Content warning: Major mentions of child abuse.

Chapter 11

Tripping Balls

(-¤-)

I was rocketing down to Rowans lab on my shitty psuedo skate board, I had passed through Floraroma without event and after a day or so blasted through Jubilife as well. Floraroma didn't have anything important for me other than a hot meal and the only thing I wanted from Jubilife was to use the global trade tower, which I can't do without a license. So I just rode on through.

Luke had needed less and less breaks as we went as well, this pulling was great endurance training for him. When he evolved into a crobat he wouldn't need any breaks from this, not to mention he'll be much faster.

The driftloon was... interesting. It seemed like it couldn't make any expression other than 'blank'. It didn't have a mouth to smile, or eyebrows to wiggle, and come to think of it I haven't seen it blink yet. They seemed chill at least, it would lazily drift around the camp and eat its food. But other than that it seemed to not really care about anything. Maybe its a ghost thing, or maybe I just can't read this species all that well. For all I know it was pissed beyond compare, but I had no way to know. They were still a thousand times better than Bob, who was still being a dick.

I had told them that I was gonna trade them away, but it again doesn't seem to care at all. Nothing I do makes it care. At least it listens to me, I couldn't imagine having to constantly deal with a pissed off specter everytime I sat down for lunch. I was training them in the meantime, the stronger they are the more likely I'll be to get a good pokemon for them.

Jack was acting a bit different as well. Ever since our encounter with Suicune, Jack had been putting extra work into training. Which was impressive considering that he was already crazy for it. It's like training a tiny fuzzy Goku, he just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Or would attitude make him closer to Vegeta?

In fact Jack had picked up a move from Driftloom, shadow ball. He was still in the first stages of mastering it, but he was able to form one in his hands. Pretty soon he should have a long range attack. Something he desperately needs.

Turns out pokemon can learn moves from each other, no TM required.

My map said we had reached Bewilder Forest, the last major landmark before Sandgem Town, it sounded vaguely familiar. It looked like your average forest, no spookiness or ominous vibe to it. Just a bunch of trees. Wonder why it was called Bewilder though? Names here tend to be a bit on the nose

We had stopped at the entrance so Luke could rest up, he was clung the a branch of a nearby tree having a well deserved nap. Jack sat on my shoulder as I paced back and forth. I was so close now, just one more hurdle and then I would be down at Rowans and then the world would be open to me. Just a little more.

I glanced back up to Luke, he got thirty minute breaks and we had begun this one just a few minutes before. Jack sensed my anxiousness and was trying to get me calmed down a bit. That consisted of him staring into my soul with eyes that could make a super villian nervous. I think he was trying to intimidate me into being still, it wasn't working.

I stopped and spun back around to face Luke, contently snoozing on his branch. Fuck it, he can sleep just as good in his ball. I snatched the painted orb from my belt and returned him. Jack dropped his weird intimidation tactic to quirk his brow at me.

"I'm gonna walk for the next thirty minutes, the sooner we get there, the better." He glanced to the woods for a moment before shrugging.

I tied my board to my backpack and strapped it to my shoulders. The board had no shock system and the uneven ground would stop me from getting enough speed to maintain balance without Luke. The two wheels needed speed to function properly.

We began our trek through the woods, the canopy over head was split along the path letting in light and sky. It had a distinctly different feel to Eterna forest. Eterna had felt ancient and wild in every sense, as if the trails under the trees were as natural as the rivers and had always been there. Like a slumbering beast of pine and oak.

Bewilder was different, the paths seemed forced, like something had blazed this trail instead of letting it flow naturally. The ground had been beaten fairly flat by the boots of travelers. The woods held a choking darkness between the trunks of oak and cedar, the scent of rotting leaves and sap echoed through the trees. It was quiet, only faint bird song and the occasional buzz of a bug broke the silence.

Shit was spooky yo.

The rustle of a bush by my side put me on guard. I jumped back and Jack jumped in front of me immediately. I waited with baited breath to see what supernatural creature would pop out.

Oddly shaped antlers raised above the bush, like two curved tuning forks with a deep purple orb nestled in the crook of each. I only had a moment to recognize it as a stantlers antlers before faint violet light poured from them. I felt my eyes lock onto them, my mind becomeing blurred as I drank in that luminous beauty.

I blinked at the traffic light, my head felt a bit funny. I must have been high right now, was I walking back home? Yeah... yeah I was going home, from... somewhere.

The city towered over me in dull greys and browns. Power lines strung from building to building and weighed down by pigeons. Street signs that my eyes refused to focus on crawled by. And people, every where I looked, were going about their business. Cars blaired there horns as my feet carried me away from each sight. Nothing looked familiar, but I've been here before, I was home. My apartment stood before me imposing and brown. Wasn't it grey? I reached for the doornob that could not decide if it was brass or crystal and opened the-

Door? Wait, what the fuck?

I stood at the entrance of Bewilder Forest again. My head felt kinda cloudy but whatever it was was clearing up quickly. What happened? Lets see, there was a deer- no, a stantler. And then I was in the city? How did I- wait.

MOTHER FUCKER!

I got hypnotized! That must be it, the stantler hypnotised me into walking back out of the forest. But why, I wasn't messing with them. Hmmm, maybe trainers tend to try catching them fairly often, so now they just take preventive measures. Maybe. Or they like fucking with people, is that why it was called Bewilder forest?

This shit is weird.

I glanced around, suddenly remembering that Jack was with me at the time. I let out a sigh of relief to see him just a few feet away staring blankly at a tree. Looks like he got hit with it too, I wonder what hes hallucinating about.

"Ay, snap out of it." I nudged him with my foot away from the tree, fortunately that seemed to be enough to work. He looked around in alarm before looking back up to me.

"We got bamboozled bro, that damn deer hypnotized us into getting the hell off of his lawn" he snorted in anger "we are going back in there and were gonna kick its ass!"

I didn't wait for an answer, instead a turned on my heel and marched right back in those woods to look for that bastard. We didn't make it very far before a stantler stepped out into the path. Jack jumped down tensed for combat.

"Jack use quick attack and- huh?" The rattle of leaves yanked away my attention, something was in the bushes and it was so dark now, I could hear the cops going through the house trying to catch even one teenager.

I was a bit drunk, but was sober enough to jump out of the closest window and make a run for it. Freinds and classmates ran past me in a frantic effort to get away, getting caught meant your parents finding out, a fate seemingly worse than death at this age.

The yard was short but a fence blocked my path, I scrambled over it as quickly as I could. My feet hit dirt and I drunkedly stumbled to the floor. I breathed for a moment trying to clear my swimming head. The shouting of authoritive voices encouraged me to get up again. Gotta get home, I'll be fine as long as I get home. Tennis shoes slapped the ground as I dashed through someones back yard and over another fence. I dodged swing sets and used sheds in my effort to get over another fucking fence.

I could see it now, my house, two stories and all the lights still off. The gate to the privacy fence swung open and I was baCK AT THE FUCKING TREELINE!

WHAT THE FUCK!? Did they fucking gang up on me that time? What the hell was that? I don't remember that particular party escape, but it definitely seemed like something I would do. Dammit I should have known there was more than one, hell there's probably a whole herd.

Jack was infront of the tree again, sitting on the ground with his head hung. He looked... sad. I've never seen him sad, just angry or content, maybe the stantler dug up a bad memory. Oh they better not pull that shit with me.

I nudged Jack again and snapped him out of it. He shook his head in an attempt to dispell his confusion.

"Bu? BUN! Bun eary ear!" Jack glared at the forest, he looked extra pissed. One could even say he was hopping mad. Hehehe.

Ok, puns aside, I'm pissed. Those rat fuckers had done this twice now, I'm getting through this forest, one way or another. Luke was still napping, my cheapo watch said it had only been ten minutes since he first went to sleep.

I was too close and too pissed to just stop now. I barely felt Jacks sudden weight on my shoulder as I stormed back into the woods.

"The moment you see one, clock it." I growled.

Utter bullshit. All I want is to walk down a stupid path. I wasn't even planning on messing with some fucking stantler.

They must have been waiting for us because it wasn't but a few minutes in that we encountered one. Jack launched off my shoulder with furious intent, smacking it in the head before it could react.

It reared back before trying to stomp at Jack with glowing hooves. Keratin crashed onto bare dirt as Jack dodged to the side.

I heard a rustling to my side, same trick as last time. I bent down and scooped up a good bit of dirt and flung it. I saw just the breifest flash of light as I aimed that was interupted by the grit hitting unprotected eyes. It flinched back and shook its head as it tried to clear its eyes of the painful crud, the light of hypnosis flickering out.

I heard several rapid fire smacks as Jack started to pummel his opponent. I glanced back to see even more had arrived, two were charging me as their antlers shone a soft light. She was coming, I knew those foot steps, she was upset.

I wasn't safe, I was never safe here, I'm supposed to be, but I'm not. Not when she can just storm in. Not when she can just demand my attention. Not when she can just take the door off the hinges.

I learned not to try locking her out, that just makes it worse. She took my door away for a week the first time. I never could sleep with an open door.

Shes behind me, towering over me I just know it. I don't want to look, I can't look.

"Alice Anabelle Thorn"

Oh god, she used my full name. I don't want to look but if I don't she'll get the belt. I turn to meet her eyes, its pavlovian how I respond to her. No thought, just movement. she's angry. Why. What did I do.

I do my best not to cry, if I do she'll get the belt and give me a reason to cry.

She's saying things, so many things. Over and over. I want to answer, but I can't. If I do she'll scream and tell me I'm disrespectful. I just want to answer. But if I try she'll get the belt.

"I can't be your freind, I have to be your mom"

How many parents would love for their kids to be their freinds.

"Girls aren't supposed to like that stuff," she snatches away a toy car "Do you know what the other moms say about me?"

Why do they matter, they barely even know me.

"My daughter is not a lesbian!" "This is just a phase!" "I know cause I read it in your diary, your not supposed to keep secrets from me!"

I can't change that. You weren't supposed to see that! Please put down the belt, I'll be good!

"This hurts me more than it hurts you"

Please not the belt, please stop!

"You can tell me anything dear"

No I can't, you'll yell, and be disappointed, and get the belt.

"I love you dear"

You'd love me more if I was a dog.

You were supposed to love me unconditionally.

No matter who I became.

Did you even know what that meant.

Did you care.

Or am I here because thats what people told you to do.

Families have children.

Children are people.

Just treat me like a person.

I'm not a thing

Please.

My eyes snapped open. I took in the familiar scene of the forest entrance. My heart hammering in my chest. I sat there trying to calm down.

They brought up mom. All the worst parts of her. They made me live through that shit all over again.

I heard a familiar thumping sound very close to me, I looked up. Jack was infront of the tree again, wailing on it with pound after pound. The bark was already starting to chip off and gather by his feet.

I stood up, legs finding a shaky balance, and scooped him up. Whatever he was experiencing must have faded away as I did so because he stopped swinging. I sat back down with my back to the damaged tree. I just held him to my chest, and breathed.

In

Out

In

Out

You're ok

Shes gone

She can't get you here

You left that behind a long time ago

In

Out

Don't cry

In

Out

I'm ok

I'm ok

In

Out

Jack let himself be hugged, even he could tell I wasn't alright. My mother was not an understanding person, and the older I got the more apparent that become. I had no privacy growing up, I had no safe place to hide away in. The steel bars over the windo of my childhood room flashed across my mind.

Its no wonder I moved out at 18. That place was horrible, those people should have never had a child.

I breathed deeply while I waited for my panic attack to pass. After what felt like an eternity, my nerves calmed and I stopped shaking. I was ok. I let my grip on Jack loosen though he did not move.

Those fucking deer made this shit personal. I can deal with an asshole, or a snotty bastard. They wanted me out of their forest. Fine, I get that, I do. But bringing her up like that was just low.

I stood up, my body felt like jelly as I moved forward. Jack clambered up to my shoulder, still silent. I unsheathed the machete from my backpack and approached the branch Luke had been roosting on before. It was thick and heavy, a perfect perch for flying types.

I started hacking at the base of it. My blade was sharp and eager for the work. Before too long I had severed it, I started to strip it of any smaller offshoots. Luke was surely done resting by now. But still I hacked at this branch, chopping off the excess of length that I didn't need.

Once satisfied I let out Luke, he took a moment to stretch his leathery wings out. His usual greeting died in his throat as he saw me. I must have unsettled him, I would need to apologize later but right now if I said anything it was going to be full of venom.

I unstrapped the quick board and threw it to the ground. Resting my foot on it I threw Lukes end of the rope in the air and gave my self a good kick off. The thought that this would be Jacks first time riding the garbage heap while outside his ball passed my mind breifly. Usually I keep him in the ball to help reduce weight, but if his visions were as nasty as mine then he deserved a little catharsis.

Luke caught the tether with practised ease and pulled me along, ramping up the speed at a comfortable pace. We rode for just a few minutes through the deceptively calm forest. Then I saw one.

It was up ahead by a decent fifty feet, I distance we were rapidly closing. Its other worldly antlers started glowing and I barked out the order for everyone to shut their eyes. Thats how they were doing it, everytime they mind fucked me I was looking at the glow of the horns.

I made sure to note our speed and its location as we sped forward, my eyes screwed shut, nothing guiding me except Lukes echolocation. I lifted my new club as we blindly raced down the dirt road. And with as much strength as I could muster, swung.

CRACK

Solid wood splintered against skull as we sailed by. I opened my eyes and risked a look back. There it was, anime style swirls in its eyes and a rapidly growing lump on its head.

"SERVES YOU RIGHT ASSHOLE!"

Jack let out a visceral shout of agreement.

Alright, no more interuptions, no more bad memories. Rowan, here I come.

(-¤-)

Alice Thorn

Apr 13

Team

Jack

Buneary

Moves: Pound, Foresight, Frustration, Sweetkiss, Defense curl, Baby doll eyes, Quick attack, Jumpkick.

Ability Limber

Luke

Golbat

Moves: Absorb, Super sonic, Astonish, Bite, Whirlwind, Wing attack, Confuse ray, Air cutter.

Ability Inner focus

Bob

Combee

Moves: sweetscent, Gust, Bug bite, Struggle bug.

Ability Honey gather

Driftloon

Moves: Minimize, Astonish, Gust, Focus energy, Shadowball

Ability Unburden

940¥

In Box

N/A

What is an intrepid hero without an angsty backstory.

Remember kids, child abuse comes in many forms. And if your not careful, your kid could grow up hitting rabbits with sticks and challengeing god to a fist fight.

But seriously, don't hit your kids.

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