Sapphire Aura: Prelude

Chapter 3

"You don't know who Sir Aaron is?!" Ash exclaimed. Sapphire shook her head, blankly staring at Ash. "How?! He's so famous!"

"He is?" Sapphire mused. "I had no idea!" Spark was reminded of something during the conversation, and his mind dragged him into a memory again. A memory that he had to remember.

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I miss Busky, Spark thought to himself. I wonder where he is right now. Probably tortured and wondering why I haven't saved him yet. Haha. Spark thought sourly. The day that Busky was abducted by Team magma still remained etched into Spark's mind, unable to be erased.

Now he had an irrational fear of evolving. He just didn't want to end up like Busky, but he had no idea if not evolving helped.

Busky, I really need your guidance, Spark thought with a twinge. It doesn't matter how bossy you are. I just want you to tell me what I should do right now. For a little while, Spark had believed that the traumatising abduction was a mere dream, and that Busky was going to come back one day.

Except that it wasn't a dream, as Spark realised the terrible truth after a few days without a single trace of Busky.

Busky was forever gone.

Sadly, Spark trudged through the tall grass and ferns, in hope that he could find a cozy place to spend some time thinking about what to do next. Without Busky, his life was pretty much meaningless. There was no one to play with, no one to boss him around.

He would be glad if a random person or Pokemon popped up at that moment and ordered him to do something. He needed something to occupy his mind with.

Which, a person did.

Without any warning, a bright glow shone on the left of Spark, and a tall, handsome man emerged from the glow. He had as very typical hat of a particular trainer class, a torn and ragged cape and a staff that literally gave away his identity to anyone who saw him.

Spark felt the urge to walk up to the man and ask him to change his clothes to something less obvious. Although he knew that 1) he was probably just seeing things, and 2) he shouldn't disrespect someone that was so highly respected in the region and around the world.

The man opened his eyes, and strangely, his gaze was immediately fixated on Spark. Spark felt himself shrinking under the gaze of the man. "Come here, little Torchic," the man said. Spark cursed mentally and took a hesitant step towards the man. He knew he had nothing to fear by approaching the famed Aura Guardian when asked to, but he just felt... small. Weak. Like the Team Magma grunts were looming over him and Busky all over again. Except that this time, there was no Busky.

Sir Aaron smiled. "I know you're scared. A lot of small Pokemon are scared of me. Don't worry, though. I'm not going to harm you." He reached out a gloved hand towards Spark. Spark looked at the hand for a while, unsure whether to trust anyone that reminded him of the abduction. He knew it was an irrational fear, but he just couldn't help it.

Still, he gathered up his courage, and stepped onto the hand tentatively. He felt himself being lifted up so that their eye level was equal. "It's fine, little guy. There's nothing to fear." Spark, despite his fear, believed him. "I just wanted to tell you that in the next few years, a ten-year-old girl will appear in this area. Take care of her. Watch her for me," Sir Aaron said. Spark nodded. He was just glad to have something to do again.

—————

And now Spark was here, on the shoulder of the girl that Sir Aaron had mentioned, and yet the girl claimed that she had no idea who Sir Aaron was.

"Spark! Hey, Spark!" All of a sudden, he felt himself being shaken up. Spark chirped in response, annoyed. "Oh, thank goodness you're still okay. Your eyes were a bit blank." Spark then realised that he must've been too absorbed in his memories and thoughts, and he felt guilty for letting Sapphire worry about his well-being. He was supposed to take care of Sapphire, not the other way round.

Ash sighed. "You know what, let's not dwell on this for too long. If we want to accomplish anything in Hoenn, we've got to get moving. Achievements don't just drop from the sky."

"I'm gonna say you're right about that one." Sapphire mused. "Although I still don't know who Sir Aaron is."

"STOP WITH THAT TOPIC ALREADY!" Spark, Pikachu and Ash shouted in unison in their own languages.

"What? I was just saying." Sapphire shrugged.