Chapter Text
A cool fall afternoon welcomes newly arrived ships to the south pier of Canalave City. Birds are heard nearby, the screeching of the Wingull standing out above the ubiquitous sound of voices along the quay, making it bustling even at this hour. Travelers and workers begin to disembark from the ships in order, grateful to make landfall after the long voyage, and disperse along the docks, each heading towards their destination.
Beatrice goes down the gangplank of the ship that has taken her to the city, guided by one of the sailors. She carries her own baggage, unusual for a woman of her class—or at least the class she appears to be in her mourning dress, sober but of quality, with a thick lace veil covering her neck. face and hair.
Several of the people who circulate on the dock observe her curiously, but keep their distance. Once the sailor has guided her to the entrance, and her arrival in the city has been registered, Beatrice is free to move as she pleases. Ahead of her opens the path to what appears to be the main street of the district, bustling with activity. She makes her way down the main street, looking for a place where she can stay before going on her way.
The avenue is extensive, both in width and length, and a market is established on its margins, surely encouraged by the large number of tourists who come to this pier. To the north, at the end of the main street, the figure of a huge cathedral can be glimpsed.
A collection of scents and sounds greets her as she wanders down the street. Crowds gather to trade, while young people play in the streets. There are stalls of all kinds, where not only vendors work but also a wide variety of Pokemon. Some help by moving cargo, others attract vendors, and some even have their own shows, like a little Mime Jr. who is entertaining a group of youngsters with his psychic powers.
Multiple vendors try to get Beatrice's attention at first, offering her their products such as fruit or jewelry, although most seem to respect the message her clothes convey, only showing their merchandise with a smile.
Beatrice walks past, not even sparing the merchants a glance—although she does glance sideways at the Pokémon, with a clinical eye. As if on a whim, she wanders into the alleyways to the northwest, in search of her family's old townhouse. In the dark alleys, the bustle of the market is replaced by silence. Some dark-furred Rattatas prowl the area, looking for scraps to feed on.
Then, from one of the nearby alleys, a commotion is heard, multiple barks and growls that come from afar. A small Espurr comes out of this same place, escaping as best she can from a couple of aggressive black-and-white Zigzagoons.
“Oh?” Beatrice follows the Espurr with curiosity, surprised to see the Pokémon among the vermin, and worried to see it agitated and surrounded by people.
The little Espurr runs towards Beatrice, trying to hide under her wide dress to escape the Zigzagoons that are trying to attack her. Meanwhile, Beatrice puts a hand to the pouch on her belt, searching blindly for a Pokéball without taking her eyes off the Zigzagoons.
Both creatures move fearlessly towards Beatrice, zigzagging and snapping at the air. Finally, she finds the Pokéball she was looking for and throws it in front of the vermin—her trusty Umbreon, ready to defend her.
The creatures charge at the Umbreon without fear, though it's pretty clear they don't stand a chance, their demeanor closely resembling that of a typical troublemaker.
Umbreon jumps on top of one of the Zigzagoons, biting and holding it with its paws so it doesn't escape. The Zigzagoon screams in pain, causing its companion to flee in terror when it sees the strength of the Umbreon. Espurr, for her part, gets out from under the dress and, seeing that the Zigzagoons are no longer a threat, pulls Beatrice's clothes to take her to the alley.
“Nyx, drop it!” The Umbreon obediently breaks away from his prey and Beatrice returns it to the Pokéball before following the small Pokemon.
Espurr runs down the alley for a moment, and when she notices Beatrice following her, she rises above the ground with her psychic powers to move faster. She leads her to a small hidden square, where the grass is dry and a young ash tree has nearly lost its leaves for the fall.
The commotion grows stronger as they go deeper, and Beatrice can see a large group of Zigzagoons fighting in a corner of the park. She pulls Nyx out again and lifts her skirts a bit to run around the corner, followed by the Umbreon.
The Zigzagoon turn to face this new threat, emboldened by their numbers. In the corner, next to a pile of boxes and dirty blankets, a Hattrem fights as she can against the thugs, hitting them with her pigtails, but it can be seen that she has received several injuries.
Beatrice signals her Umbreon to attack the Zigzagoon from behind, and succeeds, as two of the assailants receive Nyx's attack from behind, although the others quickly surround him and begin to headbutt and bite him. Hattrem takes advantage of the distraction and conjures some fire against the Zigzagoon.
Several critters dive behind Umbreon to retake the lead, but Hattrem stops them with a protective barrier, giving Beatrice's Pokemon a chance to counterattack. Umbreon nimbly turns around to gas the Zigzagoon before getting out of his own toxic cloud.
Hattrem jumps back into the corner again, while the Zigzagoons breathe in the toxic air left behind by Nyx. Having been poisoned en masse, the thugs withdraw from the scene to search for some antidote to their new malaise.
Exhausted from the combat, Hattrem leans on the ground, her pigtails at her sides, but keeps her gaze on the stranger and her Umbreon, alert. Espurr walks over to her to see if she's okay, clearly worried.
Umbreon returns to Beatrice's side, but he seems uneasy, sniffing the air. Beatrice scratches between his ears and looks at Hattrem. She reaches into her pouch with her free hand, she's sure she had a potion on her before she took the ship.
Hattrem looks at her suspiciously, defensively, but then a faint cough can be heard coming from the shelter of boxes, and the Pokemon abandons that gesture to adopt one of concern, entering the shelter.
Beatrice lifts her veil and carefully bends down to peer between the boxes, concerned by the faint sound. “Who's there?” The shelter is dark, but she can distinguish the silhouette of something covered in blankets, with a humanoid shape, as the Espurr goes in with a small berry in her paws.
Silence, only a weak cough and the soft sound of chewing can be heard. Hattrem peeks out from the shelter, her gaze meeting Beatrice's eyes as if she were judging her.
After considering for a moment, the Pokemon sighs and her eyes light up softly to use her psychic powers to remove the roof of the shelter. Inside it, wrapped up as well as possible, is a young girl with dark hair and a pale complexion, around ten years old, slowly eating the berry that Espurr brought her. Beatrice can already see with the naked eye that the girl is sick.
“Oh, heavens! Are you okay? You look famished, honey.”
The young girl looks up, covering herself with the blankets to cough. She looks fearfully at Beatrice, withdrawing.
“M-ma'am…” She coughs for a moment. “...do you… do you have a spare coin...?” The girl coughs dryly again. The Hattrem, who was fighting fiercely just a moment ago, now gently pats the girl with one of her pigtails to help her.
“Oh, honey... How long has it been since you've eaten?”
“A berry… now…” The girl slowly shows her the little stick from the berry Espurr handed her, and she proceeds to gently pat the Pokemon in thanks.
Beatrice looks around. They are not far from the mansion - in a street that was once the residence of the city's best, but which has lost much of its prestige. “How long have you been on the street?”
The young girl looks at her hands and moves her fingers, as if she were counting. She shows five fingers to Beatrice. “...years.” Hattrem nods grimly as she looks at Beatrice, it seems that she has been with the girl for quite some time.*
“Damn. Where are your parents?”
The girl lowers her gaze, sad. “...Dead. I'm alone…” Espurr and Hattrem approach the young one to embrace her. “...Right, I have y-you…” She starts coughing again.
“All this time have your friends taken care of you?” Beatrice smiles softly. “At least you're lucky to have these Pokémon around. It looks like they love you very much.”
Then, a question slowly shows up on her mind. “Do you sleep here?”
The girl nods weakly. “The three together…”
Beatrice looks at the Pokémon with great curiosity. “They are not common around here. Where did you meet them?”
“I met Haty a long time ago, when she was younger... but before she had another form…” The girl seems to be talking about an evolution. “...and we found Espy a few months ago. She ran away... from a bad house.” The young girl coughs again, while she covers herself with the blankets.
“You have a very good hand with Pokémon. Haty had to fight?”
The child nods, a little sad. “When she was little, no... I defended her from the bad creatures... but she became strong, and now she takes care of us…”
“Could it be that she has evolved? You know, it strikes me how good you are at Pokémon. I'm a trainer, so…”
The young girl looks strangely at Beatrice at the concept of evolving, before setting her eyes on the new Pokemon.
“Yes... he's pretty, and he loves you very much.” Shyly points to the Umbreon. “...is his name Nyx?” She turns to the Espurr for a moment, and then to Umbreon. “It's... nice to meet you, Nyx…”
The Umbreon approaches the girl looking at him, wagging his tail from side to side curiously. He sniffs her gently and moves closer, as if he's looking for cuddles. The young girl takes her hands out from between the blankets and extends them to caress Nyx. Her complexion is weak from years on the streets, but a little sparkle shines in the girl's eyes when she sees Nyx.
“Oh, he likes you. He is not usually very trusting.”
“But he prefers you, ma'am…” The girl pulls away, bringing her hands to her mouth to cough. “...I'm Anabell…”
“It's a pleasure, Annabell. I am Beatrice.”
“It's... a pleasure…” Anabell smiles weakly at Beatrice. “How... how did you find us...?”
“I saw your Espurr... Espy, when those Zigzagoons attacked her. It seemed strange to see an Espurr in such a crowded place, so I followed her and Nyx scared away the Zigzagoon.”
“...Thank you, for saving her.” The girl bows her head gently. “...You will now follow...your way, right...?” Anabell smiles gently, covering her mouth to cough.
“Honestly, I'm very curious about your Pokémon. And it seems like you haven't had a hot meal in a long time. What do you think if we go to the avenue and I buy you an empanada or something?”
Anabell's eyes light up at the promise of a hot meal, but then she reflexively becomes defensive. “...Why...curiosity?”
“They are not Pokémon that you have captured, but they follow you... In a way, they have chosen you. They must have seen something very good in you.”
“...We take care of ourselves... together. Because there are many bad things, and together... it's easier.” The girl smiles, sitting up slowly.
“Of course. Bad people know that, you know? They try to isolate you, try to make you don’t have friends, and then take advantage of you when you have no one to defend you.”
Anabell nods. “...They scare you, they say ugly things to you... and then they want things, or they treat you badly…”
Beatrice nods before backing up a couple of steps, giving Anabell room to get up if she decides to join her for empanadas. “Something tells me you had a bad time before you ended up on the street, right?”
With some difficulty, Anabell gets up to approach Beatrice. She wobbles a bit, but manages to stay on her feet at the promise of a hot meal. “My parents were good... but the rest of the people are bad…” The girl frowns slightly, while she covers herself from the cold with a blanket. Once protected from the cold, Anabell watches Beatrice with bright, eager eyes.
The woman leads her to a busy street, where several street vendors advertise meals for passing workers. One of them is a small chestnut stall run by a bearded man with dark circles under his eyes. A Cyndaquil is lying under the portable oven, happily serving as a stove.
Anabell follows her, observing the stalls in wonder, now that she is close. She can feel her mouth watering as she walks close to Beatrice, with Hattrem and Espurr following her closely.
A person of indeterminate gender and a railroad cap that is too big for them approaches with their cart of empanadas. “Baked empanadas, fresh meat and sweet onion! You won't find better empanadas this far north, ma'am!” The young girl smiles and tugs on Beatrice's dress gently.
“How much for an empanada, ah…” Beatrice looks them up and down. “...young one?”
“Half a shilling for you, ma'am.” They smile widely, missing a couple of teeth.
Anabell rummages through her worn blankets and clothes, looking for some coin to contribute. Beatrice takes out her purse and pays without arguing. The vendor's smile grows even wider, and they offer her an empanada the size of a man's hand, baked in the oven, cold enough to eat without the filling coming out.
“C-can I...?” The girl stares at the huge piece of food with her eyes wide as saucers.
“Of course!” Beatrice squats a little to reach her height and offers her the empanada, wrapped in a napkin. Anabell takes it carefully and, without much consideration, takes a big bite of it. She lets out little sounds of pleasure at the food, as she offers her Pokemon some of it. It’s an empanada stuffed with beef brisket, onion and potato. Simple, forceful flavors.
The three enjoy food in their own way. Espurr makes cheerful gestures just like Anabell, while Hattrem is more serious, happy but still alert. “T-thank you... Beatrice.” Anabell bows slightly to the woman.
“Before you met Espy and... your Hattrem, did you like Pokémon?”
The girl nods several times. “Always! My parents studied them... and they let me play with theirs.” She smiles as she finishes her share of the empanada. “And you? Did you always like them?”
Beatrice nods and smiles. “Since I was little! My parents were breeders, so I've always been surrounded by Pokémon. I have fed Nyx from the egg.”
“Hmm... you said you were curious... about them.” Anabell looks at Hattrem and Espurr.
“Yeah. Normally the Espurr stay away from people for fear of losing control of their powers, and the Hattrem are the same, but because strong emotions disgust them.”
“Oh, yeah? Is it true?” The girl looks over to her two companions and they both nod.
“Therefore, you have to have a very good hand so that they stay by your side.” The woman smiles gently. “Your parents taught you well.”
“T-thank you... I think…” Anabell lowers her gaze a bit, unsure to understand if she deserves the compliment. She gently rubs her hands together.
“It would be a waste if you kept living on the street instead of continuing to study and train, really.” Beatrice speaks without thinking.
“...My parents aren't here anymore... they took our house…” Anabell smiles weakly. “Maybe when I'm older... and I can get some money.”
“That… it's harder than you think.” The woman takes a moment to think her words carefully. “I would offer you to come with me, but... I understand that you don't want to follow a stranger. Who knows how many people will have tried to offer you a little food to take advantage of you.”
“...But you're not bad people…” The girl smiles confidently. “Haty usually hits bad people as soon as she sees them.”
Beatrice laughs a bit, while Anabell continues. “She says that she knows who is bad, I believe her…” She laughs with the woman a little before smiling widely. “But you don't seem bad, Beatrice. Also, you like Pokemon too much to be bad.”
“Oh, I wish the world were that simple.” The trainer laughs a bit more. “So what do you think? Lend me a hand with the hatchery in exchange for food, clothes and a place to sleep. Now, it's a bit far from the city. In the countryside.”
“Really?” Anabell's eyes light up at the offer. “Well… anywhere is… better to sleep than the streets.”
“Oh, that’s for sure.” Beatrice smiles softly at the girl
“...Okay... I want to go with you... Espy and Haty can come too, right?”
“Of course! Do you have a Pokéball? It's okay if you don't have them, it's just that the trip will be a little more uncomfortable.”
Anabell shakes her head. “No… sometimes I had to protect them… from people who wanted to take them away.”
“Oh, how horrible. It's okay, we'll take them with us. It will take a little longer, of course.”
“...Sorry... we'll make you go slow…”
“Oh, don't apologize for that, girl.”
“Then, where... where shall we go?”
“Well, outside of Canalave, to a country house, how does it sound?”
Anabell looks around, towards the city. She doesn't feel too attached to it, despite having been raised here. She smiles at Beatrice after coughing a little. ”...sounds good. Can I... can I take my things...?”
“What things?”
“A stuffed animal... and some tir...tin...trinkets.”
Beatrice smiles warmly. “Of course.” Anabell smiles and takes her hand gently, to guide her back to the makeshift box shelter.
Once back in the alleys, the young girl crawls into the shelter. After a moment, she comes out with a small sack and a stuffed toy of Teddiursa.
“That's all you need?” The woman looks at Anabell with curiosity, who in turn simply nods.
“...It's all I have.”
“Let's go then.” Beatrice smiles and offers her a hand. “We'll have to go in search of a carriage.”
Anabell takes Beatrice's hand to follow her, smiling softly. “...I think, near the dock there are... carriages.”
“Let's go there then. But before that…” The woman points toward the roofs of the abandoned mansions in the area. “I came here for a reason.”
The girl looks towards the big buildings, filled with curiosity. “Really? ...Is one of those yours? What are you looking for...?”
“My old house. For the memories.”
Anabell nods softly. She arranges her things, tucking the stuffed Pokemon into her sack, and then slings it over her shoulder. “...I follow you.”
-----
Night begins to fall as they go to Beatrice's old residence, with the cold accentuating due to the lack of sunlight. Anabell follows the woman where she leads her, adjusting her makeshift blanket wrap as tight as she can. Beatrice stops before an old mansion - the bas-reliefs at the entrance look hundreds of years old, but are now neglected, covered in ivy, moss, and soot.
Anabell looks up, wide-eyed, to gaze at the old mansion. “Was this your house...? ...cof, cof…”
“A long time ago, yes. It's in such a shameful state.”
“Why did you leave?” The young girl looks up at her, curiously, clinging to Beatrice to get some warmth.
“We couldn't afford to keep a house in the city, so we sold it. But now people are leaving this neighborhood…”
“Oh…” Anabell looks around the place. “So... what are we looking for here...?”
“We haven't been able to sell it yet. And there are many memories here... I lived here before I got married and went to Unova.”
“And... do you want to get it back?”
“Don't know.” Beatrice searches in her bag until she finds a big key. The door takes a while to give way, due to the years it has been closed, but with a strong turn of the key it manages to open.
The hall is dusty - it's been a long time since any potential buyers have set foot in the house. Anabell sneezes when she comes into contact with the dust, and it can be heard reverberating throughout the house. “...It looks very old…”
“It is.”
Wood paneling on the walls is cleverly carved, its quality noticeable even under dust. Beatrice closes the door behind her. Anabell enters a bit, curious, exploring the hall. It had been a long time since she had set foot in a building, and never one that big.
“Are we going to... spend a lot of time here?” The girl turns to Beatrice.
“No. She was just here looking for one thing.” Beatrice gestures for Anabell to follow her up the stairs. The young woman nods and follows behind her. Hattrem steps forward a little, alert.
The place is completely dark and dirty, clearly uninhabited. Moonlight begins to filter through the windows, giving the house a bit of clarity. Beatrice slowly opens the library door, and a cloud of dust escapes from the place and covers the corridor for a moment. The room is dark and covered in dirt, like the rest of the house.
The woman counts the shelves - empty, except for a few forgotten books, so ordinary they're worthless. Anabell walks carefully into the library, looking at the empty shelves.
“Looking for a book, Beatrice?”
“Something like that…” Beatrice touches a loose board with her toe and crouches down.
The young girl approaches her, crouching down. “Oh, hiding spot…”
The woman takes a wooden box from under the loose board and opens it. In it, wrapped in a cloth, is an old diary. Beatrice caresses the covers of this one with nostalgia in her eyes.
Anabell looks at the journal in silence, moving a little closer to Beatrice. Suddenly, a small noise is heard in the room, as if something had brushed against the shelves.
”Hmm?” Beatrice remains silent, looking for the source of the noise. The room is very dark, and nothing seems to be seen.
“It's dark... Should we go?”
The woman takes the diary with her and gets up. “Yes, we better do.”
Anabell smiles, clinging to Beatrice, and guides her towards the exit with some haste.
“May I ask... what is it?“ The girl points shyly to the book Beatrice is carrying as they walk out into the hallway.
“It's a diary I left here before I got married. With the rush of the move I did not get to pick it up…”
“From when you were a girl?” Beatrice nods softly.
“It has private things, right? I think... Mom had one of those…”
“Yes, something like that. It's nothing... transcendent, but it's mine.”
“...We go to your house now...?”
“If we leave now, we'll have to sleep in the vehicle. It won't be comfortable.”
“...Better than the street…” Anabell smiles softly, and Beatrice lets out a little laugh.
“We slept in the carriage, then.”
“Is that house... is it far from the city?”
“Nine hours of travel, counting breaks. There is no train to town yet.”
“Oh, half a day? ...Fine.”
Anabell smiles softly as they leave Beatrice’s old house, and head for the docks in search of transport.