On The Road

Chapter Ten

Wally stood by the railings, trying his best to not vomit. Bina stood by his side, her usual demeaner turned quiet. Larance did not move from the spot he was in when they left Dewford. Arriete was anxiously tapping her fingers on her leg, wanting to say something, but no words coming out. Finally, Bina sighed, grabbing the attention of the other three.

"We can't keep silent about what happened back there," Bina stated, turning towards Larance. "Steven knows something about your dad. Both Team Aqua and Team Magma want you. I feel as if we are in a lot of danger."

Arriete and Wally nodded silently, Larance resuming his spot. Suddenly, he banged his fist against the railing, causing everyone to jump.

"Larance?" Wally asked, cautiously approaching said person. "Are you okay?"

Larance angrily sighed and whirled around to face them, causing Wally to jump back. Fire flamed in his eyes as he looked at his friends.

"No, Wally, no I'm not," he replied, closing his eyes and scowling. "For ten years, ten whole years, I have not heard anything about my dad. I only heard that my mother said he was dead, but I couldn't believe that. And now all of this just hits me like a train! I've tried staying calm, I really have, but I can't take this anymore! I don't know how to feel about any of this! Why do they want me?!? Why can't Steven just tell me everything?!? So no, Wally, I am not okay!"

The three friends watched in surprise as Larance wore himself out and collapsed to his knees, sighing in defeat. His Pokémon moved closer to him, trying their best to comfort him. Arriete kneeled down in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Larance," she began, looking sadly at him. "Listen, we have no idea how you're feeling. About any of this. But, as long as all four of us stick together, we will find out the truth. About everything."

Larance looked up at her with a small smile before pulling her into a hug.

"Group hug!" Bina suddenly yelled, kneeling down by her friends and joining in the hug.

She dragged Wally into the hug. They stayed like that for a while before Wally suddenly stood up.

"Oh, Arceus," Wally muttered, before throwing himself over the railings and vomiting.

Kirlia and Aron joined their trainer, while Wailmer looked up at the vomiting boy. Bina chuckled at this before making her way to Wally's side, rubbing his back.

"Don't worry, Wally," she smiled. "You'll get over this once you get used to traveling by water."

Wally smiled at her, weakly, before vomiting again.

Arriete was smiling and she stood, extending her hand for Larance to take. He did, and she helped him to his feet. Letting go of his hand, Arriete went over to sit down on a bench, Larance joining her.

"Thanks, Arriete," Larance thanked, smiling at her. "That really helped."

"It helped me too," Arriete muttered, frowning.

"Oh..." Larance muttered, frowning as well. "H-How did it go when you told your dad about what you want to do?"

"Well," Arriete began, leaning back and looking up at the sky. "This happened about a month before my birthday."

"One more month before you can finally receive your starter!" Norman exclaimed, smiling at his daughter. "And before I know it, I'll be standing across from you, battling for the fate of the badge!"

"Heh, yeah," Arriete muttered, looking down. "Listen, dad, I need to tell you something."

"Of course, what is it?"