Pokémon BW: Rise of Clarity (book 3 of the HBoD series)

Chapter 24: Buggingly Annoying

Inside, the warehouse was being kept at a not too cold and not too warm temperature. Devoid of machinery and consisting of several levels, it was rather large, empty white space. That is, with the exception of all the cocoons. Dozens of them were attached to the walls and ceilings, with even some just standing at a human's height on the floor. Thick webby strands connected all of them in a chaotic pattern.

"Hey! Up here!"

The three of us looked up to see Burgh waving at us from the 3rd level next to his Leavanny. He gestured to the nearest cocoon and Leavanny split it open with her sickle. Burgh waved dramatically at us before stepping into the cocoon, Leavanny following him inside. It closed up and shook. The thick strand of web that connected to it from beneath the floor shook and after a couple seconds Burgh and Leavanny stepped out of the cocoon right in front of us.

"Yabai!" Robert exclaimed. "I can see why you decided to switch up gyms!"

"It's like an art piece," Alex said appreciatively. 

"Quite right," Burgh smiled. "I wanted both a place where my Bug Pokemon could have fun and have it represent them. Plus, it makes for an interesting battlefield quite unlike many others." He whirled around, brandishing his arms. I stepped forwards to see a large battlefield painted on the floor. What made it different from the norm was the fact that several cocoons inhabited the playing field.

"That would make for an interesting battling strategy," Robert said, suddenly serious as he eyed the cocoons. 

"Who's lucky challenger number one?" Burgh asked as turned to face both Alex and I.

Alex backed up, nodding to me. There was something I wanted to ask of Burgh first.

"Me," I answered him. "But I do want to ask a favor, if that's alright."

Burgh raised an eyebrow. "Depends if I'll be of help."

I held up Joltik's pokeball. "My Joltik, before I took him in, he was abused severely and has developed a fear of humans. He's gotten somewhat better with me and my friends, but... I want to see if there's a way to get closer to him."

Burgh nodded slowly. "And battling has always been a good way for trainer and Pokemon to bond. Yes..."

"So I was hoping you'd be willing to give Joltik and I a little training round together," I said hopefully. "With you being a Bug type expert and all, I thought you'd be the perfect man for the job."

Burgh smiled. "In that case, I'd be happy to help. First, let me see the little guy."

He bent as I let out Joltik on the floor between me and the Gym Leader. Joltik crouched, tucking his legs in as he looked between me and Burgh. 

"It's okay," I said softly. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Burgh bent himself low to the ground, chin touching the floor. He locked eyes with Joltik and gave a small smile. "Why hello there, Joltik. My, my, you are wonderful." He gently reached out with one hand and extended a finger. Joltik shied away, but let Burgh stroke his back. "I can see you've been taken good care of by your trainer."

Leavanny knelt next to the small Electric type and held out both sickles to cup Joltik in-between them. She began to make a cooing noise and Joltik stopped shivering as he stared at Leavanny. His body shuddered once or twice, but he closed his eyes and let Burgh take him from Leavanny.

The brown haired man sat back, crossing his legs as he stared down at Joltik. He sat there for a full minute, just stroking his back with a finger. Eventually Joltik reopened his eyes and began crawling up Burgh's arm. He chuckled as Joltik buried himself in Burgh's bushy hair before poking his head out.