PokeWild

David didn’t end up going to the Department store that day.

After Sarah and he rejoined the others, the group finished off their matches for the day and retreated behind the metal seating containers for training.

Pidgey started the training off strong. Sandshrew and her took over the dustier centre of the hidden area to practise Sand Attack. David monitored her, but Pidgey didn't give any sign that she had been poisoned earlier. Her lack of lasting injury eased his worry.

The repercussions of her earlier battle caught up with her eventually. Pidgey settled in to watch Sandshrew demonstrate something and didn’t move again. She stopped kicking sand up and blowing it around with her wings in favour of watching Sandshrew practise.

When David caught her closing her eyes for short periods he knew it was time to go. Pidgey didn’t offer any protest as he said his goodbyes to Terry and the others, merely fluffing up her feathers and closing her eyes for good. She didn’t utter a peep as he recalled her.

They went to the centre the next day instead, after the usual matches with the training group. The Celadon Department Store wasn’t too hard to find now that he had general directions from Danny. The groomers that Sarah recommended was harder to find but that was less about her directions and more about the sprawl and hectic energy of the store.

By David and his world’s measure, the Celadon Department Store wasn’t a department store, it was a shopping mall. The building that housed the store was at least as big as the stadium beside the Celadon gym. Six or seven apartment blocks could fit in the same amount of space.

Inside the Department Store was a whirlwind of shops. Clothing stores were beside art supply shops. A post office was next to a weights gym. Grooming parlours alongside food shops.

Every shop had a brand and the vast majority were plant related. Some of the brands seemed to related to each other with common images or shared parts of a logo. Unsurprisingly in Celadon this meant a lot of flowers. David wasn’t able to identify all of these but he recognised the orchid, hibiscus, tulip flowers and what looked like a pine cone?

It was a hectic place.

David liked it.

Before now he had wondered why there had only been small shops on the ground floor of apartment blocks scattered piecemeal around the city. In a world without parking, why not put it all in one place?

He did find Sarah’s recommendation in the end and after grudgingly handing over 50P, more than half the winnings from the battle, settled in to watch Pidgey's treatment. It was a lot of Poke. Especially when he was still counting every penny, and 50P was more than 10% of his total savings.

But Pidgey had won that fight, not David. He hadn’t been the one who got poisoned. David was very aware that without Pidgey, he had nothing. So 50P wasn't all that much to spend after all.

The groomer was a little surprised at the request to stay for the grooming but not enough to make an issue out of it.

When he first released her, Pidgey let out a low squawk, upset that it wasn’t for more battling. She was then distrustful of the groomer, Harry, hopping away from him and moving back to David. It took a bit of cajoling but she let the groomer approach before it devolved into a game of chase.

Her complaints faded after Harry got to work on her. Soon she was letting out a new sound, a mix between her frequent happy chirps and her quiet tired ones. David marked this down as a relaxed comfort noise.

He studied the groomer as they worked, trying to memorise the movements and technique. Hopefully he could pick up a few tips or the basic use of the grooming equipment. He could buy the tools and groom Pidgey himself in future.

A couple of times he mimed the movements as the groomer did an odd movement. It wasn't long before Harry noticed.

“Avian Pokemon enjoy when you focus on their head and necks.” Harry explained with a laugh. “They can’t reach these areas themselves. You just need to be careful not to mess with their feathers.”

“Thanks,” David replied with a wince. Busted. “Sorry about.. you-know.”

Harry waved him away, eliciting a faint protest from Pidgey as the grooming paused. “Don’t worry about it. More people should learn.”

David smiled. ”Dangerous thing to be telling a customer.”

Harry laughed. “Oh, I’m not worried about that. I don’t make much Poke on little balls of fluff like this. It’s the larger, more powerful Pokemon that the specialised tools and training come out for. It takes work to get a top battler to let you get close.”

David hummed. He would have thought it would take more work to get people to approach a monster like that Persian than the other way around.

Harry gestured him over and pointed at a spot on Pidgey's back between her wings. “See this feather here? It’s best to..”

-.-

As much protest as Pidgey had made entering the shop, she made twice as much when David moved to recall her. Judging by Harry and the next customer’s smiles, this wasn’t an uncommon event.

With Pidgey secured, David decided to escape the Department Store before he ended up depleting any more of his cash reserves. On the way however he was distracted by a small stand with small books. The guide books that Danny had told him about.

For a moment, he wavered. 25P wasn’t cheap. He thought of Danny’s wide smile as she spoke of the fun of the unknown and exploration.

David bought the book anyway. He wished he could make that kind of carefree decision. To not have to worry about the cost of what not having the information could be.

But he couldn’t.

-.-

Aside from that trip to the Department Store, the next few days passed like any other. Without really noticing it, David settled into a routine.

Wake up, patrol. Report to Oliver, eat breakfast. Meet the training group, battle. Rest, patrol again. Train then sleep.

The occasional day it would be just him and Danny for the training group. The occasional evening training session included Michael. The occasional battle was for money.

David liked to think he won more than he lost but he did lose.

One particularly close match against a Spearow trainer had him running to the Pokecenter even if Pidgey wasn’t in too rough a shape. She got a clean bill of health, no major issues and no long rest break but David wasn’t willing to chance it.

The next day the Spearow trainer was friendly and willing to give him some tips. Their match had come down to experience in the air. It had been Pidgey’s first battle against another Pokemon in her home turf and it showed.

More exercises added to Pidgey’s training sessions.

The fights against Grass trainers were never easy but they were easier and he won nearly all of them. At the start most of these trainers were sent his way by Sarah or Martin. After several days on the local scene though, trainers began to approach him directly. Of course, these Grass trainers bet less money so it all evened out in the end.

For the first time since arriving in this world, David had money, and with his next paycheck coming up, a nest egg. Not money from a chance encounter, a single paycheck or one win, but money. Savings.

He had his expenses but they didn’t leave him destitute anymore. Five more Flying type food sachets for Pidgey for -175P. Some more of that Pokemart herbal medicine that smelled, -150P. Overall, he’d gone from 410P after paying for Pidgey's grooming to 480P today. Enough to treat Pidgey and maybe himself.

So if everything was going well, why did he feel so tired all of the time?

Every morning it became harder to wake himself up. Every day his eyelids were drooping earlier.

It all came to a head during breakfast one Sunday.

“-David!”

David jolted at the shout. He blinked weary eyes across at Michael and shook his head to try and drive the tiredness away.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” David said with a yawn. “Just really tired. I haven’t been sleeping well since..”

How long had it been? He was tired yesterday and the day before. He was tired the day Pidgey got groomed. He hadn’t felt awake since.. since Pidgey’s first battle.

When she got poisoned.

Had he caught something? He picked Pidgey up immediately after the match. The Nidoran had covered her in that purple goo from the Poison Sting. Maybe some of it rubbed off on him.

David looked to the end of the table. “Oliver, is there any chance I’m poisoned?”

Oliver jolted at David’s question. The old man stood and splayed a hand out on the table. His moustache quivered as he abandoned his relaxed pose to closely scrutinise David.

“Did you go into the greenhouse? The caves? Was there a broken pane?”

David shook his head. “No, I haven’t why does that-”

“Any symptoms? Purple veins?” Oliver continued, firing questions quickly.

“No,” David said, suddenly wide awake. “Purple veins?”

An aura of purple had flashed over Pidgey when she got sick. Had it been happening to him? Why did no one say anything?

Oliver pushed his chair aside and walked over to David. He reached his hands out before pausing. “Lift your shirt.”

“Wh-”

“Lift your shirt!”

David began to roll it up. As soon as it reached his chest, Oliver relaxed.

“No marbling.” Oliver sighed in relief. “What made you think it was poison?”

David explained his tiredness and how it all started after the battle against Thomas, the Nidoran trainer. Midway into his description of the Nidoran’s Poison Sting, Oliver interrupted him.

“What have you been training recently?”

“Eh..” What did that have to do with anything? “We’re working on Pidgey’s Cannon- Gust while flying. Same for Tackle. Sand Attack training with-” Oliver’s brow scrunched slightly. “-a Sandshrew. Leer. Evasion with Micha-”

“Leer,” Oliver said with a grunt. He moved back to his seat.

“You were right to mention it. Better to say something sooner rather than wait till it gets worse,” Oliver said as he sat down. The old man was already ignoring David in favour of staring at his grandson. Oliver watched Michael carefully to make sure the boy had heard and understood before continuing. “This may be a Pecha berry farm but the berries can’t cure everything. If you think at all that it could be poison, come to me. Pecha berries taken in small bites over a long period are an effective antidote for both humans and Pokemon but only against weak Poisons.”

“What does this have to do with Leer?” David asked. He appreciated the confirmation that Thomas hadn’t steered him wrong but he needed to know if he was sick.

Oliver scowled at David for interrupting him. The expression disappeared as he looked at Michael again. “Humans cannot disperse Type energy as quickly as a Pokemon. Repeated exposure to status moves like Growl or Leer which send an opponent's energy into disarray can make us sick.”

Oliver scowled at David again. He pulled a white envelope from his pocket and tossed it to David. “Go get yourself some Y Vapour from the Pokemart. Inhale it with steam from boiling water. Stop losing weight. Take today easy, no battling. You’ll be fine in a day or two.”