Chapter 234

Chapter 234

CHAPTER 234

Cecilia spoke behind me with a tired voice.

"Is that your phone?"

I frowned, turning 180 degrees on the desk chair and staring at the bedside table. I'd been so focused on my physics textbook that I hadn't noticed it had been buzzing. I'd wanted to see if I could get any extra information on electricity that Jasmine hadn't given me yet, but it was mostly things I wasn't good enough to exploit yet, like that trick Craig's Typhlosion had used to weaken and stop Zap Canons.

"Shit. Did I wake you up? Was the light too strong?"

"Yes, but that's fine. I'll have no trouble falling back asleep."

I grabbed my Poketch and my mouth slowly opened in disbelief as I read Louis' entire message.

"He did what?!" I yelled.

Cecilia shot up, waking up again from my yelling. "Huh?"

"Cece, Louis battled Justin over some sort of contract and won," I said. "They're both downstairs right now giving their Pokemon to a nurse. Apparently he managed to change Justin's mind about his entire Victory Road plan!"

Cecilia's lips stretched into a smile that widened as I explained the situation.

"Through dark type energy?" She asked.Upstodatee from n(0)/ve/lbIn/.(co/m

"Yeah. I don't know how, but— I guess he just did it."

"Did he message you or the group chat?"

I stared back at my cell phone to make sure.

"It was just me for now. He says he wants me to come downstairs."

"Should I come?" Cece asked. "I want to come."

"I'll ask."

I typed out the message and changed out of my pajamas as quickly as I could. My hands reflexively went to my belt before I remembered that most of my Pokemon were in my room right now and the only ones I had in their Pokeballs were Princess and Honey. When Louis answered, he said that Cecilia could come too and that he had called for Denzel as well. My girlfriend got changed and we were on our way downstairs as soon as she was done. The elevator ride seemed excruciatingly long and I couldn't stop myself from staring above the doors every time the floor number switched.

We were practically running once we reached the lobby. Since it was two in the morning, it was also empty save for our two friends and a nurse sitting over the counter. Louis looked absolutely terrible. His face was wrought with guilt and he sat on one of the couches with his elbows on his thighs and leaning against his palms as he stared at the floor. Justin looked shaken, which after seeing him emotionless for so long, was like night and day. Denzel wasn't here yet, but I was sure he would only take a few more minutes.

"Louis! Justin!" Cecilia yelled as a wave of relief washed over her. "What... happened?"

Louis slowly stared up at her, his face pale and aghast. "I'm exhausted. It was a— it was close. I nearly killed his Corviknight."

Cecilia didn't know how to answer that.

"How?" I asked.

"Combee evolved. She went berserk."

"Ah," I muttered.

It was easy to see how it had happened with the experience I'd gotten with Zachary's own Vespiquen. What I hadn't known was that she would do something like that after evolving, but I hadn't really asked Zachary about it.

"Justin, are you—"

"I'm fine," he answered me. "I lost the battle, and I will adhere to the contract. I won't go to Victory Road."

"That's not what I wanted to know. I wanted to know if you were alright."

Justin's neck tightened. "Yes."

The fact that Justin's sixth Pokemon was a Corviknight hadn't been lost on me, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Will Corviknight be fine?" Cece asked. "Long term?"

"The Pokeball stopped the worst of it according to the nurses," Justin spoke when Louis couldn't. "They have him on some kind of respirator and they'll have to purge the honey out of his lungs and body. Vespiquen's grubs are invasive and are killing him from the inside. Making more honey without Vespiquen's orders."

I swallowed. Not everything could be fixed with Ditto cells.

"But he'll be fine?" I asked.

"He should be," Justin nodded. "But it'll take a week of careful treatment and monitoring. There are too many of them inside of him to destroy, so they'll have to wait until they die— well, they're not alive, I suppose."

The fact that he was so clinically speaking of Corviknight like that would have angered me if I hadn't known about the dark type energy within him. Plus, he was clearly worried. You just had to dig deep and know him to figure it out.

Cecilia sighed. "No casualties. Good. Louis?"

Louis had tightened his fists so much while Justin explained Corviknight's condition that his knuckles were paler than even Justin's.

"Louis," she repeated.

"Yes?"

"Things are okay."

Louis sighed, leaning back against the couch as he rubbed his forehead. Denzel arrived a few seconds later with untied shoelaces and two different socks.

"Justin! Holy shit!" He yelled with a wide grin. "Louis, you did it! You— Louis?"

"Uh, he's been through a lot," I said.

Justin explained Corviknight's condition using the exact same words he had before, save for that stutter about Vespiquen's grubs. It would take a while to get used to, but Louis had done it.

Justin was saved.

Now it was all about what came afterward.

We all took a seat on the leathery couches and Justin recounted the battle bit by bit, not because it was what mattered right now but because he felt the need to, as if he wanted to put it all on the record. We all let him do it. After all, we weren't about to cut him off when he'd come of his own volition. I couldn't help but feel tense as he spoke, even though I knew the end results. What he had done with Audino was certainly of interest to both me and Denzel, and some of the tricks he'd pulled showed that he was still fully on board with his stalling strategy, although it seemed like he had pivoted somewhat toward unconventional methods instead of only stalling. If the situation wasn't so serious, I would have allowed myself to smile proudly at Justin's skill. Louis was quiet at first, but he started to speak when Justin got to Vespiquen.

"I couldn't even hear myself think. For a moment, I was scared of my own Pokemon," Louis muttered. "That made me freeze up. I could have spared Corviknight the pain it's going through right now."

Yep, that was Pressure, I thought to myself. I'd researched the ability a little when I had prepared against Zachary's team. The reason I'd been relatively fine was probably because I'd faced Cynthia's Spiritomb back in Solaceon. Well, face was a big word. I hadn't even seen them. Just felt their presence in Cynthia's pocket while they were still inside their keystone. Even through Shiftry's domain, those whispers had nearly crushed me. I couldn't imagine facing Spiritomb at its full power in a real battle.

"That's Pressure," Denzel said, echoing my thoughts. "Although I've never experienced it myself. I hear it can basically lose you a battle if you aren't prepared. Pokemon with the ability are incredibly rare. I guess Vespiquen has it."

"The most important thing is that Corviknight will recover," Cecilia gently said. "We all make mistakes. Even I didn't know Vespiquen could rampage when they evolved."

"That— that shouldn't have been the case," Louis said. "I researched! I researched as much as I could about Vespiquen."

The conversation lulled, and Louis' jaw clenched.

"I know someone who can help," I said. "Zachary Gallagher."

"Oh, right!" Cece exclaimed.

Louis frowned. "Who?"

"Maeve didn't tell you?" I raised an eyebrow. "He was a seven-badger I battled when we were in Veilstone, and his ace is a Vespiquen. Well, he actually has eight now, but the point still applies."

"She didn't... but I'd already told her about my fears for Combee evolving back then," he slowly whispered. Realization dawned on his face. "Ah."

"Are you sure you don't want her here?" Cecilia asked.

He shook his head. "No, no. I would only worry her. I will tell her about this tomorrow when I'm in... better spirits."

I whipped out my phone out of my pocket. "I'll call Zachary right now."

"Wait, he's probably sleeping—" Denzel said before I interrupted him.

"I know. But Louis needs it."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but I was already scrolling through my contacts. Denzel scoffed in disbelief when Zachary instantly picked up. I could hear explosions in the background, a telltale sign that he and his team were training somewhere.

"Zach?"

"Ah, Grace! 'Evening! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

There was that usual tint of sarcasm to his tone, but I knew him enough to know that it was just his actual voice and that he meant no harm.

"I have a friend whose Combee just evolved. He needs help. Are you available?"

"Always willing to help a fellow Vespiquen trainer," he said. I could hear him grinning.

"I'm putting you on speaker, okay? His name's Louis."

I placed the phone on the coffee table and Louis took a few seconds to start speaking. I soon realized that he was embarrassed, but a pat on the shoulder from Denzel made him start. He explained Vespiquen's actions to Zachary, who listened in silence.

"So?" Louis said.

"Vespiquen don't go crazy when they evolve. That wasn't a rampage like what Pokemon like Ursaring or Haxorus are known for. That was different."

Louis nervously ran his hand through his hair. "How so?"

"Vespiquen have a peculiar way of thinking, Louis. They're born to lead hives— you should see them, by the way. They're fucking enormous. I almost got myself killed when I caught my Combee," he recalled with a hearty laugh. "But getting back on track, your Vespiquen evolved and a bunch of new information flooded her mind. I think that she lost herself for a second and forgot that she wasn't the queen of some hive getting destroyed by a Corviknight. Essentially, she saw the threat and decided to eliminate it."

"So she'll be normal when she's back?" Louis asked with a hint of hope. "I hope she's not giving the nurses too much trouble."

"Well, she'll be different," Zachary said. "Her brain works a lot differently now. It's like, think about how you'd feel if you went from being a normal human to a supercomputer being able to process thousands of tasks at once. It'd be overwhelming, right? It'll be the same for her. She'll have to get used to it and it'll take some weeks, but she won't try to kill you. Or others. Try not to use her in battles for the first week, at the very least. I think her evolution will have shaped some of her mentality and she might be a little more aggressive than the usual Vespiquen. She'll probably have a hate boner for every Corviknight from now on."

"Every Corviknight?" I scoffed.

"Yes. Every Corviknight," he repeated with a chuckle. "She's got them in the 'threat, kill on sight' part of her brain right now and it'll take some work to get that to 'threat, be brutal' instead. There are stories of Pokemon attacking Vespiquen hives and them just attacking every member of the species that strays too close afterward just to stay on the safe side. Remember, Vespiquen's first instinct is to run and protect a hive. She'll still think that way even when she's on a team."

"Well thank you for the help," Louis said with a relieved sigh. "I feel much lighter now."

"I was thinking long-term," Justin shook his head. I noticed that emotion slipped back into his voice now that he was speaking about his goal. "A better showing at the Conference next year would please my father more than... what, getting in and getting knocked out at the group stages? I wasn't even sure I could make it past the eighth gym, still."

I bit the inside of my lip. "So you feel like this is helping you, not hampering you. Ignoring the suicidal ideas."

"I wouldn't have—" Justin stopped himself when he realized he was yelling. "I wouldn't have died."

"Trust me, you would have."

I was beginning to understand now. Rationality was a part of him, but his goal was the key to unlocking his emotions again, or at least the key to him getting better. That also meant he could do stupid things to reach that goal and try to take non-existent shortcuts. I would have to report any findings to Alakazam.

"Regardless, what's done is done. I won't be going there any longer," Justin muttered. Toxapex cried out in support, rubbing one of her legs on his. "Thank you, Toxapex."

"I did say return you to healthy levels, but then again, maybe there's a way through this without that," I said. "Have you felt anything else since the fight?"

"Just fear, but it's all but gone now."

"There might be ways to trigger other emotions in you," I said. "But that means we have to experiment. Prod at things until something gives. And trust me when I say this, there are ways to cut yourself off emotionally in battle that don't involve TE."

His eye twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can do it. It still needs some work, and I slip sometimes. It's like I'm looking at myself in third person, hovering over my shoulder. I did it against Maylene."

"Third person? Is such a thing possible?"

"It's different for you, huh," I acknowledged as my shoulders sagged. "I guess it's still like Shiftry's domain."

He nodded. "I still recall exactly how it feels. Stuck in complete darkness, unable to hear, feel, or see. I couldn't feel anything. I was just floating there. Part of me believed I'd died and that this was the afterlife."

I shuddered at the thought of an eternal sensory deprivation chamber being any kind of afterlife.

"Slowly but surely, I just stopped caring. I couldn't tell how much time passed or what was going on, and that didn't bother me. After a while, Krookodile pulled me out."

Toxapex's eyes dimmed, and she kept completely still.

"I'm sorry."

"Not much could have been done anyhow. We were all Teleported to separate locations. No need to apologize for something you had nothing to do with. Plus, ridding the world of the Hunters supersedes anything I or anyone else dealt with that day."

"I disagree," I blurted out.

"You put too much importance on individual lives, then."

"If you say so. What do you say about Alakazam, then?"

"I will accept," Justin said after a pause.

"Great! Plus, he'll be happy to nerd out about TE. He's been wanting to study you for a while. But say, why don't you talk to me about your journey? From Solaceon to here? You must have gone through a lot, and I know nothing about it."

"If you want to."

Justin began to speak his tale, and I was content to listen to him all night, and it reminded me of our old chats when I used to be his teacher. I was sure my current self would cringe at half of the advice I had given him.

My heart felt full. He was finally back. The biggest hurdle had been cleared.

Justin was home.

—

Needless to say, I was exhausted the following day. The others couldn't believe it when they saw Justin again. As soon as she got to my room, Pauline tackled him, hugging him as tightly as she could until he nonchalantly complained that he couldn't breathe very well. Emilia followed with a light, gentle hug of her own, and she kept asking him if he was okay. Maeve, Mira and Chase welcomed him back, although they knew him far less than we did. Chase hadn't had many objections to Justin's Victory Road plan in the first place.

"If you leave again, I'll kill you!" Pauline cried.

Justin frowned. "That wouldn't make any sense."

"Shut up! I'll kill you!"

Seeing everyone like this filled me with a nostalgic feeling. For a second, it felt like we were back in the old days with few worries and innocence still in our minds. Louis helped Justin up from the floor and hugged him as well. He seemed to be in far better spirits today, although I could tell guilt still marred his mind. He only had Vespiquen with him now, since she'd only needed to spend one night with the nurses, but the rest of his team— and obviously Justin's— were still at the Center.

"Justin, I'm taking you out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Pauline declared.

"That's excessive," the pale teen answered.

"I mean, even I have to agree with that," Emilia said.

"We have to catch up! And if there's anyone that'll get him to feel something, it'll be me!"

"Well first, let's make some space," Mira spoke up. "I'll get Alakazam to take a look at him."

The psychic appeared in the room and was clearly displeased at the amount of people we'd crammed in here. He shooed Chase and Maeve away from him before turning to Justin and realizing that the trainer he'd wanted to take a look at for so long was right there.

"We've got Justin back," Mira nonchalantly said as her legs dangled from the desk she was sitting on. "He's got no psychics, so no telepathy."

Alakazam grinned as he levitated his two spoons next to her with a twirl of his mustache.

My, my, my. Justin Gardner, the psychic spoke.

"Oh! This is actually an interesting question," Mira lit up. "Can you speak into his mind with all that dark TE he's got swirling around his insides?"

"Justin? Do you want to try?" I asked.

"Pain is bearable," he said.

Testing. Testing. One, two, three.

Justin froze for a moment. "That hurt."

"Really? You didn't show it at all!" Maeve yelled. "Psychics are still tough for me."

Speaking to him is a lot more difficult than others, Alakazam quickly said. I have to go slower and actually concentrate, but it's possible.

"Justin? How did that sound to you?" Mira asked.

"Very quiet. Like a faint whisper."

"Shucks. I guess it does have an effect," she said, crossing her arms. "Well, get to work, Alakazam. We've offered you a buffet."

"Please don't speak about him like he's food," Cecilia sighed.

A few people in the room chuckled as Alakazam's eyes began to shine.

Yes, yes, he is quite empty, the psychic said with a gleeful smile. A nightmare to work with, just like I wanted.

"How long is this going to take? We've got to go out for breakfast," Pauline complained.

Alakazam ignored her as he continued staring at Justin like he was the only person in the world. People broke up into groups, with most hovering over Louis. He was the man of the hour. A hero. He'd saved Justin's life. Mira hopped off her desk and pulled me aside.

"Grace. Are you free later? We need to test the Voice. Chase is ready"

My throat tightened. "Uh, my teacher's busy today, so I guess so."

"Great. Now I've got to ask Cece, but she's going to pop a blood vessel. We've already wasted enough time not doing anything— well, we trained, but that isn't enough."

"She'll come around as long as she doesn't have to use it, and especially not on me," I said. "But I do agree that it's necessary—"

My phone rang. Melody was calling.

"Just keep me informed," I said.

Mira threw a hand up with a lazy salute. "You've got it boss."

I discreetly entered the bathroom to get a nice and quiet place to speak to Melody in.

"Grace! How are you doing this morning?"

"Very good Mel," I smiled. "You sound happy too. I'm not going to lie, that kind of scares me."

"Why would that scare you?" She asked. "I've got great news—"

"There it is," I groaned.

"I know this is short notice, but we're going to need you to come to the address I've texted you ASAP."

"You texted me already? And is this urgent? I'm with a friend that I haven't seen in a long time."

"Company obligation, Grace. You're going to be in a new photoshoot."

"Okay, you know what, that's not that bad. It's been months since my last one, so I kind of expected it to pop up at some point."

"Using your same pictures over and over wasn't a very good look. But you won't be alone. A few of our sponsees are in the city and will be there too."

I restrained a groan. "So this is like, a group picture?"

"Yes. You'll be paired with multiple people so we can take pictures. We want to appear like a nice, happy family. Plus, this is a nice opportunity for you. You've stayed isolated away from our other trainers, and they're curious about you. After all, they all know you're the new face of the company, and yet you're so hard to get a hold of."

"I try my best," I smirked. "I'll be on my way. Kind of shitty to do this last minute, though. Is there a reason why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I knew there was another photoshoot supposed to happen soon, but I had no idea it'd be like this. From my communications with the other sponsorship liaisons, all the other trainers were also summoned with very little warning. Just get there! I've already sent a car."

"Fine, fine. I could have taken the bus. Are you in the city?"

"No. I'm still in Hearthome, but feel free to call me or keep me on the line. It's my job to support you."

"Thanks, Mel. You're the best."

After warning Mira that I had to go and bidding the rest of my friends goodbye, I left my room and left the Pokemon Center.