The Next Day…
N's POV
I was walking to Route 1 to go do my daily search for injured Pokémon. I wanted to make sure that all my friends were okay. I made it to Route 1 and started scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. There were one or two people here or there. Wild Pokémon scampered around through the grass or forest. Everything looked clear. I guess it's time to head back. I started to turn around when something caught my eye. A group of people began to gather around the announcement board. This can't be good. I pulled the bill of my cap down to cover my eyes and walked over to the crowd. I cleared my throat to get someone's attention. A guy, who looked a few years older than me, turned around to look at me. "What's going on?" I asked huskily.
"Someone just put up a new notice" the man explained.
"What is it about?" I questioned.
"Well, did you see that flyer for that missing king a few years back?" the guy asked.
"Yeah" I said. This guy must not recognize me, or he saw the flyer before I got there a few years ago.
"This new flyer is about the same guy, I think. I can't quite seem to get past these people to see it."
"Here let me help" I offered. "Hey! If you already read this new flyer, then move it and get out of here!" A few people jumped and quickly left. The guy and I were now close enough to see the paper. It looked almost the same as it did four years ago. "Missing: Natural Harmonia Gropius, N Harmonia, King N. Age: Twenty-Seven. Height: 6 ft. or over. Reward for his capture and return: Five hundred thousand dollars. Each week, a new notice will be posted with a new reward. Return the king alive and as soon as possible" I read aloud.
"Wow, they bumped up the reward from last time. They must really want him back now. They're going to be posting these weekly now with higher rewards. Maybe, I should start looking for him." the guy muttered. He looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back. "Thanks for your help. I don't know if I would have ever gotten to see this if you weren't here. What's your name? I don't think I caught it before."
"No problem. I got to go. It was nice meeting you. My name's N Harmonia by the way. See you around." I waved a hand and walked away. I saw the guy glancing at the flyer before looking back at me. His mouth hung open. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Wait! Come back. At least tell me where you live!" the guy shouted. I shoved my hands in my pockets and ignored him. Shoot! I almost forgot something. I turned around and ran up to the wooden board. It was still broken and splintered from where I punched it a few years ago. I grabbed the flyer. I looked at the guy and flicked my cap up, a smirk on my face as the guy saw what I looked like.
"Sorry. I almost forgot this" I apologized, holding up the flyer. I walked away, leaving the man speechless. My dad will never find me. I won't let him. I reached my house in a matter of minutes. Touko was on the couch waiting for me. She looked like she was having a hard time sitting still as she sat on the cushions. She kept shifting positions and tapping her foot.
"Touko" I said to acknowledge my presence. Her head shot up and she looked at me. "What's wrong?"
"I wanted to ask you something" Touko said. "I got a call on the phone today. I have some news."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Someone wants to challenge me to a battle to become Champion. I'm really excited and nervous at the same time" Touko chirped.
"So you're going to leave? You just got back" I said sadly.
"I'm going to leave in a week. I need to prepare my things. I actually came here to ask you if you wanted to tag along" Touko said.
"You want me to come along?"
"Yeah. You said that if you travelled then you would want to do it with me. This is your chance. We'll only be gone a few days, but it is still travelling. What do you say?"
"I'd love to come. I want to watch you battle. When did you say we're leaving?"
"In a week."
"Okay. I'll pack my things." I walked up to Touko and gave her a hug. I'm not letting her go by herself, even if it is only for a few days.
One week later…
"Are we ready to go?" Touko asked. She picked up her bag from off my couch and slipped it on her shoulder.
"Yeah but let me make sure I'm not forgetting anything" I said. I grabbed my green backpack and opened the large pocket. I had clothes, food, medicine for humans and Pokémon, a sleeping bag, other necessities, and my robe and crown. I couldn't leave them behind; I don't trust anyone now that there are notices up about me. I zipped the pocket back up and felt my waist. My belt had all my original six Pokémon on it, including Audino and Reshiram. "Ready."
"Okay, let's head out. We can walk for a while then fly if we need to" Touko stated. She grabbed my hand and walked out the door.
"Okay" I confirmed. We started towards Route 1. I stopped dead in my tracks.
"N, what's wrong? Did you forget something after all?" Touko asked.
"No. I just remembered something. Can we stop at the announcement board when we go by?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." We continued walking until the board can into view. I tugged on Touko's arm and started running. She stumbled along as I dragged her. I saw a familiar head examining the board. I walked up behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around saw me. His eyes got huge. I glanced past the guy and at the flyer. The reward was now five hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. I used my free hand to tear the paper off the board and shove it in my pocket.
"N, what was that?" Touko asked me.
"One of those flyers for my capture and return. My father probably ordered it to be put up" I explained calmly. "Oh, and this is a guy I met a week ago" I said, introducing Touko to the man. Touko held out her hand to him. He shakily took her hand and shook it.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Touko, N's girlfriend" Touko said. The man blinked.
"How old are you? You look pretty young. You also look sort of familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" the guy asked. Touko looked taken back. I could tell that we both felt a little uncomfortable now.
"Ummm, sixteen and you might recognize me from TV. I think I was on the news a few days ago. I'm the new Champion of Unova" she said.
"I see" the guy said shiftily. He looked between us before smiling and walking away. Something seemed off. Last week, he wanted to turn me in for the reward. Today, he just walked away and did nothing. Did he realize money isn't everything or something?
"What was that all about?" Touko asked.
"I have no idea. I never said we were close. Anyway, I think we should get going. When do we have to get to the Pokémon League?" I said.
"In two days" Touko responded.
"Come on then. We have a long trip ahead of us." I led Touko away from Route 1 by the hand. I had no idea where I was going, but I didn't care since Touko was there beside me.
"What are you going to do about those flyers?" Touko asked as we walked. She didn't seem to care where we were going either.
"I'll tear them down and burn them" I simply said.
"N, how are you going to do that? They're probably all over the Unova region. We're not traveling the whole region. Besides, they're probably replaced. It's impossible to get every single one" Touko cried out. "I shouldn't have invited you."
"What?" I asked quietly. I looked at Touko, tears ran down her cheeks.
"If I knew that there were people after you, then I wouldn't have asked you to come. You were safe in Nuvema Town. Nobody goes there. I don't want someone to take you away from me." I pulled Touko into my arms. I lifted her chin up with my finger so she would look me in the eyes. She just looked to the side. I wiped away her tears with my thumb.
"Look at me" I demanded softly. She did nothing. "Look at me." Her gaze slowly met mine. "Everything will be fine. I promise you that nothing will happen to me. I have you to thank for that."
"What did I do?"
"You gave me a bodyguard. You gave me Reshiram, remember? I brought him with me."
"Reshiram? You have him?"
"Yeah, right here" I said while patting my belt. "He'll protect me."
"I believe you. Nothing's gonna happen." Touko sighed. I gently kissed her.
"Nothing" I promised. She gave me a small smile.
The next day…
Touko and I were in Nimbasa City. We were going to take a break here.
"Do you want to go ride the Ferris Wheel?" I asked, pointing to the large rotating amusement park ride.
"Sure. We better hurry. I think that the park just opened. There isn't a line. We want to get there before anyone else" Touko yelled. She started dragging me towards the first open cart. I felt a rumbling as we ran. I looked over my shoulder. Behind us, a huge crowd of people were racing to the ride too. They were probably trying to get there while there was no line also.
"Faster! We're going to get trampled!" I screamed. I picked up my speed and took the lead. We ran past the worker that helped people into the cars. He gave us a skeptical look before closing the doors behind us. Touko and I were both panting for air. "We…made it."
"Yeah…that was…a…close…one" Touko said between breaths. I fell back onto a bench and relaxed. I twisted my neck to look out the window. The sun was high in the sky. Our car was almost to the top. It kept stopping to let on passengers. I could see across the whole city and a little farther. Everything was so beautiful and serene. All the trees were plush and green. Pokémon were playing down below.
"Wow" I breathed out. I straightened my back and pressed my face to the glass. "Everything looks so perfect. The world looks like it is in harmony."
"I thought the same thing, the first time I rode this. You can see a killer sunset and sunrise from here too. I wish they would have opened earlier today." I was too busy looking out the window to notice that the car doors slid open.
"Excuse me, could you please exit the car? There are other passengers that want to ride" the attendant asked. I jumped at the voice. I blushed out of embarrassment.
"Sorry, we'll get off now" I said. I grabbed Touko's hand, and we got off. The sun was beating down on us out in the open. Touko and I continued to walk around the amusement park to kill some time. I was too busy looking at all the different stalls that I didn't see the guy right in front of me. I ran right into him. He turned around and glared at me. He looked about eighteen.
"Watch where you're going, buddy!" he yelled.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'll be more careful next time" I said.
"You better" he growled. He scowled at me a minute more before turning to Touko. "I'm so sorry, miss." Great, he's trying to look like a nice guy to impress my girlfriend. He stared at her for a second before frowning. "You're the Champion, right?"
"Yes" Touko said unhappily. She must be mad at the guy for yelling at me. The guy turned around to a few of his friends.
"Hey fellas, look at this. It's the Champion" he laughed. "You're a joke, ya know that? Everybody thinks that the League should fire you. Nobody takes you seriously."
"Huh?" Touko said confused. She sounded a little hurt by the words. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me. Nobody would hurt my girl.
"What are you doing with this old guy? Why would a pretty young thing like you, go out with this old fella?" he asked Touko. He directed his gaze back to me. "How old are you? Like thirty? You should try going out with someone your own age. You're sick." He turned back to Touko. "How about you and I go on a date? Leave this guy for someone closer to your own age." Touko's eyes started to water. I growled. I started to bunch up my sleeves and ball up my fists. One of the guy's friends noticed and took a swing at me. I ducked and punched him in the gut. He doubled over in pain. Hey, I was the former King of Team Plasma. I had to be trained to protect myself. I turned on the guy that was bad talking us earlier; he had Touko in his hold.
"Let her go" I snapped.
"No. I'm just saving her from a relationship that's not gonna work out. You're too old for her" the guy said. He just crossed the line. I started at him. Before I could do anything, Touko elbowed him in the stomach. He let go of her immediately to hold his abdomen. She turned around to face him. She gave him a good swift kick in between the legs. He fell onto the ground on his side. He rolled around groaning.
"Age doesn't matter, you jerk" she yelled at him. She walked up to me and took my hand. "Let's go." I obediently followed. "How did he find out I was dating an older guy? You don't look that much older. You just look tall." I thought about it.
"I bet it was that guy I introduced you to yesterday. I bet you a million bucks that, our names or at least yours is in the paper. The next time I see him, I'll kill him" I growled.
"Whoa, three things. One: I don't have a million bucks, and you probably do." I smirked at the comment. She wasn't wrong. "Two: How did that guy from yesterday know your age? And three: Why would only my name possibly be in the paper?"
"Well, he saw that flyer that was posted about me. It had my current age on it. And I don't know why my name might not be in the paper. I just guessed that it wasn't because the guy that you just beat up didn't seem to know who I was. I bet if he knew my name, then he would know I was a king. Seriously, who else has the name Natural? Also, he didn't seem to mind that his friend tried to beat me up. I don't think my father would be happy to see me injured if he turned me in. He must not have known who I was" I said.
"You're right. Maybe that guy from yesterday forgot your name. You did take the flyer away from him."
"True."
"I knew something like this would happen if we started dating. I also knew we would have to deal with it. Now, it is ruining my image as Champion. I'll just have to stay strong and ignore what people think." I hugged Touko.
"We can get through it. You are the strongest, most independent girl I know. Now come on. We still have a day's worth of travelling to do. We have to be there by tomorrow." Touko and I intertwined our fingers before setting off. Hopefully, the League doesn't remove Touko from her position. She deserves it.
A/N: Some people are major creeps. Who do you think the person that wants to face Touko is? Leave your guess in the comments if you want. Please, review if you have the time. *glances at clock* I've got it!