章 5: Bending The Rules : Memories Of A Distant Past
I stood still, gritting my teeth, trying my best to suppress the ache that was slowly spreading in my chest.
Garchomp was still rampaging in front of me, occasionally releasing [Hyper Beam]'s off into the distance. Some of them would shoot off into the horizon, while others would hit the city below.
Suddenly, a noise was heard from behind me.
"Kai! I'm here!" Turning my head slightly, so as to still keep Garchomp in view, I saw Ash, Pikachu and Froakie arrive at my location.
"You okay?!" Ash asked, seeing the blood dripping from my lip.
Wiping it away, I replied,
"Haaa, haaaa, never better!" I said sarcastically.
"I haven't been able to get through to it. The collar around its neck is acting too erratically!"
"Then what do we do?!" Ash asked. But before I could answer, Garchomp cried out again.
"GAAAAAARRRR!"
Garchomp suddenly bent down before bursting upwards at high speed.
"No! Garchomp, come back!" Ash cried out.
"We gotta get up there," I said to myself.
"There! A ladder leading to the top!" Ash pointed out.
Seeing it, I nodded before running over to it and began climbing.
Ash seemed just about as brave as I knew him to be, following me up without a second's hesitation. But then again, he did do this himself in the anime…
The climb up was long and tedious, and Garchomp's constant screams were beginning to weigh heavily on my heart and mind.
Finally reaching the top where Garchomp stood, Ash, Pikachu, Froakie and I stood facing Garchomp.
We began approaching once more.
"Garchomp!" I called out.
Garchomp turned to face us.
"We're here to help! Please let us!" Ash cried.
"Pika pi~!"
"Froakie~!"
"GAAR GAAAAAAAR!"
Garchomp fired off another [Hyper Beam]; however, this time, we were lucky as it merely impacted the ground in front of us and the ledge.
We continued to march forward.
I could tell that our hearts were beating erratically with each step we took. The inherent danger that Garchomp posed to us, coupled with the instinctive fear of falling, kept our steps heavy. But we stepped forward nonetheless, slowly but surely closing the distance to Garchomp.
We were finally around five meters away from Garchomp before the worst happened. A now-familiar glow of purple energy began to build up once again. But this time, Garchomp was looking right at us.
Time immediately slowed down for me once more. My mind raced to develop a solution, taking in every detail of my surroundings, anything that could help me get out of this predicament.
Finally, I noticed something, an opportunity that shone like a beacon in the darkness.
Because Kaida had been flying around, the News helicopters were naturally wary of her, most likely cautious, in case she'd rampage as well.
Because of this, we currently weren't in sight of any of them.
Praising Kaida to high heaven within my heart, I made a decision.
As the destructive purple beam was finally fired towards us, I took a step forward, placing myself between Ash and Garchomp.
Raising my right hand, my aura surged forward, coating my entire body in my ADA.
The beam finally impacted my outstretched hand.
However, I didn't budge.
The beam began branching outwards, much like the water from a faucet hitting the bottom of the sink.
After the beam died down, I pushed my aura to the max, forming a large barrier in front of me, just in time to block the blastwave of the delayed explosion.
Once clear, I dropped to one knee, coughing out another mouthful of blood.
The News helicopters had returned by that point, once again shining their lights on us.
Behind me, Ash was staring at me wide-eyed, completely in shock at the feat I'd just pulled off.
I snapped my head in his direction, shouting,
"Ash, hurry! Get that collar off!"
Hearing my words, Ash snapped out of his stupor, nodding his head and charging directly at Garchomp with Froakie and Pikachu hot on his heels.
Reaching Garchomp, Froakie suddenly leapt upwards, pulling at the [Frubbles] that surrounded its neck like a mane and throwing the sticky substance at Garchomps feet.
With Garchomp's feet stuck to the ground, Ash leapt up and grabbed onto Garchomp's neck, shouting,
"Pikachu, use [Iron Tail] on the collar!"
Pikachu charged forward, leaping into the air as its tail began to shine a luminescent white.
"Piiii~ Kaaa~ Chuuuu~"
With a swift twist in the air, Pikachu swung its tail, impacting directly onto the box-like device that started all this.
The box broke into pieces with a sound reminiscent of glass shattering, causing the collar around Garchomp's neck to disintegrate.
Garchomp's eyes visibly relaxed with the pain finally stopping as it dropped down onto its knees, huffing and puffing.
"Are you okay? That must've hurt. Don't worry; help's on the way." Ash said to Garchomp.
"Gaaar~" Garchomp replied, sounding absolutely exhausted.
I had already risen to my feet, through great difficulty, might I add, and made my way over to Garchomp's side.
"You've been through a lot, Buddy. Don't worry about it; everything will be alright."
"Gaarr…" Garchomp looked up at me with extreme guilt shining in its eyes as it remembered every attack it sent my way.
"Hahah- cough, cough, haha, don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're alright," I said with a smile, doing my best to hide the slowly increasing pain I was in.
Pikachu and Froakie started to bound over. However, the ground beneath Pikachu suddenly began to crumble, giving way and sending Pikachu tumbling off the edge.
"Ah! Pikachu!!!" Ash cried out, charging towards the edge.
"Pika!!!!" Pikachu cried as it fell.
Ash suddenly leapt from the edge, diving headfirst after his Partner.
All thoughts left my mind as I dashed forward, leaping after them.
As I began to descend, I released a burst of aura from my feet, acting as a propellant, reaching Ash, who already had Pikachu in his arms. I then screamed out,
"Kaida!!!!"
With a loud cry, Kaida suddenly zoomed downwards, reaching us after we'd almost reached the previous platform that Garchomp had first arrived at. Everything was moving in slow motion, so I happened to notice Clemont and Bonnie were standing there staring up at us in shock and horror.
Seeing Kaida's approach, I reached out, grasping onto her arm before channelling all the aura I could muster into her, Enhancing her muscles to be able to carry the extra weight.
My mind felt like it was tearing itself apart from the excessive aura use, but I continued nonetheless.
Eventually, we approached the ground, with Kaida slowing down enough to make a relatively soft landing.
Releasing my grasp on her arm, Ash and I collapsed to our knees, finally safe.
"Haaa, haaa, haaa, haaa" We were both hyperventilating due to the event.
I looked over at Ash, only to find him turning to look at me as well.
Staring at each other, we both burst out laughing, awash in the feelings of relief that it was finally over.
"Hahaha!"
"Thanks for saving us back there, you too, Kaida!"
"Pika~!"
"Gaaar~!"
"What're friends for, right?" I asked humorously. However, my expression soon became severe.
"Ash." Hearing the solemness in my voice, Ash looked at me seriously.
Seeing that I had his attention, I said,
"I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone what you saw me do."
"You mean the fact that you're an Aura Guardian?" Ash asked.
Hearing what Ash said, my eyes shot wide open.
"H-how..?" I asked, genuinely confused how he knew such a term.
"I knew of someone like you. He was a Hero of the past called Sir Aaron, and he had a Lucario Partner, just like you."
Hearing the familiar name, both from the history that my family had taught me and my prior knowledge, it finally clicked. I'd even watched that specific movie in which Ash learned of the Aura Guardians, but it was so long ago that it'd slipped my mind. Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
"Haaaa… So you know of them. Okay. But please, promise me you'll keep it a secret."
"I promise."
"Great, thank you… Haaa… I think I'm gonna pass out, haha."
"Huh?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Haha, too much Aura usage… Do me a favour and get me to Luca and Luci. They'll fix me right up." I said with a smile as I collapsed forward, out cold.
"Kai!" Ash's voice echoed in my ears, sounding really distant before it all went black.
…
..
.
Sitting in a dark room, illuminated only by the bright monitor screen that stood on a desk, the clacking sounds of a keyboard echoed about.
The room was a mess—different bags filled with trash, old containers from weeks-old food delivery. Clothes were strewn about without a care.
Clacking away at the keyboard, there I sat—a twenty-two-year-old failing university student who lacked any motivation to perform well in any kind of academic studies. Moreover, I was overweight, sitting heavily within my already straining gaming chair, pursuing my hobbies of anime, novels, and video games.
"Haaaa… man, that was super nostalgic," I said with a small smile on my face.
On the screen in front of me was an emulator I had downloaded. It was flashing with the words: Pokémon Diamond.
I'd just finished a play-through of one of my most beloved childhood games, spending hours attempting to complete the Pokédex and catching all the shiny Pokémon I could.
"You just can't beat some of the classics. The newer ones do have interesting premises and stories, and I enjoyed playing them, but something about the older games just hits different.."
Looking at the clock, I sighed.
It was currently 4 am. My sleep schedule was all out of wack.
I looked down at myself and grimaced at my protruding belly.
I never used to be like this…
I don't really know when it happened; I had an idea of what it might've been, but at some point in time, some string of unfortunate events occurred, and I'd just lost any and all motivation to improve upon myself. It must've been something subtle at the beginning. After all, comparing myself now to how I was three or so years ago?
It was like looking at two completely different people.
But sometimes, the most subtle changes to one's mentality can lead them into a slow but deadly downwards spiral that inevitably alters their personality and habits.
"Despite knowing how much I've changed and let myself go… I've spent the last three years devolving into this mess that… I just don't care anymore. Life doesn't seem to have much meaning as it used to, and I guess that's why I constantly escape into these fantasies." So I said as I looked at the flashing title screen on my monitor.
"Even though I know it's all fake, I can't help but wish it were real. Wishing I could just…. vanish… start over…." I continued to delude myself. However, deep down, I knew.
"Yeah, right… With how warped my mentality has become, even if I did get a chance to start over… I'd probably just settle into my lazy mindset once more, wasting the second chance I'd been given." I laughed mockingly.
Sigh…
It was at that moment that my phone began ringing.
Looking at the caller, it was my ex-girlfriend.
And once again, I was reminded of when it truly all began.
Remembering how I'd forced myself to accept that the blame lay entirely on my shoulders for the state that I was in.
Because that is the responsible thing to do.
Because I am the only one who could dictate how I turned out…
Because blaming others for my failures is pathetic….
We used to be really close, so close that we were inseparable as friends and even closer as lovers.
But it all changed after I went away.
With the age difference between us being a few years, I had to head off out of country to further my studies.
We had decided to stay together at the time, and knowing she was back home, waiting, supporting me, I actually pushed myself to study hard.
I performed well in my first semester. I worked through my assignments and got them done on time and at the highest quality that I could.
However, the second Semester came along and… things seemed… different.
We began fighting more often over the stupidest of things.
Then one day, for some stupid reason, I asked if she was happy in this relationship with me or if she wanted to break up.
It was then that I found out that she'd been wanting to separate for a while now. She said she wanted to focus on herself, as she'd spent most of her high school years in a relationship (with me) than being single.
At the time, because of how close we were, I'd always promised to support her with whatever she felt like she needed to do. Unfortunately, this is one of those times where promises sometimes lead to worse outcomes than if they weren't kept.
So, we broke up.
I consoled myself, saying that she just needed to sort stuff out for herself.
Things would be alright. After all, we still stayed in contact with each other, still friends.
But flash forward two months, or so, I was scrolling through my phone and saw a photo posted online that shattered my heart into dust.
There she was.
In a photo, in the arms of another.
At first, I deluded myself, thinking,
'Hey, if she'd actually gotten with someone else, she'd at least tell me…. Right?'
But then I saw the caption under the photo, and my false reality shattered.
'What was that about wanting to spend the rest of Highschool days single? Where was all that talk about focusing on your grades, improving yourself, everything….'
I had so many questions… none of them answered…
With the pain I'd been feeling from that shock, I began to immerse myself in to things like Anime and Light novels.
They were merely distractions… to stop me from noticing the void that had formed in my chest.
My friends were supportive at the time; they encouraged me to smile, look around, and enjoy life.
But as I delved further into my obsession to avoid confronting the emptiness that I felt, my means of distraction turned into my coping mechanism.
I stopped seeing my friends as often, as I spent most of my time locked up in my room, clicking on season after season of animated shows, subconsciously trying so hard to not allow any gaps to form in between my distractions to prevent me from seeing reality and the mess I was slowly becoming.
And through that constant back and forth of trying to avoid reality, three years went by.
I'd become so addicted to escaping real-life that trying to recover and go back to how I used to be just seemed… like so much effort. So much effort for something so insignificant.
Something so fragile.
So as I stared at her name flashing on my phone, I did just that.
I just stared.
She'd tried multiple times to rekindle our friendship, if I remember correctly. To save what we had.
But as I'd let myself go, my insecurities prevented me from allowing her to see the person I had become…
It was in these moments of reality that I would look up from my screen and into the mirror.
Seeing the mess I'd made of myself. And I'd say:
"This isn't the me I want her seeing. The image I want her to remember me by…"
No, I want her to remember the times when I was emotionally stable enough to be her rock.
No, I want her to remember the times when I was actually decently happy with how I looked.
No, I want her to remember the times when I had my priorities right and my life on track.
I don't want her to see…
This.
And so finally, the call rang through, sending her to my voicemail.
With her name no longer in my sight, the monitor on my screen drew my attention once more.
My hand slowly reached towards the mouse.
I dragged its cursor across the screen, hovering just above the words that read:
"ENTER"
And with one click,
I was back into my false reality.
…
..
.
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