Beyond the Adventure - A Pokémon Story

Chapter 15: Reach Up to the Universe pt2

                We arrive at the hotel and are greeted by the man behind the counter.  He is well dressed; a blue suit and red tie, similar to how Steven was dressed.  He smiles as he greets us warmly.  “Welcome to the Mossdeep Hotel,” he says.  “How may I assist you?”

                “Ah, yes,” I start, “Mr. Stone is not alone.”

                The well-dressed man’s smile grows and his eyes widen.  “Yes, sir!” he says, excitedly.  “How many are in your party?”

                “Three,” I say.

                “Gotcha,” he says, tapping away at the keyboard of his computer.  “How does the penthouse sound?  Top floor, perfect view of the ocean, and three bedrooms.”

                Jess gasps and nudges me.  “Yes!” she whispers, loud enough for pretty much everyone in the lobby to hear.  “Tell him ‘yes’!”

                I clear my throat and nod.  “Yes,” I say.  “That will be fine.”  I look back at Jess, who seems positively thrilled, hopping in place.  “I like the old Jess better,” I joke.

                Jess stops and glares at me.  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she growls.

                “Hey, there she is!” I grin.  She just folds her arms and glares at me.

                Darius looks intently out the door of the lobby.  He slowly takes his bag off his back and hands it to Jess.  “Here, take my bag upstairs, please,” he says, seemingly entranced.  Jess frowns, but takes his bag.  Darius walks out the door, leaving the three of us behind, confused.

                I take my bag off and hand it to Jess too.  “Hey!” she growls.  “Do I look like a bellhop?!”  I ignore her and head after Darius.  As I leave through the doors, I hear the hotel clerk tell Jess the keys are ready and Jess yell in anger, followed by the sound of all our bags hitting the floor.

                I spot Darius off in the distance, disappearing down a hill toward the beach.  When I reach the hill, Darius is nowhere to be seen.  I see a few people playing in the ocean, a few sunbathers, and a man playing fetch with his Poochyena.  Just off to the left of me, I see the little thicket of trees I noticed earlier.  I head toward it, wondering if Darius went in there.  I enter and look around.  Just entering it feels surprisingly cozy, like a little hideaway from the world.  It is shaded from the sun, with enough space to comfortably walk through.  The ocean waves wash through the large roots, soaking my shoes.  I find myself wondering if any Pokémon live in here, when out of the corner of my eye, I spot a glimpse of Darius’ shirt.  I slowly make my way toward him.  He is sitting on a large root, staring off into the trees.  I move up to him and gently place a hand on his shoulder.  “Are you okay?” I ask.

                He jumps, startled.  He looks at me, then sighs.  “Yeah, I’m all right,” he says.  “I just wanted to be alone for a bit.  Clear my head.”

                “I can go, if you want,” I say.

                Darius shakes his head.  “Nah, come and sit.”  He scoots aside, making room on the root for me.  I sit and we look off into the trees together.  He then starts talking.  “You know, this journey has changed my perspective on life.  Growing up as some spoiled rich brat, I thought nothing could touch me.  I was going to live forever.”  He looks up to the sky.  “That’s all changed.  I now know nothing lasts forever.”  I start wondering where he is going with this, but then he confirms my guess.  “I found him in a grotto similar to this, you know.  Little Pachi.  He was so full of life when I found him.  I just knew I had to catch him.”  He lets out a short laugh.  “It was funny.  We were in Iccirus City, when it suddenly started snowing.  Pachirisu looked so surprised, like he had never seen snow before!  He started rolling around in it, throwing it in the air, even eating it.  He got so excited, he sent electric shocks through the snow, zapping me and a nearby couple.”  Darius laughs, then he looks at me.  He has tears in his eyes.  “I miss him, dude.  Why did he have to die?  Was it because I didn’t train him enough?  Is this… is this my fault?”  He buries his face into his hands and cries.