CHAPTER FOURTEEN

In which she is drunk on anger

It takes two hours of walking until sunrise, and one more to get to Hulbury. Levna is immediatly struck by the seasalt smell surrounding her. Hulbury is similar to Turffield, in that it is a small town mostly filled with some locals, and a lot of tourists. Fishing used to be it's golden source of revenue, but just like most cities since Macro Cosmos came around, tourism has been gaining more and more traction, to a point that Levna would call inauthentic, before snickering at herself for being that snobbish, and then sighing at herself that self-awareness didn't make the original thought any less snobbish.

But today is not the day for sight-seeing. In fact, Levna has barely passed the city entrance gate that a worried looking Marnie dashes in her direction. Levna sends Blue in front of her, stopping Marnie in her tracks.

- You aren't… you aren't going to attack me right ?

- Oh, I don't know, Marnie, that depends on what the hell you have to do with what happened during the night ? You know, right ?

- Levna, I'm sorry about my fans…

- Your fans ?! Your mob, you mean ? Where is my grookey, Marnie ?!

Marnie looks more and more distressed, eyeing the golett as she tries to calm Levna down.

- That's why I'm here ! She's at the Pokemon Center, I got the ones responsible apprehended and…

- Now now, dear Challengers, calm down please, you are upsetting our dear Hulbury citizens.

Levna turns abruptly to two newcomers, one of them a short and bulky man, and the other a very tall, very thin woman, both wearing strange combinations of clothing, a cap, and a pair of sunglasses. It takes a couple of seconds for Levna to recognize the Chairman himself, and his assistant Oleana. Levna is about to burst with rage, but Rose is quicker.

- Challenger Levna, please recall your golett. Oleana, Challenger Marnie and myself wish to clear up these recent events with you, but it cannot be done if you do not calm down.

Levna blinks a little, and feels a hand on her shoulder. Turning abruptly, she sees Hop, sorrow in his eyes, their gear on his back, and his corvisquire on top of it. Levna takes a deep breath, and recalls Blue, crossing her arms as she faces Marnie, deliberately ignoring Oleana, Rose and their stupid disguises.

- This better be good, Marnie. My grookey is gone and Smile has been badly hurt.

Marnie expression is distressed, but Levna doesn't care. The Chairman steps forward, taking off his sunglasses, and planting his bright green eyes in Levna's, radiating his usual warmth and kind demeanour.

- The trainers responsible for the abduction of your grookey have been apprehended, and your grookey has been brought to the Pokemon Center to be healed. She has made a full recovery and is waiting for you there, Levna dear. Challenger Marnie here has been nothing but cooperative the second she heard of what happened.

Still, Levna's eyes spit fire as she keeps staring at Marnie, who keeps quiet.

- Now, under the circumstances, we wish to offer you and Challenger Hop here a fully paid night at the best local inn available, in order for you to have a nice, relaxing time before moving on to challenge Gym Leader Nessa. How does that sound ?

Only now does Levna turn her gaze to Rose, who is smiling gently, but who's eyes seem much more pressing and demanding than he wishes to translate in his body language. She nods simply, as Hop smiles a little, putting his arm around Levna's shoulders.

- Thank you so much, Chairman Rose ! That's awesome, we accept of course !

He pulls on Levna gently in the direction of the Pokemon Center, and Levna looks at Marnie, who stares at them with a sad look on her face.

- Joy !

The grookey jumps in Levna's arms the second the doors to the Center open. Despite the events of the night, she looks immaculate, her green fur all brushed up and clean and her little stick holding her leaf-shaped hair in place atop her head.

- Hey girl, I heard you were taken care of ! So good to see you !

Levna walks up to the counter and takes out Smile's pokeball, handing it over to the nurse and explaining the circumstances. The nurse frowns, and Levna's heart skips a beat.

- His mud layers cracked, you said ?

Levna nods, and the nurse takes Smile's pokeball out back, only coming out a few minutes later, with a forced smile on her face.

- We would like to keep your mudsdale for a little while for observational purposes, if you would please come back later ? He is in great hands, nothing to worry about !

Levna breathes deeply, finally facing Hop. He's smiling, a little uncertainely this time, handing her over Rhys' pokeball.

- He was great, he didn't stop right at camp but I jumped off and he circled back eventually…

Levna cannot find the strength to smile. All she wants to do is sleep, really.

- So, hum… Now that we're in Hulbury, do you want to go register ? We can have a look at that room in the inn that Chairman Rose got for us, and get a little rest… how does that sound ?

Levna thinks it sounds great, but deep down, the idea of sending Rhys to body slam the trainers who took Joy and injured Smile hovers in her mind. Ground pokemon were known for holding grudges, and their affinity trainers were just the same.

- What was with that stupid disguise Rose and that assistant of his ?

Levna and Hop have registered for the Challenge, both scheduled two days later. To their surprise, the room at the inn is already booked in their name for two days instead of the one promised by Rose, which is almost a little unsettling. Levna wonders the amount he knows, and the little he doesn't. They are both settling in for the afternoon, Levna in particular wanting to take a nap.

- I guess they wear it when they want to go incognito ? Which is a bit weird considering his hairstyle and her height both together in the same setting kind of immediately gives them away.

Hop grins, but Levna is laying on the bed, just looking at the ceiling, expressionless.

- I don't know. He's not dumb enough to really think those disguises work, so I guess it's an image thing ? He really likes the debonnaire image, doesn't he.

- Well, I think he is genuinely nice. He has done a lot for Leon and our family, and have you even looked up the amount of extraordinary advancements he did for Galar ?

- I just don't think you get to Macro Cosmos level of rich and powerful by being a goof or a softy, you know.

- He's the one who made it a point of pride to make the mines as safe as possible, especially since the last incident.

Levna raises an eyebrow, looking over at Hop, who is side-eyeing her as he is inventoring his gear. She bites her lip, remembering how sensitive Hop is on the topic, and sits up, taking her phone out.

- So, we got two days now to do whatever we want, so lets catch up on what the hell has been happening online, shall we ?

She grins, encouraging Hop to join in, and he sits on the bed beside her.

The scrolling lasts almost the rest of the afternoon. They find out most of the Challengers have past the Grass Gym, and a few are already in Motostoke to challenge Kabu, the Fire-type Gym Leader, including Marnie -Levna grits her teeth a little at the mention of her name. They catch snippets of different battles, mesmerized by the variety of pokemon and strategies used, and even watch Bede's battle against Nessa, that very evening. He wins, and his attitude has the effect of pissing off Nessa, and Levna and Hop both laugh as they see them clash onscreen. Next, they take a look at their own battles, and though they find plenty of snippits of official episodes featuring Hop and his training regiment as well as his battle against Milo, Levna is noticeably absent from airings, only mentionned to have won the Grass Gym Badge at one point.

- How is it that you are literally everywhere, but I didn't even get a nice shot shown somewhere since the ceremony ?

- Being the Champion's brother sure has its perks !

Hop grins as Levna fake punches his shoulder, when there is a knock at the door. Levna raises her eyebrows, looking out the window : it's sundown already. She gets up, surprised to find Oleana on the other side of the door, now wearing her usual pristine clothing and lab coat. She stares for a few seconds, expressionless.

- Challenger Levna, Chairman Rose formally invites you to join him for dinner tonight, at The Captain's Table. Do not keep him waiting.

- Huh… Wha… What ? Who said I wanted to have dinner with the Chairman ?

- Levna…

- The Chairman is the kind of man who gets downhearted if he doesn't take care of things he needs to right away. Go to the Captain's Table as soon as possible. Formal wear is required.

- Can I come ?

Hop scratches the back of his head.

- The Chairman has only requested Challenger Levna's presence.

Oleana stays quiet for a second, then reaches for her pocket, taking out a card.

- You seem disappointed. Here is the Chairman's League Card as compensation.

She then turns to Levna, before leaving on her final words :

- Do not keep the Chairman waiting.