A knock came at their door, a soft rapping only just loud enough to be heard through the room. Cashe look up from the couch, where he was trying to get Ivysaur to eat a handful of vitamins. Beating the gym was a lot more profitable than he expected and he had splurged on his pokemon’s nutrition. The only problem was that Ivysaur was revealing himself to be a petulant child when it came to eating his vegetables. Sneasel was sitting on the couch and chewing on his obediently, and Primeape had finished hers immediately and returned to the board game that lay out on the table, determined to master its mysteries. Even Hattrem had eaten them without complaint before wandering off to meditate in Cashe’s room. Only Ivysaur was giving him any trouble.

Cashe sighed, giving up for the moment and stood up to answer the door. Emilia got there first, moving from the kitchen where she was concocting her own pungent slurry of nutrient rich paste for her pokemon. She opened the door, just as Cashe walked up behind her, revealing a familiar figure gazing up at them with a startled expression on her face.

“Oh!” Dalia squeaked in surprise as Emilia looked down at her, “Um, h-hello. Is Lindon there?” The young teenager didn’t quite manage to keep herself from stuttering.

Emilia smiled, giving Dalia a knowing look. The young girl’s hair was done up in a stylish, soft wave that looked casual but probably took over an hour to get right. Her outfit was the same, just a skirt, stockings and a blouse, but immaculately matched and presented that betrayed significant effort.

“You missed him. He left for his match an hour ago.” Emilia said. She opened the door wide and beckoned Dalia to come inside, “Come on in. We are heading to the gym in a few minutes. You can come with us, we have pretty good seats, and I know Lindon will be happy to see you.”

Dalia blushed, “I don’t want to intrude,” she said, though she stepped inside, her big blue eyes darting around the small hotel room. They paused for a moment on the gray-green mush on Emilia’s nutrient slurry before settling on Ivysaur, who had turned away from where the vitamins lay on the table as if their very presence offended him.

“You’re not intruding,” Cashe said, returning to the couch and forcing Ivysaur to face him, silently thankful that despite Ivysuar’s size, he still weighed less than fifty pounds. The task would be impossible once he evolved into Venusaur, “Like Emilia said, we are leaving soon anyway.”

Dalia nodded, and moved to the couch, flattening her skirt under her so it didn’t wrinkle as she sat down beside Sneasel. He watched her with mild curiosity as she shifted in her seat. Dalia glanced at Cashe with wide eyes as swore under his breath and fruitlessly shoved the vitamins against Ivysaur’s closed mouth, “Is this what it’s like to be a trainer?” She asked.

“The rooms are nice in most cities,” Emilia called from the kitchen, “They put special places aside for us to stay and everything, but Iki Town is a little too small to have that.”

“Oh, I meant-”

“The smell?” Cashe said, “We’ve been to the Pokemon Center, but there’s nothing they can do. Emilia’s just like that.”

Emilia made a rude gesture with her hand and rolled her eyes, “Sorry about the stink. No, despite what Cashe says, it does not always smell like this.”

“That’s what she thinks, but-”

“I was talking about the pokemon,” Dalia interrupted. Her eyes moved to Primeape, who was moving game pieces around at random and at Sneasel, who was now leaning towards her and sniffing softly, “Lindon says he doesn’t keep his pokemon in their pokeballs all the time, but he only ever takes out Goomy to let her splash around in the water.”

“Oh, are they making you nervous?” Cashe said. He hadn’t considered that someone might be uncomfortable around another trainer’s pokemon, “I can return them to their pokeballs if you are.”

“Ivy!”

“No,” Cashe scolded, spinning around to shake a finger at Ivysaur, “You have to eat your vitamins first, you stupid plant. You’re supposed to be all about nutrients.”

“No! I love pokemon,” Dalia said. She turned and smiled at Sneasel as he sniffed, but didn’t make a move to touch him, “That’s why I became a breeder with my brother. I thought being a trainer might be fun, too, because you get to be with your pokemon all the time, but Lindon never lets them out of their balls.”

“Lindon’s just being practical,” Emilia said from the kitchen, “Most trainers don’t let their pokemon out of their pokeballs in cities and towns because it can cause trouble, especially with the larger pokemon evolutions. Lindon’s Magneton, for example, interferes with electrical signals accidentally, which can be a big problem in a city.”

“And Slowpoke will lay down and get in the way,” Cashe said, “Lindon’s just being considerate.” Cashe looked up from Ivysaur as Dalia watched Sneasel with a longing expression, “You know,” he said, “Sneasel really likes being hugged.”

“Really?” Dalia’s head snapped to face him, “Can I-”

“Be careful his claws don’t ruin your shirt,” Cashe said.

Dalia squealed in delight and wrapped Sneasel up in her arms. Sneasel immediately hugged her back, throat rumbling in a deep purr.

“Careful you don’t get frostbite,” Cashe said, smiling at the happy pair, “He’s pretty cold.”

“Oh, you can’t get frostbite from touching ice type pokemon,” Dalia said, twisting Sneasel around so he sat in her lap like a large cat and stroking his head, “They aren’t actually cold unless they are using their powers. Otherwise they just feel cold.”

“Sneasel?” Sneasel said.

“Yeah, what he said,” Cashe said, “What does that mean?”

“When you touch Sneasel, or most other ice type pokemon, they feel cold, but they are actually the same temperature as most other pokemon,” Dalia said, glancing between Cashe and Emilia who were both looking at her with interest, “You don’t know this?”

“Maybe Mom does,” Emilia said, “But no one else in my family uses ice types.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I’m learning as I go,” Cashe said.

“Oh!” Dalia looked inordinately pleased at the opportunity to teach two trainers something about pokemon, “Well, they might give you a bit of a shiver, but its just in your head.” She struggled to lift Sneasel from her lap, lifting under his arms until he got the hint and got up himself. “Oof. He’s heavy.”

“He’s a dense little guy,” Cashe said.

Dalia got up and touched Cashe’s arm with her hand, “See? Warm.”

Cashe frowned. She was right. Her hand was perfectly warm, not at all like it should have been after petting the frigid pokemon. He glanced down at Sneasel, who looked peeved he was no longer the center of attention.

“Is this true?” Cashe said, “You’re not actually cold?”

In response, Sneasel held out his arms, begging to be picked up. Cashe grinned and lifted the small pokemon into his arms with a grunt. This time, he paid attention to the feeling of cold coming from Sneasel. The cold pierced him, but his muscles didn’t stiffen, nor did the feeling of cold get worse, like it would have if he were holding a block of ice, or something else of significantly low temperature.

“I guess that explains why he isn’t constantly dripping water,” Cashe said, “How did you know this?”

“Pokemon Breeders learn all sorts of things,” Dalia said, puffing her chest with pride, “And ice type pokemon are my favorite.”

“Well, if there are any other secrets you want to reveal to us about our pokemon, we won’t complain,” Emilia said.

“Um, actually,” Dalia took the vitamins from Cashe's hand and walked over to Ivysaur. She held them out in front of Ivysaur on her open palm, “Ivysaur, can you tell me why you don’t want to eat your vitamins?” She said.

“Ivys-aa!”

Ivysaur made a choking sound as Dalia shoved the vitamins into his mouth as he tried to answer her question, holding him in place with her other hand. Ivysaur tried to get away, but Dalia held firm, grunting and twisting with him until he swallowed the vitamins.

“You have to get dirty a lot on a breeder farm,” Dalia explained, pulling her hand from Ivysaur’s mouth and holding it away from her so his saliva did not get all over her outfit, “Most pokemon will eat anything edible that gets in their mouth almost on instinct. It’s just a matter of getting it there.”

“Huh, thanks for that,” Cashe laughed. He grabbed a towel from the kitchen and tossed it to Dalia. She nodded in thanks and wiped off her hand, “Anything we can do for you?”

Dalia bit her lip and nodded, “Can I maybe meet Hattrem?” She glanced at Emilia, “And Charmeleon too?”

Emilia exchanged a quick glance with Cashe and grinned, “I think we can do that.”

***

The gym was nearly empty for Lindon’s match, allowing Cashe, Emilia, and Dalia to sit right up front. Like the most days, almost all the matches for the day were between Third Circuit trainers, but for whatever reason, the days group of trainers where all around Lindon’s age, featuring the people who took the first opportunity to set out on their pokemon journey allotted to them, instead of waiting like most modern trainers did.

Gym Leader Hau apparently had gym trainers specifically for these younger trainers to battle, as Lindon’s opponent was no older than he and was not among the talented trainers that Cashe, Emilia, and Lindon had observed when they first scouted the gym.

It was a mistake. Lindon may not have had a significant tournament placing in the True Rookie Tournament, but he was limited to only a single pokemon for the entirety of the competition. He was also not the typical young trainer, at least from what Cashe had seen from young trainers.

The crowd watching the battles for the day was only a few hundred strong, likely made up of the family and friends of the day’s participants, and a few of the participants themselves. Cashe noticed a few faces that had been battling the gym trainers just a few minutes prior entering the stands to speak with those they knew.

The atmosphere was relaxed, and there were even a few successful challengers from the day’s trainers battling their way to victory. It gave the arena the feeling of a school gym instead of a professional sporting environment, and Cashe found he quite liked it.

They were sitting right on the edge of the area reserved for Lindon’s match. He was already on stage, speaking with a young female official who wore a kind smile. His opponent was another young man around his age, who was in the middle of an earnest conversation with his Charjabug.

“Oh, Lindon’s battling Kenny,” Dalia said, looking at the dark haired boy with a troubled expression.

“Is that a problem?” Emilia said.

“He’s not very nice.”

“Lindon will be fine,” Cashe said, looking over at the two young trainers. He kept his voice low and leaned over towards Dalia, “Just between us, I think Gym Leader Hau is underestimating Lindon by assigning him to this group of trainers.”

“Are you sure?” Dalia said, “Kenny always says he's the strongest young trainer at the gym and no one can beat him.”

“Then maybe Hau is trying to teach him a lesson,” Emilia suggested, “Because I agree with Cashe. I don’t think Lindon is going to lose to this kid, even for a second.”

“Okay,” Dalia didn’t sound convinced, but did not argue against Emilia’s assessment.

On the stage, the referee had taken the starting position for the match, instructing both trainers to bring their pokemon out. Kenny pushed his Charjabug forward, the bug and electric type pokemon resembling a fleshy, green, rectangular battery a foot tall and twice as long. It inched its way across the stage like the bug it was, coming to a rest near the middle.

Lindon kept things simple and led with his oldest and most powerful pokemon, Magneton. Magneton hummed with barely contained power, hovering across the stage to face its opponent with an ominous grace. Kenny went bug-eyed as he saw the pokemon, making it clear he had not done his research on his opponent.

“See?” Cashe snorted, pointing out Kenny’s distressed expression, “Lindon’s going to be just fine.”

With a word from the official the battle started, and Lindon took the initiative right away, shouting out an order and pointing at the Charjabug. Magneton glowed, three beams of light shooting from each point of Magneton. They met in front of Magneton, at its center, collapsing into a single, powerful beam of white light. The attack shot across the stage, hitting Charjabug and blasting it into one of the protective shields.

“Oh! That was strong!” Dalia exclaimed, “Charjabug went flying! What was that attack?”

“It looked like Tri Attack,” Emilia said, “Lindon made a good choice using it. His electric and steel type moves wouldn’t have been very effective.”

Back on the stage, Kenny was ordering his Charjabug to respond, but it was having trouble rolling back onto its feet. It was lying on its side, its cuboid body making it difficult to roll over onto its feet. It wiggled back and forth on the ground for a few seconds until it finally built enough momentum to push itself over the corner of its own body.

As that was happening, Lindon prepared his next attack, Magneton glowing again with a triple beam of power, firing another Tri Attack at its opponent. The second attack hit as well, sending Charjabug flying once again. This time it was too much for the little bug type pokemon, who rolled to a stop and could not get up.

“He did it!” Dalia was on her feet, clapping in excitement as soon as the referee stopped the battle, “That was so exciting! Are all battles like this?” She frowned in concern for a moment as she watched Kenny return Charjabug to its ball, “Is Charjabug going to be okay?”

“Is this your first time watching a battle?” Emilia asked her, looking over with a bemused expression.

Dalia gave her a small nod, “I don’t like watching pokemon hurt each other.”

“That’s how pokemon grow,” Emilia pointed out.

“You don’t have to worry,” Cashe said, “Charjabug is going to be fine. And no, most battles aren’t like this.”

“They aren’t?” Dalia’s brow wrinkled in disappointment.

“Most are much more exciting,” Cashe continued, “This is a little one-sided. Wait until you see a real battle.”

*****