Act 2: Out on a Limb

Isobel fumbled into the shop, sipping from a can of Oran kombucha in one hand and nursing her bruised forehead with another, while her two other hands pushed the glass door open. The two staff members there at that moment — Edie, one of the clerks she saw on pretty much every shift, and Reynolds, the manager of the Pokeball store — both turned to her.

"You're lat—" Reynolds immediately raised and lowered his finger, looking at Isobel's battered form.

"Um," Edie said with a nervous titter. "Looks like you've had one heck of a battle, huh?"

"Er, no," Isobel grumbled, not wanting to humour that joke at the moment. "I've just been in an accident."

"You what?" Edie walked to the far side of the store, along with Reynolds, who crossed his suited arms.

"Yeah, exactly what I said." Isobel sighed, about to faint from embarrassment.

"Damn," Reynolds said, drawn to the egg on Isobel's head. "What happened?"

"Er, it's a long story, okay? Besides, I don't wanna be later than I already am to start the sign thing."

"Nonsense." Reynolds pulled up a spare stool from behind the counter and slid it across the smooth boutique floor to Isobel's side. "I can't put you to work if you're all bumped up like that."

"Thanks, but—" she slumped onto the seat—"it's fine, honestly. And I've got more things to worry about than just a few bruises. Thank the stars I'm not human, else that would've sent me straight to the hospital."

"Oof," Edie said, leaning on the counter to face Isobel, along with Reynolds who stood beside her. "I've had a few accidents like that before. Tell me about it."

Isobel glanced at the both of them. She had only been working at the premium Pokeball store for less than a month, and yet, they were interested to know what her deal was. At the very least, she needed someone to vent to about this. So, she shifted in her seat and recalled her story.

Isobel and Bronze stared out of the parking lot view to the rest of Circhester, and both of them had a lot on their mind. Isobel was thinking about work and battling, though she already had her fill of fights throughout the past week. Bronze, on the other hand, had to go and figure out what his plans were with his case worker, now he had officially left Trevor.

"So, what time do you think you'll be back?" Bronze asked.

"Ah, probably no time at all." Isobel said as she stretched her arms. "Door's unlocked if you need to get in anyway."

"Oh." His ears drooped.

"Oh what?"

"What if they think I'm some wild Pokemon?" He looked back at the block of flats. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"You won't," she said. "And trust me, I'm not the only Pokemon living there. They'd just think you're one of us."

"Right." He sighed. "Sorry, I'm a bit nervous today. Truth be told, I'm not sure if I want to go back with another trainer. Not after what happened before."

Oh, of course. Trevor's ghost was going to follow them around no matter where they went. Isobel took her eye off of the hillside for the moment and knelt down to Bronze, patting him on the head. "I know. But I'm sure those guys'll understand, right?"

"Yeah… And that Inteleon is nice, if a bit cold."

"Oh yeah, her." She didn't know who she was, other than the fact that she tried to help Bronze readjust to life without a trainer. "Well, good luck today."

"Thanks." His tail brushed past her ankle. "And good luck with your thing, too. I hope you find some Pokemon to coach soon."

Oh yeah, that. Isobel gritted her teeth. Ever since that episode a week ago, she resolved to apply herself and create a posting on the PokeJobs board where she could coach other Pokemon. One day, she was just about to advertise herself on there… only to stop at the last minute. At that time, a lot of thoughts rushed through her head, some influenced by her inner Morgrem, some of her own. What if she wasn't good enough to be a paid coach? What if nobody took her seriously on account of being a Machamp instead of a trainer? How would it get in the way of her fallback job at the previous store? What if she had nothing to show off her skills? What if…

Isobel got so bogged down in the 'what if' that she cramped up. And she had no good excuse to tell Bronze — it sounded ridiculous enough in her head anyway — so she lied instead. She hadn't called Gloria since that day either. Why not just tell Bronze the truth now?

She looked down, only to see no sign of that fox anywhere. He must've already left. Before she went, Isobel checked her phone — she was 5 minutes late.

Crap. Isobel immediately unlocked her bike and started pedalling down the familiar roads. As usual, they were packed with cars, though those with Pokemon simply rode on their backs. This was nothing new for Isobel, and she got used to the different road laws and hand signals by now. Though—

One car beeped behind her, and Isobel pedalled faster, grunting in annoyance. She was falling behind. Wait, she was late, she needed to rush! No, she was distracted. She was still thinking about that talk with Bronze. That opportunity she missed. Those opportunities she missed. Even though Isobel pressed onward, another set of cars blocked her way, sandwiching her in the middle with no way of stopping. She tried to find an opening so she could rush through it. Right there, between the blue car and the guard rail.

Isobel didn't waste any time taking the chance. She shifted gears and sped up, trying to scoot into the space, but slowed down at the last second. This was looking risky. This was—

The car suddenly slowed down. With a scream, Isobel veered to the left, only to bump into the guard rail. The bike wobbled. Then, she fell, and—

CLUNK!

Tired skidded. Horns beeped. Traffic went on all around her, while her face was stuck to the concrete. Even with four arms, the shock of that didn't break her fall. Oh great, someone was tugging at her shoulder as well.

Her head hurt. It was like someone just swung a metal sign at her face. Though she was tougher than humans, so this was nothing for her. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up. Time to face the music.

"So, as it turns out," Isobel continued, pressing the chilled can onto her sore head, "I made a dent shaped like my face in some guy's car." Even as she described her own misfortune, she couldn't help but laugh. "And he may or may not get me to cover the costs."

"Really?" Edie's tone rose, her fists clenched around a roll of barcode tape. "But you're a—"

"That's got nothin' to do with that. Sure, I didn't know that I'd autograph the car with this thing—" Isobel waved at her own face—"but I'm still the one responsible. I mean, I'm payin' my own bills, so…" She shrugged, taking another sip. Did people really enjoy this kombucha? It tasted like toilet water. And yet, she couldn't stop drinking it. "At least the bike's fine," she said with a humourless chuckle.

Edie's fiery expression dropped, and Reynolds patted her on the back. It wasn't exactly reassuring, but it made Isobel feel a little better about it.

"Look," Reynolds said, "you can take the day off if you want."

"Thanks, but I still wanna get paid." She sighed. "And if I do get charged up the wazoo for it, I wanna have something in the bank for it."

"Though you don't know how much it'll be." Edie scrolled through her phone, looking something up from what Isobel gathered. "You might not even be at fault, if that dumbass suddenly slowed down. And hey, they might chalk it up to an unavoidable accident, like if a wild Wooloo just—" she made a rolling motion with a hand—"Wooloo'd right into the car."

It seemed a little insulting to compare Isobel to a sheep, but that was on them, not Edie, and if it worked in Isobel's favour, then it didn't matter. Still, Isobel got out from her seat and started heading towards the backroom. They eyed her with concern, but didn't stop her as she headed for the front door with her trusty sign in tow.

"Good luck, anyway." Edie gave a slight smile that didn't entirely reach her eyes.

"And thanks," Reynolds said with a less melancholy smile. "You do make things better for us, you know."

Even if she didn't see any of the trainers flocking to their store while she was around, it was nice to hear nonetheless. And so, Isobel waved them back before she headed for work.

The shift began and ended without much fanfare. Sure, it must've been a novelty for the crowd to see a Machamp twirling a hunk of steel around, but to her, it was just a paycheck like anything else. She was essentially a performing clown. Oh well, even if she potentially had to save every penny she had, Isobel still needed to treat herself to some lunch. Self-care was important, after all.

Isobel heard through the grapevine that a new cafe opened up in the middle of Circhester, so her feet gravitated towards that place of their own free will. The PokeJobs system was taking off, so the next step was to test out Pokemon in the workforce more extensively, so much so, this cafe was almost entirely made up of Pokemon staff, including the management. It wasn't too far away from the Hero's Bath, so the furnished-sandstone exteriors and the fossil displays in the cafe window certainly fit the historical locale.

Isobel didn't know what she expected once she entered the cafe, but she didn't expect a Golurk to greet her, of all things.

"Welcome," they said through a voice box. "Glad you could come visit us, Misterchamp."

"Misschamp, thank you very much," Isobel said, crossing her arms. "The pun works better that way."

"Ah, sincerest apologies." The Golurk bowed.

"Nah, it's fine. Easy mistake to make."

"No, it's just that my studies of the art of paronomasia have been insufficient lately. But I have been trying. Customers can form attachments to staff based on humour, excellent service, and lots of cuddles, after all."

"Oh." She wasn't expecting that, but she dropped it. "Yeah, it looks like they're enjoying it." Isobel glanced at a family of three that lounged around with an aproned Minccino who kept them company. That seemed nice, though she didn't know if receiving headpats counted as actual work.

The Golurk extended their arms. "You seem a little frazzled. Care for a complimentary cuddle?"

Even though they towered over Isobel, to the point their head nearly touched the ceiling, well…

"You know what, yeah, I would."

The Golurk brought their metal arms around her. Their cold embrace made Isobel jump at first, but it was still a nice feeling to be held. It made her think of her old folks back home, years ago. Finally, the Golurk brought them back, and bowed.

"Well, thanks," Isobel said with a chuckle. "So, what's on the menu today?"

"I've got baked goods and baked goods only!" one staff member shouted from behind the counter. It was a mop-headed Morgrem, who jumped up and squinted at Isobel. "I've got iced buns and that's it! If you wanna get a pizza, bug off over to the sewer Chewtle!"

Isobel couldn't help but stare at the Morgrem. He was covered from head to toe in flour, which didn't seem very hygienic. That, and his personality reminded her of...

Hey, don't look at me.

"A picture lasts longer, y'know," he said, flipping his long hair.

"Ah, forgive him," the Golurk said, "he's still learning the art of etiquette and customer service."

"I'm servicin' these guys just fine!" He pointed at the owner. "My own sweat an' blood goes into these cakes!"

"Not literally," the Golurk reassured Isobel. "That would be a violation of our health and safety—"

"Who cares about that?! And hey, my buns ain't good enough for ya?"

"They are," the Golurk said. "It's a very popular item for a good reason."

"Well, then!" Isobel finally cut in, trying to suppress her laughter. "In that case, I'll have a couple of those! You're lucky I have a sweet tooth!"

"Exactly what I wanna hear, lady."

Despite being bullied into buying cakes, this was already looking to be a great place. She bought a Mocha-Mincinno – the misspelling was intentional to differentiate it from actual Minccino – along with it and went to sit at the table when something skittered past her, almost making her drop her tray.

"Oops! Sorry!" Isobel said.

One Thwackey growled as she slowly shuffled across the floor, balancing a tea tray atop her head. Well, this place was bustling. Isobel settled into a table at the end, surrounded by lots of fossils and pictures of famous landmarks around the world. She didn't take much notice of those things, however, as she immediately got stuck into her bun. Wow, this was heavenly. The icing was sweet, but not too sickly, and the crust was all flaky as well. That Morgrem really did pour his heart and soul into this. She washed it all down with her coffee which had somewhat haphazardly made latte art of a Minccino.

Isobel always wondered what the point of that was, as it was gone as soon as someone took the first sip. She felt no need to take pictures of it and share it online either — was that supposed to make someone jealous?

She was about to take a sip of her Mocha-Mincinno, bringing the cup to her lips. That cream at the top was always her favourite part of—

"Hello," Admirari said.

"Bloody hell!" Isobel spilled coffee all over her lap. She ignored the scalding spillage and stared at the Hatterene, who had just appeared out of thin air. Right, she teleported. Did all psychics have to scare the living daylights out of other people like that? But… what… oh crap, what was she doing here? And sitting on the table next to her, no less?

"Glad to see your use of the human language is as colourful as your looks," she said with a smile. "How are you, anyway? I haven't seen you since you pounded my face into putty."

"L-look, I don't want any trouble, okay?" Isobel got up, scrambling to pack her stuff. "I'm really sorry that happened, I was… I was just…"

"It's fine, really." Admirari put on an even wider smile. "I knew you had some inner turmoil, let's put it that way." She patted the chair with her tentacle. "You can sit down, you know. I won't bite."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. One sec." She clutched her chest. "Jeez, you gave me a mini heart attack there."

Admirari chuckled. "It's always amusing to see how people react to my powers. Your shorts are wet, by the way."

Isobel tried to save face by furiously scrubbing at her pants with lots of napkins. Fortunately, she didn't even need to ask for a refill as the Golurk perceptively saw the incident and gave her a fresh cup of coffee. As soon as she had that, she reluctantly sat back at the table, tilting her head towards Admirari.

Admirari. If Isobel hadn't won against her, she wouldn't have been able to stay in Circhester. At the same time, rearranging her face in the process wasn't a part of the plan, even if it was in the heat of an intense battle. She opened her mouth to apologise when Admirari shushed her.

"You already said sorry."

"Can you not cut me off like that?" Isobel said with a huff, recharging her phone. "And what're you doing here, anyway?"

"I've been frequenting this cafe ever since it opened. It suits my tastes, after all."

"Oh." That much made sense. "So you live around here, then?"

"I come and go as I please." Admirari retrieved the bag wrapped around the pointy end of her hat. "And what's your story?"

Isobel sighed, pinching her coffee-stained shorts. "I just got off work."

"Battling Pokemon, masquerading as another trainer's Pokemon?"

Isobel laughed, tracing a hand over her forehead. What was her beef? "No, spinning signs."

"Oh!" Admirari's eyes gleamed. "How interesting! It's a wonder I haven't seen you anywhere, though I don't wander the streets much here. That looks difficult."

"It kinda is, but a hell of a lot of fun once you get used to it."

"And dangerous, evidently." She pointed her tentacle tip at Isobel's bruise.

"That's because of something else, though I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"

"Alright, fair enough." Admirari snapped her tentacle, and the Golurk went behind the counter to prepare a cup of tea. "And by the way, that stunt T-Vul pulled didn't go unnoticed by my trainer. Take a look at Nil's profile."

Since Isobel hadn't checked it since that incident, she was surprised by how many notifications were on there. She looked at Nil's account on the Snap!App and found a long post detailing T-Vul's antics, along with a picture of Isobel wagging her finger at Trevor outside the arena. It was weird seeing herself on someone else's profile, and even weirder to be mentioned in the tags. Someone even called her 'Swolechamp', whatever that meant. But it was nice to see the supportive comments of strangers expressing sympathy for her. She noticed she got a few more followers from that shoutout, though she didn't know how to feel about that since Isobel only used the app to browse her feed.

"So… he knew."

"Yes, the instant he set eyes upon you, no less."

"Oh, how thoughtful of him—" Isobel crossed one set of arms—"he could've saved me a helluva lot of trouble by calling the match off earlier. Why give Trevor the money anyway?"

"Nil, well, Adam is his actual name. He only calls himself Nil in public because of my name."

Isobel only stared at her. She didn't get the significance there.

"Anyway, Adam is impulsive, let's put it that way." Admirari chuckled. "He has more money than he knows what to do with, but he doesn't flaunt it. So sometimes, he gambles it away."

"I still don't get why, y'know." Isobel growled. "He could put it to good use."

"Ah, well, it's not my problem. We're just two ships that pass in the night." Admirari winked. "And besides, I got to fight with you."

Isobel sighed. "I beat you up. I thought you woulda hated my guts, to be honest."

"I've been through worse fights. I hope you managed to pay your rent."

"Yeah, I did, no thanks to Trevor, of course." Isobel rubbed her head. Right now, that didn't really look that clear, but she tried to shove that to the back of her mind. "God, I never wanna go through that crap again. I'm sure you know what that's like, tryin' to keep a roof over your head."

Admirari's tea arrived. From the looks of the green top and the familiar-looking latte-art, it was a Matchamp. Isobel had considered getting that, but it seemed a bit too on the nose for her to try. She waited for Admirari to take the first sip of her tea.

"Ah, that's good," Admirari said at last, "but no, I just live in a cave."

"A cave…" Isobel sipped her coffee in turn, trying to process what she just said. "Huh. I thought you lived here."

"Well, I do and I don't, but I can't stand living in the city, not for long anyway." Admirari sighed. "I'm alright around crowds, but it does get exhausting."

"I thought you said you could handle people's emotions."

"Yes, in moderation. It's like eating chocolate. I could have it all day, but it wouldn't be very good for me, just like being in tune with everyone's thoughts and emotions wouldn't be. Imagine if you had everyone's thoughts all gathering in one place, screaming for attention all at once."

"I mean, I know Lucario can literally tell what the other person's thinking. If you can only tell what they're feelin', though..."

"Yes, exactly. You feel like you want to help, and yet you don't know what's bothering the other person." Admirari took another sip. "So, being in a cave is right for me. No one tells you what to do, and you don't have to deal with all the noise."

"Yeah, I can relate to that, a bit." Isobel took a big bite out of her bun, remembering to swallow before she continued. "I dunno, I think people see us Machamp as being really outgoing and 'roided up, but really, after being out for so long, there's nothin' better than just spendin' time on your own. You can be alone, but not be lonely, y'know?"

"Absolutely!" Admirari smiled. "That's actually not a bad observation. If I may be honest, when I first saw you, I thought you would've been just a big meathead."

"Looks like you just proved my point there. And if I'm bein' frank too, when you popped up, I thought you woulda had everyone's kidneys for dinner just for crackin' a smile."

"Ah, well, I walked right into that one." Admirari exhaled. "I know humans are wary of Hatterene anyway, but rumours spread through Pokemon just as quickly as well. There are so many of us out there, and we're so different. And yet, if you see someone from a certain group and only have a general overview to base your opinions off of, then your first thought is to see all members of that species as being similar. People tend to latch onto certain patterns of thinking."

"It's messed up, I know." Isobel frowned. "And I'm sorry I got so antsy around you. I bet that gets really tirin'."

"It does. And it works the same way with you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess that doesn't make us so different after all, huh? So—" Isobel extended a hand—"is that all behind us now?"

She hoped Admirari would return the favour. She was opening herself up, and she wasn't sure if Admirari's touch would've triggered some sort of psychic reaction. When Admirari returned the handshake with her tentacle, there was a little shock as Admirari's mind brushed past hers, but the feeling quickly subsided. All that was left was the warmth from a genuine connection between two former rivals, no matter what type they happened to be.

That conversation went much better than expected, and even then, it continued after that initial peak. Isobel exchanged certain details about her life up until this point, and Admirari did the same, though she didn't embellish as much about herself as Isobel did. Still, it was nice hearing about how much Adam cared for her even though they split apart, and it was also interesting to hear of his escapades — one of which involved fasting for a week in the wild — even if it seemed like he lived in his own world. People would kill for that kind of lifestyle.

However, Admirari carved out her own path and lived comfortably without indulging in the excesses or extremes of her trainer. Right then, at the moment, Admirari felt like a friend, someone Isobel could open up to without feeling tethered to them. Yet, as she and Admirari kept talking, losing track of the time, a certain warmth spread through Isobel. She had no idea what it was, but it pulled her closer to Admirari. Though, no, that was silly. She had an urge to hold Admirari, which she satiated when some of the staff members came along for more headpats.

Before Isobel knew it, the cafe was closing. The sun was still out, but the Pokemon crew started cleaning and packing up the tables. Isobel didn't remember the last time she had a long conversation like that with someone, not since…

Admirari started packing her things. Was she about to teleport out?

"W-wait!" Isobel said, standing up. She was about to ask if she had any contacts. But how did this work? She had never done it before. What if she said no? What if that was too forward? She tried her best to hide her reluctance, but Admirari only chuckled again. Crap. Did Admirari see right through her?

"Yes?"

"Well, I, uh…" Isobel was at a loss for words. Why? Where was that cocky attitude she once channelled at the stadium? "I… Well, I guess I'll see ya around."

"Yes, perhaps we shall. But, a word of advice." Admirari's eyes flashed pink. "Learn to trust yourself a bit more."

And with that, Admirari disappeared, leaving Isobel on her own. While she came away from the chat feeling much better than before, once the other party left, a hollow feeling remained.

Isobel wasn't sure what to feel. She really enjoyed Admirari's company, and regretted not asking her for any sort of contact afterwards. But that wasn't the part that got her on the bike ride home — when she biked past the same spot she had fallen over before, her heart quickened. The events of that morning played back in her mind: of tires skidding, of metal twisting, of asphalt scraping skin. But Isobel wouldn't fall behind this time. She learnt that from experience. So Isobel kept biking uphill, even with the pressure of the cars behind her.

In that sense, the ride back home went without a hitch. But once she locked her bike up and trod back to the confines of her apartment, Isobel was totally deflated. She sank into bed, head first, burying her face in the duvet. It still had some of Bronze's hairs on it despite her best efforts, but oh well. Isobel just needed to unwind at this point.

Yet, she couldn't. She kept tossing and turning, messing up the sheets she had folded up before she left this morning. How much would that car thing cost her? She got her phone out and surfed through a sea of search results. Damn. It could've been anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 Pokedollars, and 5,000 smackaroons was already a luxury to her as it was, even with the 8,000 Pokedollar prize pool from last week. Being perpetually poor on her own was one thing, but the possibility of being in debt was another thing entirely. Would she have to find a second job somehow? Would she even find a second job? She supposed the removal service place could take her back, but aside from that, what other skills did she actually have? What good was she—

Okay, no, I'm putting the kibosh on this. Do something else for a bit.

For once, the Morgrem was right. To distract her from those thoughts, Isobel raided her fridge for a beer. Good ol' Pekkochu. Good ol' Smith on the floor below who she made her barley monkey. One can wasn't even enough to make her feel tipsy since she had built up a resistance to it, so she had another one after that. That did the trick.

Halfway through, she sat down and turned on Scyther High, unwinding with her drink in one hand and another hand digging into a bag of Lucari-O's. Yes, cereal counted as a snack on a budget. Most of what happened in it slipped her mind, something about a Scyther slicing pizza with their claws at a Machoke frat party or something like that. She was about to crack open a third cold one when Bronze shuffled in and sniffed at the air.

"Is that… alcohol?"

"Yeah, but it's fine, it's fine," she said, putting it aside. "Think of it as happy juice."

Bronze took a few steps and glared at her. "I'm not an idiot. Trevor drank the same stuff."

"Yeah, well, I'm not Trevor, am I? At least I hope not."

"No." Bronze sat on his haunches. "You've been great to me. I'm just… worried."

Isobel slowly put the beer back in the fridge. "About what?"

"About the drinking. I may come from the wild, but I know enough to know that it's not very good, especially not for you." Bronze looked to the side. "Trevor… well, he cried whenever he drank. And he'd shout as well, saying he wanted to be left alone. Then he'd cough and throw up and..." He looked up at Isobel, ears drooping. "You're nice, Isobel. I don't want you to be like him."

Isobel sighed and jumped back into bed, putting her arms behind her back. Bronze had her there. She knew it was bad, especially when it was toxic to most Pokemon except her kind, and Machamp still weren't meant to process alcohol. But it helped her not to think so much, which ended up being often. And now Bronze was making her feel bad about it.

"It's…" Isobel buried her head under a pillow. "It's none of your business, Bronze. Lighten up."

"While I'm living here, it is my business." He pounced onto the bed and his tail brushed past her feet. "Something's on your mind, isn't it?"

Isobel let out a huge sigh. Yes, it was bothering her, a lot. But she was trying not to let it get to her. Even so, Bronze was there, willing to lend an ear. So, Isobel peeled the pillow off of her face and threw it to the far end of the room.

"I dunno," she said with a hollow laugh, "it feels like life just wants to kick my ass lately."

"So… what happened?"

Isobel sat up and pointed to the bump on her head. It was slightly less swollen than it was before, but it was still noticeable to Bronze, who stared slack-jawed at it. She just repeated the same story she told to her colleagues. When she was done, Bronze slunk within head-pat distance, and so, heads were pat.

"Sorry to hear that," he said.

"It's okay. I think. I'm not sure." Isobel brought her hand away and rubbed her temple with it. She was about to say something else, but she couldn't think of the right words for it. Then that gut feeling returned, like food poisoning. She sat on the edge of the bed, facing the wall. "You know what, at times like these, I kinda wonder why I bother staying here."

"Oh." He skittered to her side. "I don't know much about debt, but I'm sure you'll figure something out, right?"

"I probably will. It's just, this shit keeps happening to me. I can't find a job I can enjoy yet, I'm too broke to afford the things other humans seem to buy. Sure, it's a nice feeling being able to live on my own terms, but it feels like I'm livin' off of table scraps."

Bronze hummed, then went silent. He probably didn't have an answer for that, as another trainer provided for him all this time. That was alright — she didn't expect him to offer up a solution. Though, something suddenly dawned on Isobel.

"I guess that's all I have to look forward to, livin' like a human."

"Then—" Bronze brushed his face into her side—"why not go back?"

Isobel turned to him, wide-eyed.

"I know you've talked about meeting your parents before."

"Yeah, but, I dunno." Isobel got up and started pacing around the room. "I mean, it'd be too sudden for me to move there. I don't think they'll even accept me, the way I am now. Who knows?"

"How do you know that?" he said, his tone a lot more serious. He rushed up to her and glared at her, hackles raised. "You won't know unless you do it for real, Isobel! At least you know where they are, right?"

This was sudden. Isobel wasn't sure why Bronze was acting like this, though it crossed her mind that he saw the case worker today. She was about to ask Bronze how that went when he stood on his hindlegs, pawing at her shorts.

"Even if you do end up coming back here, just try it. What's stopping you?"

Well, work for one. If she went on a spur of the moment decision, that wouldn't sit well with Reynolds, though he'd probably understand. Besides, Isobel decided what shifts she wanted to take anyway, so she could just move those to the end of the week. But then, she also didn't know where exactly they were, just that they lived atop a cliff of some sort along with other fighting types. But then, she could ask Gloria, since she always logged down each location where a new member joined her team. Probably tomorrow, since it was getting late. Still, those plans were set into motion already.

Finally, Isobel took Bronze's paws in her hands and knelt down to face him at his level. She took a deep breath and gave him a quick hug, which he returned.

"Thanks," she said. "I mean, I don't think I wanna leave. There's some things I enjoy, like the sightseeing, the cafes, all the food here, some of the people I can meet, some of the Pokemon I can choose to battle, the Hero's Bath, all the shows I can watch, and I can do that all on my own schedule." Isobel hummed. "Actually, that's a lot, now I think about it."

He nodded. "I don't understand half of the things you do, but you seem to thrive here. And other Pokemon like you are happy here, like that Alcremie and Slurpuff we keep seeing."

Isobel laughed, stroking his head. "Well, if I could, I'd trade my extra set of hands for their cooking skills. Their pies go straight to my thighs, y'know."

"And mine," he said.

There was a moment of silence after that, but a pleasant silence this time. Bronze went to sit in her lap, and Isobel stroked him as she tried to think of what to say next. But both of their rumbling stomachs filled the gap in the conversation.

"I should probably whip something up for the both of us," Isobel said, looking to the kitchen.

Bronze nodded, and with that, Isobel started fishing through the fridge for something they could both cook. Unlike last time, the shelves were filled with more nutritious stuff. There was actually salad in there, along with more meat that wasn't canned, now she could support herself better. If she was going to change her life for the better, then she needed to take better care of her body as well… which was easier said than done with all the beer cans on the side. Though if that bill from the driver came, what was the bare minimum she could eat in order to keep herself afloat?

She tried not to think about that as she got some beef out, as well as some rice from the cupboard. She was going to do some fried rice for herself, and some cooked meat for Bronze, since he seemed to enjoy that a lot more. Before she started, though, she turned to Bronze.

"If I took a trip up there, would you come with me?" Isobel asked.

"Where, sorry?"

"My parents' dwelling. I don't wanna heap anything on you, but—"

"Ah, right, right. Well, I'd be happy to come," Bronze said with a purring trill. "I'd be in my element out there."

"Yeah, exactly. And, well, I'd feel awkward just going up there myself. I don't remember half the customs over there, so you might be just as clueless as I'll be."

"Well, we'll see."

Isobel smiled, and started boiling the rice. There were still things she was unsure about. That coaching thing was still on her mind, though whether or not she'd be able to make a career out of that was still up in the air. And when she eventually met her parents, what would they say after all this time? On that note, where the heck would she be able to find them?

If and when she eventually found them, what would she talk about? Well, she had a lot to say. She didn't know what she was getting into when she wanted to go with a trainer, all because she wanted to prove some false belief of strength to herself. Now she realised she didn't have to prove herself as a human or a Pokemon to feel strong inside. But that still didn't explain why she felt out of place.

She wanted a break. She wanted connections. She wanted to know what it was like to stroll in the park alongside an equal, not a trainer or a boss. She wanted to be with someone who was still a mess just like her, but also had it together in some ways. But just like today, Isobel cramped up when there was that possibility of making a new friendship. It just wasn't something she practised that much when she was still with Gloria.

Her parents, even though they cared for her back then, didn't prepare her for that. This confusion. This alien feeling in her mess of a body. Her heartache. How dare they?

There were so many questions on her mind. But even though Isobel was going out on a limb, she was just glad she didn't have to go it alone.