Chapter 6: Rain*

The train arrived on time despite a delay, and the ticket didn't cost as much as Crystal thought it would. To have an all-access pass to anywhere for a certain amount of time, it took a bit of money, but she had to get it for her particular reasons

The trip on the train ride allowed her to see many different places at a certain speed, but she didn't get to see as much as she wanted. The train will be used frequently, so even if she doesn't have time to admire everything in Kannena, seeing it within the train windows was good enough on her book

It took about 2 hours to head to the station that was fairly close to Hana Village. The train tracks locations were printed on the map in the magazine Brenda gave her, so it was handy in so many ways, letting her keep some relief instead of worrying where she'll end up

Her magazine was marked with many cities and towns she's planning on going, but first things first...

"Hana Village isn't too far from here" she told Froslass holding her hand as she left the train.

Froslass doesn't seem like the protective type, it just kind of likes holding her hand. It was easy to tell in its eyes.

Crystal smiled at it spacing out and looked over at Castform sleeping in her bag in normal form "It's strange to see you like this honestly... Since we're always around snow, I don't get to see your actual form as much" she chuckled a little and returned it to its Pokéball "the trip here was pretty tiring. Let's get going before it gets dark"

Upon leaving the station, a town could be spotted a few blocks away. It didn't look like how Brenda described it. By looking at the map, that town was actually Everest Town, one known for its tourist attractions, filled with various games, shops, and vendors in every corner

Taking a deep breath and ignoring all the people walking around in traffic, Crystal scurried pass as many people as possible without touching them.

By turning a corner, it was easy to spot gamers in the arcade and women picking out clothes in every shop she passed by. Vendors kept yelling at her to buy something, but she was simply not interested in spending money on unnecessary things.

That's when she spotted an old woman with a dark veil over her head, sitting on the floor on her blanket with pretty accessories on display. Froslass pulled her over so suddenly, dragging her once seeing the sparkle in Crystal's eyes when viewing the items

The blanket was covered with shiny handmade hair clips, jewelry, vases, scarfs, and handbags. Her eyes admired their beauty, and couldn't help sit on her knees to touch them. The first thing she reached for was a shiny light blue orb the size of a Pokéball shining light rays through the icy like texture inside the glass

"Do you like what you see, dear?" The old woman asked slowly and weakly "pick out anything that seeks your eyes" Crystal put the large marble down, only to have Froslass take it to stare

"Yes, it's all so beautiful. I'm sorry, I cannot buy anything for reasons I do not wish to explain"

"I understand... No need to feel bad for this old woman" she bowed

"Forgive me" Crystal eyed Froslass staring at the old woman before using her peripheral version to spot a golden pocket watch with a chain attached to it. The front had a snowflake on it and the inside was filled with sparkling glitter like gold in the glass. Her mouth nearly dropped at the sight

"O-oh! I need a watch, so this will be perfect. How much?" The old woman raised her hand

"Take it" Crystal frowned

"What?"

"You need it more than me... With you traveling to meet your family in such a sensitive state you're in, you're going to need this more than what this old woman needs in her lifetime" Crystal made a face, watching the woman take her hand and close it to hold the pocket watch tightly

"What are you saying..? How do you know this?" She shook her head "No, I can't just take it. I don't need pity. Don't offer it to me when I don't deserve it. I'll never do the same" the woman chuckled

"I know, darling. You don't give pity, but you wanted to help this old woman out by buying some of her worthless junk she made by hand" Crystal frowned at the beautiful things she made and looked down at her pocket watch "You have a heart of gold, but you keep it covered with frost. Let your heart be free. Now that you are, you can" Froslass pulled on her cloak, making her almost fall and look behind her

"What are you doing?" Froslass floated there "I cannot take this-" Crystal turned back to the woman, only to see everything gone. She disappeared along with her stand... like she was never there "W-What the..?" Where she go?

"Hey!" She flinched a little and peaked over behind her hood at a trainer with an Eevee on his shoulders. Gripping on the pocket watch she had no idea how she still has; she turned around to stare at the Eevee, wide-eyed.

It's been so long since she last saw an Eevee... Most of her sisters and even Wyatt all had their own Eevees. Memories filled in her head while the trainer boy rushed over to try to get her attention again

"Hello! I'm trying to talk to you, lady!" His voice irritated her quickly. She removed her scarf from her mouth, now that she doesn't need it for the snow, and slightly turned to the trainer

"What do you want? I'm busy" the Eevee jumped on the ground, standing like it was ready to attack or battle

"I challenge you to a battle" what a surprise. She heard this too much even in her gym. Do people just randomly seek other trainers and demand a fight?

"Why should I waste my time battling you? I told you, I'm busy" a small crowd started gathering at their little argument

"I won't take no for an answer! Battle me!" She got more annoyed

"How irritating... Demanding battles. Fine, if that's what you want" she moved her cloak to the side a little "That's what you'll get. Don't start crying when I destroy your confidence" The trainer smirked confidently and made some space for the battle. About that time, nearly the whole marketplace was around to watch. She hated an audience but knew this wouldn't take long

"Go Eevee!" His Eevee cried out for battle. Crystal send out her Castform, making everyone laugh at her choice of Pokémon.

Although Castform isn't used for battling anyone, it'll surprise those who don't know of Crystal's training methods the league had taught their children

"You're going to battle me with that little thing? You're kidding, right?" He shrugged "That's okay, I'm training my Eevee to become a powerful Espeon anyways" Eevee eyed him a little

"I could say the same for your Eevee, but I do not judge by appearance. If you judge anything through your life, you'll never see the potential of others that can impact on yours greatly. Just because someone is smaller than you doesn't mean they can't do great things. Eevees are small and weak, but with enough training, they can become something much greater. You want to raise an Eevee to evolve into something it's meant to be, not what you want it to be" she lifted her chin, unimpressed by his intentions

"Simple minded people like you make me sick! You really think someone who thinks the way you do can control a psychic type like an Espeon?!" She pointed at Castform "I'll teach you to change the way you think about your Pokémon! Castform! Sunny day!" Castform shouted at the sky, making the daylight strong under them, turning into its sunny form. Froslass frowned at the increase of heat and looked at Crystal heavy breathing. Her cheeks were glowing red fast

"Solar Beam!" She shouted. Castform built up its sunlight and attacked the Eevee straight towards its owner. Castform stopped in time before it could hit anyone else. The trainer fell backward with force from the blast

"W-What was that..?" Crystal walked up to him

"Now do you understand? If you continue to judge by appearance, you'll never understand the true power someone can release" she turned her shoulder, huffing "I wonder what's going to happen to the poor thing when it doesn't evolve into what you expect it to be. How sad for a cute little Pokémon to be stuck with someone like you"

"You... You'll pay for this!" She stood there for a moment before leaning down to his face, staring into his angry eyes shaking

"Will I?" She smirked and walked away, holding her boiling hot face "Dammit... that was a reckless move... Castform, use rain dance" Castform obeyed and summoned rain clouds to ease the heat and keep her temperature down.

She knew it was too late... The temperatures changed dramatically, causing her to grow weak. Her body felt like it was on fire. She couldn't control her breathing and her body felt stiff

"Fros..." Crystal held her knees when she leaned down, exhausted

"I'm fine"

"Hey there," a girl's voice spoke. She lifted her scarf to hide her cheeks and looked over at a familiar pair of green eyes, holding up an umbrella "I saw your battle earlier. You were fantastic!" she smiled

"I'm not going to... battle you... if that's what you..." Crystal couldn't speak, standing straight as much as she could. She doesn't want to deal with this girl again...

"Oh no, it's not that" she came over to share the umbrella "I wanted to keep you out the rain. It came out of nowhere, huh?" she giggled "what you said was really inspiring. Don't worry about that guy. He's my cousin. He thinks about battling more than eating. It's unhealthy, but I try to straighten him out. I'm positive that you helped out more than I could. Thanks for that. Let me offer my thanks! I'm Rhea Kimana, nice to meet you"

"Your kindness is not necessary, leave me alone" Crystal held her face and walked away

"Hold on!" Rhea hurried to keep the umbrella under them "What's the hurry? I'm trying to offer my thanks! How about I buy you a meal?" The Kimana family are pushy, aren't they?

"If you really want to offer a thanks, take me to the nearest Pokémon center"

"Huh? Why? Is there something wrong?" Rhea frowned "unfortunately, this place serves as a market, so they don't have a Pokémon center here. The closest one is in Hana Village, would you like me to escort you there?" Crystal looked down at Froslass and Castform frowning at her

"I'll be fine on my own then" she walked away from her. Rhea sighed, watching her leave, and waved

"Alright! I'm sure we'll run into each other there! Hana Village is my hometown, so I'm sure they'll be helpful with anything you need! Tell them I sent you!" Waving without looking at the spunky girl with ripped clothing and shorts, Crystal walked past the running citizens protecting their shopping bags from the rain, and made it out to route 3

"I'm losing feeling... and I'm tired" she leaned on her legs. Froslass walked her over to a tree and sat her down. She took out the pocket watch to stare at while the ice type looked through her bag for the blood pressure machine and attached it to her wrist "I barely left home and this already happened" she held her dry throat "I'm completely helpless without Wyatt..." she closed her eyes, leaning on the tree while Froslass took care of her "I'm not exactly sure why you're helping me, but thank you" Froslass stared at her "The Witch of the Forest might have felt my pain of being trapped and have you to help me" she closed her eyes "that old lady in the market... she sounded a little like the witch, but her voice sounded old. It couldn't be" she rubbed on her pocket watch with her thumb, "but I felt her hand... what does this even mean for me..?" Froslass rubbed her hand and let her daze into sleep in the middle of the route

~

"What you found there, boy?" A sudden male voice spoke a few feet away from where Crystal slept. Having a hard time functioning and even opening her eyes, she remained there as if she was still asleep "oh!" The voice sounded closer while something wet was sniffling on her skirt. Flinching, she slightly opened her eyes, only to see a blur of what looked like a male body standing over her

"Wyatt..?" Everything was turning into two "Wyatt... Is that you?" Her face was burning. She became dizzier when trying to move just a little

"Hey, are you okay?" The voice asked. She couldn't even think right enough to identify if it really was Wyatt. She moved her head to the side and started crying

"I'm sorry..." she shakily hid her face "I'm sorry... but I had too"

"Had to do what?" He asked, feeling on her forehead "That's hot! You're burning!" She mumbled nothings "Come on. I'll get you some help" His hands grabbed the back of her knees and torso to lift bridal style "You're really light..."

"I'm sorry..."

"Hey, don't talk. You're in good hands. Let's get out of this rain and get you somewhere dry" she sniffled, resting her cheek on his torso

"It's funny how I ran away, and you didn't take long to find me, huh..?" The boy holding her stared at her surprised. Shaking the surprising fact aside, he carried her away from the pouring rain with the ghost type following close behind with a Castform

The boy's Houndour raced through the rain with its protective coat to lead its trainer to the Pokémon Center where his aunt worked. Two of his family members leaned on the front desk talking to her when he came bursting into the building with the sick girl in his arms

"Auntie! I got a patient! She's burning up!" His aunt, Jane, hurried from the counter to get her work Pokémon to bring the gurney

"Oh my Arceus! It's the girl we met in Everest Town! She was out there the entire time?" Rhea gasped with her cousin beside her staying quiet

"You've seen her before?" Jane asked "oh, you mean the girl you asked about? This is her?" The boy carrying Crystal walked to the gurney, trying not to slip on the water on the floor "Put her here, we'll get her checked" Hearing that clearly, Crystal snapped and wrapped her arms around who she thought was Wyatt, freaking out when hearing the words from someone that's not his

"No! I don't wanna go back!" She cried, holding him tightly, not knowing what was going on. The word she hated the most, checked as in... checked in. The word would often trigger her when she's ill "You promised me I wouldn't have to go back there! I'm sorry I left! I won't run away anymore! I'm sorry! I learned my lesson! I don't wanna go back! I want freedom!" She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him while he was trying to keep her from falling out his grip.

He slipped on the water underneath him and fell backwards, bringing Crystal with him to keep her head close to prevent further complications

He groaned when hitting the ground, but kept Crystal in his arms. He lifted his head to see how red her cheeks and around her eyes were

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked. The Froslass that followed him lifted her hood to hide her eyes. The boy and Pokémon stared at each other before his cousin helped him up while Rhea lifted Crystal's unconscious body and rested her hot head on her shoulder. The heat felt like a heat wave. Holding her was like holding an heating blanket

"What the hell was that?" Seeing Froslass really trying to hide Crystal's face, especially from Rhea, the boy took Crystal from her and faced his aunt

"I'll carry her instead" she nodded and looked at the rest of the family, giving them the look to sign them to keep away while she's at work. Nodding, Rhea looked over at the ice type floating there without emotion on its face. An Ice type and stands elegantly without emotion. It almost reminds her of...

"That girl..." she held her chin, flinching when popping a light bulb in her head "Why didn't I see it before? It has to be..." She gasped a little

"What are you blabbering about, cousin?" Her cousin asked. She shook her head and looked down, noticing a pocket watch on the floor and picked it up

"Oh... Nothing..."

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