Ch 31: It was a beautiful day, The sun beat down
Apparently you needed a lot of crap to not die in the woods, this was news to Hailey.
Sure, everyone knew the big ticket items, but there was so much fiddly crap between them. Like, not only did you need a camp stove if you didn’t have a patient and easygoing fire type, but you needed all these little cans of fuel, a stand, pots and pans to actually cook, cutlery. Who was going to carry all this crap? Cause she doubted it would be Gem, and there was only so much they could load on her chair.
Pomona said it would be fine and then did a thing where… well, she didn’t exactly eat an item to demonstrate, but that was also the best word Hailey could find to describe it. It was actually a little disturbing.
Still, the most central item was the tent. The Center store had the basics of everything a traveller would need, though not exactly the best quality or variety. That was fine, wasn’t like they could afford the best anyway.
“So this one says it fits three, that should be good enough right?” Hailey was squinting at a long, rectangular box, it was crazy they could fit a whole tent in there.
“Hmm, I think we should probably look for something… larger, if I had to suggest.” Pomona wasn’t even looking, instead she was floating around another display comparing… spoons? It looked like?
“Yeah, I vote bigger, much bigger.” Gem wasn’t even looking at anything, she was just lounging in a display hammock.
“Why, it’s not like you’re gonna be stretching it out, you probably only count as half an occupant!” Besides, the Minun would probably keep sleeping on top of one of them.
“Maybe I wanna stretch out!” Said shrimp shot back. “And besides, they never actually measure stuff out right. That’ll fit three humans… if they’re not big into breathing deeply or anything. Plus, what about when we get more hotties? I doubt they’re all going to be as cute and compact as moi!”
“More? Yeah right, you two are already anomalies.”
Lying in the hammock, Gem just snickered. The whole thing was low enough that Hailey could actually see her do it. Actually, it gave her an idea to pull out the Dex as Gem talked.
“Listen, Hailey, I know you’re knew at this, but there are two broad categories of humans. First, there’s the singles. They may sometimes fool around with others, but broadly they have a single partner, and stick to it. And then there’s people like you.”
“Hmm, not loving how you’re saying that.” At the first sound of the Dex’s camera snapping, Gem started posing, it was like it was on automatic. For her part Hailey was just amazed at all the options this camera had. The disposable one had been just point and shoot, the Dex had a digital viewfinder, grids, a baffling amount of shooting options, and more.
“It’s just the truth, there’s the solo’s and the harems, and baby? You’ve already got two of us stuck to you!” Gem snickered. For her part, Hailey considered giving the hammock a spin.
“I guess… is there anything we should really do in Eterna before heading out? I never really researched it” Probably the wrong thing to ask while they were already passing through the city streets. It didn’t help that she was pretty distracted by the new chair.
It was so light! The hospital chair had often felt like trying to roll a boulder, at least to her when she tried to get moving, but this one positively zipped along! Plus, without the armrests in the way her shoulders didn’t get sore after like, five minutes, it just felt so good to move in.
Gem just shrugged. “Not from here, but generally all cities have something to em, if you can find it. This places seems to be flowers, maybe they have a botanical garden?”
“I believe so.” Pomona said, “They are also well known for their biking and skating culture so I believe.”
“This new chair feels great, but I don’t think I’m gonna be hitting any ramps with it. I show up with any broken bones Carita might just put me in a full body cast for life.”
“Speaking of,” Gem cut in, “How did she even get it? Not sure I’ve ever seen a wheelchair store.”
“Yeah she got it from a bike store run by this Lucario named Sprocket. I guess she just… welded some bike parts together? No idea, did a great job if so.”
“Must have been a rush job to, wonder how she swung that?”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea…” One that had been unfortunately running through Hailey’s head since she saw that… meeting yesterday. She’d tried to forget. Gem had other ideas.
“Oh so she gets the Dragon dick for making a chair? When do I get some?”
“I’m not having this conversation.”
“No c’mon Hailey, I need help strategizing!” Gem whined.
Thankfully, Pomona came to the rescue. “Oh, I’d forgotten this was here.” Which was all it took to shake the others out of talking about (and trying to stop thinking about) dragon dick.
They’d entered some kind of plaza, the skyscrapers seemingly pulled back in reverential awe from the statues at the centre.
Dialga and Palkia, even Hailey couldn’t escape knowing about them, their renditions in bronze were a bit different than what she’d seen in cartoons and the like though.
Dialga was always the more angular of the two, covered in the natural armour that some Pokémon just had, but here it seemed to be taken to extremes. Stark, sharp, more leg than a manikin factory. Intimidating was the word as her statue stared daggers into the eyes of her rival/lover.
While not devoid of sharp points (especially around the mouth if the statue was to be believed) Palkia was far rounder. Not exactly fat or chubby, but… round, with swooping arcs.
Both were far more intense than the depictions usually put on TV, but who knew how realistic either version was, the two hadn’t been seen in ages. You could tell because no one was complaining about running into themselves from last week, or stepping out their door and ending up on top of Mt. Coronet. Apparently some people missed it, really spiced things up in the bedroom, at least according to the history books.
And then there were people like Gem.
“Holy Arceus, do you think I could climb them or would they just step on me first?”
Back, back on the route again.
Hey, Hailey wasn’t about to take mass transit after suddenly being free again, it was time to see the world! They also had a pretty limited budget, especially after shopping.
Eterna somewhat faded into Route 211, as the buildings became small and sparse, meadows took over, or perhaps grasslands, she wasn’t sure. The terrain was pretty rocky here, not broken, but the plant life seemed to be clinging desperately to the surface, rather than being deep rooted.
It also seemed longer than the path to Floroma, for example. She’d pushed herself for the first stretch, but after a quick water break Pomona had quietly drifted over and started pushing. The funny thing was that Hailey hadn’t even felt the need to protest, it gave her time to mess with the camera some more.
211 was no Eterna Forest (she’d have to go back sometime to get real pictures of that) but she was still snapping away, now free from the limitations of finite film rolls.
“So, how long will it take to get to Sunyshore anyway?” She said, while trying to keep a lone flyer way high up in the viewfinder.
“Oh I would imagine a few weeks at our current pace.” Pomona’s voice floated from behind, totally unconcerned. Hailey was less so.
“Weeks!?! It only took me a few days to get from Jubilife to Eterna!”
“Well yeah.” Gem was apparently tired of walking, so she hopped up on Hailey’s lap. Luckily it didn’t trigger a fit since she wasn’t pushing herself this time. “They’re like, the main core of the region, even I know that. Most newbies, the ones not going full trainer, walk their circuit just to say they did, then go home. That’s why I was staking it out.”
Wrapping one arm around the blue menace, Hailey rubbed her eyes with the other. “Ok, I knew they were close, that’s why I chose them, but why is everything else so far away?”
“Probably cause of the fuckoff big mountain in the centre of the region, if I had to guess. Humans aren’t rock types, they don’t get off by tramping up and down hills all day, at least most of them don’t.” Gem giggled, squirming deeper into her lap.
“Going through is faster than going over, but yes, old Coronet has always split the island in two, and since we are going to the east coast, through we must go.”
“Hell, I’d penetrate the old girl any day!”
“Pretty sure any ladies that live in a mountain would… literally crush you Gem.”
“Yeah” The silly Mon said dreamily, “Just how I like my woman.”
Hailey had to snort, “Oh is it? Cause I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to me at all! Besides, is there any kind of woman you don’t like?”
“Never been a fan of poison girls, always gets me super fucked up, but what can I say, when it comes to big, buff girls, I’ve got a natural weakness.”
“Yeah, cause you’re roughly the size of a loaf of bread.” That earned her a less than pastry soft elbow, but Hailey still laughed.
Gem was fiddling with her Dex now, potentially dangerous, but Hailey didn’t have the energy to care.
The sun was, by this point, high in the sky and it was putting her in a very sleepy mood. The bottom of her chin kept bouncing off Gem’s skull.
“We gotta do something about your contacts list. Only two? No way.”
“And who, exactly, would be in there? Arceus herself?”
“Well… maybe me and Pompom, if we ever get our own Dex’s, and… I guess your mom or something?”
Hailey gripped a little tighter. “No… no, that’s not happening.”
“Oooooooooook then, well, I’m sure we’ll meet some… others. Like those girls you were playing with the other day!”
“Pretty sure Carita well and truly scared em off, and who are you even texting with anyway?”
“Thẚo.”
“About what?!”
“Well, I sent her a pic I took when you fell asleep on top of my head, and now she’s sending me pics of shit she’s cooking. It’s making me pretty hungry, we gotta get you on Chattr.”
“For what purpose?!” Hailey yelled, while Pomona simply cut in with a quiet “We can stop for lunch soon, if you would like. In fact, I think there is some sort of gathering ahead.”
Hailey snapped up from berating Gem. There did seem to be shapes moving on the horizon, though for what purpose she couldn’t tell, the sound of rushing water was growing.
It wasn’t just a gathering, it was a full blown mob.
The trio had arrived by the side of a ravine, a canyon really, where the rushing water made them shout even though it was over a hundred meters down.
Spanning it was a large, but not altogether trustworthy looking suspension bridge. And on either side, dozens, perhaps hundreds of people and Pokémon were just… milling around.
“So, what? There a festival on? Seems like a weird place for it.” Gem was practically standing on her lap now, trying to look around.
There were some tents set up, but they were the camping kind, not the festive kind. Actually, the mood seemed somewhat… tense? Annoyed? Folks were jostling together, which led to a rather grumpy looking Purugly to knock right in to their little group.
Even more shocking was when Gem let out a “Hey! Watch where the FUCK you’re going!” at a volume that didn’t seem to match her size. Hailey was actually kind of worried that the cat was going to give them a taste of her claws with the look she flashed, but she just grumbled and moved away when she saw Hailey. Though also because a woman with a green poncho and orange hair was walking toward them with an air of authority.
“Hey there! You two doing alright? Trying to get things settled down here but it’s been a doozy.” The part left unsaid was that it was because Hailey was in a chair, but she appreciated the tact.
“Yeah, fine, what’s going on anyway? Some sort of festival?”
She laughed, in the sort of pained way of someone who’d been on their feet doing customer service for hours. “Oh, no no, I’d welcome that, chaos and all. No, there’s been a tunnel collapse, way through to Celestic is completely blocked, everyone’s stuck and… none to happy about that.”
Well fuck was all Hailey could think, so Gem spoke for both of them. “Well fuck, can’t they just get an… Onyx or something up here, clear it out?”
“I mean yeah…” The lady said, with the air of someone who’d already explained this many, many times today. “But you can’t just… bulldoze it through. They’ve gotta be certified, which means coming up from Oreburgh, gotta go slow so supports can be fit back in, then the checking and testing, it’s going to be a whole ordeal.”
Another strained laugh. “So yeah, might want to… find another path to your destination, been trying to tell people that, but a lot are being stubborn. Anyway, just wanted to make sure you were ok since it’s just two of you. Oh! And I guess I should introduce myself, I’m…”
Two? That wasn’t right, where had Pomona gone? A question that quickly answered itself as a dark purple shape slid up behind the woman, straight out of the ground.
“Gardenia, the much beloved Gym Leader of Eterna city, often seen around the gardens and the forest, yet rarely in a certain part. A true shame, after all, we miss her so.” Pomona’s voice was calm, loving even, too calm for the effect it was having on Gardenia.
The carrot top had gone stiff as an oak tree, her face locked somewhere between a look of terror and surprise. Gem didn’t seem to notice or care.
“Pompom! You know a gym leader? You’ve been holding out on me, er, us!”
“Oh yes, not as well as some of my sisters but we all know this little leaf.” She must have known her more than she said with the way her hands were roaming across her body, Hailey thought, a lot more. “She has long been a favourite guest at the Manse for a long time, though every instance after the first visit has had to be… lightly compelled. Such as, why it must have been many years ago, when you worked at that pizza place.”
“It was my first real job!” Gardenia practically wailed, “They could have told me what I was walking into! Any why do you have to keep focusing on me?! You didn’t treat any of the other delivery girls like that!”
Pomona was almost licking her neck now, what a weird side to her to come out. “Mmm, there is just something about you, not dissimilar to my lovely Halcyon there. You were born to be a scream queen.”
Ok, now Hailey was getting a little annoyed. “Hey, Pomona, ease up on the lady!” She had to talk over Gem, who was trying to cover her mouth. It did seem to snap the Ghost out of… whatever that was though. She straightened back up, coughed into her hand, and floated back over to the group.
It took Gardenia a good minute to stop shivering.
There really were a lot of people milling around, and some seemed like they were going to try and stubborn it out.
While a few had peeled off back toward Eterna, others were planting tents and building fire pits. After she’d recovered, Gardenia had gone off to try and keep things semi-organized, though she’d nearly gone stiff again when Pomona had called out a goodbye, saying she’d love to see her again that night.
“Ok, so what is up you? I didn’t see you glom onto even Hailey that hard.” Gem seemed grumpy that she hadn’t gotten to see sloppy makeouts, or more.
Pomona was almost in a daze, it was uncanny, she was swaying from side to side, Hailey even thought she might have seen her face twitch. “There is just something about some people, they have an… energy to them, delicious. Totally different to Hailey, not filling exactly, more alike… greasy fast food at three in the morning.”
Hailey felt more than a bit perplexed. “Ok, first of, I did not see you as a fast food type of Mon, more a dinner by candelabra type, and second, what the hell do you mean by taste? She seemed terrified of you!”
“Yeeees, that only makes it better. But as for your first question, one can do both, you saw how my sisters eat.”
“And you do the same?”
Pomona only hummed.