Username: Desolate Divine
Character Name: Sophie Reed
Story Title: What keeps us up at night.
Word Count: 1708
Rating/Content Warnings: Just a little bad language. All G
Story:
Spoiler:

As I lay awake in my room at the Orebourgh City Pokemon Center, I watched Enigma who sat unmoving, staring quietly at me. The Type: Null was supposedly aggressive, and appeared that way when I first me it, but now it appeared apprehensive more than anything. I didn’t necessarily blame it. It was born in a lab then suddenly given to me. I would be apprehensive in that situation.

I was thinking about the Type: Null, to avoid thinking about what earlier tonight. I tried to talk to Renny, and find a way that we can not be at eachothers throats, but somehow triggered some sort of panic attack, causing him to storm off. Thinking about it kept me from sleeping, and honestly, after the day I had, I would probably need as much as I could get.

I remember back home that Dad struggled to sleep most nights. As a kid I didn’t understand why, and thought he had some sort of medical condition, but after that day that Auntie Laura helped me to get my motorbike learners license, and she told me about dad battling because his life depended on it, things started to make sense. He had seen things that kept him awake at night, and that haunted him in his sleep. I just wish I knew what these things were.

Speaking to Dash today was the most insightful thing I have heard. He implied heavily that he knew Dad, referring to him by name, but that wasn’t it. Dash told me about how he wasn’t born in this world, but came here after his world died at the hands of a Legendary Pokemon.

I rolled onto my side, trying to get comfortable as I continued thinking about what Dash said, trying to piece it all together. If Dash came from his world to here as a teenager, and knew Dad, that means Dad either came here at some point and met Dash, or Dad is actually from Dash’s world, and knew him there.

If Dad and Dash share the same history of their world dying because of a Legendary Pokemon, it suddenly makes his disdain towards them understandable, and why he insists I know how to battle them. But I still wanted to know more.

As I was thinking this, I remembered a night a few years back, shortly after I turned fourteen.

************************************************** **************************************************
The digital clock next to my bed read 1:49am. I had to leave for school at 7:45 tomorrow morning, so I should have probably been asleep. But I still hadn’t finished reading this book, and knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.

I sat in my bed with a bedside lamp on, reading a book I got for my birthday about a month earlier. It had pictures and descriptions of Legendary Pokemon, some of which were hard to say even existed outside of myth and legend. Granted, I found out a few weeks back that Dad only got me this so I could figure out their weaknesses and exploit them should I ever meet one. He says how they’re dangerous and I need to know how to fight them, but they’re practically gods. Why would they be a threat to me? Gods are supposed to be benevolent aren’t they?

Regardless, the book still interested me, and I still wanted to learn all I could from it.

My attention was taken at the sound of breaking glass downstairs.

“What the f*** was that…” I thought to myself, as I got out of bed, still clutching the book. I made my way out of my room, going to Dad’s study, where he kept his Pokemon, grabbing Gwaine’s Pokeball, before making my way downstairs, silently.

I got to the bottom of the stairs and could hear footsteps in the kitchen, as I crept slowly towards the doorway, holding Gwaine’s Pokeball out, as I flicked on the light.

Instead of a cliche’ burglar in all black and a balaclava, stood by the bin, emptying a broken glass out of a dustpan, was Dad. He flinched at the sudden light.

“Sophie it’s nearly 2am. Why aren’t you asleep?” he asked somewhat irritably.

“I could ask you the same question.” I retorted, equally irritable. Dad sighed.

“I had a nightmare okay? I just came down to get a drink.” He explained, “Why are you still awake? I know I didn’t wake you, because you’re still in your uniform…”

He wasn’t wrong. I was caught out.

“I was reading this book.” I explained guiltily, holding the book up, which I was still clutching.

I thought Dad was gonna get mad and tell me to go to sleep, however, he seemed too tired to be bothered being a parent, because he did something I didn’t expect.

“So what were you reading about?” he asked, as he walked over to the liquor cabinet, and began pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

“Hoenn Legendaries.” I explained, slightly confused that he was this calm, “I am up to the section about Registeel.”

Dad sat down at the table, before gesturing at me to come over, before taking a sip of his drink, and opening the book and finding the section on Registeel, and reading through it.

“So why Hoenn?” He asked, not looking away from the page.

“I’ve read through Johto heaps because they’re the ones I am most likely to see. Same as Kanto. It isn’t too uncommon for Suicune to be sighted near Viridian City.” I replied, “I guess the next ones I am most likely to see are in Hoenn. You and Mum are from there, and we have family there.”

“Makes sense.” Dad replied, as he flicked through the book, eventually stopping on a page not too far away. “This one was my favorite when I travelled Hoenn.

He slid the book to me, as he finished his drink, and went and poured another one. I had a look at the page he opened to, with an artist’s rendition of a blue and white, draconic looking Pokemon. Latios.

I had a briefly looked at the section on Latios before, but it didn’t interest me. Dad had never mentioned any sort of fondness for it before. For Him before. The book said they were all male.

“Why Latios?” I asked, curious. Dad usually never had anything pleasant to say about Legendary Pokemon.

“I’m not too sure.” he replied, “He just interests me. He has the ability to share what he sees with others. Kinda like a weird live-stream, can turn invisible and fly faster than a jet-plane.”

Dad took another sip, before continuing.

“I always wanted to meet him. But now, I don’t care as much. It isn’t a big deal to me.”

“How come?” I asked, half expecting him to close off completely.

“I have my life here. Even if I travel occasionally to compete, it still all is about what I have here. Latios isn’t worth putting that aside.” he explained, “Besides, read this.”

Dad pointed to a section of the page, before continuing to drink his glass of whiskey.

‘Latios will only open its heart to a Trainer with a compassionate spirit.’

“It’s no secret I’m a bit of an a**hole.” Dad replied jokingly, before flicking through the book further, looking at the pictures. Kyogre. Groudon. Rayquaza. Jirachi. I almost saw him smile as he looked at the images, as if he was reminiscing. At the time, I didn’t piece it together. However everything changed when he flicked to the next Pokemon.

Deoxys.

His expression shifted, and he held his gaze on that one a little longer. He went to continue to the next one.

“Wait, what’s that one?” I asked, “It looks creepy.”

“That is Deoxys.” Dad explained, “And it shouldn’t be in the Hoenn section.”

“It’s not native to Hoenn?” I replied.

“No. It’s a mutation of a virus from space.” Dad said “It is only here because it was discovered by the Mossdeep Space Center in Hoenn, but it is not even native to this planet.”

I had a look at the page but saw nothing of the Mossdeep Space Center mentioned, or even the space virus.

“How do you know that?” I asked, as Dad stood up, finishing his drink.

“I met some people when I travelled who knew a fair bit about these Pokemon.” Dad said, placing his glass in the sink, “Now go to sleep. Phoebe will kill me if she knows I let you stay up this late.”

I took the book, and stayed up for another half hour reading the section on Deoxys, describing its ability to regenerate and to change forms. The pictures themselves were all artist sketches, but I could only imagine how terrifying the real thing probably looked.

At about 2:30am I fell asleep, and had almost forgotten about this night…

************************************************** **************************************************

As I remembered this, I opened my Poketch, with the dim light of the display getting Enigma’s attention, who still however didn’t move.

I opened the search engine and looked up Deoxys, and was immediately greeted by an unnerving image of the Pokemon. It’s eyes seemed cold and almost dead. Was this one of the Legendary Pokemon that Dad said was pure evil, and would not hesitate to kill you?

Thinking about everything Dash said, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the Pokemon that caused his world to die. And if Dad were from Dash’s world, did he see this Pokemon?

Was this what Dad dreamt about? What he had nightmares of the kept him from sleeping? And what he refused to tell me about? That I wasn’t old enough to know about?

I remembered Auntie Laura’s explanation of his battling. He battles like his life depends on it because once upon a time it did. What if Dad fought this thing? The fact that he is still alive says that he beat it, so how strong is he really that he could do that? I have seen him battle and he always seems like he is holding back.

As my thoughts dwelled on this, it wasn’t too much longer before I fell asleep. One thing was certain though. As soon as I get home, I want answers...


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