Love… and the Alternative (v1.01) -v1.00: Draft version -v1.01: Fixed some errors ... I followed him to his house by the woods… not because I liked him, as a person or a trainer, in any way, shape or form; it was her – that lovely female one that he befriended – Maya… Oh, how she captured my heart, right from the very first time I saw her! I looked at myself – will I ever be able to capture hers, with this so very feminine appearance that I’m… cursed… with? The odds are against it, obviously… I paced back into the woods, haunted with my cursed appearance… As I passed by a little pond, I lingered, and I stared at my reflections – I don’t look half bad, that is, for a female, of course, with my shiny shoulder-length sky-blue hair, ocean-blue arms and hands, and an orange sensor, which used to be on my head, positioned cutting right through my chest… Then, I gazed into my own glowing yellow eyes, like those of a vampire – well, maybe that’s what I am after all… I don’t suck blood or anything, but I just can’t get over this burning urge to consume the dreams of a sleeping creature, person or Pokémon alike… Only this trait, or habit, of mine, could keep her well away from me… After all, who’d like to have their dreams, along with stamina, drained in their peaceful sleep? I began to curse myself… … Why was I ever born a Ralts? If I were an Abra, or even a Drowzee, I’d have already become an Alakazam or a Hypno respectively… so why Gardevoir? – I don’t know, and I guess I’ll never get to know… the only explanation is this so very obvious fact: it’s the way I am. And what’s worse is that I’m afflicted not only with my feminine appearance, but this premature evolution as well – I’ve never been through my Kirlia stage like all normal Ralts do; I accidentally ate a thing called the Rare Candy that I found somewhere in that forest southwest of Lilycove, and I evolved straight into a Gardevoir… As a consequence of my naivety and carelessness, I missed out on all abilities that we are supposed to learn during our Kirlia stage; for example, our signature Psychic attack – no, I never learned it; if my instinctive Dream Eater ability doesn’t count, then the only Psychic-type attack I know is the weakest Confusion! Well, this proved to be only another minus… Why would she ever fall in love with a feminine male Gardevoir who doesn’t even know the Psychic attack? But I still want her, I still love her and I still lust for her… Oh, Maya, she’s so beautiful, so cute and yet so modest, with a modest glow of a mysterious darkness around her, which only made her even more mystically attractive… yet her beauty and modesty belie her true strength. She’s just perfect, too perfect; she’s the perfect female, and she is my perfect definition of “perfection”! Come to think of it, I do actually stand a minute chance – at least, I’m of the same species as she is, and this might be an advantage… It makes sense, considering how I was never attracted to a female Alakazam and likes. Anyhow, I’d learned this the hard way, that thoughts are “pale” and actions are “bright”; so I must act, I must prove to her that I’m unique and special, because it’s the only way I can command her attention! Firstly, I must make myself look good, I mean, masculine… I started by exercising my already very strong arms that are not strong enough for a girl’s liking. I’d learned the Bulk Up ability from a Machoke that I used to train with, and now it was a good time to make some use of it… I fought many battles with both wild Pokémon and trainers to gain experience and to strengthen myself; I used mainly Fighting-type attacks… When I came to revise my skills, I just realized that I know more physical attacks than everything else – I learned Cross Chop, Brick Break, Sky Uppercut, Mach Punch, and a variety of others, including the Meteor Mash attack I was miraculously born with, I mean, I knew how to use that attack right from the moment I hatched from the egg; but on the other hand, the only Psychic-type attack I learned is Confusion, and I’m already far too late to learn Psychic, without a proper tutor or a Technical Machine, that is… After all my hard training, I’ve finally decided to take this only and final risk – to officially challenge that dark elf trainer that Maya was with; his name is Malace. I know that if I lose – which I very likely will, without the Psychic attack – Maya would never, ever, fall in love with me, and she might even become disgusted with me – a weird weakling! But I didn’t care, because I know very well that if I don’t try, I’ll never succeed in capturing her heart; if I try, I must try it big – after all, it’s a fact that high risk yields high return! So I waited for an opportunity to challenge him, and it finally came… … Malace went out of his house for some training – obviously, as he had every single one of his Pokémon out by his side, and they were heading into the forest as well. Maya was with them, too, but I doubt she needed anymore training… I followed them to their training ground, and I interrupted them. I shouted to Malace, “If you’re after some training, why don’t you train with me instead? I challenge every single one of your Pokémon, but one at a time, of course!” – My voice might be the only sign showing that I am actually a male… He accepted my challenge, but he said he’d only battle me with 4 of his Pokémon, because the others were newly caught, and they hadn’t had much experience in battling so it would be unfair… … Malace’s first Pokémon was a Mightyena. It tried to put me off guard with its Intimidate ability, but I was too experienced with those tricks to fall for it. He might think that a Dark-type Pokémon would have a huge advantage against me, but he was so very wrong! He wasn’t aware of that I know most of the Fighting-type attacks, which Dark-type Pokémon are the weakest against! So, I finished off that Mightyena with a Cross Chop before it had the time to charge for a Shadow Ball. Malace was very surprised, which was understandable, as who’d expect a Cross Chop from a Gardevoir? I was beginning to feel contented with my fighting skills… I was actually trying hard to focus on the battle, instead of getting lost in Maya’s beauty… Malace called up his Misdreavus to resist my Fighting-type attacks, but again, I caught him unprepared with a direct hit from my own signature attack – Meteor Mash. I could already see from his complex facial expressions that he’d become suspicious with my unexpected attacks, but he still went on with his Flygon. He ordered it to fly up high to avoid my attacks, and once again, luck was on my side! I knocked it right down with a Sky Uppercut followed by a Meteor Mash… I laughed, mainly at Malace’s reactions – he was pinching himself to see if he was asleep; it was so funny… … One more to go and victory will be mine, so will Maya… well, maybe… I thought and prepared myself for the final match, which turned out to be just as surprising to me as my attacks were to Malace – Maya told Malace that she’d take me on herself! – Just like me, she can talk, too! “Oh, damn it!” I silently cursed to myself under my breaths, because I really didn’t want to hurt her, if I could at all, but I didn’t want to forfeit the match like a coward either… Well, I thought, my opportunity is no-where yet now-here – it’s now or never; even if she defeats me, I should feel honored, for that she challenged me, because she must think that I’m at least worthy of her challenge! … The rays from my lustful eyes converged onto Maya’s petite body… I couldn’t focus on the battle; I couldn’t help but to admire her divine beauty from the distance across the battleground. Malace, as the referee, started our battle, and Maya just stood there gracefully, with her eyes closed… I knew that she wasn’t exactly idle; she was using the Calm Mind ability which I had never learned, and that ability calms her down and boosts her psychical powers. So, I, too, stood there, and used my Bulk Up ability, a physical counterpart of Calm Mind… That went on for like 5 minutes or so, and I was getting worried and bored at the same time – I was worried because I couldn’t predict when she was going to strike, and I was also bored because both of us only stood there, inactive… So I decided to make the first move by charging towards her for a Dynamic Punch attack, because I thought that she couldn’t see me with her eyes shut. But, when my punch was only about an inch away from her body, her eyes burst open with the brightest blue glow I’ve ever seen in my life… I was stunned just by that, and I knew what would be following that glow – a supercharged Psychic attack… … Maybe it was my luck, maybe it was my guts, and maybe it was only my instinct, I managed to evade that super powerful attack with a Teleport right in time. I Teleported to her back, and without even thinking, I ceased her arms and crossed them in front of her chest, gaining complete control of her as I caught her unprepared. I then took advantage of her astonishment and jumped high into the air, ready for a Seismic Toss, but… I was so overconfident that I messed it up completely… … I accidentally let go of her left arm, and she swiftly threw a Fire Punch right into my chest to free herself… I never knew that Calm Mind had any effect on the power of a Fire Punch at all; I only saw an intense flame from her fist, far more intense than that from a Blaziken’s wrist, and even that on an enraged Charizard’s tail, shot right across my chest. I could only feel that smoldering agony of severe pain… and it broke my jump; I fell… I knew that I should never have done that, I should never have so rashly used that Seismic Toss attack; all I needed to defeat her might only be a well-aimed Meteor Mash, considering I had such an advantage… I knew it was already too late, and I knew she’d won this match already… I could only try to recover from my fall to save myself from further injury, but I was too weak to do anything… … Just a split second before I hit the ground, Maya gained control of me and stopped me from hitting the ground with her Confusion, but it was a gentle one. She supported me off the ground with it and walked towards my levitating body… I could hardly believe this, but she actually grabbed me and held me lying on her arms! I gazed into her clear ruby-red eyes; I felt like I was dreaming… She said to me in a gentle voice that so perfectly matches her appearance, “Oh, I’m sorry that I hit you so hard… I shouldn’t have offered to challenge you in the first place, because you were tired from those 3 matches… Please forgive me… Arcueyd…” I fainted in her arms before she could finish what she was saying, but I’m positive that I heard her saying my name – Arcueyd, the name that was inscribed on my egg! I woke up in Malace’s house, in a bed with a thin blanket covering my body. Maya was sitting right by my side, with her caring eyes fixed on me, and observed every movement I made. She saw me opening my eyes and smiled modestly to me; she said, “Oh, Arcueyd, you’re finally awake… But don’t try to move yet, because it looks like I’ve burned you pretty badly – I’m sorry… I’ll go and get you some Rawst Berries to fix your burn…” She bent over and gave me a light kiss on my forehead, and went off to somewhere. She returned with a half-dozen Rawst Berries and said, “Arcueyd, just eat some of these and you’ll be fine in no time…” she then put them into a bowl, next to me. That kiss, from the girl of my dream, sent my heart straight to heaven… But also, I felt like that was the perfect time to clear some things up, for example, how did she know my name. So I asked her; she said, “Of course I know your name, Arcueyd – you were that peculiar Shiny Ralts everyone in Lilycove was talking about. You were born with some really strange abilities, such as your Meteor Mash attack…” Hah, so I was quite a popular subject back then, I thought, and that thought actually gave me some courage to confess my love to her; but still, I was very afraid that she might reject me, I mean, she had every right to reject my love, just for the fact I’m such a weird character… … I fixed my eyes onto hers, and I struggled to force my lips open, and said, “Um… Maya…, I… I think I’m… I’m…” I just didn’t have enough courage to blurt it out at once… I took a deep breath to try calming myself down, but I gasped as my burn on the chest sent me a sharp stream of pain. Maya was very concerned, and she caressed my forehead and told me to try not to talk before my wounds have healed. I told her that I didn’t want to wait any longer, however, that worried her even more, as she might’ve taken it as I had something really urgent; so she leaned over on one arm, and asked me, “What is it, Arcueyd? Is it something really important, or are you not feeling right?” – I was so moved by her kindness and her caring nature, but that only dragged me even more deeply in love with her… I’d finally decided to tell her that I love her, without thinking about all those possible consequences; I shut my eyes to gather some confidence, and said, “No, it’s not that – it’s… it’s that I love you, Maya! I… I fell in love with you straight away when I saw you… You’re so beautiful and gentle and caring… I know I’m just not worthy of your love, and I know you’re probably thinking that I’m queer, or weak, considering the way I look, and that I can’t even use the Psychic attack… But it’s the way my heart feels, and I can’t deny it…” I was too afraid to open my eyes to examine her reactions, however, my fear for being rejected were blown away by a pair of soft, hot lips, planted onto mine… … I slowly opened my eyes, which gazed straight into her beautiful eyes, and I was dazed by her sweetest kiss – the first kiss I’ve ever had… She slowly, and rather seductively, broke that kiss, and she slipped into the bed, right by my side, and spoke to me in a somewhat criticizing tone, “Oh, Arcueyd, why do you have to depreciate and insult yourself like this? You must realize that you’re very special; you’re one-of-a-kind! After all, how many of us Gardevoirs that you know, have the Meteor Mash ability, or the Sky Uppercut, or even the Seismic Toss ability that you tried on me? And why would I think of you as queer or weak? You must know, I will never do that, I will never think of you that way! Because I love you, Arcueyd; I love the way you look, and I admire your strength…” She gave me another kiss, but only sweeter and more passionately this time… That was the happiest moment of my life, although I was suffering from my painful burn… But miraculously, that burn didn’t seem to hurt anymore, after Maya gave me that sweet kiss which I long desired for… Maya took me to her very own tree house in the woods right after my burn showed signs of healing, where she took great care of me. She collected some Rawst Berries for me everyday to help heal my burn, and it was completely healed after only a few days. I didn’t know how to thank her for all that she did for me; all I could offer as a token of my gratitude was my passionate love for her, although she assured me that was all she wanted in return. I stayed with Maya in her tree house since she brought me there for the faster healing of my burn – I realized that she brought me there because she wanted me to feel contented and relaxed; she knew that I’d feel much better with her alone, than with Malace and all his Pokémon that weren’t familiar to me – I might get stressed out with all of them around… Anyhow, the best part of being alone with Maya in her tree house is that we get to sleep together in her bed, every night – it was such a romantic indulgence that I never dared to even dream about… I closely studied her body in our bed, while she was sound asleep – oh, Maya, she’s so beautifully attractive, and her mysterious veil of modest darkness shimmers with an amethyst glow at night, which demurely illuminates every splendor of her body, rendering her even more irresistible and seductive… However, as I fully recovered from my injury, my old strength gradually found its way back into my body, so did my natural instincts. Therefore, sleeping with Maya in the same bed had gradually become a test of self- control for me, instead of a desirable indulgence – it had become harder and harder for me to resist my innate lust to consume her dreams while she’s asleep… I kept ordering myself to not to think about it, and to hold back my dream-lust, because there is no way I should be doing that to Maya, after all the love and care she offered me, and, I really love her too much to do such a heartless thing to her! But… like everything else, I have my limits. And that night, I had actually reached, and broke, my limits in self-control! I woke up to my instincts, which was informing me that Maya was asleep, and simultaneously ordering me to consume her dreams… I wasn’t myself anymore; at that very moment, I was only a mindless, instinctive dream-eater, like most of those rare male Gardevoirs that evolved atypically from their Ralts or Kirlia form… That feeling, it was scary… because it was the first time that I’ve ever felt such an intense, uncontrollable innate desire… All I could remember was that I placed my hands right over her forehead, and then, I was able to read her dreams as if they were my own… I unconsciously initiated the Dream Eater attack while Maya was still sleeping and unaware of what I was trying to do – the minor conscious fraction of my mind could only hope that she’d wake up right at that instant; she didn’t, of course… I used Dream Eater on her, but I was instantaneously snapped out of it by the impetus as my Dream Eater failed to drain her dreams. I thanked myself for messing up the Dream Eater attack, although I didn’t, and it really surprised me out, too, because it was the very first time my Dream Eater failed! But I soon found out why it did… Next morning, Maya woke me up with a gentle kiss; I was exhausted, because of the failure of my Dream Eater… All I could think of at that moment was to apologize to her for attempting the Dream Eater on her, but she didn’t seem to worry at all, and she only said, with a modest smile, “It’s all right”! I was very confused by her response – why the heck would she be smiling when she knew that someone was trying to eat her dreams? So I asked her why she didn’t care, and also why my Dream Eater failed to work on her. Her answer was only too simple – “Because I’m partly Dark-type, so Psychic-type attacks won’t affect me at all.” – She answered that with another smile, as if it was nothing. However, I was completely shocked by her answer! What, she’s partly Dark-type?! I thought… How could it be… this gorgeous girl I’m in love with is a “Dark” Gardevoir?! I couldn’t believe it. When I looked at her again, she seemed to be far more intimidating than approachable, and far more repulsive than desirable… I studied her dark glow once again, but now it seemed to me like a haunting shroud of nightmare… She must’ve seen my strange reactions; she crept even closer to me and then tried to wind her arms around me, but I evaded them, instinctively, with a Teleport… However, I felt extremely uncomfortable after doing that, because I really didn’t want to make her feel bad about herself, or her trait. I apologized for my startling strange behavior, but she only asked me why I was apologizing all the time. She said to me, in a worried tone, “Arcueyd, are you not feeling well? You were acting very strangely… and I’m just concerned about you… because I love you…” I didn’t know what to think, or how to react. I stared at her, with both love and hatred, both desire and repulsion, and both admiration and frustration… I mean, I so wanted her while I so feared her – at that time, my mind was more tangled than the vines of a Tangela. All those paradoxical emotions were overflowing my mind, making me faint… And I nearly did, for that I couldn’t take it anymore; all I could wish for was an end to this nightmare that was only too realistic. I wanted to run away – far, far away from her, because I wanted this nightmarish reality to end, without hurting her feelings, not too much at least… Therefore, I ran, as fast as I could, away from Maya’s tree house, and away from the woods… Maya’s veil of darkness was haunting me, and it unexpectedly triggered my memories of that time when I was very young… …It was only a few days after I struggled to hatch from a metallic egg with the name “Arcueyd” inscribed on it; I was still deep inside a deserted dark cave that I hatched in. I tried to find my way out, so I can get to explore the real world outside. So I did; I found the mouth of that cave, and I dashed towards it. But something suddenly bit my leg and dragged me backwards just before I could see the outside through the opening… I turned around and looked, and that was the most terrifying sight that I’d seen in my entire life – a pair of menacing blood-red eyes, complemented by a dark silhouette with that familiar glow of darkness around it… It was an Absol, and Absol connotes disaster – a disaster that was about to fall on me! That Absol kept dragging me back in, and I knew that I must defeat it if I ever wished to survive… I could hardly move under its Pressure, but I still managed to score a hit on it with that Meteor Mash ability I was born with. I was too weak to defeat it with that one attack, of course, but I still managed to free myself from its bite. I was lucky enough to learn the Teleport ability right in time; I used it and escaped from that cave with my injured leg, and fortunately, that Absol didn’t follow… Since then, I had developed a mortal fear for all Dark-type Pokémon, and to compensate that, I learned all those Fighting-type attacks to counter them. Although I can fearlessly fight hand-to-hand with a Dark-type Pokémon in a battle now, I never thought that I’d ever fall in love with one… I stopped at an ancient ruin west of Lilycove to have a rest. I thought, my encounter with Maya had only taught me an important lesson that can only be learned the hard way – you must be careful of what you wish for, because you may just get it… And that’s not all, because when you get it, you may not be able to handle it! I picked up a random strip of iron from the ground inside a tall pyramidal structure that resembles a giant tomb, and I decided to shelve my cynical remark there, along with all memories of Maya – I’d treat that fateful encounter with her as a long nightmare that I just awoke from. I was ready to start a brand new adventure, and I was looking forward to my brand new future. So I inscribed on the innermost wall of that structure with that strip of iron: With new time, hope and love, aim to the sky in the middle! I walked outwards, and meaninglessly hurled that iron strip up and it hit the ceiling. Miraculously, the strip disappeared into the ceiling, and then, my inscription on that wall glowed and made it crumble; it opened up a doorway to an ancient path that leads deep in to that tomb. I followed that path to the interior, but I found nothing of interest. All I found in there was an old Registeel and it was asleep, so I backed out without disturbing it… However, I’d actually become very rich and famous for that so-called “significant archeological discovery”, although I couldn’t find anything “significant” about that nondescript old tomb, or that sleeping Registeel… Oh well, maybe people value things differently from us. But still, I’m the one that was highly respected… After all, possibilities – sky’s the limit!