Factory of Runes Diamond Tormentlocke: Chap 56

We woke up very early in the morning due to the heavy sound of rain against the window and a sudden rush of wind. The downpour of last night seemed gentle in comparison. Trainers began wondering out load whether to risk getting a move on or to stay in the sanctuary of the café. I knew my team would be eager to press on, but to be fair, I sort of was too. The sooner we got to the next city the better.

Setting foot outside in a waterproof coat with Julia and Raguna though… Well, I began to think this wasn’t a good idea. I had heard from Dawn the term raining Glameows and Snubbulls, but it wasn’t just raining them. If rain was Pokémon, all sorts would be coming down.

Julia and Raguna were content enough though.

“Water is so good, eyup!”

“Whether for plants or complexion I couldn’t agree more.”

I sniffed. The damp was making it cold. “Let’s just press on.”

Before we left though I noticed a honey tree. Eager for a bit of time before trying to get through the rain, I placed honey on it. Shortly after a purple face appeared, smiling wildly.

“Um… hi?”

The creature continued to smile.

“Do you have a dream?”

More smiles.

“Um… can you understand me?”

Smile.

Julia huffed and hit the tree. “Stop smiling and answer her! That wide grin does nothing for your looks!”

Unfortunately, Julia whacked the tree so hard with her tail that it caused the Pokémon to fall, hit his head on the ground and… fall asleep.

Raguna just shook his head. “Throw a ball at it.”

“Ok…”

I did and we got the Aipom. He woke up after being released from the ball. While reading the list of names, which we did under the cover of the tree, I saw that he was level 15, hasty and strong-willed (hence all the smiling maybe?) and had the ability pick-up. His moves were sand attack, astonish, baton pass and tickle.

He handed the list back to me, still smiling. “Kyle, and my dream is simple… GET OUT OF THE RAIN!”

“Well, you are about to go to the Pokémonlab, so that should be easy enough.”

“And grow plants.”

“Like me?” Raguna sounded very excited.

Kyle waved his paw, dismissing the comment. “You’re one of those farmer types. Nah, indoor plants. Stay dry, grow stuff, it’s all cool.”

That was simple, but I still wondered one thing. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“Because it was funny,” he then saw Julia’s stern eyes, “What? Haven’t you ever wanted to troll someone?”

At that point he vanished into his pokeball, going to the box. Julia huffed even more. “Such an uncouth lad!”

I couldn’t stall any longer. We set off along Route 215: a very woody route with patches of grass around rocky masses and the odd puddle beginning to form. The ground was also rather squishy and I could see various hills and bridges in the distance, although I could only just make out their shapeS in the rain. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, there were also lots of trainers.

The first trainer, thankfully, didn’t want a battle and was heading straight for the café. She certainly looked the part with cool, spiky blonde hair. Following behind her were two bugs, introduced as a Beedrill and A shiny Butterfree. They looked quite cute together, although it makes me wonder what a normal Butterfree looks like.

The next trainer though did want a battle. Given that he sent out a Bronzor, I thought Shara could handle it. However the rain really dampened her fire and then my Ponyta got hit by confusion, hitting herself and then getting slammed by extrasensory. Julia was sent in, and she was annoyed.

“You don’t do that to someone so beautiful!”

Shara smiled at my side. “I’m beautiful?”

I stroked her ear carefully. “Julia thinks everyone is beautiful.”

“EXCEPT THIS FLOATY THING RIGHT NOW! Wha-”

Julia had been distracted by this conversation and was now staring at the purple circles coming out of the Bronzor. She slammed down on the ground, headfirst into mud, asleep.
This was awkward.

I know this sounds stupid, but I just let her sleep. Julia was my best chance at defeating this thing and she had a strong amount of HP. I shouted at her to wake up (forgetting that I had awakenings), which caused the ruin maniac in front of me to give me a stare of confusion. It gave him inspiration, and the Bronzor used confusion once again, causing Julia to hit the back of her head with her tail. This pushed her further into the mud and she finally woke up spluttering. Raising herself back onto her body, she saw mud drip down her front. Her body froze.

“You… YOU RUINED MY BODY!”

She almost swallowed the Bronzor, just a little part of it showing under her jaw. He was flung out, KOed. The trainer picked up his fallen comrade and left in a hurry.
Julia was still fuming after that, but the rain washed off the mud and I patted her until she calmed.

“Sorry,” she said, a little regretfully, “Lost control there. Gyrados are known for full blown tempers, and I won’t steep to such levels if I can.”

Other battles throughout the day broke up the monotonous slog through the rain. Raguna and Maerwen level upped to 24 and 22 respectively. We also got TM66 (which is lost somewhere in the endless pit of this bag). Then, as we made our way up a hill, through long grass, a Pokémon my mind knew appeared. A level 20 female Abra.

I knew that they could teleport away. Fast. There was no time to ask it about its dreams. I threw a great ball, in hope, sure that the chances were slim. It shook once, twice and then clicked.

I still can’t believe I got an Abra on my first go. Trainers have since told me how rare it is to catch one.

I let her out, and did the usual as she decided on a name. She was sassy and hated to lose, with the ability synchronise. Her only move, of course, was teleport.

She handed the list back. “Yue.”

“Any dreams?”

“It’s not travelling around with you, no. Um, no offense.”

Raguna raised a glance at her. “That is a little offensive.”

Yue huffed. “Look, it’s not your trainer that bothers me. It’s all the unnecessary battles in between. Fighting is pointless. Making money, however, that isn’t.”

“You want to make money?”

“I know battles make money, but what I really want to do is sell things. Be a merchant. Got to get business savvy first and then I can start selling things. Anything.”

“That’s fine, if that’s your dream,” I responded.

Raguna huffed. “Seems a bit selfish though, eyup. What would you do with money?”

“Buy some clothes, accessories, the like?”

At that moment she disappeared into the box. Julia smiled.

“Well, she might be money focused, but you have to admit Raguna, she knows that clothes and accessories are the way forward. There are worse things to spend money on.”

“Better things to spend money on too.”

I’m not really into becoming rich and being a big spender either, though I do wonder whether I come from a rich or poor background. Based on my two memories so far, it seems to be well-off yet backwards as well. Hmmm…

The next Pokémon that turned up, ironically, was a male Kadabra. Might have been easier to catch, but Yue was now our catch here. We had some more battles, levelling up Aden (who didn’t learn whirlwind) and Maerwen levelled up once more. Aden continues to give appraising looks to Maerwen, and she doesn’t seem bothered by it. I think she’s beginning to enjoy the compliments, even though she still gives some rather sarcastic comments.

Eventually the rain stopped (thank goodness!) but there was still much of the route to go through. We set up my tent under a bridge. The ground wasn’t as squishy here, but I couldn’t be sure that the rain wouldn’t start again or what direction it would come. Some rain had managed to get through here after all, so the tent was necessary.

We were all pretty exhausted, so with Julia outside (just in case it rained), we slept.

I had finished writing there but… something’s just happened. Something I think I need to write about or I’ll never get to sleep. I hadn’t noticed it, but when I woke up, I glanced wearily across the tent… and noticed Forte was gone. I was about to sit bolt upright, to look for her, when the tent flap moved and in she came. The Meditite was holding a bunch of flowers, soggy looking but bright. She was smiling, but then she moved her gaze and her smile dropped. I looked to where she was staring. There was Aden, next to Maerwen, with a wing over her back, and both looking peacefully content. I turned my gaze just in time to see Forte leave in a rush. She was out there for a good while, before returning back. She stared at Aden for a long time, before resting in a corner furthest away from him. She hadn’t brought back the flowers.

I don’t know what to do. Should I do anything? Its personal business, but the welfare of all my team is important. I… Oh dear…

I’ll try to sleep on this.