Searching Far and Wide - 57 (Patreon)

Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Abra

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Bulbasaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

Cerulean City XVIII

“So, what you are saying is that you want me to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” Pierce summarized, looking at Daisy, the Sister that had approached him that morning. Things had been a little tense but Gyarados seemed to have calmed down enough to allow someone else in somewhat close proximity. He couldn’t be sure, but Pierce would guess she was glaring over his shoulder though. “But more?” he asked then, raising an eyebrow at the Sister.

Not that he minded. He liked doing what he was doing and taking care of more pokemon sounded like an improvement instead of whatever the Sister thought this meant for him. However, it was interesting that they were offering this to him. Maybe he’d checked some box with what he’d done with Gyarados? That could be it, he supposed.

Daisy’s grimace seemed to point at something else though.

“We’ve been keeping our staff overworked and we were hoping that things would start going back to normal before it became too much but… Well, hopes only go so far sometimes,” she said, and Pierce was suddenly very aware that she didn’t look so good. There were bags under her eyes and her shoulders were a little dropped. “So, we need to get extra help from someone capable and that we can trust because… Another incident like Gyarados could be terrible, especially if we can’t control it like last time,” she told him, giving Pierce a mix between a glare and a grateful look.

It was a strange look.

“I have no problem with this. I can do it,” he told her easily. So easily, that he was fairly sure he caught her off guard, judging by the way she blinked. “I have a team though, and I’d appreciate being able to let them out around here. I don’t want to leave them aside more than I already have had to. I’ll make sure no problem starts due to them and if something does happen, I won’t try again.”

“... I guess we can agree to that,” Daisy agreed after a moment of consideration, looking over his shoulder at Gyarados and Vaporeon. Probably mostly the former though, he was sure. “We are trusting you, Pierce. Most water specialists that can do something like this are busy either already working here, overworked from being here or working in the shelters we are sending pokemon too.”

“I think Lily said they were opening a new one?” Pierce asked then, making the woman grimace again.

“If only it were so easy, but the plans for that are… They won’t be done anytime soon, I can tell you that. Not even a provisional site, I’m afraid,” she answered, making him nod. “So, you are in, then?”

“Sure,” he answered easily, making her sigh in relief.

“Thank God, things would have been… complicated if we had to look for more hands,” Daisy told him, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The less options we have, the more chances that we’ll have to call for help that’s not… qualified, one way or another,” she explained, glancing once more over his shoulder. Admittedly, he heard nothing, but he imagined Gyarados’ patience was running low now. “I understand you have your hands occupied right now, but let us know when you can take on more responsibilities, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Pierce agreed once more with a nod. “Take a nap or something. I’m sure it’ll help.”

“Nice way of telling me I look terrible,” Daisy replied with a weary chuckle. “No can do. We need to make sure every pokemon is taken care of and under the observation they warrant. And we also have to keep the Gym and the shows running, so that things continue as if they were normal.”

“Well, if I can do anything else to help, just say the word,” Pierce said.

“I’ll keep that in mind, but I think you’ll be too busy soon enough. Take care, Pierce,” Daisy told him, leaving afterwards while waving at him and Violet, the Sister that was currently keeping an eye on him and Gyarados.

With that done, he moved back to the edge of the pool, where the aforementioned water type was waiting for him. Once he sat there, with his legs in the water, Gyarados proceeded to press her head against his chest and face, making him laugh. One of his hands moved to pet her while the other settled on Vaporeon’s when she sat beside him.

“You missed me?” he asked, getting a growly whine from Gyarados. “You are just adorable, honestly. How do you manage that as a gyarados?” he added, making her wiggle excitedly. Thankfully, she was getting the hang of her new body by then, otherwise he was sure he’d have inadvertently gotten smacked or a good chunk of water would have been sent outside the pool.

A yip made him laugh.

“No, I didn’t forget about you, I promise,” Pierce continued, drawing Vaporeon into a one armed hug that had the eeveelution squirming and pawing half hearted at his arm and body. “You are adorable too, don’t worry.”

The water type just whined before Gyarados decided that was enough attention that she wasn’t getting when she was right there, so she pressed her head against him once more.

“So needy,” he commented with a smile. “Say, do you feel up to going spend time with the others for a bit?” he asked, making the Gyarados pause. “It’s fine if you are still angry, girl,” he reassured when he saw her struggle. “Maybe later?”

Gyarados seemed to mull over that suggestion a little more openly before nodding hesitantly.

“Good girl,” he said, rubbing the side of her head affectionately. He was almost positive that Gyarados purred at that. “I think that deserves a reward. How does the scale brush sound?”

Pierce had to laugh at the way the sea serpent perked up.

[}-o-{]

“Good to see you guys too,” Pierce greeted the group of water types he’d been spending his days with. He was sitting on top of Gyarados, which was the only way she’d let him go anywhere or be close to someone else for any extended period of time. Much like how they had slept, it allowed her to feel his presence all the time, which calmed her down.

He could only hope that it wouldn’t end up with quite as many surprise dives into the water though.

“I missed you too,” he added when he saw the pokemon get closer. None of them quite got that close though, but he understood that. Gyarados was scary and she wasn’t all that calm yet, so Pierce didn’t begrudge them that. He wouldn’t even if Gyarados was calm, really. She cut a very intimidating sight, with her angry red eyes and scales. She was also, according to his research, a little bigger than the average gyarados was right after evolution.

So, she had quite a few things working against her in that department, sadly.

Not that Gyarados minded all that much. She wasn’t quite ready to be her usual friendly self anyway, so the intimidating look keeping others away worked in her favor, really. Pierce wasn’t quite happy with that, but Gyarados would get better with time, he hoped. It’d be a shame if the cute little magikarp he’d known changed so much because of her anger and pain.

She’d been doing so well too…

“You behaved yourselves yesterday? Things got a little out of control and I couldn’t drop by, I’m afraid,” Pierce told the pokemon around him, which all glanced towards Gyarados before turning towards him… if they even looked away from the red sea serpent. “You guys are the oldest, you took care of everyone for me, right?” he asked, turning to address Tentacruel, Golduck, Sharpedo and Crawdaunt. “Did you?” he prodded, raising an eyebrow.

Immediately, he saw Crawdaunt and Golduck look away. Sharpedo tried to keep strong, but eventually he broke down too. Tentacruel though, held firm, bobbing up and down. Pierce grinned.

“I knew I could count on you, Tentacruel!” he praised with a grin. “I’ll get you some nice poffins once I get some time, yeah?” he added, knowing exactly what that’d do to everyone else. The other three looked despondently at him, realizing the error of their ways. Fortunately for them, Pierce was a generous cook.

He’d let them stew on that for a bit though, to make sure the message stuck.

So, with that decided, he spent the time with the water types doing what he could, which was a little limited by his need to stay on top of Gyarados. He couldn’t really hold many snacks where he was or cook for that matter, so anything involving food would have to be pushed for later. Thus, he settled for lying on top of Gyarados like he had during the night and just tell them stories.

Many of them hadn’t heard his stories yet anyway and Gyarados seemed to like the idea well enough even when he narrated one she already knew. Vaporeon was a little more complicated to please, but she settled down with her head on his stomach as he petted her. Still, Pierce tried to recall something that he might not have shared yet, dredging some stories from his old world to tell too, even if he had to adapt them a little for the pokemon world.

It hurt a little, to dig up those memories, but he supposed it could be part of his process to accept things. ‘Am I even doing things the right way?’ he had to wonder though. Was he getting better or was he unknowingly making things worse? Ultimately, he’d just have to see. He had to try and hope for the best.

If it didn’t work…

He’d cross that bridge when he got to it.

“You are doing great, girl,” he complimented eventually, wrapping his arms around Gyarados’ neck as best he could. He smiled when the water type let out a pleased noise. “Yeah, you are the best, as usual. How about we go to the edge and I make some food for everyone? Does that sound good or do you want to stay like this?” he asked softly, making the sea serpent pause.

The seconds passed.

However, just when he was about to reassure her that it was fine if she wanted to take her time, Vaporeon yipped something. Pierce turned to look at her, not really glaring but questioning. He didn’t want to pressure Gyarados and that had sounded suspiciously like the eeveelution was urging the other water type.

Before he could say anything at all, Gyarados started slowly swimming towards the edge of the pool.

“... I’m going to make something for everyone to eat, guys!” Pierce called, giving Gyarados a comforting rub on the neck that she seemed to appreciate. “Speaking off, Tentacruel earned some extra as I recall,” he added, making the pokemon perk up while the rest of the older ones sulked.

He was careful as he went to do as he said, keeping an eye on Gyarados at all times. Vaporeon seemed to have taken it upon herself to do the same, fortunately, going the extra mile and staying on top of the sea serpent, occasionally yipping something at the bigger pokemon. Pierce decided that he’d make extra for her too, since she was being very helpful with Gyarados.

“Here’s the deal, guys. It seems I’ll have more pokemon to help in the near future,” he commented, sitting on the edge of the pool with one hand holding a sandwich he’d made for himself and the other patted Gyarados’ side. “So, if you guys help out, I’ll make sure to reward you, if you know what I mean.”

He grinned widely when all the older pokemon narrowed their eyes resolutely.

This new job at the Cerulean Gym looked like it wouldn’t be too bad.

[}-o-{]

“One day, I’m going to stop being surprised by the stuff you get up to, Pierce,” Lily told him, giving him an exasperated look as she passed him his team’s pokeballs. He made a mental note to do something nice for her. Maybe he’d take her shopping, help her with her team or something like that. He definitely owed her one for taking her time to help him with his own pokemon, after all.

“But that day’s not today?” he asked with a wry smile.

“That day’s not today,” she confirmed with a similar expression. “Seriously, what the fuck?”

“That’s not the way a lady should talk,” he commented idly with a chuckle. “Then again…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lily asked, scandalized and punching his shoulder. She hadn’t put too much strength behind it, thankfully. “See if I do you a favor next time, huh?”

“I’ll repay you, don’t you worry,” he reassured with a grin. “Seriously, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for, right?” she asked with a warm smile. A moment later, the expression turned into something more akin to a smirk. “Besides, my team has been really motivated since you said there’d be a congratulatory meal after the Gym. I guess that’s enough for me.”

“Good to know then,” Pierce replied with a grin of his own. “Things going well with your training?”

“Sure are… You think we might need to stay here for long after that? You didn’t say how long you’d have to stay here to help,” Lily asked then, making him grimace. “That’s an “I don’t know”, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he apologized instantly, because he did feel bad. Lily had told him that she didn’t like to travel by herself, after all. If he didn’t go, she might hold off on going herself to wait, which would just make him feel like shit. “I’ll probably have to stay here until they find a place to send at least most of the pokemon that remain here… Which is difficult, because they’ve basically exhausted all the shelter space they could call, it seems.”

“I get it. It’s no trouble, Pierce,” Lily reassured him. “If it comes to it, I’m sure we can afford to teleport between cities instead of traveling. Sure, it might cut in opportunities to have fun in the wild and catch new pokemon but… Well, I do have four members already, so it’s no great loss for me,” she explained, taking a weight off his shoulders.

“I’ll pay for the tickets then. I haven’t been checking my account much, but I can’t imagine I’m not getting paid well for this,” he commented with a half-smile. “I’ll do something nice for you if we have to wait long.”

“Only doing something nice when you do something bad? My, Pierce, what kind of friend are you?” Lily told him, fake insulted.

“A bad one, probably,” he replied wryly. “Mrs. Blue.”

“Ugh, you are never gonna let that go, are you?” she asked before groaning again. “I have to get back at mom for that.”

“Not for as long as I draw breath,” he promised solemnly, the tone ruined by the grin on his face. “And I have to do something nice for your mom too, because damn, that was great ammo.”

“You suck, Pierce.”

“I know, I’m great,” he said, as if he hadn’t actually heard what she said. “Take care, yeah? I’ll make some more poffins for your team tomorrow, if you want. You just gotta come pick them up,” he told her, picking up the package he’d prepared and offering it to her.

“Thanks. Now go, I can feel that Gyarados glaring a hole through my head,” Lily told him with a chuckle that didn’t quite hide her actual fear. “Take care, yeah? It’d suck if you got eaten.”

“I’ll do my best,” he reassured. “Try not to get lost.”

“It was one time!” she whined.

Not long after that, Pierce, walked back to the pool behind him, giving Gyarados a smile and a pat on her head. He’d probably have to talk to her about her clinginess, but that was for later, if it kept up. They had to work through her bouts of anger for now… which were somewhat related, but not entirely.

“It’s fine, girl. See? I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured softly, moving his hand to rub the side of her head. To his side, Vaporeon yipped something that sounded like an “I told you so”. Pierce gave the eeveelution an unimpressed look at that, but soon returned his attention to Gyarados. “So, do you promise to behave? I have my team with me now and they are nice,” he asked, resting his forehead against hers while Gyarados went silent once more, which meant that he was thinking.

Eventually, she let out an unsure sound that made him smile sadly.

“Ok, maybe you all can see them again later, yeah?” he compromised with a smile. “It’ll be fine, ok? I’m here, you are here and we are all fine. I know you get angry easily, but I’m here, right? You won’t snap at me, right? That’d be sad. I might not even be able to make poffins anymore,” he joked, getting a huffing laugh from Gyarados, even if it sounded a little odd.

He grinned at her.

“So, how about we play the jumping game with everyone? You can join the judge panel with Tentacruel, Vaporeon and me. What do you say?” he suggested, getting another thoughtful second from Gyarados.

Eventually, he got an affirmative response from the water type.

“Great, everyone ready? I hope you are, because there’re poffins on the line!” he announced, getting many varied but equally enthusiastic responses from the pokemon around. “That’s what I like to see. Let’s go girl,” he replied, nodding and getting ready to get on top of Gyarados.

[}-o-{]

“You ready?” he asked softly, one hand on Gyarados’ side while his other one held a tiny pokeball. When Gyarados hummed her agreement, he expanded the device before pushing the button to release his first pokemon. He’d have liked to go with Narcissa. She was his first partner, after all, but she wasn’t a good option for first impressions, what with her… intense personality. Orion was a sweetheart, and Pierce knew it, but he was also big and could trigger something in Gyarados with his serpentine body.

Thus, there was only one option left.

“Helper-Speaker,” Cygnus greeted softly once he appeared, before tensing up when Gyarados growled. “I apologize,” his abra said, keeping his voice even despite the slight nervousness he felt. Pierce reassured both him with his mind and Gyarados with his hand on her scales. “Helper-Voice.”

“So, it changed?... I really wanna know what’s up with that,” Pierce commented with a grumble. Then he took a deep breath in to refocus. “Cygnus, this is Gyarados. She evolved recently and I’ve been taking care of her, since I can kind of keep her calm, for the most part. I’ll probably stay here for a while, so I asked for permission to have you and the rest of the team here. Didn’t feel right to leave you with Lily,” he explained with a smile that soon turned a little mischievous. “Nobody deserves that fate.”

“Agreed,” Cygnus replied, joining the joke in good humor. Then, Cygnus turned to look at Gyarados and this time Pierce didn’t get to hear what was said. However, he was glad to see that there was no overly angry reaction. Sure, there was a twitch here and a hint of a growl there, but otherwise things had gone much better than he’d thought they would. “She’s ready… to meet the rest… Helper-Voice.”

“You sure, girl?” he asked Gyarados, just to be safe. When she gave him a firm nod, he smiled. “See, you are the best,” he added, getting slapped by Vaporeon’s tail.

“Fighter-Challenger won’t… like that either,” Cygnus pointed out, the picture of Narcissa flashing in his mind. He’d admit that his psychic type wasn’t wrong, but that was a bridge he’d cross when he got to it. “Your problem,” his pokemon decided, making him roll his eyes.

Deciding that was enough delay, he released his next pokemon. Funnily enough, the next one was Narcissa. She might not be the friendliest of his pokemon, but at least she didn’t have the naturally big and imposing look of Orion. So was his thought process on the matter, at least.

“Hey, Narcissa,” he greeted as the beedrill hovered in place where he’d released her. Smart cookie that she was, she didn’t immediately rush towards him – and thus Gyarados – to latch onto his back like usual. He would give her a poffin for that later. “This is Gyarados and she’s a little on edge since she evolved. I’d be grateful if you could be extra nice for her,” he requested, getting a slow nod from his pokemon.

“Fighter-Challenger wants… a hug,” Cygnus informed, making Pierce want to sigh, even if it was fondly.

“Gyarados,” he said, turning to the water type who looked back at him. “Narcissa is going to give me a hug, ok? She was my first pokemon, so I trust her. Don’t get nervous or angry, ok?” he explained softly, rubbing his hand over the sea serpent’s scales. Getting an unsure but positive growl, he smiled at her. “Thank you. Narcissa-” And that was as far as he got before his beedrill zoomed in and latched onto his back.

‘I take back that poffin,’ he decided with a flat expression. In front of him, Gyarados twitched at the sudden movement close to both him and her. Idly, Pierce wondered which of those two was the one that affected her the most. He supposed the latter, but it was still a possibility that it was the former though.

“Shhh, it’s fine,” he reassured in a whisper, continuing to pet the gyarados. “You could have been more thoughtful, Narcissa,” he chided lightly, chuckling when his beedrill just tightened her hold on him as a response. “Anyway, Gyarados, last one. You ready or do you want to take a minute? Orion is big, as you know,” he said, watching the water type visibly take a deep breath in and nodding.

Discreetly, Pierce shared a look with Violet and Lily, the Sisters who had volunteered to keep watch at that moment. After they were done, Violet would probably leave to do other things while Lily continued to keep watch. They’d told him that they wouldn’t leave him alone until they were absolutely sure that Gyarados was under control.

Taking a deep breath in and nodding himself, Pierce let out his last team member.

As Orion appeared, he felt Gyarados stiffen, but he took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Immediately, the sea serpent relaxed a little, if not completely. ‘Cygnus-’

“On it,” his abra interrupted reassuringly, turning his head towards Orion. Pierce sent him grateful thoughts for that. No doubt his onix was a little confused, even after the situation had been explained to him beforehand. So, having his psychic explain for him while he calmed down Gyarados was a godsent.

“Everything fine, girl?” he asked, pulling back and looking at Gyarados. She seemed a little twitched as her eyes darted between Pierce and his team, but she didn’t seem about to snap, so he took that as a win. “This is my team. Narcissa, Orion and Cygnus,” he introduced then with a smile, gesturing towards each of them. “Say hi, everyone.”

And hi they said, even if each of them seemed to have different feelings regarding the whole thing.

Before he could do much else, he felt something slap his leg, making him turn down. There sat Vaporeon, eyes narrowed at him as she cleared her throat. Blinking, it took Pierce a moment to realize his mistake.

“Right. Everyone, this is Vaporeon. She’s a little mean, but don’t let that get to you,” he introduced then, getting another slap for his troubles.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Progress is being made and Gyarados continues in her path to become the most ado- I mean, path to recovery, yeah that. The team is back, sort of, and life goes on. People are also throwing more money at Pierce to do what he’d do anyway, which is fun.

I’m so glad I never bothered to put numbers to the money he gets, because… Yeah.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Are you introverted or extroverted? I’m introverted. My social battery is permanently in the negatives. People are scary, exhausting or both, even when I get along with them.

See you.