43 Not Another One?!

Walking back over to the Tower of Mastery gives me time to think.

A lot of things fly through my mind, but only a few matter. One such thing is what to name the child-sized Ralts I'm giving a piggy-back ride. I'm still quite bad at naming them, but I like to think that I'm getting at least faster at doing so.

Using an Octillery Arm, I lift Ralts from my back to just in the air in front of me, holding her like a sack of berries. "I think I'm going to name you Gwendolyn. Gwen for short. What do you think?"

She looks at me, tilting her head in confusion. "Ral?"

I shrug, putting her back on my back. "Good enough for me!" Using the cameras installed in the arms, I can see Courtney faintly smirking at Ralts and me. "What is it, Courtney? Do you want to ride, too?"

She shakes her head. "No, I thought you just looked adorable with…Gwen on your back. She almost looks like your daughter from a certain angle." I don't have a response to that, feeling my expression fall slightly and my right hand subconsciously moving towards my stomach.

Quickly retracting my hand, I turn around, walking backwards. "Well, Courtney, it's a privilege to ride on my back that's only reserved for those that I consider family. If we got married, only then would I consider giving you one."

She smirks. "Noted."

Our conversation dies there as we cross the sand bridge to the Tower of Mastery; this time without earning Gurkinn's ire. The man himself welcomes us in and tells us that Korrina is waiting in her room for us, leading the way.

Korrina's room is…something. A good half of her room looks like a home workout gym with matted walls, punching bags, and weights of various sizes. The other half is only barely a bedroom. As in by definition, it has a bed with room on it, and a dresser and closet for Korrina's clothes.

Though I doubt there's much variety since I see her in the same outfit every time we meet.

The girl in question is currently sprawled out on her bed, fast asleep. I don't even think an express train could wake her up with how hard her Lucario is pummeling one of those aforementioned punching bags.

Gurkinn, having a much softer look in his eyes, walks up to her bedside and gently shakes her awake. "Korrina, your guests are here."

"Wazzat?" She mumbles while waking up, turning to look at us. "AHH!!!" She falls out of bed, which, I mean… She's awake now for sure.

"Hey, Nicole, Courtney!" Korrina almost shouts after getting up, then turns more somber. "Nice to see you're not hurt, Nicole. Really. I was scared when you suddenly passed out."

"I do have a penchant for that lately," I mumble. "But, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine now, for the most part. Umm" —I look between Korrina and Courtney— "I was told that you wanted to see me for something. I mean, I'm happy that you're worried about my health but—"

"Yeah!" Korrina shouts, interrupting my rambling. "Well, more than me, it was actually Lucario who wanted to see you."

"Really?" From previous interactions, I would think that Lucario would be the last to want to see me. In fact, they might even want to move to a different region to be as far as possible from me.

"Yeah, it was the weirdest thing. Lucario always froze up around you, but after you passed out, Lucario couldn't stay away." If Lucario can see my life energy, and I have another set of memories with a still-questionable ending, could Lucario be another key in unlocking them?

"Lucario! Nicole's here!" Korrina shouts, attracting the attention of the pokémon that has turned a punching bag to dust. The pokémon turns to look at us, eyes finally locking on me.

Instead of the usual terror in those eyes, I find a sort of solemnity and resolution buried deep within.

Without giving a response, Lucario…leaves. They just walk out the door and close it behind them without another word.

Courtney and I turn to Korrina, obviously unimpressed. "Sorry about that," she says while rubbing the back of her head. "I thought that—"

The door slams open into a previously made indent in the wall. Lucario walks in holding an…egg.

Yeah, my mood kind of plummets a little. I just hatched an egg. I still have the Eevees I'm thinking about, and now another egg.

Crime might be cheaper at this rate.

Korrina, simultaneously, looks confused, head swiveling between me and the egg.

"Lucario," she begins tentatively, "are you sure?"

Lucario nods to her in response, walking up to me and shoving the egg in my arms. Not that I have a choice at this point. "What…is going on?" I ask, turning to Gurkinn for a semblance of an answer.

"That's a Riolu egg that Lucario found in the wild. He's been looking for a worthy person to take care of it, and he's apparently chosen you."

I turn to Korrina, who's writing something on a strip of paper. "This is my phone number," she supplies. "You can message me anytime if you have questions about raising a Riolu or if you just want to chat."

Without words, I take the proffered piece of paper, quickly memorizing the digits written down.

The weight of the paper feels the same as the egg to my heart. An avenue to pursue a relationship with this girl has been opened to me, and all it costs is burning another hole in my wallet.

Great.