The Tortured Pokemon Trainers Department

Chapter 9

Cinnamon

"I Can Fix Him (No Really, I Can)"

I never did get my matcha latte. Hattie led me through forests and towns of Unova, until we reached a bustling city, the noise of which was so overwhelming for her that she willingly returned to her Pokeball. It felt odd to have just one Pokemon walking by my side instead of the two, and I could tell Karma was feeling unnerved by it as well. But Hattrem was even more sensitive to loud noises and big emotions, and Nimbasa City was teeming with both.

Karma gestured toward my bag, and after a bit of guesswork, I deduced that he also wanted to return to his Pokeball. I wasn't a fan of this choice, but I wanted my partners to feel safe and happy, so I took out one of my Pokeballs and he was called into it by a beam of red light. I thought to myself how I'd never cut it as a Pokemon trainer, having to throw these balls at the friendly creatures and force them to stay with me. But, I reminded myself, Harmony does it just fine, and she's not a bad person, so I must be overthinking things again.

As if I had thought her into existence with that, I heard a familiar giggle from a few yards away, and saw her lavender hair in her signature high ponytail, bobbing up and down as she walked down the street talking to someone. I ducked down an alley, not wanting to even begin to explain how I ended up in the same town as my sister.

There she was, and by her side was what I could only describe as the most beautiful human being I had ever laid eyes on. Tall and slender, with long green hair flowing down his back, beautiful blue-green eyes, and a content smile. As I analyzed each feature separately, I noticed he was no different than most people I've encountered, but yet something about him felt so vastly different to me. His aura, if you could call it that, was so enticing, so ... familiar.

I gasped. My paintings! This man almost perfectly resembled the 'King' I had painted during my art spree the previous week. He glanced quickly in the direction of the alley, presumably having heard my reaction, but he immediately went back to his conversation, which I could only hear bits and pieces of. Something about a puzzle cube, which naturally piqued my interest, but then Harmony took over, talking about dancing and her favorite kind of music to dance to. Typical Harmony, I thought to myself. Even now that she's training Pokemon, nothing matters to her except music and flirting.

The flirting! I deduced that the pair were heading to some kind of nightclub, especially judging by how short and tight Harmony's dress was. She looked radiant, and I had no doubt that she and this man were on some kind of a date. Out of curiosity, I decided to follow them, allowing myself to get swallowed in the crowd on the busy street, but keeping them within sight. Oddly enough, they weren't holding hands, and the only time Harmony attempted to touch him was to playfully punch him in the shoulder, like one would with a sibling.

Like how she and I used to play around with each other before the Wild Area incident.

I couldn't figure out why I was so drawn to this man that was walking with my sister. I watched them enter a loud bar named Club Zebstrika and decided there would be no chance of me following them in there. But as I turned to head back and explore the city, a group of men stopped me and offered to pay my "cover charge" at the club. Since I couldn't exactly say no, I joined their little group, let them buy me a drink (a beer that tasted disgusting, as if someone made a drink out of pine needles and grapefruit), and escaped as soon as the music got louder and the guys got drunk enough to not notice my absence.

"I can't believe how intertwined math and music actually are!" I heard someone standing near me yell excitedly, just loud enough for me to hear over the music. I turned in the direction of the voice and realized with horror that I was standing just feet away from my sister - and worse still, it was her date who had said that! This impossibly gorgeous man who happened to be out dancing with my little sister, was just casually talking about math as if it was normal bar chatter!