Your dad had always told you were still too little, but you argued back you were grown up now, that you could handle any pokemon with your Rockruff protecting you. So when his back was turned, you dashed to the path that would take you into the island wilds, pokemon trailing beside you.
You thought you could prove you were ready.
You wanted to prove to him you could do things by yourself
You HAD to prove it to everyone.
You had proven you were only 8 years old.
The waking world greeted you with blinding lights as your lungs sucked in a desperate gasp. Breathing was painful, lungs feeling raw, each breath felt like fire. A gunky film coated your tongue, your mouth dry, raspy noises that weren’t even words were all you could manage. The taste of toxins and iron making you retch as bile tried to come up. Cold sweat ran down your face as you stared wide eyed at the painful lighting over head. Each forced, gasping breath flooded your senses with the bitterly clean smell of medicine.
The ringing in your ears blocking out the fact…
People were in the room.
Calling your name.
"---ah !"
"-rah–!"
"S–ah !"
"Sarah–!"
Your eyes snapped open a second time. The light washing over you was gentler, just a warm gold glow rather than searing white. Still, you had to blink your lemon colored eyes a few times, and wipe away some forming tears.
" Hush now baby, there's no need to cry~ "
" Let me wipe away those lemon eyes "
" All your worries, such a waste of time "
" You can't even see how much you're mine "
“ Mmmh– “ sitting up straighter and stretching, a soft sound escapes as you breathe in the smell of grass in the wind. Blinking a few times to clear your vision, you noticed that rather than a colorless sterilized room, the calming sights of trees, grass, and playful pokemon running about the park greeted you. On a nearby bench, a man was reading a paper, the words “Nimbasa Times”printed at the top in big bold letters. A comforted sigh pushed past your lips in relief, as though for a brief moment, you had to be reminded where you were.
" You're so bitter, bitter, bitter, yellow "
" Settle, settle, got to settle, down okay "
" Listen, listen, you listen, yellow "
" It's a killer, a killer, a killer, jealousy "
Feeling a warm weight in your lap, you looked down to find your lazy little Rockruff, Zesty, sprawled out on your thighs. Rolling your eyes, you moved to stand up, pushing your dog, who was too lazy to evolve, out of his comfy spot, standing up. The small pokemon, waking up startled, took a stance, acting like a watch pokemon, surveying for danger as you stretched more with a yawn.
" Ooh, ooh, ooh~ "
[ “Don’t overwork yourself, champ” ] you huffed silently with a smile, nudging the rock type with your foot. You put the radio away in your bag, and packed up the cords you had been making into a bracelet before you had dozed off.
" Lemon eyes, you're mine~ "
" Yellow eyes, all mine "
" I bet you wanna walk away, run away, look away, turn away "
" Honey you can't hide "
" Lemon eyes, all mine "
Picking up the silver whistle that hung around your neck at all times, you blew through it.
{ { { { Fweee–! } } } }
Given the signal, you were descended upon by a pack of three large dogs, specifically, your dogs. Three large Lycanrocs, each representing a different time of day. [ Hey goofballs, time to peel out. ] you took out their pokeballs and recalled them after giving them plenty of pets.
The smell of a food cart parked nearby wafted over you, effectively waking up your stomach too. You decided you had time for a snack, without checking the time on your phone. Zesty hopped into your bag, and once it was slung over your shoulder you made your way to the cart, your stomach driving your focus.
" Hold on baby, careful what you say "
" You've been drinking someone else's pain "
" I can't keep on staring at the sun "
" Yellow, I will have to bite your tongue "
There were portable food venders all around the city, and you loved yourself a nicely decorated grilled sausage in a sourdough bun. You often surprised people by how much you could eat, you were by no means a petite girl, you were actually pretty tall, but you were also stalk and lean. Your friends from the battle facility, specifically Hilda, joked about you being a Munchlax in a past life. Probably true. Still, it didn’t stop you from taking a nice BIG bite once your food was paid for and you were happily on your way out of the park.
Things were different in Nimbasa City, compared to the Alolan Islands. For starters you had friends outside of the skullies you used to hang with, mostly trainers you met at the Battle Subway. Another thing was, from your house’s front steps you could see a vast mountain range in the distance past tall buildings, and even in the domestic area you resided, the sounds of the city could reach your ears on the wind. It was a welcome sight each morning, reminding you just how far away your old life was. At least, physically.
" You're so bitter, bitter, bitter, yellow "
" Settle, settle, got to settle down okay "
" Listen, listen, you listen, yellow "
" It's a killer, a killer, a killer, jealousy "
You had gotten used to the streets, having trekked them for a little more than a year, the cars were harder to get used to though. Roads were harder to cross without using a crosswalk, the streets were confusing to navigate, but you got the hang of it with time and some help. The sights and sounds and smells had been a little overwhelming at first too. And the people. Sooo many people. On Alola, at any given moment you could bump into someone you had seen at least a few times. It was harder to do that in Nimbasa, and if anyone knew what your own wares meant, none reacted like someone on the islands would. That was a welcome change, but it took longer than you realized to get used to people not automatically showing suspicion or looking at you with cold eyes. It used to make you anxious.
Half way through your Galvarian sausage, as you were weaving through the people entering and exiting the Subway terminal, fairly used to it with how often you used the subway. Food wasn’t allowed on the trains themselves, but you had long enough of a walk to not worry about it.
Actually, now that you thought about it, how much time until-
Looking at your phone clock, mid bite of your sausage, you nearly choked, practically inhaling it.
|]Battle Subway Departure - 10 minutes.
Well. FUCK.
" Ooh, ooh, ooh~ "
To say you picked up speed was an understatement, you were practically using [ Quick Attack ] to make your way through the crowd, while simultaneously horking down your food as fast as possible. Zesty had yelped surprised when his leisurely ride became really bumpy really quickly.
" Lemon eyes, you're mine~ "
" Yellow eyes, all mine "
" I bet you wanna walk away, run away, look away, turn away "
" Honey you can't hide "
" Lemon eyes, all mine~ "
You were probably going to get a stomach ache later too…
Doing your best to avoid bumping into people, ducking past them and almost tripping over more than one pokemon, the space between terminals felt longer than usual. Zesty was not happy about it either, the lazy dog becoming incredibly annoyed and theoretically demanding about you easing up on your speed. You were also reminded of another difference between Nimbasa and Alola. Riding Pokemon were not allowed to be used in most public or crowded areas, otherwise you’d just ride one of your Lycanrocs. It was at the top of your list of things you didn't enjoy getting used to.
" All mine~ "
" And the doctor said you're fine (all fine) "
" Just a case of lemon eyes (all fine) "
" See I told you were mine (all mine) "
" (Lemon eyes) "
Following the signs that would lead you to the Battle terminal, a familiar voice shouted, “Sarah–! No running!” as you shoved the last bite into your mouth, and dashing past one of the Depot Agents who was talking to a trainer. You gave a quick, [ "I’m sorry!" ] smile to the familiar face, before sweeping a hand in the direction you were going, to attempt to indicate [ "I’m in a hurry!" ] and you kept running, despite it being against the rule. Luckily neither the agent or his Volcarona tried to stop you. Meanwhile the trainer just laughed.
" Ooh, ooh, ooh~ "
Dodging two more Depot Agents, you were relieved when the Double Battle train car came into view, with the subway boss of that terminal patiently waiting for the next scheduled trainer.
" Lemon eyes, you're mine "
" Yellow eyes, all mine "
" I bet you wanna walk away, run away, look away, turn away "
" Honey you can't hide "
" Lemon eyes, all mine~ "
“Ah, there you are,” the white clad twin greeted as you nearly slid to a stop in front of him, nearly tripping. Out of breath, but relieved.
“You came verrry close to missing departure time.” he tutted, arms crossed and a finger tapping, “Verrry rude. That’s not like you.” Okay, maybe “patient” wasn’t the best word to describe this twin.
Waving a hand, smiling apologetically as you managed to catch your breath. Emmet stepped aside, allowing you to enter the battle car first, as you passed him, he managed to pluck a leaf that was caught in your mass of chestnut brown curls, “I take it you were at the park before your arrival?” You nodded, with a small shrug, “You have ketchup on your face.” he pointed out, rather blandly, but his smile had a taunting twitch.
Making a face as he held out a cloth to clean your face with, you could feel an embarrassed blush rise in your cheek. “Tidiness is important for professionalism.” the smiling twin stated as you wiped off the ketchup. “So is having a full team.” he said, pointing out the even empty spots on your belt. Once again, this was something you were used to. Emmet always chided you over having ONLY four pokemon, your response was to blow a raspberry at him as you walked further into the extra large, battle reinforced car. Four pokemon have been enough for you so far.
“Pokemon combinations are much more fun with variety.” Emmet continued, with a matter of fact smile, as he walked away, “Variety can be very important to growth too. Yeup, yeup.” His advice made you look at your belt again, eyes on the empty spaces, before you shook your head to get refocused.
“Now, your borderline tardiness, and messy face aside—” taking his position at the other end of the train car, “I am Emmet! And you are Sarah Citrus, a frequent Battle Subway patron!” with one swift practiced motion, the man turned around, his long arm rising to point at you, as his other pointed raised to the side, pointing at the ground. Beaming smile, strong stance, and a rare tone of excitement, "Today marks your 46th battle on the Battle Subway!"
You smiled and unclipped your pokeballs from your belt, one held in your right hand against your hip, and the other being tossed gently in the air and caught again with your left, your signal that you were ready whenever he was.
"I thank you for your patronage! I do warn you…" His tone got serious, almost a bit cold and sharp with his warning. “I am Emmet, and I cannot show any favoritism. Keep in mind, the rules say I cannot reroute the schedule set for today.”
At his words, you stopped tossing your pokeball, feeling a cold chill run up your spine.
"I ask you to mind your safety checks, and stay behind the yellow line" he tipped his hat, pulling out a PokeBall, thrusting it in your direction, giving you the chance to back out early. "If you are still determined to continue on this track, then full speed ahead!”
Gripping your pokeball, looking at the Lycanroc within, you took a moment, sucking in a deep breath. Remember to breathe. You stood firm, even with anxiety pricking the back of your head. With a thrust of your arm, and raising your gaze to lock lemony yellow with mercury silver, you smiled. You were not backing out yet.
Emmet’s smile spread, but the crease in his brow gave a slight worried look. Regardless, the battle was initiated “Excellent! Follow the rules! Aim for victory!”
You both released your pokemon pairs into the train arena.
“All Aboard—!”
" Lemon Eyes - Meh Myers "
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