Searching Far and Wide - 138

Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Kadabra

- Bellatrix, Gyarados (Shiny)

- Andromeda, Vaporeon

- Regulus, Meowth

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Ivysaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

- Cinder, Vulpix

Saffron City XVIII

“Caught you just in time,” a voice said and Pierce almost ignored them as he got some water from the dispenser in the waiting room of the teleport station.

Of course, Teleport was instantaneous, but pokemon could only use the move so much before collapsing. In the spirit of not pushing pokemon too much, most stations had a limited number of teleports and also some waiting times added into the mix, usually lowering it for a bigger fee. A fee that Pierce hadn’t felt the need to pay, he was in no hurry, really.

Hell, if he’d been really rushing, he’d have told Cygnus to get him there. Alas, he wanted to do some teleporting at their destination, so it was better for his Psychic type not to push himself. Neither of them could wait for a time in which they could move around as they pleased, honestly. The kadabra seemed very fond of the idea, actually, which was a bit of a surprise for Pierce. 

Convenient too, admittedly.

Back to the present though, it was only when he brought his plastic cup to his lips and took a sip that Pierce saw that it was him that the new arrival had called for. He also noticed that the new arrival was Surge, whose voice he hadn’t really recognized with the distance and his distracted state, apparently. The man was almost in front of him by then though and he lowered his plastic cup, resisting the urge to rub his still half-asleep eyes.

“Hey there,” he greeted a little half-assedly. It was way too early in the morning for him to have any will to do anything, talking with a Leader included. It was still the best time he’d been able to book a Teleport though, without spending a crazy amount. He was no longer free to spend as much as he wished, after all, so he had to deal with all the annoyances that implied, unfortunately.

“Did you have to leave at this hour?” the Leader asked, more jokingly than annoyed, fortunately.

“It was the best time I could book,” he answered and he got a weird look from the man that made him roll his eyes. Sure, he could have abused the goodwill he’d been offered by the majority of Vermilion, but it made him feel incredibly awkward to do so. If there were any actual need for it, then he’d have asked, but as it was, he’d have felt like an asshole to ask for just simple convenience. 

“If you say so,” Surge commented, ultimately shrugging. “I’m not here to talk about your odd choices.”

“Are you here to criticize them then?” Pierce asked dryly.

“I could, but I won’t,” the Leader replied with a grin. “No, I’m here to give you my thank you for helping save the city. It took a bit and I had to rush things a little after your girlfriend’s call yesterday, but it’s fine,” the man said then and Pierce blinked at him.

Between everything that had happened since the Wave, especially in the last two days, he had completely forgotten about that. Hell, he’d forgotten before that too, if he were honest. He almost felt like asking the guy if it could wait, because he really was just done with things, especially surprises.

It was part of the reason why he was rushing to get back to his journey, he’d admit. Pierce really needed to take a bit of time in peace and clear his mind. The middle of a quiet forest and some nice pokemon that didn’t need him sounded like just what he needed. If it lasted for days? All the better. It’d give him the time to wrap his mind around… everything.

“You didn’t have to, you know?” was the response he settled on though. He had a feeling that it might be a little insulting to outright say something about rejecting the gift. Besides, he might be a little overwhelmed those days, but he wasn’t beyond feeling a little greed… and curiousity.

“I know,” Surge replied, an amused half-smile on his lips. “I did anyway. So, I think I’ve said enough on the matter before,” the man continued, waving his hand up like he was pushing away any thought of beating around the bush or repeating himself. “Here,” he finished with, reaching for his belt and plucking off a pokeball before offering it to Pierce. “Yes, it’s a normal pokeball, and yes, I’m giving you a pokemon,” the man told him when Pierce blinked at him.

“You know my team is full, right?” he asked, immediately getting the same expression he’d gotten before. “I haven’t requested an expanded team yet,” he pointed out and, if anything, Surge’s expression only grew more condescending. “What?”

“I did it for you,” the Leader told him, rolling his eyes. “Now, take it, would you? I don’t have all day and neither do you,” the man urged and Pierce reached, a little slower than necessary, to take the pokeball. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, as I said, we’ve talked about this plenty and I’m sure you have to go soon, but… thank you, Lawson. If you need anything, call. We’re even, but I’m not against doing you a favor or two anyway. Have to make sure you’ll come if something happens again.”

He almost made a joke following that. He also considered just saying that he’d come anyway. However, Pierce was stopped by an edge of… real emotion that he heard in the Leader’s voice. Like he was genuinely worried something might happen and he wanted to cover his bases. That didn’t fill him with confidence, Pierce would admit, but maybe it was just a bit of healthy paranoia after what had happened before.

“Of course, Lieutenant,” he said, maybe a little softer than he intended. “Same goes for you. Always nice to have friends in high places, right?” he added with a smile that he hoped got across that he only half-meant that.

“Sure thing, Lawson,” the man replied, moving beside him and giving him a slap on the back that almost knocked the air out of his lungs. “Take care of yourself out there.”

[}-o-{]

“You could let them out,” Cygnus said from beside Pierce, but he ignored him.

The pokeball Surge had given him was in his hand as he walked through the streets of Saffron after teleporting. His destination was, after much back and forth between ideas, Celadon, so he’d teleported to Saffron and he’d walk from there. No need to go through Route 6 again, really.

‘I could,’ he commented, contemplating the mystery gift Surge had given him. He hadn’t been told what pokemon it was and he was very curious. ‘I want to give a proper welcome though,’ he said then, rubbing a thumb over the pokeball before placing it next to all the others on his belt. It had been easy to get his hands on an extra pokeball holder for it, thankfully.

As for the pokemon, he’d decided that he’d meet them after he finished his business at Saffron. He’d do everything, get some things and then give their new friend a proper welcome, with snacks and free space and so on. For that, they’d need to be out in the road, where they could be by themselves and Bellatrix and Orion were free to wiggle like happy worms to their heart’s content.

Cygnus would be able to teleport them back to the city if they needed to buy something for them anyway.

“I guess,” Cygnus reluctantly agreed.

And that was that.

Sure, maybe Pierce was slightly influenced by how… underwhelming Regulus’ addition to the team had been. It fit the meowth, of course, but it still left Pierce himself feeling a little off. Like not being able to offer guests something to eat or drink, it seemed wrong in his eyes, even if that’s what his Normal type had wanted.

Speaking of things that felt wrong…

The seventh pokeball on his belt felt more out of place than he’d anticipated. He could barely feel the things there. Pokeballs were also lighter in their minimized form and the holder attached to his belt barely was felt through his pants… and Pierce still couldn’t help but be acutely aware of it. It was like a mosquito bite, he knew he should ignore it and not scratch it, but he still felt the urge to do so, although it was more about running his fingers over it and adjusting the holder rather than actual scratching.

“Maybe you should focus,” Cygnus pointed out and he nodded absently, squaring his shoulders. They were almost there too, so all the more reason to get his head out of idle thoughts.

‘Do you want to stay around for this or-’

“I’d rather rest for later, in case I have to teleport more,” his kadabra interrupted, likely having seen the question coming. “Maybe I can get some training done too, if I have the energy.”

‘Sounds good,’ he replied with a nod. ‘See you around,’ he added, getting the mental goodbye before the beam of the pokeball captured Cygnus. A moment later, there was a second flash coming out of a different pokeball.

“Hey girl,” he greeted when Andromeda appeared, already sitting and with her “I’m better than you” look full power. She was such a character sometimes. “You won’t believe what happened before we teleported…”

And so they walked down the street up to their destination while Pierce filled Andromeda in on their new companion for their journey. He’d have to get everyone up to date when they eventually hit the road and found a place to spend the night. For the moment, that was going to wait a bit a few hours while they got everything they needed to get done in Saffron, which was… a few things.

First of those things, for example, was visiting Sabrina.

“Hello, Pierce,” the monotonous voice greeted and he grinned.

“Hey, Sabrina. How’ve you been?” Was he trying too hard? He felt like he was. Still though, sometimes he just felt like putting a little extra in his interactions with the woman, try and balance out her… neutral-ness-

“I have been well.”

-and sometimes Pierce felt like she turned up the neutral-ness when he did that. Which was an impressive feat, really. How did that even happen, he had to wonder. Or maybe that was her version of a tease because she found him amusing or annoying when he did his thing?

Maybe he should ask, but meh.

“We’re gonna go to Celadon, so I thought I’d drop by before going through Route 7. We’ll also be visiting until we’re too far out in Cygnus range,” he informed his Psychic friend and he could have sworn he saw a happy glint in her eyes and a slight twitch on her lips. If he hadn’t hallucinated that, he’d count it as a huge win. “Hope you don’t mind the surprise visit,” he added, knowing that she wouldn’t.

Besides, it was “business” too, really.

He was going to poke her brain – metaphorically – and she’d poke his brain back – almost literally – so that he could work on his Psychic Arts some more. Might as well, while he was around. Especially because he was likely to give some extra attention to Aura for a bit during his own free time, now that he knew it was a thing and he supposedly had a gift for it.

He’d mostly just been reading so far, but once he found himself a little more sure, he’d try his hand for real. ‘Still can’t wrap my head around that,’ he thought to himself, almost holding back a sigh. Almost, because his efforts were interrupted rather rudely.

“You will, with time,” Sabrina spoke in his head and he realized that a strand of thought had slipped through his impressive control of his- “You are still easily distracted, especially when you are not trying to focus,” the Leader said and he tried not to let his pride shatter into pieces. “I did not know you were into dramatics, Pierce.”

And she was mocking him, of course.

Pierce had no proof, but he also had no doubts.

[}-o-{]

“We could have had a normal date, you know?” he asked, more amused than anything else. Admittedly, anything else included some confusion and yes, a little annoyance. He’d had plans, but as soon as he’d mentioned Surge’s gift…

“Are you kidding? It’s been forever since I actually walked on a route,” Daisy commented, hands behind her back as she skipped by his side, taking their surroundings in. Saffron was still within sight behind them, but it wouldn’t be for much longer. The end of the farms and ranches was within sight ahead of them already. “And Surge has been secretive with me about the gift too. He made me curious and now I want to know what it is.”

That was fair.

“How’d you even get away from Cerulean though?” he asked, deciding to leave his plans for a normal date for another time. It hadn’t been anything too great, but he’d have liked for things to go according to plan for once. He’d had some very not planned days as of late and he’d have liked something to go as expected.

He wasn’t that lucky, evidently.

“I mean, it helps that we can avoid people fairly easily out in the routes,” Daisy said with a grin. “So a little disguising-," she continued, gesturing towards her hat, which hid most of her hair underneath, and fake-glasses. “-and nobody will know I wasn’t in Cerulean. Why did you think I asked your pokemon to keep an eye out?” she added with a raised eyebrow.

Idly, he looked to the side, seeing Narcissa flying about, Cygnus walking beside them, if a little further away than they were from each other, and Regulus seemingly having fun trotting around and poking at random things. Daisy had, indeed, asked them to keep an eye out. Pierce himself hadn’t thought much of it, other than that they might like to have something to do. He knew just walking could get boring, so they probably appreciated having something to do.

Well, Regulus and Cygnus did, probably. Narcissa would rather practice moves on the way, he was sure. She could do that while keeping watch though and she was doing exactly that. ‘That workaholic really needs to learn how to relax a bit,’ he thought exasperatedly.

He shook his head though, and focused back on Daisy.

“I thought you just wanted some privacy,” he answered with a shrug. “We are supposed to be here for a date,” he added, getting a roll of eyes for his trouble.

“Well, that too, but it’s mostly so people don’t see me out of the city,” his girlfriend said and he nodded, already taking note of that. So they could have dates out of Cerulean without anything going on. It just needed to be in a way that nobody would know. He could work with that. Probably still not a lot, but he could already see them meeting up in some nice spots while he traveled around. Provided he could get her the proper locations for her to teleport.

Something else that’d get better as Cygnus progressed with his teleport capabilities.

Pierce was starting to feel bad about how much he’d rely on his kadabra, he’d admit.

However, he could almost see the kadabra rolling his eyes and his mind- Actually, no, the little shit was sending the picture to his mind together with his exasperation. ‘Well, excuse me for trying to be considerate and empathetic,’ he sent back with his own mental eyeroll.

“Good to know,” he replied, deciding that he might as well focus on Daisy for real. He was getting a little too distracted those days, but he thought it was understandable. He had a lot in his mind and he could just shut up the hundred voices that wanted to address each and every little thing that had happened as of late.

He really hoped the trek to Celadon would help him clear his mind.

Pierce managed to actually keep his mind on track for once after that, talking with Daisy as they got further and further away from Saffron. Just talking didn’t make for the best date ever, but it was nice all the same. Getting lost in trivial conversation grounded him the smallest bit and that was something he very much appreciated. Even Daisy seemed to like it, because she beamed all through their “boring” walk as they talked and he was pretty sure it wasn’t a fake grin.

He wondered what she was enjoying so much, admittedly, because he didn’t think he was that great a conversationalist, but he didn't actually ask her. Instead, Pierce just enjoyed her good mood for himself and tried to keep it going as best he could. It wasn’t difficult, but it was very satisfying to make her already wide grin even wider and the giggles and laughs felt like small rewards of their own.

“I think this is a good enough spot, don’t you?” he asked, as if Daisy were going to spend the night with him instead of going back to Cerulean.

“There’s space and it’s out of the way, so yeah, it looks good,” the blonde answered walking around and taking their surroundings in. Pierce was starting to get the impression that she was just enjoying being outside without an emergency going on or some other duty to attend to. He wondered if she just never got too much time for herself out of the cities anymore, what with her position and how busy she tended to be. “Gonna set up camp now then?”

“Yeah, it’ll let everyone stretch a little and then we can get on with the welcome party,” he said, taking a deep breath in and glancing at Bellatrix in particular, who was in the river running off to the side. It wasn’t a particularly big one, but they’d found a wider, deeper spot that would allow the gyarados to at least move a little. It would have to do for the night. They’d probably reach the sea shore in a day or two and spend a few days along it later, so that’d be neat for her.

“What are you waiting for then?” Daisy asked, playing up her innocent act when both Pierce and Cygnus gave her a flat look. They were the ones that’d have to put in the work for the camp, after all. Then they sighed and decided that was a battle best avoided.

It took a while to set up his tent and everything else, certainly longer than he was used to. No surprises there though, considering his left arm was still very much out of commission. Pierce was really counting down the days until he could safely take off the cast.

‘Nine more days,’ he told himself when they were done. He was annoyed and his arm itched more than normal, but he’d have to put up with it. The injury had stopped him from leaving too, but he guessed the pros had far outweighed the cons on that front. He stood by his decision still, but that might change after a bunch of days having to set and take down the camp with only one arm and a cranky kadabra to help him.

“Excuse me?”

‘You’re excused,’ he thought absently. Daisy had offered to help, actually, but he’d reassured her that he was fine and that he wanted to do it himself. Not because he was stubborn or anything, but because he wanted to figure out how the deal was going to go when he was by himself. That and he couldn’t quite coordinate as well with her as he could with Cygnus, since the kadabra was literally in his head.

“Ok, now to get the snacks ready,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes when he saw all his pokemon perk up at the mere mention. Daisy found it hilarious, at least, so there was that. “Wish I knew what our new friend would like, but I can make a decent enough neutral selection, I guess…”

“Can I help with this?” Daisy asked, half teasing as she stood behind him and bent down to peek over his shoulder. “Or do you want to struggle some more.”

“Nah, I know how this show goes, no figuring out needed,” he said with a grin. “Can you cut some of these berries for me? That’d help a lot.”

“Sure thing,” the blonde replied and he wondered why that seemed to make her smile wider. Maybe she was just having an especially good mood day or something like that? He wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t going to ask, definitely. The last thing he wanted was to ruin whatever was going on by questioning it. “And that’s that,” she announced herself when all was ready. He had some poffins, some pokeblocks, and even some regular berries and cut berries, just in case. “It’s been forever since I’ve traveled, this is… nice,” his girlfriend said, her smile smaller than before, but somehow more meaningful.

“Well, I was thinking about having some dates on the routes while I travel. We’re bound to come across some nice places,” he commented with a grin and he was rewarded with a hug and a kiss that took him a bit off guard, but he wasn’t complaining. At all. “I think we’ve made them wait long enough, don’t you think?” he asked when she pulled back, grinning.

He meant that in two ways too, since his own pokemon were rather impatient themselves. They were curious little – and not so little – things and the wait hadn’t helped any. To prove this, they were staring rather intently almost throughout the whole preparation of the snacks. And, for once, it wasn’t because they wanted to get them already… although that was definitely part of it.

“Maybe tomorrow-” A rather loud meow interrupted his joke, making him grin widely and shake his head. “Ok, I think I get it. Everyone ready?” he asked, almost laughing when he saw Bellatrix all but shake in place in anticipation. By his side, Daisy giggled behind her hand. “Then, this is it,” he announced rather unceremoniously as he picked up the pokeball he’d been given, expanded it and then released the pokemon inside in a beam of red light.

Immediately after seeing it, his lips pulled up into a smile.

‘Prepare yourself, Bellatrix. A new adorable contender has joined the fray,’ he thought, almost laughing as the pokemon barked and then proceeded to hop up to him on its stubby legs, barking some more and eventually licking at his hand when he went to pet its white and brown head. When it “ran” though, Pierce hadn’t failed to notice the electricity sparks flying off behind it. It didn’t move fast, not at all, but it was interesting that it still shot out sparks.

He’d have to read up on it, he knew.

At least Pierce recognized what kind of pokemon it was.

“Aw, it’s adorable~!” Daisy exclaimed, which clearly pleased the dog pokemon to no end. That was nothing compared to when she picked it up, grabbing under its fluffy yellow fur collar, and praised it even more. “Not what I expected from Surge, I have to admit,” she added after a bit, laughing and Pierce had to agree with her on that.

A yamper wasn’t what he’d imagined when he thought of which pokemon the Lieutenant might have given him.

“What are you gonna name this one?” Daisy asked after she set the dog pokemon down.

“First of all, I gotta know what you are,” he commented, petting the lil’ creature and trying to guess if it was male or female. “Hm, pretty sure you’re a good boy, aren’t you?” he asked after a moment, rubbing his hand on the Electric type’s side and getting a bark and a happy wiggle as the thing fell to the ground adorably. “Yes, you are,” he finished with a chuckle.

And he had just the name for the little thing. Pierce was hilariously aware of the fact that the thing looked anything but serious. All the better, since it’d fit his namesake.

“What do you think about the name Sirius?” he asked.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

I don’t know how I went from writing barely noticeable development through tens of chapters to whatever the fuck has been going on as of late? It feels like something’s happening every chapter and it’s a little jarring, not gonna lie. It’s funny too, because I got a comment the other day saying that my writing wasn’t what it once was and I was rushing points to the next cool thing…

Which had me just going “Really?!”. All sorts of incredulity and exasperating in my head at that moment, let me tell you. Still it’s not like I don’t know where they were coming from.

Unfortunately, the Muse is gonna Muse and I have no way to control her, one way or the other.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter all the same.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What’s the last videogame you played? I bought Hades a few weeks ago (I know, hilarious considering Hades 2 just came out) and I’ve been trying it out. Finally get to see what all the hype was about, I guess. Better late than never.

See you.