Chapter 89 – Cottage by the Sea

Chapter 89 – Cottage by the Sea The sun had reached its zenith and the promised time to take a break from our trekking through the forest h

Chapter 89 – Cottage by the Sea

The sun had reached its zenith and the promised time to take a break from our trekking through the forest had come. Gathered around me were all of my current team members having fun being their rowdy selves. The only one missing was Victini who instead opted to nestle down with a snuggle of slakoths in some faraway corner of these woods while I was stuck cooking for seven very hungry Pokémon. 

“Jealous?”

‘A bit. Slakoth are known as the best partners for trainers who love to take it slow. Their physiology puts them at a constant high, making them the most interesting of conversation partners. At least so I have been told.’

“Vess?” “Wurm?”

‘You two don’t have to worry. I’d make for a poor host if I didn’t provide our new buddy with a meal of his own.’

Wurmple who had been longingly eyeing the stump I had been using as a cutting board breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Say Wurmple while I have you, could I ask a somewhat personal question? 

“Pel?”

“Thanks, I’d been wondering this the entire time. When it becomes time for you to evolve, would you rather turn into a silcoon or cascoon?”

“Wuuurm…. Pel.”

“Halo could you help translate?”

“Vess Vess.”

“No preference. But the previous’ generation wurmple leaned towards evolving into silcoon. Hmm… you and your fellows have absolutely no control over what you eventually turn into?”

“Pel!”

‘That confirms it but there must be some sort of regulatory mechanism to ensure both populations of subspecies remain equal in number. Perhaps it has something to do with an individual wurmple’s personality leanings?’

Halo had been learning all about the bug type lifestyle. This included but was not limited to: What plants are fit to consume and which were poisonous, the best hiding places in case of bird attack and how to identify unfriendly neighbors. The latter example was clearly demonstrated when the duo got shooed away by a disgruntled nuzleaf after climbing atop its chosen tree.

Wurmple, having been given the proper motivation, turned out to be an excellent mentor. Halo had already completely forgotten being snubbed before and her eagerness to learn common survival tactics while roughing it out in the wild became evident.

It didn’t take long before I was done distributing each of my Pokémon’s bowls whose contents were specifically tailored to satisfy their unique nutritional needs. To keep things simple I had given wurmple a mixture of yesterday’s leftovers combined with one of the two sitrus berries I still owed him.

“Wurm! Wurm!”

“Enjoy and once we reach the outskirts of this forest there’ll be more where that came from.”

I leaned back on my trusty stump ready to enjoy the deli sandwich I had bought just before leaving Rustburo when my Xtransceiver’s ringtone went off. With exasperated resignation I put down the sandwich, wrapped up my long sleeve and turned over my wrist to accept the incoming call. I was quite surprised when Glacia’s face appeared on screen consequently letting me know that she was also using an Xtransceiver to make calls.

“Hello Ms. Glacia.”

“Ms.? I just turned twenty-two for your information! Although from a teenager’s perspective any number above sixteen is probably considered old.”

“Ahem, Sorry! I honestly thought you to be either seventeen or eighteen when I first met you. For people who I have only known a short while I tend to err on the side of propriety.”

‘It is a tad suspicious for a twenty-two-year-old to be regularly hanging out with someone who is fifteen like Phoebe, but I guess talent recognizes talent.’

“Now listen up, Egon! You’ve received a good amount of offers for your first time making waves but most of them are low ball that shouldn’t even be considered.”

“Really? The one from the La Rousse city council seemed to pay well enough.”

“Details Egon! Before they actually start paying you, they require their sponsored trainers to have at least thirty five consecutive wins inside their own facility. Before that happens, you will be working with them for free.”

“That’s…”

“Big brand sponsors like that arrogantly assume rookie trainers like you will be satisfied with the bare minimum.”

Glacia seemed to have calmed down a bit 

“Before all of that I have to ask… are you Joseph Stone’s secret love child born out of wedlock?”

“What the?! Of course not! I know who my parents are, thank you very much!”

“The offer from Devon is… insane. They are willing to pay ten times the amount compared to other sponsors, with a five-year guaranteed contract extension, no matter how little your accomplishments are as a trainer. Reading it I almost had to throw up out of jealousy.”

“Anything in the fine print?”

“Those were my thoughts as well. There are two things that stood out to me. One of them being that they would have the right to transfer trainership of your Pokémon to a third party in the event of a dispute in best practices.”

“…What?”

“It is legal jargon for when the company thinks that you are unfit to take care of your partners that they would have then have the right to take away your Pokémon pending review. This is actually standard practice for the big-name companies since they wouldn’t want their brand attached to an unveiled abuser.”

“Are they crazy?!!”

“I agree even putting that in there is an insult. On the other hand, ninety nine percent of the time trainers who sign contracts with that bit of legalese in it never had it invoked.”

“What sort of third party would be involved in judging matters like that?”

“Who else? The Joy clan.”

‘Thank Arceus that I hesitated putting Tini into their systems. Devon would surely have a rogue Joy in their pocket to green stamp their every action.’

“Are you sure that you don’t know Devon Corporation’s intent on offering you such a lucrative sponsorship deal?”

“…This line is secure?”

“That heavy? The Unovan government has access to calls made using Xtransceivers but only upon request from the proper authorities will they move to do so.”

“…It’ll have to do. You remember Tini?”

“That little cutie who is as precious as a baby Spheal? Of course!”

“Well… she’s not just any regular Pokémon. We’ve been avoiding revealing her to the public eye but somehow Devon Corporation found out about her. Mrs. Stone has warned us what the consequences would be if her husband ever found out and we’ve already been stalked by a private investigator. This offer seems like the first step in a sequence that will eventually end up with the man resorting to using more forceful methods.”

Glacia’s candidness completely disappeared and was replaced with an expression of absolute seriousness. 

“I believe you.”

“You do?!”

“Those who are involved with big business like me know what type of man Joseph Stone is. Devon Corporation blatantly disregards any form of ethical business practices. Crushing startups and taking their innovative patents for their own, corporate espionage and there’s even been talks that the man uses his employees’ Pokémon to harvest some kind of energy. Egon, do you need any kind of help?”

“No, I don’t think so at least. As long as we stick to more populated areas inside the major cities, we’ll stay safe.”

“Good, but no gallivanting off without at least a senior trainer as escort. Now, as for the remaining offers... They are one and all small potatoes, the ones that do pay out have hidden clauses. My advice to you is to pick one of them even knowing that they aren’t as profitable as you’d like. Trainers who arrive at the conference without a proper sponsor give off an image of incompetence which would negatively influence one’s chances of gaining a proper sponsor in the future.”

“That’s a logical fallacy! The lack of a sponsor should encourage the medium sized companies to make me an offer.”

“That’s how the world works kids. Confirmation bias has always been part of business. There are a few small-time players who are interested in you, but their offers mainly consist of giving you free merch. No stabling rights or stipends for the entire duration of the contract.”

“…If it’s just merch then I’ll pick out my own sponsors. That way I can at least support causes and goals that I believe in.”

“That’s the proper way. Do you really think that I would promote Castella Factories If I didn’t believe in their products? They sell the highest quality frozen treats in the entire world. My Pokémon just can’t get enough! If you do change your mind on fair weather sponsors I’ve compiled a list and had it sent to your mail account.”

“Thanks a bunch Glacia.”

“It’s fine but remember next time I expect you to be able to pay me for my services. This was a one-time expenditure of my efforts to compensate you for my adorable new Glaceon.”

With that she ended the call. Leaving me to my deli sandwich while trapped in my own thoughts.

‘My Grandparents can’t really afford to pay me, but I could take this as an opportunity to get some free advertising done for the family business. If nothing else, I am sure old man Jack would also appreciate someone strumming up more business for the safari zone free of charge.’

“That’s smart Egon! We don’t need any pay to let the world know about Grandma’s cookies!”

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Some time later*

“Wuuuurm!”

“This is it? The public exit to this beautiful bit of forestry?”

After finishing up our respective lunches we set forth once again. Halo, having learned enough for one day, chose to recover inside the confines of her Net Ball. Wurmple whose stubby legs also didn’t lend themselves to walking long stretches had instead opted to languish on top of my right shoulder. Giving me the occasional nudge if he noticed me walking in the wrong direction. 

We were standing in front of a picket fence demarcating the separation between Petalburg Woods and route 104. Officially the woods were not part of the route, having its own separate set of rangers specializing in bushcraft who patrol the forest.

“Thanks a whole bunch Wurmple. You’ve earned yourself this last Sitrus berry.”

“Pell!!”

Being amused by its excitement I held the Sitrus berry aloft so the little fellow could eat while maintaining his position much to the chagrin of the other Pokémon walking beside me.

“Came Rupt!”

“I am getting too familiar with Wurmple? Aww! Come here you.”

Wrapping my arms around his face which was larger than my midriff I did my best to placate the incensed bovine Pokémon. I knew all too well that Numsy had a minor hiccup with me giving too much attention to Pokémon who I had no intention of catching but I couldn’t help myself; each Pokémon was just too interesting. 

“You still have dinner to look forward to. We’ll set up camp near the route 114 jetty and you know I need a pot of boiling water to start cooking my porridge surprise. You are the only one who can get the temperature just right.”

“Came!”

Numsy, being the only one that could bring water to the correct boiling temperature was a lie but one I perpetuated to spare my first partner’s ego. His heavy weight and large size kept us from spending much time hanging out together while in urban areas, so it was important that he felt useful in moments like this.

It was time to head out into the latter half of route 114 but before that we had to say goodbye to the bug type who seemed to have eaten its way into a food coma.

“Thank you very much for being so helpful Wurmple. Do you want me to leave you on that low hanging tree branch over there?”

“Wuuuurm… pell.”

Lifting Wurmple up from its perch on my shoulder I carefully placed it atop the sturdy looking branch. In a way that left it out of sight for any potential predators who could take advantage of its catatonic state. Before I had the chance to turn around and continue on my travels the net ball on my waist popped open revealing Halo who seemed distraught.

“Laaar!”

“Wurm…?”

“Vess! Vess!”

“Wurm!”

My Larvesta’s cries seemed to have triggered something inside Wurmple because it soon began wrapping itself inside with String Shot while glowing like a Christmas light. It didn’t take long before its transformation concluded and Wurmple’s new cocoon-like form became known to us. 

“Laar!?” ‘This is!?’

“Siiiil Coon!”

“Wurmple must have accumulated enough energy to evolve just from eating the three caloric dense Sitrus berries combined with yesterday’s leftovers. In terms of eating leaves, that's like a month’s worth of scavenging.”

“Vess! Vess?”

“You want to evolve too? That’s… your species doesn’t have an intermediary stage.”

“Vess!”

“Well… I guess you could wrap yourself up in String Shot but that would only serve to make you look silly.”

While I was attempting to dissuade Halo from wrapping herself up much like Silcoon did before its transformation. The aforementioned Pokémon seemed content on just watching Halo acting out, evolution robbing it from its previous mobility as a wurmple.

“Silcoon is that a good spot for you? You’ll be stuck there for a couple of days before evolving once more.”

“Coon.”

“Vess?”

“That’s a good question, Halo. Silcoon can’t eat while in this stage. All it can do is wait until he’s ready to evolve once again. Which is typical for cocooned Pokémon like Silcoon, Metapod or Kakuna and the like. The speed at which they evolve is completely natural so there is nothing to be concerned about.”

“Coon!”

Being the one responsible for Silcoon’s accelerated evolution I did worry our actions would inadvertently cause the bug type to miss out on spawning season. It was then that my ruminations were interrupted.

“Hey you there! Are you going to catch that Silcoon?”

A suntanned kid in blue clothes and a straw hat carrying a butterfly net walked up to us. His attire clearly marking him as one of the infamous bug catchers who spent all their free time off school obsessing over and capturing bug types. 

“No, we weren’t planning to.”

“Really? Great! Prepare to be caught Silcoon!”

“Coon?!”

“Vess?!”

The boy raised his net clearly with intent on capturing SIlcoon without the use of a poké ball. 

“Wait! What are your intentions with Silcoon?”

“My name is Lyle, leader of the catch and release gang! Every weekend we go into the Petalburg Woods to catch as many bug types as we can find. That Silcoon is bigger than average, it'll be sure to win me our club’s weekly weigh in competition!”

Halo was about to show the kid what for when I stepped in to defuse the situation.

“Catch and release you say? So, I take it, you'll just look after it until it's evolved and ready to fly off on its own?”

“Yes, we love bug type Pokémon! But we don’t have our licenses, so this is just training until we graduate to become true bug maniacs!”

I saw no problem with having Silcoon be the center of attention inside a school play pen until it was ready to set out on its own. The boy who had up until now been distracted by Silcoon was now started making starry eyes after noticing Halo.

“I’ve never seen a bug type Pokémon like that before!! It must be a new undiscovered species. Is she yours?”

“Ahem! Yes, Halo here is a Larvesta from the Unova region.”

“She has so many horns! Can I take a picture?”

“Well, it wouldn’t h…”

Click*

The hyperactive kid proved to be easily distractible, his net fallen to the wayside forgotten. Halo’s initial negative impression of the boy slowly mollified by his earnest admiration. At the end of this whirlwind interaction it was agreed upon that Silcoon would be accompanying Lyle back to Petalburg trainer’s school where he would become the center of attention before flying off to start his life as a beautifly. 

The three of us watched the newly formed duo ride off on the boy’s bike before I picked up on the fact that I had wasted even more of our precious daylight-saving time.

“Now little lady If we hurry up, we can still make it to the shore before nightfall.”

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Route 114 didn’t have any adjoining settlements but it did have one far reaching jetty which attracted fishermen from all over. From the information that I could scrounge up, this was the place where Hoenn’s annual Magikarp catching competition was held. The event was widely televised and the previous winner and follow-ups received all sorts of cool prizes. Since it was gradually turning darker outside no fisherman was to be found but contrary to expectations, we did encounter a medium sized cottage near the road leading up to the pier.

 “There’s someone living all alone out here? You think we should knock and see if we can stay the night? 

“Rupt!”

Before I even had the chance to knock, the front doorway opened. There standing just before the threshold stood a man, we had gotten quite familiar with during our sea travels on the S.S. Tidal.

“Mr. Briney?”

“Little Egon? What’s a whippersnapper like yourself doing out here? Shouldn’t you be loitering about in Ever Grande City with all the other trainers?”

“We still have to earn our final badge at the Petalburg gym. There’s still plenty of time left.”

“Hmm about a week, you young’uns sure like cutting it close.”

“A week? No, I am quite sure the conference starts in two weeks and some change.”

“Over the years I’ve brought lots of trainers over to Ever Grande Island. The organizers halt registrations in about eight to nine days from now. Those bozos need that spare time to schedule all the matches.”

‘Arceus! I am screwed if Petalburg’s current gym leader Nelson has no room for us on his timetable.’

“Now now, take it easy kiddo. Me and old Nelson go way back. I’ll call in a favor or two so you can get your shot. Why don’t you and your Pokémon come inside to warm up? The only cost of entry is sharing an interesting story. Just make sure the big fellow wipes his hooves on my steel wool pad.”

As Numsy went off the side to do as instructed Victini sent me a questioning mental nudge.

“Can I?”

Those two words were enough for me to understand what the psychic type was implying. Every time we came across good-natured people in a private setting Victini longed to make new connections.

‘Of course, as Peeko’s chosen trainer Mr Briney’s character is beyond question.’ 

When Numsy was well and done cleaning up the three of us entered the abode. Mr. Briney’s retirement home was a cozy place with all the amenities an elderly gentleman living alone on the routes could need. The hearth held a crackling fire and was attended to by a very cute seagull Pokémon whom we have met before.

“Peeko! It does my heart good to see you once again!”

“Gull!?”

“Yes, it is me, Egon from Lavaridge Town, your number one fan! Wait!? Where are you flying off to?”

Peeko, who had been sitting on the carpet near the fireplace, flew away from my vicinity and nestled herself inside Mr. Briney’s mariner jacket. Giving me a wary look as she did so.

“Vi! Vi.” “Egon you goof! That’s a normal reaction.”

Victini appeared right underneath the cottage’s rafters proceeding to smack the top of my head and in the process of doing so making her presence known to the cottage’s other occupants. 

“Why that’s a fascinating Pokémon you got there kid. Mind introducing us?”

“Go ahead Tini. I am sure Peeko and Mr. Briney would like to make a new friend.”

“Vi! Vi.” “Hello, my name is Victini! Sorry for Egon’s pushiness Peeko. I hope you can forgive him.”

“Gull!” 

Wingull seemed to have gained an immediate liking for Victini as did her trainer.

“What a peculiar looking Pokémon I haven’t seen one of you before. But! No need to worry, little lass. I know the kid’s excitement comes from a good place.”

Victini, who seemed heartened by the experienced sailor’s candidness, floated up to Briney’s eye level before giving the old man a sailor’s salute.

“This one is definitely a keeper sonny there aren’t many Pokémon who pick up human customs. This one is smart even for a psychic type. Being able to project her thoughts outwards like that… a rare skill to be sure. You must be one very proud trainer.”

Mr. Briney seemed experienced enough to differentiate Victini’s method with what could normally be expected from other psychic type Pokémon. Which was to be expected from a sailor who had explored every corner of the known world during his more youthful years.

“You’ve worked with psychic type Pokémon before Mr. Briney?”

“Indeed, there was a Starmie who I once had the privilege to call my partner.”

Sensing the melancholic tone in his voice I wisely decided to avoid asking for more information about that particular Starmie and proceeded to guide the conversation into another direction.

“Do you mind me releasing my team in your newly built home? We still haven’t had dinner yet.”

“Go ahead lad the more the merrier. Feel free to use the kitchen as well, just make sure to clean up after yerself.”

Not needing any more prompting from My. Briney I released my team with a practiced sweep across my magnetized belt in flash of bright light every single one of my unreleased partners materialized. 

“Ninee!” “Vess!” “Pent!” “Nitan!” “Arf!”

Who quickly made themselves comfortable on top and across the living room furniture. They had all gotten acquainted with the old man during our time aboard the S.S Tidal and without the pressure of having to make a good first impression my Pokémon partners behaved as they liked. 

“Egon, if I am not mistaken you have exceeded the standard party limitations set on traveling trainers. How come you haven’t sent one of your pals out to a caretaker’s facility?”

“That’s… back in Unova Professor Juniper figured that it was best that Victini travel with us inside an unregistered poké ball. When explaining our situation to Champion Drake he concurred.”

“So, she’s that kind of special Pokémon huh? Remarkable, this is the first time I’ve seen one with such a personable nature.”

“Mr. Briney, you’ve met Legendary Pokémon before?”

“Indeed, many a sailor tells tall tales of being shipwrecked and being saved by the guardian of the seas. I am one of the few who have actually had that privilege. I won’t go into details. To perpetuate the guardian’s kindness, it is vital that her privacy be kept.”

‘Guardian of the seas. That would be Lugia.’

“We should totally go on vacation to the whirl Islands!”

‘…Tini, that’s water Pokémon central. Us fiery types have no business going there. If you’d like to meet more Legendary Pokémon our upcoming plans will have to suffice for now.’

“Stop being stingy!”

To distract myself from the little hellion who was currently making herself comfortable within Peeko’s magnificent plumage I opted to find out more about gym leader Nelson. Aside from watching some of his battles on screen I had absolutely no idea what the man was like in person.

“Leader Nelson must be one of toughest gym leaders out there…”

“Save it kid. It’ll take more than that for me to talk about an old-time friend’s battle strategies. IF you want to know about him personally that’s another story. I do most of my groceries in Petalburg City and during my visits the old badger won’t stop hammering on about not being able to retire in peace.”

“Him too? Mrs. Stone is confident in leaving the Rustboro gym with our friend Roxanne this year.”

“That sounds about right. Nelson is also growing older just like myself and Lady Stone. The man has had a good run of it, but reckons it is time to let one younger man or woman have a go at running the gym. Especially now that his granddaughter has made it clear she has no interest in battling for a living, Nelson's stuck without a proper successor.”

“Vi! Vi Vi.” “We can run the gym! My friend Tranquill says being a gym Pokémon is lots of fun.”

“Hoenn doesn’t need another fire type gym leader Tini. Mr. Moore’s got that position pretty much locked in for Flannery. Besides, I always imagined being a gym leader was something one did after settling down. The seven of us still have a lot of sightseeing to do.”

It was then that Mr. Briney opted to share more of his insight regarding the gym’s succession crisis. Doing his part to lower Tini’s rampant enthusiasm.

“It wouldn’t work out either way. Old Nelson insists that the gym’s specialization be kept. Which makes finding a replacement gym leader that much harder. Elite level normal type specialists are among the most uncommon type of trainers in the world.”

Normal type Pokémon are at the top for being the most numerous right after water types. Most trainers I know have at least a single normal type on their teams. It came to me as a bit of a surprise but in hindsight after mulling it over I came to the most likely conclusion.

‘Normal types don’t have that X factor which makes one stand out on the battling scene. As a whole they aren’t as flashy as some of the other types. ’

 Our conversation dwindled as I served out my team members’ food bowls. I couldn’t help but grow amused at watching Raven’s attempt at endearing herself to Mr. Briney by sprawling across his lap much to the chagrin of Peeko. Raven always had a knack for figuring out which people were receptive to her taking liberties. By the look of his hand stroking across her various bone spurs Mr. Briney was clearly a dog person.

“That’s a good girl.”

“Ruff!”