“Just don’t be late, okay?” Phoebe said to me over the phone, “This is the first time your parents have seen each other in years, and it’s going to be awkward as hell. I don’t wanna be there alone…”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Phoebe’s pleads.
“I won’t be late.”I replied, “The restaurant is in Verdanturf right?”
I knew it was in Slateport, however felt like messing with her a little.
“What? No it’s-”
“It’s in Slateport, I know…” I laughed, “You make it too easy…”
Phoebe groaned before speaking up.
“Tell me why I haven’t broken up with you?” Phoebe asked jokingly.
“Because you’d get bored too quickly if you did.”
I heard Phoebe s******, before she spoke again.
“Whatever you reckon.” Phoebe laughed, “Just be at the restaurant at 7, okay?”
“I’ll be there.” I said, “Love you.”
“Love you too.” Phoebe replied, before hanging up.
It was midday, on August 20th, 2010. Six months since I woke up here, after killing, and being killed by Deoxys, and coming face to face with Arceus.
I almost thought I was dreaming when I woke up in my bedroom at my dad’s house in Lilycove. Before coming here, this house had been destroyed, and Dad killed. When Celebi took me back in time after training with Lewis, I thought that was the last time I’d ever get to see him. When I saw him and hugged him, he asked me what I had been smoking, since I’d never done that in my life.
After that, things became tricky. Whilst I had taken over my life here, I had zero memories of it, and had no idea how similar my past was to here.
I ended up talking to Gwaine and telling him the truth about me, and where I came from. At first he thought I’d lost the plot, however after letting him see my memories, he believed what I said, and helped me figure out where exactly I was, and what had happened.
Turns out I did the CYCLONE internship like before, however here, Cipher and the Songbird Cult didn’t exist, and without them causing problems, we weren’t bothered by Team Magma or Team Aqua. I did the gym challenge with Team Ruby, though slowly people decided to go their own way, or go home. In the end, it was just Brettles and I who managed to complete it and get all eight badges. It only took six months or so, and I had been back at home in Lilycove for a month or two at that point. However it meant that I didn’t meet Lucian, Rain, Joseph or Clea.
I asked Gwaine next about Phoebe. Were we friends in this timeline? Or was I going to have to approach her as that guy that went to school with her, that never talked to her and risk creeping her out?
I was relieved when Gwaine told me that Phoebe and I were close, then nearly fell out of my chair when he said that we started dating after I got back to Lilycove a month and a half ago…
However there was one more thing, I wanted to know before I tried to actually continue living my life here. In this life, had I met Mum and Noah? Laura, Jamie and Melody? My family.
In this world, I hadn’t. Mum left when I was three, and I hadn’t seen or heard of her since. And because Dad wasn’t killed, I had no need to find her.
After that conversation with Gwaine, I immediately packed my belongings, and told Dad I was travelling again. When he asked why, I told him that I wanted to try and take on the Pokemon League, and eventually the Battle Frontier, however I had no intention of doing either of those things.
I had two purposes for travelling again. The first being to try and fill myself in on my new life. To go with Gwaine to the places I went with him before, and figure out what was different. However, the second and more important one was to try and find the others who might be in the same boat as me. Laura, Brettles, Lucian, Joseph, Magnus, possibly Clea and maybe Dash. After all that had happened, I needed to talk to somebody about what we just somewhat survived, that wasn’t Gwaine.
I left that afternoon, taking a ferry from south of the Safari Zone, down past Mt. Pyre, then travelling on foot to Mauville City…
I quickly gathered my belongings, before checking out of the Pokemon Centre in Dewford Town that I had been staying in.
Whilst I hadn’t made contact with everyone from the Hoenn Crisis, I found myself in a predicament of money not growing on trees, and needing to earn some to keep travelling.
After I got in touch with Laura, I found myself short on money, and needing to find a way of earning money whilst travelling. It was when I reached Slateport when I found what I was after.
Whilst I travelled Hoenn the first time, there were weekly Pokemon Tournaments in most major cities. However we didn’t have time to stick around for them, and they were usually well and truly above our skill level. However now, I had all the time in the world, and having endured what I had, found these to be little more than an evening workout. And the cash reward was more than enough to fund my travelling.
The night before, I had competed in and won a tournament in Dewford. Last week was in Rustboro, and next week is Slateport, which meant after my birthday dinner tonight in Slateport, I’d have a week at the beach, before the tournament on the weekend.
My birthday wasn’t for another month, however by this time next month, should nothing change, I may not be around for it. Granted, my family didn’t know this just yet…
That being said, Phoebe was right about tonight being awkward. I knew first hand how awkward it was from when I met Mum again for the first time. Then when I arrived here, I had to do it again…
The day after I woke up here, I had managed to get to Mauville City.
It was a Thursday morning, when I found myself sitting on a bench at a bus stop, with my hood up, trying to not look to conspicuous. I had zero intention of catching a bus, but instead, was waiting for somebody to pass me.
I remembered from when I lived in Mauville with Mum and Noah that Laura would walk along this road to school every day at the same time. And sure enough, today was no different.
“Laura…” I whispered as she walked past. She turned, and looked at me confused before a wave of recognition hit her.
“S***, Jacob?” she asked, as I took off my hood, before she practically tackled me with a hug.
“Not here.” I muttered, “Mum and Noah don’t know about me yet, and if we are seen, we will be in a situation we can’t talk our way out of.”
“Meet me in the park between Mauville and Verdanturf in an hour.” I whispered before pulling up my hood, “We will talk there.”
I quickly left, making my way out of sight, before flying on Mushu to where I was supposed to meet Laura. I could have walked there with her, or anywhere else really, however I know that if one of Mum’s friends spotted Laura walking somewhere that wasn’t to school, with a nineteen year old guy, there’d be hell to pay.
I arrived in the next fifteen minutes, and Laura arrived a little over an hour later.
“I’m sorry.” I explained, “I couldn’t have Mum and Noah finding out about me yet. If someone saw me with you, Mum would think I’m trying to cause trouble.”
“I’m not sure why you call her ‘Mum’,” Laura muttered bitterly, “She isn’t my mum.”
That was one of the things I was struggling to come to terms with as well. They aren’t the people we knew. They look the same, and are probably identical in nearly every single way, but they aren’t. The people we knew, are back in our world, probably not even aware that we had died yet.
“I know what you mean Laura. I still haven’t seen Phoebe yet, because in this world, her and I are together, when the Phoebe I know is back home. But honestly, this is the best we can do.” I tried reasoning, “We thought we were going to die when we decided to face Deoxys. That it would be the end. But Arceus gave us a chance for it to not be the end.”
“Still, this whole situation gives me a bad feeling.” Laura explained, “Elizabeth is convinced that I am her daughter, when really Mum is back home, probably worried sick about me. And now I’ve gone and basically taken over another person’s life. What happened to her? The girl from this world who went to sleep two days ago, only to have me wake up yesterday?”
Laura sat down on the nearby bench, looking at the ground.
“I hate this. I know I should be thankful that we got another chance, and that it is a whole lot nicer than being dead, but honestly, I feel so guilty.” Laura said quietly, “Our family won’t know what happened to us until they find our bodies. Even though we technically survived, they’ve lost two of their children. I almost feel like we’ve faked our deaths, and are just letting everyone else suffer in that, whilst we get to live our happy little lives.”
“We can’t go back Laura.” I replied, “I wish we could as well. I want Mum to know we’re okay. Phoebe as well. Hell, I feel even worse for Gwaine. I died in his arms, and all he ever wanted to do in his life was protect me.”
“I know we can’t go back.” Laura said, “But I can’t use that as an excuse just to forget about them!”
“I’m not saying we do that.” I replied, “We’d be monsters to do that.”
I tried to think through what I was about to say for a second.
“There is no way for us to go back, and Arceus gave us the chance to live a normal life. We can’t do that if we’re too focused on what we can’t change.” I explained, “Maybe one day we can get a message across to them. But until then, if they knew what had happened to us, they’d want us to live a safe, normal life.”
“And as for Elizabeth, think of it this way.” I explained, “If you were swapped at birth with someone else, and you found out that Mum wasn’t your mum, would that change anything?”
“Of course not.” Laura replied, “Regardless, of whether the blood is there, she raised me.”
“Elizabeth here is treating you as her own daughter. Isn’t that enough for you to see her as your mum?” I asked.
Laura remained silent.
“I mean, at least you have her around.” I muttered, “She left me when I was three, and I didn’t see her again for another sixteen years. And even now, the last six months, that I had with her, your dad, Jamie, Melody and yourself, don’t exist anymore.”
“I’m sorry.” Laura replied, “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. This is all just going to take some getting use to.”
“No, it’s fine.” I explained, “It’s ironic. Us being the ones to die, yet ending up with survivor’s guilt. But it’s not all bad news…”
“How so?”
“My dad.” I replied, “He’s alive. He didn’t die in this timeline. That’s why I didn’t come to Mauville to find Mum.”
“Jacob, that’s amazing!” Laura exclaimed, giving me a hug.
“Yeah. Look, I’m not gonna lie, it’s going to be hard to find our feet here, and get used to it all.” I explained, “But that being said, there is a lot of good to come out of this as well.”
“One thing we need to do, is bring the truth out at home.” Laura said, “We can’t keep hiding like this. Mum and Noah can’t keep pretending you don’t exist.”
“How do we do that?” I asked, “I can’t just go bashing on the door. I mean, she left me once…”
“Meet me in Lavaridge Town on Saturday afternoon. In the Pokemon Centre.” Laura explained, “There is a Pokemon Gym, as well as a Pokemon Tournament with a cash prize. The sort of place where two trainers could inevitably meet.”
“So what, we do that, pretend to meet there, which will allow us to make contact, then you pretend to connect the dots?” I asked.
“Pretty much. I’ll confront her about it, and guilt trip her into making contact with you.
” Laura explained, “I mean, before you actually came along, I already knew about you…”
“How?” I replied, shocked at what Laura had conveniently not told me.
“I was working on a family tree project for school, and searching the house for photo albums.” said Laura, “I found one that was dated a few years before I was born, and thought it’d be great for photos of Mum and Dad before they got married. Instead I found a picture of you, Mum and your dad, with you names written on it.”
“If I can find that picture, along with the story about the tournament, it’d be pretty hard for her to talk her way out of it.” Laura explained, “By this time next week, things might actually seem like they were at home before everything went to s***.”
“We can only hope.”
Laura had to leave soon after that. I quickly travelled North, making my way towards Lavaridge Town.
The first tournament I battled in after waking up was in Lavaridge Town. It was my first taste of them, and was the first of a lot of money coming my way.
Each week there is a thousand dollar prize. The winner of the tournament has two options. They can take the prize, or create a pool, which increases by an extra five hundred each week, in addition to the weekly prize, which they can take at any time. However, if they lose, they lose the prize. Glorified double or nothing. The first week is a thousand, the second week, two and a half, third week is four.
When I had arrived in Lavaridge, the current champion had been reigning for five weeks, totalling at eight and a half thousand dollars in the prize pool. I beat him with half my team, and took the money. My mentality was that whilst I could stay and continue to earn money, I wanted to travel Hoenn, which staying wouldn’t allow. I could easily get to different tournaments on consecutive weeks, and earn a thousand at each whilst still being able to travel. However the beauty of this system is that it allowed me to cash in on other people’s greed. Should I leave Lavaridge, and somebody else win the next week, they may decide to stay as long as possible, and build the pool for me to take when I got back. Even if they didn’t that is still a minimum wage for a weekends work.
Once I figured this out, I plotted out a map, with dates that I had to be at certain towns for tournaments. After Lavaridge, I went to Mauville, and from there, to Fortree. In less than three weeks, I had earnt over fifteen thousand dollars, though hadn’t told my family how much exactly I had been earning. Only that it was enough for me to get by. Only Phoebe knew, and even then, it was a little while before she did. But that, among other things would be revealed tonight.
”S***...” Laura muttered, “I didn’t know that these tournaments had such a big prize pool. I really should enter at Mauville.”
We sat in the waiting room of the Lavaridge stadium, looking at the monitor that showed the current champion, with the one next to it showing a live feed of his battle in the semi finals. A guy a few years older than myself, who had won five weeks in a row, and brought the pool to eight and a half thousand dollars.
“You’re not even sixteen? What would you do with eight grand?” I asked Laura.
“I’ll be driving soon, so probably buy a car.” Laura replied, “I dunno, even if I don’t spend it, it sits in the bank earning interest.”
“How the hell do you know anything about interest?” I mumbled, slightly threatened by the fact that my fifteen year old sister seemed to know more about money and economics than I did…
“School?” Laura replied, “Didn’t you pay any attention in maths?”
“I missed a lot of school remember?” I replied, “I probably wasn’t there that day.”
Laura went quiet at the comment.
It was early Saturday evening, two days since Laura and I first met up after waking up here. We both entered the tournament early this morning with the first match kicking off at 10am. Thirty two people entered the tournament, and there were four fields being used simultaneously for the first three rounds. However once it was down to the four semi-finalists, they began only showing one match at a time. The first round took four hours, and by the end of that we were down to sixteen. Two hours after, eight, and then an hour later, four. Myself, Laura and the two trainers currently battling it out on the screen. Once this was over, Laura and I would be battling for the spot in the grand final.
Whilst I had little doubt I could beat her, I tried to not talk about battling her too much. Whilst she was a confident battler, and was trying her hardest to not seem worried, I think she realized how much of a challenge I’d be. We used to train together back when I lived with her six months back, and she had seen how I battled, and how I’ve improved.
“Jacob Reed and Laura Fisher, please make your way to gates one and two respectively.”
The voice on the PA startled me at first, however now I was used to it. This morning it was going off every ten minutes with trainers names as matches began, and the now empty waiting room was originally packed and noisy.
“I guess this is it.” I said, “I’ll see you out on the field.”
I made my way towards gate one, and as I arrived, passed the reigning champion of this tournament, who had just finished his match.
He was a few years older than me and stood a few inches taller. His short blonde hair was practically not even there, and he seemed to radiate confidence. As he passed me, he flashed a smug grin. I didn’t respond, but couldn’t help but find it amusing. I had seen him battle. And he wouldn’t be smiling by the end of it…
I made my way onto the field, as the announcer introduced me, and stood at my end of the field. At the other end, Laura soon made her way out.
Within moments, the battle had begun.
Laura and I both sent out our first Pokemon. On Laura’s side stood a Roserade. Thorn. On mine was Skipper, my Swampert. I looked at the Swampert, expecting to see a look of excitement, or confusion. Like myself, he had died in the final day of the Shadow Crisis, but we had both been given another chance.
Or so I thought. Instead, when Skipper looked back at me, I saw a Pokemon who thought it was business as usual, and was waiting for a command. I was wrong. Skipper, Mushu and Stryker didn’t get the chance I did. They gave their lives back in Mossdeep City.
I stared in shock at the Swampert that was supposed to be my starter, but instead felt like a stranger to me, and Laura took the opportunity. Thorn spun on the spot, launching seeds at Skipper, which buried themselves into the ground before sprouting into thorny vines, grabbing at the Swampert.
“Giga Drain!” Laura shouted, as the Roserade leapt forward, as the its roses began to glow.
There was a flash of light as the vines binding Skipper in place lit up, and Skipper cried in pain. After a few moments he was unconscious as I stood there in shock.
“Are you even trying?!” Laura shouted, before seemingly realizing that something wasn’t right, and stopping herself.
“It seems like Jacob, who battled so well in the preliminary finals, has lost his nerve!” The commentator laughed.
I called Skipper back to his Pokeball and let out the next Pokemon, determined to get a hold of myself, before Laura could do any more damage.
As soon as the Pokemon had formed and the light disappeared, making it legal for me to giv a command, I shouted out the first move.
“Agility!” I shouted.
Stryker the Scyther immediately few towards Thorn at high speeds, rapidly moving from left to right. Whilst this was another Pokemon who I had lost back home, I had to keep it together.
Thorn’s roses began to glow, as it readied an attack.
“Bullet Punch!” I yelled out to the Scizor, who quickly slammed into the Roserade, hitting it with multiple punches in succession, with the final one knocking it to the ground unmoving.
Laura called back her Roserade before sending out her next Pokemon. A Kecleon, which if I remembered correctly, was named Tone. Whilst had I not fought this Pokemon before, it’d prove to be a pain for me, I had back at home, which meant I could take it down easily.
The Kecleon quickly disappeared, blending in with the background.
“Double Team!” I shouted.
Stryker practically disappeared for a moment, before a dozen duplicates appeared in a circle. Even being his trainer, I couldn’t tell which one was actually him.
He held the attack for a few moments, before I found what I was waiting for. One of the duplicates being hit and disappearing. I knew how to beat this, and just had to time it right.
“Big mistake Laura.” I muttered before waiting a moment, then shouting my next move, “One’s about to get hit! Use Night Slash where it was!”
Sure enough, a moment later, another copy went down, and seemingly out of nowhere, Stryker erupted from the circle as the other copies disappeared, and slashed into the air with a claw glowing with a black aura. There was a shriek as the Kecleon appeared out of thin air and was knocked back.
This was what I was after. Kecleon changes type based on what moves hit it. I had no way of knowing what type it was from last battle, and needed to make sure I could get a type advantage. By hitting it with Night Slash, I made it a dark type, making it easy prey for my next attack.
“U-Turn!’
Strykers wings buzzed to life, lifting the steel insect into the air, as it launched itself at the Kecleon, claws exposed, and hitting it before turning around and rushing back to it’s Pokeball. Kelceon lay unconscious as Laura and I both had to pick a new Pokemon.
I sent out Pyro, my Shiny Blaziken, that I’d hatched just before picking Skipper. Whilst this Pyro was born the same way, my Pyro was back home, I’m assuming being looked after by either Mum or Phoebe. Laura sent out Delta, her Espeon, and based on the look on her face, seemed to share in my sorrow. As it stands, the only people we have from back home are each other.
“Get at it quickly!” I shouted. If Delta managed to use psychic abilities to hold Pyro in place, he’d struggle to escape. However I also knew that it was inevitable, so it was of the utmost importance that he be close when it happened.
He was a matter of meters away when he was suddenly encased in a light blue aura and held motionless on the spot. I saw Laura start to speak, before shouting a command as quickly as I could to get there first.
“Overheat!” I shouted, as I heard Laura say Psychic a split second later. As Deltas eyes glowed once again, there was a bang, as flames erupted from Pyro, hitting the Espeon and knocking it back, breaking its concentration for a moment, which allowed me to attack.
“Power Up Punch!” I shouted, “Then Blaze Kick!”
The Power Up Punch did next to nothing to the Espeon, however it wasn’t intended to do a great deal of damage. Instead, to power up Pyro, make sure that Blaze Kick would definitely knock it out.
Pyro began to glow as the leapt forward and the punch hit Delta, before spinning around and hitting it with a fiery roundhouse kick, knocking it against the back wall, and knocking it unconcious.
“And in a massive turn of events, Jacob has given himself a giant lead, without seeming to break a sweat!” The commentator shouted over the PA system, “Now it is Laura’s turn to choose a Pokemon!”
Laura glared at me before choosing her next Pokemon. However I decided to have some fun with her.
I called Pyro back to his Pokeball, and clipped it to my belt, before grabbing another. However before I let the Pokemon out, I took off my belt, with my five other Pokeballs, and tossed it to the side. I was going to beat her with just the one.
“That is a challenge if I’ve ever seen one!” The commentator shouted, “Let’s see if he can walk the talk!”
Laura let out her Manectric, before I finally revealed with Pokemon I picked. Granted, Laura probably already knew.
Gwaine appeared in front of me, as Charge, Laura’s Manectric, leapt at him, launching a Thunderbolt attack. Gwaine teleported, before reappearing behind the Pokemon, letting off a telekinetic blast, launching it into the air.
I grinned at Laura who seemed to be seething at me, before Gwaine teleported into the air a few meters above Charge, flipping, before hitting the Pokemon with his foot, and kicking it into the ground, where it now lay unconscious.
The crowd went wild, as Laura called it back and let out her next Pokemon.
The Azumarill appeared, as Gwaine leapt at it, barely missing as it jumped out of the way.
Bounce, the Azumarill used Dazzling Gleam, hitting Gwaine, who then slashed the air in front of him, causing three blue Psychic waves to slice through the air, and into Bounce.
Before Bounce could gather its bearings after the attack, Gwaine was already onto it, hitting it with two consecutive Power-Up Punches, before finally hitting it with another Psycho Cut, knocking the Azumarill out.
Finally, Laura was down to her last Pokemon, and Gwaine hadn’t broken a sweat. She let out Avacyn, her Altaria, before I raised my arm, for the crowd to see. If they wanted a good match, a good match was what they were going to get.
I pressed the button on my watch twice, triggering the hidden keystone inside it, and causing Gwaine to Mega Evolve.
“The Gallade has Mega Evolved!” The commentator practically screamed, “This is a rare sight indeed!”
Avacyn launched itself into the air, as Gwaine leapt up, slashing at it, but missing. The Altaria launched a Dragon Breath at Gwaine, which he blocked with a Psychic barrier at the last moment. It exploded as it hit the barrier, however when the light disappeared, Gwaine was gone.
There was a gasp from the crowd, as they looked up. He had teleported a number of meters above Avacyn, diving down, and grabbing the Altaria in an iron grip, before teleporting the both of them a few feet above the ground, and using Avacyn to break his fall.
Avacyn was unconscious, and the match was mine.
I walked to the centre to shake Laura’s hand, as she squeezed mine as hard as she could.
“I’m going to kick your *** when I get you home…” Laura muttered, smiling for the cameras.
I couldn’t help but laugh. For a moment, she thought she had me. She was wrong…
Whilst I didn’t show it when I was on the phone to Phoebe, truth is, I was s***scared about tonight. Mum and Dad hadn’t seen each other in sixteen years. Mum disappeared in the middle of the night, without so much as a note or a phone call. Whilst he didn’t show it, I knew Dad resented her for a long time. I don’t blame him. Until I had to meet her back in my old world, I did too. I guess after her taking me in, and giving me another family, I couldn’t help but start to forgive her.
It was mid-afternoon when the ferry arrived at Dewford, and I climbed aboard. Even though I had been doing it for the last six months, it felt strange to be travelling Hoenn again, this time alone. That being said this was probably best. I had Gwaine with me to teach me about my past here, and so far I had learnt a lot. Enough that I was ready to move on.
“So did it work?” I asked Laura over the phone. It was midday of the Monday after the tournament. After I beat Laura, the reigning champion was a piece of cake, and I now had eight and a half grand burning a hole in my bank account. I was calling her during her lunch break at school, from the Mauville Pokemon Centre, as I didn’t want Mum and Noah to know that we were in touch before I had a chance to meet them.
“It worked like a charm.” Laura replied, “They told me to invite you around for dinner.”
“Really?” I asked, “How did you pull it off?”
I heard Laura laugh.
“I found our match online, and showed them, pretending that it was purely out of interest.” Laura explained, “You should have seen the look on Mum’s face when your name appeared.”
I could only imagine the shock for her. I wondered if Noah would have realized as well.
“After that, I told her that you and I started talking, and you mentioned how your Mum left Lilycove when you were a toddler, and that her name was Elizabeth.” Laura explained, “Then I showed her the photo and asked what the hell was going on.”
“So you found it?” I asked.
“Same place is was last time.” Laura explained, “Mum left the room crying, and Dad had a go at me and sent me to my room. But half an hour later, she came in saying that she shouldn’t have left you like that, and by the time she realized, she figured you were better off without her.”
I was shocked hearing this. Whilst Mum and I made amends, she had never said this to me back home.
“Then she said that she will try and make things right, and asked if I could get in touch with you and invite you over for dinner.” Laura explained, “So are you free Thursday night?”
“I think you know I am.” I laughed, “Send me details when you have them.”
The call ended, and I looked at the phone. This morning I had received a message from Phoebe.
“Haven’t heard from you in a few days. Hope everything is okay xx.”
This was something I had struggled with. I knew I had to talk to her soon. I pressed her contact, and held the phone to my ear.
“Hey, nice of you to finally call!” Phoebe said jokingly, “I didn’t mean to guilt trip you this morning.”
“No it’s fine.” I replied, “I’ve been s***ty with keeping in touch since I left Lilycove. Had a lot on my mind?”
“Like that tournament you sent me footage of?” Phoebe asked, “I can’t believe you won eight grand!”
“I wish it was just that.” I laughed, “I found out something interesting though.”
“What’s that?”
“You know the girl I battled in the semis?” I asked, “The one who I absolutely thrashed?”
“So humble in your victory.” Phoebe laughed, “But yeah, what about her?”
“She is my sister…”, I explained, though not enjoying the fact I had to lie to her, “We were chatting after the battle, and I mentioned growing up in Lilycove, and Mum leaving. This girl Laura asked what her name was, and when I told her, she realized that I was talking about her mum. She left Lilycove with another guy, and had a family in Mauville. And I am meeting them on Thursday…”
“F***...” Phoebe said quietly over the phone, “That’s heavy. How are you feeling?”
“In all honesty, pretty good.” I replied, “Like yeah, I think Mum has a lot of explaining to do. But now I know that I have a whole new family that I haven’t even met.”
“I’m glad.” Phoebe said, “Honestly, after how it affected you when we were at school, I’m glad to see that you’re finally finding some happiness in all of this.”
“Thanks Phoebe.” I replied, “I have to go, but I’ll be in Fortree in two weeks. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up the phone, and felt something in the bottom of my stomach. Whilst she was just as much Phoebe as the one back home is, I can’t help but feel like it is someone else, and that I am faking it. Either way, when I saw her in Fortree, I had to make a decision.
Thursday evening arrived, and I found myself standing at the door of the house that I called home for six months. Whilst instinctively I just wanted to let myself in, I fought that instinct, and knocked on the door.
I was dressed in my nicer jeans, and a button up shirt. My hair was still messy, however whilst I was trying to make a good first impression, I wasn’t dressing to impress that much. After a few moments, the door opened, and I was greeted by a man I knew as Noah, my stepfather. However in this world, I was a stranger to him.
“You must be Jacob,” he said somewhat awkwardly, though I couldn’t blame him, “Come in.”
I walked in the door, shaking his hand, before he introduced himself.
“I’m Noah. I guess you could say that I’m your step-dad.” he continued, stuttering slightly. Back when I had this situation the first time he was the same, however it didn’t take long for him to become a bit more calm around me. I didn’t blame him. He was a cop, and now inviting a complete stranger into his home.
We made our way down the hall, past the staircase, where I could hear kids voices upstairs, and made our way into the kitchen nearby. In there, was Mum, looking as anxious as ever.
“Hello Jacob.” she said quietly, seeming unsure of what to say. I didn’t blame her. I was in the same boat. Last time this happened, I opened with what happened to Dad, and things kinda just went from there. Now, there was a lot less at stake, and a lot more room for discomfort.
“Last time I saw you, you practically a baby.” Mum said, “I couldn’t believe it when Laura showed me the video of you two at the tournament, and your name appeared on the screen. It almost didn’t seem real how much you’d grown up…”
“It has been a while.” I replied, “I was just as surprised when Laura and I figured out that she was my sister…”
I had a brief look around, wondering where Laura was. Half the reason this was so awkward was because I was expecting her to be here. It was almost as if Mum read my mind.
“Laura is upstairs with Jamie and Melody. Your brother and sister.” Mum explained, “I asked her to keep them preoccupied when you arrived. I wanted to talk to you first before they knew that you were their brother.”
I was slightly confused, before Noah spoke up.
“What Eliza-, I mean, your mum, is trying to say, is that they’re still young, and finding out they have an older brother, and the circumstances around your relationship with us, might be a bit tricky for them to understand.” Noah explained, “We will tell them soon. Just not tonight. We wanted to meet you first.”
“They will be going to sleep soon.” Mum explained, “We can talk more about… this.... After then. Is that okay?”
I nodded.
“Noah, can you go get them?” Mum asked. Noah quickly and seemingly gratefully obliged, leaving the room, and leaving us alone.
“How is your dad doing?” Mum asked, “Does he know you’re here? Lilycove is pretty far away?”
“He is fine.” I replied awkwardly, “He doesn’t know I’m here. About seven or so months ago, I travelled Hoenn as part of an internship, and only got back to Lilycove about a month ago. Except I left to travel again last week.”
“You travelled Hoenn?” Mum asked, “Where did you go?”
“Almost everywhere.” I explained, “I visited every city in Hoenn except for Ever Grande City, Verdanturf Town and Pacifidlog Town, and completed the gym challenge.”
“That explains how you won that tournament so easily.” Mum replied, still awkwardly trying to make conversation.
Before anything else could be said, I heard voices coming, as Noah entered the room with Laura, Jamie and Melody.
“Hey.” Laura said casually, doing the best she can to hide the fact that we have known each other and lived together for six months already.
“Nice to see you again.” I replied, trying to sound casual, but only succeeding in sounding awkward.
“Jamie, Melody this is…” Mum began, before Jamie piped up.
“You’re that trainer that thrashed Laura in the tournament, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how blunt he was, and had to make sure I didn’t laugh more at the flash of anger that hit Laura’s face for a moment.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“This is my brother Jamie,” Laura replied, “And my sister Melody. This is Jacob.”
Melody hid by Laura’s side, whilst Jamie seemed to stare at me in awe.
Not long after that we ate dinner, before Jamie and Melody went to bed, and it was just myself, Mum, Noah and Laura.
As Mum returned to the room, things went awkwardly silent.
“I promise I’ll tell them tomorrow.” Mum explained, “I just wanted a little time to get my head around all this before I had to tell them.”
“That’s fine.” I replied, before Mum spoke up.
“No, truth is it’s not fine.” Mum interjected, “Truth is, your father and I, our marriage was failing. And when I met Noah, I used that as an excuse to be with him.”
Everyone went silent. I looked at Noah and Laura, who couldn’t bring themselves to make eye contact with either of us.
“And when we found out that Laura was coming, I got scared, and did the only thing I could think of. I ran.” Mum explained, “I told myself that I would call home once things settled down, however I put it off until I felt like you would be better off without me. And I believed it.”
There was silence for a few more moments, before Mum spoke up again.
“And looking at how you’ve grown, hearing about how you’ve travelled Hoenn, and are winning tournaments and making a name for yourself, and making me proud” Mum continued, starting to tear up, “Maybe I was right. Maybe you were better off without me.”
Even though Laura had told me this, deep down part of me didn’t believe her. Hearing this myself hurt. I was conflicted because right now, I was face to face with the woman who abandoned me, and wasn’t there during the times when I needed her most. But now, I find out that she is proud of me, and that she was tormented by guilt this whole time.
“I think it’s best if we leave this in the past.” I said, “Truth is, that there were times I went through hell, and you weren’t there...”
Laura looked at me shocked, however I continued.
“But the truth is, that made me strong.” I explained, “And if I didn’t have that strength, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Whilst they thought I was talking emotionally, only Laura knew just how much what I was saying meant.
“Truth is, there is nothing we can do to change what happened, but I wouldn’t anyway.” I continued, “Even though there were times where it was hard, and I hated you for leaving, I wouldn’t be who I am now if I didn’t have to go through that. I wouldn’t be here, meeting my family for the first time. I’d be some sheltered kid from Lilycove.”
“So let’s just leave this in the past and look forward. We are here now. Let’s focus on that.”
Mum was silent, though I think it was mostly shock that I didn’t hate her. Finally Noah spoke up.
“You’re right Jacob.” He said, “Whilst what happened isn’t ideal, what we have now is the best thing that could have happened from that situation. Instead of dwelling what could have been and what could be, maybe we need to focus a more on what we have, right here and now, and be thankful for that.”
I felt that feeling in the bottom of my stomach again. Without realizing it, Noah had given me the best advice I needed right now. And based on the look on Laura’s face, I feel like she had the same thoughts.
We spoke for a long time, though after that, not dwelling too much on the negative of what had happened between Mum and I, but instead, finding out more about each other’s lives. Noah asked if I had a girlfriend, and when I told them about Phoebe, Mum told me to bring her around next time. By the end of the night, I actually caught them smiling.
“That went differently to how I thought…” I said to Laura on the phone later. I was in a room at the Pokemon Centre in Mauville. Mum and Noah offered for me to stay the night, but I politely declined. I knew they needed time to adjust to this, and me crashing on their couch would have made things a little harder.
“How did you think it would go?” Laura asked, “For a second, I thought you were going to tear into Mum…”
“For a second, I thought I was as well.” I explained, “But Noah was right. We can’t change what has happened, and there isn’t much we can do to change what’s coming. Maybe the best we can do is make the most of what we have now.”
“That hit you hard too didn’t it?” Laura asked.
“Truth is, I found out when I arrived here that Phoebe and I were together in this world, but I have been avoiding her.” I explained, “I felt guilty that the Phoebe you and I know is back home, probably now only finding out what happened to me, whilst I am here with another version of her.”
“But Noah is right.” I said, “I hate that I can’t be there for her when she is probably hurting badly. But we can’t go back. And we can’t live our lives expecting things to go back to the way they were, when we know they won’t.”
“It’s hurts, but we need to let go.” I replied, “We saved that world, not expecting to see the other end, and have been given another chance. This is our home now.”
“I hate it, but you’re right.” Laura sighed, “It’s just going to take time to get used to this.”
“I know.” I replied, “If Mum asks about me, tell her I had a change of plans, and I’ll be back in Mauville when I can.”
“Where are you going?” Laura asked, “Jamie and Melody will be desperate to meet you as their brother.”
“I’m sorry, but I gotta see Phoebe.” I explained, “If I keep this up, I will lose her. I need to face this. I’m leaving for Fortree tomorrow.”
It was shortly after 6pm when I arrived in Slateport. Whilst Phoebe had originally planned to meet me at the restaurant, she didn’t want to run the risk of me being late, and having to sit awkwardly with my sets of parents whilst they waited for me, so ended up meeting me at the docks. As she found me after I got off the boat, she greeted me with a tight hug. Even though we’d been in touch almost daily, it had been seven or so weeks since I was last in Fortree.
“I’m slightly surprised you’re actually on time.” Phoebe laughed.
“Am I really that bad?” I asked, pretending to sound offended.
“No, I’m just thinking worst case scenario.” Phoebe explained, “I’m gonna be awkward enough with your parents together, but God knows how you probably feel.”
“I’m shaking like a Houndour s***ting razor blades…” I replied, “But after tonight, there probably won’t be another occasion like that for a while.”
Phoebe held onto my arm as we walked towards the restaurant, half expecting to need a few drinks to get through the night…
“I thought you said you weren’t coming for two weeks…” Phoebe asked, as she let me inside her apartment.
“That was the plan.” I replied, “But I had some time to think, and decided that I needed to see you.”
Phoebe looked at me somewhat concerned.
“You aren’t breaking up with me are you?” Phoebe asked, “It felt like you have been avoiding me the last week.”
I sat on the couch, as Phoebe sat down next to me.
“No way.” I said, “And I haven’t been avoiding you. But I have been avoiding something…”
Phoebe began to look more confused.
“A few months back, a friend of mine taught me something.” I explained, “He showed me that I can’t expect anybody to understand how I feel, if I’m not willing to be honest with them. So I’m doing that now.”
“Jacob, what the hell are you talking about?”
“What I am about to tell you will sound insane. Like, I wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t believe me, and you’re my girlfriend.” I explained, “The problem is that the only way to prove it would be to see things that are absolutely horrifying. If you can take me at my word, then please do. But just know that me proving what I’m about to say involves something pretty heavy…”
“Okay then.” Phoebe replied, leaning back, “I’m ready for anything. Hit me.”
“Before last Wednesday, I lived in another world…” I said.
Phoebe looked at me confused.
“Is this figuratively speaking, or you’re apparently an alien from outer space who has taken the form of my boyfriend?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. It was a very Phoebe type of comment to make.
“Neither.” I explained, “Our world, is one of countless that are all very similar, yet slightly different. Each with their own Jacob, Phoebe and everyone else. Except I am not from this world…”
I could tell Phoebe didn’t believe me but she decided to humour me.
“Right. So why are you here?”
“Remember seven or so months ago when I travelled Hoenn?” I asked.
“Yeah, you did the gym challenge.” Phoebe explained, “You were one of the few people from your group to actually get all eight badges.”
“In my world, it wasn’t that simple,” I replied, “Our group got caught up in this plan by a group of people, who were trying to unleash Shadow Pokemon on Hoenn. One of them being an extremely powerful Legendary Pokemon. It completely destroyed Mossdeep City, and killed thousands of people.”
Phoebe went silent. Whilst before she was humoring me, if I was making this up, it signalled I was pretty messed up in the head.
“Laura, myself and a few others managed to kill it, and stop the group, however were killed in the process.” I continued, “And because we gave our lives to stop it, we earned the favor of Arceus, who then gave us the option of being able to live out our lives in another world, never to return to our own.”
“The reason I have been quiet since last Wednesday, was because that morning, Laura and I both woke up in this world. My life is different now, and I have been trying to figure out what things are like here.”
“Different how?” Phoebe asked.
“Back in my world, Dad was killed six months ago, and I ended up tracking Mum down, because I needed somewhere to stay whilst I got my s*** together.” I explained, “But here, Dad is alive, and I never met Mum. I met her yesterday because Laura was able to help make that happen.”
Phoebe remained silent, staring intently at me. Not angrily, but instead just deep in thought.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“I want to Jacob.” She replied, “But it is just a bit far fetched…”
I sighed. I didn’t want to do this, but I had to.
“There is only one way I can prove this.” I explained, “But it will involve seeing things that can’t be unseen.”
“Show me.” Phoebe said sternly.
“Are you sure?”
“I want to believe you, and understand what you are saying.” She replied, “But you said it yourself. You can’t expect somebody to understand if you aren’t willing to be completely honest with them.”
I nodded before letting Gwaine out.
“Show her my memories.” I said, “Of what happened to me in my world.”
“Jacob, this is pretty scarring stuff.” Gwaine replied telepathically, “Phoebe shouldn’t have to see this.”
Phoebe must have seen Gwaine’s hesitance.
“Gwaine, show me.” She said sternly, “I want to see.”
Gwaine sighed, before his eyes began to glow. I found myself reliving the events before my death. Deoxys being formed, and us barely escaping. Brettles waiting behind, and eventually his body making it to the top. My pokemon killed, before Magnus and Dash. Then Laura, and myself dealing the killing blow to Deoxys, and dying in Gwaine’s arms. Then the encounter with Arceus, and the offer.
There was a flash of light, as I found myself on the couch at Phoebe’s. I looked at her, and could see she was visibly shaken. I quickly put my arm around her and pulled her close.
“This is why I didn’t want to show you…” I whispered.
“You all died… Then you came here…” Phoebe said, “What about your family back home? Do they know what happened to you?”
“For all intents and purposes, Jacob in that world is dead.” I replied solemnly, “They’re probably trying to plan a funeral for Laura and myself.”
“That’s horrible…” Phoebe whispered.
“That’s why I’ve been so absent the last week.” I explained, “Laura and I were both struggling to get our heads around it.”
Phoebe remained silent.
“But Noah said something last night, which made things a lot easier.” I explained, “Whilst what happened isn’t ideal, what we have now is the best thing that could have happened from that situation. Instead of dwelling what could have been and what could be, maybe we need to focus a more on what we have, right here and now, and be thankful for that.”
“I have another chance at life. I have you.” I said, “And I’m not going to dwell on my old life. That is over. What I have, here and now, this is real.”
It was shortly before 7pm when we finally arrived at the restaurant. Like he always was, Dad was there early. He shook my hand before giving Phoebe a hug.
“So your birthday isn’t for another month. Why are we meeting tonight?”
“I’ll tell you when Mum and Noah arrive.”
I instantly saw his face turn to an expression of dread. Fact is, I felt the same at the both of them being there.
Mum and Noah arrived soon after, with Laura, Jamie and Melody. Mum awkwardly greeted Dad, and introduced Noah, who seemed to be as nervous as he was the day I met him. However on both sides, they were polite and civil, which meant all that we were dealing with was awkwardness.
Whilst Mum, Dad and Noah were talking, and Phoebe was sitting with Jamie and Melody, I was talking to Laura.
“So have you lost a tournament yet?” she asked. I grinned and shook my head.
“S***, how much money have you won?”
“That’s part of why you guys are here tonight…” I replied.
“So you’ve got us together a month early to brag about how much money you have?” Laura asked cynically.
“No, not that.” I replied, “I will explain after dinner.”
Food arrived, and people ate. Once everyone was finished, I spoke up.
“So you have all been harassing me as to why we are having my birthday dinner a month before my actual birthday.” I explained, “That’s because by this time next month, Phoebe and I will not be in Hoenn any more…”
“Wait what?” Laura asked, causing Phoebe to laugh, “Where are you going?”
“Johto.” I replied, “We bought a house there, in Azalea Town. Backs onto Ilex Forest.”
I pulled out a tablet that had the webpage with the house info loaded onto it, and passed it to Laura, who began to have a look.
“What how did you afford to buy a house?” Dad asked, “I had to get a mortgage to do that, and I only paid it off recently.”
“I’ve been battling in tournaments every week, and haven’t been beaten.”
“So what, you’re loade-” Dad began, before Laura handed him the tablet, and he saw the house, “Oh… It’s… Unique…”
“You can cut the bulls*** Dad.” I laughed, “We know it’s a dump.”
The house was a weatherboard, double story house with a large backyard, however half of it was unusable due to it containing part of Ilex Forest, and it being protected land. The boards on the outside were rotting, and windows smashed. The carpets were trashed, and the pipes leaking, and the interior walls mouldy.
I looked at Laura, who I knew was most eager to hear this.
“I have participated in and won twenty two weekly tournaments in the last six months.” I explained, “And from that have won just under two hundred and seventy thousand dollars…”
Laura’s jaw dropped, as Dad looked at me in horror.
“I’m in the wrong job…” He muttered as he passed the tablet to Noah.
“You and me both.” Noah replied as he took it, and looked through the house.
“So you paid that much for the house?” Mum asked, sounding slightly concerned.
“If I did, you’d have my permission to shoot me.” I explained, “No, a little under two hundred thousand. The land is in the perfect spot. That and structurally speaking, the house is sound.”
“We’re gonna travel Johto for six months. Jacob is going to keep competing, and I’ve always been eager to get out and see the world a bit.” Phoebe explained, “After that, we will spend the rest of the winnings gutting it down to the frame, and rebuilding it the way we like it.”
“And what if the trainers in Johto are too much for you?” Laura asked, half kidding.
“Then the money we have left over should be more than enough to be a deposit for a mortgage.” I explained, “I will have to get a normal job, and pay it off the old fashioned way.”
“So how long until you leave?” Noah asked.
“I’m going to compete in a tournament this weekend here, then Mauville. After that I will compete in Fortree, and Phoebe will at that point have packed what she wants, and will join me. Then I will swing by Lilycove the weekend after, win the tournament there, pack the last of my stuff from home, and we will be on a boat for Johto not too long after.”
After the initial shock of our announcement, dinner was fairly uneventful. We said our goodbyes, and Phoebe and I made our way back to the Pokemon Centre where we were staying. Phoebe would be heading back to Fortree tomorrow, whilst I took a few weeks to get there in order to do the tournaments.
“That went well.” I said, “I wish I could have gotten a photo of Laura’s face when I told her how much money I won…”
“Well that’s one down.” Phoebe replied, “We still need to tell my parents.”
“S***...” I muttered, “Do you think they’ve forgiven me yet?”
Phoebe’s parents weren’t overly fond of me ever since Phoebe and I got arrested the night we finally met for lack of better words.
“Probably not.” Phoebe said, “But you have to do it. If I sat through your parents meeting again for the first time in sixteen years, you have to sit through dinner with mine…”
“Can Gwaine go in my place?”
“Look, he’s probably more house-trained and sophisticated, and they’d probably like him more,” Phoebe laughed, “But no, you have to do it.”
As Phoebe laughed, I couldn’t help but smile. Truth is, when the s*** hit the fan back in my old world, this is the life I dreamed of.
“What are you grinning at?” She asked.
“You. Us. This. This life we have now. That we’re about to have.” I replied, “What can I say? I guess I’m just happy.”
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