Chapter Eight: What Opponents Do
I stayed two more nights in Canalave. I trained in a nearby field all day, and went back to that café for dinner on both nights. I was hoping to run into Annie during one of the dinners, but I never saw her around. My guess was she already left for Veilstone.
I zipped up my bag and put it on my back. Giratina had materialized a while ago, but didn't feel like talking apparently. I turned off the light before walking out of my Center room. I left quickly; trying to catch the boat back to Jubilife. I made it to the docks in plenty of time, and found a spot on a bench somewhere. The water was a deep green color, and when the foam splashed up on the boat it turned into a lighter green. As we left the docks I noticed two older men sitting on the edge with fishing rods in-hand. I turned to the man next to me, who was aimlessly flipping through a magazine, and asked, "isn't fishing illegal, now?"
He looked up and saw the men fishing. "No," he answered, "fishing isn't illegal, only killing innocent Pokémon is. Fishing in this case is another form of catching Pokémon, they can just pull up a Water Type harmlessly and catch it. Otherwise, they would be pulling up a Water Type and killing it."
I nodded. That made sense. "But what if the Pokémon came out of the water and started attacking you? You could kill it in self-defense then, right?"
"That wouldn't happen. You would be armed with a Pokémon and it would become a battle. No killing necessary. If you did kill it, that would be breaking the law, and you would have a problem on your hands."
"I guess so." I said. The man stood up and left, obviously not in the mood to do anymore talking. I sat back and waited.
The ride was quick…As to be expected. Then I started my walk. Jubilife is the second largest city in Sinnoh, Sunyshore being the first, but the path from the docks to the route home was a quick walk. After that you had a dirt road through a forest until you reach the dirt roads of Hearthrome.
You can always tell which dirt roads are Hearthrome's. They're always perfectly cleaned and swept off. The Contest Hall workers hated the thought of Hearthrome, or the Hall, having a bad reputation. I understood that. Solaceon was nothing but dirty farmlands, I get that they didn't want that image for their contests.
I avoided the main streets, knowing that if I took one I'd have to walk through the marketplace…Where people I knew could be. Avoiding people was easier than I thought, almost disappointingly so. There was the part of me hoping Nella or Haystack would see me and tell me how much I'm missed and how loved I am, but that didn't happen. Once I got to Route 209 I stopped. I looked down at my shoes.
Homesickness pinched at my sides. I didn't realize how much I missed home.
"Home?" Giratina's dark shadow materialized in front of me. "That's not your home anymore. Do you really think you're welcomed back to Saydan Manor? Your father would throw you out the second you walked in. He doesn't miss you, much less love you. You already know that friend of yours doesn't care…So is that really your home?"
I shook my head. "No, it's not. But it's the closest thing I have to a home."
"You need to find a new home."
"Well that's a grand idea, except I can't find a 'home' right now." I scoffed. "In case you forgot, that was gym number two. If I'm going for the League, I have a long way to go. It could be a year! Until then," I pointed towards Hearthome, "that's my home." I started walking towards it.
"Don't do this. You saw the future yourself, Samuel Lea."
I stopped. "Don't call me that." I smashed my teeth together.
"If you want my help, turn around and keep walking. Drop the idea of your fake home. If you go back into that town, even if you take another step, I'll leave and find someone else. Remember what your life looked like without me?" I did remember. It wasn't pleasant.
I sighed and turned back around. The shadow was still there. I walked past it and headed for the forest nearby to set up camp; without muttering a word.
The next day I made it to Veilstone. I got into my Center room and relaxed for the rest of the evening. In the morning I woke up early, anxious to get some more training in. In Solaceon I talked to the daycare owners and they happily gave me some tips. I wanted to put them into action.
Before that, I found the Mart and picked up breakfast. Then it was training for the rest of the day. Gyarados was my strongest Pokémon with Staravia close behind. Gyarados always had his head in the game. I felt like he led my team. Staravia was rapidly getting stronger, but she had her moments of weakness. Luxio was my weakest, he was just average. I didn't think much of him. Maybe that was the problem, but I wasn't worried. My team worked well so far.
Later in the day I wandered into the nearby forest and had a run-in with a feisty Zubat. I caught him and put him in action, he was pretty good. Your average Zubat, except even more fidgety. If that was possible. I found that a good trait for him. It made him tougher. It seemed that he used the fright he had to his advantage. He was so scared of his surroundings that it made him a better Pokémon.
Weird, how such a bad emotion could help you. Well, maybe not help, but make you...Better.
Soon after that I relaxed in my room until I fell asleep. I was awoken abruptly really early by Giratina. It was so dark I couldn't even see his manifested shadow in my room.
"What do you want, fiend?" I asked, my voice muffed by my pillow.
"Are you going to challenge the gym today, Samuel Lea?"
"Lea," I corrected, "and no, I'm not. Can I sleep now?"
"Why not?!" I jumped and lifted my head. Giratina had never yelled at me before. Its voice, if you could call it that, got so rough and husky. It bounced around my head, giving me a headache. It was arguably the scariest moment of my life.
"Because I'm not ready!" I whisper-yelled back. "I was going to train today, and then maybe I'll be ready tomorrow."
"Just hurry it along." I felt it leave me, and my head fell back on the pillow. I closed my eyes, hoping to sleep, but I couldn't. I lay there for a while, and then I got up, took a shower, at breakfast and headed to the training field.
At around lunchtime I walked around the main streets of the city; looking for a place to find grub. There were some questionable shopping locations, otherwise my quest for non-Mart food was unsuccessful.
I came across a pretty large building, all lit up with a big fluorescent sign flashing "The Game Corner." I considering going in, but thought against it when my stomach growled at me. I kept walking. Luckily two buildings down was a restaurant. I went in and sat down. The place was somewhat shady. Hardly any windows, dark colors covered the walls, you could smell hints of smoke in the air, the tables still had remains of the last meal on them, and the waitress was a questionable character. Her greasy red Ponyta-tail and stained work clothes fit right in with the rest of the place.
"What can I get for you, sir?" She asked.
"Some kind of soup, any kind, and a glass of water." She nodded and jotted it down before moving on to the table ahead of me. I could see the back of the girls head. Platinum blonde hair poked out from under the hat she wore. That was undoubtedly Annie. I stood up and walked over to her table. I was very nervous. So much so that my hands began to sweat…Badly.
I stopped just short of her peripherals to take a deep breath, then I continued and sat across from her. "Murder any sandwiches lately?" I asked, my voice shook a bit.
"Maybe I have." She smirked at me. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting some somewhat eatable food…Same as you."
Annie smiled and looked down at her book.
"Uh, what are you reading?" I asked.
She lifted up the book. It looked like some sort of text book, with writing in another language written on the front. "This is a book on learning Unknown Writing, the ancient Pokémon language. I thought that if I wanted to be the best trainer of all time, I'd need to learn it."
"Makes sense. Maybe I should borrow it from you sometime." Well that sounded lame. I thought. I cleared my throat. "Or…Something."
She slightly laughed. "It seems like a bad idea to give my book to my opponent, don't you think?"
"I'm your opponent? And here I thought we were friends." I shook my head. "You think you know a person."
"Well, I did just beat the gym here…I think I'm in the lead." She made a victorious face.
"You haven't won anything yet, Annie." I reminded her. "I'm still in the running, remember?"
"Not for long, Lea." She winked. "When are you planning to challenge the gym?"
"Tomorrow, I think." I answered. "When are you leaving?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't been here long. I haven't had time to enjoy the city." She looked out the window and then back at me. "You know?" I nodded. "I've been traveling nonstop since Eterna, and I think I want to…Settle for a little while. Just a little while."
"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." I said. That was only kind of a lie, not a full-fledged lie.
"Hm, maybe we should train together then." The waitress brought my soup and water…Which it was hard to tell a difference between the two.
"We should train together. That's what opponents do, right?" I asked.
She laughed. "Not really, but I'll make an exception." She stood from the table with her book in-hand. "Meet me at the training field in an hour, or else." She squinted at me then laughed.
"I'll see you then." I smiled. She grinned before leaving the restaurant. I inhaled my soup, hardly tasting it, downed my water, left a few dollars and ran back to the Center. I took another shower—for good measure—and walked out to the field. I wasn't sure if an hour had passed, but I was a little anxious.
Annie stood out on the field with a Grotle in front of her. "Hey." I called as I approached her.
She waved. "Hello! Ready to train?"
I nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."
The session was brief, probably twenty minutes long. Her Grotle against my Staravia for a quick battle, then we discussed some techniques and other nonchalant trainer things. Nothing exciting. She wished me good luck before running off. The encounter was more than awkward, and I didn't want to think about it for the rest of the day. But it was all I could think about, especially when I was sulking in my room.
"I just don't know what to do!" I said to no one. I was hoping if I started talking, Giratina would show up. I needed to talk to someone. Even if that someone was a Pokémon who manifested into shadows and liked mirrors a bit too much.
I slapped my forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I thought about right after the battle, when we walked to the middle of the field to shake hands like in any battle. My hands were terribly sweaty, and I know she noticed. She had to. There's no not-noticing perspired hands.
That wasn't the only horrific time of the encounter. More than I should have, I stuttered. When trying to start a new conversation it would dawn on me that I was talking to a girl, and apparently my tongue grew ten-times its average size and would disallow me to speak. That didn't make any sense, considering I've never had a problem talking to Tails. I guess I looked differently at Annie. Knowing the future, knowing the woman she will be, just made it difficult at times.
Apart from that, she didn't seem nervous at all. She seemed awkward, but never nervous. Until the end, when she quickly said "Good luck with everything!" and ran off the field before I could reply. That made me feel super.
"Stupid!" I repeated. Supernatural chills ran throughout my body. I knew Giratina was around. "What am I supposed to do?!" I asked, hoping for an answer.
"Why does it bother you so?" It questioned. "You know your future…You know what it holds…It holds a great tale, one of which involves love…Why are you fretting?"
"Because it felt so awkward."
"You humans feel too much. So what if it felt awkward? Soon enough, she will be devastatingly in love with you. Go challenge the gym tomorrow, she will be there. Talk to her, and everything will be okay."
I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I sighed, "how do you know?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"I don't know, would you?" Suspicion lingered in my tone. I didn't really trust Giratina, but I had no other option. What else was I supposed to do?
"Never, I promise."
