Chapter XI

Cotter and Reimi stood side by side in front of a large hole in a rocky cave, the entrance to Oreburgh gate.

"Well here we are" Reimi announced and Cotter just rolled his eyes at her unnecessary words. "And we still have a good two days to spare til my match, and then yours the next day."

"Here we go" Cotter said, taking the first step in the dimly lit cave. "I wonder what kind of pokemon are in here, maybe you might catch something" he pondered as the two walked along the rough, rocky floor. A flock of Zubat flew over Cotter scarring him. Reimi just chuckled cutely and kept moving. This was the first time Cotter had ever been in a cave.

"Why would I need to catch a pokemon? I've had my six pokemon for years. I mean it'd be stupid to join such a big tournament with pokemon that you weren't bonded with and that weren't experienced. Much like you did with Weepinbell, but at least that's just one pokemon" she ranted. A drop of sweat ran down Cotter's face as he nervously rubbed his hair.

"Yeah, just one pokemon" he mumbled. Reimi didn't respond as she was scurrying up a small wall of rock blocking their path. At the top of it she dropped down to a knee and then held out a hand to help Cotter get up.

"Yeah just one pokemon. We fought right after your preliminary match which you had all your pokemon except Weepinbell. So I don't know what you're mumbling about silly boy." With a large pull she assisted Cotter over the obstacle and they continued their venture. Cotter let out a quiet sigh of relief, he wasn't going to tell Reimi that he caught two of his pokemon after he signed up for the tournament.

"There are a lot of days between matches, plenty of time for Weepinbell and I to bond and for him to get stronger" Cotter weakly defended.

"Objection!" Reimi shouted and her voice carried out throughout the cave. The loud sound spooked some Psyduck who were nearby and made the little duck waddle off in fear. "You are forgetting two very important things. One while you and Weepinbell get stronger, so is every other trainer in this tournament. And two, which is a much bigger deal. You say you have a lot of time to get stronger and bond but this isn't a movie. You're not going to always be fighting gradually harder opponents. You could be fighting the future champion in your very next fight, it's all luck of the draw, will you be ready?" Reimi intelligently lectured. Cotter clenched his fists tightly, not in anger but because he was being doubted.

"I can handle myself. And I'll prove it to you by using Weepinbell in my upcoming match" Cotter bravely declared to which Reimi raised a curious eyebrow.

"That won't prove a whole lot but it's a bold move, do it, show me just how skilled you are" she suggested.

"I will!" he exclaimed just as they reached the bright daylight of the exit. And there before their puny little bodies was the hustling and bustling mining city of Oreburgh. It was fuller than usual because the people had come for the tournament.

–

Later in the day Reimi was deep down in the mines training all six of her pokemon at once, preparing for her fast approaching match. A young boy with long, burgundy hair and a red hard hat sat on a rock in awe watching Reimi train. While Reimi was working hard down south of Oreburgh Cotter was up north, hardly working. He sat in the field of grass with Weepinbell's pokeball in his hand, thinking of what to do with the pokemon. Buizel and Murkrow were making use of their time by having a sparring match which Cotter didn't even organize.

"Let's see what kind of pokemon you really are" Cotter mumbled to himself. He then suddenly tossed Weepinbell's ball down and out appeared the large, yellow, plant pokemon. Weepinbell smiled happily at Cotter and flapped it's leafs which allowed it to move somewhat. The grass pokemon awkwardly flopped around to wear the sun was shining brightest. The green leaves on the side of Weepinbell's body began to glow a bright white and then his eyes slowly started to shut, he was fast asleep in a minute with a smile still on his face. Cotter stood unimpressed with his arms dropped. "So, you like to sleep and eat? Lazy and gluttonous" he clarified to himself. Cotter was now back to his 'what to do mode.'

"Pst, order a Sleep Talk" a male voice whispered from behind Cotter. Cotter quickly rotated his neck around to see a familiar man dress in black, Smythe, who had his surprisingly green pokedex out.

"Sleep Talk!" Cotter ordered and Weepinbell brought out it's trusty green vines. Cotter was pleasantly surprised by this result. "How did you..."

"Don't give up so easily, use your head, or in this case, your pokedex" Smythe interrupted and informed. "And I'm guess I'm not the only one who came out here to train. I can't wait til the later rounds of the tournament, there are far to many people here" he said to which Cotter nodded. "Anyway I think I'm going to take my training to the sky, I just saw you and thought I should help out first." Smythe reached his hand down towards his belt and released a large, winged pokemon. Smythe climbed onto the back of his Dragonite and the large dragon look off flying up in the air. Cotter immediately shot a look at Murkrow who just let out a laugh at the thought of carrying her trainer. Cotter resisted the temptation of continuing watching Smythe fly off on his awesome dragon, because he had training to be done. The young male flipped out his pokedex so he could learn his grass type's moveset.

"Weepinbell currently knows Vine Whip, Bullet Seed, Sleep Talk and Rest" listed the robotic voice of the pokedex. The moveset was rather limiting, with only two attacking moves, but Rest would allow Weepinbell to stay alive longer, which could prove itself useful in many fights. As much as Cotter knew he should be doing training exercises he decided to do the nice thing and let his pokemon sleep. Later that night though, he planned to work his pokemon to the bones, if it had any bones.

–

It was now late in the evening and Cotter laid uncomfortably on the hard floor of the Pokecenter lobby. The duo had been unable to get a room but the Nurse Joy kindly opened up the lobby for tournament participants to sleep in. The rule was that all pokemon had to be kept in their pokeballs. So Cotter laid there, failing to fall asleep, alone. As he wasn't completely alone, other trainers unable to get rooms were sprawled out around the lobby. He was alone in the sense he knew no one around him, because not even Reimi was around, which Cotter was just realizing. She was independent and could handle herself so Cotter didn't even worry about it. He was too busy worrying about his future in the tournament. Reimi had made great points, Cotter was a major underdog and this wasn't a movie but real life, the underdogs don't usually win. He tried to toss those thoughts out of his mind as he rolled over to the other side of his body, hoping that would be the position he could find sleep in.

Almost directly above Cotter, up on the roof of the Pokecenter lay Reimi who was having her own trouble falling asleep. It wasn't exactly that she didn't want to sleep, but she hated sleeping. The worst of nightmares haunt her almost every night. She tried not sleeping before, but that turned out just like it sounds, a bad idea.

"Father, why do you continue to hurt me" she mumbled to the stars as she succumb to the effects of sleep.