Armed with a whole lot of advice regarding the eventual hatching and later care for a Riolu, I left Professor Carolina’s house late in the evening. The Professor had given me a quite deep look when she had seen me carrying the strange apparatus holding the egg and keeping it safe and in the right conditions. For now, I would have to keep it with me as much as possible until it hatched, the exposure to me and my Pokémon helping the process along. Just from that, it would become attuned to me, allowing me to easily train it later, unlike a Pokémon that was bred for someone else and would only get to know them later in life, which apparently was a lot more challenging for the breeder. To nurse a healthy Pokémon without having it form an emotional connection to you, I couldn’t even imagine how that would work.

It was amusing, as I was walking down the street, I was quickly beginning to feel nervous and started to worry about the egg. Stepping off the street for a moment, I opened my backpack, checking that the incubator was still as I had left it, before continuing on my way. A feeling of responsibility, quite similar to the responsibility I felt for my other Pokémon, only stronger by orders of magnitude, washed over me, the knowledge that I was completely responsible for the life and wellbeing of the still-unhatched Riolu. Of the trust Cynthia had placed in me.

Maybe being a Pokémon trainer had quite a bit in common with being a parent. Not that most parents sent their children out to fight other children but in that both a parent and trainer had a responsibility for their charges, a duty to care for them and reach their full potential.

With that thought in mind, and a grin on my face, I called out my little Vio, simply to spend a bit of time with my ‘daughter’.

“Hey, little one,” I grinned, assuring her that nothing bad was going on. “You’re going to get a little brother or sister,” I added, noticing her eyes focusing on the backpack.

She must have understood me, as she didn’t try to hide behind my leg as she usually did but embraced my leg, rubbing her head against my thigh, the very image of a child fearing to be abandoned. Or maybe I was projecting, but that was what it looked and felt like to me. Moving a little to the side, Vio still clinging to my leg, I knelt down, moving carefully so I wouldn’t accidentally push her away. Once my head was roughly at the height of her head, I began to speak quietly.

“Don’t worry, I promise, you’ll still be my dear little one, even if there’ll be another partner on the team,” I told her, gently rubbing her head, marvelling at the texture of her hair. She looked at me with wide, shimmering eyes and I made a mental note to give her the attention she wanted and needed. That, too, was the duty of a parent or trainer.

We continued on our way, not really trying to walk back to the hostel but simply wandering the town, enjoying the cool air coming down from the mountains and the quiet of the evening. There were a few pockets of noise, places where likely young people got together, drunk and celebrated whatever it was they wanted to celebrate, but I had no interest in that, simply spending time with my little Vio was preferable.

Sadly, just because I had no interest in drinking, drunks and parties, or any combination thereof, didn’t mean that they had no interest in me. As it was in this case, a loud, familiar voice caught my attention, a shout that likely made quite a few of the locals annoyed who simply wanted to enjoy a relaxing evening without strange people causing a ruckus in the middle of the street.

Turning around, I saw a quite obviously drunken Claire stumbling towards me, a wide smile on her sweaty face and glassy eyes trying to focus on me. Letting out a sigh, I looked down at Vio who was still standing next to me, holding my hand.

“I guess we should take care of her,” I quietly told my partner, as Claire started to sing some song unknown to me. Or maybe I actually knew it, but her singing was so off-key and the words slurred enough to make that questionable.

“Good evening, Claire,” I stepped up to her, as she suddenly lunged forward, her arms wrapping around my neck.

“Daaaaniiii,” she yelled right next to my ear, causing me to wince, “I missed you!”

“Wonderful,” I grumbled, not sure what to do with the drunken trainer, early in the night.

I hadn’t decided what to do with Claire when she stumbled and almost managed to drag me to the ground, requiring me to return her embrace just so she didn’t hang on my neck.

“Sorry Vio, I’m afraid I’ll have to take care of her,” I told my partner, freeing a hand and pulling out her Pokéball, “Come back, I’ll make it up to you,” I promised her, as the red beam shot out from the ball.

Grumbling, mostly to myself, I tried to get a better hold on Claire, pulling her around so only one of her arms was slung around my shoulder, not that I could really trust her to actually hold on. I had no idea how she had managed to get this drunk so early in the night, or why she was stumbling around town but those were questions she likely couldn’t answer herself, certainly not with her current inebriation, so they were rather moot.

Once Claire was more or less under control, I began dragging her along, no longer interested in casually strolling through the night but making a bee-line towards the hostel, occasionally poking Claire when she started to get loud.

By the time we made it there, most of her exuberance had worn off and she had turned sleepy, just hanging onto me and quietly babbling, most of the stuff she was saying complete nonsense, though there were some curious nuggets in there I would make sure to remember. Such as the information that she thought Lucas had a cute backside and that she had managed to sneak a peak during one of the breaks when crossing the mountains. Just that last tidbit was one I thought endlessly amusing and would most certainly bring up with her, once she was sober again.

“Is she alright?” Karl, the attendant manning the night counter asked, looking at Claire with worry in his eyes.

“Just drunk,” I waved him off, still both annoyed, but now also amused. “We’ll be fine,” I promised him, hoping that it would be true and, more importantly, that I wouldn’t have to clean up after Claire again. The last time had been enough.

He made sure to open the public doors for me and even helped me get Claire up the stairs, something that would have been a challenge on my own, before returning to his duties. Once we reached Claire’s door, I had a slightly different problem, namely a distinct lack of keys. Propping her up against the wall, I started to pat down her tight pants, feeling for the shape of the key, a task not made easier when her slurred words became increasingly amorous, causing my face to flush crimson.

Finally, I spotted the keys in her back pocket and managed to fish them out, ignoring the way she rubbed her backside against my hand as I did. She was drunk and had no idea what she was doing, something I kept telling myself again and again.

It took a few more curses, some of them out loud, others in the privacy of my own mind, to get the door open and unceremoniously dump Claire on the bed, before closing the door. Given the way she had immediately started to snore, I hoped that she would be fine, but I felt I had done my part as companion and friend. I was not her mother.

Back in my own room, I made sure that the egg hadn’t suffered at all, before calling out little Vio and inviting her into the shower with me. Showers, especially hot showers, were something she immensely enjoyed and I didn’t mind sharing them with her. It was quite amusing, the way the water pearled off her skin and how her hair poofed up from the soap. That she didn’t really need to dry off was another bonus and soon, she was snuggled up next to me, as I was sitting on my bed, leaning against the headboard, while I had a book I had borrowed from the Gym in my other hand.

There was always more to learn and given the dry nature of the book, I was sure I would be able to sleep quite quickly, even with the excitement of the evening.