FLOOD [Pokémon]

Chapter 12: The Blakesleys

DARWIN

Friday, March 16, 2018

"Hold on, hold on," Mom said. "Slow down and start again — you caught a what?"

Behind me, RTHS's parking lot was rapidly fading into the grayish void of heavy rain; it wasn't until it disappeared that I could finally start to relax.

Riding back from Slateport City with a bus full of tenth-grade guys and girls had driven me to the crumbling edge of tolerance, especially since they hadn't left me in peace like normal — I'd planned on spending the long drive back to Rustboro City leaning against the window and tuning everyone out, maybe even getting some shut-eye, but then somebody — probably Thomas, that idiot — mentioned my Sharpedo, and suddenly the entire sophomore class wanted to know the story behind her capture; by their slavering, you would've thought it was some epic tale for the ages or something.

Lucky for me, Riley and Patrick killed the hype by reminding everyone that catching a Pokémon that had already been injured by a fishing net didn't count. Or maybe not so lucky: the memory of the glow of awe and amazement in my classmates' eyes darkening into disappointment and downright disdain made my teeth grind even now.

Stop thinking about that. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to loosen muscles knotted at having to deal with the contempt of sophomore idiots. Think about home instead, and the soft bed and two days'-worth of free time waiting for you. After this field trip's ordeal, an obligation-free weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered.

"Hey." Mom flicked my ear. "Wake up, I'm talking. Did you say you caught a Sharpedo at the Water Safari?"

I wanted to groan; I was sorry I'd mentioned it — I was tired about talking about Sharpedo and thinking about Sharpedo and whether or not mermaids existed. Unfortunately, this wasn't something I couldn't not explain to my mom. Best get it over with now.

Mom turned, the bags under her eyes only intensifying her glare. "Do I have to pull this car over?"

"Eyes on the road, woman!" It was bad enough that she was so tired she could barely see straight — I didn't need her drifting out of her lane in this rain. "Yes, that's what I said."

She returned her attention to the flooded highway, but her lips were bracketed with disbelief. "You're kidding."

I rubbed my temples. "I wish. But it's true."

She looked like she didn't know whether to be enraged or flabbergasted. Eventually, she settled for perplexed.

"How is that possible?" she said. "How did you even get near a Sharpedo? Don't they have Pokémon assistants patrolling the area in Safari Zones?"

"Yes, they do."

"So how the hell—"

"It's a long story."

She swore under her breath, and one hand left the wheel to dig around the pocket near the gearshift. "Where are my cigarettes?"

She managed to find one, and after she lit it, I resigned myself to explaining how I wound up in the same sea trench as a ten-foot Sharpedo outside of the Safari Zone. As I did, the suburbs emerged from the rain, and we bumbled over three sets of train tracks as we entered downtown. Before long, we were sitting in the driveway of our humble abode, which seemed to be bowing under the downpour. I scanned the waterlogged yard for Quincy; unlike me, he liked sun more than rain, so he must've retreated inside already.

Mom exhaled a cloud of smoke as I finished, eyes dark and pensive. I didn't like that look in her eye, like she was gearing up for a fight. Always bad news.