Chapter 14

Granite's POV

After Aurora surprisingly won the battle, she was bombarded with many of the spectators. I was stopped by none other than my Uncle Forest who I noticed was one of the first people to stop and watch Dillon and Aurora's battle.

"Hey Granite! That was an incredible battle, right?!" He exclaims. I smile at him.

"Yeah. They're my new friends. They'll be challenging you some time this week." I tell him.

"Well, I look forward to it! The Ivysaur is probably going to kick my butt, but I won't underestimate anyone!" He pumps his fists in the air. I laugh. Uncle Forest is a very charismatic guy.

"Hey. Um. I was going to run this by my parents, but do you mind if I travel with those two?" I ask. Uncle Forest looks at me and grins.

"Granite. You're 19. You're an adult. Stop being your parents' golden child and do whatever you want. I want you to be happy!" He pats me on the back. "I hope to see you and you friends in my gym soon!" And walks in the direction of the gym.

I notice Aurora saying bye to the spectators as she rushes her pokemon to the Pokemon Center. Dillon is long gone. I wonder how he's taking that loss. I wanna say the asshole deserves it, but no one really deserves misfortune. Mom and dad raised me better than that. I sigh and pull out my pokenav.

No POV

Aurora rushes her pokemon to the Pokemon Center. She'd never have so many people praising her before, it felt overwhelming. When she finally managed to free herself from them, Dillon was already gone, and Granite was talking to someone. Her pokemon needed immediate medical attention, so she rushed towards the center. Granite and Dillon would know where to find her. Luckily, she didn't have to wait for Dillon to find her since he was in the center when she arrived. She checked in Venus and Pachirisu before walking over and sitting next to him.

"Good battle." She smiles and extends her hand. He's deep in thought and hadn't even noticed someone sat next to him. Aurora looks at him confused and then nudges him, which breaks him out of his trance. He gives her a questioning look and then averts his gaze. "Hey, Dillon. It was just one loss. It was a very close match." She tries to comfort him.

"I should've won. I had the better type advantage!" He huffs. Aurora puts her hand on his back, but he shrugs her off and stands up angrily. He walks out of the Pokemon Center and goes for his 2nd walk that day.

While walking around Pewter City, Dillon runs into Granite. "Hey. That was a good battle back there!" Granite smiles and pats Dillon on the back. Dillon shrugs him off and continues walking. Granite looks at him confused but decides to go check on Aurora.

Dillon's POV

I don't get it! I should've won! She's the weaker trainer too, but Pachirisu and Pika were out at the same time! And then Venus beat Coal? Damn. How can I dethrone Ash when I can't even defeat a weak girl who was at a type disadvantage? I kick a rock hard. "FUCKKKK!" I yell into the street.

What does Aurora have that I don't? Why was Venus still able to stand after taking an ember directly to the face? Fuck. Am I really not good enough?

"Dillon!" My thoughts are snapped back to reality when I realize I am in front of the Pokemon Center again. Aurora smiles at me. She is sitting on a bench and pats the seat next to her. I roll my eyes but opt to sit down since we'll be doing a lot of walking for the rest of our journey. We sit in silence and watch the sun set. It really had been a long day. As the sun sets, I feel someone sit on my other side on the bench. I notice it's Granite, and direct my gaze back to the sunset.

Wow. It's beautiful. When did I ever just enjoy nature like this? For the first time in a while, I don't feel angry. I feel relaxed. And free.

After the sun sets, we remain sitting on the bench for 15 minutes. I notice Aurora glance behind me to make eye contact with Granite who had also moved his head back. They nod and get up, each extending a hand to me.

"We're friends. And friends help each other out." Aurora smiles at me.

"We're here for you Dillon. Whatever you need. Unconditional." Granite smiles too. Damn. I hate pity. I look at my feet.

"We're not pitying you too, dumbass." Aurora adds, almost like she could read my mind. I can't help but chuckle and I look up at both of them.

"We're not friends." I tell them with a smirk and reach my hands up to take both of theirs. They just shake their heads and laugh at me. Then we head into the Pokemon Center to check on our pokemon.