AdrianKing
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Searching Far and Wide - 98
🕑 Added 2024-12-11 17:53:24 +0000 UTCTeams:
Pierce Lawson:
- Narcissa, Beedrill
- Orion, Onix
- Cygnus, Kadabra
- Bellatrix, Gyarados (Shiny)
- Andromeda, Vaporeon
Lillian Dale:
- Root, Bulbasaur
- Talon, Spearow
- Gem, Geodude
- Star, Cleffa
- Cinder, Vulpix
Saffron City XIII
“So, you don’t mind waiting?” Pierce commented, sitting on the ground and overlooking his pokemon’s training. One of his hands, meanwhile, petted the meowth by his side. The Normal type, for his part, meowed something lazy at him, enjoying the attention. “Good to know, but I have to exercise too, so I won’t stay here the whole time either,” he added and that did indeed earn a whining response from the cat pokemon. “Yep, sorry to burst your bubble, buddy.”
“Helper-Voice…” Cygnus told him, trailing off. Pierce just gave his Psychic pokemon a look. His mostly grumpy pokemon – “Excuse me?!” – seemed to think better of whatever he was going to say and turned back to his training. Idly, before turning back to his own things, Pierce sent a passing glance around the area to check on everyone again.
“So, what are you gonna do? Just lay here?” Pierce asked, getting the meowth to turn towards him. “You can join training yourself too, just saying, or maybe keep me company while I exercise, whatever you prefer,” he offered, dropping his head back against the tree he was sitting by. He was never enthusiastic when it came to exercising, but it was necessary. In order not to feel guilty for ordering his pokemon around to work to the bone – even if they wanted that – and also so that he could be in good shape, which had a number of good reasons to be a priority for him.
Not all of them were good reasons, but they were reasons all the same. There was the fact that he needed to be somewhat in shape to just keep up with the constant trekking that came with traveling from city to city the trainer way. There was also the need to keep up with his pokemon at least the smallest bit for when they were doing something, be it important or as inane as playing around. If he was going to keep getting involved in more serious matters like Mt. Moon and Cerulean, there was a need to be at his best too.
And Daisy liked that he was fit.
Not everything had to be serious and professional reasons, right?
“Well,” he started as he stood up before stopping when he saw the cat pokemon stand up too, if just as reluctantly as he did. “You’re joining?” he asked with a smile that widened a little as the pokemon replied affirmatively… if reluctantly. “Well, unless you have a Ground type move or a Psychic type move to work on, I recommend just finding a spot to practice by yourself. I’m gonna be running for a bit,” he told the Normal type while he started getting ready.
The meowth made some curious sound as he walked around Pierce, watching him.
“Or you can jog with me for a bit,” he commented, a little amused. “I’m not sure it’ll be very useful for you, but I’ll appreciate the company, I guess,” he added, not sure if that was the truth or not. After all, Pokemon were in a completely different league to humans when it came to their bodies. What was a taxing running session for him might as well be a leisure walk for a pokemon.
The Normal type still decided to join him though, running circles around him while he jogged, meowing things here and there that made no sense to him. Still, Pierce did his best to pay attention, or at least as much attention as he could without ruining his form. It was a good thing that he couldn’t talk much while he was at it, because he’d have made a terrible conversationalist. He might be good at understanding pokemon, but there was only so much he could do, and that was without even considering he was kind of focused on the task at hand first and foremost too.
That was more or less how the next hour or so went, with him doing his exercises, the meowth following him around and curiously watching him or occasionally his team and the aforementioned group of pokemon going through their own routines involving attempts at new moves and working on their repertoire so that they wouldn’t get rusty and could keep honing their edges. Business as usual for them, really, as every single day. He did catch the meowth occasionally practicing some of his own moves, even though he wasn’t sure what they were. Pierce’s tentative list for him was Growl for sure, then likely Scratch and from there there were two moves that he was hesitant to guess, but they seemed to be Normal type too… probably.
“Having fun?” he asked, getting a happy sound from the meowth. “Well, that’s good to know, but we are almost done here. We’ve kind of drawn things out more than we usually do,” he explained, looking at his tired team. They were happy to train extra, but he couldn’t let that become a habit or let them push even more. That’d just be asking for trouble. “So, I guess this is it for today. We can accompany you back to Noctowl’s territory.”
“You’re not that oblivious, Pierce, are you?” Lily asked from where she’d been standing off to the side, having called it quits for her own training some time before. She always pushed more than Pierce did, but that just meant he could draw it out more whenever he felt like doing so, since his pokemon were usually better rested. “Because I swear to-”
“Or,” Pierce interrupted emphatically, rolling his eyes. Between his traveling companion and Cygnus, he wasn’t sure which one was more insulting. He was not, indeed, that oblivious… Although, he couldn’t say their accusations were unfounded. Still… “You can join my team if you want,” he offered the meowth, who looked at him with wide eyes.
His mother had been right that you couldn’t be nice to a stray cat or they would never leave you alone.
He just hadn’t thought it applied to the pokemon world. He hoped this case was a special one, or he was likely to have a small army of them by the time the year was over. He just didn’t have it in him to turn away from a pokemon in need of help.
He did find it curious that this time there hadn’t been any grand moment or situation involved with his new potential team addition.
The meowth… Well, meowed his response, enthusiastic and bouncing around happily.
“Well, welcome to the team,” he said with a smile on his face as he pet the Normal type. He had the perfect name for him already in mind too. “Hope you know what you are getting into, Regulus.”
[}-o-{]
The following morning, Pierce found himself fairly amused.
He’d teleported to Cerulean – again – after calling Grace for a meeting. So, there he was, in the meeting room but this time it was just the two of them instead of having a small audience of people. He’d talked a little with the Sisters while he waited – considering he’d kind of sprung things on Grace – to make sure that he was understanding things right and wouldn’t mess up without knowing.
Maybe he could have just programmed the meeting for later or something, sure. There was no real need to rush things or anything. However, Grace had told him that it was fine to meet that same day, so he’d just gone for it. He had never been one to like making appointments much, after all. More often than not, something unexpected would come up and mess with any plans he had.
Back to the matter at hand though, he was amused because Grace couldn’t take her eyes off of Regulus, who was curled up on his lap.
It wasn’t even that she found him cute, although there was probably some of that mixed in. No, there was something more to her gaze. She seemed… excited, in a way. Now, Pierce wouldn’t say he knew the woman very well, but there was a possibility that came to mind and it was fairly amusing. He thought it might be a bit rude to ask though, so he just pushed the entire thing to the side for the moment.
“Well, I’ve looked over everything as best I can, which isn’t saying much, admittedly,” he started with, trying to lighten up the mood a little and having as friendly a disposition as possible. He wanted to get along with the woman, if at all possible. After all… “And I think we can work together just fine, Grace. I’d be happy to hire you to deal with… all of this,” he told her, waving his hand to the folder she’d given him with almost exasperated amusement.
He really was a comfort guy and all that business talk really just felt like a bother to him.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” the woman replied, beaming widely and emotion bleeding into her voice even as she visibly tried to remain professional. It almost made him laugh. “You won’t regret this, sir.”
“First of all, call me Pierce,” he told her, extending his hand towards her to “seal the deal” as it were… Mostly because he didn’t know what else to do, but maybe he was making a fool of himself. That might help him make things less serious though, although he’d like her to at least have some respect for him if at all possible. “Second of all, you don’t have to be all professional with me. You’re allowed to be happy,” he added.
He was going to tell her that it made him a little uncomfortable to be so professional, but he wasn’t sure how good an idea that was. It might just make things more awkward for both of them, so he might as well just roll with things her way for a bit if it came down to it. Unless something happened, they were likely to work with one another for quite some time, if they ever stopped. He’d have time to try and wear down her professionalism with him a little.
“Now, assuming you don’t have any new ideas,” he started, leaning forward and placing a hand over the folder she’d given him during their first meeting. “I think we can proceed as you planned? It sounded like a good enough path forward and I haven’t gotten any new offers yet.”
“Oh, actually, I think I should look into things again, but it shouldn’t take me long to come up with a new plan,” Grace replied, making him blink. Then again… ‘Was I right?’ he thought incredulously. “This is your new pokemon, I’m assuming?” she asked, looking at Regulus, who perked up and looked back at her in turn. “I think his presence could change things a little and we could make a stronger case for… this sponsorship, gives us a little more to work with and we can ask for more,” she explained, opening the folder and taking out one of the pages in particular.
‘I was right, huh?’ he thought wryly, taking the sheet of paper. He’d thought she might be considering the business implications of the meowth, but he’d thought that might be him overthinking things. Alas, he’d been right. He didn’t know what to think of that.
“I know you aren’t as interested in the economic benefits, Pierce, but this can mean more freedom for you, which is something you said you wanted,” Grace continued, maybe channeling some of that success excitement into getting right to work. Pierce couldn’t say he didn’t appreciate that though. At least it seemed to be working in his favor, so there was that.
“Do you need time to go over that or should I be here for this?” he asked, half hoping that she’d choose the former. Alas, he didn’t want to outright push everything on her. That’d make him feel guilty… even if it was her job. There was no need to be an asshole about it, right? Or was he just overthinking it?
“Well, depending on how involved you want to be in these promotion deals. How we go about it could help us or hinder us in negotiations, having some direct feedback would be useful for me. But I can just ask you over text or calls if you need to do something else, si- I mean, Pierce,” she replied and he decided to stay, if only because she’d actually listened and called him Pierce.
“Ok, where do we start then?” he asked, settling down for a long hour or two of business talk that would bore him to death. The wide smile Grace gave him was enough to let him know that he’d chosen right, at least.
It helped that she was nice to look at, he supposed, but he quickly pushed that thought aside.
[}-o-{]
“Spent an awful amount of time talking with Grace, didn’t you?” Daisy commented with narrowed eyes. “Especially for someone that said they weren’t interested in dealing with all that stuff… You don’t have a thing for blondes, do you?”
“I mean, blondes are attractive, but I’m not picky like that,” he answered with a chuckle. “And I’d have felt bad if I didn’t at least try to do something, even if it’s just giving my opinion on some things. I have no idea about business and economics and what not, but at least I can tell her what I think about the things I’d have to do and such,” he explained as best he could, shrugging as he continued lazily kicking his feet in the water.
They’d moved to sit at the edge of one of the pools and just stayed there, watching Misty go about a routine with her gyarados partner, who was apparently just one of the Gym pokemon and not from the Sisters’ personal teams. There was a bit of time before the teleport place closed up, so he’d decided to stay around for a bit. Might as well, considering he’d gotten all his training done.
Besides, the Sisters had close to the best facilities to give Bellatrix and Andromeda a place to relax, which was what the two of them were doing.
“Hmmm, if you say so,” Daisy mumbled, still looking kind of doubtful, which made him raise an eyebrow.
“Jealous? Did Lily rub off on you?” he asked humorously, only to laugh when the woman started sputtering denials immediately. “Could have fooled me. Hey!” he said before squeaking when she poked his side with her finger. “Careful. You have boney fingers!”
“I do not!” she protested, deciding to do herself no favors when she poked him again. “Take that back!”
“The fingers thing or the jealousy th-”
“Both!” she hissed, poking him once more.
“Fine, sorry!” Pierce exclaimed, leaning away from her. “Damn. You are so lucky you give amazing h-” He interrupted himself when she glared at him and raised her finger menacingly. “You could beat pokemon with thos- Hey!”
“Ah, to be young and in love, amirite?”
“They are older than you, Violet,” Lily – the Sensational Sister, that is – replied flatly.
“Who are you calling old?” Daisy asked, turning her wrath towards her sisters and thankfully sparing him from more poking. Maybe he should move to her other side? He wasn’t sure he could continue taking stabbings like those on the same side repeatedly. Couldn’t be good for his ribs and general health.
“Anyway~” Violet said and Pierce didn’t even need to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes. Turning towards her confirmed it though, in case there was any doubt. “Glad to see we aren’t interrupting anything.”
“Actually-”
“Not at all,” Pierce said, before Daisy could send them away to poke him more. He’d like to keep his side unbruised, even if it was likely a little late. “How are things going for you two?” he asked, not just to keep them around but also because he was interested. They were friends of his too, maybe even on the same level as Daisy despite the very obvious differences in their relationships.
“We’re doing fine. Business as usual,” Violent answered with a shrug.
“Mostly just keeping an eye on Misty,” Lily took over then, and all four of them turned towards the redhead. “We’re kind of waiting for her to get better at that and see if we can add the gyarados thing to our show. If you don’t mind, that is.”
“I don’t have a patent on that,” Pierce told them with a chuckle. “Go ahead. I thought having her do that would help her get closer to you three, so I’m glad I was right,” he admitted. Was it a good idea to do so? Maybe not, but not telling them felt kind of manipulative. “You think she’ll say yes? She’s not that show oriented,” he commented, watching his “student” work.
When all he got was silence, he turned to look at the sisters, who were all staring at him.
“What?”
“You’re one… I don’t even know the word,” Lily mumbled, shaking her head. Pierce could honestly say he found himself just as confused as she seemed to be. Did he say something weird without knowing? What was going on?
“You’re certainly something, Pierce,” Violent said, more cheerfully as she giggled and moved to take the seat on his other side, the one not occupied by Daisy. “We appreciate the help though. God knows we struggle interacting with Misty. So, thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Family’s important,” he replied, happy that his interference wasn’t a problem. He’d wanted to lend them a hand, because… Well, he couldn’t try to get closer to his family anymore. He guessed he was trying to live vicariously through them, somewhat.
“Still though, thanks for that,” Daisy told him softly, all previous annoyance forgotten, apparently. “We’ll keep you up to date on how your scheme goes,” she added, leaning against his side and resting her head on his shoulder.
“Scheme makes it sound so bad though.”
“It does, doesn’t it, Mr. Schemer?” Lily asked and Pierce just rolled his eyes.
Well, a little teasing was fine, he supposed.
[}-o-{]
“Congratulations,” Sabrina told him the next morning as he went back to her Gym for more Psychic training.
It was odd, that she approached him so much. He obviously didn’t have a clear picture of how her classes went after only a few days, but from what he’d seen, he seemed like the only one that got visits every single day. Maybe because he was new? It was a possibility.
However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that that wasn’t it.
It wasn’t like she taught him much. Half the time seemed to be spent talking about inane things. Like at that very moment, considering they had spent their first few minutes talking about nothing of importance. Well, nothing of importance to his Psychic training. Regulus’ addition to the team was important, of course, even if it had been a little less dramatic an entrance compared to the rest of his team.
“Thanks,” he replied with a smile, petting the cat pokemon on his lap. “Not that I don’t appreciate talking with you though, but I was curious about something,” he started then, his curiosity getting the better of him. He definitely wasn’t complaining, of course. Having a Gym Leader as a friend was a great idea, as the Sisters had shown him. “But do you spend so much time here because I’m new?”
“Partly,” Sabrina asked, no sign of any kind of reaction to his question. He wasn’t sure why he kept expecting something from her though, quite honestly. “I find you interesting, I guess,” she said, her voice and expression belying nothing, but her words were enough to surprise him quite a bit. “Otherwise, there’s no reason to spend as much time with you as I am. Psychic training requires a lot of meditation, introspection, trial and error. Much of the process is done by oneself and instruction can only take one so far. I usually guide people through the broader steps and then just get involved when they seem to struggle with something in particular.”
“I… see…” he mused. Despite what she’d said at the beginning, Pierce wondered if maybe she talked more to him because he had more trouble. That was him being silly though, considering – again – that she didn’t speak about Psychic stuff half the time. Although, maybe there could be a point made about how-
“You doubt,” Sabrina pointed out, making him grimace. He’d been thinking loudly again, right? “You were,” the woman confirmed… which didn’t really help.
Still, Pierce paused to take a deep breath in and then let it out as he calmed his mind. He wasn’t sure how good he was getting at that though, considering how many times he slipped. Psychic stuff was hard though, and he knew it. It’d take time. Didn’t make it any less frustrating, but he’d just have to soldier through, as he’d known he’d have to from the beginning.
“You shouldn’t doubt,” Sabrina said, apparently deciding to ignore his slip up and return to the topic at hand. “Your Psychic progress is about what I’d expect from anyone else. Maybe you expected to have some sort of skill in the art, but that’s rare.”
“I knew that,” he replied with a somewhat bitter smile. “I guess I’m an idiot and somewhere deep down I had hoped for some sort of talent in this,” he added self-deprecatingly.
“If hopes were rational and certain, they wouldn’t be hopes, I believe,” Sabrina told him, which… was fair, he supposed. “You are not an idiot, Pierce,” she added, as if her message hadn’t been clear enough before. “I spend more time here because I find you interesting, as I said before. You are someone the League will keep an eye on. Just because of that, anyone related to the League, such as other Gym Leaders or myself, will keep an eye on you too. That’s not something an idiot would be able to do.”
“No pressure.”
“You’ve earned this attention by being yourself,” Sabrina continued, either ignoring or having a follow up to address what he’d said. “The attention isn’t bad and isn’t likely to land you on the wrong side of the League. You shouldn’t worry about us.”
“Implying I should worry about someone else,” he commented with a wry smile. A smile that dropped when she didn’t deny it, quickly replaced with a somewhat fearful expression. “Sabrina?”
“I will not lie to you,” the Leader answered, her impassive stare growing more intense. Or maybe that was just the impression Pierce got because of what they were talking about. It was difficult to tell. “The League sees you in a positive light, but that by itself can bring trouble your way. Especially in times such as the ones we live in.”
‘Team Rocket,’ he realized instantly. Surely not though, right? What could they want from him? If he were a strong trainer, or had some kind of special ability like Sabrina’s, maybe. But as it was, what were the Rockets going to ask of him? To calm down pokemon? They were borderline – if not outright – terrorists. They did the opposite of calming down pokemon, or anything remotely like what he did.
His denial wasn’t helped by the fact that he could think of a bunch of ways Team Rocket could try to use him.
“Maybe I’m being too negative, but I’d keep an eye out if I were you, Pierce Lawson,” Sabrina continued, turning away from him and looking ahead. “It’d be a shame if something happened to you. It’s not often that someone interests me and even less usual for them to keep my interest.”
If that was a compliment, it was a very convoluted one.
Still though, Pierce would take it.
“I really hope you are being too negative,” he commented warily.
Maybe he should be a little extra careful though.
Just in case.
[} Chapter End {]
Hey guys! How’s it going?
New addition to the team!
Not gonna lie, even I was taken aback by how… unceremonious the new catch was. However, I also kind of like it because of that. Not everything needs to be a huge deal. Sometimes, you just feed a stray cat and get a friend for life, literally in this case. Doesn’t make Regulus any less than the others, just different.
At least, that’s what I think on the matter, but still, the Muse being weird as usual.
Some other slice of life for good measure, because this story wouldn’t be the same without it and we have a pretty nice chapter, I’d say.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you all, of course.
Important: I’m going on a vacation at the end of this week, as I announced some time ago in the place of patrons. Thus, I won’t be updating anything for a whole month. Wish me luck, guys, because pre-vacation times have not been kind to me.
Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ
Random Question: What do you think Pierce’s first promotion deal will be for?
See you.
Comments
Ranma_Leopard
This is just really awesome and I can't wait for more!! And considering how much you're hinting things with Meowth... I'm going to guess some kind of feline pokemon tips or care products Happy holidays!! I hope you enjoy your vacation!!!
Glitched Knights
This might sound completely out of left field, but still I gotta ask. How widespread do you think ghost pokemon are?
