How to Train Your Pokémon

Hope Starts a Fire

How to Train Your Pokémon

A/N: Time for a whole bunch of emotions to come out, along with a couple of surprises. Curious? Read and find out. Roll it!

Bold italics- Pokémon speech

Chapter 23

Hope Starts a Fire

After long agonizing minutes, Mari was sitting in the front room, looking out towards the empty docks, while the twins just watched her from the hallway leading into the kitchen. They knew that Elysia was on the leading boat, being held captive in a large, glass electric-proof cage and forced to lead their entire people towards their doom. Also, their father and Aiden's would be crossed in the line of fire, and it will be too late for them. Their mother would be utterly heartbroken.

There was a little knock on the window. Mari wiped her wet eyes with her arm, which was sticky with dried tears and looked out. Aiden was standing there, looking at her with concerned eyes. She came over and opened the window. Aiden tried to come in, but was stopped by the barrier that was put over the house by Dawn. He instead just placed his palm onto the surface of the shield. Mari placed hers at the same spot.

After a few seconds, Aiden removed his hand and gazed out towards the docks, Mari copying him, both sitting on the window ledge on opposite sides. Neither of them said a word.

"It's a mess." The Newton boy began. "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything: your mother, your faction, your best friend."

"Thank you for summing that up." Mari said sarcastically. Luke and Evan gave him a harsh look, silently saying "Is that how you cheer someone up?"

Mari sighed deeply. "Why didn't I capture that little Pokémon when I found her injured in the woods?" She asked herself. "Probably would have been better for everyone else."

Aiden nodded. "Yup, the rest of us would've done it without a second thought. So why didn't you?"

Mari was silent as the twins slightly leaned in to hear her response. Why didn't she? The girl who pretty much had no friends, no support, and was an outcast to her entire faction, the opportunity was practically given to her to change her life. Yet, what stopped her?

However, she just shrugged. "I don't know." She said, turning away from her old friend. "I couldn't."

"That's not an answer." Aiden said.

Mari scoffed. "Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?" She demanded, her temper starting to flare up. The twins instinctively backed away a few inches, expecting a dangerous light show coming up.

"Because I want to remember what you say right now." Aiden answered, his voice firm.

Mari growled lowly. He was pretty much asking her to change all of history with just a few simple words. Well, she tried that and it failed, leading her and her brothers to be under house arrest! Sparks rapidly started to appear around her, from her fingertips to coiling around her ponytail, causing it to frizz up slightly.

"Oh, for the love of Arceus!" She exclaimed, and faced him, her brown eyes turning up like flames. "I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't capture a Pokémon!"

"You said 'wouldn't' that time." Aiden pointed out.

"WHATEVER!" Mari shouted, slamming her palm against the barrier in an attempt to shock him out of irritation, but the barrier only lit up even brighter, absorbing the electric blast. Aiden slightly backed away from the shield, and the twins covered their eyes from the brightness.