'I can't afford to stay still like this , I suppose I should use those two tickets on the way to the next town.' I thought after completing my daily workout which at the same time the system handed out my five item tickets before resetting the quest for the next week. The only reason I was even still in iron town was because the Vulpix I caught previously was only going to it's new home today and the rest of my payment will come through along with the quest. Apathy is a bit funny in how hard it is to shake of after it gets ahold of you.-

Even after that whole episode of sadness and anger I almost fell into the calm numbness of apathy again. I say almost because Tank noticed it and bitch slapped some sense into me , let me tell you that bug can hit hard. I was grateful nonetheless as I knew that the longer I was still plagued by this problem the longer it will take me to make progress in my aura. Speaking of aura my new spear was almost able to be considered a conduit weapon with how smoothly it allowed my aura to travel through it.-

There was a slight irritation that came with my new spear however in the form of the smiths in this town trying to buy it off of me. Most were polite if a bit shifty about it but some actually sent thugs after me to force me to hand it over. In an unrelated note a local gang was found in an alley with their heads crushed and the walls covered in blood , the Jenny clan officer on the case thinks it was a rogue fighting type.-

"It would take an inhuman amount of force and precision to cause so much damage to a persons skull without anyone knowing." she had said to the journalist writing an article on the subject. I was hanging out in the reception area of the pokecenter when a plain looking man with short blonde hair and a eager look came in. The guy looked about Brendans age from my guess and judging from the lack of pokeballs it was easy to tell what his business in the center probably was. I was right as it turns out as the guy was here to pick up the Vulpix I caught for him days ago.-

I watched the guys first interaction with the fox to see if he needed to "lose it" accidentally. I might not have many feelings but that didn't mean I was just going to let an abusive or cruel person have a pokemon that I caught. My intervention was clearly not necessary however as the guy got along well with the fox and had even brought several kinds of snacks for it since he couldn't decide what to get apparently. Seeing that I chose to ignore the rest of that and focus on reading the regional newspaper for Hoenn to get a read on the happenings.-

That plan went out the window however when a nervous male voice spoke from in front of my table. "Um , can we um , battle , maybe?" it asked softly. If my hearing wasn't quite good I don't even think I would have heard it. "Ha." I sighed before folding my newspaper and looking at the speaker. It came as no surprise to me that it was none other than the guy who got the Vulpix. "Did you notice how the little Vixen at your feet is trying to pull you away from me? There's a very good reason for that." I said calmly.-

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I thought she was being playful." the guy said confused. "A tip for the future , eyes wide , ears pinned back and tail lowered while trying to back away are all signs your pokemon is frightened. The reason for that in this case is because your pokemon has seen the rest of my team when I captured her and knows that she stands no chance against the other two." I explained calmly. The guy looks at his pokemon in surprise while the nervous creature nods vigorously under his gaze.-

"I see , thank you for entrusting her to me." he says politely with a bow. I can tell that he was truly grateful as well from his aura so I waved it off. "It was just a job I took no need to thank me , I can tell you are itching to start your trainer career off with a bang. So how about I do you a favor and let your little vixen go a few rounds with tank here. He is the only one of my pokemon that she might actually have a chance to win against." I offered with smile.-

I wasn't lying either as Tank only had two moves in the form of string shot and tackle and even had a type disadvantage against the fox pokemon. "Really!?" the guy exclaimed excitedly. 'This dudes way too innocent , harsh lesson it is then.' I thought without any outwards change in expression. "Sure , if memory serves the center has a battlefield behind it for just such an activity." I said while standing up. The guy suddenly looked a whole lot less interested once he saw how I towered over him in height.-

I ignored that though and walked over to the Joy clan member manning the front desk. She looked up and greeted me warmly. "Good morning Alex , finally going to let me check out those darling pokemon of yours?" she asked with a sweet smile. This particular member of the Joy clan was named Rose and had apparently heard from the border patrolmen when I went out to capture the Vulpix what my team was comprised of. Since then she has been bothering me about giving my team a check up at least once a day. "Not today Rose I need to use the battlefield and wanted to let you know before hand in case something happens." I explained with a chuckle at her pout.-

Rose looked at the guy next to me and then glared at me "I won't be using those two for this , just Tank here!" I explained hurriedly. Rose might be as sweet as pie normally but she was downright scary if she thought someone was abusing a pokemon. I saw that first hand when a guy brought in a passed out Pidgey that was clearly starved. She went from sweet to vicious in no time flat to the point the man started to cry for mercy.-

The funny part though was that the poor man had only just found it when he was out chopping wood and brought it in for treatment out of the kindness of his own heart. Needless to say Rose certainly lived up to her name as she had some sharp thorns. Anyways once she heard me she brightened right back up like she hadn't been two seconds away from giving me a harsh tongue lashing. She checked the clock on the wall "I have a thirty minute break to use anyways so I will referee your match." she said sweetly with a smile.