- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 14: Jubilife City

Silas sauntered out, slamming the door behind him, and the four left the large police headquarters, the sun's glare crashing down upon them as they descended to the main street. "Jubilife doesn't pose a threat to us..." He spoke to himself, strutting down the road, cars racing past and onlookers excited to see the famous Elite Four member himself. "It's the scum who've infected our home, they've changed what this city used to be."

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[Afternoon, Outskirts of Route 202]

"Map says that we're nearly at Jubilife." [Y/N] said, trying to piece together exactly as to where they were on a large map, unfolded out before them as they walked ahead. Cynthia walked close, leaning her head over his arm, pointing at certain landmarks. "We passed that ages ago, didn't we?" She said, gesturing towards a small meandering stream. He nodded. "Oh yeah, good eye." He complimented, before folding it all back up into a neat bundle of papers.

"I've sent Starly up ahead, he'll tell us how far we are." Cynthia laughed at his comment. "You say that like you can speak to them." He shrugged. "I mean, they're smart, they can understand most of what we say, so it makes sense that they would communicate back." They had been walking for most of the morning, and into the afternoon, pushing lunch back in a final attempt to reach the enormous city sooner. It had been a four hour march, but the roads were paved and signs were clear, which made the journey all the more pleasant. The soles of his feet begged to differ, and so did his lack of cardio, but that was another problem for another day...

"You still haven't told me about how you caught that Starly." Cynthia said, asking for some more context. He looked up at the sky wistfully, as if he were to give some heavy, dramatic retelling. The fact was that Starly had been caught in such an unceremonious way he thought the story somewhat embarrassing. "I found him in the woods, and then he collapsed. I brought him back, and then he chose to activate one of my empty Poké Balls, capturing himself."

Cynthia looked dumbfounded. "Huh?! Why would it do that? I've never heard of a Pokémon doing that!" All he could do was smirk and shrug. "What can I say? I have a way with Pokémon." [Y/N] responded with a small chuckle. It was nice to see him in better spirits, she had made note. Whether it was catching Starly, or the promise he had made the night before, it had certainly worked. He seemed like a completely different person before, but now he was more like his old self.

For the small amount of time they had left with each other, she much preferred to spend it with this side of him...

"STAR!" The small Starly cawed out loudly from up high, its wings beating against the air as it came in for a landing. [Y/N] stuck his arm out, letting the bird perch atop his limb. "Have you seen the city yet?" He asked, and the flying-type nodded furiously. He smiled back. "See?" Cynthia shook her head, exasperated already.

He was starting to look like a staging post, with one Pokémon on either shoulder, and two sitting in the open top of his rucksack. "You know you don't have to have them out all the time, right? Aren't they heavy?" Cynthia asked. "I'd feel bad about stuffing them into their Poké Balls all the time." He answered. "You never put them into their Poké Balls!" She exclaimed. "Yeah? Well you've had Gible on you this entire time." He rebutted.

Cynthia just sighed. "I'm just trying to be cautious. Jubilife is a big city, and it has a lot of different people, some not so nice. And, if they see three rare Pokémon out in the open then you're going to become a target for thieves." She advised. [Y/N] punched a fist into his palm. "I'd like to see them try!" He answered with a smirk. "That just sounds like training to me." Chimchar mimicked his gesture, beating his fists together.

All the blonde could do was roll her eyes and hope that he eventually saw some sense. "I distinctly remember that you had to listen to me as a part of our fight." Cynthia remarked. "You're the one who said it didn't matter, practically it wasn't even a real fight!" He said, holding his arms behind his head. "What do you mean it wasn't a real fight?!" She squinted at him. [Y/N] only smiled back. "What happened was barely a fight, we're still even."