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MATURE: Nori Carino: Official In-Training [COMPLETE!!]

*Sorry, Nori; a cute shoulder-riding mon is legally mandatated for all trainers below age sixteen.

*The old sea dog is giving me an "Old Man Marley" vibe, but we'll see how that turns out.

*And so Nori tripping and landing on his back is spun my schoolyard logic into making him the ultimate tough guy/

*Man, Volkner's a jerk.

*Tono being aghast at someone not having a computer is making me feel so very, very old.

*You know I do sort of wonder how trainers figure out what moves their Pokémon know. I remember one of the really old anime episodes showed that Pokédexes have a built in move reader but it was bit unclear if it was just a species learnset or actually said what that particular one could use.

*Kallisto suggesting Volkner wanted to teach Nori a lesson makes sense, but I wonder if Kallisto has too much faith in how much Volkner cares about anything.

*You know, I'd expect anti-trainer segment to be a bit more common than it seems to be in the games.

To be Nori is to suffer. Poor kid.
 
Copy-pasted from FFN:

Darn. Poor Nori's really being put through the wringer this time. If it was your intention to make me absolutely hate Eddie and Ollie, bravo. I want to kick them in their nards for how unbearably cruel they've been to Nori. First off, Nori had no real way of knowing what other moves Pachirisu knew. I know some Pokemon media establish this by having trainers learn them through their PokeDexes. I have it that way in my fic. Nori wasn't even taught of any ways to learn Pachirisu's attacks, so how could he have known Pachirisu knew Grass Knot if nobody had told him. Ollie being such a colossal dickhead to him only rubbed salt in the wound, and Eddie just downplaying their insults as just trash talk is a really toxic way to think. I honestly have to question why Volkner even lets Ollie behave that way towards Nori. If my parents saw someone treating me like that, they'd skin him alive or try to force his parents to discipline him. Also, Ollie, Ash Ketchum would like to have a word with you in regards to a cute Pokemon somehow "ruining" his image.

I do wonder what the whole visiting a supposedly haunted cabin by the beach is all about. Is the old man going to be important in some way? Here's hoping he secretly turns out to be a friend Nori can rely on, because at this point in time, Nori could really use one. I do like that Nori got to befriend the Pachirisu (And yes, I like Pachirisu. Don't care what anyone else thinks). I also kind of suspected Lux's mom wouldn't be to keen on her son being a trainer, but I definitely didn't expect her to straight up hate trainers in general and forbid Lux from hanging out with Nori because of it. Can I jump in this story and give Nori a hug? He seriously needs one.

Anyway, can't wait to read more! Good job as always!
 
*Sorry, Nori; a cute shoulder-riding mon is legally mandatated for all trainers below age sixteen.
Or sometimes, in anime in-general. Stark contrast to the Demon though.

*The old sea dog is giving me an "Old Man Marley" vibe, but we'll see how that turns out.
Heh! A very fair comparison to make at this point. Reminds me, I haven't seen that movie in forever despite it being like my favorite as a kid.

*And so Nori tripping and landing on his back is spun my schoolyard logic into making him the ultimate tough guy/
He was knocked over and fell on his side (and his stomach), actually.

*Man, Volkner's a jerk.
Yes. Though not a complete jerk: he did help to a point and say he'd provide the stamp!

*Tono being aghast at someone not having a computer is making me feel so very, very old.
I happen to be from probably the last generation where it'd be logical to have grown up not having owned a computer. Had video games of course, but back then electronics weren't as ubiquitous in a kid's life as they are now. I imagine it'd definitely be strange for someone who was born as early as 1998 as Tono is though - small irrelevant spoiler there!

*You know I do sort of wonder how trainers figure out what moves their Pokémon know. I remember one of the really old anime episodes showed that Pokédexes have a built in move reader but it was bit unclear if it was just a species learnset or actually said what that particular one could use.
Plenty of ways. The Pokedex (or similar things) does work. Common moves for common Pokemon are ciriculum in schools, and you can probably look them up. You can just ask the Pokemon to demonstrate. And so on.

*Kallisto suggesting Volkner wanted to teach Nori a lesson makes sense, but I wonder if Kallisto has too much faith in how much Volkner cares about anything.
Heh, very true.

*You know, I'd expect anti-trainer segment to be a bit more common than it seems to be in the games.
Yeah. It's not even that common in the rest of media itself, although I can recall a couple anime-specific examples.

Darn. Poor Nori's really being put through the wringer this time. If it was your intention to make me absolutely hate Eddie and Ollie, bravo. I want to kick them in their nards for how unbearably cruel they've been to Nori.
Heh, well seems I'm doing a decent job then.

First off, Nori had no real way of knowing what other moves Pachirisu knew. I know some Pokemon media establish this by having trainers learn them through their PokeDexes. I have it that way in my fic.
Given my fic's indirect connection to yours (and making sense for it anyway), you can do that here too. Of course, if you don't have a Pokedex...

Nori wasn't even taught of any ways to learn Pachirisu's attacks, so how could he have known Pachirisu knew Grass Knot if nobody had told him. Ollie being such a colossal dickhead to him only rubbed salt in the wound, and Eddie just downplaying their insults as just trash talk is a really toxic way to think.
Welcome to Sunyshore Gym. Where the Gym Trainers are hazing jerks, high expectations are upon you, and the Gym Leader gives no craps.

I honestly have to question why Volkner even lets Ollie behave that way towards Nori.
I think you underestimate just how little Volkner cares. It's not that he lets it happen, he just doesn't give a damn if it happens or not. Kallisto, on the other hand, yeah. He doesn't tolerate that much.

Also, Ollie, Ash Ketchum would like to have a word with you in regards to a cute Pokemon somehow "ruining" his image.
Ollie: "Ass Ketchup, pft. And at least Pikachu's cool and can evolve into Raichu. Pachirisu isn't cool, and it wishes it was Pikachu."

Also his issue was that it was out of the Poke Ball, not that it's a cute Pokemon. Yes, it's wrong. Even the other Gym Trainers agreed. Even Eddie which is saying something.

I do wonder what the whole visiting a supposedly haunted cabin by the beach is all about. Is the old man going to be important in some way?
Well, it was to introduce Jamie - surprised she wasn't brought up. It was also to pretty much directly spell something out before it's introduced proper and stated outright. And yes, the old man is certainly a peculiar thing, isn't he?

I do like that Nori got to befriend the Pachirisu (And yes, I like Pachirisu. Don't care what anyone else thinks).
Pachirisu is pretty based. I used it in my Diamond team (used Raichu on Pearl, and better to me back then than Luxislow), and let's not forget that guy who took it to the world championships and won.

I also kind of suspected Lux's mom wouldn't be to keen on her son being a trainer, but I definitely didn't expect her to straight up hate trainers in general and forbid Lux from hanging out with Nori because of it.
Kind of severe, isn't it? Actually I didn't intend that at first, but I found the story strangely pointing in that direction, so I let it go where it wanted.

Can I jump in this story and give Nori a hug? He seriously needs one.
Well "you" technically could, maybe. Only in the technical sense, of course. Maybe.
 
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Month 2: February of Progression (second part)
Month 2: February of Progression (second part)
February 7th, 2015

The future official did not want to spend time at the Gym on the 6th, let alone after what had just happened. He instead took the chance to familiarize himself with the city. Nori loved exploring Veilstone. He knew almost every corner that he was allowed to roam in, and some that he wasn't. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to do so here, due to school and training taking up nearly all of his day. Sunyshore was a smaller city, but it was much harder to get around. He was able to get a general feel of the area around the school and Gym before returning at around 6:30pm.

Mercifully, he was not forced into any late night learning, and he successfully avoided seeing the Gym Trainers. He remained in no mood to deal with them when they came sauntering up the next day. Nori was sitting on the bleachers at the time, watching his Pachirisu frolic.

"Hey there, kid," Eddie taunted, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

Nori jumped to his feet. "You better back the hell off, Eddie."

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" The dark-skinned teen raised his palms, although remained smirking. "Easy there. What's the deal? You have a fight with your friend or something?"

Nori laid his feelings bare. "First, it's you I don't like. Second, no! It's his mom! She hates me because because I have Pokemon!"

Ollie and Kallisto blinked, their expressions wide. The former's jaw dropped. Tono rolled his eyes. "One of those types, I see."

"Yeah." Nori wasn't sure why he was venting to them of all people. But he figured, screw it. He wanted to vent about this to somebody! "She didn't want me visiting him. She said, ‘Pokemon trainers are worthless humans beings!’ And other stuff too, like calling Pokemon beasts, or that trainers mess with kids' minds."

Eddie raised his eyebrows. "The fuck, man?"

"That's messed up," agreed Ollie.

Kallisto shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that, Carino."

They were being sympathetic. They were being nice. Genuinely. Nori was surprised at this. Even they knew how bad this was. The boy let out a sorrowful sigh. "I used to not have a good view of trainers, but even I didn't go that far."

The bespectacled teen crossed his arms. "There are a lot of fools out there with bad opinions about Pokemon."

"Yeah," agreed Ollie. "We deserve respect! Journeying's a lot of work!"

"It's not even that she hates journeys," he explained. "She hates anyone who owns Pokemon. She might even hate Pokemon themselves."

Tono scowled. It was the first time Nori had seen him appear genuinely angry. "Ridiculous and disgusting. They are as much a part of this world as us."

Ollie nodded. "Uh, yeah! What he said!"

Nori threw up his arms. "Not to her! We're all horrible scum, according to her." Eddie waved a hand dismissively. "And I think it's all this because Lux's big brother left home to travel. I'm only guessing, but that's all I can come up with." Maybe she hated them for no good reason.

The dark-skinned teenager shrugged. "He must've had his reasons. Maybe he wanted to get the fuck outta there. Know I would if my mom was like that."

"Yeah, I know..."

Kallisto, who had been remaining in quiet contemplation throughout this, at last spoke up. "Pokemon training has a rich history. A lot of people forget that it wasn't always about the sport. There's lots of different stories and theories on how people first came to use Pokemon. Some say it was for hunting, some say it was by a deity's blessing, others say it was for the Pokemon to keep themselves in-check. But all of them agree that people started training Pokemon for good reasons, and to improve the lives of both humanity and Pokemon." He paced and gesticulated as his spoke, pausing for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with being a trainer. If your friend's mother doesn't see that, well."

He paused again. Eddie took the chance to cut in. "Ignore her. She's a bitch."

Everyone laughed. Even Nori couldn't help himself. "Thanks, Eddie. Wanted to say that in a better way, but..." And with this Kallisto shrugged. "More or less covers it."

"A woman like her is worth no one's time," Tono added.

"I'd love to ignore her, but..." Nori closed his eyes. He sat back down on the bleachers. This was the worst part. "...if she has her way, Lux and me can't be friends anymore. The good thing is his dad doesn't seem to mind, but I don't know."

"Denying her child friends?" said Tono. "That sounds akin to abuse."

The head Gym Trainer sat down beside him. "If it's any consolation, we got your back." He punctuated this with a pat on the back.

Despite their present kindness, Nori had to roll his eyes at that. Kallisto was okay, but if the Gym Trainers were his friends, he'd hate to meet his enemies. Still, maybe this was that good heart Kallisto was talking about.

"Anyway, I have to do the target test. Again." Even with the advice he'd been given, he still hadn't beaten it. Volkner seemed to be getting sick of setting it up all the time.

"Good luck," Kallisto said, the others nodding in agreement. "I know you're going to get this soon. We'll be watching and cheering." For once, it seemed like they meant it.

---​

Pachirisu fired a light jolt at a faraway target before jumping through the space between a moving one. They'd made it to round thirteen on the first attempt today. The electric squirrel whapped the target with his tail as he went by. He shot another way off to the side, right as he jumped to hit the final one with his tail.

They were going way too fast here. If what Kallisto said was right, this was just going to make it harder. Sure enough, it was the worst case scenario on round fourteen. The boy yelped. "At the corners! Shoot! Shoot!" He'd been doing a bit of practice in his spare time. If there was one good thing about his Pachirisu, it was his quickness. The squirrel turned and let out tiny electrical bursts four times. "WIDE!" Nori shouted and pointed, seeing one was not going to connect. Pachirisu was on it in an instant, rushing closer and letting out another jolt. This one did.

The jig was probably up. If these got there in time, they'd probably only have seconds to get the rest. But they had one trick, one chance to make it work! "Discharge! As hard as you can!"

The last blast did connect in time. Pachirisu was already in motion. He emitted a massive burst of electricity, arcing out on all directions. In a split second, a number of targets lit up and were almost instantly hit. Nori couldn't believe his luck. If they weren't as bunched together, that never would've worked! There was just one more left, and Pachirisu saw it. He jumped and became a blur. His Quick Attack! He slammed his whole body into the target, falling down and panting after impact, as all the lights went green.

The Gym Leader dropped the remote, dumbfounded. Kallisto laughed and started to applaud, a gesture the other three followed suit in. Volkner said nothing for the longest time, giving Nori a chance to check on his Pokemon. Pachirisu had been given basic training like most of the Gym's Pokemon. The rest had to be potential and Nori having done something right with his own training. Whatever it was.

Volkner had followed behind. "That's the first time I've seen someone win that with brute force," he muttered. The blond man was unhappy, yet unsure how he should be expressing it.

Nori sighed. He knew why. "I know it's supposed to be a patient timing thing too." He'd went all out when he wasn't supposed to, and with a bit of luck, managed to win.

"So you get you did it the wrong way."

"I'm sick of this. I don't want to do it again." He'd been doing this for several weeks now. He was tired of failing all the time.

Volkner considered this request. Nori just threw it out there. If you don't ask, you don't get, after all. The blond man spoke. "You understand that you can't always attack directly in a battle?"

Was that the point of this? "Yes," he said. It wasn't untrue, he understood that now that he was told that.

"Then we'll move on from this."

Nori breathed a heavy sigh of relief at this. Finally, no more stupid target test! He gave his Pokemon a tight hug in thanks.

"There's a lot more you need to learn, anyway. We'll move on to practice battles next week. I also want to start you on physical activity soon."

"No problem!" Nori declared. "I'm good in P.E.!" He was never a top athlete like some of his peers were, but he always did very well. Whenever he went to play soccer in the fields, he was always one of the first picked after the captains' friends.

"Good," the Gym Leader said. He waved Nori off.

##########​

February 9th, 2015

The weekend passed without incident. The Gym Trainers thankfully gave Nori his space, and even respect. The most he had to do was watch a few of them fight some challengers. He spent most of his spare time doing some reading of his law books. The boy was looking forward to school on Monday, to hopefully sort things out with Lux.

The purple-haired boy was at school. But every time Nori would look over to Lux to speak during class, Lux would look away or ignore him, if Mrs. DeWood didn't interrupt. At recess, Lux cleared out before Nori could talk. He did the same thing at lunch, but Nori knew where to find him.

"Hey, Nori!"

He turned to see Jamie looking at him as he was about to leave the classroom. The redheaded girl smiled.

"Do you want to hang out?" she asked, holding out her hand.

This was poor timing. Nori had to shake his head. "Maybe next time. Have to take care of something."

Thankfully, she nodded and let him get on his way. He had to clear this up, as soon as possible. Sure enough, Lux was eating alone at the end of a quiet hallway. The two kindergarten classes and a counselor's office were the only things of interest here; few students came down this way. He'd actually seen Lux here before they became friends, when he was exploring the school. He'd also had lunch with Lux numerous times here after becoming friends.

"Lux."

The purple-haired boy snapped to attention. For a second it looked like he wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. "Nori, I–"

Nori softened his tone, taking a seat next to him. "Lux, what happened? Why are you avoiding me?"

Lux looked away. He sighed. "Mom and dad had a big fight about you. They were yelling really loud. Mom told dad to leave. She let him back the next day, but..."

"But what? Did your dad take her side?"

"No," he shook his head. "He told me after it's okay, but mom said when she drove me here not to hang out with you."

Nori winced. This was worse than he thought. One parent trying to overrule the other. Lux was feeling bad about making them fight, caught in the middle of things. He asked the obvious question. "So what will you do?"

His friend frowned. "We probably shouldn't. Mom doesn't–"

"Screw her!" Nori shouted, hopping to his feet. "And yes, I'm insulting your mom. She deserves it! Who cares what she wants you to do? What do YOU want to do, Lux?"

Lux was looking down, but Nori's audacity got him to laugh a bit. "I...still want to be friends."

"Good! Because so do I!" Nori offered a hand to his friend. After some hesitation, Lux took it and stood. They were going to spend lunch hour together, whether his stupid mom liked it or not. "Let's go find a place to eat!"

"Well..." The other boy looked down at his bag. "Can we stay here and eat? Like usual?"

"Oh, uh, right." Whoops. He'd gotten so worked up, he'd forgotten Lux would probably want to eat here. As they sat back down, the boy grumbled. "So wish I was a real official already so I could threaten her for child abuse. I don't know if it actually is, but it's wrong as hell!" Nori slammed a fist into his palm. "Even the guys at the Gym were pissed about it!"

His friendly gently nodded. "I don't think we'll be able to hang out after school anymore. We shouldn't even let mom know we're still friends."

"I know," Nori agreed, but not for the reason Lux may have initially thought. "I won't be able to stop myself from giving her a piece of my mind if I see her again." If he went off on her, they really wouldn't ever be able to be friends again, no matter how much she deserved it.

---​

As school was coming to the end that day, Mrs. DeWood stood in front calling for attention.

"I have an announcement to make before we leave today, class," she said. "Our year-end field trip will be to Tonsen Land, and it will be on the 17th to the 19th. Make sure you pick up your permission slips on the way out."

A field trip? General excitement began to pervade the air, including from Lux. Nori smiled. It was good to see his friend feeling genuinely upbeat, especially given what had happened. However, from a groan behind him, it appeared that not everyone was happy about this.

Nori turned back to Jamie. "What's wrong?"

The redheaded girl sighed. "My dad doesn't want me going."

Oh. No wonder she was feeling deflated. Almost all her friends and classmates were certainly getting the chance to go to this amusement park or whatever, and she wasn't. He had to go through that once, where he was the only kid not invited to Tarou Daikoka's birthday party. It led to him meeting Maylene, but it wasn't pleasant besides that. "Well, I'm sure you'll be fine," he tried to assure her.

"But it'll be boring sitting here studying instead of having fun," That was true. He was actually given free time around the school when it happened to him, but they apparently did things differently here. "Are you going?" she asked.

"I guess?" It was something the rest of the class had been anticipating, but he'd only heard about it just now. "I don't know if the Gym Leader will let me since I'd be skipping training, but we'll see."

Jamie smiled enticingly. "Well, if he doesn't–"

"Yeah, I know." She didn't have to get him flustered again. But if he wasn't allowed, well. At least he wouldn't be the one weird kid sitting alone because he didn't get to come.

The girl giggled. "Thanks!"

##########​

February 10th, 2015

The next day at school, Nori noticed his friend was unusually down. He tried to ask Lux why on recess, but was rebuffed. Lux said, "it's nothing, never mind," to which Nori insisted it must have been something. His reply was that he didn't want to talk about it.

When they went to their corner of the school for lunch that day, Nori decided to give it another shot. "Hey, now that it's just us, want to talk about it?"

He figured the reason his friend was quiet was that it was a subject he didn't want anyone else overhearing. Lux turned away at first. Nori leaned in close with concern, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Lux gently returned the gesture for a second, before allowing his arm to drop with a sigh.

"Mom and dad had another fight..." he explained. "It's all my fault."

Nori tilted his head. "Uh, how's it your fault?"

"It was about the permission slip. I've been looking forward to this for months, and now..." He trailed off.

"So can you go?"

Lux buried his face in his hands. "I don't know," he despaired. "I don't even know why mom doesn't want me going. They were yelling at each other. I..." He briefly paused, starting to tear up. "I started crying. She just yelled at me and told me to smarten up."

The chestnut-haired boy sneered. "What the hell?! What kind of mom does that?!"

Lux quickly waved this off. "Never mind," he said, voice breaking. "We can't do anything about it...just, I shouldn't have brought it up and worried you, sorry."

Nori groaned. Unfortunately, true. If he could do anything about it, he'd do it in a heartbeat! But he wasn't sure if he could. He wasn't even sure if Lux's mom really was doing anything illegal. Yet there was one thing he could do to help his friend.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't know if I can go, either." That got Lux's attention. He slowly looked up, inquisitively. "All Volkner said is he'd think about it."

Lux hummed, gaze again falling. "Hey, I'll stay if you're staying! I don't have to go even if he says yes." He meant this. He didn't know anything about this trip, and truth be told, he didn't really want to go when he didn't really know anyone else. Yet even the boisterous reassurance failed to improve his friend's mood. "What is it?" he asked. Was there something else?

"But, Jamie..." Lux trailed off.

That? "Oh, well." Nori ruffled his hair. "I did say those things, but if it's between you and her, I'd pick you. She's nice, but you're way more important to me." He patted his friend on the shoulder. "So don't worry. You're my best friend, and I'm not going to just ignore you over anything."

"Nori..." Lux quivered in relief. He wiped a happy tear from his eye before hugging Nori tightly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He returned the hug. Nori was hoping pressing the subject would turn out this way. His friend remained melancholy, but he had managed to make Lux feel better. It was something that truly mattered to him.

##########​

February 11th, 2015

The afternoon of the 11th, Nori was brought to the battlefield. The past two days, he had been mixing sparring with Gym Pokemon in with watching the Gym Trainers battle opponents. One time he was even called upon to fight a rookie trainer with his Pachirisu. This was one of the only chances he had to get him some real training. The squirrel needed it, and there were few viable opponents to get practical experience against. The Gym Trainers were too strong, and the Gym Pokemon hardly helped.

Instead of anything involving Pokemon however, he was asked to stand against the long wall of the arena with the Gym Trainers. The Gym had been temporarily closed to challengers for whatever this was. "So what's this?" he asked. "Why are we all lined up?"

"Beep test." Nori rubbed his hair in confusion. What in the world was a beep test? Volkner just looked exasperated. Was he supposed to know? "Kallisto, can you?"

"Sure," said the orange and pink haired teenager. "It's a school gym class thing, mostly from junior high. There'll be a beep, and you need to get to the other wall before the next one. There's multiple levels, it gets faster as it goes along. Mess up twice in the same level, and you're out."

"Hey, hold on!" Ollie protested. He was in jeans and a long shirt, hardly the best attire for physical activity. The others were dressed adequately, Kallisto most of all with gym shorts and a tank top. Nori was by incident - a shirt and sweatpants. "Why do we need to do this?"

Eddie prodded him in the gut. "Because you need the exercise, fatass."

Tono and Eddie laughed, Kallisto shaking his head yet smiling lightly. Nori even saw Volkner himself suppressing a snicker. The boy just pressed a palm to his forehead. Even if Ollie was a jerk who was unhealthy, that was uncalled for.

The large teenager growled, and stomped over to him. "Grrr, this is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault?" He wasn't surprised Ollie was blaming him, but wanted to hear his excuse.

"If you hadn't come here, I wouldn't have to do this! None of us would! I–"

"Just do it," Volkner said, mercifully quashing the incident before it got any further. "This is training for the rest of you too. A healthy body houses a healthy mind."

"It'll be fine, Gooch. Just try your best." Kallisto nodded at him.

"Whatever." He stomped back into position. Ollie didn't like this, but knew there was no way out. In other words, how Nori felt about a lot of things.

Volkner got out a remote. "Starting in three, two, one..."

---​

This was about endurance, not speed.

Nori recognized that right away. He paced himself early on. The beep test came in multiple rounds, just like the target test from before. Ollie was panting heavily by the third, giving up and collapsing during the fourth. Tono lasted until the sixth before running out of breath.

‘ROUND NINE’ a robotic sounding voice boomed. Nori wasn't measuring in his head how long he had to get back and forth. He was just focused on keeping pace with the others.

"Heh." A couple laps into this, he heard one of the others speak. He shifted his gaze to look at Eddie. The dark-skinned teen was grinning, or gritting his teeth. "You're goin' down, kid..."

Nori didn't reply, Better to save his breath. He reached out and touched the opposite wall. Eddie was just short, the beep chiming a split second before he got there. Annoyed, he took off, getting just ahead of Nori and Kallisto. He reached the next wall a half second ahead of them, a full second more than he needed. He took a moment too long to catch his breath. He just barely made it on the run back.

The chestnut-haired boy spared him a glance and smirk. Eddie scowled and began matching his pace. They were both just behind Kallisto. Nori bounded towards the wall. Eddie reached out...

‘ROUND TEN’

"What the fuck?!" That was it, Eddie was out!

"Hah!" Nori huffed, waving his adversary to the side. Great, just him and Kallisto! His chest was starting to hurt a bit, but nothing he couldn't push through! He picked up his pace. At times he was falling behind Kallisto. At others he was matching him stride for stride. He didn't mess up once throughout this level.

‘ROUND ELEVEN’ went the voice. How many of these were there? Twelve? Fifteen? He couldn't worry about that now, he had to keep running! Even if he was falling behind Kallisto.

The beep went off half a second before he reached the wall. Nori started to run as fast as he could, not even caring about endurance at this point. He got there just in time. He pushed off the wall, making the next beep by a fingertip.

His lungs were burning. His legs felt like they wanted to fall off. Yet he was determined to make it to the next round! So Nori ran. He got to the edge in enough time, and kept going. There were eight beeps a round. He just had to hold out a bit more! He made it to the wall again with no time to spare. Nori shoved off like an expert. He was still behind Kallisto somehow! He tried to push himself, but his legs were starting to feel like stone, refusing to obey him.

Then, it happened. The beep that spelled his end. He was just millimeters away. He clutched onto the wall in frustration, slamming a fist into it.

"HA!" Eddie sharply laughed, compounding it with a point. "Loser!"

Nori turned. He had some energy left, but his mood was such that all he could do was shuffle out of Kallisto's way and watch him.

To his shock, he wasn't even straining! The muscular teen continued, handling what remained of round eleven up through round fourteen as if it were nothing. The test ended there. Kallisto threw up his arms in celebration.

Nori slumped to the floor as the Gym Trainers celebrated their compatriot's victory. He did his best there! He went all out at the end, and it still wasn't good enough! He was expecting to at least get to round twelve before burning out, but he couldn't even do that much!

Kallisto approached him. "Hey, don't feel too down about it Carino. I work out regularly. You did good. You even beat Eddie." He extended a hand to help him up, which Nori reluctantly accepted.

"How are you not tired?" Nori asked. He had to have some sort of secret.

"I am," he clarified. Nori just groaned. If Kallisto was tired, he wasn't showing it. "More used to it than you, I guess. Other thing is I'm taller than you. Longer legs means you can go faster. I'm sure you'll grow into that yourself some day."

That was true. If he was a dedicated athlete...in addition to being a great trainer, well, he couldn't match that. Plus come to think of it, this was his first real strenuous bit of physical activity in a while. He hadn't had much chance to get real exercise between the season and being locked up in the Gym all the time. And the workout equipment only went so far.

"Guess...I'll just have to practice." That was the only way to get better at this, and keep his stamina up.

"That's the spirit." Kallisto clapped him on the back.

Volkner approached. "We'll do these periodically. Rest for now and watch Gym battles if there are any." Nori sighed, thankful for that one.

##########​

February 12th, 2015

To contrast two days ago, when Nori went to school, his friend was positively over the moon. The purple-haired boy didn't even wait until class had started to run up, beaming ear to ear. "Nori!" he squealed. "I can go!"

Nori did a small fist-pump. "That's great news!"

---​

At recess, they were able to talk about the specifics. "So what made your mom change her mind?" Nori asked.

"It was my dad," his friend explained. "Mom was just worried about me, that's all. About bullying and bad influences."

"Bad influences, like me?" Nori playfully inquired.

"Yeah." Lux chuckled softly. "But dad said that if she didn't let me go, I'd be bullied anyway, for being that kid whose mom controls him. She didn't seem too happy about it, but she agreed."

"Well, however it happened!" Nori threw up his arms with irreverence. So it was about image, somehow? Well, the important thing was, Lux could go! It reminded him of something, too. "My ma was kind of like that. She didn't trust others with me. Like one time, she took me along on a trip she won."

The wonder in his mind.

The excitement of exploring.

The fun of ______ .

The ______ of trying to find his ma.

The ______ of ______.

The wind hitting his body.

"Nori?"

He blinked. "Oh, just, yeah," he dismissed, shaking some bad memories off. "Well, she did things like that, and like once, really wanted me to be a trainer. But she never restricted me, like your mom does."

"I see." Lux nodded, then smiled. "So can you go?"

"Still no answer," the boy sighed. "I haven't gotten a chance to ask, either."

To this, his friend's excitement waned. He didn't deflate entirely, yet the disappointment was etched into his lips. And why wouldn't it be? True, he would get to spend time at wherever it was they were going. But being able to go with Nori would make it a lot better. Plus his mom was right about something. Lux would have to put up with Spike being there, but if he was with him, it'd be way easier.

"Actually, I'm kinda hoping he says yes." Nori pressed his index fingers together. "Not just because I'd get to go with you, but because I want to get away from the guys at the Gym for a bit."

To this, Lux reacted with modest surprise. "The guys at the Gym?" he repeated. There was just the tiniest shred of doubt as he asked, "Even Kallisto?"

"Besides him," Nori clarified. "But it's the others. Not even Kallisto can rein them in. And sometimes...Volkner gets in on it too."

"Oh..." Lux considered this for several long moments. "Um, can Kallisto help? With the permission slip, I mean?"

"Maybe?" He hadn't thought to ask. He was sure the head Gym Trainer would be willing to stick up for him if Volkner said no. "Well, we'll see if it comes to that. Thanks for the suggestion."

His friend lightly beamed. "You're welcome, Nori."

---​

Late in the afternoon, Nori again found himself on the battlefield during a moment where battles were closed to the Gym. This time, he was where one would traditionally be on it, opposite Tono.

"So..." Nori started. "Is this going to be another practice battle?" These had been formulaic. Whenever he fought Kallisto, he'd just be destroyed. If it was the others, he'd win if Nidorina was involved, but Pachirisu would always go down. Being a new Pokemon earned the squirrel no quarter from the others. He felt bad having to put his Pokemon through that. Even when he won with the former Demon, he earned no favor from Volkner.

"No," Volkner said. He was standing on the side of the battlefield. "This is a special battle. It has a two minute time limit. You earn points based off hitting moves. Contact moves give three points. Ranged moves give two. Wide area moves like Surf and targeted-point moves like Earth Power give one, but avoiding them gives one. Counters and moves with near-perfect accuracy give nothing." Okay, good. He saw some girls play ‘one hit outs’ one time back at his old school. It was so stupid, seeing that one girl's Eevee just use Swift on that fire pig and win instantly. "If it's not over within two minutes, the winner is whoever has the most points."

Okay, that sounded easy enough. Nidorina seemed the obvious choice here. She was not only the stronger Pokemon, but her strength and speed could see him through this. Her melee combos could earn him a large number of points in quick succession.

He sent out the teal Pokemon, and was surprised at Tono's pick. It had four yellow wings with orange tips and markings, but Nori knew it was no Electric type. The bug's body was black with an orange stripe; the tips of its otherwise white antennae were also orange. "What's with the Mothim?" he asked.

Tono harrumphed. "You have seen Volkner's Octillery and Ambipom, have you not? It is folly for even a type expert to focus on a single type. Ollie." He briefly glanced at the chubby trainer, who didn't react. "Furthermore, we Gym Trainers are not bound by what we personally train."

He expected it'd have some sort of Electric attack, though. Still, a surface to air battle? Nidorina had won those easily in the past, but those were against weak trainers and wild Pokemon. And not in a setting where you were rewarded for playing keep away.

Well, there was nothing to do but do it! All he had to do was have her strike hard and fast before they could do that!

"Ready? Begin." Volkner waved his arms.

Nori gave a simple command: "Go."

"Mothula, fly up!" Not wasting any time, huh?

The former Demon was far too fast. The moth Pokemon was on his way to the ceiling when the teal beast jumped and swatted him out of the air with her front left paw. Before he could react further, she followed through with a swipe from the right, sending the bug type reeling.

"Nidorina, six points."

"Good. Don't let up. Crunch."

"Aerial Ace, Mothula!" The moth snapped up. His antennae began to glow, and he slashed them vertically to strike Nidorina with unnatural precision. She winced just enough that they were able to get off the next move. "Now, Electroweb!" There it was, that was the Electric move. The Mothim spat a glowing golden silk from its mouth, with expanded into a web-shape.

"Mothim, two points." Right, the first attack was one of those moves that always hit unless guarded against.

Nidorina kept lunging, but her movements seemed slower than usual. Tono continued, "Fly over with a Poison Powder!" She was slow enough to actually whiff her lunge. But they wouldn't have to worry about that move. Even she knew not to bother.

"Mothim, four points."

"What? That counted?!" It was ineffective!

"Now, Psybeam," commanded Tono. His Pokemon was trying to turn around, and managed to jump in closer to avoid it. "Again!" This time, she wasn't as lucky. The moth Pokemon corrected his aim and managed to land a hit.

"Mothim, six points." Ugh, he was rubbing it in. Just like that, they were tied.

"Just, hit!" Nori urged. They had to even the score!

"Fly up, Mothula!" What looked to be a repeat of the opening moves played out. Except this time, Nidorina's claw swipe just missed. Was her speed lowered?

Tono chuckled. "Unleash Air Slashes, Mothula!"

Okay, so they were playing that game. Ugh. Well, there went any chance of victory. But they could still tie, as long as they kept dodging. "Nidorina–" He looked and saw his Pokemon was already on it. "Yeah. Just keep that up." Forty seconds left. They just had to hold out until then. They were all missing.

Until one did! It just caught her! "Mothim, eight points."

"Damn it!" Nori cursed. "Nidorina, climb the pillars!"

That elicited gasps from everyone. That had to sound completely insane on paper, but Nori knew his Pokemon. She could do this! Nori heard a ‘holy fuck’ come out of Eddie as his Pokemon started scaling vertically by using her claws. Could they get up and attack in enough time, though? They were about eight meters tall. But this was their only chance! She was climbing fast. If they could get up and tackle it down–

"Aerial Ace!"

No, not that! Mothula swooped down. Nidorina saw it coming and readied a swipe. Yes, actually that! She swung...and the two attacks clanged off!

Nori looked over at Volkner. Did that count?! He shook his head. He looked back at his Pokemon and saw her fumbling. The former Demon slammed a claw back in, yet was sliding down.

"Now, your double beam combo!" The moth hovered close. His eyes and antennae began to glow different colors. He fired these off in the form of two beams - one Psybeam and one Signal Beam - which fused into one. Nidorina had no way to avoid it short of just dropping down. She instead braced herself, barely hanging on. Their opponent was close enough to punish after!

"Mothim, twelve points. Tono wins." But it was over already. And that counted as two attacks?!

This didn't stop his Pokemon from jumping off and tackling her opponent to the ground. She was moderately injured, but that was hardly stopping her. As frustrated as he was with the battle to allow that, Nori's better judgment took over. He got out her Great Ball and recalled her after a few seconds of letting her vent.

"Defeating the Demon," Tono said, momentarily ignoring that his Pokemon had actually been knocked out by that. He took a black and gold notepad out of his pocket. "That's one for my glory book."

The Gym Leader crossed his arms. To Nori's surprise, he was the first to address him after the battle, rather than any of the Gym Trainers taunting him. "I'm very disappointed, Nori." Volkner said. The Gym Leader only ever called him by name when he was upset. "I was expecting you to do far better."

"Come on! That was just cheap! I could barely do anything once that stupid Mothim had the points edge!"

"In battle, you need to fight to your fullest. This means doing whatever it takes to win, within reason," the Gym Leader explained. "When and if you become an official, you are going to be working with a lot of Pokemon. A lot of these Pokemon sent to be under your care are going to be violent and battle hungry. If you do not understand how to battle properly, you are going to run into trouble when trying to train them. Constantly." Well, yes! That was obvious! He got by with the Demon, but that was due to circumstance and having some common ground! "I expected you would think about this properly. Not only that, you have been doing poorly in all your battles so far."

"How?! How am I supposed to do better when I don't know how?!" What was wrong with how he was battling? He was winning plenty! "And what did I do wrong here?!" He hated when people were vague, and this repeated vagueness was starting to get to him.

"Really?" Kallisto had thus far been the only one in the Gym to be supportive and helpful at all times. Yet at this, even he was frustrated. Nori had to wonder, was he actually terrible at this battling thing? "You don't understand why you lost?" the fit teen asked.

"Because his stupid bug could just hide up there, and my Pokemon couldn't do anything about it." It hit him like a Future Sight attack. "Wait, are you saying Nidorina should learn a ranged attack?"

Kallisto raised a finger. "Bingo."

"Or, better still," spoke the Gym Leader. "You should have prepared for the possibility that your opponent would try an evasive tactic, and chosen to use Pachirisu instead."

"Then I would've just lost outright!" Nori protested. He ruled the squirrel out for that reason. It made sense! "So how do I teach Nidorina those moves?!" the boy asked, starting to feel frustrated himself. "She knew Poison Sting, but I focused on other moves because it was so telegraphed and weak!"

The Gym Leader grumbled and stormed off, leaving the whole situation behind him. Nori could hear the word, "hopeless" under the man's breath.

The boy sighed. So much for asking him about the permission slip. He looked over at Tono, who had been silent since his victory. It was more annoying than any boasting. "Don't blame me." The bespectacled teen shrugged at his glare.

Ollie laughed. "Yeah, blame yourself or the gods!"

"You're not helping, you know," Kallisto chimed in. Even Eddie glared at Ollie. Nori followed in suit. This stupidness wasn't totally his fault, nor did he think there was any deity or deities to blame here.

"But I must admit, I thought that proper choice of Pokemon would be obvious to even you," Tono said. "I was prepared to battle your Pachirisu. I had to adjust my strategy for that."

"Yeah? So then why'd you choose a flying bug, then? It'd be weak to Electric moves."

Tono chuckled. "If you have thought of that, you should be able to figure out why I choose Mothula."

"Okay, so he can counter Electric types. That still meant Nidorina wasn't a wrong choice."

"Yes, but you made the wrong choices in the battle." Tono smirked. "I was not going to hold back by not using my Pokemon's aerial advantage. If I had done so, I would have been the one being chewed out."

Nori sighed. He couldn't argue with that. "Stupid Volkner. Stupid ranged attack conundrum,"

"Nidorina can learn a couple Electric moves, so I'll see what I can do for you," Kallisto offered. Nori's eyes went wide with surprise. He was going to help him? And he offered without being asked? "As for Volkner, that's just his way of trying to push you."

"Well, it's not helping! What kind of stupid moron tries to encourage someone by insulting them? It's starting to piss me off!" He almost wanted to throw up his arms and stop caring about this.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Quit your bitching, kid. Ain't gonna get you nowhere. Shut the fuck up and shut him up."

Nori grumbled. Eddie said it in the most insulting way possible, but he couldn't deny the truth behind it. "So what should I do? Where should I start improving...whatever he wants me to? What does he want me to improve on?"

The four exchanged glances. "Who fuckin' knows?" Eddie said. "It's probably some philosophical shit with him."

Kallisto nodded. "As long as you do well, he'll give you a pass."

That was easy for them to say. He may have had a very strong Pokemon, but he was still a new trainer. A very atypical one from the seems of it, too. Nori was getting the impression he went so far against the grain that he'd have to completely rethink things to get Volkner's full approval. He normally wouldn't change himself that much for anyone else, but he might have to. And that possibility bothered him.
 
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*And so Nori and his enemies briefly experience camaraderie over that most binding of moments; complaining about someone from the outside group.
*Octillery and Ambipom, huh? I guess this is Diamond/Pearl Volkner and not Platinum Volkner.
*Poor Lux's home life doesn't seem exactly ideal.
*"Demon" is still a bit crazed. Reminds me of the cowboy Meowth in the anime Hoenn League trying to murder his KO'd Persian opponent. Still, Tono made very good use of the rules of the match to win that one.
*"Hopeless". Starting to think they should have sent Nori to Byron.
*"Yeah, blame yourself or the gods!" is that a Final Fantasy Tactics reference, or just a coincidence?
*Kallisto is so nice and overall talented he's either an Obi-wan Kenobi figure or secretly evil...

Y'know I suddenly recall this from Training A Demon...
Little did Nori know that it would be a difficult road to reach that point. If he knew at the time, he may never have put his signature on those documents. The ordeal he had just gone through would pale in comparison to what awaited him over the next year...
Zoinks. And my gut tells me this gets worse before it gets better.
 
*And so Nori and his enemies briefly experience camaraderie over that most binding of moments; complaining about someone from the outside group.
The Gym Trainers may be jerks, even to each other, but they do indeed band together when the going gets rough. And they know things like this just aren't right.

*Octillery and Ambipom, huh? I guess this is Diamond/Pearl Volkner and not Platinum Volkner.
It's pre-a mixture of both with some originality, actually. Originality mostly in his appearance and outfit, like not having sideburns. He does have Electivire, but Luxray is his signature as once-stated.

Like Tono said though, even a type expert doesn't have to strictly have Pokemon of that type. He certainly has them for non-official Gym situations, for versatility reasons.

*"Demon" is still a bit crazed. Reminds me of the cowboy Meowth in the anime Hoenn League trying to murder his KO'd Persian opponent. Still, Tono made very good use of the rules of the match to win that one.
Old habits die hard, huh? And yes, cheese strategies to the rescue for Tono there.

*"Hopeless". Starting to think they should have sent Nori to Byron.
It would certainly be a very different dynamic! Especially if one were to consider Roark. This observation actually amuses me in a way you'll realize why in the Month 3 chapters.

*"Yeah, blame yourself or the gods!" is that a Final Fantasy Tactics reference, or just a coincidence?
It is a reference! :D One of my favorite games. I actually was unsure whether to keep that line, but it fits with something later, and isn't too out-of-character for Ollie to say that. Even if it's a bit odd for him to have played FFT on paper...I guess that means, it's depths to him even I didn't anticipate. But sometimes, you just have to let the story and characters go where they want.

Zoinks. And my gut tells me this gets worse before it gets better.
Remember: that opening scene is still a thing...heh heh heh...
 
Yay, Nori finally catches a break!...until he loses a battle yet again and is told off for not magically knowing Pokemon strategies. I feel you when it comes to vagueness and people insulting you, buddy. At least he got to be with Lux again, which is good. I hope he gets to go on the school trip. He could really benefit from getting away from the gym for a few days. I am curious as to why Nori's memories of that other trip had been blanked out. Potential foreshadowing, or a subplot in the future? One can only wonder. I can't wait to read more!
 
Yay, Nori finally catches a break!...until he loses a battle yet again and is told off for not magically knowing Pokemon strategies. I feel you when it comes to vagueness and people insulting you, buddy.
To be fair to the guys (except Ollie), Tono and Eddie were being more cordial than usual about it. Almost makes you wonder, doesn't it? But yes, Nori getting annoyed at vagueness is a trait of his.

At least he got to be with Lux again, which is good.
Friendship! Interesting choice of phrase you made, though.

I hope he gets to go on the school trip. He could really benefit from getting away from the gym for a few days.
Clearing your head does indeed help. Random aside doubling as an early author's note, I changed the reasons slightly. I meant to have that here, but, the extra scenes with Lux about the permission slip expanded it out. But means there's more content in the next chapter, so look forward to that.

I am curious as to why Nori's memories of that other trip had been blanked out. Potential foreshadowing, or a subplot in the future? One can only wonder. I can't wait to read more!
You may (or may not) find out the answer to that very soon!
 
Month 2: February of Progression (third part)
Month 2: February of Progression (Third Part)
February 13th, 2015

That Friday, West Sunyshore Elementary celebrated Valentine's Day. Everyone's desk was labeled with their name, and had bags attached for cards. This was a mild surprise to Nori. He was familiar with this tradition, but hadn't done it since third grade. What's more, it was a school-wide event, rather than class specific. He saw kids going in and out of classrooms that didn't belong to them during recess and lunch.

Instead of wandering around the school as they sometimes did, Nori and Lux spent all of lunch hour together in the kindergarten hall, talking about stuff and just relaxing. Nori appreciated the peace and quiet. It was nice to have it sometimes, just to clear one's thoughts. The only time he had it during the day was here at school.

As the bell rang, he suddenly had a piece of paper thrust into his hands. "Here. It's for you," Lux quickly spoke.

A card? "Oh, thanks."

"Sorry if it's...weird."

"Why would it be?"

"Because we're both boys."

"What's wrong with friends giving each other cards?"

The purple-haired boy shuffled his feet. "I don't know, but, you know..."

"People getting the wrong idea?"

Lux glanced away. "You're just...too good to me. I...didn't know how to say it, so I wrote it down."

Nori unfurled the paper. It was titled Nori Carino at the top, and was signed Lux Blomgren in elegant handwriting at the bottom. Colorful flowers, stars, and even a couple hearts were illustrated along the sides. The word ‘you're’ was written repeatedly down the rest of the page, with various words and phrases following it.

You're important to me.
You're strong-willed.
You're brave.
You're elegant.
You're unflappable.
You're my protector.
You're irreplaceable.
You're the world to me.
You're my best friend.
You're the best.


"Thank you," Nori said, a warmth in his chest. "Yours is already in your bag."

"Um, thanks."

Lux held open his arms. Nori glanced around. Seeing no one, he embraced his friend tightly. They hugged for several long seconds. The purple-haired boy sighed contentedly.

"Though that said, people will think it's weird and get the wrong idea if they see us doing this." Nori never minded. He'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to hug Lux. But hugging was more of a girls thing. Maybe that was part of why Lux was seen as girly by their peers. "Plus, we should get back to class."

"I know..." Lux broke it off, seemingly with reluctance. They had only five minutes from the bell to make it back, and that had taken two or three of them. He didn't mind being late, but it'd mean a scolding from the teacher that he didn't want to subject Lux to. They hurried back to their classroom together.

---​

When they returned, Nori was met with a surprise. His Valentine's card bag was stuffed full. He and Lux exchanged amazed, wordless glances with each other.

The boys' attention went to the clock high on the wall. They were here on time after all, barely, yet the teacher was late. Well, Nori wasn't going to complain about this. But his next-seat neighbor voiced concerns. Not Lux or Jamie, but person to his right. He never had a chance to meet her. "Um, where's the teacher?" the girl in blue capris asked.

Most kids shrugged, Nori included. Spike, who was leaning against the whiteboard chatting with some other boys, looked up. "Heard she's in a meetin' with Mr. Tauch," he stated. That made sense. Teachers go to meetings all the time.

"Nori! Nori!"

On hearing his name called, Nori turned just in time to see a redheaded girl barreling towards him. He hopped to the side with a yelp, barely evading her. This did not deter her from sleeking up to him.

"I got your card!" Jamie said, leaning right into his personal space.

"I guess you liked it?" the boy asked, nervously chuckling. It wasn't much. Just like Lux, he handmade something at the Gym. It wasn't anything romantic, at least, he didn't try to be.

"I did! Thank you so much!" She moved close and kissed him below his left eye, almost on his lips. "And!" Jamie reached into her bag. "Here's yours!" she declared, proudly presenting him a card.

"Th-thank you?" The girl giggled as he took a step back to accept it. Nori briefly scanned his peers. Everyone was watching, and why wouldn't they be? Lux was stunned, dumbfounded, more than anyone else who was. Most were passively watching. A number of people, Spike included, were grinning profusely. He wasn't sure if they were approving, or internally laughing at how flustered he was right now. Or both.

Nori examined the card. Storebought. It had an illustration of a cartoony Cherrim with its leaves closed in a meadow, with the caption ‘When I'm with you, I don't need the sun...’ On the inside, the Pokemon was in full bloom, as well as finishing the statement: ‘...because you brighten up my world!’ It also had a poem from Jamie printed beneath.

You're brave and sweet, and you're a fighter,
Whenever we meet, my chest feels tighter,
As if I'm a feather, I feel so lighter,
And if we're together, my sun would shine brighter,

Love, Jamie Isabelle Nox


The lowercase ‘i’ had been dotted with a heart. "Well?" the girl asked, leaning in close. "What'd you think?"

Okay. Nori had to admit, that was pleasant to read. It was some pretty good poetry too, as far as he could tell anyway. "It's nice. I like it."

Once again, Jamie got up close. "You're so cute and so awesome, Nori." She lightly reached out and put her arms around his waist. "I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Um, uh, maybe?" he stammered. The boy felt like he was about to burn away into nothing from sheer embarrassment right there on the spot.

Jamie moved her face closer, causing the boy to lightly tilt his head back. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Do you want to go to the Wet Rock Diner with me?"

He looked out to the class. Everyone was waiting his answer with baited breath. Nori took a deep breath, a calm washing over him. If she was asking that...he had a clear answer. Maybe it would be seen as an excuse, but it was the truth.

"Well, I'd have to ask Volkner. He makes me train all day at the Gym most of the time. Even on weekends." At once, Jamie's arms dropped. "Yeah, I know," he followed up. "It's stupid and I hate it. I'm not saying no, I'm saying you should've asked me a couple days earlier."

The redheaded girl groaned, but it wasn't an unhappy one. "I guess it can't be helped. But, do you still want to go sometime?"

"W-well–"

The door to the classroom abruptly swung open. "Sorry, Mr. Tauch took longer to get going than I thought he would. Everyone sit down."

Mrs. DeWood was entering the room. Never before had Nori been so happy to see a teacher. Did Jamie really have to do this in front of the whole class?!

"We'll see," he told his admirer. He actually meant that. He wouldn't mind, but Nori honestly wasn't sure if Volkner would let him have any free time out of the Gym at all. He hadn't even gotten back to him on the permission slip, although he'd take any reason he could. "But tomorrow, I'll be stuck in the Gym." He nodded and, against his better judgment, added a wink. He didn't outright suggest she come by, yet brought it up as an indirect reminder.

It was thankfully enough for Jamie, who grinned and nodded as she took her seat. Nori internally breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down.

---​

As school ended, Nori and Lux walked through the halls together to the front doors. It was something they started doing since the incident, to hang out as much as they could. The whole time, Lux was looking down at his feet. This did not escape Nori's notice, and he asked, "Something wrong, Lux?" Right after saying that, he realized what it probably was. "Hey, I told you, didn't I?"

"I know. It's just..." Lux paused, considering something. "Well. About her. She really likes you..." He didn't have to say who he was talking about.

"Yeah." Nori rubbed the nape of his neck. The air was filled with the murmurs of students, but he spoke more quietly just to be sure. "I don't hate Jamie. But someone like her definitely wouldn't be my first choice. She's pretty smothering." His feelings towards her were complicated, to say the least.

"Mmm." The purple-haired boy nodded. "But, that's not what's bugging me." Lux figured out he was going to bring up Jamie based on his vague statement? Nori was impressed at that. That's what made them real friends, he supposed. Lux dismally explained his real issue, "I looked at some of my Valentine's cards. Some were...really mean pranks. Others were, you know, just because. Yours is the only one that really meant it."

"Ugh, sorry. Any of them signed?"

"Not the mean ones..."

"So they're not completely stupid, but they are jerks." If any of them were stupid enough, he'd be more than happy to make them regret it.

"Thanks again, Nori," his friend said, picking up with a soft smile. "Your card really meant a lot."

"I'm glad you liked it." He put a bit more effort into it than he did with Jamie. Neither was as elaborate as what they gave him, just a simple handmade greeting with context.

They continued to walk along in silence, although something still seemed to be bothering Lux. The purple-haired boy paused before the front doors, eyes cast down. "I wish I could spend more time with you..." he lamented.

"Yeah, same here." He shrugged and shook his head in irritation. "But as long as your mom's being a, you know, all the time we have together is at school."

"Well..." the purple-haired boy tentatively spoke up. "Will you be going on the trip?"

"Volkner still hasn't gotten back to me about it."

Lux again looked downward. "He has to soon."

"I know, I know." It was so hard to get a hold of the Gym Leader, plus he didn't want to ask too soon. Still, yes. The deadline was coming up. "I'll make sure to get him to answer on the weekend, no matter what."

"Okay..." Lux smiled slightly. He glanced outside. "I better not keep mom waiting."

"Yeah..." Suddenly, Nori felt a bit distraught. "Stupid..." he muttered. Why did Mrs. Stupid Blomgren have to be this way? He could hang out with any of his other friends when he wanted. Even Claris' parents had no problem with him, despite the social class difference. But not Lux's. What was her problem?!

Without warning, Lux reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He gave it an assuring pat, almost half of a hug. The boy's unwitting sneer faded completely.

"See you Monday," said his friend, before leaving. Nori closed his eyes, thinking about all that happened today.

##########​

February 14th, 2015

Valentine's Day didn't hold much meaning to Nori. Besides getting cards in school like he did yesterday, he ignored the holiday. It was for couples, and he'd never had anyone special like that in his life. He had chances, sure. But nothing came of them. Besides, if he did like someone, he'd show them that every day. He wouldn't bind doing anything special for them to an arbitrary calendar date, like you'd do with a birthday or Christmas.

When he went downstairs just after 10am, he was surprised to see all four Gym Trainers were present. He thought at least one of them wouldn't be here. "Hey, guys," he greeted. He was wary with them. "I uh," He knew asking this was going to get a negative response. But he wanted to say it. "Thought some of you would have dates?" He held back a snicker.

Tono scoffed. "It is not as though you have one, either."

"Well, I was asked out by a girl."

He grinned proudly. The four's eyes went wide at this. Exactly the reaction he'd hoped for. All of them were in shock or disbelief, even Kallisto. Eddie fired a glare. "You're full of shit, kid!"

"It's true."

"So why ain't you going, then?" the dark-skinned teen shot back.

"Well, I'd want to make sure Volkner is okay with it first." He didn't want to say yes, then find out no, and not be able to go. Or more specifically, go anyway and get in trouble for it. "I guess also, because I'm not sure if she's right for me."

Kallisto leaned back. "That second reason's why none of us have dates today."

Nori could only shake his head at this. Some of them seemed insanely popular. Then again, as he had been finding out, that wasn't always a good thing. Like with Jamie, it could be hard to tell the difference between those who genuinely like you and those who seemingly like you for some other reason. You just didn't know.

"It's probably a good idea for you not to have any long-term commitments here," the head Gym Trainer added after several moments.

"I guess. I don't know how long I'm going to be here." He wasn't ruling it out. But nothing could be worse than having to part ways with someone you like like. Besides, he wouldn't just choose anyone. It'd have to be someone he'd known for a while who liked him for him. And ideally, someone he had a deep, special connection with. "I did get a lot of Valentine's cards in school. Even a bunch from kids in lower grades."

The large teen let out a shrill, "Pft!" He dismissively waved a hand. "Only babies care about that. It's a kid thing!"

Nori gave Ollie an empty look. "Uh, I am technically one?" It was a kid thing, and he was a kid. It's not like he was some creepy adult doing it or anything. "Got like a dozen cards that seemed serious, too." He could say one thing about Jamie, she was clear and open with her affection.

"I got like twenty of those in my locker yesterday," said Kallisto. To this Nori could only sigh and look down.

"Of course you did."

"So popular you make the ladies act like little girls, huh?" Eddie noticed and peered at him. "Why you moping? You jealous Kallisto's more popular than you?"

It wasn't about that. Was there anything he was better at than any of these Gym Trainers? He was seemingly less everything than Kallisto. He wasn't as good at battles as Eddie, he wasn't as smart as Tono, and even Ollie was stronger-willed than him. He had to admit, Ollie never gave up for better or worse. "Never mind."

Instead of dropping the subject, Eddie chose to push further. "Worried you gonna get smoked in the popularity poll?"

Nori craned his head. "What popularity poll?"

"Just a fun thing we do every year around this time," Kallisto said. "We hold a vote on the Gym's website for most attractive guy in the Gym." He looked over at the bespectacled boy. "Tono runs it."

"He runs the Gym's website?" Nori didn't even know the Gym had a website. Then again, he hardly knew the internet, either. He only used it at school when following teachers' instructions to do things, and heard it was really restricted anyway.

"We all pitch in a bit to help run the Gym," Kallisto explained. "Tono helps with electronics and the site, I help with publicity, Eddie takes after and catches some of the Gym Pokemon, and Ollie's family is a sponsor of ours. Supplies us with those sandwiches you like."

Nori blinked. "You look after all the Pokemon?" he asked Eddie.

He casually replied, "Yeah, it's mainly me. What about it?"

"Nothing. You just don't look the type." To this Eddie shrugged. Someone had been leaving food out for them all. Eddie was the last person he expected to be doing that, though. Nori eyed Tono. "So how do I know you're not rigging anything?"

"You insult me!" Tono yelled. "There is nothing more sacred to me than a fair vote. Every IP address is recorded! Votes from dynamic addresses are filtered. Votes by proxies anonymous or otherwise are rejected. If votestuffing is suspected, the system–"

"All right, all right, jeez!" Nori couldn't understand any of the technobabble. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Good! I am glad you understand!" He adjusted his glasses. "The results will be in at the end of the day. Look forward to them."

---​

The day went by as usual at the Gym, just with a few added oddities thanks to the day. At least two girls came in to confess to Kallisto. He told them both they were nice, but that he didn't want to commit to someone he didn't know. One couple came in wanting to challenge the Gym together. They were turned down and told they'd have to qualify separately. Nori was half-expecting Jamie to show up, but she didn't. It was a little disappointing. Was she not able to come, or was she not as interested as she was showing outwardly?

After closing time, the guys gathered around Tono near the stairwell as he checked the final tally on his laptop. Nori was surprised Volkner was here too. His name was on the ballot, but he didn't think the Gym Leader cared enough to be present.

"All right, here are the results. In first place is, of course, Kallisto with 7182, with an impressive 62.13% of the vote. And of course, Ollie is in last, only receiving 32." The large teen growled, but Tono cut him off. "Don't gripe, this is the most you've gotten. You would get more if you were more pleasant and looked after yourself better."

He continued on. "I got 486 votes." He nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Volkner, you're next with 1093." The Gym Leader didn't react to this, one way or another. "Eddie, you got 1117. And Nori got 1649."

"Wait, what the FUCK?" Eddie shoved to the front. Nori leaned in to see the screen better. Sure enough, there it was. People considered him the second most attractive guy in the Gym, by far. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. "That is bullshit! Why the fuck'd you even add him there?"

Tono glared. "It was your idea, Edward."

"Shit, damn!" Wait, what? This was all something to try to humiliate him more? And it backfired? Eddie scowled and pointed a finger at him. "You think you're hot stuff, pretty boy, but I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face!"

He wasn't actually smirking. And pretty boy?! "If it's a fistfight you want–"

"Hell no." He gestured to the door. "Battlefield. Now."

"This is stupid."

"Nori," Volkner scolded. "A trainer is expected to accept all challenges that come his or her way."

"I know, and I'm not backing down." He never would from a challenge. "I just wanted to say this is a stupid reason for wanting to battle." Do all trainers battle for petty reasons like this?

Kallisto sighed. "Sorry, Carino." Even Ollie seemed to be uncomfortable at this, which was saying something given that he'd previously made a challenge on ridiculous grounds.

---​

The match turned out to be more foregone than expected.

His Pachirisu was easily dominated by Eddie's Lickitung. It handled every attack they threw at it before finishing his Pokemon with Hydro Pump of all moves. It just spat a blast of saliva or something! The long tongued Pokemon also held its ground against Nidorina for a while, until she eventually grabbed it by the tongue and slammed it into the ground. His command of Skull Bash right to the mouth ended that one.

Nidorina against Magneton had been going on for a few minutes now. Compared to last time, it wasn't going so well. Eddie was fighting much more conservatively, having Magneton escape whenever they got a combo going. Both Pokemon were in bad shape, and Magneton had just used Lock-On. Nori knew what was coming next.

"Only a matter of time now!" shouted Eddie. "You're toast, kid!"

Nori kept his composure. What was with people getting really fired up in battles, anyway? It was fun, but could also make you look ridiculous. "Guess we'll have to win before that," he said plainly. "All or nothing. Bring it down with Crunch."

"You dumbass! Higher up, Magneton!" What he failed to account for was Nidorina anticipating this and going for one of the pillars instead. She jumped onto and off it in one ninja-like motion, catching one of the bodies in its mouth and throwing it to the ground.

"Finish it off." She was already on it, kicking away.

"Too late! ZAP CANNON!"

The worst case scenario. The magnets managed to focus just long enough to launch the attack. It didn't even need to have locked on with how close they were. Nidorina heard and tried to duck behind the pillar, but she was just struck from behind.

The teal Pokemon strained. Her muscles were stiffening too much. In one spiteful motion she lunged and swung a claw, getting in one last swipe before she fell. She was still conscious, yet unable to do more than glare at her opponent.

It wasn't enough. Magneton hovered a few centimeters off the ground. It was the victor, even if it didn't look like it. They'd lost again. He and Nidorina had lost again, and not even to Kallisto.

"Eat shit!" Eddie roared in victory. "You're pathetic, kid. Can't beat me with your super tough Pokemon? She's wasted on you!"

His still-conscious Pokemon weakly barked at their foe. Nori had picked up on a few consistencies in her vocalizations. That was something akin to ‘Fuck you.’

Eddie continued to talk trash that Nori tuned out. As for the others, Kallisto watched on with concern. Tono shook his head in disappointment; Volkner, too, did not look pleased. Ollie seemed indifferent to the whole thing, besides mild bemusement.

"I hope you're happy," he said as he recalled the Demon. He flipped Eddie the bird before leaving to get his Pokemon treated.

##########​

February 15th, 2015

The exercise room in the Gym had a variety of equipment that its trainers could use to keep themselves in shape. Among them were weights of various kinds, a treadmill, an exercise bike, and various other contraptions Nori couldn't identify. It also had a few punching bags. Nori relieved a bit of stress by taking a few swings at them while imagining he was punching Eddie and Ollie.

He had been periodically coming here since the beep test the other day, as long as Eddie wasn't using it. He didn't mind if Kallisto or anyone else was there, but at the moment he was running on the treadmill, alone in the room aside from Pachirisu. It was a good way to unwind, clear his mind, and get a workout. It didn't compare to running around in the outdoors; in fact, neither did running around the battlefield, the rare times he was able to anyway. Yet it was the best he could do.

He'd been at it for about five minutes when Pachirisu suddenly jumped atop the front of the machine. "Yes?" he asked, not missing a step. The squirrel looked down at his feet, curiously. Jumping off to his left, Pachirisu ran in place. "You want to give it a try?" His Pokemon rapidly nodded, flashing his teeth in glee.

The boy hopped off to the right. He was about to reach out and turn the treadmill down when Pachirisu instantly got on. Just as quick, it nearly flew off the machine. The squirrel took a few futile and frantic steps before using Quick Attack, darting off anyway albeit in the opposite direction. He comically crashed into the wall behind the treadmill, his tail flopping onto his body.

Nori laughed. A genuine one. He hadn't been having enough of those lately. He switched the machine off and walked over to his Pokemon. "You need to get the right pace," he advised, helping it off the ground. "You can't run too slow or you'll fall off. But you can't run too fast, either. Plus, don't jump on right away."

The squirrel's tail drooped. "Hey, how about this?" the boy said. "Next time I go for a run with Nidorina, you can come too." He used to do that all the time in Veilstone; just send out the former Demon as he went around exploring and dash around with her. At the very least, he planned to do some laps around the Gym when he could. His Pokemon clapped in glee, happy at the suggestion.

"AHHHH!!"

They were interrupted by a scream and a thud. Pachirisu worriedly looked about. Nori took off out of the room, his Pokemon following behind after a moment. It came from close by. The boy threw open the door to the training room. There was no one inside but a couple of Gym Pokemon. He continued to the trainer's lounge, where he came upon the source.

Kallisto was on the floor in front of the couch in a daze. A blue and white blanket was awkwardly draped over him.

"What happened?!" Nori asked. He'd been taking a nap in here. Did he roll off in his sleep? "Are you okay?"

"I..." Kallisto sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I'm fine, just a nightmare."

"Oh..."

The orange and pink haired teen awkwardly stood, turning away in shame. "Sorry you had to see me like this."

Nori put his hands behind his back. "What's there to be sorry about?"

This got Kallisto to laugh. "I guess nothing," he said in relief, sitting back down. The head Gym Trainer took out a Poke Ball, peering at it thoughtfully.

"Um..." The boy's curiosity was piqued. What was Kallisto's dream about? And why was he looking at the ball? Pachirisu sat on his shoulder as he plopped down on the single seater. "If you don't mind, what was the nightmare about?" What's the harm in asking, he thought? The worst he could say was that it was none of his business.

"Bad memories..." mused the head Gym Trainer.

"Yeah...I know what you mean. Get that sometimes myself." His were infrequent, but they still sometimes came up. "A bad trip, let's just say."

"Mine are from when I was homeless." At this, Kallisto cracked open the Poke Ball. His Raitora formed, and instantly understood what happened. The feline creature started rubbing up against his trainer affectionately.

"Wait, wait. What?" Nori gasped, lurching forward so fast that Pachirisu was nearly thrown off. "You were homeless?" He spared the squirrel a glance as it went over to see Raitora.

"For a couple weeks, yes." Kallisto tapped his chin, eventually nodding to himself. "All I had on me were Lombre, Flaaffy, and the clothes on my back. I was sleeping in an alley one night, and woke up to find them fighting off a pack of Poochyena. Before I knew what was happening, a Mightyena pinned me down. My Pokemon were occupied with the others. I thought I was a goner, but." He eyed his Pokemon, who was now exchanging playful bursts of electricity with Pachirisu. "A certain special Kotora came to my rescue. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be here today." He scratched the feline under the chin. Raitora raised his head to allow him to get deeper beneath.

"That's really nice," the boy mused, hastily clarifying. "Um, how you met your Pokemon, that is. But I never knew you went through that much."

"A lot do, just not the specifics."

Nori nodded. He felt a bit of guilt for how he was internally calling him perfect all the time. Speaking of, he remembered something. "By the way. Sorry to bring this up now, but uh." He paused, hesitating. He was going to ask Kallisto this today. It turned out to be an inopportune time, but it was now or never! "Well first, I finished my letters. Can you send them out for me?" He'd been so busy and distracted, and revising them a lot, he'd only managed to finish them now.

Kallisto nodded. "I can do that, Carino. What else?"

"Well, my school's having this trip next week. I really want to go, just to get away for a few days. But Volkner hasn't said anything about it. Do you think you can help me convince him to let me go?"

To this, he received a sigh. "Sorry. Not in the right state of mind to debate with him today." Nori wanted to say something, but he couldn't blame him. Whenever he had those kinds of dreams, it messed with his thoughts too. Kallisto continued, "But I know you can do it. Have a bit of confidence in yourself. You've argued with him about things a couple times before, haven't you? Some of us haven't been able to do that at all."

"And? What if I can't?! What if I just mess things up and he says no because of it?"

Kallisto gave this some thought. "Tell you what. I'll swing by in the morning before school if you need me." He smiled. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great!" Just knowing he had some backup injected a lot of confidence into him.

"All right. But for now, you should start thinking about what you're going to say. Most important thing in any battle or speech is preparation, after all." Yes, that made sense. In both respects. He would have to consider this carefully...

---​

While Sunyshore Gym closed early on the weekends, Volkner remained behind until the Gym's usual closing time of 9pm. This was not only to train Nori, but also to attend to administrative matters. Nori waited in the lobby to catch Volkner on his way out the door. The Gym Leader was always the last person to leave, each day. He stood up and in the blond man's way.

"What do you want?" the Gym Leader asked, almost like he wanted to just go around and ignore him.

"Have you decided if I can go on that trip? I need to know by tomorrow." He had decided, and Kallisto agreed, the best way to open was asking that outright.

A pause. "I'm leaning no."

"What? Why?!"

"You're falling behind on your studies. You need to keep at it. That battle yesterday showed you've not been improving since you got here. If anything, you've been getting worse, or complacent."

He did go to move around, but Nori blocked his path. "Please! I've been at this nonstop for a month and a half. I'm worn out, that's why I've been falling behind. I need a break! Breaks are healthy, right? That way I can come back refreshed after a couple days of rest!"

He'd forgotten how he was going to word it, but he got out all of his points. He needed this, at all costs. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last. The constant training was getting to be too much. Even though the other Gym Trainers were starting to act kinder, they still had too many moments. And Kallisto couldn't seem to keep them in-check. Maybe it would only be for a little while, but it WOULD help!

Volkner eyed him in irritation. "Fine," he conceded. "You made a point."

Nori beamed. Yes! That wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be! The Gym Leader reached into his jacket's inner pocket and retrieved the permission slip. He scratched out a signature using only his palm for support and held it out. Nori reached out to take it, but Volkner didn't let go.

The Gym Leader's expression was unreadable. Was it all just a tease? "I expect you to work extra hard once you get back. Understood?"

"Can do!" Nori energetically saluted, genuinely. At this, Volkner let him have the slip and left, locking the door behind him.

As soon he was sure Volkner was gone, Nori leaped into the air and cheered. He was getting a break! Instead of working himself to the bone, he could enjoy himself with Lux and most of his other classmates at Tonsen Land, without a care in the world! Nori went up to his room, and for the first time in a month, had a perfect night's sleep.

This was originally part of the previous chapter, but since adding more Lux scenes there made it too big, I ended up splitting them. But since this ended up too short as a result, I greatly expanded the February 13th bit - in particular adding the scene with Jamie (who I really needed more of anyway) and the third scene at school there. Also used the chance to pick up on some hooks with Kallisto that I didn't have a place for before.
 
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Oh wow! I honestly didn't expect Jamie to actually ask Nori out like that. I do like that you decided to give her some screen time, as Nori does need more people in his corner, and Jamie seems relatively nice enough. Besides, as Nori himself said, he really deserves a break from the gym once in a while, and I sure am glad he's being allowed to go on the school trip! It was also nice to see a bit of Kallisto's backstory and how he met Raitora. Hey, looks like we both have Pokemon characters who were homeless for a while, only my character was on the streets for longer. Also, Volkner's kind of a hypocrite here: He claims Nori hasn't been improving on his training, but he doesn't have much of a right to say that since he hasn't done two shits to even train him at all, or in any way that Nori properly understands and can actually apply. If Nori asked my characters for help, they would actually be patient and train him (And in a way that wouldn't make him feel stupid or ashamed of himself) and actually explain things to him. I can't wait to read more!
 
*Now, I find myself wondering--did Julie asking im out in front of everyone to intentionally make him more likely to accept? I've read there are controversies over big "event" proposals for that reason.
*Great, now I'm wondering what the official websites for various Gyms look like.
The large ten growled, but Tono cut him off.
Should probably be "large teen".
*Not gonna lie, something about a "most attractive" poll including a full adult like Volkner AND a twelve year old feels a bit odd.
*And Nidorina's knocked down another peg.
*So Kallisto has nightmares (okay, I know they can occur at random but in fiction they almsot always have some sort of meaning)
*Ah, well...that is not what I expected. Waking up to a pack of wild Pokémon trying to eat you is certainly nightmare inducing!
*And Volkner lets him go. Is he showing a soft spot, conceding the strength of Nori's argument, or just apathetically taking the path of least resistance?

It's nice to see things turning around a little!
...something bad is going to happen. I have not forgotten you, ominous cold opening.

Hey, looks like we both have Pokemon characters who were homeless for a while, only my character was on the streets for longer.
I was actually doing that, too, though with a mostly backstory character. Odd coincidence.
 
*Now, I find myself wondering--did Julie asking im out in front of everyone to intentionally make him more likely to accept? I've read there are controversies over big "event" proposals for that reason.
For the record. She didn't have any intention of doing it that way on purpose, but it certainly made Nori even more uneasy. Also, it's Jamie. :p

*Great, now I'm wondering what the official websites for various Gyms look like.
Probably similar to sites for community centers and such. That said Tono is the designer, so it likely has some of his attitude spruced in.

Should probably be "large teen".
Yeah, noticed that typo myself at one point. Was too tired to fix it at the time.

*Not gonna lie, something about a "most attractive" poll including a full adult like Volkner AND a twelve year old feels a bit odd.
Oh, it certainly is when you think about it. Tono, at least, didn't seem too keen on the idea of adding Nori. I actually tried to make a dialogue-scene to explain some of it, but couldn't get the creative juices flowing. In short, he had reservations due to Nori's age and not being of the Gym, but relented to get Eddie to shut up and leave him alone. (See also: his reaction when Eddie flips over it).

Aside, an unused part: I was going to have reasons for the Gym's site's voters to explain why they found the guys at the Gym attractive. It was clunky, however - and Eddie's reaction needing to be instant kind of killed the idea. But the basic gist of it: Nori is 'cute', to Kallisto and Eddie's 'hot' (which has come up before). Volkner and Tono are nerdy, although the former less so while being much more charismatic and physically attractive. Ollie's only liked by people who like his body type.

*Ah, well...that is not what I expected. Waking up to a pack of wild Pokémon trying to eat you is certainly nightmare inducing!
A Pokemon attack in the middle of the city, and that extreme. For sure. Especially when camping in the wilderness is usually safe enough. What were you expecting anyway, out of curiosity?

*And Volkner lets him go. Is he showing a soft spot, conceding the strength of Nori's argument, or just apathetically taking the path of least resistance?
Probably a mix of both.

It's nice to see things turning around a little!

...something bad is going to happen. I have not forgotten you, ominous cold opening.
Look forward to seeing if you're correct or not in a couple days!

~~

Oh wow! I honestly didn't expect Jamie to actually ask Nori out like that. I do like that you decided to give her some screen time, as Nori does need more people in his corner, and Jamie seems relatively nice enough.
Fun fact, she's actually loosely inspired by a girl who had a strong crush on me when I moved to a new city/school in elementary, also named Jamie. Though I go in a different direction from real life.

Besides, as Nori himself said, he really deserves a break from the gym once in a while, and I sure am glad he's being allowed to go on the school trip!
Yup. A chapter without Volkner or the Gym Trainers! Look forward to it!

It was also nice to see a bit of Kallisto's backstory and how he met Raitora. Hey, looks like we both have Pokemon characters who were homeless for a while, only my character was on the streets for longer.
Funny, the Caiseal comparison did actually come to mind for this. I thought about having Kallisto be on there for a couple months, but for backstory reasons not explained yet, I reduced it to a couple weeks.

Also, Volkner's kind of a hypocrite here: He claims Nori hasn't been improving on his training, but he doesn't have much of a right to say that since he hasn't done two shits to even train him at all, or in any way that Nori properly understands and can actually apply.
Some of the training is off-camera or glossed over, to be fair. Though you're also not wrong.

If Nori asked my characters for help, they would actually be patient and train him (And in a way that wouldn't make him feel stupid or ashamed of himself) and actually explain things to him.
If only they knew back in MarAwry, huh? Though he'd probably be too embarassed to ask in the first place. And that takes place after this anyway.
 
Month 2: February of Progression (fourth part)
February of Progression (Fourth Part)
February 17th, 2015

It was a beautiful winter afternoon. Snow was falling gently from the steely clouds above. The winds were calm, the air gently massaging the skin of anyone outdoors. It was cold, but not frigid.

The Vicious Gutsnik was a vessel built for power and practicality. The emerald-gray hull proclaimed this was not a luxury ferry. It had three levels. Most of the upper and lower partitions were restricted to crew, aside from the decks and the former's battlefields. Below was the parking garage; they briefly passed through when getting off the school bus. This also played host to a marine viewing area. The middle level was where most of the passengers stayed. There were separate decks on the front and back. Most of the inside area was simple metal seating, though there was a lounge at the front, a restaurant at the back, and rooms in the middle which included a play area and a gift shop.

Lux Blomgren was sitting on a bench outside, engrossed in the ship's brochure. His Byzantium-colored hair billowed as the vessel forced through the sea. Spike and others had been bugging him, so he wanted to get away. It didn't help that Nori had wandered off after boarding. He didn't say where he was going or why. Lux wasn't concerned; he knew Nori could handle himself wherever he was. Though he did wonder.

"What are you doing out here?"

Mrs. DeWood stood over him, arms crossed. His teacher was wearing a red and white coat with maroon skirt, black heels, and long socks. How was she not cold dressed like that? Why was she dressed like that?

The meek boy decided to be honest. "Spike was bullying me. I didn't want to be around him." Lux was a constant target for harassment by his peers. Spike was the most common culprit, but other targets of his bullying and even kids in lower grades would pick on him. "Could you tell him not to?"

"Just get inside and stay with the group so I know where you all are." Lux groaned. This was why he rarely brought these things up, besides being beaten up a couple times for being a tattletale. The school rarely did anything about it. Especially Mrs. DeWood. One time Spike was pestering him in front of the whole class, and when he yelled at the bully to stop, she scolded him for causing a ruckus.

The teacher looked about. "Now where'd that Nori run off to..."

"I'll find him!" Lux volunteered. He blurted that out without thinking, and it was a total shock the teacher immediately agreed.

"Just be back as soon as you do." She set off down the deck with purpose, not paying him any further heed.

Lux got up, delicately putting his bag around his shoulders and the side of his neck. So where would Nori be? The only place that came to mind would be battlefields. They weren't allowed to take any Pokemon with them, but knowing Nori, he probably sneaked them along anyway. It was as good a place as any to start looking, and at worst, a chance to see Pokemon.

Not two seconds after he had started heading towards the upper deck did he collide with someone. One of the ship's crew, a tall, slim man dressed in a navy blue uniform. He had dark hair with a handlebar mustache and goatee.

"Oh, sorry sir!" He bowed.

The man's fearsome gaze made Lux retreat back several steps. At that moment he saw the gold badge on his chest and the gun at his hip. He was in big trouble! The security officer gritted his teeth. "Fuckin' watch where ya fuckin' steppin', ya little shit."

Lux shuddered. Talk about cursing like a sailor. It was a relief that he only muttered further profanities to himself while walking off. But a thought fleeted through the boy's mind. "Wait!" he called out. When the man turned and glared again, he nearly scurried away on impulse. Lux had to force himself to ask his question. "Have you seen my friend, Nori? He's my age, has a green and black jacket, hair that's dark brown like chocolate, and soft red eyes like cherries."

This would be the quickest way to find his friend. Asking someone else. He just had to hope he'd get an answer.

The crew member paused. "Yeah, I saw'em. Pissin' around on the bottom deck near the liferafts."

The marine viewing area, of course! It was as close to the water as you could get on the ship, and was perfect for seeing sea creatures swimming by. "Thank you, sir!" Lux wasted no time hurrying off, arms lightly outstretched to keep himself steady.

---​

There was very little to the lowermost deck of the ship. There wasn't a direct route from the middle deck to where he wanted to go for some reason; he had to cross through the parking garage. Paths to the side allowed one to go around the sea of cars, at least. As for the marine viewing area itself, there was an opening in the middle of the wall spanning the entire room. It was open-air, though yellow safety netting prevented one from going out except where the lifeboats were. The room itself was industrious and nondescript - black ceiling and floor with dark gray walls. There weren't even places to sit.

It didn't take Lux long to find who he was looking for. A twelve-year-old boy sitting on his lonesome did stand out amongst families and adults.

"Oh, there you are, Nori!" Lux was briefly worried when Nori didn't look particularly happy to see him. At least he didn't look upset either. The quiet boy approached. "What are doing down here? The teacher's looking for you. And Spike's being..." He pressed two fingers together. "You know, Spike."

"Just..." Nori looked away. He briefly glanced out at the sea, but quickly looked down. "...hanging around here."

"Alone and by yourself?"

"I'm...not good with ships."

Lux crouched down beside his friend. "Do you get seasick?"

"Something like that, yes..." Nori turned away.

Oh, that explained things. Was Nori ashamed? "It's okay. Lots of people do." He compounded this assurance with a pat on the shoulder. He would've hugged Nori, but well. His friend didn't like public displays of affection, plus what would people think of seeing a boy hug another boy? "It'll be better if you're not near the water. Want to head up?" Lux offered his hand to help his friend up. If he'd been sitting down for a while, he might need it.

Nori looked at it for a few seconds. He was thinking about it. Eventually, he stood up without help. "I guess..."

Lux allowed Nori to lead the way back. They had only taken a few steps before his friend took pause.

"Hey, does it look like the ship's slowing down to you?!"

The purple-haired boy looked out. It did look like they weren't going as fast as they were. "I think it is. I wonder why?" A chime made up of three pleasant tones came from the PA system. The captain was about to say something.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for sailing with us today. Our ship will be temporarily stopping due to high Pokemon activity in the area." Nori visibly tensed up at this announcement. "If you look off port side, you'll see a pod of Arctic Lapras passing by."

"Lapras?!" Lux gasped. Were they on port side? Lux looked out, scanning the sea for sign of them. Sure enough, there they were! A good dozen of them! Even if they were a variant, the sea creatures were still beautiful. Pale blue bodies with white sections, sharp horns, teeth in their swaying jaws, and a bed of icy spikes on their back. "My favorite Pokemon!"

"Are they dangerous? Will they attack the ship!?"

Lux shook his head, putting a hand on his friend in reassurance. "Arctic Lapras aren't friendly like the regular ones, but they aren't aggressive. They like to show off. They're a meter bigger on average too. They also don't sing and you can't ride on them." Lux preferred the regular Lapras, but still liked these ones. "They're also called, um...what's that one region in Russia?"

"How am I supposed to know that?!" Nori snapped. He immediately apologized. "Sorry, sorry, it's just...I'm uncomfortable, okay?"

"Well, even if they did attack us, ships are built to take Pokemon attacks. And sailors have their own Pokemon to fight others off, just in case." Lux smiled. "You don't have to be worried."

Nori nodded and relaxed slightly. He whispered something to himself, but Lux couldn't hear it clearly over the waves. As the majestic Pokemon swam by, the two boys got an excellent view of the pod as they came within 20 meters of the ferry.

"What's with the big one?" his friend asked. At the front was a bulky specimen over six meters in height. It towered over the rest of them.

"I think that's the leader," Lux stated. It was only a guess, but it was a reasonable one given its size. "The strongest leads the pod to protect them against Pokemon like Sharpedo. I guess they're also the biggest in the Arctic variant." It did have flab and muscle, like it was eating a lot. He hadn't seen Arctic Lapras in-person until now, and he only read so much about them in books and the internet.

The big one leaped out of the water and dove below the surface. "Look, they're diving!" Lux gushed. Lapras were mammals, so they needed air. They could hold their breath for hours though, and sometimes went below the surface when swimming just for fun.

As the leader surfaced once more, it vocalized. On that cue, they all jumped and dove at once, generating an impressive wave. One that was headed right for them!

The vessel didn't so much as sway from this, yet water funneled through the opening. Lux managed to back away in time, only getting his boots splashed. But it caught some people. A lot of surprised yelps rang out, but there was one very loud, very frightened scream very close by.

His friend had taken a direct hit. Nori was completely drenched, squatted down in a fetal position, except his arms were wrapped around his head. He was shaking and breathing heavily, nearly hyperventilating.

"Nori! Are you all right?!" Lux cried, rushing over to his friend. As he leaned in, he could hear the other boy mumbling to himself.

"It's okay, Nori. It's okay. It was just a splash. You're okay."

"Nori?" he fretted. Lux put a hand on Nori's shoulder. He wasn't good at reading others, but even he could tell Nori was not okay.

"It's all okay, everything's okay," he insisted, standing up. "Let's head higher up. It'll be okay."

Lux silently nodded. Nori probably didn't want to talk about this. But as he saw the water dripping from his friend's clothes, he had to speak up. "You should probably get some dry clothes. It's um, cold up there..." He didn't want Nori freezing to death.

Nori looked down at himself, and over to his bag. It didn't seem too wet, so everything inside like his spare clothes should be fine. "Uh, right. I'll find a bathroom and do that..."

##########​

The classes arrived near the Survival Area in the afternoon. They all got cheeseburgers and fries for dinner. When bedtime came, they went to a hostel or community center of some kind. Yet instead of rooms, they were all brought into this big gymnasium with sleeping bags and pillows.

Rest refused to come to Nori, however. He was too uncomfortable from how weird it was. There were too many other people around, plus it was way too open. He thought about what happened on the boat. He was relieved only Lux and strangers had seen his panic attack, and that no one suspected it was anything but being surprised at getting splashed. He looked to his left, seeing his friend dreaming peacefully beside him. Nori wished he could relax enough to do that.

The boy thought about some things. Thinking helped him get to sleep at times. He considered Jamie. As uncomfortable as she sometimes made him, he didn't hate her. Nori did feel bad that she had to stay in Sunyshore. Speaking of being left behind, he hadn't been allowed to take his Pokemon either. He'd left them both out of their Poke Balls before leaving. The only thing he was worried about was Nidorina causing trouble. It was out of his control for now.

Eventually, he concluded it was no use. Nori carefully extracted himself from the sleeping bag. Once he was out, he got his backpack and tiptoed out of the gymnasium, being careful not to disturb anyone.

He roamed the darkened hallways. He wasn't sure where he was going. As he rounded a bend however, he was met by a slender blonde woman in a floral-patterned dress.

Mrs. DeWood immediately set upon him. "What are you doing still up?" she demanded.

"I...had to use the bathroom," he lied. His next words were truthful. "Um, and I'm having trouble sleeping in there." The blonde woman rolled her eyes at this. Yeah, he didn't blame her. It was a weak excuse. "So, what are you doing still up?"

"That's none of your business." She pointed, lip curling. "The bathroom's back that way. Get back to the gymnasium after you're done."

With this, she left and entered one of the rooms without bothering to check if he was going to do as he was told. He wasn't, of course. He continued to wander, eventually finding his way to the lobby.

Only a few of the lights were on. A woman receptionist or security person looked up at him, but otherwise ignored him. He looked around to see if there were any comfy chairs in the lobby, like there were at the Gym. He was in luck - there were some here. He sat down in a single seater and quickly fell asleep.

##########​

February 18th, 2015

Nori faced no consequences for doing that. He was roused early by people starting to come in and out of the building. His teacher did confront him when a few kids (Lux excluded, surprisingly) were concerned he wasn't there when they got up. He said in reply that he got up early and went for a walk, taking a nap on the seat. It was technically true! Thankfully, the receptionist didn't bother or snitch on him.

The next morning started off with eating pancakes. Nori never had these before, but was happy to try something different. They were good, but not very filling. He also felt they were better suited for dessert than breakfast.

They got on the bus just after 10am. It was an hour's ride away to their destination. Tonsen Land wasn't much to look at. Aside from some concession stands, including ones for cold drinks and ice cream (in winter, no less), there wasn't much to see. It looked to Nori like it was just a park near a volcano. Did they really have to ride a stupid boat and come all this way here when they could've gone to any park in the city instead?

The teacher led them through the grounds. Where were they going? Why couldn't they just start running around now? They got closer and closer to the mountain itself. Nori noticed there was an opening they were headed towards. Were they going to look around inside?

The entry tunnel was well lit. It was warm inside, as Nori expected a volcanic cave might be. They passed by a hallway on the side and kept going into the main chamber. It was very bright, almost as if it was a building built into the cave itself. The teacher was talking, probably giving instructions, but Nori was too stunned by what he was seeing for any of it to register.

It was a water park. An indoor hot spring water park! There was a big pool, a little pool, and various waterslides, including a gargantuanly long, massively tall waterslide that led into the big pool. Just looking at it made Nori nauseous. There was a tiny pool that seemed like a sauna and what looked like a bunch of sprinklers and playground-esque equipment in a separate segment. And a lot of other details Nori couldn't take in because it felt like he was being choked.

"What is this?!" he nearly screamed. "Why are we here?"

Most of the kids had already run off, but Lux was still at his side. His friend appeared puzzled. "Didn't you know? We voted on it earlier in the year and–oh, that's right. I'm sorry. You moved here, so you didn't hear we'd be going there at the end of last semester."

"Should've at least known what Tonsen Land is." Spike was still here too, unfortunately. The bully strutted up to them in disbelief.

"No, I didn't! I thought it was an amusement park!"

The chunky boy arched an eyebrow. "What're you, sheltered?"

Nori glared and held out a fist. "No, and screw off." He really didn't know what this was. He might've heard it on the radio once or twice, but he didn't pay attention to the commercials. Least of all commercials about stuff like this! Spike shrugged and walked away. He was close to chasing after Spike and hitting him anyway, only to be stopped by Lux placing a hand on his back.

"It's okay Nori," he assured with a light backrub. "Just try to have fun anyway, all right?"

That was easy for him to say. Of all the places they had to come to, why did it have to be a water park? He'd rather have gone anywhere but here. He wasn't prepared for this! Wait, that's right!

"I can't," he stated, not hiding his elation. "I don't even have swim trunks." That was his out. He wouldn't have to get in the water, because he couldn't! So instead of this he could...play outside? Just sit and watch? Flood the bathrooms as a prank? All preferable options!

"Ain't no problem, bro."

A muscular man close to two meters hopped down from a tall white chair. His black hair was shaved thin, and he was wearing flip-flops, partially transparent sunglasses, a yellow and white shirt that didn't cover his chest, and really tight swim briefs that seemed like his private parts could fall out of at any time.

"Swimwear can be rented, so you're covered there." Nori wanted to collapse as he heard those words. There went his excuse. "By the way, I'm Billy Ordride." He flashed a grin and pointed to his chest with a thumb. "Lifeguard and surfer. Fit as a fiddle, and ripped like a Machoke." He flexed his arms, demonstrating it wasn't hyperbole.

"I can see that," Mrs. DeWood remarked, studying the man's abs. She made a weird noise, as if trying to imitate a cat Pokemon.

The lifeguard chuckled at her. "Like'em? Can show ya more later." he asked with a smug-looking grin that didn't seem completely smug. "Anyway, little dude. Just surf on down to the rental spot. Just hang a left past the lockers. Can't miss'em."

"That's great, Nori!" Lux said. "It means you don't have to just sit around doing nothing!"

There was no way out of this. He was going to have to get in the water.

---​

Nori made sure to waste as much time as possible getting to the swimwear rental place. He found out they could use cubby-holes or lockers to store their things in, the latter for a small fee. That explained why some just left their stuff on the bus. He went with a locker, feeling that was safer and it would take a little longer. Volkner had given him some pocket change for the trip. But no matter how much he stalled, it was only delaying the inevitable.

It was just staff and the two sixth grade classes in the water park. A bunch of girls and a couple boys were in the sauna. They actually invited him in, but he settled for the shallowest side of the little pool where the water only reached up to his waist. He occasionally squatted down to his shoulders to submerge his body, but always made sure to grasp the side of the pool tight as he did so. He didn't dare go any further, just wanting to be left alone in peace.

"Oh, there you are!" After about half an hour, Lux found and smiled down at him. Nori guessed he'd been in the deep end, from the water dripping off his body. His purple hair was in a single sheet, reaching just to his shoulders. It was so different, seeing it not sticking out everywhere.

Well, maybe it was ten minutes to find him. Or even five. Nori didn't know anything at this point except that every moment was a drain on him. The worst part was, he wasn't sure how long he'd have to be in here!

Actually, he could ask that. "How long as we going to be here for?"

"I think the whole day. Why?"

"...no reason."

His friend carefully got in next to him. Nori was mildly surprised, and a bit disheartened at himself. Lux had such a slim and slender frame, and the smooth skin of someone who barely sees physical activity. And he was swimming like it was nothing.

"So what's wrong?" Was his discomfort that obvious? Great. He hoped it was just a friend picking up on another close friend's habits. And not seeing right through him.

"I just..." Nori started. What should he say here? What excuse should he make up? "Well. This isn't what I had in mind."

"I know it's not an amusement park, Nori." He tensed up as Lux put a hand on his shoulder. "But it's a water park! You can still do all sorts of things here!"

"Mmmm."

"Are you...not having fun here?"

"Not really, no."

"Oh." He let go. "I guess it isn't for everyone." At least he understood that much. It gave Nori a bit of hope Lux would understand his real reasons, but he didn't want to admit those to even him.

"So what is this place, anyway?" Nori asked, trying to bring the subject away from this. He added some clarification, "I honestly never heard of it."

Lux beamed, excited to explain. "Tonsen Land is Japan's only underground water park! It's one of the few in the world that uses hot springs, too. It operates year-round, and people call it one of the best places in Sinnoh to visit!" Even given the current situation, Nori couldn't help but smile at his friend's enthusiasm. It was good to see Lux genuinely happy. "I always wanted to come here myself, and now I'm here!" The purple-haired boy lightly giggled.

"Heh, you forgot somethin'."

Nori growled. That was Spike's voice. A thought fleeted through his mind. If he got in trouble, would he not be allowed to swim? That would be ideal. But if he did that, he'd definitely be right back to where he was socially in Veilstone.

"What're you doin' in the kiddy pool?" the chunky boy mocked.

He swallowed his pride and resisted the urge to grab their harasser by the legs to pull him in. Instead he leaned back, trying to look as calm as possible. "Relaxing. This is a hot spring."

Spike shook his head dismissively. "Well, there's one more thing this place is known for." He looked right at Lux as he spoke his next words. "Of course, a pussy like you wouldn't want to talk about it."

"What's your deal?!" Nori yelled.

Spike pointed. "Look up there," he said, gesturing to the massive waterslide they'd seen earlier. "Jigoku Kyūkō. The Hell Express. Seventh tallest waterslide in the world at 35 meters. You can hit up to 60 kilometers an hour on it." He grinned devilishly. "Everyone else is too chicken to ride it."

"Even you?"

"Heh, I'm goin' to," he smoothly brushed off with a wave of his hand. "I just wanted to see if you had the balls to." He squatted down at Nori's level, looking him right in the eyes as he issued the challenge. "So? Think you can handle it? Or are you a chicken like the rest of them?"

Nori was out of the water in an instant. "Fine! I'll show you!"

He started marching over in its general direction, only to be stopped by someone grabbing at him. "Nori, no!"

He pulled away, but halted on seeing it was Lux. "What?"

"You don't have to do this!"

"I'm not backing down." He couldn't say no, not here!

"He's just provoking you!" He was aware of that, but if he didn't, he wouldn't hear the end of it. Doing this would shut him up. "Besides, it's dangerous! You could get hurt!"

Nori took pause. Lux was right. He accepted it while barely thinking of that. He looked to Spike with reluctance, only then noticing the other kids who had gathered. They were all looking at him. No, he couldn't back down now.

"It...wouldn't be here if it could hurt people," he reasoned, voice trembling. If it was dangerous, it'd have been shut down. "Right?"

"You scared?" Spike asked.

"No!" Yes.

"Then prove you aren't."

"Fine!"

"Nori, please! Don't!" his friend begged.

"I'll be fine, Lux," he assured. Yes, this was dumb. But it would all be good when he could challenge Spike to do the same after. This was going to be fine! "I hope," he mouthed. Lux looked as if he wanted to speak more, but ultimately said nothing.

They set off towards the massive waterslide. It had become much quieter, a large number of kids having stopped their own activities to watch this. One part of Nori felt this was a death walk, but another part of him was too fired up to care. They had to ascend a couple flights of steps and several dirt inclines to reach the mouth. Nori eventually noticed Lux wasn't following along, and stopped.

"Backin' out?" Spike taunted.

"No way! Just looking for Lux." A quick glance over the water park and he found him, standing near the large pool where the slide ended. Nori waved; the purple-haired boy nervously returned it. Nori contently sighed. "Okay, let's go." That was a relief. He wasn't going to come up with him, but he would be there at the bottom. He was still supportive of this choice. This...impulsive, stupid choice. That he really shouldn't have made.

Jigoku Kyūkō had extra instructions next to it. One at a time, and telling riders to keep their limbs tucked in as much as possible. There were safety railings all around, all the way up to the rocky ceiling. One could see the entire water park from up here. The height didn't bother Nori as much as seeing what was waiting below.

He was frozen to the spot. This was a bad idea! He knew that the whole time. He should've listened to Lux and just stayed down there. Being made fun of would've been bad, but it was nothing compared to dying! But everyone was still looking at him. If he turned back now, it would be social suicide! There was no way out of this!

He looked at Lux one more time, then over the view. It might be the last thing he ever saw. His eyes soon fell upon the big white chair. That was right! This would be fine. If he had trouble in the water, there was that lifeguard. He might be humiliated that way. In fact, he probably would. But he'd be alive. And no one would be able to say he didn't have to guts to go down the Hell Express, whereas none of them even tried.

"So? You gonna go or what?"

There was definitely no turning back now, anyway. Remembering there was a lifeguard on duty eased his fears enough that he felt able to try this.

"You'll be fine, Nori," he said to himself. "Nothing to do but do it." He took a deep breath and jumped down.

The ride started off innocuously enough. A simple curving slope. No different from a playground slide, just much less steep and there was water at his back. A blast of cool air hit as the slide briefly went outside. He was picking up speed. Nori held his breath. It twisted back into a transparent tube section within the mountain. It was over two meters in diameter. At least he wasn't going to fall out.

The waterslide continued. There was a sharp slope that built up his speed. It bottomed out so quickly that Nori thought he was going to get tossed into the air. Instead he was shifted, riding along the right side of the pipe. Another twisty turn as he was going down took him to the left side. This was followed by a swift loop. It was a soft horizontal incline, but at the speed he was going, it made Nori feel like he was going to ride on the ceiling.

This was fun.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!"

Nori felt like a bird gliding through the air! It was like he was weightless, yet gracefully moving about as the massive waterslide took him in every direction imaginable. To boot, he was getting an amazing view of the entire park as the pipe seemingly took him all around it. Even as he was getting closer to the bottom–

He remembered. There was water at the bottom.

He was going so fast he couldn't brace for impact. He barely managed to hold his breath before he was flung deep beneath the surface. He shut his eyes as liquid began to assault them. It stung. It was that chlorine stuff they put in swimming pools.

He had to swim. Move his arms! He didn't know where he was or even if he was swimming in the right direction. He just moved his arms outward and inward in a desperate attempt to reach the surface.

While unsure how long he was under, Nori did break through above water. He immediately took a deep breath, savoring the hot air around him. But he was still way in the deep end. It felt like it was sucking him under. He opened his eyes, but had to shut them again right away. They still hurt! He forced them open just enough to see where he was. Right in the middle of the pool. He began to flounder.

"Hel–"

No, he couldn't shout that! He needed it, but he couldn't yell for it! He was managing to stay afloat, somehow. But it was fine. He didn't need to. The lifeguard would see he was having trouble and come help him. His eyes were hurting less, he was able to open them more. He looked over to the big tall chair.

Where was the lifeguard?!

Real panic set in. Nori desperately looked around for the closest shore. To his left! He had a general idea how to stay above water, but barely knew how to swim! He only had instinct to go on. He leaned forward and began flailing his legs. He moved his arms in and out, trying to propel himself forward. When he started to sink, he just paddled harder.

His goal was getting closer, closer. He wasn't going to die, he refused to die. He had to keep going. He might make it, he might be okay! The edge of the water was right there! He would make it! Nori reached a hand out.

It slipped off the stone. With a yelp, he grabbed at it with the other hand and yanked himself towards before it could happen again. The boy didn't want to be in here for any longer. He pulled himself up with all his might.

He knocked his head on something hard and fell back in.

---​

"NORI!!"

Lux couldn't believe his friend actually went through with this. Maybe he should've gone up to try one last time to dissuade him. He didn't do it because of the huge crowd, but he wanted to at least watch. To his relief, Nori made it down the slide without incident. His friend even seemed to enjoy it! That was, until he had to swim. Lux was ready to jump in and help at a moment's notice, but Nori thankfully didn't need it. Until he bashed his head on the diving board trying to get up.

"Help him!"

He looked to the lifeguard's chair, only to realize in horror, it was empty! Lux's head and eyes darted around. He scanned the entire water park. All he saw were his classmates, all just watching, stunned. No lifeguard or any other adult in sight! Not even the teacher!

"Someone find the lifeguard!" he yelled, praying that someone would listen to him. He had to save Nori. He was had only a single arm draped on the ledge. He was just barely floating while groaning in pain.

He was over to Nori in seconds, reaching out to grab his friend's arm. Nori instinctively clutched on, thankfully not unconscious. Lux pulled with all his might. A couple other kids jumped in and helped, one girl assisting on his side and a tall guy taking Nori's other arm. A third in the water was swimming over, but they had already extracted him from the pool by then.

"Are you okay?!" Lux asked, sitting down beside him. The other two who helped remained standing close by.

The chestnut-haired boy was staring blankly off into the distance like a Slowpoke might. He did reply, "Y-Yes..." after a few seconds, but this was obviously him trying to be tough. He tried to stand, only to trip over his own feet. Lux and the tall guy caught him before he could fall over.

"I found him!" Another girl came rushing in. "He was naked with the teacher in some room!"

Naked with the teacher? Lux (and a lot of others) went ‘ewww’ at this. The lifeguard thankfully wasn't naked now, having his trunks and sandals on. He was jogging over, recoiling on sight of the dazed Nori.

"Whoa! What happened to this little dude?" Mr. Ordride queried.

"He hit his head on the diving board trying to get out of the water!" someone said.

The lifeguard grasped his face. "Oh shit, I am so screwed!" he muttered, pacing about. "Ain't a way outta this. My job's headed straight over the falls."

"What about Nori?!" Lux yelled. A kid, his friend, his best friend, got badly hurt and all this guy could think about was his own job?! He deserved to lose it if he wasn't doing it!

The lifeguard stopped. He looked up with a sigh. "Fine, sure. I'll get the doctors. I am so fucking screwed..." The muscular man wandered off as if he were lost.

Lux could only hope he was actually going to do so. His friend needed help, and the best he could do was comfort and console him until it arrived. He turned his attention back to him, who was still sitting there holding his temple, completely out of it. He sat down beside him. "Don't worry Nori, help's coming."

The chestnut-haired boy let out a groan, eventually acknowledging with a nod.

##########​

What happened over the next few hours wasn't clear to Nori.

He was taken to the hospital where some tests were run. The one that stood out most was the doctor looking at his eyes and then shining a small light which nearly blinded him. He was asked what he could remember. Nori wasn't sure how this started, just that he was somehow up there with everyone watching him expectantly. He remembered being in the water and hitting his head vividly though. That was burned into his mind.

The other thing that stood out was the doctor's diagnosis. "Well, looks like you have a little concussion," she said. She spoke to him as if he were a small child, which annoyed him, but he was too exhausted to argue. "When you hit your head, it hurt the insides. It's just a wee little bump, thankfully. You're going to need lots of rest and naps over the next week."

The next thing he was aware of, he was being roused by a nurse telling him someone came to see him. He was disoriented, but would always recognize Lux on sight.

"Hey."

"Hi." Nori tried to sit up. He had to push himself up with his arms to do so. It was at this point he noticed, they'd dressed him in a mint green hospital gown.

"How...are you?"

Nori covered his eyes, suddenly noticing the glare. "My head hurts. The lights are too bright. And I'm tired, but not sleepy. The doctor said I have a concussion."

"Oh..."

The chestnut-haired boy tried to chuckle, but it was a blatantly nervous one. "I'll be okay in a week." Nori sighed and turned away. "Physically, at least."

A nod. "That's good."

He knew it. He just knew as soon as he saw that water park something bad was going to happen. He could feel it. He'd nearly died. "Was that...you helping me out of the water?" The whole incident was a blur. Whoever helped him had purple hair, but that isn't rare.

"I did," Lux confirmed. "I couldn't just watch, and no one else was doing anything! The teacher and lifeguard weren't there either! One of the other kids found them hanging out together naked, and they brought you here after."

Naked? Weird. Aside, Lux delivered these words with passion. He'd never known his friend to be anything but docile, but it sounded like he had been and still was pissed off. "Thank you. I wasn't sure." He was in a way glad it was someone who cared about him, and not some random person.

A silence drew over the two friends. Nori wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything. This had all happened for stupid reasons. Very stupid, embarrassing reasons. Even someone like Lux would give him hell about it. Especially given he told him not to and he didn't listen.

"Um." Nori looked up as he was addressed. Lux had sat down beside him. "Sorry if this is personal, Nori. Do you–"

"Yes, I hate water, okay?!" he snapped. There, he said it! He was afraid of water. "I hate being in it, I hate being on boats, I hate beaches, I sometimes freak at big Water-type moves...I just don't want to be anywhere near it!" The most he could handle was rain and being in the shower.

Lux was wide-eyed. "I...I don't know what to say," he said, scooting closer to where their hips were nearly touching. "I'm sorry, I thought you just didn't know how to swim. But you're afraid of water?"

He groaned, burying his head in his palms. "I barely know how to swim, either..." he said with a sigh. He was frankly amazed he didn't sink to the bottom of the pool right away. He tried to learn by reading books and going to the shore, but every time he got in he panicked and got out right away. Like, what if a wave got him and dragged him out to sea? Bad memories were rushing back.

Lux listened empathetically, worriedly. He looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. But he was here with him. That meant everything. Nori felt a sudden urge to talk about what had happened. He'd never told this to anyone before, not even Maylene or Rashid.

"I nearly drowned when I was eight. My ma won a cruise in some contest, but she couldn't afford a babysitter or trust anyone else. So she took me along."

He was actually excited for the cruise at first, even if his mom was less than enthused to be bringing him. It would be his first time out of Veilstone City since he was a baby, and given his lack of interest in Pokemon, it would be one of the few times he would be able to. He promised his mom he wouldn't bug her much. The only things he could clearly remember from it now were the incident, and how a sailor told him to stop running around so much.

"I don't know how it happened," he said. Nori remembered that day well, yet it was hazy. "I think I was leaning over a railing when the ship rocked. Ma was off somewhere. I heard shouting. I don't know if it was me or other people or both. Then I remember trying to swim to the ship, but going under. I couldn't hold my breath long."

He shuddered, fighting off the flashback threatening to consume his mind. "Then I felt something pushing against me. I saw...something. Big, and blue I think. Maybe a Pokemon." It was a safe assumption. No one said they did anything, so it might've been a wild one. "The next thing I remember, I was in the ship's hospital with my ma and a doctor."

So there it was. That was why he was afraid of water and swimming and being on boats and anything to do with water in general. That was why he tried to avoid it as much as possible. Even just talking about waves and other sea-related things could make him tense up, like how he knew a few people squirmed when gross things like bugs or surgery were mentioned. He had nightmares for almost a year after that incident, and sporadically to this day. His mom couldn't afford anything like hypnotherapy to help. He doubted it would work, anyway.

Lux eventually spoke. "Big and blue? Maybe it was a Lapras?"

Nori shook his head. "I don't think so. It was smaller and rounder."

"Round? It might have been a Wailmer, then."

"Whatever it was, if it wasn't for that, I would've..." He shut his eyes, not wanting to finish that thought.

The next thing he knew, Lux's arms were around him. His friend was holding onto him lightly, comfortingly. Nori could take no more. He hugged Lux back, clutching him as tight as he could. He fought back his tears and urge to scream as he hyperventilated into his friend's shoulder.

Lux for his part didn't seem to mind being squeezed. "It's okay," he said, rubbing Nori's back. "No wonder you're afraid of water."

"This didn't help either..."

"Yeah...but, I'm glad you're okay." Lux let go, sniveling. He was tearing up.

Only at that moment did Nori realize. He must have worried his friend sick, recklessly doing this and hitting his head like a stupid moron. Lux was just as in need of comfort as he was. He opened his arms, and Lux promptly fell back into them. They hugged, tight. He gently stroked his friend's back, as Lux quietly sobbed into his shoulder. Several long seconds passed, maybe minutes. Their grip eventually relaxed. The boys just sat there, holding each other.

"Excuse me," a voice eventually cut through the room.

Nori let go in a hurried rush. He was relieved to see it was only the doctor. The brunette woman was standing there in her white uniform, a clipboard under her arm.

"Your time's almost up. He's going to need plenty of rest."

"Okay." Lux solemnly stood. "Mrs. DeWood said to tell you we're going back in the morning. And don't worry, I have your stuff."

Nori quietly nodded. That would mean getting on the ferry again. He hoped he would have a good place to rest on it. So he could sleep and not have to think about any of this.

Lux waved lightly. "See you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lux." Nori thought for a moment, before adding, "For everything."

The purple-haired boy smiled lightly. "You're welcome. And thank you, Nori."

Lux impulsively held out his arms for a moment, dropping them just as fast. Nori glanced at the doctor. Maybe it was that bump on the head making him not care, but Nori hugged him one last time right in front of her, just briefly.

The doctor ushered Lux out of the room and turned the light off. He would've preferred having a friend beside him, but turning off that annoying glare was okay too. Apparently light sensitivity was another thing about concussions.

Nori leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. It didn't seem like sleep was going to come, so instead he thought. About this trip, about his training, about his troubles at school and at the Gym. And about Lux. He wasn't sure how to put into words how much Lux meant to him. Even if he was just there for him when he needed it, that was all Nori really needed or wanted out of a friend. Someone who would stick by him no matter what. Someone who liked him unconditionally. A person who liked Nori for himself. Lux was that and much more.

Nori was feeling a lot of regrets at the moment, but one thing he didn't regret was standing up for Lux that day in January. They'd known each other for less than a month, but they'd already formed a strong, deep bond. And Lux was Nori's calm in this storm...

---​

As soon as he left, Lux burst into tears once more.

He had always been seen as weird, ever since kindergarten. He was the kid who was always picked on, the kid everyone spread rumors about, the kid no one wanted to partner with in class. A lot of it was because of those like Spike and people following their lead. But at times, it felt like he had an aura that repulsed others. No one had wanted to be his friend, except Nori. He was so good to him, way more than he deserved. Nori truly liked him, and he liked Nori. In fact, maybe he liked Nori a little more than boys should like each other. But he'd nearly lost him.

Worst of all, this was his fault. If he hadn't been with Nori, Spike never would've come and challenged him to go down that waterslide. He was being targeted by Spike just because they were friends.

There was never a second where Lux was not thankful for Nori being in his life, but he also felt his friend would be better off if they hadn't met at all...

####################
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This was a really fun chapter to conceptualize. Between coming up with the setpiece, conceptualizing Arctic Lapras (means to an end), the waterslide scene, the interactions between Nori and Lux, and the reveal of a phobia that was even hinted at in Training a Demon. Hopefully it turned out adequately!
 
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Man, even during a school trip, Nori can't catch a break. Even the adults supervising the trip, the teacher and the lifeguard were completely useless throughout. What gave them the idea to have sex on a school trip? Good on Lux for saving Nori when he did. And thus, Nori's secret is revealed. I didn't expect him to be afraid of water, but based on his complete lack of enthusiasm about the trip once he found out what it was, and his backstory, it makes sense. My Harvest Moon fic currently has an MC who's also afraid of water, but for different reasons, and I didn't get into those yet in-story. That being said, I do have one critique: Did you really have to make that one security guard curse at Lux? Mainly because at this point, showing Lux be constantly put down by others, even complete strangers, just for existing is starting to get old and a little unnecessarily mean-spirited at this point. It's starting to feel like Lux is being punished just for existing, and I had similar criticisms thrown at me for another story I wrote long ago. But again, what you do with your story is entirely up to you, and I know you probably already have plans, so I have no right to tell you how to write your story. Anyway, that's all I really have for this one. I'm curious to read more.
 
*So Kallisto has nightmares (okay, I know they can occur at random but in fiction they almsot always have some sort of meaning)
First off, an outstanding question that can now be answered! The meaning of Kallisto's nightmare in the previous chapter was to make a connection to what was revealed in this one. Nori mentioned having nightmares too sometimes, and now the reason why is explained. Spoilering and separating in case...










~~










Man, even during a school trip, Nori can't catch a break. Even the adults supervising the trip, the teacher and the lifeguard were completely useless throughout. What gave them the idea to have sex on a school trip?

Being horny and irresponsible. :p And not thinking anything this bad could happen. It occurs to me that I forgot what the other class' teacher was doing at the time in the chapter itself. It'll be in the next chapter.

And thus, Nori's secret is revealed. I didn't expect him to be afraid of water, but based on his complete lack of enthusiasm about the trip once he found out what it was, and his backstory, it makes sense.

Had some fun setting this one up. If you look back on a few things, some of his reactions towards certain things should now be in context. Like his strong reactions to Muddy Water/Surf.

That being said, I do have one critique: Did you really have to make that one security guard curse at Lux? Mainly because at this point, showing Lux be constantly put down by others, even complete strangers, just for existing is starting to get old and a little unnecessarily mean-spirited at this point.

It was. I needed to show someone insulting Lux when the story was in his point of view, to reaffirm the 'aura that repulses people' and get into his mind a bit when it was actively happening. Of course, the guard is just rude and doesn't hate Lux himself, but it still makes him wonder.
 
*I never knew until now that "Byzantine" was also a color (I was able to guess some shade of purple, even forgetting Lux's hair color).
*Arctic regional variant of Lapras? Nifty!
*Agh...Nori's hydrophobic. I'd actually been writing a fic a decade or so ago where the protagonist's had a Pokémon with it (not one weak to Water moves).
*Well, it was nice of Volkner to give him some change.
*So the horny lifeguard is off while Nori takes the murder-slide, then hits his head on the diving board. Cripes. Did Nori anger a sorceress who placed a terrible curse on him? I suppose it could have been worse than a concussion, though. I suppose it lives up to the writing rule I once read; the author's job is to figure out the worst thing that can happen then arrange it.;)
*Ah, a shared experience between myself and Nori. I was younger than eight but I almost drowned as a child, too. I can't quite recall if I was rescued by my father or the neighbor we were visiting at the time. It definitely wasn't a Pokémon though. You know I vaguely recall hearing stories about real world animals rescuing drowning people.
(Just in case; I didn't seem to develop any water phobias from the incident).
*Foreshadowed back in "Training A Demon", huh? I guess that's something to try and find in it.
*I think Lux is even more cursed than Nori. I'm pulling for both of them, at least.

Unsurprisingly, things aren't getting any easier. I wonder if/how Volkner and the Gym Trainers will react to that whole incident.
 
*I never knew until now that "Byzantine" was also a color (I was able to guess some shade of purple, even forgetting Lux's hair color).
Yup, and apparently, it's capitalized as such even when used as a color name. Found that out myself in editing. I decided it would be a good touch to state the exact shade of Lux's hair, while the narration is on him.

*Arctic regional variant of Lapras? Nifty!
Had to come up with something that could make a big enough splash! It was make up something or go with Wailord. Given the connection at the end of the chapter and how they're not normally native to Sinnoh, I made something up. Lapras being big enough (along with one of my own favorites) made it an easy choice.

*Agh...Nori's hydrophobic. I'd actually been writing a fic a decade or so ago where the protagonist's had a Pokémon with it (not one weak to Water moves).
Interesting! Read a few fics where Pokemon have some fears, and a couple where the trainer has one too. It can of course affect their performance in battle, which is always fun to write, at least I find.

*So the horny lifeguard is off while Nori takes the murder-slide, then hits his head on the diving board. Cripes. Did Nori anger a sorceress who placed a terrible curse on him? I suppose it could have been worse than a concussion, though. I suppose it lives up to the writing rule I once read; the author's job is to figure out the worst thing that can happen then arrange it.;)
That part was loosely inspired by hitting my own head on a diving board as a kid. Circumstances were very different and I wasn't knocked out, but I was concussed by it too. As for angering a sorceress...probably not, but he certainly could given his tendency to speak his mind.

Also a random aside, I had a surprising amount of fun writing the waterslide scene. It was like writing an action scene, except without any fighting.

*Ah, a shared experience between myself and Nori. I was younger than eight but I almost drowned as a child, too. I can't quite recall if I was rescued by my father or the neighbor we were visiting at the time. It definitely wasn't a Pokémon though. You know I vaguely recall hearing stories about real world animals rescuing drowning people.
Oof, sorry to hear. And yes, those stories are real. Animals are way smarter and more altruistic than we give them credit for! The same should apply to Pokemon.

*Foreshadowed back in "Training A Demon", huh? I guess that's something to try and find in it.
He freaks out when Gasha's Tentacruel uses Muddy Water. Similar to how he does the same when faced with Surf vs. Ollie here.

*I think Lux is even more cursed than Nori. I'm pulling for both of them, at least.
Very very true. Being Lux is even more suffering.
 
Month 2: February of Progression (fifth part)
February of Progression (Fifth Part)
February 20th, 2015

"Hey."

"Hi."

Thursday had just been going back and getting some rest. Nori slept through most of the trip, too exhausted to be aquaphobic. He still had school on Friday. Thankfully he didn't have to walk; Kallisto actually arranged a cab for him the night before, and said to call his cell if he needed a ride back.

"Are you...feeling better?" Lux asked. He had been waiting for him in the schoolyard.

"Head still hurts." He pressed a hand to it. "Can't think right."

"Mom and dad found out what happened."

"Oh great..." Nori wished he could fall down right there and go back to sleep.

"It made the news." That made sense. A lifeguard scandal at the water park, and a kid nearly dying. Nori had a vague memory of some interviewer trying to get a statement. Thankfully somebody shooed him or her off.

"But it's fine. Mom's okay with us being friends now. Even if she doesn't like you personally."

Nori found it in him to smirk. "Enough to visit me on the weekend?" He wanted to slap himself as soon as he said that, only restraining because of already being pained enough. It was stupid to even ask that. He hadn't been thinking right since hitting his head.

Lux warmly smiled at the prospect of this. "I'll ask her." From his friend's tone, it seemed there might be a chance. Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all...

---​

"I told you I would be busy."

As they were heading down the hall, Nori overheard the other 6th grade teacher, Mr. Miles, in an argument with Mrs. DeWood. They were in a small meeting room, and had accidentally left the door ajar. Nori paused to listen in.

"You should've been supervising the kids," their teacher countered

"I was getting the bus fixed so we could make it back, Desiree."

"And I had urges of my own, Bia'," she said his name, or probably a shortened version of it, in the most derisive tone possible. "Women can have them too." The blonde woman turned and noticed the two standing just outside. "This is none of your business. Get to class. I'll be in shortly." She glared right at him before slamming the door.

Their teacher was annoyed at him since the trip. Was it for causing her hassle? Well she was still his teacher, somehow, so Nori wasn't sure why she was so mad. His friend growled, making his thoughts on the situation clear. Didn't he say there were other reasons he didn't like her, too?

---​

He couldn't believe that teacher.

She somehow kept her job after not watching them like she was supposed to?! Lux already disliked Mrs. DeWood for her apathetic attitude and not doing anything to stop his bullies. But with this injustice and how she was treating his best friend...the sooner he got out of sixth grade, the better!

Lux led the way to their classroom. When they entered, a girl with ruby-toned hair looked towards them. Her eyes lit up, nearly sparkling.

"Nori!" Jamie called out. She rushed over and placed her hands on Nori's waist. "I heard what happened! I am so sorry! Are you okay? How are you feeling today? Is there anything I can do? Do you need a hug?"

She was all over him! Nori didn't know what to do, only mumbling.

"Stop it! He's tired, and you're not helping getting close and asking all these questions!"

Lux covered his mouth. He didn't mean to yell, let alone so loud. Everyone was looking at him; Spike in particular was grinning maliciously. What did he just do? What was going to happen?

"Oh! Are you?" Nori's admirer let go of him and lightly bowed, much to both of their relief. That could've gone badly. "Sorry. I'll give you some space. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

His friend nodded politely, but Lux could tell it was just that, out of politeness. "Thanks." Nori lightly chuckled.

"Um, don't uh, mention it..." He still couldn't believe himself. All he wanted to do was help Nori, he didn't mean to draw so much attention or to get angry at Jamie. What would people think about this?! What was Nori thinking right now? His friend's face and words gave no hint to that.

Maybe it was better to just ignore the subject for now. Yes, that would be for the best! He hastily took his seat.

---​

It was nigh impossible for Nori to focus at school. There were moments where he had to stop and think about basic math and simple words. At lunch, he just napped in the kindergarten hall, relying on Lux to wake him up. His otherwise difficult school day was capped off with some good news: Mrs. Blomgren actually relented! His friend would be coming to visit on Saturday at around noon! This burst of euphoria helped carry him on the walk back to the Gym.

It was a mistake to do that much walking. By the time he got back, he wanted to collapse and go to sleep. He'd pushed himself way too hard. Ollie accosted him as soon as he stepped in, bringing him to the battlefield. There was no good news awaiting him. "What do you mean I have to battle?!"

"Just as I said," Volkner told him. "It's exhibition day. Every 20th of the month. I want you taking part in this one."

Exhibition day. Yes, that was today. He only had to watch last time. "But I can't!" Nori protested. "I'm supposed to be resting, not...thinking, like you have to in a battle!"

"Sorry, Carino," said Kallisto with a sigh. "We tried to convince him, but he insisted."

"We?"

"Tono and I. Eddie a bit too." Nori glanced at the two, sitting on chairs in front of the bleachers. For the most part, the Gym Trainers had been sympathetic to his injury. They nodded at him as Kallisto continued, "Well, try to think of it this way. Are you going to let this beat you? Or will you push through and not let it get you down?"

The boy's head throbbed, and he clutched at it with a groan.

"Know it'll suck, but you need to at least try. Okay?"

Nori could only sigh. Much as he'd like to try and not let this stupid accident beat him, actually doing so was another story. At least Nidorina could battle without orders. With any luck, he'd only have to do one or two of these...

---​

"Carino, focus!"

Nori snapped to, turning to his right. Kallisto was beside him. Across on the other side were twin siblings, a black-haired boy and girl. Raitora appeared to be convulsing in his sleep. The Demon was surrounded by a Gengar and a Machamp. She avoided a Shadow Ball and slid between the lunging blue humanoid's legs, tripping it and running over to her ally. With a roar, she smacked it awake, and immediately turned her attention to Nori. Her concern was palpable.

"I-I told you," he stuttered, trying to save face. "I'm fine. Now kick their asses." That was all she needed to hear, and she rushed back into the fray.

"Raitora, back her up with Thunderbolt!" shouted Kallisto. He turned to Nori, speaking quieter. "You didn't tell her that."

"Did I? Ugh..." Maybe he thought he was going to, and forgot.

"It's fine. Now that Raitora's awake again, we can finish this." Their opponents had shouted orders, but Nori didn't hear them. "Dodge and use Crunch on Gengar!" Kallisto didn't miss a beat.

Nori looked up. Crunch, double Crunch? Machamp was staggered. Nidorina was already on it, though. Yes, she could handle this. Kallisto could handle this too. His mind started to drift away again...

##########​

February 21st, 2015

Nori went directly to his room and fell asleep after that battle. He slept for three hours before getting up for a snack and to use the bathroom. He accidentally fell asleep in the trainers' lounge, and this time slept for ten hours. Yet when he woke up, it was with excitement. Today was the day!

He remained upstairs for most of the morning, heading down just after 11:45 and going outside to wait for Lux. A short time later, he showed up! He actually showed up! The two friends happily greeted one another. Luckily, all Mrs. Blomgren did was eye him distrustingly; she was otherwise cordial. She would be returning sometime before dinner, whenever that was for them.

As soon as the blue station wagon was out of sight, Lux hugged Nori tight. It was so unexpected that Nori took a full five seconds to reciprocate.

His friend giggled sheepishly. "I wanted to do that right away, but I wasn't sure what mom would think." Nori hummed, content. He really needed that hug. It felt especially nice out here in the cold. "Feeling any better?" Lux asked as he broke it off.

"A bit. Had to battle yesterday," Nori stated with a groan. "Volkner yelled at me for not doing it how he wanted." The next thing he remembered after that brief interaction with Kallisto was Volkner saying something. They'd soundly beaten their opponents and it wasn't even close, yet he was still mad.

Lux didn't seem to know how to respond to this. "Well, let's go inside for now," he avoided the subject entirely.

They were met by Volkner along with Eddie and Kallisto as they walked through the doors. Ollie and Tono were likely seeing to a potential challenger; were they waiting for him? The Gym Leader's face instantly soured.

"What's he doing here?" he coldly demanded, glaring at the purple-haired boy.

"Visiting." Said friend was shrinking back behind him. Maybe overwhelmed by the presence of Volkner and Kallisto, and possibly Eddie. "Going to relax with him for a few hours."

"No." Volkner crossed his arms.

"Uh, yes?"

"No. I have training set up for you today. We'll be working on attack accuracy and some practice sparring today." The blond man narrowed his eyes. "And this time, you will be giving orders."

Nori was afraid of this. He didn't ask permission himself, banking on them just accepting it now that his friend was here. "Oh, come on!" he fussed. "Can't I spend a little time with him?"

"I told you," said Volkner, deadpan. "I expected you to work extra hard when you got back from this trip. You replied, ‘Got it.’ Now you're back, and you're slacking off."

To Nori's surprise, Lux took a bold step out in front. "But Nori hurt himself!" he tried to argue.

"He should have thought of that before he got hurt." He glared at Lux and pointed. "Go home."

His friend's jaw dropped. If Nori knew there was any way he could get away with it, he would've punched the Gym Leader in the face right then and there. Eddie arched an eyebrow and glared, biting his lip. Kallisto appeared downright horrified Volkner had said this.

"Volkner," the head Gym Trainer spoke up, doing his best to stay respectful. "I think that was uncalled for."

The blond man scratched his cheek. "You're right. Sorry." He looked back at Nori. "Your friend can watch. But I still expect you to train."

The chestnut-haired boy groaned. He didn't want to do any battling today. He couldn't keep up with the action at all yesterday the few times he wasn't out of it, and given how he was suddenly feeling, today would be no different.

"It's okay, Nori," Lux said, massaging his shoulder. "I guess I'll cheer you on."

The sentiment was nice, but it wasn't going to help.

---​

Over the next two hours, Lux had a front row seat to seeing what Nori's experiences at the Gym were really like. He had touched upon it in conversation, but never explained the full extent of things. First, they went to a special training room Nori hadn't been to or noticed before. It was painted a dark blue and was completely empty, though little holes, indentations, and sliding panels on the wall indicated it wouldn't be for long. Lux watched with Volkner, Eddie, and Ollie from behind a glass screen. The other two Gym Trainers were manning the downstairs.

This accuracy training was in the form of another game like the target test, and the objective was to strike the Magnemites which emerged before they could leave. Attacks like Discharge and Swift weren't allowed. Both of Nori's Pokemon had difficulty, to say nothing of himself. Due to the effects of his concussion, he found himself getting disoriented right away, even dizzy. There were times where he felt like he was going to throw up. Pachirisu's lack of experience saw the Pokemon similarly befuddled by so many targets around them so going so many different ways. Worse, the squirrel had problems aiming his Electro Balls - he'd apparently learned it when Nori was away. Nidorina had no trouble with accuracy or focus. But between her strict melee moveset and having to jump to swat at the floating spheres, she couldn't get all of them all of the time.

Every failure was met with a declaration of such by Volkner, followed by Ollie laughing at him and the occasional snarky comment from Eddie. Lux tried to encourage him, but this always led to one of the Gym Trainers piggybacking off his comment to insult either Nori or both of them. Eventually, Lux just apologized and kept quiet.

After what felt like forever, he managed to make it through three consecutive rounds with Nidorina. They caught a lucky break, but Nori wasn't going to complain. Volkner deemed it satisfactory for now, and led them down to the arena for sparring.

"I had no idea, Nori..." whispered Lux along the way.

"Yeah..." he said. "It's this bad at times."

"Are they always...?"

"Not always. Kallisto's good to me, but the other Gym Trainers rarely are." He sighed. They could be good, so why were they bad most of the time? "And I've never seen Volkner this strict before." Had he done something to make the Gym Leader angry?

"Get to your position," barked Volkner as they entered the battlefield. "Kallisto, you're up. This is a practice battle, one-on-one. Both of you will fight to your fullest."

The head Gym Trainer shook his head. "Sorry about this," was all he could say. He sent out his Raitora. Nori brought out Nidorina.

---​

The following battle was even more one-sided than their previous encounter. Kallisto was just so much stronger and better than him, and now they knew most of their tricks. Nidorina was zapped by Thunderbolt and tripped up by Earthquake. She landed a single attack when forcing through a Thunderbolt, but that was it.

"Grass Knot." Kallisto was none too enthused throughout the whole thing, yet was obeying Volkner's order to go all out.

"Jump!" came Nori's panicked order. Nidorina managed to regain her balance in enough time to do so with impeccable timing. She came rushing in, managing to strike with a Shadow Claw. Before she could get going though, Kallisto's final orders came.

"Slam to knock Nidorina back, and finish with Swift Bolt!" Just like that, it was over. A swing of the tail followed by the tiger Pokemon's signature move hurt Nidorina to where she couldn't continue.

"Kallisto wins. Next." The Gym Leader was nonchalant about the result, waving in Eddie without giving anyone time to process it. "Use your Octillery."

"Uh, sure." The dark-skinned boy sauntered up. "Looks like it's Water against Electric, kid. Think you can win?"

"No..."

Volkner was ruthless. "If you give up now, you're a failure of a trainer."

"I'm not. Let's just get this over with..."

---​

As he expected, type advantage couldn't overcome a massive experience difference. The two Pokemon traded blows before Pachirisu was finished off with Double-Edge.

"Eddie wins. No," he corrected. "Nori loses."

Lux rose from his seat at the bleachers. "Why are you doing this to him?!" he cried.

"The point of this," Volkner said, "Was to show him how far he has to go. He did far worse against Kallisto than before, and he did not even come close to defeating Eddie despite a type advantage." The blond man snorted. "He's going to be working with powerful Pokemon, and they won't respect a trainer who can't handle them."

"But what about the Demon?" the purple-haired boy pointed out. "She respects him!"

"Luck. Nothing more than that." He turned his attention back to Nori. "Heal your Pokemon. We're going to the training room for some serious work."

This continued for the rest of Lux's visit. He didn't get to spend any time with him, or even see his friend off.

##########​

February 22nd, 2015

There looked to be no end to the grueling training. To Nori's horror, Sunday brought forth the beep test again. He had been tolerating this so far, if only because he didn't think arguing would get him anywhere - plus being too mentally exhausted to do so. But he could take no more of this.

"This is ridiculous!" Nori complained. "I should be resting, not doing straining stuff like this!"

"Yeah!" agreed Ollie. The Gym Trainers were again being made to do this alongside him. "Uh, this is ridiculous! You should listen to him! And, stuff!"

"Quit arguing," Volkner ordered.

"No!" He stamped a foot.

Kallisto tried to assure him with a grin. "Carino, physical activity is good to help recover from a concussion. Just ask Eddie." He nudged the dark-skinned teen, who was not impressed.

"Light physical activity," Nori corrected. The doctor on Batalson Island gave him a kids' guide to them. To recover best from a concussion, you needed to rest your brain and body. Keep hydrated, eat right, limit screen-time (whatever that was), and don't move your head and neck too much. Physical and mental exercise could help after a few days, but it had to be little things. As trying to walk home from school a couple days ago proved, doing too much could make it worse. "I'm being asked to run until I fall over. I'm not doing this not matter what!"

"For crying out loud." Volkner threw up his arms. "I had this planned, I closed the Gym for an hour for it."

"Can't you plan something that's, you know? Not super draining and won't wear me out?"

Volkner sneered, brow furrowed and teeth grinding against each other. The blond man stomped out of the arena through the back door, slamming it behind him. The Gym Trainers were dumbstruck.

"Never seen him that pissed before," Eddie remarked, actually with concern.

Kallisto shook his head. "Now you've done it."

"So what?" the boy ranted. "He's asking way too much of me! I'm not some machine who lives only to learn and train. I barely get any time to myself, and I need some to rest right now! But noooo. He wants to stick to the schedule he had in mind, while being a stubborn piece of sh--"

His word was cut short as the door flew open, banging against the wall. Volkner marched over and dropped a textbook into his arms.

"Start on this, then."

"Okay," he immediately agreed. Anything was better than running right now. The textbook was red with a white spine, looking much like a Poke Ball. It had a picture of a Nidorino fighting a Gengar on the front cover. "The History of Competitive Battling, Volume 1?" he read the title aloud.

"Oh, that's a good one!" Kallisto gushed. "It covers the early beginnings of how Pokemon battling became a sport, from Roman Colosseums to the first tournaments comparable to a modern Pokemon League. You get to learn about all sorts of famous trainers throughout history."

That did seem interesting. Nori wasn't big on history, but he knew you could learn from it. He far preferred this to having to learn hands-on and be expected to pick up on stuff just from experience. "I'll head to my room and start reading, then."

Volkner nodded and waved him off. "The rest of you still have to do this, so get ready."

"Dammit! Fuck!" cursed the hefty teenager.

"Sorry, Ollie," Nori said as he was leaving. He meant it, too. The Gym Trainers never had to do anything like this in January; they were only getting dragged into it because of him. Maybe he was being too nice in feeling sorry for Ollie of all people, but it was part of who he was.

##########​

February 23th, 2015

It was a pleasant Monday morning. The sun was shining gorgeously upon the snow-touched city of Sunyshore. Even though it remained as cold as you would expect it to be for a day in February in Sinnoh, its radiant beams lightly massaged those who were outdoors.

Today was the first time Lux Blomgren had been allowed to walk to school in nearly two months. After hearing about his encounter with Spike the first day back in January, his mom insisted on driving him. And yet, Lux could only smile when he thought about that day.

He was where it had happened. In this very field, near this very tree. Spike was bearing down on him, threatening to wash his face in the snow. That was when Nori first came into his life. It was only for a moment, but it allowed him to escape his bully. Lux never imagined they would eventually become friends, nor did he imagine he would come to feel the way he did about Nori.

He wore his aster-colored coat and red snow pants today. He pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. A simple analog, not a Poketch, but telling time was all he needed. As the boy with Byzantium-colored hair looked up, he spotted him. From the looks of it, Nori had seen him a long time ago. He hurried towards his friend.

There were so many things he wanted to say, yet the first thing he ended up saying was, "I'm sorry, Nori."

Nori craned his neck. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I couldn't get them to stop. I'm so useless..."

There was no excuse, he should've done more to stand up for Nori. What a lousy friend he was. Nori had done everything for him, and the most he was able to do get a girl to leave him alone for a bit and save him from a situation he never would've been in if they weren't friends.

Nori squinted. "You tried, that's what matters. I think even Kallisto wouldn't have been able to convince him." That wasn't reassuring to hear. Lux already knew he had no chance of convincing an adult, but his efforts to get those others to stop just made things worse. "The good news is, I got out running yesterday. I have to read up on the history of battles instead."

He acknowledged this with a sigh. "I wish I could spend more time with you..." he blurted.

Nori lightly smiled. "I know, me too. What'd your mom think?"

"I didn't tell her." He simply told her that it went well. It was a lie. She had to have seen through it, but she didn't press the subject further. "If I did, she'd probably say, that's why she doesn't want me having Pokemon."

His friend paused in his tracks. He peered thoughtfully at the ground, tapping his left foot. "I almost don't want to either, if this is how training goes."

This statement didn't come as a surprise. This had to be getting to Nori. It would with anyone. Plus, he was putting up with it since the start of the year, right? Nori said it was bad, but he didn't think it was this bad. And all Lux was able to do was watch, helplessly.

At once, he collapsed to his knees. "I wish I could do more for you..."

His friend sat down and placed an arm around him. "Don't worry, you're already doing plenty."

Nori was probably only saying that to make him feel better. Really, he hadn't done anything. He wasn't sure what he could do for his friend. And he had to know this too. Nori's patience with him had to be nearing its end...

---​

"I got you now, Nori!"

As they entered the schoolyard, Jamie dashed in out of nowhere. She practically tackled Nori with a leaping hug. Lux's eyes stretched wide, as did half of their classmates for that matter. He considered it a testament to his friend's strength that he caught her and managed to stay upright, although he only halfheartedly returned her hug.

She let him go. "So what've you been doing? How's the concussion?"

"I've...been recovering," he awkwardly replied, fleetingly glancing over. "Volkner pushing me extra hard hasn't helped."

"I was there to see some of it," Lux added. "It's bad." He wasn't sure how much he should say, given Nori hadn't been saying much about it either.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Jamie simpered. A lightbulb went off in her mind, and she grabbed Nori's hand. "Maybe you could come over to my place sometime? You could get away from him!"

"I..."

Again, Nori looked over for help. Lux wasn't sure what to say. He was focusing his efforts trying to keep a neutral expression in this situation.

The chestnut-haired boy eventually replied on his own. "I wouldn't mind. That is, if Volkner would even let me."

Jamie clapped her hands, leaving them pressed together. "Great! Is this weekend okay?"

"We'll see."

"Let me know, okay?" She leaned in and planted a wet kiss on Nori's cheek before hurrying to rejoin her friends.

The bell rang seconds later, although neither of them were in a hurry. Nori gently rubbed his cheek in disbelief. His face was flush red.

"Are you going to go?" Lux asked. He was dreading the answer, for many reasons.

"I'm not sure." Nori gently folded his arms over his stomach. "She has a point with getting away from the Gym. If I had to choose though, it'd be you I come visit." He peered up with a hopeful smile.

Lux wished, oh how he wished Nori could visit. It was one of the first things he asked his parents when getting back on Saturday. But, "Mom still doesn't want you coming over."

His friend deflated. "I thought so."

"Just visit Jamie if you can." She was so positive. If it was her visiting him on Saturday, she likely would've gotten him out of training. And she could do so much more for him, more than he ever could.

He shrugged. "Like I said to her, we'll see. She's kind of smothering me. I don't know if I want that." He paused. "I think I'd prefer someone who treats me like you do."

Someone like him? That would mean, Nori wouldn't mind if it was him, right? Lux's chest fluttered for a fleeting moment, before reality set in. No, no, that was just crazy to think that. And yet, Lux could deny it to himself no longer. He liked Nori, the same way Jamie liked him. But, Nori probably didn't like boys. He could just be grossed out by it. He might not even want to be friends anymore if he knew this.

"Something on your mind?"

Lux looked up. Nori had taken a few steps before realizing he wasn't following, and was now looking back with warm curiosity.

"Just thinking about a few things," he replied. It would be nice. Lux couldn't help but smile at the prospect. What if Nori didn't care they were both boys? It was just a fantasy, sure. But one could dream. "Let's get to class."

---​

Later on at the Gym, Nori was mercifully only made to work in the training room with his Pokemon. The boy was able to relax while his two Pokemon got exercise and sparred with some of the resident Pokemon. The most he had to do was tell Nidorina to take it easy on that Elekid.

That was, until he heard a familiar scream. Pachirisu recognized it right away; he was dashing back and forth on a balance beam before this, nearly falling off in surprise. The squirrel looked over inquisitively.

"Just keep training," Nori said, rising to his feet. "I'll go check on him."

It was the right thing to do, and he was a bit concerned. He made the short jaunt to the trainers' lounge, and sure enough, it was Kallisto. Not on the floor this time, fortunately. "Another nightmare?" he groggily asked.

"Yeah." The head Gym Trainer was anything but tired. Nori didn't blame him. No matter how sleepy you are, nightmares wake you right up. "Might have been residual from that Gengar on exhibition day," he speculated.

How did that work? Well, whatever. He probably wouldn't be able to understand right now. "I haven't been dreaming. Probably would have nightmares too if i hadn't hit my head."

"Lucky." Kallisto chuckled.

"It's not worth it."

"I know. Take what you get, though."

That was true. Nori turned to head back, when Kallisto called for him.

"Hey, Carino. Do you want to hear how it happened?"

It? What was he talking about? Maybe this was Kallisto wanting to talk to someone, about something? Nori carefully nodded and took a seat. He could listen. To whatever it was.

"We'd just moved to Bayzon City." That was...in the region west of Johto, north of Hoenn, right? Its name escaped him. "My family and I were in a car accident. My mother and older sister didn't make it. My dad..." Kallisto paused, lightly clenching his fists. "He blamed me for everything. A couple days later, he threw me out of the house."

Anger shot through Nori's body, giving an injection of adrenaline. "What the hell?!" he yelled. "That's horrible! He should be arrested!"

"About that..." the head Gym Trainer continued. "I slept outside with my Pokemon, hoping it was just him in a bad mood." He took a deep, shaking breath. "Flaaffy woke me up in the middle of the night. The house was on fire. Lombre tried to control it, the fire department soon arrived, but...it was too late. Dad was already gone. They said his cigar..." Kallisto trailed off.

The boy winced. He believed bad people should get what they deserve, but dying was too much for his tastes. "So did no one help you?!" Nori asked. "Why did no one adopt you, or take you to an orphanage?!"

The orange and pink haired teen wiped a tear. "It's not as simple as just taking a kid home to adopt them," he explained. "And they were going to take me to an orphanage, but I didn't want to go." He looked down in sad contemplation. "My friend back home, Arianne. She had to go to one herself. The staff there treated her awful. They'd do things like make her clean the toilets, or hit her on the wrist for using her left-hand."

"Just for being left-handed?!" He was a lefty, and he told every single one of those people to screw off! His Ma supported him on it, too.

"You'd be surprised at what people believe."

"Yeah, I know. So what happened to her? Arianne, I mean."

"When mom found out," Kallisto paused. "My mom, that is. She was furious. She got Arianne's family in Hoenn to take her in. I still talk to her by email, even though we last saw each other in person when we were nine. Doing way better, needless to say." That was a relief to hear.

"But, going back to myself, after the accident and fire, I was living on the streets for a couple weeks. All I had were Lombre, Flaaffy, my bag, and the clothes on my back. I was able to make some money by battling."

"Is that how you got into Pokemon?"

The head Gym Trainer was bemused by this question. "No, I always wanted to. I didn't want to let my family down, after all. I just never thought it'd be how I'd survive for a time. Anyway, the police came and found me after a couple weeks. But it was with good news: the rest of my family stepped in to help. So I moved here, to Sunyshore Gym, to live and train. It was that or live with my cousin's family. And well," and with this he lightly chuckled. "I always wanted to be a professional trainer, and my cousin wouldn't always have time for me."

Kallisto stretched. "So that's it. You're only the third person I've told that in detail, by the way. The only others who know in detail are Tono and my cousin."

The boy blinked. "Really? Why me?" Another thought occurred. "Why not that Arianne friend?"

"Didn't want to worry her." He didn't get that. They were going to find out eventually if they were close, so why bother hiding it? Maybe downplay it, but he wouldn't pretend nothing was happening. "For you, you're a good one, Carino. If you really apply yourself, you'll be an excellent trainer. I know it's not what you want to do, but maybe you should think about it. It could just be a hobby in-between your rehabilitating, or done alongside." He threw his arms up. "Or hey. You could be anything you want. You have that drive in you."

"Maybe," he conceded. "I don't know if I want to be one, since I don't think it'd get me anything." He'd be competing against those who really want it, and sometimes just wanting it more is all it takes. "I get where you're coming from, but why are you bringing this up?"

A shrug. "I know it's not the same, but I guess I can relate to you a bit. I know you've probably had to struggle sometimes, living how you did."

Nori blinked. Did Kallisto actually get that about him? "A little, yes. Ma and me made it all work somehow, but there were times when it was tough. A lot of kids told me I'm mature for my age." He looked away. "Truth is, I had to be."

His life may have seemed easy, especially from how carefree he was compared to other kids. Yet he had to work harder than a lot of kids, just to keep them going. He never underestimated the value of hard work.

Kallisto smiled. "If you work hard and do the right things, everything should work out in the end." Yes, he was saying it too! That was true with everything. "Speaking of, how's your head?"

"Getting better. Still having trouble focusing. And still spacing out at times." Being honest, he was amazed he managed to pay attention and take all of that in.

"I'm fine now," the head Gym Trainer assured. "Thanks for coming to check on me. Go get some rest."

"I will." He stood and went back to the training room. His Pokemon were probably wondering what was taking so long.

##########​

February 25th, 2015

The 24th turned out to be the only break in a string of eventful days. It was just an average day at school followed by coming home to the Gym. All he had to do was read the textbook and let his Pokemon practice on their own. He was going to be quizzed on the first chapter near the start of next month, so he was doing his best to ingrain all of it into his mind. The conversation with Kallisto lingered with him. It was nice to hear most of his thoughts being reiterated by someone else! Now he was sure he was walking the right path in life.

At school on the 25th, he was eating lunch with Lux in their usual quiet spot. It was the only place and time he was able to truly relax during the day.

"Nori, why are you friends with me?" Lux asked after they had both finished eating.

Nori smiled. "Because you're kind and you like me unconditionally. And..." Nori paused and ruffled his hair. Suddenly, he felt very flustered, even if it was just the two of them there. "Lots of other reasons," he gave a quick, vague reply. He wasn't sure how to word it in a way that wasn't weird. "Why?"

The purple-haired boy sighed heavily. "I feel like I'm just holding you down at times..."

"Don't be silly, Lux." He stroked his friend's hair, gently playing with his bangs. "You're my best friend. I don't regret meeting you for a second." Nori patted Lux on the shoulder. When his friend sighed depressedly again, that got him concerned. "Is something wrong? You've been acting a bit strange lately."

Lux shook his head. "No, it's nothing...just, worried."

He figured he knew what Lux was worried about. "Well, don't worry." He flashed a grin. His friend seemed to need him. And as for him, he wasn't sure what he'd do without a friend like Lux right now. "I'd never give you up for anything or anyone. Nothing's going to change how I feel about you."

Lux sniveled, but it was a happy cry. "Nori...I..."

---​

He embraced Nori. Hearing that was a huge relief, but it wasn't what he was really worried about. There was so much he wanted to say, that he couldn't say. What would Nori think about it? What if it just messed things up? What would everyone else think? What would his parents think...

If only...

He wished so, so much that they could be closer.

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Sinnoh confirmed, I guess. Well in any case, design aside about this chapter. Changed some scenes to be from Lux's perspective. I pondered whether to keep the Kallisto backstory scene here or move it to the next one. To make the next chapter the last of February, I went with the former, but I included the scene after and added the little part at the end to close this one off the way I wanted.
 
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Copy-pasted from Fanfiction.net:

Man, if you were intending to make me hate Volkner, then guess what? You succeeded. I mean, he finds out one of his trainers got a concussion and nearly died and gives him basically no rest or sympathy whatsoever? Even going as far as saying "Should have thought of that before you got hurt" like he thought Nori only got hurt to get out of training! I absolutely hate people like that, who try to claim the victim is at fault for something that was out of their control. Not surprised that the teacher got off easy. On the other hand, Lux actually speaking up for Nori, telling people to give him space, and calling out Volkner and the gym trainers for their methods is great character development on his end. He's becoming braver and more willing to speak out against injustices, whether it be against himself or his first. Still wondering why Volkner seems to hate it whenever Lux visits, though.

Good to see some expanded background on Kallisto as well. It feels like a darker version of my Caiseal's backstory, only yours involved death, arson, and suicide (Accidental or intentional?), and I'm happy he managed to come out of it mostly okay, what with the rest of his family coming to help him out. I do hope he and Nori can become friends to some degree. Being Nori is suffering, apparently. It was nice to see Jamie show some genuine concern for him, even if she comes across as smothering. Didn't expect her to outright kiss him on the cheek there. LOL. Anyway, another good chapter as always!
 
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