Tia gets a phone call while wrangling a stubborn Magikarp.
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Tia was 37 turns into an epic battle with a Magikarp when her Pokegear rang.
She glanced down at it, reached out a hand, and tapped a button. “H-hello?”
“Hi, Tia!” her father said, excitedly. “Just calling to know how you’re doing.”
“I’m… doing fine.” Tia said, struggling to keep the Magikarp from ripping the Old Rod out of her hands. “Just fine. How... about you?”
“I’m going to be in Rustboro City to give a lecture at the Pokemon Trainer’s School next week.”
“That’s… great!” Tia exclaimed, still wrangling the Magikarp. “You haven’t... been back since you were a student there… right?” She looked down at the Jumpluff standing nearby, staring at her with a worried expression. “Use Splash, Jumper!” The Jumpluff did so, and was followed by the Magikarp’s exhausted Splash. 38...
“Tia,” Nathan said suspiciously, “Are you battling?”
“Uh… I’m… experimenting!” Tia said. “Use Splash again, Jumper!” 39…
“Whatever you say, dear.” Nathan answered, trying not to laugh. “So I’ll be away for about a week.”
“That’s... nice, Dad,” Tia said, “Have a good time!” The Magikarp Splashed again. 40…
“I certainly will,” Nathan said, “A much better time than you seem to be having right now!”
“Uh… huh…”
“Okay, I’ll let you go now. Here’s Mom.”
“Bye, Dad!” She tightened her grip on the Rod.
“Hello, Tia!” her mother said brightly.
“Hey, Mom…” Tia said, finally deciding to throw the Timer Ball at the poor splashing Magikarp. “I met a guy.” The Magikarp disappeared into the Ball.
“You did?” Naomi asked, interested. “That’s wonderful!”
“His name is Aidan,” Tia replied, watching as the Timer Ball wobbled three times, then clicked shut. “He’s a Trainer and travels around, studying Pokemon rumors and legends.” She took a deep breath, wiped her brow with a shaky hand, and picked up the Timer Ball.
“You should invite him to dinner one day,” Naomi said, seriously. “So your father and I can meet him.”
“Mom, I don’t think we’re that close,” Tia said with a shaky laugh, “I mean, I wouldn’t mind if we were, but at this point we’re just friends!” She walked over to her workstation, set up at the edge of the lake, and plugged the Timer Ball in.
Magikarp
Level 10
Gender: Female
Number of Turns: 40
Capture Rate: 3.99
“That’s what they always say…” Naomi muttered to herself. “Invite him over anyway. I want to meet him!”
“Sure, Mom…” Tia answered faintly.
“All right, I’ll let you go now. We’ll call again soon!”
“Bye.” She hung up and took a deep breath, staring up at the sky.
She wasn’t sure what to think about Aidan. She liked him, sure. But he didn’t seem to give any sign that he wanted to be more than just friends. Or maybe he did and she was misreading the signs. She’d never been in love before, and probably wouldn’t know it if it stared her in the face.
One thing at a time, Tia, she thought, One day at a time.
I wrote this not long after playing through one of the more ridiculous tasks in Legends: Arceus - see Magikarp use Splash 100 times. If researchers in Hisui back in the day had to do ridiculous things for science, Tia should get to do them too~ ^^