Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Abra

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Bulbasaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

Cerulean City IV

"I think Lily will take a little longer than expected," Pierce mused, looking out of the Pokemon Center window next to the table he was sitting at in the dining hall. The raindrops slid down the glass surface on the outside while the sounds of the storm mixed with the tap of the water falling from the sky onto the building. Idly, he raised his glass and took a sip from his drink. "Guess she'll arrive tomorrow instead?" he mumbled, leaning back on his chair.

"Incon…venience…" Cygnus told him, apparently deciding to take his time getting used to talking, even if he had to go slower. That worked too, Pierce supposed. There were faster ways to communicate if they really needed that, like the idea/picture/thought sharing that the abra and him had used until before Cygnus started actually talking. "We… train. You… visit… All… wait."

"Sounds like a plan, buddy," Pierce replied with a nod, looking down at the notebook by his food tray.

He'd done some research and asked the nurses in the Pokemon Center for opinions on tutors for his pokemon to use his vouchers with. With that, he'd managed to find a number of them that taught the moves he wanted to teach his team. He'd have to take each pokemon to a specific person, since every one of those had things they were better and worse at teaching.

"You sure it's fine if I leave you guys there? I feel like it's kind of shitty of me," Pierce commented, pushing his food around on his plate before picking a bit up with his fork. Before he even reached his mouth though, the psychic sent him a chiding feeling.

"We… train… with… experts," Cygnus told him slowly, while Pierce did his best not to interrupt. "You… help… others… learn… connect… relax… Helper-Speaker."

That was a little more butchered than he could readily understand, but the abra added some more thought to his own mind after speaking to drive the point home. Thus, Pierce got what he was trying to say. He wanted him to help the other pokemon, doing his own learning while he was at it and trying to get some connections with the Gym… And relaxing, because apparently he was still a little off if Cygnus was saying that.

"We… work… you… work," the abra continued then, noticing that he was still a little unsure. "Not… together… but… together…?" the psychic finished then, sounding a little unsure with the last word before sending the idea directly to Pierce's head. Cygnus was basically telling him that they were working together while separated, like how he usually had each of them training things away from each other. Except that this time there was "a little" more distance involved.

"Ok, I guess I can do this without torturing myself," he commented with a weak smile. "I'm just… I haven't been really alone for long lately," he added, which was the complete truth. From his very first day, he'd always been with Narcissa, or Lily later on, and then his team had expanded and… He didn't remember a time when he'd truly been by himself since that first day.

'Had to happen, I guess,' he thought to himself, pursing his lips.

Maybe it'd be good for him, he supposed. It definitely wouldn't be nice – that much he could already tell –, but maybe it'd help him. Pierce would admit that he wasn't in a good place, mentally speaking. Sure, he was going through his days, feeling good and enjoying himself but… He wasn't dealing with what had happened to him, and that was a problem.

He'd honestly have liked to go to a therapist, if he was honest. Unfortunately, it wasn't like he could just go and tell them "I died and now I'm in what I thought was a fictional world far away from everything and everyone I knew". He was sure that wouldn't end well for him. As long as things weren't going badly, Pierce would try and deal with things himself.

It wasn't like he was barely functioning or anything like that. He just needed… a little push, he supposed. Maybe what he needed was closure, or accepting his situation some more, or something like that. Regardless, it didn't feel like he was about to fall apart, so…

Cygnus poked at his mind, making him smile wearily.

"I'm fine," he commented, finishing his meal. "I guess I'll see about entertaining myself today," he added, pushing the food tray to the side and taking his notebook to get a closer look.

At least it was nice to know that there were people that worried about him. His family and friends weren't around anymore, but he had new friends. He might even be bold enough to say that he had a new family in the making too. It was supposed to be a nice thought, but all it did was remind him of what he'd lost.

Maybe one day, he'd be able to remember his old life without feeling like he might cry, but that wasn't the day, evidently. Looking back outside, where the rain continued to fall, as if mimicking his now downtrodden mood, Pierce allowed himself that pain. Reaching for a napkin, he held it and thought of his family and all the things he'd never get to tell them, like he'd done many times already. He thought of his friends and how he'd never talk nonsense with any of them. He thought of all the things he'd wanted to do and now couldn't.

Wiping the tear that fell from his eye, Pierce continued staring out the window. Cygnus brushed against his mind, but otherwise the psychic remained separated from him. He appreciated that, actually, because he wanted a moment to reminisce, he supposed. He wanted to allow himself to think about those things, even if it was painful and sad.

At least for a little bit.

[}-o-{]

"Can't say this is what I expected to be doing, but I won't say no to a challenge," said the man that did the tutoring at the place Pierce had gone to for the last of his pokemon. In response, he just grinned as they both looked at Cygnus using Focus Punch. The move wasn't quite down yet, but the abra could use it if he took much longer than was the usual. "That's a fairly good foundation to use though, even if he can't count that move in his repertoire. It'll help get started, if nothing else," the tutor said, walking around Cygnus as he struggled to use his fighting move.

"He's very motivated too, so that should help," Pierce commented, getting a hum from the man and little else. From what he'd gotten in their short interaction, the tutor seemed to be a rather blunt person. Which Pierce guessed made sense, since the man seemed to specialize in fighting types and related moves. That was why he'd picked the guy, after all. That and because Cygnus had liked his description too, so that was that.

Pierce was actually thankful for that, one the better communication and another the more defined training path. Narcissa and Orion just wanted to get stronger, which didn't really narrow things down for him much. Well, he knew that Narcissa preferred close combat moves, but that wasn't a great help either, really.

Ultimately, he'd decided on two moves for them too. Funnily enough, Narcissa hadn't gotten what she wanted, instead having to go for a ranged attack. It was for the best. He'd work with her on some more close combat options after they were done with the two moves she'd be working on. As for Orion… Pierce wasn't sure if he'd like the move, but it would certainly be a nice addition to his arsenal, not to mention give some nice variety too.

One move each, meant that he still had one remaining training voucher, but he'd see if he saved that for a fourth member of his team or for the next city for one of his that might need the nudge. Pierce just hoped he'd picked the right choices, but only time would tell him that. He'd discussed his choices with Lily beforehand and the girl hadn't had much criticism to give. That was a small reassurance, he supposed.

"Don't… over-think," Cygnus told him after finishing Focus Punch and being able to concentrate on other things. "We… agree…"

'And that'll have to be enough,' Pierce replied, trying dismiss his nerves.

"If he's as motivated as you say, then we'll have an easy time," the tutor said. "I can't say how good his progress will be. Some pokemon have an easier time and some don't. Normally, I wouldn't be very optimistic about the time it'd take an abra, but seeing as you have some work put into this type of move, you might just have an average or even shorter time."

"That's great to hear," Pierce replied, a smile breaking through his nerves at the praise for his pokemon. He knew Cygnus would do a great job. Certainly better than could be expected of him, from what he'd researched. "When should I come for him then?"

And so, he found himself leaving the place after he was done there.

Once more, he found himself without his pokemon and this time he didn't even have them in pokeballs on his belt. It was… very lonely, for some reason. He'd walked around by himself, but even then he'd known that he was a few clicks of a button away from not being so. Now, Lily was nowhere to be seen yet and his pokemon were away.

'It's almost like the weather knew I'd feel like shit,' he thought, gripping the umbrella that he'd had to surprise purchase due to the rain. He usually liked rain, because it was calming and it usually meant colder weather and all but… This one time, it just drove his already low spirits even lower.

That's why he stopped at a cafe that had tables out front under an awning. There, he asked for some warm and sickeningly sweet things to try and bring his mood up. It didn't quite work, but it was… calming. He still was hit by the feeling that he was alone, however, and quite hard since it was… It felt very true.

How sad was his situation when he'd been almost two months in the pokemon world and he had… a grand total of eight friends? Seven of which were pokemon from his team and from Lily's. Nothing against the pokemon, they were great, but that was… 'What I wouldn't give to call mom right now… Or send a message to one of my friends…' Pierce thought to himself with a sigh.

He'd been kind of reclusive before things had gone… badly. He rarely called home, he rarely met his friends. He'd been fine just staying at his place occasionally interacting with someone and mostly keeping to himself.

'How the turn tables, huh?' he mused with a bitter smile. 'Maybe I should just go to the Gym and spend time with the other pokemon. I won't be completely alone then,' he thought, but he didn't feel up to that. They weren't friends. They were friendly, and he cared for them, but he wasn't close to them. Not like he'd been with family or friends.

It was nice to spend time with pokemon here and there but… Ultimately, he'd just leave, and so would they. That was fine. Pierce understood that it was how things were supposed to go. It wasn't like he could catch them all. He didn't have anywhere to send his extra pokemon after hitting the six member limit, for one. For another… most of the pokemon he met didn't really feel like they even wanted to join either.

Still… having friendly faces was better than being alone, he supposed.

[}-o-{]

"I'm not the only one feeling lazy today, huh?" he commented, lying down with his feet dangling over the edge of the pool and into the water. His head rested on Quagsire's slippery back while Poliwag sat on his chest, lulled to sleep by Pierce's breathing. Beside him, Vaporeon had curled up on his side and Tentacool and Goldeen floated about, close enough to his legs that he could feel them through the shifts in the water.

Nobody was feeling up to doing much, it seemed. Maybe the fact that things were fine and they could relax was the pokemon's excuse. Or maybe it was just the sound of the rain on the Gym's roof. Both were possible, or it could be any number of things.

Pierce was just grateful that things were calm and he could just turn off his brain, sleepily lying there. He was fairly sure that he'd actually half-fallen asleep at some point. The little water type resting on top of him yawned, drawing a slight chuckle from him, which only earned him a bleary slap of Poliwag's tail.

"Sorry, little one," he mumbled, getting some rumbling from the water type before it settled once more.

Maybe he'd been a bit of an idiot before. It was definitely better to be there with the other pokemon instead of by himself. Sure, they weren't his team or Lily or Lily's team, but they were still company. Good company at that. Much better than just wallowing in memories, if nothing else.

'It's probably not healthy to just try avoiding those though, is it?' he considered idly. It was so hard to face them though. The worst part was that everytime he did, it only hurt. He wasn't closer to being at peace with any of that, not his losses and certainly not his death. 'Damned if I do, damned if I don't,' he thought bitterly.

So, if it was going to suck anyway… Pierce decided that he might as well just go with it. Letting it fester wasn't a good idea, but he wasn't going to cry his eyes out all the time. The middleground there was that he'd take those moments of calm that allowed for such things. With some luck, it'd be enough to move on at some point.

That moment was one such instance, he supposed. He was calm, he was in good company, if not with friends, and he had time to do whatever for a bit. Thus, as he laid there, Pierce thought back to his old life once more. He wondered how everyone else had reacted to what happened to him, honestly. Was there a body back there or did he have his original body, but healed?

Ultimately, he was either missing or dead, and neither could be nice for them, he imagined. Pierce didn't even know which one he would prefer, honestly. Maybe being just dead was the best one? There wouldn't be any hope of him coming back at some point, which he was fairly sure was impossible or next to so.

'One way or another, they'll keep going,' he thought, and that wasn't a sad realization for once but an uplifting one. Sure, it stung a little, but he didn't want his family to suffer more than they likely would. His parents would help each other, his siblings would help each other, his friends would do the same. Everyone had someone to help them go on with their lives…

Everyone except him.

Because there was no way Pierce was going to be talking about what happened to him anytime soon with anyone. People would think him crazy, even Lily was likely to, and pokemon… His team was great and all, but with psychic pokemon and people being a thing, he didn't trust his secrets to stay secret. For some reason, nobody seemed to be able to read that part of his mind no matter what, so…

So, he'd just have to deal with it himself.

Before that though, it seemed that his attention was required. After all, he felt one of Tentacool's tentacles wrap around his left leg and pull a little. Taking a deep breath in and opening his eyes, feeling his brain being woken up, even though he hadn't really been sleeping. He'd been a little too deep in thought, it seemed.

"Something the matter, Tentacool?" he asked, yawning behind his fist and pulling himself to a sitting position. Once he did, Pierce stopped and blinked again. "... Uh, hey there, little guy," he greeted, watching a magikarp that had definitely not been there before shift nervously where it floated. That wasn't the surprising part though, no.

That was that the magikarp was shiny.

The thing moved closer, hitting his leg a little harshly.

"Sorry, girl," he apologized with a slight smile. "Do you need anything?" Pierce asked, rubbing his eye as he checked on the pokemon. There were a number of yellow scales missing from its body and it was very obviously malnourished. The worst part might have been the scales though, because some steady source of food would see it recover from the starvation. The scales would take some careful handling for a while and had to be really painful. On top of that, the poor creature even had one of its barbels cut somehow.

As it moved a little closer, Pierce took a moment to assess the damage. Obviously the thing had been treated already, even if its condition wouldn't be improving for some time. There was little to be done, but that was expected. He just wanted to make sure.

"Just dropping by for a visit?" he interpreted, his smile widening the smallest bit. Quagsire chose that moment to peek from his side. Pierce just grinned a little wider and placed his hand on top of the ground type's head so that it wouldn't move too much and scare the magikarp. "Can't say you'll have a great time. Tentacool and Goldeen are… a little distant, you could say. Vaporeon is a meanie," he commented, causing the eeveelution to scoff. "Poliwag is nice though… And Quagsire isn't that bad, even if he's lazy."

To that, the latter grumbled something while the former hopped animatedly. The lil' guy was probably very happy to apparently be making a new friend. That was good, at least one of them was in a cheerful mood. It would also help cheer up the new one, Pierce supposed, which was great because he wasn't feeling very cheerful himself.

'What a great bunch we make, huh?' he thought, slightly bitter as he wrapped his arm around Quagsire and pulled the pokemon into a one armed hug. The ground type enjoyed physical affection, after all, and Pierce felt like he needed some of that too since he wouldn't be getting to talk about much. Was it awful of him, he wondered, to feel such kinship with the abused pokemon?

His circumstances weren't quite like theirs, after all. They had suffered for an extended period of time, after all. Who knew how long they had been in the "tender" care of the Rockets? And then there was Pierce who had suffered for a grand total of… a few minutes, if that. His problem was the loss though, so… 'Maybe I shouldn't be trying to compare suffering,' he thought to himself, shaking his head and gathering some water from the pool before splashing it on his face and then running his fingers through his hair.

"Sorry, I'm a little out of it today," he commented, noticing that every pokemon in the little group he'd sort of befriended was now looking at him, some more concerned than others. "It's just one of those days."

"Not a fan of rain?" a new voice said, making him jump a bit. Then he turned to see Violet standing behind him, head tilted and hands on her hips. "It is a little depressing for some people."

"I actually like the rain. It's just… been one of those days, I guess," Pierce commented, shrugging a little. "Lots of sad thoughts and such."

"Hm, I guess that's understandable," the woman said, turning slightly to look at the shiny magikarp. "That little girl was the pokemon you helped yesterday."

"I did?" he asked, blinking.

"The one you told me to check on, with the guy that had dropped by to visit," the Sensational Sister told him. "I noticed some weird things and when he came back again today, I got one of our pokemon to keep a closer eye on them. He was trying to strong arm her into going with him."

"That's… not how it works, right?" Pierce asked, frowning a little. "Pretty sure I was told that you need certification and such."

"You do," the woman agreed. For a moment though, she opened her mouth and then hesitated. Ultimately, she did add something else. "Exceptions can be made if the League deems it a good decision. It's easier to keep a pokemon calm and happy if they are with a trainer they choose themselves, after all."

"That makes sense, I guess," Pierce mused, nodding. "Sorry you went from terrible people to more terrible people, little one," he added as he turned to regard the magikarp. "Say, I feel like eating something and I'm sure this band of gluttons-" He paused as Quagsire exclaimed his agreement before he even finished. "-Would like some too. Evidently," he said dryly, drawing a sigh from Vaporeon. "I'll go look for some food and berries and we can have a nice meal, yeah? This lot will look after you. They might look mean, but they are all softies on the inside."

Tentacool didn't like that, and Pierce was sure that the tentacle that peeked out of the water to point at him would have been a rather rude gesture if the pokemon had actual hands instead. As it was, he ignored that and moved to where the boxes with supplies were. Once he moved away a little, the smile slipped off of his face. It had been a brittle expression anyway, he supposed.

"That wasn't very smooth," he commented, hearing Violet following after him.

"I know, I came up with that on the fly, so I wasn't expecting it to work," she replied, still sounding a little embarrassed. "Sorry if that offended you."

"It didn't," he reassured her, waving off her worries. "I saw what people can do for the chance of having a shiny… which is honestly weird. They are just differently colored pokemon. Sure, they are rare, but still," he mused, rolling his eyes as he remembered the kid in Viridian Forest that had been ready to face an angry beedrill swarm for the chance at a shiny weedle. "Honestly, I'd be happy with any magikarp, their line is one of my favorite water type ones."

"You mean gyarados?"

"No? I mean the entire line," he answered, giving Violet a weird look. "I mean, magikarp can't do much, but I really like the story they tell, about going from weak to something that everyone will respect. I always liked underdogs, and that's an underdog story if I ever saw one…" he explained, finishing setting everything he needed on a tray. "Besides, people hold some really concerning contempt for the poor guys, so I want to be on their side too."

"Tell me about it," she replied, some bitterness slipping into her voice. "We had to take out the little ones from our shows because people didn't like them."

"Weird, right? Sure, their eyes are a little… er, vacant, but they can be surprisingly expressive."

"I know! Honestly, people are idiots," the Sensational Sister agreed, throwing her arms up in the air.

"I was actually going to try to get a magikarp myself before I got summoned for this. I might go to the shore and try my luck again one of these days. I don't want to keep coming here and be a bother," he commented idly as they reached the pokemon group once more. "Hey there. You have any favorite berries, little one?"

"You were coming here?" Violet asked then, apparently surprised. "Or you could have been leaving, I guess."

"Coming here, yeah," he answered distractedly as he pulled out some berries to show the shiny magikarp so it could choose.

"Were you going to see one of our shows?" the Sensational Sister asked, making him blink and turn to see the woman looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah? I saw some videos and thought it'd look even better in person. I want to see at least one while I'm here."

"Which one did you see?"

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

A little bit of a gloomy chapter, but then again, I don't think I've touched much on that aspect so far. One can only put off the heavy stuff for so long, or so I think. Pierce will have his moments like this, because bad things don't just go away after thinking them over. They stay with you and you just learn to live with them…

Or so I think. I'm sure there'll be people that disagree, but that's how I see it myself.

Sorry if you wanted Pierce to be perpetually happy.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.

As always, if you can't wait until next week for next chapter, or if you just feel like supporting my writing, there's up to three new chapters in my Pa tre on:

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Do you like coffee? I don't.

See you.