Storm Sworn
Aric Fisk's Team:
Tynamo (Vita)
Veluza (Ascalon)
Prinplup (Vorpal)
Red Tropius (Nami)
Silver Magikarp
Skrelp
Nessa Rurina's Team:
Drednaw (Archelon)
Toxapex (Vinny)
Starmie (Pupil)
Milotic (Quintessa)
Goldeen (Queenie)
Barraskewda (Quiver)
Lombre (Phytes)
Note: moving sucks.
- [ᛊ] -
Just like my old life, I fell into a routine quickly. It took just over a month for me to be cleared from the hospital. They had done as much as they could for me. In another month, I would be shipped off to the United States of Pokemon. It was something that stuck in the back of my mind, no matter what I was doing. It made it hard to focus on Galar, but I found training and studying the best way to ignore any anxiousness I had.
My first pair of captures were still young but were making excellent progress in mastering their current moveset, plus a few extras. A lot of it was due to their own aptitude and extra pointers from my future boss, Nessa. She helped in short bursts, making sure to check up on my Pokemon and spoiling them with the affection they deserved.
As for Tropius, well...
We were returning from our morning practice and whoever felt up for it this morning, which had been only Vita this time. For my dino, she had used the sun to revitalize herself, so to speak, and spent exorbitant amounts of energy.
In terms of mastery and battling, Nami was falling behind. She grew up in seclusion, in the safety of a majestic dragon, of which none dared to challenge. She didn't have the same deposition to energy manipulation quite yet. Instead, she owned raw power in spades, be it the sharpness of her wind or leaf blades, the strength in her stocky legs and her innocuous vines, or the destructive ferocity of her Dragon moves.
Nami had needed to master Dragon Breath for her to get a proper handle on what I now knew was Dragon Hammer, the attack she had failed to show off on the island all those many months ago...
Honestly, it still only felt like only a few weeks went by.
The jog home and Nami's slow method of attaining flight had become a habit that doubled as light exercise for me. Tropius had always dreamt of learning to fly, but apparently, the fur-covered dragon never entertained the idea of helping, for whatever reason. And given her type, she was struggling an awful lot...
As for the exercise, the Pokemon world was an active one. I didn't want to slow down my Pokemon or Nessa too much. I had done it enough on the fall of the S.S. Cactus.
I shook my head vigorously, refocusing on Nami.
"Oh! You're jumping higher, Nami!" I cheered from a short distance behind her. We were on just on the outskirts of the city, not quite in range of any routes, nor any people still sleeping. Any farmers had awoken before I did and welcomed any boost to their greenery with my Tropius' presence.
I still haven't gotten the faintest clue about it. Nurse Joy had repeated tests on Nami, but it seemed there was no harm coming to get for doing... whatever she was doing.
And I was making it up to Tropius still for keeping her locked in the pokeball for nearly a month.
Obviously, when it came to buildings with only really humans in mind for the structure, larger Pokemon were a no-go, as my nurse and Nessa had stated. Despite Galar having a many busy cities, they clung to their countryside roots regarding Pokemon. There were little restrictions outside of buildings if a Pokemon could comfortably fit. So, my happy red Tropius could jog out of and back into the city. I didn't have a saddle, and with my legs finally working as intended, I didn't need to be carried anymore.
Nessa had unfortunately informed me that most places may not allow it in Unova if Nami continued to grow due to Nami's future size as an adult Tropius. Growth training and a proper diet had done wonders for the dino. A variety of food, from a vegetarian meal most Grass-Types preferred to a kit that carnivorous Flying-Types loved, had nearly doubled the size of her neck and fruits.
It had taken two months for my latest doctor to clear me for transport. In the first month, I did relapse into a short coma, but as promised, Slowking had coaxed me out with relative ease. Other than that one time, I had yet to be troubled by my condition. So that's cool, I guess.
In that time, I've met Nessa's parents; a lovely duo, they were. Both of them had contributed to Nessa's sculpted looks and busy personality. And due to the latter, our meetings were brief and sparse. They worked hard and were remarkably busy like their lives depended on it. I wasn't sure if it was healthy, but it was their family dynamic.
This chance encounter was one of the few to break the mold.
As I passed the Rurina household, which was modest in decor but not in its urban upkeep, the patriarch noticed me this morning. He flagged me down, so I approached. It wasn't the first time, nor was it common. The last time we spoke was nearly two weeks ago.
"G'morning, Mr. Rurina!"
As always, his gaze dipped from my eyes to the horizontal scar under my left eye. It wasn't large, but the former cut never failed to capture people's attention for one reason or another. I don't think I had it on the island, so it must've been during the iceberg trip. Or, from Tropius' sharp skin by accident. I haven't gotten around to asking Nami or Vorpal yet...
I've just been focusing on learning how to care for them and some fundamental training.
The man's reply was smooth, and he didn't linger on my scar long. "Greetings, Aric, Nami and little Vita." Both of my Pokemon chirped back their own greetings. The tall, robust man's head swiveled every which way, confirming no one was watching. "How has Nessa been?"
I briefly hesitated.
Somehow, I've been fundamentally changed. Sleep was a suggestion? On the island, I hadn't noticed because I was still so weak with my lightning condition at its worse. Nowadays, I only partook in it because I didn't want to get lost in Galar in the darkness, and it was hard to resist while being in comfy blankets. Inadvertently, it helped me cope with the fear of not waking up, beyond Nessa's words. If need be, I could just... stay up.
This need trait of mine gave me plenty of time to get to know my Pokemon if I hadn't been able to during the day. It was especially effective with Skrelp, who much preferred the water with a touch of darkness. Her species used it to camouflage further, so it made her feel safer, having missed the salt water. The pool was specifically made for Nessa's use, so she could train in private nearby, but she gave me a copy of the key.
With her duties and a few sessions with her father every week, she rarely used the pool herself anymore...
Anyway, because of sleeplessness, I had learned that my partner for our future journey was far more affected than I assumed. She had nightmares. Terrible nightmares. Because she was my apartment neighbor, I heard her waking with a start, shriek, or sob. They weren't all that loud, but the walls weren't that thick either. There was no rhythm to when it would wake her. It never seemed to interfere with her life, as she continued to act completely normal. Like, even despite them, she'd help me train my group of Pokemon or her own. Putting me through the paces. Making me understand that because of my mostly six Pokemon (my Magikarp rarely took part), I had little time for them each—she didn't know about my nightly sessions on especially restless nights, I guess. That it may hold me back in the beginning. And to be fair, it did feel so overwhelming at first to research how best to train my team up.
All the same, that very thing could carry me late game, so to speak.
Although, I wondered if she realized she would be totally unable to hide her nightmares on our travels...
In preparation for the wilds, she had bought everything she thought was needed. While I appreciated the mindfulness, it seemed to come from an overwhelming sense of paranoia. Of which, I find it a bit odd that I didn't exactly share it. Something within me wouldn't allow it to root. It was.. a little odd to come to terms with, but I tried not to worry about it.
Worrying about Nessa, however? Her parents did in spades. They just didn't want the girl to notice. Their lil girl shot after her independence right when she became a trainer. They didn't know why exactly. Nor did they want to intrude on that, so they settled on lil ol me out of convenience more than anything.
"Aric?"
"Your daughter..." a bit of memory from the cruise flashed in my memory. That time Elesa and Nessa snitched on my mental health. I nearly grinned at the memory before I recalled where I was. It was a bit of a silly connection.
This really wasn't revenge, just a coincidence!
"She still has nightmares about the event. They usually wake her up in the middle of the night. I'm not exactly sure how it was before I came, but it feels like it's an every other day kind of occurrence."
The dark-skinned man took a moment to note that mentally before nodding slowly. Only to pause. "How did you learn of this?"
It didn't sound accusatory, but it certainly felt like it. I blurted a reply, "I don't really need to sleep?"
He did a double take. "Is that right.. are you okay?"
"I think? My doctor hadn't been too worried." It wasn't a lie, nor was it poorly made out of fear, thankfully. I wasn't an insomniac in my previous life, but I was now. Unlike my old world, days without rest didn't hold me back nearly as severely.
"Good enough, eh?" As a former commercial fisherman, I imagine as long as something wasn't too inconvenient, he'd fish in a storm. A lack of sleep may even be a positive in his eyes, especially if they kept watch over his little girl. "Thanks for the info. I'll... figure something out."
I watched him walk off with steady steps and release a great Swanna so he could fly off. It was purity incarnate, with its pristine white feathers making for angel-like wings. The older man was either off to the docks to start his routine patrols or straight off to finishing building up the land for the gym's stables and gym Pokemon at the moment.
"Nam~!"
Vita had found Nessa's mom with an excited squeal.
"Oh my me, little one! How was the sunrise?" The woman indulged my flying eel before turning to Nami. "Your scales are looking more illustrious than ever, Nami!" Nami trilled a small song in reply.
The woman was great with Pokemon. Despite it, she preferred working on numbers for various companies, and now, the gym.
After patting my dinosaur, she finally turned to me in full. There was a permanent smile fixed upon her. This time, a knowing glint in her eyes looked me down. "Good morning, Aric."
It was still odd being much younger, but, really, I hadn't exactly been all that old before coming here either...
"G'morning, Mrs. Rurina."
"Could you be a dear and invite my daughter back for breakfast?"
I nodded and hurried off. I knew she heard the conversation between her husband and I.
Though, why couldn't she just text her daughter? Nessa had praised the region for its communication, be it routing people and mail with Corviknight lifts or being ahead of others regarding personal technologies. The latter being one of Galar's main exports as luxury goods. Older people were of course slower to change with these things. However, her parents were quite young and quite hip?
Either way, it was the least I could do for another free meal for myself and my team.
"This is Leon." Nessa dryly gestured to the dark, tall male, who smiled brightly. He seemed older than the two of us by a year or two. A young adult or a tall teen that was on the cusp of manhood. "Our Champion-to-be once the League opens back up to the public.
She was struggling to keep the tiredness from her features. Normally, it wasn't an issue, but the girl wasn't usually up by now these days. Quintessa's return had helped in many ways, but the dark-skinned girl still had some way to go...
"Yo!" Said Champion-to-be's eyes flickered to the desk at my bedside, directly towards my pokeballs—which I had come to realize weren't the ones I had used on the island. "You think you're up for a battle right now?"
The new balls were basically spotless, had small engravings along the knob of the Pokemon that pointed to the three modes. Stasis, Rest, and Inactive.
I blinked up at the man in utter confusion, reeling at the question. What would a Champion want with an utter novice?
Nessa merely sighed. "Ignore this battle junkie," she shoved him away.
Leon recovered quickly, "Aw, don't be like that Nessa!" This was a common occurrence for the pair, seemingly. "He's the one who got Tessa to evolve, right?"
"I said she evolved with him," she grounded out.
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"No, Leon, it's not."
There was something more to the anger. It felt a bit like shame mixed with pride. I assumed the latter was from Quintessa evolving in the first place, whilst the shame was from not being there in the first place. I knew of course Nessa wouldn't just feel better from my words even if it's been a couple months since I've been discharged. She's stubborn like that.
"Yeah, but I've taken on plenty of a Milotic or two before. Ain't no way she got so strong from your training. You're too passive, Nes!"
It wasn't meant to be an insult from how easily Leon's words rolled out, but anyone with a brain would take it that way. Honestly, he wasn't exactly wrong. The dark-skinned model trained by herself, usually, refining with exercises and loads of isolated practice. She didn't fancy combat with others... which kinda made sense as to why she had tried her hand at being a nurse or veterinarian (she hadn't exactly picked yet).
It was an easy cycle to get sucked into. I could sorta get it, spoiled by all the resources Nessa offered me. Training, researching, resting, and restarting. Nessa's schedule was far more packed than mine, but she also didn't have to learn the basics about... everything, really. I've barely battled fellow trainers, even with Nessa around.
Unlike Elesa, Nessa and her team were pretty bad at holding back. They were simply too earnest. The sole exception was her stoic starter and Dr. Osumi's Pokemon.
Although, I wish I could kick myself for finally connecting the dots on her choice to become a Nurse. It still left the fact that she was now choosing to be a Gym Leader though. It couldn't just be out of competitiveness, right?
Nessa's response to Leon's claim about her being passive was very telling in the lack of words. She merely gripped her thickly sewed blouse tightly in both hands and didn't say a word as she glanced away. THAT was surprising.
The man merely repeated his question to me.
"No?" came my answer. Nessa and I had breakfast to get to anyway.
"I told you," the model murmured.
The future champion merely laughed boisterously. "Fine, fine! I'll wait for you two to return then." There was a sharp glint in his gaze. If I hadn't faced down the mega Gyarados and Sharpedo, I probably would've thought it was dangerous. "You're so lucky you two get to travel, while I'm stuck here!"
Again, Nessa didn't move. I didn't really know how to reply but tried to anyway.
"Y-yeah?"
"You mind bringing me back a souvenir?"
"Do you have anything in mind?"
"A new Pokemon, maybe? I'd like to train it up myself. Preferably something unique like your Tropius, but I'd understand if you can't."
I didn't see why I couldn't try, though. This was to be a favor for the Champion. Either I was repaying a debt I had yet to know or would get one in return. I wanted to ask Nessa, but she merely flinched and still refrained from moving. Neither Leon nor she was going to fill me in.
It was... dangerously strange, but Nessa has done everything but harm me this far...
"Any type preference?" Leon merely shrugged. Another general champion? That was pretty cool. I bit back a sigh. "I can try," I then offered.
The promised Champion gave me a laugh as he grabbed my shoulder and shook. "I'm sure! I'm out now! Gotta run some errands!" And just like that, he was gone with most of the thick tension.
It took closer to a minute for Nessa to recover. I had thought about bringing out Vita in that time but didn't want to potentially be a bigger bother. My starter was a slimy girl, but she couldn't help it, y'know? She could also be a lil much for the tired model.
"...I'm sorry about that," Nessa finally murmured. In one of her hands, a miniaturized pokeball glided between her fingers in a constant smooth motion. "Him, I mean," she clarified into her empty fist and shook her head. "He was rather insistent, and I couldn't exactly say no to a promised Champion when it came to a favor."
"Is there something wrong with the current Champion?" I didn't keep up with politics here, other than the basics of who was who. I could save it for my return...
Promptly, the studious girl I knew returned without the tiredness. "When the previous Chairman was ousted, the current Champion had also wished to retire, having been led by the nose and for allowing the Chairman's faction to bring down our economy. Champion Mustard also feels like he is... getting too old. He's not exactly wrong on that front either.
Oh, and he had trained Leon to be his successor in many ways before this, apparently."
I didn't question the obvious spite at the last part. I wasn't sure if she was jealous or angry at the blatant favor though. Realistically, it was a bit of both, but how much she leaned either way was beyond me at the moment.
"Ah well..." I shoved the information away for later. It wasn't something important right now. "Your mom wanted to get together for breakfast."
The girl stiffened again. "Mum could've just texted me... They didn't grill you for anything, did they?"
"Nah."
There was a sigh of relief. "I'll teleport over in 20 minutes."
Teleporting is how Nessa dealt with her newfound fame. Her Starmie, Pupil, had learned a ton under the tutelage of Dr. Osumi's Slowking. In a way, like Nessa with said doctor. It hadn't gotten good enough to travel across the region in a single hop yet, like Slowking had once he familiarized himself with Galar, but three was close enough. Especially given the immense stamina on the dual starfish. Pupil was able to make nearly twenty trips in two hours. As someone new to the world, any number above 0 was crazy enough. At Pupil's relatively young age, ten trips per hour (rough estimate) was insane.
Nessa's routine must be doing wonders on stamina... It's no wonder her current team is mostly defensive, eh?
I mulled it over as I gathered the rest of my team's pokeballs. Nessa would be doing the same after a quick check-in with the bathroom. Mrs. Rurina's poke-cooking was divine, apparently, and our Pokemon wouldn't forgive us if we skipped.
But, back to the Starmie's current "stats." In terms of strength, Pupil was undoubtedly the girl's third strongest and her most utility focused. Her rocky turtle and majestic serpent were tied for first and second.
The once meek Tessa could outlast every one of her teammates except Archelon. The Drednaw had both the raw power and near-perfect defense to counter Milotic's range of power and defenses. And that's while keeping up against the latter's regenerative abilities.
It was pretty insane to sit in some of the training sessions again. Her hulking turtle (in everything except height until Dynamaxing—boy, was that a fucking surprise) fending off a mythical sea serpent.
His Razor Shell, Liquidation, and Bulldoze to her Triple Axel, Aqua and Dragon Tails. Rock Blast and Stone Edge to Dragon Breath, Ice Beam, and Water Pulse. Iron Defense, Rock Polish, and Shell Smash to Aqua Ring, Recover, and Coil. Ice Spinner and Rapid Spin to Scald and Whirlpool...
It was quite the show, really! I know Nessa didn't really delve into contests like Elesa did, but maybe she could try her hand at it. And, holy shit, did Quintessa work her butt off to learn it all or what! The sea serpent seemed to prefer ranged attacks at the moment but loved to use her new body physically for close combat.
I don't know how long she had her hardy starter or what she was feeding him. The 4-foot (in both stance and hind legs-to-head height) menace had a counter to the near 20ft long serpent (and she was still young!). Neither had a direct out nor an auto win button, so to speak. Figuring out how Archie would continue to keep up with the eventual adult serpent seemed like something for Nessa to think about long term. The turtle had plenty of experience and age over Quintessa at the moment, but I don't think that would keep Archelon in a tie for long. Especially, given the rate Quintessa was trucking through her training and learning new moves.
Nessa was making up for all the training she wasn't unable to do for Tessa when she was but a Feebas. Playing to the water-type's innate strength, the gym leader-to-be put off mastery for later.
Although, one of those new moves' mastery may be my fault. Triple Axel was awkward on a serpentine body, heaving taken her knowledge of Ice from Ice Beam and applying it onto herself. At first glance, it involved bashing three parts of her body into something. However, if Quintessa could work the first few hits into coiling her body, then using her tail as a massive whip, it had devastating potential. I brought it up to Nessa on a whim. It took many tries to get it right, but eventually, Quintessa got it down.
If it weren't for Archie's stretchy neck working how it does, Archie would've needed a cast for his neck. Or would've just straight-up died if he were anyone else.
And it would've been a much funnier memory if not for Nessa's near breakdown.
The girl had rushed her turtle, toppling him over easily, where Quintessa had barely managed it with the vicious attack. She was filled with a cold nervous energy as she had tried to examine the extra-long neck at that moment. It wasn't until the Drednaw's head snapped back to its normal position, then promptly and very gently nipping Nessa did the girl calm.
By calm, I mean burst into tears with an almost hysterical flood of concern. Eventually, the girl relaxed, surrounded by her Pokemon. I assumed, at least, since I had left before then. Nessa made no mention of the scene past that day and kept up Quintessa's heavy training, including Triple Axel with the new "style," just without a live target. From the few battles I did see her partake, she had yet to pull the trigger on the whip-version against others as well.
Since then, I refrained from adding input just in case.
"...Back already, Aric?" came Mrs. Rurina's warm voice as she let me back in.
"Yeah, wouldn't want to miss this. My Pokemon wouldn't let me, even if I wanted to. Nessa said she'd be down in 20—" I glanced down to my refurbished PokeNav, "tenish minutes now."
I had also come to learn that Tropius hadn't released my Pokemon from their devices like I presumed. Vita did. She could do it with the newer capture balls as well. And I know if I just asked, she would stop. I didn't really see anything wrong with it either. Doubly so, as my starter Pokemon.
Vita was a good girl who didn't abuse it. Knowing her, she had realized she and Ascalon had been trapped within the balls whilst I got stuck in one of my coma's...
Speaking of Ascalon, even he enjoyed eating when it came to Mrs. Rurina's food. I would have to definitely ask for notes on my travels...
"Do you mind setting up the feeding area for the dears?"
"I'll get on it right away!"
In the far side of the kitchen, I gathered the numerous sets of trays. Since Nessa's father was out, I would be using his set. The girl's mother only kept two Pokemon on her, a Swanna of her own and an Inteleon, trained by both Nessa and her father. The former Pokemon was the romantic partner to her husband's; it was also his engagement gift to her.
Honestly, I would be a little jealous of their relationship, but romance had never really been much of a priority until I had my shit together. And I know how that turned out...
In the second bowl of each tray, I filled them with water or a specialized drink for my Tynamo and Skrelp, and for Nessa's Toxapex. Skrelp needed the extra nutrition for her poisons that common pokefeed or Mrs. Rurina's great cooking couldn't give. Vita required extra uncommon electrolytes (thanks Elesa for the knowledge!). Meanwhile, Nessa's Toxapex, Vinni, was in a similar boat to Skrelp to both reinforce her tough "hairs" and poisons instead.
The Pokemon poisons were a cool subject all on their own. Medicinal uses of poisons could serve as anti-toxins or remedies in all shapes or forms. Vinni's were anti-inflammatory in nature and helped create a better version of "black sludge," versus those made by lab-owned Grimer or Muks. Nessa, the good girl she was, and her Pokemon always made sure to donate when they could.
My feisty lil Skrelp, Rosaria, had the toxins to lower blood pressure and potentially beat back various forms of cancers. It was a recent discovery that had only just joined common practices. The pride the seahorse showed off when Nessa revealed it was so cute for the normally aggressive and prideful lil thing. Her own poisons were currently too thin, and Rosaria was too young to be letting out her own "black sludge."
It had taken me two weeks for Rosaria to trust me. And honestly, most of it was due to recognizing Tropius after the first week. My dumbass had completely forgotten about Nami trying to nurse Rosaria. I really should've let the two meet sooner. Slowking even cracked a grin on his usually doughy face at how my seahorse thought I wasn't giving Nami the respect she deserved. Suffice to say, Rosaria looked up to the red-leafed Tropius.
Speaking of which...
My unique Tropius, Nami, had garnered a ton of attention. Even if she became a common sight these days with her early routine, the regulars that got up at that time would always make time to stare. Nami never really paid it any mind, merely focused to capture the first rays of sunlight at the nearest peak. The sheer focus of will was inspiring, really.
Still dunno how I would let her down when we get to a place that wouldn't let it happen...
But yeah. A red Tropius had Nessa getting overrun by emails about it, atop her countless messages about how she got her Milotic and her usual flood about her modeling career. From getting samples of Nami's leaves and fruits for teas or otherwise, to offers for "adopting" my winged dino for a metric fuck ton of pokedollars.
Really though, it was my fault. I was unwilling to take on the attention. Nessa had also been the one to corral her sea serpent and then eventually capture Nami in front of a crowded beach, after getting word of Quintessa from the guy who found me.
His name was Raihan, I believe.
Anyway, capturing a Pokemon like she had was no different from returning your own mon. Nami had pressed the button to capture herself, so it seemed like she had returned herself into Nessa's service.
Most people assumed I was her butler or apprentice that dealt with her Pokemon while she was busy. Especially since I brought back her "hidden" Milotic.
At least, that was the story that the public got and ran with.
I was- am still so thin and could be mistaken for a year or two younger than my age, of which I was still unsure of? B-But, still! I couldn't be THAT young. It was impossible not to realize the hormones pumping through me. Thankfully, they were just as unapparent as they were in my previous life.
Small mercies, I guess...
It was still mildly annoying to deal with it in a body unused to them again.
Pop!
Nessa and her Starmie teleported in. I was mostly used to it, given how busy my guide to the world was, but Mrs. Rurina wasn't.
"What was that, Aric?" the woman questioned from the kitchen.
Nessa glanced at me, still crouched by all the trays, answering for me. "Just me, Mum!"
"Oh! I'll be done in a bit!"
"Lemme help."
Her Starmie, Pupil, greeted me by fully facing me before twirling its back arms and a muted orange flash of its jewel.
"G'morning to you too, Pupil."
A natural smile overtook my lips as I pushed a set towards the dual-type starfish. There came a slight green glow before Pupil turned to its water. One of its arms dipped into the water. Nary a sound or obvious opening, the water drained out of the bowl quickly.
"More?"
Pupil wobbled for a no. With that, it shadowed its trainer, who began to help her mom by mixing various articles.
And soon, the house that rarely saw use was filled with Pokemon and their owners munching down on their breakfast.
I could get used to this, but I wouldn't. We will be leaving tomorrow.
I was deep in thought as I matched through the city. My train of thought was on which ways I could improve the training I had my team undergo.
Vorpal, my battle maniac Prinplup, was awful at taking commands. Not out of pride or a lack of trying. It seemed like every time I would issue a move, it would interrupt his flow. I had an idea or two on how to overcome it, but I needed to make sure he had his basics covered.
Whether he liked it or not—
"Look who it is! Nessa's boytoy butler!"
A group of four teenage boys jeered. They were on the younger side. I'm fairly certain they were just jealous because being near Nessa was every common boy's dream at this age, supposedly. I would love to say I was exaggerating... However, a glance to a nearby building even saw an animated poster of her in her travels across Galar. There was an unfamiliar redhead in a few of them, who tried her best to fit in. Regardless, it was clear she wasn't a model, though she was beautiful naturally.
She must be a friend. It was a little odd that I haven't seen them together yet...
"What a studious knob..."
"He really thinks he's better than us, huah?"
The group of five continued their approached with a gait that I had only seen in British or gangster movies. I was so taken aback this time that I paused instead of turning to avoid them. It was doubtful that they had any shivs or any sort of weapons.
My eyes trailed to their waist. Only two of them carried Pokemon. Publicly, at least. Not to assume the worst, but with a league run ragged to get their shit together, who knows what the rebellious youth could get up to...
"Oh, so you're actually stopping for once?"
"You're not too good for us, huh, mister deadweight butler?"
The two who spoke up this time were the ones with the Pokemon. It was kinda obvious that they were trying to bully me, but I've never experienced it even as a bystander. I guess, I was lucky then and not so lucky in this life.
I could feel my lips try to lift into a wry grin at the thought. Quickly, I stamped it down, facing the group in full, if just to be polite. One of the two leading boys seemed familiar. Dark skin, slink black hair, sharp blue eyes. Oh! That Raihan guy.
He was still so young...
"Are you Raihan's brother?"
The younger-looking boy paused so hard, one of his groupies bumped into him. They both stumbled slightly.
"Sweet Fanny apples!" the mini-Raihan swore to his apologetic friend.
The other one with pokeballs grinned widely to the side. "He's got you nailed, eh?" His voice was a higher pitch than his looks would suggest. It seems like puberty hasn't touched his voice yet.
I buried the urge to run and sorta doubled down on the rumors with my politeness. "Is something the matter?"
Raihan's lookalike sneered at it, but it was the grinning boy from earlier who answered.
He was a light-skinned boy whose hair was hidden beneath a sheet bound around his head. A gray durag, I assume. He dressed heavy, despite the dying summer Sun. A thick jacket, cargo pants that piled above his tanned hiker boots. Glinting in the sun, a small little earring tinkled in one ear.
"Yeah. What the deal with you, Butler?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Nah nah. Why is Nessa going to Unova?"
The Raihan wannabe cut in as well. "What gives. She'll go to Unova with you, but not anyone else."
It didn't seem quite like jealousy if I read the tone right. Either way, I hesitated to answer. I quickly chose to go with the truth, cuz I wasn't really told to keep my condition hidden. Though, they obviously didn't need to know the full details.
As I went to answer, it suddenly hit me what exactly I would be admitting, and I couldn't quite keep the slight frustration out of my downcast expression. "I need medical treatment there, and Ms. Rurina thought it was time to complete her badge count before she's too busy as a new founding gym leader."
The group actually flinched at the reveal. More than half of them murmured their own curses.
The light brown trainer was no longer smiling with his muted reply. "Ah, that'll do it." I merely nodded. "So..." he turned back to not-Raihan, "you still wanna battle him?"
The wannabe flushed. There was a ton of context I was missing, but in this world, people would battle for much less.
I turned to the fidgeting boy. "I wouldn't mind." I didn't brandish my Pokemon like almost everyone else did. It still felt weird to do so. My hands dug into my pulled-string bag. The group gaped at the pair of three pokeballs in my hands. Going from civilian to trainer was one thing, but I had jumped straight into a full team. There was a certain level of ability that was associated with a full team.
There was a reason newbies wouldn't just go to catch themselves a full set. They needed the ability to withstand the drain from multiple pokeballs. If they couldn't, they would white-out and barely manage to train their captures regularly. On that, I had a cheat. Whatever managed to attack me at sea before I ended up on the cruise had imparted a lingering energy that my body sorta adapted to and cultivated.
It was what Vita had fed on when she tried Leech Life on me. And was why she had been seized with spasms. Her small little body wasn't used to that kind of energy, as much as she enjoyed it. My current doctor said it was closer to magic than normal electricity. I had gotten lucky enough that it seemed isolated to my liver currently and made no move to shift.
On top of withstanding the "recoil" of using multiple pokeballs, a trainer was expected to train and care after them, often all at once. It was too much for unlucky beginners that had just graduated from their trainer schools, nevermind children.
While I did carry my full team, I only used five regularly, so the sixth ball was mostly for show. The silver Magikarp wasn't so used to being out of water, and I didn't want to train a full team, including a Gyarados quite yet...
Either way, I wasn't a pushover. I've gotten... mostly used to being in my new skin and living in this world. Pokemon battles were a way of life. Violence was an often correct answer. And my team?
We were survivors.
"What are the terms of the duel?" I'm sure I broke my half-assed butler image on their part. Or, perhaps, it was a natural reaction, butler or not.
The false-Raihan stood forth, unflinching. "2-on-2," he declared with one ball primed in his hand.
I merely nodded and jogged to make distance. The boys and I peered around the mostly empty parking lot. There was a large trash bin and a single vehicle on one side. Various marks and cracks signified this wasn't the first time battles took place here. So, this lot would be fine to battle in.
The more outspoken trainer stood to the side as referee. The rest of their group stood off to the other side as to not interfere.
"Ready?" I called out.
"Ready!"
"Power up, Vita!"
"Cut em down, Ace!"
"Tynaaaamo~!"
Yeah, her intro phrase was dumb lil pun that no one else would get. It still made me smile, doubly so at the sparkling of my starter. Without an explicit command, she activated Magnet Rise to loop happily into the air.
"Axe axe axe!"
On the other side, a small Axew stomped and growled as menacingly as it could. It wasn't very threatening. The sound was too high-pitched, and the stomp barely did anything more than unsettle loose rocks in the tar.
The group watching murmured to themselves rather loudly. They had been expecting a water type, given my attachment to Nessa. It seemed the Eelektross line was foreign, despite Unova being a similarly situated country.
My opponent growled at his group in annoyance, "Shut it! Let me focus! It's obviously some sort of Electric type, ya buggers!" He glared at me and shoved a finger towards Vita, "First Impression!"
What the fu—
Ace the Axew blurred forward. Its green scales glowed brightly. The small blades jutting from its mouth glowed brighter and brighter as it closed the distance.
There wasn't enough time to summon energy to interrupt.
"Spark!"
Yellow enveloped my grayish eel instantly, just before Vita turned into a bullet. The two Pokemon met each other in three seconds. Ace tried to turn its head into Vita. She curved just away from the mouth-blades to nail the baby dragon in the head, head-on.
The two first-stage Pokemon were knocked back. Vita remained floating, having caught herself after a second of tumbling in zero gravity. Ace was sent rolling, head over feet. And seeing his recovery taking longer, I took initiative.
"Thunder Wave!"
Again, yellow energy coiled around her, but not for long. Vita lunged forward, only to stop suddenly, hurling the electric energy off her. Just like we practiced, the energy seemed just as fast as that Axew's First Impression.
"D-Dodge!" My young opponent panicked.
By the time, Ace came to its senses, it was already too late. The yellow energy wrapped around the dragon, suddenly crackling loudly.
The practice was something I had Vita do for an opponent with sensitive ears. While I didn't know much about the Haxorus line, most dragons had very attentive senses that made them dominant predators. And given how generally resistant dragons were, we needed this.
Both Electric and Water attacks were resisted in the games. Here in this world? It wasn't that different. Dragon scales generally protected them from elemental attacks, aside from the pervasive cold, atop their heightened natural bulk. It was mildly frustrating to deal with. Even Tropius' scales weathered any Water or Electric attacks very well, atop her natural resistance as a Grass-type.
Even baby dragons could potentially throw off a Thunder Wave.
However, Vita was no normal Tynamo, regardless of my training. Her energy clung and hurt as if it was a toxin or burn. My hasty foresight to avoid having my Pokemon practice against one of another had been confirmed.
Most Pokemon could eventually shake off a paralysis, given time and good health. Not Vita's crackling paralysis. The local nurse joy and my doctor was fairly certain it had to do with my starter's consistent absorption of the mysterious energy within me. It was recommended that I greatly slow her routine Leech Life on me, if not stop outright. And while I wanted to listen to the professionals, Vita loved it. We didn't eat Mrs. Rurina's food often, I really tried not to rely on Nessa as much as I could.
That and Slowking mentioned Vita saw it as her way to help me fight back my condition. The mystical energy she got was just a happy side effect. As long as she didn't partake too frequently, that was...
And so, it wasn't surprising to see the paralysis take effect immediately.
"Ax-Axew...!"
We all bit back a wince at the dragon's uncontrollable whine.
Vita completely outmatched the infant dragon. It wasn't completely surprising. Many new trainers just started their journeys just a week ago, two months after Unova. It seemed this faux Raihan was one of them.
Maybe it was a bit too early to judge, given he wanted a 2-on-2.
I didn't linger long. This was a battle, and the Pokemon center wasn't too far off. I didn't have to worry too much.
"Charge Beam first!" Instead of flashing like she had before, Vita's small mouth opened, glowing like a futuristic cannon charging up. And in just a second, a beam sliced through the air into the chest of the mini dragon. The blast kicked up a bit of dust. I missed it, having noticed the extra "charge" Vita gained.
I smirked.
I guess I would be keeping Vita in.
"Playful Leech Life!"
Her normal Leech Life would be life-threatening, which was wholly unnecessary for this low stake fight. I didn't want to scar him. I simply wanted to see how far newer trainers got and where I compared, aside sessions with Nessa that could barely be called sparring.
Being so busy reading up on the world and everything else I could to help me with my team, completely so one-tracked, I may or may not have ignored anyone calling for me like these boys could've—
A red flash absorbed Ace before Vita's gray body could collide with the dragon.
"Mmph!" The boy grunted at both the pokeball recoil and in defiance. "You're no newbie at least!" He took a moment to stare hard at his second pokeball.
I thought my full team was supposed to suggest that...
His posse cheered him on. A few lines gave me a hint of what to expect.
"—electricity got nothing on Vibranium!"
"Yeah, I just looked it up! Tynamo are just electric Magikarp!"
I felt the youth within bristle at the latter comment. I barely reeled it in to pay attention to my opponent. It seemed he noticed the comments as well.
"You sure you're gonna keep in your Pokemon after hearing that?"
It wasn't him taunting me. It was honest concern. Vita was still a tiny Pokemon. She was probably just a bit wider than the Axew's blades and half its height with her length.
I glanced over to my eel. She merely stared back with a seriousness odd on her tiny body. It was different from the resolution she showed against Vorpal prior to his capture. She made her choice.
"I trust Vita to handle anything."
The boy's glare returned.
Ah, maybe I should've thought about my words better...
"Shake em down, Vi!"
The nickname caught me off guard for a moment as I thought he was addressing Vita.
Red energy bolted from the new pokeball to the field. It took only a moment for me to realize what I was up against. The dragonfly body was unmistakable.
A Vibrava, which were Ground/Dragon type.
I could see why they were concerned. The Ground types' ability to nullify electrical attacks was infamous even to toddlers. Combined with a Vibrava's high speed and dexterous flight, it seemed like a counter to everything Vita should be capable of.
Should.
My girl was a Water type, all but confirmed after weeks of Nurses and researchers studying her. And while Vibrava were Dragon type, they lacked the bulk dragons were known for. Instead, they had reinforced scales that acted like their exoskeleton which were inferior defensively but allowed them to move rapidly like their previous Bug-typing suggested.
I know all this because I was interested in them as one of the tamer dragons and having been curious about the state of affairs in Hoenn. With my full team, I doubt I'll have the time to hunt one down. Especially in Unova where they were fairly rare in their deserts.
Unova's ecosystems were fairly robust, able to fend off invaders for one reason or another. One of them being Pokemon rangers. They were the least numerous there per Capita versus other countries. Their jobs were mostly focused on reviewing the land and double-checking local populations. Police dealt with the people far more often—
"First Impression!" the dark-skinned boy called again.
This time, I was ready.
"Aqua Jet!"
Vita wasn't as used to Water Energy like she was with her electricity, so it didn't come nearly as quickly as it did with Spark. However, given the distance and even with Vibrava's speed, I believed she could pull it off.
The two shot towards one another. Vibranium (jeez that's a mouthful..) flew in an erratic pattern, seemingly flickering in and out of view. It revealed a mastery of the move that Ace had lacked.
Meanwhile Vita combined the seeming lack of gravity and frictionless Magnet Rise with Aqua Jet to become a streak of blue. She didn't break the sound barrier to make a sonic boom yet, but she was close. I almost couldn't wait for the day she gained mach speeds.
And when the group gasped in shock, the two Pokemon collided.
Water protected Vita some, but in the face of this version of First Impression, she was left in the same state as the second-stage dragon. They both reeled and recoiled. Vibrava nearly fell from the air due to its crooked antennae and lacking extra protection on its head like Axew's dense constitution.
Because of that, Vita recovered first once again.
"Approach with Water Gun!"
My starter mechanically controlled herself with her electricity, like a turret locking on, as she sprayed a jet of water at the slightly dizzy dragonfly. The attack sent our opponent spiraling out of the air. Vita continued spraying, rapidly approaching.
Normally, it would take weeks of training to get a Pokemon mobile whilst using range attacks as a beginner. Especially young Pokemon like Vita.
Magnet Rise was her cheat. Her masterful control remained active with just a thought. Though, as of now, she could only manage linear movement. But it was good enough.
Eventually, the Vibrava broke from the onslaught with a Mud-Slap to slow down attacks that chased the retreating Pokemon. It somehow pulled dirt through the tar to shield itself.
"Quick Attack around!"
"Go low to the mud!"
The summoned Mud-Slap's gave me an idea. Vita probably couldn't outright dodge a dexterous dragonfly. One day, she'd manage it with ease. For now, she'd have to use his trick against it.
"Water against the mud, Vita."
My opponent merely shook his head, probably calling me crazy. I know Vibrava came from the ground. The ease at which it summoned the Mud-Slap's all but cemented it.
The Vibrava sped left, then right, aiming to crash into Vita in mere moments.
I planned a feint.
"Aqua Jet up!"
With water already being summoned from Water Gun, Aqua Jet could be used near instantaneously.
And it worked.
Vibrava crashed into the tar and slid forward, unable to slow with the drenched dirt. It was too wet to be controlled and hadn't thought to call more in a slippery panic.
And before it could think to do exactly that or simply fly, I made my counterattack.
"And back!"
"Namm!"
Vita crashed into her opponent's abdomen where its wings met the body with an actual Aqua Jet. My girl knew exactly where to target to greatly stifle Vibrava.
Unlike other common prey like Rattata or Magikarp, Tynamo had predator instincts whilst ambushing. Even with her uniqueness, Vita never lost hers. She wasn't a range sharpshooter by any means, but she preferred close combat anyway, despite her current lack of appendages. She was smart enough to recognize the wings were both a weak point that lacked the protection from the thicker exoskeleton and the ground dragon's best tool.
And just like the Vibrava's antennae, a few wings' arms were now crooked, but thankfully not broken. I'm sure they could be fixed easily, but we just wanted to knock them down for now.
The shrill cry from his Pokemon brought the boy across me back to life. "Dig, Vi! Dig!"
Oh, that was smart!
Immediately, Vi tore through the tar, all but scrambling to get away. The awkward angles of the antennae made it a tad more difficult. But that just went to show how trained this Vibrava was. It didn't need its most important sense, second to their eyesight, to keep its balance and dig without the guidance of the front feelers.
"Chase it down with a playful Leech!"
Without a hint of fear, Vita chased it down.
It quickly became quiet. We waited for tens of seconds before there were signs of an underground battle. Without any sight of it, I couldn't be certain of what was taking place.
Either way, Vita was at a major disadvantage. She had taken air superiority by (temporarily) crippling Vibranium, only to give it all away by my command. I was mentally kicking myself when Vita was launched through the original hole with a pained cry of her own.
I bit back the urge to cradle my starter. It was the first solid blow she's taken. She can take more, and I'm sure she got a Leech Life or two off in their underground scuffle.
I glanced over the crawling dragonfly. There were two bite marks and some water dripping off it. It sagged as it stood ready for another command. Its trainer didn't disappoint.
"Supersonic!" the boy demanded.
My mind raced. Vita wouldn't be quick enough to dodge. If she gets confused, I might as well return her. Water Gun would do nothing other than hastening the sound with water as a medium now.
"—Thunder Wave!" I yelled, covering my ears in preparation, just before the shrill sound broke from the Vibrava.
Thunder Wave wouldn't block the sound, as it was a totally different frequency. However, if Vita understood the nature of the command, she'd draw upon the mystical energy she absorbed from me.
It would cling to the special aspects of the sound attack. And hopefully, Vita wasn't that sensitive to sound as other Water-types. She had relied on her electromagnetic senses the most after all. I couldn't be certain with this changed Tynamo, but...
Unlike my first few months here, my hope continued to ring true.
It was weird to see energy crackle on previously invisible soundwaves, it dampened the sound by a good chunk of decibels. It wasn't nearly enough for me to release my ears. It was, however, enough for Vita to shake off the attack. She went to summon water, presumably for Water Gun.
She froze as she flickered.
It was different from when she usually flickered excitedly. It was reminiscent of when she lost control that one time on the island. But it wasn't quite that either.
It happened once before during training, but Vita shook it off easily.
"What the fuck are you doing!" My opponent all but shouted. He made to approach and stomped a couple steps before his friend/referee stopped him. He continued yelling at me from there. "First, you take it easy with that weakened Leech Life of yours! Now, you won't let your Pokemon evolve? Fight me straight, you bastard shiet!"
Oh- oh shit, it was the same light when Vorpal became a Prinplup. To say I felt dumb was the understatement of my new life.
I ignored the continued raging and coaxed the struggling eel to me. "Vita, come're girl." She barely managed it, and I had to meet her halfway.
Her wavy and flickering fins now glowed faintly with the same evolution light, but it was dimming. She was slowly overcoming the beckoning of evolution.
With both hands, I cupped her. Like clockwork and in spite of her struggle, her glowing tail wrapped around my wrist nearly twice over. I brought her close to my face, where she averted her eyes.
"What's wrong, Vita?" She didn't move even after waiting nearly a minute. "Do you not want to evolve?" She took a moment to shake her upper half side-to-side. "What's stopping you?"
She only stared at me. There was a lack of judgment as well as clarity. I had no idea, despite spending a month learning as much as I could while bonding with my team.
"Dumbass," came the young ref's voice from across the impromptu field, "she's asking for permission."
I blinked once and gathered myself quickly. "Is that right?"
Vita gave a hesitant nod. I grinned widely before booping her between her black eyes. "You needn't even ask, Vita!" I tucked her to my chest. "Go on, evolve!"
I tossed her into the air. Her tail end unfurled easily as Vita's Magnet Rise took hold seamlessly and the white glow gained a second life.
The boys and I stared in awe.
The light didn't take long to grow all encompassing. A silhouette bore through, giving hint to the Pokemon beneath. Unlike Prinplup's, it took nearly a minute for the evolution to finish.
"EELEKTRIK!"
Instead of the basic elongated eel I was expecting, Vita was about 4ft (1.2m) long, brandishing two pairs of long fins, instead of one. The front most pair was in the normal position, one on top and the bottom of her head, and rounded at the end. The next pair hugged the sides of her middle, rounded as well. Thin lighting marks lined the fins, going past them until her oddly blue underbelly rather than the expected yellow. Vita now had a yellow tail fin, instead of red-orange expected.
Well, obviously an Electric/Water Tynamo wouldn't evolve into a normal Eelektrik.
As she opened her mouth again, sparks burst from the five pairs of dots along her side. They were nearly invisible until activated, blending in with the navy surface. They glowed a neon blue when activated. On normal Eelektrik, it's where their electric organs had multiplied and shifted to, according to my studies.
"Trik!"
She swam through the air like the cloud dragon had, coming straight at me. I opened my arms as widely as I could. She collided with me, throwing me onto my back. I hadn't even thought about it, but my starter hadn't changed at all if I ignored her being that much bigger. She was very same cheerful eel that I had come to love.
"You're so big now, Vita!"
She wasn't as slimy, but that could just be her recent evolution.
"Get on with the match!" My opponent yelled in obvious annoyance.
I didn't stutter, but I was honestly apologetic as I shouted my reply and guided Vita back to the field.
"Thank you for your patience, mate!"
"Trik!"
"W-Whatever!"
There was a misplaced blush on the boy as he did the stereotypical tsun huff. Vita could get anyone to like her!
"I'll give you first move!" I stated.
The boy's glare returned in full, and he didn't miss a beat, "Dragon Breath!"
It seemed like he was holding back as well, since a Dragon move seemed like it would've been a better offense than Mud-Slap. Again, I believed in Vita and her new form. I had trained her every day. With it, my sense of self and confidence in not just her but myself grew with it.
My choice was clear. Vita wanted to assess herself after all these months of actual training. Not the sham I had come up with on the island. So what if the correct choice was to Aqua Jet out of the way; this was a low stakes match between two young trainers!
...Well, I had wrongly assumed it was. I wouldn't learn about it until a bit later.
"—Charge Beam!"
As if already sensing the command, Vita's new body preemptively flickered to collect Electric energy. It coiled into her much larger mouth, revealing a row of sharp triangle teeth.
White, outlined by crackling yellow, blasted towards the purple beam of concentrated dragonfire. It was like a scene out of the Pokemon anime or Dragon Ball in the way the two beams clashed.
The clash bulged rapidly. Yellow versus purple. Vita was flagging from her previous battle, but like always, she mustered energy from within. This time, it probably came with the invigoration of evolution.
"What the fuck," I heard some of the boys mutter.
I couldn't blame them. This Vibrava was a trained second stage up against my newly evolved Tynamo. As much as it annoyed me to admit, that one comment about Tynamo's being basically fodder was true up until their final evolution, honestly. Not that they knew.
This was Vita giving it her all, as she has always done. For me.
"Just a little longer, Vita!"
"Come on, Vi! You can't lose to this actual clown!"
Yellow electricity gradually cut through the purple fire. From there, it snowballed rapidly. It wasn't clear if it was due to the dragon tiring, losing motivation, or whatnot.
And with a twirl of her longer body, Vita blasted through the fires completely. Given the state of the Ground-Dragon type, it was no doubt they'd fail to shake off the Electric attack.
"Vi- vi- vi—" the seized dragon tried its darndest to fight back the new sensation of being shocked.
And for a moment, its owner could only watch. Swiftly, the boy returned the dragon, ending the spasms.
And like that, the boy who usurped the referee role lifted a hand up. He bellowed out, "Aric the Butler takes the win over Hudson Locke in a 2-0 fashion!"
I wasn't paying much attention at this point. I was too busy cradling my starter in my arms. She had tried to coil around my forearm out of habit, but struggled to get it right without hurting me or spiraling in a way she could wrap herself completely. She failed, and after three attempts, I pulled her in.
My happy-go-lucky starter was too long.
She crackled with some leftover energy all the while and probably tried to warn me, but I didn't care. I barely felt it as I hugged her close.
"That was so close!"
Thankfully, my opponent hadn't tried to fight Vita whilst she was sorely unused to get body. She lacked the bruises I saw forming earlier with her white body prior to evolution—perhaps, her darker complexion hid them better. And now with the heat of battle gone, she was left panting and heaving through her large mouth.
It was big enough to fit her previous form and probably my hand too. Maybe, my head, but hopefully, we never got around to testing that.
By the time I returned Vita, after promising to get her checked out by Nurse Joy (more for my sake than worry on her part), I glanced up to see my opponent staring at his pokeball with furrowed brows. He didn't seem angry or frustrated, thankfully, and took the loss well for his demeanor, I think.
His fellow trainer, the light-skinned boy with a durag thing, approached me, blocking view of my previous opposition. There was a wide smile on his lips as a competitive glint sparkled from his green eyes. "You think you got another one in you?"
Perhaps, I had fallen into the same trap as Nessa, and Vorpal would shine best with combat rather than our usual practice...
"Who will referee?"
One of the onlookers—who had grown beyond the group of boys without pokeballs—spoke up. It was that actual Raihan in his sharp but lazy glory. With a smirk, he replied with surprising glee, "I will!"
- [ᛊ] -
Aes (A/N): another time skip, huh?
Aric may come off as more confident, but that's mostly because he's been out of his own head and studying a ton. Simply put, he's just more comfortable in the new world. I didn't explore it fully this chapter, but every "main" character has shifted a ton now, eh? I'm saving the more thorough "exploration" of his changes for when Aric actually gets to show what he's learned, like in battles, or, say, in the wild. He utterly failed last time (not exactly his fault, but still). Nerd Aric doesn't stumble twice in the same spot! Old him would've dodge the step completely by going the long way next time—
Personally, I'm not a big fan of using Isekai knowledge to dominate the new world. Getting rich or powerful quickly has its place(I watch/read as much, if not more, Isekai trash as the next guy), but it usually forgoes world building a ton in a way that really bothers me. I say all that to explain my initial slow pace to set the world and characters.
Last note: I dunno if my "interruptions" that interject the MC's thoughts to explain things are unwarranted or unwanted. I'll probably continue them for a while, "unconsciously" phasing them out eventually to show how used to the world Aric is. Are they too invasive or winding too much/nonsensically?
After this, my notes should be far more sparse, unless to reply to reviews.
Edits: did
Words: [10,234]
It seems like Marnie ain't the only one with a "gang."