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rhnuzlocke · 5 years

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Chapter Six: Can You Hear the Music?

Rustboro was a dense little city but lacked the skyscrapers of a metropolis like Kogane. Even with all the traffic and bustle, the streets felt wide and comfortable to Ren. There was something almost charmingly quaint about the downtown. Perhaps it was the varied stone facades and carved pokemon adoring the top edge of every building. Or maybe it was the profuse rooftop gardens and street trees full of Beautifly, Dustox, and Taillow.

Ren and Kai walked through the busy streets with their pokemon around them. Jay was now a Combusken, and Tāraki bounded excitedly by her side, burbling away, while Māia flitted above them both, twittering into any pauses in the conversation. A few people gave them looks for having so many pokemon out—most people had only one—but Ren ignored them, steps bouncing from heel to toe while Kai smiled shyly at her.

“Are you sure about treating us?”

“Of course! Your first badge deserves some celebration! Especially after a match like that! I can’t believe you picked the Rock Gym first. You’re braver than I thought!”

“It was just because I have to survey Mt. Rose. I have my whole route worked out and I have to stick to the schedule to get every location I picked. I only want to take one gap year before college.”

“I’m still impressed, dude. It’s so cool that you know what you want to study and everything already. And taking the Gym Challenge on top of that? I couldn’t do it.”

“You have a full team already!”

“Only because I’m a sap.”

Kai took a few bigger steps to catch up. “I know your dad is a Gym Leader,” he persisted, “but it’s supposed to take months to build up that kind of stamina.”

“What can I say? I run hot.” Run shrugged. “But if we could back up to that badge match, you and Jay pulled off a mid-battle evolution! That’s so rare!”

They found a native restaurant with an open patio and claimed a table. Jay sat down gingerly in one of the chairs and carefully slid her tail through a hole at the back. Tāraki hopped up to stand in another empty seat, while Panahi and Māia landed on the table. Māia puffed herself up and chirped at Jay, who clucked back, fiddling with her long claws on the table. Kai stifled a chuckle.

Ren chuckled too. “You can battle Jay next time we have a match, I promise.”

“Hell yeah!” Māia crowed. Ren stared at her, not quite believing it.

“Oh, can you understand her already?” Kai asked.

“Not until just now!” Ren squealed. “Shiawasedaaaaaaaaaaaa! Kimi no himitsu wa kyousou-ryoku o kanjiru kotodesu!”

Māia puffed up again with joy and Ren grinned for a moment before clearing her throat awkwardly when she realized she had slipped into Kantogo. Thankfully, a waitress came to her rescue and handed them menus.

“We serve pokemon dishes here if your teams are hungry,” she informed them before leaving them to make their selections.

“That’s so cool!” Ren exclaimed, looking it over. “Do you all want anything?”

“Well, what do they have?” asked Panahi.

“There are a few pokebean-based dishes, but you’ve all basically been eating that as chow since we left. There’s mushrooms and some vegetables.” Panahi stuck out her tongue in disgust. “There’s a nectar drink.” Tāraki gasped and started bouncing up and down in his chair, hands pressed to the table. Ren laughed at him. “As if you need the sugar! But I’ll order you one.” He crowed in delight. “They have some meat options too. Oh, braised Magikarp!”

“Yes please, Honey!” cried Panahi, and Māia nodded.

“Akahana?” Ren asked.

“Never had it,” Akahana mumbled, not lifting her head off her paws.

“Oh it’s a treat! You’ll love it!” Panahi crooned down at her, and Akahana grunted what could be construed as an affirmative.

“I’ll have a little,” Iki piped from under Ren’s chair.

“Shroomish wants berries,” Akahana added in response to her new teammate’s clicking.

“Done!”

They put in their order, and Tāraki continued to bounce in place from sheer anticipation.

“You never really introduced me to the newbies,” said Kai.

“Right! Well this ace battler of a Taillow is Māia.” The tiny bird stood her very tallest on the tabletop, flashing her red chest in Kai’s direction. “And I actually don’t have a name for this clever creature yet.” She gestured down to the Shroomish. “I’ve just been calling her Aragekikurage. It’s a mushroom,” she explained when Kai looked confused. “I don’t know if it grows here, and it doesn’t actually look much like her. It’s just the same brown as her underneath. It’s not even a cap—more wrinkly and it feels like velvet.”

Kai thought about it for a few seconds. “Oh! we have that! It’s called a wood ear!”

“Pfff! I see it.”

“The Hoenni name is hakeka, I think.”

“I like that much better! Thanks, Kai.”

His cheeks reddened. “No problem.”

“Right! That reminds me! I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want to distract you from your match, but I have another little present for you.” She pulled out her nav and slid it over to him. He took it, looking adorably puzzled, then his mouth fell open, and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Ren smiled fondly at him, her own jaw propped up on one hand in a way that failed to conceal a self-satisfied smirk.

“There must be at least ten variants.” He was breathless. “Holy—holy shit.”

“I marked the location for you~”

Kai’s eyes went glassy, and Ren couldn’t hold back a laugh anymore. He reddened and buried his face in his napkin, which made Panahi snicker behind a wing.

“I went a little overboard, didn’t I?”

You were nervous.

“I guess… Yeah, I was. I think an even younger me would have been fine on my own, just me and my team, but after… everything, I missed my friends. I missed people— more than I was willing to admit to myself.”

Kai was still a bit red and could barely even thank the waitress when she returned with their cart of food. Tāraki sipped his nectar through a straw, eyes closed in absolute bliss, and Jay seemed nearly as pleased with her taro and Wurmple hash browns. Akahana took a rather delicate first bite of her Magikarp but was wolfing it down seconds later.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” said Ren in her best attempt at nonchalance. “Since we’re both traveling now, maybe we could do it together?” Kai nearly choked on his boil-up. “We don’t have to! I know you have all your stuff going on. I just thought… Well, it was really nice having you to show me around.”

Ren glanced away in embarrassment, and it was her turn to blush all the way to the tips of her ears. When she forced herself to look back up, Kai was staring at his plate, and the motion of his shoulders indicated he was wringing his hands under the table. Ren’s gut gave a horrible lurch, but before she could make herself say anything, Kai started.

“It’s a good idea!” he blurted.

Ren’s face settled into a huge toothy grin, and a terrible weight lifted off her shoulders. Kai finally looked up at her and sagged in relief, matching her smile with a far more tentative one.

Panahi shuffled her wings, looking immensely satisfied, and probably not entirely from the meal she had just finished. Ren was about to shoot her a glare when she noticed a private little smirk on Jay’s face as well that made her think Kai finally finding his voice was probably her doing somehow.

Ren resolved to thank Jay later—but not now. She didn’t want to push her luck.

“Great! Then we’ll do it.”

...

The next day Ren and Kai headed out east on Route 116 towards the picturesque Mt. Rose. It was the sort of Mountain range one might find in a fanciful painting and was all the more breathtaking in reality. Ren kept finding herself craning her neck back to look at the peak, though that was more due to proximity than sheer height.

Akahana went abruptly still ahead of them and picked up her ears.

“Something’s not right,” she murmured.

Everyone else stopped to listen, and after nearly a minute of straining at silence, the wind changed, and Ren finally heard faint wailing that grew louder and more instant.

“What is that?”

“Hunting,” said Akahana.

Then another sound, low and lilting, almost like music, drifted over it.

“Is that singing?” Ren wondered.

“It’s pokemon, not human,” Akahana answered

“Let’s check it out!” Tāraki cheered and bounded off.

Jay took off after him, followed swiftly by Māia and Panahi. Ren shook her head before leading the rest of them. Akahana walked tall and stiffly, ruff raised all along her back and Iki stayed close behind her.

As they approached the singing became more distinct and musical but wordless, while the growling and wailing faded altogether. Finally they found half a dozen Cloaked Poochyena asleep on the ground around a stately old tree. A fluffy Skitty sat on one of the branches, singing clearly and gently, and Ren began to feel a bit drowsy. Fortunately, the song drew to a close, and the Skitty slipped easily back down out of the tree with the grace of regular practice. It gave a low, dramatic bow to its slumbering audience and sighed.

Ren whistled, and it looked up at them all in surprise. Rather than being intimidated by their number, it smiled and trilled a sweet greeting at them. Kai already had his dex out.

“Looks like an Angora variant, but they aren’t wild.”

“Those Poochyena are out cold. That’s one powerful Sing,” said Ren. “Hello Skitty! That was pretty cool. Do you only sing lullabies or do you put on other performances as well?”

Akahana stepped up to translate, and the Skitty looked very pleased indeed by the interest and complement. It sauntered over to answer and settled its plume-like tail primly over its paws.

“He says he mostly only sings lullabies to avoid being eaten, but that’s more or less a full-time job. He prefers singing dance tunes but he’s happy to take requests.”

“That’s nice of him. And I’m sure Kai wants an interview. But maybe we should move this somewhere else?”

They all retreated a ways and found a clearing to have lunch in. Kai and Jay talked to the Skitty while the others ate. Tāraki, Hakeka, and Māia finished quickly and wanted to train, so Ren had the plant-types work together while Māia tried out some aerial maneuvers on her own.

Akahana listened passively to the various goings on, head on her paws and one eye closed. But as soon as the interview was over, the Skitty sauntered over to her, and Akahana raised her head to talk with him. Ren watched more curiously the longer their conversation went on. It was rare to get more than a few laconic remarks from Akahana. And for having nearly been eaten by a pack of Poochyena earlier, the Skitty’s posture was easy and confident beside her. He even leaned in and crooned now and again, a cheeky grin on his face, which Akahana tolerated with her usual stoicism.

Finally, Panahi called him over for something to eat, and he went with dip of his head and friendly brush of his tail. Ren went to sit by Akahana.

“Anything interesting?”

“He was born out here. His father was a pet, his mother was wild. He says it’s tough because his fur isn’t really suited for the weather. He goes into the city sometimes but hasn’t had much luck there… And he’s a flirt.”

“Oooh?” said Ren with a barely suppressed grin.

Akahana snorted. “Not my type.”

“Only other dark-types or—”

Suddenly a commotion erupted from where Tāraki and Hakeka had been practicing.

“What does it even matter anyway?” Tāraki yelled. “I’m still a better battler than you even without my ‘strongest move’! You’re just jealous!”

Hakeka railed something back at him, and Ren was already running over. “Whoa! Break it up! What happened?”

“She started it!” Tāraki shrilled. “She always—”

“Don’t give me that!” Ren cut him off sternly. “Just tell me what happened as straightforwardly as possible. You know I can’t understand her that well yet, so I’m trusting you to be as fair as possible.”

Tāraki grumbled and crossed his arms, taking a few breaths to calm himself down a little. “She got annoyed because I wasn’t doing well. She said I was lazy and stupid for not working as much on my special moves as on my physical ones.” He took another breath and muttered, “and I called her jealous for not being as good a battler as me.”

“Well, first of all, she is definitely not jealous. You know that right? If she has a problem with you, it’s for something else.” Tāraki nodded, tail still twitching in agitation. “And she does have a point, even if she should have said it more kindly. All of the strongest moves in your pool are special attacks, so if you really want to be a battler, it’s worth it to work on them—especially if you want to fight in this Gym.” He accepted this without objection but looked far from happy, and Ren turned her attention to Hakeka. “That being said, we are a team and we should all treat each other with respect. Special attacks are more difficult for Tāraki than they are for you, and you shouldn’t put him down for something he can’t control. Understood?” Hakeka nodded. “Good.”

Hakeka left, and Tāraki lay down on the ground, looking tired and dejected.

“What’s the matter, Shima?”

“She said I wasn’t trying, but I do. It’s not just that I don’t like special moves. I can’t focus on them. It makes my head hurt. I just… can’t.”

Ren laid a hand gently on his back. “You know that’s okay, right?”

“But—”

“It makes things harder, but there’s nothing wrong with you, okay?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. That’s normal. And we’re partners. I’m your trainer. I’m here to help you. If special moves are really that difficult for you, we’ll find a way to make them easier. And we’ll find a way for you to battle that plays to your strengths. You don’t have to be like everyone else to be strong and cool, because you already are.”

Tāraki launched himself at Ren and hugged her tightly, and she squeezed him back just as hard. He rubbed his head against her collarbone, and she laughed at the affection.

Then a wail sounded from nearby followed by voices and caws of distress. Everyone stopped.

“Peeko! Give her back! Please!”

A moment later an old man stumbled past the edge of the clearing and tripped. Ren ran to him and carefully helped him up.

“Are you okay, sir?” Kai fretted.

“What’s going on?” said Ren.

“My Peeko, my darling Wingull! He took her!”

“Who—”

“Which way did he go?” Ren asked urgently.

“He’ll head for the tunnel. Only good escape route.”

Ren turned to go, but Kai caught her arm. “Wait!”

“He stole something from Devon, a briefcase. That’s why Peeko and I were confronting him. I’ll go with you.”

“No. Please just sit down, sir. I’ll get your pokemon.”

“But Ren—”

“I have more pokemon, and someone should stay with him. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Kai wrung his hands for a moment, face twisted up with nerves. “Okay,” he said finally.

“Be right back!”

She took off, and her team followed, while Kai and Jay guided the old man to a rock to sit down on.

“Thank ye, lass!” he called after her.

It didn’t take long for Ren to find the route again and the tunnel under the mountain that it led to. The larger car entrance was blocked off, but the footpath looked open, and the lights were on. Just as she reached it, a horrible cacophony of sound struck her, stopping her dead. Ren clamped her hands over her ears and stepped to the side to escape the blast range.

“Whismur,” Akahata growled, ears pinned to her head. “And Loudred,” she added as a deep throbbing bass hummed up through their feet. “Tons of them.”

“I’ve never heard an Uproar like this,” Panahi whined, head between her wings.

“Shit shit shit!” Ren yelled, barely audible. “We can take one guy but not a whole army of wilds.”

It was then Ren noticed that the Skitty had followed them. The sound from the tunnel grew louder again before tapering off, and he mewed.

“He says he might be able to calm them,” said Panahi. “Apparently he sings for them sometimes.”

“Please. You can name your price afterward.”

The Skitty nodded and puffed out his chest before stepping in front of the tunnel as another swell of sound bloomed out of it. He projected his voice in a way that defied all probability, one clear note cutting through the disorienting chaos until it split and softened. Then he began his lullaby.

Ren withdrew her team before they could be ensnared and covered her ears, following behind as the Skitty walked calmly forward into the underground. It wasn’t enough to block him out completely but it did keep her from getting too drowsy. The Whismur faded to almost nothing for a while, but then there was a yell and the glimmer of what might have been Water Gun ahead of them, and the Whismur voices swelled again.

Ren and the Skitty raced forward, and he sang as loud as he could until suddenly nothing came out. Ren looked and saw that his mouth was still open and his ribs still heaving, and she was baffled for a moment until she realized the Whismur must be canceling him.

The whole tunnel began to resonate, and Ren had to stop as the ground became unstable. Then the rock around them cracked like thunder, and the ceiling above them trembled and fractured. She sent out Akahana.

“Get the Skitty out of here!”

She looked Ren in the eyes for a moment, then grabbed the Skitty by his scruff and ran back towards the entrance. Ren sent out Tāraki, and they ran deeper in. The figure was just ahead of them now, struggling with a Wingull.

Stones began to fall all around them, most of them small but increasing in size as the rock groaned and crackled. As they closed on the thief, she realized he was the same gangly teen from the woods with his red hoodie and Brown Poochyena. The Wingull wrested her beak free as he stared at the shaking rocks all around him and blasted him in the face with Water Gun. Spluttering, he lost his grip, and the Wingull soared over their heads straight for the entrance. As Ren’s eyes followed, she noticed the ceiling buckling.

“Look out!” yelled Tāraki, and she withdrew him.

The teen had followed her gaze and fumbled for his own pokeball.

“MOVE!” Ren bellowed, charging towards him.

But he didn’t. Instead he just stared at the rocks about to crush him as his pokemon flowed safely back into her ball.

Ren tackled him, and they went skidding back across the floor. She landed on top of him, hands on his chest, face almost hitting his shoulder, as a cascade of rocks fell with a shaking rumble. They both remained still for a moment, eyes squeezed shut, waiting for it to be over.

Nothing hit them.

They cracked their eyes open, and she released her death grip on his hoodie. It was darker. The ceiling lights must have gone out—been destroyed—but the emergency lights along the floor were still working, casting everything in a soft, warm glow.

The thief looked up at her, eyes like saucers until something above her caught his attention. Before she could turn her head, He grabbed her around the shoulders with one arm and threw up the other. She flinched as a rock struck his arm just above her head and rolled off onto the floor with a thunk. It was larger than his fist.

“Ow,” he said, and his arm fell across her back. He let out a long breath, and his head lolled, but she could hear his heart thundering through his chest. Everything else was quiet. Then he finally seemed to register that Ren was on top of him, that he was holding her there, and he threw his arms off.

Ren glared down at him as she pushed herself up.

“I’m sorry!—I mean, thank you!—I mean—” he stammered and then covered his face to stop himself. “Oh, fuck.”

Ren stepped off, but stayed looming over him and scowled. “That’s more like it. Believe it or not, I didn’t come in here to save your pathetic ass from being crushed by rocks.” He sat up. “R-r-right. Yeah… B-but, um, th-thanks anyway.”

“You just stole an old man’s Wingull and nearly got us killed! I don’t want your fucking gratitude!”

He nodded sheepishly and got to his feet.

“Give me the Devon package!” she demanded, and her eyes bored angrily into him as he turned and picked the silver briefcase off the floor behind him, arms trembling.

Ren only glanced to make sure it looked right before snatching it from him. She glared at him as he wiped his face and patted the dust off his uniform. For a moment, Ren thought he split his lip, but she soon realized it was a scar, much like his nose had healed slightly crooked. He made to touch the back of his head, which must have hit the floor when they fell, but he stopped, sucking in breath, and clutched at his injured arm. He had rather intricate black tattoo sleeves that were difficult to make out against his brown skin in the dim of the emergency lights. The trembling was probably mostly adrenaline, but he was soaking wet, and his cropped hair was matted up with dust.

“Just go,” she told him.

He looked at her. “What?”

“I’m not gonna keep you here or drag you in. Just tell me your name, and you can go.”

“You’ll t-tell the p-p-police and get m-me arrested.”

“No I won’t. I have six pokemon with me to help haul you in if that was what I wanted.”

“B-b-b-b—” He couldn’t get it out and swallowed before trying again. “Why?”

“So I know what to call you.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, chewing over several different things while she waited. “It’s J-Josh,” he said finally, “Josh Takamoana.”

“Alright Josh, I hope we never see each other again but I have a feeling we will. You better hurry. All that noise is bound to draw some attention.”

He gave her one last lingering glance before turning and stumbling towards the other side. Ren watched him until he disappeared. Then something at her waist gave a tug. Red light sprang from one of her pokeballs and formed into Tāraki.

“Are you okay? You scared me!”

“Yeah. Sorry, Shima. I’m okay.”

He climbed up her and looked at the rubble all around them. She turned back to the way they had come. It was dim, and there were a lot of rocks to climb over, but she could see daylight beyond.

“What happened?” Tāraki asked as they started to pick their way through.

“I saved that guy from getting squished and got the Devon thing back but I let him go.”

“Why?”

“Just a feeling.”

And what feeling was that?

“Pity mostly. He was younger than me—still just a kid really—and already so beaten and desperate.”

Very sentimental.

“I didn’t feel right punishing him any more, especially not when he banged up his arm protecting me.”

And what else? What did you see?

“I don’t… Even then, when he saw that rock coming down, his first instinct was to shield my head and not his.”

You saw someone like you.

“I suppose I did.”

They stumbled out of the tunnel, and Ren’s eyes had barely adjusted to the light when something bumped into her and nearly knocked her off her feet.

“You’re okay!” Kai exclaimed and held her tight just to be sure “We heard the sound, and I was worried so we ran over, but then the tunnel collapsed, and I thought you were dead!”

She felt a trembling and squeezed him back. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

“You’re shaking,” he said into her ear. He was right.

“Oh. It’s just the adrenaline. Don’t worry.”

Ren disentangled herself and saw the old man was standing there, cuddling with his Wingull. Akahata even wagged her tail a little when Ren looked down at her. The Skitty walked up and put a paw on her foot, mewing sweetly.

“He’s glad you’re okay. Also he’s been saying that he owes me for saving his life and wants to come with us so he can pay me back somehow.”

Ren’s smile turned to a frown. “I promised him but I don’t have a slot left. I’d have to leave one of you with Otōsan…” She sat down on the ground so she didn’t have to stand on her unsteady legs as she thought about it. “Kai, how would you feel about adding the Skitty to your team?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind. Jay?”

She nodded.

“We’re traveling together, so this way you’ll still get to see Akahana. Is that okay?” The explanation was satisfactory, and he happily went into Kai’s offered pokeball.

Kai sent him right back out, and he weaved through Kai’s legs and settled on Ren’s lap, purring loudly. His vibrations seemed to calm her own, and she pet his soft fur.

Then a Whismur hopped out of the cave and cautiously approached them. It was rather large and light gray in color with yellow markings. It called out to them with a surprisingly deep voice for its size and the Skitty answered.

“Uh, so the Whismur heard the Skitty try to stop the Uproar,” Kai said as they went back and forth, and Jay twittered a translation. “And he’s heard him sing before and always liked his voice. So he wanted to thank him. And now with the tunnel collapsed and everything else. He wants to know if I’d be willing to take him too.”

“Well are you?”

“Yeah. A Bass Whismur would be perfect.”

As he got out another ball, the old man approached with the Wingull on his shoulder.

“Thank ye so much, lass. Can I know your name?”

“It’s Kosugi,” she answered and offered her hand to shake.

“Oh, this is Captain Briney,” said Kai.

“You saved my dear Peeko. If there is ever anything we can do for you, please let us know. We have a good boat, so if you ever want to get to any of the isles, we’ll be happy to take ya.”

“That’s very kind of you. I’m sure I’ll take you up on it at some point.”

“Do,” he said with another firm shake.

Kai sent his new Whismur back out, which made Ren realize the rest of her team was still in their balls, and she released them.

They had barely finished the introductions and explanations when the Rustboro police arrived.

“I didn’t tell them about Josh's scar or his nose or his tattoos or anything else useful. I said it was too dark, and I didn’t actually catch him, that he dropped the briefcase in the panic. I couldn’t have told anyone why I did it at the time.”

But you understand now?

“Yes. I do.”

#ORAS #nuzlocke #storylocke #Ren #Kai #Josh #Taraki #Jay #Akahana #Iki #Panahi #Maia #Hakeka #Mele #Horu #Fang #Capt. Briney #Peeko #lgbtq #chapter

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