Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Damn assignments and exams. Had to force myself to stop so I could study. But here's the latest chapter.

Chapter 10: Crossings

Once outside, Hawes and I saw Lenora at the crossroads, looking around frantically. 'I can't see them.' She said, frustrated. 'They timed it perfectly. Because I had a challenger, Herdier is unconscious and can't sniff them out.' She looked at me. 'Not that it's your fault or anything.'

'Good day Lenora! Find any good fossils lately?'

A bright voice called out. We turned to see a man dressed in a green shirt, green pinstriped pants and red bandanna around his neck walking, no, swaggering, cheerfully up to Lenora. His smile was charming and I couldn't help but be reminded of Em's uncle Wallace.

'Suffering from artist's block again?' Lenora said wearily. She turned back to me. 'White, this is Burgh. I know he doesn't look like it but he's Castelia City's Gym Leader!'

Before she could continue, Burgh shrugged dramatically. 'Just looking for a change of pace.' He frowned at the lack of smile on Lenora's face. 'Something wrong? Why are you wet?'

'Something wrong?' Lenora basically shouted in frustration. 'Someone just stole one of my fossils!' Burgh quickly came closer and Lenora began explaining what had happened in a whisper.

I looked around nervously. People were beginning to stare. I spotted a familiar hat. 'Bianca!'

The girl turned and smiled, coming over. 'Hi White! What's everyone doing here? Oh no, are you hurt?' She looked worried as I leaned on Hawes.

'Just twisted. See?' I stood up properly and though it ached, the pain wasn't strong enough for me to need support. 'Thanks Hawes.' He smiled and went to join his wife. I sighed. 'Team Plasma's shown up again.'

'What?' Bianca shouted angrily, drawing more stares. 'Don't tell me they hurt you again!' I quickly hushed her, though Burgh, Lenora and Hawes were now staring at me.

'Bianca, why are you yelling?' Cheren came out of the museum, wet as the rest of us. I remembered he had been reading in the library. 'Was there a problem? Because the museum seems to have one.' I quickly gave them a rundown and turned to see Lenora looking at us curiously.

'Your friends?' Lenora asked. I nodded and quickly introduced them. 'Yes, you challenged me yesterday Cheren. Ok, we need to split up and search. I'm going to get my Pokémon healed up and head towards Route 3. Dear, Cheren and Bianca, can you stay here and protect the museum in case they come back? White, you come with me and get your Pokémon healed. After that, follow Burgh to Pinwheel Forest. He'll be able to direct you better from there.'

Burgh nodded. 'I'll meet you at the entrance when you're ready to round up the robbers. Call if you find them.' We all quickly exchanged Xtransciever numbers and he headed off. Hawes walked into the museum.

Cheren and Bianca nodded. 'Good luck White. Be careful, ok?' Bianca gave me a hug. Cheren just nodded, as he did when he was emotional, and went into the museum. 'Wait up!' Bianca hurried after him.

Lenora walked with me as I quickly limped towards the Pokémon Centre. Our Pokémon got bumped up the line and healed quickly. She said goodbye and headed back towards Route 3. I went as quickly as I could towards Pinwheel Forest. Burgh was indeed waiting at the entrance. 'If we loose them in the wilderness, we'll have trouble.' He told me the moment I walked up. 'Know much about Pinwheel Forest?'

I shook my head. 'Not really. I've only walked through it once and I stuck to the main road. But I used to live near another forest that we would enter all the time to play, so I'm sort of used to them.' It had been a while but surely it didn't matter too much.

He nodded. 'Right, let's head in.' He ran off, as I limped and hopped behind him. I cursed my bad luck of getting injured. He was waiting inside the canopy of the trees when I entered. He had noticed my ankle was still injured. I set my jaw, determined to chase after Team Plasma. However, he didn't say anything to stop me. 'Since you're injured, I'll take the main path. I have a higher chance of catching up to them if they took it or I'll block the exit if they haven't reached it yet. Since you can't run can you take the forest path? If they chose to avoid being seen by people they would've gone that way. If you go from behind and I'm in front we can cage them in.'

I nodded. 'Yeah, I can do that.'

'There are lots of bug Pokémon, and other types as well, that aren't used to humans because most trainers take the path. Be careful.' I nodded. Burgh smiled. 'You shouldn't get lost. It's generally just one straight path. With a fossil in hand, I highly doubt Team Plasma would want to go beating through the bushes too badly. I'll see you at the end.' With that he ran off.

I took a deep breath. 'Let's do this.'

Heading left into a grassy field I could just see the gap between the trees up ahead. I limped forward, so intent on getting there, I yelped in surprise when a Team Plasma member jumped out at me. 'I'll take you on and stop you from chasing us!'

I growled in anger. Without a word I sent out Triton. The battle was over in moments. I limped onwards, ignoring the insults the member threw at me. Another member was ahead. Triton at my side, she was easily beaten as well. This time I stayed. 'Where's the dragon skull?' I demanded.

'Do I look like a person who would carry it?' She sneered. 'Look somewhere else.'

I was tempted to try and get more answers but I figured that there might be more Plasma members throughout the forest who might be more talkative and not waste my time. As I walked though, I called Burgh and Lenora to let them know I had already bumped into some members. 'Yeah, I haven't seen any here yet.' Lenora stated. 'Looks like they headed towards Pinwheel. Herdier's just doing a sweep here to see if she can smell them. I don't think they're here though. I'll come as soon as I can.'

'I haven't seen Team Plasma yet either. Looks like they haven't gotten through the forest though. Herd them this way White. We'll set a trap for them. Even if they don't have the fossil, they may know the whereabouts of it.'

'Ok.' I hung up and nodded at Triton. 'Let's catch these thieves.'

My ankle starting to feel better, I began moving faster. I entered into the thick of the trees but beyond the entrance, I couldn't see any more members. There were some trainers to battle though, as well as wild Pokémon, who I impatiently fought, bringing out Zara as well. The three of us headed through until we reached a canyon. I stopped at the barrier. 'I guess they didn't head this way after all.' I told Zara and Triton. 'So much for a straight path. Maybe I missed the turning?' There was no way though. It was pretty clear what the main path was. So I slumped down in a hollow stump, the mighty tree that once stood there lying across the canyon. I supposed I could climb up onto it and walk across but the size made it unlikely Team Plasma could've done such a thing with the Dragon Skull.

As I rested I heard a muttered curse. I sat up, still as stone, as Triton and Zara also listened hard.

'Why is this thing so darn heavy?'

'Shut up! Do you want someone to hear us?'

'Who the heck is going to hear us in this forest? No one goes down here. We were lucky that we found a path across that damn canyon.'

The argument involved people acting shifty. It definitely fit the profile of Team Plasma. I peeked out of my stump. Up on a higher ledge I could roughly see four Team Plasma members. Since they couldn't hear me they hadn't looked down but I suspected my stump was hiding me as well.

Whiny voice started again. 'Why can't we get a Pokémon to Fly this out of here?'

'I don't know! We're grunts. Leave the thinking to the upper ranks.'

'And this isn't important?'

A third voice interrupted the two arguers. 'If you've got energy to argue then use it to carry this fossil! So far the only useful person has been Tim, who found the hollow tree to cross and he did it without talking! So shut up!'

The voices went silent. Obviously person number 3 had more authority. It also sounded like they had the fossil. I called Burgh and Lenora. 'They're close and have the fossil.' I whispered.

'Think you can take them?' Lenora asked.

I nodded. 'From what I could tell, they're pretty low rank. I should be able to fight any members that come up.' I paused. 'They said it was important. Do you know any reason why a Dragonite skull would be important?'

'A Dragonite?'

'Oh, I came to tell you but before I could, Plasma came in.'

'Wow! If it is a Dragonite skull, the possibilities-'

'Not now Ladies.' Burgh interrupted. 'We'll start heading your way as soon as Lenora meets up here. Be careful.' We hung up.

I heard a rustle further in the bushes. I nodded to Zara and Triton. They prepared to attack. N came out. I swore. 'Damn it! Don't scare me like that!' I whispered.

He looked puzzled. 'I was here for a while. I heard your voice so I came to say hi.'

'Keep your voice down. Look, I'm busy at the moment. Can't stop and chat.' I glanced up, trying to see if the grunts had noticed. They had gone but it didn't look like they had spotted me.

'What's the rush?' N whispered, following my lead.

'Museum. Team Plasma. Stolen Dragonite head. Trying to get it back. Bye!' I rushed off, realising that anyone who didn't know what was already happening would have been highly confused by my sentence.

I went over to the tree, about to climb it when Triton softly called my attention. I went over and saw that the giant tree was now a giant log, hollow and big enough to walk through, even for grunts carrying a fossil. 'Straight path. Burgh could've warned me.' I muttered to my Pokémon. I headed through, coming to a clearing on the other side. Looking back at the ledge and seeing them gone I went through the grass. Triton and Zara, knowing we were close, ploughed through wild Pokémon jumping out at us. I turned the corner to see a dead end. This time I took note of a tree that had fallen onto the ledge above, the gigantic roots forming a small canopy for the grass area I was in. Hesitantly, I moved forward, to get a closer look at the bottom of the tree. Sure enough, it was hollow and I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. With Zara's tail flame lighting the way, we headed through the tree.

At the end I nearly rammed into a Team Plasma member. 'I thought I saw you come out of the tree over the canyon.' She said proudly. 'I'm here to stop you!'

It was a Patrat. Completely without orders Zara Flame Charged it, knocking it out in one go. The grunt was in shock. 'Well, must be on my way.' I grinned and ran down another hollow tree. I congratulated Zara for taking initiative on the way.

I continued to follow the path, through trees and grass. After a while I noticed my ankle no longer hurt. After gingerly testing it I began to jog, Triton and Zara speeding up to keep up. I went through another hollow log (what was with Pinwheel and logs?) to see another grunt. Two Patrats stood next to him, guarding the fossil on the ground behind them. 'A pursuer! You-'

Zara Flame Charged again. Not to be outdone Triton also leapt forward and used Razor Shell on the other one. Both went down without a fight. I smiled at the grunt. No doubt my silence was pissing him off because he sent out another Pokémon. Sadly, I didn't get to see what it was as Zara and Triton both attacked without it having fully emerged from the Pokéball. I blinked and began lecturing my Pokémon; it was all very nice to take initiative and attack the bad man's Pokémon but we mustn't do so without giving them a fighting chance. I hope they understood that next time, the Pokémon should be ready to battle.

I turned back to the grunt, who was still in shock. 'Now, hand the skull over.'

He grumbled. 'Fine. Take the stupid skill.' Triton and Zara picked it up, pulling it over beside me. I inspected it. I was no expert but it didn't look like any major damage had been done.

'The dream our king had-we had-won't come true…' The grunt whispered, staring at the skull with a longing expression.

About to ask what he meant I heard footsteps behind me. Turning around I saw an old man, with brown robes emerging from the log. Zara growled and Triton got his scalchops ready.

He ignored me and went over to the grunt. 'How are you holding up, fellow subject of our king?'

The grunt bowed. 'Gorm of the Seven Sages! I apologise for having the skull, which we worked so hard to obtain, stolen off me.' He looked terrified.

'It doesn't matter. It's not important.' Gorm said calmly. 'It turns out it is not the Pokémon we seek.'

'Hang on. You guys have a king?' What was this crazy group?

My interruption caused Gorm to pay attention to me. 'The dragon skull may be useless. But we will not allow anyone to disrupt our plans and get away with it.' I grew nervous. Weak grunts I could handle. Gorm was obviously not a grunt so chances were that he wasn't weak. 'We will fix it so you never interfere with us again.' Zara growled, flames beginning to show in her mouth. Triton called water into his mouth, ready to attack.

'Oh sweet!'

The voice made us turn to the side where Burgh came jogging up. 'What do I spy here? An important looking guy!'

'White! Burgh!' Lenora came jogging up behind him, panting. Herdier began growling at the sight of Gorm. 'Next time, wait up Burgh!' She turned to Gorm. 'Who are you supposed to be? The big boss?'

'Apparently one of the seven sages.' I answered. I was feeling relieved at the sight of the gym leaders. 'No doubt Ghetsis is one too.' The robes gave it away.

'Ghe-who?' Lenora asked.

'Ghetsis, one of the Seven Sages, will liberate Pokémon with words alone! The rest of us will take them away from trainers by force!' He paused, hesitating. 'The odds are a little against us at the moment. This time we'll retreat quietly. We'll settle it one day. I'll be looking forward to it. Gym leaders Lenora and Burgh.' He sneered at me. 'White.' With that, dragging the grunt with him, he left.

There was silence for a while. 'Not chasing them Burgh?' Lenora ventured.

'We got the skull back. That's what's important. Let's get it to the museum.' We lifted it and began carrying it out of Pinwheel, this time following the main road. Burgh continued to speak. 'I'm worried what will happen if we do corner them. Team Plasma sound like an extremist group. Extremists can be unpredictable when they're backed against a wall.'

We were silent all the way to the museum. When we got there Bianca, Cheren and Hawes instantly rushed over in relief. Lenora, after getting some workers to start restoring the headless fossil, told us about how she went to Route 3 but there was no trace. She headed to Pinwheel Forest where Burgh was waiting at the exit. Burgh stated what he went through. People had seen them near the entrance but no one had seen them at the exit. After getting my call, he met up with Lenora and headed into the forest. I told them what I saw and heard, simply beating them, grunts and kings.

'King, huh? Wonder what he's like?' Bianca pondered.

'It makes them sound more extreme.' Burgh said.

'We have heard of a group calling themselves Team Plasma pop up.' Lenora admitted. 'So far it sounded like they were just doing speeches. We got a call from Striaton recently but we thought that was a one off. Maybe we should look into this more.'

Burgh shrugged. 'There's nothing we can do until they act again.' He turned to Bianca, Cheren and me. 'In the mean time, I'll be looking forward to your challenges at the Castelia Gym. See you soon!'

Before I could explain that I wasn't really challenging gyms he was off. I sighed. 'I'm going to get my Pokémon healed up. They did an amazing job.' It had been a long day. It was starting to get late and I wanted rest.

'Can I recommend you head to Castelia City now?' Lenora said. 'The view is fantastic in the evening.'

I hesitated but Zara and Triton looked eager to keep going. 'Sounds good.' I turned to my friends.

Cheren shook his head. 'I'll go tomorrow and stick with my plan.'

Bianca also shook her head. 'I still have to beat Lenora.'

Lenora clapped her hands. 'That's right. Well, my Pokémon are all ready to go.'

'Now?' Bianca squeaked.

'No time like the present.' Hawes laughed. 'We'll just get the challenge set up for you.'

With that Lenora, Hawes and Bianca headed off to the library. Cheren paused before shrugging. 'I might as well do some reading before bed. Bye White.' He too was gone.

I sighed. 'Just us now. Come on.' Triton and Zara ran happily with me to the Pokémon Centre, healing up. The Pinwheel main road didn't offer any challengers, beyond a few trainers, and we made good time. As we got to the exit N emerged from the forest path. 'N!'

He turned in surprise as I came up. 'White?'

'Sorry about earlier. I was in a major rush. Everything's fine now though.' I smiled. Triton was saying hello to Zorua while Zara simply ignored them both. 'Heading to Castelia?'

He nodded. 'Yes. I was meant to get there earlier but I wanted to talk to the forest Pokémon.'

'Then why don't we cross together?'

He looked surprised but nodded. We started walking. 'Have you ever been to Castelia?'

'Once, a few years ago. Have you?'

He shook his head. 'I heard its Unova's second largest city. The fact that it's a port city also makes it the centre of global trade for the region.'

I shrugged, laughing. 'Probably. Don't really have any interest in trade. All I know is that is has huge skyscrapers and we have to cross the Skyarrow Bridge, which we'll see in a moment.' We stepped out of Pinwheel Forest. I heard N gasp and the Pokémon murmur in amazement. Even I was captivated by the sight.

While I had crossed Skyarrow Bridge before, it had been during the day, which was amazing enough. At night, the whole bridge glowed, shining and lighting the way to Castelia City, which was a blur of lights in the distance. Its normally blue metal was glimmering with gold, as the lights reflected off. The water shone as well, a fuzzy reflection of the bridge above it adding to the glamour. No wonder Lenora recommended going at night. I laughed and ran forward. 'Come on!'

Going through the gate we lost sight of the bridge for the moment. When we stepped out everyone was silent as we began the spiralling ascent to the top of the bridge. I remembered first coming here with Mum.

'Wow! It's huge!' I ran over to the edge, leaning over the railing to get a better view of the ocean and the forest we had just left.

'Be careful White. I don't want you falling over the edge.' Mum warned. We had arrived in the middle of the day so there weren't that many people. Mum pulled out her Pokéballs. 'Come out everyone!'

Out burst the Pokémon. They called greetings to her and cuddled up to me before spreading out on the bridge, admiring it. Hermes flew high into the air, enjoying riding on the sea breeze. The rest walked along with us, though Mum finally consented to my whining and I enjoyed the bridge while riding Qilin.

Following Hermes' movements I thought I saw a flash of orange. Looking to my left, I couldn't find what I had seen. Thinking it was my imagination, I went back to looking at Hermes when a flash of orange occurred on my right. Quickly looking I saw a Pokémon fly for a second and wink at me. 'Mum, mum! What Pokémon was that?'

'What Pokémon?' Mum had come over but she couldn't see anything.

After looking around for a few seconds I realised it had disappeared. 'It was small, cream white orange ears and blue eyes!'

Mum shook her head. 'I've never heard of it before but there are a lot of Pokémon in Unova I don't know about. If you see it again let me know.'

Even with our expansion of Unova Pokémon knowledge we still never came across it again. Maybe I should be trying to ask Professor Juniper but my vague memory didn't hold a lot of detail in it, so it was unlikely the Professor could identify the Pokémon.

'Do people live in those towers?'

I was startled by N's voice. I looked at where his finger was pointing. 'Those are skyscrapers. People live in apartments in some of them but others are office buildings and the like. Never seen a skyscraper before?'

'No. They're big.' I laughed. Talk about an understatement. 'Why do they need to be so big?'

I didn't know how to explain it. 'Well-OW!' I let out a yelp of pain as something suddenly yanked my hair. It let go in a moment but I could clearly hear a Pokémon giggle. Whirling around I couldn't see anyone there.

'White?' N was staring at me in confusion, along with Triton, Zara and Zorua.

'Something just pulled at my hair! Didn't you hear it?' I simply received blank looks. 'It was really there!'

'It's late. Maybe you're just imagining.' N suggested.

I glared at him. 'The pain was real enough.'

'Maybe-'

Zorua suddenly let out a series of furious yips. He was suspended in the air, struggling against the invisible force that had him captive. He suddenly dropped and N managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Triton and Zara were both up in arms, looking around desperately for the source.

I hear laughter behind me. Turning around I saw the same Pokémon that winked at me years ago floating in front of me. 'You!'

It giggled again and flew straight at me. Yelping I stumbled back as Triton and Zara both released attacks. Easily dodging them, it flew up and grabbed my cap, yanking it off my head. I fell as my ponytail had temporarily gotten caught on it before the Pokémon managed to get it off properly. I glared at it. 'Give that back!' It simply put it on its own head. I got up and tried to snatch it back, though it simply dodged it.

Zorua jumped at it, attempting an attack. The Pokémon got in first with a Quick Attack, sending Zorua tumbling back. It stuck its tongue out at N, flew close to me, dodging my attempts to get my cap back, tugged on my bag before flying out of reach. It waved the cap enticingly, trying to get me to follow before disappearing. 'No! Give it back!' It was too late. I slumped on the ground, depressed.

'I don't think you'll be getting it back.' N said.

I tried to glare at N but gave a sigh instead. 'I can't believe it took my cap.' I muttered. Triton and Zara, seeing I was distressed, came up and tried to comfort me.

'It was only a hat.' N pointed out.

Pulling my knees up, folding my hands on top, I rested my head on my arms. 'If it was any other cap I wouldn't care but that one was special.'

N sat down next to me. 'How so?'

'It was from my dad.' I hesitated before explaining.

It was a fair in Viridian City. Dad was home and it was one of our rare family outings, with all of us. I was so excited. We went early to visit the Viridian Gym first. I ran up just as the leader was closing for the day. 'Uncle Blue! Uncle Blue!'

Blue laughed, kneeling to give me a hug. He wasn't really our uncle but he was a pretty close family friend so we called him one. I was the only one who he openly showed this much affection to. Dad was too much of a rival, Mum was wife of said rival and Black was always bugging him for battles rather than affection.

After greeting us, Blue led the way, with me tagging alongside him. We wandered along, getting food, the adults watching Black (he's my older brother if you were wondering N) and me play a few games. We came to this game where Black saw a black, red and white cap with a Pokéball on it, similar to Dad's. Considering Dad was his hero he wanted it straight away. He ran up to the man running the stand, disappointed when a Pokémon was required to play this game.

It was an obstacle course. Depending on how fast a Pokémon could get through you would get a certain prize. Mum decided to play, to get that cap for Black. I saw a white and pink one similar to it that I quite liked but I didn't want it nearly as badly as Black so I stayed quiet.

Mum chose Osiris, her Umbreon. (It looks a bit like a cross between a fox and a cat, black except for a few golden rings. Sorry, they're a bit hard to describe.) Osiris powered through the course. He's a fast one so it was no surprise they managed to win the cap. Black was so happy.

We were about to leave when Dad stopped us. He said he wanted to play. By that time we had attracted a crowd. Some people recognised Dad but most of them saw Blue and were curious at what the Viridian Gym Leader was doing. The man very happily let Dad play. So he sent out Pika, his Pikachu (You would've seen the mouse-like Pokémon topiary when you left Striaton-that's a Pikachu). If anything Pika was faster than Osiris. Dad was done in seconds.

To our surprise he chose the pink cap. Taking it he put it on my head and then walked off. Never one for words I was confused about what Dad did. It was Uncle Blue who had to explain it, in a whisper. 'He saw you wanted it so he decided to get it for you. It probably embarrasses him which is why he hasn't said anything.'

'I was deliriously happy to get that cap. Not because it was particularly nice looking but because it was the first and only present from Dad where he didn't have to ask Mum first about what I wanted. Except for Zara. It showed me he really cared because he took notice. Before that, I occasionally had my doubts.' I tried to explain to N, who was silent after the story. 'That cap reminds me that despite his airhead ways, he still loves me.' There was more silence. I cleared my throat and stood up. 'We should probably get going.'

'Is your dad a Pokémon?'

My jaw dropped. 'What? Where did that come from?'

N stood and shrugged. 'Because only Pokémon show affection like that in small ways. Fathers are either overly emotional around their children or really strict. In fact, people are like that.'

'My dad is very human N.' I told him dryly. 'You do realise that humans and Pokémon have the same emotional scale? Both can be overly affectionate or strict or show emotions in smaller ways. People show others we care in small ways all the time. Like, when Cheren helps Bianca find a book in the library or when Bianca and I give each other hugs or when friends buy each other lunch or when a father decides to give spontaneous gifts.' I scowled. I wasn't explaining this well. 'Didn't your parents ever give you a hug or tucked you into bed at night?'

There was a pause. 'I don't have a mother.' N explained. 'Father never did those things because he was trying to raise me to be the very best I could be, so a hard regime was what I needed.'

I felt bad. 'Well, whatever works for you.' I turned to face the city. 'We should get going. It's getting late.'

We were silent as we entered the city. It was impressive with the busy streets and the tall buildings, all lit up but I think we were both distracted. 'I'm going to stay in a hotel tonight.' I told N. 'The Pokémon Centre here is always really full because there are always so many people coming and going and the facilities aren't the greatest. What about you?'

'I already have accommodations.' N said calmly, picking Zorua up.

I nodded. 'I'll see you around maybe.'

'I'll keep an eye out.'

I turned back to him. 'Hmmm?'

N looked away. 'I'll keep an eye out for your cap.'

I smiled. 'Thanks N. I will too. Between the both of us, I'm sure we'll get it back.' I joked.

'Bye then.' N walked down the street.

I sighed and turned to Triton and Zara. 'Time to go back into your Pokéballs. I don't want to lose you in this crowd.' They nodded and returned. I stretched. 'Time to find a room.'

Hello Castelia City. Am I glad to finally get here. Well, we've seen Team Plasma and N all in the one chapter. Pretty full this one. If you can't guess White's Dad from this chapter, I'll be surprised. Or maybe it's obvious to me?

Anyway, hopefully with all my assignments done I can update faster (or not, knowing me. Fingers crossed though). Thanks for reading and please review!