Nick and Mira stumble out of the office in a daze, Nick tucking the tablet into his pocket. Thankfully, it's too large to slip through the holes.
'Red tape comes for us all, it seems, no matter the universe.'
The man shakes his aching wrist and pops his knuckles one by one, wincing. "You'd think he was trying to give me a repetitive strain injury," he mutters to Mira.
She nods sympathetically, and envy momentarily floods Nick over her sleeping through most of the process. Well, at least Rowan had snacks to tide them over.
The pair walk out into the mid-afternoon sun, warm sunlight soaking into their bones after spending so long in the chilly air-conditioned lab.
'I hardly noticed how cold it was in there until I got out. Maybe the lab equipment needs to be kept cold to work.'
Come to think of it, he didn't see any lab equipment while he was there. He supposes that as sympathetic as one might be to a stranger, showing them your gene gun on the first day would be weird. The white furball by his side gives him an odd look as he chuckles.
"Don't worry about it; let's just get shopping," Nick says, the two walking side by side down the path, heading outside the lab grounds and back toward town.
"Hold it!" a voice calls, and the two turn to see a smiling Lucas and Chimchar sprinting towards them. Mira tenses, her stance dropping wide, and her flames flicker, a soft glow emanating from their tips.
"Mira," Nick whispers, the zorua in question glancing over.
She eyes his relaxed pose, silently huffing before incredibly reluctantly softening her stance, mane and tail stilling.
"Hey, Nick, aren't you forgetting something?" Lucas asks after skidding to a stop, a broad grin on his face. By his side, Chimchar bounces eagerly from foot to foot, eyes flicking between Mira and Nick.
Nick pauses to take a quick check of his pockets. Interim ID, boxed Pokedex, wallet with a few hundred Poke Dollars generously given as an 'advance' by Rowan. Yep, that's everything all accounted for. His lips draw tight. "No?" he responds, drawing out the O, "I should have everything I need to get some clothes, so I'm not walking around in torn-up rags." He glares at the zorua when she has the audacity to snicker.
"I mean, you got a Pokedex, don't you?" Lucas questions, the black-haired youth raising a brow.
"Yes? I mean, Rowan put my info into it, but I still have to figure out how it works. I was planning to do that after I got back," he says, pulling the device out of the box. To be honest, Nick's just glad it's not the bizarre see-through screen of the Kalos model. That tech was awkward enough back home when you saw it in a living room; he can only imagine how strange it would be to use it out in the wild with glare potentially coming through your screen.
"What? You just got a Pokedex, and you want to go shopping?" Lucas asks, eyes wide.
"Hey. I don't know when the stores close here," Nick defensively says.
"It's only three. Whatever. I challenge you two to a battle!" Lucas yells, pointing at the two of them with Chimchar posing dramatically at his side, the latter staring directly at Mira.
Ah, that's what this is about. The poor monkey must think he has something to prove after earlier. A quick glance at Mira confirms that, yep, that's a vicious grin upon her muzzle, as expected. Does she dislike the poor fire type or just want a target? Nick's first instinct is to decline until later and go on his merry way, but Mira'd probably be a terror for the entire shopping trip if he does, and if she does lose, maybe it'll mellow her a bit. Not as if he'd let that happen for free, granted.
"Are we even allowed?" Nick queries, "It's not as if I have a license yet."
"Do you think eight-year-olds with starlys and bidoofs battling in the park have licenses?" Lucas retorts, and Nick has to admit he's got a point. Now that he thinks of it, he's pretty sure he remembers battling some preschoolers in the games, and there's no way that those kids had formal battle training.
"Okay, but Mira's fresh from the wild, and I'm not the most experienced, but I can tell she's pretty strong. Aren't you worried about Chimchar getting hurt?" Mira practically glows under the praise, while Chimchar outright glowers at the pair of them. Perhaps not the wisest choice of words.
"Pssh, nah, pokemon are pretty tough. Unless it's a crazy gap, they tend not to hurt each other too seriously unless they really overexert themselves or keep going after someone already out of the fight," Lucas says, offhandedly waving Nick's concerns away. "Besides, I've been training really hard with Chimchar since I picked him up a few days back, and I've been reading up on battle strategy for ages. Even if Mira's crazy strong, that'd just make this even."
"Fine, just give me a second," Nick sighs, fishing the Pokedex from his pocket. At first, when Rowan fished it out of a box, Nick was surprised at how much it looked like a small tablet computer with some slide-out controls. A silent fist pump is shared between their two foes as Nick boots it up, thoroughly ignoring all the various other menus to go right to the scan screen before pointing it at Mira.
"Sinnohian Zorua," the synthesized voice chimes, "Warning! Highly aggressive species. This entry is a work in progress. The subject is significantly larger than the recorded range. Please upload scanned data at your nearest Poke Centre." After the useless blurb, it shows her as being registered to him, and below that…
'Wait, is she both a ghost type and a normal type? That's bizarre. Wouldn't that mean she's immune to normal, fighting, and ghost types? Surely it would, unless they changed how types work at some point. She's about double the height this entry says she should be, too. Perhaps they've only seen small ones so far. Now, where are the moves?'
After a few seconds of wildly tapping and trying random buttons, he finds the one to switch to the next tab and finally finds what he's searching for. The list: Scratch, Hone Claws, Leer, Torment, Shadow Sneak, Confuse Ray, and Dark Pulse.
'Why so many moves? I suppose it makes sense that the limit of four was a game balance thing. Now, let's just glance at what they do.'
"Right," Nick says after reading each entry, slipping the Dex back into his pocket and looking at Mira, her tail idly flicking as she stares down Chimchar. I think we're ready to go now; how are we going to handle this?"
Lucas thinks for a second before taking off his yellow backpack and hefting it. "How about I drop this, and we start the battle when it hits the ground? We could go until knockout or forfeit."
"Fair enough. That's good with me. Good with you, Mira?" he responds before turning to the zorua, whose eyes are already locked onto the bag. The zorua does not even look at him to nod.
'Say, don't most pokemon have pretty bad type coverage to start? Lucas has only had Chimchar with him for a few days, after all. That gives me an idea...'
Mira strides forth upon hardened dirt, eyes still locked on the bag. Her guide has much to learn if he genuinely fell for such an obvious ploy. Really, conceding the power to start the battle to a foe? Bah, that'll take but a moment to hit the ground, and Lucas would have the jump on them. At least, he would if she wasn't going to be ready.
Then again, how often had her older siblings given her concessions while Mira was still small, so she had some ghost of a chance when they played? Perhaps humans extend that to others beyond their families. Lucas is clearly not fully evolved, and Nick's a final evolution or at least a mid-stage, after all.
"Ready to lose, little spark?" she says with a smirk, eyeing up Lucas' champion.
He carries himself with little grace, bouncing into the field like an infant given honey. "No way!" Even though they are not that far apart, Chimchar shouts as loud as he can, "You aren't that tough! Lucas and I are going straight to the top, and that climb starts here!"
Ah, he's still angry about her needling last time. Really, who introduces themselves as a "champion to be" when you're barely taller than four wiki berries stacked on top of one another? That's just asking for teasing.
"Feel free to tell me what the dirt tastes like when we're done," she borderline coos, the monkey rankling and grumbling. Oh, this is going to be positively delicious.
"Right! Three, two, one," Lucas counts down before dropping the bag, which thuds against the ground a split second later. "Chimchar, Ember!" he commands before Nick can speak. Just as Mira expected.
His order is not too delayed, at least. "Mira, get clear and use Torment!" her guide calls out. Oh, now he's talking! Did he pick up that much on her style from their encounter this morning? Impressive.
Chimchar breathes deeply, gaze locked upon Mira with violence in his eyes. He tops out his lung capacity and holds it until flames lick at the corners of his mouth before blowing a trio of small fireballs through the air.
The zorua deftly leaps to the side to dodge the trio of fireballs, the blasts scorching the dirt below. Mira's foe doesn't get long to breathe, though.
Malicious dark energy burbles up in her lungs, infusing her very breath. "Is that the best a 'champion to be' can do? Pathetic." Mira taunts, and she can just barely see the wince as her poisoned words dig deep into her target's psyche. Gotcha.
Lucas frowns, ordering, "Chimchar, she's too fast to hit with that from that far. Get on top of her and use it again!" much to Mira's glee. Obediently, Chimchar hops in close, sucking down air, but Mira doesn't react. It was doomed to fail, after all. The poor sap only sputters out naught but a few sparks before breaking off into a harsh cough. "Oh no, Chimchar, what's wrong, buddy?"
Ha! Oh, that's one of the best things she's seen all day! The look on his stupid face is positively priceless.
"Confuse Ray," Nick simply says. At this close, when Chimchar is already staggered, there can be only one outcome.
Mira's grin grows more savage yet, and her eyes glow with malicious red inches away from Chimchar's face. The fire monkey staggers quasi-drunkenly, fighting to stay upright as his vision swims, stumbling to the side. Mira can't help but chuckle. "Come on now, I'm sure you can hit me! Surely a rising star like you can manage it, right? Right?" she taunts, circling around Chimchar.
"Torment is a peculiar move. I take it that it does not come up often in the competitive scene? Stopping the victim from using the same move twice in a row seems useful at lower levels, at least," Nick explains, letting Chimchar slowly right himself, even if he still isn't doing well and looks about ready to keel over.
What's with the holdup? She has him on the ropes! Call for her to use her illusions, and he'd be swinging at shadows! Call for a Dark Pulse, and she could take him out at the legs and disappear before he can get up! However, Mira supposes that if she wins too crushingly, she might not get the chance to do this again. Perhaps a bit of mercy is in order.
Deftly, she hops over Chimchar, forcing him to wheel around to face her again. He flinches, a hand shooting up to hold his head.
"Poor little monkey is getting a bit dizzy, isn't he? Maybe you should just lie down for a while," she coos, and her target grunts.
"Q-Quiet! I can still win this!" he shouts, flinching as his own sheer volume sets off his head again. She just giggles and leaps well over him to another spot, forcing him to try to track her.
Her mane and tail light as she whispers, "Over here," into his left ear, the disoriented ape swinging around to face nothing but air. "No, here!" she murmurs into his right, but sadly, he doesn't fall for the same trick twice and actually manages to twirl to face her properly.
Perhaps he's a bit smarter than she figured at first glance.
Lucas bites his lip, evidently deep in thought, finally calling, "Alright, Scratch!"
"Hone Claws."
Chimchar's recovery is frankly impressive for how unsteady he is, bounding across the field like someone on a rolling log toward her. Oh, this poor fool. He draws closer, hopping high into the air, even as Mira doesn't bother to dodge, contentedly focusing dark energy through her claws as she sharpens them.
Chimchar's nails glow white with energy as he bares down on her, shouting, "Feel my wrath!" The triumphant smirk turns to confusion and shock as he phases right through her and tumbles into the dirt.
"Is this a bad time to mention that Mira's a ghost type?" Nick chimes in, and the zorua titters. Now, this is what she's talking about! The playfulness! The trickery! The drama! She re-squares herself, idly turning to face her opponent.
"Chimchar, I know you can do it. Get up!" the beleaguered trainer shouts, with a rough groan answering him. To his credit, Chimchar tries to get up, slowly pushing himself off the ground.
"Mira, Shadow Sneak," Nick says.
Bitter spite bubbles up through her with a shiver as she channels the familiar, almost comforting, ghostly energy. She extends the energy out of her body and into her shadow, creeping it towards her downed opponent.
The red-eyed shadow shoots up from beneath him, claws tearing into his sides as he cries out, sheer concussive force tossing him into the air. He sails like a stone thrown by a child, gracelessly careening before he hits a tree with a loud THUMP, tumbling down into an unconscious heap.
Oh, victory, aren't you so sweet?
Mira beams with pride, even if the fight's outcome was foregone. Really, Nick could have just sat back and let her do her thing, but other than the points where he was presumably holding back to not bully Lucas too much, it was a fine enough showing. Chimchar and Lucas were dancing to their tune the whole time! She flawlessly played her half of the field, her guide played the other, keeping them off balance. She glances over her shoulder to gauge his reaction.
To her surprise, he's covering his mouth, worry clear on his face.
"Chimchar!" Lucas shouts, jogging over to his downed friend, Nick trailing not far behind, stiffly walking over. What was he so worried about? Chimchar merely lost a fight, and she didn't start whaling on him when he was down or hit him with anything particularly nasty.
Come to think of it, she hasn't seen any humans fight since she was taken; maybe they are much more fragile. Nick seemed pretty scared about taking even a minor hit when she first pursued him, so that would make sense. Given that there's no Pokemon back where he comes from, he probably thinks they're as fragile as he is.
Mira supposes it's all the better when she gets her paws and jaws on those who dared to kidnap her. Anger flashes through her, and she twitches before forcing it back down. Perhaps they don't even have moves, and that'd certainly make it easy to hold them down.
Lucas kneels and scoops up his downed companion, softly saying, "Hey, buddy, you did good. They were just a bit stronger than we thought, that's all. We'll just have to train harder to beat them, right?"
After a moment, Chimchar's eyes blearily flutter open, and he hoarsely responds, "You got it, coach. Next time we'll get them." His gaze flickers over to Mira. "You hear that?" he says, "We're going to catch up to you, no, surpass you, if you stay like you are! You better keep getting stronger so you can give me more good fights, alright?"
Mira blinks. "I smashed you into the dirt," she slowly states. What was wrong with this monkey?
"Ah, but this defeat will fuel my fire to rise to even greater heights! I'll learn Flare Blitz and Zen Headbutt just for you! From this day forth, you have a rival in me! Don't fall behind now!" he raves, shakingly striking a pose and flexing in Lucas' arms.
"Is Chimchar alright?" Nick cautiously asks, tension bleeding through every terse word.
"I mean, yeah? Mira didn't hit him that hard," Lucas says, withdrawing a Pokeball from his pocket. "Let's get you looked at just in case, okay buddy?" In a flash of red, Chimchar disappears into the ball.
Nick, embarrassingly, seems to deflate like a punctured drifloon as he sighs in relief. "That's good to hear," he says.
"Why, were you worried?" Lucas asks, turning to face the two of them as he gets back up.
"Ah, well, there are not many pokemon in my home region, so I don't have much experience with them," Nick lies, "The battling scene wasn't a thing I had much interest in back home, either, since I couldn't go do it for myself."
Lucas closes his eyes and slaps his palm against his forehead. "No way; not only did I lose to a complete newbie," he laments, "But I lost to one that didn't even watch the sport."
"Hey, Mira's pretty strong, and she just happened to hard counter Chimchar. Besides, Torment's probably not that common at high levels when people have so many more moves, right?" comforts Nick.
Lucas frowns, "It could have been much closer if I remembered. Sure, Chimchar doesn't have any moves that can touch her other than Ember, but I could have had him use Scratch on the ground first rather than jumping right in with a dud. I really should have looked into her species more than just planning like she was a normal zorua."
That is positively hilarious.
Nick shrugs as Mira titters. "Well, you know how it goes. 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.' Something to think of for next time, right?"
Mira and Lucas both stare at Nick as if he has grown a second head.
"Right," Lucas says, deep in thought. "Oh!" He interrupts himself with a jolt, "You said you had to go into town, right?"
Mira huffs. Any one of the people walking around town could be working for their kidnappers, and she wouldn't know. It's a shame humans built their communities so dense.
"That's right. I need to get some clothes and stop by the Poke Centre to upload some data, apparently," Nick says.
"Well, you did fight us like I asked..." Lucas trails off, "Why don't I show you where the stores you need are? I'll get the Poke Centre to look Chimchar over while I'm there."
Please no, two encounters with Lucas and Chimchar are enough for today.
"Please do, thank you," Nick says, betraying her. She groans.
The annoyance, suddenly looking nervous, turns his attention toward Mira. As he should. Her eyes narrow as he starts talking. "Oh, Mira? I may have gotten a bit excited when I first saw you, and it came off bad. You know, talking about you to your face rather than to you? So, you know, sorry." After he finally manages to finish, he reddens and looks away.
Her ears slowly rise throughout his apology, and a satisfied grin creeps onto her face. Well, at least he recognizes when he's in the wrong. That's one redeeming quality, at least.
"So..." he trails off, nerves still evident in his voice, "Are we good?"
Mira takes a moment to think. She annoyed her siblings and the neighbours something fierce when she was younger, and they found it in their hearts to forgive her. Sure, he might be a stranger, but it's not like a child would be involved in whatever conspiracy took her. Would it really be that bad to not reserve any particular malice for him and just give him the usual amount instead?
He gets one more chance.
She nods. "For now," she says, "Don't mess it up."
Lucas blinks, looking off to Nick, who stands looking at the two of them with a bemused smile. "I'm pretty sure that's a provisional yes," he translates. Why did humans have to be the one intelligent species that can't understand others?
"Oh, Mira?" Nick says, getting an ear flick in response. "Good job."
"You were acceptable. There's still room for improvement, though," Mira trills.
Nick takes a deep breath, glad Mira made friendly, or at least friendly enough, with Lucas.
'Holy hell, I thought Chimchar fucking died for a minute there; it was like he got punted by Thor.'
He glances at the small imprint left in the tree. It is one thing to see pokemon in shows or games take superhuman amounts of damage and be fine, and entirely another to see it in person.
'And it was just a fresh starter who shrugged that off. How high does the ceiling go? How bloody tough are pokemon our kidnappers have, given they have the resources to access other worlds?'
"Right!" Lucas stands back straight, pivoting to walk down the road, "I suppose that we ought to get going. Daylight's burning, right?" He shoots a smile at them.
Nick follows, with Mira tightly at his side once more. For a minute or so, they walk in silence before Lucas starts a conversation.
"So," he begins, "Does this mean Professor Rowan decided to sponsor you too?"
"That it does," Nick admits, "You remember how I mentioned that I'm not from around here?"
Lucas turns to fix Nick with a flat look. "You wandered into town with a rare pokemon glued to your side, looking like you spent the last three months out in the mountains fighting everything that got in your way with your bare hands. Do you really think I'd forget anything about an encounter like that?"
'Way to make me feel like some bizarre cryptid only seen through blurry pictures, kid.'
"Oh, sorry! That was insensitive of me. Again, my bad," Lucas sheepishly apologizes.
Nick wipes away the sour look that inadvertently crept onto his face when he wasn't paying attention. "It's fine," he says. "I just got in my own head for a moment there. To answer your question: Yes, Rowan kindly decided to sponsor me." He decides not to mention the part where he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.
"Alright! I was worried that I would be his sole pick this year. He has four slots, and the other three are still unfilled. I mean, there are two unfilled now, but you get what I mean," Lucas rambles, "It's only a few weeks until the start of the League year; I'm surprised he hasn't filled the other two up yet. I know he can be picky, but it's crazy. You'd think teens from all over would be all over him trying to get in like usual, but I guess the new developments from Silph Co. and Dr. Kenzo have everyone trying to get all the new pokemon."
Well-honed instincts scream at him to pay attention, and Mira perks up as well. "New pokemon?" Nick asks, pulling out his Pokedex and navigating to a notes app he saw earlier to note down the name for later research.
"Yeah!" Lucas exclaims, "Archaeologists are saying that hundreds of years ago, there were a whole bunch of different species around Sinnoh, and human activity changed the biomes so much that many went extinct. The League's been bringing in breeders and importing pokemon from other regions to rebuild the historical populations in the wild. Plus, Silph Co. and Doctor Kenzo are working together to un-extinct the species they can't import from elsewhere, too. They're calling them Hisuian variants after the old name for Sinnoh." By the end, the teen is forced to suck in a huge lungful all at once, having delivered that entire spiel in an impressive single go.
"Don't forget to breathe," Nick dryly teases.
Lucas gives him a dirty look, but his heart clearly isn't in it. "But yeah, most new trainers going for a sponsorship are trying to get the Hisuian starters," he explains.
Mira and Nick make eye contact, and she plays the sound of lab equipment in his ear as unease bubbles up through him. Yeah, they'll definitely pay a visit to Doctor Kenzo later. Here's hoping he's not on the other side of Sinnoh.
"Say, do you know if Sinnohian zoruas are part of that program?" he questions.
To his surprise, Lucas shakes his head. "Nah. Nobody knows where they came from, which is weird. Some people say they snuck aboard shipments, but they're not from any known region, so I dunno how much I believe that. I hear the League is looking into it, but there's no answers yet."
Again with the League. Are they the local governing body or a multinational part of the government that deals with pokemon issues specifically? How independent is the Sinnoh League of, say, the Kanto League?
'At least these questions can be quickly resolved later with a quick search or two, unlike most of the others I've been saddled with.'
The rest of their trip's idle chatter is far more subdued, although Nick gets a good recommendation for that pizza place he saw earlier. The town's quiet streets eventually lead them to the Poke Centre. The glass door of the red and white building slides open at their approach.
The sterile scent hits him.
His breathing sharpens, his pupils narrow, and his eyes dart around the room for threats as he prepares to run. He freezes.
'No, no, no, something's wrong. This isn't right; I'm in danger. I have to get out of here. Out, out, out, out-'
Every moment that a threat doesn't jump out at him drives his paranoia to new heights, every shadow a hidden foe and every shine a scalpel. He takes a step back as his pulse thunders in his ear.
"Zorr?"
He glances down at Mira, her amber eyes looking up in concern, stance tense and ready to fight.
Forcing himself to flash what he hopes is a reassuring smile, Nick takes a deep breath.
"I'm okay. It's just something stupid; I'll talk to you about it later," Nick says, dryly swallowing his fear and taking one hesitant step after another behind the oblivious Lucas. It's just a Poke Centre, right? Those have always been places of healing, constant companions to trainers on their treks.
Mira, evidently not believing him, pulls closer to his side. For the first time, Nick feels how unearthly soft the fur of her ruff is, brushing against his leg through the holes in his pants.
'I'll unpack all this later.'
Lucas walks up to the counter, smiling at the pink-haired woman on duty at the desk. "Hi there, Nurse Joy!" he says.
"Good afternoon, Lucas!" beams Nurse Joy back to him, "What can I do for you today?"
He pulls the Pokeball from his belt and places it on the counter. "Chimchar lost a battle earlier," he explains, "He seems fine, but I'm stopping by like you said I should after his first loss."
She smiles, takes the ball, and stands from her chair. "Of course! Did you perform a spot check like I told you before you recalled him?"
"Yes, ma'am, but he was awake a second after I picked him up, so I didn't need to go over the whole list," he affirms.
With that confirmation, Nurse Joy nods and says, "Good work. Now, just a second, please." At that, she heads into the back, the chansey at her side following her. How did he not notice that pokemon?
The next few minutes feel like an eternity as Nick stays stock still, eyes snapping to every corner for threats. Is it the nurse setting his instincts off? She could be a member of the conspiracy. No, no, that is insane. He just needs to keep calm enough to get this over with.
"Zorua." Mira's reply felt a lot more like a statement this time. Something like "We can leave," perhaps?
"I'm afraid we must do this," Nick says lowly. What, was he going to avoid Poke Centres the entire time? No, no, he has to get used to this.
"Good news!" Nurse Joy calls as she rounds the corner back to the front, "Chimchar's in good health; a quick Heal Pulse was all he needed. He should be back up and going later this afternoon, although he should take a break from battling until tomorrow at the earliest. Okay, Lucas?"
The kid smiles, taking the Pokeball back from her. "Thank you! I'll make sure he doesn't do anything too crazy before then!"
"See that you do," she chimes, leaning in curiously, "So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but who finally ended your winning streak? I've gotten a few kids coming by over the last couple of days listing Chimchar as the cause of injury."
Lucas's face turns sheepish. "Ah, well, I lost to the Professor's new sponsored trainer," he says, gesturing over his shoulder to Nick.
He stiffly waves. "Hello, Nurse," he forces out, his voice catching, "I'm here to upload some data." He fumbles around in his pockets before pulling out the tablet. "I'm afraid I just got my Pokedex earlier today, and I haven't had time to read through the instructions yet."
'What the hell was that? You sound like a five-year-old trying to read a teleprompter, Nick; get it together.'
The nurse looks him up and down, then at Mira standing protectively at his side, before comprehension lights on her face. "Of course," she sunnily says, picking up a device similar to a wireless charging pad and placing it on the desk, "Please place your Pokedex here, lining up the centre with the pad, and unlock it, please."
After hesitating for a few seconds, he robotically walks up to the counter, following her instructions precisely and tapping accept when the tablet asks him for permission to transfer data over a wireless connection. Nick stares at the progress bar, unwilling to look around any more than he has to, lest he find a new horror to set his mind aflutter.
Slowly, agonizingly, the progress bar ticks up as he fidgets. The moment a window pops up saying that it is now safe to disconnect his device, he pulls it off, slipping it back into his pocket. "Thank you. Is there anything else, or are we done here?" he quickly rattles out.
A lollipop hits the counter in front of him with a click.
He jolts and looks up to see Nurse Joy surreptitiously checking on Lucas, who is now engrossed in talking with Chimchar, before turning her gentle gaze back to him. "Thank you for stopping in. It looks like you already handled your scrapes and scratches, but when was your last tetanus vaccination? Small wound care doesn't end at cleaning and sealing, after all," she almost whispers the first half. Something about that tone bugs him, like she thinks it was some great struggle for him to show up.
'Is she implying that I'm afraid of hospitals? I'm not—I wasn't, at least.'
"It was three years ago," Nick says after some brief thought, shakingly pocketing the peace offering.
"You should be fine, then," Nurse Joy says before turning her attention to Mira, "Make sure he takes care of himself, okay? A little wound can become a big problem if you don't treat it."
A bewildered Mira stares up at her before slowly nodding, prompting another bright smile from the sunny nurse. "Excellent. Have a good day now, you four. Keep safe!"
"Thank you, Nurse Joy. We will!" Lucas chimes in, recalling Chimchar and heading toward the door. Nick gives her a stiff thumbs-up and follows close behind, carefully keeping his breathing slow and even as he can manage.
Soon enough, they are mercifully out into the cool afternoon air and Nick's shoulders drop as tension melts out of them.
'What's next, coulrophobia? I have enough going on right now.'
Brief pain flashes from his leg, and he looks down to see Mira nipping at his thigh before glaring resolutely up at him. Perhaps a demand for an explanation?
"When we're alone, I promise," he mumbles, her ears perking in response as they both drift off into thought.
'Something about this feels like a clue, but I was unconscious all last night. You could argue that I'm missing time with how the seasons changed, sure, but I'm in an alien world with a seasonal cycle unbeholden to my home's to begin with. Did I get a whiff of a medical facility while I was out, and is it tripping up my subconscious now that I'm awake? It would track with the medical gown.'
Nick frowns.
"Hey, didn't you need to go to some clothing stores?" Lucas asks, and Nick jolts out of thought.
"Yeah, you're right. Mind showing me the way?" Nick replies.
The following shopping trip is surprisingly tame. Mira mostly behaves and only almost attacks someone twice, both times being some poor sap reaching in to pet an unfamiliar pokemon like an idiot. Surprisingly, she understands the concept of a store just fine from the get-go, even though standardized currency is a sticking point.
'Do Zoroarks have a barter-based economy in the wild?'
Really, the biggest obstacle to this trip being easy is that Nick paraphrased The Art of War earlier.
"So, let's say I'm in a mirror match, and Chimchar is about their equal, right? What do I do then?" Lucas asks.
Nick thinks momentarily, drudging through memories for something else to distract Lucas. "All warfare is based on deception," he quotes, "Try to lure them to attack where you are strong and make your weaknesses appear as points of strength. Sure, you might not be able to do that for everything, but even just doing that for some aspects will force them to reconsider which are which. A moment's hesitation can win a match."
Lucas furiously types Nick's every word in his strange phone-Pokedex combo, committing the mangled quote to his notes. "Thanks! Too bad that you don't have that book of yours on you. I'd really like to read it for myself."
"Indeed, shame." The lack of pokemon-related information would lead to many questions he can't answer without letting the cat out of the bag, so Nick isn't too broken up about it. He looks down at his pad, scrolling through the zorua dietary information as they approach their last stop. Mercifully, the new check-out lane glasses make it far easier to read. Sure, they're still not ideal, but he feels that tracking down an optometrist without insurance is a fool's errand.
'Maybe once I'm officially registered, it'll be covered by the League or the Sinnoh government.'
Tucking away his pad in the spacious pockets of one of his new sets of unshredded pants, Nick once more takes in the quiet streets of this idyllic little town, pokemon and humans living side by side in something roughly approaching harmony.
'It's a lot easier to appreciate with some cash in your pocket and intact clothes, that's for sure.'
The scent of smoke floats through the air, and Nick smiles. "Come on, want some dinner?"
A stunned expression jumps to Lucas' face before morphing into joy. "Whoa, really?"
Nick shrugs. "You've been helpful; the least I could do is treat you a bit." He also still feels a bit guilty for Mira sending Chimchar to the hospital, even if that is a feeling he has to get over.
"Sweet, thanks a lot! You know what? You're pretty cool!" Lucas shouts.
"Don't sweat it." Nick glances down at Mira, and he can see her muzzle scrunch at the thought of more human food.
'Oh, just you wait, you gremlin. This is going to blow your mind.'
The trio walks down a side street and up to the open-air pizza restaurant Nick saw earlier. An older man puts a pizza into the wood oven as the magby working there breathes fire into the hatch below, the sweet scent drifting up and wafting through the air. Perhaps apple tree wood?
"Good afternoon," Nick says as he slides into a bar-style chair beside the counter, Mira perching by his feet.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bruno!" echoes Lucas, eagerly hopping up next to Nick, waving as the man turns around to face his customers.
"Lucas!" he greets, gently smiling. "I thought you had already left on your badge journey without saying goodbye! And who's this that's with you?"
"Oh, this is Nick. He's the Professor's other lab trainer!"
"Really? It's good to see that old coot remembered that he had more than one slot this year," the man mumbles before seeming to startle once he remembers that he's talking to the person in question's employees. "Oh, uh, don't tell him I said that, you hear?" A moment later, he takes two menus from the rear and gives them to Lucas and Nick as Lucas chuckles.
'Lot of meats on here, and, annoyingly, it's all types of processed stuff like prosciutto rather than something as clear cut as ham. That's derived from pigs back home, though, and I don't recall there being a pig pokemon, so they probably have animals here. Interesting. There are QR codes here that lead to articles about pokemon food safety facts, too. From what I read on the way over, zorua can eat everything humans can, so at least that's not a worry.'
"Hey, Lucas? What do you and Chimchar want?" he asks. The kid knows more about what's good here and what's safe for his partner, anyhow.
"Oh, the three meat's real good!" he enthusiastically chimes, finally letting Chimchar out of his ball.
"Chim!" the orange monkey calls, looking around for a moment before recognizing his environment, smiling, and dancing for joy. "Chim! Chim-cha, char!"
As Lucas starts to talk to his beloved starter, Nick looks down and asks Mira, "Sound good to you?"
A moment later, he gets a hesitant nod in response.
"One large three meat pizza, please. Keep the rest as a tip," Nick says, pulling out a pair of bills from his pocket and placing them on the table.
Smiling, Mr. Bruno takes the cash and heads over to the station to prepare it, of course, with help from the magby. "Thank you, it won't take long!"
"So, I take it you're planning on going for the circuit too?" Nick asks, glancing over to Lucas.
"Well, duh!" he exclaims, "What's there not to love? Even if I don't become Champion, I'll get to see Sinnoh! Heck, maybe even the world! The Professor's working on documenting evolution, right? If I bring a bunch of grant money to the lab, I bet I could go all over getting him data from other regions! Alola, Hoenn, Unova! Come on, tell me that seeing pokemon in the wild worldwide doesn't sound great?"
"That it does." Such was not for him, but it did sound great in its own way. Nick can hardly guess where he'll personally end up by then. Perhaps he'll end up back home where he belongs. Maybe he'll be trapped here trying to scrounge up a proper job. Perhaps something worse. "So, I got to know, why haven't you left yet?"
The youth snorts, looking away, "I can't actually start until I'm sixteen, even though my birthday is only a few weeks away.
"Rough," Nick says, "Taking off as soon as you can, eh?"
"Well, I have to say bye and get some supplies scraped together… but pretty much! I've been saving up for months!"
"And here we are!" the chef calls as he places the pizza and four plates in front of them. "Enjoy now!"
"Thank you," Nick and Lucas echo at once, with similarly thankful noises from Chimchar. Loading up each plate with a trio of slices, each trainer passes meals to their respective pokemon. Chimchar digs right in, but Mira's a bit more hesitant, poking at a slice with a paw and sniffing the cheese.
She licks it, and her eyes widen before she sets upon it like a rabid beast. Nick chuckles, and she takes a second to glare up at him in response, only to go back to viciously tearing into her meal the second she decides he's sufficiently chastised.
Deciding not to disturb her further, Nick lifts up a slice of pizza and takes a bite. The smoky slice tastes like home—not the city he moved to to pursue his career, but the town of his youth. It tastes like it's from a small place down by the river. It tastes like time with friends, like a listless day that is still well spent. He cracks a smile.
The meal is over far too soon.
"Well, I'm stuffed," Lucas says, leaning back in his chair. "Thanks, Mr. Ward, thanks, Mr. Bruno!"
"Call me Nick. 'Mr. Ward' makes me feel old," he quips, "No offence intended, Mr. Bruno."
This earns them a sharp bark of laughter. "Ha! I am old, this is my retirement project, you kids. I make pizza four days a week at hours of my choice."
"I'm twenty-seven," Nick flatly states.
The old man laughs once more. "Listen here, sonny, it's all relative. Once you get old enough, you can call anyone you want a kid!"
Lucas sighs, getting up from his seat. "Well, I should probably get home now; I have some stuff to do around the house," he bemoans. "I'll see you later, alright, Nick?"
"Chim!"
"See you around the lab," Nick says, getting up from his spot as the youth walks away. He stoops to pick up the pokemon's plates and places them on the counter.
"Thanks," Nick says, and he and the chef share a quick nod and wave before he and Mira are off, starting back down the way to the lab.
"What a day," Nick says, hands deep in his pockets.
Silence hangs between them as she looks Nick up and down, and he can feel her unspoken question.
"I don't know what happened, either. I wasn't scared of doctors last night, but now…" he trails off. "I'm sure I'll get it under control; don't worry. In any case, it might be a clue, so I'll keep it in mind."
"Zor."
After a short walk in silence, the two round the corner, revealing the lab, with a broken glass door surrounded by police tape and Rowan positively fuming by the entrance.