I'm breakign cycle and posting another AVT!
Don't kill me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3
Battle! Enter, N!
---*~N~*---
N leaned against outer wall of the Pokemon Center. Across the street was his father who was preparing to give his planned speech. Ghetsis had requested him to be there. N didn't know why (he had heard all of this before), but he didn't wish to anger his father.
"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation," Ghetsis, dressed in his formal robes, began when a crowd had gathered. To either side of him were men and women in gray outfits, each with hoods drawn. They held banners that displayed the blue 'P' that N had seen many times before.
N's interest, however, was on a group of young trainers standing in the back of the crowd. A young male with blonde hair leaned to whisper something to his friend, a redheaded girl who seemed almost... solemn. N had seen those two in the Pokemon Center. The redhead intrigued him very much. On the other side of her, another boy with mid-length black hair was listening closely, his arms crossed. A boy with a blue coat and a red hat shook his head slowly, his brown hair shaking under his hat. A girl in orange and green attire near that boy shook a bit as Ghetsis's words rolled over her. New souls have been added into the mix. I wonder how they will fit into our grand formula?
"That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention." The gray-outfitted grunts rounded the banners up again and escorted Ghetsis away after he was finished. As he exited through the gate towards the west of town, the crowd dispersed and whispers of "nutjob", "old coot", and "waste of my time" could be heard. N shook his head. They'll all learn soon enough.
The five young trainers were left standing alone in the middle of Accumula. The blonde boy and the red haired girl stood apart from the other three. The boy was talking with the girl, anxiety written all over his face. The three remaining trainers laughed amongst themselves. Interesting... Oh, what's this?
"Hey, you two!" the kid with the red cap called to the other pair of trainers. "Wanna battle? We could use the practice. I think it'd be good for both of us!"
The blonde trainer looked uncertain. "I just got my Pokemon though. Crest and I haven't trained yet."
The sharp-eyed, black-haired boy spoke this time. "That's okay. We're all new too. Battling is the key to bringing out a Pokemon's strength, and the first one is the most important!"
"Wait, so you all want to battle? But there's three of you."
The girl with the large green hat pointed at the redhead. "What about her? She looks like a trainer. We can all battle! That would be so much fun!"
The other girl looked uncertain. "I dunno. I don't like the idea of battles. I could ask my Pokemon if he wants to, I guess, but..." Her friend whispered something to her. "Alright, alright, I'll ask." She pulled out a Poke ball and timidly poked the button in the middle. A burst of light later, a bouncing Tepig was standing before her. "Tepig, these nice trainers over here want to battle. Luke wants me to team up with him. Would you like battle?"
"Tepig? Tepig, Tepig!" "You're asking? Well, okay, yeah!" A small cloud of smoke burst from Tepig's nostrils.
"Fine..." The girl nodded at her blonde friend, Luke. The Tepig tilted his head slightly, apparently confused at his trainer's reluctance to battle. N looked at her in interest too. Can that girl really talk to her Pokemon the way I can? And hear what they say? I must know for sure! The redhead looked at the other three trainers again, still dismayed. "There's still only two of us and three of you."
The red-hatted kid scratched his chin. This is perfect! N adjusted his hat and approached the group. It seems as though you need another battler. I dislike battling, but I will volunteer. Ill side with these two to make it a three-on-three. The group was slightly taken aback but shrugged it off.
Alright, cool. The trainer pulled his hat lower and retrieved his own Poke Ball from his belt. Well, my name is Hilbert, and this is my Pokemon! With a toss and a flash, an Oshawott stood proud before his trainer.
Hey, you have an Oshawott too? Luke said, raising a brow.
Course. His Oshawott pounded his scalchop and smirked.
The black haired boy adjusted his glasses. Well, my name is Cheren! Snivy! Its time to battle! His Snivy appeared before him and surveyed the area. He appeared as analytical as his master.
Hey, let me show you my friend too! The girl with the green hat fumbled around in her green purse for quite awhile before finding her Poke Ball and releasing it. The Tepig landed on the ground, a pink bow tied to her ear. She snorted embers and smoke. Oh, and my name is Bianca, by the way.
Im Luke. This is my Oshawott. Come out, Crest! Crest the Oshawott tossed his scalchop into the air as he appeared. He jumped and caught the shell in midair but fumbled it at the last second. The other Oshawott laughed.
Osha... Cut it out... Crest mumbled, resting his shell on his stomach again.
Um, well, youve seen my friend Tepig. But Im Amy. And, uh... Amy trailed off. She rubbed her arm nervously.
N cleared his throat. Well, lets get down to it then. My name is N. Friend! Assist me, if you will. N plucked a single Poke Ball from his belt and tossed out in front. A sassy Purrloin emerged and checked out his surroundings, eyeing each Pokemon in turn.
The battlers spaced out into two even rows of three with Hilbert, Cheren, and Bianca facing Luke, Amy, and N. Cheren adjusted his glasses again. Lets do this. Well let the challenged go first.
Luke flipped open his Pokedex and fumbled through to Oshawotts entry. Um, Crest, use Tackle on that other Oshawott!
Oshawott! Osha. Thought youd never ask! First move. Crest set his right shoulder forward and charged at Hilberts Pokemon. The foe jumped out of the way at the last second though, and Crest fell onto his face. Oshawott laughed again. Crest growled.
Well thats an interesting factor. Regardless... Purrloin, use Scratch! Pick any opponent, I dont mind, N instructed his friend.
Purr... Very well... The dark purple feline darted into battle, heading straight for the Snivy across from him. The Snivy widened its stance in a way that would allow him to either block the attack or dodge it. The cat had a better idea though; at the last possible second, he veered to the right. Small glowing claws extended, he slashed Biancas Tepig on the side of her snout. She cried out; the scratch marks shone crimson on her red-orange skin.
Tepig, no! Oh, youll pay for that! Bianca cried. Tepig! Ember on that mean cat!
N saw Amy look quickly at the opposing Tepig and the retreating Purrloin. Er, Tepig! Stop that other one, please! Amys Tepig exuded smoke and took off running. His charged ended as he connected with Biancas Pokemon. She cried out as she was sent rolling.
The female fire pig shook as she tried to stand, but collapsed once again. Oh no! Bianca exclaimed. She knelt by her Tepig, stroking its fur. You did good. Even if it was kinda unfair.
Hilbert. Its two on three now, and their Pokemon arent even tired, Cheren noted as he studied his opponents.
Relax. You think too hard. Bels not that good yet. Bianca protested half-heartedly at this. Hilbert continued, But we can take em. Right Oshawott?
Oshawott shot a fierce glare at Crest and smirked. Oshawott. "I'd love to."
"Snivy! Show that Purrloin that we don't need cheap tactics! Vine Whip!" The snake with legs and attitude released two green tendrils from inside his decorative fleur-de-lis collar.
"Dodge it," N commanded with a half smile. His cat Pokemon bolted to the left, well out of the way of the vines. The appendages followed him however, caught him by his spiky tail. "Purrloin! Uh, Scratch it off!" The cat struggled to release himself, but Snivy had started pulling him backwards. Then in a mighty throw, the snake flung Purrloin into the air.
"Loin!" screamed Purrloin. As the cat hit the peak of it's flight, he began to fall quickly.
"Oh no!" N cried. He bit his lip and grasped a black and blue pendant on his necklace. With one final screech, the cat hit the ground. Or really, he didn't. Instead, Purrloin crashed into Crest. When the dust settled, Purrloin managed to limp off of the otter. Crest had fainted.
"What!? How, what!? That's not even... Grr!" Luke, face red from frustration and embarrassment, ran to kneel by his Pokemon. He picked Crest up in his arms and ran back to Amy's side.
Back on the other side of the field, Hilbert's Oshawott was on his back, shuddering from his hysterical laughter. Hilbert stifled a chuckle of his own. "Eh-heh, well that was something, wasn't it? Sorry 'bout that man." Hilbert sounded sincere, but he was still smirking.
Cheren pushed his glasses further up his nose. For a moment, the sun had cast a glare on the lens and it blocked out his eyes. "Good job, Snivy. An excellent display of your power."
Snivy crossed his arms tilted his nose upwards to look down at his opponents. "Sni-vy!" "Always."
N, curious of Amy's reaction to all this, snuck a glance. Amy's hands were in fists, her jaw clenching and unclenching. Interesting.
Then Amy, brows furrowed angrily, pointed at Snivy. "T-Tepig! Attack Snivy! Make him pay for what he did to Crest!" Luke turned his head to Amy, obviously confused, as Tepig charged at Cheren's snake.
"Heh. Use Vine Whip to dodge it." Snivy's green tendrils emerged again. As Tepig was about to strike the green Pokemon, Snivy thrust his vines at the ground. The move launched him over Tepig and landed him behind the attack. Snivy was about to strike Tepig with a hard lash, but a voice cut through the action.
"Assist!" N cried. Purrloin, now recovered, charged at Snivy. The claws on the cat's front paws glowed white and grew six inches longer. He reared up onto back legs and slashed furiously at Snivy. Left, right, left, right, left. After his final strike sent Snivy flying backwards, Purrloin's claws returned to normal. Snivy lay motionless and covered in claw marks at the feet of his master.
"Snivy!" Cheren scooped his Pokemon up. Snivy's eyelids fluttered.
"Sni-vy..." "Sorry, boss..."
"Shh. Take a good rest now." Cheren returned Snivy to his Poke Ball with a ray of red light.
"'s okay. I can take 'em both on! Let's do it Oshawott! Water Gun 'em down!" Hilbert declared. Oshawott took a deep breath where he stood. He exhaled a burst of water aimed at Amy's Tepig.
"Get out of the way!" Heeding Amy's call, Tepig skirted the water. It splashed harmlessly on the ground.
"Amy!" N called out.
"Uh, what?"
He smirked. "Let's finish this."
Amy nodded. "Tackle!"
"Scratch!"
Tepig charged once again, this time aiming at the overconfident Oshawott. The otter anticipated the attack and side-stepped it. Purrloin struck the water-type though, causing it fall backwards with a cry in pain. Tepig had turned around already and mercilessly rammed Oshawott in the side. The Pokemon was sent skidding across the pavement. When it stopped, it couldn't get up again.
"Looks like we win." N decreed with a sad smile. "It's a shame our Pokemon were hurt doing this. You know, sometimes I wish the world worked differently. That we didn't have to battle like this. It seems so... barbaric."
Cheren scoffed. Amy's Tepig shook his head. "Tepig, tepig... Pig, tep!" "I like to battle though. It makes me feel alive!"
Amy looked at her Pokemon with surprise, and N looked at him disdain. "Tepig, you shouldn't have to fight to give yourself purpose. There are better things than battling." N recalled his friend back to his Poke Ball and stowed it on his belt. "Well, it's been fun. Sort of. But I have I new things to learn, new formulas to solve." He adjusted his hat and began walking towards the gate to Route 2. He paused when he passed Amy. "Oh, and Amy? Hope to see you again." He winked at her and continued on his way.
He took one last look over his shoulder behind him before walked through the gate. He met eyes with Amy as the trainers all trudged into the Pokemon Center to heal their beloved friends. He could feel her eyes searching his, looking for his intent. He smiled sadly and pulled his gaze away from hers. Come on N, don't worry yourself about her. I doubt she can even hear them like I can. Nobody can.
The gate itself was really a mechanical tunnel of sorts. It was the size of a small house and both ends of it were gaping holes. In the middle of it was an electronic bulletin board, like there always was. Across the hallway was a desk with a happy receptionist. Like there always was.
This time, however, there was a gray-hooded, orange-haired woman leaning against the wall across from the bulletin board. The Team Plasma symbol was prominently displayed across her chest.
"Lord N," she spoke with a nod. "Ghetsis would like to speak with you. Immediately. He sounded upset."
"At me? Why would Daddy be upset with me?"
"I have no idea. But this is Ghetsis we're talking about. I still haven't heard from the last guy who kept him waiting, ya know what I mean?" She shuddered.
"It'll be fine, Liz. Still, it wouldn't be wise to delay for too long."
Liz pulled out a Poke Ball and released a tall, black and white Pokemon. The Gothitelle raised her arms and the scene changed suddenly.
Familiar stone pillars and walls sprung up around N. The small room held blue and black Team Plasma banners between each column. The back wall across from him was covered by bookshelves that were stuffed full of various tomes and trinkets. In front of that was a matching dark, wooden desk that took up much of the horizontal length of the room. The Pokemon had teleported him right into Ghetsiss office. Ghetsis looked up from laptop he had been casually typing on and eyed N fiercely.
N. I have a lot to discuss with you. Some good. Some bad. Ghetsis paused for a moment. He irritably waved the grunt that had teleported N there away. When the door had closed behind her, he continued. First things first though. That battle you just won... were you enjoying that?
N swallowed. Y-you were watching that?
Im always watching you, remember? You are a key point in our plan, King. And what was going on out there? I thought you hated battling.
Well, I do...Its just... N trailed off.
Its just what, Natural? Ghetsis was running out of patience with his son; it was clear since he never used Ns real name.
Well, I met this girl... Ghetsis raised a brow. N waved it off, panicked. N-no, no! Its not like that. I was waiting in the Pokemon Center for your speech, see, and then I seen her in there talking with her Tepig. From what it looked like, it seemed that she could hear him. You know, like I can! So I wanted to find out for sure.
Thats ridiculous. You are special; thats why we need you. Nobody else can possibly understand Pokemon like you. Ghetsis didnt seem to take Ns story as a proper reason.
I know, I know. But shes different too! Theres something about her... N stared off for a moment before waving it off. But I dont know. Like you said, no one else could possibly be like me. Anyways, she was the reason I joined the battle.
Whatever. Still, thats against your usual attitude. You dont like battling, if Im not mistaken.
I dont, really. If it seems like I was enjoying myself, I apologize. But it was terrible thing to do. I... I regret ever choosing to join that battle, N lied.
Hm. Whatever, its none of my concern. As long as you keep up with the plan, what you put your friends through is your business, I suppose. Now, for what I really called you for. Ghetsis pulled open a drawer of his desk and took out a long, thin rectangular prism. He handed it to N.
Uh, a map?
Yes, a map. Youre going to need it. N, Im sending you off on a mission. You wont return here until its over. I may have a grunt or two sent out with you at times, but youll be on your own for the most part.
What? Why? N didnt mind it really. He had been wanting to explore Unova on his own for a while now. Still, it was odd for Ghetsis to push N away for any long period of time. Ghetsis liked to keep tabs on his people, especially important ones.
Because, N, we need the Cartridges.
Cartridges? What Ca -- Oh. Those. N was disappointed. It sounded like he was to go on a big journey. Instead, Ns task was to visit a remote lab in the middle of nowhere and come right back.
Yes, those. Normally, Id just send a grunt to pick them up from our other lab, but I cannot do that. The blasted things have been stolen.
Stolen!? By who?
Some International Police officer. Said he was claiming it for evidence. Evidence of what, who knows. We havent been charged with anything. At least, I dont think... Ghetsis looked through some papers on his desk.
Well, didnt you catch him?
Actually, yes, we did. But he had already hidden the Cartridges and refused to tell us where he put them.
Who was this guy anyways? Ive never heard of the International Police before. N leaned against the wall and thought for a moment. Nope, nothing.
Neither had I. Apparently he goes by Looker or something like that. Wed have been more intensive in our interrogation, but he escaped before we got anywhere. Its actually quite impressive, really. And so very annoying. Ghetsis drummed his fingers on the table for a moment. Then after adjusting the red-tinted monocle that rested over his right eye, he continued. Thankfully, one of our scientists figured out that one of the predecessors in the old lab had bugged the chips in them. With that, we know exactly where they are. But our grunts are too busy and not skilled enough to retrieve them.
Why? Where are they?
Oh, that Looker was one smart agent alright. He gave them to the gym leaders... Ghetsis growled.
Ah. That is annoying. So what do you want me to do? Steal them back? Stealing isnt right.
Ghetsis rolled his eyes. Remember, that so-called police stole them from us first. Were only...taking back whats rightfully ours.
I dont think the gym leaders would agree with that.
No, I dont think they would either. So dont get caught. That would involve a lot of paperwork and finesse on my end and, frankly, I dont have the time.
Well, alright, if you insist. Is that it?
Uh, no. Theres one more thing you have to do. This one will take the most time, so think of the first mission a... side quest of sorts. Though you still have to do it, naturally. I need you to go out and collect the gym badges. Take the League challenge.
What!? You want me to battle!? Against all those leaders with really tough Pokemon? Why!? N grabbed the pendant on his necklace like he usually did when he was worried.
Because I said so, thats why. You need to have all eight badges for our plan to work.
But, but...But I dont want to! Ns eyebrows were tilted upwards towards the middle of forehead as he pleaded.
I. Dont. Care, Ghetsis enunciated forcefully. You need them, and thats the only way to get them. Do you dare to disobey me? Ghetsis stared at N intensely. He was keen not to give in.
No, of course not, Daddy. I-Ill do it. Ill take the challenge. N couldnt fight his fathers wishes. That would be a one-sided battle that would definitely not end in the boys favor.
Good, he said slowly, savoring his victory. Now go. Your sisters are waiting for you. Theyll help you prepare for your journey. Oh, and you should know that I wont be watching you as much anymore. I have entirely too much to do to keep that up. But I trust you wont disappoint me... Right, Natural?
N gulped. R-Right, Daddy. Um, I think Ill be going now.
As in N reached for the door handle, Ghetsis spoke one last time with a grin that made him think that his adoptive father really was becoming crazier by day. "Good luck out there, N... You'll need it."
N whispered a brief and insincere thanks before closing the door behind him and sighing with relief. Silently, he reprimanded himself for being scared of his own father, and wandered down the marble hallways to find his sisters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alrighty, thats it for Chapter 3.
I know, I know, I'm suppose throw out TTL 12 first, but when o have the inspiration... it's best not to squander it.
And just like that, N becomes a main character!
Yes, Ghetsis is a weird person.
Yes, my Looker is actually competent.
Yes, the reasons Looker took the Cartridges are vague. And the reasons why he gave them to the leaders are also vague. That'll be cleared...eventually.
Yes, I did forget Bianca after her Tepig went down. Sorry Bel. Nothing personal.
Yes, that battle was very one-sided.
Yes, that win was pretty unreasonable.
No, I don't care.
Well, 'till next time!