Memoirs of a Trainer

[Mystiqe]

A fog hushed over Lavender Town. There were silent whispers among the residents as they fled into their homes, shielding their heads as rain began to descend on the eerie town.

An air of melancholy firmly kept its grip upon the great Pokemon Tower and the town that housed it. Maybe it was the fact that the Pokemon Tower was here in the first place. A collection of sadness from years of trainers mourning the souls of their lost companions.

Today, Cherish would wander into this town. Her head would be held a little lower than usual. Her eyes would be downcast, glassy. She'd be wearing darker clothing than usual.

Cherish was mourning.

Biting her lip, hard enough to bleed, she trudged through the rain and the fog, the coppery tang of her own blood shaking her out of her daze for a moment, causing her to stop in the center of the town. Her eyes locked on to the monument she was headed for. Gripping the strap of her shoulder bag tightly, her eyes wavered, before traveling up the building, focusing on the top floor.

The highest floor was her destination today. Allowing a shy whimper to escape her trembling lips, she continued onwards, pushing through the eerie silence of the town. Timidly she stopped at the doors.

Her eyes would once again trail up to the highest floor. Her hand would move to rest on the door handle, trembling softly. But she swallowed hard, pushing the doors open, and stepped inside.

Inside all was quiet aside from the creepy hymn, and the weak sobbing of grieving trainers. She would bow her head in respect as she walked through the rows of tombstones, her lip quivering when she passed someone in front of one.

Silently, she would make her way up the tower, floor by floor, gliding in between stones and people. She had passed a family in mourning, and had paused to prey with them, hugging the younger girls, along with mother and grandmother. They all shared a silent conversation, just with their eyes. They felt each others pain, and shared each others strength. Smiling weakly, Cherish would bow, before continuing upwards.

Finally, she ascended the final staircase. Her steps were more hesitant now. They were slower with each step she made closer to the center of the floor.

Taking a deep breath, swallowing hard, she approached a tombstone. Her tongue dragged over her quivering lip, and she just stood there for a moment, before she dropped to her knees, staring at what was engraved into the stone.



Here lies Desoto the Houndoom. A brave Pokemon by far. Taken from this plane far too soon at the hands of Team Rocket.



Silently, her fingers would brush over the italic letters. Her lips quivered. She would let out a whimper as her fingers ran over the date, which was just shy of three months ago.

At last, her glassy, but solid gaze would waver. She would bite her lip, tasting the copper tang once again. Motionless for a moment, her eyes flooded, salty tears pouring down her cheeks, dripping from her chin.

Another whine, followed by a sniffle, followed by more silence. She would sit there, before she doubled over, her body heaving with sudden, abrupt, heavy sobs, her tears making the ground under her begin to dampen.

She would sob steadily for a good ten minutes before the sobs broke to a steady chorus of "I'm sorry"'s.

Cherish was mourning.

[Sheeple]

James stalked the floors of the haunting tower in Lavender Town. Today was his day. He was finally going to catch a ghost pokemon.

Determination in his viens, James meticulously searched every grave stone for traces of the elusive ghost pokemon. There weren't many people in the tower, as it was pouring outside. On the top level, he finally had some luck and caught sight of the whisp off of a Gastly.

Making sure not to startle it before he had the chance to capture it, James motioned for Zydrate (who was by his side) to sneak up on it and use thunder bolt. The Raichu did just that, and started up the battle.

Enfuriated, the Gastly fought back. It wasn't like most of the other ghost-types that had disappeared on sight - this one had dignity. James liked that.

The battle lasted only about ten minutes, but that was a long time for a wild pokemon. Ultimately Gastly was defeated, and James succeeded in catching it. Zydrate and James cheered in conquest.

Then something caught his ear - a faint but definite sobbing. He stopped celebrating and Zydrate cocked his head, questioning. "I think I hear someone." James said, making his way carefully and quietly to the other side of the room.

There was a girl about his age hunched over in front of a toumbstone, shaking and crying, whispering 'I'm sorry' over and over. The toumbstone said it represented a Houndoom that was killed by Team Rocket. James' blood boiled inside of him. He loathed those Fucking Rockets with every electron he possessed.

Leaning against the nearby wall (as they were in the far corner of the room), James softly spoke up: "I'm sorry that your pokemon was taken by those Fucking Rockets. If it's any consolation, one of mine was taken as well." He fidgeted with the plain black bandana over the lower half of his face.

[Mystiqe]

She wouldn't respond right away. Instead, she continued to wail hopelessly, her fingers sliding down the face of the tomb stone. Slowly her cries would soften, and get weaker and weaker, till they were nothing but a sniffle. Taking off her toque, she'd run her trembling fingers through her purple hair.

Cherish would turn to face him, her eyes puffy and red. Sniffling, she wiped one of her eyes with her sleeve, and took a moment to calm herself down, before she finally spoke. "Was it Team Rocket, too?" she asked, her voice light, and frail sounding. She looked as if she was about to start crying again. In fact, her lip would quiver, and a rogue tear would streak down her face, adding to the smeared makeup that was already smudged over her eyes, and left trails down her face.

Normally she would have panicked about being seen in such a condition, but right now, she was far to sad to even care.