Pachi was running at Nori's side as he skateboarded to school. The Pokemon Rehabilitator wasn't sure what to do after the disaster yesterday. He had told Qwilfish what was going to happen, he had apologized profusely to her, but she barely reacted to any of what he had to say. That didn't feel good. Then Pawniard came walking in and was trying to see her! Nori was glad he didn't do anything outside, but then he did that! What was he trying to do?
That was his thought at the time. The conclusion he eventually reached was that Pawniard was trying to help. But it almost certainly wouldn't be any good. With the battle happening, he couldn't afford to take any chances. There was only one person who might be able to get through to her. He had to take a risk and try seeing her today. No matter what. His mom had agreed with him.
He had printed out Volkner's response to him just in case. There wasn't much to it; it was as terse as always. He confirmed what Nori had suspected, that the Officials assigning him this Qwilfish was unusual because it was not the type of Pokemon he was expected to get. He had emailed his mentor back asking what he could do. In retrospect, it was stupid. All he could do was rehabilitate her, but he meant, what then? If even a few days in her ball without hydration was too much for Qwilfish, what could he do? He couldn't keep using the shower that way, and…anything else…
His heart started to race. He had to stop the skateboard and catch his breath, which had suddenly left him. He was going to email Arumi back at lunch. Yesterday was hectic, so he didn't know what to say. He could use any and all help right now. Maybe even Pawniard, if nothing else. There was always a chance it would work, but it was a last resort. Not yet.
He blinked. Pachi was in front of him, looking up with wide and worried eyes. Nori had to pick his Pokemon up and hold him for comfort.
"We'll get through this. Somehow," he nearly sobbed into the squirrel.
Mornings at school were nearly always the same, no matter where Nori was or what year he was in. Students talked with their friends, did whatever on their phones or computers, sat in their first class or homeroom, or otherwise got ready for the day. He knew that today was going to be a rare exception.
It was confirmed the moment he stepped inside. Reiko was leaning against a wall with Terrance close by. The former had been watching the doors, and rose to meet him as soon as he came through the doors. The latter glanced over, then away.
"Hey, Carino," Reiko greeted. Her voice was vaguely hoarse. "Pikaru's waiting in the square."
"Thought she might be. A little surprised she sent you." He'd have expected Chad or someone else from the battling club. He tapped his lip. Come to think of it, that was really unusual. "Uh, you sick?"
"Volunteered myself. And I feel one coming on. Would've worn a mask if I could. You saw that Saqid caught it too." She shrugged and began to lead the way.
"Saqid's always sick," Nori mused. "Wonder how dirty his house is." That would be the only way he could think of how that could happen. It's why he and his mom cleaned the trailer all the time. Nori hustled to walk at her side.
"Who knows?" his chubby friend grumbled. "Fucking Chisaka."
Terrance languidly brought up the rear. He spoke next. "I'm still…sort of surprised you're doing this," he remarked, raising his glasses and wiping his eyes. "After what happened. And what people now think."
"Like I said, I respected Emi's decision to go through with it," he put it plain and simple. "Plus, it might be my only chance to actually train Qwilfish with someone else helping."
"Aren't you…you know? Worried?" He pressed two fingers together.
"If Qwilfish will hurt her Pokemon? Not really."
"Carino," Reiko said sharply. She held an arm in front of him and tapped a foot. She was glaring, also gently leaning toward him. "You got into trouble last time because you had a hydrophobia induced panic attack. And I'm hearing she wants to have this at some pool battlefield in Mynwest? How are you even going to function?"
"It…it'll be okay!" he proclaimed. And he told her it was aquaphobia, but this wasn't the time for that! "I…can if I really need to. Like, back in Sunyshore, one of the Gym Trainers tried to abuse that against me, but I was able to power through!" Eventually. It was a constant distraction, but it got to the point where he could at least battle right. "If not, close my eyes and plug my nostrils? I can still hear and tell my Pokemon what to do!" He did a double fist pump. "And most of mine are fine on their own!"
"Carino!" she repeated, scrunching her nose. "If you're not looking, how are you going to recall Qwilfish if she's about to do something violent?"
"N-no," he wheezed out, stepping back. "I…don't think it'll be bad. I know Qwilfish isn't as bad as Pawniard."
Okay, Reiko had a point. He wouldn't be able to watch to make sure Qwilfish didn't do anything. Or Emi. He closed his eyes and shivered. Why was he so stupid?! It was true, he didn't think there was going to be anything serious to worry about. But still!
"Why even bother, then?" Reiko demanded.
"Nori, th-think this through."
At this, Nori turned to Terrance, and back to her. His eyes were watering, she was frowning but not particularly angry. They were worried.
"You can still call it off," Reiko said. "No one would blame you for it. A few might even think better of you."
"I can't," he firmly shook his head. "I mean, I shouldn't. I don't want to. I don't think it'd change any minds."
She snorted. "You got yourself into this," she remarked.
"And maybe…" He sighed and inhaled deeply. It wasn't like he made a snap decision on this or just to placate Emi. He had given this thought at the time and after the fact. Maybe he didn't think of everything, but he'd considered a lot. "Maybe I just want more people to see her. I was thinking that could change minds. That's why I wanted you to see her." It changed Yumi's mind. Mr. Martins and Mrs. Kurusu quickly realized she was okay. Even Rashid didn't think she was so bad from that brief bit he saw last night.
In one sense, he had kind of impulsively agreed to Emi's request. But the more he thought about it, the more he figured that there was a real point. His friends considered this. Terrance eventually relaxed and nodded. It took Reiko a bit longer, but she did the same.
"Okay," she conceded. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
He smiled at them. "I hope so too."
They shared a laugh. There were still going to be a lot of obstacles to overcome here. From his conversation yesterday, he didn't think Qwilfish minded fightng. But what about as a team? He learned very little yesterday, and the Officials hadn't given him a list of what she could do like they did with Pawniard. He had a day and some to get her ready.
They resumed their walk, making some idle banter in the meantime, and soon reached the square. Just on a rough estimate, there were a good fifty people waiting to watch the proceedings. When the crowd announced his arrival, his opponent rose from a table near the center.
"There you are." Emi gave a toothless grin. She also had two people with her. Chad was to her left, and he was staring down at his feet. He didn't recognize the light pink-haired person to her right. They had androgynous looks (particularly how said hair was long and styled evenly on the end), and well, Lux was proof to him that you can't judge gender by appearance.
"Nice crowd we got." A Gym Trainer in Sunyshore got a big crowd for a public apology he dragged out of him, so it didn't surprise him.
"Are we still doing this?" she asked.
"Yeah. If you still want to."
"It's too late to go back anyway."
So the same way as he felt? That was more common ground. He went into his backpack and retrieved the sheet that was sitting in his binder. She took it and the six of them went to sit down.
"I still think this is a bad idea, Emi," Chad seemed to repeat at her, punctuating parts of his sentence. He held a hand in front of the page.
"And I still don't care," Emi said. It made Reiko smirk a bit.
Unlike her former teammate, Emi actually took the time to give the agreement a thorough read. Chad and the other person leaned over to do so as well. The former's expression didn't change at all; his yellow eyes remained as vacant as they were from the moment he walked in. There wasn't much to it. It simply said that Nori Carino and the Officials would not be held accountable for any serious injuries sustaineds in a battle against a Pokemon he is actively rehabilitating, albeit in legalese.
The androgynous person came up with a question. "So if Emi signs this and something happens, you just get to go free?"
"It just means she can't sue us," he clarified. "There might still be consequences for me or my Pokemon. There almost were with Pawniard." He tilted his head. "You're…?"
"Oh! Don't mind me." The person rapidly shook their head. "I'm just here to support Emi."
But Emi smirked. "That's Aki, they're one of the few from the team who has my back." She chuckled bitterly, but gave Aki a pat on the back. "Fan of yours too, from what I understand."
"Don't give him the wrong idea!" they fussed. Non-binary, it seemed. "It's not like that."
"I didn't think so," he said. "If it was, I would've been able to tell right away. I get it often enough." He turned to the raven-haired person who'd shoved her way to the front of the crowd to see, and shook his head at her. She only hung her head with disappointment. "Any other questions you have about the agreement?"
"I had one, but they asked it for me. Looks good," Emi said. She nudged Chad, who sighed and nodded in unison with Aki. The auburn-haired teenager scratched out a signature and slid it back.
Nori signed the paper himself and dated it before folding it and tucking it away. Reiko and Terrance were staring at him. "If you guys are curious about this, I can show it to you later." He turned back to see Emi extending a hand.
He accepted without hesitation, giving a firm yet brief shake. This time, there was nothing more to it. "Thanks again," she said with a genuine smile. It turned into something more competitive as they released. "And good luck, you'll need it."
"I can't promise my best," he admitted. "So yeah, it'll probably take luck." Or a miracle. Especially since if Qwilfish couldn't function in a battle without him, it'd be two on three in an unideal environment.
His earnesty elicited a bemused reaction from Aki, who slapped a knee and chuckled. Emi only crossed her arms. "Honest to a fault," she judged, before turning to her friends. "Thanks, you two." She checked the Poketch on her wrist. "We better get to class. See you guys at lunch."
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes to. "We better go too," he said, swinging his legs out. As he rose, he spotted a pair of people with light brown people standing at the front of the crowd. Yumi was fixated on him.
"Hey guys," he greeted her and Touya. "I guess it's official now."
The latter rubbed his palms together. "Oh man. I've never really seen you battle before." He grinned wildly. "There was last time, before you-know-what happened."
He wasn't friends with Touya the same way he was with his twin sister, but they were on good enough terms. "Well, now's your chance. Hopefully, I can see this one through all the way."
"Sanae will love this," Touya snickered. For a moment, Nori thought he saw something. A grin that was too wide. Probably nothing to worry about. At least, nothing for him to.
The crowd was beginning to disperse. But Yumi was frozen. Her skin was pale, her eyes were wide, her mouth was half open, and she was quivering violently.
Before she could say anything, if she was going to at all, Reiko stepped forward and volunteered her own assurance. "Carino's given it enough thought, Takao. Don't worry."
That calmed her down better than any of his words could have. She exhaled sharply. "That's good to hear," she said. "Just don't overdo it, Nori."
"I won't." He laughed nervously and rubbed the nape of his neck. "But uh, I need to cram in training for Qwilfish. And see Agent Studd. And um. Other things." If he could see Prema, that would be perfect. The only way to find out if he could was to try. There was so much prep to do before the fight and so little time to do it in.
"Do you need…my help?" she offered, inching closer.
He hadn't forgotten her offer. "I'd be happy to have it," he told her. "But your stupid parents won't let us." He was sure they would let her watch. Having her at his side would be better, but he wasn't so sure that Mynwest Court allowed anyone besides trainers and judges on the battlefield. They were way too serious. But he couldn't say for sure.
She turned away for just a moment. "I'll try calling them at lunch and see what they say."
He nodded at her. "Here's hoping. I'd love a bit of extra help."
She jumped slightly at one of his words. "Yeah." Her face was lightly flushed to begin with, and that got her a little redder. "Anyway, we should get to class."
Right. Nori gave her a wave before turning and heading out, chuckling at getting her flustered. He idly wondered: how long until she confessed? She wasn't exactly hiding her feelings for him very effectively. Was she shy? Was she waiting for him to notice her feelings and react? Maybe he would have to at the rate things were going. But he had bigger worries for the moment, and he wasn't in a rush to be with anyone.
The battle was now official and there really was no turning back. He had a day and some to get ready. Even with all he knew, Nori had no confidence in being able to pull this off. But…there was nothing to do but do it.