Fury and Confusion (A Pokemon Fanfiction)

Chapter Fifteen

Acerola leaned forward, fingers locked together and her gaze steady. She was only lightly sniffling now, the wetness long gone from her eyes. Lillie wanted to reach out to her, to extend a hand and support her, but found herself unable to work up the courage. Finally, after several long moments of waiting, Acerola started to speak.

"We met over three years ago. My Dad took me to Melemele to do my trial and I'd just run off without telling anyone where I was going. I thought being a pokemon trainer and taking the Trial Challenge meant that I could be my own person, that I could go wherever I want. And sure, it's only temporary, but I was fixated. I wanted that freedom. I needed it.

"Of course, first thing I did was wind up in trouble. Found myself out in the forest with just my Sandygast. It was just a Yungoos that attacked me, but my poor little ghost-type couldn't do anything to protect me. I screamed and ran, not knowing what to do. I was terrified – of a Yungoos, can you imagine?

"I wound up trapped, pressed against a tree. Sandygast was nowhere to be found – I thought he'd run off and abandoned me – but I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I picked up a rock and, when the Yungoos leapt at me, I slammed it down on its head as hard as I could.

"But I was just a little girl, you know? I hurt the little bastard, but I just made him angrier. He started gnashing and howling in a way I'd never seen any pokemon before. He bit me, leaving a long gash on my arm – you can still see a hint of it here, if you look hard enough – and I dropped that rock and started to cry.

"And then there he was. Shouting and yelling and waving his arms. He looked ridiculous. A boy – that's what he was back then. Don't get me wrong, he's gotten a lot taller since then. A boy just waving his arms and trying his damnedest to make himself look scary. The Yungoos didn't buy it, of course. It attacked him instead of me and Ilima turned tail and ran away screaming.

"If I wasn't so shocked, I would have broken down laughing. The Yungoos chased him in a circle for a good minute. A minute! And I just kind stared at them both, baffled, while I tried to figure out what was going on. Eventually though I got to my senses and I stamped my foot and yelled 'If you're gonna protect me, at least do a good job of it!'

"This had an effect, at least. Ilima turned around, smiled that awkward smile at me, and threw a pokeball."

Lillie recoiled in shock and started to ask: "You don't mean that was–"

"Yup! The very same Yungoos he has now. Little bastard warmed up to me eventually. It was Ilima's second pokemon. Apparently Ilima had left his Smeargle with his dad for whatever reason. I can't even remember why. And maybe I was impressed just a little, you know? I called him an idiot but I thanked him for saving me. Then I found my Sandygast and we parted ways.

"I didn't think I'd see him again, but then he showed up right here at this house. It was owned by the previous Trial Captain back then. Ilima told me he'd run away from home to do the Trial Challenge."

Lillie laughed. "That sounds familiar," she interjected.

"I know, right!" Acerola giggled with her for a moment. "You know, you remind me a lot of him when he was younger. He was meek, but he was strong when he had to be. He knew what he wanted and he went out and got it, even if he was terrified to all hell of what that meant. Back then he... he had a bad relationship with his dad. Ilima and I would fight over that, you know? I love my Daddy, even if he's an idiot sometimes – or all the times. However, even the thought of someone talking positively about their parents would set Ilima off. He'd sulk and sulk and I'd have to find him and calm him down.

"He said he fell in love with me that first day he met me, when he saved me. I told him he was an idiot to believe in love at first sight. Then I told him I fell in love that first day too."