The next morning, the lock on her door clicked open. Sabrina stood there, a single Poké Ball in her hand. She didn't speak, simply gestured for the younger girl to follow. For a moment, Eliana thought about refusing, just to see what Sabrina would do. But then decided that it was too early to purposely disobey, she still hasn't tested the boundaries. So Eliana obliged, her Pokémon trailing behind her, a silent, watchful entourage.
Sabrina led them back to the main arena. It was still empty, but the atmosphere was different. The air crackled with anticipation, a silent hum of power that made the hairs on Eliana's arms stand up. The other rooms that used to be filled with Sabrina's students were also empty. Eliana had the morbid thought that maybe Sabrina killed them all, that was unlikely though.
"Your training begins now," Sabrina said, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. "Your power is raw, unfocused. It's like a wildfire, burning indiscriminately. I will teach you to control it, to wield it with precision."
She tossed the Poké Ball into the air and Alakazam appeared, a calm force washed over the room. "For the entire day, all of of you will sit here and meditate. None of you will be allowed to leave until night falls."
Eliana and her Pokémon's faces all dropped to various states of annoyance, even Staryu was unhappy about their task. Eliana grumbled about how boring this was, she didn't even have her phone with her. Kirlia was annoyed, the wouldn't be able to eat if they couldn't leave the room. Raichu was irritated in general and Staryu's core dimmed.
Sabrina's eyes narrowed at each of one the young group, "If you communicate with each other I will know, you will be punished for disobeying me."
"He will be watching over you," She motioned to Alakazam, before turning to walk out of the room.
"You aren't even going to be the one to watch us," Eliana whined, an even more intense pout on her face.
Sabrina paused, her back to the younger girl. Eliana could feel a ripple of pure annoyance from the older woman, before Sabrina took a deep breath to calm herself. "Alakazam will make sure you don't leave. I have business to attend to."
Eliana knew she was already pushing her luck, so she sat down where she stood, crossing her legs with a huff of childish impatience. Sabrina walked out the room, the dorms slamming shut behind her. Raichu curled up beside her, a low growl rumbling in her chest. Kirlia sat opposite her, his posture stiff with disapproval. Staryu levitated slightly above them, its gem pulsing with a slow, dim light.
Alakazam stood by the door, a silent, imposing sentinel. His two spoons were crossed over his chest, and his eyes were closed. But Eliana could feel his mind, a sharp, focused point of awareness that was sweeping the room, monitoring their every thought.
Raichu gave a sharp wave of agreement at her trainer's part sentence.
Kirlia thought back, his mental voice laced with worry. They should obey for now, that woman's dangerous.
Suddenly all of them felt a wave of heavy pressure press down on their minds, Alakazam appearing in front of them. He let the know that this was their first and only warning for breaking the rules. The next punishment would be much worse so they needed to shut up and began mediating.
Eliana scowled at the Pokémon, but she knew he was serious. The pressure had been a taste of Alakazam's power, a warning shot. She closed her eyes, but her mind was still racing. She tried to focus, to empty her thoughts, but it was like trying to hold water in her hands. Every minute felt like an hour. She could feel the dust motes landing on her skin, hear the faint hum of the gym's power grid, smell the stale, recycled air.
She could also feel Alakazam's mind, a constant, intrusive presence. It was like being watched under a microscope, every stray thought, every flicker of emotion, being observed and cataloged. It was completely infuriating. She tried to fight it, to push back, to create a small, private space in her own mind. But Alakazam was too strong, his focus too absolute. Every mental wall she built was torn down, every attempt at privacy was breached. She was trapped, not just in the room, but in her own head.
Eliana opened her own eyes with an annoyed huff to observe her Pokémon. Kirlia and Staryu seemed to be doing just fine with the mediation but Raichu looked to be as restless as she was. The electric Pokémon's tail was lashing about, her ears were pinned down, and her cheeks were sparking with agitation. Alakazam looked over the younger group and brought the Raichu and Eliana in front of him. He told them he would be helping them relax their minds as they would be getting nowhere at their current pace.
Eliana wanted to refuse, to argue, but the memory of that crushing pressure was still fresh in her mind. She gave a reluctant nod, and Alakazam placed a spoon against her forehead. The touch was cool and smooth, and Eliana felt a strange, calming energy flow into her mind. It wasn't a gentle, soothing wave. It was a forced, clinical relaxation, like a tranquilizer injected directly into her consciousness. Her racing thoughts slowed, her agitation receded, and she felt a strange sense of detachment, as if she were watching herself from a distance. It was unnerving, but it was better than the suffocating boredom.
He then did the same to Raichu, who went limp with a sigh of relief. The sparking stopped, and her tail stopped twitching. She looked like a plush toy that had been switched off.
Alakazam returned to his post by the door, leaving the two of them in their state of forced calm. Eliana looked at Raichu, and the Raichu looked back at her, their expressions both blank and placid. It was a strange, unsettling peace, a peace that wasn't their own.
This is weird, Eliana thought to herself, but the thought was distant, muffled. Her body felt heavy as she got into the meditation position.
Time stretched and distorted. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, in that state of forced tranquility. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. The world outside the room seemed to fade away, the sounds of the gym, the light from the windows, even the presence of her own Pokémon. She was floating in a vast, empty space, a void of pure consciousness. And in the distance, she could see a light. A tiny, pulsing point of light, like a star in a midnight sky. She felt a strange pull towards it, a sense of familiarity she couldn't quite place. She wanted to get closer, to see what it was.
But Alakazam's influence held her back, a gentle but firm leash on her mind. Stay, he commanded, his thought a cold, clear intrusion in her newfound solitude, Focus.
Eliana tried to obey, to turn her attention back to the empty void. But the light was still there, a silent, insistent beacon. And she couldn't shake the feeling that it was calling to her.
The hours crawled by, each one a lifetime in the silent, meditative haze. The enforced peace was a cage, and the light was a promise of something more, something beyond the suffocating control of her new teacher. But Eliana controlled herself and ignore it, she knew it wasn't the right time to investigate the it.
The light was still there at the back of her mind, a silent, persistent beacon. She wanted to go to it, to see what it was. But a part of her, the small, cautious part that she rarely listened to, told her to be careful. To wait.
So Eliana waited. She waited through the long, endless hours of the day, her mind a battleground of curiosity and caution. She watched as the light in the room changed, as the sun moved across the sky. She listened to the rhythmic breathing of her Pokémon, the steady hum of the gym's power. She felt the constant, intrusive presence of Alakazam's mind, a cold, sharp point of awareness that never wavered.