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Ch 60 - Predict
🕑 Added 2023-10-11 16:10:03 +0000 UTC“Ughh.”
David latched onto the nearest shelf to steady himself as he was struck by a wave of vertigo. His head hurt. His mouth was dry. His stomach ached.
It turned out that hangovers were the same in every world.
David blinked fuzzy spots away and let go of the shelf. He let out another groan as his stomach writhed, but began to walk. The morning patrol hadn’t been too bad. Pidgey’s general happiness had given him a boost, though she was nearly as tired as he was from the battle and multiple draining attacks. That surge of energy was long gone now and David was regretting a night of celebrating.
Half of the trouble was that he hadn’t been expecting it. After the gym and subsequent Pokecenter visit, he’d walked home in a daze. At the farm he’d gotten an oddly heartfelt congratulations from Oliver before he left to meet the training group. When he'd arrived Danny and Martin were mid battle but both called for a halt when they saw him. A gesture that affected him more than he’d expected.
David had been training hard in the last week and the group had risen to match his pace, even exceeding it in some cases as they sought to ‘catch up’ to his booked gym battle. That they would stop mid battle for him was.. nice.
Everyone was cautious, hesitantly holding back until David revealed the new stamp on his trainer’s licence. Then the cheering began. David was hugged, shoved and generally moved back and forth in the middle of the group as they celebrated.
When the noise died down, Danny was the first to ask a question. Her inquiry into the theory test was quickly drowned out by complaints and questions about the battle. There were winces and furrowed brows when he revealed his opponent was Tangela. It was a rare enough Pokemon to see even in Celadon, and there had been none on the training field in David’s weeks here.
David tried to keep the battle accurate, but there may have been some exaggeration around the strength of Moves. The Tangela’s Growth and Ingrain had affected the garden, wilting flowers, but not quite enough to turn the ground brown as he described. Danny, Tulia and Martin seemed to enjoy his description anyway.
There hadn’t been any more training after that. David had found himself ushered from the field to Tulia’s. Somewhere along the way someone picked up alcohol and not the sweet berry wine kind he’d brought before. This was a harsher, more volatile liquid. David nearly coughed up the first sip he took. The yellowy red liquid was spicy, hot enough that his eyes watered. After everyone finished laughing at that, and Danny had a similar, but gentler experience with the benefit of forewarning, more bottles were passed around with other flavours. Cards were set out. Bottles were shared. David enjoyed the more bitter flavoured alcohol himself. He remembered long conversations, but not what they discussed.
It was a great night.
Now he was suffering for it. The Pokemart was not a good place to have a hangover. Especially not for such an interesting trip. His destination was at the back of the warehouse, and he staggered directly there. As with the last time he’d been here, two guards flanked the entrance to the small room. As David approached, their hands slid down to their pokeballs.
David greeted them with a nod, hoping to squeeze past them unhindered but a hand dropped down before him.
“Licence.”
David blinked, brain still a little foggy, but caught on eventually. He reached into his back for his licence and held it out. The guard took it, inspecting it closely before waving him forward.
David ducked under the thick metal shutters and stepped into the pokeball department.
He lingered on some of the offerings, the great balls secured in glass, and the single ultra ball locked in a cage, before arriving at the plain pokeballs. Each red and white sphere, full of potential, had its own case, clear plastic showing the ball sat on a small pedestal.
David picked one of the ones on the right up and held it up. The case flexed under his hands, but the pokeball stayed still, held in place by a magnet at the base of the stand.
1000P. Another member of the team. What had seemed like a pipe dream was now in his hands. David’s left hand rose to Pidgey’s ball around his neck. He was going to have to make room.
A display to the right caught his eye. A belt hung down, six small marks displaying where pokeballs could be attached. David took a look at the price, 350P, and sighed. Not yet, but someday. The Pokeball would burn up the majority of his savings, and the food he was about to purchase the rest. Without the gym’s 500P reward he wouldn’t even be able to do that. With another nod to the guards, David left the pokeball department and headed for the Flying type section.
-.-
It turned out that ten of Pidgey’s food sachets and a pokeball were awkward to carry at once. David slowly rose from a crouch, recently fallen sachets back on top, and-
“Here.”
The sachets fell again.
David groaned, headache not helping the situation and looked up at who had disturbed his balance.
Lauren, the woman who’d recommended these sachets in the first place, smirked back at him. She held an empty basket out.
David gave her a thankful smile and dumped the contents of both hands into the basket. “Thanks. I think I was a bit ambitious in what I could carry.”
“A bit of ambition never hurt anyone,” Lauren said, brushing a strand of wispy grey hair back into her tight cap. Googles hung around her neck.
“Let me get you another basket,” David said and with another nod, began to stride towards the exit. Footsteps squeaked out against the laminate flooring and Lauren joined him, a pleased smile on her face.
“Are you from Saffron or Celadon?” David asked.
Lauren rolled her shoulders. “Oh, a little of everywhere. When you reach a point as a trainer, distance is not quite what it used to be.”
“Ah.”
“How about you? How have you found Celadon compared to Saffron?”
David chewed on his lip and contemplated his headache. “It’s nice. It’s really.. comfortable.”
Lauren hummed. “It is. Did you know that Celadon is the city with the least emigration? People don’t seem to want to leave.”
“No, but I can see it.” Lots of focus on family, community and food. All the structures were a little homogenous, but people were free to decorate as they wished. It was an odd blend to him, but the people who lived here seemed to love it. He would be sad to leave. Something he could not say about Saffron.
“Try not to think of settling down yet,” Lauren chided gently. “Don’t even think of it before you have seen all of Kanto and better to wait until after you have seen more than that.”
“Johto,” David said, wondering where she was coming from.
Lauren smiled, a compassionate and sad smile. “And further.”
David hummed, picking a basket from the floor. He wondered what Lauren would think if she knew of his goal, his destination. He suspected they had very different definitions of further.
They began to walk back to the flying type section, but David paused in the Normal type section.
“I don’t suppose you’d have any recommendations for normal type sachets?”
A short while later, David walked out of the Pokemart with ten flying type food sachets, five normal type sachets, and a pokeball. A month's savings gone. 1760P down to 285P.
He was glad the normal type sachets, at 25P, were cheaper than the flying ones. He wished they did bulk discounts.
-.-
“David, I hear congratulations are in order.”
David shrugged off his backpack and made his way onto the patio. “Hello Jacob, and yes, I got my first badge yesterday.” He came right back to the farm after the Pokemart. Understandably, training wasn’t on today as they all recovered from the previous night.
Jacob pushed up and away from the table - and the paperwork strewn across it, and began to stretch. He looked desperate for a break. “Fantastic. What did you think of the spring path? Did you know that that area of the gym is for challengers and staff only?”
David rubbed his head. “It was nice. Seeing the four seasons at once was a little terrifying. I didn’t know Grass types could do that.”
Jacob chuckled. “You’d be surprised how few people pick up on that. It’s easy to miss if you’re nervous about the fight.” He tilted his head. “But I guess that evens the field. It makes sure everyone is a little nervous.”
“Hmm.” David wasn’t so sure he liked that theory. It was also too much to think of right now. He glanced around the patio. Paper was spread across the table but was densest at a single point, where Jacob had been sitting. “Oliver not here today?”
Jacob grimaced and nodded. “He has an appointment at the police station. We’re hoping for an update but I don’t expect much.”
“Ah.” David grimaced as well. The Snorlax was still in the orchards, moving occasionally to get within reach of more bushes to eat before falling into heavy slumbers. Life hadn’t returned to normal at the Nature’s Scent and now that Michael wasn’t living here, a dour mood had settled.
The conversation died at the reminder. With a nod, David turned to pick up his bag.
“Greetings.”
David jumped as he came face to face with a slight man. A man that hadn’t been there seconds before and hadn’t made a sound as he approached.
The man wore a formal red outfit. He stood straight and rigid, shoulder-length dark hair with a faint hint of purple falling flat against his neck. Three pokeballs rested at his waist against what seemed to be nothing but red fabric.
The trainer peered almost anxiously at the farm house, before stepping up onto the patio without waiting for an invitation. They inspected Jacob for a second before dismissing him and turning to David.
“I am Aodhan Voyant,”
David froze.
Aodhan seemed to stand even straighter if such a thing was possible, and almost preened. “David Smith, you have been summoned-” David’s heart stopped. What did they know? How much did they know? “-ah, it seems you already know what an honour that is. I will keep this short then. Present yourself at the Celadon Pokecenter tomorrow evening at 6 for transport. I will grant you the morning to settle your affairs.”
The young man- no, the psychic- looked at David expectantly.
David was still frozen. He couldn’t decide whether he should be trying to think through all of what had been just said, or trying not to think of all the things he should not be thinking of.
He did both. He did neither.
“Scion Voyant,” Jacob began in a buttery voice that David had never heard before and made him turn to the man in shock. Jacob stepped forward and dipped his head slightly. ”Welcome to Celadon. I will ensure that David is available for transport.”
Aodhan began to preen again. “Your welcome is appreciated.” David noted he did not ask for Jacob’s name or show any sign he knew who the Councilman was. That thought disappeared again as Aodhan turned back to him.
“Until tomorrow,” Aodhan said. His eyes and hands began to glow pink. Pink and purple wisps appeared around his body and began to spiral.
The spiral tightened and became blinding.
And then, without a sound, Aodhan Voyant was gone.
David released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. His hands rose to Pidgey’s pokeball and he pulled it from the sling. He scanned the patio, not believing his own eyes. What was that?
Jacob scoffed and pointed out at the road.
David followed the finger and, in the gaps between bushes, spotted dark hair bobbing back and forth as Aodhan left in a hurry.
‘What just happened?’
Jacob looked at the psychic’s shrinking back and shook his head. “Voyants. I swear if they weren’t so arrogant they’d rule the world.” He faced David. “I guess it’s proof that we’re all human. Now, I think it’s time we had a talk.”
-.-
David tapped his foot against the ground anxiously. He hadn’t let Pidgey’s ball go. He was even tempted to release her just in case. Jacob hadn’t said anything yet, busying himself gathering up the papers as David and he sat down. Or was he giving David some time to cool-
“You aren’t from Saffron are you?”
David stiffened and looked up to Jacob. He couldn't deal with all of this right now. His headache had only grown worse. Why today?
Jacob gestured for peace. “Relax. I’m just curious. Technically I work as a diplomat but I can’t seem to pin you down. I haven't heard your accent before and you have mannerisms from all around including Johto, and some I haven’t seen before. But you also have a Pewter surname. Add all the interest that people have in you and.. Well, I’m stumped.”
David remained silent.
Jacob went back to all the papers, giving him time to think.
“No.” David cleared his throat as his voice came out rough. God he needed a glass of water and a day to sleep or wake up. “I’m not. Saffron was the first city in Kanto I visited. It’s where I arrived.”
Jacob nodded, tilting his head with understanding dawning on his face. “And where you’re from, that’s not related to any of this?”
“I don’t think so,” David said with a shrug. ”No one knows.”
Jacob nodded a few times before clicking his tongue. “Okay.”
David blinked at him. “Okay? No more questions?”
Jacob shook his head. “No, as I said, just curious. We do, however, need to talk about what happens next. I am assuming you don’t want to go with the random Voyant that just appeared on my patio.”
David nodded, still cautious but feeling a little more comfortable now.
“If you don’t show up tomorrow, Aodhan will come back and will likely be accompanied by someone hopefully less arrogant but at the very least, less gullible. I don’t believe they are trying anything underhand. If they were, he wouldn’t have shown up and organised to meet you outside the Pokecenter."
Jacob paused, giving time for David to catch up.
"Now, we agreed that you would work for a month but-” Jacob waved at the paper on the table before him. “-circumstances have changed. The harvest has been delayed indefinitely and to be direct, it would do Oliver a lot of good to be out doing something that isn’t related to the police or the Snorlax. Now that I'm back we don't have the same need for you.”
'Ah,' David thought, slumping back in his chair. Was it time already? He'd been hesitant to agree to a month before but now that he was faced with leaving early..
Jacob sighed. “I’m not trying to push you out. You’re welcome to stay for the full length if you want but expect the Voyants to become more of an issue. I'm saying this as I want to give you options. I’ll speak to Oliver tonight and see if he has any suggestions, but you need to decide what you want to do. Where you want to go.”
And that to David, hungover, tired, anxious and victorious with his first badge, was a very good question.
----------------------------
And now David has an actual ticking clock for his time in Celadon. Where next?
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