A second chapter posted at the same time as the first one?!
*Gasp* Impossible! How can this be?!
Anyway, enjoy!
I would like to say that, with the next morning, came clarity. That I'd decided on a course of action and came up with a ten steps plan to solve my problems.
But fact is, I came up blank. No matter how hard I thought about it, it all came back to one thing: money. The easiest ways out of Orre at the time were to either secure passage on a trading ship or own a flying-type strong enough to carry you to another region. Neither of which are cheap, in case you're wondering. Not to mention I needed to buy food, water and other necessities for as long as I'd stay in that forsaken region. And to do that, I needed a source of income.
Which, you might say, could easily be solved with pokemon battles except for the one tiny detail that I didn't have a pokemon to battle with yet. And if I lost the first battle, then what? It was better to not risk it until I had at least a decent enough amount of money to my name. Gambling something you don't have is just asking for trouble.
And, just in case you forgot, here's the thing about wild Pokemon in Orre: they are awfully rare. There's no way I'd find one just by looking around the desert.
I... I owe a lot to Pom, for helping me get on my feet so quickly at the start of all this. Who knows how long I might've stayed in Orre just trying to survive if he hadn't? What I might've resorted to?
He was right, you know? About how this region breaks people. I've seen it happen, I've seen the methods, the results, over the course of my time there. All in all, I must've stayed almost a full fourteen months.
Even now, years later, with Cipher and Snagem gone and the region slowly building itself into what it was supposed to be in the first place, I don't want to go back. I'm not sure I'll ever want to go back.
Orre might not have broken me. But it sure as hell scarred deep.
With a groan, Aileen drags a hand down her face, staring at the ceiling of the trailer from the couch she's slept on. Perched above her, on the back of said couch, Murkrow tilts his head at the human, a curious expression on his face.
"I've heard that kind o' sound many times, lass. It usually means nothin' good." Pom laughs from his seat at the table, sipping on a cup of coffee. "What's troublin' ya?"
"I've been thinking about my options, is all. They're very limited." Aileen says as she sits up, brushing long dark locks of hair out of her face. "I've got no money, no pokemon, no ID, no nothing." She sighs. "I don't suppose you know where I could get a job?"
Pom shrugs. "Depends on what ya can do." He takes a sip. "There's always people lookin' for an extra pair of arms to move stuff around. Not everyone has a Machoke ta help 'em. Coffee or tea?"
"I know I'm not the most muscly girl, but I'm not afraid of doing heavy lifting, if that's your question. And I'll have some tea, thanks." She replies. "Other than that, I'm decent with computer software troubleshooting and I can also do basic mechanical repairs but that's about it. I haven't exactly done any big studies." Serving as a soldier for your country wasn't exactly a way to earning yourself a diploma, after all.
"That's still more experience than most people yer age I know, lass." Pom snorts as he puts a tea bag in another cup and pours hot water in it. "Most of 'em are still in their trainer years hopin' to participate an' win in a League tournament. They'll probably pick up the family trade after they're done gallivantin' around instead of tryin' to find what they're good at."
"Did you, Pom? Find what you're good at, I mean?" Aileen asks, genuinely interested in the older man's answer as she moves to seat across Pom and takes a sip of her own cup before making a face and adding a few sugars cubes in it. "God knows I haven't and it wasn't for a lack of trying."
"Ha! Did I ever!" Pom chortles. "Lass, I come from a family of businessmen. T'was expected o' me to have fun 'til I got bored and then embrace bein' a paper pusher before settlin' down with a nice girl an' have a kid." He shakes his head. "An' I would've been all for it. But then..." His face softens into a fond expression. "I met my Eva. She was just there, diggin' through rocks and I couldn't help but ask what in Arceus' name she was doin'. D'ya know what she said?" Pom grins before going on in a girly voice. "'What do you think I'm doing? I'm looking for fossils, of course!'" He says before laughing and Aileen chuckles. "It- it was just so absurd! She was diggin' a trench in the middle of a cave floor with her Sandslash and I must've stood there with mah mouth open for a good five minutes before I explained to her why she just couldn't go an' do that!" He goes on. "Next thing I know, we're both at the closest library lookin' up where's acceptable to dig without bein' part of an official League team and it all went from there."
"So you're a paleontologist then?" She asks after a moment of silence.
Pom snorts. "Hell no, lass. Me an' Eva are -were- miners, treasure hunters if ya will." He answers. "We don' bother with studyin' fossils, we sell 'em." He continues, grinning at Aileen's shocked face. "An' not just fossils either. Gold an' silver nuggets, evolution stones, gems, stardust an' comet shards, ores... ya name it. If it can be mined and sold, tis our goal to find it. 'S why we came to Orre in the first place." He gestures at the window and the world beyond. "Early reports said it was ripe with all kinds of resources to dig up or mine. And they were right, 's the reason Orre developed so quickly at first. Because wild pokemon are scarce, big companies flooded in to set big installations in order get part o' the pie. But we both know how that went." A scowl crosses his face briefly. "Anyway, me an' Eva knew better than to follow the pack and fight for every minin' spot against those bigger groups, so we, along a few others smaller parties, headed here to the mountain range far from the city and port." He takes a sip of his cup.
"We found good deposits." He goes on. "Helped the economy an' we had plans to leave for Kalos after we were done. Maybe even help findin' those shiny new mega stones, y'know ?" A bone-deep sigh. "We had it all planned out. And then Orre did what it does best." A hollow chuckle follows. "All it took was one cocky bastard comin' in and tunnelin' where he shouldn' have despite our warnings and... she wasn't there anymore. By the time I dug my way to her, 't was too late. Lucky for the other guy he'd bitten it too, or I woulda finished the job meself." He finishes darkly.
Aileen thinks back to Pom's comment of the previous day, about how Orre breaks people.
"...Why did you stay? I mean, afterward?"
The old man shrugs. "Felt like I had to. Prove that it didn' break me too." Pom snorts tiredly. "Not sure if the fact that I'm still here shows if it has or hasn't. But enough about me, lass." He looks back at her. "Ya said ya want to find a job, aight?"
The young woman blinks, then nods. "Yes, I do. Without money I won't survive long, let alone get out of Orre. So I need to start somewhere."
Pom looks her up and down, humming as they finish their breakfast, before standing up and gesturing for her to follow. Outside, the unforgiving desert of Orre and its sun greet them. Pom opens a storage compartment and takes out an old but well cared for pick and shovel bound by a rope before tossing them to Aileen, who grunts as she catches the tools, along with a backpack.
"The first rule," Pom states as he takes out his own pack and starts ruffling through it. "is preparation. Always make sure ya have all yer tools, that they function an' aren't at risk of breaking if stressed, that ya have enough water an' food, that yer mask an' goggles don' have a hole in 'em an' yer head, elbows an' knees protections aren't damaged. Oh, an' that yer radar an' lights have 'nough battery."
Aileen swiftly copies his example, checking the pack to find inside a harness, climbing rope, hooks, a bottle of water and a few cereal bars along with a helmet with a headlight, a pair of gloves, a couple masks, a flashlight, a pair of goggles, a device she assumes is the radar and the elbow/knees protections.
"Pokemons are the ones who get the hard part o' the job done, but 's up to ya to know where an' how to direct them so that ya don't collapse the whole mine-shaft an' tunnels." Pom continues as he shoulders his pack. "Unlike us, rock an' steel types aren' much affected by poisonous air. So just 'cause a pokemon can continue fine doesn' mean ya can."
"Which brings us to the second rule: awareness. Ya can never be sure what ye're gonna find down there. 'S part of the thrill to be sure, but 's also the most dangerous part. Ya could find gold, ore, whatever, but ya could also find a whole pile o' nothing an' collapse a wall, stumble on a gas pocket or, Arceus forbid, an ancient sleepin' pokemon ya mistook for a vein o' metal." Pom gives her a serious look. "Last time it happened, 't was a several hundred years old Steelix that went on ta kill half the minin' team before it could be stopped. So be aware. Study yar surroundings an' always be vigilant."
Aileen, with a heavy swallow, nods. "Got it." She replies. "So it's not just Orre that's hardcore. Good to know." She adds mentally, if somewhat hysterically.
"Last but not least is the third rule: always have a light so that ya don't get lost." He gestures at the mountains. "There're at least a hundred tunnels in 'ere. Some we dug, others were already there, an' we marked 'em all as best as we could, we put rope to act as a guide if needed, but ya can never be sure. Bottom line is: if ya get lost in a mine-shaft with nothin' to light yer way, then yer only hope is either to stay put an' hope someone can get to ya, or that yer pokemon knows the way out."
Aiden nods again. "Noted."
"Capital, as Wulfric would say. Now hop on an' we're goin'."
Without another word, Aileen follows him to his ATV, which is now towing a trailer with a couple of wheelbarrows in it and deposits the pack and tools into it beside Pom's before climbing up behind the man himself and putting on the offered helmet.
Pom revs the throttle, the engine roaring to life as he does, and Murkrow's cry sounds overhead as they speed away.
"This here is Rhydon, he's gonna be our pardner for this." Pom says, affectionately patting the gargantuan beast he just let out of his pokeball on the arm as he blinks curiously at Aileen.
The young woman herself tilts her head up at the two meters tall ground type, swallowing nervously before raising a hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Rhydon. I'm Aileen and I hope you won't mind working with me?"
Rhydon looks back at Pom, who nods at the wordless question, before rumbling at her in acceptance.
"Great." Pom claps his hands before gesturing at the entrance of the mine-shaft behind him. "Now check your gear an' we're goin' in."
It takes only a few minutes before both she and Pom complete their checks and venture into the mine with the wheelbarrows, Rhydon trailing beside them, the ground softly rattling with each of his steps. The sunlight quickly fades to the darkness of the underground and, even with their headlights, Aileen can't help but feel as if she's getting boxed in by the low ceiling and walls.
She's never been claustrophobic, and indeed she's been in a few cave explorations before, but this feels totally different. The silence doesn't bother her much, and she's always felt rather comfortable with the dark, yet there is a certain heaviness to the atmosphere as they go deeper.
Maybe it's because she knows people died under this mountain, in one of those tunnels.
"Easy, lass." Pom's quiet murmur sounds louder than it should ever be. "Don't let the mountain spook ya. While she's not as benevolent as others'd like to think, she's not gonna hurt ya as long as ya don't do somethin' stupid. An' ye're not stupid, are ya?"
Aileen takes a deep breath. "No. No, I am not. But a dose of healthy respect has never hurt anyone, has it?" She replies.
"Hah! Too right!" Pom chortles. "Don't ya worry, though. I ain't gonna take ya too deep on yer first session. But we gotta go further in if ya wanna find somethin' by the end o' the day!"
It takes what feels like a good five minutes of walking to Aileen before Pom makes them take a turn right at an intersection, eyes on his radar, and another five before they come to a stop at the end of the tunnel.
"This is where we'll start today. Rhydon, use Horn Drill!" He orders.
With an enthusiastic rumble, the drill Pokemon starts plowing forward, digging into stone and ground like a knife through butter. Pom waits until Rhydon's a few meters ahead before starting to scoop the larger pieces of rock into his wheelbarrow and Aileen hastens to copy him. It doesn't take long before both wheelbarrows are full and they start pushing their haul back to the entrance.
The next two hours are full of nothing but back and forth between the tunnel and the entrance, with Aileen and Pom unloading the rocks into the trailer.
"Most of this 's just rock." Pom comments as they unload the wheelbarrows into the trailer for the fifth time. "Ya might find tiny traces of metal or ores in there, but nothin' that'll sell. Still, we'll check 'em just to be sure once we're done for the day."
After a couple more runs, Pom returns Rhydon to his ball. Aileen feels like a sweating mess, her breathing is hard and although this isn't the most physically intense morning she's ever had, it comes damn close. The older man, on the other hand, looks barely winded.
"Now comes the hard part." Pom says after a ten minutes break, making her cringe slightly as she puts away her bottle of water. "Radar can point ya in the right direction to start minin', but ya have to get to the goods yerself without damagin' 'em. Now take yer pick an' match my movements."
And so Aileen does. Pom corrects her a lot, as expected, but she finds herself easily falling into the rhythm of raising her pick and striking the stone in front of her, taking breaths between repetitions. She has to take breaks pretty often, her arms trembling from the effort, while Pom continues almost relentlessly.
"The old man's just built different, I guess." Aileen muses as she takes in the difference between their progress. "Then again, he's been at this for decades."
After another hour of the picks rising and falling again, she catches a glint of something under the rock, the light of her headlight reflecting off it. The young woman blinks for a moment, squinting her eyes to make sure she's not imagining things.
"Pom? I think I got something. Not sure what, though."
"Lemme see, lass."
Aileen cedes her place to him, watching as he hums for a moment before raising his pick and tapping it around the piece of shiny rock, gauging only he knows what. Then, with a nod, Pom starts hacking at the rock with his pick. It takes only a couple dozen seconds before he's able to extract a palm-sized chunk of something from the wall and bring it up to his face to examine.
"Hm. A silver nugget on yer first day? Not bad." He praises before tossing it to Aileen, who fumbles as she catches it.
"Wow." She breathes as she raised the nugget to eye level. "How much is it worth?"
"In most regions, a nugget like that'd sell for around three thousand pokedollars apiece. They're mostly used to make expensive jewelry, so there's a high demand for it among the rich folks, like in Kalos." Pom replies and Aileen feel likes she's riding high already. "Here though? Ya'll be lucky to sell it at half that." Aileen's expression becomes crestfallen and he chortles. "I told ya, lass! This stuff's used to make jewelry. Ain't nobody who needs that in Orre an' the only people who'll buy it off ya are those who trade overseas."
The young woman pouts at him for a moment, making him laugh harder. "...Out of curiosity, how much does a week of food and water cost?"
"Around four thousand. Three an' a half if ya ration yerself."
Aileen openly cringes at that. She'd need three of this silver nugget to get by for a week? That was... outrageous. And that was without taking into account hygiene stuff and other basic necessities.
"Don't make that face, lass." Pom chuckles, tapping her on the shoulder. "We'll find other stuff in there that'll sell better, trust me."
"You're right." The young woman says, amber eyes narrowing in determination as she puts the silver nugget into the pouch on her belt and takes up her pick again. "Let's keep going then. Do you think we'll find enough before nightfall?"
He snorts. "With the way this day's started, lass? I've no doubt that we'll get at least two more treasures by the time we're done."
Pom's words were prophetic, Aileen reflects as they ride back to the home trailer, the setting sun turning the sky on fire above them.
In the six hours they spent mining and digging through the mountain, they managed to find another silver nugget near where they'd found the first, an Oval Stone, a couple of Dusk Stones, and even a Star Shard. A pretty good haul by Pom's standards, at least for a beginner mining trip.
He'd even told her that there was sure to be coal among the stone they'd dug up today. Lots of people in Orre still relied on the stuff to heat themselves and it was something that would sell pretty well, no questions asked. "Hopefully that's enough to buy a set of workout clothes along with supplies. Ugh, I'm not looking forward to putting those back on when I've sweat so much today."
If there's one thing her time in the army had taught her to hate, it's staying in the same sweaty and dirty clothes for days and nights while out in the field.
"Krow!" A cry sounds from above as Pom's flying-type banks to align himself with them and lands onto the trailer behind them.
"That means the coast is clear!" The man yells above the wind. "Murkrow usually patrols the area while we're inside to make sure there's no trouble comin' our way!"
"You mean bandits?!" She yells back.
"Them, Snagem or Cipher! Ya'd think they wouldn' venture so far from the cities but it's happened before! Snagem especially if they're feelin' desperate 'nough! Rhydon usually sends 'em packin' if they try though!"
Yeah, she can see that happen. A couple of grunts coming and demanding Pom to fork over all the treasure he's got only to run away screaming once Rhydon makes an appearance.
Once they arrive back at the home trailer, the last part of the work begins: separating what coal and flint there is from the rest of the rocks. Aileen spends most of her time watching Pom, listening as he describes how to spot and differentiate common rocks from potentially valuable ones. Then she tries to do the same under his watchful eyes, often getting corrected as she's about to toss one rock or another into the 'just rocks' pile.
By the time they're done, about a tenth of the payload has been separated from the rest, which will be ground into dust by Rhydon later. Most of it is coal, as Pom had expected, with a few pieces of flint here and there. There were other rocks he'd separated from the rest and broken into smaller ones though.
"So what's this pile?" Aileen asks him.
"Dinner for the little one." He replies.
Before she can ask him to elaborate, he takes out two pokeball from his belt and presses the release buttons. Out of one comes Rhydon, and from the other an Aron, who launches itself at the larger pokemon almost immediately. Rhydon effortlessly catches the small steel-type in his arms, rumbling contently as he nuzzles Aron and is being nuzzled in turn. Murkrow drops down from the sky onto Rhydon's shoulder, a fond twinkle in his eyes as peers at the steel-type.
"Rhydon is Aron's father." Pom explains as he sits back and watches the three interact with each other, Rhydon gently seating down beside the pile of rock chunks and picking handfuls of them to feed Aron with while Murkrow seems content to simply stay there. "Eva's Aggron was her mother. She's their legacy now."
"None of the others could be saved?" Aileen asks quietly.
Pom exhales deeply through his nose. "Sandslash an' Claydoll's pokeballs got crushed under the rubble. Aggron shielded Eva from the worst of the tunnel collapsin', but in the end it wasn' enough. Now it's just me, Murkrow, Rhydon an' Aron." He replies just as quietly
After Aron has eaten her fill, she goes on to play with Murkrow, chasing the flying-type around as he hops away, always staying just short of her reach. Then she finally notices Aileen and shyly hides behind her father's legs, peeking at the unknown human curiously.
With a chuckle, the young woman stands up and slowly approaches the trio of pokemon before crouching down so that she doesn't appear too intimidating.
"Hello Aron. My name is Aileen and it's nice to meet you." She greets the steel-type, amber eyes peering into light blue ones. "I'm gonna be living with you and Pom for a while. I hope that's alright with you?"
The iron armor pokemon blinks before making an inquisitive sound at her father, who rumbles gently. Somewhat hesitantly, she comes out of her hiding spot and approaches Aileen, who slowly reaches a hand forward. Gently, Aron buts her head against her palm, sniffing it curiously and Aileen smiles as she starts scratching the steel-type's chin, making her purr.
"One could be fooled into thinking they're no more than pets or beasts, but there's intelligence and power in those creatures." She muses. "Even as small as she is, Aron could probably break my bones with a Headbutt or even a Tackle."
"Ye're handlin' her pretty well." Pom says from his spot. "Be careful she doesn' try to lick ya, though. That tongue is made to chip ore and it'll shred yer hand."
"If she does, then I trust she'll learn why she shouldn't be trying to lick humans." Aileen replies as she continues scratching Aron, moving to her underbelly. "Or at least Rhydon will teach her, if he hasn't already."
"Smart lass." Pom chuckles, rising to his feet and returning the father-daughter pair after a few more minutes, Murkrow jumping to his shoulder. "Now c'mon, we have our own dinner to prepare. We gotta eat well after today, an' we're goin' back in tomorrow."
"Joy." Aileen groans as she also stands up, feeling her muscles ache already. "When are we planning on selling this stuff, by the way?"
"I have a surplus that I keep in case of big purchases, but I'd say another two or three days so that I don' have to dip into it too much." He answers.
Aileen winces. "Sorry about that. I... I know it's a lot."
"Bah!" Pom barks with a smile. "Don't ya worry about it, lass! Besides, once ya start hitin' the deeper tunnels, I can assure ya long-term gains'll quickly make up for short-term losses."
"You're the expert." She replies, stretching as they enter the home trailer. "Do you want help or can I take the shower?"
"Be my guest, lass."
He doesn't need to tell her twice.
The hot water feels nothing short of heavenly upon Aileen's sore muscles as it washes away the sweat and dust of the day. She takes a few minutes to simply enjoy it before she starts scrubbing at the few dirty patches that refuses to go with the water.
To her surprise, she finds a change of clothes once she exits the shower, simple cargo pants and a beige shirt along with a set of underwear. She hadn't heard Pom open the door, but then again she'd be distracted.
"Those must be Eva's." She realizes, somewhat uncomfortably, as she puts them on. "A bit tight, but better than me floating in them. Let's hope this won't make things awkward."
"'Em clothes fit, lass?" Pom calls from outside the door. "I threw yer current set into the washer, so they'll be dry next mornin' if you need 'em."
"They're great, Pom. I just... Is this alright?" She asks.
"'S all good. I told ya to not worry about it, didn' I? This stuff's been gatherin' dust in the closet an' I'm sure Eva wouldn' mind."
"...If you're sure."
It's a quick job of toweling her hair dry and tying them up into her usual high ponytail before she steps out. Pom turns his head from watching the frying pan and his eyes glaze over for the briefest of moments before he gives her a sad smile.
"You wear 'em well, lass. Eva woulda been all over ya in a heartbeat tryin' to doll you up if she were here."
Aileen bites her lip. "I think I've already said it, Pom, but... I really appreciate this. All of this. I can't thank you enough."
The man shakes his head. "I'm just gettin' ya back on yer feet, lass. What ya do after that is up to ya." He says as he empties the content of his frying pan, green beans with two steaks, into the plates, which he then sets on the table.
"Then I will make sure your generosity isn't wasted. That's a promise." Aileen replies, sitting down.
Dinner is spent in comfortable silence aside from Murkrow's occasional pleading chirps for a piece of meat, to which Aileen rolls her eyes before obligingly throwing a small slice of her steak to the bird-type.
"Ye're gonna spoil him, lass." Pom chuckles. "If he can take an inch, he'll try to take a mile."
"Oh don't worry, I have very clear limits. The moment he reaches them and sees I won't budge, he'll stop quickly, I assure you." She says, narrowing her eyes playfully at Murkrow, who looks back innocently.
Before long, their plates are empty and Aileen washes them despite Pom's protests that she can go and rest. The sun has since long set by the time she lays down on the couch turned bed.
Idly, she flips the Pokenav open, the cracked screen lighting up in the darkness of the home trailer.
"Now... Let's see what kind of world I'm living in." Aileen murmurs to herself as she starts browsing the internet.
The first words she types in the search bar are 'Ash Ketchum' but all she gets are vague names here and there that don't seem to relate to either Delia or Ash. Either Ash has yet to start his journey, maybe only just begun it, or he doesn't exist at all. There's no way to know for sure unless she either waits for news to eventually cover one of the messes Ash is bound to get himself into, or she visits Pallet Town herself.
The words 'Pokemon Trainer Red' don't give any concrete results either.
The next words she browses for information about are 'Team Rocket', 'Team Magma/Aqua', 'Team Galactic' and 'Team Plasma'.
Team Rocket is the one she finds the most information about. The organization has been active for almost ten years already, according to the supposed year it was created in, and has a long list of crimes to its name. Its leader is unknown, of course, but there are pictures of goons in very recognizable uniforms in most news articles about them. "Giovanni is already working hard, I see." She muses. "I wonder if the Mewtwo project is already in the works?"
Of the other villain teams, she only finds minor articles here and there. Magma and Aqua are only listed as extreme eco-activists for now, Galactic seemingly doesn't exist at all (though that's something she doubts very much) and Plasma is only a movement protesting for pokemon to be given more rights at the moment.
On one hand, Aileen is relieved she hasn't landed right in the middle of a potential world-ending crisis... or several. On the other, that means that said crisis will happen in the future and she has no idea when. Hell, she even has no idea where the events of Colosseum fit in there. Though she absolutely has no desire to get involved, she doesn't want to end up as collateral damage either.
"Calmly does it, soldier. You don't even have one pokemon to your name at the moment. Survival first, be able to protect yourself second."
There is, however, one name that jumps to her when she browses for notorious criminals and which hints at what world she's in.
Hunter J.
Aileen vaguely remembers a ruthless woman with silver hair and a Salamence hunting a Riolu in Sinnoh from an Airship with a number of gadgets of an outrageously high level of technology. However, that character only ever appeared in the anime, which would support the theory that she's been transported into Ash's world.
Still, nothing is certain.
With a sigh, she turns off the Pokenav and closes her eyes. She can worry about this later, right now she needs rest if she wants to face the next day without collapsing. Thankfully, it doesn't take long before sleep claims her.
The next three days are a repeat of the first. Wake up, eat, check the gear, go into the mine and work until the sun goes down.
They keep to the upper tunnels as Pom said, and, if Aileen is honest with herself, the radar is a godsend. How the little piece of technology can detect the signature of things inside the stone walls, she has no idea, but it makes their job much easier than it should be.
In the evenings, she entertains Aron under the watchful eye of Rhydon when the little steel-type gets bored of playing with Murkrow, though she's careful of keeping her at arm's length because she does not want a 60 kg body of steel tackling her. She does get licked once for her troubles and Pom gives her a look that screams 'I told you so' when he sees her disinfecting and applying a band-aid to the patch of bloody torn flesh on her forearm. Thankfully, Aron learns the lesson, courtesy of her father and Aileen herself, and doesn't try to lick her again.
The young woman doesn't blame the little one though, she's still young and learning after all. She just needs to realize there are boundaries between what she can do with her father and what she can do with humans.
On the fifth day after her arrival in Orre, Aileen sees Phenac City for the first time.
The term Oasis in the middle of nowhere fits the city to a T. Inside its walls, clean water flows around as if from an unlimited supply, lush palm trees and small grass fields are spread around like green jewels and the people who walk around wear smiles on their faces, clearly unworried. Yet she knows that, under this veneer of prosperity and wealth, corruption thrives like cancer.
Pom takes them to a shop in the middle of the city, knocking on the door.
"Who is it?!" A feminine voice calls out from the inside.
"Ya know damn well who this is, Sophia." Pom replies. "Ain't no one else who comes to visit ya at this time o' the day. Now open the door, would ya?"
The door opens to reveal a black woman in her forties, with warm brown eyes and short straight black hair. "Pom! How've you been, you old codger?! I thought for sure you had bit it this time!"
"Hah!" Pom barks as they enter. "Ya ain't seen the last of me for at least another decade, ya firecracker."
"I swear you'll outlive us all." Sophia shakes her head fondly. "And who's this?" She asks, pointing at Aileen.
"Someone who's currently in a position yerself were in, once before." Pom replies. "I'm lendin' her a hand until she gets on her own two feet."
"Ah, gotcha." Sophia nods before giving Aileen a smile and presenting a hand. "Nice to meet another fellow stray. I'm Sophia."
"Aileen." She says, shaking the older woman's hand. "I suppose I'm not the first sorry case Pom's helped over the years?"
"Got it in one." Sophia says, her smile widening. "Pom -and Eva, when she was still there- got a lot of people out of their ditch in life over the years. He'll get you on your feet but the rest's always up to you. Still, that's more than most people will do for you in this damn region."
"Enough chit chat, lasses." Pom interjects. "I need an appraisal on this week's haul, Sophia. By the way, what's in high demand right now?"
"Sure, you know the drill." The dark-skinned woman replies as she leads them into the back of the shop. "I've had a lot of customers coming in and asking for water stones these days. Something about a guy with a giant bi-colored afro buying them all from other stores, so I'm out of stock. You got any?"
"Sure do. How much?"
"Three thousand apiece."
The amount is enough to make Aileen's eyes widen in shock but Pom just shrugs as he takes out three water stones from his pack, one of which they'd dug up the day before, and lays them on the counter.
Sophia takes each stone under a lamp, carefully examining them for imperfections under a magnifying glass. "Looks all good. What else d'you have for me today?"
The process repeats itself with all the other stones and ore pieces and nuggets Aileen and Pom mined over the course of the last three days. Some of them are in pristine condition while others are slightly damaged, reducing the price of the appraised item.
Overall, the total Sophia gives them is just shy of twenty thousand pokedollars. Sure, nine thousand came from the three water stones, but it's still an absurd amount of money.
"Half in cash now and the rest on your account by the end of the day, as usual?" Sophia asks as she puts the items away.
Pom just nods and the woman opens a drawer, taking out an outrageously thick roll of one thousand bills and quickly thumbs ten off the stack before sliding them to him. The old man picks the bills and in the same movement presents them to Aileen.
"W-what?!" She splutters. "Pom, that's too much! I only found one of those water stones!"
"T'was a team effort, lass." Pom counters. "An' to me, that means a fifty-fifty split. Besides, I'm not lackin' for money, trust me. Now take the damn cash, we still have a lot to do today."
"I'd do as he says, sweetie." Sophia says with a grin, leaning against the counter as she sees Aileen looking hesitantly between Pom and the bills in his hand. "Trust me, the old man probably has a safety net big enough that he'd never need to work again if he'd just stop and go home."
Pom harrumphs, but doesn't deny the statement.
After a few more seconds of indecision, Aileen takes the ten thousand pokedollars from Pom with a quiet "Thank you".
Once they exit Sophia's shop, Pom takes her to their next stop: the mall.
"Lemme take care of our food, water an' fuel supplies, lass." He tells her. "Ya just buy what ya need. Meet ya back at the entrance in thirty."
With that said, Aileen quickly makes her way to the clothing store, buys three sets of underwear, along with a couple of shirts and pants plus a pair of trekking shoes for a total of almost four thousand pokedollars. Which is the highest she's ever paid for simple clothes and a pair of shoes, but then again the economy of the pokemon world seems to have very different standards than what she's used to and Orre even more.
Basic toiletries, thankfully, aren't as pricey and it only costs her about five hundred to get what she needs.
"All set, lass?" Pom asks her when she meets with him back at the entrance of the mall, a big bag full of groceries under one arm and the biggest portable water tank she's ever seen under the other. She nods. "Then let's go. Next stop: Pyrite Town."
"What? Why?" Aileen ask.
"We're sellin' our coal." He answers. "Folks here in Phenac City have no need for the stuff, but most heaters in Pyrite Town are old things that still rely on it."
When they get there, after almost two hours on the road, the first thing Aileen thinks is that what she remembers of Pyrite Town from the Colosseum game doesn't do it justice. Dilapidated isn't strong enough of a term to describe the state of what clearly used to be an entire town dedicated to mining. What installations she can see have rusted or been broken down to scrap metal. Most of the people they pass by look at them with suspicious eyes, though a few recognize Pom and wave at him in greeting, which he returns.
"Just ten years ago, this was a thrivin' town on its way to become the next Phenac City." Pom says as he leads the ATV away from the main road. "Now, there's nothin' left here but broken dreams. Pyrite Town's a monument to how quickly things can go wrong in a very short time."
They park in front of a small out-of-the-way house and, contrarily to when they were in Phenac City, Pom lets Rhydon out of his ball to watch over the ATV and its cargo.
"There you are, Pom! You daft old bastard!" A gruff voice sounds as the door opens to reveal a man with spiky brown hair and a thick mustache wearing welding goggles and a working apron. "You missed your weekly check-in, I was starting to worry!" Then he notices Aileen and looks her up and down. "Ah, I see how it is."
The only reaction Aileen gives is an eyebrow twitch.
"Get yer mind outta the gutter, ya schmuck!" Pom shouts back, though not angrily. "I oughta smack ya in the head like Eva did every time ya said somethin' so stupid!"
"Good times." The man grins, stepping aside to welcome them into the shop and closing the door behind them. "Care to do introductions?"
Pom rolls his eyes but obliges. "Lass, this ruffian 'ere is Dobit. He's part of the good ones, though ya could be fooled into thinkin' otherwise. I swear his mother never bothered to teach 'im proper manners."
"Oh she tried, it just never took." Dobit laughs. "And what's the lassie's name?"
"The 'lassie' can speak for herself, thank you." Aileen interjects. "But you may call me Hawke, if anything. Pom's doing me a favor by letting me stay with him for the meantime."
Pom slightly raises an eyebrow at her but doesn't comment.
"I see, I see." Dobit nods. "Well, it's not my business anyway, buying coal is. The usual rate, then?"
Pom nods. "Yeah. 'Bout a hundred kilos."
"That'll be five hundred pokedollars. Help me get them rocks in sto-"
"YOU PATHETIC WORTHLESS MUTT!"
All heads turn to the outside, the shout almost echoing in the sudden silence.
"That didn't sound good." Aileen comments with a frown. "I hope this isn't what I think it is."
"Ah..." Dobit winces. "That must be Calda. I heard he bought a new pokemon recently and planned to use it at the Colosseum today. He must've lost."
"Even so, that doesn't justify-"
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY I SPENT ON YOU?!" The ranting continues. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP GET IT ALL BACK! AND INSTEAD YOU RUINED ME!"
*KAI*
At the sound of pain emitted by what can only be a pokemon, Aileen stops listening and bursts out of the shop. She locks eyes with Rhydon, still guarding the ATV, who gestures toward the general direction of the Pyrite Colosseum. With a nod of thanks to the Drill Pokemon, she runs, following the shouting and cries to their source as they get louder.
She almost misses it as she passes an alleyway, but a patch of white in her peripheral vision grabs her attention and she stops. There, a man with red hair with a yellow scarf around his neck is stomping viciously on a small shape with white fur curled into a ball to protect itself.
Aileen doesn't stop to think before she acts, her training kicking in. In but a single moment, she crosses the distance between her and the man as he rears back his leg for another kick and she uses this unbalance to trip him backwards, making him fall on his ass. Before he can even recover, the young woman's upon him and subduing him, forcing him to turn on his stomach as she grabs one of his arms and puts it behind his back into a submission hold.
"What. The Fuck. Do you think you're doing?" She hisses.
"Wha-Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?!" The man splutters indignantly. "Let me go!"
"And let you beat that poor creature any further? I don't think so." She replies in a cold tone.
"Fuck you! I bought it with my own money, it's mine! I can do whatever the fuck I want with it!"
"Pokemon," Aileen says as she yanks the arm an inch up, making the man yelp in pain. "are living, breathing, intelligent beings. They are not things."
"Screw you! I lost all of my money because of this damn mutt! It's its fault if I'm gonna go hungry tonight!"
The amber-eyed young woman wants to make a comment about how there are no mediocre pokemon, only mediocre trainers, but refrains herself. Instead, she takes a deep breath.
"How much?"
"What?"
"How. Much?" She repeats lowly. "How much did you lose?"
"What's it to you, you crazy bitch?! If my other pokemon weren't knocked out you'd be on the ground begging for mercy!"
"Tough luck." Aileen snarls, pressing the -young, definitely younger than her, she absently notices- man's face against the ground. "Answer the question."
He grumbles for a moment, scowling. "Between what I paid for the useless thing, the entry fee to the Colosseum, the bets I made and the losing fee, I'm short almost three thousand pokedollars now." He answers through gritted teeth.
"Well guess what, jackass? I just so happen to have that much cash on me." She says, eyes narrowing. "And I'll give it to you on one condition."
"...I'm listening."
She leans closer. "You release that pokemon. Now. And you walk away."
"Are you for real?!" The man shouts as he rears back, almost ramming the back of his head into her if she hadn't backed up. "There's no way that I'll-"
"Either you take the deal." She cuts him off, yanking his arm further up. "Or I break your arm, along with that pokemon's pokeball and you don't get any money. What's it gonna be?"
"Alright, alright! I get it, you psycho bitch!" He yells, his free hand going to his belt and grabbing one of the pokeballs there before pressing the release switch for a few seconds. The pokeball then opens and flashes blue, signaling a successful release. "Happy now?"
"Very much so." Aileen says dryly as she fishes out three one-thousand bills from her pocket and tosses them beside his head. "I hope you choke on it."
With that said, she gets off the man -Calda, she assumes- and turns to the pokemon, still curled on the ground.
It's a Poochyena, she realizes. A Poochyena who's white fur is covered in dirty patches and bruises from a battle it lost and the beating it just received. The poor thing is trembling in pain and fear.
Slowly, gently, Aileen crouches down to the pokemon and gathers it in her arms, her heart almost breaking at the whimper it lets out.
"It's alright now, you're safe." She coos gently, standing up. "You're going to be fine. I'll make sure of it."
Behind her, she hears the man getting to his feet and she turns, tense and ready to fight if needed. But she doesn't need to.
"I suggest ya get, lad. The lass' deal is much kinder than the one I'd have offered ya." A familiar voice sounds from the mouth of the Alley. They turn and Pom is there, arms crossed and Murkrow on his shoulder.
And they look pissed.
Calda looks between her and Pom, his eyes darting to the Poochyena for an instant before Aileen shields it from his view, and scowls. "Whatever, I'm out of here." He spits before walking away, past her and out of the alley. "'Shadow pokemon' my ass. This just wasn't worth shit."
Aileen files that last comment away for later, gazing down at the Poochyena who fell unconscious in her arms after it had realized that it wasn't in danger anymore.
"This... was not how I envisioned meeting my first partner."
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This is MidnightFenrir, signing out.
Until next time!