Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 24: The Water Badge

Hessie finally defeated Vega on her third attempt. It took longer, but it was a much clearer win than Teddy's or Ralph's. The group of five walked to Hulbury together. After a morning of battles around the Pokémon Nursery, when Heather's Scorbunny evolved into Raboot, Hazel took out her cooking pot and lit a fire so they could cook curry on the ancient viaduct. It overlooked the Wild Area. Hammerlocke's imposing skyline dominated the horizon. The curry burned, partly because Heather was busy admiring the view and partly because Hessie fanned the flames too vigorously. Ralph and Teddy were surprisingly good at cooking. They practiced in for years in anticipation of their Pokémon journey.

A fresh sea breeze greeted them in Hulbury. They were too late to register to challenge Ace, but they caught the end of Laverne's battle. He was down to his last Pokémon, Sylveon, as was Ace. His last Pokémon was Sharpedo. Without the type advantage, Laverne might have lost, but Sylveon's Moonblast knocked Sharpedo out. The raucous applause wasn't just for Laverne's win, but for Ace almost defeating a famous Trainer with four sets of Badges. He congratulated Laverne with a warm smile.

Outside the stadium, Desiderio seemed to be doing a roaring trade, as did the ice-cream men and Galar League merchandise sellers. There were long queues for every stall. Amongst the crowds, Heather recognised Arlene. Her back was turned. She was busy talking to someone over the phone. She didn't see Heather.

'...Late, but I don't think it matters... that Laverne is just an idiot. What? No... why do you care about her, anyway? ...That's not gonna happen. She's just an idiot.'

Why do I feel like she's talking about me?

That was the last thing Heather heard. She couldn't hang around when her friends were already greeting Ralph's and Teddy's parents in the car park. They insisted on taking them all for dinner at The Captain's Table. Heather hoped she wasn't allergic to shellfish like Perry, because the restauraunt exclusively served seafood, but it must have come from his mother. Nothing happened. Heather had never actually heard the song Celestica Rhapsody, but Ralph's dad pointed out that it was playing on the radio. He loved it.

'I hate it,' Ralph said, 'What's a "wielder?" What's a "Lord Pokémon?" Is that like Zacian and Zamazenta? I don't get it.'

'It's just nonsense, innit?'

'I don't like it, either,' Hessie replied, 'It's stupid...'

'Gotta agree,' Heather said, 'Or the guy they're singing about is stupid, anyway. You can't "conquer" the truth. No amount of bashing the truth is gonna make it untrue.'

'I suppose it means you can change things by "conquering" the truth... but it's still a crap song.'

'I still don't think you can ever "conquer" the truth. If something changes, it wasn't necessarily true to begin with. And if you beat the truth into submission, maybe it'll be true for a while, but it'll never be the real truth.'

'I think it can be... I mean, it depends on how you do it... but a dream can come true through determination... and once it's accomplished, it becomes truth, doesn't it? A Bagon is a Bagon, but when it evolves into Salamence, it's a Salamence...'

'Yeah, but Bagon becomes Salamence because it's true that it can. If the truth is that it just can't, it'll never happen. Sometimes, I think people who are looking for change don't realise they're looking for the truth. It's not always what it seems.'

'Uh...'

Hazel looked lost.

'This is all going over my head...'

'Well!' Ralph's dad exclaimed, 'It's certainly interesting! I just like to sing along.'

'I know you do, Dad...'