Pokémon Mars

Chapter 47: Belonging

Nyx disguised herself as an Ironville University student, laden with books, to accompany Callerya to the pizza parlour. Nyx was sick of asparagus. The grassy scent wafting from the kitchen was overpowering. Praise didn't seem to mind. He already had a starter dish of asparagus wrapped in bacon. His glass of iced green tea was empty. He got there early. He waved to Callerya. Her smile was strained when she waved back.

Nyx took a seat at the next table, so her back was to Praise. A woman recoiled. Then she glanced at Nyx again and looked apologetic.

'Sorry... I thought you were that chick who kills all her exes...'

Naturally, Nyx's accent was half Orrean and half Galarian, but she had no trouble mimicking a true Galarian accent.

'Don't even know what you're on about, love.'

The waiter dropped a menu with a plaid background in front of Nyx. She thought she would actually eat there. She didn't want anything. The stench of asparagus made her feel sick. It came to represent everything about Mars that made her anxious and angry, as it did for Thalassa. The waiter gave another menu to Zorua, who was disguised as an Aipom.

'No mushrooms. Boring. Can we have garlic bread?'

'One garlic bread, please. And a glass of iced green tea.'

'Is that all? We just got a delivery of fresh aspara–'

'I'm good, thanks.'

Nyx opened one of the geology books she borrowed from Firmino. She opened her notebook beside it. No-one there needed to know that she wasn't actually writing about geology.

Callerya ordered a small pizza. That surprised Nyx so much that she glanced back to check that she was alright. She looked miserable. Praise asked if something happened.

'Nothing... just... I'm homesick, I guess.'

'I understand. I don't like it here on Mars. I don't understand why anyone wants to live here...'

'Neither do I.'

'Why did you come?'

'I wanted to introduce Pokémon... like my idol, my great-grandma Jovi...'

'But it's not possible?'

'I mean, it's possible. Limited to species that don't need oxygen, but possible. But do the Pokémon even want to live here? I guess Rhyhorn don't care, as long as they can run around, but do smart Pokémon like Beldum seriously want to live out there?'

'To be honest, I doubt it...'

'Yeah...'

Callerya's enthusiasm was revived when she began to talk about Jovi and her wild Pokémon project. Praise encouraged her not to give up. Nyx wondered if he did so because Wish wanted a terraformed Mars. She didn't really think so. She got the impression that he wasn't even thinking about Team Genesis. She still packed up her books and covertly followed them to the metro station. They agreed that she would. If Callerya would need their security guard in Ironville, it was likely to be when she met a known Team Genesis Admin, but Nyx doubted she would need to restrain Praise. It was Hera she was concerned about. If Racer was still stalking Nyx, she figured that he saw Hera at the university.

The football field reminded Nyx of the art in the skate park. The stands and their seats were painted to appear like Martian landscapes. A banner hanging from a VIP box advertised Pip Pip Piplup. That seemed ironic. Rudolph had things painted in celebrations of Mars, yet the popular advert was for an import store.

'So,' Callerya said as they approached the field, 'It's been so long since I saw any football in person, I was thinking of filming a few videos. You don't mind, do you?'