Chapter 22 – Mansion in the Mountains
Alex woke to a pressure on his stomach. He could tell just from smell alone that he must be in some sort of hospital; the place absolutely
reeked of antiseptics. He hesitated to open his eyes, afraid of what he’d see. He was alive, at least, and sensed no danger, but he had numerous questions. How long had he been here? How badly was he injured? What happened to his pokémon? The baby torchic? He couldn’t remember anything after the heracross made contact, anything except the sharp pain that felt like it had shattered his arm and reverberated throughout the rest of his body.
But he couldn’t just lie like that forever. When he did finally open his eyes, three things simultaneously caught his attention and he had to struggle to sort them out, still waking up from the haze. Firstly, the room was dark; the only source of light came from a small window in the door, but even that illuminated enough to confirm he was in a hospital room. Curtains concealed the window on the opposite wall to his left.
Second, the pressure on his stomach was Kimiko’s head. She was slumped over in her chair beside his bed with her arms crossed in front of her, fast asleep. Alex pondered idly how she was allowed to stay; didn’t hospitals have specific visiting hours? Regardless, he was relieved to have some company upon waking, even if she herself was in slumber. If she was here, anyone else’s injuries must be minor, if any existed.
And third… both his left arm as well as his right ankle were in casts. He had known something was seriously wrong with his arm the moment that the heracross made contact; that was a pain he’d never before experienced. He’d never so much as broken a bone before. He couldn’t move that arm at all right now, although it did occasionally throb uncomfortably, so at least he could still feel it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know just how serious an injury he’d endured.
He’d also been aware of pain in his foot, but he hadn’t realized that too had been cast-worthy; he’d just thought he twisted or sprained his ankle when he fell. The cast likely meant not walking for a while. He couldn’t go parading around the region on crutches, much less when his journey’s next destination took him through the forest full of unpredictable and dangerous ghosts. It would have been a struggle to convince Kimiko to head there on a good day. With him injured, the chances of her letting him travel
anywhere were next to zero.
Well… Kimiko had wanted a break. Looked like she was about to get a lengthier one than Alex had planned. Could be worse, he figured. At least if he got restless, there were still options. Just because he couldn’t wander the region didn’t mean he couldn’t still practice battles in a park or something. He wouldn’t let this interfere with his team’s training. He
couldn’t.
Having analyzed his situation, he was left to wonder once again… what the hell
happened? Where were his pokémon? Particularly the baby torchic. Thorn and Koyomi could both handle themselves, if necessary, but the torchic was only just hatched… Alex didn’t seriously think Kimiko or Lillia would have left any of their pokémon behind. They were all probably safely back in their balls in his bag… wherever that was. He couldn’t see it in the room from his position, and he wouldn’t be able to relax until he knew they were safe and accounted for.
But what was their condition? Had any of them gotten hurt after he passed out? He’d kept Diamond in his ball during the picnic, but Thorn had been keeping Michelle company. And what about Michelle, for that matter? What about Kimiko’s team? What about Ariel? Radar and Koyomi had been relatively close by last time he’d glanced at the lake, but the gorebyss had been long since out of sight.
And what about the rest of them? Lillia’s blaziken had been caught off guard by the heracross’ strength and had been completely outclassed in fighting techniques, and she’d left Vixen and the rest of her team at their picnic site. He thought he’d seen a white light coming that direction, but he hadn’t had time to discover what that was – he certainly wasn’t going to be luring the enraged bug towards them. He figured at least they were all safe. If anything had happened to her sister or her pokémon, Kimiko would surely be taking care of them right now rather than sleeping by his side.
His answers would have to wait, however. He couldn’t move very much anyway with his leg propped up and his arm secured in front of him, despite being highly uncomfortable. On top of that, he didn’t want to risk waking his girlfriend. Between all the excitement behind them and the party coming up, she needed all the sleep she could get.
As it turned out, lying there was all he
could do.
Kimiko hesitated as she looked around the selection of dresses in front of her, not really seeing them at all. Her mind was focused elsewhere.
Her boyfriend had had a million questions when he’d woken up that morning, and Kimiko did her best to fill him in with a short version of the story. Their savior turned out to be Costas and his claydol, who knocked the heracross away from Alex after the first attack. They kept it busy until Lillia and Vixen were able to catch up and take it down. Apparently, Costas had captured it afterwards, and had left it with Alex’s possessions.
“He said you should be the one to, uh… ‘decide its fate’,” Kimiko had told him, adding that she couldn’t help but feel somewhat unnerved at Costas’ choice of wording.
Michelle watched over Kimiko’s new hatchling – explaining the white light he saw – while Lillia rounded up all the pokémon, and Costas and Claydol summoned help. Alex himself was simply grateful no one else had been hurt; Costas and Vixen guarded Michelle until the rampaging bug-type was under control. Kilauea would be fine after a solid night’s rest as a pokémon center, though Lillia was sure he’d be broody for a while after losing to a bug-type. Alex’s baby torchic was fine as well, and was currently with said blaziken as he recovered down at the pokémon center.
With Alex needing time to heal, Kimiko was grateful she wouldn’t have to think about a trip through the forest for a while, but it also meant they couldn’t really enjoy their time off together, either. No dinner plans, no going out to a movie… Kimiko had made the mistake of making some offhand comment about being stuck at home for a while until he recovered, but Alex wasn’t fooled.
“And do what?” he’d said. “I’ll be bedridden for at least a couple days most likely. I appreciate the company, but you’ll be bored out of your mind trapped in here all day. I saw the way your eyes lit up when we got invited to that party. Go ahead and go. You know where to find me when you’re back.”
She’d only put up a halfhearted resistance after that. She didn’t want to argue. He had a bad habit of winning those arguments. And he
was right, after all. She’d be bored in a hospital room. At least at home she could read or spend time with her sister or something. But she really did want to go, and sitting there watching him sleep wasn’t going to help him heal faster. He wasn’t pushing her away. He wanted her to have a good time for a change, that’s all, and she loved him for that. She wasn’t sure she’d have been able to be so charitable in his position.
And so, after leaving Alex at the hospital in Blossom with his blessing, Kimiko had taken Michelle and rejoined Lillia and Costas, the latter graciously offering to take the girls dress shopping for the evening’s party. His claydol had teleported the three of them to Neutron, where they stopped at the fanciest clothing shop Kimiko had ever seen.
Elec-Chic, founded by supermodel-slash-gym leader Elesa, sold a wide variety of items ranging from dresses and tuxedos, to swimwear, to makeup, to accessories, to stylish personalized pokéballs and other pokémon accessories, most of them of Elesa’s own lines in addition to a select few of her personal favorite brands.
Michelle had no desire to go to a ball herself but the lure of expensive makeup did catch her attention. She excused herself to go looking around on her own, leaving Kimiko, Lillia, Costas, and their pokémon the moment they’d entered the store.
Kimiko cradled her new baby eevee, Olivia, in her arms with the rest of her team safely in her bag, as she stared at the numerous displays. She stroked the eevee’s fur idly, not properly taking in the outfits in front of her with her mind still on her boyfriend.
“I dunno… it doesn’t feel right doing this without Alex,” Kimiko said, a distracted response to… whatever her friend had just asked of her.
“He’ll be fine,” Lillia insisted, her voice from behind a clothing rack pulling Kimiko back to the present. “Your lives don’t have to revolve around each other! He told you himself it was fine for you to have a good time without him! And hey, drinks optional this time, promise! You wanted to go, so let’s go!”
She knew that was true, but it didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. It felt
wrong somehow that she had to leave him behind. “I know, but…” Kimiko trailed off.
“Ooh, how about this one!” Lillia interrupted. As usual, she wasn’t about to take ‘no’ for an answer. She held up a strapless, bubblegum pink dress, waving it at her friend. Olivia cooed and pawed in the direction of the cloth, and Kimiko had to pull her closer to keep the eevee from scratching a hole in it.
“It’s not awful, but…”
“
Not awful?” Lillia exclaimed in exasperation. “You’ve always been a pink girl!”
“Yeah, but… I mean, I’ll be alone there, I don’t…” she felt a blush forming on her cheeks as she attempted to focus on the dress. It honestly
was something she might have picked out for herself under different circumstances. “It’s so…”
“You can pull this off!” Lillia insisted. She turned to Costas. He was politely pretending to ignore them but listening intently, the cubone in his grasp obviously asleep. “Right? Look at her, it’s perfect!”
“Lillia, you’re missing my point,” Kimiko said with a sigh.
Costas chuckled, answering without bothering to look up. “I think your friend is concerned over attracting unwanted attention without her boyfriend around.”
Lillia groaned as Kimiko’s hesitation finally made sense. “That’s gonna be a problem with
any dress we find here. But you can’t just wear something that doesn’t flatter your figure. You’re too
hot.”
Kimiko felt her face heat up.
Oblivious, Lillia folded the pink dress in her arms and turned around, her eyes scanning the displays like a hungry sneasel stalking a pidgey. “I’ll hold on to this one in case we don’t find – oh, here, what about this?” She pulled a deep royal purple dress with a plunging neckline off another mannequin.
With a heavy sigh of resignation, Kimiko decided she’d better focus on the shopping, lest she give up her say in her outfit. Shifting the squirming Olivia in her arms, she frowned at the purple dress. “That… look how low it’s cut!”
“Still covers more than the pink one,” Lillia replied. “Come on, you’ll be fire! And I’ll be there, so just… stop worrying about getting hit on, alright? I’ll punch anyone who gets too close for comfort.”
The thought of Lillia being her bodyguard didn’t really make Kimiko feel any better, though she supposed it was better that she wasn’t going to
actually be alone all night. They
were both beautiful dresses, too… and really, when was she ever going to get a chance to wear something like that again? Maybe as a birthday present for Alex or something, but otherwise… “Mmm… how much are they?” she asked tentatively.
Before Lillia could inspect the price tags, Costas interrupted. “Don’t you worry about that. You’re both on my tab tonight.”
Kimiko gaped at him. “Wh… Oh, no, I couldn’t–”
“Sure, you can. I wouldn’t have brought you here if the prices were a concern.”
That only confirmed that the dresses were out of Kimiko’s budget. “Oh, really, no, you’ve already gotten us those eggs, and I…”
“
Please, you’re both my personal guests.” There was that sudden commanding tone again. Kimiko resisted an urge to flinch away. “It’s only fair I make sure you’re sufficiently prepared! I won’t take no for an answer. You simply
must choose whatever you desire.”
Well, what was she supposed to say to that? …Was
he hitting on her? No, no… he said they were
both on his tab, meaning he was also paying for whatever Lillia got. Just how much money did this guy have? “God, that’s… wow. Um, thank you, really…”
“I insist you don’t mention it!” Costas said with a grin and a nod as though the debate was settled. “Now, Ms. Mason, I believe we still need to find a dress for you, too…”
Kimiko left
Elec-Chic with more than a sleeping Olivia in her arms. Costas had overloaded her shopping bag with items; not just the one dress, but both the strapless pink and the low-cut purple ones, two pairs of matching high heels (one for whichever dress she chose), a fancy brand-name purse, some perfume called Beautiful Joule, and more makeup than she’d worn in her entire life.
He’d even found a shiny lavender soothe bell and a matching bow for Olivia; evidently, guests were allowed one “cute and small” pokémon companion for the evening. Kimiko hadn’t planned on Olivia being her choice, but Costas insisted it would be a perfect bonding opportunity. Her baby eevee happily accepted both the soothe bell tied around her neck and the bow on her ear, and Kimiko found it difficult to refuse after that.
She still had her reservations about going to this party without her boyfriend, especially after seeing just how much money Costas dropped on both her and Lillia’s purchases, but she was committed at this point. He’d already spent the money. And she
did want to go. Maybe she really needed to loosen up a little bit. An extravagant ball was everything she needed; the polar opposite to a haunted forest full of deadly ghosts. She’d end up having a good time with her old friend and her new pokémon, and she’d excitedly tell Alex all about it and how she wished he’d been there, and they’d both laugh at how ridiculous she’d been for resisting for so long.
So why did this still feel like such a bad idea?
Lillia ended up with a deep crimson dress, insisting on something that showed off her tattoo. Kimiko wasn’t sure how well that would go over with the ‘fancy party’ crowd; if their choice of apparel was any indication, the people they were going to be mingling with weren’t likely to see a tattoo as classy. Not that Lillia cared. She insisted on something besides high heels for her footwear, though. Dresses weren’t really her thing either, but she said she’d make do. Heels, however, were another matter. She ended up with a purse and some makeup of her own, too, though less than Kimiko, as some of her portion of Costas’ funds went into accessories for her pokémon team.
Apparently, she was bringing Vixen to the ball, per Costas’ suggestion; she wasn’t a small pokémon by any means, but apparently Lillia didn’t have anything else that fit the “cute and classy” requirement, so he once again claimed his influence would grant her a pass. Apparently ninetales were elegant enough to be welcomed. Vixen had stubbornly refused to put on any accessory Lillia picked out, however.
The trio hunted down Michelle before leaving. She’d been unable to pick between all the makeup options, but their host allowed her to pick out a light, magenta-colored blazer before they headed home. Costas departed after they exited the store and he returned the girls to Blossom, saying he needed to prepare the venue, with a promise that his claydol would arrive to collect them that evening. With time to kill, the girls decided to return to the hospital. Lillia wanted to check on her blaziken, while Kimiko figured she may as well let Alex pick a dress; he'd enjoy that, and she certainly wasn’t sure she’d be able to pick one on her own.
Wherever this ball was taking place, Kimiko had not expected a mansion in the middle of nowhere.
The sun was in the process of setting now, its soft orange glow illuminating the tall, lush green mountains that dominated the surrounding area. Lights in the distance to the west might possibly be a small town, but it was hard to tell this far away, the mansion sitting nearly at the base of the mountains.
Kimiko shivered when they arrived; she hadn’t anticipated the weather being this chilly despite the evening hour, as it was relatively warm in most parts of Vidiva this time of year. She wondered if perhaps the chill was related to the large cave entrance that could be seen off to the east, heading down underneath the mountain. Regardless, she was somewhat grateful Olivia was again in her arms. Alex had – somewhat predictably – favored the pink dress, and it did little to shield against the breeze. Olivia wasn’t very big, but her fur did help a bit. The little eevee was constantly squirming around, although that made her more difficult to keep a hold on.
Neither Lillia nor Vixen appeared bothered by the cold, oddly enough. Usually, the fire trainer was the first one to complain about a slight breeze, but right now her attention was squarely on the mansion. “Wow, would you look at the size of this place! Where do you think we even are?”
“I… don’t know,” Kimiko replied, and it was true. There were mountains near her hometown of Crescent, but they weren’t this green. And while she hadn’t been all the way west yet, she knew the mountains there were more… white and snowy. Given the wind and the chill, she wondered if maybe they weren’t even in Vidiva anymore. They could have been teleported to Unova for all she knew of mansions.
Said mansion was, of course, enormous, but that’s not what drew Kimiko’s attention as she surveyed the area. The most notable feature was the large, gold-plated water fountain in the center of the yard. A large statue of a milotic sat atop a tall pedestal, water spewing upwards out of the creature’s mouth and landing with a splash into the pool below. The fountain sat at the center of some sort of elaborate maze made out of hedges, though most of the bushes were roughly waist level and could easily be seen over. Purely a decoration then, Kimiko realized. Occasionally dotted throughout the maze were taller bushes, trimmed into the shapes of various pokémon.
A large iron gate stood wide open in front of them, welcoming guests and likely anyone else who wandered by. Kimiko couldn’t see any security guards, bouncers, or anything else to keep the uninvited from party crashing. Either Costas didn’t expect many stray people passing between the town and the cave, or he simply didn’t care who walked into his mansion unannounced.
Apparently, the party was in full swing already, the loud classical music drifting down to them from inside the building. Costas’ claydol floated through the gates wordlessly. Lillia and her ninetales followed it eagerly up the slightly inclined paved road towards the source of the muffled voices and music, with Kimiko trailing slightly behind, struggling to keep her friend in sight among all the other invited guests. Walking in heels was not something she’d done often, nor was it something she enjoyed. Lillia made a good call when she opted out of them. Thankfully, the path to the entrance did not take them through the maze, but straight ahead.
Olivia’s ears flattened as they approached and the sound of music and voices grew louder. Kimiko frowned down at her eevee. If she was bothered by the noise, that was going to be a problem… on the other hand, maybe she could use it as an excuse to leave early. She was still feeling anxious, though at this point it had become more annoying than anything. She was here now, and she wasn’t about to turn away at this point.
Lillia, Vixen, and Claydol had already gone inside by the time Kimiko made it to the entrance. She paused, looking upwards at the large building one more time, hesitating at the doorway. She couldn’t explain why, but the thought of going inside stirred a wave of nausea. She turned around to look back at the iron gates. They were still open, and people and their pokémon partners were still funneling in, heading up the path she’d just came from, already fraternizing with other newcomers.
“What’s wrong?” came Lillia’s voice. Startled, Kimiko spun back around on the spot to see her friend back in the doorway looking perplexed. “Not trying to back out, are ya?”
“N-no,” she replied, shoving down the anxiety in her gut. With the fuss she’d already made about being here, Lillia would only tell her she was imagining things, so she shrugged and followed Lillia inside. “Just… admiring the fountain.”
Claydol teleported away with a flash as soon as she reached them. When it didn’t reappear, Kimiko looked around for any sign of it or its trainer, but she saw neither.
What she did see was numerous other people in lavish outfits, most accompanied by a pokémon on their own. Many were engaged in conversation, chatting enthusiastically and nearly spilling their drinks all over each other. Two long tables had attracted a large gathering off to her left. Behind them, she spotted a staircase and what might possibly be the entrance to a hallway. Some kind of stage sat at the far end of the room straight ahead of her, currently empty save for a microphone on a stand. She also located the source of the classical music blasting through the windows – a live orchestra, performing from a different stage on the far-right side of the large room.
The mansion had looked massive from the outside, but it belied the sheer colossal size of the grand entranceway. There didn’t seem to be any other rooms that she could see, just the one gigantic one full of people. Numerous equally extravagant, gothic-style, sparking chandeliers hung from the ceiling directly above them, giving off rather subdued lighting. In fact, the mansion’s interior was far darker than outside, despite the setting sun. The chandeliers and several candles dotted around the room were the only sources of illumination. Still light enough to see by, for the most part, but it was still curious.
Overwhelmed by the whole experience, Kimiko was at a loss as far as how to proceed as she realized that, for some reason, she’d been expecting Costas there to greet them.
Unlikely, she told herself, taking in the large room and its occupants.
He’s the host, he’s probably got a thousand other guests to be entertaining. So, then…
“Let’s find the buffet table, I’m starving,” Lillia said, as though reading her mind.
Kimiko followed behind Vixen feeling extremely out of place, any trace of the early afternoon’s excitement gone. There were so many people, and she just wasn’t sure what to
do with herself. Olivia had taken to burying her head, trying to block out the sounds. Vixen, meanwhile, appeared calm for the most part, although she kept raising her head and looking sharply in one direction or another, as though she’d heard something that startled her. Between the music and the chatter, that wasn’t improbable.
Food was not difficult to find, as she and Lillia headed towards the two long buffet tables, however Kimiko didn’t recognize the vast majority of dishes. This didn’t stop Lillia, who wasted no time in grabbing a few plates and loading them up with items.
Two gray-haired, elderly women were already there, standing beside them, one with a cane and the other with a walker. They each had a pokémon on their shoulders – a snubbull on one, a glameow with the other – looking for their own food in between their conversation. One of them caught sight of Lillia, attempting to stealthily point and draw her companion’s attention. But both sent barely concealed looks of revulsion at Lillia as they observed her reaching for a fourth plate.
“How… kind of you, to collect food for your friend,” one of them said. Kimiko followed the woman’s gaze to Lillia’s arm – the one with her zombie ho-oh tattoo.
Lillia snapped her head towards the sound. “Huh? No, I’m not her nanny, this is for me,” she replied. “Little bit for my ninetales here, too.”
Kimiko decided that disgust was not a strong enough adjective for the expression the two old ladies made in response.
Lillia, whether indifferent or ignorant to their opinions, returned to her food-collecting when the old women went silent. Kimiko assumed the matter was over, until she overheard the second woman whisper to the other, “Who let these ruffian swinub in here?”
Kimiko frowned and started to reply, “The gate was wide open,” but Lillia spoke over her, her attention snapping back to the women. “Who you calling a ruffian, granny? We were invited!”
The woman with the glameow huffed and stuck up her nose, matching her pokémon’s expression perfectly. “I find it difficult to believe that someone with your…
status was invited to this event.”
“And I find it hard to believe you haven’t started to rot!”
“Okay! Okay, I think that’s enough of that!” Kimiko exclaimed as both women gasped in revulsion. Still, she found the expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces was somewhat gratifying as she freed an arm from Olivia, looping it around Lillia instead and steering them both towards the seating tables.
It was difficult to corral her struggling friend with just one arm free, as Lillia seemed determined to start a melee. Vixen, thankfully, also caught her trainer with a few tails around her other arm, helping steer her away from the conversation. Lillia, deciding food was more important, managed to snag two of her plates before she was dragged away, but not without throwing a dirty glare over her shoulder at the old women.
“Who the hell do they think they are? If I see them again, I’m gonna kick their canes out from underneath them!”
“No, you won’t,” Kimiko replied with a roll of her eyes, then set about looking for a table with some empty chairs. “Sit down and eat, alright? Let’s try to enjoy the night, not fight with the rich people.”
“Fine! Fine, alright. You’re right, we’re here to have a good time… look, those tables over there have a bunch of ‘vees! Let’s sit there!”
She was pointing to a couple large round tables not far away, surrounded by several trainers of various ages, each with an eevee or evolution by their side. Reasonable, Kimiko figured. Maybe she could get pointers for taking care of Olivia. But with her lost in thought, Lillia was able to break away from her grasp as they approached and veered off directly towards a young woman with a panting flareon, jumping into conversation effortlessly and leaving Kimiko to manage on her own.
So much for being a bodyguard, she groaned internally.
Leaving Lillia to her own devices, she looked around at the other trainers seated nearby. Not far away was a middle-aged man wearing a brown vest and derby hat, aimlessly poking at a salad in front of him while his attention was focused on a tablet beside the bowl. An espeon lay at his feet, half underneath his seat – that got her attention. Next to him, a chair sat unoccupied. As Kimiko headed up to him, Olivia perked up and looked around, perhaps sensing some of her kin. She pawed at the air towards the espeon as they got close, the soothe bell around her neck jingling lightly.
“Is this seat taken?” Kimiko asked.
The man jolted slightly as though surprised and looked up. He stared for a second and looked her over with his cold, blue eyes, finally settling on the eevee in her arms. He then sniffed at the air, taking a deep breath. “It is now,” he said with a gesture towards the chair. “Lovely choice, Elesa’s products are
sublime.”
“O-oh, thank you. Your espeon is very pretty,” she said, sitting down and then introducing herself and her partner. She set Olivia on the table to stretch her arms a bit. Her curious eevee started walking towards the stranger’s salad, though, so Kimiko had to block her and pull her closer, setting a plate of her own down for her partner to inspect instead. While Olivia turned her attention towards Kimiko’s food, she began stroking the eevee’s fur. She was strangely reminded of Thorn, and wondered if this was how Alex felt when he used to carry her around, too.
“My name’s Cornelius. That is Edward. And of course he is, he’s mine, after all. No other espeon has as shiny a coat or as bright a jewel,” he said, as though nothing was more obvious. He then made an attempt to appear as though his attention shifted back to his tablet, his head bowed down, but he wasn’t as subtle as he thought when his eyes constantly darted back to her.
Kimiko pulled Olivia a little closer. “Uh… I was wondering, how did you get him to evolve? Olivia is trying to become an espeon, too.” She hadn’t exactly
talked with Olivia about it yet, young as she was. But there was no harm in seeking advice. “And I’m looking for all the help I can get.”
“Hm?” Cornelius looked up again from his bowl, then down to his own espeon. Edward was curled around the bottom of his chair. He’d been very tame since they’d arrived; Kimiko would have thought he was asleep if not for his ears perking up when he heard his name. Cornelius returned his gaze to her as he answered. “An evolution from eevee to espeon requires a strong bond and a lot of sunlight. I can refer you to my
personal contacts if you’d like,” he said, his tone making it clear he expected her to be impressed. He sat straighter upright, squaring his shoulders. “Newton’s the best in the services with a good price to boot. But be warned that it will not be a fast process.”
“W-well, yes,” Kimiko replied uncertainly. “Time is always a big factor in forming a bond, it’s not often that–” She cut herself off as his words sunk in. “Wait a sec, what do you mean by ‘services’?”
Cornelius regarded her with a confused expression. “An evolution service, of course. I have countless very influential contacts within a number of them, including ones specifically tailored towards bonded evolutions. They’ll spend their time with your pokémon for you until it evolves.”
Kimiko just stared at him, a sinking feeling in her gut. “Why would I want my pokémon to bond with someone else? Why would
anyone want that?”
“That
is some sort of joke, isn’t it?” Cornelius replied. “Because I am not certain I understand it.” When Kimiko simply tilted her head in confusion, he continued. “Time, dear child, time! It’s not like this species evolve with a sun stone or something easy, or I would have simply purchased one. Espeon requires natural sunlight. More importantly, I don’t have the time to sit around taking care of a child. Who does? I certainly don’t. I’m too busy managing the races. Thanks to the services, all I have to do now is make sure his coat is properly groomed. They do all of the hard work for you.”
‘
Hard work’? Kimiko scowled at him, reminded for some reason of the two old women from earlier. She was unable to keep the bite out of her voice when she responded. “So… what you’re saying is, all you care about is how he looks. Like he’s some sort of… status symbol.”
“Of course not!” he snapped, looking affronted. “Edward is my best friend! Isn’t that right, Edward?” Again, the espeon’s ears perked up at the mention of his name, but quickly fell again and he readjusted the angle his head rested on his paws without looking up.
Cornelius looked back at Kimiko and nodded with a muffled “hmph”, as though that proved his point. She raised a brow at him, frowning. That did not look like the face of a happy pokémon to her, but Cornelius seemed to think there was nothing wrong with their arrangement. Suddenly, the entire atmosphere of the ball had shifted. She was still uneasy, but between the old women earlier and now this, she had an idea as to why.
She locked eyes with him and realized he was sitting there waiting for her to respond. Was he hoping she’d concede and revel in his genius or something? She sighed. She felt like she should have expected a reception like this, but had been hoping otherwise. It was going to be a very long night.
Still, she wasn’t going to drop to Lillia’s level and start a fight over it just yet. “That’s… not exactly what I’m looking for. Thanks anyway.”
She stood, ignoring her plate but scooping up Olivia on the way, who began gnawing on her dress. As she walked away, she heard Cornelius snort, “Yeah, bet you
do have enough time to sit around and play, don’t you, honey?”
She stopped short and closed her eyes, fighting the urge to throw something at him.
Let it go, she told herself, thinking of the two old women at the buffet.
Not worth it. Don’t encourage him.
With a deep sigh, she made her way back towards where Lillia stood with the flareon trainer. She passed by another group of party-goers, each accompanied by a furfrou, their trims all styled differently. Hearing them was difficult with all of them talking over each other but from what she could gather, they seemed to be debating which style looked the best, and no one wanted to relent. Given the experience she just had, and hearing them arguing over looks did not improve her mood.
But as she passed the furfrou crowd and approached her friend, she could make out the sounds of what sounded like a similar argument.
“…telling you, lopunny really is the best parent for a superior offspring!”
“No, it’s not!” Lillia insisted with a stomp of her foot, causing both Vixen and the flareon to flinch. “Not for a battler! Houndoom provides more powerful fire!”
The young woman audibly gasped, affronted. “A houndoom! I would not have my dear flareon mate with something so brutish! Only a lopunny can produce offspring this fluffy!”
“And that’s exactly what you
don’t want! Flareon fluff out their fur to cool down! With more fluff, they’re more prone to overheating!”
“Yes, and the more fur it has, the more heat is expelled, and the easier it is to cool down!”
Lillia crossed her arms. “
What?? That’s not how it works at all! The fur traps heat! That’s why it has to fluff up to release it! Honestly, do you know
anything about your own pokémon?”
The blonde woman glared in Kimiko’s direction as she stepped up beside Lillia, her eyes traveling down to Olivia and her lavender bow. “You! Certainly, you look like a woman of class and elegance. Surely you agree that a lopunny is the superior parent for a properly fluffy eevee offspring!”
“Oh, um…” Kimiko responded, blinking in confusion. “I… I don’t really know. Olivia was a gift.”
“Is that so?” the blonde said, scrutinizing Olivia. “She looks professionally bred. The parent surely must be quite well raised!”
“Yes,
my flareon
is,” Lillia injected loudly, wide, smug grin on her face.
The blonde woman’s shocked expression was back again. “Your flareon?
Your…?”
“Damn right,” Lillia responded. She didn’t wait for a counter argument, looping her arm around Kimiko’s and dragging her away.
“…What was
that?” Kimiko asked, struggling in her high heels to keep up with her friend’s speed.
“Nothing,” Lillia said. “These people are crazy, that’s all. They all see their pokémon more like fashion accessories than partners.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Kimiko replied, casting a glance back towards Cornelius and Edward. “Maybe we should go. I don’t think we really belong here.”
“Nah,” Lillia said, nodding her head towards the stage at the far end of the room. Kimiko followed her gaze and noticed for the first time that the orchestra had stopped and someone had taken the stage, but she couldn’t tell who it was. The dim candles only lit the front half. Something seemed to be floating alongside the figure, but all she could see were small red circles of light. “Let’s wait it out a little longer. I think something’s about to happen.”
Illuminated by the candlelight on the stage, Costas stepped forward, wearing a nice-looking black suit. His claydol floating by his side, he collected the microphone from the stand, and adjusted his glasses as he started to speak. “Welcome, welcome one and all! I hope everyone’s had a chance to get some food and do some dancing, because I’ve got something special planned for you all tonight, for being such lovely guests! And let me tell you, it is going to be a long night!”
He paused while the crowed chuckled at some joke that went over Kimiko’s head.
Costas raised his arms outward and over his head, beginning to step backwards into the shadows once more. “So now, prepare yourselves! Without further delay, I shall relinquish the floor. I hope you’re all ready, because…” He made a bow while he retreated, as his form vanished completely into the shadows cast by the candlelight.
“The show is about to begin!”
Mere seconds after Costas finished speaking, all power in the building went out. The ballroom was plunged into darkness, only dimly lit by the floating candles scattered throughout. Kimiko looked up to see even the ones in the chandeliers all darkened. They’d looked like real fire to her earlier…
Several guests screamed in shock and surprise until their eyes adjusted to the remaining pale candlelight. Kimiko rolled her eyes. While she understood the surprise, she never felt the need to scream when lights went out unexpectedly. Maybe that was in part due to how often it happened at a concert or something, but still. She’d already been irritated with the rich guests, and now their shouts grated on her nerves.
Good opportunity to practice your control, she told herself. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.
But after several seconds passed and the light refused to come back on, she felt Lillia press closer to her. That made her begin to feel uneasy again, drowning out the anger that had crept in over the evening. And while the startled screaming had died down, the unsettled murmuring of the crowd it was replaced by wasn’t helping, either.
A light jingling signaled Olivia shifting in her arms, sensing the change in atmosphere. At her feet, she could just make out Vixen, tails curled protectively around her trainer.
Kimiko leaned in towards Lillia. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she said quietly.
In response, she felt her friend reach around and grab her hand. “Vixen’s been jittery all night,” she noted; Kimiko remembered seeing her looking around sharply when they first arrived. She hadn’t noticed it after that, but her attention had been occupied. “It’s probably nothing. Whatever was supposed to happen probably just blew a fuse. But just in case… stay close to me.”
“Can Vixen give us a little light?”
The fire-type snorted at the suggestion, while Lillia replied, “She could spit out some fire, but then do what with it? It’s not like she has an open flame like a magmar or charizard, so unless you wanna burn the building down… which I’m not entirely against, mind you. But also, shooting fire inside a building full of scared, jumpy, rich snobs is probably not a great idea.”
Somehow it seemed that no one else at the event had any pokémon that could act as a light source, either. Kimiko felt Olivia start trembling, so once again she stroked the eevee softly. Little time had passed, but it sure felt like it was taking a while to get the lights back on. The rest of the gathered seemed to agree; their restless murmurs were picking up in volume.
A sudden thought crossed her mind, causing Kimiko to look back towards the stage. He’d had a microphone, but Costas hadn’t said a word since the lights went out. No assurances that everything was okay, no yelling at someone to figure out what had happened. This was
his party. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Or doing anything?
The dim candlelight didn’t reach the area he’d last been standing in, so she couldn’t see whether or not he was still there. She couldn’t even make out a silhouette. Her eyes had adjusted as much as they were going to by now.
“Can you see Costas?” she asked Lillia instead.
“Hm?” There was a pause in which she assumed Lillia was looking around before she answered, “No, it’s too dark over there. Don’t see the claydol, either.”
Right, the claydol. The psychic-type’s red eyes had been visible in the dark earlier… but now they were gone. The sinking feeling in her gut only grew worse. Why wasn’t he at least making it sound like he was trying to figure things out?
“Maybe we should go.” Without waiting for an answer, Kimiko began turning towards where she thought the exit was, pulling her friend along. Lillia pulled back with a tight grip on Kimiko’s hand, staying rooted in her spot.
“It was a struggle to even get you here!” she cried. “And now you wanna leave? Give him some time!”
Kimiko spun around to glare at the silhouette of her friend. “You just said you agreed with me! We don’t really fit in with these pompous snobs anyway. It’s been too long, and Costas hasn’t said a word. This isn’t part of whatever was planned. Something’s wrong.”
Lillia refused to budge. “Relax! You’re just paranoid because of the dusknoir incident.”
Kimiko started to retaliate, but froze as Lillia’s retort sunk in. Was she overreacting? Sure, the lights hadn’t come back on yet, but… there could be a dozen reasons why that could be. Right?
But then Vixen whined softly and barked up at her trainer. Lillia’s attitude changed immediately.
“Okay, maybe there is something in the air. Alright then, let’s go.”
They didn’t make it halfway to the doors before a chorus of eerie wails split the air, silencing the crowd for a moment. Then the screaming began for real. The sound only worsened Kimiko’s nervousness.
“I know those wails,” she cried, spinning around back towards the center of the room, though she couldn’t see anything. “Ghosts.”
She looked upwards. Where the sun had been visible earlier as it set in the evening sky, ghosts poured into the room through the tall windows silhouetted by the moon, not even bothering with invisibility. Even in the dark, she could make out their motion near the ceiling as they zoomed around.
“Why?” Lillia asked. “What are they doing
here of all places?” She didn’t sound worried at all, rather like… perplexed, as though the answer would come to her if she thought hard enough.
She didn’t wait for an answer before
finally directing Vixen to unleash some fire, as the ghosts began to get too close for comfort. A fresh wave of screams erupted nearby as the flamethrower roared upwards, scorching several ghosts along the way. The temporary light didn’t last long enough to count all the attacking ghosts, with more still coming, but it did draw the attention of anyone in the crowd who hadn’t yet seen them.
“
Now can we leave?” Kimiko demanded, pulling Lillia back towards the doors again. This time, Lillia didn’t resist, spinning around and following, her ninetales on her heels.
The door wasn’t hard to find, even in the dark, thanks to the faint moonlight creeping in through the windows along it. It seemed several other party-goers had the same idea; many crowded around the exit, but none seemed to be leaving.
Kimiko pushed her way to the front of the gathering, dragging Lillia along behind her, and ignoring the shouts cries of people complaining about their heels breaking or their suits getting rumpled. “We don’t have time for this!” she shouted as she forced her way through. But when she got to the door, she discovered why no one had left yet.
An energy barrier flared to life in front of the door as she walked into it, throwing her harshly backwards into the crowd. Her arms tightened around the eevee in her arms, her only thought being to not drop her as she fell. Someone caught her and helped her stay on her feet, but the buzzing in her head made her dizzy.
“Vixen, burn it!” Somewhere to her left, a jet of fire erupted forwards and crackled against the energy barrier, which shimmered as it absorbed the attack.
“It’s probably ghost energy,” Kimiko sputtered. Colliding with the energy barrier left her head spinning.
“Vixen, switch it up!”
At her command, the stream of fire stopped and the ninetales instead started charging and launching purple energy balls at the barrier. But upon contact, it shimmered and sizzled just the same.
Motion in her arms caused Kimiko to look down, seeing the form of her eevee squirming there. Kimiko again started to stroke her fur.
“Shh, I know, I know,” she said, the noise around her making it difficult to speak softly. “It’s scary, but you’ll be okay, promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Olivia’s ears perked up at the sound of her voice, but the squirming continued. As Vixen continued to pummel the energy shield with shadow balls, Olivia’s movement slowed, watching the ninetales. Seconds later, a small orb of energy formed in front of the eevee as well, and with a cry, it was launched into the barrier.
Kimiko didn’t have time to be surprised, as Lillia spun around and put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re not breaking through this. Looks almost like those barriers used to protect the crowds during league battles. If these are anywhere near that powerful, it doesn’t look like we’re getting out this way. We’re gonna have to fight our way through and find another way out.”
As Vixen roasted an approaching misdreavus, Kimiko rounded on her friend. “With what? We were only allowed one, all I’ve got is Olivia! I left my team with Alex! We’re not going to be able to fight a swarm of ghosts with just one ninetales. Hell, even if everyone here fights back, we’re outnumbered!”
For one fleeting moment, Kimiko had the thought of,
what if that was intentional? What if he knew this was coming, and that’s why he limited guests to one pokémon? But that didn’t make sense… these rich people weren’t pokémon trainers, not in the battling sense, anyway. Not in the way Lillia, or even she herself, was. They weren’t a threat. Besides, the ghosts hadn’t shown any inclination towards wanting to work with humans before.
“I doubt anyone in this room besides you and I are capable trainers, anyway,” Lillia replied, evidently having the same thought. There was a beat where she paused, looking around, before she spoke again. “We just gotta find whichever ghost is responsible for this barrier and take it down.”
“If they’re smart, they’re not in this room while they’re doing it,” Kimiko countered. “Assuming it is actually a ghost maintaining it and not a machine.” Was that how the league barriers worked? Maintained by a pokémon? Kimiko was sure they operated mechanically somehow, but… she shook her head, chastising herself.
This isn’t the time.
“If you have a better idea, I’m open to suggestions.”
“Let’s get away from the walls for starters,” Kimiko said, moving back towards the center of the room. “Last thing we need is ghosts sneaking in behind us. At least they’ll be forced to go invisible to try it.”
The ghosts had begun to swoop down into the crowd. Some launched their own attacks, others disappeared entirely into the darkness.
“I don’t like that thought at all,” Lillia said. “Vixen, I need a ring of fire, now!”
Several of the nearby guests screamed as Vixen’s fire spin surrounded their group. It rose high into the air, and immediately Kimiko began to sweat. But she decided a little heat was worth it to keep any ghosts from sneaking up on them; unless they were part fire-type themselves, they’d still feel the fire energy if they tried to pass through the attack while invisible.
Lillia began directing Vixen to attack specific ghosts as they learned to fly over the flames and into the ring, while the ninetales struggled to keep them all at bay. Olivia had begun flinging shadow balls at their attackers too, although Kimiko couldn’t be sure if any of them were making contact. Even if they were, Olivia lacked the battle experience and the sheer firepower of Vixen. Occasionally there was a glimpse of another attack in the distance, but the ghosts seemed to recognize that Vixen was the only one truly fighting back.
“We could use a little help here!” Lillia bellowed, her voice easily carrying over the flames and the voices of the screaming crowd. “Y’all have pokémon, use ‘em!”
A nearby persian hurled a power gem into an incoming lampent without a command from his trainer, and then a few of the other guests seemed to get the message. Fire and lightning and psychic blasts began to hurl upwards out of the darkness and into the ghost swarm.
“You’re right,” Kimiko noted, “none of them seem to be as strong as Vixen.” Only the ninetales was having any success keeping ghosts away from her trainer. Several other pokémon were making attempts now, but their attacks packed less punch. She began to wonder if that was why the ghosts had targeted this event in the first place. “These rich snobs aren’t trainers. We’re not gonna win this battle.”
As if to emphasize her point, a torrential hydro pump tore through the fire spin barrier, slammed Vixen to the ground, then tossed her into a table. She tried to stand again, launching another flamethrower at the frillish that attacked her, but was cut off by several shadow balls.
“Vixen!” Lillia cried out. The ninetales didn’t move, and Lillia recalled her with a scowl. “Welp, time to run blindly through the crowd and hope to slip under the radar.”
With no better ideas in mind, Kimiko nodded in reply. With Vixen injured and her fire extinguished, they were defenseless. Stumbling upon another exit was their only hope now.
But as Lillia started to run, Kimiko felt a chill in the air behind her, rooting her to the spot. She shivered as the cold permeated her, her entire body going numb in seconds. Her movements were sluggish, and she saw rather than felt Olivia leap from her arms. But she never saw the eevee land, as her vision had begun to blur.
She tried to call out, to get Lillia to stop and come back, but her mouth wouldn’t move. She only felt a flare of true panic for a moment before her vision fully blurred and faded to black.
