Chapter Four
Together
"So, which gym leader was it that broke your spirit?" Kyla asked, licking her ice-cream covered spoon.
Joe and Kyla had met at the ice cream parlour, thirty minutes previously, and despite the fact it was closer to Winter than it was Summer, Kyla had decided this was the perfect place for them to meet up. The sun had not quite reached the highest point in the sky, but given that it was just before noon, Joe knew it wouldn't be long. Luckily, it wasn't that warm on this day, so the sun provided a pleasant, calm atmosphere rather than beat down on them.
"What do you mean?" Joe asked.
He had chosen a knickerbocker glory and was four spoonfuls deep.
"Well, you said it took you six years to do the Hoenn gyms. You'd lost your enthusiasm, or whatever. But there must have been one gym leader who you just couldn't beat… so you took a long break."
"Hmm," Joe said, non-commitantly.
"Hmm isn't an answer," Kyla teased.
"Alright, it was Wattson," Joe revealed.
Kyla sucked her teeth in pity.
"Yeah, Wattson's tough," Kyla agreed.
"I thought you never went to Hoenn?" Joe said.
"I didn't," Kyla said, "I also don't live under a rock. Don't you ever watch gym leader battles on TV?"
"Never really did, no," Joe admitted, "And I usually tried to avoid days where they would be recording battles."
"Typical you," Kyla laughed, "Always so shy. Even when you're not meant to be."
They ate in silence for a few moments, and Joe was suddenly experiencing flashbacks of the Wattson debacle. Six times he'd face him, over a six month period. After Joe had finally beaten him, he was so sick of it all that he didn't challenge another gym leader for a whole year. He spent a whole year in and around Mauville, using Pokemon battles as a means to live but spinning his wheels; running in place.
"But hey, you did it eventually right?" Kyla asked rhetorically.
"Yeah, took me six tries though," Joe replied, "He's got a mean Magnezone. And I had never really had much experience with electric types. It was my trouble dealing with Wattson that convinced me to train an electric type. That's why I have Buster on my team."
"That's a hell of an ability he has, too. It was awesome."
"Well, if you thought that was awesome, wanna see what my other Pokemon are capable of?" Joe asked, with a knowing smirk on his face.
"Josiah," Kyla frowned, "Are you challenging me to a Pokemon battle?"
"I mean," Joe shrugged, "don't pretend you haven't been dying to ask."
Kyla couldn't help but grin.
"Well, alright. Just remember you asked for it when I beat your ass," Kyla warned.
They finished their ice creams, and then ordered seconds. After that, they headed out through the city streets. It was a busy day, with market traders, shoppers and trainers bustling back and forth.
"Hey, I think today is a Gym Battle day," Joe said.
"Yeah and by the amount of people here, I'd venture a guess that it's televised," Kyla replied.
"Wanna see if we can get tickets to a match?" Joe asked.
Kyla approved of the idea, so they headed towards the large castle entrance that held the city's stadium and the gym. Crossing the large drawbridge and entering the mouth of the dragon, they headed over to the reception desk.
"Welcome to Hammerlocke Stadium. How can I help?" The receptionist asked Joe. She was wearing a red uniform with a white badge showing her name. Alice.
"Hi Alice, I was just wondering if there's any tickets left for the next gym battle?"
"The next one is in ten minutes, let me just check for you," Alice said as her fingers clicked and clacked away at the keyboard. A few moments passed, and she nodded and smiled.
"Yes, we have tickets available. Shall I put you down for two?"
"Please," Joe nodded.
After Joe paid, Alice printed the tickets and handed them to him. Joe and Kyla rushed through the barrier and into the spectator entrance of the stadium. They squeezed through the turnstiles, quickly grabbed two cans of cola and headed up the steps to the seats.
There was a buzz in the air. The battleground was empty, but projections of sponsors flicked across the pitch in succession. An announcer called through the speakers.
"And the next battle is due to get underway in just a few minutes. Gym leader Raihan will take on Challenger Fizz in a four Pokemon double battle! Please take your seats, the action will be underway momentarily!"
Kyla and Joe found their seats quite easily. Joe was happy to see they were the last two seats in a row that was almost empty, though most of the rest of the stadium was quite full. Joe guessed there were around two to three thousand people there. Some were singing and chanting, some were talking among themselves.
"So Raihan is still the leader, eh?" Joe asked.
Raihan had been the gym leader when Joe challenged the gym, nine years ago. Then, he left Galar for Johto.
"Yeah, and he rarely loses," Kyla said matter-of-factly, "over the past three years, I must have seen about twenty of his battles. I've seen him give out two badges."
"He's one of the toughest gym leaders I ever faced," Joe agreed.
Some League attendants did some last minute checks of the battleground. Eventually, they gave the go-ahead to another attendant and soon the lights and music were playing for the gym battle. Joe noticed cameras rolling on all sides of the stadium.
"It's time for the Hammerlocke Gym Battle Event to begin!" The announcer called over the tannoy.
The music turned into some high-octane metal thrasher and Raihan stepped out onto the field, pyrotechnics erupting all around him as he emerged from the tunnel.
"Let's give it up for the ever-present, formidable, devastating Hammerlock Gym Leader… Raihan!"
He was a dark-skinned tall man with a thick, orange hoodie that looked like it was his hair. Underneath the hood, his much thinner blue hair was just visible. Raihan waved at the crowd, going through the routine of a television appearance as a gym leader. Joe knew this was all for show and pageantry; when the battle began, that's when you'd see the true nature of Pokemon Trainers.
The metal music changed into a lo-fi techno tune. The challenger stepped out through the tunnel on the other side of the stadium. She was short, with a round, smooth face. Her brown curls curtained most of her forehead and her ears. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth slightly, seemingly in focus.
"And now, the Challenger for today… This trainer has seven Galarian gym badges, one hundred and ninety seven Pokemon captured and broke the record for the fastest-time set herding Wooloo at the Turffield Gym. This is the hard-working, endearing, determined and hopeful challenger… Fizz!"
Fizz was a little more subdued, giving a nervous wave here or there, but clearly her element would be in the heat of battle. Joe figured he would feel the same in her shoes. He had felt that way, which is why he had avoided so many televised gym events.
Fizz stood in her spot opposite Raihan in the centre circle. The referee headed over. In televised gym events, all referees are hooked up with microphones, so Joe heard the referee talking over the speakers.
"This'll be a four-on-four double battle. The battle will continue until one person has run out of Pokemon and is unable to continue. Whether a Pokemon is able to continue is under my discretion and my decision is final. In accordance with Pokemon League rules, let's have a clean battle. Understood?"
Raihan and Fizz weren't fitted with microphones, but moments later, the referee seemed satisfied with their responses as she stepped away from them and pointed for them to go back to their respective sides.
The battle itself was a spectacle to behold. Joe enjoyed battling but oh, how he also loved to just watch two trainers go at it. Raihan had started the battle with Haxorus and Flygon. Fizz responded with a Clefable and a Mimikyu. Even with the obvious type disadvantage, the Haxorus and Flygon fought furiously. They were so fast that half the time, all Joe could make out were blurry shapes and clouds of dirt scratched up from the ground.
Haxorus and Flygon did eventually fall to Clefable and Mimikyu, but not before they were able to take out Clefable.
Raihan sent out his second duo, Duraludon and Tyrantrum. To replace Clefable, Fizz sent out Cinderace. Cinderace's fiery kicks were enough to hurt Duraludon but Mimikyu was finished off by Tyrantrum's Rock Slide. Fizz sent out her last Pokemon: Machamp.
"Do you think she's going to Dynamax?" Joe asked, suddenly realising the potential treat that was in store. He hadn't seen Dynamaxing in so many years.
"It's a televised match! Of course she will!" Kyla shouted back.
True to form, Fizz raised her arm in the air and it was clearly donning a red dynamax band. She returned Machamp into its pokeball. The crowd gasped and ooh'ed as the pokeball grew ten times its size in her hand. Joe cheered with everyone else, then watched in awe as Fizz threw the giant pokeball into the air. It opened, and out came a behemoth of a figure.
Even though Joe knew it was coming, seeing the Machamp grow ten times in size, still shook him, much like it's footfalls shook the stadium.
Raihan recalled Duraludon into its ball and the crowd erupted again as Raihan threw his giant pokeball in the air. Not only did his Duraludon appear the size of a skyscraper, Joe soon realised what he was looking at was the Gigantamax form of Duraludon which looked awfully like a skyscraper.
Joe thought back many years ago, when he faced Raihan and his Gigantamax Duraludon. It had taken three of his Pokemon to take down Duraludon, leaving Kingler to take on the rest of the team all alone. It was a tough battle. Fizz had shown good battle technique and she clearly had a lot of experience. Joe couldn't decide whether she had what it took to beat Raihan.
"Look at the size of them!" Joe gasped.
"You never quite get used to it," Kyla agreed, breathless.
When two massive creatures the size of dynamaxed Pokemon battle, it becomes less frenetic and action-packed—-the two beasts can only move within the confines of the stadium and their enormous size means movements are slower and clunkier—-but the sheer spectacle of seeing two titans battle it out in such an enclosed space, there was nothing quite like it.
Duraludon quickly dispatched Cinderace by hitting it with a well-placed Dragon Tail. The tail was so massive Cinderace must have flown twenty feet across the stadium before crashing into an advertising board. Cinderace tried to fight back with a Fire Blast but Duraludon blasted it with what Joe thought was a Flash Cannon and the referee decided Cinderace was done. Meanwhile, the dynamaxed Machamp wrestled with the much smaller Tyrantrum and took it down with a quick execution of a Seismic Toss.
With only the two titans remaining in the battle, they locked horns in the middle of the field. Joe was oddly reminded of professional wrestling as Machamp grabbed Duraludon and tried to slam it across its gigantic knee, but Duraludon spun out of Machamp's grip and blasted him with another Flash Cannon.
Machamp teetered but then Duraludon doubled-down with a Hyper Beam. Machamp collapsed and fell. The stadium shook violently. The stadiums were built for these kinds of battles and were safe from collapse, but Joe couldn't help but feel a little nervous nonetheless as the aftershocks of Machamp's collapse rippled.
"The referee has announced Machamp is unable to battle. Raihan is the winner!"
Challenger Fizz lifted the pokeball up in her hand and recalled the gigantic Machamp. On the other side, Duraludon shrunk down in size and glowed white as it reverted back to its regular form, before being recalled by Raihan.
Joe and Kyla watched as the two competitors shook hands in the middle of the pitch and exchanged words not heard by the spectators.
"Tough loss," Joe said, looking at Fizz.
"Tough challenge," Kyla shrugged, "Well, that was fun… but come on!"
"Where are we going?"
"You owe me a battle, remember? Watching that battle has gotten me in the mood for it now."
Joe grinned, "Alright, I'll tell you what. I need to heal up my team. Why don't you do the same in the Pokemon Centre over that way and we'll meet up in Hammerlocke Hills in twenty minutes?"
Kyla sighed dramatically, "Oh fine. But don't think running is an option. I will hunt you down, Josiah Norris."
As they exited the stadium, Kyla brushed him on the cheek with a peck and headed in the direction of her designated Pokemon Center.
Joe's walk to the Pokemon Center felt exceptionally light. He had gotten his Pokemon healed and was ready to head to Hammerlocke Hills with ten minutes to spare. When he arrived at the agreed meeting spot, Kyla had not yet arrived.
The reason why Joe had suggested they go to separate Pokemon Centers is because he wanted to change his team around and didn't want to give the strategy away to Kyla. He had deposited Dubwool and Blitzle—-neither of which were battle ready—-into his PC, and withdrawn instead a trusted team member who he hadn't used in a while.
Joe saw Kyla coming down from the Hammerlocke gates some five minutes later. They walked to a nearby field, where there were no Pokemon to interfere in their battle.
"We don't have a referee," Joe suddenly realised.
"We'll referee ourselves," Kyla dismissed him, "It's not like you were going to cheat, is it?"
"Alright, let's go."
"Three on three?" Kyla asked.
"Sure, and let's make it best of three. One Pokemon for one Pokemon. Retreating a Pokemon counts as a loss."
"Done," Kyla said, then threw her pokeball into the field.
Her gigantic Samurott slammed down onto the field. It had a large, white moustache of whiskers and the scales on its blue legs looked hard as steel.
"Are you sure Samurott didn't drink some dynamax soup as an Oshawott?" Joe teased.
Samurott roared, and Joe took the message to mean "get on with it!" and threw his pokeball. From the beam came a large, four-legged long-necked creature with large leaves as a mane and a few fresh bananas hanging from its chin.
"Tropius?!" Kyla cried, clearly surprised, "you didn't say anything about changing your team!"
"I didn't say you couldn't," Joe reasoned, then turned to Tropius, "Alex, use Magical Leaf."
Tropius gilded forward, deceptively quickly for a Pokemon of its size. Tropius stood at around six foot tall and Samurott, easily double the size of a regular Samurott, stood over eight foot tall.
Tropius unleashed a flurry of glowing white and blue leaves. Each of them scored a direct hit on Samurott, who tried to stand his ground but was pushed back a few feet anyway, stumbling as he tried to regain control of his footing on this unideal terrain.
"Again, Alex!" Joe called.
Kyla was quick to respond, "Protect, Samurott!"
The magical leaves came but this time each one was blasted into nothing as they clashed with the scales of Samurott's armour, which became impervious to the attack.
"Now, Razor Shell!"
Samurott moved quickly. It pulled out its shell blade and hacked away at Tropius. It landed a few blows and Tropius flapped its leaf wings in an attempt to glide backwards to avoid any further strikes.
Joe tried to think of his next move, but Kyla was two steps ahead.
"Hydro Pump!"
Samurott unleashes a cannon of water at Tropius. Tropius took the full blast, the water weighing down his leaves and hampering his ability to fly.
"Razor Shell, again!"
"Alex, Whirlwind!"
Tropius flexed his leaf wings and began to flap them at ascending speed. Slow at first as he shook the water out, and then stronger, and faster with each flap. The wind began to blow Samurott back until some distance had gathered between them.
"Great, now use Grass Knot!" Joe shouted. A vine whips out from under Tropius' leafage. It wraps around Samurott's paw and yanks him violently. Samurott is flipped up on his side and is lifted into the air a few feet before crashing back down to the ground with a decisive thud.
Kyla recalled her pokemon. Upon recognising his victory, Joe did the same.
"Alright, first time lucky. This time you can throw first," Kyla said.
Joe shrugged, "Fine by me."
Joe opened his second pokeball. Morty the Kingler popped out, clanging together it's oversized pincer seemingly out of joy.
"Alright Morty, you ready to do what we do best?"
Kingler made some noises in response that to anyone else would tell them nothing, but Joe understood Morty. He was ready.
Kyla took a moment, clearly deciding on who to bring out to face Kingler.
Joe's biggest worry would be an electric type. Morty didn't have a good record against electric types, unsurprisingly.
"Get a load of this!" Kyla taunted and threw her second pokeball. A slender, flower Pokemon with a large, leaf tail and teardrop-shaped ears formed from the red light. The flower had an ornate, white bouquet of flowers as a mane to its white head and body.
Florges stood around the same height as Morty, though the Kingler's body was much wider and its large claw gave the impression that Morty was bigger than he actually was.
"Morty, you're at a type disadvantage. You don't want to be left stranded out there. End it quickly. Go for Guillotine."
"Cookie, cookie," Morty's deep voice gurgled in understanding.
"Florges, don't let Kingler get close! Petal Blizzard!" Kyla's voice carried across the field.
"Kingler, get on the defence!"
Kingler stopped in its tracks and began to glow. It's body seemed to gleam like shining armour. The Petal Blizzard flew in from a distance and surrounded Kingler, slashing away at him. Eventually the blizzard subsided; despite the super effective hit, it seemed the Harden had done its job as Kingler was able to continue its path towards Florges.
Kingler moved in close enough to attack; he opened his giant claw and reached toward Florges, snapping it closed. Florges moved swiftly, floating up and away from the claw. Almost escaping completely, Florges' tail got caught in the guillotine. Florges cried out in pain, and Kingler took his chance to swing Florges down to the ground.
"Great job, Morty! Now Stomp that Florges!"
Kingler stomped down hard on Florges.
"Florges, gain some space. And bring on that Flower Shield!"
Spurred on by her trainer's orders, Florges moved away from Kingler's reach again, swiftly floating up and away from him.
Kingler snapped again but Florges was able to easily avoid the strike.
Leaves and flowers began to swirl around the Florges. A misty shield, with the leaves and flowers caught in its orbit, formed around the flower Pokemon. She seemed to gain some strength from it.
"Now, Petal Dance!"
Florges began to move back and forth rhythmically, flower petals spinning around and around with ever increasing speed.
Joe frowned; Petal Dance was a special move; Harden wouldn't help him this time.
The petals were now a series of blurring blades. On Florges' command, they zoomed forward through the air heading straight for Kingler.
"Morty, watch out!" Joe warned, but it was pointless.
Kingler surprisingly avoided the first two petal blades that came his way, but the next three were direct hits. Joe knew that Kingler could fight for longer, but he knew this was a losing battle. He wasn't going to push Kingler in an exhibition. He opened his pokeball and recalled the crab Pokemon.
"Good effort, Morty," Joe said to the pokeball and put it back on his belt.
"Looks like we're one a piece," Kyla called over.
"Sudden death, then," Joe called back and threw out his third pokeball; it didn't matter who threw first this time. They had selected their three Pokemon before the battle and they each only had one option left.
Roger the Scrafty popped out of the ball, holding its baggy leg skin and pulling it up excitedly. Joe grinned; Roger loved battling.
Kyla threw out her last Pokemon; Tyranitar burst out of his ball with a mighty roar that echoed through the hills. Tyranitar towered over Scrafty like an adult to a child, but Joe knew that Scrafy had more fight in him than most. Scrafty worked best when he fought fast and on the offense, so Joe went straight to work.
"Roger, get up close… and show him your Swagger."
Scrafty ran towards his opponent. Tyranitar stamped the ground for good measure.
"Crunch!" Kyla called.
Scrafty was face to face with Tyranitar within moments. Tyranitar lunged forward to take a bite out of Scrafty, but he was fast. Scrafty jumped on top of Tyranitar's head and flipped over to the other side, landing behind Tyranitar. Tyranitat spun on the spot and Scrafty pulled its leg skin all the way up to its chin.
A powdery substance hazed into the air suddenly, enveloping Tyranitar. It seemed to agitate him. He stamped his feet, roaring.
"Good job, Roger!" Joe called.
"Swagger? Interesting tactic… but it's not easy to confuse my Tyranitar," Kyla said, "Crunch again, Tyranitar!"
The Tyranitar launched a bite at Scrafty again, but he backflipped out of danger. What could only be described as Scrafty's mischievous grin upon landing only infuriated Tyranitar more.
Tyranitar swung its tail, catching Scrafty from behind and tripping him. Tyranitar then clamped its jaws into Scrafty. Scrafty cried out as Tyranitar threw him out of his mouth and across the hill. Scrafty rolled down the hill and Joe moved to reach for his pokeball, but Scrafty recovered and landed back on his feet, stopping his own descent.
"Alright, back at it!" Joe cheered.
Scrafty moved back into close quarters with Tyranitar. The rock-type monster swung its tail and claws at Scrafty, trying to score a direct hit, but the confusion had set in and Scrafty easily avoided each of his strikes.
"Now, High Jump Kick!"
Scrafty used Tyranitar's own head again as a platform to jump high in the air, then came down on the same head with a High Jump Kick that sent the beast skidding down the hill himself, though he stopped quickly and didn't roll like Scrafty.
Tyranitar pulled himself back up, its legs now covered in mud and grass.
"We've got him on the ropes, Scrafty! Another High Jump Kick!"
Scrafty used the high ground of the hill to get a running start and then a freefall down towards Tyranitar. It aimed its High Jump Kick for a second time but this time, Tyranitar sidestepped the smaller Pokemon and he crashed hard into the hill, tumbling roughly as he fell.
Joe gasped inwardly; Roger was suddenly in big trouble.
Kyla was fast, already giving her next order.
"Tyranitar, Thunder!"
And with a blinding flash of white light, Joe knew it was over. Joe recalled Scrafty, not even waiting to see if the Pokemon could continue. Joe had decided enough was enough.
"That was a hell of a battle," Joe said, looking up at Kyla as the white lightning still popped in his eyes despite it no longer being there, "Congratulations."
Kyla nodded, looking delighted at her victory and maybe, Joe liked to believe, a little relieved.
"It was great," Kyla agreed, "That Grass Knot in the first round had me. I didn't see it coming at all."
"Well Florges is an absolute machine. She dismantled my strongest Pokemon," Joe complimented in return, "and your Tyranitar - wow!"
They headed back to the Pokemon Centre in Hammerlocke, resting up their Pokemon. Then they stopped at the Battle Cafe (as spectators) to grab a bite to eat. They ordered their food and the waitress headed off towards the kitchen.
"You know I've been here so long I know every single waiter and waitresses name in this place," Kyla sighed.
"Is that a bad thing?" Joe asked.
"Well, no," Kyla said, "But I do want to get that researcher diploma as soon as I can. And I haven't made much progress the last three years I've been stuck in Hammerlocke."
Joe knew that anyone who completed the Pokedex by recording all known species of Pokemon, minus legendary and mythical Pokemon, were able to get a Pokemon Researcher diploma, of which a plethora of lucrative career options could be earned from.
"Stuck?" Joe inquired.
Kyla shrugged.
"Well, that's the way I like to phrase it. The truth is, I could have left at any point. There's nothing really keeping me here. Most of my family live elsewhere now."
"So why didn't you? Leave at any point, I mean?" Joe asked.
"I don't know," Kyla said, drifting into her thoughts for a moment, "I think I came home because I was sick of the grind. But now I've been home for three years, I just wanna get out there again, you know?"
Joe nodded; while he wasn't quite in the same situation as her, he could certainly empathise with wanting a change.
The waitress, who Joe knew was called Cassandra after Kyla had thanked her by name, arrived with their food and drinks, placing the pokeball tray on the table.
"Do you have everything you need?" Cassandra asked them.
"Yes, thank you so much," Kyla smiled.
Cassandra nodded and turned to wait at another table as Kyla went to town on her fries. She threw a question at Joe in between bites.
"So, what are your plans tomorrow? You haven't really told me much about this job opportunity."
Joe shrugged, "I don't know much myself. But I'm intrigued. I've been trying to think of reasons to refuse it, but so far I've only come up with one."
"And what reason is that?"
Joe met her eyes. A moment later, she blushed.
"Oh," she grinned, looking down, "Well that's nice. But don't put your plans on hold for me."
Joe waited for her to look up at him.
"Why wouldn't I? Unless something has changed?"
Despite his vague choice of words, Joe knew that Kyla knew exactly what he was asking.
"No," she said, "Nothing has changed."
Her bright, wide blue eyes gazed into his with a teasing, deeply-rooted truth.
Arceus, she's pretty, Joe thought.
Realising he was staring, he broke his gaze and attacked his steak pie with his fork.
"The job is based at Circhester University, but there'll be a lot of field work involving unknown phenomena which could be considered dangerous," Joe explained, "If I took the job, I'd rarely be home."
"Technically, you don't have a home," Kyla reminded him, "but I get your point…"
She hesitated, then asked, "Don't you think we could make it last, long distance?"
"I think we could," Joe said, "I'm not looking for anyone else, Kyla."
"I'm not looking for anyone else either," Kyla replied.
A comfortable silence brewed between them.
An idea came to Joe; a crazy, childish and selfish idea.
"Well, what if…" he started and faltered.
"What?" Kyla asked, leaning in.
"What if we didn't do a long distance thing? What if - what if you came with me?"
Joe tried to read Kyla's face. She was surprised; that much was clear. But he didn't think she outright hated the idea upon hearing it.
"You never said there was another position available," Kyla said carefully.
"I don't know that there is," Joe said, honestly, "But I could ask. Ainsley wants experienced trainers he can trust."
"Ainsley doesn't really know me," Kyla pointed out.
It was true; back in the day, Ainsley had been the friend he journeyed through Galar with, after Kyla decided she wanted to go to Unova first. Joe had only known Ainsley for a couple of months at that point, so Ainsley and Kyla had never spent time with Joe together.
"No, but I do," Joe said, "And he wants me really bad. And I think you're a hell of a better trainer than I am. Honestly, I've been coasting for years."
Kyla looked like she was mentally torn.
"It's fine if you don't want to. I just thought it might be good to help you collect more Pokemon and you did say you were bored in Hammerlocke."
Kyla shook her head, "No, it's a good idea. And it does intrigue me. It's just such short notice."
"Well, I'm meeting him tomorrow to give my answer. I don't know when the work will start. I have been thinking I should accept. I need to pay the bills somehow, right?"
Kyla nodded and smiled, but something faltered in her face.
"You should take it. It will be good for you," she agreed.
"It might… but would it be as good for me as you?"
Kyla laughed.
"This is crazy, Joe," Kyla said, "I haven't seen you in ten years. We reunite yesterday and now you're asking me to go on this crazy adventure with you?"
"Asking you, yes," Joe said, his confidence now growing. He was getting used to seeing her again now; their rhetoric was more comfortable. And something was telling him to make the most of this opportunity. Joe moved his hand over to Kyla's. She didn't pull away, "but if you don't want to, I won't hold it against you. I just don't want to be separated again so quickly."
"Me neither," Kyla assured him, but Joe still sensed uncertainty in her voice.
"I'll tell you what," Joe said, "Come with me to meet Ainsley tomorrow. Hear what he has to say. Then, you can decide what you want to do.
This seemed to satisfy Kyla.
"Yes, alright," she conceded.
The day, which had been so busy and yet so much fun, wilted into evening far too quickly. Before Joe knew it, it was nearing eight o'clock.
"I really should be heading home now," Kyla finally said, after they had taken their Pokemon for a stroll around Lake Miloch.
Joe felt a tinge of panic and sadness surge through his chest. It was like he was a teenager again, falling in love with Kyla all over again. He didn't want to leave her, even for just a night.
He swallowed his childish feelings.
"Right, I suppose so," Joe said, making sure to express his disappointment just a little.
Kyla flung her arms around his shoulders. He held her for a few moments, breathing in her perfume. It had a balmy, light scent, reminding him of warm, summer days.
"I'll miss you," Joe said and immediately regretted it.
Grow up Joe, you've been with her all day.
But Kyla just smiled. She leaned in and kissed him. His chest buzzed with delight and when she pulled away, his lips were buzzing too.
"I'll miss you too," she said, "Meet me around three tomorrow? At the Pokemon Centre?"
"I'll be there," Joe replied.
A short while later as Joe arrived on the street where his hotel was located, the buzzing in his chest and lips had not faded. He was being bashed from all sides by a mixture of elation and melancholy.
It was the brutal combination that confirmed to him what he had been theorizing since the day before, when his eyes had focused and adjusted to the bright sun and seen Kyla's face for the first time in ten years.
Joe was in love again… though perhaps, a more accurate description was that he had always been in love and had just gotten a frank reminder of it.
Would he be able to convince Kyla to come with him? And if he couldn't convince her, or he couldn't convince Ainsley to allow her to join too, would he really leave her again for a new adventure?
He honestly didn't know the answer to any of these questions.
All he knew is that, for at least one more day, he and Kyla would be together.