(A/N) It's Thursday, so that means that its time for a new update in Chasing Shadows! Returning to Joseph Reiter and the delightful InDeepDarkWood, this chapter is jam-packed full of action! And remember guys; please take the time to review if you're enjoying our fic. It really gives us a boost, and it's always great to hear that someone out there is reading and enjoying your work.
As always, enjoy!
Chapter Nine – Name and Blame
Joseph Reiter
Written by InDeepDarkWood
"Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."
– Aristotle
Veldt was a pretty town.
Joseph thought that there were two factions of people living in the town; those who were farmers, and those who were not. Most of the time, this idea didn't matter, but certain customs and ways of life occasionally drove the two factions apart. Joseph was part of the 'farmer' faction, an inclusion he was carefully neutral about at home, but when push came to shove, would defend their rights and ideals. He had never calculated the distance between his house and the main street of Veldt, because he usually had Nyta with him to speed up the process, and the rapidash did enjoy changing velocity on each outing.
Nyta, however, was currently in his pokéball, after a brief but intense stand-off between him and his trainer. As an unsaid rule, Joseph rarely returned the rapidash, knowing how much he liked to enter the town with his fiery mane billowing brightly, assuming that all residents in sight would turn and bow, or gasp in admiration at the magnificence of his flames. It was probably a bad thing, encouraging such behaviour, but it always provided an opportunity to meet someone's eyes and share a mutual headshake at Nyta's expense. It brought people closer together, so really, Joseph had to thank the rapidash for creating such a 'community' bond.
He had favoured his leg after a short period leaving the house, and Joseph had hopped off him to examine the injury The Houndour had inflicted. He thought Nyta was making a big deal over nothing, but since the rapidash would be his main mode of transportation for the entire time away from home, he thought it best to be safe than sorry. Of course, once Nyta had figured he had to go into the 'ball…Joseph sighed to himself as he walked, his hand alternating between itching and aching, despite the burn salve he had slathered onto it once the pokémon had been safely enclosed. He spared a glance down at where the pokéballs were hooked onto his waist, glaring at Nyta's.
"We haven't even started," he said aloud, kicking at the dirt on the ground, "and you've already caused me physical injury." It was not as though the rapidash could respond to him, but Joseph still felt a bit better loudly informing the sky of his displeasure. The sun beat down on his neck, and he could feel it soaking up the heat, shaking his arms out to air under them, and shooting a sour look up to the heat source. The look instantly changed to a grimace and a squint, and he brought his eyes back down onto the road. "Well, that was stupid," he grumbled to himself, blinking away the watery discharge that had begun immediately. He shifted the bag on his back slightly, kicking more dirt on the road, keeping his eyes away from the sun as he walked.
"Joseph's 'Things-to-do'," he said, the words matching his stride in rhythm. "Get to Veldt. Go to Pokécenter. Say goodbye to Daria." He paused, and gave a small sniff. "Buy deodorant." His burned hand twitched as he struggled to remember other items on his list. "Name the houndour something better than 'The Houndour', and the miltank," he finished, satisfied by the words for the moment at least. Daria would probably have a few additions to make to it, if he knew her at all.
Veldt, as he thought it with an inexperienced eye, was a pretty town. It was a mismatch of wooden, stone and concrete structures, and in that order aged oldest to newest. Each alleyway linked onto the main street that cut through the circular town, and linked together to an outer ring road that was home to the houses, most the usual detached two storey, with the occasional monstrosity thrown in by blow-in residents. Joseph hadn't been on the outer ring for a couple of years now, since it had never held much appeal once he'd turned sixteen, but he did enjoy just walking the main street and having a poke down an alleyway into some quirky shop. Quirky, because they tended to stock some unusual items, and also because they tended to be run by people who looked as though they should have died over a decade ago, but were still somehow able-bodied enough to stock shelves, and beat shoplifters with sticks before setting their pokémon on the latter.
Joseph winced as he remembered the snarling mightyena that had pinned him down a few years ago; he'd gotten faster after that encounter.
Most of the big shops and important buildings loomed up on either side of the main street. The Pokécenter rose up about halfway down the road, its stonework dotted with creeping ivy and blooming flowers that had found a roothold in the crevices between the stone. It was an old building, fashioned before Lohtan's borders had closed and had failed to be renovated at an appropriate time. Joseph thought that they would probably leave the building as a historical site once it became unsafe, and would erect a new Pokécenter, with some kind person maintaining the stone façade. There was even a little bell that tinkled every time the door opened, and the receptionist looked up as the young man walked through the door. A pidgeotto stood on the counter, flapping its wings in a light flurry to send cool air towards the brunette.
"Afternoon," he said, nodding at the pidgeotto at the same time. The bird pokémon ignored him, as usual.
"Hiya, Joe, what's up?" the woman flashed him a smile, leaning against the counter as though he were the one distraction of the day; which, Joseph reflected, he probably was. "Your dad sent ya with one of his miltank?"
"Actually, Isabella," he answered with a head shake, fiddling with his belt until the three occupied pokéballs came loose, "I came for myself this time." He laid the 'balls in front of her. "Was hoping Ger would fix them up for me before I headed off." The brunette gave a huge grin at the words, reaching over the counter and patting the teen on the head, before pulling up a logbook and taking a pen from her pocket. They really need to update their system, he thought, reaching up to fix his hair.
"Hey, Ger!" Isabella called, her voice carrying along the empty corridor behind the counter. "Joey's going on a journey!" The pidgeotto stopped flapping his wings at the loud yell, leaning down to peck at the woman's hand in reprimand. She let out a small yelp and flashed the bird a hard glare. "Go hunt some damn ratatta." The pokémon gave a short nod, and spread his wings, flapping into the air and out into the corridor, where Joseph assumed an open window was located. "Wait! I didn't mean…" Isabella sighed, and turned away from the corridor, wiping her brow. "It is not a day for indoor activities," she observed, and he had to nod in agreement, deciding not to say anything about the nickname. He tapped his fingers on the counter, making small talk about the hot weather, until the nurse on duty appeared.
Ger Mann was not what one would expect a nurse to be like; a greying man with a hint of stubble, the piercings that ran up one of his ears seemed ill-suited for someone of his age, but on the nurse, it worked. He had a kind smile and gentle hands, and Joseph preferred him to the other nurse that worked in the Center, Bathilda, who was young and less experienced. He walked over to the counter, and Joseph had a moment of pure awkwardness as the other bent down to kiss Isabella. She flashed the trainer a bright smile and then laughed at his expression, patting Ger on the chest.
"Time and a place, honey, time and a place," she said, still laughing.
"Definitely know a place," responded Ger, which did little to ease Joseph's awkward mind. "What can I do for you?"
"Huh?" It took Joseph a moment to realise that the question had been directed at him. "Oh, sorry. I was hoping you'd check Nyta out; he's favouring his leg a bit. The Houndour bit him. Oh, and The Houndour needs checking out too; Nyta kinda…beat him up a little. There's a miltank in the last one, but I don't think there's anything wrong with her," he finished lamely, tapping his burnt hand against his side in slight nervousness. Ger was silent for a few moments, retrieving the 'balls and pocketing them in the lab coat.
"Oki dok," he answered finally, "I'll get these all sorted and you can fill in the paperwork with Isabella." Joseph gave a small nod at the words, watching Ger's retreating frame for a couple of seconds, before turning back to the brunette. She had already rummaged around the space below the counter and pulled out some sheets and a clipboard.
"Right-o, Joey; starting with three pokémon? That'll be neat, eh?" Isabella was still smiling as she handed him a sheet. "I'll just write down their admittance information, and then I'll help you with the registry papers. You got your licence?" Joseph fished into his pocket, pulling out the plastic card, thinking that the pokégear one was a bit useless in the Center that liked to keep a paper trail. She started to write down his details, while he began to fill in the registration of his pokémon, and frowned to himself as he scanned through the information required. He filled in each box simultaneously for each of his companions and got through the species section fine, then his pen wavered at the 'personal' detail section; the first box said 'NAME' and Joseph hesitated.
"Everything okay?" Isabella asked, the logbook now closed, handing the licence back to his empty, burned hand. He took it wordlessly, storing it away, before giving a small sigh and a sheepish looking smile.
"I…Umm…I don't have a name yet for the other two," he confessed, feeling the woman's eyes bore into him with curiosity. "And I don't know their ages or anything. I think the miltank's around two, and The Houndour about six months, but I…" Joseph trailed off, and the smile was back on her face.
"Not to worry, Joey," she said, patting his pen-wielding hand gently. "See? This is an optional section – the Government only requires you to fill in the details marked with an asterisk." Joseph gave her a slow nod, feeling his body heat up with embarrassment; he'd known that. Of course he'd known that. I helped Faye fill in her starter form for Arceus' sake, he grumbled internally. Isabella, obviously sensing his discomfort, took the forms from the desk and began to stamp them. "Why don't you head off for a walk?" she suggested. "Ger won't be too long, I'm sure. About a half hour. If you see that damn pidgeotto, will you tell it to come home? I'm dying here." She fixed him a stare, as though she was noticing his clothing for the first time, and then glanced down at her own attire of a t-shirt and long shorts. "I don't know how you're lasting, but I guess it's in your blood!"
He thought that would be a good cue to exit on, and spun on his heel back into the sunlight.
He wondered where he would go with the little time he had to kill, and automatically his feet moved away from the Center and the direction his home was in. He thought that the library might be a good place to go, since he liked to browse the history sections in his free time, telling himself on those occasions that if the farm or the trainer idea didn't work out, he could always travel as a historian. That could be fun, he thought with a smile, his strides more purposeful now that he had an end point. The library could probably help him figure out what to name his pokémon, since calling a houndour 'The Houndour' would get old fairly fast, and he had never even thought of naming a miltank before. The smile quickly faded as he reached the red brick building, however, as the door was clearly shut with a carefully scribed 'CLOSED' written on a card by the librarian's fair hand. The woman was probably at afternoon tea with the rest of her group, self-named 'Book-Weedles'. Joseph wasn't sure why they called themselves that, when it seemed all they did was sit around drinking wine or having scones, but he didn't exactly fancy calling into the busy café by the police station in search of Ms. Wald's key.
"So, library's out," he said quietly, moving past the red-bricks. The temptation to peruse the quirky shops was strong within him, but he forced himself to resist, though not for the same reasons he had had as a younger boy; his thieving days were behind him, and he was as innocent as any man. He could only carry a finite amount of items, though, and the quirky things would still be around when he returned. The shop owners hadn't died in all the time he'd been alive; he doubted they would suddenly all drop once he had vacated Veldt.
The main street of Veldt wasn't especially long, and it took less than ten minutes for him to reach its edge. Two structures rose up on the other side of the ring road, one smaller than the other. 'Veldt Gym' read the sign above the smaller. Joseph had passed the gym so often he knew what the small font said beneath it, but he still crossed the road after allowing a quad to pass. The driver lifted their hand to wave at the man, who did the same despite the lack of recognisable features on the former due to a helmet. There weren't many cars around Veldt; 'too expensive to run, and too expensive to buy' were the usual words of choice by grumbling residents. Quads though, could be cheap, especially when bought from the local rapeseed grower, since he gave his buyers discount rates on oil fuel.
"Gym Leader, Daria Lock," Joseph read aloud. "Walk-in challenges accepted, eleven till six." Except for right now, he thought with a smile, noticing the 'Closed for lunch!' underneath. "Under-sixteen next event, last Saturday of the month." Joseph remembered taking part in such events, when the gym had been run by Daria's predecessor; he was glad that she was still continuing the tradition. The events were held in the structure beside the gym, as wide as it was long, reminiscent of the sport and battle stadiums found in the cities, though it was shroud in quiet currently, little noise but some movement seen on the outside.
The rodeo circuit was in its off-season at this stage, and didn't start up for a couple of months, which meant that Joseph wouldn't be around to help with its preparations. The big stadium had a night guard who walked around the empty grounds, and kicked out any groups of teens who thought it would be great to sneak in. A herdier to find them, and a tyranitar to scare the crap outta them, he thought, thinking of the massive pokémon that was never seen in the wild in the west. They still came during the day though, and dared each other at night to face down the grizzly Mr. Wolff. He frowned at the movement, squinting to see the features of the person, and failing to do so. Just because he had done it, didn't mean that younger people were allowed. He stuck his hands in his pockets, moving towards the movement. He gave a small groan as noise reached him, and recognised the figure.
"A wild-caught pokémon is a dead pokémon! A wild-caught pokémon is a dead pokémon! A wild – oh, hello Joseph." The young man paused mid-turn, in a failed attempt to sneak away. These failures seem to be happening a lot lately, he grumbled in his head. Better not turn out to be a trend. He suppressed another groan, and turned back around to face the speaker, keeping his hands in his pocket and taking in the scene.
"Hiya, Brent," he answered, since his mother had raised him to be polite. "What-cha doin'?" It was a pretty pointless question, even to his own ears, and he couldn't help notice the look the other gave him when he said it. The bearded man held a giant placard on a stick, and Joseph thought it was one of his better signs. Rodeo? RODEON'T. Buck the rodeo! He had to give the man a bit of credit, despite the nature and stupidity of what he was doing; that sign looked pretty heavy, and it was no joke holding it a shoulder height for however long Brent had been standing there. "You know it's the off-season right? You know no one can see you, right?"
"You're here," Brent responded, with an arrogant air that Joseph took a dislike to.
"Killing time before I head back to the Pokécenter, if you must know," he said, his voice stiff. "So, really, you've just been out here all day, in the sun, yelling like a mad man. You know what they say, after all; only mad dogs and Calanqueans stay out in the midday sun."
"Are you comparing me to a poochyena, Joseph?"
"More of a lillipup, Brent; I don't think you have a poochyena's ferocity." Joseph didn't like the man, and the feeling was mutual, he knew. "Didn't answer the question though; it's off-season."
"It's never off-season for the pokémon." The words were coupled with a fierce jerk of the placard. Joseph had to resist a snort. He gestured towards the sign and then at Brent's belt, raising both his eyebrows.
"But I suppose your pokémon were okay with it then?" he said, keeping his voice level.
"You make these pokémon go through torture and pain, and then you just fling them aside –."
"– Release them back."
"That's what you think. The rodeo pokémon are shot and fed to your houndoom." Joseph was well aware that this was not the case, since he had taken part in the capture-release events for years.
"My houndoom eat the same thing as you and me, Brent," he grumbled. "Mareep and bouffalant mainly."
"Don't lump me in with you…you barbarians," the man responded, jerking the placard again. Joseph wondered if he was jerking it to emphasise his point, or because his arms were tiring and it was getting difficult to keep the sign in its position. "I'm a vegetarian." The red-head laughed, the sound fake even to his own ears, but he laughed nonetheless, fixing the other a sharp glare.
"So…you eat plant pokémon then?" He smiled thinly as he said it, watching the other splutter in disgust at his sentence. "Oddish? Shroomish? Bellsprout? They're all pretty good if you boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew."
"What? No. I eat plants you…you…" Apparently, whatever word he wished to call Joseph couldn't be found in his mind, so Brent stopped the sentence and continued with another one. "I care for all pokémon. I would never eat one. And I will not stop protesting until Daria gets it into her thick skull to close down this barbaric practice."
"Bet you have eaten them," Joseph snapped back, the insult to his friend cutting him deep. "And I bet you don't even know it. You think crop farmers check and see if there's a caterpie in the field before they use a combine harvester? You want to care? Care about all those poor little bugs and grass types, chopped to little pieces in the veg packs you buy at the 'mart." He smiled again, a wicked little smile that was usually reserved for things like getting away with shoplifting, or watching his pokémon burn a field. Brent was staring at him with a mixture of horror and disgust, as a teen would view the night guard's tyranitar.
"It's a good thing someone put your miltank out of their misery," he muttered to himself, but Joseph heard, and the smile slipped from his face as suddenly as it had appeared. He felt his fist curl tightly at his side.
"What did you say?" Joseph asked, his voice very quiet and a polar opposite as to what it had been a heartbeat before. Brent looked at him, and then screwed his face up into a sneer.
"I said it was a good thing someone put your miltank out of their misery," he repeated, louder this time. "They probably asked whoever did it. They probably begged them. Because being dead would be better than having to be around you and your family." Joseph felt his body tremble slightly, a frown forming on his face at the words, and this time it was Brent who smiled, hitting the same nerve that Joseph had struck with his words. "I should have thought of it years ago myself. Saved those poor pokémon a lifetime of pain."
Joseph was not, outwardly at least, a violent person. In fact, he felt very guilty when he did something that even hinted at violence towards someone. He faced a very unusual feeling, therefore, of a blinding rage coursing through his body, and a rack of guilt that was a close second behind it, both filling his blood at the same time. The guilt, however, did not succeed in clamping down on the anger, so the man had the sensation of tightening his fist and drawing his arm back while feeling guilty about the action he was about to perform.
This guilt was not enough to stop him from punching Brent's smile right off his face.
There was a moment of surprise for both parties, before Joseph let his anger cloud his head, and brought his other fist up to catch the protestor's upper jaw. Brent staggered backwards, still holding the placard, grunting at the force of the action – which elicited more surprise from Joseph, since he rarely used his fists – and then surprise completely overloaded the anger in the man as the older swung the sign and caught him square on the side of his face and shoulder. Joseph had a brief moment of thinking that the placard was definitely not made of flimsy cardboard before he hit the dirt with a dull thud.
"I thought you were a peaceful fucking protestor," he groaned, hauling himself back onto his feet, standing firm under the murderous glare he was receiving. "You think I cause my pokémon a lifetime of pain?" he asked, his voice rising as he took a dogged step towards Brent. "I'll give you the same courtesy then." He could feel his face swell rapidly, but his head was still clear enough to raise his fists and snap his arm out twice, each blow landing hard on the other's nose. The protestor dropped the placard instinctively, clutching at his nose and making a very non-masculine noise. Joseph stepped forward again, ready to cause him the equivalent physical pain to the younger's emotional, and halted abruptly at the screeched that sounded above him in the air.
Joseph's first thought was Isabella's pidgeotto had been stalking him since he'd left the Pokécenter. It was immediately disregarded as the bird pokémon that was diving down at him was much larger than the former. The man leaped backwards as the pidgeot landed between him and the one with the broken nose, its black eyes glinting dangerously as it spread its wings, effectively blocking the two from each other's view. He recognised the black marking of its eye mask curve around its head, and instantly knew that the dangerous look was most definitely sincere. Brent, the pidgeot's back to him, did not see this, and tried to charge underneath the wing. He was rewarded with an almost bored Wing Attack from the pidgeot and went sprawling on the ground.
"Good job, Alastair!"
"Nice going, Alastair." The pidgeot ignored Joseph, glancing instead over his shoulder to the first voice. He screeched loudly, and the man winced as the sound rang out in his ear, glaring at the protestor on the ground before following the pidgeot's gaze. Daria Lock was in her twenties, but moved with the purpose of one far more experienced than that. She was quite young for a Gym Leader, but had proven time and again that she was more than capable for the job, and despite being at her post for less than two years, she had garnered as much respect as the previous Gym Leader. She had her face arranged in her 'stern-look', which even Joseph flinched under, despite being her friend, and she reached the little group in a short period of time, pausing to stroke Alastair's beak in a praising fashion. The pidgeot crooned, his plume lifting off his back in pleasure.
Then she turned, and punched Joseph on the good side of his face.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, feeling betrayed and shocked more so than hurt. "What the hell was that for?"
"Now you match; I like symmetry," Daria said smoothly, dipping under Alastair's wing to offer a hand to Brent. "Up you get now, Mr. Kneller, there's a good lad." The absurdity of the woman using a semi-patronising tone to the older man was not lost on Joseph, and despite the sting on both sides of his face, the corner of his lips twitched – an action he quickly regretted, as it amplified the stinging sensation. He gave a silent groan to himself, cradling his face. Her punch had shocked him out of anger, and now he only felt the guilt, especially when Brent swayed unsteadily on his feet.
"I demand retribution," Brent growled, and Joseph felt a little less guilty.
"I punched him in the face for you," Daria answered. "What more do you want?"
"Hospital fees paid, for starters." Joseph gave a non-worded growl of his own at that. "A-And a new shirt," he added, after seeing the clothes ruined by scarlet. His face paled at the blood. "O-Oh m-my. T-This is his fault."
"What?" Joseph shouted, his anger rising up again. "You started it, protesting again. You verbally assaulted my family!"
"You physically assaulted me!" He didn't really have a comeback for that, but he did take a step forward, hands curling into fists again.
"'dgeot," Alastair cawed, still in a bored position, and wrapped his wings around Joseph, effectively imprisoning him. The man almost swung his fists to rip himself free, but a quick glance up gave him a pretty view of the hooked beak, and he settled to keeping his hands by his face again.
"I believe you also caught him a blow, Brent," Daria said soothingly. "I think the best course of action is for both to pay a fine to the rodeo for disrupting the peace."
"Yea – Wait, what? Me pay a fine as well? To the rodeo?" Brent hastily backpeddled from his anger, and it struck Joseph that perhaps the other had as much money as he did. Not a lot. "I…"
"I'll pay for a new shirt for you," Joseph called out, his voice only slightly muffled by feathers. He would take the semi-high road in the situation. "Instead of fines, I mean."
"Oh…ah…umm…yes, that would be acceptable," Brent stated, as dignified as someone could be while holding a broken nose that was clogged with blood. Daria gave a nod to Alastair, and the pidgeot released his captive, with another bored caw. Joseph darted out of his reach warily, and even offered to hold Brent's placard while the woman helped guide him back towards the town to the doctor. The protestor tried to narrow his eyes suspiciously, and yelped as the action tormented his nose. In the end he just nodded, and Joseph found himself dragging the sign behind him while Daria made sure a new shirt would be acceptable. He caught her tilt her head behind at him and flash him a wink, before turning back to reassure Brent.
"It's the rodeo that's breeding this violence, Daria," the man complained, his voice sounding clogged. "It has to be stopped. You can stop it."
"Mr. Kneller, I have already told you four times before this," the blonde responded in a sympathetic, but firm voice, "that if you get the two hundred signatures on the petition – and yes, they must be human signatures – I will hear your case and discuss it seriously with the authorities."
"Two hundred is too many though," he whined, like a kicked growlithe.
"Two hundred is barely a tenth of Veldt," Daria countered. "And it is final."
The two fell silent, and the only sounds that broke it was the grate of the placard on the ground, and the curious hopping motion Alastair was making instead of taking off into the air. Joseph, his anger dissipating, had enough of a clear head to stay quiet while she fixed the local politics, and wonder if his pokémon were ready for collection yet. He also wondered about whether or not he was going to the doctor as well; she had only mentioned Brent, after all. Probably thinks I deserve the hurt, he thought darkly. Probably do, he conceded after a moment. His wondering was answered as they reached the three-man surgery, and Daria held the door open for Brent, gesturing at Joseph with her other hand. As he stepped forward, however, Alastair raised a wing to block his movement. He frowned, and tried to manoeuvre around the pidgeot, who kept his wing in front.
"Placard," Daria called. Joseph threw the heavy sign toward the surgery awkwardly over Alastair's wing. She hauled it up and dusted it off a little, before leaning it against the building and wiping her hands in her jeans. "You're a trainer; get used to injuries now, so you know how to deal with them later," she added brightly. Joseph shot her a less than perfect glare, holding up the hand Nyta injured; it hadn't taken the fist idea all that well, he realised, examining where the blisters had popped, the pain twinging through him now that the anger was gone.
"I'm used to them already," he grumbled, jerking his hand back into his personal bubble as Daria waltzed up to give it a patronising kiss.
"What were you even doing out at the gym, Joey? I thought we'd agreed to meet at the café?" His body twitched a little at the nickname, sending a twinge of pain up to his face and down to his shoulder and hand.
"I had to drop my pokémon at the Pokécenter, and needed to chill for a while," he answered, shrugging nonchalantly, the shoulder Brent had made contact with protesting the movement.
"You hurt poor Nyta because he hurt your hand?" she asked, shaking her head at him. "Not cool, bro, not cool." He felt his face flush with colour and an awkward feeling lace over his skin, twitching again at her last words.
"P-Please don't ever call me 'bro', Daria. That is just…not appropriate," he growled, ducking his eyes away from her. It didn't help when she gave a low giggle, leaning over to him against his shoulder and whispered, "Bro," doing her best to make his skin crawl with conflicting emotions. He wiggled out of her immediate area, smacking into Alastair's shoulder. The pidgeot gave a small sigh, shaking his head and snapping his wings out, finally taking flight.
"Oh, Joey, it's just a term of affection," she chuckled.
"It's a term of affection for a brother," he shot back, thinking of all the unbrotherly things he'd done to her and shuddered visibly. "I'm going to ask Ger to look at this stuff when we get there," he added, gesturing up towards his face, frowning slightly.
"Wait, why didn't you just say 'Nyta'?" Daria completely ignored his pleas for sympathy. "Do you have more than one? You little shit; you do! How did you manage that?" Joseph pointedly stayed quiet and refused to answer the last question, since it would just lead to laughter from the other, and she'd laugh again at the Pokécenter anyway. He closed his ears to her bombardment of questions, turning his head away from her. He knew he should feel grateful for her, since she had managed to slip him out of the cruelty of fines, but the side she had hit still stung, and he decided that a little self-pity was allowed, and even warranted.
The Pokécenter had gotten a little busier when he re-entered, taking note of a young trainer sitting on one of the seats, her face buried in her hands as she cried, and a bulky looking farmer that shot the non-resident a sour look while he spoke to Isabella. The brunette was nodding seriously at his whispered tones and took the two pokéballs he held out. Joseph sat down beside the young stranger, while Daria picked up a YOU magazine and started browsing. His swollen face was starting to itch in the diabolical way injuries did, to ensure further pain when one stupidly gave in to temptation.
"Y'all right, kid?" he asked, hoping he hadn't said the wrong thing. He almost flinched as the stranger shot her head around to face him with a scrunched up snarl, thinking it would have been better to say nothing at all. The girl's eyes widened as she caught sight of his face, and she gave a small squeak, ducking back down.
"Y-yes, yes, yes, I-I-I'm fine," she stammered out.
"Umm…you don't sound fine. Or look fine," he pointed out, then mentally sighed at himself as the girl forgot herself and snapped her head back up.
"Look who's talking, bozo!" Then she squeaked again and turned away, muttering to herself. Joseph caught a few 'stupid's thrown in with other choice words. He felt a little awkward, sitting beside someone who berated themselves publically; he usually waited until he was alone, after all. On his other side, Daria stifled a laugh as she lounged against the wall.
"Umm…you should see the other guy?" he tried, then figured he had said something right when she choked on her breathing, in what was probably a disguised laugh. "For you too, huh?" The girl sat up again, wiping away tears with the back of her hand. The scratches and cuts he saw on her exposed skin had stopped bleeding obviously, since her hand came away clear.
"Me, maybe. I don't know about Sweetie though." The trainer's breath hitched again, and she cast a despondent glance towards the back of the Center. "He's my koffing. I would've been a goner for sure if that…nice man hadn't found us," she added. Joseph barely heard the last sentence, struggling with the concept and rationality of naming a koffing 'Sweetie', and a male one at that. Daria though, perked up at it, and leaned down from her vantage point to the girl's eye level.
"What happened?" she asked, all business-like now that she had given up psychologically torturing Joseph.
"We got ambushed, on the route from Cankloth Town," the trainer admitted, obviously recognising Daria's face. "Dad told me it was a dodgy route to take, but I didn't want to do the traditional circuit. I'm going to go to the police once I…once I know Sweetie will be okay." Here, her breath hitched once more, and she buried her face in her hands again. Daria moved over to the counter to speak with Isabella and the farmer, and Joseph once again found himself in an awkward position. He reached over and patted the girl on the shoulder.
"Nurse Ger is the best I know, kid," he said. "He'll fix up your koffing, and the police will get the bastards. The hostel next door to here is great while you're waiting for Sweetie to heal though." The girl gave a silent nod. "I'm Joseph, by the way," he finished.
"Paxton," she answered.
"Mr. Scholtz is going to stay with you until your koffing is conscious again," Daria said as she came back to the duo. Joseph cast an eye over her shoulder to see the sour look still pasted on the farmer's face, and wondered what the Gym Leader had threatened him with. He stood up. "He's given me all the details he can recall of the attack; you're pretty lucky he was out there. Isabella will check you into the hostel and go through everything with you, okay?" Paxton nodded mutely, and Daria broke into a smile. "I can't wait for you to challenge once your pokémon is up and about again!" Joseph saw the confused look the trainer was giving the Gym Leader at the bubbly words, and moved over to the counter, feeling out of place between the two girls.
"I got your three 'balls here, Joseph," Isabella stated whilst ticking the entries on the logbooks. "Your houndour was the worst off, and even then, he wasn't that bad. Nyta was just being dramatic," – That didn't surprise him –, "and the miltank has an a-o-kay bill of health. Ger's sorry he can't say goodbye, but the koffing's in a pretty bad way, so I'll say 'bye from both of us." The woman reached across the desk to kiss him on both cheeks, very carefully on his swollen side.
"Which one of those was from Ger?" he asked, and Isabella threw her head back and laughed, despite the alarmed look given to her by the farmer.
"Get out of here, Joey," she chuckled, and he stuck the three 'balls into their slots on the belt. "Oh, and before you go, here's something for your face," she added, rooting briefly through a drawer to produce a spray. "Pokémon ingest it, which you shouldn't, but it calms human swelling if you just squirt it directly on." He nodded in thanks, and gave her a sore smile, before nodding at the others in the room and heading outside. The door opened again before it had closed fully, and Daria emerged beside him, hands on her hips.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, her voice telling him there was no way around it. Joseph made a semi-gesture towards the road and gave a short shrug. He had already expressed his plans to go to Azure-by-the-Sea with Daria, and Paxton's brief rendition of Cankloth's route made the forest road much more appealing. She shook her head, and grabbed onto his arm, fingernails digging sharply into the flesh beneath the shirt. "Nu-uh, you aren't going anywhere, bro, not till I'm finished with you." The man's eyebrows rose a notch or two on his forehead, and she shook him in response. "Not like that, you dirty dog! Sheesh, talk about a one track mind." Joseph was about to point out that he had not been the one to instigate such a relationship, when she continued to speak. "And three pokémon?"
"Yup. Nyta, a houndour and a miltank."
"You haven't named them yet?"
"Daria, I haven't even opened the miltank's 'ball," he growled back at her, not noticing his feet follow her as she began to walk. "I'm trying to think of good names. It is a name for life, after all."
"What? Like 'Nyta'?" Daria gave a snort, and Joseph frowned.
"Nyta is a great name. He loves it, I love it. Enough said."
"It's an abbreviation of his species, you dope. His old evolution, for Arceus' sake!" This time, he was sure the snort was a laugh.
"Give me a break, I was eight when I got him," he responded.
"I'm sorry, but that's worse than naming a koffing 'Sweetie'." He didn't see how it could be, although maybe the stranger had been gender swapping everything, since Paxton was a pretty masculine name. He gave her a short, sharp glare, patting Nyta's pokéball lightly. The rapidash liked his name, he was sure of it. The glare hardened when he glanced away from the 'ball and down at his feet, registering the fact that he was moving.
"Umm…where are we going?"
"To the gym! You have three pokémon. Don't even think about trying to back out of a battle." Joseph stopped suddenly, and Daria stumbled in surprise, letting go of his arm in the process. He shook his head firmly.
"No way. I'm not battling you; I just told you, I haven't even opened miltank's ball!"
"Alright, I won't make it three-on-three. A two-on-two should suffice to assess your skill," the woman, latched onto his arm again and tried in vain to pull him closer to the building that was now in front of them.
"No, that's not fair! Nyta hasn't done much fighting and you know it," he argued.
"Why were you in the Pokécenter then?"
"Because my houndour was stupid enough to try and take on a rapidash! What does that tell you about his character, huh? No way am I putting him up against Alastair or Nicholas or any of the rest!"
"Fine, then put Nyta and the miltank up; Come on, Joe, you've seen Andromeda, you know how badass a miltank can be," Daria tugged at his arm lightly. "I bet she already knows Stomp, and a Tackle from her will pack a punch. Even if you haven't brought her out, what better way to see what she knows?" Joseph shot her another glare, and he touched the pokéballs again, milling over her words. There was truth in it, he knew; Daria had gotten Andromeda from their stock, and his mother would rather have given over her last elite miltank than one they used for milk and meat. Which meant his definitely had some of the Gym Leader's traits.
"You're silent; that means yes!" Caught off guard, Joseph stumbled after her and was through the doors before he even realised what had just happened. "I accept your challenge!" she added, darting away from him to the other end of the building, while the door behind him swung shut with such a sense of finality that Joseph had to remind himself that he was not walking towards his doom, and was simply fighting a friend. He saw Daria clamber up onto the dais at the far side and fiddle with a lever on her left side. Knowing what was coming, he braced himself on the ground after taking a couple of steps closer to the door. The floor started to vibrate underneath, and his hand darted up to shield his pokéballs protectively as the area in front of him literally divided in half and left a dark, gaping hole in its wake.
As the floor slotted into its predetermined space, the vibrations intensified. Joseph had to give Daria credit for her creativity on a budget, as the hole was filled by a rising platform that climbed about fifteen feet into the air, its foundation riddled with four large holes, and at its centre, a series of steps. The man had seen the gym arena before, but had been prohibited from watching it in action, because Daria feared future spoilers, and would hate to have made it easy on him. He figured he was at least intelligent enough to know where the start point of the arena was, and slowly, with the wariness of a skitty, made his way up the stairs to the top of the floor. Nothing tried to kill him, and his feet were quiet on the smooth surface.
The floor that lay between Daria and him was covered in grass of differing heights and differing varieties, and was as close a resemblance to the landscape he had walked through to Veldt Town as she could make it. There were no trees that could house dive-bombing pokémon, and Joseph was fairly certain that all of the woman's pokémon were taller than the grass, so he could check off lurking creatures with an internal sigh of relief. He stared down at where his feet were, halfway on the grass, and his eyebrows rose a little as he spotted a laminated card on the ground. He bent down to pick it up, since he knew that was the game he had to play, and read it slowly.
'Three. Four. Left, right.
One wrong step leads to plight.
Are you a man, or a meowth?
Find the one that'll help you out.'
Joseph hated riddles.
At least the start was fairly self-explanatory, though he was still hesitant stepping into the grass, since he figured the word 'meowth' signified smaller creatures than he had guessed earlier. He took a breath, wishing he could have a pokémon at his side for moral support. Nyta would be too big, but the little houndour had the gung-ho bravery required to follow simple instructions. Brave, he thought, an idea grasping at things in his head. Huh. As he released the breath, he squared himself and took three steps to the left of his start point, cringing visibly as he waited for a pokémon to leap out at him. His shoulders sagged after a moment when he realised nothing happened to him, and he was – still – not dead. He pivoted on the spot in a ninety degree rotation, and took another breath, then walked four steps right. Nothing happened again, and he could breathe a sigh of relief.
At this point, he didn't understand the rest of the words, and so was left rigid in the spot, with no more instructions to follow. "Are you going to help me out?" he called to Daria, who promptly snorted in laughter and lounged on the dais, her pokéballs neatly out beside her. One was empty, he knew; belonging to Alastair, he could rest assured in the knowledge he wouldn't have to face the pidgeot. Daria, evidently, was not the unknown entity in the words. He peered down at the grass. "Are you going to help me out?" he asked the grass. The grass gave a 'meow' in response, and Joseph said a startled, "Huh?" and took a step away to the side.
The sound quickly changed to a strangled cry of surprise as the ground opened up underneath him, and he fell through a trapdoor. There was a moment of pure fear, as he contemplated the height he was falling from, before he hit the ground far sooner than he expected. It took him another moment to realise he hadn't stopped moving after falling, and he was surrounded by completely blackness for about five seconds before he flew out of one of the holes at the bottom of the foundation, and landed back where he started. He stayed on the ground, in a seated position, until he got his bearings, and then stood and climbed up the stairs again, shooting Daria a death glare across the grass.
"A slide, Daria. A slide? Are you fucking kidding me?" he growled, unimpressed when the Gym Leader bent over in laughter at his face. He was about to yell again at her, before he realised it would just elicit more laughter at his expense, so he clung onto the laminated paper with his good hand, and stomped through the directions again, until he reached the point of his 'plight'. "Are you going to help me out?" he asked, grumpier than before. The resulting 'meow' was less of surprise this time, and he hunkered down, his eyes narrowed at the tall ryegrass. He could just make out the pokémon as it batted its eyelids towards him, a piece of paper in its mouth. Carefully, he reached towards the glameow, making sure his feet stayed anchored on stable ground. He suppressed a groan as the pokémon hissed through the paper, and took a pawstep back.
He didn't want to leave the safety of his spot.
While he battled with indecisiveness, the glameow took another step back, and Joseph felt his chances of getting the paper dwindle. Again, he wished for one of his pokémon out; maybe the houndour would have the ability to sense the trapdoor locations? He wasn't sure if it would even listen to him though, since he had, effectively, been the one to hospitalise it. The cat pokémon's eyes were lost to his vision, and he desperately pulled himself away from thinking of his pokémon, and focused on the piece of paper he owned. "Man or meowth, huh?" he read, thinking hard until the answer pushed aside the idea grappling box in his brain momentarily. "I am a man," he growled, knowing he sounded ridiculous, and, keeping in his hunched position, took a step forward in the direction the glameow had headed.
He stayed in the grass, and nothing opened to engulf him. Anywhere the glameow went, he figured, the ground wouldn't collapse. A meowth would stay in the spot, but he was not a flighty creature. He had courage to overcome the fear of falling into a slide. Bolstered by this revelation, he continued after the backwards moving animal, a little unnerved at the flirtatiously blinking eyes but keeping them in sight nonetheless. Like trainer, like pokémon, he mused to himself, but kept it silent; glameow claws were sharp, and so were Daria's nails.
The glameow stopped so suddenly that Joseph almost collided with it, and it gave him a cool look, arching its tail over its back before dropping the paper on the ground. It dropped to the ground, and he had a second to look confused before it launched itself in the air towards him, using his head as a landing pad, and then springing back down the path they had come. "It kept its claws sheathed," he called to Daria, who chuckled in response. He couldn't see her as he picked up the next piece of paper, and she was back lounging nonchalantly when he straightened up to see the glameow had led him to the centre of the grass, and he was half-way across. He stacked the paper together, and cast his eye over the next set of instructions; his other eye was half-closed.
'If you go down to the woods today, you'd better go in disguise.
Today's the day you follow the trail to a picnic.'
Joseph gave the Gym Leader another hard look, and dropped back down to the ground, reaching out to touch the grass surrounding him, worried once more about a trapdoor. "The houndour would smell it out," he muttered to himself, as he felt down the stem of the grasses. He made a face as his hand met with a sticky substance, and he sniffed his coated hand to correctly guess where to go. Wiping the honey off on the ground, he followed the grass stem to where it reached its height, and stood, taking a step in that direction. Now that he knew what trail to look for, he tried to spot the glistening of honey on the grass. Each step was hesitant, and he shuffled forward carefully, sticking close to the honey trail. He heard some shuffling and gruffling ahead of him, and grew even more careful after that. He had a fair idea of what lay at the end of the trail, but it didn't hurt to be cautious; he could be wrong, and an ursaring was waiting.
He breathed another sigh of relief as a teddiursa appeared, licking the honey off its paws and clapping them together gleefully as it caught sight of him. He held his ground as it took a few steps towards him, offering a paw. "Umm…no thanks," he declined the honey politely, alarmed to see the pokémon's face darken with anger and it growled, a sound which would probably have been more menacing if the creature was larger. Joseph scrunched his own face up as much as possible with a sore side, and puffed himself out, emitting a growl of his own and emanating the houndour's display towards Nyta.
"What are you doing?" Daria asked curiously, and Joseph jumped, momentarily having forgotten she had been there. The jump led him off the direct line between him and the teddiursa, and he gave a dismayed exclaim as a trapdoor opened, and he plummeted back down a slide to the beginning again.
He was grateful, of course, that the glameow had gone back to its original position, and could lead him back to the beginning of the honey trail. He reached the teddiursa again with little problem, except for the fact it was still in an angry position. Joseph tried to copy his houndour again, growling at the pokémon. The Gym Leader posed the same question to him, and he took a moment out of his roleplay to respond to her.
"I'm trying to be like 'The Houndour'," he grudgingly said. "He was bravely stupid enough to try and intimidate a rapidash."
"So you think you can do the same to a little teddiursa?" Daria asked incredulously. Joseph gave her another look and relaxed his stance, though the same could not be said for the bear.
"I'm showing it I'm not afraid, and that I'm more brave and courageous as he is," he growled, the idea concept in his head growing into a concrete thought, and he swung his arms wildly, moving towards the teddiursa. "Cassius!" he cried, speaking the thought and forever creating its permanence.
Then promptly fell through a trapdoor that opened in front of the teddiursa.
He decided he hated the stairs more so than the rest, since there were quite a few of them, and he'd had to climb them multiple times. He was fairly certain the glameow was laughing at him as it led him – yet again – to the honey trail. He still had to fish around with his hand to find its beginnings, and didn't bother wiping it off again, since he figured that he'd probably have to go through it again. He stopped at the same position, noticing Daria's confused face, but not bothering to explain, since he would be back there in a few moments by all accounts. The teddiursa, however, no longer seemed angry, and was back to its gleeful self, growling happily as it started up to him, though not the direct route he had expected. Instead, it moved zig-zag in the field, and reached him on his side, clapping its paws and then grabbing his honey covered hand.
He allowed himself, dumb-founded, to be led by the bipolar pokémon through the grass, its free paw never leaving its mouth for very long. When it stopped, he found himself in the centre again, tantalisingly close to Daria's dais. It waddled away without another growl, but Joseph knew what to do, and rooted around the ground with his foot until his boot connected with a laminated card. Please be the last one, he pleaded to the legendaries, and fumbled with the third paper, in clear earshot to hear Daria's giggles at his misfortune. He didn't think she was this hard on all first time badgers.
'Ring-o ring-o buneary,
A pocket full of bunnelby.
Jump once, jump twice,
Or fall, fall down.'
Suspicious, Joseph cast his eye around for the rabbit pokémon. He didn't think it could be as simple as the paper was telling him, but the area around him was pokémon-free apparently, and he didn't have much of a choice in turning back, since the teddiursa was back at its original post, and if he just left the gym, he was certain Alastair would pick him up and deposit him back down. Still, it made him feel better, casting a forlorn look back at the door. He nearly leaped off his safe square though when he turned back, a lopunny standing in front of him.
"Lop-unny," it said.
"Yeah, lopunny to you too," he grumbled, but trusted the – he hated to say cute, but that's what it was – pokémon to help him. The pokémon launched itself across to the dais in two bounds of quick succession, and Joseph was fairly certain he could make the leaps as well. He braced his legs for a dead jump, and then sprang, feeling happy that he had landed in almost the exact spot as the lopunny. He was about to brace himself for another leap when the ground vibrated under his feet, and he had a moment to say, "Fuck you, Daria," before a trapdoor opened.
Needless to say, the next time he reached the section, he didn't wait around at the second jump, but made a literal leap of faith, landing on his chest thanks to the lack of preparation.
"You made it!" Daria crowed with a smile.
"I hate you," he responded.
"Good job!" she continued, ignoring his words. She gave the lopunny a rewarding scratch on his ear, and the pokémon bounded away from the grass. Daria pressed a button, and beamed again. "Now, no more trapdoors on the rest of the arena. Who's Cassius by the way? Please don't tell me this is a new nickname for yourself, Joey. You've already got a few as it is."
"What?" he asked, caught off guard.
"You said 'Cassius'. If you were trying to be a pokémon, then 'Jo-seph' would've sufficed," she pointed out. He remembered the thought he had set in stone, and his hatred for her disintegrated briefly.
"Oh, that's what I'm gonna name the houndour," he said. "Pretty good, isn't it?" Joseph's less than modest subconscious thought that it was good, anyway.
"Bit different from Nyta," she replied as she stood up, dusting herself off and picking up the array of 'balls around her. She shuffled back along the dais to her battling position, nodding in agreement with her own words. Joseph was also of the same train of thought, since 'Cassius', no matter how you looked at it, didn't fit into the word 'houndour'. "I was expecting Hound. Or Dour," she added.
"Nope; he's brave," – Joseph thought he'd leave out the word 'stupid' – "just like that ancient Unovan senator way back when. Old Cassius took out entire fleets of ships with his arcanine. My Cassius appears to be just as badass as that." Of course, Old Cassius also turned the sword on himself due to miscommunication, but he wouldn't let that happen to his houndour.
"Unova? Where'd you learn about him?"
"History," he replied with a vague gesture.
"We don't learn about the other regions in school," she argued, twirling one of her pokéballs around.
"Extracurricular," was the brusque response. It wasn't a lie; he had found the book in the library while studying for an unrelated project. The assassination plot was just too interesting to not read about though.
"Congratulations, you've given a decent name to one of your pokémon; now let's battle – Go, Sebastian! Go, Natalie!" The Gym Leader threw down two 'balls in quick succession, and their contents erupted out of them. Joseph was relieved to see a herdier emerge, though was less so when it came alongside a tauros. Still he had dealt with the latter before, and knew his rapidash could usually keep them in line.
"Go, Nyta! Go," – and Joseph had the horrible realisation that he had no name for his next pokémon, and yelled the first thing that came to his head – "Millie!" His own two four-legged pokémon materialised in the beam of red light, the rapidash's mane billowing wildly as he pawed the ground with his front leg. The miltank was less inclined, though Joseph knew that she was a better choice than Cassius. The cow pokémon lowed uncertainly, and a brief nicker of encouragement came from Nyta.
"I'm sorry – Millie? Are you honestly saying that's her name?"
"Shut up, Daria – Nyta, Fire Spin that tauros!" Joseph called quickly, trying to take an advantage of surprise. To be honest, the man wasn't sure if his Fire Spin and the actual registered Fire Spin were the same thing, but the rapidash liked doing it their way, and took off towards the horned pokémon, accelerating with a speed that made the trainer proud. It took Daria only a moment to gather herself away from his name choices, and she cupped both her hands around her mouth.
"Work Up, Seb, and then ram him with a Horn Attack! Nat, use Bite on the miltank!" Joseph watched her issue orders in the same spot, and grinned to himself at the first move she wanted the tauros to make. Even if it would get the pokémon riled up and matching or surpassing the rapidash in strength, the bull-headed Sebastian still wouldn't have Nyta's speed. The fiery equine dashed around the tauros in as small a circle he could manage without coming into contact with the whip-like tails that lashed around the air, searching for a target. The grass provided excellent tinder, and the flames Nyta created from his fetlocks sprang up quickly. The rapidash gave a high peal of delight at the same time his miltank gave a high-pitched low of fear. Instantly, the man felt a pang of anger shoot through him towards himself; he had momentarily forgotten about the herdier.
"Millie!" he called, since she had looked up when he had spoken it before, and he didn't want to go through the difficult process of changing her name, "Use Stomp!" The pokémon pulled away from the herdier desperately, but made no move to perform the action. "Stomp, Millie!" he called, racing to her half of the grassy dais. The miltank looked back at her name, but he could see the mix of confusion and fear in her eyes, and he wanted to throttle Daria for telling him that she'd be able to defend herself. "Stomp!" he yelled, his eyes twitching back to Nyta briefly. The tauros' tail was flicking high despite the temperature, and he didn't think the circle would hold him forever; he'd work up the courage to leap over the flames soon enough. The herdier was having a field day on the miltank's shoulder though, growling furiously, while the latter's eyes rolled up into her head.
Joseph had a sudden thought of 'mankey see, mankey do', and started leaping up and down in the air. "Stomp! See, Millie? Stomp!" He wasn't sure if it was due to his actions, or if the miltank had just had enough of the pain, but he was intensely relieved to see Millie rear back on her hind legs, and then slam down her front feet onto the ground. The result was the herdier losing her grip on the shoulder and falling to the ground, uninjured aside from shock. "Good job, Millie!" he called encouragingly. "Now try a Tackle – Ack! Nyta, Dodge!" The tauros had broken free of the flames, his coat singed all over, one of his tails burnt far more badly than the other. He stuck his head down towards the rapidash and charged, Nyta dancing away on the defensive as the tauros kept running. The man launched himself out of the way as the pokémon roared past him onto the trapdoor section of the arena, and made a wide circle, heading back for Nyta.
"Nyta, Megahorn! Hit him side on!" His rapidash had a thick head, and a longer horn than the tauros.
"Nat, Crunch!"
"Millie, Tackle! Hit her!" He raced back across to where the miltank was standing, and made a fist with his burnt hand, the skin crackling, hitting it against his other palm. "Do that, to her!" Millie's ears flickered in response to his voice as the herdier leaped towards her, jaws open. She rumbled forward, launching herself with surprising grace into a run that caused her head to collide with the opponent mid-leap. The smaller pokémon gave a high-pitched yelp and was flung backwards by the sheer size of the pink miltank. Natalie heaved on her side, catching her breath. Millie turned her head back around, eliciting a surprised, "Mil," and Joseph gave a nod of approval. "Now, Stomp her while she's down!" he called, accompanying the order with another leap of demonstration. He ran back to his rapidash, thinking that it was tiring work being a trainer, until he noticed Daria hadn't moved from her spot.
Nyta's horn connected with the tauros just at the shoulder level, and the bull roared in pain and anger, swinging his own head back and catching the cream body with one of his horns. The rapidash gave a low squeal, and Joseph had barely uttered a, "Stomp!" before he kicked out with one of his legs, catching the tauros in the face. The bull jerked away, pulling the horn out of his shoulder in the process, and Nyta stumbled back. Joseph saw the puncture hole from the tauros' horn as the rapidash shook his head roughly.
"Seb, Giga Impact and finish him!" Daria called, and Joseph didn't have time to tell the rapidash to get out of the way before the tauros threw himself into the rapidash, connecting with his chest and shoulder. The pokémon carried the rapidash a number of steps before the force of the impact tossed Nyta to the ground. The cream pokémon landed with a thump, and the tauros slumped down onto the ground, breathing heavily with the exertion. "Nat, use Take Down!"
"Defence Curl!" Joseph countered, after seeing his rapidash stir on the ground. He doubted the miltank knew what that meant either, but was just relieved to see her roll into a ball quickly, similar to the way stragglers of the herd did when the houndoom approached. The herdier collided with the pokémon, and Millie lowed in pain, but he didn't think it affected her as much as it could have. The canine sprang back, chest heaving at the recoil of the move. The miltank shakily uncurled itself, and climbed unsteadily to her feet, and Joseph shook his head. "Millie, return!" The herdier had taken a beating, but he wasn't going to risk the inexperienced pokémon. The miltank disappeared and Joseph took on the more simplistic role of giving Nyta orders.
"Nyta, he's down; use a Fire Blast!" He thanked Arceus that he remembered the tauros' move needed a recovery period, and he watched with morbid glee as the pokémon was engulfed in flame. It was a relief to see the rapidash standing, his legs splayed out slightly with the force of his attack. The heat reached Joseph, and he took a step back, watching Nyta do the same thing, dancing away from the potential threat as he cut off the flame. "Yes," he whispered triumphantly as the tauros, hit by a series of attack moves, failed to rise into a standing position.
"Seb, good job, return! Nat, Retaliate!"
"Nyta, Fire Blast that dog!"
The herdier howled for her fallen comrade and pounced as Nyta unleashed another flame. It rounded in an arc, chasing the pokémon, and caught her as she landed on his head, paws outstretched. The flames burned her underbelly, and she cried out in pain, dropping away from the rapidash's head and landing on the ground with a dull whimper. The rapidash glanced back at Joseph, waiting for an order, his face covered in claw marks from where the herdier had caught him before she fell. When none was given, he gave a small wicker to the other pokémon.
"Herd," Natalie growled mournfully as she was recalled by Daria. Joseph did the same with the rapidash, and then marched up to the woman, clutching the two 'balls in one hand.
"What the hell, Daria? 'She'll know Stomp', you say? Bull-shit, I say! You conniving little –."
"Congratulations," she interrupted before he could say something he would regret, "I award you with the Plains Badge." He could feel his face slacken at the words, the minor detail having been pushed to the back of his mind when he had recalled Nyta. She laughed at his face, and reached out her hand, producing the gym's badge. Joseph took it wordlessly, glancing down at it, the anger fading suddenly as he took in the design. It glinted a dull amber infused with greens, etched into a rough diamond with fronds of grass sticking out sharply. It was his. "Good job, bro," Daria added, leaning over to press a light kiss on his forehead. "Knew you had it in you." He promptly forgot all about his anger then, and gave her a small smile, pocketing the badge. He hadn't had the chance to buy a container, but figured it could wait until Azure.
"Thanks, Daria. Please don't say 'bro'." Daria gave a small chuckle and stepped closer to him, invading his personal bubble and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes with a small smile.
"Bro." Joseph knew exactly why it was inappropriate for her to call him that, but he couldn't remember how to say it to her, and figured that it didn't matter once she trailed off the word with a firm kiss. Fuck it metaphorically, he thought, kissing her back and pulling her close, dropping the two pokéballs on the ground in the process. He had a wonderful, blissful moment of kissing, and then felt a painful prod on his shoulder as Nyta, released, butted him with his horn. Joseph broke away, thinking his rapidash really needed a bit more tact, and he bent down to pick up his 'ball, returning him again. "Oh, that's right!" she said, breaking the silence as she took his two pokéballs and carried them over to the side of the gym. "Since you won, I get to heal your pokémon, and save you a trip to the Pokécenter…again."
"Thanks," he muttered, surprised. "I didn't really want any more delays between me and Azure."
"You're going there?" she asked, glancing up at him as she placed the 'balls in the machine. "Joey, you do know that it's a water gym? Ali's the Gym Leader; he's tough as nails."
"Umm, yeah, but I have Millie," he pointed towards the 'ball, groaning inwardly that the name had stuck, but thinking that he couldn't come up with a better name.
"Who is very low in experience," she countered, then laughed. "You are going to get screwed. Why are you in such a rush to get there, anyway?" He knew where that question was going, and abruptly shook his head, trying to keep a firm resolve towards the concept of his journey, and not think about the way the woman's body looked in his hands. Daria turned to face him fully, and gave a small, completely false, pout. "Aww, come on, Joey; I'm not going to see you for a long, long time," she whispered. Joseph didn't like the way she rolled 'long'. "What's one more night in Veldt? Lohtan will be there for the taking tomorrow?" She took the small step necessary to close the gap between them, and Joseph made sure to think of other things, like the blood spurting from Brent's nose, or Alastair's hooked beak. "And I'm here for the taking right now."
"Damn it," he said.
And Joseph ended up with three pokémon, one badge down and very satisfied, without ever having to take a step outside of Veldt Town. It was a pretty town after all, especially in the mornings.