Both David and Melissa lived relatively close to the school—just a few blocks apart, in fact—so it made sense for Melissa to drive him home. Or, as she called it, "Making sure you don't wander into another 'brothel rescue mission.'" David had rolled his eyes so hard he nearly saw his own brain.
As she navigated the car through the quiet streets, the tension from earlier seemed to melt away. Melissa glanced in the rearview mirror at Pikachu, who was busy inspecting the car seat like it was the most fascinating thing in the world, while Ralts peeked out from David's jacket, curiously observing everything with its wide, shimmering eyes.
"Well...they seem happy enough," Melissa admitted, her tone softer. Despite her earlier fury, she couldn't help but feel relieved. Based on David's borderline-obsessive knowledge of Pokémon theory—often showcased in his unsolicited monologues during class—she knew he would take good care of the two little troublemakers.
David grinned, scratching Pikachu behind the ears. "Of course, they're happy. I'm basically the best trainer in the world. You know, if you ignore the part where I almost got flattened by a professional trainer's Arbok," he added casually.
Melissa's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. "Yes, I'm choosing to ignore that part because if I think about it, I might just drive this car into a lake," she shot back.
David chuckled. "Hey, if you do, I'm getting out first. Ralts has Teleport, but you're on your own."
Melissa gave him a look that could've frozen a Magmar. "You're hilarious. Truly. The world's luckiest comedian," she said, deadpan.
They finally pulled up in front of David's house, a modest place that looked like it had seen better days but was clearly well-kept. Melissa put the car in park and paused, her hands still on the wheel. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "So...you really didn't do anything bad, right? No shady business? No...I don't know, selling Magikarp out of a barrel?"
David gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Me? Bad things? Melissa, I am wounded by your lack of faith! I swear on my Pikachu's tiny little cheeks—completely innocent!" Pikachu let out an enthusiastic "Pika!" as if to back him up.
David raised four fingers to the sky like he was making some kind of sacred vow. "Scout's honor. Would I lie to you?"
Melissa raised an eyebrow. "You were never a Scout."
"Details, details," David waved off her logic like it was a minor inconvenience.
For the first time that day, Melissa actually smiled—a real one, not the tight-lipped grimace she'd been sporting since she yanked him out of the police station. "Okay, I believe you. Put your hand down before you sprain something," she teased.
David relaxed, visibly relieved. The truth was, he knew how much Melissa had done for him—especially after giving him that 300,000 Alliance coins. Without that money, he probably wouldn't have been able to support Pikachu and Ralts properly. Heck, he might not have even been able to keep them. The two little ones would have ended up eating his entire grocery budget in a week.
"Thank you, Melissa. Really," he said, his voice softer and more sincere.
Melissa just waved him off, but there was a glimmer of pride in her eyes. "Just...take care of them. And yourself," she added, her voice dropping just a bit. "Being a Trainer isn't cheap, and it's not easy. You've got good ones there. Don't mess it up."
David nodded firmly, patting Pikachu's head. "Got it. No messing up. And no more 'brothel rescues.'"
"That's a good start," she laughed, finally looking more relaxed.
As the tension finally eased and the chaos settled, David glanced over at Melissa's elegant figure and striking features. He couldn't resist throwing in a cheeky grin. "Hey, Melissa, are you sure you don't want to come inside and check out my backflipping cat? I swear it's worth the show."
Melissa's eyes widened in horror, and she swung her hand threateningly. "You little brat! Don't think I don't understand what that means!" Her cheeks flushed pink, and David just laughed, sidestepping her half-hearted swat.
"I swear, where do you learn this stuff?!" she huffed, clearly exasperated.
David just grinned wider. "I read a lot," he replied, giving her an exaggerated wink before stepping out of the car. As he climbed out, a small, glossy box tumbled from his jacket pocket and landed right onto the passenger seat with a soft thud.
"David, you dropped something," Melissa called, leaning over to pick it up. She squinted at the small print on the sleek packaging. "Durex...ultra-thin...0.01 mm?" She read the words out loud, frowning slightly. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
David, who was dusting off his jacket, froze in place like he'd just been hit with Stun Spore. His brain took a full three seconds to catch up with the sheer horror of what she was holding. He turned back slowly, his face twisted into a look of pure disbelief. Not again...
Melissa's eyes suddenly went wide with realization. Her cheeks flushed a crimson red as if someone had set fire to them. "You—YOU ABSOLUTE MENACE!" she screeched, holding the box at arm's length like it was toxic waste. "Why do you even have this?! What were you planning, huh?! Pokémon catching isn't that kind of hobby, you know!!"
David's face matched her shade of red as he tried to form words that weren't just garbled nonsense. "I—I swear, it's not what you think! I don't even know how that got there! It just...falls out sometimes!" He cringed immediately at his own explanation. Falls out sometimes? He might as well have confessed to running a black-market daycare for Muks.
Melissa's expression was somewhere between horror and the unfiltered rage of a Charizard on a bad day. "Do you just casually carry these around like Poké Balls? What, you think you're some kind of Casanova trainer now? Going to throw it out like, 'David, use Ultra-Thin Barrier!'"
David's hands flailed in sheer panic. "No! I swear! I don't even know where that came from! It must be...uh...a system thing!" He regretted it the moment he said it, but it was too late.
The system's voice rang gleefully in his head:
[Obtained Melissa's Negative Emotion Points +30…]
[Obtained Melissa's Negative Emotion Points +40…]
[Obtained Melissa's Negative Emotion Points +50…]
David felt the back of his neck prickle with the sensation of pure, unfiltered death. Melissa was holding that tiny box like she was considering whether it would be best to burn it...or just burn him instead.
The system chimed in again, this time with his own name:
[Obtained Negative Emotion Points +20 from David…]
[Obtained Negative Emotion Points +30 from David…]
[Obtained Negative Emotion Points +40 from David…]
David's hand slapped over his face. "Why does this keep happening to me?!" he groaned.
Feeling the waves of sheer fury radiating off Melissa, David scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh...if I say this is all just a big misunderstanding, would you believe me?" He blinked twice, his best attempt at an innocent expression. It didn't work. At all.
Melissa's eyes narrowed, her gaze sharper than a Scyther's blade. In her hand, she still held the small, glossy box labeled Durex like it was the world's most damning evidence. Her voice was like ice. "Get. Lost."
Before David could even stammer out a reply, Melissa slammed the car into drive, tires screeching as she sped off like she was auditioning for a Fast & Furious movie. David stood there, frozen in place, blinking into the cloud of dust she left behind.
For a long, awkward moment, David just stared down the empty road. Slowly, he reached up and plucked the offending Durex packet off his forehead—apparently, it had somehow stuck there during Melissa's dramatic departure. He looked at it in disbelief, then sighed deeply. "Great. Just great."
From the porch next door, Old Man Jenkins, who had been sweeping his steps, shook his head with utter disappointment. "Kids these days," he muttered loudly enough for David to hear. "Bold enough to do things right out in the open! Back in my day, we at least pretended to have shame!" He spat on the ground for emphasis, his judgment practically tangible.
David slapped his hand over his face. "Perfect. Public humiliation. Just what I needed," he groaned.
Maybe, just maybe, this was the universe balancing things out. He did catch a Shiny Ralts today—like winning the lottery in Pokémon terms. So, in accordance with the Law of Conservation of Luck, everything else had to go horribly, embarrassingly wrong. "Should've known," David mumbled, chucking the Durex packet into the nearest trash bin with more force than necessary. "I'm cursed."
He turned back to his front door, Ralts and Pikachu still cradled in his arms. "Come on, you two. Before the universe decides I also stepped in a puddle of Muk or something." Pikachu just snickered from his shoulder, clearly enjoying the show, while Ralts peeked out from David's jacket, wide-eyed and blinking.
The door creaked as David pushed it open, stepping into the tiny, slightly cluttered apartment. It wasn't much—scratched floors, a wobbly kitchen table, and the faint smell of old coffee—but it was home. He set Ralts down gently on the table and gave her a little grin. "Well, this is it! Our humble abode," he declared, spreading his arms wide like he was showcasing a mansion.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu chirped from his shoulder, clearly trying to hype up the place. He even hopped down and dashed over to his little stash of knick-knacks—a worn-out hat, a chewed-up rubber ball, and what suspiciously looked like a bent spoon. Pikachu rummaged around before triumphantly producing his favorite old cap, wobbling over and plopping it right onto Ralts' head.
Ralts blinked up at the oversized hat now sagging over her eyes. "Lalu?" she squeaked, head tilting in confusion.
David chuckled, patting Ralts gently. "I know, it's a bit...well, 'cosy' is the polite word. But it's warm, safe, and the roof only leaks during really heavy rain!" He paused. "Sometimes light rain too, but we're working on it."
Ralts took another look around, her big eyes scanning the cramped but warm little room. She gave a tiny nod, her expression softening. It wasn't much, but it was hers now—far better than a dark, cold cell with rusted chains.
David stretched his arms above his head, letting out a loud yawn. "Man, what a day. Rescuing you from a bunch of thugs, getting chewed out by Melissa, and publicly shamed by Old Man Jenkins. Productive!" He glanced over at his desk, where the remnants of his Pokémon study notes were piled up like a neglected mountain. "Not touching that tonight," he declared with finality.
His eyes flickered to the trash bin outside where he had tossed the Durex. He shuddered. "I swear, if I ever see one of those again, I'm gonna lose my mind," he muttered, shutting the door firmly. "It's cursed. I'm sure of it."
Pikachu just shrugged, hopping back up onto David's shoulder, while Ralts adjusted the oversized hat and took a seat on the table, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
David sighed, glancing at the two Pokémon that now shared his cramped little world. "Well, welcome to the team, I guess," he said with a tired grin. "Now, let's hope tomorrow's a little less...embarrassing."
But deep down, he doubted it.
After a quick breather, David got to work, rummaging through the pile of stuff he bought earlier. He carefully pulled out the incubator, setting it up on his nightstand before gently placing the Pokémon egg inside. The egg was a pale green with jagged red streaks—a Dreepy egg, shimmering faintly under the light.
David grinned at it proudly. "There you go, little guy. Your new home. Try not to judge the decor too harshly."
Even though Dreepy hadn't hatched yet, it was known to be able to sense its surroundings. David figured it would be good for the little ghost dragon to get familiar with Pikachu and Ralts early on. It would save him the headache of introducing them later—he was still reeling from the last time Pikachu met a stray Meowth. That was a mess he didn't want to relive.
Pikachu and Ralts wandered over, eyes wide with curiosity. Ralts tilted her head, blinking at the incubator, while Pikachu tapped on the glass lightly with his paw. "Pika?" he chirped, as if expecting the egg to pop out and start breakdancing on command.
"Relax," David chuckled, patting Pikachu's head. "It's not gonna hatch just because you stared it down. That's not how it works."
Just as David was about to flick on the lights, everything went dark. The room plunged into an abyss of darkness with a loud click, followed by the unsettling crackle of electricity. "Oh, great," David muttered. "Power's out again. Guess the wiring decided to take another vacation."
"Zzzt…zzzzt…" The electrical circuits made a sad attempt at life before giving up entirely.
David looked down at Pikachu, who immediately took a step back, eyes darting to the door. "Oh no, you don't," David said, scooping up the yellow furball before he could bolt.
Pikachu squirmed in his arms, cheeks sparking in protest. "Pika! Pikachu!" he squeaked angrily.
David just raised an eyebrow. "Pikachu, buddy...didn't you skip today's training session?" His tone was dripping with fake concern.
Pikachu froze, eyes narrowing in suspicion. He squeaked something that sounded like a grumble, crossing his little arms.
David's grin grew wider. "Look, pal, I didn't say anything earlier...but that hat you insisted on? Fifty thousand Alliance coins. Fifty thousand. You practically swindled that poor shopkeeper, and I still had to cover the rest."
Pikachu's ears drooped, and his eyes darted nervously around the room as if searching for an escape route.
David leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. "You think that hat was free? That was my rent money for the next six months!" He straightened up and clapped his hands together. "So, let's call it even. You cover the electricity for tonight, and we're good."
Pikachu's jaw dropped. His little paws flew up in exaggerated disbelief. "Pika! Pikachu!" The electric mouse squeaked loudly, waving his arms around as if saying, Does your conscience not hurt at all?! I'm your Pokémon, not a generator! And didn't you scam the shopkeeper for buying them basically free?
David raised a brow. "Oh? You'd rather I take back the hat?" He started to reach for the cap still perched proudly on Pikachu's head.
Pikachu's eyes widened in horror, and he yanked the hat off, clutching it to his chest protectively. "Pika pika!" he whimpered, ears drooping in surrender.
"That's what I thought," David chuckled, motioning towards the giant hamster wheel sitting in the corner of the room.
It was practically wired up like some mad scientist's experiment, cables running from the wheel to a series of old car batteries and, finally, to the main power line of the apartment.
David had found it at a flea market labeled "Experimental Exercise Equipment" and had never looked back.
Pikachu glanced back at the wheel, then at David, his expression somewhere between betrayal and utter disbelief. "Pikachu…"
David gave him a little nudge. "Come on, you know the drill. Just a few laps and we've got lights, hot water, maybe even some TV if you're feeling generous."
With a dramatic sigh that would make a theater major proud, Pikachu marched over to the wheel, still clutching his hat like it was his last shred of dignity. He climbed in, attached the conductive leads to his tiny cheeks, and—with a resigned look back at David—began to jog.
The wheel spun up with a low hum, lights flickering back on one by one. David clapped his hands. "Look at that! You're doing great! Maybe we'll get Wi-Fi back by the end of the night!"
"Pikachu…" the electric mouse muttered through gritted teeth, little sparks crackling off his cheeks.
Ralts watched from the table, wide-eyed and amazed, her little hands clapping as if this were the most incredible thing she'd ever witnessed. "Lalu! Lalu!"
David plopped down on his old, lumpy couch, stretching out with a contented sigh. "See? We're a team. Everybody chips in." He glanced over at Pikachu, whose eyes were burning with sheer vengeance. "And hey, think of it as extra training. Elite-level Pikachus need endurance, right?"
Pikachu rolled his eyes but kept running, the wheel humming along, lights flickering back to life one by one. David leaned back with a grin. "And they say raising Pokémon is expensive. I'm practically off the grid!"
Pikachu just sighed, legs spinning, sparks crackling, and his little hat bouncing with every step.