Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Patrick Jones lowered himself to adjust his daughter’s scarf. The outer ring of the Cerulean Gym, where their Water Park was, had been converted into a frozen wonderland for the holidays.

Impressively intricate ice statues now adorned the space, lit by the phosphorous lighting of the various attractions to give off an almost ethereal glow. However, in order to maintain the delicate works of art, the interior temperature was cooler even than the biting winds outside.

Nina pouted at Patrick for his fussiness. And not being able to help himself, the man ruffled her daughter’s silky hair before standing back up, causing his daughter’s pout to become even poutier.

He had to hold back his laughter to avoid being told off by his precious little child, whose mouth was protruding a Magmar. Patrick recalled how he got chewed out for taking part in her little photo booth in the aquarium.

“If you wanted a picture, you could get it for free at home. Why’d you have to waste money on those gold diggers?!” She yelled

Patrick simply laughed it off, knowing Nina wouldn’t understand. Not until she grew up and became a parent herself that is. Just the thought of his precious little girl outgrowing her daddy made him feel a little depressed. In fact, he had asked to hold his daughter’s hand just now but was sharply denied, probably because she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her co-workers.

Speaking of, Patrick had intentionally taken the day off to spend some quality time with his daughter. Because Nina mentioned that she had managed to “blackmail” her superiors to let her off for the day to watch her Dratinini’s first performance as a leading role.

He did not know what said blackmail entailed, nor did he ask. Trying to understand the workings of Nina’s mind was a futile effort, especially given how fiercely intelligent she is at her age.

Patrick did have his concerns regarding his daughter’s rapid development at one point. He remembered discretely consulting her doctor about the matter, worried that there might be residual damage from the “incident”.

“All your daughter’s scans came up normal,” assured the doc. “It isn’t unusual for some patients who had experienced head trauma to exhibit signs of excellence. Though you aren’t wrong to worry, so do keep an eye out and follow up with us if you observe anything truly concerning. Otherwise, just consider it a blessing from Arceus to make up for the unfortunate incident.”

“Look dad, that guy has a Snorunt!” Exclaimed Nina, knocking Patrick out of his musings. He knelt down to his daughter’s eyeline and looked towards the cone shaped Pokemon that she was so excited about.

“That’s an odd looking Pokemon, I don’t think I’ve seen that species before.”

“That’s because it’s not native to Kanto,” explained Nina. “I wonder if he’ll let me touch it?”

Before Patrick could hold his daughter back, she was already running towards the Snorunt's trainer and striking up a conversation.

Patrick sighed and followed suit, giving an apologetic look to the well dressed man that his daughter was now pestering. The man returned his look with an amused smile, not seeming to mind the cute little girl at all.

He was tempted to scold Nina about being careful when approaching strangers. But then, he was reminded that it was this type of bold proactiveness that allowed her to capture a Dratini and land her the much coveted position of a Gym Apprentice. So perhaps, a more subtle reminder would suffice.

“So is this cutie a male or female?” Asked Nina as she was gently stroking the Pokemon’s… “Shell? Or is that fur? Kind of looks like it has the texture of straw.”

“Snowy here is a little girl, just like you. I got her from my recent travels to Sinnoh. I’m still considering whether or not to gift her to my niece for her coming of age, though that’s still a few years away.”

Nina’s eyes practically sparkled at the mention of a foreign region. Much like her Uncle Ali, Nina dreamed of one day going out to explore the wider world. Patrick considered it baffling how his family managed to give birth to a wimp like him.

He still remembers the strained smile that his parents would give him everytime he shied away from a Pokemon battle. The same strained smile that his daughter would give whenever she had to endure another bout of her mother’s insanity. Full of pain and tolerance. “I’m a failure as a son and a father…”

It was a good thing that his parents had his older brother to hold up their lofty expectations. But Nina had no one else but him to rely on. So he swore, years back, to be strong for her sake. Even if it meant condemning his beloved wife.

“If it's a girl, that means Snorunt could evolve into Froslass. That’s a super pretty Pokemon. I’m sure your niece would love it once she sees a picture of her future partner,” suggested Nina.

Patrick had no idea where his daughter gets her encyclopedic knowledge of Pokemon from. “Probably from the library or some Pokenet thread.” He concluded, making a mental note to set up some parental controls on their home network.

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“You’re quite knowledgeable aren’t you, little girl? Unfortunately, Froslass needs a Dawn Stone to evolve. And those are about as rare as they get. I’ll still take your advice into consideration though. You're right that it should be my niece who gets to decide.”

Nina tilted her head up. It was an unconscious habit she had whenever she tried to think. “Dawn Stone… Yeah, it might be hard to source here in Kanto. What a shame… Froslass are really pretty. And they can be incredible battlers.”

After inundating the friendly trainer with more questions about his travels, Patrick stepped in to pull his daughter away once he felt like the poor man was getting a little too overwhelmed by Nina’s curiosity. He also couldn’t help notice that Nina had pulled out her Pokegear at some point and started recording the conversation. “When in Arceus did she install a recording attachment to that old thing?”

Patrick bent down and swooped his daughter up into his arms, much to the girl’s indignation. “Come on Nina, we should get going now. Say your thanks to the nice man.”

Nina pouted but still did as she was told. “Thanks mister. And bye Snorunt, hope you get to grow up nice and strong one day!”

The adults chuckled at the cheerful girl and went about their own separate ways.

“You can put me down now, dad,” said Nina. But Patrick just pretended like he did not hear his daughter’s request. It was precisely because children grow up so fast that he wanted to hold his daughter for as long as he could.

“By the way, Nina. I noticed you had a voice recorder attached to your Pokegear. When did that happen?”

His daughter frowned at his not-so-subtle attempt to divert her attention. Then looked down sheepishly at the question. “Cause I don’t always have my notebook with me, and I’ve been earning a fair bit helping out at the Gym. So I thought it’d be cool to be able to do voice memos. I know the Pokegear belongs to you. So I’m sorry for not asking first.”

There it was, his daughter’s signature Growlithe eyes, as Roxy liked to call them. Patrick knew it was a deliberate ploy by his daughter to get her way, but he couldn’t help but fall for it every single damned time.

Patrick responded by going in for a nuzzle of his daughter’s nose. Doing the same thing that she always did with her Dratini. “It’s fine. I was just curious. Rather, I feel bad that you’re still using that old hand-me-down.”

“Might be time for an upgrade, she deserves as much. Plus, who knows when that old thing will fail on her.”

Nina seemed to have read her father’s mind because her eyes lit up in joy at the possibility of getting a Pokegear of her own.

***

Nina cheered and clapped alongside the audience at the emergence of Misty, Violet, and Lily gliding through the ice to the tune of dramatic music and flashy lights.

This year’s Cerulean on Ice was a musical about the three Legendary Disaster Birds and Lugia, Guardian of the Sea.

Each of the three Cerulean Sisters on display were dressed in leotards customary for ice skaters, only each of them were also adorned in intricate headpieces and costumes themed after their respective legendary bird.

Misty was Moltres with a flowing skirt of fiery red feathers trailing behind her. It was honestly impressive how the woman was able to dance across the ice so gracefully without tripping herself or her co-stars.

Violet was Articuno, her costume made out of transparent material and intricate laces to give off an ethereal aura. It was as if she was enshrouded in ice and aurora as she did a masterful double axel in the air.

And Lily was Zapdos. Her costume stood out in how aggressively spiky it was. Unlike the elegance of her sisters, she looked like a member of a heavy metal band had stepped onto the ice with all her face paint.

Each of them sang as they danced, supported by their usual orchestra of Pokemon. Misty’s Moltres sang of life and fire. How ashes beget life and so the world must burn for life to thrive.

Lily’s Zapdos sang of conflict and destruction. “War tempers the weak. Only the strongest may survive!” She espoused.

While Violet sang solemnly about death and frost. She lamented the sadness of existence and sought to end it all as a form of salvation.

The trio squared off in a dramatic fashion. As they fought, fire trailed the billows of Misty’s dress, courtesy of a Ninetails they hired just for the occasion. Lily screeched in anger and a team of Pikachu let loose a series of Thunderbolts behind her. Violet gave an elegant wave of her sleeves and Dewgongs shot Aurora Beams into the sky.

Throughout it all, familiar faces of the other Cerulean Gym Trainers took to the ice, singing of despair and sorrow, begging the three mystical birds for their forgiveness. Yet their pleas remained unheard amidst the cries of the world’s end.

The music reached a crescendo as the legendary battle came to a climax… Only for the lights to dim and everything to go quiet once more.

The Maiden of the Sea, played by an uncharacteristically demure Daisy appeared, dressed in a simple white toga. The maiden took in a sharp breath and began singing an acapella under the singular spotlight.

She sang to the legendary Guardian of the Sea, the Keeper of Life, and Envoy of the Moon. The maiden sang with her voice full of sorrow, imploring for her god’s assistance in quelling its kin.

The Maiden sang and sang… she sang until her voice became hoarse with exertion, tears dripping down her face. But just when she had thought all hope was lost, another melody joined in her chorus. This one hauntingly beautiful in its melancholy.

To Nina, it was very reminiscent of Dragonair's whale song she heard way back when. Except this voice sounded higher pitched, more juvenile in its impression. But it was beautiful nonetheless as the melody sang of sorrow and mourning for all the lives lost in disaster.

Nina sat at the edge of her seat, waiting for the reveal. When suddenly, the orchestra restarted. This time, the music steadily built up to the grand reveal of a Dratini dressed up in a Lugia costume swooping through the air, singing and dancing with the Maiden of the Sea.

Nina jumped up and began clapping enthusiastically, fervently yelling Tini’s name. Her little blue noodle had made his dramatic entrance.

The Dragon wasn’t flying of course, Tini hadn’t gained that ability yet. His flight and the movement of his “wings” were thanks to a team of Psychic Types manipulating his movements with Psychokinesis. That said, he was still dancing in the air through his own efforts. Psychokinesis wasn’t advanced enough to fully puppet Nina’s partner.

Tini sang and danced alongside his chosen Maiden, occasionally releasing purple flames of Dragon Energy and Water Pulses to “repel” the legendary birds.

Nina couldn’t help but snicker a bit at Tini’s appearance. The little Dragon looked quite goofy with his snout sticking out of “Lugia’s” beak. The wings on the other hand, was just an especially designed backpack with moving parts. The rest was body paint, which Nina desperately prayed was easy to wash off.

The battle waged on as the three Legendary Birds now joined forces to combat their oppressor. And just when it looked like the three Disasters had Lugia beat, Tini let out a mighty roar. Or at least it was supposed to be mighty, what came out instead was just a cute little squeal.

Tini flew to the sky and unfurled his wings, giving the signal for attacks of all types to descend from the ceiling and overwhelm the three aggressors. A Water Gun landed near Misty’s feet, washing her away. An Ice Beam surrounded Lily, encasing her in a barrier of ice. While a Flamethrower chased after Violet, all the way out of the arena.

And so peace was achieved as the three Legendary Birds were put back to sleep. Lugia, now spent of all his power, did one last lethargic song with the Maiden of the Sea, before bowing out of the arena.

At the dimming of the spotlights to signal the end of the show, the entire audience stood up in cheers and applause. Not even stopping for when the entire cast reassembled to give a final bow.

Nina spotted her little Tini wrapped around Daisy’s arm craning his neck here and there in an attempt to spot her. Which prompted Nina to beg Patrick for uppies just so that her partner could see her better, much to her father’s delight.