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

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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.

A blink and you'll miss it thing too: Tono and even Eddie were sympathetic. Really makes Volkner's extreme reaction stand out, doesn't it? There's actually a minor explanation for it, but that's next chapter.

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.

As the saying goes, love makes you do crazy things. Getting braver is part of it, but it's certainly being partially driven by his friendship and feelings to Nori.

Still wondering why Volkner seems to hate it whenever Lux visits, though.

LIke I said, 'why are you bringing this person over and not training'.

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?),

Heh, that didn't occur to me. Wasn't intentional. Although in Kallisto's father's case, he probably wasn't in a good state of mind, instead of being evil like Caiseal's parents. For the record, his death was accidental: I was actually going to put the full version of what happened, until deciding it didn't make sense for Kallisto to openly talk about bad memories. But, he fell asleep with a lit cigar, and it ended up catching something on fire. It spread from there. He was probably gone by the the Kallisto was woken up, really.

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.

They pretty much already are, leaving aside the awkwardness with the rest of the Gym Trainers.

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.

Isn't the first time she's kissed him. Is the first time she's given him a wet kiss, and attention has been drawn to it. Probably from being from Lux's perspective seeing it too helped with drawing the attention.

 

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February of Progession (sixth part)
February 25th, 2015​

That afternoon, Nori was again subjected to the accuracy test. This time, Tono and Kallisto observed. Mercifully, both did so politely without comment. He had recovered enough to not be completely dazed, but what little guidance he was able to offer hardly aided Pachirisu.

After eleven tries, they finally made it through the third wave, only for a fourth to start. Nori stood ankle to back with his Pokemon, so they could see the whole room between their four eyes.

A lone Magnemite emerged from a roof panel above. He just caught it out of the corner of his eye; he'd been trying not to move his head too much. "There's one!"

Nori got out of the way for Pachirisu. There were none on the other side, yet. The squirrel charged an Electro Ball and batted it with his tail. It went just wide! There was no time for another as the spherical Pokemon quickly left through another exit. It was barely out for three seconds!

He turned to see Volkner leaving in disgust. He was able to make out a mutter of, "I'm just wasting my time here."

Nori and Pachirisu returned to the viewing room. "Jeez, what's his problem!?"

Kallisto and Tono were both frowning, although it was in sympathy. The former spoke. "If you couldn't tell by now, he takes training and battling very serious. If I had to guess why it's worse than usual, it has to do with Flint Donaldson."

Nori blinked. "The Gym Leader?"

Kallisto confirmed as Tono opened the door to leave. He explained as they set out for the lounge. "They're best friends, and bitter rivals. They can get real competitive with each other. He gets in these moods sometimes after talking with him. That's probably what happened."

"But it's not right for him to take it out on me!"

"Tell me about it," Tono snorted. "I cannot say we have ever had it this bad, although we have been subject to these antics ourselves."

"His way of keeping us in shape."

"Come to think of it, he has not asked us to do any lately aside from when he is involved, has he?" Tono gestured at him.

"Guessing he's been preoccupied with having to train Carino here."

"Happy to help?" Nori was saying this genuinely, but he unwittingly grumbled after. "And lemme guess. You both got through this one quickly?"

"Actually," Kallisto spoke, "None of us have had a chance to try it yet. This room was set up in December of last year, but the Gym only got enough Magnemites for it a couple weeks ago."

Tono tapped his chin in contemplation. "The difficulty appears on the high side."

The boy groaned. "Eddie and Ollie just made fun of me the first time."

Kallisto chuckled at this, and even Tono cracked a wry smile. "Sounds like them all right," the head Gym Trainer laughed.

"Why are they like that?" He looked at Tono, drawing his attention as he opened the door to the trainers' lounge. "Why do you do that?"

The bespectacled teen harrumphed. "I have no tolerance for immaturity or foolishness. You have a habit of both at times."

Kallisto continued, speaking for the other two. "Ollie's...just like that. Eddie's doing it to see if you're tough enough to handle it."

"I am, but it's starting to piss me off! Tell him to cut that out! Both of them!"

A nod. "Will do. I'll put my foot down on it this time. Speaking of, given my offer to help with your training any thought?"

Wait, that was right. At the end of last month, Kallisto came in and offered to help train him. "I...had completely forgotten, to be honest."

Tono shook his head. "Ridiculous. The rest of us have been wondering how long you were going to take to decide. And it turns out you simply have a poor memory. And you were not willing to agree to a privilege like this immediately. A lot of people are saying Kallisto will be a future Champion." He glanced at his companion. "To be honest, I had a spat with him over giving you preferential treatment over his friends."

"Look," the chestnut-haired boy protested. "A lot's been happening, okay? And I thought I mentioned I wasn't into Pokemon? I genuinely didn't know Kallisto is super famous or whatever."

"It's...not all that great, really," Kallisto admitted. "It can be hard to get away from the popularity."

So they shared that in common, too. "Yeah, get some of that myself at school."

"Anyway, changed you mind?" Kallisto again asked. "I'll talk to Volkner. About how he's been in-general lately, I mean. But if you want my help, I'll handle all your battling stuff. And don't worry." He winked. "I've beaten him in an all-out fight, so I'd say I'm qualified."

That was one big concern gone, if it'd be more work. If Kallisto just replaced Volkner when it came to Pokemon training stuff, that'd be welcome. But a part of him wanted to see this through, at least for a while longer.

"Maybe," was his answer. "Can you give me a few more days to think about it? You said you're going to talk to him anyway, right? I want to see if he'll take it to heart. I owe him that much for what he's done so far."

"I can respect that." Kallisto nodded. "Oh, and I got you something." He walked over to his huge black bag, leaning against the large sofa he sometimes slept on. He unlocked it and took out three yellow CDs. "TMs. Nidorina can learn three kinds of Electric attacks, though I think Thunder would be a bit much for her to start with. So you can choose between Thunderbolt or Shock Wave."

Nori didn't think Kallisto was actually going to go through with helping him with her range problems. He smiled. "Thank you," he said, coming to his decision fairly quickly. "I think I'll go with Shock Wave."

Tono tossed his arms up. "Really?" he said in a condescending tone. "The opportunity for your Pokemon to learn the Electric move is in front of you, and you aren't taking it. Might I remind you that perfect accuracy attacks are forbidden in most of the tests."

"I'm not thinking about those stupid things!" he fired back, albeit with restraint. "They're dumb and not applicable to real battle anyway."

"Ridiculous. That still does not address the issue of why you are passing up Thunderbolt."

Both Gym Trainers were scrutinizing him, one more kindly than the other. He had a good reason for thinking this, though! "I know Shock Wave's weaker. But it always hits unless the target takes cover. That's pretty useful. Um, right?"

Kallisto laughed. "Touché. You're thinking of using it for utility."

"Something like that." Its reliability did compliment her. If something tried to hide in the air or be super dodgy, that'd put a stop to it. Or if she got really good at it, stun an opponent right before slashing or biting.

The orange and pink haired teenager handed him the Shock Wave TM. "Here you go. And I'll keep these for myself."

"Thanks. So uh, how do I use this?"

"There's a TM machine near the healing machine. Come on, I'll show you how to use it."

So that's what the weird blue box was! Nori had always wondered. The boy wasn't sure of the science behind a healing machine, but he knew what it did. It was the equivalent of giving your Pokemon a long rest in a few minutes. It was no good for more serious wounds, of course. Maybe the TM machine worked in a similar way?

Kallisto took out a very strange looking ball to demonstrate. It was all red and had a non-standard separating mechanism, though the same button as any other ball.

"A Cherish Ball, I see," an impressed Tono remarked.

"Just put your Pokemon's ball in the slot and your disc in here." He slid the Thunder TM in just like a CD. "Then press the button on the left." He did so, and the ball was bathed in a golden light for ten seconds. He retrieved it and briefly spun it on his finger. "Simple as that. If you have a reusable TM, just press the button on the right to get it back."

Nori brought out Nidorina's ball. It was easy to tell it apart from Pachirisu's due to being a Great Ball rather than a standard Poke Ball. He placed the capsule and the TM inside, and let the machine do its work.

"So what now?" he asked as the process finished and he pocketed the capsule again. "Nidorina can just start using it?"

Kallisto shook his head. "Not yet. She only knows the move. It'll take practice to use it, and more to perfect it."

"You are aware of how Pokemon use Electric attacks, yes?" quizzed Tono.

"Um." He was being put on the spot, but he knew this. He'd learned about it this year in school. "Focus energy, and let it out. Right?"

He pushed up his glasses. "A basic explanation, but adequate."

"Tell her to do that, and you should be good."

"Got it!" Nori made a small bow. "Thank you! I'll get to practicing right away!"

"No problem. Just let me know when you're ready, okay?" The two Gym Trainers saw themselves out, and allowed Nori to head to the training room to start working on his Pokemon's new move.

##########​

February 26th, 2015​

The morning of the 26th, Lux met Nori a short jaunt away from the Gym, in front of the steps he took onto the solar panels. Closer than usual, but Nori didn't mind. Any more time he could spend with his one true friend up here meant everything to him.

"We have that assembly today," Lux said as they went onto the walkways.

"Wait, what? Which assembly?"

"That Gym Leader from another region giving a speech," his friend stated, although he seemed to understand the confusion. "The teacher told us about it on Monday."

Nori pressed a hand to his forehead. "I must've been zoned out when she said that." He was still feeling the effects of the concussion at that point. So a Gym Leader from a different region? "I wonder why they're not using one from Sinnoh?"

"I don't know..."

"Hopefully they're nicer than Volkner."

"Yeah..."

They continued on. Nori wasn't sure what to talk about, and neither was Lux. As they got off the solar panels, the purple-haired boy started the conversation again.

"So how was your day yesterday?"

"It went okay. Volkner's still being himself. But Kallisto gave me a TM for Nidorina, and even promised to help with the other Gym Trainers."

"That's good..." Nori was surprised at the way Lux said this. It was with a mix of sorrow and concern.

"You didn't sound too happy about that."

A sigh. "My day was really bad..."

He should've figured. "What happened?"

"One of the neighbors came to visit, and she brought her Growlithe over. I wanted to pet it, but mom..."

Nori sneered. "What did she do?!"

"...she didn't let me, and yelled at me after they left. She said I was bothering them, but the truth is, she doesn't want me having anything to do with Pokemon." His friend buried his face in his palms. "Besides seeing them, and sometimes I wonder if she even wants me doing that."

"You did say you like Pokemon." There was that plush Buneary of his, too. "But she's mad and won't let you because of your brother, right?"

Lux affirmed, still gazing down. "I wouldn't want to be a trainer like him or anything, but...I'd have better luck with them than people. She won't even let me have a pet..."

"Well, you'll always have me, right?"

Nori cringed at himself. That was a really corny thing to say. His words were the truth, at least. He wouldn't turn his back on Lux, or anyone else for that matter. However, Lux was wistful over these words, and didn't reply to them. In fact, he turned away.

"Lux, is everything okay?" Did he say the wrong thing?

"It's just..." Lux stopped with a groan. "...I don't deserve a friend like you. You do everything for me, and I can't do anything for you. I know you said you don't mind being friends, but..."

Lux was worried about this again? "I don't mind. I've never minded," he firmly replied, trying to be as soothing as possible. What would he have to say to make it clear? "I know it doesn't seem like you've done a lot for me, but trust me. You have."

"But...I'm unpopular, and--"

"Popularity isn't everything," he interrupted. "I'd throw away mine in a heartbeat if it was between that and being right. And I know how others treat you isn't right."

A silence drew over the two. At first, Nori was again worried he'd said something wrong. Eventually, the purple-haired boy looked up with him, eyes starting to water. "I want us to be closer..." Lux suddenly hesitated, blushing. "Um, as friends."

Nori blinked. On the clarification, he replied, "Oh uh, me too."

With a happy smile, Lux hugged him with a contented sigh. It was a different, more intimate hug than usual. His friend pressed his whole body against him, holding him with a very light grip. Nori reciprocated with one arm by reflex, but the other quivered out at his side.

"Um, L-Lux?" Nori stammered, as he felt all the blood rushing to his face too. "Sh-shouldn't we get going?"

His friend released him. "Okay."

Nori quickly scanned around. No one paid that heed. Lucky. What was Lux thinking, hugging like that out in the open?! Especially like that? A thought fleeted through Nori's mind, him dismissing it in the same moment. There was no way. Lux said he didn't want people getting the wrong idea. There was nothing else to it. It was just a hug. That's all.

---​

The first class of the day came and went. As Nori was preparing to depart for recess, Jamie tapped him on the back. "Hey, Nori," the redheaded girl said. "Do you want to hang out with me and my friends at lunch?"

Nori stood and glanced over at his own friend, who had frozen up as he was beginning to stand himself. "Just as long as Lux can, too." He wasn't going to leave his friend out of this.

"Does he really have to?"

Nori turned away in disgust. "Either he comes or I don't."

Jamie groaned lightly, but conceded. "Oh, all right."

---​

Why was Nori asking this?

He really didn't want to go. And yet, if Nori wanted him to...

---​

Jamie's friends were all in different classes. Kelsey was in the other 6th grade class, and the other two were in 5th grade. They all met up in the halls, and after eating together inside, went out to sit on the benches in front of the school.

"So guys!" the one called Marie kicked off the conversation outdoors. "Look what my parents got me for my birthday." She reached into her backpack and retrieved a toy. It was a white and blue rectangular box with a red handle. The front had a door with a latch and clear window on it. Notably, there was a microphone attached to the side.

"Some kind of recording machine?" Nori guessed, based on the last part.

"It's not just that." Marie pressed in the handle and gave it a shake, causing the whole front section to fall open. It had plenty of space inside, although there was nothing inside presently. "It's a radio, tape recorder, tape player, and case, all in one!"

"Tapes? You mean like cassette tapes?" the blonde girl named Kelsey asked.

The boy of the group of friends was downright confused. "What's a cassette?" Arty asked.

Nori knew. His mom's trailer could play them and they had like five, but Kelsey supplied the answer. "It's a really old way to play music, before we had CDs and MP3s. My parents have a lot of them."

Marie nodded. "Reporters still use them. That's what I want to be when I grow up."

He felt an elbow nudging into his side. "When's your birthday, Nori?" his admirer asked.

"July 11th." That reminded him to ask. "Oh, Lux. When's yours?"

His friend snapped up, startled. "Um...December 29th."

"Mine's March 16th," Jamie chimed in.

Nori smiled. "I'll keep both of those in mind."

---​

He knew it.

Nori was so much more engaged when speaking with the others. Even when he tried to bring him into the conversation, it didn't help. He couldn't do it. They would be better friends for him.

He liked Nori. No, he loved Nori. And yet...

---​

They continued to talk throughout lunch about various subjects. Nori got the chance to tell them about the Gym. They all urged him to take up Kallisto's offer, expressing great admiration for him. Lux was unusually quiet, only talking when Nori directly brought him into the conversation.

Eventually, the school bell rang. It was time to head to the auditorium. "Welp," Kelsey said, the first one to stand. "Let's go now, see if we can get good seats."

Nori turned to Lux and nodded, but took the chance to point something out. "If we wanted those, we should've gone early." He heard stories on the news of people who'd camp outside just to be the first in line to a movie or something.

"Too late for that." Kelsey shrugged. "We should hustle."

They started out. Nori paused when he noticed Lux wasn't walking at his side. In fact, the boy was barely moving at all. His head was lowered, and his posture was slumped.

He stopped. "You coming?" he asked his friend.

Lux slowly looked up at him. "I'm okay. I–"

"Hey, Nori!" Jamie was calling out to them.

"Ugh, we better hurry." He didn't particularly want to sit with them, but he didn't want to be stuck with seats too close or too far away either.

---​

He was not okay. It was all too much to handle.

---​

The second floor of West Sunyshore Elementary was tiny compared to the rest of the building. It was home to two classrooms including the one used for music class, a staff room, and a storage closet. The brown seats of the auditorium took up most of the second floor. The bottom half was an open beige floor which doubled as a second gymnasium. The group chose to enter through the upper entrance, mostly at Nori's whimsical behest.

While many students were already there, and they had to line up to enter, they managed to secure decent seats. Right near the stairs, in the upper-middle section of the auditorium. They'd be able to hear fine, while not being seen by everyone looking down. Marie and Arty sat down first, followed by Kelsey who took the end seat. Jamie squeezed in and gazed up at Nori, patting the seat beside her in invitation. He motioned for Lux to follow and sit on his other side.

He wasn't there. "Lux?" he called, looking about. He assumed his friend was following them! Where did he go?

Nori tentatively sat down, but kept his eye on the doorways. He waited several minutes as people started to pile in, even as Jamie was trying to physically get his attention.

Eventually, she spoke up. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Lux isn't here."

"He probably sat somewhere else," the redhead stated. "Can't blame him. He was overwhelmed just being with so many people."

Nori noticed as such. Maybe that was it. Maybe he was just blind and somehow missed him. He got up to look, checking for purple hair in the sea of heads. If he could find Lux, he'd go sit with him. He counted seven others, but only one was anything close to Lux's hairstyle. One of them was close, but a quick glance at her face verified it wasn't his friend. He just wasn't in the auditorium. And the speaker was already walking up.

The elderly Gym Leader was certainly dressed for a Sinnoh winter. He had a long light blue scarf, a long navy blue waistcoat with red shirt beneath it, beige pants, and brown boots. He was walking with a cane, that looked sharp enough to be an ice pick.

"Good day to you, sixth grade students of West Sunyshore Elementary," the old man said. "My name is Pryce Snow. I am going to be talking to you children for a while today about your futures. In just a few weeks, you will graduate, and start your first year of junior high school in April, You will be facing a lot of challenges as you begin the next stage of your lives–"

Nori stood. He wasn't retaining any of this. "I'm going to go look for him," he rasped.

Jamie couldn't hide her disappointment, but her blonde friend was more positive. "Don't worry, I'll save your seat." Kelsey patted it and placed her hand down.

"Save two," Nori instructed. He casually walked up the stairs, acting as natural as possible. No one stopped him as he reached the top. He'd just have to pass through a small room that had places to hang your bags and stuff. Then he'd be out and into the halls, and could roam wherever he wanted.

He froze as he found his teacher in conversation with a man in a white shirt, jeans, and a black cap. "Ah." Mrs. DeWood's eyes went to Nori as he unintentionally vocalized, only to go right back to the man. "Lux isn't here, so I'm going to look for him."

She was so engrossed that her only response was a gesture as if to say go ahead. Nori didn't question the ease of it as he hurried out to find his friend.

---​

The first place Nori looked was the last place they had been. Right out in front of the school. Maybe Lux just stayed there? But there was no sign of him. Nori scanned around. He wasn't in the parking lot, or any place that could be seen immediately.

Next, he checked their special spot. The place Lux always went to for quiet, and where they often ate lunch together. The afternoon kindergarten class would be in session, but maybe that wasn't a deterrent? Alas, Lux was not there either.

He went to their classroom next, but Lux wasn't there. He even checked the other sixth grade classroom, but that was empty too. Nori sat down for a moment. The three most likely spots were ruled out. Where could he be?

He went around the building, hoping he'd find Lux hanging out in the fields or somewhere else outside. He even went to the outside of the second floor, small as it was. Nori walked under its arches and the dusty catwalks, but his friend was not hiding out there either. He was running out of places to look. Where could he have gone?!

The boy took a deep breath. He was starting to panic, he had to calm down. But what if something had happened to Lux? No, no. That was just silly. He had to be somewhere, right? He knew Lux. He wasn't roaming around. He had to be somewhere. So if he wasn't outside, he had to be inside.

As he went back into the school, he saw the principal. A chunky balding man in the faculty's white and blue suit-like uniform. He was speaking with a slender European-looking man in a long single-piece brown suit. He had dark hair and sideburns. Nori quickly backed off, but they spotted him. No use. May as well be honest about what he's doing.

"Um...hey, have any of you–"

"What are you doing outside of class?" the principal demanded. He had a harsh, intimidating tone to his voice that said he would not accept nonsense.

The other man's face flashed with recognition. He beamed. "Oh, you are the future official! Come, come! You should come and be listening!"

The European man grabbed him by the wrist and hauled into a meeting room. "Hey, wait!" Nori tried to protest, as he was nearly tossed into a seat. The man plopped down on a swivel chair, leaning back and drumming his fingers on the table to some rhythm. The principal sighed and followed them in.

"Now then, let us speak! Agent to principal to future official!" the man declared with bluster. "I am being sent by the Officials on the behalf of the Pokemon League! We have been noticing that you are one of several elementary schools in Sinnoh that has a no Pokemon policy for students."

The principal nodded. "Yes, that is the case. Does the glorious League have a problem with it?"

The agent grinned. "I see that you are understanding their glory, so you should be understanding the problem as well!" He raised a finger in the air dramatically, waving it as he spoke. "League participation is down, and the level of competing is too. This is also lowering all of the ratings on the television. The League is believing that this is in-part because of certain schools not allowing the children to bring their Pokemon." With a double arm pump, he said, "They are therefore asking you to change your policy so that the children can begin their preparing for their futures better."

The principal's reply was short, swift, and to the point. "I understand your position. But I'm going to have to decline that request."

The agent narrowed his eyes. "You are not understanding," he said. "The League is asking. It is a thing that must be done, not a favor."

The principal slammed his hands on the desk, causing the agent to nearly jump out of his skin. Nori watched on as the bald man verbally laid into him. "Now you listen up good, you messenger. There's more to this world than Pokemon. For every child that has a future that involves Pokemon, you got two or three that won't. Studies have shown that average student productivity increases by up to 30% without their presence."

He paused for a moment. The agent tried to cut in, but the principal spoke over him. "The League shoves it down everyone's gullets. They have a lot of authority, but they like to overstep it. Tell them we're not going to cater to their demands, and if they put pressure on me, they'll have a little interview with the Schraders."

The Schraders? The famous reporter family? The European man was stunned. Scared. And above all, utterly defeated. He craned his neck to peer at Nori. "C-come on, new future official!" he begged. "Tell your principal that the score is fifteen and love."

Nori was following that conversation. It was loud and dramatic enough to make him momentarily forget his concern for his friend. Though his worries lingered, he felt he could still answer this. At least, he hoped so.

"I..." he tried to speak, suddenly unnerved. He normally had no problems with things like this. Thoughts of Lux were bothering him. Maybe it was things at the Gym getting to him, too. The scrutiny right now reminded him of being there, with the principal glaring and the agent looking at him expectantly. There was nothing to do but do it, though.

He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I agree with the principal. Until this, I didn't want Pokemon either. I only agreed because my Ma wanted me to and it wasn't a journey. Not every kid wants to train Pokemon or travel, and at my old school there was...a thing between kids who did and didn't. So it's good that there isn't here."

The agent was again stunned. "But why would you not want to be journeying? You would be getting to go on adventure! You would be getting to make friends! You would be enabled to meet the super hot Champion, Cynthia!"

"I don't like her!"

His mouth fell into an oval. It was enough to make the principal laugh. "I think you have your answer." He stood and opened the door. "Run along now, Agent Studd. Let's not waste any more of our time."

That was a weird name. Nori hoped it was just an alias. Agent Studd sulked away. Before he left, he turned and shook a fist. "You have not been hearing the last of this!!" he screamed. He remained in the doorway for several seconds before breaking into a chuckle. "...I always wanted to have said that. Haha! But I will do so tell them with regret." With this declaration, he pranced away, humming a tune.

"What was that?" Nori asked. He got the gist, but still didn't understand why that had happened.

"That was the Pokemon League trying to dictate everything," the principal grumbled. "Now, again. What are you doing out of class?"

"Oh, um." He'd better be honest here. "My friend, Lux. He disappeared at break. The teacher didn't even notice or care. She was just talking with some guy at that assembly."

The bald man rolled his eyes. "That sounds like her, all right."

"I asked her if I could go look and she said yes. But I can't find him anywhere! I think he might've run away." That was the worst case scenario. Maybe he was in the school, but Nori wouldn't know where to look. He didn't get a chance to, either.

"Lux Blomgren?" he spoke with mild curiosity. Nori nodded to confirm. "I'll put in a call to his parents. Head back to class for now."

Head back to class. What are you doing out of class. What was this guy, a broken record? Well, there wasn't much he could do for now. He looked everywhere for Lux. The last possible location was back at the auditorium. He hoped that was the case. No, more. He wasn't religious, but he still prayed that was the case.

---​

The first thing he did upon his return was to scan the crowd.

Eight people with purple hair. None of them were Lux. He really did run away. Why? Where had he gone?

##########​

February 27th, 2015​

The Gym was closed the last two days of the month. That meant no Volkner or Gym Trainers to put up with, a welcome peace in wake of yesterday. Lux failed to turn up after the assembly. He really had run away.

Compounding his stress, Lux was absent the day after. He was met with apathy when trying to ask the teacher, and couldn't find the principal to ask him, either. Nori couldn't focus at all throughout the day. If he wasn't being distracted by the empty desk, he was by the door. He was expecting Lux to come walking through it, but he never did.

At lunch, Nori ate alone, where he and Lux often would. He could barely get through his sandwich, and didn't even care for the granola bar he brought. What happened? It was like Lux had vanished off the face of the planet.

School ended, with no sign of Lux. Nori thought about going to the principal again to ask if he had any updates on what had happened. Before he could do so, he was accosted by Jamie.

"Nori," she spoke, seeming much more bashful than usual. "Do want want to walk home with me?" She shuffled her feet. "I live just a couple blocks away from the Gym."

The boy considered this for several long moments. He had mixed feelings about Jamie. But he was feeling terrible right now. He did consider her a friend, even as she wanted to be more. Maybe this would help. Maybe this could give him at least some answers, even if it wasn't the answers he was looking for.

To the Gym, at least." He could delay talking with the principal. He probably didn't know, anyway. Or may not tell him.

---​

It was a good day for a walk. The winds were calm and the air was crisp, the sun trying to pierce through the sheet of clouds above. It hadn't snowed in several days; the roads and sidewalks were nearly spotless, and the rest had been mostly packed down by people and Pokemon walking on it.

The two held hands the whole way. They didn't talk, just walked together while occasionally exchanging glances. It was nice, truth be told. It reminded Nori of much better times. It was different from back then, but he attributed that to being older. And feeling differently about Jamie.

Though he was with her, his thoughts were consumed with Lux most of the way there. It would be easy to assume Lux was just sick, but he vanished yesterday in the middle of a school day. Nori intently listened to the news last night, staying up late to catch the 11pm broadcast. The only good thing to come from that was not hearing anything about a missing kid. It did little to ease his fears.

Eventually, their walk came to an end. Jamie continued to hold his hand, in fact squeezing it as they stood before the Gym's doors. "That was really nice."

"I guess."

Jamie leaned in with concern, "Did you...hate that?"

"I liked it." He'd be lying if he said he didn't. He was also thinking a bit about Jamie. He liked her. He might even be able to like like her. He'd seen a different side of her today, one that wasn't so smothering. It was just that something else was on his mind. "I'm just worried about Lux."

The redheaded girl said nothing at first. "Don't mind Lux," she softly said. "I'm sure he's fine. You don't have to think about him. Just..." With this, she held his other hand. "Think about me. Think about us."

The boy gasped. She smiled tenderly at Nori, ignorant to his shock. He looked into her deep blue retinas. She grasped his hands just a bit tighter. Jamie closed her eyes and moved her face towards his. She wanted to kiss, a real kiss on the lips.

But no. How could she say such a thing?!

"No!"

He let go of her hands and backed away. The girl recoiled, hurt by this gesture.

"What's wrong?" She asked this question normally, but her face clouded over with worry. Her next question had a measure of dread. "Do you...not like me?"

"If you're going to say I shouldn't bother with Lux, then yes."

"But..."

"If you can't respect my friends, how do I know you'll respect me?"

Jamie quivered as she teared up. She grabbed his hands again. "But I love you, Nori."

"That doesn't matter!"

The redheaded girl ran off crying at that. Nori immediately felt bad. "Jamie, I didn't mean I hate you!" he yelled. But she wasn't listening, only continuing to run away. Was he too harsh there? Did that come off wrong? It was too late now. All he could do was try to make this right later.

He didn't completely regret what he'd said. If Jamie was telling him not to care about his friend, his best friend who'd been with him for most of his time here, that meant she wouldn't respect other things about him either. He didn't mean to hurt her, though. Now he had two things to worry about over the weekend. At least with this, all he would have to think about is what to say to her on Monday.

Nori looked up at the sky. He though for the briefest of moments to ask the heavens what had happened, before dismissing that as absurd. If there were gods, they clearly weren't willing to do him any favors, given all that had happened.

All he could do was hope his dear friend would be at school next week. Or that he'd find some sort of answer as to what happened.

##########​

February 28th, 2015​

On the last day of the month, Nori had a checkup on his concussion scheduled. The boy had met the Gym's medic in-passing once or twice. He was a retired hockey coach, a big and burly man who, come to think of it, was closer to some of his gym teachers than a doctor. Then again, the woman filling in for him didn't look like one either. She wore a white coat, but the blue overalls and flannel shirt beneath didn't evoke imagery of a medic. Nor did her raggedy red hair.

"So where's Mr. Norling?" he asked, as the woman ran tests on his eyes. "And who are you?"

"Coach's got the day off," she said, and at once Nori noted she sounded very young. Maybe in her early 20s at most, with a thick rural accent. "I'm Betsy-Ann Jostein, just doin' a l'il ol' job shadow, ya know?"

"Um, you're pretty young to be a doctor..." Come to think of it, she looked closer to Kallisto's age than anything. Didn't being a doctor like, take years of training?

She placed her hands on her hips, leering at him with her blue eyes. "Same t'you for bein' an Official, mister."

At this he could only laugh. "That's true. Makes two of us, I guess."

Betsy-Ann's expression softened, and she chuckled back at him. "Well, yer physical's fine, but how ya feelin'?"

"Better than a week ago. Can actually focus now."

"Then I reckon yer good. But ya might wanna take it easy fo' a couple more days."

"As much as Volkner will let me."

"Yeah, I 'eard he can be a regular ol' slave-driver. Ain't doin' ya no good. Betcha been hankerin' fo' this break."

Nori smiled lightly. It was nice to find someone taking his side in this. Even the Gym Trainers were half and half at best. "I have been."

"Y'all enjoy it now."

"I will," he said with a tiny bow. "Thank you Ms. Jostein."

"That's there's ma's name. Jus' call me Betsy-Ann."

He grinned. "Sure thing, Betsy-Ann."

What Nori really wanted was to enjoy his break by doing what he used to. Going out and exploring the outdoors! But he didn't want to chance things with the concussion, and Volkner was making him look after things in his stead here. That, Nori didn't understand at all. If he was overseeing things now, who was doing it before him?

Lux would not leave his thoughts. Did he have a breakdown and run back home? Was he taking a couple days off school? Nori could only guess at this point. If only he could go see him, or at least call to find out. But no, he couldn't do either of those things. Because of his stupid mom.

Right outside the medical room, there was a man in a blue jumpsuit mopping the floors. "Hello, Mr. Kubo!" he greeted. He'd gotten to know most of the staff by name in his off-time, although that was the extent of knowing most of them.

"Hey," the janitor said, although didn't glance up from cleaning.

The boy kept going. As he entered into the stairwell area, he found two of the four security guards, Marshall and Brodski. "How's things going, guys?"

Mr. Marshall saluted him. "Keeping watch, sir. Making sure no unsavory types try to walk in claiming they're a member of the maintenance crew."

He nodded. That was oddly specific, but it meant someone actually tried that before. "Well, keep an eye out." Speaking of the maintenance crew, he should check on them. He opened the side door and yelled, "Hey! Are you guys working?!"

"Yeah, sure, kid!" came the insincere reply of the foreman. They weren't even pretending to, half of them were just sitting there!

"I'll be coming to watch soon, and you better be at it when I come back!"

Before that, it was time to check yesterday's mail. Nori continued to the end of the hallway. At the mouth to the lobby were the doors to get into the receptionist areas. Normally the head receptionist, Mrs. Stetcher, would be the one to check this. She and the others also had the last two days of the month off. Packages were delivered directly to the front door, and envelopes were delivered through a slot on the left side of the building. The head receptionist's room had three backrooms. One contained files and office supplies, one was a meeting room, and the other was where mail would end up.

Nori stepped inside, and sure enough, few letters had arrived. He had been waiting in anticipation for the reply from Maylene and his mom! And it looked like some of these were actual letters! He really had gotten a reply!

He picked them up with anticipation and found that, no. They were his letters. "Return to sender? Not at this address?! What does that mean?!"

 

[Daren]

This review for part 5 of February is very late; unfortunately I had a "busy" week, let's just say.

*Well, at least Lux's mother has made a small turnabout. That's something.
*Poor Lux is stuck in that awkward situation where you're trying to help but aren't sure the right way to do it and end up making a mistake.
*Cripes, I'm getting worried about Nori's head injury, and Volkner is a complete blackguard. Even Eddie's better than him. At least Kalliso can reign him in a tiny bit and he eventually backs down.
(Idle thought; wonder how much trouble Volkner would be in if something happened to Nori because of being pushed too hard after his concussion?).
*Amused by the textbook's cover.
*Okay, so I was suspecting this for a while but yeah, I guess Lux is in love with (or at least crushing on) Nori.
*"Residual from that Gengar on exhibition day" you know, the idea of trainers having bad side effects from the attacks flying around is interesting; you'd think it could be dangerous to be a spectator!
*West of Johto, north of Hoenn, it's name escaped him. You know I've tried to figure out if there's an "official" Pokémon world map or not. Haven't had any luck.
*Kallisto has not had a great life up to now. Is it intentional he feels like the sort of character who'd be the protagonist in a lot of fics?

Lux seems to be getting a lot more assertive, so to speak, which is a good sign. Hopefully he can keep on that trajectory.

I still have an odd feeling something bad is going to happen with Pachirisu. I hope I'm wrong.

I'll get around to part 6 soon, barring unforeseen circumstances.

 

[Juliko]

Man, things are getting worse for Nori by the minute. Lux disappears, Jamie tries to force herself on him while disregarding Nori's feelings about Lux, and Nori's letters were sent right back to him. I wonder what's going to happen next? Good to know Nori is getting along with some of the workers at the gym. Betsy-Ann seems nice enough. I hope nothing bad happens to Lux or Nori's family and friends at home! I can't wait to read more! Good job as always!

 

[System Error]

Will reply to Juliko here later on to keep the M2P6 replies in one spot, though sent it personally for now.

*Well, at least Lux's mother has made a small turnabout. That's something.

Even she realized her son was a small hero for rescuing Nori at the waterpark, and it wouldn't reflect well at all to stop Lux from seeing the friend he rescued.

*Poor Lux is stuck in that awkward situation where you're trying to help but aren't sure the right way to do it and end up making a mistake.

It's a painful spot to be in. Especially if you feel helpless. Although like Nori said, there wasn't a way he could've helped with Volkner at all. Of course that doesn't mean he still can't feel bad about it.

*Cripes, I'm getting worried about Nori's head injury, and Volkner is a complete blackguard. Even Eddie's better than him. At least Kalliso can reign him in a tiny bit and he eventually backs down.

Noticeably, even Eddie knows Nori's hurt and needs a rest. May not even be related to how he had a concussion himself before.

(Idle thought; wonder how much trouble Volkner would be in if something happened to Nori because of being pushed too hard after his concussion?).

Oh, he'd probably get a reprimand, but would still keep his job and be told to lay off. The situation will become slightly more clear through a quip in Month 2, Part 6, and be definitive in Month 3, Part 4 or so.

*Amused by the textbook's cover.

I figured it was a fitting reference!

*Okay, so I was suspecting this for a while but yeah, I guess Lux is in love with (or at least crushing on) Nori.

Yup! Things I was not expecting to write, boys in love. But it fit thematically, and more importantly, made sense for the character. Sometimes you have to let them go where they want to.

*"Residual from that Gengar on exhibition day" you know, the idea of trainers having bad side effects from the attacks flying around is interesting; you'd think it could be dangerous to be a spectator!

I put this in as a way to explain why Kallisto might have two in close succession. The conversation here was actually going to be in the previous chapter, but I split it to keep focus on Lux's feelings. Nori's concussion conveniently helped to make it not be a thing with him.

As for being a spectator, I mostly had this in mind in a trainers' context. Since attacks like say, Surf have a chance of splashing them, I thought it'd be interesting to look at how another attack on the field might affect them. A spectator probably wouldn't be at as much risk. That aside in Nightmare's case, I'd say there would have to be something to have a nightmare about for residual to affect a trainer.

*West of Johto, north of Hoenn, it's name escaped him. You know I've tried to figure out if there's an "official" Pokémon world map or not. Haven't had any luck.

If I recall correctly, some reference material in the games show it to be actual Earth.

*Kallisto has not had a great life up to now. Is it intentional he feels like the sort of character who'd be the protagonist in a lot of fics?

It's very much intentional!

Lux seems to be getting a lot more assertive, so to speak, which is a good sign. Hopefully he can keep on that trajectory.

It's partially the love coming into play. The fact that his best and only friend and the boy he's falling for is being troubled is giving him the strength to take action. It remains to be seen if he'll be able to apply that elsewhere!

I still have an odd feeling something bad is going to happen with Pachirisu. I hope I'm wrong.

You may or may not find out soon!

 

[Daren]

*So Volkner's extra grouchy because of Flint.
*Wait, if Kallisto's beaten Volkner why is he still a junior trainer, or did I misread that?
*The electric move. Going by the games he's not even wrong. Thunderbolt was the most valuable TM for so very long.
*Ah, the infamous "portraying TMs outside the games" issue.
*I'm worried poor Lux is on the verge of a breakdown.
*Ah, good old Pryce.
*Something about the way the League rep talks reminds me of Looker.
*Hmm...I don't know if the real world effect of pets on studying has been tested but I have an easy time imagining Pokémon would be a disturbance (also imagine trying to take a test and some other kid's Whismur is being annoying).
*"You would be enabled to meet the super hot Champion, Cynthia!" This almost made me laugh out loud. Almost.
And I am typing this when someone is sleeping in the next room over, so thank heavens I did not.
*Jaime is rather pushy, but I do feel sorry for her here. Kids can be very bad at handling issues like that.
*At least he's getting along okay with the Gym staff.
*Dun dun dun! The letters bounced back. Well...I suppose Nori was having things a bit too easy so far.

Okay, the liklihood both his mother AND Maylene moved away seem low, so I guess someone is intercepting his mail. Question is who?

 

[System Error]

Jamie tries to force herself on him while disregarding Nori's feelings about Lux,

Mm, I wouldn't say she forced herself on him. Just, she was trying to be romantic. More what she was doing was not reading Nori's mood and being rude about his friend. Nori doesn't mind sudden kisses if he likes the person enough (see: Maylene). Jamie just made him not like her - and killed the mood - in the span of one poorly-worded in poor taste sentence.

Good to know Nori is getting along with some of the workers at the gym. Betsy-Ann seems nice enough.

She was a very late addition, as an aside. The guards tie into Month 3.

Nori's letters were sent right back to him.

*Dun dun dun! The letters bounced back. Well...I suppose Nori was having things a bit too easy so far.

Okay, the liklihood both his mother AND Maylene moved away seem low, so I guess someone is intercepting his mail. Question is who?

Well remember, he sent both letters to Maylene. So it's just her that moved, if either of them.

*So Volkner's extra grouchy because of Flint.

His fellow Gym Leader Flint, yup.

*Wait, if Kallisto's beaten Volkner why is he still a junior trainer, or did I misread that?

No, you read it right. Technically speaking, Kallisto has already surpassed Volkner - or at least gotten a win over him. This will get more of an explanation in the coming chapters.

*The electric move. Going by the games he's not even wrong. Thunderbolt was the most valuable TM for so very long.

It's strong, powerful, and an excellent ranged option. It's sensibly The Electric Move in other settings as well. Of course there's other options, but it's a strong standby for anything.

*Ah, the infamous "portraying TMs outside the games" issue.

You rarely ever seem to see them, with moves being learned spontaneously out of nowhere or through some nondescript training. I go for a different approach: TMs do exist, but they aren't necessarily a shortcut for anyone willing to spend. Still way easier than nondescript training in certain cases, however.

*I'm worried poor Lux is on the verge of a breakdown.

Heh heh heh.

*Something about the way the League rep talks reminds me of Looker.

Aside, he actually WAS Looker in my original draft/an alternate world fic. But he never was specified as such even there, so I decided to make him Not-Looker. So that's probably why he reminds you of Looker, because they share they same non-standard speech games beyond Platinum removed.

*Hmm...I don't know if the real world effect of pets on studying has been tested but I have an easy time imagining Pokémon would be a disturbance (also imagine trying to take a test and some other kid's Whismur is being annoying).

I imagine in classes that do allow them, they would have to stay in their Poke Balls. Of course class pets could also be a thing, and would be much the same way.

*"You would be enabled to meet the super hot Champion, Cynthia!" This almost made me laugh out loud. Almost.

And I am typing this when someone is sleeping in the next room over, so thank heavens I did not.

*Jaime is rather pushy, but I do feel sorry for her here. Kids can be very bad at handling issues like that.

Indeed. I know, I was one of them. On the receiving end, mind you.

I wonder what's going to happen next?

You'll find out...as soon as I can get by some of the issues in this next chapter. Finding it hard to get just the way I want it.

 

[System Error]

Month 3: March of Flux (first part)​

March 1st, 2015​

Nori was feeling much better the first day of the new month, even with thoughts about Lux, Jamie, and Maylene plaguing his mind. Hearing the concussion was gone was good news. More importantly, Volkner wasn't here! He'd left early in the day, something about sorting out a bill? In any case, Nori wasn't going to complain about one more half-day of freedom from training.

The boy decided to spend his free time getting a bit of exercise by running laps around the arena. He hadn't been able to for a while, and it felt great to get a workout. It was good practice for the beep test too, and anything else physical that might be expected of him later.

He went until his muscles started to ache, and from there started cooling down. As he was doing so, the Gym Trainers stepped in. The Gym didn't accept challengers when the Leader was away, so they had time off as well.

"Oh, hey guys!" he greeted. They had been outside skateboarding as far as he knew. They must've come to check on him.

"Hey, Carino..." Kallisto greeted back, a strange dejection in his tone. Nori blinked. The head Gym Trainer looked absolutely miserable. Did something happen? The other three seemed pissed.

"Is something wrong?" he inquired.

"We need to talk," demanded Ollie.

"Sit down!" Eddie pointed at the bleachers.

The boy blankly stared. Were they mad at him for some reason? Well, whatever. May as well hear them out. "What do you guys want?"

Tono pushed up his glasses before he began. "We saw you walking home with a girl on Friday."

He nodded. "What about her?"

"Don't play dumb!" the dark-skinned teen yelled.

At this, Nori stood. "I'm not playing dumb, dumbass! That could mean anything!"

"She into you?" asked Ollie. Eddie followed in right behind.

"Or you into her?"

What was this all about? Were they jealous or something? He took a deep breath, composing himself, before explaining. "Yeah, Jamie likes me," he plainly told them. "I'm not sure about her, though. She's cute, but she's kinda shallow. Plus, she was insulting my friend Lux."

That's how he felt about Jamie. Part of Nori really did want to accept her. For all her faults, she didn't seem like she was in it for herself. She really did love him, for reasons that weren't wrong. If only he was certain he could feel the same with no regrets.

"I see," said Tono. He gave this a bit of thought. "It is best you do not think about it, either."

"What?" Were they saying not to consider Jamie at all? "Why not?"

"Cause we said so, that's why!" Eddie barked.

Okay, this was stupid. "What, so I'm not allowed to have a girlfriend because you guys say I can't? What the hell?"

"That's right!" came the reply.

He put his hands on his hips and turned away. "I'm not going to listen to that."

"You don't wanna–"

"I said, I'm not listening!"

"Please, Carino." Kallisto finally spoke up. It was in another tone Nori had never heard from him before. He was worried. No, fearful. It got the other three to shut up, and compelled him to listen closer. "I haven't been able to find anyone yet."

Again, Nori took a deep breath. "But you got a ton of Valentines cards," he pointed out. "You got more votes in that hotness contest than all of us put together. You could have any girl you want."

"I'm waiting for the right one."

Nori could get that. He was more willing to experiment and see if things could work out with someone. But finding the right person definitely wasn't easy. Especially if you mess up. Like he did...

He shook his head as a realization struck him, turning to the others with renewed hostility. "So just because he hasn't yet means I can't either?"

Eddie seethed, clenching his fists. "You better watch your mouth, or–"

"Eddie." Kallisto again spoke, beseeching him. "Please. Let me handle this."

The dark-skinned teen's eyes went wide with surprise. He could only humbly nod at his friend and step back.

The head Gym Trainer was on the verge of tears as he stated, "It won't be good for my image, okay?!" Nori cringed. What should he do here? Kallisto was choking up, breath coming out shakily. He had to wipe an eye and before continuing.

"I'm going to be the next big trainer out of Sinnoh. Or maybe I'll be the next big athlete. Or maybe something else. Whatever I do with my life, people are expecting I'm going to be the best at it. Do you have any idea how much pressure I'm under because of that?!" Realizing what he'd just said and how, he lowered his head. "Sorry, it's just...I'm under a microscope. Everything in my life is being watched and judged. It won't look good if one of the guys in the Gym below has someone and I don't."

"So why don't you?" he asked. That was the simplest solution. Go and get a girlfriend.

"Like I said, I'm waiting for the right girl. I don't want to jump into a relationship with just anyone, or just for the sake of having one like a lot of people do. I'm sure you feel the same."

"I do, but why do you care? No one who matters is going to judge you if I have someone and you don't." Sure, there might be a couple jerks who would, but who cares about them? There was something else, too. "I'm not even part of the Gym." Maybe he could see how he'd feel bad if Ollie got one before he did, but him? Or Eddie? Or even Tono? Glaring at the others, he added, "And I don't want to be if that's how it is."

Kallisto placed a hand to his forehead. The other three were fuming, but he didn't give them a chance to speak. They were being huge dicks about this, and he was going to call him on it.

"And what about you three? You're actually going along with this? I know you've had some chances, and you're giving them up for what? A brush with greatness?"

Tono shook his head. "You simply do not understand."

"What's there to understand besides you guys being stupid morons?"

The hefty teen's visage contorted. He threateningly approached, standing on the tips of his toes in attempt to tower over the boy. "You better shut your mouth before we knock it shut for you!" He leveled a fist right in Nori's face.

The boy replied not with words, but the very threat Ollie had issued: a quick, light jab to the mouth. Just enough to make his point, but not enough to injure.

"Gah!" Ollie stumbled back, clutching his jaw. "That hurt!"

Nori realized what he'd done a bit too late. Yet bizarrely, it served to lighten the mood. Eddie and Kallisto both laughed; even Tono chuckled and gave a wry smile.

"Okay, that was good," Eddie admitted, clapping Ollie on the back to console him. "We'll let that one go."

Kallisto sighed, melancholy returning. "But really. Don't go getting a girlfriend. Please." He put his hands together, humbly bowing. "Not even in absolute secret, because it'll get out. Know I'm asking a big favor for you to do this, and it's just for now. I promise, I swear I'll make it up to you if you go along with this."

Tono cut in. "Do not kiss them. Do not hug them. Do not even hold hands with them."

"Well, Jamie and I already held hands a lot." They were even holding hands the whole time. Did Tono somehow not know? "And I have kissed some girls before." Not to mention all the times he'd hugged Lux, but he wasn't about to tell them that.

"Okay, that's..." Ollie coughed. For a moment it appeared he was going to get in his face again, but thought better of it. "A damn lie for sure!"

"Don't believe me?" Nori asked. Again, a realization struck him. "Wait, don't tell me...you haven't even had your first kiss yet? None of you?"

Eddie and Tono both flinched. Ollie got even madder. Kallisto gazed up. The quartet exchanged glances. Nori grinned. It was true! It was wrong to rub it in, but he was still going to revel in this one thing over all of them. Eventually, Kallisto broke the silence.

"It's true," admitted the head Gym Trainer. "But I want my first kiss to be good and meaningful. Something I'll remember for the rest of my life with the girl of my dreams."

Tono harrumphed. "I bet you are just counting playing house with a friend or something like that."

Nori playfully smirked. "Well, yes, I kissed my friend Claris when we were playing house, too. I'm pretty sure she wanted to kiss me for real, but that didn't...work out." He so, so badly messed things up with Claris. But now wasn't the time to reminiscence on that.

"More counting, my friend Maylene kissed me goodbye just before I left. Just right on the lips out of nowhere before running off." That was his first real kiss, he supposed. He pressed a hand to his cheek. He had to be blushing right now. "Was so embarrassed she did that." He didn't mind the kiss. He did like Maylene. If only they were closer in age. He continued, "And if you count almost kisses, Jamie almost did right in front of the Gym. If I didn't snap at her, we would've. Then there was this sixteen-year-old girl in my trailer park who tried to, but–"

"You're full of shit, kid!"

Nori threw up his arms at Eddie's interruption. He boasted, "Hey, just because you don't believe me doesn't mean it's not true!"

"Carino..." Kallisto was pleading with him.

The chestnut-haired boy sighed. Okay, maybe he was taking it too far. This was something Kallisto was worried about. He wasn't sure why, and he didn't care why. "I just have one question," he said. Being serious. If Kallisto felt this way, fine. But there was one big thing on his mind. "What if I had kissed Jamie? What if I accepted her as my girlfriend and you found out? Would you make me break up with her just because you said so?"

"Well, duh, dumbass!"

Kallisto gasped in shock, staring at Eddie in disbelief. Yet he didn't say anything contrary to it. That told Nori everything he needed to know.

"Right." He nodded. "In that case, screw off. If I find the right girl, and I like her and she likes me, not going to miss out because of you. That's how it is."

Nori turned on his heels and left. While it meant a lot to Kallisto and he'd be willing to do some things for all he'd done for him, this was asking way too much. Especially if he was going to be like that. He'd just have to live with that looming possibility. And if it happened, find out that no one would think any differently of him for it.

The next thing he knew, something struck him in the back of the head. He fell to the ground, his sight a haze. As he heard a shout, Nori tried to get up to defend himself, only to tense up as they started to kick him. He got his arms up to protect his head, only for a sharp pain to shoot through his left arm and wrist. He screamed, looking up to see a fist rushing towards him, attached to a body with orange and pink atop the head.

As it connected, everything went dark.

##########​

Kallisto Keravnos felt disgusted. Not just at himself, but at the unconscious person at his feet.

He had only wanted to grab him and talk. To tell him he didn't agree with Eddie, to beg him to reconsider. Instead he had struck the boy in the heat of the moment. Kallisto was stunned as Nori toppled over. As he wondered what he should do, Ollie shouted a battle cry. He and Tono rushed over and began laying into Nori with kicks. He could have called it off, he could have played this as an accident. Instead, he added a single, frustrated kick of his own. It was one that counted with his Muay Thai training. He heard the snapping of bone as he drove the tip of his foot into the arm. He recoiled in horror at the sickening sound, which turned to panic as the boy tried to look up. He swiftly took the chance to knock him unconscious, immediately ordering his friends off as the boy fell limp.

Now that it was over, the head Gym Trainer felt a pit in his stomach. What had he done? He'd lost himself in the moment and gone too far. He'd acted hastily, perhaps even irrationally. The only definite was what happened. He couldn't take it back.

At the same time, it was hard to feel too bad about it. He thought Nori was just misunderstood, someone who was willing to stand against the grain. Kallisto was willing to take him under his wing. He'd offered to help with his training any way he could. He'd given him that TM, helped him with schoolwork, and gone to bat for him against Volkner. Yet Nori wouldn't do this one thing for him, even with the offer to make it up. Why wouldn't he do so? Why was he so reluctant to accept tutelage? It pointed to one thing: Nori Carino being a self-centered egoist.

Kallisto sighed. Maybe that was being too presumptuous. But if it was true, maybe this was what it would take to make Nori shape up. And maybe, Kallisto thought, he had dodged a bullet. If Nori accepted his offer and had continued being who he was, it could bring down his own reputation. It was one thing to stand be willing to stand up, but this was too much.

"What the fuck, man!?"

Eddie finally broke from his stupor, marching over to them. Small wonder. Eddie was no saint. But the worst he'd done was cruel pranks, implicit threats, and his trademark trash talk that bordered on verbal abuse. The worst Kallisto had ever done until today was not stopping any of their wrongdoing, if only out of loyalty. He'd never done anything ethically wrong, let alone illegal. This was crossing a line none of them ever had, and they would be in deep trouble if this came out. But as the keyword was if, the head Gym Trainer was unconcerned.

"Look, it'll be fine."

"When that kid wakes up–"

"Like I said, it'll be fine." He had already thought of every avenue by the time Ollie and Tono had decided to make this a gang beatdown. He turned to the latter. "Tono?" he asked. He used last names as a form of respect, excepting in cases where they asked otherwise such as him or Volkner.

The pure-blooded Japanese teenager had his smartphone out. "I'm already on it," he said. After consideration, he placed his pack down. "I believe I'll need this, though," he stated, retrieving his laptop.

"Thanks," he said as Tono went over to the bleachers to work. He turned to the others. "You two, sit him up."

Ollie and Eddie did so, the latter with some reluctance. Or was it pity? Kallisto took a moment to inspect the unconscious boy. He lifted up his shirt. A few bruises on his body, but nothing that couldn't be passed off. What could cause bruises like this, though? What could knock him out? One possibility came to mind.

"Okay." Kallisto nodded. "He slipped and fell. That's what we'll tell the doctor." He picked Nori up by the back, delicately supporting the broken arm as not to injure it further. "Need your Pokemon's help for this Gooch. You take the other arm." He positively beamed at this. He even understood what he had in mind right away, retrieving one of his Poke Balls as he did so. "And you get the legs, Hankstein."

Eddie arched an eyebrow, but did what was requested. "You think they'll buy that flimsy shit?"

He nodded. He was about to clarify, when Ollie did it for him, albeit in a more sycophantic and boastful way that he would have. "You're forgetting who Kallisto is!" He sent out his Pokemon with a grin.

"Yeah, sorry."

That's right. He was Kallisto Keravnos. If he said that Nori Carino fell, broke his arm, and got knocked out, people would believe him. He felt guilty having to make this deception, but it was what had to be done. For everyone's sake, Nori's included.

##########​

March 2nd, 2015​

Nori kept quiet about the incident. He wasn't going to snitch, nor did he feel the need to. His injuries would speak for themselves.

It figured they broke his left arm. It hurt to so much as gently move it; every time he did, pain shot through to the bone. Betsy-Ann and coach Norling were only able to put it in a sling. He had to spend the night in the infirmary like that, until Volkner drove him to see a real doctor first thing in the morning.

Dr. Canard C. Trompé was an immigrant from Kalos. A skinny man with round-framed glasses clad in a white coat that was two sizes too big for him. He was balding, although his graying reddish-brown hair reached back to his shoulders.

Nori had x-rays taken of his arm, first thing. Then he went to the doctor's office and was put through a number of procedures, like using his eyes to track a moving finger, concussion tests, and trying to raise his arms. After this, he had a small wait as the doctor looked at an incomprehensible chart on his laptop.

Volkner had come in by Nori's request, but was presently staring off into space. The boy looked around the rest of the office for anything to distract himself with. There was an eye chart, pictures of bone and muscle structures, and a grotesque poster about all the chemicals put in tobacco and what else those chemicals are used in. Nori could only shake his head. Why would any stupid moron want to smoke knowing this? It's a dumb waste of money.

Finally, the doctor rose. "So, it looks like you suffered a severe fracture on your forearm," the doctor explained. Well, yes. That much was obvious. "The ulna and radius are both fractured, all the way up to your scaphoid."

Nori stole another, more attentive look at the bone diagram. The thing that stood out most was the last part. It went to his wrist too?! How hard did Kallisto kick him?

"You're quite lucky. Any more than this and it would've required surgery." That was the smallest of reliefs for Nori to hear. "That said, I am going to have you keep wearing a sling for the next two days until the swelling goes down, after which we shall see about placing it in a cast."

There it was. The boy growled. "Ugh, I have tests coming up! How am I going to write like this?!"

"You shall have to learn to use your right to write." The doctor chuckled at his own wordplay. Even Volkner rolled his eyes at that one. "Well, now you know how dangerous slipping and falling can be. If you were my age, you might've broken your hip!"

"I fell." He didn't ask this, he said it. What? Did he hear that right? He supposedly fell and broke his arm.

"Oh!" The doctor slapped his forehead, chuckling. "I nearly forgot! You struck your head and got knocked unconscious too. Got a very mild concussion. You may have forgotten what happened."

A concussion too. Nori clenched his fists. It hurt to do so, but he was too angry to care. He wanted to scream, but he didn't.

---​

The drive back was in relative silence. Volkner drove a blue convertible, a Rondo X2000, customized to run on electric power. The Gym Leader quite simply called it "his prize and baby," although didn't elaborate on what that meant. Nori figured from the Gym's contraptions that his mentor had a penchant for machines. He never asked or checked, but guessed the restricted area of the Gym was his workshop.

As they reached the winding hill leading up to the Gym, the blond man finally said something. Two simple words, an observation anyone should've been able to see. "You're bruised."

Nori huffed. "At least someone noticed." He was expecting the doctor to take one look at it and know something was up. Kallisto must've fed them a lie. And they bought it. The boy almost wanted to tell on them for that but had a feeling it was likely futile.

"I'm sorry." Volkner sighed.

"You're sorry? Is that the best you can say about this?!" Nori tried to compose himself, finding himself unable to do so. "You know what happened! Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"

"Again, I'm sorry."

At this, Nori did scream. That didn't answer his question! Volkner clearly knew and clearly took issue with it! So why was he being this way? Shouldn't the bruises be proof enough that something happened?!

Wait, proof! If he could prove Kallisto did this, they'd have to do something! And he knew just the way to do that! "Does the battlefield have a security camera in it?"

A curt nod. "Yes."

"All right! Let's go!"

---​

As soon as they pulled into the garage at the back of the Gym, Nori wasted no time. He hopped out and hurried ahead to the security room. He wanted to start looking into it right away, but not only did it require a password, he had no idea how to properly use a computer in the first place. He anxiously paced about, unable to relax until Volkner arrived ten minutes later.

Nori knew the time frame it happened in. Just after 2:30pm yesterday! Volkner would just have to check the footage from around then! Nori watched intently as the Gym Leader used the program to get to the relevant time and camera. They were each stamped with the date, formatted as 15/03/01. As it turned out, there were two angles; one on each side that gave a full view of the battlefield and the opposite balconies. The boy leaned in close, waiting for that moment where they would walk in and initiate that argument with him.

There he was, running around. And there they were, entering. There was the conversation. But what happened next astonished him. The feed suddenly became distorted.

"What the–?!" he sputtered. It lasted for about forty seconds, and when it faded, the only one left was Tono, sitting with his laptop on the bleachers. It didn't even get partway into their talk!

"I knew it!" he shouted, raising his right arm. "They're hiding it! They messed with the cameras! It's right there! I don't know how, but it's so obvious!"

Volkner's face remained blank. "The Gym Pokemon can occasionally cause that to happen."

Nori almost choked. "Are you serious?! Check ahead! Check some more!"

"Hmm." Volkner clicked a few times, bringing up all the cameras at once. From a glance, there were twenty of them, covering the halls and the major rooms. There were none looking outside, and things like the bathrooms or his room were excluded. Volkner set the time back to 2:30pm, and set them all to play at five times speed.

At around 2:39pm, Kallisto entered the building, carrying him alongside Eddie and Ollie. They briefly chatted with the receptionists before carrying him all the way to the medical room.

"What?! When did I get outside?!"

"They said they teleported out with you."

"That's a lie! They're lying!" And yet...nothing on the tapes contradicted it, either!

"I'm really sorry," said the Gym Leader. "If there's nothing concrete, I can't do anything about him."

"Gah!"

He couldn't believe this! How had things gotten so bad so fast?! He'd made enemies of the Gym Trainers, his dominant arm was broken by them right before tests, there was the question of Jamie to worry about, and his best friend was still missing!

Wait, that's right, Lux! It was Monday! He couldn't do anything about Kallisto right now, but he would later! Right now, he needed to go see if Lux was back at school! He'd gotten excused because of his injury, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to go there and see! He had to do this!

He turned to leave, walking with purpose and as fast as he could. He wanted to run, but the state of his arm prevented that. More than once during this conversation, he had to catch himself from trying to move it. The sling helped keep it steady, but it only did so much.

"Where are you going?" asked the Gym Leader.

"To school!" he declared. "There's something important I need to do there!"

The boy was nearly out the door, when he heard the blond man murmur something. "...need a lift?"

Nori stopped in his tracks. He blinked. The boy turned around. Did he hear that right? Volkner, who had up until this point been uncaring at the best of moments, and who had been a colossal jerk the past week, was offering to help him?

He didn't know why, but knew better than to question it. "Yes, please."

---​

By the time Nori was dropped off at school, it was already lunch break. The boy scanned about for anyone he knew, quickly spotting Kelsey sitting alone in front of the school. He approached the blonde girl as fast as he could.

"Hey, Kelsey!" he called.

She turned to him with a gasp. "Nori? What happened to your arm?"

"Forget that!" He waved his good arm dismissively. "Is Lux here?"

She tilted her head. "I don't think so? I never saw him."

Wait, that's right. Kelsey was in the other class. But there's someone who would know for sure! "Well, is Jamie here?"

Kelsey glanced to the side. "She is, but..."

"But what?!"

Kelsey took several seconds to reply. "You rejected her."

"I didn't!" Technically! "I just got mad at her for insulting my friend."

"She took it that way, though."

The boy sighed. "I don't hate her. I just...I don't know." His mind was a jumbled mess right now. "I like her, but I don't think I can like like her. I can't if she's going to say things like: don't mind Lux, don't think about him." The last thing he wanted to do was be in a bad relationship. He'd seen a lot of those from his time in the trailer park, not to mention heard of worse ones. "But, I wouldn't mind still being friends."

Again, Kelsey hesitated before answering. "Jamie really doesn't want to talk to you anymore."

"...I see."

"But I'll let her know."

A nod. "Thanks." He sighed. "I know it came out wrong, and I'm sorry for that. It's just, I was stressed because my best friend's missing. Then when she said he doesn't matter, I just...got mad. I know it was wrong to lash out at her that harshly." He could admit that much.

Kelsey smiled warmly. "Don't feel too bad. I'm sure you can find someone else."

"I'm not thinking about that right now!" Okay, maybe he was a little. If only to rub having a girlfriend in Kallisto's stupid face. "I'm thinking about two things right now! Lux, and..." He paused. He didn't want to talk about the Gym Trainers, and it seemed a bad idea anyway. He made up something else on the spot. "Um, why Jamie said those things?" He was curious about that.

She glanced down briefly before replying. "Well, everyone thought you were just friends with Lux to make yourself look even better. Or you were feeling sorry for him."

"That's ridiculous!" Nori yelled. "Who'd do anything like that?"

"You'd be surprised." Kelsey shrugged, seeming to vaguely sigh.

"Well, Lux really is my friend. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says, he's my friend and I wouldn't trade him for anything." He would never betray anyone like that. Never, ever again.

The blonde girl laughed, slightly bitterly. "I kind of figured."

"I'm...going to keep looking for him. Thanks." He gave a small wave to Kelsey before setting about the schoolyard. Just because she hadn't seen him around doesn't mean he wasn't here.

---​

The first place Nori looked was their quiet place. Lux was not there. He was not in their classroom either. With nothing else to do, he set about aimlessly. He would occasionally field questions about his arm, simply vaguely saying it was broken yesterday - not specifying or being evasive of how. He would in-turn ask people about Lux. Most didn't care, and he didn't want to believe the constant stream of no from those who did answer.

When class resumed, not only did Nori find it was entirely true - his friend was not there - there was another surprise waiting for him. Jamie was seated way at the back. She'd switched places with someone else. The boy looked over at her, and she swiftly looked away, pretending not to notice.

Nori shut his eyes tight. This wasn't something he was going to be hung up on, but it still hurt.

---​

For the rest of class, Nori couldn't focus at all. His thoughts were consumed by everything else that was going on. When thoughts about Lux weren't distracting him, it was thoughts about the Gym Trainers. He thought that finally, he was on good terms with them all. How wrong he was, about many things.

He had to walk back to the Gym himself. It gave him time to think about what he wanted to say. There was a lot he wanted to say to Kallisto and the others. They would be back before him as always, and likely in either the arena or trainer's lounge. He went straight for the side access to the former as soon as he entered the building.

And there they were! Ollie and his fatness who thinks he's a hotshot because he's a Gym Trainer. Tono and his nerdy glasses and arrogant self-superior attitude. Eddie with his near-perpetual sneer and his dumb jerk tendencies. And Kallisto! His stupid smug face and perfectly chiseled...everything. The perfect guy himself. Perfect at everything he does. The sight mere of them pissed him off and made him lose all coherence.

"Bastards!"

The Gym Trainers turned to look, neutrally. If anything, they seemed confused. Like kids who were being scolded and they didn't know why. Eddie arched an eyebrow. "The fuck's your problem, kid?"

"You know damn well! What's yours?! You broke my arm!"

Ollie was snickering. "Nah, you just fell!" This was all an act, and he wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Liar!" Nori stepped towards Ollie, just barely stopping short of decking him. He pointed at the others. "And you messed with the security tapes to cover it!" He wasn't sure who, but one of them did it!

Tono and Kallisto exchanged a fleeting glance. "Carino, calm down," the latter said.

"Shut the hell up!" he screamed. "I saw your hair, jackass! You punched me out!"

"Carino," he again said, more firmly.

"What?!"

"You did hit Ollie."

He winced. That...that was true. He did throw the first punch.

"That's right!" the pudgy teen taunted.

"We could've told the truth and said they got too carried away hitting you back." Kallisto paused for a moment. "If you're fine with everyone knowing what you did, we'll come clean."

That would just make things worse! Even though they jumped him from behind and were fine with him punching Ollie, they'd lie or leave that part out! They'd just twist things to make him look like the bad guy no matter what! Nori couldn't believe this. They were going to get away with this! With everything!

Tono grinned deviously. "It seems you understand your position."

Kallisto smiled as well. What unnerved the boy most about this is how there wasn't a hint of malice or hostility in it, or even beneath it. "Are we good to leave it at that, then?"

He flipped them off. "Screw all of you. Every last one of you!" How the hell could he even ask that with a straight face?

"Do not even think of trying anything," warned Tono.

As if that was going to deter him. He couldn't do anything now, but that didn't mean he couldn't eventually. Once a chance came up, he was going to take it. Right now, he just wanted to be away from the whole situation.

As he left, Nori felt fatigue starting to gnaw away at him. The doctor mentioned his concussion was lightly aggravated, which would explain why. As he was headed to his room anyway, he decided to use the chance to lie down. He needed to after the last two days.

##########​

March 3th, 2015​

Nori had been keeping his ear trained to the news. He spent all of last night listening to it for two reasons, one being to take his mind away from the Gym. The other reason was Lux. Had he gone missing? Nori didn't want to think about it, but in a way he hoped his friend had vanished. It would be something. He was looking for anything at all to explain what happened. If Lux had gone missing, there would be reports about it, surely.

But no, the news gave no answers. School only gave more questions. None of his classmates were worried about him, let alone cared. Adults fared no better. He asked their teacher, who was completely apathetic. Other teachers had nothing to say. Why was he the only person worrying about this?

That day, Nori spent lunch alone in the kindergarten hallway. Their usual spot. Nori ate his ham and cheddar sandwich in complete silence, save for the voices of kids outside, and the faint ticking of the clocks inside the classrooms.

The bread was fluffy, as if baked fresh. The ham had just the right amount of juice to it, and the cheese was delicious. Yet Nori found himself barely able to eat half. He didn't feel hungry. By all means, he should have been. He knew this and tried to eat more, yet his throat muscles refused to cooperate. He had to get a drink of water from the nearby washroom in order to swallow what he had in his mouth. With a sigh, he wrapped up what remained and put it away. The boy slumped, nearly lying down.

How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly? This time last week, everything was perfect. Sure, he was still concussed and Volkner was pushing him to train hard in spite of that, but things felt like they'd work out. The Gym Leader conceded to him about the physical stuff. The Gym Trainers were starting to be more friendly. And he still had Lux.

There were further ramifications to Lux's disappearance. The Kallisto situation. He wanted to talk to someone about it. If not for advice, at least to vent. But who could he do that with? He didn't know anyone else enough to trust them, and very few would believe him. It seemed crazy even to Nori. The perfect Kallisto Keravnos was really a manipulative jerk? The only person Nori felt would trust him was Lux. He could talk to Lux about it, if only he were here.

Where was he?

 

[Juliko]

In all honesty, I'm not even surprised Nori got beaten up. I had a feeling something like that would happen eventually, considering the characters of Ollie and Eddie, but the reason they completely flipped out on him, and who wound up instigating it, completely blow my mind in the most frustrating way possible. Not at you, but at the characters. Seriously, I had really been starting to like Kallisto, and then he pulls this stunt. They have no right to control Nori and demand that he not get a girlfriend. The fact that they all want him to remain single just because they're single as well, along with the fact that they're all putting way too much stock into their so-called image and reputations makes them come across as really entitled. Kallisto thinks Nori is an egotist, but with the way they all were behaving towards him, that really describes all of them more than anything. An egotist wouldn't call someone out on their controlling ways, and Nori is anything but egotistical. Seriously, Nori needs to get the hell out of the gym pronto. This kind of reminds me of this trope that I often see in various shoujo anime/manga, where the popular guy gets fawned over by all the girls in a school, but the second one girl asks him out and the guy dates her, the fangirls bully and gang up on the girl for daring to even so much as say hello to him, which is often a reflection of how Japan expects people to socially fall in line, and how any deviation from the norm, intentional or not, is met with scorn. I really hope Lux comes back and that every single person at the gym gets their comeuppance.

 

[Daren]

*And there's the hole in Kallisto's armor of apparently perfection; he needs to be the ace so much he doesn't want someone below him in the Gym outdoing him in any way.
*Oh crud, he KO'd the poor kid. I suspected he wouldn't be as flawless as he seemed but damn.
*It just keeps getting worse and worse.
*And Volkner is finally starting to pull through.
*Cripes, Nidorina's gonna murder the Gym trainers, isn't she?
*Okay...so I'm starting to wonder if the claim Volkner's mood is because of Flint is either a lie or only partly true and he's actually had trouble with Kallisto before but can't do anything about it because of his darling reputation. I even wonder if maybe the reason he was so unhappy to be stuck training Nori is because he was expecting him to be another Kallisto (who seems to be a full on narcissist).
*Where is Lux?

Seems to be approaching a boiling point; the tension is getting high. I'm definitely intrigued to see what happens next!

 

[System Error]

So we've hit the ground running with Month 3. But first, some outstanding questions!

Man, the more I read about Eddie, Ollie, Tono, and Volkner, the more I grow to hate them. What is their problem? It seems like the former three get off on picking on Nori every chance they get for little to no reason, even picking on Lux and making a big deal of him bringing a friend to the gym.

So I can finally come back to this part. The reason for the Gym Trainers' reaction when Nori first brought Lux to the Gym and making a big deal out of it is that they thought Lux was a girl. Blink and you'll miss it, but Kallisto reacts as well. They thought Nori had gotten a girlfriend, hence softening (a bit) when it was clear Lux was a boy. It was foreshadowing for this very moment. Similarly, Kallisto reacts with surprise when Nori mentions Jamie asked him out during Valentines' day, and the others think it was a lie.

(Of course, they only mentioned girls, but that's a topic for later.)

*Kallisto has not had a great life up to now. Is it intentional he feels like the sort of character who'd be the protagonist in a lot of fics?

And coming back to this as well. I lied when answering this before! Kallisto feeling like he'd be that sort of character was an unintentional (but fitting) consequence of how I really designed him. Hopefully that'll become more clear from here on out.

---

In all honesty, I'm not even surprised Nori got beaten up. I had a feeling something like that would happen eventually, considering the characters of Ollie and Eddie, but the reason they completely flipped out on him, and who wound up instigating it, completely blow my mind in the most frustrating way possible. Not at you, but at the characters. Seriously, I had really been starting to like Kallisto, and then he pulls this stunt.

Yuuuup. And that's exactly the point. Glad it came out well enough. One detail you might have glossed over during the whole mess: despite being the biggest aggressor in the argument, Eddie was NOT okay with the beating. Like, implications that it's not even because they'd get in trouble, he thinks it's going too far. He didn't directly speak out against it for some peculiar reason, though...

They have no right to control Nori and demand that he not get a girlfriend. The fact that they all want him to remain single just because they're single as well, along with the fact that they're all putting way too much stock into their so-called image and reputations makes them come across as really entitled.

So, welcome to the big theme of this fic formal. Image. Keep that in mind, and maybe even reflect on some parts.

Kallisto thinks Nori is an egotist, but with the way they all were behaving towards him, that really describes all of them more than anything. An egotist wouldn't call someone out on their controlling ways, and Nori is anything but egotistical.

Here's an irony you may have forgotten at this point too: in M1-2 after Nori saves Lux from being bullied, he mentions he's fine with "a bit of teasing, especially if someone deserves it." Then in thoughts he says he doesn't mind "seeing a self-superior egoist get theirs." Not only is he hardly one, he hates those types.

Seriously, Nori needs to get the hell out of the gym pronto.

If only he wasn't stuck there for training, huh?

This kind of reminds me of this trope that I often see in various shoujo anime/manga, where the popular guy gets fawned over by all the girls in a school, but the second one girl asks him out and the guy dates her, the fangirls bully and gang up on the girl for daring to even so much as say hello to him, which is often a reflection of how Japan expects people to socially fall in line, and how any deviation from the norm, intentional or not, is met with scorn.

Well I am drawing inspiration from Japan's social expectations, although I'm not going as far as to perfectly emulate it. But, yeah, if it reminds you of that, that's probably why.

I really hope Lux comes back and that every single person at the gym gets their comeuppance.

You'll find out as the fic rolls on!

*And there's the hole in Kallisto's armor of apparently perfection; he needs to be the ace so much he doesn't want someone below him in the Gym outdoing him in any way.

Well, it's not that. It's more innocuous rather than ego-driven, I'll say that for now. This is part of why I mentioned I was having a bit of trouble with the chapter. I didn't want Kallisto to full on turn irredeemable jackass here, as big a swerve as this was.

*Oh crud, he KO'd the poor kid. I suspected he wouldn't be as flawless as he seemed but damn.

He didn't mean to hit Nori. And then knocking him out was more of a panicked reaction than a conscious decision. Still, he did knock Nori out.

*And Volkner is finally starting to pull through.

He may be a jerk, but he still knows right from wrong.

*Cripes, Nidorina's gonna murder the Gym trainers, isn't she?

Just wait until next chapter.

*Okay...so I'm starting to wonder if the claim Volkner's mood is because of Flint is either a lie or only partly true and he's actually had trouble with Kallisto before but can't do anything about it because of his darling reputation. I even wonder if maybe the reason he was so unhappy to be stuck training Nori is because he was expecting him to be another Kallisto (who seems to be a full on narcissist).

A good question. I can say that his reaction at the start was in-part because Nori was a cheery borderline genki boy, and Volkner is ever the serious type.

*Where is Lux?

A curious question indeed.

Seems to be approaching a boiling point; the tension is getting high. I'm definitely intrigued to see what happens next!

Look forward to it after edits and a bit more progress in the backlog! Aside on that, working on April 1st's events, on April 1st. Pretty meta. (Also April 2nd. Also also something in late May).

 

[System Error]

March of Flux (second part)
March 3rd, 2015​

There were only two pieces of good news to come from the incident. First, if Nori did have a concussion, it was very minor. He didn't feel any of the ill effects as before. More importantly, while Volkner made it clear that he wasn't going to do anything about Kallisto and the other Gym Trainers, he was understanding. The boy had been given all of yesterday off, and today he was allowed to train as he saw fit.

The training room in Sunyshore Gym had a number of features and machines to help Pokemon practice. There were durable punching bags to test attacks, which included ones on the walls which could be set to move. There was also, among other things, some treadmills, an automatic jump rope, various heavy objects for pushing or lifting, a giant spring-loaded boxing glove, and this strange device where the Pokemon could pull a rope attached to a scale to test its strength. The far side of the room had balance beams, climbing bars, and other gymnastics equipment. It also served as a parkour course for more agile Pokemon.

The only thing it didn't have was a proper battlefield, but a place down the hall allowed for sparring. Also within the other room was a device that launched tennis balls or baseballs to practice endurance and evasion.

Nori had decided to do some quiet training with Nidorina. They still needed to get their new move down, after all. As he sent out the teal beast, the first thing she did was stretch after having been in the ball for the last two days. As she was doing so, she took notice of his arm, looking at it suspiciously. The boy sighed.

"Kallisto broke it." Immediately, all her bristles stood up on end. The Demon growled and hissed. She seemed moments away from going out and finding him, when Nori raised a hand. "Not now," he said. "We're going to practice the move he gave us. And someday, beat him with it."

Nori immediately realized how stupid that was. But it was enough for her. She grinned dementedly and nodded. Nidorina marched over and stood several meters away from one of the punching bags. Nori gave her a nod, and she tensed up. Attempting to execute the attack, to no success.

She'd done so before. "Remember, focus your energy. Internalize it. Or uh, something." Nori rubbed the nape of his neck, awkwardly. Nidorina again tensed. This time, a small burst of electricity emerged from her body after several seconds. The boy shook his head. That was too slow to execute, and nowhere near how quick Shock Wave should be. The attack proper is blindingly fast, near impossible to avoid.

Nidorina tried again after a moment. This was a bit quicker to come out, and a bit faster, but nowhere near enough. "Keep trying," he encouraged. Maybe practice really did make perfect.

---​

After twenty minutes of this, Nidorina was worn out. She'd been improving, but glacially. "I don't get it," Nori muttered. He couldn't help but wonder. "Are we doing it wrong?" He thought that by mimicking how she used to use Poison Sting, that might help. Was there a better way to perform it? Or did they really need to keep using it until it was perfected? No one was going to help him with this, so he had to figure it out himself.

"Do you have any ideas?" Nori asked. His Pokemon shook her head. "That's fine. Take a break for now." He brought her back, slipping the capsule in his pocket. He wasn't used to keeping them on his right. He was getting a little used to using his non-dominant hand, but it remained awkward.

Nori mused something. Pachirisu was an Electric type. Maybe he could help her use an Electric move? If she'd listen, that is. In any case, it seemed prudent to get some practice in with the squirrel.

"Hey kid! Think fast!"

"What?" Nori turned to see a tennis ball headed right for him! He jumped aside in time, only for the sudden motion to dislodge his arm from the sling. "Ow, ow, OWWW!" Searing pain shot through the entire limb. He forced it against his body, momentarily clutching it with his other hand. He managed, albeit awkwardly, to get it back in its holster.

There was snickering behind him. He furiously turned to see Ollie, Tono, and Eddie standing in the doorway. "You!" he screamed. He tore Nidorina's Great Ball from his pocket and reeled back. "I'm gonna kic–"

Ollie threw up his arms in defense. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey!" he stated in a panic. "Relax! Chill, man, chill!"

Tono nodded. "We simply came to see what you were doing." His calm did more to infuriate Nori than Eddie's smug grin or Ollie's sudden cowardice.

The boy grit his teeth and contorted his eyebrows as hard as he could. He was half-tempted to sic the raging Demon on them anyway, regardless of consequence. His better judgment prevailed. He lowered his arm, but squeezed the Demon's ball tightly. "Where's your leader?" he mockingly inquired. "And shouldn't you be down in the Gym waiting in case there's challengers?"

"We got the time," replied Eddie. "Besides, there is a challenger. That guy from Alola, remember him? Kallisto's about to fight him again."

What guy from Alola? Wait, that's right. Nori remembered. That veteran who he first saw in January. From what Nori understood, most Gyms have an informal rule where if you fail to defeat the Gym Leader or qualify, you need to wait a certain amount of time before challenging again. It was a week last time, but over a month now. If he lost again - and Nori was hoping he didn't - what would happen to his Gym challenge?

"Yeah!" said Ollie. "And Volkner said you have to watch it!"

The bespectacled teen nodded. "That is why we came to get you."

Nori glared at them. "Really?" he asked. He didn't believe this for a second. "Because Volkner said I could train how I wanted today."

"Did too!" Ollie fired back. "He said you have to listen to us!"

"So did he say I have to watch, or that I have to listen to you? Which is it?"

"It's uh, both! Obviously!"

The hefty teen grinned proudly. Nori put his free hand on his hip. Even the other two Gym Trainers stared at him in disappointment behind his back. He finally turned around after several seconds and saw their blank expressions. Eddie pressed a hand to his forehead.

"You're a terrible liar, tub 'o goo," he said, shaking his head.

The pudgy teen stomped a foot twice. "Damn it! But what I can do is challenge you to a battle!" He pointed at Nori and reached for his belt. "You can't say no to that!"

"Fine! That's just what I was hoping you'd say!" He cast the ball down in front of him. As soon as the emerging Nidorina saw who was before her, she roared fiercely and crouched, as if ready to pounce. "I'm ready, and so is the Demon!"

Eddie's eyes bulged. Ollie took a step back in horror. Tono gasped, but covered his mouth as not to show it. There was pure death in his Pokemon's eyes, and probably his to some extent as well. Saliva was dripping from her fangs as she snapped in their direction. Ollie again raised his hands in defense. "I-I meant later! Not right now!" With this he turned on his heels and scurried off while screaming.

"Hmph." Tono took a bold step forward, though his legs were shaking. He haughtily adjusted his glasses. "Might I remind you if you or your beast injure our Pokemon intentionally, you will be held liable."

"So are you stepping up to fight us?" And of course he wouldn't have Nidorina injure their Pokemon. Intentionally.

Tono shook his head dismissively. "I have better things to be doing than facing brutes like you." With these parting words, he too abdicated the training room. Leaving only one person.

"What about you?" he asked Eddie.

The dark-skinned teen took a deep breath. Showing more genuine nerve than Tono. "Nah, you were right. We were sneaking off to mess with ya. Don't have the time for one." Nori wasn't sure how to feel about him being honest about it. No, shameless seemed like a better way to describe his attitude. "Sure you don't want to see this battle, though? Gonna be a good one. We actually got a good crowd, even though it ain't exhibition day."

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Relax, kid. Jeez." Eddie shook his head. "Do what you want, then."

When he left too, Nori finally let it out. He growled, nearly roared in frustration. "Damn it!" Why would they ever think he'd care about Kallisto? Nori already didn't like watching the head Gym Trainer's battles, but after what he did? You couldn't pay him a million P to care! If Nori had it his way, he'd never have to see him again. So he'd do anything to see him as little as possible.

His Pokemon turned to him. "We'll get them back for this, someday," Nori assured. She chuckled devilishly, brandishing a claw. She made it clear what she would do if left unchecked. For once, Nori couldn't blame her.

##########​

March 4th, 2015​

"It is done."

Nori had the morning off school on Wednesday, in order to get his cast. They went to the same doctor as before, much to the boy's chagrin. Thankfully, there were no complications in getting the cast itself. It went from above his elbow to his knuckles, also wrapping around his thumb. The entire thing was set and solid.

Dr. Trompé stood over the boy. "Now, there are a few rules you will need to follow with this cast," he stated, almost in a scolding fashion. "Keep it elevated for the next few days. Keep wiggling your fingers so they remain active. Keep it clean. Do not put anything in it. Do not remove it yourself." Well, duh! Those last three were obvious. "Above all else, do not get it wet."

At this point, Nori chimed in. "But then how do I take showers?"

"You will take baths."

"There's no baths where I live!"

There was a brief pause. "Then I guess you will stink." The doctor guffawed, in an annoying manner. The boy glowered, stood to his feet, and stormed off.

"Just call right away if you feel numbness or pain, or if it starts to bleed or smell!"

The boy hoped he wouldn't have to. He walked out into the lobby to meet Volkner, who was engrossed in a car magazine. The Gym Leader didn't notice him until he cleared his throat.

Volkner glanced up. "Looks good."

"Thanks, I guess." It was a compliment, but Nori wasn't sure what to make of it. "Stupid doctor," he openly vented. "Says I have to take baths, but we only have showers."

The Gym Leader considered this for a moment. "I'll uh, guess I'll get you a cast cover tonight."

Nori blinked. A cast cover? He assumed that was something to keep it dry. Volkner would buy that for him? His next, "Thank you," was more genuine than the previous.

The blond man folded his magazine and stood. He carefully placed it into his back pocket and scratched his cheek. "Want, uh...to get the day off school?"

He shook his head. "No, I want to go."

---​

Nori again arrived during lunch hour. Again, he questioned various students as to whether Lux had come in that day. The answer was no. As he was about to set off to look for himself, just to be sure, he was accosted by someone.

"Lookin' for your boyfriend?" came the taunting voice of Spike.

Nori turned and glared. "What?!"

The spiky-haired boy smirked. "Past week, all it's been from you is Lux this, Lux that."

Nori cut in with threatening words. "Don't piss me off right now. Not in the mood."

"Or what? What're you gonna do?" he said with a laugh and grin. "Softy with a broken arm."

Nori stepped towards the bully, only to be met with a right hook. As he was reeling from the cheap shot, Spike shoved him away. Nori stumbled away, barely managing to stay upright.

He glared up at his advancing oppressor. Nori threw a quick right jab, that Spike easily caught and blocked. He squeezed the hand and punched with his left, catching Nori on the ear as he turned his head. But the chestnut-haired boy kicked Spike in the knees. The bully took a step back, releasing his grip and going for a right hook. But Nori was faster.

He lashed out with his left arm, clocking Spike in the face with his cast. The bully went down like a ton of bricks, unmoving.

The boy stood there, seething. So much had happened these past few days. So much to upset him. So much to make him mad. He lashed out, kicking his unconscious attacker in the ribs several times. He was about to get down and pummel him for good measure, when he froze up.

Nori stood there in a half-squat, cognizant of what he was doing. He couldn't help but snort at the irony. Here he was, beating down a defenseless opponent. Just like the Demon used to. She'd probably get a kick out of hearing about this. His moment of humor quickly faded. He wasn't defending himself against Spike at this point. He was taking his frustrations out on him. That wasn't right.

"Teacher!" came a shout, much as the last time this happened. Sure enough, one was marching over.

The watching kids scattered. Nori took a deep breath as he stood straight. It wasn't too late to run away, but he decided to remain to face this.

The orange-haired man looked to him, and down at Spike. The bully was starting to stir. "What happened here?!" he demanded.

Nori considered how to answer this question, ultimately shrugging. "Spike picked a fight and lost." He calmly left after giving the honest truth. The teacher sputtered, but didn't otherwise protest this or stop him. The boy glanced at the dazed Spike as he walked away. He felt a little bad, but it was hard to regret his actions.

Lux as his boyfriend. Nori smiled to himself. He could get why people would think that, given how close they were and all the hugging they did. It'd be something fun to tell Lux about, once he got back. If he ever got back.

##########​

March 6th, 2015​

Aside from being called into the principal's office after lunch, Nori got into no trouble from that incident. Once he explained that Spike provoked and attacked him, they took his side. Knowing there was some justice in the world helped his mood a bit. He tried to take the opportunity to ask the principal about Lux, but was dismissed without getting an answer.

His friend failed to show up on Thursday or Friday. Nori felt helpless. He didn't know where Lux lived, and everything he tried was met with a non-answer or only raised more questions. What was worse, this wasn't the first friend who had suddenly left his life.

That was Claris Willins, a child actress he met in first grade. Despite their social differences, they were still the best of friends. She seemed to even be considering being more than friends. One day she asked him to go on a journey with her. He refused, and that was all it took. Because he worded it wrong. Because he wouldn't stand by his friend. Because he was being stupid. Because of all that, she ran off that night to go on a journey alone. That one incident shattered their friendship forever.

He'd driven her away. Did he do something to drive Lux away? He couldn't say he hadn't. In fact, he had an idea of what it could've been if so: Jamie and her friends. Lux was overwhelmed by it. What if he was worried he liked them more than him? Or that he was going to stop being his friend because of what they or anyone else said? What if he was annoyed at dragging him into it? No no, that was ridiculous. But what if it was true? Or something like it? What if he wasn't enough of a friend to Lux?

He had all these questions, and no answers. And it was stressing him out.

---​

The situation at the Gym was comparatively as calm as it could have been on Wednesday and Thursday. Nori avoided the Gym Trainers entirely on both days, by staying on the upper floors and going inside his room whenever he heard them coming upstairs.

Doing so again proved impossible on Friday. When Nori returned from school, he found Kallisto waiting for him outside the Gym. One way for them to find him.

"Hello, Carino," he greeted in a subdued voice.

"What?" he spat, dripping with as much venom as a Muk.

"You've been avoiding us the past few days."

"Well, duh. You should know why."

Kallisto continued on, ignoring his remark. "I heard what happened with the guys on Tuesday too."

The boy threw up his arms. "And I heard you beat that guy again on Tuesday. Same as always, Mr. Perfect. Can I go in now?" He went to go around, but Kallisto matched his steps and blocked his path.

"I wanted to talk to you about a few things. Is that all right?" No, it was not all right! Nori turned around and walked off, but the head Gym Trainer followed him. "How long are you going to keep being this way? You've been acting...well." He drummed his fingers along his arm. "Kind of immature? A bit self-destructive, too. You're hurting yourself by doing this. At the very least, it's not helping anything. And, well. Some of us have been worried about you, too."

He had a concerned tone. If he was faking it, he was a good actor. Not that Nori cared if he did or not. Kallisto glanced upwards before leveling at him. "I know it's painful, but you need to learn when to let things go."

Nori fired a glare at him. "You think things can be cool? After what you did, you can piss right off forever!"

He stomped by the taller boy, this time getting around and into the Gym. Kallisto followed in behind, talking the whole way. "You have every right to be upset. That said, you shouldn't hold a grudge. It's unhealthy. You'll be living with anger and resentment the whole time, unable to focus on anything else. It's just going to cause you stress, and even distract you from more important things."

Nori stopped in the stairwell area. He glared up at the ceiling. Did this guy ever shut up? He was half-tempted to tell him to shut up outright. The only reason he didn't do so was because he felt it'd be a waste of breath.

"Like it or not, we're going to be training together as long as the two of us are here. And with me that's going to be for a year at least, likely longer for the others. You can't go on avoiding and being mad at us that entire time. Do you understand that much at least?"

The boy took a deep breath. "Sure," he grumbled through gritted teeth. If only to get him off his case. He could concede one thing. He couldn't go on avoiding them, but that didn't mean he still couldn't be angry.

"There you go." Kallisto reached out to pat him on the back, but Nori lurched away. "We all make mistakes. Learning to accept others' is just as important as accepting your own." The head Gym Trainer clapped his hands. "So! Want to train with us today?"

"I'm still training on by myself, as long as Volkner lets me." Nori started to move, stopping after only two steps. He raised his cast. "And I also need to keep practicing writing with my right hand."

For a moment it appeared Kallisto was about to say more, but he kept quiet. His lip curled a bit, maybe in regret. Good. Nori went upstairs, and the head Gym Trainer did nothing to stop him.

##########​

March 8th, 2015​

Nori spent much of Saturday away from the Gym. He spent the day exploring Sunyshore, like he used to with Veilstone. It was a much bigger city with different sights to see. Most of all he wanted to see that lighthouse, but it was on the other side of town. He even got in a bit of training from people challenging him. He was hoping he would chance into seeing Lux or someone else he knew, but there was no such luck. The boy returned at sunset and went straight to his room from there.

He got up earlier than usual on Sunday, at around 6:30am. He planned the same routine for today, although he considered doing some training of his own when he was out. He looked to the electric squirrel, who was quietly snoring on his desk. His Pachirisu was a very heavy sleeper.

His task to train the Pokemon hadn't once slipped his mind. It was just difficult to get battle experience against the Gym Trainers, and the equipment couldn't substitute for practical experience. The answer was to fight trainers closer to its skill level, and he could only do that by heading out.

Just after 7am, there was a knock at his door. Nori had been quietly sitting and thinking as so not to disturb his Pokemon; the most noise he had made was breathing and getting dressed. He opened the door to see the Gym Leader standing in the hallway.

"Hey," the blond man greeted. Nori sat back down on the bed, allowing Volkner to step inside. He scanned the room. "Your room's clean," he remarked.

"Of course," Nori said, noticing his Pokemon stretching. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Bad at small talk." Good. To Nori, it was dirty rooms that were dumb. How could people live that way? Volkner shuffled his feet. He eyed the chair, but instead leaned against the door frame. "How...are you?"

"Still pretty bad," Nori admitted.

"I see. How's um, that cast cover?"

"It works, thank you." It was a green waterproof sleeve, coincidentally his favorite color. He tried it out yesterday, and it kept his arm completely dry as he showered. Nori still gave it a blow-dry just to be on the safe side.

"Good."

Volkner looked away, scratching his cheek. Sideburns were starting to grow, although Nori knew it'd only be a matter of time before the Gym Leader shaved them. When he didn't say anything for half a minute, Nori took the initiative and asked a question. "Why won't you do anything about Kallisto?" This had been on his mind for the past few days.

A shake of the head. "I can't."

"Why not?!"

Nori's shouting roused his Pokemon. The squirrel's head darted around in a frenzy, cheeks sparking. He relaxed when he saw it was only Volkner and his trainer in here. He hopped down and went over to the blond man. Volkner gave the blue and white Pokemon a light pat as he elaborated, "You can't dismiss someone without grounds. With him, it'd be even worse. Career suicide."

"But if you know he's been doing things like this–"

"He hasn't done anything like this before."

He huffed. That figured. If Kallisto had a nasty side though, shouldn't it have come out in other ways? It didn't make sense. There had to be more to this. Pachirisu hopped into his lap. The squirrel snuggled into him, but the cute gesture didn't do much to cheer Nori up. "What's his deal?" he asked, lightly holding his Pokemon. "All this because he doesn't want me with girls?"

Volkner looked up at the ceiling. He gave it thought before answering. "Kallisto is under a lot of pressure. He's made some rash decisions because of it. And some conscious ones." Nori was about to ask about the last part, when Volkner named an example himself. "The past year or so, whenever a very strong trainer has come to the Gym, he's always been the Gym Trainer who stepped up to challenge them. It's his way of bettering himself and staying sharp. And you've seen how his battles go."

He did. Most were one-sided routs. One time he took down a challenger in a three-on-three battle using only his pink Ampharos. Another time he used only three Pokemon to win a full battle: Raitora, Ampharos, and something-zolt. He forgot its exact name, but it was this feathery dinosaur Pokemon, Rock/Electric type apparently. Even his ‘weaker’ Pokemon like Oricorio were powerful. Only once did Nori see one of Kallisto's Pokemon go down without defeating something first: an old guy's Machamp powered through his Porygon-2's Psychics. Before losing to that dinosaur, but still.

Nori understood the implications behind this, too. He sighed. "He just never loses."

"Never in two years."

Two years of crushing the dreams of would-be League challengers. Purposefully or not. "Why is this okay?"

"Because there's nothing wrong with going all out. You should in any battle."

Passing it off as just part of battling. That's exactly what Nori hated about competitive people. Some people take it way too seriously. But wait. If Volkner said that...? Nori pointed at him accusingly. "So he picked it up from you?! Did you teach him that?"

The blond man winced. He mumbled something under his breath while shaking his head in derision. "Yes. You're not the first I was asked to train. That was Kallisto. But he would've picked that up himself anyway. Talent's in his blood. I can say he's already better than me."

"So if he's so great, why doesn't he leave and challenge the League?" The boy took on a sarcastic tone with his next words. "Beat all the Gyms? Beat the gloriously hot Champion?"

"He's waiting until he graduates high school for that. At the earliest."

Nori wanted to say something about that, but he couldn't. Not without being a hypocrite, at least. Part of why Nori justified to himself not wanting anything to do with Pokemon was because of school. He could relate to Kallisto there. And he hated that.

The Gym Leader walked over. He seemed as if he was about to sit beside him, before delivering his words while standing. "You can't do anything about this, so stop worrying." Immediately, he scratched his cheek. "Sorry if that...comes off a bit harsh."

The boy groaned, leaning back on the bed. "Honestly, he's not what I'm most worried about right now."

The Gym Leader didn't reply, but looked on as if say he was listening. With this, Nori got into it. "It's my friend, Lux. The purple-haired boy I brought here a couple times? He just vanished. He's not missing or anything, at least I don't think so. He left in the middle of lunch one day at school, and hasn't been back since. I don't know what happened, and it's frustrating. And concerning."

Pachirisu seemed to gasp at this. His Pokemon tried to hug him, but couldn't get his arms around. Nori held the squirrel closer as he continued. "What if it was something I said or did? What if he's been kidnapped or something? Losing him's bad enough, but not knowing's even worse! I don't care what happened, I just want to know what happened!"

Quiet followed. Volkner's expression hadn't changed. The boy was slightly irritated by this. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I don't know what to say," was the reply. Volkner looked away. "I can say I'm sorry, but, well..."

He'd said that a lot the past few days, and the sentiment didn't really change things. The boy sighed. "Thanks anyway..."

It did confirm one thing. Volkner wasn't as aloof as he thought. He did care, in his own way. He'd been proving that over the past few days. Knowing that much gave Nori some hope that he could come out the other end of this training.

The Gym Leader spoke up. "You okay to continue next week?"

"Well, tests are next week."

A nod. "Right."

"I should probably try to get back into training. Maybe it'll be a distraction from all that's going on. After tests, of course."

Volkner considered something. "Your friend might show up for them."

Nori blinked. That's right. "You're right! He has to if he wants to pass sixth grade, doesn't he? I forgot all about that!" How could he be so stupid?! A lot happening that made something so obvious slip his mind, but that was no excuse. He slapped his own forehead.

"That cheered me up. Thanks so much for reminding me, Mist-err..." Right, no formalities. "Volkner! Just Volkner, right?"

The Gym Leader tried to hide his smile, but Nori saw it. He heard a light chuckle, too. "Don't sweat it." He glanced at the door. "You should get going soon."

"Yes. I'll try to get some more practice with Pachirisu when I'm out." The squirrel wagged his tail, crawling onto the boy's shoulder. Nori didn't mind him doing this once in a while. He still preferred the squirrel to walk though, as it was good exercise. And didn't look as stereotypical. "Let's get breakfast and head out."

 

[Daren]

*Ah, glad to see Nidorina understands the best revenge is living well served cold.
*Having Pachirisu help learn Shock Wave sounds like a good idea.
*The Gym Trainers really do suck. No wonder Volkner is always grumpy; I'd be annoyed if I was stuck training these jackasses, too.
*Ollie lies about as well as a vaudeville character.
*Ah, good old Nidorina. Hoping she keeps herself under control so Nori doesn't have more problems.
*Volkner is trying, he really is.
*And Spike tries to sign a cheque he can't cash. Can't look good getting clobbered by the kid in a cast.
*Okay, usually Pokémon are meant to being taking after their trainers, Nori. Not the other way around.
*As I suspected, Kallisto's too popular for Volkner to touch.
*Pachirisu is so sweet.
*"something-zolt" Oh lord he has a Galar fossil.
*Hmmm...so Kallisto wants to finish school then do the standard badge quest. Although something tells me Kallisto's not quite on the level of beating Cynthia yet. We'll see, though--I'm not sure if your fic goes by the games where there's a fairly small gulf between the top Gym Leaders and the champion or if there's a really big one like in some adaptations.
If nothing else an electric-type specialist, even a good one, is gonna be in for a bad day with Garchomp and Roserade.
*Volkner pointing out Lux should show up for the tests is a good point but I have an uneasy feeling that he'll still be missing.

Not much to add, but I'm still really liking this story and its ability to build tension.

 

[Juliko]

I'm with Nori in regards to not trusting the gym trainers after the stunt they pulled, Kallisto included. In fact, Kallisto talking to Nori makes him come across as even more hypocritical than in the last chapter. He claims Nori is acting immature and letting his emotions get the better of him, but he's the one who let his own emotions get the better of him, and the fact that he demanded that Nori not get a girlfriend just because he claims it'll make him look bad is in and of itself immature, so he technically has no right to claim the moral high ground. I am glad to see Volkner at least trying to change his tune with Nori and be more supportive of him, considering his previous attitude really annoyed the hell out of me before. Here's hoping more progress is made, and I can't wait to read more! Also echoing the stuff Daren mentioned above.

 

[System Error]

*Ah, glad to see Nidorina understands the best revenge is living well served cold.

*Ah, good old Nidorina. Hoping she keeps herself under control so Nori doesn't have more problems.

Heh heh heh...

*The Gym Trainers really do suck. No wonder Volkner is always grumpy; I'd be annoyed if I was stuck training these jackasses, too.

Probably part of the reason, yes, although he's much more able to push back against their antics.

*And Spike tries to sign a cheque he can't cash. Can't look good getting clobbered by the kid in a cast.

Not considering Nori in fact had a weapon of sorts.

*Okay, usually Pokémon are meant to being taking after their trainers, Nori. Not the other way around.

Nori and the Demon have a very unique relationship, as evident in how they battle together. Isn't it only natural that she would rub off on him just a bit? This was unintentional but I may run with it because it's perfect

*As I suspected, Kallisto's too popular for Volkner to touch.

Under normal circumstances, anyway.

*Pachirisu is so sweet.

Quite a contrast to Nori's other Pokemon, isn't it? Very fun to write.

*"something-zolt" Oh lord he has a Galar fossil.

Worse: he has a Galar fossil that Cara Liss didn't get her hands on. I wasn't sure how to get that across with just the description of it being a feathery dinosaur, hence mentioning its type.

*Hmmm...so Kallisto wants to finish school then do the standard badge quest. Although something tells me Kallisto's not quite on the level of beating Cynthia yet. We'll see, though--I'm not sure if your fic goes by the games where there's a fairly small gulf between the top Gym Leaders and the champion or if there's a really big one like in some adaptations.
If nothing else an electric-type specialist, even a good one, is gonna be in for a bad day with Garchomp and Roserade.

I'll get to the first part when it's relevant. As for specialists, he does have others not of those type, and specialists are very prepared to handle type disadvantages.

*Volkner pointing out Lux should show up for the tests is a good point but I have an uneasy feeling that he'll still be missing.

Well you hopefully won't have to wait long to find out!

I'm with Nori in regards to not trusting the gym trainers after the stunt they pulled, Kallisto included. In fact, Kallisto talking to Nori makes him come across as even more hypocritical than in the last chapter. He claims Nori is acting immature and letting his emotions get the better of him, but he's the one who let his own emotions get the better of him, and the fact that he demanded that Nori not get a girlfriend just because he claims it'll make him look bad is in and of itself immature, so he technically has no right to claim the moral high ground.

I'm actually doing something VERY interesting by doing this and with that scene with Kallisto, kind of a meta commentary and aversion to certain things. Let's see if you can figure out what it is before I all but confirm it.

I am glad to see Volkner at least trying to change his tune with Nori and be more supportive of him, considering his previous attitude really annoyed the hell out of me before.

What was unintentional, however: how this lined up. Trading off from being supportive and jerks. Happy little accident, as it were.

 

[System Error]

March of Flux (third part)
March 9th, 2015​

Nori studied as much as he could before his tests given the circumstances he was in. He made sure to get to school and enter the classroom as late as possible on Monday. He arrived with two minutes to spare, with everyone already presented and seated.

Everyone, that is, except Lux.

His face dropped. Why? Why wasn't he here? It was tests. He had to be here and he wasn't. Lost, the boy wandered over to his teacher for answers.

"Mrs. DeWood?"

The blonde woman glared at him. "Sit down."

"What happens if a student isn't here for the tests?"

"They get a zero. Sit down."

Nori did not sit down. "What about Lux? Did he do them already?"

"Yes, now sit down!"

Nori scowled. "You don't have to be so rude."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sitting down." He earned a few laughs from the class for that. He was beginning to dislike this teacher. At least the next few days would be the last he saw of her.

Could Lux have done the tests already? It was just a crazy thought he blurted and the teacher confirmed, but she could easily just have said that to satisfy him. Or maybe his grades were good enough to pass without? This was his last chance to get answers about what happened, and he got nothing. Nori was worried, fearful even.

He knew that he couldn't let it bother him for now. Of course, it was easy to say this and hard to do it. Not just Lux, but the situation with Kallisto was on his mind. And how good was his writing going to be? He couldn't write with his left, not with his cast constraining his fingers. And no matter how much he practiced using his right, it was still awkward.

"Focus on this for now, Nori," he said to himself. "Nothing to do but do it." Literature, Social Studies, and Math today followed by Arts, Language, and Science tomorrow. One day break, and then report cards on Thursday.

He glanced to the left by habit, once more seeing an empty seat. He was going to keep doing this by reflex, and be reminded of his friend's absence every time.

##########​

March 12th, 2015​

The 12th was Nori's final day of sixth grade, and was only a half day. Part of it was some basic orientation on what to expect next year. The other was about getting report cards. He got As in Math, Language, and PE, and Bs in everything else. The highest B was Social Studies, and the lowest was Art. The boy frowned. He had a feeling his grades were slipping because of all the stress and battle stuff getting in the way, yet seeing it confirmed was no less disappointing. He also had to wonder, how much of that was from poor penmanship on his tests? More than once he had to erase and rewrite his answers when even he couldn't read what he put down. Could they have gotten confused and marked him wrong in places?

The walk back was solemn and lonely. It was a relief to be returning to the Gym, at least until he found the Gym Trainers were gathered in the lobby. Not who he wanted to see. Ollie was prancing around and waving his gut, much to Kallisto's amusement and the other two's annoyance.

"Oh yeah! I'm the man! You're the can! It takes a plan! It's raisin bran! I'm better than!" He twirled around and pointed at Eddie. "Yoooouuuuu!"

The dark-skinned teen lashed out with a shove, but Ollie deftly dodged. Nori had to admit, that was funny. They noticed him at that moment.

"Yo, yo, yo, Ca-ri-no!" Somebody was happy. It was infectious enough that the boy actually cracked a smile. The large teen bounded over and flashed his report card. "Check it out, man! I passed ninth grade!" With this Ollie reared back his arm. With a snap, he extended it and contorted his fingers into a claw shape. "And Eddie FAILED!" He said the last word in a comically low yet enthusiastic tone.

"Shut the fuck up, tub 'o goo!"

The pudgy teen did not let this deter him, continuing to taunt Eddie with dance. Nori had to admit, his choreography was pretty good. An irritated Tono harrumphed, pushing up his glasses. "And what letter grades did you get?"

Ollie paused, sheepishly. "Well, I passed!"

"Idiot." Tono stood proudly. "Straight As, with honors. Twelfth grade awaits me."

"Same here," said Kallisto.

"Why am I not surprised," Nori muttered. Of course Kallisto would be an honors student too. "Well, I passed sixth grade."

"So why the fuck you so down, kid?" Eddie bitterly snapped.

The boy sighed. He didn't really want to talk about this with them of all people. Yet no one else was listening, cared, or didn't know how to feel. He huffed, considering actually telling them. There was no way they could make it worse, right?

"My friend, Lux. He's been gone since..." He paused. His thoughts scattered, he restarted his sentence. "My friend Lux ran off at lunch hour last Thursday in February, and I haven't seen or heard from him since. I don't know what happened to him. I thought he'd be back for tests, but..."

Ollie stopped prancing, a concerned look washing over him. "O-oh, sorry to hear." Of all the Gym Trainers, he (of all people...) was the only sympathetic one. Tono's expression didn't change, Kallisto shook his head, and Eddie only got madder.

"Fuckin' pansy piece of shit."

Nori clenched a fist and took a step forward. "Say that again!"

"Carino," Kallisto interposed between them. He wasn't angry, but his expression was no-nonsense. He began to speak. "In life, you're going to meet a lot of people. You're going to have to say bye to a lot of people too. This is especially going to hold true if you ever decide to go on a journey."

Nori rolled his eyes. That's one of the many reasons he would never do so.

Kallisto continued to lecture him, his tone far softer than the boy was expecting. "I know you and him were good friends. Heard how he even saved you at that water park you went to on your school trip. But your life shouldn't revolve around one person. You're seeing what happens when it does and that person suddenly isn't there anymore."

"That's just it!" he cut in. "Why's he not here anymore?! That's what I want to know!"

Kallisto remained composed in spite of his interruption. "You're not listening, and you didn't let me finish."

"You're not listening either! He just vanished without telling me anything! That's not normal!"

Of all the people to speak up next, Nori was not expecting it to be Ollie. "Was he kidnapped?" the hefty teen asked.

This was so much that the boy had to do a double take. He blinked, his arms going slack. He silently gasped. Ollie, freaking Ollie was being sympathetic? Not just that, but showing a genuine interest in the situation? "No," he managed to get out, moments before it seemed Kallisto was going to start talking again. "At least, not going by the news. I don't think he's missing. It makes me even more worried though." He sighed. "What did happen?"

Eddie's patience had been evaporating all the while. His brow furrowed. He clenched his fists. He grit his teeth. Finally, he exploded. "If you're so whiny and worried, why don't you just look him up and ask him, then?!"

Again, Nori blinked. "That's...look him up? That...that could work!"

"Fuckin' really? You ain't thought of that before?"

"No, I didn't!" Volkner told him to look up his mom and Maylene once, but he didn't think to do it for Lux. He didn't consider it was possible to do this!

"Dumbshit." Eddie flipped the bird. "I'm crackin' open the beer and workin' out. No one bother me." Everyone watched as he stomped off down the hallway.

The boy exhaled, shuffling his feet. "Um, how do I look him up, though?" Nori did have some reservations along with his uncertainty. Lux never told him where he lived. Even if it was because of his parents, finding out for himself felt a bit...weird? Invasive? Still, he'd do anything at this point!

The head Gym Trainer placed a palm to his forehead. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He did answer regardless, begrudgingly. "There's a phone book in the lounge. It has numbers and addresses in it. It's sorted by last name, so that can narrow your options, at least."

"All right." Nori took a deep breath. He savored it for several long seconds. For the first time, he felt truly optimistic about this. "Tell Eddie I said thank you. He gave me that idea, even if it wasn't on purpose." He really did mean that.

Tono pushed up his glasses, unamused with this entire situation. Kallisto's reply was deadpan. "That'd just make him madder."

Ollie on the other hand, chortled and saluted. "Will do!"

The phone book. The Gym had some phones in it, but Nori felt it would be better to go in person tomorrow. Knowing Lux's parents, they'd probably just hang up on him if he called, if they picked up at all. Sure, he might get the door slammed in his face if he went in person, but it'd confirm things for sure! Come to think of it, what if Lux's parents were stopping him from going to school? Wouldn't that be illegal? Maybe he could do something about that if so!

Nori started down the hall. Good thing Eddie said he'd be exercising. As he entered the stairwell area, Volkner rounded the corner. He raised his wrist to get the boy's attention and walked up.

"Here." The Gym Leader thrust a manilla envelope into his right hand.

The boy inspected it. "What's this?"

"Graduation money."

Rashid got that once, but he was older and hitting a bigger milestone. "For sixth grade? Why?"

"Just take it," the blond man insisted. "You don't have an income source like the others do. So I just thought, you know...it could help you, and, um." He started to stumble over his words. He looked away, scratching his cheek. "Sorry. Not good at this sort of thing."

He understood the point, at least. "Thank you, M–" He caught himself. "Volkner." Again, he was doing something nice for him. That elevated the boy's mood even further. He almost went skipping away, when the Gym Leader spoke up.

"Spend it on something useful."

Nori nodded. "That's what I was planning. It'd be dumb if I just spent it on snacks and things that wouldn't last."

The boy walked off. He was halfway up the steps when Volkner called out to him again. "Hey."

He turned and folded his hands. "Is there something else?"

"You fine with going to Gama Memorial Junior High?"

"Uh, sure, but why there?"

"Closer. And easier." Volkner's eyes briefly flicked away. "The others all go there or the adjacent high school."

Ugh. Being around those jerks even more was the last thing he wanted. Even if it was just Eddie. Nori shut his eyes. He didn't like it, but he could tolerate it. "I guess I can do that."

"Thanks," the Gym Leader said with sincerity. So much that Nori was taken aback by it. As Volkner started to leave, he felt the need to speak up.

"Oh, one last thing while we're still here." His mentor stopped, glancing over his shoulder. "Sorry if I've been, you know, kind of a pain lately. Or well, in-general." The boy ruffled his hair. "I know you've been trying your best to teach me in your own way. I appreciate it, even if it does frustrate me sometimes."

There it was, he felt he had to say that. He wanted to make clear that he appreciated everything the Gym Leader was doing for him. Especially the past few weeks. There truly was good in him.

Volkner only gave the faintest of nods before leaving.

##########​

March 13th, 2015​

Nori knew what he wanted to do with the money as soon as he got it. Something useful? How about something that could last a while and improve his life? Transportation was the best thing that came to mind. As much as he did so, especially back in Veilstone, Nori knew walking everywhere wasn't always practical. It was slow, and you could only run for so long. He wasn't old enough to drive, and driving wouldn't always cut it. But there were other options!

The boy had seen a sports store off in the distance the few times he'd used the solar walkways, and he decided to go there. The snow was starting to melt; there were still piles of it in parking lots and in fields, but it was warm enough that the roads and sidewalks were clear. He'd be able to start using his new transportation immediately. His arm notwithstanding.

It took half an hour of walking to reach his destination, WyldSyde Sports. It was located at the far left side of a western-style strip mall, its green and white logo standing out like a Sudowood in the desert. To his chagrin, the fastest route went over a small strait. Going around it would take far too long. He had to encourage himself the whole while that the solar panels were sturdy and weren't going to suddenly break.

Nervousness washed over him as he stepped inside; his muscles were tense and his eyes were darting all over the place. Nori was athletic, but he wasn't an athlete. Plus he had a broken arm. What would they think of that?

"Alola, little dude," he was immediately welcomed by a man about two meters tall. He had shaved black hair, sunglasses propped on his forehead, and was dressed in a baby blue uniform that was a size too small. "What can I do you for?"

Nori rubbed an eye. Was he seeing that right? "Aren't you that lifeguard from the water park?" he decided to ask, just to be sure.

"Tonsen Land? Used to watch the waves there, yeah. But I got fired last month." So it was that stupid Billy Ordride moron! Serves him right for not doing his job! "Anyhow, you lookin' for anythin'?"

The lifeguard didn't recognize him. That was probably for the best. "I'm looking for something that'd be faster than walking. A thing I can ride around on, or something. Uh," Nori raised his cast. "Ignoring this."

The now-salesperson chuckled. "Broke your ride and arm bailin' out, bro?"

"No, I got in a fight," he admitted, although not specifying with who. He compounded it with a lie. "I broke the other guy's legs, though. Coming here now's just how time lined up."

"Came to the right place, then. We got bikes and boards over there. Skates too. Scooters if you're a lamer. What're you thinkin'?"

What was he thinking? Well, he didn't want to be lame. If he got a bike, he'd have to get a helmet too. Plus they're not compact. He heard there were folding ones that could fit in a bag, but they were really expensive. Rollerblades would take too long to put on, wouldn't work well anywhere but roads, and he'd need normal shoes if he wanted to go into any stores. So that just left one thing.

"A skateboard, I guess."

"Gnarly, man!" Ordride applauded him. "From your looks, didn't think you'd jump for that."

Nori narrowed his eyes. "What about my looks?"

"Nothin', nothin', just look the precious type." That again?! He was NOT precious-looking! The former lifeguard dismissed it and gestured to follow. "Come on, I'll show you the sickest boards we got."

A skateboard. He came to that conclusion by process of elimination. But maybe having this guy as a guide wasn't such a bad thing, Nori thought. He didn't know a thing about skateboards, so having someone to recommend him the right one would help. Even if he was a total weirdo.

He followed the man to the skateboarding section. As they stepped into an aisle, Nori found himself overwhelmed. So many boards! Which was the best one?

As he was trying to process things, Ordride went and grabbed a board with studded wheels and a complex decal. The top was red and white, and the bottom...he couldn't even describe the graffitied mess of colors in a vague humanoid shape. "I'd personally recommend the Evirsan brand. They're totally rad rides, straight outta our country. Mad stylish, and smooth like a glassy wave."

"Well–"

Ordride didn't give him a chance to speak, cutting in by pulling down another board. "Now if you're lookin' to be a regular Marty Mukuhawk, get the Columbary 8.125. It's the kind he rides." Nori couldn't tell the difference, aside from the tires and the design. The bottom of this board had a caricature of a skater and a Staravia.

"I–"

"But if you want to dick-drag, er, street luge, you need somethin' longer." The former lifeguard hurried over and got a third board. This one was nearly twice the length of the others, and featured a monstrous decal. It depicted something that didn't look so much as a Pokemon, as it did a demon lord towering over the ashes of a ruined city. "That's where you'll want somethin' like the Eternal Summer Shinigami. Perfect blend of safe and sick. Turns tight on any slope, too."

"I want something simple and practical!" Nori snapped. He got the feeling if he didn't do that, he'd see another six or seven of these before he got a chance to talk. "Compact, but durable. Something I can ride anywhere, like even off-road. I'm not looking to ride rad, or do tricks, or drag my dick, or whatever." Who would do that last one? That'd hurt!

Ordride sighed. He gave the boy the longest and most disappointed-in-him stare. "Whatever, clucked Barney."

"What does that even mean?" Nori muttered under his breath. And wasn't that a dinosaur?

The former lifeguard walked over to the end of the shelf. He reached all the way up to grab something. After getting it down, he threw it at Nori. With a yelp, the boy tried to catch it, only managing to bat it aside. It rolled across the floor, coming to a stop at the opposite shelf. "There you go. The SoBoard Volt. You can take it apart to store it, handles just fine anywhere, and got a high top speed."

Nori held it upright. It was a simple design, a plain black board. But with green wheels! His favorite color! He flipped it around to look at the underside, a plain cream color. It looked like this was made up of two pieces that snapped and held together. Perfect! He could take this anywhere!

"Thanks," he said. "How much is it?"

"About 20000P." Yeah, he'd have enough for that, and some left over even after the tax! "Sure you want it though, bro?"

"Yes, I am," Nori insisted. What was with this guy? "What's wrong with this?"

"Ridin' that'll make you look like a junkyard dog. Ain't an akaw board, know what I'm sayin'?"

"No? What do you even mean by any of that?"

"It just ain't cool, is what I'm sayin'. Strongly recommend the Columbary 8.125 for you, my dude."

Nori sighed in exasperation. "How is this board any worse than that board?"

"Here's the lowdown, bro." The former lifeguard placed down the skateboard he wanted him to buy in front of his feet. Was he actually going to do this right here in the store? "Now see, this one lets you kickflip easy–"

"ORDRIDE!"

"Oh, shit! I mean, crap!" He almost fell off the board as the manager appeared, glaring furiously at him. "I-I-I..." He threw his arms out, trying to play it cool and casual. "Mr. Manager, my man! I was just showing this little dude here–"

"I told you to be on greeting duty! What are you doing over here riding skateboards?!"

"Well, y'see, Mr. Manager, sir! I was just..."

Nori smiled at this as he walked away to pay for the board. Sure, it was a bit cruel. But he didn't have much reason to smile these days, so he'd take anything he could get.

---​

Nori spent about half an hour getting used to riding the skateboard outside the store. He'd seen plenty of kids on them, and mimicked what he saw them doing. Besides trying to do tricks with them, of course. Seemed like every kid he saw with a skateboard wanted to do tricks, and none of them were any good at doing so. He didn't have enough left over for a helmet, but he didn't need to wear one. Technically.

He also disassembled and reassembled the board once, just to see how it worked. It was surprisingly quick and easy to do, and with how it snapped and clipped together, there was no chance of it falling to pieces mid-ride.

When he felt he'd gotten enough practice, he set off for his next destination. There were a few moments where he had to halt by flipping the board up, and one time he lost his balance and nearly fell off. Still, it was working. This was already faster than walking. Nori was sure by the time he was better and more practiced, not to mention having his cast off, he'd be zipping all over the city with it.

There was only one set of Blomgrens listed in Sunyshore City's phone book. The shortest path there from the sports store happened to involve passing by the Gym. Unfortunately for him, the Gym Trainers happened to be outside on their own skateboards. That's right, they rode too. That hadn't even occurred to him. Nori was hoping he'd be able to make it by without them noticing, but they spotted him right away. All of them skated over, sans Ollie who was sitting and watching.

The three looked him over. Eddie smirked approvingly. "Wasn't expecting you to get a skateboard, kid."

"Me neither."

"What kind you get?"

"A board." What was its name again? He didn't care, let alone to talk to them for any longer than necessary. "Got it to get around faster."

Kallisto also smiled. What bothered Nori most was that it was genuine. "Well, I have to say, Carino. I'm impressed you're riding that with a broken arm."

Tono snorted, placing a hand on his hip. "I disagree that it's impressive. For one, his form is atrocious."

The head Gym Trainer shrugged. "He's making do. Should be better once he's healed up." He turned back to Nori and started spouting advice he didn't ask for. "Just as long as you remember, look where you want to go. Look where you're moving," he emphasized. "That's the most important thing when skating. Same goes for driving a car, by the way."

The bespectacled teen waved a hand dismissively. "Leaving that aside, I recognize that model. I bet–"

"I'm busy." He'd humored them enough. Nori broke away and started skating off. Faster than he should've, but he just wanted to get away.

"Hey!" shouted Eddie. "We're talking to you!"

"Come on, Carino!" Kallisto called out. "Ride with us for a bit!"

No, he was in no mood for this. Like, ever. He wouldn't have stopped in the first place if they hadn't skated in front of him. They continued to yell, but they also made no effort to follow.

---​

Lux lived in a small, quiet suburban neighborhood several blocks south of the Gym. Nori was surprised at how close it was, relatively speaking. He could've theoretically walked here this whole time, if he'd known where it was. Going carefully by skateboard, it took him around fifteen minutes to make it there from the Gym. It might've taken half an hour to forty minutes to get here on foot.

When he reached the street, Nori dismounted his board, disassembled it, and placed both halves in his bag. There was a small park on the west side of the street. The modern buildings lining the east side had a mild western flair to them. All of them were painted predominantly white, with some other color that varied by building. He walked down the sidewalk, counting the house numbers as he went along. Eventually, he came to the one that was listed in the phone book.

The two-storey building's secondary color was orange, which was on the sides and part of the roof. Like all of the buildings here, it had a detached garage big enough for a single vehicle. Nori went up the two steps to the door. He still felt slightly uncomfortable. It was almost like violating his friend's privacy. Still, there were no other options. He'd rather do this and worry about the consequences later than spend the rest of his life not knowing.

He knocked, and held his breath. There were windows, but all of them had their blinds up. He didn't hear anything from inside, but maybe they were quiet?

After about half a minute, he knocked again. Louder this time. He waited longer, almost two minutes. He stepped down, scowering the perimeter of the building. The garage was closed and the driveway was empty, but that wasn't a sign of anything. Could they be out? Maybe he had a wait on his hands. There was that park nearby, so maybe he could get his Pokemon some exercise. Pachirisu was in his ball, as he wasn't sure he wanted the squirrel out while he rode yet.

As he turned to leave, he noticed a man in his 30s with well-groomed hair in a gray suit approaching him. Returning from work, maybe? "Excuse me, can I help you?" he inquired in a lightly suspicious tone.

"Is this the Blomgren residence?" the boy asked, thinking nothing of it. He was here for a reason, and he was saying it. Simple as that, if this guy didn't like it, well. Who cares? Or maybe he had the wrong house, and this guy was the owner. Or maybe it was Lux's dad!

"The Blomgrens?" the man mused. "It used to be, but they moved a few days ago."

The words struck like a gunshot. "What?!" Nori ran up. "Do you know where to or why?"

He shrugged. "Got us beat. They were a fixture in the neighborhood. They kept to themselves, though the parents' fights could be loud. Suddenly, they were moving and gone within a week. Don't even know where to. I think I heard it had something to do with the kid?"

"I...I see..."

They moved. He actually did find the right house. But Lux had moved. He and his parents had moved. Because of something to do with Lux. Why? Why did they move? Why didn't Lux tell him about this? What happened? Why did it come to this? Why did Lux have to move?

He was wandering, almost in a trance. "Are you all right, sir?" came the voice of the man.

Without looking back, he replied, "Yes..."

No, he wasn't all right. Lux was his peace, the only relief he had. Now, he was gone. He'd left. And Nori couldn't help but worry it was his fault. No, it was. He knew it was his fault. He had no doubt, they moved because of something he did, or didn't do. That had to be why it was so sudden. Maybe Lux's mom wanting to move away from him? Or something else. Regrets flooded into his mind.

He should've tried to figure out what happened sooner.

He should've come and found Lux earlier.

He should've been more assertive when it came to Lux's mom.

He should've been more of a friend.

He should've made his feelings more clear.

It was too late for any of that. His friend was gone, his only friend here. All because of his own hesitation and inaction. All Nori could do, all he was able to do now was leave in total defeat. His legs were quivering like jelly. His throat was choking him with its dryness. His eyes felt like they were underwater. He almost wished he was, for a moment.

Nori crossed the road without even looking, walked over to a large tree, and curled down in front of it. He was no longer able to hold back his tears. He cried until it hurt.

##########
=========
##########

Spoiler: Notes

Next chapter will have answers on what happened, and what's going to happen!

 

[Daren]

*Hopefully things with Nori and Volkner can keep going well.
*Why do I have a feeling the ex-lifeguard is gonna be one of those characters who keeps showing up with a new career every time?
*Insulting your own stock=high quality salesman.
*Oh god, Nori, you already got a concussion and you're riding helmetless.
*So Lux's family moved away, and Nori blames himself. I was afraid it would turn out to have been worse, to be honest, although the silent treatment from the school faculity over the entire thing gives me odd suspicions...

 

[Juliko]

Copied from FFN: Not much to say on this one, really. Nice to see how Nori got his skateboard from the MarAwry story you wrote. I admit I got a chuckle out of seeing that ex-lifeguard turn into a sputtering mess when the manager scolded him. That was a good one. Definitely curious to see what happened to Lux and why he and his family moved in the next chapter. I can only assume that the reasons behind it aren't good. Another good chapter like always! Great job!

 

[System Error]

*Hopefully things with Nori and Volkner can keep going well.

Indeed.

*Why do I have a feeling the ex-lifeguard is gonna be one of those characters who keeps showing up with a new career every time?

Probably because he probably is.

*Insulting your own stock=high quality salesman.

He's just trying to tell Nori what's hip and what's not! Given Tono's reaction, he may have had a point, assuming Nori cared.

*Oh god, Nori, you already got a concussion and you're riding helmetless.

Well to be honest, the reason for this is twofold. One, linked to what Juliko mentioned below, Nori started as an what-if for her fic. He had his skateboard there but no helmet, partially because he's still a 13-year-old kid who doesn't care (and the helmet takes up bag space, and he'd be careful and knew how to break his fall, as he tried to justify). For consistency he doesn't have it here either, and I give it a more understandable justification here in how he couldn't afford one along with the board.

But yes. It still doesn't change facts he's not thinking about it when he should be.

*So Lux's family moved away, and Nori blames himself. I was afraid it would turn out to have been worse, to be honest, although the silent treatment from the school faculity over the entire thing gives me odd suspicions...

Curious, what did you think was going to happen?

Nice to see how Nori got his skateboard from the MarAwry story you wrote.

It had to come from somewhere, and I settled early on it being here. Design aside, originally Nori didn't live in the Gym, and he got the skateboard to get there faster. I changed that, but he still gets the board anyway.

As an aside, when doing some research I found that folding skateboards actually exist in real life, although I'm not sure about snap-together. Like all of the faux skateboard brands mentioned, it's loosely based off a real brand: BoardUp, which are said folding ones. (And Evirsan = Evisen, Columbary = Birdhouse, Eternal Summer = Never Summer)

I admit I got a chuckle out of seeing that ex-lifeguard turn into a sputtering mess when the manager scolded him. That was a good one.

It was a very fun scene to write, especially with all his surfer lingo mashed into the dialogue.

Definitely curious to see what happened to Lux and why he and his family moved in the next chapter. I can only assume that the reasons behind it aren't good.

Indeed. Just need to edit it.

 

[Daren]

He's just trying to tell Nori what's hip and what's not! Given Tono's reaction, he may have had a point, assuming Nori cared.

Fair point. I was never one of the cool kids so I'm deaf to that sort of thing.

Curious, what did you think was going to happen?

I was afraid he'd just run away on his own.