ClicheStorm

[Chibi Pika]

Bwahaha, again I am loving this. And I'm sure it was as enjoyable to write as it was to read. Sometimes I think we all need a break from the big name epics to settle down with a light, fun read.

Kyurem is amazingly awesome, and I found it interesting that he was the one who appeared in her dream. And I love the dialogue and just overall interactions of the main characters. Ghetsis's speech was nicely expanded on from the games, and I particularly liked Kyurem's response to it. (Okay Kyurem in general is just <3)

I'll be sad to see the mains split up for their journey, even though I'm sure they'll meet up a lot.

AND THE CHAPTER ENDED WITH N YES.

Looking forward to the next chappie!

~Chibi~

[mattman324]

I AM BOWLING BALL! HERE ME CLICK THE BUTTON ON THE CAMERA!

CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK...

(something tells me the final Ghetsis battle will be him turning into a bowling ball, and rolling around, and winning. Entirely.)

[Ysavvryl]

Just a note, this fic is rated T/PG-13 on FF.net. Although so far, it's just Fedora's dialogue that earns that rating... other stuff comes up later.

Coffee Break

"Why does it have to be a coffee break?" N asked "Coffee is a strong drink, and it's addictive even if people deny it. And it can be detrimental to one's health. That's why I have green tea instead; not as much caffeine to cause trouble and far more benefits."

In the other chair, Ghetsis shrugged. "It's a cultural phenomenon that suggests a casual conversation. That's probably why she named these segments that."

"Using the term encourages the continued use of such substances," N replied. "And I think reader response sections encourage inane posts, but if that's what she wants..."

"It's part of the contract; if we get breaks, we have to do this."

"Very well." N sipped at his green tea, then leaned back in his chair. "I'm not too happy with the ridiculous suggestions. I would have preferred a nice drama to take part in. Comedy is just making light of the problem and rarely does anything to solve it. Except maybe embarrass some people. And yes, puns are the lowest form of comedy. Our author is a little too fond of them, though."

"Though I would like to see how someone intends to defeat me with a living bowling ball, just for the sheer audacity of the suggestion," Ghetsis said with a smirk. "But I'm not wearing a hat even if it gets that in."

"What's wrong with hats?" N asked.

"I hate hat hair. Anyhow, do you need to go get ready? This is your first POV chapter."

"I suppose I should go prepare myself." He got up, taking the mug of green tea with him. "Comedy... how did I get roped into this?"

Ghetsis waited for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Get me some coffee; make it black."


Chapter 3: Morning Departure


morning, 11/11

The trees were full of color: orange, red, yellow, violet, even some lingering green. The breeze and the sunbeams mixed to create a relaxing morning. Nearby, a stream passed over its pebbly bed, adding its soft addition to nature’s melody. It would have been a great day to spend outside, enjoying the landscape before all the leaves fell, but this wasn’t the day for it. There wouldn’t be any more days like that, not for some time. Today, he was leaving.

He sat against a stump to be closer to the smaller Pokémon. “It’s something I have to do,” he said, patting the Lillipup that had settled on his lap. He had to be careful not to touch the burn scars, which would hurt the Pokémon. “I love helping you all, I really do. It’s just, in order to truly solve the problem, one has to fix the source, not the results. I want to help all Pokémon and for that…” his hand tensed, causing the puppy Pokémon to look up at him, “I, I have to become one of the Trainers, so that they’ll listen to me.”

“Won’t that make you as bad as them?” the Lillipup asked.

A Deerling by him bumped his head gently. “Don’t do it, N. The Trainers are scary people. I don’t want you to be scary.”

“But I know the flaws in their system,” N said. “I won’t be one of the scary ones. I refuse to be. I am right in my beliefs, and that will show in how I relate to my team and wild Pokémon. I will be an example for all the others to follow, at least until the time to free all Pokémon comes. And even then, I’ll be one of the first to free any Pokémon that I take with me.”

He felt a pair of furry paws rest on his head. “Are you going to take some of us with you?” the Zoroark asked. He was the only one of his kin in this area, and he was a lot more eager to battle than the others of this forest.

N glanced back, but didn’t shift his position too much. “No, not at first. I don’t want to hold onto any of the Pokémon in my team very long, so that they aren’t restrained by the Pokeballs for weeks.”

“I see,” the Zoroark said, disappointed. “That’s too bad.”

Smiling, he patted the dark Pokémon’s paw. “Don’t worry. By the time I make it to the last couple of Gyms, I’ve figured that that strategy won’t work out anymore. So I’ll come back and see if any of you want to help in the final stages. You’re definitely coming along, right?”

The Zoroark finally came into his view, swishing his tail against N’s back in approval. “Certainly. I promise.”

The Deerling stepped back, nervous. “I’m sorry, N, you’re my friend, but I won’t be fighting.”

“That’s fine,” he said. “I won’t make any of you do something you don’t want. I will miss all of you.”

“We’ll miss you too, N!” the Lillipup said, along with agreement from many others. The puppy even got up to lick his face.

“You should’ve been a Pokémon too,” the Deerling said when things quieted. “Because then you wouldn’t have to leave us.”

N glanced down the path and spotted two women coming their way. They were still some distance off. “Sometimes I wish I had been one too,” he told his friends. “But then I wouldn’t be able to help you like this. I think it was meant to be this way, but in order to fulfill my destiny, I need to walk a long and hard path.”

The Pokémon had seen the women too and the shy ones were already going back into hiding. “Be careful,” the Deerling said, before dashing off to join them.

“Pokémon love you so quick, you should be okay,” the Lillipup said, getting off his lap. “Good luck!”

The last Pokémon in the glade with him was the Zoroark. He padded around on all fours before sitting down in front of N. “Kid, you have bright eyes and a pure heart,” he said. He glanced back at the women before looking back to him. “That can take you far, but beware.”

Nodding, N replied, “I know there’s a lot of a danger to a journey; I’ve read about them…”

“Not about that,” he said, flicking his long tail. “You have learned how cruel humans can be, but your kind can also be manipulative.” The Zoroark puffed up his chest at this. “My kind is also manipulative. But in the years since I came here as a Zorua, and in all the kindness and love you showed me no matter what happened, I feel now that you deserve my honesty. So here it is: think for yourself.”

“Think for myself?” he asked, puzzled. “But I have been all along. I brought together the Sages, and Team Plasma, and then established myself as worthy of being King, all because I want to fix things.”

Strangely, the Zoroark seemed disappointed, lowering his head and touching his snout with his paw. “Then do that, and examine your thoughts and ideals more closely. Watch how people react and consider what may happen. Watch how they are. It’s not that I don’t believe in you, N. It’s that the worst dangers are the ones that you do not expect. Disasters do not happen suddenly; they happen when you don’t leave the path to them.”

“What do you mean by that?” N put his hand on a Rubik’s Cube that he had attached to a belt clip. It was something precious to him.

But the Zoroark got up and started away. “If I tell you everything, your mind will grow soft. Find the way of mysteries for yourself.” Then he leapt into the trees, following the others.

Examine his thoughts and ideals… N wasn’t sure of that, as he had thought and discussed those ideals extensively for the past four years. He wanted to make sure that they would be understood clearly; it was something he had trouble with at first, because no one else in Team Plasma could understand Pokémon like he did. In that, his Sages had helped immensely. With them backing his words, he felt that he could readily attain his goal.

And to watch the others around him, that disasters happen when you don’t leave the path to them. That sounded like a good idea. He had learned that people outside of Plasma told themselves many lies in order to let the enslavement and mistreatment of Pokémon continue. By watching and listening to them, he could find the lies and expose them. He could also figure out the best way to present his ideals to the world so that they would be accepted, no, embraced.

“N!” The blond woman waved to him. “It’s almost time for you to go!”

“I’ll be right there,” he called back, getting up and brushing the dirt off his jeans. He also ran his hand through his ponytail, catching a few bits of wood from the stump. Then he went over to them.

The two of them wore simple dresses; they always wore dresses and were the only people N knew of who wore them at all. That wasn’t the only reason they were different from the rest, and from him. When a Pokémon came to this forest that was injured, Anthea would know how to heal it. She was gentle about it too, although N often had to help her calm the Pokémon down. And Concordia usually wasn’t out here, as she directed the servants of the castle. She was a strong woman, but knew how to soften her words so that she didn’t seem bossy. And together, they were the two servants who answered personally to him. They were his teachers and caretakers.

“I was just saying goodbye to the Pokémon here,” he told them. “Some were nervous and didn’t want me to go, but others wished me luck.”

Concordia smiled. “We thought you’d be out doing that. But you don’t want to delay the others. They’ve got a scheduled appearance in Accumula later this morning.” They paused for him, then walked back the way they came.

He nodded. “I know.”

“I’ll keep watch over your friends here while you’re gone,” Anthea said. “And here, this is a Fly HM.” She handed him a disc-like device in a plastic case. “You can teach it to a Pokémon with wings so you can return here if you want.”

He looked at the device, not liking the sound of it. “I wouldn’t want to use it on most; they’d be too small to ride.”

“Oh no, it doesn’t quite work like that,” she said, sounding amused. “It’s… well, you’d have to see it for yourself. Regular flying, yes, the majority of Flying types couldn’t help you. This version of Fly, a small Pokémon could handle transporting a human easy and quick.”

“And it gives the Pokémon you teach it to an advantage in the wild when you let it go,” Concordia added. “And there’s no harm done; it’s safe. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have kept it.”

“I’ll trust you on that,” N said, putting the case into his bag.

“We’ll miss having you around,” Anthea said, rubbing a tear out of her eye. “You’ve always been a wonder as a child, and now you’re all grown up, ready to make a change in the world. We’re so proud of you.”

On some level, N knew that they were complimenting him. Yet, he’d heard those words time and time again: a child wonder, a prodigy, the one who will change the world, so proud of you. Those words, sometimes he had to remind himself that they did have meanings and that they were good. At least, from most humans.

N listened to them chatter while walking with them, talking some on his own. But it seemed like they were discussing nothing. Just amusing anecdotes, or sweet memories from the past. Inside, he was thinking again that he should have been a Pokémon. He was far more comfortable talking with them than other humans. Around his own kind, he felt like he was missing something, but couldn’t identify it. He tried so often to analyze and solve the problem, but the answers he came up with never made sense. Those all had to be false results… he was missing something.

They came upon a large helicopter sitting on open ground. Members of Team Plasma had gathered, talking to each other and getting on board. Just in time. He looked over to the two women. “Goodbye, Athena, Concordia. I might visit if there’s time to spare. I trust you to take care of things.”

“Of course, N dear,” Concordia said, coming closer to him and putting her hand on his shoulder.

Feeling uncomfortable, N stepped towards the helicopter. She noticed and briefly looked disappointed in him. That embarrassed him, so he quickly said, “I’d better go; don’t want to hold them up.” He walked quickly to the helicopter, facing the ground and hoping that he wasn’t blushing.

But as soon as he escaped that one potential hug, one of the last soldiers of the group saw him and tried to get a handshake. “Lord N, you are coming with us! It’s amazing to meet you in person; I’ve been fascinated by your philosophy ever since I first read about you and it’s changed my life…”

“Leave him be,” Ghetsis said from inside, thankfully breaking up that awkward moment for N. “Our Lord has a major task ahead of him and he needs to focus his mind on that.”

N nodded. “Yes, I have a lot to do in the near future. But I’m glad that I was able to open your mind to the ideal ways of life.” He then stepped up into the helicopter.

It was… crowded, much to his distaste. There were eight Plasma members in full uniform, as well as Ghetsis who was dressed formally in his cape and collar. There were also two members who were in plain clothes like himself, carrying travel bags and quietly talking to each other. In front, there was the pilot, co-pilot, and a strange man in shadowy clothing and thick hair, to the point where nothing could be told about his (or possibly even her) identity. That last was one of the Shadow Triad, and if one was here, the other two might be on board as well. Just not as obviously.

As he was the last to get on, Ghetsis gestured him to sit on the bench beside him. Normally, that was fine. N and the leader of the Sages knew each other best, and Ghetsis was more aware of N’s quirks. But he was sitting on the edge of a bench in the front row. And directly next to that empty spot, there was another bench with the two plains clothes members. They were two females that he did not know.

The helicopter door began to shut, so N went to the spot by Ghetsis while the vehicle started up. Okay, the helicopter was a fast way to reach their destination, even if he did not like it. He had flown a few times in such things before and it always unsettled his nerves. The crowd of humans made it that much worse… and the smell. There was something that smelled stale, bitter, and fermented nearby. Smelling it made him want to get as far away from that scent as he could. Looking at where it came from, it seemed to be from the two women by him.

“Most young people who go on a Pokémon journey will take a friend or two along,” Ghetsis spoke up. “They don’t always stick together, but they tend to keep pace with each other. I’m sending these two out with you to help you fit in better. This is Valerie, and this is Carol.”

“Hi N,” Valerie said cheerily. She had a perky smile and fidgeted in her seat. “You can call me Val. We can help you with figuring out what to do out there, because the rest of Unova works differently than the castle. But you’re super smart, so it shouldn’t be that hard for you to catch on.”

Carol nodded somberly, flicking back her short hair. “It’s a lot more corrupt out there,” she said.

“They’re also a pair of our best trained martial arts fighters outside of the Triad,” Ghetsis said. “They’ll be working as your bodyguards in situations that could require such. Now we don’t want you three to be associated with Team Plasma in the public’s eye, at first. We’ll wait until we have all the pieces set up so that no meddling Trainers try interfering with your destiny. Until then, you’ll be met with in secret, or one of these two will contact us on your behalf.”

Normally, N liked talking, as that solved problems. But this situation had him tense, so he just said, “If that’s what would work best.”

“This is the beginning of the biggest stage of your plans,” he said. “You need to be strong now, and stay strong. Your faith in your ideals will be the foundation for everything you need: courage to carry on in face of adversity, wisdom to avoid mistakes, charisma to inspire those who are blind, everything. You’ve gotten this far and there is no reason you should fail now. So you don’t need to worry, even though we’re all depending on you. I have faith in you.”

N nodded. It was a great burden that he carried in being the King, but Team Plasma needed him to succeed. All of the Pokémon in the world needed him to succeed, so that they never had to fear humans again. And, along with that, the humans of the world would all be enlightened if… no, when he succeeded here. He would change everything for the better and he knew that he could do it.

But also, Ghetsis was counting on him. N had heard his story many times, about how he had been living a comfortable life of wealth and luxury but had given it all up on the words of a small boy who claimed that he could understand Pokémon. Most people in the world would have thought it make-believe and told him to grow up and pass those fantasies by. But Ghetsis believed, and he was so moved and inspired by the child’s wishes for a better world that he gave up all that he could to see to it that the better world came to pass. N may have been a child wonder, an extraordinary person, but without the support and wisdom of Ghetsis, he would have been called a liar instead, possibly insane.

Although he knew all of this was greater than just two people, N felt, but never told, that he needed to succeed for Ghetsis’ sake, so that his faith and sacrifice was validated.

-+-

After landing northwest of Accumula, Ghetsis gathered his crew to discuss the plan for this appearance one last time. N, Val, and Carol headed out to Route 2. “Striaton is to the north, so we should be headed that way,” Carol said.

“I can’t take on the Gym yet,” N said. “I have to find some Pokémon to help me. And just what are you two wearing?”

“Err, regular clothes?” Val replied, still smiling. “We had to fit in too.”

He shook his head. “I know, but that’s not what I mean. One or both of you has some perfume or scent on you, and it’s atrocious. I’m sorry if that’s rude to point out, but it’s awfully distracting.”

“It’s very popular in Kanto,” she said. “It’s called Veiled Mystique.”

Carol nodded. “We both love it; it’s such an exotic light perfume.”

“So a light perfume is one that doesn’t choke others?” N asked.

The two girls laughed. “I suppose that could be said,” Val joked.

“What’s so funny about that?” N was never sure what to do about people who thought they were funny. Sure, sometimes really clever wordplay or twist of concept could be funny, but it got in the way of intelligent conversation.

They looked at each other, then Val said, “I guess you are right about needing Pokémon first. We’d better spread out for that, so we’re not all encountering the same ones. Here, my Lo…”

“Val,” Carol said warningly.

She giggled. “Oh right, here N.” She gave him a device that looked like a black watch with a large screen. “Sounds so odd after all this time. Anyhow, this is an Xtransceiver, so we can call each other if something happens. I’ve got our numbers loaded in the address book, so that’s easy.”

“That’s good,” he said, putting the Xtransceiver on. “I hope you two are well-prepared for this. Good luck on your searches.”

Carol just nodded and headed off towards a grassy meadow. Val waved and said, “Good luck, and be careful!” before running off north

Good, they were gone. N headed east. He wasn’t sure why Ghetsis had thought to add them in at this stage. Really, he was perfectly fine with doing this alone and the rational that most teens traveled in groups was weak. Even if he were to travel with someone, he’d want it to be someone he knew and trusted, like Anthea and Concordia, not two random soldiers like Val and Carol. But his caretakers had work to do back at the castle and any other humans he knew were also busy.

He wasn’t planning on finding Pokémon first, though. He knew strategically what he should be looking for in his starting Pokémon, and that was readily available on Route 2. No, he wanted to go see Ghetsis’ speech. N knew he didn’t have to, and it would likely be like others he’d heard. But maybe the Sage was saying something different to them. To blend in, he wanted to know what was being said.

But then… he ran his hand through his hair, thinking. Even in ordinary attire, he was easily recognizable due to his long light green hair. Ghetsis would know that he was in the crowd, and he might not appreciate the delay. Maybe he should buy a hat while waiting on the Plasma group to get to Accumula.

There was one problem with that: N had never been in a store himself. Maybe he should have brought one of the girls along. No, it shouldn’t be that complicated. He had read about businesses, bargaining, and trade before, so he could handle it. He went to Accumula.

It wasn’t until he was a short distance from the tunnel that he realized something wasn’t quite right here. N looked and listened, noticing the quiet. Although the grass looked appropriate, he had not run into any Pokémon on his walk.

Why was that? The Pokémon of the forest would usually come right to him. Even the new ones. Maybe it was because no Pokémon around here knew of him. N felt spooked by the quiet, but it was soon broken by a quick rustling of leaves and running paws. After a few seconds, a violet feline Pokémon burst onto the path. Her fur was puffed out, which only made a certain patch around an old scar stand out all the more. The Purrloin saw him and froze, trying to decide what to do.

“What’s frightened you, Purrloin?” N asked, making sure his hands were visible and that he didn’t appear threatening. “I’m not going to trouble you.”

She stayed tense. “It doesn’t matter if I say what; you’re human.”

“It does matter,” he said. She tensed up even more. “I understand you.”

Starting to calm down, she glanced back into the trees, then said, “I don’t like people with knives.” Then she sat down and licked her paw to settle her fur down.

N went to sit by her. “Why did you get attacked with a knife?”

“How should I know?” she replied, then put her paw down. “I had a Trainer for a while, but she kept losing at the Gyms and blaming us. She was unreasonable all the time; I like to be out for stuff other than battles.”

“So she struck you because she kept losing?”

The Purrloin flicked her tail. “No. Her loser boyfriend made that scar. She was a loser, but he was worse. Hmph. I just wanted to win one of those Gyms, to show that I wasn’t worthless. But… it didn’t happen. I got released and was threatened with a knife to scat.”

For a few minutes, N let the Purrloin talk about her life. Then he told her of what he meant to do. “I know I want to make sure all Pokémon can be free,” he finished up with. “But I think that in order to get respect, I’d best earn badges myself. There is something else I could do, but I want to try the badges first. Would you help me win the Gym in the next town over? I wouldn’t keep you longer than that, but you would win one.”

She had been attending to her grooming while he spoke, but N could feel that she was listening. The Purrloin took a moment to finish off her cleaning, then looked to him. “You’re different, you know. Not just in understanding me, but you’re not like the other humans in other ways… I can tell that about you already. Just one Gym, huh?”

He nodded. “Just one.”

Flexing one paw to investigate her claws, she replied, “I don’t need any more proof than that. Okay then, N, I’ll help you. But, will you nickname me?”

“Nickname you? I hadn’t thought of that.”

She got up and stretched. “Oh, but a nickname is so special. It gives you a distinct identity among your kin, and it always reminds you of the person who gave it to you. And it means that a human saw you as a person too, instead of a tool to use for their own purposes. Sometimes it means that they will always be your friend…” the Purrloin sounded sad at the end, but didn’t stay open about it long.

N scratched her head, making her purr. “I see. Well if it is seen that way to Pokémon, then I’d be happy to give you one. But give me a moment to think on it.” He pulled out a Pokeball and activated it to capture her. The Purrloin didn’t resist. Once the capture was secure, he released her. “Could I call you Pricilla?”

“Do you like it?” the Purrloin asked.

He nodded. “That’s why I suggested it, but I want to make sure you like it too.”

“If you like it, then I like it.” The newly named Pricilla stood up and curled her tail. “So, what do we do now, N?”

Getting up off the ground, he said, “There’s a few things that I want to do in Accumula first, but then we’ll head to Striaton where the Gym is. We’ll need to start training too… you’re the first Pokémon that I’ve captured, actually.”

“Am I? That makes me very special then.” Pricilla seemed pleased.

For the next half hour, N looked around Accumula Town with Pricilla following him. There were many small stores and brick apartment buildings. There was a little park that had short grass and only a handful of trees. But, the thing that struck N was that things were not as grand as he was used to. Sure, he knew castles were normally grand, and he’d only ever seen two buildings in his life. But things were at such a small scale here. Some of the one-story structures could have fit inside the major rooms of the castle.

The time was quickly approaching, so N entered one clothing store. It didn’t take long for someone to say, “Lord N? What are you doing here?”

He looked to the counter to see a large middle-aged man in a dark blue polo shirt and tan pants. “Hmm, have I met you before?”

Shaking his head, the clerk said, “No, not in person. I’ve seen you before, at the coronation. I’m one of the financial backers. But I’m honored that you would come by here.” He glanced down, seeing Pricilla looking around. “Erm, but please keep an eye on that Purrloin; I don’t want it stealing merchandise.”

“Alright,” he looked down to her, “behave yourself in here, please.”

“Oh fine,” she said, sitting down to clean her paws again.

Then N came up to the counter. “Actually, I wanted to buy a hat so that I wasn’t so obvious out here. I’ve tried, but if you recognize me, then it’s not working as it should.”

“I could get you one for nothing, it’d be no trouble.”

He waved a hand and shook his head. “No, I’ll buy it. I’ll need to do that in every other town.”

“Right. Well our hats are over in that corner, so see what you like.”

N nodded and went over to look, after making sure that Pricilla was going to follow him. There weren’t many hats over there: cloth bucket hats, straw wide-brimmed hats, and baseball caps, that was it. And they were only in a few colors. Still, what should he choose? He wished he had more information on the subject of hats. He should have something innocuous, something that would blend in. But he didn’t know what would fit that.

In that case, it was down to what he liked.

He was considering the bucket hats when one of the caps caught his eye. It was black with a dark gray bill, but what interested him was the yin-yang patch on the front. Instead of just being a symbol, this one was a stylized depiction of Zekrom and Reshiram, one of a red eye, the other of a blue eye. N put down the tan bucket and went to check out this black hat further. It was on a display advertising ‘Patch Hats’ and, in a plastic bag inside the cap, there was a duplicate of the dragon patch. Perhaps it was in case of damage.

When he had been learning from the Sages, he heard of many tales of the legendary Pokémon. But his favorites were always those of Zekrom and Reshiram, in particular the former. If he knew how to reawaken those legends, N would be greatly tempted to do so. If he had the authority of even just one of them behind his ideals, then the people of Unova, and even the world, would have to listen. But it should work without them. He and Team Plasma were bringing wisdom to the people, wisdom that they could not afford to ignore.

His thoughts were interrupted when his Purrloin said, “Oh, now that looks so warm and snuggly. I want to nap in that coat.”

He looked over to see the violet feline looking up at a thick brown coat with fur trim. “I would rather you not do that,” he told her. “The shopkeeper wouldn’t be happy with us.”

“Pfft. Didn’t you hear how he was talking to you?” She walked over to his side. “He would have given you the hat for free. He’d go out of his way to please you. Do people treat you like that often?”

N thought about that. “I don’t know,” he told her. “I spent more time with Pokémon than humans all my life.”

“I’d take advantage of that kind of generosity,” she said. “I hardly ever get that kind of treatment.”

“It wouldn’t be right,” N said. He looked at the black hat again and decided to buy it. The storekeeper tried to keep sales tax off the receipt, but N insisted it be done legally. He was then offered a discount because of who he was. At that, Pricilla teased him for insisting on paying more than he needed to, for which N finally agreed and paid the reduced cost.

After placing the extra patch in his bag and clipping off the tags, N put the cap on, securing the back strap under his ponytail. It might not be much, but it could be just enough. He walked outside in time to see the Plasma group setting the stage. Already, people were gathering to watch. N slipped into the crowd; he was naturally tall, but he saw a few other men who were even taller than him.

“Ugh, I don’t like these crowds,” Pricilla said. “Somebody’s gonna step on my paws or tail, I know it.”

“I can recall you if that’s better,” N offered. She agreed to it, so he took her Pokeball and pressed the recall button. “I don’t like crowds either.”

While waiting on the speech to begin, N listened to the people around him. Some people had heard Plasma’s words before, but many had not. And some were even gossiping about unimportant things, like this was any other gathering. He encountered that with Pokémon sometimes, when one of them wanted to relate an important story and others were interested in discussing where ripe berries were. Well this crowd was about to hear something that could change their lives.

Then the bugles sounded, quieting the crowd. Ghetsis came forward with his usual theatrics, introducing himself and Team Plasma to those who hadn’t yet heard of their sacred mission. He went into one of his usual speeches meant to break people out of their established beliefs. At a few points, he even mentioned N, although not by name.

Although he’d heard these words many times before, N stayed around and listened. Ghetsis had a way of talking that N found fascinating. The people around him felt the same way, paying the Sage full attention. At times like these, when he knew what was being said, N liked to watch Ghetsis and try to figure out how he commanded people, how he projected a powerful presence. It was regal, appropriate for a king, and so as Plasma’s King, he had to figure out how to do the same.

After the speech was over, Ghetsis and the Plasma knights headed back to the helicopter. None of them showed any signs of noticing N in the crowd. N listened to the dispersing people. “What was that about?” “Isn’t he a great speaker?” “I don’t wanna hurt my Pokémon, but I’ll be sad if she goes.” “What on earth are those jokers going on about?” “This is the truth! It’ll be all over the world in time, so you have to join now!”

N stayed there, clenching his fist. Some were listening, but others were still uncertain. Why was that? It was plain and simple once you thought about it; even the word ‘capture’ hinted at Pokémon enslavement. But… maybe it would just take time. They needed to think it over, and then, they would certainly do the right thing. Unless other humans really were more corrupt than he thought, and force would be necessary.

Well, he wasn’t going to advance on his goal if he stayed around here. He looked around the plaza one more time. It was mostly empty now, save for a small group on the other side. There was a guy in a strange mask, a girl in a baseball cap, and a Snivy with a fedora a few sizes too big. “Ridiculous,” N mumbled, then started to go.

But then the Snivy squealed in glee, forcing N to pay attention to the trio again. “OH MY GOD WOMAN, you are now my favoritest person ever! My hat and I are your loyal friends for-evah!” Then he hugged the crouching girl, excited enough that he knocked his hat off.

“What?” N felt bewildered. Some of his Pokémon friends in the forest said that they liked him, but none had ever said anything like that, in such excitement. And she was the one who must have given him that awful hat. How could he be declaring his eternal loyalty to that girl? Unless he was missing something here. Unable to let it go at that, he went over to the trio. “Wait a minute, I thought… what did you just say, Snivy?”

[Monster Guy]

I finally got around to reading this.

*Claps* Well done. I like how you portrayed N. I've always disliked him in the games, but here, he seems not like how I imagined him. Good job.

*Subscribes to thread*

[Son_of_Shadows]

I really like the portrayal of N so far. Genuine, kind, and perhaps a touch naive, due to how sheltered he's always been. I'm sort of getting an Asperger's type vibe from him, though perhaps that's just me having it myself. But he's an interesting character so far, can't wait to see how he's developed. And if you're going for "Priscilla" for the Purrloin, you're missing the s.

[Chibi Pika]

...

I. FREAKING. LOVE. N.

...Whew. Well, now that I've gotten that out of the way...

This chapter just further made me certain that I absolutely love expansion on game characters. I knew I was going to love the way N was written here from the moment the Coffee Break started. Even Ghetsis was awesome. And totally in-character. Wait...a megalomaniac bantering during a coffee break felt in-character. How is this possible? xD This fic...just...this fic.

The interactions with the Pokemon at the beginning were cute. I was especially intrigued with Zoroark, and glad to see how you set up his eventual return (being on N's E4 team and all that.)

I really like the methodical quality to N's thoughts. What was even better was that usually characters who have that ultra-logical outlook tend to be cold and emotionless, so getting that quality alongside N's general warmth and compassion helped to make him instantly endearing. In general, my favorite part about this fic is the characters. And the fact that most of the humor doesn't go outright in your face trying to be funny.

For some reason, I really liked the fact that he had to go buy a hat. It's one of those things that you wouldn't normally think about when expanding on what happened to a character before they met the player's character.

Can't wait to see more~!

~Chibi~

[SerenadeSP]

I really like the portrayal of N so far. Genuine, kind, and perhaps a touch naive, due to how sheltered he's always been. I'm sort of getting an Asperger's type vibe from him, though perhaps that's just me having it myself. But he's an interesting character so far, can't wait to see how he's developed. And if you're going for "Priscilla" for the Purrloin, you're missing the s.

As an Aspie myself, I have to agree, though I didn't think of it that way until I read your post. He does seem drastrically different from any character introduced so far and actually seems to behave like a 'captured' Pokemon in some cases. He does what Ghetesis says no matter what it is, including going against his belief of captured Pokemon by capturing them himself, but N's flawed logic Ysavvryl gave was good.

I really liked the Coffee Break this chapter, especially the last few lines with Ghetesis, and loved the way you intersected the two seperate stories by repeating the last line in chapters 2 and 3. The explaination for the hat was realistic and so was the reasoning for Purllion joining N. I wonder how you're going to go about having other Pokemon join him. (especially that one-eyed Psychic/Flying type he has when you fight him on the ferriswheel. Can't remember it's name...)

[scizorstrike]

N drinks green tea, eh? is that why he has green hair?

To be honest, I wasn't expecting a veiwpoint shift. I take it that we'll be seeing these before every N fight?

Serenade, I would agree with the Aspie's statement. I can quite fully relate to it.

[GalladeRocks]

Another new chapter? This is what I get for going on vacation. I loved the Coffee Break, and I certainly hope there will be more with N and Ghetsis in the future. I also love your depiction of N, which is the most believable and deepest that I've ever read. I like Pricilla and Zoroark both, and I'm eager to see what the deal is with Val and Carol, who are weirding me out at the moment. And after reading Fedora's first line, I get the feeling he's gonna be a nutso of the first degree...

And I also completely agree with the others' evaluation of N.

[Ysavvryl]

Glad you're all liking this. I didn't intentionally design N's character as having Aspergers. I was just considering what he says and does to figure out his motives, then also considering things from Ghetsis' point of view. Those two characters do have to be fleshed out together, I find, due to their relationship. I even decided which dragon to have N go after based on Ghetsis, not N. But if he shows that, I might look into that angle to see what I'd want to do with it.

The humor level of this is rather influenced by Terry Pratchett's writing. I love it when a story makes the reader laugh and think at the same time, so I do what I can to find that happy medium.

The Psychic/Flying is Sigilyph, and I have some ideas for it. And yes, Fedora is a nutso. He swears like a sailor, which is why I named him Fedora and not Perry. Perry probably wouldn't swear even if he spoke. But Fedora is a different kind of nuts than Picasso from my previous Pokemon fic.

Viewpoint shifts will be common; the next chapter has two POV characters in the same passage, Hilda and N. A few Pokemon characters get POV sections too. Off the top of my head, I know Fedora's already had one, and Pricilla gets at least one. And then there's the third protagonist, but he doesn't come into this fully for a little while yet.

*needs to go write Chapter 7 so she can post Chapter 4*

[Ysavvryl]

Coffee Break

"Are they psychoanalyzing me?" N asked, looking over the reviews.

"It's a fan thing, to speculate on stuff," Hilda said. "I've speculated that R2-D2 was accidentally programmed with the ultimate secret of the universe, and that's why he can do anything he wants even though he's a specially designed robot."

"It's all making me feel uncomfortable," he said, seeming like he was ready to leave this fourth-wall knowledge space and get back to the story. "Either that or it's having to do this one with just you."

She grinned. "That's how things roll around here. Although it's funny that you gave your first Pokemon a misspelled name."

"Pricilla's name is not misspelled," N insisted. "That's exactly what I was going for. I think that you were being uncreative when naming your Snivy."

"But fedoras are cool. Oh hey!" She leaned over and pulled up a piece of paper from a folder there. "Do you want to talk about that comment on fanfiction dot net about Ghetsis and...?"

"No!" N said, quickly cutting her off from that line of thought. "This is the commentary for Serebii and I'm glad we don't have to do this for that place. We are not talking about that."

"What's wrong with dresses?" Hilda asked, faking innocence.

N groaned and buried his face in his hands.


Chapter 4: Hats


late morning, 11/11

Hilda got up, letting go of Fedora for the moment. The guy approaching them was tall and lanky, wearing what most teenaged guys would wear. Except maybe the Rubik’s Cube on a belt clip and the black baseball cap, those were a little distinctive. And he was obviously another Trainer, with a travel bag at his side and a single Pokeball attached to a team holder.

N gave the Snivy’s Trainer a quick glance over. She was wearing a red and white sleeveless shirt with a Pokeball trim around the hemlines, along with knee length shorts. At her side, there was a pink travel bag and two Pokeballs. He also noted her white and pink baseball cap with the Bisharp patch, feeling justified in having gotten this hat as something that could blend in.

Along with her, there was the guy just behind her. He had a white angular mask over his eyes and nose, cunningly made so that his pale blue hair seemed to flow right from the accessory. He also wore black clothing with ragged edges, something he would expect to see on the Shadow Triad, except that this guy was obviously not a member. Perhaps even they could blend in.

“What the **** are you talking about, stickman?” the Snivy asked, flicking his tail in annoyance.

“Did you mean what I said, or what Fedora here said?” the girl asked, puzzled.

“Oh, you don’t understand them either? How very sad.” He was speaking quickly, barely keeping his words from blurring together. He then looked down at Fedora. “I mean you, Snivy. I heard you shouting from all the way over there, but I never expected to hear a Pokémon say anything like that.”

Fedora pushed his hat back, then began speaking in a trill that Hilda couldn’t understand. But N could. “What, is this about the swearing again? Dammit, I’ll say what I want however the **** I want to say it.”

“No, about your Trainer,” N said. “Although your swearing is rude.”

Waving his paw in a dismissive manner, he said, “Whatever. Look, it was about that Ghetsis guy and she was saying that while his cape was amazing, and I’ll agree with that, he wasn’t wearing no hat, and that keeps him from being awesome like us hat wearers. But Hilda knows how awesome a hat really is!” He clapped his paws, truly pleased. “She let me keep my hat of absolute ******** coolness and I love her for it. It makes me glad that I decided to go along with her.”

To N, this did not fit his idea of how things worked, how people related. Fedora shouldn’t be happy to be wearing the hat, or being with this Trainer… or cussing so much. He knew some of the Pokémon in the forest who would cuss in their own ways, but only rarely. Unless the girl was brainwashing him somehow.

Yes, that had to be it. That could be the only way he was acting like this. “So this is all about hats, is it?”

“The hat makes the man,” Fedora said with pride, although his fedora then slid over his eyes.

Hilda then laughed. “Hats? Hah, I knew my Pokémon was a hat-lover too. And you must be too, because you have the awesome Patch Hat!”

“The hat?” N touched the brim of his. “I just got it today because I wanted a hat; I didn’t really think it was anything special.”

She grabbed at his arm, but he stepped out of reach quickly. “Hey, slow down there, boy! There’s no need to talk at a million miles an hour.”

Oh, that again. N sighed. “It’s because I understand Pokémon, Hilda. They speak much more economically than humans, so I have to speak fast to keep up with their conversations. It’s hard to slow down from that. Oh, and the Snivy there told me your name.”

“And I’m Fedora,” the Snivy said, finally managing to tilt his hat back. “I’m darn proud of my name, *****, and you’d better remember to use it next time.”

“You ought to teach him better manners,” N added.

“Hey, I just caught him a few hours ago. If he has a potty mouth, I can’t know it and it wasn’t influenced by me. Anywho, about your hat: did it come with an extra patch?”

“Hmm, oh yes, it did.” He opened up his bag and soon found it. “Why?”

Hilda grinned and clapped her hands together. “Yes, that’s awesome! You have a really rare Patch Hat, you know. They released the Reshiram and Zekrom patch a month ago, but in limited numbers and although I kept checking, I could never find it. And you found a starting cap with two! Hey, do you want to trade for another patch? I’ve got a big collection and I really want that one.” She brought out a DSD from her bag and recalled a large green folder from it.

“This is a collection piece?” N asked. It seemed strange.

“Oh yes, since the patches are interchangeable, you can have one basic cap, and change it every day with a different patch. I could give you one of my duplicate rares for that one.” She flipped the folder open and went through plastic pockets, all filled with hat patches. “Like the special holographic Rayquaza.”

He peered over, interested. “Do you have one of just Zekrom?”

“Yeah, but those are pretty common; you can probably find one if you go right back into the store. I do have the dueling Haxorus patch.” Hilda decided to flip through until he saw something. “And so who are you?”

“My name is N,” he said. “Is there a Zoroark?”

Smiling because he’d hit on a nice one (although nowhere near as rare as the Reshiram and Zekrom), she flipped a few pages quickly. “Oh yeah, I do have a rare version of that one I’m willing to let go! Here, this is the one with the badass pose.” She pulled out a duplicate of the alternate Zoroark patch. “So will you trade with me, N?”

The patch in question was neat, N had to admit. It reminded him of his friend back in the forest. So he nodded and handed over the extra one of his. “Sure.”

“Excellent, thank you so much!” Hilda said, taking that one and handing him hers. She went to the back to find an empty slot to slip it into, then put the folder back in storage. “If you get into the Patch Hats, there’s a really awesome fan club online where you can get special offers and learn about limited editions. If not, it’s still fun to have around.”

N looked at her, knowing that he had wanted to berate her for putting her Snivy in that oversized hat. But then, he seemed to like it. Trying to find a way to bring it up again, he asked, “So were you listening to that speech? It has some ideas that I think you should really consider.”

“I was more mesmerized by his cape than anything,” Hilda said, briefly getting a glazed look in her eyes. That puzzled N, even more so when it broke and she laughed. “Hah, I was listening, but I think he’s trying to confuse people. I don’t know what he means to do, but he’s certainly got something up his sleeve. Or cape, something.”

By that point, the other guy had managed to slip over close to N. He looked up to the young man with intense blue eyes. “You smell interesting.”

N looked confused again. Hilda sighed. “Kyurem, don’t eat him. We don’t want trouble this soon after starting.”

“Fine.” Kyurem stayed there, still staring at N. “But who are you really?”

N looked at this strange boy. He was named Kyurem, after the legendary dragon? While it was strange, maybe people did respect the legendaries like that. Or disrespect, really. “I already told you, I’m N.”

“That is an odd name,” Hilda said. She wondered what kind of parents he had that would force him to live with that. “Oh, but you know what happens when two Trainers meet?”

He was puzzled. Was this a test? “I’m not really sure. This is my first day starting out.”

“Mine too!” She giggled. “Well sort of. No, we battle!”

Taking Pricilla’s Pokeball in hand, he prepared himself. Okay, this was what he would be doing from here on out… as much as he hated the idea of forcing Pokémon to battle. The Sages said that people wouldn’t listen to a ‘nobody’, so he had to prove himself in this barbaric manner. “Right, that is what Trainers do. All right, I’d like to hear our Pokémon in battle. Pricilla, come back out.” He released the Purrloin.

“Figures,” Pricilla said, but she didn’t seem disappointed.

Fedora jumped up. “Finally, you guys were talking way too much. I want in on this.”

Kyurem raised his eyebrows to this, but then walked out of the way of the battle. Noticing that, Hilda snapped her fingers. “Okay, Fedora, you’re up.” Kyurem was still at a much lower level, and she didn’t want to overpower this N guy too much if it was his first Pokémon battle, which it seemed to be. “And let’s go! Use Leer.”

Touching his hat, the Snivy smirked. “Don’t hate me because I’m cooler than you.”

“Pricilla, show me what you can do,” N said.

She was hissing at Fedora. “Why you!” She dashed over and scratched him with her claws, knocking his fedora off in the process.

“Hang on, Fedora,” Hilda said, “Leer and then attack.”

He had really wanted to attack that dumb cat for knocking his hat off, but he took the orders in trust that she must have known what she was asking for. “Hmph, you’re just jealous that you’re not naturally suave.”

The Purrloin scratched him again. “You seem to be the one getting beat up, though.” But right as she finished speaking, Fedora tackled her hard enough to force her onto the ground. She got back up and pounced on him, causing them to wrestle.

Look at the status screen of the ball, N said, “Can you try Assist?”

“I would advise against that,” Kyurem said. “It only works if you have another Pokémon on your team.”

“Yeah, he’d know what he’s talking about,” Hilda said, then snapped to her Pokémon. “Get outta that and tackle again.”

The Snivy threw the Purrloin off him. “Gotcha.” Then he rushed at her and tackled, this time knocking her out. As she vanished, he grabbed his hat and put it on with a flourish. “And that’s how it gets done, *****.”

N was caught in a state of shock. His first battle as a Trainer and he’d lost? But, he was supposed to be the one who understood Pokémon, not the others who could not hear the words. “So there’s more I need to learn,” he said, clasping the ball. “But there’s more you need to learn too. If you don’t find a way to understand your Pokémon, you’re going to end up hurting them.” Then he left for the Pokecenter.

After watching him go, Hilda looked to Kyurem. “See, that’s a reason you could help me by translating.”

“Sorry, mistress,” he said in a polite tone. “But you should find ways to do that yourself.”

“Hmph. Well, we’d better get a move on to Striaton so that we can train near a center that’s going to stay open. And I ought to use you on the way. Do you need to go back to Pokémon form for that?”

He nodded. “Yes, but I’ll transform when needed.”

With that settled, Hilda headed on to the exit of Accumula.

-+-

Why did that Snivy like something that made it look ridiculous? Why would he love someone who couldn’t understand him? And why couldn’t letting a Pokémon do what it would do naturally work in a battle? With his head a blur of questions, N entered the Pokecenter.

He looked around at the wrecked state of the inside. Everything all torn up inside, the vandalism outside… this was a place of healing, so what had caused such destruction? To the side, he could see one of the Gym Leaders, Burgh, helping some clerks pack up boxes for digital storage. The nurse was still in back, doing something with the computers. “What happened in here?” he asked as he approached the nurse’s desk.

She turned around. “Oh, hello. I’m sorry about the state our building is in; we’ve had a bit of a riot in here thanks to those Team Plasma folks. Do you want me to heal your Pokémon? I can still get that done.”

“Yes please.” But, Plasma had been responsible for this? He thought that they weren’t supposed to be using force. He handed over Pricilla’s ball and tried to think of what questions wouldn’t give him away. “Why would anyone wreck a Pokecenter?”

“Someone must know, but I really don’t,” she replied, placing the Pokeball inside a machine and setting it to run. “At any rate, we’re leaving Accumula, possibly for good. A lot of people around here like Plasma, so it’s been really tense for any Trainers that happen to come through, and for us working here. If they’ll do this, they could escalate to more dangerous demonstrations, so the League is moving us out until repairs and apologies are made.”

Although he wanted to argue that Plasma wouldn’t, he was supposed to be incognito now. He thanked her for healing the Purrloin, then headed out the west exit of Accumula. Since the crowd was gone, he released Pricilla and let her walk alongside him. This issue of the ruined Pokecenter remained on his mind. In a way, it was preferable to thinking about Hilda and her Pokémon. There had to be some trickery going on with her.

“Oh, N! There you are.”

Startled out of his thoughts, N looked up to see Val and Carol coming up to him. They both seemed worried. “We hadn’t seen you for a while,” the latter said, shifting her pink hair back.

“I had to go into Accumula to heal the Pokémon I got,” he told them. “But it’s a wreck; we ought to move up towards Striaton to continue. There’s also something about it that I need to talk with you about,” he lowered his voice at the last sentence, as there were several people, including an attendant, who were hanging out in the tunnel.

“The Pokecenter is a wreck?” Val asked as they went onto Route 2. “What happened to it?”

“Apparently, the vandals were connected to Team Plasma,” he said. “And we weren’t supposed to be acknowledged by the public until the rally for this morning got put on the internet and broadcast. I definitely know that we’re supposed to be a non-violent revolution except as a last resort. They’re even going to close up the Accumula center until an apology is issued, and that’s going to be bad publicity for us. I want to find out who’s responsible for this. If it’s not our group, then we ought to turn the real culprits over to the police in order to clear our name. If it is someone in our group, they need to be reminded of patience and non-violence. If we just go around forcing everyone to do things with violence, then we will be fought against. Non-violence will force them to struggle with their weak arguments of friendship and tradition.”

For a moment, the two of them were quiet. N turned back to them and saw that they were puzzled. “You want us to find out what happened to the Pokecenter? You saw it yourself,” Val finally said.

It took a moment, but N remembered that humans typically talked slower than he did. And it always seemed like they listened slower too. If he was going to be a great leader, he needed to find some way to force himself to slow down when talking to them. He gave it a try, but it felt unnatural. “No, get in contact with the other members of Plasma and have them find out who is responsible for the trashing of the Accumula Pokecenter. If it’s not members of Plasma, they should be turned in to the police so that we aren’t blamed for the violence. If it is a member or a group from Plasma, then they need to be reminded that we aren’t using violence just yet, or ever if things work out right.”

“Oh I see, that’s a great idea,” Val said, nodding. “We’ll pass the word along, right Carol?”

“Right,” she said, calm as usual. “Some newer members may be too enthusiastic.”

“But we should stick together. What did you catch, N?”

He looked around, realizing that his Pokémon friend wasn’t obviously around. “Ah, a Purrloin. She was right with me. Pricilla, where are you?”

To his call, she emerged from behind a bush. Although she came to him, she gave the two girls a wide berth. “Sorry… gack… but those two humans reek! That is worse than the smell of Repel, ugh. I don’t like them. Do we have to travel with them?”

“She doesn’t like your perfume either,” N told them. “Apparently you smell worse than Repel to Pokémon. So really, you shouldn’t be wearing it because you’re not going to be able to catch anything with it hanging to you.”

“Does it?” Val frowned. “That could be why we’ve had trouble.”

And if it was going to make his Pokémon friend (and himself) uncomfortable, that was another reason for them to travel separately. “Listen, I know you mean well, but I’ll be fine on my own. I don’t want to make my friends unhappy, so we’ll be going ahead. It’s not much use training around here if the Pokecenter is closed.” He walked faster to get by them.

“But N, we’re supposed to help you,” Val said, in a slightly whiny voice.

“I hardly know you,” he said. “And you hardly know me. If I run into trouble, I can speak with the local Pokémon and get myself out. I know you’re not in this for the badges and the Gyms and unless you can prove yourself helpful, I can handle things on my own.”

He and Pricilla kept moving ahead, despite their protests. The Purrloin seemed amused. “You have to put your underlings in line.”

“Normally I don’t have to deal with them,” he replied.

-+-

afternoon, 11/11

Route 2 wasn’t as solid as Route 1 was. 2 split off into many different narrow paths, although all eventually led up to Striaton. On her way there, Hilda battled with Kyurem in areas that were large enough for him, and Fedora in areas that weren’t. The Snivy had no problems with any of the Pokémon along the way, and while Kyurem started weaker than everything else, his two moves did knock out everything on the way in one blow. That is, when they could find wild Pokémon bold enough to battle them.

Even with strong skills, sometimes another Pokémon was quicker than Kyurem and got a strong hit on him. Hilda used up her last Potion to fix up the dragon while he was still in his normal form. “According to the town map, we should be on the last stretch before Striaton,” she said. She patted his black hide. “I can get more later. How’re you feeling?”

He made a huffing sound, then turned into a human again. After adjusting his shirt, he said, “Quite well, considering that I started all over again. With the technology your people have, battles could carry on for quite some time.” Then he gave a smile; strangely, it was unnerving, the kind one would expect from a Pokémon an entire town called a true monster.

Trying to put it out of her mind, she said, “They can. Well it’s getting late. Let’s avoid what battles we can.”

Kyurem turned serious again. “As you wish, mistress.”

Fedora made a chittering sound at him, which the dragon replied to with an almost snarl.

In time, signs of the next town began to appear through the trees. Hilda hurried on ahead, but it quickly became apparent that there was a group of people ahead. Trainers who would want a battle? She could manage, but she couldn’t heal until town. Hopefully they wouldn’t stop her from reaching Striaton if she needed it.

She spotted Bianca at the edge of the crowd, holding onto her Oshawott. Oddly enough, it seemed like there were mostly girls in the group. Her friend looked interested in what was going on, but nervous about going up to whatever the big deal was. Hilda went over to her. “Hey there. What’s going on?”

She looked surprised, then smiled. “Oh, hi Hilda. Look, Hilbert’s here.”

“Oh, him?” Hilda felt excited. Hilbert was a living superstar, one of the more famous Pokémon Trainers who was challenging the League right now. Whenever he was in a Gym battle, people always said he put on a great show. And Hilda wanted to be able to do the same.

And yes, there he was! He had a mullet of brown hair, although he mostly covered it up with a Patch Hat that had an Archeops on it. He wore a blue jacket that had more patches and buttons sewn all over it, not just from Unova but from far away regions like Hoenn and Johto. At the moment, he was talking to the crowd of girls (only a couple of other guys, though) about his travels. “Yeah, I’ve been traveling the world since I was ten,” he said, all casual like it was simple to accomplish such a thing. “But I always love returning to Unova. This is my homeland and I hope to get the honor of being named Champion of this League. I’ll take that over being Champion of any other place.” He gave a confident smile with perfectly white teeth and, at that moment, the air around him seemed to sparkle.

The other girls in the audience squealed and complimented him.

“I hear that he’s wealthy from all the traveling and battling he does,” Bianca whispered to Hilda. “And that the Kanto-Johto League did try to get him to aim for being their joint Champion. That takes sixteen badges though; he’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. She knelt down to pick up Fedora so he could see too. When she looked to Kyurem, though, he was staring at Hilbert in a weird way. “What’s the matter?”

“Hm?” Bianca asked, then noticed she was asking it of Kyurem.

The transformed Pokémon studied the boy for a while longer. Then he turned to them. “I knew something was happening in the land. But I’m not finding what I expected. What I’m finding is… strange. I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Care to explain yourself?” Hilda asked in a teasing manner.

He looked to her, then shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Hey, you two lovely ladies,” Hilbert said, coming through the crowd towards them.

Bianca’s eyes went wide while Suzy shrank back in her arms. “Huh, us?”

The famed Trainer smiled confidently as he came to them; his other admirers moved aside, jealous of them but still hoping to get his attention if they pretended not to be. “Yeah, you two. As you may know, I am the brightest star of the League challengers, Hilbert Godfrey.” He made a motion like he was tipping his hat. “And you two seem to be Trainers that I haven’t heard of yet. Are you also aspiring for stardom and glory?”

“Um, uh, not really,” Bianca said, at a loss of what to say.

So Hilda spoke up for her. “Not exactly. I’m Hilda, and this is one of my best friends, Bianca. We just started out on our journey this morning. Heck, we haven’t even gotten our League IDs yet since the Striaton Pokecenter got closed down.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Did it? How odd. But at least I know not to waste time around there. At any rate, would you two like to battle?”

“Battle?” Bianca asked. “But, we just started out, and you’ve been to all sorts of regions.”

“Yeah, isn’t that just being a bully?” Hilda added. Even if she did have Kyurem on hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that he was slipping out of the crowd’s view. As for the crowd, they seemed puzzled that anyone would reject a battle offer from their idol.

“Certainly not,” Hilbert said, radiating innocence in a way that could only be described with purple prose. “It’s part of the honor of the Pokémon Trainer; you’ll take on any challenge given to you. It’s like what the elders of the Dragon Clan in Blackthorn say: you shouldn’t care if the Pokémon is weak or strong, or if a Trainer is weak or strong. An honorable Trainer should do their best with the Pokémon they love.”

“I suppose there is a noble challenge to it, if you twist it about like that,” Hilda said, although she was clenching her fist. “But there’s also a stupid challenge to it. Someone’s who’s had, what, eight, nine years of experience in Pokémon training and battling going against someone who had just started out? What challenge is in it for you, and what point is there for us? The Gym Leaders at least balance battles out to make a fair challenge.”

He nodded. “You have a point, mademoiselle. In that way, it is a bit stupid. So then, I’ll battle the both of you, with just one Pokémon that I’m still working on. That would balance out the fairness, wouldn’t you think?”

“That does sound nicer,” Bianca said, putting Suzy down, then patting her head to reassure her.

“Sure, if you want,” Hilda answered as Fedora jumped down onto the ground on his own. She looked to her friend and winked at her. “Let’s do this, Fedora.”

As the crowed backed off, Bianca tapped her holder. “Okay, go Lassie!” Then she summoned out a Lillipup while her Oshawott hopped out of the battle area. Oo, she was getting sneaky, Hilda thought.

“Interesting,” Hilbert said, then frowned at the Snivy. Somehow, the air seemed to turn darker when he did. “Hey wait… that hat…”

Fedora snickered and tapped the fern attached to it.

“It’s awesome, right?” Hilda said, grinning.

His cool image cracked enough to show anger. “That’s my hat! That fool Pokémon stole it from me yesterday when I was on Route 1.” A number of his fans gasped and backed away.

“He had it when I caught him,” Hilda said. “And weren’t we going to battle?”

Cooling down for a bit, Hilbert’s confident mask returned. “Right, but afterwards, we’re going to have to talk about that hat. Anyhow, I’m a man of my word and I’ll only call one. Go Gigalith!”

A giant four-legged boulder of a Pokémon appeared, its red eyes glowering down at the two smaller Pokémon before it. The red crystals on its back glittered in the sunlight, contrasting with its dark blue hide. After a second, it snorted as if it saw this as nothing special or troublesome.

He talks of being fair and then pulls out a Gigalith, Hilda thought in annoyance. But a good portion of her was impressed somehow that he had a powerful Pokémon like that. It was only natural given his experience. And why was she feeling like she wanted to follow him around like the other girls did?

On one hand, she recalled Grass moves being effective against Rock types, and Fedora had learned Vine Whip now. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure how powerful that Pokémon had to get to evolve into Gigalith form. It might be able to withstand Vine Whip (and probably could). In that case, the best thing might be to weaken it first. “Fedora, use Leer.”

Hilbert waved his hand dismissively. “Rock Throw, Gigalith.”

Bianca looked nervous. “Um, use Tackle, Lassie.”

Surprisingly, both the Lillipup and the Snivy were able to move before the Gigalith. But the body tackle didn’t seem to do much, as compared to when it summoned a rain of stones to fall on the two of them. The two Pokémon fainted immediately; the fedora disappeared along with Fedora.

While Bianca encouraged her spooked Oshawott to join the fight, Hilda glanced to where she had last seen the blue haired boy-dragon. He was gone now. Good. She pressed the button on his Pokeball. “All right, you’re up Kyurem.”

Suzy had just managed to get her courage to come into the battle area when the large black dragon appeared beside her and roared. The Oshawott froze in place. “He’s on our side, Suzy,” Bianca said quickly.

On the other side, Hilbert looked rattled. “What, you have Kyurem? Now what about calling in a legendary Pokémon is fair?”

“Oh, but he just hatched this morning,” Bianca said. “In a way. He’s low leveled.”

“Hmm…” he got that smile again. “Gigalith, Stone Edge on the dragon.”

“Kyurem, use Icy Wind,” Hilda said. If it stayed slow, then they might have a chance.

“Suzy, use Water Gun,” Bianca said, more of a gentle suggestion than an order.

The dragon went first, calling in a snowy frigid wind to strike the Gigalith. Then Suzy followed up with a small orb of water fired at it. Finally, the Gigalith stomped a foot on the ground and called up a giant spike of stone from underneath Kyurem, knocking him out. The Oshawott lost her nerve and tried to use another Water Gun, but ended up drenching one of Hilbert’s fan girls instead. A Rock Throw from the Gigalith knocked her out.

Hilbert recalled his Pokémon and tilted his hat again. “You’re lucky to have fought me, you know,” he said. “Now, about that hat of mine.”

“It’s not here now,” Hilda pointed out. “I have to go to the Pokecenter to revive Fedora first.

-+-

evening, 11/11

Fedora lounged on a throw pillow of the hotel room’s couch. On looking at his hat, sitting on the couch arm, he felt satisfied with how the day had gone. Mostly. Losing that battle to the Gigalith had been awful, but at least he still had the fern fedora. Hilbert had tried and tried to take the hat back, but every time the Snivy retreated to his Pokeball, the hat went with him. The nurse explained that the hat had somehow gotten digitalized along with him when he was captured. Apparently, items could do that if the Pokémon in question identified itself with the item.

And Fedora thought he looked awesome with the hat.

On the other end of the couch, Kyurem was sitting in his human form. That dragon still scared Fedora, although he buried that deep within his mind so that it didn’t show. He was sitting there perfectly still, except for his chest moving with every breath and his eyes blinking occasionally. But in those eyes, there was a hunger and desire for violence and blood. Even if he was ‘weakened’, the Snivy felt like the dragon could raze this whole town and slaughter everything alive in it, overnight. That is, if Hilda told him to do so.

Why did his human have such authority over Kyurem? Fedora wasn’t sure why. He had first met Kyurem as a voice, offering him freedom from Juniper’s Pokeball if they swapped places. At the time, he’d been okay with that; he wasn’t too keen about being given to some stranger for research. And then he’d met the dragon face to face and realized just what kind of power he’d made a deal with. Kyurem was a god in Pokémon form. Somehow, Hilda had control over him that went beyond a Pokeball’s normal mechanizations. What kind of deal had she made to get it?

Hilda’s authority was the only reason Fedora felt like he could relax near Kyurem. At least, relax about not being eaten immediately. Something was going on now and his new friend and Trainer was at the center of it. He would have to do his best to help her through it.

The girl herself was fiddling with her Xtransceiver. It made a ringing sound a few times before it clicked. “Hello, Hilda!”

“Hi Mom!” she said happily, sitting on the bed. “How’s it going?”

“All right; getting used to the quiet.” They laughed. “So how’s it going with you?”

“Awesome! I had the most amazing day.”

It certainly had been amazing, Fedora thought. He curled up on the pillow and soon fell asleep listening to them talk.

[Sgeckledorf Spoongeblorb]

This is getting gigity-giggity-good.

I like the Coffee Break parts the best.

[Missingno. Master]

I am liking this. Please add me to the PM list!

Oh, and the chapter 2 coffee break. Giant fighting robot Pokedexes? Cheren as a jerk? Exact same game dialogue? Is this referencing what I think it's referencing?

[Ysavvryl]

Maybe. And you are getting better about the dialogue thing. Loved the Ferris Wheel scene.

In case anyone's wondering, yes, there is a review of ClicheStorm on FF.net that mentions Ghetsis and dresses. I just had to mention its silliness and embarrass N with it.

[SerenadeSP]

...

Excuse me.

*goes to Clubs section and creates the Patch Hat Fan Club*

Anyways, I wasn't expecting Hilbert to appear, but I'm kinda happy that you included him as a Champion-esque character. And the sections involving N's doubts and Fedora's analysis of Kyurem (and a mini-backstory too) were excellent. Actually, I think these battles are better than others I've seen you write, since the Pokemon have speaking roles as well as actiing roles.

[GalladeRocks]

Yet another awesome Coffee Break. I'm not sure I want to know what Hilda's talking about there...

Yeah, I'm starting to see why Fedora wasn't named Perry, or even Indiana. But who knows, Perry's chatter could translate to something far more vulgar than what a romanticist might believe...

Patch Hat Trading and Collecting! It's the new sensation that's sweeping the nation! They should really have this in-game.

What is it, Lassie? Trouble at the mill? No, the barn's on fire! The well! TIMMY'S STUCK IN THE WELL!!! (There had certainly better be a reference somewhere along those lines made at some point.)

I wonder, could Hilbert perhaps be the third protagonist? It would be a bit predictable, but still possible. Besides, you just said he/she wouldn't come into it fully for a little while, so he/she could have already been introduced.

Overall, I can sum up my entire review with this: I am incredibly disappointed that Kyurem hasn't eaten anybody yet. You had better remedy this fatal error in your fic within the next chapter or two. N, Hilbert, Mewtwo, Giovanni, Kip, Picasso, I don't care. Just SOMEONE needs to go down that massive icy gullet.

[scizorstrike]

I agree with GR on all counts (especially the eating one). except the pancakes. I have a question; do your Coffee Breaks have different content between here and FF.net?

[Ysavvryl]

Heh, some mention of eating people is in Chapter 5, and I considered having Hilbert get eaten at one point. Hilda's not letting Kyurem do that, yet, so complain to her.

The Coffee Breaks are only here. The FF.net readers get an end-of-chapter chat from me. How the commentaries take place and what they talk about are the only differences. Yes, I have put out two versions of this and you'd have to see both to read everything. Just like Game Freak!

[gmoyes]

Lol great fic so far. The coffee breaks are hillarious and 4th wall breaking. I found an error though:

So Hilda spoke up for her. “Not exactly. I’m Hilda, and this is one of my best friends, Bianca. We just started out on our journey this morning. Heck, we haven’t even gotten our League IDs yet since the Straiton Pokecenter got closed down.”

Don't you mean Accumula? Anyway could you add me to the pm list? I can't wait for some more lols.

[Ysavvryl]

Coffee Break

“Aw come on,” Hilda said. “It should get points for style.”

“Nothing has more style than me,” Hilbert said, sitting back and drinking his coffee. “Oh, I think we’re on. Well it’s good to see that I have fans already, and… hey wait, she’s going to feed me to Kyurem?!”

Hilda laughed. “Because you’re annoying?”

Indignant, he frowned. “I am not annoying. I have every right to be proud of myself for what I’ve done. Nobody is better than me, not Alder, not Cynthia, nobody. And I had better be the third protagonist, although I think this story would be miles better if I was the main protagonist instead of you.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Everybody loves me,” Hilbert said, counting reasons off on his fingers. “I am amazing, special, and beautiful, I never lose, and I am flat out amazing. That makes me the most common archetype for fanfiction and therefore, I should be the main protagonist here.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be so proud of that,” Hilda said. “But you wear a Patch Hat too. That’s at least one point in your favor. Oh, and I love Lassie! There’s definitely going to be a Pokémon named Timmy around. You get one guess as to which one it’s gonna be.”

“A Timburr?” Hilbert asked, puzzled.

“Bzzzt, wrong! Anyhow, let’s get the chapter started, which talks of bacon and what Hilbert would taste like!”

“I think I’d better start wearing some dragonsbane if I want to survive around here,” Hilbert muttered to himself.


Chapter 5: Break for School?


morning, 11/12

Striaton was a place like Accumula, where people who worked in Castelia lived to get out of the city. But it was more of a middle class setting as opposed to the upper class finery of Accumula. While there were many apartment buildings and a few homes, they were more generic and plain, made of dark colored stones. Only a few streets were paved and an abandoned factory area was located to the northeast. In Striaton itself, there was the Gym, a Trainers School, a Pokecenter, and a public formal garden.

In the morning, Hilda found both of her best friends and convinced them to go out to a diner for breakfast together. One of the dining options was the Gym itself, oddly enough, but it wasn’t open that morning. They went to one that had been made out of an old train car instead. “Oo, they have French toast,” Hilda said, looking through the menu.

“You can even get it with strawberries, so it’s kind of healthy,” Bianca said jokingly before taking a drink of water.

“Everything’s cooked,” Kyurem said in disappointment.

“The salads and fruit bowls aren’t,” Cheren pointed out, then quickly patted at a purple paw reaching onto the table. The Purrloin he had caught yesterday afternoon was trying to steal his spoon.

The dragon boy made a disgusted face at that suggestion. “Unacceptable.”

The waitress, dressed in a red striped jacket and short striped skirt, stopped by their table. “Good morning, I’ll be your server today. What can I get you kids?”

As Cheren indicated for the girls to go first, Bianca said, “I’d like an apple flapjack stack, please, with a berry and nut bowl, and Pup’s Breakfast Biscuits for my Pokémon.”

“I’ll have a strawberry French toast platter, with extra strawberries if that’s okay, and a Pokémon’s berry and nut bowl,” she glanced at Kyurem, who was hiding his face behind his menu and grumbling about bloodless meats. “He’s shy; could you get him a sausage, ham, and bacon platter?”

“Sure enough,” the waitress said.

“I’ll have the country breakfast plate 3, with two fried eggs,” Cheren said. “And two Pokémon berry and nut bowls.”

The waitress recited their orders back, then went to pass it on to the cooks. “Gosh, just feeding our Pokémon is going to be expensive,” Bianca said. “Especially since they’re going to be battling and we need to keep them in top condition.”

“Once we’re registered in the League, we’ll get some compensation from them,” Cheren said. “Right now, we’ll have to be careful. Speaking of which, have either of you gotten your IDs yet?”

They both shook their heads. “Nah, the nurse said it’s still in review,” Hilda said.

“Do you think it has something to do with the Elite 4 challenge being shut down temporarily?” Bianca asked. “Because Alder lost one of his Pokémon to an infected injury just last week and the news reporters have said he’s in no condition to give interviews or act as League Champion.”

“That would be horrible,” Cheren said. “But that could have something to do with the delay.”

“Not much we can do about that but be patient,” Hilda said. She glanced off to the grill area, where the short order cooks were telling jokes and laughing while working. They seemed to be busy.

Cheren opened his bag and brought out a pamphlet. “Even so, I think I’ve found a way to pass some time. See? The Trainers School here in town is offering a special two week session, starting today.”

“Today?” Bianca asked. “But, uh…”

“There’s still time to register,” he said as Hilda picked up the paper to read. “The classes don’t start until nine, so as long as we get out of here in decent time, we should still be able to join in.”

Skimming over the info, Hilda noticed the session was made up of three classes, six days a week, for two weeks. “We do have to get two credits in Pokémon studies for our self study allowance,” she thought aloud. “And doing this would get us the year’s requirement. Seems like we could even have time to train our Pokémon for the Gym while we’re at it.” Fedora and Smoky gave their approvals to that idea, while Suzy was trying very hard to ignore Kyurem’s presence. The Lillipup and Purrloin were busy making faces at each other under the table.

“That would be nice to get out of the way,” Bianca said, patting her Oshawott to reassure the Pokémon.

They chatted about the classes and Pokémon while they were waiting, and between bites when they got their meals. Kyurem glowered at the plate of meats for a little bit, but reluctantly tried them to eat something. Although clumsy with his fork, he somehow managed to finish off his breakfast first. “Did you like your cooked meats?” Hilda said teasingly.

“The ham and sausage were acceptable,” he said. “But the bacon was wonderful. I might make an exception for cooked meats if they are bacon.”

They laughed at this. “There was a neighbor of ours who said she was a vegetarian, except for bacon,” Bianca said.

When everyone was done with breakfast, the group headed out to the Trainers School. It was a large three story building which stood out as it was made of wood and brightly painted with red, brown, and yellow. There were a number of teenagers outside, but the three friends and their Pokémon were able to get inside easily.

There was a receptionist desk near the entrance, but a sign by one of the hallways pointed them to Room 15 for school and class registration. There was a small sitting area in a cluster of offices, but no one was sitting there. Good sign, or bad? Whichever it was, Cheren knocked on Room 15’s door.

“Come in,” a woman said. She was dressed in a business jacket, a straight skirt, and black rimmed glasses. “How may I help you?”

“We’d like to register for one of the two week sessions, if there’s still room,” Cheren said.

“Hold on, I think…” she checked something on her computer. “We only have openings for three more students in just one of the sessions that start today. You’d have to wait two weeks if all four of you wanted to join in.”

That was a moment of confusion, but then Kyurem put his hand on Hilda’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’m her bodyguard, not a student.”

She gave him a look. “I see. Unusual, but all right. As I’ve said, most of the spots are filled up, so if you want in on this session, you’ll be taking the Traveler session, consisting of one general studies credit, Camping and Travels, and two Pokémon studies credits, Battles 3 and Pokémon Grooming. I just need to check your school records to make sure you’ve covered Battles 1 and 2 previously. May I have your IDs, whether League or general?”

“We’ve just got general IDs for now,” Hilda said taking out hers to hand over. “That sounds like a good set.”

“Yeah, that could be good,” Bianca said. Cheren thought it over, then nodded.

The school counselor, as she turned out to be, got the three of them registered for the session. They had some time to make sure they had their basic school supplies before classes started, so they headed out to a nearby store the counselor recommended. On exiting the building, both of Hilda’s friends spoke up.

“Pokémon grooming?” Cheren asked, not thinking much of the subject.

“Battles 3?” Bianca asked, intimidated. “I barely passed Battles 2 and I think I only did because I got lucky in the final test battle.”

Hilda grinned. “Well that was the only session they had open. I’m sure it will all be useful.”

“You don’t have a problem with it?” Cheren asked.

She shook her head. “I was considering it, because the Camping class will be practical. We’ll have to battle anyhow in the League, so another class will help.”

“I guess,” Bianca said, resigning herself to it.

“We can help you with it,” Cheren offered. He and Hilda had both aced the previous two levels of Battles class, so neither of them was nervous about 3.

“As for the Grooming class, that’ll be fun,” Hilda continued. “And it could help build trust with the Pokémon we catch, since I’m sure they’ll like it.” She glanced at Kyurem.

He frowned. “Don’t even try.”

“Most of them, I suppose,” she admitted. “Besides, you might impress some girls by how well-kept and nice your Pokémon are.” Hilda elbowed Cheren. “That’d be good, huh?”

As Bianca giggled, Cheren shrugged. “That could be a plus, although yes, gaining trust would be a good thing. I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be some fashion contest thing.”

-+-

The teacher of Battles 3 was a short slim man, with a noticeable bald spot and round sunglasses tucked into his shirt pocket. He didn’t seem intimidating until he picked up a heavy metal rod and banged it on the floor to get the attention of the class. “All right students, welcome to Battles 3,” he said in an unwelcoming voice. “I want you to know that as this is a cram session, there is no slack for foolishness or laziness. You must pay attention, do homework immediately, and be ready for battle. I am Mr. Tailor and you will address me as sir. Now when I call your name, tell me what Pokémon you have at this time and be snappy about it.”

As students answered (quite a few of them nervously), Mr. Tailor gave a dismissive assessment of each. When one student named a team full of Grass types, he was particularly critical of having a mono-type team. He said to Cheren’s Tepig and Purrloin, “One’s slow and the other is frail. You’re not going to get far against the fast and strong teams many Trainers have.”

To Bianca’s Oshawott and Lillipup, “One’s a common type and the other’s common overall. People know how to fight them and won’t find you too hard to beat.

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.”

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

“That’s really not necessary,” she told him.

After giving them both a sharp glare, Mr. Tailor sniffed. “Well you’d need a legendary to back up a Snivy. A limited move pool and poor typing will get it killed before it can put a dent in most opponents.”

Fedora made a rude gesture at the teacher, but Hilda tapped his shoulder.

-+-

The next teacher was a lady with graying curly hair and lots of large jewelry. Her bracelets jangled together and her earrings swung as she introduced herself. “I’m Mrs. White and I’ll be teaching Pokémon Grooming. I’m going to teach you how to keep your Pokémon looking and feeling their best! As you may know, a happy and loyal Pokémon will do their absolute best for you, and grooming is a wonderful way to strengthen your friendship with your team.”

Although she seemed much nicer than Mr. Tailor, it wasn’t long after class started that she started handing out a large stack of papers for references and homework. The staples were barely holding on and Hilda’s folder for this class was soon bulging. Wasn’t grooming supposed to be simple?

“Now one of the first things you must do is determine the characteristics of your Pokémon to know how to best groom them,” she said, pulling down a massive chart over the chalkboard. “Pokémon come in many forms and there is a lot to consider. For instance, you three, in the front row.”

Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca glanced at each other as Mrs. White came to their table.

“You have five different Pokémon here,” she said, as Kyurem was still in human form at the side of the room. “And each of them has different needs.” She started down the row. “This Snivy is a reptile and a Grass type. It will shed its scales regularly, so you’ll need a buffing cloth to help peel off any dead scales that don’t come off naturally, and it will need sunbathing time every day to keep in optimal health.

“This Oshawott is a Water type mammal with fine hairs. It will need moisturizers if you are going to be in a dry environment, but time in the water will suffice otherwise. Otherwise, it should be fairly easy to groom. On the other hand, this Lillipup is a Normal type mammal with thick fur, which will eventually get long. It will need to be bathed regularly, especially if it has dandruff problems, and it will need daily brushing. It’s not too bad now, but later evolutions will require an undercoat brush, a stiff brush for the long hairs, and possibly a comb to work out knots. Get it used to this right away so that it doesn’t fuss much later.

“And then this Purrloin is a Dark type mammal with short fur. Now a Purrloin itself will keep its own grooming, but you should still get a soft short fur brush to use; it will love it, so it’s a great way of bonding. Also, you’ll need to watch for dandruff and bath it if this is a problem.”

“That could be trouble, bathing a Purrloin,” Cheren said. The Purrloin in question was cleaning his ears.

Mrs. White shrugged. “Start early to get it used to it, or use a foaming shampoo. And then this Tepig,” she patted Smoky, getting him to look up at her. “This one might fool you. It’s a Fire type mammal with a few short tough hairs. Brushes are not needed, but what do you think of moisturizers?”

The boy looked puzzled. “He’s a Fire type, so no?”

“Incorrect,” she said. “This Tepig will need moisturizing lotion applied daily to look at its best. You see, a mammal’s skin cells need to keep some moisture; otherwise, it gets dry, cracked, and flaky. And because it’s a Fire type, its skin will dry out faster than usual. So to keep it looking nice, use lotion. Check the booklet under skin care for more details about what kinds to use and what to avoid so that you don’t accidentally burn yourself doing so.”

-+-

For the last class, the students met with the teacher outside on Route 2. “This way, we can have lessons in the proper environment,” he explained. He was a man with glossy black hair, a beard, and something like a military uniform. “I am Mr. Smith, but you may call me George. Now a few of our classes are going to be held overnight for the camping section, so we’re not as compressed and hurry-along as the other two classes you’re taking this session. But you should still pay attention if you are going to be travelers, as this may be some of the most important information you learn in these two weeks.”

The autumn wind was blowing hard that afternoon, so the students kept any loose papers in their folders and did their best to keep any from flying away. Sometimes other Trainers came by and looked, but as they were in class, they weren’t allowed to have battles with those outside the class. But no matter how much the wind blew, George didn’t have any trouble making himself heard over it.

“Good to see some of you having your Pokémon out,” he said. Pointing to his Emolga, he went on, “When traveling in unfamiliar areas, or familiar ones where wild Pokémon are, it is best to have one of your Pokémon out along with you, maybe two. The Pokémon love this for one, and for another, they’ll be able to spot threats and trouble before you can. Also, I’ve found that if you’re walking in a grassy area with a well-trained Pokémon, the wild Pokémon that come to you tend to be stronger and tougher. I think this is because the wild ones can see what you’re capable of and figure that you’re a good challenge.”

The cram session was going to be tough, but it would be worth the time and effort.

-+-

afternoon, 11/13

On the west side of Striaton, there was a formal public garden. A tiered fountain stood in the center, surrounded by many man-made streams that outline pathways. Short flowering hedges were kept in straight lines, while a number of taller bushes were shaped to resemble Pidoves. At the north end of this garden, a trellis tunnel covered in pink climbing roses led to Route 3.

In front of that tunnel, there was an old man who blocked the way. “I’m sorry, but the next route is long and dangerous to someone who doesn’t have any Gym Badges. Why don’t you go to the Dreamyard? That’s a good place for beginners.”

“I’ll be fine,” N said. Of all the obstacles he had imagined, he had not thought that a stubborn old man would be one of them. “I plan on training my Pokémon friend on Route 3, so the tougher fights are exactly what I’m looking for.”

“No, it’s too tough,” the old man said. “Go back east.”

“It’s okay!” another voice said behind N. He glanced back at the black-haired girl. “We’re going together, so there’s no need to worry.”

Them. At least Val and Carol weren’t wearing that hideous perfume today, N thought. And if going with them was what it would take to get on Route 3, he’d have to live with it. “Yes, they’re with me.”

“I suppose that’s okay,” the old man said, moving aside. “But be careful, or you might lose an ear to a wild Pokémon.”

“Thanks, old man!” Val said cheerily as she followed N though the rose tunnel. “Lose an ear? How weird.”

“If he treated Pokémon well, then they wouldn’t hurt him,” N said. “Did you pass on the questions I had about the Accumula Pokecenter?”

“What? Oh right, that. Yeah, we did. Zigzolin said that he would look into it. The news program said that it was a small group of vandals that were supporting Plasma.”

“Didn’t say they were our people,” Carol said calmly. “Not that I’d trust them.”

The path north stopped a short ways past the route’s start and headed directly west. Although the old man had said it was dangerous, there wasn’t any grass here. But there was a pair of buildings nearby, painted in bright colors with white fences around their lands. A number of small children and small Pokémon played together behind the fences. N walked with the two girls along the route. “But the ignorant masses do trust the news media and will believe what they’re told. They haven’t been told the truth yet. So we must make sure that they won’t see us as bad people when we’re heading for the ideals that are the best for everyone.”

“Yes, of course,” Val agreed, then recited from one of the major books, “We seek to bring out the best of both Pokémon and humans, to create peace and perfect harmony between them and to bring to an end the corruptive and abusive relationship they currently hold.”

The sound of laughter and cheering came from the other side of the fence. The two with him would just hear barking, but N clearly heard, “I got the ball! I got the ball! Play with me some more!”

“I want the ball!” a little boy called, then cheered as the ball was thrown.

“The illusions society creates are very strong,” Carol said. “They will fool themselves into thinking that the wrong things are right.”

“We’ve seen past the illusions,” N said. It was still recitation, but it was good for blocking out the distracting illusions coming from the playground. Then he broke it to say, “Don’t worry; I have faith in the hidden truth and in the gods. We’ll set things right.”

-+-

night, 11/15

On one of the nights the Travels and Camping class spent on an overnight study, Hilbert showed up again. Hilda, Bianca, and Cheren were working on getting a fire started. “You know, it’d be faster if you use matches, or your Pokémon,” he said.

Hilda glanced up at him; he smiled with a bit of that strange sparkle to him. “Can’t,” she said. “Our teacher says that we can’t have dinner tonight unless we can cook it over a fire we made without Pokémon assistance.” They even had to keep a bucket of river water nearby rather than asking Bianca’s Oshawott to put out any escaping flames.

“And this will work,” Cheren said, watching the sparks created. Some of them caught onto the brown leaves, causing a few flames and a thin curl of smoke. “There we go!”

“Oh, I hope it sticks,” Bianca said. “What are you doing here, Hilbert?”

Cheren looked up in interest on realizing who the other boy was. Hilbert crossed his arms over his chest. “I was just over at the Gym,” he said. “It changed hands while I was gone, so I had to challenge it again to keep my Unova badges. And I hear that the Opulucid Gym has a new Leader too, although since the old one is there, that badge is still valid. I might try to challenge the new one. So I thought you two were starting your journey. Why’re you in class?”

At that point, Fedora came up and made a chuckling sound while tipping his hat up. Hilbert briefly frowned at him, but was back to smiles at the three other humans.

“It counts towards our high school credits,” Hilda answered. “Plus we’ve done some camping before, but always near home and with other people.”

“It’s worth the delay,” Cheren added.

“And we can’t battle while in class, so don’t try that tricky honor business on us,” Hilda said teasingly.

“Well that’s a pity,” he said, adjusting his Patch Hat. “I didn’t need a class to learn how to camp. I learned it all on my own, the hard way. Just wait until that night when an unexpected rainstorm comes in and collapses your tent on top of you. There’s no other awakening like that,” he grinned.

“Certainly not, but one you want to avoid,” George said, coming over. “Say, are you that famous world traveler, Hilbert?”

“That’s my name,” he said proudly. “I’ve been in more places all around the world than most people twice my age.”

Their teacher looked excited. “Yes, I’ve heard of you through the Hiker’s Guild! It’s an honor to have you here. Do you want to talk with the Travels and Camping class here?”

He shrugged. “Sure, why not? If you’d love to hear me, then I’d love to talk.”

“Thank you, that’s great!” George then looked down at the progress of the campfire. “Good work on getting it started; keep at it. Say Hilbert, did you ever get to climb Mt Coronet?”

“Of course, it was wonderful,” the teen said, walking off with the teacher.

“Why do I feel like I both admire him and am annoyed by him?” Cheren asked.

“I don’t know,” Bianca said. “I kind of feel the same way. He was great before we met him, and then he beat both me and Hilda with a Gigalith.”

She nodded. “Yeah, all because of some Trainer’s honor about never declining a fight. That’s why I told him that we can’t fight in class. But looking at him now,” she glanced over to where he was charming the teacher, a couple of their classmates, and some of his usual fan girl followers, “I think that he’s got a secret and I think I know what it is.”

“Oh, what’s that?” Bianca asked, interested to know what she’d come up with now.

Hilda brought a finger up to her lips to indicate the secrecy, then held her hand up to say, “He’s a Twilight vampire.”

“A vampire?” Cheren asked. “But it’s still daylight out.”

“You never did read Twilight, did you?” Bianca said. “Those vampires can be out in the day.”

“And they sparkle,” Hilda said. “Although it’s their skin that does it, while he makes the air sparkle. But it could be a diversion to throw people off. And most vampires are very charming, even when you know they’re dangerous.”

Although he’d been quiet for most of the class, Kyurem spoke up. “He smells different. Would you like me to bite him and find out?”

“Not unless he bites first,” Hilda said.

“But then it would be too late,” Bianca said. Realizing what she said, she put a hand to her chin. “I mean, it’s not nice to bite people, however you put it.”

“I don’t know if I’d want to eat him,” Kyurem went on. “He doesn’t smell appetizing. But if he causes trouble, I’ll do it.”

“When has eating people ever solved anything?” Cheren asked, looking sickened.

“It solved a lot of my problems,” the dragon boy answered. “Mostly hunger, but other problems too.”

Hilda grinned. “Can’t argue that, huh?”

-+-

afternoon, 11/16

The autumn winds nipped at his exposed skin, but he barely noticed. N was at battle. Over the past few days, he’d gotten acclimated to the fighting. He still didn’t like it, but he wasn’t losing his focus if he lost. “Pidove, use Peck,” he said.

His second friend, who had insisted on not being nicknamed, flapped his gray wings, then dove down toward the Pansage they were fighting to peck at the green monkey. The little boy held down his yellow hat, but was grinning like a maniac. “Grassy, use Hyper Beam!”

“Do what now?” the Pansage asked, then yelped as he tried to avoid Pidove’s attack

“Your Pokémon doesn’t know Hyper Beam,” N said. “I don’t know if he can know it. Ask him to use a move he can use.”

“I don’t know what he knows,” the boy admitted. “I just like saying it. If he can’t, then... I’m Hyper Beam!” The preschooler then yelled and rushed off down the route. A daycare worker shouted at him and started to chase him down.

“Not again,” the Pansage groaned. “Look, sorry, can I take a rain check? I gotta run.”

“Go ahead,” N said.

“Thanks, man.” Grassy then rushed off after the kid, to help the daycare worker.

“I should have known better than to assume that a child like that was mature and intelligent enough to battle properly,” he said, deciding to head down the route instead of hanging around the daycares.

Pidove flew alongside him; Pricilla had asked to go off on her own for a little while, and N let her after she promised not to steal stuff from the daycares. The gray bird didn’t seem that happy at the moment. “We weren’t the ones who abandoned the battle, so it wasn’t our loss,” he said. “It was still an idiotic battle.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

The bird flew ahead. “I’m not with you to make friends, I told you that,” he said. “I like that you’re up front about everything; means I don’t have to waste time and get my heart broken again by some idiot human.”

Watching him fly off to the treetops, N felt concerned. He would rather speak with Pidove and find out what was bothering him. Obviously something bad had happened to him in the past, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Not talking about that kind of thing rarely worked to solve the problem. But he also knew from experience that if a Pokémon wasn’t ready to talk about something with him, they wouldn’t. The best he could do now was to be kind and offer immediate help.

But, he wouldn’t be keeping the Pokémon for long. N considered sending Pidove to Concordia. While she couldn’t understand them like he could, she did remarkably well. Pricilla seemed adjusted to her situation, although she’d probably avoid the routes once he let her go. He would miss these friends, but it was important to the cause that he go with the plan.

As he continued west, he came across an unusual sight. He’d met with groups along the route over the past week, but it had always been two or three at a time. This was a group of nearly twenty people, along with Val and Carol. A Plasma gathering? No, the other teenagers there didn’t seem like they would be in the team. The center of attention seemed to be a brown-haired boy who was talking about Pokémon battles.

“What’s going on?” N asked Carol quietly.

“Shh,” she said dismissively, still listening.

“Nah, it can take a month or so to properly train a Pokémon,” the boy said, with a smug air that was somehow interesting. “And that’s without considering evolution or other members of your team. Then you can have them in storage for a while if you don’t need it for a set of battles. But when you do need a Pokémon that you’ve had in storage, you should take it out at least a week before, so that you can get used to it again and make sure it’s in good shape. It does no harm, really.”

What he was saying was absolute nonsense. N knew that. The Storage boxes were something that he wanted to have abolished when he had the right authority. Then why was he intrigued by this boy rather than angered at him? He wasn’t even a person of great looks, at least classically, but something about his voice made him compelling. Or maybe something else. N did not like it, and yet he was thinking about staying around like the rest to listen.

Winning his willpower for the moment, he stepped away from the group without being noticed. There was a Gigalith nearby which did truly interest N. He hadn’t seen a Pokémon like him before. “Who is that boy?” he asked, careful not to draw attention from the crowd.

“Oh, that’s my master Hilbert speaking,” the blue Pokémon said. “Unless you mean one of the other guys.”

“No, I mean him, Hilbert,” N said. “Does he always get this kind of audience?”

“Yeah always.” The Gigalith looked at Hilbert, seeming pleased. “But how could he not? I mean, look at him! At first he doesn’t seem like anything special, but the more time you spend around him and the more you listen, the more fascinating he becomes. He sparkles when he smiles even, really. He’s wonderful and I’m glad that I’m his Pokémon. I just wish he’d use me to fight more. I can be really impressive when I win fights. I haven’t lost in years. Hilbert hasn’t lost ever. I hope I can stay with him forever.”

Strange, he didn’t ask about N understanding Pokémon. That usually caused questions. “Why? He was just saying that he put Pokémon he wasn’t using into storage. That’s terrible.”

“I don’t care. I’ll be patient if he does that. So long as I get to stay in his company, it’s fine.” The Gigalith shifted its feet then. “Although, some of the guys in storage say they don’t like Hilbert. They’re convincing, but once I came back out, I saw how wonderful he was again. So I’m doing all I can to impress him so that he doesn’t put me back. But I will be stoic if he does.”

“I don’t think it’s fine,” N said, but looked back at Hilbert. He could understand how Ghetsis could be intriguing, because he was a great man who knew how to talk to people. As for Hilbert, one part of N’s mind said that he was probably another terrible Trainer, while another part was inexplicably drawn to stay with this crowd and follow Hilbert in whatever he was doing.

One of the girls managed to get to the center of the group; she was unique in having bright pink hair with dozens of small blue ribbons attached to her ponytails. “Hilbert, will you marry me?” she asked, eager and excited.

He held his hands up. “Now, now, aren’t you being too forward? I know I’m amazing to all of you, but I’m not ready to settle down to that kind of commitment yet. Besides, I don’t know much about you.”

“But I know everything about you,” she insisted. “I’ve been following you ever since Hoenn; don’t you remember me? I know all your favorite snack foods, and all of the Pokémon that you’ve ever used, and all about your greatest battles, and what kind of shampoo you use, and everything. I know exactly what you need in a wife and I’ll be the best one ever.”

Hilbert’s confident look dropped for a bit as he looked disturbed. “Oh well… that has been a long time, hasn’t it?” Then he seemed to get back into his groove. “As I said, I’m not ready yet. And I don’t know who I’ll marry, or even date at this point. I was thinking about it.”

A number of the girls piped up, saying that they’d love to go on a date with him… and they tried not to fight with each other. The ribbon girl out-shouted them all by saying, “I”LL GO OUT WITH YOU! When do you want to meet?”

“Give me some time,” he said. “And I’m on a search for the eternal truth, so it’s only a thought. I don’t have much time.”

“The eternal truth?” N asked aloud, getting their attention.

“Well yes, of course,” Hilbert said, coming over to him.

“Yay, he’s coming closer!” the Gigalith said, making his crystals glimmer.

Hilbert was smiling, although he had a predatory look in his eyes, pouncing on an opportunity. “I might be speaking a little grandiose, but yeah, I’m always looking for truth. It’s never good enough to hear about something from someone else. I have to go see it for myself, or speak to someone who was involved.” He turned back to the group. “That’s why I was in Hoenn, actually; I wanted to speak to someone who was really involved in that Magma and Aqua mess way back when. Anyhow, it’s been wonderful talking with you all, but I’ve got to get back to my training. I’m sure I’ll see you around, but I need to be alone with my Pokémon now.” Then he quickly added in a low voice, “Thanks man; the loonies are always hardest to shake,” then walked off, snapping his fingers.

Cheering again, the Gigalith followed along. The group seemed disappointed, but went off on their own activities. N stayed there for a moment longer. “Does he mean Reshiram?” he asked quietly, thinking aloud. “There are always two; perhaps he’s the other.” N clenched his fist. “Then I need to work hard to oppose someone like him.”