Black and White
Sorry about not finishing the other stories…couldn't finish them :( But I hope this new one goes well. It's a sort of mishmash of chessshipping and ferriswheelshipping…with some OCs thrown in. Obviously, Pokémon, its characters, and pretty much all of its concepts are not mine, and I claim no ownership.
Chapter 1
The lively nightlife of Striaton City didn't fail to surprise Touko as she looked over the city from the top floor of the newly rebuilt Striaton Restaurant.
Only two years before, Striaton City had been an overlooked little town that prided itself in having the first Gym, as well as the Dreamyard, though no one else seemed to care. Now, it was a slightly downsized version of the bigger places, like Virbank or Nimbasa, or even Castelia.
No, Touko thought with a shake of her head. Never like Castelia. She turned back to her food- and the sweaty young man that sat across the table from her.
Kent was jittery, playing with his fork. Every once in a while, he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, he loosened his awkward pink tie and gasped out: "Any dessert?"
Touko forced a smile. "I'm alright, thank you."
Kent laughed nervously. "Okay, I'll get the bill then." He waved for the waitress.
Touko looked back over Striaton. How many dates had Bianca forced upon her already? It was all with good intention, but Bianca's overenthusiasm was started to itch Touko's nerves. All she really wanted was to go to some place far, far away from Nuvema Town, like Lentimas, and settle down for a while…
Kent helped Touko up from her chair, and she tried to resist flinching away from his damp hand. They walked out of the restaurant, silent, and the two parted with nothing more than a terse "bye".
Touko headed northwest to Route 3 and released her Reshiram as soon as she was alone. The giant white dragon purred gently and nudged its owner.
"Hey, baby," Touko whispered, stroking Reshiram's head. "Was it boring in that Poké ball? Sorry. Let's go back to Opelucid."
The Reshiram leaned down obediently, allowing Touko to climb onto its back and crouch down between its wings. In a fluid motion, the Reshiram flapped its massive wings and hurtled upwards into the night sky.
Touko looked down at the ground as she and her Pokémon flew above it. Bright lights, glistening water, massive bridges…everything that made Unova what it was.
It wasn't long before Reshiram reached an isolated area just outside Opelucid, settling down with a resounding thump and a puff of dust. Touko climbed off and stretched, then returned Reshiram to its ball.
"Thanks, sweetie," she crooned to the little dragon in its ball.
Touko unfolded her bicycle and began pedaling up a barely visible path in the woods surrounding the city. She liked the silence of the forest, how it was quiet even so close to such a busy city and the even busier Route 9. The darkness didn't bother her; after all, she was safe.
Except, on that day, she didn't feel like it. There was the eerie feeling that she was being watched as she stepped off her bike and walked it to her house on the plateau by the Eastern River. Touko peered around before folding her bike back up and hurrying into her house.
The warmth and the faint smell of vanilla was all familiar to Touko, but even the happy photographs on the mantle couldn't get rid of the feeling. She double-checked that all the windows and doors were locked, then sat down in the dining room and put her head in her hands.
The monitor of the Pokémon enclosure beeped, and a picture of Touko's Skitty appeared. Touko smiled and stood to open the glass door that separated the enclosure- which held the Pokémon that Touko didn't use when she was called to battle as Champion- when a loud creaking sound screeched from upstairs.
Touko froze, her hand on the handle of the enclosure door, the Skitty scrabbling at the frame. She slid the door open, hugged the Skitty to her chest, and crept to the staircase.
Her house was old; it used to be on the Village Bridge, but when the Eastern River changed its course a year ago, the people of the bridge were forced to remove a section. That left a miniature ghost town on the other side, with Touko being the only inhabitant. Luckily for her, Opelucid returned a favor from two years before and gave her house lighting, plumbing, and heat. Still, the age of the house meant that it was prone to noises and thumps in the night. Touko was used to them, but she didn't feel particularly brave as she tried to see in the shadows that night.
Something moved at the landing, and Touko whimpered. Her Skitty squirmed; obviously, it had seen it too. Touko released a Pokémon frantically, not knowing which it was. Her Chandelure floated up in front of her face, tilting its body, confused.
Another creak from the staircase. The Chandelure whirled around and drifted up, spinning around once it reached the landing. It flared its flames, then floated back down to Touko.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice barely a breath.
The Chandelure pointed up with one of its candle hands. A faint image appeared before it, and it shaped itself into a person. Touko bit her lip and released the Skitty, which scampered back to the enclosure. It squeezed past one of Touko's Twelve Champs- Pokémon she used for Champion battles-, a Zangoose. The Zangoose crawled over on fours to Touko's side.
"Let's go up," Touko said quietly. Zangoose nodded its head and climbed up, flicking the lights on with its tail as it passed the switch. Chandelure and Touko followed slowly.
Suddenly, Zangoose started yowling, and Touko finally screamed. Chandelure fired off a Shadow Ball into the room above, and there was a heavy thunk in the darkness.
Touko fumbled for the light switch of the hallway and gasped when she saw the person lying there. He was tall and lean, with messy brown hair. The young man was facedown, and Touko carefully turned his head to see his face.
"Oh, dammit, Touya!"
Touko's friend chuckled pathetically. "Didn't think you were so easy to scare, Touko."
"What are you doing here?" Touko leaned against the wall. "And for that matter, why are you wearing all black?"
Touya's smile turned into a grimace as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Thought it might be funny to scare you after yet another failed date."
"You were watching me?"
"Calm down, girlfriend." Touya stepped back as Touko leaned forward with her hands outstretched, ready to strangle. "I didn't trust that guy. Too…weird."
"And who was stalking me?"
"I wasn't-"
Zangoose bared its teeth at the boy, and Touya sighed. "Okay, okay. I was watching you. Just to make sure nothing went wrong…I mean, don't tell me you forgot what happened last time."
Touko flushed and looked away. "I- that guy- Ron was-"
"Anyways, can I stay over? I was going to ask you to help me with Gengar again, but seeing as to how it's midnight and you're in a bad mood, it might be better to have you discipline him tomorrow."
"Fine. Guest room," Touko waved at a door directly to Touya's left. He snickered and pushed the door open, then waved teasingly before slamming it behind him.
Touko stormed down the stairs.
N sat on the roof of a dilapidated house, watching Touko's silhouette disappear in the light of the upstairs hallway. As soon as the lights turned off, he whistled softly. A window on the second floor opened silently, and a dark figure leaped lithely to the sill of an adjacent window. It closed the window with care, then jumped down to the ground. N slid down and landed in a crouch on in a large patch of grass.
Touya walked towards him, slowly morphing into a Zoroark.
"I do not see why you keep doing this, master," the Zoroark said gruffly, matching its stride to N's. "It will certainly take years off of her life." It huffed.
N gave his Pokémon a sideways glance. "I hate how quickly you learned how to use humor," he said, stopping at the bank of the Eastern River.
"That was not humor, master. I am sure that using Hypnosis, then Dream Eater, on a human is not beneficial."
"Musharna will be careful."
As if on cue, a happy-looking Musharna floated out from the front of Touko's house.
"Did you do your job?" N stretched out a hand to the pink Pokémon. It nodded, and N returned it to its ball with a content smile. Zoroark watched stoically.
"Do you miss her, master?" it asked suddenly.
N stiffened. "I-" He was quiet for a moment. "It would be best…if she didn't know I was still around," he concluded.
Zoroark studied its master, then looked away over the rippling surface of the water. "What," it said slowly. "what was it exactly that happened two years ago?"
N took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, trying to find an excuse not to answer the question. The Zoroark watched until N felt uncomfortable under his Pokémon's intense scrutiny.
"I-" N started. His mouth opened and closed as he searched for the words that would not come. Finally, he shook his head. "Never mind." He returned Zoroark to its ball, then stood alone on the riverbank, staring up at the dark clouds passing overhead.
Touko blinked awake; something was tickling her face. It took her a few seconds to realize that she was lying on the ground right outside the enclosure, with an Oddish dancing by her head. She sat up and put the Oddish gently on her lap, stroking its leaves absently as she tried to remember how she got where she was.
Bright sunlight streamed in through the blinds on the windows, painting golden bars on the ground. Motes of dust floated above some of the chairs in the living room. The glass of the photo frames gleamed. And yet, the only thing that Touko could think of was the empty haziness in her memory.
Touko released her Oddish and followed it into the enclosure. It toddled ahead, stopping only when it reached the grass-type room. Touko slowed to make sure that it didn't trip down the little slope leading down to the room, then hurried back to the house.
She tried to occupy herself by doing all the chores she needed to get done. Dust off the tables, draw the drapes, vacuum the floors, water the plants, feed the Pokémon…the monotony of her rituals was calming.
Almost as if nothing ever happened.
Touya yawned widely. It had only been about an hour since his phone's battery ran out, and he was feeling bored already. Not to mention, his motion sickness was coming back.
He was riding on the ferry that moved people from Virbank to Castelia. Touya wanted to stop at the lighthouse that his sister told him about, the one that Victini had once lived in, but the Liberty Garden Lighthouse wasn't even open. At least there was a Pokémon genetics lab having an open day just outside Nacrene City. He could stop by there.
Touya was thinking about the Castelia Sewers and the horror stories he had heard about it when his Manectric came up behind him and bumped his elbow. It barked once, then nodded towards the front end of the boat. The Castelia City skyline was clear now, and soon the boat would dock. Touya patted his Pokémon on the head and returned it to its ball.
He considered calling Touko; he hadn't seen her in a few months, and he knew that she loved the Hoenn Region restaurant on Spark Street, one of the hidden gems of the Castelia City residential area. Touya pulled out his X-Transceiver and called Touko, waiting for her face to appear on the screen. When she finally picked up, Touya felt his heart pound.
"Hey, Touya! Been awhile. How are you?"
"I'm great. And you?"
"Good. Where are you?"
"Castelia. Want to meet me at that Hoenn restaurant?"
"Oh…cool! Actually, I want to go to Café Sonata. I heard that they're having Lyrica tonight."
"That sounds great. I'll meet you there."
Touya signed off and leaned against the wall of the ferry, clutching the X-Transceiver to his chest. Touko didn't even know how much he missed her, and the fact that she nearly died in the Johto Region certainly didn't help. What she was doing there, he didn't even know. Looking for N, probably.
He shook his head to erase the thought. N was gone, Touya told himself, heading for the exit of the ferry. There's no way Touko's still thinking about him…
Something seemed to tell him that he was wrong.
