Pedestal: Chapter 50

"Des, Flamethrower!" I couldn't remember being this proud of any of my team for quite some time. Nick hadn't been lying in the fact that Flamethrower was insanely powerful. So far Des had nearly set several things on fire: me, the bed, Nick, Chase, Ike, me, a poor Chatot, one of the Chansey, the TV, me, Konstantin, Chase, and… Well, he seemed to go for me a lot, and more recently, Chase since the Garchomp also knew it.

Des and Chase battled it out with flames. Des obviously could use the fire with a lot more ease and could keep it up longer, but Chase had him beat out in raw power thanks to his years of training. We had only been together a little over half a year now.

"Most awesome move ever," I sighed happily, perfectly content to watch my Camerupt breathe fire that would incinerate anything save himself in a heartbeat. And I had thought Lava Plume was awesome. It couldn't even compare--and he could aim the Flamethrower. The Lava Plume was a little harder, and he had nearly hit me or other members of the team often enough that I had turned him back to Embers when we needed fire.

"Told you," Nick replied.

The awesomeness didn't last long, unfortunately, but then again I wasn't holding out too much hope for it to. It never did, after all. I wasn't that lucky. Once Carlita noticed Des' new move, she immediately wanted one as well. Before I could do much more than argue vainly with her, Nick handed over another TM and took the liberty of teaching her SolarBeam. And, after seeing it precisely once in action, I vetoed it and told him to give her a different, much less destructive, move.

"I'm not made of TMs," Nick said sarcastically, opening up a case full of them.

"You should have asked me. What possessed you to teach her that move?!" I snapped, gesturing to the unfortunate tree she had vaporized. I glanced over, only to see that she was gathering sunlight again. "Teach her something else!"

"Fine! Carlita, come here!" We had to chase her down and hold her on the ground in order to get her to forget SolarBeam and learn Iron Tail instead, but at least she wasn't shooting sparkle death rays anymore. I could sleep that much easier.

Unfortunately, that soon made Ike figure he wanted a move. "Not-uh, Ike. Des and Carlita got one for evolving. You haven't yet." I had to admit that I also didn't want to give the little monster anything stronger to attack me with, too. The Shinx mewled pathetically and tried the sad kitten angle. I looked away, feeling guilty, but still not giving in.

"Shiiiiiii," he whined, deciding to claw his way up my leg instead. Nick clamped a hand over his mouth to try to stop himself from laughing.

"Look, Ike's still pretty young but you said he's been starting to use electric moves, right? That means he should evolve soon. Can you wait, little guy?" He plucked Ike from my pants and held him like you would a Skitty. Ike was not amused and sunk his claws into Nick's hand when he tried scratching his belly. I snickered at Nick's expense.

Eventually, we managed to convince Ike--with some rather surprisingly helpful support from Konstantin--that he would be able to learn a new move once he evolved. He grudgingly accepted this. Carlita and Des gleefully used their new moves for the rest of the day on everything available. Several times Chase or Ser had to rescue either Nick or I from certain doom, and after a couple burned shoes and what could have easily been a broken leg, we decided enough was enough.

"Okay, you two. Enough of the annihilation routine," I called, safe atop Chase in the sky. Des stopped at once, though Carlita had to topple one more tree before she obeyed.

"Hey, you know what this means?" Nick asked when we'd landed again. I didn't have time to ask before he said, "Gym leader!"

"Wh-What--"

"Look, you have a Camerupt that can burn down anything that opposes him, and Carlita's got some new moves, too. You could totally take on Crasher Wake now."

"No way," I replied flatly. Nick pouted, but I added, "Remember last time? That wasn't pleasant."

"The kidnapping part or the total crushing defeat part?"

"Neither of them was fun!"

"That can be avoided with more careful planning. If we train up Ike a little and he learns a good electric move, then he could help. And of course--! Your little stalker ghost can help!" Nick snapped his fingers and beckoned Konstantin over. "It will be too easy for you this time around."

"Kostya isn't mine."

"He's battled for you before."

"That's--beside the point."

"No, it really isn't. Come on. It's Gardenia all over again. You're strong enough to take him on, easy. If you win--"

"No bets." I didn't have any money this time, and I didn't want to have to lose any more dignity than I could help. "No Gym battles. I'm just going to train with my team for awhile. Des needs to get used to being big, and Carlita has that tail thing of hers now, and we still have to figure out how to get along properly with Ike, and Kostya is… there…" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. It seemed like too much to handle to begin with. But then again--I had the perfect resource right in front of me. "Nick!"

"…Uh?"

"You've dealt with lots of Pokemon, right? How do you get your team to behave?"

"I ask them to."

"What if they don't--"

"Pokemon respect trainers with a lot of badges," he told me curtly.

It was a combination of that, the fact that my Pokemon in no uncertain terms agreed, and a pretty healthy bribe that made me concede--to fighting a different Gym leader. I wasn't about to take on Crasher Wake. But I would try my hand at someone else. "…There's a steel type leader, isn't there?" Fire and fighting were both good against steel. I would take those odds. Especially with Des' new 'kill it with fire' move.

I didn't really want to Fly anywhere, and since we didn't have much of a time limit, we decided to make a proper training journey out of it. Nick traded out a good deal of his team for ones he wanted to level up, save Chase, and my team and I had to spend the first week or so of it getting used to a host of new Pokemon and personalities.

On the night after the first week, we had just passed Pastoria and were camping in the mud and rain. I was not happy about this, either; I had vowed never to return to this place. Now, too, I couldn't even let Des out. If it wasn't the rain, it was the mud. He'd sink like a stone. So most of the time, my team had to be kept in their balls and Konstantin and Nick were my only company.

Well, that was until I fell asleep and found myself in the white world.

"Oh my god--"

There you are!

I tensed and froze when white little hands connected to white little arms with blue-tipped sleeves wrapped themselves around my stomach. The Froslass set her head on my shoulder blade, sighing and freezing my shirt to my back. Oh boy. I had somewhat been expecting to see her again, but not so soon. And I couldn't help but remember the last time we'd seen each other; I had been nearly killed by that black-haired man…

I was so worried, she murmured into my back, continuing to breath frost on me.

"I'm sorry?" I guessed, wishing she'd let go. Dream or not, it was uncomfortable to feel my shirt slowly freeze to my skin. "C-Can you let go now?"

Oh. Yes. Of course. She swung away from me and circled around until she was facing me once more. She studied me up and down, appraising the damage. Finally, she spoke again, What happened to you?

"…It's a really long story." And one I didn't feel like recalling. "But I'm fine, see? I'm still alive and I still have my team and it's all good." Well, aside from the fact that I had some form of what Nick called PTSD and another stalker ghost--

On cue, Konstantin, with a snarl, barged in on my dream and tackled the Froslass. She shrieked and pressed her hands to his face, freezing him to the spot in a giant ice cube. His red eye was the only thing left moving, looking between us both frantically.

I wished there were walls in the white world I could bang my head against. "Froslass, this is Kostya. Unfreeze him."

What?

"Unfreeze him, please."

She reluctantly did as I said, staying on guard. Konstantin growled at her and raised his paws, probably for some sort of attack, and asked, "Comrade, what is going on here?"

"How come you don't talk like that?" I asked the icy ghost pointedly. She looked away, folding her hands over the red stripe on her stomach.

"Because she's not as skilled as I am. Who is she?!" Konstantin demanded angrily.

"This is a Froslass who is… helping me about as much as you are." The Duskull lowered his arms and floated closer. I sighed in relief. "And in exchange, I have to help her find her trainer and stop him from being a monster or something like that."

Which you have not been doing, she replied with a huff.

"I've been kind of busy. What with nearly being killed and all," I snapped.

Konstantin made a disappointed sound. "Don't become bitter and angry, comrade," he said quietly, all but ignoring the Froslass now. He cautiously floated over until he was close enough to touch me, and then he set his skull mask on my forehead. He closed his eye and exhaled. I wrinkled my nose; his breath smelled, frankly, like something had just died. "You have forgotten the warning in all that has been going on lately, haven't you?"

"No…" I lied. I couldn't become dark, and I couldn't die… And that was about all I remembered. But at least I remembered that much! And that vacation had definitely helped on the happy front.

"Don't die, though you will face many trials. Don't become dark. Do not become distracted by all of the wrongs in the world, and do not become angry and bitter. And when the time comes, please let go, comrade," Konstantin recited dutifully, almost sympathetically. The Froslass watched and listened curiously.

What are you two talking about? There was a certain note in her voice that made me cringe, though I wasn't sure what it was or why.

"The black-haired man had dropped me off at this lake, and there were a whole bunch of ghosts there, including Kostya here. They gave me a warning about the future, and--"

DO NOT MEDDLE WITH THE FUTURE.

The screech was so loud that it made my dream ears ring. Konstantin had let go of me and was protectively in front of me, though it was clear he was as shocked as I was. The Froslass hovered in front of us, fists covered in ice, the air around her shimmering with ice. I immediately started shivering and could see my breath.

Then, I said probably the stupidest thing ever in my life.

"But, isn't that what you're trying to do by making me save your trainer?"

I really, really had no idea what prompted me to say such a suicidal thing. Maybe Konstantin's warning about not dying had produced a sort of reverse psychological reaction in me. Or maybe, deep down, I really wanted to know what was with ghosts and the future.

Konstantin grabbed me and shoved me downward into my own shadow. We reappeared on the far side of the white world, if there were sides; the Froslass was only an off-white speck on the horizon, though, which I considered good. I could feel the cold all the way from over here, though, and could see the ice appearing on the floor below us.

"That was not a smart move," Konstantin deadpanned, pushing me into my shadow again. This time, we reappeared on the opposite side of the white world, but the ice was already here. I slipped and fell on my butt, wincing at the blow to my tail bone. That had hurt. The Duskull above me pulled me to my feet, just as the Froslass aimed an Ice Beam from across the world at him. The attack froze him solid and he smashed into the ground right beside me, red eye frantically switching from socket to socket.

I am not meddling. I am trying to save my trainer. The Duskull is trying to confuse the future, not save anyone.

Before I knew it, the Froslass was above me, dripping snowflakes onto my head and shoulders. My fingers and feet were already numb.

"I'm sorry."

You do not understand what I am trying to do, do you? I am trying to save my trainer. I am trying to prevent him from becoming a monster. The Duskull is merely trying to lead you astray. They delight in the misery and pain of humans. They do not help them, she stated dispassionately.

I couldn't help but glance over to Konstantin. It was true that he laughed at pain and seemed to like to torture Nick. But it was also true that he was unusually helpful and seemed genuinely to want to make my life--and future--easier.

"Froslass, I am sorry for what I said and I will help your trainer if I ever find him. But Kostya isn't a bad guy. And it wasn't just him who gave me that warning--there was a whole group of ghosts and psychics. Not all of them would lie like that."

How do you know?

"I just… Why would they?"

Ghosts are cruel, she said, placing her hands on the top of my head. It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on me, which probably wasn't too far from the truth. I bolted upright in my sleeping bag, shivering and sweating. Konstantin, who had been nestled by my head, looked up as well, seeming distressed. The Froslass was nowhere to be seen.

I didn't get any more sleep that night. Konstantin wouldn't leave me alone, never venturing farther than arm's length from me. He didn't bother Nick anymore and instead circled around my head, red eye straining to find the Froslass.

I made up my mind to start to really find Froslass' trainer. If I found him and helped him be a good guy, then it meant she would leave me alone again and I could move on with my life. It was a good thing that I was on a training journey, then, since it meant we met dozens of trainers every day. I scouted out dark-haired ones and asked them if they'd ever owned a Froslass, but almost all of them said no. (The two that had still had them and they certainly weren't the one who was haunting me.)

We were in Oreburgh before I knew it. Nick was happily oblivious to my problem and instead gleefully trained up his new team. In any other circumstance, I would have been overjoyed to watch a real veteran train a new team and see what sort of moves he taught them, how he handled them, how he got them to work together. But not when I had so much on my mind.

I started asking trainers if they'd owned a Rhyhorn at any point, since Konstantin had pointed out to me that most humans didn't count released Pokemon as theirs anymore. Of course, Rhyhorn was also a more common Pokemon, so I got a lot more affirmatives. But I was looking for a dead one; everyone who had one still had it. I was looking for a dark-haired, male trainer who had a Rhyhorn but couldn't show it to me.

"Why are you so chatty with other trainers all of a sudden?" Nick asked one night, when we were packing up to leave Oreburgh. "I keep meaning to ask, but I never get to hear what you're talking about. Are you looking for something?"

I looked over at him. He tilted his head to one side, black hair falling into his eyes. I had to immediately turn away again and mentally berate myself for even thinking that he would be Froslass' trainer. Sure, he matched with the vague description I had, but… Well, wouldn't Froslass had said something if Nick was her trainer? After all, he'd been with me for the past two months traveling. She had plenty of opportunities to just show herself (if Konstantin didn't chase her off) and point to him.

Still… There was a chance he could help me with my search. Yes, that was it. I'd ask him but only because he could help. I would not suspect him.

"Nick, do you have a Rhyhorn?"

"…Yeah, why? Looking for one?" he asked, though there was a suspicious pause at first. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

"Can I look at it?"

"…No, actually. You can't." I thought I might faint.