Minimal Effort Days

 Viggo often wondered sometimes how things ended up like they had. Sure, he’d had his rocky moments in life, but ultimately it always worked out in the end. Maybe he was riding on that hope that things would smooth out as always, no matter how much shit he got himself into. It wasn’t like he was painfully oblivious, but maybe he was naive.
   He’d gotten into a few tangles, more than his usual amount. Luckily it was easy enough to patch himself up and cover things up thanks to Sparks and Leilani. He wasn’t sure how he’d have fared otherwise. The Pokemon Centre had recommended some sprays that Viggo take since he seemed to be battling with his Pokemon so much. It wasn’t uncommon for Viggo to partake in a good battle - he’d traveled a fair amount when he was younger, picked up several partners along the way, and helped mold them into strong companions. He was proud, mostly of himself, but of how they’d come a long way. The fusions were another hurdle altogether, but he knew that deep down his partners were the same as always and were adapting to the change just like he was. There was a mutual understanding.

   Shen Lu didn’t seem to slow down at all. He brushed battles off like he was waiting for the next, but he’d always been that way. Ever since Viggo had trained him from a Mienfoo he’d had to undergo many trials to become as strong as he was now. The Mienshao fusion always took up the same spot on the training mats, and always made sure to complete the routine whether Viggo was at his side or not. Sometimes he got bitter if he had to finish it off alone, like Viggo was a let down.
   The whole crew was out and about. Helios was snoozing, laid out flat like a rug in the usual Centiskorch fashion. Siren was practicing her Snipe Shot. She was often one to brute-force any task, but Viggo had given her a challenge. A Snipe Shot often required precision, and so he’d set her up a few targets that the little Yamask would line back up again. It was a shy little Pokemon that barely left Viggo alone - so giving the Yamask something to do often helped keep its spirits up, which was exceedingly hard, apparently. Viggo assumed that Yamask had just struggled to get over the loss of its previous trainer, a loss he shared beyond measure. Siren fired the lines of targets off in the back, crying out in victory, or stomping her foot in rage if she missed.

   Viggo sat by a small fold-up table. It was meant for drinks, but he’d put the sprays and Pokemon-aid kit on it for now as he sat crossed legged on the ground. He held the annoying Rotom in his hands, spraying him in the face like something that needed cleaning.
   “Hey!!! You don’t need that much!”
   “No. But it’s funny.” Viggo chuckled, rubbing a towel over Watt so that he wasn’t soaked. The Rotom zipped out when it had the opportunity, spinning to try and dry off even a little more.
   “Better?” Viggo questioned.”
   “Better!!” Watt repeated, zipping back and forth and over to Siren and Yamask. The large, ghostly Serperior slithered over then like it was her turn. She slid around Viggo in a circle, shoving her big face against    him and just about pushing him over with an ‘oof’. He held under her chin, stroking over her head softly. Viggo had found Sylvie as a little Snivy in the frozen forest. She’d hated him at first, but with a lot of time and patience she came to trust Viggo to no end.
   The man swapped the spray he held onto for Watt out for another on the table, but his clumsiness in the act meant that he knocked a few bottles off and they rolled into the Gengar that was sat dozing off while it waited its turn. It woke Ozul up, and the round, purple pokemon picked up one of the sprays like he was accusing it of disturbing him. Viggo sprayed Sylvie down with the elixir, having to do some turning to get her head to tail. She always felt like she was being pampered - and often she was. She nuzzled her face back into Viggo as he stroked along her with a soft towel. After she gave him a quick squeeze in her coils in thanks, she slithered away. Viggo sighed after. Sylvie only got stronger so the “hugs” he got each time just felt like they cracked all his bones - but he didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop either.

   “Ozul.” Viggo beckoned with a hand, and the Gengar jumped up with a big grin. He plodded around and sat just by his trainer, offering out the spray for Viggo to take and patting him on the head - definitely messing up his hair. Ozul certainly wasn’t a patient Pokemon, but Viggo at least tried to teach him basic manners. Which was quite hard for a gengar. From a Gastly it wasn’t as complicated - but when Ozul evolved it learned to look with its hands instead of it’s eyes. Like trying to break bad behaviour out of an unruly toddler.
   Viggo sprayed the Gengar down and patted him down with the towel, going into the little Pokemon-Aid kit after. He took out a band-aid and pasted it on it’s forehead.
“Now you’re free to go - don’t distract Siren.” He pointed accusingly, like he already knew Ozul’s thoughts. Mischief, primarily. “Or Shen.” He added on as a second thought, and with a second point.

[Word Count: 956]