Six o'clock. Hayley's watch buzzed, and her eyes snapped open. She'd been having a dream where she was competing in the finals of the Ever Grande Conference. She and her faceless opponent sent out their Pokémon one after the other—her team had been clear and recognizable to her in the moment, but she couldn't remember any of them now. Except for one. Her opponent was down to their last Pokémon, and had just knocked out Hayley's fifth. She had reached for her sixth ball and then frozen, hesitating, as the crowd began to boo. The referee had mouthed something inaudible but apparently convincing, and Hayley had grimaced, grabbed the last ball, and thrown it. Out came Barrett, still a Magby, but twenty feet tall and with cannons for arms. She had told him to use a fire blast, but instead he'd turned and growled at her. The sound had shaken her down to her bones, and she'd shrunk back, apologizing. The crowd's jeers had grown louder and louder, and flames had begun to gather around Barrett's beak. Then the camera had panned out, and Hayley had realized she was wearing pajamas. And then she had remembered she had to take a test she hadn't studied for. And then—
Well. Enough of that. Time to get to work.
Hayley dragged herself out of bed and grabbed her backpack from the floor. Miriam was still in the top bunk, snoring loudly. She probably wasn't going to be awake for several more hours—Hayley had awoken at least twice in the middle of the night to the sounds of clacking buttons and annoyed grunting. She'd slept very lightly last night. Because…
Pushing open the bathroom door, Hayley braced herself for what she'd might see. Claw gouges? Scorch marks? A room that had somehow been set ablaze without the fire alarm making a sound? But when Hayley opened her eyes, there was no destruction. The ceramic and tile were miraculously free of any scorch marks, the sink and toilet hadn't been destroyed, and Barrett was curled in the corner of the far wall. He lifted his head groggily as she approached, revealing a small pile of ash and soot where his beak had been resting.
"Hey. Uh, how did you sleep?" Barrett grumbled and picked himself off the floor, fixing her with one yellow eye. Relief poured through Hayley as she relished the fact that this had actually worked, that Barrett had made it through the night without going rogue and trying to burn the place down. Unfortunately, that relief was soon edged out by guilt as she watched him roll his neck and shoulders and stiffly stretch out his good arm. Aside from Barrett and the fixtures, there was very literally nothing else in the bathroom—Hayley had removed the bathmat, towels, and even the toilet paper to get rid of anything that might catch fire. And that meant that Barrett had slept directly on the floor. He'd been eager enough to agree to it last night, but now, watching him limp around, she felt like a world class jackass.
Hayley chewed the inside of her lip. "I'll see if I can get you something more comfortable for tonight, okay?"
Barrett just grunted. Hayley dropped her backpack on the floor and grabbed a roll of toilet paper from the stash she'd made in the bedroom. "Go wait in the other room, okay? I'll be right out." Seemingly too tired to argue, Barrett shuffled past her, puffing a tiny plume of smoke.
Hayley did most of her morning routine with the door open, watching out of the corner of her eye for the sight of smoke or flames. She only shut it for the world's fastest clothing change and bathroom break. But Barrett just sat himself on the floor and stayed there the entire time, eyes sliding open and closed. Either he hadn't slept at all last night, or he really wasn't a morning person.
When she was dressed and ready to go, Hayley stared at herself in the mirror for a full minute. This was her first real day of training, she told herself. Ignore everything that had come before. It was time to turn this journey around and get back on track to being the Champion. When she felt as psyched up as she could be, Hayley slapped her cheeks to knock the last bits of sleepiness out of her, and then straightened up. "Barrett! Let's get breakfast."
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It was early enough in the morning that the cafeteria wasn't packed, which was what Hayley had counted on. She'd had enough of the early-summer crowds and chaos, and didn't want to deal with them while also trying to get Barrett to behave. Hayley made her way to the buffet table, although "buffet" was maybe too strong a word for it. For humans, there was a sparse selection of cereals, nutrient bars, and jugs of milk. For Pokémon, there was a row of pellet jars labeled by elemental type. The most appealing thing there was a huge plate of fresh berries of all colors and sizes, which Hayley's eyes lighted on immediately. Getting up early did have its advantages.
"Barrett, what do you want?" she asked, at the exact moment she realized he was too small to see the top of the table. "Um. Do you know what kind of flavors you like? Sweet things? Spicy things?" Barrett huffed impatiently and scratched his cheek. He wasn't looking at the table, or at her. She followed his gaze: there was a trainer with a Grumpig eating at a nearby table. Glancing back at Barrett, she spied wisps of smoke curling from his beak. "Hey!" She nudged him with her foot, and he jumped, looked up at her, and scowled. "Behave. We're going to battle in a little bit, but first you need to eat."
Since Barrett couldn't or wouldn't tell her what he wanted to eat, Hayley got a scoop of pellets from the jar labeled "Fire-Type Formulation," as well as one of each of the berries. She felt a brief flush of shame for taking so many before someone else had a chance to pick, but, well, this was important. She had to make sure Barrett broke his hunger strike. She set the bowls down on a table that would put them as far away from the other trainers as they could get, and then returned to get herself some off-brand granola and milk.
The cafeteria tables were set up like picnic tables, with benches bolted to the legs instead of chairs. Barrett scowled at the bench, which was level with his head—too tall to climb onto. "I could pick you up?" Hayley suggested, but as expected, he growled and stepped away from her. Hayley held up her hands. "Okay, okay, I won't." Scanning the room for a solution, she spied an untidy stack of stepstools of various sizes and colors occupying a nearby corner. Of course, she wasn't the first trainer to have this problem, and the Pokémon Center had already provided an answer. Thanking her lucky stars, she grabbed one that seemed the right size for Barrett and put it on the floor. He stared at it with disgust, nostrils flaring. "Sorry," she said. "I can't make the table shorter."
With a displeased grunt, Barrett hefted himself onto the stepstool, then onto the bench. It was probably bad manners to put him onto the table itself—plus, that would put her face right in the line of fire for his embers, and she really didn't want to tempt him—so Hayley quickly rearranged the table setting. She put the three bowls on the bench between them, and swung one leg around so she was sitting astride it. There—they were facing each other, and Barrett seemed only moderately unhappy with the arrangement.
"All right, let's eat!" She took a bite of cereal, trying to look casual, but she barely tasted it. She was busy watching Barrett. He had to eat now—he just had to.
Barrett looked her in the eye. For a long moment, he didn't move. And then slowly, deliberately, he reached out his good arm… and swept the bowl of pellets off the bench. Hayley jumped and almost choked as it hit the floor with a clang. "Barrett!" But he'd already grabbed the bowl full of berries and dragged it towards him. He picked up the aspear berry first, and as Hayley watched, dumbstruck, he brought it to his mouth and blew out a small jet of flame. The skin blackened and shriveled, filling the air with a sour, acrid scent. One it was fully charred and unrecognizable, Barrett shoved his beak into it, juice splattering across his face as he hit the soft flesh inside. He ripped and gnawed for a full minute, using a combination of teeth and claws to reach all the good bits like a Mightyena hollowing out a carcass. When only the skin remained, he threw it onto the floor and picked up the oran berry.
"Okay." While he was preoccupied with repeating the same process on the oran berry, Hayley took the bowl with the rest of the berries and put it on the table, out of reach. "I think that's enough."
On the bright side, at least he was eating. Was it possible she just hadn't been offering him the right kind of food? Maybe he'd never learned to eat pellets—but no, she had offered him oran berries in the forest, and he'd turned up his snout at them. Besides, pellets were a staple of any captive Pokémon's diet, and with four trainers before her, it was almost impossible he'd gone a full year without encountering them. Two other possibilities, then. Either Barrett was a picky eater and needed to select his own food, or this was a power play. With her luck, it was probably both.
Hayley's ears and neck reddened as she realized that the other trainers and Pokémon in the cafeteria had turned to stare at them. She busied herself with her own cereal, which by now was getting soggy. After finishing, she snacked on a cheri berry from the bowl, because honestly, she deserved a little treat to get herself through this. The chesto and pecha berries went into her bag for later, and then she ducked under the table to clean up the spilled pellets. Barrett watched her with an unbearably smug look.
"Don't think you've won this," she shot back. The floor looked clean enough that she could probably eat off it herself, so she brushed each of the pellets off and stored them in a plastic sandwich bag. "You're still going to eat these later." Waste not, want not.
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Afterwards, Hayley walked Barrett out to the practice court, which was a flat field of hardpack dirt crossed with a grid of white rectangles. Each of the rectangles was about a quarter of the size of a regulation League battlefield—new trainers didn't need much more space than that. Hayley set her bag down at one of the intersections, withdrew her Pokédex, and flipped on the Match Call feature. It would broadcast to any nearby trainers that she was looking for a battle, but really, it was just a formality. Why else would she be sitting here if she didn't want to battle? Besides, she was sure Barrett would pick his opponents the moment he saw them.
As the sun rose in the sky, trainers began filing onto the campus, and the battles came hard and fast. Barrett won against a Poochyena (spat an ember attack right in its face when it came in for a bite), lost against a Sandshrew (ran straight into its claws after being blinded by a sand-attack), won against a Shroomish (easy type matchup), lost against a Wingull (awful type matchup, plus the Wingull had the advantage of flight), won against a Skitty (charged in to headbutt it in the stomach), and lost against a Machop (tried to wrestle it to the ground and was promptly shown up). As promised, Hayley stood back and let Barrett fight the way he wanted. It was hard to watch at times—she could have told him not to try and outmuscle a fighting-type, or to back off and recover before trying to get another hit on the Sandshrew. But after a few hours, she had the information she needed.
The Magmar family were natural firebreathers. All fire-type Pokémon could breathe fire, of course, but Magmar and Magmortar were among the best. Their giant lungs and stomachs and elastic skin let them breathe in deep, cook up a huge batch of flame, and then spit it out as a massive, pressurized fireball. Charizard were the only species she knew of that could rival them in pure flamethrowing. Unfortunately, that pliable skin and those oversized organs came with a tradeoff: the entire front of their torso was one big soft target, with no protective plates or scales to guard against punches, kicks, or anything else. So to play to their strengths, combat strategies should revolve around roasting opponents with long-distance flames while never letting them get close enough to land a solid hit.
When it came to Barrett, though, that strategy had two problems. First, his firebreathing hadn't fully developed just yet, so his range was limited—he had to get in close to land a hit either way. And second, Barrett enjoyed getting in close. The first thing he did in every fight was charge in, mixing an opening salvo of embers with a flurry of claws, chops, and headbutts. The fact that he knew the cross chop move this early meant he probably had some kind of fighting-type heritage, and it showed. He never seemed to get his head in the game until he was inches away from his opponent, staring them in the face.
Well, she reflected ruefully, she had wanted a fire-and-fighting-type Pokémon.
After the last hit from the Machop laid Barrett out cold, Hayley decided that she'd seen enough. She recalled him into his ball, feeling a little guilty at the relief she felt when he vanished into red light. She sighed. Dealing with him all morning had been a lot.
She'd see him again this afternoon. Before then, though, she had an errand to run. After dropping Barrett's Pokéball off at the Center, Hayley walked a few blocks to a massive department store. The day's battles had left her trainer account at more or less the amount it had been before, so she didn't have as much cash to work with as she would have liked, but she could make do.
First up: Sports and Outdoors. Hayley picked up a soccer ball and three softballs, as well as a cheap tote bag to carry them in. They were too bulky to take with her while traveling on a route, but since Dewford Town was only a ferry away, she hoped to get some good use out of them before having to toss them. She also picked up a foldable fire pit mat, made of tough carbon fiber. It was advertised to be able to withstand temperatures of up to a thousand degrees, and she was going to put that to the test.
Next stop, Pokémon Health Goods. Hayley picked up another potion bottle to replace the one she'd emptied on today's battles, but her real reason for stopping here lay in the gourmet food aisle. Scanning the shelves of horrifyingly expensive products, she finally landed on something that fit both her purpose and her budget: a brick of vacuum-packed aspear-flavored Pokéblocks. Based on the way Barrett had devoured the berry this morning, Hayley was willing to bet that it was one of his favorite flavors. Hopefully she could use these to bribe Barrett into behaving—threats and pleading were getting old, and she wanted a new trick up her sleeve.
Finally, Hayley went up one floor to Human Health Goods. There, she found and purchased a simple, sturdy hot water bottle. Its case was thick and rubbery, and seemed like it could take a beating. Once again, Hayley was going to put that to the test.
The day's haul left her trainer account worryingly low. She was going to have to start winning more battles soon, or else find another way to earn cash. Her mom would send her some if she really needed it, Hayley was sure, but she was still paying her back for the curtains and rug that Barrett had ruined… She didn't want to put her out even more.
She ought to check in with her mom all the same, though. On the way back to the Pokémon Center, Hayley caught up on her texts and calls. She assured her mom that she was doing fine, and that things were going well. It was less of a lie than it would have been at this time yesterday, anyway. Her mom sounded a little anxious, but no more than usual—Miriam must have kept to her promise not to tell her own mom about the Vigoroth attack.
Speaking of that, Hayley called Connie next and filled her in on the details of Petalburg Woods. Or, she filled her in on most of the details. She told her about the moving trees, the Poochyena, her meetup with Howie, her close encounter with the Trevenant, the strange sound that had cut through the air right before she was freed, their subsequent faceoff with the Vigoroth, Mona's bravery, Gavin's broken arm, and Miriam's Elekid saving them all in the end. She also told her about the other things that had happened the days before the attack—Miriam's complaining, Barrett annihilating all the wild Pokémon on the route, even her sunburn. But there were things she left out. She didn't tell Connie about her loss to the bug trainer. She didn't tell her about how Barrett had refused to eat. She didn't tell her that when she'd needed him most, Barrett had refused to save her. And she definitely didn't tell her that she'd gotten fed up and hit him.
Why couldn't she tell her these things? Connie was her friend, she always told her everything—if there was anyone she could talk to, it should have been her. But seeing her bright smile, hearing the excitement in her voice as Hayley told her each new thing ("It's just like in the movies!" Connie gushed at least half a dozen times), it just felt wrong. Like she was going to bring down the mood. Connie believed in her, and she couldn't stand the thought of disappointing her.
Back in the Pokémon Center dorm, Miriam was still in the top bunk. She was playing her game again, headphones on, and didn't look up as Hayley entered the room. She hadn't even left the room for lunch, judging by the junk food wrappers that had been tossed over the railing and onto the floor of their room. Hayley gathered them up without a word and stuffed them into the trash can. It wasn't worth fighting about.
Hayley showered, because even though she was going to get sweaty all over again this afternoon, she wouldn't have a chance to take one while Barrett was out of his ball. When she exited the bathroom again, a flash of red caught her eye. On the nightstand under the window, there was Miriam's Pokéball, glinting in the afternoon light. Without thinking, Hayley reached out and took the ball in her hands. It radiated energy just like Barrett's did, but while Barrett's signature felt like an angry, pulsing thrum, this one was more of a constant, excited buzz.
Stolen story; please report.
She took the ball to her bed and pulled out her Pokédex to give it a scan. The readout appeared after a moment's delay.
"XENA"
Elekid | Female | Level 5
Age: 4 months
Registered techniques:
Thunder Shock
Quick Attack
Registered to Miriam Taylor on June 10, 2054 (Current)
Registered to Azumi Hanasaki on February 23, 2054 (OT)
Elekid is an electric-type Pokémon native to the Kanto and Johto regions. It is the juvenile form of the Electabuzz family. This Pokémon generates electricity by swinging its arms back and forth and discharges it through the horns on its head. Unlike most electric-type Pokémon, Elekid cannot store its electricity internally, and instead relies solely on the buildup of static electricity in its fur to power its attacks. This Pokémon is generally found in industrial areas where there is plenty of electricity to feed off of.
CAUTION: This Pokémon is designated as a CLASS I PROPERTY HAZARD. Trainers should refrain from releasing this Pokémon around sensitive electronic equipment.
She supposed Miriam had experienced that last bit firsthand, just like how she had learned the hard way about Barrett's embers. Flicking back over to the personal information screen, Hayley looked at the list of registered trainers. Xena's history was much shorter than Barrett's, but it was a history all the same. Based on her age, she'd probably been bred, not wild-caught. And she'd gone directly from her original trainer to Miriam. Miriam definitely hadn't been the one to buy or trade for her—it had to have been her mother. Why had her mother gotten Miriam a Pokémon that she hadn't wanted, going so far as to register it directly to her account? Had Xena had a say in any of this? Probably not.
Hayley thought back to Petalburg Woods again, and she remembered what she'd said to Xena after she'd saved them all from the Vigoroth. "I promise I'll make Miriam take good care of you."
Now there were two Pokémon that were depending on her. And she couldn't fail either of them.
"Miriam," she said. There was no answer. Hayley rose from the bed and faced the top bunk, standing on the bedframe and levering herself up by the railings so she could see above the mattress. "Miriam."
Miriam still didn't respond, so Hayley reached up and tapped her on the arm. That finally got her attention. Miriam paused her game and yanked off her headphones, swiveling to face Hayley with a scowl. "What?"
"Did you get Xena anything for lunch?" Hayley asked.
"Who?"
"Xena." Miriam just stared at her blankly, so Hayley sighed and elaborated. "Your Elekid."
"Oh." Miriam's tone switched from confused to annoyed, and she flopped back down on her pillow. "No."
"You need to feed her," Hayley insisted.
"Why? It's only been out of the ball for like, five minutes total. There's no way it's hungry."
"I told you, you'll get in trouble."
Miriam scoffed. "Yeah, and what are they going to do, take away my license? They can have it."
Hayley glanced down at Xena's ball. "You can't keep treating her like—"
"Look, if it bugs you so much, why don't you take it?"
Now it was Hayley's turn to say, "What?"
"Take it," Miriam repeated. "Keep it. Her. Whatever. Keep her forever, if you want. I don't care."
Hayley fumbled for an answer—what could she even say to that? Meanwhile, Miriam, satisfied that the conversation was over, put her headphones back on and turned back to her game. Before she could block her out again, Hayley blurted, "I can't take her."
Miriam rolled her eyes. "Why not?"
"She's yours."
"Oh my god." Miriam ripped the pillow out from underneath her and pulled it over her face. "Look, I'm not dealing with her. So if you don't take care of her, nobody will. Is that what you want?"
"No!"
"Then take her!" Miriam rolled over so her back was facing Hayley, still pinning the pillow to her ear. "And stop bothering me. I'm done."
Hayley searched for an excuse, an explanation, something that would make Miriam understand what she was saying. But she came up empty. Reluctantly, she dropped down from the bed, and turned to face the Pokéball again.
A second Pokémon would be… nice. And Electabuzz and Electivire were crazy powerful, and they could complement Barrett's weaknesses nicely. And Xena seemed so sweet, from the few minutes they'd spent together, and she'd actually listened when Hayley had given her directions. And if Miriam wasn't going to take her—then maybe Hayley should keep her. Miriam wouldn't have to deal with a Pokémon she didn't want, and Xena wouldn't have to be stuck in a ball all the time, and things would work out for everyone.
But that was ignoring the facts. Hayley shut her eyes and thought, hard. The facts were that she had her hands full with Barrett. She was going to have to dedicate all her time to training him and trying to work through his behavior issues. But Xena was a baby too, and would need as much attention as Barrett did in order to grow up strong. And Hayley was only one person. She couldn't give them both the care they deserved. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.
Still, she couldn't bear the thought of Xena stuck in the ball for another day. Hayley shook her head, got up, and pocketed Xena's ball. She didn't have to make any big decisions just yet. She could spare Xena a few hours without hurting Barrett—she hoped. She could at least give it a try. Just for today.
Hayley left the room and took the elevator down to the ground floor. She picked up Barrett's Pokéball from the counter, but didn't open it just yet. Instead, she went outside and found a vacant patch of grass. Then, she pulled out Xena's Pokéball.
The small yellow Pokémon burst into existence. She immediately noticed her new surroundings and swiveled back and forth to take them in, arms swinging freely at her sides. The movement made sparks gather between her horns, but she didn't seem to notice, too absorbed in looking up and down and side to side. Despite herself, Hayley smiled. How could anyone not like this Pokémon?
"Xena." The Elekid jumped at her name and turned around. Upon locking eyes with Hayley, she beamed and chirped a greeting. Then she started scanning her surroundings again. She leaned to either side, as though trying to see around Hayley, and when that apparently wasn't enough, she rushed forward to examine the area behind her. Still not finding what she wanted, Xena frowned, turning around in circles and craning her neck. She went so far as to stand on her toes, but immediately overbalanced and almost fell forward before she caught herself with her oversized arms. Finally, she turned back to Hayley, confusion creasing her face.
"Beh?"
Hayley sighed and crouched down, putting her on a closer level to Xena. "Sorry. Miriam's not here right now. But she asked me to play with you, okay?"
"Beh." Xena slumped down onto the ground, her energy and joy from moments ago evaporated into nothing. Hoping to cheer her up, Hayley reached into her backpack and pulled out the berries she'd taken from breakfast, then laid them on the ground.
"Are you hungry? I don't think you've eaten yet." Xena looked at the berries and slowly rocked to her feet. She picked up the pecha berry and then sat down again, closer to Hayley this time. She bit into the berry much less savagely than Barrett had, though it was still messy. Hayley reached out and gingerly patted her head, trying to be reassuring. Her hand tingled as static jumped across it.
If there had been any doubt that she couldn't take Xena for herself, it was removed by the dejection radiating from Xena's body. For whatever reason, she only wanted Miriam. Hayley didn't know how or why, since as far as she could tell, the two of them hadn't spent ten minutes together. Had Xena's original trainer or Miriam's mother done something to make her form an attachment? Shown her pictures and said that Miriam was going to be her best friend? Why would they have done that, when Miriam very clearly had no interest in Pokémon at all? Maybe they had thought Miriam would warm up to Xena, and that would make her come around on the whole Pokémon trainer thing? So far, though, that hadn't happened. And it never would, if Miriam just kept Xena inside her ball forever and never even looked at her.
"Don't worry," Hayley said, trying to reassure herself as much as she was trying to reassure Xena. "You'll get to see her soon." Hopefully by saying that, she wasn't making things worse.
Hayley still had Barrett to worry about, too. She had to train with him this afternoon, assuming he was even going to be willing to participate in training that didn't involve battles. She didn't want to just shove Xena back in the ball after fifteen minutes of attention—could she bring her with them? Barrett seemed like the type who would get jealous and angry if she gave attention to anyone but him. She could train with him and let Xena watch, but that would probably make Xena feel even more left out. It might be possible to train with both of them at the same time, but Barrett was so competitive. If Xena did literally anything, he would try to pick and fight and prove he was better…
Actually, this could work.
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Introductions between Barrett and Xena went about as well as they could be expected to go. Barrett immediately got in Xena's face and started making sparks, but Hayley distracted him by pulling open the aspear Pokéblocks. It turned out he must have encountered them before, because he went for them even quicker than he'd gone for the berries. Hayley let him have two, then put the rest away, much to his protest. She swore he actually whined.
"You can have some more later, if you're good," she told him. "No fighting with Xena. Work hard this afternoon. And eat your lunch."
He actually did eat the pellets this time, though Hayley suspected it had more to do with him being hungry than him wanting to listen to her. Battling worked up an appetite, and the nurses probably hadn't fed him this time. Whatever; Hayley would still count it as a win.
When both Barrett and Xena were done with lunch, Hayley upended the tote bag where she'd stashed the sports balls, letting them all bounce onto the grass. She smiled as broadly as she could as she addressed Barrett. "All right, Barrett, I've been watching you battle, and there are some things you need to work on. Your fire attacks are great, but you have to practice your distance and aim. And your close-up attacks are strong, but a little slow; you need to make them faster." She picked up the three softballs, holding them in the crook of her arm. "First, we're going to work on your aim. I'm going to throw these, and I want you to hit them while they're in the air. Okay?"
Barrett snorted and rolled his eyes. All right, he thought this was stupid. She'd expected that. Nevertheless, she struck a pitcher's pose and pulled one ball back in preparation. "Barrett, pay attention!" He tilted his head towards her, but otherwise he didn't move a muscle. "Three, two, one—here it goes!"
She threw the pitch low and slow. The ball sailed through the air, wobbled over Barrett's head in a gentle arc, and then landed on the grass a couple yards away. Barrett watched it go with extreme disinterest. He hadn't even tried to hit it. Hayley stifled a groan. "Okay, let's try again! Three, two, one—" But it was the same with the second ball, and the third. After she threw the third, Barrett actually sat down, looking her straight in the eyes and snorting. Of course. He liked battling; he didn't care about practicing fundamentals. Nobody liked practicing fundamentals (Hayley might or might not have known that from personal experience). So since he didn't care about the exercise, and he didn't care about obeying her, he had no reason to do it.
Time for her trump card.
As sunnily as she could manage, Hayley said "All right, I guess you're still tired from battling this morning." Barrett grunted, but Hayley kept a smile plastered on her face. This would only work if he couldn't tell she was goading him. "Xena? It's your turn."
The Elekid bounced over with a chirp. Immediately Barrett narrowed his eyes, but Hayley pretended not to notice. She kept her focus on Xena. "Charge up your electricity, okay? I want to see if you can hit any of the balls with a spark."
"Beh!" Xena eagerly obliged, bounding into position and swinging her arms back and forth. When electricity started to leap between her horns, Hayley pulled back a pitch. "Three, two, one, go!" The ball went into the air, and Xena immediately unleashed her spark. It danced erratically and disappeared, not getting within ten feet of the ball. Xena turned to look at Hayley, eyes wide and watery. Hayley smiled, genuinely this time.
"That was really good! Try and wait until it's a little closer to you. That way it'll be easier to hit. Let's try again. Charge up… Three, two, one, go!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she was still watching Barrett. He was pretending not to be interested in any of this, but she saw the slightest twitch in his shoulders as she threw the ball again. This time, Xena waited until the ball was right above her before releasing her electricity, and the spark nearly grazed it.
"Great, you've almost got it! Charge up again." Xena whirled her arms ferociously, readying her attack in seconds. "Three, two, one, go!"
But this time, when Hayley tossed the ball, a glob of embers flew by at the same time as Xena's thundershock. Barrett had stood up and taken his shot, trying to show up Xena. Better than that, he'd tried to show up Xena, and he'd missed.
Hayley turned to Barrett, doing everything she could to smother her grin into a look of stern disapproval. "Barrett, you can't do that! It's Xena's turn." Barrett huffed and crossed his good arm across his chest, spitting embers on the ground. Hayley pressed her luck. "You shouldn't play if you're too tired, anyway. You should rest. And… Xena's pretty good at this; I don't want you to feel embarrassed if you can't beat her."
That did it. Barrett ran over to where one of the softballs had landed, and he spat his embers at it from point-blank range. The fire burned a black spot onto the white leathery coating. He stomped his foot and pointed at it—see, look what I did!
The corners of Hayley's lips twitched, and her grin broke through. "Okay, that was pretty nice!" she said, chest swelling as the first real, actual laughter she'd felt in days began bubbling to the surface. "But for it to count, you have to hit it while it's in the air. Think you can do that?"
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The training went on for the rest of the afternoon. When both Barrett and Xena seemed to tire of hitting the softballs, she switched to the soccer ball so they could practice timing their physical attacks. It didn't seem like a good idea to kick the soccer ball at the Pokémon—Barrett would definitely attack her right back if he got hit, and aiming at sweet little Xena felt unbearably cruel—so she kicked it alongside them instead, instructing them to punch, scratch, or headbutt it as it passed by. Barrett needed no encouragement for this drill. Either he was still in full competition mode with Xena, or he had some kind of personal grudge with soccer balls, but he lunged at it every time in a fit of clawed, beaked fury. The softball drill had been a draw, but this one, Barrett had definitely won.
Finally, Hayley worked on their stamina. Barrett was going to need a lot of lung capacity to manage his fire attacks, and Xena could benefit from it too. They ran laps around the Pokémon Center campus, Hayley jogging slowly ahead of them to lead the way. Xena was the surprise victor for this one—Barrett was in better shape than her, but she could really move, swinging both arms as she went to generate momentum. It was all Barrett could do to keep them both in sight, smoke pouring from his nostrils as he pumped his legs.
Accuracy. Speed. Power. Range. Endurance. According to Roxanne's own primer on the subject, each of these was essential for a battling Pokémon to master. Barrett had the "power" part down, and he had pretty good reflexes when he was paying attention, but his long-distance game was painfully weak and he tired easily. Hayley tried to focus on the positive. She did all she could to praise him for each small improvement, needling him on with comparisons to Xena or with Pokéblock bribes whenever he started slacking. It was going to be slow going, but they had at least a week before Barrett's cast could come off. At least a week before they could face Roxanne. They had time.
When both Barrett and Xena were well and truly exhausted, Hayley decided to call it a day. "You guys did a great job," she said, beaming at both of them in turn. "Xena, you're getting really quick with your tackles. And Barrett, your embers are looking sharp." Xena buzzed happily, while Barrett responded with his usual brush-off. She thought she saw his shoulders straighten up just a little bit, though.
Dinner was unexpectedly smooth. Barrett didn't complain about his food and he didn't pick fights with other Pokémon. In fact, he was having trouble just keeping his eyes open. He hadn't even been this tired after a full day of running around on the route—he must have really been giving it his all today.
After they'd all eaten, Hayley returned Xena to her ball, promising she'd take her out again the next day. The look on Xena's face as she dematerialized was crushing, but it had to be done. It was dicey enough to keep Barrett out at night; Xena would just complicate things. Besides, if Xena shocked Miriam's Gameboy, then Miriam might actually kill both of them.
On the way back to the room, Hayley stopped at their floor's kitchenette and boiled some water in the electric kettle. Barrett grumbled and shuffled around her feet as he waited for her to finish. She took out the hot water bottle she'd purchased earlier in the day, filled it up, and tucked it under her arm, before heading down the hall again.
Miriam was still in her bunk, typing something on her phone. Had she left the bed at all today, or was she trying to fuse together with her mattress? Either way, music was coming from her headphones, so Hayley didn't bother trying to say hello before she ushered Barrett into the bathroom. Once inside, Barrett moved to sit down in the same corner he'd stayed in last night, but Hayley stopped him. "I've got something for you," she said.
Despite how sleepy Barrett looked, his head perked up at the words. He was clearly getting used to bribes.
Hayley took out the fire pit mat and laid it on the floor. Unfolded, it looked just big enough for Barrett to lie on with his arms and legs stretched out. On top of the mat, she placed the filled hot water bottle. Then she sat back and looked at Barrett, who was staring at her with unabashed bewilderment. "I got these for you to sleep on. You can lie down on this, see?" She patted the mat. Barrett narrowed his eyes and slouched over, poking the mat with a suspicious toe. "And the bottle should keep you warm, at least for a while. I felt bad about you sleeping on the floor, so… I thought these might be better." She scratched the back of her neck, suddenly and inexplicably self-conscious. "Do you like them? You don't have to use them if you don't like them."
Barrett placed one foot on the mat, gingerly, like a kid testing out the temperature of a swimming pool. Apparently satisfied with what he felt, he stepped fully onto it and sat down. As he did, he bumped into the water bottle, and his eyes went wide. Hayley was struck by the sudden bizarre fear that she'd somehow managed to burn him, but obviously that wasn't what had happened. He shifted to face the water bottle—which was as long and as wide as his torso, now that she was seeing them together—and curled up against it. He shut his eyes, and a noise came out of him. It was something between a sigh, a hiss, and a purr, and sounded nothing at all like any noise he'd made before. She put a hand to her mouth, trying and failing to stifle a giggle. Barrett's eyes snapped open again. He growled and placed his clawed hand on the water bottle, as though he was daring her to try and take it from him. Hayley held up her hands and slowly rose to her feet. "Hey. It's all yours. Good night, Barrett."
She left the bathroom on tiptoe. As she closed the door behind her, she snuck one last peek through it. Barrett had fully cozied up to the water bottle, and had his good arm slung across it like he was hugging a body pillow. Small wisps of smoke began to curl from his beak as he drifted off to sleep. Hayley smiled, and she pushed the door shut with a click.