This is the journey of a man named Chris, who had dreams shared by many, yet lived experiences known by so few... There are many people in the world of Pokemon, who come in just as many varieties as these strange creatures. And you are about to discover, perhaps, one you may just consider the rarest of all...
Chapter 3 - Loving Memorial
The night slowly passed, and eventually Chris fell asleep, resting his head on his arms next to his grandfathers body. Once the sun began to rise, the light shined on his face, slowly causing him to stir until he opened his eyes with a groan. Looking up at the window, he tightly shut his eye with a hiss, raising up and rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at the sheets, and slowly pulled them off his grandfathers face, which had already started to show signs of slight degeneration. His expression turned sad once again, pulling the sheets back over his face, and he set off to let the village know what had happened, Pokemon who had been visiting slowly starting to follow him one by one to spread the sad news. Eventually, the town slowly came to gather around his grandfathers cabin, and those still able, helped Chris bring out his grandfathers body on a stretcher, crapped in the sheets from the bed.
They set him down on the grass nearby the cabin, and one by one the villagers showed their respect. Many bowing as they whispered prayers, some putting down flowers. Many of the Pokemon offered things as well, from random vegetables to flowers as well, shiny rocks and more, and eventually, as Chris and the able bodied seniors walked up to carry the body off to bury, Chris heard the Alakazam shout out, and looked towards where the forest trail was to see him, the Vespiquen and the Lopunny slowly coming towards them. They set his grandfather back down, and the three finally reached them, surrounding the body. The Alakazam looked down at his grandfather, and his eyes began to glow as he weakly reached up a hand towards Chris. He walked up to the Pokemon and let Alakazam's hand touch him, suddenly causing him to lose some control of his body. The villagers blinked at him as his body stiffened, slightly concerned, and suddenly Alakazam began talking through Chris.
"Hello humans... We are here today to show respect to our... Friend... To many of you, he would be considered our former master. Years ago, when he came to this village, he released us, wishing for us to live out the rest of our days as we desired. Yet... Our only desire was to remain by his side, so we have stayed here, watching over him and all of you... As one by one we have passed away ourselves... We are the last three remaining who once traveled the world with this man... We lived, not as master and Pokemon, but as the best of friends... As family... And that is why we are here... I would also like to grant you all... An explanation as to the cause of his death... Something you, especially young Chris here, deserves to know... And if you would excuse me for a moment..."
The Alakazam pulled his hand away from Chris and sat down in a meditating position, reaching his hands out towards the body and, slowly, making it float in the air. The elderly Pokemon struggled, groaning as he started sweating, and finally set the body back down, panting as he motioned for Chris to sit next to him. He put his hand back on Chris's head, and spoke once more. "I must apologize... My age has taken much of my energy... However, although his body has started to become one with the Earth again, I was still able to learn what caused him to pass so suddenly... There seems to have been damage around his heart, and there was damage around his brain as well... It likely progressed over time until his body could no longer endure it and surrendered to its fate... I am sorry..."
Chris looked away as all of the Pokemon bowed in respect, as did the citizens, one of them saying how much of a shame it was he took on so much pain by himself, never telling anyone exactly how much he was going through. They all looked at Chris sadly, and he looked down at his grandfather, who kept his worst problems a secret, even from him in the end. The Alakazam shook his head and took control of Chris yet again. "It was his way of life... He never wished for any to fret over him... Even us. He was always one to smile and laugh, even at the worst of times... He lived by putting others before himself at all times, to such a degree... I can't recollect a time he thought of himself... Or did much for himself. Be it humans or Pokemon, it was the world that was priority... And this has left its mark on his bloodline as well... You see... Humans... This young man carries a curse within him, passed on due to a Ninetails his grandfather once saved by little option but clinging to its tail to prevent its fall to its demise... So this young man will be driven by this curse to go where he is needed most, forever destined to put himself behind and others ahead... So although his grandfather is gone, so long as he is needed here, the curse will prevent him from leaving, no matter his desire to do so... I tell you this, because I am aware of how strongly his grandfather wished for this boy's freedom. I may have never entered this village until now, but I have kept tabs on everything going on thanks to my friends who send me word from time to time. I believe... His grandfathers final wish... Would have been for this boy to leave this village and set out on the life he desires... But for him to do so, it will be all of you who must set him off on this path, to prove to the curse within him he is no longer needed here so the curse can guide him to others... And in turn... Allow him to follow his dream to travel... And maybe if he can do this, someday... Perhaps he could come across the Ninetails and be granted his freedom. Its a long shot... But is it not one worth taking?" and the Alakazam suddenly pulled his hand away from Chris, slowly reaching into his mustache and combing through it, searching for something until, finally, he pulled out a Pokeball.
"Ala" he said, handing it to Chris. He pointed at it, then at himself, signaling it was the ball he himself had been carried within. Chris tapped the button on it, making the Pokeball grow to its normal size and flip open. It was very old and showed signs of weathering. Suddenly, the Alakazam weakly stood, leaning against his staff like branch, and looked up towards the sky. He closed his eyes and held out a hand, groaning as it suddenly caught fire. He looked down at the body, and tossed the fire up like a ball, landing it on the sheets. The citizens and Pokemon suddenly went into panic, Chris shouting out and reaching out to Kadabra to pull him away, but the Lopunny and Vespiquen got in the way, with the Vespiquen summoning her Combee to hold the others back. The Alakazam tossed several balls of fire onto his grandfathers body, using a weak Fire Punch to do so, and used his psychic abilities to fan the flames and make them grow. As the crowd shouted louder and louder, the Alakazam grunted, shooting his hand up at them and taking control of their mouths to silence them. He wobbled, trying to stay on his feet, and held his staff in both hands, raising it into the air and lifting the burning body.
Making the flames hotter and hotter, to the point the crowd had to back away more and more, the body faded from view within the inferno, with Alakazam turning the fire into a smaller and smaller ball. There were no ashes to be seen, falling nor' rising, and suddenly he turned towards Chris, who had a look of rage as he pushed against the Combee. Suddenly, the Pokeball was pulled from his hand, making him blink confused for a moment, and Alakazam suddenly expelled the fire, revealing ash left behind floating in the air, and the Pokemon directed it all into the Pokeball, snapping it tightly shut and, using his weak Fire Punch, gripped the Pokeball in his hand and sealed it permanently shut, melting it together. He suddenly fell onto his knees, panting for air as he winced, looking at Chris, and weakly held out the Pokeball to him. The Combee moved out of the way, leaving one by one, and he walked up to Alakazam, taking it and blinking confused. Why... Did he just do all of that...?
The Alakazam weakly raised a trembling hand, so Chris bowed on one knee and leaned his forehead against it, used by the Pokemon to communicate once again. "I have... Sealed the ashes... Within that... I am sure... Your grandfather... Would have wished to... Travel with you... I beg your pardon for... Suddenly surprising you all... But I guess... I just wanted some excitement... In my old age... And to show my old friend... I still had a little kick left in me..." and the Alakazam dropped his hand, sitting back as he rested and laughed weakly. So... He used his own Pokeball as a makeshift urn for his grandfather then... Now he understood... and Chris thanked Alakazam, bowing his head as the crowd clutched their chests, sighing together in relief. Don't do that to us old folk! You know how delicate we are! they all shouted at the Alakazam, and they all started snickering and laughed together, with some bringing up wet rags and some water for him. Chris stood, looking at the Pokeball, and smiled silently. At least... He didn't have to leave him behind... If he did leave... and the Alakazam looked at him and nodded. Deep within his mind, he heard the Pokemons voice, saying that was the point while the villagers rested him against a tree. The Lopunny and Vespiquen went up to him, waving their fingers seeming to lecture the old Alakazam at the same time, and the Pokemon laughed and looked at them both lovingly.
His grandfather... Really was the most incredible man... Chris thought as he watched them all. He treated everyone like family, and in the end... Even with him gone... The family he created didn't change a bit... and he started walking off, heading back to his grandfathers cabin with the Pokeball gripped tightly in hand. once he got inside, he carefully sat the Pokeball on his grandfathers bed in the sunlight, looking around his home, smiling as memories went though his head. Eventually, his gaze turned to the wardrobe his grandfather suddenly unlocked before he passed, and walked up to it, wondering what was so important inside that he kept it locked up all these years. Even he had never been shown or told about what was inside... So he slowly opened it up and took a look. Inside was an old, beat up rucksack with rips all over it, the straps nearly falling off completely and the zipper nearly coming off in pieces, along with various things for travel that had aged just as badly, such as a grappling hook, fishing pole, to basic things like a pair of stones made of the best qualities for fire starting and such. This was all the stuff his grandfather must have used when he went off on his journeys... He really did go all over the place... Chris thought as he took out the rucksack. Unfortunately as he did, the strap peeled right off and it fell to the floor, making him jump and panic as he picked it up. He looked at the Pokeball on the bed, and with a scowl told his grandfather thanks as he walked up to the table in the kitchen area, setting it down along with the other things he pulled out.
Everything was so beat up... If he was supposed to use it for anything, he was going to have to repair it all himself. Maybe because of the curse, his grandpa died so he couldn't fix it all for him, going along with the whole putting stuff before himself in life thing, and he grumbled under his breath, thanking Ninetails and letting out a sigh. Finding the materials he needed, Chris started carefully sowing the rucksack back together, adding patches and such along the way. Using some old cans of rust remover, he also worked on his grandfathers old grappling hook, wiping away its rust over time until it... Well... Slightly shined again. It would need some new rope though... and he continued working on the various materials throughout the day. Eventually, there was a knock on the door that surprised Chris, nearly tossing the hook in the air and on top of himself as he was getting ready to put it in the rucksack. With a sigh of relief, having caught it, he went to the door to see who it was. It turned out to be some of the senior women, wanting to make sure he was doing okay and seeing if there was anything he needed to maybe feel a little better. He allowed them inside and went over to the table, showing them all of the supplies his grandfather had kept over the years he must have intended to pass down, and the women quickly frowned and scowled at Chris, angered at his poor job at restoring it all. They started to fuss over everything, pointing out the rucksacks patches already coming off, the poorly stitched straps, how his grappling hook still looked sorry and such. Without allowing his input they suddenly snatched all of the items, heading towards the door and telling him they would be back when the items were properly fixed up for travel. Just as quickly as they showed up they were gone, leaving Chris standing with a blank expression, once again lost in the moment as he lifted a finger and said...
When a young man offers to spend his youth caring for his grandfather and the elderly in a tiny village, one hidden away deep within one of the endless forests of his region, rather than venturing off on his own Pokemon journey, he learns many heartfelt lessons from its citizens and its visiting Pokemon alike, lessons that are sure to guide him down an incredible path the day he finally sets out to fulfill the well deserved life he put on hold...
