FicWad

Mel could feel anger and worry rising in the air from the two humans currently missing from the household, as well as fear and excitement from their respective Pokémon. The feelings were so strong and sudden, that they had taken her by surprise. Not nearly as much as the sounds coming from the beach though.

Rushing footsteps outside the home indicated Ōpūnui running towards the disturbance. This left the Psychic alone with the three children, Lei, Himiko, and Faline, but she quickly tossed out the PokeBalls of the three Pokémon, Delphox, Claydol, and Xatu, from the night before, as well as her Girafarig, instructing them to guard the house and children. She pulled the last two balls from her belt and took off after the still fleeting male Doctor.

He was a fair amount slower than her, so she was able to catch up quickly, on the edge of the beach. Though Ōpūnui had already released one of his own Pokémon, a Meganium, stopping a battle between a Pidgeot and Munchlax, Anya and Burnet on their respective sides.

“Why did you step in like that? Pidgeot needs to trai-“ Anya tried to say but was cut off by the furious voice of the male.

“How dare you allow your Pokémon to get into this state. Did you not see it refusing to fight?”

“I-“ Anya tried, but her words failed her at the might of the Doctor’s anger, seeming to deflate under his fierce gaze. She looked over to the bird, who stood valiantly despite the clear pain it was in from its injuries.

Ōpūnui continued. “If you had half a mind, and any compassion in that non-existent heart of yours, you’d find Pidgeot a different home because you are clearly not cut out to be a Trainer.” He had stomped down the steps leading to the beach and was now standing in front of the shocked girl, one finger a mere hair’s width from her and his face bright red as he yelled out the words. “And if looks be told, you won’t ever be, either.”

“That’s not fair,” Burnet tried to interject breathily.

“It seems to be the truth.” He snarled. “You allowed your Pokémon to be used like a punching bag. In fact, maybe I should call Officer Jenny because you don’t seem to care if you’re Pokémon is being abused.”

“That’s enough, Ori,” Mel said commandingly, forcing a halt to his mind with a swift psychic push, shocked by his fury and cruel words. Even with the power she sent out, she also released her Slowking, instructing it with another flick of her mind, to block the angry man off from Anya, while having her Gallade step in front of the Meganium, just in case. She felt a stab of pain in her chest, but she forced herself to ignore the new sensation.

“I’m at fault here as well,” Burnet said softly, through her own gasping breath. “If I’d had better control over Munchlax, it would have listened to me the first time I told it to stop.” She had already pulled the Pokémon back into its ball but stood rooted to the spot behind them, from what Mel could sense.

“At least you were trying to help. What would Sashi or Kabir say if they saw you treating your Pokémon like that?” Ōpūnui growled, casting a furious look over to Anya, away from the woman’s green eyes. "Or how about Kai? He loved that Pidgeot, but just look what you've done to it."

“Doctor,” Mel warned, pushing a threatening flash into his mind.

He stole a look at the Psychic once more and thought better than to start going off again. Instead of returning to his yelling, he called back his Meganium, then released a Comfey. Without needing any commands, the Floral Pokémon flitted over to the injured Pidgeot and began treating its wounds. The group watched on in silence, minds slow to calm.

Mel struggled to hold her still tired self together as her mind whizzed in all directions, prepared to stop more protests from any of the beings present.

Once the Comfey was done with its work, it returned to beside Ōpūnui’s head, and he made no effort to put this one in its ball. It chirped softly at him as if knowing the distraught nature the man was in and trying to soothe him with its gentle, melodic voice. His face softened at the sound, but his eyes remained fixed on the small, black haired Doctor.

Pidgeot was facing Burnet who still stood behind Ōpūnui and Mel, eyeing the woman with fear and distrust. Anya walked over and placed her hand on its neck. The bird flinched, saw it was her, and then merely stood, eyes trained stoically ahead.

“I’m sorry.” She murmured with a sigh to the Pokémon, clearly trying to be quiet about her apology, but the silence of the beach after the battle and yelling caused her words to sound amplified. "I never should have tried using you in a battle when I saw how scared you were. Maybe it would be best if I found you a new Trainer." Then she added darkly, "One who actually cares about your well-being."

“Anya,” Ori said gently, his eyes now closed as if in physical pain. He looked already regretful at his outburst, all his fury dropping away suddenly at the self loathing in the young Doctor's voice. Mel could feel his mind beating himself up for being so harsh towards her but there was also a swelling of darkness too that the Psychic couldn’t place her finger on.

She is, after all, just trying to learn how to defend her family with more than just her words and fists. His thoughts came to Mel's mind, but she couldn't bring herself to push them back. Sudden exhaustion was beginning to drag at her limbs, making her lose much of her usually careful Psychic control.

“I shouldn’t have said those things. It was uncalled for.” He finally muttered out loud, ashamedly and defeated.

“But were you wrong?” The small woman shuddered at her question, as if cold even in the beginning heat of the day, but continued. “Pidgeot is clearly afraid of me, and it seems it should be.”

“I don’t think it’s afraid of you, but something else. It can’t be Burnet though, it barely knows her, and it’s never shown fear towards me.” Ōpūnui squinted his eyes as he tried to work through this oddity, his mind clinging desperately to the new situation.

“It’s not afraid of any single person,” Mel spoke up. She had been looking over the Pokémon during the talk, observing its reactions and mind. “With Kai gone, it’s afraid of losing you too, Anya.” The pain in her chest was growing, and she was finding it hard to catch her breath, but the developments happening before her were too important.

“Me? It’s not my Pokémon. It never was.”

“It is though. Kai isn’t here, but you are. Your husband cared deeply for you and Pidgeot knows this. It had watched it. I don’t even need to see this psychically to understand that.” Mel got the words out with difficulty.

Anya thought for a moment, chewing over Mel’s comments and watching the bird as she absently ran her fingers through its feathers. “It doesn’t like to battle.” She said, not as a question, but rather, a statement.

Mel viewed the Pokémon once more, then nodded her head carefully, the movement making her dizzy. There was a small push on her side as the body of her Slowking came up to her, trying to hold her up without the others noticing. "That is correct. Do you remember Kai telling you this?”

“No. But it seems pretty obvious with the way it was acting.”

“Doctor Māhoe," the man said in surprise "Did you just make that observation?” Ōpūnui questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course. I know you can see it too.”

“Yes, but you just came to this conclusion by watching your Pidgeot. No one told you. Which means you do care.” Finally, a small smile cracked the older man’s lips and he said “We’ll make a Trainer out of you yet.”

“I’m not forcing Pidgeot - Breeze -“ she corrected, using the name Mel knew her husband had given it a long ago, “to battle anymore.”

“We aren’t asking that you do. But don’t give up just yet.”

The woman stood silent for a moment, eyes flashing with thoughts. A clear realization dawned over Anya's mind and face. “Hey Burnet, you hear that?” Attempting to sound happier than the whirring emotions in her head. “We’ll have a rematch at-“ Anya cut her words off short, the smile that was on her face vanishing swiftly. “What’s wrong?” She took no time in moving in the Professors direction.

Mel realized with a sudden jolt that the pains in her chest weren’t her own, but Burnet’s