Lesson 12: How can you know what things are worth if your hands won't move to do a days work
"Bianca." Cheren growled towering over the fidgeting blonde, practically radiating anger, his notes carefully taken during the lecture on type disadvantages the Pokéschool provided new trainers, and more important gym challengers with, already forgotten, the ink not even dry yet.
"Y-yes?" she answered steeling herself to meet his wrath while handing me the incriminating evidence behind her back.
"Would you happen to know." He paused moving ever closer, "where the power cord from my laptop is?" His eyes flitted in my direction , and I could tell by the manner he raised a black brow that I was next.
"Don't look at me." I said waving behind my back with one hand to signal the small crowd of Pokémon situated there to save themselves. Hardly containing a loud snort, when Bianca tried to change the subject by inquiring about the weather I stole a glance at the Pokémon. One lizard quickly disappeared in the top of a tree, stopping mid climb to scoop up the panicking pup that ran around its trunk with a frustrated hiss. A crowd of people that sat by a large fountain jumped in surprise as an ecstatic yipping otter performed a perfectly angled dive that came with an unexpected large splash of water for such a small creature.
Piglet unlike the other Pokémon took his time in search of a good hiding place, and went with the concept 'If I don't see them anymore, they won't be able to see me either' promptly hiding his snout behind stubby short paws. Feline, always enjoying a good fight settled down, rather satisfied with his front row seat next to my egg that now rested in a special designed case.
"Are you suggesting that I'm careless when it comes to my personal properties?"
At the sound of my best friend's threatening soft tone I turned my attention back on the scene in front of me. Bianca channeling Oreo had covered her face with her trade mark green beret, holding on to it for dear life.
"N-No of course not." She answered sounding rather muffled.
"Didn't think so." The raven haired teen replied straightening his already perfectly arched back.
"Well?" he pushed
"Well what?"
"Well what happened to it. I had to take all my notes by hand, notes you two will want to read. Added some Japanese characters so have fun with those."
"We kinda…" she hesitated taking a step back.
'Someday Cheren will be one hell of a dad.' I thought while producing the two halves of a snapped laptop cord. I felt rather guilty for breaking it, but after seeing how Marron, Purrloin, Oreo, Saya and Dodger managed to drag both Bianca and me way past the line…well let's just say it was funny. We might've overdone it during the rematch though.
"We kinda… playedtugofwarwithit…"
Cheren blinked in response and for an instance I could've sworn I saw his left eye twitch in annoyance.
"For training purposes of course!" I chimed in, self-consciously stepping back from the murderous gleam in his eyes.
"Oh I'll give you two a purpose for training." He said his voice quiet but razor sharp edged.
"You do? Cheren that's great." Bianca beamed clasping her hands together jumping with joy.
Yep. Right there. I definitely saw a twitch
"Yeah you're going to love it." He replied wrapping his arm around her shoulder, beckoning her closer, "the two of you." He whispered practically glaring me to death when I tried to warn Bianca about the incoming danger."ARE GOING TO SEARCH EVERY STORE IN THIS TOWN TO BUY ME A NEW CORD!"
Making our way through packed streets it didn't take long before we started to enjoy our little 'Time Out'. Striaton was a surprisingly big city, having a Pokémon Gym had earned the city a big economy boost. Despite their young age, Chili, Cilan and Cress managed to pose a real challenge to rookie trainers. Chili was a notorious name in the Pokémon Centre, his Pansear nicknamed Spice had been responsible for a steady flow of burned patients and Nurse Joy had warned me about him, resulting in an even more pumped up Marron.
That aside several proud citizens had told us about the restaurant the three brothers owned, from what Bianca and I heard you had to be a very patient person if you wanted to eat there. A three month reservation wait list was quite impressive, and quite the wait, especially for someone like me who practically clawed her eyes out from waiting at the dentist's office.
An appetite – Yes. Patience – No.
No worries though, I had already spotted a Chinese restaurant, so celebrating our first badge wouldn't be a problem, it also meant that comfort food (if I managed to mess up) was available.
Citizens and tourists blended together while flocking from stores to little cafes and back again.
A shiny new laptop cord became one of many purchases, "Can't believe you bought a rope, Cheren's going to flip." I muttered as we crossed the street, making our way to an interesting looking shop, "Did you see that salesman's face? What's so weird about two seventeen year olds buying toys." I laughed while examining a cream colored scarf a street vendor handed me.
It was really soft, but the price wasn't. I was about to hand it back to him, afraid I'd somehow ruin it, forcing me to buy it, when a green scaled paw appeared in my line of sight, "You want to see it?" I asked huffing in amusement as the lizard promptly grabbed the scarf and drapped it around my neck including himself.
"Looks like the little one made the decision for you. He has a good eye, that's genuine Mareep wool!" The vendor commented, sending Marron a rather fatherly wink.
"An expensive eye you mean." I muttered pulling at the scarf having my own match at tug of war with a rather persistent Marron. "Do you mind?" I hissed at the lizard while sending the vendor an apologetic 'don't mind us' smile.
It took me five whole minutes to separate my Pokémon from the scarf, panting and with a reddened face I shot the gathering crowd a pointed glare, ignoring Marron's mocking "Tsk tsk." I marched back to Bianca looping my arm through hers so I could pull her along. A sudden loud cry of outrage followed by a "Stop that thief!" had me running towards the nearest alleyway.
"Why are we running?" Bianca huffed clutching her side, "It's not like we're the ones who – " I pointed at Marron who held the scarf, a proud grin on his face.
"Used his vine whip the sneaky bastard." I growled narrowing my eyes at my Pokémon, secretly proud that the smug smirk disappeared from his face at the sight of my anger.
"Oh." Bianca sighed allowing me to drag her further down the alleyway, glancing over her shoulder every two seconds.
"Ready to receive a lecture?" I asked Marron who climbed down my shoulder and positioned himself on top of a dumpster, gracing me with the sight of his back, looking pointedly away from my steady approach.
"Don't you ignore me mister! I practically invented that tactic!" I hissed stepping in his line of sight placing a hand on my hip and tapping a foot against the concrete.
"I'm not going to yell at you or something." I said smiling as his big eyes shot up to meet mine. "You're new to this." I mused aloud, massaging my temples in search of words, wondering if being a mom felt like this too. "Humans have to pay money in exchange for stuff like that." I began with a nod towards the scarf.
"People who don't pay money, or forget to do so, like we did a few minutes ago steal stuff from other people, and in the human world stealing is seen as a crime."
Understanding flickered through large eyes, and Marron eyed the scarf with a rather guilty look, his tail flicking from side to side. He really had been clueless about the act, the moment I realized this little piece of information I found myself unable to be angry with him.
Straightening, rather embarrassed about the whole lecturing stuff I added "Just this once, I'll give you a Get Out Of Jail Free Card." A reddish eye slanted my way and I could've sworn that I almost heard him say
"I'm sorry… Last night when we went looking for Purrloin, you seemed cold…it just seemed like a good idea at the moment…"
I could've sworn I heard it, but as soon as I tried to focus on his manner of speech and the sounds he produced they turned into nothing more than hissing, as incomprehensible as ever. Somewhere in the back of my mind it felt like comprehension was just within inches of my grasp, but miles and miles away.
It was maddening and wrung my heart.
"I'll teach you!" Bianca chimed derailing my train of thought. Digging inside her bag, she produced a handful of coins, "Look Marron, this is what humans call money." She said, explaining the value of each coin that rested in her palm, sending me a small smile.
I chose to let it slide and moved off to peek my head out of the alley to see if the coast was clear. Off course it wasn't and I found myself face to face with an annoyed Cheren and a tall red haired man.
"Errr… I didn't do it?" I tried face flushed as Cheren slapped himself on the forehead and his companion roared with laughter. "So that's the girl I'll be fighting! I like her already!"
In court they would've yelled 'Guilty' the moment those words left my mouth.
Not my brightest moment. I know.
The red haired man who turned out to be none other than Chili himself had been kind enough to clear my debt with the vendor. "Don't mention it. Charlie and I go way back." He replied when I tried to thank him for what had to be the millionth time, "It was worth it. Hadn't had such a good laugh in ages." He added with a little chuckle.
'Somehow I really doubt that.'I thought as I eyed him from the corner of my eyes, all smiles, flashing red hair and a bounce to his step. The words I would use to describe him had to be easy-going, talkative, fun and helpful. I decided that the fire type using gym leader was an overall happy person, who took the time to speak to the citizens. We walked through the streets in silence, when I noticed a small sign that said 'Striaton City Gym' I glanced over my shoulder to check if Bianca had noticed.
She was walking side by side with Cheren, both in the midst of a quiet conversation. I had to strain my ears to hear their words.
"She didn't steal it did she?" Cheren whispered to Bianca as she handed him his new laptop cord elbowing him in the progress.
"Oh ha ha." I said, rolling my eyes. Cheren shook his head, "Come on Ashe, you'd be rolling on the ground crying with laughter if something like that had happened to me." He said amused by my embarrassment, speeding up so he could walk beside me.
"You handled the situation rather well though." Chili said, "Better than I did back in the days."
The twinkle that appeared in his eyes piqued my interest, "What happened?" I asked urging him on to share his thoughts. Chili eyed me, wondering whether or not to share the story, painfully aware of the three pair of eyes that watched him closely. "You have to keep in mind that I was young back then." He said combing long fingers through his crimson hair, in a boyish carefree manner.
"Sounds like an excuse." Cheren teased smirking as Bianca had to stifle a giggle and I tried to cover my loud snort by coughing. Letting the comment slide Chili continued, "The first city I visited when I just caught Pansear was known for their annual eating contest. I tried to explain him the concept of an all-you-can-eat and we decided to enter."
"I can already tell where this is going." Cheren and I interrupted simultaneously, quieting as Bianca shushed us.
"Yeah I should've seen it coming. It gets worse though." Chili admitted flashing a pearly white grin. "Anyway, misunderstanding the term all-you-can-eat Pansear attacked everything edible that came in sight. And with everything I mean everything."
"Oh no." Bianca exclaimed clasping her hands over her mouth.
"Oh yes." I laughed, suddenly happy with my scarf.
"Everything had to go. Spice and I still argue about the fact he ate a spoon that day. He says he didn't, but I know what I saw." Chili replied solemnly, the serious expression on his face pushed Bianca and me over the edge.
"This gets even worse?" Cheren, (who had to shout to make himself heard) asked.
Chili folded his arms across his chest, "He ate some bad stuff that day." He admitted shaking his head.
"Please don't tell me he ate that." I asked rubbing my aching side, "Pansear no longer went by the name Pansear am I right?"
Chili halted and gaped at my face, "How'd you know?"
I lifted a single shoulder, "Kind off a no-brainer. That and I drunk a whole bottle of it once." I admitted. Chili carefully considered my little revelation and lifted a brow before continuing his story.
"Fire types are really sensitive when it comes to food." He said with a glance in Bianca's direction, who gulped. Apparently Cheren had already filled Chili in on our Pokémon. "Spice ate what had to be tons of pepper and other herbs… He jugged down a whole bottle of Tabasco in mere seconds. No wonder his flamethrower became that big…"
"He set the place aflame?" Cheren asked dodging a passing motor cycle.
"Let's just say the citizens will never forget that particular All-You-Can-Eat edition." Chili admitted, blushing until his face was as red as his hair.
"Maybe they changed the name." I commented with a mischievous smile, "The All-You-Should-Eat-Please-Don't-Torch-The-Place-Contest. You gotta admit it has a nice ring to it."
By the time the Gym/restaurant came into sight Bianca grew unnaturally silent. Oreo had appeared from his Pokéball without being summoned and walked as close to her as possible, determination evident in his eyes. Purrloin appeared out of thin air when I was about to enter the restaurant and rubbed against my legs before joining a composed Marron who sat waiting with his eyes closed.
"This way." Chili said, leading us through the crowded restaurant to a secluded section in the back.
"Oh no-no, I can't do this." Bianca whimpered at the sight of the huge battle ring that was large enough for three battles to commence at the same time.
"Yes you can and you will." Cheren said squeezing her shoulder, his eyes narrowing with determination as a green haired man entered the battle field, quickly followed by his older, blue haired brother. Raven haired teen followed the green haired gym leader with a furrow of concentration.
"Chili, do tell us how Spice is feeling." The eldest of the triplets asked his youngest red haired brother, obviously worrying about said Pokémon's well being.
I shot Chili a questioning glance and froze when I found myself caught by a look of pure anger. Clenching his hands to fists, Chili's boyish grin had disappeared and for the first time I noticed how tall and intimidating a gym leader could be.
"Is something wrong with Spice?" I tried avoiding Chili's darkening stare by staring into Cilan's soft green ones.
"Just some scrapes and bruises." Chili snapped strutting towards his brothers and joining them on the other side of the battlefield.
"Don't be ashamed little brother." Cress, who appeared to be the logical one, said with a cool face, "The three of us lost after giving it the best we had. There is nothing dishonorable about that."
"We had a rather fierce challenger this morning." Cilan who stood facing Cheren explained.
"Fierce?" Cheren inquired pushing his glasses up on his nose.
"There's something seriously wrong with that guy, I'll tell you that. His Purrloin's a monster. Bastard." Exclaimed a pacing Chili.
"It's not losing that's bothering my little brother." Cress commented, resting his blue eyes on his impulsive sibling.
I wasn't going to ask the inevitable question. Someone else would. And I wouldn't like the answer.
"Then what is?" Bianca asked.
I squeezed my eyes shut, counting each passing second. 'Don't let it be him, don't let it be him, please don't let it be –'
"He said we held our Pokémon back. His exact word to describe the whole Gym leader concept was. Ah… a nuisance."
N.
Purrloin's loud affectionate purr hummed through the air and before I even looked at him I could feel his eyes on me.
"I think we're going to have a little talk with your friend after this." I whispered to the feline, who increased his purr to an even louder level.
The conversation died when Chili released a tiny red monkey that crouched into an attacking position the moment he touched the ground. "You'd better prepare for this Ashe, we won't be holding back." Chili said and Spice huffed a plume of smoke to emphasize his trainer's words.
Marron skillfully dodged what could only be described as a wall of fire by catapulting himself into the air with the help of slender vines. He winced in pain as the monkey moved along with him and scorched his leafy tail. The snake's pay back consisted of a quick jab across the chest and a hiss that had to be a rude remark because the fire monkey suddenly stomped in anger and doubled his attempts to scorch the snake alive.
"I don't think it's wise to offend him like that Marron!" I yelled as the snake continued dancing around an angered Spice, staying close enough to enable the monkey from using his fire attacks.
At the same time Saya bashed an exhausted Pansage on the head with her shell. Cheren had used Sherazade's speed to his advantage, his strategy had been to exhaust his opponent, so the type disadvantage wouldn't be so dangerous anymore. It gave Saya the opportunity to finish the battle and Cheren's first gym badge was a fact.
Bianca's beret lay forgotten at her side, a dripping wet but conscious Dodger barked in encouragement as Oreo countered a jet of water with his own fire attacks, a steady flow of smoke kept trickling from his nostrils. Both battles continued.
Grass type and fire type kept exchanging blows. Marron had managed to inflict some serious damage by slamming the monkey face first into the floor.
A dodging maneuver went seriously wrong though, and for a moment Marron became engulfed by flames, completely disappearing from sight.
"Knock him off his feet!" I yelled in panic, praying to every legendary Pokémon I knew, cheering loudly when a scorched vine whip appeared from the flames and did just that.
The steady flow of fire came to an abrupt halt and a staggering, blackened Marron sat on the ground at the side lines. "That was brilliant Marron!" I yelled sending him the biggest smile I could muster.
"You're up Purrloin!" I said. The cat hadn't even moved an inch before Spice lunged at him with an ear splitting screech. "Not a big fan of felines?" I gasped to Chili who laughed apologetic, "Can you blame him?" he yelled with a wide grin before the two of us concentrated on our Pokémon. After a few minutes a fierce hissing Purrloin came out on top and placed a clawed paw on Spice's red furred throat. Some customers might've choked on their soup the moment I errupted into loud cheers.
I had won my first official gym badge thanks to Marron and Purrloin. Cheren had won his first official gym badge thanks to lots of training and logic.
Bianca had won her first official badge thanks to Oreo's fierce determination and Dodger's endurance. The blonde wouldn't believe it until Cress presented her with the Trio Badge and carefully mentioned how Oreo had managed to set a whole dining table aflame.
Chili loved that little detail and pulled me and a blushing Bianca into a bear hug. Cilan calling his brother a player wolf whistled and slapped Cheren on the shoulder. After promising to return for tea the next day we returned to the Striaton Pokémon centre analyzing every move we had made during our gym battle. The three of us agreed that owning one badge sounded so much better than owning none, Cheren dead set on making one into two, was already making plans for when we left Striaton city tomorrow. My plans only went as far as treating Marron to a make shift sauna and bullying Purrloin into a grooming session. That and kicking N's ass... and maybe some chinese food.
She's planning to talk to N. Purrloin said eying his trainer who sat cross-legged on her bed, blinking her eyes with sleep, the tip of her nose practically touched the paper she sat hunched over.
You worried? Marron replied enjoying the heat that emanated from the desk lamp Ashe had aimed at him.
She'll anger him, intrigue him and that's even more dangerous…
She has a temper but that doesn't mean she'll start looking for a fight.
No.
the feline replied stretching his back and yawing. But I will.