With a pounding headache, Surge and I walk towards the exit that Bea and Flannery had passed through previously. The hallways past the threshold give me a major sense of déj vu. It was almost like stepping into high school again or into a generic government building. The mason block walls are painted in that government off-white color. Every door we pass is seemingly evenly spaced. A short walk later, we arrive at a nondescript door that he opens without knocking.
The room itself is a blast from the past. As the panel light in the center of the ceiling lights up the room, I can see a banged-up metal desk sitting in the center of the mason block room. Behind it is a dark green and dull gray chair that I can swear I have seen before. Besides that, the only other things in the room are a wooden bookshelf in one corner and a black, simple plastic and metal chair. Surge motions for me to take a seat in the black chair as he steps behind the desk, and with a grating noise that makes me wince a little, he pulls out a pad of paper and a pen.
"Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your win. Your ace was a surprise, as I had not seen an Ice-variant Talonflame, but with its ability to create a blizzard, she will cause a stir for your next few battles." Surge speaks in a voice so gravelly, likely from excessive yelling, that a Geodude would be at home in it.
"Thank you. She had to get checked over shortly before my challenge at Cerulean. I got the okays from my grandfather, Professor Oak, as well as Researcher Bill." I answer with a small nod as any larger move would make my brain rattle, and I run my fingers across Zephyr's pokeball.
"Good to know. That actually leads me to my second point. When you checked in yesterday, you had it marked down that you had a Chingling for battle." He pauses for a moment when he sees me nod. "I am assuming there was nothing wrong with it?"
"No, sir. Lono was just a regular Chingling that I caught as I passed through Mount Moon." I answer as I give my head a slight shake, causing my long ponytail to dance behind me and my vision to swim slightly. "I was just as surprised as you were that he evolved."
"The evolution isn't what surprised me, as that is a common tactic some trainers try against me. My issue is that your Chimecho is an untested variant."
"I did not know that he even evolved, as when I went to bed last night, he was still a Chingling."
Surge watches me for a moment, trying to get a read on me before giving a small nod. "Very well, I will make note of this in your League record. To prevent this sort of thing from happening again, check over your team before a league battle. With this note, we will not give you any problems with substituting your affected Pokemon."
"Thank you, sir." I give him a friendly smile. After the situation with Zephyr, I had figured that another Pokemon was likely to have a mutation again, but I am still not sure on what the cause is. The only thing I can think of for Zephyr is when my aura unlocked and she got blasted by it. Lono is a bit of a mystery, as it hasn't been that long since I captured him. I should probably catch something else or see what happens to Beldum… who I still need to introduce to the group.
"Finally, I want to ask something personal. You don't need to answer if you feel uncomfortable, but I feel it is relevant. Do you have a Pokemon relative?" Surge asks calmly, "I noticed some things during our battle that led me to ask."
I go silent for the moment, trying to think of what I would be willing to say. This pounding headache isn't helping my cognitive functions currently. I don't believe that I have a Pokemon as an ancestor… yet, as I pull up the mental screen of my system, which I realize has been oddly silent recently, I see that my bloodline still says 'Heavenly Glacial Ice Phoenix'. The only Pokemon I can think of that fits that description is Articuno. I glance back at the waiting form of Surge as I open my mouth to respond.
"Nothing that we can truly confirm, as I am the only one in the family that shows any non-human traits," I tell him, letting out a small sigh as I feel a small weight lift off my shoulders. Letting someone else know, who isn't part of my close-knit group but a high-ranking member of the league at that, is a step forward for me. "If I had to guess, sir, I would have to say it is a Pokemon of the Ice typing."
"I noticed your eyes are different from normal, same with your hearing. What other traits do you mean?" He asks as he marks something down.
"I can see in near complete darkness, cold temperature doesn't bother me, but high temperatures do. I used to have to have a custom-made air conditioner to keep my room around five degrees, but as I got older, I am fine up to around sixteen degrees. However, the sensitivity to sound is a fairly new development for me. It wasn't until your fight with Bea that I even knew I could hear in those ranges."
"Hmm…" Surge hums slightly as he taps his pen against the pad on his desk. "I would have to guess that you have the heritage of some sort of predator Pokemon, as enhanced hearing and sight are common in Pokemon that hunt. Possibly some sort of avian, though without digging into everything, there is no way of knowing." He sighs slightly before giving me a tiny smile, "I will go ahead and mark this down in your record, cautioning other leaders about using sound-based moves around you. Granted, it won't prevent them from using it, but it will let them know that it can cause issues.
"Otherwise, let me give you some advice. Train yourself to withstand the noises. If you don't, a group like Team Rocket could use it against you which would result in a very bad time, possibly with your death. I can tell you already practice martial arts, your muscles tell of training, so keep on with that as when all else fails, you still have your body to rely on."
"I will, sir. I have already ran into Team Rocket three times, and battled with them each time. I will let my friends know as we will start figure out what to do." I tell him while nodding slightly at his words, "thank you for your advice."
"It's no problem." He says as he waves off my thanks, "I would hate to see a promising trainer fall before making a name for themselves." He reaches down and pulls out a drawer before pulling out two items. One is a badge in the shape of a thunderbolt, and the other is a yellow colored CD. A moment later, he hands both items to me. "Here is your badge and the Technical Machine Thunderbolt. Once more, congratulations on your win." He gives me a smile as I take the items from him.
"Thank you, sir!" I give him a huge smile back as I stand up. He follows behind me with his pad in hand. He directs me to the exit as he heads off in the opposite direction. Our entire meeting only took a little more than five minutes, but I wasn't too worried. Taking a moment to collect my marbles, I make my way out the way he directed me and stop at the receptionist. Displaying the badge I got from Surge, she registers into the system and lets me go shortly after.
I step out into the afternoon sun, holding up my hand to block some of the glare. The area behind the gym seems to be a large park with a decent-sized pond with a couple of water Pokemon, with their trainers, playing. A quick glance around at the gathered trainers shows a mix of moods. The vast majority of them seem to be sad or angry. I guess they are the ones who have lost their battle today, while a much smaller group seems to be celebrating near the pond. I happen to catch the flame-colored hair of my lover, with her back currently towards me as she is talking to someone. Seeing my chance, I sneak closer until I am a few steps away and then suddenly sprint and leap onto her back.
"Fl~ann~ery~!" I sing-song as my arms latch onto my unsuspecting girlfriend. The sudden movement causes my vision to swim again, but I just hold tightly onto her.
"GAH!" Flannery stumbles from my sudden attack, but stays standing as her hands rest on my bare thighs that are now wrapped around her waist. "Hey love~" she says as she turns to look at me. I give her a kiss on the cheek, followed by a huge smile.
"I won~" I tell her with a happy lilt to my voice before burying my face into her neck and breathing in the calming cinnamon smell she lets off. I start to relax more of my weight onto her, as I know she won't drop me.
"I know, I watched your fight! Congratulations, babe!" She gives my thighs a squeeze as I'm in no position to be hugged currently. Then again, I feel no will to move from my current spot. "Are you okay?" She asks quietly, noticing my current state.
"I'm getting there…" I sigh into her neck. The pain from the screech still lingers as a bad headache, and talking to Surge didn't help much. "Getting my team healed up and a quiet room would be lovely, though."
"Come on, let's go get everyone patched up. We were waiting for you," Flannery tells me. I just nod into her neck and give her a small hug. "Alright, everyone, as you can see, I have a needy girl who needs my attention. We shall head off. It was a pleasure talking to all of you!"
With a chorus of laughter and goodbyes, Flannery separates from the group and heads somewhere. My mate's wonderfully spicy scent takes the edge off my headache, but doesn't heal it. A moment later, I feel her come to a stop and raise her arm.
"Bea!" She calls out. I wince a little at the sudden loud noise close to my ears, yet maybe because I am used to her voice, it doesn't worsen my headache, it just reminds me that it is still there. "Oh. I'm sorry love." Flannery suddenly apologizes as she felt me flinch.
"No- -ur -alt" I mumble into her neck. Arceus above, I just want to take a nap in a sensory deprivation tank. I feel a hot hand gently brushing my hair, the soothing gesture causes me to let out a quiet sound of pleasure.
"I know love, I'll try to keep the volume down."
"Sank ku," I nuzzled into her a little more. I do my best to try to tune out the ever-growing noises around me, but it's like someone is constantly turning up the volume of the world. Before long, I notice that we are moving again, and I guess that we are headed to the Pokecenter.
The walk, well ride in my case, to the Pokecenter is uneventful for everyone except for me. To me it seems like the world, with all its various noises, is attempting to drown me. Luckily I have a strong hold of my cinnamon smelling rock so I don't get pulled under. I feel myself getting lost in the soft sway of Flannery's walking, wishing I could sleep, but the roar of the city prevents it.
Before too long, I can feel the refreshingly cool breeze as the city noises suddenly muffle behind me. I lift my head slightly and see that we are indeed in the Pokecenter, which only has a few trainers milling about. I lightly kiss Flannery's neck and whisper to her to let me down. Once my feet are under me again, I spot Bea out of the corner of my eye.
"Hey Bea!" I whisper-shout at her. "You kicked ass today, Congrats!"
"Thanks!" Bea smiles at me with a slightly worried look on her face. "You okay?"
"Hopefully… my hearing is just super sensitive at the moment," I give her a shrug as I step towards Nurse Joy. My two friends follow behind me before I take even a full step, and fall in beside me. I shoot the two of them a grateful look. The three of us drop off our teams, and Nurse Joy informs us that they should be good to go come morning.
"I don't know about you two, but this headache is killing me." I glance at the two of them and take note of their worried faces before continuing in my currently whisper-like voice. "Hopefully, I will be fine in the morning, and I will let you know what happened."
"Alright, love. Want to cuddle with me?" Flannery asks, prompting me to raise an eyebrow at her rather stupid question.
"How is that even a question? The answer is always yes." I grab her hand in mine, making sure to interlock my fingers with hers so she can't run away. The sound of giggling behind me, as I make my way towards the stairs, tells me that my companions feel the same way.