PART 3
Kaimi was standing in the garage, waiting for his father. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize somebody had approached him from behind.
A Poké Ball landed behind Kaimi with an audible
thud. It took Kaimi just two seconds to snap to reality, but that was already too late.
“Giga Drain!”
Kaimi was hit by a grass Pokémon move before he could turn around to face his attacker. The move sapped all his strength away. He suddenly felt very weak and collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. He stared at the floor, his limbs hurting and shaking. He struggled just to stay conscious. His vision became a bit blurry as he heard noise, footsteps and shouting.
“You are unbelievable. You actually thought you could get away with this?!”
Was it his father’s voice? With a lot of effort, Kaimi raised his head. It was indeed his father, standing right in front of him and looking furious.
No! This can’t be, not after- Kaimi was confused. Did his father lie to him before? Did he make Kaimi believe he was trustworthy just to trick him?
Then the boy realized his father was staring furiously at somebody behind Kaimi’s back.
“Dana, you have hurt him. Stop this madness at once… And I just might let you walk away without calling the police.”
“I don’t think so, sweetie,” Kaimi’s mother’s voice replied from somewhere behind him. The boy instantly froze in utter shock.
“You see, I have come very far to stop now. When would I ever get such an opportunity again? It is either all or nothing for me,” she explained. What horrified Kaimi the most was that his mother Dana was still talking with that same energetic socialite tone - like she was still schmoozing Valerie about her Friday dress. He almost expected her to clasp her hands in excitement.
“Serperior! Use Leaf Blade!” She yelled and this time she sounded dead serious.
Kaimi instinctively covered his head with his arms, expecting to be hit and hurt. But instead his father screamed in pain and fell down right in front of him. Kaimi panicked. Was his father dead?! He was lying on his back, arms spread, and wasn’t moving. His head was turned away from Kaimi. It was impossible to say for sure.
“Wrap!”
A nimble strong snake-like body suddenly coiled around him, forcing Kaimi to stand on his knees, arching back a bit. Serperior’s muscular body started to squeeze his body and chest, making it harder for him to breathe.
In the meantime, his mother Dana walked around him and his father on the floor and looked directly to Kaimi’s eyes.
“Sweetie, I warned you, didn’t I? I distinctly remember asking you not to do anything rash or dangerous. You should have listened to me,” she said once again in her chatty socialite voice, like she was commenting on the weather.
Dana walked right to the boy, kneeling on the floor in pain and being crushed by her Serperior’s muscular body. She gently grabbed his chin in a gesture of fake affection and said: “You do realize this is all your fault, don’t you? You are forcing my hand in all of this.”
She bended over so their faces were barely an inch apart.
“You wouldn’t stop. You would ruin my perfect new world,” she whispered to him. Her face changed from cheerful conversational one to an angry, disgusted one.
“Well forget it, you worthless little piece of
shit. I will kill you first…!”
Kaimi was speechless. However being so close and looking directly to her eyes made him realize something important.
Those eyes… they were not…
“Y-you…” he whispered, in pain. He could barely breathe and even talking itself hurt.
“What is it, sweetie?” She switched back to her fake chatty mom voice, mocking him.
“You are… not.. m-my mother…” he gasped.
She didn’t respond, but she frowned and let go of Kaimi’s chin. She stepped back.
“Oh, that. I wondered how did you and Richard figure out something was changed. It didn’t make sense for you to remember Rachel…”
Rachel? What was the woman in front of him rambling about? But he had to admit the name sounded familiar to him now that she mentioned it. Was “Rachel” the missing person?
“However,” Dana continued ranting, “since you do and at the same all those ridiculous Pokémon exist in real life… I think it is not that hard to figure out the culprit behind all this mess.”
She grabbed another Poké Ball at her belt and sent out her other Pokémon. And unless Kaimi’s eyes were deceiving him, that Pokémon was Jirachi.
Jirachi looked at Dana with a cute smile – for a split second, before she roughly grabbed the little Pokémon by its neck and made it squeak in pain.
“You!” Dana hissed with an accusatory tone. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? I did my research today before breakfast… and I don’t recall anything like this. Your wishes aren’t supposed to work just partially… nor should you add your own personal flavor to them…”
Kaimi was confused. His entire body ached and he could no longer breathe.
“I said I wanted the world changed… and you interpreted that wish as a desire to merge our world with the Pokémon one. But that was YOUR wish, not mine! You cheeky little dodger. Why would you care about Rachel is beyond me, though.”
She was choking Jirachi at this point.
Kaimi thought he was going to die. He could feel Serperior squeezing all his life out. But then it happened. A determined, aggressive Pokémon cry sounded behind Dana. It was followed by feminine, “Oh no, get back to my bag before somebody sees you!”
Mew flew in the garage, followed by worried Lillie.
Mew’s eyes found Kaimi, then moved to Serperior hurting him. A very angry expression appeared on the otherwise cute Pokémon’s face. Mew attacked before anyone could say anything or react to the sudden intrusion. A wave of barely visible energy burst through the air and hit Serperior right between its eyes. The snake-like Pokémon cried in pain, releasing Kaimi in the process. The boy fell down to his hands and knees again, panting heavily.
Lillie was looking at the whole scene completely taken aback. Her eyes moved from Mew, to Kaimi and Serperior, to the boy’s father lying on the ground, and finally to Dana with her hands still on Jirachi’s throat.
“Mrs. Cornelly?! Explain yourself!” Lillie shouted, still in shock. She instinctively reached for her Poké Balls.
Dana realized her situation was very quickly escalating far beyond her control. Under the pressure and being desperate, she decided to attack Lillie too.
“Serperior! Leaf Blade again!!” she shouted looking completely mad.
“Mew, use Psychic again!” Lillie countered, completely switching to her gym leader fighting mode. She also looked at Kaimi and his father worried, and threw one of her Poké Balls in their direction. “Use Floral Healing on those two, please,” she said just as a Comfey appeared.
While Comfey was tending to Kaimi and his father’s injuries, Dana’s Serperior and Lillie’s Mew clashed. The snake-like Pokémon formed a giant leaf in the shape of a sword. Mew tried to avoid it and use Psychic at the same time. However Serperior carefully waited for the psychic Pokémon to move and swung its blade only after that. Mew was hit hard and hurting, it cried.
“Giga Drain!” Dana commanded.
Mew got hold of itself however, flew up to the ceiling to avoid the next attack – and to obey Lillie’s command. Another wave of invisible energy cut through the whole garage. Serperior was hit harder than before and sent flying back to Dana’s feet.
“No!” Dana yelled and pierced Lillie with death glare.
Serperior stayed on the floor, clearly fainted.
“Mrs. Cornelly,” Lillie said, intending to offer her a chance to surrender peacefully. Dana didn’t wait however. She simply started running to the back entrance, which she used before to sneak up on Kaimi.
“She is going to escape!” Kaimi’s father shouted. He and his son were back on their feet again, feeling better after being healed.
“Oh no!” Lillie lamented. “I wish we could stop her somehow…”
Jirachi, still floating near her and watching whole fight puzzled, turned to her and smiled. In the next second, Dana was teleported back – with hands behind her back and handcuffs on. Everybody gasped in their surprise – everybody but Kaimi.
He looked at Jirachi and suddenly a lot of things started to make sense. Jirachi was very rare mythical Pokémon who had the power to grant wishes (at least according to the rumors).
Whatever this Dana did was accomplished by Jirachi granting her wish…
Mew flew down to Kaimi’s father Richard, startling him a bit. It smiled at him, then playfully circled around him a couple of times. Then it looked at Kaimi and circled around him too, before appearing right in his face with a huge smile.
Those eyes…
Mew then saddened and flied to Jirachi. The two mythical Pokémon exchanged couple of excited sentences in Pokémon speak, confusing everyone including Dana in handcuffs. Mew smiled again and flew to the garage door, followed closely by grinning Jirachi.
When Mew realized the humans were all just standing there, staring, it turned around and waved at them.
“I… I think Mew wants us to follow them to the garden,” Lillie blurted out.
“Yeah,” Kaimi said and looked at his father.
“Don’t worry about me,” Richard said. “I will keep an eye on her,” he jerked his head in Dana’s direction. “You two go with the Pokémon. I will call the police in the meantime.”
Lillie thanked her Comfey and called it back to its Poké Ball. She then joined Kaimi.
Two mythical Pokémon flew out of garage, followed by Kaimi and Lillie. The boy and Kanto gym leader ran after them across almost entire lot.
“I think they're leading us to the wishing well!” Kaimi shouted, looking back at Lillie.
He was right. Mew and Jirachi flew near a well standing in the corner of the garden. Kaimi and Lillie caught up with them couple of seconds later, gasping for air after the unexpected jogging exercise.
“Phew… So what it is you wanted to show us, you rascals?” Lillie asked the Pokémon when she composed herself a bit.
Mew flew to them and touched Kaimi’s and Lillie’s hands with its paws. It also touched Jirachi with its tail. It then closed its eyes and concentrated. Jirachi began to glow, as Mew established a mental link among all four of them. From Kaimi's perspective, all their surroundings began to glow too.
Then everything faded away, and all of them were standing in the middle of what seemed to be an outer space.
Oh, my memories! Jirachi squeaked excitedly.
That's right, this is how it all started!
Kaimi and Lillie jumped in surprise. They didn't expect to understand a Pokémon speak.
"D-did you hear that too?!" Kaimi turned to Lillie.
"Yeah! It must be Mew's psychic abilities..." she replied.
Of course it's me, Mew chuckled, turning to them both and startling them some more.
We are now going to experience Jirachi's memories. You need to understand everything that happened.
"Actually, we have kinda figured it out," Kaimi said, looking at Mew nervously.
You don't know the half of it. Trust me. This will be worth your time, Mew said, smiling playfully.
Now look over there! It pointed behind them.
Kaimi and Lillie turned around to see an interesting scene. Jirachi's former self was in argument with another legendary Pokémon - Hoopa. They didn't see the reason of the quarrel, only its consequences.
You will regret that! Hoopa yelled and opened a wormhole behind Jirachi. The steel Pokémon was unceremoniously sucked in and transported to a different plane of existence. The world Jirachi landed in turned out to be familiar. The outer space surroundings changed to accommodate its memory. They were now standing on the Cornelly lot again - complete with the garden and the wishing well. Yet something felt different.
No, not here! Jirachi of the memory lamented with a sad face.
The World without Pokémon... How can I ever go back?
"World without Pokémon?!" Kaimi and Lillie exclaimed in unison, looking at each other confused.
Yes, Mew confirmed.
Me and Kaimi here come from the world where Pokémon exist only as fictional creatures. But that world was merged with the world that you hail from, Lillie...
Lillie just blinked in surprise, not sure what to say.
Kaimi was confused even more. He said: "Wait, what do you mean YOU and me come from the world without Pokémon? That doesn't make any sense. You are a Pokémon yourself."
Mew saddened, looking like it was going to cry any minute now.
You will see for yourself soon enough. Just watch Jirachi's memories.
They did just that. Watching the scene around them, Kaimi realized it was definitely a Friday promotional party at their house that his father Richard threw for his company. Many people were walking in the distance. One could hear lots of noise - people speaking, music playing, occasional laughter. One creepy thing about the entire view was a complete lack of Pokémon or anything related to them.
Jirachi's memory self was flying around with sad look, not sure what to do. Then one of the party guests left the crowds and walked to the wishing well, apparently looking for a quiet spot where they could be left alone. Jirachi of the past looked scared and flew behind the well to hide itself. In the meantime, the guest arrived at the well and took out their cell phone to make a very private call. It was Kaimi's uncle Simon.
"Honey, we have a problem," uncle Simon whispered to the phone. "I may be wrong but I think somebody who works for my wife saw us together. I just... I don't know. If Susan ever learns about this she will divorce me that very day and kick me out of the house. You know how she is..."
The reaction from the phone evidently didn't please Kaimi's uncle. He said: "How can you be so casual about this?! That guy is actually here at the party. Snooping around and always close to Susan. Wh-what if he really knows?!"
"Is that what it was all about?!" Kaimi suddenly exclaimed, feeling like an idiot. Mew, Jirachi and Lillie turned to him, looking puzzled.
"I overheard my uncle threatening to do something about someone who was 'snooping around.' I assumed he was talking about me. But all this time, it was just him having an affair... Geez..."
Kaimi's eyes started to sparkle rebelliously when he realized he could use the information later, after this mess was resolved.
They all heard the sound of footsteps behind uncle Simon, and so did the man himself. He quickly whispered "Have to go, call you later" to the phone and walked away. The two people who came to the well were Kaimi's father and a middle aged plump lady. Mew saddened again.
"Oh shoot!" the lady exclaimed, sounding rather disappointed. "I was hoping someone was there using my wishing well." She sighed. "I guess I am the only one who likes making wishes."
"Rachel, darling, of course," Kaimi's father laughed. "You are the only woman in the town who has the right spirit and a mindset to appreciate such a wonderful object..."
Kaimi was just standing there amazed. Was his father having an affair too?
No, wait... Something was horribly wrong here. Rachel... Wasn't that the name Dana mentioned before? He continued to stare at the scene, expecting something terrible to happen.
"Oh Richard, you are making fun of me again, aren't you?" Rachel laughed back.
"Not at all," Kaimi's father obviously lied, still bemused. "In fact, isn't it time for that thing to prove its worth? Go ahead and make your wish, darling."
"I still think you are just teasing me," she reacted, pretending to be upset, but winking back at him. "But you know what, fine. Time for a wish!"
She walked to the wall, with past Jirachi still hiding on the other side of it.
"I wish that people who love me will never forget me, no matter what," she said, with a serious face and her eyes closed. Jirachi behind the wall smiled adorably and granted her wish. The change was so subtle that there wasn't any sound nor a light effect. But it was a huge change nonetheless.
"That's it?" Kaimi's father said, confused. "No eternal life? No world peace?"
"Oh please." She turned around and smiled. "I just want to be happy. And now I know I always will be."
"Hmph. You should know I would never forget you, darling," he said with his arms crossed.
"Oh I know, sweetie," she said, smiling.
Another sound of footsteps. Richard and Rachel turned around to face the arriver. It was Dana.
"Mr. Cornelly, would you mind going over the repor- oh!" she said, surprised to find her boss with someone else.
"Dana! Good timing, actually," Kaimi's father said. "I think it is about time for the two of you to be formally introduced... This is Rachel, my wife."
Kaimi gasped and stepped back. He was too fascinated by what he was seeing and hearing to do anything else. Lillie was shocked too, standing there and covering her wide open mouth with both hands.
Kaimi's father turned to Rachel and said: "Darling, this lady is Dana Peterson, my secretary you have heard so much about."
Rachel giggled like a little girl and clasping her hands, she said: "Oh so you are that kind, smart Ms. Peterson. We have talked several times on the phone. So lovely to see you in person!"
Dana watched Rachel's giggling and awkwardness with raised eyebrows, but before she could appear rude, a professional warm smile appeared on her face.
So you are that annoying hysterical woman who always makes my work more difficult that it needs to be, Dana thought.
Did Cornelly actually marry this fat childish thicko?
Aloud, she actually said: "Nice to meet you Mrs. Cornelly. We did talk indeed. You are always checking on Mr. Cornelly, always worried about him." Combined with Dana's smile, it sounded like Rachel's unintended intrusions were the most charming of delights.
"Please, call me Rachel," Richard's wife said, jumping excitedly as if she was just making a new best friend forever. For a split second one could see Dana's eyebrows raising, before the mask of professionalism fell back.
Lady, you will be easy to parody and mock if I ever get the chance, Dana thought.
Rachel then started to ramble about something silly, unintentionally annoying her husband's secretary further.
So this is it? Dana thought.
I work my ass everyday, licking boots and dealing with the stuff Cornelly is too lazy to be bothered with? But you have everything brought to you on a silver platter. You don't have to lift a hand and get to chat with your bimbo friends all day, but you will still have more money then I could ever earn. ...I hate you.
"...but then we arrived ten minutes late," Rachel was still prattling. "You simply CAN'T imagine the embarrassment..."
Screw you.
"...and I wanted to invite you too then, but then I realized you probably wouldn't feel comfortable with such uptight self-important higher-ups..."
I hate you, bitch.
"Oh dear! Richard, look at the time. Isn't it time for the raffle?" Rachel suddenly stopped her awkward rant.
"Right," Kaimi's father confirmed. "Dana, please excuse us. I am free to talk to you in half an hour if you needed to discuss anything."
And with that they left, leaving bitter Dana behind alone. She looked at the well and snorted.
A wishing well. What kind of dumb idiot puts such a thing in their garden?
"Too bad it doesn't work," Dana said under her breath, bemused. "Because I have a wish myself right now. I wish I could switch places with that stupid
bitch Rachel. Actually, I want her gone like she never existed... Yes, if only I could change the whole world like that..."
Kaimi and Lillie exchanged amazed looks.
Jirachi behind the well frowned.
That is not a very nice wish... But I have to... Oh! Maybe if I do THIS, I can actually get home that way!
Jirachi flew upwards, scaring Dana to death in the process. It closed its eyes and focused. This was a huge change and required lot of work.
"W-what are you!" Dana gasped. But instead of an answer, she got to see for herself.
A glowing circle appeared around Dana and Jirachi. Then, as the steel Pokémon spread its tiny limbs, the circle started to gradually expand, slowly engulfing everything around them.
Poké Balls appeared at Dana's belt. A couple of fireflies near the well changed into Volbeats and Illumises. A Fox Terrier sitting in the kennel was turned into a Herdier. The circle's borders became so wide they engulfed entire Cornelly lot. A tennis court was changed into small Pokémon battling arena. Two women playing a match there, with people cheering on them, were turned into Lillie and Valerie. Dana watched it all, amazed. So did Kaimi and Lillie.
The circle border spread behind the lot and engulfed entire city. A fancy clothes shop changed into a Pokémon gym. A textile manufacturing plant behind the town changed into Poké Ball Factory. Several houses around the town changed to reflect the look of Laverre City in Pokémon games. "Star Dust" pub was turned into "Pixie Dust" restaurant. Apparently the circle expanded even further, far beyond the city.
“Well, well, well,” Dana said, thrilled, as she was turning to face the little miracle worker.
Jirachi finally opened its eyes again and smiled naively.
Yay! And now I don’t have to get home. I AM home!
A Poké Ball flashed through the air, hitting Jirachi in the head. The wish granting Pokémon cried as it was sucked into the capsule. The catching device rocked a few times before falling right into Dana’s hands.
Dana was looking at the Poké Ball, saying: “You, my friend, will be such a great help. I will find out all I can about you and your fellow creatures. And then we will talk more about some further changes… Yeah…”
Kaimi and Lillie watched, completely frozen from all the revelations. They heard hurried footsteps behind Dana. Just like her, they turned around. It was Kaimi’s father.
“Darling, where have you been?” he called to Dana. “Did you forget about the raffle? Please come with me, all those good people are waiting for us…”
“Oh… I see… Yes… Of course I will come with you, ‘sweetie’…” Dana said, grinning devilishly.
I wonder if he even remembers Rachel? I need to know for sure…
They walked back to the house to greet their guests, leaving Kaimi, Lillie, Mew and present Jirachi there. The memory ended and their surroundings turned back to their today’s morning appearance. They were back.
“Wait, is that it?” Kaimi looked around confused. “What happened to Rachel?”
Oh. Mew saddened and flew to him.
You still don’t remember, sweetie?
Did you just call me “sweetie?” he said to himself.
Also, those eyes of yours… So familiar…
“M-mom?!” Kaimi jumped in a shock.
Oh! You do remember! Mew smiled and circled around Kaimi a few times excitedly.
Dana wanted me gone, but Jirachi didn’t have the heart to make me just disappear. So it turned me into a Mew instead and sent me to Lillie.
“M-me? Why me?” Lillie asked.
You have been kind to legendary Pokémon before, “Mew” explained.
Sweetie, you have quite a reputation – especially in the Alola region…
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kaimi asked, making his mother turn over and face him again. “I could have helped you sooner…”
I am sorry. I wanted to, his mother said.
That is why I escaped from Lillie’s bag and went to your room. But then I realized Dana was nearby. I was worried about what she would do if she knew I was in the house. So I decided to wait. I was hoping Dana would leave the house one day so I could talk to you and your father alone… I had no idea everything would go downhill this fast – that she would actually openly attack you on the same day…
“Well,” Kaimi said, looking at Jirachi. “I guess we should clear this mess with just one more wish…”
His mother giggled and said
When you are at it, sweetie, be a dear and wish also for Jirachi to return to its own world…
Lillie looked in Kaimi’s eyes.
“I guess this is goodbye then?” she said. “It was nice to meet you Kaimi. I had no idea how crazy this day would turn out to be when I met you! Poor Valerie missed it all. I will tell her but I am not sure if she is going to believe any of it…”
A few minutes later a glowing circle began to spread from their location, and the world was changed forever.
//
Next Saturday the Cornelly household was enjoying some peace and quiet time.
Richard was sitting in his study room with a laptop, reading on-line news. Rachel was pacing around the dining room with her cell phone, excitedly chatting with her friend. Kaimi was upstairs in his room feeding Axel, his Speckle-faced parrot. Tucker, Richard’s dog, was barking outside. Kaimi grabbed his 3DS console and went downstairs. It was almost time for lunch. Debbie, their cook, was energetically running around in the kitchen, tending to the pots and appliances.
Kaimi sat at the table. His mother Rachel ended the call and put the cell phone away. His father Richard closed down the laptop and joined them in the dining room.
“There was an article about Dana actually,” Richard said. “They didn’t mention her by name, but they did say a woman assaulted a son of her boss and was arrested for an attempted murder.”
“Great,” Rachel reacted. “And I hope I will never see or hear about her ever again.” She turned to her son. “Sweetie, what is it you are playing?”
“Just re-playing an old game. Ultra Sun, actually,” Kaimi replied, smiling.
“That’s a Pokémon game, right? The one with Lillie as a companion character?”
“Yeah.”
She gave him a look full of understanding. Then she asked: “You know I have never played a Pokémon game before. Do you still have a copy of X? I… I kinda miss Laverre City.”
Kaimi laughed. “Sure, mom. When you arrive there, give my regards to Valerie, okay?”
Richard was completely confused. “What on earth are you two talking about?” he asked.
But Kaimi wasn’t listening anymore. His mind became lost in memories. He would never forget those last minutes before his wish was granted…
"So, I am actually a major character in one of your video games?" Lillie asked. "And I have fans in your world? Oh dear!" She blushed.
"Lots of people like you and cheer for you. You will be the best gym leader ever!" Kaimi said.
"Oh you. You say that just to make me feel better. But thank you anyway." Lillie grinned. "If I ever appear in one of those games as a gym leader, maybe we can have a really great Pokémon battle."
Kaimi laughed. "Okay. It's a deal!"
"Alright!" Lillie smiled. "I will be waiting for a challenger called Kaimi... Oh..."
"What is it?" Kaimi asked.
"I just realized..." Lillie tilted her head. "For about one day, every person in your world who plays Pokémon game has become an actual Pokémon trainer. For real."
"Probably, yeah," Kaimi gasped. "Nobody except me and my mom will remember it but... Yes, we all have become real Pokémon trainers. That is so cool!"
Lillie saddened. "Well, time to go. It was really nice to meet you Kaimi. I will never forget this crazy day. Or you. We are friends now, you know!"
Now it was Kaimi's turn to blush. "Take care, Lillie!"
And the wish has been granted.
The End
Thanks to everyone who decided to check it out and read it to the end. Hopefully it didn't disappoint.