"Bet you can't do better than that!" I smirked as I showed Chris the stopwatch Alicia had started at the beginning of the battle. It now showed **8:27**, making it a new record. I smiled as I saw my name glowing on the board near the entrance of the gym. Now, I held the record for the fastest gym win in the Cerulean city gym. The previous record was by some guy named "Red" with a time of **8:47** and I had beaten his record by a whole 20 minutes. 8 minutes and 23 seconds... I'd like to see Chris best that! Chris smiled as he took the stopwatch and then reset it. No matter, I had already taken my selfie with it and Piku as soon as I beat Misty with my Pokedex. He then asked us to wait outside and walked in, grinning all the way. *He's confident he can beat my score... but little does he know, that Misty likes to stall and play more on Defense than actually attacking, dragging the battle out.* I thanked my lucky stars that Dad had already given me a strategy to beat Misty after I told him how I struggled at Brock's gym. Another point for Dad. "You did really well Zack!" Alicia hugged me from behind as she jumped on Me and almost toppled me over. "That's the first time someone's beaten that old record since it was first made 20 years back!" She said, once again displaying her extensive knowledge on... well, *everything*. "Pika pi?!" Piku appeared surpised at this news. "All Thanks to you buddy!" I smiled and ruffled the fur on his head playfully. She was still holding on to my neck with her hands and hugging me from behind. Alicia played with my newly earned Cascade Badge, catching the sun at one point, blinding me temporarily. I noticed I enjoyed this... The sun shining down on my back, the feeling of achievement as well as Pikus weight on my shoulders, the feel of Alicia's hair brushing against my ears, her hands wrapped around my neck, Her fingers playing with the badge in front of me, and the smell of her perfume- Minty Lemon Grass with an undertone of the citrusy zest of orange, subtle yet overpowering, teasing my nose felt awesome... but for some reason, I was wishing Chris was here to see this. We both remained like this for a while and then Alicia's Cross-Transciever started ringing. Ruining yet another beautiful moment was a call from some vagabond who was, in all likelihood, calling to boast about his buff rattatata. I sighed sadly as Alicia let go of me and checked her call. Piku jumped off of Alicia's hair and landed on my shoulder, leaving me wondering when he climbed up there. Her face darkened as she saw who the caller was. From that, I could guess who was calling... I guessed it was the same guy who had destroyed our moment last time. She muttered something to me and went off to answer her call, handing me the badge. *Private, huh?* I thought as I waited outside the gym for my 'friend' to come out. A feeling of loneliness came over me as the wind blew by, ruffling my exposed hair. "At least I still have you, Piku... " I sighed and thought back to the day before, something I've been doing a lot now. Apparently, thinking back made me calm for some reason. **7:48** He still hadn't come out yet... *good...*
After we'd reached the Pokemon Centre, we each checked into a room using our new Cross-transciever Trainer Cards whuch Alicia had dubbed them 'Transceiver cards'. As I walked into the room, I observed the place like I always did with any new room or environment I'm put into. Tidily made bed, Neatly folded towels and bath robes, a mediocre-looking Tv and a shelf full of books and magazines and a smallish window. Yep. Standard Pokemon Centre Temporary Traveller Room. The only thing different was a Balcony in my room. I guess I had gotten lucky since balcony rooms are usually always occupied. I crashed down on the bed and Piku jumped off, going to the balcony to explore the new area. I sighed as I remembered what Alicia had told me. "... I think I Love him..." The words kept ringing in my head like a funeral bell. I was slightly disgusted at myself for what I replied, but I'm glad I did say so. "Alicia..." I had said as I sat her down on a rock. "It's natural to feel something like that towards the person who saved you... But, what I think you should do is wait for a bit. If that feeling continues to be only for Chris, then I'd say you found your 'other half'" Air quoting the 'other half' part. Alicia had looked a bit sullen, but then she let it go. I know she trusted my judgement completely. "You're right Zack... I just met him! I can't just go around dating strangers!" I breathed a sigh of relief, mentally. I didn't realize at the time that I was angry I couldn't save her and now, I was annoyed at the fact that she loved Chris, a guy she just met! I wondered why I was getting so worked because she said that she loved Chris. Then it hit me. I wanted her to love *me*! Even though I was so close to her that I knew her better than she knew herself, I realised I wanted more. I didn't want to give her up to Chris. I wanted her all to myself. Another feeling I'd been harboring since I saw the 'Blood Crystals'. Selfishness. I wondered how I was going to change her mind about her feelings towards Chris but then thought better of it. *She'll realise it's a feeling built only on gratitude for saving her. Won't she?* All these thoughts floated around in my mind as I changed into my comfortable night clothes- A plain blue T-shirt with navy blue trackpants. I stowed my bag under the bed and released Mankey. "Buddy, you can sleep in there..." I pointed towards the Open door that led to the Pokemon part of the room. The whole *room* was actually divided into 2 parts. One half for the Humans and the other half for the Pokemon. Manley nodded and walked towards the place, obviously tired. After all, he was the one who helped clear so many Pokemon in ... I walked to the balcony, wanting to take a breather before going to bed. Piku smiled at me as I came out of the room and onto the Balcony. He was sitting on the edge of the Balcony wall and looking out at the moon. I stood near him and scratched under his ear softly as I looked at the Moon. It was full tonight, brightly illuminating Cerulean City, making the many waterbodies glitter eerily. "Hey!" I heard the voice calling out to me, shattering the serene silence of the night. I turned around to face the owner of the voice. He was on another balcony, a few feet apart from mine. Probably in the next was wearing a purple T-shirt with a KL- Polo logo on it with a brown pair of shorts that just about reached his knees. He looked at me and grinned, waving. Without a doubt, this was the exact same person I was thinking about. Christopher Moriarty. Since it would be *impolite* to ignore him after I've already showed signs that I had heard I waved back and returned the greeting. That returned greeting turned into a pretty long topic starting with the awkward weather and then stretched on to legendary Pokemon. This conversation lasted all the way till 1 in the morning. I was pretty surprised because the only other person I've actually talked so long with was Alicia. If anybody asked me how me and Chris became rivals... well, I'd say it was due to this conversation (secretly though, its also because of Alicia). Chris and I had conflicting opinions on everything. If you take a random Pokemon that I like, chances are Chris likes the counterpart. Take Butterfree for example. I like it and lo, and behold! Chris likes Beedrill. We were basically opposites of each other. This conflict is what made me his rival. This wanting to show him that *my* opinions were better than his. That night, I learned a lot about Chris, but that feeling I had ever since I first met him? It was still there. **********
"Zack!" I whipped my head around to see Alicia power-walking towards me. She had tear streaks down her cheeks and her eyes were reddened. Her expression was one of pain and sadness. **8:00** Chris still hadn't come out. Excellent. But more than Chris, right now... I was worried about Alicia. "What happened?" I asked as she came closer to me. She walked straight up to me and hugged me. Tight. I hugged her back out of instinct. "This is unexpected... not saying I don't enjoy it, but..." I released myself from her and held her back. "What happened?" I reiterated. "My D-dad..." She choked. Then she broke down crying. **8:13**. I sat down next to her on the bench in front of the gym. I let her cry, knowing it's better to let it all out rather than keeping it in. "Let it all out... cry till you're Ready to speak again..." I whispered as I held her tightly, letting her cry on to my shoulders. Piku rubbed her head, making her feel a bit better. Once she was done, I handed her a tissue to clean herself up. She did so and then explained. When we left Viridian, her dad had thought she was headed to cinnabar, going a long way away from me. He didn't know that she had changed her plans and come along with me. He found out somehow and he just blasted her through the Cross-Transciever+. But That's not why she was crying. Her dad had said he would come here, and take her all the way back to Pallet town and set her on her old course again. She'd pleaded with him in all ways possible, but he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want his daughter hanging around with a clumsy oaf. Ouch. I was calming her down, telling her that it'll be alright when I got a call. I was going to just cancel it, but this time... it was from *my* dad. "Hey, I'm sorry... but.." I showed her my Cross-Transceiver+. She was kind enough to let me take the call. She placed her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes, probably thinking. Piku sat on her lap, warming her with his soft fur. "What's up dad?" I tried to look as casual as possible. "Bruno's going nuts down here! He wants to bash your skull till it's just mush..." Dad was a little bit hyper, but he kept his voice as even as possible. I inhaled sharply. Sure, I was strong for my age... but I was nowhere near as strong as a professional body builder like Bruno. "Thankfully... we talked him out of it... we as in the rest of the E4" I heaved a breath of relief at that. "And..." he smiled. "I've got even better news, for you!" Dad smiled. I wondered, as any normal person would, what it was. "He won't be coming to collect his daughter either... we explained why her travelling along with you is much more safer than her travelling alone!" I grinned. "Thanks a lot Dad! I owe you guys!" I managed to get a glimpse of the other stop watch. **8:20** 7 more minutes and he'll be behind me. The news was getting better and better... "You're welcome son! Anyway, take care of yourself and... call often okay?" "Absolutely dad! Bye!" "Pika pi!" Piku waved his bye to dad too as I ended the call. I then shook Alicia, waking her. She had been sleeping. I guessed she was tired from her gym battle and her fight with her dad... "Wha-?" She asked a bit dazed. "Awesome news! Your dad's not coming!". Her eyes widened in surprise and she became completely conscious, her eyes sharpened and her daziness wore off. "Really?!" "Yep..." I smiled, "The E4 talked some sense into him..." Her brilliant smile returned. "So... I can continue travelling with you?" "Yep... you don't need to worry about anything, I've got your back now!" She smiled and then said, "Well, I wasn't scared about anything happening to myself... I was just concerned about your well-being since you couldn't do a thing without me!" she laughed lightly, happily. She was indeed back to herself. **8:25** I beamed. 2 more minutes and I'll able to keep my titl- "Yes!" Chris walked upto us pumping his fist in the air. *Oh no...* My eyes darted to the record board. It glared at me like some sort of hateful Pokemon. A new name was flashing across it. Christopher Moriarty. **********
Though I was happy about Alicia getting to stay, I was mostly miserable the rest of the day because Chris had beaten my record by 5 minutes. **8:22** was the new record. I sighed as I stirred my coffee. Piku sniffed the coffee eagerly, wondering what it was. "So..." Alicia started, breaking the awkward silence. I looked up. Chris still had that smug expression plastered on his face. I scowled. He'd had that same expression ever since he waved the badge and stopwatch in front of me. "Where are we headed next?" She turned to me and asked. *At least she still considers you the leader of the pack...* The thought gave me comfort and I perked up a bit. I stopped stirring. Piku took a lick of coffee and then rolled the flavour around his mouth. He squealed in delight and took a bigger sip. He liked it. "Well, I was thinking of staying in Cerulean City for another day..." Chris looked surprised. He put his hand up. "Question: Why not just move on to the next gym?" I answered, calmer than I'd imagined I would be. "If we just walk in there and challenge the next gym, I'm pretty sure we'll lose. We need to train our Pokemon." After questioning looks from both of them, I explained further. "Nugget bridge lies north of here and beyond that lies Route 24 and 25. There are many trainers and wild Pokemon around that area. We can train our existing party and also catch new Pokemon. At the end of Route 25 is-" "Cerulean Cape!" Alicia finished. Piku stumbled back from the coffee mug due to Alicia's sudden exclamation. I leaned back in my seat, "And Bills House..." I added. "Who's Bill?" Chris asked. "Bill invented the PC system. He's a genius and all-around PokeManiac. He's also an old friend of Dads, he can help us along our journey..." Alicia smiled. She liked the sound of battling trainers and wild Pokemon, but mainly, I guessed, she wanted to go to Cerulean cape. "Any objections?" I asked after taking a sip of the Coffee. I almost gagged on it. I looked at Piku questioningly. *Way too bitter! Why does Piku enjoy this?* Alicia shook her head, "Nope... I'm actually looking forward to it!". Chris simply shrugged his shoulders. "What?" I asked him, getting over the flavour of the awful coffee. "I personally think it's a waste of time. So, I'm gonna stay back here and relax a bit. Kick back my legs, watch the telly, mingle with the locals... you guys can go on." He then got up and walked back to his room. Piku resumed his conquest of the coffee mug. Alicia shrugged. "Oh well... we're still going to Cerulean Cape right?" She asked eagerly. "Why else would we go through hordes of wild Pokemon, a bridge filled with strong trainers, more trainers, more wild Pokemon and a river ?" I asked sarcastically for which I received a punch to the arm. "Stop being so sarcastic!" I grinned at her as she got up and walked to the elevator. "Well? Aren't you going to bed?" She asked as she waited for the elevator door to close. "Ive got some stuff to do... Don't worry, we'll definitely go to Cerulean Cape..." I smiled as the elevator door started closing. "Well... don't stay up too late!" She waved a hand as the door closed and she was seen no more. I sighed and looked outside. It was foggy and you could almost feel the cold night air through the window. Piku shivered from looking outside and then sipped a bit of coffee. *Well, time to meet up with Misty...* I took another swig of coffee before putting on my jacket. Bad idea. The coffee was disgusting. *********
My mum had told me when I was 12: Of all the people in the region of Kanto, if you ever need any advice on relationships, visit one person and one person only. Misty of Cerulean city. At the time I didn't take it very seriously, all my relationships being clear and solid then. Now, though... I wasn't so sure. *Well... I guess I can trust Misty. She was my mom's student at a time...* Thoughts like *is this really necessary*, *do I trust Misty?*, *What am I doing this for?* floated around in my mind as I walked through the city with my Hood pulled up, Piku in my arms, shivering slightly due to the cold. I brushed all these thoughts aside as I reached Mistys hou- no, Mansion. I looked up in awe of the size and grandeur of the building. A low whistle escaped my lips and Piku whispered in awe, "Pika... Pi..." **********
The whole structure probably stood on a plot of 5 Acres. The Mansion overlooked a stream that ran in front of it and then let out into the main river in Cerulean city. Various types of flowers were arranged beautifully, but the colors weren't that noticeable since it was night and the fog was pretty thick. That was all pretty mediocre... but it was the main building that took ones breath away. The front porch had a vintage Rapidash GT (mint condition too) Lounging in it. The Walls were made of granite and black stone, engraved and shaped crefully by hand. The front door was built of well-polished solid Oak. The Porch had a roof above it in the shape of a giant Pokeball. The building itself was at least three to five storeys high with the width of a football field. The structure was Victorian. The windows and window sills proved that. The house was brightly illuminated too. Just the size of the house took away ones breath. I saw a garage with even more vehicles inside. A modern Black Rapidash GT gleamed in the moonlight along with a sleek looking silver Liepard LX500 and a red Dodge Seviper. She wasn't just rich... she had style. I walked up to the door as I silently commended her selection in vehicles and then rang the doorbell. My heart almost stopped when I heard the doorbell. It was the same music you hear in one of those vampire movies. *du du dunnnn da... da du daaaa duuuh...* (Cell phone theme in Pheonix Wright: Justice For All Case 1). Honestly If this were a cartoon, like Scooby doo, the mystery solving poochyana, My skeleton would've jumped out of my skin. Piku was, however, still too preoccupied with the cold and not bothered by the creepy doorbell. The door opened and a pretty maid answered cheerily. "Hello sir! Mistress Misty has been waiting for you!" I managed to smile weakly as I followed the maid in. The insides of the Mansion were even more amazing than the outside. The whole place was lit up by a soft, warm, yellowish orange glow. The walls were lined with portraits and landscape paintings. The lamps were intricately designed and had beautiful, flowing patterns on the glass and their holders. The floor had an omnipotent red Velvet carpet which almost made you sink into it. The place had a controlled temperature which made Piku stop shivering. He jumped out of my arms and went around to explore. The maid took me up a flight of stairs which were made of solid oak, covered with the ever-present red velvet carpet. After we hit the landing, I observed pictures of Misty and some other girls here and there. I wondered who they were as we passed numerous doors, heading towards the balcony. Misty was standing there, leaning against the wall with her back turned to me. She was wearing blue jeans, a yellow tank top and had let her hair come loose. Since she returned to her gym after travelling with Ash, she had trashed the old look and changed her hairstyle and general appearance a lot. She wasn't carrying any Pokeballs however. The maid gestured for me to go in. When I stepped on to the balcony, which was just granite and black stone, I realized this was not only the balcony, but also formed the roof for the porch. "Good to see you again, Zack..." Misty turned around to speak with me. "Yeah, same here..." I put my hand on the back of my neck, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Misty walked up to me, her Reeboks padding against the rough granite. "You said you wanted some insight into your relationship?" I nod. This is what I had come for. No going back now. "Yeah, I did. You see Misty... " I walked closer to her and poured my heart out, telling her everything. Jealousy, Pain, Anger and Resentment from the past few days were recounted. All my feelings were laid bare. To this day, I haven't realized why I trusted Misty so much... but, I told her everything. **********
After I was done, I felt a bit drained... but on the whole, satisfied. I'd gotten that weight off my chest before it got too heavy to bear. Misty had closed her eyes and was standing in front of me, leaning against the railing of the balcony. I was afraid she'd dozed off, but she cleared my doubts by opening her eyes. "Well, the only thing I can tell you is that you need to calm down..." she locked eyes with me when saying this. "To me, it seems you're overreacting... I think you should wait it out, see what happens..." I was a bit angry at this for some reason. I tore my eyes from hers and looked down. Misty could probably feel that anger in me, because she said, "I know it may sound stupid and it probably annoys you, but the thing is... That's the best you can do for now. Lay off, don't get too possessive, don't annoy her, and most of all... Don't tell her your feelings." Her voice was even and calm. "But if I don't... then how can she..." I wasn't sure what to say. "From your description of your relationship with Alicia, I can gather that there is nothing more you want than to keep her happy, and you don't think Christopher is capable of that, am I right?" She looked at me, waiting for the answer. "Yes... That's exactly what I think." My voice had stopped shaking and was now even. Now, I looked straight at Misty, locking eyes with her. "Honestly, if Alicia likes Christopher and wants to date him, then standing against her would make her *un*happy. Alicia would be more happy with you if you support her decision rather than oppose it... To me, the best way for you to keep Alicia happy would be to *let her go*. If you tell her how you really feel about her, that would make her uncomfortable since she already told you about her feelings towards Chris. You get what I'm saying?" Though my first feeling was anger, I knew underneath it all that Misty was right. I had to let her go. "So, that means... I'll never be anything more to her than her best friend?" Misty walked towards me and lifted my chin up. She looked deep into my eyes with her Ocean blue eyes. "Look... I know it's hard, but I know as well as you do that You've got to *let her go*..." She stepped away then. "It's not necessarily true that she would continue loving him though... it might just be a spur-of-the-moment thing, or she may just be saying that to get your attention... but anyhow, I advice you to wait it out, see what happens. Alicia may be just as unpredictable in her life as she is in battle, so you never know... So, take my advice Zack... wait it out." By then, I had gotten over my anger and now I was quite impressed by Mistys sage-like advice. She was good. I smiled. "Thanks for making me understand, Misty..." She did a small bow and then grinned. "No problem! Anything for my teachers kid!" She walked by me and motioned for me to follow. I did so and fell into step beside her. "It's a cold night tonight isn't it?" She asked as we started descending the stairs. "Yep... Piku was shivering all the way over..." That's when I noticed his absence. *It's been almost an hour... where is he?* I scanned the hall once we were downstairs but to no avail. My yellow-furred buddy wasn't there. "By the way..." Misty turned to face me. "Where is Piku? I wanted to congratulate him on beating me, but I was too angry at the time to do so... " Misty looked at me. "Well, he jumped off as I started climbing up the stairs," I indicated to the stairs just to emphasize the point. "So I just kinda let him roam..." I felt a bit embarrassed for some reason... *maybe cause you lost your partner?!* I pushed out the voice inside me and asked Misty, "Could you help me find him? I need to go to Cerulean cape tomorrow... So, I kinda need a bit of sleep..." "What kind of a question is that?! Of course I'll help you!" I imagine all girls get worked up when you mention 'Cerulean Cape' cause Misty went into a frenzy. She called all her maids, whose names I learned as 'Victoria', 'Julia', 'Sandy', 'Casey' and 'Rose'. All of them split into teams. Misty with Julia, Sandy with Casey and Victoria with Rose. I was left alone, so not wanting to be teamless, I joined in Victoria and Rose's team. We began the hunt for Piku.
After about an hour of searching, we finally found the little guy. Me, Rose and Victoria were walking into the second pantry (Yeah, the Mansion had two pantries, not one...) to check it. I'd walked up to a closet and was about to Open it when Victoria grabbed my hand and shook her head, indicating that she didn't want me to Open the closet. Not wanting to offend the lady, I stepped away from the closet. As we reasumed our search of the room, I asked Rose once Victoria was out of ear-shot, "What's in the closet?" Rose simply shrugged. "None of us know... it's Victoria's Secret." I was about to ask her something else when we heard a noise in a cupboard. All of us ran to it and opened it, revealing a Pikachu with his head stuck in a jar. I checked his tail to make sure it was indeed Piku and sure enough, it was. After the removal of the jar from his head and alerting the others that the target was found, I examined the contents of the jar. Coffee powder. "Hey Zack!" Misty called as I started heading towards the door with Piku safely on my right shoulder after giving my Thanks and said my goodbyes. I turned around, smiling. I was feeling much better. Misty walked up to me and bumped her Cross-Transciever+ on mine, effectively exchanging her trainer card and registering herself on mine. "There... now, we've registered each other." I grinned at her. "Now, I can call and ask you stuff if I need any advice!" I said, stating the obvious. "Yep... now, you update me on any new" wink "developments..." She then walked back to her maids and waved as I walked out, smiling and slightly blushing for some reason. I could hear Misty saying, "Have a good night, Zack! Be sure to enjoy Cerulean Cape!" as I stepped back into the bitingly cold night. "Well buddy..." I said, looking at Piku. "To Cerulean cape then!" "Pika pika!" Piku chided me, reminding me to stay calm and not be too eager. "Right... still got," I checked my Cross-Transciever+ for the time. **11:58 Pm**. "Seven hours left..." "Pika!" "Right... and two minutes. Anyway," I smiled. "Tomorrow's gonna be a good day... got to get some sleep In, right?" Piku nodded in agreement. I grinned as I pulled my jacket closer around me and walked back to the Pokemon Centre with the full moon shining on me like a huge silver drachma. *********