Chapter 18: Rusted Shield
- - - - - Wyndon, Pokemon League HQ - - - - -
- - - - - Early morning, 7:20 AM - - - - -
"It rolls right off the tongue pretty well..."
"Yes, though honestly the idea wasn't just ours."
"Leon suggested it recently, but with all the recent cleanup we've been doing.."
"Right, it only makes sense it's taken awhile."
Oleana crossed her legs and put a finger to her lips in thought. " 'Galarian Star Tournament' hmm? Though I think we should stave it off for a short while, if only for one reason, ladies and gents." the Chairman said, getting up from the chair and standing up. Clapping her hands once together, the others in the room now paid attention to her next words more attentively. "Let's take for consideration the big favor we asked out of all the other regions that were able to help out for Team Rocket's eventual extermination. The court case is still ongoing, yes, but it was a giant effort that was only successful thanks to their support."
"Ma'am, what are you thinking instead?" asked one gentleman to her side with a raised hand. The blonde who was at one point nothing more than an expert who kept her nose staring at the blue glow of a computer screen until the late hours of the morning turned to him with a small grin. "It's rather easy. Let's take the same idea of what was proposed, and henceforth expand on it. We shall make it a union of other regions; an olympic-like exhibition if you will. Let us invite those same people back and allow them all to showcase their skills to the public eye."
Oleana turned outwards to the morning sunrise that peered in through the glass windows of the offices the group were conversing in and gestured with a slight wave to the outside. "Consider the possibility of us easing the tensions from us having to ask them to risk those Champions and trainers of yesteryear for that operation. Let them come to our stadium here in Wyndon, and say 'This is what passion from Alola looks like', or any other location, if you will."
"I think you got something there, Miss Chairman. We could even partner up with charities to make sure that-"
"Do you think that the cafes from Hoenn would be a nice fit-"
"I know a guy who was in the running to become the Champion in Hoenn, though we've yet to hear where they went to; perhaps we can-"
The whole room started to explode in discussion of possible events, business partners, sponsors, and promotions that could lead up to this idea that Oleana struck. She looked back on the whole room with a softness to her face that had begun to show more commonly than it used to a few years back. It was nice to have things stay on the up-and-up. Her phone had vibrated within her breast pocket. Taking it out and glancing at the screen, Oleana looked to the councilmen. "Excuse me for just a moment, everyone. I'll be back in 10."
Exiting the room, Oleana brought out her phone again and sighed contently. It was a message from Sam.
[Sam: Case may be wrapping up soon. I'm exhausted, but I'm hopeful things will be coming to a positive end for us soon. Having hard time sleeping but figured I would just say I hope things are going well there, Oleana.]
Her thumbs began to work their way on the screen, writing back to him earnestly.
[Oleana: When you do wrap this up, please let me know. I'll do what I can to help the media stay off your back for questions.]
[Sam: Why, are rumors starting to fly around about us? I'm sorry!]
She rolled her eyes for a second but laughed. His demeanor was almost too formal and assuming at times, but it never took away from his charm.
[Oleana: No you dope. But with you and the others having taken down Rocket finally you will be swarmed. Trust me, as someone who dealt with the fallout from Rose..]
[Sam: Right, I'm sorry I forgot dear.]
Oleana took a glance back to where she exited and held the phone to her chest, sighing for a moment before replying. Pulling a strand of her hair behind an ear, the small-talk kept going on until she returned to the office to continue discussion. Clasping her hands once again, she spoke with a slight boom to her voice.
"Okay everyone, how many of you are familiar with Mega Evolution?"
- - - - - Wyndon, downtown - - - - -
- - - - - Noon - - - - -
As Oleana spent late hours of the day toiling about those plans, one such gentleman found himself lumbering around while idly munching on a Pecha Berry. Wearing an oddly designed purple and white sweater, black jeans, black-and-purple boots with a 'X' shaped belt, he had his partner Pokemon, a Leafeon, following by his side. Having short black hair, and a tuft of hair on the front of his head that stuck upwards; one side being yellow, his eyes glanced down to the loyal Eeveelution by his side. "Y'know, Shinrin...may have to start importing from our hometown. Don't think the Pecha Berries here are nearly as good."
Kneeling down to Shinrin, he held out his hand with the fruit in hand. "I don't know, what do you think?" The grass based Eeveelution sniffed the berry, and was ready to take a bite to taste test it before her head looked behind him. Following her gaze, he noticed that his Ninetails had been lagging behind, trying to see if it could sneak off with something from a food stand.
"FEN! HEY!" he calls out, to which the multi-tailed fire fox zipped her head back in his direction like she wasn't just caught redhanded with her mouth gaping wide open; holding a pot of some herbs in her mouth. "Girl. Put it down. I wasn't-hey. HEY. Just... let it go. We aren't going to be bringing that with us, okay? I need to get relaxers for my arms, you know this."
The Pokemon kept her glare unblinking at him, setting it down slowly before sitting up straight with all nine of her tails swishing side to side. Walking over, he apologizes to the stand owner and picks it back up, handing it to them. "I'm sorry sir."
"Haha, think nothing of it! Seems your Ninetails is a bit of a rebel huh? I didn't even see her, and had you not caught her she would have made off with it..." the salesman replied back with a weak laugh. The trainer wasn't that impressed and was giving the stink eye to the Pokemon named 'Fen', to which she just looked away as if it wasn't her fault she got caught.
"Right, well anyways, thank you for being patient. C'mon Fen." gesturing with a handwave as Shinrin had almost scoffed audibly with a small bark at Fen. "Hey before you go..! You wouldn't happen to be a Pokemon trainer would you?"
He was uncertain how to answer that question, somewhat dodging an answer outright, while hiding part of his face's fresh scuff marks near his cheeks. It seemed he didn't want to keep his glance at the seller for too long directly, and appeared antsy to a degree despite his calm demeanor and reply. "Y-uh...these two are more like family rather than battle compatriots. Do I have that air about me or something?"
The gentleman had scratched his beard for a second, recalling a memory while browsing sports channels at home. "Jus' somethin' about the way you handled them reminded me of someone I recalled from overseas. I like watching international battles, and this person, hoo boy! They were a pretty good up-and-coming Champion in their own right, I think from Hoenn. Not sure..but it was a good one!"
Shinrin had looked back up to her master as he had gone stoic; one hand clenching into a fist. Hoping to make it relax before he said anything out of character, she nuzzled his hand. Looking down to her, he shook his head and just waved to the gentleman. "Nah..I'm no one special. But thanks for thinking I reminded you of someone."
As he walked away, one hand went to the back of his neck to scratch an area where it appeared to be bruised and sighed. /Not like that person exists anymore, anyways./
After they had walked off for a bit to the big courtyard at the epicenter of Wyndon, the man sat down with his two friend Pokemon as the Ninetails had behaved long enough to be within its view. For now. "Haru told me to hang around in hopes that the change of scenery would help things, but I guess old habits die hard, and that'd go for myself, hmm?"
Both of his friends whined a bit hearing that, with Shinrin putting its forefront paws on his knee. "Right, sorry. You two don't like it when I'm this nihilistic. I'll try to stop."
He got out his phone and looked through the list of contacts. Not many were there. A few passersby that he exchanged information when it came to locally coordinated Max Raids, and then there was Haru's. It had been a good long while since he received the help since it took awhile to acclimate to Galar's ways of training. Glancing off to the distance, he watched as a familiar girl wearing a blue vest, white Champion cap, short shorts and black-and-pink leggings with boots walked by in the distance. She had just looked up from her phone and waved down a few people who were near her; possibly fans.
/Wonder if that girl was a challenger../
- - - - - Somewhere in Spikemuth... - - - - -
Alongside the dark alleys where many Gym Challengers would face the Dark Gym Leader, a small group of seedy looking people had hid themselves away to have a meeting of the minds.
"Have you guys found out anything at all?"
"An address. Now we just need to hope that we can meet up with this small hero of ours and learn him a thing or two about colluding with those that cross paths with us!"
"We may have gotten our Pokemon back, but it still don't sit right that some get to move along without consequences."
"I don't get what was so special about her that he had to bring her along for such an important coupe in Kanto. If it weren't for him snooping around so aggressively, Luke wouldn't be in jail!"
"You sure that isn't on him? Idiot left a trail that he got tailed by someone who doesn't even live here."
"Hey, you shut your mouth! This is about makin' things equal. When the time is right, we'll pay him a 'visit', and for anyone that comes along the way will just simply be collateral damage."
"Are you guys done talking?"
"He's right. Let's move out before anyone gets suspicious. Just remember what we said, and things will go fine."
A few policemen had been patrolling near the same alley the unseen men had hid in, swore he 'felt someone watching', only to come across nothing when pointing a flashlight down the narrow walkway. /Must have been just a stray Pokemon.../ he figures.
- - - - - Hospital - - - - -
It had been a very long journey, and as much as it pained her to say goodbye to the friends she gained while being there, both Pokemon and human alike, Donna was finally dismissed. It turned out that the condition she had the whole time that Haru got a few whiffs of when the two had met, as one of his fans, was acute leukemia. It took what felt like an infinite number of frustrated evenings, innumerable hours of sleep, and many waves of depression while keeping on a strong face, but her mother was relieved when the day finally came to take her home.
While on the Corviknight ride to her home, the little red-wig girl poked her face out. "Mama do you think eventually I'll be able to become a Pokemon trainer like Haru said? Back at the library, when I was studying, he said so!"
Smiling at the girl's renewed enthusiasm as her conditions had significantly improved, her mom laughed. Pulling the girl onto her lap, the mom said "I think that if you want to become one, and if you do good until you're 12, I'll let you, how's that?". "YAY! I think I'll go with a Sobble for my starter! Maybe I'll get a chance to fight him one day, and he'll recognize me! But, but but but Mama! We also gotta go to his first match when he becomes a Gym Leader!"
"Dear he's already a Gym Leader, you know. Remember?"
The girl blinked at her mother, processing that reply. "Uhhhhhhhhhh yes! I remember! I mean when his Gym is done! It'll be so cool!"
/I know my daughter is so excited to finally have a piece of her life back with her conditions having subsided, but I wonder if he remembered us? A man like him probably meets an unnumerable count of fans every day. Sure, he recognized us that one time, but it's been so long since then. I don't want him to break her heart, nor I, to tell her that he's a very busy man who has his life to think of...but.../ Martha shook her head in thought while on the way back home. Donna's father would be asleep for the moment, as he had taken on a new position at working the Galar Trade Center; night shift would be brutal. But once he would eventually wake up he'd be relieved to see Donna back.
As the Corviknight-carried Air Taxi landed, the mother notices the mailbox had a small package near it, as well as the flag being down. "Mama we got a box! It's a big box!" Donna exclaimed, power walking to it and picking it up. It was almost as big as she was, yet light enough to carry. "Donna please, let me carry that. Who is it from anyway? I didn't order anyth-...huh?"
[FROM: Haru
Galar Steel Gym]
Donna's eyes widened while she read the label. "Mama it's a package from Haru! It's from Haru! Let's get inside and open it!"
Rushing in with an excitable child on one side of her as she grabbed the letters, and a bill, her mother opened the door. As a Munchlax waltzed around to greet them, Donna zoomed past it. "Mama hurry hurry!" Without waiting long, the already exasperated parent went and got some scissors to cut the box open delicately while her daughter watched. Inside what they both found made one fangirl very happy. Inside was an adult size Steel Gym uniform, and one for Donna specifically: having a sewn patch on the side in the form of a signature from him. A Steel Gym cap, and a letter containing 2 tickets.
The mother read out loud. " 'Dear Donna. I hope you do not hold it against me for taking so long to iron things out, but I will have you know that I did not forget my promise to you. While I did not know when my Gym, my 'secret project' that I told you about, would be ready, I never forgot that I wanted you to be one of the first people to see me when it opened. On the day that I premiere with my first battle, just simply present these tickets to the ticket booth, and you will be given V.I.P. seating. We can even socialize in between matches. I hope this package finds you and your mother, Martha, well, and that I get to see you again soon. Just make sure to keep track of any announcement made by myself or the Chairman Oleana, and I will see you at my battlefield. Oh, and make sure you bundle up too! It may be cold there since it will be not far from Circhester. Sincerely, Haru, the Steel Gym Leader.' Donna! Would you look at tha-"
"YAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy IMA BE A STEEL POKEMON TRAINER!"
Martha immediately went to shush the little girl who was hopping in place. "Donna, your father is sleeping!"
"oh! Right! Okay!" The girl inhaled and then whispered cutely. "yaaaaaaay~"
The father was woken up of course by the loud noises of a very excitable 6 year old girl, but once he found out the reason for it, he too couldn't help being happy for a bit. For the moment, that would be one household that gained a bit of extra sunshine in it. "I bet Haru is working very hard as we speak to make this happen!"
- - - - - Haru & Nessa's Home - - - - -
- - - - - That same moment - - - - -
Haru's face was leaned on the table lazily. "I'm doing really shitty and hating every minute of this..." complaining loudly, as Hop tossed a pen at him.
"OW! That hurt, damn it!" he comments, rubbing his forehead while his ice-based friend Nora twitched in his direction when she saw the flying writing tool land nearby. "Pay attention, we're almost through with this section, okay? Try to recall what the answer is, okay..?"
Haru sighs, and rubs his forehead. "It's an electric type mythical Pokemon...Zeraora. From what is gathered, it has no internal storage organ for electricity, so it channels magnetic fields through the electric currents emitted via its paw pads. Possible locations can be either Alola, or uhm...Fula City."
Hop looked at him with a neutral expression, as Haru sighed. "What, you want me to elaborate further, Hop?" with the purple haired friend of his nodding in agreement. Haru sighs and grumbles, trying to recall his recent studying. "OK uh...uh...strictly speaking of combat, dodging Zeraora is kind of a null point because one can still get electrocuted by its flying sparks. This is of course if you don't get torn limb by limb since it can approach its enemies at the speed of lightning." The Steel Gym Leader stretched his arms in a 'jazz hands' gesture. "Is that good enough?"
"Pokedex number." Hop ordered, looking at his notepad and then to Haru again. The redhead blinked, slightly annoyed.
"807."
"ALOLAN Pokedex number."
Haru felt a single vein in his forehead pulsate. "403."
Hop smirks and makes one last checkmark filled up while he stands up, stretching both arms. "Got it! Okay, let's take a break." Viewing where his friend had gotten up from the table, all Haru could do was rub one eye with some fatigue from all the book-reading. "You said that over an hour ago, so I assume you're just giving me mercy out of pity at this point."
"Hey, my friend, if you want to be properly educated enough to run and care for Pokemon in a sanctuary that you want to run/own, you gotta know as much as possible to be certified for the job. That way you can take the necessary tests, pass them-"
Gesturing dismissively with a wave while getting up, Haru looked away and knew what he wanted for snack. "Yeah, Hop I know, I was just being a bell end to mess with you."
The two friends went to his kitchen, with Haru pulling out a Razzberry Juice bottle, seeing Nora follow him with her flat tail wagging. Not even needing to understand the language of a Pokemon directly, he knew that she was hoping for something too. Pouring a glass for himself, and then getting a cup for Nora, Haru looks up at Hop. "You know speaking of, I had been struggling with what to come up with in terms of naming the place."
Taking his study glasses off, Hop looked to Haru, grinning. "Hmm? Oh yes, the sanctuary. Have you gotten any possible ideas you may stick to in the end?"
Helping Nora drink what he would pour for her, a hand kept grazing the back of Nora's ice blue fur. "One has been sticking to my mind for a bit. How do you feel on me calling it the 'LanaHiro Sanctuary'? It would be in honor of my mom, veteran caretaker of Pokemon as she has been all these years, and Hiro."
"Didja tell him that?" Nodding towards the tree that was now growing in the back of Haru's yard, Hop inquired with a smile. The humor was welcomed, with Haru shaking his had. "Nah, not yet. I'll tell him once I have it on a certificate. I think I'll surprise him. Oh! About Hiro..."
/"Do you know if there's an afterlife?"
"Pardon?"/
Getting up from Nora's eye level, Haru looked to his friend and took a sip of the drink he poured for himself. Tilting it back and exhaling on the aftertaste, his eyes closed studiously. "I think I have to confirm with you that the afterlife is a real thing."
Hop did a spittake, coughing a bit over himself and immediately going to wipe up his own shirt. "You WHAT mate?"
Being nonplussed on Hop's reaction to such an extremely random comment, Haru shook his head and straightened his own glasses. "You heard me. Now, don't read into it: I didn't have a near-death-experience or anything. But I did get a confirmation that Hiro is okay."
Hop seemed confused, but his entire attention was now on Haru's words alone. "...well...how'd you do it?"
Both of his shoulders raised and fell in a shrug, as Haru gave a side eye glance to Hop. "I don't know. I just know that one late evening I found myself at the very place where he resides now, and I got to finally apologize; say everything I had bottled up in me since his passing. There are moments where I feel awful, but being able to get one last bit off my chest was a much bigger deal than I thought it would be for my mental health. Maybe it was Arceus hearing my wish, maybe something else; I slept with a Lunar Wing from Cresselia so maybe that helped? I don't know."
Neither of them could get another word in edgewise as the door was heard being knocked on. Hop looked at Haru. "Did you order out while I wasn't looking, man?"
"Don't look at me, I'm not expecting any packages or food." Haru replied back, setting his drink down and going to the door. Looking through the peephole, he spots a familiar face and opens the door. Marnie was standing there with a small bag and looking fidgety. Pulling the door open, Haru smiled. "Hey Marnie! To what do I owe this visit?"
"Oy, Marnie's come to visit?" Hop called, to which garnered her reacting with a raised look of apprehension.
"Ah-ah! Uhm...yes, I wanted to drop by and give a housewarming gift since you moved into your new home with Nessa. Here!" handing Haru a small bag of baked goods inside. She looks at Hop with her usual standoff-ish, cold expression and then looked to the side. "I uh...made some extra Hop. You can have some too if you want."
Taking a bite out of one of the baked wafers Marnie brought, Haru pointed a palm towards inside the home. "C'mon in then, Marnie. I apologize for the lack of a full decor, but we're working on it. Nessa isn't here either, she went to do some errands with her mom, Tilia, and then something about the fishing she's been doing too...so it's a busy day for her."
"N-no, I'm fine. I just wanted to drop on by. I'm busy. Hop, remember what you said the other day okay?" the pint size girl said, pointing to him. It takes Hop a few seconds to register what she recalled, and then put a fist in a flattened hand. "Right! Got it. I'll let you know. Be safe out there oka-huh?"
Without even thinking Marnie had walked forward and pulled onto his collar, patting on his shirt and lightly swatting away some dust. She was huffing. "You're always getting messy and unkept. Honestly, without me around you'd just end up looking like the typical professor in movies! You've got to take better care of yourself, and if you're going to eventually represent us you should do better okay?"
"Right. My bad." He replied as Marnie walked off. Haru bids her farewell and then shuts the door slowly. Eyeing his bubbly academic study buddy, Haru's eyes narrowed intensely, causing Hop to sweat a little. "Uh...what?"
Haru pursed his lips together. "What in the Slumbering Weald was that?"
"What was what?" Hop kept his glance at Haru as his friend walked forward, as Nora matched her master's expression as best as she could for a Glaceon. "You and Marnie. What is this 'promise' she alluded to and why is she so familiar with you like that?".
Putting up his arms and not wanting to deter too far from what purpose he was there for, Hop looked back at the table. "I promised to help her come up with possible team match-ups later today. Sure, it'll forego some research I'm doing with Sonia and someone named 'Willow', but it's for a friend you know? What other reason would I need?"
Just as before, Haru and his Pokemon kept the same intense, unsure face expressions as Hop gave his supposed reasoning. "Hop, you're telling me a girl asked you to come over for a study session at her place? Someone who you've known for a good long while?"
"Yeah...?"
/Okay, maybe he and Leon are more alike than I initially thought.../ Sighing after finishing his own drink, Haru walked to the table and sat back down with the bag of goodies near his chair. "Let's just go back to the books, man. I'd like to finish up that section we were on earlier."
"Right." Hop joined him, and saw that Nora had gotten up on the table looking at him in the same manner that Haru was just seconds ago. "What?"
Snapping his fingers in front of the table, Hop's attention is brought back. "She doesn't believe you either, but that's besides the point, my brother. Hit me with another trivia for memory sake okay? C'mon.I need to be able to start reciting this at any given moment for any situation..."
The study session went long, arduous, and was successful. Feeling his own mind swell up with new knowledge that may prove one day to be useful for caretaking in a sanctuary, Haru waves farewell to Hop. His phone vibrates, and upon bringing it out his eyes widen. It was from a friend he hadn't heard from in awhile and was quite pleased to see a message from.
Instead of texting back, Haru walked to the living room where Nora followed and Leafa the Tsareena appeared; ready to help Haru paint and having brought out some of the newly acquired tools Nessa and him purchased. The 'speaker' function was enabled, and the ringtone was heard twice beeping.
*click*
"Hello..?"
"Hey Sevan. It's been a bit."
It was the same gentleman that was seen earlier with the mischievous Ninetails and Leafeon outdoors. It appeared that he was being called in the middle of washing his face back at his abode and turned off the faucet after hearing the voice of Haru on the other end. "Oh, hey. It HAS been a bit. I wasn't sure if I would hear back from you Haru."
Glancing over to a photo Haru had up of himself with his first Max Raid he ever did, there were a few other trainers right alongside him. Next to him in the photo was the man on the phone, a trainer named Sevan who had short black hair with one part feathered outward and upward like an arrowhead; part black and golden blonde. "I just got a chance to read your message from earlier. Was studying about a lot of Pokemon today and I'm pre~tty sure that my partner is going to get a little chummy with someone who came over earlier. But hey, that doesn't matter currently! How have you been?"
Sevan looks down to his companion Pokemon, Shinrin, before walking past the personal 'gym' room, back to the living room. There, he saw his Pidgeot, Chōrui, sat perched on top of the couch. In one corner sat the usually mischievous Ninetails, Fen, who was napping. "You know I can't follow what you mean saying that out of the blue, but how's the studying going?"
Responding in kind, as well as forgetting he hasn't kept Sevan up to date on several things, Haru puts a palm to his forehead. "Don't worry too much on it. Just know one day I'm going to be a Gym Leader and a caretaker kinda like my mom. As far as studies go, it's been okay. I have some free time that's come up, and I may need some help to paint my home interior."
He looks at Leafa, who fidgets upon hearing this. Sevan hears him away from the phone receiver "No no, not that you aren't enough, I just haven't seen him in a bit you know?"
Sevan snickered a bit and gave a smug expression even though Haru wouldn't be able to visually see it, though the tone came through all the same. "I assume it's because im taller than both you and Nessa. Whelp, as long as its no ladders I'm in. I'll bring Shinrin too, just hope Fen does not burn my house down."
That last line caught Haru's attention with a slight sweatdrop.
"Uhh...?"
"Don't worry about it. I try not to...too much."
"Right. Well you're not wrong on the height part, but you'd do right to remember I have Mirukon. Then again I guess he's busy being an Egg Daddy. Is your left ear okay? Ever since finding out you were there when the incident at Wyndon happened I've been feeling bad asking but...y'know. I gotta know." He goes and pats Leafa on the head while Nora comes back with some gloves.
Holding his freehand up and snapping his fingers, Sevan attempts to test what Haru was saying. In a second, he responds albeit in a slight morose, yet lighthearted tone that wanted to just forget it happened. "When I snap my fingers as loud as I can, I can hear something, but that's about it. Wait, did you say 'Egg Daddy'...?"
Haru was heard snickering a bit before eyeing Masako. The Gardevoir had been outside monitoring the egg while Mirukon was by her side. She had been trying to get Mirukon to better acclimate to the new location, and was seen being by his side a lot more often nowadays than before. "Yeah. Turns out my Lucario and Gardevoir became parents and I bumped into their Egg one early morning before I was going to head out. Sorry: they will become parents."
Sevan pulled his phone away, blinked at it, looked at Shinrin who blinked back at him silently before he held the phone back up to his good ear. "Strange pairing but who am I to judge? Also did they just leave the egg laying around in your house?"
Replying flatly, Haru confirms. "Yes. They were really bad at hiding it."
That was all Sevan needed to hear as he got up and looked at the Ninetails. "Let me clean up a bit and ill head over if you need me as soon as possible."
"I'd appreciate it, thanks Sevan. See you soon. I'll send you my new home address to give to the Air Taxi Cabbie. Adieu." Haru gave a farewell and put an idle hand on the back of his neck. There were so many things he had to monitor in the upcoming few months, possibly years, and despite the new routine of long hours of studying it appeared things had lightened up for him. The world was a little less ice cold when it came to one Steel Gym Leader.
- - - - - Circhester, Hotel Ionia - - - - -
- - - - - Near The Courtyard Entrance - - - - -
/I should just head off, honestly. I figured she would be here by now./
Gordie looked around while wearing a more casual than usual jacket, with his glasses tilted downward as if to get a different view of the area around him. He had set up to meet his mom there to have a sit-down and start talking things out, though to say he would be getting 'cold feet' would be both ironic and a bit meta. Briefly eyeing his watch and waving to some fans who walk by, Gordie tapped his foot briefly.
"Gordie...! Hey.." came the low tone of the one he hadn't spoken to in person so cordially outside of the business endeavors they both had to endure. It was a weird sensation to be physically in her presence on mutual terms for them both. Inside his mind, Gordie wanted to walk away within seconds, but he stayed locked in place looking right back at her. The tension was felt the instant the two of them locked eyes.
Silence befell Gordie, and Melony didn't press him to speak until he felt he was capable of doing so without it resulting in another fight. Using a hand to try and calm the other's twitch that he would sometimes get due to anxiety, he took a few deep breaths. "Okay...h-hi, Mom."
"Hello, Gordie."
Another awkward bit of silence between them. She looks to him and stays her distance by a few meters. "I know this is hard, but I'm thankful you didn't walk off."
"I'm fighting the urge to do it right now. I wanna leave so badly but...we've been at this for so long that..." Gordie shook both hands a little as if getting pre-stage jitters for a play. "...that I just want to start resolving this so we don't have to act so distant. So, let's start by walking."
"Walking?" She asked, with a slight, worried tilt of the head. She saw him nodding in kind, and respond in saying "If I can go on a walk with you and talk without making a sprint for it, we'll have made progress together." He finally turned to look her in the eyes without averting his gaze and took another deep breath. "There's some things I've been holding back as it is, and perhaps I can get them off my chest here."
It felt like it took all of their combined strength just to get here, and now with the Rock and Ice Gym Leaders having met up together on equal terms, only Arceus knew where this would lead up. "I'm...sorry. For starting the argument back then. There were a lot of things that I generally said to you that I'm no longer proud of, and I don't want to stand by them anymore. You were right to bring up the whole situation about what occured with Syra and that it reminded you of our own rift."
The mother with a known ice cold training regiment over the Gym nodded, speaking as openly as she could for the first time to him in a long time. "When I look back at the things I was saying that pushed you to the edge, all I can think about is how much I want to take that time back. Gordie, I don't mind anymore that you want to be a Rock Gym Leader type, or that you have your own goals in mind. Whether you did this out of spite, or with a true goal in mind, I'm still proud of where you've gone."
Sinking his head with a cloud of guilt hanging over him, Gordie frowned. "Back then when it happened, I did it in a way of 'This'll show her that I can manage this', and that 'I don't have to be an Ice Trainer' as if that was a proper enough reason. You were just doing what you thought was right. In the end, I should have reflected on that sooner."
"No, Gordie, you're wrong." She spoke, which caused him to stop in his tracks as she had stopped walking altogether now. "I went too far. There is such a thing as overstepping one's boundaries, and as a parent, that was something I am very guilty over doing. You know how your siblings look up to you, and in my own haste, the two of us lashed out due to ideology differences."
Hearing her apologize directly for her actions of the past that led him down to the way he reacted long ago was a shock he didn't count on hearing. "Wait...really?"
Melony nodded as her big ice-colored hair was pushed aside from her own cheek due to the cold winds of Circhester blowing by them. "I pushed you too far and too hard. It may not be the path I set out for you to take, but for better or worse, you did become quite a gentleman. You're a fantastic young adult that your father and I are very proud of, you know."
The guilt from earlier had begun to leave, but with how much Melony was telling him all this, Gordie felt the need to confess something back. He took to leaning against a nearby sign that had an advertising graphic on it and let one arm rest near his side. "There's a part of me that had worried for a long while that I wasn't living up to your expectations. Even though I am the rank of Gym Leader that I am for the Sword Challenge, there's so many things I felt that maybe it was disappointing for you to consider about me."
The mood now went to confusion in the wake of such words. Melony shook her head and took a step forward to Gordie. "Pardon me, but you've lost me. How could you think I would be disappointed in you or your accomplishments? Just because we had that fight, that doesn't mean I don't love you."
"Well...look at me. I should be thinking about getting a girlfriend about this point, shouldn't I? But here I am, just continuing to be a figure for the people of Circhester like I got no time for anything serious. People at one point see that sort of lifestyle in someone and think one has committal issues right? Or that they just 'can't get anyone'. It's the same for women, too, but I'm just...I wanna focus on me." Gordie began to confess this while taking off his iconic glasses and letting it rest on his forehead. "At my point in life, I should have, you know, given you a grandchild. But I haven't...isn't that sad?" It felt shameful to admit, but it was a very real fear of his own. He was the first of the bloodline in the family of children she mothered, and yet without a relationship currently in sight, Gordie had insecurities like this too.
Melony took a step forward with the intention to hug him, but Gordie froze up. Both his hands went up defensively. She kept her distance, but then took another step. "Please don't apologize. Even knowing this, you have never once disappointed me."
It sounded like blasphemy to his ears: he disrespected his own mother to the point he willingly chose to ignore her at every chance he could and pretend she didn't exist. How could she say to him so casually he had not once disappointed her? "Not even once...? But how...? That doesn't make sense!"
Strange as it may have been to hear such an alien concept such as forgiveness, Gordie's rock hard of a defense around Melony started to get broken up. While having said all this in frustration, it was genuine confusion. How could she love him and forgive him for what he'd done for so long? A single tear came down his cheek as he spoke up again. "I don't understand.."
"You don't have to, Gordie. I'm your mom. It's kind of what we do as parents you know? And as much as we both had our problems...I'm willing to admit I was wrong. I'm sorry, Gordie. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" She asked, still keeping her distance.
Gordie quickly put his glasses back down, shielding the oncoming budding tear on the end of both of his eyes, and looked away. "I don't understand, Mom, I fucked up."
She persisted in her own understanding. "I know, we both did."
Gordie started to relent, and Melony heard his voice weaken. "I don't understand...I can't understand.."
Instinct took over without asking as Melony embraced Gordie for the first time in what felt like centuries. At the time that Gordie felt his mom hug him, and his guard went down completely, a conversation from his past came back when he spoke to Piers during the post-Championship Tournament dinner.
/ - - - The Post Championship Tournament Dinner - - -
Piers looked at Gordie after hearing his thoughts on the recent matter, as Melony was out of earshot and hearing him on his thoughts. "Look, I'm not saying it's easy. Arceus knows that I've been tested more than I'd like to be tested, and Marnie is my little sister so I can't relate on the parent angle for this, Gord'. But she's the only family I got, so I do whatever I can to suck up the pains and make sure I can be there for her...even though it's quite clear she doesn't need me. Still, I'll be there for her if she ever needed me."
Looking at his dinner plate, Gordie had funneled a bit of curry in his mouth and pondered those words. "You're saying that my Mom would still need me? But it should be the other way around, shouldn't it?"
Shrugging impassively, the musician-turned-Gym-Leader smirked. "Family is family Gordie. You can have all the fan numbers you want, and that's something we both can relate to, but it is nothing in the company of your friends and family. They're what matters most. You don't even have to resolve this whole thing overnight; a simple chinwag isn't enough to do all that you know?"
A small smile crept on Gordie's side of his mouth, and patted Piers' shoulder. "Yeah, I think I got it. Thanks Piers."
Even though Piers kept a nearly permanent fatigued expression, Gordie could tell his friend gained some extra life in his eyes just by hearing that alone. "Just do your best to not be cheeky with her next time, and bob's your uncle, okay?"/
As the words of the past came back to him, the son of Melony who walked around with a hardened heart due to their conflict began to finally soften up. While the two hugged for a bit and would still have a long way to go, the town of Circhester felt a little less cold with their rivalry coming to an end.
- - - - - Northern Hulbury. . . - - - - -
Quick to let Haru know that he would be on his way, the man from Hoenn, Sevan, made his trek to Haru's new home. Since he hadn't been to Haru's old home it took a little bit for him to get used to the environment and to ask help on how to get to 'these directions Haru texted me' without giving away to any passersby.
"Last thing Haru needs are random fans showing up to his place, so I don't think anyone will catch where I was going, right Shinrin?" He thought out loud, looking down as the Leafeon by his side looked back up at him. It said nothing but he could sense what she said back to her master; the noncommunicative relationship between Pokemon trainer and its master 'translating' everything back. "Good, I think so too."
- - - Haru & Nessa's home - - -
Nora is there wagging her flat tail nearby as Shinrin was hanging out right by her side. The new place being completely alien to the grass Eeveelution was one thing but at least her buddy was there too. At the same time that Shinrin was keeping her company, Nora was helping Haru move tools between spaces within the home to set one such room up for a new color.
Looking around as he made sure the tape and poles were set up in the room, and saw as Nora ran back out of the room to then come back with a bottle of tea in her mouth, Haru smiled. "Thanks, girl." He said, scratching the underside of her chin and poking his head around the corner from within the room. "Sevan you didn't fall in the toilet did you?"
The sound of a door was heard shutting after the faucet ran for about a minute, as Sevan walked in while having a towel in hand. "You try taking your Eyes off Fen for a few minutes in town and see how long it takes you to make sure she didn't grab anything and hide it. Had to carry her out of town, and there were no Air Taxis available so Shin and I had to go on foot here. Is there some kind of event going on? "
As Haru heard him come in, and handed a mask for him to wear the comment about no Air Taxi he looked down. Sevan raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Was it something I said?"
"I was caught up in the 'no Air Taxi' bit. I guess they were all in the middle of transporting others or something...because it's not often they're not in use. They're usually really fast around here. In any case, I'll make sure you get home safe." Haru tilted his glasses up before putting on some safety goggles and kept his look of confusion. "Still...that you had to walk here. Hmm...well I don't think there's an event; the communication between us within the League is pretty concise so if there is such a thing, Olea-, er, Miss Chairman would have informed me."
The intense scent of the room with the paint supplies caused Nora to not stay long, with Sevan nodding to Shinrin. "Go on and play with Nora, girl. We're gonna be here for awhile okay?" his eyes looked to his friend as he put on his own goggles. "Maybe there's something being set up that doesn't involve the Gym Leaders?"
Haru shook his head but then gave an impassive shrug, looking back. "Not likely, but I'm sure I'll be told about it anyways, because it's not like my Gym's completion is that far off. Give or take a few years and it'll be done. I'll have to think of something fantastic to christen the event!"
Kneeling down and taking a glance at the color of the paint bucket, Sevan gave a small snicker before his head turned back upwards to Haru. "What's so amusing?" the Steel Leader asked, as Sevan pointed with a finger to the label. "I'm personally a Little bias to frost, but you really picked this color huh? "
"Huh? What's wrong with aqua blue? It's a pretty color. It'll bring in the life here much more than this..." Gesturing with a sweeping motion with the paintroller in hand, Haru looked at the walls, and then Sevan again. "...beige. Feels so ugly and retro. Like I'm living in one of those old homes in Ecruteak City visiting grandparents, or moved into the Tin Tower!"
Looking back up at Haru, Sevan figured his comment's true purpose eluded him and gave a snarky reply. "Nothing is wrong with blue, but to think you picked one that was a color that's in Nessa's hair, hmm."
Suddenly a flush of red spread across Haru's cheeks. Even unconsciously his brain had somehow picked out this specific hue of blue. "...huh." He looks at it for a second, then shrugs impassively "A-N-Y ways. I thought this was a good color for the office. It's a soothing color to me. But enough on me! With you having come around it's refreshing to see an old face. For a bit you sorta...you know. It felt like you dropped off the planet or something. I was beginning to wonder if I'd hear back."
Quietly beginning to help Haru in painting without wasting time on just puns or callouts, Sevan thought about his answer before replying. "Yeah...about that...it seems my phone has issues connecting from Hoenn. While I'm here I may have to update to the Rotom Phone you guys use...but I've just been kind of distracted." standing back up removing his sweater and putting on gloves; doing his best to hide his knuckles.
"So you ARE doing things here and aren't inviting me! You sly Nikkit, you're finding shinies in raids, aren't you?" Pointing with a free gloved hand, Haru gave a smug expression. However Sevan couldn't look Haru in the eyes and just went back to assisting with painting. "Sure, let's go with that, then."
He had joked but the idea that the blue he chose was the same blue Nessa had in her hair was pretty on point. For now, it didn't matter, so Haru kept on topic without poking with another joke "Okay that's fair. I was just curious. I had figured that there was NO WAY you had lost interest in raiding that fast, right? You know I could help you fill out your Pokedex; even if I'm the ex-Champ who was known for not bothering to fill his own up."
A vein in Sevan's forehead was seen slightly throbbing, having to step back from the wall. He faked the reaction to the words 'Ex-Champ' by pretending he lost his balance and rolled his shoulders. "Okay, so...there's a few Pokemon here that have my interest, but whats stopping me is the time I spend in Hoenn. I haven't asked around what the specific restrictions of Pokemon being brought here is so..."
Haru rubs the back of his neck and put down the roller for a moment to get his drink. Of what little he knew about the restrictions, it was a topic that was brought up commonly and had only intensified after the capture of Team Rocket. "The Chairman is working on that by talking to the 'right people'. As of yet, we've recently been given the okay to allow for more, although the conversation has begun to stretch even those regulations. My friend Sam, for example, wouldn't have been able to track down and pin the culprit of the man who took my buddies away from me if it weren't for his Feraligatr...so there's that."
It appeared the discussion got Sevan to lower his tone a bit more, as if speaking with an internal wall. "I know it will take time, but for now I don't want to subject anymore Pokemon to me being gone for a few weeks or months now and then. They deserve a better master, and it wouldn't be fair to the- " looks down to his Leafeon interrupting him rubbing her ear on his leg and his tone comes back to normal " Shin, did you sense something? I see...go find Nora again okay? I'm sure you two need to talk and play. Also go see if you can't find that 'Egg Daddy' Haru mentioned earlier."
Not exactly irritated or amused, Haru looked over where Sevan was opposite of his position in the room. "His name is Mirukon. Currently he and Masako are outside trying to not be as anxious due to the move. But back to what you said? I completely get what you mean. Still, you could let me know if anything is up, man. I apologize for being so busy, but with the word officially out there you know why."
Sevan went over to his bag for a moment to get a Pecha Berry out to snack on. "I thought the title was funny, so I went with it."
The two would continue painting with some periods of silence in between before Haru brought up another topic to try and brighten the mood. "It's a bit of ways off, but you're invited to come by the Gym when it's finished."
His friend didn't look back while replying. "You know I'll be there, and who knows? I may be the first trainer you have to fend off. Fen has been practicing something but won't show me. Thanks to that, I've been using the hose and filling buckets with water." Haru didn't see his expression but got the idea he was speaking with a pained expression. "If i didn't have Shin around, I don't think anything could grow in that scorched Earth." Rolling the paint on the wall with pressure causing the Pole he's using to bend as if it were a dicing knife.
Haru turned around and leaned against a part of the wall that didn't have fresh paint on it to look back at Sevan. "So, with that being said are you enjoying the locale? I know some really good places to eat, and if you're up for sightseeing I know a few people.."
Now rolling the paint back up with the same curve on the pole, he eyed Haru with a stink eye expression not necessarily for him, but for something Galar-exclusive. "Well, you know my opinion on the Pecha Berries grown here, and I haven't found a decent fish sandwich. Galarian 'chips' as you call them are pretty good, but I can't call them a meal though "
Haru brings out his phone and pressed the 'speech to text' function while having a notepad app up. " 'Have Sevan try fish from Hulbury'. I'll have to ask Nessa for assistance with that one there." Giving a wide smile in anticipation. "Anything else I should be taking into account?"
Readjusting the goggles on his face, Sevan pauses for a moment "I don't think so, but I'm not going to say no if you want to take me somewhere. I'm not as bad as you've said Leon is but I do get lost all the same."
They both let out a few laughs together, with Haru going back to work. "I know our place is big, but I guess it really would mess with the uninitiated. Is it because we travel a lot more by air here than by boat? Either way don't worry. Maybe you'll-"
Haru's phone goes off and once he pulls it out of his pocket, his expression turns to one of pleasantly surprised.
[Syra: Hey just letting you know, after my colossal fuck up I've managed to hit up with Bea. I'll be doing that in a bit.]
"Huh...well that's good to hear..." He muttered to himself before replying
[Haru: Just remember to keep chill, Syra. Pretty sure you'll be fine either way.]
Unable to control his being nosey after his ear twitches hearing Haru's phone go off, Sevan looked over "What's good to hear?"
The phone would be put away almost immediately after sending the text, and Haru looked over. "Ah...not sure if you keep up with current events but I'm friends with a Gym Challenger; Syra. She just texted me she was gonna hang out with one of the other Gym Leaders for a bit."
- - - - - The Wild Area, Lake of Outrage - - - - -
As the Fighting Gym Leader looked to the ex-Gym-Challenger that sat next to her, she knew that today was going to bring with it some tensions. The words echoed back to Syra like it was the most powerful stabbing based Pokemon attack. Balling up her hands into fists as both her and Bea were sitting on the cliffside overlooking the entrance to Hammerlocke, Syra hung her head. "Of course...I saw this coming a mile away." She said quietly while biting her lip.
Bea looked over to the girl with long velvet hair and frowned. Doing her best to stay as comforting as she could be in such a complex situation, Bea absentmindedly messed with one of her wrappings on a wrist. "Syra, it's not that I don't like you or that this was something wrong you did one way or another. But I would like us to have something going on first before any such decision were to be made. I apologize if this isn't the answer you were seeking, but you must know that I also don't want to lie to you either."
Tears began to bud at the corners of Syra's eyes but she held on a strong face. "I'm sorry, too. Until Haru came along I haven't been that good at learning how to socialize with other people or know how to be 'normal'. My brother is the only real person I've ever really been sociable with and..." she sniffed and shook her head before continuing. "I'm trying my best to figure out things about myself, and I just...I just acted. I don't want to be impulsive like that anymore, and now that it involved another person I risked making something worse again. It doesn't mean much but, I really do think you're absolutely beautiful in every way possible. When we were alone together, my body reacted." She put both hands into her eyes and rubbed them. "It was wrong of me to force myself onto you in such a spot."
Bea had to think about how to approach the rest of this conversation as delicately as possible considering what she had just brought to Syra's attention. Thinking on it overnight helped clear her head, and felt now would be appropriate to say as much. "I want you to know that despite getting kissed I didn't dislike it either. Even if I can't reflect back my feelings to you, that doesn't mean I don't want you to be honest with me."
"Y...you don't? But doesn't that make it weird and difficult for you?" Syra asked, looking back as Bea shook her head and smiled as she raised her face to the taller girl of the two.
"I've been reading up on everything that's been going on with you ever since that day at the Pokemon League Tournament. You may have put this together yourself but I'm not someone that easily lets others see my true feelings, so I can understand your perspective." Bea looked to the side as she slowly had an annoyed look. "For some reason people seem to make it a gamble if they can see me smile like it's some consolation prize."
"They think you're cute, like I do." Syra said bluntly, trying to pep herself back up despite the topic. Seeming to not truly get what she does that's 'cute', Bea continued. "You say that, but you're more womanly than I am. Still, when I think of us two and our own experiences together, I see you for what you are. I want you to know that even though I can't say I know what it's like, that I know how much courage it's taking to stand up for yourself and start over. To know that so many people look at you at one way while you want to still stay true to yourself: it's a struggle." Bea got up from having her legs dangle over the side of the cliff until she was on her knees and gave Syra a hug to the side.
The two girls were embraced with Syra's face over her shoulder as her hat fell off from a slight gust of wind. "Syra, look. You probably don't have any female friends that you can rely on or talk to about things that another girl could understand right? We've traded blows, had some snacks, and gotten to know each other as well as we have so far. After doing all that, do you have so little faith in me that I would just up and say 'Hey go away because I'm not like that'? No. I'm not saying I can't feel for you later, but now I can tell...you need someone to confide in just a bit differently than others, right? As the Bea you know now, I can at least do this much." She had relaxed her legs and changed position so that she would meet face to face with Syra while carrying a wide smile.
What Bea had said to Syra was true. Perhaps she was reacting in a rebound-like manner after coming off the emotional turmoil she endured. There may have been something that had clouded her own judgment and left her to think that it would be 'that easy'.
/Haru was right...it wasn't going to be as bad as I had worried it would be./ Syra thought to herself. The last few recent months had still been weighing heavy on her mind, and with the exception of Haru there wasn't really anyone she could talk to comfortably. There was no way she could completely have a true understanding of some things with her Mom, so perhaps opening a closer friendship with Bea would be the best thing.
"I'm sorry I was so selfish..." Syra's eyes began to water again. Feeling embarrassed, she hid her face with her top to dry her eyes again. In response, Bea just gave an arm around Syra and then chose to sit next to her side. "No, just take your time, Syra. There's no rush to anything okay? You may have a hard exterior who can handle my punches and kicks well, but I love this soft side of you."
The big situation that Syra was worried would be a colossal issue was already blowing over. Even as it wasn't the way how she saw it would go with Bea, Syra was comforted in knowing she hadn't scared the Fighting Gym Leader away by doing something so sudden. It showed her the true feelings behind Syra and for now, it helped the two begin to open up to each other. The one named Bea finally got a proper sparring partner, and Syra gained another close friend.
Bea looked at Syra while handing the hat back that had fallen off. "Hey, did you eat yet by the way? It's a cheat day for me so..." Syra's vibrant magenta eyes looked back with a bit of surprise but laughed a little weakly. "I did...but Mom didn't make enough breakfast to satisfy me for too long." Taking her hat back and putting it on straight, she got up with the silver haired Femme Fatale of Fisticuffs and gestured with her thumb back to the Hammerlocke entrance. "I trust you have a good place in mind nearby?"
"Nope! It's back in Stow-On-Side. Though you wanna work for it?" Bea hopped to her feet and started stretching her legs while rotating her shoulders forward. Pointing towards the entrance herself alongside Syra, Bea grinned. "On foot. You know where the outdoor food stalls are at in my hometown? Let's meet there."
"Last one there is a Bold Natured Growlithe!" Syra shouts, sprinting down the hill while readying her phone for the aqua-bicycle mode. She hears Bea shout "I'm a Fighting Gym Leader, what does that even mean?!". The girls laugh a bit, with Syra just looking behind her and flashing a confident smirk. "If you win I'll tell you then!"
As Syra and Bea's outing had been in the perfect Galarian weather, Syra's own mind no longer had any clouds. She was able to now move on once again.
- - - - - Turffield - - - - -
It hit the middle of the day, but things weren't going smoothly everywhere. Haru had mentioned earlier to Sevan that she was simply doing some errands; it being that she was bringing some locally gutted fish from Hulbury. Of the several places to be trading between locations within Galar, Turffield had only recently begun increasing its supply of more locally owned foods. It appeared through a few commercials from she starred in that the interest of Hulbury foods began to see a boom from other areas. Whether people were making the trek to Hulbury was one thing, but places like Circhester, Wyndon, and Turffield were now asking for an increase of goods.
/Orders have been on the rise thankfully, and I know my dad couldn't be happier...but from Turffield? Wonder if Milo had anything to do with it, or maybe people actually cared. This is the first time his town bothered to show a slim bit of interest. Is he mocking me? I have to find out. There's no way those orders I saw were genuine../
A familiar Raging Wave had been making her way to Turffield, sporting her casual black colored newsboy cap and off-shoulder sweater. Despite her calm, fashionable look, everywhere she walked left a loud, intense aura. Nessa had a pensive glare that didn't leave her face. She pondered the whole ordeal while tilting her sunglasses downward at a near passersby on the bridge connecting from a Pokemon Nursery to Turffield. "Excuse me, may I ask if you've seen Milo?"
The gentleman wearing a shirt with a Zapdos logo on it points behind himself and the tall stone pillars in the ground that were seen in the distance. "Ah, Nessa! The Water Gym Leader. I believe I saw him in the fields behind his gym with the Wooloo. You can't miss 'im."
She brought her sunglasses up to her eyes again and huffed silently. "Thank you." /Time to get some answers./
- - - Turffield: Behind the Gym - - -
A bunch of Wooloo were heard calling out to each other while in the middle of eating while one had been rolled back into place while Milo got them back together. "Look, I know you've been feeling antsy and want to roam a bit more freely but you've been naughty. I can't have that unless you-"
"Milo." came the loud volume, but concentrated call of Nessa from the side. She had her arms folded in place, staring him down while on a slightly raised hill near where he was farming. Looking in her direction and nodding his straw hat towards her once, Milo then going back as if nothing happened. "To what do I owe the pleasure today, Nessa? Have you come for a rematch? It'll have to wait, I'm afraid."
Her eyes narrow as she walked a little closer by a few meters. "I want to ask you what Turffield is doing sending in a big order to Hulbury for fish? You know, the same fish that I myself caught."
Wiping the sweat off his brow with his burly sized forearm, Milo paid no attention to the venom undercutting her tone as he started to get some feed together for the Wooloo. "Oh? Was it not to your liking? I would have ordered more personally, but funding as of late had to be stretched for some local activities we'll be doing here. I'm helping another farmer here help set up a hayride for the kids: figure that may attract some people to try out the Gym Challenge on the next go-round."
The answer didn't seem to be a good response, or at least wasn't what Nessa was fishing to hear back. "You may be saying that of course, but I know what's on your mind."
Milo was heard sighing and taking off his hat to run a gloved hand through his pastel colored hair. "If you're here for the tournament then let's wait then, okay?"
She felt a sweatdrop slide down her left side of her face. "I'm always up for a fi-wait a damn minute, WHAT TOURNAMENT?"
He turned to her and finally looked her in the face while keeping a poker expression. "A few minutes ago, Miss Chairman has sent us all a message to start getting ready for an exhibition tournament that will involve several of the regions coming together in our own olympics-style competition. The starting match is being decided, as we are in the pre-planning stages of course, but I've signed up personally. That means you'll want to fight me, right?"
The words were unable to be formed in her mouth but to a degree, he was correct. But to know that a new tournament had started to form, and that he was competing in it? How could she turn down such an idea? "W-wait. Are you saying you actually bought Hulbury Goods in genuine faith, and then say this!" she threw a slightly shaky pointed finger at him. "YOU WERE waiting for this opportunity just to get back at me! I knew it! Just you wait, you're going to be the one who-"
Nessa was suddenly hit by a huge wave of flashbacks while in the middle of saying this and had frozen on the spot. For some reason she began to think back at her own past and all the naysayers.
/"So she's very competitive and the rumors on her league card say her Gym is hectic behind the scenes. Do you think that's true?"
"Whatever. She's hot and that's all the matters. Bet she didn't even reach that spot of #2 legitimately."
"Hey that's rude to imply! Then again she's a model so doesn't that thing commonly happen?"
"Pft. She's a model and a Gym Leader and has the audacity to talk to us citizens about struggles? What, just because she's a little darker than us? Please."
"And it's over! Nessa suffers yet ANOTHER LOSS!"
"Exactly how high you'll reach...is up to you. Don't you agree?"
"Nessa! Hello, Kaitlin from Monthly Motostoke Report. With what's been going on, aren't you worried your relationship has made you weak?"
"Should you still be a gym leader in this condition, and if so is this going to hinder your ability to make sure others are safe?"
"...and I will win today's match!"/
"Look, Nessa I get it. It's okay." Milo waved his hand a bit with a weak laugh as Nessa seemed to have gotten slightly caught up in trying to speak audibly. She shook her head as if to bring herself mentally back to the present while huffing quietly to calm herself down.
He smiled and then looked back while putting his hat back on. "I hope our match will be just as good as the last one! I've got no doubt about it!"
Her calmness was shortlived. The very phrase he just spoke pushed her 'berserk button' and she grit her teeth. Freezing in place and both hands going to her sides into fists. "What did you just say...?"
He didn't seem to hear her clearly. "Huh?"
"YOU! You're ALWAYS like this! Ever since we met, from the Gym Challenge to Gym Leaders you're ALWAYS like this! You say things like 'good match' and 'I hope it's fun like last time' without saying what that means to other people! Do you thrive off of doing this over the years to me?!"
Her tone had heightened where she was audibly shook. He was taken back and put his hands up in a guard. "Hey wait-"
"NO! You're going to stand there and listen to what I have to say! YOU, Milo, even you! You may not say it but be honest that you look down at me! You think it's easy being me? Sure I may stand out in popularity, but that doesn't mean jack shit when the only other thing people have remembered about me for in the past is...is that I. KEEP. LOSING. to you!"
Tears began to bud at the corners of her eyelids while a few people in earshot began to turn their heads at the loud volume coming from where Milo was standing.
"Grass beats Water, Ice beats Grass, Poison beats Grass! I know several that could take you down and yet still I don't! I lose and lose and lose AND LOSE! All it does is keep people talking like I'm some fucking ITEM or accessory to your legacy! Meanwhile you're just known as a farmer boy who takes things easy and 'for fun', and even with your casual attitude you still have beaten me! It's not fair! You may not care all that much about fighting trainers for victory because you just want a good time, but I want to actually improve myself! I want to get to be the top spot of all the Gym Leaders! I can't take that laying down when all people remember me for is just being opening fodder for you in the tournaments of the past! I'm not just a pretty face Arceus damn it!"
She stamped her foot and looked flustered as he tried to speak up. "H-hey Nessa where is this coming from..?"
Her other hand shot straight back up and pointed at him. "SHUT UP! Just shut up! I've had it up to here with that arrogant shit of a smile you carry around me and I'm going to give you SOMETHING to shove in it..." But in her haste to call him out Nessa realized there was a small crowd in the distance that was watching all of this and began talking amongst themselves. Her face grew pale while the watery eyes of hers finally started leaking tears, and she ran off in the direction of Hulbury to find the closest Air Taxi Cab and hop in hurriedly.
Nessa said nothing the entire ride back, and when she had bolted in the other direction Milo took the violent audible lashing he received in stride. Telling the others to not pay mind to it, he just went back to work. /Wonder what happened to her? She's never snapped like that before.../
- - - - - Haru & Nessa's home - - - - -
"Flygon Base speed."
Haru pressed his fingers to his forehead while leaning on the table in the main living room while looking at the laptop. On it was a video call with Hop, who was reviewing information with him.
"100"
Hop is heard writing in a notepad that is not seen in the webcam video. "This Pokemon is known to showboat if it is praised, sometimes to its detriment."
Haru looked to the side, smirking as he saw Goji coughing from accidentally putting too much pepper in a sandwich he was making for himself. At the same time this caused his Tsareena, Leafa to laugh. "Cinderace. I should know from experience, hehehe."
"Good, man, good." In the background of the video Sonia was seen getting off a ladder from snatching something from the book case while Leon appeared to the side. At that point, the front door of Haru's house was opened. Nessa was home. He listens for the shoes to be placed on the floor and then hears some keys being tossed absentmindedly to the kitchen counter. Smiling, Haru turns slightly back to her and greets. "Hey Nessa, how's my love doing?"
She didn't say anything but just turned to him with a side glance and looked very much not in the mood to talk with company in earshot. Haru got the gesture and looked back to Hop apprehensively. "Hey uh...bud? I'm going to have to call you back. Maybe tomorrow. I'll be sure to let you know where I'm at okay?"
Hop didn't catch what Haru was looking at due to the view of his side of the call and leaned closer to it. "Hey, is everything okay?" he asked in a lower tone. Haru's brown eyes looked back with a side glance. "I'm not sure."
He ended the call without paying much mind to it and got up from the couch. Nessa was in the kitchen getting a plate out and already had begun to put some items down. Whether or not she was about to start angry cooking was yet to be figured out as Haru kept his distance respectfully. "Hey hon...are you okay?"
*Clank*
Nessa set down a fork that she took from one of the drawers and looked down at the floor. Putting both hands on the edge of it and leaning away from it, she took one long breath and let it out before she suddenly yanked her hat off and threw it as hard as she could down at the floor. "I hate them."
Haru did a double take and blinked when he heard her say this, as she repeated it again but louder. "I hate them. All of them!"
"Babe...?" Haru's sense of worry immediately skyrocketed, and kept his distance.
"They're all making fun of me! Milo! The Media! The whole fucking region! It's not fair! I'm so tired of it! There was a part of me that hoped it was going to stop once I was out of the Challenge and became a Gym Leader, but it's only grown ever since then!" Her face still looked at the ground without looking at Haru directly, but the way her voice was shaky got him to worry even further. Both her hands attempted to clench onto the counter as if gripping to climb a rock wall. "Why'd you have to be lucky? What makes us different?"
"...huh?" For a moment, Haru felt a little confused.
She turned to him while tears started to bud at the corner of her eyes again. "We both started the Gym Challenge at the same spot in the same manner! You were just a boy who lived in a small town who went on to defeat everyone, save our region despite the odds...and I became a Gym Leader. A model. I did all this while also being a fisherwoman for the town I love so much! I may not have become Champion, but I've tried my best! Yet my rival, the one person who takes everything with a grain of salt, can just casually defeat me over and over again!"
Nessa looked to her Dynamax wristband and yanked it off, tossing it to the floor in frustration, with Haru hurrying to pick it up. "Babe did you have a fight with Milo? If he said something, then I have NO problems talking to him."
She was quick to reply, but didn't mean what came out of her mouth. "What? You don't think I can do it myself?"
Haru's eyes narrowed with worry and a growing sense something was about to happen. "What? No that's not it at all! But you're my girlfriend, and in your time of need I'm supposed to be here to support you: in the good AND bad times right?"
"What makes us different? I don't understand..." she began to tear up as some streams started to go down her cheeks. "We both did the same Gym Challenge but people more often look on you fondly for your accomplishments. For me, I'm more just a pretty Gym Leader who's a model. All people care about is what my next photoshoot spread is going to be like. Masturbating to pictures of me daily like I'm some sick idol that asks only to be supported by having merchandise of me bought or that I should be pleasing the fans' wishes!" Her eyes had reddened and had been starting to shout this while walking to Haru. "I worked my ass off just like you did, and all I've ended up with is feeling like I am is just the second weakest link of Galar! I couldn't do anything but just worry about you when it came to Eternatus, not the twins, and I wouldn't have lasted against anyone in that Team Rocket battle!"
She walked past him and ended up grabbing her hair and grabbing a fistful of it with both hands similarly to when she lost a Pokemon Gym Leader battle. Haru heard the intense amount of pain in her voice as she began to cry. "What's wrong with me? Rose mocked me back then like the needle dick bastard that he was, but I'm starting to think he was right! I'm no 'chosen one' like you, I'm not a top tier trainer, gods, not even a 'top 3' of anything! I'm just some piece of meat in this cycle where even my standing has no meaning because I'll just be compared to...c...compared..." Nessa began to have trouble just speaking due to breaking down and sobbing.
Her head turned to him with part of her face covered by a hand. "I'm more than just a Gym Leader and a model...right? I'm not a failure, right? Haru please tell me that I'm #1 even if I'm only the Gym Leader of Hulbury..."
Haru had never seen her act so hurt, confused, morose, or outraged. Something must have happened to have her finally let this out all at once. It wasn't that he didn't want to say anything, but he didn't know what to say. Holding both her Dynamax band and hat that she threw, all Haru did was look to her with his pained expression. "Babe. You are more than just the skin you have, the hair you style, the eyes yo-"
Her fingers were quick to point at him. "THERE you go with my looks right out the gate!"
"!" Haru froze as Nessa pointed at him. But she scared herself and withdrew the hand as she clutched on it with the other. He waited for a moment to start up again. "I was going to say, none of that matters nearly as much as the person it's all attached to because that's the part that turned me on the most. Everything else was just an addition. You know this."
The Raging Wave paced around in a back-and-forth motion before her face faltered finally. "You know what though? I don't need them. I don't need ANY of them! You wanna know why? Because I taught myself everything I knew. I had over 13 DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS in Galarian Women Magazine issues in the past 2 years alone, I was ranked in the TOP 3 of Female Pokemon Trainers even beating out Hilda from Unova, and losing only to Cynthia! I learned how to fish and thanks to my father we both banded together to help Hulbury become the blossoming city it is! There's nothing I can't do if I put my mind to it..."
Her brief period of calmness stopped abruptly while the flashbacks of everything hit her again and she knelt down to the carpet floor putting her face in her hands. "So why..? Tell me Haru, why do I feel so inferior to everybody? Aren't you ashamed to be with someone so weak?" her face looked back up to him after asking this. "You don't see me as a trophy right? I'm not just a trophy to add to your collection right?"
"Nessa what the fuck? No! You know more than anyone else that I'm deeply in love with you and I could never be happier! You have these insecurities much like how I once did before, and you've been my foundation for how much better of a person I've become!" Haru felt a little concerned on where this was going as Nessa stood up and huffed after taking a deep breath. "But you'd be happier, no doubt, if I was better as a trainer right? Otherwise I'm just a stupid girl who likes Water Pokemon."
It finally happened where even his own limit was starting to be passed. He bit his lip and spoke in such a tone that it broke her out of her fiery mood. "Nessa...I'm sorry."
She took a step back as the dried tears on her face were a stand-in for her own shock. Not even she could understand why she was saying the things she was saying, and that very sentence alone was enough to freeze even the resilient Haru in place. /I've gone too far./
Bringing her hands up to her face to hide her own tears so he couldn't see her face, Nessa walked by Haru as he could only look absentmindedly where she once stood. "...I'm...going to take a bath."
He wasn't able to process everything that was being said to him during that, nor was he sure what exactly prompted it. But the things she said hurt not just his own core, but it made him worry about the better part of Nessa's mental health. For the first time in a long while he felt powerless to do anything to 'fix' a situation, and while the distant sound of the bathtub being turned on was heard, all Haru did was walk to the couch and sit on the end to stare at the wall.
Goji and Leafa look at each other silently. They had both retreated to one of the hallways to listen in while gesturing to their fellow Pokemon, Nora, Luna, Mirukon, Masako, and Yuri to 'not get near Master.' Everybody there understood that the atmosphere was so thick and personal that it then fell to them to resolve the issue. Nora whined a bit while her flat ice tail fell in between her hind legs, sitting. Yuri had been holding back from going crazy at the insane loud noise that was way too intense for her own liking, and had begun to calm down all the same.
The whole house was rife with stress.
- - 1 hour later - -
Thanks to that outburst of emotions from her, Haru ended up brewing himself some tea. Sitting on one end of the couch he absentmindedly had the cup near the other end in his 'Not sure what to do' moment of zero thoughts. As the steam slowly rose from the cup, the house never felt quieter.
He decided the next best thing for now to do was to just keep his mind occupied and if she were to come around, he'd let her. After all, there was nothing he could think up to say or do. There was nothing entertaining or even moderately enticing that was going on currently in the world of Galar that caught Haru's attention while he quietly looked through his social media apps. Debates about the law allowing more Pokemon, 'funny' home videos of Pokemon being silly, current movie listing standings, and compilation videos of past tournaments. Haru came across a supercut of the match he had with Syra and had to silently admit that the editing made it look 'really good for the telly'. Those in the comments section swarmed once they saw that Haru himself had commented on it with all sorts of reactions and emotes as he decided to share it with Syra.
[Haru: Know you're probably busy hanging with Bea, but figured you'd enjoy this.]
At that moment, Syra was at home watching her brother play a game that she bought for him where the objective was to spray paint areas of a city in its own 'tags' to outdo the other gangs. Looking down at her phone she replied.
[Syra: What's this? Oh shit, people made a compilation of us?]
[Haru: Seems that way. Anyways, how did things go with you earlier? You're replying so I assume you're either home or Bea is meditating and you're trying to slip one by.]
Syra ended up chuckling to herself quietly before replying.
[Syra: Nah. I'm home with my brother and mom. He's playing a game and showing it off to me. Has really cool music. Wby?]
[Haru: Pardon?]
[Syra: Sweet Fanny Adams you're not sure you're an old man? That means 'what bout you'.]
[Haru: Hey, we're only a year or two apart! Also, I was studying earlier but stuff has suddenly got a lot more tense. I'll let you know if it gets better soon. I'm just trying to relax at the moment.]
[Syra: You get into a fight with Nessa?]
[Haru: :\]
Syra audibly gasped to herself and got up. "Hey Gabe, I'll be right back. I'll get you another soda." she passively waved to him before hanging out in the hallway heading to the kitchen. /This can't be good.../
[Syra: :O! Dude, are you going to be okay?]
[Haru: It's up in the air currently, but I think things just need a moment to pass.]
[Syra: If you need anything you can talk to me. I basically gushed my life story to you at this point.]
Haru lifted his head up as he heard Nessa's foosteps coming downstairs. She had been out of the bath for a bit and was heading back to him. Hurriedly, Haru replied.
[Haru: Gotta go.]
He closed the text messaging within his phone and stayed silent while he saw that Nessa had appeared. She was wearing a loose graphic shirt that Haru bought, and some shorts. Saying nothing while Haru had his phone out, Nessa sat right next to him and leaned towards so her head had nestled on his shoulder while looking at the floor. His cheeks go a little pink as he was unsure what was the proper reaction until she spoke.
"I'm sorry..." she spoke quietly as her voice was full of shame. Slowly, his left hand went to her arm and held onto it. Nessa looked up at him. "I'm so sorry for everything I said at you Haru. I didn't mean any of it at all..."
He breathed a sigh of relief as the other hand went over his lap to reach for one of hers and clasp onto it. Kissing the top of her head, Haru pulled her a little closer to cuddle as he noticed her feet had disappeared under the blanket covers that hung on the end of the couch. Reaching over her to pull it so they both were simply a snuggly 'burrito' of two people holding onto each other, Nessa buried her head onto his chest. "I already didn't hold any of it against you, love. It's okay now."
Her voice was a little muffled while she didn't move from nestled onto his chest. "I...I don't know what came over me. It just...burst all out at once. That doesn't excuse what I said, but that's what happened."
"You had a lot built up that kept on growing and growing, and it just came out. But I can't be mad at you sweetheart. I was hurt, but now I'm okay." The hand that was wrapped around Nessa's arm that embraced her rubbed her back slowly. The two were speaking so low that the atmosphere had considerably lessened in intensity.
He felt a bit of wetness come onto his chest. Though she was tearing up once again it wasn't like before, but her voice was a little weak all the same. "Haru you're too good for me, damn it. I love you so much. I'm such a mess..."
The other hand that was holding onto her own let go to trace her chin with a finger and tilted it up slowly so their eyes met."Ah-ah. None of this 'too good' stuff. At the end of the day, I'm just a dork ex-Champ with a funny nickname by you. But even if you were a mess...I'm just as guilty, you know? We're both evolving like Pokemon do."
Nessa sniffled once, having calmed down considerably and smiled. "Yeah~. Dork is right. But you're my catch so it's fine." The two stayed there for a bit in silence before Nessa began to trace circles on the logo that was on Haru's shirt. "So~, in other news we may have a way to finally debut our Double-Battle Team Name."
"Oh, is that so?" Raising his eyebrow, he took note of such a specific callback.
Nodding slowly before Nessa changed position so she rested her head on his lap; looking up at him. "Miss Oleana is going to officially announce a new tournament soon, but there's going to be a much larger focus on it being exhibition matches. So I was thinking you and I team up together and you show the world what Galar's new and upcoming Steel Gym Leader has as far as his abilities. We blow everyone away with us being the pair, and you get to entice more people to challenge you when your Gym is finished."
Haru looked to the photo he had hung up of Hiro on the wall. He felt as if the eyes of his long lost friend were looking back with the same confidence that he always had and chuckled. "Hear that Hiro? Ruby and Sapphire are gonna make their own debut right here in Galar."
A hand came up from below and poked him in the chin. "Haru?"
His face looked down at her. "Hmm?"
Pushing out her bottom lip in a cutesy pout, Nessa eyed him. "Can we stay here for a bit before going to bed? The bath tired me out, and you're comfy."
Smirking right back at her, Haru placed a hand on her cheek. "Sure, dear..."
Things may not have been progressing as smoothly as those in Galar had wanted, but even with a Rusted Shield these trainers found a way to make the best of things. Some, like Sevan, seemed to have no clear direction, while others like two Leaders in Circhester were having a familial rift close for the first time in ages. Syra may not have received the conclusion she wished, but none of it mattered for the time being. Even in the most heated of moments where two lovers felt their past would occasionally come to haunt them, the one with a heart for his Raging Wave continued to show her why he loved her. In return, she was reminded of why she loved him back just as, if not more.
- - - - - END OF CHAPTER 18 - - - - -
