Warren-Pokemon: 0 Deaths: 0
Carlotta-Pokemon: 1 Deaths: 0
Cheren-Pokemon: 1 Deaths: 0
Bianca-Pokemon: 1 Deaths: 0
{Reshin 16th, 07:32am}
{Accumula Town}
"I'm so sorry, Tiberius," Bianca said dejectedly as she handed her Tepig's pokeball and her ID over to the Pokemon Centre nurse.
"They're barely trained," Cheren promised her, hanging on to Sherlock's pokeball and his ID while he waited for his turn. "At this stage, it's honestly as much luck and random chance as anything else whether we win or lose."
"Guess that makes me the luckiest bitch here," Carlotta said proudly.
"Be polite or the nurse ain't gonna heal Owain," Warren pointed out as the nurse gave them a Look over Bianca's head while giving her back her pokeball and ID. "And then how are you gonna catch me my Audino?"
"I'll catch one for you," Cheren promised, handing over his ID and Sherlock's pokeball to the nurse. "We'll need to go buy some pokeballs and supplies…"
"I'm afraid that our Centre store has closed for lunch early," the nurse said apologetically as she ran Sherlock's pokeball through the healing machine. "Most of the staff would rather be out of the way of the Plasma rally that's about to start outside."
"Plasma? The Pokemon Rights Foundation?" Cheren asked with interest.
The nurse gave him a cold look as she handed back Sherlock's pokeball and Cheren's ID. "Well, that's what they call themselves," she said archly.
"You ain't a fan?" Carlotta asked, handing over Owain's pokeball and her ID.
"A fan? They're not a band or a sports team," the nurse snorted as she healed Owain. "They're an activist group, and an extremist one at that. I'd recommend that you kids keep away from them." She took a deep breath and resumed her professional smile. "Can I help you with anything else today?" she said brightly.
"No, thank you very much," Warren said, immediately towing the other three away from the counter.
"Shall we have a look at the Plasma rally before we go catch more Pokemon?" Cheren suggested.
"What are Plasma?" Bianca asked in confusion. "Why don't she like Plasma?"
"You know, I'm not even surprised that you've never heard of them in your household," Cheren commented. "They're a Pokemon Rights movement. They argue that Pokemon, as intelligent creatures, should not be kept in pokeballs or bought, sold and owned as property. They're rather extreme in making their points, but I do believe that they're right that Unovan law pays too little heed to the needs of Pokemon, and a lot of the competitive breeding industry is excessively cruel…"
"Extreme is right," Warren snorted. "The reason that nurse don't like Plasma is probably 'cause of their more extreme publicity stunts, like attackin' a breedin' centre to release the Pokemon inside."
"Did they hurt folks?" Bianca asked with a frown.
"The breedin' centre employees, yeah, and they released a loada newborn baby Chatot in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter," Warren sighed. "The Plasma attackers set the breedin' centre on fire to keep the breeders from recapturin' the Chatot, but that just meant that half of 'em burned to death tryin' to stay near the fire for warmth, and the rest froze to death."
"Some members of the movement are real jackasses," Carlotta put in. "I mean, didn't one of 'em throw acid in a trainer's face? Like, didn't start a fight or anythin', just walked up to 'em outside of a Pokemon Centre and threw gondamned acid at 'em."
"Dangerous stunts like that really undermine the movement," Cheren said with a scowl, gesturing to the group of people in blue tabards and hoods who were hoisting pennants around the stage. "Some people are only in it to cause trouble. But the leaders really care about Pokemon, like… oh, wow, is that Ghetsis?"
Moving up to front and centre of the stage was an older man in a long, shapeless blue-and-yellow robe. He had pale skin, faded green hair and a large red-and-white eyepatch over his right eye. He smiled benevolently at the crowd as they started to quiet down as they noticed him waiting on the stage.
"Hello, people of Accumula!" he called, causing those who were still talking to fall silent. "My name is Ghetsis! I am here representing the Plasma Foundation!"
His associates all cheered and raised their banners at the mention of the name. A few crowd members cheered, too, while others clutched closer Pokemon that they were holding.
"Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation," Ghetsis continued. "I'm sure most of believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However… is that really the truth?" He was speaking sadly, like a parent very regretfully telling a child that no, they can't grow up to be a Braviary. "Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans… only assume that is the truth? Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of trainers… They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work… Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"
Bianca clutched Tiberius' pokeball, wide-eyed and horror-struck. Carlotta put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans," Ghetsis continued. "They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?" There was a lot of muttering from the crowd until someone shouted a single word.
"LIBERATION!"
"That's right!" Ghetsis responded, shouting more powerfully now. "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." He bowed his head, returning to a more normal volume. "We sincerely appreciate your attention."
Some people clapped, but most people started muttering nervously to each other, or to their Pokemon.
"Is that true?" Bianca said, looking stricken. "Are we hurtin' our Pokemon by…?" She held out Tiberius' pokeball.
"Hey, you're okay now, they've proved that Pokeballs don't hurt Pokemon 'less they've got an allergy only electric-types can get," Warren assured her. "Tiberius is fine. You've been carin' for 'im well since the moment you got 'im, lettin' 'im rest outside his pokeball and feedin' 'im well and everythin'."
"But I let 'im get hurt fightin' Carly and Cheren…" Bianca said, crestfallen.
"You didn't push 'im any more in that fight than the kinda fights Pokemon get into in the wild," Carlotta reassured her. "Be careful trainin' 'im and don't push 'im too far, and he'll be fine."
"The problem is that due to the League's lack of interest in pushing any real regulations, others will not be so cautious," Cheren pointed out. "Trainers are perfectly free to gamble with their Pokemon's lives with no repercussions from the League. The competitive breeding industry is worth a fortune, and that's more important to the lawmakers of this country than the lives of Pokemon. Issues like that are what is currently causing such strife between Unova and the Fairlands-but even in the Fairlands, where Pokemon have all the rights of humans, they still fight competitively."
"All of which you are absolutely right about, as usual," Warren said, patting Cheren on the shoulder, "but save the lectures for the gym leaders, okay?"
"You're scarin' Bianca!" Carlotta warned him, hugging her best friend protectively. "Don't worry. We can protect each other, and once we get Warren his Audino, he'll be able to heal anythin'."
"On that note… back to Route 1 for catchin'?" Warren suggested pointedly.
{Reshin 16th, 08:09am}
{Route 1}
"G-Go on, Tiberius! Tackle!" Bianca called nervously, clutching an empty pokeball as her Tepig knocked the wild Lillipup to the ground. It got back to its paws, panting with exertion. "Ummm… Tail Whip!"
The wild Lillipup flinched as Tiberius hit it with his tail, but tackled him again anyway. The attack was so weak that it barely shifted his footing, though its own tail was wagging fit to bust. Bianca took the chance and flung a pokeball at the tiny brown Pokemon.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…" she mumbled, crossing her fingers as she watched the ball rock back and forth. "C'mon, c'mon… YES!" she squealed as the ball locked. "You're the BEST, Tiberius!"
Bianca scooped up the pokeball, cuddling it happily. Tiberius hopped up into her lap with a proud squeak.
"Oh, you're hurt!" Bianca gasped, realizing that the little fire-type was covered in bruises. "C'mon, let's go find War and get you all healed up, alright?" Scooping up the Tepig under one arm and continuing to clutch her new pokeball in the other, she hurried off across the fields of Route 1, heading to the meeting point that Warren had offered to wait at while she, Carlotta and Cheren spread out to make their first captures. She couldn't help looking over her shoulder every few feet, nervously expecting to see her parents or her priest on the horizon.
"They can't make me go back," she told Tiberius quietly. "I'm gonna be with you and my friends. I ain't goin' back, and they can't make me. I'm sixteen, they really can't, it's the law. The League can't give 'em my info without my say-so, they don't know where my card's checked in, and they'll be lookin' at gyms first, right?"
Tiberius squeaked in confusion, then leaned up to nuzzle her chin.
"Sorry," Bianca said, hugging him. "Guess you don't understand much of what I'm sayin', do you? It's alright. Thanks for tryin' to help me feel better. I know I can count on you an' my friends to stand with me if they find me, anyway, right?"
Tiberius continued to look confused, but he gave her another nuzzle on the chin to comfort her.
{Reshin 16th, 08:21am}
{Route 1}
"Aw, of course you had to beat me to it," Carlotta complained, jogging up to her brother and his boyfriend with Owain tucked under one arm and her new Lillipup's pokeball in the other hand. "Bet you rushed it just so you could have some alone time with W-oh."
She stopped short when she got close enough to see that Cheren and Warren were bent over an unmoving Patrat. "Sorry, Cher," Warren said, shaking his head. "You hit the poor thing a bit too hard."
Cheren sighed, reaching up to pet his Snivy. "It's not your fault, Sherlock," he said quietly. "I wasn't…" Warren leaned over to put an arm around Cheren's shoulders, resting his forehead against his boyfriend's.
Carlotta sat down next to her brother, trying not to look at the sad, limp form of the dead Patrat. "What happened?" she asked softly.
"I was… training Sherlock up a bit," Cheren said with a deep sigh. "I wanted to make him a little stronger before I caught anything else… went a little too far…"
"It was just an accident, Cher," Warren said. "C'mon. Let's bury 'im."
"Too bad none of these guys know Dig," Carlotta sighed, kneeling down and setting down Owain and her Lillipup's pokeball so her hands were free to dig into the soft summer earth. Owain peered at what she was doing for a minute, then used his scallop shell as a little shovel to help her dig.
"Heh… clever little guy, ain't he?" Warren said, helping his sister dig.
Warren petted Sherlock's head again as the Snivy slinked down his arm and up to Owain, softly hissing to the Oshawott, who responded with a quiet purr. The two continued to chitter to each other as the humans covered up the Patrat again and made for the river to wash their hands.
"I wonder what they're talking about," Cheren mused, rolling up his sleeves and dipping his hands in the clear, running water.
"Your Pokemon… just now, it was saying…"
All three of them looked up sharply at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. It was issuing from a tall young man who was walking up to them, hands in his pockets, cap pulled so low that his face was hard to see even from a low angle but with a massive mess of light-green hair spilling out the ponytail loop in the back. A small purple Purrloin was curling about his heels as he trailed off into rapid mumbling.
"Slow down, you talk too fast," Cheren said, standing up and pulling out a handkerchief to dry his hands on. Cheren had always been taller than Carlotta, Warren and Bianca, but even he was noticeably shorter than the lanky newcomer. "What was that about Pokemon… talking? What an odd thing to you say. Are you one of those Fairlans who believe they can talk to Pokemon?"
"Yes, they're talking," the stranger affirmed with a nod, pointing to Owain and Sherlock.
"I mean, sure, they're communicatin', but it ain't really speech, is it?" Carlotta said, nonplussed. She wiped her hands on her shorts as she stood up, absentmindedly tugging at her own ponytail.
The young man scowled. "Oh, then you can't hear it… how sad," he said softly, condescension dripping off of his tone.
"Excuse me, but who exactly are you?" Warren asked sharply.
The stranger straightened up, pulling his hands out of his pockets and pressing his right hand over his heart. "My name is N," he said formally. He glanced over them-very much over them, appearing to be looking at the tops of their heads instead of making eye contact.
Carlotta exchanged a is this guy for real? look with her brother while Cheren, a little nonplussed by the sudden formality, replied, "my name is Cheren Athos, and this is Warren and Carlotta Arathos. We are new trainers who are intending to travel Unova. Carlotta and I are both planning on taking the League challenge… but I, of course, will be Champion," he added, forcing Carlotta to playfully punch him in the arm.
"The League, right?" N mused. "So… you're going to confine many, many Pokemon in pokeballs for that, then." He gestured to the pokeball sitting next to Owain, who looked down at it and then back up at N. "I'm a trainer, too," N continued, stooping to pet the ears of the Purrloin at his ankles, "but I can't help wondering… are Pokemon really happy that way?"
Owain suddenly stood up, squeaking loudly. "Ssssh, Owain," Carlotta hissed, picking up her suddenly unruly Oshawott's pokeball.
"No, don't… Carlotta, was it?" N asked, suddenly crouching down very close to her.
Carlotta fell over backwards with a surprised yelp. "Alright, man, you invade my personal space like that again, and you're not gonna like what happens next," she threatened, rolling back into a crouch with fists up.
N glanced quickly at her in confusion, before turning his focus back to Owain. "Let me hear your Pokemon's voice again."
Owain started squeaking again, waving his arms as he chattered to N. "You alright?" Warren asked, offering his sister a hand up and glaring at N.
"Yeah, he just spooked me… I didn't even see 'im move," Carlotta said, staring down at N, who was stock-still aside from nodding occasionally as he listened to Owain. "Do you think he's really…?"
"He can't be," Cheren said, shaking his head. "Fairlan culture claims that humans can speak to Pokemon, but that can't be possible-almost every species of Pokemon has its own form of communication, and none of them are developed enough to be termed 'language'..."
"I never expected to hear Pokemon say such things," N said abruptly, petting Owain on the head before standing up. "But as long as Pokemon are confined in pokeballs, they will never become perfect beings." He turned back to face the humans, hands shoved in his pockets. "I have to change the world for Pokemon," he announced, "because they're my friends."
With that, he turned on his heel and quickly strode off, the Purrloin still following him closely.
"Was that a thing that just happened right there?" Warren wanted to know. "What was wrong with that guy?"
"I think I saw him in the crowd at the rally," Cheren commented, pushing his glasses up his nose. "He must be a Plasma supporter. I hope he isn't one of the extreme ones. I like my face without acid burns."
"So do I," Warren said, kissing him on the nose, "so let's find me an Audino so we can afford to avoid Pokemon Centres for a while, okay?"
"Well, on that note… I said only that I had not caught myself a new Pokemon," Cheren said, going on one knee and presenting a pokeball. "Warren Arathos… would you like this Audino?"
"Ohmigod, yes!" Warren screeched, scooping up the pokeball. "I'm gonna swoon," he crooned like an old-timey romance movie character."Catch me, my love!"
"They're dorks," Carlotta explained to Owain and Sherlock, who were staring somewhat as Warren hugged Cheren excitedly. "I know y'all can pick up battle commands if you hear 'em often enough… wonder if y'all can pick up the word 'dorks' the same way."
"Carly!" Bianca called, hurrying down the dirt path towards them, Tiberius and a pokeball cuddled in her arms. "Awww… am I the last one?"
{Reshin 16th, 09:09pm}
{Striaton City}
Key abruptly shoved a hand over her mouth to stifle a sharp burst of laughter, frantically scrambling to pause the broadcast.
"Sooo… what's the joke and can you keep it below dying wailmer noises before you wake the kids up?" Blue asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the kids' hotel room.
"Y-yeah," Key wheezed. "It's just… oooh, it's not even a joke, it's not funny, it's not. Well, it is a little. I mean, the way he said it…"
"He doesn't look like a joking kinda guy, despite the outfit," Saylee said, gesturing to Ghetsis' still image. "So what did he say? C'mon, the subtitles on this thing are really slow."
"He just announced, with all the gravity of a man revealing a game-changing scientific discovery," Key explained, giggling, "that humans and Pokemon are different."
"Do you think he figured that out all by himself," Red laughed as Key broke down in muffled laughter, "or did he need help?"
"Good grief," Sayle sighed, propping her head up on her hand as she stared at what she could see of the crowd who had watched the rally live earlier that day. "The crowd's certainly taking him seriously."
"Well, he's a charismatic speaker," Blue said with a shrug. "Which probably means he's an asshole."
"Takes one to know one," Red chuckled, just laughing harder when Blue gave him a look that implied a middle finger that he was not going to actually give to a thirteen-year-old.
"I'm just wondering why this guy's speeches are so popular when he has so little of worth to say," Saylee said, shaking her head. "He's prone to overgeneralization, and I personally don't think somebody has the right to speak for Pokemon without speaking to Pokemon. I mean, you know what's the easiest way to find out what Pokemon want and need? Ask them!"
"For what it's worth," Janine said, opening the door from the balcony where she was sitting her watch, her Crobat fluttering in the air above her, "Plasma are actually on our watchlist. They're not connected to any major incidents, but they do have a tendency towards extremist demonstrations. Setting a building on fire, throwing acid at trainers trying to go in and out of Pokemon Centres-no human deaths, but some members are doing time for violent crimes."
"I don't like it," Saylee said, rubbing her forehead.
"Okay, Red, that makes it time for you to head for bed," Blue said, shooting the teenager away. Red rolled his eyes, but went without a word of protest, eyes glued to the screen of his pokegear with clear intent to be on it for at least two more hours. "And you," Blue continued, pressing his hands to Saylee's head and miming pulling something out of her skull. "You are not getting one of your bad feelings. I refuse. We're on a diplomacy holiday. Moreover, this is not our country and these are not our problems"
"When has that ever made a difference?" Saylee murmured, glancing up at the roof where she knew that Koga was keeping watch with a minor god.
"You've got meetings pretty early tomorrow, so how about we catch some real news and then some sleep?" Key suggested, grabbing the remote to change channels. "If I have to look at that evil snuggie for a minute longer, I'm gonna go blind."
{}
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Hokay, I'm at a place in my life where I feel comfortable making goal and like I won't kill myself with self-loathing if I don't always keep them, so currently I'm gonna shoot for biweekly Monday updates, alternating this fic with those DC fics I've been neglecting REALLY badly. Let's see how that goes!
Is it obvious how PETA Plasma is yet? Though I have to confess, when I first heard of PETA as a militantly vegetarian young teenager, I was totally into them and the first few times I heard stories of them doing vile shit like poisoning dogs at a dog show, I thought that was just a few misguided assholes who weren't representative of the movement or its goals as a whole. Man, I was a naive kid. The rights of animals to live comfortable, safe, happy lives are still important to me, but PETA are assholes who care more about shock value, making money and feeling self-important than actually helping animals. Plasma has slightly more sinister motives (though really, do we know for a FACT that PETA doesn't have an underground castle or flying pirate ship from which they plan to dominate the world?), but I still want the PETA in their genetics to show through because they're doing what PETA does; playing on people's best intentions in dangerous, extremist, hypocritical ways. Also, they have no fucking CLUE how sheep-shearing works, to a hilariously tragic degree.
Plus, y'know, I feel like this rhetoric is easily deflated when coming from people who can't speak to Pokemon (aside from N) to people who can. You don't help anybody by speaking over or for them instead of helping their voices be heard.
Warren:
Angus the Audino
Carlotta:
Owain the Oshawott
Name: Loyal. Species: Lillipup. Nature: Impish. Ability: Pickup. Caught: Route 1. Level: 2
Bianca:
Tiberius the Tepig
Name: Lilith. Species: Lillipup. Nature: Quirky. Ability: Pickup. Caught: Route 1. Level: 4
Cheren:
Sherlock the Snivy
Name: Poptart. Species: Patrat. Nature: Sassy. Ability: Runaway. Caught: Route 1. Level: 2
RIP Poptart the Patrat, level 2-6