"Please, just come. You don't have to battle, you can hang out with Venonat in the stands." Annie sat cross-legged on her living room floor, pleading with Galvantula for the seventh day in a row. Galvantula looked back at her with big, cautious eyes. "It'll be good for you to get out of the house, I promise."
It had been a week since she'd rescued Galvantula from the observatory. He hadn't been the same since then. Galvantula had always been a little timid, but now he panicked at the slightest noise. It had been a struggle to get him out of his Poké Ball at all for the first couple of days, let alone coaxing him out of the apartment. He also seemed to have a permanent shudder now. He shook so softly and consistently that when Annie touched him, it felt like he was purring.
'He did this. Colress.'
Gone was her childish crush on the mysterious loner in her class. When she thought of Colress now, bile rose in her throat. Team Plasma be damned, she wanted to bring him down personally.
"Veno-nat!" Venonat nuzzled up to Galvantula encouragingly. Galvantula flinched, but then softened and seemed to have been persuaded by whatever Venonat had said. He looked up at Annie with a reluctant nod.
"Yay! If anything scares you, you can hide in your ball and I'll bring you straight home, okay?" She gently stroked her hand over his shaking abdomen.
Galvantula's bravery steeled Annie to face her own fears for the day... The dreaded clown costume. Burgh had yet to be convinced to change the theme of his gym, so on went the ruffles and the red nose. Annie caught sight of herself in the mirror on her way out of the door and sighed.
On her way to the gym, Annie passed a group of Team Plasma grunts in their knight costumes preaching about Pokémon liberation. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she almost stormed over to them and started shouting... But she didn't. She didn't recognise any of their faces. They were strangers. Maybe they even believed in what they were saying. Shouting at them in the street wouldn't bring back the way Galvantula used to be.
She continued on, greeting Burgh as she took her place on her own little battlefield and started training with Ariados and Frosmoth. Galvantula watched warily.
'Maybe it was too soon to bring him here.' Annie thought guiltily as she noticed him scuttling to hide every time there was a loud noise or sudden movement. But Venonat kept him company and seemed to do a good job of reassuring him, so she was able to go about her day fairly normally.
That was until the green-haired boy walked through the doors of the gym.
"N!" Annie smiled. His presence wasn't exactly a comforting one, but it wasn't unpleasant either. After her misadventures with Team Plasma, she found herself glad to see a fellow trainer who loved Pokémon as much as she did.
"Clown." he gave a small smile back, his eyes darting around the room, landing on each Pokémon in turn.
"Glad to see that stuck," Annie grimaced. "What brings you here today?"
"I wanted to hear your Pokémon again." he said matter-of-factly.
"You might be just the person I need, actually." said Annie thoughtfully. "Would you speak to Galvantula?"
Annie crouched down and called for him gently. He had darted behind a bench when N had opened the door of the gym and was watching them fretfully. N crouched down next to her.
"It's okay," he said, followed by more words that were too quiet and fast for Annie to make out. But whatever he said seemed to work because Galvantula came right out. N reached out his hand and Galvantula sniffed it before deeming him safe. Annie smiled proudly as she watched her Pokémon relax in his presence.
"You've got the magic touch." said Annie softly.
N turned to her with a frown. "Something very bad happened to this Pokémon."
Annie sighed. "Yes, I know."
"A human did this." N said, sorrow and anger tinting his voice.
"Yeah," Annie nodded, a lump forming in her throat.
There was a long pause while N petted Galvantula, exchanging an unspoken dialogue.
"Galvantula doesn't want to battle anymore." N said finally.
Annie smiled sadly. "That's understandable. I'd never force him to."
"Do you love your Pokémon?" N turned to her with steel in his eyes.
"Of course! I would do anything for them." Annie replied without hesitation.
"Can you truly say that confining them to Poké Balls, forcing them to battle, is a reflection of that love? It is a twisted formula, is it not?" N replied, his words sharp.
Annie wanted to retort that he sounded like Team Plasma, but something stopped her. He wasn't preaching mindlessly. He was talking about Galvantula. Annie was a gym trainer. A life with her would revolve around battling. Her lips quirked downwards as she realised what he was saying.
"You think I should release Galvantula." she said - not a question, but a sad statement.
"Do you follow my logic? You are forcing your own ideals on Galvantula. Can you honestly say that being here is what Galvantula desires?"
"No, I can't." Annie replied, her voice barely a whisper. "Is that what Galvantula wants? To be free?"
N was quiet again, his eyes turning back to the gently shaking bug.
"Galvantula remembers a cave. He remembers feeling safe there."
"Chargestone Cave. It's where I caught him." Annie replied. "If that's where he wants to be, then I will take him back there."
"He says he will miss you."
It was at this point that Annie began crying. She had been trying hard not to, but the thought of saying goodbye was a sudden weight dropped on her heart. N watched as she stood up and pressed her palms to her eyes.
"Damn that Colress, if I ever see him again, I'll kill him." Annie swore between sobs.
N rose to his feet next to her. "Colress? Is that the person who hurt Galvantula?"
"He's a b-bastard!" Annie choked out. "He's working for Team Plasma. They kidnapped Galvantula and by the time Burgh and I were able to find where they were keeping him, that h-horible man had done Arceus-knows-what bullshit – hic! - experiments on him." Annie could barely get her words out past the angry tears streaming down her face.
"I must go." said N abruptly.
Annie tried to calm her breathing, realising guiltily that she must have made him uncomfortable.
"Thank you, N," she said tearily as he turned to leave. "For helping me see what Galvantula needs."
He offered a small smile as he left the gym.
Annie took the rest of the week off work, spending as much time at home with her Pokémon as she could. She went to Castelia Market and bought the most expensive bug-type Pokémon food she could find, hoping to make Galvantula's last few days with her special.
Her other Pokémon seemed to understand the weight of these last few days too. Annie sat contemplatively on the sofa, watching as Ariados groomed Galvantula thoroughly. She combed through his fur over and over, although there couldn't have been a single spec of dirt left. Frosmoth, Venonat and Crustle hovered around too, waiting for their turn.
Annie was holding her badge case, turning it so that the lamp's reflection gleamed off the eight shiny badges. Her Pokémon, Galvantula included, had helped her earn them. They had all worked so hard, but what had they gained? A mediocre trainer who never made it to the Pokémon League...
'A clown.'
Annie watched as Venonat tugged at Galvantula's leg playfully. Galvantula began thumping its leg up and down while Venonat squeaked with delight. Annie's chest tightened. It felt so bittersweet. Galvantula was happy and playing, but it was all about to end. She clenched the badge case in her hand. What was the point of all this, really? The battles, the training... Was it all just for these meaningless badges? For an empty dream she'd never fully committed to?
"You all deserved better," she murmured, the words catching in her throat. "I should have been able to stop them. You should have never ended up in that observatory."
Ariados paused in her grooming, looking up at Annie with wide, concerned eyes. The others turned to her too, alarmed by the sadness in her voice. Frosmoth fluttered over and nestled against her side, her icy wings cool against Annie's arm.
"Maybe that bastard was right," she confessed quietly, feeling an overwhelming rush of guilt. "What if I can't stop Team Plasma because I've never seen anything through in my whole life."
Crustle clicked his pincers softly, shuffling closer. Galvantula caught her gaze, tilting its head in that endearing way it always did when it knew she was upset. Annie managed a weak smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "I'm sorry, Galvantula," she whispered. "I know I should be happy for you. You'll be going home, where you belong. But... I'm going to miss you so much."
Galvantula chittered softly, inching closer until its head rested in her lap. It closed its eyes, a peaceful expression softening its features. Annie stroked its fur, feeling the static crackle under her fingertips. For a moment, she allowed herself to simply be there, to soak in this last bit of time together.
Then Venonat jumped up beside her, startling her out of her thoughts. It nuzzled against her arm insistently, then let out a cheerful cry as if to say, 'Hey, we're still going to be here!'
Annie couldn't help but laugh, a small, fragile sound. "I know, Venonat. I know." She wiped at her eyes quickly, not wanting to worry them more. "I'm so lucky to have all of you. I just... I need to figure out what I'm doing. Not just for me, but for all of you too."
The room fell quiet again, the only sound the soft hum of the heater and the occasional chirp from Galvantula. Annie took a deep breath, looking at each of her Pokémon in turn. "I don't know what's next," she said softly. "But I promise, I'll do better. I'll be better. For all of you."