The music isn't loud, it's a pleasant buzz in the background for people to listen to as they eat. After a day of training, the ambiance brings a much needed sense of slow and grounded peace.
Lazarus and Mike are seated at the corner arm of the hall, their table is filled with numerous delicacies, and it's the not the stuff the League offers to trainers free of charge.
"So, what's next for you?" Mike asks before he picks up the glass of wine from the table and takes a sip. The texture is smooth and velvet, it taste of Oran and Pecha berry, "Are you going straight to a gym? Most go to Oreburgh or Canalave."
Lazarus smiles, "I could go straight to a gym, but I just got two new pokemon who I haven't trained. So, I am going to the Obsidian Fields first and then I'll take a flight to Canalave for my first badge, but I want to train Eidolon and Sol before I take on the gym. Especially Eidolon, with his addition into the team I can finally train them to fight as a unit. I am already thinking about how I am going to utilize their type combination."
"Then why not keep training them here?"
"I admit this placed has helped me a lot, I won't deny that. But the training here is safe and fake. I have seen real battles against wild pokemon before, as have you, and they are brutal and bloody without the safety net of the dome. If I let my pokemon get accustomed to fighting here, they won't be able to take on the savagery of the wild."
Mike shrugs, "Yeah, that checks out. Most people realize that too late. But do be careful out there, wild pokemon won't let you train in peace. You will be invading their home, they will actually fight to kill. Add that on top of the weather and the survival aspect of the journey."
"I'd like to believe that I am mentally prepare for it. After all I have been deep into pokemon territory before, hundreds of kilometers away from any human settlement. But then again, I was with a security team who did all the work. So, I am keeping an open mind."
"Good. Because I promise you, however you think your journey is going to be, it will be worse. There is always something out there that you didn't account for. Pokemon you didn't think lived there, antidote you forgot to pack. Your electronics not working. Your boots wearing down. There is so much. No survival guide can cover all these things."
Lazarus nods, now he may not be a seasoned adventurer, but he too knows this all too well. He has spent years managing projects for his father, and no matter how perfect you think your plan is, some variable introduces itself at the last moment that makes all your planning obsolete.
"Oh and the food." Mike chuckles.
"What about it?"
"Most trainer take nutrient packs and pokeblocks for the journey, are you going to do the same?"
Lazarus can see where he is going with this, "Yeah. I am going to pack enough to last a month."
"Thought so. Now I am not blaming you or any other trainer for doing this. It makes perfect sense to pack your food from home. After all, we have so much of it. But most people are so accustomed to never running out of food that they forget that food actually isn't infinite. What will you do when, not if, but when the food runs out? Or if it spoils or gets stolen by a pokemon. The berries alone won't keep you and your pokemon alive."
"Then we will hunt a pokemon. I am not going to chose the life of a wild pokemon over us." Lazarus says that, but he hopes that it never comes down to that.
Mike shakes his head, "All the meat we eat is synthesized by tissue printers, everything on this table and every other table in the city and beyond comes from machines. The only reason people feel comfortable eating meat is because they know that no pokemon was hurt or killed in order to fill their bellies. And I am sure it's the same for you as well. So, are you capable of killing a pokemon in order to consume it? Knowing full well that given the chance that pokemon could become your best friend."
"I have eaten a live pokemon before."
"But have you skinned one? With your own two hands? Do you know how to pluck out feathers from a Pidgey? Or how to extract the meat from the bones? Do you know what part to throw and what to eat?"
Lazarus doesn't have an answer for this. Mike is right, he never had to skin a Tauros to enjoy a steak.
"Now, there will come a time when you'll have no choice but to get your hands dirty. And when it does, I want you to do whatever it takes to survive, without guilt. Don't show mercy to a wild pokemon or your own pokemon will have to pay the price. Like it or not kid, you will have to make these decision. I just want to mentally prepare you for it."
Mike eats his food in silence while Lazarus thinks about what he just said.
Lazarus knows he is the product of an environment where there are many way to accomplish a thing, he is the sort of person that will find an alternate way of doing things if something isn't to his liking. But in the context of survival, this way of thinking will get him killed. The wild is cruel. It doesn't give second chances, and it sure as hell doesn't give you the luxury of picking the path you want, most of the time you either take what it gives you or you die.
Lazarus breaks the silence, "I understand. Whatever it takes, I will protect my pokemon. I failed my last ones, I won't fail these."
"Good." Mike smiles, "And don't forget, you too are food for the pokemon. So, when you sleep, always have a pokemon keep watch. Dark pokemon love to hunt at night, and they are a mean bunch, you don't want to see what they do to their food."
"I was wondering about that. How is it being alone in the fields? Especially at night. I have never been there before."
Mike takes a trip down memory lane, "This brings back so many memories. It's been a while since I have gone there for an adventure. But I can tell you this, the fields are beautiful, the green rolling hills, the flowery meadows and the rivers that cut through them. But they are also dangerous. At first everything is open, wide expanse of green hills under the open sky. There aren't many trees, so you can see everything around you, And if you have a good pair of eyes you can see the threats coming from a mile away, just like they can see you.
This becomes dangerous especially at night, the light from your camp will be visible from miles away. There is no lack of predators that will wait for you to fall asleep before they attack you. That is why I told you to always have a pokemon keep watch at night. And after you learn to adapt to these situations, everything changes. The grasses become taller, the trees double and triple in volume. And you have to learn how to survive all over again.
Now you don't know what is hiding inside the grass or above the trees. Before this the pokemon attacked you boldly, now they will use stealth. So, take this one thing to heart. Never get comfortable. Always be vigilant, always be on a lookout. Don't ever think you know enough."
They talk for a few more hours, after which Lazarus thanks the veteran trainer for the wisdom he imparted upon him, and returns to his room.
His pokemon has fallen asleep. Aurora, Kamish and Sol are sleeping on the bed, while Eidolon rests inside the pokeball.
There is only one more thing to do before he goes to sleep. He sits at his workstation and dials for his father.
"Still awake?" His father's hologram asks.
"Yeah. I was getting some advice from my trainer. I am leaving for Obsidian Fields tomorrow."
"I see." Arthur nods, "If you are calling to ask if your stuff is ready. Yeah, it is. You'll find everything back at home. Everything you asked for, plus some other things I want you to take with you."
"What extra things?"
"Things to protect you."
"So, will you be at the office tomorrow? I'd like to see you before I leave."
Arthur shakes his head, "Unfortunately. I am at Snowpoint city for some business, so I won't be able to see you, but I do want you to call me from time to time."
"Sure." Lazarus nods.
After the call ends, he sits there thinking about the changes the choices he has made will bring to his life.
End of Volume 1: Rubicon
Time till the tournament: 12 Months
Next Volume: Lily of the Valley