“Why aren’t we challenging the gym in Hau’oli City?” Cashe said.
“It’s Kantonian tradition,” Emilia said. She closed the final few clasps on her backpack and strapped it across her back. Lindon nodded as well, but didn’t say anything. He had been quiet since he returned from his evening with Dalia, barely speaking and outright ignoring questions about their evening.
“How is not challenging the Hau’oli City gym a Kantonian tradition,” Cashe said, opening the door to their suite as they headed out, “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“In Kanto, trainers challenge their home gym last,” Emilia explained as they made their way out of Iki Town. It was a gusty, overcast day, a strong wind blowing in from the east, carrying a sharp pang of ozone with it. “When you challenge your final gym, it's a celebration. The community comes together and welcomes you back. Depending on the circuit, there might even be a big party. And it’s the end of a journey. Where else would you want to be but at home?”
“So Hau’oli is your home town in Alola,” Cashe nodded, “Elise is here and it's where we started our journey through the circuit.
They continued their way out of the small city. It was quiet, which was surprising for Iki Town, as it was usually bustling with trainers and people going about their day. Now, only a few people were in the streets. As they neared the edge, the winds picked up, bringing with them cool air.
“Should have put on a jacket,” Emilia said. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a hair tie, pulling her long, dark hair back into a ponytail so that it didn’t whip her face in the wind.
They hurried to Route 1. The welcoming square of Iki Town was all but deserted, the few vendors present in the process of closing up shop even though it was still early in the morning. Emilia paused as they moved through the square to scowl at the closed storefront of Tamil’s restaurant.
“Emilia what are you doing?” Cashe followed her gaze to Tamil’s restaurant and sighed. “I did warn you about the napkins.”
“I thought you were joking!” Emilia complained, allowing Cashe to pull her away from the shop, “Who gets that upset when you want to clean your hands?”
“I think he was very clear about his beliefs,” Cashe said.
“I don’t care what he says, it's not insulting to refuse to lick the sauce from your hands,” Emilia said, crossing her arms in a huff, “It’s gross. I hope his business fails and he becomes a berry picker. Or an accountant.”
Cashe snorted, “You think he’s going to fail? After that meal?”
“No,” Emilia grumbled, the word sounding like it needed to be extracted surgically from her mouth, “It was delicious.”
Lindon glanced over his shoulder as they left the city, giving Cashe and Emilia a pout, “You went out to eat without me?”
“We still wanted to celebrate your victory,” Cashe said.
“Without me?”
“Well, someone was too busy doing who knows what with a young lady last night,” Emilia said with a teasing grin, “You were gone for so long we didn’t know if you were coming back at all.”
Lindon flushed at her words and turned away, resolutely marching down the stairs that lead from Iki Town to Route 1.
Cashe grinned and followed close behind him, “What did you two get up to last night, anyway?” He said, giving Lindon a playful poke in the shoulder, “Did things not go well? Is that why you’ve been so quiet this morning?”
“No,” Lindon said, shaking his head, causing the wind to catch his hair and blow it into his face, “I just feel funny.”
“Did you catch something?” Emilia teased, “Maybe Dalia had the flu and gave it to you. That’s why your mom tells you to be careful around girls, you know. Do you want to stop at a Pokemon Center?”
“No!” Lindon said, his face turning deep crimson, “I mean, I feel funny with my emotions.” He looked between Cashe and Emilia, “Don’t you feel weird, too?”
“No?” Cashe said, “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know! I feel funny!” Lindon said.
“Why don’t you tell us what you’re thinking,” Emilia said, “Maybe that will help put words to the feeling.”
Lindon chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, “Iki Town was our first gym. We went through so much stuff to get here. We met lots of people and competed in a tournament and fought Team Starlight and made friends and-” he flushed again and sighed, rubbing his hands over his blond hair in frustration, “I wanted to beat a gym for as long as I can remember. And now I have and it doesn’t feel special.”
“Wow, things must have really gone wrong last night,” Cashe said.
“Cashe, be serious,” Emilia gave him an exasperated look and turned to Lindon, “Are you not happy with your win?”
“No, I am,” Lindon said.
“Are you not happy being a trainer? Do you want to go back to Vermillion?”
“What? No!” Lindon shook his head vehemently, “I love being a trainer.”
“But you don’t think what you are doing is special?” Cashe said.
“We’re just leaving,” Lindon said, “We came here, we got new pokemon and met all these people and then we just said goodbye and left.”
‘That’s the life of a trainer, Lindon,” Emilia said, “We don’t put down roots. Even if we spend half a year trying to beat a gym, once we do, we move on to the next one.”
“There was a big crowd when we left Hau’oli City,” Lindon grumbled, “The police were even there. Everyone was saying goodbye and waving to us.”
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Hau’oli City is a lot bigger than Iki Town and I have family there,” Emilia pointed out, “Famous family. You can’t expect that treatment every time we leave.”
“Not to mention we are beating the hometown heroes,” Cashe pointed out, “More people are cheering against us than for us.”
“I guess,” Lindon said.
“Look at it this way,” Emilia put an arm around Lindon’s shoulder, “We’re going to be coming back. And with a Vulpix. That’s definitely going to be special, right?”
Lindon scratched up his face as he thought about it and eventually nodded, but didn’t appear entirely convinced.
***
Reaching the Hau’oli City outskirts only took a few hours. The route between Iki Town and the city was well maintained and frequently used, though it was quiet as Cashe, Emilia, and Lindon traversed it. The weather was keeping most indoors, becoming worse as the hours passed, the sky darkening by thick clouds growing thicker. The wind picked up from strong gusts to a constant bellow, the air temperature dropping precipitously by the time they reached the outskirts. Even the pokemon weren’t venturing out, the route missing the characteristic creatures that they would normally see in abundance.
The city outskirts brought some relief from the wind, at least, the houses and low buildings providing some protection from the weather. The outskirts themselves were almost suburban, with many individual homes dotting the roads that they took into the city proper, but with many more shops and industrial sites that one would normally see. They even spotted Hau’oli City’s famous pokemon research lab, though it was just as quiet as most other businesses that they came across.
It was around lunch when the storm hit, catching the group between the outskirts and the city proper. Rain fell from the sky in a blanket, as if an enormous floodgate in the heavens had just failed. Water soaked through their clothes instantly, drops skinning the skin as the wind whipped through the air. Lightning crashed in the sky, illuminating the landscape with strange shadows that flickered across the ground for a brief moment, a world appearing and dissolving in an instant, the only sign of its passing the deep, rumbling applause of thunder that echoed its every existence.
Cashe, Lindon, and Emilia entered the first trainer housing area they came across, entering the lobby of the building soaked with water and dripping tiny pools all over the linoleum floors. There was only a lonely Hypno behind the main desk, but it was able to provide them with a key to a spacious suite,
They tumbled in, wet and exhausted from the half day journey from Iki Town. The suite was the largest they had shared in their journey thus far, with an open kitchen and living room and three separate bedrooms, each with its own bath. It was a shame that they would only be here for a few days at most as they took time to relax.
With a few grunted words of departure, Cashe headed for a room to shower as his companions did the same. Hot water stung his skin as it warmed his body, steam rising through the air and bringing pleasant warmth to the shower. It was a great irony that just moments ago he was running from the wind and the rain just to replace them with his own versions of wind and rain. Though he was naked now. That made a big difference.
He stayed in the shower until the hot water cooled to lukewarm, finally exiting the shower, exhausted but at least clean.
He put on a fresh change of clothes and entered the living area of the suite. Lindon was collapsed on the large couch of the living room, opposite the TV. He was sprawled across the length of the couch, facing the screen but fast asleep. On it, a sports channel was showing a gym battle between a pair of trainers Cashe didn’t recognize. The volume was turned low and the shouts of the announcer were a drone all but drowned out by the pounding of the rain outside. The screen flashed, a dim echo of the storm's lightning, as the pokemon on screen clashed again and again, the inherent excitement of the fight lost to his exhaustion.
Cashe flopped down beside Emilia, who was occupying the room’s loveseat. Her dark hair was still damp from the shower, and in a tangled mess. A discarded wooden brush lay on the table in front of the loveseat, abandoned before its job was done. She had changed into her pajamas - a flannel shirt and pair of comfortable shorts - despite it only being the early afternoon. Cashe smiled as he recognized little Hatenna on her shirt, all dozing in various positions.
“I’m not going out again today,” Emilia explained, noticing Cashe’s eyes on her shirt. She leaned back, kicking her feet up onto Cashe’s lap to illustrate her point, shuffling until her back was resting comfortably against the armrest of the loveseat, her thighs overtop of Cashe’s own.
“What if I want to get up?” Cashe said, still smiling.
“Tough,” Emilia grunted, “I’m comfy.”
“Sure,” Cashe rolled his eyes and leaned back as well, getting comfortable as he turned back to the TV to watch the ongoing battle.
“Thanks,” Emilia said. Her voice was surprisingly genuine. Cashe glanced over at her. “I used to love storms like this,” she explained, “Back in Vermillion, we lived in this tiny house downtown. It always felt crowded. Mom and Dad had their own space, but my sisters and I had to share everything.”
“You couldn’t move to a bigger place? I thought the League provided that kind of thing for everyone.”
“We could have moved, we had six people, so we qualified for a larger space,” Emilia said, “But it was our home. Family, friends, neighbors, schools. It was more than a few walls and beds, you know?”
Cashe nodded, “I know.”
“It was crowded all the time, but when a storm hit the city, it was cozy,” Emilia smiled, eyes drifting into the distance as she recalled memories, “We would all squeeze under a blanket on the couch and watch one of Mom’s matches, or maybe an old one of Dad’s - he had already retired to be a pokemon professor by the time I was born,” Emilia explained, “Our TV room only had a couch no bigger than this,” she nodded to the loveseat on which they sat.
“Kind of hard to fit four people on that,” Cashe said.
“It was,” Emilia grinned, “I’m the baby of the family, so everyone else would argue about who’s lap I sat on. Maggie’s terrified of storms, though, and we all knew it, so Ellie and Selena let her win every time.”
“Isn’t she a big shot Poke Ranger now?” Cashe said.
Emilia’s eyes sparkled and she nodded, “Exposure therapy or something like that.” She paused for a moment, eyes flicking to the distance again, “We would sit on the couch, me in Maggie's lap, all under a blanket. Every time the thunder came Maggie would squeeze me tight. One time the thunder was so loud it rattled the windows and shook the house. We all hid under the blanket and pretended we weren’t scared. And we weren’t. Under the blanket is warm and safe.” Emilia rubbed her eyes with her hands, her voice tight, “And then Elise started her journey. There was enough room on the couch after that.”
Cashe nodded and pushed Emilia’s legs off of him, standing up.
“Cashe?” Emilia's eyes were confused and hurt.
“I’ll be right back,” Cashe left the room, returning with the comforter from his bed. He tossed it over Emilia and picked up the brush off the table while she was covered by the blanket.
“Ack! Cashe, you didn’t have to-”
“Shove over a bit,” Cashe said, pushing Emilia off the armrest of the couch.
“Hey! That’s my spot, you have the rest of the couch.” Emilia complained as Cashe sat down in the space she had just occupied.
“Lean back,” Cashe said, pulling Emilia back so she lay with her head on his lap and under the thick cover of the comforter. She did, lying down and shifting in place to get comfortable. Cashe let her and brought the brush to her hair once she lay still, working at the tangled mess.
“Cashe,” Emilia said, looking up at him, “You don’t have to do this for me.”
“Of course I do,” Cashe said, bonking Emilia lightly on her forehead with the wooden brush, “If you let your hair dry like that you will have to cut it off to get out the knots.”
Emilia pouted, rubbing her head where Cashe bonked her, “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know,” Cashe said in a quiet voice, “You’re not the only one who is feeling a little alone today.”
“Oh,” Emilia widened for a moment, then relaxed. She smiled and closed her eyes, shuffling a little more to get comfortable under the blankets, “In that case, I’m relying on you to keep me warm and safe.”
*****