Story Submission
Username: Desolate Divine
Character Name: Sophie Reed
Story Title: Guardian Angel
Word Count: 3471
Rating/Content Warnings: M (Language)
Story
Spoiler:

I remember when I first met my master. As strange as it is, I don’t remember a great deal before that. It was twelve years ago, back in Hoenn, and I was only a Ralts back then. In his excitement at seeing me, Jacob captured me and another Ralts as well. When he realized, he gave the other to another trainer, and kept me. He named me Gwaine, and from there, I realized just how amazing it was to have a trainer.

Whilst I call him my master, he hates being called that. He says I am his partner, but the truth is, I trust him enough that I would follow him anywhere. I don’t mind seeing him that way, because I know that my master will always have my back.

We travelled across Hoenn, where I evolved, becoming a Gallade. However once we returned home, something changed. One morning, my master woke up, and he was somebody else, sort of. He was the same person, but one who had lived a slightly, yet so drastically different life.

My master came from a different world. In his world, we met the same way, and still travelled Hoenn together. However unlike our journey which was relatively peaceful, his journey was full of despair, violence and sacrifice. A journey that seemingly ended with his own death in order to save his world. However he won favour of Arceus, a God among Pokemon, who let him live the rest of his life here. His world still existed, however, back there, he and the others who Arceus gave His gift to, were dead.

When I met my master after this transition, he was in emotional turmoil. Whilst he tried to hide it from me, I could feel his thoughts, saying otherwise. Whilst he was thankful for the second chance, he missed his friends and family back home, who were mourning his death. He also felt guilty, as if he had killed my master and taken over his life, however this guilt and empathy helped me see he truly was my master, just one who walked a slightly different path.

We travelled Hoenn again, this time competing in tournaments to earn money, and for Jacob to learn more about the life he has here. In those six months, I began to see my old master again. He was still hurt from what he had lived through, but the Jacob I knew was there more and more each day, until he reached a point where the pain was just a distant memory.

After earning enough money, Jacob and Phoebe, the female human whom Jacob had mutual affection for, purchased a home in Johto, that was in need of repairs. They travelled Johto before repairing and moving into their home.

Before too long, Jacob and Phoebe participated in the strange commitment ritual, in which they leave the security of their respective clans to form their own, which the humans call marriage. Phoebe meant everything to my master, and he would stop at nothing to protect her, which meant that I would do the same.

Then nine years ago, their clan grew by one more. Phoebe bore offspring. A female, which they named Sophie. I remember meeting her for the first time.

There was a flash of light as Jacob let me out of my Pokeball. When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was in a hospital room. Phoebe lay in the bed holding the infant human, as Jacob stood next to her, looking completely content. On the wall behind him was a sign. A symbol of a circle with a line through it, over the silhouette of a Pikachu. The humans way of saying no Pokemon were allowed in the hospital.

“You shouldn’t have me out of the Pokeball here.” I said to Jacob telepathically, “The hospital doesn’t allow that.”

“Screw the hospital. If they find out, I will take care of it.” Jacob replied with a laugh, before gesturing me to come over to the bedside.

“I want to introduce you to Sophie.”

Phoebe smiled, before handing the waking infant to Jacob, who then handed her to me. I carefully took the human into my arms, surprised to feel it didn’t weigh much more than a Torchic. As I tried to read her thoughts, I was surprised to hear no direct thoughts like Jacob and Phoebe, but instead waves of abstract images, some even of myself. I looked up at Jacob, curious by the look of contentment he had, before glimpsing into his mind. However what I saw was something I didn’t expect.

Fear. Fear and determination. He was terrified at the question of whether he would always be able to protect her, and determined to do everything he could to keep her safe.

I quickly left, as Jacob’s expression briefly changed to one of annoyance, before returning to what it was before. He usually let me look into his thoughts whenever I wanted, as he figured that in a dangerous situation, silent communication is our greatest weapon. If he looked like that after feeling me in his head, that was something he didn’t want me to see.

I handed Sophie back to Phoebe, who gently took her back into her arms. Whilst I didn’t completely understand Jacob’s emotions, I knew one thing. She was now a part of his clan, just like Phoebe was. He would do anything to protect her. So by extension, I would do the same.

This had been on my mind the last few days. It always was around this time every year. Jacob didn’t leave the house on a daily basis to earn money like Phoebe and other humans did. For the most part he was at home, training. However this time every year, he would travel Johto, or occasionally return to Hoenn to battle in tournaments. The two or so months of the year was enough to provide for his clan for the rest of the year, and in these two months, I know he is anxious to be gone for so long. He calls a few times a day to check up on them, and has even come home early before when something has worried him. So every year, I end up thinking to the day Sophie was born, nine years ago. And my promise to myself to protect her and Phoebe comes into play.

When I made that promise, I thought it would be fighting of hordes of those Shadow Pokemon Jacob told me about from his world, or rescuing Sophie from a burning building. However it usually ends up being babysitting, like today. Jacob is away, Phoebe is at work, and Sophie is home from school because of summer break. I have battled in some of the hardest tournaments in the world, and won. But that is nothing compared to keeping a nine year old girl entertained for nine hours…

“Gwaine, can I play with Shruikan?” Sophie asked, as she sat on the couch in the lounge.

“Shruikan is with Jacob.” I replied telepathically.

“Why?” Sophie asked curiously, “He was here last time Dad went away?”

“He decided it would be a better idea to bring more Pokemon with him.”

“Why?”

“So he can battle with different teams in different tournaments.”

“Why?”

“He said that he is becoming too famous in the tournaments-”

“Dad is famous?”

“Sort of. People expect him to battle and are learning how he battles to try and beat him.”

“So why does he have Shruikan with him?”

“So he can surprise his opponents, and win.”

Sophie looked at me confused before speaking up.

“What about Skipper?”

“He has Skipper as well.”

“F***...” Sophie muttered.

“You shouldn’t say that.”

“But dad does?”

“He shouldn’t either.”

“Why does he say it then?”

“Because he should know better about what he says in present company, but decides to say it anyway…”

“I don’t get it…”

“You’re not supposed to.”

Sophie scowled, which in that moment, reminded me of Jacob, before slumping back on the couch.

“I’m bored.”

“You could always play with me?” I replied.

“Hmm… I suppose…” she said, still sulking.

I shook off the feeling of being slightly insulted, before using telekinesis to lift her off the couch, into the air. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden feeling of weightlessness. Once I had placed her back on the ground, we grabbed all the fruit we could find in the house and made our way to the backyard. I stood at the opposite end, and extended my blades.

“If Phoebe asks, we made fruit salad, and ate it all. But you have to help me clean this all up.” I said, “Now throw them as hard as you can!”

Sophie smiled, before pelting the first piece of fruit towards me. In a flash, the orange that she had thrown at me was in two halves on the ground. Next was an apple, then a watermelon which ended up in six equal pieces before it hit the ground. We spent the good part of the next twenty minutes throwing fruit, before we ran out. However towards the end, Sophie’s attention wasn’t on me, but instead on the trees by the edge of the forest. I looked over, quickly scanning through the trees, spotting a Pokemon trying to stay hidden. To the average trainer and their Pokemon, it would seem strange and unfamiliar. However Jacob had met it in his previous life, and showed me his memory. Even more concerning was that Jacob saw her again in this world, watching Sophie when she was a toddler. Celebi.

“Gwaine, I am going to tell you something, and you can’t tell Phoebe or Sophie.” Jacob said as we stood in the garage. Phoebe was taking Sophie to the shops, and Jacob had just let me out of the Pokeball as soon as they left. He was about to leave home to compete, but looked panicked.

“What’s going on?” I asked telepathically.

“In my last life, I met many Legendary Pokemon personally, and encountered many more.” Jacob explained, “I met Latios, Celebi, Kyogre, Latias, Yveltal, Deoxys, Lugia, Groudon, Jirachi, even Arceus. I saw Raikou, Rayquaza, Moltres, Articuno, Regirock.”

“That is a great honour.” I replied, “Some people live their whole lives just trying to meet one of them. There are probably few people in history who have met so many.”

“To most people it is. To me, it’s a curse.”

I looked at Jacob confused, before speaking into his mind again.

“What do you mean?”

“Every person from my world that I know who met one of these Pokemon died. They got caught up fighting their war and it got them killed. Even me.” Jacob explained, “When I came to this world, I hadn’t met any of them, so when I married Phoebe, and Sophie was born, it meant those ties from my past were not going to harm them. But I was wrong.”

“Why do you say that?”

Jacob scowled, before responding.

“F***ing Celebi lives in Ilex Forest…”

“What?” I asked, “How do you know?”

“Yesterday afternoon. I was out in the backyard with Sophie. I heard my phone ringing inside, so I ducked in to get it, and when I walked back out, not even a half minute later, Celebi was just there, playing with her.” Jacob explained, “I always thought that the talk of Celebi being in the forest, the shrine and all that, was tourism bulls***. But Celebi is here, and has found Sophie.”

“Maybe she was just playing her?”

“Maybe she was. But I can’t take that risk. Celebi is a time traveller. For all we know she could come from a future where Sophie is involved with her. We can’t take any chances.”

“So what did you do?”

“I told Celebi to get away from her, then when she was far enough away from Sophie, had Mushu send a warning attack, so she fled.” Jacob explained, “Look, Gwaine, the reason I am telling you this is so you can keep her away from Sophie. If Phoebe or myself aren’t here, don’t let Sophie out of your sight. And if Celebi shows her face here again, I want you to get rid of her. She is dangerous and will hurt Sophie, whether she intends to or not.”

“Sophie, can you run inside and grab me a garbage bag for me?” I asked telepathically, “I will start cleaning up the fruit.”

Sophie ran inside towards the door, and once she was in I extended my arm towards the house, using telekinesis to close the door and draw the blinds. As Pokemon, we are loyal to Legendary Pokemon. They are practically Gods. But my loyalty was to Jacob and his family, and that outweighed my loyalty to Celebi...

I could see Celebi, still trying badly to remain hidden in the trees, before quickly slashing my blades in the air in front of me, launching a Psycho-Cut at the trees. The one closest to me took the direct hit, causing it to come crashing down, as Celebi quickly fled. I made my way to the edge of the forest, before sending out a loud telepathic message to anyone close enough in front of me to hear.

“Stay away from her!”

The sound of alarmed Pokemon broke the air as they all felt my voice scream through their minds.

“What’s that sound?” Sophie asked as she walked outside with the rubbish bag, and started piling fruit into it.

“Something must have startled the Pokemon.” I replied, as I helped her tidy up the mess.

It didn’t take long to clean it all up, however I was faced with the same problem as before.

“I’m bored…”

“Well what do you want to do?” I asked, wondering if I was going to have to explain to her why her dad has most of his Pokemon again.

“Can we play frisbee?” Sophie asked.

“I don’t have thumbs… I can’t hold a frisbee.”

“You don’t need thumbs. You just do your brain thing like you did before with me on the couch.”

I sighed. She is too smart for her own good.

“Okay, go grab the frisbee and we will play.”

“I can’t reach it.” Sophie muttered, “Dad got s***ty last week when I nearly broke a window with it. He put it on top of the fridge.”

“What did I tell you before about saying that?”

“You told me off for saying f***! You didn’t say I couldn’t say s***ty?!”

“It’s the same thing.”

“Then why does Dad say both of them if they’re the same thing?”

“Because he really should know better.” I explained, “I will get it. Just stay here.”

I made my way into the house to try and find this frisbee. I’m a championship winning Pokemon, trained by a man who has slain two Legendary Pokemon, and I am stuck on babysitting duty…

I found the frisbee and made my way outside. However there was nobody there. Sophie was gone.

I dropped the frisbee and made my way to the edge of the yard, where the trees of the forest begin. It had been raining the last few days, which was one of the reasons why Sophie had been so restless. The ground over here was still damp, and there were footsteps leading into Ilex Forest.

“F***ing s***...” I thought to myself, as I ran to the house.

Not too long after Jacob saw Celebi in the backyard, he travelled for a few weeks around Johto, however instead of competing, he was searching for something. A Mega Stone. He already had one which was embedded into his writst watch, however needed that for his tournaments.He wanted to keep a second one in the house for when he wasn’t home, in case something happened. By this point, my bond with Phoebe was strong enough that she could trigger a Mega Evolution, and from there I could battle without instruction.

I found the Mega Stone, before running into the forest, trying to follow the tracks. Whilst telepathy had been useful in the past, I couldn’t yell out to Sophie with it now. I spooked the native Pokemon before, telling Celebi to leave Sophie alone. If I did that again, and she is near a Pokemon, it might attack her.

I ran for a few minutes, trying to telepathically reach out. Human minds feel different to Pokemon, and I have talked to Sophie through telepathy for years. I could feel the Pokemon around me. However after a few minutes, I felt Sophie, and felt her fear.

“If you can, shout.” I said to Sophie.

There was silence which told me she was in trouble. I kept running, trying to figure out where she was. Then I heard a scream. Sophie.

I ran to the sound of the scream, and by the time I got there, I heard the buzzing of wings.

“Gwaine!”

I looked over and saw Sophie with her back against a tree. A few meters away from her was a Beedrill who had decided to make me it’s next target. Big mistake.

“Catch!” I said as I threw the Mega-Stone to Sophie, hoping to Arceus that this would work.

She caught it, and the moment the stone touched her hands, I was engulfed in a white light, as I felt a familiar surge of energy flow through me that I hadn’t felt in a while, and as my body changed. When the light disappeared, the Beedrill was almost on me.

I used my improved telekinesis to lift myself into the air, pulling up loose branches and leaves with me, before launching a telekinetic blast at the Beedrill, knocking it back. As it flew through the air, I launched myself forward, using Psycho Cut, knocking it unconscious in two quick, successive slashes.

Once I knew it wasn’t getting back up, I made my way to Sophie.

“I told you to wait in the backyard! Did you ask for the frisbee so you could sneak off?!”

“I promise I didn’t!” she sobbed, “Back when we were playing with the fruit, I saw a Pokemon, then when you went inside I thought I saw it again, so I went looking for it.”

Celebi. I was understanding even more, Jacob’s frustration with her.

“Let’s go home. And don’t ever come in here by yourself again.”

We made our way back, but once again, Celebi was watching.

A few days later, Jacob returned home from his recent string of tournaments, managing to win every one, and earn a bit of money. Once Phoebe and Sophie had said their hellos I addressed Jacob.

“Garage at midnight. We need to talk.”

Once Phoebe and Sophie went to sleep, Jacob grabbed a beer, and met me out in the garage.

“I gotta, say I miss Phoebe and Sophie more than anything when I’m on the road.” Jacob said, “But I gotta say, this stuff comes a close second. I really gotta find you some Pokemon beer or something so you can try it Gwaine.”

“I’ll pass.”

“So what’s going on?” Jacob asked, “Why are we in the garage at midnight?”

“There was an incident while you were away.” I explained, “Celebi.”

“F***!” Jacob shouted, before remembering Phoebe and Sophie were asleep, and toning down his voice, “What happened?”

“We were playing in the backyard and she was in the trees. Sophie saw her, but I sent her inside to get something, and scared Celebi off.” I explained, “A little while later, Sophie wanted to play with the frisbee, but said you left it on the fridge, so I went to get it. But when I was inside, Celebi must have come back, because Sophie was gone. I found her in the forest, about to be attacked by a Beedrill, so I went mega and knocked it out. But I caught Celebi watching us as we left.”

“That pain in the f***ing a**.” Jacob muttered, before noticing something, “Wait, how did you go mega? Sophie?”

“The moment she touched the stone, I mega evolved.”

“That’s comforting to know.” Jacob replied, “But for now, we need to send a message. That my daughter is off limits.”

And that’s how we ended up here, in Ilex Forest, in front of the Shrine to Celebi in the dead of the night. Jacob brought three water types, and two fire types. He had the water types douse the nearby trees until they were soaked. He didn’t want to burn the forest down. However…

“Flamethrower…” Jacob muttered as Pyro and Mushu unleashed their flaming breath upon the shrine. He called them back to their Pokeballs, before shouting into the forest.

“My daughter is off limits Celebi! So stay the f*** away, if you know what’s good for you…”