Margaret's Diamond Nuzlocke: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Sorrow and Success

I stared up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. It wasn't that sleeping in the pokemon center was uncomfortable, I just couldn't stop thinking about the incident with Zach. I didn't even know Pokemon could die so easily, let alone die at all. Does this mean that the entire team is constantly at a risk of death just by journeying with me? If that's the case, why would they come in the first place? Do they even know? Although a million unanswered questions raced through my mind all at once, there was one thing that I knew for sure.

This was all my fault.

I woke up the next morning, surprised I was able to fall asleep last night, and was still left with the same questions lingering in my head.

"Hey Margaret! You feeling better...?" Andrea asked with a caring smile.

"Oh, morning..." I didn't pay attention to what she said, my mind was too fixated on answering those stupid questions. So I figured the best way to do that was to ask.

"Guys... Can I uh... ask you some questions?"

"Whatever... Just make it quick, I'm tired," Cole said, outstretching his arms.

"Alright..." I hesitated for a moment, but took a breath in. " So, did you... already know that Pokémon could die in battle...?" I asked, my voice a bit shaky.

Aline turned towards me, "Yeah, of course! Unless we're kept as pets, the risk of death is always known to us, even when we're wild. Most Pokémon battle trainers in hopes of being captured, trained, and surviving long enough to get into the Hall of Fame, proving their strength. But most are lucky just to be caught... Not too many pokemon make it in the wild."

"Really? I... I never knew that."

"Hey, don't feel too bad about it... that's just the way things are for Pokemon. Can't really change it, y'know? Pokemon are more likely to survive with a trainer anyway, so don't worry about us!"

"Yeah... Besides, we know we're in great hands with you as our trainer Margaret!" Andrea tried reassuring me as she climbed onto my lap.

I wasn't convinced though. A good trainer is someone who wouldn't let their pokemon die and doesn't recklessly head straight into battle, someone who is responsible and knows what they were doing. I knew for a fact that wasn't me. But if what Aline said was actually true, then I couldn't just leave them out in the wild to die... I shook my head a bit, knowing that there was no turning back now.

Arceus, what did I get myself into...?

"Guys..." I paused and sighed. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"What for?" Tyler said, looking confused. "Zach's death was an accident, we all know it. There's no need to-"

"That's not what I meant!" I raised my voice sternly, staring at the floor. "I never wanted to be a pokemon trainer, even before I knew I would be putting lives at risk! I never even passed Trainers School, I technically shouldn't even be allowed to own a pokemon for battle! But then because of my stupid decision, I got myself into trouble and was forced to travel with and raise a team!" I took a deep breath in, holding back tears.

"I don't know why you would think you're in good hands with me..." I glanced at Andrea, shaking my head. "I'm not a good trainer, I'm just a danger to all of you..."

Andrea looked straight at me, with defiance burning in her eyes."Hey, I'm not gonna stand around and let you say that about yourself. Margaret, basically all trainers are a danger to their pokemon. Yet it's their one and only dream to be captured! Because even if they do die, they die fighting for the trainer that they love, for the person that gave their life a story. Even if that story was short-lived... And even if you're not the best trainer yet, I think you're doing great for someone with so little experience. But if you still don't think you want to do this, we completely understand."

Everyone agreed with Andrea besides Cole, who stared at a corner, not saying or doing anything. I looked over all of them for a moment.

"I can't just stop... not now. I couldn't live with myself if I left you guys in the wild! Who knows if any of you would survive out there... And Zach... he would have died for nothing!"

"So what are you gonna do now?" Aline asked, perking her ears up.

I stood up confidently, "I'm gonna try harder and keep on going for you guys! We're gonna do lots of training this time so we can beat Roark!"

"Alright, that's the spirit!" Tyler jumped up excitedly. "So what are we waiting for? Let's get training!"

He started running to the door, but I promptly picked him up to stop him."Hold it! Remember, with this Gym Leader guy specializing in Rock types, the odds are still against us. If we want any chance to beat this guy, we're gonna need to upgrade your moves...!"

BAM! Another Geodude was defeated by Tyler and collapsed in exhaustion. The swarms of them in the mine were perfect for training him, and the grass on the dead end route just outside Oreburgh was where I trained the others.

I picked up Tyler gleefully. "Alright, that was awesome! I'd say we're almost ready to challenge Roark!"

"Yeah, this Rock Smash move works like a charm! I bet those Rock pokemon of his will be down and out before they know it!"

"Okay, okay, don't get too ahead of yourself. Let's just be careful during the battle, alright?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine! I'm a rock type too, so I'll resist their attacks anyway! Now c'mon, let's go!"

We made our way out of the mine and took one last stop to the pokemon center to heal up before the battle. Tyler and the rest of the team was by my side as I walked to the gym, my legs feeling like they were about to give out, yet at the same time refusing to do so.

Tyler looked up at me. "What's with the sluggishness Margaret? I thought you were all excited for this."

"I was but... now I'm just nervous... What if something goes wrong? What if I can't beat him..?"

Tyler stopped dead in his tracks and faced me, looking me dead in the eyes. "Hey. No more of these "what-if's". I don't wanna hear 'em, and you don't need to be thinkin' about 'em. If you wanna win this, you can't have a losing attitude. Now let's get in there and show Roark what we got!"

He suddenly started running off to the gym with everyone else following. I chased after them, hoping they would slow down once I caught up to them, but they didn't stop till we got there. By the time I was at the door I was already out of breath.

"Guys... Don't just run off like that..!"

"Well I knew it was the only way you were gonna pick up your feet, Slowpoke!"

Tyler started to approach Roark, and as much as I wanted to, there was really no stopping him at this point. I sighed, but even I knew this battle was coming up sooner or later. No point in trying to avoid it. Although the Butterfree in my stomach were storming wildly, I gathered up my confidence as I came face-to-face with the dark red-haired gym leader. He smirked as I looked straight at his eyes, which were just as red as his hair.

"So, you're the one I met in the mines... To be honest, I thought I would see you here earlier than this. Feels like its been almost weeks...!"

"Yeah, well... Stuff happened." I looked to the side, scratching the back of my head for a moment before turning my head back towards him.

"Well, since you're here for a battle, I suppose this isn't a time for small talk." Roark looked over my team and chuckled, sending out his first pokemon. "Alright Geodude, show them what you got! This should be a quick-" He was cut off by his Geodude being flung backwards into the wall behind him. "B-battle?!"

Tyler stood confidently in front of me and turned his head back. "Told you this would be easy!"

I smirked. "Nice job, but I don't think that's all he has in store..."

Roark looked back at us, his face turned serious. "Alright, if you want a real battle, try Cranidos on for size!"

The pokemon came out, intensely glaring at Tyler. I ordered him to use Rock Smash again, and although it seemed to take some good damage, the Cranidos just kept looking angrily at him. I was a bit confused at first; why was it just letting Tyler attack it? All of a sudden it hit me; Leer. I had Andrea use the same thing on Trevor's Piplup... Which meant Tyler would take more damage from Cranidos' attacks. took a moment to think... "Andrea, c'mere. I need you to..." I whispered to her so Roark couldn't hear my plan.

"Cranidos, Headbutt that Geodude!"

"NOW!" I yelled, a bit nervous. Andrea quickly ran in front of the Cranidos, taking the hit for Tyler. She was knocked backwards, but in the meanwhile Tyler used Rock Polish, now making him faster. The Cranidos, realizing he was tricked, glared at Tyler again. Tyler quickly ran up to him, hitting hard with Rock Smash, but only to be counter-attacked with a Headbutt from Cranidos. Then the second he got the chance, Tyler forcefully punched him back, leaving it too tired and weak to go on. Roark, who looked a bit frustrated, sent him safely back to his pokeball. I turned my head for a second to check in on Andrea.

"Hey, you doing alright back there?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine! Now get your head back in the game, we're almost finished here!"

I smiled confidently and nodded, looking back to Roark, who was holding his last pokeball.

"Hmph... Nice trick you pulled back there. But let's see how well you do against Onix!"

The giant stone serpent emerged from the pokeball, towering over everyone. He was intimidating to say the least, but I didn't let that stop me. Tyler charged at it, hammering both his fists into Onix's side. The Onix let out a high-pitched and loud Screech, causing Tyler, and everyone else for that matter, to cringe and try blocking out the noise. While Tyler wasn't moving, the Onix threw many small-sized rocks from the end of its tail at him. It didn't do much, but he was getting weaker. I needed a chance to heal him, but no one else on the team would be able to take a hit without the risk of dying... I had to think fast, but I couldn't decide who should go out... I can't just send one of them out knowing that-

"Now Onix, Rock Throw again!"

I watched in shock as Onix prepared to attack again, and the only thing I could do was hope that Tyler could survive in the few seconds the stones came flying towards him. It shocked me even more as a small blue figure came rushing forward in front of him, taking the hit instead.

"A-ALINE!" I ran to her side once the rocks sent her flying backwards, "Why did you...?!"

"Heal Tyler... hurry. . ." She spoke to me weakly as I held her in my arms. I didn't let her go as I dug through my bag for a potion. I quickly used it on Tyler and immediately got him back into action.

"Ty, I need you to finish this ASAP. Aline, you just hang in there..."

"You got it!" Tyler nodded, turning to Onix. "Let's finally wrap this fight up...!"

He jumped up and quickly landed a few powerful punches up Onix's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards a little. He faced Tyler again and let out another powerful cry. As he prepared for another attack, Tyler used Rock Smash one last time, taking him down at last. Roark stood there for a moment over his tired Onix, a bit shocked. Then he just smirked. "Wow, not bad! With a team like yours, you were-"

"Can I please just get my badge already?!"

Roark looked at me funny as I tapped my foot rapidly and impatiently. He got one of the badges out and held it in his hand.

"Yeah, but-"

"Awesome, bye!"

I snatched the badge up as quick as I could and bolted out the door, still holding Aline. I didn't stop or even think about it as I rushed her to the Pokemon Center. She shifted around slightly.

"Margaret...? I... I don't think-"

"Shh.. It's okay, everything is gonna be fine... Cmon, we're almost there Aline... You can't give up yet...!"

I petted her head gently, my eyes fixated on the Pokemon Center getting closer and closer. I wasn't going to let her die too... By the time I got past the sliding doors, I was still running to get to the counter, where I gently put down Aline and sternly asked to get her help. The nurse looked startled for a moment but took Aline into another section of the building used to care for more serious injuries. I tried following after her, but as some of the other doctors took Aline, the nurse pushed me back.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until the doctors are done with her. For now you can stay in here. Please, relax and take a seat, miss."

The last thing I was gonna do was relax as Aline was in there, but I did need to catch my breath.

"Fine but... can you heal the rest of my team too?"

"Of course."

I handed the nurse their pokeballs, and in almost no time they were good as new. I sent the team out as I sat down, worried.