Pokémon Homecoming | A Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 70: Laying Low

Janice's phone rang for the ninth time. Harpreet was off duty, but she was not. She tried to reassure her friend as she switched her phone off that the Pokémon Center would be proud of her, but she wasn't convinced. Reluctantly, she took the ambulance's GPS tracker outside. Her Darmanitan smashed it. Neither the police nor the Pokémon Center could track the ambulance now... but no-one would find them if they crashed, either.

Raihan dejectedly scrolled through headlines. 'You know it's bad when they use my full name...'

Before Janice shut the door, she heard a splash. She glanced back. A Trainer was crossing the lake on her Wishiwashi.

'Get down!'

Harpreet groaned. 'Police? Rando?'

'Rando.'

She grabbed the damp cape. 'Anyone here Randal's height?'

Raihan glanced at Hop. He climbed onto the stretcher with a sigh. Harpreet draped Randal's cape over him. Their friends on the floor hid under a blanket. Raihan's feet stuck out. Tutting, Janice stuck them in a body bag.

'You'd better get down, too, Jan.'

'Sorry, whoever I stepped on.'

'Who is it that smells like a wet Yamper?!'

'Me. I fell in the lake.'

'You poor sod, getting bossed around by L–'

'Shut up!' Harpreet snapped, 'She's coming! Heading for that Pokémon den. Some lads are with her. Shit! She's chucking in a Wishing Piece! She's looking at us!'

Hop cleared his throat to mimic a Wyndon accent. 'My champion bones! That bastard Leon really did me in!'

Red light flooded the ambulance. The roar of a Dynamax Pokémon shook the floor.

'Gosh, this is dire. Who sees an air ambulance and decides to start a Max Raid Battle?! We can't get away now even if we want to!'

Leon let go of Abbey's hand. 'I'll deal with it.'

'No you won't!'

Abbey and Janice held him down. Harpreet incredulously watched the Trainers outside try and fail to take on the Dynamax Heatmor they disturbed. They were hurled out of the den. One landed in the lake. To her relief, Heatmor disappeared and the Trainers retreated.

'They've gone.'

Hop threw the cape off. 'That stinks of cologne!'

Raihan sprang to his feet. Almost tripping over the body bag, he banged his head on the ceiling.

'I'm too tall for this. Hey, the fog's gone!'

Harpreet sighed. 'It was that Heatmor... it kept using Max Flare and it's still out there somewhere.'

'Better fix it.'

'Don't,' Janice said, promptly standing, 'They'll be looking for weird weather by now. We'll eat and move.'

She took a bulky cooking pot from a cupboard. Hop found a squashed bag of Mixed Mushrooms under a book in his bag. Stepping outside, Malcolm's Carkol lit the flames. Leon wanted to help, but Janice waved him away.

'If you really need to feel useful, go have some fun with Abbey.'

'Hey!'

She waggled her eyebrows. 'This was a date spot of yours, wasn't it?'

'No!'

Malcolm beckoned his friends to gather around the picnic blanket. 'I once came here looking for a Gigantamax Coalossal.'

'They don't live here,' Leon interrupted, 'You can find them at the Giant's Seat.'

'And who do I find? Our Leon, tending to injured Pokémon – and rudely telling me that very thing! I asked how he even managed to find this place, given his notorious sense of direction. He said I looked bedraggled myself and I claimed I was lost, even though I wasn't, because he was out of uniform and looking well cute.'

'Piss off.'

'That wasn't what he said! He was ever so worried and invited me into his nice white tent. I let him dote on me for a while, cooking and all – and then I admitted I wasn't lost and I was curious... and we had some fun, didn't we, Leon? And you rang me up the next day and I stole money from my mum to come running to your locker room.'

'This is like a good book!' Lazlo exclaimed, 'What happened next?'

'Mum found out and told me I wasn't going anywhere for six months, but I was the talk of Circhester College. The Champion came to pick me up!'

Leon glared. 'Do you have to?'

The curry sizzled. It was burnt. Janice and Hop hastily turned to pretend they weren't listening. Malcolm was enjoying his audience too much to stop.

'And we went on a date at the Rose of the Rondelands! I went to all his matches. But he wouldn't stop talking about Pokémon. He wanted me to train with him. Kept saying I could challenge him for the Champion title. I tried to go along with it, but as you all know, I'm a crap Trainer and he got really bossy and said I wasn't trying hard enough. Now, aged 31... I don't think my first love liked me all that much. I was just a friend he figured himself out with.'

'Sorry,' Leon said awkwardly, 'I was struggling to come to terms with... things... because of... things that were happening.'

'Oh, it's alright, mate. You got famous so young. It messed with you – I could see that even then. You were, er... how shall I say? Older than your years, but immature at the same time.'

Abbey was conscious of the direction his thoughts were inevitably taking. She stood, in case he wanted an excuse to wander off. Though he gratefully accepted, he was smiling.

'I'm OK. I'd prefer him not to tell everyone who'll listen, but that experience was empowering at the time. I can see it all positively now. And I will get there... to the point Rose will never bother me again.'

'I wasn't sure whether to tell you, but...'

'Oh?'

'He's – Rose – he's been charged with abuse of eight boys. He'll be in for life.'

'Eight? Bloody hell. I mean, I knew he was that bad, but it still shocks me. I guess there were times I was stupid enough to believe he did love me and he wasn't hurting anyone else... those poor boys.'

He stopped walking. 'Hey, Abbey... if I ever get out of this alive – or free! – I wondered if you'd be willing to help me with something. But – it's OK if you're bored with helping me.'

'No! Leon, I said those horrible things because I didn't want to blurt out you were a suspect and I was shouting at this man I didn't believe existed. I love your classes. I love you bossing me around. I love how much you love Pokémon. I love you and I'm sorry. What is it? Something at the Battle Tower?'

'Well, no... I just thought... you know I'm hopeless with putting stuff online, but you know all about it, don't you? I was talking to Kalev and we thought... maybe I could speak out about what happened, because if I talk about it, people will realise it can happen to anyone. And maybe I could start, like, a charity or something.'

'That's an amazing idea! Of course I'll help if I can. I'd love to. Let's do it!'

'Great! Now we just need to survive bringing down a criminal syndicate and prove I'm not somehow responsible for it. No big deal...'