CHAPTER 172

Chase walked up to Lucario and helped him up. The fighting type grunted when he pulled on his arm too hard. It seemed that Angel's Power Whips had done a number on him, even if it hadn't been enough. I ignored Sunshine's mocking laugh and comforted Sweetheart, who seemed to be the most disappointed at the loss. Really though, her and Princess were especially worried about Angel.

"He'll be okay," I gently reassured them. His vines would grow back within twenty minutes and he'd be as good as new, although I'd have to dig deep within them to apply the potion to his skin if I waited too long.

I directed my attention to Chase.

"You beat me. How about some prize money?" I asked.

"I guess I did earn it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

I nodded, requesting to transfer ten thousand Pokedollars onto his account. His eyes widened, and his expression turned into an angry grimace.

"I'm not taking that much. The usual number's five hundred," he said.

"That's nothing. I started this League Internship thing and I'm getting paid extra, so you can at least have some of that. Use it to buy some potions from the Poke Mart."

"No—"

I tightly grabbed onto his wrist and smiled. "What was that?"

"No—"

"Yes?"

"...uh, fine? Wait what the hell—"

"Perfect!" I exclaimed. "You can't go back on your word. That'd be fundamentally wrong."

"Arceus, you're creeping me out Pastel. Fine, I'll take your money."

Lucario gently bumped him on the shoulder.

"And thank you," he added.

"No problem. I know what it feels like to not want to accept money from friends, but you've got to straddle the line between pride and practicality," I said.

I released Honey and Angel to heal them with potions of my own. Chase still refused for me to lend him anything, even if I said he could pay me back later. I quickly sprayed the cold, transparent liquid on Tangrowth's black skin, and the vines began to grow even quicker. I could see it happen in real time, slowly growing inch by inch. The grass type petted my head in appreciation.

"You were amazing out there," I praised him. "That aura stuff is pretty funky, huh?"

"Tell me about it. I don't even know how it works half the time. My dad used to talk to me a bit about it, but he was pretty hush-hush. I just know that it seems to bypass some stuff sometimes. Like I managed to hit that ghost I told you about even though he could pass through a normal Bone Rush."

"Yeah," I muttered as I moved on to patching up Honey. If possible, I would have liked to ask Cynthia about it, but the opportunity had passed me by. Aura seemed to act independently from type energy, or at least it operated under different rules. "You're getting a lot better with Protect, and you were very annoying to fight. That's a great job in my book," I told the electric type.

He grunted, happy with his performance. I knew that even though we'd lost the fight, what he worried about the most was himself.

"I honestly thought you would have sent out that monster of a Tangrowth against Zangoose," Chase said. "I had a pretty good tactic to beat him."

I raised an eyebrow. "And? What was it."

"Well I ain't gonna tell you now. I'll keep it for next time," he smiled, recalling the rest of his team. "I'll be off, then."

"What? Already?"

"Well, you've got to do your own thing and I've got to buy potions before leaving for Veilstone."

"Huh. Alright, then."

I hadn't planned on asking him to travel with me, but I thought we could hang out for a day at least.

Well… maybe I could just ask him.

"Hey, why don't we go together? It's been a while since we've met, we can't just separate already."

"What's up with you?"

"No ulterior motives," I rolled my eyes. "If I had any, you wouldn't have guessed so easily. I just want to hang out with a friend."

Chase sighed. "Well, I wanted to make it to Veilstone and challenge Maylene ASAP, but I guess I can stay if you really want to."

"You're talking like I'm holding you at gunpoint."

"It's the best you're going to get, Pastel. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it!" I immediately said.

—

"You know, you're a tricky fighter, Pastel," Chase grunted.

He was currently doing squats in sets of fifty. I was feeling tired by just looking at him, but he was somehow holding a conversation with me while working out. We'd walked a bit further to the east to avoid attention because our fight had actually brought in a few spectators that had spread the news. I hoped the Poketch Company wouldn't give me a hard time for losing. For the first time, I actually felt good after a loss, and I didn't want them to ruin that. Maybe Cynthia's words about losses being good for growth were resonating with me more than I knew.

"You've said that already," I said. "And I just noticed, but we're back on a last-name basis? What happened to good old Grace?"

"That never happened. Wipe it from your memory."

"No, I'm pretty sure that's stored forever in my long-term memories now," I smirked.

"Well you won't be hearing that anymore. But seriously, it's like— whew, fifty," he exhaled. "It's like, to beat you, a trainer has to find a specific way to go through the battle in order to win, and if they don't, they just slip and start to get stomped," he pondered. "Each one of your Pokemon has a trick to it."

"A trick?" I asked. "Oh, I guess I know what you mean. Like Angel's vines."

"Vines for Tangrowth, regeneration for Jellicent, control for Togetic… the only one with a decent amount of versatility's your Electabuzz. Can't know what the hell you're getting into when fighting him. Can't say for the other two though, I've never seen them fight."

"That's a fair point," I nodded. "I've been trying to work on Night Shade with Buddy, but progress is slower than I'd like. Then again, having a gimmick isn't exactly wrong."

"Oh, it isn't, but you've got to be able to transition into something else when it doesn't work. Well, Jellicent worked in this instance, but Tangrowth didn't."

"So you prioritize versatility then?"

"To an extent. You've still got to focus on something. A Pokemon can't really be good at everything, at least not at our stage. My Zangoose is terrible at long-distance fights, as you saw. I'm still workshopping a training regiment to deal with that weakness. Abomasnow's not the best at them, but we've been working on it," he said, starting his squats again.

I hummed. That was a lot to think about, but I probably wouldn't be able to remedy it by Veilstone. It was true that if someone neutralized Angel's vines, then we'd be completely stumped. The issue wasn't as bad with the others, but I needed to figure something out. He was my most powerful Pokemon discounting Sunshine, but he could also be my weakest at the same time if anyone had a surefire way to counter his vines like Lucario had done with Bone Rush and Vacuum Wave.

Speaking of Vacuum Wave…

"Vacuum Wave is kind of bullshit, don't you think?" I said, half-jokingly. "I mean, I never thought you could use it to such an extent."

"Well, I don't know much about it, but I do know that most elemental attacks tend to fizzle out when I throw that at them, and it pulls all the air out of the Pokémon's lungs— if they have lungs," he grunted. "It's been a bit of trial and error. I'm terrible at that physics stuff."

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"Me too. I wonder if there are ways I could use physics and chemistry to my advantage to win battles. Like, fire needs… oxygen to burn, so it'd make sense that Vacuum Wave would dissipate a Flamethrower. Why did it cause Angel's vines to wither though… does a vacuum kill plants?"

"Yikes."

"What?!"

"That's kind of nerdy."

"Stop being a kid. I'm just thinking of ways to improve, that's all. You should too."

"Not when I just kicked your ass."

"It was close, you asshole! I want a rematch in Veilstone!"

"Sure, why not. Might as well let me fight that Turtonator for good measure."

"I don't want your Pokemon to die, Chase."

"Huh? Say that again!"

I ignored him. Maybe I'd come to a conclusion about my feelings regarding my loss a bit prematurely. My immaturity came out a bit too easily when my buttons got pushed. I needed to focus on the crux of this conversation.

I didn't know the first thing about physics or chemistry, though. It was at times like these that not paying attention in school came back to bite me. If it was to better my skill at battling though, I was sure that it'd be a lot easier to stomach learning about the periodic table or whatever.

"What was school like in your town… what is it even called?" I asked now that the thought had passed me by.

Chase tensed and stopped his squats. Had I been too forward? "Falkirk," he muttered. "Don't bother looking it up."

"I— I won't."

"Makes sense that you never heard of it," he continued. "There are around 100 mining towns all around the Iron Islands, and most people can't even name one. We're under Canalave's jurisdiction, so they can't really tell the difference."

"Yeah… I don't know much about them."

"At least you're trying to learn, which is more than most. Y'know, when I look around, it's like, where do people think all of that steel that keeps their buildings standing came from? I mean sure, the iron is refined in Canalave, but the point still stands. All those trucks, cars, airplanes, kitchenware, fucking sewage pipes! People work their lives away to provide for the mainland, and they die to do it sometimes. And yet, no one gives a shit about us."

"It's true that I almost only hear about Canalave, but we did cover the Iron Islands in class, I think."

"What? Just thirty minutes of shitty history? That doesn't even matter," he shrugged. "But to answer your question, school is terrible. Teachers hate their jobs since they were sent there by the Canalave government against their will and don't care about us. Even then, there isn't enough and the funding is shit, just like everything else. For all I respect Cynthia, she can go fuck herself for not improving anything there."

"I mean, the position of Champion isn't a one-man show. There are checks and balances—"

"Which are now gone. I'm no politics expert, but she is running a one-man show right now, and not doing anything to solve the situation."

I bit my lip. He was right, but with Team Galactic on the loose, she was probably focused on other things.

"It was always the same thing with Canalave too. Every election, it's 'vote for me and we'll fix all of your problems' and they end up not doing jack shit. Ugh, just makes me sick to talk about it."

"Let's talk about something else then," I hurriedly said. "Like your plans when you get to Veilstone."

"Meh. Beat Maylene, get my flying license and get to Sunyshore ASAP on Sigilyph's back. I want to start mopping up the gyms so I can get a few tries against the eighth."

My eyes widened slightly in surprise. Even the Chase was preparing for a defeat against the eighth gym, which in his case would end up being Byron like me. Expecting to win that battle on the first try was basically a pipe dream, so it was a smart thing for him to do. By the time a trainer got to the eighth gym, gym leaders would know about you and tailor their teams specifically to counter you and give you one last challenge to overcome before the Conference. Not only did that mean that they'd need up to a week to plan their team against yours, but it also meant that you'd most likely end up losing terribly the first time around, and there was no guarantee that they'd keep that same team for your second try.

So not only did you need to fight a grueling six-on-six, you were also going to get specifically targeted and picked apart by one of the best trainers in the region.

I was looking forward to it.

"You're weird, Pastel. You ask me a question, then you just don't say anything afterward."

"I was thinking, Karlson," I spat. "And I was surprised you were taking things so safely. I was going to get my Pokemon Carry license and get beaten up by trainers better than I am, since the League Internship thing I told you about allows me to do that early. And beat Maylene too, hopefully."

"Hopefully? You're way too good to be that wishy-washy about things."

"No, I'm actually confident about the battle, I just think I should stay humble. Y'know, healthy mindset and all of that."

"So fake humility. Got it."

"No, it's—" I groaned. "It's just that I can't allow myself to slip back into that mindset. Under Shiftry's influence, I was kind of like you in Oreburgh when you spoke out against Cece and called her Unovan trash, or at least internally. I was a lot less outspoken," I sighed. "Why did you call her that? You don't seem like the xenophobic type."

"That?" He shrunk down embarrassingly. "I'm not, it's just the easiest way I found to vent out my feelings. The idea that someone could swoop in from another region with outside money and run through the gyms seemed unfair as fuck to me. Now I obviously know that no amount of money will buy your way to the top."

"Yeah… money matters and can give you a huge jumpstart, but skill matters a lot more," I said. "Plus, you kind of got an advantage with Ri, no? Inheriting a Pokemon is kind of an advantage."

"It is, but Ri was never trained to fight until I got him and we started to work out together. I guess I did get a bit of a head start by getting him early, even though I wish I hadn't," he said, his face grim. "But to address your point, you can still buy your way into a few gym badges, but you'll never get to the Conference that way."

"So my point still stands," I huffed.

"Yes, but I was just adding context."

"Or you just wanted to one-up me. Anyway, watch out around Veilstone," I warned. "There were rumors about a Team Galactic base there, and Cynthia seems to think that they're going to strike soon. You should probably walk around with Lucario all the time. He can sense people."

Had Cynthia given Chase a League bodyguard too? He was less involved with Cece, Mira and I than the others, but he was still connected. I considered sending her a message to check, but she'd said only in emergencies. But what the hell constituted an emergency?

Chase hummed. "Thanks for the warning. I'll beat their asses if they pull something."

"And you'll stay safe, right?"

"Yeah."

"That didn't sound very convincing."

"I'm serious. I won't start shit, but if they come after me, everything's on the table."

At this point, I was sure that we were capable of taking down most grunts, but one mistake was all it took, and there was no way we were standing up to Commanders yet. From his story about what happened in Mount Coronet, Sunshine could probably take one of their Pokemon, but there was no way he'd be able to do what he did against Harry. The rest of my Pokemon still needed to catch up.

I was starting to hate the fact that he couldn't go all out because of me being near. Once again, my lack of psychic was biting me in the ass.

Chase finished his fifth set of squats, letting out a satisfied sigh and then downing an entire water bottle.

"Fair enough," I nodded. "Aren't you tired? You're at like a bajillion squats now."

"Today's leg day," he said. "I'm going to run now, so if you want to keep hanging out, you better keep up with me."

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

Chase began to run, and I followed.

—

"You're… fucking… crazy," I breathed out. My lungs were on fire and I couldn't feel my legs. "Now I'm gonna have to… wash myself."

"Just take a shower in the Cabin. I'm sure the people there will give you a room."

"Shut… up…"

How? How was he just talking to me like nothing was happening? He'd been jogging for nearly an hour and forcing me to follow. At some point, I even considered getting Angel to carry me, but he said that he'd leave if I did.

"You've got to get some meat on those bones, Pastel. Being a trainer ain't only about getting your Pokemon into shape. You've got to whip yourself into shape too."

"I'm healthy," I exhaled. "I walk through the routes and climb and stuff."

I couldn't do it anymore. I stopped and collapsed on the floor, rolling onto my back and taking deep breaths. Chase stopped and looked at me disappointingly.

"You almost made it an hour. Pretty good for your first run, honestly."

"Now you're the one… humble bragging."

"I'm not. I used to be skinnier than you back in the day."

Right. I remembered that picture with his dad that he showed me, and he'd been a pale, almost sickly-looking kid, which was a world's difference of what he was like now.

"I used to be kind of a shut-in. My first run barely lasted five minutes, but it's all about steady improvements."

"I used to go on runs," I said, finally able to speak normally. "With my Electabuzz to build up his stamina. We stopped now that he's found better ways to do it, though."

"You got complacent and lazy."

"No, I just had a lot of other things to worry about."

"Whatever. Just know that being so weak will bite you in the ass one day."

"Hey. Why did you start working out so heavily?" I asked.

Chase sat on the floor next to me and leaned against one of his palms. "I thought I needed to be stronger. If I'd been, then… y'know, I could have done more."

More during whatever happened to Falkirk? He clearly didn't want to go into it, so I didn't pry, but I would definitely look up what happened to it later during the day. If I was getting a room in the Café Cabin, then it'd be dumb not to make use of the WiFi there. Plus, maybe I'd be able to start looking at resources for physics and chemistry. There ought to be at least simple interactions I could do during fights, although those type of tactics would work a lot better during double battles. It was a shame that I probably wouldn't fight in one again for a long time.

He stood up and held out a hand. I grabbed it.

"Thanks. I hope you won't force me to do anymore physical activities, because I literally can't feel my legs."

"That's good. It means that you worked hard," he said. "But no, you're fine. I'm done too."

"I feel so icky. I need to get a room at the cabin and go shower. Want to grab a bite after?"

"Do you think they sell chicken and rice here?"

"What? No, they're a bakery!"

"Then no. Too much sugar and shit. Can't be assed."

"Your loss."

"I was going to leave anyway. It's the evening," he said.

"You could use my shower."

"I don't care about that. I'm going to be traveling in the wild, no one's going to smell me."

My nose wrinkled, but I agreed to let him go. Hanging out had been fun, but Chase wasn't the type of guy to stick around for long. He was a loner at heart, and he enjoyed that. He let me say goodbye to his team, and I did the same with mine. Ri issued us a bow while Abomasnow gently huffed, releasing mist and snow out of his mouth. Zangoose grunted, not bothering to look at us, while Houndoom licked my hand. His tongue was so hot it was almost uncomfortable, but he was cute nonetheless. I rubbed his chin until Chase told me to stop babying him. Vikavolt buzzed at me in some weird pattern while Sigilyph beeped, approaching me upside down until our faces barely touched.

Needless to say, Princess hated her guts. She still chirped goodbye to Lucario, and then everyone else when I told her to be polite. Angel gently rubbed all of Chase's Pokemon with his vines, but Zangoose easily dodged and hissed at him. Sweetheart happily clamored at Lucario, who responded with some gentle words that I didn't understand. Honey shook the steel type's hand, and Zangoose actually shot him a respecful look, which was a world's off of how she looked at everybody else on the team. It seemed that their battle had resonated somehow, and Honey bid her farewell too.

Sunshine didn't say goodbye, but at least he was standing behind me now and not a ways off. Chase was probably similar to Kamaile in some regards.

And just like that, he was gone as fast as he'd come. Hopefully we'd see each other again in Veilstone.

"Now I need a shower," I sighed.