This Is Fine

[FTR2017]

Hey! Welcome to QQ, I for one have been reading your work as a lurker in SB, and knowing you're importing your work here? I am overjoyed, that's what!

Loving your grounded perspective in spite of the 'rare' pokemon the protagonist has managed to befriend and how you gave each 'mon their own personality and quirks, I really appreciate how the man knows the pokemon better than he realizes, as most regular natives would've ended up doing a faux-pas and ruining their chances with 'mons such as Mama Swampert.

Looking forward to how he grows after he leaves the town into literally warmer pastures!

 

[BazDog25]

Serves em right for attacking a Dragon Trainer. Time for heals

 

[Zauber]

Nice, good realism on the fight! I hope we get another interlude of post-fight harvey and jess, i'd like to see how they and their bosses react to this. Still find it weird his name is Harvey instead of James though.

 

[Manfat]

"Jimmy sent some thugs to grab the Gible." Jess' words were as unwelcome as they were unsurprising. I was glad she'd come by to let me know. I was even more glad she'd waited for Jen and the girls to go out when she did so.

When we'd hit a rough patch, Jen had asked why I never married Jess with how well we'd gotten along. We'd tried dating, first date, she'd told me I was a beard because her father hated gays. I'd been her beard for three years until she fell for Mika, and Jess didn't want to hide who she was anymore.

Being there as emotional support was one of the great highlights of my life when she told her Dad to 'go fuck yourself' and walked out. Shame it didn't work out , but Jess was still my best friend. I shook my head.

I was trying to distract myself from what she'd just said.

"Fuck. Tell me it worked." I already knew it hadn't. Otherwise, Jess would have led with Jimmy got the Gible.

"No. Apparently, they got the shit beaten out of them."

"Fuck! I told him to let me handle this."

"Harvey, he gave you more than a month to do something. I know you, I know you wanted to find a way to do this without anyone getting hurt. But that ship has sailed." As usual, Jess was right; we'd worked out who had the Gible from Geddes' League Day.

Some middle-aged guy who no one seemed to know. The same damned guy who had picked it up and delivered it to the Pokémon Center. Ever since then, we'd been working on a plan to find some way to separate them.

Ah, who was I kiddin'?

I was just wasting time.

I didn't like the idea of actually taking a Pokemon off someone. Sure, I transported them, most likely anyway. Didn't take a genius to work out what our no-questions-asked cargo was. Especially after our last two failures, but I wasn't a bad guy.

I did what I had to do to keep my family afloat, and if some people or Pokemon had to suffer for that, I was sorry about that, but those were the breaks, and, as selfish as it was.

Better them than mine.

This, though, there'd be no walkin' this back. Still, if I did nothing, then Kobie would be on the hook. Which meant we'd all be on the hook, because none of us were leaving him to hang alone.

"You're right, Jess. You're right."

"I usually am, now what are we gonna do?"

"We." I pointed between the two of us.

"Are not going to do anything. I am going to get the Gible back." Her face pinched inward in that argumentative way I was more than familiar with.

"Alone?"

"Well I ain't gonna fist fight the guy."

"Probably for the best." She shivered a little, something cold dropped into my chest.

"How bad was it?" A morbid question, maybe, but I needed to know.

"Between the two of them? Bad Harvey real bad." I licked my lips, my mouth feeling a little dry. Jess had seen some shit. If she said it was bad, then it was bad.

"I didn't get the whole story from Jimmy, but I know they've both got cracked skulls, one has a ruptured testicle, and his finger was almost bitten off. The other got a broken nose and jaw out of it."

"Right, definitely not going to fist fight the guy." I let out a laugh that sounded completely fake. The look on Jess's face told me I certainly hadn't fooled her.

"I'm sure that my partner can handle a Gible. And it doesn't matter how well he can fight, he ain't beating a Pokemon." Besides, if everything went wrong and we somehow lost, then at the very least I'd be the only one getting the shit beat out of em' she took a sharp breath in. Letting it out in a hiss.

"And what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

"Rat-Face, Jimmy, whatever you wanna call him. He's moving the operation to Icirrus City. Told me that a couple of weeks ago. His boys' failure probably sped his timetable up."

"Too bad Jimmy didn't get the shit beaten out of him," Jess muttered mulishly.

"Isn't it just. More seriously start taking more jobs up that way. Stay out of Warren County where you can and make money, Jess. Make as much as you can because I have no idea when this storm is gonna be over."

"What about Roger and Kobie?"

"Roger will do the same. Kobie had a personal meeting with Mr. Barristan yesterday. He's still alive." Jess' face almost collapsed in relief, it disappeared behind an iron mask of self control almost immediately.

"What's the damage?"

"Nine and a half." I didn't need to specify million.

"Fuck!"

"Yeah, we can work that off eventually. With prices going up somewhere between a year and two, depending on what works available. But we'll be deeper in, much deeper, more difficult to get back out again." We could still leave anytime we didn't know enough to need disappearing. We just needed to get to a place where we had enough to call it quits. It would happen soon, just a little longer.

"So the Gible then."

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, first I'm gonna call Rat-Face and see what he knows about our guy. Maybe find a place he frequents with no people."

"Doubt he'll do that for a while if he's been attacked."

"Probably not, but I don't intend to go straight at him. I'll spend a bit of time learning about his habits first."

"Like you have for over a month?" A low blow, but not inaccurate.

"In any case, I'll have to let sleeping Stoutland lie for now. But a month from now? Two? I'll hit him and get the cargo back." I'd need the heat to die down a bit before I tried this that was all.

"Let me help." I really wish I could. I'd love some backup for this. But Jess, for all her abrasiveness, was the best person to take care of my family if I couldn't. I wasn't risking that, not if there was any way I could avoid it.

"No."

"Why not!?"

"Cause If I go down, I ain't bringing you with me." I kept my voice calm, but I couldn't keep the stiffness out of it completely.

"God damn it, Harvey, I'm already involved!" She snarled. I grit my teeth. She was. Because of me. Reminded of my failures yet again, the story of my life really.

"I know, and that's on me." That hurt to say, but it was no less than the truth.

"Please, Jess, I'm beggin' you let me do this. If I go down, my girls are gonna need their Godmother more than ever. You can't help if you're stuck in a cell with me!" We looked at each. She closed her eyes, and a brittle, bitter look passed over her face.

"Fine, Harvey, fine."

"Thanks, Jess."

"Just don't fuck this up, Harv." I gave her a wide grin that I definitely didn't feel and put on my best laid-back tone.

"Who me!?" I don't think I convinced her. Arceus knows I didn't convince myself. I thought about the guy who'd taken care of the Gible. He was probably just trying to get by, just like me. Just like Jess, Kobie, and Roger.

I laid a hand on my pokeball again, feeling a reassuring thrum of electricity pass through it.

But still.

Better him and his than me and mine.

Interlude 2 – END.

---

And there's the Interlude.

Manfat Patreon
Support is welcome. But never expected.
This is Fine Volume 1 - Complete.
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - 2 chapters ahead. Biweekly, going to weekly as of 5/6 of July. (If I've got my math right)

 

[FTR2017]

Yeah, that's not gonna work out as you intend it to, man.

You better start working out how to off the mobster once you fail ... .

 

[Manfat]

Monday morning had me up bright and early, earlier than usual. My body still ached, but nowhere near what I'd expected it to be after the arsewoopin' I'd gotten. Still worse than my run here, though. There was a tap from the machine beside me.

Violet eyes stared at me.

"Vee." I sat up and popped the lid. Eevee stretched and then jumped into my lap. She was slow and stiff compared to her normal self. I let her stay a few minutes and stroked her fur. She was very fluffy. Nurse Mary, the Audino, looked in on us a few minutes after I woke up.

"Aud!" She kept her voice low, but the excitable tone was easy to pick up on. Eevee's response was quick and savage. She turned, hissing at the nurse fur standing on end. I gave her a quick pat. This brought back memories.

"Mary's good. We don't attack Mary."

"Vee." Not convinced, apparently. Now, where had I seen this before?

"I'll be here the whole time, I promise, but if you want to get better, you're going to have to listen." Eevee turned to me, looking mulish. Mary gave me a grateful look from behind her. She definitely remembered Gible's initial homicide attempt.

"Go get Ben, I'll keep her calm."

"Vee!" I gave her head a ruffle.

"You'll be fine, I promise." She turned her nose up at me, looking away, but didn't actually get out of my lap or attempt to stop me from petting her. I did indeed have another princess on my hands, it seemed.

"I'm not going to get blasted, right?" Ben's voice came from the left of the doorway. I looked down at Eevee, her hackles up again, and a low growl in her throat.

"She doesn't know Echoed Voice yet. But I can't rule out a mauling." It was a poor excuse for a joke, and even my tone made it fall flat. I rubbed Eevee's coat again and pitched my voice low.

"Ben's a friend you can trust him, I'll be here the whole time." She calmed a little at that.

"You're good to come in, treat her like Gible. Tell her exactly what you're going to do and why."

"Right." Ben stepped around the door. Eevee's eyes locked onto the pokeball on his belt, and she hissed. Ben stepped back around the door.

"Pokeball down, I think," I called back.

"Vee!"

"Yeah, got it, and to think I told my mother that nursing was a less dangerous profession than Ranger." He was only kinda whining, and really, given the last time this had happened, I really couldn't blame him. Ben stepped back into the room. Mary's pokeball missing from his belt. Either in a pocket or on the table in the hallway. Eevee calmed after giving Ben a very thorough once-over.

"Better?" I ran a hand through her fur again.

"Vee."

"Right, let's go through the tests." There were a lot of tests. Including one that needed to draw blood. I actually needed to stop Eevee from attempting a mauling on that one. Overall, with the exception of the blood test, which we'd need to wait a week for, she was slightly underweight, a little malnourished, but all of that was easily fixable.

"I'll get you a meal plan by tonight, and I'll have Dustin hold onto it." I looked down at Eevee. Not that I was unappreciative of the save or anything, but...

"You sticking with me?" She looked me up and down.

"Vee." And nodded, I took that to mean 'for now' rather than 'new party member get.'

"Thanks, Ben, alright, well, I gotta have a quick shower and head to work." I stood stiffly, and Eevee followed me from the room. I also learned that, unlike Gible, she wasn't content waiting in the hallway for me to wash.

After her very unsubtle threat to break down the door if I shut it in her face, seriously charging a Double Kick was a bit much, I let her in.

"You can wait in the room. Not in the stall." She gave me a very flat look that communicated 'who'd wanna see your fat arse naked anyway' before jumping onto a bench and curling up. I shut the stall door. Eevee's check-up meant I was running behind schedule for getting to work. I was gonna be cutting it close under the best-case scenario. Willow would be understanding, but I actually liked her and would prefer to be on time if possible.

Gible had just woken up when I swung by the room. Like the rest of us, she ate a berry on the go as we headed out to Park Recycling. A sweet Mago berry for Gible and me, a spicy Cheri berry for Eevee. I had to carry the four legged Pokemon so she could eat while we walked; we were running too late to stop.

I'd grabbed nine additional berries from Ben before I left. A mixture of sweet and spicy. While the Geddes Pokémon Center was too small to have a dedicated Pokemart integrated. It did stock basic necessities like Berries, Potions, and the like.

By the time she was done eating, Eevee decided to stay on my shoulder rather than walking. At least while within the limits of the town. Once Geddes was behind us, she jumped down and walked next to Gible out in front.

They were both trying to pretend they're weren't in pain.

They weren't very good at it.

Being more familiar with the fastest route, we made good time. Willow was waiting at the front gate. The expression on her face was carefully neutral as she looked at Eevee. I was late after all. Really should have called from the Pokémon Center.

"So that's where that one got too." She looked at me and took in the stiffness of my body and grimaced.
/
"Alright, what happened? You're not the kind to be late for no reason. I was gonna give you half an hour before I called the Pokémon Center to see if you'd gotten hurt."

I gave Willow the full rundown. Lunch, getting jumped outside the Geddes Tavern, what I remembered clearly from the fight, my police interview, and Eevee's morning check-up. Her face didn't change that much, but the general atmosphere around her said she wasn't pleased.

"Damn it, kid." Willow shook her head. "You should have called me from the center, I'd have given you the day off after that."

"Can't," I admitted, shaking my head. "Need the money too much." She sighed and rubbed her face.

"Damned stubborn bastard." I think I heard shades of approval in her tone.

"Alright, but you're on light duties today and buy a damn phone!" Well, I'd already been planning on that, even if I'd be saying goodbye to more of my dwindling savings account. Deputy Yates had told me to pick one up a while back. I kept putting it off. Recent events changed my priorities.

Even if I didn't have anyone except emergency services to call.

Mr. and Mrs. Aggron looked over me as I walked into the yard. It had taken a while, but I'd learned to read their expressions over the last month and a bit. Usually, Dad-ggron had an almost cartoonish grin, while Mum-ggron usually was a little sterner. Her mouth occasionally curled up into a small, warm smile.

Now though?

Their faces were very carefully blank, eyes narrowed. Mum-ggron gave me a reassuring pat on the back on my way past. It did not escape my notice that for the rest of the day, one of them was always nearby.

I imagined that if anyone came by Park Recycling to take a shot at me. They'd be hit by a half-ton of pissed-off metal-rock Godzilla. At which point the other one would probably jump in, and the poor bastard would be part of the world's worst two-on-one cage match. That was before whatever the Trubbish and Grimer added in.

Considering Gible and Eevee had been enough to see two arseholes off, I didn't imagine anyone coming by would fare much better. Partially because there were a lot of Pokémon at Park Recycling, and numbers certainly counted for a lot. Even if none of the Pokémon here were primarily battlers. More importantly, because either Aggron could stomp Gible flat without a problem if they ever felt like it.

Not that I'd ever say it out loud.

My girl was a delicate soul after all.

But it did mean that any threat that turned up would have a very short time to regret their actions. After which, they'd probably have reached their arranged meeting with God or maybe just the emergency room.

Willow had told me to take a light day. Every time I tried pushing the pace, one of the Aggron just so happened to have a job that required me to slow down.

Took me longer than I want to admit to work out that it was the Aron tipping them off.

Gible was too taken with Eevee to distract the Aron.

The two spoke, I didn't really understand most of it. I could probably parse out one word in every ten if I were fully dedicated to the task. Willow called me into her office at the end of the day; her face looked like it was carved from stone.

I felt a squirming of disquiet in my guts.

Was I about to be fired?

I could feel my heart rate begin to increase.

No.

No.

Not now.

I couldn't afford this to happen now!

The Bike wasn't ready.

I wouldn't be able to afford repairs. The motel room I'd paid for? Money down the drain. Worse, without the bike, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere fast enough to find extra well-paying work. My financial situation was about to go down the crapper, and that meant Gible was going to be taken.

No.

No.

There had to be a way out of this. My eyes darted around, flicking up and left, then down and right. Ideas were considered and thrown out. Too many problems. Not enough solutions. I could feel panic beginning to well up, and rage followed. Boiling up from my stomach like acid, pouring into my veins, my teeth grit and I felt a growl build in my chest.

Really now?

This had to happen now!?

Of all the fucking times!?

"I'm sorry." Willow's voice cut my thoughts before internal could become external.

"I've been looking at my incoming stock and the prices of moving more in, but I can't justify it with everything being the way it is. I can't keep you on past your original three-month contract date. I'm sorry, Nash, you've picked up the work quickly, and I like having you around, but financially speaking, I'll be losing money if I keep you on past your contract date."

I blinked several times rapidly. Fear and rage turned to confusion. Which turned into relief, anger drained down as though pulled by gravity to my feet. Relief flighty and warm took its place, my arms and legs shook slightly as the primed adrenaline dump from my fight or flight reflex drained away with the anger.

I tried to nonchalantly place a hand on a chair to steady myself. I doubt I managed to conceal it, my hand shook as I grabbed the chair back and let out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.

"Come again?" My voice sounded odd even to my own ears.

"I'm sorry I can't keep you on." Willow sounded confused. I couldn't help but laugh; I'd never had a particularly nice laugh. It always sounded more like a bark, unless I was laughing so much I could barely breathe, then I sounded like a hyena.

The laugh that left me sounded like a sob playing dress up.

My ribs ached with phantom pain. Willow looked a little shocked as I shook my head and gave a smile that was more teeth than truth.

"That's fine, Willow. You told me a bit ago you probably couldn't extend the contract. I'm glad for the heads up." I took a deep breath. Besides, I wasn't sure I'd stay even if she could extend it out. Geddes was a nice enough town, but the punch-up I'd been in made me think somewhere else could be a little safer overall for Gible and me both.

Maybe somewhere like Nimbasa City.

I was an Australian after all. Going north into the cold didn't really agree with me. I did it because one road had seemed as good as another. Just living day to day had been... enough. It hadn't been a good life, just enough.

Now though? Now I actually had things I was looking forward to. But that didn't change the fact that I hated being cold. I'd seen snow exactly once in my life. So far, once had been enough.

Five stars.

Vacations only.

At least Nimbasa had the decency to be next to a desert and thus hopefully much warmer when winter fully took hold. I was used to arid environments. Hell, when I'd vacationed in the USA, the Nevada desert had been the only place in the country that the sun had felt right.

Nimbasa's desert had felt similar last time I passed through.

"So about a month and a half left then?" I looked at Willow, and my teeth were still on display.

"A month and a half." Willow agreed, she opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Willow."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Nash." I closed the door to the office, Gible and Eevee were playing with the Aron. I called out to Gible and headed towards the gate. The land shark tottered over surprisingly quickly. Even managing to outpace Eevee, not easily, she needed to push herself, but Gible did out-run her. Her little arms came up, and I swept down, ignoring stiff muscles, and picking her up.

"Gib!" She called out happily. I shifted her into one arm and knelt. Eevee had slowed to a walk after being passed.

"Coming with?" The fox-like Pokémon looked around the Recycling plant and then nodded.

"Vee." I held an arm out, Eevee ran up it, and took position on my right shoulder. Apparently, I would need to act as a chauffeur today. At least until my arms got tired. Then they'd need to walk on their own for a bit.

I ignored the flashes of pain through my body.

The return trip was slow.

I had to let Gible down eventually. Eevee joined her. The two of them mostly stayed on the path, though Eevee began to slow down as we reached the outskirts of Geddes. I kneeled in front of her.

She was watching the town like it was enemy territory, then again, maybe to her it was. I reached out slowly and brushed her ears lightly. Her muscles were tense, and the fur around her neck was starting to rise.

"Listen, I have to grab something in town. When I'm done, I'll head to the Pokémon Center for a check-up with Gible. Then we'll take the road next to the center heading west to get to our motel." I pointed in its general direction.

"You have some choices. I know you wanted to come along. But if you're not up for this, then you can meet us by the Pokemon Center or the motel later. If neither of those works for you, you can head back to Willow's."

Eevee didn't say anything. Gible wandered up and gave a few low rumbling growls and chirps. Eevee answered with her own. I couldn't puzzle out what they were saying. My knees were starting to ache. After a moment, the fox bit my sleeve and pulled down. I let her lead my arm towards the ground before she ran up it to settle on my shoulder.

"Vee."

"Gib."

"Alright then." I stood again; thankfully, Gible didn't want another lift. She was wonderful, but sooner or later, twenty kilos hanging off an arm got hard to hold up. Gible knew where we were going. The local grocery store sold prepaid phones; the Pokemon managed to wrangle another few berries out of me into the bargain.

Though I did need to, subtly, warn off a few parents from sending kids over to look at Eevee. I could feel how stressed she was, and while I didn't think she'd maul a child. I wasn't entirely sure about that either.

We must have looked a sight to the cashier.

A land shark jumping around my legs, letting out a series of 'Gib' as though it were some kind of song.

A neurotic fox ready to throw down with anything and everyone in the store.

And a stressed homeless man who moved like he'd just gone a few rounds with a professional boxer.

Oh, what a trio we made.

If it wasn't for the fact that I shopped there fairly often, I was fairly sure that the police would have been called. The phone itself wasn't much, basic calls, and internet access. Still took a chunk out of my savings.

It was going to be the internet access that did me in, I was sure of it. Just one more gig, I'd tell myself, before paying for extra.

Gible's check-up went well, I got in contact with Jobe and arranged for a training session for Wednesday afternoon, out the back of the Pokemon Center. Which meant I'd be able to keep my appointment for the Cherry Grove Middle School Battle Club on Thursday.

Gible was still adamant about participating in League Day, and we needed all the practice we could get.

When I lay down for bed, Gible took up most of the bed on my left. Eevee curled up in a ball next to my pillow. I realised something, something that very much hurt to realise. If Eevee was going to stay around, which was looking more and more certain.

"I'm going to need a bigger tent."

My wallet howled in pain.

Chapter Seventeen – END.

---

That's all she wrote for today.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Manfat Patreon - If you'd like to support the work I do.
Support is welcome. Never expected.
This is Fine Volume 1 - Complete
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - 2 Chapters Ahead. Currently Bi-weekly. Soon to be weekly.

 

[FTR2017]

Yeah, being a poor trainer while inside a country suffering economic depression sure makes things challenging to make it through.

More-so when said country also has very cold winters.

 

[saylin021]

Love the story, there aren't enough pokemon stories that operate at this level. Thanks for writing. Can't wait for the team to meet mama swampert and the lil kip

 

[Manfat]

"Healing up alright?" Jobe asked, we were sitting on the benches out the back of the Pokémon Center. Watching Victoria coax Gible into trying out Bulldoze again. The shark had been getting closer and closer to pulling it off. Now the ground cracked, and the Ground Type energy shot upwards, but she still wasn't putting enough oomph into it.

"Yeah, still a little stiff, but that's mostly gone. Bit of pain though." Eevee had taken longer to move away. Alex had been patient in coaxing her out. The Altaria was giving advice on Echoed Voice. Alex had gotten to using Hyper Voice through a different path.

Learning the Fairy Type Disarming Voice and refining it into Alluring Voice before finally altering it into Hyper Voice. But Alex knew sound-based more than enough to help Eevee.

She wasn't making as much progress as Gible. But progress was being made. Alex was not at all subtle about, quite literally, singing Eevee's praises when she did something he approved of.

Rustall had chosen to stay home rather than just hang out.

"Good. It's rare you'd need surgery or the like for injuries like you had, but if you feel any complications, call straight away."

"Yeah, Mum." I waved his concern off with a smile. Jobe snorted with good humour, and I relaxed into the bench.

"Got a call from the cops again yet?"

"Yeah," I pulled out my phone. This world's tech was a little more advanced than mine. So instead of the shit brick I'd been expecting, my 'cheap', relatively speaking, phone had more in common with the Samsung Galaxy S9 I'd had back in 2018.

It was considered a brick by Pokémon standards, but to me it was still a solid piece of equipment. Waterproof too, which, given I was going back to being homeless sooner rather than later, was a very big plus.

"I've got an appointment on Friday afternoon. They'll pick me up from Willow's. I'm supposed to be talking to a Forensic Artist and giving my statement again."

"Any updates?"

"Nothing they told me about."

"Damn." We settled into a companionable silence again. Jobe had a notepad out and jotted down notes now and then, watching Gible's interactions with Victoria.

"Got anything interesting?"

"I mean, all Dragon interactions are fascinating to me. But from what I can tell, outside of her personality, Gible acts pretty much the way I'd expect one of her species to act."

"She close to evolving or anything?" Jobe turned to me. His face was unreadable.

"Do you want her too?" I considered the question. Given the attack, I'd certainly feel better with a Gabite at my back. Dragon types, for all the mystique around them, were relatively weak until they finished evolving. Now, this was my reality game; statistics didn't quite line up, but there were Pokémon who naturally had advantages over others.

The strongest of Dragons, like Garchomp, numbered among the most powerful Pokémon. But their previous evolutions were regarded for rarity. Not strength. From what I could tell online, Dragon Types were considered to be long-term investments by Professional Trainers.

Potentially incredible, but taking years to accomplish that strength and, by and large, being middle of the road or on the slightly weaker side without fully evolving.

Even then, some fully evolved Dragons, like Noivern or Kingdra, were considered mid-range Dragons. Online discourse was messy over whether they were worth the investment. From everything I'd gathered, they were usually used for particular niches in a competitive team. They were powerful but not overwhelmingly so, requiring a good team to truly show off what they were made of.

With how many Dragons had three-stage evolution and the time it took to happen, there were more 'weak' dragons than 'strong' and 'mid' dragons put together. It had led me to a theory. All dragons prized strength because they knew what it was like to be weak. Granted, it was hardly a unique theory. A quick look around the internet found hundreds of forums of people floating the same idea and a few dozen research papers about the same.

What I thought was a grand revelation was pretty much an accepted scientific fact.

I'll admit.

Made me feel a hell of a lot less special.

"Nash?" I shook my head as Jobe's voice brought me back out of my own head. I looked towards the other man, he looked a little concerned.

"Sorry. Gible evolving right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not opposed to it. I imagine it'll increase my costs," Gible ate almost as much as I did. Gabite would probably eat as much as me or a little more. If Eevee stayed on, I wasn't going to need to do extra jobs just to impress the PPP. I was going to need to do it to afford to feed everyone.

"By a bit, yeah." Jobe agreed. His face was still carefully neutral.

"After we got jumped, a bit more firepower would be welcome. But I'm not going to try forcing evolution or anything, just wondered if she was close."

"I'm glad you don't want to force an evolution. It's actually a big problem among Dragon Trainers. A lot of them will throw their partners into situations they're not ready for, usually against wild Pokémon, to try and force evolution before they're ready for it by putting increasing external pressure on the Pokémon."

"Doesn't that count as abuse?"

"Yeah. It is. The problem is that it's damned near impossible to prove. Sure, we can have suspicions, but proving that's what someone is trying to do is difficult at best. Doesn't help that some online 'experts'," I could taste the vitriol he put on that word.

"Expound that it's a great way to 'increase the power of a dragon', I swear I'd love to deck the first person who thought it was a good idea."That didn't sound like a joke in the slightest.

Good.

Because I fully agreed. Punching whoever thought of that was a cause I'd love to be a part of. Not sure I'd stop hitting them after one punch, but that was a small issue at best. Let's throw the thinking-feeling being into extreme danger because it could be possibly beneficial was crazy talk of the highest order.

There was a difference between Pokémon Battles and that. Pokemon Battles were something both parties agreed to, and, while like in Boxing or MMA, things could go wrong. Permanent injuries and deaths were astonishingly rare. In the thirty years since the World Wide Web had become commonplace, every Professional League Battle had been logged.

I'd gotten interested at one point and looked up deaths; in that time frame, there had been exactly five deaths attributed to official Pokemon Battles. Two of which were humans who got pasted after the psychic barriers failed. Permanent injuries were at seven.

Deaths due to wild Pokémon, however, while lower than they were a hundred years ago, were still something to be concerned about. It was about three hundred a year on average. With another fifty thousand people needing medical attention due to acting like an idiot. Throwing a Pokémon, dragon or not, at a wild Pokémon to try and force evolution sounded like a great way to get added to the Darwin Awards.

"Gible." Jobe looked at the land shark as she stomped the ground again. A visible ripple tore across the cracked ground. She looked up at Victoria and jumped up happily.

"I think she's getting close to being ready to evolve, but is still a bit off. From what I looked up, Bulldoze is one of the last moves Gible tend to learn in the wild before they're ready to evolve."

"Actually, would you mind answering a question?" It had been something I'd thought about before but never gotten around to looking into.

"Shoot."

"How do Pokémon moves work exactly?"

"Well, they mould Type Energy-"

"Sorry, I've phrased that badly." I cut him off.

"How do Pokémon learn moves in the wild?" Jobe nodded slowly and stroked his non-existent beard.

"Well, it's kind of like how humans can walk." Okay, weird start. "You don't remember learning how to walk right."

"No."

"It's a natural thing for humans to do. You eventually learn how to walk by observing others, sure, but it's also a deeply buried impulse. Your body knows it's supposed to walk; it has reactions specifically for walking. We, as a species, evolved specifically to be able to walk upright. While it is a skill you have to learn over time as an infant. The basic instinct is there."

"Following you so far." Kind of, I assumed this would be relevant later.

"Good. Pokémon are the same with moves." I quirked an eyebrow. "It's true. Specific lines of Pokémon used specific moves enough that they became ingrained in their DNA. A subconscious knowledge of how to do something."

"Let's use Gible as the example. Bulldoze is a common Ground Type move. To the point its almost ubiquitous with Ground Types. The list that can't learn it is a lot shorter than the list that can. Now training is helping her learn the right way to channel the Ground Type Energy, but honestly, do you really think she wouldn't have puzzled it out on her own?"

"She would have."

"Exactly, she has the inborn instincts to use Ground Type Energy to do exactly this. She'd get it sooner or later. But having a teacher helps. Based on the readings Ben first took when she came in, and the Ranger's notes, I'd have said she was somewhere between six and twelve months away from learning how to do it. Looking at her now, there's a pretty significant chance she'll have it down before the next League Day." He drew in a deep breath before continuing. It seemed I would be getting a lecture.

I didn't interrupt.

I was trying to make up for years of cultural and professionally instructed knowledge.

I'd take any help I could get.

"Moves are divided into four. Egg Moves. The ones passed down by their parents' DNA. Like Gible's Metal Claw. Natural Moves, those are the ones they pick up instinctively. Learned Moves: these are the ones that usually require human intervention. They're outside the usual for the species, but close enough you can make them work."

"What about the fourth category?"

"Ah, that one." Jobe sounded less enthused. "The official name is Extra Moves, but it's equally likely to be called Additional Moves, or Waste Of Time Moves."

"That sounds odd." I really wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Look, you have to understand that any Pokémon can learn almost any move."

"What?" That flew in the face of everything I knew in the games. Then again, this wasn't a game.

"There are some exceptions. A land-based Pokémon like Golem can't learn Fly, for example, or at least no one's ever recorded it. But for the most part, any Pokémon can learn any move. It's just a matter of them learning to manipulate that particular Type Energy in a certain way."

"And this is hard?"

"Oh, extremely." He pointed out to Eevee.

"One of the advantages of the Normal Type is their ability to learn Extra Moves more easily than most. By the same token, Extra Moves that use Normal-type Energy are easier to learn than others. We'll use Gible as the example. Being a Dragon-Ground Type. She'll always find it easier to learn moves that manipulate Dragon or Ground Type Energy and, as the Gible line primarily specialises in physical combat, she'll also find it easier to learn physical moves than ranged moves."

"Some of the Gible lines Learned Moves are Fire Fang and Thunder Fang. There are some Extra Moves she could also learn. Most easily would be Hyper Fang, as it uses Normal-type energy. To put the time investment into perspective, here.

Gible's Bulldoze. Half a year to a year in the wild from where she was when you picked her up. With teachers, maybe two months. A learned move with teachers who knew it could take anywhere from three months to a year to puzzle out. A fair amount of time."

"Okay." I was still with him for now.

"An Extra Move using Normal Type Energy with a Teacher usually takes anywhere from two to three years."

"Jesus Christ." Jobe looked at me oddly. I waved him off. I was not explaining Christian theology.

"If it's an Extra Move whose typing is antithetical to the user. Like Gible learning Ice Fang, which is Super Effective against her. You could be looking at half a decade or more. Not to say that Pokémon don't learn moves that are Super Effective against themselves, Eevee's Double Kick, for example. But when it comes to Extra Moves, they're usually far more trouble than they're worth. Even most Professional Trainers don't bother with them, or if they do, they pick one move and learn that just for an unexpected sucker punch."

"Okay," I nodded slowly.

"It's a lot to take in. Sorry for the diatribe. I get like that when I'm explaining things." Jobe rubbed the back of his head.

"Not all good, probably good, I know all that anyway. Speaking of moves, with Gible almost having Bulldoze down, where do you think she should focus next?"

"Dig." Jobe didn't even hesitate.

"Dig?"

"Dig."

"Why? If you don't mind me asking. Willow said Earth Power of High Horse Power should be next."

"Okay, so from a battling perspective, if you're aiming to learn Earthquake as quickly as possible, she's right. The next step is Earth Power or High Horse Power. But you also need to make some money."

"Yeah."

"Dig is going to be useful to you then. It's used a lot for landscaping, and you can use it to make a quick buck. My college life actually got a lot easier once I had Victoria because she already knew Dig." I stole his notepad and flipped the page. Jobe had very nice handwriting.

I jotted down my own note, 'learn dig, get money,' and tore out the page, tucking it in a pocket before throwing his pad back to him. I got a mock stern look before we went back to watching the Pokémon.

"She's almost got it," Jobe said after a moment. Gible stomped the ground again. The earth cracked orange-brown energy rippled upward for a half second and dissipated. Victoria let out a victory cry and bumped Gible's forehead to forehead in what I had learned was practically an intimate hug for Dragons.

"I'll need to buy her a big meal when she does, not sure if my wallet can take it." I was only half joking; everything I was doing was putting me on razor-thin margins.

"I do not envy you." I let my eyes travel over to Eevee, her mouth opened, seven grey-white rings burst forth, but did nothing to the tree that Alex was having her attack. The Altaria, however, clearly saw this as a massive success and began to sing Eevee's praises. Literally. The fox preened a little under the praise. While Alex shot a smug look at Victoria, the Flygon stuck her tongue out at him.

"Are they?"

"Competing?"

"Together."

"Eh," Jobe shrugged. "On and off. As far as I can tell, they're in a casual relationship at best."

"You don't know."

"Take a good look and then decide if you really wanna know about their sex life."

"Point made."

"Besides, they're both adults; they'll be fine." We lapsed back into relaxed silence, and I dicked around on my phone a bit.

I opened my emails, junk, junk, I don't own a house, why would I need home insurance, one from Bob the mechanic. When I opened it, I felt my heart practically stop. The first two words put a massive smile on my face.

Bike's ready.

A few parts you were looking for came in early with another shipment I'd been waiting on. I know you can't afford the whole thing right now. Come by, and you can take it for a test drive, and we'll work out a payment plan.

Regards,

Bob.

I let out a whoop of excitement that had everyone looking at me. I gave a sheepish wave as the four Pokémon returned to what they were doing. I couldn't help but bounce up and down in my seat. It was ready, it was finally ready!

"You look excited."

"My bike's ready!" I practically crowed.

"Good for you, man. Are you even allowed to drive?"

"Yeah. Back when I was first getting all my cards, they made me take their license exam. I passed." Barely. But I wasn't about to tell him that. I was fine with the general driving questions; it was the Pokémon-specific driving questions that had almost tripped me up. I'd passed the exam by a single point, and not even once had I been able to put my skills to work.

"Sweet. What's the plan?"

"Joy ride!"

"Joy ride. To where?"

"No idea! I'll work it out when I get there!" I was almost deliriously happy. I could feel the emotion bubbling up from inside my stomach like I was made of air. Oh, to be on the open road again. The part of my mind noting that I was going to need to outlay more cash for proper rackless luggage and likely a heat shield was promptly told to shut its God damned mouth.

It did so with a grumble.

Knowing it was right, but I wasn't in the mood to listen.

Despite my childlike giddiness, I didn't immediately run off. Instead, I spent another hour and a half on the bench talking with Jobe about anything and everything, really. But eventually, all good things come to an end.

"Alright, I gotta get home." The nurse stood stretching.

"Alex! Victoria!" The Altaria and Flygon looked over and then leaned down. Victoria giving Gible another light headbutt before racing over. Alex instead pulled his wings around Eevee and then took off. Victoria got over first, letting out a triumphant hiss and giving Jobe a head tap before hovering next to him. Not to be outdone, Alex's fluffy wings wrapped around the nurse before he landed on the ground.

"Gib!" Gible called out as she trotted up to me directly between Jobe and Victoria. I leaned down and gave her a quick belly rub.

"I was watching, you know, you did great."

"Gible!" She preened at my praise.

"Vee." Eevee's approach was much more careful. She skirted around Jobe and his Pokémon. Making sure never to put herself between them. Leaving several angles of retreat available to her. She was calm enough around Alex.

But once the Altaria was around Jobe again, she became wary. I didn't wait, walking over to her. Very deliberately placing myself between her and Jobe. She calmed a little, and I leaned down, putting my right arm out.

Eevee Sprang up the offered limb and onto my shoulder, where she settled in. I'd quickly discovered this was the best place for Eevee to be when we interacted with people. She was calmer when touching me and, more importantly. If she ever jumped at someone to maul them, I'd hopefully have enough forewarning to stop her.

"You did great, too." I kept my voice low; her ears were sensitive after all, and gave Eevee a little scratch behind the ears. I was lucky that Gible wasn't the jealous type. Though I'd probably need to carry her around for a little while to redress the karmic balance.

"Thanks, Jobe, Alex, Victoria." I nodded to each. "We really appreciate the help." I kept a smile on my face and shook Jobe's hand.

"No problem. Happy to help." Victoria and Alex added their own voices at the happy to help part, reinforcing that Jobe was speaking for all of them, not just himself.

"See you on Friday!" He called out, walking away.

"Alright, time to go see Bob."

"Gib?"

"Vee!?"

"Ah, right, you haven't met him yet." I gave Eevee a quick rundown of who Bob was. She didn't seem enthused to meet him. Then again, Eevee didn't exactly like people. So that wasn't surprising.

"Vee." She closed her eyes as we walked towards Grumley Mechanics.

"Oh, that reminds me. Gible, you want a name?"

"Gib?" She sounded confused.

"A human name, I mean, I know you already probably told me yours, but I can't exactly hear it properly."

"Gible." She sighed and shook her whole body, probably lamenting humans and their poor ears.

"So name?"

"Gib." She shrugged and did a wobbly body nod.

"Alright, I got a few." Before I could start, Eevee gave me a gentle bite on the ear. It didn't hurt; I could feel her teeth press in a little, but no pain. "What?"

"Vee."

"You want one too?"

"Vee!"

"Alright, fine, I got some ideas, hear them out, and let me know if you like any of them." I took a deep breath. I'd thought of six names; hopefully, one of them would be a hit.

"Marie, a woman who made significant scientific discoveries, who earned some of the highest scientific honours." The two Pokémon didn't react. I moved on. "Boudica, a warrior queen who almost managed to force an invading force out of her homeland." I think, no way to check anymore. Gible seemed to consider, but Eevee didn't react.

"Taylor, the Queen of Escalation. Killed God." I was not explaining Scion; I didn't think the Pokémon had the frame of reference to understand half of Worm. Gible reacted a little, Eevee not at all. I'd considered Coco for a while, but Coco Chanel was a Nazi, so I'd let that one go.

"Elayne rediscovered how to forge magic artifacts. Attempted to bitch slap the taste out of the mouth of immortal bad guys more than once. Admittedly, with help." Gible and Eevee looked a little interested, but neither jumped on it. "Finally, Joan, or Jeanne, of Arc fame. Helped push an invading army out of her homeland and was Sainted for it." I realised after a moment that the Pokémon who have no idea what that meant.

"Sainting is a big deal." I didn't have another way to describe it than that.

Gible and Eevee looked at each other, seemed to consider it for a moment, then shook their heads.

"No good, huh?"

"Gib."

"Vee."

"Alright, I'll keep working on it." Gible seemed to be drawn more towards warriors. Eevee was less clear but liked Elayne and Joan. It could be the sound of the name or the extremely truncated explanation I'd given. Still, it was more than I had to go on before. I toss some Dragon names at Gible next. Maybe some Celtic ones at Eevee. Try the Fairy angle.

It took another ten minutes to reach Bob's shop. Brutus the Stoutland watched us from near the gate. I waved to him and Gible, called a greeting. The Stoutland let out a bark in return and a doggy grin before going back to watching the road.

"Bob!" I called out as we got to the front door. The old mechanic stuck his head out from the workshop. Eevee went to hiss, and I placed a hand on her back. She calmed down. If Bob noticed, and I was sure he did, he didn't comment.

"Nash! Got my email then."

"Yep, how's she looking?" He let out a chuckle.

"Come and see." She was beautiful. Okay, that was a lie. She looked like a pile of crap.

"I love her." Bob started laughing.

"Alright, lover boy. You should be good to go for a while."

"I thought most of this would take longer to order."

"Yeah, so did I, but when I was buying some parts for another customer last week, I asked about some of the mechanical parts I couldn't get. They had a few boxes and sent them with the order. Came in on Thursday last week. Only got it all installed today. Normally, I wouldn't go out on a limb buying the stuff, but you need it, and let's be honest. You're not really in a position to stiff me."

"Okay, what's the damage come to?"

"Well, you've already paid for the Pyroar's share of it. All that's left on your account is," He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "Thirty-four thousand three hundred and ten." I did not have that on hand and told him as much.

"Ah, well, nice as it would have been. We can do a payment plan, as I said in my email. You're here for what, another month or so?"

"About five weeks." He pulled out a calculator from the nearby desk and punched in a few numbers.

"Five weeks, let's do six thousand five hundred for the next four weeks and eight thousand three hundred and ten for the last. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah. That works great, I may need to spend a bit more though." Saying the words was like pulling teeth.

"Really?"

"Yeah, storage, I'm thinking rackless bags, so I should just need some heat shields."

"How heavy?"

"I was hoping for twenty litres a side." He mulled it over for a second.

"I can get it for you, that'd be about another hundred grand." I let out a wheeze; I needed it, and this saved me looking. "You want something for the Pokémon to sit in. I doubt you could afford a sidecar, but they do beds for Pokémon about their size." I looked at Eevee, still wrapped around my neck.

"You sticking around?" She looked at me for a moment. Weighing her options, it took her a full minute to come to a decision. Then she licked me on the nose.

"Vee."

"Yeah, I'll need the bed too." Oh dear God in heaven, that hurt. I very much doubted I'd be able to convince her to stay in a pokeball. Given her general reaction to them.

"Alright, sit down." We pulled up chairs in front of his computer and began to search through the different bags and beds that could sit comfortably on the T-02. I ended up with a Buffolant Canyon that sat up to twenty liters on each side of the bike.

A pair of internal dry bags to make sure things stayed dry when it rained. A heat shield and a Silph Co. Medium-sized Pokemon Bed that could fit Eevee and Gible comfortably, with its clear plastic cover open. They could fit uncomfortably with it closed, or one of them could get in a pokeball.

"So your total for those, including shipping, is one hundred and seventy thousand." I let out a wheezing breath. Eevee snuggled closer. That was thirty grand more than the bike repairs had set me back; I could rent the motel room for a full month for that price.

"Hurts?"

"Yes."

"Gible."

"Eevee." The land shark hugged my stomach, sitting on my lap, as she was, while the fox snuggled into my neck. Damn you both and your cuteness.

"Can I add it to that repayment plan?" Bob looked me up and down, then sighed.

"Sure. Let me rework it." He scribbled down notes for a second I looked at my Pokémon.

"Okay, I know you're paid biweekly. We'll do eighty thousand every two weeks, then week five, you clear the rest at eight thousand three hundred and ten." I nodded and let out a wheeze like I'd just been hit in the gut. Bob laughed and printed out some forms, beginning to write on them. He threw me a key.

"Alright, I'll get the legal stuff written up. You wanna take her for a test ride?" I couldn't help the grin that came over my face.

"You sure I won't just bugger off?" He snorted and gave me a flat look.

"Running is for people with somewhere to go."

Fair.

"Back in a couple of hours?"

"That'd be appreciated, that way I can be home on time. By the way, kid, this is a test drive. Bike stays with me until you're paid up." I looked at the bike, my bike, and threw a leg over. Eevee dug her claws into my shirt as I mounted up and placed Gible in front of me. I wouldn't be able to ride the way I usually liked.

Fast.

Or suicidally, as my friends insisted on calling it.

I felt a well of sadness like black tar bubble up from my gut and forced it back down. Problems for later. I peeled out of Grumley's Mechanics and onto the road for the first time in over six months with a bike between my legs. I let out a whoop of triumph and forced a smile.

In serious debt or not.

Things were looking up!

END

---

Double upload today.

Because I'm an idiot who forgot to upload on Wednesday.


POKEMON ANIME EXTRA MOVE EXAMPLES

Raticate – Jump Kick (Battle Aboard the SS Anne)
Lance & Clair's Dragonites – Whirlwind (Talkin' 'Bout an evolution & Great Bowls of Fire)
Bock's Crowbat – Sonic Boom (Lapras of Luxury)
Loudred – Dig (Turning Over a Nuzleaf)
Jirachi – Teleport (Jarachi: Wish Maker)
Harley's Ariados – Shadow Ball (New Plot, Odd Lot)
Nidoran (m) – Bite (Leading a Stray)
Kricketune – Bullet Seed (Zoroark: Master of Illusions)
Officer Jenny's Swanna – Blizzard (Crisis at Ferroseed Research)

 

[Manfat]

I pulled the bike around the corner. Heading north up the ninety-five towards Icirrus city. I could see my breath as we traveled into the mountains. The wind smelled of pine needles, and the cold stung my face. The smile I'd forced before had become natural.

We wouldn't make it to Icirrus City. I only had a little while to take this bike for a spin. I had the range, the battery should last me two hundred kilometres, and there were a few Charge Courts on the way if I needed a top-up.

Icirrus City was a three-hour drive away at the speed limit, and I sure as hell wasn't going that fast.

Gible and Eevee weren't terrible passengers. But they weren't made for sitting on a bike. I had to manually adjust Gible every few minutes; she'd almost fallen off three times.

Eevee's tail was keeping my neck warm. But now and then, some of her fur would block my sight. Which meant, despite a speed limit of one hundred kilometers on this part of the highway. I was off to one side, practically in the emergency lane, barely managing fifty. Which was definitely illegal.

But I'd come off a bike at speed before. I was in no hurry to relive that experience. Broken ribs and road rash could suck my balls. Plus, in my haste to drive around, I'd completely neglected to get a helmet. I imagined Bob thought I'd bum around town a bit. In my experience, most country towns were a little lax on road laws.

I doubted he expected me to just send it.

I'd been so excited to finally be able to drive again that I hadn't even considered a helmet or the police until we were twenty minutes out of Geddes. Well. Hopefully, there were no eager traffic cops nearby.

That was another thing to add to my expense list: a helmet.

There were some questions I needed answers to if I was going to get any sort of plan off the ground. I looked at the upcoming sign, left hand automatically steadying Gible's fin as we rolled around a corner.

Kayuta Lake, next turn off, ten kilometers.

Good enough.

I wonder how Mama Swampert is doing?

The trees were almost completely golden. A few stubborn green leaves hung on by a thread. But it was more common to see bare branches than green as Autumn lost the war to Winter. Considering how far north we were. This place would probably be snowed under in another month. I didn't like that. I was built for heat. Not cold.

Plus, I didn't like my chances with just my tent and sleeping bag.

Freezing to death didn't appeal.

The bike didn't purr as I pulled into a vacant parking lot overlooking the lake. The electric motor's hum died down as I kicked out the stand and turned it off. I stood and stretched. I was still stiff as hell from the healing, and riding had made it worse. Apparently, my arse wasn't used to sitting on a bike anymore.

"Regular breaks," I muttered as Gible plopped down and waddled towards the grassy hill just off the car park. Eevee joined her. Flicking her tail, in what I assumed was affection, under my chin as she jumped off my shoulder. The two Pokémon began tramping up and down the hill, talking excitedly.

I ran a hand along the ground before sitting. Luckily, it was dry. I pulled out my phone, one bar of reception, typical. Still not as bad as the back roads near work. I was stuck on SoS only half the time.

With a grumble, I popped open the calculator. I knew I was cutting things close; I needed to know how close. Between Willow and the welfare payments, I was looking at one point two nine four million. I'd do some odd jobs with Gible and Eevee, but that kind of money wasn't reliable.

Now came expenses. There were the usuals, then eating out. I'd stop doing that if I had to. I wasn't exactly too keen on heading back to the Geddes Tavern anyway, and the pokeball I was somehow going to have to convince Eevee to get into. Plus whatever miscellaneous expenses came up.

I totaled the number up.

Blinked.

Totaled the number up again.

Swore loudly.

"Gib?" The shark princess wandered up. I barely noticed sweeping her into my lap as I checked my sums again.

I re-totaled everything, my earnings and expenses.

There was a slim chance I'd hit the wrong button.

"Son of a rat bastard." My voice was more of a growl.

"Vee." Half distracted, my hand picked Eevee off the ground and deposited her on my shoulder. Giving her a small scratch behind the ear. She gave an approving rumble. Before Gible could interrupt, I gave her a belly rub, and she lolled back into me.

With everything being taken into account, I would have a whopping nest egg of thirty-one thousand pokedollars, give or take a couple of hundred in either direction. That was a week of buffer if something went wrong. Two weeks, if I decided to eat nothing but dried food the whole time.

I doubted that God answered my prayers.

I sent one up anyway.

Couldn't hurt.

I groaned and fell back onto the grass. My right hand came up and pulled Eevee off my shoulder, dropping her onto my chest so she wasn't crushed. Gible immediately decided that while Eevee could have my chest, my stomach belonged to her.

"Gib!" She declared laying down.

"Vee." Eevee didn't move at all, curling up on my chest.

"Gahh." I groaned, bringing my phone up. It took me less than five minutes to find Unovas, and probably this world as a whole, equivalent to Amazon. Which meant the company was probably evil. But right now, I was about to benefit. So I wasn't going to look too hard beneath the surface.

Motorcycle helmets.

If I were riding long, even semi-long, distances, I wanted a full-face helmet. The wind got cold. There were a few, but in the end, I settled on a helmet with an extra bell on it. Bluetooth functionality. I could listen to songs while I rode. Now I just needed whatever passed for Spotify on this Earth.

What was the bet it was called something like Loudredfy?

Another upcoming expense.

I moved on to the confirm purchase page for the helmet. Its total price, including shipping, was twenty-three thousand nine hundred thirteen dollars and twenty-seven cents. Which would bring my final savings account down to around seven thousand, give or take a couple of hundred. Forget two weeks of buffer, I'd have three days if I were spectacularly lucky.

That new tent was going to have to wait.

"Man, you two are expensive." I groused, no real heat. The Pokemon chose, very magnanimously, it must be said, not to take issue with my statement. I lay on the ground without moving for another ten minutes before getting Eevee and Gible off of me and sitting up.

Time to address a problem. Besides the 'I desperately need more work' one.

"Eevee."

"Vee?"

"You said you wanted to stick around, right?" Unlike at Bob's, this time she didn't hesitate, nodding.

"Vee."

"Alright, gonna need to pick a pokeball then." The hair on the back of her neck raised, and she hissed. I put my hands up in mock surrender.

"I know you don't like them. But in order to properly register and make it so other people don't try anything, you're going to have to go in one once. I promise it'll only be for a second, and then you never have to go back if you don't want to."

"Vee!" She hissed a little, then slowly, but surely, her fur lay flat, and Eevee just looked tired.

"You'll be okay." I reached out and scratched her head. She used the chance to run up my arm and grab a spot on my shoulder. Before nuzzling her head against mine.

"Vee." Her voice was much lower now, almost a purr. I knew she was trying to distract me; it was also kind of working.

"Gib!" Gible, deciding she'd been left out long enough. Cannoned into my stomach and demanded belly rubs. I let out a wheeze. The muscles in my shoulders spasmed. At the same time, Eevee put on her best sad face to demand head scratches. I was stuck there another twenty minutes before my two miniature princesses would let me stand and get them back on the bike.

The ride back was much like the ride out. I pulled back into Bob's Mechanics just after the two-hour deadline. I counted it lucky he was more theatrically annoyed than angry. I was pretty sure he made me wait for twenty minutes getting the paperwork ready just to prove a point.

I signed off on the repayment plan paperwork. The first payment would be due this upcoming Friday, before Bob's closing time of five pm. Which was easily doable, even if I had to pay it in person, not via bank transfer.

I got to spend the next few days trying, and mostly failing, to get Eevee okay with the idea of getting into a pokeball. Eevee, for her part, either refused to talk about it or attempted to distract me. Her success rate with the latter was better than the former. Still, she didn't immediately go from Zero to Murder like she would have at the beginning.

I'd take the win.

Sometimes the small ones were all you got.

It was Saturday after Gible was done working with Mum-ggron. She was in for her weekly checkup. While Jobe was busy doing that. I was rolling a miniaturised pokeball back and forth across the counter. Eevee looked at it like it was the condensed form of all the world's evil.

"You did agree to this." I pointed out idly. We'd been at his for half an hour. I'd already tried coaxing and cajoling. Now I'd settled on mild apathy. I'd see if this one worked.

"Vee." She hissed and turned her nose up at the ball. She was being stubborn. I didn't know what she had against pokeballs. Charades only went so far. But I wasn't going to push. I'd let her take her time. We still had a few weeks before I needed to head out anyway. While not exactly warming up to the idea. Eevee was less actively hostile to the pokeball in my hands than anyone else's.

Then again, that step down wasn't massive.

Instead of 'murder', I got 'no'.

"Vee!" She whined. I gave her a flat look in return.

"Look, you know as well as I do this needs to be done. It doesn't have to be today. I got the pokeball, so you've got some time." My wallet gave a phantom scream.

"But it does need to be done before we leave." The Government didn't care if Eevee lived in the ball. Just that the ball was registered to Eevee, and I was registered to the ball. That way, when they inevitably decided to tax me over this, they knew who to send the bill.

"Vee." She kicked the miniaturised ball out of my hand and batted it around unenthusiastically. I rubbed her head and intercepted her before Eevee could use the excuse to run up my arm. She'd used curling up on my shoulder and demanding affection several times to avoid this conversation.

In Eevee's defence, and an indictment of me, I suppose, it was usually pretty effective.

She looked at me sourly. I raised an eyebrow. Letting out a theatrical sigh, she looked back at the ball. Disdain was written across her face. She let out a huff and rolled her paw. The universal sign for 'get on with it'. I enlarged the ball and placed it in front of her.

Eevee stared it down. Her face twisted in disgust. But she couldn't hide the tremors that ran through her body. That wasn't anger. That was fear. I reached out slowly, making sure she saw my hand. I did not want to take the small murder fox-cat-dog by surprise.

She hadn't mauled me yet, and I'd like to keep it that way. I scratched behind her ear and hummed a tune I vaguely remember from my Grandmother, never did learn what it was called. The trembling slowly stopped. She looked at me, then back at the ball.

"It doesn't have to be today." I reached for the ball.

"Vee." She shook her head and stepped out from under my hand, glaring at the ball. Her paw poked the button, and she vanished in a flash. The ball rocked once before letting out the chime like 'ping' that signalled a successful capture. I didn't even have a chance to try releasing her. The ball exploded open. Eevee hit me in the chest like a right straight from Iron Mike himself.

That wasn't an attack.

That was pure unadulterated desire to GET OUT.

I felt pain bloom from the middle of my chest. Air shot out from behind my teeth. I vaguely tasted yesterday's dinner. The chair teetered backward. I went over. Instinct took over before I could fully process what happened.

I wrapped one arm around the Pokémon. The other one broke my fall as I rolled out of the chair. There was a bang as we hit the floor, a sharp needle of pain flaring in my hip as it bounced off something hard and unforgiving. The stiffness and pain that had mostly become background noise reasserted itself.

"Ow." I groaned, "really should have seen that coming."

"Vee?" She climbed up my chest. Paws resting on my collarbone. Eevee looked a little worried. Which was nice.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just a little winded." My voice was an octave or two higher. I had to fight down a couple of breaths as my lungs stopped trying to kill me. I'd been properly winded before. This was mild discomfort by comparison. Was probably going to limp for a while, thanks to my hip, though.

"Vee." She butted her head against mine.

"You're alright," I said quietly. Almost whispering the words as I reached up, scratching her behind an ear. "You're alright."

"Vee." She didn't so much say it as her body rumbled.

"You haven't ever gotta go back in the ball if you don't want to." I let my arm drop on her back, lightly, and pulled her into a small hug. Light enough, she could escape if she felt the need to. She didn't. Eevee snuggled inward instead.

"Vee?"

"Promise." She let out a purr and rubbed against my head again. I scratched her behind the ears. I was gonna need another few minutes on the ground before I was good to go again.

"Gib!" The land-shark raced over. Deceptively fast for her size. Before settling on my stomach. This time I held in the wheeze.

"Are you okay?" Jobe asked, looking amused. But it flicked to concern for just a moment when he saw Eevee clinging to me. Well, to be fair, if I saw a grown ass man just lying on the floor in the middle of a hospital, I'd probably be amused as well or start screaming for a nurse. Really depended on the day.

"Yeah. Just....relaxing."

"Relaxing?"

"Floor is good."

"Alright then. I have not got the time or the qualifications to untangle whatever this is. Gible's recovery is going well. Just keep doing what you're doing, and it should be fine."

"Right, got it."

"Excellent," He went behind the desk, pulled out a clipboard, and squatted down to hand it to me. I gave it a quick once-over. Because that had been drilled into me from a young age. Read whatever you're about to sign. Same form I'd seen every time we did a check-up. I signed and got up off the floor.

Gible grumbled as I pulled her off me.

Eevee gave a smug look of superiority from my shoulder.

It was a miracle the land-shark didn't demand to be carried.

Today?

Today I'd take little miracles.

END

---

Slice of life chapter.

And we get another look at Nash's finances! They're terrible!
Manfat Patreon - If you're interested in supporting the work I do.
This is Fine - Volume 1 Complete
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - 2 Chapters Ahead. Biweekly Schedule. Going to weekly as of July 6th.

 

[FTR2017]

Thanks for the double chapter!

 

[Manfat]

"Gib! Gible!" The bouncing is what woke me. It woke Eevee to, but the look she gave me said, 'you handle this,' before putting her tail over her eyes.

"Alright, Alright, I'm up," I grumbled, placing a hand on Gible's fin.

She calmed.

A little.

With the land shark still practically vibrating with excitement, I stole a look out the window. Still dark, the false dawn yet to break the horizon.

The last few weeks had been good.

I didn't get to say that very often. Gible had put in training every chance she had. Getting ready for League Day. Now that it was here, she couldn't wait to get started. Never mind the fact that the first match was still hours away, and there was no guarantee she'd be going first.

Which could break her tiny heart.

We'd burn that bridge if we came to it.

"Alright, breakfast, then we can relax for a bit."

"Gible!" She pointed to the door. I pointed to the window. She looked, blinked, and did a shuffling wobble I associated with her realising she'd made a mistake. Taking in a deep breath, she looked me dead in the eye. "Gible."

And refused to apologise.

Because of course she did.

"Love you, Princess." I gave her a scratch on the fin and stood. We didn't have much, but there was a microwave, and I had some packaged meals. I ran through a few of them before settling on two, then looking back at the bed.

Eevee was trying very hard to pretend to be asleep. It would probably have been working too if her tail didn't shift every few seconds, giving me occasional glimpses at her very open eyes. She noticed me noticing and put her tail back down.

"Love you too." I grabbed a third meal and placed two of them into the microwave, and let it run. That was the Pokémon's food dealt with. I'd have a shower before I put mine in. I scrolled the net for a few minutes while the microwave worked.

Hadn't been able to do that in almost a year.

There was a sharp ding bringing me back to reality. I pulled the two microwave meals out. They were wide bowls meant to be used by Pokémon or humans, so I didn't even have to dirty one of mine.

"Gible, yours is the Hamburg Steak. Eevee, when you're done pretending to sleep, you've got the Feebas and fried vegetables." I closed the door to the main room as Gible let out an offended 'Gib!' at realising her friend? Partner? Cohabitant? Had been faking sleep.

Best of luck with that Eevee.

The shower was nice. I didn't worry about leaving too quickly. I could feel the knots in my muscles starting to loosen. I rolled my shoulders, getting a satisfying crack.

I should probably go get after it.

I towelled off and dressed.

When I got out to the main room, the bowls were empty. Gible was practically still vibrating with suppressed enthusiasm. Eevee, who'd clearly given up on faking sleep, gave me a flat look. I smiled. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

We were good.

Probably.

I lay back down. Final check-in for League Day wasn't until eight thirty am. Kids' singles started at nine. Apparently, the farmers' market portion opened at about six. Which would have been a nice way to spend some time if I'd had any money. As it was, I stayed down and opened up this world's equivalent of YouTube.

I hadn't poked around there a lot, but I'd found a few free shows. When I'd been looking up advice on keeping Eevee and Gible healthy, besides what the Pokémon Center told me. I had stumbled on Professor Oak's Pokémon Corner. It was a low budget show explaining Pokemon basics. From types, migration patterns, and everything in between. Clearly meant for younger viewers.

To me, it was like gold.

There was no way to bridge a culture and knowledge gap quickly.

But this would help.

Eevee came a little closer and curled up next to my head, where she could see the screen. Gible moved to do the same on the other side. They liked some of the shows I'd found. Others, they couldn't stand. Which was fair enough, much like back home, most shows were vapid annoyances.

We laid there until after the sun had broken the horizon.

Then Gible decided to start bouncing up and down again. I checked the time, seven thirty, by the time we got there, it would be about eight. Maybe eight ten, depending on how long it took me to get my shoes on.

"Alright, alright, we'll get going," I said as though I had been worn down.

"Gib!" The land-shark let out a triumphant cry while Eevee gave a flat rumble. The fox stood up and bounced onto my shoulder as I sat up. Gible meanwhile, jumped off the bed and waddled to the door.

It took a moment to find my shoes.

These ones were about to die. My new ones had been sitting at the bottom of my travel bag since they arrived. No holes in these ones yet, though, which meant they were still good to go. I could feel the tiles through the tip of the sole. It was damn near worn away.

"Okay, lead on." I opened the door and followed Gible outside as she marched down the stairs. She managed to stay ahead of me, despite her shorter legs, for a good ten minutes before starting to lag. Not that she couldn't maintain that pace, but we were starting to hear people on the wind. Large crowds were not Gible's favourite.

To say nothing of Eevee, who was digging her way into my collarbone with such determination I'd probably need the Jaws of Life to get her off.

The Pokémon Center rose in the distance. Just like last time, the area was packed. Food stalls, which I was sure I'd be whined at about until I brought something for Gible and Eevee. Handcrafts, even a few stalls that looked right out of a swap-meet.

Gible shortened the distance between us as we hit the edge of the crowd. Walking close to my legs instead of leading. She didn't stop. That was the good thing. Eevee was focusing on anyone who got too close. One mother saw her behaviour and told her kid to stay back. Explaining it as Eevee was likely an emotional support Pokémon.

Ha.

If anything, I was her Emotional Support Human.

I scratched the small fox's ears.

"No maiming, okay?" I was only half joking.

"Vee." She sniffed and looked away. But her tail tickled the underside of my jaw affectionately.

"Gib." I leaned down on reflex and gave her fin a pat. I got a pleasant rumble in return.

Cosmic Balance: Restored.

"Nash!" I heard Jobe's voice as I got closer to the Center. He was in casual clothes behind the check-in desk. Guess he wasn't competing this time.

"Morning Jobe," I called back and waved, making my way over.

"Saw you on the listing. Singles today, right?"

"Right." I'd asked Eevee if she was interested.

She wasn't.

Maybe next time.

"I'll get you all checked in, sign here, please."

"Got it. Big turnout today?"

"About normal. Maybe a little less. Tends to get lighter as we get closer to winter." God, did I feel that.

"Fair enough, what's the field look like?"

"Strong enough. You looking to go all the way?"

"Just as far as we can."

"Good way to think about it. Right, sorry to be abrupt, but I've got to check in everyone else. Juniors start at nine. They'll end before ten, that's when Singles starts."

"Right, thanks, Jobe."

"No problem." He gave me a wave, and I wandered around the side of the building to the waiting area. No point in looking around the stalls when I couldn't buy anything. Besides, whatever food I was coerced into buying could be framed as a reward later rather than an indulgence.

"What is the difference between Juniors and Singles anyway?" I muttered to myself.

"Juniors only allow under 13's to complete, while Singles can be anyone. Also, a Junior can compete in Singles with their parents' permission." I blinked at the familiar voice and turned. Dave Moore and his daughter, Kat, were sitting on camp chairs waiting for the first match to start.

"Morning, Dave, Kat." I gave each a nod. Dave nodded back. His daughter was a lot more expressive.

"Good morning, Nash! Gible! Eevee!" She practically bounced in her seat. Gible gave a wobbly nod. Eevee elected to ignore her. Kat wilted a little. I reached a hand behind my back, out of her view, and tapped Eevee on the back leg. She gave a resigned grumble and waved a paw at the girl. Kat perked back up but didn't try coming any closer.

Good.

"You here to compete?" Dave asked. We'd spoken more since I'd started coming down to Cherry Grove Middle School's Club. I wouldn't call us friends. But I liked the guy well enough.

"Yeah, just Singles today." He nodded. Kat started vibrating with excitement.

"Me too! I'm going to win it all!" Maybe she would, from what I'd seen, Kat was a cut above people her age and a few of those I'd seen who were older. I wonder if this is what the games would consider a Protagonist?

I shook the thought away.

Down that road lay questions of free will and existentialism I was in no way prepared to tackle.

"So when do they announce match-ups?" I asked, not really directing the question. Kat answered unsurprisingly.

"Juniors are announced at eight forty-five." She said confidently. Which made sense, she'd probably competed more than her fair share.

"Okay, what about Singles?" Kat went quiet in the way kids did when they didn't want to admit they didn't know the answer to a question.

"Singles match-ups are listed at about nine fifteen." Luckily for her, Dave decided to come to his daughter's rescue.

"Right!" Kat said, nodding her head like she'd been the one to dispense wisdom.

"Alrighty then." I took a few steps towards the wall of the Pokémon Center and slid down it, turning it into a makeshift chair. Eevee, sensing my intentions, pulled her body around so she wasn't trapped between my back and the wall. She settled in as soon as I was comfortable.

Gible didn't wait.

Plopping down in my lap and demanding belly rubs.

Which she got, because I was a pushover.

I didn't even wait for Eevee to start complaining before I scratched behind her ears.

"So, just Gible today or is it Eevee?" Dave asked. Kat turned, looking at us with stars in her eyes from the far side of her father.

"Just Gible today."

"I'd love to have a match against either of them!" Kat said, bouncing up and down again. I shook my head with a smile.

"We'll see." I used the same line that adults had been using on kids since the dawn of time, when they didn't just want to say 'no'. Maybe Kat would get to face Gible today. Maybe she wouldn't. She'd never be able to face Eevee. By the time the next League Day rolled around, I'd be long gone chasing work somewhere else for someone else.

"So who's the favourite to win Singles today?" I asked.

"Me!" Kat immediately replied, and I nodded as though I had just heard sage-like wisdom.

"Probably George Woolworth. He's got the most experience and a good strategy." Dave spoke at the same time as his daughter, puncturing her enthusiasm just a little before she rallied.

"I'll beat him, too."

"Just give it your best, Honey." Ah, the other 'no' that wasn't a no.

I sat there for the opening of the Juniors. Kat's name wasn't on the board. Guess that meant this was her first time competing in Singles since she didn't know about the time matches were posted. They were about what I expected. Kids calling out every move like micromanaging would lead to victory instead of confusion.

I paid close attention when Jobe wheeled a whiteboard around the corner from the Pokémon Center's back entrance. I searched for my name. Third match of bracket one. Nash Johnstone vs Kat Moore.

Well, looked like Kat would be getting her wish.

Man, I hope I don't feel too bad about this once it's over.

Because Fire vs Ground was not a good match-up for Litleo.

Not that Kat knew about Gible's new move, but that really wasn't my problem.

"Ah!" Kat turned to grin at me. "I'm gonna beat you, Mr. Nash."

I snorted and let myself respond. I kept my voice light, not sharp. The kid didn't mean it in a bad way after all.

"You're going to try," I said in a sing-song voice to blunt the damage. Her face puffed up as she narrowed her eyes at me.

It was adorable.

"Alright, we're going to walk a bit and warm up," I said, standing.

"Right, see you, Nash." Dave said with a nod of his head. His eyes gave me the unspoken warning of 'do not embarrass my daughter'. I knew what he meant. Dave wasn't trying to warn me off winning. He was telling me not to be cruel about it.

Which?

Fair.

"See you on the field, Mr. Nash!" Kat said, pointing in what I assumed she thought was dramatic fashion. I was also pretty sure that was the tagline of the Pokémon League.

Anyway.

I walked away, there was a quiet spot around the corner of the centre's back entrance.

"Gible?" She spoke quietly, and I looked down and felt my heart harden.

"This changes nothing."

"Gib?"

"You came to win. We win. That's all there is to it. Go as far as you can." She gave me a grin that reminded me she was a dragon.

"Gible."

"Nash!" Jobe called I was snapped out of my daydream and looked up.

"Yeah?"

"Your match is up next. Head to the waiting area, please."

"Got it, thanks." Jobe waved and headed back towards where the other competitors were. "Gible?"

"Gib?"

"You know the plan. Stick to it."

"Gible."

"Right lets go." Eevee tightened her paws a little as I started walking, Gible following along behind. Kat wasn't alone in her corner. Dave was with her, and a woman I didn't know, who was probably her mother, given the resemblance. I waved but chose to stay away. I didn't need distractions right now.

The match going on was solid. No one I recognised, but they had what I'd call solid fundamentals. At least as I understood them. Mostly letting the Pokémon deal with the fight. Only occasionally trying to micromanage. In the end, it was a battle of attrition the Whimsicott won by draining health from the Herdier until the dog just didn't have it left in him to keep going.

It was messy, sure.

But winning was winning.

"Kat Moore and Nash Johnstone, please make your way to the field," Jobe called out, hands directing us where to stand.

I took my place across from Kat. The crowd ceased to matter; the psychic barriers went up. Litleo appeared on the field in a flash of light. I didn't let myself visibly react. Unfortunately, this was probably the worst match-up possible for the lion and not just because of the type.

Gible walked forward, she wasn't ginning.

She was bearing her teeth.

"Ready!" Jobe called. Kat nodded. So did I.

"Go!"

"Lit-" That was as far as Kat got. Gible stomped down. Ground-type energy roared upwards in a wide area. Hammering up under Litleo and hurling him aside. Bulldoze. I'd noticed it at Cherry Grove. Kat tended to focus on setting up first, then attacking. Sometimes she changed up, but it was a safe bet.

Which means Gible, whom I'd taught to go from zero to one hundred instantly, was a terrible match-up.

"Noble R-" Gible was already moving. She'd used the foot that started Bulldoze as a push point and rocketed forward. She always was deceptively fast. By the time Kat was halfway through her call. Gible was swinging a Metal Claw down on Litleo's head. The lion dodged back eyes wide, Gible pushed forward again. Litleo lowered its head. Gible juked right. Metal Claw came down, bouncing off Litleo's side.

The lion let out a cry.

I forced myself not to react.

Gible grabbed, tiny arms holding onto the other Pokémon.

Her jaws opened purple-blue light swirled.

Dragon Rage slammed home.

Point blank.

Gible dropped Litleo; the lion didn't stir once it had hit the ground. That had been the entire plan. Hit hard, fast, bring it to close range, hold, and finish.

It was less a layered plan and more a commitment to overwhelming violence.

"Match Over! Winner Gible and Nash Johnstone." Jobe called from the referee box.

I didn't pay attention to the crowd or the girl.

My focus was on Gible.

She looked back at me and smiled. Bouncing back towards me with her usual energetic step. I kneeled down and brought her into a hug when she got close enough.

"You did great." I kept my voice low.

"Gible." She hugged me as best she could with her tiny arms.

"Vee." Eevee leaned down and brushed Gible's fin with her tail. Which was practically jumping up and down for her.

I looked back up.

Kat stared at the field like reality had just stopped making sense.

I felt something move in my chest and crushed it.

Small or not, competition was competition, and we were here to win.

"Competitors, please leave the field," Jobe called out, reminding me this wasn't a personal moment. I moved, and Gible followed like my shadow. I joined the line of trainers waiting to be seen by Centre Staff. Rules said that no matter what happened, each round required the Pokémon to be seen by a licensed Pokémon Nurse. It didn't take long for Dave to find me.

"Dave."

"Nash." We stood in silence for a moment. "Never seen Gible do that before."

"She only got it down a week ago. This was the field test."

"Worked pretty well."

"Only because Kat didn't know what was about to happen. Next one will be harder."

"True."

"How is she?"

"Trying to figure out what she did wrong."

"She didn't. Sometimes you can do everything right and still lose."

"Yeah. But she's still learning that. Good luck in the next round, Nash. She won't say it, but I think Kat's decided you're the new benchmark."

"Won't take her long to reach me."

"Maybe, maybe not. Good luck in the next match, Nash." Dave gave me a nod and walked off. It took another twenty minutes to reach the front of the line. Dustin took one look at Gible and sighed.

"She's fine."

"Not going to put her through?" I gestured to the machine to his left.

"I saw the match, Nash, and I was the one who looked her over yesterday." Right, he had been the one to do that, hadn't he? "Unless she's contracted some kind of disease in less than twenty-four hours, Gible's fine. Now move it. You're holding up the line."

We spent the time between the first match and the second relaxing. Gible, and Eevee for that matter, tried to drag me to the food stalls several times. I had to put my foot down about that one after the ninth 'accidental' nudge. It cost me the promise that when the matches were over, we'd get food.

I did not promise Gible she'd win.

I don't think Gible noticed.

Eevee definitely did.

The whiteboard was updated a few minutes later. I found my name again, the second match this time, against Bob Hoskin.

From what I could remember of the first bracket matches, I think Bob was the one with the Klang. If so, victory was leaning our way. Couldn't rely on type advantage to win it all. Especially now that Bob should have seen how Gible fought. But I'd take any advantage I could.

"Nash Johnstone and Bob Hoskin to the waiting area, please!" Jobe called out, we did as we were told. Bob was a good-looking guy in his early twenties. Probably a little over six feet. Jawline that could cut a diamond. Bright blue eyes. I was almost surprised he was here and not trying to pick up women, or men, then again, with this world's obsession on battling, maybe this was the best place to pick people up.

Or maybe I was being a judgmental arse again.

Eh.

Didn't really matter in the end anyway.

He was the enemy.

The match ahead of us finished with Deerling putting down Boldore with a Double Kick. It had been on its last legs for a while. Deerling had been playing a frustratingly good game of keep away. Hitting the rock type with Leach Seed and Bullet Seed until it was almost done. Then, letting it close in to finish the job after convincing the Rock Type and their trainer that it was a ranged combat specialist.

Ruthless.

I approved.

"Match over! Winner Deerling and Jaz Karroway." The two trainers and their Pokémon left the field. Gible pulled a little closer, and I kneeled down.

"Same plan. Still weak to ground, so he'll know it's coming. Don't over-commit to the first Bulldoze; chances are, he dodges. It's what comes after that's important."

"Gible." She nodded, eyes narrowed.

"Nash Johnstone, Bob Hoskin, please make your way to the field." My mind started filtering out things again. The crowd got quieter. The psychic barrier was ignored as it went up. All that mattered was Gible and the Klang opposite her.

"Go!" Gible's foot moved, slamming down. Ground-type energy surged. Less than before, but enough to sell it.

Klang jumped.

I had no idea how.

It was literally a pair of intermeshed gears.

But it bounced up and out of the way of 'Bulldoze'. Unfortunately, while Klang could levitate, it couldn't fly.

Gible opened her mouth, Dragon Rage already charged. Which is where most of her energy had gone.

The purple-blue ball hit Klang dead centre.

Gible paused.

That was the mistake.

The steel type roared out of the hit, falling towards Gible like a meteor. The gears turned rapidly. Steel Type energy shaped like a miniature Klang lanced down. Five of them. The first three hit Gible head-on. She managed to scramble away from the other two.

Klang hit the ground.

Gible hit it with Metal Claw.

It did about what I expected.

"Thundershock!" Bob made the call; I didn't have time to make my own. Electricity discharged, thankfully, Gible's ground typing meant it wasn't very effective.

"Sand Tomb." She powered through the attack and slammed her foot on the ground. This time, Klang wasn't in a position to dodge.

Klang turned and let out a point-blank shot of something that glowed like gemstones. It hit Gible clean in the face and forced her back. She shook her head. The ground type energy surged again and stopped any follow-up moves.

"Bite not Metal Claw," I advised.

"Keep them back with Gear Grind," Bob stated.

The Pokémon moved. Klang accelerated backward. Gears spinning rapidly. Gible rushed forward just a little faster. Closing the distance. I almost screamed for her to dodge when I saw steel type energy flash. But she was one step ahead of me. Jumping to the right to avoid the first three flashing gears. She ducked under the fourth and took the fifth of the chin to latch her fangs into Klang.

The steel type gave a cry that could only be described as a typewriter in pain.

Gears spun, Gible held on for dear life, yellow-white electrical energy burst. Not Thundershock. Something stronger. Gible's body smoked a little; if she wasn't part ground type, that may have ended it. She bit down harder. Klang's gear spun again. I opened my mouth. Ground-type energy surged, interrupting Klang.

Sand Tomb was still active.

Gible shook her head from side to side. Metal squealed. Klang bounced into the ground, hard. Gible hit first. Her mouth opened; that was the moment Klang needed to break contact and move back.

Klang spun, fast.

Gible charged.

The five Steel-type gear constructs lanced out again.

Gible didn't dodge. The first one hit her in the stomach. The second on top of the fin. Third left arm. Fourth right leg. Fifth hit her just above the eye. She growled and leapt. Tiny arms grabbing on tightly. Mouth opened, purple-blue light burned.

Dragon Rage scored a direct hit.

Gible didn't stop.

Pure physical force slammed Klang into the ground twice.

Not a move just violence.

"Disch-" Bob was too late.

Gible slammed her foot down. Hammering into Klang's face. The ground type energy discharged through its body. Before lashing back from underneath it. Klang was trapped between the hammer and the anvil.

Jobe didn't wait to see the result.

"Match over! Winners Gible and Nash Johnstone!"

This time, I didn't wait for Gible to come to me. I went to her. Bob returned Klang before I was halfway to the land shark. I picked her up and put her on my shoulder, opposite Eevee. Whose sub-vocalised rumbling told me she was as worried as I was.

As we walked back, I checked her injuries. Nothing major on the outside. I'd need to see Dustin to make sure that was true of the inside, too.

"Gible?"

"Yeah, you did great." I hugged her close. She wrapped what she could of my head in her stubby arms. She looked a little punch-drunk. The wait in Dustin's line was actually shorter this time. It felt longer.

"Alright in the ball," Dustin said, taking one look at Gible. She didn't even try to argue. I handed it over. He put her through the machine, mouth pursed into a line, then handed the ball back. I let Gible out.

"Okay, professional opinion time. Retire." Dustin didn't try to soften the blow. I nodded. I wasn't about to argue with the medical professional.

Unfortunately.

Gible was not me.

"Gible!" She shook her whole body, a vehement disagreement. Dustin didn't address her at first, just looked at me.

"How bad?" I asked.

"Not critical." He turned to Gible, now speaking to her directly. "But you are hurt. Going forward is going to make it worse. Maybe you win the next one. Maybe. But you won't win the one after that." She bristled.

"What about medical attention before the next match?" I tried to hedge.

"Sorry, any medical attention or potions between matches counts as withdrawal. Which, to be clear, I am advising."

"Right," I picked Gible up and headed towards the back of the Pokémon Center.

"Gib!" She squirmed. I set her down once we were away from people. I kept my face carefully blank.

"Retire." I didn't engage emotionally.

"Gible." She shook her head. I sighed.

"You're going to get hurt more." I kept my voice low. "I don't want that."

That cost me something to say.

I just wasn't sure what.

"Gible." Her own voice was quiet. Eevee's tail flicked up and under my chin.

"Retire," I said again. She looked at me long and hard and slowly shook her head.

"Gible." Her voice was quiet and uncompromising.

I understood her immediately.

'No. That's not your choice to make.'

I let out a shuddering breath.

"Fine. We'll do it your way." Gible didn't belong to me. She listened and acted because she wanted to. The choice was hers. All I could do was try to make sure she stayed safe while making it.

"Gib." She waddled up and gave me a hug.

I felt a little better.

We went and found the whiteboard. Fourth fight, round three. Technically, making me a semi-finalist. Guess that wasn't bad for a first brush. Jaz Karroway vs Nash Johnstone. The teen with the Deerling.

Fuck.

If what we'd seen of the last battle was true, then Jaz, and Deerling for that matter, favoured attrition. Gible was not in a state to wage attrition warfare. I mentally re-catalogued our options. Bulldoze, out, Grass Type. Dragon Rage is too slow at range, only really usable up close. Sand Tomb, faster than Bulldoze. Wouldn't do much damage, but it would help Gible close. After that, she'd need to keep it close.

"Alright, Sand Tomb opener and then close." I kneeled down to Gible's level. "Gotta end it quick. Latch on with Bite or Metal Claw, then keep hitting Deerling till it goes down. Don't get caught up on Dragon Rage. If you have time, great. If not, two definite small hits do more than one missed big hit."

"Gible." She nodded. I wasn't sure how well she listened. It was slow going weaning her off Dragon Rage as the solution to all her problems. I guess it had worked in the wild for so long and so well, it had just become her default problem solver.

It was slow and predictable.

Neither of which Gible could afford right now.

"Jaz Karroway and Nash Johnstone to the field, please." No waiting around this time. Guess they wanted to get the Semi-Finals and Finals out of the way so they could start the doubles. Wish they'd waited just a little longer, though. Every second of recovery counted.

"Gib." The small dragon looked up at me and nodded.

"Right lets do this." We headed back to the field.

"Gooo! Gible!" I'd tuned most of the voices out, but this one was familiar. Standing near the front of the crowd was Kat. Dave and her mother were behind her. Her eyes were red. She'd been crying.

I refocused on the task at hand. Jaz Karroway was young, not as young as Kat but probably only in her mid-teens.

Losing to her was going to hurt my pride.

Deerling, unfortunately, looked almost as good as new. Grass types tended to favour long-form battles. The more health drain they could set up, the better.

Not the best at ending it quickly.

But great endurance fighters.

"Ready! Go!"

Gible stomped down, Deerling hopped back as ground-type energy surged. They'd planned for Bulldoze. That was fine. The energy line extended further. I saw Jaz's eyes widen. She'd been watching. Figured that Bulldoze would be the opener, worked out just how far to jump back.

Good plan.

Sand Tomb had a bit more reach.

Deerling landed, the energy line connected. Ground-type energy roared upward. The Grass Type looked like it was standing in a strong breeze. Mildly discomforted at best. Gible charged; she was deceptively fast. But Deerling stayed a step ahead. Hopping back, the Pokémon opened her mouth and fired five blobs of bright green energy.

"Do-" I didn't get the word out.

It didn't matter Gible was already moving. Good, pushing through was not the smart play right now. She dodged left, then, without stopping, bounced right. I blinked. That was the jumping drill we practised, nice work. The seeds missed, Gible made up some space. Deerling went to jump back. Sand Tomb flared. It stumbled.

Gible grinned, jaws opened wide.

Deerling recovered faster than should have been possible. Then gave a smile that would have looked more at home on an Ursaring. We'd been baited. I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. The spots on its coat glowed, seed-shaped protrusions fried off. Gible was in mid-air. No way to dodge.

Three direct hits.

Deerling jumped back, the seeds having slowed Gible's advance enough to make dodging trivial. The contact points of the seeds, white glowing roots extended. Barely touching Gible's skin but holding on tightly.

Leech Seed.

Fuck.

"Gible close." It was a desperate order. No way to win at range. Only a few options left. Gible gave it her best. Deerling jumped back, Sand Tomb flared, slowing it but not hurting it. This time, Gible got close enough and landed a vicious combo.

Metal Claw, two to the body, and one to the head. She went to latch on. Deerling cried out as the last Metal Claw hit, but managed to ride the force. Hooves glowing. A Double Kick. One to the stomach, one to the face. Gible was sent tumbling across the ground.

She forced herself back up. She was shaking. Not rage. Not pain. Just exhaustion. Ugly bruises on her stomach. Fangs bared, she began to advance on Deerling once more. One leg almost gave out. The roots glowed, and so did Deerling's coat. Gible stumbled and kept right on coming.

"Match over!" Jobe called before it could go any further. "Winners Deerling and Jaz Karroway."

I didn't wait this time either.

Gible looked lost.

I scooped her up into my arms. She didn't resist, but she did shake a little while I walked back to Dustin's booth. No line this time. He took one look at her and sighed.

"Ball." I went to grab it. Gible shook her head. I stopped. Dustin sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Fine, head inside and talk to Mindy. She'll set you up with the machine." Dustin dismissed us. I followed his advice.

"Gib?"

"You did what you could."

"Gible."

"Yeah, it hurts."

"Gib?"

"I ain't going nowhere."

END.

---

Gible gave it her all.

But while she's very tough, she's not perfect.
Manfat Patreon - If you're interested in supporting the work I do.
This is Fine - Volume 1 Complete
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - Biweekly release 2 Chapters Ahead.

Hope you're all having a great week!

 

[Manfat]

"Well, that settles it." Bob Grumley looked at me as we signed the last document. Gible and Eevee were busy annoying Brutus the Stoutland. In the two weeks since League Day, Gible had trained relentlessly. It was good to see her doing something else.

I was keeping an eye on them through the roller door.

"Yes, it does." I handed over an envelope full of money. The final payment I owed the old man. He smiled as he took it and held out a hand.

"Nice doing business with you, Nash."

"You too, Bob." We shook. I looked over at the T-02.

It was hideous.

He'd fixed it, but it was a multicoloured mismatch of parts. The bodywork was three different colours. Most of it salvage from Willow. The new parts stood out like sore thumbs. Shiny where the rest of the bike was clearly holding together because of spite and duct tape.

I loved it.

"Here." Bob handed me the keys. I'd only taken the bike out for a joyride once. Now it was fixed and, more importantly, it was mine. Saddlebags sat on either side of the rear bodywork. The Pokémon bed I'd ordered so Gible and Eevee could relax while I rode.

At least at slower speeds.

At higher ones, I'd need to close the plastic cover. One of them could fit comfortably. Which meant Eevee could either be alone or both of them could be uncomfortable. Because getting her back into a pokeball was not a fight I was interested in having.

Eevee extended her trust to me once already.

I couldn't think of a faster way to lose it than trying to force the pokeball issue.

My helmet, which I'd had delivered directly to Bob, was hanging shiny and new off the handlebars. I hadn't even set up the Bluetooth yet.

I placed my hand over the T-02 and ran it up the bodywork.

"Like I said when you first brought it to me. With the parts, I think you'll get two to three years of the new stuff before it needs replacement. The second-hand stuff could need replacing in a year. Two if you're lucky. So keep an eye out, if something feels wrong, chances are it is wrong. Get it checked. Moreover, start saving. Once five years is up, that thing is going to cost more to fix than replace."

"Got it, Bob."

"Alright then. Take care, Nash. If you're ever back this way, feel free to drop in."

"Thanks, Bob. You gonna give me a free service?"

"Ha!" He let out a bark-like laugh.

"Gotta make some money, boy. The missus would never let me live it down if I didn't. But really take care." He gave me a warm smile.

"You too, Bob." I nodded back and mounted the bike. The helmet was a bit stiff, but it'd relax soon enough. The key turned easily. The engine didn't roar to life. Only hummed. I pulled out into the parking lot and gave Brutus a wave.

"Come on, you two!" I called, Gible and Eevee stopped, turned, and rushed over. The fox like Pokemon bounced up to my shoulder and then into the bed in a single flowing movement. Gible was not nearly so graceful. I dismounted the bike and helped her into the bed before pulling out of Grumly's Mechanics for the last time.

I set a slow pace, cruising down the road. Barely fifty kilometres an hour. If the younger me could see this, he'd be appalled at my lack of speed. We'd always ridden at the limit of the bike.

Especially on back roads where the chances of getting picked up by the cops were slim to none, or places like Thailand, where the cops just didn't care about your speed. You were getting a fine for not being Thai, so who cared how fast you rode?

I threaded through the back roads. Swinging wide by Park Recycling, then pulling back close to the main drag of Geddes. In celebration of my final week, Willow had offered to take me to dinner. I was not in a position to turn down a free meal. So in a few more days, we'd share a personal moment.

One of few.

Then I'd head out of town, and Geddes would disappear into the rear-view mirror.

It was exciting and worrying all at the same time.

It also meant I had two other jobs to do today.

I may have time later, but I didn't want to rush my last week. I'd probably spend most of it worrying about my financial future anyway. Not something I wanted to drop on other people. We came to a stop outside the Pokémon Centre. I kicked out the stand and killed the engine. I could see Jobe behind the counter.

Hopefully, I hadn't misread all our interactions, or else I was about to make a real arse of myself. I helped, Gible down, Eevee jumped, and made herself at home on my shoulder. We walked inside the doors dinged open. Like always, there was no one except the nurse on duty inside. Jobe looked up as I undid the helmet.

"Oh, good for a second, I thought we were being robbed." His voice was dry, the smile was real.

"Not today," I assured him, then very deliberately looked at everything expensive that was just sitting in the open. "Just casing the joint."

"Nash, you lived here for like a month. You should have what's worth taking memorised by now."

"Got a bad memory." He let out a huff.

"You here to get Gible and Eevee a check-up?" And like that, I felt awkward again. I looked a little to the left. Old habit. I'd thought I'd broken it years ago. But it seemed some things were just dyed down into the bones.

"Nah, not today."

"Alright." Jobe looked down, filling out some more paperwork. I didn't want to just linger near the desk.

"I was actually hoping I could grab your number." Jobe looked up and cocked an eyebrow.

"Flattered. But not interested. I have a girlfriend." It took me a moment to realise he was joking, and I let out a hissing breath. Damn, I was bad at this whole small talk thing.

"I mean, more like," I stumbled over my words. He shook his head and tossed me a Pokémon Center business card. A phone number written in pen across the front.

"Call if you need it or just to talk."

"Thanks, Jobe." I let as much gratitude as I could leak into my voice, he snorted.

"All good, man. Give me a call if you need it." He gave me a grin. I mustered what I could in return; it wasn't much.

"I'll be heading out at the end of the week."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thinking of going anywhere in particular?"

"Not yet, decide once I'm on the road."

"Fair enough, anything else you need? You're welcome to stay, but I do have actual work to do."

"Yeah, actually don't know if I'll see Ben before I head out. Could you give him my number?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Jobe."

"No problem, Nash." He smiled and went back to his paperwork.

I walked back to the bike.

Why did that feel like it had taken more out of me than the actual fist fight I'd had in an alley?

We pulled out of the Pokémon Center parking lot and headed back to the motel. By the time I arrived and got in the front door, my phone had buzzed just once. I checked it. Unknown number.

Got your number from Jobe, take care, idiot. Ben.

I smiled, saved his number, and sent a quick text back.

Got it. Try not to piss off any more dragons.

He sent me back a middle finger.

The next few days were lazy. Well, as lazy as it could be, working every day. I kept using my old walking route to get to work. The bike just made it faster. I got Gible and Eevee one last check-up at the Pokémon Center. Rode around town more than I strictly should have. It ate into the small bit of savings I had left. I absorbed the blow without complaint.

It was nice to finally be able to move freely again.

Not being limited to just how fast I could walk.

I didn't return to Cherry Grove Middle School Battle Club.

There was nothing left to learn there.

Not in the time I had left.

Then came Thursday night. Technically, my last day was tomorrow. But I wanted to leave early Saturday morning. Every day without work was burning through money I didn't have. So dinner tonight. No chance of convincing myself to have a drink because I still had work tomorrow.

Willow had thought I was being a little paranoid.

Maybe.

The place she'd chosen was a little hole in the wall called Tucci's. I assumed, based on the name, they served whatever this world's version of Italian was. Good, I hadn't had good Italian in, I couldn't even remember how long.

"Gib?"

"Yeah, this is the place."

"Vee?"

"Somehow I don't think they're going to have a problem." I opened the door. The restaurant was quiet. No greeter behind the counter or someone hovering near the kitchen keeping a close eye on the door.

It only took me a few seconds to spot Willow.

Even that was only because she looked different. She hadn't dressed up. Simple shirt and slacks. Nice shoes. I was just so used to seeing her in uniform that it took me a few seconds to properly identify who she was. I went and took a seat.

"Good to see you, Nash. Thought you may be late?"

"You thought I'd be late? To free food?" She gave a laugh and shook her head.

"Fair enough. Gible, Eevee, you two still doing okay?"

"Gible."

"Eevee."

"Good. Now," she slid a menu across the table to me. "Pick out what you want and what they want. It's on me tonight. You've worked hard over the last few months. The least I can do is something nice before you leave."

I skimmed the menu for a bit, eventually settling on the Swinub cutlet with vodka sauce and penne. Gible had a brief moment of shock and horror when she realised they didn't have Hamburg steaks. She'd need to try something different. I managed to talk her around to a pizza.

Was it good for her?

Probably not.

Would she like it?

Yes.

I loved the land shark, but she was a living garbage disposal. Her criteria for good food could be broken down into 'lots of meat, good', and anything else 'tolerable'.

Eevee had clearly eaten in places like this before. Because while I had to read the menu items out to her, just like I did with Gible, she knew what some of them were without explanation. She ended up picking some kind of spicy seafood dish. The way she looked at the picture already had her salivating. She'd pointed to it before I'd even finished saying its name.

The waiter, who was apparently also kitchen staff, came to take our order and then bustled away.

"So, Nash, what's next for you?"

"Not really sure."

"Gible!?"

"Vee!?"

"I don't always have a plan, you know." I gave both Gible and Eevee a flat look. Surely they'd worked out I was planning week to week at this point. If not, I guess I was doing better than I thought.

"Well, if you wouldn't mind some advice?"

"Go for it."

"North is going to get a lot colder."

"That's it?"

"That's what's worth knowing."

"Fair."

The waiter came back, setting our plates down on the table. A smaller table and a tarp pretending to be a place mat was set up for Gible and Eevee to catch their crumbs. Smart. Because Gible was a messy eater, and with the way Eevee was staring at that seafood bowl, she wasn't going to be much better.

I touched my fork.

They took it as a starting gun and slammed into the food like it was an enemy.

Gible's inhaling of her food never ceased to be...impressive.

Impressive was a safe word.

Eevee was matching her bite for bite.

I looked away before my stomach started getting queasy.

Willow snorted at my discomfort.

Since she was paying for the meal and still my boss for another day.

I let it slide.

Dinner continued. Gible and Eevee finished long before I did, let alone Willow. The waiter / kitchen hand came out and collected everything with a practised plastic smile. He brought the check, Willow put a pile of notes down, and we stood.

Exiting the building together.

"Well, Nash. I'll see you tomorrow bright and early."

She did not say for the last time.

"See you tomorrow, Willow."

Neither did I.

We shook hands and parted her toward the truck. Gible still eyed warily. While I moved to the bike. It was easy to get the Pokémon situated. They were full and unlikely to move around a lot. I slipped my helmet on, buckled it, and mounted the bike.

The key turned smoothly.

Engine humming to life, I pulled out of Tucci's parking lot.

The T-02 cruised the backstreets before I pulled into the Motel parking lot and kicked out the stand, killing the engine. Eevee jumped onto my shoulder. I removed the helmet, hanging it off the handlebars, and helped Gible out of the bed. The land shark gave me a little nuzzle as I placed her down. Eevee responded by giving me a flick under the chin with her tail.

I picked up the helmet and went back to the room. Second last night. The inside was exactly as shitty as I remembered it being. But I felt lighter. Like a weight I didn't know I'd been carrying had been lifted off me.

If only for a moment.

I didn't bother turning on the light. Just throwing my clothes in a corner and lying down. I felt a warm shape curl up next to my head, and another, heavier figure lay down next to me.

My breathing evened out as I felt my mind slipping away.

Today had been a good day.

END

---

Shorter chapter this time as we approach the end of Volume 1.

Chapter 22 will be out in a few days.

See you all then.

Manfat Patreon - If you'd like to support the work I do.
Support is always welcome but never expected.
This is Fine - Volume 1 Complete
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - 2 Chapters Ahead. Biweekly Release.
Support is Welcomed. Never Expected.

 

[FTR2017]

Just a bit more and we'll be up to date with the spacebattles thread!

Can't wait to see what happens in act two!