Searching Far and Wide - 119

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 XI

Lily was disturbingly silent, but that was kind of the norm, he’d learned ever since she arrived. It hadn’t even been a full day and he kept seeing signs of how much the SS Anne had scarred his traveling companion without her even being there. She said nothing and she seemed to look for him every few seconds, as if to make sure that he was still there, still alive.

She didn’t say much though.

Lily wasn’t what he’d call a great conversationalist, admittedly, at least not with him at that point. They’d talked so much through their time trekking through Kanto that they’d effectively run out of things to discuss, for the most part. Sometimes there was just silence and it was fine. That was not one such situation though and Lily was not introverted at all. She liked talking.

So, for her not to talk at that moment, when she might need it the most, was a little disquieting. Pierce had already tried his best to help, but maybe he was reading the situation wrong. Maybe she didn’t need to talk about it. Maybe she just needed to get used to the idea that no, he wasn’t going to die anytime soon.

He was, Pierce gathered, one of her three best friends in the world. Red and Blue had him beat, very obviously, but they weren’t there and he was. So, she was latching onto him extra hard and making sure he didn’t disappear on her like the other two had.

And Pierce… really didn’t know what to do other than letting her be and being as encouraging and comforting as he could. It was then that he realized that he wasn’t nearly as good at dealing with people as he was with Pokemon. Sad, but something had to give, he supposed. That was heaven’s restriction to his power, evidently.

“You get more and more delusional by the second, Protector-Voice,” Cygnus said, calling him out on his bullshit. Not that he expected any differently, really. He actually thought the Psychic had let his thoughts wander for too long. “You’re getting better, being able to step outside the room helped.”

‘Gee, you think?’ Pierce replied with an Andromeda-worthy roll of his eyes.

All the same though, he was still concerned for Lily, but there was not much he could do on that front. If she was happy just affirming his continued well being, then he could let her do that. If worse came to worst… he’d cross that bridge when he got to it. He imagined things would get a lot better whenever Red and Blue popped up and showed signs of surviving the SS Anne.

And he really hoped they would.

Because if they didn’t, then that would be troublesome. They were the protagonists, more or less, so surely they’d be fine, right? The possibility of them dying there was scary though. Pierce hadn’t made any changes that should directly make something happen on that boat, but then again, not only was the world very different from any version of Pokemon he was aware of, but he’d also sent ridiculous amounts of butterflies all over the place. Anything could have made things in a different way over there.

So, all Pierce could do was worry and hope, kind of like Lily, he supposed.

“Trainer-Supporter is strong, Protector-Voice,” Cygnus reassured him and he glanced towards his traveling companion. Yeah, he guessed his kadabra had a point. Lily might not look like it, but she was strong. She had her moments, like anyone, but she’d get better. He just needed to be there. “In the meantime, she’s not the only one that needs you. And besides, her mind quiets when she watches.”

‘Say no more,’ Pierce replied, a slight smile forming on his face as he waved his arm in the air.

In front of him, Water types followed the movement, causing a wave of sorts from one side to the other. After all, no longer trapped in his hospital room, having passed his tests and with his arm being deemed good enough to move around so long as he was careful, Pierce had wasted no time at all going to the beach. His school had been patient enough – baring the odd incident that was taken care of rather easily – and Surge’s Gym trainers had endured long enough.

And Pierce kind of wanted to spend time with the bunch of danger creatures.

So, there he was, waving his good arm around and making them dance. Unfortunately, he couldn’t use his other arm – obviously – and the one hand he could use he couldn’t do much with. Fast motions were definitely a no and even if he went slow, he needed to be careful how far or how much he had to shift his body. Even with all that though, it was great for him and he could see that the pokemon were having a good time too, and that was all that mattered.

Off to the side, he could see people watching from the nearby streets, but nobody seemed eager to get closer. Not that he blamed them. Even Pierce could tell the massive school of Water types was intimidating. All the same though, he’d seen people being very on edge after the Wave, so Pierce was happy to offer them a measure of relief in the form of a show, much like he was doing with Lily.

Thus, he was having a good time, the pokemon were having a good time, his friend was having a good time and the people of Vermillion were having a good time.

It was a win-win-win-win scenario, as far as he was concerned, which sounded awesome.

Everyone needed a win those days too, he felt.

[}-o-{]

“Yes, yes, it’s very funny,” Pierce said, holding back a grin and only partially succeeding. Not that he imagined it would have made Andromeda any more mad than she already was, but he kind of wanted to give her that much respect. Much as he talked shit a lot, he did appreciate her more serious outlook on things, even if she could be a bit aloof about it. “But we’re not here to laugh at Andy, Orion.”

It was kind of surprising that he didn’t get a Water Gun to the face for the nickname as he usually did. Maybe his vaporeon was being considerate because of his broken arm? Or maybe she appreciated that he was speaking up for her.

“It came easy to you and that’s great, but you’re far from done with Dig, big guy. Get back to it while we try to fix whatever Andy might be doing wrong, yeah?” he added after a moment, shaking his head. The reminder that his training wasn’t over seemed to take some of the wind out of the onix’s sails, but he did go back to it without complaint. “Now, about your issue, little lady…”

Sitting down next to the Water type was a bit of a struggle, but Andromeda was patient with him. A lot could be said about his vaporeon’s attitude, but under all the ice, she was rather caring, he knew. So, he wanted to return some of that care by helping her. Because Dig was really getting on her nerves and he wanted to try and make it easier for her, even though he imagined some struggling was expected with some moves.

There was also the fact that he was her trainer, so he was kind of supposed to help her.

So, he considered the issue, going over the information he’d gathered. Most of the time though, there wasn’t much on how to teach pokemon moves. After all, most pokemon had a different approach to them, since their bodies were so radically different from one to the other. Most people online tended to focus on how to use moves rather than how to teach them. What he’d gathered in regards to Dig boiled down to using Ground type energy to carve a way through earth and even stone and other materials, which was rather obvious. None of the examples and variations of that information he’d gathered seemed to be especially helpful, quite honestly, but maybe he was looking at things from the wrong angle.

‘Why is it so much easier for Orion? Is there something we’re missing here or is he just naturally talented with the move?’ he wondered, glancing towards the onix and watching him try the move out. He followed every motion, how he rose and how he dove into the ground head first. It didn’t make sense, Andromeda had paws to better dig into the dirt. She should be the one having an easier time, even if typing was on Orion’s side, so…

‘Wait…’

“Girl, can you show me how you’re trying to do it?” he asked, turning towards Andromeda and apparently taking the Water type aback. After a second though, she did try. Her paws clawed at the earth, shiny brown energy gathering around the limbs. Pierce, for his part, narrowed his eyes and observed the lackluster attempt, at least in comparison to what he’d just seen from Orion.

However…

“I think I know what the problem is,” he mused out loud. His tone wasn’t as certain as he’d have liked, but Andromeda perked up all the same. He appreciated the confidence, Pierce supposed. “I think the name of the move is messing with us,” he said, a wry, slightly annoyed half-smile on his face. “You’re trying to use Dig as if you were digging normally but with energy,” he started explaining.

Andromeda was understandably confused with that, but he pointed towards Orion before continuing.

“Orion doesn’t have any limbs to dig with though. He just charges at the ground with his head and the dirt moves aside because of the energy,” he pointed out and now the vaporeon seemed to be thinking his words over with a frown. “I think you don’t have to dig, you have to dive. You have to punch right through the ground instead of trying to move it aside. Like jumping into water instead of swimming through it, you get what I mean? I could be wrong, of course, but I think that might be it.”

And he really did, because the more he looked at Orion trying out and being mostly successful, the more he thought that was the trick. That was the biggest difference he could see between his onix and his vaporeon, at least. So, if it was something else, then it was probably very deeply hidden in the energy manipulation and that’d be annoying to work through, since he’d have no point of reference nor information.

There was also the fact that Orion had proven not to be able to explain things to Andromeda well enough for her to make good progress. So, he had to assume the onix was just not really thinking things much and the move just came naturally to him. That could be a reason why he couldn’t teach Andromeda, Pierce guessed.

Evidently, the Water type thought his observation was worth testing because, after mulling it over for a moment, she nodded and went for it. Covering herself in Ground type energy, she jumped and basically dove into the ground, paws first, of course, and…. It worked surprisingly well, if Pierce did say so himself.

“What do you think?” he asked after Andromeda tried a few times. At least to him, it looked like it was kind of working better than before. At least she was struggling less to make the same amount of progress, from what he could tell.

So, when she barked something and nodded, looking slightly pleased – which was a lot coming from her – Pierce grinned and patted her head.

He pretended to believe her grumbling and struggling was real too, because she’d done very well.

[}-o-{]

“Surge got you this table, didn’t he?” Daisy asked him and he raised an eyebrow at her.

Not that he blamed her for wondering, because the place they had gone to for their date? It was way too fancy for him, if he were honest. Not that he disliked it. Food was food and so long as he didn’t have to act different from the usual, he didn’t care where he went to eat. However, he had to admit that the restaurant they were at was not his type of place at all.

Still…

“Nope, I got it,” he answered with a slight smile that widened when he saw the surprise on her face. “I thought it’d be a nice change of pace… and a nice apology for the idiocy, if you will,” he added, his tone turning rueful at the end. Because he was sorry that he’d worried her to no end. Seeing how his stunt had affected her had hit him a lot harder than he expected. Especially in the following days when he got to see her and the effects it had had on her. There was also Lily there now to let him know how awful the worrying side could feel.

“I forgave you already, Pierce,” Daisy told him, her smile turning fond. “But I won’t say no to a fancy dinner,” she added somewhat playfully, wink and all. “Although, I have to admit, half the reason I doubted is because this looks like the kind of place that requires reservations with plenty of time and you don’t strike me as the type for that kind of thing.”

“Good to see you know me well,” he replied with a chuckle, reaching to grab his glass. Water only for him that night, since he was still on meds… and since he was not a fan of wine at all. Somehow, he imagined someone would come and stab him with a very odd and fancy knife if he drank anything else. Dramatic, that might be, but still. “I was actually just talking to Surge and dropped a comment that I’d have to look for a place to take you on a date. He told me to call anywhere, that chances were they’d give me a table no matter what.”

“And they did,” Daisy accurately guessed.

“With a full free meal and all,” he added with a wide grin. “They offered more than one meal, actually, but that conversation was getting weird, so I left it at only one,” he commented, feeling awkward just remembering that. He’d expected them to make things easy for him, he’d pay, maybe more than usual, and he’d get a table when he’d usually have to wait forever.

Instead, the owner had basically thrown everything at him.

It wasn’t even like Pierce didn’t understand. Differently from the usual thing, where he couldn’t quite wrap his head around how people were awed by his gift with pokemon, he did get it in that instance. He’d helped save Vermillion and there was even footage of most of it, the most important parts to boot. He imagined the people in the city were more than a little grateful and hell, he’d have given himself a nice reward or three if he were in their shoes.

Yet, he found it difficult to wrap his head around that.

It reminded him of a somewhat similar issue he had with his video channel, actually. He could understand that people liked it, truly, but somehow he still found himself taken aback with every positive comment. The same went for that particular situation. Pierce had a difficult time accepting that people were that grateful, even though he understood.

“Well, better get used to it. I very much doubt anyone’s going to make you pay for anything while you’re here,” Daisy told him, apparently highly amused by how uncomfortable he was with the whole situation. “Although, you do know that you basically saved them from, at the very least, a massive headache and a lot of lost money, right? These people can keep going on with their lives as usual because of you. Nothing wrong with acknowledging that and being proud.”

“But not too proud, right?” he asked and Daisy burst into laughter.

“If I thought you had a single arrogant bone in your body, Pierce, I’d be telling you a very different thing,” she answered, shaking her head and still giggling. At least she quieted down a little after a bit though, which was great. She’d attracted plenty of attention from nearby tables with her outburst.

Although, to be fair, it wasn’t like they didn’t already have plenty of that. They stood out like sore thumbs. He hadn’t told Daisy where they were going, so she hadn’t dressed up like she probably would have. Neither had he, for that matter, because he didn’t even have clothes fancy enough to fit in properly there. On top of that, there was the fact that he had a cast on the entirety of his left arm…

And then there was the fact that she was Daisy Waterflower and he was Pierce Lawson.

“Actually, I imagine you’re doing them another favor coming here,” Daisy commented, suddenly thoughtful as she broke him from his thoughts. “Have you considered that people will know you came here on a date with me? That’s free publicity.”

“I didn’t tell them I was coming here with you,” he pointed out, but all the woman did was raise her eyebrow at him. Which was fair, because it didn’t really change anything. Besides, his semi-relationship with her hadn’t been a secret before and he had asked for a table for two, so… Either way, he could see her point.

And so he groaned, because his life had just gotten that much more complicated.

Maybe Grace would like to manage that for him too? Although, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to make his life revolve around publicity and ads. That sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen. On the other hand, he did need a whole lot of money if he wanted his sanctuary project to go well…

“Get used to life as a celebrity, Pierce,” Daisy told him, grinning widely.

He kind of missed the times when he was just one more nobody.

But then again, free meals were great, he supposed.

So, he decided to enjoy the high – with emphasis – quality dinner that he didn’t have to pay for. Also the company, of course, because Daisy had been great during his stay in the hospital, keeping him company when Lily wasn’t around, helping him let out his pokemon when he could barely go out himself and generally being very nice in a time that would have been rather rough. And that was just in Vermillion, which wasn’t anywhere near all of it. Because Pierce had come to appreciate what Daisy’s presence had done for him.

Their relationship might not have started as a serious thing, maybe not even a meaningful one. All the same though, it had a great impact on his life. In a time when he felt like he’d been just floating around, drifting aimlessly and seeing where things went, she’d offered him something to latch into, much like his pokemon and Lily had. There were a lot of steps towards finding his place in the Pokemon world, and Daisy had eased him into several of those, which he was grateful for in a way that he might never be able to explain.

Not all was good though…

“You really need to stop throwing comments at me, Daisy, come on,” he mock whined halfway through the dinner. Because the woman was still quoting online people about him. She seemed to spend her free time looking for stuff to tell him about whenever they met. She also seemed to think it was hilarious. It had been a very awkward ordeal at the start, but Pierce was starting to think this was another favor she was doing him unknowingly, maybe even knowingly.

Because with the way people looked at him whenever he was outside his hospital room, even right there at the very high end restaurant, he thought he’d have been a lot more uncomfortable with things if Daisy hadn’t been bombarding him with it since the event. He’d had a better idea of what to expect, at the very least. It was still awkward as fuck, yes, but it’d have been worse if he’d come out blind, he knew.

“Trying to ignore your popularity will just make it more annoying, Pierce,” Daisy said and he blinked. There was some joking in her tone, but there was also seriousness there. “You’re a public figure and a big one, deal with it. Because I have a feeling that it’ll just go up from here. So, you literally can’t ignore it.”

“... I guess you’re not wrong,” he acknowledged with a nod and a sigh. “This is not what I wanted though,” he added. Not to sound like an ungrateful guy, but he’d have preferred a normal life rather than a celebrity one. The money was nice, for sure, but he didn’t know if it made up for all the awkwardness and stifling expectations and other things he had to look out for.

“It’s what you’ve got though,” Daisy replied and he found it slightly amusing that the statement could apply to a number of things in his life. “It’s not so bad once you get used to it and accept it. Sure, sometimes I wish I could be someone normal, but I can get that sometimes.”

“When?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Because, so far, every time he’d gone out with her she had the same reaction from the people around them. Sometimes better and sometimes worse, but always present.

“When I visit other regions. Not everyone keeps up with Leaders from other places. It’s rare to be recognized outside of Kanto unless it’s right after an international event. Johto is a bit fifty-fifty but everywhere else is fairly tame,” Daisy commented and that wasn’t very reassuring, but it wasn’t the worst, he supposed. He did want to visit other regions at some point, so that was rather nice to hear, at least.

“Hm, I guess I’ll have to make a trip somewhere sooner than I expected,” he replied with a chuckle.

“And hopefully I’ll be able to tag along. Gotta make sure you don’t fall for some foreigner,” she added playfully and he rolled his eyes at her. “... I’m glad we could do this,” she said then and he paused, blinking at the sharp shift in conversation. “We’re about to be done with things over here. Can’t leave our cities for too long and we’ve done what we could do. Now it’s all mostly just waiting and seeing unless something happens,” she explained and he nodded slowly.

“Well, I might teleport over to Cerulean one of these days, so there’s that,” he replied, somewhat subdued but keeping a smile on his face. It was a little sad that she had to go away, but teleporting wasn’t too much of a hassle. The distance was felt all the same though.

“I’ll look forward to it,” Daisy said, beaming at him and he found his own smile widening at the sight of her. She was beautiful, of course, but she was also… bright, warm. “I imagine Grace will like that too. Talking in person might help with this project of yours,” she added and he nodded acknowledging the point. “My sisters and I will look into people that might be interested to be part of your staff. A sanctuary needs plenty, after all, professionals at that. You’ll be the owner, but you don’t have the certifications a place like that needs. Nevermind the fact that I imagine you’ll be hands off for a bit. You do want to continue your journey, right?”

“Of course,” he nodded and yeah, that was more or less his idea. Get the sanctuary up and people that would look after the pokemon, likely calling him if they needed him to mediate. He still needed to help his team reach the heights they wanted. Hell, he wanted to continue himself too, really. Although, admittedly, he couldn’t say he wasn’t looking forward to spending time with pokemon in a place that was his, theirs.

Pierce really couldn’t say he didn’t like the idea of having a home once more.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Some comfort, some training, some fluff and romance? Or, at least, an attempt at it. I’m still half sure I shouldn’t be writing romance, but my Muse does what she wants. Maybe I’ll get good at it and be confident if I bash my head against the wall long enough?

Either that or I’ll get brain damage. Could be an improvement anyway.

That said, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What do you do in your free time other than reading fanfics? I’ve been getting back into videogames, but not that much. For a while I’ve been mostly just endlessly looking through reddit for F1 news and DnD homebrew stuff. That and the occasional youtube video binges.

See you.