I turned on the faucet and let warm water fill a few inches of the tub as I set my feet into it. They were aching and I could feel the blisters beginning to form from having walked barefoot last night. I considered it lucky that Tyrogue and I had gotten away before Murkrow's flock had found us. The water felt good and after several minutes of soaking my feet I peeled off my clothes and took a shower.
I took careful steps once I was out and dried off before sprawling out on the bed with my feet propped up. I checked my phone and Mom had returned my text.
Mom: Arceus, tell me you didn't lose an eye or a finger to one of those things!
Mom: Seriously Titus did you make poor Marshtomp attack some wild Murkrow because I wouldn't let you have that Chatot
Mom: AND YOUR BOOTS I JUST BOUGHT YOU THOSE WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO
She was probably worried sick about me. I guess I could've been a lot less vague and ominous with that text, so that probably hadn't helped. I explained what had happened, about the tent and the attack in the middle of the night. I also had to tell her about my two newest captures and though she was less than pleased about my choice of two Dark Types, I could tell it had eased her mind.
I had to replace the gear I'd lost, and I didn't want to aggravate my feet any further so I resorted to the next best option: Online Shopping
It turned out there were a number of retailers that delivered to Pokemon Centers. Trainers led busy lives, even when the Circuit wasn't active, so it helped to be able to order supplies or gear to your Center room. In Floaroma, the PokeMart was the closest and cheapest option but if I wanted something of a higher quality it might take a day. I ordered a new tent, along with a pair of boots that were almost identical to my new ones. As a precaution, I also threw in a pair of cheap sneakers just in case. Considering it was the morning and Jubilife was only a day away on foot, it might actually arrive the same day.
The larger order came with free shipping but it was also expensive, easily wiping out what I'd earned from Byron and then some. I had 43582 Poke-dollars in my account after making my purchase, and my thoughts immediately went to the purchase of TMs, though I quashed the idea of buying one or two pretty quickly. TMs were expensive, especially if you wanted the permanent version, but I just didn't know what kind of money I would end up having or needing over the course of my journey. The prizes from Gym Battles were good but you had to fight tooth and nail for them and they weren't consistent enough. Some Trainers that were particularly talented had large companies to sponsor them. A few even grew a social media following with videos and live streams and used the ad revenue to fund their careers.
I would try my best at the tournament but I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I didn't keep up with popular threads or anything on the League forums, I had actually done the bare minimum in making an account and that was about it. There were incredibly talented Trainers making their debut every year, but at least there was a two-badge maximum. A few quick searches led me to the tournament's website, where I found the prize pool, along with the rules for the tournament.
1st Place Prize: 10,000 Poke-dollars and Protect TM
2nd Place Prize: 5,000 Poke-dollars or Rain Dance TM
That had my attention. There were only two prizes, but they were definitely worth fighting for. The top prize was more than I'd earned from Byron, along with an incredibly valuable TM in Protect. Rain Dance would also be excellent for Marshtomp.
Around noon I awoke from a well-deserved nap to find the first of my packages, the sneakers, outside my door. I slipped on the black and white shoes and walked downstairs to the Center cafeteria. I'd skipped breakfast but catching up on sleep was worth it. I ate everything they put on my tray, even the suspicious looking fruit cocktail. If I thought they'd give me seconds I might've asked for more.
After that, I checked on my Pokemon. The nurses had told me that Marshtomp, Sableye and Tyrogue were fine and ready to go, but Murkrow would need until tomorrow at least.
"It says here you'd just caught her recently. If you don't mind," the Nurse Joy said before clicking her pen. "Would you be able to tell me about your encounter with Murkrow?"
I explained everything, though I opted to omit the part where I left my boots and tent behind.
"That's perfect, thank you." she said before giving me a satisfied smile.
"Can I ask what that was about?"
"You see it's…", she began before rubbing her temples. "Look, I love my job, but the Rangers are making it harder than it needs to be. That Murkrow should never have found you, they shouldn't be anywhere close to the Routes at night. They're getting lazy and I'm just trying to build a case for the League to investigate or something."
"I was actually planning on releasing Murkrow. I only caught her because she was injured and I was in danger." I explained to the pink-haired woman.
"You have to be careful doing that. Her group may not take her back now, they sometimes attack and kill former flock members on sight. They see leaving with a human as a breach of trust." she told me in a serious tone.
Shit. I had no intention of keeping the Flying Type but I didn't want to send Murkrow to her death by setting her free either. She wasn't trained and I likely wouldn't be able to get her ready for the tournament even if she did cooperate. And that's if she didn't hate me outright for capturing her.
I must have had a severe look on my face, as the Nurse frowned and put away her clipboard.
"Look, there's going to be a good number of Trainers here over the next few days. Try to put out some feelers, see if anyone would be interested in trading. If you really can't take her," she pulled out a form and slid it across the desk. "There's a place in town that takes in Pokemon that need a good home. Think it over, ok?"
"I will, thank you!" I took the form and began to walk away when I remembered something important. "Oh, Miss? Do you happen to know where the signups for the tournament are? I'm not very familiar with Floaroma." I explained.
"Oh, you can register here actually! There's a building nearby, but most people just do it here."
It took a few minutes to sign up and pay the entry fee. I hadn't known about the entry fee, but I figured it was standard for any tournament. After that, I was informed the brackets would be announced in two days. I thanked the Nurse for all of her help and returned to my room where I released Tyrogue.
The Fighting Type materialized and whipped his head around before he found me. He glared at me before turning away and sitting on the floor, hugging his knees.
"You're still mad at me, aren't you?"
No response. He didn't even look at me.
I sat on the bed and tried to think about this from his perspective. Was it because Sableye was a prankster, and that Murkrow might have the same tendencies? Was he angry that I'd made those decisions without him? Did he think he was being replaced?
"Tyrogue, you know I'm not replacing you or getting rid of you, right?"
His small pink form shuddered, and he turned his head to me with a frown. There was sadness welling up in his eyes.
"Look, other Pokemon are going to join my team. That was always going to happen. But you and I will still train, and we will still be partners, ok?" I reassured him.
Tyrogue wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before leaping onto the bed. He offered me a fist bump, and I returned it.
"Thank you. I'm sorry if I've made you feel like you're getting pushed out of the way but Marshtomp and Sableye will need me too. Along with any other Pokemon I add to the team." I explained to him. "Are we okay now?"
He smiled and nodded his head.
"I can't really go running at the moment, but there's going to be plenty of battles coming up. I signed us up for a tournament, so there'll be plenty of strong opponents for you to face. Think you're ready for it?"
"Tyro!"
"I thought you'd be into it. I have to talk to Marshtomp, but I'll bring you back out in a bit, ok?"
He nodded, and I recalled him before bringing Marshtomp out, who was surprisingly alert.
I was dreading this conversation, but I knew it had to be addressed now or it would never be resolved.
"Hey, Marshtomp, can I ask you something?"
"Marsh?" he replied, cocking his head.
"It's serious. It's about you being able to battle."
The Water Type sat down in front of me on the floor.
"Are you going to be ok to face another Fire Type?" I asked tentatively. I felt my hands shaking and my voice quivering as I spoke.
Marshtomp closed his eyes as he looked down, his hands clenching into fists. I didn't know the extent of his fear, and I couldn't possibly know what had instilled it in him but I wouldn't force him to face it. That would be cruel and he would come to resent me for it.
I sat down on the floor next to Marshtomp before I pulled him into a hug, which he returned. It would be hard not having him for some battles but it would be even worse if I forced him into them. I realized that left me in a precarious spot in the tournament but I hadn't been expecting to go very far either.
"Hey, it's alright. Everything's ok. If there are ever any opponents with that type of Pokemon I won't have you battle them." I reassured him. "You keep working on your new moves and we'll make our way south before you know it."
The Water Type tightened his grip on me before letting go.
I released Tyrogue, who was happy to see both of us.
"I'm going to let Sableye out now," I warned, "Everyone ok with that?"
Marshtomp shrugged and Tyrogue fiddled with his hands before nodding at me.
I released Sableye, hoping he'd be better behaved now. The Ghost Type looked around the room, seemingly confused by every new thing his eyes found. At first it was the carpet, getting used to the feel of it. He wandered over to the TV, inspecting it before Tyrogue turned it on with the remote, and the sound actually scared Sableye away from it. The ghost hid in the other corner of the room, which got a laugh out of Marshtomp and Tyrogue. After the shenanigans in the cave, I was inclined to let them have that one.
At that moment, something dawned on me that I hadn't really thought about.
"Hey guys? Some Trainers give their Pokemon nicknames, do you want me to give each of you a nickname?"
The three of them looked at each other, shrugged, then turned to me in unison before shaking their heads.
That simplified it. I was never great at coming up with names for things anyway.
"I signed up for a tournament in this town. It starts in a few days, so we're going to take it easy before it starts. There's a great prize if we end up winning but if not, we'll move on to the next town. Sableye," At the mention of his name, the Ghost Type crawled out of the corner and approached me. "This will be your first real battle. Regardless of what happens, just do your best, ok?"
Sableye nodded before flashing a wide toothy grin.
"The same applies to you two as well. We're gonna aim high, but no feeling down if we end up losing early on, alright?" I asked Marshtomp and Tyrogue.
Marshtomp yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Tyrogue smiled and began shadowboxing. As his back turned to Sableye, the Ghost Type moved towards him with a wicked grin, ready to push him around.
"Hey! Leave him alone, he's not doing anything to you." I scolded.
They both turned to me, and while Sableye seemed to deflate a little at having his fun ruined, Tyrogue seemed to appreciate the interference, smiling at me before returning to his shadowboxing.
"Sableye, do you want to draw again? I've got a bunch of pencils and paper for you to use." I offered.
Sableye rubbed his shoulder and looked around the room before returning his gaze to me. I had to admit, it was a little tricky with him considering I couldn't see exactly where his eyes were looking. I handed him the sketchbook but before I handed him the pencil, I showed him how I held it.
"Here, try it like that. It should feel comfortable in your hand."
The Ghost Type clasped the pencil between his tiny fingers, imitating how I'd done it.
"There you go! You have a lot more control on it that way."
The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Marshtomp napped in the bathtub, while Tyrogue did exercises in the room. I watched several Gym battles, stopping every now and then to take notes. Sableye covered several sheets of paper in messy doodles, and as long as he wasn't bothering anyone I was content to let him do so.
The next morning I received the rest of my packages. I stuffed the sneakers into my backpack before I put on the new boots, wanting to break them in as soon as possible. My feet were still slightly sore but I figured some walking around the town would do me some good.
My first stop after breakfast was the PokeMart. I bought half a dozen more Pokeballs and two more bags of feed. Depending on how long we were here, I might have to buy more before we left for Eterna Forest.
When I left the store, I released Tyrogue so he could move around and see the town too. Floaroma was vibrant, not just in the sense of activity, people and Pokemon moving around constantly but it felt. Verdant. Lush. There was an abundance of life here. Even my starter was enjoying it. When we got closer to the treeline and away from the main roads, he sat down on a small hill, just taking in the scenery. I joined him, and a few minutes later my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Helen: Hey, hope you're doing ok! We made it to Floaroma, and we'll probably be staying for a few days. Message me back, maybe we can meet up in Eterna or Oreburgh!
Helen: P.S. We all won our Gym Battles, including your biggest fan ._.
They were in Floaroma? It would be nice getting to see Helen and Karl again. I hadn't really made any other connections, besides Alyssa and Hayden, though he'd been a lot more friendly than she had. My friends that had plans for the Circuit had either moved ahead and continued pursuing it or stopped talking to me once those dreams had fallen through. Still, I would likely have to deal with Damien again soon, and if they were signing up for the tournament it made all the more likely a rematch would happen.
I replied after a few minutes, letting her know that I was in town and asked if they were sticking around for the tournament. She replied that yes, they were all signing up and that we should hang out before we split up again.
After another hour of walking around, Tyrogue and I made our way back to the Center. I got an automated message letting me know that Murkrow was ready, and I went back to my room with her ball in hand. I needed to think about what to do with her. I knew it might be for the best to release her, but it left me feeling a little guilty that I hadn't even talked to her or introduced myself. Still, I couldn't ignore the upcoming Gym Battle against Gardenia and how valuable a Flying Type would be for it. Tyrogue was unevolved and Marshtomp would be at a huge disadvantage even if he fully mastered Icy Wind by then.
I would have to wait until evening but I would at least talk with Murkrow before making any decisions about what to do with her.
Later in the evening while the sun was setting, I left the Center with Tyrogue and Marshtomp by my side heading to the edge of town. It was probably better that there were less people around, I didn't know how much trouble Murkrow had been for the nurses and honestly I had forgotten to ask.
"Don't attack her right away. I want to try to reason with her, but step in if she starts a fight."
Marshtomp looked worried but Tyrogue was eager, like he was ready to pick the fight himself.
"Okay, here we go…" I muttered to myself.
I released Murkrow a fair distance, around thirty feet away from us. The Flying Type looked around before its red eyes narrowed on me. A hollow feeling crept into my stomach and I realized how nervous I was.
"Murkrow? I'm the one who caught you back in the forest-"
She interrupted me with a howling screech before beating her black wings in our direction and kicking up a bit of dirt. Tyrogue took a step forward, but I put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.
"I was trying to help you! Your wing was broken, you couldn't even fly!"
Murkrow screeched again, beating her wings and taking to the sky. Around forty feet up, she dove at me, far faster than I was expecting. I made a dive for the ground and something sharp tore through my shirt and slashed my arm in the process, bright lines of pain flaring up across it. Bursts of water and star projectiles followed Murkrow as she took off for the woodline. I recalled her, one hand holding the ball and the other on my bleeding arm. It looked like talking to her wasn't an option but I felt better having tried. Still, it was pretty hard to ignore how she felt about me and the pain in my arm was evidence enough of that.
"C'mon guys, back to the Center…" I told my Pokemon as I clipped Murkrow's ball to my belt
Marshtomp looked worried sick, but Tyrogue was furious. His expression was one of anger and rage, I could tell he hated everything that had just happened.
"It'll be fine, she's not staying with us anymore. Murkrow made it clear she didn't want to talk to us or be around us." I reassured them.
I recalled my team before I stepped into the Center, and a Nurse immediately called for a doctor and a janitor. I looked behind me and realized that I'd bled little drops onto their clean floor as another Nurse ushered me into another room where a woman in her forties with short dark hair was waiting. She had bright eyes and a wide smile that didn't look like I could damper it even if I tried. The Nurse pulled my shirt over my head, holding it away from her as she disposed of it.
"Well, looks like you ran into something nasty. Bite off a bit more than you could chew?" she asked, chuckling to herself as she began to clean my arm.
"It's my Murkrow. I just caught her and she's not too happy about it." I explained.
The doctor whistled. "Must've pissed her off big time. This is gonna sting, love, here it comes." she warned before daubing the cuts with alcohol which did sting. After giving it another pass, she determined that I didn't need stitches, wrapped my arm in gauze and gave me a dose of aspirin in a little paper cup. If I hadn't been signed up for the Circuit, I would've been paying for the treatment out of pocket. When I got to my room, I released my team before digging through my backpack for a new shirt.
I felt a pull on the leg of my pants and Tyrogue was glaring at me before he pointed to my belt.
"No, I'm going to ask around at the tournament to see if someone will take Murkrow. I can't just release her, one of us is liable to get hurt if I do that." I told him.
That seemed to satisfy him. Meanwhile, Sableye was trying to figure out what the TV remote was for and Marshtomp was frowning and staring at my arm.
"I'm okay, really. It hurts, but I can deal. I…" I couldn't finish the sentence. It was one thing to battle against Trainers and Gym Leaders. But the thought of Marshtomp losing an eye or Tyrogue getting torn apart by Murkrow scared me. I doubted she could do any real damage to Sableye, but that applied to him too. And I was lucky to get away from our earlier scuffle with the scratches she'd given me. It could've been so much worse. But then again, wasn't that the reality of being a Trainer anyway?
There were tears forming in my eyes as I sat down on the bed. I wiped them away with the back of my hand and suddenly Tyrogue and Marshtomp were at my side. Tyrogue sat down next to me and Marshtomp hugged me with more strength than I was expecting. Even Sableye had dropped the TV remote long enough to see what was happening.
"That was scary. I'm still terrified knowing she almost did worse and that she's still in the room with us." I finally admitted. "I don't want to blame it all on her though, I'm the one who took her from her home after all." There were more tears after that, but having my Pokemon next to me helped.
Marshtomp stayed next to me, and though he napped a lot over the evening, he never left my side. Tyrogue began showing Sableye how the remote worked, and it looked like the two of them were starting to get along. The Ghost Type seemed impressed with what Tyrogue knew and was willing to share. I took two more pictures, one of Marshtomp snoozing and the other of Tyrogue and Sableye watching TV, and sent them to my Mom. She of course gushed over Marshtomp and Tyrogue, but was skeptical of Sableye and honestly I couldn't blame her.
The next morning as I ate breakfast, I received a message with info for the tournament.
My first match was at noon tomorrow and my opponent was Alyssa Retria.