A/N:Hello my dears, and welcome back to my little story here! Warning: long chapter. However, I think it's a rather fun chapter and not as filler as the previous one. All my love to everyone who reviews, you guys rock my world and really make me want to update –even if it's just to read your reviews! But seriously, I'm so pleased you guys love this story as much as I love writing it!

Learning the Art of Friendship

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Chapter 10: Circles
White

"Gah, it's freaking freezing out here!" White shivered as she left the Pokemon Centre. "Who decided to leave now?" It was about 9.30 in the morning.

"You did, remember? You said to start early so we had time to go shopping before you went to find Lenora," N told her seriously, pulling the sleeve of his shirt down over his hands. "I dislike being cold too. I would like to buy a coat or something to keep warm."

She nodded, reminding herself that N wasn't familiar with sarcasm. "Sounds like a plan." White rubbed her arms, wishing her normal clothes weren't so short. What had possessed her to walk around in shorts and a singlet anyway? She should have remembered how cold it could get from the last time she'd travelled Unova. Well, in her defence there had been a lot going on lately.

A sudden ringing made the two of them look up.

"Look out!" A voice cried, as a man on a bicycle came careening towards them.

"White!" N pushed her out of the way, causing her to fall ungracefully into a clump of nearby bushes.

"Gee, thanks N," she muttered ungratefully under her breath, standing up and dusting off the leaves.

A groaning sound drew her attention to her left. "Owwww..." She walked over until she was standing above a man in a white lab coat, a hand to his head and pain showing on his face. "Urgh...Oh, hello. I know you," he said suddenly, pulling himself into a sitting position.

White studied his face closely, until he moved his hand out of the way. "Oh, Hawes! Lenora's husband! Hi, how are you going?" She reached down and helped him stand. N appeared next to her, nodding at Hawes.

"Well, I was doing great, until the brakes on my bike caught and I nearly crashed into you kids. Now I'm going to be late. And I promised Lenora I'd be on time today..." He straightened his coat mournfully, looking like a kicked Lillipup. "She wanted me to bring this to the museum to be cleaned." He held up something wrapped in cloth. "See?" He unwrapped the bundle, revealing a skull.

"Nifty!" White proclaimed, fascinated by the bleached-white fossil. "Do you know what pokemon it belonged to?" N poked the skull curiously as Hawes beamed, the expression at odds with his words.

"Nope! But it's still an amazing discovery! Lenora found it in the forest yesterday, where she's been digging in an incredibly ancient cave!"

She realized that his exuberance was over the fact that it was his wife who found amazing things, not the actual discovery. "An old cave? In the forest somewhere?" she clarified, intrigued by the thought of a new area to explore. Her last experience in Pinwheel Forest had been less than stellar, and she'd appreciate the chance to wander around the forest. Maybe meet some new pokemon!

Hawes nodded emphatically. "That's right! A Ranger recently fell into a hole that led straight to an ancient cave! My dear wife's been excavating in that area, and we keep finding new, or well, old, bones! And now we finally have the skull to match. Because even though the skeleton was together, the rock is really hard to dig through, and Lenora has to be really careful or risk damaging the fossil. But all is well! I just have to take this skull, get it cleaned properly and we can finally finish the skeleton and place it on display. Lenora's even thinking about having an exhibition to show it off. Wouldn't that just be amazing?" Hawes's eyes glittered with glee.

White was amused at a grown man acting like a child with a favourite toy. "It sounds pretty cool. But we'd better hurry; didn't you say you were going to be late or something?"

Hawes blinked, and then started fretting. "Oh my, yes! Thank you ever so much for reminding me! I have to dash now, may I please have that back?" Without waiting for a response, he snatched the skull –gently- out of her hands and wrapped it back up. "Thank you. I must say, it was nice seeing you again. Cheerio!" He righted his bike and immediately rode off, waving over his shoulder. White waved after him as he disappeared from view.

"He was rather strange," N commented, rubbing his arm.

She shrugged and nodded. "Eh, he's just a bit scatterbrained. But anyways, this cave sounds like an interesting place. Want to come have a look with me? I still want to rebattle Lenora as well, and it sounds like she's hanging out there. Want to come, or would you rather wander around town for a bit? I don't know how long I'll be..."

N held up a hand to stop her. "I would like to come. I was thinking Blitzle might wish to explore the forest with me and Chikorita. He seemed really interested when I mentioned it earlier." He waved at the nearby bush, where Blitzle was nudging a log. The Electric type perked up at the sound of his name, and whickered softly. "We are going to the forest soon," N said to him, the lightning zebra dancing on his hooves before racing over to stop suddenly in front of them. He nudged N's arm, before dancing off again.

"He looks really happy." White grinned, glad that the miserable creature they'd met a few days ago was gone. Now Blitzle was full of energy, and his coat was beginning to fill out again under N's care. She could already see the marks beginning to fade, and was grateful that N had been the one to meet him. For all his social awkwardness when it came to people, she couldn't fault his love for Pokemon. "You've done really well getting him healed. I'm glad." She smiled at him.

N shoved his hands in his pockets, looking away as a faint pink blush began to spread across his cheeks. Chikorita chirruped from his usual perch on N's shoulder.

"Thank you, White." He didn't meet her gaze. "No one ever praised me before. You are the only one who is that kind."

She felt warmth on her face, and turned away. She'd never really thought of herself as kind. "Uhh...sure. Umm...how about we go explore the forest now? Unless you're hungry or something?" They'd had a quick breakfast of fruit and berries before leaving the Pokemon Centre, but she wouldn't put it past him to be hungry. Wasn't that normal for teenage boys? They were always hungry, or so the saying went.

"No, I'm not hungry." He shook his head to emphasize the point. She started walking towards the edge of the city, N falling into step next to her. She found herself glad of the company. It wasn't like she'd ever been alone on her journey, she'd had her Pokemon after all, and Cheren and Bianca had kept showing up unexpectedly, but still. Just having someone there all the time was...pleasant. She found her gaze flickering to the side, studying the green haired boy walking next to her. His expression was thoughtful, and Chikorita chirped every few seconds. She assumed they were having a conversation, and felt a pang of envy that she couldn't hear the voices of her Pokemon like he could. She brushed it off, knowing that his upbringing had been far different to hers, and that she wouldn't trade them if she'd had the choice.

The entrance to Pinwheel Forest loomed in front of her. Large, brown-green trees reared towards the sky, their branches weaving together to form a canopy that stretched for miles. Patches of grass framed a dirt path that ducked and weaved its way through the trees, and White felt a shiver of apprehension run through her. Her last visit to the forest had involved tracking down a skull of all things from the crazy grunts of Team Plasma. She found it a little ironic that she was back here because of a skull, in the presence of an ex-member of Team Plasma.

"Life's a circle, isn't it?" she muttered under her breath.

"Hmm?" N turned his head, looking down at her.

Her lips quirked up at the corners. "Never mind." She didn't think he'd appreciate her strange humour. "Just...thinking about how my life seems to be going in circles. Although it's nice to be adventuring again, don't get me wrong." He stared at her for a moment, before returning his attention to Chikorita.

Brrrf brrrrrrrf! Blitzle ran full pelt past them suddenly, his lightning bolt mane rocking from side to side with his quick gait.

"Looks like someone's having fun!" She laughed, throwing back her head and taking a deep breath. "Hey, Blitzle!" she called, as he snorted and trotted back to her. "Wanna race?" The Pokemon blinked, before making a noise that obviously meant 'yes!'. "Three...two...one...go!" she called, laughing as they began running. Naturally, Blitzle was miles ahead of her before they stopped.

"Why did you decide to do that?" N jogged up to them, Chikorita huffing grumpily from his shoulder, not appreciating being jostled around.

She laughed when Blitzle nudged her back. "Don't know. Just wanted to...live for a moment, you know?" By his blank expression, she could tell he didn't get it. "Sometimes...I just want to...feel alive. Let the wind rush through my hair, and feel the blood pumping through my body...no?" She looked at him plaintively. "Okay, I wanted to have fun," she summed up, letting her unruly hair out and brushing it back into a neater ponytail.

"Oh...I see." N beamed, happy to finally understand. "I'm glad you had fun. And you too, Blitzle," he added, as the enthusiastic pokemon danced around them.

It was some time later when they stopped for lunch, and White discovered a problem.

"Uhh...by any chance, do any of you know where this cave happens to be?" She slapped her forehead as she realized that she hadn't asked Hawes where it was. Pinwheel Forest was a rather large place when you thought about it, and there were thousands of nooks and crannies between the trees. "Otherwise...we could wander around here forever and never get anywhere." She lay back against the soft grass, groaning under her breath. At this rate, they'd have to go back and ask Hawes where to go. It was either that or hope to get lucky, and she didn't have much faith of that happening.

"I could ask the Pokemon of the forest," N said suddenly and she sat up, blinking in surprise.

"Wow...really? Do you think they'd know?" It hadn't even occurred to her that they could ask the Pokemon. He nodded solemnly, his hand stroking Chikorita's leaf; the little Grass type sitting imperiously in his lap.

"If it was near their homes, they would. Most Pokemon dislike having their nests intruded on, and would avoid areas where humans were working. I believe if we ask around, one of my friends should be able to tell me where a large hole is." When she indicated her agreement, he closed his eyes.

She watched him inquisitively; mesmerized by the way he went as still as stone, his attention focussed inwards to silent conversations. She was so absorbed that when he suddenly blinked and moved, she gave a little screech and flopped backwards.

"...White?" N asked, confused.

She just waved him off, sitting up and mentally calling herself names. "So...how did it go?" she asked.

He grinned, the expression making him look like a little kid. "There's a large hole nearby, in that direction." He pointed over his shoulder to a dark, closed-off area.

"That's great!" She clapped her hands together, grateful that they didn't have to trudge all the way back to Nacrene to ask for directions. "When do you want to go? I'm finished eating, and it looks like Blitzle and Chikorita are as well. That just leaves you." N held up the last quarter of his sandwich and shoved it in his mouth. She shot him a disbelieving look.

"I'm finished too." Or at least, that's what she thought he said. What came out was more like "Mm frrrshhii oo."

She started giggling helplessly as he tried to chew it all. "You're hopeless," she snickered as he finally managed to swallow everything.

He grinned ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, before clambering to his feet. "Let's go." He held out a hand, and she took it, her small hand dwarfed by his much larger, warm one. She felt her cheeks grow warmer and gave herself a mental slap. He pulled her up and then reached out to Chikorita, setting the Pokemon in his usual spot.

"Why does he like your shoulder so much?" she blurted out, trying to distract herself from the feeling of her hand in his.

N blinked, caught off guard. "What? Oh, you mean Chikorita?" he clarified, and she nodded wordlessly. "He likes being up high, and being able to see." He cocked his head, listening to something, before laughing softly. "Oh, and he likes my hair." Chikorita demonstrated by nibbling on a few wayward strands.

She snickered, the comment effectively distracting her. "Your hair? Really? Well, I wouldn't sit on someone's shoulder just because of their hair, but then again, I'm not a Pokemon, so I guess I can't-" Her foot slipped on a loose rock, and she found herself suddenly plummeting down. "N!" she screamed, her hand managing to catch in his shirt, although it did nothing but pull him down with her. "Aaaaah!" She held on to him tightly as they went tumbling off the cliff into the large hole that had appeared in front of them.

"I think this is the place," N yelled into her ear, his breath leaving him as they bounced off a rock sticking out of the cliff side. She wanted to whack him for his stating the obvious, but she was too busy cursing. She cried out as she scraped her arm along the wall, tearing off a chunk of skin and probably giving herself gravel rash. Her legs bashed against N's, although her torso was protected by his, as he turned them slightly to protect her from the wall. They landed heavily on a rock and fell forward, finally coming to rest on the dirt floor. She drew in a breath laden with dust, to find herself sprawled across N, both of them dirty, bruised and bleeding, but alive.

"We're alive!" She shrieked to emphasize the point, and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek a couple of times. "We're alive!" She stood up, her breath coming in little gasps. Near death experiences tended to do that to her. "Now...where the hell are we?" She took deep breaths, recovering her control. "Okay, I think I'm alright. How about you?" She turned to N as he brushed the front of his shirt. She flinched as he left dirt trails on his now brown shirt. "That needs a wash." She looked at her own white singlet, which was now horribly dirty as well. They looked like they'd been in a war. "I think we both need a wash." She was babbling, but decided that she was allowed to be a little rattled as she looked up to the sky. They hadn't fallen as far as she'd thought –which was probably why they were still alive- but it was a steep cliff. They'd have to find some other way of getting out of there.

"I thought I heard voices!"

White shrieked again and leapt a mile in the air. She put a hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat race. The Gym Leader of Nacrene materialized out of the dark cave to the right. "Gah!" She tried to breathe again.

"And strike me down if it isn't White! How are you, sweets? It's been ages since I've seen you. Give me a look at you." She pursed her lips as she took in their disheveled state. "Well now, you're hardly up to standard, are you? Don't tell me you took a tumble down that there cliff? Damn, girl." She placed her hands firmly on her round hips.

"Yeah, we kind of did. But...we're here now, at least."

Lenora snorted, an eyebrow raised. "Right. And what are you doing here in the first place?"

White tugged on a lock of hair. "Umm...well, I was kind of hoping for a rematch."

Her statement was met with silence, before Lenora burst out laughing. "Damn, girl! You went through the forest and fell down a cliff, all so you could battle me?" The older woman held her sides.

"That sounds about right," she muttered, attempting to neaten up her vest.

"Ah, don't worry about it. We all have crazy adventures when we're young." Lenora finally noticed N. "Oh, hello dear. It's nice to see you again, although you look terrible as well, so I guess you joined White on her sightseeing trip down the cliff." He nodded, a little taken aback at her bluntness. "Well, my dears, you look too dirty and injured to be standing around here. Follow me back to the excavation site and we'll see what we can do to fix you up. There's a first aid kit around here somewhere..." She turned and strode off. White and N exchanged a glance before following her.

She led them to a huge cavern lit by rows of lanterns, illuminating mounds of dirt and carefully dug holes.

"Wow. That's neat." White was impressed, she'd never seen anything like the dig site. Lenora beamed, shrugging off her apron.

"Glad you think so. It's always nice to have my life's work appreciated." She rummaged around in a nearby pile of objects and pulled out a dusty off-white box. "Ah, here we go. Knew we had one around here somewhere. Now, let's have a look at you two." She inspected their various cuts and bruises, and grabbed a few water bottles.

Lenora knew what she was doing, White mused as the Gym Leader rinsed off the blood and dirt, disinfected all of the wounds and bandaged them up neatly.

"There you go, dears." She straightened, her back snapping loudly. "Oh dear. Guess it's probably time I took a break, hmm?"

"Oh sure, I mean, thank you for that. We really appreciate it!"

Lenora gave her a smirk. "Ah, dear, it's quite all right. It's not the first time I've had to patch up youngsters." She held out a fresh water bottle for them to drink out of.

White accepted it gratefully, the water cool and fresh against her dry and dusty mouth. "Blegh," she complained about the grit coating her tongue being washed away. "Urgh. Here, N." She passed him the bottle.

"I'd offer you a shower, but we don't have one around here. Makes sure we actually go home at some point, instead of digging forever. So you'll either have to battle me now, while you're tired and injured, or we'll have to postpone for a while." The large woman grinned, idly fingering a pokeball.

"Hah! You think me being tired and injured is going to stop me from winning? Forget it! Let's do this, right here, right now!"

Lenora's grin turned feral, and she started walking backwards. "That's the spirit, my dear. Somehow I just knew you weren't going to back down. I admire your determination, so rare in young people these days. Now, which battle rules shall we follow? I think a two-on-two battle sounds like fun, don't you? It can be exactly like last time. We'll see if you truly deserve my badge, hmm?" White jogged to the other side of the cavern and grabbed a pokeball.

"Sounds good to me. Although Cilan, Chili and Cress said that too. Doesn't anyone believe I earned my badges?" She was a little put out about that fact, until Lenora explained.

"It's not about you, hun. It's more a case of wounded pride. We tend to believe ourselves invincible, so it's always a shock –a good one, mind you- when a little thing such as yourself comes along and wins. These rematches are a way of offering ourselves a second chance, if you will. Another chance to prove it wasn't just a bad day for us."

White frowned, but conceded that the logic made sense. "Huh. Okay then. So let's go prove it wasn't just a bad day then!" She threw the pokeball, sending out Aphrodite. In her original match against Lenora, she'd mostly used Freyja –then only a Timburr-, but she'd decided not to press the type advantage this time around. Unless worst came to worst. Lenora sent out a Cinccino, the pokemon ruffling its fluffy mane. "That's a pokemon you didn't have last time," White commented, before starting the battle. "Use Fly!" The graceful swan shot into the air as Cinccino leapt forward.

"Swift," Lenora commanded as Aphrodite came barrelling towards the ground. Her attack landed at the same time Cinccino sent golden stars out. The swan pokemon managed to avoid most of the stars, although enough landed to cause some damage. Cinccino shook itself out and ran forward again, as Lenora commanded it to use Sing.

"No! Aph, dodge it!" The bird tried her best to follow her mistress's order, but the waves of enchanting sound caused her to drop straight out of the air. "Aph!" She hit the ground, fast asleep. "Oh shit," White thought frantically, hoping against hell she had a Chesto berry somewhere. Lenora hadn't forbidden the use of items...

"Cinccino, Slam!"

White flinched in sympathy as her poor bird was pounded. "Owww...Aph, c'mon, how could you sleep through that?" she whined, her questing fingers finally locating the berry. "Aph, here!" She raced over and shoved the berry in her beak. "Eat it, hurry up!" She returned to her place as her Swanna slowly shook herself and stood up. "'Atta girl! Now use Aerial Ace." She punched the air as the attack landed perfectly. "Yes!" She punched the air again for emphasis.

"Come on, Cinccino. I know you can do better." Lenora pointed forward. "Now let's show these two what a Gym Leader can do! Use Last Resort!"

"Oh hell, Aph, get out of there!" White called, Aphrodite reversing her course and barrel rolling in midair, narrowly avoiding the attack. "Phew," White breathed a sigh of relief, wiping her sweaty forehead. And then cursing as she realized she'd just smeared dirt everywhere.

"Again! Last Resort!" Lenora grinned as Cinccino hurled itself at Aphrodite, the swan not even having time to get out of the way. A large cloud of dust obscured her vision, and White called out anxiously.

"Gah! Aph! You alright?" A soft humming sound reassured her, as her Swanna materialized in front of her. She was obviously weakened, as she was panting heavily, and White knew she couldn't last much longer. "Hey beautiful girl, you still wanna fight?" Aphrodite nodded her long neck, dragging herself to her feet and launching herself back into the air. "Okay, use Ae- no, what are you doing?" she yelled, as Aphrodite started freefalling towards Cinccino.

"Cinccino, use-" Lenora was unable to finish her command as she watched in disbelief, her opponent's Swanna suddenly crashing into her Cinccino at full speed. "What the-" She stopped talking as Aphrodite and Cinccino both fainted, their bodies unable to continue the fight.

"She really is a brave bird," White smiled sadly, recalling her Pokemon and kissing the pokeball. "I'm proud of you, girl." The swan's noble self-sacrifice had succeeded in evening up the odds. "Okay, you're up next Chandelure!"

Chrrrrrr! Her happy-go-lucky Pokemon waved backwards and forwards, raring to fight. She'd picked the Ghost/Fire in the hopes that Lenora would be seriously limited in her move choices. Lenora smirked, balling a fist on her hip.

"Ah, girl, you think that having a Ghost type is gonna help? I think not." She raised her other arm and sent out Stoutland. "How 'bout a taste of this? Stoutland, use Odor Sleuth!" Stoutland released a thick, mist-like substance that allowed him to attack Chandelure.

"Fuck." White groaned, forgetting about the move that conveniently allowed Ghost types to be hit by Normal moves. "Alright, Candle, let's rock. Use Inferno!" Chandelure summoned a roaring fire and sent it hurtling towards Stoutland. The large dog pokemon jumped out of the way, easily dodging the attack. "Damn. Alright, try again!" she called, and Candle sent another ball of flame at her opponent. This attack landed perfectly, and left Stoutland licking a large burn on its side. "Yeah, good job!" She congratulated, until Lenora laughed.

"It'll take more than that to beat us! Stoutland, use Crunch!"

"Candle, dodge! Fly upwards!" She groaned again, this time in relief as the super-effective move missed. "Alright, now use Hex!" The Ghost move did more damage if the other Pokemon had a status condition. She laughed giddily as her move landed again. Stoutland was now panting heavily, his coat dirty and the burn on his side was angry and red. Lenora was starting to look worried.

"Stoutland, are you alright?" She frowned, until he barked and stood up. "Heh. Well then, let's use Giga Impact!"

"Candle, look out!" White clenched her teeth as the move landed, sending the chandelier-like Pokemon flying. "Oh hell. You alright, Candle?" Her Pokemon floated up and shook off the attack, although she was less enthusiastic than normal. "Alright, let's finish this. Use Overheat!"

Lenora gave her a disbelieving look. "Girl, why would you use a move that weakens your own Pokemon's attack?" White grinned fiercely as her Chandelure unleashed a massive fire storm. Stoutland fell to the ground in a dead faint. "Holy-" Lenora recalled her Pokemon, looking shocked.

White flicked a lock of hair back, Candle floating to her side. "Great job, you nailed her. See, Lenora?" She turned back to the leader. "If I have a super strong move, I only need to hit once. Then it doesn't matter if Candle's weakened, if she manages to take out her opponent."

Lenora laughed and nodded. "A dangerous battle strategy, to be sure, but I admit it has worked for you. Well done, I'm proud of you. You've come a long way from the trainer I met originally." White ducked her head, a little embarrassed by the praise. N came to stand next to her, having been watching the battle from the corner, Chikorita in his lap. Blitzle had been left up the top, but N had told her earlier that the little zebra was waiting for them, and would be alright on his own.

"Heh, thanks Lenora. Now, I don't know about you, but I could really, really go for a shower right now." The older woman nodded, and waved the two of them towards a different exit.

"Now, rather than trying to climb that steep cliff back there, I think you might prefer to use our basket to go to the surface."

"Basket?" N queried, looking confused.

The archaeologist nodded. "That's right dear. We rigged a basket to a pulley so we could pull ourselves up and lower ourselves down with ease. Makes life a lot easier, hmm?" She snickered, overcome by thoughts of the two children falling down the cliff.

White crossed her arms, knowing exactly what the older woman was thinking. "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. I still won," she said petulantly, causing Lenora to laugh even harder.

"Oh, to be young again. I remember, back when I was younger..."

"Oh here we go," White groaned, earning a light slap across the back of the head. "Hey, what was that for?"

Lenora raised an eyebrow. "Young people these days. No manners." She pretended to huff, and led them to a large basket attached to ropes. "Here we go, all aboard!" All three of them fit comfortably in the basket.

White turned back to the Gym Leader sitting next to her. "So, what did you do?" she asked. Lenora cocked her head to the side.

"Hmm?" Was all she said.

"You know, when you were younger..." she trailed off as Lenora gave her a knowing look.

"You didn't want to hear my story." She completely ignored White's mouth falling open.

"Aww, c'mon, I'm sorry! But you made it sound like a really boring tale when you started like that. I know it'll be interesting though, so please share?"

Lenora rolled her eyes. "Well..." White looked at her expectantly. "...Nah, I don't think I will." She laughed at White's expression. "It isn't that exciting anyway. Besides, I'm more interested in hearing about what you've been doing lately. Fill me in on your adventures while we sit here."

White immediately launched into a recital of everything that had happened in the past few months.

"That didn't happen!" N interjected suddenly, reminding White of his presence.

"Uhh, yes it did! I was there, I remember!" she argued, losing the thread of her tale.

N huffed and shook his head violently. "No, it didn't! You weren't the one who moved the block, I did!"

Lenora sighed as the two teenagers in front of her started an all out bickering war. Young people these days!

...

Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks to my beta for pointing out problem areas in my writing. I am now on a mission to improve. Feel free to point out errors: I will come back and flamethrower them!

-Aerococonut