PBZ: Vol. III Ch. 71

    “So, what do we do now?” asked Atlas as they stood at the shoreline.

    “I think we should make camp here for the night and continue on in the morning,” Tatsu suggested.

    “That’s a little too risky,” said Hanako as she turned to Tatsu. “I think we should leave as soon as possible. With the Tyranitar on the island and Team Rocket possibly lurking about, it’d be better for us to get off the island as soon as possible.”

    Tatsu waited for anyone to counter the argument, but no one spoke up. With a sigh, he agreed. “Very well. Let’s get going then.”

    Riviére approached the water’s edge and tossed her Poké Ball into the air. The ball snapped open and a tired Gyarados materialized. Hanako used a Full Restore on Gyarados to heal any injuries he sustained from the brief battle against the Mega Tyranitar earlier that day. Once Gyarados was brought back to full strength, they climbed onto the Atrocious Pokémon’s back and he slithered into the sea. After a few hours out on sea, large thick clouds blocked the moon and stars. The waves pushed Gyarados back and to the side, making it difficult for the trainers to hold on. Riviére tried to divert their course north in attempt to avoid the storm, but it didn’t take long for the storm to hit them. The hurricane raged as Gyarados struggled to keep afloat on the turbulent ocean. Riviére and the others held on tightly, peppered with thick rain and nearly forced off by high winds. Riviére stared fearlessly out into the dark sea in attempt to find land as the others held onto Gyarados for their dear life. After hopeful searching, she finally spotted an island to her left.

    “There!” shouted Riviére as she pointed to it and tapped on Gyarados’ head. “An island! Gyarados, swim to your left!”

    Gyarados roared in acknowledgement as the Atrocious Pokémon shifted direct and swam toward the island. After an hour of hard swimming, Gyarados finally crawled onto the shore. Riviére and the others jumped off Gyarados’ back and onto the wet sand. Tatsu reached into his bag and pulled out his PokéCaps. With a firm toss, the PokéCaps snapped open and the house appeared. Riviére returned Gyarados to his Poké Ball and they ran inside.

    Riviére shut the door behind her, the winds and rain pounding along the exterior. She shivered from the cold as she and the others tried to warm themselves up.

    “I told you that we should have just stayed on Quest Island for the night,” said Tatsu as he returned from the bathroom and handed out towels.

    “If we stayed, there was a possibility that Team Rocket could have attacked us in our sleep,” retorted Hanako as she took a towel and dried off her hair.

    “I don’t think Hanako anticipated a freak storm,” said Atlas to defend Hanako.

    Riviére finished drying her hair and started on her shoulders. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry,” she said as she walked past them and looked into the refrigerator. To her dismay, there were only Hanako’s container of berries. She frowned and closed the fridge door. “Well, looks like we don’t have any food.”

    “Oh great,” said Tatsu sarcastically.

    “I’m sure there’s food on the island,” said Hanako. “We’ll just have to go check the island after the storm.”

    “With no dinner, we might as well go to bed then,” said Tatsu. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m tired.”

    “I second that,” said Seph as he plopped onto one of their armchairs.

    The storm raged on as they all went to bed for the night. Tatsu slept on the couch while Atlas and Seph slept on the armchairs. Eve took Tatsu’s room to sleep, while Hanako fell asleep in her bedroom. Riviére stayed awake as she sat in her bedroom, looking out into the raging sea through her bedroom window. As she looked out, her Key Stone glowed faintly and Rayne materialized beside her.

    “What is on your mind?” Rayne asked Riviére as he sat beside her.

    “Tomorrow…is the anniversary…”

    Rayne’s eyes narrowed as he looked out into the sea. “Ah. I had…forgotten. It has been eight years since that night.”

    Riviére pulled her legs into her chest and she leaned forward, hiding her head behind her knees. “Rayne, why didn’t you save us? Why didn’t you save my mother and father?”

    He looked away from her, shame etched into his face painfully. He didn’t respond right away. With a sigh, Rayne placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “There was nothing I could do…Your parents were killed instantly.”

    Riviére recoiled as he touched her shoulder, tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked up at him. “You should have done something,” she said aggressively.

    “I’m sorry…There was nothing I could do,” he repeated. “Your father and mother were my family too. He and your mother shared my blood, just as you share mine. It was my failure to react quick enough to save your parents lives. I searched for you, but couldn’t find you.”

    Riviére began to sob as Rayne pulled her into a tight hug and allowed her to cry into his shoulder.

    Later that night, after Riviére had finally went to bed, the storm continued to rage outside. Out of the cave nearby the PokéCaps house, Mew floated out of the cave and looked around. It shivered and raised its arms. The Mew’s body glowed yellow and slowly, the storm clouds parted and the rain ceased. The Mew flew out of the cave happily and saw a large tree trunk floating in the ocean. To Mew’s surprise, it saw a Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour sitting on the driftwood. Using its Psychic powers, Mew lifted the driftwood and the Pokémon out of the water and set them on the beach.

    “Are you all right?” said the Mew with a feminine voice.

    “Pan pan!” said the Pansage as he and his brothers hopped off the driftwood.

    “Oh good,” she said with a sigh. “What on earth were you doing out in the sea during a storm?”

    The Elemental Monkey Pokémon explained to Mew their plight for looking for food and accidently being washed away into the sea from the ferocious storm.

    “Ah, I see,” she said as she looked around for some food. There, she spotted the PokéCaps house. She wasn’t aware of the house before, but she shrugged off the suspicion. “There. There should be some food in the house.”

    The Mew levitated toward the nearest window of the house as Elemental Monkey Pokémon walked toward her. She used her Psychic powers to open the window and she flew inside. The Elemental Monkey Pokémon climbed through the open window and walked inside. Pansage and Panpour walked passed Atlas, Seph, and Tatsu and toward the fridge while Pansear and Mew stopped beside Tatsu as he slept. Mew observed Natsu’s sword that leaned against the couch while Pansear recognized Tatsu from a few months ago. The Key Stone glowed faintly and Natsu materialized behind the couch with his arms crossed. Mew and the Pansear jumped back from shock of Natsu’s sudden and bizarre appearance.

    “Well, this is a rare treat,” said Natsu softly so he didn’t disturb the others from their slumber. “I assume that you must be Mew.”

    “I am,” said the Mew. “What are you? You aren't human.”

    “I am a gijinka. A hybrid of Pokémon and human. My soul is encased in a Key Stone; the stone on the pommel of my sword,” said Natsu as he pointed out. “Anyway, what are you doing here? What brings a Mythical Pokémon and three rare Pokémon into this house?”

    “We…are looking for food,” said the Mew nervously.

    Natsu clicked his teeth and looked into the kitchen, where Pansage and Panpour stood frozen near the refrigerator. After a moment’s silence, Natsu sighed and began to dissolve into red light particles. “Take what you will, I will not stop you,” he said, his voice echoed as he vanished.

    Cautiously, the Mew and Elemental Monkeys raided the refrigerator of Hanako’s remaining store of berries and ran outside. A few hours later, the occupants in the house began to stir. Hanako was the first to wake up and walk out of her bedroom. She sleepily went to kitchen and opened the fridge for an early breakfast. She inspected the now empty fridge and froze on spot. Hanako let out a terrified scream that awoke the entire household.

    “WHERE ARE MY BERRIES?!” she shouted at the top of her lungs as she lunged into the fridge and began to tear it apart.

    The sudden shouting awoke the others. Tatsu had to calm Hanako down after she had ripped the fridge apart in search for her berries in vain. After she calmed down, Atlas suggested that they go out looking for more berries on the island. As they all walked outside, they immediately spotted Mew and the Elemental Monkey Pokémon eating Hanako’s remaining berries. While Tatsu, Riviére, Atlas, Seph, and Eve were shocked to see a Mew eating berries casually on the beach, Hanako seemed to only concentrate on the Pansage, Panpour, and Pansear eating her berry stash. Hanako dashed forward in attempt to retrieve her berries, but the Pansage grabbed the box and fled with his brothers as Mew flew off into the distance.

    “Come back here!” Hanako shouted at the top of her lungs as she chased the Elemental Monkey Pokémon into the forest.

    “Did you see that Pokémon?!” said Seph as he looked into the sky in attempt to spot the Mew. “I think that was a Mew. Do you think it really could have been one?”

    “I think so,” said Atlas as he and Eve looked out into the sky with Seph. “I never thought I’d see one.”

    Tatsu turned away from Seph, Atlas, and Eve and looked at Riviére. She stood ankle deep in the water and showed no interest about the sudden encounter with the Mew. She dazed off into the ocean, ignoring everyone as she stared off into the distance. Tatsu found her behavior strange and walked over toward her.

    “Riviére?”

    “Huh?” Riviére looked back at Tatsu as he approached, then back at the ocean. “Oh, hey Tatsu.”

    “What’s going on?” he asked. “You don’t seem like your usual self.”

    “Oh…I’m sorry,” she said as she looked down at the water and watched it recede, then wash over her feet again. “Tatsu…Do you remember that conversation that we had in the Viridian Forest about a year ago?”

    “In Viridian Forest?” Tatsu scratched his head as he racked his brain for the memory. After a moment, he paused and looked down. “Yeah…I remember.”

    Riviére didn’t reply. She only looked out into the ocean as she thought back to eight years ago, the night her family died.