Searching Far and Wide - 107

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

Route 6 IV

He took a deep breath in and he wondered how long he’d been sitting there with his eyes closed.

Probably not that long, if he had to bet. Everytime Pierce asked himself a question like that, it usually meant no time at all. For once though, he wasn’t wondering because he was bored or otherwise waiting for something. Instead, it was because he was honestly kind of impressed with himself.

For what?

Well, he was back in Saffron for the morning, practicing some Psychic Arts. The time was nearing for things to get complicated though. Soon, Cygnus wouldn’t be able to teleport him every day anymore. That was fine though, they guessed. He could still do it every other day or maybe put some more time in between. At least he wouldn’t have to stop going there altogether. Now that would have been a shame.

As for the reason for his rather proudful state, that was because he was actually doing kind of well in his meditation efforts. He didn’t know if he’d actually been making progress all that time or if he was just having a great day. All the same, despite his pride getting in the way, he’d been concentrating fairly well all throughout his time there up to that point. He’d been able to feel the transition between his normal state of mind and when he used the block on his last world’s memories very smoothly, for one. Not only that, but he also didn’t quite lose track of his mind after feeling that change. Or, at least, not quite that easily.

Maybe he was making progress.

‘I should get back to that though,’ he thought, grimacing a little and then taking another deep breath in. Then he let it out slowly, as if trying to expel the distracting thoughts in his mind. To his continued surprise, he succeeded, but he didn’t dwell on that. There were Psychic Arts to be practiced, after all.

So, he sat there, in between the garden of Sabrina’s “classroom”, if it could be called that, his mind clearer than it had been… probably ever. There was almost nothing for him to feel, to notice, other than his mind, shifted or otherwise. He tried to see if he could pick up on anything else about it other than its presence, but there was nothing, no sense of size or anything else. It just… was.

And as he continued trying to take what he imagined was the next step, he continued failing and failing.

Eventually, he sighed, realizing that whatever state of Zen he’d been in before was now long gone. The frustration had gotten to him and he was back to being his usual Psychically useless self. Nothing new there, but he’d have appreciated his good day lasting a little longer. Alas, such was life.

“Did you finally get a glimpse of the potential I’ve been telling you about?” Sabrina asked, apparently having joined him at some point as she usually did and breaking him from his already messed up concentration. When he opened his eyes, he saw the woman peering at him curiously. Or, what counted as such for someone like her, which in this case was more like a tilt of her head and a vague glint in her eyes.

“It’d be a lot better if I knew how I managed that, not gonna lie,” he replied wryly before sighing. “But yeah, I think I did.”

“Sometimes, doing something twice is a lot easier than doing it once. I do believe this is one such case. You’ve been there once, getting there again shouldn’t be an issue,” the woman told him with a nod as she turned back forward and closed her own eyes. Idly, he wondered if she was going to be practicing herself and should be left alone. In the spirit of trying not to be stupid and asking out loud, he simply did his best to “think loudly”. She always seemed to be reading surface thoughts, after all. “I can multitask, Pierce. At least, when I’m not making a serious effort and I wouldn’t do that out in the open like this.”

“Got it,” he said, leaning back and wondering what to do himself. Going back to practicing was an option, since he rather doubted Sabrina would have a problem with that. It was probably more of a bonding activity, as far as she was concerned. However… he was kind of struggling there at the end, so he decided to take a break for a bit. “So, is everything going alright?” he asked, unsure of where to start.

Although, Sabrina was an interesting character to talk to. At first, her odd behavior could turn practically any interaction into something awkward. However, Pierce had slowly realized that she was just very… serene wasn’t quite the word, but it worked well enough. She was open, but in a quiet way that seemed contradictory but worked for her. At least in his opinion it did.

“Gym duties are going about as well as can be expected,” Sabrina answered, seemingly unaffected by the conversation while she practiced whatever Psychic Art she was meditating on. “Other than that, things are calm, for the most part.”

“That’s nice to hear,” he replied, not at all bothered by the response, even if it killed the conversation a little. He could just look for something else to talk about and Sabrina wouldn’t mind. She seemed to enjoy their awkward conversations, which was what saved him from cringing to death, really. “So-”

“There’s Daisy,” Sabrina continued, drawing a blink and raising eyebrows from him. That was new. Not to say that the woman never had things to comment on, but she usually didn’t hesitate. And that pause in between sentences was what he thought was odd.

“What’d she do now?” he asked, only half-jokingly wary.

“She seems to be under the impression that I’m romantically interested in you,” Sabrina said, without a single care for what she was telling him. He was kind of happy he wasn’t eating or drinking, because he was sure he’d have choked on something. As it was, he just gaped at her for a long moment that she took as her cue to continue. “It is odd.”

“Tell me about it,” he replied, making a mental note to have words with Daisy. What was up with this… whatever this was? “She’s crazy like that.”

“No,” Sabrina said and he almost got whiplash turning to look at her with wide eyes. “I don’t believe this means she’s crazy, as you say. You are attractive and have a very appealing personality.” Somehow, the flat tone and blunt delivery made the whole statement more embarrassing than it already was, which was saying something. “I do think it’s odd that she brought it up. I don’t know what gave her that idea.”

“Maybe you, saying that you think I’m attractive and have an appealing personality?” he asked, half wryly and half still processing. “I do believe that can give the impression that you’re interested.”

“Hm, I can see that, I guess,” Sabrina said, opening her eyes and turning to look at him. He kind of wished she’d go back to meditating. The conversation topic was weird enough as it was without the eye contact. “I don’t believe I have that kind of interest in you, however.”

“Well, that much was obv-”

“Then again, I don’t know if I’d realize if that were the case,” she continued, interrupting his reply and making him blink again. “I’ve been told my mind works very differently from normal people.”

“... Are you doing this on purpose?” Pierce couldn’t help but ask, because she was delivering her statements extra bluntly that day, he was pretty sure. Was something going on? At that last thought, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the woman. Was something going on?

“A little,” she admitted freely. “I also… Am not used to dealing with things I don’t understand, especially in regards to the mind. However, emotions are a bit outside my area of expertise, for the most part.”

“Hm, well, I very much doubt I’d be much help,” he commented, unsure of what to say or do. He felt like he should say or do something though. Now that he was looking more closely, Sabrina seemed off. Her expression was the same, but it seemed a little… stiff, same with her posture. He might have been imagining it, considering how “robotic” Sabrina always looked, but he didn’t think so.

“You want to and I appreciate that,” Sabrina told him with a nod that he interpreted as gratitude. “I’m not particularly worried, but it was something that stood out to me and I thought to comment on it. I’m told that’s the kind of thing friends do.”

Sometimes, Pierce felt like he was talking with an alien or an artificial intelligence when it came to Sabrina. Not in a bad sense, of course, but her mind really did work differently. It was difficult to keep up at times, but it was never boring, that was for sure.

“Was I wrong?”

“I… don’t think so?” was the hesitant answer he managed to get out. “We’re friends, of course, but different friends talk about different things. Like how Daisy and you talked about… that,” he continued, trying his best with what he had. His best wasn’t much, but it was what he could do.

“Hm, I can see the sense in that too. Different shared interests and such would make each friendship unique, indeed. It’s troublesome but also… fascinating,” Sabrina said and he wondered how much she’d actually understood. She sounded like she was talking about a pokemon study of some kind and not… friendship. “On that note, Daisy seemed kind of odd when we talked.”

“She did?” he asked. He was kind of getting tired of all the surprise comments Sabrina was throwing at him, quite honestly. On the other hand, maybe he should get used to it? “Odd how?”

“I’m not sure I could describe it accurately, but she definitely seemed different from the usual,” Sabrina commented, turning to look at him rather intently. “Do you have any idea what it might have been? Do you think she might be angry because I might be interested in you too?”

Pierce’s first instinct was to say no, of course not. After all, Daisy and him had agreed that neither were really looking for a relationship. Hell, most of their time together and their dates were more friendly than romantic. Granted, there were things that were decidedly outside of what most people would consider friend activities, but still.

Then again, he supposed it wouldn’t be shocking if that were the case.

Maybe Daisy had changed her mind, or maybe she was kind of dealing with confusing emotions. He knew a thing or two about that latter case, that was for sure. Hell, he might know a thing or two about the first too. Now that his head was in a better place and he was… healing, Pierce would admit that he wasn’t quite as wary about dating someone as he’d been at the time.

‘For now though…’

“I don’t know,” he replied, a regretful smile on his face as he addressed Sabrina. She was the friend in front of him at the moment, not Daisy. One step at a time. “I’ll make sure to check if things are alright next time I talk to her, alright?” he told the woman, already making plans for that.

Although, he probably should leave that conversation for later, so that they could have it face to face. Seemed like a more sensible approach than over the phone, at least to him. How he’d address the topic, he didn’t know, but if all else failed, he’d just pull a Sabrina and go for it bluntly.

If it was something that was affecting Daisy, then he needed to do something, of that there was no doubt.

[}-o-{]

“Well, this is annoying,” he commented, watching Narcissa battling the Nidorina that was right in front of them. They’d been at this for a while and the thing was very annoying. They didn’t have much to hit it with and the opponent seemed happy to retaliate with non-effective moves.

Didn’t help that his beedrill couldn’t really go up to close range to attack because of those annoying poisonous barbs. Pierce was trying to come up with something to do, honestly. There was Drill Run, of course, but they weren’t quite there with it. Narcissa had already attempted the move once and it hadn’t worked. Pierce was sure if they tried again, the only thing they’d get was more frustrated and more damaged.

“Move,” he said, even though Narcissa was already doing that. “Move,” he repeated, with emphasis this time and his beedrill started boosting her own speed as she zoomed around. It was becoming their staple and Pierce was kind of worried that it’d become a crutch for them. However, even when he tried to come up with stuff, sometimes they just didn’t have the right options.

Thus, he decided that maybe being predictable wasn’t so bad so long as it worked for them. They were working on opening up new possibilities, after all. It wasn’t like they weren’t. That was his comfort at the moment, but he really needed to get Narcissa a better arsenal. It was just that there was always some pokemon they came across that they didn’t have a good enough counter for.

The pokemon world was like that, he knew, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating.

“Let’s try it out, alright?!” he called, but he knew Narcissa would immediately agree even before she buzzed even louder and started going faster than before. Time for their signature move, with yet another custom version. “Mind Strike,” he called and he could see the person across from him look a little nervous, even afraid. Did he know what was coming?

He might.

He’d known who Pierce was, so he might have checked his battling videos too. That was a possibility that existed. It also wasn’t like the name of the “original” move was all that secretive. Alas… Pierce was confident that it’d work alright even if the opponent knew. It was just a matter of seeing if Narcissa could pull it off outside of training sessions.

So, Pierce watched as his beedrill zoomed around, diving towards the nidorina eventually. He watched as the speed moves covered her, eventually leaving place so that only Agility remained. The last stretch, when she was no longer flying and instead she was just… falling, with style. There was only the momentum of her previous movement and the Psychic energy of Agility coating her body as she turned herself into a bullet.

And sure enough, the move worked. ‘Man, the Strike series is an absolute success,’ he mused, wondering if he could make adapted versions for everyone else. Regulus and Andromeda likely could pull it off… but they weren’t quite as fast as Narcissa, so it’d be less powerful. Orion and Bellatrix were even slower, but he could think of a variation that might work… probably. Something to consider.

Cygnus didn’t even need the versatility, considering how his moveset was coming along.

“Blast,” he called once both pokemon got back on their feet – metaphorically, in Narcissa’s case –, because the fight was far from over. They’d delivered a solid hit though, and that put them firmly ahead of their opponent. Now, it was a matter of not losing the advantage they’d gained and keeping chipping away at the nidorina’s defense. “Move and blast, don’t stop,” he told Narcissa and she buzzed her agreement.

Meanwhile, their opponents were kind of… scrambling. It happened a lot, he noticed. If something unexpected happened, people panicked. Not that he didn’t get it, of course. There was something very deeply disturbing about seeing your chances slip between your fingers at an unexpected or unfortunate move from the person across from you. It rattled almost everyone, but it was kind of counterproductive.

Not that Pierce was one to talk, but that was something he tried not to indulge. He always did his best to try and keep his mind calm during battles. Maybe not before battles – in case of Gym challenges –, but certainly during them. His pokemon deserved that much, at the very least.

So, he focused, he put himself in his pokemon’s place, but watching the whole field. He tried to think like them, what was the most optimal move for them. Not the most optimal move, but the most optimal for them, specifically. What kind of move would Narcissa pull off the best in a given situation? Which tactic would have her happy and giving it her all? What call could he make that’d benefit them the best?

And at times, he could almost pull off that state of mind, and the results were always great.

“Strike, full on,” he called simply but he could have almost pictured Narcissa cackling – even though she couldn’t – while she charged. He knew that she was more than pleased with that command, that was for sure. There was never any doubt that a close combat option would please his beedrill. However, sometimes it was more tricky than that. Narcissa wasn’t stupid, after all, and even she could realize that there were times that called for some distance.

Ultimately though, if Pierce could find a good spot, she’d love nothing more than to get up close and personal with their opponent, much like then and there.

“Nidorina is unable to continue,” their referee called, someone from the guy’s traveling group.

Pierce grinned up at Narcissa as she approached and he felt like she would have returned him the same expression if she were able to.

“Good job,” was all he said and she gave a short buzz in response.

Of course.

[}-o-{]

Pierce was delaying and he knew it.

As Lily and him sat at their camping site for the night, he knew that he should have called Daisy already. It was just that it’d be incredibly awkward to do so… he was delaying. In all honesty, he’d been delaying for a while already. It was just that Sabrina had really brought the issue up in a way that he couldn’t quite ignore anymore. Friends with benefits relationships were a thing, sure, but while Pierce had never been in one before Daisy, he didn’t think theirs quite fit the bill.

So, there he was, spoiling Regulus with a brush and trying to buy himself time somehow.

Lily had noticed he was acting strangely, but he’d just waved her off before and now she limited herself to sending him looks every so often. Some of their pokemon had noticed that something was going on, but were either unsure of how to proceed or had decided to stay out of their matters. Cygnus, usually the first one to throw criticism at him, remained suspiciously silent too.

“This is something you should deal with by yourself, I believe,” the kadabra told him then, making him pause. He sounded very unlike himself, Pierce noticed. Cygnus tended to be a bit of a brat, but at that very moment, his voice carried nothing but a subdued seriousness that caught Pierce off guard. “This is important, Helper-Voice. Don’t pretend it’s not.”

Taking a deep breath in, he just continued pampering Regulus in silence, both on the outside and in his own mind.

He had a lot to think over and yet, he found his brain strangely calm. ‘Just my luck,’ he mused wryly, a bitter smile on his face. ‘When I want to clear my head, everything comes to mind. But when I try to think about something? Vacation time it is,’ he complained to himself.

Twisting on his lap, Regulus looked up at him and pawed at his chest as if trying to pat him. Then the pokemon meowed and gave him his most adorable look. It was cute, of course, but Pierce didn’t know why he was acting like that. He was already spoiling him, after all.

With a huff, he just kept going and… And he found himself relaxing, his tense shoulders dropping as he continued brushing the meowth’s fur. Not long after he was done, he pampered Andromeda and afterwards Bellatrix. With each pokemon, Pierce found himself more at ease and his mind started working properly once more.

“Properly is a bit of a stretch,” Cygnus said and that was the kadabra Pierce was used to. Ignoring his pokemon’s mentally rolled eyes, he started going over… everything. It wasn’t just his relationship with Daisy that he had to ponder, after all. It was Daisy herself, his new life, his old life, who he was, what he had, who he was going to be. Thoughts that he entertained on occasion but never really considered.

Because there was a reason why he’d gone for something casual with the Waterflower sister.

Pierce was still trying to find his place in the pokemon world after being so jarringly taken from his old one. He was still recovering from that, slowly healing and building a new life for himself. However, a romantic relationship felt so out of reach back then. Still did, he supposed, but just not… not quite as much, maybe, or maybe he thought that because it was what he guessed he should be thinking?

It's been a while since everything happened. Should he be fine by then? Should he not be? Was he fine? Was he not? He had so many questions and no answers whatsoever. Furthermore, he couldn’t even really ask someone else, could he? Who in the entire world would have answers to his questions?

The pokemon world had some wild things happen in it, but he didn’t think they were quite that wild.

So, Pierce just had to try and find answers for himself, he supposed. He wasn’t really getting anywhere though, but he soldiered on, like it was one of his meditation sessions. Putting aside what he should be feeling, which was more unclear than probably anything else about his situation, he focused on what he did feel.

And what he felt was… tired. He was tired of the shadow of his past looming behind him. He was tired of being upset every time he thought about his old world. He was tired of being miserable whenever he took a moment to just… reminisce.

He was tired of being sad.

“What should I do, girl?” he asked, his fingers softly caressing Narcissa’s head as they sat together. She was the last one and the one that had stuck around afterwards. Everyone else was doing their thing, leaving him to himself, which he appreciated. Turning towards the beedrill, who clicked her mandibles at him, he smiled wearily. “Yeah, you would-”

Their conversation was interrupted by his pokegear ringing and he almost flinched at the sound. There were very few people that called him, so the chances of it being Daisy were high. When he reached for the device though, he wished it’d been her. He’d take awkward over what this was most definitely going to be about.

“Pierce Lawson?”

“That’s me,” he replied to the unfamiliar voice, his lips pursed.

“I’m reaching you on behalf of the League,” the man on the other side of the line told him, just like the last time, back in Route 4. “There’s been an incident and you’re been requested to be in Vermillion.”

“Someone’s going to be teleporting me, I’m guessing,” he said, turning towards Lily who, just with that, figured out what was happening. He grimaced a little at the concerned expression that overcame her, but he focused on his conversation. If he was being called, then someone needed help. Pokemon needed help.

“Indeed. Please, be ready as fast as you can. Someone will pick you up soon.”

And that was that.

‘Well,’ he thought grimly as he looked at the pokegear in his hand. ‘Got my wish for more time, I guess. Stupid monkey paw bullshit.’

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Well, this chapter was awkward to write almost in its entirety. Relationships and emotions – despite being what I write the most about – can be some of the most challenging things to tackle, I’ve found. Sometimes, they are a mess and it’s quite difficult to address that mess. Other times… Well, my socially awkward side shines through and I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.

Doesn’t help that Pierce is probably my most well adjusted character at the moment – which is saying a lot – and that means I can’t quite put myself in his place.

So, yeah, this is a challenge, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter all the same.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: There're some readers that aren’t fans of the Daisy thing and there're some that despise it, for some reason I can’t fathom. Are there any people out there that like it?

See you.