Story Notes:
The journey will go from Kanto to Johto, to Hoenn, to Sinnoh. I may do the battle frontiers but i don't know (we'll see when i get there)Disclaimer: Pokemon and all related characters, locations, items, ect are the copyrighted property of Nintendo and as such I claim no rights to them.I'm currently working two jobs and I'm kinda making this up as I go along, so don't be surprised if there are delays between chapters... I'll try to update this as regularly as i can (I do apologies for the delays, but that's how life goes)Updates...Genre: Adventure/Romance (relationships between characters will begin to develop after the Kanto League)Warning: One later chapter will contain fairly light scenes of sexual intercourse between two characters. (Much later chapter,will be marked for mature content) For now, I'm rating this PG 13
Chapter 1: A boy and a lost pokemon
Alex and his family were traveling from their home in Sinnoh to visit relatives in Hoenn. As they pulled up to the house, Scott and Kristine got out of the car to let their kids Alex, Emily, and Andrew out. They had been driving for a few hours after their boat ride from Sinnoh and the kids were anxious to get out of the car. As they all walked up to the door, it opened and out came their Uncle Matt, Kristine's brother, and Aunt Amanda. The kids jumped and practically tackled their uncle and aunt; they hadn't seen them in a long time. Scott and Kris made their way up to greet them.
"Hey guys, good to see yall again" Matt said with a smile.
"We missed you guys" Amanda added.
"Well we all missed you too, now could you give us a hand with these bags?" Scott and Kris said practically in unison.
They laughed. "Alright alright, we're coming." Matt said as he put his nephews down.
"Why don't you kids go play outback, while your parents and us unpack the car" Amanda said as she put her niece down.
The kids ran to the backyard and found Tony, Amanda's Arcanine, and Coco, her Delcatty, playing. The kids ran over to join them. Andrew played with Tony while Emily spent time with Coco. Alex decided to side on the swing that hung from a large tree in the backyard.
"It's good to see you all again" Matt said as they placed the luggage inside.
"So how have things been for you guys?" Scott asked as he sat down on the sofa.
"Same old, same old" Matt replied as he sat in his favorite chair.
"And how are things with you guys?" Amanda asked as she took a seat.
"We're doing fine" Kris answered as she sat on the sofa next to her husband.
"How are the kids doing?" Matt asked.
"O the usual, driving us crazy" Kris replied.
Scott and Amanda laughed.
"How's Alex doing?" Matt said as he opened a bottle of beer.
A silence fell across the room as the Scott and Kris looked at one another, trying to think of what to say.
"It's been almost a month since that day. Is he doing alright?" Amanda broke the silence.
"I don't know, lately he has been kind of distant and quite." Scott said as he lowered his head.
"We sometimes hear him crying in the middle of the night." Kris said with concern in her eyes.
"It's been almost a month since Diana died saving him from that Seviper." Matt said as he finished taking a drink.
"Those two were really close weren't they?" Amanda said as she looked out the window.
"Yeah, he looked up to her like an older sister." Scott said.
"Ever since that day, he hasn't smiled once and he got scared stiff when we saw a trainer's Seviper battling another trainer's Donphan on the way down here." Kris said as she turned towards the window
"I see, guess seeing a Seviper brings back the memories of what happened to Diana." Matt said as he placed his drink on a small table.
"What are we gonna do?" Kris said as she looked at her son on the swing with a sad look on his face.
"I think I know what might cheer him up, you just leave it to me." Matt said as he got to his feet.
"What do you have in mind?" Scott said as they all looked at Matt.
"I know this terrain like the back of my hand, and there is a special spot in the forest that I think he would really enjoy." Matt said with a smile.
"It's a beautiful spot to relax in. It's also a great spot for fishing, and swimming." He added.
"That sounds like a good idea Matt" Amanda commented. "But why don't you take Ace and Ginger with you just in case" she added as she pointed at two pokeballs.
"Alright, but be careful" Kris said.
"Hey don't worry, he'll be with me after all" Matt replied.
"I know, that's why I'm worried" she responded
Scott and Amanda couldn't help but laugh. As they got up, Matt made his way to the door and asked Alex to come inside for a little bit. He got off his swing and walked over to the house while Andrew and Emily continued to play with Tony and Coco.
"Hey buddy, come with me there is something I want to show you" Matt said as he put his hand on his nephew's head.
"Ok, Uncle Matt" Alex said as he followed.
"We'll be back soon" Matt said as they made their way into the woods.
As they walked along an old dirt path, Matt looked at Alex and saw a depressed look on his face.
"So what's wrong Alex, you feeling ok?" he asked
"I'm ok I guess" he replied without as much as an upward glance.
"Don't worry, you're going to be really excited when you see what I have in store for you" Matt said as they continued down the path.
As they continued to walk along the path they started to see some pokemon going about their business. There was a Beautifly floating by some flowers. A pair of Zigzagoon playing in the grass. A Tailow and a Swellow perched on a branch cleaning their feathers. And some Seedot hanging from a tree. Further along the path a few Spinarak up in a tree while an Aipom hung from its tail right above them. Matt decided to stop by a tree to take a short break. He pulled out two bottles of water and handed on to Alex. As Matt opened his and took a drink, Alex just held his and looked at the ground.
"Hang on a sec little buddy, I gotta take a leak" Matt said as he ran off into the bushes.
Alex continued to sit there as his mind started to wonder. Memories of Diana started to fill his mind; he pulled his legs up and buried his head into his knees as tears began to roll down his face. Suddenly, he thought he heard a voice in his head. He pulled his head out of his knees and looked around. He didn't see anything and thought he had just imagined it.
"help..." a voice said weakly
He wasn't imagining things, someone was calling for help. Alex got to his feet and as he dried his tears, started to make his way to find out whose voice he was hearing. He eventually found a small clearing by a lake. There he found a Ralts lying in the grass, he could tell it was hurt badly. He made his way towards the hurt pokemon,
"Are you ok?" he asked
But the Ralts just looked up at him and didn't say anything. Alex then remembered what he was told to do when you find a hurt pokemon. Take it to Nurse Joy.
As he got to his feet with the Ralts in his arms he heard something in the bushes, a Poochyena appeared and looked at them with a smirk on its face. It started to make its way towards them and started growling. Alex backed up nervously, not taking his eyes off the Bite pokemon in front of him. As it readied to jump, Alex tripped over a rock and fell backwards dropping Ralts. The Poochyena made its way over to the injured psychic pokemon ready to make a meal out of it, but just as it was getting ready to bite, Alex picked up the rock he had tripped over and threw it hitting the Poochyena right on the side of the head. It yelped and backed off as he picked up a stick and yelled at the Poochyena
"Leave it alone!!!" Ralts looked up to see Alex standing between her and the Poochyena.
The Bite pokemon looked at Alex and bared its teeth at him, it was pissed off now; it charged at him and jumped at him with its mouth opened ready to bite him. Alex managed to bring the stick up and get it caught in its mouth but the Poochyena bit it in half and bit him on the arm. Alex yelled in pain as it bit his left arm, he swung what was left of the stick he had and hit it a few times to get it off of him but it wouldn't let go. Alex quickly picked up the rock he had thrown and hit the Poochyena in the head as hard as he could, nailing it in almost the same spot he hit before. This time it let go and ran off with its tail between its legs and a trail of blood running down its face.
Alex made his way to Ralts and picked her back up, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you", he said before making his way out of the forest.
Ralts looked up at him, she was still very scared and didn't know if she could trust this human... but for some reason, she felt safe in his arms. Alex ran as fast as he could since he didn't want that Poochyena or any other wild pokemon to come and attack them. Soon enough he could see the road just up ahead.
As they made it to the road he could see the town,
"We're almost there" he said as he took a moment or two to catch his breath.
But before he took another step, he heard a loud and angry bark from behind him. Alex turned around and saw a Mightyena and a Poochyena with blood running down the side of its face. He then realized it was the same one from before and it looked like it brought its mother. The Mightyena looked at him angrily, baring her teeth, and growling furiously. Ralts was scared and held onto Alex's shirt tightly, Alex could tell she was scared and so was he, he was tired from the fight earlier and the running he had done since then. And with no pokemon of his own, he knew there was no way he could handle a Mightyena.
Alex tried to think of a way out but he was too scared to even think straight, he just held Ralts and tried to back away slowly. But as he did the mother Mightyena opened her mouth and fired a Dark Pulse at him, it missed but the explosion caused a shard from a rock to fly up and give him a small cut across his right cheek. The Mightyena fired another Dark Pulse; Alex managed to dodge the attack but tripped and fell on his side. The Mightyena gave him a death look and started to charge at him ready to Crunch his head off, Alex tried to cover Ralts as best he could as the angry mother ran at him.
"I'm sorry, I tried my best to help you..." he said as a tear slid down his face.
The Mightyena leapt towards them...
"Ace, Mach Punch NOW!!!!!"
Alex looked up to see Ace, his uncle's Infernape, appear out of nowhere and punch the angry Mightyena right in the face. She flew back a few feet before getting up and growling at the Blaze pokemon. Alex couldn't believe his eyes.
"You alright, Alex?" a familiar voice asked
"Uncle Matt" he said as he turned around and saw his uncle standing behind him.
"Take my eyes off of you for five minutes and look what happens... What have you been up to this whole time?" Matt said as he stared at pokemon in front of him
"I gotta get to the Pokemon Center" Alex replied while trying to catch his breath.
Matt looked down at him and saw the injured pokemon in his nephew's arms. The Mightyena let out a loud howl and a second Mightyena appeared, only this one was bigger than she was.
"I guess here comes daddy" Matt said to himself as he took out a pokeball.
"You can fill me in on the details later, just get to the pokemon center... take Ginger with you" Matt said as he the ball opened, when the ball's light faded a Lopunny appeared.
"Ginger, go with Alex and make sure those two get to Nurse Joy. Ace and I will handle things here" Matt said as he turned to face the Mightyena.
Ginger nodded as they made their way down the road towards the Pokémon Center; the Mightyena saw this and grew very angry. The father opened his mouth and fired a Shadow Ball.
"Use Flamethrower" Matt commanded.
The Infernape opened his mouth and fired a powerful Flamethrower to counter the Shadow Ball. The two attacks collided and exploded violently as the father Mightyena charged at them ready to use Crunch.
"Ace, Mach Punch"
Ace's fist began to glow as he ran with incredible speed at his opponent. But just before they connected, the mother ran after and fired a Dark Pulse at Alex.
"Look Out!!!!" Matt yelled.
Alex turned and saw the attack coming right at them but before he could react, with what little strength she had left, Ralts jumped in front of him and used Protect to shield them from the attack. Alex looked at Ralts, and as she finished her move he caught her in his arms, she looked up at him, smiled and put her hand on his cheek. As the mother Mightyena readied to fire another Dark Pulse...
"Ginger, Sky Uppercut!!!!" Matt yelled, Ginger quickly moved to attack and the mother was sent flying back a few feet as Ginger punched her in the face.
"What are you waiting for?! Get going now!!!" Matt yelled at his nephew.
Alex got to his feet and made a run for the town. As the mother Mightyena got to its feet, Ginger used Bounce and landed right on it's back forcing it back to the ground.
"If you want him, you're going to have to go through me first" Ginger said as she jumped off.
The father glared at Ace, the Infernape smirked at his opponent
"Come on, unless you're afraid" he said as he dropped into a fighting stance.
The Mightyena charged at him his tail glowing brightly; it jumped and readied to hit Ace with an Iron Tail.
"Ace, dodge and use Blaze Kick"
As the Mightyena brought its tail down, Ace jumped into the air, his foot ablaze as he kicked the Mightyena in the face sending it into a tree trunk. It let out a cry of pain as it hit the tree and fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, as Alex ran towards the town, he saw something approaching in the distance... it was an Officer Jenny on her motorcycle.
"Hey, Officer Jenny" he yelled and waved one of his arms trying to get her attention.
As Jenny got closer she saw the little boy and stopped right in front of him.
"Are you alright kid?" she asked.
"I need to get to the Pokémon Center right away, it's an emergency" he said in a frantic voice.
As she looked at him, Jenny noticed the injured Ralts in his arms
"Alright kid climb in and hang on tight" she said as motioned him to climb into the side car on her motorcycle.
As he climbed in and looked at Ralts with a concerned look on his face, Jenny turned towards him...
"Don't worry, we'll be at the Pokémon Center in no time" Jenny said as she revved the engine and sped back to town, Alex couldn't help but yell "whoa" as he held onto Ralts tightly.
As they sped through the town, Jenny quickly spotted the Pokémon Center. As Jenny drove up to it, a couple trainers were coming out of the Center; Jenny seized the opportunity, sped up and zoomed right through the open doors. She hit the brakes and they stopped right in front of the front desk.
"We do have a parking lot you know" Nurse Joy said in a rather annoyed voice.
"No time for that, we got an emergency on our hands" Jenny replied.
"Please Nurse Joy, you gotta help us" Alex said as he got out of Jenny's side car and showed Ralts to her.
"Oh my goodness, Chansey bring me a stretcher quickly" Nurse Joy said urgently.
A pair of Chansey appeared with a stretcher as Joy took Ralts from Alex and gently placed her on the stretcher. They quickly made their way into the emergency room as Alex looked on with a look of worry and concern on his face. Jenny placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't you worry now, your friend is in good hands" Jenny tried to reassure him.
"I'll be right back, ok" Jenny walked off as Alex took a seat.
After a few minutes, Jenny returned with a first aid kit.
"Let me see your arm" she said.
"Huh, how come?" Alex asked with a confused look on his face.
"We better get that cleaned and bandaged up before it gets infected"
Alex looked at his arm; he had completely forgotten that he had been bitten earlier. Looking over himself he also had a couple scrapes on his legs, a cut on his right cheek, and a bruise on his side from when he tripped trying to avoid the Mightyena's attacks.
Jenny opened the kit, pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and a white cloth. As she slowly poured some disinfectant on the cloth, she said,
"Ok now hold still, this might sting a little bit".
She then began to gently go over the bite mark with the cloth wiping away the dirt and cleaning it out, Alex closed his eyes as he felt the stinging from the disinfectant doing its job.
"So tell me, what happened back there?" Jenny asked him as she poured a little more disinfectant on the cloth and worked her way to the bottom side of his arm.
Alex took a deep breath and began to tell her what had happened; how he found Ralts lying in the woods hurt, how they got attacked by a Poochyena which is how he got bitten, and what happened at the road with the Mightyena and his uncle just before he ran into her.
"Wow, sound like you have had quite a busy day" Jenny said as she finished wrapping up his arm and putting band-aids on the scrapes on his legs.
"There we go, we're all finished" Jenny said as she closed the first aid kit and placed a band-aid on his cheek.
"By the way, what's your name?"
"My name's Alex" he said as he looked up at her.
She smiled at him and said "It's nice to meet you."
"Where are your parents?" she asked him.
"My mom and dad are back at my Uncle Matt's house and I think my uncle is still fighting those Mightyena" he said to her.
"Ok, I'm going to see if I can find your uncle. Stay here ok."
"Ok, Officer Jenny" Alex said as Jenny made her way to her bike which was still parked right at the front desk.
"Growlithe, Come on out" out of the pokeball's light a Growlithe appeared next to Alex, "I need you to stay here and keep an eye on this boy for me, ok" the Puppy pokemon nodded its head "I'll be back soon" she said as she drove off. Alex took a seat and Growlithe sat on the floor next to him.
Meanwhile...
"Alright you guys lets finish this, Ace use Close Combat and Ginger use Return" Matt commanded.
Ace and Ginger both prepared to launch their attacks but before they could finish, the two Mightyena ran back into the forest with their Poochyena right behind them.
"Good job you guys, remind me to get you guys a treat when we get home" Matt said as he returned his pokemon to their pokeballs.
"I wonder if Alex made it to the pokemon center alright" he thought to himself.
As he turned around to make his way to town Officer Jenny came speeding down the road. Matt waved Jenny down,
"Excuse me I'm looking for my nephew, did you see a little boy carrying a Ralts anywhere?" he asked.
"Is his name Alex?" Jenny asked.
"That's him, is he alright?"
"Don't worry he's fine, he's at the pokemon center. Climb in" she said as she turned her bike around. He got in and she sped back into town.
Back at the pokemon center, Alex was still waiting to see if Ralts was going to be ok. He stared at the emergency room door for what felt like forever. Suddenly, Growlithe jumped onto the bench he was sitting on and put a paw on him, Alex turned and began to pet it on the head. The Puppy pokemon returned the favor by giving him a lick on the cheek before lying next to Alex, placing his head on Alex's leg.
"Thanks, I needed that" he said as he continued to pet Growlithe on the head.
"Alex, you ok?" Alex heard a familiar voice.
He turned and saw his uncle with Officer Jenny right behind him. He ran over, buried his head into his uncle's shoulder and started to cry.
"It's ok Alex, you did a good job" Matt said as he held his nephew tightly.
Growlithe ran over to Jenny, "Good boy, thanks for your help" she said as she patted him on the head before returning him to his pokeball.
"Thank you for everything Jenny" Matt said.
"You're welcome" Jenny said as she made her way out of the pokemon center. Matt walked to the bench and sat down as he wiped the tears from nephew's eyes.
"I'm really proud of you Alex; Jenny told me what you told her on the way down here" he said, "You showed a lot of courage out there today."
Alex looked at him and embraced him again as tears began to fall down his cheeks. Matt held him and after a few minutes, he started to calm down.
"Ok, I gotta go call your parents and let them know what's going on. I'll only be a few minutes, ok" Matt said as he got up.
Alex wiped his tears away and nodded. As Matt walked to where the phones were, Alex started to wonder how Ralts was doing and if she was going to be ok. Matt picked up the phone and dialed his sister Kristine, Alex's mother, cell phone.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hey sis, it's Matt" he said to her.
"Matt... where are you?"
"At the pokemon center"
"What are you doing there? I thought you and Alex were taking a walk in the woods"
"Well we were, but something came up"
"Are you both alright? What happened?"
"Don't worry we're fine, Alex is a little bandaged up but he's doing alright"
"Bandaged..... What happened?!"
"Cool your jets, he's just fine. Grab Scott and get down to the pokemon center, I'll explain everything"
"Alright, we're on our way." Kris said as she hung up the phone.
"Who was that honey?" Kris turned and saw Scott walk up.
"It was Matt, we need to get to the pokemon center right now" she said.
"Did something happen?" he asked.
"Matt said he would explain when he got there" she answered. As they made their way to the door; Amanda walked up.
"You two going somewhere?" she asked.
"We're just going into town; can you watch Emily and Andrew for us?" Scott answered.
"Sure, is everything alright?" Amanda asked with a confused look on her face.
"Yeah everything is fine" Scott said as they walked out to the car.
After a twenty minute drive they arrived at the pokemon center. They rushed inside and found their son sitting on the bench outside of the emergency room.
"Alex, there you are"
"huh..." he turned and saw his parents.
"Mom... Dad... what are " before he could finish, his mother grabbed him and held him tightly against her.
"We were so worried... are you ok?" she asked him frantically.
"He's just fine, no need for you to be in 'Frantic-Mommy' mode" Matt said jokingly as he walked up to them.
Kristine turned towards him with an irritated look on her face. Scott tapped her on the shoulder.
"Kris, you might want to let go... I don't think he can breathe" he said as he pointed down at his son.
"Oh, sorry sweetie" she said loosening her grip as her son gasped for air.
"We're going back to the house and Uncle Matt is going to explain himself, isn't he" she said as she looked at Matt with an irritated look on her face again.
"No" Alex said as he got free of his mother's embrace.
They all stared at him with a look of shock on their faces.
"I'm not leaving" he exclaimed.
Before anyone could say anything else, the light above the emergency room switched off and Nurse Joy appeared thru the doors. Alex rushed over to her as his parents wore a look of confusion on their faces. Joy took a deep breath, and then said with a smile,
"Your Ralts is going to be just fine."
As his face light up, Alex ran through the doors as fast as he could
"Excuse me, but are you the parents of that little boy?" she asked them.
"Yes, he is our son" Scott replied.
"There is no need to worry; his pokemon is going to be just fine" she said with a smile.
"But he doesn't have any pokemon" Kris exclaimed.
"Oh, I just assumed that Ralts belonged to him. Judging by how he was acting when he arrived here, you would think she belonged to him." Joy said with a surprised look on her face.
Scott and Kris's look of confusion only grew more and more. They turned towards Matt who couldn't help but laugh.
"Take a seat you two and I'll explain everything" he said as he took a seat himself. Matt explained to them what had happened after he and Alex went for their walk together down to the last detail.
Meanwhile in the next room, Alex rushed in to see Ralts lying on a bed. She appeared to be asleep. He made his way to the bed but before he could say anything, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Nurse Joy with her finger just over her mouth.
"Shh... your Ralts is still pretty weak and looks like she has been through a lot. Right now she needs plenty of rest" she explained to him.
"I see" he said as he turned his head.
"Don't worry; you got here just in the nick of time. She's going to make a full recovery" Joy said to him in a reassuring tone
Alex let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He then pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed where Ralts was sleeping. Joy decided to leave the room and return to the front desk. As she made her way back into the lobby, Joy noticed Alex's parents and uncle talking.
"And that's exactly what happened" Matt exclaimed as he finished explaining what had happened. "I know this all seems pretty crazy but it's the truth."
"It's getting late, I think we should finish this tomorrow" Kris said with a sigh
"What about that pokemon that Alex found?" Scott asked.
"Alex is really worried about his new little friend and I think he made it pretty clear he wasn't leaving it alone here" Matt replied.
"Yeah but..." before Kris could finish her sentence
"Excuse me, if you'd like you all can spend the night here" Joy suggested
"That might actually be a good idea" Scott replied
Kris was about to open her mouth and say something.
"Relax sis, it's not like it could do any harm." Matt said with a smile.
"Honey, what do you think?" Kris asked as she turned to her husband.
"Hmm, I think we should let him stay the night then in the morning we will figure out what to do" Scott answered as Kris continued to look at him.
"Besides, I think this might do him some good" Scott put his arm around her.
"Alright" Kris reluctantly agreed
"I'm going to call Amanda and tell her what's going on." Matt said as they all stood up.
As Nurse Joy walked into the room where Ralts and Alex were to check on them, she saw Alex in the chair leaning over with his arms and head resting on the bed. She couldn't help but smile as she reached into the closet, pulled out a fresh blanket and placed it over him to keep him warm. She turned off the light and shut the door as she exited the room. Scott and Kris were coming down the hall to check on their son when they spotted Joy closing the door.
"Nurse Joy, have you seen Alex?" Kris asked her.
"Shh... They're asleep" she whispered to them.
They gently opened the door and as the light from the hall crept in they saw the figures sleeping. Scott and Kris couldn't help but smile.
"Aw, how cute" Kris said softly
"That's our boy" Scott looked at his wife
Matt came down the hall and saw them standing around outside the door. He walked up and looked in.
"Let them sleep, they've had a long day" Matt said as they gently closed the door.
"Come with me, I'll show you to your room" Joy led them to an open room.
"Good night Nurse Joy" Matt yawned as they went in get some sleep.
"Good night everyone" she made her way back to the front desk.
That night as everyone slept, Alex had a very strange dream. In the dream, he saw a Gardevoir and a Ralts in a forest together. The Ralts was playing in some flowers as a Beautifly floated by, the Gardevoir smiled as she watched Ralts play. As the Beautifly flew away, a sinister figure lurked in the bushes close by. As Gardevoir went to a Pecha berry tree and started to pick some of the fruit, they heard a slight rustling in the bushes; suddenly a large Seviper appeared and attacked the little Ralts. Ralts screamed as the massive snake attacked with its sword-like tail. It wrapped its long body around the terrified little Ralts and began to squeeze tightly, as Ralts began to scream in pain. The Fang Snake pokemon stared at the little pokemon and opened its mouth, but just before it could bring its catch up to it mouth, Gardevoir appeared and blasted the serpent with a powerful Psychic attack. As the snake was sent flying back into a tree, Gardevoir quickly grabbed Ralts and placed her by a tree.
"Keep your filthy scales off my daughter" she said as she turned to face her attacker.
"You'll pay for that" it hissed as it got up and glared at the Gardevoir.
The Seviper raised its tail and slashed at Gardevoir with a Poison Tail, as she dodged the attack her fingers began to crackle with electricity and as she landed, fired a Thunderbolt at the Fang Snake. Her attack scored a direct hit as the Seviper yelled in pain. As she finished her attack, Gardevoir raised her hands up as a ball of energy formed. As the Seviper got up she launched the ball of energy upward in the form of blue-hued electricity, it looked around but nothing happened. It charged at her and prepared to use Night Slash: but before it had a chance to connect, Gardevoir gave it another blast of Psychic. This time the Seviper flew back into a tree and broke it in half. As it raised its head it opened its mouth and fired a Dark Pulse, Gardevoir dodged it but Ralts got caught in the edge of the explosion. She screamed and landed on the ground hurt. Gardevoir looked back and saw her daughter in pain. The Seviper saw the injured Ralts as an evil smirk came across its face. It fired another Dark Pulse as Gardevoir fired another Thunderbolt to block it. The two attacks collided and exploded violently and the Seviper appeared through the smoke readying to use Poison Tail on the helpless Ralts.
As it brought its tail down, Gardevoir used Teleport to rush to her daughter's side. Ralts looked up to see her mother appear and take the attack. The serpent's sword-like tail slashed across Gardevoir's front as she screamed in pain. Gardevoir fell to the ground as the Seviper prepared to strike again, but before it could make a move a bolt of energy came down and struck it. Gardevoir looked up as her Future Sight attack finally came through. With the last of her strength, she used Psychic to pick up a piece of a fallen tree trunk and throw it at the Seviper smashing its head and finally killing it. Ralts managed to get to her feet and limped over to her mother. As tear began to form in her eyes, Gardevoir placed her hand on her daughter.
"Be strong, my darling daughter" she said as her breathing became heavier.
"Mother, you can't die" Ralts said as a tear ran down her face.
"I love you, my dear beautiful...."
Before she could finish her sentence, Ralts felt her mother's hand fall to the ground.
"Mother... Mother..." Ralts burst into tears.
Alex screamed as he woke up from his dream, breathing heavily. He had been having nightmares for several nights now but this one was completely different from any he had in the past. He got up and made his way down the hall to get a drink, as he walked he saw a figure in the dark.
"Oh, what are you doing up this early?" Nurse Joy asked as she approached him.
"I had a nightmare" he replied.
"Did you want to talk about it?" she asked
Before he could answer her, Alex suddenly started to hear someone crying.
"It sounds like someone's crying" he said.
"Crying... I don't hear anything" Joy replied with a confused look on her face.
"I know I just heard someone crying and... ", before he could finish, he heard it again.
Alex recognized it as the voice he had heard in the woods before and as he ran to find it, Nurse Joy followed closely behind him.
"Where are you going?" she asked as she followed him.
As he followed the voice, Alex found himself back in Ralts' room and found her crying. He entered the room and rushed over to her.
"What's wrong? Are you ok?" he asked.
She looked up at him and quickly embraced him as she continued to cry uncontrollably. Joy stood in the door way as Scott, Kris, and Matt came down, all with sleepy looks on their faces.
"It's six o'clock in the morning, what's going on over here?" Matt asked through his yawn.
"Sweetie, did you have another nightmare?" Kris asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Your son said he had one and was about to tell me what it was about when he said he heard someone crying, but what's strange is I didn't hear anything." Joy answered her.
"I'm telling you I heard someone crying and it was the same voice I heard in the forest yesterday" Alex said in an annoyed tone.
"Pardon me, but I would like to hear what the boy has to say" an unfamiliar voice said.
Everyone turned around and saw a gentleman standing behind them.
"Forgive me for interrupting, I was passing by and could help but hear the commotion." he said as he walked into the room.
"And who might you be?" Kris asked as she gave him an odd look.
"Of course; where are my manners, forgive me... my name is Professor John Harrison" he said very politely, "I'm a scientist, and I am an old friend of Professor Birch and of Professor Oak in Kanto. I was passing through and thought I'd stop and rest here."
"If you would young man, I would like for you to tell what you saw in that nightmare of yours and about this voice you have been hearing" he requested as he took a seat.
As everyone moved into the room and situated themselves, Alex began to tell them about the voice he had been hearing and how he it led him to Ralts back in the woods and about what he saw in the nightmare. As he finished, John was deep in thought as he processed what had just been said. Scott and Kris looked at each other with concern in their eyes. John opened his eyes,
"I think I may have an explanation, you see pokemon like Ralts and their evolved forms Kirlia and Gardevoir are highly attune to the emotions of humans and pokemon and are capable of read thoughts as well. They are also known for making a bond with someone they feel they can trust."
"Bonds?" Matt said with a curious look on his face.
"You mean like a close relationship?" Kris asked as her confused look grew.
"Not exactly, well yes and no... through their psychic powers they can form a type of link between their mind and the mind of the one they trust, generally their trainers" he explained
"So your saying, this pokemon's mind and our son's are linked..." Scott asked.
"In a manner of speaking... I believe it would be safe to say that your Ralts established a connection between your mind and its mind" John said as he looked at Alex.
"Her, not it" Alex corrected the professor.
"Oh, my apologies" he said.
"So your saying what he has been hearing is actually Ralts talking to him?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Yes, talking directly to his mind" he said as he poked at his head.
"So then, what about his dream?" Kris asked.
"When Ralts formed a psychic bond with him, she linked their minds, so to speak... I think it's possible that through that connection your son was given a glimpse into Ralts' mind." John said as he again turned towards Alex.
"So the dream I had..." Alex looked at the professor in surprise
"Was most likely a memory" John finished his sentence.
Alex looked down at Ralts, who was still in his arms. She looked up at him, she had stopped crying but he still felt a sadness coming off of her as she placed her head against his chest and continued to hold him. Alex continued to hold her as he said,
"So you're just like me..."
Ralts looked up at him again, with a confused look on her face.
"What do you mean young man?" John asked as he scratched his head in confusion.
"About a month ago, Alex was attacked by a Seviper and lost someone very close to him" Scott answered him.
"We were playing in the woods together and we got separated for a few minutes, a Seviper appeared and attacked me from the bushes. I tried to run but it was too quick for me. As it raised its tail to strike, I was so scared I couldn't move. And as it moved in, I heard someone scream "Alex, Look Out!!!" The next thing I remember was seeing Diana appear in front of me as its tail stabbed her. She yelled in pain as the snake pulled its tail out of her and as she fell to the ground it moved into bite. Suddenly, these two big black claws came out the front of its face. A Zangoose had seen the Seviper and attacked it. The Zangoose cut the Seviper's head off with its other claw and ran off. I remember there was blood everywhere as I crawled to Diana. She was in a lot of pain and I didn't know what to do, I just asked her "why?" She simply said with a smile "it's a big sister's job to protect her little brother." She didn't say anything as her hand fell to the ground. I must have passed out or something because the next thing I knew I was in a hospital." Alex felt tears form in his eyes as he finished telling his story.
"I'm so sorry for your loss" John lowered his head.
Alex closed his eyes as tears began to flow down his face, but then he felts a small hand wipe his tears away. He opened his eyes to see Ralts wiping his tears away. He looked down at her and held her close to him. Matt got up and walked over to Alex and as he placed his hand on him said with a smile,
"Why don't you two go and play outside, the adults need to talk."
"Ok..."
Alex got up and carried Ralts with him outside. As they left the room, Matt closed the door as he turned around. He looked over at Scott and Kris.
"So what are we going to do about this?" Matt sighed as he returned to his seat.
"I don't know" Scott said as he turned brought a hand to his face.
"He's not old enough to have a pokemon." Kris said as she looked at Scott
"You need to be at least ten-years old to qualify as a trainer, not to own a pokemon" Matt said as he looked at her. "Besides, given everything that's happened I really don't think he would just let that little pokemon go... not after everything that they've just been through together"
Kris was about to say something but Matt cut her off.
"Besides, have her around might do him some good" he said.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"He's lonely and needs a friend..." Matt replied
"And by the sound of it, Ralts needs a home and a family to take care of her" Nurse Joy added.
Scott and Kris looked at each other.
"O come on, just let him keep her." Matt said as he looked at them, "They need each other."
Meanwhile, Alex and Ralts walked outside and sat on a bench. The sun had begun to rise and as its light and warmth spread, a calm and gentle breeze blew by.
"So that voice I heard, that was you Ralts?" he asked.
"Melody..." she said
"Huh?"
"That's my name; my mother gave it to me."
"wow..." he said as her voice echoed within his mind.
"I miss her..."
"I know how you feel..."
He paused for a minute before he spoke again.
"Melody, I promise I'll take care of you no matter what"
She looked up at him, he smiled at her.
"You mean it?"
"I promise, so don't you worry"
She embraced him tightly as a tear ran down her cheek. He held her warmly as he felt her sadness being replaced with hope. As the two of them held their embrace, the adults made their way outside.
"Come on Alex, we're heading back to Uncle Matt's house" Kris said as she and the other adults approached them.
Alex turned to face them, "I'm not leaving Melody behind" he said to them.
"Melody?" Matt said with a curious look on his face.
"That's her name" he replied, "and I'm not leaving without her. I promised I'd take care of her."
Scott and Kris were surprised by all this. They had never seen him act like this before. They looked at each other and paused for a while. Kris sighed as Scott looked at her and gave a little smile.
"Alright Alex, if you're so determined about this..." Scott said.
Alex gave them a confused look.
"Then I guess she can come home with us" Kris finished where Scott left off.
Both Alex and Melody looked at them with a shocked expression.
"You really mean it?" Alex asked.
Both Scott and Kris nodded their heads. Melody and Alex embraced as the air began to fill with happy laughter. Tears of joy began to roll down their faces.
"Aw, isn't that sweet..." Joy said before returning to the center. John just smiled as he also returned inside. Kris brought a hand up to her face as she tried to hold back her own tears. Scott simply placed his arm around her and smiled.
"This is the first time I have seen him smile in weeks" Kris said as joyful tears began to roll down her cheek. Scott offered her a handkerchief as he continued to smile and look on. Matt let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
They eventually returned to the house and as the adults talked about the recent events, Alex and Melody ran outside with his siblings and the other pokemon and played. As the adults looked on they couldn't help but smile at the scene.
"So what do yall want to do for lunch?" Amanda asked.
"How about a picnic?" Kris suggested.
"Perfect and I know the perfect spot." Matt got to his feet as he finished his beer.
They called the kids and the pokemon inside as they finished packing for the outing. Matt led the way while everyone else followed. After about a thirty minute walk they finally arrived at their site. It was a beautiful site, a clear open spot situated by a beautiful lake. A tire swing hung from a branch on a tree stretching out over the lake. As they took in the beauty of their surroundings, Alex got the feeling he had been here before. Suddenly, it hit him.
"Wait a minute... this is where I met Melody" Alex said in a surprised voice.
Matt nearly choked as he spat out his drink, "Say what?!" he coughed.
"This is where I found Melody yesterday and where we were attacked by that Poochyena" he said as he looked at her.
The adults couldn't help but laugh a little. As the kids played down by the water with the pokemon, the adults spread out the blanket and set out the plates and bowls. Amanda called the kids over to eat; they were over in a heartbeat as they sat down and began to serve out their lunch. Scott poured pokemon food into bowls for the pokemon before serving himself some food. As they enjoyed their family outing, the Scott and Kris smiled at each other as they saw Alex eating happily next to Melody. They had their son back and a new member of the family.
After they finished eating, everyone decided to enjoy the water and do a little fishing. While Scott sat a few feet away from on the shore with a fishing rod, Kris, Emily, and Amanda sat down at the edge with their feet in the cool water with Tony and Coco relaxing next to them. Matt and the boys decided to enjoy the tire swing. Matt swung and cannon-balled into the lake, everyone laughed as he hit the water.
"Come on in, the waters great." Matt laughed as he came up for air.
Andrew swung on the tire swing and wildly jumped into the water almost landing on Matt. Alex and Melody jumped in together and splashed Matt and Andrew as they landed.
They eventually made their way back home exhausted from their day. As the sun began to set, they all decided to call it a day and go to bed. Matt and Amanda set up the futons for the kids while Scott and Kris set up the bed upstairs. And as the lights dimmed, whole house fell asleep. Alex felt himself starting to doze off, but just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt someone gently tap him on the head. Alex turned and saw Melody standing next to him.
"Melody?" he yawned
"I'm sorry" she said
He could tell she was nervous about something.
"What is it Melody?" he said in a sleepy voice.
"um... c-can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked in a nervous voice.
Alex was a little surprised at her request. He suddenly remembered when Diana first came over to his house, he had a nightmare and was feeling scared, Diana allowed him to crawl in bed with her.
"Sure" he said as he lifted the covers.
She moved to lie down next to him and as they rested their heads on the pillow, Alex couldn't help but smile as he held his new dear friend close to him as they both closed their tired eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.Chapter End Notes:I hope you enjoyed reading this. please review, rate, comment, do what ever you do
"Hey guys, good to see yall again" Matt said with a smile.
"We missed you guys" Amanda added.
"Well we all missed you too, now could you give us a hand with these bags?" Scott and Kris said practically in unison.
They laughed. "Alright alright, we're coming." Matt said as he put his nephews down.
"Why don't you kids go play outback, while your parents and us unpack the car" Amanda said as she put her niece down.
The kids ran to the backyard and found Tony, Amanda's Arcanine, and Coco, her Delcatty, playing. The kids ran over to join them. Andrew played with Tony while Emily spent time with Coco. Alex decided to side on the swing that hung from a large tree in the backyard.
"It's good to see you all again" Matt said as they placed the luggage inside.
"So how have things been for you guys?" Scott asked as he sat down on the sofa.
"Same old, same old" Matt replied as he sat in his favorite chair.
"And how are things with you guys?" Amanda asked as she took a seat.
"We're doing fine" Kris answered as she sat on the sofa next to her husband.
"How are the kids doing?" Matt asked.
"O the usual, driving us crazy" Kris replied.
Scott and Amanda laughed.
"How's Alex doing?" Matt said as he opened a bottle of beer.
A silence fell across the room as the Scott and Kris looked at one another, trying to think of what to say.
"It's been almost a month since that day. Is he doing alright?" Amanda broke the silence.
"I don't know, lately he has been kind of distant and quite." Scott said as he lowered his head.
"We sometimes hear him crying in the middle of the night." Kris said with concern in her eyes.
"It's been almost a month since Diana died saving him from that Seviper." Matt said as he finished taking a drink.
"Those two were really close weren't they?" Amanda said as she looked out the window.
"Yeah, he looked up to her like an older sister." Scott said.
"Ever since that day, he hasn't smiled once and he got scared stiff when we saw a trainer's Seviper battling another trainer's Donphan on the way down here." Kris said as she turned towards the window
"I see, guess seeing a Seviper brings back the memories of what happened to Diana." Matt said as he placed his drink on a small table.
"What are we gonna do?" Kris said as she looked at her son on the swing with a sad look on his face.
"I think I know what might cheer him up, you just leave it to me." Matt said as he got to his feet.
"What do you have in mind?" Scott said as they all looked at Matt.
"I know this terrain like the back of my hand, and there is a special spot in the forest that I think he would really enjoy." Matt said with a smile.
"It's a beautiful spot to relax in. It's also a great spot for fishing, and swimming." He added.
"That sounds like a good idea Matt" Amanda commented. "But why don't you take Ace and Ginger with you just in case" she added as she pointed at two pokeballs.
"Alright, but be careful" Kris said.
"Hey don't worry, he'll be with me after all" Matt replied.
"I know, that's why I'm worried" she responded
Scott and Amanda couldn't help but laugh. As they got up, Matt made his way to the door and asked Alex to come inside for a little bit. He got off his swing and walked over to the house while Andrew and Emily continued to play with Tony and Coco.
"Hey buddy, come with me there is something I want to show you" Matt said as he put his hand on his nephew's head.
"Ok, Uncle Matt" Alex said as he followed.
"We'll be back soon" Matt said as they made their way into the woods.
As they walked along an old dirt path, Matt looked at Alex and saw a depressed look on his face.
"So what's wrong Alex, you feeling ok?" he asked
"I'm ok I guess" he replied without as much as an upward glance.
"Don't worry, you're going to be really excited when you see what I have in store for you" Matt said as they continued down the path.
As they continued to walk along the path they started to see some pokemon going about their business. There was a Beautifly floating by some flowers. A pair of Zigzagoon playing in the grass. A Tailow and a Swellow perched on a branch cleaning their feathers. And some Seedot hanging from a tree. Further along the path a few Spinarak up in a tree while an Aipom hung from its tail right above them. Matt decided to stop by a tree to take a short break. He pulled out two bottles of water and handed on to Alex. As Matt opened his and took a drink, Alex just held his and looked at the ground.
"Hang on a sec little buddy, I gotta take a leak" Matt said as he ran off into the bushes.
Alex continued to sit there as his mind started to wonder. Memories of Diana started to fill his mind; he pulled his legs up and buried his head into his knees as tears began to roll down his face. Suddenly, he thought he heard a voice in his head. He pulled his head out of his knees and looked around. He didn't see anything and thought he had just imagined it.
"help..." a voice said weakly
He wasn't imagining things, someone was calling for help. Alex got to his feet and as he dried his tears, started to make his way to find out whose voice he was hearing. He eventually found a small clearing by a lake. There he found a Ralts lying in the grass, he could tell it was hurt badly. He made his way towards the hurt pokemon,
"Are you ok?" he asked
But the Ralts just looked up at him and didn't say anything. Alex then remembered what he was told to do when you find a hurt pokemon. Take it to Nurse Joy.
As he got to his feet with the Ralts in his arms he heard something in the bushes, a Poochyena appeared and looked at them with a smirk on its face. It started to make its way towards them and started growling. Alex backed up nervously, not taking his eyes off the Bite pokemon in front of him. As it readied to jump, Alex tripped over a rock and fell backwards dropping Ralts. The Poochyena made its way over to the injured psychic pokemon ready to make a meal out of it, but just as it was getting ready to bite, Alex picked up the rock he had tripped over and threw it hitting the Poochyena right on the side of the head. It yelped and backed off as he picked up a stick and yelled at the Poochyena
"Leave it alone!!!" Ralts looked up to see Alex standing between her and the Poochyena.
The Bite pokemon looked at Alex and bared its teeth at him, it was pissed off now; it charged at him and jumped at him with its mouth opened ready to bite him. Alex managed to bring the stick up and get it caught in its mouth but the Poochyena bit it in half and bit him on the arm. Alex yelled in pain as it bit his left arm, he swung what was left of the stick he had and hit it a few times to get it off of him but it wouldn't let go. Alex quickly picked up the rock he had thrown and hit the Poochyena in the head as hard as he could, nailing it in almost the same spot he hit before. This time it let go and ran off with its tail between its legs and a trail of blood running down its face.
Alex made his way to Ralts and picked her back up, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you", he said before making his way out of the forest.
Ralts looked up at him, she was still very scared and didn't know if she could trust this human... but for some reason, she felt safe in his arms. Alex ran as fast as he could since he didn't want that Poochyena or any other wild pokemon to come and attack them. Soon enough he could see the road just up ahead.
As they made it to the road he could see the town,
"We're almost there" he said as he took a moment or two to catch his breath.
But before he took another step, he heard a loud and angry bark from behind him. Alex turned around and saw a Mightyena and a Poochyena with blood running down the side of its face. He then realized it was the same one from before and it looked like it brought its mother. The Mightyena looked at him angrily, baring her teeth, and growling furiously. Ralts was scared and held onto Alex's shirt tightly, Alex could tell she was scared and so was he, he was tired from the fight earlier and the running he had done since then. And with no pokemon of his own, he knew there was no way he could handle a Mightyena.
Alex tried to think of a way out but he was too scared to even think straight, he just held Ralts and tried to back away slowly. But as he did the mother Mightyena opened her mouth and fired a Dark Pulse at him, it missed but the explosion caused a shard from a rock to fly up and give him a small cut across his right cheek. The Mightyena fired another Dark Pulse; Alex managed to dodge the attack but tripped and fell on his side. The Mightyena gave him a death look and started to charge at him ready to Crunch his head off, Alex tried to cover Ralts as best he could as the angry mother ran at him.
"I'm sorry, I tried my best to help you..." he said as a tear slid down his face.
The Mightyena leapt towards them...
"Ace, Mach Punch NOW!!!!!"
Alex looked up to see Ace, his uncle's Infernape, appear out of nowhere and punch the angry Mightyena right in the face. She flew back a few feet before getting up and growling at the Blaze pokemon. Alex couldn't believe his eyes.
"You alright, Alex?" a familiar voice asked
"Uncle Matt" he said as he turned around and saw his uncle standing behind him.
"Take my eyes off of you for five minutes and look what happens... What have you been up to this whole time?" Matt said as he stared at pokemon in front of him
"I gotta get to the Pokemon Center" Alex replied while trying to catch his breath.
Matt looked down at him and saw the injured pokemon in his nephew's arms. The Mightyena let out a loud howl and a second Mightyena appeared, only this one was bigger than she was.
"I guess here comes daddy" Matt said to himself as he took out a pokeball.
"You can fill me in on the details later, just get to the pokemon center... take Ginger with you" Matt said as he the ball opened, when the ball's light faded a Lopunny appeared.
"Ginger, go with Alex and make sure those two get to Nurse Joy. Ace and I will handle things here" Matt said as he turned to face the Mightyena.
Ginger nodded as they made their way down the road towards the Pokémon Center; the Mightyena saw this and grew very angry. The father opened his mouth and fired a Shadow Ball.
"Use Flamethrower" Matt commanded.
The Infernape opened his mouth and fired a powerful Flamethrower to counter the Shadow Ball. The two attacks collided and exploded violently as the father Mightyena charged at them ready to use Crunch.
"Ace, Mach Punch"
Ace's fist began to glow as he ran with incredible speed at his opponent. But just before they connected, the mother ran after and fired a Dark Pulse at Alex.
"Look Out!!!!" Matt yelled.
Alex turned and saw the attack coming right at them but before he could react, with what little strength she had left, Ralts jumped in front of him and used Protect to shield them from the attack. Alex looked at Ralts, and as she finished her move he caught her in his arms, she looked up at him, smiled and put her hand on his cheek. As the mother Mightyena readied to fire another Dark Pulse...
"Ginger, Sky Uppercut!!!!" Matt yelled, Ginger quickly moved to attack and the mother was sent flying back a few feet as Ginger punched her in the face.
"What are you waiting for?! Get going now!!!" Matt yelled at his nephew.
Alex got to his feet and made a run for the town. As the mother Mightyena got to its feet, Ginger used Bounce and landed right on it's back forcing it back to the ground.
"If you want him, you're going to have to go through me first" Ginger said as she jumped off.
The father glared at Ace, the Infernape smirked at his opponent
"Come on, unless you're afraid" he said as he dropped into a fighting stance.
The Mightyena charged at him his tail glowing brightly; it jumped and readied to hit Ace with an Iron Tail.
"Ace, dodge and use Blaze Kick"
As the Mightyena brought its tail down, Ace jumped into the air, his foot ablaze as he kicked the Mightyena in the face sending it into a tree trunk. It let out a cry of pain as it hit the tree and fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, as Alex ran towards the town, he saw something approaching in the distance... it was an Officer Jenny on her motorcycle.
"Hey, Officer Jenny" he yelled and waved one of his arms trying to get her attention.
As Jenny got closer she saw the little boy and stopped right in front of him.
"Are you alright kid?" she asked.
"I need to get to the Pokémon Center right away, it's an emergency" he said in a frantic voice.
As she looked at him, Jenny noticed the injured Ralts in his arms
"Alright kid climb in and hang on tight" she said as motioned him to climb into the side car on her motorcycle.
As he climbed in and looked at Ralts with a concerned look on his face, Jenny turned towards him...
"Don't worry, we'll be at the Pokémon Center in no time" Jenny said as she revved the engine and sped back to town, Alex couldn't help but yell "whoa" as he held onto Ralts tightly.
As they sped through the town, Jenny quickly spotted the Pokémon Center. As Jenny drove up to it, a couple trainers were coming out of the Center; Jenny seized the opportunity, sped up and zoomed right through the open doors. She hit the brakes and they stopped right in front of the front desk.
"We do have a parking lot you know" Nurse Joy said in a rather annoyed voice.
"No time for that, we got an emergency on our hands" Jenny replied.
"Please Nurse Joy, you gotta help us" Alex said as he got out of Jenny's side car and showed Ralts to her.
"Oh my goodness, Chansey bring me a stretcher quickly" Nurse Joy said urgently.
A pair of Chansey appeared with a stretcher as Joy took Ralts from Alex and gently placed her on the stretcher. They quickly made their way into the emergency room as Alex looked on with a look of worry and concern on his face. Jenny placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't you worry now, your friend is in good hands" Jenny tried to reassure him.
"I'll be right back, ok" Jenny walked off as Alex took a seat.
After a few minutes, Jenny returned with a first aid kit.
"Let me see your arm" she said.
"Huh, how come?" Alex asked with a confused look on his face.
"We better get that cleaned and bandaged up before it gets infected"
Alex looked at his arm; he had completely forgotten that he had been bitten earlier. Looking over himself he also had a couple scrapes on his legs, a cut on his right cheek, and a bruise on his side from when he tripped trying to avoid the Mightyena's attacks.
Jenny opened the kit, pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and a white cloth. As she slowly poured some disinfectant on the cloth, she said,
"Ok now hold still, this might sting a little bit".
She then began to gently go over the bite mark with the cloth wiping away the dirt and cleaning it out, Alex closed his eyes as he felt the stinging from the disinfectant doing its job.
"So tell me, what happened back there?" Jenny asked him as she poured a little more disinfectant on the cloth and worked her way to the bottom side of his arm.
Alex took a deep breath and began to tell her what had happened; how he found Ralts lying in the woods hurt, how they got attacked by a Poochyena which is how he got bitten, and what happened at the road with the Mightyena and his uncle just before he ran into her.
"Wow, sound like you have had quite a busy day" Jenny said as she finished wrapping up his arm and putting band-aids on the scrapes on his legs.
"There we go, we're all finished" Jenny said as she closed the first aid kit and placed a band-aid on his cheek.
"By the way, what's your name?"
"My name's Alex" he said as he looked up at her.
She smiled at him and said "It's nice to meet you."
"Where are your parents?" she asked him.
"My mom and dad are back at my Uncle Matt's house and I think my uncle is still fighting those Mightyena" he said to her.
"Ok, I'm going to see if I can find your uncle. Stay here ok."
"Ok, Officer Jenny" Alex said as Jenny made her way to her bike which was still parked right at the front desk.
"Growlithe, Come on out" out of the pokeball's light a Growlithe appeared next to Alex, "I need you to stay here and keep an eye on this boy for me, ok" the Puppy pokemon nodded its head "I'll be back soon" she said as she drove off. Alex took a seat and Growlithe sat on the floor next to him.
Meanwhile...
"Alright you guys lets finish this, Ace use Close Combat and Ginger use Return" Matt commanded.
Ace and Ginger both prepared to launch their attacks but before they could finish, the two Mightyena ran back into the forest with their Poochyena right behind them.
"Good job you guys, remind me to get you guys a treat when we get home" Matt said as he returned his pokemon to their pokeballs.
"I wonder if Alex made it to the pokemon center alright" he thought to himself.
As he turned around to make his way to town Officer Jenny came speeding down the road. Matt waved Jenny down,
"Excuse me I'm looking for my nephew, did you see a little boy carrying a Ralts anywhere?" he asked.
"Is his name Alex?" Jenny asked.
"That's him, is he alright?"
"Don't worry he's fine, he's at the pokemon center. Climb in" she said as she turned her bike around. He got in and she sped back into town.
Back at the pokemon center, Alex was still waiting to see if Ralts was going to be ok. He stared at the emergency room door for what felt like forever. Suddenly, Growlithe jumped onto the bench he was sitting on and put a paw on him, Alex turned and began to pet it on the head. The Puppy pokemon returned the favor by giving him a lick on the cheek before lying next to Alex, placing his head on Alex's leg.
"Thanks, I needed that" he said as he continued to pet Growlithe on the head.
"Alex, you ok?" Alex heard a familiar voice.
He turned and saw his uncle with Officer Jenny right behind him. He ran over, buried his head into his uncle's shoulder and started to cry.
"It's ok Alex, you did a good job" Matt said as he held his nephew tightly.
Growlithe ran over to Jenny, "Good boy, thanks for your help" she said as she patted him on the head before returning him to his pokeball.
"Thank you for everything Jenny" Matt said.
"You're welcome" Jenny said as she made her way out of the pokemon center. Matt walked to the bench and sat down as he wiped the tears from nephew's eyes.
"I'm really proud of you Alex; Jenny told me what you told her on the way down here" he said, "You showed a lot of courage out there today."
Alex looked at him and embraced him again as tears began to fall down his cheeks. Matt held him and after a few minutes, he started to calm down.
"Ok, I gotta go call your parents and let them know what's going on. I'll only be a few minutes, ok" Matt said as he got up.
Alex wiped his tears away and nodded. As Matt walked to where the phones were, Alex started to wonder how Ralts was doing and if she was going to be ok. Matt picked up the phone and dialed his sister Kristine, Alex's mother, cell phone.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hey sis, it's Matt" he said to her.
"Matt... where are you?"
"At the pokemon center"
"What are you doing there? I thought you and Alex were taking a walk in the woods"
"Well we were, but something came up"
"Are you both alright? What happened?"
"Don't worry we're fine, Alex is a little bandaged up but he's doing alright"
"Bandaged..... What happened?!"
"Cool your jets, he's just fine. Grab Scott and get down to the pokemon center, I'll explain everything"
"Alright, we're on our way." Kris said as she hung up the phone.
"Who was that honey?" Kris turned and saw Scott walk up.
"It was Matt, we need to get to the pokemon center right now" she said.
"Did something happen?" he asked.
"Matt said he would explain when he got there" she answered. As they made their way to the door; Amanda walked up.
"You two going somewhere?" she asked.
"We're just going into town; can you watch Emily and Andrew for us?" Scott answered.
"Sure, is everything alright?" Amanda asked with a confused look on her face.
"Yeah everything is fine" Scott said as they walked out to the car.
After a twenty minute drive they arrived at the pokemon center. They rushed inside and found their son sitting on the bench outside of the emergency room.
"Alex, there you are"
"huh..." he turned and saw his parents.
"Mom... Dad... what are " before he could finish, his mother grabbed him and held him tightly against her.
"We were so worried... are you ok?" she asked him frantically.
"He's just fine, no need for you to be in 'Frantic-Mommy' mode" Matt said jokingly as he walked up to them.
Kristine turned towards him with an irritated look on her face. Scott tapped her on the shoulder.
"Kris, you might want to let go... I don't think he can breathe" he said as he pointed down at his son.
"Oh, sorry sweetie" she said loosening her grip as her son gasped for air.
"We're going back to the house and Uncle Matt is going to explain himself, isn't he" she said as she looked at Matt with an irritated look on her face again.
"No" Alex said as he got free of his mother's embrace.
They all stared at him with a look of shock on their faces.
"I'm not leaving" he exclaimed.
Before anyone could say anything else, the light above the emergency room switched off and Nurse Joy appeared thru the doors. Alex rushed over to her as his parents wore a look of confusion on their faces. Joy took a deep breath, and then said with a smile,
"Your Ralts is going to be just fine."
As his face light up, Alex ran through the doors as fast as he could
"Excuse me, but are you the parents of that little boy?" she asked them.
"Yes, he is our son" Scott replied.
"There is no need to worry; his pokemon is going to be just fine" she said with a smile.
"But he doesn't have any pokemon" Kris exclaimed.
"Oh, I just assumed that Ralts belonged to him. Judging by how he was acting when he arrived here, you would think she belonged to him." Joy said with a surprised look on her face.
Scott and Kris's look of confusion only grew more and more. They turned towards Matt who couldn't help but laugh.
"Take a seat you two and I'll explain everything" he said as he took a seat himself. Matt explained to them what had happened after he and Alex went for their walk together down to the last detail.
Meanwhile in the next room, Alex rushed in to see Ralts lying on a bed. She appeared to be asleep. He made his way to the bed but before he could say anything, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Nurse Joy with her finger just over her mouth.
"Shh... your Ralts is still pretty weak and looks like she has been through a lot. Right now she needs plenty of rest" she explained to him.
"I see" he said as he turned his head.
"Don't worry; you got here just in the nick of time. She's going to make a full recovery" Joy said to him in a reassuring tone
Alex let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He then pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed where Ralts was sleeping. Joy decided to leave the room and return to the front desk. As she made her way back into the lobby, Joy noticed Alex's parents and uncle talking.
"And that's exactly what happened" Matt exclaimed as he finished explaining what had happened. "I know this all seems pretty crazy but it's the truth."
"It's getting late, I think we should finish this tomorrow" Kris said with a sigh
"What about that pokemon that Alex found?" Scott asked.
"Alex is really worried about his new little friend and I think he made it pretty clear he wasn't leaving it alone here" Matt replied.
"Yeah but..." before Kris could finish her sentence
"Excuse me, if you'd like you all can spend the night here" Joy suggested
"That might actually be a good idea" Scott replied
Kris was about to open her mouth and say something.
"Relax sis, it's not like it could do any harm." Matt said with a smile.
"Honey, what do you think?" Kris asked as she turned to her husband.
"Hmm, I think we should let him stay the night then in the morning we will figure out what to do" Scott answered as Kris continued to look at him.
"Besides, I think this might do him some good" Scott put his arm around her.
"Alright" Kris reluctantly agreed
"I'm going to call Amanda and tell her what's going on." Matt said as they all stood up.
As Nurse Joy walked into the room where Ralts and Alex were to check on them, she saw Alex in the chair leaning over with his arms and head resting on the bed. She couldn't help but smile as she reached into the closet, pulled out a fresh blanket and placed it over him to keep him warm. She turned off the light and shut the door as she exited the room. Scott and Kris were coming down the hall to check on their son when they spotted Joy closing the door.
"Nurse Joy, have you seen Alex?" Kris asked her.
"Shh... They're asleep" she whispered to them.
They gently opened the door and as the light from the hall crept in they saw the figures sleeping. Scott and Kris couldn't help but smile.
"Aw, how cute" Kris said softly
"That's our boy" Scott looked at his wife
Matt came down the hall and saw them standing around outside the door. He walked up and looked in.
"Let them sleep, they've had a long day" Matt said as they gently closed the door.
"Come with me, I'll show you to your room" Joy led them to an open room.
"Good night Nurse Joy" Matt yawned as they went in get some sleep.
"Good night everyone" she made her way back to the front desk.
That night as everyone slept, Alex had a very strange dream. In the dream, he saw a Gardevoir and a Ralts in a forest together. The Ralts was playing in some flowers as a Beautifly floated by, the Gardevoir smiled as she watched Ralts play. As the Beautifly flew away, a sinister figure lurked in the bushes close by. As Gardevoir went to a Pecha berry tree and started to pick some of the fruit, they heard a slight rustling in the bushes; suddenly a large Seviper appeared and attacked the little Ralts. Ralts screamed as the massive snake attacked with its sword-like tail. It wrapped its long body around the terrified little Ralts and began to squeeze tightly, as Ralts began to scream in pain. The Fang Snake pokemon stared at the little pokemon and opened its mouth, but just before it could bring its catch up to it mouth, Gardevoir appeared and blasted the serpent with a powerful Psychic attack. As the snake was sent flying back into a tree, Gardevoir quickly grabbed Ralts and placed her by a tree.
"Keep your filthy scales off my daughter" she said as she turned to face her attacker.
"You'll pay for that" it hissed as it got up and glared at the Gardevoir.
The Seviper raised its tail and slashed at Gardevoir with a Poison Tail, as she dodged the attack her fingers began to crackle with electricity and as she landed, fired a Thunderbolt at the Fang Snake. Her attack scored a direct hit as the Seviper yelled in pain. As she finished her attack, Gardevoir raised her hands up as a ball of energy formed. As the Seviper got up she launched the ball of energy upward in the form of blue-hued electricity, it looked around but nothing happened. It charged at her and prepared to use Night Slash: but before it had a chance to connect, Gardevoir gave it another blast of Psychic. This time the Seviper flew back into a tree and broke it in half. As it raised its head it opened its mouth and fired a Dark Pulse, Gardevoir dodged it but Ralts got caught in the edge of the explosion. She screamed and landed on the ground hurt. Gardevoir looked back and saw her daughter in pain. The Seviper saw the injured Ralts as an evil smirk came across its face. It fired another Dark Pulse as Gardevoir fired another Thunderbolt to block it. The two attacks collided and exploded violently and the Seviper appeared through the smoke readying to use Poison Tail on the helpless Ralts.
As it brought its tail down, Gardevoir used Teleport to rush to her daughter's side. Ralts looked up to see her mother appear and take the attack. The serpent's sword-like tail slashed across Gardevoir's front as she screamed in pain. Gardevoir fell to the ground as the Seviper prepared to strike again, but before it could make a move a bolt of energy came down and struck it. Gardevoir looked up as her Future Sight attack finally came through. With the last of her strength, she used Psychic to pick up a piece of a fallen tree trunk and throw it at the Seviper smashing its head and finally killing it. Ralts managed to get to her feet and limped over to her mother. As tear began to form in her eyes, Gardevoir placed her hand on her daughter.
"Be strong, my darling daughter" she said as her breathing became heavier.
"Mother, you can't die" Ralts said as a tear ran down her face.
"I love you, my dear beautiful...."
Before she could finish her sentence, Ralts felt her mother's hand fall to the ground.
"Mother... Mother..." Ralts burst into tears.
Alex screamed as he woke up from his dream, breathing heavily. He had been having nightmares for several nights now but this one was completely different from any he had in the past. He got up and made his way down the hall to get a drink, as he walked he saw a figure in the dark.
"Oh, what are you doing up this early?" Nurse Joy asked as she approached him.
"I had a nightmare" he replied.
"Did you want to talk about it?" she asked
Before he could answer her, Alex suddenly started to hear someone crying.
"It sounds like someone's crying" he said.
"Crying... I don't hear anything" Joy replied with a confused look on her face.
"I know I just heard someone crying and... ", before he could finish, he heard it again.
Alex recognized it as the voice he had heard in the woods before and as he ran to find it, Nurse Joy followed closely behind him.
"Where are you going?" she asked as she followed him.
As he followed the voice, Alex found himself back in Ralts' room and found her crying. He entered the room and rushed over to her.
"What's wrong? Are you ok?" he asked.
She looked up at him and quickly embraced him as she continued to cry uncontrollably. Joy stood in the door way as Scott, Kris, and Matt came down, all with sleepy looks on their faces.
"It's six o'clock in the morning, what's going on over here?" Matt asked through his yawn.
"Sweetie, did you have another nightmare?" Kris asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Your son said he had one and was about to tell me what it was about when he said he heard someone crying, but what's strange is I didn't hear anything." Joy answered her.
"I'm telling you I heard someone crying and it was the same voice I heard in the forest yesterday" Alex said in an annoyed tone.
"Pardon me, but I would like to hear what the boy has to say" an unfamiliar voice said.
Everyone turned around and saw a gentleman standing behind them.
"Forgive me for interrupting, I was passing by and could help but hear the commotion." he said as he walked into the room.
"And who might you be?" Kris asked as she gave him an odd look.
"Of course; where are my manners, forgive me... my name is Professor John Harrison" he said very politely, "I'm a scientist, and I am an old friend of Professor Birch and of Professor Oak in Kanto. I was passing through and thought I'd stop and rest here."
"If you would young man, I would like for you to tell what you saw in that nightmare of yours and about this voice you have been hearing" he requested as he took a seat.
As everyone moved into the room and situated themselves, Alex began to tell them about the voice he had been hearing and how he it led him to Ralts back in the woods and about what he saw in the nightmare. As he finished, John was deep in thought as he processed what had just been said. Scott and Kris looked at each other with concern in their eyes. John opened his eyes,
"I think I may have an explanation, you see pokemon like Ralts and their evolved forms Kirlia and Gardevoir are highly attune to the emotions of humans and pokemon and are capable of read thoughts as well. They are also known for making a bond with someone they feel they can trust."
"Bonds?" Matt said with a curious look on his face.
"You mean like a close relationship?" Kris asked as her confused look grew.
"Not exactly, well yes and no... through their psychic powers they can form a type of link between their mind and the mind of the one they trust, generally their trainers" he explained
"So your saying, this pokemon's mind and our son's are linked..." Scott asked.
"In a manner of speaking... I believe it would be safe to say that your Ralts established a connection between your mind and its mind" John said as he looked at Alex.
"Her, not it" Alex corrected the professor.
"Oh, my apologies" he said.
"So your saying what he has been hearing is actually Ralts talking to him?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Yes, talking directly to his mind" he said as he poked at his head.
"So then, what about his dream?" Kris asked.
"When Ralts formed a psychic bond with him, she linked their minds, so to speak... I think it's possible that through that connection your son was given a glimpse into Ralts' mind." John said as he again turned towards Alex.
"So the dream I had..." Alex looked at the professor in surprise
"Was most likely a memory" John finished his sentence.
Alex looked down at Ralts, who was still in his arms. She looked up at him, she had stopped crying but he still felt a sadness coming off of her as she placed her head against his chest and continued to hold him. Alex continued to hold her as he said,
"So you're just like me..."
Ralts looked up at him again, with a confused look on her face.
"What do you mean young man?" John asked as he scratched his head in confusion.
"About a month ago, Alex was attacked by a Seviper and lost someone very close to him" Scott answered him.
"We were playing in the woods together and we got separated for a few minutes, a Seviper appeared and attacked me from the bushes. I tried to run but it was too quick for me. As it raised its tail to strike, I was so scared I couldn't move. And as it moved in, I heard someone scream "Alex, Look Out!!!" The next thing I remember was seeing Diana appear in front of me as its tail stabbed her. She yelled in pain as the snake pulled its tail out of her and as she fell to the ground it moved into bite. Suddenly, these two big black claws came out the front of its face. A Zangoose had seen the Seviper and attacked it. The Zangoose cut the Seviper's head off with its other claw and ran off. I remember there was blood everywhere as I crawled to Diana. She was in a lot of pain and I didn't know what to do, I just asked her "why?" She simply said with a smile "it's a big sister's job to protect her little brother." She didn't say anything as her hand fell to the ground. I must have passed out or something because the next thing I knew I was in a hospital." Alex felt tears form in his eyes as he finished telling his story.
"I'm so sorry for your loss" John lowered his head.
Alex closed his eyes as tears began to flow down his face, but then he felts a small hand wipe his tears away. He opened his eyes to see Ralts wiping his tears away. He looked down at her and held her close to him. Matt got up and walked over to Alex and as he placed his hand on him said with a smile,
"Why don't you two go and play outside, the adults need to talk."
"Ok..."
Alex got up and carried Ralts with him outside. As they left the room, Matt closed the door as he turned around. He looked over at Scott and Kris.
"So what are we going to do about this?" Matt sighed as he returned to his seat.
"I don't know" Scott said as he turned brought a hand to his face.
"He's not old enough to have a pokemon." Kris said as she looked at Scott
"You need to be at least ten-years old to qualify as a trainer, not to own a pokemon" Matt said as he looked at her. "Besides, given everything that's happened I really don't think he would just let that little pokemon go... not after everything that they've just been through together"
Kris was about to say something but Matt cut her off.
"Besides, have her around might do him some good" he said.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"He's lonely and needs a friend..." Matt replied
"And by the sound of it, Ralts needs a home and a family to take care of her" Nurse Joy added.
Scott and Kris looked at each other.
"O come on, just let him keep her." Matt said as he looked at them, "They need each other."
Meanwhile, Alex and Ralts walked outside and sat on a bench. The sun had begun to rise and as its light and warmth spread, a calm and gentle breeze blew by.
"So that voice I heard, that was you Ralts?" he asked.
"Melody..." she said
"Huh?"
"That's my name; my mother gave it to me."
"wow..." he said as her voice echoed within his mind.
"I miss her..."
"I know how you feel..."
He paused for a minute before he spoke again.
"Melody, I promise I'll take care of you no matter what"
She looked up at him, he smiled at her.
"You mean it?"
"I promise, so don't you worry"
She embraced him tightly as a tear ran down her cheek. He held her warmly as he felt her sadness being replaced with hope. As the two of them held their embrace, the adults made their way outside.
"Come on Alex, we're heading back to Uncle Matt's house" Kris said as she and the other adults approached them.
Alex turned to face them, "I'm not leaving Melody behind" he said to them.
"Melody?" Matt said with a curious look on his face.
"That's her name" he replied, "and I'm not leaving without her. I promised I'd take care of her."
Scott and Kris were surprised by all this. They had never seen him act like this before. They looked at each other and paused for a while. Kris sighed as Scott looked at her and gave a little smile.
"Alright Alex, if you're so determined about this..." Scott said.
Alex gave them a confused look.
"Then I guess she can come home with us" Kris finished where Scott left off.
Both Alex and Melody looked at them with a shocked expression.
"You really mean it?" Alex asked.
Both Scott and Kris nodded their heads. Melody and Alex embraced as the air began to fill with happy laughter. Tears of joy began to roll down their faces.
"Aw, isn't that sweet..." Joy said before returning to the center. John just smiled as he also returned inside. Kris brought a hand up to her face as she tried to hold back her own tears. Scott simply placed his arm around her and smiled.
"This is the first time I have seen him smile in weeks" Kris said as joyful tears began to roll down her cheek. Scott offered her a handkerchief as he continued to smile and look on. Matt let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
They eventually returned to the house and as the adults talked about the recent events, Alex and Melody ran outside with his siblings and the other pokemon and played. As the adults looked on they couldn't help but smile at the scene.
"So what do yall want to do for lunch?" Amanda asked.
"How about a picnic?" Kris suggested.
"Perfect and I know the perfect spot." Matt got to his feet as he finished his beer.
They called the kids and the pokemon inside as they finished packing for the outing. Matt led the way while everyone else followed. After about a thirty minute walk they finally arrived at their site. It was a beautiful site, a clear open spot situated by a beautiful lake. A tire swing hung from a branch on a tree stretching out over the lake. As they took in the beauty of their surroundings, Alex got the feeling he had been here before. Suddenly, it hit him.
"Wait a minute... this is where I met Melody" Alex said in a surprised voice.
Matt nearly choked as he spat out his drink, "Say what?!" he coughed.
"This is where I found Melody yesterday and where we were attacked by that Poochyena" he said as he looked at her.
The adults couldn't help but laugh a little. As the kids played down by the water with the pokemon, the adults spread out the blanket and set out the plates and bowls. Amanda called the kids over to eat; they were over in a heartbeat as they sat down and began to serve out their lunch. Scott poured pokemon food into bowls for the pokemon before serving himself some food. As they enjoyed their family outing, the Scott and Kris smiled at each other as they saw Alex eating happily next to Melody. They had their son back and a new member of the family.
After they finished eating, everyone decided to enjoy the water and do a little fishing. While Scott sat a few feet away from on the shore with a fishing rod, Kris, Emily, and Amanda sat down at the edge with their feet in the cool water with Tony and Coco relaxing next to them. Matt and the boys decided to enjoy the tire swing. Matt swung and cannon-balled into the lake, everyone laughed as he hit the water.
"Come on in, the waters great." Matt laughed as he came up for air.
Andrew swung on the tire swing and wildly jumped into the water almost landing on Matt. Alex and Melody jumped in together and splashed Matt and Andrew as they landed.
They eventually made their way back home exhausted from their day. As the sun began to set, they all decided to call it a day and go to bed. Matt and Amanda set up the futons for the kids while Scott and Kris set up the bed upstairs. And as the lights dimmed, whole house fell asleep. Alex felt himself starting to doze off, but just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt someone gently tap him on the head. Alex turned and saw Melody standing next to him.
"Melody?" he yawned
"I'm sorry" she said
He could tell she was nervous about something.
"What is it Melody?" he said in a sleepy voice.
"um... c-can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked in a nervous voice.
Alex was a little surprised at her request. He suddenly remembered when Diana first came over to his house, he had a nightmare and was feeling scared, Diana allowed him to crawl in bed with her.
"Sure" he said as he lifted the covers.
She moved to lie down next to him and as they rested their heads on the pillow, Alex couldn't help but smile as he held his new dear friend close to him as they both closed their tired eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.Chapter End Notes:I hope you enjoyed reading this. please review, rate, comment, do what ever you do