Chapitre 4: Ch 4. Partner
A few weeks had passed since Ares met everyone. Ares had gotten used to taking care of the Pokémon and was taught how to read and write the modern language by the assistants. It was a lot easier than it seemed and Ares quickly got the hang of it.
Impressed by his learning speed, the assistants and professor Oak scaled up the difficulty, going from children books to pokemon school level and eventually they handed him a lot of books to read about the habitats of different Pokémon and their quirks and habits. The books were very interesting but a little difficult to read. Mew seemed to like it a lot as well, as every time he started to read, Mew made him read it aloud. Whenever a certain Pokémon was mentioned in the book, Mew would transform in said Pokémon and show the mentioned characteristics. This made it easy to learn and understand the Pokémon written in the books.
Another thing he had taken a liking to was playing the instruments. It wasn't something big like a guitar or a piano. It was a small oval flute called an ocarina. The Pokémon seemed to like listening to music, so Ares had made it a point to learn how to use one. It wasn't only for them though, as the gentle tunes calmed himself down as well. It wasn't odd to hear him play the instrument deep into the night, a sign he had once more awoken from his horrible dreams of the past. Nightmares were one of the most common things to haunt him in the darkness of the night. The stifling darkness always made it easier for his worst memories to rear their ungly heads.
His days were peaceful compared to his nights. If he had some time left after reading books, taking care of the Pokémon and studying, he would practice on his ocarina to amuse the small ones in the greenhouse. It was a delight to see them enjoy the songs as much as he did.
After a long day of studying, Ares decided to spend the last few hours of sunlight near the lake on the prairie. He hadn't been there for a while, as most of the Pokémon gathered at differing spots for their food. The water Pokémon were being taken care of by the other assistants. Walking towards the lake, Ares took of his shoes and pulled up the pipes of his pants. Ares wadded throught the water and sat down on a nearby rock. The water Pokémon came up to the surface to see what was going on, glancing from a distance as Ares took out his ocarina.
Looking out over the shimmering blue waters of the lake, a tune came to mind. Putting the ocarina to his mouth, he slowly began to play.
A soft calming melody sounded as the listening pokemon closed their eyes and enjoyed the song. Ares too had his eyes closed, completely taken by the song. Maybe that was why he didn't notice the egg glowing brighter than it had ever before. Only when he felt it shaking in the backpack did he come back to his senses and looked at what was happening.
Ares took the egg out of the bag, cracks appearing all over the surface as it shook harder and harder.
Ares became panicked as he wasn't close enough to the lab to get an incubator to smoothen the process. Not that he would make it as the egg was already cracking open."Mew! What should I do?! The egg's hatching!"
His hands kept moving about in a frantic manner, not knowing where he should place them as the cracks kept spreading.
[Just keep it warm.] Mew said as she watched over his shoulder as he held the egg close to give it as much heat as it needed. He took off the jacket he had been wearing and put it around the egg as well, in some kind of makeshift nest.
The cracks spread further and further across its surface, a blinding light pierced through the cracks. Ares closed his eyes, the egg still trembling in his arms, a faint flow of heat transmitting to his palms.
When the light faded, a yellow vulpine Pokémon lay on his chest.
Ares had seen this pokemon before in Agris town, but it was blue instead of yellow. He couldn't be more familiar with it, as they had been one of the few pokemon there that hadn't hurt him, like their partners often did.
The Pokémon had black legs and torso, a yellow tail. It had grey rounded bumps on the back of his forepaws. His head was yellow with a black mask across the face. A blue collar was around its neck while black appendages hung down on both sides of his head, twitching ever so slightly with every breath Ares took.
This Pokémon was a Riolu, but of a different colour than most usually were.
The Riolu moved slightly as he grabbed Ares's shirt. He came upright and looked around himself in curiosity. He looked at Ares, crimson eyes meeting his amber ones. Riolu smiled and barked out in excitement at Ares as he climbed from his lap onto the ground. Riolu let his hands roam across the grass, rubbing the bladed leafs between his paws. The scent of crushed grass soon spread. Dropping the clumps of tattered grass to the ground, Riolu looked around at the scenes around him. Everything was so new to him!
Riolu pulled on Ares's hand as he wanted to look around. He sure was curious for a newly hatched pokemon, that was for sure.
"Calm down. No need to hurry." Ares said as he patted the rock on which he sat. Riolu calmed down and sat down beside Ares as they both looked at the water Pokémon swimming around.
"I'm Ares, Riolu. Nice to meet you. Do you want to be my partner?"
Riolu stared at Ares and happily barked out to Ares again. He was really glad to meet Ares and wanted to stay with him. Ares's aura felt really pleasant. It felt warm and gentle, with on the edges a trace of sadness equivalent to ice but it wasn't directed towards anyone in particular. He had felt it even when he was inside of the egg, being a constant companion. It was comforting to have such a big but compatible aura nearby.
Riolu grabbed Ares hand again and kicked his legs back and forth as he hummed the song Ares had just been playing. Ares smiled as he took out his ocarina again and contined to play, Riolu humming along. As if in tune with the song, their aura's corresponded with it and ripled in tune with the music.
Mew could feel the aura's movement and watched in awe as she could see the many different colors of the aura, swirling around in the air. It was like the northern light, a rainbow shooting through the air. She soon joined the duo in their little world, humming along with the song as the other Pokémon, water and other types, joined as well.
Like that it became a big gathering of Pokémon who played around, sung, or slept together accompanied by the serene sound of the ocarina.
Back at the lab, the professor and the assistants watched the gathering and marveled at the scale. There weren't any fights or scuffles as they all seemed to enjoy the others company and sat there with their eyes closed, as they seemed to imagine a forest, a lake, any place that had formerly been their homes. It was nostalgic, making them enjoy the moment to the fullest.
It that vision, light was streaming down from the canopy and enlightening the soft carpet of grass and vibrantly coloured flowers. It shimmered of the surface of crystal clear water, from which colorful coral could be seen, refracting whenever a little ripple appeared. The grassy fields seemed to beckon them to lie down and enjoy the warmth of the sun and take a little nap.
Like that, most of the Pokemon who came to listen fell asleep right then and there.
After Ares was done playing the song, he was startled by the huge amount of Pokémon who had gathered and were sleeping around him. Only Mew and Riolu seemed to have stayed awake, but they too decided it wouldn't be bad to take a nap as well.
Making himself comfortable, Ares leaned against the rock he had been sitting on, sitting down on the soft grass. Patting his lap, Ares beckoned for Riolu and Mew to join him.
Riolu quickly dashed forward, climbing on Ares' lap and nuzzled against his chest. The soft fur of Riolu tickled Ares' chin, while the smell of a newborn pokemon wafted around him. It smelled like the sun, like milk and something else. He couldn't quite name it, but it gave of a pleasant smell.
Mew not to be outdone, took her spot next to Riolu, snuggling up as well.
Not commenting on their behavior at all, he gently covered them with his jacket as they took a short afternoon nap.
.
.
.
When he woke up, he left towards the lab, Mew once again turning invisible, while Riolu happily followed behind him. From time to time Riolu would look towards Mew, sensing where she was but confused why he couldn't see her. This only earned him a chuckle from Mew, who swept her tail back and forth in front of Riolu in a teasing manner.
At the lab, Ares let the professor look at Riolu, making sure that everything was fine.
"No need to worry. Riolu is as healthy as can be. The different coloring is found in more Pokémon than just yours. It is called a shiny Pokémon. They are quite rare. The variation in coloring shows their stronger innate abillities. But as they are different from the rest they are almost always cast out of their respective groups, making their chances of survival slim." Professor Oak explained.
"Then that's alright. I like Riolu the way he is. I don't care if he's a different color than normal." Ares said as he patted Riolu on the head.
"Let's train a lot and become stronger together buddy."
Riolu agreed to Ares's words as he too wanted to become strong. It was in his blood, the yearning to become stronger.
Professor Oak nodded at the motivation of the two. He walked inside and came back with an empty pokeball.
"Use this Ares. It is called a pokeball and is used to capture pokemon. It also ensures that others can't capture your pokemon. This pokeball specific ball type is called the friendball, something I got from a colleague from the Johto region. I thought it would be a good fit for whatever pokemon would hatch from your egg. A friendball should in theory make the pokemon more friendly."
Ares took the pokeball from professor Oak and pointed it at Riolu.
"What do you say. Want to travel with me and become a part of my family?"
Riolu didn't answer and just pressed on the button of the pokeball. Riolu's body dissapeared into the pokeball. It rolled a few times and stopped to indicate the capture.
Ares let out Riolu who seemed very happy.
"Let's get something to eat. I bet you're hungry."
Riolu nodded as a growl escape his stomach. As if not to be outdone, Ares' stomach growled as well. Both of them scratched their heads in embarrassment. Ares made his way to the kitchen followed closely by Riolu as they both couldn't wait to fill their stomachs. Ares just hoped there was enough Moomoo milk, as that was the diet for newly hatched pokemon. Fortunately this period would only last for a month or so.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone