Read advance chapters of all my works or want to support me .

https://www.p.a.t.r.e.on.com/Adamo_Amet

....

Join us on discord : 

https://discord.gg/DXv2nkTB

••••••••••••••••••

Yellow was sweating profusely as she sat down at the table with everyone else. 

Most of the Pokémon looked ashamed, except for Lucario, who appeared indifferent. Green seemed composed, but Yellow could sense her underlying nervousness.

Austin began setting up for tea, laying out an assortment of cubes, some dried herbs, and a kettle of boiling water on the table. 

"You know, I never thought I would enjoy tea," Austin remarked as he placed the dried herbs into his cup and poured the hot water over them. 

He then covered the cup, leaving a small gap to pour the brewed tea, which shimmered like liquid gold, into small shot glasses. 

Handing himself one, he continued, "But Alfred is quite the tea maker."

Austin sipped his tea with a relaxed demeanor that left everyone wondering if he was upset. 

Lucario, curious, grabbed the nearest cup and tasted it. 

"You know, I have never heard of making shitty tea as a psychological tactic," Lucario commented.

Austin shrugged. "Just wanted to make a comfortable environment," he replied, glancing around at his Pokémon, who avoided meeting his gaze, then at Green, who remained composed, and finally at Yellow, who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Drink it and tell me what you think?" Austin encouraged them.

Yellow, eager to move past the tension, was the first to grab a cup and took a big sip of the boiling hot tea, immediately burning her tongue. 

"Careful," Austin cautioned, handing her a glass of water to soothe the burn.

"Y-You aren't mad?" Yellow asked, her voice quivering and tears forming in her eyes.

"Of course not. Why would I be mad?" Austin replied, his response met with skeptical looks from everyone around the table. 

"I don't know, it's not like we broke into your room, drugged you, and then stole your stuff," Green sarcastically said, taking a sip of her tea. She looked surprised that the tea was actually good and then questioned, "Speaking of this, how are you not knocked out by the chloroform?"

Austin just shrugged. 

"Sleep schedule. I normally just do power naps of twenty minutes, and I tried to sleep normally, couldn't do it until I sensed Yellow trying to break in. Nice touch with the pink suit," he said, nodding at Yellow who blushed in response.

"Well, I just held my breath and used aura to not get knocked out," Austin explained.

At this, everyone turned to Lucario, their eyes accusing. 

"You knew!" their stares seemed to say. Lucario, unfazed, just melted chocolate in his hot tea and began licking it, ignoring the stares.

"Austin..." Yellow began, but Austin interrupted her, pressing for a different answer.

"Why did you call, Cynthia?" he asked.

Yellow's lips pursed, and after a moment, she sighed. 

"I thought Cynthia could convince you," she admitted. 

Austin laughed in response.

"Oh, is there like some place you want to go? You didn't..." Austin's words trailed off as he noticed Green's glare and Yellow's tears beginning to form again.

"Stop pretending that you don't know," Green growled, frustration evident in her voice.

Austin's demeanor sobered, his lips pursing tightly. 

"We are worried for you," Yellow said, her voice breaking into sobs.

"Why? I am healthy, rich, and safe," Austin responded mechanically, his tone so rehearsed it sounded devoid of emotion.

"We defeated Team Rocket," Yellow added, trying to reach him emotionally. 

"We avenged... Raticate. We did it, we saved Kanto, yet..." She struggled to continue, feeling Pikachu's paws for support.

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in.

"Pikachu says he wants to go back to how things were before; battling and adventuring," Yellow translated.

"Charm!" 

"Charmeleon says he wants to battle," Yellow continued, and soon she was translating everyone's thoughts to Austin, who remained silent. 

Finally, he offered, "I think I can book a few battles throughout the day."

Austin avoided everyone's gaze, lost in thought until Pikachu's call brought him back. 

"Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu insisted, and Yellow translated the poignant message: "Raticate wouldn't want you like this."

The room fell silent, the weight of Pikachu's words hanging heavily in the air, reflecting everyone's concern and love for Austin, urging him to get help.

Austin's head snapped up in anger, but he was met with a variety of looks. 

There were eyes filled with sympathy, some with a clear desire to help, and others with a stern glare demanding something more from him. 

"What do you want me to do?" Austin asked, his gaze falling to Pikachu's paw resting on his hand.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded confidently, knowing his partner understood.

"Let's go back."

Austin tried to smile as he looked up. 

"I'll try."

"Try what?" Green probed, seeking clarity.

"I'll try to ask for help. Just give me some time to think, to get... help, to... get back to normal," Austin's voice trailed off as he sighed deeply and scratched his head.

"How about this? Next time, you all want to talk about something, just come and talk to me and not bother Cynthia," Austin suggested, his curiosity piqued. 

"Also, why call Cynthia?"

Yellow's fist clenched as she replied, "I thought you valued her words more than ours."

"Why?" Austin pressed for an answer.

Yellow didn't have an answer, or rather, she didn't want to say what she was really thinking.

"Yellow," Austin said, placing his hand on hers. 

"Next time, just come and talk to me. Cynthia is my friend, but so are you. Your words matter to me."

Yellow gave Austin a million-watt smile in response.

"Go to therapy, you freak," Green said bluntly, her straightforwardness cutting through the tension.

Austin sighed, "Okay, I'll try to get some reputable therapist to help me."

"That's all we ask, for you to be okay and come back to your normal self," Yellow said, her voice filled with hope, as everyone around the table nodded in agreement.

Austin gave a small smile. 

"I'll Try." 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[Omake Paragraph]

Makuhita are not a particularly powerful species of pokemon, nor is there all that much about them which captures the imagination of beginning trainers. When they are captured it is not often from favoritism, but almost always because Makuhita are among the most common fighting-type pokemon in Hoenn. And there are a great many trainers, two of Hoenn's gym leaders among them, who struggle to deal with fighting pokemon. Yet rarely are they imagined as a permanent member on a trainer's team, and if they are it is only to cover weaknesses; usually, they are seen as mercenaries to be used for a single match and then either released to the wild or deposited in the pokemon storage system.

Yet few Makuhita are ever released, for their trainers soon find in them a determination matching or even exceeding their own. They will spend day and night lifting weights until they pass out, often continuing after their trainer has already fallen asleep, trying to overcome their natural fatigue to gain more time for training. Makuhita are known for trying to push over trees as a show of strength, although they never succeed in anything more than making them sway a bit or knocking out smaller pokemon like Shroomish and Slakoth. Yet they still count every inch they sway the branch as a minor victory, and they dream of the day when they will be able to shove down trees, roots and all.

And then their trainers grow to identify with their Makuhita and see them as not only temporary minions, but as the truest of comrades. After all, pokemon trainers and Makuhita alike want to be the very best.