A/N: Hello! I'm sorry for the really long wait but I suddenly didn't have any inspiration to continue. So apologies for those of you who have been waiting for this new chapter, here you go! Its Aliasshipping this time :) I really like Yellow x N and Yellow x Green... Can't decide between the two, will see how it goes as the story progresses :D
Clarification about the DexHolders' Location: Currently they are in Sinnoh, Snowpoint City at one of Platinum's resorts. Before that they were at their different houses, but after the dance they all went to Platinum's place to chill.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON SPECIAL :'(
"He...hello?"
"Who's this?"
"I'm Yellow. You know, we met at the party last night?" Yellow tried to sound confident, but her voice became unnaturally high-pitched and squeaky. She berated herself for acting so nervous.
"Oh, hi." The boy didn't seem to be interested in the phone call.
"So you gave me your number, and I was wondering if we could maybe, erm, go out or something?" Yellow suggested.
"Go out?"
Oh no, Yellow thought, I just made a big mistake... He's rejecting me... "Yeah, we could eat lunch," she said.
"Where?"
"Umm... I don't know... you could suggest a place, since you live here..."
There was a long silence on the other end, and Yellow considered the possibility that he had hung up on her. Just as she was about to put the phone down, she heard him speak. "I've... never actually gone out of my house," he admitted quietly.
"Are you serious?" she gasped. "You mean you've never left your house? Not even once?"
"Nope, that's why I can't think of any place to go. I'm okay with anywhere," the boy said.
"Lake Acuity." Yellow said the first thing that came to her mind as she stared out of her window. "We could go ice skating."
"You'll have to teach me, and lend me a pair of skates," he reminded her.
"No problem, I'll help you," Yellow smiled. "One o' clock today?"
"Sure, Yellow. Thanks," the boy answered. "I really appreciate it. Goodbye."
"Hey, wait! You never told me your name," Yellow realized.
"My name is..." The boy hesitated again, and Yellow had to strain her ears to catch his next word. "N." There was a click and the line disconnected.
Yellow stood open-mouthed holding the receiver, slowly replacing it back onto the table. I'm in big trouble... The boy she had met last night, the nice boy who had actually taken care of her, was the son of Ghetsis, the person seeking to destroy the DexHolders and take away her Pokedex? Yellow couldn't figure out how such a nice guy, N, could be the son of that rich evil cruel mastermind who simply wanted to take over the whole world like Giovanni had tried to do. Chuchu tugged at her hand nervously. With a start, Yellow saw that her fists had become clenched and she was breathing hard. Her Pokemon rattled in the Pokeballs, sensing their trainer's spirit firing up. Yellow took deep breaths to calm herself down before spinning on her heel to go out of the room. She needed to find Blue.
"Are you serious?" The next morning, Blue was practically jumping up and down in joy. "The guy you met at the party... and you're going out with him later... is N?"
"Yes, and Blue, please calm down!" Yellow pleaded. "I don't want anyone else to hear you."
"But Yellow, this is great news!" Blue took Yellow's hands excitedly. "I mean, my plan worked after all, and Gold has to give me his 500 PKD! Heard that, Gold?" she screamed. "YOU OWE ME!"
"Blue... wait... stop... don't go spreading this around!" Yellow said, her words coming out of her mouth too late. Blue looked at her and mouthed, "Oops." Yellow sighed as doors started slamming open and the DexHolders started streaming into the kitchen, some blinking sleepily (Gold, Emerald) and others looking pissed (Green, Silver, Ruby).
"What's going on?" Ruby demanded. "You guys interrupted my beauty sleep! I need to sleep exactly 9 hours a day to maintain my perfect skin or I might look tired, or worse," he shuddered, "I'll get eyebags."
"And what do you mean, I'll have to pay you?" Gold asked. "I won the bet after all," he reminded Blue.
"There's where you're wrong," Blue smirked triumphantly. She pushed Yellow in front of Gold, cackling like a maniac the whole time. "Because while you were making a fool of yourself at the dance, our sweet Yellow here has actually befriended N! And she's going out with him later," she added with a relish.
The effect on the DexHolders was instantaneous... and weird.
Crystal squealed, "You saved my Pokedex!" and shook Yellow's hand very tightly. Gold's eyes widened and he thumped Yellow on her back, almost causing the poor girl to choke. Green's eyebrows shot right up into his spiky hair and he crossed his arms, frowning slightly. Ruby was happily announcing to all who would listen (ie zero people) that it was his dress that had N notice Yellow and make friends with her. Sapphire was beside him, smacking him whenever he tried to persuade Platinum that she should definitely sell his dress in her family's stores. Silver simply leaned against the wall. The three Sinnoh DexHolders had mixed expressions of joy and fear at their seniors' strange behaviour.
"Congratulations, Senior Yellow," Platinum smiled. "It seems that Blue's plan did succeed."
"Thank you," Yellow blushed. "I only got to know him slightly though."
"Ahem, Gold." Blue had cornered Gold and held her hands out for the money. "Our little bet...?"
"Your plan hasn't succeeded yet," Gold retorted. "We still need to see how Yellow's date goes."
"Details, details," Blue yawned. "Thanks for the money." Gold looked to see Blue holding his wallet and retrieving some notes from it. She grinned at him and tossed the now-empty wallet back.
In the midst of all this commotion, Green had edged closer to Yellow. "Hey," he greeted her. Yellow started slightly to hear his voice so close to her. "I guess it happened when you ran away? What happened?" Green said.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Yellow muttered, abashed. "I'm really sorry I made you worry and that I lied to you. I just met him on the rooftop. I don't think he likes being at parties. We didn't really talk much... but I helped to heal an Illumise, and he was pretty shocked by my powers. Oh, and I fell asleep," she said sheepishly.
"You seemed happier," Green pointed out. "Before that, you were kind of agitated."
"You're not mad at all?" Yellow asked, surprised. "I thought that you would be angry."
"Do you actually want me to be angry?" Green said, turning on his usual glare which would frighten anybody off - but not Yellow. She was the only one who seemed to be immune to his staring power. While the others all ran away screaming that he was going to hunt them, Yellow would sit beside him quietly fishing or playing with her Pokemon. When he'd asked her why, she said that glare or no glare, Green was Green, and he wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Nope," Yellow giggled. "And it doesn't work on me."
Green was about to say something when Blue cut him off. "Yellow!" said Blue happily, shoving Green to the side. "We have to get you ready for your date." Blue clapped her hands together briskly. "Ruby!"
Ruby was by her side in an instant. "Yes, ma'am?"
"Take Yellow and find her an outfit! Style her hair, paint her nails, do whatever you like with her! Basically, she's your human doll for the day," Blue grinned. Ruby's eyes gleamed and he immediately started tugging Yellow up the stairs. "Platinum, Crystal!" Blue continued. "Platinum, help Ruby with the outfit - secure items from your boutiques! Crystal, you'll help the two of them dress Yellow. Remember, the theme is ice-skating." Both juniors nodded and rushed to help Ruby drag the reluctant Yellow.
"Blue," Yellow called out. "I don't think this is a good idea - mmph!" Her voice was muffled as Ruby clapped a hand over her mouth. "No talking, Barbie!" he ordered.
"Blue, Ruby, I -!" The rest of Yellow's sentence was cut off with a high-pitched shriek she was pulled into the bedroom.
"And that's what happens if you try to object to me," Blue proclaimed.
An hour later, Yellow emerged wearing a light blue sweater and a dark gray skirt with blue leggings. A white scarf was wrapped around her neck, and her hair was up in its usual ponytail. Ruby and the others marched her down the stairs triumphantly. "Behold my creation," Ruby said, gazing at her fondly. Sapphire snorted.
"That's perfect," Blue said appreciatively. "Now Yellow, you do remember the main purpose of this date right?"
"Tell N to persuade Ghetsis not to take our Pokedexes," Yellow recited.
"You've got it! Just try to broach the topic, but do not give away the fact that you are a DexHolder. Be your usual self and you'll do fine," Blue told her.
"Got it." Yellow nodded determindedly and headed to the door carrying the skates in a bag, with Chuchu beside her. "You guys promise you won't follow me or anything like that, right?" she asked, looking at the DexHolders suspiciously.
"Of course." Blue shoved her out of the door. "Have fun." The door slammed.
There was a pause as the DexHolders all stared at each other, their gazes slowly turning to Blue. "What?" Blue held up her hands defensively as they closed in on her.
"...Where did you put the tracking device on her?" Gold said.
Yellow made her way to Lake Acuity, her heart thumping in her chest. She couldn't help sighing as she thought of the DexHolders, all treating her like some life-sized doll and playing dress-up with her. Despite that, they were her closest friends in the world besides Uncle Wilton. They were practically a family to her. In order to protect the family, she knew she had to play her part in going out with N well. Her step faltered. But it just felt wrong... to use N like that for one reason, and one reason only. She didn't want to hurt him anymore - his eyes looked like he had seen too much pain.
She ran her fingers through her ponytail, wondering why she was so nervous. It was just N, the nice boy she had met. He was nothing special, and this date wasn't meant to help him or her. Why does Blue's plan involve hurting someone?
Her steps quickened as she rounded the last snowbank. She wasn't exactly sure whether N had turned up, after all, she reasoned, he doesn't have to appear even though he said he would, he's the son of a multi-millionaire he wouldn't bother with me...
"Oh." The word escaped her lips as she spotted N sitting on a bench, dressed in his usual attire (shirt sneakers cap etc). He looked up and waved to her. Yellow approached the bench.
"You made it," she breathed.
"Of course I did." N's face was puzzled. "We agreed, didn't we?"
"I mean... yeah. Of course." Yellow chided herself for sounding so distracted. She turned away and rummaged through her bag, trying to ignore the fact that her face had become flushed and her voice had become squeaky again. She pulled out the skates and passed a pair to N.
"How do you put these on?" N said, removing his shoes.
"Here, I'll help you." Yellow slipped the skates onto his feet and began doing up the laces. All the time, she was aware of N's keen gaze focused on her. Her fingers fumbled; they felt like pieces of wood, unable to move or do anything fast. When she glanced up, N turned away and started playing with his cap, twirling it with his fingers.
"I'm done," Yellow smiled, sitting down to put on her skates. "Thanks." She watched as N struggled to get to his feet, clutching onto the bench for support. His face seemed like he was in mortal terror, and Yellow couldn't help laughing.
"What?" N asked, staring at her amused expression. "You didn't tell me it would be this hard!"
Yellow quickly stood up and offered him her hand. "Take my hand," she said gently. "I'll help you."
N reached out and grasped her hand securely. Yellow couldn't help blushing hard - she'd thought that the only boy's hand she would enjoy holding was Red. Yet N's fingers were solid and warm, and they seemed to radiate warmth even through the gloves. She pushed away the thought and led N onto the now-frozen Lake Acuity.
"How do you balance on these things?" N said incredulously. "I mean, really -" He stumbled and Yellow quickly caught him. He pulled away from her grasp, shifting his cap further down to hide his face. "I'm fine. I don't need your help anymore." N released her hand and attempted to move forward, albeit unsuccessfully. Sighing, Yellow skated forward. How could any boy have such a split personality - warm and caring one moment, yet so cold the next?
"Look, hold on to my hands and I'll help you." Yellow took hold of N's hands and started skating backwards around the rim of the lake. N was inititally startled, but he started to wear a look of nervous excitement. He began to move his feet from side to side, trying to find his balance. Yellow let go of him and skated alongside him, watching as N managed to move forward.
"I'm doing it!" N said happily. "I'm ice-skating!"
Yellow felt happiness surge through her to see N in such joy. He didn't look like he smiled or laughed a lot, and Yellow, as a Healer, had helped him - that was what she did best.
She skated past N elegantly, doing a figure eight and twirling on one foot. "I can't seem to skate faster," N frowned. "And that's not fair, you didn't teach me that."
Yellow did a couple of loops around him. "That's only for advanced people like me. Aaand, MERRY CHRISTMAS!" she shouted, throwing a snowball flat in his face from where she had been hiding it behind her back. The snowball scattered snow everywhere and N's legs wobbled dangerously. Yellow giggled and skated warily away. Amazingly, the boy was still on his feet, despite it being his first time on skates.
Two snowballs were flung at her - one at her feet, one at her chest. Yellow gave a yelp and nimbly dodged the two, before a third one hit her in the back of her head. "Wha-what," she spluttered. She looked back to see an Snover beside N, helping him to throw snowballs at first. "That's not fair!" she protested. "Who said you can use your Pokemon..."
"You can skate better than me, so I need to even up the odds a little," N pointed out. Yellow rolled her eyes and flung another snowball at him. "I can still beat you," she assured him.
"Wanna bet?" N raised an eyebrow, dodging Yellow's snowball and flinging some in return. The Snover worked fast. Yellow could barely keep up with the constant barrage of snowballs, hitting her everywhere and leaving her completely drenched.
"I give up." Yellow buried her face in her hands and hid beneath an overhanging rock "Its too hard..." Her voice trailed away.
"You okay? I'm sorry, Yellow! I didn't mean to be so rough," N said hurriedly, skating over to her. "Yellow...?"
"Now, Chuchu!" N gaped as the massive load of snow on the rock fell down and buried him. For a moment, he didn't move; then his head popped up, blinking and looking utterly shocked.
"I win," Yellow announced.
"For this round," N conceded. He freed his arm and struggled to get up. "Help me?" he groaned. "I can't move."
Yellow bent and clutched N's arm. His eyes flashed and he quickly yanked Yellow down, burying her head-first in the pile of snow. Yellow gasped as she pulled herself free, spitting snow out from her mouth. "That wasn't fair."
N shrugged. "An eye for an eye."
Yellow couldn't help laughing and she lay down on the snow beside N. She hadn't had that much fun for ages. As a DexHolder, she always seemed to be getting into a crisis of some sorts - first with Lance, then the Masked Man, even the Battle Frontier... Relaxation was always interrupted by some trouble or another. Being a DexHolder changed my life. Despite all the stress and danger, she wouldn't give up her Pokedex for anything; after all, that was what had helped her find friends and have a family. Give up the Pokedex. The words repeated in her head again and Yellow instantly recalled what she was here for. Not to have fun but on a mission.
"So," she said casually. "Tell me about your father. Ghetsis."
"Finally! I thought she'd never mention it," Blue said impatiently. The other DexHolders and her were hiding behind the bushes, where had they had been for the past hour, keeping an eye on N and Yellow. Blue shifted her cramped legs from her curled up position among the snow. Arceus, it was cold. She was thankful that the youngest DexHolders - the Sinnoh trio - had decided to stay at the resort, if not Platinum would probably sue her or something.
"Can I go home?" Gold complained. "I'm like, freezing here." The black-haired boy was huddling next to his Typhlosion. "Blue, next time you want to spy on someone, do it alone and don't drag me along."
"I agree," Emerald said. "This is a complete waste of my time. Crystal and I were supposed to be conducting research on Sinnoh's Pokemon."
"Shut up, everyone! They're talking about it!" Blue warned. A hush fell over the group as Blue fiddled with her mini-speaker. It was connected to the microphone embedded into Yellow's sweater. Yellow's voice came out clearly. "... your father?"
"He's a nice man," N replied.
Yellow racked her mind for something else to say. "Is he your only family?"
"Yeah, we take care of each other. I love him a lot," N said. "He's the nicest dad in the world. He always takes care of me and lets me play with the Pokemon... except..."
"What?" Yellow asked curiously.
"The Pokemon... they're always hurt by humans. Why must humans be so cruel and terrible? Every single time I see them, they've been mistreated by their trainers, bullied and forced to work with no food. Humans shouldn't be allowed to train Pokemon. All we do is bring more suffering to them." N was getting rather worked up.
"Not every human is like that! I love my Pokemon and I'd never mistreat them," Yellow told him. "I'm a Healer. I hate hurting Pokemon, even in battles."
"You may be the exception, but I bet the rest of the Pokemon trainers don't think that way," N said bitterly. "Do you think Pokemon are actually happy, forced to be in Pokeballs and worked like slaves? They should be allowed to run free. People say their Pokemon are happy; yet all we did was wrench them from their homes and family."
"... I see. I never thought of it that way," Yellow said. Her mind flew to her Pokemon - were they happy? Were Chuchu, Kitty, Dody and the rest happy? Did they pretend to be happy but secretly they were longing for their homes in the wild? She started to think that maybe N's words had some logic. After all, not every Pokemon trainer treated their Pokemon nicely; she had seen her fair share of Pokemon who were mistreated and injured. And that was what Lance had fought for, for a Pokemon utopia...
"You see? My father told me about this group of people called the DexHolders, who supposedly hold a Pokedex."
A gasp ran around the crowd listening avidly to Blue's speaker. Blue hurriedly shushed them and turned up the volume.
"Apparently they think they're so big, owning a Pokedex, and going around saving the world. My father says that its just a fluke, they just want to become famous and take credit for others' deeds."
"That little..." Sapphire growled. "I'll take credit for the deed I'm going to do to him, indeed."
"Even if they really did save the world," N said mockingly, "what about the damages they did? They destroyed dozens of natural habitats without even caring, driving Pokemon away from their homes. They claim to save, but all they do is destroy."
Yellow was stunned for a moment. She'd never thought about the harm the DexHolders had brought about while fighting the evil teams. She recalled the Sevii Islands being destroyed in the fight against Team Rocket, the destruction for the Indigo Plateau, the Hoenn Saga... The rebuilding could restall the damaged structures, but what about the innocent Pokemon that had been caught in the crossfire?
"But we- I mean they were fighting against evil people who wanted to obliterate the region. They were fighting to help the people," she answered.
"I don't know, but I feel their methods are wrong. There must be a way to create and save without destroying something first," N said. He sighed and sat up, running his fingers through his hair. "Why must we always fight?"
Yellow was about to answer him when a Snover suddenly plopped itself in front of N. N gave a small chuckle and patted the Snover. Yellow recognized it; it was the Snover that had helped N during their snowball fight. "Is that your Pokemon?" she asked, trying to get a closer look.
"Nope, its wild."
"Then why did it help you?" Yellow reached out her hand and the Snover nuzzled it happily.
"Pokemon always like to help me," N stated. "All those Pokemon that my father brought in... they usually became very attached to me."
"Interesting," Yellow said. The Snover was pretty friendly, trying to curl up in Yellow's lap. Yellow stroked the Snover before releasing it, watching as it tottered away towards some bushes. She turned her face up to the gray sky. "Its snowing again," she remarked, seeing the white little puffs float down to the ground.
"I guess we'd better go," N said reluctantly. He attempted to stand up - albeit shakily - and the skates weren't helping. N flailed about before toppling over, smack on top of Yellow.
"Sorry." N's face was scarlet-red. "Umm... I..."
Yellow couldn't stop blushing either. His face was just inches from hers, his lips slightly parted and his breath coming out in a white mist. Their eyes locked onto each other and despite the cold, Yellow felt her body starting to heat up and she blushed even harder. His eyes were so green... green like leaves in the springtime, and his hair was the exact same shade too. If I lean forward further, will he... will we...
N pushed himself up using his arms and managed to stand up. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. Yellow took his arm and they both stood, swaying slightly in the icy wind. N took off his skates and passed them to her.
"...can we meet again?" she whispered.
"I'll call you," N nodded. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Yellow, hugging her warmly. "Bye, Yellow," he murmured into her ear, making the skin there tingle, before walking off. Dazedly, Yellow watched him go, seeing his fading silhouette in the distance
There were sounds of a scuffle coming from the bushes. Yellow walked over, concerned whether the Snover was okay. Instead, she found a bunch of almost-frozen teenagers who were all curled up in various positions. They looked familiar, and Yellow narrowed her eyes.
"You were spying on me?" she exclaimed in horror.
"It was Blue's idea!" Gold was quick to push the blame. "Thanks to her, I'm practically a popsicle now." He sneezed.
"BLUE!" Yellow couldn't help shouting. "You told me you weren't going to follow me!"
"I didn't. I tracked you, I didnt follow you." The brunette smirked at her expression. "Arceus, I thought we were going to die here before you finished talking!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you guys were here," Yellow sighed. So now it was her fault that they were cold? "Is everyone okay?"
"Come on!" Blue snapped her fingers. "Wake up, Yellow's done! Let's go back!" The rest of the Dexholders stirred and started to stretch. Ruby hastily woke up a dozing Sapphire. Green and Silver looked rather irritated. Emerald was hopping around, trying to keep his body warm. Gold was attempting to awake Crystal. "Hey, she's not waking up!" he reported.
"Carry her then," Blue ordered. Grumbling, Gold picked up the sleeping Crystal and hoisted her onto his back. The snow was falling faster now and Yellow could only see the outlines of her companions. The wind whipped at her face and she shivered. The sky, which had been so clear a moment ago, was now obscured by the flakes.
"Abra, Teleport!" In a flash, the DexHolders were surrounded by light, and then they were gone.
"Wow, its a real storm out there," Pearl commented, peering out of the window at the darkening surroundings. "Do you think the others are okay?"
"They aren't back yet. I hope our seniors are all right," Platinum said nervously.
"Missy, Pearl, come here!" Diamond's voice came from the hall. He sounded rather tense. Platinum and Pearl exchanged a look before rushing out of the room. "What is it, Dia- " Pearl began. "Oh!"
The senior DexHolders were all sprawled in a heap on the rug. As Pearl watched, Silver moaned and pushed Emerald off him. Silver blinked and stood up. "Wha-what?"
The rest of the DexHolders started getting up from their various positions, most of them groaning as they had been piled up. Blue had a sheepish grin on her face. "I guess the Teleport was too strong?"
"Quite obviously," Green retorted. "Blue, for Arceus' sake..."
Blue flushed. "Look, I didn't know it would be so rough either! Remember, this is the first time that Abra had to teleport so many people." She patted the small Pokemon fondly. "Plus I got us out of that blizzard."
"Thanks," Green said grudgingly. "Pesky girl." He turned away and helped Yellow get up. The small girl had been squashed under Crystal, who was surprisingly still asleep.
"Do any of you need help? I can ask Sebastian," Platinum offered.
"I think its okay, we can manage," Ruby replied. He, Sapphire and Emerald started walking towards their rooms.
"'Says you," Gold muttered. He carefully picked up Crystal and headed to her room as well. Silver followed him, trailing in his wake.
"Did everything go okay?" Pearl asked. "I mean, you guys don't seem very happy..."
"It went okay," Yellow yawned. "We'll tell you tomorrow." She, Blue and Green disappeared up the stairs. The Sinnoh trio were left alone, and rather shocked by the seniors' reluctance to discuss the matter.
"Are they mad at us?" Platinum fretted.
"Don't think so. They're probably just tired out from the bad weather," Diamond said reassuuringly. "We should go too." He started herding the other two up the stairs. Platinum followed him reluctantly. Despite Diamond's assurance, she couldn't miss the way senior Yellow had acted so strangely, or why her eyes were practically shining.
Outside, the wind howled.