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In pain wasn't the right word. She'd been in enough pain the last two days to get sort of used to it once it settled into a mild constant thing. Okay? No, not really. She was upset over everything. Training had gone horribly, she was embarrassed, she'd ruined clothing, she'd had to work as a waitress. Really, the only positive thing was catching a new Pokemon. Even when she'd been chatting with Wayne and Salieri, that seemed more neutral than positive and she still didn't know where she stood with either of them.

"F-fine."

Henrietta had turned away from Eunmi to clean her front. She cursed under her breath as she tried without success to clean the bra. Nope, it was ruined. She didn't want to risk getting any of the blood soaked into it on the shirt, thus ruining another of Eunmi's, so instead she decided on something else.

And quickly abandoned the idea when she looked over at Eunmi. She wasn't going to be asking the other girl for one of those. She turned back, her back to Eunmi still. Her own bag was topside some place, lost somehow, somewhere, up top. She'd worry about it later.

"D-don't look," Henrietta said as she reached around behind herself, unhooked her bra, slid it off and, without giving anyone the chance to peak, she quickly pulled the top on.

A fitted top. Now, Eunmi was taller than Henrietta, but Henrietta was better endowed, which mean that the top still hardly fit Henrietta. Still, she wasn't going to complain.

Instead she said, "th-thank you."

As if on cue the ceiling creaked again. Henrietta looked up, it was dangerous to remain here. Even if it might seem rude to move on while their rescuers were hard at work. Henrietta looked at Eunmi and she did her best to try to smile, managing a soft, faint one.

"Th-there's a door," she said and she pointed across the room. "W-we can walk and talk, i-if you want," she said.

Henrietta shook her head. "I-i'm fine, th-thank you," she said. She waited for Eunmi to follow suit before she started for the door.

"Th-the l-last two days... H-have been bad," she said.

Oh boy, where to start.

Henrietta took in a deep breath and because she wasn't lame like some people, the entire story would actually be typed out.

"W-well, I got to Accumula Town and then I tried to head to Nuvema town but I got attacked and lost to the Pokemon on Route one. S-so, I tried to train a bit and I met this boy, W-wayne. We battled and I lost and h-he teased me a-about the route one thing.

"A-after that I fell asleep and w-woke up and D-darumi was gone. I found him okay, though. A-after that I followed him because we were heading out, but I e-ended up on Route 2 instead of Route 1. Th-that's where we met. Y-you and the... other guy s-started to battle.

"While you did I was challenged to a Pokemon battle by this m-mean boy. I won and he y-yelled at me, and I stumbled back and fell o-off a ledge. H-hit my head and I woke up in S-striaton. I-i met one of the Gym Leaders there, Ch-chili. He'd taken care of me and he offered to train me. I-i learned some stuff from him.

"I got burned a few times and Darumi got upset over burning me, b-but it wasn't all bad. After that I m-met this guy," what was his name? "h-he scared me. I ch-challenged the gym after that. And lost, I-i got hit with a Hydro Pump, t-too.

"W-wayne was upset by it and this g-green haired guy let me use his shirt while I w-went to get new clothes. Th-then I went out to train with M-melty and I met this other boy, C-crown.

"W-we started to battle and the s-scary guy showed up. I-i didn't want to fight at first, b-but the other b-boy's Pokemon attacked me, and I-i took a hit to protect Melty," she said as she gestured to her nose for the first blow, and her back for the second.

"A-after the battle started h-he put me in the l-line of fire to s-stop Melty from dodging. M-melty dodged anyways and I got h-hit again," she said, this time gesturing to the bruise on her chest.

"A-after that Melty got angry and things got out of control. I-i tried to stop the battle b-but the s-scary boy stopped me," she gestured to the top of her head, where a scab could be found if one investigated, "a-and after that C-cress, a-another gym leader, showed up and stopped things.

"I woke up in the hospital after that. Th-the scary guy was in my room, h-he freaked me out before leaving. H-hum, t-told me I should get rid of Melty. I-i don't want to, though. I-i can control him, i-it's cause the other boy went too far..

"H-hum. A-after that I went out t-to take a shower. I s-saw the big guy you battled yesterday. H-he wanted to eat, s-so I agreed to pay for him. B-but he ate too much and I didn't have a-any money. S-so he agreed to a match for a f-free meal. B-but he lost so I had to work as a waitress, and th-there was this creepy buy, D-doctor Altiena, h-he called himself. I-i don't think he was a doctor, though.

"A-after my shift I went to train and I saw Wayne again. W-we battled a little bit and then I met this girl, S-salieri. We also battled a little b-bit but her Eevee forfeited. S-so, I went to train someplace else and found this cave to rest in after tr-training. W-we were all hungry so I tried to c-catch a Basculin, b-but I don't have a r-rod, so I used my shinai. I-i managed to catch it, b-but I got a n-nasty bite on my leg in the p-process," she said, explaining an occasional, almost unnoticeable limp.

"A-a Pokemon stole our food, b-but he was just hungry so I fed him anyways, and then I caught him. A r-roggenrolla, I named him Frate. A-after that we tried to leave but a Boldore attacked. I-i recalled my Pokemon because they were tired a-and he knocked him unconscious.

"A-after that I woke up at a school. The lady their treated my b-bit leg and then I had to b-battle the students because their p-prides were hurt thanks to Salieri. And then the teacher, too. O-only Socant, my Joltik, was capable of fighting, th-though.

"A-after that I got back into town and rested my Pokemon when this Purrloin s-started harassing me. I-i dizzied and paralyzed it a-and r-ran away and into you," she said, completing her story.

They had reached the door by now and Henrietta turned the handle and pulled to no avail. So, she pushed instead, and the door fell off of its hinged and landed on the ground before them, causing Henrietta to jump.

"I-it's o-okay. I-i, h-hum..." She looked over at Eunmi and managed a small smile, "th-thank you, f-for b-bandaging me up. I-i'm g-glad you came down a-after me," she said. She didn't know what else to say. Continue talking about the past? She'd already said what she could say, what there was to say.

"I-i don't know," Henrietta said. An underground facility of sorts, old, that was for sure. But what was the old place used for? They'd have to explore to find out. The two would find themselves at a hall that curved to the right. It was dark all the way, completely and utterly.

In other words, there was no light to see.

So, Henrietta released Darumi. His flaming eyebrows immediately illuminated the area slightly. The hall at the end, where no light penetrated. And then doors, three on each side of the hall. So, in total, there were seven places they could investigated. Rundown, no light, broken old doors. Each with glass on the door, a square of it in the upper section. either broken or so covered in dust it was impossible to see through.

Darumi, who was not one capable of sitting still while conscious, would be picked up by Henrietta and she'd wince. He was heavy, really heavy actually, and it put a strain on Henrietta's arms, but it was better this way, or so she thought.

"Wh-what happened to you?"

"I-it's okay, D-darumi is strong," Henrietta said. She looked over at Eunmi. How did you explain Pokemon training?

She looked down at Darumi. "Wh-when I had my gym battle, Darumi got beaten up really badly. I-i wanted to stop him. H-he didn't want to stop fighting though. I don't think, in the end, it's about making them fight," she said.

She recalled Melty's battle, too. He was the same.

"I-it's about training them to stop. W-we were both attacked by wild Pokemon, I-i think... I-i believe that it's part of a Pokemon's nature to battle. F-for territory, and when we capture them, w-we become their territory," she said.

An observation. She blushed, she felt she was probably wrong, but even so...

"M-maybe D-Vee j-just rejects you a-as his t-territory, o-or trainer. H-hum."