Desolate [Pokémon Arven x Protagonist]

The Titan

I met up with Nemona in the cafeteria entrance. "You're sweating!" She noticed. "Have you been out all day?"

"What else should I do before classes start?"

Nemona made finger guns at me and we grabbed a tray, taking food with tongs as we went down the bar. "Did your quaxly evolve yet?"

"I was only out for a few hours."

"Yeah, but I heard all the other new students have already evolved theirs." Meat slipped out from my tongs. "Have you been practicing with Pokémon of similar levels?" She asked, quite accusatory.

"I stayed in the south province."

"That's your problem." She waved her tongs at me dramatically. "You're not gonna get anywhere playing it safe, fighting Pokémon way underneath your level."

"Keep the tongs under the sneeze guards, please," a staff member called out, clearly targeting Nemona who quickly set it down and wagged a finger at me instead.

"Even with the best teachers, you won't get anywhere in the academy if you don't take risks or challenge yourself. Look what I'm doing! I'm the best trainer here because I pushed myself every single day."

I scoffed, "I'm not gonna be the champion like you, Nemona, but yeah, I'll try to fight more powerful Pokémon."

She elbowed me. "That's the spirit." What she said made me think about my mini quest. Defeating a titan was definitely challenging myself. Perhaps doing a little at a time, one big battle every week or so, would be my treasure. I just wondered when Arven would find me.

• • •

I marched to the dorm after a long day, Friday afternoon. The first week of school was over and I was ecstatic. Classes were easy-going, the teachers were nice and understanding, and the Pokémon classes were interesting, even with my previous basic knowledge of them. I had followed Nemona's advice and tried fighting Pokémon more westward. I didn't quite cross into the west province, but the Pokémon I was able to fight by the border were a solid bit tougher. I did have to call Quaxly back to rest a few times, but soon enough, he was able to evolve into a Quaxwell. It really was motivating having your own teammate evolve from your hard work and training. It was exhilarating. I was eager to train more over the weekend.

"Hey," a voice grumbled from behind me. I was just about to open my door, but I swung around to see who came to visit. It was a tall, tanned boy with nicely wavy hair.

"Arven!" I recognized. "I was wondering when you'd show up." It had been an entire school week since I had seen the guy. I was beginning to wonder if he meant what he said that Monday.

Arven twitched an eye and crossed his arms impatiently. "Yeah, are you coming or what?"

I nodded energetically. "Let me just toss this inside, and I'll be on my way." I opened my door and gently set my backpack down by the bathroom door to sort through later. I slipped alongside Arven, my Pokéballs jingling at my side. "So where's the titan going to be at?"

"You ask too many questions," the boy replied.

"I wanna know where we're heading. I haven't been past the south province."

Arven eyed me. "How olds are you? And you're bragging about that?" I shut my mouth. Nemona did mention that he had recently become distant and a lot more touchy. There was something going on with him, but I supposed it was none of my business. "It's in the south province by the east border. The mesa."

"Alright, I know the mesa." The mesa region was uninhabited by people. It was too rocky and hard to build anything there. I had sometimes taken a walk around the area after my mom died to clear my head. It was a peaceful place in the evenings. We left the building, passed through Mesagoza, and started our way east to the mesa.