Tying Up Loose Ends - Part A2
"You really run something as big as that…Join Avenue?"
"Yeah, it's not easy. I was really shocked when that businessman asked me to run it for him. I know nothing about finances or running a business, but the assistants he hired for me are good people and help me out a lot. I go to Nimbasa City often to visit it, make sure everything is running well y'know?"
"I'd like to see it sometime then."
"Great! We can go to Nimbasa after your first tournament or whenever you're free! It has a lot of theme parks and the Gym! You have to meet Elesa. She's so beautiful, and a great Leader!"
He smiled. "Sounds like a date! Oh, but, not like…a date for two people dating 'cause y'know…that's not what it is. It's a friend-date. Those exist."
"Oh, y-yeah of course!"
That had them both mute for a few minutes as they finished off their ice cream, avoiding eye contact, hoping the blushes would go away sooner than later.
"So…you wanna walk around a bit? I just wanna see the city. It looks a lot nicer than what I had seen on the internet."
"One of my friends that I made on my journey, Kandy, she said Driftveil looked almost completely different when she first started her journey. It just got remodeled two years after she left to travel the other regions. That's why there're so many hotels here, because of the Pokemon World Tournament and general attractions. A lot of business is done here in Driftveil too. It's a very prosperous city in Unova."
"Well I hope you'll come watch my matches against the other Champions. Not that they'll last long because I have full confidence in my abilities to have a quick victory."
She shook her head at his smug grin, giving a smile. "Same ol' Gary."
They began walking around the city, Tori explaining anything that caught Gary's interest. A few hours later, they made it back to the stadium.
"Oh! I just remembered! I actually wanted to cash in my Battle Points."
"What are the prizes?"
"I have quite a few points saved up…so I think I'll get evolutionary stones and a few technical machines."
"Alright, well I'll wait here. I wanna see if there's any competition I can smell, 'cause right now everybody has the scent of small fry."
"That arrogance still hasn't gone away has it?"
"It's my most charming quality ~"
She shook her head and gave a chuckle, walking off to the reward desk. Gary leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets. He still hadn't seen anybody particularly strong, not even a Gym Leader. He guessed they were all trying to get away from the fanfare. Popular people can only take so much attention before they get sick of it, just like he did.
"Gary?"
Oh no…
"Gary! It's you!"
Damn. I thought if I came to Unova I would escape most of the fans. "Uh…do I know you?"
"I sure hope so! It's me, Lilith! The coordinator? Remember, we met in Hoenn!"
"Oh…wait…yeah. How could I forget your voluminous pink hair?"
She giggled. "Thanks. How are you doing?"
"Good. What are you doing here?"
"I came to try my hand at the Pokemon Musical since they don't have contests in Unova. It's pretty fun! My Pokemon love it." She gasped. "You're here for the tournament aren't you?!"
"Yeah the Champion's tournament."
"So you're going to be facing Lance, Steven, Wallace, Cynthia, Iris, and Alder! Even your childhood friend, Red!"
"Yeah those guys."
"Oh I'm so excited for you! I'm here for support all the way through!" She hugged his arm affectionately. He was a bit surprised at her sudden reaction.
Smiling, he said, "Well thanks. I appreciate my fans' support. It's how I get through all my battles."
"Aww, well I'm one of your biggest fans, so don't you worry!"
Tori began walking back toward Gary, putting away her prizes. "This is great. Now I can teach some of my Pokemon new moves!" She noticed a strange girl speaking with Gary, smiles on both their faces. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. When she kissed him on the cheek he blushed a bit, and a fiery pit began to boil in Tori's stomach. She scowled as she walked back to him nonchalantly.
"So I traded in my battle points."
"Tori! You scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Sorry."
"Oh, so you're Tori! Gary has told me a lot about you these past few years."
"Few years?"
"We've been keeping in touch since he met me in Hoenn."
"…funny, he's never mentioned you."
"That's 'cause we haven't spoken in a while Tori and-"
"My name is Lilith. A pleasure to meet you!"
Tori eyed her arms around his left one, trying to keep a poker face. "It's nice to meet you too. So what Trainer class are you?"
"Oh no I'm not a Trainer. I'm a Coordinator!"
"Oh, so you're one of those."
"I'm sorry?"
"Yeah, those people who like to doll up their Pokemon for pageants."
"That's…one way to put it but-"
"Tori there's nothing wrong with Pokemon Contests." Gary looked at her a bit sternly.
"Well exploiting a Pokemon's looks for popularity and putting on a big show certainly is something, not to mention the lack of Bug or Ghost types, or even Rock types, or any species that isn't cool, beautiful, or cute! That makes the chunkier and scarier looking ones feeling like they're not good enough to have a Trainer, and even borderlines on discriminatory. Pokemon have feelings too and they can have self-esteem issues just like people."
Both were speechless.
"Tori what's your problem?"
"Y'know what Gary, there's an electronics shop somewhere that sells Xtransceivers. I'm sure Lilith can find it. If you wanna talk to me sometime, call Red. Here's his number." She gave him a slip of paper.
"What would I wanna call Red for if it's supposed to be you I'm speaking with?"
"He has my number. I need to go run a few errands so I'll catch you later. Nice meeting you Lilith."
"Nice meeting you too-" But Tori had already walked away. "She seems like she was in a hurry."
"Well Tori is always training. She never relaxes. When she's not sleeping, she's thinking up ways to defeat her opponents and bring out her Pokemon's strengths in unexpected ways." But still…that's not how she acts when she's in a rush to train…
---
It was getting closer to nightfall and Tori decided to buy some groceries at the Driftveil marketplace since there was produce from all seasons being sold. She had Mimi her Lopunny walking with her.
"Lopun?"
"No, I'm fine. No need to worry about me," she replied as she checked some of the vegetables in the wooden crate.
"Lop…"
"Really, I'm fine."
The rabbit didn't think so. She frowned a bit, a look of concern on her face as she held large grocery bags. Her Trainer still had a scowl on as she browsed through ingredients. Mimi wondered how she was able to still stay so polite to the clerks when she was in such a bad mood.
"Tori?"
I really don't want to talk with other people right now. She turned around sharply. "Look, I'm not-Red!"
"Hey Tori!"
Mimi noticed the ugly black cloud lifted as soon as she saw her other childhood friend. "Man I am so happy to see you!"
"Same here! Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Oh, no! I'm just buying groceries to cook some dinner for my Pokemon." She laughed. "That look on your face, you didn't know I could cook, did you?"
"Well not that I ever doubted you could! It's just when we left home those years ago, you didn't know how to make anything but a sandwich."
"A journey across five regions changes a person y'know! Besides, I'm on my own a lot, and I don't always fancy giving my Pokemon store-bought food. They deserve better than that. Do you want to join us for dinner?"
"Really? You don't mind?"
"No not at all!"
"Alright, well, where are you cooking? The Pokemon Center?"
"Oh, no. Uhm, you see in Driftveil, I have a modest suite in one of the new buildings."
"If it's a suite it can't be modest," he laughed. "I'm guessing your prize money added up?"
"And then some. I'll explain on the way."
Red assisted Tori and Mimi with the bags. There were plenty to carry back to the suite building. The elevator ride was pleasant, Mimi humming to the soft music playing inside, bouncing a bit on her feet.
"Alright, here we are…" Tori said as she fished through her bag trying to find the card key.
"Here, lemme get those bags for you. You seem to be struggling." He chuckled.
"Thanks. Ah yes, here it is." She swiped it in the device next to the door and it opened. "Okay, just set them down on the counter there."
"Nice place! The view is great too. You can see the ocean and the marketplace. Oh, there's the World stadium!"
"Yeah, it's what I've been using while I enter competitions."
"This is a very big room for one person."
"Oh, well I let my Pokemon rest here. The structure of this building is very sturdy and can hold even the heaviest of heavies, like Snorlax!"
"Woah."
"Clay has done a good job with remodeling the city. Well, that's a Gym Leader for you!" She and Mimi began to take out the groceries. "Why don't you let your Pokemon lounge around meanwhile?"
"Oh, well, okay." Red took out his Pokeballs and tossed them. "Alright guys, take a break!"
"You too!" Tori tossed her Pokeballs to let her own partners rest.
"Wow Red, you have a nice team!" Tori looked at them all. Red's Venasaur sure had grown big. The rest of his team consisted of Ampharos, Grumpig, Lucario, Vaporeon, and Haxorus.
"Yours is pretty impressive too!" Red smiled at Tori's Pokemon. They all looked healthy and happy. Aside from Lopunny, on hand she had Milotic, Galvantula, Chandelure, Leafeon, and Braviary.
"Thanks. I rotate all my Pokemon so everybody is on a schedule to train and travel with me! I don't want any of them to feel neglected." She looked at the Pokemon. "Hey guys, why don't you just rest for the remainder of the night while I cook dinner? Get to know each other and make friends!"
"You need help with dinner?" Red asked as their Pokemon began to mingle.
"Oh, sure!"
"So what are we making?"
"Mm…a little bit of everything I guess. Salad, fish, fruit salad, chicken…things the Pokemon can eat, though mine will eat practically anything." She chuckled.
"Ha ha, yeah, same here."
The two began to make dinner, listening to their Pokemon speak to one another in the background. They seemed to be getting along well.
"So Red, tell me about your Pokemon!"
"Oh! Well, I never leave Venasaur behind. I take him with me everywhere no matter what. He sometimes misses you and Charla."
"Aww."
"Ampharos is a hard worker, and probably the strongest Electric Pokemon I've ever had, even if she's not the fastest. Grumpig is very reliable. Lucario is too. He likes to travel outside his ball most of the time, especially when we go into shady towns or routes. Vaporeon is the most affectionate by far, and she's strong! She trusted me to stand on her back for surfing."
"Woah! Really? She's kinda small to have a human travel on her!"
"I know! But she was fine with it. I get worried about her though so I don't always use her to cross bodies of water. I find other ways. As for Haxorus, she's pretty gentle but vicious in battle. She's my only Dragon type Pokemon to tell the truth. What about yours? They seem close."
"My Lopunny is named Mimi and she's very energetic. Most Pokemon and Trainers don't take her seriously because she's cute and feminine looking, but that's how we always win battles hee hee. Phoebe is my Milotic and though she's gentle, she also gets rough in battles. She's never lost once. Probably one of the strongest Water types I have. The Galvantula is named Circuit. He's timid and shies away from female humans because he's heard them scream in fright far too often when they see him… It's…well, it sorta makes him feel unwanted I guess, but I think he's a very cute spider.
Mystique my Chandelure was a bit naughty as a Litwick, but she matured quickly. She has absolutely no openings. I made sure to cover all her weak points, especially since she's a dual type. Leafeon's nickname is Folimoss, and she's a bit daring. She likes to walk with me a lot and absorb the sunshine or the rain. She absolutely hates the cold though, so I don't take her with me on cold or snowy routes. And as for Braviary, his name is Washington. The rest of my bird Pokemon are fond of him. The bravest companion I've ever seen. He gets along especially well with Ciel my Togekiss. I think he has a crush on her." She giggled.
"Aww man, they sound great!"
"Thanks! I love them all, and they're great friends."
"So have you seen Gary? He said he was gonna be here today."
"Oh yeah, I did. We hung out in the afternoon."
"I bet he was happy."
She shrugged and continued chopping carrots and mushrooms. Red looked at her curiously.
"Are you going to watch his match in the Champion tournament?"
"Dunno. I wanted to get more training done around Unova and I have to manage some things here and there."
"Ah…o…okay. So what did you two do?"
"He saw my last match against Gym Leader Chili of Striaton City. Then we went to a restaurant and ate…and then got ice cream for dessert…headed back to the stadium because I wanted to cash in some battle points. And then a friend of his came to talk to him or whatever so I left 'cause I needed to make dinner for my Pokemon."
"His friend? Gary isn't exactly the type to have many friends. Seriously, I think we're his only friends," Red joked.
"Well do you know somebody named Lilith?"
"Lilith? No, I don't think so. What does she look-"
"A bimbo with big pink hair that's wavy and is very long with like sea green eyes or something. She was all over him. Even kissed him on the cheek for whatever reason. Hmph. How desperate can a person be?" She cut faster.
"Got pink lipstick and a tight skirt hugging her ass and thighs with a cute blouse perfectly emphasizing her stupid perky real boobs-" Her voice was rising.
"-and she has a stupid face with a pleasant smile-" Her actions were getting a lot more violent. She was cutting produce at a dangerous rate. The Pokemon silenced themselves and watched in concern. Red watched in slight fear.
"-and she's a coordinator of course and acts like the sweetest girl ever but for all I know she can just be the biggest bitch in the whole WORLD!"
"Tori-"
"What?!"
"…well…I don't know how to tell you this…but you sliced the wooden cutting board in half with that knife."
"O-Oh…oh no…"
"Uhm…well we have more than enough vegetables for the meal so…let's just let everything finish cooking now and sit down with our Pokemon, okay?" He put his hands on her shoulders, attempting to calm her down.
"Yeah…that's a good idea. Let's just…sit with our Pokemon."
For the remainder of the evening, Tori and Red shared stories of their adventures as they ate with their Pokemon. They were so engrossed in the tales that time passed by quickly, the clock striking eleven.
"Oh man, we've been talking for hours! I think we should sleep Red."
"Yeah, my Pokemon are getting kinda drowsy too. I think I'll go to the Pokemon Center then-"
"Oh why? You can stay here."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. You can use the bed."
"I really don't want to impose. This is your place after all. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
"I'll be fine. I've done it before."
"Well, okay I guess..."
[ Part A3]