"It is our choices that define us far more than our abilities." –Albus Dumbledore

Chapter 7: Demi

The night before I'd had a good dream. One I hadn't wanted to relive. The next night was full of even worse haunts. I ended up waking in the middle of the night in a sweat, checking my surroundings to make sure everything was secure and safe. Dawn and Piplup were asleep, content. The room was normal.

My brain, however, was in a state of distress. I ended up staying awake until the sun rose, staring into space, thinking about battle strategy. Training. How annoying it was when people walked slower than I wanted to go, blocking my way since they couldn't move to the right side of hallways in buildings. Anything to not think about my nightmares.

I pretended everything was fine in the morning, even faking sleep until Dawn 'woke' me up.

"Whoa, you don't look good."

"Exactly what every guy wants to hear." I stated, rolling over in bed to face away from her. I didn't feel particularly good either.

"You ok?"

"Yes." Ok was such a neutral, almost negative word. I appreciated her using it.

"Paul."

"I'm not going to talk about it."

She sighed, "Ok, well... I'm going to go get ready. And if you don't mind, I want to talk to you after that."

Wasn't going to happen, "Ok."

Dawn grabbed her bag and left the room to go change. The second the door closed, I got out of bed, changed, grabbed my backpack, and headed for the door, only stopping at the cafeteria long enough to grab some snacks to eat. I was not going to be forced to talk about my dreams. I wouldn't even talk about them to myself, much less her despite her good intentions.

I began walking around town, wondering where the best place to hide out would be. Where would Dawn least expect me to be? Obviously near Pokemon related events. Those weren't options.

I grimaced as I realized where I didn't want to be, then remembered the ivy and hidden aspect of the garden. Perhaps it would be perfect despite the proximity. I changed directions, feeling like I regretted my decision already as the ground began sloping upward.

The garden was better than I imagined. Ivy curtained around a vast majority of the exterior and there were so many colors on the flowers that people would hardly notice me being here if they were to glance. I would just be a part of the scenery. I found a lone bench among the flowers and ivy wall and sat down, noticing a giant statue of an angel right in front of me. She was pretty, her wings unfurled, but had that faraway humble look I disliked. Not my ideal view, but at least the garden was peaceful and I was alone.

I noticed a Starly land on the angel's wing, staring at me. He let out a chirp and I looked away, my hands forming fists as I took a deep breath. I heard the flap of wings and looked up to see it landing right next to me.

"Go away." I snapped.

It twittered and hopped a little closer.

"Go away!" I roared, flinging my arms out at it.

Startled, he flew quickly over the ivy covered walls and out of sight. My breathing was fast as I closed my eyes, breathing in and out slowly to try to remain calm. Sluggishly, I felt myself begin to drift off and forced myself to sit up, rubbing my eyes. I was tired, but I refused to sleep. I couldn't go back to those dreams.

I stood up and began pacing, hoping the increase of oxygen and blood flow would keep me awake, though not hoping enough for the Starly to come back. This became a routine and, after a while, the routine became so droll that I felt my vision flicker. I came to a halt, almost running into the angel statue as my pace was thrown off. I stared up at her. It felt like she was taunting me.

"Hi."

I started and looked down to find a little girl standing extremely close to me, tugging at my hand. I smoothed out my cringe from her touch, stepping back and disentangling my hand as I studied her.

She was tall enough to come up to my lower chest. Her long black hair fell to around the middle of her back. She had skin that was darker than average, yet I couldn't place what region she could possibly be from by her appearance. Her eyes were even more extraordinary. They were bright, the color of copper. Normally, I wouldn't find that worth noting, but they shined brilliantly, making the copper shift from browns to gold. It was a bit unnerving, the beauty of them, but mostly because this girl didn't seem like a normal child. She held my gaze, which is something most people couldn't do.

"Hello." I said stiffly back. I didn't want the company, though for once I didn't feel like her intrusion was as bothersome as it could be considering I needed something to distract me from sleep. Her eyes refused to move from me and I could feel the full weight of them. It didn't matter that I was much taller than she was, not to mention much older. It was one reason that children were hard for me to be around- they weren't afraid.

"What are you doing out here in the garden?" She asked.

"Thinking." I stated in a tone that meant I wasn't interested in talking.

She refused to look away from me, "About what?"

I raised my eyebrows, "Things."

"Well, they must be very important things, because your face looks all serious." She stated casually.

"I always look serious." I said truthfully.

"Why?"

This was going to take forever. I decided to get rid of her, "Where are your parents?"

"I don't have parents." She blinked up to me, "Well, I guess I have my Dad."

"Then you have a parent." I said slowly.

"But my Dad's different than a normal parent, the ones you meant."

"I thought kids were supposed to speak plainly." I said out loud, getting tired of her.

"Well why should I if you're not saying exactly what you mean either?" She retorted with a mischievous smile.

She was smart.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Demi."

"Why are you here?" I'd rather ask why she was bothering me, but that worked.

"My brother's inside and I thought I'd walk around. I saw that pretty angel statue from far away, her wings, and I just had to come see." She pointed to the angel and her expression softened, "I just love wings."

"Go see your brother then." I said bluntly, sitting down in the middle of the bench.

"Oh! Were you praying?" Demi asked excitedly, rushing to sit next to me, "Can I pray with you?"

I locked my jaw and scooted as far to the side of the bench as I could, "I don't pray."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

"I could teach you."

"I. Don't. Pray."

"Why not?"

I sat there, rigid, determined to ignore her.

"Why not? Why? Huh? Why not?"

"Because God doesn't answer prayers." I said loudly, realizing my hands had formed fists. I glanced at Demi, whose mouth was open in surprise as she took in my posture and what I said. I tried to relax.

"Oh. So you're not Christian." Demi leaned back on the bench, "Well, why not?"

"You act as if the only option in the world is your own."

She blinked in surprise, "No way! I mean, we all have a choice to choose what we want."

"Exactly."

"It just so happens that you're sitting outside a church right now."

"And?"

"And it was your choice."

"No, it wasn't."

"How wasn't it your choice?"

"My Pokemon was injured and the mountains around here have been having so many natural disasters that it's impossible to leave this town."

"Oh." Demi kicked her feet back and forth, "So the only thing you could do in this whole town was sit outside of this church, huh?"

I stood up and started walking.

"Hey, you seem like a strong Trainer." Demi called.

I paused. This was a topic I could actually talk about, not that she could possibly know much about Pokemon.

Demi jogged to my side, "You should battle me."

Her eyes were still soft and playful, but there was something else there.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"I'm nine."

"It's impossible for a child to be a Pokemon Trainer until the age of ten."

"Actually, it's not impossible." Demi pulled out a Pokedex from her back pocket and put it in my face, a Trainer identification flashing on the screen, her picture displaying next to her name, "I became a Trainer when I was seven."

"How?" I asked suspiciously.

"How does anyone become a Trainer, really?" Demi put her Pokedex back and smiled, "I want to battle you. You're a strong Trainer."

"And how can you tell?" I asked.

"I just can." She said simply, "Are we going to battle, or are you too afraid to battle a little girl?"

She really was asking for it. After all her annoyances, I did feel like showing her no mercy to prove to her that she really had no idea what true battling was. Besides, I needed some way to help me stay awake still.

I leaned closer to her face and tried to be as intimidating as possible, "You're on."

Instead of trembling, which was the reaction I'd been hoping for, she giggled, jumped up and down, clapped, and skipped away from me, squealing, "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

I was too shocked to move for approximately five seconds.

"You ready or what? Come on!" Demi whined, before pausing in surprise, "Oh. I don't even know your name. What is it?"

"Paul."

"Nice to meet you!" She pretend curtsied, then took out a Poke Ball, "I'm ready when you are."

I did the same, minus the curtsy, "Would you like to make this interesting?"

Demi paused, "Are you asking an innocent girl to make a bet?"

"If I win, you have to leave me alone."

"Ok, sure. And if I win, I can talk to you as much as I want."

I weighed the chances of me losing, "Deal."

We both threw our Poke Balls. Electivire stood in front of me, electricity sparking from his tails. A Riolu appeared in front of Demi. I hadn't been sure what to expect, but a small unevolved Pokemon seemed to match her.

"This is my first partner, Riley." Demi stated.

Riolu closed his eyes, the four black appendages on his head rising. I watched in silence, not sure what to expect since the battle hadn't started yet. He opened his eyes and looked at Demi. Demi nodded solemnly.

I didn't understand what passed between them, but decided not to comment, "Are you ready?"

"You can have the first move." Demi offered.

"Ladies first." I countered.

"Fine." Demi grinned, "Ri, use Crunch."

Interesting choice. I watched the tiny Riolu bound towards Electivire, "Brick Break."

Demi didn't command anything, causing me to frown. Surely she would change tactics if she had any sense.

"Close your eyes." Demi said.

Even more confused, I ordered, "Use both hands."

Both of Electivire's hands glowed, ready to hit Riolu as he appeared right in front of Electivire. Electivire's fist was about to make contact, but Riolu's foot maneuvered to the side at the last possible chance. The Fighting type spun, opening his jaw and biting down on Electivire's arm.

Electivire let out a howl before shaking his arm, trying to get Riolu off.

"Use Thunder."

Before Electivire could begin attacking, Riolu let go, flinging himself into the air.

"Grab him so he can't get away." I instructed.

Electivire's tails sprung forward, grabbing Riolu, who squirmed, trying to get away.

I noticed Demi was smiling.

"Protect and then Drain Punch" She said casually, as if we weren't in the middle of a battle.

Right as Electivire's attack began, a green orb spread out from Riolu, causing Electivire's tail to lose its grip immediately as it expanded. Riolu dropped to the ground before jumping up, ramming his fist into Electivire's stomach, causing him to stumble backwards.

There was no way this was happening.

"Thunder Punch."

"Retreat! Retreat!" Demi called.

Electivire's punch missed as Riolu's quick feet carried him to the other side of our makeshift field.

"This is fun, isn't it?" Demi said. Riolu smiled cheerfully. Electivire was a bit out of breath and I was in no mood to talk. This was an actual battle.

"Electivire, use Thunder on the field."

"Oh, this sounds exciting. Get ready, Ri. You know what to do if it is." Demi seemed to brace herself.

Electivire's tails slammed into the field, chunks of rock exploding like a Stone Edge wave heading right for Riolu.

"Dodge it." Demi called.

Riolu ran towards the rocks that were hurling at him, a blur of motion, as he began jumping from boulder to boulder before leaping into the sky, too high for any to hit him. Electivire and I were frozen as we watched his speed.

"Copycat." Demi winked.

Electricity sparked from Riolu's paws as he fell, landing heavily and ramming the electricity into the ground, giant rocks forming a wave as they made their lethal way towards Electivire.

"Protect."

Electivire's own shield saved him from the damage. The field was a mess of rocks and I lost sight of Riolu, who was small enough to fit in between all of them.

"Find him." I ordered, my eyes searching the cracks, wondering where he was hiding.

"Keep using Drain Punch till he gets to you." Demi called.

I gritted my teeth. I hated her confidence. It wasn't even a battle to her. She was playing with us, "If you don't find that Riolu, you'll regret it, Electivire."

Demi frowned, "Hey, that's not what the battle is about. Why are you threatening your Pokemon like that?"

"He's mine. I can do as I please."

"Not during this battle you can't." Demi crossed her arms, "If you're going to be like that, then there's no point in battling. Battles can't be won by pushing your Pokemon to their limits by threatening them. They have to be won out of not only skill, but strength of heart. You'll never get anywhere with that attitude. And really, it's not even the attitude that's making you lose. You're the one holding yourself back right now."

"What would you know?" I yelled from across the field. She was lecturing me as if I was the child.

Demi sighed, seeming disappointed, "Riley, come on out. The battle's over."

"No, it's not." I said firmly. That didn't stop her Riolu from popping out from some rocks by Electivire's feet and trotting over to his Trainer, who was walking across the field to talk to me.

"Yeah, it is. Just because I said you were a strong Trainer didn't mean that you were being strong right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" This little girl was infuriating. She was a know-it-all, a spoiled brat. I didn't care if she was some sort of prodigy. It was insulting that she felt smarter than I was.

"I told you I know things." Demi said quietly, "Do you really want to know why I was approved to be a Trainer so early?"

"Since you refuse to battle and think you're better than me, why not know the reason." I retorted.

Demi looked down at her feet, "There are two reasons, actually."

"Well?" I spat out.

She looked back up at me, "The first reason, and I think the biggest reason, is because my parents died."

I stared at her, all my hatred halting as I realized how much pain that must have been for a little girl. Realizing it because I knew.

"The second reason is because, after that, I found out I was really special." She whispered, putting her hand on Riolu's head, "I found out I could read auras."

Hi Readers!

I'm so excited for you. So. Excited. I love this chapter. You finally got to meet little Demi. Tell me what you think about her in the comments ^_^

So yeah, it feels like the story is really getting underway now. Yet again, I'm so excited. I'm hoping you'll all love her as much as I do.

Pokemon Question of the Day: What building in Pokemon is your favorite? Games, anime, whatever you want.

Thanks so much for reading. I love how dedicated it seems like my followers are and that's absolutely amazing. Keep being awesome!

God bless!

-Flips 

Also, the person I'm secretly dedicating this to knows who she is. Thanks for being the most warm hearted little sister ever. I couldn't ask for more and I don't care if we're not related by blood. You're the best and I love you!