(A/N): Hey, everyone! Welcome to chapter 7 of Variety Pack! This one's a sequel of sorts to Chapter One, taking place shortly afterward. Very fluffy and Ferriswheelshippy. Enjoy!
Touko sighed, staring at the mess that had unfolded in front of her. She was supposed to meet Bianca and Cheren at the Striaton gym for lunch at twelve-thirty.
Then both wheels of her bicycle fell off as she hit a particularly rough patch of path in the White Forest.
She hadn't been injured, thank goodness, but both tires were mangled beyond belief. Her Unfezant was injured, and none of her other Pokémon could fly.
Just my luck.
She piled the remains of her blue and silver bike off the side of the road and sunk her head in her hands. It would take at least three hours to get to Nacrene from her current location. She'd have to call ahead and cancel.
Touko fiddled with her XTransceiver until Cheren's face popped up.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked. "I'm just about to leave my gym. Really looking forward to seeing you."
She sighed. "Cheren, we've got a problem. Both of my bike tires came off the frame and the thing's completely mangled. I'm in the middle of White Forest."
His eyebrows narrowed. "That's not good."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious. What now?"
"I don't have any way to transport both you and the remains of your bike to Striaton... and I know how you feel about littering," he replied, watching Touko's face redden at the suggestion of damaging the nature reserve. "I'll call Lenora and see what she can do."
Touko smiled. "Thank you. Maybe we can still have lunch?"
"If we can, I'll pay. You've been through enough trauma for today."
The female trainer played with her ponytail. "Thanks for the help. Call me after you get in touch with Lenora."
The line went dead.
Who should I call now? No one on the north and west sides of the region will be able to help me, and Lenora's on the line with Cheren...
If metaphorical light bulbs were visible, one would've popped up over Touko's head at that moment. She whipped out the phone function once again, and entered an incredibly long number.
A familiar tea-green headed trainer appeared, looking rather surprised.
"Hello, Touko. I wasn't expecting a call."
She sighed in relief. "Hey, N. I'm in a bit of trouble right now. My bike broke, and I'm about a three-hour walk from any sort of civilization. I'm supposed to meet some friends of mine for lunch in two hours in Striaton."
"What about your Unfeazant?"
"Someone challenged my title yesterday by claiming that I wasn't fit to be the Champion."
N grinned. "Bad choice on their part."
"Yeah," Touko laughed. "Unfeazant and I worked a little too hard to beat the guy, and she accidentally sprained her wing in the process. She's back at League headquarters with a Nurse Joy."
"Would you like me to come pick you up and escort you to Striaton?" he asked.
"Pretty please?" Touko begged, giving him her best Lillipup pout.
N laughed. "All right. I'll be there before you know it."
The call ended, and Touko stood up and stretched. A bolt of lightning flashed across the clear blue sky, and she screamed as it landed about ten feet away from where she was standing.
"N!" she shrieked, stomping her foot.
The other trainer laughed as he jumped off of Zekrom. "Surprised?"
Touko pouted. "Uh, yeah."
"I'll help you up, and we'll be in Striaton before you know it," N answered, boosting Touko up onto Zekrom's back. He grabbed the wreckage of her bike and passed it up to Zekrom, who held onto it with one of his mighty hands.
Hello, White Hero of Truth. We meet once more.
Touko smiled. "Hey, Zekrom! It's nice to see you again."
N frowned. "Where is Reshiram?"
"She's back at the League. The Elite Four wanted her to stand watch while I was out, and she agreed to it, much to my surprise. She'll probably scare the living day lights out of everyone who passes by," Touko answered.
My counterpart does not seem to be the Watchog type, Zekrom noted as he took to the air.
Touko shrugged. "Reshiram will keep busy. She'll probably be creating some sort of pyrotechnic display in an attempt to scare Grimsley."
"Is that even possible?" N asked. "He always seems eerily calm whenever I'm around him."
"I'm honestly not sure. I love watching her try, though. Livens up a few horribly boring days," Touko answered with a grin. "One time she accidentally caught Caitlin's hair on fire..."
"I wish you could enlighten me on the subject," N responded, "but we're approaching the Gym."
"Already?" Touko groaned. "Oh well."
Zekrom landed again- without the bolt of lightning that scared his trainer's friend half to death. Touko jumped down, closely followed by N, who returned the Legendary as soon as he hit the ground.
"Cheren was supposed to call me," the blue eyed trainer pondered. "Wonder what he's up to?"
One ring later, the Aspertia gym leader picked up, looking a little sheepish. "Touko! And is that N behind you?"
Touko nodded. "Yep! N let me hitchhike with him down to Striaton, and we're in front of the gym. Why didn't you call me back?"
Cheren started sweating. "Well... Lenora picked up, and we started talking about normal-types, and our conversation turned extremely academic..."
"I get it. Come on, we're waiting. Bianca's still coming, right?" Touko asked.
Cheren nodded. "Yep. And N, you're welcome to join us!"
N nodded. "I will take you up on that offer. Thank you."
"Now that we've got that settled," Touko said, "Hurry up and get over here! See you later, Cheren!"
"Later!"
The screen went blank for the third time in thirty minutes, leaving N and Touko standing in the street.
"I never thanked you for rescuing me," Touko pondered.
N smiled. "It was no problem."
Touko stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. When she turned away, she saw that his face was a bright crimson red.
"Come on, Christmas boy. Let's go grab a table."
N sighed. "You know how I dislike that nickname! Wait for me!"
(A/N): Sorry for the lack of updates here. I've been busy. I'm sitting in the back seat of my dad's truck right now, and we're on the last leg of our road trip to Colorado and back. We had a tire literally fall off of our large RV (recreational vehicle) and now we're driving 30 miles an hour towards the nearest town. I figured that writing would make the situation better, and the idea for this one-shot popped up!
PL, signing off!
