Warnings: Very mild language.
"I'm sorry, you've already taken a lottery ticket for today."
I pause for a moment, staring in confusion at the woman behind the counter.
"That's a mistake," I begin slowly, debating possible problems, "I was in here yesterday. Not today."
"I'm sorry, you've already taken a lottery ticket for today."
"I know. You just told me that," I bite out, tapping my fingers impatiently on the counter. My eyes narrow as the woman looks blankly at me.
"I'm sorry, you've already taken a lottery ticket for today."
Resisting the urge to bang my head against the table, I turn around and leave the building. The damn store hasn't had any sales lately, either - coupled with the less than acceptable service, I don't have much of a desire to return.
The automatic doors swish shut behind me as I consider my next move. I'd been meaning to stop by Shoal Cave to gather salt, and having nothing better to do I decide to pay the cave a visit. I release my Azumarill from her ball, and she lands expertly on the soft sand.
The trip is uneventful. I've beaten most of the trainers along the way, and the new ones don't want to challenge me. I almost wish they would. With the lack of battles, all I've been doing is growing berries, collecting items, and breeding Pokemon. My team and I are both getting restless.
I step carefully onto the beach, recalling Azumarill and shaking some of the water off of my body. My clothes are still damp, but it'll have to do for now. The cave's dim entrance looms before me, and I make my way through the opening.
The cave is filled with water. A feeling of apprehension and uncertainty runs through me - I've been here several times, and the tides are always regular. Right now, the cave should be at low tide.
The old man doesn't seem to have a problem with it, and he cheerfully informs me about gathering shoal shells and salt. He gives me the same spiel every time. Frustrated, I kick clumps of sandy dirt and ancient shells into the oddly-high tide, venting my anger on the unfortunate objects in the cave. The surrounding water grows murkier with every kick, and after I calm down the grime takes minutes to disperse.
"I suppose I'll wait here until the tide recedes," I mutter to myself, sliding down against the cave wall. Since it looks like I won't be going anywhere, I let out my team for some recreation. They chatter amongst themselves, conducting quick, slightly unorganized practice skirmishes. I watch for a while before sleep begins to steal over me.
Slowly, my eyes close, and -
There's a sudden heat at my side, followed by a crash. My eyes shoot open and I turn to look at the source of the noise. There's sizable hole right beside my face, still smoking. I glance in front of me and notice my Blaziken looking directly at me.
"You've got to be more careful," I urge him. I'd usually be more angry, but Blaziken never misbehaves, so I let it slide. He keeps looking at me, almost as if there's something he wants to tell me.
"Anything wrong?"
He nods, and then closes his eyes and shakes his head before opening them again.
"Uh, that's not exactly helpful, you know."
Blaziken stares at me some more before evidently deciding that he has better things to do at the moment. Thoroughly awake now, I check my Pokenav. Two hours have passed, and the tide is still too high. Come to think of it, it doesn't seem to have changed at all.
"Come on guys, let's get out of here," I sigh, conceding defeat.
I drop in on a friend in Pacifidlog Town, but he refuses to hand me a TM like he usually does. Maybe I've accidentally offended him? The old man who always rambles about Mirage Island tells me exactly the same thing he told me yesterday. I mean, I realize he's crazy, but at least his crazy usually has variety.
The berry man on the route next to Mauville is the same way, flat-out refusing to hand me berries but never explaining why. I don't know, is there some kind of 'let's all ignore Marina and not give her free items' memo being passed around? Because I do like my free stuff.
It's getting late, and I decide to take a look at my berries. I have them growing all around Hoenn, but they're generally concentrated on one route. Most of them had sprouted by yesterday, so they should be in the flowering stage at this point.
When I arrive along the route, I'm more confused than anything else by what I see. None of my berries have flowered.
It would be understandable if not all of them had moved on - after all, I do have some rarer berries mixed in with all the orans and pechas. But for none of them to flower... I really don't know what to make of it. Though I suppose it's possible I've arrived right at the flowering time?
I glare at the plants for a moment, as if staring at them would help them grow faster. This gets boring at an increasingly rapid rate, and I decide to train my Eevee to pass the time. She's due to evolve, and I'm hoping for an Umbreon. That's why I've saved her training for night, after all.
Come to think of it, though, the sky hasn't gotten any darker. It's the same vivid blue it was earlier in the day. But my clock reads 20:31, and it's rarely wrong.
The battles against wild pokemon are repetitive but satisfying, and we both get into a pattern. After an hour, Eevee begins to glow.
"Awesome!" This is the first good thing that's happened to me all day, so, yes, I'm understandably excited. The pure white glow fades, revealing her new form.
An... Espeon?
Her fur's a beautiful pale shade of purple instead of the midnight black I was expecting. Her two-pronged tail flicks back in forth as she pads over to where I'm standing.
"Odd..." I murmur, and she rubs against my leg reassuringly.
The berries still haven't grown.
Uneasy, I return Espeon and release Blaziken. He seemed to suspect something earlier, and I figure he's the only lead I have on what's going on. Once he's out of his ball, he gives me a strange look.
"There's something you need to tell me, right?"
He growls and waves his arms around, and I think he's getting impatient.
"Sorry, I don't know what you want to say..."
I break eye contact and look down at the ground.
"It's a nice day ... or, night, I suppose, so I guess we'll sleep here."
At this, Blaziken stamps his feet and vehemently shakes his head, screeching. There's obviously something I've said that he doesn't like - what could it be? Suddenly, it dawns on me.
"You don't want me to go to sleep."
In an instant, he calms down and nods.
"But why...? You know, I can't stay awake forever. I'll try to stay awake as long as possible, though."
I let out all of my pokemon. They all look worried, and before I know it I'm trying to stifle a rising sense of panic.
"It'll be okay..." I whisper, and I wonder if it's more for them or for myself.
Hours pass, and it's clear I won't last long. I've been relying on the bright blue sky and the sun's unceasing glow, but my eyelids are drooping and the energy is leeching away from me. I slump against the grass and close my eyes. I hear the members of my team walking over. I twitch against the ground at a faint electric shock, my now-open eyes staring at the determined face of my Manectric.
"I know you're trying to help... but it won't work."
My eyes slide shut once more as fatigue washes over me.
"Sorry..." I murmur softly, drowning in exhaustion.
The world fades to black.
"I'm sorry, you've already taken a lottery ticket for today."
A/N: In case it isn't clear, the whole sleeping thing = saving and turning off power. Since the internal battery's dead, the game can't be saved, so Marina just ends up back where she started in Lilycove.
As a side note, this is the first piece of fanfiction I've written in three years. This probably means my too-long hiatus is over.