DPA: Rivals

Chapter 47: Lavender Syndrome

"How are things?" Riley asked before taking another bite of one of Mr. Fuji's amazing jelly-filled donuts.

"Quite well," Fuji replied. "The Vulpix I have been caring for since you last came here to help has fully recovered and is in the care of a very loving trainer from the Hoenn region. Cubone has evolved into a Marowak, and we are the best of friends. As for the trio of young Nidoran that you may remember, while they are healthier than they were when I first found them, they are still struggling. They are still far younger than the age where Nidoran typically live on their own, and they need proper parental figures. Unfortunately, neither Marowak nor myself have been able to give them that. They need guidance from older members of their own species."

"I'm sure that things will turn out for the best," Ross said, finishing his plate. "They always do."

"Except when they don't," Riley argued, putting down his donut. "Terrible things happen all of the time, and they don't always get better. The universe doesn't owe us anything. We can accept that and take the initiative to get what we want, or we can sit around and wait for something good, which might never happen."

"Jeez, you clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Arin rolled his eyes. "Although you're kind of right. Instead of just waiting around, maybe we should go and catch a wild Nidorina or Nidoqueen, and bring it back here for the orphans?"

"That's a great idea!" Ross stood up from his seat. "It's still daylight. If we go now, we might be able to find one just outside Lavender Town, to the west."

"Awesome!" Arin pumped his fist in the air. "Riley, you in?"

"Sure, I'll meet you out there," Riley smiled. "I've got to talk with Mr. Fuji for a minute first."

"Okay, we'll be waiting!" Ross and Arin ran out of the house.

"What is it?" Fuji asked, pouring tea from a kettle on the stove into a teacup.

"I had a dream, something that I just can't shake," Riley answered as Mr. Fuji sat down across from him at the table, holding a cup of tea. "I wanted to tell someone, but Ross and Arin wouldn't get it. I thought, since you're older, maybe you'd understand."

"What was the dream about?" Mr. Fuji asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"I was in a cave," Riley began. "It was dark, cold, but most of all, it felt real. It wasn't like I was dreaming. It was like I was really there. I walked through the cave for a bit, and then I saw a monster. I guess it could've been a Pokémon, but it wasn't any Pokémon that I had ever seen before. Tall, covered in patches of fur that were as blue as the sky. What I remember most about this monster, was that it could speak. And it named itself Mewtwo."

Fuji dropped his cup. Glass shattered, tea spilled all over the floor. Riley got up to help clean the mess, but Fuji held up his hand. "Clumsy old me," he smiled, doing everything to hide his shock and dismay. "In my old age I tend to drop things more than I used to."

"Is everything alright, Mr. Fuji?" Riley asked, sensing that Fuji wasn't telling him everything.

The local caretaker of Pokémon sighed. "There are things in this world that are far more complex than you understand," he said. "Take Ghost type Pokémon for instance. Science says that Ghost is simply a typing, a category, a trait that unites Pokémon that share it. But there's more to it than that."

"That's highly unlikely," Riley scoffed. "I expected you of all people to understand that."

"You say?" Fuji raised an eyebrow. "I want you to go to the top of the Pokémon Tower, and stay there for one hour. Come back here when you are finished. If your opinion is the same afterwards as when you started, I'll bake a whole batch of malasadas just for you."

Riley looked at Fuji for a moment, and smiled. "I'll take you up on that." And with that, Riley left.

Fuji walked over to the closet, removing a broom, and began to sweep up the broken glass. This quest to Pokémon Tower had nothing to do with Mewtwo. Fuji simply remembered hearing of a strange phenomena occurring there. However, sending Riley on this little mission would hopefully divert his attention away from Mewtwo, at least for a while.

Fuji needed as much time as he could get. Somehow, his past came back to haunt not him, but someone he cared about. He needed to know why.