[CW/Feedback] Warming Heart

[Anstane]

Alright, first of all, some disclaimers to a few questions that I predict, namely "Is this the same character from my first CW" (Found here, for those interested/who haven't read it yet)) and a few other things. Also, this is kind of like a fragment of a much larger story, so if there are any questions of the story that you would like to know, ask them and I'll try to clarify and explain.

1) Yes, this is the same character. The difference is that the Antares here has just started on his adventure. His one main desire, that he mentions right before he got his first Pokemon, is to see a world where both humans and Pokemon are equals, they live, feel, play and everything together, no "Trainer-Trainee", but a relation of equals, whereas the one from my previous CW has the same ultimate dream, except by that point he's a veteran trainer (Antares started his adventure a few days after his 12'th birthday, Antares arrives in Reborn City a few months after his 19'th, as an FYI).

2) Yes, I know originally Antares was to be from Johto. The reason for this change are as follows:

When I created my first one, I didn't think I'd want to start dreaming/writing about Antares' adventures before Reborn;

I had never actually beaten a game set in the Johto region. I decided to do this retcon so I actually knew what I was writing about (I had beaten Fire Red 2 times, Emerald 3 times and Black once).

3) Pokemon are smart, don't get me wrong. They can understand what their trainers are saying. It's the reverse that is a bit iffy. That's why I added the whole "Charade" mention and everything, it's a way for the Pokemon to communicate without needing words. Expressions and gestures can be surprisingly accurate, after all.

As soon as the young trainer finished fixing up the mess that was his backpack, his eyes turned to his Glaceon, who was standing next to the window, gazing out, almost in a daze. Antares had noticed that she was like this ever since they all arrived in Rustboro City a few days ago, but she simply would not open up and let the young traveler know what was truly going on in her mind.

“Glay”, the trainer finally spoke. The Pokemon slowly turned her head to face the source of the voice, which was now down on one knee a few feet in front of the light blue-furred Pokemon.

“Ever since we arrived in Rustboro, you have been almost in a confused daze. Before that, I felt fear and mistrust in you…” Antares took a deep breath. “…and, though it might be painful, I want you to tell me what happened. Please, I just want to understand what happened. I want to help you, I want to support you. I just need to know the truth. Just…try to use motions and charades, I’ll try to guess what happened.”

By this point Quilava and Electrike had heard the conversation and moved to the trainer’s sides, curiosity in their minds.

Glaceon, meanwhile, looked around in a bit of a nervous panic before finally releasing a sad sigh, almost in defeat.

What followed were several minutes of the sapphire-eyed Pokemon using charades, various gestures and a nearby calendar to try and explain her story to the kneeling youth. It took a few attempts for Antares to guess that Glaceon pointing at her and then at him meant "My human", or, more accurately, "My former human", and it kind of went from there.

With every piece that he guessed correctly, the young wanderer felt his heart sink lower and lower as well as having his stomach turn. One month before the two met, she was found and given to a child in one of the opulent houses in Petalburg City. For reasons unknown, Glaceon was beaten and abused by both the kid and his parents. They would regularly hit her, tear at her fur and pull at her bangles. Eventually, three days or so before Antares found the Pokemon en route to Oldale Town, she finally had enough of the abuse and struck back, biting the abusive child’s hand. His parents responded by throwing the Pokemon, weak from all the pain and abuse she was going through, out into the dark night streets of Petalburg.

All Glaceon did was run, past Oldale Town and down to the road between Littleroot and Oldale. She had found a burrow where she went to hide, but was too weak after to leave. The Pokemon did not know exactly how long she was there, but she was barely holding on, having starved and drunk almost no water, until, almost by fate, a certain trainer was caught in the middle of a storm and decided to hide in the burrow he had taken notice of on his first trip through the route, the same one where the dying Pokemon was awaiting her fate.

Antares could do nothing but stay still, close his eyes and think. The boy always was quite emotional, especially when it came to Pokemon, and so it was that all he could feel was pain and sorrow. He was sure there were probably more details, but he was not going to open the wounds any more then he already did. It would probably be difficult for him to figure everything out through mere gestures, regardless. The Pokemon, similarly, did nothing but lower her head and stood in silence. Even Quilava and Electrike were simply standing there, somber looks on their faces. Finally, though, the trainer broke the silence:

“Glay…I was not aware that you had it quite that bad. I am truly sorry to hear what had happened and even more so for forcing you to relive the bad experiences you’ve had. I now understand why you were so fearful and mistrustful of me. You probably thought all humans were bad, abusive and cruel. It also explains why you were so scared when we were nearing Petalburg.”

“I find it disgusting that there are people out there that would do such things. That they would do such things to you…” Antares paused for a few seconds while he gathered his thoughts. By this point his eyes started to water, though tears were not going down his face yet. “I know you have little reason to trust humans, but…” the trainer looked into Glaceon’s beautiful blue eyes. “To see someone as beautiful as you having to go through so much internal trauma…it completely tears me up.”

Both the young boy and the light blue-furred Pokemon looked at each other for a few moments, before he began to speak again, this time holding out one hand forward and the other a bit to the side. By this point tears started to go down his face.

“I know it might be hard for you, but all I ask of you is to leave your past behind. All I ask you is to believe me…no, believe us”, the trainer corrected himself, looking at the still-flanking Quilava and Electrike, “that we will not let any sort of abuse to happen to you. Understand, all we want is for everyone to be happy, to be friends with each other. Not as a Trainer-Trainee relation, but as a relation of equals, where we go through everything, all the highs and lows, together. That is a world I want to see, one I want to create. All I ask is for you to trust us, that we will do our best to never let anything bad happen to you again. Please…”

The Glaceon stood still, thoughts racing through her head. Torn between the past and the potential for a bright future with this child, a few brief moments passed as she stood, shaking her head, trying to make sense of it all. Eventually, though, her mind and heart were set. “Gla!” She released a cry that sounded both happy and sad and hopped straight into the trainer’s arms, her front paws wrapping themselves around his body in a sweet embrace. The trainer, similarly, put the Pokemon into a hug. Quilava and Electrike looked upon this sight and could not help but smile at the beautiful sight in front of them.

Both Antares and Glaceon could do nothing but cry tears of both joy and sadness at each other. The human because he could not bear to see a Pokemon, especially one that captivated his heart all those days ago, look so sad and afraid. It took a lot of effort, but he was finally able to get Glaceon to warm up to him and leave her past behind, and he considered it to be well worth the effort. He knew that if he can’t make a Pokemon happy, then he has failed in his travels.

The sapphire-eyed Pokemon, similarly, could not hold back her tears of joy. She felt a strange sense of sincerity in the young trainer’s words. He had placed so much faith and trust in her, between that and how much Antares seemed to care for her well-being, body, mind and soul, that Glaceon was finally willing to trust the trainer back, with all her heart.

The two did nothing but be still in each other’s embrace, until the sun had finished setting outside over Slateport City and they had cried so much that they could cry no more, and even then they stood still, for what seemed like an eternity of bliss for both Antares and Glaceon.