And Still, I Climb (ch3)

CHAPTER 3 

Forum accounts scrolled past my laptop screen as golden sunlight spilled across my desk. A small amount of frustration slowly built within me as I passed by profile after profile, each one turning out to be another dead end. 

“I’m telling you, this guy’s basically got no online presence? I think? I mean, who does that?” 

In the corner of the screen, my girlfriend offered nothing but an evil, amused chuckle in response. “I mean, that was you before the Circuit and you got picked up by Poketch, right?” Maylene Suzuki shrugged. “If this guy’s a new trainer—and we don’t even know if he’s actually going to be in the Circuit, then he won’t be anywhere for you to find.”

I looked for a retort, but my shoulders slumped. “Arceus, I hate it when you’re right.”

“And yet I always am,” she said proudly with an evil smirk. Legendaries, I missed her so badly and I hadn’t even left that long ago. “Why does this guy have you this riled up anyway?”

It was easy to conjure his smug attitude from yesterday in my mind. The holier-than-thou speech that got on my nerves because it was technically correct was like an unscratchable itch. Maybe it was because I’d been like this once upon a time, though I’d never been against the bond between humans and Pokemon.

“I dunno. I guess it’s how misguided he is even though he has good ideas,” I finally answered. “Man, I’ve looked through like every profile affiliated with Pokemon Rights organizations and found nothing.”

Maymay raised an eyebrow. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Oh, a couple hours in-between some tasks Melody gave me—oh, we just finished taking more pictures with my team today. I’ll send them to you when they’ve been touched up.” 

It had been a chore to get everyone to pose for more than five minutes, especially Sweetheart. The Tyranitar was a handful given that she couldn’t be out in the city except in specific areas. 

With a tired sigh, I collapsed on the table, putting my head against my arm. “I can’t wait for the Circuit to start. Melody wants to build up my brand before my first Gym Battle, so I’ll get out of Castelia and probably go wherever I feel like.” Since there was data across every route in Unova, the Poketch team would be able to contact me at any time. “Oh, that reminds me! I gotta head to this meeting right before it starts. It’s for this org…”

I explained what happened at the protest, and how The Representation League was having a meeting to recruit new members on the 31st. 

“Uh, Grace? Aren’t you supposed not to do that, at least for the time being with all of the politics going on about that?”

“Yes, yes.” I waved off the concern. “Obviously I’m going in secret, Maymay.”

“What—”

“We’ll be in and out! And they’re new and I could maybe do some good in the world! That’s what I want, most of all!” I exclaimed. “You have no idea how restrictive things are for wild Pokemon around here. You don’t have to let kids die all year round, but there’s gotta be a middle ground!”

Maylene reluctantly nodded. “I guess you have a point. I just don’t want you to get fired.” Her pink eyes softened, and she repositioned herself, laying flat on her stomach against her floormat. “I am also worried about you becoming controversial, especially since you’re a foreigner.”

“That’s why I gotta keep everything on the low. But even then, I’m not too worried.” It wasn’t as if I was wanting to join one of the bigger rights organizations or Team Plasma itself. Things wouldn’t get dire enough for people to not notice the difference between the two. “But enough about me! We only have…” I glanced at the corner of my screen. “Thirty-three minutes left. How’s everything with the Gym, and how’s everyone doing? Any new stories about Volkner dreading the Circuit or is he still pretending to be sick?”

Her beautiful laugh rang out of my laptop. Legendaries, I missed her.

——

The day of the meeting was upon me. With Melody and the others constantly needing me at their beck and call to brainstorm how to push the ‘savage’ marketing they’d donned on me—completely undeservedly!—there were only twenty minutes left to spare before they began. Given that the Circuit was beginning soon and in my liaison’s eyes, I’d been on my best behavior, she allowed me to go out to explore the city for the remainder of the day, even granting me my Pokemon this time around.

Given that I needed to be discreet, however, all of them would be in their Pokeballs besides my Jellicent, at least until I got to the address. Luckily for me, the place they were renting was near the Castelia Loop and thus wouldn’t take very long to reach by foot. Unfortunately, we’d still get here fashionably late.

My skin tingled with nerves the closer we got. The skyscrapers seemed to loom taller above me, and I pulled at the hood of my sweatshirt to hide more of my face, and Buddy murmured worryingly beneath my clothes.

“I’m good.” It wasn’t my first time getting involved with a Pokemon Rights organization, but it certainly was the first I’d wanted to seriously join long term. “Just… hopefully things go alright and I’m what they’re looking for.”

The ghost attempted to assuage my worries, saying that there were plenty of associations to go around in Unova, especially right now.

“I know, I know,” I sighed. “There’s the fact that it’s the last day before the Circuit and that I’ll have a lot of eyes on me very soon. But! There’s thread for a story here; don’t you feel it fleeting in the wind? They haven’t done anything yet, so I’d be getting it at the very start!” My body trembled in excitement, forgetting the anxiety permeating through. “That’s a chance to shape it and to grow and learn with people my age, but really, it feels like it could lead to something bigger than myself.” I spun around as we waited for a green light.

Buddy hesitated, saying he didn’t understand quite well but he was used to my antics.

“Exactly.” I poked him through my hoodie. “You’re right that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, though.”

When we reached the provided address, we were surprised to see that it wasn't some dedicated meeting hall or organizational headquarters. It was simply a residential apartment much like the one I’d lived in for the first fifteen years of my life. The narrow balconies, peeling paint, and tiny patch of grass out front felt all too familiar. 

After double checking on my phone to make sure it was the correct address, I stepped in and rode the elevator to the ninth floor. Apartment 910 was a little down the hall; I placed an ear against the door and heard absolutely nothing. Not even the faintest sign of a voice. Part of me considered having Buddy peek below the door, but decided against it.

My knuckles lingered on the door before knocking. At least this would be a pretty good experience—

“It’s unlocked, come in!” a muffled voice rang out through the door.

Pushing it open revealed a modest apartment living room and familiar faces I’d seen back at the protest. Catherine Thune was, of course, present, shooting up from the couch with a radiant smile that looked physically incapable of staying off her face. 

“Oh, Legendaries! You’re actually here!”

She crossed the room before I could even get a greeting out, nearly tripping over the coffee table in her haste. A stack of pamphlets slid from her lap and scattered across the floor. The apartment itself was small but lived-in. Bookshelves lined one wall, crowded with novels, political theory, and binders stuffed so full of papers they threatened to burst. 

“Well, I figured I’d give it a try.” I glanced at the rest of the people, who I all recognized from the protest on Liberty Pier besides her sister, who was now present and staring at me with eyes as wide as saucers. “Am I the first one here?”

“Um… people have been filtering in and out!” she clearly lied. 

“Are you kidding me?” one of the boys let out a sardonic laugh. “You’re like, the second person who’s shown up.” His skin was only slightly lighter than Cecilia’s, and he wore tresses in a ponytail.

“Fuck off, Aurelian!” Catherine barked out. “Don’t scare our one chance away!”

“Um—” 

Aurelian cut me off. “No, let’s just be honest with her and tell her that we’re nobodies.” He laid back on the couch with a grin that somehow managed to seem annoyed. “Hey Grace! We’re nobodies! Welcome to the nobody club!”

“It’s the Representation League! You’re such a prick!” Catherine bit back.

Clearly, I'd come in at a terrible time. The atmosphere had been sour before I'd even stepped foot in the apartment. Madeline, Catherine’s sister, even had her head in her hands when I’d entered. Aurelian was glaring at Catherine as if he’d be able to burn a hole through her forehead. Another boy who had clear Indigoan roots—Hayate, I remembered—had his face scrunched up in discomfort as if he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.

“So where’s, uh, Erick?” I asked. He was the only one whose face was missing. 

Madeline finally spoke up. “He quit for plasma after saying this place had no future.” Her voice was lower pitched than her sister’s with a softer disposition. “Nice to meet you, Grace. I’m Madeline, leader of the Representation League.”

“That’s R.P. for short,” Aurelian said, smirk splitting his face. “You know, roleplay? ‘Cause this is basically LARP central and we don’t actually do anything—”

Catherine released her Cinccino and ordered the normal type to use Tickle. The normal type used his tail on the floor, bounced off the couch and tackled Aurelian, who started begging for mercy as and laughing until he had to struggle for every breath.

“Don’t mind them; let me show you around.” Madeline pushed herself out of her armchair and gestured for me to follow. 

The apartment was rather small, so visiting was only a formality—or at least I assumed so until we reached a bedroom.

“Is this place like, someone’s apartment?” I asked, looking up at the ceiling. Hundreds of photographs had been taped overhead. In every single one, the sisters stood beside wild Pokemon somewhere in Castelia or the surrounding routes. 

“Mine. I’m ashamed to say it, but my dad pays rent for me and my sister. We…” she trailed off and noticed I was looking up. “Ah, that’s sweet, isn’t it? Cat got the idea. We’ve taken a lot of pictures of us helping out the wildlife growing up.”

Some of these went back over a decade, or close to it. “It’s so cool… I wish I had a place to decorate like this sometimes.” 

“That’s how it is when you travel so much, I guess.” Madeline glanced at my burn scars for a moment, and cleared her throat. “Well, you’re a smart person, Grace, so I’ll cut right to the chase. We’re a… we probably don’t have the reach you’re used to having—though my sister knows a lot more about you.” She chuckled, half embarrassed. “You see, Hayate’s good at studying the body language of Pokemon, and Aurelian can keep him protected if things go wrong. Erick was supposed to do it too, but he left…”

“Ah. And I can do both by myself,” I guessed.

She nodded. “You’re a one-woman team, but we want to use you not just because you’d be great for us. It’d also be to widen our reach. I know we’re small right now, but I truly think that we can get places. Unova is ripe for change.” 

Was I being pitched to right now? Oh man, I wasn’t used to this, it was usually the opposite. My arms reflexively wrapped around my own body, squeezing Buddy tight. “Err, here’s the thing. I’m willing to help you—” she pumped a fist. “—but it’d have to be a private endeavor.”

Madeline raised an eyebrow. “How private are we talking?”

“I dunno. Like, completely under the books. It should be pretty easy considering you’re not on anyone’s radar. No offense.”

“I take a little offense even if it’s right.” She gave me a coy smile. “I think that could work? Let me tell you what we were planning—but first let’s announce the good news.”

Her excuse for a tour now over, she brought me back to the living room where she told her three companions that I’d be joining them. Aurelian’s tickling troubles had stopped, though he’d still been wiping tears out of the corner of his eyes. They all clapped, though he did so slowly enough that it bordered on sarcasm. 

“So! What we were planning on doing is that my sister and I would stay in Castelia and handle things here. Obviously occasionally you’d come back!” She nudged her chin toward Hayate. “Aurelian can pick you up on his Flygon.”

“‘Preciate it,” the quiet boy said.

“You guys will spread our name across the country and help out wild Pokemon. We’ll get jobs for you to do and try to expand our reach further and turn into an actual fully-fledged org,” Catherine took over from her sister before addressing me. “Lin has an accounting degree, and she’s great at mundane brain-numbing stuff.”

“I’m not taking this from the girl who enjoys brainrot memes,” she protested. “Anyway, Grace, you can stay lowkey about this. You’re mostly going to be used for off-route contact with wild Pokemon, and you can work mostly on your own since you talk to Pokemon real good and you’re powerful.”

I nodded. “How experienced are you guys as trainers?” I was genuinely curious—Aurelian gave me the impression of someone who knew what he was doing, and he had six Pokeballs on his belt.

Aurelian pointed two fingers at the siblings. “These two don’t do the Circuit, obviously.” He bumped Hayate’s ankle with his foot. “Shy boy over here got three badges last year.”

“What about you?” 

Aurelian clicked his tongue, and Hayate took over. “It’s a sour subject for him.” He had a rather high pitched voice that fit his tiny body—he was actually smaller than me even if he was apparently older. “He’s been hardstuck at seven all of last year.”

“Only because Drayden is being a little bitch!”

“There are ten Gyms to go around,” Hayate said with a shrug. “Could have tried to go for someone else. It’s not like you’d ever get sponsored being in Pokemon Relations, anyway.”

I assumed that having Drayden’s Gym Badge was a good boost on your resume if you wanted the Big Five to notice you.

“That would be admitting defeat. Screw that.” He puffed out his chest. “Anyway, what about you?” 

“Oh. Uh, top 128 at the Lily of the Valley Conference last year.”

He stopped blinking, staring blankly at me until he thinned his lips. “Damn. I, uh. Legendaries, in your first year? You’re good,” he said, voice slightly weak.

Things settled down after that, and the group slipped into a rhythm of planning and discussion. I learned a little more about everyone, and they learned a little more about me in turn, which was quite pleasant. I'd honestly thought it'd take weeks on the road before I started making friends again. 

Madeline offered drinks and was quite the tea-drinker, so I got to enjoy some chamomile. Most of the time, I was content to sit back and watch, my fingers warmly wound around my cup. In cases like this, when one was new to a group, I figured it was nice to learn to cut right into the heart of the dynamics and occasionally offer something of my own. The conversations eventually separated, with the siblings and Hayate opting into a conversation about how his parents were still pressuring him into getting sponsored by one of the Big Five this year despite his bang average performance for a trainer his age.

Aurelion and I settled on Drayden once again, prompted by my own curiosity. He seemed to have a real vendetta against the dragon master, and it was impossible not to be curious.

“Drayden’s considered the hardest Gym Leader around here for a reason,” he said, waggling a finger at me. “This is how he works, okay? He has the challenger release their entire team and uses a Pokemon way stronger than them all combined. You can’t win the battle, but survive for ten minutes and you get the badge. You can’t actually challenge the guy if you have fewer than three Pokemon.”

My heart fluttered at the idea. How amazing would it be for a novice trainer’s team to learn teamwork under such heightened pressure?

“You seem excited,” he noticed in an annoyed tone. “He mostly fights for the seventh or eighth badges. Says anything lower’s a waste of his time.” The boy chuckled bitterly. “At the eighth, he uses one of his personal Pokemon.”

“What if you’re, let’s say, strong enough so six of your Pokemon would win?” I asked, thinking of a few Sinnohan trainers I knew of. “Or if you’re stronger than him?”

Aurelian shrugged. “Then you use fewer Pokemon than your full team or he uses more than one—depends on his mood. If you’re stronger, he’s the one who gets to have the number advantage. Either way, it’s always unfair.”

“I think it’s a very appropriate challenge,” I said. “In the wild, fights are rarely going to be one on one. The last thing you want to do is die because you were unprepared.” I sipped on my tea, but Aurelian just stared at me blankly. “What?”

“Uh, it’s the 21st century, Grace.” He leaned in to pat my shoulder. “Keep up. But I know, I know, teamwork is important in a team. That’s the lesson here.” A deep sigh slipped past his lips. “Every fuckin’ time, he uses his Haxorus on me. Every time. And he calls me shit when he beats me.”

“That’s… surprising. Usually there’s decorum and the like.”

The dark-skinned boy chewed on his lip as his expression soured. “Gym Leaders here run their Gyms however they want. If Drayden wants to call you shit and wasted potential after he beats you, he will.”

I understood right then and there why it was so personal for him to beat Drayden. If he didn’t then that would mean acknowledging the man’s words. “Keep at it! I’m sure you’ll beat him this year.”

It was obvious I’d said something wrong when his eye twitched and his jaw tightened. Had my tone been off? No, I was certain I’d done my best to be as nice as possible, yet he’d taken it as if I’d been making fun of him?

“No more about any Gym Leaders!” I exclaimed, hands tightening around my teacup. “I don’t want to get spoiled, anyway.”

“You’re a weirdo,” he flatly said. 

“I’m not! I—let’s just move on.” 

“Aurelian, are you bullying the new girl?” Hayate chimed in across the coffee table, sitting cross-legged on the couch across from us. “You’re better than that.”

“Screw off.” That had come with an inflection he’d clearly meant. He got on his feet and downed the soda he’d been sipping on. “That’s my cue. See y’all, good luck on the Circuit tomorrow.”

Words failed me as we all watched him leave; things had been going so well, and then… I’d apparently stepped on a landmine. My hand clasped around my necklace, sensing Mimi’s vibrations against my palm.

“Don’t mind Aurelian,” Catherine reassured me. “He’s… cool, but he’s also got a lot going on in that noggin of his. He—”

“And it’s not our place to talk about it,” Madeline cut her sister off. “Hayate, you were saying?”

“Oh, I got a spot at one of X-Tech recruitment programs later in the year.” He turned to me. “All of the Big Five have this thing where they bring in a few dozen to hundred of trainers every year and spend like a week deciding who's worth investing into. It gets really cutthroat. People get so desperate to be somebody, you know?” He smirked—the first time he’d done so since I’d arrived. “I’m not worth all that, but if I don’t do it my parents will drive me insane,” he said calmly.

“How in the world did you pull that off?” Catherine asked. “People struggle to even buy a spot into those programs.”

“Oh, my dad knows a guy who knows a guy. Something like that,” he said. “He keeps talking my ear off about not tarnishing this opportunity. I don’t think they’re looking for a second-year trainer with three badges who has sympathies for the political goals they lobby against.”

“Man, I’m happy I get to have my own sponsor already,” I said. “I’d go crazy if I had to scramble for income.” With as many large Pokemon to feed, raise, and entertain, I’d have gone bankrupt within a week if it all came from money I could scrounge up from battles and local tournaments. “Poketch doesn’t seem as strict as you guys’ top dogs.”

Hayate’s eyes met my own. He was admittedly difficult to read, even for me; he always sported this blank look on his face as if he cared for nothing, inflecting little emotion into whatever he said. “I’m sure X-Tech will be happy to let a direct competitor that can actually threaten them set up shop in the city they’re based in no problem.”

“That doesn’t seem very likely,” I said.

“That’s because that was sarcastic.”

“Oh.” I resisted the urge to facepalm. “Either way, that’s not my problem, we have a bunch of people here and at home to hopefully solve that. I wonder what Gym I’ll take a stab at first…”

Since I was going to places I hadn’t been to yet on foot, I could either cross the desert up north and hit Nimbasa or go through Pinwheel Forest and go to Nacrene or Striaton. A familiar nostalgic warmth settled deep in my chest. Usually Denzel would have planned our route, but now it was just me.

Just me, huh.

“No matter where you go, we’ll have work for you!” Catherine exclaimed, throwing both arms in the air with enthusiasm. “Those places are actually among the most at risk of habitat destruction in the country right now, and since they’re close-by we have a few contacts.”

The conversation began to wind down, and the meeting was coming to a close. Before leaving, Madeline had me officially join their organization, signing a membership form that looked quite professionally made for such a small group. Still, as I handed the paperwork back, I felt a small sense of satisfaction settle in my chest. It was nice to finally begin my life’s work, even with this minute act.

There was one thing I needed to do before leaving, however.

“Oh, by the way before I leave, I’d like it if I had my Claydol out just so he could get a hold of the place to Teleport me here when needed.” He’d need to scout the building’s surroundings and create a mental map so he could situate us, but I could just release them again after exiting the apartment. “Ordinarily I’d enjoy the flight back, and Princess—that’s my Togekiss—she’s quite fast, but getting in and out in private will help for now.”

Madeline agreed, and I released the psychic in the middle of the apartment. Cassianus materialized in a burst of light, hovering a few inches above the floor. Pink eyes flickered to life one after another, scanning the room in eerie silence. It felt as if everyone was holding their breaths.

“Hey Cass,” I placed a palm on the warm, marked clay that formed their body. “Can you take a look at this place so I can Teleport here in the future? It’s the Representation League, remember?”

Each eye blinked individually. “Am I to be held liable if I accidentally Teleport us inside a wall and you die a horrible, torturous death?” they said out loud. 

“Absolutely not, because I know you’ll handle it perfectly!”

A cheering sound effect out of a cheesy cartoon rang out from their body, and their arms spun around in celebration, which made everyone relax—“Is that a sink? Can I break the sink to prove my dominance over water?”

“No! Don’t break the sink!”

“Not even a little bit?”

“Not one bit.”

This was going to take a while.