Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Nintendo does. I think.
Well, this is an idea I had for quite some time, finally got down to doing something about it.
Hope you people enjoy it.
Universe: Game (Black 2/White 2) (mildly AU)
Main character: Hugh.
His blue hair bent with the calm breeze that blew past him. Piercing dark maroon eyes stared at the sun as it set. The edges of Aspertia City could be seen mingling with the few trees on Route 1. It was a calming sight for all who had the time to stand there and watch. But the view was only part of the reason Hugh had come there.
He had finally completed his quest in finding his sister's Purrloin. True, it was now a Leipard, but he had found the Pokémon. He had showed it to his sister, and she was delighted that he had got it back. His mission was completed. And that was the source of his dilemma.
Without his 'mission', he didn't know what he could do now. He could still travel, but he had seen almost all of Unova. The places he hadn't seen, weren't worth the time. He could continue training his Pokémon, but they were already monsters. Now only the Champion and the Elite Four were a challenge, but after them? He had nothing. Some of the gym leaders had recommended becoming a gym leader himself, but Unova already had an abundance of Gym leaders (eleven, Unova had the record for having the most gym leaders at a time). He did not want to be just another statistic. Now, there wasn't anything for him to do.
As he stared at the setting sun, a cold melancholy settled over him. Not really knowing what he was doing, he pulled out his X-Tranceiver and called the first number he found. The screen went black for a minute until the recipient picked the call up. Warm brown eyes met his own. Strands of brown hair fell over his red hair-band.
"Hugh! What's up? Did you give your sister her Purrloin?"
Hugh cracked a small grin as his best friend smiled at him.
"It's a Leipard now, idiot. And no, I haven't given her the Leipard yet. In fact, I just flew here. Right now I'm at the Lookout, enjoying the view. What about you? What are you doing?"
Nate's eyes lit up now.
"I'm reaching Opelucid city soon. I'll be fighting Drayden soon! I can't wait! I'm gonna train Emboar to..."
Hugh's face relaxed into an easy smile as he continued listening to Nate go on about his plans on how he was going to defeat the gym. Nate's eyes had that familiar spark that his own often got when someone talked to him about Pokemon battling. That was the thing that brought the two of them together when they were younger. They were an odd pair. One extremely polite to everyone, the other glaring at random passer-by's, but they could often be found bonding in front of a TV showing a Pokémon battle, discussing strategies and their own reactions if they were in that situation.
"Drayden uses Dragon-types, right?" Hugh interrupted "Since he's one of the strongest Gym Leaders around, he will definitely have counters against Ice types. Using Dragon types will be kind of redundant since you will also have a weakness against him. How about teaching a Pokémon that will be neutral against him an ice type, or dragon tyre move? Like your Emboar learning Ice-Punch?"
Nate stopped his rant and blinked. The effect was somewhat comical.
"That works."He agreed with a nod.
Both boys let out a chuckle.
Sobering up, Nate frowned a bit. "So what happened? You rarely call just for the heck of it."
Hugh leaned backward, trying to look nonchalant.
"Can't I call my best friend to find out how he's doing?"
Nate seemed unimpressed with that. Hugh sighed.
"Its just that..." Hugh was at a loss for words. How do you tell your friend that now that you have accomplished your goal, you have no idea what you are gonna do with the rest of your life. Actually, that was pretty easy. The trick was in saying that, and not landing up in a conversation where Nate told him to do what his heart told him to do. That would then lead to a very awkward and depressing talk. That's right, feelings and pubescent boys do NOT go well together.
"...You have reached your destination and don't know where to go from here." Nate finished for him, and seeing his friends grow wide in astonishment, gave a nod of satisfaction and kept a straight face. Hugh's eyes looked like they were about to pop out.
"How... How did you..." Hugh stammered out, before pausing and thinking for a bit. Then he narrowed his eyes "You got a Gardevoir, didn't you?"
Nate chuckled and replied (looking very smug, Hugh noted. A bit too smug, for his tastes.) "Ever since we were 12, all you have ever talked about was getting stronger to get your sister's Purrloin back. Now that you've got it back, you wouldn't know what to do. I've been expecting this call ever since we raided Team Plasma's base. Now tell me, who's the most awesome friend ever?"
Hugh gave him a dry look until Nate stopped looking like an all knowing jerk-ass. When Nate dropped the haughty expression, only then did Hugh smile back at him. He was grateful that Nate knew about his dilemma before Hugh even approached him. This would probably help keep the conversation out of stormy waters.
"As for the answer..." Nate trailed off, looking uncertain "... I don't know. How about doing what your heart tells you to?"
Hugh gave Nate another dry look as he retracted his previous statement about being grateful to Nate. Nate gave a forced chuckle.
"How about completing the gym challenge? I know for a fact that you have a few badges. Why don't you try getting the complete set?"
"Been there, done that." Hugh responded airily.
"Well how about... Wait. What?!"
"I got all the badges before trying to find out Team Plasma's base. I also tried challenging the Elite Four. Sadly, I got knocked out in my third fight against Grimsley, after beating Shauntal and Marshal. I can't challenge them again for entire year again, as Pokemon League rules dictate. So if you were about to suggest that, drop it."
Nate was now staring at Hugh with his mouth wide open. Now it seemed that it was Nate's turn to seem like his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Hugh had the momentary mental vision of Nate, down on all fours, patting the ground, searching for his eyes, which had rolled away after popping out.
"You challenged the League..." Nate voice was awed, almost reverent. Hugh had to struggle to keep the smug smile off his face. The Nate's eyes lost their glassy look and startled sparkling again.
"You challenged the League!" This time, Nate's voice was happy excited. Interested. Almost like he was asking Hugh 'Tell me what Pokemon they had! What moves did they use.' Hugh was still struggling to not let the smile ruin his perfectly deadpan expression. Nate paused, his eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. Then he glared at Hugh.
"You challenged the league." Nate's voice was soft, but it soon went up to a full blown yell "YOU CHALLENGED THE LEAGUE! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TELLING ME THIS?!"
Hugh knew he was fighting a losing battle. He decided to give up and let the laughter take over. He broke down, laughing so hard, that tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes. Nate continued glaring at the blue haired boy, until he came to a stop. Finally, Hugh found the decency to look guilty.
"I.. err .. forgot?"
The prolonged silence that followed that statement was broken by the return of laughter, only this time, it comprised of two voices.
-Pokemon-
The moon was up now, and it illuminated the building that Hugh now stood in front of. Hesitantly, he knocked. The sound of shuffled footstep could be heard from behind the door. Hugh swallowed nervously; he had been away for over a year now. One of the most pressing fears he had was that, his family might have changed. Would he no longer be able to recognise his sister's carefree laughs? Or identify the savory dishes his mother cooked? Or enjoy the comfortable silences between his father and himself? But what he feared most was his own change.
He knew that his journey had changed him. He was no longer the brash headstrong kid that was always ready for a fight. Now he was older, wiser, not as emotionally directed as before. Nate had commented over their talk as to how after finding Purrloin (Leipard, he corrected himself) he had mellowed down. Was he now so different that none of his family would be able to connect him to the Hugh of the past? Was he now a stranger in his own home?
"Yes?"
The sleepy voice that answered broke him out of his reverie. He heard the scraping of iron against iron and his mother's head peeped out. Their eyes met, and the world seemed to pause. Hugh felt that his stomach might suddenly get bored of its location, jump up, climb up his esophagus, out his mouth and take a journey of its own. Another disturbing image popped into his head of his stomach beating the League and Hugh beaming proudly down at his organ saying "It's part of me after all."
Hugh was now sweating, and not because of the mental image. His mother hadn't moved an inch.
"Hugh?"
Her voice was soft, questioning. Careful. His heart broke. He was so different now, that his own mother didn't recognize him. Trying hard to keep back his tears, Hugh nodded jerkily, not trusting himself to speak. Another moment passed, where mother continued staring at her son, and then she was hugging him hard, and he was hugging her back, and both had tears flowing down their eyes.
And Hugh finally felt his fears wash away.
-Pokemon-
Hugh walked his sister back from Route 1 with a smile on his face. The two of them had just been goofing off, while trying to have a Pokémon race. Sofia had been riding her Leipard (although she had grown in the last year, Leipard could easily carry her). He had chosen his Bouffalaunt, just to be fair. If he chose his Flygon or Unfezant, that would just be plain mean. (Speaking of whom, it was about time he gave Unfezant to Cheren. His first flying type never really liked Hugh, they stayed together just due to mutual respect and Cheren was griping about not having a flying type, it would make Cheren's job as Professor Juniper's part-time assistant much easier. Hugh offered his Unfezant and when the two met, it was love at first sight.)
Leipard was the more agile of the two, but months of training had made Bouffalaunt the faster one. It was a close race too, with both riders urging their Pokémon to go faster as they neared the finish line. In the end, Leipard had won. (When Sofia wasn't looking, Hugh thanked Bouffalaunt for playing along) The two were now strolling towards their house, holding each others hand, one listening with a small smile on his face as the other gushed about how fast her Purrloin (Leipard, Hugh gently corrected her) had become.
When they entered the apartment they found it in an eerie silence, both parents in the kitchen. His mother looked distraught, her features tense, her fore-head wrinkled, her eyes worried, his father wasn't much better, but he tried to hide it. When they had entered, his father had looked up at them and smiled, but Hugh was pretty sure that even Sofia could see the worry in their eyes. Hugh and Sofia looked from one parent to the other, the worry catching onto them. His father seemed to sense this, and attempted to placate them by saying that nothing was wrong.
Sofia seemed to buy it. Her face lost its worry quickly. She gave her brother a quick hug and murmured "Thanks for playing with me today" against his stomach, before rushing up the stairs. Hugh wasn't so easily convinced. He eyed both his parents.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course son, there is nothing to worry about."
With this sentence, his mother seemed to relax considerably. Her features relaxed and she even smiled. Hugh still wasn't convinced, the worry in her eyes was still present. But he knew better than to confront them about it. He gave the two of them one last glance before slowly ascending the stairs.
"If you're sure about it."
When he was out of their sight, the two started whispering again, and Hugh might have imagined it, but he also felt that he heard his own name used in one of the sentences.
That may or may not have had something to do with the chill he felt going down his spine.
-Pokemon-
"Thank you for having me over, Mrs. B."
Hugh felt that his journey had also increased his manners. He considered himself so much polite than pre-Pokemon-journey-Hugh. So he was surprised when he saw the small frown on Nate's mother's face.
"I've told you so many times now, the moment you left on your Pokémon journey, you became an adult, and you are now allowed to refer to me by my first name, and I expect you to use it."
Fleetingly, he thought about the irony of the situation. Nate's mother was scolding him like he was a child, for not being more like an adult. 'On second thoughts' Hugh mused 'maybe it isn't that ironic'. He still felt her sharp gaze on him. He let out a sigh.
"Thank you...Elaine."
The words felt foreign, and he felt stupid saying them. But, they effect they seemed to have on her was much more positive. Her mouth lost its tightness as it curved into a smile. "There." She said, letting out a contented sigh "I no longer feel old enough, to have had a sixteen year old son."
"But you do have a sixteen year old son." Hugh felt the overwhelming need to point out. She gave out a happy laugh. "And you're welcome, Hugh." Hugh wasn't sure if she was refering to having a sixteen year old son, or having him over. "It was a pleasure having you over."
Ah, that cleared it up.
Hugh walked away grinning for a few steps, before turning around and waving out to her while walking backwards. She smiled and waved back.
Turning around and looking in the direction he was walking again, Hugh reflected on the day's events. He had finally found the time to give Cheren his Unfezant, at sometime around 5, when the last challenger of Cheren's gym left. After that, his mother had told him that Nate's mother wanted to talk to him. Apparently, her X-Tranceiver had broken down a month back, and she wanted to know how Nate was doing. He spent some time telling her about Nate's adventures. In return, she had told him about some of her own adventures when she was a trainer. Soon both of them had started trading stories of some of the important battles in their trainer career.
Nate's mom,(he still though calling her Elaine was wrong) Hugh had come to the conclusion, was cool. He wouldn't replace his mother for anything in the world, but Nate's mother was a fun person to talk to, just like her son. A long time ago, Nate had told him that it was a great feeling making new friends, and Hugh had to agree.
He was so lost in thought, that only after reaching his doorstep, did he realize that it was night. The moon shone, brilliantly, just like the day he had first returned back home a month ago. Lost in memories, Hugh entered the apartment.
He found his father in the living room, reading a book, his mother in the kitchen, obviously preparing dinner. He apologized for returning home that late, and when his father waved it off, he smiled and went up into his room.
He did not notice the significant looks his parents gave each other.
-Pokemon-
Hugh was checking his Pokedex pages, when they knocked on his door. He made it a point, to go through his Pokedex whenever he had the chance, reviewing the stats and characteristics of Pokémon he had encountered. He had decided that he would go on another journey, travelling another region, getting more badges, challenging another League. His parents had been supportive in his venture; their only request was that he stay with them for a bit longer. He was more than glad to oblige.
"May we enter?"
Hugh looked up to see his father peeping in. Puzzled, he nodded. His parents rarely disturbed him after dinner. His father entered, followed by his mother. They both sat down on his bed, facing him. Subconsciously, Hugh straightened up, and leaned forward. His parents had sat down; this meant that this was going to be long and important.
"I think it's about time we told you this. Your mother feels that we should wait until you finish your trip around Hoenn, but you a legal adult now, so I don't see the point of waiting any longer."
Hugh's eyebrow furrowed, thinking about what they could be talking about. It was important, that much he knew. It was a long term thing, if his mother thought that they could wait another two years before telling him that. Hugh could think of nothing that fit the bill.
"Remember, dear, no matter what happens, we will always love you, you will always be our son."
Hugh suddenly felt his insides turn to liquid. The entire fuss was about something to do with him. And his mother thought that it might make him distance himself from his parents. That meant only one thing. They were about to tell him that he had a medical condition that would make him insane by the time he was 25.
It was worse.
"We... aren't your biological parents."
"We adopted you."
Yup, I like plot twists. As to who Hugh's parents are, I'll leave that for you to find out next time.
I have the next few chapter thought out, and I will type them out. But it probably will take a long time.
Hope you enjoyed.
Read and Review.
Peace Out.
-ProdigyPsycho