Chapter 7 : Got an Alibi?
"And so, it is now illegal for pokemon to be owned by trainers. If you would all please deposit your pokemon here, we will liberate them," a plasma grunt announced.
There were worried and outraged cries from the crowd.
Team Plasma had not too long ago rampaged in from Route 1... Who knows exactly where they came from? They had set up a make-shift stage in merely minutes as they ushered everyone out of their houses, their workplace, and from just standing in the street to the middle of town, located in front of Route 1.
There was pushing and shoving; yelling and crying.
Angered by the chaos and diverted attention, the grunt at the podium shrilled, "QUIET!" Everyone immediately calmed down. "Our Lord N has befriended the legendary Zekrom, and he has beaten the Pokemon League," he preached. "Team Plasma will officially be taking over Unova within the near future, and if any of you have a problem with it," the grunt warned, "you may confront our Lord N and the almighty Zekrom about it."
The crowd was full of glares, resulting in the man to smirk.
"That is, if you dare go against the ideals of a legendary pokemon," he dared.
If it wasn't silent earlier, it was now.
"Now, your pokeballs. Don't let us use force."
People looked at each other, not knowing what to do. People conversed about whether it was the right thing to do or not.
Cheren
"How do we know you aren't lying?!" I yelled out, louder than my usual tone of voice.
Now, lying wasn't my concern; of course, if anyone claimed to catch a legendary pokemon it would definitely be a concern. However, my intention was to try and slap some sense into these people. From what I overheard, people were contemplating on releasing their pokemon. Whether out of fear or agreement to Team Plasma, they were on their way to complying. Had they even considered if Team Plasma would actually liberate their pokemon or not?
"YEAH!" Bianca agreed, seemingly catching onto my plan.
Our little outbursts caused the crowd to go into chaos again.
I nudged Bianca, who flinched at my touch, and gestured my head to the center of the crowd where we thought we saw Hilda. "We should get her and go," I warned Bianca at a low tone. "It's only a matter of time until escape isn't possible."
She nodded her head, determined. "Right." She wasn't happy about having to ditch Nuvema Town, but I reminded her that the two of us and Hilda are the only fighting chance this town has.
We shoved our way through the crowd, but once we got to our desired place, she was no where to be found.
Bianca desperately twisted her head in all different directions, trying to spot Hilda. "I thought I saw her..." Her voice was almost inaudible due to the crowd.
I sighed. "So did I..."
"Are you sure she's here, Cheren?" asked Bianca. "Not that I think you lied, but..."
"Maybe not," I inquired. "But if we can't find her, we have to put ourselves first."
"But-"
"Look," I cut off Bianca, sneering my head around us. "They're surrounding us..."
Bianca was surprised by my interruption but complied. Her eyes only grew seeing all of the grunts. "W-We took too long... Th-This isn't good..."
"We can always battle them," I suggested.
"I'll hold us back though..." rejected Bianca. "And also, you're a much better trainer than me. Even if we win this time around, Team Plasma will come looking for us."
"I suppose you're right..." I sighed, giving in.
"I'm really sorry I can't help..." Bianca's eyes arched, showing how helpless she felt.
I raised an eyebrow. "No, not that. You're right about battling. You aren't as terrible of a trainer that you think you are."
Bianca's eyes grew a little before she shook her head. "And because of my idea to find Hilda, we're stuck here," she said, her eyes darting around, observing the grunts that started to surround us.
"Don't be ridiculous. Your plan was a fiasco, but I agreed to it as well," I told her.
"Tn-Thanks?"
"Plus, I thought I saw her too." I looked behind me just to make sure that I wasn't missing her.
Bianca looked somewhat relieved after I confirmed that I saw her too. She quickly got over it though. "What do we do now?" Bianca asked worriedly.
I bumped up my glasses and glared at the disheveled grunt at the podium, who was fiercely barking out orders. "We wait."
Bianca fidgeted. "Alright then..." Bianca then darted her head to the sky. "Ch-Cheren! L-Look!" she squeaked, pointing a shaking finger.
"Hm..?" I followed her gaze. All I saw was the dark sky. Then, something was faintly glowing. '...Stars don't glow blue...' I adjusted my glasses in order to look closer, and flinched when I saw a face. After I composed myself, I was able to see with it was. "...Zekrom?" I almost didn't believe it.
My observation caught the attention of the people closest to us, who started conversing about it trying to make out the figure. Finally, one man called it, "It is Zekrom!" followed by a lady's bloodcurdling scream.
'I realize it's not a daily occurrence, but was it really necessary to scream..?' I thought, my right ear feeling deaf. I experimentally rubbed my earlobe and was satisfied when I could still hear something.
Soon, everyone's gaze seemed to find their way to Zekrom's face. The grunt at the podium didn't seem to notice what was approaching behind him. The chatter and screaming died down and the grunt smirked.
"Now that you are all civilized," he taunted, "I assure you that our Lord N did indeed befriend Zekrom and beat the Pokemon League single-handedly."
People's eyes widened, followed by gasps. The grunt had a smug grin on, convinced that he pierced everyone's minds with terror, but in reality, it was Zekrom's appearance, which was becoming larger and clearer with each second.
A few yards behind the make-shift stage, Zekrom landed seemingly gracefully, but it was so large and bulky that the ground shook violently. There was an unmistakable "thud" that outdid the lady's scream. Everyone was too shocked to say anything until after the ground stopped shaking. People looked at each other in disbelief and fear, asking each other if it was really true.
"I-It's true, Cheren..." Bianca whispered to me. "A-Are we really g-gonna give in?" she asked, almost scared that I was going to say "yes."
I shook my head. "No. He'll be an obstacle, but if this supposed 'Lord N' is who I think it is..." As if on cue, N, the boy that Hilda and I had met in Accumula Town jumped off of Zekrom and started walking towards the podium, which was now vacant.
"Y-You've met him?!" Bianca asked, confused.
I, however, didn't get the chance to answer.
"Please, people... Please, we can settle this in a calm matter," N preached, his voice amiable and pleading. However, there was a mischievous look in his eye.
'He's trying to win us over...' I observed. I bumped up my glasses, which had apparently shook out of place during the "earthquake." I scoffed. "Not bad..." I muttered.
Bianca seemed to notice this as well. She was looking around her, gasping under her breath when she saw that people were willing to listen to him. "Charm is the most effective way to a person..." she admitted under her breath.
I nodded in agreement. From this moment, we knew that the town would be swayed.
"Please understand; pokemon should be free. They shouldn't be captivated..." N continued, looking down at everyone with a plea.
"What a hypocrite..." I retorted under my breath, with Bianca who nodded at my assertion.
A man next to me had looked at me and overheard what I said. "Oh yeah?! Then why do all of your henchmen have them? And why do you have a legendary pokemon in your captivity?!" he countered proudly, as if he thought of that himself.
Bianca and I looked at each other. "Now's our chance," she warned me, her voice almost inaudible despite the silence. Clearly, she had the same idea I did; this guy would start another riot, and in the pandemonium, we would sneak out.
I nodded and looked around for a blind spot. "There," I pointed out, jerking my head to the area of the grunt barricade that seemed the least concentrated on.
Bianca nodded, determined, and we again snaked our way through the back of the crowd.
However, this "escape" didn't even last a second.
"Hush!" the earlier grunt commanded.
N looked back at the grunt and held up a hand to stop him. "No, it's okay... I'll answer any questions." He looked at the crowd with a friendly smile, but I could see the way that his eyebrows were arched.
'It's a cover,' I deducted. 'He's actually quite satisfied with himself... Falsely gaining the people's trust.'
"I did not capture Zekrom... It willingly befriended me," explained N. "If it hadn't, do you really think I'd have the power to keep him in my captivity?" he reasoned.
'He's right about that...' I admitted. 'I doubt that a legendary would allow itself to be confined in a pokeball if it didn't want to be.'
"As for the members of Team Plasma," N continued, "we just want to make sure all pokemon are fairly liberated, and though I don't like this..." N looked away for a second and then shook his head. He held out his arms. "If anyone refuses, we have to use force. I hate battles, but it's for the greater good..." I noticed that despite his genial demeanor, he had an ulterior motive, or at least, he acted like he did.
"Do you believe it, Cheren?" Bianca asked. I could tell it was a genuine question and not her saying that this whole speech was ridiculous.
I ruminated on it and finally muttered back, "To an extent."
"You heard him! Now, hand us your pokemon!" the grunt demanded with a booming voice.
"Allow me," N said, raising another submissive arm. He walked down from the podium and to the crowd. He approached the person closest to him and made eye contact. "Please, understand..." N spoke. "Pokemon are my friends... I only want to see them stop suffering."
'By giving that guy his sole attention...' I observed.
"He's convincing them," Bianca murmured to me, finishing my thoughts.
"It would appear so..."
"Y-You know, Cheren... I think he's being legitimate..."
I looked at Bianca and raised an eyebrow. However, when I thought about it, I agreed to another extent and turned back at the scene before us.
People looked at each other; some unsure, some nodding.
N held out his palms to the person he spoke to. On cue, the Team Plasma grunts that set up a barricade dispersed and approached whomever they could find, holding out expecting hands.
Everyone reluctantly took out their pokeballs. Some muttered goodbyes, but some willingly handed in their pokeballs, convinced of this "liberation."
Bianca tugged at my shirt. "I'm not giving them my pokemon," she informed me. "I don't trust them..."
"Heh... Me either." I smirked, but quickly wiped it off of my face. "Perhaps we can still escape."
Bianca hesitantly nodded and we snaked our way to the back.
"You! Over there!" a harsh voice yelled. "Give us your pokemon!" He seemed to notice our odd behavior.
Bianca halted for a second but kept going, hiding her face from him.
'Good, we might make it out like this.' I looked at Bianca and muttered, "Just keep going and-" I was cut off when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
From Bianca's horror-struck face, I could tell that she too was stopped.
"Where are your pokeballs?" the voice asked again, barely suppressing his anger at being ignored.
Bianca and I simultaneously turned our heads back to look at the person who stopped us. "We decided that we aren't giving you our pokemon!" Bianca countered. Her face was confident, but I noticed that her teeth were shaking a little.
'So she finally found her courage, yet she's still herself...' I observed. 'An interesting development...'
"What?!"
Bianca and I looked at each other for a split second before we bolted away, running to where an opening was.
"Quick, to the border," I ordered.
"B-But no one ever goes in the forest..!" she protested, fearful of being caught. However, she followed me anyway.
As soon as we escaped the crowd of people, we tried to run into Nuvema Town's borders, but we were jumped by a Garbordor. Bianca and I halted in place and Bianca almost fell forward due to the momentum. I looked behind us and noticed that we were a good distance away from the crowd.
"And where do you think you're going?" the same voice asked. My eyes followed the sound of his voice, and he was backed by two other grunts.
"Do you think that that's the girl who escaped..?" a female grunt asked the male one next to her, hoarsely whispering.
"The one with the empty pokeballs..? No, I don't recall seeing a guy with her," he responded, also keeping his voice low.
'An escaped girl...' I ruminated, recalling the time where I thought I saw Hilda in the crowd. I smirked, barely holding back my chuckle. 'She just seems to beat me at everything...' I looked at Bianca to see if she overheard as well, but all I saw was her frightened features. "Don't worry. No one sees us and we've got quite the prowess."
Bianca gulped, swallowing her fear. She nodded. "Right."
"Are you going to let some low-ranked grunts take you down?" I asked, searching for Liepard's pokeball. I decided that summoning Gigalith or another pokemon with a bulky exterior would attract more grunts towards us.
Bianca shook her head, muttering a "nuh-uh" as she took out a pokeball of her own. "Go Simipour!"
I was curious of her choice. 'Why not Musharna..?' However, I chose not to question her battling style as I tossed my pokeball into the air, releasing Liepard.
On cue, the two grunts backing up the one who first approached us and tossed their own pokeballs in the air. "Patrat!" they commanded at the same time.
"A triple battle..?" Bianca asked, somewhat angered at their dirty tricks. She reached into her bag to get another pokemon, but I raised a hand, stopping her.
"Honestly, you don't even need to put that much effort into it," I said.
Bianca looked at me from the corners of her eyes, curious to why I just said that.
"We're outnumbered, they're outmatched. It's as simple as that."
"Hey kid, quit getting cocky and-"
'You've let your guard down...' I observed. "Liepard, fake out!" I commanded, making sure my voice wasn't too loud.
"W-Wait a second-"
Liepard purred as he pounced towards Garbardor and clapped his two paws. A split second later, Liepard's front paws turned into large gloved hands and clapped again. It was so strong that the wind from the clap actually damaged Garbardor, albeit not by much, and he flinched.
"Now shadow claw."
Liepard complied as he jumped in the air and swiped the dazed Garbordor with his claws, which were glowing a fatal purple. The Garbordor was clearly hurt, but it stood its ground.
"Garbardor-"
"Simipour, brick break!"
Simipour screeched before jumping in the air, following Liepard's lead as they ganged up on the enemy pokemon.
"H-Hey!" the grunt roared. "What do you think you're doing?!" he asked Bianca, but turned back to the two grunts. "Do something, you dolts!"
"R-Right..." the female grunt apologized. "Patrat! Use hyper fang on Simipour!"
"You too!" the male grunt followed.
Both of the patrats grew their teeth out until it reached their midsections, and with a chatter, their teeth started to glow orange. They simultaneously charged at Simipour, who was awaiting Bianca's orders.
"Quick! Brick break!"
Simipour muttered an agreement as he lifted his hand in the air. His palm grew larger than his face and turned black, and without much effort he karate-chopped the two Patrats that tried to ram into him. They fainted immediately.
The two grunts glowered at Bianca, who had a satisfied look, and backed away. They took out their pokeballs and withdrew their fainted pokemon.
While I was still concentrated on fighting the Garbordor, its trainer wasn't. The grunt that had first approached us was too busy reprimanding the other two to even noticed that the Garbordor was having trouble getting back up; he was done flinching long ago, but had too much trouble trying to dodge on his own. Liepard was having no trouble whatsoever continuously swiping his opponent.
'Pathetic,' I spat in my head, giving the grunt a disapproving look, which he clearly didn't notice. "Finish it off with Aerial Ace."
The grunt's head finally snapped back. His eyes widened upon realizing his latent defeat. "Use-!"
Liepard screeched as he jumped into the air, charging back down. His momentum gave him wind power, and he effortlessly swiped the Garbordor, who fainted the next second.
I was about to reprimand the grunt on his crass leadership, but Bianca stopped me before I started.
She looked at me and frowned, shaking her head as she wordlessly returned her Simipour to his pokeball. She tugged on my shirt and bolted the other way.
I sheepishly unsummoned my Liepard and sent the grunt one last disapproving gaze as we ran back towards the crowd. Since entering the forest failed, we'd just have to go into Route 1. However, Bianca came to a sudden halt, skidding a little. Confused by her actions, I too stopped.
"It looks like they have everything planned out," remarked Bianca, a rueful inkling on her face and tone of voice.
I followed her gaze. "Yes, it appears that they have..." I agreed, bumping up my glasses that had bounced out of place during my sprint.
There was a barricade of about a dozen grunts blocking Route 1. Upon seeing us, they all withdrew a pokeball from their pockets, intent on battling if they needed to.
"We can do this," Bianca stated confidently as she took out another pokeball.
"Indeed we can," I agreed once more. I wasn't appeasing her; we actually could. We are some of the strongest trainers in the region, and Team Plasma grunts are always idiotically feasible to beat. I reached for my pokeball but stopped.
"Please... Your pokemon?" a voice asked. It was very faint, but I could hear the slight tint of rage. To add to that, not a drop of kindness was in it, unlike his earlier tone which was glazed in honey.
Bianca gasped as we both turned around. A clearing had been made in the crowd and N stood in between it, holding up a pokeball. Sensing a battle, various grunts cleared the way to make space. It was dead quiet. Eager eyes found their way scattering back and fourth between the three of us.
"I-I don't think I can take on Z-Zekrom..." Bianca whimpered to me, her voice almost mute. Despite this, her face was confident, meaning that she was solely portraying a message.
"Neither can I," I told her, not doing the effort to lower my voice. "But I think we can," I finished, pulling out my pokeball, never diverting my eyes away from the figure ahead of us. Zekrom stood proudly behind N. His presence made N look like he was glowing, 'but it's only a trick of the night,' I concluded.
"And what will you do then?" challenged Bianca.
Everyone's eyes shifted to N, who remained unfazed. "I'll liberate them."
"Liberate yours first," I challenged.
N looked down, but then back up with a fiery passion. "My pokemon are my friends, but they will soon taste freedom. They have agreed with my ideals and are willing to lend me a hand, as all of Team Plasma's pokemon are." With every blink, his eyes only got more confident.
'It reminds me of Hilda's...' I observed. 'If he's as passionate as Hilda, it only makes me wonder who the better trainer is,' I inquired, no longer shamed by the fact that Hilda was the better trainer than I was. 'Or if this is all just a farce.'
"And how do you know that our pokemon don't want to stay with us?" Bianca pressed.
"Because... Your pokemon were captured unwillingly," N explained nonchalantly. "Let them taste freedom one last time... Don't you believe that being coerced to confinement in such a small object is at all pleasing?"
"Enough of this. As you can see, a crowd is waiting," I interrupted, gesturing my hands out to the two feeble crowds. I glared at them. 'Pathetic, pitiful bunch... These weaklings won't even take a stand... Or open their eyes at the very least.'
N nodded. "Very well," he said as he tossed the pokeball in the air. As he did, he used his other hand to quickly grab another from his waist-bag and also threw it in the air. "Vanillite, Archen, please assist me."
"Van!" Vanillite cheered, seemingly happy at the fact that N was relying on him.
Archen just looked away, bored of the situation. He scoffed, but then looked at us confidently.
I took a pokeball out and threw it in the air.
Simisear materialized and looked around; obviously he didn't expect to be called out, because he started jumping around and shooting his head everywhere until I came into vision. Realizing that he was in a battle, he smirked and gave me a thumbs up , turning to face the battlefield.
Bianca
'If Cheren is using a Simisear, then I should probably use Simipour...' I told myself. I mentally shook my head. 'No... Simipour didn't take much damage from the last battle, but N might know that he has brick break...' I fussed.
"Bianca..." Cheren sighed.
Apparently, I spaced out. "O-Oh, I'm sorry..." I apologized foolishly as I gave in and grabbed Simipour's pokeball. "You're up, Simipour!"
Simipour jounced in place, waiting for me to tell him what to do.
The three of us hesitated in a moment of silence. We stared each other down.
'This is getting a bit awkward...' I thought as I shyly raised my hand as if this was a first grade classroom. "U-Uh... Who's going first?" I asked, awkwardly.
N and Cheren looked baffled, but then seemed to think about it and realize just how inept this stare-down was.
Deciding to "pull a Cheren" as I called it, I shrilled, "R-Rock slide on Vanillite!"
Simipour brought up his hands in the air and suddenly, rocks materialized above Vanillite.
"P-Protect!" N ordered, caught off guard.
"Vanillite!" it bellowed confidently and suddenly a glowing shield was placed above his head.
N looked visibly relieved. "Now, Rock Slide on Simisear!" he instructed Archen.
"Dodge it!"
Both actions were carried out by the pokemon at the same time.
"Brick break!" Cheren and I screeched.
Both of our pokemon nodded before jumping up in the air and forming that large black palm. They screeched as they came down on Archen.
"Vanillite, protect again!"
Vanillite bolted over Archen and made another shield. Upon contact, both Simisear and Simipour jumped back.
"Sur-!"
"Bianca, no!"
"Huh?"
"Ancient Power!" roared N.
It was then I realized why using surf wasn't a good idea. Using surf in front of this many people and Cheren's fire type would only cause problems. I wanted to hit myself for what I was about to do and was pretty grateful that Cheren stopped me. But because of that, N got the upper hand.
Before I could even look away from Cheren, I saw Simipour being bombarded by flying boulders that dispersed when they either hit or missed him. "S-Simipour use return!" I commanded.
Simipour was unable to comply to my command. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, N ordered Vanillite to use ice beam, and now Simipour was being ganged up on.
"S-Simipour use... Use..!" I panicked. Double battles I was fine with, just not with one other person. I didn't know how to get Simipour out of this situation without guiding another pokemon to help him, and the other pokemon with me was Cheren's, who wasn't doing anything. I desperately cocked my head and looked at him. Though I refused to show weakness on my face, I pleaded with my eyes.
Cheren held up his finger, which meant "no" or "one moment."
Either way, I died inside. Finally, I desperately screeched, "Rock slide on yourself!"
Simipour looked at me, greatly stunned and startled. His face was mirrored by N's and the crowds, and one second later, his pokemon.
I felt a little conscious with people looking at me, but I tried my best to ignore it. "Rock slide on Archen!" I ordered, taking advantage of everyone's surprise.
Simipour gave me a thumbs up and brought his arms up in the air, screeching at his prowess. The summoned boulders immediately crushed Archen, who didn't get away in time. Archen fell to the ground, twitching as he tried to get up.
"Archen, use-"
"Flamethrower on Vanillite."
"Vanillite, protect!"
N was one second late. Simisear's flamethrower attack did hit Vanillite, who cried out in pain, but he had his protect shield one second later, and now he was unfazed, wincing at his earlier pain.
"Brick break!" I commanded, pointing at Archen.
Simipour couldn't see me pointing, but he could sense it. He jumped up in the air and formed his giant black hand.
"Follow his lead," Cheren adviced Simisear, who complied.
"Archen, dragon claw!"
Just as Archen was about to swipe, Simipour and Simisear had already karate-chopped him, knocking him out in the process.
"Woah... A critical hit," I murmured to myself, awed.
N may have been an enemy, but Cheren and I were fair fighters. We patiently waited for N to release his next pokmeon. "Return," he said as he resummoned Archen.
Suddenly, Simipour landed by my feet, knocked out and muttering in his unconsciousness.
"W-What..?" I wondered, my eyes wide open. It was then that I realized that I must have put my guard down when N's Archen had fainted. He probably told Vanillite to do something. I realized that doting on what happened wouldn't help us, so I got out Musharna's pokeball. I hesitated before throwing it, still confused about what just happened.
"He was telling Vanillite to use return, not Archen," Cheren informed me under his breath, knowing that I didn't quite get what just happened.
"Oh..." I felt like a ditz.
N got out his pokeball and looked me over to make sure I had one too.
"Carracosta!"
"Musharna!"
Two red lights illuminated both sides of the "battlefield."
Carracosta grumbled something that I didn't understand.
Musharna, on the other hand, yawned. "Muuu..." she sighed.
"Flamethrower on Vanillite!"
Simisear complied within the same exact second, not giving N the time to even react.
"VAAN!" it screeched, easily succumbing to the flames.
"Yawn on Carracosta!"
"Low kick!" N ordered on Musharna. Once that was done, he looked over to Vanillite, who was engulfed in flames, and strangely couldn't levitate any longer. I thought I heard it crying, but that could have been anyone.
Cheren took a note of this and withdrew Simisear. The same exact second, Gigalith had been brought out.
'He's so fast..!' I noted, shocked by Cheren's quick thinking.
"Muush!" Musharna shrilled with terror as Carracosta kicked her, sending her flying back a good few feet.
After then, Carracosta collapsed the ground and slept, snoring rather loudly.
"Musharna..." I whimpered as she skidded to my feet.
Musharna picked up her body and floated back up, barely making it.
"Earthquake."
Everyone's heads shot to Cheren, who seemed either ignorant or apathetic.
Gigalith complied without a second thought. The ground started to violently shake and dust clouds started forming. I was so shocked that I dropped Musharna's pokeball, which rolled away due to the vibrations.
'Th-This earthquake is stronger than it usually is..!' I noticed, 'Yet why don't I feel it hurting me?' I looked at Cheren for answers.
He simply jerked his head towards Gigalith, who exhausted in front of him, and then towards Route 1 which was now unblocked. Cheren made a dash for it, leaving me alone with my exhausted Musharna. All I heard was screaming and barking orders.
'Cheren made sure that earthquake was so powerful that it would create this dust cloud... But in the process...' I pitifully looked at Gigalith's fainted form, which was gradually being masked by dust. I squatted down to Musharna. "I don't have time, your pokeball fell, and I can't see!" I told her hastily, making sure to keep my voice at a low. The dust had now reached well above our heads and I couldn't see more than three feet in front of me. "Use your dream mist and make it look like you fainted, but fly away and hide behind a roof or something and I'll come get you later, okay?"
Musharna weakly nodded and flew off, mixing her pink dream mist with the brown dust cloud.
I ran after the direction Cheren ran to, still unable to see in front of me. I tripped on something, letting out a gasp, but when I looked at my feet saw Musharna's pokeball. 'Good!' I thought excitedly as the dust started to gradually go down. Realizing that my time to escape was almost up, I picked up on my feet and began running again, only too be knocked over. "Oof!" I looked forward and didn't see anything. Next to me, I saw that Cheren had the same event.
The dust started clearing and assuming that we wouldn't get up in time, I asked Cheren, "You weren't really going to abandon Gigalith, were you?"
Cheren seemed dazed. "O-Of course not... P-Pokeballs can work f-from a distance..." he stuttered. He must have hit his head or something.
The dust cloud cleared and all eyes were on us again; specifically N's, which were full of rage.
"Zekrom," he commanded as he stared down at us.
Cheren and I looked at each other. We were still lying on the floor for some reason.
"This isn't good..." we muttered to each other.
Ghetsis
"Carracosta, Vanillite, return!" N called out as he help up his pokeballs.
One red light went off, and that was Carracosta's.
"Vanillite?!" N called out, only to be drowned out by everyone else's screaming. I was staring to see less and less of him as the smoke cloud kept growing.
"It's time to crawl out of the shadows," I confirmed, stepping out from behind the trees followed by the Shadow Triad. "Make sure that those two don't escape."
"Yes my Lord," the one in front replied as the three of them bowed and disappeared into thin air.
"Vaan... V-Vaan!" Vanillite cried as it floated past me, running away like a coward. He almost dropped a few times, but kept striving to escape.
"V-Vanillite!" N called after it while trying to follow it. When he was about to run past me, I put my hand up. N looked at the hand and then at me, his eyes wide. He stared after Vanillite, whose form was most likely disappearing into the forest. "Vanillite..! I know that the Simisear hurt you, but the Gigilath couldn't! You can levitate!" He then turned to me with a face of desperation.
"You are a king," I reminded him. "Are you just going to disappear?" I asked, my tenseness mirrored in my voice.
"B-But-"
"No. I recall teaching you about your responsibilities as King." I put him down coldly, amused when I saw that he only looked more desperate. Realizing that this was only stalling time and that the dust cloud was slowly eroding away, I knew what I had to do to appease N. "I will look for him and bring him back."
N's smile grew with his eyes. "Thank you-"
"Get back to your place," I snapped, bitterly turning around and walking into the forest. I wasn't satisfied in searching for a weakling. Since the day N had captured it, the Vanillite hadn't done anything productive whatsoever.
I let out an angry sigh once I was alone. Now that I was out searching for this pathetic pokemon, I couldn't make sure that N was doing what he needed to do. If that foolish boy made one mistake, I couldn't snap his head off; he was a figurehead which I needed. Frankly, I don't know what I would do if he did anything foolish, and that only added to my stress.
Eventually I found the Vanillite, lying by a tree stump. Upon seeing me, it gave a faint smile. "Van..."
I was about to pick it up and drag it back to N, but I took one last look at it, scrutinizing its ever detailed. One simple attack and it was already a disheveled mess. It barely caused any damage to the other pokemon as well.
"Van... Vanillite..." it sighed again, looking back up at me with curious eyes, one twitching from its injuries.
"You're pathetic," I spat.
Vanillite froze. Its ghost-of-a smile had left completely.
"Don't bother coming back," I hissed as I turned around, my flowing robe hitting it in the face. I started to walk away, but the Vanillite floated in front of me. I could feel my blood boiling.
"Van..." Vanillite pleaded, a look of worry on its face. It coughed and then fell to the ground, still looking back up at me. "Vanillite..!"
"You've been liberated," I told it again. "Get it through your thick head. You aren't needed."
"Van!" Vanillite persisted, coughing again at the amount of air it required to retort.
'I don't have time for this.' I took out a pokeball. "Cofagrigus, toxic," I ordered as I threw the pokeball in the air.
Cofagrigus knew enough not to question my motives anymore. He lifted his hands to the air and under Vanillite formed bubbly purple grog.
Vanillite's screams came out muffled as it sunk into the toxic attack. I watched it until it was completely submerged. With it out of my sights, I no longer had anything to amuse myself with. "If that eyesore tries to return, make sure it doesn't. Use whatever force necessary and find me later," I ordered Cofagrigus as I navigated my way back to Nuvema Town.
The walk back was not any better than the search, but at the very least, I could convince N to capture a new pokemon in due time.
Before I stepped out of the forest, I felt a familiar presence. "Your cloaking is improving," I remarked, impressed.
Realizing that they had been spotted, the Shadow Triad revealed themselves. "We refrained them from leaving just as you requested, Lord Ghetsis."
"Good. What has happened in my absence?"
"As soon as the dust cleared out, N summoned Zekrom to do the rest of the battle. He was convulsed that the boy's Simisear had caused his Vanillite to run away in fear. He ended it rather quickly, and we have taken their pokeballs into our custody."
I nodded. "Very well. You have done a good job."
"Thank you, my Lord."
"Where is everyone now?" I asked, looking past the trees and seeing very few people.
"My Lord, you were gone for some time."
Curious, I looked down at my wrist which had a digital watch. Apparently, I had been walking around for over two hours, looking for that pathetic thing. 'What a waste of time and energy...'
"And N fears for your and Vanillite's safety."
I sighed. "Where is the boy?"
The third member of the Shadow Triad stepped aside, revealing N standing some distance away in a small clearing of the forest. "We were willing to escort him out, but he requested that he would wait for you."
I rubbed the bridge of my nose in agitation. "Alright, you are dismissed," I said, waving a submissive hand.
They bowed and disappeared into thin air.
I made my way to the small clearing. N beamed upon seeing me, but I paid no attention to it. Soon, that happiness turned into distraught. I smirked upon seeing it.
I wasn't willing to let N get a word in, so I advised him instead. "You must get a new pokemon. As king, you cannot show any weakness."
N's face went from distraught to crestfallen. "You didn't find him?" His voice trailed off.
"I've been out looking for him for a while now, and I couldn't find him," I replied.
N looked frightened. He paled. "We have to look for him-"
"No!" I snapped. "Are you forgetting your duties as King?"
"Th-Then I'll ask everyone to-"
"NO!" I snapped again. 'That irate little boy just doesn't get it,' I cursed. If it wasn't for his abilities, I wouldn't have kept this around for that long. I tried to keep my temper, but knew that if I did, N would keep asking senseless questions. "I'll alert everyone on Team Plasma. We'll keep an eye out, but no one else shall know about your missing pokemon. In the meantime, find a replacement."
N, realizing he couldn't win, nodded. "Alright. I'll leave it to you then."
I smirked. "Good. Now, go back to the castle and gather your things. We won't be returning for a while."
N nodded and took out summoned Zekrom. He got on and flew off, but not before sending me a pleading look.
I turned around and went to find anyone. I would alert them to look out for Vanillite. I was confident that no one would find him; Cofagrigus is doing his job right now. If that thing knew what was best for it, it wouldn't come back.
Looker
"What's going on now?" asked someone from my radio.
I clicked the button. "N just took down two trainers with his Zekrom."
"He has Zekrom?!"
"SHH!" I scolded. "No one can see me." I scratched the back of my head and clicked the button again. "But... Did I forgot to mention that?"
Static came from the radio, indicating that it was on, but no one replied until a few seconds later. "What are they doing now?"
"Let me check," I said as I peered over the corner of the building I was hiding behind. "It appears that they have escorted N out. Everyone is still there, waiting for further orders."
"Looker," the voice on the other side asked. "Did everyone give away their pokemon?"
"It would appear so."
"Was it by force?"
"The majority? No. With the exception of two trainers, everyone willingly handed in their pokeballs."
There was more static.
"Are you there? Are we having communication problems?" I asked hastily, practically bashing down on the button.
"Looker. What happened with those two trainers?"
"They tried to leave, but they were blocked. They were completely capable of defeating the grunts, but they were defeated when N came along," I explained. "They stalled by using Earthquake and tried to leave again. However, they fell down, dropping most of their pokeballs."
The static was louder, but I could still make out a voice. "If that's the case, it's not good enough. It doesn't suffice."
"Are you being legitimate right now?!" I snapped.
"Alright. Are the people willingly letting Team Plasma rule them?"
Before I could answer, I heard everyone from the crowd chanting "PLASMA!"
"I'll take that as a yes..." the voice said. He sighed. "This means we can't do anything."
"What?!" I screeched into the communicator. "This is clearly a-"
"Just keep an eye out, alright?" the voice cut me off. "I'm as piqued about this as you are, but it doesn't follow the guidelines."
I sighed. "Are there really no other options?"
"According to them, there aren't. You'll just have to wait until they get out of line."
That irritated me. "Alright. I'm cutting off now," I said I slid the communicator in my pocket. 'The quicker I act the quicker we're done.'
Yes, I do : End
Alright, this was a pretty quick update. I was really motivated to write yesterday, so I finished it. Plus, since it's just an event that already happened, there's no need to be lengthy. This chapter existed to show what was going on in everyone's heads, what Ghetsis really did to Vanillite, and why the international police isn't doing anything about it. Also about Musharna's "escape" and how N got a hold of the pokemon in the first place.
If you're wondering why there was no fight scene with Zekrom, it was because of two things. Firstly, because I discovered that I can't write fighting scenes that well. Secondly, I felt that it would be more powerful if it was cut off "off screen," leaving it to your imagination.
The three grunts that approached Hilda in Chapter 1 are the same ones that approached Cheren and Bianca.
The reason why some pokemon don't talk (for example, Archen, Stoutland, elemental monkeys, ect) is I don't exactly know what they'd say. I know Stoutland barks, but what do I type? "Ruff?" As for the monkeys, they only words I can think of to describe them is "screech" and "holler." If any of you have any ideas, feel free to tell me.
It also explains why Vanillite was a little uneasy every time he heard that someone was being "liberated."
Kawaiijoltic : I'm glad to hear that. Your review actually motivated me to write this chapter so quickly. As for the Shadow Triad and the Striaton Brothers? Sadly, I won't give you a straight answer on that because I did have something in mind for later on. You'll just have to find out. (I didn't say yes or no =P)
And cool, another follower. Thanks. Your support means a lot.
