Status: Active
Wolfe
Three
Gemma immediately regretted continuing into the woods. It was hot and the sun was relentless, and it seemed that no matter what tree she stood under, the heat always reached her. The red and white jacket had been long ripped off and stuffed inside her backpack, but it did little to cool her off. She hated herself for choosing a black t-shirt to wear; she was sure it was drawing in more heat. She tried everything she could to cool off: drinking water, fanning herself, sitting in the shade, lifting her shirt and fanning herself with that. No matter what she did, it didn't ward off the increasing heat.
"Should've picked Squirtle," she mumbled bitterly.
A purple mouse stumbled into her path. It froze and stared up at her with large black eyes, both the Pokémon and trainer staring each other down. Gemma took a tentative step forward, but the small rodent quickly skittered away. Gemma frowned and watched its curled purple tail disappear into a bush. "Fine," she grumbled and resumed walking.
Time evaded the sweltering girl. She wasn't sure what time it was, what time she left, how much time she wasted walking. Her brown eyes squinted up at the blue, cloudless sky with distaste. The blazing sun glared back at her. The woods loomed over her, trees standing tall and holding her prisoner. Every sound echoed in her ears, running together in a jumbled mess. She screwed open the water bottle and brought it to her dry lips, but all that tumbled into her mouth was air. A sense of dread washed over her and defeatedly she replaced the empty bottle in her bag.
"Pid?"
Gemma jumped at the sound. She spun in a complete circle, looking for its source.
"Pid pid. Pidgey."
Her head tilted upward and her eyes landed on a small bird perched on a branch above her head. Its golden eyes watched her with curiosity, its head tilted to the side. Gemma smiled, being quite fond of birds, and cooed to it softly. Its head tilted to the other side and it cooed its response to her.
"Hey there, pretty bird. Have you been following me?" she asked, grinning up at the tan Pokémon. It blinked at her and ruffled its feathers. Gemma suppressed a giggle and she took a step toward the tree. She continued to talk in a soft voice.
"You're such a pretty bird," she murmured. "Do you wanna be my bird?"
The curious Pidgey cocked its head and hopped down to a lower branch, its round eyes trained on the young trainer. Gemma smiled at the flying type and slowly raised her hand so as not to frighten it. It watched her advancing fingers. "Pid pid?" it cooed softly, almost like a question.
"It's okay, pretty bird," Gemma whispered, her eyes wide and alight with excitement.
The Pidgey leaned forward and opened its beak. Gemma jerked her hand away reflexively. The Pidgey tilted its head back and screeched. Gemma clamped her hands tightly over her ears and watched in horror as a dozen more Pidgey joined the first. She knew what would happen next, so without any hesitation, she took off in the opposite direction.
The caws assaulted her ears as the flock of Pidgey flew after her. She dashed through bushes and weaved around trees, running as fast as her legs would let her. She was soon left gasping for breath in the heat and the exertion she was being put through. She could hear the flapping of wings behind her and knew that they were gaining on her. One of the birds swooped down, its clawed toes just grazing her hat, and she let out a shriek of fright. Her hand instinctively flew up to her cap, making sure it was still secure on her head. She leaped over a fallen branch and dodged a low hanging branch as well. Her heart raced in her chest and she had a vague moment of de ja vu, referring to earlier in the day, only this time she was being chased by a flock of bird Pokémon.
It wasn't much of a surprise when her foot caught on a root and she pitched forward; with the bad luck she was having, it was kind of expected. She landed hard on her hands and knees, but the fear and adrenaline numbed her of any pain. She quickly flipped around and crawled backwards, watching with terror as the birds advanced on her. Left with no other defense, Gemma crossed her arms in front of her face, shielding it from harm, and shut her eyes tightly. Her heart thumped in time with the chorus of flapping wings and screeching caws drawing near.
Her body went cold as she felt something land on her head. Her eyes snapped open, but her hat was shoved downward, cutting off her vision.
"Dammit, kid," a familiar voice growled in her ear. The weight left her head and she heard a crackling sound somewhere in front of her. Several Pokémon wailed in pain and Gemma felt her heart twist painfully in her chest. Tears sprung to her eyes and she could feel her throat tighten. Each thwump of a body hitting the ground had her wincing. One, two, three... Gemma bit her lip to keep from screaming. Four, five, six... Her shoulders began to shake. Seven, eight, nine... Her body trembled. Ten, eleven... The bodies ceased falling, and reluctantly, she lifted the cap so she could see.
The smell of fried feathers wafted in the air, and just like she counted, eleven darkened bodies littered the dirt floor. Her eyes landed on the talking Pikachu, who stood in the middle of the scattered bodies. He was looking at her oddly.
"W-What?" she asked. Her voice shook and she felt something warm roll down her cheek. Scared that it was blood, she quickly wiped it away. But when she pulled back her hand, her fingers were only covered in a clear, colorless liquid. "Oh..." she whimpered, her body trembling even more.
The yellow Pokémon furrowed his brow and walked over to her. He crawled onto her legs and stared into her face. His dark brown eyes dropped onto her black t-shirt. Without warning, his little hands landed on her chest. She stiffened, unsure of what he was doing or what she should do. A perplexed expression was written across his face, and he gave an experimental squeeze. Gemma gasped and smacked his hands away. Quickly, he dove for the hem of her shirt and lifted it up over her breasts. He stared at her bra for a moment before she ripped her shirt from his hands and tugged it back down. She shoved him off of her.
"No!" she cried. "Bad Pikachu!"
He glared up at her. "I'm not a fucking Growlithe, you little bitch!" he shouted back.
That pushed her over the edge, letting loose a series of tears and sobs. Gemma drew her knees to her chest and dropped her face in her hands, her body quaking with each sob.
The small Pokémon froze, unsure of what to do. His hands curled and uncurled at his sides and he looked away. Gemma continued to cry, and as each second passed, he felt worse and worse. His ears dropped and he scratched the back of his head.
"Look, kid," he began, "I didn't mean to yell at ya."
"Yes you did," Gemma sobbed. "You're a bad Pokémon! You don't listen to me, you killed those Pidgey, you won't let me give you a name..." She sniffled pathetically and looked at him with red rimmed eyes. "And you cuss too much."
He stared up at her in disbelief. "You're upset because you think I cuss too much?"
She nodded. She attempted to wipe away the tears, but more poured out. The Pikachu sighed in defeat and climbed back into her lap. He reached up and tentatively pulled off her hat. Her ponytail fell down against her neck. "I didn't kill those Pidgey," he assured her. "Really, they're just knocked out. That's how you win a battle, you know." When she didn't respond, he asked softly, "What's your name?"
"Gemma," she croaked.
He held her hat in his tiny hands. "Gemma," he tested the name. "Why are you dressed like a boy?"
Gemma sniffed again. "I'll tell you if you tell me how you ended up in the lab."
He frowned and was about to tell her off, but her big, chocolate colored eyes, which were still wet with tears, was stabbing at his soft spot. He groaned, but nodded nonetheless.
"Deal."
"And you let me name you."
"Fine."
"And you stop cussing so much."
"Alright," he growled. Gemma sensed that she was pushing him to his limit.
"Okay, deal."
________________________________________________________________
"The mafia?!"
Gemma cringed. She nodded glumly, her eyes trained on the ground. She played with her hairband to keep her hands busy, twisting and stretching it into different shapes.
"Jesus, kid. Are you fucking retarded?" he exclaimed.
Gemma gave him a halfhearted glare. "You promised to stop cussing," she reminded him. She tapped his nose with her finger. "And don't say retarded, that's bad, too."
He scowled. "That's gay. Since when?"
"The same time calling things gay was wrong."
The Pikachu frowned and ran his next sentence through an imaginary filter. "What were you even thinking? The Pokémon mafia is dangerous."
"I know," Gemma sighed, dropping her hands. "But we needed the money to pay off my mom's hospital bill, and with Mom not working, how were we supposed to come up with that kind of money?"
"Hell, I don't know! But turning to the mafia is definitely a don't. And now you gotta come up with ten grand to pay off that loan shark. Kid, you're right back to where you started!"
"I know!" Gemma cried, dropping her head in her hands. "Why weren't you there to tell me all of this before I did it?" she mumbled into her hands. She ran her fingers through her hair anxiously, staring at the ground. The small Pikachu patted her knee awkwardly, not too sure how to comfort someone.
"So," he said slowly, trying to avoid the awkward silence, "what are you gonna do?"
Gemma sighed and closed her eyes. "I have no idea. I was thinking that taking on the Pokémon League would reel in a good amount of money, but who am I kidding? Beating the Elite Four is nearly impossible."
"No it's not, kids do it all the time," the yellow Pokémon pointed out.
"Yeah, but they're skilled trainers. I have no idea what I'm doing!" Gemma cried.
"And you think those ten-year-old brats have any clue when they first start?" he reasoned.
She considered this for a moment. "Yes."
The electric type scowled. "Now you're just being stubborn."
"No, I'm serious. There's a trainer's school in Johto," Gemma pointed out.
"Yeah? Well we're in Kanto. Are there any schools here in Kanto?"
"Well, no."
"Exactly," the Pikachu said. "So those little kids don't know shi – crap about being a Pokémon trainer."
Gemma frowned. "I guess."
He shook his head. "You'll figure it out on your own; that's how most people learn anyways. You have to experience it firsthand, and from there you'll learn what to do and not do. Trust me, kid, you'll get the hang of it pretty quick," he reassured her.
Her brown eyes slid over to land on him. "Is that how you got by?" she asked jokingly, an eyebrow raised.
"Yep, and look at me now. I'm stronger than I was before. Lookit these guns," he said, flexing his arms.
"Hm," she hummed.
"C'mon, give 'em a squeeze."
Gemma rolled her eyes and lightly squeezed his tiny arm.
"Guns like that don't just happen by themselves, chica."
She laughed and gave him a little shove. "Careful with those bad boys, they're making you irresistible."
"Bitches go crazy for the guns," he replied, kissing his 'muscles'. Gemma giggled despite the foul language and began tying her hair back. The electric mouse watched her hands collect her chestnut colored hair and pull it through her pink hairband one, two, three times high on her head. She tightened it and let it drop, the tips grazing the back of her neck, which was glistening from a light layer of sweat. His deep brown eyes focused on the way the sunlight made her neck seem to sparkle and brought out the tint of red in her light brown hair. He tilted his head a little and scrutinized her face. Her eyebrows were thin and her eyes were large and round, giving her an innocent appearance, as opposed to her nose being small, reminding him of the phrase as cute as a button. Her mouth was small with full, pink lips, and her face was heart shaped. She was quite pretty, he had come to realize. He wasn't really sure why he had mistaken her for a boy earlier. Maybe it was the way she was dressed, in her loose blue jeans and black T-shirt. Gemma pinned back her bangs with a bobby pin and fitted her hat on her head. The Pikachu stared at her now, dressed in misleading clothes, and tried to think of her as a boy. He frowned. Her face was too girlish. If people did mistake her for a boy, they would mistake her as a very pretty boy, and that was only if they weren't stupid enough to not realize that she was a girl. Another factor would be her chest, which was kind of hard to even tell she had one in that loose shirt, although he had seen (and felt) how little padding she had under her shirt, so maybe that bit of anatomy wouldn't bring any problems.
"You know what I just realized?" Gemma voiced, bringing the small Pokémon out of his thoughts.
"What?" he asked, adjusting the red scarf around his neck.
She smiled brightly down at him. "I haven't given you a name yet."
He nodded and glanced up at her. "Do you have one?"
Gemma frowned, which looked more like a pout, and thought for a moment. Her eyes lit up and a smile crept up on her face. "Cyrus," she stated, her brown eyes looking at him for approval.
He made a face. "That's dumb."
Her face dropped. "What? No it's not."
"Of course it is. How many people do you know that are named Cyrus?"
"How many people do you know that are named Gemma?" she shot back.
The Pikachu scowled at her. "I don't want a name no one else in the world has."
"But there are people in the world with that name," Gemma explained, a desperate, pleading tone in her voice. "Why have a name everyone else has?"
"Because I don't want to be different," he spat at her.
"You already are."
"You think I wanted this shit done to me?" he shouted at her, his eyes glaring at her idiocy.
Gemma jumped, her eyes wide. The sharp sting of tears hit her eyes and she looked down, twiddling her thumbs. "I just..." she started, her voice shaky, "I just thought it might fit you, is all..." She sniffed and bit her quivering lip. His hard stare softened and eventually was wiped clean off his face. His ears dropped, as did his shoulders, as he realized she was on the verge of crying. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead in his hand. A large sigh blew past his lips and he said, "How?"
Gemma glanced up at him and quickly dropped her eyes again. "It means Sun..."
He peeked up at her through his fingers. "Sun," he clarified, and she nodded. He rolled the name around in his mind for a while, thinking of the meaning it held. Slowly, he let his arm fall back to his side. "Well," he started, sighing, "I guess Cyrus is pretty cool."
Gemma looked over at him. "You're just saying that," she mumbled.
"No I'm not. I'll get used to it," he said.
She stared at him, pondering this. "Promise?"
He nodded.
A grin broke out over her face and she grabbed the newly named Pikachu, bringing him in to a tight hug. His body tensed, being unfamiliar to such contact. It was different. It was warm. It was nice.
It was starting to hurt.
"Okay, that's enough," he said, pushing her away from him. That beaming smile still sat upon her lips and she wiped her eyes. Seeing her there, dressed as a boy but still looking very much like a girl, sunlight dotting her skin and illuminating her silhouette, grinning like an idiot, he couldn't help but allow a grin of his own spread across his mouth.
"Alright, then. Let's train a bit before heading to Viridian," Gemma suggested, pushing herself up off the ground.
Cyrus nodded and handed her her jacket. She took it and thanked him, pulling her arms through the sleeves and slung her bag over her shoulders. "Ready to be the very best, Wolfe?"
"Like no one ever was."
"Should've picked Squirtle," she mumbled bitterly.
A purple mouse stumbled into her path. It froze and stared up at her with large black eyes, both the Pokémon and trainer staring each other down. Gemma took a tentative step forward, but the small rodent quickly skittered away. Gemma frowned and watched its curled purple tail disappear into a bush. "Fine," she grumbled and resumed walking.
Time evaded the sweltering girl. She wasn't sure what time it was, what time she left, how much time she wasted walking. Her brown eyes squinted up at the blue, cloudless sky with distaste. The blazing sun glared back at her. The woods loomed over her, trees standing tall and holding her prisoner. Every sound echoed in her ears, running together in a jumbled mess. She screwed open the water bottle and brought it to her dry lips, but all that tumbled into her mouth was air. A sense of dread washed over her and defeatedly she replaced the empty bottle in her bag.
"Pid?"
Gemma jumped at the sound. She spun in a complete circle, looking for its source.
"Pid pid. Pidgey."
Her head tilted upward and her eyes landed on a small bird perched on a branch above her head. Its golden eyes watched her with curiosity, its head tilted to the side. Gemma smiled, being quite fond of birds, and cooed to it softly. Its head tilted to the other side and it cooed its response to her.
"Hey there, pretty bird. Have you been following me?" she asked, grinning up at the tan Pokémon. It blinked at her and ruffled its feathers. Gemma suppressed a giggle and she took a step toward the tree. She continued to talk in a soft voice.
"You're such a pretty bird," she murmured. "Do you wanna be my bird?"
The curious Pidgey cocked its head and hopped down to a lower branch, its round eyes trained on the young trainer. Gemma smiled at the flying type and slowly raised her hand so as not to frighten it. It watched her advancing fingers. "Pid pid?" it cooed softly, almost like a question.
"It's okay, pretty bird," Gemma whispered, her eyes wide and alight with excitement.
The Pidgey leaned forward and opened its beak. Gemma jerked her hand away reflexively. The Pidgey tilted its head back and screeched. Gemma clamped her hands tightly over her ears and watched in horror as a dozen more Pidgey joined the first. She knew what would happen next, so without any hesitation, she took off in the opposite direction.
The caws assaulted her ears as the flock of Pidgey flew after her. She dashed through bushes and weaved around trees, running as fast as her legs would let her. She was soon left gasping for breath in the heat and the exertion she was being put through. She could hear the flapping of wings behind her and knew that they were gaining on her. One of the birds swooped down, its clawed toes just grazing her hat, and she let out a shriek of fright. Her hand instinctively flew up to her cap, making sure it was still secure on her head. She leaped over a fallen branch and dodged a low hanging branch as well. Her heart raced in her chest and she had a vague moment of de ja vu, referring to earlier in the day, only this time she was being chased by a flock of bird Pokémon.
It wasn't much of a surprise when her foot caught on a root and she pitched forward; with the bad luck she was having, it was kind of expected. She landed hard on her hands and knees, but the fear and adrenaline numbed her of any pain. She quickly flipped around and crawled backwards, watching with terror as the birds advanced on her. Left with no other defense, Gemma crossed her arms in front of her face, shielding it from harm, and shut her eyes tightly. Her heart thumped in time with the chorus of flapping wings and screeching caws drawing near.
Her body went cold as she felt something land on her head. Her eyes snapped open, but her hat was shoved downward, cutting off her vision.
"Dammit, kid," a familiar voice growled in her ear. The weight left her head and she heard a crackling sound somewhere in front of her. Several Pokémon wailed in pain and Gemma felt her heart twist painfully in her chest. Tears sprung to her eyes and she could feel her throat tighten. Each thwump of a body hitting the ground had her wincing. One, two, three... Gemma bit her lip to keep from screaming. Four, five, six... Her shoulders began to shake. Seven, eight, nine... Her body trembled. Ten, eleven... The bodies ceased falling, and reluctantly, she lifted the cap so she could see.
The smell of fried feathers wafted in the air, and just like she counted, eleven darkened bodies littered the dirt floor. Her eyes landed on the talking Pikachu, who stood in the middle of the scattered bodies. He was looking at her oddly.
"W-What?" she asked. Her voice shook and she felt something warm roll down her cheek. Scared that it was blood, she quickly wiped it away. But when she pulled back her hand, her fingers were only covered in a clear, colorless liquid. "Oh..." she whimpered, her body trembling even more.
The yellow Pokémon furrowed his brow and walked over to her. He crawled onto her legs and stared into her face. His dark brown eyes dropped onto her black t-shirt. Without warning, his little hands landed on her chest. She stiffened, unsure of what he was doing or what she should do. A perplexed expression was written across his face, and he gave an experimental squeeze. Gemma gasped and smacked his hands away. Quickly, he dove for the hem of her shirt and lifted it up over her breasts. He stared at her bra for a moment before she ripped her shirt from his hands and tugged it back down. She shoved him off of her.
"No!" she cried. "Bad Pikachu!"
He glared up at her. "I'm not a fucking Growlithe, you little bitch!" he shouted back.
That pushed her over the edge, letting loose a series of tears and sobs. Gemma drew her knees to her chest and dropped her face in her hands, her body quaking with each sob.
The small Pokémon froze, unsure of what to do. His hands curled and uncurled at his sides and he looked away. Gemma continued to cry, and as each second passed, he felt worse and worse. His ears dropped and he scratched the back of his head.
"Look, kid," he began, "I didn't mean to yell at ya."
"Yes you did," Gemma sobbed. "You're a bad Pokémon! You don't listen to me, you killed those Pidgey, you won't let me give you a name..." She sniffled pathetically and looked at him with red rimmed eyes. "And you cuss too much."
He stared up at her in disbelief. "You're upset because you think I cuss too much?"
She nodded. She attempted to wipe away the tears, but more poured out. The Pikachu sighed in defeat and climbed back into her lap. He reached up and tentatively pulled off her hat. Her ponytail fell down against her neck. "I didn't kill those Pidgey," he assured her. "Really, they're just knocked out. That's how you win a battle, you know." When she didn't respond, he asked softly, "What's your name?"
"Gemma," she croaked.
He held her hat in his tiny hands. "Gemma," he tested the name. "Why are you dressed like a boy?"
Gemma sniffed again. "I'll tell you if you tell me how you ended up in the lab."
He frowned and was about to tell her off, but her big, chocolate colored eyes, which were still wet with tears, was stabbing at his soft spot. He groaned, but nodded nonetheless.
"Deal."
"And you let me name you."
"Fine."
"And you stop cussing so much."
"Alright," he growled. Gemma sensed that she was pushing him to his limit.
"Okay, deal."
________________________________________________________________
"The mafia?!"
Gemma cringed. She nodded glumly, her eyes trained on the ground. She played with her hairband to keep her hands busy, twisting and stretching it into different shapes.
"Jesus, kid. Are you fucking retarded?" he exclaimed.
Gemma gave him a halfhearted glare. "You promised to stop cussing," she reminded him. She tapped his nose with her finger. "And don't say retarded, that's bad, too."
He scowled. "That's gay. Since when?"
"The same time calling things gay was wrong."
The Pikachu frowned and ran his next sentence through an imaginary filter. "What were you even thinking? The Pokémon mafia is dangerous."
"I know," Gemma sighed, dropping her hands. "But we needed the money to pay off my mom's hospital bill, and with Mom not working, how were we supposed to come up with that kind of money?"
"Hell, I don't know! But turning to the mafia is definitely a don't. And now you gotta come up with ten grand to pay off that loan shark. Kid, you're right back to where you started!"
"I know!" Gemma cried, dropping her head in her hands. "Why weren't you there to tell me all of this before I did it?" she mumbled into her hands. She ran her fingers through her hair anxiously, staring at the ground. The small Pikachu patted her knee awkwardly, not too sure how to comfort someone.
"So," he said slowly, trying to avoid the awkward silence, "what are you gonna do?"
Gemma sighed and closed her eyes. "I have no idea. I was thinking that taking on the Pokémon League would reel in a good amount of money, but who am I kidding? Beating the Elite Four is nearly impossible."
"No it's not, kids do it all the time," the yellow Pokémon pointed out.
"Yeah, but they're skilled trainers. I have no idea what I'm doing!" Gemma cried.
"And you think those ten-year-old brats have any clue when they first start?" he reasoned.
She considered this for a moment. "Yes."
The electric type scowled. "Now you're just being stubborn."
"No, I'm serious. There's a trainer's school in Johto," Gemma pointed out.
"Yeah? Well we're in Kanto. Are there any schools here in Kanto?"
"Well, no."
"Exactly," the Pikachu said. "So those little kids don't know shi – crap about being a Pokémon trainer."
Gemma frowned. "I guess."
He shook his head. "You'll figure it out on your own; that's how most people learn anyways. You have to experience it firsthand, and from there you'll learn what to do and not do. Trust me, kid, you'll get the hang of it pretty quick," he reassured her.
Her brown eyes slid over to land on him. "Is that how you got by?" she asked jokingly, an eyebrow raised.
"Yep, and look at me now. I'm stronger than I was before. Lookit these guns," he said, flexing his arms.
"Hm," she hummed.
"C'mon, give 'em a squeeze."
Gemma rolled her eyes and lightly squeezed his tiny arm.
"Guns like that don't just happen by themselves, chica."
She laughed and gave him a little shove. "Careful with those bad boys, they're making you irresistible."
"Bitches go crazy for the guns," he replied, kissing his 'muscles'. Gemma giggled despite the foul language and began tying her hair back. The electric mouse watched her hands collect her chestnut colored hair and pull it through her pink hairband one, two, three times high on her head. She tightened it and let it drop, the tips grazing the back of her neck, which was glistening from a light layer of sweat. His deep brown eyes focused on the way the sunlight made her neck seem to sparkle and brought out the tint of red in her light brown hair. He tilted his head a little and scrutinized her face. Her eyebrows were thin and her eyes were large and round, giving her an innocent appearance, as opposed to her nose being small, reminding him of the phrase as cute as a button. Her mouth was small with full, pink lips, and her face was heart shaped. She was quite pretty, he had come to realize. He wasn't really sure why he had mistaken her for a boy earlier. Maybe it was the way she was dressed, in her loose blue jeans and black T-shirt. Gemma pinned back her bangs with a bobby pin and fitted her hat on her head. The Pikachu stared at her now, dressed in misleading clothes, and tried to think of her as a boy. He frowned. Her face was too girlish. If people did mistake her for a boy, they would mistake her as a very pretty boy, and that was only if they weren't stupid enough to not realize that she was a girl. Another factor would be her chest, which was kind of hard to even tell she had one in that loose shirt, although he had seen (and felt) how little padding she had under her shirt, so maybe that bit of anatomy wouldn't bring any problems.
"You know what I just realized?" Gemma voiced, bringing the small Pokémon out of his thoughts.
"What?" he asked, adjusting the red scarf around his neck.
She smiled brightly down at him. "I haven't given you a name yet."
He nodded and glanced up at her. "Do you have one?"
Gemma frowned, which looked more like a pout, and thought for a moment. Her eyes lit up and a smile crept up on her face. "Cyrus," she stated, her brown eyes looking at him for approval.
He made a face. "That's dumb."
Her face dropped. "What? No it's not."
"Of course it is. How many people do you know that are named Cyrus?"
"How many people do you know that are named Gemma?" she shot back.
The Pikachu scowled at her. "I don't want a name no one else in the world has."
"But there are people in the world with that name," Gemma explained, a desperate, pleading tone in her voice. "Why have a name everyone else has?"
"Because I don't want to be different," he spat at her.
"You already are."
"You think I wanted this shit done to me?" he shouted at her, his eyes glaring at her idiocy.
Gemma jumped, her eyes wide. The sharp sting of tears hit her eyes and she looked down, twiddling her thumbs. "I just..." she started, her voice shaky, "I just thought it might fit you, is all..." She sniffed and bit her quivering lip. His hard stare softened and eventually was wiped clean off his face. His ears dropped, as did his shoulders, as he realized she was on the verge of crying. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead in his hand. A large sigh blew past his lips and he said, "How?"
Gemma glanced up at him and quickly dropped her eyes again. "It means Sun..."
He peeked up at her through his fingers. "Sun," he clarified, and she nodded. He rolled the name around in his mind for a while, thinking of the meaning it held. Slowly, he let his arm fall back to his side. "Well," he started, sighing, "I guess Cyrus is pretty cool."
Gemma looked over at him. "You're just saying that," she mumbled.
"No I'm not. I'll get used to it," he said.
She stared at him, pondering this. "Promise?"
He nodded.
A grin broke out over her face and she grabbed the newly named Pikachu, bringing him in to a tight hug. His body tensed, being unfamiliar to such contact. It was different. It was warm. It was nice.
It was starting to hurt.
"Okay, that's enough," he said, pushing her away from him. That beaming smile still sat upon her lips and she wiped her eyes. Seeing her there, dressed as a boy but still looking very much like a girl, sunlight dotting her skin and illuminating her silhouette, grinning like an idiot, he couldn't help but allow a grin of his own spread across his mouth.
"Alright, then. Let's train a bit before heading to Viridian," Gemma suggested, pushing herself up off the ground.
Cyrus nodded and handed her her jacket. She took it and thanked him, pulling her arms through the sleeves and slung her bag over her shoulders. "Ready to be the very best, Wolfe?"
"Like no one ever was."