The next morning they focused on Moves again. Poison Powder and Supersonic for Venonat, switching as he exhausted one type of energy or the other. When Cloudburst woke, they spent some time playing in the sand before she grew fed up. A dogfight against Venomoth proved to be an adequate apology to the grouchy bird, though it took David longer than expected to explain what he wanted to Jenny. From her reaction to the term, it was not going to catch on in Fuchsia anytime soon.
Both Jenny and the training were different after Koga’s appearance. A night's sleep didn't blunt the impact at all. Koga didn’t check in at any time, or leave hints about his 'contribution' to the training, but he’d left his mark all the same. Jenny spent as much time watching the walls, roof windows and doors as she did the training and was oddly subdued.
It took a while for David to catch on why, and when he did, he found the idea of Koga entering through the window to be hilarious until it suddenly wasn’t. Then it was terrifying, and he spent some time scanning the roof as well. The gym leader put him on edge enough to not need to act like a human spider.
David spent his break during the day shopping. He stocked up on the essentials and put in an hour's work at the market, both for the bit of cash and to let Marie know that he was still alive.
They only trained for two and a half hours that night, practicing battling with both Venonat and Cloudburst together, but kept the fighting light. There was a festival tomorrow and Jenny needed time to prepare.
-.-
The training grounds were empty when David arrived. It wasn’t unexpected. Few came here after dark, and most were planning a good night's sleep before the celebration tomorrow. A few weeks ago he would have put it down to a lack of nocturnal Pokemon used by the local trainers, but the number of Golbat and Venomoth in the gym had given him second thoughts.
Louis had been kind enough to tell him about several other training grounds spread across the city. They weren’t private, but they were smaller and meant for locals. This field was abnormally large and across from the visitor campsite for a reason.
A busier training grounds at night might have made teaching Venonat how to battle easier, but now David was glad for the peace. He released Venonat, who flashed brightly enough that it left an afterimage on his closed eyes.
“Hey Venonat.”
Venonat squeaked in greeting, though he could tell they weren’t too happy. The following buzzing chirps as Venonat realized they were back at the training grounds instead of the gym again were happier.
“It’s just for tonight. We’ll be back at it tomorrow morning and night.”
Venonat either didn’t understand the warning, or was satisfied with the break anyway, because he plopped down and started to vibrate. His fur was literally shaking as the Pokemon... celebrated?
“Yeah. Me too.” David sat down beside them. “We’ll still do some exercises, but we’ll take it easy. Cloudburst is asleep, so maybe just some exercise.”
Venonat squeaked.
The fuzzy Bug Pokemon didn’t ‘talk’ much, though David knew that he could. In the weeks they’d been a team, Venonat had only used the Move to talk twice. Once to introduce themselves, and once after their first battle together. David would suspect that the Move was tiring, but he couldn’t remember Venonat ever looking drained from it, and if it could use it after battle it couldn’t be too bad. Still. He wasn't about to force the issue.
“We’re going to have to come up with a name for you soon,” He mused. What he knew of the tradition in this world of naming a Pokemon after they could speak didn’t include whether there was a deadline to the process. No one had pointed it out to him, so he was probably safe.
Venonat chirped, not sounding too interested.
“We’ll find something. We’ve plenty of time. Though,” He yawned. “We should probably get moving while I’m still awake.”
His Pokemon stood up as he did.
Finn arrived while they were halfway through a lap of the field. He waited near the entrance, watching bemused as they jogged the rest of the way around.
“Hey muggle, you’re strangely relieved for someone who’s jogging.”
David made a face. “I’ve been training something new.” Flashes of a pale carapace, giant wings and deadly slivers of lavender flying towards and not away from him. “It’s not that fun. This is a welcome break.”
Venonat hopped right up to Finn, inspecting him closely.
Finn reached down to rub or greet him – David didn’t know which, and he never would as he interjected before they could touch.
“Don’t!”
Finn flinched back in surprise before he even spoke. David winced at the reaction. His shoulders fell. “Sorry, we’ve started Poison training, and I don’t want you to get sick.”
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Finn snapped his fingers into a fist and away from Venonat, who made a trill and hopped back from the movement. “No, no, that is a good call.” He glanced around. ”It might have sparked something and at a bad time. Poison Powder?”
“Yeah,” David sighed. “You should see the gear, masks, goggles and full hazmat.”
“Renting?” Finn asked, looking at David’s near empty backpack twenty meters away.
“Something like that.” He hedged. Better to move the conversation elsewhere. ”You said a bad time?”
“Festival, and...” Finn made a face. “I didn’t want to just say it, but I’m leaving. Or, I won’t be back tomorrow or the rest of this week.”
“This week or for good?” David found he was unhappy at the idea. It wasn’t like he was a permanent resident of the city either, but he liked Finn. The two of them had a club of a kind here on the training grounds, during the night when it was empty. It was Finn’s refuge and his breathing space. Even if he was there as ‘Fred’ instead of David. It was a friendship built on a stack of cards, and lies. The hunted with the hunter.
It was another consequence, David realized, of his gym challenge and the meetings that followed it. Sabrina, the head Voyant, or at least the Saffron gym leader had found and spoken to him. Why search for him after they’d already found him?
Finn narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I’ll be back for a badge. They owe me that much. You...” He trailed off confused. “You’re not surprised.”
“Hmm?”
“You aren’t surprised I’m leaving. You weren’t two days ago either, when I told you about the thing at home. You were upset, but not surprised. I didn’t think anything of it.”
David scrambled for an excuse, trying not to let it show. “Oh. I... I didn’t think you’d be here forever. You always say how much you hate it here.”
“You aren’t surprised I’m saying this either. You’re panicked, but you’re not surprised.” Finn’s hand lowered to his belt, only for him to realize and halt the movement. “Why aren’t you surprised Fred?”
“Finn–”
“Muggle.” Finn was watching him closely. “Fred.”
David scowled. He was losing control of this conversation quickly. “What are you saying?”
“You feel guilty about one name and not the other. Why?”
“Who are you?” Finn’s hand hovered at his side, not on his pokeballs but close. “Who are you and what do you want from me?”
Between them, Venonat started to stir. His antennae were twitching like a gale was blowing.
“Finn. What are you talking about?”
The Psychic took a step back. His eyes were cold under that indigo hair. “You aren’t a local. That I know. You wouldn’t be able to hide it if you were, too open to do that. You’re not some wannabe Psychic either. A Rocket gru–no, not that. League? No.” He was growing more and more angry as his questions continued. “Then who? What would anyone want with me, not my family?”
“Stop,” David snapped. Finn was doing something, getting in his head. Venonat stood.
“Oh.” Finn blinked in surprise. He started to talk more to himself than David. “It’s not me, and it’s not my family. It’s both. You didn’t approach me. When we met you were confused, afraid then angry. I approached you and– that’s what you were afraid of. You’re... Shit. You’re David Smith.”
His name echoed across the training grounds. David’s heart sank.
Shock.
“Fuck.” All the anger and suspicion fled from Finn’s face. “Fuck. You were right here all along. You were in Fuchsia. Fuck.” The words kept coming. It was like he couldn’t stop them now. ”But the search was called off. I thought it was because of the thing two days ago, but–”
David tried not to react, he really did.
“That was you too? No, you had your gym challenge, you couldn’t have gone to Saffron...” His eyes widened. “Saffron came to you! You met S–”
David shushed him as loudly as he could. He scanned the training grounds. It was empty, but Finn was always talking about being followed. “I don’t think I can talk about that.”
Fear.
“Fuuuuuuck.” Finn rubbed his jaw with both hands. “You talked to her. She knew you were in Fuchsia. She knew you were in Fuchsia before I did, came and met you, then tore the compound apart.”
Venonat sat back down.
Finn stepped back involuntarily. “I’m dead. How am I not dead yet?”
“Finn!” David shouted, throwing his arms up as he lost patience with the babble and all the unanswered questions. “You’re not dead. I don’t know what that thing two days ago was about, but it wasn’t me. It was about whatever your family was hunting me for, not me.”
“Right, right.” Finn was breathing quickly, too quickly. “Because if it was, I would have been torn apart two days ago.”
“What?” That had been an option? Sabrina could tear people apart with her mind?
Koga put him in a room with someone who could tear people apart with a thought?
Exasperation.
“Not literally,” Finn scoffed. He shook his arms out. “She might not know about this. About you and I knowing each other.” He jabbed two fingers at David’s face. “She can’t learn. You cannot tell anyone.”
“Trust me, I don’t want to talk to any Voyants.”
Finn stiffened.
Betrayal.
“That’s not what I meant,” David said immediately after seeing the reaction. This conversation had gone so far off track.
“No, you meant it. Why didn’t you tell me your name?”
“Seriously? You’re actually asking that? Bloody Psychics have been chasing me for months!”
Finn winced, but he wasn’t deterred. “Sure, but it’s been what? Two weeks? I’ve seen you nearly every night. We spent so long talking. Training. You told me stories! I-” His face blanched. “I gave you training tips. Psychic training tips.”
“You say that like they were helpful.”
Outrage.
Finn’s mouth opened in an offended gasp. “Training tips, Fred! Good advice, Fred. Fred, Fred!”
David winced. “Alright, I know. I didn’t know who you were. Not- Not the Psychic thing, I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
“Why couldn’t you?” Finn snapped. “I trusted you.”
“I was hiding for two months, never mind what happened in Saffron. Two weeks... wasn’t enough.”
And then they were both silent.
David felt like shit. Finn was all emotions, overwhelmed.
“I’m sorry,” He said. The last two minutes had tired him out more than all the laps of the training ground before.
“I-” Finn started to back away. “I need to think.”
Finn turned and hurried off the training grounds. David sat down and let him walk.