Searching Far and Wide - 139

Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Kadabra

- Bellatrix, Gyarados (Shiny)

- Andromeda, Vaporeon

- Regulus, Meowth

- Sirius, Yamper

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Ivysaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

- Cinder, Vulpix

Route 7 I

“This is the cutest pokemon in all of the world!” Daisy exclaimed and Pierce watched with a very fond and amused grin as she played with the yamper, with Sirius. “He doesn’t look very serious though.”

“Sirius, S-I-R-I-U-S,” he spelled out slowly, getting a blink from the blonde. “It’s got the same origin as the rest of my pokemon’s names. Maybe I’ll tell you about that later,” he said with a chuckle. “Can I get a moment with my new friend though?” he asked then, his smile widening, especially when he saw the embarrassed blush on Daisy’s face.

“Sorry about that,” she mumbled, and she looked even more adorable than Sirius at that moment, as far as Pierce was concerned.

Speaking of the Electric type, he forced Pierce’s attention back on him when he trotted with his stubby legs all the way up to him. Speed wasn’t going to be its thing, he was finding out. He rather doubted Surge would give him a weak pokemon though, even if it was one from another region.

It was interesting that whenever it “ran”, the pokemon would leave sparks in his wake.

Pierce knew that yamper existed and that was about the extent of his knowledge, if he were honest. He’d come across them while researching for Surge’s Gym, actually. They were from Galar, they were flat Electric types and… yeah, he knew little else. He’d need to look up more stuff on him, evidently. But for the moment, he’d hope that the little guy wouldn’t have any specific care requirements for what little time it might take him to find out. Although, again, he rather doubted Surge would give him something that needed special care without telling him.

“Welcome to the family, little guy,” Pierce said, patting the Electric dog’s head. Daisy wasn’t wrong, he was exceedingly cute as it barked, looking every bit like an oversized puppy, all happy and excited. “Everyone, say hi,” he added then, mostly because Regulus was already curiously circling close to them, sniffing at the yamper like he was a strange creature from another world.

A mental image that Pierce found very funny, all things considered.

“The rude little guy is Regulus,” Pierce introduced, getting a whine from the meowth that he thoroughly ignored. “This is Narcissa,” he continued, reaching to his shoulder when his beedrill latched onto his back and peeked over his shoulder. “The big, scary softies are Orion and Bellatrix,” he said with a wave to signal the two. He found it a little funny that the gyarados was all but glaring at the yamper. Maybe she was seeing him as competition for most adorable pokemon in Kanto? “And those are Cygnus and Andromeda, the boring ones,” he finished with, not at all bothered by the unimpressed looks both of those pokemon sent his way.

Sirius wasted no time at all before barking his greeting at every single one of them, turning around, hopping and almost making himself dizzy. Yeah, the little guy was definitely going to be adorable. Maybe a little troublesome too though, like a mix of Bellatrix and Regulus, was his impression so far.

‘Fun stuff,’ he thought with a grin.

It was at that moment, when Sirius got a hold of himself again, that Narcissa chittered something that seemed to catch the Yamper’s attention. The dog-like pokemon barked something, taking in what looked like a “serious” stance and barking again, this time confidently. If Pierce had to guess, his beedrill was being a battle maniac again in some way. In which way, that was anyone’s guess, but the last thing Pierce wanted as first introduction was to make the pokemon fight each other. That’s where he drew the line… a little bit.

“I do hope you’re not challenging him to a fight, Narcissa,” he said, just for good measure. The way his beedrill stiffened was answer enough though and he so wanted to sigh at her. Of course, just… of course. “We’re not doing that right now. It doesn’t seem like you’re one to shy away from a battle though,” he added, the last bit directed at the yamper.

It would take a bit to get used to him and calling him Sirius.

The adorable barked response was enough to wash away the awkwardness, however, and Pierce was suddenly realizing that it even helped with the stifling uncomfortable feeling he’d carried ever since Lance picked him up to go to Rota. It was a very welcome presence in his life, he decided. A distraction, probably, one that’d wear off soon, but he’d take it all the same. Pierce wasn’t picky when it came to not feeling off.

“Happy to hear that,” he replied, patting Sirius’s head. “Guess we’re all going to take the pokemon battling scene by storm one day,” he added and the little guy started excitedly barking once more. He had way too much energy, Pierce was finding out. That was going to be an issue, no doubt, but it was also nice. “For now though, why don’t you show off a little. Let’s see what you got, yeah?”

The bark that followed was definitely a determined one, even if he still had that excited glint in his eyes.

Then the yamper moved away a little, looking for a target. Pierce gave him one with a simple order of Rock Throw from Orion. After that, he sat down and watched, absently petting Andromeda when she sat down beside him. The first was the expected Tackle and Tail Whip was also no surprise, but it was cute. Nuzzle was neat, but not a shock (pun definitely intended). It’d have been weird to not expect the Electric type to have at least one Electric move. Not that it’d been weird if that happened, but still.

The little guy wasn’t done though.

Pierce watched with slightly widened eyes as Sirius took off running at full speed – which wasn’t really that fast – and the sparks of electricity were joined by fire. ‘Is that Flame Charge? Holy shit,’ he thought with slightly widened eyes as the Electric type dashed forward and hit the rock.

The move didn’t look great, admittedly, but that was far from an issue when Pierce thought Nuzzle would be the last one.

“That’s awesome, little guy,” he praised, grinning even wider when the yamper barked and wiggled happily, short tail waving excitedly. “We can-” he started then, before getting interrupted when Sirius turned around again and showed another move. Shining stars flew off towards the rock, doing some respectable damage even if they weren’t the fastest or biggest.

Tackle, Tail Whip, Nuzzle, Flame Charge and Swift.

Daisy whistled.

“Surge doesn’t mess around when it comes to gifts,” she commented and Pierce could only nod slowly. That is, until Sirius approached him for some validation.

“You’re awesome, Sirius, seriously awesome,” he mumbled and the Electric type dog seemed to appreciate that. “We can definitely work with that,” he said, a grin spreading on his face. Sirius was probably starting to get a big head after that, especially considering the way every member of Pierce’s team seemed fairly impressed by the showing. That was not what any of them expected from someone new to their group.

Not that the yamper didn’t deserve that, honestly, because he definitely did.

“Now, onto even more important matters,” Pierce continued then and Sirius stood at attention rather adorably. “What are your favorite berries?”

What followed was plenty of trial and error where he tried to pinpoint what the tastes of the yamper were. He obviously hadn’t come across any before, but he did meet electric types and pokemon that were dog-like, so he did have some points of reference. With that and some guesswork, Pierce set out to make the best snacks he could… helped by Daisy to speed up the process a little, considering his arm.

In the meantime, he watched Sirius interact with the rest of his team, Daisy and some of her pokemon. He seemed like he’d get along with everyone, which was good. He might get on Narcissa’s nerves a little, admittedly. He was a little too child-like and hyper for her. Cygnus too, but he had a bit more patience and he also could easily direct the puppy somewhere else too.

Bellatrix might be an issue though, because she was extra weak to Electric types and Sirius seemed like he couldn’t run without sending out sparks. That was bound to cause problems sooner or later, especially if they tried to play together. On the other hand though, it was unlikely that the yamper would play in the water much, so there was that.

Orion was going to be the little guy’s best friend though. Not only was he a little childish himself, but the onix was also more than happy to play with the new addition to the team. He was also the safest option for that too, considering he was immune to Electric type energy. He also could pull his usual “I am the jungle gym” routine, which Sirius would probably like… although it might also cause a few accidents, because the yamper’s stubby legs weren’t very dexterous, admittedly.

“Can you make up your mind?” Pierce asked, giving Regulus an amused look. The meowth seemed to be switching between liking Sirius and not liking him at random. Sometimes he went to play or tease, sometimes he moved away and almost hid behind Pierce. “What’s up with you?” he added, planting a hand on top of the meowth’s head.

Andromeda, on his other side, huffed at the cat’s behaviour. She didn’t seem particularly taken with Sirius, but she also didn’t seem to dislike the little guy either. She was “cool” like that with most pokemon though, even the rest of the team for the most part. She seemed to have a soft spot for Bellatrix, but other than that…

“Things will be even more interesting from here,” he mumbled to himself. It was then that he felt someone cling to his back. For once though, it wasn’t Narcissa’s stingers that crossed under his chin, but Daisy’s arms.

“You can say that again, Mister,” she commented, evidently having heard him. “He’s a delight though,” she pointed out and he saw no reason to disagree with her there. “I’m gonna love seeing him around more. I’m sure my sisters will too,” she added with a grin on her face.

“I’ll try to teleport for a visit once I’m in Celadon,” he told her, returning the smile with one of his own.

“After the sanctuary,” she finished for him and he acknowledged that with a nod. “Gotta start with Misty, I guess,” she added with a giggle. “At least I got the first look,” she said, kissing his cheek and then letting go of him before standing up. “That said…”

“Time’s up?” Pierce asked, pulling himself up too with some effort. “Hope you’re not regretting coming here instead of having a normal date,” he added. He wore a smile on his face, but he was a little nervous, he’d admit.

“Are you kidding? This was great,” Daisy replied, beaming and leaning in for a kiss. “Definitely want to have another date out in the wild, alright?” she added, pecking his lips again and then pulling back.

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You do that. And you guys,” she said before turning to address his pokemon, who turned from where- ‘Why’s Sirius inside Orion’s mouth?’ Pierce wondered, blinking at the pair. “Behave yourselves for Pierce, will you? You know what’ll happen if you don’t.”

“Say bye, guys,” Pierce added after Daisy, deciding not to question the current… situation. At least not for the moment. Instead, he did his best Andromeda impression as he stared at them, the vaporeon making for a great example beside him. “Come on,” he urged when the aforementioned pair remained frozen, snapping them out of it.

“I’ll see you guys later, alright? Bye!” Daisy called, smiling and waving as if nothing was wrong. A second later, the alakazam that she’d released just before teleported together with her.

“... Welp,” he mumbled before sighing. “Do I wanna know?” he asked, turning towards the yamper and the onix.

Maybe he should add that pair to the potentially problematic list.

[}-o-{]

“Do you have any idea the ungodly hour it is right now, Pierce?”

“The same hour we wake up every day?” he asked, raising an eyebrow even though it couldn’t be seen through his pokegear. “Did you change your schedule now that you’re no longer traveling with me?”

“What?” he heard from the other side and he could almost picture her blinking blearily and checking the time. “Fuuuuck…”

“Something the matter?”

“Nothing, just regretting all my life choices,” Lily muttered, although her voice sounded kind of distant, as if she were far from her device. “I think I stayed up later than I thought or something last night…” she clarified, following that with what he thought was a yawn. The sound didn’t come across too clearly, admittedly. “You in Saffron?”

“That was yesterday,” he answered with an amused grin before stretching a little. He had to shrug off his own sleep too, admittedly, but it was nice to know that he was doing better than Lily, at least. “I’m at the start of Route 7, actually. Gonna have breakfast, pick everything up and then get going. Any plans over there, other than finishing waking up? Do I even want to know what kept you up late last night?”

“That sounds like a great plan to get started on,” she mumbled and there were some stray sounds of shuffling and such that told him she was getting up. “I was just doing my last minute preparations and probably will do more today. I got my Challenge scheduled for tomorrow, did I tell you that?”

“You mentioned that you were going to get it set up, but not when,” he answered, looking off to the side where his pokemon were sleeping. Or, at least, where most of them were sleeping. Andromeda had woken up already and was sitting beside him, waiting patiently to get started on breakfast.

He’d already set up her bowl, but she seemed to want to wait for him to join her. She could be surprisingly sweet like that at times. He so wished he had a free hand to pet her, but he settled for rewarding her later. ‘One week, Pierce. One week and it should be over,’ he told himself, shrugging the shoulder of his bad arm. He didn’t even feel pain anymore and he could take the cast off, but it’d be a little risky and he’d rather not.

“Forgot to ask, but does that mean your friends are free at last?” he asked, turning his attention back to the conversation. He remembered Lily saying she was delaying her Challenge, after all. If she had to be stuck to Celadon for her friends anyway, she’d thought it better to just wait and prepare better.

“Yeah, they are set to be let go soon. They’ve mostly been stuck to the city, really, so they’ve been able to get things done,” she explained, but while Pierce didn’t think she’d ever said it in so many words, he’d gotten that picture through their conversations and texts. “Seems like they’ve decided the two have been kept around long enough. Which is great, because we heard some people have already been let go and they were getting really annoyed about being kept longer… even though there’s people that are going to be under observation for longer than them, you know?”

“They are just… really driven, I guess,” he replied, not sure what else he could say to that. It wasn’t a lie. Everything Lily had told him painted a clear picture of Blue and Red and that was that they lived to be the very best, like no one ever was, if he was allowed to steal that. He’d even checked some of the recordings of their battles, mostly the Challenges, and it was evident. They battled for the sake of being at the top and nothing else.

It was kind of impressive, in its own way.

“You can say that again. It sucks though,” she grumbled under her breath, even if the gear still picked up on it. At least it seemed that she was more awake, so that was good. “It means we’ll probably be gone by the time you get here.” That was a shame, but they hadn’t really planned to meet anytime soon, really.

Even when he’d decided to go to Celadon instead of his other destinations, Pierce had assumed she’d be gone by the time he got there. He was in no rush, after all, and it was evident that Lily’s friends would be released soon. So, yeah, it wasn’t surprising nor something either of them didn’t expect. It was still a little disappointing.

“No worries, maybe I’ll catch up.”

“Yeah, right.” That was just rude, especially the snort she followed it with. “Pierce “one month per city” Lawson is gonna catch up. Just worry about getting all your badges, will you?”

“That hurts, you know? A lot,” Pierce replied with a flat tone and an even flatter expression that Lily couldn’t see. “What kind of friend are you?” he added, somehow managing a dramatic inflection while keeping his dead-inside voice.

“The fun kind, of course,” she commented before he heard some sounds come across the line. “Ah, sweet, sweet coffee. I feel like a person again.”

“Since when are you-?”

“Shut up, Pierce. I’m trying to enjoy the goodness of caffeine over here,” she interrupted and he could almost see the glare she wanted to direct his way. Maybe she was even glaring for real on the other side of the gear. “So, how are things over there?”

“Well, it’s just Andromeda and I right now. Everyone else is sleeping,” he commented, glancing towards his team again. He snorted when he saw Sirius had rolled over and was now resting on top of Regulus, his butt right on the meowth’s head. “I have a new pokemon, by the way. Surge’s gift slash reward.”

“No way. What’d he get you?”

“His name is Sirius, he’s a yamper,” he answered and he grinned at the excited squee the girl let out. “He knows the usual things, you know, Tackle, Tail Whip, Nuzzle-”

“Those are the standard, yeah, but-”

“-Flame Charge and Swift.”

“... No way.”

“Way,” he replied, feeling fairly smug.

[}-o-{]

With breakfast done, what followed was some light training.

It was mostly just already learned moves and everyone taking some time to watch Sirius, really. Well, everyone but Pierce. He spent most of that picking up everything so that he could continue his trek to Celadon afterwards. The reason why it took so much time was obvious, but no less irritating and frustrating. It made him wish he’d waited for the cast to be off to travel.

However, any doubts he might have had were thrown out the window of his mind when they were done with that. Walking through the forest and openings and along the rivers, it all gave him… peace of mind. Not that he was particularly distressed, but his mind felt so full those days. There was already a lot on his plate before the sanctuary, nevermind aura and Aura Guardians and duties and something that he’d been and carried for so long and…

It all felt like voices in his head, for lack of a better way to describe it.

He felt like he was trying to organize a school group project and everyone was talking at the same time about different parts of it. Pierce was left feeling more confused and numb than anything, ultimately getting nothing done. He’d soldiered through as best he could, trying to do stuff as he was supposed to and then…

And then he ran.

He’d left Rota after a single day, not because he had anything to do at the sanctuary or because he felt particularly ready, but because he was overwhelmed. He’d needed to just not think about all that for a bit. He needed to get away from that, because he couldn’t breathe while he was there.

So, that’s exactly what Pierce did.

Except the voices followed him and joined everything else at the sanctuary. He didn’t know what he’d have done if people there had still needed him, if the pokemon had, but he was thankful they didn’t. Because suddenly not only did he have aura in his mind then, but he also had the school, the League, the money issues, all his projects to make money and…

And there was so much.

So he ran again, leaving for the routes, the wilds.

And now, Pierce finally got to have some peace. With trees as far as he could see, water flowing in the rivers, winds shaking the leaves and the smell of nature filling his lungs, his mind felt clearer. The voices were there still, but they weren’t screaming anymore. They were a dull bundle of whispers at the back of his mind, and Pierce finally got to hear himself, at least a little.

It wasn’t enough, but it was better.

Sirius helped in that regard too, surprisingly. Because he was new and adorable and full of energy, so watching him “run” around as fast as he could, which wasn’t much admittedly, provided a distraction. The yamper was something he could focus on. Not only that, it was also something nice to focus on, which was all the better.

“Maybe the Psychic Arts exercises might help, Protector-Voice?” Cygnus suggested as he teleported by his side and started walking. He’d gone off to check something out before, but apparently Pierce wasn’t going to get to know what before they addressed his mess of a mind. Because he was unlucky that way, he supposed.

“That’s a thought,” he replied out loud, just so that Andromeda, on his other side, could be in the loop too. “Maybe when we stop for lunch,” he added absently, rubbing his neck with his good hand. His first night out on the roads once more hadn’t agreed with him, apparently. That sucked. “Or I could get started on the aura stuff,” he mused, reluctantly. He was kind of putting it off, but he didn’t think it was weird that he was. Pierce was still processing the fact that it was all a thing that existed and that he was directly connected to said thing, if he was completely honest.

“That’s an option too,” Cygnus replied, but there was a clear reluctance that bled into his tone. It made Pierce think about something that was particularly funny and that was the possibility that it wasn’t just aura users that had a problem with the Psychic Arts. Maybe that went the other way around too. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh my God,” he said with a chuckle as he palmed his forehead. “Was I right? What’s your problem? What’s so bad about comparing Psychic Arts and aura?” he asked, still laughing as he did. Maybe it really was that funny for him, or maybe he was a little out of it. Maybe it was even both. It was likely that his mind was a little messed up though, he’d admit.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Cygnus repeated stubbornly and Andromeda huffed. Pierce didn’t even have to look to know that the vaporeon had rolled her eyes at the kadabra… and likely at him too. “Fighter-Enjoyer seems… alright,” he added then and Pierce was confused for a full second before he realized that it wasn’t Regulus that had flashed in his mind when Cygnus said Fighter-Enjoyer.

It was Sirius.

“Well, that’s going to be annoying,” he mumbled.

Technically, he knew the titles, or whatever one wanted to call it, weren’t unique, but that was the first time he’d seen them overlap in both words instead of just the one. Like, all his team were called Fighters – which was the word Pierce had already slotted as “battle maniac” in his own head – but the second word had always been different up until then.

‘Just another thing to get used to, I guess,’ he thought wryly.

Because of course.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Ok, I think this new introduction to the team went a little better than Regulus. Yes, Regulus has been an introduction that has been bothering me up to this point. Stupid cat being a cat and doing cat things. Anyway, Sirius is here, proving why the dog is man’s best friend by being nice and having a nice introduction compared to the hellspa- I mean, the cat.

Beyond that, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: I checked my Q&A doc the other day, considering doing another section of that for Pierce’s channel, but I have barely anything there so… Any questions you think someone from the Pokemon World could have for Pierce? You know, regular youtube Q&A stuff, but pokemon themed or maybe even normal stuff in general.

See you.