Broken Souls

Wanderer Once More

The next day, we set out at as early as possible, knowing that the later we wait the harder the inevitable goodbye will be. I pick up the Pokegear, dial a number, and hold it up to my face, waiting for the beep. "Hello, this is Morty. If you'd like to challenge the gym, press 1- haha, just kidding, this is my personal number. If I gave it to you, you probably have permission to bug me. Unfortunately, I'm not able to get to the Pokegear right now. Leave a message at the-" Beep.

"Uh. I- I'm heading out. I just wanted to say that I'm going to miss you a lot and we should try to talk to each other. I know we just hung out for what, a few days... but they were a good few days, this time. Thanks for everything."

I put the phone down and then dial him up again.

Same message.

"Miki makes good tea. Tell her I miss her too. Bye, I promise."

Click.

"You're a bit of a mess sometimes, Ashley." Ten says, hopping along as we pass by the barely lit candles to the west of Ecruteak. They make the dawn glow even more violently, as if the entire world is just begging to be illuminated by the light emanated from these lanterns and the sky above.

"I know," I tell him, stuffing the Pokegear in my pocket resentfully. I slide it out, put it on silent, and put it back in my pocket.

"Are you okay?" asks Rose, nervous. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not, I'm just-" I stuff my face into my hands for good measure. I make a note to stuff my foot into my mouth while I'm at it. "Ugh."

"It's alright to be upset about leaving." D'spinas says. "It is time to move on now. We have many long routes ahead of us. Lots of grinding."

That makes everyone groan in unison, save for D'spinas, who's always up for grinding (although I have no idea why).

"Right, we can skimp a little bit on the grinding if you guys are going to be touchy about it, but at least try and remember why this is a priority to begin with. If we don't grind, we're going to get steamrolled when we get to the next gym."

"That's Jasmine, right?" Reginae asks. "I've been doing some research. If we head to Olivine, we should-"

"Sheeeee's busy." I tell him.

Everyone already knows what I'm capable of so they decide not to question it. We pass onto the next route, which is covered in gardens and an assortment of trees, and I crack my knuckles. "Time to get to work."

A nearby trainer approaches and we strike up a match, Ten swooping and turning in the breeze with excited hoots. As he dives in to finish off a Raticate, his body glows a bright blue and becomes longer, more streamlined. The final blow comes seamlessly down and he draws back, wings catching the wind before he settles down.

"Ten!" I call, racing over to him. He's as tall as I am now, minus a few inches (at the most), and he finally has two sturdy legs. He looks immensely proud of himself.

"I could get used to this." he tells me, fanning his wings out and testing out both of his legs.

"Me too." I say, in awe of how large his wingspan has become.

"Think I'll need a bigger stick?" Testing his luck, he adds, "Think I could use a real power tool instead?"

"I don't believe the League mandates will let me have a five-foot owl wield a screwdriver in battle."

"What about a jackhammer?" he asks.

"I think we're done here." I say.

"I was just asking!" he calls after me, trilling with excitement. His wings open again and he soars up over me, the two of us racing together across the land. Reginae is working in tandem with Luna while Rose is being babysat by Clay.