Swanna Song, Sung Throughout Sinnoh

Day Three:

Gary was brushing his teeth on the morning of day three of his sentence, having showered already, and was staring at himself in the mirror. His wrists were still hurting badly from the handcuffs he had worn days ago, but his eyes were on his growing, thickening, darkening hair while his mind was on the previous day. So once this crap is over, Drock and I will exchange Pokemon... My Beedrill, that she owns, for her Kingdra that I own...

The newbie Pokemon Trainer Drock, standing behind a rampant Charizard in Native Village, let out a terrified scream and turned to Gary, who was in front of the Pokemon alongside his grandmother, aunt, and a guy from Team Solace. “JUST KEEP HER!! PLEASE!!” Her head shook frantically as she stumbled backwards. “TAKE GOOD CARE OF HER!! I LOVE HER!! PLEASE!! I’M SO SORRY!!” She ran away as fast as she could.

She just comes back, outta nowhere, after all this time, to just... Gary thought bitterly, brushing his teeth harder now.

“We’re friends, Kingdra,” Gary had told Kingdra on the beach, surrounded by his other Pokemon, his eyes overflowing with tears. “We don’t leave each other behind. But, Kingdra…” He moved closer to her and kneeled down to her level. “Don’t hold anything against Drock. It wasn’t her fault.”

Charmeleon hugged Gary and Kingdra from one side.

Primeape doing the same from the other side.

Hoothoot hopping over and resting against them.

Dugtrio digging through the sand and resting on Gary.

Butterfree landing on Gary’s shoulder and placing her large wings around them all.

“We’ll never leave you, Kingdra.”

All that we’ve been through... She just thinks she can just come back and... Tears ran down Gary’s cheeks as he aggressively cleaned his teeth. He sniffled hard, and then spit out his toothpaste angrily. His head hung over the sink as he cried, tears falling fast. It’s not fair. She tried to figure this out sooner, with Prof. Oak, but the old man just forgot a couple of times to bring it up to me, so I never knew about it. But it’s not fair that... this is the time that I finally get hit with this news. Not after all we've been through. All we’ve accomplished.

Kingdra... doesn’t deserve this...

*

“Let go!” Gary grunted, struggling with his net full of feeders against the tank that had a pair of Tentacool in it.

“I told you this would be crazy. You got this, man!” Ish urged him on.

“Go Gary! Go, Gary!” Tiny cheered. “Puuuuull!!”

“WHOA!” Gary was nearly tugged into the tank, but he held his stance on the step ladder and fought back. Finally, he yelled out and flew off of it backwards and hit a tank behind him, dropping to the floor.

Ish and Tiny ran over to him.

“Gary!” Tiny cried.

“You good, nigga?” Ish asked.

Gary groaned, but he managed a smile and let out a short laugh. He held up the net, which was snapped in half!

Everyone looked to the tank to see that the two Tentacool were splashing water, trying to eat the feeder goldfish still inside the other half of the net!

“We can always get that out later,” Ish said hesitantly.

“Yyyeeeaaaah... Yous two can deal with that,” Tiny said hesitantly.

“Can anyone help me with any crickets?”

The three turned to a guy who had come in.

“Sure! Right this way!” Tiny walked to the man.

“Oh, great. How are you doing, sweetheart?” The guy looked elated to be assisted by the cute woman.

Gary snickered and looked to Ish, who merely rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Hey, I’m looking for a good toy in the cat aisle?”

Gary and Ish turned to a towering woman who was at least seven feet tall.

Gary’s mouth dropped open unwillingly.

While she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world, she was her own brand of stunning, at least to Gary. She wore a blue trench coat as well as a winning smile, also carrying a basket of items.

“Right here!!” Gary burst out, cutting off Ish, and led the way to the proper section. “Right here we have some of our finest brands, not too expensive. The SkittyKat brand in particular hosts a load of differing products.”

“Yes, I think this right here is all I’m looking for.” The woman picked up a simple variety pack of tiny stuffed toys from the Type7 brand and dropped it in her basket. “Thank you so much.” The towering woman grinned warmly at Gary, Gary giving his best smile back before she headed to the register.

I have to ring her up, Gary knew, and he took off through the aisles. Luckily, no one was there, and he had the tower of a woman all to himself. He scanned her items, which included a bag of dry cat food by Purrina, gave her the price, and started bagging it up. Once the transaction was done, he smiled at her with so much love in his eyes, they were practically heart shaped.

The woman gave a kind smile back, and Gary felt in his heart that maybe, just maybe, she knew how he felt. And then she left.

Gary sighed out happily, staring at the closing door. What a woman, Gary swooned.

“Hello.”

Gary turned with a start to see the man who had requested crickets earlier. “Oh! I’m sorry! Right!” He rang him up as the man laughed. Gary didn’t want to know what the man found so funny, even if he felt he knew exactly what it was. He made things quick and got the customer on his way.

A woman walked in as the guy left, a monkey with a low-burning flame on its butt hanging on her neck with its arms. She stopped at the register. “Hello! How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you. How are you doing today?”

“I’m great! Thank you so much. I just wanted to know if you know why my Chimchar’s tail is burning so low lately.”

Gary stared at the flame. He wasn't experienced enough to know what was wrong with the tail, but even he knew the flame wasn’t as bright as it should have been. Definitely not like how a Charmander’s would be, he thought. “Oh! That does look bad, but, honestly, I’m not sure why! That might have to be looked at by someone at a Pokemon Center.”

“Oh,” the woman replied sadly. “I’m so sorry. I thought this was the same thing as-”

“That Chimchar is definitely ill; no question,” Ish interjected. “You definitely need to see a Pokemon Center. We just sell pets. We’re not here to help aid Pokemon in serious cases like this. But I do know that that low flame is bad.”

“Okay. Thank you.” The woman bowed and left.

“Man. I hate to see Pokemon in such a bad condition.” Ish stood at Gary’s side, shaking his head. “But her reason for coming here rather than a Pokemon Center was just excuses. I bet she isn’t going to a Pokemon Center at all.”

“But, why? Aren’t they free?”

“They are, but the political shift might be changing that. You seen the Senator Slowking and Congressmon Oranguru debates? Senator Slowking might just ruin that altogether, but it’s not a bad thing if you think about it. I mean, honestly, Pokemon are optional. You don’t have to own one. It’s not a right. You aren’t forced to have them. So some costs may come to having one. But it will ease up the economy and lower taxes for the poor, and, it will stop the poor who are unable to afford proper care for Pokemon, to stop getting Pokemon, which helps all Pokemon! But Congressmon Oranguru’s goals will allow the Pokemon Centers to remain as is, and cost the citizens, owning Pokemon or not, even more money! It’s so stressful no matter how you view it, and it affects taxes and the people just don’t know how to cope or agree! Man, don’t get into politics. I think I told you this before.”

Gary’s head lowered and his eyes closed as he pondered on what else could be coming for him in his final days working in this store; also wondering where the world itself was headed.

*

“AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!” the man bursted out laughing, leaning over the register, literally three or less feet from Gary’s face. He smelled horrible! His jokes were not funny! He was the worst kind of person to be forced to be around. And worst of all, Gary realized that Ish and Tiny had abandoned him!

They all had been there just fine and dandy until the man referred to as Watson appeared. And then magically, everyone was gone!

Next time, watch. I’m out! Gary promised bitterly.

“These sandals I have are very popular for comfort. I’m telling you. I get all the ladies with these!”

Gary gave a smile, but only an idiot would take it as genuine. “Nice.”

The man known as Watson had a skin complexion just below Gary’s. He was laughing again.

Gary backed up without hesitation, disgusted by the man’s invasion of his space, but also his odor!

The smell wasn’t that of a bum, but it was still an indescribable, unwelcome scent.

*

“Welcome to Pokeland Discount! Do you need any help finding anything?” Gary greeted a man, woman, and child.

“Oh, well, we don’t know, actually! Can you help us figure out what we want?”

Huh? Gary kept his smile, but his eyes were widened in surprise. “Oh! So, you’d like a pet but don’t know what kind! I can-!”

“Well, we don’t even know if we want a pet for our child!” the woman spoke. “I’m not sure what we expect, but we just hope whatever we want, is found here.”

What does that even mean? Gary maintained a smile. “Well, we have reptiles, and fish, rodent pets, and a variety-”

“Like you have rats?? Like Rattata??” the woman squealed, shock on her face.

The child cried out shrilly, though it wasn’t clear if she was disgusted, scared, angry, or otherwise.

“Well, they’re great Pokemon actually, and we actually have others like Dedenne. And-”

“Aren’t Fire type Pokemon dangerous to have at home?”

“Well, I mean, any Pokemon can be dangerous, but De-”

“So you’re selling dangerous Pokemon? To children?”

Gary was stuck for a moment. “Um. Our Pokemon are safe, but certain care needs to be maintained, of course. I can show you what we have and give you information. We have little booklets.”

“I don’t know if we want rodents. We might like little fishes.”

“Oh, we have a lot of fish,” Gary nodded. He emphasized the word “fish” as a subtle way to state the word is singular and plural, but this was something Gary had only just learned less than an hour ago himself.

“Yeah, but I don’t know that we want to do all of the work involved in that.”

“Well, reptiles can be pretty easy, kind of...”

“Oh? But, do we really waaaant reptiles?”

How do I know you crazy-??! Gary raged in his mind.

*

“But will a bird really fly off if I train it properly?” a man asked.

“Well, I think it’s safest not to test the bird.” Gary was speaking to a customer in front of the Toucannon cage, trying to make a HUGE sale! “Most people usually have a leash on the leg of the bird to make sure-”

“Because a boy of mine takes his out all the time with no leash. It’s one of those crazy Legendaries. Yveltal, actually. That evil Kalos bird thing. And he never leashes it.”

“A... Legendary bird?” Gary doubted this incredible claim.

But the guy nodded insistently. “I’ve seen it. It just sits on his shoulder. Peaceful as anything. Lets people pet it, too. No issues. But I also don’t wanna spend the money and lose the Pokemon. I don’t get a refund for that, right?”

“No, if you lose it, you-”

“So I don’t wanna lose out on money. You know? How long does it take to raise one of these things? If my guy can tame an Yveltal, then surely this can’t be much trouble.”

“Well - I don’t know much about a supposed Yveltal, but... with a Toucannon, it-”

“Can I get any discount on it? Like something big? This doesn’t sound like a good investment.”

“I mean, I can only-”

“I’m not gonna buy a bird that you know is gonna just fly off. What kind of guarantee can I get on it?”

“Well, the company only has a warranty-”

“Does it bite?”

“The general rule of thumb is that any-”

“What level is it?”

Gary was fuming by now, though he kept it on the inside, irritated that he couldn’t get much words in.

*

“If I ruled the world, I’d kill off Mexicans because they all ugly, and all White people,” Ish spoke easily.

Gary’s jaw was dropped open. But... Sierra? Isn’t she White? Tiny? I think? They could be Spanish... Sierra does have curly hair... But why would he-?

Ish just shrugged, staring at Gary. “That’s how I feel.”

“But...” Gary swallowed. “You just - can’t!” Is Ish really a racist?! This is insane! Crazy! I can’t-!

“Like, I only mean White people who are from overseas. Those Americans, where I’m from. They’re the worst. Fuck ‘em all. Even if some of them are fine as fuck. But White people from other countries, I don’t hate them. That ain’t White to me.”

Now, Gary was completely lost, but he found something amusing about how ludicrous Ish sounded. It was completely unreal!

Ish was hard to understand, but the road to getting his full story out was entertaining to put it mildly. The guy made no sense, but he was so sure of himself that it felt like, if he only had better verbal skills, he might be a strong topic debater.

The problem was, he wasn’t.

“Hi! I was wondering if you sell any Sudowoodo here?”

From behind the cash register, Ish and Gary turned to a beauty with tanned skin. She wore a dress covered in actual flowers, though real or fake was harder to determine. The woman had long brown hair that touched her back. She stood swaying in place, moving so naturally.

“Nah, we don’t get those, but I do own one myself.” Ish was quick but cool to send out his Sudowoodo.

“Suuudowoodooo!” Sudowoodo stood at attention, one arm bent to his forehead.

The lady screamed wildly, gushing and praising the Pokemon with joy. “Us girls from Alola sure do love Sudowoodo. They’re really popular out there!”

“Ooooh. So you’re from Alola,” Ish responded.

“Oh, absolutely! From Iki Town! I’m so happy you own a Sudowoodo. Just seeing the Pokemon brings me so much joy and love to my heart!”

Ish started to laugh his heavy laughter, and Gary started to cringe. Take it easy, Ish You’re gonna scare her away. But Gary still smiled.

“I found him as an Egg, a Baby Bonsly, and then he evolved.”

“You’re so kind and caring of a person. Could I have your name? I’m Mew.”

“Mew? Like the Pokemon?”

“Actually, like a cat! Ha ha! My parents were both obsessed with cats and never even heard of Mew until I told them about it as a child one day after school!”

Ish exploded into laughter, and Mew laughed right along with him.

Gary started to feel out of place and decided he'd slowly slip away. Ha, look at Ish go, Gary thought as a sad smile designed his face. It was so nice to see this cute moment happening, but it also kind of brought Gary down some. Is this how you get a girlfriend? Should I even really be worrying about this at my young age? Why do I feel so alone watching these two? He turned away from them and-

“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAARR!!!!”

Gary screamed in fright as a huge monster appeared in front of him.

A Gyarados?

An Ursaring?

No. It was Adonis! He laughed at Gary, who was frowning and swallowing down some of his fright.

Gary got himself together and managed to smile. “What was that for?”

Adonis shrugged. “It’s funny.” He slapped Gary’s shoulder, rocking his entire body. “See ya around, Sugar Lumps.”

Gary froze up, his body twitching in reaction to Adonis’ words.

Adonis walked over to the counter to clock in. As he walked past Ish and Mew talking, he abruptly said, “I traded him that Sudowoodo. He doesn’t even like working here,” and kept walking.

Ish busted out laughing. “Shut up, Adonis! He’s lying!” Ish was laughing harder.

Mew was laughing with him, but there was clear hesitation as she looked back and forth from Ish to Adonis, considering what had been said.

That was mean, Gary thought. He was smiling about it, but he didn’t find it that funny. Adonis plays rough, Gary understood. He’s a real man’s man. I mean, that’s the kind of guy any woman would want, right?

As Adonis got closer to the back room, he started to pull at his long, flowing hair, tugging and tying it into a bun with a band.

He’s like a god of sorts, really. I mean, look at him. Huge build, overbearing and king of the jungle, but gentle as a Skitty. He’s said he’s all about peace and nonviolent, yet who would even want a problem with him to begin with? A pacifist with power. Strength. He’s everything I could wish I could be. Wow.

A man walked by, and Gary recognized him from his first day at the store. It was the Asian man, and he stared right at Gary as he walked past, his eyes wide the entire time, looking completely out of place and awkward before disappearing from sight down the aisle.

“Save money! Come on in, get your coupons and save save saaaave!”

Everyone looked outside to see the other part-timer, a nineteen-year-old named Stephanie, outside shouting and handing out flyers to encourage customers to come inside.

It had been a last-minute request by the higher-ups to try to increase sales by offering discounts, and no one was thrilled with being forced to stand out in the cold embarrassing themselves, but Stephanie eventually took up the challenge, swallowing her pride, and was out there giving it her all.

“I saved five dollars!” one man said, holding up a dog crate that must have cost him easily over one hundred dollars. He was making fun of the supposed “discounts.”

But Stephanie was quick on her feet. “HE SAVED FIVE DOLLARS!!” she pointed at the man, smiling and winking at him. “And you can too! Don't be scared because I'm a girl!” She turned and pointed angrily. “Don’t throw out that flyer, that's killing trees!” she barked at someone out of sight.

“Can anyone help me?”

Everyone turned to see a short, Hispanic guy with short hair. His eyes hit Gary’s and he chose to speak to him. “You guys got any mouses left?”

Gary’s face fell, but he picked it right back up and headed to the back. “So you need a mouse, or some mice?” he said loudly, shaking his head.

*

Day Four:

“So she was kidnapped, and while the kidnapper was sleeping, she shot him dead. But she could have just escaped,” Gary retold what he understood.

“Exactly. That’s murder, but you got these celebs like Brihanna tryna say she’s innocent and was defending herself,” Ish went on. “It’s not defense if you can just get away.”

“Hmmm. I never heard this story. Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” Gary said, thinking on it. Sure, the kidnapper was wrong, but if she could have gotten away without shedding blood, that’s the better, and especially legal, option. Right? Gary felt like doubt and confliction were playing a four-player game of ping-pong with his heart and brain.

The boy was shivering in the cold, stretching in his jacket, still trying to get it to fit him properly. He and Ish were unloading pallets of store supplies onto hand trucks to bring into the store. It was hard for Gary, but not wanting to be an inconvenience, and wanting to have a good report for the judge, he ignored his sore wrists and worked, worked, worked! Grunting, he maneuvered his loaded hand truck backwards, getting ready to push forward.

“BEEEP! BEEEEP! BEEEEP!” the tall, fat, doofy Adam cried out, watching the two work. The store’s Assistant Manager had a big face with stubble and wore small glasses. He wore the same clothes as everyone else, except his name tag was white and also read Assistant Manager. In his hands were flyers for the sale that was still going on. He chuckled, watching Gary move backwards.

Gary smiled at him weakly. Adam had been doing the same joke every time Gary backed up, and he was over it after the first time.

Adam then turned and waved around the yellow papers, yelling out in a fake accent. “SALE! GET CHA SALE HERE!”

Lou was stepping out of the store, hunched over a bit and smiling towards Adam while munching on something in a little MacDonphan’s bag. He wasn’t scheduled to work for another hour and had just dropped in early.

Adam held one flyer out to a man who took the paper. “TWO DOLLARS HERE! TWO DOLLARS THERE! GET CHA SALE HERE!”

This made Lou burst out laughing. “That’s my nigga right there! You heard that one?” Lou asked, following Gary inside.

Gritting his teeth, Gary managed a, “Yeah.”

Lou was actually pretty annoying. He talked a lot about a whole lot of nothing, and tended to follow you around rather than actually getting much work done. “And how are you doing today, sir?”

“Not bad, Lou. Not bad...” Gary replied. “How are you?” He didn’t really care, but he maintained politeness.

“I’m fine, sir. Thank you very much for asking,” was Lou’s reply. “You know-”

He’s a nice guy, really, Gary thought to himself. Very polite. But...

“That’s that shit to me, ha ha ha ha!”

“Ha!” Gary smiled back, not having heard what he said, nor caring.

Lou smiled kindly at him. “You heard that?”

“Huh?”

“You heard what I said?”

“Ha... I mean, I did, yeah. I’m just a little distracted, too. Sorry. I heard you I just have a lot on my mind. The case and all.” Good excuse, Gary thought.

“I was talking about Adam and how he was out there yelling about savings! My nigga was like, two dollars here! Two dollars there! Ha ha haaaa! I love that shit!”

Gary forced laughter. “Yeah...” he mumbled. I was literally right there when it happened! he fumed in his mind before resting the hand truck down and starting to unload it.

“So how are you doing today?”

Gary’s eyes widened wildly with madness as he kept them on the store merchandise, refusing to look back at the old man.

*

“Alright, here ya go.” Gary handed a bag with a few feeder goldfish in it to two very young girls, possibly half Gary’s age.

One of them took the bag and smirked, her eyes shooting over to her friend and then back to Gary. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Have a good day,” Gary smiled back.

The second girl seemed to be watching Gary intently, her eyes wide. “I love you sir.” The two girls caught a whole giggle fit.

Gary’s mouth dropped open in surprise; shocked. He then lowered his head, smiling with explosive levels of embarrassment as the girls ran out.

A short distance off, Sierra and Stephanie were watching Gary, struggling not to laugh, but failing. In the next instant, they were practically holding each other up, laughing out tears.

“That is the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen in my entire life!” Sierra gushed.

“You’re looking awfully red there, sir!” Stephanie joked, winking at him.

Gary’s face was blazing now. Why would that happen to me? He feigned anger and stormed off of the register, desperately trying to hide a clear, big smirk. “I’m going home now!!”

This only made the two girls laugh even harder.

“Aaaaawwwwww!! He’s getting embarraaaaaassed!!” Stephanie called.

“Perpetually!” Sierra chimed in.

*

“Okay just lift it a little bit higher,” Gary grunted.

“I’ve got it, just get the underside,” Stephanie insisted.

“Just shake it a bit!”

“It’s gonna fall!”

Stephanie and Gary were wrestling with a heavy box that was overfilled with products for the store. They struggled to find a way not to drop anything, their hands flying everywhere.

I can’t let go, but my wrists are really killing me right now, and my arms and body are sore from all the working out I’ve been doing at the Pokemon Center! I’ve been really pushing myself! But we’ll drop everything if I-

The next thing Gary knew - he was touching Stephanie’s left breast! Stephanie had moved one way with the box, and Gary, desperate to help her, ended up with his hand resting on the underside of the older girl’s breast! He froze up, his eyes wide, but as the two got the box in a good position, Gary’s hand finally moved from her body and they set the box down.

Stephanie didn’t seem freaked out, let alone giving any reaction at all. “Alright, let’s dump half in this basket now and get this over with.” She pushed several things into a shopping basket on the ground and then nodded at him with pleasure in her face and joy in her eyes, taking the basket and walking out of the back room.

Gary stayed still, watching the slender yet curvy girl leave, her hips swaying, her clothing fit to show off all she had, and then he held his shaking hand up. She must not be making it into a big deal, he told himself. She knows that was an accident. But I just touched an older woman’s boob! He inhaled a little harder than normal, as if he would smell any evidence that that had just happened, and then lowered his hand, smirking to himself. She really is a cutie, Gary acknowledged. Especially those eyes. But... His thoughts turned to Sierra. Once I’m out of here, I have to follow up with her. No more being a coward. I have to ask her to... But he couldn’t even finish the thought. But then, how would he ever be able to say it out loud to her face? Wondering this, he rubbed at his sore wrists, applying pressure to them on purpose to help ease the pain.

*

“There’s no price sticker on this. That means it’s free, right?” The customer burst out laughing.

Gary laughed as well, faking it, of course.

Sierra didn’t even bother, looking over at Gary with exhaustion.

Gary just shrugged at her and kept his smile.

While ringing up the next customer, Sierra told Gary, “You’re lucky you’re only here a week. You’re able to laugh.” She then smiled at him. “It gets worse the longer you stay here. Perpetually.”

While Sierra was ringing up customers, Gary was bagging the products beside her. He never felt so happy and carefree in his life, working next to such an embodiment of perfection. He kept grabbing peeks at her when he could. From her hair, to her eyes, to her lips, to her shape, Gary even relishing in her accent.

But there was something that was off, and Gary’s eyes went to them every so often.

A few lines of scars on each of Sierra’s arms.

*

“I don’t need a receipt. I’m not bringing it back. Ha!” the guy told Sierra and then walked off.

“Okaaaaaay have a nice daaaaay!!” Stephanie held open the door for the man, exaggerating her friendliness and making it clear she did not like the way the guy spoke to her co-worker.

The man looked at her weird, giving her a onceover, and then left, shaking his head and muttering something.

Sierra was already with her next customer, ringing her up as Gary bagged the stuff.

Gary’s heart was bouncing all over the place after the previous incident. It wasn’t that serious, but it was a little scary for him to witness.

“Wait, I don’t need a bag!” the lady insisted.

“Oh! Sorry!” Why didn’t you say that earlier? Gary kept to himself, taking a lot of stuff out.

Despite the amount of things she had bought, the lady managed to get it all in her arms and left with ease.

The next customer only had one small container of cat probiotics, and after being rung up, she waited, staring expectantly at the boy and girl.

“Oh, anything else, ma’am?” Sierra questioned.

“Yes, I need a bag! And who are you calling ma’am? I look old to you?”

“No! I didn’t mean that, Miss!” Sierra tried, and she sighed out. Regret came over her face.

The woman huffed right back at her. “What?”

Sierra lowered her head meekly. “I didn’t mean anything, m-” She went silent.

Oh, shoot, don’t tell me she almost- Gary realized, his eyes wide now.

“Oh, because I thought you did. I don’t need anything from this store if that’s the case.”

“We appreciate your business. I apologize for any confusion,” Sierra gave up.

The woman seemed to accept this and nodded, a sickeningly smug look on her face, and then she looked at Gary impatiently. “Well?”

Gary squinted at her, ready to snap. Who does she think she’s talking to??

Gary- another voice said in his head. You can’t.

No! I can’t let her get away with this, Gary fought. I know there’s customer service, but she can’t just talk to- Gary inhaled sharply and looked at Sierra with a start.

Staring at him, Sierra was holding his hand! In fact, she was squeezing it, her eyes pleading with him. No one could see what was going on, their hands hidden behind the register, but Sierra had Gary’s in a grasp!

He stared at her hand, but also noticed the scars along her arms, mostly by her wrists. Gary squinted but grabbed her hand back, and he looked up and nodded at her.

“I needs! To go! Now! What is up here with you two?!” the lady barked.

Gary inhaled and turned to the woman. “Sorry, ma-aaaaay I ask if you need anything else?” Gary quickly swerved, almost calling her “ma’am” by mistake.

“Obviously not! I’m trying to go!”

Gary nodded and got her item in a bag, handing it to her with a smile. “Thank you and please come again.”

“You take care now, ya hear Miss? Come again real soon to PokeLand Discount, for the best care for your Pokemon!” Stephanie insisted as hyperactive and falsely pleasant as she could as she held the door open for the woman.

The woman paid her no mind, her nose literally in the air, her eyes closed, and she left.

“Bitch,” Stephanie said after the door closed. “I can’t fucking stand bitches like her.”

“Steph, there’s still customers inside shopping,” Sierra whispered, smiling. She finally let go of Gary.

Gary just froze in the moment, not even wanting to look at her.

“I don’t give a fuck right now! Talking to my girl Sea like that! She is so lucky we at work, that’s my word, yo!”

Sea, Gary repeated in his head. He squinted down at the countertop. Sea? Why does that sound like... something to me? The sea? He shook his head slowly before looking up at Stephanie. She really does have nice skin, Gary noted. She must be Spanish. Such a smooth, caramel tone, and not a flaw to be seen. He looked away as Stephanie turned to him. But she’s too old. As young as she is, I’m way younger. She’d never... Plus, she’s a bit much.

Stephanie continued cursing up a storm, ranting about the woman, even as a customer came up to buy something.

Sierra is perfect for me. She even... Gary gripped his hand tightly, remembering how it felt to hold her’s. But- He breathed out. What about her wrists? Her arms? Why-?

A man was walking creepily for the exit. It was the Asian guy. He looked around, staring at the workers with abnormally wide, cautious eyes as he slowly made his way to the front door to leave. Stephanie held the door open for him, and the man nodded briefly at her, looking around one more time before leaving.

“That Chinese guy is so weird,” Stephanie said as the door closed.

“Does he always do that? Just enter and look around and leave?” Gary asked.

“Yep,” Sierra and Stephanie said at the same time.

*

“You mah nigga for real! Four Badges! You doin’ it, bro!”

“You sure you won’t compete in the Sinnoh League and surprise me again like in Kanto?” Gary laughed.

Ish let out hearty laughter. “Naaaah, aha ha ha! I can’t this time. Going to Kanto to join the League was like a vacation. Besides, Kanto’s League rules differ so much from other places. The school curriculum to earn the equivalent that matches the qualifying Badges is a lot stricter and longer here. And I just don’t have time to commit to that. I’ve got big things to do with my life to help the world.”

“Sudowoodo!” Sudowoodo held his branch arm to his forehead happily.

Mew gushed with delight, love in her eyes as she clung to the Pokemon.

They’re a cute couple, Gary thought of Ish and Mew. Though, the more you get to know Ish, I wonder how much she can stand of his... brutal honesty. Or perhaps it’s just his - um - his... unfortunate way of not saying precisely what he means...?

In particular, Gary couldn’t get over his comments about certain races. Did he really think that? There was no way. Ish would joke, laugh, and smile with all the customers, regardless of their skin color. And he didn’t speak badly about customers after they left, either. Was all his crazy talk just part of an act? Was he just being funny? Is that just his sick, crazy sense of humor?

There was the time Ish had said: “I saw a Farfetch’d with a huge stick. No homo.”

And that was in front of a customer, a black guy with blue highlights in his hair. The guy gave him an awkward look before leaving. It was a guy everyone, including Ish, was used to and got along with great. Everyone also knew he was gay.

When Tiny called him out on it after the customer left, Ish merely shrugged, showing a lack of concern about how his words could have been taken.

But he’s not really that bad, Gary knew. He loves Pokemon in ways I’ve never seen in my entire life! He puts his life on the line for them. I’ve never heard him speak badly about Pokem- Gary suddenly remembered when Ish made fun of his Clefairy, calling him gay after June corrected him on the gender of Clefairy. While Clefairy did seem mad at first, he was quick to hug Ish lovingly afterwards. It’s just his sense of humor, Gary decided. He says whatever he wants, perhaps trying to look cool or something. But his heart deep down is a lot different. Right?

“Man, another post for my girl Cynthia. RIP.” Ish was staring at his phone and shaking his head. “I still can’t believe it.” He turned to Mew. “Before you, that was my wife.” Ish started laughing.

Gary’s eyes should have popped right in front of everyone. His brain should have!

“You just made things worse, as you tend to do when you speak, Ish,” Stephanie threw in.

From beside Gary, Sierra added, “Perpetually.”

Mew laughed with him, still holding onto Sudowoodo. “Fuck you, you jerk.”

“You know I love-”

“WAIT A MINUTE!!!” Gary exploded.

Sierra and Stephanie were in shock at the outburst, Sierra being right next to Gary. Sierra had stuck pretty closely to him since their shift had ended, and Gary had loved it.

Mew had come by with some bottles of beer when Ish’s shift was over, and the five of them were in the back room, Sierra and Gary the only ones not drinking.

Lou had left a short time ago, eager to get home to be with his kid.

Everyone had been nice and relaxed until Gary’s outburst just now.

Gary’s wrists were aching as he made tight but trembling fists, but he ignored the pain, heaving hard as he eyed Ish. “What did you just say?”

Ish opened his mouth.

“About Prof. Cynthia,” Gary cut in, making sure he was understood.

“Haven’t you heard? She’d been missing for a while,” Ish explained. “Like, several weeks, bro.”

Gary nodded. “Yeah, I know about that. What happened?” Gary was trying to keep his cool, but he could feel himself ready to lose it. He could barely stop himself from approaching Ish.

“Gary, where have you been, nigga? She was found dead like, two weeks ago.”

Gary trembled in place, his body begging to fall, but he couldn’t. Doing so meant he would accept, believe, what Ish had just told him. He couldn’t even say a word at this point.

“They found her body mangled up,” Ish continued.

Mangled? Gary repeated in his head.

“There were early reports of how she was found that contradicts what the official reports are saying now. Supposedly, the government is trying to cover up the truth, but-” Ish paused. “I saw the original reports on the news that they’re now denying ever existed. I saw them myself.”

“What original reports, Ish? What’s being said? Talk!” Gary was going to lose it!

“Now they’re saying how that she was found dead while researching a newly discovered ruin, but due to the destruction of Mt. Coronet and all the displacement of Pokemon and the route changes, she got lost and never found her way back and ended up attacked by Pokemon and eaten. But that’s ridiculous. A powerful and experienced person like her? No way! And that’s not what the first reports were. The first reports showed censored versions of something far worse. Something that got leaked, uncensored, and you can only find now on the dark web.”

“What is it, Ish??” Gary walked up to him and stopped. “What did you see, Ish? Are you sure it was real?”

“In this day and age, it’s hard to say what’s a hundred percent real, but what I saw isn’t the official news report going around now. What I saw would make you throw up.”

Gary lunged at Ish.

“WHOA!” Ish dropped his bottle, the beer spilling on the floor, and held Gary by his shoulders.

Gary had already grabbed Ish by his shirt and shoved him into a wall. “WHAT DID YOU SEE ALREADY, ISH?!! IS SHE REALLY DEAD??!!”

“HEY HEY HEY!!”

“HOLD ON!!”

“GARY STOP!”

“NOOO!!”

“YOU GUYS!!”

“Keep it down keep it down! They’ll hear us out there!”

“SUDOWOODO!!”

Everyone was shouting and pleading, begging for Gary to take it easy.

Gary was glaring at Ish, ready for the worst. Even if it meant going back to jail and serving his sentence. “What happened to Prof. Cynthia? Really!”

Ish stared back with relative calm, holding Gary’s arms. “I can’t say what actually happened.”

“And why not??” Gary tightened his grip, ready to let go of his shirt and instead just choke Ish.

“Because I don’t know if what I saw was real. Because I’ve never seen something like that in my life. Something so disgusting, horrible, unimaginable.”

“What did you see, fucking Ish?!!” Gary could have flung the guy over his shoulder at that very moment.

“Cynthia looked like ground beef.” Ish swallowed hard, a sick look coming over his face. “She was found by a random Trainer in the woods, after he opened a Poke Ball he found. A Poke Ball no one recognizes. A new type of Poke Ball. One that they say... They say this type of Poke Ball doesn’t capture Pokemon. It catches humans.”

Gary didn’t know when he had let go of Ish. At some point, he just realized Ish was standing several feet away from him, Mew holding onto him and staring at Gary in fright.

And all Gary could think about.

All Gary could remember while repeating the words Ish had told him.

Over and over and over again.

Was June.