The aching of muscles, burning of lactic acid, began to dawn on the resting human and his Pokémon. He hadn't been this tired in years. As he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, Taki and Feraligatr sat beside Louis on the bench.
"Still exhausted?" wondered Taki.
"Uh-huh," answered Louis. "Feels just like the time we journeyed around Johto looking for the Grand Crystal."
The young adult was hot, bothered, and a little dehydrated.
"I could probably go for some water. I'm dying of thirst."
Before he could get up and grab a drink, Feraligatr spurted a large stream of water from her mouth at Louis, drenching him from head-to-toe.
"Or...that works too," Louis said.
"That'll save you some time," grinned Feraligatr.
The trio laughed amongst one another.
"Are you guys ok?!"
A panicked voice called from the outside of the training ground. It was Zack, who had jumped the fence and dashed toward the scene. The plume of smoke from earlier had now subsided, and the boy saw Lucario and Marowak lying down on the ground, believing they were hurt.
"It's alright, Zack," called Suzuki. "It was just Braixen using Flamethrower.
Zack looked at the fox Pokémon in question, as a single word formed in his mind.
How?
Before speaking, Zack saw Louis sitting on the bench, looking at Feraligatr. It didn't seem like much to the boy, but then, he saw them talking amongst each other.
"Fe-ral Feraligatr Ral?" the water Pokémon said.
"...you mean Zack?" questioned Louis.
Zack raised an eyebrow, while Feraligatr nodded.
"Well, he was in the same class that Professor Clover was teaching, and I found out that he was the same kid who took on Suzuki in the qualifiers the year I won."
"Raligatr?"
"Uh-huh."
As Zack watched on, he blinked twice in confusion.
"That's...weird," he muttered.
Suzuki approached the boy from the side, curious about his facial expression.
"Something wrong, Zack?" he asked.
Zack pointed at the young adult and the water crocodile.
"Over there. Is...is Louis talking to that Feraligatr?"
The question sent jolts up Suzuki's spine.
"Uhhhhhh..."
Feraligatr noticed both individuals nearby.
"Fe-ral?" she said.
"Yeah?" replied Louis.
The water alligator pointed to Zack and the staff member. Louis spun his head to the specific direction. Once he saw Suzuki and Zack, the boy in particular, Louis became incredibly startled.
'Crap...' he thought.
"Was...he there the whole time?" the young adult asked.
"Gatr."
Having now realised that Louis had accidentally revealed his ability to talk to Pokémon in front of Zack, Suzuki worried about how to explain it to the student-in-training.
"Hold up," he said, turning to Zack.
Suzuki took small steps toward Louis and Feraligatr. As he got closer to the group, the staff member spoke again.
"Uh...Louis..." he stammered.
"Zack saw me talking to Feraligatr, didn't he?" questioned Louis.
"...yeah."
Louis sighed. He peered past his friend to lock eyes with the younger student.
"Yes, I can talk to Pokémon, Zack," he revealed.
Zack's jaw dropped. His friend could speak to them.
"That...is so...AWESOME!" he cheered. "I must tell everyone!"
Before he could dash out of sight, telling everyone on campus about Louis' ability, Suzuki gripped Zack's shoulder, tightly.
"Uh-uh," he said. "You can't tell everyone this."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want the attention," called Louis. "I'd rather just be known as the guy that clocked Simon."
"B-but...talking to Pokémon sounds so cool."
"That is true, but this is personal. So, you can't tell anyone this. ...ok, maybe tell your Pokémon, but not any person."
Louis and Suzuki led Zack to a hidden area on the training field, explaining to him why he cannot reveal Louis' secret.
The young adult's Pokémon looked on as they walked away.
"Is it just me, or does Louis seem a bit...different than usual?" asked Marowak.
"Only a little bit," answered Braixen.
"I'm sure he's fine, but...I am getting a little worried," added Staraptor.
While the conversation between the members of Team Venus was taking place, Coach was busy assisting Miguel in training his recently-caught Sharpedo, with little success. Miguel hung on to the Sharpedo's fin for dear life as Coach tried to give the man instructions.
"What, did he miss his daily curry today?" joked Incineroar.
"Don't be silly," said Braixen. "I think he's still readjusting after being away for years."
"Or maybe...something else," replied Lucario.
"We've got to keep this in mind. Go easy on Louis for a while, guys," the aura Pokémon added.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" asked Marowak.
Lucario began contemplating if he should reveal the details about what happened between Louis and Azul years prior. However, he remembered how Louis asked him to keep it between each other, wanting to tell them on his own terms.
"I can sense that he's still distressed about something," he hinted.
The rest of the team grew curious about Lucario's choice of words. However, their thoughts were soon interrupted by the return of their trainer and friend, Louis.
"Ok, I'm back," he said.
As the young adult sat down, each of the Pokémon gazed at their trainer.
"You feeling ok, Louis?" asked Braixen.
"Yeah," answered Louis. "Still a little tired after all that training.
"Something yelled from above.
Miguel, having just been thrown skyward by the Sharpedo, fell toward the group, a middle-aged blur.
He landed in a heap of dust, right next to Feraligatr.
"Ow..." he groaned.
In the distance, Coach shouted.
"I told you to hang on!"
Whoops. Looks like Louis' secret has been discovered by Zack. He better keep his promise.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)
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