Chapter Fifty-Eight - Future Talk

If they were in any bigger town or any city, they would have met at a Miss Mime's for a late lunch party, but as it was... well, Azalea was lacking in fast food places.

So Jazz was sitting across from Broccoli and her two pokemon and next to Tabitha at a small table on the deck outside of that cafe they'd been to with Officer Jenny.

At least it was sunny out. A little too warm, maybe, and very humid, but not all that bad. "Okay," she said once they'd all ordered and the pokemon had settled down.

Choco was currently obsessing over a candle in the middle of the table, and Marill was sitting on the table, slouching down so that her paws could reach Broccoli's Pokephone where she was... trolling the forums? Jazz decided not to question it.

"Okay?" Tabitha repeated. "Were you going to add anything to that, or do you need more time to consider?"

Jazz glanced at the girl next to her and tried very hard not to glare. "If I was, then you pointing it out certainly wouldn't help, now would it?" Jazz asked. "But yeah, I was getting to something. All three of us have gotten our Hive badges, which means we're pretty much done with Azalea Town."

Broccoli raised a hand. "I actually have something to pick up later, but yeah, I think I've visited most of the town so far! I'll let people know that we'll be leaving soon?"

"Uh, yeah, you can do that," Jazz said. "I was thinking we can head out tomorrow morning, at first light."

"No time for a bye-bye party, then," Broccoli muttered.

"I don't know if such a thing is necessary," Tabitha said. "I'm presuming that we'll be heading west, into the Ilex Forest? It's a well-known location in Johto, one of, if not the densest natural area within the region and one of the most revered for the Bug-type pokemon found within. There are also several legends tied to the location."

Jazz leaned back into her seat. "Yeah, well, that's the plan. The question is, are you coming

with us?"

Tabitha blinked. Then she turned and stared at Jazz. Really stared. Jazz met her eyes, only now realising that they were an exceptionally pale cyan. Surprisingly, they weren't as piercing or as unemotional as Tabitha usually felt. There was... worry, there? She shook it off and broke eye contact first.

"I... would like to go with you. Both of you," Tabitha said. "I only have one badge in Johto so far. I'll need to make a detour to Violet City at some point to pick up the Zephyr badge. Otherwise, I would appreciate being able to accompany you, at least, if you're not against the idea of having me present. I'm certain I can be of assistance. While I am not personally rich, I do have some financial ressources set aside for my journey that I may tap into, and my knowledge of pokemon and pokemon training techniques is relatively advanced."

Broccoli laughed. "Tabby! We'd love to have you along!"

Jazz hummed. Did she want Tabitha along? The rich little psychic with all of the advantages in the world? The same girl that had just beaten her down days before? But Tabitha wasn't all that bad. She was kind in her own weird way, and while her social skills were... not very great, she didn't seem to have wanted to hurt Jazz.

And she seemed willing to apologise.

"Fine," Jazz said. "Tabitha can come with. But you're pulling your weight. And paying for your part. We're splitting costs evenly. So don't think this is a free ride."

"I understand. Thank you," Tabitha said. She didn't quite smile, but she did sit up even straighter, if that was possible.

Jazz shook her head. What a weird girl.

"Okay, so, here's the situation." Jazz reached over to her bag and pulled out a Ranger Map. This wasn't anything too special, there was a small station by the forest's entrance and they were eager to hand these maps out. They even gave cheap compasses and these cheaply printed survival guides that basically repeatedly told people to stick to the designated paths within the forest. "There are a few well-known camping sites along the route, and even some locations that are known dens for different pokemon."

"Are you going to try and find a new friend?" Broccoli asked.

Jazz chewed on his lower lips. "If it wasn't for Zubat, then yeah. My plan was to have at least three Poison-type pokemon before we reached Goldenrod."

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"Three pokemon for the third badge is a sensible choice," Tabitha said. "Once you hit the fourth badge, you almost require a team of three. It becomes increasingly difficult to only have a team of two from that point on. The fifth badge with only two pokemon isn't impossible, but it would be very difficult. The sixth, seventh and eighth badges... you will want a full roster."

"How many pokemon is a full roster?" Broccoli asked.

Jazz blinked. Another one of those questions Broccoli had that everyone knew, but she just didn't. "The maximum number of pokemon you can have on you for pokemon battling, according to League regulations, is six. That doesn't mean you can't carry more, but past six you can't enter a gym battle."

"So you can have more than six, but just not when fighting?" Broccoli asked.

"Bigger, more experienced trainers may have much larger teams," Tabitha explained. "Gym leaders have teams that are frequently in the low thirties, sometimes up to nearly a hundred pokemon. They need pokemon at every badge level, and several so that they can be switched in and out of battle. Not to mention the gym trainer pokemon often belong to the gym. On the competitive scene, it's normal to have a team of six, but some trainers have teams that are larger, with pokemon set in reserve for specific conditions."

"If I had an impossibly large budget for pokemon, I might consider having a team of Flying-Poison types in reserve," Jazz said. "Zubats, Beedrills, Venomoths. Just in case I had to fight a strong opponent with no response to Flying-types. At the same time, against an Electric-type training, that would be a terrible team."

Tabitha nodded next to her.

"But that's for rich people, with sponsors and such. We're probably going to hit the six pokemon limit and stay there, because there's no way I can afford to train more than that many pokemon."

Broccoli nodded. "Having lots of friends is the best, but sometimes there's only so much of yourself to go around." She reached across the table and touched Jazz's hand comfortingly. "I understand. It's painful, but sometimes that's just how it is."

"Uh, right. Anyway, the Ilex forest. I was originally aiming to catch a venonat or a weedle in there, maybe a spinarak, but like I said, I'm nearing my current limit on pokemon that I can train. Once my group is better, then we'll see."

That might take a while still. Bell—Weepinbell, would need a whole lot of training to get used to his new form, Zubat was still new, and Sage had a lot of practice left in him before he reached his full potential. A fourth pokemon on top of all that would be too much for her, not if she was also moving about.

"So what's the plan for the forest?" Broccoli asked.

"We go in, stick to the trail, never leave the trail, never listen to anything off the trail, look at things away from the trail, or deviate from the trail in any way shape or form. We'll stop by campsite A in the night, it's near the centre. Then we continue until we're out the next day. If we leave tomorrow morning, we should be arriving by the end of the forest by Wednesday."

"That seems strict," Tabitha said.

"The trail is safe," Jazz replied. "We can train on the route if we want. There's lot of bug catchers in the woods, especially near the entrance. It's a known area for small sparring matches. Deeper in, we don't want to get lost."

"Okay then," Broccoli said.

Jazz eyed her. Was... was Broccoli going to be trouble?

Nah, she wouldn't be, right? Jazz decided to have a little faith. "I'm going to head out after this to buy some food for the next couple of days. Tabitha, do you have space for some things in your pack? Do you have camping supplies?"

"I have some small amount of room, yes. But as for camping supplies, I'm afraid not. I can purchase some for myself, if you want."

"That's not a bad idea," Jazz said. Worse came to worst, they'd share what they had, but if they could avoid it... well, no point in not, then.

"I'm certain that this will be a great opportunity to learn more about each other surrounded by the calming presence of nature," Tabitha said.

"Uh-huh," Jazz replied.

She bet it would be.

***