Chapter Eleven

"Emolga, Volt Switch!"

"Lea, come back, go Dharma!"

Leavanny took the hit from Volt Switch as Emolga went back to its Poké Ball, sending Elesa's next Pokémon, Zebstrika, out into battle as Amira sent out her Darumaka.

"Flame Charge!"

"Roll Out!"

The daruma doll rolled towards the foe's Pokémon and sent it staggering backwards. As Elesa recalled Zebrastrika to send out Emolga again, she recalled Dharma and sent out Theodore.

She mimicked every one of Elesa's calls and countered her attacks before delivering fatal blows. No matter how Elesa switched her team during battle, they all sustained heavy damage until only one was left. She sent out Zebrastrika again but in its weakened state, it was easily finished off.

"Zebstrika, Thunder!"

"Dharma, Fire Punch!"

Dharma rushed the Zebstrika and, in direct imitation of his newest favorite person, sent a flaming right hook straight to its face.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle! The victory goes to the challenger, Amira!"

She cheered as Dharma hopped up and down. She would've hugged him but knew better than to touch him in his excited state.

She walked out onto the field to meet Elesa and receive her Bolt Badge.

"You have a sweet fighting style," said Elesa as she presented it to her.

"Thank you. I trained very hard for this match."

"I imagine so," she said casting an exasperated knowing glance at the man who stood on the sidelines. "You'll be heading to Driftveil right? The bridge is up right now but wait for me on Route 5 and I'll get you across, okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Ma'am."

Amira gave a smile to the Gym Leader, then she and Dharma ran over to where her father stood waiting. She jumped up to hug him as Dharma ran in circles around them.

"At ease."

Dharma stopped in front of him, reverted to his daruma doll pose and swayed back and forth. She had to admit she felt a little sour that he never listened to her that way. But she was grateful that he was getting better at listening none the less.

"So, now that I have the Bolt Badge, I'm not an embarrassment to you anymore?"

She was only joking with him but his response told her he had taken it seriously.

"Ami, you were never an embarrassment to me," he said sternly and with absolute conviction. "I know that you'll do your best no matter if you win or lose and for that, I'm proud of you."

She as surprised by his reprimand but smiled and didn't say anything more as they walked to the Pokémon Center. She sent her Pokémon to the lab and Nurse Joy announced that her Dewott had made a full recovery much quicker than they had expected. It completely surprised them that he had grown stronger too. Otto's Poké Ball was brought out and she quickly opened it. They both let out high-pitched squeals of joy as they hugged.

"I'm so glad you're okay! Otto, I promise, promise, promise I'll never put you in that situation again!"

She sat in the lobby and waited on her other Pokémon. Otto sat contentedly in her lap as she played idly with the experience share around his paw. She stopped and gave her dad a questioning look when she felt his eyes on him. He was smiling but she thought that he somehow looked a little sad.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered. "Just with you growing up, I thought you wouldn't want your old man hanging around anymore. I'm surprised you even remembered to call," he added.

She felt a pang of guilt through her chest. She had forgotten her mother's reminder and if it weren't for Bianca's scene with her own father, she probably wouldn't have at all. Her mother was right, and although neither of them knew it, he was more sensitive than he appeared. She still took his lonely words at face value and grabbed his hand. She laced her fingers between his and held it tight.

"Oh shush! You're my dad so I have to love you no matter what."

He shook his head as he laughed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Gee, thanks. I love you too, princess," he said as he kissed her on the head.

When Nurse Joy announced that her Pokémon were ready, she retrieved them and returned Otto to his Poké Ball as Theodore demanded to be carried in her arms. She turned back to where her father had been sitting but found he wasn't there. He was exiting the Pokémon Center and she ran to catch up with him.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Leaving. You've got your badge. My work here is done here. You're headed on and I can't be with you through every step of the way. You gotta grow up sometime."

"But-"

She wanted to ask him to stay just a little longer but was cut off by the sudden burst of wind and the sound of blades. A rope ladder seemed to fall from the sky and she looked up to see a helicopter, a Bell AH-1 Cobra, and the pilot giving the thumbs up sign. Her father started to climb and as the copter began to rise higher, he turned back to yell out;

"I look forward to the day when I'll be handing you your ass over a Thunder Badge!"

'Fuck you,' she thought but dared not say. She wondered if she had, would he have even heard her anyway. She waved as the helicopter got further and further away, becoming a speck in the sky. She went back to the hotel to clear out her things and hurried to meet Elesa on Route 5.

Route 5 was a short paved road just east of Nimbasa City called 'Artist's Alley'. There was a camper parked on it selling baked goods and a theater troupe performing nearby. There was also a juggling clown, a guitarist, a dancer, and even an older gentleman painting caricatures for a small fee. Across from all the festivity, a surly young man in glasses sat on a white picket fence.

"Hey Cheren."

"Ami, you got the Bolt Badge? I'm glad. I want to test my strength against you so let's battle."

His abrupt declaration was met with a just as abrupt defeat. She was surprised how little effort it required.

She took the type advantage of sending Lea against his pure dark-type, Liepard. Lea bristled with unease. Her memories of the species were far from pleasant. Its use of Torment was its own undoing as Lea took it out with a single swing of her scythe-like forearms using X-Scissor. Next up was his Panpour. Again, a single attack took it out but this time it was Leaf Storm.

Cheren's third Pokémon was a Tranquil, a crossbreed between a pigeon and a secretary bird with stubby legs but powerful wings. She didn't have the type advantage this time and switched Lea for Otto. His sheer power was enough. As the bird came near him bent on landing a quick attack, he struck with Razor Shell.

Now only his Snivy, now evolved into a Servine, was left. Being a pure grass-type, it never stood a chance against Dharma's flames.

"Why?! Why can't I beat you!? We have the same amount of badges so we should be equal in strength!"

He gritted his teeth, fists clenched, and his shoulders hunched forward in exasperation.

"Dude, calm down," she said dismissively. "If you want, I know a really good personal trainer that I could get you in contact with. How many push-ups can you do?"

"What?"

"You two know each other," asked Elesa as she walked up to them. "It's nice to see friends helping each other out. Well let's get going."

"If it isn't Elesa," came a boisterous and jubilant yell. Now it was Elesa who bristled in discomfort.

The three of them stopped in their tracks as a brawny man with flaming hair walked through the crowd and over to them. He seemed to be wearing a yellow poncho of some sort with orange and red trim. His Poké Balls were worn around his neck with three on each side. He wore a black shirt underneath, white pants that were torn at the hem, and sandals with thick straps of leather on his feet.

As he got closer, Amira caught the distinct scent of alcohol and moved her hand over her nose as if she were holding in a sneeze and not shielding herself from the smell. Theodore let out a cry of distress and crossed both of his paws over his muzzle. He felt no such need to be polite about it.

"Aren't festivals grand? Life should be enjoyed," he said with a wide sweeping gesture of both arms.

"Who's this guy," Cheren asked as he took a step back.

"This is Alder," Elesa said with a hint of irritation. "He's the Unova League Champion, if you can believe it."

"Champion," Cheren said as an affront though Alder just grinned wider. "What's the champion doing goofing off in a place like this?"

"I heard that, young man," he responded while pointing his finger in Cheren's face. "You're just a little bit judgmental, you know that? I'm not goofing off, I'm a journey just as you are. I'm traveling across Unova to commune with the nature. I know this region like the back of my hand!"

He held up his hand to exemplify his point but ended up wiping off a speck of dirt in surprise. Elesa glared at him then rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"I'm Cheren, I want to become the strongest trainer there is and defeat the champion."

"Oh yeah," he said with a raised eyebrow. "That's a good goal to have! Then what will you do after that?"

His absent mind turned serious as he waited for Cheren's answer.

"What? What else is there? I want to become the strongest and that's that!"

"Mmh," he nodded. "Is that enough of a goal? I'm not saying your way of thinking is wrong. It's just that in my travels, I've helped many people learn to love Pokémon. I think that's important, too. If there are people like you who pursue strength, there are also people who are happy just being with Pokémon without any specific purpose. There are many different people and many different answers. When it comes to what a champion should be, we may have different ideas, but so be it. How about you give it some thought, okay?"

As she listened to him, Amira realized that not only was he coherent, but was also pretty philosophical for someone who smelled like a bar in the middle of the day.

His words only irritated Cheren further.

"The Champion is the strongest of the strong and that's it!"

"Right," said Elesa with no particular care to take either side. "We've got to get rolling."

As they walked off, Amira stayed behind a bit to talk to the old man. Maybe he'd help her with this Team Plasma craziness.

"Mr. Alder?" She tapped him on the back and dared to remove her hand from her face. If she tried, she could stand the smell a bit.

"Hmm?" He stared at her with curiosity before beaming and putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning forward to get a closer look. "Oh, you're a cutie! You didn't introduce yourself. Quiet type, huh?"

She tried not to let on how uncomfortable she was and introduced herself as politely as she could. Theodore was less tactful and struggled in her arms as the burning smell of booze made his eyes water. Alder looked down at the cub and stepped back, but not before taking him from her arms and lifting him high.

"Oh! He's cute too! I've never seen a Pokémon like this before! He's not native to Unova, is he?"

He lifted Theodore up and down, meaning to entertain him but only making him cry louder, this time emitting a kind of shriek. She rushed over to him and tried to reach for Theodore but Alder, like pretty much everyone else she had met, was much taller than her.

"Mr. Alder! Please! He doesn't like heights!"

"Oh I'm sorry," he said as he handed Theodore back to her.

He had stopped crying but was shaking in her arms. The Champion took no notice of the damage he had done and continued to smile fondly at her. This was the kind of behavior she was more expectant of around drunks.

"You know what? It's great that people and Pokémon, though different, can acknowledge each other."

"Yeah, well…" She had completely forgotten what she wanted to ask him. Seeing as how whatever sobriety he had before had now left him, she thought better of it to leave too.

"I have to go catch up with my friend."

"Sure," he nodded. "I'm sure we'll meet again."

She tried not to show her rush but made quick strides to get as far from him as she could. She wondered if it was true that he was traveling Unova like he said or if he had just got unceremoniously kicked out of the league. Despite his inebriated state, there was still an air of authority around him and Elesa did acknowledge him as the champion. He had a presence that commanded respect, she had picked up on that much. Though reminded of her father, their personalities were vastly different.

She caught up with Elesa and Cheren just in time to watch the drawbridge in front of them lower and let out an appreciative 'ooh' at the sight.

"I have a TV gig, so I've got to go," said Elesa. "The Gym Leader of the next town may take some getting used to but the both of you do your best."

They thanked her as she walked off, then they began their trek across the bridge.

"What do you think of the Champion," he asked.

"I'm not sure. Theo doesn't really like him," she answered as she patted his head. He had stopped shaking now but was still quiet. She made a note to be sure to give him an extra treat when they got settled in Driftveil.

"He's wrong," Cheren declared.

She turned to him and saw the look of anger on his face. She rolled her eyes, thinking he was taking it a bit too seriously.

"I'm a trainer. I battle Pokémon. I prove I'm right and get stronger by winning. Even against the Champion!"

"Cheren, there's more to being a trainer than battling. You think you might be going about it the wrong way?"

"You agree with him then!?"

"Dude! Calm down!"

She wanted to say it wasn't a good way to settle arguments either but their conversation ended as they approached the end of the bridge. There was a heavy-set man waiting for them dressed in a ten-gallon hat, chaps, and the whole nine yards. He looked like he had just stepped off the set of a Western and the expression on his face said that he was just as pissed as any cowboy would be.

"Humph! So yer the trainers Elesa was talkin' about, huh? I'm Clay. I'm the Gym Leader 'round these parts. Don't be expectin' no welcome now. When we lowered that bridge, the Team Plasma guys we'd caught done escaped in all the ruckus!"

"Thanks for lowering the bridge but it's not our fault they escaped," Cheren countered.

She started to apologize, thinking it best that someone should before he shot them, but wasn't given a moment at all to speak.

"Ya can say whatever ya want but what's important is y'all showed up and then Team Plasma escaped. Maybe it's a little heavy-handed, but you oughtta start lookin' for Team Plasma, too. Yer both supposed to be talented trainers, aren't ya?"

"Yes, sir. Of course we'll help!"

She answered before Cheren could, with the hopes that good manners would soften this man up a bit.

"We would've looked even if you hadn't asked us," he added smugly.

She wanted to punch him the arm. Some days, he just seemed completely intent on being an unnecessary asshole.

"Tell ya what... If ya find Team Plasma, I'll let ya challenge my gym. Life's all about give and take after all!"

"Yes, Sir," she answered again while cutting her eyes at Cheren. "That'll be just fine."

He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at her. "Kiss up."

She punched him in the arm with enough force to let him know it wasn't at all a love tap. He went off to look for Team Plasma while she went about her business as usual.

She rented a room from an elderly woman who lived close to the pier. Like Castelia, Driftveil was a port city but its purpose was strictly exporting and importing goods.

After getting Theodore settled down, it was time to start the search proper. As she came down to the kitchen to let the landlady know that she had settled in, there was something out the window that caught her eye.

"Mrs. Landlady, what are those buildings over there?"

"Oh, that's the dock yard. Those buildings are just storage units and containers dear. We call it the Cold Storage."