Desolate [Pokémon Arven x Protagonist]

One Quick Battle

I used the elevator to make my way up to the battlefield atop the school. As the door opened, I walked out onto the empty grass, locating the sun as the sky came into view. The lowering sun was beginning to cast long shadows on the ground, but the air was still warm. I took out all my Pokéballs. "Let's see what you could do, Numel." Everyone came out and ran about the field. "Everyone get ready for battle! Quaxwell, no water moves for now." The Practicing Pokémon nodded.

Lycanroc started with a quick attack, hurting Numel but not by much. "Numel, Ember!" I commanded. Numel shot out a fire ball to hit Lycanroc. It wasn't very effective, but I wasn't trying to knock out my Pokémon. Ember was a primitive move, but at least I knew Numel wasn't grossly underpowered if he knew a level 5 move.

Let's try a better move. Quaxwell came in behind him and hit him with a Wing Attack, and Numel became uncomfortable. Wing Attack was a flying-type move. Numel's ground-type moves wouldn't work on a flying-type Pokémon. "Don't worry, Quaxwell is a pure water-type. Attack him with a Bulldoze!" Numel crashed into the ground and hit both Pokémon around him. That was a level 12 move. I wanted to try a move much higher up in the levels.

Lycanroc hit him again, but this time with a Bite. Numel seemed unsteady. Two Pokémon attacking him at once was really wearing him down. I wanted to check one more move. "Numel, Take Down!" Level 31, a really good level for him to be at. Instead of performing the move, Numel glanced at me, sadly confused. I went down a few levels. "Earth Power?" He blinked. He was definitely in his early twenties then. "Incinerate!" Numel knew that one and shot at Lycanroc. "That's enough!"

The sky was beginning to turn red and a cool breeze began to ventilate the field. I decided to call it a day and resume training tomorrow. The Pokémon came back to me, but Numel seemed disturbed. "What's wrong, boy?" I asked him. He tensed up and shook with an electric power. He then turned his head and a burst of flames exploded from his mouth. His eyes widened at me as if he were shocked, too. "Did you just learn Lava Plume?"

Quaxwell happily danced with the same realization. Lava Plume was a level 22 move, so that meant my numel had just leveled up to 22. It wasn't a bad level, not bad at all, I just wondered if it was enough to defeat Orthworm. If anything happened, I still had my other two Pokémon to finish the job. We'd be okay. I didn't want to let him down.

"Alright, let's get some rest for the battle tomorrow." The Pokémon returned to their balls on my belt and I entered the elevator, descending to my dorm. My belly squirmed as I thought about laying down. I didn't know why I was feeling so many positive emotions at once. I never felt this way before I fought today's titan. Maybe it was because I finally had a plan for the school year, a quest with an exciting payoff. A new friend perhaps. Was Arven my friend now?

I walked down the hallway, looking for my door. Why did I keep thinking about him? He had been so mean to Nemona since I met him, and suddenly I wanted to fight titans and journey through the island to see him happy. No. It was all for Mabosstiff. It was for an injured Pokémon. I was convinced it wasn't about Arven. I was doing all this to save a Pokémon's life. Since I was little, I had tried my best to save anyone who needed me. That was all.

I opened my door and set my things aside, switching my school uniform for more comfortable clothing, and lying down on my bed as I thought, staring at the ceiling. I hated seeing people suffering. That included Pokémon. They were like friends to us. I was satisfied with my answer. At least I thought I was....

Then why am I defending my reasoning so much?

Maybe it was partly because of how happy I made him, but I was convinced it was nothing more. I closed my eyes and tossed around, unable to sleep. There was a strange anxiety behind my logic, a strange type of denial I couldn't identify. Maybe it was my subconscious again. That little voice in my head that was always telling me are you sure? I was overthinking things. I had to be. Nothing else could explain it. I sighed and tried to clear my head from the lingering thoughts. I'd figure it out when I woke up, or maybe I'd forget about it.