Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Abra

- Bellatrix, Gyarados (Shiny)

- Andromeda, Vaporeon

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Bulbasaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

Route 5 VII

A yawn escaped his lips before he leaned back and stretched his arms over his head.

His eyes felt like they might close on their own volition any second, which was kind of annoying. He was trying to study, damnit. Yet, at that very moment, all his body seemed to be able to focus on was taking a nap… Which was absurd. He knew himself. The moment he settled down to sleep he'd either ruin his sleep schedule or he wouldn't be able to sleep at all, suddenly not feeling sleepy at all.

His body just sucked, quite honestly.

' Focus, Pierce, focus,' he told himself, rubbing a hand over his face before looking down at the book on his lap and picking it up once more. Sure, most texts weren't thrilling, but it was all useful information, even if some books were exceedingly dry. ' Just gotta power through, like in school,' he thought to himself with a wry grin.

Some parts were cool, admittedly, but there was a lot to trudge through in between them, Pierce would admit. Alas, it was all necessary knowledge for the First Aid License. He was getting there though. The incidents he'd been in had helped, what with the ranger teaching on top of hands-on experience he'd gotten.

However, there was a lot he had no way of knowing. Pokemon came in incredible variety and even two pokemon that were almost identical could need radically different approaches. Hell, even the eeveelutions were ridiculously different from one another despite being technically from the same line. Not even eevee itself had a lot in common with its own evolutions.

It was all a mess, but alas, that's how things were and Pierce would just have to deal with it.

' Crazy amounts of respect for actual doctors and nurses though, because holy shit. All this is just for first aid , fucking hell,' he thought to himself, shaking his head a little to try and get it to focus better. It didn't quite work, but that's just how things were. Eventually, after some effort, he managed to actually start reading instead of just looking at the pages in front of him.

His notes were getting increasingly long with every bit of info he found and added through his studies. He wasn't too clear on if anything he was writing down was actually stuff that he'd be tested on or not, but ultimately it didn't matter. He was noting things that he thought would be useful, so, even if he wasn't tested on them, it'd be something that he'd use after he passed, at the very least.

His only worry was somehow missing the parts that he would be tested on.

Now, that'd suck.

After getting through yet another chapter, he glanced up to check on his pokemon. Most everyone was practicing the new moves they were learning, except for Bellatrix. His gyarados had already more or less got the hang of Crunch. So, as it was, she was just cycling through her known moves to get used to them as she had so far. Pierce was still a little reluctant to try to get her to learn new things, considering it could be a frustrating process. Maybe once the team was more advanced in their own training and he could spare her more attention.

That way, if she got frustrated, he'd be right there to try and help her through it. As it was, Pierce had his hands a little too full to try anything of the sort. He didn't want to make her wait too long though. Bellatrix was adorable and very eager to please, but she'd get swept up in the excitement of her teammates to get stronger eventually, Pierce was sure. A shame, really, since he suspected she'd be the least battlehungry of the bunch.

Which was hilarious, considering she was a gyarados.

Such was the reality Pierce lived in, he supposed.

' Hmmm… things are going well over there,' he thought, turning to look towards Lily's group instead. The vulpix that was still sticking around had been pitted in a spar against Talon, it seemed. Not surprising in the least. The spearow was the only one in Lily's team that didn't have a weakness or a resistance to Fire typing… other than Star, of course.

Things seemed to be going fine on that front, but he tried to refrain from asking Lily how the recruiting was going. Because he knew she wanted a vulpix, but he didn't want to potentially ruin her chances by being overheard by the Fire type. He'd just wait and see, he supposed. He wished her all the luck though, of course, and he tried to push the two together as much as he could while being subtle.

Once more, he didn't want to ruin her chances.

' Anyway, everyone's working hard,' Pierce thought to himself, stretching his back a little before deflating and continuing studying. He could have done without the mocking feeling coming from Cygnus, but he guessed he deserved that. His work ethic had left things to be desired that day in particular, as it turned out. Maybe he'd finish preparing in Saffron? That was a bit optimistic though. Next city might be a more accurate estimate, but one never knew.

If he got delayed? Then he definitely could get his tests done in Saffron.

Something to consider as he prepared, he supposed. Not like he could put extra effort into that though, what with needing to train his team, travel and exercise. Sure, he might be able to squeeze some more time in if he stopped interacting with every pokemon he came across but… where was the fun in that?

Not like there was all that much of a rush to get the License.

Considering his track record though…

[}-o-{]

' Flash Ice Punch,' he commanded, looking over the clearing where his battle was happening. At the same time, Pierce had to do a herculean effort not to look to the side, where his opponent's traveling companions were recording the fight. Apparently, he was more well known than he'd expected. Sure, a lot of people watched his videos and commented and all but… It was odd to meet someone like that.

Weirder than in Cerulean, he'd say. After all, at least there he had the excuse of being right there where his viral videos had been recorded and where the show took place. It made sense that people from that city would be aware of him. It was a different matter entirely to come across someone random from who knew where that knew him enough to be excited and want to record their battle.

Very odd indeed.

' Will I have to get used to this or is this just a now thing?' he wondered idly, watching Cygnus teleport and punch the tangela they were battling. They had a bit of an advantage, but that was only for as long as they could keep away from the Grass type's Vine Whip. It was proving troublesome though, what with the combination of Stun Spore, Poison Powder and Sleep Powder the tangela was throwing around trying to corner them.

Any other pokemon and they'd have been in trouble, that was for sure. As it was, Cygnus could barely keep up using Teleport, but they were managing. That was what mattered. Well, that and winning, of course, but road challenges were more practice battling than anything else. It wasn't like Pierce needed the money, after all.

' There's openings,' he noticed "loudly" through their connection. ' You can probably get a Focus Punch in if you time it right,' Pierce added, feeling Cygnus very much liking that idea. Now, they just needed to keep the battle going and find the right hole in tangela's guard. The pokemon was troublesome, but it was also slow and somewhat clumsy. Evidently, they hadn't trained against someone as annoying to hit as Cygnus could be.

Their loss.

So the fight continued. At times, he saw openings that Cygnus didn't agree with, at others he had to deny his abra the ones he seemed to see. It had to be perfect. Tangela wasn't an easy opponent, after all. Teleport was great for dodging and moving as a whole, but it didn't make his abra magically avoid all attacks. Cygnus had been hit by some Poison Powder and one Vine Whip. That was enough for both of them to be wary, very wary.

Alternatively, they'd gotten a few Ice Punches in and they likely could finish the fight if they really wanted. However, again, they wanted to get better, not win a meaningless battle on the road. Thus, it was better to try new things, get better at what they did, strive for improvement. Why go for the safe option when they could test their limits and push them further?

That was the point of it all, right?

Maybe in official, more serious battles like Gym Challenges or tournaments, they could try the safe option. As it was, in a road battle against some random person they didn't know? That was the time to be ambitious, to be daring. So what if people online would likely see him lose? His channel wasn't about training pokemon anyway or, at least, it wasn't the focus of it.

' There's gotta be a hole somewhere…' he thought, looking at tangela and trying to read its movements as best he could. Every shift of its vines, the shuffle of its feet, the twisting of its body, everything could give him a clue. And sure enough, it happened. He saw a Vine Whip go a little too long, one of the feet move a little too far, the body twisting a little too much. ' There,' he said and almost as soon as he finished the thought Cygnus teleported.

His fist pulled back, shining in whitish-red light for a whole second before flying forward, right when tangela started recovering. The Focus Punch connected right in the middle of the Grass type's body, sending it off to the side of the clearing as if it were the world's fastest tumbleweed. ' Again,' he called immediately when he noticed that the tangela wasn't out and Cygnus didn't hesitate for a single second. Another Focus Punch was prepared and delivered, this time smacking the Grass type against the ground.

' We can probably do that, take advantage of another attack's effects,' he thought and Cygnus readily agreed. It could be tricky, but that was the best moment to have enough time for a Focus Punch. Either after they got a hit in especially well or after the opponent missed one especially badly, that's when they needed to strike.

Now they just needed to practice that.

Well, not that very moment, since the fight was over.

"Almost had us with all those powder moves," he said, adjusting a little as Cygnus teleported onto his shoulders and offering his hand to his opponent. To his credit, the guy took his loss well, shaking the offered limb with a smile. Then again, that could be because of the camera. Who knew?

"Thanks. That's one scary abra you have there, by the way," their opponent praised and even though Cygnus didn't so much as twitch, Pierce felt his pride swelling. ' Don't go getting a big head, buddy,' he commented in his mind, receiving a mental glare from the Psychic type. "Here," the man added, passing him the agreed amount of cash they'd bet.

Pierce stopped to count more out of habit and reflex than because he thought he might get scammed. Hell, it wasn't like he'd care all that much if he was. Once again, he wasn't really in need of money, after all. Not that he didn't want more money, but still.

"We should be going now, right?" the guy said once they moved back towards the rest of people, with Lily moving to stand beside Pierce. "Thanks for the battle and the chat. It was great meeting you."

"Don't mention it," he replied, waving him off with a smile. "Glad to hear you like our videos."

Conversation devolved into more praise for a little bit, which was exceedingly embarrassing but also very flattering.

Fortunately, they were able to move on shortly after.

[}-o-{]

"Ok, so, the main problem I'm noticing is when you grab her," Pierce said, standing on the shallow part of the river they had stopped next to. Bellatrix wasn't, much as she'd like to, right next to them though. Instead, Andromeda and Narcissa were keeping her company.

After all, they'd come across another trainer when they started going along the river bank. Not only that, but she was also, surprisingly (or maybe not?), someone that knew about him. They hadn't battled, but they had talked for a bit and he answered a few questions before the trainer had asked for a favor.

So, there he was, helping her with her new goldeen, who she seemed to be having some issues with. She had agreed to be recorded for a video too, which was nice of her. She'd even asked to be part of it instead of asking to be left out. Then again, Pierce supposed she didn't have anything to fear. Everyone made mistakes and it wasn't like she was doing something particularly dumb. Otherwise he'd likely have had to ask her to reconsider.

"Goldeen, despite their beautiful looks," he started, smiling when the fish pokemon rubbed against the side of his leg appreciatively at the compliment. "Can be quite temperamental, especially when they feel their freedom is threatened. It's why it's important never to make them feel trapped or contained. They have one of the highest percentages for pokemon that don't like pokeballs and I suspect it's most probably because of this, but then again, it's not like the numbers are that high, just noticeably so."

That had been something he'd found interesting while looking into the pokeballs thing for future reference in regards to his team, actually. He hadn't even been looking into goldeen in particular at the time, but once he found that, he'd gone into a bit of a rabbit hole. One that was being useful at that very moment, by the looks of it.

"Either way, that's not important right now, sorry," he commented a chuckle. "So, I notice that you often try to hold her in your arms. That's all well and good, of course. I'll be the first to say that being affectionate to your pokemon is great. However, goldeen can be… particular, especially in regards to unexpected grabs. It triggers the part of them that doesn't like to lose their freedom and they'll snap at you," he explained, leaning down and placing one of his hands in the water beside the Water type who rubbed against it.

She was a friendly little thing, it seemed. Then again, goldeen were great. It was just that they had a few quirks that people tended not to know about. Much like how scary pokemon could inspire too much fear, beautiful or cute ones could inspire too little fear. Funny how prejudice worked.

"So, if you want to hold her, ask her, or at the very least move slowly so she can notice what you are trying to do and decide if she wants to allow it or not. Chances are she will, but give her a warning," Pierce explained, demonstrating for the trainer and the camera. Slowly, he placed both of his hands in the water and let goldeen get comfortable as he just as carefully brought her up. "You need to be extra careful when taking her out of the water. Most water types like her don't like to be out of water, understandably, even if they can be. So, be sure that your hold is loose and that they can easily get out if they want to, alright?"

From there, he set the goldeen back in the water and proceeded to guide the trainer through the whole thing. It was a simple process, really, but he wanted to make things as clear as possible. Even the smartest of people could miss the obvious at times, so it wasn't really an insult to her intelligence. Pierce just wanted to leave as many bases covered as possible. Besides, even if she was smart enough to notice all that, maybe someone in his audience wouldn't be.

"You said she's new in your team?" he asked eventually, once they were done with the lesson and even after some messing around. When she nodded, he nodded back, reaching to pat the goldeen. ' Better wrap this up. Bella is getting anxious,' he noticed, glancing to the side. "Another thing of note is that they can get very competitive with other goldeen, testing their horns against each other. Watch out for that and try to curb that. If you can't stop her, try to make them have an actual battle. That way you can stop them from going too far."

"I'll remember that," she said, glancing at the river as if another goldeen would pop up any second to prove him right. None did, of course. The world wasn't that convenient… Fortunately. He'd rather not deal with that mess right that second. He had a gyarados to go and pamper, since she'd been really patient.

"I think that's all," Pierce commented before going to end the video like usual. It was only a minute before that was done and a minute later the trainer was off to continue with her trek. Pierce and Lily, for their part, looked up at the sky for a moment.

"We continue a bit and find a nice spot?" she asked and he nodded his agreement with barely a thought.

"Sure, let me talk with Bella for a bit."

"She's in need of some Vitamin Pierce, huh?"

"You could say that," he commented with a slight smile. Still, as adorable as the gyarados' clinginess was, he'd rather she were able to be by herself or with just the team. The problem was finding a way to get her to handle that better. For the moment… he'd just be patient and see if the situation improved on its own.

If not, then he'd have to come up with a more hands-on approach.

[}-o-{]

" I blame you for this, Pierce. I want you to know that," Daisy told him, annoyance clear in her voice.

"Let me get this straight," he said, unimpressed as he laid on top of Bellatrix while the gyarados drifted in the river. The Water type had seemed really happy with the idea. He guessed it reminded her of those nights where they'd slept like that in Cerulean. Maybe they could try again in the future in a lake or something. Flowing water was a bit risky. "It's my fault because… What? I was too good company?"

" Yes," the Sensational Sister growled at him, making him smile confusedly, even if she didn't see that. " I can't stand my sisters these days, and it's not only because they tease me about missing you. Misty is the best of them, and she's a brat. Don't get me started on the job, the challengers or, even worse, the pretenders."

"Sounds like there's a story there," he commented, amused.

" Don't laugh, mister," she hissed and he could almost see the narrowed eyes on her face. " One of them brought flowers and you'll never guess which flowers," she added sarcastically and this time he had to do a conscious effort not to laugh.

"He didn't."

" He totally did," she said exasperatedly. " Fucking daisies. My sisters were laughing about that all day. They still do."

"Sounds like fun," he commented, earning himself a very angry Daisy noise. Good thing they were talking through pokegear and not in person. "So, your days suck. I'm sorry to hear that."

" Oh now you are kind, huh?" she grumbled and he liked to imagine she was pouting.

"You know how it is," he replied with a chuckle. "Anything I can do?"

" Nah, it'll pass, probably," Daisy told him before sighing. " I just wanted to complain, honestly. It really does help," she commented, sounding tired. At least she didn't sound angry anymore. " I guess I got a taste of something other than the routine and it got to me. It's been a while since I went on a vacation."

"Is that an observation or are you planning on taking a break?" he asked curiously, his eyes searching for the stars in the sky. He'd never been a connoisseur of constellations, so he couldn't possibly tell, but he wondered if the sky was similar to the one from his old world or if it was completely different.

" I was thinking of teleporting to Saffron sometime next week or the one after," Daisy said casually and Pierce's lips pulled into a smile. " What do you think?"

"Personally, I think it sounds like a great idea," he answered, as if there was anything else he could say. "I don't imagine your sisters will like that very much."

" They can cry me a river," Daisy huffed. " They can take their own vacations after I'm done with mine or whatever. It might even make things easier to not have them around, honestly, even if it'd mean more work," she commented, making him chuckle. He wondered how her sisters would react to that statement.

"The fans will be devastated," he added, not really trying to dissuade her at all. He found himself missing the Sisters, actually, even if they texted a lot and had the occasional call.

" Yeah, well, we gotta take a break from time to time anyway. They'll live," she replied and he could imagine her shrugging. " I love the shows and the gym, don't get me wrong, but it's still work."

"Yeah, I get it," he told her with a nod. Just because you liked your job didn't mean you could do it all day every day. Sometimes, you just didn't feel like doing it, but you had to, because it was your job. That was when it turned from something you liked to a chore.

" So, maybe we can have another date in Saffron?" Daisy asked, her voice casual. Pierce was starting to wonder if instead of dates, their outings were more of… He didn't know the word, if there even was one, but he'd place them somewhere between actual dates and hanging out with friends. Not that he was complaining, of course, Daisy was great.

"Sure thing. I'll see what I can find for us to do once I get there," he commented, already making plans and mentally asking Cygnus to remind him. "Anything you wanna do?"

" Anything's fine, honestly, and Saffron is huge. There'll be something to do. Maybe we can just hang out and see where we go, go shopping-," she started before he interrupted with a mock groan. " Shush you. Anyway, we can do that, eat something outside, catch a movie. Something like that?"

' I feel like roles are reversed here a little,' Pierce thought to himself a bit. It was the guy's job to ask out the girl and come up with something, right? Not that he was complaining, mind.

"That works for me. I'll check just in case to see if something comes up," he commented. Just because Daisy offered an easy way out didn't mean he couldn't try to put some effort in himself. "So, anything else you need to complain about?" he asked.

" Oh, you've got no idea," Daisy said, rather ominously at that. Either way, Pierce was glad to hear her out. It was nice to just… have someone to talk to. " I was training this chinchou when-"

Thus he settled for a long talk, but that was fine.

Pierce just relished the fact that he was… not quite as lost as he'd been before in that new world. He was finding a life for himself and people to share it with. It was a slow thing and it still hurt to think of the past and what he lost. However… he was moving on, he thought.

So, he guessed he was happy.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

Thus, another day in the life of Trainer!Pierce goes by, but not without Pokemon Whisperer!Pierce making an appearance or two, because of course. Student!Pierce isn't having a good time, but then again, who likes studying? Not-Quite-Boyfriend!Pierce also showed up, which was a bit more surprising.

I really don't know what's up with these two. If anyone does, please feel free to tell me.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

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

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Are these "regular day" chapters something you like or not? Most of the time, there's some progress in some plot, even if it's almost unnoticeable, but this chapter had basically none of that. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I like to think people that have stuck to SFaW this far enjoy it. I'd still like to know your opinions though, just to be sure.

See you.