Broken Souls

Dusk

The Goldenrod skyline at night is like no other city in Johto- where the rest of the region is subdued color and timeworn shrines, Goldenrod City is nothing but light and energy. In the streets, a plethora of people move about, chatting idly about who knows what (probably the latest trends or something equally vapid). Of course, I know how to maneuver through them now, but I usually looked for the best way to get around people the first time I did this. Making my way through the masses of human beings is somewhat cumbersome but I whisper a few "sorry"s beneath my breath and dash on past.

Eventually, I burst into the flower shop. Luckily, it appears all of my Pokemon are still right behind me, including Rose, who chirps happily from her new tote. I feel myself lighten up with her as I step in- the entire shop smells like flowers and springtime. Several hanging baskets adorn the ceilings, and not a single square inch of space has gone to waste. There's hardly room to fit through between the extravagant displays.

I look towards the counter only to find it empty. "Hello?"

An Oddish pops up to the stand. "We gotta 'nother one!" it calls, and a woman, possibly alerted by its cry, runs in from the back room.

"Oh! Hello! I'm so sorry! We were just about to pack up for today. Rutabaga, you weren't giving our guests any trouble, were you?"

The Oddish shakes its head with a small smile, its red eyes fixed on the woman above me. She's quite attractive, her blond hair tied back in a ponytail and her hands neatly slipped into gardening gloves.

"I just need some pots and one of those watering can... things."

"Hey, Annie? We have some guests looking for the Squirtbottles." she calls to the back.

"On it!" calls who I can only assume must be Annie, walking into the room with a huge crate from storage. Heaven knows how she's able to lift it all, but she drops it to the ground with a thud and wipes her hands off. "Thanks, Evelyn." She turns to me with a satisfied smile. "You're up late." Noticing my confusion she adds, "Let me get one of those out for you. Squirtbottles are about 1000P if you're interested."

"It's been a long day." I admit as she hands me a Squirtle-themed watering can. "Tough week, actually."

"And here are your pots!" Evelyn gives me several plant pots, each of them with a large dome with a single hole overhead so that the plant is properly protected. They're surprisingly small, and upon picking them up I see that they're so light that it barely feels like holding anything at all.

I unscrew one of the lids and then place the pot back on the table.

"There you go, Fabian." Reginae carefully places his own plant inside the pot with his mouth and then futilely attempts to lift the more circular pot off the table.

"Fabian?" asks the Oddish. "What kind of a name is that?"

"Shut up." Reginae tries to lift it in his mouth and the pot, which has a somewhat circular bottom, spins away. Luckily for us, it doesn't fall off the table, and I pick it up immediately, screw the lid back on, and place it in the bag. I take out a large sum of P next and place it on the table. "That should cover it, right?"

Annie nods, then adds, "Wait, I recognize you. Aren't you the one who defeated Whitney the other day?"

I nod shyly.

She pushes the money back. "Here, you can have these on the house."

"Oh- uh..." I withdraw the cash and deposit back in the bag. "Thank you so much."

"No problem. Evelyn and I have both lost to her. She killed my Dratini, actually... Don't listen to anything people tell you about her. Her Miltank is savage and she's a huge bitch."