Like No One Ever Was

“Good afternoon, Mister Arven,” Leah greeted me at the door to the mansion. It still feels so weird to be treated so fancily. Nemona says you get used to it, but I also think she makes a game out of trying to get them just to call her by her name.

“Thanks, Leah.” I wiped my shoes on the welcome mat and took them off. The staff is nice but they get very scary if you track dirt inside. And I get a lecture even if Maschiff made the mess, not me!

“Where’s-” I began while she spoke up.

“The Young Miss is- ah, apologies." Seeing me not continuing, she carried on. "Young Miss is in her room, I don’t believe she has any studies right now.”

“Cool!” Dad being busy with his work sucked, and Nemona was constantly busy too these days. She’d always try to make time for me, but the last time I barged in I saw Hassel of the Elite Four glaring at me! Funnily enough, I think if it wasn’t for Nemona, I wouldn’t have even recognized him. But she watches so many battle videos I could probably list off every region’s champions and Elites now. We'd watch cartoons fairly often too, but I got the feeling that she only watched them when I was around.

Swiftly walking up the stairs, I opened the door to my friend’s room. “Hey Nemona, I- what are you… doing?” I asked dumbly. Dad would never call my questions dumb, but he would say some questions ‘reward less new intelligence than others,’ and that feels like him saying it’s dumb. I knew it was a dumb question because I could clearly see what she was doing, even if I had a hard time comprehending it.

“Meditating.” Her voice lilted oddly as she wobbled a bit in the air. Because that’s where she was ‘sitting’ cross-legged, in the middle of the air. She opened her amber eyes to look at me, and I noticed she was sweating a little. “I didn’t expect to see you today, Arven.” She commented in a tone that was calm but with an underlying tension. Like Dad, when he’s happy to see me, but is frustrated with someone at work.

“I thought Dad might be home today but… guess not.”

She frowned, her body wobbling again in the air before straightening out again. “Is there something special about today? I didn’t forget your birthday, did I?”

Snickering at that, I released Maschiff, wanting my closest bud to see this too, just to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. “No, not that. More importantly, though, HOW ARE YOU FLYING?!!” My dog Pokemon barked his agreement, sniffing around and walking all over Nemona’s room, looking for the ‘trick’.

“Ah, right. That. This is something I’ve been practicing, it’s called Aura.”

“Whoa. Could I do that too?”

Nemona didn’t immediately answer, thinking it over. “Well, it’s possible. But more likely you’d have a different Type of Aura than me.” At my lack of comprehension, she added “Which means you’d be able to do different things, but probably not fly. It would also likely take a lot of work. I had to practice tons to get this far-”

“Oh, nevermind then.” Her face fell at my answer.

“I mean, that’s ok, but you shouldn’t be worried of a little hard work!” She pouted, caught between annoyance and relief.

Giving her a dubious glance, I answered “I’m not afraid of a little hard work, I’m afraid of what you call ‘a little hard work!’ You’re just like Dad that way.” Nemona suddenly collapsed to the ground, as if all the force holding her up had suddenly stopped. “Nemona!”

Miles zipped out of her pocket at the same time as Dun popped out of his Pokeball, both Pokemon looking extremely worried. “It’s fine guys, my butt broke my fall,” she tried with a smile that was more like a grimace, standing back up.

“What happened, bzzt?” Miles inquired.

“Just lost my focus,” she muttered a fact I found hard to believe as her eyes narrowed in on me with an intensity I didn’t usually feel from her outside of battling. “What were you just saying?”

“Just, that you’re a lot like Dad. You both can get so focused and know so much…” Not like me. Whenever Dad brought me around to work, I could feel people judging me with their eyes. Wondering why I wasn’t as smart as he was. They’d always laugh it off, say I was still young, but then I see how everyone here looks at Nemona-

My thoughts were cut off by the window to her room slamming open, a gust of wind whirling through, tossing some of Nemona’s bed sheets and the papers on her desk about. “Sorry,” she immediately said, fists clenched tightly at her side. Dun nuzzled up to her side while Miles looked on, plasmic face showing concern. She screwed her face up in concentration as the wind died down.

“Sorry for what?” I asked, still a little confused, rushing over to grab the papers that had fallen. None of it looked like homework, a mix of battle theories and story ideas. She always has the most fantastical stories to tell. Nemona’s new schedule keeps her busy, but she’ll usually try to rope me into it, and if Maschiff and I aren’t into a torture session training that day, she’ll tell us some of her stories while letting her team train.

“... I lost control of my Aura and it caused a disturbance, I need to get better with that.” She plucked the broken latch from the window off the ground. “I’m glad to see the glass is tough enough to withstand that, but it’s a poor design choice that doesn’t leave the surroundings just as tough as the opening. If a door is made of steel, but attached to wood, then your room is only as secure as the wood-”

“What was that!?!” Leah’s frantic shout cut through the house and Nemona’s ramblings.

“Hey Arven, wanna go for a walk?” My best friend ‘offered’ before dragging me over and up to the window. Considering how it opened above her desk, the fact that she was lifting me almost above her head to shove me out would have been impressive if it weren’t for… that.

“Wait, Nemona, we’re up kinda high-”

“It’s fine, just hold on to Miles.” The Pokemon in question hovered outside the window I was being pushed out of as we heard heavy footsteps stomping up. Without a better option, I grabbed on and Nemona let go.

I may have shrieked a little as I drifted down, to go alongside Nemona’s cheer of delight as she vaulted over and glided down beside me. Maschiff joined in with a howl of fear a second later as he clung atop Dun’s back as the evolved Pokemon slipped out and flapped his wings vigorously to drift down.

Landing down on the soft sand, we took off at a run, and I could distantly hear Leah shouting something from Nemona’s room. “Is this going to be all right?”

The crazy girl just laughed. “Probably! If not, it’s future Nemona’s problem.” Despite her Giratina-may-care attitude, I noticed her firing off a quick message with Miles as we ran, so Leah shouldn’t be too worried about us.

We made our way off the beach and up the nearby hills, just running free. I’m actually getting ahead of Nemona for once! Glancing back I saw her breathing hard, so I came to a stop atop one grassy section halfway to my house. She joined me in taking a break, looking pretty tired. Weird. She trains and runs a ton, I'm always pooped before her. Haha, poop.

Lying down in the grass, Nemona let out a big sigh, and I joined her, not realizing how damp it still was with dew. I was sweaty from all that running I guess.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before she gave me a question as out of the blue as the clear sky above us. “Would you hate me, if you knew I was keeping a big secret from you?”

“Huh?” Where’s this coming from? “I dunno, what’s the secret?”

That provoked a laugh from her. “It’s a secret, I can’t tell you that dummy! Or rather, I don’t want to tell you that.”

“Why not?” I pressed.

“Because I’m trying to change things so what I’m worried about won’t be a problem, but if I tell you about it, it might worry you.” My face scrunched up as I tried to figure out her words, and I felt Maschiff flopping his head down on my belly like a pillow, my starter had given up on understanding her whatsoever.

“I guess it’s fine then, I trust you.” Her breath hitched for a second at my words, before she let out a small helpless laugh. “Are all girls as weird as you are?” That provoked more laughter, genuine this time.

“Rude, what kind of question is that? But looking at my sister, no, most girls aren’t as weird as me.”

“That isn’t a umm,” I paused trying to find the right words. “Magnificent sample size?”

She snorted, turning her head a bit while still lying on the ground to look at me. “I think you mean ‘significant’ sample size. And you’re right it isn’t, but we don’t really know any other girls. No wait, I do know another girl! Miles, show him all the photos and gifs Lacey sent me!”

Her Rotom floated over, dutifully pulling up several different texts she had sent with her Unovan friend. A lot of the ones from Lacey showed cute Pokemon and sometimes the pink-haired girl herself, usually with the girl hugging or pointing at said Pokemon. Others were just funny gifs or emoticons. In between all that though, I scrolled through to see some in-depth discussions on battles and strategies between the two girls. Even the ‘normal’ people are smarter than me, all this stuff goes over my head.

“Hey, don’t say that,” Nemona commented and it took me a second to realize I’d spoken my thoughts out loud.

Grumpily sitting up (to Maschiff’s slight chagrin) I said: “It’s true though. Lacey’s normal, but she can talk battle stuff with you that I don’t get even after all the times you’ve beat us.”

“That’s not a fair comparison, Lacey’s father is a gym leader so of course, she’d have a bit more knowledge about battli-”

“Then why am I so dumb that Mom left me!” My shout caused Nemona to physically recoil and I shrunk back too. “Sorry, just… you’re so smart about everything even though you’re the same age as me, and I’m an idiot.”

Nemona pulled herself up as well, with a sigh so weary it sounded like it aged her. “Everyone is an idiot. I do reckless things, because I’m too eager or too driven, and I end up hurting myself or worrying others. Sometimes both.” The wind whistled by as we sat in silence for a minute before she asked me “What brought this on? If you don’t mind me asking, I get that it’s a touchy subject. You just… never brought up your Mom before.”

Maschiff nuzzled up close to me and I scratched the top of his head. He was just a tiny puppy when Mom left, he barely remembers her. When Dad threw himself into his work, Maschiff was there for me. And even now, as he’s doing it again. But Maschiff isn’t the only one here for me now, though. I come over to the mansion almost every other day now.

Knowing I owed her an answer I said “Dad isn’t back. I know he’s doing great work in Area Zero, everyone tells me so.” Nemona muttered something like ‘Everyone should mind their business.’

“Today was Mom and Dad’s anniversary, so I thought he might…” Abandon all his important work to look after me?

“Your father… is possibly the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.” I blinked and had to make sure that Nemona hadn’t been replaced by aliens, but it was still her. My best friend, with a fire blazing in her eyes, had a surety that made me want to believe her words even as she said the craziest thing I’d ever heard.

“But- but he’s so smart!”

“Doesn’t stop him from being an idiot. Tons of smart people can be.” At my confused expression, she explained. “See, even ‘smart’ people only know what they know, and they can miss other things outside of where they focus. Which is how a moron like Turo can miss that he’s fu-” she cut herself off, realizing she was getting heated.

More calmly, but no less firm, she said: “Talk to your Dad. If he’s doing something you don’t like, you have to let him know. As dumb as he can be, I can promise you that he cares about you and wants you to be well, and him not being here is not about him not liking you.”

I’m still not sure, but Nemona sounds sure enough for both of us, so I’ll believe in her. “Ok, I’ll call Dad when I get back home.”

Nemona smiled brilliantly at that as if I had done some big thing by saying I’d call him. “I still wish I was a genius like you,” I blurted out before my brain could get the message and stop.

A sad chuckle spilled out of her throat. “Not sure anyone would really want to be like me. I’m also not a genius, not truly. I’m just good at working hard.”

“But you’re good at so many different things! Martial arts, wilderness survival, singing, Pokemon battles, you can fly.” I haven’t forgotten that point, Nemona!

“All just hard work, you don’t go into anything knowing you’ll be great at it. If you want to expand your horizons, go for it. Try a bunch of things; photography, gardening, sports, whatever catches your fancy. My family can arrange for tutoring or whatever.”

“No, that’s fine. You guys already do way too much for me. I’ll tell Dad to arrange it… as soon as I figure out what it is I want to do.” Not everything is resolved, but I feel a bit better like things are going to turn out alright.

That hopeful moment was shattered by the sight of Leah, appearing around the turn of a hill to lock her gaze on us. Her maid outfit was hiked up “You. Are in. So. Much. Trouble.”

“Damn it past Nemona,” my friend groused. “Why you gotta be such a jerk?”

***

Later that day, after Leah had lectured Nemona on using her ‘Aura’ responsibly, we played some more games before I went back home.

Dad left me plenty of money for food, but it was the staff at Nemona’s house that had arranged for constant balanced grocery deliveries to the lighthouse, so we were well stocked and I got to try out all sorts of different meals to make for Maschiff and me.

Despite that and the grumblings from my stomach, I couldn’t ignore the feeling of emptiness that yawned before me every time I opened the door and Dad wasn’t there.

Entering, I flicked on the lights and pulled out my Rotom Phone, staring at it as I sat on the couch. I need to talk to Dad, want to talk to him, I even went over some stuff about what I should bring up and how to phrase it with Nemona. So why am I angry at him? Why do I feel like I don’t want to do this? Why am I scared?

Eventually, I couldn’t push it off any longer, so I flicked over to his number and called him. It rang for a long time, so long I thought I’d have to leave a message, but then he answered. “Arven? What is wrong?”

“...You’re not here. It’s yours and Mom’s anniversary and you aren’t-” The thoughts of how I was supposed to lead had gone right out of my mind.

“My son…” His voice sounded so sincere, so remorseful, so hurt at the reminder, that for a second I felt bad for ever being upset with him. “I’m so sorry. I never meant- We’ve been so busy- No, that’s no excuse.”

“I wanted you to be back, just for today. You said you’d try to get time off to see me. It’s so lonely here.”

“Don’t you have Nemona and-”

I snapped, cutting him off “It’s not the same! And even if she isn’t busy with her stuff, I come back home after hanging out with her and the house is-” I cut myself off (and only partially because I accidentally bit my tongue lightly). I never raised my voice against Dad before. I was too young to realize how much it sucked before, or maybe I just didn’t know any better before meeting Nemona. Then his Tera Orb project was wrapping up and I thought it would be done, spending a week or so at most on his other science stuff before coming home, but it’s the same thing all over again.

My father was silent on the other end for a few seconds, processing things. “Again, I am sorry. I should have realized how difficult it would be for you. It has been tougher than I anticipated down here as well. The teleporters for the bunkers are behaving finicky around the unusual energy of Area Zero so it’s taking a while for the League to arrange trips in and out currently. Then there’s the new team they ‘gave’ me for this project. While there are skilled researchers like Jaques and Clavell here, I worry that some of them might look to steal things from me. Sabotage my work while I’m not here."

Dad paused, taking a deep breath before his usually stoic face took on a pained note. “I’ll come back to visit soon, once the bunkers are set up. At least for a few days. I’ll still need to go back after,” He explained. Father goes over every point with me with such detail that I worried he thought I was dumb, but that’s just how he is. I think Nemona had a word for it. Methological?

I tuned back into his words, realizing I’d missed most of what he’d said. “...There’s so much to see here, son. I wish I could show it all to you - one day, I will! All of it and more. Soon, I’ll be able to show you a paradise like you’ve never seen before. Then I’ll never need to stay away again, I promise. Just… give me a bit more time, please.”

“O-ok.” Maschiff looked dubiously at the phone my father’s voice was coming from, but I tried to hold on to hope. It’s fine, it’s not like he can go back in time to be here for today, and I’ll see him soon. Plus, Dad being able to stay with me all the time… it sounds almost too good to be true. I just gotta be patient, like Nemona. She can wait so long and work so hard for what she wants, so I’ll do that too!

“While I have a minute, why don’t you tell me about your day?” He tried, and I brightened up, any lingering feelings of abandonment forgotten for the moment.

“Well, first I went over to Nemona’s house and you wouldn’t believe what she was doing…”