In my opinion, this is a weird chapter. Prepare to see some battling stuff in chapter eight, though!
Also, seven is my lucky number. That's totally relevant.
"Well, here we are."
The group entered Silver's house one at a time, Spark and the ninetales both already familiar with the building. The swampert, however, wasn't, as she seemed somewhat intrigued by it, as she entered behind the other two, Silver behind her.
"Nice place you have." she commented. She quickly felt comfortable with the atmosphere.
"Well, thanks." Silver said in return. "I've worked on it for a while."
"I can tell." she was looking around, taking in how open it was. It felt like something she wouldn't have a problem getting used to.
"Make yourself comfortable." Silver said. "If you feel like sleeping, go ahead. It's getting late, after all."
The swampert nodded. She didn't feel very tired, but she appreciated the independence he was giving her.
"I'm going to be in my room." Silver told her. "I usually stay up late."
"Ah." she said. She understood, as it was a similar pattern for her, having lived the way she had for almost 10 years.
At that, Silver made his way down the hallway leading to his room. The swampert followed him.
Following him in, she looked around, seeing the kind of things he had. He had plenty of books on a bookshelf on one of the walls, a desk, his bed, and plenty of other things.
Silver had only just noticed her, not having realized that she followed him. He seemed surprised at first, but had quickly gotten over it. The swampert saw this.
"You alright, there?" she asked him, entertained by his reaction.
"Yeah, it's just…" he struggled to figure out how to say what he was going to say for a moment. "As large as you are, you're awfully quiet."
She felt like laughing at his statement, but didn't. She couldn't come up with an explanation. "Just is what it is, I guess."
"Guess so." Silver said. He moved over to his bed before sitting on it. He sat there and relaxed.
The swampert remained standing where she was. "So, what do you guys usually do around here?"
Silver thought about it. "Well, nothing in particular…" he said. "Just whatever, I guess."
The swampert dwelled on the thought. "Then how do you afford to get all the stuff you have?"
"I make stuff." he said simply. "People ask me to make stuff, I make it, they pay me. It's simple, really."
She didn't quite get it. "What do you mean?"
Silver stretched his back. "I'm a creator." he said. "I'm good a making stuff, but I usually don't like doing one specific thing. Like, I don't like doing nothing but drawing when I can do something with music stuff, too."
She slowly nodded. The idea of having it be a job didn't make sense to her, but she left it as it was.
"It's nice being kind of independent, sometimes." he said. "But too much of it leads me to not knowing what to do with it, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess so." she said. She then felt a sudden urgency to see what the backyard looked like, as she remembered what he said about getting a pool. She realized that walking out in the middle of a conversation without explanation could be rude, so she stayed. The thought bothered her nonetheless.
"What kind of stuff do you make?" she asked, trying to make conversation.
"Plenty of kinds." he said. "Depends on what I'm asked to make. I make mostly computers and techy things, though."
"Okay." she responded.
Guess that explains the earpiece…
She watched as Silver reached for his laptop. He opened it and started doing stuff.
"You mind if I look around your place a little?" she asked, deciding to leave him to do his own thing, as she had come to realize earlier that she had grabbed onto him enough for one day.
"Help yourself." he said. He was typing away, apparently getting himself quickly involved with something.
She then turned and left the room rather slowly, taking her time. She made her way through his dimly lit home, as the outside light had started to become orange, the night soon to come. It wasn't long until she found the back door, struggling only for a short moment to open it.
She stepped out on the back porch, seeing that there was a perfect view of the sunset. It took her off guard, but she enjoyed it dearly. She gently closed the door behind her, keeping it slightly cracked open. She moved and sat on the wooden structure, admiring the colors and beauty of the evening sky.
The horizon's color was almost that of part of the rainbow. It had a soft haze of green, the rest of the sky filled with an intense shade of orange. The sun's light showered across the sky in streaks, illuminating the clouds in its path. It was something to admire. She was in awe.
Taking in all of the different colors, memories quickly flooded back to her of how she and her old friend, a feraligatr, would do so. It was routine for them, a pass time they enjoyed. The two would do so every evening. Even the froakie would take part when he was with them. She reflected on these memories, a mix of both happiness and sorrow in her heart. She loved them both, she knew, whether or not she was willing to admit it. She still hated herself for when the froakie died. She felt on the urge of crying, just at the thought. She tried her best to focus on the sunset in front of her to keep herself from getting too emotional. It was a struggle.
Thoughts of the feraligatr came to her as well. When she was down, there was no one that knew to make her feel better than him. He was a great friend to her. He was the only one that could read her, and she never understood how. She hoped he was okay, but it struck her hard as she knew that she wasn't going to see him ever again.
The swampert didn't notice as the door creaked open, as Spark came out, seeing her. He stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him the way it was originally, the sound then getting her attention.
She turned her head to look behind her, seeing the luxray. Spark noticed.
"You okay?" he asked her. She hadn't noticed originally, but a few tears had gone down her face.
She had only just noticed as she bent her head down, wiping her eyes one by one with a hand. "I'm fine." she said. "What brings you out here?"
"Felt it was necessary." he said simply. "It seems like something's bothering you, and, if we're on the same team, I'll have your back, so here I am."
The swampert was quiet. "I'm not the kind to talk about how I feel."
"That's okay." he said. "Not everyone is… to be honest, I'm not either."
She said nothing, turning her head to face back in front of her.
"Something's obviously bothering you." he said. "I'm willing to help you out."
"I don't need your help." she said in a dark tone. "I'm fine on my own."
"You're emotional, I get it." Spark replied. "We all get like that from time to time."
"Some of us cope with it best on our own, okay?" she was becoming agitated. "The best thing you can do right now is leave."
"Doesn't mean I will." he said. He walked up beside her and sat down as she did. "If I've learned anything about you in the past few weeks, it's that you're emotionally driven. And if that's the case, I'd imagine, keeping all of that inside must be difficult."
She said nothing.
"I'm telling you that if you let us see another side to you than the part that wants to be isolated, dark and depressed all the time, things will turn out bet-"
"Shut. Up."
Spark stopped talking. She turned in his direction, face to face.
"I don't care how you see me, I don't care what you think of me, and I don't care of what you say about me to anyone else. But if you're going to go to my face and start insulting me for the way I am, I'll tell you now, you will regret it until the day you die."
Spark was taken off guard. Why was she attacking him when all he wanted to do was help?
"You can go and tell yourself that you're right about me being 'driven by emotion' or whatever, but just remember that one of my most powerful emotions is anger."
Spark didn't know what to say. He didn't expect her to blow up on him, but he knew that she still needed help with whatever was bothering her. He didn't want to risk it, so he decided to accept defeat.
"Fine." he said, starting to back away. "Just know that whatever it is that's bothering you is going to eat at you until you tell someone about it."
"Try me."
At that, Spark had gone back inside.
The swampert let out a sigh as she heard him leave. She knew that the way she was acting was wrong, but she didn't know how else to act.
She was there for a minute longer before she heard the door open once again.
"What."
"Chill, it's just me." it was the ninetales this time.
The swampert let out a sigh. "What do you want…"
"You seem a little down." she said. She made her way near her, sitting beside her just like Spark had. "I'm here for you, that's all."
The swampert was quiet. She appreciated her friend caring, but if she was to be open to her about it then it would be unfair to Spark.
"What's bothering you?" she asked her.
"If you're so smart, figure it out yourself." the swampert said back harshly.
The ninetales was quiet, seemingly in thought. Being as smart as she was, she would probably figure it out.
"I see…" she said, implying that she did. She was quiet for a moment longer.
The swampert said nothing, simply looking off into the distance.
"You miss him… don't you…?" the ninetales muttered.
The swampert looked to her. "Yes."
"Me too…" she replied. "Care to know what happened with Feraligatr after you left?"
The swampert froze, worried about him from the way she worded it.
"Fine." she concluded. "Tell me."
The ninetales cleared her throat. "Well…" she started. "The night you left… our trainer was blaming you about… things…"
The swampert listened intently.
"…and you left… well, after that, Feraligatr soon found out, and he was mad. More than mad, I mean, he was ticked. Furious. What ended up happening, which, I hope it makes you feel better to hear and all, he, uh…"
She was quiet for a moment. "He attacked him."
The swampert looked at her in surprise, her expression saying it all, words unnecessary.
"He went crazy… he ended up breaking three of his ribs. Put him in the hospital for a while. You'd think it would've taught him something…"
The swampert didn't know what to think. She never knew anyone as calm as him.
"Since then… Feraligatr never said a word to anyone. Not once."
The swampert shook her head. "I didn't know what I was leaving behind when I left… I should have thought it through more…"
"It was ought to happen eventually." the ninetales told her. "If I was driven to leave, you would've been at one point or another."
The swampert didn't want to accept how right she was. "What about him? Where's Feraligatr, then?"
"From what I know, he's still there." she said. "If he figures out that he hurt you, I don't see him letting him get away alive."
The two were quiet. The swampert turned up to the almost completely set sun.
"Looks nice out tonight, doesn't it…?" She decided to change the subject.
"It does." the ninetales replied. "Couldn't say the same about the temperature…"
"Yeah, well…" the swampert started, but never finished.
"Come on, let's go in, it's getting cold."
The swampert didn't move as the ninetales started moving towards the door, stopping as she noticed that the swampert wasn't following her. "You coming?"
"I'm going to wait until it's over." she said, referring to the sunset in front of her. "I'll be inside in a few… maybe… dry myself up, too…"
The ninetales was still. "I guess I'll join you… only for a few minutes, though…"
She moved back beside her friend, and they both watched the remaining length of the sunset. As there was no immediately noticeable movement to it, gradual change was easy to see, as it quickly became dark.
"C'mon, let's go in." the ninetales said, slowly standing up.
The swampert was hesitant. "You know…" she said. "You know that feeling that, as badly as you want to hold on to something, you have to let it go? You don't want to, but you know that it's inevitable and you have to?"
The ninetales stopped and turned to her. "Yes…" she said steadily. "Yes, yes I do."
The swampert nodded, still looking out ahead of her. "That's how I feel… about it all…"
Thinking of something to say, the ninetales, for once, couldn't come up with any good advice to give. "Let's go in." she said. "We'll figure out the whole tournament thing with Silver, it'll help clear your mind."
The ninetales made her way to the door as the swampert hesitantly followed. They made their way through the house, back to Silver's room, where he was on his laptop, Spark sitting beside him.
Silver looked to them and back a few times before folding the laptop closed.
"So," Silver said. "The whole tournament thing."
The three were listening.
"I was luckily able to meet the requirements to sign us up, so I did, and they already accepted."
The three all seemed ecstatic about it, all expressing it in their own ways.
"But," Silver said. "If we're going to do well, we're going to need to know what to do."
The three were listening intently. Silver opened his laptop back up.
"So," he started. "These battles work as one versus one at a time, three on each team."
The three understood, as it wasn't an unusual concept.
"You battle until the opponent is knocked out." he said. "You don't kill them…"
Silver was looking at the swampert. She noticed this, saying nothing.
"Our opponents know what they're doing. Take them seriously, they came to battle."
"Nah, they came to goof off." the swampert said sarcastically. No one replied to it.
"Spark, it'll be a lot tougher than the wild Pokémon we've been training you against, make sure you're ready for that."
Spark nodded in acknowledgement.
"Now, when the first Pokémon is sent out, neither trainer knows which one is sent out. I'll try my best to make sure I don't put any of you against something you can't go against, but there's only so much I can do."
The three seemed to understand. Silver looked onto his laptop some more.
"Ninetales, you're the most experienced, I'll probably send you out first."
The ninetales nodded. "Got it." she said.
"Cool." he replied. "Now, remember - if you're up against something you can't take on very well, try to dodge. Dodging is always important, but especially when your opponent can do more damage than you. Try to adapt your attack to do as much damage as possible."
He turned to the swampert. "That doesn't mean to kill them."
"I get it…" she groaned.
Silver gave her a smirk before getting back on topic. "So, sometimes, though, you can only do so much. One of you may be forced to finish off the other team on your own, so make sure you're prepared for that, too."
He turned to the swampert again. "That doesn't mean-"
"I get it. Shut up." she interrupted.
"She's not really in the mood for that kind of stuff right now, Silver." the ninetales told him.
"Ah…" he said. "Sorry."
He focused on the topic at hand once again, giving them another random tip. "If you can't land a hit, don't exactly stop attacking, either. Let them wear themselves out, just make sure you don't wear yourself out first. Say, using ranged attacks - your opponent will have to move a lot when you use them. When you use melee attacks, they are a lot of quick-reflex movements. There's only so long they can go before you catch them off guard, given that you don't get tired first. Endurance is important."
The three took in the information.
"If you're fighting a losing battle, don't be afraid to give ground. It may seem like a bad decision at first, but you can use it to your advantage."
"How would we do that?" Spark asked.
"It depends." Silver replied. "If you're fighting, say, a melee attacker, use it to get in a few quick, ranged attacks."
"Okay…" he said.
"If you're fighting a ranged attacker, though, use it to take some cover if you can." Silver explained.
"If you know so much about battling, why don't you do it more often?" the ninetales asked.
"That's what I'm trying to do, actually." Silver replied. He tried to find another random tip to give them.
"Know that sometimes it'll be more important to do something quicker than your opponent, rather than doing the most damage."
"I don't get the point of that, but okay." the swampert said.
"It could give you some breathing room, or give you an opening to do something more powerful." he said.
"I still don't get it, but okay." she said.
"Well," Silver said. "Good enough? I'll take the rest from there."
The three exchanged looks, all seeming to be satisfied.
"Good." he said. "We can start practicing for this stuff tomorrow. The tournament starts in three days, so, we basically have only two days to train. The next day, we go."
"Wait, three days?" the ninetales didn't believe it. "The advertisement said it was a week away!"
"Well, apparently, it was outdated or something." Silver said. "We can still do it, though. You know that."
The ninetales was hesitant before she remembered that it was the three of them that he was talking about. She quickly regained her confidence.
"Right." she said.
Silver nodded. "Good. Well, I'd say it's going to be a long next few days, so it'd be smart to get some rest."
The three nodded, before heading out of the room as Silver packed up his laptop, putting it back.
Once he was done putting it away, he proceeded to close the door. He stretched his back a little back before taking his socks and shoes off, proceeding to change into lighter, more comfortable clothes to sleep in, nothing but a pair of sweat pants and a simple, thin white tee, he had decided. He took his time to do so, as his ankle was still sensitive.
He finished changing, then moving slowly to the side of the room where the light switch was, turning it off. He made his way over to his bed, sitting down as he tried to relax himself. He felt a little stressed about the whole tournament thing.
"What am I going to do…?" he asked himself. "Will they listen to me? Ninetales, sure, but… Swampert'll probably go and kill someone… and Spark doesn't really remember how to battle to begin with… oh, this is gonna be bad…"
He kept stressing about it, but he decided sleeping on it would be the best decision.
He got himself under his blanket, and lied himself down on his back, looking up at the ceiling.
"What am I getting myself into…?" he asked himself.
He lied there quietly, restless. He didn't know what to think.
He was lying there thinking when he felt the bed shift abruptly. He froze, not sure of what to think, but as nothing else happened, he had calmed down.
He then felt the blankets at his feet move, and he started to freak out in his head again. It was only a moment more before he felt two large hands around his ankles from under the blankets. He was frozen solid.
The hands moved up his body along with their host, him becoming more and more freaked out as he felt whatever it was get up to his chest. His pupils became dilated, everything in the dark visible to him because of it.
He then saw as a head popped out from under the covers, in his own face. "Hello."
It was the swampert.
"What… the…" Silver huffed. He was absolutely terrified before he realized it was her.
"You okay?" she asked lightly.
"You scared the crap out of me…"
"Oh." she said. "Well, maybe you shouldn't get scared so easily."
She had gently lied down on top of him, easily making him uncomfortable.
"Human skin feels weird." she commented. "You feel… sticky."
"I'm sweaty." he said.
"Why is that?" she asked him.
"Well, you scared me pretty bad, for starters." he said. "And also because-"
"You get scared too easily." she interrupted. "You smell like salt water, too."
"That's because I'm sweating." he explained.
"Well, I don't do that, so…" she commented. "That's weird."
"It's not weird, it's a human thing." he said. "It's like a system to keep our bodies cooled down, kind of like how some Pokémon pant."
"Well, I know lucarios have pants." she said. "And scraftys…"
"Not that kind of pant." Silver told her.
"Or, maybe they don't and it just looks like it…"
"The kind of panting with your mouth." Silver stressed.
"Oh." she then understood. "Well, I don't do that, either."
"You're a swampert, you don't have to." he said. "Your body regulates temperatures fine on its own."
"Well, okay." she said. "Never really thought about it… I've never really had to worry about it, either, so…"
"Well, yeah." he said. He was still uncomfortable.
The swampert took one of her fingers and rubbed it against his skin before smelling it. "Yeah, you smell really salty."
"Yeah, I already got that part…" he said. He felt uneasy about what she had just done.
"When will it go away?" she asked. "I mean, I don't have a problem, I mean, I'm used to the smell, I swim in salt water. Just curious."
"When I take another shower." he said. "Tomorrow morning."
"Oh, well, okay." she said.
"Now, what are you doing in my room? How did you get in here?"
"I've been in here." she answered simply.
"…the whole time?"
"Yeah."
Silver quickly felt embarrassed, as he understood that she not only watched him get changed, but she also heard what he said about her.
The two were quiet for a moment.
"You have nothing to stress about, you know." the swampert said to him. "We'll do fine at that tournament. You can't lose with me on your team, you know."
Silver was lost in thought. He was having trouble trying to find a way to process the information he was receiving.
"You've been in here…" Silver muttered. "…the whole time…"
"Well, yeah. We've already been over that." the swampert said in an almost annoyed fashion.
Silver stayed on the thought, feeling a little violated. The swampert seemed to pick up on it.
"Don't worry about being in nothing but shorts in front of me. You don't ever see me wearing any clothes, do you?"
"It's different…" he said. "You… you don't do that…"
"Whatever…" she stressed." Do you see me complaining?"
"I'm not saying that…" he said. "It's degradation."
She let out a harsh huff through her nose, her tone quickly becoming serious. "I've lost multiple friends, lived on my own in the wild for almost ten years, and have been forced to kill others on multiple occasions, yet you're gonna look me in the eye and complain about how I saw you in your underwear?"
"I'm sorry, it's just… I like my privacy, that's all…"
"Well, enjoy your whole 'innocence' thing you have while you have it, 'cause you're not gonna have it much longer." she said. "You're lucky enough I don't tell you the things I've seen and done. I've seen some awful stuff…"
Silver responded with nothing but silence. He still didn't really understand the swampert, but he was beginning to piece a few things together. He still didn't like her taking away his privacy, but he felt that coping with her was the best idea. He started to question himself, whether he was really acting the wrong way towards the situation or not.
"Okay…" Silver said. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know you were in here, and it took me off guard. That's all."
"Fine." she said. "Also, what makes you think I'm gonna kill someone? You shouldn't go and assume something like that, you know."
Silver tried to figure out how he would word his response. "Well, from what I've seen… you seem to be a little… rough. Almost like you don't know your own strength."
She coughed in disbelief. "Silver, there's a difference between ignorance and apathy."
Silver paused. "Wait, so you mean you don't care…?"
"No, no, that's not it at all!" she said. "You don't get what I'm saying. I care, I just didn't know how much you could take. That's what I'm saying, of course I care."
Silver slowly nodded, his eyebrows lowered, his face showing concern, accompanied with slight confusion.
"I'm telling you," she told him. "I've done enough killing in my life. I don't want to do that, you know?"
"Yeah…" Silver wasn't able to say much of anything else. He knew, now, that she had killed before. That set of hands on his chest had once been in someone else's blood. It scared him.
"You okay?" she asked him. "You're turning pale again."
"I- I'm fine." he said. He knew he really wasn't, but he didn't find it necessary to give her something else to worry about.
"No, you're not." she said. "Tell me what's-"
She realized what was wrong. She felt bad for him because of it.
"Silver, understand that that was a long time ago." she said. "That's not who I am anymore."
"Yeah, I get it…" he said. "But when someone learns the taste of blood, it doesn't leave them…"
"Silver!" she was getting aggravated. "It wasn't my choice to do it! It was against my will! Why do you think I left that place to begin with?"
"I… I…" Silver stuttered. He couldn't find any words.
"You don't have to worry about me putting you in danger. I love you too much."
Silver froze in surprise. "A- alright…?" he said slowly. He didn't get how she could say that she loved him if they knew each other only for such a short length of time, but he didn't feel like questioning it.
The two were quiet for a while longer, not doing so much as exchanging glances.
"Silver…" the swampert said, deciding that it would be good to change the topic. "Have you ever taken the time to just go, and watch the sunset?"
Silver was completely taken off guard by the question. He thought about it, but came up short. "I don't think so… what makes you ask?"
She let out a sigh. "Well, back when I was with that other trainer… back, before I left… I had probably the best friend I've ever had, Feraligatr. Him and I would go outside every evening and watch the sunset together. We never missed a single one, no matter what happened."
Silver was listening intently.
"And, as hard as it may be for me to still be separated from him still, I was hoping to start doing that again. Would you mind doing that with me…?"
Silver thought. "Not at all." he said. It didn't seem to be that big of a deal to him, and if it made her happier, he wouldn't have a problem with it.
"Thanks." she said. She let out a low yawn.
"You should get some rest…" Silver said.
"Yeah…" she said in response. She then moved off of him, getting beside him on the bed, similarly to how she did so at the hospital.
Silver noticed that she planned on sleeping next to him again.
"You don't plan on making that a normal thing, do you?" he asked her. "The thing about you sleeping in the same bed as me?"
"I do, actually." she said. Silver decided not to respond, as badly as he wanted to.
Silver was on the side of the bed against the wall, and, as he was more comfortable sleeping on his left side, ended up being face-to-face.
"No offence, but do you need to face my direction?" he asked.
"Is there something wrong with it?"
"Well, not really, I was just asking."
"Unless you want me to smack you with the big fin lookin' thing on my back, then, yes, I have to."
Silver nodded. "Alright, then…" the excuse was reasonable.
The swampert shifted to make herself comfortable.
"Well, good night."
"Night."
Silver found himself rubbing his eyes as he woke up, tired, as something kept him from being able to sleep. He opened his eyes and looked into his room, seeing that is was dark, no light coming from behind his curtains. He started staring at the sharp, red glow of the alarm clock across his room, waiting impatiently for its image to come into focus, as his eyes didn't seem to want to operate. He stayed there, watching as he was slowly able to make it out.
Six twelve. Great.
Careful not to wake the Pokémon next to him, he slowly got out of under his covers and sat up on the side of the bed. He let out a silent yawn before he stood up, making sure he was able to keep himself balanced. He started to shuffle his feet, heading for his door.
He gently turned the nob, the door softly creaking as he opened it. He stepped out, leaving it cracked open behind him.
Making his way to the living room, he was able to see fairly fine, as his eyes were adjusted to the dark already. He moved over to his couch where he sat down. He looked around the room, unsure of what to do while he waited for the cloudiness in his head to go away.
Getting an idea, he wound up making his way back into his room. He made sure he was quiet as he entered, closing the door gently. He moved over to the side of the room opposing his bed that the swampert was resting upon, and grabbed his laptop. He moved back over to his bed and sat on the side of it near the foot, setting the laptop in his lap, opening it and switching the power on. He turned down the brightness of the screen as low as it would go as it turned on so it wouldn't hurt his eyes, yet it still stung a little as the screen lit up.
It didn't take long for the device to boot up, as it was fairly fast. He opened his internet browser and navigated to a search engine.
He was about to search the internet when he noticed his mail app had a notification icon on it. He switched over to his mail, and saw that he had an email. He saw that the subject was empty, and that the sender name had a glitch of some sort, as the letters were scrambled and impossible to make out. He decided to open it.
It opened quickly, and he noticed that it was a very simple email. It didn't have all of the colors and pictures a normal, enterprise-made email would have.
He was quick to read it.
Silver,
I have seen what has been going on with your life within the past month or so. As you may not know me, I know you well. It has come to my attention that you may need some help, as all of the battling will take up your time. As it would easily give you a source of income, it simply won't be enough for you and your team to live on standards such as the ones you have already. Understanding these hardships myself, I've decided to give you an 'early Christmas gift', if you will. Don't worry, you'll find out what it is pretty soon. You should be fine for battling for a while. Go and prove yourself to the world. You have more backers then you know, so don't let them down.
Take care,
W
Silver found himself staring at his screen, absolutely clueless. He didn't know what to think. Who was this guy? W? Who did he know that had a name that started with a W? Looking back at the email, he re-read the phrase 'as you may not know me'. Maybe he didn't know them, then. It was weird.
Minimizing the mail app he had opened, he was back at the search engine's home page. He then started looking things up about getting a pool built at his house. As he had already promised it, he decided to look into it.
He found a few good deals with some companies, and some more expensive prices with others. He decided on choosing one that had good reviews and feedback and such.
He was busy clicking on a few links, until he eventually found one that would work. He didn't know if he already had enough, or how much more he needed, so in another tab he pulled his bank's website.
He put in his login information, and went to check his balance.
He looked at the amount and was absolutely shocked as it was printed on his screen.
$10,568,469.02
He had ten and a half million dollars in his bank account.
He made a few small coughing sounds in disbelief. He couldn't decide whether it was the best thing ever, or the worst. Someone could have hacked him, or the money could have been stolen. Maybe it was a glitch. He refreshed the page for good measure, but the same number appeared.
He closed out the tab. Overcome with a strong sense of curiosity, he quickly decided to test it to see if it would work.
He opened another tab, and went to the search engine from earlier, and looked up stuff that would only cost him a couple dollars. He found a small keychain flashlight on a website, and chose to purchase it. He put his information in, and clicked the order button.
The transaction went through.
Be opened another tab and pulled his bank information back up, seeing that the number was the same, save for the difference from the transaction. He started to freak out in his head.
He sat there, staring at the balance on his screen. What would he do with that much money? Would he spend it? Save it? Call the cops? He didn't know what to do.
He let out a quiet sigh before turning around, looking at the swampert, who was still asleep.
I could get that pool set up to be built… right?
He turned back to his screen and started typing some more. He came across a few more companies that could get it built. He chose the best quality one he could find, and made a request. He wrote out a letter to them about it, saying that he would pay however much it would take to get it done, and sent it.
He noticed the swampert was looking over his shoulder as he sent it.
"I thought you said that you would do that after we did all the battling stuff?" she mumbled slowly. She sounded almost drunk, as it wasn't difficult to tell that she was very tired.
"Change of plans, I guess." Silver said back quietly. "It'll take a while to be built, so I went ahead and made a proposal."
"Oh…" she said. "Well, okay."
She stayed where she was, watching what he was doing. Silver moved around some of his windows, opening yet another tab in his browser, going to the same search engine as before.
"You comfortable with using pokéballs?" he asked her.
"Nope." she said blankly. "Tried it before, 'nd I'll never do it again…"
"Gotcha." Silver replied.
Her and Spark, both… guess that's out of the question…
He thought, and the question quickly came to him - how would he get there? His car was completely totaled, so he didn't have a car anymore.
It quickly came to him. Since he had the money, he could just go buy one.
He started doing some searching for a car, the swampert still watching what he was doing.
Deciding that he would want to get a car close by, he looked on the websites of some nearby places.
Looking around, he found a specific car that he fell in love with on sight. It was a Porsche Panamera Turbo S, a red color. He had a great interest in it, and the part he liked the most was that he would be able to go pick it up that day.
He looked at the price tag, and saw that it was $223,930 dollars. Usually, he wouldn't do so much as dream of getting something like that, but now that he had the money, he was going to.
Part of him felt like he shouldn't, but, as the email said, it was a gift. He chose to trust that, the temptation of getting such a nice vehicle not making him stop, either.
He went ahead and purchased it, fixing to go pick it up .
"You rich or something?" she mumbled.
"I'll explain later." Silver said. He didn't feel like telling her right then and there.
"M'kay…" she muttered. She seemed too tired to argue.
"You should probably go back to sleep." Silver told her. "I'm gonna head out. If the others ask, tell them that I'll be back."
"Alright…" she muttered, her eyes barely open.
At that, Silver shut down and closed his laptop, getting up and moving across the room, putting it away. He was quick to then get some clothes out of his closet and change into them. He finished doing so, before he moved back over to his bed in a slow manner.
He stopped next to his bed where the swampert was, her lying on her stomach now, in the same position as she was when she was watching him. She had her head and hands near the end of the bed, her body slightly curled to the side.
Silver gently set his hand on her head between the two fins that were attached to it.
"I'll be back in a little while." he said. "I'll see you when I get back."
"Mm-hmm…" the swampert hummed, eyes closed, not bothering to open her mouth to speak.
Silver rubbed her head a little before moving away, making his way out of his room, this time leaving the door open. He grabbed his house key and left out the door, locking the door behind him.
He made his way down his porch stairs, looking to see as Kristie was pulling out of her driveway in her car. Silver jogged over to her so he could see if he could get a ride from her to where he needed to be.
It was around nine o'clock when the swampert decided to get up. She was having trouble sleeping, as her dreams were filled with nothing but reminders of all of the things she had never done with herself, and how all of her friends were never going to be okay because of her. She didn't think much of it as they were merely dreams, but it made it difficult nonetheless.
She stretched as she got up, staying there only a moment as she was soon to make her way down off of the bed.
Trying to let the fuzziness of her vision go away, she stood still for a moment before she made her way out of the room, into the rest of the house. She made her way into the living room, seeing the ninetales lying on the couch, watching her.
"Morning." the ninetales said.
"Morning…" the swampert muttered. She wasn't one to talk in the mornings.
"Know where Silver's at?" she asked.
"He went somewhere…" she said. "Said he'd be back…"
The ninetales nodded. "Alright."
The two were quiet for only a moment. "Spark awake yet?" the swampert asked.
"No." she said. "He's sleeping pretty heavily, he might not be up for a while."
The swampert silently nodded in acknowledgement. "Couldn't blame him. Hasn't been home in a few weeks."
"Indeed." the ninetales said in return.
The swampert made her way across the room, looking around now that there was more light to see.
"Up to anything?" she asked the ninetales.
"No, not really." she said back. "Waiting for you guys to get up. Nothing much else. That tournament's coming up soon, so I figured that it'd be good to get to training soon."
The swampert rolled her shoulders, one at a time. "I could do that. You mean now, right?"
"I was more hoping for Spark to get up as well, but sure."
"Let's at least, you know, limber up and stuff."
"Very well." the ninetales said. "It's always good to warm up. Glad to see you remembered that, you usually don't."
"Well, you know." the swampert replied. "I'm ought to learn at some point."
The two made their way out the back door.
"Thanks for the ride." Silver had thanked his friend again.
"I told you, it's fine." Kristie said. "Not that big of a deal. It's not your fault you lost your car."
Silver nodded. "It's awfully nice of you. I really appreciate it."
"No problem." she said. "I'm kind of glad you needed a ride, actually. Help me keep my stress a little lower, you know?"
Silver didn't expect the statement. "What do you mean?"
"Ever worked at a hospital before?" she asked. "It's a lot of work. No two days are the same. You're always up, doin' something. It's crazy, but it puts food on the table and keeps the bills paid."
Silver nodded.
"Oh!" Kristie said out of nowhere. "Heard about that tournament? It's starting in a couple of days. Everyone's going to be watching."
Silver felt nervous from the last part. "Oh, yeah."
"I can't wait. I'm using my vacation time to watch it. Are you going?"
Silver chuckled a little. "I never got to tell you, did I? My Pokémon and I are going to be in it."
Kristie was taken by surprise. "Really?" she said. "Alright! That's awesome!"
Silver hadn't ever seen her this excited about anything before. She was usually very calm.
"Well, now I know who I'm gonna be rooting for." she said, starting to calm herself down. "That's awesome though. Good luck!"
"Well, thank you." Silver said. "Hopefully, we'll do well."
"Yeah. You should be fine, though. I've seen you and Spark battle before. Now that you've got a team, of, how many? Three? You should be just fine."
"Yeah." Silver said in agreement, despite the doubts that had yet to cease haunting him.
They had finally pulled in to where they were heading. It had taken them a few hours to get there, longer than either of them expected it to take.
"Well, thanks again." Silver said. "You're not going to lose your job, are you?"
"No." she said. "They'll use my vacation time."
"Okay." Silver said, getting out of the car. "I won't need a ride back. Thanks!"
"No problem!" she said. "See you later!"
"Have a good one!" Silver said, closing the door before she left. Silver turned around to see the place he needed to be.
Here we are.
"Alright, give me another one."
The swampert picked up another large rock from the pile they had collected. The two had found some large rocks, and were using them for their training.
She threw it into the air, and as it slowed before coming back down, a large tower of flames came out of the ninetales' jaws, melting it before it hit the ground.
"Hit it as it's coming up, don't wait for it to stop!" the swampert ordered for what had been the second time now. "Your opponents aren't going to stop to let you hit them! The point of this is to work on hitting moving targets!"
"…right."
She threw another one into the air, this time the ninetales burning it as it was moving up, the rock disintegrating before it did so much as stop moving upwards.
"…good." the swampert said. She was impressed with how much the ninetales had progressed since she had last battled beside her. She was much stronger than before, and had become all the much quicker.
"Give me another."
The swampert proceeded to toss another into the air, the ninetales hitting it near flawlessly.
"Now you're getting it." the swampert said. "You need to remember that you're not going to go against anyone that's willing to be hit."
"Unless they're like you." the ninetales remarked facetiously.
The swampert rolled her eyes. "That was ten years ago, but if you insist…"
The ninetales laughed. "I'm just messing with you." she then prepared herself once more as the swampert threw the second to last rock into the air.
At that point Spark had walked out the back door, observing what was happening in front of him.
"Doing some target practice?" he asked as he approached the two.
"Something like that…" the ninetales said after she finished off the rock. "Looks like we're just about done."
"Yeah, something like that." the swampert said. "Hey, Spark." she then said, getting the luxray's attention.
"Hmm?"
"Think fast!"
At that, she threw the rock in his direction. The Pokémon easily moved out of its way, as if they had planned it.
"That's it?" the swampert complained rather playfully. "You're going to dodge it?"
"Hey." he said. "Remember what Silver said last night. Dodging can be just as important as hitting."
The swampert was still. "Well, against someone else, say, me, sure, but a rock? That's not very exciting, now is it? Blow it into bits!"
"He can't…" the ninetales groaned to her. "Neither can I. Not everyone is strong in that aspect."
"Well, sure, I guess, but still…" she said. "Isn't as fun."
"Doesn't always need to be." Spark said. "Anyways, where's Silver at?"
"He went somewhere earlier this morning, said he'd be back at some point." the swampert said.
"Gotcha." Spark said. "Hope he gets here soon."
"What happens, happens." the ninetales said. "He could be hours away, for all we know. Be patient. He'll get here."
At that, they watched as a car pulled into the driveway. It was a nice red car, and it looked expensive.
They were all still as they didn't know what to think. They watched as Silver stepped out with a smile on his face.
"New car, huh?" the ninetales muttered. "Figures…"
"Of course…" the swampert felt stupid. "I watched him buy the darn thing, I should've known that was why he left…"
Silver approached them as he put his key in his pocket.
"Training already?" he said. "I figured you guys would've waited until I got back… good work."
The three acknowledged him.
"So, here's the deal." he said. "The ride there is going to be really long. The place is almost a full 24 hours away by car, so it turns out that we only have today to train. Think you guys can do it?"
The three exchanged looks, agreeing. They all seemed eager to get to it.
"Alright, then." he said. "Let's get to it!"