As Gregory returned to consciousness, he felt the weight of a gaze upon him. He slowly opened his eyes to see two tiny black orbs staring right at him as Ari hung suspended from the ceiling by a strand of his silk webbing. It took every ounce of willpower that Gregory possessed not to jump out of his bed screaming. The only outward externalization of how startled his arachnid friend had made him was a slight twitch in his eyebrow followed by a long, slow blink of his eyes. They sat like that for a few moments as Gregory let the pounding of his heart settle within his chest.
"Good morning, Ari," Gregory deadpanned. At his greeting, the little green insect let out an excited series of chittering as his red mandibles clacked in emphasis to whatever it was he was saying. Gregory took a moment to decipher what Ari was saying to him as he sat up in bed, stretching his arms out to either side, thoroughly awake after the morning's fright.
"Don't worry Ari we will be doing a lot of training today," Gregory replied after getting the gist of what the Spinarak was after.
Looking over, Gregory saw that Fennekin was still fast asleep on the same cushion she had claimed last night. She was on her side, legs twitching occasionally, making adorable little yips and growls, the little vixen thoroughly trapped in the realm of dreams.
He reached over to carefully grab his pokegear off the bedside table so as not to wake her up. Opening up the device's camera, he took a quick video and snapped a few pictures of the precious moment.
Gregory felt Ari climb up his back to the top of his head, his six legs easily able to find purchase on his night clothes. Gregory reached up and gave him some pats on the head, careful not to prick himself on Ari's horn, as he rose out of bed. He walked over to his pack and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, putting Ari on the floor before entering the bathroom to shower.
"We have to do some errands around the city first, but we will do some training after that. I promise!" Gregory called over his shoulder just before the bathroom door clicked closed behind him.
—-—-—-
Gregory exited the elevator onto the second floor, Ari again sitting atop his head, carrying Fennekin underneath an arm, still half asleep. The little fox pouted sleepily as they made their way to the cafeteria side of the room to grab some breakfast. As he got closer, Gregory saw two distinctly different lines of food. The Center had stocked the left side with all sorts of human breakfast staples; Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and little pre-packaged bowls of cereal, which sat next to a large refrigerated dispenser full of miltank milk. Gregory quickly grabbed a plate and started working his way down the line, his plate filled with a little helping of everything there was. Sat on the counter next to the food was a tiny display that read:
'All food is sourced locally from Cherrygrove's very own Orwell animal farm Est. 1984.'
The other food line had many different varieties of Pokemon food: bowls overflowing with different types of berries, and freshly baked Poffins, which sat next to trays of Pokeblocks hand-made by the center, separated by type and genus. These took up the most space on the counter and came in all different shapes and sizes. Fennekin's demeanor completely changed as soon as she caught the smell of the food. Her ears stood straight up, and she raised her nose into the air, trying to catch all the different scents wafting through the cafeteria.
"You sure are a glutton, aren't you?" Gregory chuckled as he let his Pokemon pick out the foods that caught their interest. He let the worker scan his trainer ID and then turned to find a seat so that they could eat their bounty. Juggling a fox in one arm and three plates of food in the other, Gregory made his way carefully to an open seat in one corner of the seating area, dodging out of the way of half-asleep trainers answering the siren's call of their empty bellies.
Fennekin took her time eating, savoring every bite, letting all the different flavors of her meal permeate her taste buds. All the while, she was making happy noises of enjoyment. Ari, however, ate with an almost robotic efficiency. Gregory didn't think he was even tasting his food with how quickly it disappeared. He enjoyed watching the dichotomy between his two Pokemon as he ate his breakfast.
Ari had just climbed back up to Gregory's head when he noticed Nora making her way towards the table, Mudkip and Vulpix both trailing behind her, a tray of food held between her hands.
"Good morning, Gregory," Nora said as she placed down the tray and pulled out one of the chairs to sit down. Mudkip and Vulpix leaped up to the table, tucking into their food as soon as Nora placed a bowl before them.
"'Morning," he managed to get out between bites of his breakfast.
Silence descended over their table, the only noise coming from the cacophony of scraping silverware and the low chatter from the other trainers in the room as they finished up their food. Gregory set down his knife and fork as a contented sigh escaped his lips, one that only a full belly can inspire. The level of noise in the room had died down as they all ate their breakfast, the morning rush of trainers and their Pokemon trying to grab a bite of food before starting their day having died down considerably.
"Were you still wanting to go find a library or something?" Gregory asked, breaking the companionable silence of the table.
"Mhmm, yeah, I know of one close by." She replied as she finished the last bite of her own food, gently placing the cutlery on the table's polished surface.
"Cool, I'm ready whenever you are. I think Ari just might explode if we don't start training soon," Gregory teased as he caught the impatient look the little arachnid shot him. His red mandible made a few jerking clicks in what Gregory thought was his version of a huff. He gave the bug-type a comforting pat as he got up from his seat. He slung his pack over his shoulder and pushed his chair in as he and Nora walked toward the elevator. Fennekin, Mudkip, and Vulpix all followed behind, leaving behind empty plates that they had scoured clean, licking their chops to get every last residue from their meals.
The morning sun was just beginning to rise above the tall buildings that made up the part of the city they found themselves in. Its warming rays chased away the chill that lingered in the air from the previous night. Gregory followed Nora as she led them through the streets of her hometown. He noticed they were heading in the opposite direction of Chasaji's sports club, heading southwest deeper into the city's heart. The foot traffic on the road had started to pick up as they went along. People and Pokemon of all different types bustled about like Combee in a Vespiqueen hive. Men in suites power-walked past their long strides eating up the distance to get to their jobs in the high, towering office buildings in the city's downtown area. Various street vendors were hocking their wares at the corners of city blocks. Gregory even saw a man with a large aquarium tank filled with Magikarp. The red fish Pokemon wore blank expressions as their lips opened and closed, unconsciously filtering anything edible from the water they floated in.
"Only the best trainers can bring out the potential of these pokemon! Do you have what it takes? For only 200 credits you can find out!" The man with the Magikarp called out to all that passed him by.
Gregory and Nora walked quickly past him, not wanting to be dragged into his sales pitch. Gregory didn't know much about Magikarp except that they evolved into Gyarados and that there are plenty of cautionary tales of trainers who had their newly evolved Magikarp turn on them, causing severe injury and destruction or worse. He wasn't afraid to admit that he didn't think he had enough experience as a trainer to get a Gyarados to listen to him.
They walked the city streets for a few more minutes, Nora occasionally taking them through alleyways and what appeared, to Gregory at least, to be random side streets until they finally appeared in front of a rather large building. It wasn't quite the length of Chasaji's gym, but it was way taller, reaching up about four stories. Its red-bricked facade clashed with the more modern building styles surrounding it, but Gregory thought it suited the structure well.
As they walked up the small set of stairs that fronted the building and entered through the doors, they were greeted by a vast open space filled with rows upon rows of bookshelves, all filled with books of all types.
'Greetings. If you require help finding a specific tomb in the collection. I am more than happy to assist you,' A voice suddenly said, catching both teens off guard. It took Gregory a minute to realize that he hadn't actually heard the voice with his ears, but that instead, it arrived to him like thoughts inside his head. He looked around, trying to pinpoint where that had come from. His eyes landed on a Pokemon off to the right, sitting behind a counter.
Its large head, covered in short yellow fur and with a large mustache reaching off its snout-like nose, had two large pointed ears. Its body, which was rail thin and covered in brown armor, was positioned meditatively, floating a few feet off the ground. Floating around it were two Silver spoons, a corona of blue light emanating from them. Laid out all around it were piles of books. Many were open on the counter or held a loft in that same blue light before it's face.
'Please ensure that your companions keep their fires under control, or I will be forced to remove them from the building,' The Alakazam's voice said, once again projecting his words directly into Gregory's head. Its eyes flashed with a dangerous blue light.
At their feet, both Fennekin and Vulpix shared a nervous glance before giving the psychic-type Pokemon a nod.
Its warning delivered, the Alakazam returned its focus to the many books it was reading. The two split up, browsing through the shelves at their own pace.
About an hour later, they emerged from the building back onto the street. The sun was just now reaching its zenith in the sky, unobstructed by a single cloud. Nora had an armful of books she had checked out from the library. A small, satisfied smile pulled at her lips.
"Found everything that you were after?" Gregory asked as they headed back towards the Pokemon center, his own bounty of books tucked safely into his pack. He shuddered to think what that Alakazam would do if he returned a book damaged.
"Yes, plus some!" Nora replied happily.
"I found 'Pokemon Biology: the basics by L. Henson,' 'Pokemon nutrition for dummies' and a few others." she said excitedly as she jostled the tombs around in her arms. Reading out a few of the titles embossed onto their covers.
They continued retracing their steps back to the center, chatting idly the whole way. Finally, they turned a corner, and the familiar facade of the center came into view.
"I am going to go train some more with my team, what do you plan on doing now?" Gregory asked as they entered the building, the glass doors gliding open silently at their approach.
Ari and Vulpix both perked up at his question. The little spider Pokemon had been bored to tears during the trip to the library but was now starting to chitter excitedly at the prospect of improving his battling technique.
Vulpix, on the other hand, was looking up hopefully at Nora as he unleashed a full-powered Babydoll eyes.
It was super-effective as Nora glanced down at the little tod and then at the books piled in her arms.
"I think we'll also get some training in," she sighed, giving her books another longing glance. However, it was short-lived as Vulpix yipped excitedly, rubbing the soft vermilion fur of his body across her leg, a gentle smile stretching across Nora's face at the sight.
They took the elevator to their rooms to drop off their books before meeting back down in the lobby of the center's bottom floor. From there, they decided to split up. Gregory wanted to give one of the local battle clubs a try, while Nora was going to go try out Chasaji's. Armed once again with his Pokegear's GPS, Gregory and his Pokemon set out to find the Cherrygrove battle club.
The Battle Club ended up being all the way on the city's west side and took up a few acres of land. It was a massive facility with a central building with smaller satellite facilities scattered across the lot. The main building looked like a stadium. Its circular structure had a modern aesthetic with many jutting metal and reflective glass windows. Its domed roof had a poke ball facade, perfectly mimicking the red and white spheres.
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As he walked up to it, Gregory saw a few outdoor battlefields with various terrain layouts. One looked like a miniature forest, the battlefield surface covered in grass and sprinkled with large trees. Gregory could feel the excitement welling up in his chest. He and his team haven't had many opportunities to battle, and this was an excellent opportunity to see how he measured up to other trainers.
The Battle Club lobby was a mostly open space with a high vaulted ceiling, from which large banners hung, their colorful fabrics emblazoned with the various symbols for all the Pokemon types. At the back of the room were two large doors on either side of a wide reception desk. The place was packed, a long queue of trainers snaking around the lobby. Gregory wasted no time and found a place in the growing line.
"Rook, de dee," A familiar chirping drew Gregory's attention. In front of him, he saw a familiar Pokemon staring down at him from his trainer's shoulder. Leona's Rookidee gave him a bob of his head, but due to his stature, it was more like its whole body.
She turned to face him at the sound of her Pokemon's call. Her amber eyes widened slightly in recognition as they took in Gregory.
"Hey! It's good to see you again," Leona said, giving him a grin that caused the skin around her scar to be pulled taut.
"Where's your friend at?" she asked a second later, noticing that Nora wasn't with him.
"Nora decided to go do some training on her own, we'll be meeting up later," Gregory said as he stepped forward in the line.
"This your first time at a battle club?"
"yeah. I've always wanted to go to one, but I never had a pokemon of my own until now."
They spent the next few minutes exchanging small talk while waiting for the line to progress. In that time, Gregory learned that she was born in the Galar region. Her parents were Pokemon breeders who owned a ranch on the outskirts of Turffield town. This, Gregory thought, was probably where she got all her Pokemon from. His eyes flicked down to her belt, where five Pokeballs were clipped, their casings shiny. Evidence of the care Leona gave them.
"So what made you decide to start your journey here in the Johto region?" Gregory asked. They had been waiting in line for about 10 minutes now and had reached the halfway point.
"I guess it's because I traveled around Galar a lot already because of my parents work. So I just wanted to explore somewhere I've never been before," She answered quickly in a flat voice and with an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders.
She hadn't looked at him as she gave her answer.
Something about her answer seemed off to him. Gregory wasn't sure exactly, but he was pretty sure that Leona had just lied to him. He was curious and wanted to dig deeper but decided against it. He had obviously just stumbled on a sore topic and didn't want to antagonize her with his prying.
Another few minutes of awkward silence followed them as they inched along through the line.
"I can take the next in line here!" one of the receptionists called out as Leona and Gregory finally made it to the front of the line.
"I'll see you around. You better train hard for the tournament; you'll need it if you hope to beat me," Leona teased lightly, all traces of the earlier tension gone as if it had never been there, as she approached the front desk.
"We will see about that!" Gregory chuckled as he waved his hand in response to hers as they bid farewell.
A few seconds later, a different receptionist called for the next person in line. Gregory ambled over with Fennekin trotting at his side.
"Hello there! Welcome to the Cherrygrove Battle Club. Have you been to our facility before?" The man behind the counter said. The name tag of his uniform let Gregory know his name was Tom.
"No, This would be my first time,"
"Well allow me to explain how it works!" the man said happily, entering a few inputs into his computer. "First I'll need to see your trainer ID, which I'll use to register you into our system."
The man took the proffered ID and began clicking around on his screen, the rapid clacking of his fingers on the keyboard bespoke of his experience in his duties.
"Here is your ID back, Mr. Johnson. Now that you are registered, allow me to walk you through the different services we offer," Tom continued after he passed Gregory's ID back to him.
"We offer single battles, double battles, and we also offer triple battles, Though they aren't quite that popular yet. Once you decide which battle style you'd like to do I'll give you a ticket with the field you will be battling on. If you need help finding your way just follow the signs posted throughout the building." Tom paused to motion with his hands to the various signs hanging throughout the back portion of the lobby.
"Your opponents will be decided at random, and will be trainers who have the same number of badges as you."
"So which battle style would you like to participate in today?" Tom asked.
"I'll stick with single battles for now," Gregory said.
He didn't really have to think too long to make his decision. Gregory and his Pokemon hadn't been together for very long, so they were still learning about each other. Nor did he think he was skilled enough to order both Fennekin and Ari in a battle simultaneously. The wild Spearow flock from the other day was one thing, but against a trainer, it was a whole different story.
"Excellent. Here is your field assignment. You'll be in Stadium 2B. Enjoy your time with us here at the Cherrygrove battle club." Tom said as he handed off a small ticket stub with a barcode and a bold 2B on its face.
Gregory thanked him and was just about to turn and leave before Tom stopped him.
"I almost forgot. For every battle you win you will earn a Club Point which can be exchanged for various different prizes. Every stadium will have a prize counter you can exchange you points at."
With a final wave, he and his Pokemon made their way to their assigned stadium.
Gregory stepped into the trainer box on his side of the field, his fingers jittery with excitement as they hovered next to Fennekin and Ari's Pokeball. He had had to return them before the start of the battle. His opponent for this match was a boy around his age. He had a determined look that matched Gregory's with a backward blue cap and an orange shirt.
"The name's Joey! You don't look all that tough. I hope you're ready to lose," Joey called out as he stepped into his box, a Pokeball gripped in his hand.
"We will see about that!" Gregory replied as he raised a hand. The Pokeball he chose expanded out of travel mode.
The battlefield that they would be competing on was a forest variant. It looked more like the route Gregory took to get here than a Pokemon battlefield. A single line of compacted dirt was in the center, flanked on either side by trees and shrubs loosely packed together.
The Battle Club referee stepped forward on the elevated platform overlooking the field and raised two different colored flags.
"Alright, each opponent can use two pokemon and may switch out only once. The trainer that has no pokemon able to battle will be declared the loser. Obey my commands at all time."
"Blue trainer, are you ready?" The ref said, making eye contact with Joey, who gave a curt nod in reply, his eyes focused forward at Gregory and the battlefield.
"Red Trainer, Ready?" He said, turning to Gregory.
"I'm ready!"
"Trainers release your pokemon!" The ref said, whipping both flags downwards.
Both trainers threw their Pokeballs to the field, twin lights flashing as their Pokemon materialized.
Ari appeared on Gregory's side of the field, his mandibles chittering in anticipation.
On Joey's side, the Pokemon that appeared was a small quadruped with light blue skin, large ears, and a small horn, only slightly larger than the spines that protrude from its back. The female Nidoran locked its red eyes on Ari, its whiskers twitching as it gnashed its buck teeth and widened its stance in preparation for its trainer's command.
Gregory quickly took in the environment, eyes flickering, trying to absorb all the information he could.
"Nida, Fury swipes go!" Joey called out, snapping Gregory's eyes back forward.
"Ari, dodge into the trees!" Gregory snapped out.
Despite its short stature, the Nidoran was able to quickly cover the distance between them. Leaping the last few feet toward Ari, a glowing claw stretched out for a strike. However, Ari reacted quickly. He raised his thorax, and a strand of web shot out, impacting wetly with one of the nearby tree trunks. Using the new anchor point, Ari pulled himself out of the Nidoran's way, its glowing claws slashing harmlessly through where the little spider just was, landing on the side of the tree. His six legs were quick to find purchase with the rough tree bark.
"Nice dodge Ari! Now string shot," Gregory said as he punched his finger forward at the little blue Pokemon.
Just like with the Spearow, Ari reared his head and spat globs of his sticky webbing at the Nidoran. Heeding its trainer's urgent calls to get out of the way, their opponent was able to jump out of the way of most of the projectiles. In the end, though, Ari's recent accuracy training showed itself as he scored a direct hit on the Nidoran's face, which caused the Pokemon to flinch back. It shook its head from side to side, trying to dislodge the web blinding it.
"Great! Now use bug bite!" Gregory ordered.
Ari clicked his mandibles once in understanding before he leaped from the tree he was perched on.
"Look out!" Joey yelled, but his warning was unheeded. Nidoran was too focused on trying to clear the web from her eyes. Ari's jump let him close the distance so that he could clamp onto Nidoran's body. The vicious bite caused her to flail even more as she squealed in pain. Ari delivered three more bites before he was caught by a wild swing from Nidoran, hitting the ground hard on his back. The little spider Pokemon was able to make it back to his legs after a few seconds of awkward shifting of his body.
Meanwhile, Nidoran cleared most of the web from her eyes after reaching up with a claw. Gregory could see that Ari's mandibles barely made a dent through Nidoran's thick hide. However, the blow Ari had taken left him a little wobbly, Gregory watching as he tried to shake it off. Gregory clicked his tongue before raising Ari's Pokeball, signaling to the ref that he would be switching out his Pokemon.
"Sorry, Ari this match-up isn't in your favor," Gregory said apologetically as the red light engulfed his Pokemon.
He exchanged the Pokeball for Fennekin's before lobbing it into the air, a snap-popping noise preceding the flash of light that brought the yellow fox to the battlefield.
"You're up Fennekin, let's show them what you can do!"
"Nidoran fury swipe!" Joey called out, not wasting any time.
"Use Ember, follow up with scratch!" Gregory commanded in response.
The two Pokemon burst into motion. Nidoran charged forward, her sight no longer impeded by the web. Fennkin stood her ground as she inhaled a quick lung full of air. She threw her head forward, hot embers flying toward the charging Pokemon. Unlike Ari's attack, fennekin's embers visibly hurt Nidoran, causing her to flinch as the fiery projectiles impacted her head and chest.
The poison pin Pokemon was undeterred. She pushed through the pain and lunged at Fennekin, her left claw connecting forcefully with the little fox's head. Before Fennekin could recover from the first blow, a second, this time with her right claw, followed after. Rolling with the force of the hit, Fennekin dodged the third follow-up swing before popping quickly back to her feet.
Fennekin lunged back into the fray landing her own strike against the Nidoran. She followed it up with a point-blank burst of embers at Gregory's shouted command. The impacts of the fire caused a cloud of smoke to obscure both combatants. This proved too much for the little blue Pokemon; when the smoke cleared, it had fallen to the ground, its eyes closed and chest heaving air, no longer able to battle.
"It's not over yet!" Joey said as he returned his defeated Pokemon and threw out his second Pokeball.
When the flash of light dissipated, it revealed a ledyba hovering above the ground, the hum of its vibrating wings causing a distinct buzzing noise to pervade the area. Its wide, round eyes locked onto Fennekin with resolve. Its two black antennae twitched, and it pounded the top two of its six legs together like a boxer hyping themselves up before a bout.
"Into the Trees ledyba!" Joey called out.
Before Gregory could get out his order to use ember, the red bug-type shot into the trees on the right side of the field. The humming from his wings was diffused by the foliage as he disappeared from Gregory's sight.
"Ready an ember, Fennekin, shoot it as soon as he comes out," Gregory ordered.
Fennekin spread her stance out as she waited. Gregory could see a slight heat mirage spreading around her body as she began preparing an ember. Her ears would oscillate like a radar dish searching for any hint of her bug-type opponent.
He kept his head on a swivel, eyes scanning the small copse of trees and underbrush. Try as he might, he wasn't able to spot anything. He could feel the tension building as they waited, seeing who would make the first move.
"Now!" Joey called out as he made a chopping motion with his hand as if to cut the tension in half.
From within the trees, Ledyba burst out, his wings buzzing at high speed, as he shot toward Fenniken. Before she could release the held ember, a high-pitched noise burst out of Ledyba's open mouth. The sonic pulse caused Gregory to slap his hands over both his ears, curling in over himself as a headache started to pound beneath his temple. Poor Fenniken got it worse, the supersonic causing her retaliatory shot to go wide as she tried to pin both her ears back to her skull to block out the sound. Her actions were ineffective, as the atrocious sound caused her eyes to glaze over with a dazed expression. Suddenly, she ran wobbly and off balance toward one of the trees to her left. Gregory tried to call out to her to get her to stop, but she didn't seem to hear him, running headfirst into the tree's trunk.
Gregory winced at the impact, watching as his poor fox was laid out on the ground. However, thanks to that, she could shake off the effects of Ledyba's attack, her eyes regaining their focused clarity.
"Go Ledyba finish with a tackle!" Joey ordered.
"Show him your charm. Then Ember!"
Once again, the red insect charged toward Fennekin. Only for it to falter a second later as the vixen gave a playful wink, eyes a glow with pink light, which caused a similar glow to reflect in Ledyba's. His wings stuttered to a halt as if of their own volition, causing him to drop from the air and slide across the dirt, lightly tapping Fennkin's leg.
The cutesy posture and look that she had vanished instantly as a more savage one took its place. She leaped back and unleashed a hail of embers point-blank into the down bug-type.
As the smoke cleared, Ledyba was out cold, the outside of his carapace lightly singed from the hot embers that had just peppered it.
"Ledyba is no longer able to battle. The blue trainer no longer has any usable Pokemon, leaving the red trainer the winner," the Ref announced, raising the red flag he held in his hand and pointing towards Gregory's side of the field.
A red light engulfed Ledyba's body as he was returned to his Pokeball. Gregory saw Joey whisper a few words of encouragement before clipping it back to his belt.
The two trainers briefly met in the middle to shake hands, Joey exchanging the prize money for the fight to Gregory's account.
A nurse from the Battle Club's in-house clinic came and took his Pokemon so that they could get a quick look over. Once they were returned, Gregory waited as his next opponent entered the field from a door on the opposite end.
'Today is going to be a great day,' Gregory thought to himself as he made his way back to the trainer box.