A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've recently been put on the Pokémon TCG's Gym Leader Challenge. It's been really fun and I recommend it to everyone! Much cheaper than the normal meta. Also, I'll be posting on Sundays from here on out. Lots of things happening. Enjoy!
"Come on, you shouldn't hole yourself up in your room," I said through Alex's door.
"I don't want to talk to you," his muffled voice rang out.
"That's fine, but it's not good to stay shut in," I replied. He didn't respond. I sighed. "Look, you can come willingly and choose where we go, or I can break this door down and drag you to one of the Berry farms."
"…You wouldn't."
"Try me," I stated. I heard some shuffling, and the door swung open a moment later. Alex had deep, purple bags under his eyes. His clothes were stained with… something. If I searched up the definition of disheveled, I wouldn't have been surprised to see his picture.
I walked into his room and sat at the kitchen table. "Shower and get dressed. It's warm outside, so you might want to wear shorts."
"Where are you taking me?"
"You have time to think about where we go while you get ready. I'll wait for you here."
Alex grumbled something before walking toward the bedroom and grabbing a change of clothes. Once he entered the restroom, I released the breath I was holding. Seeing Nova and Nautilus' performance got me out of my funk for a moment, but I was slowly getting dragged back down. And that made me worry more for Alex. 'At least I was knocked out when Lyla-'
"Alright, where are we going?" Alex asked, looking very much the same except for the dripping mop of sandy blond hair currently wetting his shirt.
"Seems like you haven't thought about it," I answered. "That's okay. We'll go to the Berry Restaurant. They opened for the season a few weeks ago."
We walked out together. Once outside, I released the team and let them enjoy the sunshine. I knew Alex had a Pokémon, but I had yet to see them. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. His body tensed almost immediately when they materialized. He didn't look scared necessarily, but he was definitely uncomfortable. "Are you not going to release your Pokémon?"
"Huh?" He glanced sideways, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Your Pokémon. I know you have one," I answered. "Why not let them out?"
"That… No, I can't," he said. "He doesn't like me."
"What do you mean?"
"He doesn't like me. Any time I've let him out, he snarls at me and tries to attack me." He shook his head. "I'd rather not deal with him."
"I can understand why you don't want to let him out if that's the case," I said, "but if he's always in his ball…"
"Well, I… Yeah, I get it," he sighed. "But he's aggressive! I don't want to deal with an aggressive Pokémon."
"I don't blame you," I replied, taking a moment to think about what I wanted to say. "But keeping Swinub in his ball will only make it worse when you do have to release him in the future."
We neared the Berry Restaurant, a small collection of tables in front of a cabin next to the Berry farms. Alex stopped and looked at me. "What do you mean?"
I watched my team interact with the area for a minute. Tetsu bounced around and introduced herself to people and Pokémon alike. Nautilus and Nova were locked in a show-off, trying to prove they were cooler than the other to Tetsu and whoever she brought over to them. Alex looked at them as well. "Pokémon are intelligent and wonderful," I said.
"I don't believe there's such a thing as an evil Pokémon. They tend to follow power hierarchies and hunt each other for food, but they never use their abilities to destroy territories in mutual destruction. Sure, many Trainers are killed every year by wild Pokémon, but that's only when they encroach on areas they have no good reason to be in. When you think about the times Pokémon have attacked human settlements or damaged their natural environment, there's always a human hand that tipped the domino."
"What does that have to do with my Swinub?" he asked.
"If he is aggressive with you, there is probably a reason for it." I looked Alex in his eyes. "I don't think you're doing anything on purpose. To be honest, I don't think you're doing anything at all. But I think that's exactly the problem."
"Me doing nothing is a problem?" he scoffed. "You're so wise. I knew this was a waste of time."
"Let me ask you this. If you saw a parent ignore their child every day, would you blame the child or parent if the child started showing behavior problems?"
"The parent, of course. But what does that have…
"I'm not a parent," he stated coldly.
"When you have a Pokémon, especially a young one, you are everything to them. Parent, mentor, friend, Trainer, those are all duties you need to consider when you have a Pokémon."
I didn't ask for one!" he snarled. "I never wanted a Pokémon! The lab forced it on me when I joined. They said it was required, but they didn't even ask about my experiences with them. If they did, they'd know-"
He stopped abruptly. Tetsu and Nautilus were staring at us, as were some passerby. He stared past them, quiet for several minutes. I gave him his space. He was clearly reliving a memory. "I've never liked Pokémon, not even as a kid. They… They hurt my mother when we lived in Kanto. We were told it was a rogue Rocket agent, but that didn't change the fact that my mother was paralyzed. She's still paralyzed. Every time I see a Pokémon, I can't help but replay the attack. I see her in her wheelchair. That's why I don't let him out. I don't trust him not to hurt me."
"That's terrible, I'm sorry," I told him gently. I waited another minute before continuing. "I don't blame you for not wanting to release Swinub and spend time with him. But it will get worse if nothing changes. Maybe I can help you make up for lost time."
"Is that supposed to make sense?" he snapped.
"I can protect you if he does try to attack. I think you should try again. I mean, Nautilus wanted to eat me when we first met, and he attacked me for days before I got some sort of friendly relationship with him. But now…"
We watched as Nautilus comforted Tetsu after her newfound friends left for the day. I thought back to all the times we'd synced up, when we were connected in more ways than physically or mentally. To times when we didn't need to speak or even look at each other. We felt and understood the other more clearly than any telepathy could allow.
"Now, our bond is unbreakable. I trust him with my life."
Alex didn't say anything, his face not showing a hint of his thoughts. "You don't have to," I said. "But it could help more than you know."
I pointed an open hand at one of the tables. "Your choice."
He stood there, a statue in the middle of a public gathering spot. He grimaced, the expression growing more intense until it finally fell apart. "Okay. I'll try. But you'd better stop him from hurting me."
"Of course. That's what you hired me for," I answered, a sad smile appearing as I thought of Lyla. The air between us grew somber, but Tetsu dissolved it quickly by rolling over to Alex and using Metal Claw to tap at his bag. "I think they're excited to meet Swinub as well," I explained.
"Fine, fine. I'll bring him out now." He rummaged through his bag as we walked towards a table. Tetsu bounced in place, eager for a new friend. Nova tried to act like she didn't care, but she steadily grew more curious as Alex pulled a Safari Ball out. With a quick tap of the button, he released Swinub.
"Swi!" he snorted, shaking his hairy body. His long, thick hairs swayed with each twitch of his body as he stretched and sighed with satisfaction. He noticed Tetsu, Nova, and Nautilus watching him, and swiftly began sniffing them. Tetsu giggled as he did, though I was eternally grateful that both Nova and Nautilus took deep breaths as their turns passed. They looked ready to pummel him into the ground. Once they were done, Swinub sniffed the air and froze. His body snapped towards Alex. Alex, for his part, didn't flinch or grimace. He looked awkward as he raised his hand and waved.
"H-h-hi, Swinub. I thought maybe you could join us ou-"
Swinub lunged at the poor man, not making a noise other than the initial launch from the floor. I stepped between them and caught Swinub with a hand. Luckily, he wasn't actively using any Type Energy. Swinub's eyes widened in surprise as I caught him, clearly not expecting my reaction. "Good afternoon Swinub," I smiled. "We're going to stay safe and calm. If not, Nova and Nautilus will help you stay safe."
I turned him towards the two, who'd already charged up their attacks. Nova's glowing Incinerate and Nautilus' readied Psyshock provided the enough motivation for Swinub to nod briskly in agreement. "Great, I'm going to put you down and we're all going to have lunch. Together. Nautilus, help him pick out what he wants for lunch. I don't think he knows much about ordering from a restaurant."
Nautilus saluted me before floating over to the shaking Swinub, animatedly explaining the different options he'd already scoped out from their menu. I turned to Alex, who was wide-eyed. "Alright, let's get some food and sit together. I think whatever conversation you have with Swinub needs to start off gently so he doesn't feel like you're blaming him."
"He attacks me. Of course I'd blame him!"
"You ignore him. He blames you just as much," I said, giving him no room to argue. "Right now, blaming each other and getting heated isn't going to help. He might be comfortable in his PokéBall, but there's only so much time someone can spend cooped up somewhere before they start getting restless and resentful of whoever is keeping them inside. Pokémon live in constant danger from all sides. Their natural instinct is to attack because that means a chance to survive. Don't put him into survival mode, and he's more likely to actually listen to you."
"I, that's… You don't… Ugh, fine. If it gets him to stop attacking me, I'll do it," he muttered. Once everyone told me their orders, I went up to the cashier as the others saved a table. The teenager looked incredibly bored, her Holo Caster projecting an older woman giving an update from the Battle Chateau.
"The Day Care has recently closed down without warning to locals or Trainers paying for their services," the hologram lady reported. "If there is no update by noon tomorrow, we, Duchess Drasna and Duke Wikstrom, will investigate personally…"
"I wonder how many Trainers haven't gotten their Pokémon back," lamely commented, gaining the cashier's attention.
"Hmm," she said before asking for my order.
As I pulled out my phone to transfer the money, I heard a familiar angry trill. I turned to see Nautilus and Nova between Alex and Swinub, though it looked like my team was protecting Swinub from Alex. "Arceus." My shoulders sagged as I finished the payment. When I turned back, Alex was gone and Swinub was… Crying?
I hurried over, Tetsu waving me over with Metal Claw. Nova was patting Swinub's back and he sniffled and said something to Nautilus.
"What happened?"
Nautilus glanced towards the restroom sign and gave me a basic run down. I smacked my forehead with a hand. "Damnit, Alex. I told you to avoid the blame game."
I stood up. "Nova, come with me, please. I'm going to talk to Alex."