A/N: This chapter was brought to you today by the letter T. As in Tim's shitposts.
It was also brought to you by my debilitating need for Adrinette.
Chapter 2: Powerful
Chat grinned as Mari signed her name next to his on the registration form. She had tentatively agreed yesterday so he was smiling like a fool as he watched her turn in the form.
He was so excited. My first multi battle! He wondered how it would go. How different would it be from a regular battle? What pokémon would Marinette use? What kind of trainers would they be facing? He sighed happily. So many new expurriences. He was jolted from these thoughts when Marinette spoke.
"Alright, we're all signed up so we're good to compete. But I have things to do before this starts in two hours so I'll see you back here at noon, okay?" Marinette was looking at the time on her PokéGear, setting an alarm. "That will give us half an hour to prepare. Is that fine with you?"
Chat looked at his C-Gear and scrolled through his schedule, noting that a check-in deadline was coming up. He could get that out of the way before the tournament. He gave her a nod. "Yep. Sounds good."
Marinette gave him a nod before walking towards the shopping district. "Don't get into trouble, Chat!"
"I think I should be telling you that, Purrincess." Chat gave her a wink and a two fingered salute. He caught one last eye roll before she turned a corner and was out of his sight.
It was time to check in with Natalie. He headed towards the Pokémon Center so he could change into Adrien. After healing his pokémon, he walked into the changing room as Chat Noir and walked out as Adrien Agreste. He'd been doing this for a few weeks now, since the start of his very first pokémon adventure, and no one seemed to notice that rising star coordinator Adrien Agreste disappeared into the changing rooms and never came out. Or that he'd suddenly come out of the changing rooms without ever being seen in the center to begin with.
Whatever. He's not going to look a gift Horsea in the mouth.
Locating the phones at the other end of the Pokémon Center, he made his way over and dialed. After two rings, Natalie's face appeared on the video screen. She was looking at the tablet in her hand and only spared a brief glance up to confirm who she was talking to.
"Good afternoon, Adrien."
"Hello Natalie. I'm calling to check in. I've arrived in Santalune City." He also battled a couple dozen Combees in the forest, but she didn't need to know that.
"Alright. Your schedule was recently updated with a PR Video shoot in Lumoise City. Please familiarize yourself with the details."
"I understand. Is there anything else?"
"No. That is all."
"Thank you, Natalie. I'll check in when I get to the next city."
With a nod goodbye from Natalie, the call ended. Adrien checked the time. The call didn't even last a minute.
With nothing else to do, Adrien walked out of the pokémon center to check out the town. It was a traditional city, quaint, and unassuming. As he passed a beautiful Roselia statue fountain, he spotted Marinette through the window of the town boutique.
Without really thinking it through, he was already opening the door to the store and walking in. By the time he realized that he wasn't Chat Noir at the moment and that Adrien didn't know Marinette like Chat did, he was already standing next to her as she browsed through articles of clothing. Upon noticing someone beside her, she glanced over to see who it was. Adrien wasn't really sure what went through her head when she saw him, but her eyes widened as she jumped away from him, arms flailing. She started sputtering.
"Ah-wha. I- Hi, uh, didn't. Y-you, I-I see you. I mean, I DIDN'T see you. Yes." She stopped flailing but her eyes were still wide in panic, darting everywhere.
Wow. Smooth, Adrien. You ruined a perfectly good Marinette is what you did. Look at her. She's got anxiety.
I can fix this. Adrien smiled at her. She gasped and stopped breathing, deathly still. His eyes widened. What. Did his smile kill people?
Maybe talking would help?
"Hey. It's been awhile." He tried to quickly recall if he, as Adrien, should know her name. He shouldn't. "I didn't catch your name last time. My name is Adrien."
She was silent for a second before exhaling quickly and gulping down a lungful of air to respond. She smiled awkwardly. "M-Marinette."
He nodded slowly, unsure if sudden moves would scare her at this point. Why is she acting so oddly? "So what were you looking at?"
She turned her head sharply to the display beside them and then to the article in her hand. He's afraid her head is going to fall off at this point. Why is this turning out so badly? What did he do wrong? This is how you talk to people, no?
"Uh, I was, the shirt. I mean, looking at, this shirt." She loosened her intense grip on the shirt, offering it to him.
This is good. We're making progress. He gently took the shirt, her hand shaking when his fingers brushed hers. He held the shirt out in front of him and looked back at Marinette, imagining the shirt on her. Cute. "I think it would look nice on you."
She seemed to have calmed down, if the fact that she was breathing properly was anything to go by. "Ah, I wasn't, going to buy it. I-I'm just looking. For ideas." She's wringing her hands now though.
Oops. She was busy and he interrupted her. "Oh, sorry for bothering you. I didn't-"
"No!"
Adrien jerked back from her sudden exclamation, dropping the shirt back onto the display. What? Am I too close? Maybe she's really upset- His thoughts were interrupted when she started talking again.
"I mean, it's okay. I, uh, I'm glad to see you a-again." She's not looking at him anymore. Apparently the floor is super interesting? He glanced at the floor and saw nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows. What? He looked back up and noticed her hands.
Wow, her fingers are going to break if she doesn't stop gripping and twisting them. I'll save your fingers, Marinette. Invigorated with a new purpose, he gently took her hands in his, separating them so she couldn't twister her fingers off. He smiled at her.
Marinette's face flushed and her eyes were blown wide open again. Shocked, Adrien's eyes widened too. What did I do wrong now? Maybe I should leave before I mess up anymore. She was clearly uncomfortable with him. Giving her hands a light squeeze, he let go. "I have to get going. I'll see you around, okay?" He gave her another smile before leaving.
Once he was a good distance away from the Boutique, he crouched down, head in his hands. That was awful. His princess is terrified of him. She's probably still upset that he tried to catch her pokémon in Vanville Town but was too kind to yell at him in the middle of the boutique. He had hoped that the explanation he gave when giving her a ride through the rain was enough for her forgiveness, but maybe it wasn't? How is he going to deal with his Princess hating him? Well, half of him? She's completely fine talking to him when he's Chat.
He took his hands off his head and looked forward.
*The traditional view of the city street… it filled him with DETERMINATION.
I'll get to know her better as Chat! Then I can figure out how to get to her to stop hating Adrien! He looked at his C-Gear to check the time. He has just enough time to eat, resupply at the PokéMart and change back into Chat Noir before meeting back with Marinette. He stood up, shaking his head to rid it of unwanted thoughts. He walked into a nearby Café. One step at a time.
Making his way to their meeting spot, he saw Marinette already waiting. She's here already? He checked his watch and saw that he was ten minutes early. I hope she hasn't been waiting for too long. Speeding up, he called out her name.
She jumped, as if struck by a thunderbolt, and faced him with wide eyes. Wait, I changed right? He looked down and saw his usual Chat Noir outfit. Black and green jacket, black pants tucked into his black boots. His sight was tinted green so he had to be wearing his goggles. Affirming that he was indeed Chat Noir at the moment, he looked back up and saw that she had relaxed again, eyes resting properly in their sockets and breathing steadily.
She must have noticed his momentary confusion. "Sorry, Chat. You startled me. I thought you were someone else."
Oh. She must have thought it was Adrien calling to her. This is my chance! "Oh? Do you have a friend in town?"
"No!"
Chat winced. Poor kitty. Hopes and dreams dashed with a just one word. I guess that confirms it.
"I mean, well, yes? Maybe?" Her face was turning red again. Is she getting a fever? She shook her head. "But that doesn't matter! Let's focus on the tournament! It's starting in half an hour."
He nodded, not pushing the subject any further. He'd take what he could get. Friend is good, even if she's unsure. "So what pokémon are you going to use? It has to be the same one through the whole tournament. I'll be using Plagg."
"I figured as much." She crossed her arms, her bright blue eyes narrowing as she thought. "Dark types are weak to fighting and bug types."
Chat grinned. "Don't forget about the Fairies, Princess."
She looked at him, not comprehending. "What?"
"Fairy types."
He watched as she caught on, dropping a fist into an open palm. "Oh. That's right."
He couldn't blame her. He still forgot about the new Fairy typing every now and then too. Honestly, he couldn't believe they just named it, 'Fairy' but eh, you take what you can get. Plus it was nice that Dragon types now had another weakness.
"Meh." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders before she was silent again. Finally, she spoke up, seemingly coming to a decision. "I'll use Tikki. Her dual Bug/Flying typing will be useful since it covers most of Plagg's type weaknesses."
He nodded as he called Plagg out from his Poke ball. The grumpy cat pokémon opened an eye to look at him before going back to sleep. "Sounds good, Princess. We'll be so pawerful."
"Chat!"
He laughed as he scooped up his Purrloin and hightailed it to the field where the battles would take place.