Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Kadabra

- Bellatrix, Gyarados (Shiny)

- Andromeda, Vaporeon

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Bulbasaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

- Cinder, Vulpix

Cerulean City XXXVII

"This is nice," he commented, getting an agreeing hum from Bellatrix. Absently, Pierce patted her red-scaled body with a smile. His eyes, however, remained scanning their surroundings, taking them in and enjoying them. There was a whole lot of sea ahead of him and there was the beach on the outside area of Cerulean behind him, probably not too far, considering he could hear the Sensational Sisters talking without them even needing to speak loudly. "Girl, if you would?" he asked, a placid smile on his face.

His gyarados growled her agreement before bringing her tail out of the water and then slapping it on the water. The action splashed water everywhere, but mainly on Pierce himself who closed his eyes and took a moment to enjoy the cool water on his skin. It was just another moment of calm and relaxation after the stress pre-challenge that he thoroughly enjoyed, just floating around with Bellatrix.

"Hmmm, to do nothing some more or to go back to shore…" he mused out loud, dropping backwards to rest on top of Bellatrix. The gyarados growled something that made his bones shake and pulled a chuckle out of him. "Yeah, I know. You can be pretty clingy, you know?" he said, not chastising the Water type at all. "Say, how about we swim together for a bit?"

The answer to that was obvious and became even more so when Bellatrix shrugged him off and into the water immediately afterwards.

With an underwater chuckle, Pierce started swimming. He couldn't see anything, since he closed his eyes, but he could feel the shifting caused by Bellatrix's huge body and he'd occasionally rub against her rough scales here and there as he swam. He wasn't too sure if any of those two things were caused on purpose by the gyarados, but if they were, he found it fun. Different, but fun.

At some point, he felt a smaller figure start swimming by and softer scales rubbing against his arms and legs. 'Andromeda,' he realized without having to think too much. Either that or some other pokemon, but he rather doubted any wild pokemon would approach Bellatrix and the Sisters' team members didn't really have any reason to go to him. Unless they wanted to get his attention for something, but it didn't seem to be the case.

Popping his head out of the water confirmed his guess when the vaporeon followed suit.

"Hey there," he greeted with a grin, even if his voice came out a little breathy, considering all the swimming and lack of oxygen from not coming out to breathe as much as he should have. "Got bored of being at the beach?" he asked, getting a yip that was almost overwhelmed by the excited roar that Bellatrix let out a moment later as she came out of the water beside them. "Did you have fun, Bella?" he asked, getting an agreeing sound that was somewhere between a roar and a growl that he interpreted as agreement. "That's neat, but I'm kind of tired. Sorry, girl," he said, giving her a weary smile when she whined.

With that said, he floated face up and started idly kicking and waving his arms to push himself towards the coast before she could make him feel bad enough to stay in the water.

"Don't mind me while I go to the beach, yeah?" he commented. He didn't hear a response, considering his ears were underwater, but he felt the water shifting to signal that both of his pokemon stayed swimming around nearby. He made sure to give affectionate pats and rubs when they moved by his hands, but otherwise he just enjoyed the rather relaxing feeling of… just floating.

With a placid smile on his face, he considered his options from there.

He'd been a little all over the place so far that day since they moved to the beach. He'd played some with the sand together with Cygnus. He'd chatted with the Sensational Sisters. He'd thrown the ring around with the team. He'd gone rock-searching with Orion. And now he was swimming around with the Bellatrix and Andromeda.

He was rushing from one thing to the other pretty quickly, but it was… sort of fun.

It was part of the relaxing day, it seemed, to just not commit to anything and drift from one activity to the other.

A push from Andromeda against his back made him stop floating and stand up. It seemed he'd already reached close enough to the beach to do that. Stopping for a moment, he gathered water in his hands and splashed it against his face, running his hands and fingers over and through his hair before before taking a deep breath in and then letting it out. 'This is nice,' he mused.

The water was a little cold, sure, but still more than enjoyable enough to spend time in it. However, not all his team could have fun there, so it was time to go back to the others, he decided. He wanted everyone to have a good time. Himself too, but he was feeling pretty good, really. Some relaxing in the water and some lying down for a nap under the shade later sounded great for him, nevermind that he actually had fun indulging his team members too. All in all, a good day would be had, of that he had no doubt.

"I won't be gone for long, ok, girl?" he said, smiling and patting Bellatrix to calm her down as she whined. "I'll come back right after, promise. Or you could take a nap. It's going to be a long day, after all," he commented, making the gyarados tilt her head. "Narcissa will probably want to get some battles going, right? Do you want to battle too?" he asked, and the giant sea serpent gave the matter some thorough thinking before nodding decisively. "Ok then, you'll need a nap to have your batteries full then, right?" he commented, getting a whine.

Andromeda huffed and yipped something that made Bellatrix drop her head.

It was as comical a sight as it sounded.

"We'll be watching you," Pierce said, getting an agreeing yip from his vaporeon and another whine from the gyarados as she sulked off. "Kids, right?" he asked, receiving another yip.

[}-o-{]

Pierce stood on top of one of the rocks on a… Well, rockier part of the beach. His improvised platform was some distance into the water, peeking out through the ups and downs of the waves. It wasn't the only one though, and neither was he the only one there. Narcissa had latched onto his shoulders while Andromeda and Cygnus claimed rocks of their own to take their place on top of. Orion, for his part, much more reluctant to get in the water or even that close to it, was a little further back in proper beach property.

As for the last member of his team…

"Blast," he called and Bellatrix used Brine, shooting a stream of water towards the gyarados that was her opponent. It dodged, predictably, before shooting right back. Something that Pierce's adorable sea noodle wasn't quite quick nor dexterous enough to dodge in time. She tried though, and that was what mattered.

She'd get better with time.

As it was, the spar against the wild gyarados they'd found close to the beach continued. Pierce wondered how abysmal their little battle looked to the spectating Sensational Sisters all the way on the beach, but oh well. It was what it was, really. Pierce and Andromeda were just getting started and they had years and years in the job. No need to compare himself to them.

"Strike," he commanded, being careful to find a good moment to make the call. It was difficult to do so without shouting, considering how loudly the water moved all around them, be it because of the waves crashing on the rocks or because of the disturbances caused by the pokemon. He could have just shouted, of course, but that was… He wasn't a fan of that if he could help it.

Besides, if he could command without shouting, there'd be a chance that the opposing trainer wouldn't hear him. Between that and the "codes" he used – occasionally, when the orders he gave were simple enough –, Pierce thought he could have a little edge over the opponent. Not that much, obviously, but any kind of advantage he could get for himself and his team, he'd take it. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all.

So, he continued the battle trying and succeeding – although not that much, admittedly – at keeping his voice even.

Bellatrix was getting better and better at fighting, he decided. She still got plenty frustrated when things didn't go her way and that carried some risk, but it'd reached a point where Pierce felt confident she could be in a regular battle and not be a potential problem. Several battles in quick succession might be a problem, he mused, but baby steps.

"Move," he said and move Bellatrix did. Not that she had any techniques for that, but she could swim around and dodge attacks, which was something Pierce didn't mind having her train. She might be a big girl and all, but that didn't mean he was eager to see her tanking hits. If she could dodge, she should.

As he kept an eye on her, occasionally changing his orders to Strike or Blast or back to Move, Pierce considered his shiny gyarados. Bellatrix didn't have the biggest move pool, of course, but they were probably going to start working on that soon-ish. He was more confident in her mental stability by then, bad as it sounded to think about it like that. He was more sure that she wouldn't snap just because she got frustrated, was what he meant by that.

"I think that's enough," he called eventually, drawing a whine from a weary Bellatrix and an agreeing bark-growl from the other gyarados. "Thanks for the help, buddy," he added with a grin, pulling off his backpack and taking out a few pokeblocks he had at the ready. Throwing one to each gyarados, he grinned widely as both of them enjoyed their treats. "See you around, yeah?" he told the wild pokemon after giving it a bunch more pokeblocks to properly pay him for his services.

Watching him go, Bellatrix got closer and batted her eyes at him.

He was pretty sure Andromeda had taught her that.

It was super effective.

"Of course, girl," he said, folding like a cheap suit and giving her a poffin. "I spoil you too much, honestly," he commented with a chuckle as he patted the side of her head. Of course, she denied it, but she was a little bit biased on the matter.

"You don't say," Cygnus said, unimpressed, but Pierce ignored him.

"We have a bit of time before we have to go back to the Gym. What say we get some training done, yeah?" he asked out loud instead, looking at Bellatrix in particular. "I think it's time to get started on a new move, eh?" To that, he got a very enthusiastic roar from the gyarados. "That's what I like to hear. Andromeda and Cygnus will be helping you out with that. I think you can start with Ice Fang, how does that sound?" he commented then.

He likened the glint in her eyes to Narcissa hearing that there'd be a nice fight for her next.

Yeah, she'd like that, he was sure.

More importantly, it'd also be a move that shouldn't make her already volatile nature worse. Because the easiest move for her to learn would be Twister, he was sure. However, this ease was counteracted a lot by the fact that the Dragon energy usage would make her temper flare up like crazy. There was a reason why people thought gyarados were as much pseudo-dragons as charizard were, after all.

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that," he commented, grinning widely as the sea serpent drew closer and rubbed her head against him. "You can't go two seconds without being adorable, can you?"

She purred something against him.

"Yeah, you really can't."

[}-o-{]

"And that's what I think about the sponsorships and the terms they are offering," the woman sitting across from him said, adjusting her posture to sit straight and look directly at him. She looked very professional, if anyone asked Pierce, something that had been evident through her presentation, her behavior and even her outfit.

Leaning back on his seat at the conference room of sorts that the Sisters had lent him, Pierce considered Grace.

First of all, the Sisters had told him that she was the granddaughter of the head of their management team and that she'd been set to join said team once she graduated in a few months if all went well. That is, before he appeared and offered her a known safe element to work with and gain experience without being in the shadow and under the thumb of her grandmother. He could understand all that and, nepotism aside, Grace seemed to be skilled enough, at least to his uneducated perception.

He was particularly appreciative of the fact that she didn't mind dumbing things down for him to understand. Several things would have flown over his head if it hadn't been for her. The Sisters and her grandmother were there too, so Pierce thought someone might have stepped in if she said something wrong, which was also reassuring.

Second of all, she took things seriously. From her very professional outfit, with a white and light gray combination of colors for her business clothes, to her firm but not stiff posture and her immaculate platinum blond hair neatly tied back and the light touch of makeup on her face. Her disposition spoke of seriousness and the way she made her presentation of his situation, the sponsorships and other things that he'd barely managed to understand even with thorough explanations, she seemed to have a very good view of things. She also had adapted very well to his view on business, which basically set aside profits for his own comfort, when it came to both sponsorships and their terms.

Third of all, and the most important part where Pierce was concerned, was that Grace's grandmother had offered – demanded, really, but semantics – to check on the woman's work. Why? "No granddaughter of mine will do a poor job, not on my watch," were her words on the matter. They wouldn't be checking everything, but they'd be… doing a revision of more important decisions and her overall work every so often, to hear them talk about it.

Pierce counted himself lucky this was the case, although it was probably more that the Sisters had looked through their contacts and found someone that fit what he was looking for really well. Besides, it wasn't like he was the only one that had won the metaphorical lottery. As stated, Grace got to work for someone that wasn't a stranger and thus was relatively safe. Grace's grandmother got to send her to a place where she could learn the ropes without the pressure of working in a bigger team for more important people. And the sisters would get a sweet, sweet contact outside their team that was more involved with the business side of things than he was.

Literally everyone won.

Once more, he'd consider it luck, but he was more inclined to think that the Sisters – and maybe Grace's grandmother – had just played their cards well and to the benefit of all of them.

"You don't have to decide right now, of course," Grace continued, even though his pause hadn't been that long. Still, he didn't tell her anything as she took out a folder from her messenger bag. "I've got all the information I just shared with you here. You can take it with you and read through it with more time to analyze it. Also, here's my card," she continued, passing him the aforementioned piece with her contact information and all.

Admittedly, she was maybe a touch too professional.

It made him a little uncomfortable.

Previously, the most serious thing he'd done in his life had been… Taking exams, probably.

"I'll give you a call soon, one way or another, ok?" he told her, keeping his tone lighthearted and a smile on his face. The last thing he wanted was to make her nervous, which was one of the reasons he'd take as little time as possible while also being thorough. Maybe he was overestimating his own importance, but he thought she might be nervous while waiting for his decision.

"I'll be waiting then," Grace replied with a wide smile before taking her leave with her grandmother following after her own goodbye.

"She's so nervous," Lily – the Sensational Sister. 'I hadn't missed having to differentiate.' – commented with a giggle. "She pulled it off well though, didn't she? Did you notice, Pierce?"

"I had not, in fact, noticed," he commented, regarding the sisters and trying to get a read on them.

"I don't think I'd have noticed either if I hadn't seen her worrying over everything before the meeting," Violet pointed out with a smile of her own. "Poor nervous Grace aside, what did you think? I know she's young, but Beth has been training her since she started highschool… probably sooner, really. Her grades are great and there's no way she doesn't pass her last few exams. Actually, let me ask them to send-"

"It's not necessary. If you say she's good, that's good enough for me," Pierce told her, waving off the offer before she could finish it. He'd never thought that grades were all that important past passing anyway. More often than not, they just detailed the person's capability to memorize shit. God knew he'd passed a lot of tests and then immediately forgotten most of what he'd crammed into his brain. "Well, I guess now I have to go over this," he commented, looking at the folder Grace had given him.

"Do you want help with that?" Daisy asked, moving to sit on his lap.

"I think that's our cue," Violet commented. "Unless you wanna join them, Lily, which is fine. No judg-"

"Oh, will you shut up," the pink-haired sister huffed before stomping her way out with the blue-haired sister following, giggling all the while.

"Before we get to it though," Daisy said, making him turn towards her to see a rather specific smile.

One that vanished rather quickly when her lips found his.

[}-o-{]

Contrary to what Lily would say, Daisy and him did, in fact, check over the folder provided by Grace.

They did, admittedly, get a little distracted before and during the process too, but still.

However, there was only so much Pierce's brain could take of that before it demanded a break. His break was, then, spent by the pools of the Cerulean Gym, which felt a little nostalgic, even though it hadn't been that long since he'd visited… or even left in the first place. However, he'd spent plenty of days there and the place had certainly left an impression on him, with all that had happened during that time.

"You're doing better," he commented, watching Misty petting a gyarados without a single hint of nerves or fear. She was already doing better than normal people would, he reckoned, which was kind of impressive. She wasn't a Water type specialist for nothing, he supposed, despite the hiccup of her gyarados-phobia. She'd gotten over it in record time – or so he imagined – and was well on her way to being fine. "See, told you that you had it in you."

"Thank you," Misty said, and he wondered if it was for the compliment or for the help. If he had to guess, it was probably a bit of both. "I still have plenty to do though. I can't battle with them and being near one battling makes me nervous," she admitted, but there wasn't this hopeless dejection that she'd carried before. Instead, she was just acknowledging her problem and that it'd take some more time. That in itself was huge progress, as far as Pierce was concerned.

"Well, how about an in-between spot to get started?" he commented, drawing a curious look from Misty. "Hey buddy," Pierce greeted, turning towards the gyarados she'd been with, who peered down at him curiously. "How'd you like a little competition?" he asked, a somewhat smug smile forming on his face when the Water type was immediately on board with the idea, even without any details. "That's what I thought. I'm gonna let out my gyarados team member, alright? Just to let you know," he communicated, because just because the sea serpent seemed fairly calm didn't mean he could just tempt fate.

Getting a positive answer, he released Bellatrix in the water.

"Hey girl, had a good nap?" he asked, getting a content growl in response. "Glad to hear that," he replied, patting her crest affectionately. That's when she noticed the nearby gyarados and looked at him curiously. "This big guy will be our competition. We're going to put on a show, yeah?" he explained simply, grinning widely as Bellatrix communicated that yes, she was definitely happy to help him.

She was a sweetheart like that.

"Big guy," Pierce continued talking, ignoring Misty's slightly nervous look in favor of the sea serpent. "Things are simple. Watch Bella and I do our thing, then you'll have to do something similar with Misty. We've been doing this for a while now, so no need to feel bad if you can't match us," he explained, hiding how pleased he was with the narrowing of the Water type's eyes.

He'd definitely sparked that competitive spirit in him.

Good.

"Bella, you ready?"

The roar that followed told him that yes, she was ready.

So, taking a deep breath in and with a grin on his face, Pierce started moving. His hands were drawn up, down, to the sides, in sharp or gentle motions that Bellatrix did her best to interpret and follow. It'd been a while since they'd done that, but they weren't too rusty, it seemed. 'Should find moments to do this some more,' he thought, watching Bellatrix closely and noticing that she seemed to be having fun too.

Yes, they were definitely going to continue. It might require him to find training grounds with bigger water features – at least, if they weren't conveniently next to big enough bodies of water – and probably give up some training time, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make. Bellatrix didn't seem to be as battle hungry as Narcissa and the rest, so it would probably be fine, right? 'Wonder if I can turn this into training somehow…'

Either way, that was something for future Pierce to think over.

At that moment, he was just having fun with his gyarados and helping Misty on her way to being able to work with the sea serpents herself. She said she was having trouble in battle settings, which was reasonable. That's when gyarados were at their most scary. However, just waiting for it to get better while remaining in calm settings would take a while, at best.

However, the water "dance" that he'd worked out with gyarados was something that was fairly tame but still more "scary" than just a gyarados swimming or floating around. That was what Pierce was banking on, a middle ground. He imagined that'd help give her the little push that she'd need, speed things up just the smallest bit.

Even if it didn't work out as intended, at least it'd be something else for Misty to work on. Furthermore, it'd give her something to do other than what she'd been doing so far. It'd prevent her from getting frustrated with herself. It could probably draw her closer to her sisters too, considering the more showy nature of the "training exercise", and that was also a plus.

"What do you think, Misty? Big guy?" he asked once he decided they'd done enough. He turned to look at the duo, who had been watching apprehensively and intently, respectively. "Do you think you can do a better job than us?" he challenged and he could almost see the fire in the gyarados' eyes.

"Pierce, I don't think Gyarados will want to do that," Misty started, only to get cut off by a growl from the sea serpent.

"I don't know, Misty. He seems willing enough to me," he commented, mostly so that he'd snap her out of her little scare. Gyarados had been a little too intense then and there. Thankfully, he could defuse the situation well enough. "Come on, let me show you how to go about this," he added, moving closer and setting out to teach her the ropes.

Apparently, something that he did there pleased the Sisters plenty, especially Daisy.

At least, he thought that was why the woman had kissed him like she did as soon as he walked back to them.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

The return of the eternal, the immortal, the inevitab- I mean, we are back to Cerulean, yeah. That's what I was saying. Nothing else.

A chill chapter, as is mostly the usual for this series, but I'm not complaining. They are all fun to write for me, so that's a plus. There's a little seriousness sprinkled there, mostly with the Grace part, which… I don't know, ok? Characters doing character things, as usual.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

As always, if you can't wait until next week for next chapter, or if you just feel like supporting my writing, there's up to three new chapters in my Pa tre on:

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What do you think the first sponsorship Pierce will take will be?... If he even takes one. I don't wanna assume anymore. I know how that goes.

See you.