Chương 64: 64-Perks

Stretching out on a public bench, Sam looks over at his partner, smirking as Marshtomp continues to ignore the glare his friend's partner Mudkip is giving the 'mon. Ever since they'd invited Nu– Amelia to tonight's activity, Mudkip has been irritated with his partner, upset and worried that the 'mon he idolises so much will be a threat to her little crush he assumes, but that's just him guessing.

Even odds to whether it's a romance crush or one of the weird pokemon 'fight on sight' crushes, but he's watched movies, the line between those two are weirdly thin at times. The sound of clocktower bells echo off the hills as they chime the hour remind the trainer of the time, and he sits up fully with a stretch, looking at the rest of his traveling companions where they're sitting scattered nearby.

It's eight, so they're supposed to be heading out now before the twilight completely fades, but they're missing their… new addition. It's clear everyone else is thinking the same thing, because Tyler gives a fake cough to get everyone's attention with a sly smirk.

"Well, last call for bets? I'm giving two to one odds on cosplayer. Three to one one her 'mon being an overweight ditto." He reminds everyone, which earns him a glare." Shhhhut. We're not betting on this." Kate hisses, a statement that has everyone else subtly wince, Sam included.

"... Also, she's not a ditto, you saw the eyes, that was a real chansey." She adds.

"Suuure." Tyler drawls.

"Just a normal chansey, just a really small door, and a trainer. I got seven to one on her being a real Joy with a battle chansey. You sure you dont wanna buy in– ack!" His disbelieving smugness is cut off by Grovyle cuffing his partner's ear.

"Vyle. Gro grov." The 'mon growls from where he's lazing pressed almost flat against the top of a wall to soak in the residual heat.

"Alright, fine. I believe you." The trainer mutters, rubbing his ear.

"The second the sun goes down and you get cranky, I swear." With that the group falls back to silence, watching as the other trainer groups slowly trickle into town from wherever they'd been camping in the forest to get away from the absurd hotel prices in town. Already Sam sees a few of the groups of older trainers drinking 'soda' from suspiciously unlabeled cans, moving with purpose while others wander in and out of every building that's still open.

When their late arrival had left toward town a few days ago, he'd honestly expected to see Amelia coming back to make camp with them once she realized what every hotel this tourist trap of a town was charging for rooms. Apparently she'd either decided to set up camp somewhere else or her –possible– last name meant there was some Nurse Joy specific thing instead. … He's still on the fence about her actually being a Joy.

Sure she's got a chansey and she's working at a pokecenter, but the cosplayers can look pretty convincing and she never said her last name. Not that there's any reason a Joy couldn't be a trainer, she beat him after all, but it's just… unexpected. Soon enough the minute of the hour ticks by, followed by four more, and there's no sign of Amelia, prompting the mood to shift from anticipatory to confused. Once the clock ticks over to seven minutes past the hour Kate stands up.

"Well. She knows where we're going, but we need to get going if we want to–" She cuts herself off at the sight of a flash of pink slide around a corner on the other side of the public space, followed by a much larger blob of the same shade following shortly behind.

"Oh." Seeing her, Sam waves at the approaching acquaintance as she doesn't slow down in her dead sprint towards them, a wave that begins to slow as he realizes she really isn't slowing down, at all. Like… at all at all. It's when he feels the ground thudding slightly with the chansey's every footfall that he chooses to take a few steps to the left.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Amelia shouts as she skids to a stop, barely sounding out of breath and either ignoring or not noticing how everyone stepped out of her path as the giant 'mon thuds to a stop one step behind.

"Sorry I'm late! I had a– a thing. Work ran long." Now that he's not worried about getting flattened, Sam can get a better look at the new arrival and internalize how weird a Joy looks without her uniform. The fact that she is a Joy is also perfectly clear, that's not a wig and he's seen what attempts to recreate the color with dye can do and it's not even close, not to mention the face and eyes.

"... You're fine." Sam says, waving off the apology as he realizes no one else is talking.

"You ready to go?"

"Yep!" The Joy nods.

"Whenever you are." —-- They didn't get moving along the trail immediately, even behind schedule there was still a minute or two spent introducing Amelia to Tyler properly, as he'd been challenging the gym when she'd first met everyone else. But as Sam stands by during the introduction and follows the group when they get going, he notices Tyler's partner, Grovyle, behaving strangely.

When the 'mon isn't in a battle or training he normally moves and acts like he's made of wet pasta, lazily allowing himself to shift and wobble as if barely spending enough effort to keep upright. But right now, as they walk down the trail to the hotspring illuminated by flashlights, the 'mon walks as if every movement was precisely considered beforehand for there to be no wasted movements. He can only assume it's because of…

Sam glances over his shoulder, seeing the shine of pink eyes and vague outline in the light of dusk. … that. He's heard all about the 'really big battler chansey at the nursery' from his partner. He'd not just expected the description to undersell it… that much. Looking back to the front as the hike continues, he slowly realizes it's not just Grovyle, his own partner is acting weird too.

Not to the same level as Grovyle, his partner is trying to move only what he needs to so he can keep walking while also appearing at least somewhat natural.

"So is your Taillow still in his pokeball? Or did he not want to come?" Kate asks, filling the small silence and drawing the trainer from his thoughts. Amelia shakes her head.

"Oh no. He's around, he's just following us in the air." She says, gesturing at the sky.

"You're not worried he'd get lost?" Sam finds himself asking, glancing up at the almost dark sky.

"Hm?" Amelia squints, then shrugs.

"Nah. If we turn off all our lights and get really quiet he might lose us? But he's not losing track of all the light Lavaridge is throwing off, so worst case he'd just go back to the hotel." …Hotel? Sam sees the same thought mirrored in everyone else's expression, but before anyone can say anything they come to the top of a shallow rise and see the cozy electric illumination of the late night hot spring bath house.

"Oh hey! We're here!" Amelia chirps, speeding ahead of the rest of the group and coming to a stop at the entrance. Following behind, Sam habitually takes a look at the rules, sees the bolded one at the bottom stating that the unisex onsen is for 'swimwear patrons only' and points to it." I brought a swimsuit? Did…" He trails off, slightly embarrassed by the childish admission.

"Yea."

"Yep."

"Got mine."

"Ditto." Sam exhales at the relief that he'd not been childish by grabbing his swimsuit before stepping forward to the 'suggested donation' box and pulling out his wallet. —-- –_– —-- Shaking himself dry, Grovyle hesitates to step out of the bath area, prompting his partner to look back questioningly.

"Everything alright?" The 'mon nods, waving for the human to keep going.

"Fine." His friend hesitates for a moment, then nods, walking through the door and around a corner leaving the 'mon alone. Grovyle stands still in the silence, feeling the remaining droplets of water drip off and splash to the ground. In the days since he'd come back from the gym, only for Marshtomp to say that Chansey had been there and that she was going to 'talk' to him, he'd been dealing with an ever-growing anxiety in his chest about when that moment would come.

He'd dealt with the worry, managed it like he manages his instinctive panic every time he's forced to charge into pillars of fire to attack an enemy where just one hit means an almost guaranteed knockout and searing pain. He'd learned to control his emotions when it matters, directing fear into a motivator to try harder instead of freeze. It was those skills that allowed him to convince himself that 'talk' might not even mean something that bad when he'd learned that the meeting was today.

Sure Chansey was never one for… any kind of conversation back at the nursery, but things change! She could want to talk about literally anything! Those justifications lasted up until the exact minute their eyes met, and Grovyle knew he was doomed. Feeling a rise of anxiety at the memory, the 'mon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. No. That's silly. The 'mon opens his eyes and makes his way to the exit to the hotspring.

Sure Chansey has always been… intense, but she's never done anything without a good reason. Grovyle hasn't even seen Chansey since he'd gone off with his partner, she's got no reason to be upset. And so what if she is upset! He's not a hatchling anymore, he's gotten much stronger and he's evolved. He'd held his own against her after she'd evolved –with a little help from the rest of the nursery– so even if she has gotten stronger the gap between them must be sma–"Grovyle."

A terrifyingly neutral voice says from behind as the 'mon exits the bath house and steps onto the cobbled path leading further into the forest." Gh– C-C hansey!" The 'mon chokes back a scream as he spins around, having to look worryingly far up to see the cold sparkle of Chansey's eyes.

"Why…" The question trails off as the 'mon realizes he should not be asking questions right now. The silence lasts a few seconds before Chansey breaks it.

"I prefer to keep serious business and relaxation separate." She says simply.

"But, seeing as this is probably the only time I'd have a chance to catch you alone, I thought this is the best compromise so I may give some recommendations."

"Recommendations?" Grovyle echoes faintly, to which the 'mon nods.

"Yes. Simply put, your repeated attempts against this gym, combined with your disadvantageous nature, leads me to believe you're… allowing stubbornness to overcome good sense." She says simply, waving an arm as if to gesture the shape of her point.

"This path just has you beating your head against a challenge you're uniquely unsuited to beat, I'd recommend… reassessing your priorities to see if there's a more efficient path to achieve the same result." Grovyle finds himself nodding before he's even unpacked what Chansey said, but the instant he does that agreement freezes as well. She wants him to… to give up? To walk away from a challenge without even trying? Just because the challenge seems unbeatable she just wants him to give up?

That doesn't make any sense! Grovyle blinks at the thought, digging at it. Because it doesn't make any sense, and even if it's sometimes strange Chansey always makes sense, so he must be missing something. As he thinks, Chansey continues, this time speaking as if half to herself.

"Keeping a close eye on the actual objective of a task is vital to success, if you forget the point, what is the point?" She says, her normally stoic face echoing with a ghost of a smirk. … What's the point? Grovyle blinks at the thought, before his eyes widen as a thousand connections form at once. Because he's been here before, at the nursery, throwing himself over and over at an invincible, tireless, and freakishly strong happiny. What was the point of that?

At the time he would have said to win, but looking back he realizes that he'd stopped expecting to win. … Until he'd started teaming up with the others. His mind flashes to memories of the rest of his partner's team, how when Shroomish and Shroomish are trying to train Grovyle went off to train by himself to beat an impossible problem, something he should have learned at the nursery was a bad idea.

Even worse, his partner got caught up in this bad idea, focusing almost all his attention on him, missing the entire point and trying to beat down the challenge with only one third strength. Because it's not just him challenging the gym, it's him, his partner, and his team. That's the point! The realization has Grovyle scrape a claw across his eye ridge and down the snout with an embarrassed snort.

"Ugh…" He groans.

"I can't believe I missed that. Sorry Chansey." No wonder Chansey looked so irritated, he'd somehow managed to forget the most basic thing he'd learned about beating challenges as a team.

"Hm. Yes. Well." Chansey starts, for some reason sounding a bit embarrassed herself.

"Let's not waste any more time then. I wouldn't want anyone worrying where we are." —-- –_– —-- Kate never thought she would end up going on a journey with a group, she'd assumed that her journey would be just like all the shows, movies, comics, and books she'd seen her whole life.

But on that first night, when she'd set out with her new partner and wandered into the woods to battle and catch her first addition to the team, she'd realized that in just a few hours of walking she'd become a part of a group without even realizing it. Of course she'd been alone, spending hours away from everyone to train her team and search for new members, but she'd always ended up back at the camp with the others at the end of the day.

Her team is great, but even with her partner communication is mostly guesswork and context clues, made slightly easier by a hazy notion of what the 'mon means when she talks. Some stuff, the books especially, tried to explain how quiet it is to be alone with no one around or outside their pokeballs. She didn't understand it until she'd been walking through the underbrush, accidentally kicked a stone, and realized that was the only sound beyond the distant calls of 'mon and the wind she'd heard in hours.

After that, every time her group met a trainer traveling all alone, she'd looked at them… differently. Trying to imagine what goes on in their heads that allows them to handle that much quiet. But now, as Kate rolls her shoulders and stretches her neck in the water of the hot spring, she lifts her head up to look at the girl she'd invited out here.

She's sitting in her Joy pastel bathing suit and a towel on her head, her distinctive hair and face shape making it clear beyond any doubt that this is an authentic Joy, who is also a trainer. They'd chosen this hot spring area specifically because of its remote location and the time, in the day all the old people flock to this place like beedrill to honey on the bus route, but in the night she'd heard it's almost deserted.

Judging from the fact that they've met no one here and are the only people in this swimming pool sized hotspring she'd say her information was accurate. This isn't some tiny operation either, it seems like it was designed for dozens of people at a time, so it just being them is honestly quite eerie. Seeing that the center of the conversation is still directed at the Joy, Kate tunes her ears back to the conversation.

"–so why is your partner so big?" Sam asks, gesturing toward the door as if to indicate the absent 'mon.

"I haven't looked into chansey biology too much I guess, but…" He trails off, prompting Amelia to shrug.

"I don't know. She's always been big, even as a happiny, and when she evolved it just didn't stop." She reaches up to adjust the towel on her head.

"I do know she's not unhealthy, she's had almost every kind of physical and developmental test under the sun done to her since she'd hatched, she's just big." Her response doesn't seem to satisfy anyone, including the speaker, but before they can continue the conversation quiets at the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching on the footpath to the fenced hotspring area.

After a moment Grovyle and Amelia's partner come into view, and everyone watches as the larger 'mon approaches the human-width gap in the fence then somehow manages to contort herself through the space. The entire time she does this her face never leaves an expression of scanning calm, as if trying to give nothing away while giving even attention to everyone in view. It should look ridiculous.

Seeing her partner finish smooshing through the door, Amelia drifts over to the ladder and half pulls herself out of the water, gesturing to the accessibility wooden entrance halfway around the large pool.

"Do you think the ramp would be better? You caused some… pretty big waves at the hotel and–""–ans chansey." The 'mon interrupts with no change in tone or expression, then begins walking around to the ramp. As Kate looks on, she's once again struck by how strange it is looking at the Joy, half pulled out of the water. Not just because seeing a Joy outside of uniform is off –and it is– but because looking at the girl there are… oddities.

Kate wouldn't consider herself a vain person, but she tries to put some care into her appearance, even on the trail, and seeing the Jo– Amelia half out of the water reveals something she never would have been able to confirm otherwise. The girl doesn't seem to have any acne scars, or scars in general, at least nowhere she can see. Kate spent hours of her life a week to get through the worst phase of her skin, and even she has some scarring near the hairline and between the shoulderblades. But on Amelia? None.

She also looks… weirdly fit? Sure walking around and carrying her bag on the trail has knocked off a bit of Kate's stubborn belly fat, but it looks like Amelia took that idea and ran with it. Are… are all Joys like that? She'd assumed the skin thing was makeup but she'd believe there's some secret medical trick they're hiding for flawless skin. But the fitness? Remembering it's rude to stare just in time, the trainer looks away just as Amelia drops back into the water.

Just as she does, Sam cuts in with an incredulous tone.

"Wait. Does your hotel have a pool?" Amelia rubs the back of her neck sheepishly.

"... Ah. Well it's a funny story for that one." She says, pulling her head higher to avoid the waves of her partner entering the hot spring with a comedically small towel on the 'mon's head.

"So I saw this advertisement for some cheap rooms, but apparently they'd sold the last one and forgot to take down the sign, so the guy at the front desk gave me the same deal for an upgraded room, and it had a small hot spring split between a few other rooms." There's a moment of silence as everyone tries to process that statement. She'd always heard the jokes about Joys being lucky because they're partnered with chansey, but she'd never thought it would be so literal.

After a few seconds of Amelia glancing around with increasing awkwardness, long enough for a taillow to glide out of the dark and land on the rocks next to his trainer, Tyler breaks the silence." Man." He laughs, shoving a wave at the Joy at the limits of it becoming a splash.

"I've always heard Joys have it good but I didn't realize you had it that good!"

"Hm? Oh! I think I just got lucky this time actually." She says, bobbing over a wave with some confusion.

"I know sometimes people are… nicer to my family than they'd normally be, but he just made a mistake with the advertisement. What else could he do?" Kate blinks in disbelief as the entire pool falls into a shocked silence, including the chansey she notices, side-eyeing her partner from where she's bobbling like a buoy, taking up a solid eighth of the spring. Eventually the 'mon coughs gently.

"Sey. Chansey chansey chanchan." Amelia looks at her partner and tilts her head.

"Chansey… What are you talking about? That stuff only happens in movies. You can't just say you'll sell something for one price then charge another. That's false advertising. He'd get in trouble."

"No, that's called a tourist trap." Kate chimes in, confused by the fact she has to explain the idea.

"They advertise one price and once they get you spending money they hit you with the real price. Like… every hotel ever does it."

"Why do you think we're camping outside town? I'd love a real bed you lucky egg." Tyler adds, then glances at Chansey and coughs as he realizes the slip of the tongue in the common phrase. Amelia says nothing, looking around at everyone surrounding her as if expecting them to reveal that it was all some kind of joke.

"... Wait, you're serious?" She asks eventually, looking at a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face as if interrogating the pink strands.

"You're saying that that's like… a real thing? Like not just some TV exaggeration, hotels actually scam people like that?" There's a slow chorus of nods from the other humans.

"... Did you not know that?" Kate asks slowly." How did you not know that?" Sam says at almost the same time, to which Amelia tries to stammer something out through the emotion, but eventually gives up, lowering her head to the point it's just the top of her nose and eyes above water, blowing a stream of emotional bubbles as she does.

Watching the Joy apparently melt, Kate finds the situation rather funny, but as she opens her mouth to poke a bit of fun, out the corner of her eye she sees Chansey watching carefully from the other side of the steaming water. Her expression unchanging and unreadable as she watches her trainer without so much as a blink. Then those unreadable eyes glance at her, and something about the look suddenly has the trainer thinking about ways to change the topic.