Chapter 12
Goodbyes were always the hardest.
Lily hugged Matt for the fourth time the following morning, with him and his team finally getting a full nights rest. Dante stood by Lily's side as his former trainer began to cry. Matt assured her they would be alright.
"I'll be okay, honest," Matt assured her, smiling back at the only mother figure in his life. "Whatever happens, we'll be okay."
"I know you will, honey," Mom sniffled, "I know you will…."
"Be safe, please," Dante told Matt. Sissy hugged her father, giving a long embrace before whatever journey awaited the four of them. Emie and Craig stood behind Matt, waiting for the call of adventure.
Although Craig was going to miss playing games and eating snacks, the whole world was filled with snacks, experiences, and knowledge he desperately craved. But it was mostly the various assortments of snacks he wondered if he'd stumble across that motivated him
Emie held her emotions close to her heart. If she was to be honest with herself, there was sadness in the nature of their departure. And yet, she herself knew that it was only a matter of time before she would have to wander again. Thankfully, she would do so with her Trainer, and her friends she had missed for so many long, trying years. She adjusted the sash that held her katana on her back, watching the northern skies. Clouds were rolling in.
"It may rain," Emie mentioned. "I'm not certain, but it's a feeling."
"Do you have a rain jacket?" Mom asked, looking panicked. She spun to Dante, who wasn't ready for the sudden motion; it made him flinch. "A tent?! Oh, I didn't give them a tent! What if they-"
"They'll be fine," Dante assured her. "When you started your life as a Trainer you had zero money and zero resources. But we managed, didn't we?"
Lily's head sank a little.
"What about food?" she asked.
"I've got leftovers in my backpack," Matt told her. "If I carry anything else, I won't be able to walk at all."
Matt wasn't sure how he felt about openly carrying his guns on him—Dante assured him that 'nobody gave a shit,' in the Arcanine's own words. Sissy carried his backpack, while Matt slung his new shotgun over his back. His pistol at his side, Holly-Band on his left wrist, Matt was ready for a days travel. Craig offered to carry the cashes of ammunition, both in each hand, more than happy to carry the weight.
Craig found himself lifting the ammunition cashes, using them as weights, playfully bouncing at the knees as he did so.
"Call me when you get to the forest," Mom ordered Matt. "Finding Herman isn't hard once you know the proper route. I don't want you getting lost in the woods."
"They won't get lost," Dante sighed. "Sissy?"
"Yes, dad?"
"Make sure Matt doesn't get himself lost, okay?"
"I won't let him get lost," Sissy said with a little laugh, hugging her dad once more. Dante turned to Lily with a tired look, his own concerns momentarily surfacing.
"See?" Dante told her. "They'll be alright."
Matt caught Dante looking at him. Was that fear behind his eyes? Or was it concern?
Matt waved goodbye as he walked up the street, Mom having to hold onto Dante as they left. There were more tears, but Dante assured Matt that everything would be alright, and that he would make sure Mom was well taken care of.
They walked, with Sissy by Matt's side taking the lead. Emie and Craig followed behind.
Matt did his best to stay in the present moment, not getting consumed by his own thoughts and questions. Instead, he kept his eyes peeled to the streets, being observant of his surroundings. They passed by the park, with more Trainers in the battle area fighting it out, laughing, having a good time. There was even music being played, with vendor trucks serving food.
Matt felt as though he had missed a valuable opportunity.
He raised his Holly-Band, going through the main screen, seeing his Team dancing about as caricatures. Craig had a shield beside his name, indicating that he was taking the brunt of the damage that Matt himself would have normally sustained. Glancing over his shoulder, Matt caught Craig still lifting the ammo boxes like weights, chuckling silently to himself. Matt's attention returned to his wrist mounted Holly-Band.
There was so much to learn about these things! Matt felt a slight headache come about when his finger accidentally hit a wall of menus, all swirling around the screen. After five minutes of trying to exit out of it, and stumbling into a woman walking on the same sidewalk, Matt finally closed them out.
"You wanna stop and do that?" Sissy asked him, her attention going towards a building. "I kinda wanna say goodbye to Chip, if that's okay."
"Sure, go for it," Matt said, still focused on the screen.
Sissy entered Chip's shop, with the rest of the crew outside with Matt. She assured Matt it would be quick, but wanted at the very least to say her goodbyes, though promised not to go into details. As she did, the three of them stood outside of his shop, with Matt still staring into his Holly-Band.
Display Name: [Please Enter A Name]
Matt had finally found the option to display the name of his Holly-Band; his Trainer calling card, of sorts. He figured it was best to have a name on his Holly-Band so he wouldn't have to worry about it later.
But what name?
A considerable amount of time passed, Matt's eyes still glued to the screen.
Matt thought about. And thought about it. And-
"Okay, we're all set," Sissy spoke, catching Matt by surprise. He lowered his Holly-Band, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Is everything alright?"
"I can't think of a name," Matt said, pointing to his Holly-Band. "You know, the name that pops up when you battle people?"
"Do we intend on battling people?" Emie asked, curious. Craig grunted, lifting both ammunition cashes up at once. He was in his own little world of self improvement.
"Look, all it takes is one jackass with a Rattata demanding I fight him, and then what? I'm just some Trainer with no name? And the last thing I'm gonna do is use my real one. I just can't think of anything."
"You can always change it later," Sissy mentioned with a little shrug, the four of them walking north through Pallet once more. "Just pick something as a filler and change it if you think of something better later."
Matt supposed she had a point. But a name wouldn't come to mind. Matt lowered his Holly-Band, his brain struggling to think of something that would be fitting. Something simple. Anything.
"Any suggestions?" Matt asked.
"Sandslash?" Craig offered.
"I'm pretty sure that's already taken," Matt winked at him, getting Craig to laugh.
"He said 'Cool Guy'," Emie translated for him, the bell on her talker caller jingling.
"I'm pretty sure that one is used also," Matt informed him.
"What about adding a number to it?" Sissy offered. Matt could see the edge of town just ahead. There wasn't much time left before they hit the road, and all attention would be needed.
"Fuck it, fine," Matt laughed. "Cool Guy it is. I'm gonna need a number for it, probably. Sissy, quick, pick a number between one and ten."
"Uh, eight!" Sissy quickly shot back, wagging her tail a little.
"Okay, let's try Cool Guy 8."
Matt typed it into the display name option.
This name has already been registered, it read. Matt sighed.
"Emie?"
"Yes, Matthew?"
"I need a number between one and ten," Matt called to her.
"Seven," Emie stated, as if having already thought of a number before he asked her.
"Okay, so let's try Cool Guy 87," Matt said.
Matt typed in the name.
Name Accepted! The screen read back to him. Welcome, Cool Guy 87!
"Okay, we've got a name for me," Matt mentioned. "Now let's try not to-"
"Hey, you!" a voice called to him. Matt turned to his left, seeing a man holding a rifle. He was dressed in green military camouflage, body covered with pouches. "You cant just walk by me and pretend I don't exist."
Matt rolled his eyes.
"I'm not gonna battle somebody just because I walk past their line of sight."
"Are you stupid?" the Gail Company guard asked. "Sir, I can't have you just-"
"Look," Matt said, growing impatient. "I've got places to be, and I don't have time to battle. I get it, you're all decked out in your fancy gear, and gun, and you'd probably put up a hell of a fight. But that doesn't mean-"
"Mother fucker, would you shut your mouth for a minute and let me speak?" the guard barked. Matt silenced himself, with his crew doing the same. They watched, curiously, as the guard wandered back to a little shack that was connected to the main route ahead towards Viridian city. They returned, shaking their head with a clipboard. "You need to sign a waiver before you head out there. Shit's dangerous these days, and it's Gail Company orders that everyone heading out of civilization sign a form. If you go missing, end up dead, or—more likely—accidentally shoot yourself with that gun you've got there—then we're not responsible for it."
The grunt shoved the clipboard and pen into Matt's chest, making Sissy a little on edge.
"My bad," Matt told him. "Sorry, I thought you-"
"Well, I don't give a fuck what you thought," the Gail Company grunt huffed. They watched as Matt began writing on the release form. Without missing a beat, and without using his real name, Matt wrote the first thing that came to mind. He made sure the handwriting, and signature, were sloppy as could be. He played into the role of moron the guard so desperately was willing to believe.
"Christ, your handwriting sucks," the guard snickered. Matt forced himself not to smile.
Sissy felt the urge to growl, or even punch, the guard. Her bokudo was wedged between her back and Matt's backpack. She wondered if she could get away with hitting him a few times, to teach the asshole to treat her Trainer with respect. But she felt Matt urging her to remain calm.
They all watched as the Gail grunt squinted at the paperwork.
"Dixon?" he asked. "The fuck kind of a name is that?"
"A family name," Matt said, leaving it at that. "Do you mind? We gotta get going."
"Whatever," the guard spat, tossing the clipboard inside the guardhouse near the road, right through an open window, carelessly. "Try not to get yourself killed."
"I'll do my best," Matt said, grinning as he walked away.
They hit the dirt road ahead of them, with green pastures on both sides of the route. Trees, lush hillsides, and even wild Pokemon in the distance. All of it looked like a screensaver, Matt noted to himself. For a moment, he forgot there was someone wanting him dead.
"I don't like how that man talked to you," Sissy told Matt, walking beside him.
"It's fine," Matt told her. "I didn't give my real name—he just sorta wasted his time and got paid for it. We've got bigger fish to fry, Sissy."
"Matthew?" Emie called from the back of their little cluster. "Might I ask why you used the name Dixon? Is it truly a family name?"
"Oh hell no," Matt laughed. "He didn't get a chance to read the last name."
"Which was?"
"Cider."
Sissy instantly hunched over, bursting into laughter, struggling to walk.
"You didn't!" she laughed.
"Hmm?" Emie questioned, seeing Craig was just as confused as her.
Matt and Sissy stopped their march, both laughing together as Emie and Craig tried to understand why on earth the name Dixon Cider was so hysterical.
"Do you really not get it?" Sissy asked Emie. "Dixon Cider."
"Is it a type of drink?" Emie asked. Matt had to cover his face, unable to control the gut laughing.
"I guess you could consider it a drink if you gave it enough time," Sissy snickered. Matt gagged a little.
"Dixon Cider…." Emie repeated to herself. "So it's like a riddle?"
Sissy and Matt looked to one another, wondering who was going to break down and tell her first. Matt shook his head. Sissy shook hers.
"You know what," Matt told Emie, "It is a riddle. Specifically how many."
"How many Dixon Cider?" Emie muttered, trying to understand.
Sissy and Matt were crying by that point, having hardly even walked a hundred paces from the guard post. After a time of recovery, they returned on their walk.
It was beautiful land, the four of them walking in silence for about an hour before Emie finally spoke up.
"Oh!" Emie burst, excitement overwhelming her. "Emie understands now! It's dicks inside her! Oh, Emie finally got it!"
Breaking her own collected, calm image, Emie jumped around, all excited, getting the other three to stop and watch her. She settled down, coughing, collecting herself once more.
"I understand the joke…." Emie mentioned, her ears folding a little.
They continued on their journey.