Perhaps five different people tried to drag a promise that he would be at Youth Group out of Liam during the course of that day. First it was Sylvia and Vasilio in Lit, then Arthur in the hallway between third and fourth period, then Taylor as during lunch, then Rain during history class. It wasn't that Liam didn't appreciate the attention; he just didn't think sitting in a room with fifty other teenagers sounded like a fun way to spend a Friday evening. Liam finally agreed to meet Vasilio after Youth Group was over and go with him to the local shaokao (which Vasilio explained meant "meat on a stick") spot, but even that felt like a serious concession to social pressure rather than a chance to have a little fun.
Vasilio drew a small map for Liam on the bus after school, showing him the relative locations of White Gardens, New Court, the Woven Bowl, and the apartment used for the local Youth Group. Liam ate dinner at home with his parents, but spent the next few hours wandering restlessly around the house. The consciousness of losing some of the Friday night ended up costing him the entire evening. Eventually, Liam's mother sent him on his way early because his twitchiness and pacing was making the family Furfrou anxious.
Retracing the bus route to New Court and making frequent reference to Vasilio's map, Liam found himself outside what had to be the Youth Group building, based on the loud music he could hear inside. He sat down on a nearby bench and took out his Pokedex to read the entry on Weedle. He had been sitting there for about ten minutes when he heard the sounds of two voices, both raised, coming from the stairs that led up to the Youth Group. He recognized both of them.
"This has nothing to do with you!" shouted Mori, who was the first to come into view, "Can't I have my own life without you trying to manage me?"
"I'm not trying to manage you, I'm trying to look out for you," said Vasilio, in a state of agitation Liam hadn't imagined possible in his friend before.
"Oh, really?" asked Mori, sarcastically.
"Yes, really," said Vasilio, "If you dad finds out about-"
"You mean when you tell him?" she countered.
"I won't have to!" said Vasilio, sighing heavily, "I wish you would think about what other people-"
"I don't care about other people or what they think!" shouted Mori, "And don't use them as an excuse because you're jealous."
"That's not what I meant and you know it," said Vasilio, flatly, "I'm not talking about this anymore."
"Good," said Mori, looking daggers at Vasilio, "because I'm going home."
She turned and saw that Liam was watching for the first time. For a split second, Liam thought she looked embarrassed, but her face quickly set and she rushed past him without a word. As she stomped away around the corner in the direction of New Court, Jonah came down there stairs with a look of mixed beliderment and frustration on his face.
"Dude, what was that about?" he asked Vasilio. Liam thought he sounded angry.
"It's…" began Vasilio, holding his head in exasperation, "It's about her dad. It's not about you. I'm sorry this blew up."
"I didn't start it," said Jonah.
"I know, I know," said Vasilio, "It's not your fault, you didn't know. I wasn't trying to ruin anything. Look, if you like her…"
"What do you mean by that?" said Jonah, his teeth slightly clenched.
"Sorry," said Vasilio, looking strangely defeated, "I should know you better than that. It's just that Mori…"
He trailed off. They both stood in silence for a moment.
"Nah, it's okay," said Jonah, offering Vasilio his fist, "I get it. You're looking out for her."
Liam got up and walked over to them with some trepidation as Vasilio returned the fist bump.
"Hey Liam," said Jonah, smiling awkwardly, "Welcome to Youth Group drama."
Vasilio nodded at Liam and sighed.
"My Pokeballs are still upstairs," said Vasilio, apologetically.
"You're good," said Jonah, "We'll wait. Arthur and the others still aren't down yet anyways."
Vasilio rushed back up the stairs to the Youth Group. While he was gone, Jonah took out his phone and checked for text messages.
"Nothing," he said, more to himself than to Liam.
Arthur, Taylor, Sylvia, and Liz joined them before Vasilio returned; Arthur and Taylor both had guitars over their shoulders.
"I noticed you weren't at Youth Group," said Arthur to Liam.
"Sorry I missed the excitement," said Liam, sarcastically. Taylor laughed.
"First Friday of the year's gotta have something," he said, pushing a long black strand of hair out of his face. "Still doesn't beat when Arthur took his Onix out of his Pokeball inside two years ago."
"It was an accident," said Arthur, adamantly. Jonah snorted.
"Not your best moment, bro," said Sylvia, "We going?"
"We gotta wait for Vasilio," said Jonah.
"Cool," said Sylvia, "You coming with us for shaokao. Liam?"
Liam nodded.
"Awesome," said Sylvia, seeming genuinely pleased. At that moment, Vasilio returned, now wearing a black knitted cap over his white hair.
"You keep your Pokemon in you beanie?" asked Liam, grinning.
"Oh, shut up," said Vasilio,
"It's Mori's," he muttered as their group set out, "I'm keeping it on my head so I don't forget it."
"Are you gonna see her again soon?" asked Liam.
"Yeah," said Vasilio, slackening his pace to so they fell slightly behind the rest of the group, "I'll go by her house tomorrow morning to check on her."
"Will she want to see you?" asked Liam.
"Maybe not," said Vasilio, with a small smile, "But she will want her hat back."
They crossed the street to New Court and were passing the foreign PokeMart when Liam decided to push the topic further.
"What was that about with Mori and Jonah?"
Vasilio sighed heavily.
"You don't have to tell me," said Liam, quickly.
"I mean," began Vasilio, "You picked up most of it while you were sitting there, right? Mori and Jonah slipped out in the middle of Youth Group. I found them in the hall and…"
He sighed again.
"...asked her what she was doing. She, well, we starting shouting, and…"
He trailed off.
"I think I was there for the rest of it," said Liam.
"You have to understand," said Vasilio, as they passed out the back gate of New Court into a community garden of some sort, "Mori's family stuff is complicated. I feel like the best thing I can do as a friend is keep things from exploding between her and her dad. As much as she doesn't like it when I tell her not to do something, she likes being grounded even less."
Liam gave a small chuckle. Vasilio's face remained serious.
"It's sometimes worse than that," said Vasilio, "He gave away her Purrloin as a punishment when she was in fourth grade. I mean, I know Mori can be difficult, but…"
"That's wrong," said Liam, flatly.
"Yeah," said Vasilio, "It's just been a waiting game for her ever since middle school. She ran away for two weeks last year, just to have a chance to be away from home for a little while. They found her living in a hotel in Eastkey, and that was just because Taylor finally cracked and told her dad."
Liam looked ahead at Taylor, who was walking next to Sylvia and Jonah.
"They used to be best friends, until he helped her run away," explained Vasilio, "Now she's not allowed to talk to him. I'm actually one of the only guys Mori is allowed to be friends with."
"Wow," said Liam.
"Look," said Vasilio, "I'm not telling you any of this because I want to you to be afraid of Mori or think she's crazy or anything like that. I'm sure she doesn't care if you know. I just want you to know that she's had it…. hard. Harder than most of us. I mean, I don't want to act like moving around and leaving everything behind isn't a huge deal, but imagine if you had to go home to your problems every night, no matter where you lived. That's why we all have to look out for each other."
Liam was silent for a moment, then he smiled.
"We're being textbook TCKs right now," he laughed, "Sharing deep secrets after knowing each other for five days."
"Well, you never know how long anybody's gonna stay," said Vasilio, "We don't have the luxury of making acquaintances. Hey, we're here."
Vasilio pointed ahead of them to a shabby side street with many low wooden tables set on the sidewalk. The street was lit only by one flickering street lamp and the glow coming from a stall manned by a Magmar wearing an apron and skullcap. A small swarm of Zubat chittered in the darkness overhead. Arthur and the other were already grabbing skewers and passing them to the Magmar, who seasoned them before setting them on a grill heated by coals (and, of course, its own fiery breath).
Vasilio and Arthur pointed out all the best skewered snacks, and Liam ended up ordering five meat skewers, five with mushrooms, three with potatoes, and even some leeks. Liam passed them off to the Magmar, and paid a man with gray hair sitting next to the stall. Most of the other customers at the low tables were locals, some eating with their Pokemon. Vasilio, as usual, took out his Amaura and stroked its head as it sat next to him.
While Liam was waiting for the Magmar to finish cooking his food, he noticed a group of locals in orange jackets walking up the street. Taylor noticed them too, because he tapped Liz on the shoulder and pointed to them.
"Some Team Balance dorks coming up this way," he said, "Wanna get 'em?"
Liz nodded, and together they left their table and stepped out into the middle of the street to confront the group in orange jackets.
"Hey, Balance," said Taylor, tossing his hair, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
The Team Balance crew laughed.
"Foreigner," said a man with a glistening bald head, "Leave the real fights to the real Team Truth."
"I think we're ready to give you a real fight right now," said Taylor, taking a Pokeball from his belt. "What do ya say? Double battle? Two Pokemon each?"
"Let's fight them," said another from the Team Balance group, a woman with her hair in a tight bun, "Teach these foreign Rattatas some respect."
"Taylor and Liz are Team Truth?" Liam asked Vasilio.
"Yeah," said Vasilio, "And actually, Arthur is Team Balance, so he really ought to-"
"Shhh," said Arthur, two skewers in hand, "I'm eating. I don't battle on an empty stomach."
The bald man and the woman were now standing opposite to Taylor and Liz, turning the sidestreet into an improvised battlefield. Each took their first Pokemon from their belts.
"I choose you," shouted Taylor, "Exploud!"
"Heracross, go!" shouted Liz.
The bald man smirked.
"Hitmonlee," he said, "Go!"
At the same time, the woman tossed out her first Pokemon.
"Fearow," she said, "Take them out."
Liam thought he had seen intense Pokemon battles before. While he knew he had been a lazy Pokemon trainer back in Johto, he had at least watched plenty of gym battles in Olivine and Ecruteak. But this was something different. Without the confines of an official field or referee, the Pokemon sprung into action with their trainers shouting orders. Liz immediately rolled up her left sleeve to reveal a glittering Mega Bracelet, and her Heracross transformed into its tank-like mega form. Taylor's Exploud blasted the enemy Fearow with a Hyper Voice shortly before taking a High Jump Kick from Hitmonlee to the face.
The rest of the battle was a blur of dust, flashes, shouts, and cries.
After a few minutes of utter chaos, Liz recalled her last fainted Pokemon from the pavement and she and Taylor sullenly handed over a few hundred Pokedollars to the smirking Team Balance trainers. Liam, Vasilio, Arthur, Jonah, and Sylvia tried to keep straight faces at their defeated friends returned to the table, but they soon broke down laughing.
"Thanks, guys," sad Taylor, pushing his sweaty hair out of his face.
"You should thank us twice because we didn't eat your cold food," said Arthur. Liz whacked the back of his head.
"Hey, it's not our fault that you two suck," said Jonah. Sylvia snorted into her tea.