 

At any other time, Rachel might have interrogated her friend further but the information about being hit on the head was what Rachel latched onto. Cleaning her hands from the cream, Rachel set out to see how badly Kathryn had hurt herself this time. Pulling out Kathryn's ponytail and running her fingers through her friend's hair, Rachel was relieved to notice that it didn't seem to bad. Kathryn's reactions to the wound led her to believe it was very tender, a bump slowly forming. The blood had already dried, leaving Kathryn's hair clumped in some spots.

 

“It should be fine in a couple days, you'll just have to take it easy.”

 

“Rachel, you're talking to Kathryn. When does she ever relax?”

 

“Knock off the sarcasm, Krissy.” Rachel gave Kathryn a hand getting up, returning Sandshrew, and Kanga and Khanie. Hesitantly, Kathryn returned all her Pokémon, save Blaze. She didn't remember summoning them… but perhaps the person who healed her had done it.

 

“Come on, I want to get out of this cave…” Kathryn lightly laid a bandaged hand on Blaze's side, the Ponyta turning to give her a sorrowful face. Kathryn gave her a tired smile, mounting up, her vision swimming for a moment. This most likely wasn't the best plan she had, but the old saying kept repeating itself in her head…

 

­“If you fall of the Ponyta, ya gotta climb right back up…”

 

=^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^= =^.^=

 

 

 

Krissy cast a glance back at Kathryn. It was weird, to see her friend so subdued. Not a song, not a joke, not a happy random comment about anything. On one hand, it was reeeally nice. On the other, it wasn't like Kathryn. It seemed to her that every time she looked back to check up on her friend; Kathryn was staring off blankly, not even acknowledging her glances. She should have forced Kathryn to remain in the cave, taken time to heal. The problem was, she didn't have the heart to do it. The emotional breakdown that Kathryn had reminded her too much of another time, a time that Krissy had been the cause of. A time where Krissy hadn't cared.

 

This one was worse, I think. Everything about her, her face, her eyes, she was terrified. Last time, it was just her eyes… like I had broken something.

 

Faced with her own ghosts, Krissy was startled when her Zubat gave a screech. Looking ahead, (where Zubat had opted to fly, out of range from direct light), she noticed him circling something. She'd yet to let him go, probably really ought to, but she figured he could help them get out. Instead, it seemed like he had found something. Digging around, she dug out her flashlight from her bag and shone it on whatever the creature was.

 

“Is that… a human?”

 

“It's a little too… gray.”

 

“Machop.” Kathryn seemed to have come out of her stupor long enough to make a remark. When she slid her Ponyta closer to Krissy's and touched her arm, Krissy jumped. “Catch him, he's fighting. He's the kind you want.”

 

Krissy gave a nod, thinking that this might be a great opportunity to cheer up Kathryn. Why not use that use her new Pokémon to catch it? Excitement flooded her. Yeah, that might work, using Zubat against Machop. What moves did her Zubat know?

 

Pointing her Pokedex at Zubat, it bleeped, telling her the moves, stats, and level of her Zubat.

 

“Zubat, use Leech Life!”

 

Zubat flew in close attempting to absorb some of Machop's energy. He succeeded but the Machop didn't seem to care. It made a half a gesture to brush at it before turning away.

 

Fuming, Krissy shouted the next attack. “Zubat, use Supersonic!”

 

Emitting a loud blast, Zubat attempted to confuse the Machop. It didn't work on him but it did irritate him enough to attack. Plucking a large rock from the ground, Machop threw it at the Zubat. Zubat evaded it but was unable to avoid the follow up Karate Chop that followed, K.O.ing the bat.

 

“Zubat, return…” Krissy hadn't really expected much from Zubat… but that was a dismal battle at best.

 

“Not like that,” she heard Kathryn murmur from by her side. “This is a battle you hafta do…”

 

“A battle I have to…” Krissy turned her attention to the Machop who was watching them, arms folded across his chest. “You've got to be kidding me…”