Chapter 70 - Sinking Feeling p2

  Having Dinner with Juan was a nerve-wracking experience. I expected that at any time I would get accused of stealing gym secrets even though I was technically innocent. Juan and by extension Wallace were influential enough to have the rest of my circuit run become very tedious. Marlon had my complete trust but I had no idea if his Milotic could keep mum under the curious gazes of the other water type Pokémon living here. Juan’s focus was mostly on Marlon quizzing him on the various ways a gym is maintained and how to deal with a variety of challengers. Which I could relate to seeing as I was even more experienced than Marlon was when it came to running a gym. Though obviously his knowledge eclipsed mine when it came down to taking care of and training water type Pokémon. At the end of lunch Juan had to leave to face his next challenger so I took the opportunity to suss out how much trouble I was in.

  “Does Juan know about me?”

  “Don’t worry I haven’t told him anything, so far all he knows is that you are an interesting trainer hailing from Lavaridge Town.”

  “Is that all?”

  “…He did let me in on the gym’s secret plans to help increase the wild Feebas population. Wallace and Juan worry that once the truth comes out people all over Hoenn will come out to capture Feebas putting even further strain on the local population. That’s why the gym has assigned trustworthy people to help breed as many as possible under the context of preserving one of Hoenn’s native species. Even if those breeders think it’s just for environmental concerns to keep the rivers clean.”

  Marlon somewhat put my worries at ease and we continued on to the gym’s kitchens. When it was lunch time I would always insist on sharing meals together with my team. Due to the circumstances I couldn’t do that at that moment, but Marlon had assured me that the staff could whip something up for the rest of my team. Guests weren’t allowed inside so Marlon had to ask one of the chefs through a passthrough. The staff were baffled at the fact that they had to prepare meals for a team of fire type Pokémon but saw no problem with catering to our needs. As we were standing out in the hallway waiting for the food to arrive I requested Marlon do me a favor.

  “You want to check out one of the gym’s battlefields?”

  “Yeah, my team would surely benefit from working out how to navigate those floaties. That way they’ll be able to maneuver better when it’s time for the real deal.”

  Marlon had no issues with that so went back down the hallway but not before Marlon let the kitchen staff know where to bring our meals. Stepping inside I could smell the faint scent of chlorine just like in public swimming pools. To me it made sense, chlorinated pools only had to be cleaned once a week while pools with no cleaning agents in them had to be cleaned up every day, more than quintupling their maintenance costs. As long as the water type Pokémon took a dip in sea or fresh water afterwards, they wouldn’t experience epidermal problems commonly associated with those chemicals.

  This part of the gym looked more like what one would expect from a water type gym. Function over form, aside from the large rain badge motif plastered on either side of the walls there were little to no decorations. The room did have ancient looking ornamentals in each corner but of a completely different style, closely resembling the ones found on the top of Mt. Pyre. No doubt built to pay respects to some kind of legendary Pokémon, most likely one that was related to the sea. I quickly realized that this room must be part of the old gym and the mansion that was built atop must be a newer addition.

  “This is the place, Egy. If you are going to be battling Juan, it’ll be in this room.”

  Not intending to waste any time I released my team on the right side of the battlefield near the stands. Having heard my conversation with Marlon from inside their poké balls they weren’t as confused as to what this scouting opportunity would entail. Still, they exhibited a variety of reactions at the very notion of training on the water with most of them shifting somewhere between mild panic or determined acceptance. To inspire confidence in the others I asked my bravest Pokémon to go ahead and try first.

  “You can do it Halo!”

  “Vess!”

  Naturally I wasn’t planning to use her in my upcoming gym battle but having not experienced much more than a light drizzle gave her that false confidence I was hoping to rely on. The bug type made clever use of the move string shot to swing her way across the water and onto one of the drifting platforms. Giving a small victory cry when she succeeded in doing so.

  “Laaar!”

  Naturally the rest of my team couldn’t allow the youngest and less experienced among them succeed where they failed. One by one they made their way across the water albeit with a tad more hesitation. Numsy was the last Pokémon standing on the edge of the pool looking at the water as if it were his mortal enemy.

  “Came…”

  “It’s okay to be afraid, unlike the others your weakness to water is even greater. However, that also gives you the unique opportunity to prove your mettle in front of everyone. Would you do this for me?”

  After leaving the gym*

  After a short while of experimenting with the floaties I could confidently say Numsy was totally unsuited to participate in our upcoming gym battle. My Camerupt was just too heavy a Pokémon to reliably jump from platform to platform each time. If I fielded him, we would be relying on potshots to hit our targets which could be entirely avoided by faster swimming Pokémon which most water types tended to be. Still I hadn’t counted his participation in this little team exercise wasted since it helped him overcome his instinctual fear of water which could only prove useful further down the line.

  As soon as my team members were done jumping around, lunch was served. The waiting staff provided us with excellent service and the food could be compared to that of high-end restaurants, although the pokéchow tasted relatively bland to the team which highlighted the fact that the kitchen staff didn’t serve fire types very often if at all. Having finished having lunch with Marlon who spent most of lunchtime time trying to get the newly caught Chinchou to come out of its shell. We eventually left, not wanting to take up any more of his time and still having to return to our serious training session out and about under the sun. This time we managed to cross the saltwater lake with one of the handy paddleboats stationed at the island’s dock. Sebastian assured us that at the end of the day one of the water types living in the lake would bring the boat back to its proper place and that if we wanted to we could’ve visited the gym with one of these little boats which they lend out for free at any Pokémon center in Sootopolis.

  By the time we returned back to the shore nearest to the Pokémon center we were around two hours away from the sun setting. Our original basking spot which we had left behind was thankfully still vacant. Releasing all my Pokémon from their balls I promised them a night out on the town if they persisted to complete today’s training session for another two hours.

  “Nineee?”

  “Numsy of course, he deserves a reward. It takes a special kind of determination to compete with you guys on those water platforms. Considering Numsy is a fire type who is also a ground type. Since I am expecting a big haul from tomorrow’s expedition Numsy can pick any restaurant he wants to eat at.”

  “Rupt!”

  I patted his nose some to show my appreciation. Over the course of my years of partnership with Numsy, I managed to determine what his preferences are. Numsy likes places where the portion sizes are giant, which was good for my wallet. Since those types of eateries tend to give me a good bang for my buck and they let you take your leftovers with you in plastic containers.

  The sun wasn’t at its zenith anymore which made training on Solar Beam a tad more difficult, but I couldn’t just have Rena activate her ability. There were rules around using weather-based moves in a city’s confines. Trainers could get fined for using such abilities in urban areas outside of official battles.

  There was still enough sunlight to fire off Solar Beams; it was just that the accumulation of energy would take a bit longer than usual. Looking forward to a night of eating out, my team wasted no time getting those final hours of training in. Sootopolis City was quiet except for the occasional passerby and the sounds of the ebb and flow of the lake. This wouldn’t last long. I knew that in about an hour or so people would start getting back home from work and school. The distraction this would cause would undoubtedly hinder our training but would also serve as a short break. There weren’t any deadlines to get home in time so even interested adults would stay a while to observe my foreign Pokémon.

  An hour passed and just as I was mentally preparing myself for the upcoming crowds I felt a familiar presence reconnecting to my mental space.

  “Egon! I am back!”

  ‘Tini, thank goodness. Where are you?’

  “Wait for it…”

  Farther into the distance the water’s surface broke and the submarine used for giving underwater tour guides reappeared no doubt having returned from deep beneath the ocean’s depths.

  ‘…You wouldn’t.’

  “Teehee!”

  ‘Tini being in an enclosed space with other people and Pokémon is bound to get you caught! Please don’t tell me that I now have to pay some sort of stowaway fine?’

  “No one noticed me! Staying invisible is easy!”

  ‘If you are sure…’

  “Being underwater is amazing! All the pretty coral and Pokémon! Let’s go together next time, okay?”

  As Victini was getting into the specifics the submarine’s rooftop hatch opened and people started pouring out, from this far a distance it was kind of hard making out any individual, but I could just barely see a girl wearing a school uniform.

  ‘You were shadowing Roxanne?’

  “Yep! I even helped her out too!”

  Turning over my wrists and scrolling through the available contacts I eventually found Roxanne’s name and decided to have a little bit of fun.

  “Firetyperulezz: How was it? Did you manage to find what you were looking for?”

  “SchoolRocks: You can see me? Where are you?”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Firetyperulezz: The lake’s shore. You should be able to see me from where you are standing.”

  The twin tailed figure turned around seemingly scanning her surroundings until they turned in our direction. Roxanne proceeded to wave excitedly letting us know that she saw me and the team. Roxanne proceeded to exchange words with her fellow passengers and tour guide but eventually started to move in our direction with a spring in her step.

  ‘Judging from Roxanne’s good cheer, her venture must have proved successful.’

  It took a good few minutes but eventually Roxanne managed to catch up with us and with her appearance I also noticed a familiar weight settling upon my head drifting further down below my neck before it finally found purchase on top of my right shoulder.

  “Egon!! I’ve done it!”

  Contrary to her usually cool headed and analytical demeanor this time Roxanne showed the excited girl that’s kept inside coming out only on special occasions.

  “You’ve had a good time…?”

  “That too! But look at this, go new friend!”

  The speed at which she released the ball’s mechanism was perhaps even faster than me. The Pokémon that revealed itself was quite the sight materializing in the water of the lake was a large coelacanth looking Pokémon. Its brown scales most resembled jagged rocks and on its head rested a triangular spike no doubt used to scare off predators looking to nab an easy meal. It didn’t say much and carried itself with a quiet dignity. Roxanne brought out her Hoenn Pokédex no doubt to rouse my growing interest.

  Relicanth the Longevity Pokémon.

  A water and rock type, Relicanth is a rare species that was discovered in deep-sea explorations. This Pokémon's body can withstand the enormous water pressure of the ocean depths. Relicanth’s body is covered in tough scales that are like craggy rocks. This ancient Pokémon feeds on microscopic organisms with its toothless mouth and it is speculated that the species has not changed its form for over 100 million years.

  “Isn’t he amazing?”

  “Yes, a piece of living history you must have been pretty persuasive getting Relicanth to join without being able to communicate or battle while underwater.”

  “Right? The tour guide offered to have his water Pokémon battle for me but all of a sudden Relicanth decided he wanted to join me all on his own.”

  ‘…You?’

  “Yes, Relicanth wanted to just swim away at first, but I told him about all the delicious berries you can find on the surface and that Roxanne would take good care of him.”

  ‘Good job, extra berries for you tonight. Bringing Pokémon and humans closer together is always a goal worth striving for.’

  “Hmpff, that’s only natural.”

  “Taking care of a water type takes lots of study but I know you can handle it. Does your sponsor have any large aquariums or ponds that Relicanth can stay in? We probably won’t be able to take him along for our expedition to the route 111 desert. That place is not known to have oases.”

  “Not inside the gym, but as long as we’re traveling the routes there should always be a river or pond that we can use for training or recreational purposes. The conference will happen on Ever Grande Island so there’s plenty of water for Relicanth to swim in until the end of the circuit.”

  “Canth…”

  “Relicanth wants to eat.”

  “I am thinking Relicanth would like to have dinner. Did you bring the rest of your team with you Roxanne?”

  “No, I didn’t want to make them uncomfortable by forcing them to go underwater with me. Nurse Joy promised to look after them until my return.”

  “How about we all go out and eat at a restaurant that accommodates large Pokémon? That way our Pokémon can get to grow familiar with each other. Looking for the mirage tower might take us several days so it's best for our Pokémon to build up a rapport.”

  “Okay!”

  The two of us returned our respective Pokémon to their balls. I made an exception for Orin since I haven’t walked around with him for a while. The little candle took his usual place atop my shoulder, and we went off. Roxanne first had to pick up her team from the Pokémon center but afterwards she was free for the rest of the day. Having spent more time in Sootopolis City than I did. She pointed out the best food places catering to large Pokémon with even larger appetites. Most of her rock types had completely different nutritional needs. All of them required large intakes of minerals to keep going, usually that wouldn’t be a problem. Iron Nickel, Zinc, Titanium all of these could be found within the earth itself or if a rock type trainer found him or herself in a city the local garbage dump could facilitate what they needed. They could still appreciate a well-cooked meal just like any other Pokémon, but regular fare was just like fast food to them, not enough nutrients to make it worth their while to eat. There was only one place in town that specifically catered to rock and steel types as well as regular Pokémon and we were headed there now.

  The Sootopolis recycling plant was not the first place one would think of when determined to go out and eat but with Roxanne’s recommendation I had to give them a fair shot.

  ‘Sorry Numsy. If this place stinks, I’ll make it up to you.’

  “The owner Marco used to be a traveling trainer too. He eventually ended up settling down with his wife in Sootopolis but there was little to no scrap metal for his steel and rock type Pokémon to eat. The construction industry doesn’t use a lot of iron building materials since the houses are made entirely of stone. He went out every day to collect people’s garbage just to feed his Pokémon and eventually started this recycling plant which also doubles as a restaurant for trainers like me. Isn’t that an inspiring story?”

  “Yeah, I hope they also serve regular food...”

  “The regular food tastes great as well! Marco even started experimenting by mixing metals with different kinds of sauces and spices.”

  ‘Isn’t that like inedible…?’

  We walked inside and the atmosphere was about what one would expect from a recycling plant. A large warehouse-like structure so the garbage trucks could easily fit inside combined with piles of garbage which had been divided based on their contents. You had a pile of metal, plastics, organic waste and even a very small pile of one that I would assume to be hazardous waste. The section of the recycling plant which I presumed to be the restaurant was very bare bones. A large tarp like mat for the Pokémon and cheap looking plastic chairs undoubtedly created with materials from the second pile.

  “Roxanne! Good to see you again. Table for two?”

  “Yes please!”

  The large burly guy that came to greet us was undoubtedly Marco the owner. Hoping against all odds that the food was good enough for my team I released everybody from their poké balls onto the nearest tarp while Roxanne did the same. Her slightly changed team line up caught me by surprise as well as the fact that her Lairon managed to evolve in the time we hadn’t seen each other. Roxanne’s own tarp was barely large enough to accommodate her team, Aggron, Onix, Magcargo, Golem, Sudowoodo and Probopass notably missing two figures.

  “Shuckle and Relicanth?”

  “Shuckle doesn’t eat mineral heavy food and neither does Relicanth. I left them at the center to enjoy some berries.”

  We both sat at the table waiting for Marco to return with the menus, the man eventually did so but his outfit didn’t reassure me as to the quality of the food we’d be served. The man was still wearing his safety helmet and greased up workwear.

  “What can I get the two of you today? Roxanne you will be pleased to know that we’ve just received a hundred’s total of rejected tires. Their inner linings will be sure to satisfy your Pokémon’s needs.”

  ‘Oh boy…’

  The next day*

  It was the following morning when I woke up while in my dorm room bed, last evening’s events coming back to me. It turned out that the recycling plant’s owner Marco also knew how to make just regular food that tasted adequate enough. I wouldn’t recommend his place to any trainer that didn’t have a rock or steel type on his team but I couldn’t complain overly much. The sight of a seven feet tall Aggron eating scrap metal dipped in hot sauce was something I’d recommend anyone to go and watch. The sound produced while the armor Pokémon was eating still couldn’t completely leave my mind space.

  For the most part my team got along well with Roxanne’s team, her Magcargo acting as a sort of liaison between the two. Numsy and Rena were friends with numerous slugma back at the gym and that seemed to have helped the three of them find common ground rather quickly. We came to find out all of Roxanne’s team were exceptionally mellow Pokémon, save perhaps for Aggron who seemed to be the hothead of the group.

  Sudowoodo being a trickster Pokémon spent most of our time socializing playing hide and seek with the juniors of my group. Orin and Halo went starry eyed as Sudowoodo kept trying to pass itself off as a potted plant and or tree. The rock type even went so far as to hop in planter pots to sow confusion in the more na?ve demographic of the team. While Glove seemed content to just watch over them.

  Over the course of dinner Roxanne did request meeting the psychic type Pokémon who would move all of us over to route 111. However, since we found ourselves in a public setting I held her curiosity at bay by telling her my mystery Pokémon would introduce herself once we found ourselves safely back in the center dormitories. When the moment of truth finally occurred Roxanne couldn’t help but exhibit a similar reaction to the other teenage girls who had their first meeting with Victini. Kidnapping the winged rabbit Pokémon and treating her as a stuffed pillow requesting (demanding) Victini cuddle with her for the duration of the night. Since the girl dormitories weren’t far removed from the boys’ I didn’t see the harm in it.

  “You…!”

  ‘Did you have a pleasant night? Think of this as punishment for sneaking aboard the submarine the other day without talking it over with the rest of the team.’

  “Traitor!”

  ‘You have to look at it from her perspective, all Roxanne’s Pokémon have hard craggy exteriors while you are warm and fluffy. A Rock type specialist like her doesn’t often get the chance to snuggle anything.’

  “…How much longer?”

  ‘Boys are not allowed in the girls’ dormitory so I can’t pick you up right away. Can’t you just wiggle out of her arms?’

  I’ve long since suspected that Victini thrived on the extra attention but didn’t want to admit to it. Escaping unnoticed while Roxanne was asleep would be the easiest thing for Victini to do.

  “She’s too strong! I don’t want to hurt her.”

  ‘Just hold on, I’ll send Raven to come pick you up.’

  The dark furred canine Pokémon was resting on top of my feet keeping them all warm and toasty throughout the night. I wasn’t too embarrassed to admit to liking cuddling up with others unlike some Pokémon.

  “Raven?”

  “…Arf?”

  “Could you pick up Victini at the girl’s dormitory? She’s being a diva again.”

  “I heard that!”

  Raven gave me a weary look before standing up and letting out a cute little yawn.

  “Just follow either Roxanne’s or Victini’s scent. The dormitory they’re staying in is placed opposite to ours. If Chansey asks what you are doing just tell her you’re waking up a friend.”

  With some amount of deftness she jumped off the bed, walked to our closed dorm room, niftily used her tail to wring open the doorknob and walked outside using her hind leg to close up behind herself afterwards.

  The first time I saw Raven using her now longer and tactile tail to open doors I was stunned and impressed by her ingenious use of the now no longer useless appendage.

  ‘Tail moves are a thing… I should probably encourage Raven to learn at least a few of them.’

  Being a lazy bum, I kept lying down under my blanket for another few minutes enjoying the afterglow of a good night’s sleep. Eventually I managed to pull myself out of my stupor, stood up and made my way into the adjoining bathroom ready to begin a long day’s worth of travel. The rest of my team had already woken up from Raven’s finagling with the doorknob saw to that. The team had gotten used to getting those extra minutes while I was busy readying myself in the bathroom.

  To prevent Roxanne, Victini and Raven from waiting. I quickly finished up, recalled the rest of my team and made my way to the lobby. In preparation for our journey to the Hoenn desert I packed multiple readymade meals together with Roxanne. Ever the helpful girl Roxanne offered to assist me in making the meals, treating it as a learning experience. Even though the plan was to have her own team forage the desert for mineral deposits once we arrived there.

  Walking into the lobby I could see her already waiting for me sitting on the couch nearest to the automatic sliding doors raven laying at her feet. Before Roxanne had a chance to greet me an invisible hellion wrapped itself around the front of my face, poking and squeezing my cheeks in the process.

  “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

  Roxanne could clearly guess what was going on based on my smudged facial features. So without further ado the four of us walked outside looking for an inconspicuous plot without people and cameras. Eventually finding such a place, the shed where the Pokémon center kept its landscaping tools and repair equipment to maintain the outdoor battlefields. I recalled Raven and we headed inside and closed the door behind us making sure no one was watching us before we did so. Victini, now no longer needing to maintain her camouflage, dropped the invisibility and held onto the both of us to prepare for the upcoming teleportation.

  “Victini can get us fairly close to the desert on route 111 but not all the way there since we’ve never been. We’ll be dropping by the home of the Winstrate family who live on the route and have graciously hosted us in the past. From there it will take us about half a day’s walk to reach our destination.”

  “Vi Vi Vi!” “One two three… Go!”

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