Chapter 2 - Nobody Said It'd Be Easy

There were a few seconds of silence as Marion looked at the info sent and then seemed to look off screen. "Well that is interesting... I have a friend in Petalite City who has been studying strange energy readings the last few months. One of them was about where you are now, two months ago. If you're ever passing through, you should check out the Pokémon lab, and see what Professor Pine's team has been working on."

With a chuckle, Marion replies "Will do. You stay safe, ok?"
Once the call is over Adri hands back the Houndoomite and the pair are free to return to the center.
The next morning, Adri wakes before Zach or Danny, and Conner has already gone out.

Both Pokémon show up with Burn Heals... a little late. Or maybe they wewre just looking after their trainer.
While she had been training, Zach woke up, and he entered the lobby just as Conner was getting his Pokémon back from Joy.

Zach rolls out of bed with a yawn, and gets to training. He lets out his two frontliners, Frisk and Nat, and lets Luca and Liz go explore.




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As everyone reassembles after training, Danny comes downstairs. He's fully dressed, ready to go, and seems to have something on his mind. He hasn't met any of your eyes and seems to keep looking betwen the door and the floor.

Zach pondered on it for a moment, and returned his pokemon, pocketing their items. Sometimes people lose things in the oddest places... He just hoped they weren't stealing. He was done training, and made his way to the lobby to wait for everyone else after a quick shower.

Zach looks to Danny, a bit worried. This was not like the rambunctious boy he knew and had come to see as a friend. He cleared his throat, speaking up. "Danny, you're acting a bit peculiar. Is everything alright?"

Adri was caught completely off-guard by the news and did not have time to put up her usual strong facade. Her face went from surprise, to anger at Danny for leaving the group to go with a person he had met a day befoire when she had been friends with him for years and then to guilt when she realized that if she hadn't called for the girl to be imprisioned for trying to rob Danny, the entire series of events wouldn't have happened and Danny wouldn't be considering leaving the group.

"What? But... but the league challenge is designed for teams of four! and we're your friends! Dan, you can't... you can't just up and leave like this!" she said, still trying to process the information. The guilt was still there, but it had mostly been replaced by sadness. Here she was, not a week since leaving home with her best friends and one of them was already considering leaving. WAs the world outside of her hometown like this? would she lose all her bonds and friendships in the pursuit of her dream?

She didn't think she'd be able to take that.

Blinking back the tears that threatened to spill out she grabbed onto Danny and gave him a fierce hug before standing back and sendinga closed-eye smile his way.

"If this is what you want, Danny... Promise me you'll write, ok?" she said as her facade finally slid into place.

She wouldn't break down. She couldn't.

Conner waves do Danny as he leaves, "Try not to be to smooth there, eh killer?" he says, trying to lighten the mood. On the outside Conner was composed, but on the inside he was torn up. He was gonna miss that crazy guy, but he knew he'd come back. Until that day he'd just have to buck up and keep going.

Not too long after, once they had collected themselves and their things, the trio had made it back to the opening of Tauros Valley. To their left was the woods where all manner of recent events had happened, straight on was the dirt path known as Route 5. Of in the distance to the right and just a bit ahead were the tips of the buildings of Petalite City. And between those buildings and the trainers was a vast bumpy fields. There were large rocks and bushes dotting the landscape. It mostly sloped downward toward the city, but there was enough blocking the view that going that way would certainly be an adventure.