ClicheStorm

[Son_of_Shadows]

I'm totally hearing Persona 4 music during those classes. I don't even know why... *totallynotobsessedoranything*

I really hope Hilda gets to groom Kyurem. That would just be priceless. Polishing the frozen chicken... The whole grooming part was very well thought through, I enjoyed it.

Adorable preschooler. I liked his dialogue with N. "I'm Hyper Beam!"

EDIT: HOO BABY, RANK UP.

[Missingno. Master]

SO Kyurem likes bacon. Wow. Who would've thought that I would have something in common with a super-ancient man-eating legendary Pokémon? Excellent chapter.

[DarknessInZero]

Love this. I love breaking the 4th wall, although it isn't in the main story. I will put on my fic Coffee Breaks, if you let me use them.

[scizorstrike]

Mmmmm... Bacon. (I actually know someone who has the vegetarian, exept for bacon eating habits). Does Hilbert use some kind of hypnosis? seeimg as several people (in-fic) have commented on how he seems to just have some kind of... sparkle to him. and the Gigalith saying about some 'mons inside the box were saying how they hated him, but when it came out of the box he

saw how wonderful he was again

. something isn't quite right...
And kudos for letting Kyurem volunteer to eat him. is Kyurem ever going to take part in a Coffee Break?

[GalladeRocks]

Dang it, still no eating. Oh well, I suppose threatened with being eaten is still okay. And I knew that Hilbert was a vampire would be the third protagonist, because that would be the most cliched thing there is. And I feel robbed, because I was getting ready to point out that Hilbert, searching for truth, would be the one to get Reshiram. But then N had to go and steal my thunder...

Also, given Gigalith's attitude, I'm going to say that Hilbert is either a) a human who can understand Pokemon like N, or b) a vampire. Seriously, that would be cliched. Not Pokemon cliched, but culturally cliched.

Oh, and of course, I'M HYPER BEAM!!!

[Ysavvryl]

Just a note to DarknessInZero- sure, you can use the idea. I feel like I took it from someplace else, although I couldn't tell you where. It may just be other authors chatting with their characters in meta segments.

[SerenadeSP]

And then to Hilda’s Kyurem and Snivy, “It’s not in your interests to lie; what is your team?”

“Exactly what I said, sir,” she replied, then pointed to the human form Kyurem sitting in a chair by the wall. “Ask him.”

Eyeing the teacher, Kyurem flicked his hand out and summoned a blade of blue ice. “Believe her or I’ll eat your hand,” he threatened.

/Fic

Anyways, other than that line, I really liked the N POV sections of this chapter. I saw his interactions with Gigalith as if the Pokemon was under some sort of hypnosis, which made it more amusing for me. The parallel N drew between Hilbert and Ghetsis was excellent, and I can see it being used for his character development (since he seems to be the only character in his fic that has character development) in the future.

[DarknessInZero]

I forgot to said this. I Wanna Be The Guy! No, really. I wanna be in the PM list. And you can call me DiZ.

[Ysavvryl]

Coffee Break

"Would you groom Kyurem?" Bianca asked, stirring some honey into her tea.

"No thank you," Cheren said. "Leave that to the crazy one. On the subject of who gets to be in the coffee Beaks, it's set up to be whoever has the most spotlight in the chapter that follows. Mostly. So yes, I'm pretty sure Kyurem will show up here."

The blond girl sat up. "Oh yeah, and that means that we get to star in this chapter! That's awesome!"

He shrugged. "I guess."

Looking puzzled, Bianca asked, "What's wrong with? She said she liked the chapter a lot."

"You know," he said, waving a hand. "Anyhow, next subject. About Hilbert and his sparkly hypnosis or possible vampire status."

"Oh yeah, that's because," she stopped. "Oh wait, that's spoilers. Aw, I can't say anything about it. But I can say that I agree about that preschooler. So cute, although I'd hate to be the daycare worker in charge of him."

"We could gossip about Hilda, since she isn't here this time."

Bianca giggled. "Sure! Remember that Halloween when we were all thirteen and she wanted to dress up as a Lopunny girl?"

Cheren grimaced. "Yeah, that. I don't want to know where she got those sparkly tights from. At least her Pop caught on before she pulled it off and made her wear shorts with that outfit. She always goes for the strangest or least appropriate costumes."

"You seem uncomfortable talking about it," she said teasingly.

"She's like my sister," he said quickly. "It's just... not right. Can we start the chapter already?"


Chapter 6: Identification Issues


morning, 11/17

At the end of their first week of the cram session, the three friends came to the Pokecenter early in the morning. There weren’t many people in there, so they were able to see the nurse quickly. “We were supposed to have received our League IDs by now,” Cheren said to her. “Have they come through yet?”

“I think so,” she said. “I know we received some late last night; wait a moment, please.” She went over to a cabinet, unlocked it, then brought out some boxes to search. “The league has been occupied with problems related to what’s been going on with Alder, so it’s been taking longer for some things to get through. Ah, here we go.” She put some of the boxes on a counter, then brought one over. “I have an ID for Cheren… and Bianca… hmm…” Her friends took their new IDs while Hilda leaned on the counter. But the nurse shook her head. “Sorry, looks like Hilda doesn’t have one here. Let me check the network.”

“We turned our forms in at the same time,” Bianca said.

“Normally you would have gotten them back in three or four days,” the nurse said, looking at the screen. “This says that your application is still under review. It doesn’t have the usual error flags, so you must have had the form completed right. But it doesn’t say why it hasn’t been accepted yet.”

“Maybe they didn’t have time,” Hilda said. “Aw phooey.”

“I’ll make a note here to contact you when it does come in,” the nurse said. “May I check your Xtransceiver number?”

After giving that, the three of them went over to the Pokemart counter. “That’s too bad,” Bianca said to Hilda. “I wonder what’s the problem.”

She shrugged. “Eh, I’ll wait and see what happens. Maybe I’ll write them a letter if it takes too much longer.”

The Pokemart counter being in a Pokecenter was a marketing experiment that had started up in Unova a few years back; it had become so successful that independent Pokemarts were almost nonexistent in the region. Bins that sat on shelves under the counter and on the walls held commonly sold goods, while the backroom held a large DSD which could store or transfer goods that the marts didn’t hold in stock. That way, one could get nearly anything Pokémon related from a mart.

Behind the counter, there was a young woman in a striped blue shop apron. “Good morning, welcome to the Pokemart,” she said cheerily, setting down a cup from a nearby coffee shop. “How may I help you?”

“We just got our League ID cards and we’re here to pick up the starting packages,” Cheren said, putting his card on the counter. After a moment, Bianca did too. “Just the two of us for now.”

“That’s great,” the shop girl said, starting to bring up something on the central screen. “All right, so you’ll have a debit account with the League system now, which you can use with your cards. It starts out with 1000 Poke in it, which you can add to by winning battles or transferring from another account. Also, if you lose a battle, some money will come out of your account to help pay the victor, but it’s never allowed to fall under 100 Poke. As for the starter packages themselves, you will receive one Premier Ball, which is a specialty commemorative model, as well as four Pokeballs, a random accessory, three random berries, and your choice of a Badge Box.”

She then caused the central monitor to swivel up and around so that they could see and use it. It was set to display various Badge Boxes. Around the edges, there were tabs for various options, like different materials, patterns, or colors.

“Your free Badge Box may total up to 2500 Poke,” the clerk said, indicating an estimated value line, “and if the cost goes over that, you’ll need to pay for the rest.”

“Okay,” Bianca said. The estimated costs of some seemed decently below that allowance. “Should we still go to the Gym today?”

“That’s fine with me,” Hilda said. Not only had they planned on this today, but it might be better to observe the battles first.

-+-

evening, 11/17

The Striaton Gym doubled as a restaurant during its open hours. In the center, there was a large open square that served as a battle area; shield generators around the edge ensured that guests did not get hit by Pokémon attacks. All around the edge were square wooden tables set up nicely with white tablecloths, various centerpieces, elegant silverware, and pretty plates and cups. It was classy, but not too expensive and formal.

It was already mostly full when they arrived, noisy with chatter and laughter. A waiter dressed in black greeted them at the door. “Good evening, and welcome to Striaton Gym and Restaurant. How many are in your party?”

“Four, please,” Bianca said, including Kyurem who was gazing over the crowd like an assassin could be lurking there.

The waiter nodded. “Yes, we have a table you could take. Are any of you planning on challenging the Leaders? We only have two slots left open for this time slot.”

“That’s good,” Cheren said, bringing out his League ID card. “There’s only two of us eligible right now.”

Bianca shuffled through her purse looking for hers. “Um, yeah. I’ll go ahead and try.”

“Very good,” the waiter said, taking the two IDs. “I’ll register you and bring the cards back to the table. Follow me.” He also grabbed four menus and led them to a place near the northeast corner.

After a little while of checking the menus, Bianca lowered hers. “Oh my, I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat much. I mean, it’s my first Gym battle; I’m so nervous.”

Cheren shrugged. “Well it is our first Gym,” he said, dismissive rather than concerned. “We’ve probably faced more challenging battles in class here.”

“I don’t know,” Bianca said, biting her lip. “I mean, the Gym Leaders have to be really good Trainers to get the position. I know this Gym is new compared to the others, but still…”

“Hello,” a young woman said, stopping by their table. She wore a cute orange dress with a white apron. “I’m Tia, and I’ll be your waitress this evening. Here’s your ID cards back,” she passed them over. “Bianca, you’re in the first slot, and Cheren, you’re in the second. I’ll come over and give you a heads up five minutes beforehand, alright?”

“S-sure,” Bianca said. “I didn’t expect to be going first.”

“It runs by challenge order,” Tia explained. “We have three of you for your first badge, someone for a second, and someone else for a sixth. Have you decided on what you’ll be ordering tonight?”

“Do your steaks come rare enough to be warm and bloody all the way through?” Kyurem asked, causing the others to feel squeamish.

“Err, no sir,” Tia said, her face paling a bit as she tried to smile through nervousness. “We can’t do that due to food safety guidelines.”

“Worthless,” he grumbled, looking back at the menu.

“They have sushi,” Hilda pointed out, directing him to that part of the menu.

“What soups do you have today?” Bianca asked.

“Today, it’s tomato basil, chicken and rice, and French onion.” She paused, then added, “And the specialty tea we have today is a lovely hibiscus chamomile blend, along with our usual favorites like the classic black. Our Leaders are excellent tea masters, and on Sundays, we have tea ceremonies that you can reserve a seat for. But there’s no battling during that time.”

“That still sounds interesting,” Bianca said.

After making their orders, the three friends talked for a while. Hilda and Cheren were mostly trying to encourage Bianca. “I hope no one laughs at me,” she said.

“If they do, we’ll beat ‘em up,” Hilda offered.

“I don’t think anyone would be so rude,” Cheren said. “And if they were, I’m sure the staff would make them leave.”

Tia then came up to their table, carrying two trays and followed by a man who didn’t seem to be part of the Gym staff. “And here’s your food,” the waitress said, passing out plates. “Also, this is Master Grimsley of the Elite 4; he’s requested to join your table for this evening.”

“Grimsley?” Bianca asked, sounding awestruck.

“Certainly,” the man said. He was dressed in fine clothing, from the dark violet jacket to the yellow silk scarf to the diamond decorated wristwatch. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything special, but I’ll cover your dinner tabs in exchange.”

Cheren nodded, seeming more polite than usual due to having someone so important drop in on them. “Thank you, that’s quite generous of you.”

“It’s no trouble,” Grimsley said, then quickly gave Tia his order before pulling over another chair to sit at their table. “I came to Striaton looking for you, Miss Hilda,” he said, looking to her. “I was going to wait at the Pokecenter and send a messenger to you, but I had a hunch you might be here instead.”

“Is this about my ID application?” she asked. That was the only reason she could think of why a member of the Elite 4 would be looking for her.

He nodded, then pulled a card out of his pocket. “Yes, and I have your card right here. The application was filled out satisfactorily, but still, it was quite unusual. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a Trainer audacious enough to claim a legendary Pokémon as her starter.”

“Hang around her long enough and you’ll believe it,” Cheren said jokingly.

Hilda laughed. “Well it’s true,” she said, then pointed her fork at the blue haired ‘boy’. “This is Kyurem, and these two are my friends Bianca and Cheren.

Grimsley nodded to them. “It’s a pleasure to meet young Trainers at the start of their careers.” Then he looked at Kyurem. “And you, you’re the Pokémon?”

“This form is more convenient for being indoors,” Kyurem explained. “If it’s proof you’re after, I could make it snow, but I doubt that would be appreciated in this place. Here.” He picked up his glass of water; as he did so, ice crystals grew rapidly up the empty sides, then outward to form precarious frost.

Touching the frost lightly, Grimsley looked thoughtful. “I see. Why are you here? History shows that the legendary Pokémon tend to stay hidden from the rest of the world unless there is trouble lurking around. That goes especially for you and your siblings; you three never show up except during a time of change.”

“I have my reasons,” Kyurem said. “And don’t try to bug me about it anymore. She won’t let me eat people and I’ve been surrounded by lots of tasty beings. It puts me in a bad mood.”

“Err, yeah, and that is all he’ll say,” Hilda added. “Except that it’s to protect me for one reason or another.”

Grimsley looked a little uneasy when the dragon had been talking about eating people, but perhaps knowing that Hilda wasn’t letting him eat people made things seem safe. “Hmm. If that’s so, then I’ll just warn the others to keep alert. In that case, Hilda, there’s nothing in the rules or anywhere that would keep you out of the Pokémon League for owning a legendary Pokémon and using it in battle. We primarily wanted to ascertain the truth of this situation. Here you are.” He passed over the card in his hand. “And I apologize on behalf of the League for any troubles that this delay has caused.”

“Nothing major,” Hilda replied, taking the card from him. “It might be late, but hey, we got to meet you early. That’s cool.”

A few minutes later, the waitress came back with Grimsley’s food. She also tapped Bianca on the shoulder. “This is your warning, miss; we’ll be starting the battles shortly. You’ll be going directly after her, sir.”

“Oh right, thanks,” Bianca said. Cheren nodded to acknowledge his placement. “I hope it goes well.”

“You’ve got a good pair of Pokémon,” Hilda said. “And we’ll be cheering for you.”

Grimsley looked over the battle square in the center. “I’ve wanted to come out and see this Gym in action myself,” he said. “It’s a novel concept they brought forward, quite clever.”

Then the lights in the restaurant dimmed while the lights over the center square brightened, causing a quieting of the conversations going on at the tables. A small hum started up in the center as the shield generators were activated, but not fully turned on. Then three young men came into the battle square. Dressed much like the male waiter who had greeted them, they looked remarkably alike save for the ways their hair was colored and styled. The blue-haired one held onto a computer tablet, while the green-haired one carried in a black case which he set off to the side of their entrance.

Which left the red-haired one to come to the center of the square. “Welcome guests, to the Striaton Gym!” he said, followed by some applause. “I am Chili, and with me are my brothers Cress,” he indicated the blue-haired one, who nodded, “and Cilan,” he indicated the green-haired one, who gave a small bow. “We are the owners of this fine restaurant as well as the Leaders of this Gym. We hope that you’ve enjoyed your evening with us so far.”

“Why did they make it a restaurant anyhow?” Bianca whispered.

“It helps fund the upkeep of the Gym,” Grimsley answered quietly. “Lots of expenses involved, including care of the Pokémon, all the safety features, and the required equipment. And they’ve done remarkably well; enough that they’ve started to support some of the other Gyms which don’t have a steady source of income.”

“And now it is time for what you’ve all been waiting for,” Chili said, smiling widely. “The time for our challengers to come forth and see if they have what it takes to earn the Trio Badge!” More enthusiastic clapping came to that announcement. “We have a full roster of five contenders tonight, and we’re expecting some exciting action. One thing I should explain before we get started is that when your name is called, please come up the challengers stairs on the opposite side. Otherwise, you’ll get a shocking encounter with the battle square shield.” Amid the few laughs, he turned to his brothers. “Now who is up first for tonight?”

Cress glanced at the tablet, then announced, “Miss Bianca Waverly from Nuvema Town.”

Bianca got up from her seat and gave a nervous wave to her friends as she went over to the three shallow steps that led up into the battle square. Hilda waited for some of the applause to die down to shout out, “Go for it, girl!”

Once she was inside, there was a glimmer as the protective shields sealed shut. Cress and Chili stepped back, although the latter said, “And your opponent in this Gym battle will be Cilan.”

The green-haired member of the triplets stepped forward and shook hands with her. “Yes, good evening,” he said politely, shaking her hand. “So, erm, do you have anything to say before our battle?”

“Uh, I dunno,” she said, smiling nervously. “My Pokémon and I are going to do our best, I suppose.”

“That’s great,” the Leader said (although Hilda noticed that he seemed to be almost as nervous about being in front of an audience as Bianca was about her first Gym Battle). “In that case, best of luck to you. Well then, let’s get to it.”

In the back of the battle square, Chili rolled his eyes, then called out, “Each opponent needs to declare how many Pokémon he or she has.”

“Two,” Cilan said, seeming a bit embarrassed that he’d forgotten that part.

“Two,” Bianca echoed, finding the spot where she was supposed to stand.

“Then get ready!” Chili called out as Bianca pulled a Pokeball out of her bag; Cilan took one out of his apron pocket. The redhead held a hand up. “Set… and battle!”

Both Cilan and Bianca called out their first Pokémon, with both sides choosing a Lillipup. Cilan’s pup pricked his ears up and yapped, wagging his tail, while Bianca’s waved her forepaw. “Seems like a friendly match already,” Cress commented in amusement.

“Focus yourself,” Cilan called to his Pokémon.

“Um, tackle him Lassie,” Bianca said, sounding hopeful.

Cilan’s Lillipup hopped in place, still yapping. And yet, a brown glow began to build around him, indicating that his actions were in no way random. Lassie scampered over and barreled into the other Lillipup, only knocking him back a bit.

“Not yet,” Cilan said, “once more, then attack.”

Lassie hopped back, then tackled once more. Still, the other Lillipup stayed on his paws, waiting until that glow was a stage stronger. Then he launched himself at Lassie, causing her to yip in surprise before she was knocked to the ground, defeated. Looking startled, Bianca recalled her Lillipup, then swapped for the other Pokeball she had. “O-okay, go Suzy!” She released her Oshawott. The Pokémon tried to take a brave stance, but she still seemed nervous. “Use Water Gun when he’s in range.”

In the meantime, Cilan called his Lillipup back to his side to use a spray potion on him. As he was next to his Trainer, any trained Pokémon wouldn’t attack until he was safely away from the human. “Good boy; attack again.”

Since the Lillipup wouldn’t attack when near his Trainer either, he rushed away from Cilan, heading for Suzy. The Oshawott produced a water bullet which hit the Lillipup directly, but didn’t stop him. She fell to his tackle attack as well, leaving Bianca without any useable Pokémon. “And the winner is Cilan,” Chili called out, stepping forward.

“It was a good try,” Cilan said, trying to sound helpful. “Come back any time to re-challenge me.” He then touched something on his collar. It must have been a microphone as he said something to Bianca that didn’t get broadcast to the speakers.

Stepping out of the challenger’s microphone range, Bianca said something and nodded, passing her two Pokeballs off to Cilan. A couple of minutes later, she was back to their table. “It was nice that they offered to heal my Pokémon,” she said, sounding disappointed. “But I didn’t even get past his first Pokémon.”

“A lot of people fail this Gym on their first try,” Grimsley said. “Other Gyms too. That’s still no reason to give up.”

“I’ll try again,” she said. “Maybe I ought to finish the battle class first.”

“You’ll get the badge,” Hilda said in encouragement. “After all, if he started with a Lillipup too, it’s got to be a great Pokémon.”

“I suppose so.”

After the three leaders had made some quiet exchanges, Chili came back towards the center. “And now, our next challenger?”

Cilan had the tablet now, and called out, “Mr. Cheren Flint from Nuvema Town.”

“Good luck,” Bianca said under the applause as Cheren got up from his seat. He smiled back before he went to the battle square.

Again, Hilda waited until things quieted before calling out her encouragement. “Knock ‘em out, bro!”

Chili smiled more at that, then gestured to one of his brothers. “And your opponent for this Gym will be Cress.”

“Oh, so they take turns,” Bianca said quietly as the blue haired brother stepped forward to shake hands with his challenger.

“Sort of,” Grimsley said, but didn’t explain further.

“It seems that we have some friends who started from the same town tonight,” Cress said. “Do you have anything to say before the battle?”

“No, I’m ready to take you on,” Cheren said, confident.

Cress nodded. “Well said. Now,” he stepped back to his position, “declare your Pokémon. I have two.”

“I have two,” Cheren said, moving to the challenger’s spot.

“Then get ready,” Chili called out from the back. “Set… and battle!”

Cress released his first Pokémon, which turned out to also be a Lillipup. On the other side, Cheren called out his Tepig. Smoky let out puffs of white smoke from his nostrils to show off, while the Lillipup barked sharply to make her prowess known. The Leader quickly called out, “Power up.”

“Smoky, Ember then tackle,” Cheren said.

With a snort, the Tepig spat out a small fireball while the Lillipup followed the same strategy as the other one. But instead of the power move done twice, Cress had the Lillipup make a tackle of her own. The two Pokémon ran right for each other, but the Lillipup move aside at the last moment to tackle the Tepig in the side. Smoky managed to scramble back from the hit and made his own tackle, knocking the Lillipup back a foot and knocking her out.

Cress then released his second Pokémon, a short monkey with blue fur and a funny tuft on top of his head. “Panpour, Water Gun,” the Leader said.

Cheren looked like he was thinking quickly to figure out what to do. But not quick enough; the Panpour shot a water ball similar to what the Oshawott did earlier, causing Smoky to collapse. Hilda figured that he was probably tense and focused with that KO. Cheren then brought out his second Pokeball, releasing his Purrloin. “Shadeclaw, scratch it.”

In comparison, the Gym Leader took hardly any time to think on strategy. “Again.”

The Purrloin swished his tail, then ran up to his opponent in a zigzag manner. After rubbing his chin, the Panpour shot a Water Gun at Purrloin’s face when he was less than a foot away. The feline Pokémon yelped in surprise, but was knocked out when he hit the floor. Chili again called out, “And the winner is Cress.”

Cress nodded to Cheren. “You’ve got a good start on training, but this may have been a bit too early. Come again to challenge me when you practice some more.” He then made the same offer to revive and heal his Pokémon before returning to his seat.

“Wow, this really is tough,” Bianca said, still looking at Cheren.

“Those guys are awesome,” Hilda said. “They don’t look the part of tough Trainers, but dang, they have a winning formula all right.”

Grimsley nodded. “Oh trust me, some of the biggest surprises in Pokémon matches come from people who look unassuming and teams that don’t seem special on the surface. One of my toughest matches came from a guy who had no traditional advantages to his team, like superior typing or the like. It got down to the wire for both of us.”

“I plan on being memorable for having flair,” Hilda said, grinning.

“I’d just be happy with a couple of badges, to help with traded Pokémon if I get some,” Bianca replied.

At that point, Cheren came back to their table. “That was disappointing,” he said as he sat down. “It’s much different being put under the spotlight like that, with an audience and knowing that all battles are recorded.”

“They are?” Bianca asked, sounding self-conscious.

“Yeah, but you have to give permission before they can be viewed by the general public,” he said.

“Well our challengers haven’t had much luck tonight,” Chili said from the battle square. “Who’s next on the roster?”

Cilan checked the tablet and announced, “N Harmonia of the Sarasota Forest.”

Him? Hilda sat up. “I know him! I battled him a week back.”

“Really?” Bianca looked back over to the battle square to see the green-haired boy walking up the steps. “Hey, he’s cute.”

“He started on the same day we did,” she said. “So it might not turn out so well for him.” Still she may as well show some support, even if she didn’t know N as well as her friends. So she gave him a loud whistle.

N looked surprised to hear that, especially when Chili said, “Well it seems our dedicated cheering section approves.”

“Yeah!” Hilda shouted, causing some laughter around the room.

“And your opponent will be, myself,” Chili said. He offered to shake hands, but N didn’t take him up on it. “Well then, anything you wish to say first?”

“I don’t like how you’re making a show of this,” N said. He was talking noticeably slower than last time; maybe he was making himself do so. “It’s quite inconsiderate, desensitizing violence to the people.”

In the back of the square, Cilan and Cress glanced at each other, as if unnerved by having a critical Trainer come in. Chili didn’t let it get to him, at least on the surface. “Well a good Trainer and Pokémon will do well under pressure,” he replied. “If you’re going to prove your ability, then you may as well do so in the public eye. So, are you ready? Declare your Pokémon. I have two.”

N took a deep breath, then said, “I have two.”

Cress spoke up since Chili was the one battling. “Then get ready… set, and battle!”

“I wonder what his parents were thinking when they named him N,” Cheren said as Chili sent out a Lillipup and N his Purrloin. “It seems like something that would be surefire tease-bait.”

“Maybe they were trying to balance out his lengthy surname,” Hilda said.

Like his brothers, Chili had his Lillipup use that power up move. N had ordered his Purrloin to use Sand Attack (something which made Cheren mouth something, then check his Pokedex about his own Purrloin). Once the Pokémon actually got into attacking, the Lillipup was quite strong, but also completely missing the Purrloin. She leapt around her opponent while attacking with her claws, seeming to have a grand time of it. It took a long time, especially since Chili healed the Lillipup once. After several minutes, the Purrloin came out the victor of that match.

Chili recalled his fallen Pokémon, then called out a red monkey Pokémon with a curly tuft. “Pansear, power up.”

N took advantage of the KO to switch out his Purrloin for a Pidove. “Pidove, Fly,” he ordered.

Obediently, the gray bird hopped up off the floor and beat his small wings furiously. After a second, he shot straight up into the air with a pale blue sphere of energy surrounding him. The Pidove then vanished into the glow shortly before he would have crashed into the ceiling.

This move actually got the Gym Leader looking worried. Chili stepped back, then called out, “Move, Pansear! And get ready to attack.”

Making an ‘ook’ sound in agreement, the Pansear began hopping about erratically around the battle square, taking care not to get too close to any of the four humans. Then the pale blue glow reappeared, bringing with it the Pidove who slammed right into the Pansear. A large gust of wind spread out from the attack, causing the competitors’ clothes to flap and the protective shield to glisten as it kept the energy from escaping. Once the view cleared up, the monkey Pokémon was no longer in the square and the pigeon Pokémon was landing in the center, unharmed.

Cress stepped forward. “And the winner of this round is our challenger, N,” he said, causing applause to follow. Hilda cheered for him, joined in by Bianca, but it seemed like they were the only ones doing so with enthusiasm.

“Well done,” Chili said, smiling. Cilan came up quietly and passed him a small serving tray. “For your efforts, you have earned the Trio Badge!” He passed over a small item that glinted gold under the lights, but it was hard to see from the tables. “And please take this gift TM from us to you. Congratulations on your first League victory.”

“It is the Pokémon’s victory, not mine,” N said, right before he turned and left the battle square.

“Cute, but a little serious,” Bianca said.

“That was cheap,” Cheren said. “With a Pidove that knows Fly, he could have won with just that one Pokémon.”

“It is a winning strategy,” Grimsley said. “But yes, a cheap one.”

-+-

Walking back to Route 3, N kept his head down, avoiding looking at anyone passing by. He wanted some time alone. But even with the darkening sky overhead, there was always someone else walking along. At the fork in the route, he glanced south and saw three other teenagers with some Pokémon, chatting and laughing. Looking to the east, there was no one. He went east.

Down the path, he came across a waist-high ledge leading up to a grassy plot. It was easy to climb up onto the ledge, then look around in the fading light. There didn’t seem to be any people around. Strangely, there didn’t seem to be many Pokémon either, despite being the ideal spot for them to hang out. He wasn’t sure why; the books often said that it was easy to find Pokémon, but hard to catch them. He had no trouble convincing them to come with him, but finding them was difficult.

He had the spot he wanted, so N sat down on the ledge. Looking past a line of trees, he could see a lake softly rippling under the autumn breeze. A few brown leaves drifted down around him, but the deciduous trees were nearly entirely bare. At least the natural world was still beautiful. He wasn’t so sure about cities.

Although he had won his first Gym battle, N felt troubled. He was supposed to be finding evidence of the carelessness and cruelty of humans towards Pokémon. Instead, he found people who seemed to love Pokémon and Pokémon that seemed to love people. Perhaps a good percentage of them were influenced by cultural stasis, acting out the love because that is what they expected. They would see how much better things were when the situation was set right.

And yet, when he thought of that girl Hilda and her Snivy Fedora, he was still finding it hard to prove insincere. The same with others. For every bad case like the Hyper Beam kid and his Pansage, there was a good case. There was also what he had just witnessed over dinner: Gym Pokémon who were proud to act as a test to others, Trainer Pokémon who willingly gave their all for the honor of their person, and even a pair of Pokémon in the audience who had been excited to follow all the battles.

There was also the very first match of the evening, Cilan’s Lillipup against that one girl’s Lillipup. When N closed his eyes, he could see and hear them again in his mind. The male had gotten excited. “Sis! Good to see you again! And you got a Trainer, excellent!”

And the female had waved. “Hi bro! And yeah, I’ve got the sweetest Trainer you’ll ever meet, and she takes me to class, and she gave me a nickname! I’m Lassie now!”

“Wow, you did awesome! But it’s my duty to fight you with all my might. I’m sorry; I still love you as part of my litter.”

“I know; I’ll do my best. I love you too, bro.”

Feeling a chill, N opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. A few stars were starting to appear. He used to love coming out late to observe the night sky. But now, his mind was on the ‘pups. They had been part of the same family, the same litter. They loved each other and seemed to be proud of each other’s position. Despite that, they had no qualms about battling each other. The male had even apologized again when he had knocked his sister out, but he didn’t sound distraught.

Did they actually like the current system?

It still wasn’t right! N was becoming convinced that there had to be an element of brainwashing somewhere. Maybe with the Pokecenters. League Trainers would bring their Pokémon there every day, possibly even multiple times a day. For the next Gym, he would try avoiding the Pokecenter and heal his team in other ways.

Which reminded him… it was time to let go. He took out the two Pokeballs he had, called out the two Pokémon, then brought a black tool out of his bag. When Pokémon were captured, they were converted to a digital form. To be released, they had to be converted back safely. While a Storage Box program could do so, he despised that technology on principle. One of the Sages had thus gotten him this instead, a Pokémon converter. “Thank you for your assistance,” N said. “It’s time for me to release you back into the wild.”

“Good, I’ve been waiting for this,” the Pidove said.

Pricilla lowered her ears. “Right,” she said, oddly reluctant.

N took the Pidove’s Pokeball and put it into the converter. The machine asked him twice if he was certain that he wanted to let this Pokémon go. Why would it do that? Releases would be the main purpose of this tool. Once it accepted the command, a white glow appeared around the Pidove. The status screen of the Pokeball went staticy, then turned black. The Pidove appeared again, now free.

After testing his wings and getting into the air, the Pidove said, “Right, well thanks for keeping your word. Have a good trip.” He then flew off across the lake, using Fly to go faster than he could previously.

“I don’t know about this,” Pricilla said, coming closer to him. “I like traveling with you, and I know you won’t hurt me. I can keep helping you, N.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t compromise my principles. Keeping you in a Pokeball will come to hurt you over time, and I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to restrain your freedom, which all beings deserve. This is better for everyone.”

“But I like you,” she said, getting nervous as he picked up her Pokeball. “We can be friends.”

“We are friends,” he said.

“Well yeah, but we can be better friends if I stay with you,” the Purrloin said hurriedly. “And I’m your starter Pokémon, remember? Everybody says that League starters are always special and many of them stay with their Trainers their whole lives. I wanted to be special.”

Her pleas pierced through his heart. Friends were treasures, precious to everyone. And while he couldn’t quite relate to wanting to be special (as he’d always been special), N remembered reading some stories where someone wanted to be someone special and either did great things or ended up in ruin, depending on how far they were taken by vice. If it would make her happier, then maybe he ought to keep her.

No. That wasn’t in the plans and he had to be firm. “You are someone special,” N said. “And I’ll always remember you as my starter, and my friend. But I’m working for the liberation of all Pokémon. I can’t be a hypocrite and keep some, no matter how much I love them.” He put the Pokeball in the tool and started up the release process.

She mewed in a begging tone. “Please? I want to stay with you.”

‘Do you really want to let this Pokémon go?’ the screen of the tool asked him.

N hesitated. Why was this tough on him and her? She should be happy to be let go. He pressed on the confirm button. “It’s for the good of everyone, even the both of us.”

When the glow faded, Pricilla’s ears and tail were twitching like she couldn’t decide if she was angry or devastated. “Wh-why?” she stammered out, but then bolted before he could answer.

Feeling like he’d done something rotten, N tried to clear his mind. It didn’t work too well, as he kept thinking to what he’d heard people and Pokémon saying this past week. He put the tool back in his bag, then lay down on the ground. With the dark green of the grass waving in and out of his vision, he could see the stars clearly at this time. They were twinkling up there like they did every night. And yet, he found himself wondering what the stars were thinking about what they had seen him do.

“I did the right thing; I shouldn’t feel guilty about it.” He spoke quietly, even though he knew hardly anyone else was around.

The stars watched him back.

Sighing, N put his hands under his head. “This wasn’t supposed to be a difficult thing to do.”

-+-

Pricilla growled into the grasses as she slowed down. She knew that he’d said it would just be one Gym battle. And yet, somehow she’d deluded herself into thinking that maybe he would change his mind. He nearly had, she was pretty sure. But N was sticking to his word no matter what anyone else said. She should just forget about him, and go back to being just another Purrloin.

But she had been special there, for a while. He had even given her a name, which was better than what her last Trainer had done. And…

That smell…

Pricilla stopped, lowering her stance in the grass. There was that smell again, that awful Repel-like scent that accompanied those two stinky girls who tried to tag along with N. What was that? She lurked closer to the edge of the grass nearest the scent, trying to find it. It was somewhere, in the trees.

And back there, she spotted her. The one called Carol, who had the ghostly pink hair and always wore those weird black skirts. Skirts that hid the fact that she carried two large knives on her person at all times.

How many times had she seen them, staying just beyond where N would notice them? Pricilla lowered her ears, extending her claws for a moment. Any time she was allowed to roam around while practicing, she always found her or Val around. And they were always stinky, even if they had gotten better at hiding it from N.

Wait a moment… N hardly ever ran into wild Pokémon. She had done all her training with him against captive Pokémon. And those girls always smelled that way. Keeping the wild Pokémon away from N? Why?

It really wasn’t her concern anymore, Pricilla thought. N had released her and she didn’t owe him anything. Yet another thought said that she did like him and she still wanted to help him. Even if she couldn’t be by his side anymore?

Not wanting to run into Carol and her knives, Pricilla went back another way, ending up near N. Moving silently, she managed not to get his notice. He was talking again, but to himself. “I have to figure out what’s brainwashing these Pokémon,” he was saying. “I hope it’s not the Pokeballs; I’d have to drop out of the League if it were that, and that would set us back so far. They all think this is normal, when it’s unnatural and unhealthy. I was the only one who noticed at one time, and now so many know this truth. I can’t give up now. This all has to be a test of my faith. It’s not wrong if I’m doing it for the right reasons.”

Pricilla listened, calming down. Maybe she was meant to stay with N, if hearing his voice relaxed her like this. But also, she remembered her first Trainer talking like this at times. She did that when she was doing something that made her feel guilty or that she knew was wrong, while trying to convince herself that she was in the right.

She was his starter Pokémon, and she’d make sure he was safe. Even if he would never notice her doing so.

[Son_of_Shadows]

Aw, I feel so bad for Priscilla being released. You can tell she really loves N already, and indeed, he seems like the sort of trainer Pokémon would quickly warm to.

Also yay Grimsley, dude's a boss.

[DarknessInZero]

Grimsley? OMFG! They met a guy from the Elite 4! No, really. Great chapter, I'm feeling kinda of sorry for Pricilla. But she is going to follow N! And Kyurem. Let him eat someone! Please!

[scizorstrike]

I agree with DiZ on the eating part. Poor, naive N, not realizing that his "freinds" are actually ninjas who are trained assassins who will murder anyone who starts irritating him...

One query; are you using the in-game teams? because when you encounter N in Nacrene City, I'm fairly sure that he uses a Pidove...

[Tokyo Oranges]

Hmmm.... Suspicious repel ninja girls are quite suspicious. Pricilla better be sticking around Anyway, like all of your other works this is excellent so far. Could I possibly be added to the PM list?
And something i forgot to add last night, Hilbert isn't a Vampire, He has magical bishie sparkle powers. 8D

[Ysavvryl]

Coffee Break

N held his hand up. "I'm sorry, I'm just not getting this. She said the story was taking a serious turn, but the basic concept is still ridiculous and cliche? How does that even work?"

"It works on the same level as crazy awesome and I love it," Hilda said. "Ideas evolve too. For one thing, just look at your end of the deal. You've got some big philosophical goal you're chasing, and you're being followed by ninja girls. And being countered by a sparkly bishie and a total..."

"Now what's wrong with being a sparkly bishie?" Hilbert asked, offended.

"You take screen time away from me," Hilda replied, brushing him off. "It may be taken seriously, but it is a strange anime-cliche scenario, on top of everything else that happens in the games."

"But serious and silly aren't supposed to mix," N countered. "It's an oil and water situation; it's just not going to happen."

"Aw, have some faith in our author," she teased, acting like she would tickle him.

"Do I get to say anything significant this time?" Hilbert asked, as N leapt out of the way so fast that he and his chair crashed onto the ground.

"I could ask Kyurem to eat you," Hilda said. After not getting a reply out of either boy, she added, "As for in-game teams, you'll see about N's Pokemon in this chapter. And let's go!"


Chapter 7: Barefoot Fishing


evening, 11/19

One place in Striaton which was widely acclaimed as a great place for young or novice Trainers was the Dreamyard. It was an overgrown wreck of an old factory. Along with patches of tall grass, there were stone walls with gaping holes and collapsed sections. Giant machines had been left to rust, their original purposes undecipherable. In one area, there was a standing stairway with a precarious walkway over the ground. Old empty steel drums were gathered around, becoming places for plants and kids to climb on.

In short, it was awesome.

Hilda was hanging out with some locals, some just kids, but some teens older than her. Since her camping class didn’t have an evening session today, she was left with an open evening. She was listening to tales about the Gym. “So they choose which guy to send against you based on your starting Pokémon?” she asked.

“That’s right,” one young woman said. “And if you haven’t gotten any Pokémon to cover that weakness, then you’re out of luck. It’s been catching a lot of people by surprise, since they try training only types they like, ignoring the build-up of shared weaknesses. All too many people forget about strategy, which is why they don’t advance far.”

“But it’s hard finding a variety of types around here,” one guy said. “Especially ones that would be good against any of the triplets. I’ve been trying to go with a neutral type match-up, but mine aren’t strong enough yet.”

That was something she had to consider. Hilda had been thinking about how she needed another Pokémon anyhow. In her battles class, the final exam would consist of battles against her classmates, possibly against her teacher. He said that she couldn’t use Kyurem for that, even if he was around the same level as all of the other class Pokémon now. When the dragon had glowered at him, Mr. Tailor had insisted it was because he didn’t want Hilda to start relying on one overly powerful Pokémon at this early stage. That had gotten Kyurem to reluctantly agree.

As the group drifted apart, she found the dragon leaning against the wall in his human form, observing all that was going on. “Hey Kyurem,” she said, getting him to look at her, “it seems like this Gym picks who you face based on starters. I’m not too familiar with dragons, so which one would you have the most trouble against? Chili’s got Fire types, Cress has Water types, and Cilan has Grass types.”

“The Fire one,” he answered promptly. “Dragons will naturally resist all three of those types, but being part Ice, I don’t resist Fire as well.”

She nodded. “Okay then, we has to plan for Chili… which would be bad for Fedora as well. I could get Ground, Water… I think Rock? Or was it Flying?”

“Rock. Pardon me for asking, but may I go hunting tonight?”

“Hunting?”

Kyurem frowned. “I’m a predator. Having cooked meat is passable, but being too long without it when awake is making me irritable. Especially when I’m using this form for long periods of time.”

“Oh sorry. Do you want to stay in your Pokeball more often?”

“I’m protecting you and that would get in the way. Still, I am under your command. May I go?”

He made sense, but there were other reasons to consider. “The thing is, as your Trainer, I am responsible for your actions to an extent. If you go around killing people, I’m going to get into a lot of trouble.”

With a look of annoyance, he nodded. “I know. Sometimes I think it would be better to return things to wilderness. In that time, nobody cared if I went out and killed someone for my meals; they only cared if I was hunting them or their close kin, if they were intelligent enough to recognize kin. All this civilization and its civil responsibilities are chains on the wild spirit.” Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “But I know that the chains are there for the protection of everyone, to make things fair and just. It’s just not easy on a being like me.”

“Well I know I don’t want you killing somebody because you’re irritated,” she said, scratching her head. “All right, look: if you can keep from being caught, then sure, you can go somewhere and hunt. Preferably away from towns and routes where most people will be.”

“As you wish,” he said, pushing himself off the wall. “I will be able to locate you easily after I’m done. Just don’t do anything reckless while I’m gone. Thank you.” He then walked off into the trees.

Hilda smirked. “My Mom would say good luck getting me not to be reckless,” she said under her breath. Then she looked around and shouted, “Fedora!”

There was a trilling sound as the green lizard rushed out of the tall grass to come to her side. He grinned as he looked up to her. Under his neck, there was a pale green elastic band that held his hat more securely on his head. Mrs. White had recommended this, as the elastic would safely stretch when he evolved.

Patting his hat, she smiled back. “Hey buddy. Kyurem’s off hunting something, so we’ve got to find our new team member. Since we have to fight Fire, a Pidove might work. But I’d rather pick up a Water type, actually. At any rate, I know the place to start looking for both. Come on.” Then she headed east to leave the Dreamyard.

At the whole other end of town, there was a public garden. It was an impressive place, nearly as big as the main part of Striaton. In the center, there was a large fountain shooting up water in a lovely spout. All around it, there were winding pathways between narrow pools of water. Spots with benches and flowerbeds were scattered around, and bushes formed beautiful hedges. Some of those bushes were even carved into Pokémon shapes, mostly Pidoves, but at least one that looked more like a Pikachu. To the north, there was a white trellis archway with flowering vines growing all over it.

She was interested in the pools of water. In the clear water, there were metallic flashes as beautiful carp swam around. Various other fishes swam in there, but the carp were most noticeable, as were the Basculin. While the carp were ordinary fish, the Basculin were Pokémon. They could be identified readily with their large shapes and red stripes. And they were said to be quite the fighters among the Water type.

Hilda knelt down and touched the water’s surface. It was warm. “I wonder how deep this is,” she said, mostly to herself. Then she took off her sandals and put them aside. While her mother thought she had talked her into a more reasonable wardrobe for traveling, Hilda was wearing her short shorts today. The nights were starting to cool off and it wouldn’t be much longer until it was too cold to wear this kind of thing. Now barefoot, she dropped down into the water.

As the fish scattered, her feet touched the smooth rock bed when the water came up to her mid-thigh. Pokémon would be braver than animals, and they might come to investigate a human in their waters. Now just so long as some stuffy caretaker didn’t come and yell at her for wading, she would be fine.

Fedora made a questioning noise as he stayed on the shore. He didn’t look too eager to join her in the water.

“I’ve heard that underwater Pokémon can fight above water, if they choose to do so,” she told him. “I’m hoping I can lure one out to capture.”

Before that happened, though, a different kind of Pokémon swam up to her. The Panpour’s head emerged from the water; it treaded there while it looked at her. “Ook?” it asked.

Hilda smiled. “Well hi there. Oh, what’s this?” She touched the Panpour’s left arm where she saw something odd. A wide bracelet was there; it had writing on it, but being partly in the water, Hilda could only make out one word. “Juliet? You must belong to somebody.”

Juliet, if that was her name, touched Hilda’s arm and gave her wide puppy eyes.

“Sorry, girl,” she said. “I’m looking for wild Pokémon right now. Go on back home.”

“Hof.” She ducked back into the water and swam off.

Not long after the monkey had left, one of the Basculin came up to her. Hilda put her hand on the water’s surface, wondering how to get it at surface level. It might not be able to hear her so well right now. Thankfully, the Basculin surfaced to check out her fingers. It started to nip at her, so she drew her hand back.

“Hi there,” she said. “Want to battle? I’m looking for new teammates.”

It splashed the surface, but stayed there. She guessed that was an agreement, especially when it rushed and leapt out of the water at Fedora. Reacting more than anything, the Snivy made a vine appear and whipped the fish with it. That knocked the Basculin out in one blow.

“That doesn’t really help,” Hilda said, reaching out to pick up the wild Pokémon. Its scales were coated in some kind of film, keeping them from being rough to the touch. Seeing another Basculin swimming up, she placed the unconscious one in the water. The other Basculin managed to pull it away into a tunnel not visible from the surface.

The next Basculin brave enough to battle them came up. Hilda had Fedora tackle it instead. However, that knocked it out too, as well as the next two. But instead of discouraging the other Basculin, this seemed to attract them instead. Fedora seemed happy with this.

“We need to catch one,” she reminded him. Which meant she had to find one strong enough to handle his attacks. But if it was true that some wild Pokémon were attracted to strong Trainers, these wins might just bring one out that would.

Without warning, a battle that had nothing to do with them erupted in the water a short distance from where Hilda was. The Basculin were fighting with each other? Why? Knowing that Pokémon usually didn’t attack humans, Hilda waded over there.

One of the Basculin shot towards her. At least, it looked like a Basculin. It had the same body shape, the same green scales, and the same bony fin. But it had blue stripes along its top instead of red. It came right up to her, using her presence to dissuade the others. It looked injured.

Well, this solved the problem of Fedora knocking them all out. She pulled out an empty Pokeball. “Hey, you want to come with me instead?”

The Basculin came closer, so she activated the Pokeball and dropped it into the water. The blue stripe Basculin was absorbed into the ball. When she saw a glow from the status screen, she reached down and picked it out of the water. It, a male, was hers.

Climbing out of the pool, she considered what to do. Fedora was peering into the pool, as if daring another Basculin to come out and attack him. Hilda wanted to know why this one looked different. It didn’t have the same characteristics one saw in shiny specimens. Then again, it had been in the water and she wasn’t sure.

Near another pool, she saw a man who was fishing in the water. That seemed a decent resource, she thought. If he was a local, then he would probably know the Basculins pretty well. Hilda walked over to him, waving. “Hey, mister! Can I ask you something?”

He jolted as if he’d just been asleep. The fisherman looked up, shifting his tan hat up to see her. “Oh, er, yes miss. What is it?”

“I got this Basculin that looks funny,” she said, calling out her new Pokémon. He appeared, interestingly, in a bubble of water that floated in midair. “Is that normal? I mean, the color. I know the bubble thing is good.”

The fisherman’s eyes widened. He got up to look at the Pokémon closer. Figuring the Basculin could use a healing, Hilda brought out a Potion and sprayed it on him.

“This is an uncommon form of Basculin,” the fisherman finally said. “Most of the ones around here are the red stripe variety, but there’s also this blue stripe.”

“Very creatively named,” she said sarcastically.

He shrugged. “I know. It’s just like the red ones around here, with a blue stripe instead of red. But then, I’ve been fishing for a blue stripe Basculin for three months now, as a present for my wife. She wants one for a pet around the house, since we have a little pool just big enough for one Pokémon this size. May I buy it off you for 4000 Poke?”

The offer surprised her. “Really?”

“I’ll buy it for 5000, but I can’t do much more,” he added, mistaking her question.

“Uh, sure,” she said. That was much more than the Pokeball cost, anyhow. “Just one thing; let me ask him.” She touched the Basculin, getting it to turn to her. “I’m in the Pokémon League, so I’d be training you to battle. Do you want to be a battler with me, or go with him to be a house pet for his wife?”

The Pokémon looked between the two of them. “Can they understand us?” the fisherman asked.

“I think so,” she said. Then the Basculin swam towards the fisherman’s side, taking its bubble of water with it. “Okay, I understand,” she told him. “Do you need me to nickname him?”

The fisherman shook his head. “It’s not necessary; I’ll be adjusting the Pokeball to mark it as a gift Pokémon. Here, I’ll show you how to do that.” He came over and showed her how to access that option with the Pokeball’s status screen. It would null the Original Trainer data for the Pokeball, putting it into a neutral state until it was set to gift mode, where the next person who touched it would have their DNA recorded as the OT data. After that explanation, the fisherman paid her the 5000 Poke and left with the blue stripe Basculin.

At her side, Fedora chirped at her.

“Well that was a slight waste of time,” Hilda said, now that the fisherman was gone. “Then again, I think I’ve found a nice side source of income.”

There was a splash nearby. Looking down, she saw that it was the Panpour again. “Cha?”

“What’s up with you?” Hilda asked. “Are you one of the Gym’s Pokémon?”

Juliet shook her head, then climbed out onto land. “Ook.” She held up her left arm and touched the bracelet.

Since she seemed insistent, Hilda knelt down to read it. After wiping the water off, the text was fairly clear. ‘My name is Juliet, and I belong to Laura in Nacrene.’ Such nametags had been a common practice before Pokeballs were widespread; Hilda had heard about it from her grandmother. Some people still used them for decorative purposes.

“Are you lost then?” Hilda asked. “Nacrene’s some distance from Striaton.”

Juliet nodded. That was the advantage of a primate Pokémon; its non-verbal communication was close to humans. And for those raised by humans, it would be identical.

“I see.” She got up, but held out her hand to the Panpour. “Well I’ll take you to the Pokecenter, okay? We’ll see if your Trainer is around there.”

Looking happy, Juliet took Hilda’s hand and walked along with her and Fedora back to the center.

-+-

Afternoon, 11/19

The area south of Nacrene was a bit marshy, with areas of shallow but muddy water around. N had good waterproof boots on, but he still didn’t like the feel of ground that one sank in a little with every step. However, it seemed like that was a good environment for some Pokémon. That was why he had come here, but he hadn’t realized how soggy the ground was. Now he was crouching on what he knew was good solid ground, observing the watery surface ahead of him.

The wind was causing ripples across the surface, but there didn’t seem to be any disruptions. No areas where the water flowed around a hidden Pokémon, no bubbles of something that breathed, no splashes. Nothing. There seemed to be no Pokémon in that part of marsh. Resigning himself to not catching anything more around here, he got up and looked to where his current Pokémon were.

As the HM Fly was a potent move, he had picked up another Pidove. This one wanted a nickname, so N was calling him Peter. And earlier this morning, he had encountered a Timburr which was unfortunately missing much of its right ear. He had wanted a tough sounding nickname, so N was calling him Scar. “Peter, Scar, I don’t think there’s any wild Pokémon around here,” he told them.

“Now that’s just not right,” Scar said, partly leaning on his large log. “Normally there’s so many Pokémon around here, it’s impossible to be alone unless you enter the forest proper. Not that it matters; you get good fighting out of it.”

“They’ll attack you for any reason they can find,” Peter said, fluffing his gray feathers up defensively. “Even if you just fly by not meaning no harm. And the Trainers will fight each other if they so much as make eye contact.”

“Cause fights are fun,” the Timburr said, grinning. He had an attitude like the Zoroark N knew.

“I don’t think so,” the Pidove said, keeping away from Scar.

N came between the two of them. “Here now, let’s not argue,” he said calmly. “If you don’t want to fight, Peter, I’ll have you assist or observe Scar so you don’t need to be involved. But to win the next Gym, you both need to be stronger, or I need to find a third Pokémon.”

“You can find one of the Throh or Sawk around here,” Scar said. “Or, you normally could find them. But then this Gym here will be a piece of cake. I’ve already been in there; I could handle it myself, but she has this hideously strong Watchog that we’ll need to counter.”

“They’ll be in the grassy areas, correct?” If they were, that was a relief. He wouldn’t have to go into the muddy area.

“Yeah, but you can find the strongest chaps over that way,” he said, pointing to the southeast past the nearby marsh. “In the darker green grass.”

And starting with a stronger Pokémon would mean less time fighting. For that, he could walk around the marsh. “All right, thanks. We’ll go over there.”

Around half of the trees in this area were still green, thick pines and cedars that would always be green. Because of that, N didn’t see the next Trainer until he was only a few feet from him. “Oh you,” the guy said, walking over. Peter flew into one of the trees, hoping to hide out of another battle. “I recognize the hair, but I don’t remember much more about you.”

“You were Hilbert, right? We only spoke for a couple of minutes. I’m N.”

Hilbert gave him that questioning look that N was getting used to. It seemed everyone outside of Team Plasma thought that he had a strange name. But then he smiled, giving off that strange aura sparkle he had. “Ah. I do meet a lot of people in my travels, can’t be bothered to learn all of you. Hey, if you were hoping to challenge me to a thrilling battle, I’m afraid I’ll have to deny it right now. I’m trying not to attract attention to myself at the moment.”

For a moment, N felt indignant that Hilbert would brush him off like this. But something about the teen convinced N that it was okay. Besides, he wasn’t going to force a battle on N; knowing that he had a Gigalith, N could only imagine that it would end badly for his two friends.

“I see,” N replied. “Why’re you hiding?”

Hilbert flicked his brown hair back, even though his hat was holding it in place. “Well the thing is, I’m just so fabulous and interesting that sometimes it’s a curse. I attract attention whenever I walk through a town, or even on a route that seems quiet. I get crowds without trying. However, I’m doing some research and I don’t need the distraction. So if you don’t mind.” he walked back to where he had a camp set up. Hilbert had a laptop computer set up on a rock, near a log which acted as a seat.

N considered going on to the area of darker grass, but something popped into his mind. “Is this about your search for the truth?” he asked.

“Yes, exactly,” he said, sitting down. “I’m normally interested in the truth of any situations I read about, something I picked up from my uncle. But in running around trying to track down people, I’ve come to realize that many delays I have are due to liars, or people who don’t tell me everything. I’ve tried to use Psychic Pokémon to help cover what my own psychic powers won’t tell me, but even there I can be lied to. After considering things, I’ve decided to go after a Pokémon that no one could lie to.”

N knew who he was talking about before he even mentioned Pokémon. “You mean Reshiram?”

Hilbert nodded. “You’re a sharp one, N. Yeah, I’m looking for Reshiram. It’s not easy finding a legendary Pokémon, but with faith and determination, it can be done.”

“Of course,” he agreed. He was leery for a moment more about talking about this outside of Plasma, but he decided to try. “I have considered trying to find Zekrom myself.”

That really got his attention. “You are? Well that’s great! I don’t often meet someone else interested in this. Some people dismiss it as legend, and others simply think it’s out of their reach. In that case, I don’t mind if you stay here a while to talk.” Hilbert invited him to sit down too.

“I’m gonna go practice with my log,” Scar said, then walked off muttering about talkers. Peter was probably hiding in the tree still.

Knowing that his Pokémon would be fine on their own, N sat by Hilbert. “How are you doing on finding the Pokémon?”

“I’ve got some leads,” Hilbert said, checking on how a download was progressing. “It seems that Reshiram and Zekrom are most often awakened or rested at Dragonspiral Tower. When they or Kyurem are near or in the tower, the entrance is available to those who have the soul of a hero. That’s specifically what the carvings say, ‘available’, not open. And it seems that the way makes sure that the person is qualified. Even if you can get in, that doesn’t mean that you are a hero, just that you could be one.”

“No one’s been able to enter for years,” N said. Perhaps the world no longer had heroes, even those that were only potentials.

“Yes, so I think that the twins are no longer in that area,” Hilbert said, coming up with his own conclusion. “They were last recorded as going into hibernation. Someone took them out of the Tower; finding where they were put is a massive puzzle and I think I know who, it’s just where… and Kyurem, he was in hibernation, but I fought him about a week and a half ago.”

“You fought Kyurem?” N asked, shocked. “But, if you’ve encountered Kyurem, why didn’t you ask him if he get you into Dragonspiral to make sure?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t; he was owned by some cute girl and we got into an argument about my other hat.” He looked briefly annoyed, but smoothed it over. “She is in the League, so she’s bound to be in Icirrus at some point. It’s just finding out when she’ll be there. At any rate, that’s not reliable. My leads right now are a pair of reports, one from a miner in Clay’s employment who reports finding a black stone that caused sparks, the other from an archeologist who found a white stone that was unusually hot. What’s online isn’t specific. Someone’s got this hushed up, but they’re not doing a good job of it. I’ve gotten the names of the two individuals who’ve found those stones, and now I’m figuring out where they live.”

“That does sound promising.” N wondered if his researchers in Plasma had noticed this. And if he informed Ghetsis of Hilbert’s work, could they use his research, or even convince him to their side? It would be difficult, as Hilbert was apparently famous as a world traveling Trainer. But if he was interested in the truth, then he wouldn’t be able to ignore their philosophy. “Could you keep me informed about your progress?”

“I suppose, but how could you help me?” Hilbert asked. “I appreciate someone on a quest like mine, but I don’t do things for free. Lots of people would pay me whatever I asked for my assistance.”

That puzzled N. He knew shopkeepers asked for fees, because that was what was expected from the business of selling things. Lawyers and architects asked for fees too, because what they did required training, so not everyone could do what they could. But researching on the computer? He wasn’t sure if there was anything special about Hilbert that made that fair. Yet he was special somehow.

Then a sound distracted him from deciding what to do. It was the voice of a small Pokémon, probably a Water type, crying out weakly. “Ugh... Anyone…? Help?”

Getting up quickly, N tried to figure out where it was. “Where is that coming from?”

“I dunno. I thought it was finally over with.”

“That’s an injured Pokémon,” N snapped, heading over to the darker grass area. It was somewhere over here. “You should have checked it out and helped it instead of just ignoring it. I’d think that someone who took care of Pokémon would know that.”

Hilbert got up and came after him. “Well how was I supposed to figure that out from a faint sound? I thought all the Pokémon were just sleeping today, since there’s nothing around. And you might want to call yours back; it’s still dangerous here.”

Ignoring him, N walked through the patch of tall grass, listening. “Who are you, Pokémon?” he asked, calming his voice so he didn’t scare it.

“Huh? Up… here.”

N looked up into the trees and spotted a Tympole in one of the barren trees. Since the Pokémon was out of reach, he grabbed hold of a sturdy branch and pulled himself up into the tree. The Tympole’s skin had large patches of crusty blood. It didn’t seem like any of the branches were piercing him, but this definitely wasn’t good for a Pokémon that would prefer being wet. “Don’t panic, Tympole. I’m here to help you.”

The small amphibian looked at him as he searched for a potion, hopefully a strong one. “Thanks.”

“Wait, you can understand Pokémon?” Hilbert asked from the ground.

“Yes.” He found a Super Potion, then sprayed it on some of the wounds. He would need a good cleaning too. For now, he carefully picked the Tympole up, cradled him in one arm, then started back down the tree. He kept talking to Hilbert as he did so. “I’ve always been able to, but I haven’t been able to find anyone else who can. Still, the cry of a creature who needs help should be recognizable even if you don’t know the exact meaning.”

“Not if it’s one you don’t know,” Hilbert said. “Are you taking it to the Pokecenter?”

“No, I can take care of him,” he said. Besides he was still seeing if the centers were brainwashing Pokémon by keeping his away from their machines.

“It’s probably better for a professional to take care of him… you want me to get some medicines? If you can understand Pokémon, then I could use your help.” He smiled, making that weird sparkly aura. “I’d be happy to tell you anything I find out in exchange.”

For a moment, he was tempted. But no, N’s focus had to be on the injured Pokémon now. The Tympole needed the help more than any of them. Besides, Hilbert had outright said that he had psychic powers. Perhaps he was using them to make himself and anything he offered more alluring. In that case, never mind what goals he had in mind, even if they were as lofty as becoming a hero. One could not tell what lay beneath that sparkly mask.

“No,” N said, making sure to sound sharp about it. “You’re not even concerned about him, just about your own goals. I don’t need the help of someone as manipulative, vain, and self-centered as you are.”

“What?” Hilbert said, angered at the words. He grabbed N’s arm, forcing him to face him. And when they made eye contact, Hilbert nearly succeeded in intimidating him though sheer force of will. “How dare you insult me like that? I’m famous the world over and you, you’re a nobody.”

“So you think,” N countered. “And I dare to because it’s the truth. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” As soon as Hilbert let him go, he headed north, back to the road that led to town. Even if he wasn’t going to a Pokecenter, going to an inn would help with caring for the Tympole.

As he passed by, Peter the Pidove came out of hiding and flew alongside him. “Wow, he’s monstrously scary when angry,” the bird commented. “I hope you never battle him.”

“Right,” N agreed.

Evening, 11/19

A black haired woman appeared in the frame of the Xtranceiver. “Yes, this is Laura. Who is this?”

Good, it seemed to be the right number. Hilda was sitting on a chair in her hotel room, just a generic seat that could have used more padding. “I’m Hilda,” she answered. “I’m a Trainer who’s currently in Striaton, and I think I’ve found your Panpour.”

Gasping, she put her hand to her chest. “What, you found Juliet?”

Juliet climbed into Hilda’s lap, eyes wide. “Eek?”

“I think so.” Since her watch phone was on one arm, she tried to pull the Panpour around to face the screen. “This her? No, girl, look at the screen there.”

“Juliet?” Laura asked.

The Panpour finally noticed the familiar face and squealed. She put her face right up next to the watch, probably giving her owner a nice close up of her forehead and eyes. Grinning at Laura’s laugh, Hilda felt like seeing that excitement was worth it.

“I love you too, dear, but could you please sit back so I can see Miss Hilda?” Laura said. Once Juliet sat down, happily watching the exchange, Laura continued. “Thanks for finding her. I was afraid that something terrible had happened to her after those people stole her.”

“She was stolen from you?” Hilda asked. “Who’d do that?”

“Some self-righteous extremists calling themselves Team Plasma. A couple of them challenged me and a friend to a Doubles battle and when they won, they demanded that we turn our Pokémon over to be liberated, so they said.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know what else to do. Their Pokémon were still conscious and there was this look in their eyes that said they’d do anything those nutcases told them to, even attack a human. I only had Juliet with me that day; if I had all my Pokémon then, we might have beaten them.”

Across the room, Kyurem looked towards her at the mention of Plasma. Fedora was lounging in a patch of sunlight on the shelf, apparently not interested in anything else. “What did the police do about it?” Hilda asked. “I found her in the gardens of Striaton.”

“I’m not sure what they were doing,” Laura said. “Plasma’s been doing all these speeches and TV programs about philosophical revelations from their mysterious King, and they seem to be well funded. Individually, they don’t seem like much, but I’ve overheard an officer mention that investigating them would be like poking a stick into a hive of territorial wasps. And we had a really hard time describing the thieves to the police, because their armor uniforms make them all look alike. They can’t be arrested just for wearing it.” She sighed. “I’m just glad she’s safe.”

“I’ve been watching out for her the past couple of hours,” Hilda said. “I had to recapture her because she’d been released from her Pokeball, but she has her ID bracelet and we could track you down that way.” And if Plasma had Pokémon thieves employed, ID tags suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea. “I can just gift her to you when I make it to Nacrene, then.”

“That’s be great, Hilda. I can give you a reward for her return; I don’t have a lot of money to spare, but I’m a breeder and I can help you with that if you’d like.”

“Actually, I was thinking about it. See, I’m enrolled in a cram course right now, so I can’t leave until the end of the week. But how about this: in exchange for returning Juliet to you, may I borrow her to challenge the Gym here? She’d be a really big help in getting my first badge.”

Laura nodded. “Oh sure, that should be fine. If it’s your first badge, then it won’t be too hard for her. Are you okay with that, Juliet?”

The Panpour nodded, seeming happy to go along with the plan.

“Great, then I’ll try to make it to Nacrene around Sunday or Monday,” Hilda said. “I’ll take good care of Juliet in the meantime, promise.”

“Good, and thank you so much.” Laura smiled, but seemed a little teary-eyed out of relief. “I’ve raised her since she was an egg and I’ve been so worried this past week. It’s good that she found a kind person like you. Call me back when you get into Nacrene and I’ll meet you somewhere.”

After the conversation ended, Juliet squealed happily again and hugged Hilda. Chuckling, the girl picked the monkey up and got out of the chair. “Well, seems like I’ll be trying out the Gym with the three of you this Friday. I hope you guys, and gal, are ready for a busy day.”

Fedora tipped his hat up, but then went back to lounging.

“It’ll be nothing,” Kyurem said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “So those Plasma knights stole Pokémon for liberation?”

“Well it seems like they just released her in a place where she couldn’t find her way back on her own,” Hilda said. “Still, it seems rotten, especially coming from a group trying to paint themselves as having the higher moral ground.”

“It may make sense from their perspective.”

Hilda stopped in front of him. The Panpour put an arm around her shoulder to look at the dragon. “How does that make sense?”

“From their perspective,” he repeated. “This is just a theory. We need to observe them more. If they are a danger to Unova, or to you, then they will have to be dealt with using extreme prejudice.”

“Hey I’m not here to cause trouble,” she said, then thought about it. “Not on a large scale, anyhow. I didn’t leave home for a crusade.”

“Sometimes you don’t get a choice when it comes to war.”

night, 11/19

Late at night, N went into the bathroom of his rented hotel room. The injured Tympole was in the bathtub; he had been resting, but woke up as the human sat on the edge of the tub. After cleaning him in there (and then cleaning the tub), N had filled it with a shallow amount of water, then let the Pokémon rest in there. There was a large bruise and several cuts on his body, as well as a hole in his tail, but he looked like he could recover well overnight.

But it was always better to check. “How are you doing?” N asked, rubbing the Pokémon in an uninjured spot.

“I’ve been better,” he said, quiet and using only small motions. “But I’ll be okay, I think. Thank you; you saved my life.”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” N said, smiling. “Do you have any bad pains right now?”

“Not anymore. I just feel tired.”

He nodded. “Resting is the best thing for you right now. But how did you end up in a tree?”

“Um, my last Trainer released me, but he didn’t do it right,” the Tympole said. “I think so, anyhow. All I know was that it hurt, a lot. He didn’t want to get caught with a badly injured Pokémon, so he told his Braviary to drop me off somewhere. That bird was as bad as he was and put me in the tree; he was laughing as he flew away.”

“That’s horrible. I’m on a mission to stop people like him. I can’t stand to see Pokémon get hurt.”

“Are you?” he asked.

N nodded and began telling him about his plans.

[DarknessInZero]

Great. I've read new chapter and it rocks.

[SerenadeSP]

“I got this Basculin that looks funny,” she said, calling out her new Pokémon. He appeared, interestingly, in a bubble of water that floated in midair. “Is that normal? I mean, the color. I know the bubble thing is good.”

That's brilliant, and makes perfect sense in a Pokemon-insanity type way. Honestly, I kinda wanted Hilda to keep a Basculin - their impulsive behavoir matches well with her craziness. I'm not really a fan of the Elemental Monkeys (since they were overdone in B/W) but if it's only temporary I can live, espeically if Hilda is getting a surprise Pokemon in return.

Hilbert flicked his brown hair back, even though his hat was holding it in place. “Well the thing is, I’m just so fabulous and interesting that sometimes it’s a curse. I attract attention whenever I walk through a town, or even on a route that seems quiet. I get crowds without trying. However, I’m doing some research and I don’t need the distraction. So if you don’t mind.” he walked back to where he had a camp set up. Hilbert had a laptop computer set up on a rock, near a log which acted as a seat.

Hilbert is so conceited it's hilarious. I can't take him seriously at all. XD

And, I love the nicknames you think of. Peter is perfect for a Pidove.

I’ve tried to use Psychic Pokémon to help cover what my own psychic powers won’t tell me, but even there I can be lied to. After considering things, I’ve decided to go after a Pokémon that no one could lie to.”

He smiled, making that weird sparkly aura.

It's official, Hilbert's a vampire. All he's missing is a Swoobat.

I'm kinda surprised that N's opening up to Hilbert like that, but then again it could be because of N's naivity. But we all know that it's really because of Hilbert's vampire hypnosis.

That’s specifically what the carvings say, ‘available’, not open. And it seems that the way makes sure that the person is qualified. Even if you can get in, that doesn’t mean that you are a hero, just that you could be one.

Now that's an interesting perspective on the 'destiny' associated with the game. Stories usually present it that heroes will be able to pass after their trails, not that they might pass someday. I can see that leading to false hope, which would be great for N (and even better for Hilbert just so I can laugh at his failure).

It sounds as if N and Hilbert are going to start traveling together. That'd be a fun twist, since both characters are really in a gray area (no pun intended) as far as what side they're really on.

Their Pokémon were still conscious and there was this look in their eyes that said they’d do anything those nutcases told them to, even attack a human.

If you bring Shadow Pokemon into this story, I will love it for all eternity.

*gets onto knees*

PLEASE!!!

(Oh, and I noticed that Hilda was actually kinda tamed this chapter. We need to do something about that.)

[DarknessInZero]

Honestly I hate Twilight, and thos collection of... name of the author? I forgot it. Well. I hate those weird vampires. and I think that appearing in Twilight ruined Robert Patterson from being cool by acting en Harry Potter 3 and 4.

[scizorstrike]

So, are Hilbert's psychic powers vampiric, or otherwise? plus, what exactly did Kyurem eat? Also; ClicheStorm, solving (and skewing) people's conceptions, misconceptions, AND the things people find unrealistic since 2011!

[Missingno. Master]

Good chapter, though to be honest, I was hoping Hilda would keep the Basculin.

[Ysavvryl]

So today...

A: Finally fixed the Emperor's New Groove quote in the first chapter.

B: Made a minor fix in Chapter 4, although most probably won't notice it. Details...

I've used the water bubble thing in Pokemon fics several times before. I'm almost certain that I used it in my Ruby fic. In trying to solve how to use fish-based Water types, that just makes the most sense. If the Pokemon world can turn animals into electronic data, then making water orbs/bubbles that hover ought to be doable.

A Basculin would fit Hilda... but I've got a Pokemon for her later on that fits her much much better! It's more of the individual than the species, sure, but I had that Pokemon in one of my Black playthroughs and I knew it had to go to Hilda for this fic. That's a ways off, though.