This story is spiraling out of control. I don't know if I can help myself. I have too many ideas for this thing! Enjoy the next chapter, I don't own Pokemon. Reviews are loved.
"Alright Falkner. Are you sure you have everything?" Morty asked for the umpteenth time that morning.
It was three days after their meeting with the Elite Four, and during that time, Falkner had been packing his things to begin his Pokemon challenge. Morty had gone back to Ecruteak to take care of his own business and come back that morning to take him to Olivine so that they could take the S.S. Anne to the Sinnoh region.
"Yes, I have everything," Falkner said, looking up at the blond as he adjusted the belt that held his Pokemon around his waist. "We can go now."
"Okay, just so you know-"
"I have to fight all the trainers on my own, and if I lose I use my own money to pay, and if I run out of potions, tough luck because you aren't buying me any. Yeah, I know," Falkner said. He allowed himself a smile when Morty threw his head back and laughed. The smile quickly turned to a scowl when the older ruffled his hair.
"Alright then. Let's go!"
He grabbed Falkner's arm and tugged him along at a brisk pace, scarf flowing out behind him and right into the younger's face. Sputtering, Falkner shoved him away, flushing when Morty laughed once more, not sure if he was enjoying being the brunt of all the man's jokes. He trailed after the leader, not really paying attention to him as he prattled on about Ecruteak. It wasn't until the man stopped walking and he ran into him that he snapped out of his thoughts, flushing under Morty's slightly offended stare.
"You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?" Morty asked.
Mortified, Falkner just nodded. "I'm sorry."
The Ghost Trainer shrugged. "Don't worry about it. So what Pokemon do you have?"
"Eh, just a Pidgey and a Pidgeotto. Not a lot to train with..." Falkner mumbled. "I never really trained before."
Morty's eyes narrowed. "That's not all you have. You grabbed your father's Pokemon didn't you?"
Falkner nodded. "But he's too strong. He won't listen to me yet."
"Maybe you should just let him out of his ball, give him a good stretch," Morty said.
"I can't! What if he leaves me?"
Morty tilted his head to the side. "Just because you can't control him yet doesn't mean he'll up and run away."
"But what if he does!"
"You know what, fine. Keep him cooped up, but you're letting him out before we get on the S.S. Anne, alright? You can't keep him in there forever, he'll get grumpy, and then when you finally let him out he'll hate you," Morty said with a knowing nod.
Falkner bit his lip but nodded. Morty resumed his brisk pace once more, leading the younger through a twisting path among the trees. A sudden cry came from behind a tree, and the young reeled back, startled by the two small girls that jumped out in front of them. They were identical; even their clothes matched, bright pink shirts coupled with blue shorts.
"My name's Til!" said the first.
"And I'm Tori!" the other shouted.
"And we're going to take you down!" they finished together.
Falkner stared, puzzled at their behavior. Were they really Pokemon trainers? They looked so young. "I...um..."
"A double battle then?" Morty said. "We accept your challenge!"
"Morty, I really don't think-"
"You better not underestimate us!" Til interrupted.
"Or you'll end up losing! Go, Marill!"
"Go Mareep!"
"I chose you Gastly!" Morty tossed the pokeball into the air, releasing the puff of purple gas. The leader turned and stared pointedly at him, gesturing towards the three Pokéballs attached to Falkner's hip.
"Erm, go Pidgey." Falkner let the ball drop to the ground, releasing his disgruntled Pidgey to Morty's impatient sigh.
"You'll have to excuse him, he's new at this," Morty said to the wide eyed stares of Til and Tori. Falkner wanted to protest, but realized he had no real excuse or counter argument to defend himself with. The twins glanced at one another and shrugged.
"Marill, hit Pidgey with a Tackle!"
The blue mouse charged forward and Falkner felt his throat clench. "Pidgey, use Quick Attack?"
Morty crooked an eyebrow at Falkner's hesitant tone of voice, but Pidgey didn't hesitate, blurring out of the way of Marill's attack and giving it a hard shove, knocking it to the ground before dancing back on her claws.
"Gastly, use Night Shade on Mareep!"
The ghost Pokemon twirled in the air and for a moment, the air shimmered with a blue light, distorting the area around the small electric Pokemon. Half a second later, the Mareep teetered back and forth, obviously on its last legs.
"Mareep, Thundershock Pidgey!"
Before Falkner could call out a counter command, the highly effective bolt hit Pidgey, knocking her over. She started to get back up but then collapsed, unable to continue. Heart pounding, Falkner quickly called her back in and sent out Pidgeotto.
"Use Twister on Mareep!" he shouted, his voice cracking a little at the end.
Morty pinched the bridge of his nose. At least it was more confident than his last command. He glanced back up to see that one of the twins had to recall her fainted Mareep, and decided that he should take out the Marill before it could do anymore damage.
"Gastly, use Lick."
The ball of gas darted forward so it was right in front of the blue mouse. With a chilling noise, it stuck its oversized tongue out and licked up Marill's face, causing the small mouse Pokémon to shudder and then fall over, unable to fight. The twins squealed in anger as they withdrew Marill. Morty only chuckled.
"Thank you. No need to pay us," Morty said. "It was more of a trial battle for Falkner here."
"No, no, you won," Til sighed, sulking forward and putting a grand total of 100 Munny into the leader's hand.
"It was a good battle," Morty said, passing fifty to Falkner.
The twins nodded and departed, disappearing among the trees. Morty started on his way but turned when he saw Falkner wasn't following, surprised to see the boy kneeling on the ground stroking his fainted Pidgey's head. Silently, he watched Falkner pull out a Revive and spray it on the small Pokemon, a little surprised that the boy seemed to care so much. From the way he had battled, he had figured Falkner didn't have a bond with his Pokemon, but it seemed that they did.
Falkner recalled both of his Pokémon and hurried to catch up, head down as usual.
"Hey, what's wrong? You won your first battle," Morty said, nudging him in the side.
"Yeah, I did," Falkner said, giving him a strained smile.
Morty wanted to press him, but if he hadn't answered the first time, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to push it. So instead he began to hum, hands in his pockets as they neared Ecruteak.
"I don't like seeing any of them hurt," Falkner said, so quiet that Morty didn't know if he had heard him the first time.
Glancing down out of the corner of his eye, he said, "Hm?"
"I just get sad when one of my Pokemon faints, because I don't want them to get hurt because I'm an incompetent trainer," Falkner continued in a louder voice.
"Hey now," Morty said. "Don't talk like that. Just because you're inexperienced doesn't mean you're incompetent. You'll get stronger. My Pokemon fainted plenty of times when I first started out, so don't get too worked up, alright?"
"When did you start? Training I mean?"
Morty frowned, leaving Falkner to believe he had asked something stupid or unwanted. "I was nine."
"That's early," Falkner said. "Why so young? Did you really want to be Gym Leader?"
"I had to," Morty said, refusing to look at him. "We're almost at Ecruteak, so let's get your Pokemon healed up, okay?"
Falkner winced but nodded, realizing that he had indeed asked something unwanted. "I didn't mean to pry."
Morty looked down at him to give him a winning smile. "No worries. I also need to stop home to pick something up, so just wait at the Pokemon Center for me. I won't be very long."
Falkner took his Pokemon like Morty suggested, smiling at Nurse Joy when she returned the two Pokéballs to him. Feeling nervous, Falkner emerged outside the large building, glancing around for Morty's familiar figure. He saw the older come out from a large mansion near the north end of town, something shining in his hand as he walked towards the bird trainer. Smiling, he grabbed Falkner's wrist and shoved the object into his open palm.
Curious, he looked down to see a thin silver chain with an unfamiliar crest hanging on it. "What is it?"
"It was my brother's. It's our old family seal. I want you to have it, as a good luck charm, so you'll stop being so timid," Morty said firmly. "Now, are you ready to go? We should reach Olivine by the end of the day if we're lucky."
"I can't have this," Falkner said, eyes wide as he tried to hand it back.
"No, no. No give backs. Put it on," Morty said. "Or I'll cry."
"Wha-" Falkner scrambled to loop the chain over his head, expression mortified at the thought of the larger man crying in front of him, because of something he did. His horror turned to humiliation when Morty laughed, revealing that he was just joking.
"Stop with the sullen expression. I feel like I'm kicking an innocent Growlithe whenever you do that. Well no, a Growlithe would bite me. You don't have any bite, let alone a bark," Morty said.
"Hey! I'm not that shy! Just because you have fun humiliating people doesn't mean I do! Why don't you think about someone else for once," Falkner said.
"Oh hey, maybe you are a Growlithe. Sheesh." Morty started to move past him and then paused, leaning down so his mouth was level with the younger's ear. "And I do think about you, too. I wouldn't have given this to you if I didn't." His hand moved around to tap the crest that now rested on Falkner's chest.
Stunned, Falkner turned and watched the man walk towards the exit. After a moment, he hurried to catch up.
-.-
Falkner pushed his hair out of his eyes as the wind tossed it about. They were about a half mile outside of Olivine, and he had to stay true to his word and release Pidgeot. Gnawing his lip, he stared down at the Pokéball. Thoughts of the Pidgeot flying off and refusing to come back plagued his mind, but Morty's gentle touch on his elbow renewed his strength.
"I'm right here, nothing bad's going to happen," Morty said. "Would it help if you released the others? Or I can call out Gengar."
"Um, Gengar. Maybe if he has company that's...not so weak. He never really liked me," Falkner said quietly.
"Oh, so that's why you're so scared," Morty said with a smirk.
"I'm not scared! Just...a little nervous, okay?"
Morty just chuckled and sent out his Gengar. The Pokémon bounced happily along in the field and then, with a deep breath, Falkner launched the ball into the air, sending the Pidgeot high into the air. It was then that Morty saw what Falkner meant when he said the large bird didn't like him. With a screech, the Pidgeot dove towards the teen.
The young trainer flinched away as it swooped over him, talons cutting at his shoulder before it arched back up and wheeled for a return hit. Morty grabbed the Pokéball from Falkner's trembling hand, recalling the raging Pokémon before it could attack again. That taken care of, he turned towards Falkner, surprised by how much the wound was bleeding.
"Sweet Moltres, I should've listened to you. Are you alright?" Morty dug around in his pack to find a roll of bandages and some disinfectant, urging the teen to sit as he began to doctor the wound as best he could. "We'll have to take you somewhere to get this stitched up, but I'll do what I can for now."
Falkner nodded numbly, eyes rooted to the ground. He bit his lip, refusing to cry out as Morty bound it up. "He hates me. I didn't do enough for my father. He knows its all my fault."
"Falkner, you're wrong, but we are not having that conversation right now because you need to be taken care of. C'mon Gengar."
-.-
Falkner stared into the mirror at the ugly stitches that held his shoulder together. The nurse had offered something to speed up the healing process and to minimize the scarring, but he had turned her down. He wanted to always remember that moment. He didn't ever want to feel that weak, that foolish, ever again.
The floor rolled as the ship hit a big wave, and with a hiss, Falkner knocked against the bathroom door.
"Falkner, are you okay?" Morty called.
"Yeah."
The teen readjusted his blue shirt, wincing as it rubbed against his sensitive skin. He had refused pain killers as well. This was his burden to bare, and his alone. When he emerged from the bathroom and into their small quarters, he avoided Morty's gaze.
"I'm sorry that I've been such a bother. I should've guessed-"
"You don't need to apologize. Why don't you get some rest?" Morty's soft voice soothed Falkner's frazzled nerves, and didn't ask for any excuses. Unable to argue, Falkner nodded and moved over to the bed, lying down on his back as Morty took his turn in the bathroom. He didn't doubt for a moment that if Morty hadn't been there, he would've died. Sure, the first cut was shallow; it was a warning. Pidgeot would've come back and destroyed him, and Falkner knew he would've let him because he wouldn't resist something he deserved.
But his body was tired of thinking, and with a sigh, he was tugged down into the realm of sleep.
Toweling off his messy blond locks, Morty emerged from the bathroom, frowning a little when he saw that Falkner was already asleep. His frown turned to a smile, however, when he saw the boy's hand resting on his chest, wrapped tight around the charm on the necklace. He had felt wary giving the younger the necklace, but he had come into his own confidence years ago. The charm had helped him, and while Falkner didn't have quite the same connection to it that he had, he could already tell it was making him feel better. That was enough for him to know that he had made the right choice.
-.-
"Alright, we've got a bit of a problem," Morty said.
Falkner looked up to see the leader sitting on the bed, laptop in hand. "What is it?" he asked as he finished tugging a new shirt over his head, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder.
"You only have Flying type Pokémon. Our first Gym Leader's name is Roark, and he's a Rock type user," he said with a frown. "But he's only been a Gym Leader for awhile so he'll be easy to take down."
"..."
"...That came out wrong. I don't mean all Gym Leaders are weak when they start out. It's just that they tend to be nervous at first and you can take advantage of...you know what? I'm just going to stop talking now."
Falkner laughed a little. "I guess it makes sense. I know I'll be really nervous. Were you?"
Morty looked up, head tilted to the side. "I guess I was. I don't really remember. I didn't know how to check my power for awhile. I think I was a little too enthusiastic with my duty."
"Oh. So what can I do? I'm training to be a Flying type Gym Leader so it's not like I can just go pick up a Water type or something. That defeats the purpose," Falkner said. "I mean the whole point of specializing in one Pokemon is so you can overcome disadvantages right?"
Morty stared at him, breaking into a wide grin. "Exactly. I could probably leave you alone to do all this yourself."
Falkner paled. "You wouldn't really do that would you? I mean...I don't want to be a bother or hold you back or anything but I don't really know if I can do this on my own yet."
"Hey, I never said that. I'm your mentor, Falkner. I'm not going to just up and ditch you in an area you've never been to before." Morty closed his laptop. "Do you even know how to take a joke?"
"Uh, no?" Falkner shrugged. "I don't know. I never really socialized much."
Instead of the usual expression of shock and exclamations of surprise, Morty merely leaned back, a look of contemplation on his face. That worried him though. Odd reactions didn't fit into his plan. Then again, running off to a new region to challenge Gym Leaders and destroy the potential creator of a disease didn't fit into his plan either.
"I didn't really either," Morty said. "Socializing really wasn't my thing for awhile. Circumstances made it so I had to."
The man's light purple eyes were unfocused and he fiddled with the edges of his tattered scarf. Falkner noticed a similar charm stitched into the deep purple fabric and intrigued, he moved closer, surprised to see that it was an exact match to the one that hung around his neck.
"What circumstances?" Falkner asked quietly.
"Well, when your entire village is falling down around your head, you have to do something. And that something usually involves talking to people." Morty's tone was still detached, and for once he didn't look at the younger.
"It...killed your whole family, didn't it?" Falkner murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah."
"How old are you anyway?"
"Eighteen."
Falkner's eyes widened. "You're only one year older than me?"
Morty cocked his head to the side. "Yeah. You didn't know that?"
"You just seemed older, I suppose," Falkner said. "Or maybe I'm just immature."
"Probably both," Morty said to Falkner's offended look. "Hey, I don't sugar coat the truth."
"Apparently."
Morty took Falkner by surprise then, lunging across the bed to tackle the younger in a hug. "It's nothing that's your fault. I just grew up too fast really."
"Morty...my shoulder!" Falkner gasped out.
"Oh right!" Morty scrambled back. "Sorry. You'll find a get a bit affectionate sometimes."
"Great." The sarcasm laced in Falkner's voice was thick, but Morty just smiled, a drastic change from his earlier behavior.
"Back to work now." Morty opened up his laptop and patted the space beside him on the bed. "We need to start making a plan."
Falkner settled in, reading over the notes Morty had typed out. Geodude and Onix were Pokémon he was used to, but the last one was completely unfamiliar. "What's that?"
"A Cranidos. Nasty little thing that you'll have to take down as fast as you can. He's pure Rock type," Morty said. "There aren't a lot of pure Flying types in Sinnoh either by the way. You'll have to be okay with branching out a bit."
"Does a Flying Grass type exist," Falkner asked dryly as he continued to analyze the older's notes.
"Oh my, did you just make a joke?"
"Please don't hug me again." Falkner's voice was flat and he didn't even spare Morty a side glance.
Morty obeyed, instead ruffling his dark blue locks until they hung in his eyes. "You will just have to get used to my loving tendencies."
"Yeah, doubtful. Any Flying Water types or-"
"Yes! There is! I don't know where to catch one in Sinnoh though," Morty said. "We'd have to stop in Hoenn on our way up."
"I can't afford another ticket," Falkner said. "So I can't stop at Hoenn."
"The ship stops in Petalburg for a day. We can find one then, and be on the boat within the hour," Morty said with a shrug. "It's a Wingull, by the way. It'll be a perfect advantage. Good thinking."
"I hope I can train it time though."
"We can train together," Morty said with a nod.
Falkner looked at him for a moment, an odd look in his eyes. "You're way too strong. That's not training; just me losing."
"Not all my Pokémon are that powerful. They have varying strengths," he said. "Being your mentor means we have to train together."
Falkner nodded. "Okay. So what do we do now?"
Morty's lips broke into a wide grin. "Now, we pick someone to battle. This is a trainer ship, there will definitely be someone who wants to battle. I promise."
"Great."
"Stop ruining my fun! No sarcasm is allowed!"
-.-
Falkner stroked the ruffling feathers of his Pidgey, staring out at the sea. After seven battles, Morty had called a break, and Falkner was grateful. His Pidgey and Pidgeotto were not used to such rigorous battling, and from the way she was leaning against him, he could tell she was about to fall asleep.
"There you are," Morty said, stepping up beside him by the railing. "She tired?" He reached out to touch Pidgey's forehead, backing away when she tried to peck him.
"She doesn't like strangers," Falkner said. "And she's rather protective."
"Have you nicknamed her yet?"
"Not yet. Walker said I should wait for something important to happen, something that means a lot to me," Falkner said. "So, when are we going to start training again?"
"Give it a few hours. Don't want her to pass out," Morty said. "This your first time seeing the ocean?"
Falkner nodded. "I've never left Violet City before. It's amazing."
Morty didn't respond. Puzzled, Falkner looked up at him, wondering what had caused him to go silent. The older's scarf was flickering around in the wind, and the lilac colored eyes had once more gained their distant look. He followed the man's gaze but only saw an open sea and open sky. It was weird, how the older would just slip into moments of silence and drift off.
"Want to do something crazy?" Morty asked, still not looking at him.
"Um, depends on what it is I guess," Falkner said honestly.
"Do you trust me?"
"Not sure on that one."
Morty pulled out a Pokéball and released a strange Pokémon Falkner had never seen before. It had a wide purple balloon like shape with four large, yellow drifting arms jutting out from its sides. Near the top of its wide shape were two red eyes, and on the very top a tuft of white something grew.
"What is that?"
"This is a Drifblim. He's from the Sinnoh region, and is a Ghost-Flying type. I'm going to go on a little journey, and you're coming with me," Morty said.
"You're going to fly on that thing?" Falkner asked, tone disbelieving.
"Indeed. We're close enough to Hoenn that we should start seeing some Wingulls. We can catch one now if you want," Morty said, grinning once more.
"I...you want me to battle while flying on that thing?" Falkner asked, panic settling in to his stomach.
"He is not a thing. He's a Drifblim and he's very reliable," Morty said, a cute pout on his lips.
Cute? Did he just think cute? "No! No way!"
"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights. You're a Flying Trainer."
Falkner just looked down at his Pidgey, refusing to meet his gaze. After a moment, Morty coughed.
"You didn't uh, deny it."
"No, I didn't."
For another moment, the only sound was the waves, the wind, and the sound of the engine chugging away beneath them.
"You're really afraid of heights, aren't you?" Morty asked, stepping towards him. He tugged at Falkner's arm, making him turn to face him even though he kept his head down. Pidgey cooed and hopped off the railing, flapping over to inspect her new Pokémon friend, completely ignorant of the tension in the air. Morty's hands moved to Falkner's arms, almost cradling him.
"Hey, c'mon now. Why are you afraid of heights?"
"I fell," Falkner mumbled. "Off Walker's Pidgeot. It's why he hates me."
Morty pulled him closer to rest his chin on the younger's head, arms slipping around the younger's waist. "How old were you?"
"9. After that, I lost interest in being a trainer," Falkner mumbled, squirming in the odd embrace.
"And now?"
"I don't have a choice, do I? Someone's got to be the Leader." Falkner pulled back. "The only reason I was able to fly to Ecruteak was because I was too scared about Walker to notice the heights." The younger looked down. "Promise you won't let me fall."
"Promise." Morty released his hold on the younger, back up towards Drifblim. He vaulted with surprising grace onto the top of the balloon like Pokémon, grinning down at Falkner.
Falkner bit his lip as the Drifblim rocked forward so that Morty could grab his hand and help him scramble up onto the large Pokémon. Undeterred, Pidgey followed, settling in Falkner's lap as Drifblim steadied himself once more, bumping against his hand until he recalled the small Pokeémon. Without warning, the Drifblim launched itself into the air, causing Falkner to cling to Morty's arm. It didn't exactly help that the Drifblim didn't feel at all solid. In fact, he felt like he was going to fall straight though. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see the rolling ocean beneath him, knowing it would spell out a hundred ways it could kill him.
"Er, if you keep your eyes closed, you won't be able to catch anything," Morty said.
"But I'm going to fall and die," Falkner said, feeling a bit like a petulant child, but far too past the point of caring.
"I won't let you fall," Morty said.
Falkner clenched his fists tight, nails biting into his skin as Morty pulled his arm away. The arm slipped around his waist moved to tug him closer.
"Hurry up and open your eyes. We're coming up on a flock of Wingulls," Morty said, shaking the younger a bit.
Falkner let his left eye peek open, trying not to look down. Ahead of theme were six or seven Wingulls, heading directly towards them. "What do I do?"
Morty stared down at his panicked expression, not quite sure how to deal with the younger's terror.
"Call your Pidgey out. Then weaken the Wingull and capture it," he said calmly.
Eyes still barely open squeezed shut as Falkner grabbed the Pokéball with a trembling hand. With an odd, strangled noise, he launched it into the air, risking a quick look as his Pidgey emerged, flapping her wings eagerly as she saw the challenge. He realized then, that Morty had called out his Haunter, and he was drifting towards the flock. In seconds, he had herded off all but one of the Wingulls. They barely protested, willing to turn their course from one glance at the spooky apparition.
"Pidgey, tackle."
Though his voice trembled, she got the message, nailing the frail Wingull. It tumbled through the air, obviously dazed from the harsh blow.
"Okay, he's weaker than your Pidgey, so go ahead and catch him," Morty said.
Falkner tried to reach into his pocket to grab a Pokéball, but he was still shaking too hard to get a good grip on it. He started when Morty grabbed his hand, steadying it so he could throw it better. In one fluid motion, Morty drew his arm back and released the red orb. Falkner watched as it absorbed the small form of the Wingull in a ray of red light, starting as it zipped back into his and Morty's hand. It shook once, the red light in the middle flashing as it did so. A moment later, the light stopped and it grew still in his hand. Tentatively, he lowed his arm, staring at it as though it would disappear.
"You can stop looking," Morty said. "It's not going to explode on you or anything."
"How do you know?" Falkner accused, even as he stuffed it away.
His Pidgey lighted on his shoulder and began to preen his hair, cooing deep in her throat. Morty untangled their hands, waving at his Haunter until he was drifting along beside them. Falkner could already see the large cruise ship.
"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Morty asked, elbowing Falkner lightly.
The bird trainer flailed as he was thrown off balance, and his Pidgey chirped indignantly as she was forced off his shoulder. Morty's quick grip on his arm stopped him from tumbling off, but that moment of sheer terror was enough for his shaking to set in once more.
"Er, sorry about that," Morty said, sliding an arm over the smaller's shoulder. "Won't happen again."
"It's a-alright," Falkner said, wishing he could be the brave one. No such luck.
Falkner didn't bother saying anything else, contenting himself to squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to look down. However, that only made the landing on the boat's deck feel all the more rough, and a rather unmanly squeak made its way past his lips. Morty's laugh made him open his eyes once more, just in time to see the Ghost Trainer leap off. He turned to look at Falkner expectantly, right eyebrow crooked up.
"I'll catch you if you jump," Morty said.
"No! I can do it!" Falkner was sure his voice would sound more confident if it wasn't shaking so bad.
He shifted down, and then jumped, unable to properly brace himself. The end result was him tumbling onto the hard deck in a graceful flailing of limbs, much to Morty's amusement. He tried to stifle his laughter as he helped the bird trainer up, but from Falkner's expression, it was a little too late.
"So what now?" Falkner asked, deciding that discussing his mishap would not make him feel any better.
"We rest up," Morty said. "Petalburg has some good trainers so we can do more training when we land tomorrow. You've done a lot today."
He recalled the Drifblim, but let the Haunter remain, a small smile on his lips as the ghost twirled around him. The Pidgey cooed as she flapped after him, antagonizing him until the ghost began to chase her around the deck.
"Can we leave them while we go eat?" Falkner asked. "They look like they're having fun."
"I suppose," Morty said, moving past him. "We'll be back soon anyways."
Falkner glanced back one more time to watch his Pidgey tease Haunter, and then raced after Morty.
-.-
"Okay, just open it. There's no reason to be afraid," Morty said.
Falkner was seriously regretting eating anything that morning for breakfast. His nerves had sent his stomach rolling in a flutter of Butterfree, brought on by how he was sure the Wingull would hate him and try to attack. He sat on the floor with Morty directly across from him. Morty's presence usually soothed him, but now, he didn't think it was possible.
"Just do it."
Falkner took a deep breath, then pressed the button on the ball as he let it roll out of his hand. He had healed the Wingull the night before, so when he emerged it was in a flurry of energy and feathers. The small bird Pokémon tilted his head to the side. It gave a soft coo and hopped towards him, oblivious to the way Falkner cowered away.
He rested his beak on Falkner's knee, and the trainer could feel the bird's silent coo deep in his throat. Part of his mind screamed that it was a predatory noise, but the rational part, small as it was, ordered him to stop being stupid. Reaching a hand out, he brushed the soft white feathers on his head. His touch grew more firm, and soon he was petting the small Pokémon with a smile, little words slipping out quietly as he complimented him.
"Not so bad, is it?" Morty asked.
Falkner shook his head. "I just figured they could sense my incompetence."
Morty snorted. "They can. It's just you aren't incompetent. Just shy, and maybe a little afraid." The leader stood up and dusted himself off. "Alright. Time to start training."
Falkner helped Wingull up onto his shoulder, stifling his complaints. They would be docking in a few hours, and a practice run before they plunged into unfamiliar territory would be helpful.