The following night, Alexis had a nightmare where all his teeth rotted away and fell off.
It was only when he woke up the next morning that he remembered the reason he had dreamed about that.
Alexis hadn't brushed his teeth since leaving the orphanage nearly three weeks ago.
-(=0=)-
"Can I get you anything dear?" Alexis looked up at the old waitress wearing a black uniform.
"Yeah, what's on the menu?" he asked.
"We've got grilled steak and fries to start with."
"I'll have that with some water please," Alexis pondered as the lady walked away.
This morning had been rather productive. He had made an appointment to fight against Elesa at the Nimbasa City Gym, visited the local Pokémart to buy an antidote in case of an emergency, and a gift for Sandile to congratulate him on his great performance yesterday.
Last but not least, he'd purchased a pack of toothpaste that came with a travel toothbrush.
Tomorrow, he would buy supplies, he decided.
"Here you go," the lady said, coming back with his plate and a glass of water.
"Thank you," but for now, food time.
-(=0=)-
"Look what I got for youuu!" Alexis said as he pulled out from behind him a pair of red-rimmed sunglasses, showing them to Sandile.
"The guy at the Pokémart said that these increase the power of Dark type attacks by 20 percent!" Alexis told an excited Sandile with a smile.
"I guess it's true what they say. Kids that grow up without money don't know how to spend it," Alexis turned around. It was Norman. In contrast with yesterday's black suit, today he was wearing a full beige one with a white shirt.
"As you may have heard, these bad boys increase the power of Dark type attacks by 20%. For only 100 bucks, it seems like a great purchase if you ask me. Also, nobody says that." "Alright alright. You do you."
Both men stayed silent for a while, both gawking at Sandile as he ran around trying to shake his new pair of glasses off like Alexis had commanded him to do.
"This makes no sense. How do they not fall out? Or even move a bit!? Maybe it has something to do with Dark type energy..." Alexis thought as he stared dumbfounded at Sandile run around. Even Dig wouldn't make them fall off.
"So, got any other interests besides pokemon?" Norman asked.
"Listening to Ludwig van Beethoven and playing video games," neither of which he could now do, unfortunately.
"Well, I don't know classical music but I played some video games back in my day. What do you youngsters play these days, huh?"
"Devil May Cry. I used to compete with other kids on who could do missions faster."
"Devil May Cry! Now that's a classic. I was just a little kid when the first one came out. You're probably talking about 5 right? Kids these days… They're missing out by not playing older games," Norman said with a smile, reminiscing of a time long past.
"I've never played 5. We couldn't afford modern consoles where I lived, so I have only played up to 4," Alexis said, trying not to talk too much about his upbringing.
"Oh, okay. I'm guessing you've also played a Pokémon game. All trainers these days seem to have played one of those."
"Yeah," the Pokémon franchise... One of the biggest media franchises in the world. Not only did they make video games but also shows, movies, and comics that depicted the life of pokemon trainers from different countries across the world.
Alexis had to admit that disguising propaganda as just harmless entertainment was a pretty clever tactic.
The Pokémon Company was propped up and supported by governments worldwide so that kids would become interested in becoming pokemon trainers. The story usually went as follows: a kid between the ages of 6 to 14 would play the games, then move on to play competitively if they were more diehard fans, and then, at the age of 18, become a real pokemon trainer.
Recently, The Pokémon Company came under criticism, as a section of the fanbase denounced how the company was painting a fake picture. A picture where someone could catch hundreds of pokemon and never struggle to feed them or keep them loyal. A world where people could become champion-level trainers in less than a year, something that not even the greatest of trainers throughout history had been able to achieve.
Another criticism was that the games were too childish. While pokemon trainers rarely died anymore, it still happened from time to time, while in the games, trainers could never hurt themselves.
Alexis personally just thought that appealing to this loud minority would be counterproductive. After all, if you wanted to experience a realistic pokemon journey, you could just become an actual trainer in real life.
"I have never been into them myself. The games are too easy and training pokemon in real life is too hard," Norman said.
"Life on the path is hard indeed," Alexis said as he recalled Sandile, his glasses going inside the pokeball along with him. How did that work? Something to do with the material the glasses were made of? Better not to dwell on it. It was time to go.
Norman chuckled loudly at that. "Life on the path?" he said while making air quotes. "Haven't you been a trainer for less than a month? Bit early to talk about the struggles of a trainer, don't you think?"
It seemed that Eva's gloves were doing a good job…
"Whatever, I have to go. That badge ain't gonna win itself," Alexis said as he walked away.
"Good luck!"
Good luck would not be needed. He had the type advantage and this was his first gym fight. How hard could it be?
-(=0=)-
"Hi, I have a fight scheduled in thirty minutes," Alexis said to the black-haired girl from yesterday.
When he'd come in the morning to schedule a fight and pay the fee, a nicer, blond girl had been the one behind the counter. This one must do the afternoon shifts, Alexis guessed.
"Arrive early, good. Follow me," he did as requested. They soon reached a massive room that could basically be summarized as a fashion show catwalk, with a battle arena at the end of it.
Elesa was already on one side of the battlefield, ready for their fight. "Welcome to the main stage! My beloved Pokemon and yours shall compete!" Elesa screamed with a welcoming smile.
Alexis had to fight the blush trying to spread through his face. Aside from her title as a Gym Leader, Elesa was often considered to be the most beautiful woman in all of Unova.
"Both combatants will only use one Pokemon. The battle will be over when one of them is unable to continue. Please release your pokemon," the referee announced.
In a flash of light, both Sandile and an Emolga stood on the shiny battlefield.
"Begin!" it was on.
"Emolga, quick attack!" Elesa screamed.
Emolga enveloped itself in a white light and flew towards Sandile at incredible speed. It hit the Ground type on his left side, quickly flying away afterward.
Sandile shook the hit off without much effort. Alexis had decided that yesterday's strategy would be the same for the gym battle, but it seemed that a flying opponent would be much harder to clamp down on than a grounded one.
"Emolga, quick attack once again."
"Crap, what to do?" Alexis thought as Sandile received another hit without hope of retaliating due to Amolga's speed. Thankfully, Quick Attack did little damage to Sandile, but still...
"Sandile, open your jaw and keep it like that!" Sandile followed Alexis's order, even if it was a strange one. "Emolga, quick attack!" Emolga got ready once again, white energy enveloping its body.
"Sandile, get ready! Once it gets close enough, use Bite!" hopefully, a Bite powered by the sunglasses Alexis had given him would be enough to knock Emolga out in one hit, or at least trap it in Sandile's maws, forcing a surrender.
Sadly, Emolga's Quick Attack was too fast for Sandile to react to, resulting in the same outcome as the last two times. The only difference was that Sandile's mouth closed after being hit in an attempt to catch the Electric/Flying type.
Alexis saw Sandile try once again without results. A Rock type attack would have been so useful right now, but Alexis had been overconfident and hadn't tried to teach any to Sandile before the fight.
But maybe a rudimentary version of one would suffice.
"Sandile, use Dig!" Sandile quickly disappeared from view.
"Now we're both unable to hit each other's pokemon, what's the plan here?" Elesa asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly amused by Alexis's strategy, or maybe lack thereof?
"You'll see," Alexis said with a confident smile, "Sandile, come out! Then use Dig again!" Sandile did as ordered. Dust, debris, and the odd pebble came out of the ground as Sandile did, leaving a hole his size behind, only for him to use Dig again, creating another hole beside the other before Emolga could hope to land another attack.
"Emolga, get ready for another Quick Attack!"
"Heh. Got her." "Sandile, come out near the holes you've already created!" Emola was already flying towards said holes before Alexis finished his sentence.
Sandile came out of a third hole, with more dirt and even some rocks coming along with him as the ground below him was shattered. "Now Sandile, use your tail to toss those rocks at Emola!" Sandile did so as quickly as he could.
Alexis looked up. He had been correct.
Since this was a Gym battle against a challenger with no badges, Elesa could not use a very strong pokemon, meaning that it couldn't do a bunch of moves in rapid succession without getting tired. Just by looking at the now slower Emolga, it seemed that Alexis had been correct in his assumption.
There was also the fact that the speed at which Quick Attack was performed, despite being one of its greatest assets, also represented one of its biggest drawbacks: users move at their target so fast that it caused a tunnel vision-like effect for them. Because they charge in a straight line it becomes easy for opponents to attack them, and because of the tunnel vision, it is difficult for the user to see these attacks, much less react to them.
Meaning that...
Two rocks hit Emolga right in the face, with another one missing and hitting its wing. This made Emolga go tumbling down and hit the ground.
"Now Sandile! Use Dig then Bite on your way out!" Alexis was cursing himself. It was clear to him that Sandile could move much faster underground when using Dig than by just walking, so why had they not trained Dig as much as his other moves?
"Emolga! Take flight again, quickly!"
Too late.
As Emolga was about to fly off, Sandile came out of the ground with a Dark powered Bite reading to clamp down on his opponent.
For a moment, Alexis thought Sandile looked like a Sharpedo who had caught an unwary Wingull in his jaws. It was quite a majestic sight, in a weird way.
Sandile let instincts take over as he used Dig again, this time with Emola on his maws, dragging the Electric type underground with him and doing even more damage.
Now he really was acting like a Sharpedo, Alexis thought with a smile.
Thankfully, Sandile had listened to him this morning and knew he couldn't kill or eat this one, so after a couple of seconds he came out of the ground with an unconscious Emolga in his maws.
Sandile spat out his opponent, who was then quickly returned to its pokeball.
"Emolga is unable to battle! Sandike wins. Therefore, the winner is challenger Alexis!" the referee shouted as Alexis breathed a sigh of relief. His first gym battle had been much more stressful than he thought it would have been.
"My, oh my... You have a great fighting style. I mean, you're a great Trainer! You even outsmarted me. Excuse me, I… Oh, here! Your reward," Elesa said with a smile, holding the Bolt Badge in her hand. It was shaped like a lightning bolt with an orange crown on the top.
Alexis attempted to speak but the words did not come out.
Arceus Merciful. How could anyone bet this gorgeous?
"Oh right, this is your first badge. Here, you can have this too," Elesa grabbed something from her yellow jacket. A small black case.
She opened it, revealing it to be a Badge Case. She put the Bolt Badge inside, closed it up, and gave it to Alexis, who had finally managed to get his act together.
"Thank you very much," Alexis said as he grabbed the black case.
"When I get my eight badges, I'll be back for a real fight," Alexis said, finally making eye contact with Elesa.
"And I shall accept the challenge!" she responded.
"Okay then, now I gotta go. I have a modeling photoshoot in an hour. Goodbye!" Elesa waved as she turned around and exited the arena.
-(=0=)-
RING RING RING
RING RING RING
Alexis picked up the phone on his night table with a groan.
"Excuse me, you have someone here asking for you."
"...I'll be there… Tell 'em to wait seated," Alexis finished with another groan, slamming the receiver back onto the telephone and dropping his head back on the pillow.
Why were Pokemon Center's beds so comfortable?
…
"...Sandile." Alexis groaned, moving his legs to nuzzle Sandile, who was currently curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed, trying to go back to sleep.
Sandile groaned back at him.
Like Trainer, Like Pokemon.
-(=0=)-
"Arceus kid, an hour? What were you doing in there? Applying makeup? I mean, not even my wife takes that long." "We both know you don't have a wife, Norman," Alexis said, carrying a sleeping Sandile in his arms. He walked past the man, heading straight to the cafeteria inside the Pokemon Center.
His stomach demanded food.
"Hey, ain't that illegal?" "Not in the cafeteria. Pokemon have to eat too..."
-(=0=)-
"Milk, cereal, and toast? What kind of breakfast is that?" Norman said as he stirred the coffee he had ordered for himself.
"I don't like coffee, I only drink it when I'm down," Alexis said with a deadpan expression.
"You're such a straight arrow… With that kind of attitude, you would think that you would be training Fairy types or something," Norman said, looking at Sandile, who was eating a mixture of Kibble and Oran berries from a bowl.
"…" Alexis just stared at Norman. Was he calling him gay?
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Norma asked.
"Leave? I still got seven badges and five more pokemon to catch. At the very least," Alexis responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You're leaving already?"
"Yeah. Again, why wouldn't I?" Alexis asked with a shrug.
"I think you should live life a little bit more. Especially when you are in Nimbasa City; The City Lit by the Flash of Lightning aka,
The Capital of Unova," Norman proclaimed.
"Y'know, I'm from Castelia and they say the same thing there. "Castelia City; A City of Grandeur aka, The Capital of Unova." In reality, the capital is wherever her majesty, the champion, is at the current moment," Alexis said in a jokey tone.
Norman chuckled at that, "true, but in all seriousness kid, you should spend a day or two here. Explore the city a bit. Have some fun," Alexis pondered at the idea.
"But what if I run into that guy?" Alexis asked, a serious expression crossing his face.
"What guy?" Norman asked, perplexed.
"The guy I... murdered his pokemon," Alexis finished in a whisper, trying not to gain any unwanted attention.
"That guy!? I've seen him lose one week only to come back the next one with another Watchog. The one you fought was probably his fourth one and I bet you anything that next week, he'll be back with another one. He was probably more pissed at losing 100 bucks than his pokemon dying."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah! Didn't know it was eating at you like that. Should have told me earlier..." Norman said.
"Well, it wasn't eating at me. Just a healthy amount of concern... Alright, I'll stay then. Sandile has done nothing but fight for the past two days. He deserves some time off."
"There we go!" Norman said with a smile.
"Why have you been spending so much time with me anyway?" Alexis asked, he had been wondering that since yesterday.
"...You kinda remind me of my younger brother before we... had a fallout."
"Oh," Probably something to do with the underground fighting and other non-legal business that may or may not take place at the Pub that he wasn't aware of.
Alexis didn't press for answers. Some things were better left unknown.
-(=0=)-
Alexis walked around Nimbasa City, he had to give credit where credit was due, the city was rather beautiful, it even had a Ferris wheel!
"A ticket for one please," Alexis said to the man who seemed to be operating said Ferris wheel.
"That'll be 10 dollars please," "here."
Once inside the cabins, Alexis spotted a sign stating that pokemon under 20 kilograms (44 pounds) could be released inside the cabin. Alexis released Sandile and held him between his arms as the Grund type looked around the strange place he was now in.
"Were in a Ferris wheel, look," Alexis neared Sandile to one of the windows, helping him look outside.
Thankfully, Sandile didn't seem to panic but instead enjoyed the view as his trainer did. Maybe staying hadn't been such a bad idea, Alexis thought as he started scratching Sandile's head.
He would check the Musical Theater next...
-(=0=)-
Alexis found out that an orchestra was scheduled to play the next day, and since it was announced to be a piece by Beethoven, he bought a ticket. He then decided to stroll to Route 5, where Sandile could train Fire Fang for a bit and then have a feast with the local Patrat population as a reward for his great performance yesterday.
By the end of the day, Sandile had eaten around eight Patrat, and Alexis almost had to drag Sandile back to the Pokemon Center had it not been for the ability to return him to his pokeball.
-(=0=)-
Since the Symphony Orchestra Concert was at 7 pm, Alexis had plenty of time to get everything ready to leave tomorrow.
He paid Nurse Joy for one more night at the Pokemon Center, ate breakfast with Sandile, then bought supplies for two weeks with the money he still had from the fight at the pub and what was left after León had robbed him.
But how was a trainer able to carry so much food without snapping in two, you might ask? PokeCapsules.
PokeCapsules had been invented around ten years ago. They utilized the technology pokeballs used but modified so that anything could be stored inside them, allowing someone to store up to 100 kilograms (220.47 pounds) inside a tiny red pokeball. They often came with the letters PC written on them to differentiate them from a normal pokeball.
This invention had not only revolutionized the lives of pokemon trainers worldwide but everyone.
Problem was, they were expensive as hell. Each one came with a hefty price tag of 170 dollars. Which, after everything else he'd bought, left Alexis with exactly 0 dollars.
Just another reason to challenge more trainers and to get two more badges quickly, since trainers with three badges or more received a discount on pokecapsules.
The fact that he now had so little money made him think about León. He wondered what that asshole could be doing right now.
Hopefully getting his head ripped off by a Haxorus or something.
Wishful thinking, Alexis knew.
After that, he ate lunch at the same place as the last two days and decided to train Dig along with Fire Fang with Sandile at one of the Pokemon Center's arenas before the Concert.
Dig came naturally to Sandile, so there wasn't a lot to do there.
The real issue was Fire Fang. The move was described as "The user bites with flame-cloaked fangs" but all Sandile could do was turn his fangs red with heat. No flames could be seen when he performed the attack.
Before Alexis or Sandile realized, two hours had passed. He decided that it was enough training for today. Went into his room and took a shower.
Alexis arrived at the Musical Theater at 6:30 pm, as was recommended. Most people outside were wearing expensive-looking suits and dresses. Alexis looked down at himself. Black t-shirt, black shorts, a pair of black ankle boots with pink laces and soles with a pair of black socks underneath.
"I look like a homeless guy compared to these people," Alexis thought, a bit nervous. It wasn't his fault that this was the only pair of clothes he owned and that he had no money for fancy clothes.
He thanked himself for remembering to take off his fingerless gloves and leave them in his room at the Pokemon Center.
As people started entering the building, some looked at him funny, while others whispered things Alexis couldn't hear. Probably nothing good.
"Ticket please," "here," the man in a black suit looked at his ticket and then at him. Alexis was starting to sweat bullets. Surely he wouldn't get kicked out, right?
"Everything is in order. Go right ahead, sir."
Before Alexis could start walking again, the man stopped him.
"It's nice to see the younger generations take interest in classical music," the man said, patting him on his shoulder with a smile on his face.
"Uhhh, thanks."
-(=0=)-
Alexis stepped outside the Musical Theater, the concert had been amazing.
As announced, the orchestra had played Symphony No 5 in C minor Op 67. All the musicians were astonishing.
The concert had been shy of an hour and a half, meaning that it was probably around 8:30. Too early to go to sleep, so he decided to visit the pub to say goodbye to Norman.
If he even was at the pub.
-(=0=)-
Alexis knocked on the metal door like last time. The same pair of blue eyes looked at him once again.
"Can I come in even if I don't have a fight scheduled?" Alexis asked.
Unlike last time, the man seemed to think about what to do instead of opening it straight away. The letter plate slid to the left. Not a sound could be heard from the other side.
It was only after ten seconds that the door opened.
Alexis scanned the purple-lit pub, looking for Norman. It didn't take much to find him, after all, he was waving at him from the same table he had been sitting at the other day. Another man was sitting with him.
At least he wasn't screaming for him this time.
Alexis sat down and took a look at the beverage menu once again.
Aphorora Pub
Krakka 10$
Mimett 10$
Tantal 10$
Reagen 10$
Curiel 10$
Sylkis 10$
Arceus...
"Is there anything here that's fruit-flavored?"
"Beneke, bring us two Sylkis!" Norman proclaimed with a smile. So that was the blond man's name…
Alexis looked at Norman, then at the other man sitting with him, and back at Norman. "Relax kid. Sylkis is a pineapple/lime cocktail, we just like to use fancy made-up names," he said, patting Alexis on the shoulder.
"Anyway! I was just finishing business with this gentleman. In fact, I believe he was just about to leave," Norman said, looking at the other guy sitting with them. He was probably in his forties, bald with brown eyes and a nice-looking mustache.
"Yeah, see you around Norman," the man said as he got up and walked out of the pub.
Alexis stared at the man as he left. "You gotta work on that," Norman just said out of the blue. "Work on what?"
"Starring. You stare at people just a bit too much. It probably happens with women even more," Norman finished with a cheeky smile.
He didn't stare at people. Did he? Maybe he had stared at Eva and Elesa, but that was completely understandable.
"So, what you been up to these two days?"
"Yesterday I went to the Ferris wheel and today I went to the Musical Theater," Alexis said. "I also trained Sandile on his Fire Fang, he's been having difficulties with that," as Alexis finished, Beneke brought them their drinks.
"Well, he's a Ground/Dark type, right? A little trouble learning moves that aren't of those types is normal, so don't stress about it."
Alexis brought the yellow drink up to his lips. "Yeah, you're right, still..."
He took a sip of the blend. The alcohol burned his throat a little bit.
"Hmm. It's sweet. I like it," Alexis smiled at Norman, who had already gulped down half of his.
"Glad to hear it. So tell me. Where you going now?"
Alexis smiled before answering. Maybe he'd found Norman a bit weird when they first met, but now, he could honestly call him a friend.
-(=0=)-
"So tell me!" Norman screamed. He was now drinking his fourth cocktail and clearly drunk. Alexis found it amusing, Norman was way funnier when inebriated.
"Do you really only listen to Beethoven!?" Norman asked in between hiccups.
"Nope, I was just being a prick cuz I thought you were following me, man... *Hic* The truth is, I like Rock, Metal, a bit of Vocaloid, and some Eurobeat stuff. You know what that is?" Alexis said, also a bit drunk.
"Nah! Sounds like some nerd shit!"
-(=0=)-
"Before you go!" Norman yelled as Alexis tried to get up.
By now, Alexis had drowned three drinks and Norman had... six? Maybe even more? Alexis had lost count.
"What is it maaaan... I told you already, I gotta wake up early tomorrow," Alexis said as he tried to keep himself from falling.
"You can have this!" Norman said as he put a stack of twenty dollar bills on the table, neatly wrapped in a currency strap. Alexis grabbed it and looked at the money. Even in his current state, he could still read.
A Thousand Dollars. 50 bills of 20. A Grand.
"I can't take this man... It be like stealing, you fucking drunk!" Alexis slammed down the wad of bills on the table, almost falling in the process.
"Yes, you can! I was gonna give it to you tomorrow but since you're already here why not. It's a fourth of what I made by betting on you in the fight anyway!" Alexis just stared at the money, Norman was making a lot of sense here...
"Those suckers thought that you were gonna lose since you're a newbie. I knew better… Sandile are Mightyena in Mareep's clothing. Powerful little fuckers… I should know. My brother has one on his team and she's a beast."
Oh, so that's why Norman had wanted to get close to Alexis. He viewed his little brother in him in a way.
Alexis grabbed the stack of money and put it in his pocket, closing the zipper just to be sure. He told himself that this money was rightfully his since he'd won that fight. Besides, Norman didn't look to be short on money anyway, judging by his very expensive-looking suits. He, on the other hand, was broke.
Alexis looked at Beneke who just gave him a nod in return, "he lives upstairs. He'll be fine, you take care."
Oh yeah. During their conversation, Norman had told him that he was the owner of the Aphorora Pub, as Alexis had assumed.
"Okay then... Tell him I'll visit when I have time," Alexis said and waved goodbye to Beneke as he exited the pub.
He looked at Norman one last time. He was face-planted right on the table, sleeping without a care in the world.
-(=0=)-
A/N For anyone wondering. Yes, the sunglasses Alexis gave Sandile are the same ones Ash's Krookodile has.