Categories > Games > Pokemon > The Spirit of Alola - Book 2 - A Hurting Heart
The sun sat high in the sky, blazing down on the land below. The world smelled like the rain from last night and the ground still held deep puddles from the saturating weather. I stood at the door to Melemele Hospital, waiting with Burnet and Kukui for Kabir and Mel to exit. My Raichu zipped around happily, playing with Himiko and Burnet’s Munchlax on the lawn, wrestling with each other in the soft grass.
The sight of the Psychic Type Pokémon still made me nervous, but the determination it had shown in trying to protect me yesterday morning when faced with an opponent far stronger than him, had left me dropping my boundaries somewhat. I was ready to accept the fact that Squall was my Pokémon. And that my own daughter was Psychic as well.
While my daughter played with those two, her own Pokémon, a Cutiefly she had named Dangle, buzzed by my ear. I was technically its Trainer as well, but when Himiko was old enough, she’d be taking it as her first. The yellow bug was too small for this kind of roughhousing, but I could hear it chirping excitedly when my daughter pinned Squall to the ground for the umpteenth time. I suspect he was letting her win.
The door opened with my two family members exiting, but they brought an unwelcome man with them, and I backed away, hoping to hide behind my two adult companions. The white-haired woman noticed my movement, and without questioning me, she stepped closer to her husband, further blocking me from view.
“Professors!” The overly enthusiastic voice of Doctor Nikol proclaimed. “I’m so happy to see you on your feet again, Kukui. Burnet, you’re looking radiant as ever. And little Lei appears to be in very good health.” He cooed at the baby in Kukui’s arms, using his fingers to play with him for a moment. He stopped short though when our eyes accidentally met. “Anya? Why are you hiding back there? Come on over here. You’re just the woman I was hoping to find if I tagged along with this young lady here.” He said, pointing excitedly at Mel, who looked back at me apologetically.
I grumbled when I realized I’d been spotted and snapped at him. “That’s unfortunate. I have not been looking for you.”
“Come now. I have a serious matter I would like to discuss with you.” He placed a hand on my back and tried pushing me away from the others and towards a bench sitting under a tree.
I had begun walking at his touch, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get out of talking with him, but I paused when I saw what seating area he was guiding me towards. It was the very same one Ōpūnui and I had sat at the day that Sashi disappeared. I shook my head at the memory and started moving again. The old man noticed my hesitation, glanced at me, at the seats, then switched directions to lead me to a different bench.
I cursed openly as I said, “Stay out of my head you pile of Trubbish.” I stepped away from him and spun around so I could glare into his face.
“You can’t tell me I’m wrong to have us set somewhere else.”
“Of course you aren’t but that’s because you invaded my space and read my mind, which I’ve told you explicitly to never do,” I growled, swinging my legs around to take a seat.
“You can tell the most about a person by their first thoughts.” He deflected, wholly unconcerned by my attitude. His mischievous demeanor had always annoyed me, but not nearly as much as his insistence that there was no need for him to avoid using his Psychic powers to read people’s thoughts without their knowledge or consent. “Anyways,” he stopped me from another furious retort. “I wanted to ask what information you’ve learned about Sashi’s recent poisoning.”
“Nothing. She refused to discuss it with me.”
He frowned at this but continued. “She didn’t tell you anything?”
What little patience I was willing to give him was already wearing thin. I could feel a strange pressure in my mind and knew it to be him. “All I know is that we don’t know how it happened.”
“Did she heal up pretty quickly?”
“For her, no. She’s always been really healthy, but her recovery time from this was very slow.”
He paused for longer than I was comfortable with before continuing. “Were any of her Pokémon poisoned?”
“No. They hadn’t even been released from their balls.”
“Was there any sign of forced entry?”
“No. Shouldn’t you know all this?” I challenged.
He didn’t pause for his next question. It seemed suspiciously automatic. “Was anything taken from the home?”
“Back off you stinking Muk.” I yelled, slamming my hands on the table and jumping to my feet. I swiped at his face, but he reared back at the last instant, dodging my attack. I felt the pressure in my head vanish and knew my actions had the desired effect.
Squall had also noticed the strange occurrence, for he had left his play with Himiko and wandered over. He had been sitting on the table next to me, but at my reaction, he jumped onto his tail and began charging up an attack, the yellow sacks on his face crackling with electricity. I didn’t tell the Pokemon to back down.
Doctor Nikol flashed his eyes towards the Raichu for a moment with surprise, having not noticed it coming up to us. He looked confused, then his face cleared and he glanced back at me with glee. “So you have a Pokémon now? And a Psychic one at that! My, how you’ve grown.” His expression had switched to one of a proud parent, and it disgusted me.
“That’s none of your business, nor was it any of your doing.” I moved away from the table and began to walk off.
“Wait, I have more questions.” He rushed past me to block my path. I could see the group behind him eyeing our interaction with alarm.
I glared up at him and barely held back another swing at his face. “I don’t have any more to say to you if you can’t keep that accursed power to yourself.” I tried to push past him, but he placed a hand on my shoulder. I glowered at him again but found his expression had changed to one of regret.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized. “I’m impatient. I wanted to learn information without asking first. I won’t do it again if you just let me ask one more question.” I didn’t say anything else but I also stood still. He took this as a green light as he queried. “Did Sashi act strange?”
I was too shocked to answer for a moment. My Raichu had squeezed in between us and was trying to force the man back with angry growls and threats of an electric attack. “Squall, that's enough.” He quieted down but refused to move from his spot in front of me. “Strange how? Like sudden fits of rage?”
“Potentially. Or uncommon bouts of depression or fear.”
“Yes,” I stated, thinking about my sister and her sudden mood swings. “She didn’t get angry, but yes to those other ones. She had a hard time keeping focus too. We often found her spacing out, which isn’t like her. Plus,” I added before he could say anything more. “She wasn’t sleeping at night and barely ate.”
Doctor Nikol nodded his head thoughtfully. “Thank you.” He backed up so that I had a clear path to my group once more.
“Hold on. I have my own questions now.”
“Okay,” came his simple reply.
“You’ve talked with Mel, right?” I pointed back to her.
He didn’t look as he answered. “Yes.”
“Do you think Sashi and Mel’s cases are related?”
“I believe they may be.”
“What about the weather? Is it connected somehow?”
“It has to be.”
“And the accidents and deaths?”
“Yes,”
“What’s doing this?”
“I don’t know.” He looked frustrated by his response.
Then, I asked him a question that I haven’t done in a year. “Do you have any more information regarding the sinking of my husband’s ship?”
His eyes fell from mine and his normally overly happy face took on a saddened expression. It looked strange on him. I decided I didn’t like it. “I do not, I’m sorry.”
“One more.” I stopped him as he made to walk off. “Your interrogation back there; that’s your tactic, isn’t it? To get people to believe you’re engaging in a conversation while you secretly search their mind with your Psychic powers.”
He squinted his eyes but answered, “Yes, it is.”
“Don’t do it again. I do not appreciate you using your abilities on me.” With that, I strode away towards the group, not glancing back, even when I heard the door to the hospital open and close.
“Is everything alright?” Mel asked as I drew up to them.
“Fine.” I nodded curtly, my emotions still reeling at the recent interaction.
Kabir was the next to speak. “Who was that?” I knew he was nervous about everybody now, especially knowing about what happened to Sashi. Plus, I could see he had been listening to us, even at that distance, his sense of hearing heightened due to his lack of sight.
“Doctor Nikol.”
“I don’t think I like him.” My friend grumbled.
“He’s not a bad person,” Kukui defended, but he sounded somewhat uncertain.
“No, he’s not,” I agreed. “But he is a bad psychic.”
The sight of the Psychic Type Pokémon still made me nervous, but the determination it had shown in trying to protect me yesterday morning when faced with an opponent far stronger than him, had left me dropping my boundaries somewhat. I was ready to accept the fact that Squall was my Pokémon. And that my own daughter was Psychic as well.
While my daughter played with those two, her own Pokémon, a Cutiefly she had named Dangle, buzzed by my ear. I was technically its Trainer as well, but when Himiko was old enough, she’d be taking it as her first. The yellow bug was too small for this kind of roughhousing, but I could hear it chirping excitedly when my daughter pinned Squall to the ground for the umpteenth time. I suspect he was letting her win.
The door opened with my two family members exiting, but they brought an unwelcome man with them, and I backed away, hoping to hide behind my two adult companions. The white-haired woman noticed my movement, and without questioning me, she stepped closer to her husband, further blocking me from view.
“Professors!” The overly enthusiastic voice of Doctor Nikol proclaimed. “I’m so happy to see you on your feet again, Kukui. Burnet, you’re looking radiant as ever. And little Lei appears to be in very good health.” He cooed at the baby in Kukui’s arms, using his fingers to play with him for a moment. He stopped short though when our eyes accidentally met. “Anya? Why are you hiding back there? Come on over here. You’re just the woman I was hoping to find if I tagged along with this young lady here.” He said, pointing excitedly at Mel, who looked back at me apologetically.
I grumbled when I realized I’d been spotted and snapped at him. “That’s unfortunate. I have not been looking for you.”
“Come now. I have a serious matter I would like to discuss with you.” He placed a hand on my back and tried pushing me away from the others and towards a bench sitting under a tree.
I had begun walking at his touch, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get out of talking with him, but I paused when I saw what seating area he was guiding me towards. It was the very same one Ōpūnui and I had sat at the day that Sashi disappeared. I shook my head at the memory and started moving again. The old man noticed my hesitation, glanced at me, at the seats, then switched directions to lead me to a different bench.
I cursed openly as I said, “Stay out of my head you pile of Trubbish.” I stepped away from him and spun around so I could glare into his face.
“You can’t tell me I’m wrong to have us set somewhere else.”
“Of course you aren’t but that’s because you invaded my space and read my mind, which I’ve told you explicitly to never do,” I growled, swinging my legs around to take a seat.
“You can tell the most about a person by their first thoughts.” He deflected, wholly unconcerned by my attitude. His mischievous demeanor had always annoyed me, but not nearly as much as his insistence that there was no need for him to avoid using his Psychic powers to read people’s thoughts without their knowledge or consent. “Anyways,” he stopped me from another furious retort. “I wanted to ask what information you’ve learned about Sashi’s recent poisoning.”
“Nothing. She refused to discuss it with me.”
He frowned at this but continued. “She didn’t tell you anything?”
What little patience I was willing to give him was already wearing thin. I could feel a strange pressure in my mind and knew it to be him. “All I know is that we don’t know how it happened.”
“Did she heal up pretty quickly?”
“For her, no. She’s always been really healthy, but her recovery time from this was very slow.”
He paused for longer than I was comfortable with before continuing. “Were any of her Pokémon poisoned?”
“No. They hadn’t even been released from their balls.”
“Was there any sign of forced entry?”
“No. Shouldn’t you know all this?” I challenged.
He didn’t pause for his next question. It seemed suspiciously automatic. “Was anything taken from the home?”
“Back off you stinking Muk.” I yelled, slamming my hands on the table and jumping to my feet. I swiped at his face, but he reared back at the last instant, dodging my attack. I felt the pressure in my head vanish and knew my actions had the desired effect.
Squall had also noticed the strange occurrence, for he had left his play with Himiko and wandered over. He had been sitting on the table next to me, but at my reaction, he jumped onto his tail and began charging up an attack, the yellow sacks on his face crackling with electricity. I didn’t tell the Pokemon to back down.
Doctor Nikol flashed his eyes towards the Raichu for a moment with surprise, having not noticed it coming up to us. He looked confused, then his face cleared and he glanced back at me with glee. “So you have a Pokémon now? And a Psychic one at that! My, how you’ve grown.” His expression had switched to one of a proud parent, and it disgusted me.
“That’s none of your business, nor was it any of your doing.” I moved away from the table and began to walk off.
“Wait, I have more questions.” He rushed past me to block my path. I could see the group behind him eyeing our interaction with alarm.
I glared up at him and barely held back another swing at his face. “I don’t have any more to say to you if you can’t keep that accursed power to yourself.” I tried to push past him, but he placed a hand on my shoulder. I glowered at him again but found his expression had changed to one of regret.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized. “I’m impatient. I wanted to learn information without asking first. I won’t do it again if you just let me ask one more question.” I didn’t say anything else but I also stood still. He took this as a green light as he queried. “Did Sashi act strange?”
I was too shocked to answer for a moment. My Raichu had squeezed in between us and was trying to force the man back with angry growls and threats of an electric attack. “Squall, that's enough.” He quieted down but refused to move from his spot in front of me. “Strange how? Like sudden fits of rage?”
“Potentially. Or uncommon bouts of depression or fear.”
“Yes,” I stated, thinking about my sister and her sudden mood swings. “She didn’t get angry, but yes to those other ones. She had a hard time keeping focus too. We often found her spacing out, which isn’t like her. Plus,” I added before he could say anything more. “She wasn’t sleeping at night and barely ate.”
Doctor Nikol nodded his head thoughtfully. “Thank you.” He backed up so that I had a clear path to my group once more.
“Hold on. I have my own questions now.”
“Okay,” came his simple reply.
“You’ve talked with Mel, right?” I pointed back to her.
He didn’t look as he answered. “Yes.”
“Do you think Sashi and Mel’s cases are related?”
“I believe they may be.”
“What about the weather? Is it connected somehow?”
“It has to be.”
“And the accidents and deaths?”
“Yes,”
“What’s doing this?”
“I don’t know.” He looked frustrated by his response.
Then, I asked him a question that I haven’t done in a year. “Do you have any more information regarding the sinking of my husband’s ship?”
His eyes fell from mine and his normally overly happy face took on a saddened expression. It looked strange on him. I decided I didn’t like it. “I do not, I’m sorry.”
“One more.” I stopped him as he made to walk off. “Your interrogation back there; that’s your tactic, isn’t it? To get people to believe you’re engaging in a conversation while you secretly search their mind with your Psychic powers.”
He squinted his eyes but answered, “Yes, it is.”
“Don’t do it again. I do not appreciate you using your abilities on me.” With that, I strode away towards the group, not glancing back, even when I heard the door to the hospital open and close.
“Is everything alright?” Mel asked as I drew up to them.
“Fine.” I nodded curtly, my emotions still reeling at the recent interaction.
Kabir was the next to speak. “Who was that?” I knew he was nervous about everybody now, especially knowing about what happened to Sashi. Plus, I could see he had been listening to us, even at that distance, his sense of hearing heightened due to his lack of sight.
“Doctor Nikol.”
“I don’t think I like him.” My friend grumbled.
“He’s not a bad person,” Kukui defended, but he sounded somewhat uncertain.
“No, he’s not,” I agreed. “But he is a bad psychic.”
Sign up to rate and review this story