Chapter 2

The phone rang.

Stew, the concierge, picked it up. He looked at me as if to ask, Are you ready?

I nodded, notebook and pencil in hand.

He put the phone to his ear. "Room service. How can I help you?" He nodded as he listened to the customer. "All right, madam, just to double check, you'd like a Calm Rawst Berry Souffle, Vine Whip style? And also a Brave Cheri Berry Hot Soup, Overheat Style?"

I wrote it down quickly.

"Thank you, madam, we'll have that up to you right away." He hung up and turned to me. "You get that?"

"A Calm Rawst Vine Whip Souffle and a Brave Cheri Overheat Soup," I replied as clearly as I could, trying not to trip over the words. This hotel has a really weird food-naming scheme.

Stew nodded. "Good!" He rung up the cook and relayed the message.

I'm pretty sure that order was correct. I hope.

Esse closed the door to the room behind her. "All right! Looks like our guests lost two Brycen action figures, so let's see if we can find them. And remember to watch where you step!"

"Right." I started looking around the room. I checked under the beds and around the window with no luck. This kind of makes me feel like a detective, I thought, and then remembered Thomas. It was weird that I should remember him, considering that I didn't get to know him that well. He was just so weird and mysterious-

"Whoa! Hold on, Ebony!"

"Huh?" I looked down.

My foot was positioned right over one of the Brycen figures.

I felt sheepish. "Oh. Wow."

Esse laughed and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry! It's only your first week on the job." She scooped it up. "Now, all we have to do is find the second one!"

An idea popped into my head. "Has the closet been checked yet?"

"No, not yet." Esse looked into the closet. "And there it is! What made you think of it?"

I shrugged. "Just a guess."

"Well, that's some pretty good work! I'll let the management know you did a good job."

Esse was nice.

"Now, I'm not sure how lax the others have been with you considering this is your first week." Ward walked quickly down the hall. I struggled to keep up with him. "However, you can expect me not to be so lax. This is a fine hotel, and it must be kept that way."

"Yes, sir," I said, nearly tripping over a hotel cart.

He glanced back at me. "Do your work quickly and well, and it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't expect me to accept any laziness." He stopped, and I stopped as well. "Now, I want these four rooms fully cleaned in two hours, no more. I'll be back then to evaluate your work." He walked off, leaving me alone with a hotel cart and four rooms to clean.

I peeked inside.

They were pretty messy. I wasn't sure I could clean them completely.

I sighed and got to work.

About two hours later, I finished the last room and went outside to a stern looking Ward. I politely clasped my hands behind my back and awaited his verdict.

He looked at his watch. "About two hours and ten minutes. Let's look at your work."

He examined the four rooms in silence. Finally, he said, "It took you longer than it should have, but other than that, not a terrible job."

I smiled in relief.

A few minutes later, after changing out of my uniform, I waited at the front desk for my paycheck.

The co-receptionist smiled. "Hi. Done with your work for today?"

"Yes."

"All right, then, one moment." She pulled out a slip of paper. "Here's your check."

I took it and looked at it. 8,500 Pokédollars, not bad for a day's- wait a minute. "Excuse me, I was only paid partially for one of the jobs. Why is that?"

She looked up. "Oh, apparently you were too vague on one of the orders. The customer received the wrong soup."

I frowned. "Um, okay. Goodbye!" I pocketed the check, then turned around and started walking away.

The wrong soup-? I pulled out my notebook. The only soup order had been the Brave Cheri Berry Hot Soup, Overheat style. I vaguely remembered not specifying whether it was Hot or Chilled. I stopped walking. They got it wrong when I didn't specify the heat of the soup… when it has Overheat style in the title? Seriously? I shook my head; I didn't exactly have a big reason to complain, I only worked here twice a week. I walked out the hotel doors.

Lumiose City was pretty much the exact opposite of the country. Bright lights, lots of people bustling around, cars… it was easy to feel overwhelmed here after staying in Aquacorde Town for a month. I had lived in a city for most of my life, but it still wasn't a city like this. Every time I walked through the city, I felt like I was narrowly avoiding bumping into everything. I knew people who actually liked it when places were busy and bustling, but I was never one of those people. It exhausted me.

My apartment wasn't very far from the Hotel, which was a blessing. It was small, but nice. I entered the building.

Ivan, the concierge, looked up from the magazine he was reading. "Oh, hi, Ebony. Work go okay?"

"It went fine, yes." Ivan was a friend of my parents. I'm pretty sure they asked him to check up on me every time I came in.

"Good. Let me know if you need anything." He went back to reading the magazine.

I inwardly debated with myself whether I should take the elevator or the stairs. I lived on the third floor, which wasn't too bad a walk, but I had been walking around the hotel all day…

As if answering my question, the elevator arrived with a ringing sound. I'll take the elevator, I thought. The doors opened, and I stepped inside.

There was only one other person in the elevator with me: a businessman, by the look of his outfit. I pushed the button for the third floor. The elevator doors closed.

With nothing to do but wait, I glanced over at the man. He was oddly stiff, and he stared straight ahead of him. When he turned his head in my direction, I looked away.

"I don't think I've seen you here before. Are you a new resident?"

I was startled at his speech. It took me a moment to respond. "Um, yes. Just this week, actually."

"I see."

We reached the third floor.

I didn't know exactly what else to say, so I just said, "Bye," and left. I think he might have said something else, but I didn't hear him.

I walked down the hallways, with their sparse carpeting, and managed to find my room. I unlocked it and entered.

Decorating my apartment when I first arrived had been a surprisingly simple task. Nowadays, a lot of things were electronic, and it was easy to digitally transfer the furniture to my room. There was a couch, a TV, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom…

I went into the kitchen and started preparing a late afternoon snack. It still felt really weird to have a place of my own. I mean, I had spent seven months on the road, with just what I needed, and I had obviously stayed with people other than my parents, but it was different having a space that was genuinely, completely my own.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. The furniture that my parents had bought me wasn't technically mine. They didn't exactly feel like mine, either; they seemed oddly artificial to me. I wasn't going to complain, though. It was nice furniture.

Still lost in thought, I picked up my bowl of chips and walked into the living room to eat. I just hope I can get used to this eventually, I thought, munching on the chips. I don't want to spend all my time here feeling like a-

A pop and a ringing sound occurred as a small box materialized on the living room carpet. I was so startled I nearly dropped my chips. I set the bowl down on the coffee table. Must be one last item. I had set the item transfer service on my computer to automatic so that I wouldn't have to keep approving the furniture transfers. I better turn that thing off once I check this. I picked up the box and opened it.

Inside it was a Poké Ball.

Oh shit.

It took an agonizingly long time for my mom to pick up. Her lovely, well-groomed face appeared on the Holo Caster. "Yes, dear?"

"Mom, why is a Poké Ball in my room?" I was feeling pretty angry.

"Oh, you received it today? That's good. I was worried it wouldn't arrive at all. They said the system was malfunctioning."

"Don't avoid the question."

"I'm not, sweetie, calm down. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it earlier. I've had a hectic couple of days; emergency business meetings, you know the drill."

"You still haven't answered me. What is it doing here?" I wanted to strangle her.

Her tone of voice sharpened. "Ebony, we've had this conversation before. You knew it would happen eventually. I'm not going to let my daughter wander around the streets of a busy city without some sort of protection."

"But…" It made perfect sense. Damn it. "What if I'm not able to take care of it? Also, I'm not sure this apartment-"

"Darling, you work twelve hours a week. There are many people who take care of Pokémon with less free time. And don't worry about the apartment. I already checked to make sure you would be able to have a Pokémon."

Of course she did. Of course. I couldn't say anything.

Her voice became softer. "I know it's sudden, dear. I'm sorry to just drop this on you. But it's been nine months! Don't you think that's long enough?"

"I'm not ready," I replied weakly.

"It won't be the same. Dear, it's just one Pokémon. And you don't have to battle anybody. It's just to keep you safe." Her voice took on a more cheerful tone. "Besides, it'll be your friend! So you won't feel as lonely."

My jaw hurt. "Right." Yup. It's not like people randomly go up to you and ask you to battle.

"I have to go now, sweetie, but I love you. Dearly. I'll also be sending you a few supplies for Growl. Goodbye."

"Growl?"

The Holo Caster hung up.

Defeated, I flopped down on the couch. Well. This is just what I needed. I had to adjust to a new city, a new job, a new apartment, and a new trauma trigger that lived with me everyday.

I took a deep breath.

It made a lot of sense for me to get a Pokémon. All of the reasons she gave were good. Sensible.

And I hated it.

I looked at the Poké Ball in its case. She'd called it "Growl." Was that its name? I picked up the Poké Ball.

Nine months. It had been nine months since I had picked up a Poké Ball. The familiarity of it made me feel shaky. I strengthened my stance, and, flimsily, threw the Poké Ball at the carpet.

Despite the terrible throw, the Poké Ball opened, and "Growl" materialized.

It was just a Growlithe. It let out a small bark.

I realized I'd been holding my breath this whole time. I let it out. "Where did you come from?"

It trotted up to me and started sniffing my leg.

Slowly, I lowered myself onto my knees to better accommodate it.

It seemed to appreciate it. It started to clamber all over me and sniff my face. Then it licked me.

I laughed. To be honest, I really didn't mind this so much. This was nice.

I heard a pop as another thing materialized in the living room.

Growl spun around and barked at the object. Loudly.

"Quiet, Growl." I went over to pick up the object, which was a manila envelope. I opened it and examined the contents.

It was a paper listing information about Growl. I read it aloud. "Name, Growl. Age, estimated three years. Gender, Male. Size…" I trailed off. This stuff wasn't as important. I looked down near the bottom. "Experience Evaluation Level, 35. Current Known Moveset, Flamethrower, Fire Fang, Bite, and Odor Sleuth." That wasn't bad. If I were to be attacked, I'd want this kind of Pokémon by my side.

Or if I had to battle. The thought gave me an unpleasant feeling in my stomach. I'd really prefer not to be in such a situation. Unfortunately, if people saw that I had a Pokémon with me, they'd be more likely to challenge me. Of course, the threat of being attacked outweighed the threat of being asked to battle and saying no.

Growl tilted his head and started pawing at me. I gave him a gentle pat on the head.

Another pop sounded, and this time a larger box appeared. Growl barked again. I shushed him and opened the box.

It was supplies. Poké Puffs, a bed, some toys for him, and… a belt. A Trainer belt.

I picked the belt up. My last belt, the one I'd had… it didn't exactly survive. This was obviously a new one.

I put it on. The belt clip went in place with a snap. It was nice and snug. Familiar. Alien.

I put Growl's ball in its socket, then I looked down at Growl. He was staring at me expectantly.

"Well," I said. "What do you think?"

His butt wiggled with excitement, and he started panting.

I laughed and petted him. "Well, we're not going out tonight," I told him. "But tomorrow… maybe we will."

The thought kind of scared me.

For a walk, I told myself.

Just a walk.