Chương 44: Chapter 36

The day had finally come. We were finally going to leave Floaroma and make the long trek to Eterna Forest. I put on my sweater, tightened my shoelaces, and grabbed my backpack before leaving my Pokemon Center room. I glanced back at it one last time.

"It feels like I've stayed here a lifetime, but it hasn't even been three weeks," I said to myself. I closed the door, but before leaving and handing the keys back to Nurse Joy, there was one last thing I wanted to do. I nervously stepped in front of room 224 before knocking softly. After a few seconds, I opened the door and saw Jacob staring at me. He was looking much better than he had before.

Color had returned to his face, and he looked somewhat happier in general, although he was still confined to a hospital bed due to the Zubat's poison.

"Jacob," I said.

"Sorry for never visiting you after last time. I assume you know… what happened?"

"Yeah, I know. It's all anyone can talk about these days," He sighed.

"I heard you were in there with them."

"I was," I said, trying not to remember.

"I'd rather not speak about it."

"Sorry." Silence swallowed the room. It wasn't the gentle silence I felt when I was hanging out with Denzel, but an oppressive force that made me want to say something to keep the conversation going.

"I just wanted to see you one last time before I left. See how you were doing," I said.

"You're leaving?" Jacob said, his eyes widening.

"I mean, I can't stay here forever. I have to keep going if I want to get eight badges before the conference. Are you sad?" I asked.

"No… I mean, we barely know each other. Of course, I'll be forever grateful for you saving me and Wooper's life, but what I meant was… after everything that happened to you, you're still going to travel?" Jacob asked, tightening his fist.

"I want to," I simply said.

"Being a trainer calls to me." I could see Jacob's jaw tighten.

"Then… then what the hell am I doing?"

"What?"

"Grace, you're what? A 5'5'' scrawny girl who looks like anything could break you— no offense." I did take offense, but I let him keep going.

"Meanwhile, I'm here, constantly self-deprecating over what happened to me. I still can't even fathom going out there— and I hadn't even traveled that far! I was just a few hours away from home, and yet, when I imagine going in the wild again, I can't help but think I'll get my Pokemon killed again. I can't help but be scared, when I shouldn't be, because I want to be a trainer!" Jacob said, screaming the last few words.

"I… I don't know what to say to that."

"It's alright," He sighed, calming down.

"I just need to do some thinking. Where I wanted to go with this rant was that I'm jealous of you. I'm jealous that you can keep going like nothing happened." You know nothing about me, I thought. I almost collapsed in on myself.

"People are different. What happened to us was different," I started.

"No one will have the same experience recovering from trauma. Just… take it easy, alright? Don't do something stupid."

"I know… I know I still have to recover. I can't even move my limbs properly yet. The doctors have to feed me and move them around to help my muscles not atrophy," Jacob said.

"Hey, don't look at me with so much pity, please," I snapped out of it and looked at him normally.

"I guess what I'm trying to say… in an incredibly convoluted way, is that I think you're inspiring me to keep being a trainer. Or at least try to. I still think this year's a bust, but maybe the next?" I smiled.

"You definitely can. And in less than two months, you'll be able to walk again, and maybe you can start training." Jacob nodded.

"So… I guess this is it, huh?"

"Yeah," I said.

"I'm already late, I need to get to route 205."

"Alright. I'll be rooting for you, Grace Pastel!" He told me.

"I finally figured out that you had one badge already."

"Watch me, Jacob. I'll win this whole thing," I said with determination. —— Running was easier now, even with my backpack. Togetic flew close by, amazing me with her progress. She had come a long way since not even being able to float correctly in Oreburgh. The plan was for everyone to meet on the bridge that intersected Floaroma town, Valley Windworks, and route 205. I stopped when I found Denzel and Eevee waiting for me at the side of the river.

Togetic greeted him by chirping happily and playing with his hair, before doing the same with Eevee's tail. Eevee protested at first before smiling and answering in kind. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"You were waiting for me?" I asked him.

"Yeah, man, I don't want to meet the snobs without you to back me up. It'd be five on one instead of five on two."

"Why are you counting Cecilia in the five? You already know she's nice," I said as we walked toward the bridge.

"That's fair, I was just being kind of a dick. Where were you, by the way?"

"Visiting Jacob," I said. Denzel's face tightened.

"Jacob… oh, shit, I forgot to say goodbye." I looked back toward Floaroma.

"Probably too late, now. I feel bad, but we don't want to be that tardy."

"It's alright, I have his number. I'll send him something while I still can." We walked at a brisk pace, and fifteen minutes later, we finally reached the bridge. I was surprised to see that none of them had their Pokemon out. Louis stood with his arm around Cecilia, talking to her about who knows what. Pauline was twirling with her red hair as she stared at us, while Emilia and Justin just sat on the edge. I stopped Togetic from immediately going to greet our new temporary companions.

As a Togepi, she had been shy around strangers until she got used to them, but now, she had become a social butterfly. Cecilia's face brightened when she saw us, and she gathered her friends as we stepped onto the bridge.

"Hello," Denzel said awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you, I guess?" Louis nodded.

"Before we begin, I believe we owe you an apology?"

"Uh, yeah? I didn't think you would already be doing it—" All four of Cecilia's friends lined up and apologized to us for treating us poorly during the tournament. I stared at her, and she simply grinned. I honestly had expected much more pushback, or maybe a snarky, sarcastic apology from Pauline. Hell, she had even made Emilia and Justin apologize when they hadn't really done anything but glare at us.

"Apology accepted," I said. Cecilia nodded.

"Let's begin, then." Route 205 started as a canyon between two small mountain ranges, but we would progressively be walking more and more uphill before reaching the plateau where Eterna Forest sat. Denzel had told me he expected us to take five to six days if he accounted for the incline. Maybe a week, if traveling in a group this big slowed us down. The start of the trek was somewhat uncomfortable. Denzel and I stayed to the side, following the others and talking between ourselves while they did the same.

It was like we were two separate groups just going in the same direction. Honestly, a part of me was relieved, but I also wanted to… Nevermind. We met many trainers on the route, as it was the main area to train in before entering Eterna Forest. None of us accepted any challenges, mostly because they'd be a waste of time.

Every time a trainer offered to battle, we'd ask how many badges they had, and the answer would always be zero, although I expected that to change once we got near Eterna Forest, although I doubted any trainer was crazy enough to actually battle inside of that hellhole. A few hours in, Pauline approached me. I instinctively went into fight or flight mode, expecting her to say some mean remark out of earshot.

"You. Listen up." I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"I heard from Cece that you suffered horribly during the kidnappings," She started, as she watched the bandage on my cheek.

"One of their leaders took you into a secluded room, did they not? So I figured it would be best to bury the hatchet, especially when we'll be going into Eterna Forest," Pauline said. I thought I noticed her tremble slightly after mentioning the forest.

"Forget everything I said about making your life a living hell." Hard to forget that, I thought, but I was pleasantly surprised at her maturity. The pleasant feeling was unfortunately overwritten by the mention of Mars, though, and I felt my breathing quicken. I stopped Denzel from saying anything.

"Of course, Pauline. Let's just all get along, yeah?" I said.

"Sure. Don't expect me to like you, though. You're still a nobody," She said, flicking her hair before returning back to her group.

"Arceus… bringing up what happened to you like that and then—" He started as soon as she was out of earshot.

"She was just trying to be nice, I think?" I interrupted.

"She's kind of terrible at it, though, but at least I feel like we can work together now, maybe."

"Yeah…" The only reason I could find for this abrupt change in behavior was the kidnappings, and she had said as much. Even though she was still a sore loser, maybe me going through the same thing as Cecilia made it easier for her to empathize with me.

"Can I change the subject?" Denzel asked. I smiled.

"Yeah."

"I could tell you were getting depressed. Anyway, my fourth team member should be along this route, although it should be easier to find the closer we get to Eterna Forest." That piqued my interest.

"Really? Tell me which Pokemon it is."

"But then it'll ruin the surprise!"

"Then why did you even tell me about it in the first place?" I groaned, playfully pushing him away.

"Killjoy."

"Fine, fine… I want to catch a Buneary."

"Buneary? Those are super cute! I used to see a ton of 'em in Pokemon Contests on T. V. back in Jubilife."

"Yeah, but they're also really good battlers. Anyway, I hope I find it sooner rather than later," He said, looking around.

"I don't think the group would be fine with me holding them up to find a Pokemon."

"Eh, we can make it work. Plus, I'll help you out, since you obviously need it." He looked at me for a few seconds in silence.

"Wow, you didn't go for the five Budew joke this time."

"Yeah, that one was getting old. I need some new material." The rest of the day was uneventful, but I used it to release my entire team as we walked. Elekid still wasn't that close with the others, so it'd be good for them to hang out. When the sun started to set, we settled at the bottom of a cliff. It was cold, even with my sweater, and we gathered around to plan for the night. Louis clapped his hands.

"Alright, everyone. That was an excellent first day on the road, and I hope we can keep this pace going until we reach the forest. Now, Pauline and Emilia are on tent duty, Justin, Denzel, and Grace can gather up some firewood— I assume you two have an axe?" He asked. We just nodded. I was weirded out that he had made himself the leader of the group, but I guessed that this was just how it was usually, so I didn't want to disturb what they had going on.

"Good. Cecilia and I will scout ahead to make sure there aren't any dangerous Pokemon around." I looked at Denzel, and we immediately understood what we were thinking. This guy was giving himself the easiest job and using the time to hang out with his girlfriend.

"Louis, surely that's a one man job. I could even send Fletchling to scout," Cecilia said.

"I should probably help with the firewood." Louis looked saddened for a second before agreeing.

"Very well. I will scout ahead on my own. Is everyone alright with their tasks?" We all agreed, and Cecilia, Denzel, Justin, and I made our way toward the nearest trees with our axes.