Chapter 12: Dead Weight

“Lai-Lai!” I was nearly bowled over as I followed Daisy into the kitchen.

“Dot?” I subconsciously clasped my arms around the terrible tripping hazard, “what are you doing here?”

“Professor Oak offered to house us until this debacle is over.” Joy explained. I was barely able to process the words, before she had me engulfed in a hug too.

“Are you alright?” she whispered in my ear.

“I’m fine,” and for the moment, I truly was. Two of my greatest fears had just been chased away; Joy and Dot weren’t afraid of me.

She pulled back with a raised eyebrow, and gave the hole in my shirt an exploratory poke, “I don’t know if I’d call this fine.”

“Aura blocked it all,” I reassured, and gently pushed her hand away. The patch was a little tender.

“Then you won’t mind a quick examination,” The pink haired nurse began tugging at the hem of my top.

“I don’t think it’d be appropriate for me to get undressed in the Oak family kitchen”

“I give my permission,” I looked up to see Gary stirring a massive pan of scrambled eggs on the stove top.

“Seconded,” Daisy chimed in.

I begrudgingly complied, as the shirt was peeled off my torso. I was horrified to find that my sparse chest hair also had a distinct hole burnt in it, rimmed by a nasty green and purple bruise. Joy placed her hand across it, and I felt the tingle of her aura passing through me. A diagnostic scan, one of the secret techniques of the Joy clan.

Apparently, she actually found something, because Chansey was released. She didn’t bother to give an oral instruction and he placed his stubby arms on my back. A far more powerful buzzing pumped through my torso and focused across my sternum. A Heal Pulse.

“There,” Joy nodded after a few seconds, “the hairline fractures and torn cartilage are fixed. We were half tempted to leave the broken blood vessels, so the bruise would teach you a lesson. Aura doesn’t stop everything!” she poked me hard enough I thought I’d develop a new bruise anyway.

“Alright, alright! I’m sorry! I really thought I was ok!” I fought off the probing finger.

She glowered, but relented after a moment, and gave me another hug.

“I’m s-s-sowry!” I looked down to find Dot still clutching at my leg. She gazed up at me, tears ran down her cheeks and snot was smeared across my thigh from where her face had been pressed.

“Sorry for what, Dot?” I gently pulled her arms away and knelt before her.

“J-j-j-Joy saiwd, th-th-thawt if I was a b-b-bawd girwl, the-the nawght w-would be r-r-rwuined,” she was barely holding it together, “I-I-I d-d-didn’t meawn to be b-baawwwd,” my heart!

“Is this why you’ve been so quiet, Dorthy?” Joy crouched beside me.

The poor girl nodded frantically.

“Oh sweetie, you weren’t bad,” our pseudo mother stroked her head.

“B-but Lai-L-Lai got hurwt!” she broke out in particularly powerful sobs.

“That wasn’t your fault Dot,” I tried to reassure her, “You were a very good girl last night!”

“R-r-reawly?” the hopeful look she gave me was soul crushing.

“Absolutely,” I pulled her and Joy in for a group hug. “There were just some other trouble makers last night. Nothing to do with you.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about those shitheads, Dot,” Daisy chimed in. I was annoyed by her bad language, but decided to focus my attention on the immature girl who’s personality I could actually affect.

After a while, we got Dot calmed down and moved into the dining room. Gary had been kind enough to finish cooking breakfast. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until the plate was placed before me.

I demolished my Tauros sausages, and even went back for a second helping of eggs. I wasn’t sure what kind they were. Pidgey and Spearow were the most affordable, but these tasted better. It could be because I was starving, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Oak had some Torchic eggs imported, or he could even have a coup of the dull pokemon.

After breakfast, we moved to the living room. I found myself plopped in a loveseat, with Dot curled in my lap, facing out the floor to ceiling windows. The Oak family’s personal living quarters were on the top floor of the Lab, and had a wonderful view overlooking the ranch and, in the distance, Pallet Town.

“Here you are,” Gary appeared beside me with a spare shirt in hand.

“Thanks,” He was being uncharacteristically helpful this morning. Last night's events must have really shocked him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he sat in the recliner beside me.

I had to gently readjust Dot to get the shirt on. She was zonked out. I think she hadn’t slept last night with all her misplaced guilt.

With a click, Gary released his Squirtle. The black and blue turtle twirled about, taking in his surroundings, before focusing on his trainer. They stared at each other silently for a moment; the bond must have already been formed if they could communicate via aura. After a moment, it climbed up to sit on the armrest, and Gary rested his hand on their shiny black shell. Guess he was going to get some cultivation in.

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We sat like that for a while, each lost in our own world. It was strange looking at Pallet from here. I’d always loved its small town vibe. You were bound to run into someone you knew every time you walked out your door. Now, that lack of anonymity was a curse. If I took a casual stroll down the road, I'd be shunned at best and attacked at worst.

“What are you going to do?” Gary interrupted my musing. He must have completed his cultivation. By the concerned look he gave me, he understood my situation.

I wondered if he knew about everything I had learned; anomalies, ethereals, the league oath. With his brain and background, I wouldn’t be surprised. He probably didn’t like any of the options either. I would be screwed without the professor’s help.

As gently as possible, I shifted my hips to not wake Dot, and pulled my wallet out of my back pocket. From it, I removed the shiny plastic card that Oak had given me. My new trainer ID. I handed it to the budding genius for him to inspect.

“Heh… Nice picture.” he teased. The photo was one I'd gotten for my LATT. The blasted photographer had taken it right as I blinked and refused a retake, but that wasn’t what was important. Beneath it, it listed my name, DOB, place of origin, and affinities.

Laiton

08/05/960

Viridian City

Prime: Grass, Ground

High: Bug, Dark, Ghost

Medium: Flying, Ice, Normal, Steel, Fire

Of course, it was a lie. My real ID should have been,

Laiton

08/05/961

Pallet Town

Prime: Dark, Ghost

High: Steel, Grass, Ground,

Medium: Flying, Ice, Bug, Normal, Fire

“Why is your birthday changed too?” Nothing ever slipped by Gary.

“Your grandpa offered me a job that I need to be a year older for.” I smiled. Being friends with Gary really had its perks. I’m not sure how many strings professor Oak pulled for me, but I doubt he would have done it for a random kid.

“You’re becoming a lab assistant?” he asked in bewilderment.

“No,” I shook my head. That wouldn’t solve my problems, and I didn’t want to be one of the professor's apprentices anyway. They focused almost exclusively on research, and while I'd always been fascinated by the workings of this world, doing the tedious experiments to make discoveries myself was unappealing.

“Then what? A Janitor? It’s about the only thing you’d be good for around here,” there was the normal Gary.

“Trainer assistant,” I ignored the jab.

“A what?”

“Trainer assistant. TA for short.”

“Never heard of it.”

“The professor claimed it's an old tradition that some of the ancient clans follow, but I think he may have just made it up,” I shrugged.

“That does sound like gramps,” Gary snorted, “What will you be doing?”

“Helping a high level trainer as they travel around, competing in the upper division of the league.”

“When you’re only a beginner?”

“Yup.”

“Yeah, definitely fake. You’ll be dead weight, not a helper.”

“Yup,” I really popped the P this time.

“So which trainer’s going to be lugging you around?”

“That’d be me,” Daisy appeared between us. I flinched a little at her sudden arrival, and Squirtle toppled to the ground with a heavy thunk, but luckily Dot was undisturbed.

“What? I thought you were helping a trainer, not a brainless Pidgey,” Gary recovered quickest. He was well adapted to his sister’s antics.

“Careful brother, Fang has been so anxious to get his favorite chew toy back.” she tapped one of the balls on her belt, menacingly.

“I meant, how did you get the honor of helping such a great trainer?” I saw sweat forming on his brow. A confused look crossed Squirtle's face at the sudden change in character.

“Hmmm. I think you can do better.”

“Incredible trainer… beautiful trainer?” she continued to tap, “The most prodigious Pokemon trainer of our age, whom none are worthy of breathing the same air as, let alone competing against.”

“Better,” she nodded.

“Wait a minute. Laiton said he’d be helping you to compete in the league. You’re in the rangers.”

“Well if somebody ever bothered to call their glorious sister, they’d know I changed my plans and have been officially discharged as of yesterday.”

“But I thought-”

“I’ve decided to participate in the league again. I want to see how tough competition is in the upper division.”

Gary gave her a strange look, “You’ll often be battling against masters.”

“So?”

“Wait. You broke through!?” Gary nearly leapt out of his chair.

“Not yet,” Daisy shook her head sadly, “but Fang and I have been stuck at the peak of blue for over a year now. I’ve accepted the fact that I'm not a savant… We may be stuck like this for a while,” she gave a despondent sigh, before bouncing back to her normal boisterous self, “It’s the reason why I’m going to try the league again, actually. We need to mix things up, so we’re going to Johto.”

“Johto?! How’d you get approval for that?”

“I’m an elite level ranger, brother. Getting a permit to our sister region isn’t that difficult.”

“Yeah, for you, but not for Laiton. He isn’t even a trainer.”

“Hence why his ID shows him to be a year older, and Grandpa made a few calls,” she shrugged.

“Huh… Ok then,” Gary gave his sister a careful look, “but why are you dragging this Slowpoke around?”

“Charity. Plus, I always wanted a manservant.” she grinned evilly, “I’ll never have to do any of the cooking, cleaning, or camp setup. You don’t realize how valuable that is.”

I winced at her brutal honesty. Oak had framed it differently; a learning opportunity under a skilled trainer, but I knew Daisy well enough to understand the reality. This was going to be like an internship at one of those skeevy companies; The ones that consider coffee runs to be “valuable work experience”.

“You’ll have to give him some training,” Gary knew his sister too, “He will need at least basic competence to become a decent servant,” and was sadly related to her.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry. I’ll be sure to beat many lessons into him. Don’t want him to become some overly dependent Teddiursa.”

“Understandable,” my childhood friend nodded in agreement, “But, it’ll probably take decades of work for anything to stick, I'm afraid. Laiton-boy is a Slowpoke.”

“It is so hard to find a decent lackey these days.” she sighed dramatically.

“I’m right here you know?” I cut in.

“Quiet! The help should be seen and not heard.” Daisy mimed whipping me.

“Like I said, Slowpoke.” Gary gave a disappointed shake of the head.

I could only sigh as the two siblings began to cackle. After so many years, I’d nearly forgotten how they were together.

Dot grumbled, disturbed by the two Oak’s antics, and gradually opened her eyes.

“Good morning sleepy head,” I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“Morwning,” she yawned dramatically, jabbing me in the chin as she stretched her arms.

“Feeling better?” I asked.

“Mmmhmmm,” she smiled like a cherub.

“Good, because it’s time for our first battle!” Gary exclaimed, jumping to his feet.