Pure White Dreams / First of the Dreams & Destiny Trilogy
Updates Every 5-7 Days
Summary: Since two years ago, Touko's dreams became small. All she wanted was the joy of Pokémon to help fill the hole in her heart. But as Team Plasma emerges from the shadows, the world begins to change, threatening everything she ever wanted. Touko must find the will to stand up against the pain of truths she never knew and to discover the ideals she'd forgotten. To find her new dream. (With FerrisWheelShipping)
Rating: K+ for occasional minor language
Disclaimer: Despite using characters, story, and some dialogue from this lovely source material, I can only express my admiration, rather than any ownership.
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Prologue
Tales of Fantasy
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"Once there was a great dragon…"
A father's voice drifted through the room. His daughter was quite sure it was a story he had told before. She was ten now and surely she must have heard them all by now. But somehow, she was never quite sure; the details were always so foggy in her mind.
Perhaps it was because she didn't pay much attention anymore. The stories that once riveted her as a young child had lost some of their luster when she first approached double-digits.
Currently, she was flipping through an issue of PokéTrainer Monthly rather than giving her father's comforting voice full attention.
"Oh my! It was a very powerful dragon, I would assume!"
At least her mother was playing along.
"Enormously powerful!" he father concurred in a booming voice.
She spared a look at them over her magazine. Adults could be so weird sometimes. At least she could be glad they didn't behave this way out of the house.
Well, her dad didn't. Her mom took no such consideration and was always full-on ridiculous, calling her Fluff-head of all things, in public just yesterday. It was strange how suddenly her mom started being embarrassing. It was like she did it on purpose.
With a roll of her eyes and the exasperated sigh of the long-suffering, she returned to her magazine. There was another article about the new Champion in Kanto, a boy only about a year older than her. She positively seethed with jealousy that they got official Trainer's licenses so early in that region. In Unova, she couldn't be official until she was thirteen.
Three more years. That was a third of her lifetime already...approximately? She wasn't very good at math.
"This dragon was commanded by two of the most powerful trainers Unova will ever see. It took the willpower of both to match up to the expectations of this great dragon."
There was a pause, perhaps for the bored preteen to get excited, but she only continued to flip through her magazine without care. As exciting as it may have been, she'd already read it ten times. Summer sure did get boring without Pokémon.
"However, even heroes such as these can only be human and eventually, they began to fight amongst themselves. Each wanted to pursue a different path. And so…the dragon Pokémon, unable to take the conflict of loyalty any more—"
And suddenly the front door to the house crashed open quite loudly, disrupting all dramatic story-telling for the time being.
It was a startling occurrence in most households, but the young girl just looked back nonchalantly for the expected sight: a blonde girl her age, looking positively giddy about something. The only slightly surprising thing was that the boy wearing glasses with her was looking almost as excited. Truly an amazing feat.
"You won't believe it!" the girl squealed as she stepped inside. "You just won't believe it!"
Just as the girl was wondering what it was she wouldn't believe, her other, more level-headed friend said, "Bianca, of course she won't believe you if you don't tell her anything."
"A trainer just came into town to visit the lab…on a Charizard!" As she finished, Bianca let out a squeal even greater than the first.
The girl looked between her two friends and settled on Cheren, raising her eyebrows in an unasked request for confirmation.
"I saw it myself," he informed her with a smile.
No more words were needed. She immediately scrambled up to find her shoes and jacket.
Normally, of the three, she was the most well-informed on the goings-on in Kanto, less out of actual interest and more because her mother wanted her to know about her family's heritage.
However, news about the youngest Champion in any region ever was quite big. So big it made Charizard the "it" Pokémon of the moment. Charmander had been his starter Pokémon and it evolved into the glorious Charizard that played a big part of the amazing victory.
If she was the only kid not to see it in her class, she'd be even more of an outcast than her innate shyness already made her.
Plus, she really wanted to see it.
"Wait a minute, Missy."
She stopped beside her friends, looking at her mother impatiently.
But her mother was having none of that at the moment, standing up and with the sort of stern expression that intimidated even the most rebellious of children. "Aren't you still grounded from a certain little excursion you three took on Route 1? Without permission."
Her mouth dropped open. Still? It had been weeks!
She immediately looked to her friends, but they were too busy looking at the floor and shuffling their feet, unable to stand up to a mom-glare.
Finding no help there, she looked to her father, but he was too disappointed at the interruption to be any help. Finally, she relented and looked at her mother with pleading eyes, hoping that even though she'd never been a trainer, that she could somehow figure out how important this was.
"Oh, well if you're going to say please, I guess it's fine," her mother said sarcastically. Though there was a small smile on her face and a look in her eye that let her daughter know her true intentions.
Without further hesitation, she threw the door open, letting her friends out ahead of her. But although her mother, the outcast in the Pokémon family, was fine with it, somehow it was her former trainer father who stood up with an objection.
"Touko! What about the story? You never hear the ending…"
Perhaps it was the guilt of not being there when she was little, when she would have loved these extraordinary tales. She loved her father, idolized him, in fact. But she couldn't feign interest. She'd grown up.
Now, all she could do was offer a smile as her apology to her dad for the unintentional development. If she could, she'd be just as excited about legends and fantasies as he wanted her to be, but…
"Come on, Dad…it's just a story…"
And with that, Touko White closed the door, following after her friends, shouting all of their dreams about their own first Pokémon. In a future that seemed so far away…
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Chapter One
The Dream Comes True
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The sun was shining through the window. It was a perfect spring day. And this one happened to be perfect for a new adventure.
A girl, newly fifteen, sat in the middle of her room on the floor. There was a bed and chairs that would have been more comfortable, but none of them had a perfect view of the box. It had been dropped off a full half-hour ago and even though news traveled fast in a small town, it wasn't traveling fast enough at the moment.
Her school uniform hung on the door of her closet, probably never to be worn again—if things went well. Her voluminous brown hair had been pulled up into a ponytail sticking out of her cap. A baseball cap given to her by her father and finally today was the first day she was wearing it. All of her clothes were new and despite not knowing when she'd set out, she'd thrown everything on the instant she'd woken up and showered. Then all through breakfast she'd been jittery, to her mother's endless amusement.
All her life, she had been looking forward to one moment. Since the very first time she saw the "big kids" playing with their Pokémon and her mother had told her, "When you're older," Touko White had wanted a Pokémon of her very own.
And since two years ago, the want had become unbearable. At least before she could talk with her father. At least he had a Pokémon she could play with. Now that he was gone…
The past two years had been really tough. Her mother had only recently started to really smile again, act like herself again. Touko considered putting the journey off for another year if necessary, but her mother insisted.
So now, after all of the hardship and waiting it was finally her moment. And after sixteen years waiting, another few minutes should be nothing, but she was getting more and more antsy. The box was sitting right in front of her. Sixteen years, just a few more inches, and yet her friends had not instantly teleported to her house the moment news was sent out.
"Touko!" Cheren came into her room suddenly, as if he could sense her unfair resentment. "I heard Professor Juniper will let us have a Pokémon?"
She nodded silently and noted that, once again, he had not knocked. For someone as rigid as Cheren, it was a weird habit. Not that she really minded. That was the sort of friendship they had. That they all had. More a trio of siblings…that actually got along. Mostly.
Cheren being there should have made her feel better, but she wasn't particularly in the mood for conversation. Luckily, he seemed to share the sentiment, or at least was in the silent and pensive, rather than know-it-all version of typical Cheren.
Touko herself was never much of a talker, except perhaps around her friends and family. So, about three people. It was quite the problem considering her upcoming journey. How would you go about challenging someone else to a fight without speaking up? She'd spent an hour in front of the mirror trying various catchphrases out, but all she'd managed by the end was to look even more unconvincing a threat.
But Cheren was one of the exceptions to the shyness rule. Touko just didn't possess enough brain power to talk while worrying over her upcoming adventure. New fears had somehow popped into her head the past few minutes that had never surfaced before. What if her Pokémon didn't like her? What if she couldn't catch any more? What if she never won a single badge? What if she never won a single battle? What if she lost to Bianca?
She winced. Even just in her head, the last one felt mean. But speaking of…
"Where's Bianca?" Cheren asked aloud for her.
"I don't know, but—" Touko began, turning around in her most action-ready pose, ready to tear out of the house and find her friend herself. Because adventure waited and it was just cruel to make it wait even—
"Sooorry! Am I late?" Bianca threw upon the door—also completely ignoring the protocol of knocking—and arrived right at the last moment of Touko's sanity. She was good at that. Touko relaxed a bit, though she felt a little disappointed she wouldn't get the chance to work out some of her pent-up energy. Yet.
Of course, before they got on with it, Cheren and Bianca had to go through their usual, scold-apologize-rinse-repeat routine which Touko blocked out as she bounced impatiently.
"So, where are the Pokémon?" Bianca asked cheerfully, oblivious to the absolute agony one of her friends was currently in.
Touko pointed to the box atop her dresser. "Now can we please pick? I had to stare at this box for at least a half-hour!"
"Did you really have to?" Cheren asked shrewdly.
Rather than glare like she usually would at Cheren's comments, she made a half-exasperated, half-angry, all-pathetic noise that even she couldn't identify. "I'm serious. Please."
"Well, they were delivered to Touko's house and since she's been so patient, Touko gets first pick," Bianca decided, earning her the title for Favorite Person Ever from Touko for the moment. The wait time was entirely forgiven.
Restraining herself before diving in, Touko glanced back at Cheren, who smiled and said, "Naturally." Ok, so maybe it was a shared title.
Wasting no time, Touko did the honors of opening the box for all three of them to meet their new Pokémon.
But first, there was a note. Perhaps she should have read that earlier to get it out of the way.
Rather than toss it aside (she wanted that Pokémon so much, it was getting harder to be civil each moment she grew closer), Touko read it aloud:
I've brought three Pokémon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokémon!
-Professor Juniper
She smiled to herself. Of course they'd be polite about it. Her friends had already been downright generous and utterly fair. Professor Juniper had too little faith.
Now she did toss it aside (or place it neatly beside the box on top of the dresser, whatever), opened the box, and looked at the three Poké Balls.
The Grass-type, Snivy.
The Fire-type, Tepig.
The Water-type, Oshawott.
It felt so cruel to only pick one! She stood at the box, staring down at the balls for what must have been too long.
"Touko? Are you done yet?" Cheren asked impatiently.
What a hypocrite I am, Touko though with a grimace. She turned back to her friends. "Sorry, just a second."
She should have been deathly afraid over how she'd make this choice instead of all the other things that were miles away right now. Not knowing what else to do, she ran her fingers over the top of each Poké Ball.
Oshawott, Tepig, and then…Snivy.
As her hand hovered over the grass-type's Poké Ball, it was as if she could feel a pull toward it. A cool, calm feeling that gently erased all of her fears like a gentle breeze.
Before she even knew or understood, she'd picked up the grass-type and held it in her hands.
Snivy was her Pokémon. Her first Pokémon.
Bianca and Cheren rushed in front of her after, pushing her a little in their own haste. But Touko was oblivious to their actions and the rest of her surroundings. All she could do was stare in wonder at the Poké Ball in her hands.
She had a Pokémon of her very own. All of her dreams, her greatest wish, finally came true.
Finally, coming out of her fog, she grinned widely in her new excitement. It was like being ten-years-old again.
"Oh, never mind. I wanted Tepig from the start," she heard Cheren mutter. Apparently, she'd missed out on another Cheren-Bianca argument. They were running quite short today.
It really was a good day.
"Since we've chosen, let's have a Pokémon battle!" Bianca proposed, in a scarily carefree voice considering just what she was suggesting.
Briefly, the fear of losing to Bianca ran through her head…with Cheren there to see it too.
But she tightened her grip on her Poké Ball and felt a calm reassurance. An idea flowing into her that said that she could do it. And even if she had to lose a battle, losing to a friend was the best way to do it. It took all the stress of fighting a stranger out of the equation for her first battle.
While she thought it over, Cheren and Bianca quickly argued it out (rather, Cheren said it was stupid and Bianca ignored him).
"You're on!" Touko decided, putting on the challenge-accepted smirk she'd also practiced in the mirror.
"You too, Touko?"
"Then it's settled, Touko! Let's have a Pokémon battle!"
"Snivy!" "Oshawott!" Touko and Bianca called out simultaneously. Just like trainers on TV, Touko thought giddily.
Equally exciting was the first look she got at her Pokémon. She'd seen Snivy before in pictures, but the real thing—the Pokémon that belonged to her—was quite different.
Her new Pokémon had quite the serious and haughty looking stare. But he glanced back at her and Touko thought she caught a small nod, as if to say that she would do. Whether or not she saw correctly, there was no time to really take it in just yet. She just had to prove herself either way in battle.
Touko called out first, "Snivy, use Tackle!" And her first fear was well out of the way when Snivy did exactly as commanded.
Bianca and her Oshawott responded in kind. And it went back and forth a while like that, Bianca used Tail Whip a couple of times, but Touko kept it going with tackles and with Snivy's superior speed, eventually emerged the victor for it.
When Bianca's Oshawott fainted, Touko felt a small stab in her heart for her wounded opponent. But as they each called back their Pokémon, she managed to keep it buried beneath the pride she felt in her Snivy.
Her Snivy.
"Touko, you're gonna be an awesome trainer someday, I can tell! No doubt!"
Bianca was a beginner, just like her, so the comment didn't really have any basis for the belief. Just the same, Touko smiled brightly and threw her arms around her best friend. "That means everything coming from you."
Bianca returned the hug with a giggle, and knowing her, Touko was quite sure she had an adorable smile on.
"Uh…Bianca, would you take a look around?"
Bianca let go of Touko first and did as asked. "Wh-whoa! What happened?"
Touko was already quite sure of what she'd see once she heard Cheren's voice. The room was a mess.
That's what moms are for? Forgiveness and cleaning? she thought, trying to make herself feel better.
It wouldn't be so bad. She could see from the corner of her eye that her TV was still standing, the only thing to worry about… Touko turned slowly to look behind her. Her table had somehow gotten halfway onto her desk, right next to the computer.
"Wow…that was amazingly close…"
"I know, right! Pokémon are so amazing! So little, but so strong!" Bianca replied excitedly. Pokéfever was alive and well in the room.
"That's not what I…um yeah, sure," Touko replied with a sigh. She'd won, and yet somehow she felt like she lost just the same.
"…Oh. Um, sorry about your room, Touko," Bianca apologized sheepishly.
"It's all right, Bianca. Your apology is surely all I need to keep me happy in the lonely months that you guys get to journey far ahead, while I sit grounded in my room," Touko replied with a little laugh. "Well, that and Snivy."
Bianca laughed uneasily with Touko, not quite sure how serious she was. Touko wasn't quite sure herself. She was already cracking under the anxiety over what her mom might do to her. There was no precedence for this; her room had always been kept so neat, so it had never been a problem.
"You…are completely hopeless," Cheren walked over to Bianca with a sigh. He helped to heal both Bianca's and Touko's Pokémon. Cheren had been a scout at one point and kept the motto about being prepared quite seriously.
"Well, that's one problem down," Touko murmured sullenly.
The three stood in silence. Touko was usually only second in good nature to Bianca, but when she got down, she'd go all the way down. Since it was so rare, Bianca and Cheren couldn't handle a Touko "mood" as easily as they handled each other.
"Hey! I have an idea!" Bianca exclaimed suddenly. Touko looked at Bianca, expectations only moderately raised. "How about you battle too, Cheren?"
Good thing about those careful expectations, a full-on plummet would have been terrible.
Still, she felt a tingling sense of excitement at the idea. Battling with Bianca had been fun. She didn't enjoy hurting a Pokémon, but nothing had ever been such a rush before. And although they were very new partners, she was sure Snivy felt the same.
She gripped her Poké Ball tightly. Cheren was so smart; he would probably be more of a challenge than Bianca. A better challenge would make it even more exhilarating.
Now if only he'd agree.
"How does that solve anything?" Cheren asked skeptically, adjusting his glasses to give Bianca his best look of mild disdain.
"Well, it won't make things worse! Plus with all you know, I'm sure you can battle without turning the area into a full-on disaster area like I did!"
"You know, I believe you're right! Since it's me, it'll be no problem," Cheren agreed quite easily to the new tactic.
Bianca didn't seem like the brightest girl in town, but she really knew how to appeal to Cheren's ego. Touko discretely gave her friend a thumbs-up, who responded with a quick wink.
"Besides, it's not fair if you two are the only ones who have fun battling," he continued, adding on a more modest reasoning. He took up his position opposite Touko. "It's decided. You'll be my opponent in our first Pokémon battle!"
"Oh, all of these challenges! I didn't know I was so popular," Touko joked, getting ready to throw her Poké Ball.
"Let's see what you can do, Tepig!"
"Let's go again, Snivy!"
Since it was Cheren, and he had Fire-type, Touko hesitated on her first move. Could she win the same way as she had against Bianca? The Pokémon were so young…and without their type attacks and with her speed advantage…perhaps it was the right tactic to win. Cheren liked strategies, which would take up time. She could use it against him; while he focused on weakening her Pokémon each move, she would pile on the damage until it was too late.
She smiled, confident in her new plan, and just as before, ordered her new partner to tackle again and again. As she figured from her knowledge of her friend, Cheren tried to weaken Snivy's defense to give a bigger advantage for his Pokémon. But Touko and Snivy continued their relentless assault.
At the end, there was a moment when she thought, if Cheren tackled her weakened Pokémon might just be done for. However, when their eyes met across the small battlefield that was once Touko's room, she knew they were both thinking the same thing.
Juding by the tough-breathing Tepig, one last hit would take him out. Snivy, on the other hand, was moving as fast and powerful as ever, but Cheren's strategy might have been enough to knock out Snivy in one hit. However, if Snivy survived the hit, Tepig would certainly be out. There would be a clear opening for Snivy to regain balance before his weak opponent for that one last hit.
On the other hand, another tail whip wouldn't provide the same open opportunity and Touko was certain that it would be enough to knock Snivy out with one tackle.
They both knew it depended on Cheren's next move. And as Touko looked at him, she saw that her cool, calm, spectacled friend appeared a bit stressed.
Cheren was smart, but he was new. Just like her.
He commanded his Pokémon to use another tail whip. And as soon as he said it, Touko smiled and shouted, "Tackle again, Snivy!"
Because what she knew that Cheren didn't was that Snivy didn't need Tepig to falter to create an opening. After all, he was her Pokémon.
And just as Touko knew, although Snivy seemed tired, there was a look of determination in his eyes. With one last blow, he ended the fight.
Touko just barely restrained herself from jumping up in the air at victory—it was poor sportsmanship. But with two wins, Touko could officially consider herself undefeated.
"Tackle all the way through, huh? How like you, Touko," Cheren commented with a smile after calling Tepig back to the Poké Ball.
Touko frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" It didn't sound entirely like a compliment.
"Very straightforward. I should have seen it. I made a strange blunder in my first battle, but this feeling I have…I'm finally a trainer."
"Pretty great, huh?" Touko asked with a grin. That was something she could definitely understand.
"But we'd better go apologize to your mother about this messed-up room."
Touko visibly deflated. "Couldn't we just sort of sneak out?"
"You'd have to talk to your mother at some point."
"Yes. At some point, ten years from now. Then she'll just be so happy to see me after so long, that she won't care that I messed up my room."
"…Come on," Cheren said, thoroughly ignoring her ridiculous reasoning as he walked down the stairs.
"Oh, I'd better come too," Bianca followed, looking far too cheerful over the situation.
Brand new Pokémon Trainer, Touko took a last look around the room. "Ugh…" she groaned with dread as she followed behind. "It was nice while it lasted."
While still on the stairs, she could hear the voices below and she stopped. She heard Bianca's timid voice first, "I'm very sorry about all the trouble, ma'am. Well, um…We can clean up…"
"No worries. I'll take care of it later," her mom's voice replied cheerfully.
Touko took the rest of the stairs two at a time. "No way! I'm not grounded?"
"When on earth was the last time you were grounded?" Mrs. White asked, looking thoroughly amused.
"Uh…" Touko looked at the ground. She'd only been grounded once in her life and that had been a pretty extreme case.
"The only way you'd possibly get in trouble is if you tried to hide it from me," Mrs. White explained, giving her daughter a knowing look. Touko gulped. "Of course, that would be silly because I could hear the Pokémon's cries from clear down here! That sure reminded me of my first Pokémon battle!"
"Just don't change your mind after you see the mess," Touko grumbled, until the last sentence fully registered. "Wait, what? Your first what?"
Touko had never heard a word about her mother being a trainer before. A lot of people were, it seemed almost half of the world went on some sort of Pokémon journey at some point. Her dad had continued being a full-time trainer right up until she was six.
But never once had she heard her mom even mention it. Sure, her mom seemed to like Pokémon a lot, but from what little she'd heard it sounded like her mom just studied them for a while, since she was going to be a teacher. So yeah, she knew a lot, but she never mentioned even owning a Pokémon. Well, except when she'd wistfully reminiscence on the helpful Minccino her own mother had when Touko was being an exceptionally messy child.
Anyway, the point was, her mom never said anything. So, naturally, Touko assumed she was part of the other boring half of the world.
"Oh, I'm sure it's terrible, but it's your first Pokémon and a really big day, so of course you're excited. It's fine," Mrs. White explained, waving off the situation as if it were just a missing button. "Besides, this just means you're taking after your father."
"What? Dad?" Touko asked incredulously. Her dad had been one of the most disciplined people she ever knew; a little silly, perhaps, when it came to being a doting father, but absolutely serious and contained when it came to Pokémon. She was learning all sorts of ridiculous things today.
"Oh, yes, he made a huge mess the day we set out together," Mrs White laughed. "If it's somehow worse than that, I'll be more impressed than anything."
"Together?" Touko repeated. She never knew how her parents met before. Or when. Wait, they were my age then? Or younger!
"Well, that's a story for another day. Shouldn't you be on your way to meet Professor Juniper? Off you go now!"
And before Touko knew it, Mrs. White had shuffled them all toward the door so quickly that she'd practically been shoved out. "Don't forget to come back to say goodbye before you leave!" she called out cheerfully from the window before closing the shutters.
"Somehow I feel a little rushed," Touko grumbled as she glared at the closed window. "Sure, she said to come back but…"
"We really should get going though," Cheren said as he began walking down the path from the door.
"Oh! Wait! I've gotta go home first!" Bianca said suddenly, and hurried off on her own without a response from her friends.
Cheren sighed and looked back at Touko. "I'll meet you guys by the lab," he said before also running off.
"Sure," Touko replied into the empty yard.
She looked down at the Poké Ball still in her hand. She kneeled on the ground and pressed the button that would release her Pokémon.
Released from the Ball, Snivy stood up straight and met Touko's gaze with a strong look, as if he was appraising his new trainer.
Despite the two battles in her room, this was the first time Touko was face to face with the Pokémon that would both protect her and rely on her in the upcoming months.
"My name is Touko White," she introduced herself, although she was unsure of how much he would understand. "From now on, we'll be together. Always."
It was a promise. No matter what happened in the future, she would take care of Snivy. As long as he accepted her.
And just like in her room, she couldn't be sure, but she thought there was a small quirk of his mouth, a barely noticeable smile. Enough to really say, "You'll do."
She slowly put her hand on top of his head and when he didn't move away she gently pet his head. Snivy closed his eyes, as if he enjoyed the touch.
Satisfied in her new companion's happiness, Touko let him return to his rest inside the Poké Ball. Now that she was certain they could do it, together, she felt ready to follow after her friends.
She strolled out of her yard and onto the street. Only a few people were around. No less than usual though. Nuvema Town was pretty small. But from now on, I'll be seeing all the big places, Touko thought with a small smile.
She still hadn't put her Snivy's Poké Ball away. She rolled it around in her hands as she walked to the Professor's, waving hello to the people she saw. It wasn't a very long walk, but she took it slowly so that when she got there, she wouldn't have to wait for Bianca.
Except when she got there, Bianca still wasn't there. Only a very impatient Cheren stood in front of the lab. Touko had even stopped to talk with Jennifer, the far-too-chatty neighbor she hardly knew, and yet, Bianca still managed to be latest.
"Can you go to Bianca's house? I'm sure she's spacing out like she—"
"Got it, got it," Touko waved him off and turned right back around. She put away her Poké Ball at last so she wouldn't drop it while she jogged back past her house and to Bianca's.
She opened the door without knocking (Bad habits are contagious, she thought as an excuse) and was met with some uncharacteristic shouting from the mild Aspen household.
"No, no, a thousand times no!" Mr. Aspen yelled at his daughter, who looked to be about in tears.
Maybe I shouldn't be here… She caught the eye of Mrs. Aspen in the kitchen who only made a shushing motion. So, Touko stayed put, but tried to remain out of sight.
"But, I'm…" Bianca started to sniffle, then stood up tall. "I'm a good trainer who got a Pokémon and everything! I can totally go on an adventure!"
She turned around and stomped away, with enough confidence that Touko wanted to burst out in applause. But then Bianca stopped when she saw her hiding in the entry way and tilted her head.
Leave it to me to ruin someone else's big exit…
"Hey. Here to pick you up…for the adventure, you know?" She peeked around Bianca at Mr. Aspen. Then she whispered, for only Bianca to hear, "That's still ok, right?"
She looked lost for a moment. Then she adjusted her hat, like she often did when she was nervous. "Oh…it's ok. In fact…It's totally fine! I'll be waiting for you in front of the lab, ok?" Then Bianca continued right around Touko to complete the previous stomping out.
Of course, leaving Touko in an entirely uncomfortable situation. "Well, then…I'll just be leaving. Big day and—"
"What nonsense is this? How could my daughter, who knows nothing about the world, be going on a journey with Pokémon?" Mr. Aspen complained, then turned to Touko. "You're her friend. You shouldn't let her do something so dangerous."
Touko frowned and put her hands on her hips. She'd never been one to talk back to parents or adults in general (or perhaps anyone at all if she was honest), but Cheren's folks, and until now Bianca's, had never given her reason to. Now she had a reason to.
"Sir, your daughter is really smart. If she doesn't know much, she can learn pretty quickly. Plus she won't be alone with just Pokémon. I'm going to watch Bianca's back. So is Cheren. And I'm actually really glad to know she'll be watching mine."
"That's—"
"Don't mind my husband, dear. He's just being overprotective," Mrs. Aspen came in smoothly. "It's only natural, all children do it, isn't that right sweetheart?"
When she turned to her husband, Mr. Aspen just grunted.
"I'm sorry, to have taken up your time. I better go," Touko said before making a run for it. She paused at the door and gave a little wave goodbye. Mrs. Aspen was the only one who waved back.
She'd been so rude, but the thought of not having Bianca with her hadn't been that was easy to deal with. Her friends had waited for her before setting off on the journey, so she wouldn't leave them behind either. But spouting off like that…Touko could have made things worse instead of better. At least Mrs. Aspen seemed to be keeping things under control.
When she arrived at the lab, Cheren was looking more impatient than ever, probably wondering why the two hadn't come together. But he didn't say anything and insisted on going right in. Touko and Bianca quickly exchanged looks, which was enough to say that Cheren didn't know about what just happened. For the time being that was probably best. For Cheren, Pokémon were number one…but considering how flighty he already though Bianca was, Touko wondered if he would be on their side knowing Mr. Aspen's doubts.
Touko took Bianca's hand and squeezed it for a moment to reassure her, getting a smile in return. Girls were allowed to have some secrets. The two walked in together.
The Professor was waiting for them right in the lobby. "Hi, I've been waiting for you young people. Let me introduce myself again. My name is…"
"Professor Juniper, we know your name," Cheren interrupted.
"Come, come, Cheren! This is not a time to take things lightly!" the professor chided with a good-natured smile. "Today is a day to remember always, so it's best to behave with some formality. That being so, once again my name is Professor Juniper, and I am researching…"
Professor Juniper did behave with the utmost formality, explaining the things Cheren, Touko, and even Bianca already knew. But, she finally got to the important information, in exchange for the Pokémon, they would be completing a Pokédex. This, Touko really had no idea about, but from the explanation it seemed quite important.
Touko had her Pokémon. For now she just wanted to explore the region and take it easy with catching any more so she could really get to know each one. She could worry about the Pokédex after she became a real, veteran trainer.
"You'll go on an adventure to complete the Pokédex, will you not?"
As long as it got done at some point, right? "Sure," she replied in a small voice.
"Ok! I mean…Yes, professor!" Bianca also agreed, with her usual enthusiasm at a volume that positively buried Touko's.
"Thank you very much. Because of you, I can become a Pokémon trainer, exactly as I've always wished," Cheren said, giving the most appropriate response by far.
Then with a few more lessons, some more thank you's and good bye's, and a promise to meet the professor in the next town, the group left with their new Pokédex's and a set of Poké Balls to start off with.
As they walked out of the lab, Bianca spoke up, "S-since the professor asked us, it's ok to go on an adventure, right? I can explore and maybe find out what I want to do in life. I think I'd like that."
"Of course, we can travel however we want while we complete the Pokédex." Even when not knowing what was going on, Cheren could say the right thing. He walked on ahead of them.
With just the two of them, Bianca leaned close and whispered to Touko, "For some reason, my heart is pounding Touko. What are you and Snivy going to do?"
"We're going to go on an adventure, of course. With you and Oshawott."
Bianca smiled and ran ahead. "Then let's go to Route 1!"
"Sure thing! I just need to go home and say goodbye to my mom first!" As her friends ran ahead, Touko hurried back home. She needed a real goodbye with her mother, even if it meant the recent trainer revelation would get ignored.
"Mom?" she called as she opened the door.
Mrs. White appeared from the kitchen. "Oh good, I was afraid you'd forget or sulk off on your own. And with no way to contact you!" She started rummaging around in some drawers. "So, what did the professor say?"
"She gave each of us a Pokédex," she answered as she walked over to see just what she was up to.
"She asked you to complete the Pokédex? I can't believe it!" she exclaimed with far too much excitement, momentarily looking up from her task. "Well, actually, I can. I already knew she was going to ask."
"Of course you did," Touko said with a laugh.
"Ah! Here it is!" Mrs. White retrieved something at last from the drawers and handed it to her daughter. "Here is your cross-transceiver. You have to keep in contact with me. Every day, every place, every city, and such."
Touko looked at the device in her hand. "Oh sure, then you'll tell me all about the things you've been keeping secret, right?"
Her mother laughed. "They're not secrets, just memories." She took the Xtransceiver from Touko and helped her to fasten it on.
"Yeah, but you never told me."
"It never came up."
Touko raised an eyebrow.
"Really. Your father and I discussed it when we got married. Some parent always ends up being the strict one and they end up begrudging it later on. We didn't want that, so I volunteered. I'd keep you on track with school, while he would properly bring you up with Pokémania."
"You were the strict one?" Touko asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Would you have been afraid of telling your father about your room?"
That instantly shut Touko up. Her father probably would have just congratulated her on having such a powerful Pokémon, perhaps offer some advice on learning to reign it in. Even if she had broke her computer.
"You see? If both your father and I got caught up in it with you, no one would ever do any parenting. Plus we did softball together, wasn't that fun?"
"Good training for Poké Ball throwing," Touko joked.
"Oh yes," her mother replied in utmost seriousness, throwing Touko off for a moment.
"Hmm…so were you any good then?"
"Well, I was a trainer in a gym for a while after I got tired of the roaming part. I used to get in trouble for not letting anyone get to the gym leader. He really hated that. But he did ask me to take over when he wanted to retire. Unfortunately, that was around the time your father had just proposed and we were thinking of settling down."
The surprises just kept on coming like continuous hits from her Snivy. "No way! What gym?"
"Now that is a secret."
"Eh? Just tell me already."
"How about this?" her mother began slyly, "If you call me from every gym, I'll tell you the one when you get there."
"Cheater," Touko pouted.
"Of course, I can't rely on you to remember once things get exciting! Unless you were to get lost…" She clapped her hands together. "Speaking of, I have something else for you. You, Bianca, and Cheren actually."
This time, she found what she was searching for much more easily; they were waiting on top of the coffee table. "Here you are. Three Town Maps. Be sure to tell them they're from me, don't go stealing my credit."
"Mom, seriously?" Touko took the maps from her and put one in her bag, the other two in the back pocket of her shorts.
"You'll damage them just stuffing them away like that!" It was Mrs. White's turn to pout.
"I really hope you're not expecting them returned in pristine quality…"
"Speaking of…your room—or rather what's left of it…"
"Ugh…"
"No need to worry. It really is smaller than your father's mess," she said good-naturedly. "And without my daughter around to keep me busy, I'll have so much free time. Lonely free time." She ended with a long sigh.
"By the way," Touko began, brushing off the classic attempt of motherly guilt. "Since you were the one heading off the same day as Dad, you didn't by any chance have a part in that mess, did you?"
"…I choose not to answer that."
"Of course."
"Enough of this, though. You really should be on your way," Mrs White said, with a much more honest sigh. She took her daughter's hands. "I will miss you."
"I know, Mom. I'll miss you, too."
"I will worry if you don't call, you know? But I guess I'll feel better knowing that you have Pokémon that can destroy a room to keep you safe!" she finished with a laugh.
Touko laughed as well and gave her mom a hug. "Don't be too lonely, ok?"
Her mother returned the hug, tucking her daughter's head beneath her chin. She was still taller, but only just barely enough. "Oh that, I was just kidding. But you really do need to take care of yourself. And Cheren and Bianca as well. All of you take care of each other."
"I already told Mr. Aspen that."
"Ah…well, I think he probably needed to be told."
"Moms know about everything, don't they?"
"Pretty much," she said and kissed her daughter's forehead before releasing her. "Have fun on your adventure and become a wonderful adult for me. But feel free to visit before that too, I'm not really picky."
"I will…have fun and stuff. I make no promises otherwise. Except about the calling." After receiving a nod from her mother, saying this was acceptable, Touko stepped back. "So, I'm ready."
Mrs. White nodded again, and for the first time in a year, she had tears in her eyes. "Your father would be so proud."
Touko's face fell. "Mom…"
"Go on, I'm just being a mother. I'm allowed to do that."
Touko smiled hesitantly headed out the door and down the path. When she reached the end, she looked back at her mother standing in the doorway. "Have a safe trip!" her mother called out as she waved.
"I will!" she called back with an easier smile.
Then she headed up the street, toward Route 1 and toward her future.
Author's Note: "Novelizations" of the game are not new at all, but I didn't want this to discourage me from writing the first thing I've felt inspired about in so long. Pure White Dreams is the first of a trilogy I'm calling Dreams & Destiny. It will be followed by a sequel taking place during the events of B2W2, but still featuring Touko as its protagonist, that sort of takes place in the background of events of the game. The third will have no game as a basis, even if Game Freak did make an unprecedented threequel.
In the beginning, things will follow the game very closely, almost exactly in this chapter, except allowing protagonist involvement. But as we move further out, things will drift in and out, sometimes veering off entirely into original territory. I've done this to include further plots and add development. Particularly, as noted, this is FerrisWheelShipping, so a few original scenes for that can be expected.
Pure White Dreams is already about 70% written, so barring any catastrophes I should be updating on a regular schedule. Right now it's every 5 days. The goal is to move right into the sequel. We're starting off with a bonus, with chapter two arriving tomorrow (I can't let a fic labeled for FerrisWheel Shipping stand too long without N appearing). So, I'll see you then. ^^