A new day has always come to welcome a new set of obstacles. For us, it seemed as though there were nothing but obstacles in the new day.
After we defeated Silver, AJ led us to the outskirts of the town of Azalea. There, we met with an old man named Kurt. Admiral told us that he was famous in the region for his pokeball making skills. I considered collecting a pink apricorn for my master, so that Kurt could turn it into a Love Ball. I wanted my master to feel calm and happy and loved—it's been a long time since I heard him laugh. However, before I could even ask Admiral where I could find one, AJ led us down the Slowpoke Well. It was there that all our hardships started.
Men and women in black outfits distinguished by a red letter "R" covered the interior of the well. I found several Slowpokes with their tails missing—and I heard the ones who actually realized they were missing a tail wail in pain.
AJ attempted to fight them, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks and froze. Then, the unimaginable happened. He sent Prince to battle and within moments, I saw the little baby Togepi faint. Admiral's words echoed in my head "a leader must always watch out for their teammates" over and over until they nearly drove me insane. I was supposed to protect Prince no matter what, even if it was against my master's commands. I was supposed to have protected him. Because I didn't protect him, I was alone now. Admiral grew weak trying to keep us all from fainting. Brian, Oxxy, and BK went down with him shortly after. I was supposed to help Admiral protect everyone. I was supposed to. I was—...
"Lazor," my master called out to me.
I heard him speak, but why did his voice sound so far away?
I was incompetent, and because of my incompetence, everyone got hurt. Was he going to throw me away? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
My master knelt down and smiled at me. He placed his hand on my head and pat me in the way he always did, and I found all my anxiety disappear within a blink of an eye.
"It's time to battle," he said.
I nodded at him, and before I realized it, we already defeated all the suspicious looking people in the well. They called themselves Team Rocket, and it seemed as if they only fought to earn wealth. I couldn't believe it. For the sake of wealth, they found it reasonable to harm my fellow pokemon. I didn't understand the cruelty in the hearts of people.
But, I felt AJ pat my head again, as if to tell me that I did a good job, and I knew that no matter what happened, he would never be cruel—he'd always be my kind master...always understanding.
Kurt found us and led us out of the Slowpoke Well after he discovered that we defeated the infamous Team Rocket. He introduced himself as we walked to his home in Azalea Town, and gave my master a Lure Ball. Though I was content with the fact that my master got a gift from the kind pokeball master, I still wondered if it would be possible to give him a gift myself. I stared at Kurt and a pink apricorn that sat on a table; Kurt smiled at me as if he knew what I was thinking. Then he said, "come back anytime with an apricorn."
Without us having to lead him, AJ found the Azalea Town Gym and took us inside. It was a place full of bugs and a thick, humid air. I looked up at my master who only looked straight ahead at a boy with green hair. His name was Bugsy and, like Falkner at Violet City, he was the gym leader.
In the battle, my master sent Prince out once again and as I was about to intervene, Admiral stopped me.
"You have to let everyone carry their own," Admiral told me.
"But...Admiral...Prince...he's just a baby," I said, completely panicked.
"Yes. And one day, he will become a man," Admiral began to answer me. "He needs to learn how to fight. That is what AJ is teaching him."
I stood in silence as I watched Prince try a Metronome attack. His battle didn't last very long, but AJ held Prince in his arms afterward and smiled before giving me a nod.
It seemed as if everything was going to be okay, even if we were getting hurt.
With a Hive Badge in our hands, Admiral led us to the Illex Forest. AJ wasn't doing well, yet again, and we had to guide him through the walk.
We met a young man with a Farfetch'd that knew the move Cut. They were gathering charcoal wood in the forest, he managed to tell us before his Farfetch'd ran away. After we helped the young man find his Farfetch'd, he gave AJ HM01, which contained the move Cut. He wished us luck on our journey before disappearing into the darkness of the forest.
It was then that we decided to set up camp. The cat-and-mouse chase that occurred from trying to get to Farfetch'd tired AJ out a lot. He was sweating and shivering. His slurs of nonsense were coming back.
"...Up...down...up...up...left...," he began to say.
Admiral gathered some firewood in the forest after being taught the move Cut and lit us a campfire. There were only berries for us to eat, but we tried our best to feed our master. His condition was getting worse, and I didn't know how to help him.
I guess Admiral saw my fear, because he placed his hand on my head and pat it—the way AJ would—and said "everything will be okay."
Prince wobbled his way towards me and chirped very cheerily. He seemed completely oblivious to the situation, and I found myself a somewhat envious of the little kid.
"Hey, Lazor!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah?" I responded, very amused by him.
"Did you see me in battle today? Didja see me?!" he asked me as he jumped up and down on the grassy terrain of the forest.
I smiled at Prince the way that Admiral smiled at me, and said "yes. You were so brave and strong today."
Prince smiled and hugged me as tightly as he could before slowly falling asleep on my lap.
"What did I tell you?" Admiral said to me in a soft voice.
"...you were right," I told him with a smile.
We both looked up towards the sky again, and tried to see the stars between the leaves and branches of the trees. It was difficult, but it was still as beautiful as when we first looked up at them. Brian and Oxxy came back from their little adventure, bringing back a whole bunch of berries that we snacked on as we waited for AJ's fever to cool down.
When morning came, the campfire was replaced by ashes and smoke. I awoke to see AJ up and well, and I found myself so grateful that my master was cured of his fever.
We journeyed through the forest and wound up in Goldenrod City—an actual city. It had a game corner, famous buildings, and a gym. It was so full of life, and it was the first time I ever saw so many people in the same place at once. Everyone seemed so busy with their own agendas.
AJ found himself talking to a stranger in front of the Radio Tower; I think he wanted to win the Radio Card the man had up for display. It seemed to be an addition for the gadget he wore around his neck: his PokeGear.
Admiral guided us to the gym in the city after AJ finally won his card. I saw signs of his sickness coming back as he tried to complete the quiz the man gave out. I heard him cry out "up" and "down" as he looked at the questions, although they were very faint cries. I wanted to believe that I was just hearing things.
It was an easy victory for us to obtain the Plain Badge that Whitney gave out to competitors, though actually prying the badge off her hands was a difficult task. I don't know if it was because AJ was growing weaker with each passing moment or if she was actually just that strong, because the struggle to get the badge surely took much longer than the actual battle.
Upon exiting the gym, Admiral and I sat down at a bench while AJ took the rest of the party somewhere.
"Do you think AJ will die?" I asked Admiral after a brief moment of silence.
He took a deep breath and sat closer to me before trying to decide on how to respond.
But, I no longer needed an answer from him because I understood what he thought from the way he reacted.
"...it'll be okay, Lazor," Admiral told me.
I really wanted to believe it, so I closed my eyes and tried to engrave his words inside my head. However, just like that, I heard Chikorita's voice tell me "the end is coming" and I freaked out again.
It was like a bad omen of some sort—as if my mind was trying to forewarn me of something. I wish I paid attention to it more, but I didn't. Instead, I tried to find comfort in Admiral's voice and words.
"Did you know that in my family, I was known as VV?" Admiral told me. I think he was trying to distract me from my thoughts. I think he was trying to protect me the only ways he understood how: by teaching me to move along.
"...why?" I asked him.
"Because I was the fifth born of the fifth generation in my family tree," Admiral said to me with a smile.
I laughed because it was actually quite interesting.
A little while after, AJ returned with only an egg in his hands. Everyone else was gone, and I didn't understand. Nothing but negative thoughts managed to process itself in my head. I couldn't hear Admiral speak to me anymore. All I heard was Chikorita's voice, in a taunting manner, telling me that "the end is coming."
I wanted to ask my master "why?"
Did they do something wrong?
Did he abandon them?
...will he do the same to me?
--; March 6th, 2014
Welp. I hope you guys like the part two.
Yup. I attempted to foreshadow Admiral's eventual release. How'd I do? :D
Anyways, please look forward to part three and, once again, thank you to TVTropes.org for the Recap page and Pureownege75 for their reddit post.
Also, guys, check out kiyokon on tumblr~ She (I think it's a she because of her tumblr icon...so I hope I'm right...and if I'm wrong, I'm so sorry!) makes incredible fanart for TPP, including one piece that inspired the whole Admiral and Lazorgator father-son relationship for me.
So yeah~
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