Bout 013 (Video): Time to get this train back on track.
It had been a couple weeks since Yukiko left, for the however-many-th time. This time Naoto and Yumi were gone too, which just added to the pile of suck. But of course Yukiko was the one that hurt the most. Why wasn't Chie allowed to stay with her best friend for more than a few weeks? Even if she did show up again, she probably wouldn't remember anything from before, and then she'd probably just vanish again... Johto was unfair, it was random, it was cruel.
So all in all, Chie was not in good shape.
She'd been keeping to herself lately. Ignoring the Pokégear feeds, doing very little training, and just hanging out in her bedroom most of the time. She could tell that her Pokémon were starting to worry, but she couldn't bring herself to really care. In the back of her mind, she thought maybe if she stopped playing along, Johto would finally give up and send her home too. But mostly she just wasn't thinking much at all.
And then on the 30th, in the early morning, her Hitmonlee came to her with a calendar. "Bruce?" she mumbled, sitting up in bed. "What's up?"
Bruce pointed to the date on the calendar, which he'd helpfully circled in red ink. Chie squinted at it. "November 30? What about it? This isn't a holiday or anything, right? Why the heck --"
It came to her mid-sentence. She tossed her bedspread aside and leapt for her Pokégear, scrolling down the list of the posts she'd made. All the way down to the first one, from way back when she'd arrived: November 30, 2010.
A year. She'd been in Johto for a whole year. Seriously? It was hard to fathom. A whole year of traveling and meeting people and training with her team. And what did she have to show for it, really? She hadn't even gotten more than halfway through the badge hunt.
Bruce stared at Chie, brow furrowed with worry. And Chie stared back. ...What was the matter with her? She was only thinking about herself here, wasn't she? Hadn't she promised to train Bruce, if he could find a good way to use his strength? Hadn't she promised she'd fight at his side, all the way to the top? And all her other partners, too, had their reasons for wanting to grow. She couldn't just give up and let them down.
Chie stood up, filled with resolve again. So Yukiko was gone. There wasn't anything she could do about that. But like Rise had said last time, she could make sure she had plenty of great stories to tell when she finally did make it back home.
She reached out to pat Bruce on the head, grinning at him. "Sorry to worry you, buddy. Let's get moving, huh? I've been slacking off lately, so we've got a lot of ground to make up. You ready?"
"Hitmonlee!" Bruce replied excitedly, following loyally as Chie started her preparations for the first day of the rest of her Johto life.
------
[Chie's dressed up and geared up on the Pokégear feed, jacket zipped up and bag over her shoulder. She looks like she's ready to hit the road. Oddly enough, she's also wearing a small pair of yellow glasses.]
Okay, I'm done. Officially done. I've been sitting around feeling sorry for myself for way too long. I think what I need is to get out of Goldenrod and do something with myself, before I go crazy.
So. Anyone with me?
So all in all, Chie was not in good shape.
She'd been keeping to herself lately. Ignoring the Pokégear feeds, doing very little training, and just hanging out in her bedroom most of the time. She could tell that her Pokémon were starting to worry, but she couldn't bring herself to really care. In the back of her mind, she thought maybe if she stopped playing along, Johto would finally give up and send her home too. But mostly she just wasn't thinking much at all.
And then on the 30th, in the early morning, her Hitmonlee came to her with a calendar. "Bruce?" she mumbled, sitting up in bed. "What's up?"
Bruce pointed to the date on the calendar, which he'd helpfully circled in red ink. Chie squinted at it. "November 30? What about it? This isn't a holiday or anything, right? Why the heck --"
It came to her mid-sentence. She tossed her bedspread aside and leapt for her Pokégear, scrolling down the list of the posts she'd made. All the way down to the first one, from way back when she'd arrived: November 30, 2010.
A year. She'd been in Johto for a whole year. Seriously? It was hard to fathom. A whole year of traveling and meeting people and training with her team. And what did she have to show for it, really? She hadn't even gotten more than halfway through the badge hunt.
Bruce stared at Chie, brow furrowed with worry. And Chie stared back. ...What was the matter with her? She was only thinking about herself here, wasn't she? Hadn't she promised to train Bruce, if he could find a good way to use his strength? Hadn't she promised she'd fight at his side, all the way to the top? And all her other partners, too, had their reasons for wanting to grow. She couldn't just give up and let them down.
Chie stood up, filled with resolve again. So Yukiko was gone. There wasn't anything she could do about that. But like Rise had said last time, she could make sure she had plenty of great stories to tell when she finally did make it back home.
She reached out to pat Bruce on the head, grinning at him. "Sorry to worry you, buddy. Let's get moving, huh? I've been slacking off lately, so we've got a lot of ground to make up. You ready?"
"Hitmonlee!" Bruce replied excitedly, following loyally as Chie started her preparations for the first day of the rest of her Johto life.
------
[Chie's dressed up and geared up on the Pokégear feed, jacket zipped up and bag over her shoulder. She looks like she's ready to hit the road. Oddly enough, she's also wearing a small pair of yellow glasses.]
Okay, I'm done. Officially done. I've been sitting around feeling sorry for myself for way too long. I think what I need is to get out of Goldenrod and do something with myself, before I go crazy.
So. Anyone with me?