Pokémon Making It Big

[Chibi Pika]

Chapter 8

Dang, her dad only makes 2000 poke a week? With the prices for everything being vaguely yen-like, as in canon, that's only around 20 bucks. Maybe large chunks of his would-be pay get automatically deducted for bills. (Aaand now I'm thinking of those mining jobs that funneled all pay into store credit or housing and basically made saving up impossible oof.)

Heyy, Lena's aiming to get stronger! Knew it had to happen eventually. On a practical level, there's really no reason not to just go for the fights that she knows she can win. It's certainly efficiant. But that's no way for her to prove herself. And she's starting to feel tempted by that option.

I like the distinction between "most people have phones" vs "most people don't" because even if Walter is technically right, most people that Lena knows don't have phones. And obviously businessmen aren't real. :P

Other misc. small details I liked:

- She has to tell him her goal again now that it's real! Even though to him, nothing's changed, this time it's not a lie.
- Champ being the one to take the plunge and get Lena to go ask Nurse Joy for help regarding
- The sort of kiddish recklessness that settles into Lena after the money is sent. She can actually be a kid, and do things for the heck of it now! It doesn't all have to be about efficiency!
- Champ and Lena continue to be adorable. Love how well they get each other. Love seeing them support each other. I know there'll be more hardships for them, and possibly more miscommunications like the previous chapters, but I know they'll stick with each other.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Chapter Nine Review Time~

I'm glad that Lena still treats Champ. He's a good boy. The best boy. And she's a good trainer, really.

Actually, she's changing! Growing! Getting stronger! Her opinions and priorities and self-image are all changing as she continues to train with Champ. I can see some wobbles starting to form already, but it's exciting to see the beginnings of the schema she needs to learn to Make It Big. Watching battle tapes and learning from them is a good start. It's clear she knows very little about 'mon right now, in a way that feels obvious in hindsight. But she clearly hasn't had access to the education or entertainment she'd need to have already known! She's a low information trainer, for the same reason she's low on resources. I'm glad Nurse Joy is willing to tell her stuff patiently. Good on her. That bit at the end of that interaction with the yawns was adorable.

Even more adorable is Champ being an emotional support rat. Lena's new preoccupation with this 'cheating' stuff is absolute brain gremlins and I wish I could reason with her about it. Kinda fun that immediately after she feels bad for accepting a legitimate free sample, she's approached by interviewers talking about expensive battle aides that she can't afford. The playing ground isn't level to begin with, damnit! This interview is a bit intense, but I think it could potentially be a good thing...? I'm worried for her, but despite the forceful professionalism and spin coming from this person, there are potentially good outcomes.

Bless Champ, being so supportive. He gives me hope.

 

[Umbramatic]

Here for Review Blitz! This is right up my alley - Rattatta is actually a favorite Pokemon of mine, and I love fics about it a lot. I read Chapter 1.

We start, of course, with your human protagonist wistfully dreaming of being a Trainer, but of course stupid adults are getting in the way. I feel like you nail the kid perspective - people forget kids aren't all cloytng and sweet and are actually more like seagulls with fingers and you give off that vibe well here.

Also nice Unova setting. Not a place you'd expect a Rattata fic.

And said kid likes to hang out in the sewers too! Woman of culture. When she found the Ultra Ball I thought "oh? is this where we get Ratty Friend? :O" but no, it's a fakeout, and they sold the ball, and I was like "phooey."

BUT I WAS NOT PHOOEY FOR LONG, BECAUSE WE QUICKLY AFTER MEET THE BOI/ OI love Champ. Champ is delightful.. I love his little ratty mannerisms so much. I want to reach through the screen and give him pets and bits of meat.

(If you're wondering why meat rats are omnivores! I had a class rat in middle school who liked chicken tenders.)

And of course our little girl protagonist hatches a plan. A plan to get her and champ to the big time. To make Champ... no... Dare I say it... A top percentage Rattata. Truuly such a beast wolkould strike fear into the heart of Arceus themself.

But seriously, this is a super duper cute fic. Hopefully I can read more soon.

 

[Chibi Pika]

(Though sometimes I take some and buy Champ a treat because he's so good and he deserves it).

He absolutely does.

Hey there, back for chapter 9! I like how Champ continues to be the who pushes Lena to finally take the plunge when she's stalling at something, first with Nurse Joy, then with the gym. Interesting that gyms don't allow spectators, but I suppose it makes sense with what we see in-game. Good thing the Pokemon center has records of matches. I liked the cozy image of Lena sitting on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa, watching matches with Nurse Joy and Chansey.

Hoo boy, there's a lot haunting Lena in this one. She's starting to really care about mattering (hey, I write a protag who can relate to that), but along with it she's so afraid of not being a real trainer. It's so hard for her to see that she already is one! The fear of being caught cheating is a somewhat more real one, even if it's really just a breach of etiquette (for understandable reasons) more than actually breaking any rules. The way it hangs over her to the point that she feels bad taking a free sample is heartbreaking. :<

It's a good thing that remembering that she needs to take care of Champ can help knock her out of spiraling. She really is improving! I hope that she'll be able to see it. Eventually she and Champ will be able to take on the Ones no problem, and then where else is there to go but the Gym...? I'm rooting for them!

 

[Namohysip]

Sup! This is a review for chapters up to 6! Stream of consciousness for the most part, but I have some guesses and synthesis thoughts at the end. This was a treat to read, and I like the size of the chapters.

That's a good opening line you've got there. Establishes a hint of the perspective right away, and a sense that it would be an "outside" perspective from how the games would typically go.

Oh no it's a top percentage story. Would you believe me if I said this was actually the third one I read that starts with this kind of premise? Now, growing up in the slums and poor isn't actually that—that part is unique to here—but I do think it's hilarious anyway. I now have three nickels!

Anyway, the premise is cute. A mixture of flashback and present day, but I was able to follow it pretty well in terms of how the thought process was. However, I had some trouble following the actual, physical happenings in the story proper. It was a bit nebulous until Champ started to make gestures. Speaking of that, I really liked the balance you had going with depicting Champ as a creature that is very intelligent, but different at the same time, personifying him despite that different morphology and body language. Since it's Pokemon, it's hard to tell if the personification is grounded in reality or not, but with the whole "Pokemon name" bit, I'm going to lean on reality for now.

Short and sweet opening chapter, starting with a very down to earth premise!

There's something very down to earth in particular about putting the Trainer context and "profession" into something of a rich person hobby, what with the money exchange and all. And adding into that, someone poor but strong being able to use that hobby to get some money for their family is a really strong conclusion, too, isn't it? Something about the way the premise works with what we know about the world already clicked very well, and I appreciate that.

I was expecting some drama with the parents or something since that's how these stories always seem to go. It was a very refreshing change that the conflict wasn't familial this time, and they're just supportive of their child.

But wow, hang on a second! Ten years old and she's already seeing how old her parents are getting? Either poverty aged them hardcore or they had her late, wow.

The first trainer battle and already thinking a out underhanded tactics to win! You know, all things considered, that's not too far out there. It's interesting that she fought all this time without even having a Poke Ball. No healing, no supplies, so it was wise of her to do some strategy to get those first few wins out. For a story called Making it Big, were having some very small beginnings. It could go for either an ironic twist or a rags to riches story. I'm actually not sure where it's likely to go, since I've yet to discern the thematic flaw our main character might have, or what she might learn. Maybe I'm analyzing it too strongly from a literary perspective, but that's the vibe I'm sort of getting, especially from a more grounded story.

"You can update your photo anywhere" lmaoooo that's the best way to phrase it. That one got a real laugh out of me. In general it's nice how friendly everyone is, and I think despite my above paragraph, perhaps I finally found a hint at what Lena's deal is. She needs to learn that she's worth it!

The exchange with the frazzled kid resonated with me a bit. Just another awkward dude with his own story and his own uncertainties about being a Trainer for a different reason, but Lena doesn't really trust him at all. She's quite self-interested, perhaps because of how much of a fish out of water she is in this environment, but at the same time I think she's at least polite enough to reciprocate in a basic level. After all, she could have also tried brushing him off or something, right?

That's probably a flaw she has as well, though it's hard for me to quite phrase it other than the above. She isn't quite paranoid but she isn't quite naïve, either. Maybe... Misplaced genre savviness? Wrong genre savvy, that's one way to put it. I guess that comes with the sewer life.

Sounds a little like insecurities about her "starter" is beginning to crop up, if only due to how everyone else seems to joke and poke fun at her over it. Rough. You know what this reminds me of? Legendary Adventures, where the main character got the other mook starter, a Zubat. There are similar insecurities there, even if the context is totally different.

Anyway, though, that's everything for me for now. This was really nice, and I definitely plan to return to it later. Curious to see where the story will go once they leave the Center...

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Heya, I'd heard good things about this series from offsite earlier this year, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that: A: It has a TR version hosted, B: The chapters are small and digestible, which makes it easy for me to tackle alongside some other reviewing targets I've got kicking around for Review Blitz.

My goal is to squeeze in at least three chapter reviews before RB winds down dripfed over a few nights to get a decent sampling of the story. Dunno if I'll pull it off, but might as well take a swing and miss than never try.

Alright, right down to business:

Chapter 1

Pokemon trainers are the lucky ones.

I asked Mom why I couldn't be a pokemon trainer and she explained it to me. To get a "starter," like you see on those big TVs, you need to already have enough money to buy "basic training supplies" so you can take care of the pokemon you get. Well, my dad does whatever work he can find on the docks and my mom spends every hour of the day she's allowed as a waitress at Cafe Sonata. We don't have that kind of money to spare.

... Ouch. Two paragraphs in and you already establish the core complicating factor of this story. It normally gets a bit glossed, but... yeah, I can't imagine financial insecurity would gel well with training a big and bulky Pokémon like an Aggron or the like. ^^;

I do my best to help out, but I'm not strong enough or old enough to be worth hiring yet, so I mostly hang around in the sewers. Sometimes I can find dropped coins or items there. My biggest find was an ultra ball some really stupid trainer left behind. When I first spotted it I thought I was dreaming, but I touched it and it was real. Then I thought for sure one of the trainers hanging around would spot it and claim it from me. If they did, how could I stop them?

I stuck the ball in my pocket, but it bulged horribly. So then I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist, the ball still hidden away in my pocket. I tried to walk real casual. When I was finally up on the open streets I nearly laughed with relief. I didn't, though. If people start looking at you funny, nothing good comes of it. They don't want scum on the streets.

... Lovely world this kid lives in there. Both that she hails from a background precarious enough to go futzing around in sewers for dropped items and that people have that level of casual antipathy towards her as a street urchin.

I think the clerk at the pokemon mart cheated us when we sold it. Probably took one look at our clothes and decided he could get away with it. Mom says resale value is always lower, or something like that, but he only gave us 300 poke for it. I figure half of 1200 would be 600, and half again is 300. That's just a quarter of what it's worth, right?

That's not fair.

This is why you sell on Craigslist, kid. Sure you need to be strategic about where you close the deal, but resale prices given at brick-and-mortars are usually scam-tier, while when selling directly, you just need to undercut your immediate competition by 5 bucks.

My best friend, Sammy, says I'm a whiner. She's right. I'm luckier than most of us: my parents have a house to rent that has heating in fall and winter, and I have a jacket. I love my jacket more than almost anything else ever. Well, I love Mommy and Daddy of course. I love, love, love Castelia cones even though I've only tasted them once, when the lady had some left over on a cold day when nobody was buying. But my jacket is the most pretty light blue, the color the sky's supposed to be like. The sky here always looks gray. Mom says it's the pollution.

Ah, so this is an Unova fic. Or at least I assume it's one from the 'Casteliacone' mention there. I... honestly could believe this happening given that even by American metro standards, the NYC area has a long history of people falling between the cracks.

There's only one thing softer than my jacket, and that's Champ's fur. Champ's my best friend who's not a human. I call him Champ⁠—Sammy says it's a lame nickname, but Champ tried to tell me his real pokemon name before and it just sounded like Rat-tat-tat-tata to me. He can't say my human name right either, so he calls me Rat-ratta-tat.

inb4 his name is the equivalent of Ratta-tatta-tavi in his language. :V

Everyone says rattata are pests, but they call me a pest too. I think Champ's amazing. His teeth can break through anything and he never gets lost when it's dark. I've gotten better at seeing in the dark, but I'll never be as good as Champ.

Champ and I have a plan. I'm worried it's a stupid plan, though. That's why I haven't told Mom or Sammy or Dad. That day when Mom explained about pokemon trainers to me, she said you don't need an "official" starter. You just need a strong pokemon⁠—well, a pokemon strong enough to fight all the wild pokemon and trainers out there. But to catch a strong pokemon without another pokemon first you need to buy lots and lots of expensive pokeballs. Or you need to pay for someone else to capture it for you or for someone else to raise it up for you.

So you need money.

Or, since you have a Rattata, you can save up for a Focus Sash and a way to drop Endeavor on Champ and then proceed to casually humiliate underprepared trainers from the world's cheapest and most entertaining gimmick strategy. Just don't fight more than 1v1s or against someone who likes spamming damaging weather or else knows Pursuit. :V

Here's the thing, though. I don't need a pokeball for Champ to come with me. I've told him all about trainers⁠—the free food, free healing, the quick money. Also, unlike battles down in the sewer, trainer battles end when the pokemon are uncon-unconscious! He got all excited when I told him, chittered a whole lot, and gave me his biggest grin. Well, not exactly a grin, but he does this thing with his whiskers and ears that's basically the same.

I... don't think that sewer life sounds all that great if living with a broke girl and scrounging off food scraps represents that much of a lifestyle upgrade.

It's late now, nearly time for me to run home so Mom and Dad don't worry. I'm sitting with Champ, and we're both thinking over our plan.

"If we want to do this," I tell him slowly, "we have to train so that you're stronger than all the other rattata. I know that sounds tough, but I'll help you! I can give you some of my food every day, so that you don't have to spend the day looking for some, and instead we can practice your moves. We'll be a team, right? That's something none of the other rattata have got."

Pretty sure there's like half a million kids with the same idea out there given how Joey is a meme, but okay there. :V

"Tatta!" In response, Champ lifts his front paws up and down really quickly, like he always does when he's excited.

And you know what? I think we can do this.

I do.

Because even if no one else does, I believe in Champ.

Well that was a cute opening, depressing undertones, but definitely cute.

While it was short, I'd say that your Chapter 1 did a good job at hooking your audience right away with your premise. It takes the premise of someone who'd otherwise be a basic, average girl, but changes one significant variable about her life and the whole of the story and its framing changes dramatically as a result. I admire the optimism that the narrator gives off even in the face of an adverse situation, even if I'm very

about those dreams not getting squashed in the longer run.

Good job there, @Pen , and I'll definitely be looking forward to getting a couple more chapters of your story under my belt in the coming days. ^^

 

[Pen]

Everyone knows about the Unova Daily. You have to pay to get it, so we don't, but sometimes I found old copies left on the street. Mom liked to read them.

At the cafe, Stel buys me a fresh pecha juice that is the sweetest thing I've ever tasted, and also a warm buttery pastry. She gets Champ the same thing.

"So Lena, tell me about yourself," she says after we sit down. "How did you get started?"

I swallow. "Um. Champ and I," I point to Champ, "we just started out?"

"And how did you come to be with Champ?"

"We met?"

Stel puts down her mic. "I know you haven't done anything like this before, Lena. I don't want to come off as intrusive or intimidating. Now, it sounded to me like you thought that was a pretty stupid question."

I blush. I've never heard an adult call their own questions stupid before.

Stel smiles. "That's okay! If I ask you a stupid question, just let me know, all right? Now, would I be correct in saying that Champ was a wild pokemon when you met?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me about it."

She looks at me expectantly.

"Well, we just met. We hung out. Champ helped me look around in the sewers. People drop things there sometimes. And we'd both heard about trainers. And we thought that maybe—so Champ and I started training." I duck my head, thinking hard. Stel talks too quick and sometimes I don't know the words that she uses. But I like how she asked for Champ's name and got him a pastry too. I like the way she smiles at Champ and me. I think her eyes seem nice.

"I'm not a real trainer," I say, all in a spurt. "Champ and I just left and fought a guy and Nurse Joy gave me this license. I don't know if it's. I don't know if I'm. Is it legal?" I manage to get out. My eyes feel hot and wet, so I reach out for Champ. He jumps into my lap and I stroke his fur until I'm breathing better.

I sit there with my eyes cast down and every second spiking like I'm on fire. I wonder if Stel will call the police now.

"Perfectly legal," Stel says. She's lost the mic again. She's looking hard at my eyes. "Any Unova citizen between the ages of ten and twenty is eligible for a trainer's license. Older than that, you've got to declare your profession as a pokemon trainer, and it gets a little more complicated. But yes—you're doing nothing wrong."

That's—that's so good. It's so good I almost don't believe it. But Stel works for the Unova Daily, and the Unova Daily knows all sorts of things. So she probably knows things too.

I look around to make sure I'm still sitting, because I feel light enough to float on up, up, up like a jigglypuff.

Stel's still talking. "We amended the IRPL Trainer Declaration about forty years ago, making prohibitions to pokemon training based on money, background or choice of starter illegal." She quirks an eyebrow at me. "Shouldn't you have learned about that in school?"

My face burns.

"Oh," Stel says. Her voice is so kind. "Well, I bet you had more important things than school to do."

I peek up.

"How about I fill you in then—the brief and unglamorous history of the pokemon trainer?"

I nod quickly, putting my hands together on my lap like I'm back in school. Somehow this stuff never seemed important back at home, but now things matter and I want to know them.

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, et cetera, only knights were allowed to battle with pokemon. Knights were dubbed by the monarch, supposedly for skill in battle, but it was a Mr. Mime's game because only the children of knights were allowed to train.

"Fast forward to the founding of the inter-regional pokemon league. Everyone agreed that the knight model wasn't working, but what replaced it wasn't much better. Would-be trainers had to pay a licensing fee, and could only train if their parents had trained, the idea being that a history of training proved responsibility.

"Restrictions were slowly lifted, but a new idea started taking hold—the appropriate starter. Cross-region research selected official starters for each region. For us, snivy, oshawott, and tepig. Obviously there were only so many of these to go around, and the new race became to get a starter. Technically no one was forbidden. Practically, the sheer money and time it took to obtain a starter left in only the rich and the leisured. Or the well-connected.

"The league quickly filed an exception, namely that trainer parents could bequeath a starter to their child. Licenses were still being given out on a fairly limited basis, when a new wave of studies demonstrated fairly conclusively that those with parents as trainers weren't any more likely to treat their pokemon well. That was the final nail in the coffin for the exclusive trainer license." She paused. "I know that's a lot to take in," she said. "And that's just the short version."

"I've heard about the knights," I tell her. They were in a story-book Mom had read me.

Stel nods. "You know," she says, "the league likes to brag about how far we've come, but I've been poking around and the numbers aren't good. Most trainers still have parents who are trainers. True, numbers of first-generation trainers are way up, but there's a sharp difference between the ones who get a license and the ones who manage to enter the league. I mean, we talk a good game about opportunity and pokemon training as the great equalizer, but patterns like these are the proverbial caterpie in the apple. The playing field is technically level, but the results are skewed."

She pauses. "But here I am, talking and talking, when what I want is to hear from you. I can promise you that you've done nothing illegal in starting your journey with a wild pokemon. As long as your rattata is registered with Nurse Joy, he's just as valid a starter as an oshawott or snivy. Now, what made you decide to become a pokemon trainer? Is anyone in your family a trainer?"

"No," I tell her. "But I've always known about trainers. And when I met Champ, and we were so strong together, I thought that maybe we could do it." I bite my lip. I want to tell Stel the truth but I don't want her to think less of me. "And trainersmakelotsofmoney," I say quickly.

Stel smiles. "Well, some do," she says. "Though most trainers quickly spend their way through their battle riches in upkeep. And battles are only very profitable at the highest levels, where loss is just as likely as victory. Training your way to wealth is more the Unovan Dream than the reality."

"We've been doing okay," I say. I exchange a look with Champ. "What we've been doing," I begin slowly, "is when we get money from winning a battle, you know, I send it back home and then we battle again, and so even when we lose we don't lose it." As I speak I hunch my head lower and lower so that Stel can't see my eyes and I can't see hers.

"That's an impressive level of fiscal responsibility," Stel says. Her voice doesn't sound mad, but I don't understand half the words she said.

"Is that wrong?" I ask her finally, still not looking up.

"There are no laws mandating a trainer begin a battle with a certain amount of money," Stel says. "That would be absurd, not to mention discriminatory. There is an implicit assumption underlying our current system that money is not a problem. That assumption is in many ways problematic, but in your case, no one can make the argument that what you're doing is wrong."

I think about that for a bit. Stel is real quiet and the only sound is Champ nibbling at his food.

"It feels like it's wrong," I say finally. "But. It's not."

"It's not," Stel says.

I look up at her. "I feel like a cheat all the time, and I don't know how to stop."

"I would not," Stel says sharply, and then softens her tone as I startle, "characterize you as a cheat."

"Ta-ratta!" Champ pipes up.

I swallow. Champ doesn't think so and Stel doesn't think so and they're both smarter than me so that means I'm not.

Lena the Not-Cheat.

Lena the Trainer.

I like how that sounds in my head.

 

[Pen]

"If you still want to hear how Champ and I met, I can try and tell it to you better.

When we first met I was in the sewers.

Um. Your face looks kind of icked out. The sewers really aren't so bad. They're a bit smelly, but not if you hold your nose, and after a while you can't smell anything. And it's clean down there, mostly. Cleaner than the streets, sometime. And no one bothers you there.

So I was looking for things people drop. People drop all kinds of things. I saw this glint and I got really excited cause I thought it was a pokeball or maybe a gold nugget! When I was little I always thought I'd find a nugget in the sewers and then we'd be rich. But that was when I was little.

Anyway, it turned out to just be some stinking old iron. I was kind of upset when I saw that. I sat down and I—well, I cried a bit. I'm not a crybaby though! Just, a few days ago Dad had hurt his back and now he couldn't work for the whole week and maybe longer, and Mom had this look she has when she's really worried but not trying to tell me. I always know, though, because she stops listening and starts staring into space and thinking a lot. I guess that was why I was feeling so sad then.

Suddenly, there was this tickly feeling on my leg. I looked up and there was this rattata, nudging me. He said something— I don't know what, cause I wasn't so good at understanding Champ back then. What did you say to me, Champ?

Oh. Champ asked me why I was sad when it was such a nice warm day.

It was a nice day. I forgot that. Castelia is nicest in Spring, when the cold goes away and it doesn’t hurt your face to be outside.

Well, I said hi to Champ and when he didn't run away I started to pet his fur. He sort of backed away then, and I felt bad, cause I don't like it when people start messing with my hair either. So I said sorry, and Champ came back and we stayed there awhile. I started feeling better.

The next day I brought some food with me from home. Mom works at a kitchen and sometimes she brings us back leftovers. She brought these really yummy puff desserts that night, so I took one with me to the sewer. I came back to the same place, but no one was there.

I sat for a bit and then I heard a sound, so I looked and there was Champ! Well, I didn't call him Champ then. I gave Champ the puff thing, and he was so happy. I thought he deserved it, because he made me feel better last night. While Champ was eating, I started poking around for items again. When I looked up, I saw Champ was watching me.

Suddenly he ran away, which made me feel sad cause I thought we were starting to be friends. But he came back soon, with something in his mouth. It was just a used old repel and those aren't worth anything, but I was so surprised. Because he hadn't had to go looking for me, but he did. After that, I kept visiting Champ, and we'd look for items together and share food. I got better at knowing what he was saying and he started following me up out of the sewer.

People thought it was funny at first, that I had this sewer rattata following me around. But Champ was so strong and brave that everyone liked him.

I suppose that's it. Champ and I were friends first. The trainer thing came later. Um. And, if I hadn't met Champ, I don't think I'd be here right now.

I guess that's our story. I don't think it's a very good one, but you said you wanted to know."

.
.

After we finish talking, Stel thanks me and rushes off, muttering under her breath about deadlines. I stay in the cafe for a while, Champ a warm weight on my lap. My plate is empty and so is my glass. Normally I'd feel bad to be sitting here in this cafe with nothing on my plate. I'd feel all these eyes on my back, asking why I'm sitting where someone else could be sitting, when I'm all done with my food.

But I feel okay. The chair is comfy and my stommy is full from all the yummy things we've been eating. Relief cuddles me close like my blue fleece, when it's soft and fluffy from being washed.

"I'm a trainer," I tell Champ. "Not a fake. If anyone's a fake . . ." I trail off, thinking about it. "If anyone's a fake it's the people who don't really care," I say finally.

"Rat-tat-a," Champ agrees. "Ratta-tatta, rat-rat-a-ratta." He hops off my lap and shakes his tail back and forth.

"You're right," I say. "It's stupid to be sitting here and smiling when we could be training. Cause I'm a trainer, and you—" I bend down and tickle him under his chin "—you're my Champ."

I think again about the first time I met Champ, and Champ now, staring at me with his bright eyes. I used to be able to feel his bones when I petted him, but now I only feel his muscle. His teeth were always sharp, but now he can bite through stone.

"Tatta?" Champ asks.

"Just thinking about how much has changed, I guess. Yeah, I'm being silly. Let's go."

.
.

"Sucker punch!" I shout. The last trainer I beat told me that was what real trainers called Champ's sneak move. Well, I'm a real trainer. It feels weird to say, but Champ and I are getting used to it.

Champ hits it close and while the pansage is still recovering Champ goes in for a bite.

This time the pansage doesn't get up. Champ makes a happy noise and starts to come back over to me. Midway through, his whole body goes white and shiny. I look back at the pansage, thinking it's some attack, but it's not, and Champ is glowing. I get down on the grass beside him.

"Champ?" I say urgently. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, congrats," the trainer says.

I risk a look up from Champ. "What?"

He gives me a weird look. "Your pokemon's evolving!"

Oh. Oh.

Slowly the light goes away, and Champ is there, but he's not Champ. His fur's not purple anymore: it's a light brown, like dirty playground sand.

"Raticate!' he shouts. I don't know what he's saying. The words are all wrong. They're not the same.

"Here's your poke," the other trainer says. I startle, 'cause I forgot he was there. "Oh. Thanks." I shove it into my pocket and go back to looking at Champ.

After a bit I stand up and start to walk away. I'm not really sure where I'm going. I almost trip over a tree root and that's when I notice that I'm blinking back tears.

There's a bench near the back of the training area, hidden behind a tree. There's no one there, which is good because I don't think I could look at anyone right now. I sit down.

"Cate-a?" Champ inches closer. He sounds concerned, I think.

"You look different," I say. Finally.

"Ratti-cate-ta," Champ says, looking at me. His whiskers are up, hopeful.

"I don't know what you're saying. You sound different now," I say. My voice is thin and wet.

"Ratti-cate-ta." Champ nips at my pants, the way he did when we first met.

"Is that—is that how you say my name now?"

"Cate-cate!" he says, jumping up beside me on the bench.

"Oh." I reach out a hand and start to pet Champ's fur. He gives a low little rumble and curls up against me. Under his skin, I can feel his muscles, stronger than before.

The time sort of drifts again, until my face feels dry.

"It's been so long since we met each other," I say, thinking. "Almost a year. And, you know, so much has happened. And so, you're different now. But. I mean, I'm different too."

"Rat-cate!" Champ agrees.

"So—" I start to smile a bit, like the sun's come peaking out. "So that's okay then. Since we're both different. And. Stronger, I think."

I like that word: stronger. It seems to curl up inside me, like a plant that can tear a building down with its growth.

I close my eyes, and stroke Champ's fur. It's thicker, longer, and coarser now. But the happy purr he gives—if it isn't the same, it's close enough that the difference doesn't matter.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Chapters 10-11

Worth it to get interviewed solely for the pastries and pecha juice. :coolbat:

Nah, but in actuality, the interview went a lot better than I was expecting! Stel was understanding, sympathetic, and informative--three things that Lena sorely needed at this stage of her journey. And she finally managed to sqush the Not A Real Trainer gremlins! \o/ It was interesting to read about the history of Pokemon training and how it was originally a highly exclusive thing. And how it might not be mechanically exclusive anymore, but it still ends up being in practice. I also thought it was clever how you used the interview to convey how Lena and Champ first met! I said in the beginning that it was definitely the right call to skip it at the start of the fic, but having the interview was a convenient way to call back to it after we've already gotten invested in the pair. I'm always on the lookout for fun storytelling devices like that.

And then holy cow Champ is evolving?! :O

I've gotten so used to him as a Rattata! But of course it makes perfect sense. They've been training quite a lot, and Rattata are pretty fast evolvers. Of course he'd evolve around the time they'd started to match the trainers with one badge. Still caught me (and Lena!) off guard, though. I'm not too surprised that she felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but I'm glad she pushed past it soon enough. He's still the same old Champ.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Chapter 2

We've been training for forever now!

Well, okay, maybe just a few months. But Champ has grown so much stronger! He learned this crazy new move where his teeth light up and then he just destroys everything! Only the stronger rattata who also know the glowy-teeth move want to challenge him now. It's actually kind of a problem, because battles with the strong rattata are really close and tire Champ out for the rest of the day. It would be easier if he could keep fighting the less tough rattata, but it wouldn't be right for him to beat them up even if he stopped when they fainted because then they would be too tired to find food that day and then some other pokemon would beat them up too and then they'd starve.

I can already see the small army of Purrloin shadowing this girl given her training regimen.

Recently I got an idea, though. After Champ beats a weak rattata, I give it enough food to get its strength back. I'm really glad Mom's friends with one of the chefs, because otherwise we wouldn't be able to get all these leftovers. I can't take too many though, or Mom might get suspicious. I don't want her to know what Champ and I are doing in case we fail. She's noticed me taking more food, but so far she just thinks I have a growth spurt.

Oh, so she does have a workaround for that. Probably a good thing since that could've gotten really dark really fast. ^^;

Winter is almost over, and I've been thinking it would be best to leave in the spring. That way it wouldn't be cold, but it wouldn't be that hot either. I'm trying to figure out a way to tell Mom and Dad. I want to prove to them we're strong enough, so today Champ and I are gonna test ourselves outside the city.

The gate guard gives us a suspicious look as we leave the city, but we ignore him. Route 4 is a sandy mess. My hair starts flying all over and Champ lets out an irritated chitter.

... Does this kid even have a license? I'd have expected a bit more pushback from the guards if she hadn't, but... .-.

Though then again, this is the same setting where guards shake you down for soft drinks for passage. So maybe I shouldn't be batting too much of an eye here. ^^;

"Let's get this over with," I mumble, and Champ agrees. He runs right off the road into a patch of brush. "Wait up!"

I hurry after him.

By the time I'm there Champ's already found someone to fight. It's a sandile. Sammy's told me all sorts of things about sandiles and I know she was probably lying so I shouldn't be worried, but now the sandile is staring at us with its eyes gleaming and I'm a bit nervous. Just a bit. Sandile opens its mouth in a lazy yawn and I see its teeth. They're really sharp, but not as strong as Champ's teeth, I bet. That makes me feel better.

"Go, Champ!" I say. Champ comes forward and twitches his whiskers threateningly at the sandile, who closes its mouth. Sandile starts to flick up sand at us, like there's not enough sand in the air already! "Champ, tackle it fast!"

Champ moves quickly, knocking that sandile right on its back. "Bite it hard," I tell him. Champ's teeth light up and he gets the sandile good, right on the stomach. The sandile twitches and the next second all this sand starts coming up from the ground, surrounding rattata like a whirlpool! I've never seen a pokemon do anything like that and I don't know how to help. Just as I'm standing there like an idiot, the sand settles back down and I can see Champ, looking tired. He's got sand all in his fur. He'd probably look funny if I weren't so worried.

Yeah, I kinda figured that things would go pear-shaped quickly. Though there's another 9 chapters of this, so Champ can't become Sandile chow right here and now, so let's see how this plays out...

"Come on Champ!" I say, trying not to sound nervous. "Fast tackle again!" Champ gets up and starts to run towards sandile, but as he's getting close, the sand covers him again. This time I run forward too, thinking that maybe I should dig him out and we should run, but the sand goes away quicker this time and Champ doesn't look much worse off. "Can you get it?" I ask.

"Tatta," Champ says loudly. He's close, and this time the sand doesn't stop his tackle. The sandile goes flying back a few feet and he doesn't get up. We wait for a moment, expecting him to move, but when he doesn’t I realize we've beaten the sandile!

"Champ," I say, "you're the best!"

Ah. Handy turnaround there. Guess all those alley fights really were toughening Champ up something good. ^^

In response, his ears and whispers perk up, so I know he's happy.

"Hey, are you okay, though? Did the sand get in your throat?"

Champ shakes his head. Well, that's good. But I still plan on giving him a long brushing when we get back.

The sandile stirs a bit, and I realize I haven't given it any food like I usually do after we win. I almost don't want to, because it gave me such a scare with the sand. But then I think I'm being stupid. If I spent more time here, I'd probably know all about the sand. So I stick some food close to sandile, but not too close. Even though sandile looks beat, I'm still a bit nervous about the sand.

I'd be a bit more nervous about the possibility that there's 40 other Sandile lurking nearby. Though... yeah, I don't blame this kid for wanting to keep her distance from a croc that pops out of the terrain from nowhere. :V

"Guess we should head back home?" I say to Champ.

"Tatta," he agrees. "Rat-ratta-tat, rat-tat-tatta!"

I pick him up and spin around a bit. He glares at me, but he doesn't bite, so I know he's just pretending to be mad.

That feels like a really dangerous assumption to make when you have a hard language barrier with your Pokémon. But such is life as an amateur trainer that probably has zero meaningful way to do understudy into how her charge ticks.

"We did it," I say.

But I know this is only the first step.

Technically, this is well past the first one, since you've been whaling on all those sewer Rattata for a while.

"You're crazy," Sammy says.

I stick my tongue out at her. Then I realize I'm acting like a kid, not a trainer, so I try to look stern or something. It doesn't really work, cause Sammy starts to giggle a bit.

"I'm not joking," I tell her. "Don't laugh."

She stops giggling and looks at me close. "You're not joking? But, Lena, I'm not joking either. That's crazy."

"You don't think we can do it?'" I ask her, but really I'm not asking. I'm kinda mad.

Sammy: "Lena, you're training a Rattata you found from the sewers, and you're broke. Do you really think you're going to defeat the League with that thing?" >_>;
Lena: "After Champ gets strong enough, why not? Every trainer's gotta start from somewhere."

"You don't know too much about trainers, kay?" Sammy says. "I do. You see stuff working at a pokecenter. You thought about what happens if you lose? You're stuck out in the wild with no pokemon to protect you. And whoever you lose to can take your money, all of it! I mean, they wouldn't if you've got whatsit⁠—identification, right, but if you just look like a street rat with a pokemon, then I don't see what would stop them. It's not safe."

That's... a lot more thorough of a shootdown than I imagined.

"Sure it's safe," I say. "If it wasn't safe, why would so many kids go for it? They don't need money or anything ‘cause they have nice clothes. They do it for fun. They wouldn't do it if it wasn't safe."

"It's safe for them," Sammy says patiently, like she always does when she knows better. "They look like trainers. No one bothers real trainers."

Uhh... yeah, I too would think twice about taking on some kid if I thought he was potentially rocking a Samurott or something like that." ^^;

That's true enough. Trainers walk around like they're some sort of royalty, like we’re still back when Unova had a king and queen.

"Once I've won a few battles, then I can buy trainer stuff."

"Once you've won a few battles," Sammy repeats. "Do you really think you can win one?"

"Yeah," I say. "Me and Champ have trained hard⁠—"

"So have the other trainers. And they have pokemon raised for pokemon battles. They have rare, strong, special pokemon."

Yeeeeeah, this sounds like a good time to invest in a FEAR build if you can, since you're going to be stuck fighting grade schoolers for a long while as safe opponents with a Rattata. o3o;;

"Champ may not be rare or special," I say, "But he's strong. And Sammy? None of those other trainers⁠—what I mean is, they're doing this because it's fun. Champ and I are doing this because we need to."

Sammy's quiet for a moment. Maybe she's thinking about how she'll get a job waitressing one day if she's lucky. Then she smiles, but smiles sort of sad and sort of angry. "Bust them all up for me, will you?"

"I will," I tell her. Then I look down at Champ and correct myself. "We will."

I strongly suspect that that mindset's going to lead to an incident or two, since... people kinda have a tendency to do crazy and extreme things when they feel cornered or desperate.

My parents take it quietly.

"Lena," Dad starts, looking confused. "Do you really think⁠—?"

"Champ's strong," I tell him. "We're even beating pokemon outside the city."

Well, one sandile and a small scraggy we fought the next day, but same thing.

To be fair, the Scraggy depending on how far along it is could potentially be impressive considering how it has a type advantage, but the 'small' would argue against that. ^^;

"Don't you have to register somewhere . . .?" Dad asks, trailing off.

"No." It's Mom. She sounds thoughtful, which is good. If Mom told me I couldn't go, or that I couldn't do it, then I wouldn't, because I trust Mom when she tells me no. "The laws have changed since we were young. And battle chivalry does ensure a kind of fair play."

Until you run across an opponent that doesn't care about said chivalry. Good thing Unova doesn't have any bands of trainers well known for that sort of stuff... right? :V

I'm not exactly sure what "chivalry" means, but I don't want to say. I'm pretty sure Mom's agreeing.

"So I can go?"

Mom and Dad exchange a Look.

"Why don't you wash the dishes while we talk?"

Lena: "... That sounds like a 'no', just saying." >_>;
Mom: "Honey, if it was a 'no', I'd have just told you right here and now."

I make a face. "You just want to talk about it when I'm not here."

"That's right," Dad says, smiling at me. "Off you go, then."

I start to leave with loud stomping sounds, then remember I'm supposed to be acting like a trainer, not a kid. I lift my head up and stand very straight. "Come along, Champ," I say. "We are going to do the dishes."

"Ratta-tatta," Champ says.

Mom + Dad: "..."

Lena: "Look, I'm mature okay? Give me a chance to prove it." >_>;

Most of the time I can hear everything that goes on in the house, since there's only really the kitchen, the bathroom, and the big room where we sleep, but with the water running I can't hear anything. Parents are sort of sneaky, I guess.

By the time Mom and Dad call me back, I've finished the dishes and I'm playing with Champ. Mom comes in first. I can't tell anything from her face. She and Dad sit on the ground next to me.

"By league standards you're old enough," Mom says. She means that I'm ten and eight months. You can leave on your journey as early as ten.

Ah, I see the whole "free range children" thing of the games is in full effect. Though it makes sense if Lena's proposition is being seriously entertained by her parents here.

"Reshiram knows, you've seen more bad weather than most of the brats out there," Dad adds.

"I'm not going to lie," Mom says. "If you can pull this off, it would mean a lot to us." For a moment she frowns and I can see that she's getting older. Soon they won't want her as a waitress at the cafe. Experience is one thing, Mom told me once, but a pretty face is another. And Dad's been having problems with his back lately. That's probably ‘cause he spends so much time moving lumber at the docks, but if he can't bend well then he can't work.

Castelia's the greatest city in the world, but it's not cheap staying here.

>dat feel when your parents are seriously considering yeeting you from the nest because of a one-in-a-million-chance you'll be the next champion and help them out as they're staring down a potential future of long-term unemployment

I mean, it's definitely dark, but it doesn't exactly feel unbelievable for a setting where kids going off to take a swing at the League is normalized. It's the same psychology as buying lotto tickets when you're tight on money. Sure the posted odds are astronomically small to the point where you'll statistically lose money by playing, but if it pans out... yeah, I can see the appeal.

"I know, Mom," I say, reaching out a hand to pet Champ. Champ's fur always makes me feel better.

"But Lena," Mom continues. "It's clear to me you love Champ. You may love being a trainer. And if you find something you love, nothing will make us happier."

"We're proud of you now," Dad says. "We'll always stay proud of you, no matter how this works out."

This is at once really touching, and really, really sad.

I don't know how to look at them, so I just keep petting Champ. He snuggles closer. "Thanks guys," I manage to say. "But I am gonna do good. And then you guys won't have to worry so much."

Again:

... Can't tell if this story's actually going to have Lena put up a respectable show at pulling this off or just get run over relatively early in her journey. I'm assuming that it's the former, though. At least for now.

Then Mom's hugging really tight. "You shouldn't be worrying about us," she tells me. "Worrying is our job. Your job is to be a great trainer. Now come on, tell me how you met Champ here. Tell me how you've been training."

I wipe away some wet I hadn't even realized was on my face and take a deep breath. "Okay. It's a long story?"

"We've got all night," Dad says. He makes a show of crossing his legs and leaning forward.

"Well, it started in the sewers," I begin, sitting up and letting Champ hop to my side to help me act our first meeting out.

Champ and I go on speaking, and sometime in the middle of me talking I notice that I'm smiling and that my face is all dry. We’re huddled close, Mom and Dad and Champ and me, and I sort of feel like things might be okay.

See the comment from two blocks ago. It applies here as well, and in force.

Leaving almost feels too easy.

Narrator: "That's because it is too easy and Lena is probably going to regret this at some point."

I mean, Mom hugs me and Dad hugs me and Sammy gives me a flying tackle which I think was a hug, but hugs aren’t new. I get hugs all the time.

Mom and Dad and Sammy aren't the only ones I say bye to. There's the other sewer kids, those funny dancers I used to tease, that crazy guy who hangs out in our alley who I think sells drugs, but he always liked Champ so I liked him⁠—but they aren't people who'll miss me if I'm gone. It's sort of a lonely thought. So many people live in this city, but only three will really miss me.

... That's quite the neighborhood Lena and her family live in. Though that checks out for someone who is poor enough to have to go skulking sewers for loose change in her free time.

Mom had packed me up lunch and some food that should keep long enough for me to get to the next pokemon center. The idea of a pokemon center meal keeps getting me really excited. They have a buffet, that's what Sammy said. You get a tray and go up, and take whatever you want. And you can come back for more, all free! I told Sammy she was totally lying but she swore that she wasn't.

Whelp, guess we'll find out if Sammy's lying really fast or not. Though if she isn't lying, it makes me wonder just how many other kids in Lena's position get yeeted out onto the circuit if for nothing else than to alleviate budget problems for a time.

Mom and Dad had something else to give me, once I'd packed my clothes and my jacket. Dad carefully took a box out from his pocket. He offered it to me.

"A gift?" I said. "Really? Can I?" I don't really get gifts often. Mom and Dad try on the holidays, but I told Mom back when I was seven and starting to know things that I'd like it better if she saved and got me a real blue jacket like in the stores. Well, she did, and I love my jacket almost the best of all, so I think that was smart of me.

I took the lid off and then I didn't say anything because it's beautiful. Champ nibbled at my leg a bit because he wanted to see. Slowly, I bent down until I'm on my knees. I lay it out on the ground, respectful-like. Then it struck me that maybe the ground was too dirty. I put it back on top of the box fast.

"Lookit, Champ," I said.

"Rat-tat-rat!" he said.

"I know the C-Gear is popular nowadays," Mom said, sounding sorry. "But this'll have to do. It's been passed down in your dad's family. Stopped working, of course, but we found a friend who got it started."

It was a watch, an old-fashioned one, with an hour, minutes, and second hand, with a bright metal lid that I could click open and shut. There were little pictures scratched out on the lid of two great dragons, their heads held high.

I'll be honest, I'd rather get this watch even as beat-up as it is than a C-Gear. Though I've always been a bit disenchanted about smart watches. They just don't have the same presence and gravity as a well-made mechanical piece.

"It's beautiful," I told Mom and Dad. "It's so nice. Like⁠—" I tried to explain, "like it's a thing someone important would have."

"Rat-rat!" Champ said loudly. He pushed his face into my side so that I fell over onto the floor.

"Okay, I'm being silly," I told him. "Hey, stop!" Champ was brushing his whiskers against my face and I'm sort of ticklish so I started laughing so hard, I was just flailing on the floor. At some point Dad moved the watch somewhere safe so I don't crush it. "Thank you." I remembered to say between my laughter.

Yeah... that would've been quite the start to your trainer's journey. Wrecking your family heirloom before you even set foot out the door. Thankfully that didn't come to pass there.

"You're welcome," Mom said. She brushed a hair out of my face and blinked very fast for a moment. "We'll miss you, sweetling."

"Yeah," I said, sitting up and pushing Champ away. "I'll miss you guys too."

I'm

-ing internally at that statement, since every journeyfic is such that there's always a low point to it, and I can tell that this is going to be out in particular force when that moment comes.

I swallow as Champ and I leave the city again. Route 4 is the same sandy mess, but this time I'm just looking up and up the road. I don't have a map, but the way seems clear enough that only an idiot would get lost, and somewhere up there is Nimbasa City.

Whelp, guess we'll find out really fast in a chapter or so as to if Lena was tempting fate. Since... you probably don't want to be making statements like that about a place that gets sandstorms. ^^;

I take a deep breath and stop slouching. I raise my head and with a gesture Champ comes to my side. I'm thinking that I'm not just Lena anymore.

Now I'm Lena, pokemon trainer.

Well, that's certainly an aspirational way to end the chapter, even if I'm not fully convinced that things are going to go off the rails relatively quickly since... yeah, Lena has a really rose-tinted view of what life as a trainer is like. ^^;

Though for my overall thoughts, I enjoyed the chapter, and it feels like it's the 'real' start to the story's proper narrative. It was at once interesting and a bit sad to see the world that Lena comes from, but it feels pretty believable and everyone's motivations feel grounded even though it's a fantasy world of superpowered anime animals. I think that the chapter could've afforded to be a bit more generous about description, such as giving a better idea of what Lena's home looks like in terms of layout and furnishings, or more deets about the neighborhood she hails from such as the architecture, but I honestly was too entranced by the story to notice that until after the fact.

Congratulations, @Pen . I'll be back for at least one more chapter of this story, but you're sitting on something magical here, and even if it might take a while thanks to other balls in the air, I'll be keeping an eye on it, since thus far it's definitely been living up to the hype I heard about it.

 

[Pen]

I'm standing outside the gym again, except this time I feel different. Champ is so good now, so strong and fast. A few days ago we beat three Ones in a row and I felt like I'd learned how to fly. Champ and I stayed up all through last night talking it over and we feel ready.

Well. My stommy is rolling like I'm going to throw up and my mouth feels so dry that I keep swallowing, so maybe I don't feel ready. But I feel ready to try.

It's early, so there's not much of a crowd. It's a different woman, but her question is the same. "Are you here for a gym challenge?"

"Yes," I say and my voice hardly shakes at all. Just for a moment though, I think she's going to laugh and not let me in. But she just gestures me inside.

Inside, it's bright. The walls are made of metal and lights shine from every surface, from the floor to the ceiling.

"Name?"

I startle. I hadn't seen the man standing behind a big computer.

"Lena. Castel."

"Trainer ID, please"

I hand it to him. He puts it on the same square thing that Nurse Joy has, and a moment later my picture appears on his screen.

"Please wait in the reception room for your name to be called. If your name is called and you do not respond within five minutes you will be taken off the waiting list."

I go through the door he pointed at. It's a small room, with big lumpy couches and racks of fashion magazines. There are three other people there. Two of them look around my age, but the third woman is an adult. They all look up when I come in, but they look away just as quickly. I find the seat that's farthest away from everyone. Champ jumps up on my lap.

His weight makes me feel a bit better.

The woman gets called in the first few minutes. Twenty minutes later they call one of the boys who looks my age. I watch him go. He's got black hair and three pokeballs clipped on his belt. I only have Champ.

A half hour goes by and I start to wish I'd eaten something before leaving the center. I'd felt too nervous to eat, but now my stommy is gurgling out of hunger. On my lap, Champ hears it and he nudges me. At least Champ had something to eat. I gave him two of those big dough balls he loves, and promised him more if we won.

More people come in while I'm waiting. There's not much to do but watch them, 'cept I feel weird staring too long. Most of them are playing on their phones, or reading fashion magazines. I flip through the magazine a bit, staring at the pictures. The models' hair does things I never dreamed hair could do.

It's been an hour and six minutes—I know from the clock—when I hear my name. For a moment I think I've imagined it, but then I hear my name again, "Lena Castel?"

I shoot to my feet, remembering what the computer guy said.

"I'm here!" I call out. My voice is loud in that tiny room, and everyone looks at me. Oops.

But the guy gestures at me to follow so Champ and I set off after him.

"Pokemon must remain in their pokeballs inside the gym," he says.

"Oh. I'm sorry." I recall Champ. Now I feel really alone.

We walk down a hallway. The floor and walls and ceiling are all this strange black that almost sparkles. Finally he stops in front of a huge doorway at the end of the hallway. He presses a button and the door slides open.

Inside there's a huge room, bigger than a house. The wall and ceiling are made from that same sparkly black stuff.

Leader Elesa is standing on a platform at the other end of the room. It's really her and I almost can't breathe. I'm standing in the same room as Elesa. I forget to move for a few seconds, just staring at her.

"Challenger, you may come forward," Elesa calls out. I think I hear a smile in her voice. Is she smiling at me?

I stumble forward until I'm standing on the other platform, facing her across the room. The man who led me in moves so he's between us.

"The battle between Elesa, Leader of the Nimbasa Gym, and challenger Lena Castel, of Castelia City will be a three-on-three battle. The challenger may substitute pokemon, but the gym leader may not. The battle will end when one side is unable to continue. Let the match begin!"

I swallow. This is all too big and real and fast. I don't even have three pokemon. It's just me and Champ.

"Zebstrika," Elesa calls out. Her pokemon paws the ground and lets out a snort.

"Go, Champ," I say weakly. He's bigger than he was as a rattata, but even now he looks tiny next to Zebstrika. His eyes widen when he sees Zebstrika and he shows his teeth.

"Begin with spark," Elesa says.

I'm no newbie anymore. I've fought electric pokemon before.

"Get out of its way fast, Champ," I shout. Champ hardly needs me to say. He's already moving, so Zebstrika only hits the air. Zebstrika has to slow down so it doesn't hit a wall and that's when I see our chance. "Quick attack from behind," I tell Champ.

He hits Zebstrika hard.

"Don't stay close," I tell him. Electric pokemon are sneaky. They can get you even from behind.

"Quick attack as well," Elesa says. Her voice is calm, not quick and scared like mine. When Zebstrika turns around, I can see that Champ's attack didn't hurt it much. Zebstrika moves so fast. Even though I'm shouting "Dodge," and Champ is dodging, he's not fast enough. The impact throws him back a few feet.

"Champ, are you okay?"

"Catta-cat," Champ says loudly, getting to his feet. He sounds okay. He's okay.

Zebstrika and Champ are staring each other down. Then I know what to do.

"Use your scary face now!"

Champ glares at Zebstrika, his eyes fierce and his teeth shining. Zebstrika freezes in place. "Shiny bite!"

This time Zebstrika stumbles back. "And quick attack," I say, "before it can move!"

Champ runs forward, but Elesa says, "Flame charge," and all of a sudden Zebstrika is on fire. My eyes widen, ‘cause I saw this in the tapes and I should have thought—

"Champ, stop," I call out, but I'm too late. Champ hits the fire and falls back, his fur singed and dark.

"Are you okay, are you okay?" I yell.

"Ratta-cat," Champ says and I bite my lip. Dimly, I hear Elesa call out, "Spark."

"Can you dodge?" I ask Champ. "Or can you—use sucker punch!"

Champ's lying there, but just as Zebstrika comes close, its fur sparking, Champ's a shadow, and then he's behind Zebstrika, hitting it hard.

"Yes!" I shout.

But maybe Elesa's figured out our tricks. Because she doesn't seem worried at all. "Spark," she says again, and Zebstrika is close, is turning. Champ is right there and there's nothing I can say that's fast or smart enough. Zebstrika hits Champ, all electricity and power.

Champ smacks down onto the ground and doesn't move.

I dimly hear the referee saying, "Raticate is unable to battle. Zebstrika is the winner."

I rush to Champ's side and pick him. His eyes flutter open. "Cat-rat-ta,"

"No, you don't get to be sorry," I say. "I'm the one who's sorry."

Champ manages to twitch his whiskers at me.

"Ms. Castel?"

I realize the ref is talking to me. "Yes?"

"If you don't release your next pokemon you will be forfeiting the match."

I look at him funny. "Champ's my only pokemon," I say.

"Ah." He nods. "The challenger is out of pokemon," he announces. "Gym Leader Elesa is the winner."

"You fought well," Elesa calls down to me. "Your raticate was very fast."

I should feel so rotten, but hearing her words warm me up inside. We lost―but we lost to Leader Elesa. And somehow that feels better than any battle we've won.

"How do you feel, Champ?" I whisper, and I can see it―the same answering pride is in his eyes.

 

[Pen]

"Lena! Er, your name is Lena, right?"

I turn around. It's a girl I battled a few weeks ago. Sara, I think. She's waving to me. "Yeah," I say.

"Are you up for another battle?" she asks, coming closer.

"Yeah," I say, after I've thought a second.

I notice the way Sara pushes back her bangs, like she's impatient to begin all the time. She has nice hair―so straight and glossy black like a magazine cover.

I send out Champ in a hasty click. Sara smiles. "Hey, your rattata evolved!"

I blink. "You remembered Champ?"

"Is Champ his name?"

I nod, still surprised.

She shrugs. "Champ was a bit bigger than most of the rattata I've seen. Yeah, I remembered him."

"That's ‘cause he was a city rattata," I say. "They're tough."

"I bet." She looks at the pokeball in her hand. "I sometimes wonder if Haya would be a bit tougher if she'd been a wild pokemon to start."

"I thought she was pretty tough," I say.

"You remembered us?" Sara asks, smiling some more.

"Yeah," I say quickly and find I’m smiling too.

"You know what," she says, pushing back her hair. "Do you want to battle later? Maybe we could get some icecream now. You know, and talk."

"Sure," I say. "Champ?"

"Cate," he agrees.

It's strange, talking to Sara. I haven't really talked with other trainers before. There was Walter, I guess, but he doesn't count. Sara's a real trainer, smart and strong and pretty. My tongue's some big caterpie I keep tripping over, but when I tell her about Waylon's big backpack and what I've learned about etiquette, she laughs.

I really like it when she laughs.

Sara has two badges already. I'm not surprised. I feel stupid to tell her I just have Champ, and then stupid for feeling stupid, when she tells me she just has Haya too.

"Have you not found any pokemon you want to catch?" she asks me. She sounds serious, like Sammy when I'm telling her a secret.

I bite my lip. "I don't know. It's just that Champ and I are partners, you know? We decided to do this together, and having another pokemon would be . . . weird," I say finally, even though the word is wrong.

Sara frowns. "I'm gonna be honest and say I don't totally get that, but I think it's kind of cool. Like something from a movie."

Her saying that makes me feel so good, like the sun warming me up all over. "Thanks," I say.

"Are you challenging gyms?" she asks me.

I nod slowly. "Yeah," I admit. "Except, I lost real bad to Elesa."

"Hey, Elesa's really strong. I lost to her too," Sara says.

I blink. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really badly. My badges are from Cress and Burgh. I will beat her, though. We just need to train some more. Uh, and get a ground type."

She sounds so sure. I wish I could feel that way.

"Maybe you should try challenging Lenora," Sara says. "You know her? She's a normal type trainer. I just thought, since raticates are normal types, maybe she'd give you a one on one battle, or something."

"Can gym leaders do that? I thought there were rules."

"Well, I guess. But I think as long as the match is official you get a badge."

Walter and Sara and the other trainers just know things sometimes. I wonder if I'd have learned them if I'd stayed in school past grade three. I grab my map from my backpack and spread it out on my lap. "Where does Lenora live?"

"There." Sara points. "Nacrene City."

"Oh." I know about Nacrene a little, cause it's one of the places close to Castelia. Suddenly my heart starts beating really fast. To go to Nacrene we'd pass through Castelia, and I could see Mom and Dad and Sammy!

"It's pretty close to here, I think," Sara says. "You just have to go through this big city first."

"Um, I know," I say quietly. "Um, I'm from Castelia."

Sara's eyes widen. "Really? That's so cool. I've always wondered what it must be like to grow up in a real city like that. You can show me around!"

I look up at her. "Are you going to Castelia too?"

Sara goes a bit pink. "Well, I still have to challenge Lenora, so I thought—but I mean, we don't need to travel together, I just thought if we were going the same way . . ."

"But aren't you going with your friends?"

She frowns. "The people I was hanging out with? They're from the same town I started out from so we've been sticking together, but it's not like we have to."

"I'd really like to travel with you," I say in a rush. "Only I'd have to ask Champ."

"Champ? Oh. Oh, sure."

I lean down to Champ and whisper, "what do you think?"

"Rat-cat-ratti-cate-ta-cat," he says.

I blush. "Whatever, Champ, but what do you want?"

"Catta!" he says.

"If you're sure . . ."

"Catta."

"Champ's okay with it," I tell Sara. "Um, so when do you want to go?"

"How about tomorrow morning, around eight? Leaves us time for breakfast. If you give me your nav number we can meet up at the route exit."

"Idon'thave a nav," I say fast.

"Okay," Sara says. "Then how about eight, in the pokemon center lobby?"

"That sounds good," I say.

Sara finishes her cone and grabs her backpack. "I've got to get a few things now, so I'll see you then, yeah?"

"Yeah," I say, and watch her go and then sit staring at the table for a long time. "Did I sound like a dumbhead?" I ask Champ.

"Rat-rat!" he says.

"Well, I think I sounded like a dumbhead."

Champ flicks his tail in answer.

.

.

Sara meets me at 8:10 in the lobby.

"Sorry," she says. My nav alarm didn't go off, and—hope I didn't keep you waiting."

I don't say that I've been waiting since 7:30, and that I spent the whole night staring at the ceiling and hugging Champ.

"Don't worry, we were eating breakfast," I say, which isn't really a lie.

"Right." Sara pulls her hair back into a ponytail in one quick movement. She looks pretty with a ponytail. She also looks pretty without one.

We walk out of the pokemon center quietly.

"So," Sara says. "I heard Castelia is, like, this huge city, with buildings so high that they sometimes hide the sun."

"I guess," I say, shrugging a little. Inside I feel kind of proud. I guess I've never thought it meant much, being from Castelia. "Where are you from?" I ask Sara, suddenly curious.

"Uh." Sara bites her lip. "I'm from Johto, actually. I only moved here last year."

I don't think I've met anyone who isn't from Unova before.

"That's cool," I say. "I don't know much about Johto. Is it like Unova?"

"There's more forests," Sara says. "And the towns are smaller. There really aren't big cities there, except maybe Goldenrod. It's a bit hard for me, honestly. Back home I knew everyone in town—everyone and their grandmother. But you can't do that in a big city, can you?"

"I don't know hardly anyone back home," I tell her. "Just my family, and Sammy, who's my best friend, and some of the other kids who hang around the streets."

"It sounds a bit lonely," Sara says.

I bite my lip as I think about that. "Maybe. But not really. Because even if I didn't know anyone else, I'd still have Mom and Dad. And Champ," I add, reaching down to ruffle his fur as we walk.

Sara looks away. She's quiet for a long time, and I can tell I've said something wrong, even though I don't know what.

"H-how did you decide to move?" I finally say.

That's also wrong. Sara ducks her head lower. I think she's not going to say anything, so it surprises me when she suddenly spits out, "I didn't."

Her voice is all spiky, and when I look over at her I can see that her eyes are too glimmery, like she's about to cry. When she starts talking again her words come out in quick sharp bursts. "My mom said —we're going to Unova—it's going to be an adventure—and I said—'I'm going to be a trainer'— that's my adventure. Mom said—sometimes we have to be brave—and I—I don't want to be brave, I want to be home. And then mom says if I really feel that way I can stay home with Dad but she and Dad aren't staying together because—" Sara stops talking. She squeezes her eyes shut. When she opens them again her voice is calmer. "Sorry for going on and on like that," she says. "It's just that, everything that I've ever wanted is happening—I'm a trainer, me and Haya are finally starting our journey together. But it's all wrong, too."

There's nothing I want more in that moment than to make Sara feel better. "I think you're really brave," I tell her. "And, if you hadn't moved here I wouldn't have met you, and I'm really glad I met you, because you're nice and strong and—brave."

"Thanks, Lena," Sara says after a long moment. She looks at me like she wants to say something else, but she ducks her head instead and says again, "Thanks."

.
.

We reach the city limits around noon. My stomach is already grumbling, and I can't wait to be home. Sara's staring at the outlines of the buildings with wide eyes.

"I knew they'd be big," she says, "but not that big."

Suddenly I'm less excited about lunch. 'I could show you around a bit," I say. "I bet you've never had a Castelia Cone."

"A Castelia Cone?" Sara grins. "That sounds amazing."

I've only had a Castelia Cone once or twice as a special treat for my birthday. It's a silly idea, to buy one now, on a normal day like this, but I'm feeling silly.

Suddenly reckless, I grab Sara's hand and lead her along the streets. I'm about to duck into the back-allies, like I usually do, but it hits me that I don't really have to. Sara's a proper trainer, and next to her no one is going to think I'm out of place on the main streets.

We walk slowly down Mode Street. Sara stares at the shop-fronts with big eyes. I'm staring a bit too, only I pretend that I'm not.

Like always, the line for Castelia Cones stretches down the block. As we wait, I tell Sara all about the different things people do in Castelia. When we reach the front of the line, I say, "Two Castelia Cones, please," in a voice that hardly shakes at all. I think it's because I have Sara standing next to me. I sure don't want to look fraidy in front of her!

The icecream is even better than I imagined, so cold and sweet. I think of the money I just spent to buy it. Worth it, I decide. Sara takes another bite and lets out a short happy laugh.

Definitely worth it.

.
.

It's almost 3:00 by the time we reach my house. It startles me, how small and gritty it looks after the shops of Mode Street and the gleaming pokemon center in Lumiose City. I slow down, suddenly wishing I had brought Sara to the pokecenter instead. She's going to realize I'm—

"Lena?" Sara's saying something. "Are you okay." She's blinking at me with a worried look on her face.

"I'm fine—" I say, only the last word comes out wrong. It comes out like a sob.

I stand there looking at the ground. My stommy is hurting from eating only icecream and the sweetness of the Castelia Cone in my mouth makes me feel sick. I spent 100 poke on it—almost half of what I'd get from a day of battling. I spent all that poke all at once like I was some kind of normal trainer, flinging around poke like it doesn't matter, but it does. Mom and Dad could have used that poke.

I'm so selfish. I'm such a faker. Spending poke to seem cool so Sara likes me. Acting like I go down to Mode Street every day.

I was looking forward to being home so much and now the thought of my house makes me feel sick!

This hot sour feeling pounds against my chest like I'm going to burst with it. I don't want to open my mouth because if I do it's all going to come out and Sara will think I'm a wimp and a whiner.

The stupidest thing tumbles out of my mouth instead. "This is the third time I've ever had a Castelia Cone. In my life."

I look at my feet. My shoes are still sandy from the desert— sandy, and beat-up, and ugly.

A long moment passes.

"Hey. Um." I can hear Sara swallow. "Can I tell you something kind of embarrassing? After I came here, I didn't want to tell anyone about my parents. Everyone else has these perfect families and mine is—not, and that made me feel small, I guess, and like I didn't fit in right. You're the first person I talked to about it and you listened to me and you didn't—it didn't matter to you at all. So this—I know you don't have a lot of money. That—that doesn't matter at all to me, okay? I think you're really cool. That blue fleece you always have tied around your waist—"

"It's cause it's my only jacket," I say in a watery voice.

"Yeah well, I bet you picked it out. Well, didn't you?" Sara demands.

I nod.

Sara jabs out a triumphant figure. "So you have good taste. But. I mean. I'm not very good at making a point. I like hanging out with you. And—you said you thought I was brave. I don't really think so. But you—you're definitely brave."

Hearing that makes me feel warm inside and I don't feel so much like I'm going to throw up anymore.

"Sorry for standing here like an idiot," I tell Sara.

"Don't be sorry. Only I'm kind of hungry, so . . ."

On cue, my stomach lets out a rumble. Me too, I guess.

"Um." I take a deep breath and walk forward a few steps. I turn back to face Sara. "Um. This is my home. Please come in."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Alright, time's definitely a bit tighter than I expected it to be for Review Blitz, but I've been having fun with Making it Big, so I figure I might as well jam out at least one more review before curtain call.

Chapter 3

I knew this would happen eventually. You're not a trainer till you've fought another trainer. That's what it's about. I didn't think I'd be so fraidy about it.

I mean, considering how your sister went on at length last chapter about how you're basically at the mercy of others if they put two and two together about your background... yeah, I can see why you'd be 'fraidy' about it.

Right now I'm standing behind a boulder, in a way that just happens to keep my out of sight from the other trainers. It's not that I'm hiding. I'm just being cautious.

These two stupid looking guys with huge backpacks catch each other's eyes. I'm busy wondering what they could be keeping in such big backpacks. I don't think all the stuff I've owned ever would fit in a backpack that big. How do they even lift it? Don't they get really tired?

"I'm Waylon," says the first guy.

"Jerome," says the other. "Shall we?"

"By all means," Waylon says. Then he pauses. "Er, mind if I—" He jerks a finger towards his backpack.

The other guy lets out a sigh. "Not at all."

I see that battles really do kick up once eyes meet in this setting. Though this is probably as good a time as any for Lena to Solid Snake her way past these two. :V

They both dump their back packs onto the sand and pull out their pokeballs. My head begins to poke out above the rock. So does Champ's.

It's a short fight, between a scrawny pidove and a striped thing that uses electricity. Still, the pidove gets in a few good hits before the—he called it blitzle?—gets its act together. Jerome lets out a sigh, but he doesn't seem too put out.

"Type matchups," he says, shaking his head. "Every time."

Naw, you just suck at this, Jerome. Quit coping. >:V

He pulls some poke out from his backpack and hands it to the other guy. I wonder how much he gave. Then Jerome's walking away and I'm walking out from behind the rock towards Waylon, who's still enjoying the break from his backpack. He looks up and our eyes meet.

"Great Zekrom in the sky! You a trainer?"

Nice little setting detail there, even if I doubt Lena's super thrilled about suddenly getting roped into a fight. ^^;

I nod. Then I'm not sure if that's enough so I say, "Yeah."

"Pokemon at your side, eh? Very Johto. You from Johto?"

The question weirds me out. I don't even have black hair. Even I know people from Johto have black hair.

Ah, so no anime hair in this story... unless those are all dye jobs.

"No!" I say. I almost blurt that I'm from Castelia, but it's not his business and I don't want him to know anyway. "Can we battle now?" I say.

"Eager, aren't you? Bet you just started out."

Lena: "A-Am I really that transparent?"

Waylon: "Yes." :|

That's not a question, so I don't have to answer. I'm busy looking at his shirt. It's stylish, I think.

"Silent type, eh? Alright then, Blitzle, come on out!"

The blitzle looks tired. Champ, on the other hand, is totally pumped. Our battle goes even quicker than the first. Only a few fast hits and blitzle's lying still. It's not much different than fighting the not-trainer pokemon, really.

Waylon recalls his blitzle and gives another sigh. "Lost again. Pokemon training's really just a hobby," he tells me, though I'm not sure why. "Backpacking's my true passion. Still, battling can be fun on the side."

I mean, you could try not fighting back-to-back battles without healing there, Waylon. >:V

I don't get that. He's just fine with failing? Why does he even do it? I wonder if he's talking so much to avoid giving me money. If he tries to run away, Champ'll bite him first.

That's... some ever-so-slightly concerning trainer on trainer behavior that's normalized in this setting. Not that I don't buy Lena being cranky about being stiffed on winnings given that finances have a much stronger bearing on her journey than normal.

"Here's your cash, kid," Waylon says, handing me a fistful of poke. I take hold of it carefully, making sure to grip tight. There's a wind, and it would be too horrible if the poke scattered.

Waylon says more stupid stuff and then I think he leaves. I'm not listening because I'm counting the money.

"$120," I tell Champ. That's more than I've ever earned in one day, no matter what I found.

... Wait, is this still barely enough to buy a soft drink in this setting? Or is this an actually decent chunk of change here?

"Rat-tat?" Champ asks.

"It's good, Champ. It's really good."

"Tat," Champ says, looking proud.

Then I realize I've been an idiot. I bend down quick and scritch Champ by his ears just where he likes it. "You were so good, Champ! Against a trained pokemon and everything!"

"Rattata," Champ says, tilting his head under my head.

Yeeeeeah, kinda important to give credit where it's due, since I don't think your trainer's journey is going anywhere fast if Champ just decides to go on strike, honey. :V

"It's just that I've had an idea, Champ. You beat that blitzle so easy because it was already weakened, right? And that was because it had already fought. And, well, these routes have lots of trainers. So I bet trainers are always fighting trainers. So what if we waited till one trainer fought another and left them weak, and then we would fight then, and then we'd win every time!"

"Tat-tat-tat!" Like Champ's sharing my excitement, his ears perk up and his whiskers twitch.

I sit on the sand petting Champ and thinking about my plan.

As clever as that is, that sounds like a really fast way to piss off the wrong person and have some serious problems later on. ^^;

We’re close to Nimbasa now, and it's getting dark. Champ and me managed another win against a scruffy-looking starley, but after that he was tired, so we snuck down the rest of the route, ducking behind rocks and trees, so that no one would see us and want to have a fight.

Mood:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJV8W2WYQKY

When I walk into the city, I have to focus real hard on keeping my mouth shut and stopping my head from swiveling round and round. At home, all the buildings were gray, gray, gray, but here there are colors, and it's not even a festival day!

The people are more colorful too. They don't wear gray suits like the business people back home or the pieced-together greyish clothes of everyone else, but bright pinks and blues and yellows. Most of them are looking into their transceivers. The ones that aren't move together in large groups, laughing loudly with their friends. Mom calls Nimbasa the 24-hour leisure town, and I guess I'm seeing what she means.

Yeah, Nimbasa does have some strong "carnival" vibes going on for it, so I can see how a kid who grew up in a drab housing block would be wowed by the scenery.

The first place I go is the pokemart. The stupid clerk keeps an eye on me as I walk around the store, like I'm going to run off with his stupid items or something. Well, I'm not.

Almost half of my new money goes into buying a pokeball for Champ. They won't heal him at the pokecenter unless he's in a pokeball, that's what Sammy said. The pokeball is weird to hold. It's so shiny and perfect that I almost want to try and see if Champ's teeth can make a mark. I wonder⁠—if Champ was in the pokeball and something crushed it, would Champ die?

Okay, now I'm morbidly curious as to what would've happened if that played out.

"Wanta try it?" I ask Champ.

He's also staring at the pokeball. "Rat-tat," he says, his tail going slowly from one side to the other.

"You don't have to. We can do the pokecenter thing tomorrow. We don't even need to go." I'm feeling pretty rotten at the idea of making Champ into red light and squeezing him into the ball.

I'm... guessing that was a 'no'. Maybe a 'hell no'. ^^;

"Rat-tat-tat," Champ reminds me.

He's right. [ ] "Okay," I say. "Champ. You just stand there. Uh, yeah. And I'll just⁠—"

It probably makes sense to more explicitly hint at what Lena interpreted Champ's response as, since... yeah, it's kinda a mystery there and feels like it doesn't have to be one.

I hold out the poke ball awkwardly, so that it's facing Champ and press down on the button. With a happy sort of click, the poke ball opens, red light going all around Champ like a sandstorm and then there's just a red light and then nothing. I'm holding the poke ball, and for the first time on this journey I'm actually alone. Champ's not by my feet, reminding me to be tall.

I take in a big breath and push the button again. It's like someone is squeezing my heart, but then there's Champ and he looks all the same. "You okay?" I ask him.

"Tat," he says."Ratta-tatta."

"What's it like?"

"Ratta-rat ratta-rat rat."

I don't think I've ever heard him say that before. Figuring out what Champ means when he talks sort of takes a while. I didn't understand him at all back when we first met. Well, I did get him when he nipped at my legs, but it took me some time and a lot more bites to figure out that Champ has a whole language, even though he only says one word.

Lena: "I... didn't catch all of that, but I'm gonna assume that's a 'it's weird, and don't put me in there when you don't have to'." ^^;
Champ: "Ratta-tat." >:|

I sit with Champ for a while, as we both listen to the sounds of this town. It's quieter than back home, despite all the colorful people⁠—quiet was almost a myth in Castelia, but here the voices of people on the street rise and fall and then fade into the light murmur of the wind on the rooftops.

"Do you think you can do it again?" I ask Champ. "So that you can be healed?"

"Ratta-tatta," he says.

"That's not a yes."

I'll keep in mind that that's apparently some sort of negative answer for the future.

"Tat," he says, sure this time.

Oh, so that's a 'yes' there.

I stand. "Okay then. Let's check out our first pokecenter, yeah?"

I remind myself that Champ's already braved the pokeball, and so I can be brave too.

This chapter felt like a bit of a transition, but at the same time, it did feel like we were seeing some solid progress. Lena's finally ditched Castelia for a whole new town, gotten into her first proper trainer battle, and even picked up an honest-to-goodness Pokéball. It was a lot more progress than I was expecting in just 1400 or so words.

I think that you seem to really be making use of your character's background for animating her thought process. Since yeah, as cheap as ambushing trainers with worn-down Pokémon is, I'd probably want to do that myself if I needed to make scratch fast.

Kudos @Pen , I had a lot of fun with this chapter, and I'll be looking forward to seeing more of your story in the future.

 

[kyeugh]

chapter four

hi hi, i am back! i'm considering this my dose of post-suicune's choice therapy. this was a cute chapter with some good worldbuilding details and some great emotional reactions from lena. you really draw out the differences between her and other trainers in this first scene. the way that her waiting anxiously to hear back about champ and the surprise that even nurse joy expressed about her anxiety stood out to me. while she hopes to bring him some income with this whole training thing, it's abundantly clear that she sees herself not as a trainer so much as someone who is on adventure with her best friend. it's really nice to see. this theme culminates in her conversation with the other trainers at the end. i was a little disturbed by the way they talked about her—i was left with the feeling that many people sort of treat their pokémon as throwaway, like lena's sentimentality is juvenile or irrational. i don't think it is at all, and i wonder if she's going to end up coming into conflict with others because of their treatment of their pokémon. i also wonder if her behavior will extend to future members of her team.

i really liked the food scene. i'm not sure why but there's just something kind of delightful about lena going around wide-eyed and amazed at buffet fare that a lot of people probably consider gross or middling. i remember having a similar experience the first time i stepped into my university dining hall, just like wow, look at all this food, i can have any of it i want, what the fuck. it was cute seeing her preferences too, and again the way her behavior here differs from that of her peers. lena is someone who doesn't take a single thing for granted, but she also feels weird about being treated as special for that.

Spoiler: line comments

I feel sort of dirty and like I don't fit. I keep thinking someone is going to notice me, and point me out, and call the whole town over to laugh at me and say, "She's different, she doesn't belong here."

I wish my clothes looked nicer.

But I know I'm being silly. Some other trainers walk in, sandy-sandy from the desert, and after that I don't mind so much.

this is really sad but her reaction here is kind of uplifting, too. i'm glad she feels like she can fit in with this crowd a little despite her background.

There are schools at Castelia, but no one cares if you go or don't.

"or don't" over "or not" felt strange to me here, i don't think i've heard anyone speak like that before.

I shift again on the pink cushion and start to bring my watch out, sneaky-like.

chuckling at "sneaky-like," i love her

It's like I've been walking through the city, and the sun's especially bright and the air especially sweet, when suddenly I've walked over an open manhole and didn't notice, and then I'm falling so far down into a dark hole that doesn't have a bottom.

i really liked this, it really is a plummeting feeling and this metaphor captures that well.

Nurse Joy lets out a sigh, like Dad does when it's trash day.

i laughed hard at this

Nurse Joy smiles a bit. I think she's laughing at me, but I don't mind. I would laugh at me too.

this is cute. she's kinda mature. i would be kind of >:I about this as an adult.

There are white, white, white mashed potatoes—without skin bits in them! Mom always leaves the skin bits in because she says they're good for me.

the skin bits are the best part smh. you're just being contrarian now. 😑

There's also some nutriloaf, which is what non-vegetarians who aren't rich eat.

i found "non-vegetarians who aren't rich" a bit clunky. maybe "people who can't afford meat" or something? i think you could easily make "non-vegetarian" implicit

There's also lots of salad, which I don't see the point of.

she's kinda spitting some straight facts here. 💯 🔥 i'm having fun with this food scene, lol.

One has a whole serving of mash potatoes and two dough balls! The cleaning woman reaches for the plate and without thinking I put up my hand to stop her. "Sorry! That's—that's mine. I'm not actually done." Quickly I snatch the plate and walk back to the tables.

was this some random person's plate? i wasn't sure.

Champ really likes the dough balls but I think they're bad for him. Tasty things often are.

i love that she's concerned about stuff being bad for him, haha

"Good." The lady nods like my manners are somehow her doing.

omg lol. i'm laughing a lot in this one

I don't say anything. I just sort of leave. They're all saying stuff behind me as I walk away—"Hey, no offense meant!" "Didn't mean—" "Think she actually likes that rattata?" "Weirdo" "People get gushy about their first catch, I don't blame her." But I don't listen because I don't care.

I don't care.

ugh. i'm sure she definitely doesn't. i really want this fic to go somewhere happy and give me scenes of her proving all the haters wrong by wrecking their shit with a rattata.

---

chapter five

i liked this one a lot! it's been great seeing lena and champ's bond, but i really enjoyed the development here. so far, lena has seemed pretty personable and assumes the best of people, even if she views herself as different from them. it felt like she almost had a tendency to put herself down before she put down others. i was a little bit surprised at her indignance and contemptuousness here, but it makes sense. training is a lifeline for her, and it's not trivial for her to lose a battle and have to cough up some of the money that she's earned, something she's spent her whole life wanting for. not to mention that she has to put her friend through pain to do this—losing is a double punishment. the smiles and laughs of the other trainers really expose the differences in background, and lena's pain feels real and believable. again i wasn't expecting it to go this direction, but oh lord am i here for it. wondering if this is going to be a long-term trend or if it's something she ends up coming to terms with... i'd be happy for either but part of me craves vindictive lena.

also, something i noticed here was that champ uses hyper fang, a move that rattatta actually learns after it's meant to evolve in canon. perhaps that wasn't the case when you wrote this chapter—either way, it feels like champ might be on the cusp of evolution here. that's going to be a big change for them both. probably a good one for lena, since evolved forms are generally better at battling, but he won't be the same little buddy he's always been, and maybe that change will be hard for her.

Spoiler: line comments

A trainer calls out, "Fury swipes," and I see a purloin attack with flashing claws. Purloins are meanies. They want food when you've got it. They want food when you haven't got it, too. A purloin stole Sammy's whole dinner once, though I think that was sort of her fault. Sammy likes purloins.

Sammy's a bit weird.

I've watched this purloin train

you misspell "purrloin" every time here.

"Stay. Tail whip. Hyper fang." We've only ever practiced this so far, but Champ's tail blocks the purloin's first swipe.

this is cool. applying basic moves in novel ways is a nice strategy for keeping low-level battles like this interesting.

"Sneak move!" I shout. Champ's done this before a few times, but it's still the best and most scary thing. Even though he's slow from purloin's claws, Champ's suddenly right by purloin, dark and close as a shadow. He hits purloin and it goes down.

this is cute. i like this idea, that specific pokémon moves are innate and it's possible that the trainer wouldn't be able to actually identify it as anything more than That One Thing They Do Sometimes.

A loose crowd gathers around us and the area clears.

uh oh, not a crowd...

But I think I hate her. I hate them, the other kids who are turning back to their talk about winning the league, the hobbyists who smile when they give up their poke, the way they all smile when they lose, like losing is okay, like it's a game.

"It's not a game to me," I tell nobody. Then I put Champ in the pokeball and take off for the poke center at a run.

whoa. kind of scary there.

---

chapter six
kind of a bite-sized one. or more so than usual anyway. the beginning of this one felt a bit like it was retreading the last one for me, sitting impatiently at the pokémon center and waiting to hear back about champ.

something i really appreciated in this one was how much you were able to communicate somewhat subtly about the guy talking to lena. he's got a foreign pokémon bought from a breeder; he's playing around on a poké gear that lena couldn't hope to afford; he's the heir to a family business; he doesn't even want to be doing this dumb thing, it's a drag, he just wants to return to the comfort of his financially secure home. his situation really couldn't be further from lena's. i was kind of surprised that her reaction to his whinging was relatively subdued compared to her state at the end of the last chapter. he's kind of the epitome of everything that was pissing her off there. not only is this a game for him, but it's one that he doesn't even like playing. this is a chore for him, something that he could skip entirely and still go back and enjoy a life of material comfort. it worked well to further emphasize the disparities between lena and her peers, although i think this chapter probably marks the limit of how far that point can be driven without movement before it begins to feel redundant. i skimmed the next chapter and it does indeed look like there's some progress there, looking forward to getting into that!

Spoiler: line comments

Champ won't be healed enough for a few hours, since he fainted in the battle, and then we aren't 'sposed to battle again for 24 hours after a feint.

* faint?

The boy frowns a bit. "A rattata? Aren't they diseased?"

lol, god. it might be my online brain but "diseased" feels so mean.

But part of me still goes on thinking, Champ's not sick and he's not dirty and why don't people all shut up. I want to tuck my head between my knees and cover my ears with my hands. The shininess of the pokemon center, the low humming of the machines, the swish of the door opening and closing―it's all too different and I don't want to be here.

"Sorry," the boy says. "Of course your rattata's not sick. I'm sorry, I don't know too much about wild pokemon. It was a stupid thing to think."

aw. he's kind of sweet. nicer than the other trainers so far, although seems like he's still from a comparatively privileged background. i like the way that certain pokémon are sort of stigmatized here. i wonder what kind of reputation is attached to a riolu.

I hope he'll stop talking or I hope the nurse will come out and tell me Champ is all better.

i felt a bit weird about the repetition of "i hope" here.

I don't really care what he's talking about, because it's been a half hour now and Champ is hurt.

oh my god hahaha. lena kinda savage with it.

 

[ShiniGojira]

Hi, Pen! Hope your day's been going well. So I decided to read this after hearing about it from so many people (that and I kinda wanna read something that's more my cup of tea rather than what I reviewed last time)

The last story I read from you was great even if I don't particularly enjoy those kinds of stories.

Spoiler

Anyway, onto the review!

The first chapter starts off with some background from our protagonist, Lena and how she has been living in poverty her entire life. We see some day-to-day things in her life including how she goes to the sewers daily to see her friend, Champ the rat and living out that 'Another man's trash is another man's treasure'.

We also get a little bit of her ambition to be champion and her wishes on becoming a trainer. And that unlike the other trainers in this world, she does it out of necessity rather than as a hobby or for fun. Which is an interesting twist in the trainer's trope since most fics start off with the trainer wanting to be one in order to fulfil their dreams instead of like as a job.

In chapter 2, we see some time passing by with Champ learning Hyper Fang and beating up some of the Pokémon in the city. It's in this chapter where we also learn about Lena's name and some of her friends as well as what her family thinks of her wanting to be a trainer. There's also a small fight with Champ and a wild Sandile which was fun, and I loved the imagery the entire fight gave me.

Also we get some cute interactions with the gift from her parents that I absolutely adore.

Next, we go to chapter 3 where we finally get to see some trainer fights. The first fight was between a weakened Backpacker and Lena who Lena absolutely demolishes with her full health Rattata, there might've been more fights after this but they weren't too notable to really fit in this chapter.

Then we see Lena reaching Nimbasa City where she proceeds to buy some supplies from her various victories with her genius plan. There was a cute little interaction between Lena and Champ about Champ's Poké ball.

So far the story hasn't really been doing too much but I think the way Lena thinks of her world and the character interactions more than makes up for the lack of story. (I mean yeah, I get that she wants to be the champion and all but there isn't really a lot happening in these three chapters)

Lena as a character is interesting as she's not your average trainer in the fact that she's poor and doesn't seem to know much about Pokémon other than their movesets and names so I'm curious to see how far she can go and what other sorts of Pokémon she'd befriend 'cause if Champ's any indication, they'll all be some interesting and probably underused picked bunch I'm assuming. (Not that I'm saying you'll have to pick all of them as underused or underrated Pokémon but it'd be cool to see them)

Anyway, here's some line-by-line thoughts:

Sometimes I can find dropped coins or items there. My biggest find was an ultra ball some really stupid trainer left behind.

Gamer luck, baby!

That's not fair

Life's never fair.

I'm luckier than most of us: my parents have a house to rent that has heating in fall and winter, and I have a jacket. I love my jacket more than almost anything else ever.

I know that this story's about a girl in poverty starting her journey to be the very best.

But this line here sold it for me. Like damn, this kind of subtle and natural info dump is what I aspire to be capable of.

He can't say my human name right either, so he calls me Rat-ratta-tat.

Now that she mentioned it, the story hasn't told us her name yet, hasn't it?

Because even if no one else does, I believe in Champ.

Yeah! Believe in yourself! For it is your rightful destiny to be the best!

Sandile starts to flick up sand at us, like there's not enough sand in the air already!

*Cough* *Cough* Sand Attack, what a dirty little gator.

The sandile twitches and the next second all this sand starts coming up from the ground, surrounding rattata like a whirlpool!

Sweet imagery for Sand Tomb!

That's true enough. Trainers walk around like they're some sort of royalty, like we’re still back when Unova had a king and queen.

To be honest, I kinda forgot that Castelia was in Unova so this line thankfully reminded me of that.

"That's right," Dad says, smiling at me. "Off you go, then."

Well, at least he's being honest. You rarely get honesty out of parents these days.

Castelia's the greatest city in the world, but it's not cheap staying here.

Living the American dream, one would say.

Now I'm Lena, pokemon trainer

Oh there's the name drop! Lena *No last name* the Pokémon trainer! The Pokémon Champion with Champ the Rattata.

Waylon recalls his blitzle and gives another sigh. "Lost again. Pokemon training's really just a hobby," he tells me, though I'm not sure why. "Backpacking's my true passion. Still, battling can be fun on the side."

Oh, a Backpacker.

So what if we waited till one trainer fought another and left them weak, and then we would fight then, and then we'd win every time!"

That sounds like a brilliant plan... unless they have potions (or you're fighting against a nuzlocke player)

starley

'Starly' Autocorrect must've slipped this through. (Unless you meant to write this?)

I wonder⁠—if Champ was in the pokeball and something crushed it, would Champ die?

I question that every time.

but it took me some time and a lot more bites to figure out that Champ has a whole language, even though he only says one word.

Well, there is a language composed of only whistles so you don't even need words to make a language!

And that reaches the end of my review, this was enjoyable and the way this story was written has peaked my interest so I'll definitely come back to check on this later on.

Take care!

 

[Chibi Pika]

help I just keep coming back

I really like the image of Lena staying up late with Champ, discussing the pros and cons of fighting Elesa. Constant reminders that these two are a team and they face things as a team. And they really did hold their own against Elesa! Despite Lena's nervousness, there was a definite sense of competence from both her and Champ, and even though they didn't manage to win, I feel like they showed that they're starting to know what they're doing. And hey, even Lena doesn't feel too bad about losing!

On to chapter 13, and we open with potential new friend? :O The two of them hit things off right away, what with both of them having made an impression on each other from their last battle. The two of them heading to Nacrene to challenge Lenora is a great idea--gives a nice sense of the story moving along after the defeat in Nimbasa. I love how she consults Champ before going ahead and agreeing to it, and he obviously points out how much she wants to do it. xD

And oh my gosh I immediately want Lena and Sara to be friends. I love the genuine kiddishness in the way they so quickly open up to each other, both feeling awkward and vulnerable in different ways--Lena for being poor, Sara for moving to an unfamiliar country. Lena finally gets to hang out with a friend and spend money on something purely to enjoy it, aaaaa. I want her to get to be a kid. Don't feel guilty about it, Lena!

 

[Pen]

My house is quiet and slightly cold. I open my mouth to shout that I'm home—then I remember that it's only three. Mom and Dad don't usually get back from work before night-time.

I find some going-stale bread in the breadbox and make peanut butter sandwiches for Sara and me. They don't taste very good, not like the hot food in the poke center, and I start to feel bad again until Sara pokes me in the side.

Champ's happy to be back. He sniffs all around the house, and then starts to snooze loudly on my bed. Sara's telling me all about how she won her first badge when I hear the door. Champ opens his eyes and we all skitter over. It's Mom, stuck in the door-way—she has more bags than she has hands.

When she sees me her face splits into this big smile and she puts all the bags down.

"Sweetling!" she says, and I run right into her arms, not caring that I must look like a baby. Mom's warm and she smells like grease and spices, just like she always does. When we're finished hugging I take a step back and look at her face. It's funny how she's so familiar but also so strange, like a tree I've passed a hundred times before, but only just now stopped to look at now. Mom's looking back at me too, and I suddenly wonder how I must look to her. Just the same? Or do I look different, tougher?

Or am I also like a tree, and she's seeing how much I've grown?

"You normally aren't home so early," I say finally. I don't know why I sound like I'm accusing her of something.

"I got permission to take off early," Mom says. "Sammy told us that you were coming back today. So of course I have to make you a big feast!"

So that's what all the bags are for. I start to grin kind of stupidly.

"Lena, why don't you introduce your friend," Mom says.

Sara! I turn around with big eyes, realizing that for a few moments I'd forgot she was there.

"Mom, this is Sara," I say. "She's super strong and smart and she moved here all the way from Johto. And Sara, this is Mom. Um."

Mom is Mom. Trying to explain her would be impossible.

"Nice to meet you," Mom says cheerfully. "Now girls, I could use a bit of help with these bags."

Once we've carried everything into the kitchen, Mom sets us to work peeling and chopping. At first the kitchen is quiet. But then Mom starts to ask me questions, and before I know it, I'm telling her everything that's happened to me. I explain to Mom about noobs and Ones, and the gym with its metal walls and how Elesa said we fought well. Champ keeps chiming in, talking over me, and somewhere in the middle I just start laughing.

Home is all around me like a giant blanket. It feels good just to sit on a chair and watch as Mom sautes the vegetables and Sara plays the tail game with Champ.

It's getting dark outside when the door opens again. I race to the door and see Dad, and next to Dad, it's Sammy! She's so much taller, and she's cut her hair so short it doesn't even fall past her ears.

"Lena-girl!" Sammy shouts and pulls me into a Sammy-hug, so tight it's hard to breath.

"Choking," I gasp out. When she lets me go I put my hands on my throat and flop dramatically to the floor.

"I've killed her," Sammy says mournfully to the world at large. "I knew it would happen someday." She notices Sara and wiggles a hand. "Hi, I'm Sammy!"

"I'm Sara," Sara says cautiously, sticking her hand out like a shield.

Sammy notices and laughs. "Don't worry, I only attack Lena."

Sara smiles a little nervously and shakes Sammy's hand.

"Um, you're a nurse at the pokecenter, right?" she says.

"A nurse!" Sammy turns to me with her mouth open. "Lena-girl, you been talking me up here or something?"

I get up and shake my head. "I never said—"

"I just assumed," Sara says quickly. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You're as bad as Lena here. A pokemon nurse! That's a cute idea. Nah, I'm on the clean-up staff. Night duty. Lots of bedpans to scrub. I was going to get Lena a job once she got old enough that we could pass her off for thirteen, but she beat me to the punch with this trainer gig. Lena's always been clever. Eh?"

Sammy tries to muss up my hair. This is her only bad habit.

I'm grinning again and probably look totally stupid. I can't seem to stop, though. Sammy is still Sammy and home is still home. I fit here—I make sense here, not like in the pokecenter, where I'm always waiting for someone to ask me what I'm doing and why I'm there.

During dinner we don't talk so much. We're too busy enjoying Mom's food, which is better than the pokecenter food, because Mom made it.

Sammy's got her night-shift, so she takes her dessert to go. As we're finishing up Mom's pie, there's a loud beeping sound.

"Sorry, that's my nav," Sara says. She picks it up and her eyes go wide. "Um, sorry, I have to answer this. It's from my father." She darts out of the room.

When Sara leaves, I notice Mom and Dad look at each other and then at me.

"Lena," Mom says, "I think now is a good time to tell you some news we have about your dad’s job."

About Dad's job? My stomach suddenly feels like worms are crawling in it. If Dad couldn't work anymore, he wouldn't have come home so late, right?

My heart starts to pound really quickly.

"You know that I've been having trouble with my back," Dad says.

"I know," I say quickly. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, honey," Mom says, smiling. "This isn't bad news—it's the opposite! A few weeks ago, the manager of Dad’s crew announced his retirement. The crew put their heads together and, long story short, your Dad's name kept coming up. Long story short, your dad got the job! It's really the best we could hope for: now Dad can keep working without risking his back."

I stare at Mom and Dad for a few seconds, wondering if it's some kind of joke. But Mom is still smiling, and Dad is smiling his quieter smile, the one that stays in his eyes.

My mouth feels all dry so I swallow. "Really? That's—that's so good."

Mom and Dad nod at each other again.

"There's something else we wanted to talk to you about, Lena. We were wondering if you planned to keep traveling?"

"I want to," I say quickly. "But if I shouldn't for some reason—"

Mom shakes her head. "That's not what I meant, honey. It's just that you've been sending us money from your battles, and it's been a big help. But with my job, and Dad's promotion—we're doing just fine right now, and I don't want you to be out there worrying about us. If you're serious about being a pokemon trainer, it takes money, and not spending that money can be dangerous. I don't want you not getting Champ medicine when he's hurt because you're saving it for us."

I look down at Champ with wide eyes and say loudly, "I won't do anything that would hurt Champ."

"I know, honey," Mom says gently. "But when those kinds of choices come up, we need you to put yourself and Champ first. That's your responsibility, if you want to be a pokemon trainer."

She has a serious look on her face, and I remember suddenly that Mom had friends who were pokemon trainers when she was younger and didn't live in Castelia. She knows what she's talking about.

"I understand," I say quietly.

"We weren't sure what was going to happen when you said you wanted to go off and be a pokemon trainer," Mom said. "But you've made us proud."

That makes me lift my head up, feeling all warm inside.

Sara hasn't come back in yet. I wonder suddenly if she heard us talking and decided to give us some time alone.

I'm just bending back down to my pie when Dad says my name. I pause, and look up at him.

"You like this?" Dad asks. "This—training? It's what you want to do?"

That makes me pause. That makes me really stop and think. About long afternoon drilling moves with Champ. About the bright heat of a pokemon battle, and the satisfaction that curls in my chest when we win.

"I think I love it," I say slowly. "Dad, it's—it really is what I want."

Dad nods, and he and Mom do that parent thing where they smile at each other. I pull Champ into my lap and keep thinking hard.

Because at home I fit in just right, like a piece of wood that's been carved to go between the other pieces. But I don't want to be that piece of wood. That wood is dead.

It's the trees that grow.

 

[Pen]

Sara and me enter the Nacrene city gym together. It's not like Elesa's gym at all—it's much smaller, and no one's asking questions at the door. Inside there's a big room of books, more books than I've ever seen together before. The room smells like old paper. I see a desk, but no one's behind it.

"Hello?" Sara calls out. She's braver than me.

There's no response at first, and then a guy comes hopping out from between some bookshelves. He’s wearing a purple vest and funny-looking bow-tie.

"Ah, my apologies," he says. "I didn't notice your ingress. Are you here to browse, or did you have a specific question?"

Sara and I look at each other.

"We're here for a gym battle," I say slowly, wondering if we got the wrong place.

"Ah," he says again, in a flatter voice. "Pokeballs. Forgive me, I didn't notice. You'll want to walk straight ahead, it's through the door at the end of the reading room." Maybe he sees how we’re confused because he says, "Lenora's gym also serves as a library for the town. I'm not actually affiliated with the battling aspect of the gym—I'm merely a humble librarian. If you're interested in enjoying the stacks after your battle, feel free! Please do remember, though, that we have a strict no pokemon policy in the library itself," he adds, seeing Champ poke his head out from between my legs.

We tell him okay, and keep walking. In the back of the library we find an open door.

Sara and I exchange looks. Somehow it feels weird to talk aloud around all these books. She shrugs, and we go through the door together.

It opens onto a small battlefield. On the far end of the field, a woman is sitting on a tiny stool, her head bent into a book. A lillipup is curled up on her lap, snuffling gently.

"That must be Lenora," Sara whispers. "You can go first," she adds, giving me a little shove.

I take a few steps forward. "Hi," I say. My voice sounds especially small. "I'm Lena." My tongue feels twisty and I don't know what to say next. The woman looks up at us and smiles encouragingly.

I think of Sara at my side and suddenly I feel brave. "I want to have a one-on-one battle. A normal type battle. If that's—" I falter "—if that's okay."

Lenora stands and comes over to us.

"Do you have more than one pokemon?" she asks. Her voice is rich and deep.

"No," I whisper.

She looks at me some more. "Very well. If you'll take your place at the other end of the battlefield, we can commence—will your friend be staying to watch?"

"Um," I say, suddenly unsure. It sounds kind of scary, to have Sara watching me battle. What if I totally mess things up and look stupid? What will she think of me then?

"Or your friend can wait outside," Lenora says, watching my face.

I see Sara frown. Lenora moves over to her and says something quietly that I can't hear. Then Sara nods and tells me, "Good luck."

I watch her go, feeling alone. Which is silly, cause Champ's with me—it's no different than at Elesa's gym, really, except that at Elesa's gym no one was there to cheer me on. Sara is here for me, and I'm the one who told her to go.

"Do you have any other badges?" Lenora asks me.

I shake my head, embarrassed.

"Now don't go looking like that, child," Lenora says sternly, but there is a warm current underneath. "We all start somewhere."

I blink at that. I guess it makes sense, but it's hard to imagine someone like Lenora or Elesa ever being weak or scared.

"Even you?" I say without thinking.

Lenora laughs. "Me more than most, I should say."

I wonder what she means, but she doesn't say anything more.

I go to my side of the battlefield, and watch as she pulls at a bell-cord. After a few minutes a man comes out from the back, dressed in the uniform of the pokemon league. She says something to him quietly, and he nods.

"This will be a one-on-one battle," he announces, taking his place. "Is the challenger ready?"

I release Champ and nod. "Um, yeah, We're ready."

"I will be using Watchog," Lenora says, throwing out a pokeball.

Watchog has big teeth like Champ does, but its eyes are glinting and red, and it walks on two legs. Still, I bet it attacks with its teeth just like Champ. There's not going to be any wild electricity or sudden fires. I know how a pokemon like watchog will fight, and thinking that makes me less scared.

"Begin with a leer," Lenora says. The watchog narrows its eyes, which glow an entrancing red.

Champ shivers and stands still, transfixed. I can hardly look away, either.

"Now use crunch," Lenora says, so calmly it almost doesn’t sink in that she’s called for an attack.

"Dodge, Champ!" I say, too late. Champ's still shaky on his feet and can't move in time. "Bite while it's close," I shout.

"Sand attack," Lenora counters. The watchog kicks up dirt from the floor into Champ's face. He shakes his head furiously from side to side, trying to clear his eyes. "Now, attack with low kick," Lenora says.

"Quick attack," I shout. This time Champ's faster. He avoids the watchog's leg and barrels into it from the side. "Now bite again!"

"Detect," Lenora says. The watchog moves as if it knows exactly what Champ's going to do, twisting just out of reach of Champ's teeth.

Champ lands on his feet, breathing hard. I bite my lip, trying to think. Champ moves faster, but the watchog has all these sneaky moves to get out of the way. Maybe if we—

But Lenora doesn't give me time to think. "Retaliate," she commands.

The watchog bears down on us with a loud cry. Panic starts to take me over. I don't know what that attack means. All the proper trainer names go right out of my head.

"Side!" I shout frantically to Champ. He jumps to the side, narrowly avoiding the watchog. "Now sneak move!"

Lenora frowns, her mouth open as if she's going to give a command, but she says nothing—and Champ slams into the watchog hard.

"Now bright one!" I yell all in a jumble. Lenora stares at Champ, her brow furrowed, as his teeth start to glow. Suddenly her eyes go wide.

"Dodge it," she shouts, but this time she's the one who’s too late and her watchog is too slow. Champ's attack brings the watchog to the ground.

I'm about to call another move, but I notice how Champ is sitting, still and intent. He's watching the watchdog, so I do too.

The silence edges on. I'm breathing too fast from the battle, and I can see the sweat soaking Champ's fur.

"Watchog is unable to battle," the judge shouts, breaking my focus. "The challenger is the winner!"

I blink at the words because they make no sense and then Champ is in my arms and we are twirling and laughing. I flop back on the ground and Champ runs all over my belly. Then I notice Lenora's come over and I sit up all at once.

"Congratulations," she says, smiling. "Your strategy at the end is one I haven't seen before. None of my other challengers have found a way to make my encyclopedic knowledge into a weakness. It's my honor to award you with the Basic Badge."

I take the badge carefully, like it's a jewel or one of Mom's best dishes. I stare at it for a while, realizing I don’t have anywhere to put it, no fancy badge case like other trainers do. I never thought I’d need one.

Without thinking I'm saying the only thing running through my head. "I don't get it. You, you must have trained for years and years—and Champ and I have hardly trained for lots of months, so how could we beat you?" I glance at her face quickly to see if she thinks that was a rude thing to ask.

But Lenora smiles. "That's a smart question. The gym challenge functions on a modulated tier system. Do you know what that means?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Perhaps you've heard that some gyms are harder or easier than others."

I nod.

"The gym system is tiered, in that gyms are grouped into beginning, intermediate and advanced categories. I run a gym at the beginner level, while the Opelucid gym, for example, is at the advanced level. Among gyms of the same level however, there's still variation. To put it simply, I will use different pokemon depending on how many badges you have earned. This modulation based on challenger experience is what keeps the gyms a test of not just experience, but skill. It also makes the gym challenge easier logistically, since there is no specific order that challengers must follow."

I think through that a bit. "So you mean that when Sara battles here you'll fight with better pokemon because she has two badges already?"

"I'll use stronger pokemon, yes. Because Sara will be battling for her third badge, while you were battling for your first. We expect different levels of skill to win those different badges."

"That makes sense," I say slowly.

"I'm glad you think so," Lenora says, sounding sort of amused, and I wonder if she's laughing at me inside. But I don't think Lenora is mean.

"Thanks for explaining," I say, ducking my head.

"Child, there's nothing I love more than explanations," Lenora says, still amused. It hits me that it's herself she finds funny, not me, and I start to smile too.

We walk outside together. Sara is there, going over moves with Haya.

"Sara!" I shout, and I hold up my badge. She turns around and when she sees my badge she grins really wide. "Awesome!" she says. "I knew you'd win!"

I didn't even know that, I think. But that's wrong. She's not really saying she knew. She's saying that she believed I was tough enough to win.

"My turn, then," Sara says brightly. Then she frowns. "Or is two trainers in a row too much?"

Lenora chuckles. "I hope you aren't trying to be insulting, dearie."

Sara blushes. "Sorry. Okay, well." She glances over at me. "I'm fine with you watching. Um. If you want to, of course."

I do want to. Only—

Only, I feel strange. It's like my legs have forgotten that they're supposed to stand straight, and I feel sort of warm and cold at the same time.

"I want to," I say quickly. "Um, but Champ is sort of tired, and—"

"I didn't think about that," Sara says, her eyes widening. "Sorry, Champ. I'll, uh, see you at the pokemon center, then!" She smiles, and then nods, and then sort of blushes again.

When Sara and Lenora have gone inside, I collapse on the grass and take out Lenora's badge from my pocket.

"Tat-ta," Champ mutters.

"I know you're not that tired. Sorry I used you as an excuse. It's just that I feel weird."

I pull my knees up to my chest, thinking. The weird thing—even weirder than the weight of Lenora's badge in my hand—is that I don't feel any different than before.

I keep thinking this moment is going to come when I'll know I'm a real trainer. I'd close my eyes and then open them, and I'd just know, the way the other trainers do. I'd been so sure that winning a gym battle would be that moment. Only real trainers win gym badges. A fake trainer sure couldn't do anything like that.

I clench my fist tighter around Lenora's badge until the sides dig into my palm, feeling my eyes starting to burn. I blink furiously, trying to force back the stupid tears which keep trying to make my face wet.

"Maybe fakes win all the time," I say to myself. "Maybe—"

"Catta-ratta-cat!" Champ shouts suddenly. He pushes his face against mine, all cold nose and scratchy fur. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his side.

But Champ doesn't let me hold him. He wriggles out of my arms and starts to talk again, "Ratt-ratta cate-ratta rat-ta."

He's talking too fast and it's hard to understand. "Me and you," I repeat haltingly. "For a long time. We're not fake—"

I blink.

"I'm such a dumb-head, Champ," I say quietly. Because suddenly I understand, and it's so simple I don't know how it took me so long.

"I became a trainer when I started to train you," I say. "That's what you're saying. And, you're right." Slowly, I unclench my hand to look at the slim bright rectangle on my palm. "That's what trainer means. All the rest of it—that's just the etiquette."

Lenora's badge doesn't make me a real trainer. It can't. Not when I've been a real trainer this whole time.

I wipe my eyes. What am I doing staring at some stupid badge? It's not important. Sara's important. She's having her battle, right now, and I'm sitting around like a dumb-head instead of cheering her on.

I put the badge back in its case and stand up. Then Champ and I go back inside the gym, together.

---

End of Part One​

---

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Hey, swinging by for a big multi-chapter review of one of my new favourite fics, Making a Rat Large. And the rat finally became large! I'm so pleased about this development. Here is a review, which I have done my best to also make big.

Chapter Ten

I'm so relieved that Stel was so reasonable and patient with Lena! I was worried that she might be terse or confusing or exploitative, but thank goodness, this was another good pportunity for Lena to learn and grow and be listened to. What a relief that people are worth trusting more often than not. This was a really good opposrtunity to exposit about your worldbuilding, and I really enjoy the historical transition of pokémon training from a class-based nobility/military privilege, to an intermediate state scarcely different, to a state of de jure egalitarianism but de facto entrenched inequality.

I was amused by Lena admitting in her talks-too-fast mode that was financially motivated, as opposed to being a glory-seeker or following a family tradition or responding to a vocational calling I guess? Having jobs tends to have a financial motive, kid. Man... Anyway, Stel is kind and good and I like what she says, but I'm surprised she thinks an unschooled ten-year-old will understand her vocabulary and the density of information she supplies. Maybe I'm underestimating Lena, she's pretty good at gleaning key info from adults infodumping at her.

I had a good chuckle at the way Lena basically thinks to herself 'my rat is smarter than me', which is perhaps sometimes true. Champ is a cunning little guy and has a lot of common sense. A high WIS score, I guess!

And aaaaaa TRAINER LENA! She's starting to believe! She doesn't really fully believe for several chapters after this, but she's got a good weapon against her own gremlins now and that's a great start. Thanks for giving her the mental space to believe she can be a legitimate trainer, Stel. And for vindicating her financial responsibility!

Chapter Eleven

The monologue at the start here about Champ is adorable, and I think it was a prudent decision to backload the backstory. It's something I think I appreciate more now than I would have at the very start. I love them for voluntarily helping each other, and I love this moment of comparison between Champ's former state as a malnourished city rat and his current state as a lean, strong trained battle 'mon. I'm sure this interview will eventually come up later somehow. I hope it's a good thing when it does, although I can't help but worry about the effect seeing herself used in an opinion piece about disenfranchised trainers might have on her. I think I believe in Stel to spin it in a decent way, though.

Holy shit, Champ is well fed and strong now! It feel like he might evolve soo—

Holy shit evolution! Of course, I was expecting it and am deeply proud of him, but for Lena, this is a huge and sudden unexpected change. She just doesn't have the same assumptions as all the schooled trainers, so her friend has just become hard to understand and unfamiliar. I love the way you wrote her emotional reaction and I love that she gets to have bad reactions to ostensibly good things because she's ten and doesn't know things. Bless her. And bless Champ for being so patient and supportive. She already knows how he says her name now, and that makes my heart warm.

Anyway, more importantly than anything else, the rat finally BECAME BIG! Good, the fic is over now. What a great conclusion.

In all seriousness, this chapter really is About Champ and I like it. The juxtaposition of his first meeting with Lena with his evolution feels appropriate, and meaningful. It's a kind of second first meeting, in a way. He is so sweet and she is so ten years old and I love them.

I hope Champ gets even larger.

Chapter Twelve

This chapter had such a sense of anticipation that I was practically ready to jump when Lena did. It's so much more official and serious than anything before, something she actually needs a license for, something with stakes. And then, when it was declared to be 'three on three', I knew she'd lose. Maybe Champ could beat one 'mon with his new strength, but not three, no way. And of course, even one electric type is too much for Lena, who is always startled by more exotic attacks. That fight was such a step above anything we've seen so far, even though she's beaten Ones who could theoretically take on a match like this, that it makes me wonder why there was such a disparity between her hopes and reality. Is this a consequence of only going after weakened opponents? Or just down to panicking at an unfamiliar battle style?

In any case, their pride at losing to a strong and legitimate opponent is a good thing for their development. She seems to be deriving a sort of vndication from having made the attempt and been treated with respect, even if she wasn't strong enough to win. It's also good to fall short and survive, I think it'll make future battles less scary as a result.

Chapter Thirteen

Sara's back! I liked her. Can she and Lena, possibly, be friends?? I would love that.

Yes good SARA IS A FRIEND.

Incidentally, Haya being a rare named 'mon makes me wonder about how that's mostly pretty uncommon. It also makes me think to mention that if Lena ever really makes it really big, 'Champ' is kindof nominative determinism in a way. I wonder if her young self vaguely wished for her teammate to be a champion with her.

Hooray, they're GOIN' PLACES! It was a about time Lena moved on and continued her journey to new places. Starting to settle into a more normal journeyfic mode, with the roots of her story still mattering all the time, of course. Bless anxious Lena, her worries are very much an entire mood, and I'm glad Champ is such a confident little trooper to keep her going. It's great that she consults him on her decisions, even though he doesn't really have a reason to object that I can imagine.

This is like the third time Lena has thought Sara is pretty. Cute. Bit of a kid crush? I really like that although Lena thinks Sara is the coolest ever, she has troubles of her own and isn't perfect and competent and happy like Lena might imagine. They each have fears and vulnerabilities, and I think that'll be healthy for them to support eachother through, as opposed to Lena shrinking into a super-competent friend's shadow or feeling enormous pressure. I hope they bond super hard.

The last scene, with the casteliacones, is so CUTE, and my heart breaks for Lena who wants so much to give her cool friend a tour of the big city and share a good thing, and her overwhelming economic trauma just crushes her. It was worth it, though, to share such a lovely moment with her firned, and to get support from her friend. Each of them has had an adorable moment to tell the other about their insecurities and talk the other girl up, and that's honestly some of my favourite stuff to read. I am DYING, this is so IMPORTANT, and I LOVE THEM.

Chapter Fourteen

Bless li'l Lena for loving her family so much and for Knowing how things are and for feeding Sara even though she feels ashamed. Bless Sara for being kind. Bless Lena's mom. This is an occasion with the most wonderful familial warmth and tenderness. I especially love that the meal is better because Mom made it. Is it actually better? That's academic. It's Better, because it's home.

Hey, Sammy! Why is she so much taller? Hasn't it just been a few weeks? Do kids grow that fast? Love the casual horrific mention of lying about Lena's age so she can perform child labour.

Holy shit aaa she's going pro FOR HERSELF, NOW! This is no longer about battling with limited resources out of fear of destitution, it's about vocational training because she's talented and loves it! I'm thoroughly delighted and can't wait for her item budget to go somewhere useful for her.

It's the trees that grow, huh? What a beautiful sentiment. 'Dead' is a pretty strong word for living with your parents while being ten years old, but the general idea is beautiful and it made me emotional.

Chapter Fifteen

Incidentally, did sara stay at the pokecentre? Is she okay after her reaction to her dad calling her? She mentioned her parents weren't together and she didn't stay with him and I wonder what the deal is.

Anyway, this gym is so much more low key and Lenora has a pleasant, educational, safe energy. The fact that these two are both kindof normal specialists with such similar names feels like it might be intentional? It's certainly a really significant moment, since it brings about such a change in Lena's schema for herself.

She really didn't expect to win, huh? Doesn't make sense, my ass. Well done, kid. Love to see her battling with such competence even under pressure.

I am thoroughly delighted that Lenora praises just using your own names for moves as a legitimate strategy for confounding a highly educated opponent. It happens because Lena panics but pushes through, and it completely throws off Lenora, and that is an advantage, not a failing. Excellent moment, a pleasant surprise. Once again it hits me that Lena just now is finding out basic stuff like gym tiers because of her lack of education. Man.

'It's herself she finds funny' is a lovely moment for Lena's empathy development, and it made me smile. I love that Lena is gradually meeting different kind of people and realising they're not threats as she grows up and gets stronger.

She was always a trainer! Kick those gremlins for good! Love that Champ is still her emotional support rat.

YEAH SARA IMPORTANT GO BACK AND WATCH YOUR FRIEND!

I have emotions. Definitely gonna binge this on FFN after Blitz.

 

[Pen]

I smell the city before I see it . . .

All cities look the same to me. There are the black streets, the silver trunks of buildings, and the wet, dark world underneath. But no other place smells like this one. I breathe in the familiar scent and feel my whiskers twitching in pleasure. Familiar is safe, and safe is—though it has been a long time since I have had to worry about safe or not safe. Now I am strong, and the others can smell the strong on me. The smell of strong is something to respect.

Next to me the girl who is mine, Lena, is skipping. From time to time she pulls out a small shining rectangle and holds it high to the sun. This is Lena's smell of strong. The other humans respect it.

Lena is quiet this morning. I think she is missing the other human, who stayed in the town when we left. I let Lena keep her silence; most times in life do not require speaking.

We reach Lena's home as the sun is beginning to set. Her parents welcome her back with nuzzles and she tells them excitedly about the victory we won together. Just thinking of it is enough to make my whiskers curl with satisfaction.

We eat our fill. Lena is tired from the long walk and falls asleep right away. At my place by her side, I curl into a ball, feeling drowsy. I am full and the bed is good and warm.

A sound jolts me awake. I listen intently—yes, a faint rustling is coming from the kitchen. The sound is not the sound of Lena, asleep at my side, or the sounds of her parents. It must be the sound of an intruder. Alert now, I pad my way to the kitchen.

Someone is on the counters. In the moonlight her gray fur is turned into silver. She has knocked open a cabinet and is scrabbling through it with her paws.

"Thief!" I shout, my cry sharp and cutting.

The thief stops abruptly. Her tail unwinds into the air, tense and straight.

I bare my teeth threateningly. She has sharp claws like the purrloin that would harass us when we chanced to go above-ground, but I'm strong now and don't need to fear her thin body or weak claws.

Anyway, she makes no move to attack. Her nose flares at my well-fed scent, the rich oil of my fur. I don't have patches in my coat, and hunger no longer makes my teeth break.

She drops to all fours and her body tenses—she is going to try and run.

Not on my watch . . .

There is loud, clumsy movement from behind me. The den must have been woken by my cry. Lena comes in first. She moves slowly, her body heavy with sleep. I feel anger course through me, that this intruder has disturbed Lena's sleep.

"What's going on, Champ?" Lena says.

Thief, I tell her, in simple words that I know she will understand. Stealing food. Bad one.

"A glameow," says another voice—Lena's mother. "A stray by the looks of it. Poor thing must be starving."

Yes, starving. The glameow's fur has grown out in irregular tuffs. She scents of hunger and desperation.

Lena steps forward and the glameow darts to the open window. They left it open to let in some air on this hot night. So that's how she slipped in, the thief!

"Wait!" Lena says. She opens the cold box where the food is stored and takes out some stew. Even cold, the thick savory scent fills the air, and my mouth fills with saliva. The glameow smells it too. She remains perched on the window-sill, her mouth hanging slightly open.

Lena takes a few slow steps forward. Does she mean to give food to a thief?

The glameow watches. Entranced by the scent of the food, she does not run.

"Here," Lena says, laying down the stew where the glameow was eating before. "You can have this, okay?"

The glameow stares.

"She said, it's yours," I growl. The glameow looks at me with wide eyes. Then, slowly, she walks over to the bowl of stew. She dips her head down and hastily starts to eat, jerking up warily every few seconds as if expecting a sudden attack. If she knew the girl who is mine, she would not fear that.

Lena watches the glameow eat with a strange expression. I decide she is very sad, though I am not sure why.

Her mother sighs. "Sweet of you, darling, but it'll come back every night now. You never just feed a stray once."

"Sorry," Lena says, still watching the glameow.

Her mother sighs again, gives her a quick hug, and heads back to bed. Lena does not. Instead, she sits on the floor and I hop into her lap. I do not like when she is sad like this.

"I wish I could feed every stray," she whispers suddenly, sounding choked.

"Then you would have no food," I tell her. Why did that thief come here? I think, angry that Lena is sad. Why did she not go looking in the dumpsters by the restaurants? That's where they toss out full meals. She is a stupid thief.

"Listen, thief," I rumble quietly, so that only the glameow can hear me. "Don't come back. There's not enough here to feed another mouth. You're taking the food out of her mouth—she's letting you, but I won't. Come back here and I'll tear you apart."

The glameow freezes. She looks up with her strange bright eyes. "I understand," she mews softly.

"What did you say, Champ?" Lena asks, frowning.

"I explained how the world works," I say. We are lucky, but only just. The glameow is not lucky. She shouldn't try to steal our luck.

I can tell that Lena doesn't quite understand what I said. She nods, and rubs my back in a familiar, comforting motion.

The next night Lena sits up for a while, waiting for the glameow to come back, but eventually she slips into sleep. I don't. I wait, hoping I do not need to make good on my promise, but the night passes and the glameow does not return.

Good, I think, though something tugs at my chest even as I think it.

A few nights later, I am again awakened by a sound. The thief! Warm anger fills my blood. I slip into the kitchen, and am not surprised to see the glameow, bent over the counter.

"I told you—" I growl quietly. I do not want to wake up Lena this time.

The glameow starts, and the object in her mouth falls onto the counter. It's a paper bag, with a delicious scent emanating from it.

"I'm not here to steal," the glameow says frantically. "Here." She pushes the bag towards me with a paw. "Here, it's for her. It's thank you."

Her chin is crusty with saliva. She takes in deep breaths of the scent, as if that's enough to fill her stomach. She's so hungry.

I remember hungry. I remember how hungry used to tear apart my stomach every night.

"It's thank you," the glameow repeats. "I'll go now. I won't come back."

Turning away from the food, she bends her legs to jump up to the window.

"Wait," I say roughly.

She looks back at me with eyes that are dull and clouded by hunger. I jump up onto the counter and approach her slowly.

"Your coat is dirty," I say. "Don't you have anyone to groom it?"

"I'm alone here," she tells me simply. "My littermates didn't survive the cold."

I remember the cold. I remember huddling with my siblings and cousins in a frantic clump. When it was cold, the fighting ceased. We lay against each other blindly, seeking warmth.

"I was sleeping next to my sister," the glameow says. She sounds dazed, as if she has forgotten I am here. "I woke up because she was so cold next to me. I started to lick her, but she was cold all through. And she didn't say anything after that . . ."

Warmth, I think. Food is for the lucky ones, but we should all have warmth . . .

"Lie down," I tell her. She complies without a word. She's tired; it's probably a relief to sink down onto the counter.

I begin to groom her.

Her fur is thin and stiff. When I lick too hard, I nearly choke on a mouthful of hair.

"What are you doing?" she says sleepily. I don't answer.

Her fur tastes like oil and grime. There's so little of it.

At some point, she falls asleep. Her back begins to rise and fall in irregular, jerky motions. When I finish, it has been a long time. I am tired too, and though her fur is lank and coarse, she is still warm to the touch . . .

I wake up with a start. The sun hasn't come up yet; the sky outside is a dark gray. Lena's mother moves quietly through the kitchen, putting a pan on the stove, taking various dishes out of the cabinets. She fills a bowl with milk and sets it down a few inches from me. I realize that the glameow is still curled up under me. During sleep we must have shifted—one of her paws rests protectively over my side.

I don't decide. I simply know, then, that she is mine, just as Lena is mine.

I nuzzle her gently to wake her up. She opens her eyes slowly, blinking.

I let out a quiet click. "Food," I tell her. "Breakfast."

I learned that word from Lena. Breakfast is the food that comes when the sun rises. Lunch is the food for when the sun is high in the sky. Dinner is for when the sun sets. It is a wonderful thing, to eat three times with the sun.

"For me?" she asks cautiously, flicking her tail.

I push her towards the bowl in response. She laps the milk up wearily at first. Then, as if crossing some invisible line, her reserve breaks, and she is gulping the milk down without pausing for breath. I watch her eat, feeling as if I am eating too. Just watching her seems to fill me up.

The glameow finishes her meal. She licks her paws and then carefully washes her face. Her movements have a grace they didn't have last night. Even the way she holds herself is different—lighter.

Suddenly she goes still, and turns to face me. "I can't pay it back . . ." she says, trailing off.

"You don't need to," I tell her. "I was selfish. We have enough to spare. I was forgetting—"

"Forgetting?" She stares at me, perplexed.

"—a human child who rubbed my back and gave me food. So I brought her an item another human threw away, and that was thanks, but it wasn't an end. It didn't stop like that. And then a time came when it stopped mattering who did what first, or what was given, or what was taken, do you see?"

"I think so," she says quietly.

Just then, Lena walks in, rubbing her eyes. "Hey Mom, did you see where Champ got to—" She breaks off, noticing me on the counter. "Oh. Hey." She starts to smile. "Glameow, you came back!"

Instantly, the glameow rushes over to the paper bag she brought and pushes against it with a paw.

"For us?" Lena asks. "Thank you." She holds out a cautious hand to Glameow, who sniffs at it tentatively and then nuzzles her. Lena smiles, and goes to help her mother prepare breakfast.

Glameow watches her for a while. She's thinking about something—I can tell by the way her tail coils up tight.

"Listen," I say, nudging her. She looks at me curiously, and I falter. This isn't a question I've ever thought about how to ask.

My whiskers give a nervous twitch, and then I say: "Do you want to be warm every night?"

Glameow's eyes widen. She glances from me to Lena. "Is it—" She hesitates. "Is it permitted?"

"Lena," I say. The girl who is mine looks up at the sound of her name. I flick my tail over Glameow and think about how to say it so the girl can understand me. "You are mine. And I am yours. And this one here—she should be ours."

It takes a moment, but when Lena comes closer I see that she has understood me. "You want to come with us?" Lena says slowly. "Champ and I travel all around, you know."

"That's true," I say. "We fight battles together." I look at the glameow's thin body doubtfully and add, "You would not need to fight battles."

She narrows her eyes and straightens her tail. "I could fight."

"When your claws have grown hard," I tell her. "Then you can fight."

She stares at me through her narrow eyes, and I bare my own teeth in response. Lena puts out a hand and then pulls it back, watching us nervously. At last the glameow relaxes her tail and says, "When my claws have grown hard I will fight."

I rub my cheek against hers to show her that I am not upset. "You must drink more milk so that your claws will grow hard soon. And I will tell you all about the great victory that Lena and I have won together."

All through breakfast, Lena and I tell Glameow about our battle. I notice that Lena is growing quiet as her Mom takes the dirty dishes away.

"We should train a little," Lena says suddenly. Her voice sounds strange—thin and high. "Uh, you shouldn't come, Glameow, 'cause you need to save your strength."

I follow Lena outside, wondering what we are going to do. But Lena does not tell me her plan, the way she usually does when we train. Instead she sits down on the steps and pulls me onto her lap.

"I like Glameow," Lena says. "A lot. But, it's just—" Her voice is wobbling and I can smell her distress. "It's just a bit weird," she says finally, burying her face in my fur. "This whole time it's just been you and me. And now it won't be."

I lick her cheek, making her giggle. "For a long time, I was alone," I remind her. "Then you came, and I was not, and it was better."

Lena nods, but she doesn't say anything. I think about food and warmth, and wonder if I can explain it.

But there is no need. When night comes, we curl up in bed, all together.

I drift into sleep, feeling warm . . .