Once again I was back at the arena.
Once again my Blaziken vanquished the anonymous opponent's Aggron.
Once again I stood victorious, overflowing with joy, and, before I could savor the moment…
…The sound of thunder struck me back to the life I belonged to.
I sit upright on the bed, looking out of the window. The rain crashed down against the glass like bullets, and grey clouds covered the skies, opposing yesterday's blissful weather.
Sudden, inconstant, violent climate changes are Lilycove's trademark, among a few others, one of which is Lilycove's Advanced Care Center – the hospital I work to. Hoenn's cutting-edge Pokémon care center, standing many steps above regular Pokécenters.
Others might say I couldn't ask for more. A great job, an even greater pay… But something was missing. Something that made everything else way too small for me.
Unlike pretty much every single normal person, I don't own a Pokémon. Every day, I wake up all alone, and come back home to loneliness. I don't have any special friend to keep me company, to take out on trips, to battle with, to share love with.
Of course, I dreamed of going on my own journey, like any other regular kid. But, growing in the home I did, I wasn't give options other than become a productive member of society and pick a stable career.
And that's where life brought me to – a place where I could get large bones thrown for being a good dog, while being around Pokémon, saving their lives, doing them good.
"Why don't you keep yourself a Pokémon, then, with all the indepence you've earned?" One would ask. And, I say, being a surgeon takes a lot of time. And raising Pokémon takes a lot of space.
As for space, I don't have much. I live in a pretty compact house, with merely five compartments – kitchen and bathroom included – and a small backyard, barely 15 feet across, overlooking the sea. As for time, I barely have any.
Still looking at the rain pounding my window, I think about the Zoroark left behind at the hospital. Would it survive? Would infection settle in? Had any trainer came to claim ownership yet?
My thoughts are once again interrupted by the sound of thunder, making me jump in the bed with a start and spring on my feet. Checking my phone, I realize I had slept way past lunchtime, leaving me in standoff against my stomach.
I walk to the kitchen, whip up a sandwich, walk back to the living room, grab a book, and commence enjoying a wonderful Saturday off indoors. Soon enough, I would be at Mark's place, having some pizza, and drinking my worries off.