[X] My Assistant

[Webbyness]

Zeke gripped the plush arms of the cushioned chair, trying his best to relieve himself of thoughts which would have him bounding to the counter to his left. True to his word, Matt treated Zeke and Xiao to a meal after the mess with Team Deception, but being in the middle of nowhere left them to feast on what appeared to be a dingy burger van. Still, Zeke was grateful and savoured each bite, feeling a flood of warmth as each mouthful careered towards his stomach. After their meal, the group split; David presumably remained in the cabin they had reached previously, still being injured, and Matt decided to go his own way, leaving Zeke and Xiao together. The pair decided to continue on the path ahead of them; it would make far much more sense to move onward to Arasam, which was presumably only a short while away, rather than backtrack and find a new path to who-knows-where. Zeke and Xiao arrived in Arasam without much trouble, and Zeke's first order of business was the Pokémon Center. Croagunk took a few hits too many fighting Team Deception, and Aipom took a tumble herself; he wanted to make sure they had suffered no injuries and would be fine. Evidently, waiting twenty minutes just to hear news was too much of a wait, and Zeke sprang from his seat and directed his body towards Nurse Joy, who had just arrived back at the counter holding some kind of tray. As he neared the desk, Joy's face lit up as she began speaking to him.

"Ah, Zeke! Your Pokémon have been healed and they're all well. Croagunk looked a little worse for wear, but all the rest he has had must have done good for him." Joy held the tray out to a surprised and incredibly relieved Zeke, who immediately scooped his Pokéballs into his hands and placed them at his belt. Before he even had chance to take his hand away, Aipom's Pokéball popped open and the purple monkey prompty appeared to him in a flash of white light.

"Ai!"
Zeke giggled to himself as he gazed down lovingly to his faithful companion, who had seemed quite at ease in the Pokémon Center, despite it being a public place. She had either not noticed there were people in the area, or she had truly started to relax herself and become braver, most likely because of the experience with Team Deception. At that moment, a Teddiursa wandered into the Center, followed by a young girl, who headed to the counter themselves. The Teddiursa stopped just short of Aipom, and attracted the purple monkey's attention with the smell of honey on its sticky paws. Aipom swung around quickly to investigate the sweet and powerful aroma, and was greeted with the smiling face of the young bear Pokémon. Aipom screamed in shock, and retreated to her spot on Zeke's shoulder, leaving him to apologise to the startled bear and the displeased trainer. Zeke quickly shuffled over to his previous seat, stroking Aipom carefully all the while.

"Aipom, you need to stop getting spooked so often, sheesh..."

"Especially with the Arasam Contest within our reach..."