CHAPTER 89

Electabuzz, Larvitar and I watched as Togetic carried Tangela with her Extrasensory toward us. I laughed as she plopped him on the ground, and he stared blankly like a Slowpoke. Frillish worriedly followed behind her, staring at the poor grass type.

“What is it?” I asked, smiling.

“Prrrri!” Togetic yelled at Tangela.

The grass type nodded, shut his eyes tightly, and his vines writhed. The ground below us shook slightly until he sat down, clearly exhausted.

“Arceus, you’re doing amazing,” I beamed. “It’s only been what, four hours, and you’ve figured out how to use your psychic powers. That’s a huge win in my book.”

Maybe the lake didn’t just have an effect on humans, but on Pokemon too? Angel lazily wriggled his vines and smiled with his eyes. I picked him up, spinning him around like a baby.

“I’ve got to do this before you evolve,” I laughed. “You too, Togetic. You better get your Extrasensories in before he gets too big for you to lift.”

“Toge…” she said sadly.

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen that you can learn Psychic through a T.M., and I’m pretty sure that’s powerful enough to lift a Tangrowth. So eventually, when I have a lot of money, you’ll get to do it again.”

She seemingly sprung up at the idea and picked up angel again, spinning him around like a ball.

“Not too fast, okay?” I said before turning to the rest of the team. “Today was productive, but we’ll keep going until Chase gets better and we can get to Snowpoint, alright? Then, we can do a lot of fun things, like battling each other. Two on twos, and the like.”

Electabuzz and Larvitar quaked in excitement, and I unfortunately had to break to rock type’s heart and remind her that she wasn’t going to be in our mock battles. Truth be told, I was already thinking about a strategy for Candice, even if I hadn’t watched any of her battling videos yet. I knew Electabuzz was going to be the key to winning, especially after learning Fire Punch, but the rest of my team was dangerously weak to ice types. Frillish would be able to mitigate this weakness somewhat, but I did like a challenge.

The problem I was going to run into, however, was that since Candice was almost always challenged later into a trainer’s Circuit, there was going to be a severe lack of footage of her fighting at the third badge level. That meant that aside from learning her broad fighting style, I was going to go in practically blind, which would push my stalling abilities to the limit, although with how good my team had gotten, I felt confident. Still, I was getting ahead of myself. I recalled my team to let them rest and made my way back toward Savika’s house. I was starting to get hungry, and she was cooking food. It had been too long since I had eaten anything homemade.

I noticed that Craig was leaning against her house. He waved at me, and I approached him.

“Training hard out there?” He smiled. “Reminds me of my old days.”

“Really?” I asked.

“The simpleness of it all, I mean. No offense, I know you’re working hard, but this is nothing like training at the top.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How do you do it, then?”

“The more powerful a Pokemon gets, the harder it is to actually make it get stronger,” he explained. “And I’ve already taught my team every move under the sun. That means I have to get crafty,” Craig said. “Combining moves, or just making new personalized moves altogether is how I spend most of my time when I'm training.”

I knew about move combinations and new moves already— in fact, I had created one for Electabuzz’s Electric Swift, but it was interesting to learn that older trainers put more stock into that side of Pokemon battling.

“I watched a tournament you won in August on T.V., and you didn’t use any new moves,” I told him, crossing my arms.

“Ah, the Sunyshore one? It sucked destroying all of those trainers, but I mostly did it because the Poketch company got on my back and told me I wasn’t battling in public enough,” he sighed. “But there’s a good reason I don’t use them. Why reveal my hand to potential enemies I’ll face at the Conference, who are watching me like a hungry Talonflame? I’m watching them as well, of course, but you get the gist of it. That’s why I practice in isolated areas, away from any prying eyes. Sometimes, though, you strike gold, and you create a move that can be easily used by your average Pokemon, then you can sell the rights to Silph co. and make bank.”

I nodded. “Should I start working on them early, then? New moves, I mean,” I asked.

Craig shook his head. “No, you’re better off focusing on the fundamentals until you can get through every gym leader’s personal team consistently each year. I’d say that’s when you should switch your training mindset— but I don’t want to help you too much.”

“What? Why not?”

I felt a palpitation in my heart. Did one of Sinnoh’s greatest trainers me as a potential rival?

“I don’t want anyone to get one in over my sister,” he said, and I deflated immediately. “Unlike me, Lauren has talent. She’s going places, so I want her to get to the Conference in her first year. She’ll get crushed by us older trainers, but she’ll be the best-performing first year. It’ll be an amazing showing nonetheless, and it’ll jumpstart her fame. You can usually count the number of first years that make it to the conference in the dozens, you know? Although it’ll probably be a lot more this year since there are more of you in general.”

“I thought she didn’t want you to help her,” I remarked as I crossed my arms.

“Yeah, but I’m helping her out behind the scenes when I can. Gotta help out family, you know?”

I sighed. It looked like I wasn’t going to get any more information from Craig, which frustrated me. He was a real treasure trove of Pokemon training knowledge, and I couldn’t access it.

No shortcuts.

I froze up when I saw Salamence approach us. Her steps were so powerful that I felt the ground tremble below me.

“Roxie,” Craig smiled. “What’s up?”

The dragon smiled, lowering her head close to Craig, and he caressed her scaly chin.

“She’s so… docile,” I hesitatingly said. It was odd to see a dragon type behave like a cuddly Lillipup, and it was even stranger to imagine that such a laid-back Pokemon had killed people recently.

“Should have seen her when she was younger,” he laughed. “And when she evolved into a Salamence. I honestly thought I’d never get her back under control for a while, but she came around.”

“I have a friend that can’t get his Gible under control,” I said, thinking of Louis. “Any advice for him?”

“A Gible?” He said, frowning. “Ah yeah, that Bianchi kid. That seems like potential competition for Lauren, and like I said—”

“Fine,” I sighed. “Oh, by the way, I didn’t tell you this, but when you leave… not a word about us to anyone, please?”

“Sure, I wasn’t going to tell anyone I was wounded and stuck in the middle of nowhere anyway, that would destroy my image,” he shrugged. “I have a few contracts to renegotiate soon, so I want to be coming from a position of strength.”

“I won’t say anything about you either, then,” I nodded before turning to Salamence again.

I stared at the magnificent dragon once more, who looked into my eyes. Was she appraising me? Now that I was close to her, I noticed a thin chain necklace going around her neck with a small red and blue ball embedded with a strange sign.

“What’s that for?” I asked, pointing at the necklace.

Craig pulled out his own necklace with a similar symbol from below his layers of clothes. “That’s a mega evolution stone, and she’s got a Salamencite. Cost an arm and a leg, especially when I wasn’t swimming in cash back then, but it propelled me to the next level.”

My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Mega evolution was something I honestly hadn’t even thought of yet. The only one who could potentially do it on my team was Larvitar when she was fully evolved, but even then, I had heard that it took such a ridiculous toll on a trainer and Pokemon’s body that it took years to perfect.

“Left you speechless, huh?” he said. “Don’t want it to feel like I’m bragging. You’ll get there eventually. Anyway, I was waiting outside to call for your friends, but they both went into the forest. Denzel wanted to catch a Snorunt if I remember correctly.”

“Right,” I said. “I wonder what Cece’s doing— oh, speak of the devil.”

I saw my girlfriend walk back to the house, and she looked distraught. I hurriedly ran up to her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, clasping one of her hands.

“Nothing bad,” Cece said. “Just that I’ve made no progress with Scyther. I suppose I did train a lot, though.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I stared at her for a few seconds and smiled. “But you spoke to him, at least, right?”

She nodded.

“Then you’ve taken the first step. I’m sure he’ll come around. Now come on,” I said, dragging her by the hand. “Have you spoken to Craig yet?”

“Not much,” she shyly said. It took me a few seconds to remember that despite how close she had gotten to Denzel and me, she was still distrustful of strangers.

“Cecilia Obel, huh?” Craig smiled. “I heard about you when I was looking up your brother and at the start of this year’s Circuit. I want to beat him eventually. You’ve got a Deino, right?”

“Yes,” she said calmly. Her mask was back on. “He was my first Pokemon.”

“Ah, yes, I remember! It’s not often that you find trainers starting out with a dragon type. It makes all the other kids jealous, but they don’t know how much of a pain in the ass they are to raise.”

Salamence growled, which made me shiver.

“Not you, though, Roxie. Who’s the best dragon in the world? That’s you— yes, that’s you!” Craig exclaimed. “I’ve got to head back inside, though. I’ll be back, okay?”

Salamence nodded and took off, almost making my coat fly off in the process. Craig grinned as he looked at his dragon and beckoned us into the house. Hopefully, Denzel would be back soon so we could eat. Whatever Savika had cooked smelled delicious.

“Hey,” I called out to Craig, thinking of him. “Denzel’s a huge fan of yours. I hope this isn’t too much to ask, but do you have any merch of something you could give him? He’d be too scared to ask.”

Craig beamed. “Of course. I always carry some samples in my bags— I can give him a mug— ah, wait, that isn’t that useful for a trainer. He can have one of my shirts free of charge,” he said before he began to look through one of his bags. The raven-haired man pulled out a plain white shirt with a stylized, painting-like version of him on the back and his Salamence on the front, in the same hyper-realistic style. I did have to admit, the art was well made.

“I had to haggle to make sure the clothing brand I work with— Denovo— used high-quality fabric and art. If I hadn’t negotiated, they would have used the cheapest materials possible. Anyway, here,” he said, handing me the shirt.

“Is your friend coming back soon?” Savika spoke up from the kitchen.

“Yeah, he’ll be there,” I answered. I turned to Cece, who was looking like an emotionless wall. “Come on, cheer up,” I told her.

“I am already,” she said in a haughty tone.

I smiled maliciously and pinched her arm, making her yelp in shock. Savika and Craig stared at her in disbelief.

“She’s a bit shy, sorry,” I laughed. I could feel her fuming next to me.

——

When Denzel came back, we had already started eating. Savika had made some vegetarian stew, since she apparently had her own garden that she used when the weather allowed it and a bunch of canned food she had in storage, which would last her years. Despite what I had thought from her owning that massive crossbow, Savika didn’t actually hunt Pokemon, it was just for her own protection since she had none of her own.

Anyway, none of that mattered because Denzel came back with the biggest smile on his face, which could only mean that he had caught a Snorunt.

“Did you catch it?” Cece asked.

“Took a while to find one that was alone,” he nodded, his grin widening. “She was abandoned by her group, I think, because Snorunt live in packs. I’ll introduce you later, but that’s not it,” he continued as he sat on the table. “Guess what.”

“How are you going to ask us to guess when you so obviously want to tell us?” I rolled my eyes. Cece laughed before coughing and restraining herself. Craig and Savika were sitting at the table.

“Okay, you’re right. Eevee evolved into a Sylveon!” He excitedly yelled.

“Holy shit!” I beamed. “During the battle?”

“No, we just had a talk, and then he evolved. He was ready,” he said.

“Fairy types certainly are a bi— annoying to deal with,” Craig groaned. “But congrats, kid. It always feels good to see one of your teammates evolve.”

“Thank you!” He said.

“You can swear around us, you know?” I rolled my eyes at Craig. “We’re not kids.”

“You are kids,” Savika said.

“I’m very proud of you, Denzel,” Cece said. “It was clearly weighing on you. You look like you’ve grown wings.”

“I certainly do feel lighter. Hey, pass me some stew.”

——

Savika walked out of her bedroom and stared at us.

“Your friend’s awake,” she simply said.

We all rushed into the room to see how Chase was doing. He was pale but alive, and he was sitting up on the bed, drinking a glass of water and taking some pills.

“Well, you guys look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Chase said with a painful smile.

“Next time you’re feeling so bad that you’re about to pass out, say something,” I scolded. “You could have died if Savika hadn’t been there!”

“What are you, my mom?” He said.

“Maybe!” I replied.

He rolled his eyes. “How long was I out?”

“Um, it’s around five in the evening, so eight hours or so?” Cece said.

“Thank the Legendaries,” he sighed. “Only missed one workout.”

“You’re still worrying about those in your state?” I said. “Don’t even think about it. You’re staying in bed until Savika confirms that you’re all healed.”

“Ugh, how mediocre,” Chase said.

“I don’t care,” I said. “It’s for your own good.”

“Where are my Pokeballs? I want Riolu here,” Chase asked.

Denzel grimaced. “Savika doesn’t want any Pokemon in her house, so you’ll have to wait until you’re healthy enough to walk again and go outside. Might take a few days.”

Chase held the bedsheets tightly.

“I know it’s hard, but we’re here for you,” I said.

“Whatever.”

“Can’t she make an exception?” Cecilia asked. “Even five minutes is fine.”

“I’ll go and ask her,” I said. “Keep Chase company.”

I exited the room and looked around for Savika, who had apparently gone outside. I followed suit and found her in her small barn, where she stored all of her firewood. She was probably gathering some to keep her fire going.

“Savika,” I said before pausing. No use skirting around the subject. “My friends and I were wondering if Chase could possibly bring his Riolu out for a few minutes—”

“No.”

My eye twitched. “I know that they’re your house rules, but he’s really attached to his Riolu, and I think that it’d help him recover if he was there—”

“I said no,” Savika said.

“Could I at least know why? He’s a small Pokemon, and he’s nice. He won’t break things around the house, or dirty it, or be too loud or—”

Savika finished grabbing her firewood and stared at me from the side of her eye. I swallowed. Had I pushed her too far?

“Want to know something, girl?” She asked. “I despise Pokemon and Pokemon trainers.”

I inhaled sharply. “Pokemon, I could have guessed,” I quietly said. “But trainers?”

“Do you know why Snowpoint was created? Why people chose live in that damned hell hole thousands of years ago, before the invention of insulation? Where even a fire couldn’t keep you alive during the coldest winters?”

I shook my head.

“My people always lived around Snowpoint. In fact, we’re the ones who settled the damn city in the first place, not the League or any trainers,” Savika started as she leaned against a wall. She stared up at the ceiling, almost as if she was reminiscing. “I assume you’re familiar enough with history to know about the mass migrations that took place when the League started invading Hisui to subjugate anyone that wasn’t a trainer or submitted to their rule?”

I nodded. The truth was, I had forgotten most of it, but the lake was helping me fill the gaps.

“So… people from the south fled north to escape the League?” I asked.

“Tens of thousands of them, through Mount Coronet. Without Pokemon,” she spat. “Only a few thousand were left by the end, and they arrived in an inhospitable hell. For them, it was either risk death and live freely, or be a servant to whoever the League sent to rule your settlement back then. Life was harsh. Still, my people took them in. We gave them everything, and we only heard rumors of the League forces rampaging down south from the occasional group that made it through Mount Coronet. Still, we hoped that we were far enough to avoid their lust for conquest.”

I bit the inside of my mouth. “That didn’t work.”

“Twenty years later, the League came on their flying Pokemon and took everything we had anyway. Everything we had built, with their trainers. They enslaved us, destroyed our culture, worked us to death, and now they think I will forgive them for doing the bare minimum? No. I will never forgive. I will take care of you. I won’t make a fuss. But my house, my rules,” Savika firmly said.

“Okay,” I exhaled. “I’m sorry.”

“So long as you understand,” she said as she began to walk toward her home. “It might seem foolish to you. I know that it’s been thousands of years since. I know that you specifically had nothing to do with it, but it still burns. It burned more when I was still living in Snowpoint and acting like everything was alright, when we’re still being run by that very same system, however changed it's been. I couldn’t take it. I spent all of my savings on supplies, learned how to live in the wild, and never looked back.”

“Well, I feel like I have to thank you again,” I said. “You’re helping us despite disliking what we do.”

Savika sighed. “I can’t turn back children,” she said.

“Craig isn’t a child.”

“Oh, please. Twenty-five is still a child.”

“Right,” I said, forgetting that she was probably in her early sixties. “Doesn’t it get lonely, though?”

The old woman’s hand twitched around her wood. “I’m used to it.”

I stared at the lake and took a deep breath. I was sad that Savika was going to die on her own here. What would happen when she couldn’t take care of herself anymore? She was fit, but age would catch up to her eventually.

“I’d be terrified to die alone,” I blurted out.

Savika stared at me and then laughed. It was the first time that I saw her smile.

“Aren’t you straightforward?” She said. “I do worry about it, but I’ve made my choice. I’ll end my life here. It’s my home.”

I nodded, and we entered her house again. Chase took another day to be able to stand again and another two to feel well enough to travel. We all used the time to train up, and to help him out, we took his Pokemon outside so that they could train, too, since he was too tired to do so. He acted like he didn’t care, but I could tell he was glad. Craig left a day after that on his Salamence, bidding us and Savika goodbye. He told us to come see his battle against Candice if we had the time. Denzel was giddy about his new shirt and wore it all the time now. Another two days after that, we left Savika’s home.

I left her an empty Pokeball hidden in one of her cupboards, just in case she ever changed her mind and wanted some company.

Five days later, we had finally reached Snowpoint. The city of snow.