Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits

Chapter 12, Part 1 - Breakdown

"AAAUGH!" Luka screamed while relentlessly kicking around a green, patched-up substitute doll inside Aiden's house a week after the meeting in the Canyon of the Ancients had concluded, "That idiot! If she would just put aside her stupid pride and honor of hers, we'd probably be halfway across the path towards the Barren Continent rather than just... sitting here, training for nothing!"

"Just give it a rest already," Aiden muttered sadly while resting nearby, "What's done is done. As much as I hate saying it, Jett's word is basically law."

Rin stubbornly shook his head. "I can't just give it a rest when it's all my fault! Jett's only so hostile towards humans because of how I let Pokémon Square get destroyed years ago!"

"Hey." Aiden gently placed a supportive paw onto the Dewott's back as he threw his scalchops downwards in dismay. "Stop putting so much blame on yourself. It's like what Madeline said before: what happened, happened. There's nothing anybody can do about it now."

Luka's eyes lit up as if he had been waiting for Aiden to say something along those lines. "What's to say we have to do what they say?" he suddenly proposed, "That Lapras you always travel with... she's fond of you two, isn't she? What's to say we can't just travel to the Barren Continent on our own?! We can-"

"What's the point?" Trevor suddenly interrupted while sitting alongside Aiden, "Even if we make it to the Barren Continent on our own, there wouldn't be a point if the Legend Ranks aren't willing to help us. And what's stopping Jett from just attacking us for acting out of line? With the way she referred to us at the meeting, it's clear she's just aching for a reason to finish what she started back at the Dawnbreak Woods..."

Aiden frowned upon witnessing Trevor's unexpectedly pessimistic attitude. "Treph? You good?"

"No, I'm not." Trevor answered firmly as his mind became overwhelmed with an unshakable sensation of doubt. "I couldn't save Zephyr, nor could I find the drive to stand up to Jett when we needed it most. I'm not ready to be the hero everyone expects of me!"

Luka abruptly flared in anger. "And so what if you're ready?! If Zephyr was right, if we really are the only Pokémon capable of resisting Dialga's influence, then why should we just helplessly watch when the world lies on the brink of ending?! What happened to the Meowth that was optimistic about saving the world earlier?! 

Trevor stood upwards and angrily faced Luka up-close. "If I couldn't stand up to Jett, then how can I be expected to keep my cool against someone as powerful as Dialga?!" the Meowth began ranting, "I can't do this! I'm can't handle all of this attention focused onto me, all of these... expectations suddenly thrust upon me simply for being human! All of this... it's far too much! Stop talking to me as if you have any idea what I'm going through! You don't know anything about-"

Luka suddenly slapped Trevor across the face, causing the Meowth to instantly cease his feverous rambling.

"You think you're the only one who's scared?!" the Dewott began shouting as Trevor recoiled from shock, "If you'd stop focusing on yourself for once, you'd see that everyone around you is just as scared as you are! Stop thinking that the world revolves solely around you and how you're feeling!"

"Alright, that's enough! Stop it, both of you!" Aiden shouted while shoving Luka back, then turning to face Trevor with a face lined with worry. "What's gotten into you, Treph?! What's brought this on all of a sudden?!"

Still reeling from the impact which Luka's palm had left on his left cheek, Trevor silently unclasped his paw to reveal a small piece of paper. With narrowing eyes, Aiden took the paper and began reading its contents, which was scrawled in messy handwriting.

"Meet us at the center-point of the Dawbreak Woods within two days if you wish to disprove your cowardice." Aiden read aloud before setting the paper down with a forceful thud. "It's from those damn Purists again- I can't believe they're still trying to lure you out after everything that's happened!"

Aiden began re-reading the message carefully. "There's no ransom this time," she remarked, "There's nothing to stop us from just ignoring this empty demand-"

"No." Luka firmly declared in response while stubbornly crossing his arms, "We let Trevor decide for himself whether or not he wants to deal with these idiots. Well?" The Dewott firmly gestured towards the Meowth, "What'll it be? Are you gonna buckle under the weight of all the attention drawn onto you, or are you gonna finally stand up for yourself and fight?!"

Trevor took the Purists' note from Aiden's paws, stared at it contemptuously, then crumpled it into a little ball. "I'm... tired of being so powerless," the Meowth began murmuring, "I'm through letting Pokémon just... shove me around without being able to do anything about it. Of everything just... passing me by as I refuse to take initiative, all because of how I let my own thoughts drag me down. If I don't face these Purists now, then I definitely won't be able to face Vul again when the time comes. I'll never possess the nerve to overcome my fear." Trevor's eyes began to glow with intensity. "We're going to the Dawnbreak Woods. We're taking these Purists down no matter what; I won't allow let Pokémon like them terrorize me anymore!"

Aiden opened her mouth as if to object, then immediately closed it upon seeing Trevor's determined eyes. "...If you think this is best, Treph," she stated warmly, "then we'll be with you all the way. Won't we Luke?"

"Yeah," Luka responded while mournfully staring out the window as if recalling a distant, regretful memory. "I... suppose we will."

Trevor briefly recalled the last time he had fought in the Sunrise Woods and felt his heart sink slightly. "Given where these Purists want us to meet..." he stated, "I think I have a good idea of who exactly these Purists are run by. If their leader is who I think it is, then..."

Trevor's voice trailed off, his heart racing at the idea of facing off against Alpha once again after several months of complete silence. Despite not having a single clue regarding what to expect, the Meowth internally resolved to cast away his doubts and face his old rival head-on for the sake of building his courage and finally grapple with the invisible chains holding him down.