Chapter 3
"Alright, come in and sit down." I dutifully followed into Christy's room and saw her absently motion towards her bed.
While I gingerly took a seat next to a Chansey-plushy my girlfriend was already two steps ahead and rummaging around in a small cabinet next to her desk.
Hesitant to distract her I decided to keep my mouth shut at least for the moment.
"There it is." She exclaimed, apparently happy that she found what she had been looking for so quickly. 'It' was quickly revealed to be a little book as she turned around in triumph.
"This is the diary I wrote in when I traveled with Victoria and Valentina." She revealed and I watched her smile fondly. Quickly snapping out of the memory lane and back into the present, however, she continued. "First-timers are usually encouraged to write down all their experiences. Routes, noteworthy landmarks along the way, habits or characteristics of your or wild pokemon." She paused for a moment and took a seat on the bed next to me. "…and the Gyms."
"Seriously?" I stared wide-eyed. This was literally the Dummy-handbook I was dreaming about.
"Don't get your hopes up." She warned, seeing and hearing my pure relief. "Something that was hammered into our heads at the end of Nurse-school, right before our journey, was that the Pokemon world is always unpredictable. 20 miles away a hungry Snorlax decides to wander into new territory and scares away a pack of feral Houndours. Suddenly they might be roaming near a route and the next Ranger patrol isn't due for a couple of days." She shook her head minutely, apparently trying to get back on track.
"This is just a little help, and the notes about the Gyms might not be up to date. If you want, we can do some basic tutoring while you get Tweety used to your weight." She finally offered with a tired smile.
"I don't know what to say." I was almost genuinely overwhelmed, so I let actions speak louder than words, which she eagerly responded to.
"We are not done with planning." She eventually murmured against my lips, and I reluctantly opened my eyes to meet her gaze. Apparently deciding, that some distance would put a lid on our passion before it went too far Christy stood up again and began to pace.
"Your job at the Pidgey Express makes things a lot ea…"
Apparently, me raising my hand like an embarrassed schoolboy, and my grimace were enough to prevent her from finishing that particular sentence.
"Yeah, uhm." I struggled for a hot second with my phrasing before I decided to rip the band-aid right off. "Long story short, I told my brother to fuck off and quit. I acted a lot more mature than it sounds like, honest." I hastily added the last bit.
I quickly stood up when I saw her eyes widen and gently placed my hands on her arms.
"Listen, it was a long time coming…and it meant a lot to me." Gently rubbing her arms, I carried on. "As shitty as this deadline thing is I never felt this…free, I guess." I revealed the weightlessness, that had been lurking under my skin since I uttered my resignation to my brother.
"Fuck." Christy cursed to my surprise and utter delight before tiredly placing her forehead on my shoulder.
With a broad smile on my face, I wrapped her in a gentle hug.
"Ms. Joy, I better not hear such potty language again." I warned in a playful manner.
"It's your fault," She murmured still against my shoulder. "You are a bad influence."
"And you are a good influence. We are Yin and Yang, baby! Now," I gently detached her head from my side and led her back to the bed. "Let's get comfortable and more importantly back to the train of thought I so successfully managed to derail."
"You need backing." She said lying next to me, both of our gazes on her ceiling.
"…a sponsor," Correctly interpreting my silence she thankfully began to elaborate. "a 'home base'" She did air quotes. "or a job. A place, that you would regularly call from a Pokemon Center during your travels. A place that would receive and forward your mail and more importantly can receive your Pokemon if something were to happen to you."
She grew quiet for a second before she finally settled on the easiest description.
"It's a fixed link between you and the League or the government, that you can trust to keep you up to date."
"Some Professors and Gyms do that, don't they?" I vaguely remembered some talk about Professor Elm and later Falkner, when my brother had decided to fuck off.
"Yeah, promising beginners or those with connections are chosen by a professor. Gyms might grant a handful of scholarships to those that impressed during their apprenticeship." I felt her shrug next to me before she continued. "Most of the time they provide the service by simply charging a small fee. It all depends on the number of applicants. A parent or a company, that has a certain number of badges or years of experience with handling Pokemon is usually fine, too."
"So Gyms for me." I felt the need to point out what I thought was the obvious choice to clarify things, which was why I was suddenly quite confused when I felt Christy feel up my bicep.
"You still do your workouts when you are training Tweety?"
"I, wha?" I blinked in surprise at the seemingly random question, before I felt slightly self-conscious and the small need to defend what might be considered unorthodox.
"Yeah, well, of course. Pokemon can be scary smart, and I think it's good for their motivation when their trainer isn't just shouting orders, but pushes himself, too."
"Relax," She laughed lightly and patted my arm in a mock-soothing way, apparently someone was highly amused at my defensive tone. "It isn't unusual, at least here in Saffron, which is my point."
"Since Mr. Marsh and his daughter Sabrina opened their Psychic Gym the Fighting Dojo is apparently struggling to get new members, which in turn influences the amount of league money they receive."
She suddenly sat up on her elbow and looked me in the face.
"The more I think about it the more I believe it would suit you. I really think the straightforward manner of Fighting Types is exactly the right thing, at least at the beginning until you have more experience."
I stepped through an open gate and the view that greeted me left me, honest to Mew, to my own surprise unbelievably giddy.
Martial artists in various shapes and forms were instructing, helping, and even joining a variety of Pokemon in their training.
A severe-looking man helped a boxer-like Pokemon with sidesteps, a teenager did stretches with a Machoke, all around me hung an air of focus and intent.
All in all, the pleasant surprise at the welcoming sight followed me all the way into the lobby of what seemed to be the main building and until I stood at a reception desk manned by a young woman decked out in judo gear, that did a more than passable attempt to hide her boredom.
"Good morning and welcome to the Fighting Dojo, Sir, how may I help you?" She welcomed me in a manner, that didn't really make me feel welcome, although I had to give her props for the professional sounding delivery.
"Good morning," I returned with far more levity than strictly necessary, "I'm interested in a membership." I finished by getting straight to the point.
Nodding, the young woman set up a small 'Be-Right-Back'-sign on the reception and motioned me to follow her the way I came in.
Unbothered by the lack of verbal communication I took the chance for a few last glances around the interior of the building while I followed in her wake.
A hallway behind the reception desk lined with half a dozen doors on both sides, to my right a small area with various gym machines, and to my left a big open space with what had to be a stack of floor mats at the far end.
I guess it's what it said on the tin.
"Master Kiyo," The lady spoke in a surprisingly respectful tone to the man, that I had seen at the beginning with the unfamiliar Pokemon. The moment she saw him turn, she even gave a short bow, which made me instantly aware, that a laissez-faire attitude probably wasn't going to fly around here.
"Yes, Laura, what is it?" This Master Kiyo asked, and I saw his gaze pass over me without any reaction. His Pokemon, meanwhile, apparently thought that shadow boxing was a decent way to pass the time until it had the attention of its trainer back.
"This young man is interested in a membership." She proclaimed listlessly.
"I see," His gaze had been on me for a second again before it settled back on Laura and a small smile began to grow. "Thank you, you may go back to the desk."
Despite the seemingly formal setting, I saw her shoulders slump noticeably in a mix of frustration and misery.
Knowing better I decided to refrain from commenting.
"Please excuse Laura, her Primeape ripped a punching bag apart again, which got her the desk job for the week." He revealed with a small smirk.
"Now..." His eyes were now firmly on me and I saw the motion with his hand, that signaled, that I had the stage now.
"Good morning, Sir, my name is Corey Swift, and, yes, I'm interested in a membership to your Gym." I told him directly and with a straight face.