Pedestal: Chapter 70

"…And so I basically just ran away after that. At least they stopped calling. Kostya should be returning sometime soon, too," I explained, gesturing vaguely to the empty air, as if expecting the ghost to randomly appear. I told them the entire story. I was a little nervous telling it to Jude, too, but Hanna seemed fine with the idea. So no matter how reluctant I was, he also got to hear all about The Tournament from firsthand experience (and its aftermath, including my fight with my parents).

"Do you actually think you ran away? I mean, are you going to, like, reconcile with your parents anytime soon?" Hanna asked, leaning in. I shrugged.

"I'm going to go catch a bird Pokemon and see if that helps the situation…"

"Didn't they say they want you to have a full team?" she asked flatly. "One bird does not a full team make."

"I can just sell you a couple Pokemon real quick, if you'd like. I even have a Pidgeotto on hand," Jude offered with a bright smile. I shook my head.

"No, I'll go catch one myself. They'll get suspicious if I show up with two more Pokemon suddenly. I have a feeling they already don't like Kostya for that." I set my chin in my hand with a sigh. Why were they so intent on the parental part of that? Weren't they worried about the training world?

"They also want you to get a traveling partner," Hanna pointed out. She leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes to think.

"I'll just ignore that part. I'm practically running away as it is, so I technically don't have to listen to them anymore, do I? Isn't that part of the whole 'running away' thing?"

"Yes, but--"

"You two, go together." Hanna interrupted without opening her eyes. Jude and I stared at her. "It'd solve both your problems, wouldn't it?"

"What problems does he have?" I asked curiously. Jude was a breeder, not a trainer. And while he did seem to train Pokemon a bit, he didn't keep them long and he sort of trained them like a pastime.

"He's been looking for someone to help train his Pokemon," Hanna replied airily.

"Hanna! That's none of--"

"So you two go together. You can help train his Pokemon, you know, give them practice battles and stuff, and he can be the person you travel with. You can keep each other company. Your dad never exactly said that you had to travel with another trainer, right?" She opened her eyes to smirk at us both, knowing full well she had a strong point. Jude and I looked at each other appraisingly.

"…Hanna, I think you misunderstood me when I said I wanted a surrogate trainer. I want someone who knows how to handle Pokemon--"

"And I don't?" I deadpanned, a little miffed.

"That's not what I meant!" he said hastily. "I meant that I wanted a trainer who is used to taking on a breeder's Pokemon to train temporarily. I already know a couple trainers who do that for me, so I really don't need him. No offense!"

"You don't have any Sinnoh trainers to help you, and guess where you are," Hanna said with a dismissive hand. "I think this would be good for the both of you. Mister trainer hasn't been doing much socializing, and mister breeder hasn't been doing much of that, either. And you both need to train your Pokemon. The only difference is that you're eventually going to sell yours, and he isn't."

"But--" we both started in unison.

"Nope, not going to hear it. You two are going to travel and see the world and all that nonsense with each other. And you will have fun, okay? And catch and train lots of Pokemon," Hanna decreed. I almost missed how her voice hitched on the last word.

Because of that, neither of us could object. Jude and I glanced at each other. We hadn't ever really interacted, not without the buffer that was Hanna. Oh well. This wouldn't last that long, right?

"Do you…" Jude started. He took a short breath, and started again. "Do you want me to get you any Pokemon, Hanna?"

I felt bad. I wasn't sure if it was because I hadn't offered, or if it was just because he was trying to fix what had been done, or if it was just for the situation in general. I immediately felt worse when I saw Hanna's expression--before she hastily covered it up with a snort and the movement of running her hand through her hair. I saw her heart break all over again.

"Of course not. I--I don't want anything. Not yet," she said, too quickly. "N-Now go! The day is still young! You could be out of Jubilife before the masses start really evacuating!"

Jude and I were literally pushed and shoved and elbowed to the city limits of Jubilife. I couldn't say anything else to Hanna, not after that. Not after The Tournament and coming that close to losing my team as well. I really, just then, realized what she had gone through. The physical injuries might've been gone, but the emotional ones were still there, still all too visible.

Hanna crossed her arms and glared at us until we shuffled off onto the trainer path. She watched us until we were out of sight. And then she called us to make sure we were still walking away from her.

Jude didn't complain when I turned around and ran back towards Jubilife. In fact, he raced me.

He reached Hanna first and threw his arms around her. She staggered back, catching her balance again just as I reached her and likewise tackled her in a hug. It was only fair, after all. She had done the same thing to me. "Hanna, Hanna love, please come with us!" Jude pleaded, laughing weakly as we picked ourselves apart off the ground.

"Seriously! We--We can get you new Pokemon, more Pokemon, it'll be just like old times! Come travel with us!" I added.

"Don't shoo us off! Come with us! You don't have to be alone!"

"Guys, get off of me! I--I'm not going with you, okay? I can't! I can't…" Hanna shoved us both away, trying her best to muster up a glare. "And shouldn't you two be riding off into the sunset about now?"

"Not without you, love," Jude said, trying to keep his arms around her, much to her embarrassment. I was unused to seeing flirting, especially used as a weapon, and it was a little weird to see it done with Hanna of all people. Okay, more than a little weird. A lot weird. Hanna finally stopped fighting him with a giggle and let him hug her. "Why are you so keen on getting rid of us?"

"You've been clingy lately, so I'm trying to pawn you off on someone else," Hanna replied primly, not even bothering to pull her punch. I winced, feeling sorry for Jude.

"Aw, come on, you don't mean that… Just come with us. With another fellow around, I promise I'll be a perfect gentleman. Plus… I can go get Elizabeth and Octavian, you know you still like them…"

I was starting to feel awkward, and while I didn't want to intrude on their moment, I didn't feel like getting ignored, either. "Come on, Hanna. It'll be more fun with you along. It can be another expedition."

"Guys, I can't. That's it. I can't be around Pokemon again. You two go now. I'm going to go shopping." And that was the end of our argument. Hanna practically ran away from us, and while there was no dramatic sobbing or angry outbursts, it still hurt.

Jude sighed. "She's been doing that lately. Whenever I mention Pokemon in any serious context, she says she can't and goes shopping."

"I think it's how she copes," I remarked. Or maybe she just really liked shopping.

"Should we, uh, actually go then? I mean, she'll eventually find out if we're not together and we really shouldn't upset her any more than she already is… Let's get this over with, eh? It shouldn't be too painful."

"…That's a comforting thought." I had never traveled with someone I hadn't gotten along with before. What if Jude and I clashed? What if our teams clashed? This seemed like a bad idea, especially considering I still had to have a serious talk with my team. I still had to get that bird, and possibly even a sixth Pokemon as well. It didn't seem fair of me to subject someone else to my team's version of 'teamwork' while I smoothed all of that out.

"Oh, it won't be that bad." Jude smiled uncertainly at me, rubbing the back of his head. "What harm could this do?"

"Comrade, there you are!" I jumped slightly as Konstantin appeared beside me, panting. He held out the mangled remains of a videotape. "That story will not be known to anyone else anytime soon."

"Thanks, Kostya." I had almost forgotten about him. Heck, I had almost left him behind. Oh yeah, this would go over real well.

I looked over at Jude, who had taken several steps away and looked to be very pale. "Y-You still have that Duskull, I see. Hanna's told me, ah, a lot about him."

It would go over spectacularly.

-.-.-

Jude and I agreed to travel together and called Hanna to let her know of the official decision. She hadn't seemed to think that we really had any say in the matter, so she just asked us why we weren't halfway to Floaroma by then.

The first night together, things were already awkward. I was used to sleeping in a pile with my team. Sure, it varied a bit night-to-night, but we more or less woke up in a heap together. Jude was used to sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent with his pokeballs under his pillow.

We sat on opposite sides of the fire, trying to think of something to say to each other. What could we say? Not much. We hardly knew each other, after all.

"So… Why don't you return your Duskull? Konstantin, was it?" Jude asked, a little nervously. Konstantin circled around my head to hover over my other shoulder, putting a paw up to his mouth to stifle a chuckle.

"You can call him Kostya if you'd like. And… He… Um." How to explain the situation to someone who knew little to nothing of it, save what Hanna told him.

"Is he still stalking you?" Jude asked cautiously.

"…A bit?" I guessed, glancing at the ghost. He looked at me in response, saying nothing. "Kostya, your input?" I prodded, annoyed.

"I have no comment," he said simply.

I resisted the urge to growl at him. Yes, I still needed to have a talk with him too. There would just have to be a whole lot of talking going on. I turned to Jude, pointedly ignoring Konstantin, and asked, "Are you afraid of ghosts?" I clearly remembered him with a Froslass in Johto, though…

"Maybe a mite bit."

"…You had a Froslass, though."

"It was a personal favor to a friend. She was a fine Pokemon, but I still couldn't quite warm up to her. No pun intended. I usually make it a point not to train ghosts," he admitted. I could understand that.

"I don't think I could ever train a water Pokemon. I would just be so scared of what would happen to it." Even if it had an advantage over Des, Carlita and Ike had an advantage over it, and I could only imagine how they would flaunt that advantage. Ike was already at a disadvantage and he was aggressive enough. I didn't need to try to train up a water Pokemon while he hung over it.

"Because of your Camerupt?" Jude asked curiously.

"…Just how much did Hanna tell you about me?"

He laughed. "Enough, apparently."

-.-.-

Note For The Lulz: It has come to my attention that I'm apparently a total ship-tease and I need names for my ships. (Well, I've had names for a couple of them for awhile now, but those are total crack ones, so I don't count those.) The fan-given name for Hanna x NamNar is "Abomasnowshipping". The me-given name for Hanna x NamNar is "Expeditionshipping". Use whichever one you will.

Also, Nick x NamNar, according to one of my readers, is "Mentorshipping". Yet again, I've decided to come up with my own because I'm a dork: "Heroshipping". See how much more positive I am with these names?