Hey there! Wooo longest chapter so far! I think im starting to get a handle on this... maybe
Chapter 4 Long March
Once again, dusk sets upon me and my travel companion. The distant chirp of Pokémon, the blowing breeze and the peaceful wilderness I WOULD be enjoying if I currently wasn't hauling ass to try and make it to the city gates. Seriously the second Lumiose tower came into view Shauna over there got the great idea to book it as fast as humanly possible all the way there, now, I am by no means out of shape… but this is inhuman! You'd swear she was running for her life, it's insane how fast she went.
"Hey! Shauna! Can we slow dow-*pant pant* down for a minute I think my lungs are gonna give out!" I say while viciously panting
She looks back at me running in place, "but we're almost there! I can feel those soft sheets from here they're calling my name! sorry can't stop for nothing not when I'm this close!" aaaand there she goes again… damn it. Well, I'll catch up eventually, maybe she'll wait for me at the gates so I can give a proper goodbye before we head off in our separate directions, who knows.
Getting closer to the city, it certainly is pretty impressive, large sprawling buildings that have been sorely absent from my life for the past month. Having lived in the city before the start of my 'grand adventure' I gotta say its good to be back in familiar territory, I mean my parents basically lived in the sticks but even then, it wasn't this extreme.
Oh look, Shauna decided to wait for me at the gate, that's nice of her. The brown haired girl was currently waving at me, jumping up and down like she didn't just run a marathon… goodie so this is what my life has become.
"Bout time you got here I almost fell asleep waiting for ya!" The girl jokes with me as I pass her, breathing heavily. "Yeah, well next time warn me before running a marathon and maybe I'll be prepared" I look up at her grinning "I could've beat you if you gave me a heads up"
She grins back, "yeah? Well, you didn't so I don't know about that one Alex! I checked a map over there" she says pointing to a tourist billboard with a map of the city on it "and it says that the nearest place we can hit the hay is the Pokémon center so you wanna start heading over there?
Does she even have to ask? "Hell yes, how much does a Pokecenter cost to stay the night?"
Shauna looked a me kinda confused for a moment "what do you mean? Its free, the league cover the operating costs, geez you think ten years of school would have taught you something!"
I look over at her with a mock offended look "Hey! I'll have you know that I took a very respectable course that I hated after school!" I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"If you're in it? I can only imagine how respectable it is" She says putting her hand on her hips while walking backwards
"Hey now watch where you're going, Arceus forbid you fall and give me some entertainment" She gives me a look I cant decern for a second before asking;
"Wait? You're a worshipper of Arceus I thought that was more of a Hoenn thing that went out of style a while ago?"
Well this is awkward… I kinda thought Arceus was viewed as kinda an 'unspoken god' guess not everyone knows about him… "uhh nah not really I just picked up when I visited Hoenn a couple years back…"
"oh, well that makes sense" and that was the end of that… I keep walking into minefields whenever I open my mouth.
"Welcome to the Pokémon Center how can I help you tonight?"
"WigglyTuff"
Oh my god, its nurse joy pink hair and all, and she has a Wigglytuff with her which looks down right adorable, with its big rabbit ears and those big blue pearls for eyes.
Shauna is the first to speak up "hello, yes can we have two rooms for the night please?" Where was that level of human decency when talking to me huh Shauna? Respect your elder! Of like two years…
"Oh certainly! There are two room on the second floor, can I have your names for the registry?" Shit, I thought this might be the case but It slipped my mind… damn it
Shauna walked up and pulled out a futuristic looking hologram phone that any engineer back home would be salivating at and scans it over a little computer device letting out an audible beep before turning green.
"Alright let's see here… trainer ID 00037… Shauna, is it? Perfect everything seems up to date here. Now what about you sir?" alright its make or break time, let's do this…
I walk out and full out my wallet, already feeling the judging gaze from my companion, before pulling out my license. The nurses smile slowly turns to a look of confusion as she studies the front of the ID, clearly not understanding a word written on it.
"um… an-and you name is?" she says, putting her hands on the keyboard.
"Alex Sturges" I say, she starts typing the name into the registry manually.
"Hey! Alex, you never told me you had a last name! Not a lotta people have one of those now adays, I thought you were strange before, but you find a way to be even weirder huh?" Well, that's definitely information, no last names huh? Then what about ash? She did say now adays so maybe it went outta style for some reason? Whatever not important right now…
"Here are your room keys you two, hope you have a wonderful night!" nurse joy says as we head up to the second floor, the room was pretty nice, a queen sized bed, a full bathroom, which I desperately needed, after a quick shower I check out more of the room; there was a tv and… oh my god! The plugs here are the same! I can charge my stuff… glory days.
Okay… so what the hell am I gonna do for food? This place doesn't have a kitchenette or anything, and I didn't see anything in the main area… crap I'm going to have to go out to eat, aren't I? Well, I should have enough left over… hopefully? I don't know… ah we'll just have to see I guess, at least the numbers here are the same so Ill know in advance if I'm completely fucked or not. I go and knock on Shaunas door to see if she wants to come with and get no reply. 'She must've checked out for the night, I don't blame her honestly. Guess I'll see her at breakfast…'
This city is like… uncomfortably clean, I really gotta get my clothes washed. I should go find a laundromat or something tomorrow when I get the chance; the night life in Lumiose is surprisingly vibrant with people and their Pokémon's walking around, laughing having a great time and… oh that place looks nice.
It was a little wooden café if the giant fork and knife on the sign was any indication, it seemed pretty packed, but hey, nothing risked nothing earned. This is the most 'restaurant' looking place I've seen so far so why not give it a try?
"Hello sir welcome! Table for one?" I nod my head and get lead to a corner table in the busy restaurant I take a look at the menu and… thank goodness I've got enough, and there's pictures so I actually know what I'm ordering! As I expected, its mostly vegan options with the meat being relegated to Pokémon by-products like slow poke tails and the like. Which I'm not really complaining about… buuut I do like my steak… ah well maybe slowpoke tails are close, I mean I've got the money why not? Why shouldn't I treat myself?
"I'm sorry ma'am but we're fully booked, id be happy to schedule ahead for another time if that works for you." I look over at the entrance to see a woman in a white dress with a massive brim hat wearing sunglasses… at night… huh? Whatever, should I offer her a spot? I mean it literally costs me nothing…
'*sigh* why not? I'm feeling nice today' I get up and talk over the front desk, "Hey, if you want you can come sit over at my table plenty of room with me myself and I"
The lady looks at me, confusion morphing into a little smile. "Thank you… uh I hope its not too much of a bother!" She manages to mutter a thank you before we both walk back over to my table.
As thankful as she sounded, she seemed nervous. I don't know if she thinks I have some ulterior motives like trying to get a free meal or something? I don't know… 'Might as well break the ice'
"So…" She looks up at me, my eyes meeting the blackout sun glasses she STILL hasn't taken off "My names Alex, what's yours? If you don't mind…" She takes a moment before saying "I'm sorry… I'd rather not say right now, please understand I do have my reasons…" Okay then? Wait, wait, is this whole getup a disguise? I didn't really notice because of the ridiculous outfits in this world… Should I give a shit? I feel like I should but considering the fever dream this world is, why not roll with it.
"Okay, that's fine with me. As long as you aren't skipping your part of the bill, I got no problems with you." She seems satisfied with that response.
Okay, I think I have a new favorite food, who knew the tail of a pink hippo could taste this good… My mysterious friend ordered the same thing as me, a roasted slowpoke tail with a spicy Tamato salad. Overall, I'd say it was pretty worth it.
The waiter arrived at our table and grabbed our empty plates "So, will that be one check or two?" I was about to say two before my buddy across the table said "One bill I'll handle it." Before I could even get a word out… I knew I made a good choice inviting her over.
I give her a smile "well thank you kind stranger haha I've got the tip, don't worry" she smiles back giving me a little nod in approval
After everything was all said and done, we made our way outside the restaurant and stopped to say goodbye. I look over at her as she says "Thank you so much, I've wanted to try this place out for a while, but I've been so busy! The one night I have and its full that's just my luck I guess… so again, thank you for your kindness"
I give her a smile "Hey its no problem at all, and hey thank you for paying. Makes my wallet hurt a little less which is always a good thing" I reach out my hand and give her a firm handshake "hope to see ya around I'm new in town and don't really have any plans to move on for a while yet…"
"Oh, are you staying at the Pokémon center at the moment? I heard the one near here is pretty good, they're lenient with stay times you could probably stay there for a while before you need to move on." Well, that's good to know, she's just a wealth of knowledge, isn't she?
"Well, I should really get going I hope you fare well and hope we meet again, have a good night" She pulls down her sunglasses and gives me a knowing wink with her soft bluish grey eyes.
I stand there for a moment while she walks away and all I can think was 'Wait… was I supposed to recognize her?'
Hey again! I really only know how to write cynical sarcastic characters if you couldn't tell, so if anyone comes off as OOC I'd like to hear your opinion on how i can improve their dialogue and yes, that was Diantha i have no idea how to insert that in without making it feel artificial... i'm not good at this still lol