Rivers Kaguya 1 - All About the Green

  "Just an inch off the top." He said, looking at himself in the mirror.

  The barber nodded and got to work. Getting a haircut was such a bother, but he had to look sharp for Hazel. Besides, Raihan personally recommended this barber. He was even able to get a 'family and friends' discount. He was neither, but the more money he could save, the better. He was constantly checking the clock above him to make sure he wouldn't be late for his train. Although, even if he was, what was he going to do? Get up and leave with a botched haircut?

  "This gonna take long?" He asked, five minutes in.

  "Patience kid." The barber said, "It's a virtue."

  Whatever that means. It wasn't like Motostoke was worth the wait anyway; Hammerlocke was a better city in every way. Better food, better architecture, better parties, and way better people. Except for Hazel, she was still his favorite. Motostoke had two things going for it: her and his father. He wouldn't be there when he arrived, though; something about last-minute errands for the league before trainers started arriving. He would've been there already if Raihan hadn't insisted on keeping him for another day, for reasons he had yet to find out. Such a shame; he was looking forward to getting his first gym badge before every other trainer. Of course that meant he'd have to beat his father, but that should be no trouble. While every other trainer gets their experience from the wild area, he had already gotten plenty from Raihan. Good thing too; he couldn't think of anything worse than spending a week hiking through forests and hills and whatnot. He'd beat his father at Motostoke Stadium and head straight for Tuffield. Unfortunately, that meant having to leave Hazel behind, but she wasn't cut out for the trainer lifestyle anyway. Maybe it was a good thing Harry was the way he was. Rivers loved her, but Arceus, a week of her whining would drive him crazy.

  The barber put the razor down and used a blow dryer to blow away any loose hairs left, but did he have to do it right in his face? He sputtered and took the sheet off himself. He stood up.

  "How much?"

  "500 Poké."

  Arceus, was this the family and friends discount? He didn't want to know what the normal price was. He dug through his wallet and paid the man. The man counted the money and nodded at him. What? Did he think he wasn't going to pay him? He didn't return the nod and walked out of the shop. He was instantly hit by the cold winds of winter. He shivered. One of the only things Motostoke had against Hammerlocke was the weather. It wasn't great, not even good, but it was better than Hammerlocke. The farther you went north, the colder and rainier it got. Hulbury seemed to be an exception to this rule, though. His father always went on about how Galar wasn't always like this and that they used to get actual summers. Even if he was somewhat skeptical of that statement, he had to admit it had been gloomier than usual lately. Not a single sunny sky in the last week.

  His phone went off in his pocket, a message from Raihan.

  How close are you to the battle cafe

  Close enough. He contemplated lying before realizing there was absolutely no reason to do so.

  I can be there in 10

  He watched Raihan's text bubble move for a few seconds, then stop, then start again.

  Great, be there

  The battle café in Hammerlocke wasn't like the one in Motostoke. While Motostoke's battle café was just a normal café during the off-season, Hammerlocke's was more of a bar attempting to recreate the vibe of those old-timey Unovan saloons. The ones where the patrons pulled up on horses and played poker until someone got angry, drunk, or both and started a bar fight. He thought it was just a gimmick until Raihan told him otherwise. Turns out, the owner was the son of someone who actually lived through those times and experienced them firsthand. By his estimates, that put him at about a hundred years or older. Apparently, all Battle Cafes used to look like the one in Hammerlocke. That was until big bad Battle Cafe Corporate got their hands all over it and changed them to be more consumer friendly, and the owner was only able to keep the original. Though, it was only a matter of time before he croaked, and Big Battle Cafe changed that one too.

  He wasn't entirely sure he was even allowed in there, but he was sure Raihan could get him in. He walked to the café shivering with his hands stuffed in his jacket. He'd need to buy a new jacket when he got to Motostoke; this one wasn't cutting it.

  It was raining by the time he made it to the Battle Cafe. He could see Raihan talking loudly on the phone inside. Arceus, it looked so warm. He eagerly took a step in when—

  "Where do you think you're going kid?"

  They have a bouncer? He guessed he shouldn't be surprised; he had anticipated this.

  "I'm with Raihan." He said.

  The bouncer laughed, "You? You're with Raihan?"

  He gritted his teeth and thought, a few months from now, no one would question who he was friends with.

  "Yeah, you don't believe me? Go ahead. Go ask him." He said.

  The bouncer furrowed his eyebrows and called out to Raihan hesitantly. It took a few tries for him to actually notice.

  The gym leader swung his head towards the door and yelled something he couldn't quite make out before going back to talking on his phone.

  The bouncer turned back to him with an annoyed expression on his face; it was very satisfying.

  "Just go," he said.

  "Thank you kindly." He taunted.

  He wanted to turn back and look at his reaction, but he decided against it. He embraced the warmth of the café with open arms as he walked towards Raihan. There was a surprising amount of people here for 12 PM on a Tuesday. There was a pianist playing a familiar tune with a tip jar to his side. It was a pleasant enough tune, and he was feeling generous. But not yet; he still had to talk with Raihan.

  The gym leader put his Rotom phone down for a moment. "One second kid—"

  He put the phone back up to his ear, "Lulu—" The woman on the other side cut him off; he couldn't tell what she was saying, but he could tell she was angry, "Lulu—Lulu Listen to me! It's not mine. We were careful—what? Yes we were!"

  It was like watching a soap opera.

  "Oh yeah, I did say that. Okay, well, what about that guy you told me about? John or Jacob or something stupid like that—yeah, Jeremy! It could be his, right?"

  He couldn't even hear her, and he could tell that was absolutely the wrong thing to say.

  "What? No, Lulu, c'mon that's not what I meant. Look, just come down to my place today and we can talk about it more—wait, no don't—"

  She hung up. He slowly put down the phone.

  "What was that?" He sat down next to him.

  "Huh? Oh, it was nothing. Not the first time some bitch has tried to dupe me into giving them money." He let go of the Rotom Phone and let it fly into his back pocket. "Anyway! Last day in Hammerlocke kid! How you feeling?"

  "Good, better than good actually. My dad won't stand a chance against all the stuff I learned here." He said.

  Raihan put an arm around him. "See? What'd I tell you? I've got so much more to teach than stupid Nessa. So, how about a drink?"

  "Oh, I don't think I can—"

  "Oh sure you can—hey!" He called to the bartender, "Give us the strongest shit you got."

  Well, there was no getting out of this. Whenever Raihan had his mind set on something, it was going to happen. Although he desperately wanted to refuse, the last thing he needed was to show up to Motostoke drunk. Not for his father, but for Hazel.

  Raihan turned back to him, "So, any plans for your big return?"

  "Only one." He said, "You remember the girl I told you about. Haz—"

  "Yeah, yeah, Hazel, I remember her." He cut him off, "Yeah, she's cute, but you can do so much better man. Just wait till you get to Wyndon man. The girls there are just—wooh, they are gonna change your life." He emphasized each word, "They sure as hell changed mine."

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The bartender arrived with a pitcher of what looked like sparkling water, but he was sure it wasn't.

  "Thanks man, just add it to the tab." How much had he drunk before he got here? "Anyway, you hear me man?"

  Rivers shook his head. "I'm hearing you. But I'm telling you, no one's better than her. She's perfect."

  Raihan rolled his eyes and poured him a drink. "If you say so. So, what were you going to say about her?"

  He gave the drink a whiff; it smelled almost sweet. "Well, I'm planning on asking her out. Got any advice?"

  Raihan downed a shot glass full of whatever was in that cup and looked at him. "C'mon kid, you know that's not how I roll."

  He figured, "I figured, thanks anyway."

  He contemplated taking a shot of this mystery alcohol and wondered if Raihan would notice his hesitance. "Let me tell you something kid. Most girls have never met a real man in their life. You gotta waltz in there like the man you are, a man who takes what he wants. Trust me, it works wonders for me."

  Yes, he was sure it was that and not his immense wealth and power. He wouldn't need any help with that first part; he was the guy that takes what he wants. Although that last part sounded unethical, actually that's putting it lightly. Whether he meant it to be or not, he couldn't be sure, but knowing Raihan, he probably meant it in the most vile way possible.

  "You gonna drink that?" Raihan pointed at the drink in his hands.

  "Well, what is it?" He asked.

  "Vodka." He said, "Trust me, you're gonna hate it."

  At least he was honest. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, counted down from three in his head, and downed the drink in one go. His body told him to spit it out the instant it made contact with his tongue, but his head was telling him to grow a pair.

  He coughed as Raihan gave him a pat on the back, "Way to grow a pair kid! No more for you though." He pushed the pitcher aside violently. "Probably shouldn't be drinking that stuff. Plus, you're gonna wanna be sober for what I'm about to show you."

  Thank God, he thought. One more shot of that and he might have puked all over the counter.

  Raihan stood up and placed a ridiculous amount of money under the pitcher and told the bartender, "Keep the change."

  Interesting way of telling someone you're giving them a tip.

  "Come on kid, you're gonna love this."

  He stood up with a mild headache; fuck vodka. He dug through his wallet as he approached the pianist. Just as he reached to place the money in his jar, Raihan grabbed his arm and said,

  "What are you doing?"

  "Tipping?"

  He shook his head, "No no no kid, don't you remember what I taught you? If you wanna be somebody, it's all about the green."

  He pushed his arm away from the jar. "You just tipped that guy like 200 Poke!"

  "Yeah, but I'm rich. When you're at my level, you can afford to splurge a little bit. Don't you want that girl to like you?"

  More than anything ever. Although he definitely could afford to 'splurge a little bit,' this is the man people compare to Leon. If his advice isn't sound, whose is?

  "Sorry." He whispered to the pianist.

  "That's more like it. Now let's get out of here."

  ---

  Hammerlocke Stadium was as lavish as they came. Aside from Wyndon Stadium, it was the most impressive one he'd ever had the pleasure to be in. Raihan must have spent a fortune to get it looking how it did. The spire at the very top was even visible all the way from Motostoke's outskirts. Though he'd never seen anyone actually go up there in his entire time here, even though there was a clear elevator that led to the top.

  Not many first-year trainers had the guts to face Raihan as their first gym battle. He was known as the toughest gym leader to overcome for a reason. So, not many people were out and about the stadium. Only a receptionist at the front desk and a few gym trainers walking around. He had yet to see Raihan's office, and he doubted he would. As big as his circle was, no one really knew the intricacies of Raihan Gulia's mind. Except for maybe Leon and whatever family he still had.

  He led them to the very back of the gym, past the stadium, training rooms, and offices, to a room that was clearly still new. There was even yellow caution tape over the door.

  "Uh, can we go in there?" He asked.

  "We can go anywhere we want, I own the damn place."

  Not technically true; the league owned all of the gyms.

  "Why's the tape there?" Raihan ripped the yellow tape off and opened the door.

  "I dunno, the place has been done for months now; I've never actually been though." He said.

  The change in atmosphere hit him like a ton of bricks. The all-too-familiar sound of buzzing fluorescent lights entered his ears.

  It was a massive pool large enough to house a Dondozo, or maybe even a small Wailord. Arceus, he would have killed to have one of these back home. The blue fluorescent lights were the cherry on top; this place was amazing. Clauncher would love to swim in there. It wasn't like a public pool with a giant lifeguard chair and lane dividers. Instead, it looked to be much deeper than any recreational pool he'd ever seen. It was clearly designed to house something, but what?

  "What is this?" he asked.

  Raihan moved toward the pool. "The breeders next to Turfield hatched a new Horsea, and the league wants me to train it up and use it because people were complaining I don't have enough variety and only use the same Pokémon over and over again and blah blah blah. And it turns out the little guy is picky, so no keeping him in his ball all the time." He explained, "They're also sending me some sushi-looking thing and a few Dratini, as if I don't have enough of those." He took a better look at the pool. "They told me it was going to have underwater stuff like Coral... I guess it isn't finished."

  Rivers stepped closer. "You should have showed me this before; Clauncher would have loved it."

  "I'm sure he would've, but they told me that no Pokémon were allowed in there before they were done." He said, "Though, I'm about to break that rule, so feel free to release him, I guess."

  "What do you mean?"

  Raihan grinned and unclipped a Pokéball from his belt. He handed it to him.

  "For you," he said.

  He was taken aback. "For me?"

  "Yes for you, kid. Are you taking it or not?"

  He grabbed the ball from his hand before he could revoke the offer. "Why?"

  "Well, you've been such a good student..." He trailed off, "Figured you'd earned a little something."

  "I don't know what to say." He said.

  "Nothing, just go ahead and release him. Be careful though; he's a little... mean."

  Mean? That couldn't be good. Just like the vodka,

  Close your eyes.

  Take a deep breath.

  3

  2

  1

  He clicked the small button in the middle of the ball and opened his eyes. The flashing light wasn't red like it normally was; it was a deep, dark blue that he found somewhat scary.

  He had never seen such a Pokémon. The small purple dolphin surveyed Rivers with eyes much too terrifying for a Pokémon that looked like it wouldn't hurt a fly.

  "Um, hi—"

  The dolphin spurted him with a quick blast of water and retreated underwater.

  He recoiled and wiped the water off his face, "What the fuck?"

  "Yeah, they told me he's a bit of a troublemaker." Raihan said.

  "What even is it? I've never seen anything like it."

  Raihan thought for a moment, "I think it was Finizen, native to Paldea. I don't know how they even got it all the way over here."

  Well, that probably explains the aggressiveness. Getting brought from Paldea to Galar must have been one hell of a shock. The two regions couldn't be further apart. Not geographically speaking, but culturally and temperature-wise? They were the two most different regions. He wondered who 'they' is in the context Raihan was using it. Probably some breeders.

  He would need to find some way to communicate with the dolphin. Until then, it was the ball for him.

  ---

  Finizen weren't normally purple; they were supposed to be blue. He wondered, what made this one so special? He also noticed another strange thing. The fin on a normal Finizen was, well, just a normal fin. But his had a razor-sharp horn instead. Not to mention his teeth; he could probably bite right through someone's arm with those things. It made him shudder just thinking about it. He tried talking to the creature with his Clauncher present, but he wanted none of it. He would need to come around eventually if he wanted to be part of the team, and the first step to that was learning how to keep himself afloat without needing a body of water using hydrokinesis. Of course, he refused. He even tried attacking Clauncher.

  He kept him in his ball after that.

  His body filled with discomfort as soon as he stepped off the train to Motostoke. The station never smelled good, but today it seemed especially awful. Maybe he just needed to get used to it again.

  There were a few beggars around the station, sleeping on public benches or in some makeshift hut across from the platform. He contemplated placing a few Poké in their jars, but then he remembered Raihan's words.

  If you wanna be somebody, it's all about the green

  Where did he get that anyway? There's no way he came up with that on his own.

  He heaved a sigh of relief as he exited the train station and entered the cold, grey streets of Motostoke. The first thing he always looked at was his father's gym. It wasn't as awe-inspiring as Hammerlocke Stadium, but the giant clock tower above the stadium was mighty impressive. It chimed every hour, with a sound so grand it often sends chills down tourists spines. Thought for the residents, it was merely a way of keeping yourself on track.

  He was curious what it would be like to be at the very top, standing on the belfry just inches away from the bell and the clock hands that covered it. Could it even be done? Probably, maintenance had to be done somehow.

  The bell chimed as the clock struck five. He had originally planned to see Hazel, but some things had to take priority. He would have to postpone until Harry's party next week.

  If he was going to do this right, he needed a Dynamax band. It would cost him a pretty penny, but it wasn't anything his next paycheck from Evolvex couldn't fix. It used to be called Macros Cosmos Tech until the company changed the names of all its subsidiaries to be more consumer-friendly. He was starting to notice a trend.

  He fought like hell to get a sponsorship from the chairman himself. And he thought he had it too, until Rose changed his mind at the last minute and chose that white-haired idiot. He couldn't even remember his name.

  So, he settled for Evolvex. They were mostly known for selling Dynamax bands, but they also manufactured most of the items used in the conference at the end of the year. He did think it was a little silly that the company in charge of distributing the bands couldn't just give their sponsor one, and he did question this. They said the best they could do was give him a discount. And yes, they only distributed them. Only a few people actually knew how to make the bands, which is probably why so few trainers had them. Of course, it would be unfair for the gym challenge to require a band on top of all the expenses of being a trainer, so gym leaders couldn't Dynamax unless their opponents could. But most trainers who made it through all eight gyms had one. Making a name for yourself without one was practically impossible, which was why he needed one. He just had to hope they still had some in stock. They only sell a few each year, and he was already late to the party.

  He entered the Macros Cosmos Cargo, MC Cargo for short, sitting next to the boutique and flipped his hoodie down. It was certainly a sight for sore eyes after walking around the cold streets. He had to walk past the aisles and aisles of merchandise and general trainer supplies to actually get to the Dynamax Bands.

  He made it there just in time. Only one Dynamax band sat behind a locked glass case. He called out for one of the employees.

  "Yes?"

  He pulled out his trainer ID. "I should be able to get a discounted band with this."

  The employee muttered something under his breath and took his card. He input the information on the ID into some sort of system on the computer and handed it back to him.

  He unlocked the case and handed him the band.

  He input something into the computer, "Your total is 5,000 Poké."

  5,000? Really? That's nothing. How much was this discount? He wanted to ask. But he knew better than to question a good thing. He paid the employee. He unlocked the glass casing and handed him the band.

  It felt heavy; it felt good. Maybe Raihan was onto something.

  It's all about the green.