Pokemon - Solo's Strange Journey

Well... Things are technically a little better in Canalave City.

"Holy shit, this is bad." Dawn comments out as we pass through the third refugee camp on the outskirts of Canalave City.

Technically.

They live in temporary houses out of sheet metal. 

Some barrels are standing around as a heat source. 

Communal bathrooms.

It smells like shit and burning rubber.

Not a single pokemon is in sight.

And a group of men, older than us, looks at us greedily. 

With 2 pokemon eggs, we are a very, VERY valuable target.

The people who don't look at us in greed, stare at us in fear...

"Stay close together. Let's not get robbed or anything."

Desperate people with nothing to lose are the most dangerous. And from the looks of it, these people are pretty hungry too.

With the countryside of route 218 in shambles and the trade route interrupted, food must have become harder to come by.

I wouldn't put it past them to attack us despite our pokemon escort.

Anyway, traveling the final distance to Canalave City wasn't all too difficult. 

There were a lot of pokemon in the final stretch. None were as strong as the Stantler from the Bewilder Forest but a few had the confidence as if they were that strong.

They tried to attack us but were always defeated in fair 1v1 fights. And with Buneary there to guide us, we managed to avoid hordes of pokemon easily enough.

We also spent yesterday evening training up Marley as much as we could: Teaching her all the stuff we knew from trainer school, like how to feed your pokemon, what type advantages and disadvantages there are, et cetera.

It's really weird to talk with someone who doesn't just know all of the basics. 

Like, come on. I thought every child learns about that stuff because everyone secretly wants to become a pokemon trainer.

In the end, most of our time was actually spent teaching her and we didn't get to talk too much about personal information. She's still basically a stranger but she's nice enough that she doesn't have any issues fitting into the group.

Akari and her have bonded quite a lot over the short time.

"We should be helping them." Dawn says.

"Them?" I was lost in thought.

"Yes. The homeless refugees. Who else?"

"Sorry, I was away. ... And... well, I kinda agree, but... let's first make sure we have everything sorted out. We should head to the pokemon center to give our pokemon a checkup too. They should be our priority for now."

"I am not quite sure if we can simply walk to the pokemon center." Akari points with her finger ahead of us. "Do you think they will let us into the city?"

There is what appears to be a fence, made out of garbage and metal scraps, surrounding the city as far as we could see.

With trainers as guards stationed at the entrance.

They have a Murkrow, Stunky, Croagunk and both a Zubat and a Golbat with them.

They are eying us carefully and their pokemon look at us threateningly, causing Buneary to tense up on my shoulder.

I don't like this... Not a single Officer Jenny in sight and the guards don't wear a uniform either.

"Hey you! State your business before you get any closer. Are you refugees?"

The youngest of the guards shouts out. Although he is still a few years older than us. Probably around 19 years old.

Marley shuffles around nervously.

"We're trainers. And we want to enter the city to get to the pokemon center." I try to stay calm, but I really don't like this situation. 

And I don't like their smiles either, when they heard we aren't refugees.

I don't think these guys look very professional.

The only reason why I can stay calm at all is because if it did come to a fight, we would outnumber them.

Unless... would they carry more hidden pokemon? 

No way, I bet they rely on intimidation.

"If you want through, you need to pay up, mate." The guy says and points at the egg I'm carrying.

... No way.

Did he actually just say that?

"Say that again?"

"The egg seems to cover entry fees. Hand it over." He says with a scowl.

... Deep breaths.

I can't. My breathing hitches up-- I feel my eyelid twitch.

"Buneary..." I say loudly through gritted teeth, loud enough that the guy must be able to hear it. "If it comes to a fight, focus on him. Rip out his throat. It's self defense."

"Hey you!" I turn to the guy who really wants to die. "I'm not a fucking idiot. I know my rights! You want to fuck with me, I will fuck you back!"

It's actually self defense. Robbery counts. I checked after Team Rocket had attacked us.

And this is literally highway robbery. I don't care who they claim to be. If they are guards or whatever.

Nobody is taking this egg from me!

The younger people of that group seem to take my threat as a challenge and get ready for a fight. 

But the oldest of the group, a boomer with the Golbat on his shoulder, tries to rein them back in. "Hey, hey, let's not get hasty here. Just show us your trainer ID and we will let you through."

... That guy knows what he's doing. Without the license, we actually lose a lot of legal rights.

I pull out my pokedex and pull up the app that shows my trainer information and hand Lucario's egg over to Dawn. I trust her completely.

Even with Lucario's egg out of danger, I'm still on very high alert as I approach the group. 

I feel Buneary's tense legs on my shoulder and Salandit's claws dig into my skin as she... uses me as a meat shield. 

But from the heat I feel on my back, I can tell that she is at least preparing some kind of fire type move.

Akari does some quick thinking and prevents Dawn and Marley from following me; That way they won't need to prove their identity. Since Marley doesn't have a trainer ID, she would probably be forced to stay out of the city like the rest of the normal citizens.

If they want to see the girl's IDs, I can just escalate the situation. The old guy knows that they don't stand a chance against some real trainers.

"That looks alright." The younger one grits out but his eyes remain greedily on mine and Akari's eggs...

On one hand, I don't want to get in trouble, but on the other hand, I kind of want a reason to fight this dude. 

He's a criminal.

"Alright. Your group can pass." The boomer says. "Hurry up, you're blocking the line."

... There is no line, but after I take back Lucario's egg, we quickly move past them anyway. 

Through the entrance of the fence and into the inner city. Here too, the buildings are covered in steel.

Not sheet metal, but it looks as if the people used steel plates instead of brick walls for their homes, for some reason.

A sign on the side of the road has "Welcome to Canalave City" written on it with a harbor skyline as a background image of the sign.

Ha! And what a fucking welcome it is.

It's unbelievable. Fucking criminals have taken control over the city.

What the hell is the League doing?! Unbelievable!

"Hey, Swole... uhm..." Marley speaks up once we walked a little deeper into the city.

It's looking a lot better in here but still not good. 

Homeless people can still be seen on occasion on the sides of the road and city maintenance doesn't seem too high on the priority list right now. 

The tsunami or flood or whatever hasn't reached the city but everything is still covered in trash.

"Yeah? What's up Marley?"

"Thank you ... for smuggling me into the city. I-- I think I would have been in some big trouble out there ... without you. Thanks." She fidgets a lot while talking.

"You don't need to worry so much. I'm honestly just glad that we could help you. The world is a pretty cruel place right now and making it just a little better feels nice."

Especially after what happened to Lucario.

"Let's go and find the pokemon center. They might still help us with finding a hotel."

---

The pokemon center was easy to find.

City planners made sure that the pokemon center can always be found somewhere between the city-center and the main routes leading in or out of the city.

The walk toward it made it clear that this city houses a steel gym. Everything looks almost steam-punk. Just gray metal instead of bronze.

Pipes and electrical wires are above ground; For esthetic reasons, I believe. And they have a few emergency generators running within the city right now.

They release steam and surprisingly well filtered smoke into the air, as well as a lot of noise.

The outside of the pokemon center doesn't fit the theme.

It looks exactly like any other pokemon center. Almost-neon orange mixed with sterile white walls.

The inside of it... is rather tense. There are a bunch of people sitting at tables with all sorts of pokemon with them, drinking alcohol and talking with each other.

Beside some of the more common pokemon like Raticate or Luxio, there is just one guy with a really interesting pokemon: Doublade. The ghost and steel pokemon who looks like a pair of swords. And his trainer got his pokemon strapped to his back.

Very cool.

A few of the people inside turn their heads to look at us the moment we enter but most dismiss us as just a new group of trainers coming in. 

... It would have been kinda funny if they all stopped their conversation to glare at us simultaneously. 

Like in some kind of isekai anime.

But alas, it wasn't meant to be. 

Still, it looks like a fucking tavern in here. And is that a fucking quest-board next to Nurse Joy!?

It fucking is!

Among others, the most interesting postings seem to be:

'I want YOU for Team Galactic' - with an image of Cyrus, their famous head of department, looking intimidatingly at the viewer with a subtitle that explains the immediate goals of conquering and resettling the abandoned route 218 and exploring the wilderness.

... And I think the recruitment poster is having the desired effect. If I wasn't more interested in the gym challenge, I would probably join them.

'Help needed: Soup Kitchen is looking for volunteers and donors' - At least someone seems to try to do something to help the people.

Another ""quest"" asks trainers to hunt and kill for food whatever they can find, including pokemon in the wilderness. Which is absolutely insane. Bonkers even.

Apparently, some laws to protect wild pokemon have temporarily been removed until the food situation has been solved.

Anyway, we're not here to look for jobs.

I get up to the counter. "Hello Nurse Joy, how are you?"

She looks like any other Nurse Joy, except she has some signs of sleep deprivation. Dark bags are clearly visible beneath her eyes.

"Hello to you too. I'm doing as well as the circumstances allow." She answers without her usual cheer. "I haven't seen you four around before. Are you also new trainers?"

"Well, yes. But no, we have been trainers for a little over a month." I show my pokedex and trainer ID to verify that. "We traveled here from Jubilife City and need to give our pokemon a checkup."

"Oh? You... How did you get here? Did you take a different route? - Chansey, would you be a dear and prepare the room for a regular physical examination?" The last part is directed at the assistant pokemon next to her.

Chansey walks off into the second room to our left. The first is the surgery room for emergencies.

"No, we took route 218-- Actually, are any emergency services still working in Canalave City? The ferry that traveled from Jubilife City is... stuck inside a cave. And they need... recovery."

"I'm sorry, but all emergency services are currently overloaded. We cannot afford to send anyone out for rescue missions."

Fuck. 

Shit. 

Well, if they can be recovered, it's probably not time-critical.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about the ferry? Once the situation has stabilized, maybe we can help again."

"Yes, I have noted down the coordinates of the cave entrance." I show her my phone screen with the map app open and the pin I left over the cave entrance.

She takes the phone for a second and writes the info down on her notepad.

"Oh! And the people and the ship are fused inside the rock. Maybe Team Galactic can help them?"

Her brow rises up a lot and she stops taking down her notes but after a few seconds of consideration, she just shakes her head and continues with the notes.

"Alright. I got it written down. I will see what I can do for them. Thank you very much for reporting this. Now, if one of you will follow me into the examination room?"

I offer for one of the girls to go first and Akari decides to take up the offer.

After Nurse Joy and Akari leave, Dawn sits down in the waiting area and I move over to the kiosk.

Marley follows me like a Ducklett. "You alright?"

"Me? Oh, yeah. Don't mind me... I-I just don't know what else to do."

"Snort Haha, sure, you can follow me around, if you want to."

"... Thanks."

Anyway, I refocus on the items sold at the kiosk. The clerk is a guy this time so I ignore him while I check out the products.

Prices are up for the essentials. Like potions, revives, antidotes and similar are up by up to 100%. Same with regular pokeballs and Heal Balls. 

But special pokeballs are down... I'm guessing it's because people can't afford expensive special balls right now and money is more important than wares at the moment.

I check the balance on my bank account to calculate what I can afford and see that I got my monthly wage already. 

Which means I can safely restock and upscale everything for 3 pokemon.

Everything except revives. They are outside of a reasonable price range, despite their usefulness. If I stocked up on revives, I might not afford food in a worst case scenario without accessing my savings.

Speaking of reasonable price range... The Love Ball is down by 50%. And I have the feeling that Riolu is going to like it. 

It's just a hunch though. Worst case, I use the ball for someone else.

I pay for all the stuff and put it all in my bag-- "Hey."

Mew, fuck me sideways! ... As I pick the Love Ball up from the ground, I shoot Dawn a glare for sneaking up at me.

"How come you always buy the expensive pokeballs?"

"How come you buy expensive jewelry?"

"Youuu like how pretty they look?"

... "Close enough. I like to think that my pokemon like them. Right?" I feel Buneary and Salandit nodding their heads on my shoulders.

And with a little bit of imagination I can see Buneary looking smug as she looks down on the other pokemon with the basic pokeballs.

Dawn taps her chin in thought before she sports a devilish grin. "Ohhh, I get it now. It's like buying your girlfriend jewelry." 

... "No. Shut up." Is it? It's not... right?

Marley chuckles.

No, right. It's not weird. "I'm just doing my pokemon a favor. There is nothing weird about it."

"Sure, sure, Mr. Pokemon Casanova. Anyway, I actually came to bother you with a purpose. Here, I got us the news."

The headline features a very striking image of the current situation: 

Within the same shot is the hastily made fence surrounding Canalave City, a building on the side of the slums that has caught fire due to a pokemon's missed attack and a store on the city-side that is currently being robbed by the gang of ""guards"" we saw earlier.

---

Anarchy and Lawlessness on the rise in Canalave City!

A week after the Space Time Convergence has hit two of our major cities, the situation has become untenable in Canalave City.

While rebuilding efforts in Jubilife City have already begun, the same cannot be said about the city on the other side of route 218.

The infrastructure is in shambles: The city has still not managed to repair their cell phone tower, leaving most of the population proverbially in the dark. And the electric grid has been cut off for the refugees camped outside the city, leaving them literally in the dark as well.

Fresh drinking water and food are running out and a few people within the city are voicing their opinion openly to let the refugees starve because they need the food themselves.

With route 218 currently disabled and taken over by wild pokemon and the sea route deemed too dangerous for the moment, almost nothing can enter or leave the city.

And a few dangerous elements have taken advantage of the situation. Gangs have formed within the refugee camps and they are stealing, robbing and exploiting people as they please. 

The local law enforcement is unable to keep up and have given over control of the refugee camps to these criminals.

In summary, things are very bad for the citizens of Canalave and the countryside of route 218.

However, the Platinum family has reached out to us with information concerning the plans to recover the city. Princess Platinum has this to say on the matter:

"We are aware of how bad the situation has become in Canalave City. However, we currently have a severe demand for 'problem solvers' but not enough of them available.

We are working in tandem with Byron to train up new trainers and law enforcement as quickly as we can and we have also sent Cynthia on her way to take care of the worst of the troublemakers.

In addition to that, Kanto has graciously offered to send their cross continental M.S. Anne to support us in re-distributing the destitute peasantry of route 218.

We estimate that the current unrest can be put down within the next week. Afterwards we will focus on reestablishing a safe trade route and our current predictions have that solved within a month."

After further questioning Princess Platinum on the royal family's stance on the criminals currently in charge of the city, she had this to say:

"Let me make one thing clear, Sinnoh has never, and will never allow criminals to go unpunished.

These people are in contempt of the crown's law. These people are acting against the peasantry. They are spitting in your faces. 

But we already know who they are.

They were caught on camera doing their crimes. The question now is only what their punishment will be.

And if you continue flaunting the crown's laws by the time Cynthia has arrived to take you in, then execution will be an option. Do not continue to violate the law.

And one more topic, concerning the refuge peasantry. You had a responsibility to occupy the land and prevent the wild pokemon from taking it over. You abandoned your responsibility.

By abandoning your region and your fellow people to fend for themselves, you have given up all rights to the lands you once owned.

By the time this newspaper is printed, route 218 will be legally free land. Anyone can stake their claims as long as they can control it."

---

Holy fuck.

It's going to turn into a fucking land-grab out there!-- Snort.

"What?"

"Haha."

"Whaaat?"

"They printed out a picture of the princess with the article."

"Oh fuck off."

It's basically a picture of Dawn in a princess costume and she looks angry. It's just so funny.

"..." Marley looks like she wants to say something too. "..."

"What?"

"... Dawn, why do so many people look like you? ... I don't want to offend but Akari also... looks like you... just a little."

"I dunno. I guess I have strong genes."

More like Akari has them. Or her mother. 

Speaking of Akari, she just came back out of the examination room and swaps places with Dawn.

Quilava is doing very well but Zorua suffers from atrophy and needs a new workout routine to get into top shape again.

I spend some more time checking out the news and try to learn as much as I can about this 'Space Time Convergence'.

Which isn't a lot. 

Most of the news just talks about the many victims of the event and how islands moved. It's a little unfair that Sinnoh was the only region where the mainland was hit so severely.

Hoenn is second place in deaths due to tsunamis.

Sinnoh now has the largest salt-water lake in the world.

Last but not least, I check out the Bizarre Adventure section. There are always some gems hidden in it and once again, I find one.

---

Mystery Earthquakes solved!

Guest author Stephen Hawlucha - Theoretical physicist at Devon Corp.

My colleagues and I at Devon Corp have managed to find out the most likely reason for the mysterious earthquakes that have started to plague the world.

Readers of this news section might remember that currently, barely detectable earthquakes are occurring across the globe, at the same time and for seemingly no reason.

One of the first ideas was gravitational waves. But the theory was dismissed after recalibrating the measuring devices and once again verifying that the earthquakes happen simultaneously.

A few years ago, gravitational waves from two collapsing black holes had already been measured and it had been confirmed that gravity can only travel at the speed of light. 

Thereby solidifying the hypothesis that no information in the universe can travel faster than light.

If the source of the quakes was within the universe, it would need to be limited to light-speed and we have the means to measure that.

Since the quakes happen simultaneously, it means that the source of the quaking must actually be everywhere at once.

We believe that something is impacting our universe from the outside.

...

---

Never mind. It's just reader-bait. 'Solved', my ass. This basically didn't say anything except that it's more complicated that a normal earthquake.

---

Where did the time go?

Reports from the computer science and physicist communities have come in about a global phenomenon concerning almost all clocks.

A computer scientist from Johto has noticed an unusual behavior on the global network traffic, regarding computers that used the Network Time Protocol to synchronize the current time.

Stratum 1 servers, which have a close coupling to connected atomic clocks, have consistently been ahead of their peer-servers during sanity-checks.

Feeling that something weird was going on, he checked his own devices and notified the wider community.

Then, it was found out that watches, household clocks, gravity clocks; All sorts of clocks have lost a second of time compared to the atomic clocks of the world.

It is currently unknown what the cause is and scientists are struggling to find answers.

...

---

"I didn't get that at all. What are they even trying to tell us?" Dawn, who has finished her checkup, lets her voice out over my shoulder.

---

After a bit more time had passed, it was finally my turn for the checkup.

I get into the examination room with Buneary and Salandit on my shoulders and Future-Riolu sitting snugly in her sling.

The equipment of the room is impressive.

It's like the stuff that professor Hedera had in pokemon school for our own pokemon examinations, except there are multiple sets of everything and there's even some more specialized stuff.

Scales for small and large pokemon, a blood analyzer... a hammer and chisel?

"Hello again." Nurse Joy greets me while she cleans some of the equipment from Marley's session. "How about you start by telling me a bit about your pokemon."

"Uhm, well, both of my pokemon are from the wilderness. I've had Buneary for almost 2 months now and I have her previous checkup results in my notebook... And she might be a bit difficult to deal with."

Buneary kicks my shoulder. "It would probably be best if I did her checkup myself. I just don't have the equipment for it. Salandit on the other hand, should be easier to deal with. She's very friendly. I caught her around 10 days ago."

Buneary kicks my shoulder again. She doesn't like being compared to Salandit.

"Oh, that's not an issue. I get those kinds of pokemon sometimes. And your friends have already told me that you are from the trainer school; So I know you are able to do your own checkup. Just feel free to ask if you need any help with the blood analyzer."

"Alright. I will." I pick up Salandit from my shoulder to hand her over but suddenly she starts squirming at the last second. 

"Salandit? What's wrong?"

"Sala. Salandit."

"... You don't want the nice Nurse Joy to do your examination?" 

She glares at Buneary for some reason before looking back at me. "Sala!"

"Haha." Nurse Joy's mirthful laughter fills the air. "I don't mind if I can take a break. You can take care of both of your pokemon." 

Without even waiting for a response, she sits down on a chair, leans back, puts her feet on her desk and pulls out her phone.

... Huh. 

Never thought I would see a Nurse Joy act like that. 

Damn. This kinda ruined the image I had for her... Or rather them.

"Let's start with you, Buneary. That way I can make sure I don't forget anything when I compare it with your old values."

I pull out my notebook, copy down the forms I used on a new page and place Buneary on the scale meant for smaller pokemon.

... Holy shit, 12.2kg! I double check that the scale is properly 0-ed in. But the value is correct. She gained 30% more weight.

I am immediately worried. I pet her almost daily now but I haven't noticed her gaining any weight at all.

She starts growling a bit when my hand digs through the fur at her tummy without any warning. "Sorry."

She turns her face away with a "Humpf."

But she hasn't gained any fat. She is still incredibly fit and I can easily feel her hard muscles directly under her fur.

Next, I checked her height and it turns out she grew a little bit taller. From 50cm to 54cm. She's 35% taller than the average now. 

She might just be the tallest Buneary in the world already.

I note down the increase in weight, height and a reminder to adjust her diet plan accordingly.

Her fur is a bit dirty and grimy from travel so I postpone my final judgment on the quality of her fur until later. Until after we finally took a much needed shower. 

But the general feel of her fur seems very healthy.

No knots, no debris, just a few spots where the fur isn't as thick as it should be due to old scar tissue.

She also lets me take a sample of her blood like a champ. Didn't flinch or anything. 

Nurse Joy took it and started the analyzer for me before going back to scrolling on her phone.

Her blood pressure and heart rate are also closer to the average this time. Although that had only lasted until Salandit made a comment that probably pissed her off.

While enraged, her values are closer to the ones on my notes once again.

"Good job, Buneary. Looks like you are as healthy as you can be. Maybe even healthier. You're definitely top percent. A perfect pokemon."

Buneary beams in pride and seems to tease Salandit about it, based on the bickering that follows right after.

"You can be really proud as a trainer too." Nurse Joy says after she finished retrieving the report on her blood-values. "You and the twins in your group too. Your pokemon are all extremely healthy and I rarely see blood-values this good."

"Thanks! I personally like to think it's because we don't use the store-bought food pellets. It's like fast food. Or meal replacement drinks. Yuck."

Now... with Buneary properly checked out...

I turn to look at Salandit.

... And I don't like the look that she is giving me.

She looks eager to be examined and her eyes are half lidded, as if already imagining what is going to happen...

No. I'm just being racist... It's just the way her species always looks...

And she is just excited to know about her health... 

Oh who am I fucking kidding!

I can't keep coping about this to myself!

Ever since I found her... nipples, it's been clear as day to me that her weird behavior is actually weird and not just my imagination.

Arceus damn it. Buneary already let it slip that she sees me as her mate and Salandit probably does it too now!

Mew, what am I supposed to do?

...

Good grief. Fuck it!

I will just deal with that later.

For now, Salandit needs her physical examination. 

I'm a pokemon trainer. And I'm not going to half-ass this just because it's awkward.

"Salandit?"

"What?"

~"I asssked, are you going to be doing me now?"

My eyes narrow at Salandit. The little devil knows exactly what she said.

"I couldn't understand that. Let's just start by weighing you-- Oh, Nurse Joy, do you happen to have some info on the Salandit species?"

"Sigh... I just got to the good part..." She lets out some sounds of annoyance after being forced to get off her phone and do some more work. 

"Let me check my database and I will see if I can print something out for you. I don't know the values by memory, but I can tell that you will need to check her venom gland in her mouth and the igniphores on her back."

"Thanks a lot!" 

Sheesh. She doesn't need to be so annoyed about it. I'm already doing most of the work for her.

But I keep that to myself. 

Dad once told me to never piss-off a Nurse Joy. It could only end badly for me.

I get back to weighing Salandit. It's simple enough and she just lets me manhandle-- Ahem! Normally handle her without any issues.

The same holds true for measuring the length of her body; Measured from snout to the base of her tail, since usually, the length of the tail is measured separately.

Or not at all for pokemon where the tail is not important. Like Tauros.

However, Salandit's tail contains some of the igniphores; So it's important enough to measure too.

Her breathing became very irregular while I was touching her tail and she kept moving it at the last second, trying to extend the examination unnecessarily.

"Hey," Nurse Joy suddenly touches my shoulder and startles me. "I found a book on the Salandit and Salazzle species by professor Elm and printed it out for you."

"Ahem... Thanks."

"No need to thank me. Hey, did you know that only females of the species can evolve because the males don't get enough nutrition? Because the females often keep the males as sex slaves."

"Uhm... Yes... The pokedex already told me... more or less." 

Why did she tell me that!? I didn't want to think about it!

"Anyway, have fun with the rest of the examination!"

"Thanks." For nothing. 

Arceus damn it!

... Back to the examination, according to the book, she's larger and heavier than average, just like Buneary.

I quickly measure the quality of Salandit's claws and give them a quick fixing. They were a little bit uneven, slightly too long and not sharp enough. A blemish on my reputation as a trainer; But it's all better now.

... I skip her scales and fat-tissue because I checked for scars just recently and for a wild pokemon, her scales are surprisingly healthy and I still remember the feel of them.

She doesn't have enough fat either and needs to be on a high calorie diet.

Now... "Now, can you open your mouth, please?"

Salandit's eyes lid even more and she licks her lips with her long tongue before complying.

There is no noticeable bad smell. Her teeth are well aligned and very sharp. Razor sharp to be exact. But I can't see her venom gland like this.

"I'm... going to have to take a deeper look inside. Don't bite me, alright?"

~"You can go asss deep asss you want."

I look around in panic, making sure that Nurse Joy didn't hear that. But Buneary is the only one who has a reaction to that comment. 

She looks... Is that jealousy?

And Salandit has the audacity to simply smile innocently back at me before opening her mouth as far as she can, after I gave her a frustrated glare.

The book says that a healthy venom gland of Salandit should ooze out a dark purple liquid if pressure is applied to it. Which is why I reach in with my finger--

"Hey, stop that."

Which is why I reach in with my finger--

Salandit once again licks my finger... This time I ignore it and continue--

Oh Mew... She wrapped her tongue around my finger. Oh boy, if that was my-- No! I won't even think that!

Which is why I reach in with my finger, and I ignore Salandit's wet tongue moving all over my finger. I push down gently on a spot slightly in front of her uvula.

A drop of dark purple poison lands on the tip of my finger and I pull out.

"Was that painful?"

~"Nnng-" I get a low, sensual moan in response. ~"Thank you." 

That, and Buneary laughing her ass off while Nurse Joy looks weirdly at us. 

Hopefully just wondering why I am blushing like a Tamato Berry. I really hope she can't hear Salandit's speech!

I interpret Salandit's response as a no to the pain-question and note down that her venom gland is perfectly healthy.

Next up are the igniphores - the cells that make up the organ that stores fire for her.

It's the red stripe, located on her back and tail. When excited, it should be able to catch fire.

... What does the book mean by excited? 

I hope it doesn't talk about exciting Salandit.

I try gently touching her stripe... Nothing happens. Except her tail starts wagging faster but I try not to think about it.

Then I try scratching it and it only results in her tail wagging even faster, which causes me to stop again.

~"More."

"No." 

Was it always this bad with her? Did I just not see it happening before?

"Can you try and make your back glow?"

~"If you sscratch me ssome more."

"Let's just take the blood sample first."

~"Nooooo!"

"Yes. Now hold still. H-hey! Stop squirming. It won't hurt too much-- Stop trying to crawl on my back. Urgh! Alright! If you comply," 

I stop to make sure I don't use wrong words with Nurse Joy around. "I will..." 

I stop again, to make sure I don't promise her anything that I don't want to be doing. 

Her eyes look at me with expectation. "I will do you a favor later."

Good grief! 

Of course this makes the stripe on her back light up with a small, smoldering fire!

"Does she get enough sulfur?" FUCK! 

When did she get right behind me? "I have seen igniphores with weak reactions a few times before, when trainers give their pokemon the wrong type of food. It always boils down to not enough sulfur."

"Hum. I think you are right. I always see her eating eggs between her planned meals. I will make sure to scale up her dietary sulfur. Thanks again."

"No problem. Always glad to help."

"Well... Then it's just her blood values left and then we are done."

This time, Salandit complies and I quickly measure her heart rate and blood pressure, collect a vial of blood from her and Nurse Joy heads off to her desk for the analyzer.

... "Did you have to make this so difficult?" I whisper to the devilish pokemon on my shoulder.

Buneary, the other devilish pokemon can barely keep it together as she struggles not to make a scene in laughter.

Salandit doesn't even deign me with a serious response. Instead she just licks the side of my neck for some reason.

"Good grief... At least this is finally over."

Nurse Joy returns with the blood results. "Are you sure you are done?" She asks, catching my attention with a book that is placed underneath Salandit's blood results.

"Uhhh... yes? Teeth, claws, Buneary's fur, scales, blood, weight and size, Salandit's type organs... A full physical examination. I don't think I forgot anything."

"You forgot their genitalia."

... What? "Uhhh, their what?"

"Hahaha! You should have seen your face. And your Buneary's reaction was priceless too."

"Oh my Arceus. It was just a joke. Whew. You had me really scared there for a second." I thought I was about to sink into the ground and disappear forever through shame alone.

"Well, it wasn't a joke." She says but a teasing grin remains on her face.

... "What?"

"It's not a joking matter. I noticed that your pokemon are a little on the mature side. You should check up on their reproductive organs sooner, rather than later. You don't want to catch any nasty surprises. But I don't expect you to do it right here, right now."

Her face loses a little of the teasing look. "I know how uncomfortable that can be with other people around. For both the trainer and the pokemon. But you should take this book with you... Ignore the title. It's part of the Nurse Joy study material."

She hands me the blood results and the book.

The blood test is good. No issues and everything within healthy ranges.

But the book... "Seriously? 'Joyful Pokemon Anatomy'?" The author is 'Nurse Joy'.

"Like I said, ignore the title. Someone in my family thought she was very funny when she wrote that book."

"... Thanks." 

I'm NEVER EVER going to even slight a Nurse Joy, EVER AGAIN.

---

"Hey Swole."

"Hey Dawn."

"Why are you blushing so much?" Her eyes move across the waiting room of the pokemon center until they settle on Nurse Joy, who just left the examination room after me.

She starts glaring.

"No reason."

"No reason, huh?"

"Yep. No reason."

Akari and Marley are both checking out the quest-board right now.

"Uh huh. Actually, I asked around a little and it turns out the phone-tower is broken. But we can connect to the WLAN here at the pokemon center..."

That means we can call home! And I can finally call Zoey!

Oh... That means we can call home... We will need to tell Lucas' parents about his death.

"... Should we tell them?"

Dawn understands what I mean. "I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't? I can't imagine what his parents feel like right now. I don't know what's best for them."

"What does Akari say? Is there any ... time travel risk if we tell them the truth?"

"I don't think so. She said she doesn't mind if people know about herself now. But she would prefer it, if it doesn't become public knowledge."

So, no time travel risks that we know of.

... "I will ask my mom what she thinks. I... I think we should probably tell his parents. The uncertainty must be very painful to them; But I know that knowing for sure is very painful too."

"Good idea. I will ask my mom too."

With that, Dawn heads off to a secluded section of the pokemon center and stares at her phone in silence.

I blink and find myself doing the same thing.

Just looking at the WLAN settings on my phone.

My finger presses the button to connect...

172 missed calls.

47 unread messages.

Mom. Barry. Zoey... even Dad tried calling a few times.

Zoey: "Message me, when you have internet again."

Zoey: "Holy shit, did you see that too? Are you guys alright?"

Missed call by Mom.

Mom: "Honey, I saw the news. Please tell me you are alright."

Mom: "Please call me when you can."

Retards: "Dude! Swole! Are you alright? We just read the news, wasn't that where you were? Zoey is worried, you should write her, bro."

Zoey: "Please be alright."

Mom: "How are you? Please, just write me something back."

Missed group-call by Retards.

Retards: "Hey Swole and Lucas. Can either of you respond?"

Missed call by Zoey.

Zoey: "You should have internet by now... What's going on?"

Missed call by Mom.

Mom: "Baby. Please pick up the phone."

Missed call by Mom.

Missed call by Mom.

Unknown number: "Son. When you read this, call your mother. Lisa is blowing up my phone."

Missed call by Mom.

Missed call by Zoey.

Zoey: "Please don't be dead..."

Missed call by Mom.

Missed call by Mom.

Retards: "Guys..."

Retards: "Come back guys."

...

Fuck me. And it just keeps going and going. Mom is still calling me multiple times every day.

Ding

Mom: "Swole? Are you there? Your status changed to online."

...

I press the call button and mom picks up instantly with her video enabled.

The kitchen appears before mom refocuses the camera lens on herself.

"Swole?" Her pale face is covered in tears, her light blue eyes are puffy, her sclera is filled by inflamed, red blood vessels and her dark hair is a mess.

She looks like she hasn't been eating well in quite some time.

"Yeah mom. How are you? Let me turn on my camera, one second."

"sob Swole! Oh honey! sniff Oh thank Arceus, you are alive!" I can hear her say between sobs.

"Yeah. We survived. Dawn, me and Akari."

"I was so worried about you!" Mom sobs out. "When-- When I found-- sniff found out about a convergence ha--sniff happening right where you were... And you didn't answer for so long!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worried."

"I thought you died! Again!"

"I'm sorry."

"sniff I'm just glad that you're alive. So, so glad... Please tell me how you are doing."

I look around to make sure I got privacy.

Akari and Marley are talking with Nurse Joy near the quest board. Dawn is crying in another corner of the room with her mom on her phone.

And there aren't any strangers nearby.

Just me, my pokemon and my mom.

"Well... I'm not doing too good, mom."

"Oh honey. Tell me what's wrong."

"Lucas is dead..."

And I tell her about all the stuff that happened.

About the ferry and the people on it. About how I met and then lost Lucario. About Akari being from the past and how Lucas has swapped places with her and is now gone.

... I told her of the dread I feel whenever I think of the future...

And I finally told her about the things from my trip to Lake Verity. I kept a lot of the traumatic events to myself before because I just couldn't tell her... 

But... "It's... all just starting to be too much... you know?"

"Oh my precious baby. I'm so sorry to hear that. None of that should happen to anyone. You shouldn't have to go through all of that..."

"Yeah..."

She looks on in worry. "I-- I don't know how to make you feel better."

I... I didn't expect her to. But I really hoped she could.

"Just... remember that your pokemon are always going to be there for you. When I was a young woman, I-- Well, I didn't have it nearly so bad, but my pokemon were my absolute best friends. Whenever I had troubles, they were there for me."

Buneary looks up at me from my lap and nods her head in confirmation. After a short moment of consideration, Salandit follows suit.

"How is Buneary doing, by the way?"

"Oh! She is as healthy as she could be. We just finished a physical examination earlier." I pan the camera down and Buneary waves a small greeting to mom.

"Awe, isn't she precious! And who is that? A Salandit?"

"Right, did I forget to mention her? I met her in the cave and she wanted to join the team. The pokeball even had a critical capture, can you believe it?"

OMA. That's why I got a critical capture!?

"She? That's good, I know the males of the species are very weak. And a critical capture? I have only heard of them before; I thought for sure they were just urban legends! That's amazing! Is she strong?"

"Yeah, she is pretty strong. A bit of a coward though." Salandit chuckles a little over the description and-- "Hey, stop that."

"Haha, what's going on? I couldn't see."

"Oh... uhm, she... uhh sank her claw into my leg a little and Buneary kicked her away." She put her clawed hand on my pants, directly where my dick is. 

I guess she wanted to prove she isn't a coward.

Mew... How did I get such a perverted pokemon?

"Haha, see? Your Buneary is very protective of you. That's so precious. Arceus, that really makes me miss the old times, when I traveled around." 

"Anyway! I also got a pokemon egg out of this. A Riolu egg!"

"Oh? Is it this Lucario's child? Do you know who the father is? Elena-- you remember that she is a pokemon breeder? Anyway, she once told me that stronger fathers help create stronger pokemon children and-- Oh... Oh fudge..."

"What? What's wrong?"

"... I will need to tell her the bad news."

Oh... Elena, Lucas' mom is going to be devastated. "You will tell her? I wasn't so sure about it and wanted to ask for your opinion before we told his parents."

"Yes. She isn't doing too well either, right now. We had only heard back from Barry after the Convergence happened. But you don't need to worry about that. I will make sure Elena is doing alright."

"We, uhm, we also have a couple of letters from the past. They aren't by Lucas but mention him a little. We could send her copies? They talk about how he lived a good life, got married... and... then died of a cold."

"That would be a great idea. I really think Elena will appreciate it... By the way, I went through the attic earlier this week and found a pretty-looking good-luck charm from my mom. How long are you staying in Canalave City? I could have the Delibird-mail send it to you."

Delibird-mail!? They only deliver stuff on the first try 50% of the time, supposedly.

"We want to leave as soon as we're done here. Canalave City is not a nice place to stay right now. And don't use Delibird-mail. They suck. Use Pelipper-mail instead."

Delibird-mail is such a bad service. I actually hate them. I always get fake-presents on their first delivery. They only survive in the business because their delivery is dirt-cheap.

"Will do. So... Akari? That's a new name. You want to tell me about her?"

... "Oh would you look at the time! I still need to call a few other people. It was really nice talking to you, mom... Really... But uhm, bye bye?"

"Other people? A girl perhaps? Haha, good luck, my sunshine and call me again sometime. Bye bye."

"Bye."

Buneary chuckles as my face heats up and I end the call.

---

Once again, I find myself staring at my phone screen.

Zoey's last message was yesterday evening, before bedtime, I assume.

Zoey: "We're going to stay in Oreburgh City a little longer. Call me when you can. We're spending tomorrow just training the whole day. Barry and Ash got defeated, lol."

Does she just pretend that I'm still alive?

... It's... actually kinda nice.

After the call with Mom, I feel like I need to lie down or something. 

Knowing that Zoey's way of coping was just denial, calms me down.

Swole: "Hey! <3 I'm back to the world of the living. Do you want to video call in the evening?"

And I put the phone away.

I really want to talk to Zoey right now, but I also really don't want to too. 

Good grief.

I take another look around the room. The other people have gone off to work already. Just me and the girls are left.

Dawn is sitting in a corner on a bench and cuddles Prinplup, who kinda struggles to get out of her hug while Mawile tries to get into the hug but Dawn keeps her at arms length.

Akari and Marley are just sitting around a table now and chatting with each other. Is Akari drinking alcohol?

Marley has Growlithe on her lap and Akari has Zorua. Quilava is asleep on the table.

I give my own pokemon a short hug each and sneak up on Dawn.

'Hey Dawn.' I try talking to her with my aura again and she looks up at me.

Did it actually work? Or was I just not sneaky enough?

"Hey Swole... How are you feeling?"

"A bit better." I sit down next to her and she quickly scoots closer.

She leans her shoulder against mine. "Me too. But I still have to call Barry and Zoey... But I'm super exhausted already."

"Urgh. Same. And we still need to check into a hotel."

"Uuurgh."

"Uuuuurgh."

Dawn starts chuckling.

"What are you two grunting about?" Akari came back to us and Marley is following her around.

"Nothing. Just thinking about looking for a hotel." Dawn responds.

"Well, I do have some good news in that regard. Marley and I took care of that."

"You found a hotel already?" I thought it would take a lot more effort.

"Correct. Nurse Joy was kind enough to assist us with everything. She is a really nice and helpful woman."

"Yeah. Super nice and helpful." I don't mean it. "Anyway, let's get going?"

"Yes please! I want to finally take a shower again!" Dawn says. "Oh, and Marley, consider yourself abducted."

"W-w-what? Abducted? ... I don't want to be abducted."

"Nope. Too late. You're coming with us. We're not letting you go alone."

"O-oh... Okay."

... Did she realize that Dawn was just playing a joke at the end? I can't tell with her.

...

...

...

We're entering the hotel room right now. It's a run-down, 3 story hotel with just a couple of rooms, pretty close to the border with the refugees.

And Marley looked nervous the whole time walking here. Well, she always looks nervous.

"Just to make sure, Marley. We're not actually abducting you."

"Oh! Uhm... yes. I knew that... of course." Did she though?! I'm still not sure!

"Good."

"Cringe." Dawn comments.

Dawn just laughs my glare off and heads off to explore the rooms. A bedroom and an adjacent bathroom.

"As far as Nurse Joy knows, this is the best unoccupied room in Canalave City."

It has all the essentials. A double bed, a sofa and a bathroom. 

"Hey gang! There is only a bathtub in here. And a wash-bucket. I call dibs!" Dawn shuts the bathroom door.

"Swole, what are these dibs that Dawn calls?"

"Dibs? She just made it up. You know how Dawn is. She's just quirky."

"I heard that! I didn't make it up!"

"Hahaha, sorry. It means she wants to go first. I think it's derived from some weird old children's game. Dibstones or something." Once again, being a nerd pays out with fun-facts. "You toss up small objects and catch them with the back of your hand."

"Oh! You mean knucklebones? I love that game! We need to play it some day."

"... Cave-woman." Akari punches me and I rub my arm in pain. 

She definitely hits harder than Dawn. "Sure, we can play it some day. Not now though. I just wanna lie down until it's our turn in the bathroom."

"Uhm... How are we going to solve the sleeping arrangements?" Marley asks.

"Well. I want to say I sleep in the middle and your girls around me. Haha. But I guess I can settle for the couch too."

"Perhaps we shall send you to sleep in the bathroom instead. After all, it is not proper to sleep in the same room as a girl before marriage."

"He can have the couch." Dawn's voice comes from the bathroom. "We girls will just cram inside the bed."

I guess sleepovers are only fun with Zoey around.

"And without Zoey, we might be able to sleep in peace." Akari says pretty much what I thought.

"Who is Zoey? ... And what did she do?" Marley asks.

"Akari! Don't tell her with Swole around."

Now I'm interested. "Why Dawn? Were you girls '''experimenting'''?"

"No! ... Just talking. Akari, what happened inside the girl's room, stays inside the girl's room."

"We merely discussed our preferences in marriage selection. Dawn, there is nothing to be ashamed about. Why do you not just tell--"

"Akariiiiii! Stop it, pleeease!"

Tell what?

"Why? I do not understand what the big issue is?"

"I uhm... I think Dawn might be embarrassed?"

The bathroom door slams open.

Dawn is standing there, blushing with wet hair and her body is covered in a towel. Her pokemon are clean and standing guard behind her.

She has long legs.

"Swole. It's your turn. Go to the bathroom, I need to talk with Akari."

"Hahaha, sure. Akari, tell me later what you wanted to talk about, alright?"

"No." - "Alright." - "Alright??? No! Now, go away, Swole. Shuh!"

"Haha, see you later."

I get into the bathroom, shut the door and the girls start talking in whispers.

Is that Dawn's underwear on the floor? White and frilly.

... I pick up her panties. They are still slightly warm. 

A tiny, primal part of me wants to sniff it. But the rational, modern and intelligent part of me realizes how creepy that is and I don't do it.

"Hey Dawn! You forgot your underwear in here--" The bathroom door slams back open.

Dawn's blush is 10 times worse now. And she scrambles in to pick up her bra before looking for her panties.

... I hold them up a little higher.

She glares at me because she isn't tall enough to reach.

But she still tries.

She reaches up and her towel-skirt rises further up her legs.

"This is bullying."

"Yep." My shit eating grin grows at the same pace as her blush grows more intensely.

Eventually, she jumps up to try and catch her panties.

... But her towel didn't survive the landing. It slides off her body and leaves her naked skin for the world to look upon her glory.

Her drapes match the curtains. 

She has a light blue fluff that covers her- ... "Nice."

I don't think her face can get any redder.

Her hands move with lightning speed to cover her bits up but it's too late. Everything is burned into my mind and I won't ever let go of it.

And she can't cover both of her breasts with just 1 arm either. "Really nice."

"S-s-s-shut up. This never happened. And turn around already!"

Should I? I mean, judging from the color of her face, she can't really get any more embarrassed. I might as well enjoy it a little longer.

"H-here are your panties back."

"... Thanks. Now stop looking, I need to put the towel back on."

"... Sure." I slowly turn around until I hear the fabric of the towel moving around. I quickly turn back around again. "Sorry, do you need help? As a gentleman, I should have offered you help immediately. Also, nice."

Buneary and Salandit both chuckle at Dawn's predicament and I use the opportunity to make some more core-memories.

Her breasts are so beautiful and her... privates are intriguing. Hypnotizing, almost. I just can't look away from it.

I can't even see anything beneath her fluffy pubic hair. But it still draws in my eyes.

After seemingly forever, Dawn turns around and puts her towel back on.

"Sigh. I-I guess that was on me. I c-could have just turned around sooner."

Huh!? Am I actually getting away with it?

"But don't get me wrong. Once I'm dressed, you're gonna get it."

"Worth it."

She leaves without saying anything more and closes the door behind her.

"That was pretty cool."

"Salandit."

"You agree, huh? Wait, what are your eyes looking at exactly? ... I guess I shouldn't be a hypocrite." I turn away from Salandit so she can't continue watching my boner.

"Sa-- Salandit!"

"No, I'm not turning back around for you. Pervert."

"Buneary." She says something before laughing her ass off.

"Yeah, yeah. Try not to look while I get into my swimming trunks. And Salandit, you're taking a bath today."

"Sa-- Sala!"

"Yes you will."

"Salandit!" I didn't get that.

"Can you repeat that?"

I concentrate a little more on our bond as I'm getting out of my underwear and slip on my trunks.

... Maybe I shouldn't use my aura. It's like I can tell exactly where she is staring at now and what she's feeling too.

~"You sstill owe me a favor!"

She's right... But her scales are dirty. "You will need to use your favor for something else. Hygiene is important for your health and I'm not budging on that. Buneary, hold her down if she fights."

Buneary grins widely before cracking her knuckles and squaring up in front of Salandit, who starts backing up with a scared look on her face.

~"I ssurrender! I will get a... bath. B-but you... I usse my favor, you need to be naked too!"

To ever think I could catch a normal pokemon. I truly am retarded.

One is evil, the other perverted.

Buneary has also tensed up and looks up at me expectantly.

... I shouldn't go back on my favors or else Salandit might not listen to me in the future. And it's not like I have to make this thing weird just because I'm naked.

That's right! 

I'm a professional trainer and I will not be defeated by my own pokemon or my own thoughts!

I am stronger than my base desires!

I get out of my trunks and I enter zen.

"Salandit. Get in the bath."

...

...

...

With scratches and bite marks covering my arms, shoulder, stomach and legs, I finally lie down on the sofa. 

Salandit is afraid and crying, so I let her slip under the blanket with me, Buneary and the egg. She immediately holds on to me, as if I would disappear if she lets go.

"What the hell happened in that room?" Dawn looks at me from the bed.

"She didn't want to bathe."

"Holy shit, dude."

I'm so exhausted but it's still afternoon.

I think I'm just going to close my eyes for a moment...