If any complaint could be made about Sinnoh, it was that the spring weather was nowhere near as pleasant as back in Johto. It hadn't taken very long for Avis to make this observation, and the only consolation was that the problem wasn't so severe as to be painful.
In Johto, the clear, sunny skies indicated a very pleasant day. The sun would be out, bathing her body in its warm rays, and a cool, idle breeze would fan over her until sleep seemed inevitable. In Sinnoh, clear skies seemed like a myth, and even if the sun was out, there was a constant cold front washing over the region.
Little wonder that Adrian was constantly wearing a jacket out here, and the cool air wouldn't have bothered her so much if not for the fact it made it more difficult to observe things around her. Adrian still allowed her to ride on his shoulders, but now she was doing it mostly to leech some of his body heat to counteract Sinnoh's brisk atmosphere.
Blaze was presently the greatest source of fascination to the Snivy, especially since Ember had been returned to her Pokeball. There was something slightly off about the Eevee, but exactly what was wrong seemed to elude Avis. It was as though his behavior and mannerisms didn't align with his emotional motivations. Avis hadn't been given much opportunity to observe Blaze for longer periods of time, because Adrian seemed to believe she was deliberately harassing the male, and avoided leaving them together whenever possible.
Avis knew this much from reading Adrian's notebooks during the past week. The youth made occasional observations about the Eevee's behavior, but the focus was primarily on how Blaze interacted with the other Pokemon, and how they reacted to him and his presence. He was not officially under his care, so she supposed Adrian didn't find it necessary to record all his findings.
That said, Avis found those sections fascinating to read, but particularly the section dedicated to Ember's interactions with the Eevee. To Adrian's pleasant surprise, it seemed that Ember got along perfectly fine with the male Pokemon, and that he was considerably less on-edge around her than when around Avis, or even Aureia, although the latter remained the only one of the three he showed affectionate interest in.
There was one section in particular that Avis found especially entertaining, as it seemed to have been written during the boat trip to Sinnoh, when Adrian was primarily keeping Ember outside her ball, likely to observe and work with her more in the wake of the unfortunate encounter, as previous pages indicated that the youth was very concerned about how that event was going to affect the Charmander.
"Ember shows surprisingly little objection to the Eevee's presence, but still shows the usual amount of tension if he wanders into the range of her nest (the cabin's bed, and the chair if I'm using the bed). No outward hostility yet observed if he remains oblivious to the faux pas. His anxious and flighty behavior does not seem to annoy her the way it does Aureia, and he shows a respectful wariness of her personal space. His tendency to take shelter behind or beneath other objects makes it unlikely for him to encroach on her sleeping space enough to trigger an aggressive response."
Unfortunately, Avis hadn't had much opportunity to read Adrian's notes since then, but she was intrigued all the same. Since Adrian kept denying her the opportunity to observe Blaze directly, she would need to rely on his notes more often than not to figure out whether she was onto something or not.
"Aww, it's so cute!" a female voice practically squealed, jolting Avis from her thoughts. A quick glance around confirmed that they were back within Hearthome City, which was much livelier and crowded than when they had walked through the first time. The speaker was a young human female, probably not much older than a pre-teen, but judging human ages was notoriously difficult, even with her past exposure to so many humans of different shapes and sizes.
The girl was looking up at Avis with wide, awestruck eyes, and Avis straightened up with a giggle, providing her admirer with the most innocent, adorable smirk she could muster. Adrian paused his stride, smiling at the young girl and exchanging a few words that Avis ignored in favor of basking in the attention.
"Are they also yours?" the girl asked, pointing at Blaze and Aureia. The Eevee flinched and inched closer to the Vaporeon. Adrian answered with an affirmative, prompting the girl to praise him for raising them so well, and similar sentiments. After about a minute of this, Adrian thanked her and continued on his way.
"Hearthome is famous for its Contest Hall," Adrian explained, once they were out of earshot. "They see trainers and coordinators from all over the region, and even other regions, who have raised and groomed their Pokemon with utmost care and attention. I suppose I should take that as the highest compliment, if you three caught her eye."
"I'm just that adorable," Avis giggled, reclining across Adrian's shoulders and fanning herself with her tail leaf. Aureia rolled her eyes and made no comment, whereas Blaze didn't bother craning his neck far enough to see her, and just shrugged in response to her statement. A real shame, because the combination of the statement and pose was crucial to fully appreciating her smug satisfaction.
"She seemed local, so she probably sees most of the Contests here," Adrian continued, talking more to himself now than any of them. "Maybe an inspiring coordinator herself, or has a family member that participates."
"No one cares," Aureia deadpanned. Adrian glanced back at the Vaporeon with an annoyed expression, but otherwise gave no indication that he understood what she said. Adrian's ability to understand the gist of most of what Aureia said was particularly fascinating to Avis. While she was definitely familiar with the concept of trainers developing enough of a bond with their Pokemon that they could communicate clearly despite the language barrier, Aureia tended to make incredibly insulting or sarcastic remarks, and sometimes spoke literal gibberish, yet Adrian seemed to catch onto what she was doing almost immediately.
Granted, in this particular example, it wasn't hard to guess what had Aureia said based on her tone and obvious disinterest in the subject, but in other cases, Avis found it a more remarkable feat. She supposed that Adrian had a gift for reading a Pokemon's body language and tone and used the combination of these factors to pick up the details, but it was impressive for a human, especially a human that wasn't active in the competitive scene, where there would be much more exposure to Pokemon both in and outside their natural habitats. Observing a wild Growlithe in its natural habitat was an entirely different game than observing a trained Growlithe in battle, or a Growlithe employed by police officers, and that wasn't even counting outlier cases where a Growlithe was bred, and then released.
Avis smirked to herself. Such keen observation skills were crucial lessons in her earliest education. It was just a shame that she hadn't had the time to fully master them before the...incident.
The Snivy's smirk faltered, and she adjusted her position on Adrian's shoulders, peering up ahead. Adrian had made his way purposefully towards the eastern side of the City, practically the opposite corner from where they had started from, and he paused only to confirm that Aureia and Blaze were keeping pace with them. There was a definite vibe of excitement radiating from the youth, a barely contained ripple of enthusiasm running through his body, as if he had consumed just a little too much sugar or caffeine.
His mood was almost contagious, and Avis found herself fidgeting restlessly as they approached the archway leading out of Hearthome City. She hadn't been under Adrian's care long enough to really know anything about his brother, and her mind was buzzing with expectations and curiosity. She knew basic details, mostly information gleaned from Aureia or Ember, or from eavesdropping on Adrian's phone conversations, but nothing really compared to seeing the reality with her own eyes.
"Whoa there, settle down, girl," Adrian chuckled, as Avis moved around so much that she nearly fell from his shoulders. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her against his chest, still chuckling to himself about the Snivy's antics.
The eastern outskirts of Hearthome had a very different environment than the southern route. Instead of humid marshland, the path was surrounded by thick forests and lush, grassy sections, the picture perfect place for a picnic. Avis giggled hysterically to herself as the thought passed her mind, earning herself a bemused look from Adrian. Brilliant blue streams cut through the route, with wooden bridges carefully constructed to allow passage over them.
"Yeah, go ahead, just keep up, okay?" Adrian called, glancing over his shoulder at Aureia. Although her position in Adrian's arms physically prevented her from looking, she could almost picture Aureia eyeing the stream longingly. It amused her to think that Adrian was so attuned with his Pokemon that he could almost tell what they were thinking, even when they were literally behind his back. Sure enough, as Adrian started across the first bridge, Avis heard a distinct splashing sound. The water didn't appear especially deep, although her angle wasn't the best for judging something like that, but it was sure to satisfy Aureia's wishes.
Once across the bridge, Adrian paused and turned around, enabling Avis to see that Blaze had chosen to stay dry, and was hurrying across the bridge after them, but Aureia was blissfully swimming in the water next to the bridge. With some reluctance, she climbed out once she reached the shore, the water droplets glittering in the sun as they rolled down her skin and dripped to the grass below. The male Eevee's cheeks were hot with embarrassment, but Avis smirked. Her vantage point allowed her to see that he was constantly glancing in Aureia's direction, the furtive looks more damning evidence of his interest than if he had been staring intently.
More entertaining was that Aureia seemed completely aware of this, because she said something to him in an undertone, and gestured for him to walk ahead of her on the path. Adrian seemed likewise amused by the interaction, but soon faced forward and led the way further on. At each subsequent bridge, Aureia chose to swim across the water rather than cross on foot, but seeing as Adrian did not pause to confirm that Aureia was keeping pace with them, Avis missed the opportunity to see whether Blaze was still sneaking glances whenever the Vaporeon left the water, or if he had been intimidated into averting his gaze.
"Almost there," Adrian announced. With the stream and bridges now behind them, the path turned to the north, and in the distance, Avis could see the looming shape of some sort of tower structure, but the trees around them were too thick to better judge how far they were from it, or what purpose the building had.
Adrian slowed his pace and peered around at the trees lining the path. It didn't take Avis long to figure out what her trainer was focusing on. There were several indications of previous encampments on the side of the road, including small bundles of burnt wood, doused with water, and scuff marks in the dirt from something being dragged from one spot to another. Now and again, Avis caught sight of a glint of silver, from a utensil or trinket forgotten by its previous owner. Clearly, this section of the route was often used by travelers, likely those unable to get affordable lodgings in Hearthome.
Avis squirmed restlessly in Adrian's arms. As much as she enjoyed being held, or otherwise allowed to use as little energy as possible when traveling, the restriction of mobility was starting to grate on her nerves. Adrian shifted his hold, initially thinking she just wished to adjust her positioning for greater comfort, but she persisted in squirming until he set her down on the grass.
"That better?" he asked with a chuckle, and she responded with a formal salute. "All right, should be right around...there! Hey, Marcus!" Adrian shouted the greeting, waving one of his arms enthusiastically. Avis whirled around to see where Adrian was looking, and soon spotted another human male, sitting in the shade on the side of the path. On hearing Adrian's shout and seeing the wave, the other human scrambled to his feet and hurried over to where they were standing.
Adrian met him halfway and the two embraced like they hadn't seen one another in years. Avis couldn't make out much of what they were saying, as they were constantly talking over each other and saying things that sounded like gibberish, but might have been greetings or comments on the other's appearance, because Adrian made gestures that might have indicated his brother had grown several inches taller.
Aureia sat down beside Avis, observing the reunion with idle boredom, and she seemed to be whispering advice or commentary to Blaze from the corner of her mouth, because the Eevee visibly relaxed, as if he had been given a reassurance of some kind.
Finally, the brothers separated, and made their way back over to where the three Pokemon were waiting.
"And...time for the introductions," Aureia deadpanned, whereas Avis brightened, peering at the new human with unabashed interest.
The first thing the Snivy noticed was that the resemblance between the two siblings was almost uncanny. Marcus was definitely the younger of the two, but many of his facial features resembled Adrian's. He had a boyish, youthful face, and chestnut brown eyes that matched his hair, although Avis was quick to note that, compared to Adrian's neatly groomed appearance and clothing, Marcus' hair was untidy, and his clothes were wrinkled, as if he routinely stuffed them into a bag.
"Okay, this is my brother, Marcus," Adrian told the Pokemon, gesturing to the smaller youth, who grinned in response. "Well, you've definitely met Aureia before," Adrian added with a wry grin.
"Hey there, Aureia, remember me?" Marcus asked, kneeling down to the Vaporeon's level and grinning. She responded by fixing him with a dull, unblinking stare, as if focusing on a point directly behind his head.
Silence followed, long enough for Avis to feel uncomfortable, and then stretching for several seconds longer. She began to glance around in bewilderment, as Marcus seemed determined not to let Aureia off without some form of acknowledgement, and Aureia seemed equally intent on not giving him any. Even Blaze and Adrian seemed perplexed by what was going on, but neither interrupted.
"Anything, yet?" Marcus ventured teasingly, after the silence had stretched out so long that it was almost painful. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Avis could almost see Aureia's self-restraint snapping like an overstretched rubber band. Her dull eyes narrowed, and she launched a jet of water from her mouth at point-blank range. The powerful spray of water hit with enough force to bowl Marcus over and completely soak his clothing.
Aureia ceased the water assault after a moment, and looked over her handiwork with the faintest hint of pride, and not even the slightest hint of shame or remorse. She even cast Adrian a challenging glare, as if promising him that a scolding would result in him facing the same consequence as his brother, before turning her full attention to Blaze, who instinctively cringed. Avis found she couldn't really criticize the Eevee for that response under the circumstances. Furthermore, it seemed that Aureia was so intent on metaphorically flipping the two humans off that she started grooming Blaze's fur.
Avis stifled her giggles the best she could, but that was a losing battle in itself. Blaze's look of confusion and awkwardness was already priceless, but the best part was how completely out of left field Aureia's actions were. Avis could imagine that, in the Vaporeon's mind, she was doing little more than keeping herself occupied, to express her utter indifference to the possibility of facing consequences, but it was hilarious to see. On account of the Vaporeon's aloof and indifferent demeanor, there really wasn't a lot she could make a point of focusing on after lashing out at Adrian's brother. Blaze happened to be the most convenient and available option, but Aureia was just making herself an easy target to be teased in the future.
Or maybe, Avis mused to herself. That's the point. Adrian teases her plenty on the subject of Blaze, so making herself a target in this moment is the biggest 'screw you' message she can express. She's doubling down.
Avis turned her gaze back to Marcus. The young man sputtered and coughed a little bit on the water he likely ingested , but evidently his dignity has suffered the worst fate, because he got back up with little trouble, and seemed far more amused than anything.
"Okay, let's move on," Marcus suggested to Adrian, although his focus lingered on Blaze for a few moments. "Wait, when did you get an Eevee?"
"Ahh...he's not actually mine," Adrian began, rubbing the back of his head. "He's traveling with us, but he's not registered to me."
"Oh! Is he the one you mentioned-"
"Don't say it. Don't," Adrian warned in an undertone.
"What? I wasn't going to-"
"Just let's move on again, okay?" Adrian insisted, making furtive motions with his head. Avis doubted the movements themselves meant anything, because Marcus just shrugged, choosing not to question the situation further. "You haven't actually met Avis before," Adrian said, gesturing to the Snivy.
"This isn't going to be like when I first met Ember, is it?" Marcus wondered, eyeing the Snivy apprehensively. "Where I get close, thinking she's so cute, and she scratches the living daylights out of my arm?"
"No, nothing like that," Adrian said seriously. Marcus knelt down closer to Avis' level, but still watched her warily. The Snivy giggled and waved.
"She is really cute," Marcus noted, tentatively reaching over to stroke the grass lizard's head. Avis cooed in delight, basking in the attention. "How long have you had her?"
"Mid-January," Adrian answered, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he observed Avis' reaction. "Only a few months. Haven't made as much progress as I'd like, to be honest."
"What happened to get her assigned to you?" Marcus wondered, phrasing the question as delicately as possible. If Avis had to guess, the younger boy had experience with his curiosity being met with less than favorable reactions from the Pokemon in question. Probably why Ember had allegedly scratched his arm up.
"I'm actually not allowed to disclose that information at this time," Adrian said seriously. "It's a sensitive legal issue." Marcus blinked, and looked up at Adrian, his eyes searching his brother's face for some sign that he was being teased.
"Wait, are you serious? Why not?" Marcus wondered.
Adrian sighed softly. "One thing you've got to remember about my job, little man, is that sometimes, I just have to play with what I get dealt. Not every Pokemon I take in is documented and psychologically evaluated already. Sometimes, my job is to look after it and see whether any problematic behaviors surface. Honestly, the toughest cases aren't the openly violent, disobedient Pokemon. They're the Pokemon that seem mostly normal, but are considered high-risk because they were raised or trained in an environment that produces volatile results. They might be able to function normally, but they might also freak out randomly. Knowing what triggers the response is crucial to teaching them how to cope and manage the issues so they can function in a more stable and independent manner."
"Right, I know that," Marcus said, frowning a little.
"Okay, good. That's pretty much where I stand with Avis," Adrian said. "She's the product of a questionable upbringing."
"Just say it already," Avis complained. "I was illegally bred."
"Illegally bred?" Aureia repeated, bemused. She had stopped grooming Blaze around the time Adrian and Marcus had shifted focus to Avis instead, but his fur still showed improvement. "How can you be ILLEGALLY bred?"
"Well," Avis giggled. "When a male and a female love each other very much..."
"Please tell me she's not really doing this," Blaze protested, burying his face in his paws. Aureia rolled her eyes, and fixed the Snivy with a deadpan look. Avis giggled again. That reaction was all she had really been aiming for.
"Some could say illegal breeding is when a male and a female didn't love each other very much...but were, ahem...coerced," she continued cutely. "Repeatedly. For human profit."
Aureia frowned thoughtfully. "That makes...a lot more sense than I'd like it to have, based on what I know about you," she sighed. "But you say it so cheerfully, I still feel like you're messing with me."
"Uh-oh, she's onto me," Avis giggled, flashing a smirk at the Vaporeon. "It's true...I have crafted an elaborate, phony backstory for myself to serve no purpose but to mess with you specifically. My real name isn't even Avis. It's Siva, future heir to the throne in Unova. I have deceived you because my true past is murky with dark secrets. Secrets that must never be shared! Which is why I shall list them. My father was a power-hungry backstabber...impressive feat, considering he's a Serperior, and has sired innumerable illegitimate heirs...a bit less impressive, because he's a Serperior. See what I did there?"
"I've stopped listening already," Aureia deadpanned.
"Aww, story was just getting good, too," Avis lamented, turning her attention back to the two humans. Marcus had stood up properly, and it appeared as though Adrian had just finished explaining the reason for Ember being in her ball.
"Your turn, little bro," Adrian said, looking at his brother expectantly. "Still waiting to learn your secret to beating the Veilstone Gym. How's your team been doing?"
"Oh, don't worry, I didn't forget," Marcus said, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "But how about I just show you my team, Trainer-style?"
Adrian seemed momentarily confused, before adopting a deadpan expression. "I should have seen that one coming. You want to battle."
"Yeah! Can we?" Marcus pressed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I really want to see how far I've come since leaving Johto, and you can probably give me some pointers afterwards. It'll be great!"
Adrian considered for a few moments, studying his brother's enthusiastic expression, and then shrugged. "Okay, fine. How many Pokemon do you actually have?"
"Three," Marcus answered, holding up three minimized spheres between the fingers of his right hand. "So we can have a battle with three Pokemon each. Single battle. Right?"
"Sounds fine," Adrian agreed, smiling faintly. "However, you know all of my Pokemon already, and I'm mostly in the dark about yours, so to be fair, you should send out your first Pokemon before I do."
"Fair enough," Marcus agreed, but then hesitated, looking down at his wet clothes. "How about we take five or so to finish preparations? I should probably change into dry clothes first."
