Chp 14: Pastoria

	Seth awoke first the next morning. Soul was still sprawled out over him, snoring lightly. He gently picked her up and set her aside, his fighting type strength helping. Once she was off him, he carefully got out from under the covers and got up. Once out of the covers, he stopped for a moment to turn human again. He looked down as he felt himself step on something. It was the mega absol doll. As he walked to the bathroom, he stopped to look at Sky in the dull morning light. She was lying on her side and her paws moved around, as if she was trying to walk. He smiled at the dreaming espeon, before heading around the corner into the bathroom. 

	He stopped to look at himself in the mirror, then got into the shower. A short time later, the door creaked open. He instinctually covered himself and looked out. Sky was there.

	"Morning. We need to talk again." She said. "That bi..." She ground her teeth. "Mewtwo showed up again last night. She wanted to chastise you about what happened in Snowpoint." 

	"Oh, of course she did. She never shows up to say hi or anything." 

	"I wish she would just go away." Sky said offhandedly.

	"You have a problem with her?"

	"Of course I do!" She cried. "She's just... a manipulator, you know? She expects us to do so many things, and leads us in whatever direction benefits her most!" 

	"I can agree with that. If she wasn't so helpful, I'd tell her to take a hike." 

	"As long as she's not hurting you..." Sky said, slipping back outside. 

+++

	After he finished cleaning, he came back out. Sky was asleep again, and Soul was still sprawled out, limbs splayed as wide as possible. She had rolled over to occupy his old spot, basically locking him out. Instead he sat down at the desk and pulled out his dex. 

	From Veilstone, they were headed south, to Lake Valor, and then to Pastoria city. The fourth gym was there, with the water type leader Crasher Wake. From there, they could go back north to Hearthome, and the fifth gym. But then they ran into a problem. They would have to go back across Mt. Coronet to get to the sixth. They could either take the fast way, straight across back to Oreburgh, or the long way, back towards Celestic. On the way, they would pass through Solaceon town, which they hadn't been to yet. 

	"Lookin' at porn?" Soul asked. 

	He turned his head to find her getting up and climbing off the bed. "Just the path ahead. Water and ghost are the next two gyms, and we've gotta trek through a swamp." 

	"You know, I wouldn't mind browsin' around. But uh," She raised a paw, twiddling her claws. 

	"Yeah, too bad for you. For one, you're not touching my pokedex with those. Second, you two are plenty enough for my fantasies."

	"An absol orgy? Twenty of us with just you, all female? That would be pretty hot." She said, imagining it. 

	"I couldn't handle twenty of you. Feels like you fractured my pelvis after how hard we went last night." He said jokingly. 

	"You're not hurt again are you?" Sky asked.

	"No, I'll make it. Just a bit of an exaggeration. Ready to hit the road? We've got a ways to go to get to Pastoria."

+++

	They left town to the south, going through a route bordered by picket fences. They then entered a more civilized area, with lots of houses. 

	"Is this it? That wasn't too far." Soul said. 	 

	Seth couldn't respond plainly as there were several people were around. Instead he cleared his throat, looking at the sign ahead of him that said Hotel Grand Lake. "Let's stop at the restaurant here." 

	He led the way into a place called the Seven Stars. Right after entering there was a large sign. "Welcome to the Hotel Grand Lake Seven Stars Restaurant. This section is for trainers only. Trainers must accept any challenge, and battles are conducted in the double format with a partner. If you are not a trainer, please go upstairs to dine." The room was large, with plenty of room for casual battles, and the tables were spread out wide. 

	"Well great." He said. "Looks like we gotta sit with somebody." He scanned the room, but all the tables already had pairs. So he went over and sat at an empty one. A short time later, a girl came in, followed by a floatzel. She came over and joined Seth, sitting on the opposite side of his table. 

	"Hi, Becky." She offered her hand. Seth shook it and gave his name. She had on a blue name brand short sleeve shirt and matching shorts. She had short black hair and a few freckles. A pair of workers came up, a waiter and a waitress. 

	"We'd be happy to take your order, after a battle." They said in unison.

	"Soul?" 

	"Actually." Sky said. She stepped forward. "I'd like to blow off some steam." Seth nodded. 

	"Aqua, your time to shine." Becky said, patting her floatzel on the head. 

	As their pokemon stepped forward, the waiters sent out a magnemite and a whismur. 

	Sky stepped forward, and the moment the fight started, she picked up the whismur and smacked it into the steel ball, knocking it out. She then lifted the magnemite, using more effort to force it to move, and began to shake it around, smacking it into the floor over and over. She stopped after a bit, leaving it also defeated.

	"Shit Sky." Seth muttered.
	
	"So what can we get you?" The waiter asked nervously.

	"Wow, you sure are strong." Becky commented once they ordered. 

	"Thanks." Seth said. 

	"So what are you here for?" 

	"Just passing through on the way to Pastoria. I'm going to challenge Crasher Wake." He explained. 

	"I see. I'm a plush collector. I live in Pastoria, and I'm heading for Sunyshore. They often have good shipments there. The latest edition, the mega series, just got released and I've gotta pick up as many of them as I can before they sell out and the prices go way up. I'm not one of those scumbag resellers though. I only need one of each."

	"Mega? Like this?" Seth said, pulling out mini-Soul. 

	"Is that... really... a mega absol. That's one of the three I need. Absol, sableye, and gengar. Is there any way I can convince you to give me that?" 

	"I just met you." He said. 

	"I understand. Could I maybe..." She trailed off as their food was delivered. "Could I ask you to accompany me to Sunyshore? You seem strong, and there's always tons of strong trainers on the way, and Aqua always gets beat up when they challenge us." 

	While there was no law requiring trainers to accept every challenger, it was generally seen as both cowardly and unsporting to refuse. "Sure. I could use a little detour." Seth said after a moment.

	"Really? Just like that? Alright, thanks a million." 

+++

	"Soul and Sky, right?" Becky asked.

	"Yep. And Aqua's your only pokemon?" 

	"Yeah. She's more of my travelling buddy than a battle pokemon. We're no match for these professionals." 

	"Luckily we are. But I thought trainers on the 8th gym would be way stronger." Seth said as they closed in on the city. They had had a couple of battles, but no challenge. 

	As they entered, there was a big commotion going on. "What's going on?" Becky wondered as they approached. There was a large crowd gathered around a lighthouse. As they got closer, they saw a police barricade. 

	"PLEASE DISPERSE!" One of the police called out on a megaphone. "THIS IS AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION." 

	"Hostage? That's horrible..." Becky said. 

	"Maybe we should..." Seth said, but he stopped and looked at Becky, cursing his luck. He couldn't do anything with her here, and especially not with all these people. His instincts told him he needed to try to help, but maybe it was for the best... keeping him and the girls out of danger versus the people inside...

	Most of the crowd was backing up and scattering, but Seth remained there, still debating. Suddenly, the wall of the top floor burst open, a large tyranitar flying out and landing on the ground. It's body was charred and smoking, and crackles of electricity still sparked around it. A gold and black furred luxray leaped out, landing gracefully on top of the unconscious tyranitar. 

	"Shit!" Someone screamed as he ran out of the building. He had a rifle in his hands, and he was followed by two others, and a hydreigon. One more person came out, accompanied with an alolan raichu. He was a bit hunched over, with his hands in his pockets. He had spiky blonde hair, and a blue jacket and jeans.

	"Hold fire! He's got this." One of the officers called out. 

	The luxray roared, a wave of electricity passing along the ground. It remained there, blocking the path of the fleeing criminals. 

	"Dammit!" One of them cried. He turned and fired at the man, but the raichu leapt up, and the bullet shattered in midair just before hitting them. One of the other men shot at the luxray, but it let out three bolts of electricity. The bolts shot forward in a path, disintegrating the bullets, and going into the guns, shooting out the back and rendering them useless. Another wave of bolts hit the men in the chest, knocking them all to the ground. The hydreigon roared, firing a dragon pulse from all three of its heads, but the raichu flew forward on its tail, blocking them point blank with a protect. It flew closer, touching the dragon on the chest. It exploded in a massive bolt of lightning, falling to the ground in a similar state to the tyranitar. 

	The blue clad man walked forward, up to the police. "I made sure not to kill them. I'm fine, and so is everybody else." He said, walking right past the barricade. He put his hand to his mouth and whistled, his pokemon rushing to his side. He sighed as he walked off.

	"Damn. That was cool." Soul said. 

	"Who was that?" Seth asked. 

	"You don't know?" Becky asked. "That was Volkner, the eighth gym leader. They say he's one of the strongest trainers in Sinnoh. Like, stronger than the elite four even." 

	"So that's the power difference? We are going to have to get better."

	"Yeah, seeing that must make you worry. I'm kinda thankful I'm not a battler. Anyways, let's head over to the market." She turned and led the way across town to a building surrounded by tents and stands. It looked like a flea market. She looked around, until she found a stall with plushies. As she looked through that, Seth split off, looking around for anything interesting. When he didn't see anything, he looked back to her. When he did, he found her floatzel staring at him. He couldn't place that look, but it made his skin crawl. Suspicion maybe?

	"No luck." Becky said, stepping away from the table. 

	"Alright, so? Now what?" 

	"I guess we can tag along to Pastoria. It's not that far away, and that's where I live." 

	"Fine by me." Seth said with a shrug. "Was it really worth coming all the way out here? Like what, a two hour walk from Pastoria?"

	"Of course." She said. "I will get every pokemon plush. It's my dream." She had a fire burning in her eyes.

	"I see..." Seth said.

	They walked for a while, mostly in silence, until Seth spoke up again.

	"Know anything about Crasher Wake?" 

	"Yeah. He's kind of a local hero. He dresses up in an outfit and everything. He specializes in water types. He uses a ton of different pokemon, but his best is a floatzel, like Aqua here. But don't count on water types exclusively, he mixes types a lot. Like lanturn, part electric."

	"Alright." Seth began to brainstorm, trying to think if there were any part water types that were effective against Soul or Sky. He could think of a few, but there were so many water types... 

	They eventually made it back to the resort, heading south from that onto a beach. But there was something strange. Tons of pink spikes stuck out of the sand. 

	"The hell?" Seth asked. 

	"Oh that? It's just the pyukumuku. They started washing up on the beaches ever since the great migration. Watch." She stepped closer and poked a spike. It jiggled, and a black blob like pokemon emerged from the sand. It looked angrily at her. 

	"Fuck off." It growled in a high pitch voice. It squirmed around again to bury itself. 

	They walked across the beach for a while, until the path led back up into Pastoria. As they got nearer, the humidity picked way up, making it seem way hotter. 

	"Well, we're gonna head for the pokemon center. It's too late to challenge the gym."

	"Me and Aqua need to talk to him, so if you wanna tag along to meet him..." She offered. 

	"Okay." Seth shrugged. She led the way there, and guided him inside. She walked right in, without the receptionist saying a word. She went into a side door, leading into a long hallway. She opened one of the doors, into what looked like a dressing room. There was a bald man with sideburns inside, putting on a blue wrestling mask. 

	He turned around. "Becky!" He called out, spreading his arms as he came close and pulled her into a hug. "Make a friend?" He asked.

	"Yeah. Seth, this is my dad, Crasher Wake. Dad, this is your next challenger." 

	"A trainer eh?" He offered his hand which Seth shook. It was a firm handshake, between two strong men, though he certainly looked a lot more buff than Seth. "HAH!" He bellowed. "Now that's a handshake. I look forward to a good battle." He said with a hearty laugh. 

	"Likewise." Seth said with a nod. 

	"Well, I just wanted to say hi now that I got home." Becky explained.

	"Anything good?" He asked.

	"Nothin', at least not yet." 

	"Ay, that's a shame." 

	Becky and Seth left, about to go their separate ways outside the gym.

	"Are there any special rules at the gym?" Seth asked.

	"Yeah, you have to battle in the pool. It's about ten feet deep."

	"Hmm... I may be willing to give you my absol doll. If you convince your dad to let me battle without being there. Just my pokemon versus him." 

	"Oh, that shouldn't be hard. He loves interesting fights. But why on earth would you do that?" 

	"Call it a challenge. If my pokemon can beat him alone, that'll show just how strong we are." 

	"You gonna battle with us for once?" Soul said. 

	"Sure, I'll talk to him about it." Becky said. 

	"I'd appreciate it, probably enough to hand over a certain plush." Seth said. He began walked toward the pokemon center. On the way he turned back. Becky had gone the other way, but her floatzel was looking back at him as they walked. Once again, she looked suspicious of him. As if she expected him to commit a crime or something.  

+++

	"She seems nice." Sky said. 

	"Yeah. Maybe a little obsessed, but nice." Seth said. "And if she can convince her dad, then I can fight with you." 

	"For once you get off your ass?" Soul joked. 

	"Hey, leading is just as hard. It's pretty stressful."

	"You just keep telling yourself that." 

	"I'm just glad to be away from her floatzel. That thing was creeping me out."

	"You didn't notice?" Soul asked.

	"She-" Sky started.

	"Sch!" Soul hissed. "It's a secret." 

	"Care to clue me in?" He asked.

	"Nope." Soul said cheerily, turning back to the TV.