Pokémon Bloodstone | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 41: Wasteland

Zileh and Dirk defeated Cassia, but the atmosphere at the restaurant where they celebrated was tense. They weren't really celebrating. Rustie was so on edge, her friends hardly dared say anything; but Chalcedony had to, sooner or later. She wanted to know where Raboot was. She knew it had to be in the PC Storage System, because Rustie used a new Ponyta against Cassia instead. Maybe she simply needed some guidance to bond with Raboot... but Chalcedony got the feeling she wouldn't accept Pokémon advice from her.

'Look, Rustie – I know you don't want advice from a stripper who never wanted to be a Trainer...'

Rustie stared at her untouched burrito. She didn't reply.

'But we have to talk about Raboot. We have to talk about Pokémon in general. Like you did with Dirk.'

'At my own cost.'

Dirk blinked. 'Huh?'

'I didn't lose because I didn't use Raboot... I lost because I trained with Dirk instead of improving myself... and because of this stupid conspiracy theory shit about a kid I don't even care about.'

'Rustie,' Zileh said sternly, 'You probably don't want advice from a 14 year-old, either, but you can't overpower someone like Cassia with knowledge. It was the sandstorm that knocked Wingull out, which wouldn't have been there if you'd put even a little more effort into the challenge.'

'How was I supposed to focus?! With Chalcedony insisting there was something wrong with my Pokédex? With all of you kicking off about Theta in front of that Sherman guy? And then the fucking Gym Leader, who's supposed to be professional, stares at my tits because of a stupid fucking pendant from Fateen? She's gay! I thought she was creeping on me!'

'Come on! You must know she already has a girlfriend! She doesn't need to creep on random challengers!'

'A girlfriend with red hair! And she was in love with Amber. She probably saw my pendant and thought I could be her sister!'

'Was she?'

'But OK. I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I was panicking!'

'Look,' Chalcedony said, 'If you don't want Raboot, it's OK. I won't judge or ask questions. But in that case, please give him back.'

'You're not gonna give Bagon back.'

'Are you going to use him if I do?'

'People can keep as many Pokémon as they want, Chalcedony. Some people dream of owning lots of Pokémon. They don't have to use them all. I offered to give Raboot back to you and you said no.'

'Because I promised. But if I'd known you wouldn't want him, I would've kept him. Not even for me. For him. It's not good for Pokémon to feel unwanted.'

'What would you know about Pokémon?'

'Rustie...'

Zileh nervously tore her napkin into strips. 'Research and actually being a Trainer aren't the same. Being good at one doesn't make you good at the other. I know you think it doesn't count because Chalcedony only had a Salandit, but she still had to care for her and keep her in shape. Isn't it loving Pokémon when you don't catch more if you know you can't care for them?'

'I get it. You're all on her side because you're all obsessed with a dead baby.'

'Rustie!'

Chalcedony finally began to sound annoyed. 'There are no sides! It's just a simple decision – do you want Raboot or not? And honestly, me and Zileh might be really into this Fire Agate thing, but Dirk isn't. You don't have to be.'