88. Ready As I'll Ever Be


I slept till about ten in the morning. I would have slept longer, but Sophie was an early riser, and after about two hours of shuffling around the room and packing and getting her stuff in order, I woke up, grumbling and smacking my lips in distaste at the dryness of my mouth. As I rolled over, nearly crushing Eliseo in doing so, I blinked and studied the room, noticing my clothes weren't flung around the place as they were yesterday.

"…Soph…" My voice cracked as I said her name, and I had to clear my throat a couple of times to get it sounding normal again. "Did you pack up my stuff?"

"Yes." I was surprised by her answer and by the fact that she had done it. Sophie had insisted many times in the past that if we wanted to get something done, we had to do it ourselves. This was a principle that she had hammered into my head.

She noticed my bewildered expression and pursed her lips at me. "Check-out is occurring soon. You did not rise when I tried waking you, so I decided to clean up for you. It would have been more productive for me to do it even if you were awake." Ouch. I could accept the jab since she had done my work for me.

I rose unsteadily and stretched my arms until the ceiling was just within my grasp. That was an exaggeration, of course, but somehow I didn't doubt I would reach it within a few years. I had inherited my dad's height, though I was still growing like a weed, nearly reaching his height at fourteen years old. Jacoby was continuously bitter about this and acted as if it was a competition, stretching out his arms and back whenever I saw him ,as if doing that would make a difference in his growth.

After I was dressed and ready for the day, Sophie and I brought our bags down to the lobby to commence checkout. Bundy and Eliseo sat patiently by me as we got everything sorted out. Once we handed in our keys, we were directed according to what unit we were in. I ran into Gage and Corwin soon enough, causing me to cling to Gage so that I could know what my gift was. Anka, however, separated us soon enough and told us that we needed to remain within our units.

"But he's giving me a gift in Blackthorn," I protested.

"Then he'll have to send it to you within a few days. You guys need to go to your assigned cities," Anka said, shutting me down.

"But he's giving me a gift."

She blinked at me. "But you have to go to your assigned city."

"…But he's—"

"Go. To. Your. Assigned. City."

I had some more fight in me, but then Marina came over to interrupt our dispute, raising a firm eyebrow at me. The fire in me flickered for a second, but I fueled it with some more gasoline, giving the first glare.

"Is there a problem?"

"Apparently, I'm not allowed to receive a gift."

"Neither is anyone else. Get in your group, and stop trying to act like you're special because you're not!" Yeah, that definitely sparked some more fight in me, but Gage quickly interjected with a faltering smirk and told me he would just deliver the gift to me personally. That satisfied me and made me fall in line with the rest of the recovery members, inspecting my nails casually while Eliseo and Bundy cocked their heads in confusion, not fully understanding the conflict that had just transpired.

I thought we were getting in line to teleport, but that wasn't the case. We marched all the way to the beach, chattering across groups and trying to comprehend what was going on. Maybe they were trying to prevent overwhelming the hotel? There were so many of us, and there was only so much they could do to keep the peace with the new members of ORVA.

When we reached the beach, however, we learned that we weren't teleporting right away. Instead, we were told to line up behind a variety of different psychic types and their trainers and wait in line to receive a psychic shield. Almost instantaneously, people started protesting how the practice was illegal, but it was like each psychic trainer had a speech prepared for the very occasion. This was maybe why they gave the giant announcement explaining why and how they were able to do this.

The dark-haired trainer that spoke up had a grumpig who studied us with bored eyes. "Everyone, quiet down! The reason we're giving you guys psychic shields is simple: it's for your safety. Psychic shields are not illegal in Alola—meaning if you guys receive one while you're here, you're granted special permission to keep it overseas, even across regions. You just need a special stamp on your trainer's license, so be sure to get that out while we're giving you a psychic shield. Line up behind a psychic pokémon. Try to keep it even. We'll redirect you if necessary."

Though there were some mumbled protests still, we all maneuvered to line up behind a different psychic pokémon. I lined up behind an alakazam, right behind Gage, who found this whole thing to be as sketchy as I did. I remembered how freaked out Keane had been when discovering the Tamers had psychic shields, but he, too, believed that we needed them for safety reasons. It was nice that ORVA recognized this as well, but it was concerning at the same time. What sort of situations would we encounter if it meant we needed psychic shields? The Tamers and Freedom Fighters were everywhere, but how often did they use psychic pokémon? Probably a lot more than I was thinking.

The alakazam riveted me with hard eyes and blinked, cocking his head. He got his trainer's attention, who stared at me curiously.

"You already have a shield?"

"Yup. Heard they were super trendy. Next up is a tattoo." I did plan on getting one eventually, but that wouldn't be for at least another four years. Weird how ten-year-olds were allowed to live on their own, but I had to wait to get a flipping tattoo.

The trainer furrowed his eyebrows, but stamped my license, waved me off, and then gestured the next person forward. Corwin endured the same treatment and joined me, while we watched Gage and Sophie receive their shields. I had forgotten that Jacoby had received one already, so he, too, trotted up to us and shrugged.

We watched the mass of young trainers and pokémon squirming under each psychic pokemon's gaze. Some people looked indifferent to the process, but there were a handful that were noticeably uncomfortable. I was wondering where Anka was, but then I saw her down the line, standing behind Faye, who was apparently implementing psychic shields as well. She and I made eye contact for a short second before she flashed me a tired grin. Something told me it was tiring being a recruitment elite since it basically required babysitting all of us.

"HEY, GUYS!"

The earth shook from Hannah's volume—or at least my head did. The hyper girl practically bounced up to us, skipping so high that her billowed skirt leapt up to her torso. Thankfully, she was wearing short leggings underneath, though several trainers nearby still averted their eyes.

I scowled and winced, anticipating more ear abuse, and covered my ears as she continued, "LAST NIGHT WAS SO FUN!"

"Yes it was," I replied through gritted teeth. Last night definitely was fun, but none of us needed Hannah to recollect that at her current volume.

"ROCHELLE, GUESS WHAT?"

"Speak quietly, or I will have Annie melt you," Sophie threatened.

Hannah giggled malevolently at the challenge but lowered her voice, anyway. "I'll be with you in Olivine! I'm going to give you curse training while you're there! I figured since Tapu Bulu was a lazy bum and didn't help you much, I could at least help you."

Oh super.

"But you know what this means, right?" she continued, tilting her head. I didn't miss the wicked grin that I had grown to hate from her. "You're going to have to change first." And that was when she shoved a pokéball into my hands.

The fur appeared instantaneously. My only reaction was to step back and drop the ball into the sand, staring with wide eyes.

I glowered at Hannah. "We are not doing this now!"

"But why not?

"I am not changing into a pokémon in front of everyone, and I am definitely not doing it any time soon."

"Why are you so scared? You can't let the curse beat you."

"I'm not letting it beat me," I mumbled in protest.

Unfortunately, I didn't have more time to defend myself because our unit elites began calling all of us over. I waved dismally to Corwin, Sophie, Gage, and Jacoby as Hannah directed me over to where Marina, George, and J.T. stood. As usual, Marina looked like the only one who had authority as George's youth continually undermined him, while J.T. fidgeted as we stared at him. He was still wearing his sunglasses and looked humiliated by just standing there. George gave us all a weak grin, while Marina glared us down.

"Recovery members, wait here. Psychic shields are almost done."

"Can we say goodbye to our friends?" one trainer asked from the small crowd.

Marina rolled her eyes. "You have three minutes. Exchange numbers and pokegear information because this is the only chance you'll get."

I wasted no time in fleeing from Hannah. Eliseo followed quickly from behind me, while Bundy clung to my shoulder. It looked like they were eventually going to split groups according to which unit and city they were being transported to, but for now they lumped all of the resolution, recon, recovery, and recruitment groups together.

I slapped my brother on the back, causing him to flinch.

"Geez, Chelle, why can't you just hug like a normal person?"

"Can you let Preen out?" I hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to the fearow since I had reunited with my brother. I knew she was going to be pissed at me—especially since there wasn't a reason for why I hadn't talked to her earlier, but seeing her even for a short amount of time would be worth it.

He sighed and pulled out her pokéball. "I swear you like her more than you like me."

"You're right."

He glared at me and then released the fearow. Preen stretched out her wings before she peered at me softly, cocking her head.

"Rochelle…!" It didn't take long for her to bristle. "Have you been near Jacoby this entire week and are only now saying hello to me?!" I dodged one of her agitated pecks, flashing her a grin and throwing my arms around her.

"I missed you, Preen!"

"I missed you, too, you ungrateful girl!" She finally managed to peck me, but it was soft, landing with the underside of her beak and making it feel like a slap on the wrist. "Don't hesitate in greeting me! How rude!"

"I wasn't hesitating. I just got pretty busy. I've been training Eliseo—" I had only barely gestured to the litleo when Preen erupted into the softest cooing, her beak hovering closely to his face while she brought her wings forward to nuzzle his fur. "…And he's…Preen, what are you doing—besides creeping me out?"

"You precious little thing," she cooed. Eliseo looked somewhat annoyed by the admiration, but I reveled in the fact Preen was even capable of behaving like that. "How old is he? He can't be much older than two months."

"The breeder I got him from said he was a month old whenever I got him, so about two months," I confirmed.

"Precious, perfect little thing…" She continued cooing over him as I gave her a hug, muttering that I would miss her. She muttered it back to me, but it was clear she wasn't going to let up on Eliseo anytime soon.

I sped over to Sophie's and Gage's group next. It irked me that they were both in the resolution unit since that was where I wanted to be, but then again, they weren't very far from where I was.

"Don't even try it," she said, already knowing I was planning a sneak attack hug.

I pouted at her, but as usual that didn't change her mind. "Are you going to come visit me in Olivine, Soph?"

"Perhaps. You can come visit me as well," she pointed out. "Ecruteak is not far from Olivine."

"True…" I glanced at Gage, whose eyes met mine softly. "…And I know you'll come visit. With the gift and all."

He paused and nodded. "…Yeah. Not sure when they'll let me go to Blackthorn, but I'll keep you updated."

"Aight." And this was where I paused. I smacked Jacoby when saying goodbye to him, I attempted and failed to hug Sophie, I gave Corwin a stiff one-handed hug…what was I supposed to do with Gage?

Staying true to his unit, Gage resolved my dilemma by leaning forward and wrapping me in a light hug. He pulled back before I could return it and then hovered in front of my face briefly with his own. I was honestly taken aback by the whole thing and slightly mad that I hadn't initiated the goodbye first. I blinked at him before he could pull away completely and then hit my forehead with his.

He rubbed his forehead and looked at me with something like anger and respect, forcing a smirk. "I'm always going to get a new bruise from you every time I'm with you."

"Maybe not every time. Gotta keep you on your toes, you know."

"I'll have to return the favor." He leered at me and then saluted. "See ya, Rochelle. Hopefully I'll see you in a few days."

"Bring Sophie with you," I ordered. She didn't seem to be listening by that point. I smiled at her and told her how I would miss her, but thankfully the heartache wasn't there completely. I really was grateful we were only a city apart from each other.

Marina had started shouting for the recovery unit members to return. I ran over to Corwin's group to give him a quick hug. I knew he was staying in Mahogany Town for the time being, but he already confessed that he would be visiting whenever he could. Surprisingly, he told me he wasn't going to visit Sophie and was now trying to move past his affections. He didn't show it, but I guessed that he was embarrassed from what happened last night. He had played it off so coolly, but after the match he had completely isolated himself from everyone, speaking quietly with members of his team. Whenever I had tried talking to him, he started ranting about one version of historical events that he had read about—something about Dialga and Palkia. Gage had thankfully saved me from the rambling that I could barely survive through awake.

When I returned to my unit, I scooped Eliseo into my arms and nudged Bundy with the side of my head as he remained on my shoulder.

"You doing okay, Bundy?"

"Yes. I don't feel as dizzy today." The mechanical tail really was doing wonders for him. I was starting to see him smile more these days, too. He only ever smiled whenever he was stooped over a book, but after last night his smile seemed more permanent. "Are you doing okay, Rochelle?"

"I think so."

I wasn't sure what type of training we would receive in Olivine. Marina had been vague, but it was clear from her tone and behavior that she was going to keep the training as tough as possible. I adjusted Eliseo so that I grasped him with one arm, reaching the other arm down to grab my luggage, which I had temporarily abandoned to speak with my friends. I peered up to see Hayley watching me with intrigued side-eyes. She quickly looked away when I stared back aggressively, clearly thinking I wasn't worth her time. I was going to do my best to ignore her the entire time we were in Olivine.

From there, the elites separated us according to region and city. Cassie Dee, the girl that had been present during the first stage of my initiation process, was in the recovery unit of the Kanto region. So was Alfred Higgins, for that matter. When the man saw me, he gave me a massive ursaring hug and wished me luck on my ventures. Doug Pentice looked as if he was in the resolution units of the Johto region, while Tyrus the pinsir was in the recruitment units. I waved at all of them from where I was, and they all waved back cheerfully, with the exception of Tyrus, who simply clacked his pincers in my direction.

J.T. took half of the group with him to Cherrygrove. It looked like the majority of the younger trainers were going with him there, which made sense, considering Cherrygrove was a setting better-suited for youth. I guessed I was only being grouped in Olivine because I was fourteen, which most people would call a veteran age for trainers. It was also the age where most people started quitting training.

On the subject of quitting training, that was when we were teleported to Olivine and saw her: Jasmine, the sixth gym leader, though many trainers knew her as a different title: the Quitter Hitter. By the sixth gym of the Johto region, many people started quitting, and it was usually because they lost so many times to Jasmine.

My first impression of her was that she didn't look fierce enough to own a famously strong steelix. She looked tiny without it, standing a few inches shorter than me. Her long light brown hair shined in the sunlight, and her orange hair-clips pulled her hair in the style that many girl trainers mimicked, making two locks like wings on the top of her head. She smiled at us in greeting. Marina took a headcount of the group before she strolled up to meet her.

"Recovery members, this is Jasmine. She is one of the elite recovery members, so be respectful always. No pictures!" Marina snapped suddenly, causing one of the younger trainers in the group to drop their phone sheepishly.

"Nice to meet you," Jasmine said, smiling blissfully. "There will be a ceremony tonight for you all by the lighthouse at around 7:30. You all deserve a proper welcome to Olivine since you will be staying here until your training is concluded." After final initiation and the party yesterday, I was exhausted and tempted to skip whatever ceremony they had planned, though I doubted Marina would let us skip. "Marina, George and I will help you all get settled while you're here. Some of the residents have graciously agreed to allow you to stay in their homes, but most of you will be staying in the pokémon center. Please follow me."

The pokémon center wasn't far from where we were. We were given our room assignments fairly quickly. As soon as I glimpsed at the name, I grimaced, but that response was nothing in comparison to how my roommate reacted.

Hayley stomped up to the counter, slammed her keys down and practically shouted, "I demand a different roommate!"