(Pokemon Sun and Moon Fanfic) A Lily Blossoms In Kanto: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The First Capture – Part 1

As rain poured down outside at night, Lusamine was roused from her slumber upon feeling the rustle of the warm figure bundled next to her beneath the sheets. She sat up in bed and pulled back the covers to spot the tense body of her youngest child. “Lillie, is everything okay?”

Her daughter shifted around in the bed so that they faced each other and apologized. “Sorry, Mommy. Did I wake you?”

“I wasn’t that deep in my sleep,” Lusamine said in a gentle tone, placing the back of her hand over Lillie’s forehead and cheek. A few hours ago Lillie had gotten the idea to sing and dance in the rain like she had seen in a movie they watched together. Misdreavus, always being one to keep an eye on the children when she couldn’t, had alerted Lusamine and she had gone out to pull her back in. Somehow she ended up joining her and they both wound up catching a cold.

But that was fine since it seemed to make Lillie happy. “Your fever has finally broken. That’s good.”

“If I’m better, should I go back to my room?” Lillie timidly asked. “I don’t want to be in the way when Daddy comes back to bed.”

“Daddy is working on an experiment with that strange little Pokémon, so he won’t be back tonight,” Lusamine said. “You know the little one that goes ‘Pew Pew’ all the time.”

“You mean Nebby?”

That earned a slight giggle from her mother. “Your father named it Cosmog, but Nebby is so much cuter. How did you come up with it?”

“I call him that because Daddy showed me a picture of a Nebula in a book and said Nebby was like one,” she said. “Daddy said that it was a good name, and Nebby seemed to like it.”

“You’re so clever.” Lusamine looked over to the clock to see that it was after midnight now. “We should go back to sleep now.”

Lillie nodded her head and then wrapped her tiny arms around her mother’s slender frame as she laid back down, clinging to her as though she didn’t want to let go as Lusamine stroked her hair to gently coax her back asleep. “Good night, Mommy.”

“Good night, my sweet Lillie.”

******

As Lusamine woke from her dream of the past, her world in the present was nothing but pain.

Every inch of her body ached. A dull throbbing pain loitered in her limbs that felt heavy. And her mind was foggy, lost as it worked to form a coherent train of thought. She breathed in and out slowly, steadily gaining awareness as her memories put themselves back into place. She remembered getting on the ferry after the photo, feeling tired, and then retiring to the room to get some rest.

How long have I been under? She needed to figure that out more than anything, but she felt hot and dizzy. Thankfully, something wet touched her forehead and spread a cooling relief through her head. She exhaled a shuddering breath and managed to open her eyes, only to find the world was a blur while a pink blob grew larger.

She focused her eyes, squinting and focusing until her vision cleared to reveal the Fairy Pokémon dabbing a wet cloth to her head. “Since you let yourself out to look over me, it must be morning then?”

Clefable, her oldest Pokémon nodded, lips pulling back into a small smile as she continued to aid her trainer.

“Where are we?” Lusamine asked. It didn’t seem like the cabin of the ferry. If anything the room was larger, and she didn’t feel the minute motion of the boat.

Lilligant came over at the prompt, having also let herself out at some point. The Flowering Pokémon held a brochure of some kind between the leaves that served as her arms. It listed the name of a hotel in Vermillion City.

Since she didn’t remember arriving, Lusamine realized she must’ve drifted off at some point then and missed when the ferry arrived, due to not being easily woken since the… incident.

“In that case, Bewear must’ve carried me while Milotic and Mismagius watched over me at night, right?” A nod from them both confirmed as much. “Help me get ready to go out.”

She couldn’t show weakness in front of her daughter, and the time they had was already limited as things stood. Since Vermillion City acted as the port for a number of islands, it had a number of shops that they could visit to get Lillie’s supplies for when she began her journey. And then she may want to visit the Gym to see how they operated, or try to catch a Pokémon of her own.

Lilligant climbed onto the bed and helped her sit up. Being so close to Lusamine also allowed her to breathe in the aroma wafting from the flower, which eased the pain somewhat. Clefable brought over her traveling bags that held her clothes and helped her sort out an outfit suitable for the walking in the city.

When Lusamine rose out of bed to go take a shower, vertigo overtook her. The world turned to liquid, rolling back and forth like waves churned by a storm. She lost her balance.

Clefable managed to catch her and helped her sit down again. “Clef-clef!”

“I have to go,” Lusamine said to what she grasped was a request to take it easy, looking down at her hands. She still found it difficult to believe that the gentle hands that lovingly embraced her daughter before in the dream had been ready to squeeze the very life out of her had the Legendary Pokémon not separated her from Nihilego. That fact that she would have enjoyed doing it at the time… it filled her with horrible shame and regret.

So much so that her hands trembled at when she considered what sort of person she had become. When she was around it, she felt so much better than she had before. Some distorted part of her relished that, along with the comfort of the thought that the beast would never abandon her as her family did. Only now did she realize how irrational she had been, how she pushed them away after her husband vanished, and how she had taken advantage of those around her.

“I only have so much time before Lillie leaves me behind,” she continued. “I need to be there for her and show her that I still care. That I’m the one who was worthy of being her mother and not—”

She barely stopped herself from finishing the slip of the tongue that would have exposed the petty feeling she felt, a tiny spark of jealousy that her daughter’s first Pokémon came from another woman who had taken on her role over the last few months. No, even before then, she couldn’t be considered either Gladion or Lillie’s mother. Wicke had all but replaced her in that respect once the spiral into madness began.

There was much she had to atone for in order to be the same woman that Mohn married. She needed to make up for everything and prove to herself that she was someone worthy of being loved by those she denounced for the sake of the beasts.

Her Pokémon exchanged a look with one another. Then Lilligant grabbed her right hand while Clefable grabbed her left. They held them between their small limbs as though to comfort her and then helped her to stand back up.

The trembling in her hands stopped. “Thank you. I’m lucky to have all of you still by my side.”

[-A Lily Blossoms in Kanto-]

Lillie found herself standing off to the side while cradling Koko’s Premier Ball in her hands within the Gold Sky Hotel, watching as Bill set up her Storage Box on the PC located there.

Since Professor Kukui had been the one who was registered her as a trainer (with the Rotom Dex acting as basically a spare ID-card), any Pokémon over the number of six that were registered as being “out” with her would normally be transferred over to the system managed in the Alola region. However, with the damage done to the Sevii Island Network Center where they communicated with one another, connecting to the Alolan system had been hindered until it could be repaired. So Bill had offered to create one for her to use until then, linked to his system.

“And done.” Bill smiled a little as she turned to face her. “I’ve only given you a single box, but that should be enough until we can connect to Alola. You shouldn’t actually need all that much box space unless you plan on doing serial collecting.”

He may have been jesting from his tone, but Lillie couldn’t help but shake her at that. She had seen her mother’s collection and was thoroughly disabused of even entertaining that thought. Though it prompted a different one that had her curious. “Um… do the Pokémon inside of the boxes stay like that forever?”

“Hmm… it depends.” He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. “As I mentioned before, there are now systems in place to stop non-native Pokémon from being released in a non-native environment. However, there are also those that allow for transfer of ownership of the boxes or to have the Pokémon released upon a trainer’s death, if there is no one to claim them. The Professors and those who are registered to maintain a system can dictate how many boxes are assigned to a trainer and can arrange for temporary release into a habitat for them.”

“You mean like Professor Kukui?”

“I believe so. The Alolan region’s system does have such a place, with an individual who has special permission to access the storage system there if I recall correctly, so it shouldn’t be an issue since very few people have the time and resources to take care of more than a handful of Pokémon to begin with. It’s usually those who are collectors like myself or sponsored by a Professor that will often have extra boxes and will use a ranch or designated habitat for them to remain active in.”

“Do you have a lot of Pokémon in the boxes?”

“Surprisingly, I don’t since I can afford to look after them, so they mostly stay unreleased.” He reached into his pocket and pulled free two Poké Balls, from which the Umbreon and Espeon she had seen in the Sevii Islands appeared. “Tenebrea and Lumen here I keep on me when I travel for my personal protection, but at the cottage are my Dragonair, Clefairy, Kadabra, Porygon-2, and the rest of the Eevee family that I’ve hatched myself.”

“Isn’t it hard to look after them all?” She had enough trouble looking after Nebby as it was. And that was when it was a little Cosmog. She hoped that Nebby was behaving for Elio as the Umbreon and Espeon looked up to Bill at that, their ears folded back and innocent eyes that Lillie felt was practiced.

He smiled and crouched down to stroke the fur on both of their heads. “Oh, they can be a handful at times, but they’re worth it. We’re more of a rather large family than anything else.”

She pondered on that when the elevator slid open with a ding. Lillie looked up on reflex since it was next to them and spotted her mother entering the lobby, looking around and taking the hotel’s grandeur into account until their eyes met. Lillie straightened up from leaning against the wall and approached her. “Mother, you shouldn’t be walking around. You need more rest.”

Lusamine shook her head once, shifting her long hair as she crossed her arms. “I’ve slept enough. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Lillie put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. “How can I not worry when we couldn’t wake you up at all? We had to contact Miss Wicke for advice. She told us to make arrangements for the hotel and let you rest for at least another day before we got on the train to Cerulean. Mister Bill had to change his schedule just for us.”

Lusamine’s eyes softened a touch at that, slightly crestfallen.

“Don’t be too harsh. If she hadn’t helped I possibly wouldn’t be here,” Bill said, rising to his feet. “Besides, it’s only a slight delay and I can use this time to check up on some connections. You two should spend this time getting used to the Kanto region if you plan on taking the Gym challenge. The Vermillion Gym isn’t too far from here.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Lusamine said, jumping on the suggestion. “That way I we can make sure that you have everything you need since we’ll be heading to Cerulean next.”

Lillie pursed her lips thin. “You should rest. I can wait until we get to the cottage and you’re better.”

“Lillie…” She reached out to brush her daughter’s cheek. “Don’t let what’s happened to me stand in the way of what you also came here for. At least this way I’ll be able to relax somewhat knowing you have a grasp on the basics.”

“Mmm…fine…” Lillie grabbed her mother’s hand and held it between her own tenderly as she stared into her eyes with as much determination as she could to get her point across. “But the moment I see that you’re pushing yourself, we’re coming back to the hotel.”

“I won’t push myself,” Lusamine promised. “Now, let’s go while we have the time and get your supplies. Then we’ll go to the Gym to see how they operate.”

******

The backpack on Lillie’s back felt a lot heavier as she walked along with her mother towards the building that the clerk helpfully pointed out as the Vermillion Gym. They had gone shopping in order to get supplies for her inevitable journey, including the standard Pokémon Refresh kit, Potions, Revives, Repels, and so on. Her mother had also gotten her the latest generation of the Pokégear, which were commonly found around Kanto and the neighboring Johto region. She’d need to go over all of the functions later tonight, but she should be able to figure that much out on her own.

The clerk had said that they couldn’t miss the Gym once it came into view. Lillie had to agree that the building definitely stood out, what with the lightning bolts crossing one another to form an arch over the entrance. She supposed that it was decorated in that manner to ensure that whoever was looking for it could find it, but it still struck her as a bit grandiose.

“Are you nervous?” her mother asked.

Lillie closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded her head. “I don’t know what to expect, so it’s a little unnerving. But I’m fine.”

Steeling herself, Lillie walked into the Gym and the lobby that awaited them there. It was rather plain-looking at a glance, with seats to the left and a desk to the right. Behind the desk was a woman with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing what looked to be army clothes and boots.

“Greetings,” the woman said, rising to her feet from the desk. “Are you here for the Gym Challenge? I’m afraid that another challenger has gone ahead of you and until they leave, you’ll have to wait until they’re done.”

“Actually, I’m new to this region and I was hoping to understand how the Gym system worked, Miss…”

“Sendou,” she said. “I’m a Gym Guide, as appointed by the League to both monitor the condition and conduct of the Gym, as well as aid trainers in knowing what to expect. I’ll be happy to explain things, but can you tell me what do you know so far?”

“That Gyms are essentially places where trainers can either come to improve themselves under the guidance of a Gym Leader or challengers can attempt to earn a badge from the Gym Leaders by defeating them in battle—eight of which will permit you to challenge the Elite Four in order to become the current Champion.” Lillie understood that much at least. Professor Kukui had been planning on making a League in Alola for some time and she had been around to see Elio claim the title of Alola’s Champion.

Miss Sendou nodded. “Upon entering, a Gym Guide such as myself will check the number of badges you possess and inform the Gym Leader, who will scale appropriately to ensure that you are challenged without being completely overwhelmed. If you are successful, then you’ll earn a badge as well as prize money. Or course, first you have to reach the Gym Leader to challenge him.”

“Do we not simply challenge them?”

“A Gym Leader has the authority to customize their Gym in certain ways, provided they are approved by the Pokémon League to ensure that they do not cause any permanent harm to anyone. They usually present something of a puzzle in order to add to the difficulty, ensuring that the trainer themselves are don’t simply coast using their Pokémon’s raw strength. In the case of this Gym, the Lieutenant has something of an electric puzzle set up and the challenger has to solve it in order to reach the arena within a reasonable timeframe. If you’re new, I should assume you don’t have any badges at all?”

Lillie shook her head. “I don’t.”

“Then he’d face you with a No-Badge team of two Pokémon.”

“But I only have one right now,” Lillie said. “Will that be a problem?”

“I would advise you to at least have two or more Pokémon before attempting to challenge the Lieutenant. Though he scales appropriately, you’ll still be facing off against two of the Gym’s Pokémon with one, whom are very experienced in battling. And he tends to be rather heavy-handed when it comes to all challengers, which is the reason very few trainers actually choose to face him for their first Gym.”

“I see…” It was more like an Island Trial than she thought with the puzzles. “I guess I should capture a second Pokémon first, shouldn’t I?”

“I’d recommend a Ground-type.” Miss Sendou went over to the desk again and began to operate with the computer. “Let’s see… Sandshrew can be found often in Route 11, and Diglett can be found in the tunnels on that route.”

“I understand.” She supposed it would be best to capture one if possible before attempt to match the Gym Leader. “I’ll go and try to capture a second Pokémon first.”

“Fair warning, the Lieutenant does have countermeasures against the local ones since he doesn’t like it when trainers simply try to coast by using fresh captures, so you’ll have to be clever if you face him with them,” she said. “If you want more experience with combat, or to get a feel for the sort of challenge you’ll face, you can also try challenging a Gym Trainer if they’re available.”

“I think I will.” Lillie gave her a brief bow in gratitude. “Thank you for the advice.”

“Not a problem. Good luck with your capture.”

******

Roughly an hour later, Lillie and her mother made it to the start of Route 11 that began at the end of the river that flowed from the sea until it reached just opposite of the entrance to the Diglett’s Cave.

It was one of the designated routes that were often traveled by trainers as they went about their way and thus a relatively well-trodden dirt path, consisting of mostly tall grass that grew in great abundance, with some patches that rose up to Lillie’s waist. The border of her vision to the left and right were thick trees, natural barriers that no doubt hid their own selection of Pokémon from prying eyes.

They couldn’t travel too far from Vermillion City if they wanted to get back by nightfall. Her mother needed her rest and Lillie didn’t want to add to the stress she was under, so she didn’t intend to push too far ahead. Still, there was an unnerving sense of excitement in her body as it would be the first time she went exploring with the intention of catching a Pokémon without Repels.

Lillie watched as a Krabby that was on the shore scuttle back into the water while a group of Pidgey took flight overhead towards the trees far back. Looking at how far the grasslands stretched and were only broken by the dirt path, she couldn’t help but wonder how long it was going to take to find a Sandshrew among the grass.

That was what she decided to try and catch instead of a Diglett, since she couldn’t see in the cave and the Mouse Pokémon would be more mobile. Off the top of her head, she only knew that they were around this route. But which part was hard to discern unless she knew a little on what a Kantonian Sandshrew’s habitat was and how active they were at this time of day. She looked over her shoulder to her backpack. “Rotom, are you awake now?”

There was a shuffling in her bag before the living Pokédex emerged from the opening and floated around to the front. I am now, User Lillie, zzt.

“Just calling me Lillie is fine,” she told it. “Do you have any information on this region’s variant of Sandshrew?”

The screen shifted as Rotom accessed the database and then displayed an image of the region’s variant. Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. It burrows and lives underground, only emerging to hunt for Bug-type Pokémon. If threatened, it curls itself up into a ball for protection and can roll at high-speeds. It dislikes water.

“If it dislikes water then it’ll be further away from the river,” Lillie said as Rotom presented extra data like its footprints and the average size of their species. “But finding a burrow may take a while.”

“I’ll help you find one since you’re pressed for time.” Lusamine pulled out one of her Ultra Balls and held it forward in her palm. “Bewear, come out.”

The ball opened and light speared out. The Strong Arm Pokémon emerged and stretched its thick arms up into the air with a yawn. Then it embraced Lusamine and lifted her into a hug. That was normally risky since its species ran the risk of using too much force and breaking the spines of their trainer. But hers was well-trained to control its strength and wouldn’t harm her, even as it spun around in circles as if overjoyed that she was up and well.

“I’m happy to see you too,” Lusamine said as she brushed her hands along its head. “But first things first. We need your help in finding a Pokémon, okay?”

Bewear set her down and stood at attention, giving her a salute. Rotom flew closer and showed it the image on display. It placed its paw to its muzzle as it gazed at the picture with a dull look for a few moments. Then it fell onto all fours to sniff the ground.

Lillie reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out Koko’s ball. Even with her mother helping her in this instance, she was the one that should try to capture it properly when found. The miniaturized ball expanded into its active state with one press of the button and then popped open with the second, releasing the Alolan Vulpix.

“Vullll…” Koko yawned and brushed her head with her forepaw before sitting upright. Settling her gentle blue eyes on her trainer, her tails flicked up and the air grew a tad cooler. “Pix?”

“Morning, Koko.” Lillie crouched down and gently ran her fingers back and forth over her head, ignoring the slight chill in the air. “Did you sleep well?”

Koko nodded and leaned into the touch until Bewear’s large presence became known to the Fox Pokémon as it rose to its full height and cast a shadow over the rather small fox. Bewear, now standing on its hind legs, began running ahead and into the tall grass. A Spearow vacated the shaking grass, taking flight with quick beats of its short wings, and an Ekans slithered out afterwards, clearly agitated as it spared them a spiteful look before heading away. It must’ve been hunting.

To Lillie’s surprise, Bewear came running back with a Pokémon held in its paws, raised above its head. It was flailing around but unable to escape until the Bewear came to a stop in front of them and held out its prize proudly. It… wasn’t a Sandshrew.

No, what it had in its hands was a dark, two-legged creature roughly a foot tall. Its arms led to a pair of claws and its eyes were gemstones. There were differently-colored ones around its chest and backside as well.

Lusamine shook her head as she looked at the Darkness Pokémon. “That’s not a Sandshrew, Bewear. It’s a Sableye.”

“Waaa…” Bewear frowned as it unceremoniously dropped the Sableye and then fell onto its hind. A soft whine left its mouth as it held its paws to its muzzle dejected until Lusamine gently patted it on the head.

“You’ll do better next time,” she said to it in a soothing manner as she looked at the Sableye that rubbed its backside as it stood up. “Still, I don’t think Sableye are native to this area.”

“Saaa. Sableye,” it said in response, eyeing the women.

He says that he was chasing down a Zzzandshew for his trainer when Bewear grabbed him, Rotom helpfully translated. The Sableye gestured towards it and made a curious sound. Yes, I am a Pokémon, zzt.

“We’re sorry, Sableye,” Lillie told it—him. Bewear must’ve caught the scent of it on him and then picked him up instead. “Do you think that it’ll still be there?”

The Darkness Pokémon shook his head and, through Rotom, stated that its trainer had used some kind of radar to find it, only for it to run. By now it would be long gone.

Lusamine tapped her chin in thought with her hand that wasn’t petting the Bewear. “Do you think that your trainer would allow us to use it and get an idea of where we can find them? We’re pressed for a bit of time as the moment and would greatly appreciate it.”

The Sableye shrugged his shoulders and then gestured for them to follow as he trudged off to the northeast, beyond a veil of tall grass. Lusamine, Bewear, Lillie, and Koko followed after him through the grass until they emerged by the woodlands to the north. There they found a girl laying on the ground unconscious, a Pokémon that Lillie identified as a Drowzee standing over her with its trunk pressed against her head, eyes upturned in happiness and a smile on its lips.

The Sableye growled audibly at the sight and then rushed forward to take a swipe at it with his claws. The Drowzee was knocked away and onto the ground, unsure of what hit it until it noticed the Darkness Pokémon standing over the girl protectively and bearing his razor-sharp teeth. It wheeled around and ran past the line of trees and into the woodlands, scrambling away from them. Sableye let it go and instead tried to rouse the girl there by shaking her to no success.

Lillie crouched down next to the Sableye and turned the girl over. Her skin was pale and she had jet-black hair that was in bound into twin, poofy pigtails by two red hair bows. There were no signs of physical injury though. “I don’t think it hurt her.”

“She looks rather young, so I imagine that it wanted to eat her dreams and used Hypnosis to put her to sleep,” Lusamine said. “Children tend to be more susceptible to the hypnotic waves it uses and aren’t easily roused. It could be hours before she wakes naturally.”

The Sableye jolted at that, before coming over to both her and Lillie and pointing to his trainer while looking to Rotom to translate what he said next.

Rotom obliged. He’s asking if we can take her back into the city with him to make sure nothing bad happens to her, zzttt.

Lillie closed her eyes in thought for only a moment. Then she nodded and turned to her mother. “Mother, let’s take her back with us to Vermillion City.”

“I’m not against it, but if we help her go it would be irresponsible to leave her until she wakes up,” Lusamine answered. “That could be well until nightfall and Sandshrew are diurnal from the sound of it. You won’t be able to catch one then.”

“Nmm…” A low hum left Lillie’s throat at that. But seeing the unconscious girl and how the Sableye had now clasped his hands like he was praying towards them, she shook her head. She couldn’t just leave someone unconscious here. The professor didn’t leave her stranded on that beach after she passed out and neither would she. “Seeing to her is more important. I’ll have more time when I start my journey.”

“You’re such a good girl.” Lusamine sighed heavily and then reached for Bewear’s ball along with another one and handed them over to her. “It can’t be helped, but at the same time I don’t you to lose this chance. So I’ll let you continue to search with Bewear while I take the child back with me to the Pokémon Center. You shouldn’t have any trouble around these parts with your little fox and Bewear, but just in case take Mismagius’ ball as well. She doesn’t like being out when it’s daytime, but if you end up in an emergency she’ll help you.”

“Is that really okay?” Lillie asked. “Will you be able to make it back on your own?”

“You’re sweet to worry, but I’m not helpless,” Lusamine said as she took the child into her arms. “I have my other Pokémon with me and I’m sure her Sableye will make sure nothing harasses me on the way while I have her.”

The Sableye nodded at that.

“…Okay,” Lillie reluctantly agreed. “I’ll catch a Sandshrew and then head to the Pokémon Center.”

“If you aren’t back by nightfall, I’ll have Clefable looking for you.” She turned to Bewear. “Bewear, do you still have the scent?”

Bewear, whose attention was on the trees, perked up when it heard its name being called and nodded enthusiastically at the question.

“Then help Lillie find one and keep her safe,” Lusamine ordered. “Be a good girl for her.”

The Strong Arm Pokémon saluted once more. “Beweaoo!”

Then she was off, leaving Lillie, Koko, Rotom, and Bewear to watch as she left with the girl and Sableye.

Lillie took a deep breath to center herself. There was no one else around to help her this time. No professor, Elio, or her Mother—well, there was her Mother’s Pokémon. But she was on her own this time. “Okay, let’s go.”

Koko responded with enthusiastic hop. “Vul!”

Bewear… was already moving ahead, into the woodlands as she followed her nose.

“Wait up, Bewear!” Lillie called as she chased after her Mother’s Pokémon, with Rotom and Koko following after her

 

 

February 18, 2017 | Categories: Fanfiction, pokemon | Tags: Alolan Vulpix, Astra, Lillie pokemon, Lusamine, pokemon fanfic, Pokemon Sun and Moon fanfic, Rotom Dex | 1 Comment