Disclaimer: Really? Own Pokémon? Pffttt.
Hey guys! I've finally made another update and guess what? It's super long! Whoo!
I'm pretty sure most of you guys have heard of the news on the new BW2 games which will be stuff I'll mention in the Author's Notes so please check it out.
Thanks SinCityAssassin for betaing this!
Anyways, enjoy guys!
Chapter 9:
It was a while before Sharon felt like checking up on her friend before she went back into the tent. "Alright, Hilda, I managed to get my partner Terrance to help out and–– Hey, where did Alex go?" Sharon noticed the lack of a nervous boy in the tent and Hilda… "Hilda? Are you crying?" Sharon shouted, alarmed as she rushed over to the girl.
"N-no," Hilda sputtered defiantly through tears. "I'm not." She tried really hard to wipe them away while trying not to look like she was. There were black smudges on her hands; her makeup was ruined from all the tears that were flowing down her face.
"Well, you certainly could've fooled anyone," Sharon groaned and grabbed the nearest tissue box she could find. "Here, and tell me what's going on. What happened between you and Alex? Did you guys break up already?" Though Hilda didn't want to say it at first but after a couple of sobs, she finally spilled everything that had happened and how Alex just abruptly left.
"I was so insensitive. I mean, I force him in here to act as my partner without considering his girlfriend or his feelings or-" Sharon suddenly slaps her hand over Hilda's mouth. They stayed there in silence for a few moments as Sharon tried and failed to say something several times. Hilda threw the make-up stained tissue into the trashcan and took her friends palm off her mouth. "Sorry you have to see me like this…" Sharon couldn't hold it in any longer and started to-
"BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you serious?" Sharon couldn't help but snort and giggle at the same time. If her manager saw her now he would've fainted from shock. The actress almost fell out of her chair, and her giggles slowly turned into roars of laughter.
"S-sharon?" Hilda was shocked at her friend's response to the situation at hand.
"You think that guy has a girlfriend?" Sharon snorted a little while she laughed, "Puh-leeeease. I could tell just by looking at him that there is no way he would even have a girlfriend. He probably doesn't even know what the word means."
"But… he wasn't very anxious to help. That's got to be only logical explanation, right?"
"Well that's stupid, did he tell you that he had a girlfriend?"
"W-well," Hilda faltered as she thought back to the moment. Her eyes went wide when she realized that throughout the entire conversation, not once Alex had mentioned having a girlfriend. "No," Hilda finally admitted, face now scrunched up in embarrassment, "but come on, why else would he run out on me?"
When Sharon had finally stopped laughing, she flicked the girl's forehead who yelped in the process.
"Ow!" Hilda rubbed her head.
"You're thinking too much. He's a guy, so the reason should be a lot simpler than that. I mean, men aren't that complex to understand."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well he's pretty shy; you'd have to be blind not to see him twitching when he was with us. Getting into a relationship like this out of the blue would make any guy get cold feet. So he freaked out and left."
"You think that's the reason?" Hilda asked bewildered.
"I know so," Sharon said firmly. "Look, just get him back and convince him to do it. I mean, he is your last option left. And personally, I rather you have him be your partner than someone else."
"Huh? Why?"
Sharon shrugged in response. "Call it women's intuition. Look, now is your chance to prove your willpower."
"What?" Hilda said, bewildered.
"Just bring him back. Show to him how much the fashion show means to you. Plus it'll be very romantic."
"But… he's already gone…" Sharon's eyebrows shot up in surprise at Hilda's still defeated tone. It was like the fiery passion and the determination she had known in her friend had disappeared, and she knew she didn't like that one bit.
"So what? You're just going to mope around like that?" Sharon shouted loudly as she got up. "What's the matter with you?"
"Huh?" Hilda blinked in surprise at her friend's sudden rise in tone.
"Come on, this isn't the Hilda I know. Don't make me say it again. Get on out there and get your man back!" Sharon grabbed Hilda and pushed her out of the tent. "Come on, I'm going to clobber that guy until he agrees."
"Sharon! Don't do that and besides, he's not my man!" Hilda objected, trying to dig her heels into the ground to stop Sharon from pushing.
"Oh come on. Of course he is! He's like your prince charming. He swept you off your feet right? I bet it was love at first sight." Sharon winked mischievously. "And," she added in a whisper, "He needs to be your boyfriend in order for him to be your partner. Good thing about a pretend boyfriend is that you can make up the most sappiest love story you can think off when you two get interviewed."
"He's not my boyfriend," Hilda repeated meekly. Oh gosh, what has she gotten herself into now?
"Sharon!" Her purple-suited manager shouted as he ran toward the open tent. "There you are! Come on, one of the reporters here wants to interview you. She heard about your work in Orre and is very interested in you."
"What?" Sharon said, her eyebrows arched up into the air, "Really?" Sharon was uneasy at the fact that her boss set up an interview at the worst time possible. "I don't know…."
"What's wrong? I went to a lot of effort to get this interview, let's get going!" Without hearing a single word, he grabbed and dragged Sharon back into the party.
"Sorry, Hilda!" Sharon called out to her in defeat, "You're on your own."
"What? But Sharon –!"
"Come on," Sharon said, grinning as she stood in place with a hand to her hip. Her manager was having such a hard time dragging his actress that her heels left a dirt trench into the ground; it was rather comical if one thought about it. "You need to have more confidence in yourself. You can do it! And don't let me see you back here until you get Alex back for good! Now GO!" With that, Hilda reluctantly ran off in the opposite direction as she weaved through the party. With the noisy scene behind her she reached the quiet end of the park. But… now what? Where should she start? Where in the world Alex could be now?
…
"What?" Alex said, not sure he heard correctly. Indistinctively, he took a step back. "Who are you?"
The stranger stepped under the streetlight and finally revealed himself. He was a young adult, couldn't have been older than twenty; he was rather tall and gangly, a long, unkempt green hair that was tied in a ponytail. He gave off an eerie demeanor as his cap casted a shadow over his face. Near him were several Pokémon – a Gurdurr, a Purrlion, a Tympole, and a Pidove, all of them glaring at the Alex for reasons he could not understand.
Alex's Oshawott looked ahead nervously as well. Its confidence dropped a couple of notches. It was extremely outnumbered, but nevertheless, tried hard to be brave like its trainer, Oshawott steeled itself and glared back at the four Pokémon.
"You… you do not recognize me?" the guy said, sounding slightly surprised. Alex hesitated for a moment, the whole amnesia thing really made trying to answer questions awkward.
"I think you have the wrong person," Alex said finally, deciding that it was best to play it safe. Perhaps this guy will try to explain the situation on hand. However, the mysterious man merely gave a careful look at Alex before a realization came across the guy's face.
"You've lost your memories, haven't you?" Alex flinched at the observation, which didn't go unnoticed under the guy's gaze.
"I'm relieved that it turned out like this," The mysterious man sighed as though a terrible weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He stared into the night sky. "Fate has been kind to both you and me." Alex couldn't believe this guy, he seemed really relax and peaceful now and it was beginning to feel unsettling.
"Fate? What are you talking about? How do you know me?" Alex said, his body shaking in anticipation. This guy seemed to know what had happened to Alex before he lost his memory. Unfortunately, whoever he was, he didn't seem all that interested in indulging about it. The green haired man directed his narrowed gaze at Alex's Oshawott, who squirmed with discomfort under his sight.
"I see you have a new Pokémon in your care… Can you hear it?"
"Huh?" Alex looked flabbergasted at the sudden change in subject. "What are you talking about?" he said, sharing a puzzled glace with his Oshawott.
"You still can't hear it? Your Pokémon's voice? That's disappointing…" The guy paused for a moment as he looked as his four Pokémon. "Let me introduce myself again. My name is N, and I can hear the words in your Pokémon's voice. If you can't hear them then your Pokémon do not stand a chance against me." Well, that certainly was a strange way to introduce oneself.
"You're not making any sense!" Alex looked furious. This guy was wasting Alex's time with all these mixed signals and nonsensical rants. "If you want to battle, then let's go! Oshawott, use Water Gun!" The little otter didn't need another second to think; it blasted a powerful squirt of water directly at the group of four Pokémon. However, the blue Tymole countered back with its own water attack. The two attacks pushed back and forth, trying to overpower each other. Taking advantage of the distraction, the other Pokémon had spread out into formation, with Purrlion using Fury Swipes at the otter Pokemon's side.
"Osha!" the little otter squealed in pain as the claws raked against its fur. It side stepped the Water Gun barrage and tried to fight back against the feline assailant, but the Purrlion merely dodge its attacks on its hind legs, twirling and dancing around like a ballerina before resuming its attack.
"Oshawott!" Alex exclaimed. However, Alex didn't have time to worry for the little otter as the Gurdurr had taken the chance to charge straight at the Pokémon trainer. It swung its large iron bar at Alex, aiming at his head, had not been for his quick reflexes Alex would've been a dead man.
"Your reflexes are as good as ever, just like the last time we fought," N said critically as Alex tried to run away from the onslaught of attacks. "However, your insistence in trapping your Pokémon in Poke balls will be your downfall. Look at your Pokémon; it won't win against my team." Alex gritted his teeth in frustration; the man seemed to be taunting him now.
"You said your name is N right? How in the world do you know me?" But that moment, Alex noticed Purrlion was backing Oshawott into a corner. Also, N's Pidove was attacking from the top, sending short jabs from its beaks onto Oshawott's head. The Pokémon was squealing in pain now.
Okay, put off questions until he got the advantage in battle. Alex couldn't let his Pokémon keep getting hurt like that. "Oshawott, take down that Purrlion with your Tackle."
The little otter immediately switched from defensive to offensive attacking and butted its head into Purrlion's face. However, the attack wasn't quick enough and the cat Pokémon merely sidestepped. But, it gave Alex enough time to run over and grab Oshawott before Pidove could retaliate with another attack. With a quick spurt of speed, Alex moved away in the other direction before Purrlion could attack him.
"Are you okay buddy?" Alex asked the little Pokémon. It whimpered in reply after being bullied. "Sorry about that." Alex quickly turned back to N.
"Two against one isn't fair. What kind of trainer are you?"
"I'm not a trainer," N said, feeling insulted and slightly angered. "These are not my Pokémon but my friends and my comrades. I'm different from you."
"So? I'm a trainer and Oshawott is my friend," Alex shot back.
"That's entirely different."
"How so?"
"You haven't changed a bit," N replied, shaking his head despairingly. "You are to bring nothing but despair in the future."
"What the hell are you even talking about?" Alex yelled in his rage. Soon the Pokémon trainer had to start to mull over his options, but Pidove and Gurdurr were coming in for an attack so Alex had to move quickly. Oshawott hadn't been trained long enough and there was no way it could win against four Pokémon at once. The best thing to do now was to retreat and get out of here.
"Where are you running? Pidove, use Air Cutter!" The little pigeon Pokémon immediately sent down slashes of air and it was sheer miracle that Alex wasn't hit. However, the attack caused his bag to open and something fell to the ground. Alex realized that it was the Pokedex and after a slight moment of hesitation, he turned so that he could pick it back up. Something told him he had to grab it no matter what.
"That Pokedex? You still had it with you?" N sounded horrified, looking at Pokedex in Alex's hand as though it were a hideous mutation. Alex was confused at this outburst; N's guard was absolutely shattered, his face not showing stoic disappointment, but abject disbelief. "I see. It looks like you haven't learned your lesson." Now he sounded mad, very real mad, he sounded absolutely livid. The Pokémon with him matched his sudden vicious demeanor and this time, they weren't just targeting Oshawott.
"Purrlion, Sucker Punch!" Alex was immediately hit by the feline's paw and the pain jolted through his stomach. Alex gasped in agony and fell to the ground on one knee. He never thought a cat could pack so much in one jab.
"OSHAWOTT!" The otter Pokémon immediately jumped out of Alex's arms and took its shell from its stomach. Then, like a sword it swiped against the Purrlion who merely dodged the attacks as elegantly as before. However, like earlier when it battled against Cheren's Snivy, Oshawott quickly lost its grip and the shell fell to the ground. Purrlion used this chance to do a flurry of Scratch attacks.
"It is because of the Pokedex that many of my friends are imprisoned into those Poke balls. That Pokedex brings nothing but despair. Their voices are trapped in those machines! Your Pokémon's voice is screaming out loud and clear and yet you can't hear it because you rely so much on imprisoning them! Gurdurr use Low Kick!"
Alex immediately crashed unpleasantly to the ground as Gurdurr connect the attack to his legs. Alex didn't even try to get up after this. His whole body felt weak with pain. Oshawott stopped its duel with the Purloin as it realized that its trainer was in danger and tried to take down Gurdurr, but Purrlion didn't like being ignored and attacked with a Fury Swipes from behind.
"Oshawott, hang in there!" Alex called out as he tried to ignore the ache. Panic swept through his mind.
Not good. This N guy was serious now so running away was no good. The only option now is to fight with more Pokémon. Alex took a Poke ball from his hand and threw it in front of the man. "Then, let's see if you can hear this Pokémon's voice!"
Immediately, a large and intimidating bird appeared right before, spreading its wings and giving out a loud battle cry. When the bird's sharp eyes focused on N, the Pokémon immediately screeched with extreme anger and without waiting for an order, dived down toward N. Tympole, who had been by N's side the whole time, sprayed a Bubblebeam attack but it didn't faze the flying Pokémon and merely swatted the bubbles with its powerful wings before pushing forward. However, Gurdurr immediately blocked Braviary. The Pokémon had immediately hurried to N's aid and used its metal girder to block the hostile attack.
"I see that you still remember me at least," N said as he looked darkly into the Pokemon's eyes, which were filled with abhorrence. "Such a shame. Your trainer tried so hard to protect you from me, but in the end, it almost had him killed, his memories are lost… and you had failed him. Is that it?" N's taunts enraged the Braviary and it shot into the air, only to dive down at an immense velocity.
"Wait! War!" Alex called out in horror, realizing at his Braiviary was aiming to kill the man. However, N was prepared.
"Gurdurr, Rock Throw!" Gurdurr dug into the ground with its metal bar and scooped a couple large rocks into the sky and hit the bird Pokemon dead on. Braviary crashed to the ground from the incredible force of the effective attack. Meanwhile, Purrlion had finished playing around and kicked Oshawott, sending it flying into Braivary.
"Oshawatt! War!" Alex, ignoring the pain in his legs, ran to his two Pokémon. "Hang in there!" However, the trainer was stopped again, this time by N. He grabbed Alex by the arm with so much force that Alex felt his bones were about to be crushed. Pulling the trainer closer, N was inches from Alex's face, and the young trainer realized that his body was now uncontrollably shaking with fear at what was going to happen next.
"Even after everything I have said, you still hold on to that thing. You haven't changed a bit." Alex looked down and realized that N was staring at the Pokedex in Alex's hand. He didn't even realize that he was still clutching tightly onto it.
"I should've made sure you died in that forest." The words chilled Alex's heart. The way this N guy said it made it sound like…
"You," Alex realized, "You're the reason why I lost my memories."
…
So much for interview… Sharon knew immediately that her manager made a mistake. The reporter merely wanted a picture for the list of all the models that were in the talent show. Nothing special except her name next to her photo. And it won't even be in color… Sharon sighed, immediately bored.
"Sharon!" Sharon heard her name being called out while she was standing next to her manager who was trying to convince the reporter for something better. She turned to see a familiar face.
"Oh hey!" Sharon grinned, relieve that she has an excuse to leave. She quickly turned back to her manager and said, "Can you please excuse me for a moment?" Without waiting to hear an answer, Sharon quickly rushed over to the black hair kid, who looked as if he had been running for a mile and wasn't used to it. "Cheren, good to see you again. Did you find your friend? Wait, what was her name… umm, oh right, Bianca!"
"Actually, I'm looking for Alex at the moment," Cheren clarified, straightening his glasses as he quietly gasped for air. "Have you seen him?"
"What? Alex is missing?"
"After we left, I told him to stay put, but he ran off! I've been running everywhere in this entire park looking for him."
"I can see that. Also, you obviously need to exercise more," Sharon mentioned thoughtfully as she rudely wiped some sweat from his forehead before he swatted her hand away, "In Orre, you would've been easy target for pickpocketing."
"Back to the point. Have you seen Alex?"
"Oh, my friend is looking for him right now. Maybe she found him?"
"Friend? Why is your friend looking for him?"
"Wait, you don't know?" Sharon shook her head in amazement. "Wow, I guess Hilda was telling the truth when she said she just randomly found him out in the open."
"Wait. Hold on. Mind bringing me back to the beginning?" It was always as if each answer she gave simply raised more questions, Cheren didn't have time for any of that.
"Hmm, guess I'll have to give you the cliff note version and quick. In that case, I say we go look for both of them."
"What about the party? Aren't you supposed to stay here?"
"Oh please, I'm bored here. I just finished my interview and now I'm freaking bored. Everybody talks in such a fancy and exquisite voice that it's making me peeuuuuke." Sharon mimicked the aristocratic voice with quite good accuracy while blinking her eyes very fast and held her hand to her forehead as though she was going to faint.
"That was mildly unsettling." Cheren couldn't believe how well Sharon displayed her ability to act. It was like she could be two different people and one wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"Urgh, tell me about it," Sharon went back to her normal rugged voice. "Come on. If you searched the entire park, then that means there is only one place left I can think of that we can find Alex."
…
"Alex? Alex!" Hilda called out into the night as she ran. Her boots hit the gravel ground, making strange eerie echoes into the night. She walked around the outside of town, wondering where the guy went off. She figured that Alex would probably be inside somewhere right now, since it was so late at night. The question was where. She knew that with the fashion show, vacant hotel rooms would be scarce; Accumula Town wasn't a tourist destination, at least it wasn't built for this many at once. Hilda then suddenly had the crazy thought of him camping outside in the plaza, and for whatever reason she decided to go there.
As Hilda entered the empty plaza, she heard noises that seemed to unfit the area. It sounded like… someone was battling. Then, right in front of Hilda, a large something came crashing by and slammed against the wall, a loud thud erupted when it fell to the ground. After her heartbeat sped up like twenty beats faster, Hilda got closer and gasped out when she finally recognized who was in front of her.
"A-Alex?" The boy was in terrible, Alex's clothes were all muddled with dirt and his hat had fallen off his head, revealing his messy brown hair, his face was scrunched in agony. Hilda crouched down next to Alex and immediately got him into a sitting position, placing his back against the wall.
"Alex? Are you okay? What happened to you?"
"G-get away," Alex groaned in pain. What? Did she hear him correctly? Get away…?
"You heard him. Move away, miss." Hilda turned around to the sound and saw a person coming toward her, a Tympole following closely behind him. Hilda got up and realized that the person was quite taller than she was, older too. His malicious gaze sent a shiver down Hilda's spine, as she realized that he was the one hurting Alex.
"What are you doing? You don't use Pokémon to hurt people!" Hilda stood up defiantly, shielding Alex from the man. He stopped and slowly looked from Hilda to Alex.
"H-Hilda… don't…"
"Do you know him?" the mysterious man suddenly shifted his eyes towards Hilda, who only glared back.
"Get away," Alex repeated weakly. Hilda ignored Alex's comment and from her bag, took out a Poke ball, showing it to the stranger.
"I know him well enough to stop you from hurting him. If it's a fight you want, then battle me." Although N didn't show it, he was taken aback by the abrupt turn of events. He didn't fight women; it was not part of the conduct he followed.
"Let's go Jessica!" Hilda threw the Poke ball and it revealed a small pink Deerling. It stomped its hooves against the ground, eager to battle. "Don't look down on me just because I'm a girl!" N didn't have time to respond to this before Hilda gave an order to attack. She wasn't going to waste a precious second.
"Jessica, use Leech Seed!" The little deer Pokémon shot a barrage of glowing seeds that latched all over tadpole Pokémon. Vines sprouted out and wrapped tightly around the Tympole. "Good! Use Double Kick!" Tympole didn't have time to try and break the vines before being struck twice by the deer's hind legs. The force was powerful enough to send the Pokémon flying back and slamming into the ground, twitching. The little Deerling squealed with joy, as it seemed it had easily defeated its opponent. It eagerly stomped its hooves to the ground and kicked up some dust in the process.
"Leave now, before I start getting serious!" Hilda snapped in a slightly threatening tone. However, the man wasn't even fazed by the attack. He had gotten over his shock now and was ready to battle.
"You too. You can't hear their voices, you only use them like tools. Without even considering their feelings!" Suddenly, from the night sky, something started to attack Deerling. "Pidove, use Gust!" Pidove flapped its wings, sending blasts of wind to the ground. Meanwhile, Purrlion was in the back and used its claws to cut the vines that bonded Tympole.
"Jessica!" Hilda exclaimed as the poor Pokémon got hit by the flying attack. Hilda didn't expect to be battling against more than one Pokémon and Pidove's attack surprised her. "Hang in there. Try a Sand Attack!" Deerling kicked up sand at the flying Pidove, however, the Gust attack caused the sand fly everywhere and making it hard to see. Hilda cursed herself, she was in an open area, and so Pidoves attacks were unhindered by any sort of obstacles.
"Gurdurr, use Low Kick!" The muscle Pokémon popped out of nowhere and moved steadily against the strong wind. It immediately slammed against Deerling, who yelped in pain.
"Oh no!" Hilda watched in horror as her Deerling crashed to the ground in front of her. Fighting attacks were effective on the normal and grass type Pokémon. Hilda needed to switch Pokémon if she wanted to get Alex out of here alive. "Jessica! Return!"
"You dare run away?" N demanded angrily. Gurdurr slammed its metal bar against the ground, causing a strong vibration to scatter through the area like ripples in a pool of water.
Hilda stumbled and fell onto to the ground, landing unpleasantly. At the same time, her ankle twisted underneath her. Pain shot up from her leg and Hilda could feel her brain froze as it slowly started to realize the severity. "Ahhh!" Immediately in tears, she grabbed her foot in agony. She tried hard to dull the pain from her mind.
"Tymp!" Hearing the sound, Hilda looked up at the sudden closeness of the sound and saw that Tympole had broken free from the Leech Seed attack. It didn't look happy at all as it glared at the injured girl. Hilda didn't even realize that she was being targeted until it was too late.
"Get out of my sight," N said, holding out his hand in Hilda's direction. "Tympole, use Hydro Pump!"
It was no use. She couldn't dodge an attack like that with an injured leg. Petrified, Hilda closed her eyes and cringed, waiting for the attack to hit… but it never came. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw that someone had blocked the attack from her.
"A-Alex?" Somehow, the boy had managed to get up and rushed forward recklessly to take the damage from the water attack.
"L-leave her alone. It's me you want, right?" Alex gasped, soaking wet, as he stood as a shield for Hilda. Droplets of water fell from his hair and face and he was shivering slightly from the cold. Alex looked as though he was on the verge of collapsing and it was sheer determination that was keeping him standing. "My Pokémon can still fight so let's continue our battle!" Next to him, Briavary and Oshawott stood on Alex's side. Both Pokémon looked tired but they gave no sign of giving up yet as they glared at N.
"You're still standing after all that?" N spoke in a soft voice. His Pokémon regrouped next to him as well and glared back at Alex's Pokémon. "Look at you. Your Pokémon are almost finished. You can't win this fight without listening to their voices like I do. Your Pokémon are screaming for you to hear them yet you keep ignoring it. Eveyrbody is like this. You see why? This is why Pokémon can never live in happiness with humans!" Tears were streaming down from N's eyes.
"SHUT UP!" Alex erupted; his voice echoed the entire plaza. "Quit your whining and shut up!" There was a stunned silence at this sudden uproar and after several bouts heavy breathing, Alex continued.
"You're telling me that Pokémon can't live in harmony with humans?" Alex pointed to Oshawott and Braivary. "Do you see any unhappiness in my Pokémon? NO! We are bonded together by working together. I might not have been a Pokémon trainer for too long, but me and my Pokémon trust each other! Good friends are those who have been together through thick and thin!" He was bursting with rage, yet he couldn't understand how in the world he could still have the courage to speak. All he knew that he was definitely speaking from his heart – what he believed in.
"I can't hear their voices as well as you can. That is why I use this Pokedex, it's a way to help me understand my Pokémon. To understand all Pokémon! Maybe one day, I will hear their voices, but right now it's an aid to help understand. It's the least I can do after all they've done for me!" He suddenly pointed at the stunned man. "Unlike you! You knew the torture you were putting my Pokémon through, but you kept attacking anyways. You're nothing but a freaking hypocrite!"
Hilda couldn't help but stare in awe as she listened to Alex; his sheer determination and courage had impressed her.
The whole plaza fell silent except the gulps of exhaustion from Alex as he tried to recover from yelling. N didn't move at all. He stared in Alex's direction, but he wasn't exactly looking at him. Time ticked slowly by, the two trainers waiting on bated breath, wondering what would happen next. It didn't have to wait long.
"Ayaka! Use Shock Wave!" A burst of high intensity electricity came crashing down between Alex and N as though to stop the two from fighting. The sudden new voice and the sudden attack surprised N and he looked to see who it was.
"How DARE you hurt my friends!" Sharon shouted, venom dripping from her voice. Her orange hair seemed to amplify her fury. Next to her was a Delcatty, its tail crackling with electricity. Sharon pointed toward the next target. "Ayaka! Take down that Tympole with an Iron Tail!"
"Nyaa!" Delcatty immediately rushed forward and slammed its tail against the weakened Tympole, which immediately fainted.
"Sharon?" Hilda exclaimed, shocked at the timely appearance of her friend though she was relieved as well. "What are you doing here?" At that moment, Alex, from exhaustion, finally collapsed the ground for the final time. "Alex!" However, Alex was unconscious now and didn't reply. The last of his energy had been drained. His Pokémon quickly rushed to his side, hoping to revive the boy.
"You over there! Get Alex out of there!" the boy called out from behind Sharon. Hilda managed to see that this boy was wearing glasses before he was swallowed up in the battle as well. "Snivy, use Vine Whip!" The grass type Pokémon immediately, sent out two long, green whips and lashed at the Gurdurr. The Pokémon roared in pain and tried to attack the agile Snivy, with Sharon's Delcatty was now fighting against Purrlion.
"Are you the one who did this? Huh? Because if you did, you're going to regret it!" N ignored Sharon and took the fainted Tympole into his hands. He stared at the situation before him and seemed to be deciding something. Then he turned to Pidove who had been hovering over him the entire time.
"Gust, now!" Immediately the whole area was blasted with wind. Sand blew up everywhere, making it hard to see.
"Trying to run away? Not this time pal!" Sharon yelled, trying to see where she was. She coughed as the sand flew into her mouth. Squinting her eyes, Sharon turned to her Delcatty who had lost its target. "Ayaka, don't let that guy get away!" However, the sand that was buffeted in the wind was making it impossible for either Sharon's or Cheren's Pokémon to fight.
On the other side, Hilda, gritting her teeth, tried to get up and walk over to Alex. She needed to get the both of them to safety. However, the pain in her leg forced her to limp away. Just as she reached Alex, she noticed a pair of shoes before her. Horrified, Hilda looked up to see the strange green hair man right before her. He ignored Hilda's terrified look and seemed to be more focused on Alex's unconscious body. After a long silence, he spoke.
"Very well, I'll let you live. I'll wait and see if you can hear the voices. And maybe then, you'll be able to understand what I'm trying to say. You'll understand the pain the Pokémon go through…" Then the sand enshrouded him like a veil and once the sand had stopped blowing, he had disappeared, along with the Pokémon that were with him.
"He got away! That freaking coward!" Sharon was furious and stomped the ground in frustration. Still fuming, she returned her Delcatty back into its Poke ball. She turned to Cheren and mashed her fist into her palm several times. "That guy… if I see him again-oooooh if I see him again…"
"I think we should be more concerned with the question – who was that guy?" Cheren couldn't believe what he had witnessed. This was definitely not what he had expected on his first day traveling as a Pokémon trainer.
Cheren had no idea what was going on earlier, but from what he had seen when Sharon and he literally stumbled upon the scene… Cheren then remembered his friend still on the ground. The injured brown hair girl was trying to shake Alex awake but there was no response. "Alex!" Cheren rushed over to Alex's side and immediately checked up on him.
Hearing Alex's slow breathing, Cheren sighed in relief, "He's not badly injured…but I think he needs to get patched up and get a nice rest." The glasses trainer then turned to Alex's two injured Pokémon. Despite their wounds, they seemed to be more concerned of their trainer's.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine," Cheren reassured the two Pokémon. "Here, you two will need to get to the Pokémon Center." Cheren took the Poke balls and returned the two Pokémon. "Get a good rest. You have done well."
"Hilda, are you okay?" Sharon asked, rushing over to her friend. "Oh my gosh, I should've never had left you out here by yourself. I can't believe how dangerous this place is. Did that guy hurt you?"
"No, but I-I think I twisted my ankle," Hilda answered back grimly and showed the swollen bruise on her leg.
"Oh no, that's not good," Sharon said, wincing at the sight. "We need to get you back to the hotel and get an icepack." Without skipping a beat, Sharon lifted Hilda up from the ground. "Here, lean on me so you don't injure that foot anymore."
"Wait, hold on. What about Alex?" Cheren asked, pointing to his friend.
"I'm pretty sure a strong guy like you can carry him," Sharon smiled sweetly though there was a hint of mischief in her eyes.
"You're kidding right?" Cheren said baffled. There was no way he could do that. The heaviest thing Cheren had ever carried were books not bodies.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you're actually a bookworm with no upper body strength," Sharon said in a teasing voice. However, Sharon took a Poke ball out and opened it to reveal a green Flygon. Sharon spoke a few words to it and the dragon Pokémon quickly grabbed Alex and placed it safely onto its back. Cheren quickly grabbed the other things as though to prove he could still be of use.
"Setsuna will help you," Sharon said happily before speaking in a more serious tone, "Now come on before that guy gets reinforcements or something."
Author's Notes
Well, now that was a lot of action.
Moving on, IMPORTANT NEWS! I'm guessing that all of you have already seen the new BW2 'anime' game trailer. First off, that was the most awesome Pokémon anime I've seen for a long time (even though it was less than ten minutes of awesomeness). I would gladly pay money to watch that as a real series. This is what the people doing the anime should do – new main characters that actually grow older, show more cool evil villains, awesome battles. Even if they're never going to make Ash older (which still makes me mad) at least bring some sense of coolness like they did in that trailer. Of course one of the big things that bugged me in that trailer was that the 'hero' had only one Unova Pokémon shown (though that scene with Arcanine was awesome!). Shouldn't they show him with more Unova Pokémon since this is a BW game? Guess the people who made this trailer thought the Pokémon from the older generations were way cooler. Lol.
Now, several of you guys have asked this question but I'm going to go ahead and mention this to everyone. No, I'm not going to make this story into a BW2 storyline. I'm not changing gym leaders or have anything that pertains to BW2. I might hint stuff leading to BW2 timeline but other than that, expect this story to be all BW. Why? Because gosh dang it, the game hasn't even come out yet.
Second important announcement. THIS IS A CHALLENGE! Yes, that's right – a challenge. I'm challenging all your readers to a special competition. If this story can get 150 total reviews before I update the next chapter (in other words, you guys should be able to win this since I take forever to update) which should be around the end of July, then I'll not just update one but TWICE. That's right, TWICE! And the special second update will be a side story about Alex, Cheren, and Bianca. Of course, if the story doesn't reach the goal, then no special update and instead there will only be a sad face instead. Lol.
So, challenge accepted?
All right, now, let's thank my reviewers before I go.
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Eevee1118
ZXCVBNMEM
Light-Sakura
Ketchum Kid
littlmiget123
Trainer-Ken
Banana Aeon
N the puppet
Whitoath
Amy47101 (Hmm, I guess this chapter answered your question. Thanks for the review.)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Lol. Well, I didn't want to name the hero 'Black' because that'll lead to very awkward introductions… Hmm, you're right about naming your rival thing for most of the games though at least in DP game, Professor Rowan had a legitimate excuse. And lol, I don't even know N's real name. Too lazy to remember. XP Anyways, thanks for the review.)
…
Well, that's it from me so see you in the next chapter. Let's see if we can reach the 150 review mark. XO
-JapanDreamer