Chapter 143

Chapter 143

CHAPTER 143

I had left Chase's room now, and I was sure I wouldn't see him again before he left. He had been too embarrassed to even look me in the eye. He wasn't used to showing his softer side to people, and opening up to me had been a first for him. His life had been so difficult... Riolu was the only thing he had left that linked him to his parents. I had been right when thinking of Riolu as a parental figure for Chase. Without the fighting type's guidance, I was sure that he'd still be his hotheaded, isolated self instead of the mellowed-out behavior he had adopted now. I'd have to thank Riolu the next time I saw him.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

"Well, I've got time," I whispered. "Might as well get the interview guidelines out of the way."

It wasn't like I could train since my team was still in the nurse's care, and I was sure the Poketch Company would appreciate if I didn't call at the last minute. They'd been nice to me, so returning the favor was the right thing to do. I ignored the trainers' whispers as I made my way to my room. It was the same as always. A single bed that could be a double if you squeezed tightly enough, two nightstands on each side, a desk with a chair, a small bathroom, and a television in the top right corner. I considered just lying down on the bed for a few minutes, but my clothes were dirty, so I opted to shower and change first.

After a quick one hour power nap, I called Melody.

"Grace!" She happily said. "We've heard reports of your arrival in Solaceon. I trust your travels went well?"

"There were a... few hiccups, but sure," I said. "How's work?"

"Busy, busy, busy," she answered. "I've been doing a lot of things behind the scenes to build up your image, but I won't go into detail, because I'm sure that would give you anxiety. Can't be too anxious before the big day."

I laughed nervously. "Right."

"Then the sponsorship department had to deal with a dozen angry trainers calling about your preferential treatment, so that was fun," she dryly said. "Anyway, are you ready for your pointers?"

"Yup. Hit me with it."

"With how popular you've gotten, you'll probably be swarmed by interviewers right after your battle. I'm talking dozens of people holding microphones to your face and yelling questions at you. Needless to say, that can be overwhelming for anyone, so just be ready for that."

"Be ready?"

"Yeah, you know, take a deep breath, don't make a bad face, smile— smiling is important, but don't overdo it. You don't want it to look fake. Remember, we're building you up as a talented, but authentic trainer."

"Well, I'll probably be genuinely happy after every battle I win, so that shouldn't be an issue."

"Okay, good. Now, they're going to ask all kinds of questions. I'm sending you a list of potential ones right now that you'll be ready to answer. The battling, strategy stuff, I assume that you've got handled."

"Wait, what else would they ask?" I frowned as I opened my laptop.

"Oh, you know the media."

I opened my emails and scoffed. "What is this? Relationship questions? Questions about Louis and why we split? The favorite Pokemon on my team? This is just drama bullshit."

"But it's the reality of the situation. Louis Bianchi will have it worse, you know? I feel bad for the kid, but it is what it is."

"He can just refuse to answer. I hope he will. Wait, why don't I just refuse—"

"No, that's not your persona. You're a nice, amenable girl. I know this is hard for you, but you've got to work with us."

I groaned. "Fine."

It wasn't like I opposed any of these answers anyway. Questions about Louis, I would just say that it's personal and that I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now. Questions about me and Cece? I'd just say that we're doing really good, but we're keeping the relationship private for now. My Pokemon? I loved them all equally. Even Sunshine had grown on me somehow. There was something about his lazy, grumpy self that endeared me.

"Remember, they'll try to get you angry to get a reaction out of you. Reporters want nothing but to see a rising talent like you slip up at least once. Controversy is juicy. You're too squeaky clean for their liking."

"Okay, I'll be nice."

I did wish I could just have Princess shoo them away, but alas.

"Okay, we have smiling and the questions down, but you also need to speak with an air of confidence. But! You can't come off as a smug trainer either, you've got to walk the tightrope between the two."

"You're asking a lot out of me."

"You didn't actually think we were actually going to let you go through this without practicing, right? We'll get you ready for this, don't worry. If you mess up, I'll be the one on the hook, so your relationship with the company will be safe."

"That just makes me feel a lot more pressure. I don't want to mess up if your job is on the line."

"Eh, I'm not nervous about it, so you shouldn't be. Just relax, alright? The first one's always the most nerve-wracking, but after you go through one interview, you realize that it's not that bad."

"I'll trust you on that."

"Oh, and here's another point: you're amenable, but you can't get walked over either. What that means is that you'll cut the interview short after around two minutes or so. Just give some excuse about having to check your Pokemon into the Center. It works every time."

I smiled at that. It wouldn't even be a lie.

"Now, onto a less cheerful topic. How to handle yourself in case of a loss."

"I—"

"Hold on. I know you've handled losses quite well in the past, like in the battle with your friends—"

Yikes. She hadn't seen my outburst in my Pokemon Center room, that was for sure. I had been a mess for hours.

"—but it's different when interviewers will potentially try to taunt you afterward. You've got to keep your chin up and say that you fought to the best of your abilities. It's okay to be disappointed, but you'll have to appear calm and levelheaded. There isn't really a way to practice that, so you'll be on your own."

"Come on, have some faith in me. Maybe I'll win the whole thing," I said, trying to raise the mood.

"The Poketch Company has full belief in your capabilities, but don't worry if you don't make it to the top ten. There are..." she trailed off, and I heard her type. "There's a cap of 1024 participants, and they're well on their way to filling that out. Even the top fifty would be good enough."

"I'll make it to the top ten," I said.

Actually, she wasn't shy. She was more of a loner by choice.

Things worked out perfectly, since Denzel was already back and Cecilia was on her way. I called them over to my room, and while we waited for Cece, Denzel showed me his phone.

"Check it out. Some guy on the forum did an exposé on all of our teams. Well, all of us and Craig's sister. It's really good."

"I have something to tell you about her, actually."

He handed me his phone and I was surprised to see that Goalducc was a competent analyst. He didn't meander much and went straight to the point, identifying strengths and weaknesses. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that he'd gotten Jellicent's ability wrong due to my mistake during my fight with Candice, though. And obviously, he didn't know about Denzel's Milotic or Cecilia's Golett. I had an inkling that she was planning on using him for the first few matches. Lauren had apparently caught her sixth, a powerful Rhydon that didn't listen to what she said, and all in all was probably her easiest Pokemon to deal with along with Lairon. The rest of her team looked as threatening as I expected, but Duosion being able to use two Psychics at once was what worried me the most. Barry Lane's name did catch my eye, however. It was the name of the trainer I couldn't place back when I had thought about his father Palmer in Mount Coronet. Apparently, he was a threat to keep track of. I'd look him up when this entire tournament ordeal was done. Right now, it was better to keep my head in the game.

"He's good," I nodded, giving him back his phone.

"Right? Finally, someone who isn't mean about it too. I followed him, and I think you should do the same."

"Eh, not that much of a—" I stopped. The Poketch Company was going to make me use the forums at some point anyway. "Fine. Goalducc...42."

I typed his name on my phone and gave him a follow.

"You're probably making his day. He was so happy when I replied to his thread that I could feel it through the screen."

"Did you send it to the others?"

"Just Cece and Mira," he shrugged. "I don't want the people who weren't included to feel bad."

"Fair enough. Any spies out there?" I teased.

"Yeah, actually, it was annoying as hell. I couldn't train Milotic at all today," Denzel sighed. "But whatever. I'll figure something out by tomorrow. If I don't, I'll ignore them and just reveal him to everybody in a livestream. Might as well make some content out of it and make some cash."

"Always on that grindset, aren't ya?"

He looked at me disappointedly. "Never say that again."

"Yeah, I knew it was wrong as soon as it came out of my mouth—"

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Ah, Cece's there," I said, shooting up. I released Togetic and opened the door, holding my breath.

It was her.

If I ever became the Champion, I'd have them install peepholes on every door.

She greeted me with a kiss that lingered longer than usual, and she had a very satisfied look on her face.

"Looks like you've figured something out," I smiled.

"Yes," she simply said. "And I also had quite a lot of fun chasing away spy Pokemon."

"You're not allowed to hit them," Denzel teased.

"I did not," she rolled her eyes. "I simply scared them away, that's all. I've had plenty of people do it to Fletchinder."

"Maybe I should just chase them away too. Sylvi could be good at that."

"Oh right, you're spying too," I said. "Anyway, what I'm about to say doesn't leave this room, okay? Don't worry, it's nothing bad."

"Thank you for preemptively saying that," Cece said.

"Remember Craig's sister? Lauren?"

"Yeah, she's here. She's been hanging around the Hunters' place a whole bunch, battling trainers to practice. It looks like she doesn't care about secrecy anymore," Denzel said.

"That's because she's got those custom moves she's hiding, right?" I said. "Probably lures people into a false sense of security— anyway! I met her in Hearthome once, and she also came to see our gym battles. She wants to meet us, like, right now."

Denzel's mouth gaped. "You met her and you didn't say anything? Damn it, I'm so jealous..."

"Don't let Pauline hear that," Cecilia laughed.

"Pauline and I are just friends."

"Of course."

I sighed in relief. I almost thought that Cecilia would be jealous or something, but I was glad that she wasn't. If the situation was reversed... I might have been just a little bit. Not to Pauline's level, though.

"She's hanging out at the tournament building. The one where we signed up. I don't know what she wants to talk about. She's not very vocal."

"Well, let's get going then," Denzel exclaimed. "I already want to ask her so much stuff about her battling—"

"Did you not hear what I said?" I sighed. "Not. Vocal. Don't overwhelm her with your... extrovertedness."

"Ugh, okay."

"And remember, she isn't her brother," Cecilia added.

Right, she probably knew a thing or two about being compared to a sibling. After telling our friends what was going on, we quickly made our way toward the Hunter residence. In Solaceon, quickly meant twenty minutes. Lauren wasn't difficult to find. Her hair was so dark that it actually stood out in a crowd. She still had her Duosion worryingly floating over her head, possibly talking to her while she was listening to music on her phone. The psychic type noticed us and started panicking in its goo, moving around wildly. Lauren stared up from her phone, pushed up her glasses, and then looked directly at us. We waved.

She didn't wave back.