Pokémon Trainer Hero

Chapter 14: Aftermath

Gar finally made it to UA property after a few minutes of flying. He commanded Articuno to land near the dorm he was living at and returned the pokemon once he was on the ground. He clipped the pokeball onto his belt and stormed into the dorm and straight to his room. Once inside his room he locked the door behind him, unclipped the pokeballs from his belt, tore off his suit down to his underwear and threw the whole thing in a pile, and finally he flopped onto his bed where he didn't bother to cover himself in a blanket, and fell asleep.

Several Hours Later

Gar woke up feeling grumpy, groggy, gross, extremely warm, and above all: uncomfortable. He rolled out of bed, literally, and fell on the floor with a THUMP! He didn't even care. He just pulled himself up, rubbed his face, and hobbled to the bathroom. Once there he splashed water on his face to wake himself up. After he woke up a bit more, he finally realized the empty feeling in his stomach. He was hungry, and badly!

Once his brain started to work again he remembered the events prior to him passing out. One part being that he hadn't eaten anything all day long. Then he remembered passing out once he got to his room and never even bothering to see what time it was. What time was it now anyway?

Rubbing his face with a towel he asked, "Hey Rotom, what time is it?"

The phone pokemon floated into the bathroom and answered, "It's 11:30 pm. Buzzt."

Dame! He really messed up his sleep schedule didn't he? It didn't matter now. He was awake, hungry, so there was no reason to try and sleep again. So the purple haired teen walked out of his room and into the kitchen, with Rotom close behind, and started to prepare himself something to eat. For some reason he had a bad hankering for some curry, and seeing as he had time and didn't care how long it would take him, he decided to go through the process to fix himself up so quickly.

After about 25 minutes of cooking, it was finally done. Without even caring about manners or table edicate, he dunked his serving spoon into the mix and ate it right off the serving utensils. After taking another few blissful bites he finally got himself a bowl and spoon. After serving himself and turning off the oven he sighed and took a bite from his bowl.

After swallowing he sighed and said, "Have you enjoyed the sight of me making food for 30 minutes in my spring collection?"

He turned around and standing near the dining room table was Ken Ishiyama, also now as Cementoss, looking quite awkwardly at the ground.

"Well? I'm waiting for my answer.", Gar asked a bit impacently.

Cementoss cough embarrassed and said, "I...didn't know how to approach you."

"A simple 'Hi' would have been a good start, Ken.", Gar said sarcastically.

Cementoss said nothing except still look at the floor. Gar sighed and sat down at the kitchen table he offered, "Well don't just stand there. Sit down and rest for a minute. I can tell you have something to tell me."

Cementoss took a seat across from Gar and asked, "How'd you know?"

Gar made a small chuckle between his chewing, and after swallowing he replied, "In my line of work you have to be able to read others on a moment's notice to secure victory."

"You sound just like a hero.", Cemnetoss commented.

"Speaking of work. Shouldn't you be not at work. Like at home, in bed, asleep for the next day.", Gar asked, noticing his hero outfit still being worn.

"Normally, yes, I would, but today is different and I feel like I need to tell you this.", he replied.

Gar took another bite and asked, "Is this about my meeting with the Bigwigs?"

"Yes. I came to tell you about the...end result.", he confirmed with a head nod.

Gar swallowed a bit nervously and said, "Well don't leave me in suspense, tell it to me straight."

Cementoss took a moment and then explained to him, "As of right now they're...undetermined about how they feel or how to deal with you. For now they allow the same arrangement as before. Staying here at UA under our careful watch and regulations. Including your pokemon, tr make sure you don't overstep any boundaries."

"I'll do my best as captain.", Gar did a mocking voice and salute that made Cementos chuckle.

After a bit of silence between them and more chewing from Gar, the older teen finally piped up and asked, "Soooooooo, I'm guessing you heard about the meeting?"

"I watched it."

"Hidden cameras, I see. Guess they were trying to frame me as a threat on camera in case I slipped up."

"That would seem so."

"So you came here to tell me what I did was stupid, irrisponsible, rude, dangerous, treasonous, and all over an extremly dick move on my part that couldve done extreme damage to me and UAs' reputation?", Gar listed off rhetorically while waving his spoon around.

Cementoss looked a bit hesitant to reply, so just couldn't find the right words. But eventually he piped up and said, "Well...I wouldn't use all those words, but yes...and no. I...also came to say that I'm rather proud of you, for what you did.", this caught Gar's attention and curiosity. "It took guts to say something so congerville and true to the ones who run the world as a whole. I don't think any of us could say what you did.", he said in an self disappointed voice.

Gar waved him off and stated, "I get it. You got mouths to feed and a bankaccount to keep full. You want to keep this job to help people or make money or whatever goals you have in mind. If you did what I did, it would be much harder for that message to ring amongst the masses. I get it."

After another few moments of silence, Cementoss added, "I also wanted to thank you for opening my eyes to the truth.", Gar looked up from his bowl and locked eyes with the cement man. "I, uh, saw your conversation with Midnight in City hall and it made me realize my own hypocrisy. You're absolutely right, all I do is complain and take no action. Only time I do is when lives are on the line. And that doesn't make me a solution, just a part of the problem.", he folded his hands on the table with a tone of self disappointment.

Gar got up from his seat and taking the seat next to the large man he patted his back while saying, "Hey Hey, don't beat yourself up too much Ken. We all continued to learn about the world and from our mistakes our whole lives. It's how we grow, it's what makes us human. Sure we wish we wouldn't make such simple mistakes, but it happens to the best of us…...it always does.", he finished the last part in a low and sad tone.

Another round of silence fell on them, but this time it was stagnant and heavy at the same time. Like a thick fog. Until that silence was broken by the soft nervously dry laughter by Gar who had one hand covering half his face. The laughter almost sacred Ken as he looked on anxiously.

After the laughter stopped, Gar piped up and stated, "Ya know…..It really scares me. Your world I mean, and the way your society is structured. It's...nearly identical to mine, albeit with some major differences."

"Do you wanna talk about it?", Cemnetoss asked carefully while patting the teen back.

Gar sighed and stayed silent. Cementoss stayed silent and waited for him to respond.

Gar gave a shaky breath and finally said, "I know where your society is going, and it scares me how similar it is to mine pre-downfall. I've seen the signs just like in my world and it makes me mad and terrified cause I don't wanna see it happen again.", Gar looked down at his bowl as he continued. "A region I was exploring, not too many years ago, was structured similar to yours. A blind balance that was hanging on by string. One day someone cut that string and made it all come down. So many people died as a result, and so many more got hurt. I've never seen chaos like that before! And people didn't understand why it happened until after the ash settled. Including me….I was blind and I could have stopped it or atleast found a solution to it…..but I didn't until after.", Gar gave another shaky breath, neray on the verge of tears. "And that's what scares me most. Cause I never wanna see anyone go through that! Not without knowing what was wrong in the first place. And it all could've been avoided so easily! But it wasn't….and destruction followed.", Gar rubbed a hand up his face and through his hair as he mindless stated with a concerning smile, "Sometimes I'm still baffled that he was right all along."

"He?", Cementoss asked.

Gar looked away and waved him off saying, "It's...nothing."

Gar went silent and Cementoss took a minute to find the right words. "I'm sorry someone as young as you had to experience something as horrible as that. I've lived the life many heroes do, but you were never prepared.", Gar still stayed silent and avoided eye contact, but the hero continued. "But seeing how you pulled through, brought people together and managed to heal a broken society shows true character in you. You have a heart of gold, and one much better than mine."

Gar gave a small smile and still avoiding eye contact, the older teen said, "Don't sell yourself short Ken. You're a great guy too. Though I can't say the same for the sharp edges of your face.", he said vexingly while sticking his toung at him.

Cementoss made a hump sound in his throat and pinched the teens check, making the purple haired teen laugh at him!

Cementoss then stood up and bowed, he excused himself saying, "Well I better get going. School starts tomorrow, and I have a test to give out. You have a good rest of the night Garfeild."

Gar smiled at the man and replied, "You too Ken."

Just before leaving the building, Cementoss stopped and grabbed the teens attention one last time, saying, "You know Garfeild.", Gar looked to the cement man standing near the glass door. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm alway here."

Gar smiled genuinely at the man and replied back, "Thanks Ken, I'll remember that. Night."

Cementoss left the building, leaving Gar once again in the silence of the whole entire, nearly completed, dorm. Gar sat there for a couple of minutes and sloley ate his now room temperature curry. Once he finished the bowl, he set it down and stretched his arms and legs in the chair. After exhaling he looked over to the direction of the clock and saw it read 12:28 am.

He sighed contently and while leaning back in his seat and placing his hand to his head, he said aloud, "I wonder if Mimikyu is up for some late night TV cartoons?"