FicWad

Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 96: Give me Affection

Ash and Giovanni were alone in his gym office. It was a strange sensation unlike anything Giovanni had ever felt before. Delia had her ways to make him talk, an inexplicable charm that made it difficult to keep secrets, as if he longed to feel her understanding without realizing it. Her gaze was soft, almost hypnotizing, delicately tugging at his defenses until the doors opened with the most gentle push. Ash's eyes seemed to carry a certain fire in them that spoke of a curiosity much more impatient than Delia's. It was an intensity, hidden beyond a curtain of caring understanding, that could knock the door down like a thousand hyper beams. Delia asked to look into his soul and somehow always managed to be granted passage. Ash seemed to possess the key to look into anyone's soul without having to ask. "What are you doing?" He couldn't look away from his son's eyes.

"I wanted to see," Ash replied in a whisper. "Sorry if I'm being a little invasive, I just wanted to see it, the color of your soul. It's not really a color in the usual sense; it's a feeling, a sensation. It's hard to explain. It's a mix of many aspects, many different characteristics and sides. I know that you won't give up on accomplishing your goals by any means. I also know that not everything is black and white; I think I understand like mom does. One similarity can be stronger than ten differences at times and different paths may overlap just enough. Does that sound strange?"

"Not at all," Giovanni admitted, "I just didn't expect you to say something so... deep. Some time ago I researched many legends looking for rare pokemon and new power. That led to certain discoveries, though they didn't all really take off. I remember a legend about the Aura Guardians. I never really looked too deeply into that one; it seemed to be more myth than reality. Just now I remembered that, I'm not sure why."

"That's what it is, but I never really formally trained so I don't consider myself to be an expert," Ash revealed. "Sometimes when I focus and let my energy flow, I can sense things, see beyond what I normally see. There are times when it helps me understand and times when I end up with more things to be confused over, feelings and thoughts that might not immediately match the given situation, words and actions. Later, it slowly falls into place and it's easier to understand. They say every person is a whole world, I think this might be what they mean."

xoxox xox xoxox

Giovanni's Persian had been returned to his trainer after the symptoms of the mysterious illness disappeared. The humans were unaware that it was Aayla who had healed him. Instead of sitting next to the gym leader as he usually did, he had taken a walk through the underground Viridian Rocket base to satisfy his curiosity. He peeked into the infirmary, where three Rockets were entertained by their conversation as well as doing various things simultaneously, such as playing handheld video games and looking up celebrity gossip online.

A female Pikachu with a blue bow on her left ear, approached Persian at the door. 'Are you looking for someone?' She asked curiously while holding a bowl of chocolate ice-cream with marshmallows on one paw and a spoon on the other.

'Of course not. why would I be looking for anyone among you servant pokemon?' Persian huffed; he didn't understand his own curiosity to know if the odd Meowth who had helped him was alright. She simply disappeared. As for the female Persian he saw for a split second, she was too far away to be recognizable, moving too quickly and disappearing among the vegetation. He had no idea who she could have been and was beginning to think she was only a dream. It had been quite an exhausting day, which fueled the idea of the mysterious female Persian being only a figment of his imagination and nothing more.

Peachy pouted, 'we're not servants! If you're mean I'm electrocuting you!'

Persian threw his head back in superior indifference, 'you wouldn't dare.' No sooner had those words, spoken in pokemon language, left Persian's mouth; a blast of electricity collided with him at point blank. The heat from the electricity quickly melted the ice-cream. A portion of melted chocolate ice-cream flew from the bowl propelled by the aftershock and landed on the classy pokemon's face. 'You!' He hissed.

Peachy hissed right back, "chu!"

By then the humans were well aware of the happenings and Pixel tried to interfere. "Peachy, you shouldn't pick a fight with the boss' pokemon; you'll get me into trouble." The blue haired girl picked up her pokemon and held her away from the Rocket boss' spoiled pokemon. "Come sit over here and finish your ice-cream, it's already melted, unless you don't want it..."

As Peachy was placed on a chair, she held the lime green bowl protectively. "Pi!" There was no way she would turn down delicious food. She resumed her meal, shoveling away the melted chocolate ice-cream and static-filled marshmallows. Ironically, though she ate quickly, she was somehow perfectly neat and not a single drop of melted brown landed on her pristine yellow glossy fur.

Persian remained dissatisfied with the disrespect and approached Peachy looking for revenge. "A word of advice," Comet warned, "don't make Peachy mad. She's all sweet, cuddly and friendly, but if you get in her bad side, she's deadly."

Persian bared his claws and hissed at Comet. 'This is none of your business!'

"Don't go showing me your claws mister, or I might have to pay you back for last time," Comet petted the top of Persian's head, messing up his fur just to bother him.

"Last time?" Laiki curiously and nosily asked. "What do you mean last time and why haven't I heard about this?"

Comet stepped out of the way of Persian's lazy slash, with which the classy pokemon wasn't even trying to hit him. "It was years ago," the young man pushed his hair back, running his fingers through it in search of something, "right there." Barely perceptible under his red hair there was a cut-like scar that anyone would have trouble seeing unless they knew exactly where to look for it. "It's one of life's earliest lessons, one of the first few things I vividly remember. I was still small back then, dad went to Giovanni's office to discuss something," probably about keeping him out of the lab and raising him as a son, rather then an experiment. "I didn't really understand what they were talking about. Either way, my attention was on Persian, then a Meowth. He was the first pokemon I ever saw as far as I remember. I pulled on his tail and he scratched me."

"Picking a fight with the boss' pokemon, you were such a little trouble maker." Laiki laughed as she kneeled down to clean Persian's face. "There, there, your majesty, all clean."

Persian huffed in indignation as a response. He glanced around the infirmary deciding that he would ignore the humans and the Pikachu. She was having the audacity to ignore him after all, as if drinking a bowl of melted ice-cream was so much more interesting than him. There was a Charmeleon in the room too, though he remained sound asleep with a pair of headphones upon his head, playing music and blocking out all other noises. Peeking out of a more spacious section of the infirmary, there was a Gyarados, he was awake, but didn't seem to be in the mood to do much else than lie there until something that caught his interest occurred.

A young Absol, still basically a baby, was playing with a yellow tennis ball, batting it away with his paw against the wall. The ball bounced off the white surface towards the small Absol, who sent it flying against the wall again. There was also a Scyther, a young adult like the other pokemon present. Prism was also there, but she was in Pixel's computer where she liked to spend most of her time, thus out of sight. "Are you looking for Purry?" Rykros boldly asked.

Persian didn't reply, instead giving him a look of confusion and annoyance upon the insistence that he might be looking for someone. He was indeed looking for her, but he wasn't about to admit it. Besides, if he had ever heard the name, he had not thought of it as important enough to remember, if he even knew it in the first place.

Rykros elaborated, assuming Persian didn't know who he was talking about. "A fiery Meowth that looks like someone no one would want to mess with, with a charm as sharp as a scythe."

The description fit perfectly and Persian knew right away who the Scyther was talking about. "Are you having an affair with her or something?" Chan, Laiki's nosy Hitmonchan piped in.

Persian gave Chan a death glare and retaliated, half tackling and half pushing the Hitmonchan away. Chan hastily went into a defensive stance, thus minimizing the impact as much as possible, though it was still enough to make him stumble backwards. 'I was just curious if she was dead or alive that's all. That Meowth has nothing to do with me,' Persian hissed.

"I knew they wouldn't resolve things peacefully," Laiki pouted, distressed at the prospect of the pokemon making and mess which she would be stuck cleaning up.

Peachy finished savoring her snack and jumped into action. Before she could initiate a battle royal, Shenron, the Gyarados, voiced a peculiar revelation. 'The Meowth you speak of is no more. She is fated never to return.'

The news made an expression of shock suddenly cloud Persian's face. He involuntarily stepped back, sadness barely visible in his eyes. 'I see...'

Realizing that her opponent no longer possessed the will to fight, Peachy paused and observed the situation. She didn't understand why the thought of evolution was so shocking to Persian. What Shenron had spoken was completely true, Purry the Meowth was no more, she was indeed fated to never return. Though strange things sometimes happened regarding evolution, it was extremely unlikely for a pokemon who had already evolved to go back to the way it was before.

'I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity, that's all,' Persian voiced with a hint of something unknown bothering him in the back of his mind. So the scruffy servant pokemon lay down her life fighting off a fierce creature for his sake. It shouldn't matter to him, it was her duty and she should have been honored to bravely fulfill it. Then why was he so bothered by it? He was not one to express gratitude except to his human parents, but never to anyone else. He shouldn't need to tell her he appreciated what she had done because a servant pokemon required no appreciation. 'There is no reason for me to be here,' Persian finally stated and without further ado, he dashed away from the infirmary.

"I wish I could understand pokemon language," Laiki sighed. "I feel as if I just witnessed an intense soap opera style dramatic scene, but I have no idea what the characters were saying. It's like watching a crucial episode of your favorite series in a foreign language you don't understand. You know there's something big happening right in front of your eyes, but you don't know what it is. It's so taunting it's frustrating!"

xoxox xox xoxox

After leaving the infirmary, Persian made his way to one of the rooms at Viridian, where Delia was sharing some snacks with Pikachu and Swablu. He hopped on the couch next to her and had to do nothing more to get her attention before receiving a welcomed scratch behind the ears and pleasant soft strokes on his head and back. "Aw, have a snack honey; maybe it'll make you feel better."

Persian slightly lifted his head and took the gourmet pokemon cookie his mother was offering him. He wasn't sure why she was assuming that he wasn't feeling well. Glad that the small Swablu going off to play with Pikachu made room on Delia's lap, he rested there being petted and cuddled.

"What is it that hurts you, sweetie?" Delia gently whispered soothingly. "Are you worried about your pokemon brothers and sisters?" The term of siblings was used in a metaphorical sense to refer to pokemon in general. "Don't worry, Team Rocket is working really hard to solve the problems and make everyone all better. I'm sure things will work out." Delia petted her pokemon son some more, trying to decipher what was on his mind. "It's something else that's bothering you, isn't it? Are you suffering from a broken heart?"

Persian snorted at the possibility. A broken heart over such an unworthy creature that should produce no reaction from him with the exception of disgust? No, never, absolutely not!

"You're as proud as your father," Delia couldn't help it but to laugh. She gently cupped his face in her hands, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "Tell mommy what's wrong. Are you missing someone?"

Persian shook his head, hoping that his mother would get the message and stop asking. He also noticed that Pikachu and Swablu had ceased their playing and were staring at him. It all infuriated Persian and he glared at the other pokemon, warning them with his eyes not to further annoy him.

"If you don't want to talk about it, maybe making a wish will help, hope can be quite powerful," Delia advised. "A small quiet prayer can go a long way. Never give up and the right actions will be revealed, then you'll know what to do."

Nothing was making sense to Persian lately and he had enough of it. He didn't understand the assumptions of the Rocket agents and their pokemon. He especially didn't understand what his mother was getting at. He jumped off her lap and left the room.

xoxox xox xoxox

Persian made his way to a small interior garden below the gym. It wasn't too large as such decorative places were bigger and more abundant at the mansion. It was only a small place to take a breather in a calming scenery. Persian walked to the small pond in the center of the garden. The water was crystalline, its blue bottom making it look as if it reflected the sky. The ceiling was painted in the colors of the day's sky with a few fluffy white clouds on the light blue. The walls were surrounded by bushes that reached to the ceiling with roses wrapping around its branches. Daisies were scattered on the soft grass that had been planted on the ground resting on the floor.

Persian looked at his reflection in the pond and felt as if he was being watched. It gave him a sense of deja vu, but he disregarded it as his imagination. That fiery Meowth, Purry, was gone, killed by that monster that was drawn to her because he had to run off and take a walk. He felt completely silly about it, absolutely ridiculous, but he decided to follow his mother's advice anyway. Ignoring the feeling of a familiar presence that had to be imaginary, if not the wondering spirit of a fallen pokemon, he took a deep breath and looked around. When he was certain that he was alone, he spoke a small prayer as a means to help himself relax and let go of a past event he shouldn't have glanced back at in the first place.

'Rest in peace, Purry.' That alone didn't quite satisfy him, thus he continued, 'you weren't so bad, for a servant pokemon I mean. It's too bad that you died, since you were dutiful and all. You probably already got some real prayers from your friends, you know, some that actually regret your passing, not that it's any of my business and... why am I even talking to myself?' Even if he said that, he felt as if he was being heard, as if Purry's uneasy spirit was being appeased. 'Anyway, if it were my choice, I would have decided that the creature didn't kill you, but I guess it's not my choice,' he frowned at having so little control over the situation. Reality hit him like a Golem falling on his head. He couldn't have anything he wanted because there were things that no one could change. The realization was both enraging and frightening.

Persian lay down and closed his eyes. He felt movement somewhere in the room, but assumed it was the artificial breeze running through it, if not his recently overactive imagination. He remembered the unknown female Persian he saw before. Whoever she was, she was very fast. A cold chill went down his spine as he considered the possibility that the mysterious Persian was the evolved ghost of the fallen Meowth, not a ghost type pokemon, but an actual wandering spirit. Had she returned to haunt him for his ingratitude and perhaps indirect cause of her death? Yet she didn't feel like a vengeful spirit, more like a protective presence.

'Purry? Are you here?' He felt especially ridiculous, but was compelled to continue voicing his thoughts. 'If you are, you can rest now, your spirit doesn't need to wander around aimlessly any more. As a ghost there's not much else that you can do now except rest in peace.'

Unable to resist any longer, Purry remained hidden as she spoke, 'I'm not a ghost, I've evolved.'

Persian bolted to his feet, his head turning in every direction it could. 'You're alive? Those pokemon said that you...' he paused and thought about the Gyarados' words. He said that the Meowth was gone, but he didn't use the word dead. He must have been referring to evolution all along while being ambiguous, perhaps purposely confusing to summon his guilt. Persian huffed in frustrated anger, wasn't anyone going to respect him anymore? 'Stop following me!' He growled, 'why are you hiding anyway? Evolution or not, you can't be worse than before!'

There was a long silence until Purry sorrowfully declared, 'I am worse than before, a hideous freak with a face that would give you nightmares. Evolution has been my worse curse.'

'I see...' Persian felt an immeasurable relief in the fact that she was alive, though she was obviously miserable. 'Well you're probably already used to being hideous so that's not so bad.' A pebble flew from the bushes in Persian's direction, though he dodged it. 'What was that about?' He hissed, even the one who he thought would be unconditionally, perhaps stupidly, loyal to his authority had suddenly decided to be disrespectful.

'A warning,' Purry hissed from her hiding place in the bushes. 'I've already given up on you so don't make me mad.'

'What is it with everyone being so disrespectful today?' Persian exclaimed in frustration. 'Even if they know who I am, they don't understand.'

'You're just being a spoiled brat,' Purry argued.

'You're being infuriating,' Persian hissed in return. 'I know you're there.' He looked right at the spot where Purry was hidden, 'I know where you are and I know you can see me. Stop being ridiculous and come out, whatever it is you look like, it can't be any worse than before. It just bothers me to feel like I'm talking with a wall, even if you seem to have enough stubbornness to have the understanding of one. Look, I'll even close my eyes and you can go away and leave me alone.'

'I was here first,' Purry hissed, menacingly coming out of the bushes like a wild untamable pokemon stalking her pray. 'If you want to be alone then you leave.'

Persian's eyes were already closed as he had offered and he didn't see the fury that stood before him. 'My father owns this place, you can't tell me to leave!' He hissed in accumulated anger. 'You should just continue your duties as normal. If you insist on guarding me like a knight to a prince, then so be it, but quit spying on me, it's creepy! If you're really that much more hideous maybe the humans can fix you a bit, I can't have unworthy guards. Not that I need guards and I certainly don't want your presence. In fact, as soon as there's an opportunity I'll be the one to battle. I wasn't feeling well, but I'll show you how powerful I am, you'll be impressed! Not that I care if you're impressed or not.'

When Persian opened his eyes to glare defiantly he was shocked. He had mentally prepared for the hideous sight that Purry claimed she had become, worse than before. Instead he found a female Persian with perfect glossy fur that had grown back in full and a fit elegant body worthy of the most high ranked pokemon shows. When the impression faded to give way to reality, he was angered. The ruby on his head was at the center of the conversation of many humans. Its purity, quality and size made him the subject of admiration. After seeing her broken charm he would think her gem would be chipped and cracked. Instead the evolved Purry had a horn of the purest ruby coming from her forehead. It was perfectly polished, both beautiful and deadly.

'Stop staring,' ashamed, she tried to cover up the shiny red horn to no avail.

'You!' Persian hissed. 'How dare you have a gem like that, no one has a gem of that size! The humans, they admire it greatly. If father sees this... No, he would never care for another pokemon as much as me, I'll still be his favorite, I am his son after all.'

Purry blinked at the growling and grumbling that Persian was making about her gem. She tilted her head curiously to the side. She was technically a freak to be scorned by other Persian, Meowth and pokemon in general, save for those who were open minded enough not to judge by appearances. However, this particular Persian was very different. His standards had transcended those of pokemon and were based on what pleased humans. Her appearance was not something that threatened a human's sense of authority questioning their right as master as the ability of speech would be perceived. Despite her condition being a deformity of nature, it was something that humans would be fascinated by, cataloging it as beautiful.

'Are you... could you actually be...' Purry couldn't believe what she was about to ask, 'are you jealous?'

'Don't be ridiculous!' Persian hissed immediately. He didn't want to leave room for doubt in his reply, though the envy was all over his expression. 'Humans will still admire me more because I'm... I'm...' Stronger? Faster? More refined? The last one for sure, at least. 'Because of my father, so there!' He finished.

'Speaking of your father, maybe I should go and report to the boss.' With those words, Purry dashed out of the small garden room.

Persian's eyes went wide and a million thoughts passed through his mind in the split second before he hurried after her.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash and Giovanni were still at the gym office, talking about various things. Ash wanted to get more of Giovanni's point of view in regards to how he met Delia and their story of earlier years. "So you were planning to propose but had to delay it because of the volcano being attacked. Then when mom sunk the S.S. Lapras you didn't want to wait anymore?"

"It was bad timing and I was interrupted by an explosion," Giovanni admitted, remembering that he never got an answer. He thought he saw Delia wearing the ring he had no doubts she would still keep. He wasn't sure, since she was holding her baby Swablu, so it was hard to see her hands beyond her cloud-like wings. "Even so..." Giovanni was surprised at himself about how easily he would admit to such things. "There was something special about how she went out of her way to sink a ship for me. She was trying to stop a confrontation that I would have won anyway, but still." Perhaps all those years without Delia really did make him see her in a new light when she finally returned. With that light, the world itself might change, maybe only a little, but just enough. "She's always found a way to be helpful, even if we were having a disagreement."

"I know what you mean," Ash agreed. "I was too excited to notice back then, but looking back on it, I think mom was really worried about me going on a journey. I should have noticed how uneasy she was the day before I left when I was all caught up on looking forward to it. She still saw me off with a smile."

The father and son moment was interrupted by a female Persian with a horn shaped ruby bursting into the office, followed by a familiar male Persian. The two pokemon ran around leaving chaos in their path until Giovanni managed to grab them both by the fur on their backs and drag them to a corner like misbehaving pets. He let them go as they seemed to have gotten the message from his stern look that no more chaotic running around his office would be permitted. He examined the ruby horn the unknown female had, petting her soft fur.

"That's so cool!" Ash joined the examination, curiously looking at the new Persian. "Is she yours too?"

"She is now," Giovanni decided, which caused Persian to protest in worry. "Stop making such a fuss, I already told you, your girlfriend can come live with us."

Persian's jaw dropped, 'my what?!'

Purry blushed scarlet, but she still had the energy to try to get some payback. 'I had already given up on you before... Not interested...' She proudly walked away. She was indeed still very interested, but she made a perfect impersonation of Persian's usual proud and indifferent expression.

Used to being admired, Persian felt indignation at this display of indifference from one's whose loyalty he would never admit he was glad to think of as permanent. He watched in shock as she threw her head back in disregard, much like he often did, and dashed out of the office. 'Wait a minute! You're supposed to admire me without question, come back here!' He dashed after her in a strange turn of events in which the chaser somehow became the chased.

Comet and Pixel, followed by a nosy Laiki, appeared at the office door from which the two Persian departed. "Did Purry cause any trouble?" Comet inquired, wondering what annoyance she might have caused the boss with the possibility of getting him, or Pixel, or both, into trouble for allowing her to run wild.

"So she was yours, she's a little wild, but nothing too bad," Giovanni didn't feel like making a fuss about it, given that his own Persian was misbehaving just as much.

"They're in love," Ash declared as if he had made the wisest of discoveries, though one with no research or base other than a random hasty guess.

To be Continued

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. Classyalleyshipping FTW! (That's PersianxPurry BTW.)