Hey guys! Here's chapter 12 of ATBH! And as an added bonus, part of this chapter will be told from Tatsuya's point of view! Please read, review and enjoy!
P.S. I do not own Pokemon.
Last time, Hikari and Tatsuya had an unexpected encounter with N in Nacrene City, where it was revealed that Tatsuya and N have crossed paths before. After a quick battle, Hikari is ready to enter the Nacrene Museum, aka the Nacrene City Gym!
"Hikari, I give you… the Nacrene Museum!" Tatsuya said as he gestured toward the museum interior.
My eyes grew wide when I saw all the fossils and artifacts on display. I was especially amazed by the skeleton in the center of the room. I didn't recognize the Pokemon, but it was still pretty impressive. "What is that Pokemon?" I asked.
"I'm not surprised you don't know," Tatsuya replied. "That's a Dragonite. They're mostly native to the Kanto region."
"I'm impressed," a voice behind us said. "Not a lot of young people can guess that." We turned around to see a man wearing a gray suit and glasses.
"Yeah well, I've done a bit of traveling since I was last here," Tatsuya said sheepishly. "Long time no see, eh Hawes?"
The man's eyes suddenly lit up with recognition. "Tatsuya?! You've grown since I last saw you! How long has it been?"
"Way too long," Tatsuya said with a smile. "Hikari, this is Hawes, the assistant director of the museum. Hawes, this is Hikari from my hometown."
"Nice to meetcha!" I said with a small wave.
"It's very nice to meet you too, Hikari," Hawes replied. "Since you were kind enough to visit, I'll give you kids a tour of the museum."
"Alright!" I cheered.
"Osha! (Yay!)" Oshawott piped up, feeling just as excited as I was.
Hawes smiled and then turned toward the skeleton. "Like Tatsuya said, this skeleton is of the Dragon-type Pokemon Dragonite. There's a theory that it had an accident while it was flying around the world, and so it became a fossil." Then he led us to a strange-looking rock. "This rock is amazing! It's a meteorite! It contains some kind of energy from space!"
"So. Cool!" I exclaimed as I gazed at the meteorite. Then something else caught my eye. I looked to my right to see a large, smooth white stone. "Hawes, what's this?"
Hawes walked over to where I was. "Oh, this? It's an ordinary old stone. It was found near the desert, but other than the fact that it's old, it doesn't seem to have any value."
"It's pretty to look at, though," Tatsuya commented as he joined me.
"Yeah, it is," I muttered. I had no idea why that white stone was so intriguing. I just couldn't help staring at it. It wasn't until I felt a gentle tug on my arm from Tatsuya that I finally looked away.
Hawes led us to the back of the room where there was a single door. "The Pokemon Gym is just beyond here. At the end of the Gym, a very strong and kind Gym Leader is waiting. By the way, the Gym Leader Lenora happens to be my wife!"
"Really?! That's awesome!" I said. Then I looked back at Tatsuya. "C'mon, I wanna battle her right now!"
"Whoa, slow down there, champ," Tatsuya said as he grabbed my arm again. "You don't have a Fighting-type Pokemon yet, do you?"
"Eh?" I asked, tilting my head.
Tatsuya let go of my arm before continuing. "Lenora uses Normal-type Pokemon. If you have a Fighting-type Pokemon, it'll give you a huge advantage."
"Oh yeah!" I responded, slightly embarrassed. "And no, I don't have one. Where can I find one?"
I got my answer when Tatsuya led me to a forested area outside of Nacrene City. "This is Pinwheel Forest," he explained. "Around here, you can find plenty of Fighting Pokemon. Timburr are the most common, but I once saw a Throh up by Challenge Rock. That's where we're going to go, cuz a lot of strong Fighting Pokemon test their strength there."
He led me through the tall grass. As we walked, I began to hear punching sounds. When we got to the top of a hill, we saw a blue Pokemon wearing a karate uniform punching a large rock. "Whoa, that's a Sawk!" I said, recognizing it immediately.
A wild Sawk appeared!
"Sawk, the Karate Pokemon. The sound of Sawk punching boulders and trees can be heard all the way from the mountains where they train."
"Good eye, Hikari!" Tatsuya praised. "You're pretty lucky, Sawk aren't very common around here."
"Thanks. I actually learned some self-defense moves from a Sawk a few months ago," I explained, blushing as I spoke. Then I noticed something about the Pokemon in front of us. There was a scar over his right eye, the same scar that the Sawk I knew had. A realization came to me, and I slowly started walking toward the Karate Pokemon. "Sensei?" I called.
Sawk suddenly stopped punching, and he quickly turned toward me and launched a punch at me. I just barely dodged it before a Low Sweep knocked my feet out from underneath me, making me land flat on my back. The breath had been knocked out of me, and all I could see was Sawk looking down at me.
Tatsuya's POV
"Hikari!" I cried out when she hit the ground. Hikari had gone and done the one thing that someone should never do: disturb a Sawk's training. I rushed out and was about to pull a Poke Ball off of my belt, but Sawk just glared at me intensely. I glared back, and continued to do so as I very slowly walked over to Hikari, careful not to make any sudden movements that might make the Fighting Pokemon attack me. Victini stayed as still as he could on my shoulder.
I knelt down next to her and looked at her with concern. "Are you hurt? How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked as I held up two fingers.
"I-I'm fine, Tatsuya," Hikari answered as she sat up with a groan.
Then much to my surprise, Sawk held out a hand toward Hikari. "Sawk sawk," he said.
The younger Trainer smiled and accepted the scarred Pokemon's hand, allowing herself to be pulled up. "No, it's OK. I forgot I'm not supposed to disturb your training. But sensei, is that really you?" When Sawk nodded, her smile grew even bigger. "It's been a while! How are you?"
I just watched as Hikari was actually having a conversation with Sawk. Obviously I couldn't understand half of it, but from what I had gathered, this was the very same Sawk who had taught her self-defense. I smiled to myself. I always found it amazing that Hikari could understand Pokemon so well. That combined with her impressive skill in Pokemon battles, and I could tell she was going to be a great Trainer someday.
"…tini. Victini!" A tiny hand waving in front of my face snapped me out of my thoughts.
"What?" I asked as I looked at the Victory Pokemon now floating in front of me.
"Victini. Victini, victi?" he asked with a smug smile. I could tell what he was asking: whether or not I liked Hikari.
"Well, I don't dislike her," I answered simply. Despite Victini's annoyed look, I didn't answer the question any further. Truthfully though, I had mixed feelings about Hikari. All my life, I had seen her like a little sister, but then I left on my journey two years ago and eventually lost contact with her. I was so happy when I ran into her back in Striaton City because I had a chance to pass on what I had learned to her. I was her big brother again, just like the old days. Somehow, I felt at ease whenever she was around. What could that mean…?
"Hey Tatsuya, good news!" Hikari said suddenly. "Sawk-sensei said that he would join my team if I beat him in battle!"
"Really? Awesome!" I replied. "Good luck!" And with that, I stood back and watched the battle unfold.
Hikari called out a Pidove; a good choice, considering that Fighting Pokemon were weak against Flying Pokemon. Sawk used Focus Energy and I could see his eyes lock on to Pidove. Then Hikari gave her first command. "Use Air Cutter!" Sawk crossed his arms in front of himself to try to defend himself against the razor-like winds.
Once the wind died down, Sawk struck back with a Rock Smash attack. The attack sent Pidove flying backwards, but it got right back up with some encouragement from Hikari. "Now use Quick Attack!" Pidove quickly flew at Sawk and slammed right into the Karate Pokemon, not causing very much damage, but he did take a step backwards.
Sawk then changed his stance and launched a Double Kick at Pidove. "Watch out!" Hikari shouted. Pidove flew up into the air and successfully dodged the kicks. "Good, Pidove! Now Gust!" Once again, Sawk took up a defensive stance to guard against the strong winds. The young Trainer saw her opportunity and reached into her bag. She pulled out a Great Ball – a ball with a higher catch rate than a standard Poke Ball – and threw it at the Karate Pokemon. "Great Ball, go!" The ball opened and Sawk disappeared into it. A few seconds later, the ball stood still on the ground.
"Alright! Way to go!" I cheered, running over to Hikari and giving her a quick hug. "Okay, take a break and then you and Sawk can train against me."
"Me? Battle you?!" she asked excitedly.
"Yep!" I said with a nod. "It'll be good for you, trust me!"
"OK!" Hikari said. Her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed. I wasn't sure, but she sometimes seemed nervous around me and I couldn't figure out why. Oh well, I could think about that later. Right now, there was training to be done.
Once we had rested a while, the two of us stood up and got ready for a Pokemon battle. "I'll have Victini referee. That way, he won't have any influence on whether I win or lose," I said.
"Fair enough," Hikari agreed.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," I teased, earning a glare from the younger Trainer. Victini flew to the side of our battlefield, raised his hand into the air, and then signaled the start of the battle.
Tatsuya is challenged by Pokemon Trainer Hikari!
"Go, Sawk-sensei!" Hikari threw the Great Ball and Sawk appeared, ready for action.
"Go, Raticate!" I tossed a Poke Ball up into the air and a large, brown rat burst out. I had caught Raticate during my travels in the Kanto region, and it was about the same level as Lenora's Pokemon, so I felt it was appropriate.
"Raticate, the Mouse Pokemon. It whittles its constantly growing fangs by gnawing on hard things. It can chew apart cinder walls."
"Wow, I've never seen that Pokemon before!" Hikari said in amazement. "Still, a battle's a battle! Low Sweep!" Sawk launched a kick at Raticate's legs, and it was right on target.
"Use Crunch!" Raticate leapt toward Sawk and bit down on his leg with what would be bone-shattering force on a human. While I knew Dark-type attacks were weak against Fighting types, the attack still did a fair amount of damage.
"Double Kick now!" The Karate Pokemon managed to kick Raticate off of his leg before kicking it again. Raticate rolled backward until it came to a stop in front of me. Victini held out a hand in Hikari's direction, signaling her victory.
Tatsuya lost to Pokemon Trainer Hikari!
"Holy Miltank! You've caught a strong one, Hikari!" I exclaimed with a laugh. It had been a long time since I had lost a Pokemon battle, let alone so quickly, but I was actually pretty happy that it was Hikari I had lost to. I recalled Raticate and walked over to the younger Trainer. "Good job! I think you're more than ready for Lenora!"
"Ya really think so?!" she asked excitedly.
I nodded. "But it's starting to get late. We need to head back to the city before it gets too dark."
Hikari pouted. "Aww!" she groaned. But she grew quiet when I took her hand and began leading her out of Pinwheel Forest. Victini flew back over to his usual perch on my shoulder.
When we reached Nacrene City, we headed straight for the Pokemon Center. I handed my Pokemon over to Nurse Joy when suddenly I heard "Uh-oh."
I turned toward Hikari. "What's wrong?" Then I noticed that she was holding seven Poke Balls. It turned out she had been carrying one too many Pokemon! "No worries, just send one of them to Professor Juniper. She'll take good care of them."
It was a tough decision, but eventually Hikari sent her Purrloin to Professor Juniper's lab. We ate dinner and then we talked for a while longer before deciding to turn in. I was just about to go into my room when Hikari called my name.
"Um, thanks for today and for battling with me. I had a lot of fun!" she said with a smile, her cheeks flushed.
For some odd reason, I felt my cheeks turn red too. But I kept my composure as I replied, "Yeah, I had fun too. I'll meet you at the Nacrene City Gym tomorrow morning, OK?"
"Uh-huh," Hikari said with a nod. "G'night, Tatsuya."
"Good night, Hikari," I answered before going into my room. I allowed Victini to fly off my shoulder before I removed my hat, sweater and shoes and just flopped down on the bed. Victini then floated down and landed on the bed before cuddling up next to me.
Today really was a lot of fun. The only thing that bugged me was N's presence at the Nacrene Museum. Why was he so friendly toward Hikari? Why did she trust him so easily? Just what was he planning? All I knew was that I would never allow that guy to hurt Hikari. If she knew who he really was, it would surely break her heart.
While today had its ups and downs for the two Trainers, tomorrow promises to be just as eventful when Hikari takes on the Nacrene City Gym Leader. Stay tuned!
Author's note: I thought it would be interesting if some parts of the story were told from Tatsuya's POV. This chapter was really a test, so let me know if you want to see more of this, OK? Thanks! ^^
Author's note 2: From now on, I'll be keeping track of Hikari's line-up, just to avoid confusion. Her current line-up is Oshawott, Lillipup, Pansear, Pidove, Blitzle and Sawk.
