CHAPTER 5
Togepi hid behind my leg as I introduced myself to everyone at the table. They were all nice people, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. Even my grandmother seemed to have eased up on me. It seemed that most of her hate was toward my dad and not me.
“So this is your Togepi then, Grace? Those are pretty rare, from what I’ve heard,” Casey said, tilting her head to get a better view.
“Yeah, she’s mine. They’re not that rare— I’ve seen multiple people with one, and even a Togetic once a few years ago,” I answered. “Forgive her, she’s pretty bad with crowds. I’m trying to work on that.”
“Oh, no worries,” Ronald waved his hand. “I don’t have any Pokemon, and no one ever comes to Twinleaf, so I’m just happy to see a new one.”
“Sit, Grace. You can have some of this if you want. You must be famished after your journey here,” Mom said.
Well, I wasn’t going to say no to that. The juicy meat they were eating looked really appetizing, as was that salad on the side.
“Thanks,” I said, sitting down in an empty seat. I grabbed food while they continued chit-chatting, stuffing myself with as much as I could. It was a very welcome change after days of eating granola bars. “Cun I have sum watew?” I asked. Grandma poured me a glass.
“What’s wrong, Denzel? You haven’t talked since Grace got here,” His mother asked.
“I’m— uh, yeah, I have a stomachache. I think I ate too much,” He answered. His voice was extremely deep— deeper than his father’s.
“You were fine when she was showering. Why don’t you tell us all about your plan for the Circuit,” Mom said.
“Oh, don’t remind me,” Casey exclaimed. “If he hasn’t changed his mind by seeing Grace’s state when she came here, Denzel’s a fool— no offense, Grace.”
“None taken,” I answered, my mouth full.
“Let’s not do this here, mom. I already told you I was going no matter what. You already stopped me from going last year!”
“Oh, sorry for not wanting my son to risk his life out there when he has a perfectly normal life in Twinleaf. So sorry!” Casey said in a sarcastic tone.
This was getting awkward. Ronald had stopped talking altogether and was fidgeting in his seat. Casey kept going.
“Do you know how many trainers die out there? Poor kids that get lost going through Mount Coronet, or Eterna Forest? I don’t want that to happen to you!”
Denzel slammed the table and stood up. “I already made up my mind. Thank you for the food, Samantha.”
I slowed my chewing as I observed him go out. He slammed the door. A few seconds later, he opened it again and apologized for slamming the door, and then left again.
Casey and Ronald took off pretty quickly after that. I finished my food and fed Togepi an Oran Berry. She didn’t eat much— I couldn’t blame her; the entire berry was bigger than her head. Maybe next time, I’d slice it up instead. Mom and Grandma worked on cleaning up the dishes while I played a little bit with Togepi. I’d throw her on the couch, and then she’d jump off, chirping happily. How cute.
“Are you ready to talk now?” Mom tapped my shoulder.
I inhaled sharply and nodded.
“Let’s do this in my room,” She continued.
I followed her, and she invited me in, closing the door behind her.
“Whew… let’s do this,” Mom said. “I’m sure you have questions for me. Go ahead, and then I’ll ask you mine.”
“Why did you cheat on dad?” I blurted out.
She put her head against the wall and sighed. “The big one’s first, huh? I’m sorry, Grace, but there… there wasn’t a good reason. I was a terrible person, and I’ll always regret it. I begged Arthur to stay when he found out, but he wanted a divorce. At first, I wanted to stay in Jubilife to see you, but the city had this… oppressive force. It was like I couldn’t breathe properly there. It reminded me of what I had lost too much.”
I let the statement marinate in my mind for a few seconds. I knew it was stupid, but I had been hoping. Hoping for there to have been a reason better than ‘I was selfish, so I slept with someone else.’ “So you moved to Twinleaf to escape that?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Why’d you take dad’s Herdier?”
“Your dad worked long hours, and I didn’t work at all. You were still a toddler, and Herdier take a lot of work to care for. He was… extremely disheartened to let go of him, but we mutually agreed in the end. Plus, Twinleaf’s a better town for him than Jubilife. All that open space.”
“Why does Grandma hate dad? I heard her call him a son of a… b-word,” I asked hesitantly.
“Oh, don’t mind her. She just loves me too much. She knows I’m in the wrong, but she can’t help it.”
“That just isn’t right! Dad’s always so nice to me and so understanding… I don’t like it,” Togepi chirped in agreement. “But anyway, I’m done. It’s your turn now,” I finished, crossing my arms and legs.
“Well, I certainly won’t ask why you never answer my messages or calls, but I’ll ask you now. When you leave, can you please at least talk to me every few weeks? Just so I can hear your voice?” Mom asked as she began tearing up. She fanned her eyes with her hands. “Sorry, it’s just— I don’t want us to never speak again.”
“I can try to make an effort…”
“Thank you, I mean it.” She said. “And um, I was wondering if you were signing up for the Circuit? You have a Pokemon.” She lifted her chin toward Togepi.
“Toge!”
“I wasn’t going to, but I changed my mind recently. I’m all in,” I said with a reluctant smile.
“I’m sure you’ll do well. Denzel’s also signing up this year, maybe you guys could help each other out? He’s quite the shy one, and he likes to keep to himself. There aren’t any kids his age left here.”
I thought back to the scene in the dining room. “He seems a little scary, though.”
“He’s as sweet as they come! He’s just been having problems with his parents, but it’s not my place to say. Speaking of, I hope your dad agreed to you joining the Circuit?”
“He did,” I said before slapping my head. “Crap, I was supposed to call him when I got here!”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Me being in this room when he’s calling would be a bad idea,” Mom said. I nodded, and she left.
I called dad, put him on speaker for Togepi, and told him about me signing up for the League Circuit. He was ecstatic, saying he’d root for me and watch every battle I would have. It was embarrassing, really, but I couldn’t help but smile. I also told him I kind of made up with mom, and he was genuinely glad for me, even though he would still never forgive her. The call ended after I told him I’d spend a few days here to get to know mom better and maybe deal with this Denzel situation. The truth was, I really wanted a trainer friend to talk to, but right now I had nobody, so there was certainly a selfish reasoning behind my reason for helping.
That night, Herdier came back and licked my face all over. He somehow recognized me, even though I hadn’t seen him in eleven years. Mom said it must have been my smell. We gave him his vitamins by mixing them with his food, and I went to sleep shortly after in the Guest room. The only good thing I could think of about living in Twinleaf was that every house was huge. More space for me.
The next morning, I trained a little bit with Togepi outside. We practiced the speed of her rollout, which was getting more and more powerful, and we also practiced Sweet Kiss on wild Pokemon like Bidoof near the lake. Maybe with enough training, it would be more effective, but right now, I was basically shooting in the dark. The worse thing was that if Togepi eventually evolved, she wouldn’t be able to use rollout anymore.
After a few hours of training, I recalled Togepi and made my way around the lake toward Denzel’s house. It was slightly larger than my mom’s, and there was a pasture with a bunch of Milktank in the back.
“Woah. They’re bigger than they look like online,” I said, quietly observing the Pokemon go about their day.
I climbed the stairs to their porch and rang their doorbell. Surprisingly, Denzel was the one that answered, and not his parents.
“Who— oh, you’re that girl from yesterday. What’s up?” He asked.
“Uh, I’m really bad at this, but… do you want to be friends?” I said, averting my eyes. “I’m also signing up for the Circuit soon, and I think we could help each other.”
His face brightened up in surprise. “Oh, no shit? Come in!”
——
Denzel brought us glasses of Milktank milk and homemade cookies that his mother had made.
“Those look really good, thanks,” I said.
“They are. My mom runs a patisserie. That’s what she calls it. Apparently it’s a Kalosian word. So yeah, usually we have a bunch of homemade stuff lying about,” He explained as he sat down. “So,” He took a deep breath. “The League Circuit, huh? How are you feeling about it?”
“To be honest, I’m super excited, but the nerves will probably get to me when I actually am a part of this thing. Right now, it’s unofficial, you know? I just declared it.”
“I totally get that,” Denzel said, dipping his cookie into his milk. “I’m so happy I can finally go, though. My mom wants me to keep helping her around the store, and dad just lets her walk all over him. They guilt-tripped me into staying last year, but not anymore. I’m going no matter what!”
“Sounds rough. My dad’s been supportive. In fact, he had to basically push me to get out of my shell. Just a few days ago, I basically wanted nothing to do with Pokemon battling.”
“I think you’ll be glad you changed your mind. We only have a few attempts at the Circuit before going back to the real world, you know? Even less for people that fail really early,” Denzel pondered.
“Why? Can’t you just try over and over? The League hasn’t set a limit.”
“Yeah, but consider this: have you ever seen someone older than, like, twenty-five attempt the Circuit?” He waited for my answer, and I shook my head. “I’ve been watching a lot of Circuits online in preparation for this year, and everyone’s young.”
“Wait, you have internet here? I thought you didn’t.”
“What? Why wouldn’t we have internet? I think that’s just your mother’s house— but anyway! The fact is, you can’t be trying over and over. At some point, you’ve got to start working in the real world, right? Boring nine-to-five office job.”
“Couldn’t you make a living off of fighting trainers?” I asked, remembering the pokedollars I had gained on my way here.
“Theoretically, you could. But the truth is, you’ll be making less money than with a normal job, and if you can’t at least do well in the Circuit, what’s the point? Might as well go back home and sleep in a comfy bed every night and eat hot food.”
“Ok, I get your point. But some people still do it and join tournaments too. Like that Craig guy with the Salamence—”
“You know Craig Goodwill?” Denzel said, his face lighting up. “Isn’t his Salamence the coolest?! I heard he was signing up for the Circuit too. I hope I can see it in person.”
“A Salamence? Those things are capable of killing thousands on a whim. Dragon types are terrifying…”
“But he raised it correctly, so it’s not a danger. Plus, he’s not allowed to have them out in cities. The danger rating’s too high, and it would cause a panic.”
“Ok, enough about Craig,” I said, shaking my hand. “Want to show me your starter?”
“Sure,” He said. He grabbed a ball from his desk and released a sleeping Eevee. “This is my Eevee. I rescued him from route 202 two years ago, and he’s been with me ever since.”
“He’s so cute!” I gushed. The Eevee slowly woke up and looked me straight in the eyes. He then ‘huffed’ and jumped onto Denzel’s bed, turned a few times, and laid down. “I think he doesn’t like me.”
“He’s a little bit rude,” Denzel said. “But I’m hoping the Circuit will get him to open up a little. So you have a Togepi?”
I sent her out, and she chirped happily, much to Eevee’s dismay. He barked and crawled under the covers.
“She’s still a little young, but I believe in her fully,” I said.
“Prrri!” She said with a smile.
“She looks energetic. How long have you had her for?”
“She’s eight months old,” I replied. “Hatched her from an egg.”
“Cool,” Denzel said. “It’s my first time seeing one ever— well, outside of a computer screen.”
Denzel spent some time getting familiar with Togepi while I tried approaching his Eevee, but that was to no avail. Togepi was a little wary at first, but she got used to him very quickly.
“Her little noises are too much! I love them,” He smiled. “But anyway, I’m a little nervous about asking you this, but… want to battle?”
I really want to see that guy with his salamence against the goddamn togepi pop draco meteor only for the togepi to come out perfectly fine (u know, unaffected). I would be dying.
Funny how they are freaking out about Salamance, when they have the perfect counter to dragons, literally no-selling Dragon type moves.
Or at least she has already, but Eevee evolves into Sylveon almost on its own too.
You also have to consider that this story is more like the anime, it isn't a game where everything is guaranteed. In the game Draco Meteor has a numerical limit on what it can do (ie. fairy types are immune), where as in the anime someone like team Rocket could easily use it to nuke the poke center if they really wanted to.
It’s more of a realistic pokemon fanfic
I personally hope she doesn't forgive her mother for cheating ever.
That’s more between the mom and the Dad considering neither of them are badmouthing each other to her and the mother acknowledged what she did as wrong they clearly want her to have a relationship with both parents if one of them was sabotaging that then side against the cheater otherwise the kid isn’t part of that fight
I would agree if the morher didn't feel remorse
But atleast she set a good example if what not to do
She left her baby daughter and just disappeared from her life and for what some random d...ck and even after it finished, she went back to her hometown for what 'the city felt oppressive' no just no. Sorry but no, she doesn't deserve to be called mother. Somethings are not solved by just feeling remorse.... Calling once in a while is not enough.... This is not called redemption or trying. It is called guilt relief. She called her daughter so that she can fool herself saying 'I am trying to connect with my daughter'. She had the Pokemon, time and loots of chances to make the trip and reach her. Even in this case. HER DAUGHTER WENT TO 'MOTHER' WITH A LEVEL 1 POKEMON.
I hate cheaters. Of any kind. I don't think I'll ever come to like her mom even if she turns out to be the mist likeable character in the fic.
I like how the story feels realistic for the world that it’s set in
why is she just.....okay with what her mom did? she doesnt have a shred of backbone, its pathetic.
So she hasn't seen or spoken with her mother in 11 years? That requires quite the suspension of disbelief to believe, especially since it seems like both of her parents wanted her to know her mother. I just find it hard to believe some kind of effort wasn't made on their part to arrange something that didn't require a 15 year old to be the first to make a trip. not to mention the not returning calls and messages and the like. At this point I'm more willing to believe the dad was sabotaging the mom than a 4 to 5 year old making the conscious decision to not speak with her mother again for 11 years. As a child of a divorce and someone who works with troubled kids, I can tell you the first thing most kids want is for things to go back to normal. I just can't believe she would have cut her mother off for so long and 100% side with her dad. Unless of course I'm misinterpreting something and they only stopped talking recently. Which makes much more sense in her teenage years given that she'd finally understand what caused the rift in the relationship and where the blame really lies.
Aside from that, I also don't quite buy that people just...stop? with pokemon after they reach a certain age. Or at least stop training and traveling. Pokemon is too intrinsic to the world. It's one thing for those that don't make it far to give up and do something else, but with gym leaders, elite four and champions being a thing, it just doesn't make sense for their not to be an older circuit for trainers or a way to make money while still being a trainer for those that are successful. If the world really is that dangerous that a single pokemon could kill thousands, it would definitely have adults in each town capable of dealing with disturbances. people paid by the government to keep up a team of strong pokemon or something. Pokemon rangers that help out in disasters. People who do make it far in their journeys and have at least a few pokemon would require more than just a nine to five to take care of them indefinitely. That's not even getting into the other things people do with pokemon that require travel like coordinators. Idk, just seems weird that after 25 you have to "go back to the real world" for a world that kind of revolves around pokemon. that doesn't mean everything has to deal with pokemon, just that there should definitely be options for those that decide to dedicate their lives to training.
Your experience is not the default, sorry to tell you. My parents also divorced when I was very young and everyone will have a different reaction to it, especially if they can't remember the parent in the first place due to them leaving too early in their lives. You cannot claim that every single child will react the same way, sorry. You are also misinterpreting the fact that her dad has been pushing for it her entire life. Her father wanting them to reconnect is a recent development that Grace can't understand because she saw how screwed up her father was from her mother's betrayal while growing up.
There will be the occasional 30 yo trainer, but for the vast majority of people, that isn't a financially viable option. There are lines of work that you can get into, but if you aren't any good, you're not going to make enough money to live off that. Let's take a real world example: professional sports. A lot of kids will play in school, or even in college, but they won't keep playing when they realize how difficult it is to actually go pro. The same principle applies here. Of course, people can still do it as a hobby, but not a job. Older people still battle in cities on week ends or on days off.
@Soussouni First, I do want to point out that I did not imply that my experiences were the default, nor was I only pulling from my own personal experience. Still not really a topic I want to get into over a fanfic.
Now, that "isn't a financially viable option" is what I kind of have a problem with. The sports analogy is great but it's kind of missing a crucial point. Sports aren't intrinsically tied to our entire civilization. This world evolved around pokemon. It doesn't quite make sense that the government wouldn't develop itself to accommodate for that. Training shouldn't only be heavily encouraged (which you've shown it is), but it should be incredibly lucrative as well, at least at the higher levels. People aren't just going to want to give up a major part of their lives they've spent their entire childhood preparing for. I think a great example of that is in Yugioh. Dueling is a major part of their society and being a good and entertaining duelist is enough to practically make you a celebrity no matter how old you are. Winning duels gives you DP that you can spend to buy more cards or convert to money to buy whatever else you need. The only reason people would quit being a duelist, or a trainer in this case, would be because they either aren't good at it or they've grown tired of the lifestyle and want to settle down and do something not as high stakes. Finances shouldn't be the issue, just dedication and skill. Look at the world of 5D's. If you're a good duelist you can literally rise through poverty and live a life of luxury because that's how important dueling is to their society. Having a league circuit being split between junior league and senior league is just common sense in this sort of society.
@UncrownedKing I think you misunderstood? Or maybe I did, idk. That's what I meant. If you're good at battling, there are many career choices that are open to you and you can even become rich through sponsorships, but if you aren't either you're going to have to settle for being on the poorer side of things or you quit and get a job in a city and actually make enough money to settle down. I see that you disagree with my world-building and think that training should be easier than I made it and that getting rich should be easy (or at least easier), but disagree and I don't think we'll see eye-to-eye on this. The point is, not everyone is going to succeed. The majority of people will fail and realize they aren't good enough to realize their dream of being a trainer, and they'll pick a different career choice and keep battling a side thing if they were really passionate about it.
@Soussouni No, I don't disagree that training should be hard. I was mostly referring to how in this chapter they talk about how you never see a trainer past 25 and they have a time limit before "going back to the real world", which just didn't make sense to me. I very much agree that the majority should fail at being trainers. I said they would be heavily encouraged and incentivized to be trainers, not that it should be easy. those are two very different things. What I didn't really agree with was how those that do succeed essentially had no where else to go after that. You've cleared a bit of that up in the last comment. From the way it seemed in this chapter with the age thing made it seem like once you got to a certain age that was just kind of it for your trainer career no matter how good or bad you were at it. It was just a bit misleading with the wording, which is why I kept mentioning having a circuit for older trainers who've already proven they are great trainers and still want to battle professionally. Kind of like how sports have different tournaments based on location. Regionals, nationals, internationals, global, etc. being able to qualify for stuff like that takes time, especially when you're up against potentially the entire world. That should be something to strive for past 25 imo.