In Spikemuth

Blank Expression

Marnie jogged down the squeaky steps and sat on a bar seat, and ordered herself some toast and some pokepuffs for Lion and Peko. As she ate, she noticed Gladion slumping in the corner looking glum. After swallowing it down and placing the pokepuffs in a little tub and into her bag, she got up and slowly walked up to Gladion, 

"Hey, what's up with you?" she asked, her face still. Gladion looked at her with a cold expression, 

"Get out," he said and pointed to the door. Marnie scowled, 

"Hey, I'm just trying to talk to you and help ya feel better!" she snapped. Gladion sneered and got up to walk into a 'Staff only' room.

"I didn't come here to be a stupid waiter," he mumbled under his breath, fully aware that Marnie could hear him. Marnie sat in silence for a moment. She looked up at the swinging Staffroom door, 

"He failed," she whispered, "he failed as a trainer." She looked at the pokeballs on her belt. 

Will I fail too? she thought to herself. What if after her massive pokemon journey to stop Team Yell would all be in vain?

She shook her head and leaned against the wall behind her, the exact position she saw Gladion in. She released Morpeko who immediately turned round to hug Marnie's leg, and started playing with her sparkly buckles. When he noticed that Marnie wasn't hugging him back, he looked up to see Marnie staring blankly into the distance. It frowned and leapt onto Marnie's lap and squeaked. Marnie looked at Morpeko and smiled, 

"I'm not upset with you, mate," she whispered and stroked Peko's head. She pulled the Pokepuffs out of her bag and tossed one toward Morpeko. It smiled and munched some up, putting the rest into its pockets. Marnie felt uplifted by Morpekos enthusiasm but couldn't bring herself to smile. She slowly got up and wandered out of the pub and toward the train station. 

"If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this with you- and we're not going to end up working in a pub," she said and hoisted Morpeko into her arms. She scanned her travel pass into the machine and hopped onto the train, her Morpeko squeaking in confusion. Marnie smiled. 

"Don't worry," she said blankly, "We're going to be coming back by the end of the day." Morpeko cocked his head to one side, confused as to why Marnie had such a blank expression on her face. She leaned against the window and pressed her cheek against the cold window, staring out over the rolling hills and green fields. Morpeko watched her and munched on a piece of it's stored leftovers, he began worrying that Marnie was sad and gave her a hug. Marnie just patted him on the head back. 

"Peko?" he asked, Marnie hadn't lost her smile had she? Marnie looked at Morpeko and smiled with her eyes. Morpeko felt a bit of excitement but still, a twinge in his stomach. The train eventually screeched to a stop and Marnie grabbed Morpeko and hopped off. Marnie carried Peko through the short security and outside. They were surrounded by a bunch of miners and workers on their break and some walking into the Galar mine next to them. Marnie could see Morpeko look around, confused. Marnie looked at Peko and gave the tiniest smile you could imagine. 

"We're just going for a little walk, Morpeko. Nothing much," she said and bought three dusk balls from a little shop inside the Pokestation. Morpeko squeaked, knowing Marnie was probably just going to be catching some more friends for him, like Purrloin! 

Marnie gestured for Morpeko to walk next to her and they walked into the dark, glittering cave, their only resources being a bottle of water and a pokepuff. Shadows fell over Marnie's face and she breathed a sigh of familiarity. Morpeko squeaked as if to say

'I know we're not just looking for pokemon, Marnie', and she looked down at her partner with kind eyes yet a blank expression, 

"I know," she whispered and looked up, "we're finding my parents."