What the Wind Carries [Pokémon Black and White 2 fanfiction]

27| Static Recollections

We set up camp in a patch of brush near the entrance to Chargestone Cave. Everyone was asleep by the time night fell, everyone except me that was. Watching the fire and talking with Illie were the only things that kept me busy most of the frigid night. The night passed with nothing strange happening, which I was thankful for. I was so used to either sleeping with one eye open or not at all.

   Dawn soon came and I ended up waking the others up so we could leave sooner. I just wanted to get through Chargestone Cave as quickly as possible. Although disgruntled, the others got what I was trying to do and went along with it. At that rate, we would be in Mistralton by sunset at the latest. By nine-thirty, we were entering the cave and I was ready to power through it.

   When we entered the cave, I was instantly filled with an unnerving sense of nostalgia. The blue tinted rocks, the static feeling that hung in the air like a thick fog, and the hunks of rock suspended in mid-air by strong electric currents. It may have been intriguing to many others and maybe even enchanting in a way, but for me, it brought up memories I had tried to bury. I was sure they others were trying to talk to me, but I was already hearing enough voices.

   "Visitors."

   "Who are they?"

   "What do they want?"

   "Should we go closer?"

   The voices of countless Pokémon assaulted my ears and stuck in my mind like cobwebs. Whenever one would fade another would take its place, being echoed further because of the cave's enclosed space. I was on the verge of covering my ears to block the noise. Caves were always bad news for me. Being enclosed and trapped was the stuff of nightmares. It always brought me back to when I was stuck there. Ironically, my claustrophobia stemmed from what I was doing right then. Being able to listen to the voices of Pokémon.

   Hearing Pokémon speak always had felt strange, and in all honesty, it should have. Being able to hear what others couldn't, it was unnatural, and I knew it was well enough. I had been called a freak, unnatural, defective, even a mistake at one point. All because of one thing that separated me from others, the "normal" ones.

   "This is your first visit to Chargestone Cave, isn't it Hilbert? I've always loved this place."

   I thought I was the only person who was like this, the only defective one.

   "Formulas express electricity and its connection to Pokémon. If people did not exist, this would be a perfect place."

   That all changed, though, when I met Natural.

   "We have been chosen, does it surprise you I said that?"

   He was the one person who could empathize with me. He was in the same situation I was. It was quite amusing that he happened to be the Hero of Truth, the one person I was supposed to hate. But he instead turned out to be my best friend. And now I couldn't see him anymore. I miss you, Natural.