Chp 11: Veilstone

	"Alright, thanks for taking care of me, but we need to get back on the road." Seth said.

	"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Cynthia asked.

	"No, this'll do it." Seth said, shaking the crutch she had given him. His entire body ached, and it was hard to keep standing, but he kept telling himself it was training. It didn't help the pain, but it did force him to keep moving. He was still stiff from having been stationary for so long. He was human again, and now that healing factor was gone.

	"I don't mind waiting a bit longer..." Sky offered. 

	"No, I can't stand being cooped up any more. I'll make it, just fine." He said, walking towards the door. 

	"Bye lucario man!" Alexis called. "Come visit again!"

	"Yes, it was nice having you here. This town is quiet and we don't often see many travelers. Most trainers go through Hearthome." Cynthia said.

	"We'll see. We've got three gyms before we cross Mt. Coronet again." Seth said. 

	Now outside, they passed through the small town of Celestic, coming out onto route 210. As they neared a staircase, Seth surveyed the path ahead. 

	"Shit..." He muttered. It was rocky, with many paths up and down, with bridges connecting canyons. And there he was, with a busted up leg. There was no telling how damaged it really was at this point. It hurt like hell to put pressure on it, and the skin was covered in dark purple bruises. It wasn't mangled into bizarre shapes anymore, but he still might have broken bones. 

	"Why don't we just go back to the pokemon center and get you treated?" Sky asked.

	Seth looked around. There were a few trainers up ahead, a pair even battling, but none within earshot. "No. I... Remember how I said I need to get stronger? My pokemon form is fine, but I'm weak like this. I can heal overnight, and fight through the pain during the day. If I can handle all this, it'll help my pain tolerance."

	"I know pokemon can heal wounds quick, but I don't think it works like that." Soul said. 

	"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now..." He began to carefully hobble down the stairs. The stairs, meant to be used by travelers of all kind, were wide and easy to navigate. They proceeded slowly, mostly because of Seth, but Sky became the problem when they started crossing bridges. Far below them was a stream of water.

	"There's like nothing down there." Soul said. "How can you be scared of that?"

	"It's not the water." Sky said. "It's the heights."

	They continued at this slow pace, for about an hour. After a trek through some tall grass, they arrived at a clearing, with a signpost. To the south was Solaceon town, and to the east was Veilstone. But what really caught Seth's attention was the small building there. On the sign out front was 'Cafe Cabin'. 

	"Seems like a restaurant." Seth said. "I could use a break." Seth pushed open the door and stepped inside, a bell ringing as he did. 

	"Be right with you!" Somebody shouted from the kitchen. Seth approached the counter, looking down at the menu left there. A couple things caught his eyes. Homemade chili, fresh every day, and fresh moomoo milkshakes. A young lady, wearing an apron, came out. "What can I get you?"

	"Yea, three bowls of chili, and..." He looked down at the girls. "Three milkshakes. One large, and the other two small." 

	"Alright." She swiped his card. "It'll be right out." 

	Seth hobbled over to a table, slumping into it and letting out a long sigh. The place was mostly abandoned, only one other person there, and he was just leaving. After only a couple minutes, the waitress came out with a tray containing their food. 

	Now with food in front of her, Soul immediately went to town, burying her head in the bowl of spiced soup. Sky just looked at it, and then at her milkshake. "Why did you cheap out and get us the small ones?" Soul complained. 

	"I didn't know if you'd like them. If you want more I'll get some." He said. He reached over to the nearby bowl of cracker packets, and took a handful, tearing them open to dump them onto his chili. As he used his spoon to take a mouthful, he noticed Sky. "What's wrong?" He mumbled through a full mouth. 

	"Isn't this like... contradicting flavors? Spicy and sweet?" 

	Seth reached over and poured a few crackers into her chili, stirring it for her. While he did, he grit his teeth. The act of stretching over the table hurt, a lot, especially in his back. "Go ahead and try it." 

	She delicate stuck her tongue out, licking up a bit of chili, before taking a sip of milkshake. She licked her lips, before going in for more. Soul was eating the exact opposite way, like a savage animal. 

	Seth finally got a chance to drink some of his milkshake. It was thick, taking a long time to get up the straw, but once it did, he was in heaven. "That's a good fuckin' milkshake."

	"I'll say. Get me another one." Soul said. 

	"Ugh, really? Already? You're supposed to savor it, not suck it down." 

+++

	After their meal, they got back on the road, heading east. They didn't make it far before a loud crack of thunder shook the air. The clouds above were dark and heavy with rain. Soon, it began to fall. Seth took out an umbrella that he had brought, but the girls weren't so lucky. Sky was enjoying the cooling sprinkle, but Soul had a angry scowl on her face. The rain wetted her fur and matted it down, making her look ragged. Soon the weather got worse, now with bigger and more raindrops. Sky erected a thin layer of psychic energy around her, just enough to deflect most of the rain. Soul however, could do little. 

	Suddenly the rain stopped hitting her head and back. She looked up to see Seth holding the umbrella over her with his not crutch holding hand. This allowed all the rain to hit him. She still had to step in the building mud and puddles, but that was the least of her worries. "Hey, look, I appreciate it, but don't you think-"

	"No. If I'm too hurt to help my girls, I'm too hurt to be up and about. And I don't have fur, so I'll dry out faster. Let's just get through this before the ground turns to mush."

	They speed up as much as possible, but not fast enough to reach Veilstone without being soaked. As they entered the industrial town, the rain calmed down, but it was still drizzling. Sky was the least relatively wet, as her short fur and psychic shield worked wonders. Soul was next in line. Her paws were darkened and dirty with mud, but her upper half was in better shape. Seth, with no cover, was soaked. Water dripped down his body, and his clothing was weighed down with the water. "Alright, let's go get us a room. I need a hot shower." 

	After they got checked into their room at the pokemon center, Seth peeled off his wet clothes, draped them over the shower rod, and got in, with the water on hot. He allowed Sky to get in first, and he followed. He sighed as the warm water ran over his body. "Rain sucks. Why does it have to be so cold?" 

	"I kinda like it. Fur doesn't vent well." 

	"Yeah... Soul?" He asked when he heard claws clicking on the floor. 

	She poked her head in on the far side. "I can't get the mud off..." She muttered. She began to step in, hesitating for a moment. 

	"It's going to be tight. I'm plenty clean so I'll just hop out." Sky said. She traded places with Soul, and got out, sitting on the mat just outside.

	Soul grumbled as she ducked under the water, and put her paw into the stream. She rubbed it against the floor and grumbled more as the dirt remained. 

	Seth grunted as he began to kneel down on his injured leg, and then switched. He held out a hand, motioning for her to give him her paw. She did, and he began to scrub the dirt from her fur.

	"A little heavy on the Mew imagery?" 

	"The son of Arceus? Oh, the feet washing thing. I don't think Mew fucked the people he washed the feet of." In Originism, the religion of Arceus, Mew was the messenger of pokemon, a pokemon sent to our world to teach humans to respect pokemon. He was known as a benevolent soul. "Ya know, I've always wondered about something. Mewtwo, Cynthia said she was a clone of Mew, so Mew had to have existed. Maybe Mew's species still exists." He let her switch to the next paw. "Oh, and I bought something special a while ago. Sky, you still out there?" 

	"Yes." 

	"Alright, but the catch is we're going to the gym afterwards." 

	"I guess we have time." Soul said, turning so he could clean her hind paws. Her snow white fur was soon pristine, besides the wetness. Her coat was usually puffy, but when wet, it made her look like a giant drowned rat. Most of her bulk came from her fur, making her look gaunt as well. 

	Seth stood back up. "Alright." He turned the water off. "Stay here, I'll be back." He grabbed a towel for himself, then left the room, returning shortly after. He had a two fancy looking brushes in hand. "I bought specialty pokemon brushes for the both of you." Sky's was pink with small sparkly hearts on it, and was designed for short furred species. Soul's was for long fur, and was black with a white stripe down the middle. "Sky, I assume Soul wants to go first, so you mind waiting?" 

	"Sure, go ahead." 

+++

	"And here we are." Seth said as they came up to the gym. It was tucked a bit out of the way, and had taken a little exploring to find in the big city. "Let's do it." 

	The doors slid open, and they were immediately met with the musty smell of sweat.  The gym was very different from the last two. Oreburgh had been formal, and Eterna had a maze, though they did skip it. This one was basically a gym, the wieght lifting kind. It was late in the day, so there weren't too many people inside. The center held the 'pokemon ring' which was actually a boxing ring. In the center was a girl, sparring with a lucario. 

	"Uhh, are you the gym leader?" Seth asked as he approached.

	"Yep. Maylene's the name." She said, coming over and offering her hand through the ropes.

	"Seth." He said as he shook her hand. "I'd like to challenge you to a battle." 

	"Hop on up then." She helped Seth up by pulling his arm. He had left his crutch behind and was putting on his best tough act to not make her think he was weak or scared. "So, for my gym, it's a two on two battle. Human versus human and pokemon versus pokemon at the same time. The battle ends when either side is out. So basically, you have to last against me until your pokemon can beat mine." 

	"Uhh, you sure about this?" Soul said.

	"Alright. Sky, you're with me." Seth said. 

	"Your absol will have to sit outside." Maylene said as Sky climbed in. "Begin!"

	Her lucario dashed forward, beginning to attack Sky, as she dodged and attempted to mount an offense. 

	Maylene did similar as she charged Seth, who took up a fighting stance similar to that which he would use in lucario form. But Maylene was too fast, as she ducked under his first swing, and delivered two strong punches to him, one in the chest and the other in the gut, before sweeping his leg. Seth fell, and couldn't catch himself in time, slamming his head into the softened mat. He coughed, a spatter of blood shooting out. 

	"Seth!" Sky cried. Lucario took the advantage, jumping forward to pin her. 

	"Shit!" Maylene yelled, kneeling down. "What the hell!? I didn't hit you that hard!" She lifted his shirt and drew in a sharp breath. "What... How... Why did you even try to fight me?! You're beat up bad already!" A couple people around the gym were watching. "Dammit... C'mon, you're going to the pokemon center." She said, lifting Seth up and propping him up with her own body. 

	"I'm fine." Seth muttered, blood dribbling down his chin. 

	"Bull." 

+++

	"So what made you think this was a good idea?" Maylene asked.

	"I agree. That was incredibly stupid." The nurse said. "You already had several cracked ribs, and those punches tore open your internal wounds. You could have bled to death." 

	"Yeah, alright, I get it." Seth said. "Am I good to go now?" 

	"Hardly good, but you can leave if you like. Take it very easy. Your bones are still healing and too much strain right now could cause more bleeding." 

	"Will do." Seth said. He left the rear of the pokemon center, limping visibly, and took the elevator to his room. The girls were waiting in the room. 

	"What did she say?" Sky asked.

	"How did you know the doctor was a she?" Seth said.

	"Probably because all of them are." Soul added.

	"Please don't dodge the question." Sky said.

	"I need to take it easy or I'll bleed more. Or break my bones again." 

	"You really do need to take more time to heal." Sky said.

	"Yeah, I had an idea for that." Seth turned lucario and laid down on the bed. "I'm just gonna relax for the day." He said.

	"Kay." Soul said, hopping onto the bed and turning the TV on.

	Seth raised an arm, formed a pink ring in his hand, before pushing it into his chest. 

	"Heal pulse?" Sky asked. "Didn't Cynthia say you needed to heal naturally?" 

	"Yeah, but I don't wanna just sit around for a week." 

	"But..." 

	"You can do whatever you want, but you have to live with the consequences. Just think about us while you tear your body apart."

	"Will do." Seth said, continuing to slowly apply heal pulses. "Tomorrow, we're going back for Maylene." 

	"If you can last against her, I can take down her lucario just fine. One shot." Soul said. 

	"That's the plan then."