Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal Clear ❯ Crystal Clear ( One-Shot )

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Pokemon, Gary or any other character related to them. They belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, Game Freak and…all that Japanese people (you know who you are!)

Notes from the writer: I hope you've already checked my previous notes, or else you ain't gonna understand the whole story. So, if you haven't, I recommend you to do this (unless you have psychic powers to read what's in my mind!) And if you have… enjoy the POKEMON TRILOGY!

"Crystal Clear"

When the Sun and the Moon hide themselves in the sky, it's time for their sweet surrender…

Maybe it was her sweet little crying that made me feel sorry for her. Maybe it was those tearful brown eyes that made me reach out my hand and help her stand up. Or maybe, just maybe, it was her bright little smile that filled in my heart with this strange new type of feeling. That's how I, Gary Oak, met her. That's how I met Cathy.

She was only three when it happened, but she already admired and loved all Pokemon. It was pretty obvious that she would eventually become a Pokémon trainer and, why not, a Master, just like I'll become some day. But still, I don't think we have the same reasons. While she was so passionate and optimistic about the very idea of going out on a Pokemon journey, I just feel like that's what I have to do…When you're Professor Oak's grandson, that's what people hope you to be. I keep wondering if I'm gonna be able to follow my Grampa's footsteps when I can't even make Pokemon show me the same kind of love they show Grampa…

NO! That's definitely NOT the way I should be thinking! One of the many things I've learned from Cathy is that people should always keep a positive attitude, no matter how hard or confusing the situation may seem to be. Positive attitude…That sounds so like her. I can almost hear her say, " Don't think like that, Gary! I know you're gonna do well…You know so much about Pokemon already, and you're not even old enough to get your Trainer's License!! You silly!"

And she was right. I really am silly! How can I think about being positive when she's not here? Gary, you're so stupid…

Ever since the day we became friends we were always hanging together. I don't think there was a time when I was happier in my life than that I spent running and playing through Pallet Forest, along with Cathy and my younger sister, Daisy (those two became best friends since the moment they were first introduced!). I often used to yell at them, `cause they really enjoyed throwing me on Ice Lake and watching me freeze to death, or nearly death. Man, that sucked!

But if that sucked so much, then how come I miss it? It's not that I'm going nuts or anything …OK, I could live without the freezing part, but I really wish I could listen to her again, running towards me some minutes after the cruel act, asking "I'm so sorry, Gary, are you okay?" I don't get her! First, she almost gets me killed, then she says she's sorry, but then she does everything again!! Girls…

She was pretty cool, though. For a girl, I mean. She didn't seem to care at all if she got dirty, or if her hair got all messed up… And she had adventure spirit, something that can hardly be found in a Pallet girl! (Ok, so she was afraid of ghosts, but that's something I can live with!)

What am I saying? Live with? She's not even here anymore!

It hurts my throat to say these words…I don't know why I feel like this! I mean, yeah, she was my friend…best friend, I guess. But it's not like this the end of the world, I can make other good friends…Can I? And, even if I can, are we gonna be as close as she and I used to be? Am I gonna find someone who makes me those terrible and unbaked cakes and then forces me to swallow them in one whole gulp? Someone that keeps pulling my hair off while forcing me to say "Cathy's the best, Cathy's the best!"?

God, do I really miss that??

Well, maybe a little. But what I really miss are those good talks we used to have…We could spend hours just talking about Pokemon: How many of them we would get, how we should capture and treat them, what were their strong and weak points…She always got so impressed about my Pokemon knowledge that her eyes kept staring and shining while I explained everything I knew about these creatures. "You must be some kind of genius, Gary!" she used to say," You know all these stuff before you can even read! That's so cool!"

What was so cool about knowing a bunch of stuff that you hear from a Pokedex anyway? That impresses people, it's true, but that's it. What she had was way more important than this…She could easily get everyone's love by just looking at them and smiling in that kind and sweet way, and that goes for Pokemon as well. Isn't that curious? She would give anything to be like me, to know everything I did, and I'd give anything to be like her, to be so loved by people and Pokemon alike.

Forget about it, Gary! You ain't never gonna be as loved as she was! And she's not around to teach you how to do it!

Can that be taught? I really don't think so, but it seemed to me that just being around with her made me a better person. That makes people like you more, doesn't it? I guess so. Then why did she have to go? I don't know if I can do this without her support …

I still remember the day she told me she would have to go away from Pallet Town… It just felt like someone had ripped off a piece of me! She had been sad for several days until I decided to ask her why:

"Papa's friends have found some new Pokemon fossils and he wants to go check on them, so we have to go with him."

I remained quiet. I was pretty afraid of asking for how long they would be away from town, but then I got all of my courage together and asked:

"Are you…are you gonna be out of Pallet for too long?"

" I really dunno. Papa said it could take some years…"

At that point, I almost couldn't breathe. Years?? I thought she would say months, not years! How could she do this to me? After all we had been through…

"I know what you're thinking. That I'm a bad girl `cause I'm leaving you…"

Sometimes I think she knew me so well she could read my thoughts.

"…But that's not true. I really don't wanna go to a place where I don't have any friends…I wanted to stay here with you and Daisy…"

And then she started to cry. That made me feel even worse, `cause I knew she was actually crying because she thought I was mad at her. I really was mad, but not at her. I was mad at the situation. It wasn't her fault, after all, if her dad was such a famous Pokemon archaeologist and had to go all over the world for prehistoric fossils… How could I be so selfish? Trying to give her some comfort, I said in a pretending-to-be-calm voice:

"Well, it's not like you're gonna stay there forever…"

"I…I know that. But you're…you're angry with me, aren't you? I almost couldn't believe it! So her real problem was not going away, but making me angry by doing it! How can she put other people's well being before hers? After that, I had to tell her how I was feeling.

"No, I'm not. I mean, I'm not happy to hear you're leaving, I really wanted you to stay, but…

"You mean it? Really?"

Why did she have to look at me with those full-of-bright eyes again? I didn't like the strange way they made me feel. It was as if my skin was burning, but my insides were freezing…I tried to recover as soon as I could from that weird sensation and then spoke gently:

"Really. You go and stay with your parents the years you need, and I'll never get upset with you because of this, okay?"

I could hardly handle the situation when she threw herself over my body and held me tight. She was still crying a lot and having hic-ups, but she seemed way more relieved while doing this. It was a bit embarrassing, though, but whatever! There was no one around, anyway…Only the evening sky, the stars and the moon…

"Hey! Do you wanna know a secret?"-I had to come up with some idea to cheer her up.

"Yeah, sure."

"There's supposed to be a Pokemon that uses moon light to make a sad trainer feel happy again. If I'm still sad for your left when I become a trainer, I'll get one of those."

The content smile on her face made me realize that my plan had worked.

"I'm sure you're going to be a great trainer, Gary. It's just a pity that I'll have to defeat you at all of our Pokemon battles…You know, I'm gonna be your rival, Spikeyboy!"

"Well, we'll just have to see who's gonna be the best trainer, Weepingirl!"

Spikeyboy and Weepingirl. We were one heck of troublemakers team. Well, every team has to come to an end someday, I guess, and that was it for us. No more hiding and seeking from our parents, no more punishments for playing in cold water until late, no more messing up with Grampa's lab when he was not looking at us, no more being yelled at for bad behavior…

I think she felt the same way about all this, for she took a long and deep breath after hearing her nickname.

"So, I guess we should be going now."- If stayed there a little bit more, I would've cried for sure.

"Yeah…yeah, you're right. Let's go!"

And, at that moment, I truly held her for the very first time in three years, while walking her home.

Two days later, Cathy and her family were saying goodbye to Pallet. According to Daisy, everything was packed up and ready to go. The Reynolds were only waiting for some closest friends to arrive (like Gramps and my parents) and then they would leave. My poor sis couldn't hold her tears back when Cathy hugged her right after they had exchanged goodbye gifts. That didn't make it any easier for any of them, but, at least, they got to see each other one more time. And, as for me…

…I wasn't even there! That was just too painful for me to get over with, so I took the easy way and avoided suffering more than I already was. That is, the easy way, not the smartest one…

I should've been there. I should've helped poor Cathy dealing with all those unexpected situations, all those subtle changes…But no. I was too busy, thinking only about how hard it would be for me, I didn't even wonder how tough it had been for her! I chose hiding over facing it. I chose my own feelings over Cathy's…Gary, Gary, and you call yourself a friend?

What's the big deal, anyway? Just another one of Gary's selfish acts… Stupid Gary! Dumb Gary! You're a jerk, a complete moron, even to the ones who love you most! All they do is trying to like you, but you always find a way to keep'em far away! You are really gifted…as a natural-repellent!!

My sister still tried to convince me; she said that Cathy would get pretty upset if I didn't show up, but, as usual, I didn't listen to her warning. That's something I regret until today; not having taken Daisy's advice and not having had enough guts to face Cathy.

If it weren't for the fact that I wasn't there to actually see this, I could perfectly picture the scene where a sweet little girl leaves her hometown with tearful eyes and the pinching thought that the one she considered her best friend had abandoned her just when she needed him the most. And if I know her as much as I think I do, it's crystal clear that's exactly how she must've felt. Abandoned. Alone. Just as alone as I've been feeling…

But that's it. I may not be completely happy about some of the things I've done in the past, but there's no turning back. I'm an eight-years-old boy now, who's gonna be nine in a few days. And, one year from then, I'll be finally able to take my Trainer's License and start on my Pokemon journey. I have to be tough if I wanna be the best trainer ever. Tough and self-confident. Maybe, after becoming a Master, I'll finally give my family a real reason to be proud of me. And maybe…

…maybe I'll get Cathy to forgive me for being such a jerk and make her like me again.

Well, who knows? Gramps always used to say:"The only thing you can be certain about the future is its uncertainty." This means that there's a chance I can fulfill those dreams of mine and, as long as they're there, I'll chase them with all my strength, letting no one stand in my way…even if that means breaking up with a whole bunch of other friendships. As for Weepingirl…

I really don't know. If that thing people call "fate" wants us to meet again, then we will meet again. If it wants her to give me an opportunity to say I'm sorry, then I'll be in peace with my selfish and egotistical self. And if it doesn't allow me to make peace with my uneasy conscience…I'll do it anyway.

For now, my hopes are for her to have already forgotten my stupid past acts and silliness…or at least, forgiven them. But what if she hasn't? Sometimes, even the most pure-hearted people can't let go of anger…If that's so, I'll have to find a way to her forgiveness and friendship. Only then I can make peace with myself. Someday..somehow.