Chapter Twelve: Standoff in Wellspring Cave
Having won the Trio Badges, the three of them decided that it was time to set off for Nacrene City. They visited the Trainer School first thing in the morning, wanting to see Lucy and Leroy before they left. Hilda noticed that Cheren seemed contemplative this morning, barely talking when she and Bianca talked. She always found it tricky to determine exactly what he was thinking about.
They spotted Lucy welcoming Trainers into the school, beckoning Leroy goodbye as well. Hilda ran up to them before they could do anything too soon.
"Good morning, you three," Lucy greeted them. "I heard about your victory at the Gym yesterday. You three did an excellent job. I'm not sure you need anything more from the school."
"We were going to head to Nacrene City next," Hilda explained. "But we wanted to say goodbye before we left. Thanks for all the help you've given us."
"I guess I'm trailing just behind you," Leroy shrugged, holding onto Woobat. "I was just about to challenge the Gym. I'm sure Woobat and I can take them on easy."
"Which Starter did you choose?" Bianca wondered.
Leroy gasped, digging through his bag and pulling out a Poke Ball. "Oh man, I can't believe it didn't occur me to show you! I chose Oshawott!"
He released the Pokemon from the Poke Ball. Out popped an oshawott, his ears flicking about in curiosity. This one seemed more calm and collected than Hilda's Starter.
Hilda dug through her bag, taking out a Poke Ball. She released Oshawott, letting him mingle with Leroy's oshawott for a bit. "If you're using Woobat, then you should be good for the battle," she determined.
"You mean for the trick of the Gym? Yeah, that's precisely why I wanted to use Woobat. If it were anything else, I'd use my Starter."
"I get how that is. I haven't been able to get my oshawott into an actual battle yet."
Lucy tapped a finger to her chin. "You three should check out the Daycare just up the road," she said. "Chrissy's mother works there. I think she'd like it if you said goodbye to her."
"Oh of course!" Hilda agreed. "And Pikachu needs to bid Audino farewell, too. Thanks for reminding me!"
Bianca fixed her hat. "I think the Daycare is a wonderful place for us to visit before we leave," she agreed. "Goodbye! And thanks for all your help!"
"Don't mention it," Leroy replied. "And I hope we get to see each other around."
Hilda and Bianca waved them goodbye, and Cheren gave his curt wave. Hilda carried Oshawott in her arm, following her friends into the route house. The bulletin board read out their recent victory, claiming that three young trainers won agains the Triplets. Oshawott let out his own little cheer, and Hilda gave him a scratch on the head. They walked out the other side of the route house, coming upon two little buildings by the road. One was a regular daycare, where small schoolchildren played on the swings and slides with their Pokemon. There was another daycare next to it, where only Pokemon seemed to play. Chrissy sat along the gate of this daycare, holding a pail filled with berries.
"So does her mom work at the human daycare or the Pokemon daycare?" Bianca wondered. "I can go up and ask her."
Bianca split away from them to ask her. Hilda was about to follow her, only for Cheren to grab her on the shoulder. His head was bent down slightly, steely determination in his gaze. He walked up the road, several feet past each facility. Hilda decided to follow him, unsure of what to think. Only when she walked up there, noting how fired up he seemed, did she realize what he wanted.
"Snivy versus Oshawott, you and me!" Cheren shouted. "We need to see which of us is closer to the Pokemon League!"
Hilda squinted at him. "That doesn't seem like a fair fight," she argued. "And I'm not really thinking about the Pokemon League."
"You were just talking about how Oshawott hasn't been in a real battle yet, so this is the perfect opportunity for him to get some practice in!"
"Sure, but I don't want him facing a grueling task. I don't want to push him too far just yet. And to be honest...well…"
"Well what? Go ahead and tell me."
Like you should with me, Hilda wondered. She continued, "I didn't really like how you pushed Snivy in that battle yesterday. I feel like she would've been much happier if she wasn't in there at all."
Cheren relaxed his stance, raising a brow. "It turned out okay, didn't it?"
"That's not the point. I feel like you pushed her too hard. She shouldn't have been in a battle like that. I don't want my Pokemon facing against others they're weaker toward."
"Maybe, but you know how ready she is to fight all the time. I couldn't just not let her fight. She wouldn't be happy, then."
"I know she wouldn't be very happy if she lost."
Cheren sighed, nodding. "I'll make sure to do more research in the future before battling the Gyms," he promised. "In the meanwhile, we can have a different kind of battle."
He pulled a Poke Ball out, releasing Pidove. The bird Pokemon twitched his head about, observing everything around him.
"That's better," Hilda decided, setting Oshawott on the ground. "I promise that we'll go easy on you and Pidove."
"Don't go easy on me," Cheren argued. "I don't want anyone going easy on me. I'm not going to get stronger that way."
A commotion started behind them. Hilda and Cheren scooped up their Pokemon, leaping onto the side of the road. Two Team Plasma members ran past, holding an audino in their grasp. The audino spotted Hilda, reaching his paws out to him. She immediately recognized him as Chrissy's Pokemon.
"They've sacked the daycares!" Hilda gasped. "We need to go after them!"
Cheren nodded. "I've got your back!"
They raced down the road, following the Team Plasma members. They veered off the road, making their way to a nearby cave. Hilda and Cheren halted for a moment, gulping at the thought of entering such a place. They gathered up their courage, leaping inside. Hilda ducked her head from woobats as Cheren wove past roggenrolas, and the two of them eventually found the Plasma members. They set Audino on the ground, stopping to catch their breaths.
"This is a good place for us to pause," the woman decided. "We can rendezvous with the others and meet up with the Sages later."
"All those Pokemon, and we could only snag an audino," the man spat. "This thing's not going to last in the wild anymore. What are we supposed to do?"
"Maybe give it to the young King. He loves caring for weak Pokemon. It's all I can think of without ditching it altogether."
Cheren clenched his fists. "Hey jerks!" he shouted. "Give us back that audino! Right now!"
The Plasma members whipped their heads toward them, gasping and scowling. They stood up, pulling Poke Balls out of their pockets. They were primed for battle, but so were Hilda and Cheren.
"You two punk kids need a lesson learned in how tough Team Plasma is!" the woman shouted. "We're going to steal your Pokemon if you lose!"
"Well we're not going to lose," Hilda argued. "Bring it on!"
The Plasma members pressed the buttons on their Poke Balls, releasing purrloins.
"Purrloin, scratch the oshawott!" the woman shouted.
"Pidove, send up a gust of wind!" Cheren commanded.
"Oshawott, razor shell on the man's purrloin!" Hilda commanded.
"Leer the pidove!" the man ordered.
The man's purrloin pounced at Pidove, frightening him just a bit. The woman's purrloin scratched Oshawott, knocking him back and causing him to trip. Pidove flapped his wings rapidly, creating a gust of wind behind the opponents' team, damaging them. Oshawott scrambled back to his feet, taking his scalchop off his chest. He threw it at the man's purrloin, giving it a mighty scratch, and he quickly picked it back up again.
"Slash the oshawott!" the woman shouted.
"Use Water Gun on her purrloin!" Hilda ordered.
"Scratch the pidove!" the man commanded.
"Pidove, wing attack on the man's purrloin!" Cheren shouted.
Oshawott flopped onto his belly, missing the purrloin's attack. Hilda assumed this was an accident at first, but he sprung right back up, shooting a beam of water at it. She admitted that it was a clever dillusion.
The man's purrloin scratched Pidove, causing him great injury. Pidove glided over the purrloin, scratching it with his wings. The man's purrloin fell unconscious, and the man pulled it into his Poke Ball.
"C'mon, get it together!" the woman yelled at the man. "These are two punk kids!"
Cheren dug through his pockets, trying to find a Potion. Hilda hastily handed him one, and he sprayed it on Pidove.
"We've almost got them!" Cheren gasped. "Pidove, peck that purrloin!"
"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Hilda shouted.
The woman shook frantically. "Leer! Leer!"
"Why are you using that move!?" the man asked.
"I don't know!"
The purrloin balked. Oshawott shot a stream of water at the Pokemon, and Pidove pecked it afterward. The purrloin fainted from the two attacks, and the woman took it back into the Poke Ball.
"Now give us back Audino!" Hilda argued. "That's our deal!"
The woman sighed, nudging Audino along to them. "Fine. It wouldn't survive in the wild, anyway," she spat. "Dumb punk kids."
Hilda cheered, picking up Oshawott and giving him a big hug. Cheren scratched Pidove on the head, high-fiving his friend. They took Audino by the paw, leading him out of the cave.
They walked back to the daycare facilities, spotting Chrissy crying on the steps. Bianca sat by her, trying to console her. A woman sat near her, doing the same- Hilda guessed that this was her mother. Cheren and Hilda walked up to them, presenting Audino to Chrissy. The little girl lifted her face from her hands, gasping in excitement and happiness at having her friend back.
"You saved him! I can't believe you saved him! I'm so happy!" Chrissy cheered, hugging her Pokemon.
"They ran right past us," Hilda explained. "Of course we had to chase them down. We can't let perfect partners be separated for long."
Audino purred as Chrissy scratched his head. Her mother got up, shaking both of their hands. "You seem to have a calling for uniting Trainers and Pokemon," she told them.
Hilda felt something click inside her. She hadn't know before what the meaning of her journey was. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do as a Trainer. That was still mostly true. But perhaps she could do as Chrissy's mother suggested, and unite Trainers and Pokemon somehow.
