>Stumble over and shake him as hard as you can.

You are Dan Smith again and you wake up to Garcian literally pushing you awake. You mumble incoherently before he lets out a warbling cry of distress.

<DAN, GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP ALREADY!> Garcian shouts in your head.

"Whu—"

<THE RENT IS DUE TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER.>

Then it all clicks together. The Landlord..!

You push off the couch with both elbows and sit upright in a single try. So far so good, and then the entire room starts spinning like a Hitmontop. You try to stand upright but instead you roll out of the couch and into an ocean of empty beer cans. You yell and then flail and splash about like an impotent Magikarp. The cacophony of cans tumbling in every direction makes your head feel like it's going to explode, and your struggles grow even more violent in a vicious cycle of drunken incapacitation.

<Dan, stop moving, you idiot!" Garcian yells. You slow down for a moment and your best friend kneels down, puts his arm under your shoulder, and tries to manhandle you upright. <Try to fucking, ngh, stand up, why don't you???>
"I'm trying!"
<Well, try harder, then!>

You and Garcian struggle heroically against the forces of gravity, but it is a losing battle and Garcian is forced to seat you back on the couch. He puts both hands on his head and there's a phantom aching in your own.

You turn and take a good look at Garcian's face — the Gardevoir looks absolutely blasted.

You let out a hysterical laugh, but what little mirth you have dissipates as you turn your bleary eyes to the surrounding desolation of your apartment. It's more of a den for wild bachelors rather than a living space for a human being and his partner Pokémon. (And it smells a lot like one, too!) Now, these might be fine arrangements for the two of you in a vacuum, but you've gotten a few complaints from your Landlord and your neighbors about the smell and the loud music past 9 PM.

<Not our fault the walls are so thin,> Garcian mutters suddenly. You're a little surprised that the empathic connection still works that deep. Over the last few years, after the incident and his evolution, Garcian's psychic abilities have severely atrophied.

The sun continues to rise...