Lunar Eclipse: Part I (Pokemon)

Chapter 12

December 25, 2016

The following morning, I stared at the marshy grass at the top of Brooklet Hill for at least five minutes. Plenty of water Pokémon roamed the area, but so far now of them caught my interest. Finally, I decided to release Kaipo to help me look. I had sent Trumbeak and Helium to my PC to make room for him and the Pokémon I was about to catch.

"That's a cool Pokémon," Hau said. "Now which water Pokémon do you want to catch?"

I hesitated. The thought of getting close to any water Pokémon still made me queasy. "I – I don't know. Can't I just get used to water Pokémon by battling them? Do I really have to catch one?"

Hau smiled. "Of course you do! There's got to be a nice, gentle Pokémon you can catch. Maybe one you're familiar with from Kanto?"

I sighed. There were a few water types I remembered not being so bad. The ones that did almost as well on land as in water. "Fine; I'll look again."

My Fomantis helped me search the tall grass. Finally, I caught sight of a yellow Pokémon lying on its back, gazing at the clouds above. "Oh, it's a Psyduck!" I said. "That one might be alright to catch."

"Go for it!" Hau exclaimed.

The noise caused the Psyduck to stand up and look at us. I smiled slightly and gave it a little wave. "Hi. I challenge you to a battle. Go, Kaipo!"

The Fomantis started off with a good Leafage. The Psyduck fought back with a confusion attack, but luckily Kaipo did not appear confused. After a Razor Leaf move, the Psyduck seemed weakened enough for me to throw a Pokeball. My hand shook as I handed the sphere, but somehow I managed to hit my mark. I held my breath as the Pokeball wobbled on the ground.

The ball wobbled three times and then grew still. Hau cheered behind me while I sauntered over to the Pokeball and scooped it up. Now to name it. I thought it to be a female. "You'll be 'Melody.'" It was a nice, pleasing, name that would hopefully help me bond with her.

"Way to go, Selene!" Hau said. "I knew you could do it!"

I smiled at him. "Thanks. So... now what?"

Hau grinned. "Now we're going back to Heahea City!"

I blinked. "We're going all the way back? Why?"

"It will be easier to get used to water if you're by the ocean. Let your Psyduck out of its Pokeball so it can walk with us."

"What if she gets tired of walking? It's a long way back."

He smiled. "Then you'll just have to hold her. This is your chance to bond. Feathers and I will do it too!" He released his beautiful Datrix, who immediately took to the air.

I slumped my shoulder in defeat. "Oh, all right." I returned Kaipo and then let Melody loose. The Psyduck tilted her head to the side as she examined me. I gave her a nervous smile. "I'm your trainer now, so we're going to go on a little journey, alright?"

Melody placed her hands on her head like she had a headache. "Duck?"

I sighed. "This is going to be a long day."

The first leg of the journey proved to be uneventful. Thankfully, Melody was quiet and obviously not a trouble maker. She seemed pleased to be out and waking around. Similarly, Feathers enjoyed soaring the skies.

We stopped for a quick lunch in Paniola Town and then started down Route 4. We ran into a few wild Pokémon, giving Melody and I a chance to battle. We were both awkward at first, and I was glad Hau and Feathers were there to bail us out. We did seem to get better as we went along, which was good. I thought that maybe we just needed some time to get used to each other.