Story Notes:
Pokemon isn't mine, and will probably never be mine, so any and all characters and settings that are official Pokemon/nintendo proterty are copyright to them. This IS a fan work, and the plot and setting is not intended to be commercial.
Wings of Frost
The next morning Sandy was woken by a horrid mixture of sounds. It almost sounded as if someone were drowning in but a few inches of water. She eventually sat up in the bed, Izaac rolled off of her stomach and into her lap where he landed with a quiet mumble, complaining about the cold of the morning. Azure was already awake. She looked sick, cringing on the floor, a clawed paw over her mouth as she held back what she had eaten the night before. Sandy gave a worried expression and the unhappy zangoose held up her spare paw, taking a moment's breather to comment.
"Damn... Psychics!" She said angrily before she bolted for the dustbin in the corner. Sandy winced as her Zangoose was sick. She carefully got out of bed and knocked on her bathroom door, a disgruntled moan answering her call.
"Garde, are you alright?" She was answered by another round of gut wrenching sounds. "I'll take that as a no." She said. "Garde, I gave you some pills for after your... Event yesterday. Did you take them?" there was a long pause.
'No.' Gardevoir's voice called in her head. Sandy sighed.
"I told you to take them immediately after. Why didn't you?" there was no reply at all. "It's too late to take them now, so you know."
'Arceus damn it all.'
Sandy giggled. "Are you better yet?"
'I do not think I shall be sick any more.' came the reply, right before the sounds gave one more violent outburst. 'Spoke too soon.' Sandy sighed again.
"Open the door." She called. There was a soft click as the lock unlatched. She opened the door and walked in, turning to the psychic practically hugging the toilet. "Good Arceus you're a mess." She said, kneeling and brushing Gardevoir's hair out of her face.
"Do you have any idea how long this'll last?" Gardevoir groaned. Sandy pulled her off the toilet and sat her in the corner before flushing.
"How long have you been at it?" Sandy asked.
"About an hour." Gardevoir groaned hoarsely. Alice nudged the door open and made herself known.
"First time, roughly an hour and you were sleeping in a chair... You're out of the morning sickness, but you've got a fair way to go." Gardevoir gave a miserable groan and put her head to her knees. Alice continues. "You're going to be really hungry next, and then probrably moody for a week, eating at least twice as much as normal for that time. And then..."
Gardevoir sighed. "I should have taken the damned pills." She mumbled. "Now I'm going to be a mum..."
Sandy spent the next few minutes trying to make Gardevoir see the bright side of things, eventually getting through to her. They left the bathroom and made their way down to the kitchen where, for once, Simon was waiting. He barely acknowledged their presense until Sandy told him that they were going to have to stay put for another week or so. He asked what they were staying for, reasoning that Crystal must surely be capable of leaving by now.
"That's not the problem." Snady told him, sternly.
Simon rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Then what is the problem?"
Sandy gave a nervous look to Gardevoir before reluctanly continuing. "Garde is pregnant, we can't leave now." Simon sighed. "Look, Simon." Sandy said angrily. "If you want to risk her laying while we're in the wilderness, that's fine for you, but I'm sure she would rather her first happen somewhere safe and warm." Gardevoir nodded her agreement.
Simon shrugged. "I'm not the type to stay in a house for weeks on end, you know that."
"Welll, we'll take our Pokemon to the Customise shop." Sandy said. "We can get them some winter clothes there so that they won't be so cold." Simon shrugged again. Despite being one of the best trainers she'd met, Simon had the peculiar trait of not caring what happened as long as it happened. Sandy's mother spread breakfast out across the table and they sat down to eat. Azure, Blueberry, Crystal and Izaac came down to join them soon after. Being only small, Izaac had trouble getting into his chair. He had almost surrendered when Sandy picked him up and sat him down. He smiled cheerfully before haphazardly eating his breakfast, his thumbless paws barely able to hold the fork he was eating his pancakes with. With Gardevoir between him and the next closest seat, Azure, much to everyone's pleasent surprise, sat there. Minutes passed as they sat around eating their breakfast, teasing one another from afar. They watched in amused shock as Gardevoir finished her fourth stack, finally pushing the plate away. Sandy's mobile phone chimed, and she pulled it out of a pocket, standing up. It was her other travelling companion, Daniel. He was also a fiercely competetive trainer, his Gyarados a dangerous foe at any distance or type matchup.
He told her that he would be in town today with a new addition to his team, something that could trump any of her Pokemon. He wouldn't say what it was, just that he would meet her at the Customise shop around the corner to show her what it could do. She closed the phone in a huff, turning to Simon.
"Daniel's in town." She said. "He's supposedly got himself a new Pokemon that can beat any of ours by the Customise shop." Simon's attention perked. This was a challenge he couldn't back down from. He rose from his chair in a hurry, grabbing Gardevoir by her arm as he passed her.
"C'mon, let's go get dressed and we can go meet him!" He cheerfully called, pulling her through the house.
Sandy sighed, collected her Pokemon and led them back to her room, dressing them in their temporary winter clothes. She pulled her backpack onto her back and they met Simon by the front door, waiting impatiently. He had Deake, his Dragonair, out. A Dragon Pokemon has few weaknesses, one being Ice, so Simon had him wrapped in specialised winter gear that wouldn't slip off. They walked to the corner and noticed Daniel standing out front the doors, a huge grin on his face. The group met up with him and went inside. It was amazingly empty, possibly owing to the cold outside. People were incredibly reluctant to travel in the cold, despite the rare Pokemon that tended to enjoy the cold of winter. Sandy deposited her Pokemon for fitting as Gardevoir floated over the counter. There was nothing left to do but wait. They sat around in the shop, trading stories of what had happened over the last week or so. Simon had just gotten around to his Gardevoir being pregnant when a nuzzling at his leg made him look down. Their Pokemon had come back, all wearing differently designed clothes. They looked puffy, that was for sure. Blueberry's was almost all a rust colour, except for a sleeve on his tail, his front shoulderblades and the soles where his feet went. Azure was in an incredibly fuzzy looking coat, blue and white, and pants that included booties to keep her feet from becoming cold. Izaac's was much the same, only his was mostly black, light blue and gold highlights around the edges. Gardevoir's was pink and white, small red highlights on the pockets on her sleeves. White gloves with red boxes on the backs, three fingered to suit her better. There was a hole in the front for her spike and a slit around the middle that her dress hung through, it also featured a wooly hood, some gloves and a pair of boots. Crystal's had by far some of the most detail, mostly a deep blue, it had rings on the legs in a colour akin to her purple mane a white rear and soles. Sandy tucked the original set of winter clothes into her backpack and payed the nine thousand Poke Dollar fee and then led her team back into the snowy cold. Daniel rushed out past her, a Poke Ball in his hand.
"Okay! Check it out!" He said cheerfully, dropping the Poke Ball. In a flash a large Salamance stood between him and Sandy, growling as it eyed her down. Drake rushed past her, using Dragon Rush to charge down the Salamance. He got inches away before the Salamance smashed him away, headbutting him across the road where he slid through the snow, coming to a rest and not getting back up.
"He is ok." Gardevoir informed the pair of shocked trainers. "Merely knocked out. That Salamance is amazingly powerful." She stared at the huge dragon, worried that if it charged them down she may be unable to stop it. Even Blueberry and Azure backed away slightly. A cold breeze blew through the group.
"C'mon! Who's next?" Daniel cheered, before noticing that his Salamance was actually breathing heavily, snow blowing around it. He looked shocked, glancing over at his 'opponents,' trying to find out who was using an ice attack. His eyes widened at the sight of little Crystal's mane glowing, her eyes closed tight. "W-what the hell?!"
"Icy Wind!" Azure cheered. "C'mon, Crystal, focus that into one blast!" Crystal nodded, the wind fading. Snow collected from all around, focusing into a large sphere infront of her as her mane glowed brighter. Crystal's eyes snapped open as the snowball exploded, zooming along the wind in the form of thousands of snowflakes. The Salamance looked shocked as it froze, ice covering the Pokemon over. Daniel called it back sadly admitting defeat. Sandy laughed as he walked forward, his head hung low.
"Beaten by a pup!" She mused. "Good Arceus that's got to be humiliating!" She knelt down and picked Crystal up. "I'm so proud of you! Leaning both Icy Wind and Blizzard in such little time!" Crystal nuzzled Sandy's cheek, giggling at the attention. Simon hurried over and put a Revive into his Dragonair's mouth. A few moments later the dragon slowly got back up, weakly holding his head high behind his master. Daniel stood infront of Sandy and playfully pretended to wring Crystal's neck, shaking her gently.
"Raar!" Ge growled in a toyish tone. "Darn Suicune and their Ice attacks." He said as Crystal playfully nipped at his fingers. He swung his backpack off his back, going to unzip a pocket. He suddenly rethinks his decision and puts it back. "Sandy, can we go back to your place?" He asked in a whisper. She gave a nervous glance to Gardevoir, who simply shrugged.
"I'm not reading his thoughts." She said. "Last time I did that I wound up a nervous wreck for a week, remember?" Gardevoir shuddered at the recollection.
Sandy agreed and led the whole group back to her house around the corner, Simon with Drake draped feebly over his shoulders. Blueberry nervously keeping Sandy between himself and Daniel. Izaac and Azure were also hiding on the far side of Sandy, throwing a cautious glance at Daniel every so often. They eventually made it back to Sandy's home as a real blizzard was rolling in. It seemed to have been following them, always one step behind as they walked. Sandy had to force the door closed as the raging winds and snow blew in, rocking the warm home. Daniel called the group into the kitchen, where he pulled his backpack off his back and carefully put it on the table with a thump. He slowly opened a pocket and pulled a bag of ice out.
"What the hell are you carrying ice around for?" Simon asked.
Sandy shook her head. "If my hunch is correct, it'll be to keep something very cold." Simon snorted, thinking she was being smart.
Daniel pulled out another bag, this one full of snow, and nodded. "You'll see." He reached in with both hands and pulled out a silvery blue egg. It glittered brilliantly in the light. A crack was visible on one side. "It's damaged!" Daniel said, worried. "I didn't damage it, did I?" Gardevoir shook her head before she froze up and turned her attention back to the front door. She looked panicked, as did Alice, who was growling at the closed door. There was a sound akin to someone tossing a blanket and then the whole house shook as something threw itself against the door.
"Daniel, where'd you find this egg?!" Sandy demanded.
"It was lying in the snow on the outskirts of town about five days ago." He replied. "I didn't think it'd be safe there, so took it with me." There was another bang as the whole house shook, the door barely holding on to its hinges.
"Garde, open the door!" Sandy yelled. The door swung open, show and freezing wind blowing through the house. A tall Articuno sauntered into the room, Alice and Blueberry backing off slowly, heads held low as if ready to pounce while growling furiously. The bird stalked into the kitchen, the bowls of water left out for the canine Pokemon freezing as it stopped by the table. The front door slammed shut again.
"That is mine." The Articuno said, her voice like ice. Her voice could have been considered pretty, if it weren't for the fact that she sounded so angry. "Why have you stolen it?"
Daniel looked terrified, and with good reason. An angry Articuno could freeze the blood in your veins if it had it's mind set right.
"I-I found the egg in the wilderness!" He stammered. "I didn't think it would have been right to leave it in such a vulnerable place!" The Articuno growled and slashed her taloned foot at him, slashing a deep cut in his arm as he crossed them to defend himself.
"I return home to my nest to find it and my egg gone!" She yelled. "Do not lie to me!"
Gardevoir ran forward, holding her hands out infront of her, pushing the Articuno away from Daniel. "He's not lying!" She cried. "I've seen it in his memory... Bits of what could have been a nest littered around a huge snowdrift. An avalanche? The egg was alone in a huge field of snow and debris." She mumbled.
"Daniel's a weird one;" Sandy stated "but he's no eggnapper. I'm sure he had the best of intentions when he took your egg!"
"My egg requires constant cold to hatch!" The ice type snapped. "It is not cold enough in here!"
Daniel, taking note of this, wrapped the egg in the ice and snow again, taking care not to damage the already cracked portion. "I've been covering it in ice and snow for days. Any Pokemon that lays an egg around this time is an ice type, so it seemed logical." He looked downtrodden. "I didn't mean any harm, I just thought that it would be bad to leave it in plain sight."
The room fell silent and a scratching sound could be heard. The whole room turned their attention to the egg on the table as it slowly hatched, bits of shell rocketed across the table, just as glittery on the inside as out. Everyone except the large Articuno ducked, bird Pokemon have a tendency to injure people as they hatch. The remaining egg practically exploded, bits of shell flying about the room, leaving a much smaller Articuno standing, confused, in the middle of the table. It looked about in a panic until it saw the ice bird watching intently. It cawed and the others stood up.
"It's a girl." Gardevoir said. "A cute girl at that."
Daniel pulled a packet of Pokemon food from his bag and spread the contents across the table, a gesture to which the small chick took quite favourably. Aritcuno went to protest, but Sandy stopped her.
"It's common food bought at any Poke Mart." She said carefully. "Full of vitamins, minerals and fibre. If you want to taste it to make sure, we have quite alot in the cuboard and I can put some out for you?" Articuno nodded, and Sandy pulled out a bowl and another packet of food from the cupboard, which was, actually, full to the brim with food.
"What would you need so much food for...?" Articuno asked. Sandy took another look in the cupboard and closed the door.
"My parents are professional breeders, this is stock for the next major season. Mostly Eevees." She finished, answering the question that was on Articuno's mind. "But they also supply most professors with their 'starter' Pokemon, Charmanders, Squirtle, etc." The large Ice Pokemon nodded slowly as Sandy put the bowl on the table. "The supplies my mother stocks are processed for young, growing Pokemon. This has more beneficial attributes than the one that Daniel has layed out." She finished, returning to the cupboard. She opened the doors of the one she had been in before, counted the amount of food, and continued to the next one. "Dammit." She mumbled. "I told her to use that money for repairs to the pens." She put her head around the corner into the family room. "MUM!" she yelled.
Sandy's mother, long a believer in acting first and thinking about the consequences later, was undoubtedly the driving force behind the breeding pens in the house. Her ideology was perfect, especially when it came to difficult females and a reluctant egg. However, when it came to long term planning, she was not the brightest lightbulb in the factory. That was her husband's job. Slow and steady, like a glacier jouneying south, he could come to a logical and useful response. It was usually to him people would pay their money, and he would ferret it away to wherever it is that he usually did (under the loose floorboard in the master bathroom.) Sandy's mother joined them in the kitchen, gasping at the pair of Articuno eating their respective meals.
"Wh-where...?"
"Mum, forget the Articuno." Sandy interrupted. "When I handed you the two hundered thousand, you were supposed to use it for upgrading the pens, not for buying two hundred thousand worth of youngster food!"
"But I didn't." She replied. "Your father ordered the food with the money in the skitty, that cheque actually has been used to upgrade the pens, at least that's what he tells me."
It was Sandy's turn to look flabbergasted. "How many Eevee have we bred this year?"
"About... Four hundred and ninety."
"Four hundred and ninety nine to be exact. At least, when my heat is over." Alice mumbled, still cautiously eyeing the large blue bird suspiciously. "It was a strangely busier season this year. The upgraded pens will help greatly, capable of detecting what kind of Pokemon is kept in each individual one and adjusting the climate or environment inside in the right way to keep them comfortable."
"There's something in this food..." Articuno said, suddenly drawing attention back to the pair of Ice birds. "A small thing...?"
"A Poffin." Sandy explained. "They're cooked berries that increase your look. Some make your coat shimmer, some make you look more powerful. There are a fair amount of them, and their colour specifies what they can do for Pokemon. Most hot coloured ones increase your imposing look, giving you a look of strength. Cooler coloured ones, like blue, can gloss your coat. There is usually a mixture of both in this particular type of food." The Articuno still had a questioning look. "They're like candy for Pokemon." Sandy sighed. "Perfectly healthy." The Articuno nibbled at it, shrugged, and went back to eating.
"Where did you find her?" Sandy's mother asked in a whisper.
"It's a long story, mum." Sandy replied. "Just stay quiet and we may make it out of this in one piece."
The two Articuno finished eating as Izaac hopped up onto the table and looked up at the older female. She glared down her beak at him, as if daring him to make a move. He seemed entranced by her. "...Pretty..." He mumbled to himself. The Articuno chuckled.
"Many say that when they see me." She said to him. "Never do they realise that my beauty comes with a price. Many trainers try to capture me on a regular basis, and all of them flee empty handed."
The room stayed quiet for a short while as the newborn Articuno finished eating. She chirped happily and looked up at Daniel, who was oblivious to the little bird's attention.
"I cannot take my chick with me now that she is hatched." The articuno continued. "She would never survive the wind pressure at this young age..."
"I'm sorry." Daniel said solemnly. "I didn't mean any harm."
The Articuno shook her head. "It is not your fault. I failed to realise my nest was on a spot vulnerable to avalance. If you hadn't come along, she would have become some other 'mon's breakfast." She said. "But I am at a loss as for what to do now. I cannot take her with me, but she will surely die alone."
"Why not let one of us care for her?" Sandy asked cautiously. Articuno gave her a weary glare.
"I do not trust you." She said coldly.
"How about leaving her with me then?" Daniel asked, flinching a little as she turned her steely gaze on him. "I-I've protected her diligently for the last week; why would I want to harm her now?"
"I have seen what trainers do with their Pokemon, their constant and pointless fighting, the mistreatment that my fellow Pokemon recieve is atrocious, especially from the ones who call themselves 'Rockets'." Articuno said harshly.
"You can ask my Pokemon yourself if I've ever mistreated them." Daniel said defensively. "The only one who will not give you an answer is Salamence, but only because he's currently frozen."
"And how did your Salamence become frozen?" Articuno asked. "Through a fight over some worthless trinketty badge?"
Sandy lifted little Crystal up onto the table. She gave one look at the large bird before smiling happily. "Hello!" She said cutely. Daniel turned his face from the table.
"He was frozen solid by her during a practice battle." He said, pointing to Crystal with a humiliated look on his face. Articuno looked down at the little water type on the table before she started sniggering.
"A Salamence lost to a puppy?" She quipped. "How humiliating!" She actually broke into laughter. "I like this kid." She said, putting a wing onto Crystal's head. Crystal yelped loudly, the ice cold wing hurting her slightly. The bowl that the Articuno had been eating from smashed suddenly, and Alice growled. Articuno turned her head to Alice. "Not a bad attack." She said. "But it will take more than that to break through my mental defences." She removed her wing from Crystal's head and placed it back to her side. "I am sorry, little one, I forgot that you are not yet immune to my body's natural chill." She said to the little shivering Pokemon on the table. Sandy picked her up and tucked her into her jacket's collar.
"Those were some nice reflexes, Alice." Sandy said quietly. "But she's fine. Just a little cold."
Articuno sighed. "I guess I have no choice." She mumbled. "I guess I must entrust her to you." She said to Daniel. "But you must promise me that you shall never let her come to harm."
Daniel shifted nervously before opening his mouth to answer. "I accept your terms." He said. Sandy nudged him in the ribs.
"You're to protect her like she's made of gold, got it?" She said to him. "You're to promise me that." Daniel chuckled and pushed her away.
"Yeah, yeah." He said, pulling out a Poke Ball. Articuno went to protest, but he held up his hand. "If she does not go willingly, I shall not force her into it." He said. "Besides, even if she does put me into that 'master servant' relationship, humans only live for roughly eighty years." Articuno nodded lightly. "How long do Articuno live for?" He asked.
"Thousands of years." She said. "And we enter our cycle once every hundred and fifty."
"She will outlive me by centuries." Daniel said. "I promise she will grow up strong and healthy, and she will probably not mourn my death for a great portion of her life after I am gone." He knelt down next to the table and offered the Poke Ball to the little bird. "If you wish to come with me, press the circle in the middle and relax." He said to her.
The little bird tilted her head to one side momentarily before pressing the button on the ball and vanishing in a flash of red light. The sphere shook for a single moment before settling. It clicked loudly, and Daniel released the chick back onto the table. She chirped happily for a moment before she sat down and promptly fell asleep. The elder Articuno turned to leave.
"I am trusting you with her care." She said. "Please do not fail me." She clumsily opened the front door with a claw and walked out, giving a final look to her daughter's new trainer before taking off, her wingbeats making snow blow into the house. The door swung closed, and Sandy's father cautiously walked into the room.
"W-was that...?"
Sandy sat him at the table. "I'll explain everything." She said.
While Sandy explained things to her parents, Blueberry slinked off deeper into the house. He crept through the rooms until he made his way upstairs, where he promptly nuzzled the door to Sandy's room open. He crept in, careful not to knock the floor as he walked, and shut the door with his tail. He wandered over to the chair, sniffed it for a moment, pulled his winter clothes off and then promptly jumped into the chair, curling into a ball in the soft cushion. He was still depressed from the day before, and when he was crouched into a pose to jump earlier, his mind wandered and he had found himself thinking about Alice again. He sighed, shaking his head as he whined and curled himself tighter. All he wanted now was to get some peace and quiet, far away from Alice. He lay there for what was roughly ten minutes before his ear twitched and he heard someone coming up the stairs. His head lifted and he could hear that they were getting closer, so he leapt off the chair and took up a position behind the door, crouched to pounce at it. Without the sound of someone grabbing the handle, the door unlatched and slowly opened. He leapt at the door, slamming it shut and knocking the intruder back into the corridor.
"Go away!" He snarled. He heard a squeaking sound and then several screws fell to his feet before the door literally flew across the room, landing heavily on the bed. Alice stood in the doorway, her fur lightly ruffled from the door slamming into her face. She looked quite, quite angry.
"No." She said. "I know why you're up here, and the last thing you need is to be left alone."
"No, the last thing I need is for you to hang around me!" Blueberry snapped. "Go keep someone else company, I'm happy on my own!" He found himself being lifted off the ground by an unseen force, and he snarled. "Leave me be!" He yelled.
"No." Alice said, sternly.
Blueberry bared his teeth and shot a Water Gun at her. It hit her in the face, the force knocking her back a little and breaking her concentration; releasing Blueberry from her psychic hold. "FINE!" He yelled, charging at her and smashing into her with Giga Impact. She flew across the hall and through the door on the other side, the wooden door smashing as she flew through it. Sandy and her parents heard the crash from downstairs, and rushed up to find the hallway empty except for chips of wood and scuff marks on the carpet. the empty doorframes had Sandy puzzled until she heard a groan of pain from her parent's room, which Alice had flown into and wrecked some of the furniture of, and crying from her own room. She turned on her bedroom light, gasping at the door on her bed and stepping over the screws on the floor. She walked over to her bed and knelt down, pulling Blueberry out from underneath.
"What's happened?" She asked him, he looked up at her with his tear filled eyes.
"...I... I didn't..." he sniffled. "I didn't mean to..."
Sandy's parents walked in, her father carrying a badly injured Alice in his arms. Alice looked up and her eyes glowed momentaritly, her psychic power flailing out, throwing Blueberry through the window and into the snow in the backyard with a thump, glass shards rained down across the yard. Sandy, not thinking twice about the implications of doing so, jumped out the window and landed with a crack, her ankle dislocating painfully. This didn't slow her down, and she painfully crawled over to Blueberry, pulling his unconsious body from the snow and tucking him into her jacket. She rolled onto her back and blacked out from the pain, her arms around the Vaporeon's body.
She awoke the next day in bed, Azure was hunched over her bed sleeping with her hands on her head. Sandy tried to shift, but noticed little Izaac sleeping on her lap, so instead she simply tried to sit up and cross her legs, an action which was met with extreme pain. She gasped in pain and jumped slightly, little Izaac bouncing on her lap lightly without stirring. Little Crystal, however, was awake and jumped onto Sandy's chest. She licked Sandy's face before sandy could actually get her arms around the little Pokemon and hug her.
"Good morning, Crystal." Sandy said.
"Mummy!" She said back, before the door to the room opened and Maximillion's Suicune, Darma, walked in. Darma walked up to sandy's bed and nuzzled Azure awake.
"Your master is awake." She said. "She would not disturb you from your sleep, but I will."
Sandy laughed lightly and patted Darma on her head. "Hello again, Darma. Here to see your daughter?"
"No, actually." Darma replied. "We were coming 'round to see her yesterday and saw Blueberry fly out the window. We also saw you jump out the same window. I carried you inside myself, and have remained here since. Nurse Joy was called, and your ankle has been set in cast. Blueberry shall also be fine with a little rest, and Alice is perfectly fine; if not a little distraught."
"Distraught?" Sandy parroted. "I saw what she did, that was intentional." Darma shook her head.
"I do not believe she meant to do that much damage. The injuries she sustained from Blueberry's Giga Impact are minor in comparison to the gashes from the broken glass and hypothermia from the snow that he currently suffers. Your heroic actions, if not foolhardy, probably saved his life."
Azure lifted her head groggily before noticing that Sandy's eyes were open. She hugged her tightly before sitting back in the chair and staring at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Sandy. I should have known he'd snap like that." She mumbled. Sandy put her hand to Azure's cheek.
"It's not your fault, Azure. It was out of even my control. Only Gardevoir could have stopped that attack, and she did not get here in time." Sandy reassured her.
"But if I had been the one in the room to have leapt out of the window, I could have made it. I'd have not suffered an injury from the fall." Azure mumbled.
Sandy pushed Crystal and Izaac into Azure's lap. "You're the mother of the group, true." She said. "So I'll try a simple demonstration. Currently you hold both of our youngest friends in your hands, and you also have your own life to protect. Now try to pick me up without dropping them."
Azure tilted her head, actually struggling to keep both the younglings in her hands, and looked apologetic. "I can't." she said.
"Exactly." Sandy said. "Now, I can pick you up, the pups, and Blueberry all at once, though I would struggle under your collective weight. However, if I tried to lift Darma as well, I'd be overwhelmed by the weight." Darma snuffed.
"I'm not fat."
"I'm not saying you are. But I'm saying that there is a limit to what we can do, and at the time I dropped everything to catch Blueberry alone, hoping that Azure would hold up the slack momentarily until I could manage to pick you up again. You see? I made a calculated decision with your trust and experience and hoped for the best. I suffered repurcussions for my foolishness and now I have to live with it." Sandy said, stroking Azure's ears. "Just promise me that you'll keep everyone together while I recuperate and I'll treat you afterwards."
Azure looked down at the scarf on her tail, then at Izaac and back to Sandy. "I have your love, my son and I'm extremely happy with our companions, what could you give me that I've not already got?"
Sandy was at a loss, and actually tilted her own head before she saw Darma's expression and smiled. "I'm sure that I can find something that you desire." She said. There was a rapping sound at the door, the signal that Alice wanted to come in, and Sandy shooed the others out. "I'd like some privacy with her if you don't mind. Please don't be mean to her, I get a feeling that she's torn up enough as it is."
The four Pokemon walked out, Darma shielding Alice from any glares as she cautiously walked in past them. She walked right up to Sandy's bed and sat down on the floor, staring at the carpet.
"I'm sorry, Sandy." She mumbled. She felt Sandy's hands settle around her waist and she was lifted off her feet and into Sandy's lap.
"It's okay, Alice." Sandy said. "Just... tell me what was going on to start this?"
Alice shifted in Sandy's lap, looking away as the door closed with a click. "He was being moody in here, still depressed over my rejection of him, and I decided to confront him on it." Alice sadly confessed. "He was quite adamant about having himself lapse into depression and I tried to force my presence into the room, at which point he lashed out."
Sandy forcefully pushed Alice off the bed with a thump. "You're a fool." She said as Alice looked up at here with a dazed, bewildered look on her face. "He suffered for years a lack of privacy and proper social interaction from that damned Rocket. If he needs some time alone, the only person he will not lash out at will be me, and even if he does I'll deal with it myself."
Alice blushed and turned her head away again. "I'm sorry, I was just doing what I thought you would do." She sniffed.
Sandy sighed. "You've got to remember that you're not a trainer. I'm sure you heard that demonstration earlier?" Alice nodded. "Well, you may be able to physically lift him, but trust me, you can't carry him. He's too much for you to handle alone. I know you had the best of intentions, but he had already made up his mind to not be left alone with you and you forced yourself on him, so he reacted in the only way he could."
"I'm sorry." Alice said, trying to force back tears.
"Don't worry about it too much." Sandy replied. "Go and get Gardevoir to bring Blueberry to me, I can't leave the room."
Alice nodded and went to leave, stopping by the door when Sandy called to her.
"It was a nice thought, but it would never have worked." Sandy said to her back.
Sandy sat in the room for a few minutes, counting the Pokemon dolls lining the shelves. There were dozens of them, all from when she was little. Her eyes stopped on a Vaporeon plushie, and she mentally projected that she wanted it. Probably from Gardevoir feeling her thoughts, the doll glowed lightly and floated across the room to rest in Sandy's hands. Eventually Gardevoir opened the door and carried Blueberry to Sandy, lowering him onto her lap and leaving the two with a friendly wave before she closed the door. Sandy looked at her injured Vaporeon, bruises and cuts covered what little of his body that wasn't currently wrapped in his winter clothes. He shivered even though the room was warm, and he was keeping his face away from Sandy's.
"Blueberry;" She started "do you know what this is?" She asked, indicating the plush Vaporeon in her hands. He shook his head. "It's a cute, and very accurate, plush doll of a Vaporeon. That, and it's what I'm going to be using to tease you with for the next few minutes." She said. Blueberry sighed heavily, keeping his face from her gaze. "Blueberry, yesterday you came up here with intentions to be left alone and brood in your bad mood in the dark. Not only was this a silly thing to do, but it could have hurt you. It gets cold up here with the lights and heaters off." She said, to no reaction from the water type. "Blueberry, look at me!" She snapped.
He turned his sorrow filled, bruised eyes to her, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Tell me, right now, what's on your mind." Sandy said, lightly thwapping him with the plush Vaporeon.
"I didn't mean to hurt her..." He mumbled.
"Oh, sweety I know you didn't." Sandy said. "You'd never hurt her if you could help it, but yesterday you couldn't help yourself." She said, comforting him with a pet down his face, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I have already talked with her, and now I am going to have an important talk with you."
Blueberry broke down, burying his face into her. Sandy flustered a moment, but put the doll down and wrapped her arms around him. Through his sobs he kept repeating the same three words.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" He cried.
"It's okay, Blueberry." Sandy said to him. "Shh, It's alright. Don't cry." She cooed. "Listen, when you have a problem in future, come to me with it as soon as you can, okay?" She said, running her hand along his back trying to soothe him. "She told me that she tried to impose her presence on you when you wanted to be alone. Please tell me what was on your mind?"
Blueberry didn't reply, but just kept weeping into her chest. Sandy puched him up into a sitting position. He wouldn't look her in the face, but Sandy could tell that it was chewing away at him slowly but surely.
"Is it Alice?" Sandy probed. Blueberry nodded, then inhaled sharply. In a flash Sandy grabbed a tissue from the box by her bed and put it to his nose, catching his sneeze. He snuffled with a funny look on his face.
"Th-thanks." He mumbled.
"Look, Blueberry, Alice has said that she does not want to be with you in that way." Sandy mumbled to him, wiping his nose and dropping the tissue into a bin. "I know that you are depressed over this, but you've got years ahead of yourself. You'll find someone who likes you for who you are, hm?"
Blueberry, now hiccupping from his crying, simply nodded his head.
"Alice is a stubborn ole' 'mon." Sandy said. "She is deadset in her ways. She was only trying to pull your from your miserable mood how she thought I would, but she must not have realised that you would have settled down on your own, nor that you would snap like that. You suffered so much during your time with that damned Rocket that you now want to have your freedoms when you can get them. Just promise me that you'll not do that again, I can only dislocate my ankle so many times." Blueberry nodded, another tear running down his cheek.
"I'm sorry..." He mumbled. Sandy wiped the tear off of his face.
"I must admit, though, you sure got her good with that attack." Sandy said, trying to lightern his mood. "I didn't know you had learned Giga Impact. You'd give even Daniel's Gyarados a run for its money with that attack." Blueberry laughed lightly, but was cut off by coughing. Sandy grimaced. "Go and get Daniel to bring his Growlithe in here, he can keep us warm with his fire abilities. Charizard could keep us warm with his tail, but he's too big for this room." Blueberry jumped off the bed, coughed again, and limped to the door. "Get him to carry you back up, you'll only hurt yourself more if you keep limping!" She yelled after him.
Blueberry limped down the hall and carefully descended the stairs. His front leg gave way near the bottom, and he fell a few inches before he found himself floating. Gardevoir had caught him, and was keeping him suspended until she came and picked him up.
"Sorry." Gardevoir said to him. "I was asking Sandy's mother for advice."
Blueberry nodded. "It's okay." He mumbled. "Thanks for catching me, I'd probably have gotten hurt futher from falling down the stairs." He coughed heavily, turning his head away from her. "I'm supposed to get Daniel to bring his Growlithe to Sandy's room." He struggled through his coughing.
"Well, while we're down here we can give you something for that cough." Sandy's mother said as she descended the stairs behind them. "It'll taste absolutley foul, but I promise that it will help." She pulled a tissue out of her pocked and shoved it to his nose as he sneezed. "Trust me, Blueberry, your hypothermia will fade, but it'll give way to another illness, so the more antidotes and anti-virals we give you the better, because you'll have more protection from some of the worse ones." She led them to the kitchen, where Gardevoir promptly put him on the table while Sandy's mother rooted around in the cupboards. She pulled out a blue bottle, about the same size as Blueberry's leg, with the words 'sick be gone - Water type' written on it in large letters. She turned the bottle to one side and read the instructions before pulling out a measuring spoon and put the bottle on the table. "From reactions I've seen with other Pokemon, this stuff tastes really terrible, but I've not actually been told how it tastes. It does work, though." She said. Blueberry coughed, his violent movements making the table shake. Sandy's mother washed the spoon and poured the medecine into it, making sure it was level before putting the bottle down and grabbing Blueberry's face. She forced the spoon into his mouth, turned it up, pulled the spoon out and held mis mouth closed. Blueberry tried to spit the medecine out, but couldn't move his mouth.
"Swallow." Sandy's mother demanded. "Or I won't let go." Blueberry reluctantly nodded and swallowed the foul substance. She let his muzzle go and he pulled a look of complete disgust.
"Blech! That stuff is horrid!" He complained. "Worse than rotten berries or herbs!" He coughed again, and Gardevoir picked him up.
"C'mon, Blueberry." She said. "We'll go get Daniel."
He was carried into the family room where Daniel, Simon, Mr. Maximillion and Darma were entertaining the younger Pokemon, Azure simply sat on the couch and watched, her attention turning to Blueberry and Gardevoir when they entered.
Gardevoir walked up to Daniel and prodded him with her foot.
"Yes?"
"Sandy would like you to bring your Growlithe upstairs to her room to keep us warm." Blueberry said. "Please."
Daniel nodded and handed a Poke Ball to Gardevoir, tucking it inbetween her and Blueberry. "Sure thing." He said, before returning his attention to torturing Crystal playfully with a tennis ball. She closed her teeth around the ball, getting one of Daniel's fingers. "Gah!"
Azure jumped off the couch and gave Blueberry a concerned look, before smiling and climbing back up, content that everything was fine.
Gardevoir turned around and walked back to Sandy's room. She put Blueberry on Sandy's lap and released Growlithe. He sat there with a dopey look on his face momentarily before turning to sandy and wagging his tail.
"Growlithe, you can sleep in here for the night, but I'd like you to keep the room warm. Blueberry has hypothermia and warmth will hopefully help him." Sandy said. Growlithe yapped happily, and the room's temperature rose.
"I'll go back downstairs to the others, call for me if you need anything, alright?" Gardevoir said, walking to the door.
"Yep, thanks Garde." Sandy said.
Blueberry coughed again and Sandy hugged him tightly. "Sorry." Blueberry mumbled.
"It's fine." She replied. "Let's get some sleep, we'll get better faster."
Blueberry nodded and nuzzled her through the blankets. "thankyou for saving me." He mumbled as he slowly drifted to sleep after ten minutes.
"No problems, Blueberry." Sandy replied, running a hand along his spine as he coughed. "I'll save you as many times as I have to until you are truly safe."
Blueberry pined as her strokes caressed him to sleep, happy to be in her loving arms.
"Damn... Psychics!" She said angrily before she bolted for the dustbin in the corner. Sandy winced as her Zangoose was sick. She carefully got out of bed and knocked on her bathroom door, a disgruntled moan answering her call.
"Garde, are you alright?" She was answered by another round of gut wrenching sounds. "I'll take that as a no." She said. "Garde, I gave you some pills for after your... Event yesterday. Did you take them?" there was a long pause.
'No.' Gardevoir's voice called in her head. Sandy sighed.
"I told you to take them immediately after. Why didn't you?" there was no reply at all. "It's too late to take them now, so you know."
'Arceus damn it all.'
Sandy giggled. "Are you better yet?"
'I do not think I shall be sick any more.' came the reply, right before the sounds gave one more violent outburst. 'Spoke too soon.' Sandy sighed again.
"Open the door." She called. There was a soft click as the lock unlatched. She opened the door and walked in, turning to the psychic practically hugging the toilet. "Good Arceus you're a mess." She said, kneeling and brushing Gardevoir's hair out of her face.
"Do you have any idea how long this'll last?" Gardevoir groaned. Sandy pulled her off the toilet and sat her in the corner before flushing.
"How long have you been at it?" Sandy asked.
"About an hour." Gardevoir groaned hoarsely. Alice nudged the door open and made herself known.
"First time, roughly an hour and you were sleeping in a chair... You're out of the morning sickness, but you've got a fair way to go." Gardevoir gave a miserable groan and put her head to her knees. Alice continues. "You're going to be really hungry next, and then probrably moody for a week, eating at least twice as much as normal for that time. And then..."
Gardevoir sighed. "I should have taken the damned pills." She mumbled. "Now I'm going to be a mum..."
Sandy spent the next few minutes trying to make Gardevoir see the bright side of things, eventually getting through to her. They left the bathroom and made their way down to the kitchen where, for once, Simon was waiting. He barely acknowledged their presense until Sandy told him that they were going to have to stay put for another week or so. He asked what they were staying for, reasoning that Crystal must surely be capable of leaving by now.
"That's not the problem." Snady told him, sternly.
Simon rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Then what is the problem?"
Sandy gave a nervous look to Gardevoir before reluctanly continuing. "Garde is pregnant, we can't leave now." Simon sighed. "Look, Simon." Sandy said angrily. "If you want to risk her laying while we're in the wilderness, that's fine for you, but I'm sure she would rather her first happen somewhere safe and warm." Gardevoir nodded her agreement.
Simon shrugged. "I'm not the type to stay in a house for weeks on end, you know that."
"Welll, we'll take our Pokemon to the Customise shop." Sandy said. "We can get them some winter clothes there so that they won't be so cold." Simon shrugged again. Despite being one of the best trainers she'd met, Simon had the peculiar trait of not caring what happened as long as it happened. Sandy's mother spread breakfast out across the table and they sat down to eat. Azure, Blueberry, Crystal and Izaac came down to join them soon after. Being only small, Izaac had trouble getting into his chair. He had almost surrendered when Sandy picked him up and sat him down. He smiled cheerfully before haphazardly eating his breakfast, his thumbless paws barely able to hold the fork he was eating his pancakes with. With Gardevoir between him and the next closest seat, Azure, much to everyone's pleasent surprise, sat there. Minutes passed as they sat around eating their breakfast, teasing one another from afar. They watched in amused shock as Gardevoir finished her fourth stack, finally pushing the plate away. Sandy's mobile phone chimed, and she pulled it out of a pocket, standing up. It was her other travelling companion, Daniel. He was also a fiercely competetive trainer, his Gyarados a dangerous foe at any distance or type matchup.
He told her that he would be in town today with a new addition to his team, something that could trump any of her Pokemon. He wouldn't say what it was, just that he would meet her at the Customise shop around the corner to show her what it could do. She closed the phone in a huff, turning to Simon.
"Daniel's in town." She said. "He's supposedly got himself a new Pokemon that can beat any of ours by the Customise shop." Simon's attention perked. This was a challenge he couldn't back down from. He rose from his chair in a hurry, grabbing Gardevoir by her arm as he passed her.
"C'mon, let's go get dressed and we can go meet him!" He cheerfully called, pulling her through the house.
Sandy sighed, collected her Pokemon and led them back to her room, dressing them in their temporary winter clothes. She pulled her backpack onto her back and they met Simon by the front door, waiting impatiently. He had Deake, his Dragonair, out. A Dragon Pokemon has few weaknesses, one being Ice, so Simon had him wrapped in specialised winter gear that wouldn't slip off. They walked to the corner and noticed Daniel standing out front the doors, a huge grin on his face. The group met up with him and went inside. It was amazingly empty, possibly owing to the cold outside. People were incredibly reluctant to travel in the cold, despite the rare Pokemon that tended to enjoy the cold of winter. Sandy deposited her Pokemon for fitting as Gardevoir floated over the counter. There was nothing left to do but wait. They sat around in the shop, trading stories of what had happened over the last week or so. Simon had just gotten around to his Gardevoir being pregnant when a nuzzling at his leg made him look down. Their Pokemon had come back, all wearing differently designed clothes. They looked puffy, that was for sure. Blueberry's was almost all a rust colour, except for a sleeve on his tail, his front shoulderblades and the soles where his feet went. Azure was in an incredibly fuzzy looking coat, blue and white, and pants that included booties to keep her feet from becoming cold. Izaac's was much the same, only his was mostly black, light blue and gold highlights around the edges. Gardevoir's was pink and white, small red highlights on the pockets on her sleeves. White gloves with red boxes on the backs, three fingered to suit her better. There was a hole in the front for her spike and a slit around the middle that her dress hung through, it also featured a wooly hood, some gloves and a pair of boots. Crystal's had by far some of the most detail, mostly a deep blue, it had rings on the legs in a colour akin to her purple mane a white rear and soles. Sandy tucked the original set of winter clothes into her backpack and payed the nine thousand Poke Dollar fee and then led her team back into the snowy cold. Daniel rushed out past her, a Poke Ball in his hand.
"Okay! Check it out!" He said cheerfully, dropping the Poke Ball. In a flash a large Salamance stood between him and Sandy, growling as it eyed her down. Drake rushed past her, using Dragon Rush to charge down the Salamance. He got inches away before the Salamance smashed him away, headbutting him across the road where he slid through the snow, coming to a rest and not getting back up.
"He is ok." Gardevoir informed the pair of shocked trainers. "Merely knocked out. That Salamance is amazingly powerful." She stared at the huge dragon, worried that if it charged them down she may be unable to stop it. Even Blueberry and Azure backed away slightly. A cold breeze blew through the group.
"C'mon! Who's next?" Daniel cheered, before noticing that his Salamance was actually breathing heavily, snow blowing around it. He looked shocked, glancing over at his 'opponents,' trying to find out who was using an ice attack. His eyes widened at the sight of little Crystal's mane glowing, her eyes closed tight. "W-what the hell?!"
"Icy Wind!" Azure cheered. "C'mon, Crystal, focus that into one blast!" Crystal nodded, the wind fading. Snow collected from all around, focusing into a large sphere infront of her as her mane glowed brighter. Crystal's eyes snapped open as the snowball exploded, zooming along the wind in the form of thousands of snowflakes. The Salamance looked shocked as it froze, ice covering the Pokemon over. Daniel called it back sadly admitting defeat. Sandy laughed as he walked forward, his head hung low.
"Beaten by a pup!" She mused. "Good Arceus that's got to be humiliating!" She knelt down and picked Crystal up. "I'm so proud of you! Leaning both Icy Wind and Blizzard in such little time!" Crystal nuzzled Sandy's cheek, giggling at the attention. Simon hurried over and put a Revive into his Dragonair's mouth. A few moments later the dragon slowly got back up, weakly holding his head high behind his master. Daniel stood infront of Sandy and playfully pretended to wring Crystal's neck, shaking her gently.
"Raar!" Ge growled in a toyish tone. "Darn Suicune and their Ice attacks." He said as Crystal playfully nipped at his fingers. He swung his backpack off his back, going to unzip a pocket. He suddenly rethinks his decision and puts it back. "Sandy, can we go back to your place?" He asked in a whisper. She gave a nervous glance to Gardevoir, who simply shrugged.
"I'm not reading his thoughts." She said. "Last time I did that I wound up a nervous wreck for a week, remember?" Gardevoir shuddered at the recollection.
Sandy agreed and led the whole group back to her house around the corner, Simon with Drake draped feebly over his shoulders. Blueberry nervously keeping Sandy between himself and Daniel. Izaac and Azure were also hiding on the far side of Sandy, throwing a cautious glance at Daniel every so often. They eventually made it back to Sandy's home as a real blizzard was rolling in. It seemed to have been following them, always one step behind as they walked. Sandy had to force the door closed as the raging winds and snow blew in, rocking the warm home. Daniel called the group into the kitchen, where he pulled his backpack off his back and carefully put it on the table with a thump. He slowly opened a pocket and pulled a bag of ice out.
"What the hell are you carrying ice around for?" Simon asked.
Sandy shook her head. "If my hunch is correct, it'll be to keep something very cold." Simon snorted, thinking she was being smart.
Daniel pulled out another bag, this one full of snow, and nodded. "You'll see." He reached in with both hands and pulled out a silvery blue egg. It glittered brilliantly in the light. A crack was visible on one side. "It's damaged!" Daniel said, worried. "I didn't damage it, did I?" Gardevoir shook her head before she froze up and turned her attention back to the front door. She looked panicked, as did Alice, who was growling at the closed door. There was a sound akin to someone tossing a blanket and then the whole house shook as something threw itself against the door.
"Daniel, where'd you find this egg?!" Sandy demanded.
"It was lying in the snow on the outskirts of town about five days ago." He replied. "I didn't think it'd be safe there, so took it with me." There was another bang as the whole house shook, the door barely holding on to its hinges.
"Garde, open the door!" Sandy yelled. The door swung open, show and freezing wind blowing through the house. A tall Articuno sauntered into the room, Alice and Blueberry backing off slowly, heads held low as if ready to pounce while growling furiously. The bird stalked into the kitchen, the bowls of water left out for the canine Pokemon freezing as it stopped by the table. The front door slammed shut again.
"That is mine." The Articuno said, her voice like ice. Her voice could have been considered pretty, if it weren't for the fact that she sounded so angry. "Why have you stolen it?"
Daniel looked terrified, and with good reason. An angry Articuno could freeze the blood in your veins if it had it's mind set right.
"I-I found the egg in the wilderness!" He stammered. "I didn't think it would have been right to leave it in such a vulnerable place!" The Articuno growled and slashed her taloned foot at him, slashing a deep cut in his arm as he crossed them to defend himself.
"I return home to my nest to find it and my egg gone!" She yelled. "Do not lie to me!"
Gardevoir ran forward, holding her hands out infront of her, pushing the Articuno away from Daniel. "He's not lying!" She cried. "I've seen it in his memory... Bits of what could have been a nest littered around a huge snowdrift. An avalanche? The egg was alone in a huge field of snow and debris." She mumbled.
"Daniel's a weird one;" Sandy stated "but he's no eggnapper. I'm sure he had the best of intentions when he took your egg!"
"My egg requires constant cold to hatch!" The ice type snapped. "It is not cold enough in here!"
Daniel, taking note of this, wrapped the egg in the ice and snow again, taking care not to damage the already cracked portion. "I've been covering it in ice and snow for days. Any Pokemon that lays an egg around this time is an ice type, so it seemed logical." He looked downtrodden. "I didn't mean any harm, I just thought that it would be bad to leave it in plain sight."
The room fell silent and a scratching sound could be heard. The whole room turned their attention to the egg on the table as it slowly hatched, bits of shell rocketed across the table, just as glittery on the inside as out. Everyone except the large Articuno ducked, bird Pokemon have a tendency to injure people as they hatch. The remaining egg practically exploded, bits of shell flying about the room, leaving a much smaller Articuno standing, confused, in the middle of the table. It looked about in a panic until it saw the ice bird watching intently. It cawed and the others stood up.
"It's a girl." Gardevoir said. "A cute girl at that."
Daniel pulled a packet of Pokemon food from his bag and spread the contents across the table, a gesture to which the small chick took quite favourably. Aritcuno went to protest, but Sandy stopped her.
"It's common food bought at any Poke Mart." She said carefully. "Full of vitamins, minerals and fibre. If you want to taste it to make sure, we have quite alot in the cuboard and I can put some out for you?" Articuno nodded, and Sandy pulled out a bowl and another packet of food from the cupboard, which was, actually, full to the brim with food.
"What would you need so much food for...?" Articuno asked. Sandy took another look in the cupboard and closed the door.
"My parents are professional breeders, this is stock for the next major season. Mostly Eevees." She finished, answering the question that was on Articuno's mind. "But they also supply most professors with their 'starter' Pokemon, Charmanders, Squirtle, etc." The large Ice Pokemon nodded slowly as Sandy put the bowl on the table. "The supplies my mother stocks are processed for young, growing Pokemon. This has more beneficial attributes than the one that Daniel has layed out." She finished, returning to the cupboard. She opened the doors of the one she had been in before, counted the amount of food, and continued to the next one. "Dammit." She mumbled. "I told her to use that money for repairs to the pens." She put her head around the corner into the family room. "MUM!" she yelled.
Sandy's mother, long a believer in acting first and thinking about the consequences later, was undoubtedly the driving force behind the breeding pens in the house. Her ideology was perfect, especially when it came to difficult females and a reluctant egg. However, when it came to long term planning, she was not the brightest lightbulb in the factory. That was her husband's job. Slow and steady, like a glacier jouneying south, he could come to a logical and useful response. It was usually to him people would pay their money, and he would ferret it away to wherever it is that he usually did (under the loose floorboard in the master bathroom.) Sandy's mother joined them in the kitchen, gasping at the pair of Articuno eating their respective meals.
"Wh-where...?"
"Mum, forget the Articuno." Sandy interrupted. "When I handed you the two hundered thousand, you were supposed to use it for upgrading the pens, not for buying two hundred thousand worth of youngster food!"
"But I didn't." She replied. "Your father ordered the food with the money in the skitty, that cheque actually has been used to upgrade the pens, at least that's what he tells me."
It was Sandy's turn to look flabbergasted. "How many Eevee have we bred this year?"
"About... Four hundred and ninety."
"Four hundred and ninety nine to be exact. At least, when my heat is over." Alice mumbled, still cautiously eyeing the large blue bird suspiciously. "It was a strangely busier season this year. The upgraded pens will help greatly, capable of detecting what kind of Pokemon is kept in each individual one and adjusting the climate or environment inside in the right way to keep them comfortable."
"There's something in this food..." Articuno said, suddenly drawing attention back to the pair of Ice birds. "A small thing...?"
"A Poffin." Sandy explained. "They're cooked berries that increase your look. Some make your coat shimmer, some make you look more powerful. There are a fair amount of them, and their colour specifies what they can do for Pokemon. Most hot coloured ones increase your imposing look, giving you a look of strength. Cooler coloured ones, like blue, can gloss your coat. There is usually a mixture of both in this particular type of food." The Articuno still had a questioning look. "They're like candy for Pokemon." Sandy sighed. "Perfectly healthy." The Articuno nibbled at it, shrugged, and went back to eating.
"Where did you find her?" Sandy's mother asked in a whisper.
"It's a long story, mum." Sandy replied. "Just stay quiet and we may make it out of this in one piece."
The two Articuno finished eating as Izaac hopped up onto the table and looked up at the older female. She glared down her beak at him, as if daring him to make a move. He seemed entranced by her. "...Pretty..." He mumbled to himself. The Articuno chuckled.
"Many say that when they see me." She said to him. "Never do they realise that my beauty comes with a price. Many trainers try to capture me on a regular basis, and all of them flee empty handed."
The room stayed quiet for a short while as the newborn Articuno finished eating. She chirped happily and looked up at Daniel, who was oblivious to the little bird's attention.
"I cannot take my chick with me now that she is hatched." The articuno continued. "She would never survive the wind pressure at this young age..."
"I'm sorry." Daniel said solemnly. "I didn't mean any harm."
The Articuno shook her head. "It is not your fault. I failed to realise my nest was on a spot vulnerable to avalance. If you hadn't come along, she would have become some other 'mon's breakfast." She said. "But I am at a loss as for what to do now. I cannot take her with me, but she will surely die alone."
"Why not let one of us care for her?" Sandy asked cautiously. Articuno gave her a weary glare.
"I do not trust you." She said coldly.
"How about leaving her with me then?" Daniel asked, flinching a little as she turned her steely gaze on him. "I-I've protected her diligently for the last week; why would I want to harm her now?"
"I have seen what trainers do with their Pokemon, their constant and pointless fighting, the mistreatment that my fellow Pokemon recieve is atrocious, especially from the ones who call themselves 'Rockets'." Articuno said harshly.
"You can ask my Pokemon yourself if I've ever mistreated them." Daniel said defensively. "The only one who will not give you an answer is Salamence, but only because he's currently frozen."
"And how did your Salamence become frozen?" Articuno asked. "Through a fight over some worthless trinketty badge?"
Sandy lifted little Crystal up onto the table. She gave one look at the large bird before smiling happily. "Hello!" She said cutely. Daniel turned his face from the table.
"He was frozen solid by her during a practice battle." He said, pointing to Crystal with a humiliated look on his face. Articuno looked down at the little water type on the table before she started sniggering.
"A Salamence lost to a puppy?" She quipped. "How humiliating!" She actually broke into laughter. "I like this kid." She said, putting a wing onto Crystal's head. Crystal yelped loudly, the ice cold wing hurting her slightly. The bowl that the Articuno had been eating from smashed suddenly, and Alice growled. Articuno turned her head to Alice. "Not a bad attack." She said. "But it will take more than that to break through my mental defences." She removed her wing from Crystal's head and placed it back to her side. "I am sorry, little one, I forgot that you are not yet immune to my body's natural chill." She said to the little shivering Pokemon on the table. Sandy picked her up and tucked her into her jacket's collar.
"Those were some nice reflexes, Alice." Sandy said quietly. "But she's fine. Just a little cold."
Articuno sighed. "I guess I have no choice." She mumbled. "I guess I must entrust her to you." She said to Daniel. "But you must promise me that you shall never let her come to harm."
Daniel shifted nervously before opening his mouth to answer. "I accept your terms." He said. Sandy nudged him in the ribs.
"You're to protect her like she's made of gold, got it?" She said to him. "You're to promise me that." Daniel chuckled and pushed her away.
"Yeah, yeah." He said, pulling out a Poke Ball. Articuno went to protest, but he held up his hand. "If she does not go willingly, I shall not force her into it." He said. "Besides, even if she does put me into that 'master servant' relationship, humans only live for roughly eighty years." Articuno nodded lightly. "How long do Articuno live for?" He asked.
"Thousands of years." She said. "And we enter our cycle once every hundred and fifty."
"She will outlive me by centuries." Daniel said. "I promise she will grow up strong and healthy, and she will probably not mourn my death for a great portion of her life after I am gone." He knelt down next to the table and offered the Poke Ball to the little bird. "If you wish to come with me, press the circle in the middle and relax." He said to her.
The little bird tilted her head to one side momentarily before pressing the button on the ball and vanishing in a flash of red light. The sphere shook for a single moment before settling. It clicked loudly, and Daniel released the chick back onto the table. She chirped happily for a moment before she sat down and promptly fell asleep. The elder Articuno turned to leave.
"I am trusting you with her care." She said. "Please do not fail me." She clumsily opened the front door with a claw and walked out, giving a final look to her daughter's new trainer before taking off, her wingbeats making snow blow into the house. The door swung closed, and Sandy's father cautiously walked into the room.
"W-was that...?"
Sandy sat him at the table. "I'll explain everything." She said.
While Sandy explained things to her parents, Blueberry slinked off deeper into the house. He crept through the rooms until he made his way upstairs, where he promptly nuzzled the door to Sandy's room open. He crept in, careful not to knock the floor as he walked, and shut the door with his tail. He wandered over to the chair, sniffed it for a moment, pulled his winter clothes off and then promptly jumped into the chair, curling into a ball in the soft cushion. He was still depressed from the day before, and when he was crouched into a pose to jump earlier, his mind wandered and he had found himself thinking about Alice again. He sighed, shaking his head as he whined and curled himself tighter. All he wanted now was to get some peace and quiet, far away from Alice. He lay there for what was roughly ten minutes before his ear twitched and he heard someone coming up the stairs. His head lifted and he could hear that they were getting closer, so he leapt off the chair and took up a position behind the door, crouched to pounce at it. Without the sound of someone grabbing the handle, the door unlatched and slowly opened. He leapt at the door, slamming it shut and knocking the intruder back into the corridor.
"Go away!" He snarled. He heard a squeaking sound and then several screws fell to his feet before the door literally flew across the room, landing heavily on the bed. Alice stood in the doorway, her fur lightly ruffled from the door slamming into her face. She looked quite, quite angry.
"No." She said. "I know why you're up here, and the last thing you need is to be left alone."
"No, the last thing I need is for you to hang around me!" Blueberry snapped. "Go keep someone else company, I'm happy on my own!" He found himself being lifted off the ground by an unseen force, and he snarled. "Leave me be!" He yelled.
"No." Alice said, sternly.
Blueberry bared his teeth and shot a Water Gun at her. It hit her in the face, the force knocking her back a little and breaking her concentration; releasing Blueberry from her psychic hold. "FINE!" He yelled, charging at her and smashing into her with Giga Impact. She flew across the hall and through the door on the other side, the wooden door smashing as she flew through it. Sandy and her parents heard the crash from downstairs, and rushed up to find the hallway empty except for chips of wood and scuff marks on the carpet. the empty doorframes had Sandy puzzled until she heard a groan of pain from her parent's room, which Alice had flown into and wrecked some of the furniture of, and crying from her own room. She turned on her bedroom light, gasping at the door on her bed and stepping over the screws on the floor. She walked over to her bed and knelt down, pulling Blueberry out from underneath.
"What's happened?" She asked him, he looked up at her with his tear filled eyes.
"...I... I didn't..." he sniffled. "I didn't mean to..."
Sandy's parents walked in, her father carrying a badly injured Alice in his arms. Alice looked up and her eyes glowed momentaritly, her psychic power flailing out, throwing Blueberry through the window and into the snow in the backyard with a thump, glass shards rained down across the yard. Sandy, not thinking twice about the implications of doing so, jumped out the window and landed with a crack, her ankle dislocating painfully. This didn't slow her down, and she painfully crawled over to Blueberry, pulling his unconsious body from the snow and tucking him into her jacket. She rolled onto her back and blacked out from the pain, her arms around the Vaporeon's body.
She awoke the next day in bed, Azure was hunched over her bed sleeping with her hands on her head. Sandy tried to shift, but noticed little Izaac sleeping on her lap, so instead she simply tried to sit up and cross her legs, an action which was met with extreme pain. She gasped in pain and jumped slightly, little Izaac bouncing on her lap lightly without stirring. Little Crystal, however, was awake and jumped onto Sandy's chest. She licked Sandy's face before sandy could actually get her arms around the little Pokemon and hug her.
"Good morning, Crystal." Sandy said.
"Mummy!" She said back, before the door to the room opened and Maximillion's Suicune, Darma, walked in. Darma walked up to sandy's bed and nuzzled Azure awake.
"Your master is awake." She said. "She would not disturb you from your sleep, but I will."
Sandy laughed lightly and patted Darma on her head. "Hello again, Darma. Here to see your daughter?"
"No, actually." Darma replied. "We were coming 'round to see her yesterday and saw Blueberry fly out the window. We also saw you jump out the same window. I carried you inside myself, and have remained here since. Nurse Joy was called, and your ankle has been set in cast. Blueberry shall also be fine with a little rest, and Alice is perfectly fine; if not a little distraught."
"Distraught?" Sandy parroted. "I saw what she did, that was intentional." Darma shook her head.
"I do not believe she meant to do that much damage. The injuries she sustained from Blueberry's Giga Impact are minor in comparison to the gashes from the broken glass and hypothermia from the snow that he currently suffers. Your heroic actions, if not foolhardy, probably saved his life."
Azure lifted her head groggily before noticing that Sandy's eyes were open. She hugged her tightly before sitting back in the chair and staring at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Sandy. I should have known he'd snap like that." She mumbled. Sandy put her hand to Azure's cheek.
"It's not your fault, Azure. It was out of even my control. Only Gardevoir could have stopped that attack, and she did not get here in time." Sandy reassured her.
"But if I had been the one in the room to have leapt out of the window, I could have made it. I'd have not suffered an injury from the fall." Azure mumbled.
Sandy pushed Crystal and Izaac into Azure's lap. "You're the mother of the group, true." She said. "So I'll try a simple demonstration. Currently you hold both of our youngest friends in your hands, and you also have your own life to protect. Now try to pick me up without dropping them."
Azure tilted her head, actually struggling to keep both the younglings in her hands, and looked apologetic. "I can't." she said.
"Exactly." Sandy said. "Now, I can pick you up, the pups, and Blueberry all at once, though I would struggle under your collective weight. However, if I tried to lift Darma as well, I'd be overwhelmed by the weight." Darma snuffed.
"I'm not fat."
"I'm not saying you are. But I'm saying that there is a limit to what we can do, and at the time I dropped everything to catch Blueberry alone, hoping that Azure would hold up the slack momentarily until I could manage to pick you up again. You see? I made a calculated decision with your trust and experience and hoped for the best. I suffered repurcussions for my foolishness and now I have to live with it." Sandy said, stroking Azure's ears. "Just promise me that you'll keep everyone together while I recuperate and I'll treat you afterwards."
Azure looked down at the scarf on her tail, then at Izaac and back to Sandy. "I have your love, my son and I'm extremely happy with our companions, what could you give me that I've not already got?"
Sandy was at a loss, and actually tilted her own head before she saw Darma's expression and smiled. "I'm sure that I can find something that you desire." She said. There was a rapping sound at the door, the signal that Alice wanted to come in, and Sandy shooed the others out. "I'd like some privacy with her if you don't mind. Please don't be mean to her, I get a feeling that she's torn up enough as it is."
The four Pokemon walked out, Darma shielding Alice from any glares as she cautiously walked in past them. She walked right up to Sandy's bed and sat down on the floor, staring at the carpet.
"I'm sorry, Sandy." She mumbled. She felt Sandy's hands settle around her waist and she was lifted off her feet and into Sandy's lap.
"It's okay, Alice." Sandy said. "Just... tell me what was going on to start this?"
Alice shifted in Sandy's lap, looking away as the door closed with a click. "He was being moody in here, still depressed over my rejection of him, and I decided to confront him on it." Alice sadly confessed. "He was quite adamant about having himself lapse into depression and I tried to force my presence into the room, at which point he lashed out."
Sandy forcefully pushed Alice off the bed with a thump. "You're a fool." She said as Alice looked up at here with a dazed, bewildered look on her face. "He suffered for years a lack of privacy and proper social interaction from that damned Rocket. If he needs some time alone, the only person he will not lash out at will be me, and even if he does I'll deal with it myself."
Alice blushed and turned her head away again. "I'm sorry, I was just doing what I thought you would do." She sniffed.
Sandy sighed. "You've got to remember that you're not a trainer. I'm sure you heard that demonstration earlier?" Alice nodded. "Well, you may be able to physically lift him, but trust me, you can't carry him. He's too much for you to handle alone. I know you had the best of intentions, but he had already made up his mind to not be left alone with you and you forced yourself on him, so he reacted in the only way he could."
"I'm sorry." Alice said, trying to force back tears.
"Don't worry about it too much." Sandy replied. "Go and get Gardevoir to bring Blueberry to me, I can't leave the room."
Alice nodded and went to leave, stopping by the door when Sandy called to her.
"It was a nice thought, but it would never have worked." Sandy said to her back.
Sandy sat in the room for a few minutes, counting the Pokemon dolls lining the shelves. There were dozens of them, all from when she was little. Her eyes stopped on a Vaporeon plushie, and she mentally projected that she wanted it. Probably from Gardevoir feeling her thoughts, the doll glowed lightly and floated across the room to rest in Sandy's hands. Eventually Gardevoir opened the door and carried Blueberry to Sandy, lowering him onto her lap and leaving the two with a friendly wave before she closed the door. Sandy looked at her injured Vaporeon, bruises and cuts covered what little of his body that wasn't currently wrapped in his winter clothes. He shivered even though the room was warm, and he was keeping his face away from Sandy's.
"Blueberry;" She started "do you know what this is?" She asked, indicating the plush Vaporeon in her hands. He shook his head. "It's a cute, and very accurate, plush doll of a Vaporeon. That, and it's what I'm going to be using to tease you with for the next few minutes." She said. Blueberry sighed heavily, keeping his face from her gaze. "Blueberry, yesterday you came up here with intentions to be left alone and brood in your bad mood in the dark. Not only was this a silly thing to do, but it could have hurt you. It gets cold up here with the lights and heaters off." She said, to no reaction from the water type. "Blueberry, look at me!" She snapped.
He turned his sorrow filled, bruised eyes to her, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Tell me, right now, what's on your mind." Sandy said, lightly thwapping him with the plush Vaporeon.
"I didn't mean to hurt her..." He mumbled.
"Oh, sweety I know you didn't." Sandy said. "You'd never hurt her if you could help it, but yesterday you couldn't help yourself." She said, comforting him with a pet down his face, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I have already talked with her, and now I am going to have an important talk with you."
Blueberry broke down, burying his face into her. Sandy flustered a moment, but put the doll down and wrapped her arms around him. Through his sobs he kept repeating the same three words.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" He cried.
"It's okay, Blueberry." Sandy said to him. "Shh, It's alright. Don't cry." She cooed. "Listen, when you have a problem in future, come to me with it as soon as you can, okay?" She said, running her hand along his back trying to soothe him. "She told me that she tried to impose her presence on you when you wanted to be alone. Please tell me what was on your mind?"
Blueberry didn't reply, but just kept weeping into her chest. Sandy puched him up into a sitting position. He wouldn't look her in the face, but Sandy could tell that it was chewing away at him slowly but surely.
"Is it Alice?" Sandy probed. Blueberry nodded, then inhaled sharply. In a flash Sandy grabbed a tissue from the box by her bed and put it to his nose, catching his sneeze. He snuffled with a funny look on his face.
"Th-thanks." He mumbled.
"Look, Blueberry, Alice has said that she does not want to be with you in that way." Sandy mumbled to him, wiping his nose and dropping the tissue into a bin. "I know that you are depressed over this, but you've got years ahead of yourself. You'll find someone who likes you for who you are, hm?"
Blueberry, now hiccupping from his crying, simply nodded his head.
"Alice is a stubborn ole' 'mon." Sandy said. "She is deadset in her ways. She was only trying to pull your from your miserable mood how she thought I would, but she must not have realised that you would have settled down on your own, nor that you would snap like that. You suffered so much during your time with that damned Rocket that you now want to have your freedoms when you can get them. Just promise me that you'll not do that again, I can only dislocate my ankle so many times." Blueberry nodded, another tear running down his cheek.
"I'm sorry..." He mumbled. Sandy wiped the tear off of his face.
"I must admit, though, you sure got her good with that attack." Sandy said, trying to lightern his mood. "I didn't know you had learned Giga Impact. You'd give even Daniel's Gyarados a run for its money with that attack." Blueberry laughed lightly, but was cut off by coughing. Sandy grimaced. "Go and get Daniel to bring his Growlithe in here, he can keep us warm with his fire abilities. Charizard could keep us warm with his tail, but he's too big for this room." Blueberry jumped off the bed, coughed again, and limped to the door. "Get him to carry you back up, you'll only hurt yourself more if you keep limping!" She yelled after him.
Blueberry limped down the hall and carefully descended the stairs. His front leg gave way near the bottom, and he fell a few inches before he found himself floating. Gardevoir had caught him, and was keeping him suspended until she came and picked him up.
"Sorry." Gardevoir said to him. "I was asking Sandy's mother for advice."
Blueberry nodded. "It's okay." He mumbled. "Thanks for catching me, I'd probably have gotten hurt futher from falling down the stairs." He coughed heavily, turning his head away from her. "I'm supposed to get Daniel to bring his Growlithe to Sandy's room." He struggled through his coughing.
"Well, while we're down here we can give you something for that cough." Sandy's mother said as she descended the stairs behind them. "It'll taste absolutley foul, but I promise that it will help." She pulled a tissue out of her pocked and shoved it to his nose as he sneezed. "Trust me, Blueberry, your hypothermia will fade, but it'll give way to another illness, so the more antidotes and anti-virals we give you the better, because you'll have more protection from some of the worse ones." She led them to the kitchen, where Gardevoir promptly put him on the table while Sandy's mother rooted around in the cupboards. She pulled out a blue bottle, about the same size as Blueberry's leg, with the words 'sick be gone - Water type' written on it in large letters. She turned the bottle to one side and read the instructions before pulling out a measuring spoon and put the bottle on the table. "From reactions I've seen with other Pokemon, this stuff tastes really terrible, but I've not actually been told how it tastes. It does work, though." She said. Blueberry coughed, his violent movements making the table shake. Sandy's mother washed the spoon and poured the medecine into it, making sure it was level before putting the bottle down and grabbing Blueberry's face. She forced the spoon into his mouth, turned it up, pulled the spoon out and held mis mouth closed. Blueberry tried to spit the medecine out, but couldn't move his mouth.
"Swallow." Sandy's mother demanded. "Or I won't let go." Blueberry reluctantly nodded and swallowed the foul substance. She let his muzzle go and he pulled a look of complete disgust.
"Blech! That stuff is horrid!" He complained. "Worse than rotten berries or herbs!" He coughed again, and Gardevoir picked him up.
"C'mon, Blueberry." She said. "We'll go get Daniel."
He was carried into the family room where Daniel, Simon, Mr. Maximillion and Darma were entertaining the younger Pokemon, Azure simply sat on the couch and watched, her attention turning to Blueberry and Gardevoir when they entered.
Gardevoir walked up to Daniel and prodded him with her foot.
"Yes?"
"Sandy would like you to bring your Growlithe upstairs to her room to keep us warm." Blueberry said. "Please."
Daniel nodded and handed a Poke Ball to Gardevoir, tucking it inbetween her and Blueberry. "Sure thing." He said, before returning his attention to torturing Crystal playfully with a tennis ball. She closed her teeth around the ball, getting one of Daniel's fingers. "Gah!"
Azure jumped off the couch and gave Blueberry a concerned look, before smiling and climbing back up, content that everything was fine.
Gardevoir turned around and walked back to Sandy's room. She put Blueberry on Sandy's lap and released Growlithe. He sat there with a dopey look on his face momentarily before turning to sandy and wagging his tail.
"Growlithe, you can sleep in here for the night, but I'd like you to keep the room warm. Blueberry has hypothermia and warmth will hopefully help him." Sandy said. Growlithe yapped happily, and the room's temperature rose.
"I'll go back downstairs to the others, call for me if you need anything, alright?" Gardevoir said, walking to the door.
"Yep, thanks Garde." Sandy said.
Blueberry coughed again and Sandy hugged him tightly. "Sorry." Blueberry mumbled.
"It's fine." She replied. "Let's get some sleep, we'll get better faster."
Blueberry nodded and nuzzled her through the blankets. "thankyou for saving me." He mumbled as he slowly drifted to sleep after ten minutes.
"No problems, Blueberry." Sandy replied, running a hand along his spine as he coughed. "I'll save you as many times as I have to until you are truly safe."
Blueberry pined as her strokes caressed him to sleep, happy to be in her loving arms.