Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – Healed?

Unlike the others, I didn't re-read these 6 times over to check, It was only 2. Errors beware.

---

“Let's go over to the light so I can continue healing you.” 

 

I nodded, green roots from below lifted me up before passing me onto the next root in line. She seemed capable of creating two roots at once, as the previous roots disappeared after passing me off.  

 

“H-how long would the healing take?”

 

“No idea, I’ve never really healed someone before so maybe 1-3 weeks?”

 

“E-eh?”

 

“Well… I’m using Synthesis to heal you, which isn’t how it should be used in the first place. Also, we need the sunlight to use it in the first place, which isn’t that great down here.” I hummed in acknowledgement. 

 

After reaching the center I was laid down gently, my head on a small stone chipped by Petilil who walked over to my left leg and began healing me. 

 

“So… who’s going first?”

 

And thus my plan began. It was simple, perhaps too simple. Step 1, Introduce myself. Step 2, Pray. Step 3… End. Terrible, I realized.

 

Afterwards, we can all live happily ever after, escape the underground, and travel the world while avoiding any and all human interaction; pokemon are enough for me. 

 

“Um, G-guess I’ll start?” I volunteered. Petilil attentively turned towards me, not realizing she stopped her Synthesis 

 

“Wel-.” 

 

“Hmm, Okay… W-well… m-my name was Niko, I’m 20, male, Uhh-I was taken in by relatives, m–.” The Petilil made an incomprehensible noise before interjecting. “Y-y-you’re a guy?” and shot me an incredulous look. Though I felt this seemed less because of disbelief and more because… 

 

“Please don’t assume I’d do whatever you think I’d do; she sounds like what, 9 years old? That’s disgusting, I wouldn’t even be able to do anything with the state of my arms.” I felt a bit insulted.

 

“A-aah, sorry. Also… she’s 11…” 

 

“No– I kinda overreacted there.” I apologized, taking note of her gloomy tone at the mention of Ayla’s age. “A-anyways…  Umm, T-the last thing I remembered before waking up here was falling asleep on my bed…soo… y-your turn?” Smooth transition.  

 

She paused for a moment, considering what I said. “You really had no idea how you ended up in her body?”

 

“Nope.”

 

That topic stopped there. A momentary silence as she was probably pondering on what to say. During that time I just stared at my neglected leg, wondering if she’d forget to heal me every time we talked about something. 

 

“I guess to start off with, I’m Iris, I'm at least 1 year old. I travelled with my mom and her trainer, Alessia. That was until I met Ayla at an orphanage school place… it was her 11th birthday.” There was a lot to unpack here, and again she seemed saddened over her age, moreover… Is the world fucking with us? It appears we’re much more alike, in a bad way. Though how she never seemed to be adopted was beyond me… 

 

'There's also the fact that they met on her 11th birthday and she died at 11…’

 

“How exactly did you meet? That’s a pretty big coincidence that you two met on her birthday.” I pressed onwards, a few suspicions in place.

 

“It… wasn’t a coincidence…” My suspicions seemed correct. "We went there a few days before her birthday and talked to the head who had recognised us. She asked if I could be with Ayla, and he refused her." 

 

This trainer knew Ayla, to the point where they could identify her features, know where she lived and even her date of birth, and probably also gave her the necklace I’m wearing and yet... Trying not to come to any conclusions, my anger silently grew…

 

“Tell me what Alessia looks like,” I demanded.

 

“Ummm… She looked pretty young, maybe 22 in appearance but it’s a pretty bad judgement of age…” I looked at her inquisitively and urged for an explanation. “A lot of humans look younger than they actually are, Alessia met this old man who was apparently over 200 years old.” 

“Hmm…” ‘That might explain the world-renowned 10-year-old’ 

 

“Back to Alessia… She, umm, has short, wavy hair. The same colour as yours but darker… ah–umm she… also has the same necklace you… h-have?” Her voice became quieter, the more features she revealed.

 

“A-Are you okay?” 

 

“Mmm, Peachy. Say… you said she travelled around but did she live anywhere?” 

 

“Ah, we frequently travel back to her house. Um… there are two floors and she has this massive garden in the backyard, I loved spending time there.”

 

‘If I ever find this woman…’ 

 

Taking a deep breath, I reeled myself back to her encounter with Ayla.

 

"A-Anyway…back to meeting Ayla, were you okay with…” ‘being treated as a gift…' I omitted. Somehow trying to calm myself, by moving on from the family situation, led to a topic almost as unsavoury. 

 

“Ah..back then… I just wanted to explore the world without mom or her partner… so when she talked about Ayla… I stupidly followed her decision to be with Ayla…” Somehow connecting what I left out. 

 

So this trainer who I’m 99% sure is some form of family, decided that instead of adopting Ayla, she’d throw a 1-year-old Petilil who now probably blames herself for the death of the said girl. While all this was going on she travelled around the world. ‘...blood relations were always so shallow…’

 

“A-Are you okay?” Iris asked, somehow sensing my dissatisfaction. 

 

“You blame yourself for her death don’t you?” 

 

“A…?”

 

“Frankly, I’m annoyed, pissed even. This Alessia has spent a good majority of Ayla’s life ignoring her up until now, where she decided sending a 1-year-old would make up for the rest of her life she spent alone.” 

 

“Do not blame yourself for whatever happened. If Alessia had any human decency she’d adopt her family member and would’ve prevented any situation that could’ve led to her death.”

 

“But I–”

 

“And don’t think I missed what you said,” I said sharply, Iris flinching at my gaze. “‘Stupidly’ was it? That sounded like meeting with Ayla was a mistake.”

 

I glared at her harder as she seemed to want to speak, seriously this is all that stupid fault. I sighed, trying to calm myself from my high, family stuff always made me angry.

 

“You said earlier that she always wanted friends, right? For the first time in her life, that dream would’ve been fulfilled when you showed up. I’d bet those months were probably the happiest months of her life. Her first friend, You. Someone she could finally talk with, play with, show everything she’s kept to herself, up until you came along. Would she call her time with you stupid? A mistake?”

 

“...”

 

“Even now, you spend all your time trying to heal me, keeping me alive, providing food and water for me even though I’m a stranger. You even keep up that happy facade for my sake… I think.”

 

I took a deep breath in, my brain overheating from all the thinking and talking. I felt completely empty. Looking at Iris, she was staring down at the ground, hopefully contemplating my words. I’m not naive enough to believe this cleared her guilt regarding her death, but hopefully, I can help alleviate some burdens...

 

“Uhh–where was… Ah. Umm, A-Anyways!” And I was doing so well, I lamented. “Umm… What I’m trying to say is… Don’t…Don’t dismiss her…happiness as a mistake?” 

 

‘Mmm…That…really… mmm, this isn’t alleviating anything…” 

 

I risked a glance at Iris who had stopped looking at the ground and instead towards me with an unreadable expression. Quickly, I looked anywhere but at her, the silence becoming awfully loud. 

 

‘Arceus, kill me.’

 

“Umm… I–”

 

“Pahahaha–.” I flinched at the sudden noise. ‘She’s laughing?...’ “haha. You’d sound a lot more inspiring if you didn’t mess up the end-Pfft.” 

 

“...You’re right… she was… always so happy and bright when I was w-with her…I-I won’t say… anything like that anymore…” 

 

“Haa–” My soul felt like it was leaving this body. 

 

“A-are you okay?” 

 

 "Mmm… tired." 

 

Moodbreaker? Screw off, my mental energy is completely drained from all that.

 

"..."

 

"B-by the way…"

 

"Y-yes?" 

 

"C-Can you start healing me? My legs feel cold and when you use Synthesis it feels nice and warm." Seriously, wearing a skirt underground is super cold on my legs, or maybe it's like that everywhere... 'Still… I'd wear it over jeans any day of the week.' 

 

Iris's eyes widened, clearly not realising her inaction. Her body now emitting a faint green glow. 

 

"A-Aaah also… C-Can I have some water? My throat is pretty dry after all the talking."

 

“...”

 

This is gonna be a long 2-3 weeks…

 

—--

 

“Say… I-Iris.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“W-Wouldn’t moving around this much be bad for my arms and leg? Why don’t we just sleep in the clearing?”

 

“Cause there might be dangerous Pokemon lurking around!”

 

“B-But… I haven’t seen anything for the past few days?”

 

“Ahh… yeah, I think they’re all scared of that Geodude we fought.”

 

“I-Isn’t that contradicting your reasoning for not sleeping in the clearing?”

 

“Are you capable of healing?”

 

“Umm… N-No?”

 

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

 

“No… B-But, you also said it was your first time healing someone else…”

 

“Shut up and follow my instructions!”

 

“...O-okay…”

 

—----

 

"H-Hey… I don't know much about hair, b-but wouldn't resting my head for several hours on something as hard as this stone or the dirt damage it? Or rather just not doing all that umm... hair… stuff?"

 

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."

 

"Why… is that?"

 

"I'm focusing half of the Synthesis on your hair of course!"

 

"Ahh… of course… but… my arms and leg?" 

 

"Not as important." 

 

"...is that so…"

 

—

 

“You know lately, you haven’t been stuttering as much anymore."

 

"A-Ah… I-I guess I've become more c-comfortable around y-you, and I… c-consider you a f-friend?"

 

"Guuuh–"

 

"W-What's wrong?"

 

"Nothing… you were really cute just now."

 

"..."

 

"...T-T-Thanks?… A-Are we–?"

 

“Friends? I think we are, and you think we are, so I guess we are friends!”

 

"..."

 

“Are you crying?!”

 

“Eh? Oh…I-I guess I am…I didn’t think I’d be that emotional over this…”

 

“...”

 

—

 

"G-good Morning… Friend!"

 

"Good morning, Niko?"

 

"H-Hey, Umm, I've been thinking lately… and I think it's best if you called me Ayla." 

 

"A-Are you sure?" 

 

"Y-Yeah, I am… There's still that family member we have to deal with. T-there are probably Psychics running around, and claiming I have amnesia might not go so well…" 

 

“...”

 

"T-Though, I'll only do it if you're fine with me using her name."

 

"Ahh… it's… okay…" 

 

"Mm… if you don't like it, tell me, and we can stop."

 

"It's fine… I also think it's… for the best."

 

—---

 

“T-thank you, Iris…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Ah.. for umm, l-listening to me talk… I-I’ve never really talked this… comfortably with someone before.”

 

“Hmm, I never would’ve thought that.” 

 

“Ah… u-usually I just avoid talking altogether… except when I needed a job…human interaction sucks…”

 

“So it’s because I’m not human?”

 

“Umm… N-no?”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m not angry or anything.”

 

“O-oh, ok. Umm– you just seem easier? To talk too.”

 

“Hmmm…”

—-

 

“Speaking about you interacting with people in the past, I don’t really know anything about you. And I think it’s about time you share something, equal exchange!” 

 

“A-ah, I guess so…”

 

“You don’t have to…”

 

“Why’d you ask me then?”

 

“I-Uhh”

 

“J-Just kidding… hehe.” 

 

“You…”

 

“W-what are you doin–!!”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Umm, anyways… about my past huh? Well–, I said before I was taken in by relatives… I didn’t really like them, I didn’t hate them either. They almost completely ignored my existence. We ate at different times, they were out of the house when I was there and vice versa. Even when we met they never paid me any attention.” 

 

“Are yo–…”

 

“It’s not a bother, like I said I didn’t really hate them. I took it as a more positive experience I guess… They provided me with a roof, my own room and money to get things I needed. I did everything myself, made my own food, bought all the things I needed for school, my clothes, and in the end, it helped me become independent.” 

 

“...”

 

“I’ve read so many forums online talking about being physically abused and other things so, personally I feel like I made it out better than most.”

 

“You.. still went through your own pain… don’t act like it wasn’t anything just because other people may have had it worse…”

 

“You sound like a copycat now~ But… Thanks for trying to cheer me up, I’ve already made peace with that time.”

 

“No… problem.” 

 

“Though when I was younger, I always felt jealous and lonely watching kids leave home from school… and as you saw earlier I get pretty antsy when family mistreats each other… people should cherish what they still have…”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I-I’m here…” 

 

“D-Does that mean?”

 

“I-I’ll… stay with you when you’re fully healed…” 

 

“O-Oh, thank god… I would’ve resorted to guilt-tripping you into following me out of the caves.”

 

“You’d WHAT?!”

 

“I’m selfish… and I don’t want to lose my first friend down here~”

 

“I liked it when you used to be shyer around me…”  

 

—

"Umm…" 

 

*What's wrong A-Ayla…" 

 

"I've umm… been… ignoring it… for a while now… but…"

 

"But…?"

You are reading story Crescere at novel35.com

 

"I-I… need to…pee…badly…"

 

"Ah…" 

 

“QUICKLY, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!!”

 

“Ahh.. umm, let’s take your clothes off first.”

 

“Don’t–Don’t look…”

 

“I think that’s impossible considering the situation…” 

 

“...”

 

‘... what’s this thing strapped… oh’

 

“H-Hey… about how long ago… did Ayla… pass away?”

 

“...a month ago maybe two? It’s hard to pinpoint when we’re down here…” 

 

I sucked in a breath. 

 

‘I think I’d like to go back now…’ 

 

“You’re… umm, talking about her death kind of casually?”

 

“Aah— seeing you every day… was always a constant reminder… of things…” 

 

“I– Ah, sorry, we can talk later… but right now I need you to move me over to a wall…”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“How-how do you umm… pee standing up as a girl?”

 

“Why are you asking me that?”

 

“Aah… Do Pokemon… excrete stuff?”

 

“I think you have more pressing concerns.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“L-Let’s… never talk about this again…”

 

“I think that’s for the best.”

 

—

 

"Good morning… A-Ayla…"

 

“Maybe we should stop…”

 

"It's… okay… I want… to move forward… even just a little…" 

 

"strong…" 

 

"...?"

 

"You're...really strong."

 

"I-Is that so…”

 

"Mmmm– L-let's go back to the clearing, I think my leg is pretty much fixed."

 

—

 

“Finally…”

 

"I've only just healed your leg so far…" 

 

"Mmm, T-Thank you for that!" 

 

"Uuuu– Y-you're welcome…" 

 

"H-Hey Iris, can you help stand me up? I w-wanna swap the way I've been lying down, now that I can bend my legs."

 

“Okay?”

 

“...”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Ahh, I always wondered how they wore skirts this short without constantly, exposing something. Well… shorts exist but still. At least this one ends around my knees and it feels okay…”

 

“...”

 

“Can you stop moving around so much? Your leg is still kinda fragile…”

 

“Ehhh, but it’s kinda interesting seeing it flutter behind my movements. And it’s not as restricting as I thought, actually it feels pretty nice… As long as I don’t go for an insanely high high-kick or anything it’s perfectly fine.

 

“...”

 

“So this is how 80s rock stars felt spinning their hair around…”

 

“Just sit down already!”

 

“Can you fix my hair for me first, my arms are still broken…”

 

“...”

 

“Hmm… sitting in an M position like this… my thighs are touching the ground…” 

 

“Why’d you do it in the first place?”

 

“So I can finally have you sit on my lap!” 

 

“...”

 

“Ah, if only I could use my arms…”

 

“...”

 

“You know, If I had to choose between a Lilligant or a Garchomp, it’ll always be Lilligant.”

 

“...Because I have a versatile skill set, not completely centred around attacking?”

 

“...Sure.”

 

—--

 

“Hey… j-just checking but… you completely healed my leg right?”

 

“It should be fixed, why? Is there any pain?”

 

“Haa—”

 

“What’s wrong?!”

 

“I, umm, am bleeding? I think?”

 

“Ah… Don’t worry, I’ve helped other A-Ayla with this before.”

 

“…”

 

“...joy...”

 

“...”

 

“H-how long exactly is it gonna take for you to heal this?”

 

“I think the last time it took me around 2 hours. It’s probably going to take longer being down here…” 

 

“...joy…”

 

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a flash!”

 

“...”

 

“...Hey, Do you have Pain Split? I’d like for us to have a long conversation on what ‘over in a flash’ actually is.”

 

“Ahhaha–No, I don’t. I wouldn’t wanna use it in the first place~”

 

“...you egg-laying bastards…feel my pain…” 

 

—-

 

“H-hey…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“How-how exactly… do we deal with this next month… is the thing re-useable?”

 

“I don’t think so…and the only substitute I can think of is using leaves from leafage…” 

 

“Isn’t that… dangerous? And not absorbent. Also, don’t the leaves disappear unlike the water from water gun?”

 

“Actually, It’s quite simple to make the leaves dull, you’re literally making the attack weaker. As for the disappearing thing? You’ll have to consciously keep Leafage up all the time. And since we can’t accurately tell how much time has passed down here you’ll probably have to keep it up every day.”

 

‘Switch me back… please…’

 

“Look at the bright side!”

 

“Where!?!”

 

“You like cute things right? You’ve become cute.” 

 

“Objectively speaking, a guy can be considered cute.”

 

“Did you consider yourself cute before?”

 

“N-No…”

 

“Then isn’t it worth it?”

 

“...I don’t even know what I look like… but it might…not.”

 

—--------------

 

“I think it should only be 1-2 more days until your arms are fully healed.”

 

“Here’s hoping it’s not cloudy again…”

 

 The roots helped me up as Iris and I walked over to the light once again.

 

“I forgot to ask something about the orphanage.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Why exactly did the Head refuse a meeting between you and Ayla? Did he hate Pokemon or something?”

 

She looked at me suspiciously.

 

“H-How… Where did you live when you were Niko for you to even ask something like that?”

 

“Eh? Did I not mention it earlier? I’m not from this world.” 

 

I continued walking over, stopping as I was right above the light.

 

“It’s kinda exciting and liberating, sharing secrets with a friend~” 

 

“Ahh, uhhh, what?” 

 

“Something the matter?”

 

Iris sighed, she slowly made her way over to me, and we both took our respective positions as she began to heal my arms.

 

“No… It makes sense if I don’t think about it…”

 

“mhm…”

 

“A-Anyways, It’s pretty much the exact opposite of what you thought. Apparently, at the age of 12 most kids go to a facility based on their type and meet with a bunch of Pokemon. There they’ll find a Pokemon that’s willing to bind them to you. By having me meet with Ayla, it’d seem like she was forcing a Pokemon onto her instead of her being with a Pokemon they’d both willingly decide to be with.”

 

‘Bind? Odd… word choice.’

 

“A few questions… first, type? Second… bind?”

 

“Mmmm, You’re Grass, that’s how you can use Leafage. All humans can use moves in their types and they all have two, though I forgot what your second one was. You can do the whole binding thing with any Pokemon regardless of type. So, I’m not sure why they have kids start off that way…”

 

“Uhh, D-Do you know what Pokeballs are?”

 

“Umm… I think I’ve heard of it a few times from mom’s trainer… not sure what it is though, they never told me. Do you know what it is?”

 

I slightly flinched at her curious gaze. Should I inform her of what amounts to a hunter’s wet dream? Honestly, this other method seems way more two-sided than, ‘let’s randomly intrude on their natural habitat, beat them up till they’re almost dead, then shove them in a ball when they can’t resist’. 

 

I had a running theory in my head that the Pokeballs brainwashed them into liking the trainers, though it didn’t make much sense when some clearly didn’t like this being shoved in the said ball. 

 

“No… I don’t know what it is exactly… Can you tell me how this binding thing works?”

 

“...both parties have to feel out each other’s aura and create a connection between the two…” 

 

‘Aura? Lucario aura stuff? Is my knowledge off?’ 

 

“In doing so… creates… an almost… inseparable connection… they can…completely feel where each other is… and do a bunch of other things…”

 

“...”

 

‘Almost inseparable…’

 

“Iris I–”

 

“Sorry… A-Ayla… I won’t be doing that with you…It’s not that I don’t trust you… It’s…”

 

“Don’t worry, I understand completely. I wouldn’t ever force you into that. Though I do have a few more questions.”

 

Since Pokeballs are no longer in circulation… 

 

“Do you know of Silph Co or Devon Corp?”

 

She took a few moments to calm herself. 

 

“Devon Corp…no I haven’t, but I do know Silph Co.”

 

‘How are Pokeballs not known if Silph Co is.’

 

“Alessia was sent on a mission to travel to the Cantwo region.”

 

“Kanto?”

 

“Ah right, that’s the name. Umm, anyway, we went to this massive building to try and salvage some of their stuff.”

 

‘???’

 

“S-Salvage?” 

 

“Yep, the whole area was practically destroyed, though there was a small town made around it so people stopped us before we could go in. Actually, some of the cities we flew across looked kinda messed up and most were completely in ruins. A lot of the landscape looked like it went through some major battle.”

 

“Uhhhhh, what?” 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“N-No… nothing. Umm… So what region are we in then?”

 

“Unira? I think…”

 

‘So Gen 7 was Alola I think… and there are still 2-3 other regions I’m not sure on… did they end on gen 10 or 9… shoot…’

 

“I’m not going to trust your regional memory again.”

 

‘In the end, it still means l don’t know anything about this region…’ 

 

“Fine! Don’t then.”

 

—--------

 

“Freedom~!!”

 

“We’re still in this cave…” 

 

“Iris…”

 

“Yes, A-Ayla?”

 

“Thank you for everything so far, and thank you for everything you do in future. Just know I fully trust you.”

 

“I–umm, Okay…”

 

“Good, Now Let the Journey Begin!!”