CHAPTER 124

“Arceus, it’s cold tonight,” Denzel shivered as he waited in front of the Pokemon Center.

It was three in the morning now, and Denzel was starting to get tired. If Louis hadn’t asked him for an impromptu meeting, he’d be snuggled up in his bed right now. He probably shouldn’t have streamed as long as he had, but hey, he had to strike while the iron was hot. Their battle had been the talk of the forums the entire night among the first years, and he got a lot more viewers than usual. Denzel sniffled as he watched a pink-haired girl with long pigtails approach him and… Denzel squinted. Was that Maeve Chang? He hadn’t really talked to her in months, but they used to chat on the forums at the start of their journeys, and she’d been at the Floaroma tournament.

What were the odds?

Well, he was glad she appeared to be traveling with someone now. That pink-haired girl was short, but she did carry Pokeballs with her, meaning that she was probably a trainer despite her child-like appearance. He crossed his arms and waited for them to walk across him.

“Denzel?” Maeve said. “It is you! Long time no see! Wait, I guess it should be more like long time no talk, haha…”

“Awkward,” the other teen said before staring up at him. “He’s tall as hell,”

Denzel frowned. “Yeah? You were looking for me?”

“Louis sent us,” the nameless girl explained. “My name’s Mira, by the way. You didn’t ask, which is kind of rude.”

“I was going to… but wait, Louis sent you?” He asked. Were these the two girls Chase had told him about? That had to be it. “Why didn’t he come?”

Maeve shuffled in place. “He wanted to make sure you wouldn’t ambush him with the rest of your group. Especially Cecilia.”

“I wasn’t going to do that,” Denzel sighed. The thought that Louis even suspected that it was a possibility kind of hurt, but maybe he was still that scared about the prospects seeing Cece. “Where is he, then?”

“Brooding in some dark alley,” Mira laughed. “C’mon, follow us.”

Denzel held back a groan as Mira dragged him by the arm, and Maeve followed behind them at a distance as she breathed in her palms to warm them up.

“Keep up, Maeve! You don’t want to be a girl walking alone at night,” Mira said.

“I’ve got my Pokemon,” she said. “You’re embarrassing us and making a terrible first impression.”

“Come on, he doesn’t care. Do you care?”

Denzel sighed. If he hadn’t been so tired, then maybe he wouldn’t have, but getting dragged along in this weather was a bit annoying. Oh well, so long as he met with Louis, then it would be worth it. After a short walk, Mira pointed into an alley and pushed him in.

“This looks like I’m about to get jumped,” Denzel said, half-jokingly.

“Denzel?” He heard Louis’ voice from deeper into the alley. The blond man slowly walked into view. He had a very thin, patchy beard that looked… pretty bad, all things considered, and he had deep bags under his eyes.

“Holy shit,” Denzel gasped. He jogged to his friend and hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re okay, man.”

Louis slowly returned his hug. “I’m alright, all things considered.”

“You don’t look alright. You look exhausted as hell.”

“He was so anxious about meeting you that he couldn’t sleep three nights in a row,” Mira explained. “This is the result.”

That was probably why he had wanted to meet in the middle of the night. There were fewer chances of him getting caught.

“And the beard?” Denzel smirked.

“Since I’m a new man, I was trying a new look,” he awkwardly said. “It hasn’t worked out.”

“Told you to shave it,” Mira shrugged.

“Mira…” Maeve sighed.

“Why didn’t you want to meet the others?” Denzel asked. “Cece and Grace I understand, but… not even Justin?”

“I want to stay hidden for the time being,” he explained. “Justin would be terrible at keeping our meeting hidden. Pauline would see it on his face, and she can easily get it out of him in two minutes, and if you had brought her, she probably would have been rude about me not wanting to meet Cecilia and Grace. Emilia is terrible at keeping secrets. She wants to talk about anything, and it would have been bound to slip out.”

“That’s an… accurate depiction of everyone,” Denzel smiled slightly. “Can we go somewhere to catch up? I’m freezing my ass off here.”

“Yes! Yes, thank you!” Maeve exclaimed in relief.

“My Center room?” Denzel asked.

“No, no,” Louis immediately shook his head. “That would be too risky.”

“How about this?” Mira said as she pulled out her Poketch and showed them an address.

——

Denzel shielded his eyes as he stared at the bright, neon sign depicting a Machamp typing on a computer with its four arms. NetChamp was supposedly a really good internet cafe, according to Mira, and it had the benefit of being open at all times. Even in the middle of the night. The four trainers entered the building, and Denzel was surprised to see that there were a decent amount of people still frequenting the establishment. A few people were trainers browsing the forums, and some were asleep in their seats, but the majority were just people normally going about their business. Some were even quietly playing video games. Denzel hadn’t even thought about video games since he became a trainer. He wasn’t the biggest gamer out there, but he had enjoyed a few. He supposed that it made sense for some trainers to come here to enjoy a few games, since there was no way for them to do so on the road, unless they played on their phones.

He could have downloaded some on his Poketch, but… no, there wasn’t enough time anyway.

The group sat at a table and ordered some hot drinks to warm themselves up, and Denzel looked at the towering Machamp that brought them their drink with an amused stare. There was no doubt that Machamp could make excellent waiters, especially with their four hands, but it was the first time he’d seen it in action.

“He’s the owner’s Pokemon,” Mira explained. “I read online that he was a trainer that made it to the Conference a few times, but he retired and opened this place up. The legends say that he lost to Cynthia, even.”

“The legends?” Maeve said, rolling her eyes.

“What? Not much was recorded back then, so it’s all from word of mouth.”

“You could just look for an old newspaper or something. Don’t make it sound like it was a hundred years ago,” she said.

“Okay, but that would kill the vibe.”

Denzel sipped on his drink. On the surface, Mira sort of reminded him of Candice, but there was a subtle difference that he couldn’t precisely place yet. Grace would probably have figured it out right away. The two girls continued with their conversation, and Louis spoke up.

“How is… how is everyone doing?”

Denzel smiled. “They’re all doing great. Pauline and Justin won their third badge against Fantina, Emi’s started on her coordinator career. Grace and I are looking at sponsors to make money, and my channel’s taking off,” he explained. “Cecilia’s well too. She’s been worried about you.”

“Third badge already, huh?” He smiled. “And I’m happy about you and Grace. Money is certainly a bottleneck when it comes to Pokemon training.”

“Yeah, they were being trained by Cece and Grace,” Denzel said, hoping to bring the topic back to his ex. He knew that Louis was purposefully ignoring it, and he wanted to at least try to talk about it, but if he pushed back too hard, then he’d stop. “They’ve improved a whole lot. But more importantly, how are you doing?”

Louis nodded. “Mira and Maeve have been my training and traveling companions, and I caught a Pawniard in the Wayward Cave.”

“You went to the Wayward Cave?” Denzel asked with surprise. “No wonder you took so long to reach us. Why’d you go there?”

“It’s a long story—”

“He went there to brood, but Maeve wouldn’t let him,” Mira interjected.

“That’s the gist of it,” he sighed. “I was hoping to sign up for the gym as soon as possible to see how I fare.”

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Denzel scratched his cheek. “Hey, I can help you out if you want. In secret, of course. It’ll be a bit tight with my schedule, but—”

“You don’t have to push yourself for me—”

“No, no, I asked because I wanted to. Plus, we can hang out easier than way,” he smiled. “And look, about Cecilia…”

Louis discreetly winced.

“Erm, you don’t have to meet her or anything, but I just wanted to ask how you were doing on that front,” Denzel said, leaning in to whisper.

“I thought I was improving,” Louis sighed. “But the closer we got to the city, the more I realized I still couldn’t face her. At least not until I become worthy.”

“Worthy of what?” Denzel asked. Was he thinking of trying to date her again—

“It’s not what you think,” Louis interrupted his train of thought. “It does not have anything to do with dating her. I feel too inadequate to even be her friend. I’m a weak trainer, I’m still terribly oblivious, and despite what I want to think, I’m still dependent on my father’s money. It honestly makes me mad that he hasn’t even cut me off. It’s like he doesn’t even register me as a possible threat. I’m worthless.”

“Okay, well, let’s stop with the self-deprecation because that helps absolutely no one,” Denzel said.

“That’s what I’ve been telling him, but he won’t budge,” Mira sighed.

“Mira, let them speak, please…” Maeve said.

“It’s alright, she can speak up,” Denzel waved a hand. “I mean, you’ve been traveling together, right? I’d say you should be allowed to give your input.”

Mira raised an eyebrow. “You’re a lot nicer than I thought you’d be,” she said, her tone more serious.

“Really? Well, glad to hear it.”

“What? Not even a clap back? Louis, if all of your friends are like this, then you should probably at least meet them once while we’re all here—”

Maeve put a hand over Mira’s mouth, and the small girl struggled. “Sorry about her, she says whatever is on her mind at all times. We both kept telling her you were a nice guy but— ow! Did you bite me?”

“Don’t put your hand over my mouth. You’re lucky Kadabra wasn’t there to see that.”

Denzel leaned back against his chair, and observed as Maeve paled slightly at the mention of Kadabra. Mira must have been a skilled trainer, to own one so early in her career. They certainly were among the most demanding psychic types, since they held incredible amounts of knowledge, but every Pokemon was a different individual. Anyway, these two girls certainly were something, and Louis did not seem amused. The three had a weird dynamic about them. Maeve was the straight woman that kept Mira in line. Mira was the blunt, extroverted girl, and Louis was… well, it was hard to say, but it kind of looked like he was just being dragged along everywhere and coming along for the ride.

“What I meant to say,” Mira continued. “Was that I had my doubts about all of you, since Louis seemed so depressed and none of you stuck with him—”

“I asked for them to leave me,” the blond man groaned.

“One of them could have forced their way in. Look at how Maeve started to travel with you—”

Once again, Maeve placed a hand over the girl’s mouth. “We just met on the way to Wayward Cave,” she said, laughing awkwardly.

Yeah, that was a lie, but Denzel let it slide.

“Sorry about them,” Louis sighed. “I wanted us to be alone for this, but they insisted on coming.”

“It’s alright, I understand,” Denzel said as he sipped on his drink. “Anyway, I understand that you won’t meet Cecilia, but my offer to help you still stands. Plus, I’m pretty sure I can help you with your heartbreak problems.”

“Help me how?”

Denzel couldn’t believe he was about to throw himself under the car like this, especially when Maeve and Mira were here, but at least maybe Louis would be able to relate.

“I asked Pauline out during the party in Eterna, and she rejected me.”

Obviously, he omitted that she was dating Emilia, because it wasn’t his place to reveal that information. Maeve bowed her head apologetically, and Mira let out an obnoxious ‘oooooooh.’

Louis’ eyes widened. “And you stayed? How did you even— did it not hurt?”

“Oh yeah, it hurt,” Denzel laughed. “Still kind of does, but I’m almost over it. Everyone deals with rejection differently, but I might have some good advice. It’s worth a try, I think.”

“I’ll… I’ll take your offer, including the training. Actually, can we start tomorrow? I want to get as good as I can as fast as possible.”

“Uh, I was supposed to hang out with a girl tomorrow after a meeting,” Denzel said, thinking of Caitlyn. He’d be a bad person if he didn’t help a friend in need. And Louis seemed to need his help very much. “But I guess I can help you out instead. I’ll reschedule.”

“Already moving on from your old crush, I see,” Mira said, again with that serious tone of hers. “Is she your rebound?”

“No, not at all,” Denzel said.

“Whatever you say…”

“Erm, I’d also like some training if possible?” Maeve asked hesitantly.

“Sure! The more the merrier.”

“Maeve, you traitor!” Mira yelled, much to the annoyance of customers everywhere in the store. Machamp glanced at her with disappointment, causing her to shrink. It looked like even she had shame. “Sorry.”

“I can train with both you and Denzel,” Maeve sighed.

“It still sucks… I’m coming too then!”

Denzel took a long, deep breath, and Louis offered him an apologetic look.

“This is how you got roped in with them, huh?” Denzel said.

Louis smiled thinly. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

——

“Here are your Pokemon, Ms. Pastel,” Nurse Joy said with a warm smile. “Togetic will have to stay for another day.”

“Oh… alright,” I said disappointingly. I had pushed her too much, after all. “It’s not too bad?”

“Of course not,” she reassured her. “Oh, and about your Jellicent. There’s no need to bring him in anymore. He’ll regenerate any damage done to him over time and be as good as new.”

“So I’ll never need to get him checked out again?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, well, have a nice day,” I said.

She nodded, and I left the Pokemon Center. I supposed that Jellicent being more of a ghost came with its advantages. Cecilia was still asleep in her room, and Denzel was nowhere to be seen, much to Pauline’s annoyance. Justin was getting his Krokorok used to his new body, and Emilia was hanging out with Vincent somewhere.

That meant that I was all on my own. I considered just staying at the Center to watch over the footage of our battle, but I figured it’d be best to let it sit for a few days so I could approach the entire thing from an unbiased, neutral perspective. I still felt salty about losing, but a lot less than yesterday. Instead, I had decided that it was time to go out and train Electabuzz with Jellicent’s help for our battle against Fantina, and then I’d probably hang out with Dad in the afternoon. I took the subway to route 208 and released the entire team, including Turtonator, who as usual, just went to lie down in the distance.

“Hey guys,” I smiled. “We lost the battle. Princess is still getting her injuries healed by the nurses.”

Electabuzz’s shoulder slumped in disappointment, and he hung his head, while Tangrowth patted him on the back to cheer him up. Him and Jellicent didn’t appear to be disappointed, at the very least. Larvitar kicked the ground in frustration and cried out, saying something to the effect of ‘we would have won if I was there.’ I laughed at her, much to her annoyance.

“It’s alright, hon. We’ll battle again eventually,” I told him. “Hey, look at me. Look at me.”

The electric type stared into my eyes, and I hugged him.

“I’m very proud of you.”

I told him this every time, and he was always surprised by it. I heard him sniffle, and he returned my hug.

“Now come on, you big softie. I’ve got a lot planned for you this morning.”

“Buzz?”

I searched through my bag and grabbed a towel that I had taken from my Center’s bathroom and showed it to him.

“Jellicent’s evolved now, so you can sense him, right?” I asked.

Electabuzz gave me a hesitant nod.

“It’s faint? Fainter than that Mismagius in the mansion?”

“Ele,” he said, nodding again.

That was actually perfect. Practicing with a fainter signal would mean that he’d be even better at it when my battle against Fantina came.

“Here’s the goal for today,” I said. “You’re going to try to find Jellicent without seeing him so that you can find Fantina’s ghosts when they’re invisible. We’ll slowly increase the distance until your range reaches the size of her battlefield.”

The electric type flexed and let out an excited cry, his sadness from earlier all but forgotten.

“Calm down,” I giggled. “You’ll just point at him for now, so no attacking yet. We don’t want you to hit Turtonator on accident…”

The dragon let out a threatening growl, confirming what I had just said.

“It’s not like it’d hurt you anyway,” I told him. He ignored me. “Buddy, we’ll finally start working on Brine, but you’re a genius, so you should figure it out pretty easily.”

The water type nodded, and I couldn’t help but smirk. His mustache made him look like a sage old man.

Wait, that was literally what he was.

“Angel, you keep working on Sunny Day. You’ve been making small incremental progress, but if we can trigger your Chlorophyll ability, you’ll be even more of a monster in battle.”

The grass type blinked twice and silently nodded.

“Sweetheart, you’ll be with me again today,” I said, crouching to face her. “There’s going to be a tournament the next town over, and I want to start seriously using you there.”

The rock type stared at me with a wide smile and stomped all over the floor.

“Your offensive capabilities are actually pretty decent, and you can take a lot of hits, but I want to start controlling the field,” I continued. “Togetic’s got a pretty good grasp of it, and Turtonator can do it too by making it ridiculously hot, but I feel like you can be another key.”

The rock type stared into my eyes as she shivered in anticipation.

“We’re going to work on Sandstorm.”

There was a lot I wanted to get better at during the tournament, but I wanted to be focused on two things. Getting better at reading body language on the fly, without having to observe my subject for multiple hours like I had done with Candice, or knowing them beforehand like I could do with my friends.

And next, I finally needed to start working on improvising. When planning worked, it worked. But I'd be foolish to think that I'd always be able to predict my opponents for the entire battle, and I wouldn't always be able to buy enough time to strategize. When planning failed, I needed to be better at coming up with stuff on the fly like the others were. I wasn't going to take a risk with my battle against Fantina, but the Solaceon tournament presented me with an excellent opportunity to improve.

I wouldn’t look up any of my opponents during the early matches.