Searching Far and Wide - 120

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

Vermillion City XIII

Turns out signing stuff was quite hard when you only had one working hand and you had to be careful with the other.

Pierce never would have thought such a thing would be something for him to worry about, quite honestly. For one, he’d never broken a bone before the Vermillion incident, actually. For another, he didn’t think he’d signed many things in his life. So, one way or another, both things overlapping sounded rather hard for him to ever give much thought to.

Yet there he was.

And he was having to sign a whole lot of things, as it turned out.

“Thank you, Proxyman.”

“His name is Pierce, Jamie,” the exasperated father of the child that had asked for his autograph said. “Thank you, he won’t shut up about you, and even about that girl that travels with you,” the man added, both fond and amused. “Not that I blame him, now. Thank you for saving the city too,” the man said and there was so much emotion in his voice that Pierce was taken aback by it.

It wasn’t even the first time someone said something like that to him, really. Several people had taken at least a moment to thank him, or praise him, or both. When he’d gone for a walk – a mistake, he came to learn – people had gotten out of their houses and stores to talk to him. Everyone knew what he’d done, after all, and now Vermillion as a whole was thankful.

Hell, he’d gotten plenty of free things, many of which he’d had to reject, if only because he literally couldn’t get everything. Most of them he hadn’t even been able to, with how earnest people had been. He might have gained any weight he had lost while exercising with his team that day too, with all the food people had given him.

It had been overwhelming and awkward… but also kind of nice. Or, at least, the uncomfortable feeling that filled him warred with the pleased one that such warm reception had brought up. Because, much as he liked to downplay what he did and that sometimes he truly didn’t see what the big deal was all about, what he’d done hadn’t been normal. That day, against the Wave, Pierce had been exceptional.

And it was a great feeling to know that people thought the same, that they were impressed by it.

Was it prideful of him? Wrong?

Maybe, he supposed, but he had never pretended to be perfect. He had his self-centered side and his lazy side too, and maybe a few more ugly sides too. He was fine with that, really, and in this case he thought he was allowed a little pride for what he’d done. Especially after everyone and their mothers seemed intent in hammering through his skull that yes, he’d done something amazing.

It was difficult to keep the “I’m just a guy” thought process with all that was going on around him, really.

“Just doing what I could, sir,” he replied all the same, smiling warmly at the father in front of him. Just because he was proud didn’t mean he had to show it, right? “And I’ll be sure to tell Lily you’re a fan. She doesn’t get as much recognition as she should,” he added, grinning at the kid, who looked like Christmas had come early.

“I wanna be a trainer! Like you and her! I wanna learn how to,” he said, turning very serious towards the end, which only made him seem adorable. Pierce just shook his head, trying very hard not to laugh. That probably wouldn’t go over well. Instead, he settled for a different response.

Once that was done though, a new person arrived, who turned out to be a teenager, soon followed by his friends. Then came a woman from some store in the city that came with bags full of clothes for him, a gift. And all of that happened in the common area in the Pokemon Center he was staying at after being let out of the hospital, not out in the streets. That only made it all sound more crazy in his head, Pierce swore. Surely they hadn’t all found out where he was, right? Even if they had, how could they know he was in a public area and not in his room?

He would later find out that someone had uploaded a video on social media and that’s what had basically summoned grateful people and fans.

In the spirit of not getting mobbed anymore though, he eventually managed to move back to his room. While he was at it, he sent a message to Lily, because he’d promised her that he’d wait for her at the dining room, but he was sure she’d understand. She was a little late to her training, compared to him – which was new, if understandable and sad – because she’d taken the time to talk with her family and Professor Oak a little extra.

She was still very affected by the SS Anne, after all, which was not helped at all by the fact that Red and Blue continued to not be found.

He was starting to worry – more than he already was, as Lily’s friend and as a human being – that they might actually be among those that had died. On top of being tragic, obviously, there was the fact that they were supposed to be the protagonist of that world and a close second. If they weren’t around, who would deal with the craziness of the world, Pierce?

He dealt with enough madness as it was without them kicking the bucket.

So, if it was all the same to whatever deity was out there-

He blinked and pulled out his pokegear to check on a message he’d received.

‘Sorry!’ he read, blinking before checking again and, sure enough, it was Lily that had sent that. He didn’t know what she could be sorry for though. She was definitely not late or anything, so- Any other thought he might have had was pushed aside when he read the following message. ‘They found Red and Blue!’

After that though, Lily said nothing more, no matter how many messages Pierce shot her. Hell, he was mostly just trying to see where she was so that he could go and celebrate with her. She was probably relieved beyond belief, he’d bet. However, he had no idea what was going on with her and there was little he could do.

All the same though…

‘Thanks, random deity,’ he thought, looking up. Not that he thought there was some random deity watching over him, but he liked to have his bases covered and coincidences had a weird way of bringing his inner believer. Call him dumb if you will-

“Sometimes you make me wonder why we follow you, Protector-Voice.”

-, but Pierce thought it didn’t hurt to err on the side of caution. Weirder things had happened, right? Like getting stabbed in the gut – a flash of metal, pain, red and copper – and waking up in a previously thought fictional world. Hell, the Legends and Arceus himself were out there. What was to say there was no god out there or even a random omnipotent being?

Pierce had to have appeared there somehow, right?

“Stop being an idiot and worry like a normal person, will you?” Cygnus told him and he turned to give the kadabra a half-hearted glare. All he got in response was a flat stare, however. “It’s stupid, but I get it, Protector-Voice. You’ve been worried about her and now she doesn’t answer. It’s understandable.”

Was it?

Because he felt like a major idiot worrying about Lily. Red and Blue had appeared. She was going to be fine. Better than fine. And yet, just like Cygnus had said, he’d been worried about her ever since she arrived at Vermillion. He’d seen her be a complete mess all that time. So, now he had a hard time accepting that she was, indeed, fine. At least, he imagined that’d be the case until he finally got to see that she was fine.

‘I really am stupid.’

“Yep.”

‘Shut up,’ he mentally growled at his Psychic type before rolling his eyes. Might as well try to distract himself, because it seemed like his friend wasn’t going to give him more information anytime soon. So, very reluctantly and only partially successfully, he picked up his books and got to studying.

At some point, both Regulus and Andromeda decided they had enough of their pokeballs and started lounging around his room. Thankfully, Narcissa stayed in hers, very much spent after trying extra hard. She was trying to make up for lost time, apparently, no matter how much he told her that it’d work against her. She needed to get it out of her system though, very obviously. So, Pierce had contented himself with making sure she didn’t injure herself.

Good thing he wasn’t alone though, because his attempt at studying to keep his mind occupied failed miserably rather quickly. The next idea was to spoil his pokemon for a bit, but there was only so much he could do that, really. At least, so much he could do that without getting tired, especially with only one working arm. From there, it was a very valiant – or pathetic, in Cygnus opinion, which Pierce hadn’t asked for – effort to keep himself occupied. He watched TV for a while, checked videos on his laptop and even the comment section. He even went through sanctuary stuff that Grace had sent him, even though he knew they’d discuss it later and he’d understand much better when the woman told it to him in simpler terms.

This latter thing was the one that actually helped the most, because his brain went on familiar tangents that he was rather comfortable with. He started thinking of what he could do for pokemon there. He could give them a space where they could be free and unbothered, for one. For another, he could help them develop, stay healthy and grow stronger. He could be a pseudo-trainer to them, he supposed, in the same way the school was a pseudo-team.

Furthermore, he could do one of the things that had brought him the most joy since he woke up in that forest. He could help those pokemon that had been hurt, scarred. He could help them recover from whatever might have marked them and he could help them be better than they would have otherwise been. If Cerulean had taught him anything, it was that there was nothing like seeing  pokemon that had been shadows of themselves turn into something strong, proud.

So, yeah, the sanctuary had a chance of allowing him to do that for many, many other pokemon. The more he thought about it, the more it clicked in his mind. Because he was a trainer then and there, but did he want to be a trainer forever? Not really, was the answer that came all too easily to his mind. He wanted to be a trainer, to have his team grow strong, because his team, wanted that.

Helping, however? Protecting?

That was part of who he was, apparently.

And Pierce found that he didn’t disagree with that assessment at all. If anything, it just helped him realize what he likely had known all along. Maybe it’d even have helped him find his place in the world sooner, but better late than never, he supposed. As it was, every day, Pierce thought he fit in more and more with his new world.

He missed his home – he always would, he supposed –, but maybe he could still be happy all the same.

And he was more than relieved to know that.

[}-o-{]

“Lily, you’re scaring me,” he said once his traveling companion finally deigned to respond to him. Surprisingly, not only had she answered one of his many messages, but she’d also set up a meeting time and all. Once he got to the place she’d found –  a cafe a little out of the way, thankfully, even if they did offer him free service –, however, Lily had proceeded to shuffle and shift on her seat. She wasn’t looking at him and she was wringing her hands together in a very nervous manner.

He really wasn’t joking when he said she was scaring him.

“Sorry, it’s just… I’m really trying, alright? It’s just… I don’t want to… But then you might-”

“Lily,” he interrupted her babbling, firm but with a soft touch. “Take a deep breath in and start from the beginning, alright?” he suggested, trying to project a calm presence as much as possible. He wasn’t sure if it worked, but she did listen to his instructions, taking a moment to get her thoughts in order.

She didn’t look particularly calm, but she didn’t look like she was about to have a panic attack anymore. Pierce knew that she was a mess of feelings those days, he did, but that didn’t stop him from wishing she wouldn’t be, if only for his own peace of mind. Alas, people were rarely that convenient. And differently from pokemon, he couldn’t fix this with some pampering and good food.

It might help though, which made him hope that the cafe would have good service.

“Sorry, I just…” Lily started after a moment and her voice sounded so… He wasn’t sure what to call it, actually. It sounded to him somewhere between defeated and sad. Resigned? But that didn’t make much sense, did it? “They found Red and Blue,” she mumbled, as if that’d give her strength to continue from there, but it only seemed to make her wilt more. Pierce, for his part, was entering levels of confusion previously thought impossible. “They were with a group of victims that were sent to Celadon, Blue woke up this morning and Red a little later. Everyone’s starting to wake up, apparently.”

He nodded along as she explained and now things were starting to make sense. He had an idea of where Lily was going, between what she was saying and how miserable she looked, he was getting a picture. Reading between the lines, he forced a warm smile on his face. Might as well make it easier for her, after all.

“And I… Well… They are still recovering. Psychic effect, they are saying, but nobody seems to know much more than that. Professor Oak said Sabrina and her students would be looking into it,” Lily continued explaining, painfully skirting around the topic she actually wanted to talk with him about. “So, they are kind of stuck in the hospital until they get cleared, which they don’t know when it could happen. We were talking about how they might-”

“Lily?” Pierce interrupted gently and her mouth clicked shut. She was looking anywhere but at him and he found it a little amusing, in a very sad way. “It’s fine if you want to go to Celadon and be with them.”

“... You’re not supposed to use your superpowers with me, Pierce,” she said, but there was no annoyance in her voice nor her expression. Instead, she just gave him a sad smile. “And… yeah… I think I’ll go to Celadon for now… Might continue my journey with them for a bit. I just… I need to be there with them. I… I thought I’d lost them,” she all but whimpered, especially towards the end, her hands balling into fists over the table and voice cracking as she shook on her chair.

Silently, he reached across to take her hand in his softly and gave it the smallest reassuring squeeze.

“Lily, I just told you, it’s fine,” he told her, meeting her gaze calmly when she looked up, unshed tears in her eyes. “I’ve been worried about you for a while already, what with how much this has affected you. I think spending some time with them is a great idea.”

“You do?” she asked, half hopeful and half in what he imagined was forced disbelief.

“I think spending time with the friends you thought you’d lost will go a long way to reassuring you, yes,” he answered warmly.

“You don’t know that,” she argued, probably because things were going too easy in her head. She seemed like she was forcing the entire thing to be an issue. Which he imagined was fair, she was a mess as it was and everything seemed like a big deal for her.

As it turned out, there was the fact that he very much did know that. He wished he could have someone from his old life to visit and spend time with. Alas, he had no such choice and neither did anyone from back home. They had to make do with memories that grew increasingly more blurred in their minds. So, he envied Lily that, honestly, but he was also happy that she had that.

“I don’t,” he said, because it was easier to continue lying than trying to explain things. Maybe one day he would, but it was not then and there, that was for sure. Not the least of which because it was a terrible moment to go for that. “But you think you need to, and I’ll support your decision if you think it’ll help you. Pretty sure I’m contractually obligated to help you help yourself.”

“Not contractually no,” she mumbled, smiling uncertainly. It looked like victory to his eyes though. “I guess the video thing was short-lived.”

“Well, if you manage to scrounge up enough to get your own camera and computer, you know the account. Feel free to do your section on your own if you do,” he reassured her, just to make things clear. Apparently, that was the right decision, if the slight widening of her eyes was anything to go by. He rolled his and sighed. “Yes, Lily, you can upload without being in my immediate vicinity. Honestly.”

“... Thanks, Pierce.”

“You’ll be a Teleport or two away, you know?” he added, even though he understood completely how it went. No matter how easy it was to meet someone, physical distance had a way of just… making itself felt. Even if it’d take under an hour to stand in front of Daisy all the way in Cerulean, it didn’t make things that much easier for either of them. He imagined it’d go about the same for Lily and him, if not worse, since they’d almost always had each other around.

“I know… I’m gonna miss you, stupidity and all.”

“I’m gonna miss you too,” he replied. Alas, he couldn’t let that last bit go unpunished, even in the state his friend was in. Maybe especially in the state his friend was in. “But at least you’ll be with your boyfriend, right?”

The barked laugh that escaped Lily’s lips was a surprise, that was for sure. Her normal response was some flavor of annoyance, but maybe it spoke of the situation, Pierce supposed. His smile wavered a little when he felt her hand shift inside his to take it and grip it tightly.

“Thank you, Pierce, for… Just for being here,” she mumbled, eyes firmly locked in their hands. “It’s not been an easy few days, to say the least.”

“I wasn’t even here much,” he pointed out, because she’d gotten there barely two days before. Alas, it seemed that she disagreed, if the tightening of her hold was anything to go by. So, Pierce decided it was time to shut up and let her speak.

“Be that as it may,” she said firmly, even if her voice was barely above a whisper. “Try not to do anything too crazy while I’m not around, alright?”

“I don’t think I can promise that,” he replied and she giggled shortly. “Try not to get lost without me looking over your shoulder, alright?”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah, well, you stuck around this long, so… what does that say about you?” he asked and she laughed some more. He was doing alright, if he did say so himself.

“I’m a victim of sunk cost fallacy, I guess,” she replied, which… ouch. “... At least you’ll have something to keep busy, won’t you? I hope the sanctuary goes well.”

“Thanks, and I hope things go well on your end too,” he replied simply, because that was really all he hoped for. Whatever peace of mind Lily was looking for, he hoped going to her friends would give it to her. Anything else was secondary, as far as he was concerned. However… “Maybe you’ll have better training conversations with those two, right?”

“Definitely,” she replied, a weak half-smile on her face. “Not nearly as fun a journey though, I bet. They don’t get up to the kind of shenanigans you do, I bet,” she commented and Pierce seriously wondered about that. He had a hard time believing that Red didn’t get up to worse shenanigans than he did. Then again, Lily likely didn’t know about it if he did, considering what she’d just confirmed.

“Try not to get too bored, then.”

“It’ll be a struggle,” Lily said, letting out a sigh as she deflated and looked at their coffees, which had been very thoroughly forgotten. Picking hers up, she went to take a sip and grimaced. “Almost cold.”

“Better than completely cold,” he replied, grabbing his own drink. He’d always hated letting things go to waste, after all. He might suffer, but he would drink what he’d gotten. “Almost as awful as this whole situation,” he muttered after groaning. A grimace twisted his expression before he went for another gulp. Sure enough, it was almost bad enough to make him forget the knot in his throat or the pit in his stomach.

“You can say that again,” Lily said, following his example and taking another sip. “You’re awful for making me do this, by the way.”

“Nobody’s forcing your hand,” he replied with a chuckle. “... At least this way you’ll get your Gym challenges done faster, right?”

“But who’s gonna make sure you actually take challenges yourself? Do you even know where to go?” Lily asked and he returned her smile. She was feeling better, it seemed, and Pierce couldn’t be happier to see some of her usual self coming out for the world to see. “You won’t panic and go back to Viridian, will you?”

“Pretty sure my pokemon wouldn’t take too kindly to that,” he pointed out and she nodded her acknowledgement of that point.

“It’ll be nice to participate in the Indigo Conference sometime this decade, I’ll admit,” she added somewhat playfully and he grinned at her. “You will continue, right?” she asked, suddenly some of her worry coming back.

Why was she worried about that though?

All the same…

“I will,” he reassured her softly. “If you think any of my pokemon, except maybe Regulus, would let me get away with not going for it, then you’re crazier than I thought. Kind of worrying that you’re saying that though. Not planning to wait until the Conference to see my annoying face again, I hope. I’ll hunt you down if I have to.”

“Too late for me, it seems. I’m stuck with you,” she commented and he grinned at her. “Nothing to do about it, I guess.”

“You got that right,” he replied, getting his emotions under control as he plastered his most “I’m fine” expression on his face. “It won’t be that bad, Lily, promise. You’re just having one of your emotional woman moments.”

“Excuse me?”

“See? You’re almost back to normal already,” he replied, grinning widely. She needed him to be the happy one. They’d both be incredibly miserable if he didn’t. Better just one of them being so, he figured. “It’ll be fine, we’ll see each other real soon and I’m always a call away if you need me.”

“... I’ll hold you to that, Pierce.”

“Please do.”

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Welp, that was… unexpected. As usual, I wonder if people will believe me, but I never really know what most characters are gonna do until they come in and do something. Like, I wasn’t expecting Lily to just go away, but then I was thinking about what she’d do now, especially once Red and Blue were found and… You guys have read the answer, I guess.

Interesting direction in that regard, I guess. It’ll be interesting to write about Pierce being by himself. A little bit of a struggle, for sure, but it’ll also make things easier, ironically enough. It’ll certainly be a change of pace, that’s for sure.

I hope you guys like this new development and that you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What’s the last thing you bought? I got myself a new mousepad.

See you.