The Professor's Secret

4. The Lonely Deerling

"Are you sure... Are you sure it's okay to go without you?!" Trevor hesitantly asked – I could see he was doing his best to be nice, but I could also hear the fear in his voice: fear that I would say 'no', that I would ask them to wait for me. He was just too eager to continue! I smiled at his almost failed attempt.

"Yes, I'm sure... go ahead!"

"We could stick around for a few hours... I'm sure there's no harm in that! Is there, guys?!" Shauna pleaded.

"I don't know how long Charmander's exams will take... It's best that you guys go ahead, I'll catch up as soon as we're ready!"

"In that case, I'm staying with you!" Calem's hand weighed on my shoulder and his smile pierced into my brain, uncomfortably. ."

"Hm, it's okay..." I smiled with embarrassment "You must help Trevor out... keep him out of trouble if he tries to look at the big ones too closely, you know?!"

"I can't leave you behind with a sick Pokémon..." – he pondered.

"...It's okay, it's... fine..." I repeated, hoping it would sink into myself eventually and become true "I'm sure it will do us some good to spend some time alone, Charmander and I..." I sighed "I guess I've yet to show him I'm his trainer. I want him to know I'm by his side now... That we're a team!"

He gave me a sad smile, still torn between going ahead and staying with me in Camphrier until Charmander was released from the Pokémon center.

"You can face it as your chance to surpass me, how about that?!" – I teased, aware that pleading to his pride would be more effective than to his heart.

"Ha! It's not like I need it, neighbor..." He fell, smiling his shiny smile again "...But I get you."

I dismissed all the long farewells, resuming them with a simple 'I'll see you guys soon', even though I had not yet decided if I would want to continue with them. After I watched them march away, I returned to the Pokémon center to wait.

...But hours went by. Dawn turned into dusk, and there was still not a clue of what was wrong with my Charmander. His vital signs were abnormal, unstable... he wouldn't stop crying in his small voice, his little facial muscles would never relax, and there seemed to be no organic cause to it. That only left me more frightened!

The nurses eventually advised that I returned to my room and waited there – They suspected my presence might be proving unsettling for Charmander and decided to experiment his reactions in my absence, so I returned and waited alone, worried – every minute felt like an hour, and eventually the hours did accumulate: it was 10 pm when I received a call from Calem in my Holo Caster. It was strangely comforting to see his face:

"How are things going? We thought you'd be here by now...!" He began, not wasting any words with a greeting.

I explained Charmander's situation as best as I could without dropping a tear. They were all as confused as I was, but Trevor had his advice: He pulled Calem from the camera, pointing it to himself:

"You should take him back to Professor Sycamore! He will probably know what to do!"

I felt my heart skip a beat or two.

"What? But... it's... it's so late!!" I saw Calem's face twitch, disapprovingly.

"It's no good leaving the Pokémon as he is... Anne should do something right away! It's her responsibility!"

Responsibility... That word sounded so heavy! But he was right... I was being a coward again, and it was time I acted directly against such feeble will: I didn't want to see Sycamore – I hated all those feelings he stirred inside of me... I hated how he seemed to touch separate strings inside my chest, and all in vain... But if it was for Charmander, I would do it! It might be the only way for him to acknowledge me as his trainer.